our focus an here he is visiting the president at the white house. what is the big event of the day? is it this joint press conference with the prime minister of iraq and the president of the united states? or is it a prime time president conference with the president on a domestic issue in health care that is dominating. so it is sort of visually today' events at the white house visually underscore the complaints that iraqis have right now or the concerns that the iraqis have right now when it comes to the relationship of the united states. so, you know sh it's fun why. it's like the u.s. also is trying to wean iraq off and iraqis say, yes, they want the u.s. out. but they also want the safety net of the united states military. >> chuck todd, we're going to ask you to stick around. we want to talk about health care while we wait for the president. let's bring in richard engel. he's been covering the iraq war since before the invasion. richard, give us a sense as far as what the situation is like on the ground right now. this effort by u.s. troops to pull out of major cities and how the iraqi security forces step up. it is working? >> it does not appear to be

working. iraqis are nervous. they're proud that they seem their own security force onz the streets. but violence is going up. and it's continuing to go up as u.s. troops are mostly confined to their bases. troubling comment by one senior iraqi security official. he, in a bit of a bragging way said that u.s. troops are now a bit under house arrest. and he was saying they only go out when we want them to go out. and that is not the type of arrangement that u.s. commanders had foreseen when they were entering into this agreement. >> richard, i don't want to paint with broad strokes, but when we were talking about them moving out of the cities, you saw video of iraqis cheering and saw more than our share of interviews of people who live in iraq saying it's time for us to take control. and now you hear chuck todd say that iraqis are complaining that the u.s. is keeping its eye off the ball of that country. >> well, they don't want iraqis don't want to see american vehicles patrolling their cities. i think americans wouldn't want foreign vehicles patrolling the cities in the united states.

but they are worried now that there is this focus on afghanistan. that there is a focus elsewhere. they also know that will tl is economic troubles in this country that there is increased pressure just to pull the troops out entirely. and they experienced civil war for two years, reasonably, and doan want to fly back into it they do want a safety net. >> beyond the concerns of the people who live in that country, what about the troops? what are their feelings? before you had troops in afghanistan and the military leadership in afghanistan saying, hey, we're the forgotten war. are we hearing that from the troops on the ground in iraq now? >> not quet yite yet. the troops are proud. they say we've accomplished something. look, there is a great security strides that have been made. but there is a growing sense of frustration among at least the low level company commanders that they're not able to actually go out in the field and do the kind of patrols without going through this heavy bureaucracy. >> and richard, as far as the meeting between president obama and mr. maliki, are there any

flash points? anything we should be looking for as far as their meeting today? >> it's not only about security. it's also about money. and maliki is looking to deal -- to sign deals with american corporations. he wants more investment in iraq. he's advertising the oil sector. a lot of major investors have been tempted by the oil sector but nervous not only about it because of the serious situation in iraq but because of all of the corruption and difficult laws that make business practices so complicated in iraq. so he wants to move beyond the security relationship and ent near business. another thing to watch, the kurdish problem. and it is an issue that iraqis cannot mediate on their own. >> all right. we're going to ask richard to stick around and watch the president's remarks in this news conference and help us dissect it. let's go back to chuck todd. chuck, you mentioned the big event is the news conference tonight. health care is expected to sort of dominate the questioning and, of course, health care is at the top of the president's agenda. this news conference tonight is a key part of the bully bull pit

with the news conferences. it is the bully pulpit that allows them to shape the national agenda. nancy pelosi made a statement about where health care reform stands in the house now. watch. >> i think that we're moving closer to -- we're making progress and that i have no question that we have the vote on the floor of the house. >> is that the view of the obama administration that votes are now there in the house or was there some staffers at the white house and the negotiations who were krifrpging to day when they heard the speaker make that declaration? >> no, i think the votes are there in the house, david. don't forget, the size of the majority the democrats have. so, yes, the votes are there in the house. that's never been the concern. the question is are the votes there in the senate? and how divergent is the house bill? and so, you know, and the problem that speaker pelosi has in hir own caucus is that there is a group of democrats in the house who will vote for whatever

the bill is that is agreed upon. they'll be there. however, they don't want to be voting on something that suddenly disappears in the senate version. you know, you heard this term being btu'd. the house had a vote on a btu, the senate tripped it out. it was a bunch of house democrats left there without any cover. and they got hit by opponents saying look at the tax they supported. even though it was never implemented. even though it was never put into law. so i think there is a concern in our own caucus and i talked to leadership aides about this. they realize this. that's why i know speaker pelosi urged senator reid. look, we're going to go together. i'll put my bill on the floor and get it voted on. but you need to do the same thing. and, of course, we know the big holdup in the senate is the senate finance committee. >> chuck, we have a countdown clock, too, when the president is holding the news conference. there are great expectations of what he will say here. to quote public enemy, should we believe the hype?

will the president give specifics or draw some conclusion that there is polling out there shows that more people are hedging their bets perhaps against health care reform. and that could be because of the mixed message we're getting from the president. >> well, as a public enemy fan, i believe the next line in that song is don't believe hype, it's a sequel. and i think that is the fear, i think, that some democrats on capitol hill have is will it just be simply a sequel of what we've heard from the president for the last ten days? or will it be something specific? will he put his very -- you know, will he put himself out there and say, look this is what i believe a public option stands for. will he talk about the co-op in terms of americans can understand and congress can feel comfortable backing? will he talk about what he stands for? you know, what is okay on raising taxes and what isn't? and a very specific way which he has yet to do over the last ten days. >> nbc's chief white house

correspond chuck todd. thanks as always. again, two news conferences we're following. there is the one, of course with, mr. maliki that they'll talk about the iraq situation. of course, can you see the countdown clock to the big prime time news conference tonight where health care is going to dominate. at the half hour, republican leaders mitch mcconnell and john bainer will hold a joint news conference about the status of health care legislation. then, of course, as we mentioned to night, president obama makes his case to the american public. his news conference starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern time. we'll, of course, have it live for you right here on msnbc, the place for politics. >> david, of course, one of the big questions, is is president obama selling america on health care reform? selling in a convincing way? we asked that because according to a new poll, the president's got an uphill battle. look at the new numbers. 50% disapprove of the president's hands willing of health care reform. 44% say they approve. on tuesday the president, the american people said it's not the american people, no the

washington who are demanding action. >> the default in washington is inaction and inesha. there is a reason why we have not had health care reform in 50 years. and the deadline is not being set by me. the deadline is being set by the american people. >> nbc's ron mot joins us from atlanta much how is the president's sales pitch, how is that playing out there with folks that you've been able to talk to? >> hey there, tamron. he has work to do. that is the clear truth. he has work to do tonight, trying to make these specifics known to people. they all agree with him in principle that something needs to be done. this current system cannot be sustained for much longer. so nobody is protecting the system that we have. everyone agrees we need to change. the folks in washington are fighting over timing. the president seems to want to get this thing date of birth before the congress heads off for summer vacation. a lot of folks are saying, hey, slow down. this is major stuff we're talking about here.

why you would want to rush this in two weeks? folks on the street in atlanta say they want specifics, too. and that simply is going to take time. >> you know, for me i don't have, like, any insurance or anything. so anything that could help me in any way would be nice. i would like to be able to visit 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. >> all right. so this is not just about the 46, 47 million people without insurance. a lot of folks who have company sponsored health plans, for example, want to know what this means to them. the president has said he talked about taxing those health care

benefits. a lot of folks are going to hold him against -- campaign promise he said he would not do that. john mccain, of course, favored that. folks with pre-existing conditions, there are a lot of questions here the president has to walk that delicate balance tonight of giving specifics without making it so specific that people kind of gloss over, guys. back to you. >> it's so striking. we were just reacting to the woman who said she trusts the private health insurance companies than the government. the polling would suggest when people are asked who do you trust more to bring down health care costs, run the system, people tend to trust, 72% trust the government more than the private health insurance industry. i wonder what sort of messages people are getting. do you get the sense that people are picking up on the advertisements and messages and the lobbying effort that is happening all over the place? >> i think so. and i think, you know, i think you have to credit the republicans in washington for saying to the president and his administration and the american people, slow down. we should be discussing this. this should not be something that is ran through congress. a lot of folks here wonder about that estimate that we're

actually with the current plan that's making its way through the house, for example, is going to be more expensive. how is that reform? the president has a lot of work to do tonight. whether he can get this done in the next teven days before the folks in washington head off to their various states is going to be interesting to watch. >> all right. nbc's ron mott, thank you very much. david, it is interesting. the focus group with one of the president's, i believe this is the first prime time news conference. we had a group of people in valley forge, pennsylvania reacting. at that time it was health care. the dial went up on health care. people concerned also about how it would be paid for. so we'll see what the reaction is with folks like ron spoke with in atlanta. >> and you know, you always see people inside the white house say the best sales person is president obama and what they're hoping for tonight is that a lot of people tune in. if a lot of people tune in and watch the president make the case, the challenge now is trying to get the eyeballs to watch. >> the game is on. we're keeping an eye on the white house where any moment now we're going to hear from presidents obama and maliki. and later in the show, a look at what the future holds

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welcome back. we're following breaking news out of texas, where the university of north texas is located. kxas saying there is a bank robbery. and the robber is still inside the bank with employees. so obviously that would be concluded as a hostage situation.

but the bank, which bank location we don't know. the bank robbery in denton, texas, reports of a robber is still inside that bank with employees. denton is just outside of dallas-ft. worth area. a big college town. the university of north texas located in denton. so we'll keep an eye on it and bring you any developments. >> we're also, of course, waiting for president obama and iraqi prime minister maliki to come out of a meeting in the oval office for the last half hour. they're supposed to come out and have a news conference and to talk again about the significance of this -- what they may say and the situation iraq where, of course, we're joined by richard engel. and richard, we were talking a little bit about how maliki is wanting more money. they're already getting a ton of money. and politically, of course, it is a difficult situation for president obama. everyone says look at the money iraq is already getting. we have money for health care. how does the president deal with that? >> he's not looking for a cash handout. he's looking at the business deals. he wants favorable agreements

between american businesses and iraqi businesses, particularly foreign investment which can be encouraged and facilitated by the u.s. government. so i don't think he's coming this time with his hat in his hand so much as he wants the solid message from the white house that it's time to do business in iraq and that trade delegations should go over there and create a more favorable business environment. but the levels of corruption and bureaucracy that have existed let alone all the security concerns have spooked a lot of investors away. >> richard, there was an article out describing mr. maliki as a reluctant leader early on. not now. he is liked a lot. the article said he is not reluctant and he's very popular. >> i know him quite well. >> so he's jumping for joy. >> he was always a very ambitious leader. >> and now he's very popular within his country. >> he was -- i know prime minister maliki quite well.

i've known him for a long time. he was always very ambitious. he's very pragmatic. he was someone who is working behind the scenes. his number two in the party and effectively unseeded the number one. they didn't kill him off or anything, just unseeded him. he was always a political operator and someone who is quite shrewed in his use of power. but he was relatively unknown. he is someone who is a party functionary within the shiite community before. and has become a very public figure. has embraced populism to a degree and has become much more popular as a result of the increased security. he has gone from someone who is ambitious but unknown to now i think he would be -- if there were just an election held today, he would probably win it hands down because he's the most recognizable politician. >> all right. we're waiting on both to come out as david mentioned. they're supposed to be out about 3:00. so 0 minutes late. we anticipated it would start late. >> a lot for them to talk about.

>> a lot for them to talk about. they must be talking about it behind closed doors. we'll bring you the president and prime minister maliki. apparently they're walking out right now. let's go to the rose garden. we're hearing the announcements now. let's listen in. >> good afternoon, everybody. i am very presidented to welcome prime minister maliki back to washington. we've just concluded a very productive discussion about a wide range of issues. we meet at an important moment, substantial progress has been made since prime minister maliki's first visit to washington in 2006. i had a chance to sit down together in baghdad. violence continues to be down in iraqis are taking responsibility for their future. this progress has been made possible by the resilience of iraqi people and the security forces and also because of the

extraordinary service of american troops and civilians in iraq. now we're in the midst of a full transition to iraqi responsibility and to a comprehensive partnership between the united states and iraq based on mutual interests and mutual respect. the success of this transition is critically important to the security and prosperity of our people and it is a top priority of my administration. recently, we took an important step forward by transferring control of all iraqi cities and toubz towns to iraq's security forces. this was part of our security agreement. and should send an unmistakable signal that we will keep our commitments with the sovereign iraqi government. we seek no bases in iraq nor do we make any claim on iraq's territory or resources. going forward, we will continue to provide trading and support

for iraqi security forces that are capable and nonsectarian. we'll move forward with our strategy to responsibly remove all american combat brigades from iraq by the end of next august. and we'll remove all american troops from iraq by the end of 2011. as we move forward, prime minister maliki and i have no doubt that there will be tough days ahead. there are those who will murder innocent men, women and children. there are those who still want a sectarian conflict. but make no mistake, those efforts will fail. they rejected this division of destruction. and american troops have the capability, the support and flexibility they need to stand with our iraqi partners on behalf of a sovereign, secure, and self-reliant iraq.

because we believe that future does not belong to those who would destroy. it belongs to those who were built. america supports efforts to promote national unity and help insure people in iraq can live in peace and prosperity. prime minister maliki and i discussed issues like the hydrocarbons law and the disputed internal boundaries that will be fundamental to the future of a united iraq. i reiterated my belief that iraq will be more secure and more successful if there is a place for all iraqi citizens to thrive, including all of iraq's ethnic and religious groups. that's why america continues to support efforts to integrate all iraqis into iraq's government and security forces. and we have increased our assistance to help displaced iraqis return to their homes. prime minister maliki and i also agree to build a broader basis for cooperation between our

nations. the united states and iraq have known difficult time together. now both of us agree that the bonds forged between americans and iraqis in war can pave the way for progress that can be forthed in peace. the strategic framework agreement agreed to last year helped lay the groundwork for this progress. america stands ready to help the iraqi government build their capacity to provide basic services and to promote the rule of law. and together americans and iraqis can expand economic cooperation and trade that opens new doors of opportunity. together we can broaden our educational, our cultural and scientific engagement to make a positive difference in the lives of our people. and together we can take steps to advance security and prosperity throughout the region and around the globe. and prime minister maliki and i are both deeply humbled by the sacrifices made by iraqis and americans to create this opportunity. there are many important meetings that will take place

over the course of the prime minister's visit. i'm especially pleased he intends to visit arlington national cemetery. that hallowed ground is the final resting place for so many young americans who paid the ultimate price to help forge this progress. it sets an example of selfless sacrifice that all of us must strive to meet as do the americans serving in iraq today. i want to thank him. they're doing outstanding work. the most difficult circumstances imaginable, they completed every mission they've been given and they forged countless partnerships and friendships with the iraqi people. i know that this story is one that can be told by people in both our countries. and that iraqi people have endured extraordinary hardship in their pursuit of a brighter day. so many iraqis and americans have made so many sacrifices on behalf of a better future. now as we work to end this war and to look beyond it, we must live up to their example and

live up to our own responsibilities to see that their legacy is truly one of greater peace and prosperity. i thank you. and with that, i'd like to welcome prime minister maliki and give him the opportunity for remarks. >> translator: thank you. i thank the president of the united states, mr. obama, for your warm hospitality. and regarding all the issues that are related to the positive relationship as well as the escalation to deepen that relationship. my meeting with the president was positive and constructive meeting reflected the deep conviction on the part of both sides to establish a strategic friendship. and in order to continue the success that's we have achieved

and to perhaps we refer to the security success that's led to the stability in iraq. we have also referred to the sacrifices by our sons and daughters on both sides to confront al qaeda members. those who are outlawed and those who voice sectarian wars. if they succeeded in their efforts, they would not have been killing only iraq but the entire region through the danger of sectarianism. our sons and daughters succeeded both -- on both sides which led to stability and the return of the strength of the iraqi government under full sovereignty. and we can, among the things we can refer to in a positive way is the positive commitment in following up with the commitment that were signed by both sides. either those are related to the forces or those are related to

the strategic framework agreement that we govern our relationship in the future. i have discussed with president obama about ways in order to activate the strategic relationship and the economic front, culture front, educational front, commercial front and in every possible area where the united states can play a role in supporting the iraqi government and efforts of the iraqi government to build a state of law, a state based on constitution and federalism that works for the aspiration of its own people using the wealth of that country and that nation. we are about to activate such a strategic framework agreement. efforts on both sides are there to convene and investment conference in october of this year that will combine all investors and all companies that would like and wish to work in iraq. all of this comes as a natural

reaction to the stability and to the direction of the iraqi national unity government to provide what is needed for rebuilding, reconstruction our country that was destroyed by wars, by dictatorship, and by adventures affected if infrastructure affected the services that should have gone to the iraqi people. therefore, the relationship between the two sides as it did see and witness progress on the security fronts and in combatting terror will see great cooperation in areas of economic, commercial and cultural activities. our forces as it proves its successful role and proves when it's received the security file that these forces prove to be capable of performing. and those who thought that the iraqi forces, if the american forces can lead will be incapable of imposing peace and

security, these people prove to be wrong. our forces benefitted from working closely with the american forces and the multinational forces. our forces became now highly capable. and they will continue to do their role and their part to provide the opportunity needed for reconstruction, rebuilding and developing iraq. iraq has suffered a great deal from being marginalized, from the policies of sectarianism and from wars. we will work very hard not to allow any sectarian behavior and opportunity to flourish. we will work on the national plan with all sons of iraq and all daughters of iraq are equal in their contribution and in their services. they will be unified by iraq. they will not be divided by other elements. we will be strengthening the relationship between the people

of iraq. this is the direction of the iraqi national unity government. and that made us work very closely in meeting all the challenges that we are facing. it helped us on the security front. it would help us in reconstruction. and we will benefit from the strategic relationship with the united states. thank you very much. >> mark smith of ap radio? >> thank you, mr. president. i'd like to ask about the flexibility that you spoke about that you said u.s. forces still have in iraq. since the handover of control of the city, the iraqi government is imposed new limits on how troops can operate and can't patrol on their own, they can't conduct raids on their own. can you raise this to mr. maliki? did you object to this? do you think this is just a great sign of increasing iraqi sovereignty? >> well, i think we have seen both improved capacity and greater confidence on the part of the iraqi security forces. we're very pleased with that.

i'm in communications with the general on a regular basis. he provides me a weekly report of how this transition proceeded. he has been extremely positive about the progress that has been made. now what we've seen is they're going to be at times differences in strategies. the interest of the iraqi security forces in setting up checkpoint at some point and our arms forces suggesting that from our experience a checkpoint might create a target for aqi. and so it's better to be more mobile than to go after them. there are going to be those kinds of strategic and tactical discussions that are continual taking place between the two sides. but overall, we have been very encouraged by the progress that's been made. it doesn't mean that there aren't still dafrpgers in iraq.

and obviously we've seen that in some circumstances those who want to sell sectarianism in iraq, they're going to resort to bombings that plagued iraq for such a long time after hussein was deposed. but what we've seen is that violence levels remain low. the cooperation between u.s. forces and iraqi forces remained high. and we are very confident that we will continue to work together cooperatively and make adjustments where necessary to assure that as we move into the national elections that iraq continues on the progress of stability and that iraqi security forces are continual ramping up their capabilities so that ultimately we're going to be able to fulfill our commitment to pull out our troops entirely and interact

with iraq as a full sovereign country that it is. >> translator: first of all, excuse me, the relationship between the iraqi forces and the iraqi forces after the withdraw from cities and towns are good and in constant cooperation. there are the support coming from the american forces next to the iraqi force that's are operating. it is normal that the responsibility is bigger and the role is bigger and a result of the security agreement. but also based on the agreement of the withdrawal. if the iraqi forces would require the support from american forces, they will ask the american side through the committees that organize these operations. and i believe what's happening is organizing the roles between the two sides and cooperation. it is not to marne inallize the ro marginalize either side. we're under a joint responsibility to face any

threats that iraq is facing. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> my translation is not coming through and my arabic is a little shaky. there we go. >> based on the grem, the security agreement between the united states and iraq, the united states should help iraq to get out of chapter seven. what steps will you be doing in order to help iraq to get out of chapter seven? >> well this is an area that prime minister maliki emphasized. and we have made a strong commitment to work with iraq to get out of the chapter seven constraints that were imposed after the gulf war. as i stated before, i think it

will be a mistake for iraq to continue to be burdened by the sins of a deposed dictator. now, in order to do that, we're going to have to obtain cooperation from various members of the united nations. i think that there are going to have to be some specific disputes that are resolved between iraq and some of its neighbors. we intend to be very constructive in that process. but we have said clearly and i repeated today to the prime minister that we will work diligently with iraq so that, in fact, iraq is no longer within chapter seven. [ speaking arabic ] >> translator: president obama and the american administration agree with us that iraq is no longer representing a threat to international peace and security because there is a democracy in iraq not a dictatorship.

iraq is looking forward to positive, constructive relationship about its arab neighbors and international community and to deal through a law internally. i have seen clear commitment from the president and the administration to support iraq and to be committed to all elements of the agreement and to help iraq to get out of chapter seven and international sanctions which were imposed as a result of the ventures and the wars that were led by saddam's regime including occupying the neighboring state of kuwait. iraq has gone a long way and will continue to solve all problems. and there are so many problems that we are paying the price for from the previous regime in order to have friendly relations with all members of the international community. thank you very much. >> president obama and iraqi president maliki taking two

questions. this came after president obama said that there has been substantial progress that's been made in iraq and that the violence continues to be down. a lot of people might argue compared to what? well, let's ask nbc's richard engel, senior chief foreign correspondent. that is a key question, right? the violence lately has been ratcheting up. >> it has been going up. over the last three weeks. u.s. troops pulled back to their bases. and if you look at a longer scale compared to two years ago, say, sure violence is down. it is at a level where a general who spent so much time in iraq, if you ask him, yeah. it's down compared to when he first got there. but over the last few weeks, it does seem to be going in a troubling direction. >> now what jumped out at you after watching this? >> well, i thought a couple things. first of all, prime minister maliki was basically saying the war is over. iraq is open for business. we have a big investment conference coming up in october. and please bring your money to

invest in our oil sector. that was his main message. and everything is great cooperation between american and iraqi security forces is not a problem. president obama came out and outlined his new plan that u.s. troops are still going to come out of the country just because he was meeting with prime minister maliki today doesn't mean a new renewed commitment to the war. we want to enter this phase. one thing that was troubling was the president somewhat dismissive tone when he was describing these kind of disputes. he described them as strategic disputes. the iraqis want to put a checkpoint one place, the americans don't want to put the checkpoint there. that is not minor at all. on a basic level, on a tactical day to day level. an argument over where a checkpoint should be or where a gate should be is how soldiers either stay alive or get killed. it is crucially important. and right now americans don't have the final say. before, they always had the veto

pow eastern the iraqis went along it with. now the iraqis are flexing their muscles and they get the ultimate say. and maliki said, well, we're trying to work this out. we're trying to work out the coordination. trying to work out the coordination while we're at war and still being fought is a dangerous thing to do. >> thank you for sticking around and giving us insight. we're also following big news regarding health care. we have pictures from capitol hill. republican leader mitch mcconnell and john bainer are holding a news conference right now. they're giving us their thoughts before the president's big prime time speech. let's listen in. >> the administration continue to mention the unnamed people that don't seem to want to make progress on. this i've been unable to find anyone. and not a single soul as i indicated of the republican conference in the senate is in favor of no action.

what we do think is that we ought to target the problems. and there are ways to do that that could be achieved, i think, on a large bipartisan basis. for example, why should we any longer tolerate junk lawsuits against doctors and hospitals? example, why would we not want to insent viz plans like the safeway plan that demonstrated you can cap the cost of health insurance by insent vizing your employees to go after the preventable causes of health care problems in this country? smoking, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, lack of exercise. they have demonstrated that by asking employees to change behavior, they can have an impact. we know that one of the reasons we have such a large number of uninsured is because if you're an individual purchasing health care, it's not deductible on

your tax return. but if you're a company is providing it for you, it's deductible on the corporate tax return. why would we not want to equalize the tax treatment for individuals and corporations? these are the kinds of things that would have a positive impact on improving the cost issue and access. i noticed that the cbo director was sort of called in to the white house yesterday. it strikes me as somewhat akin to the owner of the team asking the umpires to come up to the owner's box. i mean if the cbo is to have credibility, they're the umpire. they're not players in this game. and i don't think we ought to be tampering with an organization that is arguably controlled by the majority or in congress but nevertheless tries to function as an independent arbitor and

estimator of the cost of what we do. and we look forward to being able to move a health care proposal for this year on a truly bipartisan basis. one that doesn't increase the deficit, one that doesn't put the government in charge of our health care. one that doesn't produce a system that in the end delays care in many instances denies care and, of course, in order to do that, it would be rationing care. i don't think the american people want any of that nor should we be trying to pass it. now here is my colleague. >> thank you senator mcconnell for your work in the senate. and your work really with the republican colleagues in the house. i'm dealing with the issues that are coming at us like a machine gun. listen, the american people want us to work together to reform health care in america so that it costs less.

and that we can then provide better access for more americans. but i think as americans look up today what they see is a big government takeover of health care that's on the table and a plan that they don't support. tonight we'll hear the president likely say some -- repeat some of the myths that he's been repeating. first they'll say if you like your plan, you can keep it. the clear way under the congressional budget office estimates, 23 million americans will be forced out of their private health insurance into a government-run plan. and a consulting firm, health care experts, estimate that number could be as high as 114 million people. he'll say that the democrat plan will reduce health care cost in america. but it's pretty clear that the director of the congress shm buget office says that health care curve not only will not

decrease, but the health care curve will increase. and at a time when we're trying to get the cost out of the system, there is nothing in their proposal that will reduce cost in our health care system. i don't know how you can spend $1.6 trillion over the next ten years and say that we're going to spend less on health care. the president is likely to say that any plan that passes will not add to the deficit. well, the congressional budget office made clear that the plan that's on the table in the house will increase the size of the deficit by $239 billion over the next ten years. beyond all this the white house chief of staff this morning said that the president is reviewing the president's speech when he said the president's likely to say that we rescued the economy. well, i would like to ask my folks back in ohio when wr the

unemployment rate is at 11.2% whether they've been rescued by their economy. if they try to fix our health care system like they've tried to rescue our economy, i think we're in really, really big trouble. it's time for the president to scrap the plan that they've been working on in the house. it's time to bring both parties together. to have real health care reform that will reduce the cost of the system, will reduce the cost of health insurance for americans and provide better access. >> house minority leader john bainer along with senate republican minority lead mitch mcconnell. both of them setting the congressional budget office which added fuel to the fire. it's so rich, though, i got to say when you hear republicans defending the congressional budget office when they were dumping on it several years ago when they estimated the cost of the iraq war. but now they wand to raise the cbo. but it's a fair point. and there are some very serious cost issues that have to be resolved. again, when he says well we need to have a bipartisan approach,

it's time to scrap the current plan. a democrats are saying these are people who don't want a new plan. >> enhe brought up some recent polls that show that the american people are getting a bit antsy about what they're hearing. they're not in favor of what we've been hearing so far, some of the plans out there. so the republicans finding ammunition in the cbo scoring as well as recent polls and i thought somewhat aggression from what we heard from boehner saying tease are the myths, and that's his words, myths you'll hear from the president tonight in anticipation of some of the things that we're going to hear in the prime time news conference. we're going to keep an eye on all the developments out of capitol hill. this is a great political story bubbling over. sarah palin's cloudy future. she's is a new set of ethics allegations against her. we'll talk about that and talk about how it looks like it may affect her ambitions on the national stage. speaking of ambitions, a live interview with another man who really has got his eye on

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. and we're back and we've got an update today on the in the palin chronicles just days before the governor leaves office, she's facing yet another legal fight. this one an independent investigator reporting that reportedly found evidence that palin may have violated ethics laws by accepting private donations to pay her costly legal bills. in the leaked confidential report, the investigator says there's probable cause to

believe palin used or tried to use her position for personal gain by creating the alaska fund trust as her official legal defense fund. in fact, on twitter, governor palin responding to the report. she wrote reinaccurate story fleeting reethics violation/legal defense fund, matter still pending. new info was just requested even know final report. that's why you can't twitter to serious allegations because you only have 140 characters, governor. the governor is set to step down sunday about 18 months before the end of her first term. at least 19 ethics complaints is have been filed against her, most of them have been dismissed. now the governor has cited the toll of the probes as the pain reason or i should say one of the reasons she is leavinging office. >> this latest ethics investigation does seem to have more legs though than those other complaints against palin that have been dismissed.

what happens next? joining us live is shannon moore, huffingington post contributor. legal experts say this one could be pretty serious. explain what happens now. >> well, welcome back to the alaska reality show this week looks like a grand finale, and you know, our governor has voted herself off the island and still wants the prize apparently. so it's very interesting what's going on with this. certainly there was a confidentiality leak and so we actually got to see what the investigator had to say, which was that it looks like she has abuse her position as governor to collect money. you know in five and ten up to $150 increments. and the ethics laws here are very complicated and obviously, even john cole, greta van susteren's husband who is a attorney who helped set this up upped her legal defense fund, didn't understand them either.

so we're looking at this now and basically, what we're seeing more than anything is that the ethics codes here and how it's set up is completely broken. >> and just to be clear though, the basic allegation is that she essentially used the power of her office essentially to tell people, give me money or contribute money to this fund to help pay my legal debt and i'll give you something in return perhaps as governor. is that the thrust of the allegations? >> well, i think it's just that it looks like she's used that to get money for whatever reason she's going to. obviously she's taking a lot of funds from out of state. so as far as that goes, you know, whatever she was going to do with it regardless, she used her position to collect money according to this investigation. so you know, and ironically, she did tell people and she told this when she was stepping down as our governor ta she was doing that because she was, she had all these legal bills from the frivolous ethics complaints.

well you know, it has come out now that her own ethics complaint against herself which was completely politically motivated is the one that cost the state the most money and herself. >> shan anyone, is the governor trying to play this latest investigation or information down by her tweets that she's making? because again, these are serious allegations and to respond to this on twitter, is this other tactic? is this some kind of jedi mind trick to play this down? >> she's been governing in 140 characters or less for for a long time. my understanding is that her new press secretary is actually in dallas this week for a church conference. so that's basically her option between her attorney thomas van fine line who comes out with remarkable bully like tactics threatening to sue people. he certainly has threatened now to yesterday, he put out a threat towards the woman who had filed the ethics complaints in

the first place, kim chapel. she's going through other issues. her father passed away last night. she's got other things on her plate and now he's come out with this allegation against her. >> thank you so much. we will keep everybody posted on the palin chronicles. in fact. >> more palin chronicles in the next hour. we'll talk to the npts counselor who handled the troopergate investigation, the start of a lot of the governor's problems. >> his legal analysis will be intriguing. just four hours from president obama's primetime news conference. what he'll say about health care just ahead. will it be what the american people want to hear and is this his last best chance to sell the need for reform? plus more of today's search of the clinic run by michael jackson's personal doctor. what it tells us about the investigation. and america's most famous naked cowboy live in the studio to talk about his serious political ambitions. you're watching msnbc.

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good afternoon, everybody. >> this hour on msnbc as president obama prepares for tonight's prime time news conference, dramatic developments today in congress. the house speaker says she now has the votes to pass the democrats' plan for health care reform. >> i have no question that we have the votes on the floor of the house to pass this legislation. >> all eyes are now on the u.s. senate. what can president obama say to keep the momentum going? plus, in the palin chronicles, an investigator for the state personnel board says the governor may have violated ethics laws by using her official position for personal gain. how much trouble is palin in now you? >> thanks but no thanks. the