but first, chris christie fumbles. chris christie of the garden states comes in not first, not second, not third, not even fourth or fifth, he comes in sixth place in likely republican caucusers. for christie, it is bad, and it gets badder, as he has an unfavorable rating of 54%. and it gets badder-er-er, he said this in london on monday. this is about getting your kids vaccinated. >> it is more important what you think as a parent than what you think as a public official. it depends on what the vaccine is what the disease type is, and all the rest, i did not say to give people the option, i am just considering parental concern. >> he walked back a little bit but how did he get on this side in the vaccine discussion? >> the guy is now acting like a politician, that is an answer where he is trying to split the difference between what science says, ignoring what the medical profession says, and what a group of know-nothing anti-science people believe, and he is trying to have it both ways. that is not chris christie's br

but first, chris christie fumbles. he comes and not first, not second, not third, not even fourth or fifth, he comes in sixth place in likely republican caucus errors -- caucusers. for christie, it is bad, and it gets a that are -- gets badder he has an on favorable rating of 54%. and it gets badder-er he said this on monday in london. this is about getting your kids vaccinated. >> it depends on what the vaccine is, what the disease type is, and all the rest, i did not say to give people the option, i am just can citrine -- considering parental concern. >> he walked back a little bit but how did he get on this stop in the vaccine discussion? >> the guy is now acting like a politician, that is an answer where he is trying to split the difference, ignoring what the medical profession says and what a group of know nothing antiscience people believe, and he is trying to have it both ways. that is not chris christie's brand and he is not good at doing that. >> the fact is part of his problem with iowa voters is that he is t

we also know chris christie. we know his modus operandi. >> today, he did not have to answer questions in london. there was some press. he blew them off. the vaccine story that we talked about yesterday, it kind of turned some heads, his statement on that. when he is in iowa and new hampshire, and someone either enterprise reporting or other, he is going to have to start answering, and if he answers them the way he normally does come with the temperament that people are now tired of, it is going to be a problem. i think mitt romney believes and some people believe he is overwhelming. >> he believes that chris christie has been vetted, and that is what mitt romney said back in 2012, but you have never really been vetted i tune you are a presidential candidate. >> is there a doctor in the house? senator rand paul gave an interview about vaccination nation, and the senator revealed what many think is a thin-skinned side, and things got a little awkward. it is what we say in the television business, good tv. >> we ha

we also know chris christie. we know his modus operandi. >> today, he did not have to answer questions in london. there was some press. he blew them off. the vaccine story that we talked about yesterday, it kind of turned some heads, his statement on that. when he is in iowa and new hampshire, and someone either enterprise reporting or other he is going to have to start answering, and if he answers them the way he normally does come with the temperament that people are now tired of, it is going to be a problem. i think mitt romney believes and some people believe he is overwhelming. >> he believes that chris christie has been vetted, and that is what mitt romney said back in 2012, but you have never really been vetted i tune you are a presidential candidate. >> is there a doctor in the house? senator rand paul gave an interview about vaccination nation, and the senator revealed what many think is a thin-skinned side, and things got a little awkward. it is what we say in the television business good tv. >> we have

what kind of grade did you give to chris christie? mark: he came in because he was given a bad run, i give him a b plus so he was very interesting , and he went after jeb bush recently. john: he also said he was willing to take on unscripted questions. mark: some people are saying that it is ridiculous that the head of the rga -- that the chair of the rga was saying that, but again, he is still in a deep hole, but it has been a pretty good day for him. all right, next up is ted cruz which john and i did an interview with and we will show that a little bit later. john: he did all right, i thought, you know, that we always say that people say that he needs new material, and this is more like a greatest hits album. he got a lot of applause in the room, solidity or a little clip and will get back to your grade. ted cruz: if you are really a conservative, you will have been in the trenches, you will bear the scars, you will have been fighting the fight, and i will tell you what the men and women of cpac understand. it is the biggest divide

and a town hall with chris christie. but first the new poll out of iowa puts scott walker the top of the pack by healthy margin and raises some critical issues for jeb bush. if you could hear me across the hudson, who at this moment is the current republican front-runner? mark: by every measure it is jim bush. he will raise the most money the establishment likes him, a lot of members of congress would like to see him be the nominee. scott walker ahead in the new poll and is being seen by younger people as a more exciting alternative to jeb bush. if you go by traditional measures, jeb bush is the front runner. according to fundraising it is scott walker. john: right now, scott walker the poll puts him ahead. he has 17 points between him and jim ocean iowa. that will be at rate -- a place where scott walker needs to win. you also see in this poll that jeb bush way worse numbers than anyone else in the republican field. 41% unfave and a lot of republicans will not vote for him. he is the front runner but scott walker is com

chris christie, we are going to talk about him more in the show. between the vaccine thing and the new york times story, a new federal probe, a criminal probe on new jersey, and handled ready badly. he got -- handled pretty badly. he got to london and refuse to answer questions. i think it is a bad omen for things to come. >> also a horrible week for rand paul, another guy who shows that the worst thing you can do is signal to donors, the press, and activists that the thing you think is weakest in value is actually true. he did that this week on vaccines. he got some scrutiny from the new york times. he seemed thin-skinned. if he is going to have to be a nominee he is going to have to stop being thin-skinned. >> going to have to be tougher. >> finally, what happened was overlooked. >> we have these bloomberg politics that came out of the very beginning the week. i was struck most high the fact that the past winners of the iowa caucus, neither doing well in iowa at all. rick santorum in the single digits. if you added them up together they are still

and a town hall with chris christie. but first the new poll out of iowa puts scott walker the top of the pack by healthy margin and raises some critical issues for jeb bush. if you could hear me across the hudson, who at this moment is the current republican front-runner? mark: by every measure it is jeb bush. he will raise the most money the establishment likes him, a lot of members of congress would like to see him be the nominee. scott walker ahead in the new poll and is being seen by younger people as a more exciting alternative to jeb bush. if you go by traditional measures, jeb bush is the front runner. according to web fundraising it is scott walker. john: right now, scott walker, the poll puts him ahead. he has 17 points between him and jeb bush in iowa. a place where scott walker needs to win. you also see in this poll that jeb bush way worse numbers than anyone else in the republican field. 40% unfave and a lot of republicans will not vote for him. he is the front runner but scott walker is coming out strong. m

that's the old chris christie. that's not what he wants to be. >> in rapid paul's cand paul's gotten this far by playing by his own rules. he feels he's too good for the rules. he can shush a reporter, play the victim, blame the media. at some point you have to enact some measure of discipline over what you're saying. rand paul has a bad habit of saying one thing in one place and saying something somewhere else and saying he didn't say it. >> at a basic level, we talk about mitt romney and the downfalls of running for president a couple of times and not doing so well. one of the great things running for president more than ones is you have experience in it. the two candidates who are testing the waters for the first time, they have a risk of being caught off guard by issues they didn't expect to be talking about. in chris christie's case and rand paul to some degree, the experience of seeing something that you've been seeing in your home state and suddenly saying it in front of a national audience is much different

what kind of grade did you give to chris christie? mark: he came in because he was given a bad run, i give him a b plus, so he was very interesting, and he went after jeb bush recently. john: he also said he was willing to take on unscripted questions. mark: some people are saying that it is ridiculous that the chair of the rga was saying that, but again, he is still in a deep hole, but it has been a pretty good day for him. all right, next up is ted cruz which john and i did an interview with and we will show that a little bit later. john: he did all right, i thought, you know, that we always say that people say that he needs new material, and this is more like a greatest hits album. he got a lot of applause in the room, so here's a little clip and we'll get back to your grade. senator ted cruz: if you are really a conservative, you will have been in the trenches, you will bear the scars, you will have been fighting the fight and i will tell you what the men and women of cpac understand. it is the biggest divide that we have in this

take chris christie in new hampshire. let's say he finishes a strong third in iowa and second to paul in new hampshire. that are so many candidates, so many ways to accumulate delegates. i don't see a lot of must-wins. >> in a word, yes. if rick perry comes in second, he has a past the nomination. -- past two -- pass to the nomination. i don't think there is a world where he finishes second in new hampshire and chris christie finishes second in iowa. i can imagine the path for those guys but in the real world given their weaknesses for one of the other two state, they have to win one of them, otherwise the momentum will not be there. >> people look at the rudy giuliani experiment. they say, he waited for florida. if you perform well even without a win and you talk to the media about a delegate accumulation strategy and you keep up enough momentum by closing strong, i don't think you need to win an early state. as long as you are accumulating delegates and raising money and performing well in terms of media i don't , think

chris christie and his expense account, hillary clinton and her private jets. my question to you as this presidential campaign rolls around, which of the candidates is going to spend the most time in the barrel? >> hillary clinton is going to spend a lot of time in there. there is tons of investigative stuff to do. the two other people i think have to worry right now are jeb bush, because i think he will emerge as a clear front runner when the fundraising figures come out and there is a lot of his life the national media has never dug into, and rand paul. rand paul is going to be out there attracting attention, and there is lots to look at. >> i absolutely agree with you. i will add one to the list. chris christie -- if you go back and read the detailed account of the vice presidential vet in 2012, there's a lot of stuff there. people have only scratched the surface of that material, various controversies. i think teams are out there mining that stuff, and the papers are waiting for it. he's a big target. >> how many of investigative pieces about them that put

chris christie didn't do too well. >> chris christie comes not first, not second, not fourth, not even fifth, but in sixth place. >> that time we put mitch daniels through the toughest interview of his entire life. just tell us something you think about jeb bush. anything. do you like the color of his hair? anything. anything about jeb bush. >> that time we unleashed the i-team. >> does eric schock watch " downton abbey"? >> haters are going to hate. >> what a week. >> we are only on the tube a half an hour a day, but we're live 24/7 online. read a great piece on whether jennifer can keep hillary clinton on message mark. we have a big weekend coming up with the grammy awards. i'm going to watch that. what else are you doing this weekend for fun? >> sunday morning, get up, eight-mile run, a little bit of church and then you and i will appear on the "this week" program. >> you and me? together? >> two of us on the round table. we have a big new poll coming out. bloomberg politics, some college poll, a president al race in new hampshire. up next here taketake -- "taking >> the employment

chris christie and his expense account, hillary clinton and her private jets. my question to you as this presidential campaign rolls around, which of the candidates is going to spend the most time in the barrel? >> hillary clinton is going to spend a lot of time in there. there is tons of investigative stuff to do. the two other people i think have to worry right now are jeb bush, because i think he will emerge as a clear front runner when the fundraising figures come out, and there is a lot of his life the national media has never dug into, and rand paul. rand paul is going to be out there attracting attention, and there is lots to look at. >> i absolutely agree with you. i will add one to the list. chris christie -- if you go back and read the detailed account of the vice presidential vet in 2012, there's a lot of stuff there. people have only scratched the surface of that material various controversies. i think teams are out there mining that stuff, and the papers are waiting for it. he's a big target. >> how many of investigative pieces about them that put

this is a blow to chris christie, no doubt. is it a sign that chris christie is toast? >> he is not toast, but this hurts. he has been written off earlier. he owns a new jersey football team. he owns a new jersey football team. ' it is not the first tri-state area bundler christie has lost to jeb bush, but i am telling you right now, i don't believe the christie people know how bad it is. i know they have recognized that they have lost people, but people are writing him off. >> while scott walker is here he didn't handle that question well, but the truth is, among new york donors who don't want jeb bush, they have an open ear for scott walker. because they don't want chris christie. that is why scott walker is getting a hearing this week. >> it previously was the case for people that we talked to that christie would be the #2 contender to bush. the one upside for christie is he is going to have to fight for it now in a way that's not going to be like a chair fund-raising. he is going to have to fight for the nomination, potentially underfunded. he is going to have to us

chris christie's measles comments left him pandering. headline, "chris christie shows fondness for luxury benefits when others pay the bill." and christie snapped at reporters. here he is. >> did you discuss the islamic state at all? >> is there something that you didn't understand about no questions? >> governor, would you put troops on the ground to fight isis? >> is there a reason you won't take -- >> and for the first time in new jersey's poll, christie is viewed unfavorably more than favorably. joining me, perry bacon, susan milligan. susan, you first. a lot of things went wrong on this trip. a bad trip. as we used to say in the '60s. >> first of all, the whole idea that you can go to great britain and call that a foreign policy experience is sort of laughable to me and the fact that it went so badly makes it even worse. >> they speak english over there. >> yes. and it's not a foreign currency. he should have gone to greece, actually. that would have been more useful. but what is interesting to me, are we going to see chris christie

she leads chris christie by 13 points, 47 to 34. down in florida jeb bush keeps it close, but still trails by a point. 44 to 43. but clinton beats rand paul down there by 12 50 to 38. she has an 18-point lead over chris christie down in that state. despite all new yorkers down there. finally to pennsylvania, where her lead is even bigger. against just about, 15 points 50-35 against rand paul. hillary wins by 19. she is in good shape. so in eight of nine contests it's a clinton blowout. we'll be right back right after this. ke shopping hungry equals overshopping. good job! still running in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. >>> welcome back to "hardball." with a year to go before the new hampshire primary, the big question for the democrats is whether hillary clinton, secretary of state, will face a democratic challenger. it was new hampshire that kept her campaign alive after a third place fini

right now that investment isn't in chris christie. if you think about casino odds, this guy can't even keep atlantic city open. he has big problems on his hands. jon: guy, if he is going to run, does he have to, you know get on it start raising money basically become a semiannounced candidate? >> he sort of is already. he is raising money for his pac. he is raising money he has a lot of chits he will call in at some point. he was republican governor association chairman in 2014. he traveled across the country and helped a lot of republicans get elected. republicans now control 31 out of our 50 governorships. christie helped with a lot of that. so i think that christie money he is never going to come close to what jeb bush is raising. that is very clear. i'm not sure anyone is in the primary contest but he needs to have enough money to stay in this thing and start building his case face-to-face with retail politics and strong debate performances. right now he might be floundering a little bit. there is still time to right the ship but

. >> on the chris christie thing there is a lot of momentum. a lot of people believe in these key operatives. i think he has to take questions. that is key. he has to take questions. >> a town hall on wednesday in new jersey. >> that will help. he has to take questions. he has to answer questions. >> what is hillary clinton have to do? >> i don't know. beyond becoming a candidate or getting out and engaging with voters, doing something that makes people take notice that she's behaving in a different way. launching her campaign. >> some stories, by not responding it is suggesting that the clintons have a lot to hide. >> there is a story in the new york times that she has hired a firm. not a great story. it feeds the narrative that they are scrambling. >> some public events coming up. she is giving a talk at a tech conference in california. >> those things -- >> i agree. marco rubio, this guy is having a week. his book tour is going well. his response to rudy giuliani's line was boffo. >> that was really boffo. >> is senator rubio in the upper mo

. >> on the chris christie thing, there is a lot of momentum. a lot of people believe in these key operatives. i think he has to take questions. that is key. he has to take questions. >> a town hall on wednesday in new jersey. >> that will help. he has to take questions. he has to answer questions. >> what is hillary clinton have to do? >> i don't know. beyond becoming a candidate or getting out and engaging with voters, doing something that makes people take notice that she's behaving in a different way. launching her campaign. >> some stories, by not responding it is suggesting that the clintons have a lot to hide. >> there is a story in the new york times that she has hired a firm. not a great story. it feeds the narrative that they are scrambling. >> some public events coming up. she is giving a talk at a tech conference in california. >> those things -- >> i agree. marco rubio this guy is having a week. his book tour is going well. his response to rudy giuliani's line was boffo. >> that was really boffo. >> is senator rubio in the upper mos

by then it was a big story and not what chris christie wanted his trip to be about. this, today with chris christie was a big enough story over the course of the day, it was a big enough story when he was in london today, the story spread across the pond to the united states and seemed to have infected rand paul. after this story took off today other would be 2016 contenders should have known they would be asked. >> i'm not antivaccine at all, but particularly most of them ought to be voluntary, i was annoyed that they wanted my kids to get the vaccines, and i had them delayed and staggered overtime. >> i should have done that, i should have talked to you. >> i should have talked to you because you're a doctor after all. rand paul is not that kind of doctor. rand paul for years was a member of a conspiracy theory doctor's ocean called the association of american physicians and surgeons. sounds like a straightforward group, right? they pick names they sound upstanding. they say it is evil and immoral for doctors to participate in medicare, and that vaccines cause auti

we want the real chris christie. there's only one chris christie, this is it. >> he played up the aggressive fighting style. here he is. >> there will be times i will say some things that will make you shake your head. there would be times i will say things in a way you may think he could maybe have said that a bit better, but what you are will never say is that i don't know who he is, and i don't know what he believes, and i don't know what he's willing to fight for and who he's willing to fight to get there. >> christie finds himself trailing the pack in all of the primary states. i know it's early. south carolina he doesn't even make the top five. rob, this thing about being two-faced or -- hughey long did it in the old days. i mean, you can get away with that before there was like radio, but now it seems to be that people know what people are saying in other places. can christie by the live free or die character? gritty new hampshire or easier going fella out in iowa who hates loud noises. >> i think it's hard to

chris christie got himself into. he knows that -- >> you mean rick perry. >> sorry, rick perry did. he knows that michele bachmann had just a field day with that. so, you know, the problem is whether they're talking about vaccination or about birth control. you can see why they want to limit the number of debates on the republican side because they get into president 19th century debates in the 21st century. >> isn't that also part of what we're looking at here are these guys ready for primetime politics? the big stage. where you're going to have to deal with these issues and not stumble all over yourself in talking about it. >> right. it really seems like they're not. it's somewhat surprising with chris christie because she's supposed to be the moderate. he should not be you know appealing to the michele bachmann demographic but it seems like he thinks that he's got to. >> dana milbank and joan walsh. thank you both for your time this evening. >> thanks, reverend. >>> coming up the epic super bowl ending. some are c

take chris christie in new hampshire. let's say he finishes a strong third in iowa and second to paul in new hampshire. that are so many candidates, so many ways to accumulate delegates. i don't see a lot of must wins. >> in a word, yes. if rick perry comes in second he has a past the nomination. i don't think there is a world where he finishes second in new hampshire and chris christie finishes second in iowa. i can imagine the path for those guys but in the real world given their weaknesses for one of the other two state, they have to win other them otherwise the momentum will not be there. >> people look at the rudy giuliani experiment. he waited for florida. did you perform well even without a win and you talk to the media about a delegate accumulation strategy and you keep up enough momentum by closing strong, i don't think you need to win an early's state. as long as you are performing well in terms of media and some speeches, i don't think you need to win the early states. i don't think wins will matter with the ex

joining me now, one of the reporters that wrote "the new york times" piece on chris christie. when i look at these things, what always strikes me about it having worked in the senate all this would be completely illegal. every single thing he does if he was in cory booker's position as new jersey's representative in the united states senate or in the house of representatives. you can't bring spouses on trips. you have a depiction of him loading up one of his private planes to fly to israel with his wife, three of his four kids his mother. >> father stepmother, law partner. >> it's like thanksgiving dinner in the plane. that would be wildly criminal for a senator. but governors can get away with it? >> new jersey was the most prominent state, the only state proposing to legalize it. so you have him taking a gift from someone who is lobbying against this. clearly it was a gift and lobbying going on. so the ethical conflicts are striking here. >> this group, this promote new jersey group was actually his idea. this group of big money entities with new jersey interests who got tog

chris christie is being quiet about everything. but you know, these guys are so advanced in their planning to run for president stages they don't say or do anything without meaning to. chris christie vetoed anti-pig crate because he thinks its will play well in iowa. do these guys see the issue as something nationally harmful at the moment, but might offer a short-term opportunity that is not easy to see. rand paul and chris christie are -- a long history of being a little oogy when it comes to the vaccine issue. rand paul meeting with anti-vaccine groups. believing that it causes autism, he would stand with hem this. even the hallmark card reminding you to vaccine your kids. what happened to rand paul and chris christie this week is being treated like misstatement, flub, inappropriate choice of words that has been very embarrassing for these two men. they both have a track record to back up their hints that the anti-vaccination people might have a point. there is no mainstream national constituency for playing with that kind of fi

i know chris christie is his friend. it's odd public that that's your first move. >> it is a little bit of odd public posturing. this is a big win for chris christie as well with jeb bush in the race, with mitt romney in the race it would have been very hard for him particularly on the money side to carve out. does mitt romney do anything immediately after this dinner he's had. i don't think that will be the case. people come to kiss mitt's ring and what role he plays next will be a fascinating story in this presidential campaign. >> i predict he won't endorse anybody. the people around him say he wants to, as you call him a king maker, wants to preserve his dignity. he pulled the plug just in time so he didn't get embarrassed as jay martin would say. he wants to help the rnc. he wants to be a big help to whoever the nominee is. he's going to do what he should have done before. >> john, this is somebody who was so haunted by what went wrong in his campaigns. i was with him last week in mississippi when he gave a speech a

chris christie's measles comments left him pandering. headline, chris christie shows fondness for luxury benefits when others pay the bill." and christie smaped at reporters. here he is. >> did you discuss the islamic state at all? >> is there something that you didn't understand about no questions? >> governor would you put troops on the ground to fight isis? >> is there a reason you won't take -- >> and for the first time in new jersey's poll, christie is viewed unfavorably more than favorably. joining me perry bacon, susan milligan. susan, you first. a lot of things went wrong on this trip. a bad trip. as we used to say in the '60s. >> first of all, the whole idea that you can go to great britain and call that a foreign policy experience is sort of laughable to me and the fact that it went so badly makes it even worse. >> they speak english over there. >> yes. and it's not a foreign currency. he should have gone to greece actually. that would have been more useful. but what is interesting to me, are we going to see chris christie the

we want the real chris christie. there's only one chris christie this is it. >> he played up the aggressive fighting style. here he is. >> there will be times i will say some things that will make you shake your head. there would be times i will say things in a way you may think he could maybe have said that a bit better, but what you are will never say is that i don't know who he is and i don't know what he believes and i don't know what he's willing to fight for and who he's willing to fight to get there. >> christie finds himself trailing the pack in all of the primary states. i know it's early. south carolina he doesn't even make the top five. rob, this thing about being two-faced or -- hughey long did it in the old days. i mean you can get away with that before there was like radio, but now it seems to be that people know what people are saying in other places. can christie by the live free or die character? gritty new hampshire or easier going fella out in iowa who hates loud noises. >> i think it's hard to do

oh yeah i'm chris christie i'll win them over. you haven't done the early fundraising and gotten the donor. don't worry, i have the power of the personality, i can make it work. he believes in the power of his personality in a public setting to overcome barriers that people say are there and will fail any other candidate but he falls behind in the invisible primary is there is a clash between he still has confidence to pull this out and people are saying how do you pull this out. >> i find it fun that you say the power of his personality but his favorable ratings have gone up but whenever he speaks he is not showing a personality that is friendly or positive. that was interesting. i wish we had more time because you are an encyclopedia. >> i can go three more hours. >> let's do it. we'll go rogue. thank you, chris kornacki. and watch every morning up with steve kornacki. thank you, steve. >>> and coming up a look at favorite movies that could score a shiny gold an statue this weekend. >>> and i'll speak with the daughter of malcol

watching chris christie for years and listening to him now more than most politicians i think chris christie is really selective and really knows how to turn 0 on and off when it comes to seeing gray. he has all of these moments where you can think of get the hell often the beach, he stands up for muslim judge in new jersey. where there's black and there's white and absolutely no in between. he make as name for himself by coming down and taking firm stands, where he gets a reputation for straight talk and tell 2g like it is and all that stuff. it's interesting to contrast that with what you just heard there. where suddenly when it comes to the general electorate is here and republican electorate or parts of it are over here. so he tries to put himself in the midst. he gets himself in trouble, it's jarring for him. people are accustomed to the so-called straight-talking, plain-talking chris christie. >> this is how hillary clinton got in trouble in the drex debate and had to deep et yitliot spitzer happy and the hispanic community and the general electorate didn't like that going on. this is

let's start with chris christie. his team pushing back on interpretation of what the judge said there, mark. >> that's right, tamron although it is sort of a bad news for his administration. they have been touting pension reform as one of the big success stories from christie's time in office as new jersey governor. they did put out good news that chris christie tried to create a truce with teachers to resolve the pension situation. but tamron when you add up bridge gate scandal in new jersey credit downgrade for chris christie a lot of jockeying in 2016 where jeb bush and scott walker are the ones at the top of the polls for republicans, you have to end up saying chris christie when it comes to the 2016 presidential contest isn't a top tier candidate now. things can change yet this story is kind of the latest negative story hitting at chris christie. >> in his statement, early statement from his office they referred to this as liberal judicial activism rhetorical grenades, that statement. that often gets attention o

who chris christie is? >> no. >> as christie steps in a minefield. >> groundhog day brought to you in a debate over the vaccines. >> rand paul also has said that this should be up to parents. >> parents are making the wrong choice. >> the science is you know pretty indisputable. >> now we turn to the president. >> this is white house budget day. >> that is an immediate battle that is looming. >> you see bill murray playing the piano in the forrier we're probably going to do this again. >> mitt romney said i believe one of our next generation of republican leaders, one who may not be as well-known as i am today, one who may not yet have taken their message across the country, one who is just getting started may well emerge as being able to defeat the democrat nominee. in fact i expect and hope that to be the case. mitt romney gave no hint as to who that mythical character might be. after making that announcement mitt romney had dinner with chris christie. >> how did that dinner go with mitt romney? >> how yo

this is a blow to chris christie , no doubt. is it a sign that chris christie is toast? >> he is not toast, but this hurts. this guy raised a ton of money or mitt romney -- for mitt romney. he owns a new jersey football team. it is not the first tri-state area bundler christie has lost to jeb bush, but i am telling you right now, i don't believe the christie people know how bad it is. people are writing him off. >> while scott walker is here he didn't handle it well, but the truth is, among new york donors who don't want jeb bush, they have an open ear for his -- an open ear for scott walker. because they don't want chris christie. that is why scott walker is getting a hearing this week. >> i think the one upside for christie is he is going to have to fight for it now in a way that's not going to be like in -- like a chair fund-raising. he is going to have to use his political skills which, the people writing him off or get are from edible. >> they are from edible. -- forget our formidable. >> they are formidable. there is all this polling now and you know as well as i d

on the eve of chris christie's egg budget unveiling today, a judge with an exquisite jersey sense of timing shoved a big boy back in the girl. her honor says christie broke the law i not putting money into the pension plan. >> by putting forward new solutions to an age-old problem like this we are creating a national model. i signing this roadmap with the teachers union, we are showing government can work for all of our hard-working taxpayers. >> a deal with the teachers union at least the start of a deal to try to work some of this out. good for christie or bad for christie? >> bad for christie. when the court comes down and says you have roque and the law, it's bad for you and it highlights the fact that new jersey's fiscal situation is in bad shape. the big decisions are going to come tomorrow. when he goes to see pack later in the week, he has to give a real political speech. >> i don't think the new jersey economy has failed to improve -- his big calling card was that he could be tough on unions but still make deals with them. having a deal is good. >> that things have gone past

rand paul and chris christie are getting. a long history of being a little oogy when it comes to the vaccine issue. rand paul meeting with anti-vaccine groups. believing that it causes autism he would stand with hem this. even the hallmark card reminding you to vaccine your kids. what happened to rand paul and chris christie this week is being treated like misstatement flub, inappropriate choice of words that has been very embarrassing for these two men. they both have a track record to back up their hints that the antivaccination people might have a point. there is no mainstream national constituency for playing with that kind of fire. for playing with conspiracy theories. is this not a mistake on either of their parts? is this for instance and early weird play to try to win a state like iowa? joining us now is an editorial page columnist with "the des moines register." >> thank you for having me it's great to be here. >> it is seemed they both stepped on it is that how it is playing in oisz or is it more nuanced in iowa? >>

things started off a little bit okay, sort of, for new jersey governor chris christie. he went to a soccer match wear withing a red and white scar. . that wasn't too bad. there was rhyme and reason to his trip. new jersey has had a health care industry, drug and medical device manufacturers. they have a good chunk of the new jersey economy. so it made sense as part of a trade mission to attract international business interest in new jersey the state's governor upon arriving in britain would find a way to visit the manufacturer of a flu vaccine. plus while he was touring the facility he got to wear the safety glasses and lab coat can. all made him look smart. you are trying to look presidential. this is good. fur running for a president, do a photo op at a place that makes vaccines. there are good things about this. but if you do that while the united states is undergoing an epidemic of a disease that can be prevent ed by vaccines that people aren't taking for some unexplicable reason you as a candidate will get asked about vaccines and so you should have an answer ready

. >>> plus is 2016 still in the cards for chris christie? more and more republican insiders say they just don't think the jersey governor can win their party's nomination. >>> and this weekend marks the 40th anniversary of "saturday night live." we'll look at some very funny intersection of comedy and politics and how comedy can destroy a politician bike gerry ford. >>> there was a profound sense of loss we felt this week. three guys died this week. the older you get, the more you know them. this is "hardball," the place for politics. our experienced investment professionals are one reason over 85% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper averages. so in a variety of markets we can help you feel confident. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. call us or your advisor. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. ♪ there's confidence. then there's trusting your vehicle maintenance to ford service confidence. our expertise, technology, a

chris christie says he stands with them now. amid the controversy, a potential rival for the 2016 presidential nomination is weighing in. i'm not anti-vaccine at all, but most of them ought to be voluntary. for the record, 68% of the public and 86% of scientists disagree with senator paul. the conflict over balance and choice comes after the cdc warns of an outbreak. asked about the vaccine debate president obama was less nuanced in his response. >> the science is pretty indisputable. we have looked at this again and again. there is every reason to get vaccinated. there aren't reasons to not get vaccinated. >> are you telling parents to get their kids vaccinated? >> parents should get their kids vaccinated. >> joining me now are my guests. let me ask you first since you were actually with the governor when he weighed into this. was this a gaffe? >> well alex i think you can see from the statement that they put out and the speed with which they put that statement out they felt like this was something important enough to try to ge

some of the bad news that chris christie has had one that he didn't fair in the poll in iowa. he ended up getting into this flap over the measles. he had to walk it back. today comes to the "new york times" stories about some of his luxurious travel overseas. >> i have to quickly mention that hillary clinton and a recent poll tied or beat all republican possible opponents. >> that's right. right now hillary clinton looks pretty good. i find it very interesting that jeb bush and hillary clinton are 1-point difference. very interesting to watch. >> we'll be watching that. thank you and we'll see you tomorrow. for more of the rest of the political team check out first read on nbcnews.com. >>> fighting for life the signs bobbi kristina brown's family are calling hopeful. >>> it's a never-ending battle for a good night's spleep the new research that may have you trying to change the time you head to bed. >>> a popular fast food restaurant is hoping to it make the start of your day brighter >>> right now the daughter of the late whitney houston remains in a coma. a family friend say

same thing for chris christie. to me, the biggest story in that entire poll shows the republican party continues to be divided between your establishment republicans and grass roots base. the poll of likely iowa caucusgoers on the republican side, your most conservative people, right now you have folks like scott walker mike huckabee and rand paul leading that. as you mentioned, to me one of the biggest indications in that entire poll. jeb bush is in fifth or sixth place. chris christie is in sixth or eighth place whether or not you include mitt romney or not. that is a concern to these republicans. they'll be able to raise a tremendous amount of money in 2016. the question is can they win over some of the conservative voters? >> the reality also is that iowa really is not a true reflection as far as even in the gop field of how the rest of the states and the rest of the country in the gop side feel. >> that's a very good point. and so it does kind of show that iowa is going to be that battle ground to really be th

which when chris christie made a benign comment on vaccines that's careless. you take the spotlight off obama's contagious misery and put it on you. the leftist media is waiting to take its shot. innoculate yourself against them. realizing that barking vaccines is not presidential it's mickey mouse which is why rand paul looks bad and ben carson looks good. yes, i get it it's a free country but making it a quest individual liberty only works when everybody is healthy but when everybody is sick, you will wish you got priked. >> dana it's interesting to look at how the antivaccine movement started. it started with a disgraced study and trial lawyers. >> it's very interesting the republicans might beet target of this now given it started on the left. trial lawyers took this now defunk study scared everyone to depth, we'll sue everybody. now this is the perfect way trial lawyers work. now there's talk about bringing lawsuits against parents who didn't get their parents vaccinated that cause other parents to get sick. >> exactly. >> that doesn't answer the question

the "wall street journal," chris christie's vaccine stumble. this isn't the first time christie has given comfort to those who spread vaccine misinformation or suggest vaccine requirements are aan abuse of government power. in a 2009 letter to potential voters he said he had met with families affected by autism. many of whom had expressed their concern over new jersey's highest in the nation vaccine mandate mandates. i stand with him now and will stand with them as their governor in their fight for greater parental involvement in vaccination decisions that affect their children. the real public health problem isn't a lack of parental choice but a lack of common sense about vaccines and politicians should do more to promote the latter. >> michael steele a couple -- oh at "wall street journal" editorial. bad day yesterday for chris christie and rand paul, wouldn't you say? >> yes. the vast majority of parents and science. >> science. >> start with science. >> science parents, the state of mississippi. >> i don't know the audience they're playing

. >> chris christie is coming out swinging at the 2016 opponent and the media. always our fault. listen to what he says about questions on the low poll numbers and can he reverse the slide in momentum? and is hilary clinton trying to go human talking about her hord hoarding? is she just like us? >> just like us. (woman) the constipation and belly pain feel like a knot. how can i ease this pain? (man) when i can't go, it's like bricks piling up. i wish i could find some relief. (announcer) ask your doctor about linzess-- a once-daily capsule for adults with ibs with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation. linzess is thought to help calm pain-sensing nerves and accelerate bowel movements. it helps you proactively manage your symptoms. do not give linzess to children under 6, and it should not be given to children 6 to 17. it may harm them. don't take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain especially with bloody or black stools the most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. if it's severe stop takin

not included in the leaders, new jersey governor chris christie. his approval has hit a new low, 37% with more than half, 52% saying they disapprove of his job as governor. if he runs, he'll likely face scott walker who got in trouble last week for punting on a science question. the former instructor said the governor was accepting of everything in class nearly three decades ago and hopes that walker understands the porngs of scientific thought. >>> conservative chief justice roy moore is doubling down on his stance against it. she says there's a federal intrusion into state sovereignty violating organic law. >> this power over marriage which came from god under our organic law is not to be redefined by the united states supreme court or any federal court. >> as for the supreme court, tune in for ruth bader ginsberg's interview on monday night, 9:00 p.m. eastern. >>> tina fey's portrayal of sara palin is an all-time great. the real palin showed up last night with a question for jerry seinfeld and creator loren michaels. >> jerry, how much do you th

a lot of people think it's chris christie or jeb bush, in the event, by the way, it is chris christie who decides to run for president and even when will have to give up look at who is the backup guy. >> he has the highest name recognition in the state and it's not just me. i talk to a lot of powerful people and i know a lot of people and that is how they work and they all mention it in terms of this. so you could be the entertainment at your own inauguration. [laughter] neil: day one. i remember like it was yesterday. [laughter] neil: what do you think? [laughter] >> well, we are so lucky. jon bon jovi, bruce springsteen, they help out. neil: you are already running. what do you think that all of a sudden the whole mitt romney thing has changed? we joke but not too much about how it changes the possible races in new jersey and how one guy leading the presidential contest was part of this. >> for the country as a whole it most certainly does and i think part of why it that he has something or and we are looking for someone who's not going to walk on in. i think that john kasich has th

who chris christie is? >> no. >> as christie steps in a minefield. >> groundhog day brought to you in a debate over the vaccines. >> rand paul also has said that this should be up to parents. >> parents are making the wrong choice. >> the science is, you know, pretty indisputable. >> now we turn to the president. >> this is white house budget day. >> that is an immediate battle that is looming. >> you see bill murray playing the piano in the foyer we're probably going to do this again. >> mitt romney said i believe one of our next generation of republican leaders, one who may not be as well-known as i am today, one who may not yet have taken their message across the country, one who is just getting started may well emerge as being able to defeat the democrat nominee. in fact, i expect and hope that to be the case. mitt romney gave no hint as to who that mythical character might be. after making that announcement, mitt romney had dinner with chris christie. >> how did that dinner go with mitt romney? >> how

also, some danger for chris christie. signs that new revelations are hitting him where it hurts with his party's big dollar donors. does 88-year-old harper lee really want her recently discovered manuscript published? a friend of the reclusive author will be here to join us and tell us what she thinks of that and more still to come on the show today. we begin with this. jordanian fighter jets taking off in the last few hour s to launch a second straight day of air strikes against isis targets in syria. they come with isis claiming that yesterday's strikes killed a young american woman who was being held hostage by the group. the hostage has now been identified as 26-year-old aid workerer kayla mueller from prescott, arizona. u.s. officials are looking into the report. they say they have no confirmation that mueller was killed in the attack. jordanian officials saying they are skeptical of the claim. her parents released a statement saying they hold out hope that their daughter is still alive. jordan taking the lead in co