in other words, how happy things are at home. right now, the numbers are looking better. the value of your house is heading upward because the average selling price is up 10%. your 401(k) is probably doing better if you're retired because the stock market is. you've got a better chance of finding, also holding a job right now. the unemployment rate which still ain't great has come down from where it was down to the mid-7s. when somebody calls up, a pollster, for example, asks whoever it is how you're doing, you're more likely to say president obama is doing a better job on the economy and that's what's going on right now. will it still be going on next november when we have the next congressional elections? we'll see. jim cramer is going to help us. he's the host of "mad money" weeknights at 6:00 on cnbc. u.s. congressman steve israel is chairman of the democratic congressional committee. thank you, gentlemen. there's strong indications the u.s. economy is on the upswing right now. gross domestic product rose 2.5% in the first quarter of 2013. the deficit is projected to be down, or only down to 642. it was in the trillions. that's nearly half of what it was in 2010. meanwhile, the dow jones, as i said, is finishing the month up 3%. consumer confidence is higher than it was. ever since july of 2007. and home prices, as i said, are up about 11% over the last year. it's the biggest increase in home prices in seven years. today the president emphasized measuring the country's progress on the economy is more than just about the stock market. it's about how ordinary families are feeling. he made it clear the economy is, indeed, picking up steam. let's watch him. >> over the past 4 1/2 years, we've been fighting our way back from a financial crisis and an incredibly punishing recession. the good news is today our businesses have created nearly 7 million new jobs over the past 38 months. the housing market is coming back, the stock market has rebounded. our deficits are shrinking at the fastest pace in 50 years. people's retirement savings are growing again. the rise of health care costs are slowing. the american auto industry is back. so we're seeing progress, and the economy is starting to pick up steam. the gears are starting to turn again and we're getting some traction. >> let me go right to jim cramer. you know your stuff. i was thinking that opening question is my favorite tonight. i hope you can answer it. the economy is getting a little better. it's hard to sell but it is getting a little better. will it still be better come next november? >> yes. as a matter of fact, a lot of things you talked about at the top of the show, consumer confidence, house prices coming back, these are going to lead to more jobs in the fall, lead to more consumer spending. it's the beginning of what i think could be a good time, and the jobs will start coming in the next six months. >> this has been a long testing, difficult period for people. this has been a long, long slog now for years now. since the financial crisis. what does that do to the business cycle? is there still a business cycle where you can say it's only going to last so long, enjoy it while it lasts before the next recession? is there any way to measure how long this recovery that you say is going to get better is going to stay better? >> well, we still don't have any small business hiring to speak of. we don't have small business creation. we don't have large commercial real estate projects. those have to happen before i can say that we've even started the cycle. chris, what's happened is we're not as bad, it's not as tough as it's been. it can get better, but there are still many things that are not working for people. we are still seeing only okay retail sales. we are not seeing the job creation that we'd like. you mentioned that. you know what, it really does start to feel better now. it is better than it was, chris. you can really -- the president's got it right. >> well, let's take a look at that. steve israel, congressman, i want you to look at these numbers. they're good for your party and good for the house running. the president's job approval on the economy, specifically, is ticking up. according to a recent "washington post"/abc poll, 48% say they approve of the job he's doing when it comes to the economy and jobs. specifically. it's up four points since last month when a majority said they disapproved. now, how does that translate? my sense is it's environmental. people feel better about their own lives. things are getting better. they can buy a few things for the family. they're more likely to like the party in power. like, in fact, like the president's party. >> well, i agree with you, chris. thank you for having me on. look, home values are going up. the deficit is going down. there's still a middle class that feels squeezed. jim is right, we can do better. so our message to house republicans in the 2014 congressional elections is very simple. don't screw this up. we need to build on our progress and not engage in more partisanship. we need to push solutions instead of ideology. and so as long as house republicans make the decision that they will no longer obstruct economic progress, that they will choose progress rather than partisanship, things can get even better than they are now. >> let me bring up something with jim cramer now. i want the congressman, you're chairman of the campaign committee for the democrats. you want a majority to pick up the 17th seat so you can get the full majority in the house. jim, this is a question, i don't know if we talked about it when we bumped into each other in puerto rico a while back. this is my saw. this is what i believe in. i look at the numbers. the low interest rate now. you can get money if you've got a good project. you've got a public employment that's gone way down. it keeps going down. the number of people who work from the government. no matter what the b.s. comes from the right says, it's coming down, the number of people working for the government. there are a lot of people who are skilled out there who are out of work right now. why doesn't this administration do something big the way ike did it in the '50s? why don't we rebuild and build this country to begin to catch up to asia where they have the bullet trains and europe where they have the bay that goes 350 miles an hour and it feels like you're sitting still. the channel underneath the english channel. berlin. it's a modern city. they have civil engineering on bridges which is beautiful, trains that are spectacular, a new subway system. why can't we compete with old europe and new asia in the kind of structure we build for our economy? >> well, chris -- >> why not? >> when ike did it, he had the support of the democrats. the democrats were in favor of the interstate highway system. what was amazing, the republicans gave more resistance. his own party. i don't think the president can go into congress and say, listen, we want to do something big when the republicans want him to do something small. this is not the time when we have an eisenhower in the white house and democratic group of people -- >> let the republicans know the biggest no in history, let them be the no party, but the president is the building party. i want to go back to steve israel. the congressman. your party, you're for immigration reform which is a mixed bag. it helps hispanic people, helps some people. it's not one issue that grabs the whole country's attention and says, we're going to rebuild this country and look like the rest of the world again instead of falling behind. why not? why don't we call it the obama bill? >> he's tried. >> where? what's the name of the bill? what's the number? give me the number of the bill. >> the republican party has said no. >> i don't see it. >> let me ask you a question, chris. >> i don't see it. >> if only a few dozen republicans were willing to vote for a hurricane recovery bill to rebuild homes and businesses that were devastated in superstorm sandy, they couldn't even bring themselves to rebuild homes and businesses that were destroyed by a storm. what makes you think that they're going to be willing to make bold and big investments we should be making in rebuilding 153,000 bridges falling apart? >> i'll give you my answer to that. ever since harry truman, they didn't get health care but we got votes on it. we finally got it under obama. you can fight for things and not win. a lot of good people like hubert humphreys fought for civil rights. they didn't get it until '64. they fought for it. everybody knew where they stood, darn it. why can't the democratic party stand for jobs, at least? let the other party say no and have the jobs party against the no party. why are you so squeamish about that? >> $4 trillion in public works projects. $4 trillion right now in bridges and tunnels that every other country in the world would love to be able to put people to work. why not propose it? why not propose $4 trillion? interest rates are real low. the government can borrow the lowest on earth. our country is the most solvent country on earth. you're right. >> congressman israel, i'm going to go back to my problem. coming up, mitt romney, speaking out against president obama, talking about hitting the campaign trail for republicans. my secret suspicion, i think he's hashing a secret plan. talk about conspiracies, to go at it again. he got close, maybe he'll try this time. bait and switch, a tried and true trick beloved by the right. remember how they used 9/11? michele bachmann trying to blame the cover-up because people killed in benghazi even before the cover-up. and you can go on for bait and switch forever as long as she's around. kchblth a politician overcome being turned into a punch line? that's the question facing governor rick perry and also one of dan quayle's advisers, still around, has advise for perry tonight on the "side show." and let me finish with bait and switch and how to see through it. this is "hardball." neutrogena® wet skin kids. ordinary sunblock drips and whitens. neutrogena® wet skin cuts through water. forms a broad spectrum barrier for full strength sun protection. wet skin. neutrogena®. ♪ now you can give yourself a kick in the rear! v8 v-fusion plus energy. natural energy from green tea plus fruits and veggies. need a little kick? ooh! could've had a v8. in the juice aisle. welcome back to "hardball." well, big question for you out there -- has anyone been missing mitt romney? it's been six months since he left the public eye. failed candidate mitt romney resurfaced spiking to the "wall street journal" saying, "mr. romney said in an interview that he plan to reemerge in ways that will help shape national priorities." as a first step the former presidential nominee plans to welcome 200 friends and support force a three-day summit next week that he will host at a utah mountain resort. i think it's park city. he's considering writing a book, according to this account, and opinion pieces and has plans to campaign for republican candidates in 2014. it sounds as if romney want back into politics in some way, but does the party and his future candidates want him as part of their path to victory? john braybender ran rick santorum's campaign last year, and david corner, washington bureau chief for mother jones and msnbc analyst. question. we haven't had candidates run again after losing a general election i think since next, before that, adlai stevenson, before that, tom louie. it's getting harder and harder in a tv age. it's hard to come back and say, give me another shot. is romney peek-a-booing his way back in? >> the only thing i could see him running for is the u.s. senate in michigan. i'm going home, going to run for the senate. let's remember, romney has won four times and lost three of those. so the other problem is he has no ideological base. nobody sits there and says -- >> no romney-ism. >> there isn't. i just don't see how he reenters. i almost feel sorry for him. he sounds like someone coming out of retirement that's not sure to go on a fishing trip or build a backyard deck. >> i wonder whether, this could be bipartisan, this phenomenon, because so much exposure you get, david. even, say, john kerry, i don't want to brag because you never know how it ends up. he seems to be doing a super job as secretary of state. even if there wasn't a hillary running potentially. is it something that's in the water now? there's so much exposure. you just can't come back from a defeat in a general election. >> i think that's probably true particularly in our 24/7 nanosecond tweet every second of every moment world we live in. romney in particular, he wasn't much liked by the people who voted for him the first time. the last six months, how often have you heard anybody say, huh, i wonder what mitt romney thinks of this? so he was kind of a placeholding candidate. >> his wife has probably been thinking of it every hour. >> listen, yesterday she got out there and started blasting the obama administration saying there's no trust because of the irs scandal. i'm still waiting to see their tax returns. so they can, you know, be bitter and talk about writing a book, but i think ultimately it doesn't matter much and it won't affect john's business here as he goes forward with rick santorum or anybody else. >> well, he's still banging away at obama. he told "the wall street journal," here it is, "the extraordinary disappointment of the president's second term is where the opportunity was greatest. he proposed the least and continues to campaign as if there's another election and there isn't." let me go to the other guy. byron york, i like reading this guy in the "washington examiner." it's easy to read. wisconsin governor scott walker is his new guy for 2016. i think it's for real. i think he is a bridge builder, this guy. this is what they wrote in the byron wright column. "talk to iowa politicos who supported mitt romney around the last time and talk to politicos who support anybody but romney and ask what they think about walker. you'll hear a lot of positive things from both sides. those who like romney and didn't. here's the thing that impresses republicans looking for a candidate. scott walker has done things. as part of the gubernatorial faction in the 2016 field the list includes christie and jindal. walker not only has executive experience, he used executive authority to achieve a goal conservatives, to break the hold public employee unions have on government in many states." ed schultz fought that fight on our network all the way through. scott walker might be the bridge between the chris christies and the people on the other side, the ted cruzes, because he's from part of the country your party has to win, the midwest. >> byron gets stories nobody else does. this was one of them. what i look at is, who's going to come out of iowa? there's going to be three, four people out of it. if it was today, you'd have rand paul, rick santorum, and you would have scott walker. all of them fit the bill of somebody who will resonate all across the state and do well and all of a sudden you're off to the races. i think a lot of these other people you mentioned are going to have trouble playing in iowa. >> let me go back to you on that, david. from the other point of view, progressive point of view. i don't think anybody going to beat hillary in the current environment, the economy. nobody is going to beat hillary i don't think. she's not going to have to take the heat for the economy, where she can benefit from the clinton economy from the '90s. she's got a lot of horses going for her politically. if they're going to put together a candidate who will get at least 45%, 47% of the vote and not get blown away, scott walker is the kind of candidate who can do it or rubio. >> two words about scott walker. rick perry. or sarah palin. these are both governors touted as the wonderful candidates once upon time. until you get out there and start mixing it up, there's no way of knowing. scott walker, you know, had this very -- >> are you serious? >> -- hard fight in wisconsin. >> are you serious? do you expect me to buy that? do you really think he's the same intellectually as the other two candidates? >> what i'm saying, listen, what i'm saying is, until someone gets out there on a national stage, i mean, people were writing columns going on and on about how rick perry was going to waltz in and walk away with the nomination in iowa and every place else. i mean, you remember those columns, chris. >> i know, and i know it was premature because both were not ready for primetime. scott walker has been through the fights with schultz and the labor unions. i've gotten a good look at the guys. i don't think he's a lightweight. >> i'm not saying he's a lightweight. that's a long way to go from being a competitive national candidate. i'm not sure iowa is the be all and end all. >> you're reminding me more and more of jack germond in the old days. the politico guy who says, well, you know, it's way early there, martin, it's too early to make these judgments. you know, gee, you're getting old, my friend. i mean, go ahead. >> here's what i would say. look, i had a front-row seat for all the republican primary presidential race last time. i saw the herman cains come and go, the michele bachmanns and even perry. actually i think scott walker is much more credible and brings a lot more to the table probably than they did, and i think he has a much better chance of doing well than they did. >> what about the guy we like around here, christie? too far left for the party? >> i'm not convinced he's going to run. number one. i just truly am not. i'm going to get on the record, i'm not convinced hillary clinton runs anymore. i said a month ago she was. i'm saying here on the record, i'm not convinced she does. >> where's the betting window? a lot of people like to call -- >> i'm assuming -- >> i know a lot of people would like to get a piece of that. >> this is not my republican talking points. i'm just telling you, i think that she's got some more problems. >> what do you mean problems? >> i know you think this benghazi thing is nothing. >> not benghazi. >> i'm just telling you. >> you know what, if there is an issue there, she'll run to beat it. because the one thing she won't do is run away from it. >> we've seen the clintons overcome a lot more than this benghazi non-scandal. i agree with john, though, i'm not sure she's made up her mind to run yet. there's no way of knowing. it won't be because of benghazi. next, can a politician ever come back after being a punch line. talk about a punch line, rick perry, oops -- they say never say "oops" in the operating room. we'll be right back. back to "hardball" now. the sideshow. what a doozy out. think back to the 2012 gop primary. the one candidate that might fit the description politician-turned-punch line. it's texas governor rick perry, sealing the deal with one word in that debate -- oops. well, the "l.a. times" turned to history to try to answer the question, could perry be texas' comeback kid? they zeroed in on dan quayle who had his share of embarrassing home moments in his electoral career like what he said in 1988 about the holocaust. >> it was an obscene period in our nation's history. it is something that we must study. >> no, not our nation's. but in world war ii, i mean, we all lived in this century. i didn't live in this century, but in this century's history. it is a point of history that this nation, our nation, understands. we did not have, matter of fact, we fought hitlerism. >> reminds me of one of those beauty contests, people that shouldn't be going for anything. anyway, the "l.a. times" asked a former aide to dan quayle about the future of perry. it's david beckwith, an austin communications consultant who spent four years in the white house working with vice president dan quayle. once it happens, he said, it's almost impossible to reverse. next, greetings from joe biden. the vice president on a trip through south america right now making stops in brazil, colombia, trinidad, and tobago. the white house posted a check-in video from his visit to a flower farm down in colombia, one that exports more than half of its output to the u.s. biden had advice for married men everywhere. >> my wife is extremely partial to flowers, and roses are her favorite. so my advice to all of you married men, no matter how long you've been married, continue to court your wife if you know what's good for you. finally, michigan governor, republican governor rick snyder tries his hand at outreach for female voters. "detroit free press" reporter kathy gray tweeted a picture of pro-snyder pictures from a conference yesterday. a play on marshmallow peeps from easter with the words "i'm a rick chick." that's "hardball." [ female announcer ] can a body wash go beyond basic cleansing? olay ultra moisture body wash can with more moisturizers than seven bottles of the leading body wash. with ultra moisture your body wash is anything but basic soft, smooth skin blah. on october 29, floodwaters were up to here in this business in rockaway beach. we're here to help them reopen with a "your business makeover." that's coming up next on "your business." >> small businesses are revitalizing the economy. american express open is here to help. that's why we are proud