president obama in ohio, hits the road. and speaker boehner's home turf to drum up support for his jobs bill. while the senate's top republican accuses the president of just dressing up old ideas. >> much of what he's proposing has already been rejected. on a bipartisan basis. the president can call this bill whatever he wants. but in reality all he's doing is just proposing a hodgepodge of retread ideas, aimed a convincing people that a temporary fix is really permanent, and that it will create permanent jobs, and then daring republicans to vote against it. >> and the republican candidates take aim at rick perry. especially his texas order requiring young girls to be vaccinated for sexually transmitted cervical cancer. possibly benefiting a drug company that supported perry's campaign. >> the company was merck. and it was a $5,000

contribution. if you're saying that 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 for. >> good day. i'm andrea mitchell live in new york. a taliban assault in kabul has afghanistan's government on edge, raising questions for the united states' effort to stabilize the regime. today's coordinated attack on the u.s. embassy and nato headquarters is among the most brazen yet in the nearly 10-year war. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is here in new york with me. richard, this is pretty brazen, as we say. right there, against the u.s. embassy, fortunately didn't hit the embassy, but did wound some people. >> it did kill some people, as well. six people, according to afghan police and afghan other sources. very brazen. not very effective. what happened, as far as we've been able to understand, is four

to six militants went into a building. it's a 13-story building, overlooking both the embassy, and nato headquarters. and they're right next to each other. and from the rooftop of this building they started to fire rocket-propelled grenades, automatic rifled, perhaps some mortars, as well. they didn't land -- they didn't cause massive damage inside the headquarters of nato, or the u.s. embassy. but they also landed in some nearby buildings, as the cia director said, some people who were waiting online for visas outside the embassy were injured. it was a very confusing attack. it was a attack that raises a lot of concerns. but, it wasn't terribly successful from the taliban's point of view. just to climb up on buildings and start raining mortars onto people. they didn't get inside the embassy. but it certainly causes a lot of concern. >> as you point out the cia director was speaking today, and this is what he had to say. this is david petraeus, first week on the job. >> that prospect remains real,

and a concern, and is, of course, why we are working so hard to help enable our afghan partners to be able to secure and to govern themselves. there are very good afghan forces. they have demonstrated the ability to do this and they are, indeed, again doing it right now. >> so general petraeus says they are doing it. but you've been on the ground there and you know general petraeus well. he's the newly testifying as the head of the cia. >> he's been in afghanistan. >> that's putting a gloss on it. >> i think that is putting a gloss on it, frankly. the reality is that there is an afghan government, certainly. and there are afghan security forces that do run the country on a day-to-day basis. so, on the face of it, yes, what general petraeus, cia director petraeus is saying is correct. but the trend has been to see the taliban increasing its control, particularly in rural areas. taliban stepping up the number of attacks, and the afghan government somewhat in a

position of retreat, losing popular support. it is now widely considered among afghan people, even in kabul, which we didn't see before, as generally seen as corrupt and inefficient, and that's not a good sign. >> not a good sign at all. to the other war, of course, iraq. >> terrible. terrible. you heard about this attack yesterday. >> right, right. and as we scenes, pictures of u.s. forces packing up in camp victory, a place i've spent some time in. you've spent years in. >> that was a chapter of my life for years and years. >> exactly. and when i first saw those, they were actually part of a powerpoint show that madeleine albright as u.n. ambassador was giving, that how saddam hussein was hurting his people by building these palaces, then it was military headquarters. >> i was talking about something else. as u.s. troops were leaving yesterday a bus load of shiite pilgrims, this entire bus, was

taken hostage, 22 people on board were executed. these were shiite pilgrims who were leaving from the city of karbala, heading up to shiite areas in iran, as they were passing through -- in iran -- going to shiite areas in syria, as they were passing through ramadi, the bus was taken over, all the men and women were separated. the 22 men, and some teenage boys, were executed in their seats. and the women and children were then returned to their families. i think there were 15 of them. and i spoke with people in baghdad today, they're concerned that the civil war is coming back. >> coming back. as we are packing up. >> as we were packing up that palace that you saw on the powerpoint slide. >> ready to move on two fronts, and where are we? richard engel, obviously to be continued. >> yes. >> thank you. and developing now, potentially good news for the two american hikers imprisoned in iran. nbc's ann curry was granted an

exclusive interview with that country's president, mahmoud ahmadinejad earlier today and he suggested that the two american men, after two years, might finally be freed. >> translator: we tried last year to free one of the three persons. and we are also trying to make arrangements for the freedom, for the freedom of the other two. i think these two persons will be freed in couple of days. >> nbc's ali arouzi joins us now from tehran. ali, good to see you. we know that we work through the swiss, the u.s. government does. are all signs now pointing to a release in the next couple of days for these two men? >> that's the plan. the president said that they were going to be released in the next couple of days. things usually take a long time here up. remember, you were here last year when you interviewed the president. things, as a lot of bureaucracy to get through here. things take a long time.

but this is certainly the most positive sign we've seen. we thought that they might be released during ramadan as a sign of compassion. but they weren't. now the president ahmed ahmadinejad is getting close to the world stage of the u.n. general assembly, the timing all seems to fit. this is certainly the most positive sign we've had for the hikers. we've also had word from their lawyer today that they may have to post up to half a million dollars bail each, as sarah shourd did. that may take some time, as well, to organize the finances. but it's certainly on the right track. andrea? >> ali arouzi in tehran. exciting news for those families, we hope. thank you very much. now to the fiery republican debate in tampa last night. rick perry was the focus of repeated attacks from the rest of the field. mitt romney was aggressive from the start, attacking the texas governor on everything from jobs to social security. >> the question is, do you still believe that social security should be ended as a federal program, as you did six months ago, when your book came out, and returned to the states?

or do you want to retreat from that? >> i think we ought to have a conversation -- >> we're having that right now, governor. we're running for president. >> i'll finish this conversation. >> rather than trying to scare seniors like you're doing and other people, it's time to have a legitimate conversation in this country. >> governor, the term ponzi scheme is what scared seniors. >> fight night in tampa. chuck todd is nbc's chief white house correspondent. and host of "the daily rundown." charlie cook is an msnbc political analyst and nbc analyst and editor of the cook political report. thanks so much -- and the national journal, of course, charlie. so many titles. so little time. chuck, first to you. the debate last night, was this in some ways good for mitt romney in that everyone was ganging up on perry? or does perry show that he is just a really, good, natural debater and natural politician? >> well, with mitt romney i think you saw certainly he sees how many potential allies right now he has on stage and it also shows why he doesn't want this to be a two-man race right away. the longer michele bachmann,

rick santorum is there to throw darts at rick perry, particularly from the right, and you saw the blowup on hpv on the vaccine and the mandatory vaccine versus not. you know the most intriguing thing about it last night, andrea, was to me the crowd. the role the crowd played. early on, the crowd helped rick perry out on the social security back and forth with mitt romney. sort of made mitt romney's hits maybe not as effective or feel as effective at the time. but as you went on you saw that perry was losing the crowd. he lost them on hpv. and then he lost them on immigration. >> and charlie, these issues that are emerging now, interesting that immigration, the way the crowd, the tea party crowd clearly tea party co-sponsored debate, clearly played against perry on immigration, as chuck was just saying, and that issue, that complex issue about the children, the young girls being vaccinated which sort of combines everything, libertarian beliefs, beliefs against getting

involved with those kinds of parental decisions, and also crony capitalism, the contributions from the drug company that was involved with his former chief of staff. >> well, these are classic issues where the most conservative base of the republican party would be on one side, and a lot of general election voters, and sort of more establishment old-fashioned republicans are on the other side. and perry's got to sort of navigate, how does he not alienate the base, but how does he sort of position himself to be an effective general election candidate, if he wins the nomination? and i think that's, you know, mitt romney has already solidified. he's got his slot in the final -- the finals for the republican nomination. sort of the old-fashioned republican party. and the question is, how soon -- or how can rick perry sort of grow into being the polished presidential candidate that mitt romney already is, expand his

horizons, and his appeal beyond texas, beyond the deep south, and become -- the kind of candidate that can take advantage of the weakness that president obama has, and go after those voters, those independents between the two 40 yard lines that make the difference in american elections. and so we're all going to be watching perry's capacity to grow, and expand, and the question is how long does he have opposition on his right, that keeps him from moving over towards the center? >> now, he was again trying to explain himself on this controversial and complex issue to our own nbc campaign terry dan today. >> we gave parents the right to opt out. the legislature disagreed with the way we did it. and i respected that, as i do. i work for the people, not the other way around. but i do think at the end of the day, saving people's lives, and making vaccines available that can save lives is the appropriate thing to do.

>> chuck, watching this debate, what are white house officials thinking in terms of mitt romney versus rick perry, who is easier to campaign against? what are they -- >> i can tell you this, i know over the last couple of weeks, a lot of team obama has been hoping that mitt romney would get caught in the tea party trap. here a little bit. that he would find himself having to move somehow to the right to try to stoppery. and in the deepest, darkest of parts of washington and chicago they'll admit that they've been impressed at how romney hasn't fallen. that romney has sort of stayed this course here, been very careful. never refers to himself as a member of the tea party. was the guy delivering a little broccoli last night, explaining the need for why the fed matters, for instance? didn't necessarily always play to the crowd. you know, one thing about perry, you just played that clip today, perry seems so unprepared in these debates.

in this debate last night. it was -- he'll be prepared for a specific part. so last night it was social security. the first debate in our debate it was on the jobs records. but then he's not ready for the next hit. and he's having to play cleanup. that said, we should remember, believe it or not, andrea, it was 30 days ago exactly, one month ago exactly, that he actually became an official candidate. so, and when you think about it, it's been a pretty tumultuous 30 days inside the republican party. he's gone from noncandidate to the front-runner to the guy taking all the barbs. i'm with charlie. he's going to have to show some growth as a candidate in abilities. and he doesn't have a lot of time to do it. >> what a race. thank you so much. charlie cook, chuck todd. >> andrea, we're rooting for you, by the way. >> thank you. thanks, charlie, my friend. appreciate that. and, how about the president sell the tax hikes he's proposing to pay for his jobs plan?

we'll ask democrat party chair debbie wasserman schultz coming up next. and is a new york democratic stronghold about to fall into republican hands? send me your thoughts on twitter @mitchellreports. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. 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. [ ben harper's "amen omen" playing ] we believe doing the right thing never goes unnoticed. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? there's another way litter box dust:e purina tidy cats. tidy cats premium line of litters

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the central tax hike included in this bill, capping deductions for individuals in small businesses was already dismissed by a filibuster-proof democratic controlled senate in 2009. so planning this bill as bipartisan may sound good if you're out there on the campaign trail, but surely the president could come up with some proposals that both sides have not already rejected. >> republican not liter mitch mcconnell rejected president obama's jobs bill as a political

exercise this morning, insisting it is not a serious attempt to bridge the divisions between the two parties. florida congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz is chair of the democratic national committee and joins me now from capitol hill. hi, congresswoman. >> hi. >> with that kind of talks to the president where do we start the bargaining? where are the negotiations going to head? >> well, on any proposal put forward by the president when he said last year that his number one priority is not putting people back to work again and getting the economy turned around but defeating president obama. so it's no surprise that the american jobs act, or anything that the president would propose would be rejected by mitch mcconnell, because his number one -- the only job that he cares about is president obama's, and the president and democratic house and senate members are focused on american jobs. >> what about some of the elements that he has proposed?

what they're claiming are repackaged, are certainly ideas that were discussed by the biden group and other commissions, talking about eliminating deductions for people making $200,000 or more, opposing tax loop holes for oil and gas firms. treating hedge funds as ordinary income. niece are ideas that have been out there, but maybe there were only so many ideas. >> well, that's absolutely right, andrea. and then there's the 100% expensings that the president has proposed, and also adding it on the employer side, as well. investment in infrastructure. fixing bridges, which all over the country are in really bad disrepair. making sure we unclog our nation's arteries so we can get people to where they're going faster and put hundreds of thousands of construction workers back to work. keep police officers and firefighters on the job. make sure our schools have really top-quality teachers that

we're not going to lose because state and local governments are having to lay them off. these should be everyone's priorities. and we should all work together like the president said. stop the circus, you know, put country first. and put partisanship aside. thus far it doesn't seem the republicans are willing to do that. >> at the same time how did you get so lucky as to become chair of the democratic party when you've got a nice direct seat here, traditional democratic seat in queens, which is at risk today in the special election, anthony weiner's seat? how does that happen? >> well, you know, i think we shouldn't be analyzing the outcome of a race before it's over. the voters are going to the polls. we have a very good operation focused on turning voters out in new york 9 today. and you know the time for analysis will be after the polls close and tomorrow when we see what the outcome is. but david weprin, the state assembly man that is the democratic candidate is working hard. he was out there talking about the importance of protecting medicare and social security, and standing up for just getting

this economy turned around. and it's a very dramatic contrast between the tea party-backed opponents that he's got. so we'll see. >> and the debate last night, who would be easier to run against, rick perry or mitt romney for president obama? >> well, you know, we're not really focused on who would be a better opponent. we're focused on getting people back to work. what i saw last night in that debate, andrea, was republican candidates for president worshipping at the altar of the tea party, trying to out-right wing and out-extreme each other. instead of really getting down and telling the american people what they would do to help put people back to work and on the job. and what was sad, again, was to not hear any focus on the middle class and working families. they continue to just be supportive of the status quo and backing up the healthiest and most fortunately americans. that is not what americans were

longing to hear about last night. again, they want us to work to the. i know that sounds odd coming from the chair of the democratic national committee, but i really believe that we can and should work together. and we can put partisanship aside, and sit down, and solve the big problems that we have facing us. and we can solve them together. but we need willing partners. and right now, listening to mitch mcconnell and others it doesn't sound like we have those. so we're going to keep pressing. and i think the american people, our constituents, will keep pushing their members to pass the american jobs act. it's absolutely critical to give a shot in the arm to the economy immediately. >> we're going to hear from the president on that in the next hour. thank you very much, debbie wasserman schultz. >> andrea, also i just wanted to thank you, really quickly, for sharing your story with breast cancer, as a survivor. and now as a sister survivor, so important for us to, and brave of you, to be public about it. so we can raise awareness, and help people with early detection. >> i'm trying to follow your example in all good things.

good health. >> wish you the best. >> and strong leadership from you on this issue. >> thank you. >> and republicans see a chance to grab that seat, anthony weiner's old congressional seat. a republican from queens, the politico briefing next right here on "andrea mitchell reports."were riced out of an overheated housing market. but the times have changed. get the facts at remax.com. it's a great place to see all the listings in thousands of cities and towns. with lots of houses to chose from and down-to-earth prices the dream of owning a home seems more attainable than ever. find out what an experienced re/max agent can do for you. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today.

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new york's race to replace disgraced democrat anthony weiner in heavily democratic queens is suddenly competitive. very. maggie haberman is a senior political reporter for politico. when you covered all of the weiner -- >> sure did. >> mess, to put it kindly. and now this race. >> yes. >> help us understand how a republican is going to win in that district. >> it's pretty astonishing. i still think david weprin could win. this is going to come out to turnout and the democrats do have a better turnout machine, especially in queens. but this is an astonishingly competitive race in a district that should be very liberal, very blue. it's always been a little more conservative than even anthony weiner was. what you're seeing is a lot of

voter resentment about president obama and david weprin has not run a terrific campaign. bob turner, the republican, has run a much better one. >> what about the economy? is that sort of the overarching jobs, unemployment, or is scandal still an issue? >> it's both. i mean anthony weiner's unfavorables are pretty bad. they're definitely a dragdown. i think you're seeing a perfect storm here. it's the economy. it's voter anger over health care. it's voter anger over a lot of things, and they're able to express it this way. you've also had weprin, again, i've known him for a very long time when he was in city council in new york, not a perfect candidate. has not exactly quite gotten it done. bob turner ran once last year against anthony weiner but he really has never done this before. but he embodies that newness that people are looking for. >> look forward to talking to you, i hope tomorrow, when you follow up on this. thank you so much. >> it's great to see you. and polls are open in nevada's second district. the other special election today. that's going to test the climate for democrats in nevada's district, democrats have written

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topping the headlines right now on "andrea mitchell reports," the tabloid hacking scandal continues. news corp. executive james murdoch is being recalled for a second grilling by parliament. this comes only days after former executives of the new defunct "news of the world" suggested that murdoch lied last time he testified. in tacoma, washington, 28,000 kids are out of school after teachers went on strike. teachers had been working without a contract since the beginning of the month. they are fighting for better pay, smaller class size, and seniority rights. the district is threatening to go to court to get a back-to-work order. and take a look at this dramatic rescue. a group of good samaritans in utah lifted a burning car, pulled to safety a man who had been trapped underneath. the man was riding his motorcycle, in an intersection when he collided with the car. doctors say he has several broken bones and is in critical but stable condition. president obama is drumming up support for his jobs bill in ohio today, preparing to address a crowd just an hour from now in

speaker boehner's district. bill burton is president obama's former deputy white house press secretary and now with the group priorities usa action. kevin madden is a republican strategist who worked for mitt romney during his 2008 campaign. welcome both. well, first of all, kevin, i got to ask you about the debate last night. mitt romney, and all of the rest going after rick perry, is rick perry really the man to beat right now? and does he have a lot of talent as a natural debater? >> well, i think, you know, we're at the genesis stage here of voters consideration of all these candidates. it's really only the second debate now that we've had with all of the presumed candidates that are going to be on the ballots when we get to the caucuses and primaries early next year. so i think there's still a long way to go. you know, i think that rick perry is probably having a hard time now with the level of scrutiny that he's getting. it's really easy to be a concept candidate, to talk about what you might do. but now, when you get into a campaign and you have a lot of scrutiny that a presidential campaign is always going to get,

it's a lot harder to withstand all of that. so we're seeing that. but there's by no means this race is just beginning. so we still have a long way to go. >> let's take a look at mitt romney going after rick perry last night. and you guys take off your partisan hats and just score it for me. >> if you don't four aces that doesn't make you necessarily a great poker player. and by the way, there has been great job growth in texas. under ann richards, job growth was 2.5% a year. under george bush was 3% a year. under rick perry it's been 1% a year. >> governor perry you were dealt four aces. >> well, i was going to say mitch, you were doing pretty good until you got to talking poker. >> the texas draw goes a long way in a debate, doesn't it? >> well, i have to say, one thing about rick perry, he's not great at coming back to -- with his rejoinders. like last time he had this point about how michael dukakis had

created more jobs than mitt romney and mitt romney came back at him and perry was just sort of left there confused about what to say next. and it also happened last night with michele bachmann when she accused him of being a current capitalist and he made the joke about being defended that he could be bought for $5,000 and she came back and killed him on the next point. i wouldn't say that perry has been a great debater on style points. but you know, from a position area, he's certainly shown a lot of things that the tea party is really likes, destroy social security, to end the epa. that's where the republican party is. that's where the tea party is dragging along to. and i think that he has done a pretty capable job of demonstrating that that's where he is. >> kevin, what about michele bachmann? is she still -- is she helping mitt romney the longer she stays in the race? that's certainly something we talked about earlier with chuck todd and charlie cook, that the longer the other candidates are in, and he can stretch this out, the more he can expect them to be his wingmen, and beat up on rick perry. >> i think that remains to be

seen. look, sometimes it can get very crowded in certain silos of the race that some candidates want to occupy as they're looking to round up some votes in these early primary states. but ultimately, i think what's really -- what many of these voters are looking for out there, in many of the early primary states and the republican electorate at large, is someone who is going to be able to beat barack obama. and the number one issue, and that's the economy. so i think, you know, absent the horse race stuff, i think the real reason that governor romney is going to be able to earn the nomination is because he's shown that he has the command on the issue of the economy to beat barack obama in a general election. but he also has a very detailed, specific plan that shows his vision for putting the economy back on track and americans back to work. that's ultimately going to be the main, i think, variable that many of these voters are going to be entering into their equation when they decide who to support. >> another big issue that came to the surface last night, immigration. let's watch this.

>> that is the american way. no matter how you got in to that state, from the standpoint of your parents brought you there or what have you, and that's what we've done in the state of texas. >> i think that the american way is not to give taxpayers subsidized benefits to people who have broken our laws and who are here in the united states illegally. that is not the american way. >> and before we let you folks go, i also wanted to throw this in from jon huntsman. this is jon huntsman's greatest hits, his cultural references last night. >> to hear these two go at it over here it's almost incredible. you've got governor romney who called it a fraud in his book "no apology." i don't know if that was written by kurt cobain or not. for rick to say you can't secure the border i think is pretty much a treasonous comment. >> if you're president, what will you bring to the white house? >> as a 40-year motorcycle rider i would bring my harley-davidson. >> bill burton, kurt cobain? i'm not sure that's the cultural reference i would want to use in

a republican tea party audience. >> i don't know that it works with that crowd. but i wish you had shown the mitt romney answer on immigration. because, one fascinating thing to me about this primary is that mitt romney in the mainstream media is viewed as the more moderate candidate. but here is a person who has taken his rhetoric so far to the right on immigration, you just have to wonder if he's still electable with the biggest growing part of the population. and also, on social security and medicare. it's amazing that the republican party is in a place where someone like mitt romney, who wants to privatize social security, and essentially end medicare, is somehow the moderate in this race. >> kevin? >> well, i think that it's very mainstream position that governor romney has when it comes to talking about what we're going to do to secure our borders, make sure we're not providing incentives for people to come here and break the law. that's a very mainstream position. i also think he's very aspirational when he talks about immigration when it comes to visa reform, bringing more people here so we can grow our economy. basically stapling a visa to

diplomas for those that come here and want to create jobs. so i think that's the mitt romney that's going to be very -- going to be very good in primaries but he's also going to be probably the biggest problem that president obama has in -- when he's looking to try to get re-elected. >> kevin madden, bill burton, great to see you guys. >> thanks, andrea. >> and this year, teach for america's 5200 teachers are going to be reaching 600,000 students across the country. the program, though, doesn't only impact the lives of students. in many cases the teachers themselves are also changed. dane martinez and amitt shaw were both moved to give back to their communities after the horrific events of september 11th and they joined teach for america and the rest is history. ten years later you really have, both of you. dane, first of all we just discovered during the commercial break that i was born in your neighborhood. >> that's right. >> and, tell me, how you were inspired by 9/11 to want to give back? >> sure. i think what wound up happening is i felt that i needed to

really do something that was bigger than myself. you know, i was actually looking to be a broadcast journalism major and looking for jobs at stations like this one. >> then you decided you wanted to do some real work? >> that's right. that's right. something i think was a little bit bigger that i could fight for something that was part of something, a movement. that's what teach america afforded me. >> was course your uncle was lost in the attacks, a port authority police officer. was that part of the emotional context? >> i think in general it was my family. but it was also my city. i wanted to return to new york city where my family and my friends were, so that i could be back home. that's something that i really remember from that day, not being able to be home with my family. >> i mean you would worked in the financial district. this was your neighborhood. this was your world. your world was shattered. >> that's correct. i lived through the events of that day. i was walking out to go to work and like thousands of other new yorkers that day that had to witness the horrific events of that day. we were out there, confused, an

information vacuum that was out there. and it was just so hard to go through, and think about all the lives that were being lost at the time. and to really reflect back on that. and think about what i was going to be doing next. and teach for america, as dane mentioned, was a great opportunity for me, as well. >> you couldn't reach your family, like other new yorkers, no communication. and you ended up going to compton, one of the toughest districts in the country. >> right. it was such a stark contrast from being in the investment banking world for two years. where you're working long hours with the expectation of, you know, large bonuses, and sort of an accelerated path in the finance world. and to do a 180 degree shirt, and to get sent out to compton, and to teach second grade for two years was a 180 degree perspective change. and i loved every minute of it. >> how did it change you? >> i think for me, in several ways. i think one of the things before, i'd see interesting thing and be, that would be really cool to do.

but then, i'd be like, one day, maybe i'll do that. and in terms of my perspective changed in a sense that i was like, you know what? let's just go out and do it. when can i do it? especially when you're trying new things. i think it made me a more patient person. a more calm person as well that nothing really stresses me out anymore. so i think it had meaningful impact. >> and how did it change you? >> like i said before, i think it's just about that feeling that you want to fight for something bigger than yourself. i tell young teachers now, it's not so much about you changing the lives of these children. these children are going to change your life. you know, you have a completely different perspective on the work you do. and even now, in my work, with harlem rbi it's in the spirit of supporting kids and giving them access and opportunity so something they may not have had before. and i think that that's the passion that drives my career. and in many ways, that started on september 11th. >> well, let me just say that it's so meaningful to me and to

our viewers to hear your examples, your service in teaching, in education, as you know, we have a big focus on education nation here which we're going to be launching later this month, so thank you very, very much. >> thank you so much. >> to both of you. >> and the arab spring and its impact on israel, is the jewish state becoming too isolated? you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc.[ m this is lara. her morning begins with arthritis pain. that's a coffee and two pills. the afternoon tour begins with more pain and more pills. the evening guests arrive. back to sore knees. back to more pills. the day is done but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. just 2 pills can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is lara who chose 2 aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels.

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news nation begins in 15 minutes. there's growing tension in israel today, after turkey's prime minister said that recognition of a palestinian state is quote not an option but an obligation. those comments came in cairo, where egypt's long-standing peace treaty with the jewish state is under serious strain. jeffrey goldberg is a national correspondentic for the atlantic. jeffrey, just thinking back, was this day back in 1993, when i stood on the south lawn, and yasser arafat shook hands, nudged along by bill clinton, shook hands with yitzhak rabin and look where we are today. going backwards. >> yeah, it's -- it seems like a long, long way away. remember that feeling? it was incredible. and now we're moving back to the old middle east. sort of the very old middle east. almost a kind of pre-'67 feeling of israel being totally isolated from its neighbors. but something unique and new here is that you have turkey in the mix. turkey has always been an ally

of israel, a non-arab but muslim ally of israel. and now it is making noises toward israel that are incredibly hostile. and so, of course, this becomes a huge challenge not only for israel, but for the united states, because israel and turkey are two very key allies of the united states in the middle east. >> jeff, yesterday we had ambassador michael arenn on the show and i asked him about the increasing isolation, especially turkey, and egypt, as well, with the attack on the israeli embassy in cairo. let's watch. >> the entire middle east, andrea, is in upheaval. and people, they want jobs, they want democracy. they're angry, they're frustrated, sometimes they turn that frustration anger at use. other times radicals channel it at us. the situation in the middle east is not about us. sometimes some of that anger gets deflected towards us, but it's not about us. >> this, of course, in the context of really increasingly difficult relationship between

president obama and bibi netanyahu. you wrote about that in your blog, jeff, and the fact is they worked to the very closely friday night to try to rescue those israeli diplomats. the u.s. did help rescue them in cairo. but at the same time the back story going into the u.n. meetings next week, not good. >> yeah, they have a very dysfunctional relationship compared to let's say previous presidents and prime ministers. but, obama, once again, stood up for israel when it needed help. and israel was right to seek the u.s.' help and right to demand of egypt that it protect israeli diplomats in cairo. there's a fascinating thing, michael oren said, which i think is mainly true, which is that, you and i have both been in tahrir square. we were there together a few months ago and you know what the people of egypt want. they do want jobs, they want freedom. they want accountability. and some of this anger that you saw this weekend was real anger, and a lot of it was channeled toward the israeli embassy when,

in fact, the target of these demonstrators, mainly has been their own government. it's very useful for the people who rule egypt right now so have that diversion, i suppose you would call it. >> very briefly we should mention that hillary clinton today again came out against a palestinian state designation resolution at the u.n. in those meetings next week. and also, said that she is sending two envoys back to the region, but we know the story of envoys. they are dennis ross and david hale. >> coming back to your point about oslo, we've seen a lot of diplomats go to the middle east and come back with nothing. we're heading toward a confrontation at the united nations and the big question is what happens the day after. there won't be a palestinian state in reality the day after. there will be one on paper. and that vacuum between those two facts is where you're going to see a lot of tension. >> jeffrey goldberg. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> and what political story will be making headlines in the next 24 hours? that's next on "andrea mitchell

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hour? andrea. the next 24 hours is shaped by the next hour. that will happen with the president going to columbus, ohio. not a mistake to sell his jobs plan. i would say any time the president should pay attention. this is strategically planned out. ohio a huge swing state in 2012. this is the state the president won with 52% of the vote. george bush won with this and columbus is the swing area of the state. he has to win here and convince ohioans his job plan can work. his plan is working. the campaign begins. the jobs program and the

campaign for barack obama's reelection. they're not in the same. close to the line. >> we should start with an office pool on how many visits to ohio the president will make between now and november. speaking of politics we are here in new york and out in queens, there is an interesting election in terms of what head winds are going against democrat this is year. >> barack obama not on the ballot and this special election will replace. anthony wiener resigned and this is the special election to replace him. the democrat is a state a sem wlee bl bleeman. democrats are pessimistic. there local and national issues here. if the republican wins, we will focus on the national ones. barack obama is not that popular here. 37% in one poll and low 40s in another poll. it could be dragging down david

a little bit. a fascinating story line in what should be a democratic new york city district. polls close at 9:00 p.m. msnbc too. if you care about nerdy house races and you know i do, it will be the to watch. >> nevada as well. we will be reading you online. thank you. that does it for this edition offan rhea mitchell reports. my colleague is looking at what's next on news nation. >> grit to see you in new york. a live look of a high school in ohio where president obama will speak within about 15 minutes or so. this of course is a key spring state. the president trying to sell that massive jobs plan. republicans are more skeptical day by day. they say the president's plan and the tax hikes included. we will bring you the speech live and republican candidates are keeping the heat up on rick perry, especially michele bachmann a day after the big

debate. bachman going after perry over his order mandating the hpv vaccine for teen girls. new comments from michele bachmann. we will play it for you. we are moments away from news nation. [ grandma ] why do relationships matter? [ grandpa ] relationships are the basis of everything. [ grandma ] relationships are life... if you don't have that thing that fills your heart and your soul, you're missing that part of your life that just fulfills you. ♪ [ male announcer ] for us at humana, relationships matter too. the better we know you, the better we can help you choose the right medicare plan. that's why humana agents sit down with you to figure out your medicare options. and we have nurses you can call anytime, even at 3 a.m.

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natural gas is critical to our future. at exxonmobil we recognize the challenges and how important it is to do this right. the news station is following developing news out of ohio. president obama taking his jobs plan to john boehner's home turf. this is a live picture at ft. hayes arts and academic high school. it's in the middle of a multimillion-dollar renovation. president obama is taking a tour of the school. that renovation project is part of the president's push. he said that listen, the kind of renovation that is happening at this school can generate jobs across the country. we will bring you his comments in about 15 minute when is he starts there live. following breaking news and the government just announced it is changing the airport pat-down policy for kids under the age of 12.