i have lawrence o'donnell

here and mike barnicle, who hasn't spoken to me yet. >> hi. >> okay. what should sarah do? that's a question in a new poll. the answer might surprise you. and see, i had had a prediction as to what she was going to do, but apparently -- oh, that means "morning joe" starts -- a radio show might be in her future. >> oh, man. >> hmm. michael phelps loses? "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ you're saying gates was wrong? >> i'm saying that skip, perhaps in this instance, might have waited a while, come outside, talked to the officer and that might have been the end of it. i think he should have reflected on whether or not this was the time to make that big a deal, but he was just home from china, just home from new york. all he wanted to do was get to bed. his door was jammed.

and so, he was in a mood where he said something -- >> what about those who say he brings the whole history into that black movement, the black -- >> that may well be the case, but i still think it might well have been resolved in a different manner if we didn't have this verbal altercation between the two of them. >> okay. colin powell speaks out on the issue. we'll play more of that, coming up. wow, a different point of view coming from him. >> he's making the mistake that everybody makes the mistake. everybody makes the same mistake. i haven't seen "morning joe" because i live on the west coast, but i assume the mistake hasn't been here. >> lawrence o'donald joins us. what is it some. >> colin powell, similar to the mistake he made working in the bush administration, when he believed the reports about weapons of mass destruction. everything he says is based on a verbatim belief that sergeant crowley's report is true. skip gates does not say the same thing about the event that crowley says.

only crowley says that there was this altercation, as powell refers to. so, since nothing, nothing in the police report has been proven true by the police tapes, none of it has been supported by the police tapes, let's all step back and admit we don't know who said what to whom. >> oh, my gosh, i agree with that completely, lawrence o'donnell. good morning! you can go home now. >> thank you. >> seriously. dismissed. well done, lawrence. >> thank you for coming in. >> excellent. all right, along with lawrence o'donnell -- >> i've got nothing else, so i thought -- >> want some breakfast? >> yeah, thank you. >> let me tell you, this topic, though, it's hard to not sort of want to get in there, and that's maybe one of the issues as to why it became so big so quickly. >> got to pump the brakes in this one. >> i agree. >> pump the brakes. pump the brakes. >> don't tell me. i know. big democrat, by the way, takes on rahm emanuel. we'll have that. >> really? >> also the sarah palin story. i cannot wait. i hope it's in news you can't --

>> shatner? >> yeah. >> he'll be there. >> what's he having? i wondered. >> he's having life, good life. he doesn't need anything. michael barnicle's here with me and willie geist. joe scarborough's off today. he'll be back tomorrow. our top stories, we have a lot to get to. judge sonia sotomayor one step away from taking a seat on the supreme court. the judiciary committee approved her nomination, sending it to the full senate for a vote next week. investigators are looking through evidence seized from the home and office of michael jackson's personal physician. it comes just a day after nbc news reported that dr. conrad murray administered a powerful sedative the morning jackson died. the cambridge woman who reported a possible break-in at the home of harvard scholar henry louis gates plans to speak publicly for the first time yesterday.

yesterday she was walking her dog. i mean, everybody -- she's having a press conference today. yeah, okay. we're going to play a little more of the powell stuff. >> be patient. be very patient. >> i will say that she was trying to walk her dog yesterday, and got mobbed and whatever. it's just all getting a little ridiculous. >> yeah in your face -- >> uh, you think? >> yeah. >> the thing someone like her's faced with, they're on the lawn every day. if i go out and talk once, maybe it will get rid of them. what do you think? will it get rid of the "boston globe" and -- >> it won't happen. we are an all-consuming industry. we just devour her. i mean, the press conference today, certainly, it will be helpful in terms of maybe getting people off of her front lawn this afternoon, but there's going to be people, you know, let's have a follow-up, get her alone. >> just a 911 call. >> she's watching "morning joe." this is the expert on the boston press, and he's saying it ain't

going to work. >> i would assume at this stage, she just wants to be left alone. which you can't blame her for wanting to be left alone. >> can you imagine? meanwhile, former secretary of state colin powell is weighing in on the controversy. here's some more. >> so, my first teaching point for young people especially, not for dr. gates, but for young people especially, is when the police are looking into something, and if you're involved in it in one way or another, cooperate. don't make the situation more difficult. and i think in this case, the situation was made more difficult on the part of the cambridge police department. once they felt they had to bring dr. gates out of the house and to handcuff him, i would have thought at that point some adult supervision would have stepped in and said, okay, look, it is his house, come on. let's not take this any further. take the handcuffs off, goodnight, dr. gates. >> all right, moving on now. as former governor sarah palin plots her next move, most americans don't see the title of president in her future.

according -- [ laughter ] now, now, now, barnacle. now stop it. according to a new poll, 32% say the role of homemaker is a more appropriate fit. >> homemaker? homemaker? no, no. >> she did a few too many of those "in the kitchen" segments with r and the gang. she was good at it. she was really good at that. >> the list also has talk show host, vice president, college professor, and finally, commander in chief. >> college professor? >> um -- >> also point out, that's a fox news poll. it's not some liberal media saying -- >> one job apparently not off the table is radio host. according to inside radio, sources say the palin camp is testing the idea of syndication. i thought she would end up with a show on a cable network. >> i want a fox news poll on what mika should do next. >> am i already out of here? have you brought me down? what, where am i going? >> a rocket to the moon trajectory, what does the fox

poll think is next for you? >> i've been on that trajectory before. the rocket never makes it. on the front pages of several papers this morning, new data suggests the real estate market is springing back to life. home prices appear to be stabilizing. with the month of may marking the first monthly increase since the summer of 2006. >> mika, this is a big story, front page of every major newspaper. housing prices. look at "usa today" -- "housing prices rounding the corner," "the new york times," "three-year dissent in home prices appears at an end." >> tim geithner apparently has to rent it instead, because he can't sell it. >> in new york? >> yeah. we were talking about that on the radio yesterday. and finally, michael phelps is shaking off his first defeat in a major individual race since 2005. phelps also saw his world record blown away. still, the race didn't come without controversy. the winner was wearing one of those high-tech speed suits that

will soon be banned by professional swimming. help me understand this. >> does the suit have a propeller on it? >> no. does it have a motor? freddie ball game will have more coming up in sports. >> what they say about the suits it doesn't reward people for being in shape. like if you're big and out of shape, it's like a corset and it stu sucks you in and evens everyone out. >> do you have one? >> i don't swim, but maybe i have one anyway. gallivanting about the weekend. >> it's time for you to face this. >> what? >> it's about smoking dope. the guy smokes pot and loses. let that be a lesson to you. >> he was in europe, liberal attitude. >> i want you to think about that. he smokes pot and loses. >> it's too late for me, lawrence o'donnell. it's too late. >> whatever shatner has, he's got to. >> he's been up all night. >> yes. crazy larry's out today. >> you know what, i saw my first early, early morning with willie geist or whatever his name -- >> way too early.

>> i didn't know, i'm telling you, this is how you promo the show. the promo of the show is, we get maureen dodd in bed. i didn't know you did that on this show. i would have set my alarm if i knew -- >> wow. >> i'm not going to go there, lawrence. i was grateful that maureen was kind enough to come on the show this morning. let's go to weather, mika, how about that? >> it was maureen's first use of her bedroom voice on national television. >> ooh. you know, we're going to play more of that later. >> can we have him removed from the set? >> please play more of that. >> i'm serious. it's nine minutes past the hour -- >> we're on tv right now. did you know that? >> clear the set. >> hi, lawrence? we're going to go to weather now. thank you. >> wow. >> yeah. let's go to bill karins for the latest check on the forecast. >> lawrence is making the rest of us look like choir boys. this is good! >> making you look like -- >> like i'm sane! >> when you blurt out things. >> all right, go ahead. >> good morning, everyone. let's talk little bit about what you're going to need to get on your day today. we have umbrella weather and also extreme heat.

today already some rain around the d.c. area, it's light now, but on and off through the day we'll have storms. this is one of those days, my wife would call it a bad hair day. very humid from d.c. up to southern new england, sparking numerous thunderstorms this afternoon. a good chance of a drenching for just about everybody. and look at this forecast for the entire eastern half of the country. showers and thunderstorms from orlando to the ohio valley. it looks like chicago up to detroit, your afternoon should be just fine. the other big weather story, you're living through probably a once in a lifetime event up there in the northwest. seattle, washington, is supposed to hit 100 degrees today. and not just that, you have a chance of hitting 100 degrees two days in a row. in the history of seattle, you've only hit 100 twice in the recorded history. so this is a very, very rare event in seattle, so stay cool and you'll have an enjoyable weekend, in the mid-80s, but that's impressive, though, right? >> yeah, that's impressive. joe griffin, i think, is there. i'm not sure. >> how what?

>> 100-degree temperature in seattle. >> wow. >> thank you, bill, very much. let's try to get some top talkers in here and get beyond the gates story. i don't know what lawrence might say. >> talk fast. >> how about maxine, as joe calls her, maxine. >> congresswoman, i call her, congresswoman maxine waters of california. talking about blue dog democrats yesterday, this group of conservative democrats thought to be holding up the health care bill. >> she loves them. >> she called in to msnbc, talked to carlos watson yesterday. here's what she had to say and she roped rahm emanuel into it. >> oh, dear. >> on the one hand, they don't want to spend money, but on the other hand, they want to spend money when they think it benefits them or their districts. and so, they have a powerful block, they're holding it up, and that is clear as, you know, as can be. when he was over in the congress in the leadership, rahm emanuel recruited more conservative members, and based on some of

the information that i'm getting, they told him that they could vote the way they wanted to vote, that they would not interfere with what was considered their philosophy about some of these things. so, now the chickens have come home to roost. >> larry, blame it on ron? >> this is -- >> is she crazy or am i crazy? >> i'm trying to think of a word other than crazy, okay? i'm trying to think of a word other than crazy. look, the only way you get one of these big majorities is that you win seats that were held by the other party. so, those guys are in congressional seats that very recently were held by republicans, which means they don't live in districts like hers that only elect extreme liberals to the congress. and so, they wouldn't have all these chairmanships, they wouldn't be in charge of the congress if they didn't have more conservative democrats to run up this big number. and of course, what she described is exactly what she does, which is, she's opposed to spending that isn't helpful to her district and then she likes

the spending that's helpful to her district. >> well, we all know what they call members of congress who don't vote for spending in their own districts. they call them former members of congress. >> yeah, yeah. >> ha, ha, ha. >> isn't it possible that these blue dog democrats, as we're calling them, are not being obstructionists, but in fact they are concerned about spending too much? >> yeah. when i used to work in the senate, i worked with guys like that. and the shocking thing is they believe a minimum of half of what they're actually saying. and so, you come up against principle at some point. >> right. >> and there's definitely some principle of them involved in this discussion. >> let me ask you quickly, i mean, you ran the senate finance committee for several years. are you at all concerned with the potential expenditure surrounding the health care bill? >> oh, of course. and there's no other way to look at it. look, that's what separates the men from the boys in legislation, are you paying for it, do you know how to pay for it? paying for things is the most difficult part of every piece of legislation. >> okay. we've got a lot more to talk about. we've got to take a quick break.

coming up, senator judd gregg will join us. what kind of health care bill does he expect to see from the senate finance committee? also, editor in chief of "the huffington post," arianna huffington, will join us. senator mary landreau, the conservative democrat, has asked the president to slow down on his push for health care reform. we're going to go live to the white house with nbc's political director chuck todd. and in a few minutes, the anchor of "world focus" on pbs, martin savidge will join us, plus, the other top stories of the morning. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. ♪

michael vick is ready to play football again. >> yeah! >> the nfl said come on back, ready to go. >> how about that? >> i think they're going to keep him on a short leash. >> whoa! >> oh. >> terrible. terrible. >> the chief political correspondent for "politico,"

mike allen is here with a look at the "morning playbook." >> mike, seriously, does mike put on crazy eyes? >> just in the tease when he gets excited when he hears his own name. >> right now he's normal. >> he's fine. he's composed right now. michael, what's going on? >> i even wore something boring for mika. >> i don't find that boring at all. i'm thrilled by your outfit. i understand you have a peek at team pelosi's playbook. >> house democrats are getting their homework assignment for this summer. the leadership had sent them e-mails telling them they need to be out touring hospitals, meeting with medical students, selling -- the word they used -- the house health plan. and the leadership will help them. they give them just add water instructions how to put on a town hall, how to write an op ed, here's the guts of it. just ad an example from your district. also today, the president at a kroeger's supermarket down in raleigh, north carolina -- that

would be in bristol, virginia, then at a high school in raleigh, north carolina, where my nephews live in apex. he's going to be unveiling a new, more succinct message that we'll see today on white house e-mail, social networking. their message is that health reform, if you have the health coverage, will mean security and stability. it sounds like what president bush used to say about national security. president obama's applying it to health care, saying if you have it, that it will mean that you won't be dropped if you change it. it means that you won't have annual caps, you won't have lifetime caps. so, try and get those people in the middle to calm down and accept health reform as something that will help them, not put them at risk. >> well, i think they need little rest. i think six months on the job, it's time for a retreat. i'm sure they're going far away, maybe doing some truss falls or repelling. what are they going to be doing? >> well, will, you need a little rest. i'm enjoying your new 5:30 show.

>> thank you, mike. >> way too early. great job with maureen today. you claim to watch "jon stewart." how do you watch that and then do a tv show at 5:30? >> they have a silly computer thing here where you put the thing in and the thing comes up and you watch the clip. it's great. >> like a little kid. >> amazing. amazing. >> they also have silly computers at the white house and the cabinet and the senior staff friday and saturday will be going all the way across the street to blair house, pretty fancy, where they keep the foreign visitors. and they'll be doing eight to ten hours of bonding. they say this is a tradition back to eisenhower. the president and vp are going to drop by. the main thing is to sort of take the temperature at six months and keep the team together as they go through a rocky passage here. >> sounds fun. finally, we've got arianna huffington coming up later on our show. i understand she's getting a new employee, mike. who is it? >> she is. the son of susan and david

axelrod -- >> how did he get the job? wow, that's amazing, 22? >> nationwide search. nationwide -- >> monster.com. >> he's just out of colorado college and he's going to be opening in the fall, her third local edition she's got in new york and chicago, a denver edition of "the huffington post." she said she settled on it when she was in the city for the democratic convention and ethan did a mock-up for her of what he'd do with the site. she tells me she and her managing editor interviewed a bunch of candidates. they loved ethan. so, he's in new york getting his training wheels and this september he will be opening up the denver local of the "huff post." >> good for him. wish him the best. >> wow. >> i share the strong feelings, people with famous last names, people with famous parents or whatever -- >> it's disgusting. it's disgusting. we've got to root it out where it lives. >> it's wrong. >> what do you think, mika brzezkinski? >> what's your father do? >> he's a pipe fitter down in

camden. >> just wrong. >> mike allen, thank you. we'll be checking politico.com. let's look at the morning papers as we head to break. "wall street journal," this is a big story today, home prices rise across the u.s. bargain hunting, low rates drive first gain in three years. will it hold up, though? probably not. "washington post," editors close to health accord. panel may vote on bipartisan bill before the recess. looking at the "san francisco "chronicle," governor signs and slashes the budget. a lot of social things, tough times in california. got something else, mika? >> well, there's a twitter lawsuit. >> there is? >> someone twittered that she didn't like her apartment and now the apartment group is suing her. >> twitter, it's a dangerous thing. >> twitter. >> i've always said that. >> just saying, okay. next, a first look at business live from london. plus, she's working on them right now. >> yes. >> mika's must-read opinion pages.

car insurance company in the nation. but, it's not like we're kicking back, now, havin' a cuppa tea. gecko vo: takes lots of sweat to become that big. gecko vo: 'course, geckos don't literally sweat... it's just not our thing... gecko vo: ...but i do work hard, mind you. 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:

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to redefine air travel for a new generation. to ensure our forces are safer and stronger. to take the world we share to tomorrow and beyond. announcer: around the globe, the people of boeing are working together-- to make a difference. that's why we're here. i just heard the call. i don't think, unfortunately, the racial profiling debate is going to disappear any time soon. listen to this. >> okay, tell me exactly what happened. >> i just had an older woman standing here and she had noticed two gentlemen trying to get in a house. >> did you happen to see what race they were?

>> i just saw it from a distance, but i'm not really sure. >> let me ask you this, if you had an extra pair of tickets to a hockey game, do you think these gentleman would want them or is that not the kind of thing they'd be interested in? >> i don't know. >> let's say a john mayer came on the radio station. do you think they would change the station immediately or sing along with the song or maybe sing in spanish? >> that's good. >> that's funny. that's funny. >> oh, we need to laugh. >> conan's hitting a strike. >> conan, of course, is from boston. >> he gets the dynamics. >> from the neighborhood -- >> he went to harvard. >> he went to harvard. he gets the culture there 100%, both sides of that fence. >> very funny. >> ridiculous. microsoft and yahoo! could announce as early as today a search engine partnership to compete directly against google. let's check on business with cnbc's steve sedgwick live in london. good morning, steve. >> reporter: good morning to you. i think some market watchers are actually disappointed. it doesn't look like if the deal comes through, there will be any

money changing hands. it will be more of a collaboration more than any form of ownership change, but it gives them a chance to go up against google, which still has about 60% of the engine search market. elsewhere, markets are on track certainly in europe, we fell 1.3 to 1.8% and today we're up by a similar margin. a lot to watch out for in the states, including durable goods orders and the five-year paper auction, $39 billion worth. this week the government is raising a total of $115 billion u.s., which is part of this perhaps $2 trill yoion worth of refinancing this year. you want to be looking at that after the disappointment yesterday with the two-year auction. in europe, s.a.p. is the world's biggest software group, going up against oracle, numbers better on the operating margin front and giving us outlook, and that's what we want to see from companies, outlook. also, arsenal says global demand

for steel will be down 10% this year but the chinese demand will be up 10%. we're looking forward to the u.s. data and also the u.s. auctions as well for more direction this afternoon. back to you guys. >> steve sedgwick, thank you very much. we appreciate. it mika with a look at the top stories. thanks, willie. a new study shows pregnant woman who contract the swine flu are around four times more likely to be hospitalized than other people, although it's not clear whether it's affethe women with susceptible to the virus. once contracted, the risk of complications is higher. the senate judiciary committee is sending judge sonia sotomayor's nomination to the full senate. the vote fell along party lines with senator lindsey graham the only republican to offer his support. and new polling shows a three-point slide in president obama's approval rating over the last week. according to the gallop, the rating fell to 56%. it's the largest week-to-week decline since the president took office. >> why do we do that? >> what, these little polls? >> yeah.

>> yeah. you want to track everything, including the e-mails coming in here to "morning joe." one, perhaps, pertaining to you. >> do we have any? >> chris? >> this one's from adam in jersey city. it says "why do willie and barnacle sit practically on each other's lap? is it some kind of bit? is it supposed to be cute? it's silly. and today they're wearing the same shirt. yuck." >> wow. >> you don't have to think of that very long. >> it's true. >> it's as simple -- they just can't quit each other. >> sometimes love is transparent. >> sme the just can't quit each oth other. coming up next, "world focus" anchor martin savidge. also, the must-read opinion pages and maureen dowd in bed. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. ♪ nothing beats walmart's unbeatable prices...

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all right, welcome back to "morning joe." with us now, the anchor of "world focus," martin savidge, joining us at the table here for must-read op eds. welcome back. >> great to be here. >> nice to have you. maureen dowd. i liked it. what do you think, barnacle? >> maureen on governor palin is a can't-miss. >> and versus hillary. >> it's a can't-miss. >> it's a can't-miss. she was on willie's show, you know. >> it's a clever write, no question. >> it's a clever write. let's talk about that and then iraq and afghanistan and' we'll play more of "maureen in bed," because that got you very wake. >> willie's early, early show there is now something i understand. it's worth watching, because --

>> it is worth watching. >> -- it is the show that gets maureen dowd in bed. >> there you go. all right, maureen dowd, "the new york times." "if sarah's problem on the trail was that she knew too little, hillary's was that she knew too much. before her misty turn in new hampshi hampshire, hillary's wonkiness got in the way of her ability to make people comfortable. sar sarah, lacking hillary's cerebral side, has decided to wing it. squal squal-style, and go only for the advice yeshl, that's why she sounds like embodying grievances and playing on people. he called her not only a demagogue, but not a very smart one, which is the most dangerous thing you can come across. is that a fair criticism, mine, trying to take this seriously, even though maureen dowd sort of having fun with the whole thing. is there something to that article? >> i actually don't think she's smart enough to be a demagogue. i really don't. truth be told.

you just listen to her. i'm sure she's a very nice woman, but i mean, please, just stop it. you can't listen to her. >> actually, you can say that, but thousands show up, martin, at the rallies. there is a following. >> a lot of people believe her and actually think she could be the way of the future for the republican party. i think it's wrong to dismiss it out of hand and say, all right if we don't agree with her delivery style, if we don't agree with her perhaps politics. there are a lot of people that like her. and to dismiss her out of hand and say thank goodness, her time is over, i think that's wrong. i don't think we're at that point where sarah palin has left us. >> and what about the word demagogue or even not a very bright one, is that fair and is that something that is potentially concerning? >> well, i mean -- >> careful, careful. >> i'll agree that i'm not sure she is capable of being a demagogue, and quite frankly, it's just a word i don't like. i think that it paints her in a way -- it brings a lot of baggage with it. this is a woman who made a very

strong mark politically and may yet still have a strong mark to make. >> wow to dismiss her out of hand i think right now is wrong. >> except to look at it realistically, without -- forget, you know, trying to, you know, be nice about it and don't anger the viewers about it. >> no. >> she is our creation. tv created her. we put her up there. she's a shooting star and now she's coming down, so everyone's going to take a shot at her. that part of it i feel badly for. >> and that is the television love. we follow these. we love to see you climb to extreme heights, and we're there to watch you plummet from the stratosphere. we'll bring it all to you live. >> there is no mystery to her political future. we have settled history on this. when you lose as the vice presidential candidate in america, your career is over, it's done. in the television age, not one person who has lost in the vice presidential slot has ever

achieved anything again in politics, not one. >> mm-hmm, but everyone loves a good comeback story. >> never happen. this will be the first. >> this would be the first. >> if she does it. >> maureen dowd, by the way, loves sarah palin. here's what she said on "way too early" with willie geist this morning. >> i love sarah palin. i mean, i love her more than anyone. because as a journalist, she is the best story ever. it's like holly -- i say it also in the column -- it's like hollywood casting, when you have meg ryan playing a nuclear physicist, or you know, calista flockhart playing a harvard lawyer. i mean, you've got this former beauty queen and sportscaster who is in the role of dick cheney, and it's mesmerizing. >> uh huh, and i would just -- >> for a journalist, she is the gift that just keeps on giving. >> it is, but as barnacle, as you said, look at the writing here. maureen is amazing, one of the best. >> right.

>> and sarah palin is the fodder or the material, the creation, perhaps, of people like us who want a story to cover. >> and it's, you know, it's a significant story. i just don't see how she, you know, as lawrence has pointed out, you know, from bill miller, barry goldwater. nothing happens to a losing vice presidential candidates. i'm sure she'll strive to maintain a spot in the political reigna. i don't know how that works out. but i mean, part of me, at least personally, takes a look at it, and it's a sad story. part of me thinks it's a sad story. >> right. it's a sad story for many different people and not just sarah palin. i mean, there are a lot of people here. we talk about the media's role here. we talk about, has there been sexism that's been played here? what's about the fairness of the approach to sarah palin? >> and there are many layers. >> there are. there are many, many layers. >> the only sexism was the exploitation by john mccain. >> thank you. >> john mccain said i want to get the hillary voters. i want to get the voters who are

mad that the guy got the nomination instead of the woman. i want the younger vote. i'm going on go get this woman and basically destroy her life because she's not ready for this. i'm going to go get her. i'm going to put her on this ticket. she's not ready for it. and disaster's going to strike her politically because john mccain decided this is what he wanted to exploit. he wanted to exploit possible sexist elements in voting from a female side, saying i want to vote for a woman, you know? >> but it was more than that. she helped propel things. that speech that she made at the republican convention electrified that crowd. >> it electrified the building and no one else. the numbers went down -- >> i'm not so sure no one else. >> this is what people ignore, a very important polling point. female support for the republican ticket went down in the first month that she was on that ticket. everybody ignores that and just said, wow, the crowd in the hall really loved the speech. america didn't, because -- >> the crowd in the hall loved the speech, media loved the speech. that speech got tremendous

coverage. >> no kidding. of course it got coverage. it got attention, but it got -- >> overwhelmed john mccain. mccain wasn't getting the coverage -- >> it got disapproval because she didn't say a word about governing the united states and not one sentence, not one sentence about the economy. >> you may be right about those things, but at the time that mccain needed it, she got the spotlight back on the republicans. >> spotlight is not polling numbers and is not votes. >> i agree with you. i agree with you, but they were in their last gasp, and had the economy not plummeted, i wonder if some of those, what some might call demagoguic remarks she made might have worked, might have worked. they were able to use her -- and i'm with you on half of this -- use her to play into what might have grabbed america at the end. >> my last point, she's not good enough. if you try to make a demagogue out of her, it ain't going to work because she's not good enough -- >> not when the economy's in shambles. >> but if you're going to judge everybody on their cerebral ability, there are a lot of people who don't measure up, especially in this -- >> i beg your pardon.

what are you trying to say? >> what i'm saying is that sarah palin appeals to a certain part of this nation. what's interesting in the debate is there's another part of this nation that cannot even imagine how sarah palin appeals to the other half, and it's that disconnect that i find disturbing and alarming in this nation, that there is a large group of people who look at sarah palin even today and still like very much what she offers, and there's another group -- >> but it's a tiny minority group that can't elect anything. that's who she appeals to. >> really? >> yeah. look at the numbers. she can't -- she doesn't -- she couldn't get -- >> but look at the crowds. >> i hope she runs in the primaries, because she will get wiped out. because what you'll see for the very first time that you've never seen before is republicans, competent republicans, competent republican governors, huckabee and others, run against her, and they will destroy her because they did not quit and walk away from their governorships.

>> do you think this is the rallying cry to go against sarah palin, that this will strengthen and bring out the best candidates from the republicans some. >> i think, you know, the weakness of the republican party can be viewed -- you can really see how weak the republican party is in the hall in minneapolis/st. paul in the reaction to sarah palin. the party is so weak that they look at this woman -- >> right, right. >> -- who is really a sad figure, not ready to, never mind leave the country, she's not ready to leave the state of alaska. she's proven that -- >> ouch. >> and they are going crazy for her because that's all they have. >> right. no bench. >> i don't know. i -- i mean, i really am uncomfortable with just completely taking pot shots at her because she was the one who was put in this position by a campaign, and now she's trying to make the best of it. >> you want to talk about judgment and the ability to lead. senator mccain who i like personally, he's a terrific guy -- >> right. >> the judgment, the poor judgment he chose in selecting

her and going along with the selection of her is horrendous. >> and that was all him. he was driving that. >> but she has created something for herself. we'll see what happens. my gut is that some sort of talks show, and we'll see how it, you know, it either takes the veil off or it opens a new door for her. that's usually how it works. >> and we will be here to follow up. >> we will be following. before we go, though, let's talk about iraq, because the secretary of defense has said that the iraqis are -- what the word is -- finding a real sense of empowerment, and -- >> maybe more so than we would like. they're telling american troops where they can and cannot go. >> what's the bottom line there? >> the bottom line is that this is a healthy transition. we are expected that the u.s. forces will be out of that country by the end of 2011. we are trying to turn the control of the nation, whether it be politically and militarily over to the hands of the iraqis. militarily, they seem to be getting into the groove of things. politically, they've got some real problems. i mean, prime minister nuri al maliki is not seemingly cooperating with the sunni minority there, and that's going to be a problem. then you've got the kurds in the

north. they're not happy with the arabs. so, i think that politically, that nation has some real problems. but secretary gates in his visit showed that militarily, things seem to be moving pretty well, which is good, because in afghanistan, they are not. much more on "worldfocus" with martin savidge. thank you so much for coming on the show again this morning. >> always a pleasure. >> still ahead, arianna huffington will be with us. but first, freddie ball game with sports. we'll be right back. some people now are saying -- this is true -- that former alaska governor sarah palin wants to host her own tv show. it's true. it's true, yeah. yeah, the show, the show's going to be called "am i more coherent than a fifth grader?" g b he ran off with his secretary! she's 23 years old!

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nfl commissioner roger goodell believes in second chances. that's why he's permitted convicted felon michael vick to return to professional football. the commissioner is also pleased to announce that o.j. simpson is rejoining the buffalo bills, the national football league. no rules, just right. >> wow. the juice, huh? wow. all right. there's vegas. let me just take a look, take a look. wow, it's a beautiful place.

hmm. puts a chill up my spine. here's fred roggin with sports. >> good morning. the brett favre saga finally over, and if you're a vikings fan, you're either relieved or disappointed. after weeks of speculation, favre has decided to stay retired and not join minnesota. the 49 quarterback says he doesn't want to deal with the grind of another season. that means the vikes will go with tarvaris jackson or sage rosen falls at quarterback. they open training camp on friday. coming off a perfect game last start in tampa, the question was how would tampa's mark buehrle follow up the performance? he was perfect through five in minneso minnesota. however, buehrle's bid for a second straight perfect game ended in the sixth with a walk. he set a major league mark by retiring 45 straight batters. the no-hitter was broken up by dennard span with a single up the middle. white sox lost to the twins 5-3. a's visiting the red sox.

jonathan papelbon blew only his third save of the year after shortstop nick green committed a throwing error off a grounder by rajai davis in the ninth. they were tied into the 11th, when davis struck again, seasoning a single the opposite way. ellis crossed the plate for the gamer. after trailing by four, oakland rallied to win 9-8. world swimming championships in rome. michael phelps lost his first major individual race in over four years after germany's paul baderman won the freestyle. and a malfunction while tearing a swimsuit. barron said he kind of freaked out for a second when it happened, but he kept on swimming during his qualifying heat. in fact, the u.s. team qualified in the 4 by 100-meter freestyle relay and went on for the gold. finally, from china, the chase is on between a referee and several angry players. truly a case of catch me if you can, as the fearful official ran from the stadium after ejecting

three players from one team for separate red card incidents. security guards were even called in to prevent the player from following the ref into the parking lot. china's soccer association has since disqualified the team from the country's national games for its crude behavior. that's your shot of sports on "morning joe." i'm fred roggin. >> what is it about soccer? there's always a team chasing a ref or fans lighting things on fire in the stands. it's not even -- it's a boring sport. what are you so excited about? it is. it's like an ancient parliamentary brawl. coming up, news you can't use, bill shatner at his very best on conan. you don't want to miss this. undefeated professional boxer floyd "money" mayweather

has the fastest hands boxing has ever seen. so i've come to this ring to see who's faster... on the internet. i'll be using the 3g at&t laptopconnect card. he won't. so i can browse the web faster, email business plans faster. all on the go. i'm bill kurtis and i'm faster than floyd mayweather. (announcer) switch to the nation's fastest 3g network and get the at&t laptopconnect card for free.

oh, is it time? >> it is. >> oh, good. >> it's time for the "news you can't use." >> i'm excited. >> and we headline -- >> what have you got? >> -- with william shatner. have you seen it? it's going crazy on the web, all over the place. going viral, i think the kids call it. so, sarah palin in the long speech in alaska said some things that some have said were slightly off the wall. some people said they didn't know what she was talking about. well, bill shatner turned that speech into beat poetry. keep in mind as you listen to this, everything he's saying is verbatim from sarah palin's speech. she said all of this. here's shatner. ♪ >> soaring through nature's finest touch, the great one

soaring under the midnight sun, and then the extremes in the wintertime. it's the frozen road that is competing with all of its frost frigid beauty. the cold, though, doesn't it split the chucacos from the sour doughs. in the summertime, such extreme, summertime, about 150 degrees hotter than just some months ago and then just some months from now. >> it all makes sense when shatner says it. it just flows, beautiful. poetry. >> i wish he had been there from the start for her. maybe things would be different. >> he's got a whole thing going with that. he did that with "rocket man," elton john's song, like 30 years ago. >> fabulous. >> spoken words. >> what is his message -- >> he thought his "rocket man" was serious art. >> he did it with the priceline commercial. >> that is serious art. >> beat poetry things. let's talk reality tv right now. >> give me something more. give me something more to love.

>> we've really plunged into the depths of humanity at this point when we go about these reality shows. it's just getting weirder and weirder. >> can i just point out some important news? you know, we have an obesity crisis in this country. >> we have an obesity crisis. we're not attacking the people on this show, we're attacking the concept of this show. >> what's the concept? >> it's called "more to love." premiered on fox last night. you know the "bachelor," where they have a guy and 30 women vying for his attention, his love and perhaps even a ring? >> yes. >> it's the same concept, except fox is branding it for heavy-set people. >> obese. >> here's a clip. they're not all obese. >> i'm a big man and i enjoy being a man of large stature. i've had a hard enough time getting one woman to go after me. let alone now i'm going to have 20 all vying for my attention. well, do you know how to say kiss? >> beso. >> do you want to show me? >> wow. creepy --

>> ew. >> oh, god. >> the shows are all the same, it's just different people doing the same thing. one creepy guy hanging out with a bunch of girls. >> what's the name of the show, "creep me out"? >> "more to love." there's more to love. >> more of you to love, honey. >> there you go. fox has a nice track record of those kinds of shows. >> what has happened to us in our country some. >> what has happened in america? >> what are the rates raitings? >> it just aired last night. >> they'll do well, just like "bachelor" and "big brother" -- >> monday night we saw the premiere of "dating in the dark," where literally people go on dates with no lights on and a night vision camera. >> what do you see? >> people dating and they're feeling for each other. >> and you watch this? >> no, but. >> they pay the guy in cupcakes? >> all right, no, no, no. come on. that's not the point. you're missing the point. all right, this is a public health issue that i want to get to right now. >> please. >> tanning beds. >> right. >> which are essential to lawrence o'donnell's life.

>> another exercise in human stupidity. >> there is a new study out by an international group of oncologists who suggest -- >> don't tell me. >> people who start using tanning beds before the age of 30, so early in life, have a 75% greater risk of skin cancer than people who don't use tanning beds, 75%. >> okay, we need a study for that. >> so, they're saying here now that the risk, that the potency of these rays is on the level of arsenic and mustard gas. >> very bad news for mike barnicle, the original tanning bed -- >> exactly. >> i lived in a tanning salon for months. >> every time i go to the tanning salon, mike's on the way out, a different time. >> is that right? you've got the bikini on, glasses. >> don gave me my first blast of mustard gas. >> you look great afterwards. >> oh, god. >> listen, tanning salons taking a new blow with this study. >> again, am i the only one not surprised at all and tell me why we need a study to tell us that when you burn the skin on your

body for long periods of time, whether it's on the beach for hours or paying someone to put you in a machine to do it, that perhaps it might not be healthy? >> mika's good with the body -- >> there's a new machine, new technology, the spray tan. >> right. >> not that i know anything about this. >> no. >> but there's the spray tan -- >> i just had a mental thought of you getting a spray tan. >> is it a california deal? >> it's a united states of america deal. you can get spray tans in boston, not that i ever have. but come on, you've done spray tans, come on. you've done the spray tan thing. >> i have. >> paris hilton does the spray tan thing. >> okay, wait, what are you saying? >> i -- you take over. >> i will. it's the top of the hour. >> i throw myself on the verge -- i can feel that offense line with mika and you just -- >> you usually don't feel it. so that was good -- >> i don't mean to be mean, i'm sorry. i just -- >> you've got to be mean to lawrence. >> to lawrence? okay. >> i used the words paris hilton too close to mika. >> mommy. all right, top of the hour. we've got a lot to get to,

including glenn beck in the news. >> what did glenn do? >> i actually would rather not, but i think we have to because the story is now developing, and he called the president a name. we'll play it in its entirety and try our best to talk about it. and also, former secretary of state colin powell weighing in on the gates incident, kind of surprising. we'll have that coming up as well. oh, jonathan capehart's here. >> oh, good. >> joining us from washington, "the washington post." great to have you on. look at that adorable smile. >> hello. >> nice to have you on. we'll get to you in just a minute, jonathan. time now for a look at some of today's top stories. judge sonia sotomayor is one step closer to taking a seat on the nation's supreme court. in a 13-6 vote, the senate judiciary committee approved her nomination, sending it to the full senate for a vote next week. federal agents are combing through evidence seized on tuesday from a las vegas home and office of michael jackson's personal physician. it comes a day after nbc news

reported that dr. conrad murray administered a powerful sedative the morning jackson died. the cambridge woman who reported a possible break-in at the home of harvard scholar henry louis gates jr. plans to speak publicly for the first time today. meanwhile, former secretary of state colin powell is weighing in on the controversy. >> so, my first teaching point for young people especially, not for dr. gates, but for young people especially, is when the police are looking into something, and if you're involved in it in one way or another, cooperate. don't make the situation more difficult. and i think in this case, this situation was made more difficult on the part of the cambridge police department. once they felt they had to bring dr. gates out of the house and to handcuff him, i would have thought at that point, some adult supervision would have stepped in and said, okay, look, it is his house, come on. let's not take this any further. take the handcuffs off. goodnight, dr. gates. >> huh.

jonathan capehart, real quick, then we'll move on, what do you make the colin powell weighing in on this, general powell? >> well, i think he's weighing in because larry king asked him, but i also think the general is right, and i think maybe, perhaps, not having spoken to him or being able to get inside his head, but remember, general powell is a republican. and so, we are now hearing from not just an african-american, but a republican coming from the other side. and perhaps he feels that by being a republican, he can maybe bring some folks along who, you know, might not understand why this is such a big deal, maybe that, you know, it's democrats and liberals who only feel the way that professor gates or the president feel. >> well, of course, there's this beer that's scheduled at the white house tomorrow night. and i wonder, i think we're at a place now where we are not sure we will ever know exactly what happened there, and everyone might need to simmer down just a

tad bit. moving on, moving on, if it's okay, barnacle. did you want to say something? >> no, no, no. >> okay. okay. >> we'll get back to it. >> you're grumpy today. as sarah palin flaunts her next move, most people don't see the title of president in her future. 32% in a new poll say the role of homemaker is a more appropriate fit. homemaker. okay. it's a fox news poll. it's followed by talk show host, vice president, college professor, and finally, commander in chief. one job apparently not off the table is radio host. according to inside radio, sources say the palin camp is testing the idea of syndication. on the front pages of several papers this morning, new data suggesting the real estate market is springing back to life. home prices appear to be stabilizing with the month of may marking the first monthly increase since the summer of 2006. and it's something we've been talking about a lot here on "morning joe," obesity in

america. it's a real problem, a crisis. now health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius says the government will give state and local governments significant money to fight the epidemic. it's a plan in part to get more fruits and vegetables to school lunches and to encourage stores in poorer communities to sell more fresh produce. i like that idea. that's good. >> i always wonder when we show these clips of enormously overweight people and we have these stories, do the people ever wonder why the cameraman is shooting them? >> i always wonder that. >> you tell us. >> i don't know. i'm staying away from it. i don't want to offend anybody. >> i can't wait until sarah palin gets her radio show, because it's going to be really fun to listen to rush when sarah palin has a radio show, because what will happen, and willie knows this, rush will never mention her name again. rush never acknowledges that there is anyone else on the radio hosting radio shows.

and you know, rush, who's been a palin worshiper, will immediately, as soon as that syndication deal happens, he will never mention her name again. it's business now. >> i still think it's a tv -- okay, i could be wrong. i could be wrong. speaking of tv hosts, starting off our "top talkers," willie, glenn beck in the news. >> let's just lay it out, play the clip. glenn beck, the fox news host, radio host, author, was on -- he was a guest on another fox news show yesterday, and they were in the discussion about professor gates and his arrest in cambridge, massachusetts. and they were talking about the president weighing in so quickly on this issue and saying the police acted stupidly. here's what glenn beck said about president obama. >> this president, i think, has exposed himself as a guy over and over again who has a deep-seeded hatred for white people or the white culture. i don't know what it is. >> you can't say he doesn't like white people. david axelrod's white, rahm

emanuel, his chief of staff is white. i think 75% of the people we see every day is white. robert gibbs is white. >> i'm not saying he doesn't like white people. i'm saying he has a problem. this guy is, i believe, a racist. >> wow. >> let me get lawrence's take on this. >> yeah. >> let me read you -- the naacp came out with a statement here. it reads, "how could the president be a racist, a man of both african-american and white heritage, a man who inspired millions of americans to unite across the divide of race, religion, class and age in his historic run for the presidency? we commend president obama for having the courage to discuss an issue that all too many americans consider a third rail." >> jonathan capehart -- >> yeah? >> what do we do with this? >> i'm highly annoyed. >> yeah. >> how is it possible that this guy -- and i know i'm opening myself up to lots of abuse now -- but how is it possible that this guy can sit on national television and call the president of the united states a racist? the president is half white, and

not that that even matters. i mean, come on. i wish we would just stop this. glenn beck and people like that need to stop this, because this is -- you know, throwing out the "r" word, the racist word and some other words are conversation-stoppers. we're never going to get past the point where the glenn becks of the world will just hurl that out at people. and i know there are blacks who do it and whites who do it, but when it's done, people go to their -- they go to their battle stations, they harden their positions and they don't want to talk. so, as long as glenn beck is out there calling the president a racist or anyone else a racist, we're never going to get past this point of constantly reacting to racial flare-ups and wondering why in 2009 or 2008 or 2007 when we've had these conversations before, why we can't seem to get this conversation past the point of reacting. >> i have a prediction -- >> it's gotten under my skin. >> -- of how glenn beck is going to handle the aftermath.

he's going to deny he said it. he's done this before. he's actually said things on videotape and then said, oh, i didn't say that. and so, that's -- he's not going to try to defend it. he's just going to say i didn't say that and i didn't say that. >> don't you think that, you know, in reality -- i mean, glenn beck is just show business. >> yeah. >> i mean, he doesn't believe this stuff. he is just throwing it out there -- >> i have heard from people who know him that he doesn't actually mean this stuff and it is just a business angle -- >> it's got to be an act. >> apart from the use of the word racist, jonathan, i would submit that the larger, dumber statement is when he says that the president of the united states has a "deep-seeded hatred for white people." he didn't say that. >> hello. >> glenn, he didn't say that. >> his mother was white. he was raised by a white woman, his grandmother. hello. glenn, glenn, i know it's nearly

out of buzz, but you're still up in the constellations. come back to earth, please. >> mike, if i can just say, if it's true that glenn beck doesn't believe all he's saying, that this is all just for entertainment value, that is really outrageous, because there are a lot of people out there who don't get that, who take him at his word. >> jonathan, if i could even add to that -- >> yeah. >> and let me know if you agree. i'm so hesitant to weigh in for a number of reasons -- >> go ahead. >> but first one being that i hate giving someone who says something like that even more attention. >> too late. >> having said that, outrageous is one way of putting it. i would say irresponsible, especially now. >> yes. >> yes, sure. >> especially given the role we are blessed to have here, jonathan. >> right. you're exactly right, mika. it's outrageous. it's irresponsible -- >> selfish self-indulgence. >> all of that, yes. any other words? because these are all correct. it just poisons the pool even further. >> when we're faced with these

quotes, he's going to say i didn't mean that and i didn't say that. >> okay. i'm not here to defend glenn beck, make that very clear -- >> you aren't? >> let me just pose it this way. >> okay. >> if somebody on the left had called george bush a racist on tv, would we be throwing our hands up? would we be so -- >> yes. >> yes. >> really? >> yes. it's a highly charged accusation. >> how about cheney? >> no. >> okay. [ laughter ] >> no, i think, wow, that word, you'd better have merit when you're using it. having been -- >> you'd better have proof. >> the focus of it last friday. >> i understand your outrage and i still think that glenn beck is making $30 million a year. he's thinking to himself, this is how i made $30 million a year. >> right. >> i'm going to keep on doing it. it's an act! >> people need to, then -- i think people who are helping to contribute to that $30 million think about this, really think about the danger. i don't know, the poison that he puts into the atmosphere when he uses words like that.

>> right. and then, you know, mika -- >> and the only reason we're talking about it at this point, jonathan, is because the naacp is weighing in, and at this point, he's made news of himself. but let's leave it there. anything else you want to add to this before we wrap it up, jonathan? >> no, that's it. i'm done. >> good. all right. that a boy. stick around, then, why not? >> leaves you speechless. >> no, i'm more that be speechless. i'm disgusted. i'm really -- i'm embarrassed, really. i'm really embarrassed. coming up, editor in chief of "the huffington post," arianna hufsiontfington will be. also, an author joining us and then chuck todd with the headlines out of the white house this morning. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. music up and under. ♪

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on the one hand, they don't want to spend money, but on the

other hand, they want to spend money when they think it benefits them or their district. and so, they have a powerful block. they're holding it up, and that is clear as, you know, as can be. when he was over in the congress, in the leadership, rahm emanuel recruited more conservative members and, based on some of the information that i'm getting, they told them that they could vote the way that they wanted to vote, that they would not interfere with what was considered their philosophy about some of these things. so, now the chickens have come home to roost. >> okay. representative waters speaking out about the blue dogs. with us now, nbc news chief white house correspondent and political director chuck todd. chuck, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. >> does representative waters have a point or is this thing fracturing to perhaps potentially breaking down? >> reporter: well, she has a point, and if she wants to know

what it's like to have a caucus that is totally unified, she can just look over on the other side of the aisle. the republicans are totally unified. except guess what? they're very much in the minority. if you want to be in the majority, you're going to have to be a big tent when you're trying to get a majority of 435 members from all across all four regions of the country. and this is the challenge now for the democratic party. she's absolutely right. rahm emanuel recruited these folks. he would brag to me, saying hey, this guy fits this district. that was always one of my favorite phrases in '06, "fits this district." and back when democrats just wanted to get back into power, they didn't care, and she's right. it's coming home to roost, because guess what? they're not all on the same page, particularly when it comes to this issue of health care, particularly when it's going to come to this one issue of the so-called public option, a full-fledged government-run insurance program versus what's coming out of the senate finance committee, which is something called a co-op, which might have

some government seed money in it, might have more government regulation of the insurance industry, but at the end of the day is going to be a cooperative that is based on the private sector, which is going to be able to get some of these conservative democrats. the question is, do they move too much over there and lose a maxine waters and maybe, you know, 40 or 50 liberal members? so far, we haven't heard that 40 or 50 liberal members are going to walk out on this -- >> right. >> reporter: -- if things get too much on the side of the blue dogs. >> chuck, you talk about not being on the same page. i might argue, and you can weigh in, the message has been clear exactly what the white house means with reform when the president takes it to the people with the town halls, more scheduled today. >> i mean, he continues to hammer home the message that health care is the biggest priority. >> yes, but what's the message about how it will be fixed? what is it? >> i think as chuck just referenced, it's getting, you

know, diluted or misinterpreted, depending on which side of the capitol you're talking about, the house or the senate versions of the bill. but chuck, for the boys and girls at home, can you explain the supposed tax on cadillac health plans, the status of it and the prospects for it being in the final bill? >> reporter: well, there is going to be a tax on cadillac health plans. the question is, on the so-called -- is it a tax on the insurance companies who offer them or is it going to be a tax on the individual who receives it? and it looks like the way the senate democrats want to do it is they want to tax the insurer, not the insuree on this. of course, this would allow the president himself to say, hey, i'm not taxing the american public's health care benefits. he's going after the insurance companies. and it's, by the way, this messaging thing, i think this has been a gigantic problem for the president, right? he does not have a plan to sell. he has an idea to sell. so, he's been selling the idea. the problem is, the plan is

getting made in the sausage factory on the other side of pennsylvania avenue. and as you could hear yesterday at that aarp town hall, the phone callers all had republican talking points at their fingertips. they knew, and these were older americans who were probably following the debate very, very closely. so, what does that tell you? the republican message is getting through. the president's message is not aggression -- and why? because he's not selling a detailed plan yet. he's simply selling an idea, and i think that's what's tripped them up a little bit here. when they have a full-fledged plan to sell, then we'll see if the president can get his salesmanship routine back together again. but i think they've created an impossible task for themselves, to sell an idea without the details. >> chuck, lawrence o'donnell here. the problem with the selling thing is that any version of this plan that you want to try to describe, which, by the way, takes a few minutes to describe,

any version of it, it's basically inexplicable and it's not followable by the public. i mean, opposed to saying, look, we want to provide medicare for all. if that was the message, you could deliver that pretty cleanly. >> reporter: right. >> the white house has a model now they're using, which is put the president on the road to sell the plan. i am not aware of a model where that has worked. the most recent version of it was president bush going the road, he had the 60-day go on the road to sell the social security reform plan. >> reporter: right. >> i declared the first day of that that it was absolutely dead and did not have a chance in the senate finance committee or elsewhere. every day the president went on the road campaigning for his social security reform plan, the popularity of it went down, exactly the same in 1994 for hillary clinton. every day she was on the road campaigning for her health care plan, the popularity of the idea went down. do those people in the white

house know of an opposite model in this kind of area where the president goes on the road and drives up the popularity of the plan? >> reporter: well, no, you bring up a good point. and in fact, not to plug what's coming up at 6:30 tonight, but the new nbc/"wall street journal" poll is going to have evidence of whether the more that this debate has been in the center of attention on health care, has the issue gotten more popular or less popular? and i'll have to say, lawrence, you know, their patterns are identified and become patterns for a reason. now, that said, they will sit there and say, well, look, the president was able to sell the stimulus. well, one could argue he was in his honeymoon period, his first 100 days. he could have sold anything at that point and gotten it passed. but it is hard to sit there, tough to sit there and look back and say what was a tough legislative model. and i go back to something i brought up last week, which is this idea that congress hasn't been asked to cast a tough vote on taxes in 16 years. so, there's almost -- there's

over 70% of the entire member of congress, mostly democrats, mind you, fall in this category who have never had to cast a vote on taxes, who have never had to do something, you know, hey, this isn't going to be easy, but let me explain why i had to do it. you could say a war vote is tough, but actually, those things are only taken when they're publicly popular. so, this tax issue, and democrats run around, it's like, look, if you wanted to be a leader and a public servant, it's the tough times. and we're finding out it's all over the country -- california, new york, pennsylvania. these state governments, none of these guys want to make a tough decision, either. >> and they lost both houses of congress after casting that tax vote 16 years ago. >> reporter: well, and that's their fear. >> right. >> jonathan capehart has a question for you, chuck. jonathan. >> hey, chuck, i want to bring you to sotomayor. what's the chatter as to why senator lindsey graham broke ranks with the republicans to vote for her? >> reporter: well, i don't know

if there is chatter, but it is interesting. let's put together piece by piece how this happened. so, lindsey graham comes out for her. within about 24, 48 hours, the nra decides that they're going to make the sotomayor vote part of their grading system, whether you get your yearly grade from the nra on gun issues. and all of a sudden, that seemed to stop, you know, hatch and grassley i think were two others that you could have thought, well, if graham's there, hatch and grassley might be there. and suddenly, that seemed to put a stop to any more republicans. that's one theory out there that's hitting us. the other one is, we still haven't heard from john mccain, and john mccain is a very intriguing decision to make here. on one hand, he obviously is somebody that's been very aggressive about trying to get the republican party not to alienate hispanics, and this would be one way to try and send that message. lindsey graham has been on that message when it comes to immigration reform, too.

the two of them, you know, is this cover for mccain? mccain up for re-election in 2010, a minuteman, one of those anti-immigration reform activ t activis activists, is a primary challenger. i talked to a lot of republicans that are wondering, could this guy be the canary in the coal mine on what could be a tough primary season for some moderate republicans or people that conservatives are upset with. and what will mccain do? mccain, you know, sotomayor could be one of those sparks that lights up the conservatives in arizona, the same time, in his heart of hearts, he knows he doesn't want to see the republican party go down this antihispanic road. >> chuck todd, thank you so much. >> reporter: all right, guys. >> good to see you. we'll be reading updates from you throughout the day at firstread.msnbc.com. still ahead on "morning joe," all eyes on the senate finance committee as they try to close in on a deal for health care reform legislation. we'll bring into the conversation democratic senator

mary landrieu and republican senator judd gregg. and right after the break, 100 years after his presidency, a look at the legacy of president theodore roosevelt. all ahead on "morning joe." at 155 miles per hour, andy roddick

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welcome back to "morning joe." with us now, "the new york times" best-selling author and one of this country's pre-eminent historians, douglas brinkley. his new book "the wilderness warrior: theodore roosevelt and the crusade for america." doug, thanks for being here today. >> thanks for having me. >> i love when one of these books comes out, and i trust yours will be the best ever written by teddy. how do you find new information about a subject we already know so much about? where do you go? what kind of research do you do? >> well, that's a good question. my book deals with pretty much his birth to how he saved hundreds of millions of acres of wild america. i was rolooking at roosevelt as darwinian, explorer. he majored in harvard in biology, so, the first thing you go are to his paper collections at harvard. few scholars have taken the time. roosevelt wrote over 150,000 letters.

to go look at exactly what he's talking about, conservation, nature, the wilderness. he saved these iconic land escapes for us from the grand canyon to crater lake, key west, the western hawaiian islands. there are tropical rainforests in puerto rico, on and on. we live in this sort of green grid of tr, and nobody's really written a book about roosevelt as environmentalist, as the father and progeneter of the wildlife modern protection movement. and so, i looked for material there. then i went to all these parks. i didn't just write about mesa verde in colorado, which he declared a national park. i went there and looked at their local archives. so, a lot of the papers are disbursed around the united states. practically lived for a while in west virginia at the fish and wildlife headquarters. few scholar want to go through those archival collections. >> who or what provoked his environmentalism, a term that didn't even exist at the time?

was that a study of biology, a particular teacher? was there someone who pushed him? >> well, a couple people. first, his father, an aristocratic than persiphilanths a founder of the american museum of natural history. so he was always around jars of tad poles and sealed skulls. second, his crazy uncle rob was the father of the fish hatcheries. he ran for congress once just to try to repopulate the hudson. it had been fished out, the hudson. so, it became the new modern fish science. and his uncle robert roosevelt wrote the pioneering books on the fish of north america, including one on lake superior and one on florida. later as president, theodore roosevelt used executive orders in florida to do a string of pearls. if you look at a map, you'll see all these national wildlife refuges in florida, including key west and on and on, great ones that he created. but his uncle had been deeply

involved with wild florida. so it was in the family blo bloodstream. >> what about bob? what was crazy about uncle bob? >> well, uncle bob used to have a german shepherd sit at the table with a napkin. he was a dr. doolittle figure -- >> is that crazy? >> well, he had macaws. he had sheep in his living room, his brownstone in new york that would run around. he had two families. he was married and had one -- >> oh, come on. >> then he had a whole other group of second family. >> i don't hear crazy yet. >> he became the black sheep of the roosevelt family. in fact, t.r. wouldn't actually be seen with robert roosevelt until he won the presidency and roosevelt wore an abraham lincoln hair ring, the hair from the beard of lincoln, and had uncle robert roosevelt standing at his side, and that brought robert barnwell roosevelt back into the fold. my book uses the writings and diaries for uncle rob for the first time as a leading

conservationist. he was the world's expert on eels and frogs, his uncle. >> wow. >> great. and he was a hunter as well, but you say an ethical hunter. >> netheodore roosevelt's reall the one who brought the modern hunting standards, the sportsman's code. they had had in great britain, so the aristocrats in the east, harvard, yale types were constantly trying to say, look, we have to have hunting seasons, bag limits. if you catch a pregnant trout, you put it back. never shoot a doe, you know. all of those kinds of things we take for granted now. and they really became involved with the audubon movement. the audubon society was roosevelt's great love. he thought the people in the audubon society were doing more than anybody, because roosevelt thought america without bird life was no america at all. >> jonathan capehart joins us from washington. he has a question for you. jonathan. >> yeah, hi, douglas. >> hey. >> i was just wondering, did he face -- did teddy face any kind of resistance to his

conservation sneferefforts? seems to me during that time it was all about exploration and expansion. >> excellent question. >> these are good questions. >> you guys are smart, man. >> no, these are good. >> we thought about them. during the commercial break, we thought about them. >> in the glenn beck -- >> t.r. appointed -- our first refuge was pelican island, florida, and we deputized it. we've made a warden of it. but out of our first three bird wardens in florida, two were murdered. it was called the feather wars of florida, because you had the federal government now giving badges to people, saying if you shoot an igrid or a spoovil, it's a federal offense. now, this is florida 100 years ago. there's a lot of confederates on the lam and people would come in off of boats off florida or oregon and gun down all the birds just for their feathers, and then they would take the eggs, too. so, you were decimating

generations of the birds, migratory birds. at that time, we had an extinction going on. the passenger pigeon. there used to be a billion. there are zero left now. theodore roosevelt at pine knot in virginia wrote the last recorded vision of ever seeing a passenger pigeon alive in the world. >> wow. the book sounds fascinating. >> i know what i'm reading on the beach this weekend. >> absolutely. i'm taking this on vacation. >> i've got the book. >> i'm still stuck on uncle bob. >> crazy uncle bob. >> i want to read that chapter. >> it concerns me, because it's bringing in the horse and the house -- is that crazy, drinking vodka? >> theodore roosevelt had a pet badger named josiah that he would let loose at visitors' houses and would bite people's ankles. is that crazy? >> that's good. >> that might be the line. >> douglas brinkley, thank you so much. the book is "the wilderness warrior." looks great. i'm bringing it on vacation.

we'll be right back with arianna huffington. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks.

welcome back to "morning joe." we are looking at washington, d.c. we've had some on-and-off shower activity as we've gone throughout your morning. it looks like it will be a wet day today compared to the 92-degree heat you had yesterday. here's the radar showing you the i-95 corridor here. we are watching the rain up out of the pittsburgh area, possible

airport delays there early today. the i-95 airport from dulles to reagan all the way up through boston logan, you're okay this morning. it's really going to be this afternoon that we're going to see the problem. thunderstorms in the forecast. temperatures are going to be lower, so we could have airport delays. and of course, we'll continue to watch the big story in the northwest. our friends there will see the warmest day in most of the people's lives. 100 is the forecast today in seattle. that just doesn't happen. stay tuned. we'll have more news and of course whatever else we deliver here on "morning joe."

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so save gas... and money... now during the chevy open house. go to chevy.com for details. the $9 first hello. walmart announces starter and danskin now shoes for just nine dollars. back to school costs less at walmart. save money. live better. walmart. citibank, goldman sachs, aig, those guys survived. they survived. they're the success stories. that's the happy ending to all of this, isn't it? >> absolutely, they survived because we gave them trillions of taxpayer money. you and i and colbert nation. and now colbert -- >> no, we actually opted out. the colbert nation was opted out of that. i worked that out for these people. >> very good. with us now, co-founder and editor in chief of

thehuffingtonpost.com, arianna huffington, author of the "the new york times" best-seller "pigs at the trough: how corporate greed and political corruption are undermining america," now out in paperback. so, let's start with goldman sachs, then. are they pigs at the trough still? >> yes. in fact, that book was written in 2003, and now i have updated it with a lot more pigs. and goldman sachs are some of the new pigs, because it's absolutely stunning when you see the kind of profits that they're making right now, while still basically receiving government guarantees. i mean, that's really the irony here. that because of this idea that they are too big to fail, they know that no matter how many risks they take, no matter how many derivatives they get involved in that go bust, the government is going to bail them out. and that's really not competition. we need to seriously look at what kind of system we're promoting, where basically losses are socialized and gains

are privatized and the taxpayer is now on the hook for a trillion dollars in the financial bailout of wall street. >> when you look at goldman sachs, and i should mention, jonathan capehart is still with us out of washington. barnacle, jump in here, because you probably know more about this than i do, but it seems like the same thing all over again. what has changed? bonuses, profits all still there. >> and there's a larger problem. i mean, specifically, i mean, we are picking on goldman sachs. we're not going to pretend we're not right now. the problem with the goldman sachs story is that there is not a single person in america, there is not a single person in the universe who after goldman receives all of the government bailout money and after goldman is put back on its feet through the diligence of the people who work there, there's still not a single person in this country who has ever gone to goldman sachs and gotten a car loan, gotten a mortgage, gotten a homeowner's loan, gotten a home

equity loan. they don't loan money. they're in the business of making money. >> making money. >> that's a key point, because remember, when the bailout was originally sold to the american people, it was sold on the grounds that we have to bail them out in order to start lending again and get the economy going, and they haven't. they have not started lending again. in fact, they won't even tell us what they have done with the money. and do you guys know, they have said this is okay. it's okay for them not to tell us what they have done with trillions of dollars of money. and you know, the point that you made about it's the same thing all over again, except on such a more monumental scale, because enron and worldcom were dealing with billions of shareholder work and citigroup and goldman and bank of america and aig are dealing with trillions of taxpayer money. >> well, and taxpayers who we're seeing, some of them, at least, some of the hardest times in generations. >> absolutely. that's really the opportunity cost of what we're doing.

if you look at the fact that states all across america are carti cutting sbined debt is 1$166 billion. we gave aig $80 billion. >> should we have not bailed out goldman sachs? >> i think we should be breaking them up, actually we forming the system. it will happen again. there is no doubt. it will happen again. and it will happen again faster. >> it's not a prediction. >> jonathan capehart has a question for you. >> hi, jonathan.

>> hi. do you think the executive pay will have impact on how these banks operate or is this just of window dressing to placate a very angry public. >> it starts as window dressing. putting an ad of too big to fail. unless we do systemic reform. all of those are window dressing, exactly what you said. and we are repeating the cycle of shock and outrage and sending a few people to jail and then we do business as usual. >> that's the bottom line here, too. >> i think the reform has to look at more than the financial services system in this country,

and we have to look that for decades both in the senate and the house a group of people, an elected group of representatives have gone along with the myth that everybody in america can own a home. everybody in america cannot own a home. it's just not the way it is. there are some people that have to rent. that's a fact of life. this idea that you are making $12,000 a year, lawrence, and you can by the $30,000 home right now, and no, i am sorry. >> the problem is now 10,000 homes foreclose everyday. the value of the home is less than what they owe. and that reform did not happen because of the intent lobbying by banks. we have bailed out banks

spending some of the money, and lobbying congress to prevent -- we want a piece of legislation that could have helped with the amazing number of foreclosures. when you have that number of foreclosures, it affects the community and the whole economy, and yet we let them get away with it because of the immense cloud that they still have in d.c. >> i have a question for you, if i may, gentlemen, i know it would be okay with you, lawrence, and it's sarah palin, and there is a poll out and i don't know if you saw it, about what you think sarah palin would be best for, and home maker is first, and then talk show host, and the word is she may have a radio show for a syndicated deal. your take?

>> number two for me. sarah palin is going to make a ton of money on her book, and maybe a radio show, and speeches, maybe $50,000 or $100,000 a speak. >> really? >> absolutely. she will never need to go to the rnc to buy her clothes. she can do any number of suits from neiman marcus going forward. >> part of what -- well, is she a demagogue? >> well, is she smart enough to

be a demagogue? well, what i think is she has not learned things, and that's a big problem. >> i hope you are right. i hope number two is correct, that she goes out and makes a huge fortune. part of it is a sad story, we created this woman in part. we kept her up in the lights and kept her there and now she is coming in for landing and we are trying to destroy her. i hope she makes a lot of money and has a very happy life in alaska, which is where she will be 10 years from now. >> but she was a willing

accomplice. >> thank you, and keep it right here on "morning joe." undefeated professional boxer floyd "money" mayweather

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welcome back to "morning joe." it's just about at the top of the hour. mika, i thought you would like this. mika is always critical of the life shots. that's the bottom of the shuttle "endeavour," or just a strobe light at some nightclub somewhere. lax at 5:00 in the morning. and then let's go to vegas. let's linger here. >> you're an idiot. >> and then how about washington, d.c., more sober than las vegas. dark, dreary. another notable monument.

and we are looking south on manhattan today. >> mike visits the pigeons. >> what time did you get up this morning? >> 3:00 a.m. >> what did you do? did you have a cup of coffee? tell us your ritual. >> i am glad you asked. i got up, and i smashed my clock, and -- >> the baby was up. >> yeah, the baby is 3 weeks old, so everybody was up. i got here at 3:30, and put together a show -- >> you must feel like a success

with a show at 3:30. >> you see the former chapters of your life through the window pane. it's sad. >> we have a lot coming up. we talked about sarah palin. we will put that to the side for a moment. i want to talk about health care and the obesity machiny going to states. we have a senator coming to talk about that as well. first a look at today's top stories. judge sonia sotomayor one step closer to taking a seat on the supreme court. the senate judicial committee is sending the decision to the

vote. conrad murray administered a powerful sedative the morning jackson died. he needed a needle in his arm to go to bed? >> i think it's a fascinating moment, and president obama might say, a teachable moment, the addiction to sleeping tablets. and this is almost the extreme of that. after years and years and years of sleeping tab letlets, it did do it any more. >> it's serious, and a sad story in that case. but goodness, yeah, it got to a point where he needed -- >> part of the problem is we

don't know how to deal with stress. and people don't know how to unplug and recharge, except through pills. >> yeah, we are in a society where there is a pill for everything. >> yeah, we also under a society where we don't know what stress is, we think it's i lost my ipod and i cannot believe it. >> yeah, you are right. there is a bigger picture here in hollywood and other extreme situations, the pill for everything becomes your ultimate downfall. and this is not the first time we have seen it. >> huh-uh. >> what are you all saying? i will move on with the news now. the woman that made the 911 call about the cambridge professor will speak out.

>> i say skip may have waited a while and come outside and talked to the office and that might have been the end of it. i think he should have reflected on whether or not is important enough to make that big of a deal. but he just got home, and he was ready to get to bed, and his door is jammed. i think it might have well been resolved in a different matter if we did not have the verbal altercation between the two of them. my first teaching point for young people, especially, when the police are looking into something and you are involved in it one way or another, cooperate, and don't make it more difficult. and i think the situation was made more difficult on the part of the cambridge police

department. i would have thought once they had to bring him out of the house and arrest him, you would think that adult supervision could have somebody say, okay, come on, he lives here. >> yeah, and chief, who is number two here in new york, chief in philadelphia and miami now, one of the best police officers in the country. he said the job of the police commission is to keep the cops out of trouble, and trouble can come with each stop and each arrest. and the police officer has to know when to walk away. in that situation, it's the advice that he should have just

walked away. >> it will be interesting to see if they have a beer tomorrow night. >> and the poor woman that made the 911 call, her life has been lit up now. she will be on all the cable stations. >> and we may never really know what happened. >> you know, there are two teachable moments. and one is about too much test reason, and another teachable moment, when there is too much discretion with the way they treat minorities. and about 34% -- there are

larger percentages that are in jail than among the white population. >> and the other teachable moment with regard to this, again, we are a delusional nation, because barack obama has been elected president, race is behind us. but race is still something we need to deal with in this culture. most americans don't see the title of president in sarah palin's future. according to a new poll, 32% say the role of home maker is more appropriate. and what is that? fine, it's a fox news poll. and it's followed by a taux show host. that's what i think she will do. and then vice president, and then college professor, and then commander in chief.

>> what does it mean, homemaker mean? >> i don't know. that's why i ask. some people say the palin account is testing the idea of s syndication. >> on the front pages of several paper thz morning, the new data suggesting the real estate market is springing back to life. home prices appear to be stabilizing with the month of may marking the first monthly increase since the summer of 2006. new york city is sticking to a plan to relocate the homeless by offering free one way airline tickets to other parts of the world. >> is this real? >> yes. as long as a relative agrees to

take them in. >> what? >> according to the "new york times," life for the homeless, apparently, for homeless families ranged from $6,300 to paris? >> i can go to paris? >> get ready to go to paris, willie. and then this is the bloomberg administration seeing this as a way to keep people out of the shelter system, and it costs about $36,000 per year. >> you can by a condo for that. >> i think it's controversial, more controversial than it could be. >> are there a lot of french

homeless guys in new york that need to go back to paris? i think we need to investigate this. >> yeah, on craig's list they have barttering going on, and people who cannot get jobs who have skill, and so they are offering for their accounting skills in exchange for a home, or -- >> wow . what a sign of the times. >> and taking care of your baby, will -- >> oh, good. >> it's taililotailor made here. >> thanks, barnicle. now it's time to bring in

the senator we have. and she and others are hearing firsthand stories on the successes and failures of the health care system. thank you for joining us. we appreciate you coming on the show. >> it's a small group of kids and they have a lot to offer and teach members of congress about what they need to pursue their dreams in life. >> that's fabulous. let's talk about health care reform. where is it going? how will it end? is there a clear message coming out of the white house as to what health care reform means to ever american out there? >> i think the reaction is mixed and muffled. i think it's clear, the health

care system that we have, three quarters of americans are satisfied. but it's getting to get more and more expensive, and more families are losing it. and insurance companies are taking great advantage over people that get sick and then get dropped. and so that -- the message is, we have got to change. also for small businesses in america, there are 27 million small businesses. i know that you all hear these complaints as well as i do. small businesses are struggling to get the best employees they can, and health care is an important part of the package, and they cannot afford it. it's a cost issue. a sustainability issue. two things, cost of families and businesses, we have to get down or keep the cost from going up. and for the federal deficit, i think it's very important that

we find a less expensive way to provide health to americans. we cannot afford the system that we have today. >> that's what we have heard. it's not a good option to stay with the status quo, and i wonder if what change would mean is coming through. >> senator, willie geist here. you are among a group of democrats that have been accused of being aub straw shaw northwest. how do you answer that criticism, and what are your concerns about the bill that you see before you? >> well, we think we are the opposite of obstructionists. we are trying to find a path forward, a center to build the democrat and republican support for a plan that the american people will support, that first of all, focuses on cost containment. we are spending right now, about 16 to 17% of our gross national product on health care, and getting about half of the quality that we really need.

and there are some projections out there, you guys, that american families just middle class families will be spending almost 40% of their income on health care. so we have a cost problem as well as access and quality problem, and that's what our group wants to focus on. in addition, our group, a group of moderates, is very concerned about the rising deficits in the country and the debt that american families are carrying. the good news is, we think with the right approach to move forward, we can lower cost and help the quality and reduce the deficit. that's what we are fighting for. >> "time" magazines' karen sat down with the president yesterday, and he said with the time it's taking i spend 1/3 of my day on this.

>> on systems that work, he said if we could get the health care system across the board as a cleveland clinic or kaiser permanente, i think we could solve our problems. are we getting close in terms of moving forward? >> i don't think so. i agree with the senator's emphasis on cost containment. i would like to ask the senator, if i may, given your concern about cost containment, why not allow the government to negotiate and have bargaining power to get lower prices? why is that off the table when it comes to what the senate finance committee is willing to do? >> i don't think it should be

off the table, and i have voted and many have to do exactly that. we need insurance reform and market reform. there are things we can do in medicare to retain costs. we can use some of those approaches to contain cost in medicare, which is a publicly run system. i don't think people realize medicare is a more public-run system. there are essential reform to the insurance industry, and one of them is they have to be mandated to stop dropping people that get sick. they will not be allowed to jack up premiums on people because they have a diagnosis of cancer. we need to expand the market and lower the cost for everybody. that's the tradeoff.

there will betray tradeoffs for everybody. >> barnicle, quick. >> i want to refer to president obama's last quote that mika read, if we could get the health care system across the board, we actually would have solved our problems. why not call the cleveland clinic and ask them as their plan as the blueprint. ? >> that's an excellent solution, and we are doing that now. we have gotten the best clinics in america to provide to many of us. i am sure the health care committees, of which i am not on, of finance, are doing that. and our group, while we have been pillered by both sides, we think it will give people more choice and promote insurance and market reform, to provide small businesses with options that they don't have, like business

businesses do. and i know you are all focussed on job creation and economic recovery, we have to have a health care system that honored the entrepreneurial spirit in america, and right now we have the opposite. you don't go to work for your job, but you go to work for your health care. and that's wrong. >> yeah, i agree. coming up, we will continue the health care conversation with senator judd gregg. and there will be a new documentary behind the business of ultimate fighting. good lord. yeah. and after the break, good the financial crisis be good for america? we will talk to author kurt anderson about that. you are watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks.

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you never want a serious crisis to go to waste. what i mean by that it's an opportunity to think you could do things you could not before. things we postponed before that are long term are now immediate and must be dealt with. >> welcome, pat, to morning joe. that was rahm emanuel's famous sound byte. and now we have the best-selling author kurt anderson. he has a new book out called

"reset," and how this crisis could create a new america. >> america is all about going from bubble to bust and bubble to bust and that's been it for 200 years. and there is an enormous opportunity to reset, to really rethink all kinds of systems, and all kinds of personal habits, and social habits, and use this opportunity. >> and i see how this is already happening. you see changes and habits, and -- >> yeah, incredibly quickly on the savings thing. >> yeah, 7% right now. before we get to other ways this is an opportunity, do you think the bust is over? >> well, clearly there is plenty of pain out there, and we talk about the housing sales are going up and people are saving and there are signs of recovery, obviously, but go out in america, and, you know, people

are still in plenty of pain. >> absolutely. >> so -- but, you know, it will end. if you look at 200 years of history, these don't go on forever. and in another ten years we will be back to business as usual and the roaring '20s will be the roaring '20s again. and if you look at the discipline, ingenious, practical side, rather than the wild and crazy side, and we need to get our act together. >> the question is who "we" are? we the millions of americans who are definitely suffering a lot, or those who have already moved on, and are back to the old ways, you know, collateralized applications are back on the table, and that's happening again. can we just reset part of

america, without resetting the part of america that got us to where we are now? >> well, no is the answer. in individual lives there are resets that need to be done, like, oh, do i need a house 20% bigger and the extra car and all of those things. but as you suggests, it's also a time for systemic resets, and say wait, this 20-year-idea that no regulation is the best regulation is at an end. the crash and meltdown, that doesn't mean everybody changed 180 degrees on a dime. i am hopeful, you know, people were scared enough and it was enough of a reality check that it will create the political will to nudge the various systems financial and otherwise in some realm of normal cy.

>> how do we reset an entire generation, that has really known pain, and miss identifyfies what stress is really all about? >> and there is a bill for everything. >> as we talked about all morning. >> i think, again, my glass half full reaction to this crash is good. there was a crash, everything is cruising along, and that's the way of living and setting up the energy and economic systems and the personal habits for 25 years has came to a crashing end. the last 26 years was historically the longest we have ever gone in one direction.

and the boom, you know -- yes, there was a recession or two, but it was a long boom. the fact that this giant correction happens, that every person, including my teenage children, that saw it was a big deal, it was a wake up call. part of me -- i hate to say this, but part of me welcomed the extended pain. like, kid, no, this is serious, pay attention. >> yeah, do you think -- is it a stretch, and don't roll your eyes, to bring the obesity crisis into this conversation? >> what i try to do in "reset" is talk about yes the economic and political matrix, and so forth. but i think it's a larger question. i don't think it is a stretch. i think in many ways over the last 25 years, we lived large, literally as well as

figuratively. and houses got bigger, even as families shrunk. people got fatter. people, compared to our -- >> i am serious. >> people of the same age are 20 pounds heavier today on average americans than in the '70s. in another 30 years, i hope we are not 20 pounds still. >> and we will not have cars to accommodate that. >> we will have a pill. >> yeah, and we already have an operation. my father wrote a book years ago where he talked about our materialism, and he actually used an example of me saying that he asked -- he said my daughter wanted to go to the mall, and he asked why, and i said i would figure it out when

i get there. but the point was i wanted to buy something, but didn't know what it was. >> if you stand in any line, at any score, starbucks, gasoline, it's the swipe of a card. there is no costs -- >> yeah, by the way, we are paying $3 or $4 for a cup of coffee. >> yeah, and i just paid $7, and whatever, it's magic. >> and the kids, our children, they have no idea of what it costs, anything. no sense of value, because it's all plastic. >> let's go back for a minute, and i think mika has a point, that she is staying on the topic again and again and again, because it's emblamatic again. it's clearly part of the

epidemic. it would help on cost containment, and the power of the lobby is so much harder to reset in the political and economic level. >> yeah, i agree. it's a problem of stystemic regulation, and it's also a problem of character and will. >> it isn't there. and smoking went down when cigarettes became too expensive to smoke. >> we will work on the president now as well. i think he is still struggling. kurt anderson, thank you, the book is called "reset" how this crisis can restore our values and renew america. thank you for coming in. coming up next, business before the bell with cnbc's mark haines. and keep it right here on "morning joe." the great taste

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welcome back to "morning joe." that's a shot of manhattan. believe it or not. somewhere through the fog we see a beacon, a shining light, if you will. >> are you losing it? >> hello, mark. let's get the wardrobe taken

care of before the hit going forward if we could. >> yeah, that is indeed jersey city, right by the ferry terminal, in fact. >> do you hangout there? >> yeah, i like sailors. it's the ferry terminal. that took a while. how is the morning going, willie? >> yeah, great. >> you ought to call it that, "way too early." >> let me write it down. >> anyway, is barnicle there. you may want to step out. the chinese market is volatile. it was up almost 90% so far this year. so a 5% drop after 90%, not too

bad. but investors are getting worried that china will clamp down, and the banks will try to stop lending to cool off the market a little. and then good earnings from chemical companies are boosting stocks there. and we are kind of right in the middle. the latest earning that i saw was from sprint, which had much lower earnings than expected. the futures here are down half of 1%. and so it looks like we will be okay, down just a little bit. >> all right. unlike sprint and nextel, you never disappoint, mark haines. >> never, not at the ferry terminal. thank you, mark haines, and senator judd gregg is going to reset the show. >> yeah, let's press the reset

button. >> that's when "morning joe" continues and it's brewed by starbucks. >> yeah. at 155 miles per hour, andy roddick has the fastest serve in the history of professional tennis. so i've come to this court to challenge his speed. ...on the internet. i'll be using the 3g at&t laptopconnect card. he won't. so i can book travel plans faster, check my account balances faster. all on the go. i'm bill kurtis and i'm faster than andy roddick. (announcer) "switch to the nations fastest 3g network" "and get the at&t laptopconnect card for free".

sometimes i get a little frustrated, because this is one of those situations where it's so obvious that the system we have isn't working well for too many people, and that we could just be doing better. we are not going to have a perfect health care system, it's a complicated system, there will always be problems out there, but we could be doing a lot better than we are doing right now. >> welcome back. with us now, the republican from new hampshire, senator judd gregg. thank you for being on the show this morning. >> thank you for having me, mika. >> we are looking at the senate finance committee, and how they are handling a new proposal. what do you think the end result will look like here? >> well, i hope it's good.

this is bipartisabipartisan, an hopefully effective. if you look at the bill at the kennedy committee, which i was on, that did not cover everybody and it significantly increased the cost of the government, and people would lose their insurance. and the president wants to cover everybody and reduce costs and make sure nobody loses their insurance if they like it. hopefully we can do it, but obviously the packages we have produced so far have gone in the opposite direction, and would set up a system that goes toward a single payer system. >> why do you think it under minds the system, because of cost? >> well, you end up like canada or england, where basically you reduce to begin with research and entrepreneurship in the health care field, because

people will not invest because the returns won't be there, and we have a system in the country that produces some of the best health care in the world. we need to expand it in its coverage and we need to make sure it's more cost-effective, and that could be done without having the government take it over. if the government takes it over, the opposite will occur. >> lawrence o'donnell? >> would you be in favor of repealing a single payer system? >> well, medicare does not reimburse full cost. it transfers the cost to the private sector, as does medic d medicaid. it's a system where if everybody was put under the medicare system, you would end up with cost not being reimbursed at their expense, and you would end up with a rationing of the health care system.

health care cannot be expanded nationally unless you are going to raise the costs. >> how -- you see ken conrad everyday, and he is the chairman of the committee that you are the senior member on. are you trying to get information out of them every day? >> i was in the room for a while -- >> they let you in? how did that happen? you are not in the committee? >> yeah, they said we don't need the guy from new hampshire in. >> yeah, and then they confined it to the finance committee member, and i am not on finance, but budget and appropriations. i have a lot of confidence in the folks in the room. they are good people. i made suggestions to them, ways we could improve things. you were talking about something earlier in the show that dealt with how you would expanded places like rochesters delivery

system, and the mayo system nationally. i have been shopping around and it has gotten good reception among the folks in that room. and they are dedicated people and want to get it right. they are getting pressure from the left and from the right. i have respect for all the people in the room, they are talented folks. >> mike barnicle? >> how do we cut health care costs without the need for the dreaded r word, rationing health care. the people at the end of life, getting replacement hips. doesn't that have to be addressed at some point? >> yes. you hit one of the most important issues. now, how do you do it without rationing? that is something that no system has done yet. i believe it can be done. let me give you four ideas that

i think can do it. one, first you award people with cash for actually pursuing healthy lifestyles, like stopping smoking and reducing obesity, and giving them rewards. and then you reduce the tort liability, the lawsuits, unnecessary lawsuits, because the 30% of the care is defensive medicine. and third, you focus on the diseases driving the cost, such as obesity and alzheimer's, and you try to reduce that. and then you reduce the medicare cost by shared decision making which is a bipartisan aattempt to bringing the patient in to asking them what they want to do, and in most cases you have them participate in the

decision-man decision-making process. for a democracy to deal with the last six months of life and say, i'm sorry, you cannot have a procedure because we don't think you will survive that much longer, that's impossible for a elected democracy to deal with. >> senator gregg, this is how we will use this clip, and we will run it like this, barn you will asked the question, and your first word was yes, and that's where we will cut the clip. >> a good honest interview there. when we come back, from blood sport to big time.

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mixed martial arts and ultimate fighting was once thought unacceptable in society. it has finally been embraced by the fortune 500, and the seal of

approval is stamped on the floor. and harley davison is there on the floor. scott, thank you for being here. >> you like that clip. >> yeah, that's the perception, animals in a gauge, and it's gruesome, and we don't want to see this kind of thing. how has ultimate fighting changed? >> those are the bad days, when the sport was not a legitimate, and it was a mockery showing the clip there. what happened new guys came in to the sport and added rules. before it was a no holds bar slugfest, do what you want. and it has made the sport into the fastest growing sport out there now. >> how popular is it?

usc is near the top of the most-watched shows, and i don't think people realize how popular is it? >> yeah, that's the reality series there. and pay per view numbers do better than the best fight out there. and this does well. at the gate it almost sells out every place they go, including overseas. >> and there has not been a big heavyweight fight in years. as usc filled that vacuum? >> as boxing has been on the decline, definitely the usc resinated with the same fan, perhaps, the guy that is out there and likes a good fight. these guys managed to put together big names, and they put together good fights, so they are compelling characters as well, and the public seems to have gravitated towards this as maybe the decline of boxing and

left the fans out there and wanting to see something different. >> like any sport, boxing has it too, and there has to be a dark side to it i assume? >> yeah, what happened most recently at usc, the heavyweight champ, i think he forgot where he was, and he used to be a prowreser, and he dissed bud light, and the front man of usc we are not professional wrestling, and he had to reign in it in a bit. >> love it or hate it, i think it's here to stay? >> i think a lot of people love it. thank you for bringing this story. you can watch it on cnbc, "ultimate fighting, fistful of dollars," and i think that would

be good to watch. coming up next, what, if anything, did we learn today. i am meteorologist, bill karins, good wednesday morning. an incredible story taking place in the northwest. yesterday was very hot. extreme heat wave, and today will be hotter. here is a look at some of your selected city forecasts today. airports will be a problem this afternoon. many locations with thunderstorms on the eastern seaboard, and in phoenix, 109. seattle, 100. le insurance. you're good. thanks. so is our bike insurance. all the coverage you need at a great price. hold on, cowboy. cool. i'm not done -- for less than a dollar a month, you also get 24/7 roadside assistance. ght on. yeah, vroom-vroom! sounds like you ran a 500. more like a 900 v-twin. excuse me. well, you're excused. the right insurance for your ride.

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