>> anyway, nice to see you, keli. keli goff. "hardball with chris

>> anyway, nice to see you, keli. keli goff. "hardball with chris matthews" kicks off right now. >>> the romney plan help the ri rich, cut the poor. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews back in washington. leading off tonight, the buffett rule. can mitt romney and republicans make the case that wealthy people like him should pay lower tax rates than the middle class? well, the obama campaign is trying to make them do exactly that, betting that this so-called buffett rule, that billionaires should not pay a lower rate than their secretaries, is a winning issue. republicans, of course, are hoping americans hate taxes so much, they'll propose raising them even on the lauren buffetts in the world. plus, we got another example of how far people look and how something smells foul when they're asked to endorse mitt romney. how do you nominate a guy that even once wants to see president obama depp feated. . . finally, let me finish with how the historic divide of church verse state keeps social justice and peace i

next is keli goff. a political commentator, and many of you have seen her on national news programs, through cbs, on cbs, the early show, the joy behart, she was on msnbc seemed like every day, during the obama campaign, and she -- our paths have crossed not only on the panel but we are honored to be publishing the same collection as keli, a fine collection of president obama's race speak, you call the, his -- the book is called "the most perfect union" and she is the author of a book published last year, "the gq candidate." so we welcome her. we have dr. michael simanga, a multidiscipline author, scholar, director of the fulton county department of arts and -- >> former director. >> former director. >> now part of the national black arts festival. >> that's right, yes, now director of the national black arts festival, which is major, major. i'm glad because i have been enjoying that are for decade. while he was at the fulton county department of arts and culture he produced over 200 cultural events, in

. >>> well, it's monday, which means it's time for keli goff's rant. >> hi, dylan.focused on hillary rosen's comments about moms, particularly one comment in particular. when rosen said, guess what, his wife actually never worked a day in her life with respect to anne romney, it was likened to kicking puppies. the remark was not nearly as important or telling as mitt romney's own comments on vet same subject months ago. here's what rosen said in its entirety. >> what you have is romney running around the country saying, well, my wife tells me what women really care about is economic issues, and when i listen to my wife, that's what i'm hearing. guess what? his wife has actually never worked a day in her life. she's never really dealt with the kind of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing in terms of how do we feed our kids. >> 99% of that statement is true. the romneys' wealth is not a secret nor something romney says they should be ashamed of. i agree with that. but it also says they are removed of the economic struggles and realit

. >>> hi, keli. nice to see you. >> nice to see you, dylan.vershadowed by more dazzling stars in his orbit. i'm not referring to george clooney, i'm referring to his wife. michelle obama did what she has done since the beginning of the obama administration, upstaged fit dytoe t mst ou t polapotil guf a ndannyar i eca 69% of americans have a favorable opinion of her, meaning if her husband faced her in a presidential election, he would lose. think the hillary clinton's campaign in 2008, the possibility of another woman in the oval office someday does not seem too far fetched. and i actually think mrs. obama would make a stronger candidate gnictre fe wkand for a variety h exricesothg r sbd ricid for cking. she was a college professor before beginning in politics and she worked in city hall in the non-profit sector and later served as vice president in a hospital. when it comes to the real world, who would be stronger isn't even a contest. while his singing skills may have won him a few admirers, he's got nothing on her hula hooping and dance ski

. >> no i ow athin ny oou a eecngeto aery kely oont. wtinich.t, there's still time, man. >> in today's politico briefing when newt gingrich drops out of presidential race on wednesday, 355 days and eight zoo visits after he entered it, he'll become the latest romney rival to join him in manyro ppy heen o e ek wharth s rluctan t pu t pg djoinhe bandgon? >> it's a eat question and speaks to the current political media environment where every incentive for a gingrich or a santorum is to keep in the public eye. keep getting tv appearances. and sort of draw this out to maximize their own post campaign leverage for you know, athngto mo prtillh asoav mpgneb sohe aso nt t u some leverage t adess th. and that could mean getting a hand from romney. a hand from the national party, as well. and so i think that's what they're thinking about. but you're right. i mean, the days of these guys dropping out and having a press conference or putting out a statement to endorse the nominee wholeheartedly appear to be gone. >> and even rudy giuliani, you know, who was

. >>> it's time for keli. >> president obama has endless evidence to the contrary.of trayvon martin and all the questions about racial profiling. but a lesser contender for the list? reality tv. according to the whacked plaintiff who just filed suit behind the mastermind of "the bachelor" and "the bachelorette ". i, for one, would like to send a thank you bouquet to the creators. it's clear i'm not referring to programs like "american idol" which at least requires some sort of talent to participate. i'm referring to the real housewives of atlanta. most of them involve women of color. a cast of "wives" filed assault charges against the other. for those of you who consider this fun, consider this. the stereo type of the black woman is so invasive that michelle obama got tired of people saying she is one. you would think we are 95% of the violent troublemakers out there. these aren't the only shows that play on the stereo type. shows like "the real world" all have their angry black man or woman. i certainly don't believe hollywood is required to show us in an entirely

. >>> hi, keli. nice to see you. >> nice to see you, dylan.vershadowed by more dazzling stars in his orbit. i'm not referring to george clooney, i'm referring to his wife. michelle obama did what she has done since the beginning of the obama administration, upstaged her husband, something that is becoming more of a regular occurrence as the 2012 campaign gets under way. a just-released abc news "washington post" poll found the first lady to be the most popular political figure of any gender and any party in america. 69% of americans have a favorable opinion of her, meaning if her husband faced her in a presidential election, he would lose. think the hillary clinton's campaign in 2008, the possibility of another woman in the oval office someday does not seem too far fetched. and i actually think mrs. obama would make a stronger candidate than her husband for a variety of reasons. for starters, she has significant real life work experience, something her husband is criticized for lacking. she was a college professor before beginning in politics

. >>> well, to wind up our show on doing things better, keli is here to tell us how to enjoy travelingy have gone around to the travel agents telling them they would form a new initiative, child-free cabins. while countless business travelers like newt policy, many parents of young children cried foul, some calling it discrimination. for someone who doesn't have children and only travels a few times a year, i was fine with the policy, until recently. someone traveling with his wife passed the child to his wife, hoping to give the people near him some relief. however, when the child was handed to his wife, he woke another child in the same row. i am championing the child-free cabin policy. some parents asked, what about misbehaving adults? why are we singling out unruly kids? i think that's a fair question, especially when a few weeks ago, a jetblue pilot had to be removed and he was very much an adult. while i have been traveling with disruptive kids, i've also been traveling with disruptive adults. some moron has woken me up by chatting on his cell phone. this despite the fact there i

>> keli, that will do it for us. i am dylan ratigan and "hard ball with chris matthews" starts right now. >> let's play some "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm michael smirkonish in for chris matthews. the 99% solution. the fbi is now on the scene in sanford, florida focusing on whether trayvon martin's civil rights were violated. plus, we may now be able to say whose voice it was screaming for help on the 911 tape. george zimmerman's family says it's his, and trayvon martin's mother says it's the voice of her son. the screams are not from george zimmerman. >>> swing time, a usa today gallup poll. the president leads by nine points. the biggest change? women who are lining up behind the president. is the argument over contraception finally being played in the gdp. they found this amount of support from general imhoff. >> i've never been a fan of mitt romney. he's a nice person but i've not agreed with him politically on a lot of things. >> republicans sound like they would rather be doing just about anything rather th