we arere here with ben fiser and jonathan allen. i hate to do this to two sy people b but idmit i ask you to read an article, just to inindulgee me. i thohought it was fascinating.g. a woman was profiled, i admit i've never hea of when she was announced. darla moorere t the second woman that will be wearing green at auguststa next t to conondoleezezza rice. turns out s is fascicinating busineness woman. jonanathan, tell us a a littlele bit about her. >> the big thing that folks want to know is s she isis basically --- had turned around her husband's company cald rainwater. she had beeeen a banker, turned that aroun she ended up being a philanthropist. she gives a lot of money to researchch for diseases that he had, has been involved heaeavily in education in south carolina, his buddies with thfolkthat run the master's. >> she golfs but it was not her life caller to get into augusta. >> how many women would be loved to play at augusta who are actually serious golfefers, but she is jt a friend of hootitie johnson? >> richard rainwater

jonathan allen is our guest. he is a senior washington correspondent for politico..com and his twitter tag is @johnallen d.c. i also wanted to ask you whatile we have you on the line, we have been talking this morning a lot about harry reid calling on mitt romney to release his tax returns and saying he's been told, you know the whole story, there were years when he didn't pay anything at all. mitt romney demand that harry reid put up or shut up. how -- do you think this issue is working for democrats, and what's mitt romney going to do about it? >> i don't think the election is going to turn on this issue. certainly, democrats are continuing to keep up because they take advantage and that they put romney in a box. either he releases the tax returns which may show he doesn't want to or he holds them and now disclosure. i think harry reid is an interesting attack dog because he lives in a glass hotels room at the ritz-carlton in washington. he, as senate majority leader has as much control over united states tax policy as anybody else and he has been asked to release

thank you eugene robinson and jonathan allen.the bind mitt romney finds himself in. he doesn't know who he's supposed to be. this is confusing. a revolting development for this guy with his spokesman saying he's really for health care. you're watching "hardball," place for politics. [ male announcer ] when she takes the starting block this summer, she's not just natalie coughlin. she's every 5-year-old who ever jumped in a pool and didn't want to get out. ♪ every coach, every rival who ever pushed her. she's the tip of a spear that goes all the way back to the beginning. it's amazing how far you can go with a little help along the way. td ameritrade. proud sponsor of the 2012 u.s. olympic team. [ male announcer ] if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze... [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. [ sneezes ] on the first day you take it. last

and jonathan allen is a columnist for politico.i guess there's a strategy here in the tactic. bill clinton is not playing ball with these guys. i think clinton wants obama re-elected for a lot of reasons especially for the possibility his wife may become president some day. he sees no gain in a loss. >> there's absolutely nothing in it for bill clinton for barack obama to lose. therefore, this is not going to drive a wedge between barack obama and bill clinton. clinton came out immediately denouncing the ad, explaining that it's all wrong. and i think this will fire him up. i mean, you don't want to wake up the big dog. you don't want to mess with bill. so i don't get it. i mean, i don't get it as a tactic. >> this is what you want if you're bill clinton. dick nixon was nowhere in 1966, or whatever it was. johnson attacked him. called him a chronic campaigner. nixon goes on television with all kinds of rnc money and said this is the most savage attack by any politician in the history of american politics. he gets all the pr. he bas

joining me now is jonathan allen reporter for politico.e tonight. >> thank you. >> sophia, why would palin's support matter to the romney campaign? >> i think reverend al, your introduction was on point. palin appeals to a small but energized section of the base. that's the ptea party. the 2010 election was for the democrats. and i think she has been strategic about how she's picked these races that she'll endorse, who she endorses. and i think in doing that, the romney campaign really needs someone like palin who is a conservative darling to say willard's okay. romney's okay. and i'm really supporting him versus the lukewarm response palin and gingrich and others have given to romney up to this point. >> jonathan, she really has made it pretty clear what she thinks about romney. not only hasn't she endorsed him, she kind of said things that make it clear where she's at in terms of her opinion of him. listen to these things. >> bless his heart, i have respect for mitt romney, but i do not have respect for what he has done through this debt

allen went to work for them. >>> living the american dream, a retired army colonel has a home he can call his own. jonathan albrecht and his family are getting the chance with the help of operation home front and chase bank. they are providing a mortgage free home to albrecht in ft. washington, maryland. albrecht was wounded serving in afghanistan. >> what greater gift can we give them than a home? it's part of that american dream. our servicemen and women in uniform, they fight to protect our freedoms in this country every single day. >> albrecht was injured when he was struck by an improvised explosive device. he still has trouble walking, suffers memory loss and has other medical issues. he and his wife stephanie have two young children and she is eight months pregnant with their third child. >> what a great gift for them. >>> she is anything but your typical teenager. 14-year-old china dorsey loves to make jewelry. she started making her creations when she was 10 and her 5th grade teacher encouraged her to turn her hobby into a business. that's what she did with the help of ble, a small minority owned

allen? nobody. >> he's a good guy. he's a good guy. all right. mike, thanks very much. >>> up next, jonathan capehart standing by.t can mean only one thing. it's time for jonathan and sports. always a huge event here. "morning joe." there he is right there taking the notes. baseball scores. "morning joe" back in a minute. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] its lightweight construction makes it nimble... ♪ its road gripping performance makes it a cadillac. introducing the all-new cadillac xts. available with advanced haldex all-wheel drive. [ engine revving ] it's bringing the future forward. why severy room deserves ll us what outo look great.or is? and every footstep should tell us we made the right decision. so when we can feel our way through the newest, softest, and most colorful options... ...across every possible price range... ...our budgets won't be picking the style. we will. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. make room for savings with $37 basic installation on martha stewart living and platinum plus carpet. yeah, you -- you know, everything can cost upwards of...[ whistles ] i did not wan