all right, so just curious, mika, you know, i'm a big alabama fan, right? >> sure. people would ask me, what are you going to do? what is your plan? you know? we don't got a plan. we just got good old boys and girls and alabama and blah, blah. because, see, the bear would never show his hand. what are you going to do? show your hand? >> show your hand. >> everybody is freaking out. the president said yesterday we don't have a plan. a what is worse? is it worse if a president says i've got a plan and this is exactly what i'm going to do? >> exactly. >> no, i'm serious. dead serious. or is it better to go, you know, because this is what i would do. if you ever liked me as president of the united states and i was about to kill some terrorists, you asked me what the plan was, you know what? i really don't have a plan right

now. i'm kind of working on it. this is straight out of the art of the war. >> i can't tell if you're joking or not. >> no, i am dead serious. i am not joking. it's straight out of the art of war where when you were weak, you make your enemies think you were strong. when you were strong, you make your enemies think you were weak. no. i'm just saying. everybody is freaking out. a couple of days ago the republicans were freaking out they are releasing information at intel and showing our hand. i'm dead serious. maybe this guy is confused and maybe he has no idea what he is doing. i'm thinking, though. >> yeah. >> again, i said this last week, barack obama -- i said it in real-time. so for republicans that want to kick me around, you can kick me around if you want to. i said it in real-time. when he said it was about humanitarian assistance that is cool but it's not really about

humanitarian assistance. we are going to see more and more going in. the president got more active and more active. the president has a plan on isis. does he know exactly where they are going to bomb in syria? maybe, maybe not. i suspect they probably do. because everybody around the president is showing their hands. on russia where he is supposed to be so weak. samantha power delivered a blistering attack against the russians. the president was like, the same thing, you talk about syria. his secretary of defense, his secretary of state, everybody who works for the commander in chief, they basically stated we are going to go into syria. i kind of like -- i'm just saying. this is what i would do. now maybe, maybe he has no idea. >> you would say we don't have a strategy? >> i would say -- well, we don't really have a strategy yet, we are still working on a strategy. if i'm about to attack another country -- no, i would say --

no. if i were about to attack another country, i'd say, you know what? we don't have a strategy. we are still working it out. you know, then i'd go over. scramble the jets scramble the jets, right? they are looking at and going, barack obama. scramble the jets. okay, i'm sorry. am i wrong? >> you might be right. >> am i? >> i appreciate your point of view. what joe is talking about -- >> definitely the most clever way i've heard. >> i'm not defending him. i am saying -- i am not defending him. i'm saying this is strategic. i said last week, he went out golfing, right? and people on the right were attacking him and people on the left. they couldn't figure out exactly what i was saying when i said i'm sure there was some isis commanders after the beheading of jim foley and the tragedy that a couple of minutes later he went out golfing. i said a couple of isis commanders are thinking, wow, that's one cold bastard, right? because it sent the message.

not only are we not going to give you a hundred million dollars, i'm not going to change my schedule and i'm going to go out golfing. and, again, people on the left and people on the right freaked out. guess what? a couple of days later, you had al qaeda going, okay, that guy doesn't give a damn. we are not going to get money from him and what do they do? they release an american. >> i've heard a theory which is compliments he does this vagueness for a purpose of making sure our allies aren't free-loaders. if you're looking at barack obama and you're wondering what cards he is going to play you know he is not taking off the entire burp of foreign policy off your hands. an interesting theory and lead from behind thorough. you need to get international partnership on this and you don't run in and follow you in. you make sure that they are with you. on the other hand, i think there's another theory to all of this which is syria is a blanking mess and that is a lot

of difficulty in formulating a plan that could be in any way effective and knowing long-term ramification of any move you make. it is a mess. if we bomb isis we strengthen assad. if we strengthen assad, what does that mean for the last two years of foreign policy? >> the united states of america has survived for decades with the assad's in power. by the way, the assad's do not want to attack america. at the end of the day, we have got to split the world between bad guys that want to bomb america and kill americans and those guys with black flags on the top of that tank is exactly what they want to do. and bad guys that don't. i said it last week. >> that is easier. >> the world was safer. the world was safer with saddam hussein in power. the question now is the world safer with assad in power? is it? guess what? let me answer. americans are safer.

if we have to choose between assad and isis, we're safer with assad there. if you have to bomb and kill isis leaders and that helps assad, right now, we don't really have much of a choice. assad doesn't want to blow up buildings in washington, does not want to kill americans. he is a thug. he is horrible. he's killed 200,000 of his own people and he is absolutely miserable. isis will do much worse. >> that is very different reaction that we have seen over the past 12 hours, the president speaking to reporters yesterday, talking about the plan or lack thereof in place to combat islamic militants. take a look at the president now with that in mind. >> i don't want to put the cart before the horse. we don't have a strategy yet. i think what i've seen in some of the news reports suggests that folks are getting a little

further ahead of where we're at than we currently are, but no point in me asking for action on the part of congress before i know exactly what it is that is going to be required for us to get the job done. >> you don't want me to talk about the suit? we have to talk about the suit. >> okay. >> white house came out later and tried damage control, blah, blah. i like the suit. that is a great khaki suit. that's a southern thing. >> it's a labored weekend wedding suit. >> it is now confirmed he will never wear it again. >> look at me. i'm a fashion -- i'm the king of fashion. >> you don't declare war in that suit. >> no, you don't. >> a lot on twitter. >> mika, i think also his answer could have also been just inartful. to think that barack obama and his secretary of defense and his secretary of state and everybody else around here, chief of staff, have not been thinking and obsessing about isis 24 hours a day is outrageous. they have. so if it's a slip of the tongue,

it's a slip of the tongue. i hope it was something bigger and better and i thought it was a slide of hand. right. i hope it was also smoking out our allies that makes the united states -- make the united states of america carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. we are sick and tired of that. the president is sick and tired of that. s so we will see. >> when it comes to taking out terrorists the president is underestimated before. josh earnest the white house press secretary tried to clarify that the president was raeverg specifical -- referring specifically to syria. it feeds into the criticism you're responding to, joe, finds more than 50% of americans believe the president is not tough enough on his approach to foreign policy. so we will follow that. then move on to ukraine. president obama -- >> by the way, not tough enough. you got to put that up. i'm sorry. >> this is what the president is dealing with. i've been talking about this for months. so 54% of americans say the

president is not tough enough. >> yeah. >> right? >> go back a month and a half, two months ago. >> yeah. >> and look at the number of americans that didn't want us involved in any other wars overseas. are any other military operations overseas? they have been telling the president and also other republican politicians stay at home. and, you know, sam, i -- but, at the same time -- >> we want to manage world affairs. >> yeah. we want to be the world's policemen. >> sure. this will segway into the ukraine portion of it but dissidence here with president obama's foreign policy and i think is reflective in the polls. he is saying the sanctions against putin are working that they are effective and they have isolated russia and, yet, obviously, russia is being more

belligere belligerent. you start questioning what is the point of -- what exactly is the effect of the administration's policy. is it tough enough? if it's so tough as the president says, why is it having such a tangible effect or marginal effect, i should say. >> we want to get to eugene and christine belletoni in a moment. president obama is ruling out action into ukraine. ukraine's president accused moscow of directly helping pro russian rebels by sending in soldiers to help separatists seize control of a key coastline town. nato shays russia has up to 1,000 troops inside ukraine and release satellite images as part of its case. the u.s. bambassador had harsh words for you're during a u.n. meeting of the nun security council. >> instead of listening and heeding the demands of the international community and the rules of the international order, at every step russia has

come before this council to say everything except the truth. it has manipulated, it has obfuscated and outright lied. serious negotiations are needed, urgently needed but russia has to stop lying and has to stop fueling this conflict. the mask is coming off. in these acts, these recent acts, we see russia's actions for what we are, a deliberate effort to support and now fight alongside a legal separatist in another sovereign country. >> let's bring in nbc news correspondent keir simmons live in london. what is the response out of russia? >> reporter: the foreign minister in russia is describing those claims of russia getting militarily involved with its own military in ukraine as simply conjecture. so russia is doing what it has always done, which is trying to aim towards plausible deniability, even while that

deniability gets less and less plausible. then, at the same time, the ukrainian prime minister is saying that he wants to remove ukraine's status in other words, meaning i want to head towards nato and that will ignore the russians even more. effectively the big picture is things getting more and more tense. >> nbc's keir simmons, thank you very much. >> thank you, keir. gene, what can the united states and the president do with this conflict that is going on in the shadow of russia? >> very little, frankly. i mean, you don't invade russia. you don't get into a war with russia. you simply don't. sanctions are basically the only tool we have and the sanctions increasingly draconian sanctions, along with our european partners, that's kind

of the only way to go. i don't see really an alternative. there is just not a good option. there is a contrast between samantha power's strong rhetoric and the president's rhetoric in his news conference yesterday which was, well, this is awful, but, you know, it's not really a change. well, it was -- which kind of uniform russian regulars in there. >> gene, what was that about? obviously it sounds like samantha power is saying what the administration wants her to say obviously. she didn't go out there on her own. what do you think the president's press conference, the man in the tan suit press conference was all about? he just seemed to be low keying it and trying to keep everybody calm, but his people are out, you know, raising hell. >> joe, i don't know. i guess my reading of the art of war was many years ago. i've kind of forgotten parts of

it, so i'm not sure if that is what the president was doing in his remarks about iraq, syria, and about russia and ukraine. but i came away confused. i came away confused as to what our policy is in iraq and syria, for example, against islamic state. we seem to be more against islamic state. i'm not sure what that means. i wonder why congressional leaders haven't been consulted more robustly and drawn into this discussion, because, you know, this is a big deal. the president says, and i think he is right, that this will take a long and sustained effort if there are to be no boots on the ground. i'm wondering what kind of foot ware those military advisers are wearing who have already gone.

the country, you talk about public opinion. people don't want to get involved in another middle east war. they want us to lead. so you got to get these two together. you know? you go to form that public opinion if you're going to do anything. >> no doubt about it. we have got christy belletony and talk to her -- >> also this story out of mary landrieu and how she may not be a resident. >> we have nick who is is not exactly sure what the united states foreign policy is. so a lot ahead. still ahead on "morning joe," changing the game. how the houston astros are building a championship team around extreme money ball. joshua green will speak to us about and nicholas kristof, we will speak to him. forget the mid terms. we have the latest toronto

mayoral poll next. one of the kardashians realizes being part of that family isn't all what it's cracked up to be. you're watching "morning joe." we will be right back. ♪ nobody ever stomped their foot and asked for less. there's a reason it's called an "all you can eat" buffet... and not a "have just a little" buffet. because what we all really want is more. that's why verizon is giving you even more. now, for a limited time, get more data!

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mika, before we go into the morning papers, of course, big scare with joan rivers. minor throat operation. this is is in "daily news." she is fighting for her life. sam stein came giggling like a little teenage girl. so excited that brangelina have finally tied the knot. >> i've been waiting years! finally! >> there is a picture. i think it's in the daily news of a naked miley cyrus wearing, like, -- >> they are like high tops that you've never, ever seen before. they go way high.

>> some of the oatmeal came back up. awful. >> it's too early for that. >> i feel bad for her, i have to tell you. the "the washington post" the world health organization believes the ebola outbreak will get worse before it subsides predicting as many as 20,000 people will become infected. health officials say the virus has mutated repeatedly and making it harder to treat and they are rolling out a plan to stop the threat of ebola the next six to nine months and cost estimated $490 million. >> wow. "usa today" hundreds of civil rights icon rosa parks along have gone sold to warren buffet. no idea if he is turning them over to canada. it includes the medal of freedom and accordance. buffett says his foundation eventually plans to put the items on display so americans can enjoy them. the purchase ends a long legal

battle over the memorabilia between parks's heirs and friends. "wall street journal" google is delivering a fleet of drones. >> this makes me a lilt nervous. >> i don't want to see this. why are they doing this? >> look at this. they are going to deliver my, what? eight-track? >> your daily dose of -- >> they drop from the sky like that? >> are you kidding me? ridiculous. >> ridiculous. >> what could possibly go wrong? >> through the project known as project wing, their lab is developing the technology so it can deliver packages to customers more quickly. still google says it is years away from the fleet being fully operational. amazon is giving the company a run for their money by also developing drones and making videos with online content. >> i think it maybe a bit of an overkill. i'm sitting on my iphone at 4:00

or 5:00 in the afternoon and my kid says, could i get a little book? ironman book? i go, there. okay. it's there the next morning. do i really need a drone coming around flying? this is pretty efficient. >> i don't have that. >> it costs $9.95. you know what, mika? i always grew up believing that reading is fundamental. >> please. >> i know you like sticking your kids in front of computers. but my mamma taught me that reading is fundamental. come on! are you really knocking me for buying a 9 dollar book for my 6 years boy? >> it was delivered in hard form or did you buy it on i bobooks? >> it's delivering harder. no, you want your child to be sitting next to you -- >> lick it. >> and i have to lick it. >> okay. mayor ford. come on. >> oh, yeah.

let's go to the serious news of mayor ford. >> the toronto star shows embattled rob ford is gaining ground in his race for re-election. he is currently in second place in the race despite facing call for his resignation amid a public battle with drugs and alcohol. crack. it appears that residents are warming up to ford again with 63% of toronto residents looking for him to resign in june but that number has now dropped to 50%. according to the latest forum research poll, john tory leads with 34%. ford at 31%. >> can you live with yourself if you lose an election to rob ford? john tory, you need to step up your game. how can you be up only 3%? >> all right. >> i love it. this is a fascinating story. you know what? perhaps we can get to christina

belletony. >> you said her name right. >> mary lon drou wandrieu was g have a serious fight. now the question whether she keeps her home in her state. she claims her home on capitol hill as her address. the paper work she listed her family home in new orleans. has home thab reporthas been re inhabited by her parents for decades. according to "the post" marshe has -- her opponent says call it what it is. she doesn't live in new orleans. landrieu says in a statement i have lived on my home on pryor street most of my life and live there when i'm not in washington or serving constituents across

the state. christina, what is going on here? i guess is there a fine line being drawn here. >> of course, this happened, obviously, in indiana to a former senator who was -- >> and kansas. >> luger who was attacked for living in washington and not indiana. >> there is a lot of interesting thing at play here. one thing, tom daschle in 2004, there was a perception that they weren't in touch with being back home and that is one reason why that affected particularly senator lugar. senator landrieu has raised her kids in washington. i used to go to the same capitol hill gym she did and quite a beautiful home on capitol hill. a perception in louisiana. her family's name is all over that state. her brother is the mayor. that little bit tings this. they are a deeply rooted

louisiana family. this is a tossup race and a difficult place. mitt romney won that state by a lot and she is in a very, very difficult re-election battle. she has money and she has some power and authority with the democrats in control of the senate and that is what she is campaigning on reminding her home state she can help the state if her party is in power but you're defending your party's leadership when it's unpopular. >> it is a problem that you have for senators who have been in washington a long time. they become more washington. >> people closing in on her a lot of angles accusing her of misusing her campaign plan at times as well so we will follow this. coming up, johnny manziel hasn't lived up to the hype on the field but ask him to dancerize and it's a completely different thing. >> do arm circle things and add a little jazz to it and now do this. >> i'm a little uncomfortable. >> wow. first, the politics of war.

that's ugly too. while bill kristol thinks it's time for president obama to face the facts when it comes to the islamic states. the must read opinion pages, next. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ great rates for great rides. geico motorcycle, see how much you could save. when folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america.

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♪ time now for the must read opinion pages. we will start with eugene robinson and "the washington post." are we at war again? gene writes in part this. gene, is the aim of u.s. policy to contain the islamic state or to destroy it? obama should tell the nation in plain language what he believes we must do. congress should debate the issue rather than duck it. after all no decision by our elected leaders is more fateful. as far as i can tell we don't have a strategy yet obama said thursday which is the one thing we already knew. >> gene, a lot of people concerned. obviously, on the left. you certainly heard people on the right explode about it last night. it was concerning to a lot of americans to hear the president say we don't have a strategy get on a situation that is really the most frightening for most americans since 9/11. >> yeah. well,, you know, the reason we consider it so frightening, not

only, you know, the atrocity that happened to james foley, but also what administration officials have been saying. you know, chuck hagel saying the worst thing we have ever seen and eric holder talking about the worst terror threat we have ever experienced. so that urgency contrasted with what the president said or didn't say. so i just want that fundamental question. i want to be clear on that fundamental question. you know, not when the planes are going to start bombing or whatever and not tactical movements but what is our aim here? are we going to contain or break anything or wipe it out. >>? you think i'm being a little optimistic hoping beyond hope and polly annish that the president is hiding his hand? i'm doing the best i can do here. we don't know. i just find it hard to believe that when your secretary of

defense says this is the gravest threat and the nu.n. talking about it's the gravest threat they are not doing that all on their own. they are following the president's lead. i'm wondering what we saw yesterday and i don't think the president is walking around the white house scratching his head saying we don't know what we are going to do yet. i think that was sent out. i know it's disturbing for a lot of americans. i think that was meant for somebody to be seen. i just do. >> i also think -- >> you know, you may be right, joe. obviously there are plans. >> there are plans, yes, there are. >> i'm sure a lot of them with different strategies. look. one problem is none of the option are attractive. none of them are very good, including the option of, okay, you know, telling the saudis and others in the region, you know, you got to go in and do it. well, what happens, you know, five years after that, ten years

after that, after you've kind of empowered these local militias to invade. >> christina, jump in. members of congress are clearly on vacation well and everyone criticized the president for going to martha's vineyard. this is a grave threat to our security, is it not? >> the one person you didn't hear from is speaker john boehner. you heard really loud, loud criticism coming from senate republicans. mitch mcconnell saying it's time for the president to exercise some leadership and everyone jumping on these comments whether like joe might suggest they are intended for someone to send a message. the republicans make it sound like he doesn't have a strategy on anything. of course, that is why they had to do some damage control from that. members of congress are saying you need to consult with us. we are not going to tolerate just hearing from you about what you're going to do. at the same time, it's

interesting for me to flash back to one year ago. this is when you had the height of the chemical weapons with syria. he said i haven't made any decisions and consulting with everyone and not sure what we are going to do yet. here we are a year later. the phones back then were ringing off the hook on capitol hill with recess with constituents saying don't do anything in syria. as much as you're hearing public sentiment against any wars you're not hearing that same debate at this exact moment. >> can i add congress has to play a role if he expands it beyond iraq. a lot of members on the hill are insisting on it. >> congress has to be aggressive. the leadership has to get out front. and stay where they are. bill kristol's column was released at midnight last night and says president obama doesn't have a war strategy because he still doesn't want to accept that we are at war. >> the bbc's kim gattis will

join us next and we will talk to her about that. also donald trump settles one of life's most profound unsolved mysteries. >> look at his hair. >> it's beautiful. >> is it really? >> all that and much more when "morning joe" returns. ♪ ♪ it's time to bring it out in the open.

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hi. need an appraisal? yeah. we do. vo: when selling your car, start with a written offer, no strings attached. carmax. start here. ♪ that was on odd press conference at the very best but to say we don't have a strategy was really shocking, given the severity of the threat. that's what is so concerning to me. >> joining us now is bbc correspondent kim gattis to talk more about the criticism the president is getting on this press conference. >> kim, it may be referred to by historian decades from now the

tan suit press conference where the president says we don't have a strategy. >> weigh in, kim. >> i don't think that is quite the case. they have a lot of different strategies. don't they first have to figure out what their allies across the middle east is going to do first? >> absolutely, joe. i think there are definitely the outlines of a strategy there. but the one that is being pushed forward most by some of the president's advisers are just air strikes. you know, i was speaking to officials this week who were saying everybody is at the white house trying to convince one man that they need to conduct air strikes against syria, against isis in syria. clearly, the president wasn't convinced by the idea that all it takes is carrying out air strikes. he wants a more multipronged regional approach to this that isn't just all about the military. he is not necessarily asking the saudis to participate in strikes, but he wants, for example, the saudis to make very clear that they are going to support the inclusive political process in iraq where isis is

also a threat. >> you know, kim, we wanted, as a nation, to have other allies get involved in helping our battles. a couple of our allies did this past week. allegedly go into libya, the uae and egypt. yet they weren't pleased with the state's department to that. can you help sort that out? does the united states of america want our allies going after jihadists or not? because that seems to send the wrong message for future attacks. >> well, libya is a different case because the government there did not necessarily openly request the help of the uae and the egyptians so that was a unilateral decision by those two countries to attack islamist that are part of, in a way, the political fabric in the country as we are to admit that sometimes. and, of course, for the u.s., what they put forward as a reasoning behind why they

carried out military air strikes against isis and iraq is that was a request made to buy the iraqis themselves. but, you know, there is something really interesting going on here, joe. we are ten years down the road now from the iraq invasion that caused such resentment against the u.s. in the region and here we are today seeing people in the region sparing about the fact that an american president doesn't want to conduct military strikes. i want to make one more point about the speech or statement was received in the arab world. i was looking at at the arab press a little bit. the focus is not on his suit. the focus is not even on his statement about we don't have a strategy. most of the headlines are about one other statement he made which is we cannot ask the syrians to choose between assad and isis and that is a key message to send to people in the region. there must be more than just that terrible narrative choice. >> joe, the two points you've

made the past few days about the republicans coming together and getting behind the president. many in congress are on vacation yet we bump in with one quick to criticize the president's statement. and then to the other point that you made this morning, everybody, it's like a feeding frenzy because he said the words we don't have a strategy, look at bill kristol, we don't have a standard yet? as president obama acknowledges in his august 28th press conference, we don't have a strategy yet to deal with islamic state. president obama doesn't have a war strategy because he doesn't want to accept we are at war. being a war president doesn't comport with barack obama's self-image and for barack obama self-image trumps reality. really, joe? i mean, at this point, i don't think i've seen any other side to this story until we started this show this morning, because everybody is available to criticize. >> there is a disconnect, kim, obviously. a lot of people are concerned and it's not just conservatives who are concerned about that press conference yesterday. gene robinson wrote a column this morning in "the washington

post" very concerned about the lack of strategy. nick kristof yesterday was concerned about the fact the president doesn't have the strategy yet. there's such a disconnect, though, between what his administration is saying and what samantha power is saying at the united nations, what chuck hagel is saying in front of cameras. i just -- i'm having a hard time squaring it up and i can't believe that the president doesn't have some idea on how we are going to move forward? syria. he is just waiting for the rest of the region to come along. >> yes, absolutely. i think also to the point that you're making earlier in the show, joe, perhaps he is trying to make clear to president assad that the u.s. isn't about to bomb his enemies just to make him feel better. look. i think that the world and the united states should be grateful that there is a president in the white house who is very deliberate, very thoughtful about going for the military option, but perceptions also matter when you're trying to project power and spelling out we don't have a strategy yet is

perhaps not the best way to project power. >> kim gattis, thank you very much. coming up forget the military talk about taking down isis. speaking of twitter. the president's suit gets a #. really? >> i love that suit. >> we will be right back. >> i love that suit. vo: this is the summer. the summer that summers from here on will be compared to. so get out there, and get the best price guaranteed. find it for less and we'll match it and give you $50 toward your next trip. expedia. find yours. machines will be sprayed to be made. and making something stronger... will mean making it lighter. one day, factories will work with the cloud.

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so, mika, whenever sam stein and i are on the set, we go to boston globe to see how the red sox are doing but we don't have to do that this year. instead we are talking about what is on the top of the boston globe. martha coakley is actually losing to charlie baker, a republican, who is her most likely opponent this fall in massachusetts. it's close. >> what is going on there? >> my gosh. marriage coakley statewide. >> not the best statewide candidate. massachusetts actually does have a history of electing republican governors from '91 to '0. we have mitt romney and bill weld but marriage coakley has a tainted batter the voters of massachusetts just don't like. >> the federal corruption case against former governor bob mcdonnell and his wife maureen

will soon in the hands of the jury. they wrapped up their case yesterday. the marriage was some such shambles they say the couple don't have coordinated to accept gifts from a wealthy donor. an fbi agent testified over the two-year time frame of the investigation the mcdonnell spent 21 of 29 nights together. >> that's a pretty good ratio. >> closing arguments begin this morning. if convicted bob mcdonnell could end up spending more than 20 years in pretty much. is that the issue, trying to keep him out of prison by proving this marriage was so fractured, christine taachristi? >> she wanted to split the charges up against the two and saying look how terrible the marriage was. nobody knows what is happening inside the home when you're both in it. there is a lot of space for people to sleep separately in the governor's mansion but this is a sad bizarre trial for putting your life on display that you're talking about small amounts of money that could have

led to very big corruption. >> christina, thanks. the focus of a new piece in politico magazine titled "loose tweets sink ships." with us now, chief white house correspondent for popolitico, me allen. so many things i could say about that headlines. >> say it, mike. >> happy holiday friday! >> a big one, baby. why is politico saying that isis aggressive internet strategy may backfire against them? >> this has been an incredible and disgusting success story. the islamic state is so good at social media. they put a hash tag out there. one time this month that they got 160,000 tweets with that hash tag in three days. these gruesome photos and videos that at the put out have post production. they have an english language magazine online. so they are tapping into this

jihadist sentiment around the world. but western intelligence agencies tell politico magazine in this amazing piece by jacob silverman that this actually gives them a window into the thinking and the power centers in the islamic state and a tool that will help them follow what they are thinking, what they are dolg, who is doing and who is control. the twitter has murky policies about what they can take down, what they will block on youtube. they have actually a click. you can block and announce terrorist content, they will take it down because it incites -- >> what is twitter doing? if isis puts you will something that obviously is trying to recruit terrorists in the united states or england, across the west, what is twitter's policy been? what does the magazine article say? >> it has not been determined and that beheading video was blocked a lot of places, but youtube and facebook are more advanced on this and they have

clear policies. youtube actually has a forum message that you can get if you report content by an organization that is designated terrorists by the u.s. twitter has to figure it out fast. >> mike, thank you very much. coming up at the top of the hour, russian troops marching on eastern ukraine. why is the west ruling out a military intervention? the nfl calls an audible on its domestic violence policy. first, the politics of fashion. how twitter blew up over president obama's suit choice yesterday. really? >> what is with it? >> "news you can't use" straight ahead. i'm type e. my golden years will not just be gold plated. i had 3 different 401(k)s. e*trade offers rollover options and a retirement planning calculator. now i know "when" i'm going to retire. not "if."

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everybody is going crazy over this thing. i guess they want to see whether or not it's my real hair. which it is. so here is what i'm going to do. miss universe and miss usa, i own it. they are here. they are going to really do a number on me. i'm challenging president obama, my son donald, my son eric. let's go, ladies. >> whoa! >> what a mess! >> look at that! it's real! >> i own it. >> i already checked. >> i made a grab at it. >> by the way, look at this. look at this.

so the largest news agency in russia has just put out something. we have got it coming up next so it's perfect. it says brzezinski family business. >> flip the phone for a second. >> it has his quote on russians. kill them. >> no, it does not say that! >> no, here is the real story of mika's phone. >> only the top-notch design for mika there. >> at least the glass didn't break. >> fair enough. sam. >> they are letting me read this and this could be disastrous. >> you can't read! you went to dartmouth. >> the president's suit choice lit up twitter with yes we tan. >> i wore those suit on monday. i'm going to wear this suit. i don't care if it's after labor day. i'm wearing this suit on tuesday. >> that's terrible. >> so i got to go. "vanity fair" noted in 2012 the

president said he only wears gray or blue suits in an effort to pare down decisions. i'm not sure how that exactly works but other tweeters proved it wasn't the first time the president broke the mold. here he is during an easter service earlier this year. >> yes. >> and while many users were negative on the commander in chief's suit selection, he certainly is not the first president to lighten things up. the nation's longest serving congressman john dingell offered his strong support for the fashion choice and others speculated the white house is taking style tips from governor rick perry. look at that encounter there. it inspired its own twitter handle named obama's tan suit. >> all right. >> oh, my gosh. >> very good. sam, thank you very much. we are having a blast by reading this thing about your family business. reinvose. >> a russian outlet. they attack your brother and father. >> other brother.

>> as an aging anti-russian and attack me as a right wing congressman and say we use our show to offer up opportunity to talk about your cozy relationship with the white house and to promote neocons like bill kristol. >> all in one piece. >> i'm sure he'll get a big kick being attached to the conspiracy against mother russia. so i had a little bit of fun last hour talking about president obama and hoping, hoping that he was trying to hide his hand. still, as we sort through this and go through it, really as you think about it, you do have to ask the question what was the president thinking when he said we don't have a strategy yet? because you know that he is talking every day to his foreign policy team and you know there are a lot of different options. john kerry is going to the middle east next week. i think they are trying to get more people on board. i do like what he said. i thought it was interesting.

kim gattis with the bbc said the takeaway is not the tan suit but barack obama saying we can't give the people of syria an option between isis or assad so he does have to be extraordinarily careful in the signaling. not only sends to the middle east but also the signal he sends to assad, a man who has killed up to 200,000 of his own people right now. >> everybody is making an extremely big case over these comments that he made yesterday about not having a strategy. but i think the bigger issue -- they say it pertains to the president being an anti-war president, that is his image and his thing and why it's so difficult for him. actually, i think the other main narrative of his foreign policy has been we don't go it alone any more. we don't go it alone any more. we are not the only ones. >> i mentioned this last hour. first of all, i think he has multiple strategies. the question is has he settled on one. clearly he hasn't with respect to syria.

but as i mentioned a little while ago i think one of the white house's goals essentially is to have enough vagueness in what they are saying we don't produce -- >> we don't want free-loaders to think we are going in by ourselves. >> gene, we may not have the specific strategy yet, but do you have any question? you were asking some tough questions about whether the president doesn't have the goal determined already which is the elimination of isis as a threat in the middle east? >> i assume that is the goal. so how do you get to that goal? my question is do you contain it and degrade it? so it's no longer a threat? do you believe you have to eliminate it so it's no longer a threat? and as you said earlier, there are plans. of course, there are plans, but none of them are attractive and they all have risks, and at some

point the president will decide which way to go. i think that was an infallitius to talk about that. >> how do you spell that? i like that word. i'm going to use that word a lot this weekend. if alabama runs off tackle when they should have thrown a screen pass, i will say saban was a bit infallitious on that play. >> kind of an infallitious suit but we will see. in the south you wear a tan poplin suit in the summer. >> we have too many yankees out here. >> is the d.c. south? >> yes, it is when it snows. let's bring in senior fellow ian brzezinski. the president not only getting hammered for the no strategy statement as it pertained to syria and isis. also, of course, a lot of criticism for seeming to sort of just sort of brush off criticism

of russia yesterday in the press conference. yesterday, samantha power gave a blistering attack to russia's actions in the united nations. you've been behind the scene when big foreign policy decisions are being made. what do you make of it when everybody else in the administration is saying is a bit more aggressive than what the president of the united states says in a press conference wearing a tan suit? >> good morning, joe and mika. yesterday, a statement by powers was powerful and strong but one that will resonate is the president's statement. the president signaled that, unfortunately in my view, that ukraine remains beyond the realm of america's military interests. and that is reassuring to putin. it reassures him the risks of his military invasion of ukraine is low. >> ian, what can we do? obviously, there are reasons why we went into iraq instead of

north korea in 2003. we couldn't because china is right there. we can't send troops in ukraine, can we? what is the most aggressive thing that the president of the united states should do? >> there are three things that he can lead the western community in the following ways. first, we ought to be providing real military assistance to ukraine including lethal military assistance. surface-to-air missiles and anti-tank weapons and drones and intelligence to enable the ukrainians to better defend themselves and backed up by active training and i would argue nato military exercises in ukraine. secondly ramp up the sanctions. the sanctions today are harsher than months ago but they are still specific targeted sanctions and not sec torial sanctions and don't have the pain to make putin change his calculations. third, we ought to be strengthening the resilience of other countries along russia that are under threat. georgia, muldova. that not only is needed by them

it also impose a geo political cost on russia by increasing american influence in that region. >> sam? >> there is a dissidence to what obama was saying yesterday. in essence he said the sanctions have worked. they are tight. they are effective. the russian economy is damaged and putin continues to be an aggressor here. fountain sanctions are working so well the message hasn't been conveyed to putin. >> they have to be tougher sanctions. >> the question will the europeans buy in again? it took a downing of an airplane filled with european citizens to get them on board to even this point. can you get them on board each further? even with that be an effective turn? i think as much as obama is limited on syria and very limited on syria i think he is even more limited to what to do with the situation in ukraine. >> obviously, the situation very tough. you look at this right now, ukraine is claiming 1,000 russian troops in their country.

>> can i just make a point? >> yes, plea. >> the russian excuse about their troops setting up in ukraine is hysterical. every now and then they didn't know where the border was and they wandered over. come on. there was a map. >> ian, i just want to let you know before we go to the next story, you have been written up, along with mika and your brother mark and your father as being in the family business of the cold war. this is all a grand conspiracy and you're going to love this. they have actually connected mika with bill kristol. >> that is a positive step for mika! >> really positive step for mika! >> oh, great. >> i love it. i love having neocon in your family. so nice to have somebody i can relate to. >> it's always nice to have a family profiled, isn't it? ian, thanks very much. to other news now. a california teacher is facing discipline this morning for reportedly sending out some head turning tweets earlier this year aimed at her high school students. according to reports, she

tweeted items like. >> oh, my god! >> wait! >> i want to stop. >> i already want to stab some kids. is that bad? they try my patience and make my trigger anger. >> people need to understand twitter is public. >> you have a teacher threatening to stab and shoot students. i don't know. i think when i'm talking to the principal, hey, listen. so jack and kate next year, any other teacher but that one. can you guys get locks on your doors? >> the teacher admitted she handled herself inappropriately. >> you think? >> unprofessionally is the word she used but added she is one of the most liked teachers on campus because she performs meaningful and long-lasting relationships with her students. >> who she kills. >> she has reportedly been given

a written reprimand but still in the classroom. more to that story. >> i think you threaten to stab kid, you probably shouldn't be in there. >> another story here. >> it's a small ask, you know? >> it is a small ask. you threaten to stab students to death you get more than a written reprimand. >> it is the day before labor day. a preschooler is punished for something posted on social media by his mom. the woman -- >> look at him. the kid is cute. >> the woman said she was upset her son's private christian school didn't give enough notice for picture day so she decided to let off steam on facebook and she wrote, quote, why is it every single day there is something new i dislike about will's schools. are my standards too high and people working in the education field that ignorant? >> that was on a private facebook account. the next day the school called her in and they told her to come by for a little chat and that is when they told her that her son

was being kicked out of school. >> come on. >> can you believe that on a private facebook chat. >> just to be clear. a teacher can threaten to stab her student but a mom can't complain about a lack of warning for pictures? >> i'm just going to be a little -- can i be a little katty? >> no. >> smile. >> but the school says you utilize social media to call into question not only the integrity but the intelligence of our staff. these actions are also consistent with discord which is spoken of in the handbook you just signed. >> whatever. >> if you're upset that picture day, okay. >> she was writing it on her private facebook page. >> also it really wasn't -- >> my daughter says her facebook page is private too. >> but it's not. >> you see it every day. >> comedienne joan rivers is said to be resting comfortably

with her family in a new york hospital. she was having minor throat surgery when she stopped breathing. rivers is no for her take no prisoners brand of her comedy and she has toured clubs for decades and tv roles from "the apprentice." and filling in for the great johnny carson on "the tonight show. >> but she will be okay. they rushed her to the hospital last night. put her in a coma. still ahead on "morning joe" unconscious discrimination and the stereotypes hurting american. we will ask nick kristoff is everybody is a little bit racist. the nfl cracks down on domestic violence while realizing errors in handling the misconduct of ray rice. the obama administration so-called lack of strategy to stop isis. you're watching "morning joe." we will be right back.

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i don't want to put the carter before the horse. we don't have a strategy yet. i think what i've seen in some of the news reports that folks are getting a little further ahead of where we're at than we currently are. >> that was president obama's response to chuck todd's question in the briefing yesterday. chuck joins us now from the white house. a beautiful shot of the white house as well. chuck, where to we begin? it seems like he was talking about all-out war strategy as opposed to just not having a strategy. >> chuck, what are you hearing inside the white house? we have been talking about this conflict between what we're hearing in the united nations, what we are hearing from around washington and what the president said yesterday. >> well, the president was sending a message -- first of all, the comment itself in isolation the white house argues is worse than what he meant and they remind all of us including

me that he was respond to go my specific follow-up on going -- does he have to go to congress before he goes into syria. and what they say as they say is shorthanding, hey, we don't know what our military targets are going to be in syria, how big our assault on syria is going to be and until we decide that then we decide what kind of legal authority is or is not necessary from congress. but, you know, the fact is that's also admitting they haven't decided on how to handle syria. the president went out there yesterday to essentially stop the drum beat. he realized that his own aides, many of his national security team, are wanting more -- would like to see a decision made of going into syria sooner. >> are you saying he is sending a message not only to his allies but also to his own administration to calm down? >> yes, to his own administration. he's not -- he's not stupid. he knows we in the media aren't making up the drum beat.

we have our own sourcing and video of chuck hagel and mart dempsey and own video of ben rhodes last week doing -- >> they say this is the most dangerous threat to the united states since 9/11. >> this is a president who is still not sure the minute you go into syria, he's the one. he is the most cautious one around that table right now, in that national security room because once you go in he hasn't heard the good answer then what? you're in. then what do you do? is this about -- can you narrow this scope of just destroying isis without going into syria without having to rebuild syria and getting involved in that mess? >> chuck, what is so interesting with we heard time and time again after osama bin laden was killed only one man sitting around the table saying let's do it and everybody else expressed their concerns but here it seems to be the opposite. kim gatt circumstancis was on f

we have to convince one man that we need to bomb him because everybody else thinks we do. >> that is exactly what this is and why he went out there yesterday which is, hey, shut down the drum beat. stop it. you know? cut it out. it was a message to the media, a message to his own national security guys. by the way, the other part of the news made is he also outlined his -- exactly what it would look like if he does go in which is he expects a whole bunch of sunni states to be part of a coalition with them because he doesn't want america bombing syria all alone. >> two other political stories i want to ask you about, chuck. bob mcdonnell, the federal corruption case against the former governor is soon in the hands of the jury. how do you think this wrapped up? it was bizarre on so many levels. which side presented the strongest case do you think? >> you know, i think that this is a tough -- that is such an odd defense that it seems like the mcdonnell couple all decided

it's all her fault and her own lawyers -- i mean, you guys tell me. that's a thanksgiving table i'm not going to want to be around. >> not even close! >> look. it seemed to me that mcdonnell -- that they had a hard time trying to pretend that the two of them had this bad marriage. i don't know if they -- they didn't seem to prove it to me. >> he should have taken his plea deal. what do you make out about the story coming out of louisiana about mary landrieu and her ressy? it hurt lugar obviously. is it mattering to mary or not? as you know, the family is a fabric of louisiana, of new orleans. it's going to be hard to convince people in that state that she's gone d.c. >> right. a lot of democrats are saying, hey, they tried this six years ago against her. you know, her house here in d.c. is one of the more prominent houses that are used for democratic fund-raisers in town.

so, you know, look. i think in this climate, it could be more toxic to her because, you know, this is an anti-washington field. she is helped in blunting this that her chief is a member of congress. not like she is running against somebody who is of louisiana -- >> her a hardware store down the street. >> exactly. i think that blunts it. joe, look at pat roberts right now. i think that ressy issue it almost killed him in the primary and apparently he hasn't escaped trouble yet in the general. residency issues depends how you respond and react to them. >> when we were growing up, people said campaigns didn't begin in earnest until the day after labor day and in presidential races is begins three and a half years early. but in this case, probably it really does in earnest begin the day after labor day. i'm going to say i've never seen a midterm election as up for

grabs as this one. it's crazy. republicans should be way ahead in a lot of red states. >> i agree. >> nobody is moving ahead. there are no democrats moving far ahead. what is your take -- preseason ends and the real election season to control the last two years of the president obama presidency begins. >> i'm with you, joe. any result at this point, wouldn't shock me meaning maybe a wave develops late. if you look at the races this summer, a few of them got better for republicans, think iowa, but a few of them got better for democrats, think north carolina. so there wasn't a consistent who had a better summer than the other. look. i think anything could spark a new trigger. i think what the president does on immigration, i think, could end up becoming an odd spark,

and i don't think it plays evenly across the board. but it could be one of those unexpected sparks that has more of an impact just because no other issues have an impact, do you know what i mean? it's not like health care is having an impact and nothing else in the foreign policy policy stuff isn't playing on the trail. i think this is a shame. we are thinking about sending more troops to the middle east and there is a bunch of scared candidates afraid to talk about it. >> thank you. >> unbelievable. >> very well put. chuck todd, thank you. congratulations. >> congratulations. >> great things ahead for you and we are cheering from the set of "morning joe." >> how is it going to be different? are you going to start with sparklers or what are you going to do? >> well, let's see. definitely a lot of college gameday, right? don't you think? i think definitely that. so some form of that. >> a lamp shade on your head? >> a lot of paul fine bomb. >> coming up this week to talk about isis paul finebomb and the

herd. they are yelling at us. texas a&m, johnny football who? i can't believe how good a&m was last night. >> sumlin was interviewed after the game. he almost took a shot at manziel. he goes, yeah, we are, obviously, more than a one-trick pony. it was interesting. not happy with johnny manziel. johnny who, baby? >> amazing stuff. >> have a great weekend, chuck todd. >> congratulations. it doesn't happen often but the nfl has admitted it made a mistake. why the league's domestic violence policy is now changing. update on the story we brought you yesterday about a six-week standoff between a supermarket chain's workers and its management and one guy. new reaction next on "morning joe." ♪ ♪ that's good enough for me i was born in a small town ♪

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store clerk or a truckdriver or a warehouse selector. a store manager, a supervisor, a customer, a vendor or a ceo, we are all equal. >> that was the ceo of market basket grocery store in massachusetts addressing the company's employees in a speech that has gotten widespread acclaim. >> look at those employees. >> this was their reaction watching him on tv. passionate employees picketed for weeks to bring arthur t.demulas back amid a bitter corporate dispute and it worked. late wednesday a deal was struck to return him as ceo. people in the crowd shouted, "we love you!" as artie t. told them how special they were and how much he loved them. >> it is unbelievable. here on the front of "the boston globe," i was doing research. i was on assignment in cape cod a couple of months this summer. this story was in the front page

of the paper. the thing that shocked me about it's a new england story but it's much bigger than that. it's a universal story how leaders can be servants. leader/servants. we live in an age where the rich keep getting richer and poor keep getting poorer. ceo pay explodes. >> bitterness is what is left. >> worker pay is flattened. you never hear workers talking about their ceo or fighting or actually going out in picket lines for the ceos like they are for artie t. it's unbelievable. >> it was an incredible bit of labor organizing without a union component which made a remark there was a whole interfamily dynamic. everybody bought him out and they loved him and wanted him back. it shows you can organize for better worker conditions and you can be a ceo and not be a total jerk and that companies with work based on mutual affection and trust. >> look at the affection they have for this man.

they feel like it's a team. >> i want to express these workers put so much on the line for this. they risked their jobs and they risked weeks if not months of paycheck and to make sure their company worked cohesively again. >> it's a beautiful story. i love when people admit that they make a mistake. i'm forced to admit i make a mistake about 12 times a day. >> about every five minutes. >> i make sure of that. >> i just made another mistake. i make one every three minutes. >> that's right. >> the nfl doesn't talk about making a lot of mistakes but they are now. they think it's the right thing for them to do. good for them. >> this is really important on a number of levels. the nfl is changing course on its domestic violence policy. the commissioner is now admitting he didn't get the punishment right in a player's recent case and is promising to do better in the future. let's bring in nbc news national correspondent peter alexandra. peter, how did this all happen? >> reporter: the nfl football season kicks off for 2014 next

thursday. just six days out now. we have a new change of policy. it comes after what was really a lot of intense scrutiny around the league what many people viewed as an inadequate disciplinary action against baltimore ravens running back ray rice who got a two-game suspension for a domestic violence assault and many people outraged by that. the league said it got it wrong and it's changed his policy and domestic violence going forward will not be tolerated. >> a touchdown! >> reporter: for weeks, the nfl has been playing defense after baltimore ravens running back ray rice was suspended last month two games one-eighth of the regular season for a violent fight in february. this video obtained by tmz sports shows rice dragging his then fiancee off an elevator after allegedly knocking her unconscious. the couple married a month later and ray apologized and his wife by his side. >> i'm working every day to be a better father, a better husband

and a better role model. >> reporter: in this letter to nfl owners commissioner roger goodell acknowledged getting rice's punishment wrong. i didn't get it right, he wrote. simply put, we have to do better and we will. >> there was a public explosion of sentiment, especially from female fans, that without a doubt, pressed the nfl to do something about this and they have. >> reporter: the new policy calls for tougher penalty for any player charged with domestic violence or sexual assault. for first time offenders a six-time suspension without pay and do it again and face bani banishment from the leagues. >> missing six weeks or an entire season if not beyond that is going to take a major bite out of these players' paychecks which should act as a deterrent. >> women make up half of the league's fans. nfl fshpunishments for domestic violence and drug offenses and rice only miss two games josh gordon of the cleveland browns was banned for the entire season

for failing a marijuana test. worth noting the nfl players union has weighed in as well saying it will tin to defend players rights if they feel they are being treated unfairly. ray rice suspension remains the same just two games. he is back i think september 21st. a real sense within the nfl community as they start the season next thursday, they may actually have boycotts of games or protests outside nfl football stadiums if they didn't make a change. they say they spent about three weeks listening to domestic violence groups. >> it's stunning when you hear a guy is kicked out of the nfl for a year for, like, smoking marijuana and, yet, that is legal in a lot of states. another guy, i guess, is out for four games. again, on his own. a private vacation. yet this guy beats the hell out of his wife, drags her across the floor, and he's out for a couple of games. it really is stunning.

>> on top of that a kicker for denver, the broncos matt prater who wasn't the first time but he is out for four games for alcohol. he had a dui in 2011 as well but he claims he was just drinking at home for this latest incident. michael vick you're familiar with who was an indefinite ban before he was reinstated for dog fighting. just the optics of it were awful for the league and they knew something had to change. >> i'm glad it did. >> i'm glad it changed. that is good news. what i'm most excited about peter has agreed to take off his shoes and he will run the 40 and tells us he can do it in a 4.34. peter alexander is going after it! i bet he can do it. watch how fast. hold on. let's go. >> the microphone on my jacket. if i pull a hammie here, it's on you, joe. >> watch how fast he goes. peter alexander. let's check out the form. come on. ready? >> oh, yeah. >> look at that! look at him go! yes! >> that wasn't a 40!

>> that about as fast as. it was about four yards. >> look at that! he pulled a hammie! >> we shall return on "morning joe"! >> he just pulled a hamstring! where the reward was that what if tnew car smelledit card and the freedom of the open road? a card that gave you that "i'm 16 and just got my first car" feeling. presenting the buypower card from capital one.

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co: until you're sure you do.you need a hotel room bartender: thanks, captain obvious. co: which is why i put the hotels.com mobile app on my mobile phone. hotels.com i don't need it right now. don't ask me how the colonel is doing. i have to put up a statement. >> with us the columnist for "the new york times" nick kristoff. we will ask is everybody a little bit racist. >> you wrote this in part young black men in america suffering from stereotypes and rachel. research in the last couple of decades suggest the problem is not so much overt racist but

rather than the larger problem is a broad swath of people who consider themselves enlightened and who believe in racial equality who deplore discrimination yet who harbor unconscious attitudes that result in discriminatory policies and behavior. >> gene, we saw yesterday when people were calling for jobs, if you had a black sounding name compared to a white sounding name that the white sounding name was worth eight years worth of experience. >> yeah. there's a lot of research on the subject out there. these unconscious attitudes people have. it's not just white people will have these attitudes. it's often african-americans who have some of these same attitudes and, you know, so, you know, in that sense maybe we are all a little bit racist as the song from the show, i think it was a show that said. but, so, nick, did you come across any solutions, any

therapies, anyways to get beyond this, except first acknowledging it? >> i think a starting point is certain amount of self-examination. and i think one of the problems is that we tend to look for a small number of villains out there and in a larger sense, we are the villains. we are the ones who are making these kinds of decisions. physicians are substantially less likely to prescribe pain medication to african-americans than to caucasians with the same injury. principals are more than three times more likely to suspend an african-american student than a white student. and that sets up those kids for educational failure much later. recruiters, as you said, are much less likely to hire -- call back somebody with an african-american name. i played a video game that a university of colorado psychologist set up and you can play it on a link from my column. you were in the role of a policeman and you were confronted by a series of men,

either black or white, some carrying guns and some carrying a wallet or a cell phone. you were supposed to shoot the guys with the gun and holster your weapon when the guy is holding a cell phone. and i believe deeply in racial equality. yet i was faster in shooting black men than white men and i was quicker to holster my weapon and confronted by whites than blacks and this is broadly true of the public including african-americans themselves. >> gene, remember jesse jackson maybe 15 years ago said when he saw young black men walking on one side of the street and it was late at night, he was more likely to cross over to the other side of the street? >> he felt relieved when he looked around and saw a white man. >> yeah. >> i do remember that. i mean, i do think we should keep in mind that there are some people who are more racist than others. i mean, there are levels of

unconscious level and there are people who are in a more overt way and a more deliberate way discriminatory. and so, you know, that's i think easier to recognize and maybe not easier to deal with. i wish we had dealt with it already. but, you know, the sort of subliminal unconscious thing, it's been out there for a long time and people have studied it a long time. yet, it gets forgotten, i think. >> i think it's just as damming too. >> absolutely. you talk about arrest for marijuana conviction. not only arrest. i'm sure you could keep going. and convictions and then jail time. >> and sets people up for failure. >> if you're an upper middle class white kid in a suburb who is smoking pot with all of your other friends on weekends and cops see you, they might like kind of roll their eyes. >> or your parents will get i off. >> or parents get you off. if you're a black kid from lower income family, you might be going to jail.

>> we know from some surveys that blacks and whites smoke marijuana at ruffle the same level. yet blacks are 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession and in turn that sets people up for failure. i think one of the insights that conservatives have been right on is the importance of family in fighting poverty on. i think one of their great mistakes has been mass incarceration which led to the breakdown of families. and the drug offenses have been a huge factor in that breakdown. >> especially when you look like marijuana possession and being punished for that, i'm not looking at you. >> you're looking at me. >> you're a rich upper middle class white kid who smokes it for breakfast. >> marijuana possession cases are in the city when, you know, the urban centers that are mostly minorities. i remember seeing several kids -- i was in the, what, precinct recently. i was in a cop shop, 46th?

i won't say why. but there were like four african-american kids. >> it was 43rd. >> 43rd. for marijuana possession, they were in jail. that just wouldn't -- >> one thing. on marijuana, in particular, you kind of find it where you look for it, right. so this was my big problem with stop and frisk as it was enforced under mayor bloomberg is if you only look for those kinds of offenses, you know, among african-american and hispanic use, that is where you're going to find them. if you look for, you know, wall street traders toking up in the middle of the day, you're going to find that too. but you have to look for it. >> if you looked in my town you would find white kids doing that but they are not looking. >> it is true that the same kind much patterns and pathologies found in the white class across america. amphetamine, marijuana sets up

young white men in the same process of educational failure and incarceration and makes it find more harder to find a job. it's more difficult to start a family. their kids are not going to have a dad at home. >> they tell me we have to go. i have to ask you quickly. yesterday you expressed a little bit of concern about the president's press conference. gene has as well, basically, saying there is no strategy in syria and in russia. what do you think? >> i've been a fan of president obama's foreign policy. when i look at a press conference and speech and say there is nothing there, either ukraine or syria then he has got a problem. >> okay. we are leaving it there. orb everybody is a little bit racist." hospitalized after an parent

cardiac arrest we go live to the hospital for the latest on joan rivers health. and then later, josh earnest hardballs chris matthews. you're watching "morning joe." we will be right back.

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49 past. joan rivers family says she is resting comfortable in a new york city hospital this morning. officials say the 81-year-old went went into cardiac arrest yesterday during a medical procedure. let's bring in nbc news correspondent katy tur live at mt. sinai hospital. i take it her family is with her now? >> reporter: yeah, they rushed from los angeles and got in last night. her daughter and grandson, cooper, have been with her all morning but we are still hearing that she is in critical condition. joan rivers was reportedly having a minor endoscopic procedure when she suddenly stopped breathing. paramedics rushed an 81-year-old woman to mt. sinai in cardiac arrest. inside, the hospital confirmed rivers was under their care but would not divulge details of what went wrong. in los angeles, rivers' daughter, melissa, and grandson,

cooper, rushed to make a cross-country flight to be at her side. upon melissa's arrival in new york, she issued this statement. i want to thank everyone for the overwhelming love and support for my mother. she is resting comfortably and is with our family. we ask you continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. famous for her edgy humor -- >> can we talk? she was a tramp. >> reporter: rivers has been a tv mainstay since the 1960s, a frequent guest and guest host of "the tonight show with johnny carson." in 1985 she became the first woman to have her own late-night comedy show. >> what's under the kilt? what are you wearing under the kilt? >> reporter: in recent years rivers has been best known for hosting and critiquing fashion. from the red carpet in the '90s -- >> when you married him, did you go through his things and throw away things other women had given him? >> never. >> reporter: to her own show, "fashion police" on e! >> i'm not going to say anything

nasty. she came in an egg and some people will do anything not to have to speak to ryan seacrest. >> reporter: she was promoting her latest book here in new york on wednesday, scheduled to perform in new jersey today, but, guys, as you would expect, that is at least been postponed. >> thank you very much, katy tur, appreciate that. coming up at the top of the hour, without a plan, analysis and reaction to president obama's headline-grabbing line, we don't have a strategy. >> what do you think. we've got chris matthews. i can't wait to hear what chris thinks about this because you know chris will have an opinion. we've got david ignatius that's going to be here. we'll also have the white house press secretary, josh earnest, he went out to try to clean things up. >> i think josh will be with you on this. >> i think josh may be with me on this one. we also, though, have problems in the ukraine too. >> war weary in ukraine, russia advances while the west watches. up next also, offshore

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56 pachst. here's bill karins with a check on the forecast. >> did you see them, you saw the waves, the amazing pictures. did you ever hear of shooting the pier? everyone has got to up the ante, so when you get these huge waves like this, you actually go underneath the pier when you're in one of these waves. we've got videos and pictures of surfers doing this stuff. it's insane stuff. thankfully the waves have been coming down. here's the drone stuff and here's the guy shooting the pier. the drone shot is cool enough. being on this huge wave -- >> it seems dangerous. holy cow! >> that's living dangerous. that's shooting the pier. >> and that you should not try to do. >> having done that before, i can attest it's dangerous. >> it's stupid. >> on a video game. >> so as far as the weekend goes, it actually looks pretty nice in many areas. on the wave fronting. if you're going to the beaches,

not an issue. all the waves from our two big hurricanes are going to be gone. the major airports are doing just fine, not a lot of issues out there. if we're going to get drenched in rain this next four days, most likely a lot in wisconsin, iowa, minnesota and down along the gulf. today we're starting off with a top ten picture perfect day from d.c. through the carolinas. humidity is gone, it's just beautiful. as the weekend progresses, the warm, humid air in the middle of the country starts to head to the east a little bit. so if you're in the kansas city, st. louis, chicago area, you're going to be dodging storms but it will not wash you out all throughout the entire weekend. by the time we get to sunday and monday we'll introduce storms to the east coast. but again it's not a washout weekend. it's actually a very warm weekend and will definitely feel like summer right into the beginning of september. the next hour of "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ >> i don't want to put the cart

before the horse. we don't have a strategy yet. >> i have a press conference to say we don't have a strategy was really shocking, given the severity of the threat. >> it's really important for people to understand what the president's approach is. the president is still considering how those options might fit into the broader, more comprehensive strategy that the president has already laid out. >> i'm just wondering what we saw yesterday and i don't think the president is walking around the white house scratching his head going we don't know what we're going to do yet. >> if anyone thought the president was ready to order air strikes against isis targets in syria, he made it clear today he is not. >> but the advance of isis in syria is a growing concern. overnight the militants released a graphic propaganda video. >> half naked prisoners being marched into the desert and slaughtered. >> ukrainian forces returned fire after coming under attack from separatists. >> plumes of smoke as shells rain down.

ukraine's leaders are clear tonight, this is a russian invasion. >> russian military boots are on the ukrainian ground. >> nato says this is a russian combat unit which has crossed the border and is operating on ukrainian soil. >> a russian tank in the southeastern town which they say is under the control of russian forces. >> this ongoing russian incursion into ukraine will only bring more costs and consequences for russia. >> at every step, russia has come before this council to say everything exempt the truth. russia has to stop lying and has to stop fueling this conflict. >> really stuff words from samantha power. you got a great shot of washington, d.c. guys, we're going to have a beautiful labor day weekend, certainly on the east coast, hopefully all around the country. samantha power really tough yesterday at the united nations. "usa today" really picks it up right here with russia lied. russia outright lied, talking of course about 1,000 troops,

russian troops going into the ukraine. "the wall street journal" talking about how kiev is claiming an invasion. so much to talk about there, mika. yesterday we had the president of the united states saying that we don't have a strategy yet. and you're wondering what that means. a lot of criticism from the right. from the left, and even from the center. we have nick kristof saying he generally supports the president, he was very troubled by what he had to say. gene robinson talking about he too concerned about that language. but we learned a couple of things this first hour. the first couple of hours. kim ghattas was on in the 6:00 hour and she told us that the president is waiting, next week they're going to go to the middle east. sam said also earlier, sam stein, huffington post sam stein said the president is not going to give our allies a free ride. so if you're going to sit back and want the president to say this is exactly what we're going

to do. >> we're going to lead on this. >> we're going to lead on this and take it all on ourselves, that's not happening. chuck todd, absolutely fascinating what chuck said. why don't we bring in the columnist for "the washington post" david ignatius. chuck todd told us that wasn't just the president pushing back our allies who are waiting for us to attack, that was the president pushing back his own administration because as kim ghattas said some people are saying there's only one man in the white house left to convince that we need to have air strikes against syria. what are you hearing on the ground in d.c.? >> joe and mika, i think the president is genuinely confused about how best to respond to this really monstrous outbreak by isis in iraq and syria. >> genuinely confused. have you ever heard a president state that confusion in a press conference? >> well, it was rare. it was a disastrous sound bite because it summed up what people have feared, which is that we

don't have a strategy yet. the president has a strategy, it's just one that's very complicated and will take a long time to execute. he wants to pull in all the countries of the region. he wants to get their support, financial and otherwise. he wants to gradually train up sunni militias that can fight isis in the sunni areas. he wants to create a new government in iraq that can work toward an inclusive iraqi state. all these ambitious goals that are taking time. meanwhile i'm getting from my friends in kurdistan horrifying pictures of kurdish peshmerga fighters dying on the front lines, waiting for american help. and they say to me where are the americans? we thought they were standing with us. we think we're fighting their fight. so that's the problem that we have in the region. people are waiting and they hear the president say we don't have a strategy yet. >> you're hearing that from the kurds, from the syrian resistance fighters, from across the middle east. >> we need to talk about this more because complicated strategy david ignatius is a little bit different than

genuinely confused -- >> i think the confusion is about how to execute it. the strategy is there, it is just so complicated, it's taking so long. >> okay. as we said, president obama is facing some strong criticism for what he said and the plans that may or may not be in place to combat islamic state militants. here he is. >> i don't want to put the cart before the horse. we don't have a strategy yet. i think what i've seen in some of the news reports suggests that folks are getting a little further ahead of where we're at than we currently are. but there's no point in me asking for action on the part of congress before i know exactly what it is that is going to be required for us to get the job done. >> white house press secretary josh earnest, who we'll speak to in just a moment, clarified that the president was referring specifically to syria and a clear plan is in place for isis in iraq. a new "usa today"/pew research

poll finds more than 50% of americans believe president obama is not tough enough in his approach to foreign policy. meanwhile "the washington post" reports james foley and 3 other hostages were waterboarded after isis kidnapped them in syria. isis is also believed to be responsible for a massacre that left more than 200 syrian soldiers dead. and "the new york times" reports that officials have identified nearly a dozen u.s. citizens who are now fighting with the islamic state militants in iraq and syria. so, david, you asked a question in "the washington post," a couple of questions being asked across the board by opinion writers on both sides of the aisle about what the president said, very critical, but you ask can saudi arabia help combat the islamic state. you write in part this. it has been saudi arabia's recurring nightmare to fight external enemies by encouraging sunni movements that turn extremist and threaten the kingdom itself. the saudis must worry that a

similar process has happened again. some of the sunni fighters they backed against iran have drifted toward the islamic state. the saudis didn't intend the ensuing disaster, but they must now deal with it. >> we've seen this past week egypt and the uae make strikes against islamists in libya. david, are we going to see saudi arabia and other arab countries start to move against this islamist extremism instead of sort of having a nod and wink to us saying you guys go ahead and do it, we'll just sit back. we may criticize you publicly after you do it, but we're on your side? >> it's president obama's hope that saudi arabia, the uae in particular will work with tunit states, with the sunni tribes to form some opposition. the problem is it's taking so long. there's lots of money to fund this resistance. indeed there's been too much over the last two years.

some of that money and weapons has gone to the extremists, unfortunately. the saudis know that and are trying to change that now, but it's late in the game. there is a haunting echo of what happened in afghanistan where saudi arabia and the cia worked together to drive the russians out, just as saudi worked with partners to beat bashar al assad in syria and it back fired. it ended up creating a movement that ultimately threatened the kingdom of saudi arabia and the united states. so part of the reason that president obama is cautious, i think, is that he knows that history and he's worried about how not to repeat it. >> president obama meanwhile is ruling out u.s. military action in ukraine, despite kiev's claims of a major incursion by russian troops. ukraine's president accused moscow of directly helping pro-russian rebels by sending in soldiers to help separatists seize control of a key coastline town. meanwhile nato says russia has

up to 1,000 troops inside ukraine and released satellite images as part of its case. the u.s. ambassador to the united nations had harsh words for russia during an emergency meeting of the u.n. security council. >> instead of listening, instead of heeding the demands of the international community and the rules of the international order, at every step russia has come before this council to say everything except the truth. it has manipulated, it has aub fuss katd, it has outright lied. serious negotiations are urgently needed but russia has to stop lying and has to stop fueling this conflict. the mask is coming off. in these acts, these recent acts, we see russia's actions for what they are, a deliberate effort to support and now fight alongside illegal separatists in another sovereign country. >> so, david, help me out here. the president basically said much ado about nothing, we've seen this before. and then samantha power, his

representative to the united nations said russia outright lied. >> speaking the truth. >> she's tough, she's speaking the truth and saying things people want to hear the president say. obviously he's getting pounded in the polls. americans think he's not tough enough. you just wonder if she's saying that why the president is making it sound like business as usual yesterday. >> well, it was strange. the president did look depleted in that performance. this is samantha power's moment. she spoke with such intellectual clarity, such precision of language. she was just an impressive person. people will remember that. i think in terms of ukraine, it's important for people to understand that really nobody in the united states, not in congress, not in the republican opposition, thinks the u.s. has a military option to stop the russians as they invade. so the question is how can the u.s. make this as costly as possible for putin. and there is a lot of work going on thinking about that. in a sense, obama is saying this is their iraq, this is their

vietnam and they're coming into something that they don't know how to control or fight. their trouble is ahead. >> david ignatius, thank you so much. we appreciate having you. the federal corruption case against former governor bob mcdonnell and his wife, maureen, will soon be in the hands of a jury. prosecutors wrapped up their case yesterday. they looked to undercut mcdonnell's defense that his marriage was in such shambles the couple couldn't have coordinated to accept gifts from a wealthy donor. but an fbi agent testified over the two-year time frame of the investigation, the mcdonnells spent 644 out of 721 nights together. >> but in their defense it could have been very miserable nights together. you never know what's going on. charlie rich saying what goes on behind closed doors, you know. >> could have slept in different bedrooms, who knows. >> closing arguments begin this morning. if convicted, bob mcdonnell could end up spending more than 20 years in prison. >> sam, should have taken the plea deal. >> looks that way.

this was an ugly trial. i'm not sure even the humiliation that he endured through the trial was worth it. >> even if he gets off, maybe it's better you take that one small charge. in kentucky, u.s. senate candidate allison lundergan grimes is seizing on leaked audio purportedly of senator mitch mcconnell in which he pans raising the minimum wage, extending unemployment coverage and restructuring student loan laws. >> these audio recordings, they go farther than any stump speech mitch mcconnell has ever offered. we know that he's voted against increasing the minimum wage 17 times, that he's been against extending unemployment insurance benefits and that he's turned his back on college students across the nation. but what these tapes reveal is that if he elected, he won't even consider a vote to increase the minimum wage. he won't even consider a vote to extend unemployment insurance benefits. he won't even consider making college more affordable for our

students. >> you know about these tapes. it may help him with his conservative base, but right now he doesn't need his conservative base. that's going to really hurt him with some others. >> this is what happens when tapes get leaked. we did our own report on these. it's from this koch brothers meeting in june. you don't expect the audio to be made public. >> especially when you have a majority of americans supporting a raise in the minimum wage, not going to be helpful for the campaign. >> look, it's like the conversation we had last hour about the supermarket chain and the ceo that everybody brought back. you can't find a story like this in this country because people are hurting so much. the minimum wage is a joke. it's a joke. >> yeah. and kentucky has its own set of issues with obamacare too because it's had a success story

with the medicaid expansion, with the drop of the uninsured rate so mitch mcconnell is watching this very fine line trying to maintain his conservative credibility, having to acknowledge there's been some success with the welfare state in his own state. senator mary landrieu of louisiana was going to have a serious re-election fight no matter what, but now "the washington post" is calling into question whether she really keeps a permanent residence in her home state. on her candidacy statement she claimed her $2.5 million home on capitol hill as her address. on the paperwork she used to qualify for the louisiana ballot, she listed her family's home in new orleans. the home has been reportedly inhabit by her parents for decades. according to the post, marry landrieu and her siblings all of stakes in a partnership that co-owns the home with her mother. bill cassidy, her leading republican opponent says, quote, let's call it what it is. she doesn't live in new orleans.

landrieu said i have lived at my home on prior street most of my life and i live there now when not fulfilling my duties in washington or serving constituents across the state. >> let's look at what happened with richard luger a couple of years ago. people know he lived in mclane most of his life and not in indiana, he got thrown out. you look at all the polls, derrick kitts in his polling place, this is a throw the bums out election. you've got an overwhelming majority of americans thinking this country is going in the wrong direction, that we're in decline. 19% approval rating of congress. and then you have, of course, something that's never happened before. instead of people just hating congress or liking their own congressperson or senator, here you have a majority of americans saying i want my representatives out too. so that's why this disconnect from louisiana and being connected with washington, d.c.

may have more of an impact in 2014 than usual. again, mary wins by 6 1/2 votes all the time. >> it's sort of where are you really? where do you want to be? do you want to be home? >> any association with d.c., including your own home association with d.c. -- >> is a bad association. all right. a new poll shows embattled toronto mayor, how did this story get in here? >> i want to move to toronto. >> this was not here two seconds ago. toronto mayor rob ford may be gaining ground in his race for re-election. ford is currently in second place in the race, despite facing calls for his resignation, amid a very public battle with drugs and alcohol. it appears residents are warming up to ford again with 63% of toronto residents looking for him to resign in june. that number has since dropped to 50%. according to the latest forum research poll, john torre leads with 33%, ford follows with 31% and olivia chow is in third with

23%. >> he has humiliated his country, he has been seen wiped out drunk in past food restaurants -- >> let's not talk about your personal life. >> he's been busted smoking crack in his basement. and yet at this moment, rob ford may just be the right man for toronto. >> he is redefining the idea of a bump in the polls. they told him if he cracked 35% he would be doing well and he's just chasing the crack. >> he always has and always will. >> i've been working on those one-liners. >> seriously, a bump in the polls. coming up on "morning joe" we'll explain why the houston astros are going to the bane capital root to build a championship team. up next, white house press secretary john earnest will tell us what president obama meant when he said "we don't have a strategy." and "hardball's" chris matthews joins us as well. you're watching "morning joe." unlimited cash back.

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♪ joining us now, we are going to be talking to the white house press secretary in just a moment. but first, did you want to share? >> oh, no, no. i don't want to share anything. i think i've already shared enough. >> have you? are you sure? don't overshare. >> no, i'm not going to overshare. but when barack obama shows his hand, you get republicans like john mccain saying why is he showing his hand? >> true. >> when he doesn't show his hand yesterday, you've got republicans saying why is he not showing his hand? >> across the board, though, there is criticism. >> there is criticism across the

board. let's bring in white house press secretary josh earnest. josh, you know, so we've had quite a few people on this morning scratching their head about what the president said and his suit. as far as his suit goes, they're yankees, they just don't get it. that's what you wear right before labor day. but gene robinson said this is war and yet we don't have a strategy. nick kristof says when the president loses me he's in big trouble because i'm with him most of the time. david ignatius told us that the president seemed, quote, genuinely confused. you went out yesterday and you said the president does have a strategy. what is that strategy? >> well, joe, i appreciate the opportunity to come on your show and explain it. what the president was talking about yesterday, he was responding to a question specifically about whether or not he was going to seek congressional authorization to order military strikes inside of syria. and the president said we don't have a strategy yet. we don't have plans in place right now for what we want to do and what we could do militarily

in syria. but when it comes to confronting isil, the president has made very clear we do have a comprehensive strategy for confronting that threat. that begins with supporting iraq's political leaders as they form the kind of inclusive government that can unite the country to confront the threat that their country faces right now. it includes beefing up our support to iraqi and kurdish security forces in the form of training and equipment to help them take the fight to isil on the ground in their country. it includes in engaging regional governments. after all governments in the region have an even clearer stake than we do right now. it's not in their interest to have isil ma rodding across the countryside and wreaking acts of violence on their doorstep so the president sent secretary of state john kerry to the region to start engaging those countries. the president has been on the phone with countries and world leaders to talk about this issue. and fifth, and this is the component that gets the most attention, is the president has authorized military strikes in

iraq to protect the american people and protect americans who are in iraq, but also to avert humanitarian disasters. we've already had some important success as a result of those military strikes. they wanted an advance on erbil and avoided a humanitarian disaster on sinjab mountain. >> it's not like the president has sat back and done nothing. he's shown some aggressive steps from the white house. does the president agree with gene robinson that we are in fact at war with isis, even though it's not a declared war, that even though we may not have the specific strategy on what we're going to do on this front or on that front, that isis cannot survive. the islamic state cannot survive? >> well, joe, i think the way that i would describe it is i think what the president would say is it's very important that we take the necessary steps to mitigate the threat that isil

poses to the united states of america. it's the view of this administration that the most significant threat that they pose right now is in the form of these foreign fighters. we have seen, you know, individuals with western passports, westerners, who have traveled to syria or to the region to take up arms and fight alongside isil. >> does the white house agree with chuck hagel that this threat is the gravest threat since 9/11? >> there's no question this is a very significant threat. these are individuals who have taken up arms with isil. they are battle hardened. they have gotten military training. they have demonstrated a willingness to die for their cause and they have western passports that allows them to travel with some freedom in the west. so we're very concerned about this threat. the u.s. government and the obama administration at a variety of levels has been in touch with our partners around the globe for months now to try to mitigate this threat. everybody from the counterterrorism adviser to the attorney at law have been

focused on to monitor these individuals. >> let me ask you about that, josh, and talk about necessary steps and strategy or lack thereof, but what will it look like as we work to stamp out isis and who will we require to stand with us? >> well, the president is very interested and the president alluded to this in his remarks in the news conference yesterday that we're interested in engaging countries around the world. it's going to start with the efforts of iraq's government. after all, we have tested the proposition about whether the united states military can come in and impose a long-term enduring solution in terms of stabilizing the security situation in one region of the world. a military-only strategy will not work. what is required is a comprehensive strategy. and certainly an element to that comprehensive strategy is the use of american military force that can be effective temporarily at least stabilizing the security situation. but what will be required is an

effective and sophisticated and integrated iraqi security force working closely with the kurdish security forces to fight this war and to fight this threat inside their own country. they need to take the fight to isil and the united states will stand by them as they do it. >> all right, josh, thank you so much for being with us, greatly appreciate it. i know it's a busy time around there but we greatly appreciate you being there. >> thanks for the opportunity. >> let's bring in "hard ball's" chris matthews. chris, i'm sure a lot of people very concerned about what the president said. let's discount the republicans because the republicans are going to -- you know, people like mccain will be negative no matter what the president does. but when you have david ignatius saying the president is genuinely confused, when nick kristof says he's lost me on foreign policy because i'm always with him and gene rob robinson says this is war and he doesn't understand it, i've got to ask you what went on yesterday? is this a terrible moment for

the president or much ado about nothing? >> you know, i was thinking about why he pushed back yesterday and why he said i don't have a strategy. obviously that's not something you like to say publicly and you probably shouldn't say it publicly. but what was he trying to say? i think he was pushing back on dempsey, the joint chiefs. he was out there talking about the homeland. every time i start hearing that neocon language, the homeland, the fatherland, the motherland, i know something weird is going on. why was he out there talking about going to war with isis in syria if we're threatened in the homeland. that's kind of armageddon talk. i got the feeling this is the cart before the horse. we're talking about an all-out war now for the safety of the world against isis. just let me finish. >> a lot of people are concerned. are you concerned, chris? >> i've got to finish the thought here. the thought is i think he was pushing back against that armageddon language and the idea that we have to go to war with isis for our own well-being for the safety of this country. i think he wanted to push back

from that and ike he did it in not the best way. >> can i say you just kind of channelled ross perot there? i'm here as your friend. >> no, i'm not ross perot and i don't poll columnists to figure out where i stand. >> who does? who does poll columnists to figure out where they stand? so anyway, so i'm just curious, though, if -- so chuck todd was on and he said also that this was the president also pushing back on his own people, not just -- >> that's what i say. >> right, right, right, right. but isn't it interesting that you have samantha power giving this really dramatic, tough statement calling the russians liars at the united nations at the same time the president of the united states, the commander in chief, is saying, well, this is really nothing new. they have been doing this for quite some time. and i am not -- >> i found it fascinating. >> this is what's so fascinating about it. i'm not suggesting that there's confusion within the ranks.

i'm suggesting that there's something a bit more machevelian about this than twitter in 140 characters can describe. >> i look at presidents and their successes mostly going back since you and i have been watching politics when they push back. eisenhower said we're not going into china in '54. kennedy saying we're not going into cuba in '61. they say i'm the guy that has to win the war if we get in it. what would it involve? a war on the ground. he's not going to go on the ground into iraq and into syria and fight the ground war because at the end of the ground war we would have to leave. and you know what would follow us after we left? what was left of isis. and they would rebuild again. it's not like going to berlin or going to tokyo. when we leave, the ideology creeps up. it's the big american satan again. these white guys from the west coming in and kicking ass and

all we did was fight them heroically and now we're still here and they're gone. >> i want to pick up on that because there is one common thread between the iraq and syria policy and that is a concern from this administration about what happens after we use military force. i don't think anyone doubts inside or outside the administration that we can go in there with our military might and just wipe out isis or do as much damage as possible. the question is can there be a permanent solution or at least a long-term solution. so what the administration did in iraq said okay, the iraqi government has to create a political infrastructure that allows us not to shoulder all of the burden. when they look at syria, there's just no answer there. unless you want to stick with assad -- >> there is no good answer. and, chris, that's the problem. yesterday richard haas came on, he's written a new article saying, you know what, assad less of an evil than isis is. of course the president may agree with that. i think most of us will probably agree with that after we've seen what replaced saddam hussein.

but at the same time the president of the united states has to be careful not to be seen helping a guy that's killed 200,000 of his own people. so these are tough times. and you can't just give a glib, you know, you're either for us or against us type of statement when the whole middle east is melting down and we're not even talking about nation states here, we're talking about a moving terror group that's like a poisonous gas. >> and i think the only alternative, and i don't know how we get there as a goal, is to find moderate sunnis who can take over eventually the government of syria, who can rebuild the coalition in iraq. we got in there and tore it all apart and hoped it would end up well and just took a lot of chances knocking off saddam hussein, led to the failure of the sunni control of iraq. of course we got in the fight somehow against gadhafi and then against the shia, the coalition of assad. what's the idea?

what it was before or moderate sunnis bouncing off the power of the more aggressive hezbollah crowd on the shia side. >> chris, this is unfortunately the difficult choices -- this is a difficult choice we have. i said last week, i said, listen, if you ask the question is the world safer today than it was while saddam hussein was ruling iraq, it's very debatable, but i think most people would say the world was actually safer when the thug was running iraq. you might be asking the same question about assad five, ten years from now if we go in and like you said try to kick ass and then leave and everything is chaotic. you look at egypt, we were all cheering the arab spring. and then the muslim brotherhood came in and it was chaos. is the world safer now that there are generals running egypt that don't share our democratic values? let me answer that question. yes. do we like them? no. does it make us comfortable? no. but, chris, this is a lot of tough choices here, right? >> that's why the president is

hesitating. i have to tell you, it's the old question going back when you first had the jewish immigration going into palestine back in the early part of the last century. you have to deal with the powers that are there. the jewish people did. you can't deal with the arab street. the notion of the neocons that we just have a lot of elections and turmoil, that somehow the street will be better than the bad guys running those countries, i think that's a hell of an argument that they can't make. you open up everything to the street and the most fanatical people yell the loudest and get the crowds on their side. isis can overpower the moderates. i'm not sure wild and woolly democracy or even like the street taking over has been good for us in the middle east. we're much better off with the old crowd. >> all right. >> elections, you know, gave us maliki and elections gave us hamas. >> i think the story yesterday actually is samantha power. more to come from her. chris matthews, thank you so much. >> thanks, joe, thanks, mika.

>> watch "hardball" tonight at 7:00. stripped to the core to rebuild. the astros take a stab at money ball and josh green has that story. and you know your family has issues when dad doesn't get invited to the wedding. >> oh, boy. >> weighs in on brangelina's nuptials in hollyweird. we'll be right back. narrator: summer. you know it can't last forever. but that's okay. because a fresh start awaits. with exciting worlds to explore, and challenges yet unmet, new friendships to forge, and old ones to renew. it's more than a job. and they're more than just our students. so welcome back, to the students, and to the educators. ready to teach. and ready to learn.

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people are overlooked for a variety of biased reasons and perceived flaws. age, appearance, personality. bill james and mathematics cut straight through that. of the 20,000 notable players for us to consider, i believe that there's a championship team of 25 people that we could afford because everyone else in baseball undervalues him. like an island of misfit toys. >> i like that movie. as seen there from the 2011 muni "moneyball" about oakland a's then general manager billy bean's then approach to the game. with us now senior national correspondent for bloomberg business week josh green. are you ever going to cover

politics again? >> no. this is what i do for the summer. some people go to the vineyard. i write about politics for the summer. right now we're doing baseball. >> so your piece in the issue faces on jeff lunow who went all-in on big data just like on "moneyball." tell us what's going on here. is it exactly like the movie? >> what's going on is that big data has revolutionized almost every business. and the business is baseball is no different. what has happened is that you have all this new data. a lot of people believe data has predictive power. this is a new frontier for "moneyball." ten years ago, 20 years ago teams were run by ex-players. you now need a different skill set in the front office. the houston astros are on the leading edge of this. they have data scientists, engineers, physicists, economists, you really need a

lot of brain power to compete and win in baseball. >> so the position general manager has changed. the job requirement. >> absolutely. i mean you used to get sort of brainy ex-ballplayers. like a catcher who knew all the old strategies and skills of the game. >> seek out talent. >> and recognize how you're supposed to play baseball. >> this kid's got it. >> now you have these guys pouring over data and discovering hidden advantages and strategies and doing things differently. there's a segment of teams that believe this can be very effective. >> but the astros suck but they suck deliberately, right? >> well, the astros sucked deliberately for a couple of years and now they're starting to turn the corner. basically what the astros did was what mitt romney did to steel companies. you fire everybody, tear it down to the studs in order to build it up stronger and renewed. just this season they have started to turn the corner. >> but the one caveat here is if you build through the draft, you also can die through the draft.

so they have had two first picks in the first round in a row that could end up being busts, right? >> that is true. there is always the human element. this year they have the number one pick in the draft. took a high school fire baller brady akin who had a tiny elbow ligament that they didn't like, couldn't come to terms. he became the first number one pick not to sign with his team. their top pick last year has seriously underperformed, so i don't think that they're quite as advanced as they'd like to be. >> there's no tried and true way in baseball. >> there's always that element of who performs under pressure. >> that's the dream of the game. and you've jumped the shark. you need to get back to business and politics. you have now made the parallel between bain capital and the astros. seriously, that's your summer project. >> i would rather hang around with a losing baseball team than ted cruz or barack obama -- >> i guess presidential

ambitions for the houston astros are ruined after this comparison. >> the as troes has a strategy which the white house evidently does not. >> oh, josh, time to go. your piece is in the latest issue of "bloomberg business week." thank you so much. it's good to see you. have a good final few days of summer. still ahead, one of nascar's biggest stars looks to make a major comeback today. tony stewart races again. his first since hitting another driver and killing him earlier this month. plus is one of music's power couples headed for divorce? not exactly. the very weird twist that puts those rumors to bed. is this hollyweird? we'll be right back. you owned your car for four years.

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so, you know, tony stewart killed kevin ward jr. in upstate new york august the 10th. and there's still investigations

going on in the sheriff's office about exactly what happened. >> he's racing again. >> just returned this weekend. the nascar star will be behind the wheel for the first time since his car struck and killed fellow racer kevin ward jr. let's go now to gabe gutierrez in hampton, georgia. gabe, man, a lot of eyes going to be on tony stewart this weekend. >> reporter: yeah, that's exactly right, joe. after sitting out three races, tony stewart is expected back on this track later today for some qualifying laps ahead of the main event on sunday. he'll also speak publicly for the first time since that horrifying crash. today three-time nascar champion tony stewart is heading back to the track. >> i hope to see him come out here and win. >> i think most fans will welcome him back. >> reporter: announcing that he'll return to racing this weekend at atlanta motor speedway. >> tony stewart just hit that guy! >> reporter: his first race since he struck and killed a fellow driver on a dirt track in

upstate new york three weeks ago. kevin ward jr.'s car had collided with stewart's. ward spun out, then climbed out of his car and apparently tried to confront stewart. since the crash, nascar has announced a rule preventing drivers from exiting a disabled vehicle until safety crews arrive, unless it's on fire. >> safety is the first and most important thing. they shouldn't get out of their cars. >> reporter: while many fans are standing by the nascar legend, some say he's getting back behind the wheel too quickly. >> i feel there's going to be a lot of people that's going to boo him and a lot of people that's going to think his temper might have got the best of him. >> reporter: stewart is known for that temper on full display during many races, but since the deadly collision, he's been in seclusion, only saying in a brief written statement to say there aren't words to describe the sadness. today he's scheduled to address reporters for the first time since then. all this as the crash investigation is still ongoing. earlier the local sheriff had said there did not appear to be any criminal intent, but there's a possibility one of the sport's biggest stars could face a civil

lawsuit. >> i think he'll have a lot of support. still my driver and we'll root for him. it was just an unfortunate accident. >> reporter: the family of kevin ward jr., the driver who was struck and killed, has not commented on stewart's return to racing. after stewart speaks to the media this afternoon, we are expecting a packed house here on sunday, joe and mika. >> thanks so much, gabe. what do you think, mika? >> i -- you know. >> it's such a tragedy. >> it really is. i think he's probably in a lot of pain, tony stewart, as well as the victim's family. it was horrible, horrible, looks like accident. all right. up next, i guess we're going to do hollyweird. >> speaking of horrible, hollyweird. brangelina gets hitched, but where was the father of the bride? this is a dysfunctional family. we've all got them. plus stepping out on her own, mika. kendall? >> oh, no, the younger kardashian is already a step ahead of kim k.?

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all right. i guess it's time for hollyweird. should we do it? >> we'll talk about this on tuesday. if kirsten gillibrand was sexually harassed by men, right?

right? we'll do holly -- let's not do hollyweird. i want this question answered. louis isn't here, we're not going to do hollyweird. if kirsten gillibrand was sexually harassed by other senators, that's the big thing about the book, right? this is so horrible what beasts these men were, and i'm sure they were. doesn't she have a right to the constituents of these beasts -- because these men, after all, represent millions and millions of people. >> yeah. >> and don't women have the right to know which men come up and say i like my girls chubby and coming up squeezing her? >> squeezing her stomach. >> squeezing parts of her body? doesn't she have a responsibility to name names? i think she should. these men need to be outed. >> i felt like when i was telling the stories of my experience as a page like 1400 years ago and getting pinched by strom thurmond, i was like oh, i named a name. then i noticed other reporters

were talking about present-day washington and saying they agree with kirsten that they have been spoken to this way as well. no one is naming names. and i think that's actually -- that's weak. >> i think it's weak too. >> you know what, if someone is squeezing your tummy and saying i like my women chubby, i want to know who that guy is running some like -- >> state. >> a state or a constituency in congress. but even more so, if you're not going to name the name, then the nature of the conversation was different. >> why even have the conversation? >> well, it was -- >> well, no. i think -- listen, it's been in "people" magazine. it is what everybody is talking about with this book. >> okay. >> so, sam, why wouldn't kirsten gillibrand name names? she needs to name names for the sake of the women who are represented by these men who were sexually harassing her. >> can't we just do hollyweird? >> you don't want to answer, do you? >> it's a tough question. >> why is it tough? >> because i can see an argument

on both sides. >> what's the argument on the other side? why wouldn't you name names? >> why not say who the men are that sexually harass a united states senator. >> first of all, i think it's well established that it's happening. >> but no one is naming names. >> the argument on the other side is that it creates and resurfaces all of this stuff that she probably doesn't want to relive. i'm not saying i agree with it. i would like to see her name names obviously because i want the information. >> she's writing the book and talking about it in "people" magazine. >> she's on next week, right? >> she's on next week. we'll ask her here. but yeah, women have a right to know what men are grabbing other women and sexually harassing other u.s. senators. >> yeah. >> we'll be right back. what, if anything, did we learn today? so what we're looking for is a way to "plus" our accounting firm's mobile plan. and "minus" our expenses. perfect timing. we're offering our best-ever pricing on mobile plans for business.

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grateful. what a week, two weeks of just around the clock hard work. thank you so much. >> we really appreciate everything you do. >> and we've had alex come in who's just burning it is up. if it's way too early, it's "morning joe." i want to make a personal vow to chuck todd. >> do it now. >> chuck, this is the last time i'm ever going to toss late to you. i swear to god. never again. >> exactly 9:00 we will toss to you. >> this is chuck todd's farewell "daily rundown." wake up the kids, call grandma, you're not going to want to miss it. >> permanent dvr status for this one. >> have a great labor day weekend. well done, mr. scarborough. we don't have a strategy yet. that's the quote that the white house is trying to clean up this morning when it comes to dealing with isis. one thing is clear, the drum beat toward war doesn't include