kirk, and there was no one who understood the meaning of the moment i think better than paul kirk. ted kennedy's friend of 40 yea years, everyone would agree paul hit the ground running here. he was familiar with teddy's staff and was able to bring highly qualified people himself. he had a command of all the issues that were facing the senate. he had a special understanding of the politics that were at play in washington. paul was always aware, as he said with his dry whit, that he was a short timer, but in his months here, he didn't just decide to come here and be satisfied to simply serve out the term. he led just as he expressed to us he knew people expected him to. he cast an all-important vote, obviously, in the senate's historic passage of comprehensive health care refo reform. but, frankly, much more important than a decisive vote, he provided a clear and compelling voice in the democratic caucus for important features of the health care reform bill, especially the community living assistance services and supports act, or the class act, as it's known. that is an act that pau

paul kirk, i think, is a very decent guy. yes a partisan democrat, but he was almost beseeching the institution to try to come together in a spirit of cooperation. when he spoke, there wasn't a single republican on the floor to listen to him. that said it all. >> well, mr. mcconnell was out jumping a shark which we'll get to in a moment. howard fineman of msnbc and "newsweek", many thanks. >> thank you, keith. >>> if mr. brown, massachusetts, has not yet heard from wall street he should keep his phone on. new york state attorney general andrew cuomo today filing civil fraud charges against bank of america, its former ceo ken lewis, and other executives saying the bank purposely misled investors about more than $15 billion in losses at merrill lynch not to mention huge bonuses in order to complete its purchase of that firm in late 2008. that wall street might still need reform in the wake of the near collapse of the u.s. economy, republicans now actively seeking donations from wall street by making the case they would be antir

paul kirk, i think, is a very decent guy. yes, a partisan democrat, but he was almost beseeching the institution to try to come together in a spirit of cooperation. when he spoke, there wasn't a single republican on the floor to listen to him. that said it all. >> well, mr. mcconnell was out jumping a shark, which we'll get to in a moment. howard fineman of msnbc and "newsweek", many thanks. >> thank you, keith. >>> if mr. brown, massachusetts, has not yet heard from wall street, he should keep his phone on. new york state attorney general andrew cuomo today filing civil fraud charges against bank of america, its former ceo ken lewis, and other executives saying the bank purposely misled investors about more than $15 billion in losses at merrill lynch, not to mention huge bonuses in order to complete its purchase of that firm in late 2008. that wall street might still need reform in the wake of the near collapse of the u.s. economy, republicans now actively seeking donations from wall street by making the case they would be a

there's paul kirk, the appointed member behind him, leaving office at this moment. of course, john kery. john kerry just grabbed the senate desk of ted kennedy. and i believe before that daniel webster's. now you see the swearing-in ceremony. democracy continues in america. welcome back to "hardball." president obama pledged congress to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. the chairman of the joint chiefs apparently goes along with that. michael mullen supports allowing gay service people to serve openly in the military. how easy will it be to eliminate the current rule. what would it mean for the military. let's turn to two real soldiers to iraq war veterans. i'll call you by both your names so we don't get confused. john solts, you, sir, give me a real-life example of what it's like to serve with gay service men and women and how it works. what's it like and how does it work effectively? >> the way it works right now is, you come home from the war, and like i was, i was on vacation with a couple of my friends. we were traveling around. and they said, by the

there's paul kirk, the appointed member behind him, leaving office at this moment. of course, john kerry. by the way, john kerry just grabbed the senate desk of ted kennedy, which was jack kennedy's desk and i believe before that daniel webster's. now you see the swearing-in ceremony. democracy continues in america. >>> welcome back to "hardball." president obama pledged congress to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. the chairman of the joint chiefs apparently goes along with that. michael mullen supports allowing gay servicepeople to serve openly in the military. how easy will it be to eliminate the current rule? what would it mean for the military? let's turn to two real soldiers, two iraq war veterans. i'll call you by both your names so we don't get confused. john solts, you, sir, give me a real-life example of what it's like to serve with gay servicemen and women and how it works. what's it like and how does it work effectively? >> the way it works right now is you come home from the war, and like i was, i was on vacation with a couple of my friends. we

there's paul kirk, the appointed member behind him, leaving office at this moment. of course, john kerry. john kerry just grabbed the senate desk of ted kennedy, which was jack kennedy's desk and i believe before that daniel webster's. now you see the swearing-in ceremony. democracy continues in america. >>> welcome back to "hardball." president obama pledged congress to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. the chairman of the joint chiefs apparently goes along with that. michael mullen supports allowing gay servicepeople to serve openly in the military. how easy will it be to eliminate the current rule? what would it mean for the military? let's turn to two real soldiers, two iraq war veterans. i'll call you by both your names so we don't get confused. john solts, you, sir, give me a real-life example of what it's like to serve with gay servicemen and women and how it works. what's it like and how does it work effectively? >> the way it works right now is you come home from the war, and like i was, i was on vacation with a couple of my friends. we were travel

kirk was in there and scott brown will hold this very storied office. an office with a lot of history. and i think after a year, though, they will kick him out to a smaller office. anyway -- >> almost worse than never having the office. >> he will be constantly reminded, however, he's filling pretty big shoes up there on capitol hill. >> yeah. he better enjoy it this year, because after the election, they -- they base it on seniority, and then, of course, he will -- they may give him the -- >> don't get too comfortable. >> -- third toilet stall to the left in one of the senate office buildings. >>> continued doubts the labor market can rebound in the coming months. and a key jobs due out this morning, the dow plunged 269 points, 2.6% of a drop, the biggest slide since october. although more jobs have been added in january, analysts say revised numbers may push overall unemployment above 10%. that's a lock at tok at the new. >>> savannah guthrie, a busy day? >> yes, i had come back. >> see you later in the show. we'll also watch you on "the daily rundown

kirk, he will speak and at 5:00, what we are hearing is vice president joe biden will swear him in today. so it's going to happen. not exactly sure why he suddenly changed his mind. we just don't know. >> all right. keba arnold reporting live from boston. thank you very much. all right. >> a 9-year-old boy nearly suspended for bringing this two inch gun to school. check out this picture right here. >> so cute! >> looks huge on your screen. that's a nickel and a quarter. that is like a little tiny play gun. >> less than two inches. >> total of $0.30. >> ok. the fourth grader was playing with the lego figure in the cafeteria of his school in new york when he pulled out the toy machine gun. and stuck it in the hands of his plastic police officer. >> it's a lego guy. come on. >> and then he was sent to the principal's office. >> he explained to me like a gun is a gun even if it's like a toy gun it's still a gun. >> after a meeting between the principal and the parents, they decided not to suspend him. his mom says the school should be embarrassed and should have used common sense. all right.