of the best. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," robert gates slams the obama administration on several fronts, claiming the president didn't believe in his own afghan war strategy. and blasting vice president joe biden. he says for being wrong on nearly every foreign policy issue for the last four decades. >> i was surprised when i saw the stories yesterday because i always thought they had a good working relationship. a bridge too far? new e-mails link one of governor chris christie's top aides to possibly playing politics with the traffic flow on one of the nation's busiest bridges. thawing out. the polar vortex is retreating for parts of the country, but there is no relief in upstate new york, where lake ontario is blanketed with two more feet of snow. >> i've never delivered in a storm like this.

profiling courage, to mark the third anniversary of the tragedy in tucson, gaby giffords' act of courage will surprise and inspire you. good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. newly released e-mails are raising questions about whether aides to chris christie played politics by deliberately creating a huge traffic jam on the george washington bridge just to punish a mayor who chose not to endorse the governor's re-election. an e-mail sent in august by christie's deputy chief of staff bridget kelly says time for some traffic problems in fort lee? that's the suburb close toast

the bridge. the apply, got it. the messages are the latest in the controversy that's created a huge traffic backup, raising questions about christie's involvement possibly in something that he denied last month. >> it's not that big a deal. just because press runs around and writes about it both here and nationally, i know why that is and so do you. let's not pretend that it's because of the gravity of the issue. it's because i am a national figure and anything like this will be written about a lot. >> that's true for sure. we reached out again today to the governor and his aides. they all have not replied. joining me now for our daily x fix, kelly o'donnell and the host of "up every weekend morning." steve, let me start with you first of all. you have followed new jersey

politics, followed chris christie up close and personal. what is the there there behind bridgegate. is this potentially character-revealing about chris christie? a potential national candidate. >> well, what's already come out of it raises enough questions. but i think the question of the moment right now is what's next. i should just point out quickly that the christie ally, he was my employer, i worked for him many years ago. i just want to make sure i get that out there. that man is scheduled right now to testify before a state assembly committee. he's been subpoenaed to testify tomorrow. so there's a lot of questions about what exactly he's going to say there. these are all e-mails, texts, correspondences that he had that were subpoenaed. that's what's being released. that's what's all out there today. so the question first of all is what's going to happen when he appears before that committee. the second question now is that this has reached into the

governor's office. you now have a deputy chief of staff bridget kelly, who is in his correspondence, who is clearly fully aware of what's going on. i would imagine she's going to be tossed overboard pretty quickly by the governor's office and there's going to be an attempt to say here's something the governor had no knowledge of. and they're going to try to use her as the fall guy, fall woman, whatever you want to say. but the question then, if that happens, the question is what does she say and are there any documents, any materials that she might produce that might be subpoenaed. so can this go further into the governor's office? that's the next question that needs to be answered here. >> kelly o'donnell, you were with chris christie on election night. you've seen all of his skills as a politician. tell me about how he reacts in circumstances such as this? >> well, i think the sound byte that you played there, that clip where he was describing this event and why it's being covered so much. the difference now is if, in fact, christie had any knowledge

and is there anything that would suggest that? no evidence so far. but the fact that someone so close to him is a part of these e-mails, which we would say are on personal accounts, not their formal office accounts as employees of the government of new jersey. that distinction is one that may not matter much in the big scale, but they were not doing it on their office computer, so to speak. what will christie do? he has denied that there was any political motivation. now he's going to have to address this again. they have not responded today. i also made the rounds trying to get some sort of comment from the office. they've not done so yet. they will have to address this. and it will have to be something where christie answers the larger question. as he pointed out, the specifics of the bridge in the local community, which mattered a great deal there, may not be as important nationally as the suggestion. would there be people working with him, close aides, who might use the tools of government to create some kind of a political payback for someone who didn't

support them. that's a much more glaring problem, if that has evidence to support it. that does speak to character. that does speak to style. and christie needs to distance himself from that kind of accusation quickly and to try to get this behind him if he can do that. the investigation that's going on will certainly shed more light in the days to come, but to have it reach etven in just matter of a few words to the governor's office does bring this to another level. it also raises the question that in the times we live in, e-mail is always the thing that seems to be a window into people's thoughts and sometimes their conduct that they may not want the public to see, and yet e-mails somehow always come out. so for chris christie, this will be a challenge. >> and chris, it matters because chris christie is a national figure. >> and look, andrea, i recall vividly you asking myself and amy walter about this a few weeks ago and me saying look, i

don't think it's an issue in 2016. steve made this point. now that it is the deputy chief of staff in the governor's office, it's a different thing now. you can no longer dismiss it as these are some port authority guys. yeah, they're connected to me, but this really didn't have anything to do -- this is not in his office. and it's the kind of politics that i think you don't want to see played. you know, traffic's going to get worse in fort lee. that line in the e-mail is going to be -- is going to sort of linger throughout i think the next couple weeks and maybe even months. i know they're not saying anything right now, but i think the christie people now understand this can no longer be sort of laughed off or dismissed as he did in this clip you played. this is something he now has to address. >> and the inaugural is coming up in the next couple weeks, the celebration of chris christie's second term. so they have a short window to

respond. they maybe don't have to do it today, but they've got to get a plan of action going quickly. >> steve, one of the larger narratives of chris christie is can he play in republican politics in the midwest, in iowa, in new hampshire? and that new jersey sort of rough and tumble politics that you covered so ably in new jersey. it's part of the downside in republican primaries, right? >> it's funny, because the jersey image and the jersey style cuts both ways. i know it well, somebody that has a bit of a background there. christie, there's sort of two conflicting images that come to people's mind when you say the jersey way, jersey style. christie used a positive one, blunt, unvarnished, plain spoken, i'm going to tell you the truth, tell it like it is. that's how christie played up his jersey roots. i think that sort of jersey image does have resonance nationally. the problem is there's this other side of new jersey as this sort of seedy den of political

corruption and malfeasance and that sort of thing. that reinforces the worst negative stereotype of the jersey way. i see chris christie before this, he'd go out to iowa and those places and play it up. like hey, i'm going to give it to you jersey style right now. they would like it, they eat it up. i don't know if he's going to be able to do that after this. >> thanks to you, steve, kelly, and chris. meanwhile, the white house today on the defensive after excerpts were released and leaked from former defense secretary bob gates' new book "in duty," his new memoir. gates both criticizes and praises president obama for his relationship with the military, but reserves his sharpest criticism for vice president joe biden and former national security adviser tom donovan. gates calls the national security team the most centralized and controlling in national security since the nixon years. he recalls his thoughts after one meeting with the president about the war in afghanistan, saying "the president doesn't trust his commander, can't stand

karzai, doesn't believe in his own strategy, and doesn't consider the war to be his. for him, it's all about getting out." joining me now is p.j. crowley, and colonel jack jacobs. welcome to both of you. p.j., you were there. you've seen a lot of this. you know bob gate, as do i. i've covered him at cia. this, first of all, booked by an academically minded, historically minded man who wants to talk for history about the problems that the military and the white house have about the problems he had with congress. he was deeply committed and emotionally engaged in pursuing both wars. taking responsibility for all the dead and wounded. at the same time, you can't walk away from his criticisms of the

current sitting president and his team. >> it's unprecedented, but that's the nature of the environment that we're in now. books come out a lot more rapidly, and in this particular case, it involves an administration that is still in office. getting into some of the particulars there, he's suggest tl ing that the president didn't trust his commander, and yet ultimately he hired him. i went and saw the engagement or lack of it when he saw petraeus in baghdad. i was there. they never were. there were two increases, major increases in troop levels in

afghanistan. but the other thing is, in 2009, a year-long process that culminated in the president's speech, describing his afghanistan policy in december of 2009, and in fact, the president following precisely the policy that he outlined in 2009, which had a surge in troops for a limited period of time. the military didn't like that. >> it was the time limit that they didn't like. >> the reason for that was very simple. in the assessment of the administration coming into office in 2009, we understood that ultimately, in what became the war against al qaeda, that afghanistan was important, but pakistan was strategic. and so, we're waging a war in 2009 that wasn't necessarily focused on the major threat, and the discovery of bin laden in 2010 and pakistan reinforces that. >> and you mentioned bin laden, because colonel jack, gates' book does say that the decision

that the president took to go after bin laden and use the seal team 6 based on the intelligence was one of the most courageous that he'd ever seen. at the same time, there's specific instances here as a military man, he talks about saying to joe biden and donovan and the others that they were not in the chain of command. he deeply resented the fact that lower level nsc would reach out to commanders in the field. and he told his commanders don't take orders from them, let me handle that. because it was incorrect for them, he felt, to be reaching out to them. who's right about that. >> well, tactically, strategically, secretary gates is right about that. of the nine principles of war, one of the most important ones is the principle of unity of command. you can't have people who are operating without any authority or operating without any responsibility and the people in

the national security council are precisely those kinds of people. the chain of command should go from the president, secretary of defense, and down through the chain of command. the national security adviser should not be in that loop. and so secretary gates is right about that. >> what is your takeaway about having the defense secretary, he's a republican, he comes in, clearly the obama team wanted him in the cabinet for credibility. as a republican, as a holdover, as someone respected in both democratic and republican white houses. what about writing a book at this point and criticizing his former boss, the president. >> well, it's all about the money in any case. >> jack, knowing bob gates, i don't think this is about making money off of a book. i think this is more deeply felt. you can question the timing and the motivation, but -- >> that kind of decision typically -- and i realize that the author has got to agree or

disagree, but usually decision of the publisher trying to get the best possible time to release the book. so from the publisher's standpoint, it certainly is all about the money. i think the timing is interesting, however. right now you've got a big problem in the middle east. things are going down the tubes in syria. that spilled over into iraq, a place where we spent a lot of treasure and a lot of lives. i think the timing of the book talking about that particular war at this particular time is interesting. >> jack, your point is well-taken. and right now, we're seeing a very unusual photo op. every week, the president has lunch with his vice president. and we never have been permitted in for a photo opportunity. but as you see these cameramen coming out now, they have actually been able photograph this weekly luncheon. so it's clear that the white house is trying to make a big

point about how close joe biden is with the president in response to the gates book. p.j., you've been in the communications office at the white house as well as at the state department. you know exactly what they were trying to do today. >> as jack said, bob gates has a point, and that when it comes to military decisions, those decisions are communicated from the president to the secretary of defense. some of the same issues and tensions that grew in the bush administration as well. but we have vice presidents that since al gore, dick cheney, joe biden, are playing an elevated role. they're playing a significant policy role. i think biden's role within the obama white house has been to challenge accepted wisdom and to make sure that in some cases, to play the devil's advocate, to make sure that there is a vigorous debate with the national security team -- >> and in fact, that was his assignment. because president obama was elected as a critic of the iraq

war. and came in to it with skepticism about the military's role. >> but at the end of the day, these kind of tensions playing out in a principal's meeting is actually healthy. the president values that. he's getting the advice of his team and can ostensibly make better decisions. >> i've got to ask you both about what he writes without quotations about hillary clinton and barack obama, saying that in a conversation both -- first hillary said that she opposed the iraq surge in '07 in iowa because she -- for political reasons basically, because she was running against barack obama, who was an opponent of the iraq war and it was iowa where democrats were mostly anti-war, and he, the president, then conceding yeah, that he opposed the iraq surge pretty much for political reasons as well. you work with hillary clinton at the state department. did you ever get a sense that her motivations on iraq were

political? >> as a senator, she was in a political -- the irony here is we're talking buabout a book th none of us have actually read yet. it's hard to know the context. but hillary clinton -- what made her an effective secretary of state was she not only understood the substance, but did understand the political context in which that substance would be executed without pertaining to american politics or pertaining to afghan politics. >> p.j. crowley, thank you very much. colonel jack jacobs, thanks very much for being with us today. and meanwhile, search and rescue efforts are under way for a missing crew member aboard a navy helicopter after it made an emergency water landing this morning off the coast of virginia beach. 5% nefive personnel were onboar. four people were rescued and transported to a local hospital. their condition is not known. yesterday, four american airmen were killed when a u.s. military helicopter carrying

live ammunition crashed during a training exercise in england. the aircraft was practicing flying at low altitudes, we're told, when it went down, spreading debris, including hazardous bullets across an area the size of a soccer field. safety crews are currently working to secure the scene. investigators then will be able to determine the cause of that crash. a can of del monte green beans? ♪ ♪ if i was a flower growing wild and free ♪ ♪ all i'd want is you to be my sweet honeybee ♪ ♪ and if was a tree growing tall and green ♪ ♪ all i'd want is you to shade me and be my leaves ♪ grown in america. picked & packed at the peak of ripeness. the same essential nutrients as fresh. del monte. bursting with life™.

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gabby, in your recovery, is this a process of trying to get a new gabby giffords, or the old one? >> the new one. better, stronger, tougher. >> and the new gabby giffords is

following through on her goals. three years to the day after the mass shooting in tucson that nearly killed her, the former arizona congresswoman refuses to take a dive unless it is from 12,000 feet. as she'll be doing moments from now in a sky dive with her husband mark kelly. debbie is a great friend of gabby giffords and joins me now. this is so remarkable that she is going to be doing a sky dive. they've been tweeting out pictures of gabby today. savannah guthrie is with her and is going to be reporting on the "today" show. tell me what you've seen when you've been with her on her recovery. >> well, actually, our family spent thanksgiving together. we hiked the grand canyon, and gabby's progress and spirit and physical strength and resolve is just remarkable. recalling what she said about being bold and being courageous,

she's jumping out of an airplane today. it's hard for me to -- >> there's a photo of her with savannah. >> it blows my mind. people should know that she has been so determined to make personal progress, but also how committed she's been to spread her message and how clear she is about the importance of adopting common sense gun safety measures so that we can make sure that--e we know we can't prevent every single act of gun violence. there are common sense reforms that will reduce gun violence. and as a mom of three young kids myself, every young child that we can prevent from being the victim of a gun tragedy is a child that we've saved and worth all the efforts that gabby and so many are putting into this.

>> and last hour, she tweeted "i have the opportunity to do something i love, sky diving with my friend jimmy hatch, and she also said thanks for the good luck call, join me next time. she got a call today from the vice president, who obviously has been leading the charge for the administration on the gun law and gun restrictions campaign. tell me about the lack of progress, though, and the pain for the newtown families and others. we keep commemorating anniversaries, sad anniversaries of various tragedies and this is only the latest where we have not seen progress at the national level. >> and that's in spite of the fact that just in the last year alone, we've lost more than 11,000 victims to gun violence. i mean, at some point, we have to decide when is enough enough?

we've got to stop desensitizing ourselves. that's what worries me. the angst in my heart is that now the news covers these tragedies for shorter periods of time because it's becoming old hat. oh, gosh. another mass shooting. we cannot ignore that we have ten to 11 to 12,000 people who die from gun violence every single year and there are common sense measures that we can take like adopting a requirement that everyone who wants to purchase a gun has to have a background check. mark kelly, gabby's husband, has shown how quick and easy it is. it's not burdensome at all. and we do have a strike a balance between support for the second amendment and not infringing unnecessarily on that right. and also making sure that we protect people's right to live, right to not be threatened or become a victim of gun violence, because someone who shouldn't have had a gun got access to

one. many of these gun tragedies are entirely preventable and we need to take the steps that are essential to reduce as much as possible the likelihood of someone becoming a victim of gun violence because someone who had a gun shouldn't have. >> thank you so much for being with us today on a day of great victory, celebrating what gabby giffords has achieved. >> we've got a lot of work to do, but we can do it together. >> thanks for being here. today, the family of an american detained in north korea is outraged by former nba star dennis rodman's latest stunts, his comments during a trip to the country for an exhibition basketball game. before the game today, rodman led a crowd singing "happy birthday" to north korea's young dictator kim jong-un. camera crews were not permitted to take pictures of kim, though. in a bizarre and sometimes incoherent rant, rodman suggested during an interview

yesterday that detained person kenneth bae, who's been held for 14 months, is responsible for his own captivity. >> do you understand what kenneth bae did? do you understand what he did? >> you tell me. what did he do? >> no, you tell me! you tell me! why is he held captive? >> they haven't released any charges. >> kenneth bae's sister terry chung said today that rodman is playing with her brother's life. >> you've made it clear that you don't want to help kenneth and that's fine, that's your choice. but if you don't want to help, please do no harm. step aside and let the diplomats do their work. derek thought there had to be a better way. the entrepreneurship major decided to update the coat check

process for the digital age, using phones, tablets, photos and qr codes. for more, watch "your business" sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. if i can impart one lesson to a new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone. there's not one way to do something. no details too small. american express open forum. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

i took medicine but i still have symptoms. [ sneeze ] [ male announcer ] truth is not all flu products treat all your symptoms. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus severe cold and flu speeds relief to these eight symptoms. [ breath of relief ] thanks. [ male announcer ] you're welcome. ready? go. at least 21 people across the country have died because of the arctic freeze. much of the nation can still

expect the cold to continue. just how cold is it? take a look at this frozen fountain, solid ice. near minneapolis, black ice made for a dangerous commute yesterday. this driver plunged off a bridge overpass after losing control of her car. luckily, no life-threatening injuries there. in johnson county, indiana, dozens of truck drivers were stranded by the snow. in fact, every state including hawaii registered temperatures at or below freezing yesterday. >> i never delivered in a storm like this. >> it's a big sheet of ice out there. everybody's slipping and sliding. >> mother nature. that's the only one you can blame. >> let's bring in the weather channel's meteorologist julie martin to see when this deep freeze is going to end. i think there are going to be some dramatic temperature changes in the next couple of days. at least in parts of the country. >> you've got that right. the arctic blast finally starting to loosen its grip just a little, but we're still chilly here in the east.

looks like new york is going to get just above the freezing mark. yesterday, central park hit a record low. here's what we've got going on. this arctic retreat, this polar vortex, as we've all been talking about, finally moving out. warmer air coming in from the south. we are going to see some dramatic temperature changes over the next couple of days, in particular by the weekend. the 50s are in sight for new york. the same goes for you in boston. friday, we're back in the 40s. saturday, washington, d.c. 64 degrees. new york 56. also going to be very warm in the south. atlanta, where we saw single digits yesterday, a dramatic turnaround. by the weekend, atlanta, georgia, looking at 60s on the map. et even the midwest, which is where we've been an arctic tundra for days and days, finally going to get above freezing for the first time in about ten days. places like chicago. look at this, by friday, chicago above freezing, and those temperatures will continue to climb through the weekend. so andrea, finally, a

much-needed break for millions. >> thanks so much, julie. that's all good news. thanks for the good weather report. we'll be right back with the state of american business with the chamber of commerce's president. we have a personalized legal solution that's right for you. with easy step-by-step guidance, we're here to help you turn your dream into a reality. start your business today with legalzoom. ♪

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if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com. he was a cia lawyer for more than 30 years, rising to the top. after 9/11, a key player in improving so called enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding. in my recent interview with john rizzo to discuss his new memoir "company man," i asked him if he still defends the tactics that many consider torture. >> what if there had been a second attack? how could i live with myself if that were the case? >> how can you live with yourself knowing that what you did and what you got approved by the justice department was to many people not only morally repugnant, but illegal?

>> looking back on the times and what i had to do, my conscience is clear. >> my full report will be coming up on the "today" show. meanwhile, the u.s. chamber of commerce is laying out its priorities today starting with immigration reform. tom donahue is president and ceo of the u.s. chamber and joins me now with the state of the american business. your prime policy objective is immigration reform. how are you going to accomplish it? >> well, first of all, it's been done in the senate. and we did it in cooperation with support from the affl. >> labor and business together. >> now it's in the house and they're doing it in a different way. they're doing it one piece at a time. in fact, the speaker opined on it today and said they're moving forward. and that they're not going to conference with the house bill, but there are a lot of ways to do that. >> with the senate bill. >> excuse me, with the senate

bill. and i believe that we're in the right place. we bring more and more people in. it's supported by some of the unions. it's supported by the faith community. it's supported by people of both parties. i think you'll see it before the elections. >> but without a path to citizenship, is that the major obstacle? is that what republicans are pushing back against? >> well, let's say first of all we need a path to legality right away so people can function and be a part of this society. even in the best parts of the agreement, citizenship is -- you know, a dozen years away for folks. so i think we'll figure out a way to work that out. >> are you working with the white house and what do you see from the white house? >> i talked to them on sunday. >> and? >> he wants to get a bill. >> and you think you can help? >> i know i can help. we can help.

>> and now let's talk about unemployment compensation. we've seen the vote on the procedural issue. but still there are going to be amendments. and this is not a guarantee at all that it's going to pass the senate, no less the house. but i'm told that you're more hopeful that this is actually going to get done. >> well, the white house has a problem in that they're trying to be very positive about the increases in employment and what looks like some economic growth. not tremendous, but improvement. and at the same time, they want to keep the unemployment insurance. we believe there are some groups of people who are really working to get a job who haven't been able to do so and we will not oppose that bill. the questions are going to be how long, how are you going to pay for it. >> does it have to be paid for? it hasn't been paid for before. there's no history of requiring payment for unemployment compensation for the long-term unemployed. >> well, i think you've got two

reasons that you're going to hear that discussed. the first is the people in the house will sort of think we've gone far enough. and the second is that you've got to have something to give and take on. and i believe they'll do it for a short period of time with some agreements of -- you know, as employment goes up, how we might not do that. the president's own chairman of the council of economic advisers fundamentally believes that this type of program is not in the interest of increasing employment over a long time. >> now, you're playing a big political role. the chamber is going to put $50 million into -- >> i didn't say that. >> into 2014 races? >> i didn't say that. we never tell people how much money we're going to spend. >> it has been reported. >> let me say -- >> fair enough. >> but the money that you are putting into races, that number that's been reported, is going to have a big impact. your focus is going to be

mainstream republican candidates and not tea party candidates. >> that's true. first of all, the reason is we don't have to go out and put together a campaign organization. we have extraordinary people that do this 24 hours a day all the time and we have great communications people, we have field people, we have state and local chambers all around the country, therefore we have a brand. and so whatever money we spend, we spend directly. independent expenditures. and we will spend it and we'll spend it carefully. people ask us in the press conference today, everybody's saying you're opposed to the tea party. of course not. the tea party are the people that said control expenses, criminal taxation, foreign trade, all that stuff. now, a lot of people hooked their wagon to the tea party name. the folks that want to go in and don't pay the debt and close down the government and take all

these -- you know, go somewhere where they're never going to make a deal, are not the people we need. >> you want government to work. >> i want government to work. >> tom donahue, the chamber of commerce. thank you very much. >> good to be here. 50 years ago, president johnson launched the war on poverty. we'll talk to one woman still trying to make a difference in that challenge. coming up next. >> many americans live on the outskirts of hope. some because of their poverty, and some because of their color. and all too many because of both. our task is to help replace their despair with opportunity. and this administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in america.

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50 years ago today, president lyndon johnson launched the war on poverty in his state of the union address. that year, the poverty rate in america was at 19%. according to the latest numbers, it is now 15%, which translates to nearly 50 million people. one non-profit organization "lift" is taking a community-based approach to combatting poverty. >> what lift did for me was really, it helped me pull myself together. lift pulled me through. so now i'm employed. >> it makes me feel that i'm not alone. >> it's just a wonderful place. i mean, it's just such a plus. it's really a positive force in the community. i can't say more about it. i really can't. >> kirsten is the co-founder of

lift. great to meet you. you started this when you were an undergraduate at yale. and you met some homeless people or people in need. and this was your notion of individually-based poverty action. tell me about it. >> that's right. i was actually inspired to start lift after volunteering in head start, which was a war on poverty program and working with children living in poverty. but i started to feel that the children i was working with needed so much more than what i could provide. they also needed families who were on stable ground. and so what we've done over the last 15 years with lift is to build an organization that helps families establish the strong personal, social, and financial foundations that they need to get ahead, ranging from stable jobs, safe housing, education for themselves and their kids, but also the ability to access the confidence and connections that we all need to achieve success in life. >> how do you do that in most recent years in the recession

and in this terrible job market, when jobs are so scarce, especially in the cities in which you work in? >> absolutely. we're working in ten neighborhoods across six major cities with over 100,000 families. the interesting thing about our experience at lift during the peak recession years is that our family success rates have been significantly higher than the national average. and we think it's because we take a unique completely personalized approach to working one-on-one with families. each family is paired up with an advocate in our offices who gets to know their needs, their goals. families themselves have the opportunity to self-determine their goals, and then to work doggedly with our lift advocates to achieve them. and we've seen huge success rates in terms of employment placement, housing placement, family income growth. even through the recession years. so we think as we look to the next 50 years of the war on poverty there are great successes that we can take, even from these difficult economic times about what is working.

>> how do you fund this? >> we are almost entirely privately funded through individual donors, corporations, foundations. we receive some federal government that we're going to be working with the family itself. it will place more young people in our country in service to help lift families out of poverty in the coming years. >> what about follow-up? it's one thing to place a family in a job and give them services. what about the continuity? how do you accomplish that? >> i think one of the problems with most of our mainstream approach is to combatting poverty in this country for the last many years has been that we tend to take a short-term view. we look at the long-term. even if someone secures a job, that doesn't mean their housing situation is stable or their child care situation is stable. we'll work with families for

years really as long as it takes to help them continue to make progress because our goal should be lifting families out of poverty for good and not just for a short period of time. >> it's a great pleasure. thank you so much for all your work. we'll follow-up with you as well. and which political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? that's next here on "andrea mitchell reports." [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

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which political story will make headlines in the next 24? just an update on gabby giffords. there's a tweet. look at that. tandem jump with a friend navy s.e.a.l. named jimmy. we heard about two house retirements. carolyn mccarthy i covered her first race after her husband was killed and her son shot on the commuter train. she's been such a gun advocate. that seat in long island could

be a really competitive seat and also mike mcintyre from north carolina. a democrat from north carolina. it's going to be a lot of changes in those hot races. >> lots of moderates leaving in both parties. earlier this week jim gurluch announced he was retiring. under the right circumstance, republicans would have a chance. if you are looking for pickup, the mike mcintyre seat will be hard for democrats to hold that one. >> and any prediction for baseball hall of fame announcements coming up in the next hour? >> mussina is on the ballot. i hope he gets in. >> me too. i'm with you on that. and cooperstown has to be cold there. fun to be up there at this point. thank you very much. that does it for us for this

edition of "andrea mitchell reports." remember follow the show online and on twitter. craig melvin has a look at what's next on "news nation." >> developing news in the next hour. the white house at any moment expected to give its first on-camera response to that explosive memoir from former defense secretary bob gates. as you can see, press secretary jay carney at the podium right now. also, another heartbreaking and complicated life support fight. a texas hospital keeping a woman on life support against her wishes because she's pregnant. it's our "news nation" gut check. and omaha police union refusing to backdown after getting blasted for using this obscene video of a toddler to explain what it calls the "thug cycle." it's coming up next on "news nation." check it out. i can't believe your mom has a mom cave! today i have new campbell's chunky spicy chicken quesadilla soup.

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breaking news right now. this is "news nation." that is jay carney. the white house first response in assertions made in robert gates' new memoir. let's listen in. >> you expect competing points of view and competing opinions and that's very much what the president expects in foreign policy, in domestic policy and that's what he gets. he's grateful for it. >> real quickly on nsa meetings over here in the next couple days, what's the purpose of those? is the president informing these people coming to them what he's planning to do or is he still collecting information for them? >> he's still in the process of deliberating over the review groups report and hearing from

others on the issues that were raised in the group's report. remember, the president's overall review includes not just the review group but others involved in assessing how we gather our intelligence and what reforms we might make to the process. so he's at that stage still where he's listening and discussing with a variety of stake holders these issues and appreciates very much the opinions and counsel he's getting on these matters. >> did the comments in the book about vice president biden prompt the white house decision to let photographers into the lunch today? >> no. as you know, the vice president and president have a standing weekly lunch. when the vice president is in town, he attends virtually all meetings that the president holds especially on national

security measures and as you know because we've discussed this a lot at the end of last year, we have been committed to looking for ways to provide photographers access to the white house and the president and providing photo opportunity today was part of that commitment, fulfilling that commitment and, you know, again, i don't think anybody who has covered us or knows the president and the vice president, knows how this white house functions has any doubt about the president's faith in vice president biden as an adviser and counselor. so we don't need to reinforce that. it's a fact. >> the timing of the photo was just coincidence then? >> it was coincidence. he has a weekly lunch. >> it's not normally on camera. >> exactly. we have as you can ask our friends in the world of photography here, debatend