with us today, the new york magazine's john heilemann, "the washington post's" kathleen parker, gloria borger from cnn and clarence page. first up, the revolt by many catholics over that white house decision on birth control. first, romney's troubles. conservatives can't stand barack obama. but when will they learn to stand mitt romney? even after the white house handed them that huge contraceptivives issues, they stayed home in droves. conservatives just do not want to rat fi mitt romney. but they are the big prize. they've gone to 34% of total

before we break, our own john heilemann wrote "game change," the best seller will -- about the last election. now this movie based on the book. in this story of john mccain and sarah palin's campaign, while the production designers paid incredibly close attention to detail, they even tracked down the original campaign bus. here it is, i love this part. jilean moore's portrayal of sarah palin. >> you know they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? lip stick. >> wow. look at this doppelganger. her famous interview with abc's charlie gibson. >> you can actually see russia from here -- land here in alaska. >> you can actually see alaska -- russia from land here in alaska. >> and here, pretty good likeness here. >> yeah. just increb. it's an incredible, i mean the performances are are astonishing across the board. >> and you won't let us see them? >> well, in due time. >> when we come back, the return of sarah palin. that's going to scare some people. how mccain took the huge risk to win conservatives by picking here in 2008. what will palin could -- do this time? scoops and pre

. >> joining me now are msnbc political analyst howard fineman, msnbc political analyst, john heilemann, of "new york" magazine, and nbc news special correspondent, tom brokaw. tom, going into the debate tonight, rick santorum was trying to protect a national lead in the polls, and most importantly, most immediately, possibly, his lead in michigan. did you see anything in the dynamics of this debate tonight that you think could effect where those polls are going? >> well, it was a 15-rounder, and they were all standing at the end. obviously, santorum now is going to be the target of opportunity who's going to the movement tonight with ron paul on one side of him and governor romney on the other side. i thought that governor romney had a pretty good night. i don't like to declare winners and losers here, but call balls and strikes. and santorum was spending a lot of time defending his record in the senate by saying, look, i didn't have any other choice but to support arlen specter, you know, as an appropriations bill. a lot of bill was about explaining away positions that he had supporte

mark halperin and john heilemann.c news chief political director chuck todd. and "washington post" editor eugene robinson. >> snob. >> not just snob. >> i hear he went to college. >> are you educated? my goodness, apparently that's a bad thing. >> i bet he encouraged his kids to go to school, too. >> i don't get it, he blames the recession on gas prices. he thinks the president is a snob for wanting kids to go to college. so we need to go down the list of why rick santorum is spinning out. >> jfk makes him throw up? where did he come from? >> jfk, him saying that makes him want to throw up. can you imagine a democrat -- the right wing blogosphere, can you imagine if a democrat, chuck todd, said ronald reagan makes me want to throw up? there would be such a hue and cry. this is just, this is just not how you appeal to voters that help you win presidential elections in the fall. >> especially because the reagan democrats, the kennedy catholics? this is the same voting group. it's the same group of older, of older, somet

john heilemann, national affairs editor for "new york magazine." and susan page, a great bureau chief. let's talk about this thing that's developed. late this afternoon, president obama couldn't escape questions about this contraceptive issue and religious organizations. let's listen to what happened. >> come on, guys. shortly afterward, harry reid tried to diffuse the issue again. let's listen. >> this debate that's going on dealing this issue of contraception is a rule that hasn't even been made final yet. there's not a rule. everybody should calm down. let's see what transpires. >> i'm sorry. those are the moves that people that don't like what's happening. >> this rule is not going to go into effect. they couldn't find compromised language to go forward. they will because given the opposition on the republican side and with people like tim cain. >> the current chairman of the caucus. >> the administration is going to have to backtrack. the question is how far? >> a couple people out on this issue. tim cain now running in a head to head battle.

joining me now is john ralston, jonathan capehart and john heilemann. great to have you all here. i have to go to vegas right now. john, you got a chance to talk to the man of the hour in just that hour, donald trump, who we can hope we don't hear from again about presidential politics. why did he say he had decided -- what was his line today about deciding to endorse romney? >> well, i didn't talk to donald trump. you'll be proud of me, lawrence. i actually boycotted that press conference. but i did talk to romney right before he went over to that press conference -- >> you know what, john. next time, i'm going to actually read my notes about here. it says right here that you talked to mitt romney today, which is more important. romney must have had some struggle on deciding whether or not he should set foot in a k casino and accept this guy's endorsement. >> when i asked him, how could you walk over after this interview -- how can you walk over to trump's building and endorse a guy who during his brief run for president pushed the noxious notion that the president wasn't born her

and john heilemann, thank you. >>> up next, which failed candidate might try again? you won't believe it. this guy is coming back for another beating. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. [ other merv ] welcome back to the cleaning games. let's get a recap, merv. [ merv ] thanks, other merv. mr. clean magic eraser extra power was three times faster on permanent marker. elsewhere against dirt, it was a sweep, with scuffed sports equipment... had it coming. grungy phones... oh! super dirty! and grimy car rims... wow! that really works! ...all taking losses. it looks like mr. clean has won everything. the cleaning games are finished? and so are we. okay, but i just took a mortgage out on the cabinet. [ male announcer ] clean more, work less, with the mr. clean magic eraser extra power. >>> back to "hardball." now for the sideshow. first up, go all the way. when president obama took to the podium earlier today to discuss the payroll tax cut, there was another order of business that took priority. and it was the male listeners the president was going for here. let's

john heilemann, these numbers are so out.nybody that thinks the general election come november 8th is going to be these spreads i think is looney tunes. i don't see the president being able to wipe out romney, but he could wipe out santorum because you could nail him on so many cultural positions it would kill him among gay people. that's a small percentage. but if you get him on women and wo working women who work outside the home, he's said strange things about why they work outside the home. women who work very hard and another 30 or 40 hours at home would find offensive. >> i mean, chris, on your first point, i don't think anybody certainly in the white house thinks they are going to end up winning the general election by 8 or 10 points. it's going to a close election. the second thing is, there's no doubt the kind of campaign the white house and the reelection committee would run against rick santorum and it's the kind of campaign you're suggesting. they would be focusing, more than they are, on trying to bring over swin

and john heilemann, thank you. >>> up next, which failed candidate might try again?ou won't believe it. this guy is coming back for another beating. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. i had enough of feeling embarrassed about my skin. [ designer ] enough of just covering up my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough. ♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin. [ rv guy ] enbrel may not work for everyone -- and may not clear you completely, but for many, it gets skin clearer fast, within 2 months, and keeps it clearer up to 9 months. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. t

john heilemann, this isn't about birth control coverage in your health care plans. which is now required by obama care, by the president's health care plan. for example, governor kaine made it a point of calling us and making sure we know that. it's about whether there should be a broad religious exemption for churches, hospitals and other religious groups that don't believe in birth control and are against it as a matter of sin if youio will. >> well, look. i watched it on our network last night. i watched david boise make a compelling argument about why these people are, in fact, wrong. >> who is wrong? >> the people who think there should be a broader religious exemption. it's a matter of labor law and employment law. as an employer, the same laws should apply. you can't exempt -- they're not exempt from tax laws or discrimination laws or workers' comp. i think there's some part of the president that thought on the merit he's was right. clearly it's a political problem. >> does he include churches? >> he does. >> so you can make convents buy birth control? >> he'

. >> emma wegner and political analyst john heilemann joins us. i want to start with john.tough this morning. i liked it looking at the tapes of it. let me ask you this. i have things he said today that bug me after sorting through the trash of some of the stuff he said. it really bothers me. but i want to know what bothers you the most about what he said this morning. >> chris, how do i count the ways? the thing that i called him out on today was for a double standard and being hypocrite call. we had the byte where he said "i can't answer this question for anyone." but he did answer. he said absolutely if rick santorum was a christian. he said, he told me so. about newt gingrich, he said yes. he goes to church. and when it came to president obama, that was the only person who he couldn't affirm on the basis of the president's statements. >> why do you think he said that? >> i think he has some doubt about the question. number one, he's clearly unconvinced for a variety of reasons. today he said that he thought president obama took up christianity for political reasons. i t

andrea mitchell was there, john heilemann was there.one is screaming. and barack goodman in that film which i watched last night has captured the reaction, some of the faces of the people in the crowd, it was amazing. the fact that he was able to go as harry thompson said, immediately go on carson and have that moment and play the sax? and got it back. we were off and running. >> how good is carson, by the way? you just remember watching those clips, how great he was. tell me about the genesis of this project? what was the timing on this, why was it time now for a look back on bill clinton's years? >> i think the executive producer of "the american experience" that enough time had passed and emotions had settled enough, proved to be partially true, i think. we've entered a period of sort of scholarship about clinton, the journalistic period is over and now more serious scholarship is being produced. i did feel the people who talked to us were extraordinarily candid. i felt that they're sort of not as concerned about the sort of blow-bac

it's an asset for him going into november. >> thank you, steve ratner and john heilemann. >>> up nextart takes issue with the description of cheerful. that's newt gingrich for you. the sideshow is next. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. so uh this is my friend frank and his, uh, retirement plan. one golden crown. come on frank how long have we known each other? go to e-trade. they got killer tools man. they'll help you nail a retirement plan that's fierce. two golden crowns. you realize the odds of winning are the same as being mauled by a polar bear and a regular bear in the same day? frank! oh wow, you didn't win? i wanna show you something... it's my shocked face. [ gasps ] ♪ [ male announcer ] get a retirement plan that works at e-trade. my dad and grandfather spent their whole careers here. [ charlie ] we're the heartbeat of this place, the people on the line. we take pride in what we do. when that refrigerator ships out the door, it's us that work out here. [ michael ] we're on the forefront of revitalizing manufacturing. we're proving that it can be done here, and it c

joining us now is national affairs editor for "new york" magazine and msnbc political analyst john heilemann who's the co-author of "game change." thanks for being with us. >> good morning, jonathan capehart. >> good morning. who came out on top last night in the debate? >> well, i think that -- i wouldn't really say that anybody had a particularly overwhelming or outstanding performance. it wasn't like someone really won. i think kind of by default, mitt romney ended up winning this debate largely because rick santorum performed at kind of a b-plus level or b level. he did not bring his "a" game. where he performed in florida, very strong, drew sharp contrast with mitt romney, a lot of that was lacking from santorum in what was probably the most important debate for santorum where the momentum coming into the debate and the national polls and everybody believes if he wins in michigan puts himself on a strong footing to actually claim the nomination or the high bar for him tonight and i think he fell a little bit short. at the same time, i think mitt romney, he managed to through santorum's

john heilemann didn't do much at all in ha book but get a copy for halperin. these results last night, thank you very much for getting up to join us. we appreciate it. >> mike, all good. i'll keep my voice low. >> thank you very much. you know the situation here. thank you. last night's results, what does this say? mitt romney, is he actually in some trouble do you think going forward? >> he is now potentially in trouble. if he had a better night last night, i would think not just the perception, but the reality is he would move forward. his campaign is right. he did not compete in these states very hard, didn't campaign in them, didn't run tv, didn't use their methods to go negative on santorum. all of that will happen in the upcoming states. but this gives santorum a chance. i'll tell you, everybody had made mistakes in writing people off. i made a mistake in not seeing santorum's possibilities on these three contests. people will write off gingrich now. i wouldn't do it. i still think that there's a lot of volatility here. santorum has a chance now in the u

. >> joining us by phone, national affairs editor and political analyst john heilemann. good morning. >> how are you? >> i'm doing very well. looking forward to your film on march the 10th. we can talk about that later. >> as you should be. it's a fine film. >> it's been a long three week of campaigning primarily in michigan and arizona. as you sit here this morning a few hours before the polls close, where do we stand? >> too close to call. we've seen after rick santorum pulled out to a pretty big lead in the polling, we've seen romney with his money and his establishment support and his strong showing at the debate last week essentially vis-a-vis santorum's weak showing, we've seen him creep back to bring the thing up to level. things have tightened to the point where they're in a s statistical dead heat. romney is rom if i and he has all the advantages and so i think we'll have see a potent p finish. >> you write only the most mindless reject the truism that america would be best served by the presence of two credible governing parties instead of the situation that cu

john heilemann is still with us.n harold ford jr., who like my friends and family in lancaster, pennsylvania, celebrates groundhog day. >> every year. >> do you go to gobbler's knob? >> i've already been. that's why i was a little late this morning. >> that's a live picture. >> has a vacation home -- >> well, they're celebrating. they see what happens with the groundhog? >> it's one of two things. if he sees his shadow, there's more spring or there's not more spring. i have no idea. was that helpful? >> that was fantastic, thank you. we'll find out soon. and t.j. will be watching -- monitoring those pictures with his face glued to the monitor in the control room because he's sort of into that stuff. so let us know, t.j. we'll be talking about mitt romney now and what he said that touched off a huge backlash. this was, of course, another comment that is in a series of gaffes that feed into a narrative about his inability to connect with the common real hard-working american. take a listen. >> i'm in this race because

we'll break it down with john heilemann in a moment.nce in syria continues at a horrific pace as government forces bombard the city of homs is discriminately killing scores of people including two western journalists. the question is, if the situation there doesn't meet our standards for military assistance, what does? finally, i'm contractually obligated to mention sports and i don't get what the big deal is with this jeremy lin guy. he's from harvard and can throw a ball into a hoop.

. >> john heilemann, especially because of that vote. i'm talking the conservatives who in the 1990s were on the cutting edge of a conservative counter resolution. so to have santorum say, oh, sometimes it's a team sport. no, you respectfully disagree. but i can't think of anything worse. and by the way, for the record, mitt romney is enthusiastically supported no child left behind. we've got the sound bite here. so he's taking it. but you've got two guys who were out of the mainstream of conservative thought. >> but in a way for santorum, santorum's supposed to be the conservative alternative to mitt romney. that's his role and why he's been doing well. if you think about that issue, think about him talking about his support for arlen specter, him defending earmarks throughout the debate. >> can i stop you there for one second? on one key point that conservatives remember? >> yeah. >> he supported arlen specter against pat toomey. one of the few people we can remember the other day who actually voted against bush's $7 trillion boondoggl

and a big difference from the best-selling book by one mark haleprin and john heilemann, the movie is% mccain. it's all the story of the selection of governor palin and then the 60 days of the general election. and it's been scrupulously researched, sticks very closely, very true to the book. takes very few liberties. it's not a documentary. so we see scenes compressed, words coming out of characters' mouths that aren't in quote marks in the book, but the film makers tell us they went for a balanced portrayal of governor palin. they did not want it to be scene as a hit job. so we see these embarrassing scenes that probably won't be comfortable for her to have revived, but we also see some moments that will be sympathetic portrayals. we see her electric connection with voters, we see her connecting with special needs parents. and we see the incredible demands on her as she's thrown into this role as a small-state governor. >> mark haleprin, what's your reaction? >> i'm looking forward to people seeing the whole film. hbo, julianne moore did a great job and it was as the book was the ac

mark haleprin, john heilemann said the same thing.f we woke up this morning with a win in michigan, perhaps not arizona, but michigan for rick santorum, the white knight conversation would have been white hot. that would have been all we've been talking about. the other thing that's clear, though, from last night is that these guys aren't going away. santorum if anything is emboldened by a three-point loss in his state. newt gingrich is waiting in georgia, waiting for those southern states on super tuesday, this race is going to go on for a long time. >> i was of course at the orphanage this morning as i am every morning, and i looked up and little timmy said uncle joe, uncle joe, look at what mr. willie's -- because willie goes down too -- look what mr. willie's showing, and there was a picture of newt gingrich talking about trees. >> did you see that? thanks to little timmy, i did. what was going on there? do we have a clip of that? what was going on. >> "way too early" is only factoring commercial time is only 22 minutes long, so w