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plus, a government program so successful it's running out of money. the fight to keep the cash for clunkers plan alive. and president obama using good news on the economy to tout what he says the administration's successes and voes more to come. good day, everybody. >> this is "the new york times special edition." >> on the front page this hour, breaking news. senator chris dodd diagnosed with prostate cancer. >> we'll hear from him in a short time. he's scheduled to speak at a press conference. that's going to be any minute now. you can see the setting. what nbc news has learned is that this was detected from a routine test and caught early. he expected to have surgery during this august recess and be

back in the senate by september. this is a pretty interesting development. >> it is. i talked to several dodd aides today who say this is not going to affect his re-election plans. >> let's bring in david, the congressional correspondent for "the new york times." david, thanks so much for joining us. senator chris dodd has been leading this fight for his friend, senator ted kennedy, who is suffering from brain cancer. what have you learned about senator dodd's condition? >> that it was detected early. it's a tough break for chris dodd, who really has been probably the hardest working senator in the last few months.

and as you said, he has this tough re-election campaign coming up, so one more thing to add to his plate. it's going to be tough. >> david, there's added poignancy to this. he's been carrying the standard for ted kennedy. i talked to him a couple of weeks ago. here's what he had to say. >> how does it feel to you, his friend, to be carrying this ball for him? >> i tell him, i get more done than he ever could. he loves that line, by the way. it's a great honor. i've sat next to him at committee for 24 years. we've been great friends over this time, but believe me, i'd give anything in the world to have him there. >> so david, do you think given you early this was detected, that it will have any affect

whatsoever on the health debate? >> you know, senator dodd's bill is already through. he was not in the situation that the finance committee and max baucus were in where they were still drafting legislation. he had just met yesterday with members of the health committee and they reaffirmed their commitment which is left leaning. but they've got a bill done, so there's a lot less for them to do on that front than the finance committee. senate leadership will try to merge those two bills, but certainly, senator dodd will look to his friend for strength. much more series, brain cancer. this is prostate cancer, something a number of public officials have gone through before. >> david, thanks so much for being with us. we are standing by for that live news conference with senator

dodd where he's going to explain this situation. but meantime, the house blue dogs are people who are negotiating partners of chris dodd's on health care, if you will, because there's a widespread discussion about where we go on health care. they're more conservative. i sat down with three of the major players. they have a much different perspective than those democrats who are principally concerned about expandi ining coverage. >> i think the fundamental disagreement is access versus cost. we believe you have to reform the delivery system and bring down costs before you bring the 50 million people into the system. we agree with the goal, but think you have to put one foot in front of the other and the first thing has to be to

restrain the long-term growth of the costs. >> i'm guessing your constituents in florida, not a lot of million dollar. >> it has to go back to fiscal responsibility. those who benefit most from our economic model and it's the best in the world should be asked to pay. >> are you all happy to run for re-election alongside nancy pelosi? some of the polls have shown she's not that popular right now. >> i'm happy to run on my record as a democrat who shares certain core values with the rest of the democrats in this country about education and health care and i will do that back home and you know, yes, i'm happy. >> my name's the name on the ballot. not speaker pelosi. >> and we go now to senator chris dodd and his wife jackie,

who are there sitting on this couch. he's going to deliver the news to his constituents that in fact he has early stage prostate cancer. this is in hartford and let's listen in now. >> my cell phone's off. it's on vibrate. well, listen, first off, thanks for coming out and today i've been diagnosed with prostate cancer and about six weeks ago. first of all, this is a very common form of cancer. one out of every six males at some point, if they live long enough, will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, so i'm very confident that we're going to come out of this well. i had a annual physical done back in june as i do every year and as a result of that, something called a psa test,

which is a relatively new test spiked up. it was an elevated test. as a result of that, it was recommended that i have a by yop done. as a result of that, going through conversations with people in the medical field to determine what best course of action to follow. let me mention a few things if i can. one is, i feel fine. this is very common. if you've got to have cancer, i'm told my some doctors, this is the slowest growing, the best one to have and the most manageable. a number of my fellow senators have been through it. i've had conversations with a number of my fellow senators who've been through this. i'm leaving here, going to the charter oak medical center.

monday, i've got kathlerinherin lus coming in. secondly, i'm going to be fine in this. we caught this early. the great thing about the annual physical, if you get an early detection, it's very, very, manageable. i'm going to be back out and doing the things you have to do to represent my state. thirdly, i want to mention something that i've talked a lot about over the last several weeks, but not in the context of the news today. as a member of congress, i have a very good health care plan. my health care plan allows me to get paid an annual physical and because i have an annual physical, i was able to detect this very early. i also then was able to take some time, because it is slow growing, over the last six

weeks, to talk to people about what's the best course of action to follow. i developed almost an knowledge of this. the best course of action was recommended and my best choice was to do surgery. after we recess next week, i'll have surgery done in new york to remove the prostate and then it will take a day or so in the hospital. i'll be back in connecticut, at home, for a couple of weeks after that. i'll be able to do work while i'm home. they recommend a light schedule in this. the benefit of being in congress and having a good health care plan is not available to everyone. today, 100 people in this state of connecticut will lose their health care. 14,000 people will today in the

united states lose their health care coverage. for a person that loses coverage, that physical may not be something you can afford. if you can afford the physical, you may not have the resources to help you deal with this problem. i'm fortunate to have these benefits. one of the things we'll continue to fight for is to get this reform passed in the congress. i know it's controversial, it's hard. we spend a lot of the time in the committee in place of my friend from massachusetts who's been struggling with brain cancer. we did two weeks ago. while things fell apart this week, i'm confident we'll get it back on track. i made the decision last evening about the course of action and made a decision to be here this morning to tell people about it. why? i just felt first of all, we can talk in abstractions about health care, but in some ways, what i'm going through, many people do. it's important at this, in a

sense, gathering here to remind people that the annual physical can make such a difference. i strongly recommend men over a certain age to get this done every year. and also, i want to be able to remind people about this debate. i didn't want to be an exhibit necessarily when i was conducting the mark-up. i knew i had prostate cancer, but i didn't think i should be the issue. it's not about me. it's about people without health care or the runs underinsured. that's what really is a risk here by not getting this job done. so with that, i thank you for coming out, but again, i feel fine. i'm going to be fine. we caught this early and look forward to getting back out on the trail and doing my job on behalf of the people of connecticut. jackie, do you have a comment? >> we're just looking for them to getting out of session so that we can get the opportunity, the girls and i, be ready to

patch you up, get you back out there again. i like to think that if this is how many hours you can put in with cancer, i have no idea what you'll be like without cancer. >> i'm running for re-election. now, i'll be a little leaner and meaner, but i'm running. i'll be running without a prostate, but maybe it will make a better candidate. >> not my question. that you had anything but a light schedule over the past eight or nine weeks. how are you going to roll back? you've got a lot on your plate right now. >> august is a recess month. in a sense, it's convenient, i suppose. although there was the suggestion, we probably ought to do this sooner rather than later. so it fits into that schedule. again, i'm told by others, had

long conversations with john kerry, i sit next to two united states senators of the banking committee, both of who have been through this. saxby chambliss, colin powell, any number of people. i don't expect a delay. in periods of recuperation doesn't mean you're in isolation. for a week or so, i think they want you to take it easy. >> senator, will you be having -- i'm sorry. do you want to take my question? >> you go ahead. you go ahead. seniori seniority. >> you had other options. how did you weigh those? >> there are three or four different options. one is the start with one is what they call an active

surveillance. >> and there we hear from senator chris dodd, the senior senator from connecticut who's held that seat for some 30 years. announcing he has early stage prostate cancer and yes, he's running for re-election, without his prostate though. leaner and meaner. that he's going to have it removed in new york. but he used this occasion to once again push for this reform of health care that he has been working so diligently on, pointing out that in connecticut, 100 people today will lose their health insurance and it's another reason why people need health insurance. >> what they call a message opportunity. >> exactly. i think it was noteworthy, too, when he said i'm running for re-election. he's the most endangered democrat in the senate today. the latest poll numbers show

he's down about ten points from the republican who's running against him. he's got a tough race ahead and also this personal challenge. let's bring in nbc's kelly o'donnell is with us from capitol hill, as well as david with "the new york times." kelly, let me start with you. i know you ran into the senator last night. he was in good spirits. what are you hearing about how this may affect his schedule? >> well, as he described it, it will be a light schedule and perhaps he is fortunate in that that real heavy lifting of the committee, that work was finished and we know that he knew throughout that very tense and exhaustive process on what they call the health committee, the bill that does include the version includes the public option, that he knew all along he had this. so now, he's got a chance to catch his breath, have the surgery done, to work from home.

what's also interesting about his re-election issue, you may recall senator edward kennedy taped a commercial for him. so now, you'll have these two mens who have been friends seemingly forever, facing different kinds of cancer, but it does add a human quality. when you have chris dodd trying for his sixth term in the senate, he was a member of the house before that, this gives him an opportunity to speak to people in a much more relatable way. it can actually help him na that respect. >> when you saw him last night, did he give any hint he was carrying this burden or have an announcement today? >> well, this has been kept very close to the vest. he has told his colleagues. no one gave us a hint about this. i'm sure out of respect for him and wanting him to be the one to time his announcement.

he has seemed perfectly fine. he has never seemed overly wearily, so we had no sense he was troubled by this. he gave us a list of public figures who have had a list of similar diagnosis. this is one kind of cancer, people can continue to work and bounce back from. senator kennedy has a much more grave condition, brain cancer, and we've seen how severely that has affected him. these two have been in close touch. senator dodd has gone to hines port to dine with kennedy. i suspect there were some interesting conversations between those two about how to go forward. >> let's bring in david with "the new york times." you heard senator dodd say, this is not about me, but about people without health care. he used this public opportunity to once again, try and get the

american public behind this reform. >> and this could be a very dramatic turn in the health care debate. in those words, there's a echo of president obama, talking about health care just last week, saying you know, he's got good coverage. this is about the people who don't. remember, congress is about to leave on the recess. we expect a huge campaign out in the country, television ads, ground war at both sides over controlling the message here. here you have one of the major players in the congress pushing for this saying, look, my health surngs is going to save my life. there are millions of americans who aren't as lucky as i am. it will be probably a very powerful message. >> and let's not forget that president obama intended to give ted kennedy, next month, i believe, or in september perhaps, the medal of freedom,

which is going to add another emotional imptous to this debate. >> no doubt. david and kelly o'donnell, great to talk to you. we'll have much more on this story and of course, all the news that's fit to print here. this is "the new york times special edition" right here on msnbc. we'll be right back. - hi. - crowd: hi! i hate my phone. what do i do? ( shouting ) this is crazy. u. let's run a free upgrade check. see if you're due for a new smartphone. don't i need to go to my carrier's store for that? no, you don't have to. we sell phones and plans on all the major networks. ok. well, is time travel possible? yes, i am from the future. announcer: phones, plans, and advice from thousands of people eager to help.

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he writes -- >> i talked yesterday to jim cooper of tennessee, one of the moderate democrats trying to affect this debate. he said there's so much misinformation out there, like that man at the meeting and democrats have to push back against that. things that aren't in the billing, but characterized that way. >> the president got a question from a woman who said that i hear people are going to come and ask me how i want to die. so yes, there's plenty of that information out there. next up, maureen dowd. she described the former alaska governor as quote, a nixon with hair extensions. she once called hillary clinton a whiny contender, saying she

should stop complaining. she writes -- what do you think? >> in alaska, it was pretty interesting, of course, to see sarah palin in action. now, there's a new poll out that shows her approval ratings have plumeted. >> those comments by maureen track the focus group i saw, very critical of sarah palin as just a flashy kind of figure and crediting hillary clinton for being a very, very hard worker, determined, somebody who sticks to the job. >> i mentioned those numbers because sarah palin is interested in those. thanks to todd's great reporting in that "vanity fair" piece, she pushed that poll, what they thought of her. i bet she's going to be very upset to learn the people of alaska are not happy about her

decision. and finally, rn warner says the arrest of gates shows that how we think, see and reason and react are directly determined by who we are. she writes -- >> last night, there was an actual and more friendly exchange over beers at the white house involving gates, crowley, the president and joe biden. i love this column, especially your point -- there was a dispute over whether or not gates said, i'll talk to your mama outside. you said you had no doubt that sergeant crowley said that. >> i have to admit that i laughed out loud when i saw that because what is the likelihood of professor gates saying this

to a police officer with a gun. afterwards, he made the suggestion, they must have cooked it up at the station house while watching old episodes of "good times." it's possible he heard it because there was a script pl playing in his head and he was listening to that. >> because two people can have dinner together and walk out and think that they had totally different exchanges. >> and you have the impression, listening to sergeant crowley, that he is really sincere. he had a real sense of grievance. you see in his police report, when he talks about how he was spoken to disrespectfully. i remember seeing friends and family members that said being respected in uniform is very important to him. >> so what are the chances that beer party last night will change the script in either of

those men's heads? in the president's head in all the rest of our heads. >> i don't get the sense that anything has changed for these men. obviously, they want to move on. they've been wanting to move on. but clearly, it was a gesture that was necessary to allow the rest of us to move on. they came together, were civil and maybe we can think about this in a constructive way. >> you agree it's a teachable moment? as the president said, that it could make a contribution? >> i think it could be if people see this not in the usual polarizing ways. i think that if it leads to on some level, more compassion and thinking more flex bli about situations like this, then it would be a teachable moment. >> thanks so much. >> thank you. coming up, senator chris dodd announces he has prostate cancer. what it means for the health

care fight on capitol hill ahead. plus, an accelerated withdrawal of u.s. forces from iraq may be a hint. the caucus is coming up. you're watching "the new york times special edition" only on msnbc. sandrai went to pick up my prescription and i was told... sandra..."that's just gonna be four dollars." i said, "you're joking." amandai know sandra personally. and she was only able to afford a week's worth of medication at a time. sandrasome of my medication was $100 for one prescription. amandabut now, she's able to get a whole month's generic prescription for $4. amandashe's also able to get a three-month supply for just $10.

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welcome back. i'm john harwood. >> i'm norah o'donnell. here are a few other stories making headlines this hour. chris dodd has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will have surgery over the august recess. he's confident he'll have a quick recovery. cash for clunkers, it was about to run out of money until congress today stepped in. also, president obama praised the house for voting to put $2 billion into the stimulus program. in iran, president ahminedjad begins his second

term next week. meantime today, he denied a rift with iran's speak leader, alexander khamenei, saying he's like a father to him. >> back to that interview with the three, blue dog democrats. we talked about cash for clunkers. two of the three voted against it. >> could i just ask you, why are they called blue dog democrats. i looked it up to remind myself. >> it has to do with the artwork in billy's office. before he became a republican. >> and also, they were choked blue by the mor liberal wing. that's why we're interested in them, right? >> exactly. but one of the questions facing them, how far they're willing to take this and whether in fact, they're willing to challenge this reform effort on the part

of the democratic leadership in the white house to the point it could threaten it. >> are you willing to risk taking down the obama presidency by blocking health care reform? >> we're not here to block health care reform. i want to pass it. we want to preserve what works and fix what doesn't. what's happened over the past three weeks has been healthy for the process. the voice of the american people has been heard. they're going to have the opportunity to read the bill and talk to every member of the house. going to go home for the month of august and hear what people have to say. i want to make a prediction. we're going to get this done and pass a reasonable bill before the end of this year. >> you have a reputation for fiscal reasonability, but one of the accomplishments was protecting world hospitals. isn't that protecting pork special interest spending for

your district as opposed to the goal you talk about? >> this is a regional issue and the disparities cut far and wide. this is about preserving the health care delivery system in more rural parts of the country. i think that people who pay into medicare, whose tax payer dollars will be used, need to be treated fairly. i think this is inappropriate, unfair criticism. we need to make sure that certain parts of the country, because of leadership positions, don't get continued rates just for their part of the country and continue to expand their disparities that are breaking the system and causing medicare

to become invol vent faster. >> let's get a round up of the week's top stories. matt, jason also said in the interview he supported no tax increases for health care reform. are democrats going to hang together? >> i think they're going to get something done. this is a reflection of poll numbers in a sense. unless you can sell the public in a broad number of swing democrats, where the seats are hard to hold, you're going to have trouble. it's important to remember, there is no obama health care plan. >> there's principles. >> there's nothing for him to

sell and so in a sense, they boxed themselves in. he's the best sales man in the party and the guy is going to have to sell this to the public. as you saw last week where he was all over the place in the details, there's nothing to sell right now. >> and the president's approval ratings have really dropped because of this particular plan. you now have only two out of ten americans that believe their health care is going to get better. three times of that with the currently have private insurance, think it's going to get worse. that because of this, your health care is going to get worse. isn't that a huge stumbling block for the president? >> people have inconsistent views. >> but only one nbc news "wall street journal" poll. >> the same people who think it's going to get worse also

think it's going to get worse if nothing changes. we may be seeing that obama learned too well from the mistakes of 1993. it lost a lot of control and we'll see how that al teternati way of proceeding works out. >> do you think, matt, given that the poll numbers, that the president is going to have to come out with more specifics and not leave it up to this sausage making going up on capitol hill? i say that because the three goals the president talked about, we know if you spend $1 trillion, you're going to get more covered. but the cost issue isn't necessarily going to bring down cost. i don't get a sense i quite understand it myself. >> david raises the right point. the lessons of 1993 can be learned too well. you're going to have to have a fight with somebody, no, it's going to be this way and we're going to sell it that way.

they want everyone at the table until the last moment. if you're not willing to have a fight, you can't control the debate. >> i know you're covering defense and foreign policy right now, but you have been around washington a while. does it feel to you like for the first time in 70 years, there's going to be a comprehensive national plan passed? >> i cannot predict that. what's interesting to me is how much heat obama has taken on this. this is first time in his presidency where they're really struggling, i think, on a big, domestic issue. i spent a week in the middle east, so i'm the -- >> even the taliban was rooting for tom watson. did you see that? >> the defense secretary, robert gates, just wrapped up a trip. what did you learn? >> there's a big shift in focus

from iraq to afghanistan. that iraq is going okay, but there's a lot of tension. since june 30th, most american combat troops have withdrawn from iraqi cities. >> 130,000 -- >> there's a very gradual draw down plan, but most will remain in iraq this year. there's a steep drawdown that starts next march. by next year, about 50,000 troops will be left and all come out under an agreement with the iraqis at the end of 2011. there was a memo that michael gordon had this week saying we needed to leave now. >> we're going from iraq now to afghanistan, which is obama's war. what is this new shift in strategy? what are they going to do differently in afghanistan?

>> it's a counterinsurgency in the south. a major offense in the south going on now in afghanistan. try to bring some level of stability to the country, so somewhat peaceful. also the shift of troops, shift of equipment. the whole focus has been really to try and -- >> this conflict in afghanistan tougher than in iraq? >> yes. we've had wonderful reporting out of afghanistan by rick, who's said this is much harder. the terrain the much worse. it's hotter, just a harder war. >> really interesting. elizabeth, matt, david, thanks so much for being with us. coming up, deadly,

triple-digit temperatures in the northwest have residents running for the air conditioner. plus, he's the star of the best dash cam video we've seen in years. hear what he has to say for himself. that's right, a 7-year-old in a car. you're watching "the new york times special edition" right here on msnbc. ♪ it's astonishingly flexible. ♪ unbelievably soft. ♪ and has an amazing material... that's 4x more absorbent than you may need. making fluids seem to... poof... disappear. just like magic. ♪ always infinity. have a happy period. have discovered how easy it is to use legalzoom for important legal documents. at legalzoom, we'll help you incorporate your business, file a patent, make a will and more. you can complete our online questions in minutes.

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and, if you have any questions about medicare, call today and get your free copy of "medicare made clear," by unitedhealth educational publishing group. it will help you better understand all your choices. so don't wait. call today for your free guide. health officials in seattle report the first death because of the heat wave. a 66-year-old man who suffered from heart disease died of heat-related illnesses in seattle. forecasters say temperatures should cool down next week, but it's been close to 100 there. it's been very difficult on people in the region. the national urban league is holding its annual conference in chicago today. >> the group is expected to map out effective strategy for the future and the league president says urban residents are facing

unprecedented challenges when it comes to education, health care, employment and housing. kevin tibbles is covering the conference. >> reporter: when it comes to education, housing, employment, they all lead in one direction and to one place and of course, that is the economy. the way the economy is now, is hitting cities across this country with hards to the number of people losing their jobs and their homes. as an extension of that, that is getting into health care, law enforcement. the people at this conference are trying to find a way to sort of migrate their way through all of these issues and challenges that are facing urban communities and the urban league. but now, perhaps, more than

ever, this organization is facing those economic challenges that are really affecting communities right across this nation and i can also say here in chicago. >> kevin, what specifically did vice president biden have to say and did he make any reference to that beer at the white house yesterday? >> reporter: well, first off, i guess we're all referring to the near beer that he had because he actually had a non-alcoholic beer. the bottom line here is that everyone here said they want to look forward and the vice president was here talking about employment issues and building for jobs in the future, but also spent a lot of his time defending the stimulus package that his government and the government of president barack obama, the first african-american president, have

put into play. he's depended that by saying should we or could we, should we, have done anything else that what we have done. the message here is that they've got to start creating jobs soon in this country. >> kevin, thanks so much. >> talking about near beer. this is a story you've got to see to believe. in utah, a high speed chase. the driver pulls over and imagine the surprise when out from behind the steering wheel pops a 7-year-old. >> that's right. this 7-year-old boy was apparently trying to get out of going to church. he took his dad's car for a spin and for that, of course, he got into a whole lot of trouble. he told meredith vieira about his punishment. >> grounded to my room for four days. no tv. no video games. >> do you think that's fair?

you do? do you now understand what you did and it wasn't the smartest thing? >> four days. i think the kid got off pretty well. >> it's a good thing nobody was hurt. it's really scary. >> it was actually remarkable that a kid that small could control the car as well as he did. >> get his feet to the pedals. >> looked like he might have some practice. >> those scarboroughs. no relation to joe. a 12-year-old was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2007. she made a special trip to the white house to meet president obama. she says the visit was very exciting, but did not cry. according to her, quote, my eyes were just watery that day. >> that's so sweet.

we know "the new york times" has all the news that's fit to print. here are some interesting stories. a disturbing sign of the times in rhode island. dan berry writes a profile of a tent city that's emerged under an overpass. it's populated by 80 or so people and has a code of conduct. >> and the second story, some readers may have dozed off before getting through it. a survey finds one in three adults admits that in a typical day, they take a nap. cornell university sleep expert says there should be no stigma attached to the mid-day snooze, arguing it could have a same

affect as exercise. do you take naps? >> i think you can admit it now. we know larry summers takes naps. >> i wish i could take a nap every day. >> it would resuscitate us. now it's time to look at the week in review section. >> that's right. joining us live, editor of the week in review and the book review for "the new york times." sam, one of these days, we will ask you about the book review. >> go slowly. i just woke up. >> tell us, hopefully, what's in the weekend review won't put us to sleep on sunday. >> better not put you to sleep because your colleague has written a great piece for us on lobbying, health care and congress. >> and do i get extra credit for

the fact the piece had filed? >> you do. i got to nap longer because of that. >> we're talking in the story, norah, about lobbying on the health care bill. a lot of people thought that when president obama got elected, he was going to bring a new system and change washington, and maybe we wouldn't see the battle going on now. >> that lobbiests are more powerful than ever? >> not only do you have a health care bill moving, you've got four. it places all the activity at the center of congress. nobody's predicting the death of health care reform, but it's definitely facing a bigger challenge. >> one hates to say it, but it feels like deja vu all over

again. we remember bill clinton having a very ambitious health care program and one of the reasons we're seeing so much activity in congress is that the obama administration wanted to avoid the fate that beset the clinton plan, which was not done with much cooperation in congress. as john points out, that's where all the lobbiests are, in congress. so he's caught himself in a cross fire of his own devising. >> sam, edit gently for me this afternoon, okay? >> it's so clean, we hardly will touch it. >> thanks so much. >> great seeing you both. >> that's it for this hour. i'm john harwood. >> i'm norah o'donnell and of course tamron hall and guest host donny deutsch will pick things up next. plus, where is sarah palin? lots of speculation about what

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