>> no formal comment on the new development from the lawyer? >> only that they will not comment own any story that uses an unnamed source. >> thanks very much. jeff toobin, thanks to you as well. the coverage will continue. "lou dobbs tonight" starts right now. >> good evening. house speaker nancy pelosi acknowledging what everybody in washington knew, that the president's health care plan will be delayed until the fall, if it should happen. two leader senators join us today in our face-off. also, the united states addicted to debt. utterly dependent on loans from countries, including communist china. some are now wondering if the united states is on the verge of bankruptcy. and important new information tonight about the show' down between cambridge, massachusetts, police, and henry

lewis gates. 911 tapes today cast more light on the case. we'll have more on the breaking story of michael jackson's death and the doctor who allegedly administered a lethal saidative. first, the house of representatives appears unlikely to pass health care legislation by president obama's deadline of august 1st, or a deadline he says is the people's deadline. nancy pelosi today said house democrats need more time to write the bill and plenty of time to review it, which is a complete reversal of what she was saying just last week. the senate has already delayed its consideration of its version of this bill. senate majority leader harry reid said there won't be a vote in the senate until fall. >> reporter: house democrating leaders called this press conference to tout progress, but the house speaker hinted they may miss the deadline to vote on health care reform before

leaving for august recess, the end of this week. >> we're on schedule to either do it now or wherve, but a lot depends on the energy and commerce committee finishing their work. >> reporter: a lot depends on if they can calm skittish members. >> it's premature to talk about a tax increase. >> reporter: connolly is a democrat elected from a republican area. a big reason for the democratic divide delaying health care reform may be that democrats are victims of their own election year successes. they come from winning and holding 27 democratic districts in 2006 and an additional 26 in 2008. that means democrats like connolly have to answer to and represent conservative leaning districts.

>> it's very important to remember that a lot of suburban districts such as mine support both the democrats and republicans in congress, and it's important that the message we send not be a negative. we're taking into account their conce concerns. >> concerns like tax increases. press releases and a media blitz in the works. >> democrat leaders are going to walk their members down the plank on nationalizing our health care system here in this country. and require them to build on a massive new tax increase in small businesses. >> reporter: are you worried if this is done wrong, this could jeopardize your seat and those like you? >> when you run for congress on some of these big issues, you want to make sure you get it right. that's where we are right now. >> much to the chagrin of the obama white house, that

sentiment slowed down as something we continue to hear more and more from democrats. and part of their concern, lou, is that they don't know all the details of what is in the thousand-plus page plan that the democratic leaders have out there. that is why as we speak house democratic leaders have agreed to a five-hour seminar. they're in that seminar right now. five-hour seminar to explain and persuade some of their own skittish members on this plan. >> we call them skit. we keep referring to this as reform, yet there is no specific architecture to the legislation. i'm wondering why the national media has chosen the world reform to describe what the white house is proposing here. >> reporter: well, i think that pretty much everybody, republicans and democrats, it's fair to say, think that reform is needed. and republicans may not be happy with the details of what's

coming out now, but they admit any change is from their perspective, reforming or changing the system. >> any change would be good? >> no, not necessarily. >> it's hard to imagine they wouldn't vote on that right away. >> reporter: not necessarily good. just reforming or changing what is the current plan. >> all right, dana, after this five-hour seminar, the speaker has been rather filled with bravado about passing this legislation this week. is that now inoperative. >> we just don't know, lou. it was very interesting to hear her words this afternoon, saying maybe we'll do it now or whenever. it was an interesting choice of words. they're just trying to figure out if they can come to terms between fellow democrats and whether or not they can do that in the next couple days. that will determine whether or not they like the senate will miss the president's original deadline of getting something off the house floor by the time

they lead for recess. >> the congressmen who whom i have spoke don't think nancy pelosi has the votes. does that comport with what you're reporting. >> that's exactly what some of many of her fellow democrats who oppose her efforts, who want changes, they agree. they say despite what he says, they don't think she has the votes. i think whether or not she goes forward and has the vote on the house floor will probably determine whether or not she think s she has the votess. >> dana bash from capitol hill. the speaker of the house is trying to convince opponents that they'll pass legislation, but the speaker faces very tough challenges. she's one of the most unpopular elected officials in the country, by the way. she's got an approval rating under 25%. speaker pelosi, however, doesn't

seem to care about her lack of popularity. she said it's more important to be trusted. she told politico --. one poll shows most americans don't trust her, either. showing only 24% of americans trust the speaker of the house. white house officials have been trying to raise americans' trust in the president's health care plan by using the same talking points in media interviews. listen, if you will, to these two similar comments by a white house adviser, david axelrod and then gibbs. first, david axelrod. >> everybody wants to get something done. now we're trying to work through the details. but i think that we're going to get there because this is a situation that is untenable to the american people. >> there's an agreement on about 80% of what we need to get

passed. we're working on the last 20%. >> robert gibbs last night using the same talking points as axle rod and using them again in today's press briefing. the budget office tonight taking aim at a critical component of obama's health care plan. the white house argued that savings from a proposed advisory panel would significantly cut costs for programs such as medica medicare. however, they conclude that that private individual would save only about $2 billion over a decade. a tiny fraction of the bill's price tag of over a trillion dollars. this is not the first time the congressional budget office has criticized the president's health care plan and came up with almost a 180 degree opposite conclusion. earlier this month, they warned that the house version of the bill would end almost $239

billion to the deficit. president obama declares the legislation won't raise the deficit. >> health care reform is not going to add to that deficit. it's designed to lower it. that's part of the reason why it's so important to do and to do now. >> well, that urgency seems to have ebbed as well. the president urging the house and senate to bring the matter to a vote before leaving for summer vacation next week. now, however, as we reported, key players on chiapitol hill s that deadline is impossible to meet. the senate will not vote on the legislation before the fall. negotiations are stalled in the house, and members of the republicans and democrats are saying there's no way they're going to move forward with the vote. they would like to have approvaled health care this

year. important developments into the death of michael jackson. a source close to the jackson family says jackson's personal doctor administered a powerful drug that authorities believe killed him. ted, what can you tell us about this breaking story? >> basically, lou, it's a significant development in that this is the first time, and this is through a source that is close to the family with knowledge of the investigation, that dr. conrad murray, michael jackson's personal physician, the doctor with jackson at the time of his death, has been connected to the drug propofol or diprivan. it's used in a hospital or a clinic scenario. you bring a patient down for a minor procedure using this drug. it's never used outside of those conditions. the allegation here is according to the source that murray administered this to michael jackson in his home. now, this, of course, is not the first we have heard of this

drug. it's been out there for the last few weeks and a part of this investigation, but this is the first connection between jackson's doctor, personal physician, the man with him at his death, and this drug. of course, murray's clinic was raided last week by dea officials along with local police and the lapd. we're told also to expect possibly more of those search warrants being served towards dr. murray in the days come as part of the investigation. but a significant development in this investigation, to be sure, that this connection has now been made. >> that connection, ted, i also recall you reported early on, some unaccounted time on the part of the doctor. upon learning of the death of michael jackson. can you refresh us on that? >> well, after michael jackson was taken to the hospital, dr. murray went with him in the ambulance and was there while physicians were trying to revive jackson at the ucla medical center. after that, dr. murray did

retreat and waited to talk to investigators. there was a few-day period where they wanted to talk to him and he didn't want to talk without his lawyer. he wasn't running by any stretch of the imagination. that was the first report they were looking for him. the reality as we found out later, he was waiting for his lawyer to come to houston to represent him in front of the investigators. they say they have been more than cooperative. in fact, they had a third meeting scheduled with investigators that was canceled for last friday because of the search warrants. they say they're still more than willing to provide anything and provide more testimonial, too, in the form of an interview with the lapd as needed. and after we reached them today, after we started reporting this, they started first off, they're not going to comment on it this point, but they directed us to a statement earlier that said at no time did dr. murray prescribe

or administer any medication that could be fatal to mr. jackson. >> we'll have much more on the investigation. also, president obama has a new partner. comunist china. new information about what happened when police arrested that harvard professor. we'll tell you whether the we'll tell you whether the exaggerated the role of race in this controversy. 's not a steroi. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better alda. ani'noeroid. noun my aiays ... to help me breathe better alda. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long.

president obama today declared a new era of cooperation with communist china. he made his remarks at the opening of a strategic dialogue with chinese officials in washington, d.c. he appeared to suggest the era of global preeminence is over. he said "the relationship between the united states and china will shape the 21st century." kitty pilgrim has our report. standing before a panel of u.s. and chinese flags, president obama talked about the united states and china and equal partnership to build the 21st century. >> some in america think there's something to fear in a rising china. i take a different view. >> reporter: today, a wall street journal editorial by hillary clinton and timothy geithner calls for a new dialogue with china. arguing that simply put, few

global problems can be solved by the u.s. or china alone. the courting of china has been going on since president obama took office. secretary clinton went to beijing in february. and secretary geithner was there in june. they say u.s. goals are still unclear. >> there's a lot of visiting, a lot of talking. doesn't seem to be a lot accomplished, and there doesn't seem to be a priority. what is the set of goals with respect to china, i'm not sure? >> reporter: china has grown from an underdeveloped country to a strategic competitor, to now the largest banker at over a trillion dollars. china has grown itself into a $4 trillion economy on the backs of u.s. consumers, gaining global clout, but not always playing by global rules.

if you're trying to develop an economy fast, it helps to be an autocracy. they don't have to deal with the laws that we have to here. >> critics say it's time for the obama administration to start insisting on equal rules in trade, human right, and the environment before there's any discussion of china being an equal partner. >> all right, kitty. thank you very much. the white house today trying to play down apparent divisions between vice president joe biden and secfare of state hillary clich clinton on another foreign policyi issuissue. biden claimed russia was clinging to something in the past that is not viable. he said -- >> secretary of state clinton, however, said the obama

administration believed russia to be a great power. >> we have our challenges, russia has their challenges. and there are certain issues that russia has to deal with on its own. and we want to make sure that as we reset our relationship, we're very clearly not saying that russia can have a 21st century sphere of influence in eastern europe. that's an attitude and a policy we reject. >> today, white house press secretary gibbs said it's in the national interests of the united states and russia to have better relationships. >> hear more on the breaking news over the investigation into the death of michael jackson. also, the senate showdown over health care. two leader senators join us to debate whether they will be a health care piece of legislation this year and whether there should be. and the president pushing congress to spend more money while the united states falls deeper into debt. we'll have that special report next. ays open...

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there is good news on the economy tonight. new home sales soaring by the largest amount in more than eight years. new home sales up 11% in the month of june. that's far better than industry

analysts had expected and predicted. economists say it's a sign that the housing market is finally bouncing back. sales of existing homes up 3.6% last month. well, there are signs the economy is improving. the united states is mired in massive debt. the united states increasingly becoming dependent on foreign lenders for loans, especially communist china, but president obama keeps pushing congress to spend even more money as america's budget and trade deficits and dents soar. >> reporter: imagine a stack of one dollar bills that would go all the way to the moon, come back to the earth and then go all the way back to the moon again. that's about the size of the federal deficit. $11 trillion and counting. you don't have to be an economist to know we're in trouble. >> we're out of money now. we're operating in deep deficits.

>> but we're not broke yet. that's because our assets still o outnumber our liabilities. some economists say we should continue and must run up the deficits. >> we need to get out of this recession. do it, we could take on more debt, reasonably, and lower the deficit as we have a robust recovery. >> reporter: but our budget deficit is only part of the story. our trade deficit is another ruvly $7 trillion. these deficits have many economists worried. they see extreme risk in continuing to depend on the willingness of foreign buyers to loan us money. they see trips to china, india, and the persian gulf to assure creditors of our worthiness as a sign of our economic vulnerability. we cannot expect to continue to

borrow without severe consequences. >> accumulative debt is going to come due, mainly for our children and grandchildren and lower their standard of living. >> that will come in the form of slowed growth, high interest rates, and likely high taxes to pay for all the debt that we continue to incur, lou. >> so we're suggesting this isn't happening now? >> it is happening now. >> my point exactly. all right, bill, thank you very much. bill tucker. coming up next, startling new developments into the investigation of mithe death of michael jackson. and new questions on what happened when police arrested a black harvard professor, and whether race was the factor the national media suggested.

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more now on tonight's breaking news. the death of michael jackson, a source close to the jackson family says jackson's personal physician gave him a powerful drug that authorities believe killed the entertainer. joining us now with the story,

ted rolens in our los angeles bureau, and jeffrey toobin joining us now from phone. ted, the drug that was administered, what is it and what would be the likely effect of such an administering of that drug? >> it's diprivan or propofol. basically, it's used to put patients under in a clinic setting or a hospital setting for minor surgery. so the effect on the patient would literally be to go to sleep and be put under because of this drug. now, according to doctors, it is administered only during the time where the patient is under, but in that once they stop administering it, the patient comes out right away. it's a very common drug used in clinics across the country. it's just not used outside of that setting, so it's really perplexing. it's not illegal to have. it's not controlled, not a

controlled substance. if it was being used in this setting, it would raise a lot of eyebrows legally and could but this doctor, this is basically the story we're reporting, that dr. conrad murray, the physician with jackson at the time of his death, according to the source, administered this drug, propofol, to jackson. >> and to be clear, dr. murray is categorically denying all this. >> absolutely, and through this lawyer, is saying he never administered anything to jackson that could have led to his death. in terms of this story, they're saying no comment. they said they're sick of these things popping up on a daily basis and having to respond to them. their stance now, murray's lawyers, is they're not commenting on anything unless it's coming from an official, not from source reporting. >> jeffrey toobin, two family members have basically said they believe michael jackson to have been murdered.

this development that ted is reporting tonight, what is the import in your assessment, legally for dr. murray, and what would be the next step in the investigation? >> well, i would certainly take this report with a great deal of caution. first of all, we don't know what killed michael jackson. the autopsy report has not been produced. it should be produced by the end of the week. if in fact this drug propofol killed michael jackson, and if dr. murray administered it, that still doesn't mean that he will be charged with any crime, much less convicted, because we have to know under what circumstances, for what reason he gave the drug. it could be a legitimate reason. it is not an illegal drug. so certainly, it is not good news if he administered the drug that killed michael jackson, but that is far from an indication that he committed some crime. >> and let me ask you both, if i may, jeffrey and ted, the doctor

has said that he did not administer any drug or prescribe any drug to michael jackson, is this correct, ted, that should have killed him? is that the correct expression of the denial? >> yeah, and it's basically couching it, saying nothing inherently giving to him, through the lawyer, we're talking, nothing would have inherently killed him under normal circumstances. what jeff is saying and brought up, too, there's a lot that has to be deciphered here in what exactly killed michael jackson may never be known. even after toxicology because of the mixture of environmental factors outside of the drugs. you know, the shape he was in, what he had done the day before, et cetera, et cetera. it may be a case that will never be brought. it's a good possibility of that. >> and your thoughts, jeffrey? >> well, i think that's right. and obviously, dr. murray has

been the focus of a lot of attention, and there is a desire on the part of a lot of people, including members of the jackson family, to blame him for jackson's death. but sadly, just because someone died doesn't mean a crime was committed. and i think we just ought to be very cautious before we -- we allow dr. murray to be accused of something that he may never be charged with, much less convicted of. >> sadly, about happily, as well. let's, if we may, we're going to have to turn to other news developments. ted, thank you very much. jeffrey, thank you for the analysis. we'll have much more on this investigation coming up here. turning now to the battle over health care. the obama administration pushing congress to pass a bill on health care by the end of this year. the trillion dollar plan is rising.

many senators including some democrat tz, are pushing back and pushing back hard. joining me now, orrin hatch, republican of utah. senator, good to have you with us. and senator bernie sanders, independent from vermont. good to veyou with us. we appreciate it, senator. >> good to be with you. >> let me turn first to the fact that a bipartisan group in the senate apparently closing on a compromise that we have not heard until just now. is it to your sense, senator sanders, that is the case? >> i don't know. that's in the finance committee. senator hatch may know more than i do. >> senator hatch? >> i would be surprised if they could put together a program that would be supported by republicans because they're pushing for more taxes, more government, and more spending. i don't see how you solve the problem of $2.5 trillion current bill by adding another $1.5

trillion to $2 trillion more. i know they have had a difficult time because of that planned approach. >> i'm not quite sure where senator hatch is coming up with those numbers. what i know is it concerns me less whether we do it today or tomorrow or a year from now. what is most important is that we do it right. lou, we have a major crisis in this country. it's not only that tennis of millions of people are uninsured or underinsured. we have over 18,000 people every year die, die because they don't get to a doctor when they should. we have million people this year who are going to go bankrupt because of a very, very high cost of health care. i think doing nothing is not an option. my main point is we have to get it right. that's much more important than whether it's done tomorrow, next week, or four months from now. >> senator hatch, your reaction to that? >> we do have to get it right, but i don't think getting it right is expanding the federal government. they want us to set up a panel of five people, nameless,

faceless bureaucrats to determine how to ration health care because that's hthe only wy they're going to save money. otherwise, they're moving right to everything the democrats are asking for, they would lead us to a single payer system or socialized medicine. >> first of all, a single payer system is not socialized medicine. medicare is a single payer system. i would argue that most americans feel a lot better about medicare than they do about private health insurance companies who throw them off health care if they have a preexisting condition or if they got sick the previous year, whose ceos have enormous salaries and compensation packages. we have got to ask ourselves why in the united states we're spending almost twice as much as any other manger country on urge, and our outcomes in most cases aren't as good. >> part of it is because of

government run. the medicare system is $39 trillion in unfunded debt. we're going to turn the rest of the health care system to the federal government. not on my watch. >> that's not accurate. >> sure, it's accurate. >> no, it's not accurate. medicare, if you're looking at the average person, their health insurance costs have doubled in recent years. what we're looking at is 1300 private health insurance companies who have thousands of plans in the last few years, the last couple of decades, what we have seen for every new doctor that's come onboard, we need doctors. we have 25 health care bureaucrats and people all over the country know how hard it is to get the health insurance companies to pay them what they're supposed to be paid. >> and the worst health care bureaucrats we have are the government bureaucrats running the system into the ground. to be honest with you, anybody who believes the government is going to do better than the private system is wrong.

let me make one other point. we have 300 million people in this country. they claim 47 million are not covered by health insurance. now, let's just be honest about it. an awful lot of those people are people who could afford it but won't get it. some qualify for the chip bill or some qualify for medicaid right now. now, what they want to do is move to a medicaid expansion where they move more and more people into medicaid when we have a rough time paying for it now, and doctors don't want to take medicaid patients because of the way the federal government is handling it. i have a lot of respect for you, but come on. you know the dog gone federal government is part of the problem here. >> you go back and you tell veterans of this country we should disband the veteran's administration, which is 100% government run. >> i'm not telling them that. >> that's a government run program. do you want to expand medicare? >> there are things medicare can

do. to throw over the whole private sector approach that is competitive, to throw it over so we can have a bunch of bureaucrats get in between your doctor and you, it isn't right. >> first of all, nobody is talking about that. >> i'm talking about it. >> we're talking -- nobody is talking about a government-run health care system. >> sure, they are. >> no, they're not. they're talking about a public -- >> what do you call the public plan? >> a public option that will compete and give people the choice of whether they want a public plan or a private plan. why are you afraid of that? if the private plans are so much better, people will go to the private plans. if the public plans are more cost effective, more reasonable, they'll go into that. why are you afraid of the competition? >> not afraid at all. just that we know there would be unfair competition because the federal government has unlimited funds to be able to carry on whatever it wants to carry on. and it wouldn't take long. companies have to pay taxes.

they have to meet certain state and federal standards. they can do it better than the government. >> this is a level playing field. i think it's interesting that -- >> no, it isn't. >> the health insurance people are spending a million dollars a day, lobbying congress, putting huge money into campaign contributions putting money into that. i think people are sick and tired of the private health insurance companies ripping them off for years and they want to see some competition. >> why don't you and i work on solving some of the private health insurance problems. they exit, but they don't exist nearly as often as the gump problems. >> we're going to have to leave it. awaiting the outcome of the sanders/hatch resolution. and we appreciate both of you being with us. up next, it's now former alaska governor sarah palin. she had choice parting words for

the liberal elites. >> by the way, hollywood needs to know, we eat, therefore we hunt. >> we'll have a lot more of the former governor's farewell next. stay with us. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid.

the 911 call and police radio transmission in the professor gates controversy made public today.

the woman who made that 911 call has been under fire for supposedly saying two black men were breaking into the cambridge home. but she never mentioned the race of men on that 911 call. >> cambridge police sarge nlt james crowley arrived on the scene to investigate. he talked with professor gates, who had entered the house.

>> crowley ultimately arrested professor gates for disorderly conduct. gates accused the police of racism. president obama put himself in the midst of the controversy saying the cambridge police acted stupidly. president obama then talked with both crowley and gates after he said he was surprised at the public reaction to his statement. he was trying then to defuse the controversy that he managed to fuel. he's invited both men to the white house for a beer. that beer is scheduled for some time this week. former republican vice presidential candidate sarah palin has stepped down as governor of alaska. she warned americans about the dangers of big government, she praised the military and blasted the liberal media, but she's still not saying if she's going

to run for president in 2012. candy crowley has our report. >> reporter: good-bye, palin style. >> by the way, hollywood needs to know, we eat, therefore we hunt. >> reporter: the second amendment right to bare arms is an unexpected topic in a farewell speech, but this is alaska and she's sarah palin, telling alaskans to stiffen their spined. >> you're going to see antihunting, antisecond amendment circuses from hollywood. here is how they do it. they use the delicate, tiny, talented celebrity starlets. >> she may be smarting from this, a wildlife protection group. >> palin even proposed a $150 bounty for the severed foreleg of each killed wolf. >> it was one of many shots palin took over the years since she exploded on the national stage and gave john mccain the

best two weeks of his campaign. the wear and tear of the year in the lights were evident in her parting words. >> so how about in honor of the american soldier, you quit making things up? >> the latest abc/washington post poll found that 53% of americans view palin negatively. worse, 4 in 10 republicans don't think palin understands complex issues. still, she wouldn't be the first politician to rehabilitate herself, and it's clear while she's handing over the governor's chair, she's not relinquishing the microphone. >> with this decision now, i wilt be able to fight even harder for you, for what is right and for truth. >> palin is writing a book. she said she'll help other candidates. she'll give speeches, and one of her first post governor events is sat the ronald reagan library

in california. she'll make good money and could be teeing up a 2012 run. >> i asked her that about five minutes ago. you want to know what she said? she said, i don't know, with her little smirk. >> sarah palin, former dwver of alaska, exit stage right, but definitely don't fade to black. certainly, sarah palin private citizen sounds an awful lot like sarah palin politician, and everybody believes we'll see and hear from her again. >> and i have got to believe that the left in this country, the liberals in this country are just excited at the prospect of having her up close and personal now, and not tuck ed away in alaska. >> they would love it. several liberals say bring us sarah palin. we would love to run against her in 2012. in politics, be careful what you wish for. at this point, they look at the

poll numbers. they think she would be a weak candidate. so do a number of republicans. >> and one thing about it, she's got great sound bites. >> she does. >> thank you so much. joining me now, three of my favorite political analysts, the new york bureau chief of the washington post, keith. democratic strategist, robert zimmerman, and james toronto. glad to have you. >> thanks. >> let's start with nancy pelosi, a 24% trust rating by the american public. she's said she's going to pass health care ledge slashz in the house this week, it doesn't look like it, and the president is back on his heels in this issue. >> regardless of polling, she's got 100% support from 256 house members. she's not running for national office. i know the media and the pundits

are fixated by her polling numbers. i don't envision a vote this week in the house on health reform. i think it's probably wise. >> contrary to the statements of the speaker of the house? i'm shocked. i'm shocked. i think she declared that, not as a goal, but as a fact. >> well, i don't think it's going to be a reality. nonetheless, here is the more important point. you brought this up back in october of 2008. you have the democrats who put the democrats in the majority in the house and senate. from republican and conservative states, and they have to listen to constituents. there has to be change in the system. >> change, not necessarily reform. some editors of large national new s organizations should be listening, too. >> where are we? >> i agree on nancy pelosi. the only two constituencies for her that count are the democratic caucus where she's very popular and in san

francisco, where she's very popular. and in terms of health care, the most important number as my colleague at post said is 49. >> those numbers numbers? those numbers are obviously watched very carefully for the president. 24% trust approval rating for nancy pelosi. i would think would scare the dickens -- robert was nice enough to say 256 democrats have given their undying loyalty to her. we know there are about 51 who equivocate a bit. >> yes. this 49 democrats who got elected from districts carried by john mccain. had they held the key to this whole thing now. most of them are members of the blue-dog coalition sp some aren't. 49 is the key number. >> this is a little more complicated than some might have it. >> absolutely. you know, the -- >> it's not about nancy pelosi. it's about what type of legislation's going to be crafted in this process. i think that's the critical point. she has to build coalitions in the house the same way the

democrats in the senate have got to build coalitions. >> the reason this health care bill is in trouble is because there's a basic principle, first do no harm. this mad rush to get something passed, something massive and fundamental passed in a matter of few months have led people to look at what kind of harm it might do. >> like they did with the economic stimulus package. the rhetoric is precisely the same. >> nancy pelosi could have the trust ratings of walter cronkite. i don't think she'd be able to get this through. >> the system as it exists is unsustainable. unless you get deadlines in place -- >> did you know we heard exactly the same things in 1993 when the health security act was put forward by one of your favorite people, senator -- then-first lady hillary clinton. >> look at the results since then. >> the results since then. longevity continues to extend.

the united states still has the highest rating in patient care in the world. we hear a president and democratic leadership talking about a crisis. but it's a crisis that is certainly not universal in this country. >> well, people are scared to death. i mean, during the last campaign -- >> some people are scared to death. i can't say people are scared to death. >> last people last year during most of the month of the campaign until the economy went off the cliff, democrats and republicans said health care was their biggest concern. >> in the election, 55% of african-americans in this country were feeling good about race relation. just about five months after president obama had taken office as the first african-american president, that number's down to 38%. we have the president stepping forward saying a police department in cambridge, without any knowledge of facts to which he foreswore, acted stupidly. immediately the national media started talking about racial profiling. what in the world is going on

here? gate keith? >> he backed off from the word stupidly. >> took him three days to do it. >> looking at all the facts, looking at everything the sergeant said in his own statement, i don't think there should have been an arrest made there. >> okay. >> stupidly is your word -- if you look at all the facts. >> keith, we don't know all the facts there. that's part of the issue. one of the teachable moments most important from this experience is not just the issue of racial profiling which the police addressed aggressively over the past 15 years, more than any other segments of our society but the issue of police profiling. the assumptions made by the media and so many without knowing the facts. >> amen, brother. we're going to continue with our panel in one moment. a preview of what's coming up at the top of the hour. we are, of course, following the breaking news on the michael jackson investigation. could his personal doctor face manslaughter charges? we'll have the very latest on that in just a moment. also the nfl gives michael

vick the okay to play ball again after he served nearly two years in prison for dog fighting. should he be allowed back on the field? we'll talk about that. should it be legal to sell human organs? just ahead, you'll meet a doctor who says yes. we've got that plus our "matchup" at the top of the hour. we'll be back with our panel. we're going to have insight into what exactly is happening with this white house. reathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways.

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well, we're back with our panel. i want to turn -- james, we haven't heard you wake in on the gates' controversy. >> i have sympathy in this episode because something

similar happened to me 15 years ago. i was staying at a friend's house and mistaken by a neighbor as a burglar. one of the cops had his gun drawn, not pointed at me but in the holster. it was a scary moment. i had the presence of mind not to get belligerent with the cops. i can understand why gates felt the way he did. now, that said, i think there's absolutely no evidence this was a racial incident except in professor gates' mind. i think that's an important part of it, too. >> the teachable moment here, robert, it seems that the teaching -- the primary pupil is the president of the united states. >> i think there's a lot of teachable moments here, certainly for the president, certainly for the media in terms of the wau they covered and reacted to this. >> that was the expression you used, police profiling on the part of the national media, on the part of some elected officials. >> absolutely. >> i think that you couldn't put it more correctly. and i'm going to be using that expression quite a bit.

>> is seems one thing is, professor gates and his neighbor should get to know each other. >> she was not a neighbor. >> she worked in an office 100 miles away. >> she was not able to recognize the individual. the fact she was so attached by various people who decided they know what the facts are, many of them not reading the police report, but to rush to judgment and criticism based on ideology here is -- if there's a teachable moment, i hope the president is the first pupil. it is also a lesson to the rest of us. thank you very much, james. keith, thank you, sir. thank cryou very much sir. robert zimmerman, robert richberg. it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways.

to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. a quick reminder if i may, i'm on the radio monday through friday with the lou dobbs show, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. each afternoon on wor 710 radio in new yo