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Welcome back to "hardball." we've spent most of the show tonight talking about the republican versus republican fight, but ultimately, the winner is going to take on the guy living at 1600 pennsylvania avenue, whose team is watching everything, waiting and scheming. so let's bring in the "hardball" strategist for the first time in 2012 to talk about how the president might be gaming the big race coming up. joining me now is democratic strategist steve mcmahon and republican strategist todd harris. gentleman, i'm looking for sharp insight in this new year. the bar -- the standard has risen now....

Welcome back to "hardball." we've spent most of the show tonight talking about the republican versus republican fight, but ultimately, the winner is going to take on the guy living at 1600 pennsylvania avenue, whose team is watching everything, waiting and scheming. so let's bring in the "hardball" strategist for the first time in 2012 to talk about how the president might be gaming the big race coming up. joining me now is democratic strategist steve mcmahon and republican strategist todd harris. gentleman, i'm looking for sharp insight in this new year. the bar -- the standard has risen now....

>> sure. >> so that's where -- >> where's he on that? where's santorum on that? on what you just said? >> i'm sorry? >> where's santorum on what you just said? did he agree with your right to do what you just said? to have your own orientation and to act on it? >> i believe senator santorum believes in that. where we disagree with is he believes, obviously, i should not have the right to marry, and i fundamentally disagree with him on that. >> no, doesn't he go further and say that you should not be allowed to be gay in any actual way? >> oh, absolutely not. >> doesn't he say that, pretty much...

That, i would never work for him. this is ridiculous. this is absolutely ridiculous. >> you're in a good position, robert, to explicate him on television. i'm glad you're a guest. you seem to agree that he has constitutional differences with liberals, obviously, on the right to privacy. he's more with judge bjork on that. you argue that he's not anti-gay in terms of identity. where is his disagreement with the gay community? why do they really go after him all the time? what's the issue there? >> because he speaks very passionately about the fact that he believes that gays and lesbians should ...

I'm not working for him. >> okay, well, that said, let's take a look at the head-to-head matchups with the top tier of republican candidates.with mitt romney. basically 9 president beats newt gingrich handily by nine points. beats ron paul by eight points. there hasn't been enough polling on president obama. and rick santorum, head to head. so given all that, including the shocking fact, todd, that ron paul's within eight points of president obama, which is an amazing revolting development as we used to say, what do you make of that right now? does that tell you really that romney is the stron...