the new droid ultra by motorola. when intelligence matters. droid does. lives in the white house? plus the republicans political future. why demographics are not necessarily destiny. police treating mosques like terrorist organizations. but first the president's surprising move on syria. good morning, i'm melissa harris-perry. we're expecting to hear any moment from a u.n. spokesperson on the findings of weapons inspectors in syria. we're going to bring you that briefing as soon as it starts. but first in an unexpected move president obama stood in the

garden and announced he will wait to take action against syria until congress has had a chance to debate and vote on the use of military force. the president says he believes striking the regime is the right thing to do in response to bashar al-assad's alleged use of chemical weapons against his own people. but president obama wants people's representatives in this country, he said, to weigh in first. >> while i believe i have the authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional authorization, i know that the country will be stronger if we take actions and more effective. >> if the congress chooses to do nothing, president obama says that's on them. >> i respect for those whose views call for caution, especially when this is a country that was in war i was elected to end. if we want to in the face of

such an outrage, we must acknowledge the costs of doing nothing. here i my question for every member of congress and every member of the global community, what message will we send if a dictator can gas hundreds of children to death in plain sight and pay no price? >> today is september 1st, but the debate is due to begin the week of september 9th. congress returns from august recess. the president's announcement came after much debate within the white house and much pressure for members of congress. right now the united nations is going to report on their syrian findings. lets go to that live. >> the secretary-general held a telephone call with head of the united nations mission to investigate allegations of use of chemical weapons in the syrian republic. the doctor who returned to the haig with the rest of his team

briefed the secretary-general on the next stages of the investigation process. all preparations for classifying the samples are progressing well. sample will begin to be transferred to laboratories tomorrow. the doctor told secretary-general that two syrian officials were observing the process. the whole process will be done strictly adhering to the highest established standards of verification recognized by the organization for prohibition of chemical weapons. in light of the horrendous magnitude of the 21st of august incident in the area of damascus, the secretary-general asked the doctor to expedite the mission's analysis of the sample and information it obtained without jeopardizing the scientific time lines required for accurate analysis and to report the results to him as soon as possible. and they discussed ways to

further accelerate the process. the secretary-general personally thanked the professor for his undertaking and the performance of the team while in syria in spite of the difficult and dangerous circumstances. i just wanted to update you a little on the humanitarian picture in syria the u.n. is continuing its critical humanitarian work in syria where and when possible as well as in neighboring countries. for example, the world food program targeted 3 million people with food aid in august. last week it dispatched 2,000 emergency rations for 10,000 people o in alepa we're fighting and spike in prices led to food shortages sought to feed 350,000 in august. the world health organization coordinated provision of assistance to 3.7 million people in syria. the u.n. children's fund unicef

has reached more than 180,000 uprooted children with health support in clinics and also helped more than 10 million people in syria access drinking water. for its part the u.n. refugee agency unfcr reached more than 5 million people with much needed supplies. of course there are many more people outside of syria and neighboring countries receiving assistance. i'd also advise you that the secretary-general spoke this morning with the foreign minister of france and he will continue to stay in touch with world leaders in the days to come. yes?" >> now that the u.s. has -- [ inaudible ]

>> united nations on the latest on the chemical weapons inspections from syria. we're going to go live to kristen welker at the white house to ask about the decisions leading up to president obama's discussion yesterday as well as what we have just heard from the u.n. kristen. >> melissa, good morning. thanks for having me on. first to what the u.n. just said. you heard him announce they wanted to accelerate the time line of getting results from the u.n. inspectors. we had initially been told it would take two weeks. there's an efforts to get results earlier than two weeks. the u.n. findings have been the topic of a lot of discussion. the white house making the point that the u.n. is charged with determining whether or not there was a chemical weapons attack but not necessarily assigning blame, assigning responsibility to who is behind it. it sounds like they are trying to accelerate the process of getting results. in terms of your second

question, melissa, the decision-making process here at the white house, we're learning more about that. senior administration officials say president obama was sort of internally torn about this all week as you know back in 2007 when he was a candidate. he said that he believed that congress needed to authorize military action unless the united states was being directly threatened. so those words sort of haunting him to some extent. by all accounts it seemed as though this white house was moving forward with some type of military strike. i think what happened, melissa, there was a lot of pressure from congress for a vote. we had polls that came out and showed the public was sharply divided. what turned the president was britain. they were not going to join the u.s. in this effort. you had all systems go leading up through that. even friday when secretary kerry came out and made that compelling forceful case for

military action. we're told president obama went for a walk with his chief of staff friday night to talk to him about this and that is when he ultimately decided he wanted to put this to a vote in congress. i'm told when he told his senior advisers they were surprised. a lot were opposed to it, tried to talk him out of it but his mind was made up at that point. then saturday his advisers got on board and that is when he came out to the rose garden and announced it to everyone. it was a stunning turn of events at the white house. >> let me ask about the connection between the president's decision to delay and the u.n. wanting to accelerate theirability to give good, solid, scientific evidence about the fact there were chemicals weapons used in this circumstance. could those things come inside in a way that would mean the united states wouldn't have to go in unilaterally to make a show of military force if, in fact, the u.n. can demonstrate these weapons were used.

>> they could be linked although it's hard to see u.n. security council approving any force because russia has been so adamantly against it. it is hard to see them changing their position on this. however, i do think you bring up an important point, to let the u.n.'s investigation play out, let them put their results forward i think would only potentially bolster president obama's argument. so i think you're absolutely right, either an important piece of this. certainly if the administration had taken action before the u.n. put their findings on the table, a lot of people would say why not let the u.n. finish their investigation. i think ultimately this could wind up bolstering the president's argument. could they get the u.n. on board? it's possible, certainly possible. this hour still seems like a long shot. melissa. >> thank you, kristen welker for

your continuing coverage of this important story. >> absolutely. thank you. >> many members of congress pushed the president to brief congress and wait for authorization before taking any action against syria. one of those members was representative barbara lee, a democrat from california. you uniquely positioned at this moment because she's also the only member of either house to vote for authorization of the war on terror after 2001. congresswoman lee joins us live from california. so nice to see you this morning. >> glad to be with you, melissa. >> tell me first, you wrote a letter dated august 29th urging president obama to, in fact, ask congress to cull with congress, to go through this democratic process writing, "we strongly urge you to seek an affirmative decision of congress prior to committing any u.s. military engagement to this complex crisis." how did you react to the president's announcement yesterday. >> well, melissa, first let me

say, i believe it's 64 members joined me with that letter. i have to say the president did the right thing. he understands it's very important, we have to understand he already said he's going to use military force. it's still important congress engage in a debate. we have to look at what the ramifications of a military strike will be. we have to understand and secretary kerry said it very well, there's no real military solution and we have to get to a negotiated settlement. so i'm so pleased the president is going to wait for this debate, because the public needs to understand what the unintended consequences could be and really a little bit more about what could take place as a result of a military strike. >> you talk about here a robust debate. certainly american audiences had an opportunity to see british parliament in that kind of debate this week. honestly the 113th congress has not been so good on robust

substantive debate, it has been so partisan. how do you see this debate going? will it be substantive, about the issues or once again about an obstruction relative to the president? >> melissa, this is a very grave moment. so many people have been killed through the use of chemical weapons which we all must condemn. the world should never allow this to happen. these are crimes against humanity. i believe this is going to be a very strong bipartisan debate, because there are republicans and democrats who believed that the president should come to congress before issuing this authorization to use force. so i think members of congress really know the gravity of the moment and know that there is a possibility that this could lead to more regional conflict. it could lead to more use of chemical weapons and we have to really make sure the american public understands what is taking place. so yes, congress has not been

very productive in terms of debating much, in terms of passing legislation. we can't even get a jobs bill passed, all the tea party republicans are trying to do is defund the affordable care act. this is a moment, however, where democrats and republicans must come together and really make some decisions as to how to move forward. the use of force is very serious. many members will vote for it. many members will vote against it. what's important is we have this debate and move forward. the country should be very -- i think polling has shown over the last few days the public wants this debate. we're the representatives of the people and people deserve to have their voice heard. >> let met briefly ask you about the question of history. i believe you undoubtedly put yourself in the history books after you made that strapped about force in september 11th, 2001. has the president made history for good or ill despite the fact he's the president making a

decision to share powers on this question of military force rather than to simply go forward? i know there's been a lot of debate especially from the left about consolidation of military power in one portion of the government. is this a turning point in how we make these decisions? >> i think that the president really, as he said, this is a democracy and in a democracy the voice of the american people deserves and must be heard. when i voted against the blank check, which is what it was, melissa, in 2001, this was a resolution that allowed for an open ended war. that resolution has been used over 30 times. it is now being used to justify the use of drones, which i totally oppose. so we have to be very careful with regard to any use of force resolution. congress must make sure it's very tight, very narrow, exactly what the administration wants

and that it does not lead to any more warfare and anymore violence and use of chemical weapons. the resolution i voted against, and it was a tough vote. that resolution unfortunately will be in play until we repeal it. now i'm working to try to repeal it. just know that we cannot allow any president, any administration to continue to use force without coming to congress. i'm pleased and proud that the president is doing exactly what he said he was going to do and that is come to congress for this authorization. >> congresswoman barbara lee, thank you for joining us, especially because it's so early on the west coast. >> thank you, melissa. so glad to talk with you today. >> up next more on the president's big gamble. politically genius or political dangerous? [ male announcer ] when you wear dentures you may not know

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i'm ready to act in the face of this outrage. today i'm asking congress to send a message to the world that we're ready to move forward together as one nation. >> president obama putting syrian ball squarely in congress's court. joining me to say whether this is a brilliant political move or disaster, former spokesperson for democratic national committee. dominic, associate professor of political sign and author of "how we fight crusades, quagm e quagmires." >> foreign policy analyst for "newsweek" and mark quarterman research project that worked to end genocide and crimes against humanity. i was watching in the airport as the president stood in the rose garden. i did what i shouldn't do, tweeted my first reaction.

domestically it's politically genius. i want to talk about the international stage. domestically is this the right move the president made in terms of saying i'm not acting alone, i'm going to give this to congress. >> we've been talking about the ghost of iraq but also libya. a lot of members of congress were upset about the way he proceeded on libya. he certainly bought himself credibility with members of congress because now they can't say they didn't have an opportunity to engage. politically where the challenge may come he has an he have agenda this fall. people have to take tough votes to get this to past may not take a second or third vote on the agenda. it does shift ground a little bit. >> the president found himself in quite a box. he said earlier no unilateral action. then he said we have a red line on chemical weapons. there's all these sort of multiple positions that the

president reasonably over the years has taken. when you hear peter king or read the statement of congressman peter king saying president obama is abdicating his responsibilities, undermining the authority of future presidents and the president doesn't mean 535 members of congress to enforce his own red line. suddenly you find himself in a box. >> absolutely. the president has taken a gamble here. program the biggest gamble of his presidency so far. the upside is he could share responsibility for what could be a difficult and unpopular campaign with congress. that could pay potentially a long-term dividend but the risk is he could lose this vote. if they tried to take a vote today -- obviously they can't -- but if they tried to it's not clear it would pass the house. democrats are wary because of iraq and house republicans are pretty opposed on principles. i think he's taking it

principally in large part because of british parliament's decision. >> would he strike if congress says no, now that he put himself -- >> that's the nightmare scenario. if that would help he's faced with the stock choice of losing his personal credibility or violating the will of congress. i can only hope he's gone down this path pretty confident he'll get congress's support. >> look, on the one hand we're talking about his personal credibility, his politics. but mark, between now and the 9th when discussions will even again in the u.s. congress, there is a question whether or not assad has been empowered to continue these sorts of strikes against human beings, women and children and men and the elderly in his own nation. >> but i suppose the other side of that is whether or not assad would have been deterred if an attack occurred tomorrow or the next day or the next day. i'm wondering whether the nine

days really makes that big a difference. really the question i have, and this is a broader question if we want to talk about the strikes in general, whether they will be did he tern to a regime entirely in survival mode and what the strikes are meant to be. is it meant to be punishment for using chemical weapons? is it meant to be a deterrent against future use of chemical weapons? one of the reasons i'm looking forward to a debate, we need to have this discussion in the united states. instead of more general discussions about how this is a humanitarian response or we americans in the united states can't allow people to use chemical weapons and a willingness to break international law to enforce international law. >> for me it's this exact key point. feels like the president slowing it down, backing up a bit is perhaps simply a spanking set of bombings. simply you're not allowed to do this so we're going to have strikes is not all he thinks

this will be and that a longer term engagement is going to require that from the beginning he had congressional approval. is this in part about the president rightly or wrongly believing strikes against assad will ultimately lead to a longer term engagement in syria? >> i think this is the assessment from the beginning. that's why he didn't want to engage for the last two years. o he knew that once you break it, you have to own it. it's highly sectarian but the civil war between iran and saudi arabia. we have partners and allies in the region, saudi arabia, qatar, turkey, israel. they have been pushing the united states. i think by waiting he pushed all of them, including the free syrian army to be engaged more in the game and bring their real agenda, saudis and qataris want more sunni supremacy. this is united states vision democratic syria, more inclusive

syria. the experiment field in egypt, iraq, elsewhere because of this point, it was a more democratic and inconclusive system. president obama is aware of that. that's why he needs the nation to step in with them. the libyan will help us. we didn't lead, we led with a coalition of people. that's why we succeeded to a certain extent. to share responsibility is the right course. it's teaching the rest of the world -- the democracy of the rest of the world that the president alone doesn't decide on this issue. he needs national and congressional approval. >> when we come back i want to follow up, what it would mean, the disintegration, what the use signals about the sovereignty of that state. up next more on the credibility issue. from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i can tell you - safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge technology,

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warfare. if we won't face accountability in the face of this heinous act, what does it say about our resolve to others who flaunt international rules, to governors who build nuclear arms, terrorists who spread biological weapons, to armies who carry out genocide. >> president obama reemphasizing his case that u.s. credibility is on the line in syria. is it enough to persuade to military action. what makes a state a state t, h the state lost legitimate, now using illegitimate means. is the president saying in order to maintain our monopoly on legitimacy we're going to make sure this goes through a democratic process. >> wasn't there some suggestion perhaps the iranians pushed the

use of chemical weapons to test the waters a bit, see how far the u.s. would go. 1400 people killed by chemical weapons but over 100,000 by other methods. we're standing by. they used chemical weapons earlier in the year and we said when it's systematic use. that's when we -- the question we have to ask. obviously it's a proxy war, not just about syria, you've got other forces, hezbollah, iran, everybody has their piece and fighting for a piece of what the outcome will be. that's the new landscape. a long time ago about jobs and freedom and democracy. >> i was in syria, deadliest month ever, 700 people killed in one month. there was no president of the

state. it's a failed state syria. the question is who is in control of these sites. obviously from interception of phone calls assad regime is still involved. we know jihadists are inside. it's a failed street, all dynamics going on proxy war, civil war, iranian fighters, hezbollah engaged chl who is involved with these chemical weapons and who will they listen to, what agenda will they follow. i was in favor. today we need to step in. it's spilling all over the place. agenda number one is to contain violence and help syria on both sides. president obama taking time is pushing both sides. the free syrian army disengaged from any kind of democratic agenda or process, we've seen soldiers eating hearts and other things and the regime who is

slaughtering their own people. we will push winning pause both sides to come together for a political settlement because the end of this this conflict has to be around a table, negotiating political settlement. >> this is one of the reasons talking about chemical weapons is so much easier than humanitarian intervention, influencing the outcome of the civil war. you can say there's international law, yes, 100,000 people, chemical weapons to point to and the possibility of punishing, showing you're doing something without actually trying to get involved in this extremely difficult civil war, proxy war, with so many different actors. i think that's another reason, you don't hear the administration, secretary kerry or president obama talking about. >> regime change. >> regime change or intervene with the civil war. >> it's the elephant in the room. we recognize, less say we go

ahead with strikes, three days, we've taken out targets, then what? if there's not regime change, have we really done anything to change the lives of people? >> we will have just said if you use chemical weapons, then someone in the international community will hold you account able for it. >> that is a discreet piece you can go to congress, this is what i'm asking for. don't have to talk about the end game. kerry on friday the evidence, proof, to make his case not about the end game. >> dominic i'll let you in. karen finney from disrupt who will have her show disrupt later on this afternoon. 4:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. up next we'll continue on this conversation but we'll ask does the president's change in plans change the military's plans? [ male announcer ] these days, a small business can save by sharing.

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our military positioned assets in the region.

the chairman of the joint chiefs informed me we are prepared to strike whenever we choose. moreover, the chairman indicated to me that our capacity to execute this mission is not time sensitive. it will be effective tomorrow or next week or one month from now. and i'm prepared to give that order. >> the president there is laying out a particular claim about the time line. i'll let you know joy reed joined our panel, nerdland second in charge here. is that right? it doesn't matter whether it happens today, this evening, or after congressional authorization in terms of its effectiveness. >> right. i actually doubt it will be effective tonight or two weeks time. this is a war for credibility, america's credibility, obama's personal credibility, the democratic party's credibility. at least that's how it's set up. the question i have is what is the strategy, what is the idea

behind or about how we're going to use ends or means to achieve our ends. how are we going to get assad to negotiate? is this going to stop assad from killing civilians or will he stop killing civilians using chemical weapons or go back to tried and tested quingsal weapons which he killed many tens of thousands. what is the strategy here? that is the piece that seems to be missing. >> joy, when you listened yesterday did you walk away thinking we had become stronger on the national scene or weaker? >> it's kind of hard to say actually. on the one hand when david cameron got smacked down by his own parliament it brushed back the united states and put the president in a bad position. he didn't go to congress it would look like crass unilateralism. there's a chance the same thing could happen to him. looks how united states is

hamstrung. everyone knows how toxic and horrible our politics are. the distaste for anything barack obama wants to do and gets mired in that kind of politics and doesn't look good. on the other hand it's a savvy political move domestically. it put republicans in the house and senate on notice that you're going to have to put your arms around this, too. the president isn't jumping off this cliff, too. it's shared responsibility, if he wins the vote and he probably will, will make the president look stronger at home and abroad. >> mark, we were listening to this, this, whatever it is, bad or good in terms of what happens in the u.s. and the president is a demonstration of the messyness and reality of democracy for all these emerging democracies around the world. even as we are still imagining ourselves as the city on the hill, in terms of the youth of our republic, to say, look, you know what, my ego may be whatever it is, my credibility

may be whatever it is but i'm going to pause because it's a process. >> i may have the biggest army in the world bar none, everyone else added up together but i'm not going to send my cruise missiles without following the process. even backing it up before that, this is a situation the president was in. no security council backing for this action. the fail-safe in the u.n., wasn't fail-safe the general assembly council connect, no assembly backing. we're already outside international law for one thing. back in the usual u.s. position of unilateral intervention, bilateral with a couple of states supporting you. britain backs away and doesn't act. u.s. in the position of completely unilateral under international law illegal action. it helps on the domestic front and probably internationally people see u.s. is going to follow rule of law, follow steps

but still talking about unilateral interaction that's outside of international law. >> the world groernlgs w. bush, no tyrants, dictators after you which we'll change the shape of the middle east, which we didn't do. we failed dramatically. president obama is teaching the world, democracy is messy. he's pushing our allies to step up with us. israelis on the borders and say, israel -- u.s. have to help us take out iran or take iran on our behalf. he's looking at them saying, you know what, we're in this together. come with me if you want to join me in this incredible complicated mission. >> i'm feeling bad for the french today. poor old lon is like we're not going by ourselves. >> we should wait for the u.n. they are coming out and this will be a game change.

>> we will know something at that point. dominik and lula, brand-new newlywed and mark, thank you for being here. >> tension in syria taking a toll right here at home. and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media can be a challenge. that's why we partnered with hp to build the new nascar fan and media engagement center. hp's technology helps us turn millions of tweets, posts and stories into real-time business insights that help nascar win with our fans.

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no matter what the u.s. does next in syria, tensions between the two countries are having impact at home. secretary of state john kerry making the case for military action stocks fell 31 points friday giving the dow a loss of 4.5% for the month of august. the dow's worst month since may 2012. if you're planning to hit the roads this labor day weekend, expect slightly higher prices at the pump. according to aaa, national price for a gallon of ledded $3.58, $0.05 higher than a week ago. oil and gas prices could increase further if there's a

u.s. attack on syria. here in new york in addition to sending extra officers during i don't mean kidnapper, nypd says they will take measures to kick up security if and when the u.s. takes action against syria. nypd taking a different approach to other houses of worship in this city. that story up next. ♪ very, very heavy. i'm not big enough or strong enough for this. there should be some way to make it easier. [ doorbell rings ] [ morty ] here's a box, babe. open it up. oh my goodness! what is a wetjet? some kind of a mopping device. there's a lot of dirt on here. morty, look at how easy it is. it's almost like dancing. [ both humming ] this is called the swiffer dance.

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less than three weeks after a federal judge declared stop and frisk unconstitutional, the new york police department and commissioner ray kelly are once again under fire for the way they treat members of the minority community. according to new york magazine this week after 9/11 policies kelly put in place pushed deeply into the private lives of new yorkers surveilling muslims in their mosques, sporting fields, businesses, social clubs, even their home in a way not seen in america since fbi and cia

monitored anti-war activists during the nixon administration. aclu in conjunction with other groups sued nypd in june over these policies and revelations about nypd sprig-of- spying are in document recently obtained by "associated press" and part of an upcoming back. affirm p reports nypd secretly labeled entire mosques as terrorists organizations, something that lets them sbi on religious leaders, record services and all without any evidence of criminality. for his part kelly denied the report on wednesday's appearance on wednesday's appearance on msnbc's "morning joe." >> i haven't seen the story but they are hyping a book coming out next week. if it's a reflection of the article, the book will be a fair amount of fiction, half truths, lots of quotes from unnamed sources. our sin, to have the temerity,

the chutzpah to go into the federal government territory of counter-terrorism and try to protect this city by speed limiting what the federal government has done. >> with me is msnbc contributor joy reid and joining us our attorney, raul reyez, global editor michael and linda, how do you respond to ray kelly saying it's going to be full of half truths and fiction and this sort of thing. >> they are nypd documents organizations like mine as terrorism enterprises. so what he's saying a person like me, a mom, born and raised in brooklyn, dedicated herself to nonprofit, someone running a terrorist enterprise as if we're harboring terrorism in our organization. i want to tell fellow americans

this is not fiction, this is real live facts, what we live in the muslim community where we pray, eat, study, everything is under surveillance by the new york police department solely based on our faith and no criminal suspicion. >> obviously there's been a ton of response in the american public, nsa to edward snowden case, this idea of americans under surveillance. the question is whether or not i can look at you and see you as an american, perceive those as fellow americans, muslim also existing under something we know now has been going on for more than a decade. >> my son born in 1999, my daughter 2004, kids only lived in a post 9/11 america. why their mother is in a newspaper, why their mother has been designated a terrorist by american government. my children only understand they are like americans. they think they are like every

child in their classroom. it hurts me to see there was this big twitter thing about nsa. it was like wait a minute, this has been happening. is it okay when it's happening to american muslim community but not for everything. nsa that's one thing, what's happening to us is a whole other situation. nypd wanted to infiltrate board of directors of my organization. imagine working in an organization or corporation where you don't know who you're working with, who works for you. you can't trust the people you work with, pray with in the mosque. people have understand it's psychological warfare for a community that feels marginalized and ostracized. they should see us as partners, not suspects. how are you going to get information you need when there are potentially extremists and others in every community. >> i don't even have to imagine it. there's a whole history of this behavior against civil rights

and anti-war organizations, orchestration -- that opponent about psychological warfare happened in the 1960s and '70s. >> it's so ironic people up in arms were likening it. we've had profiling and infiltrations nng case going back to the top of the iraq war where you had federal government infiltrating peace organizations, grandmas knitting sweaters were having people infiltrate the group. the huge irony, comparing it to nsa, targeting a community based on the way you look, you're a minority, plaque or hispanic man, we're going for section you off and target you. the same entity saying we're going to look at you but nsa throwing everyone in a database, outraged about the indiscriminate use of data but when it comes to spch communities, black and brown, muslim, we're cool with that.

>> that's the most troubling aspect of this whole stories with nypd. this is not an issue about muslim americans. this is something that involves -- they place an entire community under scrutiny because of their religious beliefs. this is a case about our own civil rights, all americans, all citizens. there is a violation, equal protection clause, that's what's so deeply troubling, they use this as a basis for the program and targeted the entire community. religious profiling, isn't that cool. >> sfot unlike profiling with paper please laws and other places, stop and frisk, overt against american muslim community, people all saying i am going to determine because of your participation, your identity that, in fact, you deserve an extra layer of surveillance. >> everyone is cool with that. talking about white people. >> that's right. >> you said that, not me. >> we're the ones not targeted.

we have muslim americans, black, latinos, women being targeted. we're the ones not being targeted. in the spirit of king having been at the march when king talked in '63 white freedom is inextricably bound to black freedom, the same thing with muslim americans. i am not free if your community is targeted. as white people in this country we can't stand for this either. if our fellow american is targeted because of the color of their skin or religious background we have to stand up, too, and say this is wrong. >> this is wrong. we will follow what is happening next and we hope you'll have an opportunity to come back to the table. thank you. particularly as we come up on september 11th anniversary, we know this becomes a time where it's particularly heightened in the city and around the country. thanks so much for being here. coming up next, dr. king's dream and what it means when a black president is in the white house. also, could the gop paint the white house red in the next

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new creamy alfredo soup. inspired by perfection. welcome back. i'm melissa harris-perry. 24 hours ago syria seemed you all but certain. strong words from president and secretary of state. united nations pulled weapons inspectors out early. united states had five guided missile destroys in position eastern mediterranean each armed with up to 50 tomahawk cruise missiles. what a difference a day makes. kmaetly unexpectedly president obama announced yesterday afternoon while he wants to attack syria he won't, not without first getting the authorization to do so from congress. >> i have decide the united states should take military action against syrian targets.

i will seek authorization from congress. we all know there's no easy options. i wasn't elected to avoid hard decisions and neither were house and senate. >> house speaker john boehner says he expects the house to consider a measure whether to authorize military action in syria the week of september 9th when they return from their summer recess. secretary of state kerry announced on "meet the press," the president believes he can still authorize strikes even if congress says no. >> if congress says no, the president will act regardless of what congress says? >> i said the president is going to act but the congress will do what's right. >> seeking congressional authorization, kristen welker, nice to have you. >> thanks for having me. >> something said this morning about the proof the u.s. has in

syria. >> in the last 24 hours we have learned through samples that were provided to the united states that have now been tested from first responders in east damascus and hair samples and blood samples have tested positive for signatures of sarin. so this case is building and this case will build. >> so with this case building, as the secretary of state said there, can congress reasonably say no? >> they can say no but i do think you're right to make that point melissa. there is a lot of pressure right now on congress in part because they were asking for vote. a number of members, dozens of them signing a letter urging president obama to put this matter to a vote. what is interesting you're seeing divisions in congress. you have hawkish republicans like john mccain urging

president obama to take action signaling they aren't sure how they are going to vote on this measure. in part mccain would like stronger action, would like to see assad taken out all together. then when you look at the house you have members who are isolationists, that say united states shouldn't get engaged in the middle east. it's not going to be easy to get this through congress. we're seeing white house build its case. we know there's a classified briefing on capitol hill today with members of the house. this is part of the white house you got pressure on them to pass this resolution once put before them. i anticipate, melissa, going forward meetings at the white house, between the white house and capitol hill. all week long there's going to be a flurry of activity as the administration tries to get the measure passed. >> we heard secretary of state speaking in a surprisingly forceful way before the

president spoke about the absolute need to move on this. he continues to speak in that tone suggesting to me, at least, that the administration wants to continue to make this case and make it daekt directly to the american people even as it is asking congress to authorize the acti action. >> you're right. they need to keep making the case to the american people. sharply divided. 50% of americans are opposed to military action toward syria. however, if you ask people specifically about a limited military strike, then 50% of people say they can back that. look, this is a political gamble for president obama. if congress votes no, then what? secretary kerry indicating the president would have the legal means to move forward with a strike against syria. however, how does that happen? how does president obama make that happen. it would get politically a lot

more difficult. they are going to do everything possible to get a yes vote in congress when this is officially taken up the week of september 9th, which is when all of congress returns from recess. we do know there are going to be some hearings on the hill this week to to begin the process of debate. >> kristen welker, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> joining me jim maceda live from the turkish border with syria. jim, what has been the reaction to the president's decision there on the ground in syria? >> hi, melissa. well, it really depends on which side of the front lines you find yourself on. the official opposition, that is syrian national coalition said today it was deeply disappointed whan it described as president obama's flip flopping really, his indecision.

to hiccup on what kristen was saying looks like the u.s. will authorize military action, there is a strong chance. the syrian opposition in washington is on the phone calling congress to do just that. on the other hand there's almost gloegt on the part of the assad regime. one of its state run dailies called obama's sudden backing off a start of the, quote, american retreat. we're talking about philosophical terms now. it's a sign, they said, of defeat and isolation. for ordinary syrians, melissa, it means more fear, more worry, not knowing when an attack will happen or even if it will happen. >> instead, i feel we have to be very careful assuming assad's rhetoric is representative of his own position much less a reality of on the ground there. is it possible the delay gives assad time and the regime time

to move their weapons, hide them, make choices that will make our ultimate intervention, if we, in fact, do decide to intervene more difficult? >> well, that's absolutely true. what are we talking about, putting off an attack or obama putting off an attack for 10 days, two weeks. of course that will give bashar al-assad ample time to hide his tanks, heavy weapons. there's already reports from damascus, residents seeing soldiers and equipment moved into their own residential areas, moving and dispersing next to their homes, even inside their schools. it also gives the regime time to hide its chemical weapons if, in fact, they become a target. you haven't mentioned the telegraphing of this operation. but for me, somebody who has covered conflict for i hate to say going on 40 years, i've

never seen anything like this. it's as a manual attached to each and every from secretary kerry, here is how to minimize damage if you follow instructions. it's unprecedented. >> this is a new moment in how we are engaging with the world? >> i think the it is a new moment, unprecedented way. of course, we know president obama is stuck between a rock and a hard place, i hate to use that cliche. there's got to be another way to say it but he has to send out two conflicting messages. on the one hand he's telling assad you are going to be punished. it's going to happen inevitably. on the other hand he's saying we're not going to hurt you too much, decaptiate you, bring down your regime because we do not know what evil will come in your place.

so it's very hard to square those two circles or circle those two squares and that's where we are today. >> jim maceda near the turkish border of syria. i appreciate your frankness in responding there. >> sure. my pleasure. >> stay right there because up next we're going to switch gears quite a bit. we're going to talk about another big speech by president obama this week. the speech he gave at the anniversary of the march on washington. shing even little ths can become major victories. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. when i was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, my rheumatologist prescribed enbrel for my pain and stiffness, and to help stop joint damage. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. you should not start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections,

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wednesday on the anniversary of the march on washington, president obama stood on the steps of the lincoln memorial. on this engraving that marks the very same spot where dr. martin luther king stood 50 years ago. the president's view this week was very much the same as the one that unfolded before dr. king in 1963. a crowd of people gathered

around the reflecting pool listening to words that resounded across the national mall and throughout history. -of- dream. when president obama took king's place this week, he paid homage not only to king's dream but to the tireless efforts that brought this dream to fruition in the form of landmark civil rights policy. >> because they kept heart, america changed. because they marched the civil rights law was passed. because they marched a voting rights law was signed. because they marched doors of opportunity and education swing open so their daughters and sons could finally imagine a life for themselves beyond washing somebody else's laundry or shining somebody else's shoes. >> in a moment as the president looked back at the successes of the civil rights movement he also recognized the work today that still remains unfinished.

>> to secure the gains this country has made requires constant vinlg vinlle liens, ensuring scales of justice work equally for all, to make sure criminal justice system not a pipeline for underfunded schools to overcrowded jails it requires -- >> with that historic positioned himself right in the middle of the living embodiment of what can be accomplished through the struggle for equality. >> because they march city councils changed and state legislature changed, congress changed. and yes, eventually the white house changed. >> so here is the trick, listening to president obama's words accompanied by that visual image of him standing literally in dr. king's place it's easy to see the prosecute as the inheriter of king's legacy but pause.

take a look at this photo. this was taken march 18th, 1966, when dr. king met with lyndon b. john. he was the southern leadership conference chairman and they had turned their attentions toward a fair housing campaign in chicago. president johnson is trying unsuccessfully to push congress to pass discrimination banning discrimination in house. when you think about president obama as the successor to one of the men in that picture? where would you seat him? careful. with the picture of president on the steps in king's position you might think that but you would be wrong. in the photo, one man is the visitor, one at home. one pushing for housing reform from outside the white house walls, the other vested in the power of the state to implement those reforms into law. president obama is not dr. king, he's president johnson.

president obama, like lbj, is the inheriter, the executive office, only 44 americans have ever occupied. yet even as you draw a direct line linking presidents obama and johnson in the presidential lineage, it's hard to imagine the existence of a president obama without the life and work of martin luther king which leaves us with a complicated moment at this historical moment, what is our expectation of the presidency when the person has occupies the white house is black. joining me joy rooeid, reyez, t white guy at the table, political director for russell simmons and adam sur for political.com, the black guy at the table. i'm teasing there. but i'm teasing in part because my whole goal here is to complicate race and politics a

bit. there can be a push from supporters to see all opposition as naked racism and also for supporters of the president to see everything he does as necessarily in the civil rights tradition. how do we navigate the complicated nature of race. >> king never sought office. it was a commentary to congress. every single member of congress was invited, 163, as they were this year. they were invited to spectate, not to speak. they were invited because there was a bill president kennedy introduced, took a year to pass. it was going nowhere. he 75 members of house and senate show up in 1963, they politely listened and nothing happened. that march was a commentary on power. president kennedy was not invited to speak. they met with him afterward. he commended them on speeches. they were there to support legislation and get 10 demands

through congress. this year what you had were three presidents, the daughters of two presidents, including johnson and kennedy on stage talking to the audience and saying to them essentially that you have to go out and reagitate again the same congress of the united states. >> lets listen to the president say exactly that and adam, i want you to respond to this. >> everyone who realizes what those glorious patriots knew on that day, that change does not come from washington but to washington. that change has always been built oppose our willingness, we, the people, to take on the mantle of citizenship. you are marching. >> the complicated thing is when he says it's not from washington, he's washington in that moment, in a way that has never happened before. >> i think what he's saying, obama is saying to us he cannot play the king role and johnson role at the same time. he can actually only play the johnson role. what's happened, to a certain

extent, the entire speech is telling people not to see his presidency as a mark of overcome, we've come a long way but more to come. it's your job as congress to do what needs to be done. >> i think one other thing that's very telling in the speech, when we listen to his words, what he's talking about in the speech, he is drawing a distinction in the speech. he's drawing a distinction, martin luther king was an activist, not a politician. the role president obama is now he is constrained by office. he cannot be the one leading the call to action. he can help push legislation along but that is not his role. i think in a sense because of what he embodies he's walking an almost impossible line. especially when we look where our country is now, if you want to look at the progress we have made in equality and civil

rights. factor his presidency, many of public policies that fight racism, affirmative action, school desegregation policies, we are going backwards in that area. he is in a very precarious position here. >> i think that he in his speech still feels lying an outsider in washington. he's treated like an outsider in washington. he's still fighting the fight he never thought he had to fight once he got in the white house. that's what complicates. he look at him as coach of a team and the owner is white. he's fighting white establishment controlling vote rights, affirmative action, controlling things like women's rights. he's still fighting those fights. he gets on the stage of the world supposedly with the embodiment of dr. king but doesn't feel either-or. >> i'm generally in favor, i

have my cy teex, part of me wants to say, dude, really, we went out, got the vote, elected you, are you saying -- for the just him but all of us, that it means nothing. not only nothing because we'd be better off electing only white officials, they won't evoke racial animosity. we shouldn't run candidates of color anymore, because it doesn't make any difference if a candidate of color wins and will cause the negative backlash. is that the story we end up saying? >> when he quoted dr. king in his speech, exactly what it is. what's the point of an integrated table where you can't afford the meal. where we have is the integrated table we don't have the second part of that. that's exactly the message the president was trying to say. >> i'm not sure the table is

integrated. the rule is you can come to the table, not a allow against coming but it's not clear -- >> imagine for a moment if dr. king had become president of the united states, run against goldwater, the exact same thing would have happened. it would provoked this tremendous horrifying backlash and the idea would be how will the country work through that. the thing that's symmetrical between king and obama, you have this african-american that becomes president, provokes real backlash, some racial, some a bigger demographic anxiety, something to do with race and changing economy and people's anxiety within it. what he's saying, he was up there with oprah, too. the success of a few of us does not mean we've overcome. he keeps provoking to fight the battle. >> here was this march for pop policy. the congress does not act. what does happen after the march, four little girls are killed by white supremacists in their church. there was a response but on a different -- we're going to stay on this topic when we come back.

as we go out i want you to see images. when we talk about complications of the pleasanton being african-american, there's an image at the march this week, president obama's face on the american flag in the place where -- for me this image was such a strikingly complicated one. what would it mean to have simultaneous racial pride and patriotism. we've had a lot of anxiety about the flag in the past. ♪

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unkingly territory. >> there were times when some of us claiming to push for change lost our way. the anguish of assassinations set of self-defeating riots. legitimate grievances against police brutality tipped into excuse making for criminal behavior. and what had once been a call for equality of opportunity, the chance for all americans to work hard and get ahead was too often framed as a mere desire for government support. if we had no agency in our own deliberation, as if poverty wasn't an excuse for not raising your child, the bigotry of others was reason to give up on yourself. >> all right. that was a hard part of the speech to listen to. friend of nerdland jelani cobb tweeted the speech marks the end at the point which i can think

of myself as any variety of obama supporter. hashtag mow 50. dr. king didn't feel a sense to share cultural pathology for americans, their equality but the president did. >> one thing that really struck me with these words, i support this president and understand where he's coming from. i think he's trying to impart older experience the way older people do with younger people, it comes across as misguided. what's troubling to me when he starts talking about race riots, through history, race riots have overwhelmingly been white people against people of color. also the notion of poverty is no excuse of not being a good parent. in fact, it's extremely hard to be a good parent you don't have

daycare -- >> multiple jobs. >> that alone is factually wrong and he's putting that out there. that's troubling. >> being the only first generation american at the table, he sounds a lot like my father. >> immigrant narrative. >> my parents emigrated from ghana. you hear this narrative from black folk outside the united states, have this view of african-americans, wait a minute, you have been here a long time you have to get through and move past what happened. barack obama himself is not consult really from the african-american slave narrative. his family did not come from the south. the black part of his family came from africa. he was raised by white americans. his whole personal cultural view is different from african-americans. i think sometimes he speaks about african-americans in that warks the same way my dad does speak about african-americans and it can be very off putting

to black folks. >> i was siting with a group of really brilliant elderly african-americans yesterday at my friend's home. they were saying oh, no, baby. yes. these were african-american from philadelphia, from the great migration. these children today need to pull up their pants and stop listening to -- >> i love the narrative but there is this old folks in the community telling younger people to do better. >> i think the problem with it is it's such a caricature, that person in the way obama described them does not exist. it's the cousin who loves to invoke, sometimes funny not old. that part of the speech right before he chastises politicians for invoking the very stereotype he then invokes in the next paragraph of the speech. very strange. it very much feels like a --

when is obama going to mention black cultural pathology. it feels out of place in the speech he was giving particularly historical context. look, there's a lot that happened before those riots happened and the riots are not actually a big factor, you know, in comparison to that 200 years that came before. >> is this about the complication of being simultaneously the inheriter of lbj's office but of martin luther king's legacy. i wonder if this president who did an extraordinary thing symbolically when he stood on behalf of trayvon martin/zimmerman verdict simply saying i could have been trayvon, trayvon could have been me. is his ability to do that in a way that would be uncomplicated for king in part requiring him to do this sort of cultural pathology, black fatherhood, cousin pooki narrative in order

to give him the basis with other audiences to have the trayvon moment? >> i think so. i think that's where the complication comes in. there's no playbook for the first black president. has he to make this up. just a month ago the speech about george zimmerman verdict when he was explaining to what america what it is to be black and why so many young black men have issues being profiled including him growing up in a department store. have you to play washington, they want to hear this rap. this isn't the first time. morehouse college. >> first time standing where king. >> he has to play washington, white america, black america, that's an incredibly complicated position to be in. i don't envy that position. i wish he didn't say it at that moment but i've heard it before. >> the price of saying i could have been trayvon but give to

those, i do want to hear your answer. they have it if it's wrong but still inclusive. >> i'm always as least interested in the response of audiences, citizens to what the president himself says. there was a kind of silence at that moment that was telling because of so much applause that occurred earlier, even saturday when eric holder stood. the applause, using american state for the purposes of justice got a sort of response from that crowd. i'm always -- i don't mean to judge it as good or bad but interesting to me empierririemp >> when obama says you're agents of your own liberation, so to speak, that gets applause from

black audiences typically. what's different here is invoking the caricature that doesn't think so. it's gone a step farther than before. >> we undoubtedly -- we're not going to resolve this in any way. luckily the president will still be black next week. it was an interesting historic moment. i wanted to put a pin in that for at least a moment. up neck, the real reason republicans were missing from the king celebrations. wow, seriously? [ male announcer ] these days, a small business can save by sharing. like carpools... polly wants to know if we can pick her up. yeah, we can make room. yeah. [ male announcer ] ...office space. yes, we're loving this communal seating. it's great. [ male announcer ] the best thing to share? a data plan. at&t mobile share for business. one bucket of data for everyone on the plan, unlimited talk and text on smart phones. now, everyone's in the spirit of sharing. hey, can i borrow your boat this weekend?

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national committee who responded with a few wow seriouslies of their own. over republicans -- mouthpiece bill o'reilly complained on his show wednesday no republicans and no conservatives were invited. given the republican party's consistent claim they are looking to expand their ranks by deepening diversity, it's understandable they would not show the love beyond their base. they only have themselves to blame. as it turns out the march organizers did extend invitations to leaders, both president bush, john cantor, all came back with rsvp, cannot attend. which prompted the moment that had us really going, wow, seriously? bill o'reilly making an apology for flubbing the facts. never fear, there will never be

a shortage of unapologetic conservatives as long as george will is talking. with george stephanopoulos, the conversation turned to racial equality in the 50 years since the march. going around the table the panelists shared their thoughts on okay stack else, full equality of all americans. everyone weighed in adding instructialry teex, unemployment, poverty, vote rights. at which point the insightful portion of the conversation came to a screeching halt. >> which you refer were foreshadowed something that happened eight months after the march. eight months after that a young social scientist from harvard working in the labor department published a report. daniel patrick moynihan. a crisis in the community, 24% of african-american are born to unmarried women, today it's triple, 72%.

that, not an absence of rights, is surely the biggest impediment. >> the face is classic there. i like to think of it as the lord of rings approach, one ring for them all. beyonce, if you want to be equal, put a ring on it. who needs equal rights when small application of a small circular piece of metal left hand for all african-american mothers will let freedom ring throughout the land. really, george. if you wanted to see an impediment consider an african-american family at a restaurant. a family, 25, showed up for good-bye party at the wild wing in north charleston waited patiently to be seated two hours before the manager told them the reason for their wait. according to the family a white woman eating at the restaurant said she felt threatened by the group and didn't want them sitting near her. when a member of the party began videotaping the encounter for evidence of discrimination, the

manager of the restaurant kicked them all out. that happened in 2013, the week we commemorated a movement for racial equality. you can't help but hear this story and think, wow...seriously? yes! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues... with three strains of good bacteria. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'.

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leads many to wonder if republicans will be painting all of d.c. red in 2016. joining me thomas edsall, columnist and professor of journalism. nice to have you prchlt good to be with you. >> the caution you suggest is this idea demographics are not destiny. what do you see as scenarios that could lead to republican rivals as early as 2016? >> dollar number of them. one is obama care turns out to be very hard to introduce and there are difficulties to it. some unions are opposed to it, it becomes increasingly difficulty and makes it into a liability for democrats. this is a hypothetical situation. it could well work the other way but that's a possibility. secondly, hillary clinton is the big unknown. she may well be the perfect candidate. she may also be not a good

candidate. she was not that good a candidate in 2008 and her able to come across as a strong presidential candidate in 2016 is still unknown. third, there's the current situation in syria and god knows what's going to happen throughout the middle east. all that is a firecracker that could blow up at any time. fourth, you have the economy and no one knows where the economy is going. the economy has been improving but the job market has not been improving that much. >> professor, there was one other piece i particularly wanted to ask you about. this is the idea within the republican party there were will potential candidates of color that when we look at 2016, in fact, it may be the republicans who are most likely to put a nonwhite candidate on the ballot. one of them might, in fact, be

my current governor bobby jindal. i wanted to read to you something he wrote last week. governor jindal wrote there is no more shallow, hollow or soulless way to think about human beings than in terms of their skin color. it's inane. why would anyone give those to pigmentation of epidermis. it's immoral not to mention stupid. oops, there's that word again. race isn't about epidermis, butterfield, one of our favorite congressmen out of carolina, his epidermis quite pale, adam has a pale epidermis, yet these are people who are black folks. is this where the republican party will get into trouble it doesn't have a good understanding of what race actually is? >> i don't think it has much understanding. the question, though, really is can they continue to be an overwhelmingly white party and

continue to win. i think that that is a possibility for 2016. in the long run that's going to be problematic and there's probably going to have to be changes in the republican party if it wants to continue to be a competitive party. >> what do you make of that claim they can be overwhelming and still compete. >> i don't think that's beyond possibility particularly when looking at hillary clinton. whatever her flaws are she is a candidate. when it comes time for her to run, that will be historic. she is going to produce tremendous excitement among women, hispanics, believe me overwhelming majority of latinos loved hillary clinton, they wanted her to get nomination last time. she has a strong base of support in the african-american community as well. right there that is america. how can republicans go forward. >> i so disagree. i think a hillary clinton

candidacy is very early, i may change my mind. don't hold me to this, people, that candidacy would fail to bring out the margin of democrats that won for president obama, those african-american voters many of them young and first time voters who showed up despite all of the restrictions on voting to vote because it was president obama. >> it's very complicated. for hillary clinton the biggest enemy is element of surprise. that's what got her in '08. she wasn't ready for what obama was bringing to the table. they had a presumption of the black vote because of bill clinton. you get elected officials, members of congress who, in fact, did not carry the day with their own districts because they chose clinton and their voters chose obama. the problem is two things. one, high probability they will nominate someone from the south, bobby jindal, someone from florida. >> if they do southwest they may have a better chance but likelihood for me a southern

candidate, highly ideological, base isn't going to tolerate somebody too what they would consider moderate we would consider conservative. there's the number, minority i. the trend going back to bill clinton is that every four years you have 2% more of the electorate that is minority. now the question as you ask is does hillary have the same pull with black and latino voters that barack obama does. probably not the same intensity but she's got that other x-factor which is women. >> i think she does have it with latinos and with the record latino turnout this last time it was 48% of eligible latinos voted so there's tremendous potential going forward. >> she was the choice of latino voters in spanish media households during that primary between her and president obama initially. tom izzo, i appreciate your piece. i love that demographics are not destiny and we have to be more complicated as we talk about vote 2014 and 2016.

i appreciate you joining us today. >> i will still come back. i grew up in d.c. >> up next, eight years since hurricane katrina. my footnote. [ school bell rings ] [ male announcer ] from the last day of school, back to the first. they're gonna create a ton of research papers and important projects. so make sure they've got a safe place to keep them all. this week only get 16 gig flash drives for $7.87. staples has it. staples. that was easy.

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the 50th anniversary of the march on washington rightfully dominated this week's conversations about historic important moments. where i live, we remembered another. thursday marked eight years since the federal levees gave way in the aftermath of hurricane katrina flooding new orleans killing nearly 2,000 people and leaving billions of property damage. thursday made one year since i lost my home to the wrath of hurricane isaac which came ashore in new orleans on august 29th, 2012, destroying 59,000 homes in louisiana including one of mine. it was the katrina damaged house that my husband and i had

purchased with hopes of renovating it into our dream home. it was reduced to rubble. and today it is still an empty lot. as the nation paused this week to reflect on 50 years of progress and frustration in our ongoing march for justice, so too did the people of new orleans use the eighth anniversary of katrina to ask the question martin luther king posed in 1967. where do we go from here? chaos or community? where do we go as we confront global warming even as a multimillion dollar project begins to restore coastal wetlands, the gulf coast continues to lose precious natural barriers by the hour. will we protect communities or descend into ecological chaos? where do we go as we address crumbling infrastructure. the levees are rebuilt but they're not stronger than they were wet years ago. will we build our communities or watch them fall away into the

chaos of inaction? where do we go as we address inequality? when president obama spoke in the aftermath of katrina, he said this. >> as all of us saw on television, there's deep persistent poverty in this region as well. that poverty has roots in the history of racial discrimination which cut off generations from the opportunity of america. we have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action. >> and yet eight years later both poverty and inequality have increased since president bush first declared our duty to confront it with bold action. will we finally do the work of building a prosperous interracial community or will we allow the chaos of radical inequality to be our new normal? 50 years since the march on washington, eight years since the catastrophic levee failure after katrina, the question we

mains, where do we go from here? chaos or community? that's our show for today. thanks at home for watching. see you next saturday at 10:00 a.m. eastern. coming up, "weekends with alex witt." [ male announcer ] when you have sinus pressure and pain, you feel...squeezed. congested. beat down. crushed. as if the weight of the world is resting on your face. but sudafed gives you maximum strength sinus pressure and pain relief. so you feel free. liberated. released. decongested. open for business. [ inhales, exhales ] [ male announcer ] powerful sinus relief from the #1 pharmacist recommended brand. sudafed. open up. and this park is the inside of your body. see, the special psyllium fiber in metamucil actually gels. and that gelling helps to lower some cholesterol. metamucil. 3 amazing benefits in 1 super fiber.

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