and mayberry loses its sheriff. andy griffith has died at his home in north carolina. we will be talking with his former co-star, ron howard, just ahead. good day. i'm andrea mitchell live in aspen, colorado. in our daily fix today, the public is sharply divided over week's supreme court ruling on health care. according to three new polls, although support for the president's health care law has now ticked up slightly since the court's decision last thursday, that advantage comes largely from democrats. the percentage of democrats who now say they have very favorable views of the law is up 16 points since may, up 19 points among self-described liberals. mark murray is nbc's senior political editor and joins me now from washington. mark, let's go through the numbers. you're the expert on polls more than anyone. you have been going through these all day. what are you seeing in this and the new abc news poll about health care and this election campaign?

>> the first thing, it is a little bit early in this process. the decision just came out on thursday so these are the first polls that we're really seeing on instant reaction to the health care ruling. as you mention, it shows the public is pretty much split over whether they favor or oppose the supreme court's 5-4 decision on the health care law. in a way that shouldn't be all that surprising given how polarized this country is politically. democrats are supporting it, republicans aren't, overall independents are slightly against it but the situation, if you are an advocate for the health care law and its constitutionality, things do seem to be a little bit of an uptick, particularly among independents. so that's where things are right now. what i do think is the most remarkable situation is that it looks like mitt romney and his campaign are moving away from this issue. they would rather fight on other terrain than on this health care law. >> you know, i have to say that i thought from thursday on that while people say that the health

care issue is a big issue for them, it seems to me that any day they're not talking about the economy pure and simple, yes, health care is an economic issue, obviously, but the economy is what people are really concerned about and that's where they really are setting their concerns and that's where they should be firing their guns. let's talk also about the whole issue of a tax versus a penalty. how is that playing out today? >> well, as i mentioned, the romney campaign seems they want to really talk about the economy, other things than the health care law. they sent out several e-mails this morning and all of them have to do with the economy, the deficit, the debt, not on this health care law. the reason behind that is that the more we talk about the federal health care law, people start drawing the similarities between that and the health care law that mitt romney instituted in massachusetts. as we all know very well, that

massachusetts health care law also had an individual mandate. this is really tricky terrain for the romney campaign. as we've seen, republicans, including on senate races, down ballot contests, they want to be able to use this to hammer democrats who supported the law, supporting a tax. but the romney campaign doesn't want to touch this at all. they want to move on to other things. >> chris christie was asked about this on cnbc this morning, asked about eric fernstrom's comments to chuck todd yesterday. >> listen, let's not focus on what spokespeople are saying, okay? spokespeople get in and fill in space on the cable stations, no offense. i care about what the candidate says and governor romney has been very clear about what this election should be about. it's about reinvigorating our economy, it's about releasing entrepreneurial spirit. those are the things this election's going to be decided on, not what a spokesperson says on a cable news station in july. >> also, the romney campaign put

out this statement from the governor. the supreme court left president obama with two choices, the federal individual mandate and obamacare is either a constitutional tax or an unconstitutional penalty. governor romney thinks it is an unconstitutional penalty. what is president obama's position? we kind of know president obama's position in terms of that, although as we have been pointing out, he did say that it was, you know, a tax that, he was against taxes before and now they of course are embracing the fact it has been upheld as constitutional even though it was upheld on the basis of it being a tax. >> we found one issue where mitt romney and barack obama and their campaigns do agree, that this is a penalty and not a tax. others, particularly republicans, want to turn this into a tax argument and certainly with all the reporting pete williams has done on the subject looking at chief justice roberts' opinion, he certainly viewed it as a tax as well. but right now, the romney and obama campaigns agree it's a

penalty. as for chris christie's comments referring to eric fernstrom as a spokesperson, i remind people that he is more than just a mere spokesperson for the campaign. he is very close to mitt romney. >> and was with him back in massachusetts when they were working on health care together as well. probably the longest standing advisor among the inner circle there. thank you, mark murray. democrats are now trying to beat back the republican argument that the individual mandate is a tax, pushing to instead call it a penalty. but is this argument going to work? joining me now here in aspen is los angeles mayor and chairman of the democratic national convention, antonio villaraigosa. tax, penalty, does it matter? >> i don't think it matters. they both agree. governor romney and president obama, that it's a penalty. it's a penalty for those who don't buy insurance and all of us have to pay for the people who are uninsured. so this is basically about personal responsibility. in fact, i think that's what

governor romney said when it passed. he talked a lot about personal -- when romney care passed in massachusetts, he talked a lot about personal responsibility. i think that's what it is. what's important is 36 million people are going to have health care now. people with pre-existing conditions, upwards of 100 million people, young kids who are still living at home will be able to qualify. this is a good thing. certainly a good thing in california, where we are going to establish, we're already in the process of establishing our exchange. >> a lot of the governors say they won't. we have already heard from a number of governors. i'm going to explore that also with zeke emanuel coming up, but how can this health care system work if potentially, let's say 26 of the governors, 26 states that challenged the health care in the supreme court, decide not to go along with it? you have to achieve scale in order for these exchanges and for these costs savings to be realized. >> we'll ramp up that scale i

think over time. here at aspen i heard a couple experts speak to that. you will see that they are saying now they're not going to implement it and over time they're going to. remember, it took arizona some 20 years i guess to implement medicaid. you're going to see a gradual shift. this is a good thing for people who don't have health care, a good thing for all of us. it's going to lower our debt and or deficit, as you know i think -- well, i'll let the experts speak to the exact amount but it's a positive thing and i think the governors who say they're not for it right now ultimately will be. >> let me ask about the convention. are you the chairman of the democratic convention. already we have heard from the west virginia delegation except for of course jay rockefeller, but joe manchin, the other senator, and the congress members not going to the convention. there's very little support in west virginia for president obama. claire mccaskill in a tough race in missouri, not going to the convention. what does this say when leading

democrats do not want to be seen at the convention renominating their party leader, president obama? >> i've heard senator mccaskill talk about it and she's saying she's going to campaign. that's what you do when you're up for election. >> but if the president were that popular with the voters, with the democrats in missouri, she would want to be at the convention. she would want to be in that picture. >> we will have thousands of people and the vast majority of democratic elected officials who are delegates are going to be there. i think it's a lot about nothing. at the end of the day she's campaigning. i think that's probably true for senator manchin as well. yes, it's true that in some states we got a lot of work to do. that's what campaigns are all about. i expect that the convention will frame the campaign. that's when people will be watching and it's going to be a very close election but ultimately i expect the president will win. >> you just saw the congress finally approving the transportation bill you fought so hard for. what are the benefits for people in california? >> thank you for highlighting

america fast forward and the surface transportation bill on a number of interviews we had. this is great for l.a. we will be able to accelerate -- we will double the size of our rail system, be able to accelerate a subway and a number of lines. what it means for l.a. with the extension, probably 400,000 jobs in the next decade. your next speaker, jane harmon, was a big supporter of that when she was in congress. we appreciate it. took them a long time. they extended it 11 times. there's $200 billion in it and about $2 billion for america fast forward which allows cities like my own to accelerate our projects by loaning and then paying the federal government back. >> mayor antonio villaraigosa, thank you. we will see you all summer and of course at the convention. >> i look forward to it. speaking of infrastructure and things that need to be done in this country, the heat wave that is scorching the east coast has killed at least 22 people, left millions still in misery,

particularly the 1.3 million still without power following this weekend's violent storms. nbc's tom costello in washington. tom, you're one of those who did not have power. has the power been restored to your home? tell us about the region, obviously. >> we got power back in my house sunday night, thankfully. my teenaged daughters were starting to drive me crazy complaining they had no internet. this is a very serious matter for people up and down the east coast who have no a/c, no electricity and that means they can't cool down and if you are in one of those populations that is vulnerable, the elderly, for example, the very young, it can be a very serious matter. as you suggested, quite a few deaths already attributed to this. the major utility companies here in the east, especially pepco and dominion in the greater d.c. area, have brought in repair crews from as far away as oklahoma and canada to help in what they say is quite literally a rebuilding effort, rebuilding that entire power network that

was so, in their words, destroyed by these storms that rolled through last friday night with these 91 mile per hour winds. really an unbelievable scene of destruction here in the greater d.c. area and throughout many other states, with huge trees down, power lines down. when the trees come down, of course they fall on cars, on houses, and the destruction here is really quite remarkable. we continue to hear from the utilities that they expect that almost everybody will be reconnected by friday night at about 11:00 or so, but that's still a long time for folks to have to wait if they are sitting here on a tuesday and maybe have two, three, four more days to go until power is restored. some nursing homes in the maryland area still don't have power. that's a major concern for health authorities, although we are told all hospitals have now had power restored and 911 centers should be operating normally now. but it is, as you mention, a huge rebuilding effort of this infrastructure. back to you.

>> tom, just very briefly before i let you go, is there any way to prevent this from happening again? >> you know, i asked the president of pepco, the big utility company here in the d.c. area, why don't you bury your lines so they're not vulnerable to trees falling on them. his answer was that would cost us somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 million to $3 million per mile and it's simply cost-prohibitive. but you've got to believe they are going to be considering doing that on new lines that they put in. >> thank you so much, tom. thanks for all your reporting on this. we have very sad news today for generations of americans who grew up as i did watching him on tv. andy griffith has died. the long-time tv and film star died this morning at his home in north carolina. griffith appeared on broadway and in movies as a young man, but he really became an icon when he took the role of sheriff andy taylor in the "andy griffith show." griffith, along with a young ron howard and don knotts made the show a ratings hit throughout

its eight-year run. ron howard, who got his start playing opie with griffith will join us coming up ahead. selling health care. if states aren't going to buy into the medicaid expansion, just how is this program going to work? zeke emanuel joining us right here in aspen. this is "andrea mitchell reports."

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it's hard to believe but 41% of americans in a new kaiser family foundation poll were unaware that the supreme court had even ruled on health care. guess they weren't watching pete williams. what does that mean for the president's campaign to build support coming ahead? dr. zeke emanuel is one of the architects of the president's program when he worked in the

white house, he's a former health policy advisor for the obama administration, now a professor and vice provost at the university of pennsylvania and chair of the department of medical ethics and health policy at the perelman school of medicine. i can't add another title. we don't have enough space. dr. zeke, let's talk about the health care bill. how do you sell it to the american people? half the people were unaware or 41%, i should say, not aware of the supreme court ruling. the nation evenly divided right now. so it is a blank slate. we're seeing a pickup in democratic support but the swing voters are still out there. as a political matter, how does the white house -- >> you're asking the wrong doctor about politics. >> you've still got that emanuel gene in you. >> we have a communications challenge and i think the best way is to try to summarize the law and make clear what the various provisions are. there's still a lot of confusion about the mandate and what does it mean for people who already have employer based insurance. they don't understand that

insurance satisfies the mandate and think they have to do more. many of the advantages, people are unaware are in the bill like expanding health coverage to kids up to 26 years of age, closing the doughnut hole on prescription drugs. a lot of people didn't realize this was part of the bill. there has to be this education effort and communication effort. i think that the best way is to get doctors and nurses who understand the advantages of the bill out there, explaining it to the public as well as obviously washington doing it. >> there's going to be a huge lobbying effort, couple hundred million dollars already was spent to try to defeat it, and a lot more is going to be spent to try to kill it. there's going to be a house vote july 11th. >> i think most americans want us to move on. they say it's been decided. the issue is implementation. we have done the litigation. i think we wasted a lot of the last two years, instead of getting in there and implementing it, making sure it goes well. we spent this time and a lot of

hospitals and others have been uncertain, do i actually go full steam ahead, do i wait until maybe it's not going to hold. i think the american public wants something done and we've had the litigation and the president's bill is constitutional. let's move on and get it done. >> i was talking to mayor villaraigosa about what happens if all of these governors, potentially 26 governors, maybe not that many, but you've got a lot of governors saying they're not going to implement, they're not going to do the exchanges or the medicaid expansion. if you don't reach real scale nationally, because you've got nearly half the country boycotting it, what do you do? >> first of all, the exchanges are going to go up. many states like california have pushed forward and they will continue to push forward and there is in the bill a fall-back option which is that the federal government create an exchange that operates in states that haven't had an exchange. you do have a slight contradiction here on the one hand, states want state control

and it's exactly those states that emphasize state control that have decided to do nothing. it's really too late. if you haven't done anything yet, you have a year before you really have to start open enrollment and it's too late to get those up and running. they're too complicated. i should say, if we get the exchange going in washington, anyone who has income 100% of poverty and above is eligible for subsidies in the exchange. that will cover probably up to 20 million people. second, for most states, for all states, getting into medicaid and expanding medicaid to cover everyone under 133% of poverty is a good deal. it's a good deal for two reasons. financially, they save money on their state employee insurance because that cost shift, uninsured people, increasing the price of premiums, will come down. then many states and localities actually pay uncompensated care for people who are uninsured. they pay hospitals, they pay doctors. that will go away if more people have insurance.

net/net the council of economic advisors actually did an analysis and showed that most states actually make money by implementing the health care reform. so the only reason not to join is purely idealogical. i think most of the citizenry, once this gets moving in 2014, will say let's put the ideology behind us and do the right thing. after all, getting health insurance for all americans is both morally, financially and the right thing and it really does help the whole system, able to control costs. >> dr. zeke emanuel, thank you very much. you do have the gene, the emanuel gene. that's a good thing. >> nowhere near as much as rahm does. up next, pakistan reopens critical nato supply routes and the u.s. issues an apology. hillary apologizes to pakistan. we'll have the latest with jane harm harmon. and he played opie on "the

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character that he played? tell us about andy griffith, the man. >> well, i think the character

evolved, you know, into something much closer to the real andy. in the beginning, you know, it was everyone's design to just do something broader and a little more, you know, kind of country bu bumpkin-ish or something, closer to some of his monologues which were broad and very kind of hayseed. but as the show went on, he felt very comfortable basically not providing the punchlines but being the center of the show and i think, you know, the character became a much greater reflection of andy, because andy was a natural leader, extremely intelligent, and -- but, you know, a really thoughtful guy who loved to laugh and created a

very humanistic kind of environment. there was never a lot of tension on the set but there was always a sense of professionalism. >> in what ways have you modeled your own work and life on that example and how did he stay a part of your life? >> well, as a kid, i was unbelievably fortunate in that i was really allowed to sort of witness this collaborative creative problem-solving process that andy allowed, and it was amazing. i was allowed to sit around and listen to he and the writers, you know, talk about fixing the script and improving jokes and which jokes were appropriate for characters and which jokes were perhaps undercutting the integrity of characters. the other cast members were also part of this discussion. it was just the most spectacular

education but i do try to create an environment on the films that i direct where people feel safe, they feel confident, and it's, you know, a place to excel. but the expectation is that we're all there for a reason and that's to try to do good work. so again, without getting up and making speeches, i try to create that environment as andy did. >> it's extraordinary because he had such a big influence on all of us, but to know that he had this long and creative and productive life and that there was a good person behind all of that is very reassuring. >> well, he really, i hope he's remembered not only for "the andy griffith show" but also for "matlock" and for his music and even going way back to some of

those first monologues which he did on the radio and the recording studio which are still hilarious and take a look at the overview, whether it was comedy or drama, there's a reason that he is so impactful in so many different mediums and styles, and that's because he cared about what he was doing. >> ron howard, thank you so much. thanks for joining us today to share your memories of someone who was such an important influence in your life. thank you. >> thank you. pleasure. back to politics and foreign policy. china is an easy target for mitt romney as he tries to woo voters who are frustrated over the unemployment rate and slow recovery here at home. here is romney in ohio last month. >> well, on day one i will label china a currency manipulator and that will allow me to apply tariffs where they steal our

intellectual property and kill jobs. >> james is a national correspondent for "the atlantic" magazine and author of "china airborne" and has lived there for many years off and on. and vijay is a correspondent for "the economist" and author of "need, speed and greed." both have spent a lot of time in china. thanks so much. what is your take, because you come at this not from a political perspective, of what mitt romney says about what he would do about china and about what we really need to do about china. i think you think there's a disconnect. >> two things are almost certainly true. one is if governor romney becomes president romney, he will not do what he's saying on the campaign trail, just because almost every candidate runs against china being tougher on them but when they get in office it's more or less the same policy. second, the bigger problem for america may be china's troubles in the next year or two rather than its just unstoppable

success because you know the economy there is having lots of strains, political system is under strain. it's a little bit different from the way he's portraying it. >> vijay, the slowdown in their growth rate, they still are growing faster than we are, but the phenomenal growth rate has slowed considerably and that becomes a problem eventually for us. >> it does. the world will be envious of a 6% growth rate which is considered a slowdown in china. but they have a lot of people to keep fed. so for them it's a real crisis. i think coming to the point about romney, not only will he find it difficult to implement, for example, branding them a currency manipulator on day one. that's something he said many, many times. if you actually look at what's happened to chinese exports, the account surplus used to be 10% gdp at its peak, less than 3% last year. currency has appreciated 30% in real trade weighted terms. in other words, the actual facts don't support the assertion. a lot of that has to do with the fact we're at the end of cheap china.

china wages are going up, regulatory burden is increasing. it's becoming a middle income country, not just the sweat shop to the world. china itself is grappling with the transition from being again a sweat shop economy to being more of an innovation economy. that's a very difficult transition. that's part of what's the challenge in china. >> similarly, the obama campaign, let's do a little fact-checking on that. this is their new ad out today attacking the romney campaign for outsourcing. >> what a president believes matters. mitt romney's companies were pioneers in outsourcing u.s. jobs to low wage countries. he supports tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. president obama believes in in-sourcing. he fought to save the u.s. auto industry and favors tax cuts for companies that bring jobs home. outsourcing versus in-sourcing. it matters. >> so we're talking about the

whole bain attack. they think it's working. the polls seem to indicate it's working. but the reality of that? >> certainly if you look at the bain record during romney's time there, it had big successes and some failures. i think this is sensible for the obama campaign to promote. also, it's true that during the last year or two of president obama's watch, manufacturing has had some kind of recovery in the united states. whether or not he can take direct credit for that is a whole more complex issue. but this is the natural, anybody in the president's position would be making this ad. >> is it fair to attack -- is it accurate to attack mitt romney for outsourcing from his days at private equity? i know that's a complicated question. >> there's a couple things that the ad is problematic. one, there's a decision between offshoring where you send factories overseas, and outsourcing which can be to an i.t. company down the road. so the ad conflates those two things. the second thing is during the time when he ran bain, they did make investments in companies

that were good at outsourcing but take a broader perspective. if the u.s. were to pass a law saying we don't want any offshoring or outsourcing, what would actually happen is that american companies would become less competitive. versus foreign competitors. this is not a realistic proposition. >> the stronger point they made in some bain ads is that romney got a lot of profit even when the companies were failing. i think that probably is powerful. >> to be continued, i hope you will come back. thanks a lot. we'll be right back. been all fun and gamesday s here at the hutchison household. but one dark stormy evening... there were two things i could tell: she needed a good meal and a good family. so we gave her what our other cats love, purina cat chow complete. it's the best because it has something for all of our cats! and after a couple of weeks she was healthy, happy, and definitely part of the family. we're so lucky that lucy picked us. [ female announcer ] purina cat chow complete. always there for you.

drug addiction baffles many people. abusers are often assumed to lack willpower or moral values, but science is telling us that addiction is far more complex than we think. quitting takes a lot more than good intentions. as head of the national institute on drug abuse, norra volkov is revolutionizing the way america views addiction as a disease, not a moral failing. this has huge implications for treatment. welcome. it's very good to meet you.

tell me how should we think about drug abuse? what is it scientifically that happens in the brain that makes us addicted to certain chemicals? >> drugs can attract our attention because we are hardwired to favor immediate rewards so pleasurable things motivate our behaviors and that's how we ensure that we procreate but drugs directly can activate it so they trick ourselves into believing these are behaviors we need to do. people that are vulnerable for a variety of reasons, they can result in addiction and now we know, for example, that drugs directly affect the way that the brain functions, underpinning or ability to exert self-control. >> does this affect our response to certain foods, for instance? let's talk about caffeine and coffee, chocolate, the other things that often we want to eat

that we shouldn't. >> i'm laughing but -- >> chocolate. me, too. >> drugs can be -- drugs are extraordinary rewarding but certain foods can also be very rewarding. but drugs are more potent. therefore, the pathology that ensues through pathology that ensues to the loss of control develops much faster with drugs. but yes, certainly, these other rewards can lead to a state of poor control where the person no longer wants to -- nobody wants to be obese, highly stigmatized, and yet they cannot control the urge of eating. and this is driven in part in certain instances where there's not abnormality properties, but dealing with food. >> how is this knowledge, all your studies on the brain, influence therapies and treatment modes? >> well, it's to start with, by bringing addiction as a disease of the brain focus the responsibility of treatment into the health care system.

that for the most part has ignored both the screening and prevention and has also ignored the responsibility in treating. so being able to document that this is a disease will hopefully engage the health care system. >> all of this is so interesting. at the same time, we find more and more addiction and fewer resources available to people. how can we get the information, the research that you're doing at nih into the hands of general practitioners and other doctors? >> the fact that you're interviewing me on addiction is a very strong start. to focus the attention of the impact of addiction, how much it's costing our nation and also very importantly that it can be prevented and that it can be treated. is a first alerting people, educating them so that they are then willing to put the resources necessary to do it. >> it is a great pleasure to meet you. thank you so much. and more of "andrea mitchell

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earlier this hour, i talked to actor and director ron howard about the creativity in his life, namely andy griffith who died today. well, yesterday here in aspen, i moderated a panel on the same issue exploring the role of arts and creativity in education. this for education nation in partnership with the aspen institute, the panelists included damian wertzel. and formally with the new york city ballet. he's now working with a lot of other artists on president obama's initiative for arts in eight pilot school districts across the country. here's damian describing a recent experience he had in the bronx. >> when the classroom can't be managed well, not a lot of learning gets done efficiently. you spend much more time trying to manage the classroom. one of the things the national

dance institute does so well. everybody is in line. it's simply the noise level starts rising and -- and we're back. and sure enough, the next week i came in and the teacher was doing that with her class and they were back down and it's simply skills -- they're tools. they're artistic tools, they're simple, they're child-like in a way, but certainly sharing best practices and ways to get there are what we're going to be doing. tangible things, music teachers, dance teachers, ways to focus on individuals. >> and there's a lot more of that conversation on the education nation website. and that does it for us for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports" in aspen. i'll be back in d.c. tomorrow. taking the day off so i can go to the best neighborhood parade the palisades parade. craig melvin has a look at what's next on "news nation." hi, craig.

>> happy july 4th to you, as well, andrea mitchell. coming up next, why some liberals are worried about a roberts rebound. i'm going to talk to josh gerstein who says the surprise vote on health care gives him a chance to make a strong conservative mark next year without suffering much democratic backlash. we'll talk about that plus we also are following some developing news in pakistan. some routes have been reopened there. crucial nato supply routes after the u.s. issues an apology over last year's deadly air strike. and we will have new reaction to the death of tv legend andy griffith. ini-wheat has gotta be just right. perfect golden color. rich in fiber. my dad taught me, and i taught my son out there. morning, pa. wait... who's driving the...? ♪ 99 bushels of wheat on the farm, 99 bushels of wheat ♪ [ male announcer ] yep, there's 8 filling layers of whole grain fiber in those fun little biscuits... so they stick with you, all morning long. kellogg's® mini-wheats cereal.

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