but it seems impossible to me that we're going to have the time to go over this 1,000-page plus bill, which has an effect on every american and their health, and adopt it in a reasonable way before the summer break. as a matter of fact, it will be good to take it home with us, not only to read it, but to talk to our constituents with it about in october and come back and continuing the debate in september. >> senator, isn't that exactly what the white house does not want to happen? they're concerned about what people may say during the august break and people getting cold feet. this is what peter orszag, the head of the budget office, had to say on the weekend on cnn about those who were calling for more time. >> and we have to remember, there are some who are advocating delay simply because day don't have anything to put on the table. the typical washington bureaucratic game of if you don't have a better alternative, just delay in the hope that that kills something is partly what's playing out here, not with regard to many members of congress and senators who are

actually actively participating in the debate. that's great. but there are those who are advocating delay, just as a desperation move to try to kill this. >> now, you are getting a lot from the cbo and we're hearing from the president saturday during his video address and we'll hear from his shortly within a matter of minutes. is some of this because of their concerns over the cbo's forecast from thursday, before the budget committee, which suggested that the cost savings will not be up front and that the costs will actually explode from this over the next ten years? >> oh, absolutely. look, here's the goal that the six of us have and i think most people who want to do health care reform this year have. you've got to contain costs. you've got to create downward pressure on the rising cost of health care. we also like to extend coverage to people who don't have it and to pay for it. and what cbo, the congressional budget office director told us the other day is that, in fact, if you adopt -- if we adopt the bills that are out now, they

will, in fact, increase the deficit, not bend the long-term health care cost curve down, and increase taxes. and that's exactly the wrong direction to go. so let's catch our breath. let's work together and let's get it right, or else it's not going to get done at all. >> i do have to ask you, though, about ted kennedy. nobody knows more about this issue than ted kennedy, both personally and legislatively. the cover story on "newsweek," he is pleading for action now. he says, i have enjoyed the best medical care that money and a good insurance policy can buy, but quality care shouldn't depend on your financial resources or the type of job you have or the medical condition you face. every american should be able to get the same results, the same treatment that u.s. senators are entitled to. doesn't senator kennedy have a point? >> well, he does have a point. and of course, we all -- most of us share that goal. the question is how to get there. and how to get there in a way that doesn't compromise the care

that people have now and that doesn't add to the deficit. and we can do that if we take our time. incidentally, we miss ted kennedy terribly. whether you agree with him or not, he's a great leader, he's a great person, he's a great legislator. he really knows the moment when he should compromise to get something big done. senator chris dodd, my colleague from connecticut, is sitting in for him. he's doing a great job, he's very much like ted kennedy. but as he says himself, there's nobody that would like ted kennedy to be back here more than chris dodd. >> what kind of a grade or report card would you give to the obama white house on let's say, first, domestic policy, and then foreign policy at the six-month mark today, senator? >> i -- this is the six-month mark of the obama presidency. i would say the president who came to office at a most difficult time for america, both here at home and around the world, is off to a good start.

the next six months will tell a lot about how our country is doing here at home and abroad, but we adopted the stimulus. it was the right thing to do. it's not poured out money as quickly as a lot of us had hoped, but the money is out there and it's going to come even more. i think it's going to sustain some job creation in the second half of this year and into next year. and in the world, i think the president has certainly restored american credibility and popularity. i think he's handled afghanistan and iraq very well. he's made some significant initiatives and outreach to iran. the question is, will the iranians respond? so bottom line, i would say in foreign policy, there have been some good steps forward in this first six months, but the next six months really will determine in a very significant way whether those steps forward are reciprocated and what kind of year the president -- first year

the president had. i think it's easier to judge a full year than a half year, but bottom line, obama administration off to a good start in tough times. >> on the point of afghanistan, before i let you go, just a question about bowe bergdahl, the u.s. soldier in afghanistan, this hostage video that we have seen. how do we respond to that? how do we deal with that? how do we get him back? >> well, i mean, that's the kind of field decision that i leave to the commanders on the ground. i know we'll do everything we can to get him back in whatever way we have to, but we're not going to yield to hostage takers, because that ends up compromising the security of every other american soldier serving in afghanistan. this is a tough fight. we're up against a brutal enemy, but we're sending more troops there at the direction of the commander in chief, president obama. i'm confident that we're going to turn this around in afghanistan in the next year. and never forget that that's the

place from which we were attacked on 9/11 '01. >> joe lieberman, thank you very much for joining us, leading off our show today. >> thank you, andrea. >> thanks, senator. and we are waiting, momentarily, for the president to come out and speak on health care at children's national medical center. while we wait for him, we want to get the latest developments on bowe bergdahl, the american being held captive by the taliban in afghanistan. we just heard for the first time from an official in bergdahl's hometown of hailey, idaho, the sheriff there says the shouldols family is overwhelmed by the outpouring of support that they have received, but they're asking for privacy. >> they're only doing as well as can be expected in this situation. you've just got to think of yourself in this situation, how tough that would be. you know, they're just total focus is on bowe. we're a small community, we know each other, and that's really hard. >> really hard indeed.

george lewis is live in hailey, idaho, today. george, this whole community pulled together. they knew that he was missing. they had figured it out, but there was really radio silence there for the sake of the family all these months. >> yeah, at the questirequest o family, people who knew bowe bergdahl was the missing soldier in afghanistan kept quiet about it until his identity was revealed in that rather shocking video that we saw over the weekend. and right now here in the community, squads of volunteers are going out, putting up yellow ribbons all around town and signs that say "bring bowe home." so now that this is out in the public, people in the community are rallying around the family. the family is remaining in seclusion. they've asked the reporters not come up and knock on their door and we're respecting that. but they are issuing periodic statements through the sheriff. they are very concerned, obviously, about the condition of their son.

the u.s. department of defense says it's doing everything it can to bring that soldier back home safely. andrea? >> george, is there a measure of relief, despite the horror of seeing him in this video and the pressure that he's under, is there some measure of relief that at least they know that he's alive or was alive at the time the tape was made? >> reporter: yeah, relief mixed with deep concern and worry. at least they know he was alive as of the date of this tape, which may be around the 14th, we're not quite sure, but there were some events in that time frame that put the date of the tape around the 14th. so there is some reassurance knowing that he's alive on that tape. but, obviously, a great deal of worry about what happens next. >> what can you tell us about the family? do they have other children, others who have been in the service? was he the first to have served in the military from the family?

>> reporter: i actually, we don't know an awful lot about the other family members and their service records. bowe was a very popular kid in high school here. i'm standing in front of the coffee shop where he was a barista, manning an espresso machine before he joined the army last year. he joined up with an outfit in alaska, paratroop outfit and then was shipped off to afghanistan and disappeared about three weeks ago near the afghan/pakistan border. >> george lewis there in hailey, idaho, thank you very much for the report from the family, on the home front. straight ahead, president obama's all-out media blitz continues on health care. we're still waiting for him to speak momentarily. we'll bring that to you live. we'll be putting the president front and center of this debate, but will that produce the support he needs. nancy-ann deparle will be joining us next as well, next on driandrea mitchel"andrea mitch." stay with us.

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president obama says his top domestic priority is, of course, overhauling health care and it is evidenced, certainly, if you look at his recent schedule. the blitz started friday with an impromptu appearance before the press on health care, followed by top advisers all hitting the sunday morning talk shows. we expect to hear from the president himself any minute now. wednesday night, he will address the nation in a prime-time news conference, his fourth. thursday, he'll hit the road to sell his plan in cleveland, ohio. here with us now, democratic strategist, michael feldman. republican strategist, john feehery. welcome both of you guys. we expect to hear from the president any moment now. mike, i, in listening closely to the white house advisers over the weekend, certainly on "meet the press" with kathleen

sebelius and with peter orszag on cnn, began to hear a little bit of wiggle room that the big goal is to reach some sort of closure by the august recess. not a hard deadline. are you sensing some flexibility from the white house side as to whether they can actually achieve this? >> well, they said they want to be flexible, but they also want to move quickly. and when they don't want to do is fall victim to the strategy of delay. you know, you hear michael steele on the rnc this morning talking about not rushing. i think what that's about is trying to slow things down and in effect trying to kill them. there is, in fact, a rush for the millions of americans who don't have insurance. there is a rush for people whose premiums are going up. if you're a small business and can't afford to employ were employers. there is a rush for them. so we've got to get moving on reform, and just saying, take your time, is not a strategy, not an alternative. it's just trying to slow things down. >> john feehery, when you look at the president and what he's trying to achieve, the newest poll from "the washington

post"/abc today shows that he personally as 59% popularity. he can't -- you know, you can't knock that. but when you look at the issues, health care, only 49% for the plan as divides, the budget deficit, 43% support what he's doing. the economy, 52%. are there warning signals there for the white house? >> there are, andrea. and if you look deeper into that poll, key voters, independent voters, they do not like the president's handling of health care. that's why you have guys like joe lieberman and other centrist democrats saying, whoa, wait a minute, let's not rush. the last time we rushed hard on something was the stimulus plan, and now people are taking a look at the stimulus plan and they're seeing that we're spending millions of dollars on ham and pork and cheese, they're like welcome what is going on here? this is crazy. we shouldn't have rushed on this. that's why you have people like joe lieberman saying, let's slow down and do this right. let's not get something that the american people do not like. and i think that people are very concerned about too much of a

rush and when the president said he wanted something done by august, i don't think congress is ready for that. >> mike, pick it up where john just left off. because if he doesn't get some kind of deal, some sort of agreement from the house and the senate, certainly not any kind of agreed upon conference report, but if he doesn't get separate bills from each body by august, has he set himself up to be viewed as a real setback? >> no, i don't think so. >> by setting this deadline. >> i don't think. look, i think we were closer to health care reform now than we've ever been. i think things are moving very quickly in congress. i think, ultimately, we'll have a health care bill that people in both parties can vote for. but what's dangerous is what you heard from senator demint on friday, which was that this was going to be president obama's waterloo and we have to stop health care reform so we can break president obama political my. i think that's dangerous talk and reveals the republican strategy behind the opposition, who's breaking people who don't

have health insurance, who's breaking are small businesses that can't afford to employ their employees. that's the danger and that's the republican strategy right now. >> john, what about the element of the teddy kennedy, the emotional impact, "newsweek" cover story. they are obviously turning to ted kennedy, who has the weight, the legislative skills, but has been sidelined by his own health care crisis and hoping to bring him out and have him put some sort of last-minute push behind this. >> you know, andrea, i do think that the democrats actually miss ted kennedy's leadership on this. he's someone who could have probably crafted a much better deal. but this is not just about the personalities. this is actually about the policies. and people are really worried about the government-run aspect of this, or really worried about the increased taxed. they're really worried about the fundamental huge cost shift. we talk to somebody like doug elmendorf, the cbo, who said,

this is going to add billions and trillions on to our deficit and we simply can't afford it. those are the kind of things people are really worried about and that's why it's slowing down. >> michael feldman, john feehery, thanks to both of you. and as we're waiting to hear from the president today on his health care push, house members are leaving for the august break in just 11 days, the senate follows a week later. with time running out, can the president meet that self-imposed august deadline, despite strong criticism, even from inside his own party. nancy-ann deparle is the director of the office of health care reform and joins us now live from the white house's north lawn. thanks so much for squjoining u. first of all, let's talk about the cbo forecast from last thursday. the cbo director, doug elmendorf, certainly indicated that the cost controls haven't yet been factored in. now, y'all had been saying, well, that's because we haven't shown the effect of the wellness programs and the other programs, but the bottom line is that economists score this, cbo

forecasters give congress their best judgments based on what is in the plans. and so far, what is in the plans themselves does not produce the cost savings that you are all compensating. >> well, first of all, andrea, we are moving and closer than we've ever been before to health reform. and we're making sure they don't add a penny to the deficit and lower costs and do things for americans like prevent insurance companies from denying care based on pre-existing conditions. so we're very optimistic about the progress that we're making. >> let me play for you what the budget director said, the cbo head of the congressional budget office said in his testimony. what he said was, we do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount. and on the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health care costs. how do you fight that?

>> well, i think what the director failed to take into account are some of the big changes that we're making in these bills, to lower the costs over the long run. things like health information technology, which we know will save money, because people will get the right treatments and there won't be as many medical mistakes made. things like comparative effectiveness, information to make sure patients and clinicians have the right information. and he also said that the bills are deficit neutral. they don't add a penny to the deficit. those are the things that we're looking at and we know that there will be changes made as well, but we'll make sure there'll be cost containment over the long run from these bills. >> but over the long run doesn't solve the problem in the immediate situation where you have to satisfy these committees. here you've got the senate finance committee badly fractured and this caucus trying to work something out. you've got six senators, including joe lieberman, whom we interviewed just a few minutes ago, saying, wait, slow down. and they say they're not doing it to be obstructionists,

they're not joining the michael steele brigade, if you will. they say they're doing it because they really have concerns that what's on the table so far could cause more damage than help. >> well, you know, there are some people who want to slow this down because they want to kill it. and what the president's focused on is the american people who are losing health insurance ever day, 14,000 americans are losing their health insurance every day. we're seeing premium skyrock skyrocketing, doubling over the last seven years. that's the things we're focus on. and that's why we want congress to feel pressure. because we need to address this problem and the president's going to. >> what you're seeing also, in your own polling, i suspect, is that people are more concerned about cost containment than expanding coverage. is that going to be a change of emphasis, if you will, from the white house in the coming days? >> well, no. we've been concerned about cost containment. the president has said all along, the bill that he signs will be deficit neutral and it will have cost containment in it. it does have cost containment in it. in fact, we're making a lot of

reforms to the system. things like ending pre-existing condition exclusions, so insurance companies aren't spending administrative costs underwriting and picking out which people to cover. those will help to contain costs and will be part of any bill that the president signs. >> nancy-ann deparle, you've got a big challenge ahead of you, not that much time until the august break. do you think you can make it? >> i definitely think we can make it. the senate finance committee spent hours and hours this weekend working together and they're all committed to getting this done. >> when are you going to hear from senator baucus? >> i don't know for sure, but i'm talking to him this afternoon. >> well, if you're still talking to him, that's at least a good sign. >> they're working hard. he's working hard, as are all the other members of the committee. as i said, we had three of five committees reported out bills last week. so we're well on our way. >> but without senator baucus on board, you won't be able to complete the process? >> senator baucus is on board. he's just working hard with his committee members to move

forward. but they've made a lot of decisions, and expect they'll be moving forward quickly. >> one other question i wanted to ask you, though, was about what the speaker pelosi has indicated, is that she's willing to shift on the house side to the surtax being targeted on millionaires, but not on the people who make less money. beginning to hear that there are some house members, some democrats from districts with wealthy people who frankly -- or people who are very well off, if not millionaires, but people in that other category, $250,000 and plus who don't like the idea of the surtax. is the white house concerned about the surtax? >> well, first of all, andrea, remember that the majority of this bill, the health reform bill to lower costs and to cover all americans was paid for by redirecting savings from within the system. that's where we go first. the president had an idea about how to fund the rest of it through revenues, through equalizing the itemized deduction, so that it takes it

back to the level that it was during the reagan administration. that's what he preferred as his alternative. the house has gone a slightly different direction, but it's something that they're working hard on and we expect them to move forward with it. >> nancy, i think you're going to appreciate my interrupting you, the boss is on the stage, so let's go right to the president. thank you, nancy. >> -- to doctors, nurses, physician's assistants, and administrators at this extraordinary institution. we've spoke about some of the strains on our health care system and some of the strains our health care system places on parents with sick children. we spoke about the amount of time and money wasted on insurance-driven bureaucracy. we spoke about the growing number of americans who are uninsured and underinsured. we spoke about what's wrong with the system where women can't always afford maternity care and parents can't afford checkups for their kids and end up seeking treatment in emergency rooms like the ones here at children's. we spoke about the fact that

it's very hard, even for families who have health insurance, to access primary care physicians and pediatricians, in a city like washington, d.c., you've got all the doctors in one-half of the city, very few doctors in the other half of the city, and part of that has to do with just the manner in which reimbursement is taking place and the disincentives for doctors, nurses, and physician's assistants in caring for those that are most in need. and we spoke about where we're headed if we once again delay and defer health insurance reform. these health care professionals are doing heroic work each and every day to save the lives of american's children, but they're being forced to fight through a system that works better for drug companies and insurance companies than for the american

people that all these wonderful health professionals entered their profession to serve. and over the past decade, premiums have doubled in america. out-of-pocket costs have shot up by a third. deductibles have continued to climb. and yet even as america's families have been battered by spiraling health care costs, health insurance companies and their executives have reaped windfall profits from a broken system. now, we've talked this problem to death. year after year, but unless we act and act now, none of this will change. just a quick statistic i heard about this hospital. just a few years ago, there were approximately 50,000 people coming into the emergency room. now they've got 85,000. there's been almost a doubling of emergency room care, in a

relatively short span of time. which is putting enormous strains on the system as a whole. that's the status quo. and it's only going to get worse. if we do nothing, then families will spend more and more of their income for less and less care. the number of people who lose their insurance because they've lost or changed jobs will continue to grow. more children will be denied coverage on account of asthma or a heart condition. jobs will be lost, take-home pay will be lower, businesses will shutter, and we will continue to waste hundreds of billions of dollars on insurance company boondoggles and inefficiencies that add to our financial burdens without making us any healthier. so the need for reform is urgent and it is indisputable. no one denies that we're on an unsustainable path. we all know there are more efficient ways of doing it, we just -- i spoke to the chief

information officer here at the hospital. and he talked about some wonderful ways in which we could potentially gather up electronic medical records and information for every child, not just that comes to this hospital, but in the entire region, and how much money could be saved, and how the health of these kids could be improved. but it requires an investment. now, there are some in this town who are content to perpetuate the status quo, are, in fact, fighting reform on what of powerful special interests. there are otherwise who recognize the problem, but believe or perhaps hope that we can put off the hard work of insurance reform for another day, another year, another decade. just the other day, one republican senator said, and i'm quoting him now, if we're able to stop obama on this, it will be his waterloo.

it will break him. think about that. this isn't about me. this isn't about politics. this is about a health care system that is breaking america's families, breaking america's businesses, and breaking america's economy. and we can't afford the politics of delay and defeat when it comes to health care. not this time, not now. there are too many lives and livelihoods at stake. there are too many families who will be crushed if insurance premiums continue to rise three times as fast as wages. there are too many businesses that will be forced to shed workers, scale back benefits, or drop coverage unless we get spiraling health care costs under control. the reforms we seek would bring greater competition, choice, savings, and inefficiencies to our health care system, and greater stability and security to america's families and businesses.

for the average american, it will mean lower costs, more options, and coverage you can count on. it will save you and your family money if we have a more efficient health care system. you won't have to worry about being priced out of the market. you won't have to worry about one illness leading your family into financial ruin. you won't have to worry that you won't be able to afford treatment for a child who gets sick. we can and we must make all these reforms and we can do it in a way that does not add to our deficits over the next decade. i've said this before. let me repeat. the bill i signed must reflect my commitment and the commitment of congress to slow the growth of healthcare costs over the long run. that's how we can ensure that health care reforms strengthens our national -- our nation's fiscal health at the same time. now, we always knew that passing health care reform wouldn't be easy. we always knew that doing what

is right would be hard. now, there's just a tendency towards inertia in this town. i understand that as well as anybody. but we're a country that chooses the harder right over the easier wrong. that's what we have to do this time. we have to do that once more. so let's fight our way through the politics of the moment, less pass reform by the end of this year, let's commit ourselves to delivering our country a better future and that future will be seen in a place like children's hospital when young people are getting the care that they deserve and they need, when they need it, and we don't have an overcrowded emergency room that's putting enormous burdens on this excellent institution. i think we can accomplish that. but we're going to have to do

some work over the next few weeks and the next few months. thank you very much, everybody. >> president obama at children's national medical center here in washington, making another appeal for health care, saying that there is a tendency toward inertia in washington, but saying that there is a commitment, his commitment, to slowing the growth of costs in health care. joining us now live from capitol hill, a key player on all of this, republican chuck grassley, senior member of both the finance and budget committee. so you are at the crossroads of all the action. senator, i was just interviewing nancy deparle from the white house, who's in charge of health care. she says she'll be talking to senator baucus, your chairman on the finance committee, later today. that y'all worked all weekend. is there progress toward an agreement, or is this still stalemated? >> no. there's been progress very steady, but slow progress in our committee. we're working, you know, several hours a week with members and then over the weekend, our staff's working, and there's

progress being made. i just got a briefing from my staff on the work of saturday and sunday, and the main question i ask, is there good energy, is there good feeling between the two staffs? my staff and senator baucus' staff? and i always get a positive answer to that. and that positive answer is an indication of progress. now, to be perfectly honest with you, there's one big issue to come to, and as the president said, and i agree with the president, this must be paid for. and we still got some compromises that have to be reached on funding, but on policy, if you consider funding one thing and policy the other, we're making considerable progress on policy. now, one of the things that the president talked about, and let me say, i listened to a good part of his speech while i was standing here, and the president didn't say anything i disagree with. there may be how you get there,

that there would be some differences of opinion, but the goals the president wants is a goal that almost everybody in this country wants. now, one of the things that the president said today, and he said in a june 2nd letter to kennedy and to baucus was that he wants to bend the inflation curve downward, the long-range inflation curve that we're under now in health care and let me say this to you. he needs to say to the house proposals and he needs to say to senator kennedy's proposal that neither one of those do that and you need to change it so it bends the cost curve down. the only possibility going on in the hill right now to bend that cost curve down is what senator baucus and i are doing and we're committed to doing that. >> what would you do in terms of paying for it? if you agree on policy and on

the broad goals, what is your options, the latest option on the table from senate finance on how to pay for it? >> okay. well, as you know, until two weeks ago, when the president stepped in and other democrats stepped in and said they didn't want to do that, senator baucus and i was leaning towards a compromise on capping the exclusion for tax deductibility of health care insurance. >> have you given up on that by now? is that off the table? >> well, we're still working -- it's basically off the table. we're still trying to find something in that area that might produce a little bit of revenue, was darn little. so we have about a $200 billion hole that we have to plug, and we're working at various different proposals to do that. but i don't have an answer for you beyond just the fact that we're looking. >> what about the house surtax? is that off the table as far as you're concerned? >> oh, definitely, that's off the table. let me tell you, there's even --

you even heard -- when that came out by senator rangel, oh, two weekends ago, even senator durbin said that that wasn't going to fly in the senate. and really, what's bad about it is that it hurts small business. you shouldn't raise taxes during a recession, first of all, but particularly when you raise those high marginal tax rates, you know you're going to tax small business more than you tax fortune 500 companies at a higher marginal tax rate. it hurts small businesses. small business is the engine that creates jobs in america, not big business. so we shouldn't be doing anything to help hurt small business. >> and briefly, can you just give us an idea of what came out over the weekend which bright plug the $200 billion hole? >> well, most of the weekend work was on policy and not on plugging that hole. now, we're going back in at 4:00 today and we're going to work for a couple hours a day to try to work out compromises in that

area. but i hope you understand that there's a bill that's developing in the house and there's a bill that's out of senator kennedy's committee in the senate. the only possibility of doing what the president wants, of bending downward the inflation of medical care in america is going to happen in the senate finance committee or it isn't going to happen. and it's not chuck grassley saying that. remember that the director of the congressional budget office, which is an independent agency, they said that neither the house bill nor senator kennedy's bill was going to do that. and if we don't do that, we're just making things worse, not better. that's why senator baucus and i are committed to that part of it, very strenuously. >> chuck grassley with new bottom lines from the senate finance committee, thank you very much. and thanks for your patience in waiting for us. and from unrest in iran to north korea's missile threats and the wars in iraq and afghanistan, stalemates still in the middle east. president obama has already faced an array of foreign policy

challenges, just six months into his presidency. so with that six-month mark, michael o'hanlon joins us now. let's talk first about the ayatollah in iran today, pushing back very hard, so the leaders in iran pushing back hard against rafsanjani and the other protesters from the friday prayers. . >> hi, andrea. i think we have to assume on iran that in the short-term, the more repressed elements of the state will prevail. ahmadinejad, ayatollah khamene. as you say, they're already pushing back against protesters and cut back the street protests to a very small size. even if those protests continue, they are not at the tens of thousands of size we saw initially. so in the short-term, the hardliners will win, but there is enough ferment in iran to give some longer-term hope,

unfortunately, not soon enough to address the nuclear crisis where iran could have a bomb, but over the longer term, somewhat hopeful. >> hillary clinton is in new delhi today, wrapping up a three-day trip to india. interestingly, she did not couple this trip to india with a trip to pakistan, which used to be absolutely required to twin those two. she seems to be trying to build up a status of the indian relationship with the united states and in fact proffered an invitation, which was quickly accepted for the first state visit of the obama white house in november to be the indian prime minister. also proceeding on the nuclear -- civilian nuclear power agreement, yet at the same time, the indian leaders pushed back hard against u.s. overtures on climate change. they're basically saying, no go. that they don't expect as a developing nation to make the kinds of concessions and make the kinds of improvements and reforms on climate change that the u.s. is demanding. >> yeah, you know, first of all, i think she's right to go see

india on its own merits. anytime you see obliged to see a given couple of countries on the same trip, any issue that divides those two countries becomes much of the centerpiece of your visit, or people start guessing who you like more. and i think she's right to dedicate a trip to a very important country, the largest democracy in the world and so on. she better spend a lot of time on pakistan as well, and i believe she is, but i have no issue with this decision. in terms of the climate change agreement, this just goes to underscore whatever complications we have on the health care reform debate, there are even bigger and more fundamental agreements about how to take the first binding steps on reducing co2 emissions. and i think, frankly, to some extent, countries are going to have to make some of those first steps on their own or in blocks or through informal agreements as opposed to one grandiose international treaty. otherwise, you get into this kind of criticism back and forth about who should really be asked to do more. and so i think we're going to

have to be a little patient on the idea of a grand climate change treaty. >> mike o'hanlon on foreign policy from brookingings, thanks so much. and straight ahead, will kopg meet the president's self-imposed august deadline for passing health care or for at least coming out with health care proposals that could then be passed. senator kent conrad, chair of the senate budget committee, joins us next. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports," only on msnbc. my name is chef michael. and my dog bailey and i love to hang out in the kitchen... so she can watch me cook. you just love the aromas of beef tenderloin...

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plug. and he is saying that you all on senate finance need to come up with that hole, but you're not willing to accept what has come out of senator ted kennedy, senator chris dodd, as well as what's coming from the house side. >> well, look, i think this can be done. all the stars would have to be in alignment to get it done in the next three weeks, but what's critically important here is that we do get bend the cost curve right and virtually every economist that's come before us has said reducing the tax subsidy for health care, which is $2.4 trillion over the next ten years, should be part of it. and we're talking about just high-end plans, plans that have a value of over $25,000 a year. that's only 1% of the policies that are issued. >> one of the real game changers was last week's hearing on thursday, when you had the head of cbo in front of you. this is a little bit of the key moment between you and doug elmendorf.

>> every one has said, virtually everyone, that bending the cost curve over time is critically important and one of the key goals of this entire effort. from what you have seen, from the products of the committees that have reported, do you see a successful effort being mounted to bend the long-term cost curve? >> no, mr. chairman. >> well, that was a simple answer to a very tough question, but that set off shock waves around washington as these things go, because the white house was then put on the self-defen defensive. have you seen anything since to

persuade you that his economic forecast is incorrect? >> no. look, director elmendorf has an outstanding professional record. he is somebody who is held in high regard for his honesty and integrity. so, look, we can all question cbo scoring. there are things i don't agree with. i've argued with him strenuously that better care coordination would produce more savings than they will score, but at the end of the day, we've got to have an objective scorekeeper. and what he's telling us in larger terms, i think, is true. that we have not yet bent the cost curve in the right way. you know, when you expand coverage to some 45 million people, that adds costs. so then you have to really dig in to find savings in order to bend the long-term cost curve in the right way. the reason that's critically important, medicare is going to go broke in eight years. the federal government is running massive deficits. we've got to get this right.

>> to get this right. >> but what you say to nancy, what said that the cbo is not taking into account the technology, the elness improvements and the other ways costs will come down? >> it may be that cbo is not giving us the kind of scores we would like to see, but at the end of the day, they're the ones we have to rely on to keep us on track. what we know from their testimony is that we've got to do a better job than that has been done so far. that's the opportunity before us. it's critically important we get this right. >> senator kent conrad, thank you very much. good luck on all of this. and what political story will be making headlines in the next 24 hours? that's next on msnbc. we all have confidence

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what story will we be talking about in the next 24 hours? chris cillizza is white house reporter for "the fix." what are you looking at? >> michael steele gave a speech this morning roundly criticizing the president on health care. this lands a very interesting time for health care, the reform effort the president is trying to lead. interesting language in the steele speech. he used the word, experiment, risky, wreckless. all designed to evoke enough fear and doubt in the american public and the folks who represent them who will be voting for this next fall, to make them think twice. remember, republicans just want to slow this thing down. they think the longer they can, the more chance they have of

defeating it. it was very interesting to look at the language. >> almost focus grouped. focus grouping these kinds of words and you had jim demint, the president mentioned this, said jim demint on friday talked about this would be the waterloo for barack obama. they clearly see some real political advantage here. >> anytime that a president puts himself out on an issue like this one, where passage is not certain. in politics, politicians tend to like to pick fights they know they can win. it is a risk and what a risk means for the party out of power is opportunity. this is an opportunity for republicans to start scoring some points in advance of 2010 and 2012. >> all right. read more from chris on his blog. thanks to chris and we will be back tomorrow. thanks to all of you. does it for me this hour.

i'm andrea mitchell in washington. contessa brewer picks up our kovrnl next and will have the latest on the capture of the soldier in afghanistan. stay with us. you're watching msnbc. the place for politics. at 155 miles per hour, andy roddick

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good monday, everyone. we're looking to the pentagon now to provide an update on the kidnapped soldier. the video has stunned the family of private bowe bergdahl. the taliban released the video of the soldier. we'll see if secretary gates has answers. the clock is ticking for president obama. he's pushing an over haul. six months in, we'll measure how he's doing. bringing republicans in on his

plan and whether they're important for the president to get the job done. a horrifying car crash and explosion and bravery of bystanders who rushed in to save a mom and her children from the flames. we'll talk with one of the rescuers. >> old anchormen don't fade away. they keep coming back for more. >> and the question of whether america still gets journalism. we'll talk about his legacy and the future of news. we're waiting on a briefing of the taliban's capture of a soldier in afghanistan. bo bergdahl disappeared and showed up on this video. since then, we've heard a little about who bergdahl is. >> when the family members just don't want to do, or risk, doing anything to inflame the

situation or their captors. you can see how easily that can happen. >> leanne greg is in idaho. what are you hearing from the community? >> reporter: well because this is a small community, the impact has been great. people still aren't talking much about it. out of respect for the family's wishes, but their actions are speaking louder than words. some volunteers today went around the town and distributed yellow yellow ribbons in support of bowe. they are also putting up signs. he was very popular, a well-liked guy, who was described as a free spirit. they say he likes everything from riding bikes to ballet. now that wait is on for his safe return. >> thank you very much. let's bring in our nbc military analyst. good to see you. when we're talking about ca