swing state voters. mitt romney's message is working with the white voters, men and suburban women. vice president joe biden is about to deliver remarks in the key battle ground state of iowa. we're going to keep an eye on that event taking place where the president is about to be introduced. let's go to chuck todd. is the headline out of this, the more things change, the more things stay the same? >> i think that's fair to say. under the surface, it's like watching a duck. on the surface it seems like everything is the same. go underneath and you see the duck's feet peddling away. parts of the elector that was pro obama have become lead obama. his leads among hispanics went up. for mitt romney, same thing, though. where he was already fairly

strong, he's gotten stronger among white independents. it had been more of a 50/50 split. his numbers have gone up. and among other groups that have been strong for him already, his leads have expanded. what you're seeing is a hardening of the base. but i have to tell you, thomas, there's a couple numbers i want to point out. where you see the polarization seeping into the answers to big questions. so, for instance, we ask, is the economy recovering? while it was interesting, 51% said it was recovering. 41% said it wasn't. when you look at the split, 75% of americans said that it's recovering. only 29% of republicans said the economy is recovering. it was even more of a partisan split on the issue of role of government which arguably is really the big debate here. should government be doing more or less? 49/47 split. it looks like a battleground

poll rather than a question on an issue. it was 75% of democrats saying that the government needs to do more. 76% of republicans saying they are doing too much. >> all right. now i've got this image of duck feet on both sides scrambling under the water. be sure to watch "the daily rundown" every day at 10:00 a.m. on msnbc. take a look at prebuttals from the campaign trail. >> if it is deemed to stand, we're going to have to have a president, and i'm not one, we're going to have to stop obamacare from day one. >> make sure that everyone gets decent health care and is not bankrupt when they get sick. that's what i believe. but it's up to you. you decide. >> all right. let's talk to campaign strategy with the president on the president's campaign, former deputy communications director

for the obama administration and also the incominging press secretary for the 2012 campaign trail. you start on sunday? >> i do. i do. >> quite a weekend you're going to have when you start out because we are less than 24 hours away from the health care ruling. but mitt romney is holding steady, uphold the law. how do you think a total repeal of the health care law would impact americans fiscally? >> one of the reason that the president pushed so strongly for the affordable care act, not because it was the right moral thing to do to cover millions of people, but because health care is one of the biggest costses to small and large businesses across the country. there's been a lot of tea leaf reading. you've seen the campaign talk about and the president and his team talk about the benefits that have been brought about to americans because of the health care law. three million young people

covered who wouldn't have been previously covered. 129 million people with pre-existing conditions. that's something that they are going to keep talking about. but i don't know that we know the exact strategy from both sides until we see what happens tomorrow. >> all right. so let's take a look at what we know from this new poll that we have showing it's been a tough june for both sides here. the president's disapproval rating, though, it's creeped ahead, and more than 50% still disapprove with the economy right now. and that's, you know, based on the president's administration. how does an incumbent with numbers like that stay in the white house? >> we're going through the worse recession than we have had in a generation. it's really something that is also unprecedented for people who are still living today to be going through. it's hard to look at comparatives. what we know from the same poll, though, after months on the airwaves, after months of campaigning and the bump that you should get from becoming the nominee, mitt romney's negatives

are at an all-time high. there's a nine-point gap for him in this poll between negative and positive. also, if you look at the swing states, i know you touched on this already, that's a place where the president's lead is expanding. we know the race is going to be in ohio and nevada and virginia. and these are places where the president is doing quite well. so, you know, i think we have to -- we know the economy is going to be central. it's going to be who has better to lead this country moving forward and we expect that to be a heated debate over the next couple of months. >> let's talk about the economy of the campaigns, though, because the obama campaign sent out a fundraisinging e-mail saying i will be outspent. there's a strong advantage to the president who has been a fixture on the campaign trail. the big deficiency for democrats is in this outside money and romney super pac holding an overall advantage on that front. so how can the campaign counteract that kind of cash,

the onslaught that it is? >> i just touched on this. but you heard the president say, we're going to be outspent by super pac money. it's not used for hiring staff, for organizing in the field, for getting the vote out in that way. it's used for ads and we know the strength of the obama campaign is the door to door, person to person, the neighbor to neighbor campaign and fundraising gap we may not be facing. my first stop is really when the president starts traveling. so we know he'll have a bus tour next week which it will be exciting to get back on the bus and have more for redorito bowl. i'm looking forward to rejoining the team. >> jen psaki, thank you.

>> thanks. >> it's great to see all three of you. a look at mitt romney, what people have come and seen the strengths and negatives and the guy that is trying to connect and the average person knowing that it's kind of hard to relate to a candidate that has swiss bank accounts? >> i'm not sure it's a political killer, thomas. i believe it's a political achilles heel. remember when george h.w. bush was running for a re-election campaign. even some republicans were saying that he was out of touch, only for the rich and so forth.

obviously bill clinton won that election because he was able to, quote, focus on the economy like a laser beam and connect with the people who were living paycheck to paycheck and those that did not have a paycheck. as the poll indicates, this is all about the economy. the real question becomes who has the right agenda and the right vision to get us out of this raucous economy and it appears that the american electorate is so split on this. can mitt romney lose his ee sflex absolutely on the out of touch vote. >> good job and for the people, it is really about the economy and that is the stumbling point. would the president be infallible, chris, if the economy was stronger? >> i think that he would still have a tough time, thomas, but the economy is certainly a drag for him had. to chuck todd's point earlier, he said, loork k at underneath

top line. president obama has the lowest approval rating of the year. that's tough when you are seeing your approval rating go down. that's not great for the president. however, it's still very tight despite being in the toughest economic time since the great depression. the president has been able to continue to run neck in neck with a guy being able to bring the country back to where it needs to be and to just add that romney is also seeinging his negatives being driven up and when you look at our people is the outsourcing message that the president has been hitting. it's that resonating that bain was so far. the president has a long way to g. democrats have a long way to go to continue that narrative. >> great point right there.

kiki, listen to this. vice president is back on the trail and currently in iowa. but here is part of the selling point. >> here's the bottom line, folks. bain made a great deal of money for facilitating this outsourcing. you've got to give mitt romney credit. he's a job creator singapore, china, india. he's been very good at creating jobs overseas. >> kiki, people are struggling in this economy. they are looking for work and hear that about the business record of mitt romney. they know that he's a wealthy guy. when they hear that, it's going to make people mad. >> we've had lots of wealthy guys be president but what this is is a choice. remember, candidates are examined independent of one another. it's a choice. in this case, it's between president obama and mitt romney.

i watched amazing focus groups and two things came out on that. one, the concept of what mitt romney really has done with his record has broke through. they understand, jobs have gone overseas, factories have shut down. that has broken through. the other thing that was really interesting is when you looked at it in a comparative, they say, well, here's what i think about president obama and things are not necessarily better. i'm not sure who's got the exact right plan but are we going to actually start the clock over? because mitt romney has given me nothing else to believe in either. that really is what makes this election different than so many historically. it's not necessarily all about the president. he's got to defend his record and promote his vision for the future. mitt romney has to have a reason for change because yet they do not seek to be anything to be confident in. >> robert, we still are waiting

to hear what the supreme court is going to say about the obamacare act. how important is this decision to the far right conservatives, specifically, the tea party? >> well, two things, thomas. let me answer your first question. the second part of your question first. this is not really just about mitt romney in terms of what he was the champion for universal health care. remember, what he has always said is individual states should have the right to do what they want to do based on their individual circumstances and i believe that -- and i think some democrats will concede this, that is what the supreme court is going to say tomorrow, be you cannot, at the federal level, mandate that a specific person or piece of goods. that is not constitutional. now to the first part of your question, look, whether or not this is going to -- if you light a fire, if you will, underneath the tea party, of course it

will. it's going to light a fire on a democratic side as well. it's going to be a net neutral on the left and right and both sides will most likely claim victory in some way, shape, and form. >> we'll know in 24 hours. great to see all three of you. thank you. >> thank you. >> be sure to tune in on msnbc. we want to hear about your thoughts on this. tell us what you think. still on the agenda decision, we're 24 hours away from that other big choice for congress to make a contempt vote for attorney general eric holder over the fast and furious mess and the house speaker weighed in. then we have this -- >> the smoke turned from a light brown to dark black and that means that homes are burning. that's a bad thing. >> a sad story. tens and thousands are told to flee their homes as the wildfires are spreading. it's still barely contained.

just a reminder, as always, if you have thoughts about stories and what you're seeing today, follow me @thomasaroberts. ♪

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we're going to proceed. we've given them ample opportunity to comply, even as late as yesterday. the white house sat down with some of our staff to outline what they would be willing to do. unfortunately, they are not willing to show the american people the truth about what happened. >> that was house speaker john boehner a short time ago saying the contest vote for eric holder is on for tomorrow. we are following a lot of movement right now in that effort as speaker boehner said

last-minute talks at the white house to avoid that talk failed. at 2:00 p.m. today, a house committee meets to talk about the rules of the debate. and there are reports that up to 35 democrats may defect and vote in favor of content. joining me now is luke russert. first, break down what happened at this meeting and then let's talk about defek fors from the left to agree with the right. >> absolutely. yesterday afternoon people from john boehner's office, darryl issa's office met to avoid this contempt vote scheduled for tomorrow. the white house showed the republicans pages of the documents that they had wanted to see. they had requested hundreds and thousands. they walked away, the republicans did, saying those aren't enough documents. we want to see all of them and

they refused and now later on today they will set up a contempt vote against eric holder. there will be two votes a criminal contempt vote and a civil contempt vote and the difference between that is a criminal contempt vote would be then asked the u.s. attorney here based in d.c. to prosecute holder. that attorney won't do t the other contempt vote would be to have a court look and make him operate the investigation. both are unlikely to happen, thomas. >> luke russert reporting from washington. thank you so much. >> take care. debby downgraded and moving out into the atlanta. why the flood risk is still up there even with that storm moving out. then, prices at the pump, they are falling just in time for the fourth of july travel. the reason for this plunge and how low gas prices could actually go. [ male announcer ] now you can swipe...

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democrats are blasting a recent comment from a gop lawmaker that survived a concerted republican effort to block votes in key battle ground states. >> we are focused on making sure we meet our obligations. first pro life legislation, in 22 years, done. voter i.d., which has allowed governor romney to win the state of pennsylvania, done. >> the department of state estimates 96,000 voters could be turned away in p.a. because they don't have a valid i.d. meanwhile a. two-day bus tour for president obama in ohio where the voter i.d. issue is affecting another key group.

jeff johnson gives us a look at the black church vote in the buckeye state. >> reporter: black churches have long organized after sunday services during election years. but because of a new ohio law, voters will no longer be able to cast their ballots during the weekend before the november election. alicia reece of cincinnati voted against the bill and says that chunks will need to step up and spread the word. >> nothing beats word of mouth. churches have hundreds and hundreds of people that come every sunday and they can get that information out to them in a john partisan way. >> reporter: it's the latest issue that churches are facing. >> you have to change your situation. you have to change your condition. it's up to you. >> reporter: an activist this cleveland says the black church needs to take things a step

further. >> voting is good but change does not end with the vote. it may start there but you have to educate them on what they are voting on. >> reporter: education on not just the issues but with the process as well. minority voters, in particular, are facing more scrutiny across the country. >> now that we are facing a plethora of legislation aimed at discouraging voters, the church has to stand up and it it will. >> reporter: this year, an estimated five million voters will be affected by these new laws. in some cases, even help them pay for valid i.d.s. >> the church has to make surgeon that we give the people copies of what they need, that we walk them through the process. >> with more pressure to register in time, black church leaders know that they are on the front line this election

year. >> we must register all the that we can because turnout numbers in america really count. >> reporter: pastor of the insurance institutional chunk in cleveland says the best way to get people actively engaged is by empowering them. >> i think we can encourage them to be active voters in their respective context in which they work, live, and play. >> reporter: ohio is more important than ever in this year's presidential election and the black churches around this swing state know that with work they can impact the result. jeff johnson, msnbc, cincinnati, ohio. >> and in the swing state of things, president obama now leads mitt romney in the big three. that is in ohio, pennsylvania, and florida. all right. as we've been telling you, just 24 hours, less than that away on the president's health care law,

we take a look at the scenarios, the breakdown that could play out tomorrow and melissa harris-perry sounds off on whether anything is being done to fix the health care, skyrocketing costs. he teased and was teased in return by sox fans in boston. last night, the basketball fan in chief said a congrats message. his slip of the tongue in the sidebar. [ barking ] i'm your dog, holding down the fort while you're out catching a movie. [ growls ] lucky for me, your friends showed up with this awesome bone. hey! you guys are great. and if you got your home insurance where you got your cut rate car insurance, it might not replace all this. [ electricity crackling ] [ gasping ] so get allstate. you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. [ dennis ] mayhem is everywhere. so get an allstate agent. are you in good hands?

what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. so by this time tomorrow, we are going to be in full fledge reaction mode and there are several ways that the justices could come down on this. joining sme the supreme court correspondent. as we talk about the different scenarios, let's show everybody and take a look. first, the court could either

decide to uphold or strike the entire law. how probable is an all or nothing decision? >> i would say not very probable. i'm guessing they will strike down the mandate but leave most of the acts standing, perhaps strike other key provisions of the act with it. >> all right. so if that happens, if that is the way that they go of striking down the mandate for sure but they do uphold part of the rest or the rest, how would this change things when it comes to how much authority the constitution gives congress? >> so the decision will pull back a little bit of congress regulation powers. it will forbid congress from mandating anything, any purchase on the private markets, any purchase on the markets for guns, for health insurance, for anything that might conceivably be -- broccoli. these things are the wild

slippery slope examples that opponents will have brought forward and seemed convinced oral argument could be dangerous about the mandate for health insurance. >> all right. so let's talk about the other way. the justices could strike down the mandate. the key provisions that the obama asked to kill the provisions if the mandate is struck down. what are they and why would they want more provisions of this law struck down? >> these are the patient protection and affordable care act. the guarantee issue, they are cost controlled and they forbid discrimination based on gender, based on pre-existing conditions, et cetera. if these go down with the individual mandate, these are the two most popular provisions among the other provisions of the affordable care act. the obamacare is saying, if up want to strike down the mandate

which we know is unpopular, we didn't sell it very well, you are going to have to strike down the other core parts. they said, okay, we will let you win this one, obama administration, and we'll have those things go down with it. that's a possibility. >> one scenario that we haven't talked about is they may rule that the decision waits until the law takes effect? how likely is that? >> one court in the fourth sir kit did this. there is a statute called the injunction act that says that no one can sue to recover a tax until that tax is actually levied. so that would be tax returns in 2015. by the time the court gets back on that, should it not be repealed, replaced, or modified in the years in between, it will be another election cycle when the court will be considering

whether or not to vstrike the mandate and it will be fully operational by then. i don't think that's t is going happen. they are not very interested in that. they want to get to the heart of the matter under the mandate. >> mike sacks, great to have you here. thanks. tomorrow's ruling is putting the spotlight on the high cost of health care in the country. the average costs of just saving a few lives in this country, the procedures and mri, over $1,000. a one-day hospital visit including a trip to the e.r. is nearly 4,000. if you need your appendix out, it's $13,000. if you need a coronary artery bypass, it's $67,000. melissa harris-perry joins me on a wednesday, no less, to sound off on this issue. when we take into the account that on average uninsured families can only afford to pay, in full, about 12% of

hospitalizations, 12%, that might need this type of health care option in their lives. so when we talk about that, the average option for families for the health care right now is what? >> right. the emergency room. right? and i think this is the central question and what the gop decisions would be lost in all of this, shockingly, is the actual issue of health care delivery for americans. so a couple things that we should know, one, even if the court upholds the entire affordable health care act, what that does is mandate people to have insurance. it does not mandate access to health care. so if i'm holding an insurance card in a city that has inadequate pediatricians, not enough, you know, opportunities to actually see a physician, insurance does not equal access. so we are still going to need to have some real conversations in this country about how we make

sure that everyone has primary preventive care if we're going to really bring down the costs of health care. >> several columnists looked at the irony of the individual mandate and have questioned whether it works at all because the penalty is so low and it's difficult to enforce. is the individual mandate the end all and be all? as we look at massachusetts, as a role model for the country? >> it's not an end all and be all. it helps insurance companies. if you're an insurer and you are writing health policy and you are forced to cover people who have pre-existing conditions, which is another aspect of the law, then you really want to spread your risk, right? because you know somebody who has a pre-existing condition is going to buy health insurance, right? but you want that 24-year-old who is in college, who is perfectly healthy, no expectation of getting sick, you want them to buy insurance, too, because they are paying into the pool but not driving out of it.

it's part of why the obama administration said if you take away the individual mandate, you've got to take away the other issues. otherwise, you're forcing insurance companies to cover everybody but only the sickest will actually buy the insurance. >> as mike sacks pointed out, they did a poor job of selling the individual mandate. why? this isn't, you know, a handout. it's a hand up. >> americans do not like the word mandate. even progressive americans don't like the ytd idea of being told that ne must do something, like they must vote on tuesdays. >> if we want to drive a car, we must have a driver's license and be fully insured to drive that car. otherwise, we are going to end up in the dog house when we have a fender bender or worse. >> but your federal government didn't tell you that, your state government told you that. we have our greatest anxiety when the federal government tells us that we must do something. they need to sell better what this mandate is. >> we will see how it all breaks

out tomorrow. melissa harris-perry, thank you so much. catch more of melissa on our own show airing weekends right here on msnbc. as i point out, we're going to have you back tomorrow with this coverage that we have of the supreme court ruling coming your way and you can sound off on the health care ruling tomorrow on twitter. do so now. send us your thoughts. hcmsnbc. we take you out to colorado where fast-moving flames are continuing in their destructive path. as wildfires continue to burn amid scorching temperatures, one town has forced more than 32,000 people to evacuate. it's being called the top priority for firefighters right now. miguel is joining us. it looks like there's been some progress made. bring us up to speed on what we're seeing today. >> reporter: thomas, good afternoon. certainly a very destructive day over the last 12 to 14 hours.

this fire has always been driven by the wind and bone-dry conditions. it was that combination that on tuesday really led to this fire exploding out of control overnight last night. we're told that at least 32,000 people were forced to evacuate, all given evacuation orders very last minute and told to get out quickly. homes were being swallowed left and right. there was one published report that says up to 100 homes were destroyed last night. this fire doubled in size. the winds were pushing the blaze in several different directions. there are reports that the wind speeds were topping 65 miles per hour. crews were never prepared for that. this blaze jumped fire breaks and fire lines. crews had to retreat in some area as the aerial attack continued. certainly a tough day for crews. it's going to be another tough day for them here today. we're expecting gusty winds though not reaching the 65 mile an hour mark. this could be triple-digit heat.

yesterday was 101. a tough day for crews all across the fire line who have a very long day ahead of them. >> miguel, thank you. debby has been downgraded to a tropical depression, finally starting to move across florida. people are assessing the damage after the slow-moving storm dumped anywhere from 10 to 26 inches of rain. in certain areas, houses were flooded and rods completely washed out, leaving some residents surrounded by the water. >> it's been up to the window sills and it's the highest that it has been. >> look at that. forecasters say that debby could bring more rain as it is on its way out. gas prices dropping to the lowest that it's been in the last five months. prices at the pump have plummeted 54 cents. an average of gallon of gas is $3.38. that's down from $3.48 last week and $3.64 just a month ago.

this morning we take time to remember nora ephron. she passed away last night. she had a successful and diverse career starting as a journalist and then moving to a writer and screen writer. her signature is many modern day classics, including "sleepless in seattle" and "you've got mail" and, of course, "when harry met sally". >> yes, yes, yes. oh, god. oh. >> i'll have what she's having. >> ephron is survived by her husband and their two sons. let's take a paint project from

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the crucial swing voters, our poll shows president obama and mitt romney are neck-and-neck. the president holding a slim 47 to 44% lead over mitt romney among registered voters. among independents, the president also holds this similar slim lead. a large number 2, 4% still undecided. joining me now is journalist linda, author of "the swing vote." linda, it's great to have you back with me. you point out that there are more independents than democrats since world war ii. not all independents are swing voters. explain that. >> that's right. there's a lot of overlap between the two groups.

40% registered independents. swing voters are those voters who go back and forth between parties. and a poll out shows that one quarter of the electorate are persuadable, have not made up their minds for all these hundreds and millions of dollars that have been spent, negative ads, that one-quarter of the electorate are the swing voters. they probably won't decide until the fall. >> they don't come cheap. >> no, they don't come cheap. well, they are disgusted, frankly, with all of this money being spent. independent voters say that both parties care more about winning elections and special interests than they do about the concerns of the average voters and that's why they are not -- that's why they are not deciding. >> isn't it a crazy oxymoron, the fact that this money is spent to secure their votes. the money is raised to secure their votes. meanwhile, it turns them off.

>> that's right. that's exactly right. what they want to hear are real solutions. they really like plain-spoken language. they like truth telling. they are very concerned about negative campaigning. they can't stand it. and that is why they are not, you know, seeing what they want. you know, so much talk about both parties are hysterical about the health care decision tomorrow. >> right. >> and, frankly, independent voters, swing voters, that's not going to be really top on their list. that probably won't affect their decision in the fall, whatever happens with the supreme court. >> one thing, though, we have learned from the past is that many independents do lean democratically, as we dig deeper into our poll results, women favor the president 52% to 38% and men favor mitt romney 48% to 43%. as we look at that, what does it tell you? >> well, two incredibly important swing groups are

suburban voters, a lot of suburban moms. that includes both men and women, both highly educated and what i call america be first in the democratic vote. this is what we used to call reagan democrats. this includes a lot of those male voters and even though romney is leading with them, i have a particular feeling that in swing states the president leads your poll indicated the president now leads by eight points in swing states. that's where the election is going to be decided. no republican has ever carried -- has won the presidency without ohio. and, you know, i don't think that mitt romney is the kind of candidate that is going to appeal to these america first democrats. they are incredibly sensitive about outsourcing. they've seen their jobs outsourced. >> linda, it's great to have you on. author and journalist. you bring up ohio, another four-letter state that everyone

likes is iowa. that's where we're going to find the vice president in dubuque. he has just arrived, giving his message there after campaigning yesterday as well. we're going to listen to that as well. veteran lawmakers, time for the poli sidebar. in new york, 82-year-old charlie r rangel is closer to a 22nd term. redistricti redistricting changed his term in harlem. and orrin hatch with 69% of the vote. the 78-year-old faced a stiff challenge from a tea party candidate. claire mccaskill says it's stupid to make a big deal about her choice to skip out of

attending the democratic national convention. >> you have to stay with people at home, which is more important, going to a place with a bunch of party honchos and having cocktail parties or being at home with trying to make ths a big deal. it's just stupid. >> has nothing to do with the president -- >> absolutely not. no. no. >> so a third of american earthlings think president obama would be the best of the two candidates to handle a hypothetical alien invasion, according to a new poll from "usa today" . the president led mitt romney in the all important alien issue, 65% of the vote. earlier this week, president obama was booed or teased over baseball in boston. last night in miami, he had a split of the tongue with congratulating the miami heat. take a listen. >> finally, it would be incomplete if i did not congratulate the city of miami for having the world champion

miami heat here in town. >> he knows it. if you have thoughts about the heats, the heat, the alien invasion or anything else, join the conversation on twitter. it's very important to understand

how math and science kind of makes the world work. in high school, i had a physics teacher by the name of mr. davies. he made physics more than theoretical, he made it real for me. we built a guitar, we did things with electronics and mother boards. that's where the interest in engineering came from. so now, as an engineer, i have a career that speaks to that passion. thank you, mr. davies.

welcome back. let's jump across the pond, take you to london, where that city is anticipating an eagerly awaiting the olympics, and the big ceremony coming up exactly one month from today. london officials are ramping up for the games, unveiling five gigantic olympic rings over the city's famed tower bridge. nbc is in london with the very latest on these preparations. hard to believe that it's only a month away. let's talk about security preparations and what's taking place for that. >> that is an enormous undertaking. when you look at the numbers, it's just jaw-dropping. to think that at peak times there will be more than 30,000 security personnel in place.

that includes police, military, specialists they've hired. when you think about some of the technology, we know there are going to be snipers in helicopters. they have high resolution cameras. things that they haven't told us about. there's even been some reports lately that they're going to have olympic vehicles outfitted with a way that officials can control them with remote control, if they suspect they've been hijacked. certain things they don't want to talk to us about but it's really made headlines a couple weeks ago when they announced they would have surface-to-air missiles in some cases possibly installed on things like apartment buildings. they don't want to leave anything to chance, although the director of burton's equivalent of homeland security said just the other day you know what, security cannot be guaranteed but they want to make sure they really have a contingency plan for just about anything, thomas. >> sounds like they're trying to think of anything that can happen. great to see you. thank you. that will wrap up this hour for me. thanks for joining me. see you back here tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. eastern. don't go anywhere.

"now with alex wagner" coming up for the next hour. we got our tease in, alex. america wanted the tease. >> they need us. >> we had a flood of letters. no, we didn't. we love doing the tease. >> it was my mother. >> she writes so many letters. thomas, if you didn't believe this presidential race was tight, new data shows it really is. will tomorrow's supreme court decision on health care be a 2012 game changer for either side? and it's getting furious out there, on the eve of a contempt vote against attorney general eric holder, the white house is holding a picnic for congress. can pasta salad solve our partisan problems? and foreign policy magazine's editor in chief susan glasser will discuss her exclusive interview with secretary of state hillary clinton. all of that when "now" starts in a mere 180 seconds. southfork ranch in dallas for a cookout with world champion grill master brett gallaway. he's serving his guests walmart choice premium steak. but they don't know it yet. they will. it's a steakover! the steak is excellent. very tender... melts in your mouth... so delicious...

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