because we believe an educated world is a better world. republican fight night. rick perry gets ready to face off with his gop rivals in his first presidential debate. >> h. $300 billion plan. new details about the economic recovery package that president obama will present to congress and the nation. and in texas, the elite search team will look for victims today, as that state battles its most devastating wildfires in more than a decade. hi, everybody, great to have you with me today, i'm thomas roberts. also do in our new series "hiring now" we'll show you the 20 best states where companies are adding jobs. stick around for that. right now republican presidential candidates are prepping for the biggest night yet for the race to face barack obama. our nbc news politico debate will get under way tonight on hallowed ground for the gop

contenders, the reagan presidential library in california. front-runner rick perry is hoping to create more distance from the pack, while mitt romney wants to get some of his 2012 mojo back from the texas governor. the stage is also set for many candidates to make a big splash and revive campaigns that are losing momentum, or just plain old stuck in neutral. want to get a preview of politico executive editor jim van dehigh who joins us from the presidential library where debates are going to go on tonight. all eyes are going to be on rick perry, just back from the wildfires, in his first debate carrying this front-runner expectation status. will we see the other candidates go straight for perry? >> i think you will. every candidate on that stage needs to find a way to distinguish themselves from the pack, particularly those who aren't doing that well in the polls. one way to do it is to go after rick perry. i do think a lot of the attention is going to be on perry and how does he handle himself. how does he handle the tough

questions? and does perry himself go after mitt romney? because we've seen a lot of comments from the governor and from his staff over the last couple of days taking pot shots at the romney record in massachusetts. i think he's the kind of guy who likes to be aggressive in these seatings and i think he would like to draw a sharp contrast with his style, his leadership in texas versus the romney style and romney's leadership when he ran massachusetts. >> is rick perry going to be the type of guy who comes in with the pressure getting to him or is he going to come in with the big texas swagger and know he's the leader of the pack and he's got nothing to prove? >> well, you see his campaign trying to lower expectations saying he hasn't done many debates or hasn't done any national debates so they say don't expect him to sort of own the stage. i think they're just trying to set expectations. he's a very good political performer. i'd be shocked if he has not spent significant time thinking through all the different areas where republicans are going to come at him in this debate and

he'll probably handle himself pretty well. you know, he's sitting in this position, in this debate where he does have this chance, little by little, solidify the republican base around his campaign. because he is appealing to both social conservatives and to the tea party crowd. it seems like his ceiling is still much higher. if he can clear hurdles and convince republicans that he's, in fact, presidential, and that his stewardship of texas is something that could be trans r transferred on the national stage. >> right. >> it remains a big question. i think a big focus is going to be his book. he wrote a book that he's trying to back away from a little bit. right now, the theme is he has so many controversial statements and he's trying to stay, i was starting a conversation. it was ten months ago that he started that conversation. and i think that that book is going to be central to this debate and central to answering the question about whether or not he can be a front-runner in a general election campaign. >> a lot of people would look at the polls sand say they really

don't matter. what matters is the caucuses, the primaries. and in iowa michele bachmann comes in as the big winner there. how do you think she's going to be feeling walking into tonight's debate? >> this is a big, big moment for michele bachmann. she had such a great surge when she got into this race and she had a really good performance in her first debate. and since then, it's really been a deflating experience, i think, for her, and for her campaign. the polls show that she's losing significant support. rick perry came in and really became the champion of the tea party movement. that's what she was trying to claim. she has to use this moment to distinguish herself from rick perry, and regain some of that momentum, and convince conservatives, social conservatives, tea party conservatives, that she is presidential material. and i think that's a big question. you know, inside baseball you lose a couple staffers. but to lose two of your major staffers right before a big debate, and especially when you have this track record of real staff turmoil over the years, i think it really speaks to a

fundamental problem with her management style, at least with the people who work for her. and i think she has to prove that she is a general election candidate, that she can go outside of her comfort zone, and that she is as talented, and as articulate, and as thoughtful as a mitt romney or a rick perry, or a ron paul or anyone else on that stage. >> real quickly before we let you go. wanted to show everybody a real beauty shot of what's going on there. how beautiful is this place, jim? it looks pretty gorgeous from where we sit. >> it's an amazing presidential library. i've been to a couple, been to the kennedy libraries, the lbj library. this place is an amazing setting. it's up high. the views are beautiful. you have air force one behind us. it just is a really -- it's a great setting for a debate. and i think it's a great platform for republicans to come in here. ronald reagan is the idol of everybody on that stage. so you know, for the debate moderators, for harris and for brian williams, they have to get the candidates from not vust

spending all the time praising ronald reagan and reagan and get them focused on trying to clearly draw distinctions between these candidates and how they would be as president of the united states. >> we will all be watching later tonight right here on msnbc. jim vandehei, thanks, jim, great to see you. >> have a good one. >> let's get more now from our political panel. alicia menendez, senior adviser for the new democrat network and joe watkins, republican strategist and msnbc political analyst. let's start right at the top. rick perry has his first big night on the national stage. alicia, do you expect perry to have a strong opening performance compared to that of the current field? >> i think that perry knows that expectations are high, and i think he's honest with himself, or should be honest with himself about the fact that he's not a seasoned debater. that he is entering into this a little bit later than everyone else. as much as that gives him the advantage of being the new person here, it also puts him at a slight disadvantage which is that these other people have gotten accustomed to one

another. they know where people are going to go on certain issues. i would be very surprised if his team has not overprepared him for tonight. >> joe, we know a lot of people are going 0 to be on the stage zeroing in on rick perry. jim vandehei brought up quotes from the book. who do you think is going to be the spot light pulling attention away from rick perry? >> mitt romney has to regain some of the momentum he lost. it will be incumbent on mitt romney to look presidential, boost his own record, while at the same time pointing out whatever weaknesses he thinks may exist in governor perry's record. and then for michele bachmann the stakes are particularly high because she's really lost a lot of her momentum due to governor perry's entrance into the race. if she wants to regain tea party conservatives, she's going to have to work very, very hard to show the difference between herself and governor perry. >> alicia, bachmann walks in with the strength of iowa behind her. do you think it is fair to say that the wheels are falling off the campaign bus for her?

>> i do. i do think it is. losing two big staffers is a big deal. i think, though, there is a more complicated equation with bachmann. you know, she is on that stage, holding the line on social conservatism. i think if you were someone for whom that is important, you want her to stay there as long as possible to keep perry, to keep romney honest. i think there is an additional equation going on, which is if she cannot win the presidency, or if she cannot at least win her party's nomination, does she want to position herself to be a potential vp contender? where does she have the greatest possibility of fitting in? and who does that mean she needs to begin aligning herself with. >> jon huntsman, does he make a blip on the screen? >> jon huntsman is a very, very solid candidate. he's well financed. he's somebody who, in the general election, would be very, very appealing to americans. he's got to really break out in this debate. he's got to really show that he's got what it takes to be the front-runner, or at least among the top three in this race for

the presidency. he hasn't done that yet in this nomination bid. he's got to really show what it is about him, his background as a former governor, two-term governor of his state, what it is about him and somebody who served with barack obama that makes him the guy that ought to be the next republican nominee for president. >> alicia menendez, joe watkins, great to see you both this morning. >> thanks, thomas. >> everybody, keep it here all day. a programming note, that big debate begins right here on msnbc at 8:00 p.m. eastern tonight. you don't want to miss it. >> new details this morning on that grisly shooting massacre at an ihop in carson city, nevada. authorities now say a third national guard member has died after a lone gunman entered the restaurant, opening fire on a group of five uniformed officers eating breakfast. police say this man, edouardo sencion, killed four people total and wounded seven others with an ak-47 before turning the gun on himself. nbc's kristen dahlgren joins us live from carson city, nevada. i imagine this is really a stunning event for so many

people of that city. >> yeah, thomas. picture it, you're eating breakfast at the ihop like you may have done in the past and then a gunman walks in and just unloads this ak-47. witnesses describe absolute panic. as we said for four people, they died in this attack or shortly thereafter. three of those national guard members. two males, one female national guard member. and now authorities say it appears like the gunman was deliberately walking to the table where those uniformed troops were sitting. we'll learn a little bit more from authorities in less than an hour. they're expected to hold a press conference. we're also hoping to listen to those 911 tapes that we expect them to be releasing. we're told that some of them called while the shooting was still going on. you can hear the gunshots, and the panic, in the background. this is an attack that only took a few minutes. authorities at this point, though, don't have any type of motive.

they don't believe that sencion knew anyone inside of the i-hop restaurant. he didn't leave behind any note, no internet postings, so they're still searching for an answer to the question of why, thomas. >> kristen dahlgren in carson city. we'll wait to see exactly what we learned in an hour. a press briefing coming up from the police. kristen, thanks so much. breaking news now to report. this coming to us from overseas where a turkish tv station is saying that a bomb threat has forced a british-bound plane from pakistan to make an emergency landing in istanbul. the plane received this thrill while it was over bulgaria, just west of turkey, and then flew back toward istanbul to land the plane. the plane took off, though from islamabad and was heading on to manchester, england. it's not clear how many passengers are on board this plane. but again, a turkish tv station saying that a bomb threat has forced this plane bound for britain from pakistan to make this emergency landing in

istanbul. we'll bring you more information as soon as we get it. also we have breaking news on the weather front for you, as well. the tropical depression. that one right there in the atlantic, has intensified. and is now tropical storm maria. it is the 13th named storm of the 2011 hurricane season. we're going to be keeping our eye on this one. of course, as it continues to move north. the tropical storm maria right there. you're watching it. so if there is a ray of hope cutting through the smoke and the ash that covers texas and has claimed two lives, it's that for now, the winds have eased. we're going to go live to texas for an update on that still raging wildfire. and is the president too late? more details emerging for obama's plan to boost jobs but is it going to be enough? we're going to ask a leading liberal member of congress when msnbc continues.

>> >> welcome back, everybody, breaking news from central russia to talk about this morning. a plane crash has claimed the lives of 36 people, and the majority of victims are believed to be members of a russian hockey team. many of them having nhl ties. the team's head coach brad mccrimmon, played in the nhl and most recently served as an assistant coach with the detroit red wings. according to reports the plane went down and caught fire shortly after takeoff. of course we're going to bring you more information on that story as soon as we get it right here on msnbc. so a day ahead of president obama's much-anticipated jobs speech before a joint session of congress, there are new details about his jobs package surfacing. the president will attempt to bolster the economy with $300 billion worth of tax credits. also included in this plan, school renovations, job training for the unemployed, and a program to prevent future layoffs. the president will also ask lawmakers to renew the 2%

payroll tax cut. nbc's mike viqueira is live at the white house with more on this. mike, explain the strategy of getting this information, especially today, when we have the big gop debate tonight with the president's speech then being tomorrow. >> that is a volatile question. it's a touchy question around here. a lot of the details you just mentioned here haven't really been confirmed from the white house. a lot of it coming from democratic courses. when you see that citation, thomas, you look up the street to pennsylvania avenue, and the suspicion is is that many people are their own agendas are putting out the number that you just mentioned, in particular, $300 billion. the white house insists jay carney yesterday in a briefing at the podium, that it will all be paid for eventually. but the question now is, in terms of all the items that the president put forward, and a lot of those items, thomas, the white house is at pains to mention. the fact of the matter is a lot of that stuff that's passed, particularly the centerpiece of what the president apparently, evidently going to be talking about, extension of the 2% payroll tax holiday that all

americans are enjoying this year. it expires at the end of this year. and remember, it was part of that december package that was sort of buried in the fine print, in a way, that package that extended the bush tax cuts, that big fight, one of the big fights we saw last december. president coming to agreement with republicans. so he heads to capitol hill tomorrow night, joint session of congress, 8:00 p.m. the question is how much of this is going to pass? there's been a letter now sent from the republican leadership of the house, john boehner, eric cantor, saying they want to cooperate with the president, they cite infrastructure spending as one possible area. but other things that we're hearing from republicans, not very encouraging in terms of getting something passed in short order. thomas? >> mike viqueira at the white house for us. mike, thank you. >> certainly. >> so that number, $300 billion. it is a big price tag. some democratic lawmakers think it's simply not enough to jump-start this economy, and is this package really bold enough to satisfy president obama's base. joining us now live from capitol hill is representative recall grijalva. a lot of pressure on the president to boost jobs overall.

but especially in hard-hit minority communities. what do you want to hear from the president tomorrow night? >> well, to that end, the black caucus, hispanic caucus, asia pacific caucus and progressive caucus have sent a letter to the president saying let's meet before the speech. we feel that this package has been outlined in the press, $300 billion is not big enough. we feel that the severity of unemployment, the severity of the economic downturn requires a lot more government intervention. it requires a bigger package. and to begin to revive this economy, and to give -- and to bring the unemployment rate down. particularly in areas hardest-hit with poverty, and the issues associated with unemployment. we just feel that this is a time for boldness. this is a time to take this argument to the american people. the republican leadership is not going to cooperate. it's in their best interests that the president appear ineffective. that the president that get

anything done. if it's to their political interests, he's got to take this fight to the american public and that's what we want to urge him to do. >> we might be on the precipice of something bold. there's this startling announcement today by the world economic forum. latest bad news for the president, it says the u.s. has dropped to the fifth most competitive country because of its massive deficit. is the u.s. a country on decline and what can be done about it if we don't get something bold from the president? >> well, i don't believe it's on the decline. i think we've been, over a decade of bad fiscal policies, tax cuts to the very rich, corporate breaks, haven't rescinded those, and the consequences is the deficit has grown. let's put blame where blame is due. that reform has to occur immediately. the will, the resilience of the american people continue to our weapon in this economic fight. and this is what the president's got to do. invest in that asset. the american people. we do that, our competitors will

increase. our consumer confidence will go up. and our leadership in the world will be restored. we don't do that, we continue the decline. >> can this pass a republican-controlled house given the package would be paid for with tax revenue and also given the fact that america as a whole is watching a obama job approval number? their feeling is that his job approval rating is not so hot, just take a look at it yourself right there. 53% disapprove of his job performance, with 62% disapprove of the handling of the economy. but, what can the president do if republicans won't play games? >> well, i said that earlier. i think this is a moment for the president to take the agenda of economic recovery, and jobs, a bold agenda, to the american people. let the american people begin to dictate to congress what needs to be done. as long as we play this inside game here in the beltway, the republicans are in charge. the leadership is. if we take it to the american people, the tone and the tenor of this debate will change

almost overnight, and i think that -- i believe, and i urge the president, this is where the fight has to go. directly to the american people. and not wait. and i repeat the word waste time trying to appease the republican leadership when they have no interest in seeing the president, or this economy, recover, because politically, they think that's their ticket to winning back the white house. >> representative grijalva thank you for your time this morning. nancy pelosi blasting republicans. we're going to tell you why she's accusing them of disrespecting the president. is it just back to business as usual on capitol hill? and we're going to head back to the reagan library for tonight's big debate. the republican candidates to keep in mind past election match-ups. and it tabs both substance and tile to make a big impression on american voters. we're going to take a look back at what they might want to remember when it comes to tonight. boy, i'm glad we got aflac huh.

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house republican leaders are calling for president obama to meet with them ahead of his speech to congress tomorrow night when he'll unveil his big new plan to create jobs. now the gop says they will not issue a formal response to that speech, a decision that house minority leader nancy pelosi is blasting as disrespectful. she says, quote, the republican silence on thursday evening will speak volumes about their lack of commitment to creating jobs. nbc's luke russert is live from capitol hill to talk about this. so, luke, the house minority leader not mincing words here. how unprecedented is this for republicans to take this silent stance? >> well, the last time that president obama gave a speech to a joint session of congress about a particular issue was health care. now that was september of 2009. and the house gop did have a response then, rather the republican party did when they talked about republican health

care. the republicans are saying we've had our own jobs plan that's been out there for two months, we are going to make the majority leader eric cantor going to be booked for some tv interviews immediately after the speech. so they're more than willing to respond. and it's going to have a single specific time that the networks will run. it will be more of a collective team effort. what pelosi was really hitting that, according to an aide, the fact that republicans have not presented, with her eyes, a real jobs bill. that is disrespectful, and they will continue to do that tomorrow night. she obviously wants to see a bill that will have stimulus dollars. republicans have said they will not have any type of jobs bill that will add to the deficit. so that's what the issue is. it's really political. it looks aesthetic but it is political internally. big news today, thomas, congress is back in session after their whole month-long recess in august. the senate and the house together for the first time since the early part of august. and this super committee. the thing we're going to be talking about so much before christmas, in charge of trying to get 1.5 trillion in spending

cuts, they had one of their first organizational meetings this morning, and essentially they're saying, look, they're going to figure out how exactly they're going to have the organizational meeting as to how exactly they're going to put the rules forward for how the committee will govern. a lot of eyes on the republican side on what's going to happen tonight out in simi valley, california. don't think capitol hill's going to miss that at all. >> i don't think so. a lot of people tuning in, waiting to see what's going to happen tonight, 8:00, right here on msnbc. nbc's luke russert, thank you, luke. >> all this discussion about jobs, it's important to remember, there are companies that are hiring. hiring now. so we're going to show you where and what you need to do in our series "hiring now." [ groans ] you okay? i'm not looking forward to my flight. try this. bayer aspirin?

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so the research team is set to begin looking for victims today in the deadly wildfires that have destroyed more than 1,000 homes and killed four people across texas. the largest fire in the state is in bastrop, texas.

that fire has raged out of control for days now. but low winds have allowed firefighters to get a handle on those flames, which are now 30% contained. the 18 mile long, five mile wide fire in bastrop has charred about 45 square miles of land. by far the most catastrophic of more than 180 fires burning statewide. >> looking at the fire right now and i'm thinking that can be my property that just went up in smoke. >> we don't know if we're going to have to go home. we don't know anything. we can't find information. >> charles hadlock is live from bastrop, texas, with more. these firefighters are really being pushed to the absolute limit. how crucial has it been for this change in wind? >> oh, absolutely crucial, thomas. what happened on sunday when the fires broke out, you had the backside of tropical storm lee pushing dry, gusty winds in to texas. that helped fuel the fires. they spread very quickly, especially across the forested

areas of east texas. the fire is spreading from canopy to canopy. more of a dramatically than any firefighter could keep up with. the good news is now the winds are calm. the humidity is up just a bit. and now we have an inversion layer over the top of it. that has really brought the smoke down close to the surface of the ground here in bastrop. it's also reduced the winds. and that's really helping. firefighters now say that they have this fire 30% contained. it is not out by any means. but at least they are getting some handle on it today. >> good news there on that front. we'll continue to watch this. nbc's charles hadlock in texas for us. thank you. now to some other stories making headlines. the white house is mulling a proposal to keep some 3,000 troops in iraq long after president obama's promised withdrawal deadline later this year. the troops would stay to train iraqi security forces. no final decision has been made but the number of servicemen staying would be significantly less than the 10,000 military personnel requested by the pentagon.

an abrupt firing at the top of the once high-flying internet leader yahoo. ceo carol bartz says she was unexpectedly fired over the phone. after the board had grown impatient with the lack of a turnaround at yahoo. she joined yahoo more than two years ago. bartz is being replaced for now by cfo tim morse until a permanent successor is found. robyn gardner has now been missing for over a month and the american man held by aruban authorities in her disappearance is in court this morning to appeal his ongoing detention. gary giordano has been ordered behind bars, without charges, until the end of october. while the investigation in aruba continues. if his appeal goes through, he could walk free immediately. new details have been released about the coronado, california, mansion death. the autopsy for rebecca zahau reveals possible tape residue on her legs and evidence that a shirt sleeve was stuffed into

her mouth. yet investigators are standing by their ruling of a suicide. rebecca was found dead at her boyfriend's historic mansion in july. we want to continue our new series "hiring now" this morning with a look at where the jobs are across america. take a look at this. this map is going to tell it all. "newsweek" and the daily beast use polling, unemployment rates and average annual income by state and found the 20 best states in the nation for job growth. we want to highlight the states that made the top of that list. so here we have this unified collection of where the states are. but look at virginia, right here. employers with expanding workforces. 34%. there are other states that have expanding workforces, as well. look at massachusetts. residents there are seeing this type of growth. unemployment has fallen there over the last year, and the state's workforce growth has coupled with an average annual income that's approaching roughly $60,000 a year. now take a look at indiana's numbers. some of their numbers are pretty heartening, as well. part of the reason republicans

wanted governor mitch daniels in the 201 presidential race, because 32%, their workforce there, has seen expansion. average income is at $40,000. and then a big dip in unemployment. and the top state for job growth? take a peek. it is michigan. the state's unemployment rate is above the national average but it's dipped nearly 2% over the last year. even with the high national unemployment we've seen some private sector job growth every month this year. rosemary from careerbuilder.com, vice president for human resources, is here to help us break down the facts for job seekers out there. good to see you this morning. this is such an important segment that we're very proud of here because we want to see america get back to work and we've seen the states. talk to us about the sectors that people have the best chance to find the current openings in right now. >> we're definitely seeing a variety of speeds, i think in that recovery. industries like i.t., engineering, health care, they continue to create jobs and have

been doing so fairly steadily over the past couple of years. >> rosemary, let's get specific, corporations at career builder has a list of companies hiring and doing so in large volume. is this all growth in specific regions or are companies looking around the country, nationwide, to expand their workforces? >> we're definitely seeing this across the country. we're seeing this, you know, we talked about i.t., health care, engineering. we're also seeing a lot of what we call support positions. they need to kind of beef back up accounting, customer service, sales, things of that sort. and they're big-name companies, global brand companies like motorola, a lot of job creation and we're seeing, you know, hundreds of companies that are starting to pop up on our radar. >> there's one point that may be tough for a lot of americans who spent years in the same profession, training, their still sets directed toward one thing. but you don't discount finding a job may mean finding a new

career path and may mean retraining your skill set. >> yeah, i think that's actually going to be really key for the continued success, and job creation in the next couple of years, just finding a job may mean finding a new career path. spo we're seeing some of these sectors coming back online. adding new positions to their ranks. but they're looking for stuff like labor. and so by that i mean individuals with degrees, minimum of five years experience, and so we need people to kind of go back to school to get retrained because right now, the pool is not big enough to fill all of the specialized labor openings. >> when it comes to certain people who are willing to move, how hard should they be when asking for certain relo benefits? >> we're seeing more companies are actually willing to offer it. and even if they're not going to offer it in its entirety to cover all your expenses, there may be some things that's right doing to help encourage people to make the move. there's some important information people should use in their search. a lot of states are really accelerating their communities, their growth, and so cast the

widest net possible is what i tell individuals that are looking for new work. if you're willing to move, make sure you're covering all your bases and sending your resume everywhere. more companies are willing to help you do that. >> moving is a tax deduction. rosemary, thanks. appreciate your time. and if you have a company you'd like us to cover, please tweet me @thomasaroberts. we could use your suggestions for an upcoming "hiring now" segment on msnbc. with millions out of work, the american dream is slipping farther out of reach for more and more americans. a new study by the pew research center is showing that nearly one in three americans who grew up in the middle class have slipped down the income ladder as an adult. and those who were most vulnerable to this downward mobility shared some common qualities. personal finance expert and author of "the real cost of living" carmen wong ulrich is here to talk about this. a recent pew study now showing that the middle class upbringing doesn't really guarantee the same status over a lifetime. what do you think that the study came back with this data is

showing in the larger picture? >> really interesting that the segment you just had on before really shined a light on it tremendously, after seeing where the job growth is. it's in fields that require an education. and it's more than the skills that were just required in a high school degree that was required in generations past. we had a solid middle class built on folks who had the high school degree. now the middle class is all about having that college degree. there's a huge gap. so we've seen a big drop and a lot of it based on education. >> when you use the phrase downward mobility. the study says those in the middle class is most at risk for that type of trend include those divorced or separated from their spouses, did not attend college, scored poorly on standardized tests or used hard drugs. what's your reaction to those types of findings? i mean i think a lot of people would like at that and say that's common sense. >> the last couple are common sense, sure. but here's the thing, for women, especially, being separated, being divorced, have tremendous, tremendous economic impact on the bottom line, and in terms of downward and upward mobility. because here's the things.

the two largest costs we're seeing for families, child care, and college. so for women, especially, to having the burden of child care on themselves, really contributes toionward mobility. and of course, college and education, this is a big, big part. actually, tremendous gap between african-americans and white americans, have to do with education. and once you control for that gap in education, we're all on par. so a lot of it has to do, again, child care and college. two tremendous casts in our life. >> generally speaking what are some of the best strategies for decreasing that vulnerability? those swings in the economy as a member of the middle class? >> as rosemary mentioned with career builder, the key is constant education. not just getting that college degree. just getting anything beyond that high school degree. for example, getting skilled training in skilled different fields. that is going to be vital for you. in terms of child care, of course, this is something it's hard to say, you want to stay with somebody because of costs, do everything you can to sacrifice and have cash savings in the bank. it continues to be a struggle

but if you can keep up with education you will be able to keep up with this changing economy. >> carmen, thanks so much. good to see you this morning. we're going to move on, we have some breaking news. this coming to us from the national cathedral in washington. a crane there performing cleanup work has collapsed. damaging at least one building, and several vehicles near the cathedral. at least one person was injured. emergency crews, as you can see, on the scene. you may remember, the crane had been repairing damage from the 5.8 earthquake that rattled the cathedral and other washington landmarks on august the 23rd. an. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ way to go, coach. do you have an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, or afib, that's not caused by a heart valve problem? are you taking warfarin to reduce your risk of stroke caused by a clot? you should know about pradaxa. an important study showed that pradaxa 150mg

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hey, jessica, jerry neumann with a policy question. jerry, how are you doing? fine, i just got a little fender bender. oh, jerry, i'm so sorry. i would love to help but remember, you dropped us last month. yeah, you know it's funny. it only took 15 minutes to sign up for that new auto insurance company but it's taken a lot longer to hear back. is your car up a pole again? [ crying ] i miss you, jessica! jerry, are you crying? no, i just, i bit my tongue. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. state farm. all right, let's set the stage for you. because this is pretty impressive. the reagan national library in simi, california, where the big nbc news politico debate will be taking place, is the most important debate yet for mitt romney, who needs to regain some momentum from a new front-runner putting pressure on the former massachusetts governor. >> governor perry's plan, he said governor mitt romney did

not create jobs in massachusetts, and he, governor perry, created jobs in texas. what's your response to governor perry in >> you know, i'm not responding to governor perry right here. he's not here. i'll probably get the chance to do that at some point. but i'll talk about -- >> but it's -- >> why would i be worried about what other people say? >> cnbc chief washington correspondent john harwood joins me now. shouldn't romney be a little bit worried? he looks better than governor perry right now in a general election match-up but he's got to get out of the primary first. >> trust me, thomas, he's plenty worried about rick perry right now and he's got good reason to be. look, mitt romney has been the candidate who, he looks the part, he's got credibility, the business background. he's a useful sort of resume to bring into this race. but he doesn't have an emotional connection with the republican primary electorate. rick perry does. that's why rick perry has moved to the forefront of our nbc/"wall street journal" poll.

other polls in the race, and this is not just the most important debate tonight for romney, but for the entire gop field. because you're really looking at a new front-runner and a new dynamic that is the romney/perry dynamic. and how does mitt romney. when he told my colleague larry kudlow in that clip, at some point i may have the chance to do that. that some point is tonight. he's going to be on a stage with rick perry. we'll see whether he shows some ability to get some traction for himself and do something to halt rick perry's momentum. >> mitt romney laying out his 59-points jobs plan yesterday. jobs are going to be a hot button and main issue. but will it be hard to weave the jobs message in with the political critiques of governor perry? >> well, every candidate in this race, thomas, is going to be talking about jobs from a very similar vantage point. it's hard to distinguish different jobs programs, because all the republican candidates want to cut corporate taxes. they all, in the long run at least, want to cut individual

taxes. cut capital gains dividends, estate taxes. these are all standard elements of the orthodox republican economic policy. but i do think the most important thing that happens tonight is going to be, first of all, the way that rick perry presents himself to the country. this is somebody who has gotten a lot of appeal. he's gotten a lot of swagger. he is very popular with the republican electorate. but a national stage is going to see him tonight. so is he going to adhere to some of the views he expressed in his book fed up which is open hostility of the social security system? is that a line, point of attack for mitt romney to go after him? it's a dangerous one for romney, because if he pursues that line, he runs the risk of other republicans saying, hey, he's just repeating democratic talking points. >> absolutely. john harwood. good to see you, sir. i want to remind everybody not to forget the candidates will be taking center stage tonight at the reagan library in california. you can catch the nbc news politico debate right here on msnbc at 8:00 p.m. [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu users chose prego.

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welcome back. we are just days from the ten-year anniversary of 9/11. and the emotional toll of the families of the people killed on that tragic day, it is certainly still palpable. today the first responders say the weight of that loss is being rag vated by new york city's failure to correct the radio system that failed emergency workers during those attacks. i'm joined by retired deputy chief jim riches. he lost his son jimmy who was also a firefighter on 9/11. thanks for your time. you say that more people are going to die. more could perish because the radio system would still be failing today. why is that? >> it's ten years later and they had the emergency communications bill out of washington, d.c. the politicians still haven't passed it. it's a shame. the radios need upgrading. it's all about money. they don't care about the lives of the first responders yet. they'll all go down there

tomorrow on 9/11 on sunday and be in a photo op when i don't think they should be there. the first responders did their job on 9/11 and the politicians have failed to do their job after 9/11. >> why do you think there is so much red tape? here we are ten years later, why? >> it's down to the democrats and republicans are arguing over money. it's a ban on the communications. it comes to be worth $10 billion -- $10 trillion or $3 trillion if they offer up to the companies now they're arguing over the money. we need improved communications on the scene for the police to track terrorists for the firemen to talk to each other and communicate with each other. yet we have to go down there the first responders are not allowed down there at 9/11 a and look at bush and giuliani who told us that the air quality is fine. i was in a coma for 11 days. >> let's talk more about that.

there is controversy around first responders not being invited to the tenth anniversary. we are because as we said in the open you lost your son, jimmy, that day. what is your take? how do you react to first responders not being invited? >> i think it's a shame. the politicians are down there. they failed to do their jobs with this communication bill. we had giuliani and bush telling us the air quality is fine. we went down therein and did our jobs. these people lied to us. they should be indicted. it's a shame. more people are going to die from the lies of the federal government that day than the terrorists killed. it's a shame the first responders could be down there. that place empties out in the afternoon. this year it will be empty in the afternoon. >> what is it like for your ten years later? how do you find yourself and your family coping with this anniversary date as it gets close her. >> never forget 9/11. everybody thinks about it

especially on the anniversary. we live it every day. my son's never walking back in that door. osama bin laden was killed. at tp end of the day, my monocease not walk -- son's not walking in the door. there's an empty seat. the family's hurt every day. we live 9/11 every day, not just the anniversary. >> are you pleased with the progress of what's taking place with the progress at the site of 9/11? >> i'm in the proud that they're going put the human remains seven stories below the grave. i'm not happy they're charging a $20 admission and it's a nonprofit running the 9/11 museum. we need it to be more remembrance and respect. not a revenue generating tourist attraction which it's becoming with a gift shop and advertisements. >> jim, i want to thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> i wish you and your family the best. you live this every day, we do send our best to you during

9/11. thank you. that's going to go it for me today. thank you forrer your time. i'm going to see you back here at 11:00 a.m. eastern time tomorrow. until then you can always follow me on twitter @thomasaroberts. the track to agree on nothing. plus we're awaiting new details in the deadly shooting out of a nevada ihop that left four people and the gunman dead. and you'll meet the man who flew the president to safety on 9/11. all that and more straight ahead.

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from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®. i'm craig melvin. we are covering the big news from coast to coast. our big story perry's first pitch. tonight the texas governor gets his first national spotlight in our msnbc politico presidential debate. will the gop