pete seeger. ♪ this land was made for you and me ♪ >> good day and welcome. i'm andrea mitchell live from capitol hill for a special state of the union edition of "andrea mitchell reports." the state of our union is pessimistic, increasing the pressure on president obama to reignite hope for the last three years of his presidency. cecilia is the director of the white house council and joins me now from the white house. thank you so much for joining ugs. any last rewrites? what's happening behind the scenes? >> there's polishing going on of the draft as always happens on the day the president gives huz

his speech and there's a lot of excitement here at the white house. we've been building up to this for a long time and policy development and communication is a big day here. >> we don't expect this president as disciplined and organized as he is is going to be rewriting the speech in the car the way bill clinton used to. but at the same time, will americans be listening tonight? so far what we've heard is that the big message, the biggest advance leak is a minimum wage increase to $10.10 an hour but only for federal contractors and new contractors. speaker boehner has already said today that's basically no one because new contracts aren't being let. >> we think it's probably hundreds and thousands of workers. it's an important move that the president can make because it's essentially more value and efficiency for the american taxpayer's dollar. the people who do the laundry or serve the food at a military base deserve to earn minimum wage. and of course he's going to have

a conversation with the congress about advancing minimum wage proposal pending before the congress as well as the entire workforce. the president talked about this as a year of action. the american people expect the president to do what he can. and you're going to hear a comprehensive range of proposal as and some will involve working with congress. he wants them to be part of the action. but he will be taking action on his own. >> last year there were 41 asks by the president and two delivered. one was the debt ceiling and the other was the violence against women act. he's got head winds now, our new poll shows that 68% of americans feel they are worse off or in the same place since president obama became president. how does he confront that? >> well, you know, we had a rough year last year in the sense we saw the government shutdown and had the fight over the debt ceiling that you talked about. there was the snafu with the

website. so you can understand why people approach this from a pessimistic place but you're going to hear a president approaching this from a place of optimism, we created 8.2 million jobs and know we have a lot more to do and this president is focused on doing it. if you look at some of what he was able to accomplish last year, he called for immigration reform, for example. we've got a bipartisan bill through the senate. there is an increasing sense of hope and everybody understands it's in the interest of the american people to get this done. he put forward a rule that provided overtime protection to 2 million home health care workers. vast majority were women. he put forward climate action plan, which with very ambitious goals which this administration fully has within our authority to accomplish. so this is a president whods focused on action and that's what he intends to talk about tonight and do through the course of the year. >> how discouraging is it that last year after the horrendous

tragedy of newtown, the singular moment everybody remembers is his appeal to do something about gun violence. let me play that for you. >> gabby giffords deserves a vote. the families of newtown, deserve a vote. the families of aurora, deserve a vote. the families of oak creek and tucson and blacksburg and countless other communities ripped open by gun violence, they deserve a simple vote. >> if congress did not respond to that, what will they respond to? >> well, it is incredibly disappointing that congress didn't respond to that but this is also an area in which the president committed to and ultimately advanced 23 executive actions, including some very, very important steps forward in the area of mental health. we're going to continue to stay focused on that, that's a tremendously important body of

work by this administration. again, we see that because congress passed a bipartisan budget proposal, we see the beginnings of bipartisanship and there is hope that congress will take on the issue of immigration reform and we'll get that octoberive done. the president intends to work with congress where he can but he's not going to let congress stand in the way of him doing his job for the american people to build opportunity to make sure we continue to grow the economy to make sure that we make opportunity available throughout this country. that's his focus. >> thank you so much for joining us on a very busy day at the white house. joining me now are two key advisers to president obama during his first term, msnbc contributor robert gibbs and david alex rod joining us from chicago. let me play for you the response to our very negative wall street journal/nbc wall street journal polls, the head winds are

obvious. this is the way dennis mcdonough and valerie jarrett responded. >> the president doesn't go home every day worried about poll numbers. >> as you know the president never paid attention to the poll numbers. >> david, the president doesn't pay attention to the polls? >> well, i think that was absolutely the right answer because if you sit there in the white house and you get consumed by poll numbers, then you can get paralyzed by the kind of noise and chatter and you don't get stuff done. i would recommend that they embrace that attitude. this is not -- we tend to get into the points scoring, who's up and who's down. what the american people want is a sense that they are real practical solutions to be achieved. and that's the challenge for him tonight, in an environment that people know there's been tremendous amount of gridlock. can he propose a real practical answers so the number one issue

on their minds, which is how do you make the economy work for all americans? >> robert, he faces the same dilemma that second term presidents often face. you've got nixon and truman faced not a second term, but nixon and other presidents have also faced the fact that 51% of americans in our poll are not happy with his performance. the problem with that is it translates into the way, democrats and republicans view him on capitol hill and that means votes. >> well, look, i think your poll demonstrates what a tough year 2013 was for this president. and quite frankly was for this country. you're always to a certain degree buffe eted by crisis in the white house. that's why it's so important tonight for the president to present a clear plan of action and clear tone, a direction he wants to take the country, a plan for getting there, whether it's with congress or without congress and give the american people some renewed confidence

in that leadership. >> david, it's obviously either poll tested or focus group tested but he's talking about opportunity and doesn't want to talk about income inequality. there's a negative connotation to that and class war fare. but he's talking about opportunity for everyone. how does he address that other than the minimum wage increase for federal contractors in new contracts? >> this is a place where he does have -- because a broader minimum wage increase is something that would have an impact on millions of americans. and he -- there are other things in his tool kit that he should -- that he'll talk about. some of which he can promote on presidential authority in moving industry in the direction it's starting and pilot programs on jobs and training that are relevant in today's economy. there are things -- there are things he can do that will move this economy forward. but they have to be things that are credible.

one thing i would point out about the poll, however, is that the poll has two dpoen ents -- the other is rating of congress. >> i knew you would say that. >> the party ratings are abysmal. they have an i mpetus they can find common ground and this may be an opportunity on some of these issues to move forward. >> robert, when we talk about the republicans, the fact is they can't even agree on one spokesman or woman to present the republican message. they've got cathy rogers speaking for the congressional republicans and tea party response and you have three republicans at least. >> i think rand paul is doing a response. i think one, it does show -- i think the republicans will -- it will be a while before they can present a unified series of ideas, probably until they have a nominee. but i think as david mentioned,

the congressional approval numbers demonstrate quite frankly what the american people think of washington and that is a place where a lot of people will talk and not a lot will get done. the real honus is on everyone in the room, not only hear exactly what the american people are concerned with, but more importantly, can they put aside these differences and work together and make some progress? as you mentioned, minimum wage increase for a new contractor is nice and symbolic. the question is at the end of the year will the actual minimum wage have gone up? i think that will be the test for this president and for this congress. >> david, what's happening behind the scenes? you and gibbs have been there, done that. first thing out of his mouth was he had concern the white house is really working hard on mitigating the weather impact on the whole nation really. so is the concern that he won't have the attention of people

really more worried about the farm products and the crops and getting to and from school and all of the problems we've had this winter all across the nation, particularly now in the south? >> i think that's a good cautionary note. it reminds us that while we're all excited about this speech and you have a countdown clock and we'll be talking about it all day and after, most americans aren't sitting around the table or at the water cooler saying, i can't wait to see the state of the union speech. they are thinking about other things. the key for him is to speak in a language that is credible to the folks who are watching and to make the case, that yes, this actually matters, not just a koo bukky dance. i do agree on the republican response, i saw a graphic with all of the people delivering a republican response. it looked like the hollywood squares. it was really odd. so they've got some work to do on their side.

>> and you're dating yourself with the rechbs to the hollywood squares but we all get it. >> yes, thank you, i could have said the brady bunch, it would have been worse? >> that would have been worse. >> thank you very much. >> robert, thanks for being with us here. and speaking of the weather, coming up, more from capitol hill on state of the union. the once in a generation winter storm slamming states from texas to north carolina with heavy know and ice, forecasters warn this rare storm could kriple some cities and towns facing the same challenge as columbia, south carolina, a city of 130,000 people. it has only eight snow plows on hand. due to the dangerous conditions state officials warned drivers to use extreme cautions on road or stay home entirely. at the airports more than 2600 flights have been canceled, including more than 800 in the hub of atlanta more than 600 at the major airport in houston. i'm randy, and i quit smoking with chantix. as a police officer, i've helped many people

in the last 23 years, but i needed help in quitting smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced the urge for me to smoke. it actually caught me by surprise. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking, or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental-health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away, as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood-vessel problems or if you develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping, and unusual dreams. i did not know what it was like to be a nonsmoker, but i do now. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you.

delicious, but say i press a few out flat, add some beef, sloppy joe sauce and cheese, fold it all up and boom! delicious unsloppy joes perfect for a school night. pillsbury grands biscuits. make dinner pop. i have a big meeting when we land, but i am so stuffed up, i can't rest. [ male announcer ] nyquil cold and flu liquid gels don't unstuff your nose. they don't? alka seltzer plus night fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a decongestant. [ inhales deeply ] oh. what a relief it is.

[ inhales deeply ] nwas the most watchedage otelevision event ever.s so, what's next? the upcoming winter games from sochi. where every second of nbc universal's coverage will be available on every device. on tv, online or streaming on the nbc sports live extra app. beginning february 6th, experience the winter games everywhere. welcome to what's next. comcast nbcuniversal

welcome back to our special coverage here on capitol hill. let's get more on the new nbc news wall street journal poll from the experts. i'm joined by chuck todd, nbc news political director and chief white house correspondent and host of ns nbc's "daily rundown" and chuck, first of all to you, this poll, we've been talking about how negative it is and job rating is bad. there's really an overwhelming wrong direction feel, that wrong direction is what's driving a whole sense that this country is not improving. >> well, it is, there's a big picture here. we sit here and look at every poll. this is a decade, ten straight

years where the right direction has not even creeped over 40% in this country. and over the last decade, there's been various reasons why the country has felt down on where we're headed as a country, whether it was the iraq war or recession, health care, political polarization, people can pick their reasons why but collectively, it's led to this decade long of melees, whatever you want to call it. it is now with the back drop for tonight for the president, it's a cynicism that is the hardest thing for him to overcome, where you get the sense reading this poll that the public is about ready to give up on washington. they are not -- they don't have a lot of optimistic feelings about the rest of the president's term. we've shown some of those numbers but nearly 60% feel either pessimistic or wondering about what's going to happen, uncertain about the rest of the

term. it is a grim backdrop that the president faces, number one. but we ought to take a step back and realize, ten years, this is a weary public. they are tired of being upset and maybe given up on washington and that has to be the scariest feeling if you're in west wing tonight. >> chris, it strikes me as chuck has been talking, talking about pessimism and cynicism, this is the aftermath of the government shutdown and other things, and health care. ev there's the back wash from that. he gets that overall anger and actually weariness of washington that washes over him as well. >> no question. andrea, i think chuck has hit on it, which is the question for president obama and his senior aides, there isn't a speech that

can overcome the cynicism that people bring toward washington. there's not a proposal. not as though he just finds the right set of words to say it, all of a sudden people win. it's a process. i think the white house hopes that process starts tonight. i would argue we went back here at the post and the most memorable impactful state of the unions and most recent one we found was george w. bush, so 2002, when he laid out the axis of evil. these are not typically speeches even for someone who is quite gifted like a speech giver like barack obama, go ahead. >> let me challenge you on that. that speech arguably turned this country in a direction on foreign policy -- i know tonight will not be about foreign policy and traditionally it's not. but those words, axis of evil and i was standing here in congress, i called the control

room, i said this is a big deal, state department, with all due respect, colin powell did not focus enough on those words and get them taken out of the state of the union. up until that moment, iran was cooperating with the united states on the border of afghanistan, post 9/11, iran was more or less an american ally but being included in the axis of evil, it turned the iranian government in a completely different direction and it was a turning point in american politics and foreign policy. >> i would agree with you. my point was -- that one was the exception, not the rule, not that that speech didn't matter, in fact it quite did. there are some speeches as you look back past the century that did matter. that's clearly one. think of all of the state of the unions since then we've not had a moment like that. clearly there are these moments because it is sort of a tradition an event and moment. it just usually the rhetoric and

nature of the speech rarely lives up to what we expect. sorry. >> we had ronald reagan saying the era of big government is over, that was a visual effect. chuck, there was bill clinton talking about the end of big government as well and trying to replicate that moment. what about the word cloud in our poll though and the fact that only 3% of the people said that the state of the union is strong? >> we gave them this offering and i think that just tells you, right away tonight, it's possible that the president doesn't channel the public when it comes to this. we're being told this is going to be an optimistic speech, that he's not going to dwell on sort of where the public discussed washington is going to be. a few state of the unions ago and i forgot this, he did try to touch on this in 2012 in the state of the union. he tried to channel this knowing this is an election year and there was a polarization and

people had the feeling nothing would get done anyway. tonight i don't get the sense he is going to deal with this issue, which is a public that is essentially not listening to washington anymore and not looking to washington to solve its problems. on paper, when you look at our poll and the issues the american people once prioritized, the president will hit most of the issues in the speech. does the public believe he's going to accomplish something on this front? if you look at the 2013 state of the union, he said a lot of things that poll tested well and none of it got done. it is -- almost a goose egg. the white house would take issue with the word goose egg but it was an unyou will filling state of the union in 2013. it's a real problem for the president because this is the last one where he can command this much of the agenda even for a small period of time. >> chris cillizza and chuck

todd, we'll all be watching together tonight. thanks so much. for from capitol hill on tonight's statue of the union. 1964, one quarter of all americans were living in poverty and americans were fighting in vietnam. a war time president declared a new domestic war. >> unfortunately 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. [ applause ]

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.

how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. i was trying to, like, pull it a little further. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing. it's hard to imagine how much we'll need for a retirement that could last 30 years or more. so maybe we need to approach things differently, if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. ♪ 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. how can the president unite a country divided and increasingly pessimistic. joining me now is claire mccaskill. the issue of military pensions was dealt with at the hearing today. there are so many concerns now about the military and about what is happening to our people in afghanistan as this war supposedly winds down. what about the pension issue? is this a critical issue facing our retired service members? >> i think there's obviously most of us really feel strongly that we need to keep promises that were made to our service members and if there are members in the military that made plans, based on what they had been told

they would receive, we need to make good on that. but that -- we've got to have a big commission report about military retirement in general in about another year. and i think it's time we look at proactively how do we do pensions in the future. what makes the most sense? should we have really high cola adjustments during a time somebody is retired and working really good jobs at the same time. to make sure we're recruiting the best and keeping our words to those we have recruited. >> there have been scandalous stories, the "washington post" reporting on generals behaving badly and nuclear command has been implicated in a number of scandals, cheating scandals and drug use. is there a breakdown in discipline at the top? >> there's always a few bad apples. i would say overall the leadership in our military has never been stronger. i think the chairman of the arms services committee will have a

hearing on the command talking about the command. you see a very integrated command in our military. you see women getting opportunities like they frankly are not getting in the private sector sometimes. so i do think there are a lot of positive stories about our military command. overall, i think the rest of the world is a little worried about whether or not we have taken our eye off our military preparedness. >> and at the state of the union tonight we'll be focused on big domestic issues, not only the president getting bad poll numbers but we have terribly negative numbers for members of congress, both parties. how does the nation recover from this sense of malaise and disappointment? >> anyone who said the president's numbers are in the tank have not looked at ours. congress makes him look really popular. there is a real dissatisfaction with all things government and all things washington. i get that. but one of the things people

need to realize that part of the problem is the middle is so week right now my phone never rings with someone calling to say we would like senator mccaskill to compromise. the phone rings with people with strong ideologies, even on the far left or right. the middle has been cannibalized. if you don't have a middle, you don't get much done. >> there's a lot of talk on hillary clinton and "time" magazine cover on hillary clinton. she has the obama pac raising money for our other supporters in iowa over the weekend. she may not have declared or made up hur mind or announced but there's a train leaving the station. this was rand paul i don't know how to describe this, this was what happened on "meet the press" when david gregory asked him about something his wife had said in "vogue" suggesting that bill clinton's behavior, 14, 16

years ago, should be relevant. let's watch. >> someone who takes advantage of a young girl in their office, i mean, really? then you have the gall to stand up and say republicans are having a war on women? i think it's a factor. not hillary's fault. >> but should be -- >> it is a factor in judging bill clinton in history. >> he went on to say you can't separate bill and hillary clinton. do you think bill clinton's behavior, bad as it was and the impeachment process should be an i am pediment to hillary clinton running for office and being elected? >> i think i can speak for most women to say what i found what he said infuriating. most women understand they should not be held accountable for the behavior of their husbands. quite frankly it was a long time ago and our country did very well under the leadership of bill clinton. you know, unbelievable job

creation, healthiest economy we had in decades and peaceful times, prosperous times. i think rand paul is grasping, trying to show he can be tough and win the presidential nomination. it was a political posturing and frankly what rand paul doesn't get is that women want birth control. what rand paul doesn't get is that women don't want to be marginalized in the workplace, that we are not yet at the point we need to be in terms of our country and around the world, having our seat at the table and large corporations, having our seat at the table in terms of changes and social policy to allow us to have children and flexibility in the workplace. the win mum wage impacts more women than men and a third have children. this is really an economic issue and the more the republicans keep talking about how somehow

they've got it all figured out about women, the more trouble they get in. >> would you suggest republican men shouldn't talk about libido in relationship to birth control? >> i'll never forget when my mom was sick near the end of her life and i was talking to her, i'm sorry honey. what's wrong, mom? i thought we had this birth control handled about 20 years ago. women don't want to feel like they are moral judgment cast upon them because they want birth control as a basic right in this country. i don't understand why these guys don't get that. >> claire mccaskill. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> and coming up next, more of our special coverage from capitol hill. first, another look back at a state of the union marred by tragedy, 1986, president reagan's address was postponed after the space shuttle challenger disaster. president reagan began by honoring the fallen crew members a week later. >> we pause together to mourn and honor the valor of our seven

challenger heroes and i hope we're ready to do what they would want us to do, go forward, america, reach for the stars. [ applause ] we will never forget those brave seven but we shall go forward. s! sorry we're late. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪

♪ [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack

didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor thoughtful combinations, artfully prepared. fancy feast elegant medleys. inspired dishes like primavera, florentine and tuscany. fancy feast. a medley of love, served daily. . >> here on capitol hill, the senate armed services committee heard testimony about the repeal in budget cuts and pensions and not how to pay for it. joining me now is one of the key senators, a member of the budget and armed services committee, as a republican member of both commits, you know you have to pay for this. but the argument from some is that it is already grandfathering a lot of people. and that if they'll get the

money back after they turn 60, this is affecting double dippers. >> no, no. >> tell me what your argument is for fixing what was left out of the budget deal. >> okay, for one thing, the democrats on the committee doesn't want to seem to pay for it. this is part of a budget deal. there's a $6 billion price tag an we think we can take o bam am administration proposals and substitute them for the $6 billion pay for -- >> tax proposals -- >> budget savings. >> okay. >> but also the idea that these military members are going to get the money back at age 62 is not correct. it is an absolute loss of some $80,000 lifetime for the average enlisted person once they retire until they get to the age of 62, $80,000 out of their income and they never get it back.

>> is the fix to grandfather for all current members then do it prospectively? >> exactly. >> this would be in keeping with the directions the house and senate gave the military commission when it was established to look at savings that we could have in a d.o.d. compensation, made it very clear the proposal should be for those who enlist and join the service after its enacted, not current retirees and not current service member. instead, what we were forced to do this behind closed door deal that was take it or leave it, all or nothing, we had to make it a plot to current retirees already drawing and military members who pretty willful fill our side of the bargain. here comes uncle sugar, we've done our share, you don't

deserve this full cost of living. it's wrong and we're at the point of universal agreement among republicans and democrats and administration that it's wrong and should be fixed. >> now, what could the president say in tonight's speech that would get support from republicans and somehow get something accomplished? he asked for 41 things last time. only got two of them, violence against women act and the debt ceiling and that was only after a horrendous fight and shoutdown and all the rest. is there anything you can agree on with congress and president facing abysmal poll numbers? >> i think so. there's bipartisan agreement, for example, for the keystone excel pipeline. there are democratic senators from all over america -- >> the president hasn't decided to approve it yet. >> there is something the president could do that would be a job creator and i think that's

the sort of thing that we're looking for, some sort of give and take. you know, another thing -- the president can't call for this, but i think we would get a lot more progress out of the united states senate if we opened up the process. if we would just take a bill up on monday morning and let the amendments come out and start debating them and voting on them. we haven't done that since harry reid became the leader of the senate. it worked under previous democratic leaders and worked under daschle and mitchell. it worked under robert byrd. i think opening up the process would be an opportunity for the president's proposals to be brought out of the democratically controlled committee, put them on the floor, see if the senators from the 50 states have better ideas and let's vote and let the sunshine on the process for a change in the united states senate. >> thank you very much.

>> thank you. glad to be with you. >> it's the economy. the president will focus on opportunity and equality tonight. but will his messages be as memorable as this one? it was 1996. >> the era of big government is over. [ applause ] >> but we cannot go back to the time when our citizens were left to fend for themselves. hi, are we still on for tomorrow? tomorrow. quick look at the weather. nice day, beautiful tomorrow. tomorrow is full of promise. we can come back tomorrrow. and we promise to keep it that way. driven to preserve the environment, csx moves a ton of freight nearly 450 miles on one gallon of fuel. what a day. can't wait til tomorrow. progress-oh!

[ female announcer ] with 40 delicious progresso soups at 100 calories or less, there are plenty of reasons people are saying "progress-oh!" share your progress-oh! story on progresso.com.

i have a big meeting when we land, but i am so stuffed up, i can't rest. [ male announcer ] nyquil cold and flu liquid gels don't unstuff your nose. they don't? alka seltzer plus night fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a decongestant. [ inhales deeply ] oh. what a relief it is. i nethat's my geico digital insurance id card -

gots all my pertinents on it and such. works for me. turn to the camera. ah, actually i think my eyes might ha... next! digital insurance id cards. just a tap away on the geico app. could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know that when a tree falls in the forest and no one's around, it does make a sound? ohhh...ugh. geico. little help here. welcome back. tomorrow the nation's top spy masters will have to testify about the current level of terror threats around the world and it's a week before the sochi olympics and after a year of angry debate following edward snowden's revelations, dianne feinstein joins me now. senator, there's so much going on in that arena. first of all, let me ask you about sochi? how safe is sochi and are we

getting the cooperation we need from the russians? >> i think we are from what i know, which is actually very terrorism is up in the world over the last few years. there's no question about that. i think the russianses are go s make a full-court press to provide protection and i assume there will be many rounds of gates people will have to go through, which may ferret something out or not ferret something out. but tomorrow, we have the world threat hearing and that will be as you say, an opportunity here from all of our head people in the intelligence world about the worldwide threats that exist. and i think the conclusion that i draw from what i've seen and read is that the threat is up, not in this country because the intelligence community has been very able to prevent plots in this country from emerging into

actual attacks. and you know, some of that has been involved with the nsa debate as well as with other things. but there is no question that the number of people killed by terrorist attacks is way up. >> the government's privacy board last week came out in a very different place from you and president obama. ruling that in fact the collection, not the -- not holding all of the telephone records and data, but even the collection of all of that metadata is not that beneficial and actually should be abandoned. this is not where the people came out in his speech and not at all where you came out. what about that recommendation and this really fraktous debate about how invasive it needs to be, the nsa to keep us safe? >> the point of this is to have the specific metadata pieces of information. no content of any one phone call -- >> they said that --

>> instantously if a terrorist calls into somebody in this country and there's an element of reasonable suspicion that you can go in and just query that data base for the call it makes, which the president has limited to two calls, and there by if there is something, you send it to the fbi. the fbi gets a probable cause warrant and they can go out and do a full investigation. when used with other things, it's not only used alone, it has brought forward information, i believe on a number of attacks and prevented them from happening. and you know, if you look at this world today with the spread of terrorist groups, look at north africa, look at mali and central african republic and what's happening in syria in terms of attracting some terrible fighters there that

even said are going beyond the bounds. if you see all of that happening and you know that they have an intention to come after us, the only way you can stop it is through intelligence knowing what they are going to do early enough to be able to piece the pieces together and disrupt the plot. >> from what you now know, do you think that edward snowden did have help from the russians? it's something that mike rogers suggested on "meet the press" and i know you were on the program but on a satellite from san francisco that day. i'm not sure you had the full benefit -- >> that's right. i have no information to that effect. i've never seen anything to that effect. i've asked some questions since and nothing has been forthcoming. what do you want to hear from the president in the state of the union at a time when the polling shows our nbc/wall street journal polls

extraordinary disengagement directed at the president and congress? >> here's what i want to hear. i want to hear an optimistic speech that rallies, to be able to come together and move this economy forward. i think it's going to be economic opportunity. i think it's going to be income inequality, which is getting to be a really big problem in that one percent of the people have been able to garner 95% of the benefits of economic recovery. and the bottom have just lost out. so you've got a problem of serious misdistribution of income. and i think we need to work on that, and i think the first step is the minimum wage. and the president, i believe, as you know, is going to say that he, through his executive order, is going to move forward with the minimum wage increase to

federal contractors. it's my understanding that this could affect 200,000 to 300,000 people. it is a step in the right direction. california -- san francisco's minimum wage, they're looking at $15, and other cities are looking at $10.10, too. so i think to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 is really something that we need to do. >> dianne feinstein, thank you so much. >> you're very welcome. and the country has lost folk music legend pete seger. his political active vichl and music were a blended pursuit, even early days. his log cabin became the site of the weavers first gatherings where "if i had a hammer" and "whim away" was born.

seeger was black listed in the mccarthy era where he refused to answer questions. he went on to found the newport folk festival. his songs will last forever. "where have all the flowers gone?" became the anthem of the peace movement, and after he poplar e poplarized "we shall overcome" it became the rallying song for the movement. he won a national medal of the arts. in 1996, he was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. pete seeger's focus was on the activism. president obama said today in a state, pete used his voice and his hammer to strike blows for workers' rights and civil rights. world peace and environmental conversation, and always invited us to sing along. and on his 90th birthday, bruce springsteen said about his beloved friend and collaborator, at some point, pete seeger

decided he'd be a walking, singing reminder of all of america's history, a living archive of america's music and conscience, a testament of the power of song and culture, to nudge history along, to push american events towards more humane and justified ends. pete seeger was 94. his music is ageless. >> the song isn't a speech. a song isn't an editorial. a song is a story at best. and it can mean different things to different people. ♪ we shall overcome ♪ clovers and blue moons ♪ hourglasses, rainbows ♪ and tasty red balloons let's go! ♪ lucky charms ♪ frosted lucky charms ♪ they're magically delicious 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 still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness if you qualify, and new car replacement, standard with our auto policies. so call liberty mutual at... today. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? if it doesn't work fast... you're on to the next thing. clinically proven neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. it targets fine lines and wrinkles with the fastest retinol formula available. you'll see younger looking skin in just one week. one week? this one's a keeper. rapid wrinkle repair.

and for dark spots rapid tone repair. from neutrogena®.

thand does it for this me degrees of "andrea mitchell reports." tamron hall has a look at what's next on "new% nation." seven hours and counting. i just dropped my iphone. the president's fifth state of the union address is upon us. he will keep his promise to

raise the minimum wage for some workers without the help of congress. we'll talk to loretta sanchez to see what needs to be done for all workers. plus, a once in a generation storm of sleet and ice is right now closing in on the south, and as we know, some states are not equipped to handle this kind of weather. schools are closed. more flights have been cancelled. and people are beirb being urge stay off the roads. we'll get more on the storm affecting 40 million people. we'll talk to the photographer behind a new and very controversial exhibit on nannies. the exhibit is called substitutes, and she says she's exploring the social, racial, and economic relationship between nannies and the children they care for. we'll talk with her live. [ male announcer ] the new new york is open.

open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. 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.

to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. hi, everyone, i'm tamron

limited, however, you know,