strategist, of course, democratic, and todd harris. you know these people.ry came in this weekend, it's sort of, the cake was baked. these other four people we kept talking about, haley, christie, not asked to come in. it's pure karl rove. he doesn't like rick perry and is sort of settling scores here? >> it's true they don't like each other. pretty public down in texas, but there has been a fair amount of buzz over the last couple of weeks whether it's just gossip, rumors, wishing, longing. there has been a fair amount of buzz among rank and file republicans wondering, is ryan going to take another look? is chris christie? >> i don't want to waste time here. >> no. to the larger question. before i get -- is this team, this three-wear option of bachmann, rick perry and romney, does that tilt just tooç far right to position your party for the general? >> no, i don't think so. >> you disagree with rove? >> no. karl didn't say that. what karl said was, look, anytime you're in a primary you don't want to go too far to the right or to the left. he never said tha

todd harris will end up with rick perry.n we return, let me finish with the essential question at the heart of this presidential campaign. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. ♪ it was the best day woohoo! yes! ♪ it was the best day ♪ it was the best day yeah! ♪ it was the best day ♪ because of you [echoing] we make a great pair. huh? progressive and the great outdoors. we make a great pair. right, totally. uh... that's what i was thinking. hmm. covering the things that make the outdoors great. now that's progressive. call or click today. >>> let me finish tonight with the joy of american democracy, what i love is the american voter is always looking for something grander, something that can carry us to a higher, more hopeful place. that's how barack obama won, how ronald reagan won, how jack kennedy won, hope, it's not i'm in the move for love, it's hope. the man from hope, bill clinton, or the picture of the man right now in the white house, and so it will go as this political season gets underway in september, just like t

todd harris will end up with rick perry. finish with the essential question at the heart of this presidential campaign. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. i want to focus on innovation. but my data is doubling. my servers are maxed out. i need to think about something else when i run. [ male announcer ] with efficient i.t. solutions from dell, doug can shift up to 50% of his company's technology spend from operating costs to innovation. so his company runs better, and so does doug. dell. the power to do more. i know you're worried about making your savings last and having enough income when you retire. that's why i'm here -- to help come up with a plan and get you on the right path. i have more than a thousand fidelity experts working with me so that i can work one-on-one with you. it's your green line. but i'll be there every step of the way. call or come in and talk with us today. my son and i never missed opening day. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed sy

joining me now the co-author of "bush's brain" and todd harris.ng of bush's brain, jim, thanks for joining us. what's larger, the brain of karl rove or the brain of rick perry? >> i'd put my money on karl rove, but i think people dismiss rick perry at their peril. this man is possibly the most instinct politician from lbj. he's a horrible governor, make no mistake. but his instincts are good. he ran to the tea party early when a lot of other politicians were being cautious. and that embracing the tea party is what helped him defeat kay bailey hutchison here in texas in spite of the fact that we're pretty much a train wreck down here. >> he looks like a clown in these picture. they could not be very representative. but he dresses very fancy. there's something about the way he puts himself together that doesn't look authentic. he looks like, i don't know, a wax figure pretending to be a governor. there's something that doesn't quite add up to me. maybe this texas bs and boots and tuxedo thing they do down there. why does it work? outside of texas --

joining me, co-author of "bush's brain" and republican strategist todd harris. speaking of bush's brain, thanks for joining us. what's larger? the brain of karl rove or the brain of rick perry? >> i'd put my money on karl rove, but i think people dismiss rick perry. this man is quite possibly the fast, most instinctive politician texas has had since l. b.j. he's a horrible governor, chris. no mistable aboke about that. his instincts are good. embracing the tea party helped him defeat kay bailey hutchison here in texas, despite we're pretty much a train wreck economically. >> looks like a clown when you watch in the pictures. they can be totally unrepresentative. he dresses very fancy. there's something about wait he puts himself together. doesn't look authentic. he looks like a wax figure pretending to be a governor. i can't get. something doesn't quite add up. maybe it's the texas b.s. and boots and tuxedo thing think do down there. why does it work? outside of texas -- let me put it this way. it doesn't travel very well, but why does it work down there? >> wel

harry shearer on the sixth anniversary of hurricane katrina. next, chuck toddresident obama. first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. >> good morning. a nice weather day today. thunderstorms in florida. what a great day in new england. temperatures mild. everywhere else is in the 80s. temperatures are mild. texas in the 100s. we would love to cool you off. it's not going to happen for a couple weeks. houston, the driest and warmest temperatures of the year. maybe we'll cool off slightly saturday and sunday. dallas is right behind with 10 degree heat through the weekend. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ male announcer ] this...is the network -- a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's the at&t net

harry reid picks at least one wild card. will republicans follow suit? it's wednesday, august 10th, 2011. i'm chuck todd. let's get right to my first reads of the morning. look, the economic anxieties gripping wall street and main street and now it's gripping democrats, and more of them are griping about the president. and supporters are afraid the economic crisis has become and has the potential to become a full-blown political crisis for the president. democrats want him to be assertive. they believe words matter. that it's worked in the past. but some are also looking for a gr grand gesture. maureen dowd called him withholder in chief. it's an august ritual of sorts with the president. and in the past, mr. obama has almost reveled in the criticism. >> i'm always amused when the pundits in washington, you know, say boy, you know, obama hasn't gotten this passed yet. some of his supporters are disappointed about this. you know, the campaign, it was so smooth. you know. and i'm thinking, what campaign were they watching? >> look, there's agreement among supporters and advisers that they know they have a

todd. >> just last week, gallup came out with president obama's approval rating, 39%. these numbers aren't terribly surprising. good news, president obama has a long way to go. we saw harry reid pull out a victory in nevada where he was down considerably more than this. bad news is you have these republicans who right now, it sure looks like a game. >> it certainly seems unlikely that michele bachmann and ron paul are goranering 45% based on their own policies. mark murray, i made one plug, i will make a second plug. read "first read" in the mornings. >>> the white house isn't ready to declare mission accomplished in libya. although gadhafi's long reign of power is over, the situation is still unsettled. nbc's kristen welker is live in martha's vineyard. what's the latest? >> hi, there. white house officials say the president continues to be dedicating a large chunk of his vacation staying on top of the libya situation. he's been in constant contact with his advisers, holding several conference calls with his national security team. i spoke with the senior administration official who told me they're encouraged by what they're seeing on the ground there. they're in close