. >> tom tancredo, you heard steve schmitt. he had harsh words for your man and saying this was is the antithesis of limited government conservatism on jfk and contraception. what is your response to what steve schmitt said. >> most of the stuff will not be relevant come the general election. what both of those candidates are trying to do today, what four of them are trying to do and the two really and truly at the top of the heap are trying to win a primary and in the a primary election and in the republican primary you're going to talk to conservatives and you'll be more conservative than you would otherwise be. we've seen that happen a hundred times. in this case i think santorum really is the conservative and mitt romney is trying to be because you're going after republican primary voters. after the primary's over with we enter into a brand new phase, but let's talk about the issue that came up in terms of the economy. i am concerned. i think we all should be that bill clinton's admonition to his campaign, remember, it's th

tom tancredo also said that he thought that barack obama was more dangerous than al qaeda. now, sure, there are some crazies like our last caller who are going to believe that, but i think most of the american people just know that that's just nonsense. >> there is a narrative, though -- >> again, i come back to -- i don't know that -- sure, sure. there's legitimate criticism, again, of any president which i think is very healthy and i welcome it, and i've been part of it, right? but i don't know that anybody ever said ronald reagan was a terrorist or george w. bush was a terrorist, right? i mean, that's where this is not just a slight difference. it's a huge difference, the level of attacks we've seen against president obama. >> but part of that criticism, this goes to another narrative, is that he's isolated, and many in him call him arrogant. address those allegations because it is out there. >> i don't see -- isolated i've heard. i guess i've heard arrogance. and i'm there almost every day. i do think they're more isolated than our reporters like. the access is not alwa

. >> is it a fair shot, tom tancredo, that what romney has done is run a demolition campaign, destroyingrida, running negative ads while not offering something positive? to this day, we pay attention here. i haven't heard the romney plan for the next four years to get us out of the economic challenge we are in right now. do you think he's running negative or positive campaign, romney? >> here's what i think that romney has been doing. that is setting the stage for a debate between him and obama who can best handle the economy. who has the best record for creating jobs and for, you know, essentially, increasing prosperity? i think romney feels, and i think rightly so, he can make a case for that. he's better at it than obama. hell, my dog is better at it than obama. there's no issue in terms of who is better in terms of the economy. but the question that i think santorum is asking is an important one. will the economy be the issue in the election? i mean, it is possible that we are going to see a decrease in unemployment. it's possible we'll see a little bit of growth in the economy. as t

he snagged the endorsement of tom tancredo. tomorrow he heads to nevada.aigning in las vegas earlier. paul told hispanic voters he favors a compassionate approach to immigration policy rather than barbed wire fences and guns at the border. nevada caucuses take place on saturday. let's geyou back to "harall." >>> welcome back to "hardball." the obama administration has suddenly found itself in a fight it would like to avoid of course with the catholic church. an issue about new rules under the administration's health care reform act that will require organizations like religious charities and hospitals including colleges to provide birth control insurance coverage for their employees. here's how new york cardinal designate timothy doan explained his objection to the regulation. >> never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product that violates their conscience. this shouldn't happen in a land where free exercise of religion ranks first in the bill of rights. >> joining me right now