armstrong clinic. dr. murray's office is within the clinic. so there are a couple of hours. they brought out one box so far. and we have no indication, contessa, how long they will stay in there. >> dr. conrad murray, people say he is cooperating with the investigation. he is willing to be interviewed. he's willing to hand over medical records. so why are we -- why are we seeing, janet, a raid? are they saying why they're serving the search warrants? >> reporter: that really is a question for the los angeles police department which is continually saying, yeah -- >> we're just now getting this tape in from police at the scene. let me listen in. >> that's all i want to confirm. right now we're executing a search warrant on the medical offices in assistance with the dea and houston police department. >> you said dea? >> dea. >> can you tell us anything about the search warrant? >> no. at this point we have no further comments.

again, i would like you to direct all of your further questions to our media relations in los angeles at 213-485-3586. all right. thank you. >> so there we go. an l.a. police officer is one of the people coming from l.a. as janet was saying. and, janet, sorry for the interruption there. you were explaining whether you got any word about why they selt it fess necessary to serve sear warrants. >> it's unusual they would search the houston clinic. he's been spending the last couple of years with the medical office in las vegas. although, you know, he does have a clinic here. was he coming back to houston? and did he keep the records of michael jackson here in a very small office on the northwest side in what is really a very run down neighborhood. it seems deplorable. authorities are here executing that warrant.

>> janet, we'll come back you to later. let's turn to our reporter who is following this investigation moment by moment. how did this, what is happening this afternoon in houston fit into the larger investigation? >> reporter: well, what clearly is happening is they're beginning to sort of focus on dr. conrad murray. and we reported on the "today" show this morning that they have already requested a third interview with dr. murray. remember, they impounded his car when this first happened. they since returned it. they interviewed him twice. the second interview lasted three hours. now here they are saying we actually want to talk to you again a couple weeks later. and they told dr. murray, we reported this morning they actually wanted more of his medical records. of course, at the time no one knew that they were going to get them anyway. sort of in this raid fashion down in houston. dr. murray's spokesperson said this sun expected to us and

working on putting a statement together. it's important that conrad murray has not been charged with anything. the toxicology report is not out yet. sources inside -- sourced involved and familiar with this case say it's unlikely that you'll see murder charges here. it will be involuntary manslaughter charge if anything. >> and, yeah, again we're -- >> it's unclear if dr. murray is one of the people charged. >> we're jumping ahead of ourselves even speculating on what criminal charges could come down. at this point they haven't even dernld how michael jackson died. they're waiting on the toxicology report. hold on one second. i want to bring in courtney haze. i know you're hearing now from some of the people involved here, what are you learning about the dea going in there? >> let's be very clear about this where we get sensationalizing here. this is not a raid. this is a search. they're executing a search warrant. dea spokesperson said we did not raid it. they have an investigation. they came to the dea.

they asked for help. and to help them effect a state search warrant here. since this, they said this is about dotting i's and crossing t's, being thorough. that's important here. >> but then the question would be, if conrad murray and his folks did not know that investigators were going to go in and collect these records, if they're serving a search warrant, i'd be interested in hearing what the dea's definition of a raid is. they're going in unexpectedly to collect medical records with legal documents that allow them to take what they need. >> sure. and that's standard operating procedure when you need to collect information for an investigation such as this. not diminishing the fact this is an important investigation. there's a lot at stake. we're probably going to see at the very, very least malpractice suits, wrongful death, perhaps. but to make a leap and say this is a raid, there are guns blazing. let's be honest here, the word

raid brings that feeling and thought. you have two people from the lapd who have gone to houston and have other help from the dea and people in houston. and they're calmly brought up in one hour one box. >> jeff? >> contessa, let me jump in here. courtney is right. look, the bottom line is they have to do this. this is what is typically done in cases like this. they needs tsdz recor those rec. they want to get them before they're taken somewhere. dr. murray's lawyer did issue a statement overnight. this is before the raid happened. he was responding to talk about a third interview with dr. murray. and i'm quoting here, "the coroner wants to clear up the cause of death. we share that goal. we don't have access to the most important information in this case, the toxicology report. we're still in the dark," the lawyer said, "like everybody else." one other part, "dr. morey is the last doctor standing whether michael jackson died and all the theory is directed toward him.

he should not be a target of criminal charges "oich the lawyer goes on to say that "dr. murray's life is turned up side down even by all the accusations, seeing his phase on the news each day, the fact that police are interviewing him several times." he apparently can the go to work without being harassed and now has a bodyguard following him around 24 hours a day, seven days a week. and this probably won't help. >> all right. jeff, i appreciate it. courtney, thank you. and our thanks to janet as well. we'll stay on top of it. the president has a big sales job in the prime time news conference. he'll deliver his message to millions of americans. he may aim it at a handful of key lawmakers whose votes he needs to make the vote law. who are the players here? who does the president need to convince to get this thing passed? >> contessa, the issue boils down to a three letter word ending in x. of course i'm talking about tax. and that is the problem that many blue dogs on the house side. these are fiscally conservative democrats and a lot of

vulnerable democratic freshmen have what the plan is currently working its way through the house. of course, it would impose a surcharge on individuals making more than $280,000 a year, $350,000 if you're a couple. a lot believe that is a tax on small businesses. everybody comes armed with their charts and their impact and their spread sheets. this only affects a certain number. no, it will effect many more than that. the bottom line is enough democrats are buying the argument that it's an tack on small business. they have serious problems in the house. so it's a blue dog. it's the house freshmen over on the senate side. the closed door negotiations with the so-called coalition of the group of seven now six since orrin hatch just dropped out formally today. it turns out that charles grassley, the top republican on the senate finance committee, a key player, still in the room. still trying to find a bipartisan compromise. it is an uphill struggle whether or not the president is able to convince the members to move working before the recess.

>> all right. mike, thank you for keeping us in the loop. we're staying on top of it. i have big questions that i want answers to. republicans say they're going to break obama on this legislation. so what is their big alternative? blue dog democrats have big issues with the current plan. so what does the white house do about them in particular? and in all this health reform mumbo jumbo are americans getting a good sense of what their options are? let's tack that will last question. "get real" with ron. when you're talking to people, do they feel like they have a grasp on some of how these proposed plans would really work? >> in a word, no. they don't. that's what the president says needs to do tonight. he needs to deliver. he is borrowing a phrase from my chilhood, make it plain. they want to hear specifics. put the meat on the bones. so fate president painted this picture of health care reform with very broad brushes. and now folks want to see him pick up the pencils and put the

details front of american people. here is a sample of what people are saying on the streets in downtown atlanta. >> i'm for it, you know, because for me i don't have like any insurance or anything. so anything that can help me in any way would be nice. i would like to be able to go to the doctor on a regular basis without having to be, you know, rich. >> i'm not a big proponent of government health care. i think that private industry is probably better for that. >> there's people who are really suffering because they don't have health care. i think there are people who are sick and people dying because they don't have health care in our country. so i'm looking forward to learning more and hearing what he has to say and learning more specifics about the plan. >> and it's not just the 50 or so million americans without health coverage who want the details but people that have company sponsored health care benefits. will they be taxed in the future? what happens if you change jobs? will you be able to keep that

coverage? pre-existing conditions, a big, big issue. the president has to deliver that tonight or folks are going to say it's hard for them to support this bill when they don't traely know. >> it's easy to grasp that health care is expensive and that a lot of people are missing out on having it in the first place. it is not so easy to grasp how some of these proposals then would change things and make health care more affordable or make it available to more people. we're going to stay on top of this. ron. thanks. make sure you stay with us for live coverage of the president's speech at 7:00 p.m. tonight on "hardball." the news conference is at 8:00. and then chris matthews again at 10:00. at 11:00, ed shultz takes over. we'll rebroadcast the president's vent at midnight. right here on msnbc. a controversial case in south carolina, a mother charged with child abuse after her teenage son tipped the scale at more than 500 pounds. should childhood obesity be considered child abuse? and a local church gives out $25,000 to its worshippers with

just two conditions -- we're going to tell what you they are coming up. snifrment)d)d)d)d)d)d)d)d)d)d)dd

a south carolina mom could phase prison because her teenage son eats too much. 14-year-old alexander waying in at 55 pounds. authorities told his mom to change his diet and make hip exercise. when the weight still didn't come off, his mom was charged with child neglect. dr. nancy snyderman joins me now. we talk about this case in particular. there are so many families who are struggling with similar problems. how much of this -- okay, say you have a child who is obese and take to the doctor. what do they look at contributing factors for

obesity? >> certainly sedentary lifestyle, high fat diet and all the normal stuff we know. there is something complicating this case. we have to add genetics. i don't know if this child is feeding hill self because mom is holding down two jobs. i also worry that public schools don't have enough physical education. kids are being driven everywhere. so it is a perfect storm where we're literally at the nation eating ourselves into the ground and into the grave, frankly. >> and to your mind, as a doctor, when does it cross the line to just being a bad parent versus being neglectful or being abuse sniff. >> i think the line becomes very gray depending on your socioeconomic status, your race, where you live in this country. i think one of the concerning things here is the authorities felt they had to step in and filed child abuse charges because there were no other avenues. and they hinted at this, missed possibilities. when i hear missed possibilities, i wonder were pediatric visits missed?

did they try to get the child to a nutritionist? perhaps she couldn't do it because she was working. one of the things increasingly worrying about is fat and sugar may rewire the brain. it goes to the pleasure center. if you live on high fat, high sugar foods, you crave them more. and coming off of them is almost sort of like coming off an addiction. >> so if you have so many kids, with you sar mag two out of three kids now face something sort of problem being overweight, how do you solve the underlying problem? it's not all eat salads and go run around the block. >> look, i think we're the perfect storm of a crisis that could bring this country down. i'm not even sure we can fix it. that's how depressing i think this is. but we have high fat, high sugar are low nutrient foods. we have no physical education in our schools. some kids don't have safe neighborhoods to walk around. other people drive their kids everywhere. i was in florida a couple weeks ago and came up to a four-way stop.

and i swear on each corner was a pharmacy. each with its own drive through window. so i thought that's great. you're fat, you have diabetes and heart disease but don't worry about getting out of the car to get your medicine. drive up and we'll give you your pills. that's a sad statement. >> and one of the best things parents with do is show by example and start living a healthy lifestyle themselves. >> that's exactly right. good to see you. we appreciate it f you want more of this conversation, i know you really delve in deep today, catch nancy's show every day at noon on msnbc. chrysler is ready to double down on the offer of cash for clunkers. the carmaker is offering $4500 to coax people to turn in their gas guzzlers. if you add that to what the government sofrg, koibt $9,000 toward a new vehicle. chrysler will give that incentive even to people who don't qualify for the government's cash for clufrpgers program. and we'll give buyers the alternative if they don't want the incentive. you could also get zero percent

financing for six years. we'll see if that convinces some americans to buy american. check this one out. plane crash caught on camera. a pilot in chile crashed near a market yesterday. he was practicing aerials. guess what? he's fine. crazy. i never thought i would have a heart attack,

but i did. you need to talk to your doctor about aspirin. you need to be your own advocate. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. you take care of your kids, now it's time to take care of yourself. it's taken my time. time that i should have had to be with my family. it's like you're getting violated. these are uncertain times. and it's tough enough in this economy without... the added pressure, headache, and heartache of having... to struggle with a stolen identity. but you don't have to. lifelock works to stop identity theft before it happens. it's been more than a consequence of money. it's, it's taken time... out of my days for months on end now... and, uh, it just literally robbed me of my credibility. you feel like you went to law school and you... have to become an attorney all of a sudden... for yourself because nobody else will do this for you.

cleaning up the mess of identity theft can be... frustrating and take hours of your personal time. what we can't stop, our team will help fix... at our expense and restore your good name. for me, what having my identity stolen has meant... has been not just financial hardship... but having to tell my children no to certain things... because i just can't afford 'em right now. it's consequences that i'm serving for somebody else's behavior. with lifelock, you get our proactive identity theft protection... and our dedicated team who stand ready... to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. if this ever does begin again, lifelock will be there... to protect us and that, to me, is -- that's priceless. take control of your identity. protect yourself with lifelock's proactive protection and our... $1 million total service guarantee. security. peace of mind. protection. that's what lifelock provides. you can take control of your identity. call now for special savings and we'll also give you...

30 days to try lifelock absolutely free. call now and mention id. call now or go to lifelock.com. ♪ the dnc is trying to come out with a new ad today. we'll play it. >> i hope he fails. >> if we're able to stop obama on this, it will be his water o waterloo. >> let's bring in a republican strategist and a democratic strategist r you satisfied with the way republicans have responded to the overall plan for health care reform? >> i think overall republicans

responded very well. not only in their criticism to bringing life to the plan, the tax increases, government control that will come with it but also offering alternatives. my boss introduced legislation a couple months with tom coburn and companion legislation sint deuced in the house. >> karen, what's your take? do you think republicans responded well? >> of course not. they have made it very clear that they, you know, declared open warfare on the president. they made it clear they're not interested in passing health care reform. rather, they're interested in using this issue to, in their words, take down the president. because it's very disappointing. they haven't really participated in the process and come forward with constructive ideas. and now we hear, you knee, again straight this their mouths their strategy is to take him down. >> it's interesting you say. that an hour or so ago i got an e-mail from republicans that listed all the things they thought were wrong with the democrats' plan. let's put up this e-mail contains two different attachments to it. one was what was wrong with the

democrats' plan. the next one was, what is our republican alternative to these plans? i mean this especially on pay as you go. and then we have michael steel on morning joe yesterday. let me play what you he said, his ideas about health care reform. >> let's make health care more portable. let's create co-ops with small business communities to you, me, and everyone on that set as employees with k. go into the marketplace and get the best health care for our employees. number three, let's make it so that people who aren't employed or have employment at the time can deduct their health care if they're not getting it through their employer. and i'll give you an extra one. let's do tort reform. >> karen, that sounds like real ideas. is that something that democrats could get behind? >> first, two of those ideas are basically ideas that are already in the plan which talks a lot

about portability. that's in there. there is cost controls in there. this is the idea of having individuals and small businesses being a part of pools so they can leverage a sort of larger group power to lower their costs. so those are some of the ideas that have been out there. but you know, con tes yashgs here's the thing. why are we just hearing about this now? i mean this has been a problem for, you know, 16 years, certainly for the last 10 years. when you hear people saying we need more time, what else are you doing? we know this problem is only going to get worse. it's bankrupting our country. it's bankrupting our businesses. >> why is that? >> well, one of the people saying we need more time is charlie wrangle. last time i checked not only was he not a republican, wasn't a blue dog democrat. you know, one of the things you talked about earlier, a second or two ago, was really the issue of whether or not contessa's big question, whether or not the american people understand this bill. we haven't really had the opportunity to go through the bill part by part and go through it. but the american people do understand tax increases. this he do understand public

control. and that's one you've seen 42 democrats which has been documented by congressman eric kantor's office oppose or expressing concern about the bill. and that's only -- >> look. >> the conversation that we're going to have, especially considering president obama's going to talk about it tonight, will you come back on with me and we'll continue the conversation? >> any time. >> you got it. >> okay. karen and doug, thanks. we're keeping our eye on the michael jackson criminal investigation. we'll get the laetest. and a employer church dishes out thousands of dollars to its members with two conditions, though. we'll get details on that still ahead. undefeated professional boxer floyd "money" mayweather has the fastest hands boxing has ever seen. so i've come to this ring to see who's faster... on the internet. i'll be using the 3g at&t laptopconnect card. he won't. so i can browse the web faster, email business plans faster. all on the go.

i'm bill kurtis and i'm faster than floyd mayweather. (announcer) switch to the nation's fastest 3g network and get the at&t laptopconnect card for free. i just want fewer pills and relief that lasts all day. take 2 extra strength tylenol every 4 to 6 hours?!? taking 8 pills a day... and if i take it for 10 days -- that's 80 pills. just 2 aleve can last all day. perfect. choose aleve and you can be taking four times... fewer pills than extra strength tylenol.

welcome back, everyone. it looks like prosecutors charged a long island, new york, man with terror conspiracy. his name is bryant neil venus.

prosecutors say he received training in an al qaeda camp in march that he has been charged with firing a rocket at a u.s. military base in afghanistan last september. and prosecutors also say he passed along to al qaeda information he claimed to have about the long island railroad. that is a mass transit system that takes people in and out of new york city to long island. again, it looks like prosecutors are charging him and court documents seem to show that venus agreed to plead guilty to the u.s. charges. we're staying on top of this and get you the latest as it comes into us here. we also have breaking news from houston, texas. dea and los angeles police are gone into the medical office of dr. conrad murray. he's the doctor who was with michael jackson when he died. and we're just now getting a statement by dr. murray's lawyer who says searching items including documents, seizing them, looking for what they think is evidence of

manslaughter. again this is come to us from the lawyer for the man you're seeing there on your screen, dr. conrad murray. and there you can see the search warrant authorized law enforcement to search for and seize items including documents they believe constituted evidence of the offense of manslaughter. let me bring in nabc's janet shanglin. do you have any how much information they're taking? >> reporter: we do. first, it's important to note that this is the first time that term has been used in connection with the questioning, the investigation of dr. murray with michael jacksonment they left us a short time ago. they finished their investigation. it was mostly two los angeles police department officers accompanied by a heavy dea presence and also houston police department officers. they reportedly took what is called a forensic image of a business computer hard drive along with 21 documents. and we're told that dr. murray's

representatives were here throughout the search. they witnessed what was taken. and they also reviewed the warrant before it was executed. contessa? >> and we're also learning that there it looks like there are stakeouts now of dr. murray's las vegas office. explain to me how often he is at the houston office. is there any indication that he may have been keeping any of michael jackson's medical records there? >> reporter: the best answer i can give you right now is it's not clear. this was supposedly the main and first office. but more recently within the last few years he was spending most of his time in los angeles. he had a residence there. he had medical license there. would he be sending documents back to houston or hand carrying them back? we have no indication that he's been in town. however, since michael jackson's death, he hasn't been seen. he could be here in houston. >> and do you know who all these

people are behind you? are some of those people neighbors? are they media folk? there's a big crowd. >> reporter: well, this incident has drawn a lot of the neighborhood here. we were told that some of the doctor's wife's relatives were here. it also brought out a number of community activist who's will show up at an event like this. that's what you're seeing behind me. >> appreciate that, janet. this is another story we're following. the army is searching for a missing soldier based out of fd hood, texas. james gonzalez has been missing since july 11th. family members said the army received a ransom call demanding $100,000 payout. the caller reportedly also wanted the army to withdraw all soldiers from the u.s.-mexico border. we're staying on top of. that. and most churches with a collection basket goes around they add their weekly offering. but one clutch in central

florida switched things up a bit handing out $25,000. each church member got an envelope with cash inside. but we're told they couldn't spend the money on themselves or give it back to the church. so, for instance, one woman gave hers to a wendy's cashier. one guy gave his to a waitress. >> she said i already had two other people that have given me money because of what your church is doing. >> her eyes just got very big and she immediately started smiling. >> i have four children and a wife and all of this. kind of looked at each other. they got a big laugh out of it. >> i'm trying to figure out what to do with mine. >> the senior pastor at first baptist church in florida, all right, tell me how the church can afford now to give away $25,000 in these tough economic times? >> well, not very easily, obviously. we just built a new building. we wanted to show the community we built it for them. we want to reach out and build

bridges to the community. we've done a lot of work in the past. it's not really caught on in our church. unlike, for example, a missions work where you go overseas, we send several people over there and they come back and bring a report, we have never done that with many of some of these things. what we thought about doing is passing out the offering plate, giving everybody an envelope and some of the envelope has a $10, sometimes $20 and some $100. they were to give back to the community. and then go on a website and write their story. and this we're not only helping the community but inspiring other people to do that as well. >> i'm curious, are you seeing a jump in attendance since the big gift? >> well, hopefully nobody's coming just to get the money. but we have had a big jump in our attendance because of the new building. so i'm not sure how much of that is really about the giving so far because we've only been at

it a couple weeks jaeb anyway. >> do you continue? do you keep handing out money and saying pass it out? or was that a one time deal? >> well, it's a one-time deal. we may do it again sometime in the future. but, of course, we're going to have to do it by surprise. >> i think so. >> this is a one time type of thing. hopefully it's going to catch on as far as people giving their own money and serving in the community as we're trying to do now. >> listen, pastor, i know that sometimes when people are facing tough times, when they get $20 or $100 it makes a difference between buying groceries or paying a light bill or not. and sometimes it seems like a guardian afrpg sl looking out for you. so thank you so much for sharing your story. appreciate that. >> well thank you very much for having me. >> here's a warning you don't get every day -- tight jeans could be harmful to your health. doctors say if they're too tight, it could contribute to bladder problems, frequent yeast vections and tingling thigh

syndrome. that doesn't sound so bad. parentally it's painful though because the jeans pinch the nerves in your legs. there are moms out there writing this down. this is the argument they're going to use when they tell their daughters, get out there and change your clothes. put on something that's not so revealing. we'll be right back. but did you know you also get hotel price assurance? it's a one-two punch of savings -- pow! pow! lower hotel booking fees mean you get a lower total price. plus, if another orbitz customer then books the same hotel for less, we send you a check for the difference, automatically. 90s slacker hip-hop. ♪ that can strain your relationships and hurt yourody 'cause we'pride ♪ng a ride ♪ ♪ it's the credit roller coaster ♪ ♪ and as you can see it kinda bites! ♪ ♪ so sing the lyrics with me: ♪ when your debt goes up your score goes down ♪ ♪ when you pay a little off it goes the other way 'round ♪ ♪ it's just the same for everybody, every boy and girl ♪ ♪ the credit roller coaster makes you wanna hurl ♪ ♪ so throw your hands in the air, and wave 'em around ♪ ♪ like a wanna-be frat boy trying to get down ♪ ♪ then bring 'em right back to where your laptop's at... ♪ ♪ log on to free credit report dot com - stat! ♪

vo: free credit score and report with enrollment in triple advantage.

to silence headaches... doctors recommend tylenol... more than any other brand... of pain reliever. tylenol rapid release gels... release medicine fast. so you can stop headaches... and feel better fast. baking sowed yashgs a new wonder drug? maybe. in a new study, the kitchen staple slows down the decline of kidney function by two-thirds. those taking sodium speed limits were also less likely to develop disease that's retire dialysis. the study is limited so doctors urge you to keep the baking soda

in the fridge. hello. hbo's "tru blood" is the network oes most successful show since the "sopranos." it is the second sb. the question, is is there a right-wing message? "vampire conservatives" for the daily beat.com author is with us. so what is your premise for drawing the parallels between "tru blood" and politics? >> vampires are like the gay rights movement. right? as the show begins, they're coming out of the coffin demanding the right to mayor rich. you see signs saying things like god hates.

so it's this really strong analogy except the vampires are really evil and out to kind of undermine human society. they really are perverted and kind of sinister. >> okay. but do you think that there's a right-wing message at work here? i mean when you're watching the show, do you say this is going to influence -- the people watching "true blood" are they open minded and tolerant? >> this is what is interesting. the creator of "true blood" is someone that is openly gay. but what i do -- that's why i think it's a very confusing and kind of interesting message. i think what "true blood" does is it dramatizes the ultimate right-wing nightmare. i mean when right-wing people imagine gay marriage or when they imagine feminism this is something like the other world that they conjure up. >> this is the worst nightmare where the gays take over the world. is that what you're saying? i mean in the show sex with a

vampire is so appealing to humans. >> right. it's tantalizing and degrading and drives people into -- >> what are the republicans saying about your article? >> i'm not really sure. on the one hand, i would imagine that republicans, although they don't like the show because of, you know, it's so explicit. but at the same time, i wonder if it strikes a nerve with them. and actually i think that republicans tend to be even more aware of their kind of overwhelming sick desires. >> i don't know. i'm questioning whether this is just a good excuse for you to delve in very deep to "true blood". i've been watching the show for a while. there is also this feminist -- there is a social worker who when she's not helping the poor is driving people into these insane orgies. this is pat robertson sees. >> michelle, thank you for bringing this show to my attention.

president obama is hitting the national spotlight again tonight in a prime time address to the nation. he's been on a media blitz all week trying to push his health care overhaul. >> i am deeply invested in getting this thing done. but this isn't washington sport. we are closer than ever before to the reform that american people want. >> i won't sign a bill that i think does not reduce costs, does not keep deficit neutral, and does not benefit the families in america. >> with me now, bill burton, white house deputy press secretary. bill, it's great to see you today. >> hi, contessa. >> we're seeing the president drive home a similar message. all those soun sound bites we just showed, the message this week that we've seen, are we going to see anything new and different tonight? >> well, to night the president's going to take the opportunity to do a couple things. one is talk about the importance of health care reform and the context of some of the economic progress that we've been able to make. and the other is to talk about the danger of not moving forward

with health care reform. and what that would mean for the long term fiscal and health economics of this country and american businesses and american families. >> when we look at the estimates, one of the house democrats' plans cost $1.5 trillion over ten years. the estimate that's i've seen show that we cover 13% more people than our currently covered. given the fact that the gallup poll shows 50% of americans asked disapprove of the way the president ahandling health care, the fact that some democrats, the blue dog democrats themselves are questioning whether the costs are too much for what america is getting in return, how does the president go about addressing those particular concerns? again, not just from republicans but also from people within his own party? >> well, it is important to understand that. democrats aren't very much concerned about what is the best way to pay for health care reform? and what's the best way to bring down costs for the american people? so i'm just going to take apart

the two separate issues. in terms of paying for health care reform, the president in the buget already identified how to find about two-thirds of the revenue required. another 30 thinks should come from americans who are doing a little better than everybody else to pay a little extra bit of the burden for health care reform. and in terms of costs for the american people, this is something that folks ought to know. if you have health insurance that you like right now, if you like your doctor, you're going to be able to keep it. the problem is for folks even if they like the health insurance, costs are skyrocketting. they've gone up three time the pace of wages, twice the pace of inflation. and the president has said that he's not going to sign health insurance reform that does not bend the curve of costs so that american families, american businesses and the american government don't go into deeper debt. >> so again, when i'm reading this plan, it sounds to me like the real effort is to get more people medical health care coverage. but that it's not as focused

or -- i mean really it's not focused on how do you solve the underlying problem of why is medical care so incredibly expensive? is the president satisfied with the amount of effort that is aimed to that end? >> well, the president thinks that there are very constructive negotiations going on in capitol hill in term of finding ways to cut costs for the american people in terms of their health insurance. this includes the idea which would strength an idea currently in place. find the best practices that are more efficient. it is helpful to bring down costs for american people as the health insurance reform gets put in play. second -- go ahead. >> i just want to ask you one quick question. this plan from ron widen in oregon is getting a lot of attention. is his plan something the president can get behind? >> well, i think that there are definitely constructive ideas

put forth there. and from both democrats and republicans. and he's going to continue to talk to folks in the house and the senate, both on the democratic and republican side to find the best health insurance reform that brings down costs for the american people, gets everybody covered. and puts us on a more sustainable economic path. >> that sounds luke a maybe. >> well, it's -- he's encouraged that people are offering constructive ideas. >> all right. bill burton, good to have you on. >> thanks, contessa. >> we'll get the other side next when one of only two doctors currently serving in the united states senate joins us. wyoming republican john grasso talks about the republican alternative to the president's health care plan. # (announcer) that ball is going, going, gone! home run! is

i'm sorry. i can't hear you very well. announcer: does someone you know have trouble hearing on the phone? dad. dad, let me help you with that, okay? announcer: now, a free phone service shows captions of everything a caller says. i'd like to make an appointment to see the doctor. announcer: to learn more about captioned telephone, call 1-800-552-7724 or go to our website. i'll see you at 3:00!

announcer: captioned telephone - enjoy the phone again! welcome back, everyone. the gop makes its case on how to overhaul health care, the party is drawing focus to the only two doctors serving in the senate. both republicans. and joining us now from wyoming, the senator from wyoming, john

grasso. good to see you, senator. >> thank you. >> i'm just curious, what would the president need to say tonight in order to get you to stand up and publicly support his health care overhaul. >> i like what the president is saying in terms of what his promises r but i don't see that in any of the bills that we're looking at. we're looking at health care reform. but even the mayo clinic said the bill is being debated as bad medicine, bad for the american people. it's not focused on patients oregon yented towards results. and it costs too much. so i want to get to find a way to save money, help cover more people. i think you asked a good question about the last guest. even about the widen bipartisan bill. and, you know, you have a hedge of an answer. the president is not going to support. that it doesn't include, you know, the government-run option. that's been a problem, a stumbling block. i think senator widen has a lot of good ideas.

there are a number of republican plans also out there aimed at giving people more of a chance to take a responsibility of their own lives. and focus on buying insurance across state lines. that's important. but when the president was in the senate, he voted against that. giving people an opportunity to take tax deductions if they buy their individual insurance. >> yeah. >> the president voted against that when he was in the senate. so he needs to come a long way. >> senator, you said that widen's plan doesn't create a public option. but it does, in fact, cover people who can't afford to buy insurance. it does create a program whereby they would have insurance coverage. and independent groups went and surveyed this. they said it would save $1.5 trillion over ten years. how is that not reason enough to really give it a long serious look? >> i think it is reason enough to give that plan a long, serious look. but when senator widen introduced that and talked about it, you know, you have the unions now running commercials against him in his home state of oregon because of things that

are in that plan. so i think you have to look at all of these options. >> what does that mean, more time? >> well, you know, we have this show called senate doctors where we answer questions and people write in. and people are asking what's the rush? we need to get this right. this is such a personal decision in the lives of everyone in this country. it's one sixth of the entire budget, all the money we spend in our country is on health care. we need to get this right. and to say we're going to put an artificial deadline that it has to be passed in two weeks which is what they've said, i think that's foolish. we need to look at ways to get the course costs under control. americans are very concerned with the level of debt we now have. that's what i hear every weekend when i go home to wyoming, contessa. >> all right, it's great to have you with us today. i appreciate it. we're going to keep our eye on what the president has to say tonight on this topic. that does it for me. i'm contessa brewer. we'll have live coverage of

president obama's news conference and coming up, we will be looking for the president to talk with iraqi prime ministerial maliki. cat. specially formulated to promote hairball control and healthy weight. friskies indoor wet cat food. feed the senses. friskieif we don't act, food. medical bills will wipe out their savings. if we don't act, she'll be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. and he won't get the chemotherapy he needs. if we don't act, health care costs will rise 70%. and he'll have to cut benefits

for his employees. but we can act. the president and congress have a plan to lower your costs and stop denials for pre-existing conditions. it's time to act.

can the president ease concerns from the public about costs? also, what about blue dog democrats? can the president stop their barking? sarah palin's problem under fire and on the ropes with just four days left in office with the latest allegations derail whatever she was planning for the future? also, man of steel? new questions about whether the outspoken head of the republican national committee is helping or hurting this party. >> look, i don't do politics. and breaking news from the michael jackson investigation. the fed's raid of the houston

clinic of jackson's personal doctor. all that plus our crossing the line, a mom arrested for child abuse because her teenage son tips the scales at more than 500 pounds. good afternoon, everybody. good afternoon, cameron. i'm david shuster in new york. >> i'm tamron hall. we're going to begin this hour with breaking news with iraq. any moment now we're expecting president obama and iraqi prime minister norrial maliki to hold a jount news conference. today's meeting, their first since american troops pulled out of iraqi cities last month. >> that was a key milestone in president obama's goal of withdrawing all u.s. forces by the end of 2011. a critical part of the effort to shift resources to the war in afghanistan. president obama and mr. maliki last met in baghdad in april. a big topic today, the violence that is still threatening to undermine the country's relatively stable security situation. there have been a wave of

bombings and yesterday left at least 18 people dead and at least 19 more died today. and also on the agenda, making sure that iraq's and ethnic groups he could exist there without troops there tone force the peace. the new elections are set for january. we're waiting right now to, again, to see the president walk out with maliki. in the meantime, let's go to nbc's chief white house correspond chuck todd that is there. you have 130,000 u.s. military members still in that country. what can we expect to hear from both of these men today? >> well, i think you're going to hear them, you know, mostly obviously they'll be saying all positive things. that's the point of these public events, the joint press releases. behind the scenes we know that maliki is going to be saying, worrying about this idea was the u.s. taking its eye off the ball in iraq? worrying about us losing our focus and being distracted. on afghanistan, i have to say, here the iraqis are saying they're worriedut