jonathan capehart. and richard wolf.eets, to put it mildly, are you concerned about what this means for the president politicly and for the african-american vote. >> i am. i was blown away by the gesture. this is an historic moment. if the arc of history bends toward justice, we're seeing get toward the top of the arc i think. but we have most of the states in america are -- have amendments against gay marriage. we're not making the turn just yet. i am a little concerned about what will happen with the gay community. takely important stittwednesda constituency for the president. there is hopo phobia around america. 55% of black are telling people they are against gay marriage, and 55% of whites are for gay marriage. i wonder if this will not create a crisis of conscience for some voters who were supportives obama above brrr and do i need the brother to be re-elected and what we talk about on sunday aside? or i got my god, my bible, my minister and we've been talking about this for years, and i need to speak about this. i

bush aide and jonathan capehart and lizz winstead who is the host of the "daily show" and the author of "lizz free or die." what a week! i was trying to breath lelesslyt through it and it is one of the weaknesses of having a saturday show is that i kept wanting to say something all week long about this, and take a look at this week. what difference does this week make substantively? what difference does this week make? >> well, an enormous difference. the president of the united states has done what we lekt presidents to do, put the morale leadership out there in support of freedom and families and what is important is how he did it. he sat and talked about conversations with gay friends, with gay staffers and with his own family and talked about he and michelle talking with their daughter sasha and malia who talked with their parents about their classmates and the gay parents they have, and the president said i listened to my daughters and i thought, they would never understand why classmates of their family should be treated unfairly. >> well, that is interesting, because sarah pal

i would agree with my friend jonathan capehart on the substance of it in terms of what the president should do. we all know where he stands. this idea floating around washington that the president is going to come out for supporting gay marriage after the election is just inane. people looking for principle leadership, if it's a part of your core, we expect you to stand firm in it, regardless of what the polls say or how a particular group in a battleground state may interpret it. the reality is right now, the country is looking for principled leadership as much as people want to jam up mitt romney on what happened in that little moment yesterday with the voter, the same is true here with the president on a larger constituency on something that's important to them. so just show your true colors and let the political chips fall where they may. people will believe or not believe or support or not support you. but you have to take that first step. and the president hasn't. >> as we look at this african-americans overwhelmingly support president obama but a majority object to legalizing

jonathan capehart, thanks very much. we're going to get back to our big headline of the day, every major newspaper has it. president obama saying that gays should have the right to wed. we'll talk about that in the politico playbook. >>> also, the top stories in the playbook. in a few minutes, the national journal's major garrett will be here. why he is comparing this year's presidential race to the film "this is spinal tap." gillian tett will join us. chuck todd. and award-winning accuracy sissy spacek as well. but first, bill karins. >> an amazing seen in mobile, alabama, yesterday. a storm was coming onshore, four water spouts just off the coast. you can see a boat in the middle of it. the one on the right was the strongest. a water spout is just a tornado over the water. thankfully, none moved onshore. that storm system has moved up the east coast overnight. heavy rain from new york to philadelphia to d.c. is over with. the only rains remaining is pretty much from connecticut to massachusetts. northwards. and even th

from "the washington post" jonathan capehart, and columnist kathleen parker. democratic lieutenant governor of california, gavin newsom. from the american conservative union, al cardenas. >>> and good morning. what a week it has been. one thing that is clear is that, before the vice president made his remarks on "meet the press" last sunday, same-sex marriage was not front and center in the presidential campaign. that's changed. governor romney talking about it yesterday at a commencement speech, the president talking about it a great deal. and certainly the vice president's remarks kickstarted that conversation, and there's been a lot of palace intrigue about whether the president was upset about what his vice president did. "saturday night live" gave it some pretty funny treatment in its skit last night. we'll talk about the laugh lines and do that with our roundtable a little later on in the hour. here's what i think people are going to be talking about in the week ahead, and that is the coming clash between washington and wall street. why? you've seen the

. >> joining me now is democratic strategist crystal ball and jonathan capehart. i think you both and other close observers of this show have figured out by now that i like and respect george will, although i disagree with him on most things. there are actually times, there are some times when i really, really love george will, just love him, like this sunday when he said this. >> i do not understand the cost benefit here. the costs are clear, the benefits -- what voter is going to vote for him because he's seen with donald trump? the cost of appearing this with bloviating ignoramus is -- >> the republicans and mitt romney have made the cold calculation that they may win with 50.1% of the vote, but they want 100% of the racist vote in america. they don't want a single racist to stay home. so they got the pied piper of american racism and that is now donald trump to do his tune about hatred of the president and the birth certificate and crystal, i think george will is too noble a republican to ever have had down and strategized how to get the racist vote. >> i thin

jonathan capehart with the "washington post," mitt romney is focusing on debt.rake university. >> right. >> what do you expect? >> so he is going to be giving this speech on the debt and deficits in iowa later this afternoon, as you said. the timing of this couldn't be better, i would think, from the romney campaign's perspective. because you have both "the new york times" poll and the usa today poll basically showing while people feel that the economy is getting better, they do think that, particularly "the new york times" poll, that mitt romney is the one who can better handle the economy, better handle the deficits. so this is a good way for the former governor to try to change the rgs could have away from social issues, such as same sex marriage, and back to where they think they have the edge over the president. that's the economy. >> let me ask you one of the quotes from his speech this afternoon in iowa that they have prereleased for us to use. a prairie fire of debt is sweeping across iowa and our nation. that fire could care less if you have a donkey or

form he dnc communications director and jonathan capehart is an opinion writer for the "washington post you. karen, the vice president isn't the only member of the obama administration who appears to be comfortable with same sex marriage. arnie duncan was asked about it this morning. take a listen. >> do you believe same second men and women should be able to get legally married in the united states? >> come on. you're going to start there? >> yes, i do. >> okay. >> have you ever said that publicly before? >> i don't know if i've ever been asked publicly. >> press secretary jay carney today said he can't comment on the president's views. are these cabinet members speaking independently or do you think the president is allowing them to do so with his tacit support? >> you know, i think what matters the most is that the core value is the same. that they all share the core value which says equal protection under the law. equal pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. and i actually personally don't think that what biden said yesterday was so disconnected from kind of where he has been in th

but somehow, he is going to get back at you in a very quiet, calm manner. >> jonathan capehart describing as mitt romney as freddie kruger. thanks so much. >> sure thing. >>> tonight on "hardball," much more on the same sex marriage debate. congressman barney frank takes on tony perkins, the president of the family research council. chris will be the referee. make sure you watch. >>> next, congress weighs in on meals on wheels. come on, congress. get to work. the samest writes this. he gives food to the hungry. the lord protects the fortuners. he defends -- >> the lord helps those who help themselves. >> which verse of scripture is that, sir? i don't believe you'll find that in the old or new testament. [ male announcer ] research suggests the health of our cells plays a key role throughout our entire lives. ♪ one a day men's 50+ is a complete multivitamin, designed for many of men's health concerns as we age. ♪ it has more of seven antioxidants to support cell health. that's one a day men's 50+ healthy advantage. [ male announcer ] want your weeds to hit the road? hit 'em, with roundup e

crystal ball, jonathan capehart, and david corn are all still with me. me understand the cardinal's position here. he'd rather allow a noncatholic nurse at a catholic hospital to have access to birth control and if that were to happen, the church then walks away from all of its charitable works to the poor. >> right. >> how does that work? >> so it sounds like basically he would rather make sure they can deny women access to birth control than continue their work with the poor, which is just an unbelievable position, and keep in mind, the president initially -- you know, the rule came out from hhs, from the department of health and human services, and there was a bit of a backlash. even in that initial firestorm 60% of the country backed the president and said wick should have access -- >> nevertheless the president created a promise. -- a compromise. >> here is the compromise, you don't str to pay for birth control. you just have to offer it. you're not being forced to take birth control. you're not being forced to pay for birth control. you're just off

joining me today, msnbc contributor, jonathan capehart of "the washington post" and msnbc contributor steve kornacki of salon.com. full on laughs for that one. msnbc contributor and queen bee of thegrio.com, joy-ann reid and, the new yorker's ryan liza, one of the best in the business. so are you, jonathan. tired of the perception of her husband as a stiff ceo, ann romney tried to draw out mitt's relaxed side. it's proved elusive. >> i love the opportunity of letting people see a side of mitt that often people have mischaracterized. >> what side is that? >> that as stiff. he's not. he's funny. there's a wild and crazy man inside of there. >> he kept -- the look on your face, jonathan, it's the -- he's not stiff. ha, ha, ha, ha. he's a while man, ha, ha, ha ha. let's talk about that a little bit. >> i understand that -- and i've seen it with my own eyes -- a poll significance on television and public sitting is is stiff, wooden, uninteresting, uncharismatic, the minute behind doors, the true person comes out. why can't you translate that from here to there? mitt romney, all i've ever s

." >>> joining me today, msnbc contributor, jonathan capehart of the "washington post." retired army captain and author wes moore, msnbc political analyst joan wal ksh of salon.com and the indutiable, from the new yorker. new york mayor cory booker found himself in hot water after making this comment about the president's campaign on "meet the press" yesterday. >> i have to say from a very personal level, i'm not about the to sit here and indict private equity. this kind of stuff is nauseating to me on both sides. >> hours later, booker posted this video on youtube walking back that criticism. >> mitt romney has made his business record a centerpiece of his campaign. i encourage it for the obama campaign to examine that record and to discuss it. >> if the president's advisers were pressuring booker to mitigate his criticism, here's why. this morning obama's campaign released a new five-minute web videotape highlighting an indiana paper company shuttered after it was bought by bain. >> to me romney takes from the poor and the middle class and gives to the rich. just the o

msnbc contributor jonathan capehart with the "washington post" joins me. let's be hont here.ving a lot of fun with a piece from the aarp. the 21 sexiest men over 50. old guys, of course. and of course, george clooney tops the list. but listen up, brian williams, this means you. the number two person on this list is brian williams. >> uh-huh. >> what do we say about these folks? never thought of them as being old. >> yeah. i guess it's all relative, you know. i'm not 50 but i'm hurdling toward 50 and we're looking at people on this list who are highly accomplished at what they do from all facets of life. we've focused, we mentioned george clooney, the actor accident brian william. our big boss at nbc news. there are other people. jon huntsman, governor huntsman, ambassador huntsman is on there. wes clark, general clark is on there. and also, colin powell is on the list. there are some questionable people though, in terms of sexy. i don't know. but you know, i won't call them out. >> let's just say bow ties are sexy. jonathan capehart. thank you very much. that does it for this

i'm jonathan capehart in for willie geist. this is "way too early." i'm glad you are up this morning with us this morning watching on msnbc or listening live on sirius xm radio. shoot me an e-mail at way too early@msnbc or tweet me at williegeist 1. or you can do what paul pierre does and text the word awake followed by your response to 622639. we'll read the best responses later in the show. >>> the next 30 minutes will be your cram session for this thursday, may 24th. there's a lot going on today, including new revelations that last month's fiesta in colombia wasn't the first time secret service agents ran into trouble on the job. >>> plus -- >> i think it's especially applicable to today's ceremonies. it goes like this. ♪ this is how we do it >> "saturday night live's" andy samberg sends off harvard's class of 2012 with a hilarious speech. that's ahead in the cooler. >>> but let's get to the news live at 5:30 a.m. here at 30 rock in new york city. >>> new poll numbers show president obama holding a narrow lead over mitt romney in three key battlegr

joying me now is melissa harris-perry, and jonathan capehart. thanks to you both for joining me tonight. jonathan, this is big news, what's your reaction to this? >> it's not just big, it's historic news. at 3:00 this afternoon, the president of the united states for the first time expressed support for same sex marriage. a law from congress would have to hit the president's desk and he would have to sign it. there is one from senator diane feinstein. another way it could be overturned is by a court challenge and there are a number of cases coming up through the supreme court. the fact that the president came in and out in favor of equality today is historic news and it was the right thing to do. >> i agree with you, and i think that it clearly was the right thing to do, but melissa, aside from the law, this is a real victory for civil rights and civil liberties even beyond just those in the gay and lesbian community. wouldn't you agree with that? >> absolutely. i know a lot of people will look at the politics around this and trace it back to vic

we have an msnbc contributor, jonathan capehart and editor for the "huffington post," sam stein. mike barnicle along with willie geist. i guess all of you have seen the flurry of polls out. the usa today/gallup poll, on the front page of usa today, which i'm sure millions of you will, you see the headline, two in three say a better economy is ahead. there is some positive news. you would think that benefit would accrue to the president. right now, it's not. 71% rate today's economy conditions as poor. 29 say the economy is in good shape. the poll shows americans are optimistic about their financial future. 6 in 10 predict the economy will be good one year from now. i guarantee they are not saying that in europe. 56% say the economy will get better if mitt romney were elected. 9% less. 46% say president obama would improve it if he gets a second term. when asked their opinion of the two presidential candidates, mitt romney is closing the gap on president obama with 50% of the voters having a favorable view of the massachusetts governor. let's stop right there. my god. andrea, we h

it's a very small group of people. >> jonathan capehart is a big nationals fan, right?oming up next, we have richard wolffe. played well my friend. richard wolffe is here. he's going to join us for the must read opinion pages. back. this is the smith family. we asked them to bring in their favorite dvds because we want to show them something new. you guys ready? yea! let's go go go! walmart can now convert your favorite dvds from disc to digital. no kidding. cool. ♪ now you can watch them on your laptop, tablet, phone... any time, anywhere. like here. or here. or here! psshew! watch movies anywhere! the best part is it's only two bucks per disc. cool. that's the walmart entertainment disc to digital service. see for yourself. bring in your favorite dvds to your local walmart photo center to get started. see for yourself. ah, welcome to hotels.com. i get it...guys weekend. yeah! if you're looking for a place to get together, you came to the right place. because here at hotels.com, we're only about hotels. yeah! yeah! noooo. yeah! finding you the perfect place is all we d

joining me now is chris hayes, and jonathan capehart. let me start with you.re you surprised they may try to swift boat the president on one of his greatest achievements. >> no, this is essentially how they operate, and i think this seems amateurish compared to the swift boat ad. this is a much more removed and abstract argument that he handled it afterwards poorly, but the fact that he was dead, killed by american special forces troops are established, and what people do with that information what they are, and that's going to dominate or overwhelm any attempts to spin it. >> jonathan, i facts are certainly different, and clearly their trying to go beyond the facts because they need to do this in order to win. i mean, when you hear the ads saying the navy seals will never get a parade or know their name, that's part of the understanding of being in the navy seals. to act like the president is not giving them credit, and that that is by definition what navy seals sign up for, is they have to remain anonymous. these are the kind of desperate moves their making

chance to secure varied life opportunities and to get college and life success. >> fantastic. >> jonathan capehart>> what are the rules, ms. brown? what is it about your school that has made it so successful? >> well, there are a few things. two main things. one is academic rigor. our team is very strong. we begin with the end in mind. we start before the school year ever starts, our great staff plans, knowing what kids neemd to know need to know by the end of the year and march towards that and assist kids along the way. another big part. our culture. strong or character education. we have five core values. they are community, respect, integrity, scholarship and empathy, and our kids rise to their feet every morning and say the soulsville creed, which incorporates those five core values. >> amazing about this school, they use music as the hook. because the music academy is right next do where obviously soul music started in the '50s. that's why it's called soulsville school. they get an hour and a half of music but go to class 8:00 to 5:00 in english, math, reading and as well as saturdays have p

jonathan capehart. "washington post" writer. thank you to all of you for joining me tonight. karen, we have democrats who say they're uncomfortable criticizing mitt romney's record at bain. but has the president and now the vice president articulated an attack that all democrats can agree on? basically, mitt romney is applying for the wrong job. >> absolutely. as usual the president articulated the message better than anybody else. joe biden the time followed the president quite well in making the point that this has nothing to do with is bain a good company or not. is this kind of business a good thing or not? no. the question is the 15 years that he ran this company, what was the total picture of the record. not just here's where we did okay. let's see what really happened in the life cycle of that company, and that's part of what the groups are trying to show. perhaps job bs may have been created in the interim. but while the investors were able to make their money back, their pensions were reduced. they lost their job. so there's a total picture here worth looking at. >>

democratic strategist krystal ball and in washington, jonathan capehart, a writer with the "washingtonost." jonathan, the new rat pack? an adulterer, a gambler and a tea totaler. two clowns and a candidate. how would you describe those three in vegas? >> oceans 15, i guess. >> you put the three together whifl heard about this, i wrote back, translation, circus. your producer wrote back, translation, circus circus which i guess that hotel is still there. but look. what i would like to see is the q & a if one is allowed between the press that's there and newt gingrich. the questions to ask him about all the comments he made about mitt romney and his experience, romney's experience at bain capital, and what has changed between all the harsh things he said in the early part of the campaign. especially when he was being fire bombed by super pac ads from pro romney super pac ads in florida. what happened between then and now? what makes him better than the candidate he ran against and makes him better than the current president of the united states? >> you'll have to wait a very long time to

krystal because is here with me from new york and jonathan capehart, all of whom are msnbc contributors and all of whom are welcome. krystal, as a woman and the sole invited guest of this panel. the president in his approach to women. what was your reaction to what he said? >> i had a very strong personal reaction to it, watching it. it was an excellent speech. i don't think anyone could deny that. i hike the clip that you showcase. the tenor was not here's why i'm great and why you should like me. it was you need to get out there and fight and work and stand up for yourselves. and the future of the country and the world is really in your hands as future leaders. >> the empowerment. >> exactly. it is almost not fair to compare the president speaking to a college and mitt romney's commencement address. because i think we can still hear the cheers at barnard going on right now. and it is hard to imagine in fact any room in the country that mitt romney could speak in where he would be greeted with such joy and enthusiasm as the president is greeted, whether he is at a women's college or sp

and a first appearance in my studio, and jonathan capehart, opinion writer for the "washington post" and who attends our program most regularly. jonathan, david, i have to say that although this document contains a ridiculous, erroneous, vacuous attempt to link wright with the president, it also contains a withering putdown of mitt romney. referring to voters, perhaps even romney could do a better job. this is a guy who wants to spend $10 million attacking the president and doesn't even like the guy who is fighting for him. >> he doesn't have to. it is all about exploiting hatred of barack obama. on different levels. what you have is a gom consultant exploiting the hatred of a billionaire to line his own pockets. and we're going to see a lot of this in the next five or six months. you have karl rove, fred davis and others. knocking on doors of all these billionaires. i call them villionaires. to you and me, that is $100. you can destroy this president in north carolina, virginia, i'll give you the great ads and you can tell your friends at the club, i took down barack obama. this is n