the there you have it. why do 4% of republicans say obama is a muslim. only 27% of republicans say he's a christian. only 23% say he was born in america. one reason might be that people like republican leader mitch mcconnell go on "meet the press" as he did yesterday, and say things like, i take him at his word, when asked if the president is a christian. pitch perfect dog whistle to the haters. sure, whatever he says, right. this is not about belief. it's an accusation that president obama is not one of us. the right wing ice attempt is our story tonight. why don't mainstream republicans whose strategy has been to just say no to every proposal the president makes, just say no to this extremism? we'll look at if the gop is to be trusted when it engages in this kind of stuff. plus, the growing battle over the islamic center planned just two blocks from the world trade center. this controversy is gaining, not losing momentum. we saw the competing demonstrations there yesterday. we have representatives on from both sides tonight. and what happened to the reach across the aisle john mccain who followed his conscious and believed in campaign finance reform and immigration reform? how did the straight talking maverick become the candidate who wants to complete that danged fence down there. he may win tomorrow, but at what cost to him? finally in the side show, b-rod compares himself to my hero. winston churchhill. we'll start with the attempt -- president obama. i want you gentlemen to watch what happened on "meet the press" yesterday. here's republican leader mitch mccome on "meet the press." let's listen to the give and take between he and moderator, david gregory. >> the president's faith in the government to stimulate the economy is what people are questioning. >> that certainly is a sidestep to this particular question. >> well no -- >> as a leader of the country, as one of the most powerful republicans in the country, do think you have an obligation to say that 34% of -- rather the 31% who believe the president is a muslim. that's misinformation. >> the president says he's a christian. i take him at his word. i don't think that's in dispute. >> how do you think it comes to be that this kind of misinformation gets spread around and prevails? >> i have no idea. but i take the president at his word. >> well, there you have it, howard. in politics i think we call that trimming. when it's apparent to the person listening to you you're not really believing the person, but you're just voicing something that undermines him. >> yeah, that's what mitch mcconnell was doing there. i've covered him since he was county judge in louisville, kentucky, over the years. he nows how to play the divide lines here. he does it in a low key, syrupy, kentucky way. >> he's not lying but -- >> i e-mailed karl rove. i said, what do you think? do you have any doubt that barack obama is a christian? karl rove e-mailed back, none whatsoever. on the other hand, i contacted the republican national committee's office here in washington. i said what is michael steele, the chairman, saying about this? here's what the answer was. that's not an issue the committee has discussed. we're focused on how the obama-pelosi-reid agenda -- blah, blah. >> this is one thing i like about you. the reporting is up to the minute. i mean, the fact of the matter is republican national committee knows this is a hot issue. they're preparing to answer it. and the answer is we're not talking. >> the answer is we're not talking. which allows mitch mcconnell to be the spokesperson. >> the americans are listening to this conversation. it's like it is in a barroom somewhere, in a carport somewhere. this delves down to the following. only 27% of the american people who knows this guy says he's a christian believes he is. nobody know what is the right religion is. everybody says what theirs is, obviously. but 27% of the people believe him. >> yeah. >> on the fact of what his religion is. only 23% believe hard fact he was born here. of the republican party. this is a highly prejudicial issue. republicans have a very different position on this than most americans do. >> sure. >> why? is mitch mcconnell to blame because of this pussyfooting or whatever the right word? >> i want to up my reporting chops here. >> what's the latest? >> i reached out to mcconnell's office after this happened. they were incesting he was being straight forward in saying he believes the president. you have the republican establishmented perfectly willing and fine -- >> mitch mcconnell says he's a republican. i take him at his word. >> i take him at his word as well. you have glenn beck and rush limbaugh. >> let's talk about franklin graham. a man who has played the politics. he is the son of billy graham. he's speaking here at franklin graham. a guy engaged in the anti-muslim comments. here he is on cnn this past thursday. >> the president's problem is that he was born a muslim. his father was a muslim. the seed of islam is passed through his father. like the seed of judaism is passed through his mother. he was born in judaism. it is obvious he has renounced the prophet muhammad and he has accepted jesus christ. that's what he has said he has done. i cannot say that he hasn't. i have to believe the president as what he has said. >> what is this precious bodily fluids crap we're getting from this guy? the seed of islam. if he's a christian, of course, billy graham's son is a christian. i take him at his word. but he's saying islam believes the seed comes for the father. what is this talk about? what is he talking about? >> you have the common tear. you have the section of the republican party talking like this. and now we're seeing it filter into the republican officials. we reported an rnc member of iowa, a woman out there, firmly believes that barack obama is a muslim. she's out there publicly saying it. >> who is she? >> some rnc committee woman. >> she's an official member of the republican national committee. in iowa. the state that has the first caucus. >> we have to get to rush limbaugh, just to complete the hat trick here. here's mitch mcconnell and now rush limbaugh today on this topic. is barack obama of the -- everybody watching right now by the way gets credit for being of the religion you say you are. you go to the church, you go to the synagogue, the mosque, that's the one you're a member of. that's the one you are. it's called freedom of religion and respect for religion. apparently the new rule is oh, i take him at his word. which means i really don't have any reason believe he's telling the truth. here he is. here's rush limbaugh on this topic. >> what's the only proof we have that obama is a christian? well, okay. his word. his word. but jeremiah wright is the only proof that we have that he's a christian. obama described wright as his spiritual mentor. sorry, media. we've heard jeremiah wright. we know what jeremiah wrooiligh said. we know what he thinks of america. >> does everybody watching know what was going on right there? smearing this guy? >> i mean, does everybody know what's happening here? he didn't answer the question. he has an i.q. as high as anybody around. he knows what he's doing here. he switches the topic from what a man says his religion is to how much do we hate jeremiah wright. >> everybody who watches this show knows exactly what is going on. barack obama came in as a president representing something new, big change, came out of nowhere. this scares the heck out of people. they'll use any element of fear they can. sometimes i think rush limbaugh is amusing. sometimes i think he's useful in the conversation. this is wrong because ministers such as joel hunter who is a conservative republican of florida is one of the people whom obama consults with, talks with all the time. >> we have the new pew poll saying 34% say he's a christian. one in three. that's down from 48% in march. 18% say he's muslim. 43% say they don't know. this don't know thing is getting out of hand. that's mitch mcconnell's plan. i don't know is a character assault. you are who you say you are. if somebody says you're not who you say you are. they're calling you a liar. >> there's so many conflicting labels they're putting on this man. it went from a communist to a marxist to a muslim sympathizer to a muslim himself. >> companies are dropping people they haven't for years. it's not the usual unemployed. all kinds of people are facing unemployment right now. they have high debt that doesn't sell. they have taxes about to be back to clinton levels. why are the republicans playing the dirt ball game when they don't need it. like nixon. he could have won an election easily, but he still reverted to this. >> we were talking about this and looking back at the great depression when there were smears against franklin roosevelt of being a jew. >> well, did actual republicans say that stuff? >> but millions of people listened to him back in the day. the answer to your question is right now there's two tracks. there's the economic track. flst this track involving immigration, race and religion. what i foresee happening is the two of them coming together at some point. when people are worried about the economic status they have, they're more open to fear. >> sam, hard question. then back to howard. could it be that mitch mcconnell is a politician? just guessing? i take him at his word. he's a politician. he knows he has a very good chance of picking up four or five senate seats, still being at the short end of that thing. still having to face whoever the democrats have. whether it's harry reid or chuck or somebody running the party. i looked at the numbers. it's very hard for him to run 11 to 1. which he would have to do to again the ten-seat pickup. does he figure this is the winning cap? win on the economy, win five or six seats on the economy. then we'll take it away on culture and ethnicity and americanism. that we can really knock the democrats out of the batting box on this. >> if that is his philosophy, he is going against some people in the republican party who insist that's the wrong way to go about it. >> how do they get hurt? >> they go back to the impeachment trial of clinton and say it's detracted from the idea it should have been all about the economy. >> most of the time karl rove thinks the economy is the way to do it. okay. so he sort of -- >> that's how reagan got elected. >> karl comes back to george w., et cetera. don't forget george w. is benign on some of these issues. but mitch mcconnell is working at it through the eyes of kentucky. that's a state where the nativist appeal outside of louisville really works big time. he's trying to defend this guy, rand paul. so it's aimed at kentucky. these guys like mick mcconnell know what they're saying. when he says i take him at his word, those words are crafted. thank you. as always, you won on the reporting. by the way. sam stein, this guy working his report ear noesbook to the last minute. he's the best this the business. later on this show i'm going to tell you what i think about of sleazy and dangerous stuff. it's evil. and confronting each other in kme competing rallies yesterday. i'm going to ask how many blocks away does it have to be? you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. comes in a liquid gel. zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®. thanks. i got the idea from general mills big g cereals. they put a white check on the top of every box to let people know that their cereals have healthy whole grain, and they're the right choice... (announcer) general mills makes getting whole grain an easy choice. just look for the white check. yet, another sign that some republican candidates may be too extreme, even for their own voters. former nebraska senator chuck hagel, a republican, is throwing his support behind democrat joe sestak in pennsylvania's u.s. senate race. hagel said today that congressman sestak puts what's best for the country before the interest of his party. he says sestak's courage and integrity are qualities the nation needs more of. he refused to comment on the the candidacy of his opponent, republican pat toomey. we'll be right back. are you suffering from frequent heartburn? heartburn that keeps coming back? then you're ready for new zegerid otc. zegerid otc is the first 24-hour treatment ever with two active ingredients: prescription-strength medicine plus a protective ingredient that shields the medicine from stomach acid so it's effectively absorbed. just one zegerid otc capsule a day can relieve your heartburn all day and all night. if you have frequent heartburn, try dual-ingredient zegerid otc. heartburn solved. 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[ female announcer ] maxwell house gives you a rich, full-flavored cup of coffee, so you can be good to the last drop. freedom is not building a mosque on our graves. my brother-in-law was killed. >> we say no to racist fear. muslims are welcome here. >> god bless america. don't let them make a mockery of these lives lost. >> there will not be a mosque on this site. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was the scene yesterday in downtown new york city where protesters argued whether a proposed islamic center which will also house a mosque should be built just two blocks north of the ground zero site. this fight has become a rallying opportunity for a tapestry of people who took to the streets yesterday. among them, nick leisrh and sherie wolfe. we wanted to hear voices from the street. we have them here. nick, i want you to start. how many blocks away to you want this center to be built from ground zero. how many blocks away would not offend you? let's get to the particulars. this is an issue. geography. location, location, location is the issue here at hand. how far away do you want it? >> that's an interesting open question. >> that's what i do here. >> do you have an answer? >> good job. i do. it's not really how far i would want it. >> do you want to speak for them? >> a lot of mosques are all over manhattan. they're all over the place. so how far? there's one a few blocks away from this one. but how far away do you want this to be? >> this would be in the shadow of the tower. >> how far away do you want it? the shadow is probably a block or two. we're looking at the mosques there already. go ahead. >> i don't know what the appropriate location would be? >> when would you stop being angry, personally? >> i don't think i'm angry. i'm concerned for the people. look, we're arguing about geography and you can't tell me. you don't want it two blocks away. it's not on the site of the world trade center. how far away do you want it? >> i can't go anywhere. >> out of the site from the world trade center would be more appropriate. >> so it's not within view. let me go to our other participant from the international socialist organization. sherie wolf. why do you support the rightfulness -- we know they have a the right to build it there -- why do you support the rightfulness of placing this islamic center so close to the tragedy of 9/11? >> listen. i'm a jewish lesbian socialist. i'm not a muslim. i have a personal stake in living in a country where we don't have rampant islamaphobia. a year years ago when a handful of priests were found to have raped small children, nobody would have dare said to tear down the churches. it would have been insane and bigoted. i don't know this individual. i don't know nick, but the fact is -- >> sherry, suppose they built this thing right square like the islamic contrast over the wall in jerusalem or the nuns who put their monostair on the grounds of -- suspect there a point where it's sacred to so many people, i'm not going to offend it? >> isn't it sacred ground for the dozens of muslims killed on 9/11 as well? >> you wouldn't have a problem with them building a mosque on ground zero? >> no, i wouldn't. investment houses are going to destroy the lives of millions of americans on hallowed ground, why not an islamic center? >> you don't see any problem. you don't understand why the victims of 9/11 are upset about this? >> not all of them are. >> why do you think the ones who are are? you said they're all islamaphobes. do you think it's an honest statement? >> well, that's the up shot of it. look at what's going on now in gainesville, florida. rather far from ground zero. they're calling 9/11 burn the kuran day. >> how far away do you want it? >> well, i don't think i'm the person to answer that. >> you are such a chicken. you're -- you remember the 9/11 foundation. you come here to represent the group. this is being negotiated right now. this is not a b.s. question i'm putting to you. somewhere in the next few weeks there may be a compromise. daisy khan, the wife of the imam says they're talking about -- governor paterson is talking about finding another site that's more appropriate. here she is. >> that's what we feel now. it's not islamaphobia. it's beyond islamaphobia. it's a hatred of muslims? >> is moving on the table? >> it's not until we consult with all the stake holders. >> last word. do you think it will go ahead? >> of course. it has to go ahead. there's too much at stake. we have to go ahead with this project. >> what do you make of a compromise, nick? >> i think it's a great idea. i was not down there to protest yesterday. i was down there in my official capacity of the member of the executive board of america's 9/11 foundation escorting a group of american motorcyclists in our annual never forget ride. it was planned very long before this controversy. we intentionally steered them away from the protests where we went down and held a small presentation near the station with several hundred american patriotic motorcyclists. and our event was completely disconnected from that. the foundation is not political, and we are not part of any protests. but we do have an opinion about the location of the mosque. and to be honest with you, the safe is is to take the politically correct road and say no comment on the location of the mosque. but it really deeply and painfully is injurying people very close to us. the people we care about. those most directly affected by 9/11. the victims families, survivors, many of my friends, and many americans so badly hurt an are still hurt from 9/11. i myself am a career law enforcement officer. i worked temporarily for nypd for four weeks. i spent a lot of time at ground zero. i saw a lot of terrible and sad things. i escorted grieving family members and we took them -- >> so you're not anti-islamic. sherry, respond to that. does he sound -- >> you have a ratcheting up of islamaphobia in the country. from tennessee to california to florida this kind of rhetoric. you have a right wing in the counted whose economic and foreign policies are failed. and some of them like rick lazio who clearly has no other platform for governor of new york other than to ratchet up hatest for muslims and americans. this is what's going on. this is what it's about. i work with a coalition of activists in new york to defend this mosque, this community center, and the right of muslims to organize and pray as they please. >> yes or no answer would be appropriate. nick, then you. do you think it would be better if they agreed to move it somewhere nearby, but not that close? >> i think that would be much more appropriate. >> sherry -- >> absolutely not. >> not of this is about lislamaphobia or bigotry. >> and some of them were muslims. >> everyone with see your point. >> thank you nick and thank you, sherry. who thinks he's just like winston churchill? here's a hint. his side show is next. you're watching "hardball" only on msnb. cute. right. honey eat. 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