. >> former governor mark sanford and democrat elizabeth colbert busch. >> sanford will debate busch. >> let's have that conversation that's vital. >> he gets to debate someone, not a cutout of nancy pelosi. >> if you have an idea, i have an idea, at the end of the day. >> he is embarrassed us on many, many occasions. >> if at the end of the day -- how you doing, appreciate it, thank you. >> mark sanford is in serious trouble. >> how you doing. preaching it. thank you. >>> i am alex wagner, in for lawrence o'donnell. today for the first time in our nation's history, a male athlete on a major sports team is openly gay. jason collins writes in this week's issue of sports illustrated i am a 34-year-old nba center, i am black, and i'm gay. collins a 12 year veteran of the nba, from los angeles, played for stanford university and most recently the washington wizards. he writes the more that speak out the better, gay or straight. starts with president obama mentioning the 1969 stonewall riots that launched the gay rights movement during his second inaugural address. here is what president o

courses, courses should be taught in the future on the way mark sanford ran his campaign. some people have got it. you can see why a guy like that gets elected. let's pretend mark is not here and talk about him. >> what i heard was that he worked really hard, he was good to his employees. >> mark, if we can let's talk about the value of honesty in political campaigns. i think a lot of people, no matter where they are in the ideological spectrum were struck by your honesty a few years ago when basically you said, you know, you went walking on the appalachian trail, but you fell in love, so you're out of public office. so when you make the decision to re-enter the fray, was there any fear of that honesty coming back and playing a perilous role in your political future? >> stephen: oh, that is in in-depth reporting. you know, woodward and bernstein may have had deep throat, but mike barnacle is doing something similar to mark sanford. [laughter] [cheers and applause] i hope mike can breathe through his nose 'cuz he's right. he's right. [ laughter ] when sanford finally resurf

mark sanford abandoned his office. got $74,000 in ethics finding. there was a real dereliction of duty, but that's not why it was a huge story. >> right. and i don't think, i think what people associated with story with was his personal behavior and therefore, they gave him, there may be some latitude there. i think there are other instances in which you're, you know, the dereliction of duty is the focus of the scandal. that is harder to get over. that's an offense to the public. and yet, i should note the primary voters have seemingly forgiven him for that as the ap has just called, that mark sanford has indeed one his race there, so mark sanford will be facing a general election against elizabeth colbert bush, where polling has them around even. the paurt you're saying is that is the real dereliction. there doesn't seem to be much distinction made about about the interest in the thrill of leading someone's private e-mail changes. >> actually why again, as much as i think he has in politics, it's kind of a good thing he's able to transcend what was

governor sanford? >> i would just humbly suggest on that one, if it was not simply a political statement at this moment, i don't think that you would have written me a $500 check after i left the united states congress as i begin to run for governor. cheers and applause] >> your response, though -- >> what i'm saying it must not have bothered her that much in the fact that she wrote a $500 check and supported my candidacy but get it bothers her now. my simple point would be this, with regard to the port, you know, i take the exact position tim scott does, which is to say, you know, what we ought to do is recognize that this is a natural resource. there are only four ports on the entire east coast that go past the panama depth and charleston has the cheapest price per 1,000 of customer weight value, 27 cents, which is half or a 1/3 of the cost of some of the ports up and down the east coast. this is a natural resource. and one of the things i think i would bring to bear is seniority. as a foreman of the

the headline "a person message from mark sanford." he's defending himself against his ex-wife's charge that he trespassed on her property. this is not from the onion, it's real. jenny sanford filed court documents in march accusing her ex-husband of entering her house without her permission. she says she found him using his cell phone as a flashlight as he left out her back door. and now the national republican congressional committee will not be engaged in this special election. there's not enough ad space in the world for sanford to explain this one. joining me now is dick harputlian, chairman of the south carolina democratic party. thanks for being here, dick. >> thank you, al. >> how are people in south carolina reacting to this ad? >> you know, mark sanford has humiliated, embarrassed the state for most of his political career. we thought we were done with him. then just like freddy krueger, he's back. this is a national humiliation for the state. i think, though, the state's going to prove that it is smarter than mark sanford an

but i think mark sanford was very shrewd. he went to his old friends, he has a very good record as bostic pointed out as a congressman and governor. he was never in any moral or ethical trouble in his -- in office, until the girlfriend. he has thrown himself on his knees. to evangelicals and everybody, love the sin or hate the sin. i don't think he's that popular. he probably has a ceiling. but it is easy to see him winning and easy to see him, if things go right for him in the campaign and things don't go great for bush, easy to see him winning this. >> basically the nightmare for him would be to face is a woman in a general -- oh, right, he's got -- this is what makes it a hurricane. >> she's a good candidate. >> her resume is good. >> she's a good democratic candidate. >> still green. but she doesn't have a long voting record for republicans to dissect. i love that that's what makes a good candidate. look, they don't have a voting record, great. they don't have a resume, great. for the nrcc when they're picking through her

mark sanford abandoned his office. got $74,000 in ethics finding. there was a real dereliction of duty, but that's not why it was a huge story. >> right. and i don't think, i think what people associated with story with was his personal behavior and therefore, they gave him, there may be some latitude there. i think there are other instances in which you're, you know, the dereliction of duty is the focus of the scandal. that is harder to get over. that's an offense to the public. and yet, i should note the primary voters have seemingly forgiven him for that as the ap has just called, that mark sanford has indeed one his race there, so mark sanford will be facing a general election against elizabeth colbert bush, where polling has them around even. the part you're saying is that is the real dereliction. there doesn't seem to be much distinction made about about the interest in the thrill of leading someone's private e-mail changes. >> actually why again, as much as i think he has in politics, it's kind of a good thing he's able to transcend what was

. >>> plus, a new poll shows mark sanford in real trouble. and steve colbert's sister looking pretty good. she's the sister, of course, of the comedian. she's opened up a nine-point lead as of today over sanford. with just two weeks to go before that special election down in charleston. is sanford nearing the end of his appalachian trail or comeback trail? we'll see. >>> finally, another republican elected official uses an ethnic slur to make a point. these guys live in isolation booths. wait until you hear what that guy said. if that's not bad enough, wait till you hear what his apology sounds like, which is even worse. at least it's stupid. this is "hardball." the place for politics. she knows you like no one else. and you wouldn't have it any other way. but your erectile dysfunction - you know, that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and sym

big news from sanford, florida. with the trial just six weeks away. >>> and the fight night down south. mark sanford left his wife for his girlfriend. but it was his political opponent who slapped him down last night. >> when we talk about fiscal spending and we talk about protecting the taxpayers, it opportunity mean you take that money we saved and leave the country for a personal purpose. my mantra? trust your instincts to make the call. to treat my low testosterone, my doctor and i went with axiron, the only underarm low t treatment. axiron can restore t levels to normal in about 2 weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these symptoms to your doctor. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications.

he's back, mark sanford of the appalachian trail fame is about to win the republican primary. tonight, we'll talk to the head of the republican party in south carolina. >> people say you know mark, you certainly mess said up in your personal life. i've talked about it. cenk: going to have some success tonight. i can't believe the republicans are going to bring him back in. >>. now mat salmon is saying i haven't fully evolved on gay marriage even though his son is gay. we found a video of his son talking about that interfamily relationship. >> i didn't know if my family would ever come around. >> it doesn't mean that i don't sympathize with some of the wishes, it just means that i haven't evolved to that station. cenk: hmm. that tape of his son is amazing so come back more for that. down r. do you know what time it is anybody? anybody at all? oh right! it's go time. ♪ theme ♪ >> you know that famous moment off the the new town shooting when wane lapierre the head of the n.r.a. came out and said this? >> the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun

we forgive mark sanford not because mark sanford wants us to. because if you're a christian christ calls you to forgive and you should forgive mark sanford. that's fine. that doesn't mean i want him serving in congress and representing me nationally. those two things are separate. i think the point of bill clinton was that's fine. i've forgiven bill clinton, too. he was my governor before he was your president. fact of the matter is i still didn't want him being president after that incident. still, mark is having a lot of problems down here. there's no big shift. i want this duly noted. i don't think there's a big shift in the electorate. i think it's just an ob stengs, saying, look, we know mark sanford. we've worked with mark sanford. we've seen him in action. i just don't necessarily know i want to put my name or neck on the line for a guy who -- who really did a poor job of shepherding his personal life or his professional life as governor. >> you know, it's a strange thing, ron, trying to figure out how the voters go on these things. you h

it's like you say, if people like mark sanford -- mark sanford has two problems. his greatest asset is people know mark sanford. his greatest liability is people know mark sanford. her greatest asset is people don't know who she is if you go on her website she seems like a reasoned, moderate, centrist. she's carved out this space for herself. >> doesn't she -- doesn't chef to at some point come on television, start doing interview programs and introduce herself? she's apparently been hesitant to do that. >> this is going to be about execution. mark sanford is a pro. >> he's on tv. he's everywhere. >> he's done this before. it is going to be about getting sho voters out to the polls. if the sanford team can do that because i wouldn't rely on a national committee versus her team. >> is this going to have a rebound or reicochet effect? they're basically giving us one more bit of information. one more bit of information that bill clinton is home free now. that we're not going to hold these things against people for very long. >> well, yeah, i suppose so. >> they can h

it's like you say, if people like mark sanford -- mark sanford has two problems. his greatest asset is people know mark sanford. his greatest liability is people know mark sanford. her greatest asset is people don't know who she is if you go on her website she seems like a reasoned, moderate, centrist. she's carved out this space for herself. >> doesn't she -- doesn't chef to at some point come on television, start doing interview programs and introduce herself? she's apparently been hesitant to do that. >> this is going to be about execution. mark sanford is a pro. >> he's on tv. he's everywhere. >> he's done this before. it is going to be about getting voters out to the polls. if the sanford team can do that because i wouldn't rely on a national committee versus her team. >> is this going to have a rebound or ricochet effect? they're basically giving us one more bit of information. one more bit of information that bill clinton is home free now. that we're not going to hold these things against people for very long. >> well, yeah, i suppose so. >> they can hardly

so mark sanford with you in 1994 covered mark sanford's first election in the first district of south carolina. we were up in washington covering him and his proclamation that he would sleep on the floor of his office and never get a permanent place in washington because he didn't want to become part of the establishment. now it strikes me if nothing is more like the establish of a guy who is accused of a sex scandal and then comes back to office. is he likely to win this seat? >> you know, ben, as you know, this is a very conservative part of the country. it was conservative when you were here. it's even more conservative now if that's possible. mr. sanford has a lot going for him. he's very conservative. he was the most conservative governor in the state when he was governor before his little pick dill lows game to light and people like the fact that he votes no, no, no. he says no to washington over and over. that's a big theme down here. tell washington, ben and cenk, where to go. tell washington to mind their own business. he does that very, very well. so i think a lot of people

. >>> plus, a new poll shows mark sanford in real trouble. and steve colbert's sister looking pretty good. she's the sister, of course, of the comedian. she's opened up a nine-point lead as of today over sanford. with just two weeks to go before that special election down in charleston. is sanford nearing the end of his appalachian trail or comeback trail? we'll see. >>> finally, another republican elected official uses an ethnic slur to make a point. these guys live in isolation booths. wait until you hear what that guy said. if that's not bad enough, wait till you hear what his apology sounds like, which is even worse. at least it's stupid. this is "hardball." the place for politics. it doesn't. that's crazy. we're all totally different. ishares core. etf building blocks for your personalized portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully

mark sanford made a lot of promises and broke them all. now mark sanford says he's learned from his mistakes. the real question, will we? >> gene, how do you think that one is going to play? >> well, i think it's pretty good. i mean, look. mark sanford has been sanctimonious over the years about family values, about his faith, which i'm sure is genuine. about absolutes. and so i would imagine democrats are going to throw that back at him and certainly are going to harp on the -- was it $74,000 in ethics fines that he had to pay as a result of his misdeeds while in office. >> south carolina political analyst eugene robinson, thank you very much for joining us tonight. >> great to be here. >>> coming up, there is an amazing sequel tonight to that video of kid president we showed the other day. and the politics of late-night. martin short returns to talk about the big change at the "tonight show." a recap, merv. [ merv ] thanks, other merv. mr. clean magic eraser extra power was three times faster on permanent marker. elsewhere against dirt,

she's opened up a nine-point lead as of today over sanford. with just two weeks to go before the special election down in charleston. is sanford nearing the end of his appalachian trail or comeback trail? we'll see. >>> finally, another republican elected official uses an ethnic slur to make a point. wait until you hear what that guy said. it that's not bad, wait until you hear his apology. this is "hardball." the place for politics. ♪ it's about where you're going. the new ram 1500. best-in-class 25 mpg. ♪ north american truck of the year. ♪ the truck of texas. better residual value than ford and chevy. it's the fastest-growing truck brand in america. guts. glory. ram. governor of getting it done. you know how to dance... with a deadline. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. this is awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is, business pro. yes, it is. go national. go like a pro. >>> boylston street up in b

mark sanford made a lot of promises and broke them all. now mark sanford says he's learned from his mistakes. the real question, will we? >> gene, how do you think that one is going to play? >> well, i think it's pretty good. i mean, look. mark sanford has been sank moanous over the years about family values, about his faith, which i'm sure is genuine. about absolutes. and so i would imagine democrats are going to throw that back at him and certainly are going to harp on the -- was it $74,000 in ethics fines that he had to pay as a result of his misdeeds while in office. >> south carolina political analyst eugene robinson, thank you very much for joining us tonight. >> great to be here. >>> coming up, there is an amazing sequel tonight to that video of kid president we showed the other day. and the politics of late-night. martin short returns to talk about the big change at the "tonight show." welcome to the new new york state. what's the "new" in the new new york? a new property tax cap... and the lowest middle class income tax rate in 60

maybe mark sanford should just keep walking. host: we were in touch with the news directo one of the stations where there was supposed to be a televised debate. it is unclear whether there will be a debate before the may 7 election, but he indicated this is a pretty conservative district, and he could not see how elizabeth colewort busch could be elected. guest: this district lean so conservative, republican, that he was able to hold on to power. if you look at everything happening right now, the tresssingainst sanford, he is the slight underdog in this contest. the good news for republicans in this race, republicans cannot be blamed for saying -- it is too difficult for republicans, this is just a very bad story for republicans. it explains why republicans lost the seat as opposed to anything else. host: go ahead, bill. caller: thank you for taking my call. mr. murray is working for nbc as a reporter. we are getting conflicting reports regarding the boston bombing about -- there are all kinds of stories going around that some o

. >> she went there, governor sanford. >> i couldn't hear what she said. >> mark sanford quite literally did not want to hear it. in the latest ppp poll, elizabeth colbert busch is leading by nine points with the election seven days away. for democrats this victory would seem to be more symbolic. the ability to win in a deep red district. the stakes are high anywhere massachusetts which holds a primary today for john kerry's senate seat. the special election will take place on june 25th and threatens the democrats 55-45 edge in the senate. right now congressman ed markey is the democratic ic front-runn. and overall, the two democratic candidates have raised nearly four times the amount of money as all three republicans. joining us now from columbia, south carolina, quietly rolling his eyes, as i talk over this former communications director for rick santorum, the infamous hogan gibly, hogan, it is a pleasure to see you again old friend. >> great to be back, alex. >> let's talk about elizabeth colbert busch and mark sanford. you were rolling your eyes as i delivered the term smackdown, it

another republican, another generic republican who is not like a sanford or not like sanford's opponent, very weak, is going to come along and win back the seat. so, again, democrats go for it, pour money into the race, fair enough. but the truth is -- the other thing about mark sanford, he left office very unpopular for lots of reasons, this being one of them and also had tons of conflicts with other republicans in the state. >> fair point. >> so he's a smart guy, an impressive guy, but has a lot of baggage. >> yeah, well, how he treated his wife and family certainly was a big part of it. michael, sanford's fiancee, the beautiful woman is ten years his junior and some people, stephanie -- i don't know whether you think this or not. some people might say that would hurt him more. because not only did you leave your wonderful wife are, but for a younger woman. but you think this might help him. >> no, i do. at least you have put a face on it, and it's an appealing face. and to have this sort oh of secret argentinan mistress, he could have said i'm reaching out to latino voters or latina

who knew that would be a factor. >> well, mark sanford had a tough week last week, lawrence. mark felt like he had to explain to the people what was going on. but can we just go back and remember that this whole thing started when he was in the app latch and trail. his father said he didn't think his son should have to watch the super bowl alone. now, trying to sound like a good father, maybe should have thought about that a few years ago, not to mention his kids, he did not introduce his children to the love of his life. they met on the stage on the night of the primary. we're talking about parenting, trying to make things right, sounds like he has work to do with his own family. >> so we do have polling on what the trespassing charge means. apparently 51% of likely voters say yeah, the trespassing accusations will effect my vote. >> i would imagine that this could be one of those situations, you know, usually in the mid term elections or elections like this, turnout is an issue. i am betting this might be one where people would be more than happy to go out and vote against

chad, sanford or bostic? >> i think sanford in a close one. >> dick? >> i agree, sanford in a close one. i hope. >> because you think he'll be easier for her to run against? >> i think either one of them is tough but i think he is the poster child for liar. >> thanks to both of you. >> checking the news feed this morning, officials in texas are looking for a violent white supremacy group into their investigation of the weekend murders of a district attorney and his wife. back in december a law enforcement bulletin went out warning that members of the aryan brotherhood of texas might try to attack police or prosecutors. on january 31st an assistant d.a. was assassinated, though no connection between the murders has been established. >> in colorado, court officials admit a clerical error allowed a suspected killer out of prison four years early. evan spence are ebel is accused of killing colorado's prisons chief. he was supposed to spend extra time in prison for assaulting a prison guard. apparently a clerk failed to note the sentence was to begin after

and they sympathize immensely with jenny sanford. what i'm going to do is watching jenny sanford immensely. you just put up the clip about the boys and sanford having his fiancee on the stage. something most people don't know. his children did not know she was going to be on that stage. and apparently mrs. sanford is beyond upset about this and is really just champing at the bit to go after him on this. the question is, will she stay silent? will she endorse? i don't think she'll endorse colbert-bush. but will she say, mark did that to his boys, to my children, that's not okay. if that's the case, that's going to be very important to watch. he could lose because of that. >> in a way, her silence would speak volumes in and of itself even if she doesn't endorse either side in the race. jimmy, an obvious question, but how important is colbert-bush's gender in this race? how important is it that she's a woman running against this failed man? >> massive. did you ever see the movie "steel magnolias"? tells you everything you need to know.

fight night, mark sanford and elizabeth colbert busch ahead of a debate and it's fair to say a sanford shadow is looming large over the race. it's not marx. it's jenny's. >> a deep dive in the fast and furious and failed attempts by different governors across the country to change tax laws. we will talk to the anti-tax man himself about why he opposes some of these measures. >> good morning from danville, new jersey. this is "the daily rundown." saddle up your pony, there is a rainbow in the sky. mr. todd has got a lot to say. so listen up to chuck because he's "the daily rundown" guy. today is going to be a great day. >> here's chuck todd. >> wow. to you don and matt and steve for that video. we learned that we will have a 10:15 a.m. press conference from the president this morning. today is actually the first 100 days of the second term. it is fitting. many presidents like to mark those days with a press conference. the president will be covering that live. let's get to the first reads of the morning. if it's tuesday, somebody is voting somewhere. today it's in massachusetts and it's

charges, mark sanford in his ex-wife's home. that open up this whole can of worms. that's the biggest difference. when you have, you are a divorce politician running for office, you want to make sure the exspouse is fully on board. >> by the way today, senator rand paul endorsed mark sanford. he is hoping that will give him a boost. >>> testimony getting underway in the michael jackson wrongful death lawsuit against the company promoting what was supposed to be michael jackson's final concert. we'll have the latest, the trial that some say could be worth billions of dollars for the jackson family if they win. but first, there is a lot going on today and here are some thing we thought you should know. voters in massachusetts are picking democratic and republican candidates. ed markey and steve lynch are battling it out. >>> a republican side features three candidates, navy s.e.a.l. turned businessman, gabriel gomez, the former u.s. attorney and former atf director mike sullivan and state representative dan winslow. they will face

we forgive mark sanford, not because mark sanford to but because if you're a christian christ calls you to. that doesn't mean i want him representing me nationally pip point of bill clinton is that's fine, i've forgiven bill clinton, too. he was my governor before he was your president. the fact of the matter is i still didn't want him being president after that interdent. mark is having a lot of problems down here. i don't think there's a big shift in the belief of the electorate toward something colbert-bush is doing. i don't necessarily want to put my name or neck on the line for a guy who really did a poor job of shepherding his personally or his professional life as governor. >> it's a strange thing, ron, trying to figure out how the voters go on this thing. you had witter in louisiana involved in professional sex workers, in d.c. and voters like him. they're talking about him for governor. in nevada it's legal to have those businesses out there, sex workers. and poor john gets picked out of politics. what are the rules, as bill maher would say, what are the new rules these days in

as mark sanford gets ready for a debate in south carolina, it's jenny sanford making headlines for him. not with an endorsement, but with a day in court. good morning from washington. it's wednesday, april 17th, 2013. a lot to get to on the boston bombing investigation. we will talk to republican senator that is at the center of both the gun and immigration fights. right now eats get right to the boston investigation. the president will travel there to the south to speak at an interfaith service dedicated to those wounded and killed in monday's bombing. investigators continue to comb through evidence looking for clues on who carried out the attack. we are looking at the mangled remains of an explosive device. the bombs concealed in backpacks or nylon bags. could have cost as little as $100 to build and were made of ordinary ingredients. pressure cooker pots that have been used for decades. the triggering mechanism included a battery pack and a circuit board. they were recovered at the scene and the bombs were packed with bbs, ball bearings and tiny nails meant to maim victims. they are

>> reporter: sanford's attempting a political comeback, his lover now fiancee often at his side. colbert, whose brother is stephen colbert, is a successful businesswoman, leading in fund-raising and the polls for the election next tuesday. chris clackum, nbc news. >>> turning now to sports a thrilling finish. brandon moss smacking a two-run homer to right for a 10-8 win over the angels. that game took 6:32, the longest game ever played in oakland and the longest in angels' history. they're all glad to go home. >>> in the nba, the oklahoma city thunder failed to score as time ran out twice. and the houston rockets get a 105-103 victory to stay alive. but they trail in the series 3-1. >>> you might remember 7-year-old jack hoffman who has brain cancer who ran 69 yards for a touchdown. well, monday jack met president obama who gave him a football with the presidential seal and his autograph. >>> with the kentucky derby coming up saturday they held the annual race event, 38 teams competing in a 600-yard dash. prizes are awarded for fastest teenagers best decoration and most entertain

republican mark sanford. sanford has managed to do the impossible. become the underdog versus a democrat in a district that mitt romney won by 18 points. he's done this via an impressive aware of mitt cascalculations, reportedly asking his ex-wife to run his campaign and later allegedly trespassing at her house. then admitting to the trespassing in a full page display ad, but justifying his actions because it was the super bowl, after all. let's also not forget he awkwardly introduced the world and reportedly his son to his mistress turned fiancee the night he won the nomination. oh, and there was the time he got into a debate with a poster board cutout of nancy pelosi. yes, you heard me. >> let's have that conversation that i think is so vital to, again, not only the discussion of ideas, but ultimately finding conclusions. i mean, if at the end of the day you have an idea and i have an idea, but at the end of the day we can't -- how you doing? appreciate it. thank you. >> joining us now is jimmy williams, a democratic strategist and msnbc contributo

i want to see the sanford race. what i want to see in the end is congresswoman colbert busch. >> right. i have to say if someone is rooting for congressman colbert busch, i am not sure the sanford nomination is the way to go. he has amazing name recognition and turns out the voters have a flexible definition marriage, more than you would think. we have been pushing marriage equality on the show a long time. i would hope the conservative christian voters of south carolina's congressional district would apply that flexibility, ability to forgive people that might be a little unorthodox in personal lives, apply it to definition of marriage as well. but i think this is a case of name recognition and more name recognition than colbert busch, and i think this is a indicate where he has been able to campaign as a fiscal conservative. he is able to say he cut lines in the dmv, he was rated number one by the cato institute. people like to think they're forgiving. let's not forget that, especially when it comes to politicians

pollsters give sanford the edge. the two men are vying for the republican nomination in a congressional special election. meanwhile, the democrat in that race is getting help from her little brother, comedian stephen colbert will hold two fundrai fundraisers with tickets at $10,000 a pop. wonder what they're serving. president obama might want to keep his day job and golf after a tough day on the basketball court. not so good. the president and others shot hoops after monday's easter egg roll. get this, mr. obama had to ask for some help going 2 for 22 on free-throws. yikes. >> the president doesn't goat practice probably as much as he'd like to. he's a -- having done a few shoot around with him, he's pretty good shot. these are busy times. >> they say he's a pretty good shot. >> excuses. >> i don't know. that didn't look like a good shot. i thought he had game. >> i've seen highlights on the campaign trail before. maybe he was throwing it for the kids. >> maybe an april fools joke that he can't play. >> you're so sm

but if sanford pulls out a victory, a possible twist here. the democratic nominee for the may 7th general election who just happens to be comedian stephen colbert's sister has release ad poll showing her leading both sanford and his run-off opponent in this conservative leaning district. you cannot make this up, they say. joining me now, march murray. before we get to the race on the seventh, let's talk about what's happening now. they're not expecting a huge turnout in this district which is an advantage, as i understand it. give the layout here. >> it is a potential advantage for him. he has the higher name i.d. most people know who he is. he was the state's governor so he has the name i.d. he also benefits from the fact that bostick launched his bid. that was just two weeks ago. it has been not a lot of time for curtis bostick to go from the number two finisher in that free for all to running in a run-off to really get his name high for people to get to know him. that's one of the reasons mark sanford has the advantage. >> and he has the c

so, for those who don't know, sanford es sanford's opponent is elizabeth colbert bush. she's a democrat. sanford is the republican in this district. the district they're running in is very strongly republican and yet republicans seem worried. why is that? >> don, i don't think republicans down here are worried at all. mark sanford is a force of nature in many ways. he's like lazarus from the bible. he came back from the dead. when he first announced about two months ago, i asked him, i said, governor, you've cheated on your wife, lied to your staff about hiking the appalachian trail, you left your post for five days unattended as governor, nobody knew where you were and you had one of the biggest ethics fines in state history. why should anybody vote for you? well, he said, bill, you know, i made some mistakes. but i've gotten right with god and his grace is a wonderful thing and i've asked everybody's forgiveness. and, don, it seems like a lot of people have forgiven mark sanford. a lot, though, haven't. so it will be interesting to see how this race shapes up on may 7

this is the district that mark sanford represented when he was in the house. this is his old district. so if anybody's going to forgive him for some moral misdeeds i think it's going to be this district. the one thing we're missing here, you know, the sex scandal is obviously the salacious, more interesting part of this whole thing. this is also the guy who had the highest ethics fine in the state's history that came out after this whole scandal unfolded. so if you had to ask me right now, i would say democrats will focus more on the ethics side of things than the moral side of things. i think that's a more fruitful argument particularly in a district that liked this guy and could be made to like him again. >> the road to redemption he's on again. let's talk about the road to hell being paved with twitter tweets and the fact that president obama politico's headline, obama's trash-talkers. look at this gang. they are some of the most infamous for being very opinionated on twitter and taking people on directly, politico's article saying they are offering an uneq

sanford went after colbert-bush for her tie to big-time d.c. fund-raisers and tried to connect her to nancy pelosi. it didn't take long for colbert-bush, to bring up mark sanford's personal past. >> when we are talking about getting our fiscal house in order, we need to look at everything from cutting spending to what are our costs. during the time when we are having all this fiscal spending, fiscal cutting and back to the days where everybody had a furlough in the state, everybody was losing their jobs and we were pulling our belts in, when we talk about fiscal spending and we talk about protecting the taxpayers, it doesn't mean you take that money we saved and leave the country for a personal purpose. >> she went there. >> i couldn't hear what she said. >> governor sanford, when you were in congress, you voted for the defense of marriage act and to impeach president clinton for an extra mayor ta affair. would you vote those ways again? >> well, i would reverse the question to you. i would say this. do you think that president clinton should b

on the way mark sanford ran his campaign. and you know what? it's what you always hear from crisis management people. get it out there. sit down and talk. tell them everything. i've made no secret of it. i'm, you know -- i've been a good friend of mark's for a very long time. i remember calling him after an a.p. interview he gave when the scandal broke out where he just went there and it seemed like this existential breakdown. i was like, dude! you're supposed to do that in your head! >> right. >> not in front of an a.p. reporter. and he said -- he said, you know what? you know? i'm just going to do -- you know, i'm just going to tell people the truth and they can take it or leave it. >> he let it hang out, for sure. >> when you consider that press conference he had, that meandering press conference that everyone thought was the undoing of everyone to mark sanford where he is today? it's pretty remarkable. >> it's amazing. >> he was honest about it when he said i fell in love. i was frail and i was human. and people understood it. >> mark sanfo

sanford from reselling himself as the man to cut spending in washington. we're joined now by republican strategist hogan giddley and msnbc contributor professor james peterson, director of african studies at lehigh university. i'd like to share with you mr. sanford's victory speech. >> do you believe a problem of debt can be solved with yet more debt? >> no! >> okay. do you believe that we need to get our financial house in order in washington, d.c.? >> yes. >> professor, what is more counterfeit and phony about mark sanford? his commitment to traditional marriage or his commitment to conservative princprinciples? which of those. >> i'm probably not the person to answer that question. i'm curious as to how many people were actually in that room. sounds like a pretty small crowd here. >> this is a man who had to pay back over $70,000 for misusing public funds. so i have to ask you the question again. which part of this man's political armory is more count fit? his commitment to monogamy or his commitment to small government? >> based on the fact that you ju

mark sanford one step closer to trying to reclaim his former congressional seat. he defeated curtis bostic. the biggest, most significant surprise of the evening, the person standing next to him on stage, his former mistress and now fiance was there with him along with his mother and their sons. he spoke of forgiveness on his road to redemption. >> i want to thank my god. you know, i used to cringe when somebody said i want to thank my god. it was getting uncomfortable. once you really receive god's grace and seen it reflected in others, you cannot stop and stop for a moment and publicliage knowledge that grace and the difference he's made in my life and the difference he making in so many lives across this state and that nation and this campaign. god may be a god of second chances, voters are a little less forgiving. >>> coming up on "morning joe," a live interview with mark sanford. with us right now, the chief white house correspondent from politico, mike allen. thanks for getting up early today. as we look ahead to the showdown with elisabeth colbert, it could

. >> mark sanford, a candidate for a cardboard debated cutout. his opponent will only give him one debate next week. you do not get any back talk when you do that. >> he was inspired by clint eastwood's performance of the chair of the republican national convention. right now, mark sanford is less popular in this district where mitt romney got 56% of the vote, than barack obama. the most popular figure in that district is not a elizabeth busch or any other democrat or republican, it is jenny sanford, and that is who he is running against, his former wife. she is not helping him, believe me. >> max baucus leaving the senate, can he be scared? >> it republicans have a good shot of taking his seat. there for the cause of the republicans taking control in the senate in 2014 just went up. max baucus was one of the most beloved members of the senate on the democratic side. they thought he had a new goal for a spine and he had an important job, chairman of the finance committee. in that sense, they will miss him as a member, not as a person. barack obam