>> i think she's got all these technical things that are brilliant. the windshield wiper wave. the hand thing. i think it's all very attractive. i think -- i mean, seriously. she's obviously a grade show. she's obviously a great show. compared to any politician, look at her. her and that guy. who are you going to look at? she's got something to say, she's lively, she puts on a show. she comes to the microphone determined with something. most guys, most people in politics are guys, they come to the microphone, i guess i got to talk now, blah, blah, blah blah, blah. she's up there, boom boom boom boom boom. >> she's got moxie. the typical person you see that represents the republican party, some white guy that's boring and uninteresting. people are scratching their heads and trying to figure out. i think the negative ratings right now are inconsequential. what she has to do is she's got to get whatever's going on in her staff together. >> would you want her to speak to your group, to your women's group? >> i think people would be lining up outside the doors. >> fund-raising ticket. >> i'm a fan of hers.

i think she's got some issues and learning to do but i'm a fan. >> would you like to be her top aide? >> no. >> why not? >> i like being my own aide. >> don't you think she'd be really -- i mean, jack kennedy was -- became jack kennedy when he found ted sorensen. a lot of these people need to have the right people around them and everything works. axelrod i'm sure has been a great advantage to this president. >> she needs to find that person. >> somebody that clicks with you. nobody can do this all by yourself. this idea that you're in in this -- it doesn't work. you need a team. the secret to her is she's all by herself. she doesn't have a team around her. she thinks for whatever reason, i can do it myself. and it doesn't work that way in politics. >> absolutely. she's got -- she's been in this kind of bunker mentality ever since she got back to alaska. she feels under attack. she has this really tight-knit, small group of about five advisors in alaska. >> they're all pals. >> they're all loyalists. they've been with her for years. >> they're not professional political people. >> i think i want to resign on july 3rd to show how independent i am, freedom, they said, great idea.

>> thank you, michelle bernard. thank you, jane newton-small. join us monday night 5:00 and 7:00 for more "hardball." "countdown" with keith olbermann starts right now. which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow? ugly tactics in the house fight as the democrats take on big insurance? >> the glory days are coming to an end for the health insurance industry in our country. >> the playbook from the other side? pack town halls with angry people hell bent on stifling intelligent debate. tonight white house senior advisor david axelrod on the high stakes of the health care message wars. the arrested development of the birthers as eric cantor tries to deflect blame for the birther conspiracy from his party. >> i have no idea where he was born. >> tonight we see how the fringe is taking over the gop. the right wing rumor mill is

working so well that 28% of republicans actually believe the nonsense that the president was not born in the united states. the surprise success of cash for clunkers. >> i'm happy to report it has succeeded well beyond all expectations. >> a billion dollars spent in one week and more cash on the way. will it finally silence the stimulus critics who said the money wasn't working? and political plays of the week. from the breathless types surrounding the beer summit to sarah palin quitting again, this time the tweeter of the north is a no show at a fundraiser for the reagan library. how very mavericky. all that and more, now on "countdown." >> i'm where i need to be today. good evening from new york. i'm richard wolffe.

keith olbermann got one more night off. democrats in congress who are spending part of their august recess talking about health care reform at town hall style meetings back home, we offer this friendly "countdown" public service announcement in our fifth story. those angry protestors who will disrupt your attempts to talk with your voters, and trust us they will, are being coordinated and coached by industry funded, right wing operators. their goal will be to rattle you not to have an intelligent debate. there's a good chance they don't even live in your district. one conservative front group is now busing people from all over the country to protest against democratic members, a strategy endorsed by republican congressman pete sessions of texas who told politico.com that the days of civil town halls are now over. a leaked memo from the folks who brought you the tea bag protest gives step by step instructions on disrupting town halls including advice to prevent members of congress from informing their constituents. quote, the goal is to rattle him. stand up, shout out, sit right

down. look for these opportunities before he even takes questions. the memo also talks about how to artificially inflate their numbers. quote, spread out in the hall. the rep should be made to feel that a majority and if not a significant portion of at least the audience opposes the socialist agenda of washington. do these people have any idea what socialism is or do they simply support their own idea of socialism? last night democrat anthony weiner of new york introduced an amendment that would abolish medicare. you know, evil, socialized medicine. >> this amendment is simple. it gives my republican friends the chance they've been waiting for, to vote against government sponsored, government run, government administered health care. it's your dream amendment. this is put up or shut up time. if you don't like national health care, if you don't like government run health care, this is your amendment. >> when it came time to put up or shut up, not a single

republican voted to abolish medicare. in fact, one gom congressman called weiner's amendment a farce. one of the democrats playing a lead role in the health care fight, senator chris dodd of connecticut announced he has early stage prostate cancer detected during his annual physical. senator dodd said the diagnosis has made him even more committed to health care for all. >> 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. because i have an annual physical, i was able to detect this prostate cancer very early. but 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 coverage. 14,000 people across the country will today in the united states lose health care coverage. for a person to lose his health care coverage, that physical may not be something you can afford. >> white house senior advisor

david axelrod met with the house democratic caucus this morning to discuss the health care fight going forward and joins us now from the north lawn of the white house. good evening, david. >> good evening, keith. why are you talking with that phony british accent? >> you figured me out already. so okay. jokes aside, what did you tell the democratic lawmakers today and what concerns did they have for you especially as they head back to face voters and those rabble rousers in their districts? >> what we spoke about was a very, very strong case we have to make to the american people. you know, while there is still work to be done to complete this health care reform, this health insurance reform plan, it is embedded in all the versions of it are really significant protections for consumers in the health care system. and these are things we want to call people's attention to. they haven't been well covered. but they'll make an enormous difference, the fact that under this bill, under this law people would not be excluded from insurance because they had

preexisting conditions. they can't be dropped if they have a serious illness. it would cap their out of pocket costs and do a series of other things that will give people more security and stability if they have insurance and we have a very, very strong bill, or very, very strong case to make to the american people about what we're trying to do to bring about that security. >> let me try a blunt question for you. have you lost control of the framing of this debate? >> let me try and give you a blunt answer. no. i don't think so. i feel that by definition when the focus is on, you know, five different committees of congress and their differences over technical aspects of the legislation, that diverts attention to some degree but i'll tell you why i don't think we've lost control of the debate because i think every month people are still paying their health care premiums and they know that they've been going up

10% a year. every day people are dealing with these growing out of pocket costs for their health care. every day small businesses are dropping people. large businesses are cutting back what they're willing to cover for their employees. this is a problem that people live with every single day and as a result, they want us to do something about it. >> maybe i'm reading too much into this but the white house seemed to shift its language from health care reform to health insurance reform this week. why the shift? have you narrowed the focus for reform or have you just identified an enemy that's maybe easier to hate? >> no, richard, i think that the -- that people interact with the health care system through their insurance. this is about making sure that those who don't have quality, affordable insurance can get it and those who do have it are treated fairly within the system. so i think it's an apt description of what we're trying to achieve. >> now, i'm sure you heard

today, progressives in the house think way too much has been given away to a few blue dogs and republicans who probably aren't going to vote in the end for this anyway so these progressives i think are the people who believed in change more than anybody else. how do you keep their hope alive when they read about the kinds of compromises in the works that we see in the newspapers every day? >> well first of all i would say 90% of what's in the different renditions of this plan that are being passed by various committees of congress are identical, so let's start from the premise that we're going to achieve 90% of what everybody involved wants to achieve. there are differences and they're going to have to be harmonized as we move along in the process. but our point is let's just keep moving. let's keep pushing this process forward and we'll have those discussions in the coming weeks and months and we'll resolve those issues. but there is no doubt that if

you're a progressive, then you want a system where every american has access to quality, affordable health care and where health care consumers are protected in that system and i think that we will have such legislation and we will have such a plan and they'll vote for it. >> we saw in the hill newspaper a report about a health care lobbyist who admitted a key strategy to defeat reform is to, quote, delay it and then, quote, kill it. we've already seen the delay part action. how do you stay away from the kill when congress comes back in september? >> well, first of all, it isn't just the insurance lobbyists who are saying that but we've heard some opponents in the congress say, you know, let's delay it and if we kill it we can pin a loss on obama and so on. that would be a shame if that philosophy prevailed because the losers would be the american people who are struggling in

this health care system. i think members of congress are going to go home and meet many of those americans during this break and i think they're going to come back with resolve to get this done. i'm very optimistic we're going to get something done. >> you don't think the delay has left you sort of in a wounded state, a vulnerable state coming back in the fall? >> i think we've made great progress and i think over this break americans are going to have a very frank discussion about their struggles within the system and the rising costs that are crushing families and businesses across this country and they're going to ask the legislators, what are you going to do about it? because we know one thing for sure, richard. whatever you think of the various plans that have been offered there is one that we know is guaranteed to cause your rates to skyrocket. there's one that's going to result in more people who are uninsured. there's one that's going to put more and more businesses in jeopardy and lead to greater deficits and that's the system

we have now. that's the status quo. those who want to stop reform are essentially embracing what we have now. i don't think the american people are going to stand for that. >> david axelrod, senior advisor to the president joining us from the white house tonight. thanks for your time. >> thanks, richard. good to be with you. for more now on the state of the health care fight let's turn to our msnbc political analyst eugene robinson, also a pulitzer prize winning columnist and associate editor for "the washington post." good evening, gene. >> good evening, richard. >> who has the tougher job when congress comes back in september -- the white house and democrats pushing through significant health care reform or the republicans trying to defeat it? >> define significant. i think that's the key there. clearly, the democrats with their majorities in the house and the senate have the votes to get a bill through and get a bill through, get it to the president's desk, he can sign it and they can all declare victory. the question is, what is significant health care reform? and, you know, i'm not sure we

have an agreed on definition of that. mine would be that you'd have to have the principle of universality, that finally this country has decided that the way we ration health care now is wrong and that, in fact, people should have essentially a right to health care through health insurance and that would be historic, not just significant, if that were obtained. and then also the question of a public option, a public plan of some sort and, again, call it whatever you want. but that also i think would certainly make this significant reform. if you take my definition of significant, then the democrats are going to have the tougher time because the republicans have an easy one word answer to everything which is no. >> well, of course a lack of definition as you rightly point out isn't going to stop the opponents of the white house and

democrats in general so, you know, these step by step instructions to the right wing rabble rousers, those protestors who are going to be bussed around all over the country, does that kind of tactic show why bipartisanship was actually never going to happen? >> it was not going to happen. if the republican idea of health care reform is no health care reform, and if their main goal is to damage the obama administration and weaken it for the, you know, so it's weakened for the remaining three years of his mandate, then bipartisanship is a fool's errand. so, you know, the question now for the democrats of course is to get the blue dogs onboard. if they can get them, i think they'd be willing to forget about bipartisanship. >> for these lawmakers going on their vacation in august, how much of it's going to be spent

reassuring constituents about health care while shooting down the scare tactics and the fake protests? how much relaxation are they going to get here? >> i don't think they're going to get much relaxation. and you know, you mentioned the problem is for the democrats at least, what's the story they tell? there is not a bill, now, that they can go out and defend. and so they kind of have to say, well, we're going to do this. we're not going to do that but we don't exactly know the shape of it but don't worry we're not going to hurt you. they have to find some way to be on offense here and to remind people why this whole health care effort is being undertaken in the first place. what americans have to lose if we do nothing and what they have to gain if there is significant reform. >> just briefly, if more americans understood that medicare was government run, government sponsored, socialized

quote-unquote health care could the whole debate look pretty different about now? >> i think it could. maybe we could call it medicare light or something like that, the public option. because everyone loves medicare. that was a brilliant move to put up that amendment to try to get the republicans to vote yes or no on medicare, which is much closer to socialized medicine than anything the administration now is talking about. it is amazing that people don't draw that connection and maybe proponents of reform should do more to draw it for them. >> medicare light. i guess that goes with a can of bud light. eugene robinson, pulitzer prize winning columnist of "the washington post", thanks for your time. >> good to be here, richard. the gop's birther problem comes full circle. after starting the whisper campaign about obama's birth records over a year ago, now republicans are doing everything they can to not take responsibility for the mess they created. and fixing the mess in the u.s.

auto industry. the white house and capitol hill are forced to go into overdrive today to extend the wildly successful cash for clunkers program. will that finally force critics of the stimulus to admit it's working? ahead on "countdown." into the kitchen and started making a salad? - that'd be weird. - right? i mean, look, there's a technique. - okay... - ( strikes match ) wow. it's okay, everyone. - thanks, hon. - you're welcome. announcer: yep, it's that easy, - with kingsford match light. - ( match strikes )

live by the birthers die by the birthers. shocking new poll numbers show just how much the lies about president obama's birth certificate are taking hold. and sarah palin's rsvp problem. this time she dises the library of ronald reagan. perhaps william shatner can replace her. coming up on "countdown." only s nutriummoisture... which can nourish deep down. new dove body wash with nutriummoisture. superior natural nourishment for your skin.

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in 2002 journalist ron

suskind met with a senior advisor to president bush. quote we are an empire now the unnamed advisor said and when we act recreate our own reality and while you're studying that reality we'll act again creating other new realities which you can study too. that's how things sort out. now in our fourth story a stunning new poll shows just how high a ransom the republican party is paying for taking reality hostage. the issue of course president obama's citizenship. a new poll shows only 42% of republicans believe mr. obama was born in the u.s. 30% aren't sure. 28% do not believe he was born in the u.s. in other words, most of the republican party membership in the united states is incapable of recognizing the reality of a state verified birth certificate, two contemporary birth announcements in hawaiian papers, and the fact the u.s. congress, itself, certified president obama's election. nor is it just voters.

several gop members of congress admitted their adherence to the new reality. so today the second most powerful republican in the house eric cantor said he does not question mr. obama's citizenship which of course stopped short of affirming his status as a natural born american. the cantor spokesman goes on to blame the phenomenon, the birther movement, on the media. is cantor turning on fox news? nope. here's the quote. cantor finds it ironic that those most eager to talk about the president's citizenship are in fact some of his biggest cheerleaders, whether it's chris matthews or others on msnbc, the huffington post, or camera toting liberal bloggers. so they're slamming the debunkers of a false rumor that started how exactly? well, first with the muslim theory spread by these men and picked up by the conservative free republic then in a book from a conservative who also first floated the claim obama's

birth certificate was forged in august last year on fox news when he was not refuted. let's bring in the editor and also the author of "taking on the system, rules to radical change in the digital a era." thanks for your time tonight. >> thanks, richard. >> we'll get to your poll in a minute but i want to ask what you think the political calculation is for cantor as he distances himself from the birthers and then bashes those who challenge the birthers. >> i think most people would recognize, even republicans, there is a certain percentage of the republican base that's a little off. it's a little crazy. i just think they didn't want anybody to know -- half of them. that's crazy. it's a problem for them because what they're realizing is they're a southern regional rum please party, that their leadership is heavily based in the south and the rest of the country is sort of look agt them wondering what the heck is going on down there? >> so do you think now we're in a point where cantor and maybe a

certain segment of the gop want the whole birther thing to go away? is that what's happening? >> absolutely. for a while as long as nobody knows about it, then they could sort of feed it. they could introduce legislation in congress quietly to sort of appease this radical right but suddenly now this is a national story because it's getting credence. you have lou dobbs on cnn making it his personal crusade. you have fox news obviously pushing this very heavily. talk radio. and you suddenly realize you have republicans going on campaign swings, they're going on television, doing interviews, and they're being asked about obama's birth certificate. really not the kind of thing they want to be asked about. it's not the kind of thing they want to encourage. >> i guess lou dobbs needed a new crusade now. one thing i found fascinating in your poll is this detail about older southern republicans being the most likely to believe this stuff. glen thrush of politico wrote

today when do we start a serious dialogue about the birther movement being a proxy for racism? how about now? is the birther movement a proxy for racism? >> i think there has to be a correlation. i mean, a lot of the birther movement is fixated on what his name is in that so-called birth certificate, that the radical black nationalist barack obama changed his name from good old american barry to barack. what was his middle name? was it maybe muhammad instead of hussein? this is nonsensensical stuff bu for a movement that is really convinced obama is not american like them this is really natural stuff. what's amazing about the poll if you look at the southern numbers is over 70% of southern whites believe that obama is not, was not born in the united states. and what does that come from? clearly, race has to be an issue here. >> so just briefly i'd like to go back to how we started this story. reporting about the bush

republicans creating their own reality, shouldn't republicans now be worried about this legacy, about membership, a party incapable of fact based analysis? because that membership might quite like the idea of one president sarah palin. >> one of the last few moderate republicans in the senate, george voinovich of ohio, was recently quoted as saying, we have a real problem in the republican party with the southerners because people in ohio look at this party and see these southerners talking for the party and they don't know what the heck to do with ohio. i think we're seeing that nationwide because in this poll if you look at the regional numbers the south really is apart from the northeast, the midwest, and the west. the rest of the country pretty sane and normal. the south is a little crazy. when the republican party is focused in catering to that crazy southern base, the rest of the party is just going to continue to flock and run away from the republicans as quickly as it can. >> that didn't end too well last time. have a great weekend.

>> thank you very much. does the fact that the president drank a bud light at last night's beer summit give him any street cred with the birthers? behind the meeting with gates and crowley. what may or may not have been said around that picnic table. and in "oddball" the police chase that gives the phrase "holy roller" a whole new meaning next on "countdown." introducing new tide stain release. it helps get the toughest stains out the first time. whoa, that's a first. (announcer) that's because new tide stainelease is a revolutionary in-wash booster... ... that works with your detergent... to help remove the toughest stains the first time. mom, let me grab that.

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on this day in 1975 a

bizarre vanishing act. teamsters president jimmy hoffa disappears in detroit, michigan. once rumored to be buried somewhere in the meadowlands the fact his life ended in mystery is fitting considering it began with a riddle. riddle was hoffa's middle name which can only mean it's time to play "oddball." we begin in the mean streets of plain city, utah, with the oddball car chase of the week. the plain city pd got an early morning call about some crazy driver blowing through stop signs. cops caught up to the reckless racer chasing a low life behind the wheel who was clocking speeds of 40 miles per hour right into his lair. he pitches his wheels and hooves it but does seem kind of small. yes, the life of kiddie crime is short lived as 7-year-old preston scarborough runs into his house and calls for his mommy. preston says he stole his parents' car because he didn't want to go to church.

no charges will be filed but rumor has it that preston was taken to confession where the priest promptly gave him ten hail marys and one speeding ticket. to the internet where this young lady is overcoming a life long phobia, a fear of horses. she had been terrified of mr. ed since she was small so standing next to this horse is a very big deal. fortunately, the horse is very gentle, making things much easier. yes, that is until it sneezes on her. the girl recovers her composure when she realizes there's no risk of her getting swine flu. but the horse's owner was very embarrassed saying he thought he taught the animal better. he said that's nay any way to treat a lady. and finally to washington, d.c. with more ground breaking work in the annals of human

civilization meet brian and his eyebrows. if you haven't guessed it by now this plucky individual is trying to groom his way into the guinness book. the category, longest individual strand of hair eyebrow division measuring at 6.5 inches his lucky strand has even got a name, wally. but wally's got company. and needs to grow another half inch to beat the reigning champ name unknown. he will continue to grow his lucky brow to which we say, heck of a job, eye brownie. speaking of eyebrows the latest high profile no show from sarah palin. she is turning her back on a reagan library fundraiser after toying with attending. does she need to read up on her miss manners? bipartisanship hits d.c. capitol hill sets a new speed record to allow americans to turn in their gas guzzlers in record numbers. a big stimulus win for obama and the auto industry if the senate doesn't get in the way ahead on

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after all the republican sniping about how president obama's recovery package was not working, for our third story on the "countdown" there is encouraging economic news and a wildly successful car incentive program. the president today citing better than expected gdp numbers told reporters that the u.s. economy is finally headed in the right direction but added his main concern is still jobs, jobs, and more jobs. >> as far as i'm concerned, we won't have a recovery as long as we keep losing jobs. and i will not rest until every american who wants job can find one. >> also today the house voted to inject another $2 billion into the government barbed cash for clunkers program. the senate is expected to follow next week. nbc's kelly o'donnell takes a look at the stimulus program so successful it nearly went broke.

>> reporter: today with unusual speed congress found another $2 billion to keep new car sales coming. a rushed vote after the unexpected announcement last night that the popular new car incentive program cash for clunkers was out of cash. today the president said it had exceeded all expectations. >> it's working so well that there are legitimate concerns that the funds in this program might soon be exhausted. >> reporter: concern that had top white house officials scrambling. >> i can tell you there's a flurry of activity this morning working with the agencies, working with congress to make sure there are funds for it. >> reporter: the plan? move money already set aside for a different project, renewable energy research, and use it now to extend cash for clunkers. >> we're working that through. >> reporter: the program gives consumers up to $4500 to buy a new, more fuel-efficient car. when they trade in an old gas guzzler. officials expected 250,000 new cars would be sold but were

stunned the demand drained the program in less than a week. so today the house tripled the size of cash for clunkers and notably both democrats and republicans voted for it. >> finally, we have a bailout not for the big businesses, not for wall street, but a bailout for main street. >> it is the one thing we have done here in this congress that is absolutely working. >> this is a win-win-win for our country. it's one of the great programs to create jobs. >> most of the nay sayers are even admitting it's the best $1 billion in economic stimulus funds that the federal government has ever spent. >> reporter: but there are critics, who argue taxpayers have already done too much especially for the auto industry. >> maybe we should have a cash for cluckers program and pay people to eat chicken. then after that we can have a program to pay people to buy tvs and then a program to pay people to buy lumber. >> well, if we can't pay people

to buy tvs let's bring in democratic strategist. thanks for being with us. the cash for clunkers program was so successful it ran out of money in a week. how badly did the administration need to show this country this tangible example of a stimulus success? >> well, you know, i think we've had tangible examples of the stimulus success in terms of saving jobs, whether teachers, police officers, you know, firemen. i think you've had other examples where jobs were created, construction or green jobs. i think what was so great about this program was how dramatic it was. the program was supposed to last months and ran out of money in literally days. i think it just shows what a great program not only in terms of creating an incentive to trade in old cars for more fuel efficient cars but to spur that demand. i'll tell you the other i think key point a lot of people are talking about is just psychologically this is what this country needed. 70% of our gdp is consumer

spending and is motivated by people waking up one day and saying i want to buy a car. what they saw by this great program is other people wanting to buy a car. i think that just creates more demand and really a powerful sign for the obama administration. >> as you know, the bill has just passed the house, but there are big road blocks ahead in the senate. john mccain says he'll filibuster. do you think majority leader harry reed can actually push this through? >> i think he can. i'll never completely understand some republicans like john mccain who are opposed to this program. just a few months ago they were critical of an auto bailout because they said people didn't want to buy american cars. and now you have an incentive program that shows people are buying american cars and other cars and that is i think just a strong example of a government program that works. so why republicans are oppose today it i don't completely understand other than i think some ideological battle they

seem to be having or even worse if you want it taken into a more cynical direction there are republicans who seemingly want to hope the economy worsens to gain some kind of political value out of it. but i think what you saw from the gdp numbers and from this program is that not only is i think this recession bottoming out but i think you're starting to see real signs that we're starting to turn the corner. that's a great thing for the obama administration and for president obama. >> you know, chris, it's not just republicans that are against this. some democrats are, too. what would it mean about reed's leadership if he couldn't get funding for this kind of program and could he then expect to push through health care reform? >> well, some of the democrats, you know, i wouldn't necessarily call it opposition as much as they have a different idea for the program, senator feinstein, you know, has an idea we should have more fuel efficiency requirements in the program. i don't think that's a bad idea. the question is when you have clearly growing and overwhelming demand out there to buy cars that has an enormous ripple

effect through this economy, talking about hundreds of thousands of jobs in the auto industry as well as millions of jobs in the related industry, that is a program we need to fund. i don't think you'll find a lot of opposition at the end of the day. if they want to make the program better in phase two or three, go for it but let's keep this program a model of success going forward. >> just briefly, chris, when they ran out of cash again in a couple weeks' time, car buyers might stay home again. does congress just keep coming back for more and keep funding this program? >> i don't know if they can keep funding this program forever but it's amazing we seem to have found trillions of dollars for bank bailouts or hundreds of billions of dollars or actually billions of dollars to be more accurate for defense projects we don't need but here we have an example of a program that's successful. let's keep funding it at least in the short term. >> chris kofinis, democratic strategist, many thanks. >> thanks, richard. coming up, cameras were kept

at a distance during last night's beer summit at the white house but david letterman has the inside scoop of what was said during the meeting. and another reason why florida has a problem. pet pythons are taking over the everglades and if left unchecked could begin an invasion of the north. can your body wash nourish this deeply? the moisturizer in other body washes sits on top of skin. only new dove has nutriummoisture... which can nourish deep down. new dove body wash with nutriummoisture. superior natural nourishment for your skin. new dove body wash with nutriummoisture. you have questions. who can give you the financial advice you need? where will you find the stability and resources to keep you ahead of this rapidly evolving world? these are tough questions. that's why we brought together two of the most

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coming up the political plays of the week. was america's racial divide solved by bud light? sarah palin's numbers are in freefall. to turn it around she woos the republican party by canceling an event at the reagan library. that would be the ronald reagan. plus the multipython problem in the florida everglades next on "countdown." (announcer) some people don't just work.

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an online university where advanced degrees advance the quality of life. walden university. a higher degree. a higher purpose. the beauty of the florida everglades ravaged by a slithery menace. perhaps a sequel to a samuel l. jackson movie. it's actually a pet population run amok. residents and lawmakers attempt to get their arms around the problem and our countrresponden finds out what happens when that little cuddly pet python is actually a python. >> reporter: it may have been a bit of luck but on the first day hunters hit the everglades, they wrestled an immense snake lurking under a boardwalk. >> oh, ho! >> he was on the move. he had seen us out here. >> reporter: it's not just that the snakes are big.

and powerful. >> when i grabbed him and he came around he just nicked me with a tooth. >> reporter: biologists say they're rapidly upsetting the balance of nature. alligators were once the top of the food chain here. in this series of photos, the battle is revealed. the most vivid example? the python that tried to swallow a gator. the snake exploded and then died. just this month, a pet albino python slithered into a child's bedroom and killed the 2-year-old. >> this is what we have been saying was going to happen. >> reporter: florida senator bill nelson says it's only a matter of time before there's another attack. >> sooner or later for an unsuspecting tourist in the everglades national park, there will be an encounter with a human. >> reporter: attempts to rid florida of these ex-ottics have included beacons implanted in captured snakes to track them back to their nests.

dogs like python pete, trained to sniff out the serpants. >> there it is. good boy. >> reporter: and classes. >> that's the way to do it. get yourself where you can lunge at the head. don't miss. >> reporter: where increasingly pythons are showing up. the battle is so serious there are federal plans to take it high tech. >> there's a possibility of using remote controlled airplanes with thermal sensors to detect pythons. >> reporter: experts warn unchecked the pythons will spread beyond florida but they say even killing every snake they can find may be a case of too little too late. >> this is just one tool that's in the tool box. i mean, this is not going to be the silver bullet. >> from the florida everglades to the alaskan tundra, if sarah palin really does harbor national ambitions inside the gop perhaps her first unofficial act as a private citizen should be something other than backing out of a fundraiser for the

reagan library. that and more ahead on "countdown." how many washes did it take cheer brightclean to get this from dingy to bright? one might be surprised. twelve. no. uh, excuse me! four? one... would think it would take that many washes. ten? man & woman: okay, we got it this time. yes? it's six. seven. why? why is... one-derfully bright, hmm? oh, one... yes, yes! hundred. cheer brightclean.

brouhaha, ale to the chief. the audacity of hops, touch of glass. in our number one story on the "countdown" the so-called beer summit has come and gone though the puns linger on like a bad hangover. the world may breathe a sigh of relief now that the silent communique -- i'm sorry -- now that the meaningless photo op turned national obsession has gone away. there they are relaxed under the full flower of a late july sunshine. professor henry louis gates, sergeant james crowley, president barack obama, and vice president joe biden. though apparently the vice

president was late or something since he's not present in the official white house photo of the event. no worries. let the healing begin and cue the late night jokes. >> things over at the beer summit, here we go to number ten. don't worry biden will clean up the empties. number nine. guys, stop me if i try to drunk dial nancy pelosi. number eight, smoking, drinking, suddenly our president is arty lang. number seven, let's call limbaugh and take this party to the next level. number six, i feel dizzy and confused just like bush. i don't want to freak anyone out but i just saw nixon walking down the hall. number four, tell geithner to put his shirt on. number three, senator larry craig asked if he could have his beer brought to the men's room.

still a reference, people. number two, you guys want to see where clinton used to get freaky? and the number one thing overheard at the white house beer summit, excuse me while i take a presidential leak. back at the ranch or the vast ice sheet former governor sarah palin has gone awol, not literally, but fans are upset she has not tweeted on twitter for five whole days. not a peep from the new national poet since she resigned her post on sunday. which means that palin has broken a promise of sorts because on july 17 she tweeted this. ten days until less politically correct twitters fly from my finger tips outside state site. since then there was a posting on palin's facebook page but that was from her spokeswoman. it announced that the former governor would not be attending an event at the reagan library next month despite prior

indications that she would attend. as repeatedly stated to several in the media over the last week, former governor sarah palin is not committed to attend the simi valley republican women's event at the reagan library and in fact is not attending the event. neither the governor's state staff nor sarah pac has ever attended to attending this event or speaking at this event and even requested the governor's name be removed from the invitation several weeks ago. me thinks she doth protest too much. let's bring in comedian christian finnegan. >> hello. >> so the beer summit all went down smoothly and refreshingly don't you think? >> since there were no fisticuffs but it was a little awkward. it looked like they were all like robots like you'd see at the pirates of the caribbean ride. like it is so wonderful to be sitting around this picnic table drinking earth beer. my earth beer is delicious. we are four humans drinking beer. now let us discuss this event. it'll do i guess. >> i missed the giant octupus,

too. but i guess the photographer missed vice president joe biden because he wasn't there at the start. what do you think he added to the festivities once he got there? >> you get the feeling about a quarter of 5:00 obama got a knock in the oval office door and biden being like, hey, did i hear something about a beer summit? obama's like oh, you didn't get the e-vite? gee. yeah, sure. of course he was drinking a nonalcoholic beer which i can't help but imagine was not biden's choice. i'm sure like all right, guys. i got two words for you. yager and bomb and at a certain point lean forward and some awkward store bit keeping the night going where he'd say seriously, dudes, i know a guy. >> do you think they kept the pretzels from him as well? >> yes. >> sergeant crowley and professor gates are talking about additional private meetings but they say this time they're going to drink cool aid or iced tea. is that what passes for progress? >> we almost got through this event without some