be working very hard over the next several days to see what the possibilities are there. >> but hours before the meeting, a new twist in an already unpredictable series of events. a direct appeal to the american people from vladimir putin from the pages of the "new york times." begins as an essay on unilateralism that evolves into criticism. millions around the world increasingly see america not as a model of democracy, writes putin, but relying solely on brute force. he weighs in concluding it is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional. we're all different. when we ask for the lords blessings, we must not forget god created us equal. the tone rankled leon panetta as well as chair of foreign relations committee bob menendez. >> putin should be the last

person to lecture the united states about human values and human rights. >> to be honest, i was at dinner and almost wanted to vomit. >> the man tasked with sitting down and negotiating, secretary of state john kerry arrived in geneva hours ago. so far remained mum on the latest salvo. in an effort to put 1,000 ton chemical weapons arsenal under international control, each side has been vocal about who truly has the upper hand. yesterday the obama administration continued to assert the americans and not the russians were in the driver's seat. >> there is no question that the credible threat of u.s. military force brought us this diplomatic opening. a complete about face by the syrian regime and acknowledgement for the first time in its existence they hold chemical weapons. >> in an interview with russian state tv syrian president bashar al assad made the case for putin

confirming the stockpile would be placed under international control assad said the admission and confession were not due to the u.s. military threat but the result of russian initiative. of course the only problem with all the debate over who should take a bow is the reality this drama is far from over. u.s.-russia talks are set to begin in just over an hour. joining me washington bureau chief at mother jones and washington bureau chief at "huffington post" ryan gear and former rnc chair, national security council under president bush and obama and senior at the stone bridge group a man with a long introduction ben chang. we're very happy to have you on the program. good to have you. >> thank you, alex. >> do you think this has a measurable effect on diplomatic negotiations? >> the op-ed certainly caused ripples around the water coolers

throughout this town, alex. i found it an amazing act of hubris, actually. on a side note, say what you will about old media, "new york times" op-ed, traditional -- >> the great lady still packs a punch. >> driving today's discussion. vladimir putin is a savvy guy. at the end of the day what we see, vladimir putin needs to put actions behind his words, his sergey lavrov is embarking on with john kerry in geneva. the end of the day russians proposing this now own it. you heard the white house say this and others. in my conversations, it's clear secretary kerry and his team are very aware of the environment they are going into and very savvy about the challenges that remain ahead. in your introduction, you talked about how this will be a long

process. it certainly will be. it's important to remember the players and personalities behind all of these statements. it's not a profound insight but look a little bit at history. vladimir putin was a kgb agent as other folks have noted before. sergey lavrov, a very experienced foreign minister was russians ambassador to the u.n. security council for years and years, knows the intricacies of u.n. negotiations and wordsmithing. one of the things we've heard president say on down, this cannot be an opportunity to obfuscate or delay. teams out there negotiate aware there needs to be a short window to see something tangible come about from the discussions. >> colloquially is putin doing this because he needs to show strength on the international stage before going into negotiations? it certainly seemed to undermine a spirit of goodwill, if you can even call it that, that one

would want to cultivate before sitting down with the americans to negotiate the cessation of chemical weapons use and ceding the supply to the international community. >> i agree. alex, it's between you and me and the distinguished folks around the table with you there. we could make a lot of money if we could devine the mind-set of vladimir putin. there's tons of analysts doing so with a lot of tools in their hands. at the end of the day, i don't think it takes a rocket scientist or intel analyst to see vladimir putin has quite a sense of self and is reflecting a certain mood in his country, a country that used to be a superpower in a different context and unfortunately views the world, perhaps, as a zero some game. at the end of the day we were talking about old media, new media, perhaps, is still working in an antiquated frame of mind

when it comes to the way countries can get along. clearly they have interests in the region when it comes to that, wmd and chemical weapons, they have no interest in these get out of control either. they have concerns about terrorism themselves. the same newspaper 1989, vladimir putin had an op-ed, how we should act, interesting to the point he's striking now. >> indeed. >> at the end of the day, this is one of the basic themes and tones president obama has said, we need to find where those common interests lie and move ahead. hopefully without the spotlight of a "new york times" op-ed page, the negotiators in geneva can actually get down to business to talk about common interests. >> david, ben chang referred to you wonderful people as distinguished panelists. >> we'll try not to -- >> we'll try to live up to that

standard. "the new york times" writing today about the power dynamic between obama and putin. they say "the new york times" suddenly the paim paper of note for former kgb agents turned abusive presidents. suddenly mr. putin has eclipsed mr. obama as the world leader driving the agenda in the syria yiz. all those circumstances could shift. mr. putin achieves several objectives largely at washington's expense. he's handed a diplomatic life line to his long time ally syria, stopped mr. obama from going around the security council and boxed mr. obama into treating moscow as an essential partner for much of the next year. >> i think that's really over stated. successful diplomacy is when each side think they have gotten the better of the other side. okay. what we have here, ratchet back a second. there was an attack of chemical weapons august 21st. the president then started taking initiatives and ended up with the threat of military

action. up until then assad was not admitting anything, putin didn't have any interest in restraining his proxy or the person he sponsors in syria. then in response to what obama did, it was clearly in response, you can't say it wasn't, whether what obama did was right or not. putin comes in. what do we get out of this for the time being. assad is boxed in on chemical weapons. as long as they are negotiating, as long as russia is on the hook to do something about this, now we have putin saying we must do something about assad's chemical weapons. that sort of circumstance, it's very unlikely assad is going to resort to these chemical weapons again. obama in a way, i don't mean to sound like talking points in the white house, i don't believe they have been this eloquent describing what they have done. he has achieved one strategic objective. if putin brings around, it's no surprise he's the bad boy in the super powers club.

that's all to the side. you talk about what was the goal initially from this administration, they have kind of gotten a very big tate there, even if there's no agreement. >> i think the important thing is to remember two words, that goal. john kerry is sitting down with his russian counterpart for several days of meetings. who knows how long they could go. the question of detailing, confiscating and destroying syrian chemical weapons in the middle of a civil war is not an easy one to answer. so i think -- the question i think remains if this doesn't work out, who is seen as the biggest loser, if you will, from the diplomatic talks. >> at least there's a chance now to secure some of the chemical weapons. with chemical weapons securing some, if not all, actually is a win. before we got to this, there was no talk of securing any chemical weapons. all we were talking about was a quote, unquote, unbelievable small airstrike and going on

about our business. >> right. >> compared to that and compared to what we were doing before, chemical weapons remotely possible or contemplated before. >> wait a second of the goal was to stop assad from using them again. the goal wasn't to get an accurate accounting of how many he has, so putin comes in and ups the antes, put them under international control. >> good luck with that. >> one senior official described as doable and complicated that said, michael, in terms of the perception around mr. obama's efforts, the fact that he is now working in a bilateral fashion, the fact the u.n. security council is engaged in this process, the fact as david points out the goal is far reaching, more measurable than before. do you think this helps the president. president obama with the broader

picture in the american public? >> i think it depends how he plays the next week or ten days. to step back to mr. chang's point and dave's point. you have putin being putin. at the end of the day he is a guy who likes to run around with his shirt off. that's who you're dealing w that's the reality, number one. he's old kgb, old cold war mind-set. the messaging in the "new york times" was a cold war strategy. it was to go around the government, over the government, directly to the people because he knows the polls are 70% against any action. he's making that heart string appeal. how the administration responds is important. do they get distracted by the crazy of putin when he's doing stuff like that or do they really stick to him, to ryan's point, about confirming, affirming and ultimately doing what reagan said, trust but verify these things are going to take place and how the administration goes into the next 10 days of that discussion

with the congress back in session and full force watching american people finally tuned into the horrors of what happened on august 21st. i think the president has a real window. we can play you came to the dance late, got pushed into the corner by whatever. now the president has the moment to take the control of this thing and really define whether or not we're going to be serious going forward -- not om respecting that red line but affirming it through some type of action, diplomatic or military. as far as the report from the u.n. inspections team, we havered word the u.n. report will point to the assad regime as a behind the massive chemical attack but it will not directly accuse the syrian regime of gassing its own people. what do you think the sort of -- what is the blowback, what is the effect of that sort of firm but ultimately not as directly -- doesn't directly

implicate assad? do you think that is factored into these negotiations? do you think that makes a difference in terms of the language around the u.n. resolution. >> sure. at the end of the day when you craft language for a u.n. document, resolution or presidential statement, you need reference points or hooks. this report will become one of them. at the end of the day what i find interesting in the debate, back up, you now have vladimir putin and assad acknowledging through the op-ed and the statements which they were denying before. i would point out in the op-ed there is this discussion about maybe rebels deploying chemical weapons but no proof of that matter, no evidence. certainly not in the way president obama laid out in his remarks to the nation on tuesday. so back to your question about the language. at the end of the day, as you know, alex, the u.n. security council is only as strong or effective as the sum of its parts. it's going to take a lot of this

wordsmithing and discussion that will go on. u.s., the administration is confident in the evidence and proof it has as the president laid out and others have as to who has command and control over these horrible weapons and therefore who is responsible. we should hope for the interest overseas and allies that something comes of this. the window is short. i'll put out one other marker speaking of the u.n. when the president speaks to the u.n. general assembly in new york, that probably is our next marker as to what direction this goes in and another clarion call to the international community, if you will, that people need to step up to reinforce this for the sake of everyone. >> worth noting in the op-ed he had, no one doubts the poison gas was used in syria but every reason to believe it was not used by the army but by opposition forces.

ben from the albright stone bridge group. thank you for the excellent debut. >> thank you. >> if you blengd you probably missed it, a moment of bipartisanship evaporates as congress plays the waiting game. we will discuss resolution solutions and the path forward on capitol hill when oklahoma congressman tom cole joins me next on "now." wisest kid in the whole world? we need a new recipe. hmmm. let us consult the scroll of infinite deliciousness. ♪ oh! perfect. [ wisest kid ] campbell's has the recipes kids love. like easy chicken and cheese enchiladas. so good! can i keep this? you already have it at campbellskitchen.com. nice. [ blows ] [ gong ] m'm! m'm! good!

discussions going out about how to deal with the cr and the issue of obama care.

so we're continuing to work with our members. >> speaker john boehner cannot catch a break. days after the president announced he would seek congressional approval for a strike on syria, boehner and majority leader eric cantor lined up behind their commander in chief. i'm going to support the president's call for action. i believe my colleagues should support this call to action. we have ep miss around the world that need to understand we're not going to tolerate this type of behavior. >> a week later boehner is again facing insurrection. >> clearly members reflect their constituents. american people have not been supportive. he's not made the sale to the american people. >> almost two-thirds oppose intervention in syria, a 16% spike among republicans in one week. representative tom cole in oklahoma, another member of house leadership said it would, quote, take a road to damascus

experience to change his mind on syria, the reference to apostle paul's biblical conversion to christianity while traveling to the syrian capital. >> i think the american people simply don't want to be involved in this kind of conflict when they don't see a compelling national interest or threat to the united states. >> boehner's job is no easier when it comes to domestic concern. yesterday the speaker was forced to withdraw a bill to fund the government because it could not pass his own caucus. though the bill stripped funding for the nation's health care law, the defunding providing was not tough enough for some house republicans who seemed ready to shut down the government unless their demands are met w only six legislative days left to negotiate with members of his own party speaker boehner seems out of ideas. asked how he might placate his caucus to avoid a shutdown, he said, do you have an idea?

they will just shoot it down. fourth district deputy majority whip tom cole. thank you for joining us. >> alex, thank you. >> i'd like to begin with syria, congressman. we know you're no fan of military intervention. i ask you given where we are today are you in support of the talks we're holding with the russians to put the syrian weapons supply under international control? >> certainly. i'd be delighted if that happens. like everybody else, i have some degree of scepticism whether it can. we ought to let the process work. there's russian interest in this. i don't think they want to be sponsor of a client state that uses these type of weapons. second they have 25 million muslims inside their own country and they have had plenty of albertson's of terrorism within russia itself. the idea these types of weapons would be floating around is something they would be contender about as well. this actually may be an area we can work together and get something done. >> congressman, some folks, smshl those in the white house

would say part of the reasons the russians and syrians are sitting down to negotiate is because there was the threat of military intervention that got them to the table. that said senator bob corker who was in support of military intervention said this about the president's leadership. there's no question president obama is very uncomfortable being commander in chief. in personal meetings he comes across very confident. i wish i could deliver a speech as well as he does. but it's like he wants to slip the noose. it's like watching a person caged, in a trap and trying to figure a way out. what do you make of those comments? >> well, first of all, i'm not convinced at all the threat of military force, which wasn't very credible by the time the russians put their offer on the table had much to do with it. it was clear the president's proposal did not have support of the american people, was not going to pass the house of representatives and maybe not the senate either. the russians acted again in their own interest. they don't like being associated with this type of activity. it undercuts their reputation.

i think that's why putin has gone to such great lengths to try and save with somebody else other than the assad government. to the other point, what does it say about the president's leadership, look, i don't think this helped the president at all. i think the policy was flaud. i think honestly over the course of 10 or 12 days he looked weak, he looked indecisive and hesitant. i don't think projecting that type of image on the global stable is good for the president and i don't think it's good for the country either. i don't relish the fact it happened. there's no way you can look at this incident and think the president emerged stronger in the eyes of the world. >> i must on the note of weak and indecisive leadership, i do want to get to domestic concerns. there's a lot of talk about weak and indecisive republican leaders may have been and question whether the government is going to actually shut down in less than a month. congressman, you and i talked about feelings over holding the budget hostage, not passing a continuing resolution unless the

law of the land, obama care is defunded. i wonder what you make of the current sort of stalemate within the republican caucus. john boehner saying do you have an idea and effectively say his own caucus, which is to say a fractious minority would shoot any good ideas down anyway. what did you think of that statement and are you confident we can avoid a shutdown? >> i think we can avoid a shutdown. first of all i have a lot of respect and confidence in the speaker and so do the majority of his colleagues. on the case of cr, we couldn't get 218 votes. that doesn't mean we didn't have 180, 190. there's a considerable group of people that support the efforts of the speaker and would have been very happy to vote for the plan that majority leader cantor crafted. the problem is not the house of representatives when it comes to obama care, the problem is the united states senate. we've demonstrated repeatedly that we can repeal it. we opposed it. we'd like to defund it.

the problem, some of our colleagues on the senate side can't do that they are trying to use the house to accomplish their own ends. i don't think that's particularly productive. >> that's just sort of how it works. that's sort of the passage of legislation. seems like some members in the house don't understand there's no way defunding obama care is going to get through the senate. do you have conversations trying to explain that to them? >> certainly there's always a pretty vigorous exchange of views inside a republican conference and amongst our various constituencies. we still have a considerable amount of time and i think we can still reach a formula that can attract 218 republicans and put the speaker in a strong negotiating position. i don't favor shutting down the government. i think it's a self-defeating act and will probably backfire politically. there's certainly things that can be done in the cr that might put us in the stronger position and move us closer to the types of things the republican conference wants to achieve but

a democratic senate and democratic president make very difficult to accomplish. >> congressman are you at all worried that the focus on the continuing resolution has sort of opened the gates to relitigating this fight over raising the debt ceiling, something folks have said would be catastrophic to the american economy? >> well, budget agreements around debt ceiling increases are pretty common. that's actually when they happen. democrats have used them in the past. frankly the last -- the one before last, you had a democratic senator using this to extract an agreement to do the simpson bowles commission. that doesn't surprise me a great deal. i think we can negotiate there. i think our leverage. sequester, which is in law, which democrats have a great deal of difficulty accepting, we can make progress on long-term debt reduction but my view shutting down the government is not the way to get there. >> just to be clear, you think lifting the debt cheelg is a

better moment to discuss and litigate these issues including the defunding of obama care? >> i think you should put them all together. we've got an end to the fiscal year september 30th, a debt ceiling in october, sequester as the continuing legal reality. i think what the speaker ig trying to do and i think appropriately is to get a window of opportunity between the end of the fiscal year and the end of the year, probably middle of december lets say. in that period with all three of those elements on the table negotiate a much larger package. that package would be aimed obviously at trying to lower the deficit. we've changed obama care seven times and saved considerable amounts of money. there's a number of things in there i think we could get bipartisan support. it might be possible to delay it for a year. that's been done for business. why shouldn't it be done for individuals. it might be possible to get rid of medical device taxes, a number of elements where i would suggest there could be bipartisan agreement.

but you have to have the time to do it. i think dealing with these things collectively at one time as opposed to individually, you know, over a three, four week period. >> it sounds like the debt ceiling is on the table. oklahoma congressman tom cole, it is going to be a wild ride. thank you for your time. >> it is indeed. >> you may know him from plans to burn the koran or anti-muslim film that sparked controversy around the world. pastor terry jones might be most famous for his police record. we will explain next on "now." has it's ups and downs.

seasonal... doesn't begin to describe it. my cashflow can literally change with the weather. anything that gives me some breathing room makes a big difference. the plum card from american express gives your business flexibility. get 1.5% discount for paying early, or up to 60 days to pay without interest, or both each month. i'm nelson gutierrez and i'm a member of the smarter money. this is what membership is. this is what membership does.

no two people have the same financial goals. pnc investments works with you to understand yours and helps plan for your retirement. talk to a pnc investments financial advisor today. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] 1.21 gigawatts. today, that's easy. ge is revolutionizing power. supercharging turbines with advanced hardware and innovative software. using data predictively to help power entire cities. so the turbines of today... will power us all...

into the future. ♪ into the future. a writer and a performer. ther, i'm also a survivor of ovarian and uterine cancers. i even wrote a play about that. my symptoms were a pain in my abdomen and periods that were heavier and longer than usual for me. if you have symptoms that last two weeks or longer, be brave, go to the doctor. ovarian and uterine cancers are gynecologic cancers. symptoms are not the same for everyone. i got sick... and then i got better. yesterday pastor terry jones failed in his attempt to turn september 11th from a day of remembrance to hate and recrimination. the controversial leader of a

tiny church arrested on felony charges after he was pulled over and found towing 3,000 kerosene soaked quran's. he was going to burn those to remember those who were murdered by radical islam. he was not arrested for terrible choices. instead they arrested terry johnny because he and his 3,000 kerosene soaked quran's constituted a public threat. >> it was flammable he pulled it down the road. so he was potentially driving a bomb down the road had there been a crash. >> endangering americans, of course, is nothing new tore terry jones. the u.s. military has repeatedly asked him to stop threatening to burn the holy book including last monday when u.s. central command called to inform jones such activity is disrespectful to muslims and needlessly puts u.s. civilians and military members at greater risk.

after the break, while millions struggle to put food on the table, republicans want to cut billions of dollars on programs. [ male announcer ] this is claira. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for her, she's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with her all day to see how it goes. [ claira ] after the deliveries, i was okay. now the ciabatta is done and the pain is starting again. more pills? seriously? seriously.

[ groans ] all these stops to take more pills can be a pain. can i get my aleve back? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap.

[ male announcer ] that's why there's ocuvite to help replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. ocuvite. help protect your eye health. next week as debate continues over options to punish the syrian government for its use of chemical weapons house republicans are expected to take a vote to punish swo elsomeone poor and hungry americas. a bill sponsored by eric cantor known as nutrition reform and work opportunity act and it cuts $40 billion from the food stamp program, otherwise known as s.n.a.p. and increases work requirements for recipients. if this bill were to become law it would kick 4 to 6 million americans off food stamps.

without these indiscriminate and cruel cuts, it's looking dire. 14.5% of households or 49 million people regularly suffer from something called food insecurity. in other words, 49 people people went hungry last year, which is about the same number of americans who are on food stamps. the numbers are grim especially when you consider the majority of food stamp recipients are children, elderly or disabled. the average benefit per person is $133 or less than $1.50 per person per meal. it is the stories that accompany statistics that are perhaps the most important part to tell. last week "new york times" detailed what life on food stamps look like in the city of tennessee. a woman left her job skinning hogs at a slaughterhouse when she got cancer. she receives $352 a month for

herself and three college-age sons. she says she eats once a day, if she eats. a story of a former welder disabled by lupus, whose food stamp benefits just reduced. i don't buy milk because it's so expensive, she said. i don't buy cheese. when the house votes next week on food stamp proposals, these are the people affected by the cuts. joining me chief communications and development officer at feeding america, maura daley. >> thank you for having me. >> we've been focused on a lot of things and there's not been nearly enough debate and discussion over food stamp program and funding for food stamp program. first as you're familiar with this topic, what does the reality look like for these 49, 48 million americans who are on food stamps? >> so the reality is the majority of people receiving food stamps today are households with kids, seniors, disable people. they are living on the lowest in come in the united states. for a family of three we're

talking about folks who are bringing in about $25,000 a year and about half of the people who are receiving food stamps are living way below that line. so these are really the most vulnerable people in the united states. >> david, i think one of the folks people don't understand is s.n.a.p. is not there as a distributive program, not to promote mobility, it is there to provide a nutritional floor for the millions of americans who suffer when our economy takes a turn for the worse. it's an emergency response program. >> especially for kids and kids going to school. we have some breakfast and lunch programs at schools for kids that don't get that at home. it seems to me and this may be a question for michael, for a couple of decades food stamps was not a partisan issue. it really was a bipartisan issue in part because republicans from agriculture states liked it because it ended up being a partial subsidy of their products. nonetheless it seems like everything we've had in this

country in terms of a social safety net has become victim to hyper partisanship when republicans often moving towards libertarian perspective on this stuff as paul ryan even talked about in his acceptance speech last summer. to me that's pretty much a radical move for the party. >> the bottom line is, whether it's a libertarian perspective or not, at the end of the day, there is a proper space for these programs that was carved out by republicans and democrats alike a long time ago that everyone, as we've talked about in the past, agreed to, because it was a very important floor. the question now becomes one of priorities and costs. i think some of the reaction of many conservatives in the house in particular has been an overreaction to the cost. out of context or in context of everything else. some things you have to carve out a space and say, this is such an essential need, this is

such an important priority for our nation that we cannot allow someone to go hungry from day to day or week to week. >> you'd be thrown out of the party for saying that. >> my point is, it is consistent with where the party has been in the past is what i'm saying. we need to get back there. >> one of the reasons it's expensive is there's so many people on it it. >> there's so many people in need. >> my family we grew up on food stamps. i remember my mother would eat less than my brother and i, and i thought that was normal until i learned later. then when i was in high school and i would do a lot of the grocery shopping. it was much more fun to shop at the beginning of the month when there was more money because you could get things you wanted. end of the month, you can't. the idea we're going to save government money and continue more tax cuts so that more families can cut back at the grocery store is just cruel to

me. >> i think building the narrative and making folks aware of the narrative here. ryan was on food stamps. that is not an easy place to be when you're growing up. something like 90% of s.n.a.p. recipients go through their allotted money by the third week of the month. you have people like ryan's mom mom eating less or not eat as much as they need to because they they'd to feed their kids. >> feeding america feeds 1.3 million americans. we know from our clients also receiving s.n.a.p. benefits on average their benefits only last two to two and a half weeks out of the year. even without any of the proposals going through congress right now, we know s.n.a.p. is already not adequate for low in come families going hungry in america. >> ryan, on that frontish the senate farm bill included $4 billion in cuts to s.n.a.p., previous house bill $20 billion,

now cantor's proposal has $40 billion in cuts. there no, sir level -- you're getting cuts in any version of the farm bill -- funding bill. >> it should be tripled or quadrupled. not only is it the right thing to do, it's also an economic stimulus. money is going to this card. you take this card to the grocery store. you buy stuff. that money goes to the farmers. that money then goes around the rural communities. everybody is better off. >> a healthy population that's getting good nutrition is also good for the economy, too, whether it's kids learn better at school, people perform better at work. if you can't feed your people, there's a problem there that the economy and free market is not taking care of on its own, then you have to look at this as a way of making things work actually more efficiently. >> if i could, alex, the other piece of this that's driving, and i'd be interested in your take more on this point, the unspoken part here that has been a real major thorn for a lot of

the poor in these programs, you talk about i'm out of money by the third week. the inflationary effect on the things they need, whether it's groceries or personal items has also been debilitating on top of the cuts that are being proposed in the various programs. do you see this longer term? we have not in this whole economic boom we're supposed by having, on wall street at least, no one is talking about the inflationary impact it's having on real lives at the grocery store and other places around the country. do you see that as a driver here on something like the farm bill? >> we know that our clients are making choices between food and other basic necessities. food happens to be the most elastic thing in a household budget. when the financial budget across the household is compromised, typically food is the first thing people have to make choices about, whether rent, medicine, transportation, other basic needs. >> it should be noted this conversation about how to strip funding for programs to the poor

and hungry is coming at a time when uc berkeley released a study showing top ten% of households control 50.4% of total in come in 2012, which, ryan, is the highest figure seen since 1917. #endtimes. from feeding america, thank you so much for being here and your great work. >> thank you. cabinet members and assorted city leaders gather for 9/11 p memories. we will discuss foreign policy on the fringes just ahead. [ female announcer ] we lowered her fever.

you raise her spirits. we tackled your shoulder pain. you make him rookie of the year. we took care of your cold symptoms. you take him on an adventure. tylenol® has been the number 1 doctor recommended brand of pain reliever for over 20 years. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more. tylenol®. at humana, our medicare agents sit down with you and ask. hanging out with this guy. he's just the love of my life. [ male announcer ] getting to know you is how we help you choose the humana medicare plan that works best for you. mi familia. ♪ [ male announcer ] we want to help you achieve your best health, so you can keep doing the things that are important to you. keeping up with them.

i love it! [ male announcer ] helping you -- now that's what's important to us. and struggle to sleep comfortably together, now there's a solution. sleep number dual temp, the revolutionary temperature-balancing layer with active air technology that works on any mattress brand, including yours. whether you sleep hot or cool, sleep number dual temp allows each of you to select your ideal temperature. and it's only at one of our 425 sleep number stores nationwide. sleep number. comfort individualized. could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. yep, everybody knows that. well, did you know the ancient pyramids were actually a mistake?

uh-oh. geico. fifteen minutes could save you...well, you know. some republican fundraisers claim they have a cash problem heading into 2014. fortunately for them there's always the coke brothers. we'll discuss secret banks and

midterm bundling. that's next. ♪ no two people have the same financial goals. pnc investments works with you to understand yours and helps plan for your retirement. talk to a pnc investments financial advisor today. ♪ [ chainsaw buzzing ] humans. sometimes, life trips us up. sometimes, we trip ourselves up. and although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. like multi-policy discounts from liberty mutual insurance. save up to 10% just for combining

your auto and home insurance. call liberty mutual insurance at... to speak with an insurance expert and ask about all the personalized savings available for when you get married, move into a new house, or add a car to your policy. personalized coverage and savings -- all the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect. call... and ask about all the ways you could save. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? ♪ for a store near you go to benjaminmoore.com/bayarea.

for a store near you go to benjaminmoore.com/bayarea.

anniversary of september 11th as the the rest of the nation was reflecting on the events of that day, a small group of conspiracy lovers gathered for a rally demanding congress reveal the truth behind the attacks in benghazi which also took place one year ago yesterday. the keynote speaker former florida congressman allen west who evidently thinks we should go to war with libya. >> if you want to have military ac, i think it's very much so justified in libya because that was part of our national security interest. i would think we would be able to launch a very surgical military operation to go in and bring the right type of justice to kill those who killed our americans and i think that's the best way to do it. >> michael steele, allen west

thinks we need to be going into libya. it's worth saying they were in gept talking about how the muslim brotherhood caused 9/11. this is not a good foreign policy. >> you want me to say why. i take note of the two guys standing behind allen west going we go this way. >> worth noting all signed onto statements yesterday. this is not just the fringe but republican leadership. >> benghazi is now part of the right wing genetic code particularly when it comes to obama. you've seen this come out probably out of the group called ground swell. you can't trust obama and syria because of #benghazi. >> or obama care. >> they won't let go, even when

e-mails came out showing there was no conspiracy and they have debunked again and again and again. they can't let go. at some point hatred of obama just blinds people. there are a lot of things to have a serious debate about. there's a serious debate about syria and intervention overseas, libyan intervention was good, bad, whatever. i'd love to see this. we all would like to see this even if we're on different sides. these guys keep turning important debates into clown shows. >> there is overhang from benghazi. i understand your point. there's still overhang that is going to trail into next year's election cycle. there's no doubt about it. the question for the party going all the way back to the beginning of the discovery of what happened in benghazi is how not to make it a political argument as opposed to a legitimate argument, as david just noted, about how we protect our interests overseas. to what great depth are we

willing to go to do that. that's a different conversation than what eve seen already on benghazi. i'm hoping -- springs eternal in the brother, let me tell you. i'm hoping the party recognizes you cannot go into the next two election cycles, particularly if hillary is a nominee or hopes to be a nominee in 2016 think this is going to be what will get it done for you. you're going to have to come together with a solid argument and so far that hasn't been made. >> speaking of election cycles, ryan during the 2012 election as the campaign flood gates came open one small group was able to spend a quarter of a billion dollars without anybody noticing. "politico" reporting today during last year's election a conservative group called freedom partners, a group unknown to almost anyone in politics, served as an outlet for ultraconservative principles of the coke brothers of the "huffington post" did some reporting on this this spring.

disconcerting to say the least. >> appears to be the same group peter stone reported on for us in the spring. i think it was called americans for alliance -- americans for something. >> strung together. >> established as a 501 c 6, more than $200 million. this is what kochs do. they have been doing it for years, renaming organizations as heat grows on them and start up a new one and money all flows and we don't know who is sending it. >> they are not officially associated with koch director but directors are all kappos in the coke pyramid. we'll leave it there. the koch brothers are a littidge us group. thank you. >> i was never here.

>> you were never here. that is all. see you back when i'm joined by rapper 2chainz. you heard that correctly. "andrea mitchell reports" is coming up next. ♪ constipated? yeah. mm. some laxatives like dulcolax can cause cramps. but phillips' caplets don't. they have magnesium. for effective relief of occasional constipation. thanks. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. i'm on expert on softball.

and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for, because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. ready to plan for your future? we'll help you get there. i had pain in my abdomen... it just wouldn't go away.thing. i was spotting, but i had already gone through menopause. these symptoms may be nothing... but they could be early warning signs of a gynecologic cancer, such as cervical, ovarian, or uterine cancer. feeling bloated for no reason. that's what i remember. seeing my doctor probably saved my life. warning signs are not the same for everyone. if you think something's wrong... see your doctor. ask about gynecologic cancer. and get the inside knowledge.

all your important legal matters in just minutes. protect your family... and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side.

right now on andrea michelle reports, putin's ploy. secretary john kerry is about to meet with russia's foreign minister about getting rid of syria's chemical weapons, vladimir putin does an op-ed blasting president obama's syrian policy. what does it mean for vladimir, kerry talks that start within the hour. >> i think it's clear the purpose was to weaken our resolve and make sure we would not fulfill our pledge to conduct military action if we have to.