reverend wright's on the record.ing when barack obama knows he's controversial and on the other hand, he's saying, i had no idea this guy was so controversial. on the other hand, when reverend wright is saying, you know, when barack obama says to him, your problem, reverend is, you have to tell the truth. what does that say about obama? that he is willing to lie to achieve political armbition. >> first of all, we don't know the context of the conversation-- >>> sure, i did. i listened to. >> it i am going to say that reverend wright was telling the truth. let's assume that --al you can imagine that he is not only self aggrandizing in terms of his account of this conversation, but he has a grudge now against president obam a. but secondly, he is saying that president obama is complimenting that he's the truth teller about race relations in america-- >>> that's not what it was. >> we don't think that reverend wright is a truth teller when it comes to race relations in america. >> sean: this is unfair because i got the

jeremiah wright is old news now. chris: kathleen, obviously it got blown out of the water, the obama people clearly love the coming out this week, right? they love -- >> absolutely. chris: and everybody jumped on it. but there are people on the obama side afraid that in the end, you can play the ethnic card, that foreign card, are they afraid that it will work against him? >> i don't think mormon is going to play the foreign card. that's -- this is not mitt romney's approach to things. and of course, he's -- he has no control over -- chris: what about the sean hannity piece? hannity -- we just saw him thursday night saying go for it. >> yeah, sean hannity wants to. a lot of republicans do and a lot of the further right people feel like we never vetted obama sufficiently. talking about us, the media. and to some extent they're not wrong about that. they do feel that we kind of pulled back on reverend wright. it was sort of like president obama will not -- candidate obama said yes, i was -- i was in his church for 20 y

reverend wright.ne of his books about, you know, how he did study the koran and et cetera and that prayer at sunset was one of the most beautiful things in the world. but when he was a kid. you asked wright if he thought that barack obama at in -- at some point was a muslim. >> do you think he ever -- thought of himself as muslim? >> yeah. >> no. >> no. it's like. i am sure high got some grief not pres leitizing grief, but some grief from that part of his family. i say that based on my wide range of muslim friends. >> sean: what do you think of that? >> well, i was very interested in another part of that, as well, which is, when i asked the reverend wright about this whole question of islam and christianity. he said, well, you know, barack obama was steeped in islam. he knew a lot about islam from his childhood. but he knew very little about christianity. i made it easy for him to feel not guilty about learning about christianity without turning his back on his islamic friends? >> what does that mean?

lee wrights. [applause] r. lee wrights, where is lee wrights? [applause] >> what a gentleman, when a pleasure, what the the light it has been sued debate lee wrights -- what a delight it has been sued the date -- to debate lee wrights. >> let's get this guy elected. >> he said it along the way, and it is true. we made each other better -- better candidates. no one could have been more cordial, more gracious, more particulate regarding libertarian ideals and beliefs -- particulate regarding libertarian ideals and beliefs. so, where do we go from here? this is about winning. this is about winning. so, this is your decision, but i want to execute the following, and that is, please consider jim gray as my running mate. i believe that he affords the best opportunity to winning, and in this process we interviewed a lot of candidates as potential vice presidential candidates, and without question i think jim gray does a better job when it comes to articulating libertarian ideals and beliefs than anyone else. i go back to the year 2000 when i met jim gr

are we going to hear more about reverend wright? >> i think the american people absolutely rejected this hateful attack when it surfaced today, whether democratic or republican or independent. senator mccain spoke out against these sorts of attacks in 2008, made clear this is off-limits for his campaign, his communication director -- >> is it race-baiting? >> he wouldn't have made these sorts of ads. >> is it race-baiting? they wanted a conservative black man to, the spokesperson. larry elder is the guy mentioned in the report. is this race-baiting? >> think there's no question it's directed to the most extreme elements of the republican party and romney had an obligation to speak out against those voices. >> yes or no, it is race-baiting? >> here's the question i would ask, whether romney will speak out against those extreme voices or whether he will lead and stand up to that faction of the party or whether he will actively court those extreme voices in order to win the presidency. >> sure seems like race baiting to me. ben, thanks

insisting his budget is not austerity there's donald trump begging republicans to bring up reverend wright and now dick cheney is hosting fundraisers for mitt romney sort of breakdown of all of these stories it's time for the monday politics panel joining me tonight are nicole williams democratic strategist invent senior online editor with the daily caller thank you both for coming right let's get started so we just saw wave elections in europe and people voters just showed enormous disgust for austerity which i think is prompting republicans who are pushing their own austerity in the united states through this kind of political jujitsu as we saw with paul ryan here's what he said on meet the press yesterday. the whole premise of our budget is to preempt austerity by getting our borrowing under control having tax reform for economic growth and preventing medicare and social medicaid from going bankrupt that austerity the president his budget the fact the senate hasn't done a budget in three years put us on a path toward european like austerity that's what we're trying to prevent from happe

you got your ass kicked by lee wrights. [applause] lee wrights. where is lee wrights? lee wrights?[applause] what a gentleman. what a gentleman. what a pleasure, what a delight it has been to debate lee wrights about a dozen times. [applause] >> let's get this guy elected. [applause] >> lee wrights said it along the way, and it's true. we made each other better candidates, and i candidate thank him enough. like i say, no one, no one could have been more cordial. no one could have been more gracious. no one could have been more articulate in libertarian ideals and beliefs. [applause] so where do we go from here? this is about winning. this is about winning. this is your decision, but i want to ask you the following. that is please consider jim gray as my running mate. [cheers and applause] i believe that jim gray affords the best opportunity to winning. i want you to know in this process we interviewed a lot of candidates as potential vice president candidates. without question i think jim gray does a better job when it comes to articulating libertarian ideals and beliefs than anyon

wright has not been in the news for the past three and a half years. how much contact has he had with the president of the united states since he took the oath of office? >> they haven't had any. the president was clear that reverend wright's views that were played again and again didn't reflect the president's views. >> critics want to know if barack obama assimilated sinister view s of jeremiah wright. they try to create a direct line. the attack dog exposed by the new york city created story boards to show how barack obama undermined the united states of america because he was influenced by jeremiah wright. they say he's apologized for america. >> president obama's foreign policy is one that america is another nation with flag. president obama apologizes for america. it's time for us to be strong as a nation. >> it's not true. president obama has never apologized for america and he sure hasn't been shy in taking out its enemies. if president obama answered questioned about jeremiah wright four years ago and he hasn't had contact with him since, why

wright say anything controversial. this is not a guy who suddenly turns it on and off -- obam's coming, be on your best behavior. >> sean: he said, he is like family to me. >> he married them. >> sean: he appears to praise malcolm-x's autobiography, well known for the term blue-eyed pebbles. >> only malcolm-x autobiography seemed to offer something different, the repeated acts of self creation spoke to me. the blunt poetry, his unadorned insistence on respect, promised a new and uncompromising order, discipline through force of will. the talk of blue-eyed devils and apocalypse was incidental, religious baggage that malcolm seemed to have safely abandoned toward the end of his life. >> sean: he did point out that malcolm had some conversion, evolving from white, blue-eyed devils. but what is he embracing and saying? he seems to be talking about... the controversial side that he embraced as l. am i hearing it right? >> that's how it sounds to me. even if obama did not share the idea that white people were not evil or any

let's roll it. >> i'm not sure which is worse, him listening to rev recommend wright or -- reverend wrightr we must be less of a christian nation. >> he brought it up in february on sean hannity's show. i have no doubt that mitt romney will say anything to get elected. this guy is a special case. he would use this jeremiah wright if he thought it would work but he knows it can't. barack obama has a record now to run on. president obama, you like him or not. >> you know, the thing that i find interesting -- >> go ahe is, lz, and then alice. >> i really doubted that romney wanted to have this kind of discussion. >> about religion. >> about religion, especially religion. herman cain talked about what influence did sitting under jeremiah wright for 20 years have on the president? i'm thinking romney was 31 before the mormons allowed black people to serve as leadership in his church. i don't think he wants to have that conversation. >> alice, go ahead. this is something, alice, i don't think mitt romney wants to wade into the religion pool, especially with mormonism and all of that. go ahead. >

why did he bring up reverend wright? . he brought the ad campaign because he saw this woman play this new guy is desperate to get the job. so why don't i do a 54-page proposal for the guy, get prior approval at a new york meeting, come back for further approval, it hits the "new york times," and wait a minute, oh, now the "new york times" find out about it, he says he's not going to do it. but he indicated before a couple times he would do it, and then we see a little note that says, with your preliminary approval at the new york meeting and then they get caught. thaet my thought. your thought? major. >> it's all part of the public record, everything you said. everything can evaluate romney what he said in february, why he said it then and why he's repudiating it now. >> the concept for rep repudiation -- >> everything for the course of contacts not only invites scrutiny and deserves scrutiny. i'm not saying romney doesn't deserve scrutiny, it's all public record. if you don't like them now or you don't like them then, the

and resurrected the story of reverend jeremiah wright.omney is holding an event in jacksonville. we're will that governor romney will make a new statement on the report. we'll have more with nbc news senior political editor mark murray after a quick break. n, diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪ >>> mitt romney with live pictures speaking at an event in jacksonville, florida. we're waiting to see if he comments off new york time report showing a vicious attacking plan by a pro romney super pac linking president obama to the reverend jeremiah wright. senior political editor mark murray joins me. in your first rea

him listening to reverend wright.m saying that we must be a less christian nation. >> exactly. exactly. that's exactly the point. he brought it up on his own in february on sean hannity's show. i have no doubt, mitt romney, the man will say anything to get elected. i know we say that about politicians. but he would use jeremiah wright, if he thought it would work. but it can't. president obama is isn't an unknown commodity now. he has a record to run on. >> the thing that's interesting. >> go ahead, l.z. then, alice. >> the thing i found interesting, too, i doubted that romney wanted to have this discussion. >> about religion. >> especially about religion. herman cain said what influence did sitting in front of jeremiah wright have on the president. and romney was 31 before, the mormons allowed black people to serve in leadership in his church. 20 years has what to bring forth in a president. what does 31 years look like on a presidential candidate? i don't think he wants to have that conversation. >> i don't think mi

the point was, everybody knew who jeremiah wright was. everybody had an opinion on jeremiah wright.roadcasting was preaching to the converted. it would have had no political effect. it was a stupid strategy. it was bad tactics. and it's crazy to be talking about it in 2012. >> why then are some republicans still obsessed with this elderly reverend from chicago? what secrets do they think this man provides into the life of a president who now we've seen in office for more than three years? >> i think there is a myth at the center of this argument that many on the far right are making. and that's is to say that this wasn't exploited and explored in 2008. and in fact, it was. millions of people saw all the speeches that he made. he gave several interviews. he gave speeches after obama distances himself from him. he's given interview off since then. this idea that somehow there's a smoking gun that needs to be explored, there's a shooting drop. i think it's a real myth. there is an obsession. it's part of this idea. if somehow outside of the mainstream that he's an other, and that's wha

joe ricketts was looking to run ads linking obama with reverend wright. he said it was only a suggestion, but that came in a 54-page professionally bound campaign plan with color photos. mitt romney says he repudiates this, and then etch-a-sketch moment, accuses obama of character assassination. this from a guy who destroyed his opponents with negative personal ads, and romney hearts bill clinton? he says he has more in common with clinton than obama because. he champions tax rates that romney invest will destroy the family. the only thing they have in common is that clinton once had the job that romney wants, and there's a major effort from keeping kathleen sebelius from speaking tomorrow at georgetown. and what we should do if we really want to reduce the number of abortions in this county trp. we begin with dirty angry money. we have chuck todd with us, and major garrett. the "new york times" reports on a proposal from a republican strategist to dredge up jeremiah wright. the point was to show he really is a radical after all. here is some of the langu

why would wright lie, too?how. >> greg: i don't know what that means. it sounds racist. >> kimberly: you didn't read the rest of it. >> eric: he wrote about it the right way. it's -- the relevant part is president obama did spend time with that guy that you just heard say god bless america, he said god whatever america. you are judged by the company you keep. he kept company with reverend right. he has to say wow! i think if i were president obama or candidate obama, senator obama i would have had something going on the same way. gregg candidates paying off the ex-girlfriend and mistresss. >> we have a former governor in jail now, blagojevich, for like trying to sell president obama senate seat at the time. i guess it could end up going. >> eric: you can't make it up. to go over facts here. this interview took place in november 11 at 2011. face to face interview. this is 2008. face to face, recorded 3.5 hours with the -- this is substantiated that wright said it happened. but is there further proof in fact the

it is not as if everybody doesn't know about jeremiah wright. this is kind of red meat for the -- >> well, i hear about the guy ricketts is the guy who owns the cubs is still about it. >> and these are people who have not heard of jeremiah wright. >> what did black theology have to do with the auto bailout or other issues, because it is like other political consultants, fred davis in this case, to find these venting billionaires who say we have to kill a book and you gave us $500,000 and whatever it is, we can take it out. >> it is not for the audience. >> right. it's a vanity production. that you can go back to the club and say i took out obama with that ad. >> and here is the guys on television who thinks like them, but hand -- hannity disagrees. and i cannot tell sean what he believes and what he is putting out there. but there he is, mitt romney repudiating the attacks and the pledge of the economy, but how can you disagree with what mitt says. here he is sicking him on the president. >> well, governor romney, i have to respectfully disagree

reverend wright >> this week on "insid -- reverend wright had moments on bill moyers' show and a number of venues, and john mccain, to his credit, said this is not something we will approach. city >> drumbeat from rush limbaugh of -- steady drumbeat from rush limbaugh, sean hannity, others of that ilk, saying that obama has not been vetted. they achieve their ends by getting the name back out there. as far as attending the church, i attended a church with the pastor named wilmore carter. there were things about him that we found issue with. he married me and my wife and we've been married over 50 years. there are things that are said in church that would make your hair curl, but you don't go to that church because of what the pastor says -- >> give me a break. >> you have an association with that church, you could do it for the sunday school, the way your children are treated. to suggest that this guy obama was taken in it is crazy. >> to suggest that he drop in the church occasionally -- he himself referred to jeremiah wright is the spiritual mentor. it is not a casual association. it