for more, let's turn to "new york times" columnist charles blow, mark simone, and ari melber. mark, let me ask you first, why is it? why is it that the republicans want to continually protect the top 2% in the country? >> i don't trust either side on this. it's not going to be great either way. the bush tax cuts were only for the wealthy, just for the rich, but 98% of it went to the middle class. that's become obvious from this. when you have an out of control spending problem, is the solution to figure out a way to pay for it or cut spending? we have plenty of revenue right now. >> but the republicans still want to protect the top 2% when we need more money in the treasury. the democrats have said you want to go big, we'll go big on spending cuts and they backed off on that. the republicans won't serve it up and they're going to protect the top 2%. how else do we read that? >> we have the most expensive politicians money can buy, literally. you have democrats playing games. you have an economic record for the past four years you can't run on. jennifer reuben the great washingt

simon marks and chris ship of itv. let me go to simon. just tell me what is going on here. why are the american people and their special relations with the brits, the british, causing trouble, and why are the british just jumping on this guy -- i don't know how to describe it. how do you describe it? >> chris, there is no question that there is nothing the british core enjoys more than having fresh meat to savage, particularly if that fresh meat happens to be a presidential candidate from the united states. i think mitt romney, and equally his team misread some of the very british tea leaves that existed going into this trip to london. there had been an enormous amount of moaning and whining about the olympics by ordinary brits over the course of the last several weeks. but the mayor of london, boris johnson, himself a conservative said to everybody about a week ago, it's time to put a sock in it. largely brits listened to that. but mitt did not. >> well we love boris johnson. i think i look like the guy anyway, so i like him a lot. let me ask you, chris. what do you think

simon marks and chris ship of itv. let me go to simon. just tell me what is going on here. why are the american people and their special relations with the brits, the british, causing trouble, and why are the british just jumping on this guy -- i don't know how to describe it. how do you describe it? >> chris, there is no question that there is nothing the british core enjoys more than having fresh meat to savage, particularly if that fresh meat happens to be a presidential candidate from the united states. i think mitt romney, and equally his team misread some of the very british tea leaves that existed going into this trip to london. there had been an enormous amount of moaning and whining about the olympics by ordinary brits over the course of the last several weeks. but the mayor of london, boris johnson, himself a conservative said to everybody about a week ago, it's time to put a sock in it. largely brits listened to that. but mitt did not. >> well we love boris johnson. i think i look like the guy anyway, so i like him a lot. let me ask you, chris. what do you think

simon marks. coming up gay marriage. democrats look like they are ready to endorse same-sex marriage nationally in the party platform. the republicans can't wait for this. one of them said or actually asked it is politically correct but is it politically smart? couple of republicans have come forward to saw their party leaned so fard to the right these days it is out of control. speaking out of control, rush limbaugh concluded in his depth of knowledge that the olympics opening ceremony was a socialist tribute to president obama. only in the land of ditto-heads and the side show. special treat tonight, will ferrell join us to talk politics and about their new movie "the campaign." this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works

thank you for joining us, simon marks and chris ship. >>> coming up, this isn't the first time we've seen mitt romney insult his host. remember those cookies in pennsylvania? what is it with romney. >>> plus, a minority of americans less than half now take obama at his word that he's a christian. maybe this is michele bachmann's pushing of the muslim brotherhood. >>> and the romney campaign has grossly distorted the president's words in a campaign ad. we have the misleading ad, and what the president actually said, all coming up. >>> and will farrell on what romney should have said about the olympics. that's in the sideshow. by the way he's coming on the show tuesday next week with zach galifinakis. this is "hardball," a place for politics. we know a place where tossing and turning have given way to sleeping. where sleepless nights yield to restful sleep. and lunesta can help you get there, like it has for so many people before. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, wit

simon marks and chris ship of itv. let me go to simon. just tell me what is going on here. american people and their special relations with

with me here in the studio, simon marks, chief correspondent for feature story news.rtin, i know you don't like to get into this but let's talk about the fact that you are on the spot and you have "dateline" integrity and looking good. here's the infamous dustup in warsaw. early this morning, reporters covering romney tried to shout questions to the governor. as he got into his motorcade. romney had only answered three questions from the

thank you for joining us, simon marks and chris ship. >>> coming up, this isn't the first time we've seen mitt romney insult his host. remember those cookies in pennsylvania? what is it with romney? >>> plus, a minority of americans less than half now take obama at his word that he's a christian. maybe this is consistent with michele bachmann's pushing the muslims infiltrating the american government, i mean the muslim brotherhood. >>> and the romney campaign has grossly distorted the president's words in a campaign ad. we have the misleading ad, and what the president actually said, all coming up. >>> and will farrell on what romney should have said about the olympics. that's in the sideshow. by the way he's coming on the show tuesday next week with zach galifinakis. this is "hardball," a place for politics. every communications provider is different but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company. ♪ we link people and fortune 500 companies nationwide and around the world. and we will continue to free you to do more and focus on what matters. it's yo

thank you for joining us, simon marks and chris ship. >>> coming up, this isn't the first time we've seen mitt romney insult his host. remember those cookies in pennsylvania? what is it with romney. >>> plus, a minority of americans take barack obama at his word that he is christian. maybe this is michele bachmann's. for the second time in as many weeks, the romney campaign has grossly distorted the president's words in a campaign ad. we have the misleading ad, and what the president actually said, all coming up. >>> and will farrell on what romney should have said about the olympics. he is coming on the show next week with zack galifianakis. this is "hardball," a place for politics. [ donovan ] i hit a wall. and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of o

simon marks and chris shipp of itv. just tell me what is going on here.eople and their special relations with the brits, the british, causing trouble, and why are the british just jumping on this guy -- i don't know how to describe it. how do you describe it? >> chris, there is

thank you for joining us, simon marks and chris ship. >>> coming up, this isn't the first time we've seen mitt romney insult his host. remember those cookies in pennsylvania? what is it with romney. >>> plus, a minority of americans less than half now take obama at his word that he's a christian. maybe this is michele bachmann's pushing of the muslim brotherhood. >>> and the romney campaign has grossly distorted the president's words in a campaign ad. we have the misleading ad, and what the president actually said, all coming up. >>> and will farrell on what romney should have said about the olympics. that's in the sideshow. by the way he's coming on the show tuesday next week with zach galifinakis. this is "hardball," a place for politics. last season was the gulf's best tourism season in years. in florida we had more suntans... in alabama we had more beautiful blooms... in mississippi we had more good times... in louisiana we had more fun on the water. last season we broke all kinds of records on the gulf. this year we are out to do even better... and now is a great time to start.

simon & schuster and is still going strong at 97. >> morgan entrekin. >> um, well, i'm very excited about mark -- [inaudible] new book. a year ago he started to report on the killing of osama bin laden, probably the preeminent chronicler of the special forces and military actions in the u.s. today. and, you know, he -- jerry bruckheimer, who produced blackhawk down, called mark and said do you want to do this story, and mark called me and said, well, if jerry's going to do a movie, we probably should make the book. he's gotten a lot of stuff that nobody else has got, so we're publishing that in october. it's called "the finish: the killing of osama bin laden." and then i've been waiting 11 years for a novelrom lawrence norfolk, and he delivered a book to me called "john satter knoll's beast." it's about a young boy, john, who is a prodigy of the kitchen andecomes a cook, the most renowned cook of his time, falls in love with the daughter of the lord of the manor, the english civil war intervenes, and the puritans don't like fancy cooking. anyway, it's for the audience who loves -- each chapter opens with a recipe, and

simon. >> thank you very much, brian. >>> next on the program, see where mark zuckerburg couldn't stop crackingt's giving the bulls reason to smile today. here's five big dow movers. we're back in two. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the spx is on my radar. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 we're hitting new highs. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and i'm on top of it all with charles schwab. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 tdd# 1-800-345-2550 i use streetsmart edge and its tools like... tdd# 1-800-345-2550 screener plus - i can custom build my own screens tdd# 1-800-345-2550 or use predefined ones. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and i can trade wherever i want, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 whenever i want. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the kicker? tdd# 1-800-345-2550 i pay $8.95 a trade. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 that's a deal in any language. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 open an account tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and trade up to 6 months tdd# 1-800-345-2550 commission-free. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 call 1-866-393-6174. wouldn't it be nice if there was an easier, less-expensive option than using a traditional lawyer? well, legalzoom came up with a better way. we took the best of the old and combined

joining me now, simon rosenberg, president and founder of the think tank, ndn, and mark neaten, who's fellow at the american enterprise institute. hi, guys, welcome back. the theory is, depends on who you ask, mitt romney wanted to get booed so he would look tough, like he's an honest messenger, and then you have got others on the right saying he didn't want to get booed, and by the way, he got a standing ovation. let's just start with nancy pelosi's theory ont. >> well, i think it was a calculated move on his part to get booed at the naacp convention. megyn: but then she doesn't go on to really explain why, simon. do you agree with her? >> i don't know, you know, honestly. i want to give mitt romney some credit for reaching out to the naacp. i don't think it was an easy event for him, and, you know, i think as we were discussing there were some awkward, difficult moments. getting booed in politics is never good -- megyn: it is awkward, isn't it? awkward to watch. >> look, i think it reinforced one basic truth which is the republican party has grown very distant from people of color i

simon bolivar. nothing comes to mind, right? there are few images of him. never worry, hugo chief of staff says coming to the rescue. to markiversary of bolivar's birth, chavez unveiled a 3d impression of his face. this is what it looks like. the likeness was created by artists who studied bolivar's remains. just like many politicians love to run in the shadow of chay in latin america, chavez has always tried to latch on to bolivar's popularity. and surprise, surprise, mr. chavez is up for re-election in just a few weeks' time. >>> the correct answer to our "gps challenge" question was actually d, 205. how, you ask? well, the international olympic committee recognizes a number of countries the u.n. doesn't. american samoa, aruba, bermuda athe cayman islands, hong kong, even palestine. >>> thanks to all of you for being part of my program this week. i will see you next week. stay tuned for "reliable sources." >>> remember how the media went wild over barack obama's overseas trip four years ago? mitt romney is getting a very different reception for his visit to london with the british press ridiculing him for a gold medal gaf

simon bolivar. nothing comes to mind, right? there are few images of him. never worry, hugo chief of staff says coming to the rescue. to markiversary of bolivar's birth, chavez unveiled a 3d impression of his face. this is what it looks like. the likeness was created by artists who studied bolivar's remains. just like many politicians love to run in the shadow of chay in latin america, chavez has always tried to latch on to bolivar's popularity. and surprise, surprise, mr. chavez is up for re-election in just a few weeks' time. >>> the correct answer to our "gps challenge" question was actually d, 205.