go long. >>> we're back with donna brazile and tim pawlenty. a lot of people we talked about tonight. if hillary doesn't run, which i think is unlikely, but if hillary doesn't run, then who's your candidate on the left? >> there's no question, if she decides not to run, joe biden, elizabeth warren. i'm vice chair, i cannot take a position, but i would love to see a woman in the white house. my money would still stay on hillary. but if joe biden, i got to tell you, he's been a champion to women's equality. >> that's good. scott walker came out and said he cannot get the republican nomination unless you're an outsider. that means no to your marco rubio, no to paul ryan, no to a whole bunch of your superstars. >> people are sick of washington, d.c. and the gridlock and dysfunction, let's say hypothetically, iran bombs israel, are you going to be looking for someone with international experience? of course. things could change. >> between a ted cruz and a chris christie? that hypothetical, where are you? >> well, i haven't supported a candidate yet

"crossfire" with guests donna brazil and tim pawlenty, that starts right now. >>> tonight on "crossfireng for the 2016 -- one ref says no officers insiders need apply. look who is talking about the most likely democrat? on the left, van jones. on the right s.e.cupp. in the crossfire, donna brazil, a democratic strategist who was al gore's campaign manager, and tim pawlenty, a former governor and presidential candy. all eyes on 2016. who has the early edge? tonight on "crossfire." >>> welcome to "crossfire." i'm van jones on the left. >> i'm s.e.cu p. p on the right. to help us look ahead to 2016, we'll start with hillary clinton. she's everywhere these days. today at a conference in florida last friday at georgetown university, she's everybody's inevitable nominee, but to me she has tli big obstacles. one elizabeth warren, will a charismatic progressive and liberal darling pressure clinton to move farther left two, barack obama, will secretary clinton have to defend her old boss's record? or will she admit she would do things differently than the guy currently in the white house? finall

tim pawlenty, they called him goldfish. marco rubio, pescado, which is fish in spanish. and puffer fish. >> that's making fun of his girth. he's overweight. that's not funny. he is what he is. perhaps flaws if you're a westerner. but most east coast people know people like chris christie and like him. he's very much a man of his region. to me he's philadelphia, south jersey. wise guy attitude. we like people with attitude. generally they show themselves to be real about people like pawlenty and people who don't see it as fully animated. you know what i mean? >> yeah, yeah. totally. i want to say chris christie is taking steps to reduce his weight and get healthier. >> a lot of people are. by the way, who is too skinny and who is too fat? if he can handle himself in terms of psychology obviously, he's better off losing weight. you don't live that long if you stay that fat. that's just a fact. >> obama a care website. it came -- >> can i say something? i've been dying to say this. >> yes. >> all this stuff about biden and how they were going to dump him, i don't believe it

me, two former governors, former governor and senator for the state of nebraska, bob kerry and tim pawlentyood to see you, as always. so this goes way beyond just this one woman's tale of woe. this has been a real rocky rollout for the president's signature law. what if anything can he do to turn it around? >> well, i don't think he should even try to turn it around. just try to implement the legislation and stay open to the possibility that some provisions of that law need to change. it's a very complicated bill. i actually ended up having to read it because i ran for senate unsuccessfully in 2012 and it's complicated. you need to stay open to the possibility there's provisions of that law that need to change. on this particular case, what you've got is a woman who was uninsured for 15 years. she was able to get insurance but it cost too much. that's not uncommon in the individual marketplace. among the provisions that apparently the president was unaware of is the law requires minimum standards in order for insurers to provide in this individual marketplace. she didn't meet it, she had to

chris christie, referred to as puffer fish, tim pawlenty, lake fish, rob portman, filet owe fish.io, piscibo. discuss. >> that's something to drop in my lap like that. well, they like goldfish crackers in the office and i guess they, you know owe there's a few people on every campaign have all kinds of enjoyment coming up with antics the public never hears about. i'm glad when this first rough draft of history is done we get to hear a few of these things come out. >> with, i mean, i wonder whether the romney folks risked being punched in the face calling chris christie puffer fish. i don't think that would go over well. >> no, and they're counting on that not coming out in real-time. and i suspect mitt romney was actually not the one running around using those particular code names. >> but they're so corny, it sounds like something he personally might have made up. >> it might have qualified for that sort of third grade humor level that we all became so endeared of. >> it's not good. and then you have to do the romney laugh afterwards. >> ha-ha-ha. >> thanks so much, "washington p

the romney camp opposition research on tim pawlenty to michele bachmann to the iowa straw poll potentially knocking a romney challenger out of the race. they dubbed their search code fish and gave trade names. marco rubio, paul ryan fish con sin and chris christie puffer fish. the book says romney ridiculed christie's weight and said the garden state governor's background was littered with potential land mines >> i have a great relationship with the romney's and the campaign. it's all -- it's all just, you know, trying to make sure they sell as many books as possible. >> reporter: a book with new insights into christie, hillary clinton and biden all potential rivals in the next campaign. for "today," andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. >> chris matthews is the host of msnbc's "hardball." author of the book "tip and the gipper, when politics worked." nice to have you with us this morning. >> good morning, erica. >> today, chris christie is out campaigning in new jersey. there is an election there on tuesday. he wants to hold on to his job as governor. with these allegations that romney r

. >> being a governor was the key, then governor tim pawlenty would have done better. >> i'll give you. >> what should we know today we didn't know before. our answers are coming up after this. not choosing the right medicare d plan. no one could have left this much money here. whoo-hoo-hoo! yet many seniors who compare medicare d plans realize they can save hundreds of dollars. cvs/pharmacy wants to help you save on medicare expenses. talk to your cvs pharmacist, call, or go to cvs.com/compare to get your free, personalized plan comparison today. call, go online, or visit your local store today. >>> quickly going to find out what our guests think we should know. april? >> this week, the pardoning of the thanksgiving turkey at the white house. is it sedated or not? the fact is the turkey's are raised and people are touching them all the time. it's not sedated, supposedly. >> i lived in the middle east for seven years. what's interesting is not that we are going to have a treaty with iran, it's going to tip the balance away from the saudis and the egyptians to the persians, the enemies