straight to it. there is breaking news out of kabul, afghanistan this morning, where a taliban attack is ongoing right now. four suicide attackers involved in an assault on the u.s. embassy, rocket fire and fighting. the attack also focused on nato headquarters in the afghan capital. officials saying at least one afghan police officer and two insurgents were killed after a gunfire from assault rifles and a rocket propelled grenade ripped through the city. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins me in studio to talk more about this. this attack is ongoing. what is being done at the embassy and nato to protect the vulnerable staff? >> this is a very complex attack. it is somewhat disorganized in its danger. it's very coordinated but the specific attack doesn't appear that frightening. what happened was a large group

of militants, perhaps six, perhaps ten, climbed up a building, a 13-story building that's still partially under construction. and they brought with them many rocket propelled grenades. when they got to the roof of this tall building, which overlooks to a degree the embassy and the nato complex, they started firing rpgs on to those two locations and other locations in the downtown area. the u.s. embassy says that it ordered personnel to go into hardened shelters, not to evacuate the premise but effectively calling a bomb scare and according to this embassy spokesperson no one, no embassy personnel were hurt. but, in addition to these militants who went up into this tall building and started raining rpgs all over downtown kabul, particularly the embassy nato headquarters, there were also several suicide attacks against afghan police in three to four different locations in

kabul what kind of test is this on the transition, the ultimate transition coming up in 2014? >> well, it shows that the surge, which has taken place and is now being scaled back to a degree, the extra 30,000 troops that the united states sent in to try and stop the taliban's momentum, hasn't prevented them from carrying out very brazen attacks in kabul. and even as the u.s. is now saying we're going to start dialing back the surge, the taliban is saying, we're still here and we're still able to climb up buildings and rain rpgs on to the embassy. >> as we're learning right now, say that again? all right. so david petraeus is saying all staff is accounted for. there aren't any injuries. is this just a matter of right now the u.s. embassy and nato staff just getting lucky? because if these brazen attacks do continue, there is going to be the possibility of more blood shed life lost. >> this goes back to the point i

said initially. these attacks were brazen. they were highly coordinated in that you have a group of militants, significant number, eight, ten, not sure exactly how many, climbed up this building and then suicide attacks on afghan police stations in other parts of kabul. but they're not that effective. rpgs are not huge weapons. they don't have a very long-range. if you're just firing them at a fortified compound like an embassy building, like a military base, you're not likely going to carry out many casualties and that's what happened. so it's brazen. it's -- doesn't say much for the security situation overall in kabul, but generally i think you could say that the taliban failed in these attacks. they didn't get inside any of the complex and they didn't carry out mass casualties. >> richard, nice to see you in the studio. good to have you here. moving on this morning, some more developments to talk about. news today on the front of the two american hikers that are imprisoned in iran now for two years. nbc's ann curry sat down with

president mahmoud ahmadinejad for an exclusive interview and she asked him about the hikers' fate. listen. >> we tried last year to free one of the three persons. and we are also trying to make arrangements for their freedom, for the freedom of the other two. i think these two persons will be freed in a couple of days. >> in a couple of days, he said. secretary of state hillary clinton just issued this statement a short time ago. >> we are encouraged by what the iranian government has said today. we obviously hope that we will see a positive outcome from what appears to be a decision by the government. >> nbc's ali arouzi joins us live from tehran with the latest development. explain why this change of heart directly from iran's president?

>> reporter: well, thomas, there are probably two reasons for this. on the one hand president mahmoud ahmadinejad has consistently said he wants to make some sort of prisoner swap with iranian prisoners in the united states. if you want to do that, it's much easier to make a swap with people that have already been convicted of a crime rather than two people languishing in a prison and haven't been convicted of anything. the other approach would also be that if he is going to let them off, he wants to come across as looking magnanimous. you'll come across looking magnanimous after you've sentenced two people to eight years in prison for various years charged with espionage and then letting them go. he is going to the general assembly in ten days' time in new york so he wants to come across with a much more soft image. throughout his interview with ann curry and his trips around the provinces with ann curry he wanted to portray a much softer image of himself. and from their perspective this is the way to do it. thomas? >> and when we talk about the fact that this could be happening within 48 hours have we heard anything more from

ahmadinejad's administration about how quickly this will happen? what are the next steps now that this has made international news? >> well, there are a few steps. i spoke to the lawyers of the hikers and he said that they're going to have to post $500,000 each because they're not being pardoned. their case has gone to an appeals court tan's still being looked at judges in an appeals court so they're going to have to post the bail. president ahmadinejad did say a couple of days but in iran a couple days doesn't necessarily mean 48 hours. it could be shorter. it could take longer. but it definitely looks like they're on the road to go home, thomas. >> certainly a big relief to their families back here in the states as well as to sarah shour. thank you. president obama is staying on offense to get americans behind his jobs plan. the president started in house majority leader eric canter's home state.

this afternoon he is going to speak in columbus and then head to north carolina tomorrow. that's just the start of his all out media blitz. in a week's time he will appear five times in five different locations to sell the american jobs act. >> you spoke to 31 million americans on thursday night. that message resonated. he is carrying that message all over the country. persistance is the key, in terms of attacking our problems and in explaining where we're going, the values, the vision, and making people understand where they fit in that equation. >> joining me now to talk about the president's trip and ohio politics are two of the state's top political figures, former ohio governor ted strickland and buckeye state congressman dennis kucinich. gentlemen, good morning. >> good morning. >> governor, i want to start with you. the president's plan focusing heavily on rebuilding schools. that's a particular focus of yours. and with ohio's jobless rate of 9%, how important is this jobs bill for your state

specifically? >> it's terribly important. ohio has lost over 5 million manufacturing jobs just in the last decade, millions more before that. our people are crying out for presidential and congressional leadership. and the president's jobs act i think is exactly what we need to get the economy started. ohio will benefit greatly. we will receive billions of dollars if the congress were to pass what the president has laid out. it will put ohioans to work. and that's exactly what we need in our state. >> congressman, with the governor saying there americans are looking for this type of leadership out of washington, take a listen to this. this is speaker boehner this morning about the president's plan. >> we've got a little different approach to creating jobs than our friends across the aisle. we see permanent tax increases put into effect in order to pay for temporary spending. >> sir, as you can hear, the house gop leaders are striking a different tone.

but with republicans already balking at the idea of raising taxes on wealthy families and corporations explain how do you think this bill will ever get passed? >> first of all, i would hope that we'd be able to agree that causing oil companies to pay more taxes would be a prudent thing to do given what they've charged for gasoline. that it would be prudent also to tax hedge fund managers who in some cases made billions of dolla dollars, that also rescinding the bush tax cuts, which didn't stimulate the economy, would be another way of creating a pay. i would like to suggest something. going back on a previous story you had a couple minutes ago, think about how much money we'd have to stimulate our economy if we got out of the wars. that war in afghanistan will cost us a hundred billion dollars just this year. we can -- and we must restore our economy. we have to put america back to work. the president's jobs plan is a

step in that direction but the pay fors ought to be debated. i agree with governor strickland we can get billions from this plan into ohio, rebuild ohio, put ohioans back to work, teachers, firefighters, policemen, but also we have to say that for all this will do, we need something even bigger and that's why congress has to get together. democrats, republicans, have to close ranks on this because unemployment doesn't know any particular parties, it's not the province of any particular party. we're all americans. we have to come together to create a jobs plan. i'm hopeful we'll be able to do that. >> governor, as the congressman said, these wars are very expensive and the president has provided our drawdown plans. he was able to win ohio in '08. but this is a very different political environment now. 2010 was very tough for you, for a host of other democratic lawmakers. how tough of a battle will the president have come 2012? >> 2012 is going to be a better year than 2010 for this reason. the republicans have shown their true colors in ohio.

they have gone after labor unions and working families and they are supporting, quite frankly, the richest among us at the expense of the working middle class. ohioans now have their eyes open. and i believe because of what happened in 2010 and the overreaching of the republican leadership in ohio and across the country right now that we're going to see 2012 as a time when the american people are going to say we've had enough. enough of coddling the richest among us, enough of expecting more and more and more out of the working middle class. this is a watershed moment in the history of ohio. and i believe in the history of our country. but the people now understand the differences between the parties and the party leadership. and the president has laid out a plan to put people to work. quite frankly, sometimes i think the leadership in washington among the republican party is totally out of touch with the

pain and suffering and the anguish that is being felt by middle class ohioans and middle americans. and it's time that we draw a line in the sand. i think the president gave a strong speech. it's time for follow through now. we've got to put people to work. this economy will not recover until we make it possible for people to get a job and earn a living and meet their obligations to their families and their communities. the president has taken a major step with this proposal. it is my hope that my friend and former colleague from ohio speaker boehner will understand that ohioans are crying out for help and for jobs and for relief and we've got to take this action. it is a first step. it is not a sufficient step. but it is certainly a first step toward getting this recovery back ontrack. >> congressman, real quickly, you've been harshly critical of president obama. you have openly advocated there

might be a need for a primary challenge to the president although you said that wouldn't be coming from you as a candidate. is this the kind of thing that the president needs right now or should democrats be united behind him? >> well, we have to get beyond politics. there are a million people out of work in ohio and 14 million people out of work nationally. we have to get america back to work. this plan as the governor said is a step in that direction but it is by no means sufficient. we have to get at least 10 million people back to work. we have to create over 400,000 jobs per month. right now we're sorely lagging on this job creation. so the president is taking a step in that direction but frankly we need something even more dramatic. and that's why congress should try to go beyond what the president has proposed and try to do something that would be more on a scale of a new deal. i don't know if the speaker and republicans will go for that. but frankly unless we do something to create demand in this economy, we're going to continue to see a double dip recession grow deeper and deeper

and america stagnating at a time when we shouldn't be. we should be putting the fed under treasury because the fed is -- has been an abysmal failure. we should stop this fractional reserve banking which is causing the american taxpayer to be exposed to banks too big to fail, bail them out, and finally the government has to take the responsibility to spend money into circulation and invest and get the economy going again. the private sector is not creating a job. the public sector has to create them. >> gentlemen, thank you for your time this morning. former ohio governor strickland and congressman kucinich, again, thank you. also i want to point out a programming note. msnbc will have live coverage of the president's remarks in ohio at 2:15 eastern time so you're going to want to keep it locked into msnbc for that. pressure on rick perry. the texas governor taking it from all sides at last night's gop debate. does he give as good as he got? plus a fiery crash that led to a group of bystanders rushing to the aid of a man who was trapped beneath this burning car. it was all caught on tape. we're going to show you how this

horrifying story comes to an end.ox. i opened the first sammy's back in 1966. my employees are like family. and, i want people that work for me to feel that they're sharing in my success. we purchase as much as we can on the american express open gold card. so we can accumulate as many points as possible. i pass on these points to my employees to go on trips with their families. when my employees are happy, my customers are happy. vo: earn points for the things you're already buying. call 1-800-now-open to find out how the gold card can serve your business. like a ramen noodle- every-night budget. she thought allstate car insurance was out of her reach. until she heard about the value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. can make it from australia to a u.s. lab to a patient in time for surgery may seem like a trumped-up hollywood premise. ♪ but if you take away the dramatic score... take away the dizzying 360-degree camera move,

and take away the over-the-top stunt, you're still left with a pretty remarkable tale. but, okay, maybe keep the indulgent supermodel cameo... thank you. [ male announcer ] innovative medical solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. you had me at "probiotic." let's design a vacation on a bumake it work.edia. see what anandra did? booking her flight and hotel at the same time a serious money-saving maneuver. book it! major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia.

welcome back. a story developing now, another scare in the air to talk about. this morning a flight was diverted to lambert st. louis international airport at the request of the flight crew after observing, quote, suspicious behavior of three passengers. authorities met the us airways flight 457 when that plane landed, rescreened all onboard. the plane was flying from jfk to phoenix before being diverted. it's the latest in a rash of plane incidents surrounding the 9/11 terror threat. rick perry is the clear front runner in the latest polling and in last night's republican debate, his fellow candidates treated him as such. the texas governor was on defense for most of the night feeling pressure from both sides of the stage when it comes to

his record and his statements along the campaign trail. >> there has been great job growth in texas. under ann richards job growth was 2.5% a year. under george bush it was 3% a year. under rick perry it's been 1% a year. >> 170,000 of the jobs were government jobs. so i would put a little damper on this but i don't want to offend the governor because he might raise my taxes or something. >> to have innocent little 12-year-old girls be forced to have a government injection through an executive order is just flat out wrong. >> everybody had eyes for perry last night. wendy shiller is an associate professor of political science and public policy at brown university. it's nice to have you with us, professor. you graded the candidates for us. in your estimation how did they do? >> i think they did generally, for the general campaign, i'm thinking just in terms of electability for the population at large, not the tea party,

necessarily, i think romney and perry and bachmann all did pretty well. i mean, romney and perry essentially tied. bachmann a little less so. but they got b, b pluses for what they did. i think perry was damaged a little bit vis-a-vis the tea party but i think he came back looking not quite as rigid and ideological as people might have thought he was a week ago. romney couldn't find much love in the room from the tea party but i think he continued to show that he wanted folks on the economy. bachmann looked more moderate than she has in a while which may not make her viable for the presidential nomination but certainly more acceptable for the vp in the general election. i thought they all seemed pretty reasonable. huntsman i thought was terrible. king was terrible. i thought that santorum looked like i don't know why he was there. i think americans aren't taking those three very seriously. it's a question of how long they'll last. >> you gave them three fs so at least you were consistent in what you thought about their performance. >> i did. well i think -- when somebody asks you how much of my tax dollars should i be able to keep, you know, the flip answer

should be, all of it if possible. and huntsman launch need this long, bureaucratic answer which i think fell totally flat in the room and i think fell flat on television as well. >> all right. so we saw governor perry taking a lot of heat from other candidates. here is one of the moments that really stood out. it happened with congresswoman bachmann. take a listen. >> it's wrong for a drug company because the governor's former chief of staff was the chief lobbyist for this drug company. the drug company gave thousands of dollars in political donations to the governor. >> it was a $5,000 contribution that i had received from them. i raise about $30 million. if you're saying i can be bought for $5,000, i'm offended. >> i'm offended for all the little girls and the parents that didn't have a choice. that's what i'm offended by. >> how important was that moment for her especially since there have been political skeptics about her campaign losing steam? >> i think it was essential. i think it was the moment of the evening. i thought she had very little

air time generally but she made the most of it. i think she raised the populist flag again. she said, listen. don't just take this guy at what you see. you have to look a little deeper and make sure he is going to fight for you the way i'd fight for you. she was articulate, sharp. i think she put herself back in the game. can she rise to the top again? it's unclear. in terms of the tea party she was the clear winner last night. >> this debate was held in the essential state of florida. there is another gop debate there as well as a straw poll. everyone always talks about iowa. they talk about new hampshire, south carolina. how pivotal in your estimation is florida as everyone moves forward? >> i think florida is super pivotal because the topic of conversation even last night and the prior debate is social security, medicare, retirement reform and particularly rick perry on social security. florida as key state. we know this from political history. i think experts will be watching to see how florida reacts to all these candidates and that'll cycle back into the primary dynamics because voters want to

know who can win the general election. if you can do very well in florida i think it puts you at the head of the pack. >> professor wendy shiller, nice to see you this morning. thanks for your time. >> thanks very much. the section of the country hardest hit by the recession is poised for comeback. new jobs in the midwest will soon become a reality. we've got them for you, real jobs with real leads hiring now is next. and fallout from the anthony weiner scandal could cost democrats a seat that they've held for 90 years. but what damage would this loss do to president obama? that's coming up in our sound off. ♪ i like dat

♪ ♪ i like dat, all right [ male announcer ] mio. a revolutionary water enhancer. add a little...or a lot. for a drink that's just the way you like it. make it yours. make it mio. whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. 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. ♪ i'm a dad, coach, and i was a longtime smoker. in my heart i knew for the longest time that did not want to be a smoker. and the fact that i failed before. i think i was discouraged for a very long time. ♪ knowing that i could smoke during the first week was really important to me. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill proven to help people quit smoking.

[ jeff ] chantix reduced my urge to smoke, and personally that's what i knew i needed. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some of these can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. until you know how chantix affects you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. ♪ these are the reasons i quit smoking. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about chantix.

over 7 million people have gotten a prescription. learn how you can save money and get terms and conditions at chantix.com. thanks martha -- triggered my stop loss orders... saved me a pantload. [ crying ] oh great. every time i fly. my ears! swallow! [ male announcer ] upgrade to first class investing technology... at e-trade. in today's "hiring now" segment is the midwest poised for a jobs turn around? a new report shows the midwest was hit hardest during the recession with 610,000 jobs lost in manufacturing but the region

may be heading for an upswing with 10 million manufacturing jobs expected to be available through 2018 in the region. joining me now is the director of georgetown university center on education and the work force. the center is responsible for this study. this is really good news for people watching in the midwest, basically people all around the country. but 610,000 manufacturing jobs lost is a staggering number. explain how the region can make such a bold comeback and do so by year 2018. 10 million jobs in the future basically. >> we don't foresee much improvement in the midwest through the remainder of this year. and without a jobs program probably through most of next year. but just because manufacturing is no longer growing in the midwest doesn't mean that there won't be a manufacturing job openings. the retirement of the baby boom will create large numbers of job openings in manufacturing. so that there will be hiring.

not all of the retirees' jobs will be filled. we estimate that about 30% of them, when they're retired their jobs will be retired as well. but a good 70% will stick. and that's the optimistic news in manufacturing. and then the rest of the hiring in the midwest will come in health care, professional and business services, and industries that have been growing underneath the dismal manufacturing economy for some years now. >> so are those the jobs that you're saying will be coming into the region, the growth that we're going to see between now and 2018? and how rapidly is that growth going to be occurring? >> the growth in jobs in the midwestern region will come principally from jobs that will require some kind of post secondary education or training. that is, people are going to need some training after high school or some education. and that is what makes them

different from the manufacturing jobs that tended to require high school or less. so one of the dilemmas here is that the midwest built a very powerful and rich economy using high school educated workers and even workers who didn't have high school but going forward what will be crucial is their ability to give people access to post secondary education and training. not necessarily four-year bachelor's degrees but certificates, two-year degrees, industry certifications, that's where the growth will be. >> anthony, great to have you on today. we love having you on when we talk about hiring and where growth is going to be. i want to point out to everybody if you have a company you'd like us to cover tweet me at thomas a. roberts and we could use your suggestion on an upcoming segment. mitt romney is getting high marks for last night's performance in the debate but did he knock rick perry off his

tea party pedestal? the chief strategist for the tea party express will weigh in. look at this. brave bystanders scrambling to rescue a motorist whose vehicle burst into a ball of flames. were they able to get him from underneath that car on time? g to really save you 15% or more on car insurance? host: do people use smartphones to do dumb things? man 1: send, that is the weekend. app grapgic: yeah dawg! man 2: allow me to crack...the bubbly! man 1: don't mind if i doozy. man 3: is a gentleman with a brostache invited over to this party? man 1: only if he's ready to rock! ♪ sfx: guitar and trumpet jam vo: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. ♪ [ male announcer ] what is the future of fuel? the debate is over. ♪ lexus hybrid drive technology is designed to optimize any fuel source on the planet.

even those we don't use yet. because when you pursue perfection, you don't just engineer a future-proof hybrid system. you engineer amazing. ♪

helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health.

they're making him triple double. why? this! new triple double oreo. ♪ yo stufy, come here! [ shoes squeaking ] looked better on paper. [ strike! ] good morning move. i'm thomas roberts. topping the news now, osama bin laden's successor has released a new al qaeda video. he says arab spring movements that have overthrown leaders in egypt, tunisia, and libya will establish what he called true islam. the hour-long video comes just two days after the world marked the ten-year anniversary of 9/11. the tape also features previously unreleased footage of osama bin laden four months after his death. newscorp's james murdoch is wanted back at the british parliament for another grilling surrounding his company's tabloid phone hacking scandal. the request comes after a string of former newscorp execs raised

doubts about the credibility of his and his father rupert murdoch's testimony that was given back in july. we have some incredible video of a daring roadside rescue that happened out west. while the video may be disturbing to some viewers it helps to know the victim is alive in this case. it happened monday after a car collided with a motorcycle on a highway in logan, utah leaving the 21-year-old biker trapped beneath the wreck. fortunately a group of heroic bystanders sprang into action working as a team. they ran toward the flames then worked as a group to lift the car up. as you saw, they pulled the man out from underneath. he is now listed in critical but stable condition. in other news for you this morning, rick perry isn't just the front runner with republican voters. he is also out in front with the tea party. but that status did not stop a tea party crowd from booing when they heard policy that didn't fit on their platform. if you are working and

pursuing citizenship in the state of texas, you pay in state tuition there. and the bottom line is it doesn't make any difference what the sound of your last name is. that is the american way. no matter how you got into that state from the standpoint of your parents brought you there or what have you than's what we've done in the state of texas. >> sal russo is the chief strategist for the tea party express and joins me this morning. i want to get straight to it. a new poll says 42% of republican voters believe governor perry has the best chance against president obama. but in your estimation can he keep tea party supporters with the kind of stance that he showed last night on immigration? >> well, look. you know, one thing i think ever has to keep in mind is the tea party movement is a very broad based middle class movement that is concerned about the size and intrusiveness of the federal government. there's a lot of difference of opinion. there are people that have more moderate and conservative issues on social issues, foreign

policies, immigration, so there is a difference of opinion within the tea party movement. the unifying theme of the tea party movement is we've got to get america's fiscal house in order and the endless spending that goes on and is skyrocketing national debt, that is jeopardizing for our children and grandchildren the opportunity to realize the american dream. so when you hear there's differences of opinion on immigration or on, you know, same sex marriage or the war in iraq, that's true. there are very broad opinions on all of those issues. the unifying thing with the tea party is we have to get america's house in order, fiscal house in order. >> another tea party favorite has been congressman ron paul in the past he was asked what should happen if a person who chooses to go without medical insurance ended up in a serious reaction or accident rather? here was his response last night. take a listen. >> what he should do is whatever he wants to do and assume responsibility for himself. my advice to him would have a major medical policy but not

before -- >> he doesn't have that and he needs intensive care for six months. who pays? >> that's what freedom is all about. taking your own risk. this whole idea that you have to take care of everybody -- [ applause. >> sal, one person in the audience said "yeah" when the moderator asked if they should let the person die. how closely does that type of thinking merge with what the tea party is standing for? i know you said that there are broad views from all sides. >> sure. i mean, i think the nearly unanimous view in the tea party movement is that obama care was a big mistake and we shouldn't be federalizing it and having a national health care. i mean, that's really the province of the states and where it should be. in american society we're not going to let somebody go untreated. i mean, in a theory, it's a great idea that everybody takes responsibility. we need to push for more personal responsibility but the reality is, in this society, we're not going to let somebody

go without medical care. we've seen that in dealing with the illegal immigration issue. i mean, it's a mistake that we have to be doing that and that's why we should control our borders. but this is a very humane society. we're not going to throw people out in the cold. doesn't happen in america. >> i want to end with michele bachmann. she lost support among tea party members over the last month or so but last night a lot of people saying she showed a very strong performance especially with a tax on governor perry. do you agree? >> yes. i didn't think michele did very well in the last debate at the reagan library but she was on her game last night. we've seen in our polling of our tea party donors over the last six or seven weeks that the leadership has changed. newt gingrich led for a while. romney led for a while. herman cain led after he did well in south carolina. bachmann surged to the lead after her new hampshire performance. perry's in the lead after he got into the race. so i think the tea party people, much like the american public, they're listening and looking for solutions to america's

fiscal woes. i think it's a wide open race. i don't think it's a two man race. i think we'll see some of these other candidates continue to emerge as the debates and the campaign goes forward. >> tea party express strategist sal russo, thanks for your time this morning. i appreciate it. >> thanks, thomas. glad to be with you. voters are heading to the polls in new york's ninth district for a special election to replace disgraced democrat anthony weiner. democrats figure this would truly be a slam dunk but polls show the republican robert turner is leading the democrat david weprin. this is a seat dems have held for 90 years. the big question is what is to blame? the fallout from the anthony weiner scandal or pessimism over president obama's policies? msnbc contributor melissa harris is a professor at tulane and columnist for "the nation."

how dismal do things look for president obama if the democrats were to lose this seat that has been democratic for 90 years? >> i think this is deep breath time because we have to clarify the difference between reality and perception both of which are incredibly important in politics. on the reality side it makes very little difference. the ninth congressional district in new york is likely to be phased out of existence all together. this is part of why there was so much anxiety about weiner's self-implosion. he was a person who should have gone on to higher levels of politics in part because his district was going to be phased out. if you look at the individual realities of this race it was very much like the massachusetts senate race in that you had a candidate who although the democrat made a lot of mistakes in errors. but the perception obviously could be quite bad. it could be quite demoralizing for a democratic party that already feels pretty demoralized. the notion that even one more seat will show up in the u.s. house of representatives at this moment, that's gop, as the

president is trying to get his jobs bill through, could obviously as a matter of perception be quite powerful. >> isn't perception reality when it comes to this situation though? obviously everybody knowing the reason why anthony weiner resigned that seat so there could be some frustration within that district itself. however, if the gop were to take this seat over, it is sending another message to washington, d.c. >> possibly. i think again we have to be really careful about these sort of one offs but it certainly isn't good. i mean, if you're a democrat at this point, what you want to see is claiming that seat and having an opportunity to claim a victory, kind of crow about it. feel even stronger moving into this jobs bill discussion. obviously if you're a republican and the gop wins which is what it looks like is going to happen today, then that emboldens republicans to say, look. no one, not even the people of new york, are onboard with the president. so in that sense a perception can turn into reality. and the white house and congressional democrats are really going to have to spin a different story to push back against that. >> real quickly to pick your

political brain if weiner had resigned and then thrown his own name in the ring to re-run, what do you think would have happened? >> yeah. you know, it's so hard to tell but quite likely he could have won. it's a special election. we expect low turnout. the fact his incumbency advantage is pretty powerful. it is possible he could have done just that but the likelihood gop would have run some ads that i don't think any of us would have wanted to cover. >> i think the new york post is running something today on its cover that is interesting. we won't get into that. melissa harris perry great to see you. thank you. >> thanks, tom. gay rights groups are making a last ditch effort to keep a same sex marriage ban off the ballot in north carolina. what is the likelihood that social conservatives in the state will get their decade old wish and make gay marriage unconstitutional? my doctor told me calcium

is best absorbed in small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal.

a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions

or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. welcome back. facebook's cofounder is using the popular social media site to

fight a proposed constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage in north carolina. chris hughes is pledging to donate $10 for every person who likes equality north carolina's page on facebook. he plans to use the money to fight the amendment. protest rallies are being held outside the legislative building in raleigh as the state senate debates the measure it passed in the north carolina house yesterday. i'm joined by john lewis, legal director for marriage equality usa. john, good morning. >> good morning. >> by most accounts this seems to be a done deal at least from the reading that i've been doing. it looks very likely to pass the senate. is the opposition having a chance to have their voices heard? >> well, i think it still seemed to be a very close vote in the senate today and i would encourage anybody who lives in north carolina who has ties to north carolina, call your state senator right now and stand up for your life and your relationship or your friends. it's very, very important to do that right now. >> i want to talk about someone who did stand up shall the north carolina state conference of the

naacp issued an open letter to all north carolinians explaining why the measure is bad for the state. why is the naacp so opposed to this measure and how important is their support? >> i think their support is enormously important. i think we're coming to see a coalition coming together to oppose this measure. something that's very important to know about this measure is it doesn't just exclude loving, committed same sex couples from marriage in the state constitution. it also forever prohibits civil unions or domestic partnerships in north carolina and it actually takes away the domestic partner rights and benefits that communities such as durham, greensboro, asheville have in north carolina. so this is a very divisive measure that really hurts real families. >> john, why has this become such a hard pressed issue in north carolina? you know, got bigger issues, some would say bigger fish to fry but this is really taking up a lot of oxygen when it comes to the legislative session. >> well, i think it's a very sad

state of affairs when politicians for financial reasons, political reasons design political campaigns to target loving, committed same sex couples and lgbt people more specifically. and it's very important that we stand up and stand up for who we are and stand up for our love and our relationship and our dignity. that's the true way we're going to stop these things. i'm very hopeful, actually, because the most recent poll shows that 55% of north carolinians oppose this measure and i think seeing the naacp, founder of facebook, country singer shelly wright, and over 50,000 average, ordinary north carolinians who submitted petition signatures, we have a broad coalition that's coming together to say, no, to these divisive, harmful initiatives. >> we'll continue to follow the story. great to see you this morning.

thanks for your time. >> thank you very much. president obama makes a surprise visit to an online forum. does this mean he's going back to his grass roots campaigning? as boomers grow older it is imperative we get a good night's sleep to stay healthy and maintain our quality of life. the national institute of health recommends boomers go to sleep and wake up at the same time even on weekends. try not to nap during the day so you can sleep at night. keep an eye on your caffeine intake and avoid alcohol close to bed time. make sure you exercise regularly. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. aflac... and major medical? major medical, boyyyy!

[ beatboxing ] ♪ i help pay the doctor ♪ ain't that enough for you? ♪ there are things major medical doesn't do. aflac! pays cash so we don't have to fret. [ together ] ♪ something families should get ♪ ♪ like a safety net ♪ even helps pay deductibles, so cover your back, get... ♪ a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aflac! [ male announcer ] help protect your family at aflac.com. [ beatboxing ]

welcome back, everybody. you're looking live at andrews air force base where any moment now, president obama is going to be taking off for ohio. air force one right there. he's pushing his national jobs legislation. and house speaker john boehner's home state. but last night he spent some time getting word out on the web. the president made an unscheduled stop at an online forum in d.c., where he emphasized the importance of passing this bill. >> either congress gets it done, or if congress doesn't get it

done, people know exactly what's holding it up. and we're able to continue to apply pressure so that we can actually do what's right for the country. >> jeff johnson is a contributor to msnbc. and thegrio.com. jeff, it's nice to see you this morning. as we all know, president obama has this history of a grassroots campaigner. he was big on using technology to get his message out to voters when he was on the stump. so how does this appearance at a forum like that work as a conscious political strategy in terms of trying to get a lock back in on that base? >> well, one, i think it's a surprise. i mean, no one expected, no one on the panel, myself as one of the journalists, expected him even to show up. so the fact that he was there, i think, said to the audience and to those that were looking online, the president believes this is important enough to show up unannounced to push this message. but, whether it's going to be him online or whether it's him getting on a plane and going to ohio or north carolina, what i think is important, and i think it's great that the president is doing, is that he's not allowing

any surrogate to be in front of this with him as the chief messenger. he's going around the country. he's going to be the lead on this. and i think that's going to make the difference on whether or not somebody's going to decide, should i pick up and call my congressperson and say, support the president's bill. >> jeff, the president's jobs bill pushed, the new numbers in from the census bureau showing the u.s. poverty rate has risen to 15.1%. that's the highest in 27 years. when we get down to the hard numbers, that's about 46.2 million people. or nearly one in six considered to be in poverty. that's upticking from 43.6% in '09. so did this lend itself greater urgency to the bill getting approved, cutting through what is considered to be this major stalemate in washington between the left and the right? >> well, the question is really going to be, can the gop look beyond politics and really see the humanity of the people in the united states? i don't think that anybody, regardless of their party,

whether you're gop, or whether you're independent should let the gop congressional members off the hook for saying, if you stop this bill from going through, it's all about politics. and if people aren't willing to say that, in many cases the gop is going to continue to attempt to bully the president, not in the name of progressive politics, but in the name of -- well, i'm sorry in the name of politics and not in the fame of progressive policy. >> jeff johnson with thegrio.com. jeff, nice to see you. thank you. >> thank you. >> all right, that's going to do it for me today, everybody. thanks for your time. i'm going to see you back here at 11:00 a.m. eastern time tomorrow, every week day morning. until then you can follow me on twitter @thomasaroberts. we want to say hi to craig melvin. he picks things up for the next hour. >> i follow you on twitter. >> i follow you on twitter. >> i enjoy your tweets. up next, president obama's job plan now in the hands of congress, what's next and what kind of battle will the president face with republicans? republican senator john barrasso is going to join me. he's from wyoming. we'll get his take. also some new hope in the

treatment of alzheimer's disease. you will be surprised at what's improving memory in some patients. robert bazell's going to join us to talk about that. and meet a vietnam vet who just kicked his way into the record books. he's going to explain when he joins me up next. all that and lots more straight ahead here on msnbc. or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business -- it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities, so we're helping them with advice from local business experts and extending $18 billion in credit last year. that's how we're helping set opportunity in motion. so i take one a day men's 50+ advantage. as a manager, my team counts on me to stay focused. it's the only complete multivitamin with ginkgo to support memory and concentration. plus vitamin d to help maintain healthy blood pressure. [ bat cracks ] that's a hit. one a day men's.

like a ramen noodle- every-night budget. she thought allstate car insurance was out of her reach. until she heard about the value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. so i took my heartburn pill and some antacids. we're having mexican tonight, so another pill then? unless we eat later, then pill later? if i get a snack now, pill now? skip the snack, pill later... late dinner, pill now? aghh i've got heartburn in my head. [ male announcer ] stop the madness of treating frequent heartburn. it's simple with prilosec otc. one pill a day. twenty-four hours. zero heartburn. no heartburn in the first place. great.

good tuesday, i'm craig melvin. we're covering the big news from coast to coast. we are starting today with some developing news in iran. we're waiting to find out precisely when two american hikers will be released there. shane bauer and josh fattal have been in jail for more than two years now, and recently, recently they were convicted on spy-related charges. in an exclusive interview with the "today" show's ann curry, iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad said they would be headed home soon. >> translator: we tried last year to free one of the three prisoners, and we are also