john tester, claire mccaskill. do you think that this could hurt democrats' chance of hanging on to the senate or, you know, what is considered to be a long shot, nevertheless according to the chairman a possibility to take the house? >> actually i think it is more of a challenge for senate candidates and house candidates out there than the president. because the president speaks for his administration and he's running a national campaign and his campaign probably doesn't include the strategy, probably doesn't include carrying states like montana. so for john tester who is a democrat, he will be asked a lot about this and puts him in a fairly difficult position. but doing the right thing is what people expect of a politician and leader and so i presume that john tester and claire mccaskill and other folks out there are going to do what they feel is best. some of those folks might feel for more or whatever reasons the best thing is important gays and lesbians is not to be able to get married. that's a legitimate pos

john tester supports civil unions isn't going as far as calling for gay marriage. some democrats are keeping their distance as the party tries to hold on to the senate chamber, do you think this will cost the president votes in swing states? >> it may. it may cost him some votes, there may be a political upside as well. so this discussion is going to go on all the way until election day. it's a courageous stand. and it's a stand that is not an easy one to take. and that's why a lot of rural senators don't do it. rural america sometimes comes around a little bit slower than more of the highly populated areas of the country. but that doesn't mean they're not going to eventually get there. marriage equality is a big issue. it's a little issue as well. inequality in our country is something that is not going to be tolerated. i think that generationally speaking, as we evolve, it was the right move. every senator is going to have to make their own determination, are they going to do what the people want or they want. >> you've been heavily involved in the recall electio

now to a hot senate race in montana where john tester is trying to hang on to his seat. he is up by five over denny rehberg. >>> welcome back to "hardball," if you needed evidence that parts of the republican party are hostile, richard gernell is out after being criticized for being openly gay. on april 19th, the romney campaign announced the hiring of him to be national security and foreign policy spokesman for the campaign. his rÉsume including eight years as director of communications for the united states at the you needs nations. the very next day, brian fisher of the american family association tweeted this reaction. romney picks out and loud gay as a spokesman. if personnel is policy. gernell yesterday left the campaign. his statement is that person issues that sometimes come from a presidential campaign. i want to thank governor romney for his belief in me, my abilities, and his clear message to me that me being openly gay was a nonissue for him and his team. gentleman, both of your organizations have an interest in this, what do you make of what happened here. t

now to a hot senate race in montana where john tester is trying to hang on to his seat. he is up by five over denny rehberg. may seem like the stuff of fairy tales. but if you take away the faces on the trees... take away the pixie dust. take away the singing animals, and the storybook narrator... [ man ] you're left with more electric trucks. more recycled shipping materials... and a growing number of lower emissions planes... which still makes for a pretty enchanted tale. ♪ la la la [ man ] whoops, forgot one... [ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. not in this economy. we also have zero free time, and my dad moving in. so we went to fidelity. we looked at our family's goals and some ways to help us get there. they helped me fix my economy, the one in my house. now they're managing my investments for me. and with fidelity, getting back on track was easier than i thought. call or come in today to take control of your personal economy. get one-on-one help from america's retirement leader. >>> welcome back to "hardball," if you needed evi

instead, john tester had to pull to a gas station on the interstate in florida to deliver his baby.ter getting out of his pickup, pacing around the car, and then opened the passenger door. he had to do it. emergency dispatchers helped guide him in delivering his son colton. paramedics arrived shortly after the baby was born. >> still think i'm in shock, you know. it's been a big day. real big day, big morning. >> reporter: i guess that's a story that you can't wait until colton is old enough to hear it. >> for sure. yeah. that's definitely a story to tell. yeah. i don't know what i would have done without him. >> goodness. colton will have some stories to tell, too. this morning, dad, mom, and baby are doing fine. you have to be calm. can you imagine in that situation -- >> no, not at all. >> i'd be losing my mind. >> i remember that video from 10th grade biology. i could not handle it. couldn't. boy. >>> president obama is among millions of fans remembering donna summer as the queen of disco. ♪ so let's dance last dance ♪ >> donna summer died yesterday from lung cancer. she had kep

senators john tester and claire mccaskill have declined to endorse president obama's call for same-sex marriage. democrats who have easier races but in states that could become more competitive in november have backed away from obama's stance. first of all the names on the list, erin, do any of them surprise you? >> no. they don't, i mean those five represent either very red states or they are personally very religious. now i would tell you that the democratic party in a blanket way, does support it. democratic campaign organizations that are trying to elect democrats to the house and the senate started fundraising off of it this week. >> okay. dave, i want to talk about your recent blog post. which has a new "u.s.a. today" gallup poll showing independents and their reaction to the president's support of same-sex marriage. here we go with the numbers, 63% say it makes no difference. 23% say they're less likely to vote for president obama. 11% say they're more likely to vote for him. what's your take-away on those numbers. >> well, there is definitely still more intensity among people w

i'm thinking of senator john tester, democrat from montana, senator claire mccasskell, democrat fromyou see this as an issue along with the others on my screen right now if they have to say what their point of view is on gay marriage? >> it can cut both ways and in some more conservative states like the ones you just mentioned it might be a negative for those candidates and their own personal views could be different. it could hurt them at the margins and it takes time away from talking about the economy that i said really is on what's most people's minds. it could show those candidates have an independent view from the president. if they are just a referendum on the president, the candidates running for senate might not do so well. it cuts both ways. >> i find it interesting that you say the whole election will hinge on the economy because it seems that president obama also a democrat wants to do everything but talk about the economy. >> well, the poll numbers show most americans aren't happy about the direction of the economy so when the whole issue of contraception came up, women'

john harrison is the official taste tester for edy's ice cream. each day he evaluates about 60 packages of ice cream before it's shipped out and does it all with a gold plated spoon. >> civil tarnishes and will give an off taste. wood and plastic will also give an off taste. the best medium is gold plated. take a small scoop right off the top, doesn't take much. invert that spoon because that's the warmest part on top upside down. now you're going to do three things. you're going to move it around, swirl it around the whole tongue, the whole mouth and then aerate it. >> a little bit like being a a win taster. you can call him the man with the million dollar mouth because his taste buds are insured for $1 million. >> i kind of liked his voice. he's got a nice voice. >> takes his job a little too seriously. >> i would say. i have no idea you're supposed to use a gold spoon with ice cream. i learned something. >> can't fault a man tore taking pride in his -- for taking pride in his work. >> most definitely. the pattern will start changing now. while