Rest of my life. Im more than half the size i was, but im twice as sharp. More effective, because as i worked my body, i sharpened my mind. Selfcontrol is the key. Discipline must be your goal. Thanks for watching. Im al sharpton. Hardball starts right now. Tonight, two title fights, christie versus obama. And Hillary Clinton versus Elizabeth Warren. Lets play hardball. Good evening, im Chris Matthews in washington. Pt barnum, the guy who created the greatest show on earth, knew how to fill the tent. If you want a crowd, start a fight. He put his money where his mouth was. He had has men start brawling onStreet Corners, when the crowd gathered, theyd hand out flyers that the circus was coming to town. Meet Chris Christie, who knows how to start a fight, telling the president he doesnt know how his business. Itching to get into the center ripping, hes declared war on president obama. And the white houses dont panic approach to the handling the ebola crisis. The president meanwhile is taking his deliberate approach of logic, listening to the experts and all the doctors at the cdc and nih. Christie is selling something different. He wants to put up a wall around west africa, and after two cases of ebola transmitted in the u. S. , he wants to quarantine every Single Health worker coming back from there. What he have here is not a failure to communicate, but a Street Corner brawl. Since christie ordered the quarantine, hes ratcheted up the macho. Look how he barks at the press . No, i dont, i have no reason to talk to you. Can you explain the quarantine, how that will work . Youre in your home and youre quarantined. [ laughter and applause ] i know at times i know at times i heard your question. I know at times that you all would like to make things a heck of a lot more complicated than they are. Let me just none this. But the right side of Public Opinion . No, im going to be on the right side of both, ultimately, matt. Do you have any regrets at the way you handled the ebola situation in your state . No. Today president obama addressed the country from the white house lawn. Here he is. We got to make sure that those workers who are willing and able to dedicated to go over there in a really tough job,
that theyre applauded, thanked and supported. That should be our priority. When we see a problem and we see a challenge, then we fix it. We dont just react based on our fears. We react based on facts and judgment. Chairman of the rnc back before it was dedicated to black voter suppression. And the Washington Bureau chief with mother jones. Both political analysts. That was the best introduction ever. It came from here. Anyway, mike, i see an interesting thing. Chris christie knows how to get in the senate ring. He knows he can bromance the president , whatever he does with obama, it creates a media situation. Hes up with the big boys. Hes running, saying to us, to hell with you guys. I think youre right. Hes definitely on the big
stage, engaging on the subject. And why . Its because hes listening to folks closer to the ground in the communities who are concerned about this. About ebola . About ebola, yes. But not so much about ebola, but about the way the government has walked into this thing. Where theyve left open a lot of questions. People walked away little bit more concerned about whether or not the cdc is drilling all the way down to local hospitals. Whether or not the president has a plan, and this idea of sending Health Workers there without a plan to deal with their return home, is something that [ all speak at once ] wait a minute. But theres a difference between what obama is saying and what Chris Christie is responsible for as the governor of his state. Thats where hes walking tell the world now watching what the president said. You have to take your temperature, its a particular plan its a plan based on science, not on fear. No, no, no, no, you had a chance to talk. Right now there are seven americans who have contracted ebola. None thankfully are dead and almost all on their way to recovery. Only two americans have contracted it here by being in touch with the liberian fellow who died from this. So right now, theres not any scientific basis for what Chris Christie says. Maybe theres an emotional basis, or fearbased basis, but if thats the way were going to set policy, playing on peoples fears, not on rational policy. You think this isnt a football, a political football . This is from the same crew who said we wouldnt have any cases of ebola in the United States. He said it would be unlikely. Thats close enough for football. Anyway, christie criticized dr. Anthony fauci at the National Institute of health. He said fauci criticized christies quarantine order. Lets watch him go after dr. Fauci . I think dr. Fauci is responding unfortunately as are many people from the cdc, in a real hyperbolic way, because theyve been wrong before. And now theyre incrementally taking steps towards the policy that we put in effect in new jersey, and six other states have put in effect and the joint chiefs of staff have put in effect. Were all wrong and theyre right. Were trying to be careful here. This is common sense. And the members of the American Public believe its common sense. Were not moving an inch. Our policy will not change. It did change. He first said that kaci hickox was ill when she wasnt. He then said it would be a 21day quarantine. And after three days he let her go. Why . Because he doesnt care about people in maine. He backed off because of pressure. Hes not being consistent. But one thing hes being consistent in is the brash way which he hasnt been able to pull off since bridgegate where that arrogance, his version of
charm, doesnt serve him well. Is he back to [ all speak at once ] yeah, i think its a little bit back to that. But at the end of the day, i can appreciate where christies coming from. I want to say something. Im sorry, michael, finish your thought. Having served in office i can appreciate where hes coming from. Hes got a lot more to be concerned about than [ all speak at once ] today christie went after nurse kaci hickox who was quarantined in a tent for three days and is threatening to sue him. Heres the governor. Looks like youre going to have to defend this in court. Whatever. Get in line. Get sued lots of time in court. Get in line. Im happy to take it on. Its all kinds of malarkey about this. She was inside the hospital, in a controlled area, with access to her cell phone, access to the internet and takeout food from the best restaurants. She was doing just fine. The best restaurants in
newark. Thats frpretty good. What is he thinking about when she talks about her access to the takeout restaurants in newark . That means hes connected with real people who are sitting around their table saying she had access to the best restaurants in newark. Theres the credit card. You put your life on the line and you go to west africa to deal with these people, the most important thing we can do to contain the disease. Contain it there. And what you get when you come back and brash treatment like that, and the best takeout in newark. I appreciate your sensitivity. But what is the plan to deal with folks when they come back . There say plan. What is it . Theres a cdc plan. Why did they have to take action on their own . Youve never heard of a government doing something for politics . That includes democrats and republican governors [ all speak at once ] picked a fight with doctors at the cdc. This reminds me of groucho marx, fight any man in the house for a dollar. We want stricter things than what they have been willing to impose. And now theyre incrementally moving towards our position. Whats the difference between telling someone whos been a highrisk Health Care Worker that they cant go into public places, public transportation, and we want them to work from them. Whats the difference between that and quarantine . Its because they dont want to admit that they were wrong. Im sorry about that. Let me suggest something. Politics is about getting on the galloping horse when you get your chance. He sees this as a chance to be tough with the president because thats the only way hes going to win the nomination. I dont agree with all of that. I think hes looking at from the perspective of a governor. Its not just about conservatives with their hair up about this. Americans have legitimate concerns about this. Hes mouthing off with everybody. And since when has that been
a partisan thing with christie . When he mouths off, he mouthing off, reflecting how people feel about stuff. But hes wrong. Hes not wrong. He said she was ill, put her in a tent, didnt consult with any policy experts, other than his own expertise . Lets take a look at rush [ all speak at once ] Rush Limbaugh doesnt like what hes doing. Hes found inside this macho behavior of the governor of new jersey, some sort of caving, as he sees it, to president obama. Heres the under water walrus himself, rushbo. We need to quarantine Chris Christie is what needs to happen here. Second election in a row, one week prior to the election, the governor of new jersey ends up arm in arm, hand in hand, in bed
with, i dont know how to characterize it, but responding to obamas demands. Already cuomo and christie have been forced to cave before obamas onslaught. So its really clear that obama can act, and he can act fast when its something that really matters to him. Such as making sure that people who might have ebola arent cooped up for 21 days. This is unbelievable to me. I think what hes mad at is that christie said the nurse had to be there for 21 days. After she showed no signs of the disease he lead her go to quarantine in maine. One thing that the white house has said, wrong or right, they dont have a lot of control over governors who take these policies. [ all speak at once ] youre just making my point, david. The fact that the way christie handled this, when she came back, he had to deal with,
verify whether she was symptom attic, once she was asymptomatic, you can go. But what about the 21day quarantine . Its not like youre going to sit there for 21 days and no ones going to check on you. Can we get away from the clinical and back to the political . Heres my point. Your party is so run by his hard right, rush baugh being the high priest. Hes saying this guy isnt tough enough. [ all speak at once ] i dont really think that Chris Christie is really concerned with what Rush Limbaugh thinks about him. Hes an elected official by the people of his state and hes doing what he thinks a responsible official should do. Period. Is he your candidate . I dont have a candidate yet. But hes a good guy and i loved working for him and helping him get elected. Thank you, david. Hes not your candidate. No. You supported obama, right . Were getting to snapping here. Thank you both. Im right about your party. Ever since you left, its been black voter suppression. Coming up, another hard right tonight, this one for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party. What was Hillary Clinton arguing when she said corporations dont create jobs . I think she had a strong point there. She is poaching on Elizabeth Warren territory. The top two democrats in the country going a bit to war here over ideology. This is hardball, the place for politics. Tomcat presents dead mouse theatre. Hey, ulfrik hey, agnar whats up with you . Funny you ask. Im actually here to pillage your town. [ villagers screaming ] but we went to summer camp together. Summer camp is over. [ male announcer ] tomcat. [ cat meows ] [ male announcer ] engineered to kill. [ male announcer ] tomcat. [ cat meows ] a pet friendly hotel. Visit a tripadvisor pet friendly hotel. With millions of reviews, tripadvisor makes any destination better. For over 19 million people. [ susan ] my promotion allowed me to start investing for my retirement. Transamerica made it easy. [ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. Transamerica. Transform tomorrow. Breaking news for you. A rocket bound for the International Space station has exploded seconds after liftoff. The antares rocket was unmanned. Nasa saying no one was hurt in this incident. It happened at the Orbital SciencesLaunch Complex in virginia. The company said the damage appears to be limited to their launch facilities. The rocket was carrying some
5,000 pounds of gear for the six People Living on board the space station. Nasa contracted Orbital Sciences to stock the space station. Now that the Space Shuttle has been retired. Back to hardball right after this. Theres trusting your vehicle maintenance to ford service confidence. Our expertise, technology, and high quality parts means your peace of mind. Its no wonder last year we sold over three million tires. And during the big tire event, get up to 140 in mailin rebates on four select tires. We got a big one for you. Now back to hardball. Is Hillary Clinton contending for the Democratic Left . The ground Elizabeth Warren has been stomping so hard. Here she was stumping for Alison Lundergan grimes earlier this month. Our democracy is supposed to work for everyone, not just the privileged few. But more and more you know this, you feel it, you live it. The scales are weighted against working families. Well, last week, she praised senator al franken for pushing for tough regulation of big banks. Friday campaigning for Martha Coakley up in boston, pushed for raising the minimum wage. No surprise there, but it was the comment she made about jobs that created attention. Listen. Dont let anybody tell you that, um, you know, its corporations and businesses that create jobs. You know, that old theory, trickledown economics, that has been tried, that has failed. It has failed rather spectacularly. You know, one of the things my husband says when people say, what did you bring to washington . He said, i bought arithmetic. According to politico, later said the secretary of state meant to talk about tax breaks for corporations in that sentence. A sentiment shes long held. That was the quote from the staffer afterwards. Yesterday, mrs. Clinton herself sought to clarify the previous comment. She said she shorthanded the point, but meant to say she was against tax breaks for big
corporations. That outsourced their jobs or profits overseas. She seems to be embracing Elizabeth Warren. Will it work . The founder of the Progressive Change Campaign committee, is a columnist for the washington pos post. I dont want to dilly dally over nuance and everything. It seems to me secretary clinton was taking a tough shot at corporations there, saying they dont deserve tax breaks, where the president is pushing for lower corporate rates if he can plug the loopholes to pay for it. Theres a difference between those two. I think Hillary Clinton is moving closer to your candidate, Elizabeth Warren. Im wondering why is she doing it now, ahead of the campaign . Chris, theres a Rising Economic populace in america that Elizabeth Warren has been the personification of. Hillary clinton is logging that. Before an election, you want to say popular things. Elizabeth warren is the most
popular and soughtafter campaigner for democrats across the country for a reason. Thats because her positions are popular and Hillary Clinton is smart to embrace them. My question, thats a good argument, but what about Hillary Clintons goal here . If Elizabeth Warren doesnt run against her, she walks into the challenge. But can she get a strong mandate out of the election and not squeak in with a divided government . Thats what i do. Is it smart to go to the Democratic Left if youre trying to grab the center for the election . Is that smart . Its not just smart. It would be brilliant if that was her strategy. Well find out. Weve done the polling. Red states, purple states, blue states. Are you surprised that raising benefits wouldnt be popular . Thats not a tricky question. Thats like saying, do you want to lower taxes . Of course you want benefits to go up. Theyre never enough. There are some democrats around the country that are adopting the simpson bowls plan to cut Social Security and they are down in the polls thats obvious. Thats why Simpson Bowles was tough to do. Let me ask you, i think its going to be a battle for the Democratic Left here. I think Hillary Clinton, i wouldnt go that direction. I would go to the center. But when you watch the statement hes made lately that shes contending for the votes on the hard left . I think whats clear is, if you listen to her on the not quite yet campaign trail, is that shes very aware of the left of the party, not of the threat from Elizabeth Warren, because i dont think Elizabeth Warren will run for president , but of the popularity with warren. But its true at the same time, that this is not a flip flop. If you look at her speeches from 2007, she was talking about issues of income inequality what about corporations, the language that corporations dont create jobs. That was a dumb thing to say. It was badly sa