national report card tomorrow, right here on cnn. in the meantime, we want you to check out our political podcast. go to cnn.com/situationroom. i'm suzanne malveaux in "the situation room." up next, "lou dobbs tonight." good evening, everybody. to american journalists released from prison in north korea are home. but new concerns that their release will make north korea even more defiant over its nuclear weapons program. the white house and the democratic party lashing out at the rising number of americans who are now critical of the president's health care proposals. that battle can turn into a summer of discontent. we'll have a special report, and members of congress facing new charges of hypocrisy. spending $200 million on brand-new corporate aircraft for themselves, just months after blasting auto company executives for using corporate aircraft. we'll have that special report.

we begin tonight with the return of two american journ journalists from captivity in north korea. president obama today declared he's extraordinarily relieved at their release. north korea pardoned them at former president bill clinton flew to pyongyang. the journalists, laura ling and euna lee, flew home to california with president clinton after spending five months in a north korean prison. laura ling described what happened just before they were set free. >> we feared that at any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp and then, suddenly, we were told that we were going to a meeting. >> well,ling said that meeting was with president clinton. the obama administration insist it made no deals with pyongyang to secure their release. dan lothian has our report from the white house. >> reporter: i'm just not going to get into that right now. i don't have anything more to

add on this at this time. this was a private mission. >> reporter: but, in fact, the government was deeply involved from the start. >> it was an official visit. it was sanctioned by the u.s. government. it was brokered behind the scenes by the u.s. government. this is, in name only, a private visit by the president. >> reporter: a senior administration official says planning had been under way for months, but that the game changer came in mid-july, when laura ling and euna lee told their parents during phone conversations of an offer from the north koreans. they would be granted amnesty if an envoy, like president clinton, would travel to pyongyang to secure their release. >> obviously informed vice president gore and obviously the state department of the nature of that goal. >> reporter: on the weekend of july 24th, an official says national security adviser, general jim jones, spoke with clinton about his willingness to take on the mission. the former president pressed for two things.

clear communication that the mission would be purely humanitarian and that due diligence by the national security team would guarantee success. we were convinced this would be the result, said a senior administration official, and based on that, we could advise president clinton that his trip was going to be successful. on monday, president clinton flew to north korea, met with kim jong-il for more than an hour, followed by a two-hour dinner. then, got what he came for. with the two journalists safely at home, president obama finally spoke. >> i want to thank president bill clinton. i had a chance to talk to him for the extraordinary humanitarian effort that resulted in the release of the two journalists. >> now, the state-run news agency in pyongyang claims that former president clinton apologized for the, quote, hostile acts committed by the two journalists, but a senior administration official says that that's not the case and robert gibbs, spokesman here at the white house, said it did not

happen. now president obama said that he does plan to sit down with former president clinton to talk about his trip to north korea and we're also told by a senior administration official that former president clinton will be debriefed by the national security team. lou? >> and president clinton showing a lot of class and constraint. he said nothing upon his return, whatsoever. did he? >> reporter: he did not say anything at all. perhaps he'll talk in the future, but letting today be the day where the family can speak out about enjoying, you know, their relatives who have returned home, talk about their experiences, and for now, he sort of stays in the background a bit. >> dan lothian, thank you very much, from the white house. president obama tonight is facing rising criticism of his domestic agenda, particularly health care. three senate democrats today said republican opponents of that legislation are con cocking what they call phony arguments. but critics are refusing to be intimidated. refusing to be silenced at town hall meetings.

>> kill the bill! >> president obama even accused cable television hosts of inflaming opposition to health care. >> there are those who want to seek political advantage, they want to oppose these efforts, some of them cause the problems that we got now in the first place, and then suddenly they're blaming other folks for it. they don't want to be constructive, they don't want to be constructive, they just want to get in the usual political fights, back and forth. and sometimes that's fed by all the cable chatter on the media. >> they may be, however, watching over a president who is facing a tough challenge in confronting those critics. . the latest opinion polls indicate the president's health care proposals facing strong

opposition. bill schneider with our report. >> where do the people stand on health care reform? divided. in our new cnn poll conducted by the opinion research corporation, 50% favor president obama's plan. 45% oppose it. politicians pay attention to intensity and opponents of health care reform feel more strongly about it than supporters. opponent also say they're more likely to attend a public forum on the issue. why are democrats having so much trouble rallying support? here's one reason. solid majorities of americans say they're satisfied with their health care and their health insurance. a whopping 71% are satisfied with both. there, the satisfied majority. how does the satisfied majority feel about health care reform? they're inclined to propooppose reform, but may be persuadable. >> if we do not act, everybody's

health care will be in jeopardy. >> reporter: critics mean it's too much government control over health care. >> the democrats believe you've got to change the entire health care system in america, including the so-called government option, which we believe would lead to a government takeover of the health care system in america. >> supporters warn that the status quo means too much control by insurance companies. >> congress and the president will remove the insurance industry from coming between the patient and his or her doctor. >> would americans rather have the government or insurance companies make difficult health care decisions? they're divided. democrats prefer government, republicans prefer insurance companies. should health care decisions be made by government or by insurance companies? a lot of people hear that question and wonder, yikes. those are the choices? lou? >> yikes. another poll out today from quinnipiac, bill, also showing a dramatic shift on the handling

of the president's health care proposals, from just a month ago. 42% disapproved. now 52% disapprove. that's a dramatic change. what's driving it, bill? >> it certainly is dramatic change. and it could reflect an increasing volume of criticism. though, i should point out that that poll is somewhat more negative than the poll that i reported, which had 45% opposition. that was 52, and most other polls are a little bit less negative than that. so we'll have to see if that trend holds up. but we are hearing that increasing volume of criticism, and let me also point out the one problem that supporters of health care reform have is that intensity problem. we're finding that about 45% of democrats in our poll say they strongly favor the health care reform plan, now going through congress, whereas with when we ask republicans their view, about 65% of republicans say they strongly oppose it. so there's much more intensity on the negative side. >> is it fair, at this point, to

say that despite all of these opinion polls, they're all dealing with one conundrum. that is that there is no real final shaped proposal before us with detailed parameters and costs. therefore, what is all of this approval and what is all of this disapproval about? >> there is no one single plan. the president let congress shape the plan, more than the clinton administration did, with their own 1,000-page plan with a lot of specifics in it. what's coming through congress is plans being passed and considered by various committees right now. that creates uncertainty and doubt on the part of a lot of americans. >> but peopleperfectly willing to respond to something that doesn't exist. the white house is organizing its response to protests against the president's health care proposals. the president's political wing, organizing for america, sent its members an e-mail ahead of a

vice president event today, saying, quote, stand with the vice president and against the angry mobs being directed by republican operatives in washington to disrupt events throughout the month of august. a spokesman for the democratic national committee, which runs organizing for america, said the crowds are being transported to the town halls by, quote, well-funded, highly organized groups run by republican operatives and funded by the special interests who are desperately trying to stop the agenda for change the president was elected to bring to washington. joining me now for more on all of this, our senior political correspondent, candy crowley. candy, access, if you will, the administration's position, the democratic party's response to what looks to be some considerable opposition to their plans. >> people don't push back hard, if things are going swimmingly. and i think those polls reflect what those who are supporting a sort of obama-style health care reform are looking at.

and they're saying, listen, about half the country is against this. so what's happened now when you see the administration's response to its political arm. also, the health care arm of the sciu, a big -- >> service employees union. >> yes. has also put out a big memo to those who are interested in health care, saying, listen, you can be sure to contact friendly members of congress, tell them they want to come, inoculate your staff, tell them it might get very rowdy. bring more people than the other side brings. don't shout them down, but make sure that -- >> manufacturing things here? that seems to be the charge. are we hearing that the democratic side is manufacturing things along with the republican side? >> i think what you're hearing is a debate that is now less about policy and more about politics. who can be louder, who can show up in force. let's face it.

no matter how many town hall meetings you are, there are small groups of people. the vast number of americans are out there are not going to town hall meetings this summer. so they also have opinions. so this has become theater. >> it is theater, and where does it lead for the president? where does it lead? >> well, part of the problem here is that when you look at it in political terms, what the democrats have determined is the more on the fringe you can paint these protesters at the town hall meeting, the better it is. because it looks like the crazies are against it. and what the other side, who is opposed to obama-style reform is thinking, is that, listen, the more we disrupt this, the more opposition is building up. these are political aims that they have. >> i love the exchange between one reporter and robert gibbs, the white house press secretary. he was talking about manufactured opposition here and the reporter asked, well, what

is the difference between the manufacturing of opposition when it's liberals. and he said, well, the republicans seem to be bragging about it, is basically the answer. i mean, we're having to split some very fine hairs here. >> it depends on which side you're on, most of the time. >> and if you're in the middle? which is where i live? >> well, then it's an interesting time, isn't it? >> you better believe it. thanks a lot, candy. appreciate it. you can join the debate on how the obama administration and the congress are doing. go to cnn.com to cast your vote on how the president and the congress are handling the economy, health care, and a number of other important issues, and then you can see the results here on cnn tomorrow evening 8:00 p.m. eastern on the cnn national report card. the second 100 days. up next, more on the confrontation over the president's health care proposals. members of congress appear to have forgotten the showdown over

those car company executives. they objected to those car company executives using corporate jets, do you remember? >> couldn't y'all have downgraded to first class or jetpooled or something to get here? it would have at least sent a message that you do get it. >> well, does congress get it? some critics say they don't. those lawmakers ordering some brand-new corporate jets of their own. how about that? but they're only down about $2 trillion in the budget this year. we'll be asking questions no one else on television is asking here tonight. we'll find out what we can learn from canada's health care system. we'll be right back. strength on its own can be impressive. when consistency is added, that's when it becomes real. ♪ at northwestern mutual, we've been able to deliver real strength... for over 150 years. northwestern mutual. consistency counts.

put our strength to work for you. learn how at northwesternmutual.com. but i did. you need to talk to your doctor about aspirin. you need to be your own advocate. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. you take care of your kids, now it's time to take care of yourself.

as congress and the president consider an overhaul of the nation's health care system, we continue to ask and answer some of the questions that a lot of folks in washington aren't asking, nor even considering. such as, how satisfied are americans with our health care system and the answer is, as of right now, 83% of americans are

satisfied with the quality of the health care that we receive. that according to a new cnn opinion research poll. in denmark, satisfaction, however, is even higher. there, 90% are satisfied with their publicly funded system. it is a different story in germany. 55% believe their system needs fundamental reform. it, too, a universal national health care system. critics unhappy with health care in the united states often point to canada as a model. canada has a single payer system that covers everyone. and most canadians are happy with their health care. kitty pilgrim with our report. >> reporter: in the largest survey of health care ever, 92% of canadians say they like their doctors so much they would recommend them to family or friends. in canada, primary health care physicians are basically family doctors and handle everything through a private practice, physical, mental health, maternity, pediatrics,

geriatrics, says an author of 18 books on canadian health law. >> this is not socialized medicine. the government does not provide doctors, does not provide hospitals. you go to whatever doctor you want, just as you do here and doctors can either take more patients or not take patients. it's up to them. and the same is true with hospitals. >> reporter: all canadians have health coverage through the government. 70% of health care is publicly funded and 30% is privately funded. each province runs its own health care budget, although the federal government supplements some provinces that are not as prosperous as others. it is a very cost-effective system. only 10% of gdp compared to nearly 16% of the u.s. economy. and canada only spends some $3,895 a year, that's about half of the expenditure for every person in the united states. but less expensive doesn't seem to imply less effective health

care. in canada, male life expectancy is 78 years, versus the average of 75 years in the united states. canada does have its problems, the most frequently cited, long wait times for some treatments. >> that's our biggest problem in canada. we have a very good system, good quality, but we have wait times. and this is one thing we want to fix in our system, to fix that problem of wait times. because it's unacceptable. >> reporter: many doctors would help. canada has a shortage. one doctor for every 526 people compared one for every 418 people in the united states. doctors are paid considerably less than their u.s. counterparts, but lawsuits are not as common in canada and guidelines for damages were set back in 1978 by the canadian supreme court. the canadian medical protective association pays damages and provides legal counsel for doctors who are sued. now, in a recent canadian poll, 82% of canadians say they believe their health care system is better the united states.

health care and 70% of canadians think their health care system is working well. only 12% think the canadian system should be more privately funded. lou? >> so there's actually less satisfaction with the canadian health care plan in canada than there is in the united states. >> well, they like their doctors and like most of the systems. the longest -- the biggest problem there is the wait time that they have to wait longer for their operations. >> and obviously, a number of canadians come to the united states for procedures of all sorts. that's also an issue. they also have a fallback system, if you will. but interestingly, that ratio of doctors to the general population, one to 518, i think you said, something in that order, that's far worse, 20% worse than the united states. >> it's worse than the united states, they have a very big shortage of doctors, and that's a big problem and that's what causes some of the wait time that's an issue. >> everyone's struggling here for solutions and improvements

to this system. all of these issues have to be confronted, one would think, by both the proponents and opponents of what is going on in washington, d.c. all of these are critically important issues. >> canada's trying to train more doctors and they're doing incentives to train. everyone's grappling with how to fix the systems that they have, lou. >> all right. thank you very much, kitty pilgrim. we continue our look at health care systems and other nations tomorrow night. we'll be examining the quality of health care in the united kingdom. up next here, our economy could see recovery, soon. also ahead, could the august recess sideline the president's agenda? that's the subject of our "face-off" debate here tonight. and remember this --? >> i'm going to ask the three executives here to raise their hand if they flew here commercial. let the record show no hands went up. >> and not as many hands, apparently, will be going up in congress should that question be

asked of them. when congress was asking and blasting the auto ceos for using private jets, but they're down about $2 trillion right now on capitol hill and they're getting new corporate jets. we'll be right back.

announcer: some people buy a car based on the deal they get. - others buy the car of their dreams. - ( beeps ) during the lexus golden opportunity sales event, you can do both. it's an opportunity today. it's a lexus forever. special lease offers now available on th.