operations and moving out of state, eliminating a staggering 8,000 jobs. >> they're just going to be gone. i never dreamed it would be like that. >> dan knows that his job and the family's health insurance is on the line. their whole future, like that of millions of other americans, on the brink. >> open the door first. >> i will. >> you got your hands full, girl. >> reporter: 6-year-old alexis looper, the oldest, has cerebral palsy and epilepsy after suffering a stroke while still in the womb. >> thank you for helping me with the colors on my pattern. >> you're welcome. >> reporter: her determination to overcome those challenges is matched by her parent's fears about how to get her the therapy she needs and keep the family afloat. >> without the insurance, it would be about $1,700 for today. >> we will probably sell our cars and our house and move in with my dad to help pay for her medical needs.

>> reporter: social worker julia wise has spent 21 years hoping folks like the loopers, and it's never been more difficult. >> a lot of people have never faced this situation. they've never had to come and ask for help before. and we're trying to help them get past the stigma of asking for help. we have another factory that is actually shutting their doors in greenfield. so that's another 141 people. so it's just more and more and more. and i don't think, in our county, we've actually felt the impact yet of what's really going to happen. >> do you think you'll ever recover from this? >> i think we're going to recover and i think it's going to take a while and it's going to help us to be able to learn to do a few things in a different way. >> this is a painful period for everybody, in your circumstances. working class america, especially in the heartland along highway 50. but do you think in some ways it will make america stronger? >> i think if people are smart about it, it will. as long as they just grit down and bare it, it will make them stronger in the long haul.

>> tom, i heard you report what dan looper has decided to do is to take a job in kentucky that is -- is that a 90-mile drive from home, and that commute will be added on to the other challenges his family faces, but that way he'll keep his health care, even though he'll make less money. >> he's going to commute actually 90 minutes each way, so it's a three-hour drive, 90 in the morning, 90 in the afternoon. he's very devoted to his kids and he's going to do that for a third less pay than he's making now, but he's going to be able to hang on to his medical benefits and that's the most important thing for this family. there are so many families across america, not just on highway 50, obviously, caught in this movement of losing not just their job, but their health care as well. and they just don't nowhere to turn. now, in this case, and in so many that we have discovered along the way, we're hearing that same theme over and over

again. we're going to learn from this. and it will be a stronger nation as a result of it. and the looper family, by the way, has been doing all the right things. some time ago, they cut up their credit cards and started shopping with coupons at a grocery store. they don't go out to movies, they shut off their cable television, they get it over the air now. so they prepared for it, because they had about a year's warning. and he will be able to continue to working, but it's going to be at another price. >> tom, there's been criticism of the president for not being more dramatic, for not making more news quote/unquote last night, for getting too much in the weeds. where does he strike the balance, the president of the united states, between trying to make people realize that they need this change or allay their fears that change is not a good thing. isn't that what he's trying to traverse here? >> well, andrea, i've been pretty well dialed in on this, i've been paying very careful

attention, talking to a lot of health care people in the delivery system, physicians, other academics who have been looking at it. it is as complex a social issue as we've ever seen and now a critical component of our economic recovery. everybody agrees we've got to do something about it. but as you stand outside in the country and look inside washington, it seems to be just a political head butting game. and people are not concentrating in washington sufficiently on families like the loopers and the big, big issues. should employers be required to provide health insurance? what do we get for what we pay for? do we move now to a performance-based health care system, results, not just tests. what's the role of the government? and finally, what's personal responsibility here? everybody's going to have to step up in some fashion. we're going to have to get more of a personal stake in our health care system. most people have no idea how much was spent on their health

care last year by their insurance carrier or out of their own pocket. if they go to an emergency room without insurance coverage and most emergency rooms they'll not be turned away. that cost is then shifted to people who do have coverage. it's that kind of thing, i think that the debate is now missing. >> exactly right. i wanted to ask you about walter cronkite. i know you're heading now over to the service. and you wrote memorably in "time" magazine, the magazine that just came out, that cronkite gave you some critical advice, important device that when you were first taking over as the anchor of "nightly news" that he said that, you had a dinner party and then rose to offer you some advice. he said, there will be nights when you think you've done a brilliant job on a big story, you'll leave the studio with echoes of praise from colleagues ringing in your ears. and once outside in new york, you'll realize that there are millions of people in this city alone who didn't watch and who don't give a damn what you just

did. interesting. to keep all of our heads in perspective. but he did coin -- the phrase was coined for him, anchorman, and they were all men back then. and there was a way in which walter cronkite for all of us, even for those of us here at nbc, where i've spent my career, did not work directly with him, but ran into him on the road in new hampshire and other places, but he was a reporter's reporter. and that's the journalism we miss in a lot of the people we see on television -- >> we really did earn his stripes. he didn't get to be famous until later in life. he started as a reporter in world war ii, was in moscow. when he first came to cbs, he was doing the morning news for a while, with a puppet, no less. he did "see it now," and he also did the 20th century. and then he got to be the anchorman of the cbs evening news. and he was, as i say in time magazine, to the surprise of a

lot of people, the challenger, not the champion. i grew up in a brinkley family and that's one of the reasons i'm still at nbc, but i am eternally grateful to chet and to david and to walter for setting the bar so high for all of us and making this not only something that was exciting, but it was an honorable calling. and serving the country so well. and they all did this and they were white males. that's changed, thankfully, but they did this by earning their way to those positions and then taking the news very seriously. and we can't underestimate the importance of that. a lot of people have been saying what a sad day that walter has died. i look at it in another fashion altogether. we did get to be friends. i see this as a celebration of a great life. he was a great american. he did everything that he wanted to do. and now he's getting the appropriate salute as he leaves us. >> and let me just add, when you say earned it, i was stunned --

i knew that he worked for the united press during world war ii. i knew all of that. i never realized he have not only at the normandy beach head, but went into north africa first, was in the battle of the bulge with patton's army, drove gliders into holland, b-17s, can't imagine a major conflict he wasn't involved in? >> no, he did it all. a cbs executive, wrote for d-day. bill leonard, who later become the president of the news division, don hewitt, worked for stars and stripes, andy rooney, who was walter's lifelong friend, worked for the stars and stripes. and they covered all aspects of the war. when walter went up on a b-17, he was standing in the machine gun turret and later described

how he had empty shell casings all around him. it was a matter of real survival. and these guys were the old, romantic front page version of reporters and they never really gave that up. and what i loved about walter is when he could have done whatever he wanted to do, he continued that kind of romantic notion. he raced sports cars and sailed his boat. he was out almost every night in new york, you would find him at every broadway opening with betsy at his side or at movie premieres. he just so enjoyed life and we have to remember that. >> tom brokaw, thank you so much for pausing to remember your friend, your colleague, mentor, and a great life. lived brilliantly and we all pay tribute to him today. thank you. >> andrea, i'm always happy to play a small role in your supporting staff. >> hardly. hardly. thank you, tom. good to see you. and i'm joined now by democratic senator sherrod brown of ohio, busy writing health

care legislation. thank you so much, senator, for joining us. senator, the majority leader, harry reid, moments ago announced there will be a delay. no august deadline will be reached. that the senate finance committee needs more time to work out its bipartisan magic. how much of a disappointment is that to you and the president? >> i don't think it means a delay in the president's timetable in terms of the president wants this on his desk by october or early november. i think we can still do that. this is a complicated thing, as tom brokaw's report showed, but we can't listen to the naysayers, many of the drug companies and insurance industries that say, we've got to slow this down, slow this down. that's the way they've defeated health care in the past. and when you see that report that tom brokaw did, the looper family in hillsborough, ohio, along u.s. 50, you think every day 14,000 people are losing their insurance and this is a family that's not losing their insurance, but look at all the other things that are happening because of this dysfunctional health care system. so we want to protect what works

in this bill and we want to fix what's broken and we have much of each in the american health care system. >> senator, it was a lot of fact checking today. "the new york times'" robert pare, a health care expert pointed out a number of things that were said last night that weren't quite accurate. he said the president was talking about all the support that the health legislation is getting, but the american medical association, while endorsing the house bill, a half dozen state medical societies have sharply criticized the provisions that would establish a new government-run health insurance plan. and the american hospital association is urging hospital executives to lobby against it. so there are a lot of problems along the way. did the president try to overstate the case last night? >> no, the president didn't overstate the case. the president is consistently and persistently said, andrea, that this is very difficult. there's so much money at stake. understand that the ama opposed the medicare law in 1965, and if

democrats in 1965 and president johnson had said, we can't do this -- if he had listened to the interest groups and said, you can donate this until you have strong bipartisan support, we never would have had medicare. the fact is, we've got to write the right bill, the best bill. i hope republicans support it. i hope the drug companies and the insurance industry and the ama support it. but if they don't, we've still got to write the right bill. we've got to work to get this through congress. we're hearing so much from people at home that they want change. people we want to make sure we protect the system, the parts that work, and that means if you have health insurance, you can keep what you have. but so many are facing the problems the looper family faces, with higher out-of-pocket costs. talk to any number of small businesses who are just getting killed by these oppressive insurance costs. they want to cover their employees, but it's harder and harder. talk about big companies that internationally are having difficulty competing because of these high costs.

we need to do both. we need to provide care for people, for people that don't have insurance or have inadequate insurance and we need to cut costs. and the president's plan and the plan revoted out of our committee does that. >> sherrod brown, thank you very much. >> thanks, andrea. >> the senator from ohio, where the president is campaigning for health care today. and straight ahead, we'll get the republican side of the health care debate with senator orrin hatch, a key member of the finance committee. and later, the top american diplomat in iraq. u.s. ambassador christopher hill will be joining us live here in the studio. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. [ man sighs ] whew! a lot goes through your mind after an accident. but with liberty mutual, insurance issues won't. man: man! because we offer unlimited rental coverage, new car replacement, and accident forgiveness to help ease your mind. and that's our policy. liberty mutual insurance.

[ announcer ] you make healthy choices every day-- oh, max! and you want to do the same for your laughable, lovable dog. [ barks ] that's why purina fit & trim is specially formulated... with high-quality protein, including delicious real chicken, to help him maintain lean muscle and a healthy weight, so he can make the most of every day. long live your buddy. long live your dog. purina fit & trim.

and we're following some breaking developments from capitol hill at this hour, where senate majority leader harry reid, just minutes ago, said that the senate will not be able to pass a health care bill before the august recess. let's listen.

>> working with republicans, one of the things that they ask is that they have more time. i had a number of conversations, for example, with olympia snowe. so the decision was made to give them more time. the finance committee, part of what we're trying to do, and i don't think it's unreasonable. this is a complex, difficult issue. as you know, the health committee worked a month. the finance committee working to come up with a bipartisan bill have worked longer than that. i spoke to senator baucus last night. i spoke to senator conrad this morning. they are going to be able to mark something up before we leave here. >> hover, senior administration officials tell nbc's chuck todd that the senate does plan to have all the committee work done before the recess. so the committee work will be done, but it will not get to the floor. for more on where health care negotiations now stand, i'm joined by a key participant,

republican senator orrin hatch of utah, who sits on two key committees. senate, health, education, labor, and pensions as well as the finance committee. senator, you walked out of the negotiations yesterday, saying that you did not think that they were going anywhere and that they were key ingredients in what finance was working on, that you could not support. could you tell us what were those obstacles? >> yeah. i basically disagreed with the direction that it was going, but i didn't mean to cause such a furor. all i can say is that i cannot support a government-run plan. and placing bureaucrats back here between you and your doctor. i really don't like the idea of a job-killing mandate that is going to hurt a lot of the people in the lower-income spectrum, people who really need those jobs. but they're going to lose them if we go to that. of course, they're trying to do a medicaid expansion that literally would transfer somewhere near 119 million

people from private insurance into medicaid. and this is the government that now has medicare. why would we do that? i want to pay a tribute to max baucus, the chairman of the committee. he's working very hard in trying to come up with a bipartisan bill, but i thought it was the honorable thing to do since i can't agree with some of these provisions, you know, to not be part of it. >> and if your understanding that those provisions will definitely be whatever comes out of senate finance? >> well, i believe they will. those provisions are big provisions in both the house bill and the senate health bill. and those are very, very partisan bills that have been done for the purpose of, i think, putting the crunch on senator baucus and members of the -- bipartisan members of the finance committee. and, frankly, i'd be very surprised if those three provisions aren't major parts of health care. which means that we're going to

have federal government control of health care in this country. and of course, i believe that the far left back here, and that's the majority of democrats, they really are trying to push this into a single payer system. in other words, socialized medicine. but let's call it a single payer system. that's what the president used last night. and he actually was pretty complimentary of it. >> but senator, one of the things that the president has moved towards, and that was very pleasing to the blue dog democrats in the house, was this idea of a commission, similar to a base closing commission, which would actually make the decisions, take the decisions away from congress, of medicare reimbursements and medicare cuts, essentially. isn't that a step in the right direction, as far as you're concerned? >> well, they call that medpac on steroids. can you imagine having people right here in washington, d.c. tell all our doctors and health care providers, hospitals, and people in health care what they can and cannot do? can you imagine the -- >> in effect, is congress doing that by deciding what the

reimbursement are? >> yeah, congress has an obligation to come with this, but that's far different getting nameless, faceless bureaucrats in washington determining what can and cannot go on in health care. and we both know, one with health care approach works for one human being, but might not work for another. one pharmaceutical might work for one human being, but might not work as well for another. and in england, they're cutting off a lot of health care for people because of the high costs of government-run health care. and if anybody thinks that government running health care and having a faceless bunch of bureaucrats here in washington tell your doctors what they can and cannot do for you, they think that's a good it. i don't think that's a good idea. congress, it's our job to represent the people and do the best we can. i think sometimes we do a lousy job and we're headed towards a lousy job here if we don't watch it. >> orrin hatch, thank you so

much. on all the reasons why you think this is not moving in the right direction, thanks, senator. and the arrest of a harvard scholar, gates, has ignited a wide ranging debate about race relations in the united states. was it indeed a case of racial profiling? we'll be talking with charles ogletree, who also represented dr. gates next on "andrea mitchell reports." if you're taking 8 extra-strength tylenol... a day on the days that you have arthritis pain, you could end up taking 4 times the number... of pills compared to aleve. choose aleve and you could start taking fewer pills.

just 2 aleve have the strength... to relieve arthris pain all day. go to hotwire.com. when four-star hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them... so you get the lowest prices on four-star hotels, guaranteed. ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com 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. ♪ and straight ahead, how involved should the united states be in reconciling iraq? from security to the economic and political landscape. u.s. ambassador to iraq, christopher hill joining us live in studio next on "andrea mitchell reports," only on msnbc. the chevy open house. where getting a new vehicle is easy. because the price on the tag is the price you pay on remaining '08 and '09 models. you'll find low, straightforward pricing. it's simple. now get an '09 malibu 1lt with an epa estimated 33 mpg

highway. get it now for around 21 thousand after all offers. go to chevy.com/openhouse for more details. with annuities from fidelity. turn your savings into income -- guaranteed, and get a retirement "paycheck" for life -- guaranteed. call... to get started, and learn how to secure retirement income that won't go down -- guaranteed. call fidelity at... for details about guaranteed income for life, anrrd d ou naing onon ud r. weotototatatininci on us cars for everybody anont cfidedence ininin o. caususususlendnds s ve a a a t tcks. ququq n

.

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. did president obama make his case to the american people on his plans to reform health care last night? well be joined shortly by moderate of "meet the press," david gregory, but first

"washington post" columnist eugene robinson joins us here in the studio. eugene, let's talk about health care first and then some of the other topics. this is a very hard sale, health care. he's got to work on people's concerns and fears and make them realize that the health care they have now is not the health care they're going to have forever, if they don't do something about it. but people seem more concerned about losing health care with change. it's scary. >> people are concerned and people who do have -- look, you trust your doctor, you want to keep your doctor. and if you think you need to have -- to be tested for some condition, you want to be able to be -- >> but the president said over and over again, you will keep your doctor and not change it. >> exactly. it is a difficult message to get across. what i think he needs to do, and frankly, i don't know if he succeeded to the extent last night that he should, or that he needs to, is tell the stories --

give -- tell us vividly why it's necessary to change. you know, he told a couple of stories -- he told them briefly and eliptically about people and their struggles with health care. but this -- these are stories that you and i hear every day and i think, perhaps, going into more into depth and detail and making it something that average americans can relate to can understand, the situations that they themselves can see getting into through no fault of their own and facing bankruptcy or whatever because of the health care system. >> and the kind of story that tom brokaw has been reporting and we shared with our viewers just a few moments ago, joined now by david gregory, host of "meet the press." david, we're talking about what the president did and did not accomplish last night. i saw you as part of our coverage last night. we tend to say, well, he didn't

make news, he didn't change policy. did he communicate to the american people? >> i think the one thing he's still struggling with is the idea of shared sacrifice. and the idea that people are going to have to give up something to get something that's very difficult, which is to fundamentally change the system. i think where he was effective last night is by saying, let's not just focus on the nitty-gritty of what the policy would be, but we have to understand that if we don't do this, then we're simply not only kicking the can down the road, but that there's a real crisis out there through inaction. you know that your prices are going up. it's more immediate than thing social security was under president bush. it is that you're going to face these higher premiums, that these costs are going to go up. we have to find some way to wrestle these things to the ground and not just be broken down by really difficult details, which is what he's confronted with right now. >> you talk about immediacy. people are losing their health insurance every day. and he made that point last

night. again, i think, if i were advising the white house, i would say, try to make that point more vividly, that nothing is done, what you have now, that you like so much, you might well lose. that would be the argument -- >> he was asked about sacrifice, and he is still shying away from saying, there's going to be some limits on what the government is going to pay for. >> let me ask you to shift to the more surprising comments last night, which we're jumping into this issue of possible racial profiling. and i want to ask you both about that. this is what the cambridge police officer had to say to the "boston globe" in refusing to apologize. >> the reason i asked the professor to come outside was not as someone suggested was because i knew i couldn't arrest him in his house. i didn't know who he was. i was by myself, i was the only police officer standing there and i got a report that there was people breaking into a house. that was for my safety. because first and foremost, i have to go home at night. i have three beautiful children

and a wife who depend on me. i had no other motive than to ensure my safety. because this gentleman could have been either one of the people who were breaking in or he could have been the homeowner who was unaware that there were people in his house unauthorized. i just didn't know. >> now, eugene, none of us know exactly what happened, but we can infer certain things from the circumstances. and we certainly do know that there's no contest of the fact that skip gates, and i have to tell you, you know, i know him, i wouldn't describe myself as an friend, an acquaintance, but skip gates did identify himself when pressed. and it was only after that point when he was still in the house that he was arrested. the question is, why would he be arrested once he had identified himself? >> that's the question i still have. i mean, the bottom line, one of america's preeminent scholars was arrested inside -- you know, in his own house after the point at which the police officer who

was there legitimately investigating a call about a potential break-in, but after the police officer knew or understood that it was his house, so i, to me, it's impossible to take that situation and say, well, everything was handled properly. everything was not handled properly. and then you get into the question, why did things happen. >> let me play a little bit of what vernon jordan had to say only an hour or so ago with carlos watson on msnbc. as vernon was describing this, eugene and david, this is a case where you had a harvard scholar, one of the most famous african-americans, one of the most famous scholars in the country. and as mike barnicle, our friend from boston, was suggesting also earlier, there could have been a town gown issue as well.

there has been historic tensions between the professoriate and the town of cambridge, but at the same time, you've got an instance where a police officer is called to a scene. certainly, by the time he got to the house and inside, he had to know that there was no real threat to his person. >> skip gates is this tall, he's, you know, he has a -- >> carries a cane, because he has a disability. 58 years old. he's really not a threat. >> and this is not an outlandish question to say, would this happen to a white person? probably no. one of the biggest questions is just that. >> if it were another famous harvard professor, larry summers, who can be famously arrogant, for example, would it have ended with him being handcuffed -- >> who has more of a temper than skip gates. >> would it have ended with the police officer saying, what can i do to help you get into your

house. >> that's the point. and that gets to, this is in the political domain now, the first african-american president who was not very restrained in responding to this and calling it what he thinks it is, which is the police acting stupidly, at least. that's not his word, he didn't say at least, but he said the cambridge police acted stupidly. that's caused a reaction, saying, is this an intemp rant response for someone who's normally very, very careful. he's made his own judgment about it. >> join us on the phone is professor ogletree. a harvard law professor. good to talk to you. >> good to be with you. >> i think you were involved in this case, so let me let you take it from there. because you were a friend and colleague of skip gates. >> yeah, i was called by skip gates, he shouted out of the police car saying, call tree,

call tree. she said, something about professor gates arrested in china. i couldn't understand her, she was in tears. she said, he just got back to china, he's sick, just got arrested in his own house and he wants you to come over as soon as possible. i quickly picked her up and went over to see him. the officers let me in to see him and consult with him. and i was there with him from the time he arrived at the police station it was he was released about 5:30 last thursday. >> now, can you tell me more about, first of all, his condition, his, you know, his attitude at that stage and what the police were saying to you. >> well, the police at the station, who were not involved in the arrest at all, were very cooperative. they realized that professor gates had a bronchial condition and that he couldn't breathe and he was coughing. and they wouldn't let him take any medication -- or let me give any medication, couldn't bring it in. that's standard procedure, but they did get him some water and also moved him from one room to

another room, where i could sit with him and talk with him while i was there that afternoon. and he was quite in shock, from my observation and interaction with him, because he said, please don't leave me. i kept told him i was going to try to check on the bail bondsman, check on some visitors, bus he was really constantly asking me, please don't leave me, don't leave me alone. not that he was fearful of something happening, he didn't want to be taken back into a cell and not have communications with people. i told him, if i go, i'll be able to get back in. i only went out to speak with the officers and the police commissioner. and then stayed there until he was released and took him home that evening. >> is it your conclusion and is it professor gates' conclusion that race was involved? that this was a case of racial profiling? >> i'm not going to use those words. what i am going to say is that what happened is really

unacceptable, as the basis for an arrest for the crime of disorderly conduct. i think if you talk to any lawyer, any law professor, any judge, they'll tell you that what happened on these facts did not justify an arrest for disorderly conduct. it doesn't fit the statute, and that i can understand that professor gates was shocked and confused to find himself on the phone talking to the harvard real estate office, saying this guy doesn't believe i am who i am. he's harassing me. witnesses could hear all of this. and i'm in my own house. the harvard police officers will tell you they knew him and he said -- and it's in the police report, please call the chief. what he meant was, call chief bud reilly, who i know and who he knows, who's the head of the harvard police department, to tell this guy this is my house and i live here. and then the officer said, ultimately, when skip gates went out to talk to law enforcement officers, thank you for providing me the courtesy they asked for before. you're under arrest. the courtesy was coming out of

his house, and still on his porch, and then the officer said, as a result of that, he would later charge him with the crime of disorderly conduct. but i think if anybody looks at the officer's own reports, andrea, i think they tell a story that it's just not really the logical in terms of what actually happened and it denies physics for these things to have happened the way stated in the report. skip gates, as you know, walks with a cane. he has hip replacement surgery, he's disabled, one leg shorter than the other, and 5'7", 150 pounds. he was not carrying a gun or a badge. he was the suspect, not the s m intimidator in this case. and it was a very unfortunate situation for him and has been one for his family and friends who have experienced this vicariously over the past week. >> i do have the report here. i've looked through that report. let me ask you this. do you think that professor gates is planning to sue the

cambridge police? do you think there's going to be further action here? >> i hope there'll be further action. i'm not saying there'll be a lawsuit. i think what needs to be done and then what i'm hoping will be done is that from the community, there needs to be some dialogue. this is an opportunity for constructive dialogue. because i have received, as you can imagine, hundreds of e-mails and text messages from people, prominent people that you and i know, who describe their own incident, unfortunate incident, because police treat them in certain ways. it's no way to categorize and criticize all police officers, but it is to me a teachable moment. and i know the district attorney, jerry leone well, i know the mayor, denise simmons, and i know the police commissioner, commissioner hoss, and i think this calls for at least, at the broader level of cambridge, a discussion about how police operate, how communities respond, and this is not a criticism of the witness who called. because she saw something that she thought was suspicious. she described it in ways that

the officer never confirmed. the officer never saw two black men with backpacks. it just didn't happen. it's that sort of concern, i think, that means there's a larger dialogue, but no decision has been made to file a lawsuit. i don't know whether one will be made. what we're trying to do now is make sure that professor gates can get back on his stride of finishing this pbs documentary that's scheduled to be released in february. >> charles ogletree, thank you very much. and as we were alluding to earlier, before you joined in, vernon jordan an hour or so ago on msnbc was saying that his concern is not for skip gates, who has resources, who has charles ogletree, whom he can call upon, but it's for all of the other african-american and latino men who might get engaged in something like this through no fault of their own and don't have those resources. in any case, thank you, very much, charles ogletree from the harvard law school. moving on here, i wanted to

ask you al about the main guest, the solo guest on "meet the press," david gregory, hillary clinton will be on for the full hour and so many things for you to ask her about. >> there really are, and you cover them all. i think some of the news that has been made about two of the most difficult issues for this administration, iran and north korea and nuclear weapons are things that are on the front burner for her trip, certainly, and some of the things we'll be talking about. she's been talking about a nuclear kbrel in order to deter an iranian nuclear program, something that's raised a lot of eyebrows. something that harkens back to her position during the campaign as well. and now it's something that she's talking about. so i think that's one potential area of discussion for sure. what is the policy with regard to iran and north korea at a sensitive time? i think these are two of the front burner issues. >> and north korea in very

disparaging comments today saying that she was like a schoolgirl and that she should not be talking about north korea. so there was a -- certainly a lot of tension between -- >> and at a time when you've got two u.s. journalists over there, that are still in custody and that the state department is trying to get out. and some concern about this war of words now and the rhetoric going back and forth, about whether that's going to help that situation. so it was a sensitive trip that she was on, that had to do with those issues and other issues as well, going to india and other stops. so be a lot on the agenda. >> it will be fascinating to see if a clinton doctrine is emerging. >> right. >> and as the president necessarily turns his attention to domestic matters and to get the health care through and to work on energy, it does hillary clinton take that sort of leading role in shaping a coordinated u.s. response to all these many challenges, and can she articulate that or will she

articulate to you and us? >> which we will all be watching for. eugene robinson and david gregory, we'll all be watching on sunday. if it is sunday, it is "meet the press" with hillary clinton. and david will have that exclusive full-hour interview with secretary clinton on sunday. check your local listings for time and place. and coming up next, the united states ambassador to iraq, christopher hill, join us live here in the studio. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports," only on msnbc. since we first showed up with our pirate hats on! if you're not into fake sword fights pointy slippers and green wool tights take a tip from a knight who knows free credit report dot com, let's go! vo: offer applies with enrollment in triple advantage. could save 'em hundreds on car just telinsurance.e geico it's actually doing it. gecko vo: businessmen say "hard work equals success." well, you're looking at, arguably, the world's most successful businessgecko. gecko vo: first rule of "hard work equals success." gecko vo: that's why geico is consistently

rated excellent or better in terms of financial strength. gecko vo: second rule: "don't steal a coworker's egg salad, 'specially if it's marked "the gecko." come on people. as we get older, our bodies become... less able to absorb calcium. he recommended citracal. it's a different kind of calcium. calcium citrate. with vitamin d... for unsurpassed absorption, to nourish your bones. 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... and, ooh, rotisserie chicken. yes, you do. [ barks ] yeah. you're so special, you deserve a very special dog food. [ woman ] introducing chef michael's canine creations. the deliciously different way to serve up your love at mealtime. chef-inspired. dog-desired. chef michael's canine creations. and i am the chief shoe giver at toms shoes.

i operate my entire business from my phone. i need a network with great coverage, because for every pair of shoes that we sell, we give a pair away to a child in need. it would be impossible for me to do this without a network that works around the world. (announcer) more bars in more places. at&t. the best coverage worldwide. finally, good news for people with type 2 diabetes or at risk for diabetes. introducing new nutrisystem d, the clinically tested program for losing weight and reducing blood sugar. hi i'm mike, and i lost 100 pounds on nutrisystem d when i was first diagnosed with diabetes, that first step was more like a giant leap. till i discovered nutrisystem d. in a clinical study people on nutrisystem d lost 16 times more weight and reduced their blood sugar 5 times more than those on a hospital-directed plan. plus a1c was reduced .9%. choose from over 140 menu options, there is no

counting carbs, calories or points. i lost 100 lbs. and lowered my blood sugar level. nutrisystem d changed my life. mike is one of many who have lost weight and controlled their diabetes with new nutrisystem d. backed by 35 years of research and low glycemic index science nutrisystem d works. satisfaction guaranteed or your money back! new! nutrisystem d. lose weight. live better. call or click today. we'll be back in a moment with christopher hill. stay with us.

boy: deep down, i think most people just want to do the right thing. [ humming ] should my mom have our grandfather move in with us, or put him in a nursing home? should my brother stay in college if he knows my dad might lose his job? should my parents spy on my sister, even if it's for her own good? deep down, i think most people just want to do the right thing. [ family laughing ] they just don't always know what it is. [ family laughing ]

president obama says that the u.s. military in iraq is drawing down on schedule. christopher hill joins us now. you're here because prime minister maliki is here. there is still tension over disengagement. what do we know now about the way iraq is stepping up and taking on its own government? >> we have 130,000 troops in country. we've just brought them out of the remaining cities. this was a major undertaking and for the iraqis, it was a major development. a major political development for them, so they're very pleased. you have the world's greatest fighting force turning it over

to the iraqis, who aspire to being better than they are, but this is going to be a work in progress. certainly the world's greatest fighting force becomes the world greatest training force. we've really tried to prepare them for this, but there will some glitches and we will work through them. >> the pentagon has said things are working with the fact that there are new rules of the road. yet commanders are still complaining that they are time lags and intelligence lags that you have to get permission from the iraqis before you can engage and that doesn't work in a fighting field. >> i think overall, it's going very well. there's a joint operation center where the u.s. and iraqis sit together and get the information at the same time. overall, it's gone well, but are there incidents where it hasn't gone well? are there incidents where the

iraqis say we want to do x and the u.s. says y? of course. but it is important to stand back and look at where we are. the u.s. military has now pulled out of all the iraqi cities and now we'll get to the next step, creating a safe and secure vooichlt for the elections in january. >> you had a narrow escape not too long ago. a roadside bomb exploded near your convoy. you've been in bosnia, very bad -- >> they're investigating it and from the point of view of someone in a very secure, safe and secure vehicle, you know, with a lot of noise and smoke, we drove on through it. we've got the best security people in the world dealing with this. i feel very safe moving around

iraq thanks to these guys and i'm going continue to do that. >> continue to move out and around? >> absolutely. i mean, we have got to be engaged to the iraqi people. we need to show that we have a relationship with iraq that's not just going to be a military relationship. we're trance to a civilian relationship. >> you were for years, the special envoy for north korea. there was quite an exchange today between the north koreans and hillary clinton. they called her a schoolgirl and pensioner two days after she referred to them as unruly children. aside from the fact that -- and not very respectful towards secretary of state. what's going on here? >> i'm not a spokesman for the north koreans.

i would have packed the station waggen and moved out some time ago. they clearly have a serious problem looming and aren't sure what to do about it. they're one of the world's least successful countries. we are working very hard with our partners and i think we're doing fairly well on this thing. i know they're second to none when it comes to name calling, but i think they're in a lot of trouble right now. >> it's great to see you and thank you for what you're doing in iraq. contessa brewer picks up our coverage next. stay with us. you're watching msnbc. you have questions. who can give you the financial advice you need?

where will you find the stability and resources to keep you ahead of this rapidly evolving world? these are tough questions. that's why we brought together two of the most powerful names in the industry. introducing morgan stanley smith barney. here to rethink wealth management. here to answer... your questions. morgan stanley smith barney. a new wealth management firm with over 130 years of experience. feels kind of like knives. aleve works all day on my back pain. only two aleve liquid gels can stop pain all day. that would take twice as many advil or ibuprofen. aleve allows me to get through my work day. people notice my devotion to family. people notice my love for animals. my smile. my passion for teaching. my cool car. people notice i'm a good friend and a good listener. people notice that i'm a good boss. people notice my love of nature.

people notice i can fix anything. (announcer) thanks to miracle-ear what people don't notice about you is your hearing aid because, look closely, our hearing aids are nearly invisible. our exclusive line of open fit products are so lightweight, so small and so natural sounding even you won't know you're wearing one. you know, most people don't know how good or bad their hearing is... they just know when they're missing things or hearing words incorrectly. miracle-ear can help. with a quick, free hearing test. miracle-ear has been helping folks for nearly 60 years. we're the number one choice in hearing aids. get your free hearing test today. it can change your hearing-- and your life-- for the better. (announcer) call now. our simple process can have you hearing better than you ever thought possible. and our full range of products are designed to suit your needs and your budget. people notice my zest for life. my great sense of humor. what sense of humor? people notice my beautiful wife! (announcer) let people see the best in you,

nothing more nothing less. try a nearly invisible hearing aid at a nearby miracle-ear location. every miracle-ear hearing aid is backed by a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee. find out for yourself what has made miracle-ear a household name for better hearing, miracle-ear. what will your miracle sound like? call 1-800-336-4990 to schedule your free hearing test or for a free information kit with complete details about hearing loss and how we can help you. call 1-800-336-4990 to take one of these easy steps toward better hearing. that's 1-800-336-4990 call now! any moment now, president obama will speak in ohio. it's part of his daily push to convince the nation now is the

time to tackle health care reform. but now may not be the time. hello, everybody. i'm contessa brewer. the big story this hour on msnbc. senate majority leader harry reid says the senate will not pass the bill before the august recess. >> i think that it's better to have a product that is one based on quality, thoughtfulness, rather than trying to jam something through. >> mike viqueira's in ohio. we know that the president wants to get this done. is the white house at all responding to the senate majority leader's assertion that it may not happen before the recess? >> reporter: it happened between the time the president landed here in shaker heights, just east