it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. [ whistle ] with copd, i thought i might miss out on my favorite tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today i'm back with my favorite team. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. more money for millionaires. president obama has a plan to get it from them. will the republicans let him? fighting back. a store clerk takes bold action to foil an armed robber. and boo, the dog, a pomeranian that's a facebook fascination. good morning everyone. welcome to "weekends with alex

witt." it's just past 11 a.m. in the east -- details in the deadly plane crash at an air show in reno, nevada. a total of nine people died, including the pilot. investigators are trying to determine what caused that plane to slam into the ground friday right near the grandstands full of spectators. let's go live once again to reno and nbc's george lewis with another good morning to you, george. what's the latest you're hearing from there? >> reporter: good morning, alex. you may see activity behind me as they dismantle the air races. they were canceled following that tragedy. the national transportation safety board investigators are on the scene again this morning going through bit and pieces of the plane that absolutely shattered on impact. also going through photographs like this one. in this photograph, you see that part of the plane's tail section is missing. it's called a trim tab on the horizontal stabilizer.

without it, the pilot would have a very tough time maintaining control of that plane. so that's going to be one of the key focuses as the ntsb moves forward. but the investigators caution, it will be months before they probably make a final determination as to the actual causes of this crash. another thing they're going to be looking at is the safety of air shows and air racing in general. this is the last of the big air races. a lot of the other ones have been done away with because of safety considerations. now, organizers here in reno point out this is the first time any observers have been killed at the air races. but over the years, about 20 pilots have died. so this is a very high-risk thing that they stage every year here in reno. some experts are saying that you just can't take 70-year-old planes from world war ii and soup them up like hot rods and not expect bad things will

happen. so as they move forward with the investigation, they're going to be looking at a number of factors, including the mechanical problems with this particular plane. the rules regarding air racing in general and also the condition of the pilot, the pilot was 74 years old. he was said to be in good physical shape. that he passed all of his medical exams. but all of these things are going to have to look at as the investigation moves forward. alex? >> okay. george lewis right there in reno, nevada. thank you. one ntsb official involved in the investigation spoke this morning on the "today" show. here's what he said. >> what we can't do is say we have definitely identified and recovered parts of the accident aircraft tail. we have not identified anything related to the cause. so really at this point, what we can do is say that we have aircraft pieces. this accident really did, it took an instant. it's going to take months to figure out what happened. what's critical is not what happened, but why. so that we can address

recommendations so this doesn't happen again. >> for the latest on the investigation, you can just log on to our website at msnbc.com. another air show crash to tell you approximate this weekend happening in west virginia. it killed the pilot there. it happened saturday in march continuesburg. the pilot was flying a world war ii airplane in formation with other planes when he lost control. the plane crashed on a runway and it burst into flames. but far away there the spectators. no one else was hurt and officials are investigating that incident. president obama is seeking a major change to the tax code that would force millionaires to cough up more money. in a speech tomorrow from the rose garden, you will unveil the buffett rule named for billionaire investor warren buffett who says the richest americans are being cod ld by tax breaks. the new plan would mean every millionaire would pay at least the tax rate of middle class families. it's already drawing heated opposition. this is senate minority leader mitch mcconnell on "meet the press." >> ee don't want to stagnate

this economy by raising taxes. it won't just hit individuals, david. there are over 700,000 of our most successful small businesses pay taxes as individuals. not as corporations. does anybody think that's a good idea other than the president? there's bipartisan opposition to what the president is recommending already. >> and former president bill clinton fired back that restoring a higher tax level for the rich is the best decision right now. >> the least harmful tax increases are the ones that senator mcconnell and the people agree with him hate the most. and that is, restoring the tax levels that existed when i was president for those of us in high-income groups, levels. that's the one that does the least harm. >> joining me now, usa today politics reporter jackie kucinich. two days in a row. good morning to you. >> thanks for having me back. >> the president is gearing up for big political fights with the republicans. it's a big spending plan for jobs and now this millionaire's

tax. does the white house expect to get these passed or is this a political maneuver? >> i think the white house hopes they get passed. i don't think they're going to. i think we'll see a lot of the same fight that we just saw between president clinton and senator mcconnell. i think that republicans are going to say, hey, this is class warfare. paul ryan today said it on fox news sunday i think. i think you'll see at a lot of back and forth. middle class voters will be looking at republicans and saying hey, why are they trying to save the millionaires. republicans are going to argue like you saw, that this is -- these are business owners, people that create jobs. it's a lot of what we've been hearing over and over again. >> now, the new york times is the entity that broke the story about the millionaire's tax and say the president's debt reduction plan also calls for $300 billion in ten-year savings from medicare and medicaid. you have congressman chris van holland democrat saying

entitlement cuts -- will the democrats be able to maintain that? >> you know, it's funny. i think they're going to have a lot of -- the white house is going to have a lot of problems with their own caucus. they're saying we're not going to vote for any of these things that republicans like if you take cuts to medicare and medicaid. he's not talking approximate social security reform, but republicans sure are. i don't think they're going to do any -- i think we'll have a stalemate, frapgly. i any democrats putting their feet in the sand, republicans putting their feet in the sand and not a lot of movement. what he they come up with at the end of the day, i don't know. it will be the same things over the last couple of months. let's go to primary politics now. rick santorum hammering the president's healthcare law while speaking with seniors in south carolina saying that it's going to lead to euthanasia practices like in the netherlands. let's listen to him. >> seniors wear bracelets that say please don't youth nice me.

they wear them routinely. if they go to the hospital and some sort of mnl treatment, they want to make sure. most seniors, this woman said, i heard this, but she said, you don't go -- if you're a senior you don't go to hospitals in the netherlands, because you don't get out. >> is this kind of a michele bachmann moment there? >> yeah. i'd say yes. i mean, i think voters at this point are not used to. but you're hearing a lot of these inflammatory, the comments that aren't really true. same thing with michele bachmann and the comment about the hpv vaccine. he'll probably get some heat for this. it's hard to take something like that seriously. you know, you hear a lot of this. let's not forget the death panels that happened in the healthcare debate. he's probably going to get some heat for this. can i ask you about the trump effect. we got mitt romney now scheduling a dinner with the

donald a few weeks after perry dined with him. rick perry. what's going on here in. >> i wish i knew frankly. i mean, the -- donald trump wants to stay relevant and they're allowing him to. the candidates are allowing him to keep in the middle of this race. keep his name out there, which is at the end of the day, kind of what donald trump wants. i don't know whether his endorsement will matter. i mean, you and i both know he was at the top of the polls for a shining moment in the spring. but the fact -- i mean, you have pictures with him. what effect is he going to have at the end of the day, i don't know that it's going to be a lot except when you put trump's name out there, people follow it. >> i'm trying to figure out if he's going to go to for a slice of pizza or to jean-george, the number one restaurant pricewise in the city. happy medium with romney or where are we going? >> i don't know if he'll go to a pizza place again after the

fork/knife incident. jackie kucinich, thank you. >> thanks. it was supposed to be a massive rally against wall street. activists who tried to stage it near the new york stock exchange found themselves shut out. the nypd got wind of the protest on social media sites and blocked off the streets. the event was peaceful. only two people were arrested. the soonest two americans can get bail from prison in eye ron may be tuesday. but it's still not clear when they might be freed after more than two years behind bars. we have a reporter in tehran. good morning ali. what's the latest from there? >> reporter: good morning, alex. in the latest twist in this ongoing sag is, the iranian foreign minister has joined the fray. he may commute the sentence on the groundsion. but he also brought up the issue of a possible prisoner swap. he's talking about prisoners

iranian prisoners held in u.s. prisons. also earlier this morning i spoke to the lawyer of the hikers who told nbc news that he had been at the court this morning trying to finalize the bail arrangement for the hikers. but was unable to do so pause the second judge, the key judge that needs to sign off on the documents wasn't there and won't be back from holidays until tuesday. so this saga continues on and on as this agonizing ate for the hikers and their families. alex? >> let's be clear. that second judge who is supposed to sign is on vacation, right? >> reporter: that's right. the lawyer told me -- the lawyer had been at the court yesterday. one judge signed off on all of this. the second judge in the appeal needs to sign off and the court told him the judge is on holiday and simply won't be back until tuesday. >> okay. so the world waits. thank you very much ali arouzi in iran. president travels to new

york for the meeting of the united nations general assembly. mahmoud ahmadinejad will speak to the gathering again this year. he plans to support demands at the u.n. for an independent palestinian state. we remind all of you to watch ann curry's ex plus sif interview. it will be airing as soon as we wrap at the top of the hour here on msnbc. torrential downpours are giving some texas residents cause to celebrate. san antonio got a second day of rain saturday after a dry spell that's got 90% of that state on drought watch. will the wet weather last? jeff morrow has the answer in the forecast. good morning. >> thanks, alex. as we look across the country this sunday which is the last official sunday of summertime. we'll get into fall next weekend. it looks like it's not going to be summer-like. it will be autumn-like in the northeast. not a bad day in boston and new york. could be a few showers in the mid-atlantic and a few storms this afternoon across florida. by and large, most of the heavy

rain will be through the middle of the nation, in fact, locally heavy storms, some of which could turn severe and some of which could have heavy downpours. we could use the rain in texas and oklahoma. nobody wants to talk about severe weather, though. as we head out to the west coast, probably the nicest weather in the country if you like warm weather is in the southwest, phoenix up to 99. warm in vegas too,and salt lake up to 78. a few showers in the pacific northwest. watch out down here if your travels take you to the southern plains, dallas, san angelo. damaging winds, large hail. maybe even an isolated tornado here heading through the afternoon. alex? >> jeff morrow, many thanks. still ahead, a deadly epidemic of abuse. it's reached a morbid milestone. plus, a presidential long shot but ron paul has at least one victory to claim in the battle for the white house. a month on the calendar that doesn't seem to treat president obama too kindly.

it may be a personal anthem to some. but simon cowell wants to hear none of it. that's on ups and downs on weekends wi "weekends with alex witt." ♪ i like dat ♪ ♪ i like dat, all right

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well, here's a new alarming statistic. narcotic, drugs are responsible for more deaths in the u.s. than auto accidents. the times reports that the increase in prescription narcotic overdoses accounts for the new numbers. drugs kill more than 37,000 people nationwide according to cdc. public health officials are using the statistic to draw attention to the growing prescription drug epidemic. prescription drugs can be potent, highly addictive and especially dangerous when combined with other drugs or alcohol. now to 2012 politics. another straw poll victory for

ron paul. the texas congressman took 44% of the vote at the california republican fall convention last night. rick perry finished second with 29% of the vote. mitt romney a distant third with 8%. barely ahead of michele bachmann at 7. back now to the president's expected announcement on a new tax rule for millionaires. he says they should pay the same tax rate as people and families in the middle income range. it is all part of a larger plan to shrink the deficit. ed rendell is an nbc political analyst and the former democratic governor of pennsylvania. ed with a good morning to you. welcome to weekends with alab a alabama -- "weekends with alex witt." what is your reaction to the crux of this plan? millionaires being taxed at at least the same rate as those with less? >> well, let me start off by saying, alex, that i think it's a good idea. you heard president clinton talk about going back to the tax

rates for millionaires that were prevalent during his administration. and i think it's a good idea. will it kill jobs? that's what the republicans said when president clinton raised taxes in the top 2%. not only did it not kill jobs, it didn't hurt the job creators, we went on to produce 23 million jobs, the greatest period of job growth in the last half century. so what senator mcconnell says is bull. it just isn't true. they should stop saying it because they know it isn't true. they went through the experience with president clinton. didn't kill jobs at all. >> okay. i had on the last hour former democratic congressman martin frost. he said, you know what, this is a political ploy here. he said that the expectation is it's going to be dead on arrival when it hits congress. so if that's the case, is that an effort to politically make the republicans look like obstructionists and make them look bad? is that really where this sthing going? >> i think so.

i think that the fact that the president is putting it out there by itself almost dooms it to failure. we all know what we ought to be doing. and that's spending cuts and reasonable tax cuts. this is a reasonable tax increase. this is a reasonable tax increase. american people would approve of this. i think i saw a poll, 82% think it's a good idea. but it should be folded in with other tax revenue increases like getting rid of all of these exemptions and legitimate spending cut. that means for we democrats that we're going to have to bite the bullet and seek cuts in entitlements. they can be made. at the same time, republicans if they care about the country, will accept reasonable increases in revenue like the one the president is proposing. but if he puts it out there by itself, it's just to get them on record as being against it. by the way, if i was in a swing district and i'm a republican congressman, i'm not so sure i would want to vote against it. >> yeah.

you make a good point there. speaking of swing districts, let's get to the whole state there. 2012 politics. pennsylvania is always a huge factor in the general election. the state's unemployment rate rose to 8.2% in august. that's lower than the national average. up sharply from the previous month where it stood at 7.8%. president obama won pennsylvania in '08 by more than 10% of the vote. not a swing that year. will this new millionaire's tax help keep pennsylvanians in his corner, or is it all about jobs? >> well, it's mostly about jobs. there's no question about that. you know, let me just say, you don't get a chance to brag very much in this business. but the unemployment rate was 7.4% when i left office. >> i'm giving you a long distance pat there. reaching out and patting at you good job. >> absolutely. seriously, it is going to be about jobs an the economy. will this help at the march skrin in absolutely. because so much of the economy is tied in to making progress on

debt reduction. we cannot do debt reduction just by spending cuts. we need revenue increases. this is a reasonable revenue increase that the american people support. and it ought to happen. we're just bringing them back to clinton levels. we're not even bringing them back to the levels that existed for the first six years of ronald reagan. i love the republicans revisionist history. ronald reagan, the great tax cutter. we asked ronald reagan to cut taxes but he raised taxes as you know, alex, 11 separate times. 11 times. >> pennsylvania not the only swing state, ed, facing rising unemployment. we have north carolina, virginia also on this list of 26 states where with unemployment rose in august. those are not always blue states. so how big a problem is this? >> it's huge problem. you know, you and i can argue and we can all debate about how much of it is the president's fault. i think very little of it is. having said that, it's a fact of life. and if the unemployment rate

continues to rise, if there's not measurable progress between now and next september, october, the president's got to a credibly uphill fight. that's a fact that no one can deny voters were mad in 2010 and they took it out on the incumbent and the incumbent mostly were democrats. if they -- the economy stays bad, it's going to be an uphill fight. if that's the case. only sort of a bizarre strange republican candidate can make this a winnable election. >> you know what, let's go with republican candidates. i'm going to have my director richard put up a full screen and shows where they are in terms of the polls. rick perry way out in front. who do you want to see be the republican nominee, let's keep in mind this coming from a democrat. >> my personal favorite is still michele bachmann. she's my personal favorite. she's the gift that keeps on giving. of the two leading candidates, rick perry and mitt romney. for us in pennsylvania, rick

perry would be the ideal candidate to run against. his views i think would be viewed by most pennsylvanians, moderate republicans, independents as way out and sort of bizarre. >> got the same sentiment from former ohio governor, ted strickland yesterday. he said the same thing. we'd love to see rick perry, again coming from a democrat. >> i don't want to hurt mitt romney, but he would be the toughest candidate for us to beat in pennsylvania. no question about it. >> ed rendell, good to have you. thank you so much. >> nice to see you. it was a 27-story come down to raise a lot of money. dozens of people repelling down the witt hotel in chicago. i have no investment there. the goal was to raise more than $160,000 to fight lung disease. for some, it was probably a breathtaking experience. ♪ ♪ >> so, ah, your seat good? got the mirrors all adjusted? you can see everything ok?

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it's time now for our trend mends up and downs. more people are drinking coffee. how can we tell? global coffee exports have gone up. more than 50% of americans enjoy a nice cup of skraf a. i'm in there. fewer americans are drinking beer. sales down 2%. the fourth straight year of declining sales. things are looking up for car makers. kelly blue book survey shows 62% want to buy a new or used car. the savvy showroom shoppers are driven to find value hoping to find year-end sales to their liking. netflix is expecting blowback from the price increases. the movie rental giant expects to lose a million customers. it's the circle of life ♪ what's old is gold again. only this time in 3d. the rerelease of the lion king is on the way to winning the box office battle with a projected take of almost $15 million.

♪ >> sorry r kelly but simon cowell does not want to hear your song on his new show. he's sick and tired of wannabes trying to sing i believe i can fly. he also doesn't want to hear unchained melody and a few other songs. thumbs up for the most famous dog on facebook. it's perhaps the cutest dog in the world. boo, the pomeranian has more than 1.7 million likes on facebook. boo's owner says the canine celebrity gets thousands of likes a day and it's not likely to end any time soon. you can see why. those are your ups and downs on "weekends with alex witt." ♪ i'll rock white jeans whenever i want. and with tide plus bleach, they'll stay white. not whitish, not eggshell, not ecru... whatever that is.

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in 1989. the victim's family says there's no doubt the right man was convicted for the crime. but there's now a big push to stop the execution even the pope is weighing in. nbc's is in atlanta with more. >> the fight over convicted cop killer troy davis is about life and death. on one side, hundreds of thousands of supporters pleading for his execution to be commuted. >> when you're talking about death, you must be certain. >> on the other side, police, prosecutors and the family of slain savannah officer mark macphail killed in 1989 the after being shot in the face and chest at a burger king parking lot. >> i love him. i would just want to tell him how much i love him. >> macphail's daughter says there's no doubt davis is the killer and deserves death. three days from his execution, a mass movement to stop it. joining the support, bishop desmond tutu, former president jimmy carter and even the holy father, pope benedict.

davis' many supporters say there's too much doubt for him to die by lethal injection. they point out that seven of the nine witnesses have recanted their statements one of the witnesses said "the truth is that troy never confessed to me or talked to me about the shooting of the police officer." >> when there's this level of doubt, we ought not to allow an execution. >> the defense claims there's little physical evidence connecting davis to the killing. the murder weapon never found. since 1991 davis has tried to clear his name, but failed. he's been scheduled for execution three previous times. all of them halted. macphail's family says every delay is devastating. >> it's brought right back up to the forefront and those wounds are just, they're ripped back open. >> in god's hands that's the only place it can be. >> despite the faith an the support of the masses, it comes down to five people. tomorrow members of georgia's

pardons and parole board will decide his fate. todd trump, nbc news, atlanta. searchers will be back to work today in the case of missing utah mom susan powell. they're focused 130 miles from where she was last seen two years ago. cadaver dogs led police to the site on tuesday. police have found evidence of human decomposition and are digging at a suspected shallow grave. i'm joined by pat brown now. pat, good morning. >> good morning, alex. >> why are police convinced they're looking at a crime scene here? >> they have the dogs telling them they're decomposition there and they know that josh was close to that area. i think they really believe that that is where he put her and possibly burned up her body there. that's going to be the real tough part of it. because if they can't find something that proves there was a body there outside of the dogs, going to court would just give the dogs and no body. that's going to be hard to push on a jury. >> you know, last i was reading when you talk about burning up a body, there was a piece of wood

and they believe that is the scent from his cadaver dogs are smelling where a body would have been burned. these dogs are that good? >> they realry that good. when you get into a court of law, you'll get the defense in there, experts saying it's junk science and maybe they picked up on something else and maybe the handler of the dog forced them to note that spot. they'll come up with something. a jury will say, i'm not sure we can believe the dogs. it's a lot better when the dogs find the body then you've got your proof. it's hard without the body. >> no word from husband josh, no reaction? >> of course not. josh is just doing what he always does, which is show very little interest in what happened to his wife. >> let's get to the new developments in case of michelle lee, the nursing student missing since may now. the searchers have found a body? do we know male, female? what do we know? >> i don't know that we know that much. i'm sure hoping this is the body because you're talking about, again, you're going to go could

tort. they now would have a body. that body, they can prove what happened to her. after we saw casey anthony case with the body of little caylee but couldn't say how she died, well in the case of michelle, they'll be able to prove something. there will be nicks on her bones from a knife or trauma to her skull. some kind of fracture. the high lloyd bone will be broken. something to prove that a homicide occurred. they really need that. >> pat brown, thank you as always. a courageous clerk jumps into action to save a co-worker. it's caught on tape. the clerk was working when a man barged into the store with a bandana covering his face. he set the gun down on the counter. that's when the clerk sprung into action pushing the gun off the table and jumping the attacker. the man fought to escape. customers were impressed and shocked. >> attack small women to get, what are they going to get 20, $30 out of the register.

>> unbelievely brave. they fought him off. the guy had a gun. >> police weren't thrilled with the clerk for risk her life. but she insists she was doing her job. as of now, no arrests made in the case. the impact of tropical storm irene earlier this month is still being felt in some parts of the northeast including the pumpkin patch. farmers in the region say the storm destroyed hundreds of pumpkin patches. that means pumpkins are going to be in short supply this halloween. making matters worse, an early cold snap is endangering pumpkins that survived irene. the end result, you may be paying more, perhaps much more for your jack-o-lantern this year. ere's only one bottle left ! i've got to tell susie ! the vending machine on elm is almost empty. i'm on it, boss. new pony ? sorry ! we are open for business. let's reroute greg to fresno. growing businesses use machine-to-machine technology from verizon wireless.

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now to politics. the white house released few dee dals about the new plan to raise taxes on the rich. republicans are already hammering it. >> it looks like the president wants to move down the class warfare path. class warfare will simply divide

this country more, attack job creators, divide people and it doesn't grow the economy. >> time now for our sunday panel. joining me now real clear politics reporter erin mchike and d.c. bureau chief for the comcast network and host of roll call tv, robert train. welcome to the three of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. all right. i couldn't start with the two girls, i'll start with you, robert. the mess amg from the white house, is this a way to make the tax code more equal and raise taxes on a tiny fraction of americans. what's not to like? >> there's a lot not to like. unfortunately, two things. i think the white house knows that this is not going to pass. this is probably dead on arrival. i think the conversation needs to be had, what about the small businesses out there. what about the mom and pops organizations that are not corporations but are small business owners but also file as individuals that make more than a million dollars. thus, on paper. thus in the process they take the profits and put it back into

the small businesses. i understand the whole argument about the warren buffetts of the world paying their fair share. everyone would realize that the tax code should be restructured, but we also need to take into consideration there are a lot of mom and pop organizations out there that are millionaires on paper but in reality they aren't. >> when we're talking about the millionaires, to a lot of americans, robert, this is going to get lost on them. we're talking about .3% of the population. >> i know. i don't disagree with that. >> also, can i just point out that remember, that in the president's job creation plan, he -- the american jobs act he talks about there are tax cuts specifically aimed at small business owners, both to help them either get new equipment, hire new people or increase salaries of existing workers which we know that's increasingly becoming a problem. not to mention the 16 other tax cuts that the democrats and congress had tried to pass, again, directly targeted at small businesses. i think we need to see the details of what the president is going to propose.

i think they'll take into account the people that robert is talking about but target the warren buffetts of the world. >> isn't this purely political? it has to go through congress, come on. >> here's the thing. on the face of it, is it purely political? probably. because everybody is saying there's no way it's going to get through. isn't that a sad statement of affairs in washington when you're really saying that republicans in washington are so adamantly opposed against tax cuts for millionaires, billionaires, big oil that they won't give a tax break to middle class americans that they won't see the reality that we can't get where we need to go just through spending cuts. i think, if anything, it also highlights the obstructionism as well as the politics being played by republicans. >> which again, will be part of the politics going into the presidential election year. erin, is there any way this can be formulated to make it pass? >> well, i think that's what we're looking at here. that democrats and republicans in congress are talking about

restructuring the tax code as they go forward with some of the economic proposals in the next year and a half. by pushing this, the white house is starting o get into the conversation and formulate some of the conversation early in ways that he hasn't done with other economic issues and has waited while congress debates it and jumps in at the last minute. at least he's taking a leap here and trying to push something. >> but politically, erin, this is a pop lust message, it peers to nearly all of the americans. only .3% are millionaires. does the president score points even if republicans block it? >> sure. his base is upset because they don't think he's been pushing enough. by getting out front on this and pushing this populous message, he might get back to the soul of the democratic party right now. that is part of that is revving up the base again. that's been disspirited lately. >> karen and robert, how is this going to end? karen, first. >> it's going to pass, it's going to be great.

we're all going to get tax breaks. >> try again, karen. >> i know. look, it's going to be ugly. hopefully there will be parts of it ultimately that will get passed even though i think most people would like to see a comprehensive package passed. at the end of the day, speaking to the politic, this will give president obama the contrast he needs going forward in the presidential elections. here's what i'm for, here's what they're for. robert? >> a agree. a contrast between the have and the have notes. whether or not this passes or not, pieces will pass. probably the payroll tax holiday, perhaps maybe businesses able to write down some of their debt as write-offs. that will pass. but the other stuff is dead on arrival. >> sit down, we're going to have you talk about the ron suskind book and get your reading picks of the week. we've been asking you, should millionaires pay more in taxes. is it fair or unfair? rif gotten a lot of responses. s.a. stephens says they've got

the money to spare. why shouldn't they pay more? their selfish necessary is embarrassing. mr. buffett said it best. stop coddling them. another one says it's totally backed that the rich pay nothing and the cash-strapped pay just about everything. it's not sustainable or moral or fair. my handle is at alex witt. we'll keep reading your comments. why president obama may want to skip the month of september altogether every year. plus the must reads from the pages of the political panel. you're watching "weekends with alex witt." it moves effortlessly, breathes easily. it flows with clean water. it makes its skyline greener and its population healthier. all to become the kind of city people want to live and work in. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions. and the over sixty thousand people of siemens

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football fans should expect a delay getting to their seats in today's games. there's a new series of pat downs a all of the 31 stadiums for the rest of the season. police say a dallas cowboy fan attacked three jets fans with a stun begun.

before we get back to the panel we will go tailgating for a minute. mike seidel is in new jersey. how is the weather as you sit there waiting for the game? >> reporter: the weather is great and the jets fans are here, and you know what? they know how to spell jet. and the weather today, perfect, about 70 degrees, a few clouds. you know how cold it will be out here. and tomorrow's game, good weather for the giants. and then the only games today, alex, that may have issues down in miami a. slight chance for rain. in nashville, another shot of rain. and what can you do -- they are going to boo every team. san francisco is at home and will have good weather. we have desserts here for alex back at 30 rock. this guy is a proud grandpa.

tell me why it's so significant? >> it's the first boy born in our family in over 53 years. my daughter finally had a grandson. >> wow, way to go. >> max, max, max! >> reporter: for those of you healthy and don't want to eat many calories, here you go -- >> tiny. tiny. we're rooting for the jets, we love mark sanchez. so remember to catch the "battle of the birds" on sunday night football. and kickoff time is 8:20 eastern. and then president obama has the lowest ratings to date, and in today's washington post it says the september slump is nothing new and has been a trend in 2007 when he was slipping

behind the then candidate hillary clinton. and he says another september has come with questions facing him and his team, and how will they respond this time? and real politics guests join me. aaron, the white house pushing back against any of the assertions. how damaging, if at all, do you think this is for the president? >> just bi-leveli by leveling t. if you look back to the campaign obama ran, it was no drama obama, and this goes certainly right against that. and it just shows that obama could be really inexperienced, but if they are pushing back on it, then it's his word against theirs. we don't know yet, but there have been charges throughout

democrats in congress who are close to white house staffers that there's more drama and sexism. that's a common charge we have heard all through washington for the last couple of years. >> and karen, there's a quote about the white house saying it all fit of the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile workplace, and she since has recanted that. you have ever gotten a sense there was a sexist environment? do you think you would have faced it? >> i can't say, because things turned out a different way. let's be blunt. the charges that this administration has been somewhat arrogant or a boy's club, that's not really new. as a woman i am offended because it's only news when a man writes

about it, by the way. and books like this tend to come around this time. we saw it with clinton and with bush, and we have seen it time and again, and two years in people take the assessment of the first couple of years, and it's not pretty for everybody, frankly. if you look at the bigger context, it's not surprising we see a book at this time that would criticize the first couple of years the way the administration is figuring itself out. >> here is the problem, though, robert, because he did over 200 interviews for the book and had incredible access inside the white house, and whether the quotes are taken out of context or are wrong, what does an overall depiction say when note he spoke to the president about this. >> yeah, it's a larger point in my mind that the little mini vignettes of narratives going

on, and the first narrative that he is not in control. some people think clinton should be in control. and there are a lot of people that think this president is a policy walk, and there are's a lot of people that heard i have heard this for quite sometime, and the president has his only male friends around him and that's it. it's a larger issue that we should address at some other time. >> i am glad you guys told me what your favorite reads are for this sunday. we don't have enough time, but i am going to tell them. robert from the new york times, house gap leaders finds things they like about obama's jobs plan. that's it, and got to go, and thanks to the three of you. ann curry is up next. we'll see you. we're centurylink... we're committed to improving lives and linking americans to what matters most with honest, personal service ...

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