to me he is a great ballroom dancer. we did not know that. >> donny and i am going out tonight. i'm going to lead and donny will follow. >> i'm a top guy, so i don't know about that. >> that's disturbing. all right. if it's way too early it's "morning joe." thank you for your patience today. i think you need -- i think we required more patience of you today than on most days. hopefully one day all of your patience in "morning joe" will be rewarded. right now, stick around. you of got chuck todd and "the daily rundown." by chance, on purpose, will there be an impromptu formalized handshake or photo at the united nations today between president obama and iran's new president? has the time finally come for a tone-changing moment? it's about a photo, not a speech. also today, the president's u.n. speech isn't the only big speech on the schedule. he'll be with former president bill clinton at the clinton global initiative later this

afternoon to talk health care with the clinton/obama alliance. here are the new laws. plus, an old clinton pal, terry mcauliffe, is starting the day with some positive new poll numbers in that fight for virginia governor. can tim cuccinelli do anything to close a massive gender gap? good morning from new york. it's tuesday, september 24th, 2013. this is "the daily rundown." i'm chuck todd. right to my first reads of the morning. president obama and the iranian president ra hanni assuming such a meeting logistically could take place. if it does it would be the first time u.s. and iranian leaders have spoken since 1977. if it doesn't happen, you can probably blame logistics more than anything else. it's been hard to coordinate this. no official meeting is scheduled. with rue hanni opting out of the

u.n. lunch because it's serving alcohol, there's no opportune moment to bump into each other. the president is still expected to address iran in his speech. maybe iran will make concessions on the nuclear issue. rouhani tweeted. the president addressed iran in all four previous speeches at the u.n. general assembly, sometimes offering a carrot and sometimes offering the stick. >> the world must stand together to demonstrate that international law is not an empty promise and that treaties will be enforced. the united states and the i remember community seek a resolution to our differences with iran and the door remains open to diplomacy should iran choose to walk through it. the iranian government cannot

demonstrate that its program is peaceful. it has not met its obligations, and it rejects offers that would provide it with peaceful nuclear power. make no mistake, a nuclear-run iran is not a challenge that can be contained and that's why the united states will do what we must to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. >> last year's speech probably the one filled with the most sticks, if you will. each if the two leersd don't meet today, secretary of state kerry will meet with his counterpart late they are week. historic in and of itself. in addition to stressing engainment with iran, president obama is also expected to call on u.n. to support diplomacy in places like syria. but tough diplomacy. it may be messy but can work. you still have to have the threat of force out there to get some to act. today he'll urge global leaders to support a resolution regarding syria's chemical stock peoples. the hope is that by enforcing

consequences for failure, president assad will then truly hand over those weapons. all that said, the most important speech the president gives today may not be at the u.n.'s great hall. instead it may be his speech to president clinton's global initiative this afternoon to discuss health care reform. more on that later. but the fist thing on the president's plate this morning is is the speech at the u.n. and the possible meeting with president rouhani. as always, we'll have potentially some satellite issues. we're always prepared for that there. ali, we have heard everything from rouhani, but explain sort of how much leeway does the new iranian president have in engagement right now and how long does he have? how long will the ayatollah give him to try to work on this deal on his own before stepping in? >> well, chuck, that's the $64,000 question. how much time does he have,

indeed. when he was giving his interview to ann curry a few days ago, he says he has a full mandate to negotiate the nuclear issue. he says he's been given full power to do so and he said wit great confidence. the question is how long does he have to do it. the supreme leader has been very clear here. he says he's going to give rouhani some time to get this done, but the supreme leader also said he's very skeptical that america will honor any sort of deal. so they've obviously given hall of fame window, maybe six month, maybe a year, to make a deal. we don't know. these are certainly the best signs we've seen of the iranian presidency having an open hand to do a deal. just the fact that his foreign minister is meeting kerry is very, very significant in itself. we haven't had a level of this sort of meeting in over 30 years between iranians and americans. so in itself, that's a huge step. but i think the proof of the

pudding will be in the meeting and that will be when the t-5 plus one and the iranians sit down together to try and hammer out a nuclear deal to see if they can. >> that's late they are week. ali, one of the itch us thes for this push to try to negotiate something now and push forward on this from the iranian point of view appears to be the fact that these sanctions are hurting the iranian economy. just give me a taste of what the iranian economy looks like to you living in tehran. >> well, the economy has crumbled over the last couple of year, chuck. inflation is running at almost 40%. youth unemployment is running at 29%. the price of average goods have gone um 60%, 70%, and they keep going up every day. having said that, the news of a possible rapprochement between america and iran, the dollar has slightly weakened, the rial has made a comeback, but things are tough.

everybody on the streets is waiting to see if a deal will be made. cautiously optimistic, hoping a deal will be made because fi thai know if a nuclear deal is made their lives will be easier. the cost of everyday goods will come down. the cost of imports will come down. the markets will open up. everyday, average people are hoping quietly that some sort of deal will be made. >> ali, thanks very much. a reminder that no matter the crisis sometimes it all turns on the economy. turning to kenya with that hostage crisis at a shopping mall now in its fourth day. gunfire broke out repeatedly throughout the morning along with at least two major explosions, this despite the fact that kenyan officials claim the operation to secure the mall is in its final stages. 65 are dead including three soldiers. al shabaab, the al qaeda-linked group, claiming responsibility for the attack, says there are still hostages being held i believe side the mall. those details are unclear and kenyan officials are not sure there are any hostages left. as for the gunmen themselves,

the kenyan foreign minister says they do include americans, two or three of them, along with a british woman. on monday president obama talked about the standoff. >> this i think underscores the rude awakening all of us as an international community have to stand against the kind of senseless violence that these kinds of groups represent. >> with me from nairobi is our partner, itn's john irvine, and he is taking cover right now. john, what can you tell me right now? >> reporter: well, there was a gunshot a couple of minutes ago. it was very close by. it may have been the security forces firing at westgate mall. we simply don't know. but i, like the other media here, have taken cover for time being, so please excuse me for not appearing in shot right now. it sort of underlines the impression one has here that while the kenyan security forces may have the upper hand, may have the situation under control, the westgate mall is

not entirely secure yet. when you think about it, it is a warren of hiding places. there's a basement car park topped by four floors. there are hundreds of shops. there's hundreds of storerooms, corridors, the cinema, there are banks so, there are lots of places for committed terrorists to hide. and i dare say it will take the kenyan security forces quite a long time to do their sweep to satisfy themselves that this situation is over. we've been listening to case nal gunfire and occasional explosions throughout the morning. i've seen a bomb disposal guy go in. kenyan are claiming the explosions are them making safe booby-traps left by the terrorists. i can't confirm that. frankly, the situation here right now is still rather confused. ? and speaking of confused, john, there seems to be confusion as to the number of hostages that remain in the mall. why are kenyan officials so

confident that they're all gone? >> i think they're being slightly overoptimistic. i think they're making statements that they know it's impossible for the world's media to confirm or to deny, frankly, so they are trying to put the best gloss on what is a very damaging situation for their country. >> well, that is a very important point. john irvine from our british partner itn. john, thanks very much, and of course stay safe. coming up, for a minute it looked like freshman senator ted cruz was running the party, literally. cruz tried to rally his fellow republicans in a plot to defund health care. but he got big footed by some big senior senators. we'll talk about cruz's failed strategy next. first a look ahead at today's politics planner. if it ease tuesday, somebody's voting somewhere. the somewhere today is in a few places. boston mayor, first round of

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now for more "first read," texas senator ted cruz versus, well, the world. senator majority leader harry reid has set the first vote for tomorrow on a measure to fund the government for the next 2 1/2 months. that vote would begin debate on the bill. cruz has challenged republicans to block it unless democrats

include language that defunds the president's health care law. but on monday, the top two senate republican leader, mitch mcconnell and john cornyn, joined other republicans to say thanks but no thanks to the cruz strategy. that left cruz himself fighting with reid on the senate floor, confirming at least for a moment or visually what democrats claim, that cruz is trying to be the de facto leader of the gop. >> number 338, 339, 341, and 343. >> does the senator yield? >> no. >> well, i object. you asked for consent and i object. reserving the right to object, i'm happy to discuss wit the majority leader. >> i'll make my -- >> is there objection? >> i object. >> we will not bow to tea party anarchists in theous ouous hou the senate who ignore the fact that president obama was overwhelmingly re-elected a few months ago. >> i wish the majority leader had not said he intends to continue to use the threat of a

default to engage in brinksmanship, to try to force obamacare on the american people. >> cruz is getting schooled in senate procedure, finding out one thing to have plenty of grassroots friend, facebook friends, even likes, but it doesn't get you 41 votes in the senate. seeing republicans run away from his push last night, cruz said, wait a minute, it's not tomorrow's vote to start debate on the bill that matters. it's the vote on friday to stop debate that means more. >> sean, it's the vote on friday that matters. the vote on friday, harry reid is trying to cut off all debate on friday and to be able to fund obamacare with just 51 votes. >> mcconnell and cornyn each have good reasons for feeling comfortable a opposing cruz. mcconnell, who has been ham strung by a high-profile primary challenge and general election challenge. feels like rand paul is giving him some cover on this one.

paul lowered the bar a few days ago saying, "i don't think the president will sign any legislation to defund obamacare and beneath ler the senate pas any legislation to defund obamacare." cornyn feels insulated because, well, he doesn't have the level of primary challenger that he feared or that mcconnell actually has. last night, cruz responded to republican who is called the strategy, quote, the dumbest idea and a political suicide note and flooded fox news with research on him ahead of an interview on sunday. >> folks can do whatever they want to resist change, and there are lot of people who have been in washington a long time that are fearful of change, they're fearful of ris, they're fearful offing anything that changes the club by way washington does business. no matter what insults others choose to hurl at me, and in the last few weeks they've picked quite a few, some amusing, actually, but no matter what they do, i'm not going to respond in kind. >> by the way, it's not just the top two senate leaders opposing cruz on this one.

"wall street journal" editorial page also rejecting the strategy. according to a new cnbc poll, 38% of americans totally favor cutting the health care law. respondents asked if they still support funding the law that means shut do you think the government or having the government default on its debts. less than 1 in 5 voters. where does the debate go from here? i spoke to the number two democrat in the senate, illinois democratic senator dick durbin, and asked him whether democrats will send a clean bill back to the house to fund the government. >> we're going to talk about that this morning. and quite honestly, a conversation of some republican senators about what we might be able to work on together. the overwhelm mag joe torre of republican senators that i've spoke on the don't support what ted cruz is doing on the floor and they don't think it's good for their party or for our country. they'd like to see us move beyond this threat of shutting down the government and feeling more constructive and dealing

with the problems we face. >> so it's possible you send something back that isn't, quote, unquote, clean, that isn't just a pure continuation of funding of the government through december 15th but the is a compromise. who are you negotiating with right now? is it senate republicans like john mccain, lindsey graham, bob corker or are you negotiating with the house republican leadership? >> the most important thing is to fund the government, number one. the period of time, the length of that funding is being discussed. other aspects maybe a little beyond our reach at this moment, but we're at least in conversation. and that's what's important. if we can find a bipartisan approach in the senate to send over to the house, it's the best way to move forward. >> so your goal is not to have this be a partisan vote on your side. your goal is to, if it means a, quote, unquote, sweetener of some sort to get some republicans on board, you want to be able to send back to the house a budget funding bill that has the actual support of more than just all the democrats but

maybe a dozen republicans? >> well, that's our goal. of course you know, chuck, in the senate when you need 60 votes and we have 54 democrats, moving this whole process forward requires some bipartisan cooperation. i sense when i speak to some republican senators they're looking for a way out of this that sets a standard for house, do this in a bipartisan way. >> the various things that the house may send back to you that are sitting out there, this is just on the funding of government, one has to do with repealing the tax on medical devices. where are you on that, and is that something that could get through the senate? would you be comfortable if that were included as part of the budget funding bill in this round of negotiations? >> well, i joined a pretty substantial bipartisan majority who said we ought to address that issue. as i talk to the medical device manufacturers, there are some that are very large and some that aren't. they're all very important as far as i'm concerned. i'd like to see us rather than

repeal it replace it with something that comes up with the knew but does it in a more thoughtful way. i voted for obamacare. i believe in it. but i also believe this we ought to be honest enough to sit down and make changes where necessary. >> the issue of the debt ceiling, it is hard to find a senator that's been around a while that hasn't voted against it at some point or other, and the president is one of them, i believe you at different point, but i guess my question is this -- what's wrong with negotiating over the debt ceiling? >> well, i can it will you what's wrong with it. it is the most serious thing that we can take up that has a direct impact on the economy. if we call into question the credit rating of the united states of america, our interest rates as a nation go up and our economy suffers. that in and of itself, a failure to extend the debt ceiling, could cost us jobs in america at a time when you desperately need these jobs. i hear from corporate leader lgs, everyone across the board,

don't be irresponsible, extend the debt ceiling. >> what do you say to those political folks, veterans who say, you know what, though, the history is the big deficit deals, the deals that get done on these budget fights, the debt ceiling usually is the impetus for negotiation? >> well, i can tell you we're running a great risk here. we're in economic recovery, creating jobs. if we create a question as to whether or not the full faith and credit of the united states can be counted on, it's going to cost us dearly. i just think playing these doomsday scenarios of shutting down the government, failing to extend the debt ceiling, for a handful of republican leaders that may sound like good politics, but for most responsible leaders in both political parties it's exactly the wrong way to go. >> it seems to me the most likely scenario in all these hoedowns you guys are having, political showdowns, budget, debt ceiling, sequestration coming up, and i apologize for using that term, but the idea of freezing some of these spending

levels, is all of this going to continue to be two month and three-month punts where you guys just -- you get to the brink, you don't actually shut down, there's no defall, but what you pass is sort of a three months down the road, you kick the can? >> chuck, i'm a chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee. we spent months crafting a bill that literally spends about 60% of the discretionary funds of the government in a wise fashion. we're saving money and keeping america safe and secure. continuing resolution from one month, two, three, four, even a year is disastrous. we are going to be spending money on things we don't need instead of saving money. we won't be investing in the things that are absolutely essential. so the continuing resolution approach isn't a good investment of taxpayers dollars, doesn't make our economy stronger or america any safer. >> i understand that, but is that the likely we we continue to get out of these fights? >> i think cooler heads are starting to prevail. we saw in the appropriations committee some strong bipartisan

votes to start solving problems. you know, it used to be the senate was the problem. i think the senate has shown leadership on immigration, on the farm bill, on student loans. we put together the bipartisan coalitions that have sent these bills to the house. that's where they're languishing. >> senator durbin, there are no major candidates right now challenging the sitting democratic governor, pat quinn in your home state of illinois, yet you have declined to endorse him for re-election. explain. >> chuck, that's not accurate. >> okay. >> this last sunday i was endorsed by the democratic party of illinois for re-election. pat quinn is part of the slate. we are campaigning together. i didn't openly endorse when there was a primary contest because i've learned over time that as time passes some prior candidates are there. now, my friend bill dailey has stepped aside. at this point i'm working with pat quinn as part of this slated effort to re-elect our team come next november. >> he did not get a primary challenge, you are endorsing.

>> of course. >> are there still other candidates you'd like to see run? >> no, not at this point. i don't think there are any. pat quinn and i are on the slate together, we've been working together, but i've said to him and i'll say to you, we as democrats know that i have to solve the pension challenge in our state. we have no excuses. and we've got to get this done if we expect re-election and a good outcome for the democrats come next year. >> all right. senator dick durbin, number two leader in the democratic-controlled senate, thanks for coming on this morning. >> thanks, chuck. new poll numbers in one of the most hotly contested races in the nation. find out what the libertarian candidate's numbers tell us about the motives in virginia. today's trivia question. who apointed the only woman to serve on the drafting committee for the united nations universal declaration of human rights? first person to tweet that correctly will get the shoutout.

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right now you're looking at some live p pictures at the clinton global initiative gathering. big names there. former president bill clinton is speaking. bono is invited. president obama will speak later this afternoon. all of it is here in new york city coinciding with the u.n. general assembly. the speech bill clinton gives is on health care. it could end up being more important politically to the president today than any speech he gives at the actual u.n. general assembly. we'll have complete coverage throughout the day on both speeches right here on msnbc and later in the show. now we want to turn to virginia, a new snapshot of the virginia governor's race shows republican cuccinelli is losing ground to democrat terry mcauliffe with election day exactly six weeks from today. just a day before they clash in their second debate, one i have a privilege to moderate tomorrow night. in our new poll, mccauliff holds a five-point lead of unlikely voters.

not a big lead but a significant lead because of some of the shifts that have occurred from may when we had a poll that had cuccinelli lead big three. the libertarian candidate, robert sarvis, is at 8%. there was concern that kooup's stance on women would hurt him and mccauliff would take advantage nap's exactly the type of campaign he's done. >> for 30 years i've worked as an ob/gyn. my job is to from text the health of women. i'm particularly offended by ken cuccinelli. kooup wants to make all abortion illegal even in cases of rape and incest. even to protect a woman's health. >> polls show these ads are working. look at this gender gap. mccauliff holds an 18% lead among women voters. another problem from cuccinelli, voter who is might otherwise lean republican are instead picking the libertarian candidate for now.

of those 8% picking sarvis, 62% of them approve of the job current republican governor bob mcdonald is doing. instead of backing the republican, ken cuccinelli, 75% have an unfavorable view of cuccinelli. shows why cuccinelli may want to blame their candidate's struggles on mcdonald's all inning numbers, polls show it's a cuccinelli problem. the director of the marist institute joins me. lee, it was interesting. some five-point leads are margin of error. and some five-point leads look like they're insurmountable. where do you put this one? >> somewhere in between, not to hedge the bets. look, mccauliff has not passed the comfort level with voters, but certainly cuccinelli has big problems.e has not passed the comfort level with voters, but certainly cuccinelli has big problems. the gender gap, those ads, his favorables have flipped from our previous poll so, his work is really cut out for him. he has a tall order in front of him. s&p 500 real but 43 is not 50 or

48, whatever it takes for mccauliffe to win also. so still a race to be waged here. >> what's been interesting is the issue of mcdonald. there's been competing theories. clearly as far as message terrain is concerned, mcdonald's ethics scandal has been a big problem for cuccinelli. he's not been able to make mccauliffe and his business dealings put those in the same lane because every time he tries to do it, mccauliffe says ha, ha, your connection to the mcdonald thing. interesting, voters overall still rate mcdonald fairly positive even in the wake of the scandal. >> he had a 60% approval rating. it's now 51%. that's being bolstered by the fact that most virginia voters think the state is headed in the right direction. so in a sense they can accept mcdonald's incumbency because of the fact they're comfortable with the direction of the state. but, you know, that mcdonald scandal is a pathway into cuccinelli and he hasn't been

able to solve that, and for the sarvis voters, you know, one-tenth of the mcdonald voters last time are with sarvis this time. so there's no automatic transfer positively for mcdonald to cuccinelli. >> when you look at these sarvis voters, they all appear to be republican leaning voters. is there any evidence to you that these are any voters that are somehow not happy with mccauliffe that would normally be voters or all coming out of the hide of cuccinelli? >> sarvis is getting 2% of democrat so there's a burn factor for mccauliffe but a lot are independents and the next largest group are republicans. for these voters, for the sarvis folk, sometimes the third party candidate, you know, they boil down as you get close to election day, but when the sarvis voters tell us what they think of mccauliffe or they think of cuccinelli, it's the evil of two lessers. they don't like either of them. ? that was what was striking about it. this isn't a group of voters as

you say that aren't paying attention and that are simply going i'm just for that other guy. they had very strong opinions about both mccauliffe -- and, you know, terry mccauliffe's unfave among this group was i think 1562. >> 66. >> but unfavorable for cuccinelli was 75% among these folks. >> interestingly, they like governor mcdonald. so, again, no transfer for mcdonald because there's a big wall, you know, between the mcdonald's positives and cuccinelli getting some vote and getting some support. not any clearer than wh when you look at the sarvis voters, and that's exactly -- you pinpoint the problem right there. they have a lot of work cut out for them in the next six weeks and it starts tomorrow night at the debate. >> gender gap and a cuccinelli problem, not a mcdonald problem. lee marion, our partner this-in crime in these polls, thank you, sir. coming up, the president's going to give two, not one big

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just about half ap hour ago, the president's second speech today that is likely the more important one as far as the white house is concerned. this afternoon, president obama will do his annual homage to the clintons and he'll do so by trying to sell health care. in a speech at the clinton global initiative, which you're looking at live pictures now of the annual meeting which clinton is kicking off with an actual rock star, bono, this morning, the conversation this afternoon is being billed as between two presidents. it's kicking off the white house push on the issue that will of course define the president's legacy when he exits office come january 27th. enrollment in health care begins in the exchanges exactly one

week from today. the white house is deploying the president, first lady michelle obama, vice president biden, cabinet secretaries this week to encourage consumers to enroll. then of course the president himself will deliver what the white house is billing as a personal speech thursday in maryland on the real-life impact of the law. the most important salesman for the health care law other than the president as far as the white house is concerned is the guy who the obama team has dubbed the secretary of explaining stuff. they use another "s" word behind the scene, and that's bill clinton. almost 20 years ago almost to the day when bill clinton first tried to sell health care reform to the country. he delivered that famous health security card speech to a room full of congressmen. >> at long last, after decades of false starts, we must make this our most urgent priority, giving every american health security, health care that can never be taken away, health care that is always there.

that is what we want to do. >> bill clinton knows what it's like to lose a fight on health care, but he's also proven to be a pretty good salesman, humanizing the law in a way the white house has struggled to do. joining me, chief economic correspondent for plit toe, ben white, managing editor, joy ann reed and nan hayworth. welcome all. the importance of bill clinton, people may forget, about three weeks ago, bill clinton laid out his first speech on health care at the clinton library in arkansas, syrian events, events over the issue of syria sort of drowned out that speech. but this is all part of the re-re-re-rollout of health care. >> like fourth generation. universal health care has been a driving dream of the democratic party since the truman administration. there was this huge push during the bill clinton presidency to get it done. didn't quite get there. it was hillary care and it all sort of fell apart. in a way, the obama

administration has completed this dream that was not born in the clinton administration but pushed hard. i think there is a real genuine investment by clinton world in seeing this law succeed, and bill clinton is very good at explaining it in very real-world terms to the people that they need to get to, which is your sort of working-class democrats. >> president obama is in charge of getting young folks to sign up. president clinton is in charge of getting older working-class whites to defend them of their opposition. congresswoman hayward, one of the theories i hear from some democrats is secretly what republicans fear is that the law is going to work and that's why they're so intent on stopping it. what do you say to that? >> i go around the hudson valley of new york. i'm blessed to serve there. i talk with people in all walks of life and their big concern i hear it as someone who's a doctor, too, is that this law is going to take something from them.

>> what does it take? >> well, it takes away for a lot of people the insurance that was familiar. it's threatening the provider network, the doctors, the hospitals that they've used. these are real concerns about the way this law is formulated, not about the concept. there's no argument that everybody should have insurance they can afford and access to great care. >> you believe health care is a right, not a privilege. >> in this society, absolutely. that is a value that we hold, and we should. the question is how do we get there and how do we get there effectively and in a way that allows our economy to be vibrant. right now we have deep problems with that. >> ben, you cover the business world. this morning we had -- "morning joe" had the head of the mayo clinic on. he was talking about -- he was sidestepping getting around whether he thinks the laws helped or not, but he said something i thought was interesting. he said it's expedited the process we had to do so sort of

streamline things. that sounded like that's a good thing, but then he said well, if you go to mayo clink and you get the big three-day work-up, you may have to pay more out of pocket. well, i mean, there's always going to be a price to pay. you expand the pool. so it seems that the frustration among some voters is the fact that if you're healthy you might pay a little more. if you use the system a lot, you're going to pay less. >> i think the concern among employers is it's going to cost them more to ensure people. employer mandate has been delayed far year, giving relief to the business community. if you look at the hiring number, employment, there are some indicators -- >> you believe this stuff is tied to the health care -- >> i do to a degree. talk anecdotally to business owners and they're concerned about going over that 50-employee level and then having to provide health insurance to everyone. so i think there is an element of it. and i think that's why it's important for president clinton to start talking about this and try to convince these business owners it won't cost them more,

it's ultimately in their best interests to have healthy employees with health care coverage. clinton explains it way wbetter than obama does. >> the one thing i don't understand on republican opposition is the expansion of medicaid. i know the fear of government but at the end of the day this is providing the safety net. >> it's an incredibly generous reimbursement from the federal government and it's almost insane. you and i are familiar with florida. you have hospital systems that will go bankrupt if they have to keep treating -- >> and the governor knows it, which is why he's fighting his own party on it. >> a former hospital executive. >> they need to innovate in medicaid. >> very flexible. >> which is much to be praised because that is essential. >> do you think it's problem for the republican party that looks like they're fighting so hard on the medicaid portion of this? >> no. what they're fighting for, and it should be framed that way, they should frame it that way effectively, they're fighting for an effective solution. they're fighting for what they

know will work among the people who have to live with this long, and that's the problem. >> speaking of break, coming up, president obama supposed to arrive at the united nations any moment. we'll bring you those live pictures and of course the speech as he prepares to make his case to the world about how diplomacy sometimes needs a stick. but first the white house soup of the day, coconut shrimp. hey kevin...still eating chalk for heartburn? yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. enjoy the relief! we're gonna stop beating ourselves up about our weight. we're not gonna give up what we love. it's not gonna happen. and when the pounds still come off... we'll be like, "whoa!" one night we'll even eat a cupcake like it's our job. just not the entire cake. that's part of the weight watchers plan. we're gonna feel happy... healthy... and good.

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this is live pictures right now of the u.n. general assembly where moments from now president obama is set to address the assembly. right now it's the brazilian president speaking. moments ago she said the nsa, quote, is meddling in the life and affairs of other countries, it is a breach of international law. that's an ally saying that. ben white, julie ann reed. congresswoman hayworth this thing with the nsa has hurt the establishment of both parties. you see the populous of both wings in both parties rising up in anger. >> it's united left and right. >> in weird ways. it's the establishment left and right and the populous left and right. >> yes, yes. and the debate is a very healthy

one to have. let's have it in a way that actually produces more light than heat. the biggest problem we have is that we do live in a world that is full of perils. we have people among us who, yes, will lie, will seek to harm. how do we identify them in an anticipatory way without violating the legitimate privacy of our citizens. >> another line of the speech and we're translating it, without the right to privacy, there is no real freedom of speech or freedom of opinion and, therefore, there is no real democracy. a lot of this is all politics that's local. and you talk to national security aides and they swear that with some of these world leaders, including merkel who's been critically publicly, they say behind the scenes they get it but on the other hand they're getting heat at home. >> behind the scenes they also

have the same versions of the nsa. >> i wonder if the usa is the best at doing it and does it more. >> people forget the purpose is intelligence and now that the policy has changed it can be that much more invasive. your talking about internet and communications that are beyond the sort of signals coming out of the air. the issues, the u.s. is on a much grander scale and much bigger but the nsa's job is to do foreign surveillance. that is what they do. so these countries understand that and they would do it too if they could. we have it on a bigger scale and do it better. >> the problem, then, is that the white house, and i go back to the same issue they have had since snowden leaked. they don't know what snowden has and there have been actual screaming matches with the nsa. you're the nsa, how do you not know what snowden took? >> it's amazing. it highlights the fact we're talking about this when the white house wants to be talking about iran. >> and she goes right before the president and hits him on nsa.

>> and basically says you don't have a real democracy. this is a brazilian saying your democracy is fake because you're spying on your own citizens and undermining the real rule of law in freedom and democracy. we're talking about it and it's the headline and not the headline that obama has a new outlet to the iranians, talking about syria. what are we talking about? we're talking about getting slammed over nsa. >> would you be comfortable if you were still in congress, the president meeting -- even a handshake with the iranian president? >> meeting, absolutely. meeting, not conceding anything. meeting, sure. >> i don't know if this is going to happen but it seems something is happening. >> i think something is happening and i think it's a good thing. >> i would say so. and it's an opportunity that hasn't happened in 20 years. who knows what the ayatollah is doing behind the scenes here. if you have an opportunity to talk to the iranians and dial down the rhetoric, it's a good thing. >> her whole speech is about this. she now said brazil will adopt legislation, technology to protect it from illegal interception of communications.

clearly this is something she wanted to make a point. shameless plugs, congresswoman, you first. >> well, this november, big election in westchester county, new york. >> all right, there you go. >> but hud is trying to promulgate some very invasive rules about community development block grants. >> joy, what have you got? >> i will plug the grio.com. we're plugging into what happened in kenya. >> a good novel to read for those into literature. >> novel? >> elliott holt has a great novel called "you are one of them." great about russia and the united states in the '80s. >> my plug is for chris jansing who comes up next. that's it for this edition of "the daily rundown." we'll see you tomorrow.

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jansing. high drama unfolding at the united nations this morning. the president getting ready to take the world stage at what could be the most critical time for diplomatic relations in his presidency. here's what we know. and the world and what we'll be watching for. will president obama meet with the new president of iran or at least shake his hand. the state department says there's no official meeting scheduled. syria, the u.s. is still pushing a resolution that would make the chemical weapons deal legally binding, meaning if syria doesn't comply, the threat of military action is there. so far russia is not on board. plus, of course, israel and palestine, peace talks restarting this summer, but are there signs of progress? president obama has a one-on-one meeting with palestinian minister abbas today. let me bring in congressman this morning. >> good morning. >> you are one of the folks who signed a letterrg