ever hispanic to be confirmed to the supreme court of the united states. the senate voted to send a woman born and raised in a new york city housing project to the highest court in the land with several republicans, nine republicans joining democrats. the final vote was 68-31. a short time ago president obama said he was pleased by the senate vote. >> and with this historic vote, the senate has affirmed that judge sotomayor has the intellect, the temperament, the history, the integrity, and the independence of mind to ably serve on our nation's highest court. >> nbc's mike viqueira joins us live from the white house. mike, set the scene, how excited was the white house today and just set the overall mood for us there. >> reporter: i think they're very pleased. you saw the president come out and make a very brief statement in the diplomatic room on the first floor of the white house today where he made reference to that biography that you mentioned, david.

of course, sonia sotomayor up from a bronx housing project. they had diabetes at a young age. lost her father at a young age. wept on to princeton, yale law school, has served for years on the court after serving in other capacities as an attorney before going up to the federal bench. it is said by her supporters that she has more judicial experience than any previous nominee in american history, and the president says he is filled with pride at this achievement in reference to the fact that this is the first hispanic member of the united states supreme court, and she will begin her term -- actually she will sit on a case heard in september, an early case this year, and then on october 5th, the first monday in october, the traditional start of the next official term of the supreme court will find sonia sotomayor one of the nine supreme court justices. in terms of the politics of this, who are the winners, who are the losers, david? i think the nine republicans that voted for her, that is priced in. it pretty much unfolded as

expected. she split the difference between samuel alito, who got 58 votes in favor of his confirm ratiatid john roberts who got 78. sonia sotomayor getting 68. it's all academic at this point. as they say in washington these days, it's such a zero sum game, david, washington politics in our generation. a win is a win. this is certainly a win and the white house wasting no time in saying so. >> and, mike, they certainly need the win right now given that they're -- their approval ratings continue to slip. how important is getting her confirmed by the end of the summer, possibly lifting their political fortunes, how important is that? >> it's a welcome dose of good news. i think what you're starting to see in the economy is also something that's very welcome given the fact that the president and the administration's poll numbers on the handling of the deficit and the economy in particular has slipped quite dramatically as is his approval ratings which

incidentally remain above 50% in an area that's not cause for panic. certainly unlike the economy and the deficit. you have seen the president emphasizing the stimulus program, the effectiveness. he's claiming credit for it as is his visors, the green shoots in the economy. the gdp shrinking at a far slower rate while being careful to say unemployment remains very high and the unemployment figures we will see tomorrow morning from the department of labor expected to tick up yet again, david. >> nbc's mike viqueira at the white house. thanks for the report. >> certainly. >> david, in the bigger picture, the real impact behind this nomination and what it means for the future the court, the country, and hispanic americans. as their number and influence grows, can sotomayor's ascension to the court dramatically change the political dynamic from the smallest town to the halls of pow her in washington. here to talk but it is jose diaz

ballard. we had a conservative strategist who said it's a mistake to that i that the republican who voted against this nomination would somehow be punished by hispanic voters. is this something the hispanic community will pay attention to in that it is a first for this country? >> i think they will be paying attention to it, i don't know if it will be the most important issue they take into consideration. i think from now al the next elections how members of the house and of the senate act as far as immigration reform will be number one on the focus area of hispanics regardless of whether they're conservative or liberal, democrat or republican. as you say, this is a historic first. it's the first time that a hispanic woman, a hispanic at all, third time a woman, but the first time a hispanic is sent to the supreme court. it's a moment that galvanizes all the hispanic community. i think a lot of latinos have

raised questions about how she has stated her positions an how she feels about her perspectives, but the fact is all those issues are i think lessened by the fact that this is a first, and a first for latinos. let's really kind of remember if it weren't for the massive latino vote for president obama and against mccain, who until then had really had the ear of the hispanic community, i don't think barack obama would be in the white house. >> let me ask you, senator mccain, he's never voted against a nominee. he did today. we know he could face a tough race against a man in arizona who founded the militiamen. how does that play out in a race, for example, there, in arizona? >> well, that's a good question. i think it's a very fine line that senator mccain has been drawing because, you know, he's known in the past in the hispanic community as a leader in immigration reform. the presidential election kind of took all of that aura away

from mccain as far as the hispanic community is concerned. as with this vote the question is where does he stand vis-a-vis important issues facing the hispanic community. you know, i don't know. it's a very fine line he's been walking. >> jose, it's always a pleasure talking with you. great seeing you. >> pleasure, thanks. a big day and on saturday as pete williams pointed out, very unusual, we will see one of the swearing ins for judge sotomayor an incredible weekend. >> even know tnknow -- though t was not unexpected, to see the gavel coming down, it's such an incredible thing to watch and witness. fascinating stuff. we will stay on top of more of the reaction. tamron, those town hall meetings we've been talking about, it does seem they could now be getting even more confrontational. the afl-cio is reportedly

gearing up to go to war with the conservative protesters who are making things difficult for some element lawmakers. "the huffington post" reports the nation's biggest union wants to bring in their members to help counter the protests. a town hall last night with two arkansas senators, here is what happened when congressman schneider said he would not support a single payer insurance plan. >> that's what obama wants. >> no, it's not what president obama wants. >> yes, it is. >> so -- >> how about barney frank? >> and watch what happened when republican congressman todd akin mentioned his democrat colleagues nearly getting lynched at town halls. >> people from washington, d.c., have come back to their districts and have town hall meetings and they almost got lynched, and so -- [ applause ]

>> that's right. cheering at the idea that somebody might actually get lynched. well, one group of -- conservative group, americans for prosperity says this anger is not being manufactured here in washington by conservative groups. instead, they say this anger is real and widespread. joan walsh is the editor in chief for salon.com. what do you make of that claim that this is not manufactured, this is all just grassroots just springing up on its own. >> right. it's bogus. it's a completely bogus claim. we know. we have grover norquist and dick army's freedom works. we have the largest trade association of health insurance companies, sorry, who are produced -- and this isn't bad, but they're producing talking points and they're deliberately organizing to send people out into these town halls to -- they would say not to disrupt them but to ask questions. they are being disrupted. the other thing i think is not

kosher, as you heard in that one confrontation, well, obama supports single payer. he does not. the campaign combines both frenzy and lying so that you're getting a lot of misinformation about end of -- mandatory end of life counseling and glenn beck apparently was on tv today saying it's going to lead to murdering babies. i mean, it's so extreme and shrill and fact-free that it's disturbing. >> and i wonder, joan, if the political play is something like this. democrats want the debate right now to focus on the for-profit insurance companies who are making millions and the ceos who are making $10 million to $15 million a year. is this a way for republicans, conservatives, and perhaps even the insurance industry to distract from that debate and. >> insteaput it on process? >> that is the way they're changing the subject. let me be clear, they have a first amendment right and, you know, a debate could be a good

thing, but this is a debate that's fueled by misinformation, outright lying, and you're right, you know, 1,300 members of america's health insurance plans are actively organizing people to go in and confront these congress people with talking points that are false. >> joan, the folks over at americans for prosperity and a lot of other conservatives say that this is real anger, that, you know, these people aren't zombies. that they are listening to part of the argument, and this is the side they choose to be on. they're not paid to show up. you look at the audience, they look like average americans. >> well, it depends on -- you know, we're going to get in trouble if we talk about average americans because we don't really know who they are. you know, there was a woman holding a bible, you know. i'm a catholic. i have nothing against the bible, but there's a level of almost cult-like behavior here, and it's also -- it's being whipped up by fear. if these people are angry, it is really because they don't

understand what's in the bill. now, listen, i am not entirely sure either. there are competing bills. we don't know how it's going to come out, but we know it's not singer payer. we know that it's not going to mess with your health insurance if you have it and you like it. we know that it's not going to cause end of life counseling and withdrawal of end of life care. they're angry, but it's about false statements. >> joan walsh, editor in chief for salon.com. thanks so much for coming in and, tamron, you know, this is getting more tense and more confrontational. you can imagine -- >> i think the word is scary. i think, david, it's intense but it's also getting scary when you start hearing lynching and applause and you also hear -- and understandably the other side saying, well, then we're going to whip our people up into a frenzy to counter this. i do think some onus is on the white house that these are false facts or false information that's being passed along to these people. then that's why the white house over this recess really has to hammer home what is truth and help people understand so that the fear does not take over and

the ignorance does not prevail if that's what's happening here. >> indeed. absolutely right. up next, john edwards' former mystery -- mysteries. what i mean by mystery is why would she bring the baby to court. that's part of the mystery. rielle hunter testifying before the grand jury. could the former presidential candidate face criminal charges for misusing campaign funds? >> tamron, you're absolutely right, it is a mystery. plus, the nine lives of marion barry. from the stalking case to the drug arrest, how the d.c. politician has managed to stay on the public stage. he'll be joining us live. and the oscar goes to -- we're going to tell you about a police sting against this woman who they say tried to hire a hitman to kill her husband. it's caught on tape and what they're calling a performance will be shocking to you. to stay on top of my game after 50,

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the former mistress at the center of the john edwards sex scandal was in a federal courthouse in raleigh, north carolina, today. >> she was seen carrying her child into court with her, a child that john edwards denies is his. her court appearance comes as federal investigators look into the former presidential candidate's campaign finances. edwards has acknowledged he's under investigation over payments to hunter's production company. she produced videos for his campaign during his presidential run but has denied any wrongdoing. joining us over the phone is linda marie turassi news director for 1360 am. thanks for joining us, linda. >> thank you.

how are you? >> fantastic. what were the highlights from court today other than obviously the arrival of rielle hunter with this baby and many are speculateding on what message she was sending by showing up to court with the child. >> the name of the father -- the name of the child's father is not disclosed on the birth certificate, and not much has been mentioned about the father in recent cases recently, but she was escorted by two fbi agents around 8:30 a.m. this morning, and she was escorted by her new jersey lawyer. >> linda, what is the latest on the overall grand jury investigation? i think a lot of people knew there was this investigation into his finances, but it was a pretty big development for to us see rielle hunter there. what is the latest on where the investigation confirms? >> the u.s. attorney's office will not confirm or deny there is an investigation going on. but any time you're called in to present before the grand jury, it is a serious matter and a

huge step into an investigation over edwards' presidential campaign funds. >> what's been the latest from edwards' camp? we know he's acknowledged he's under investigation. what's been the latest from him? >> he has said and commented that he does feel confident that the investigation will be to his favor and that he does not admit any wrongdoing. >> linda, the witnesses before a grand jury are allowed to describe outside of the courthouse if they want what they were asked. did -- i assume we didn't hear from rielle hunter but did her lawyer make any comments? >> her lawyer has not made any comments, but some of the questions that will be asked are how much did you get paid? who did she get that money from? and for what purposes was that money received? >>. >> all right, we certainly appreciate you joining us. it wasn't long ago that we did the story on john edwards talking about a possible comeback, trying to figure out how he might be able to redeem his political career.

i don't think so this lingers, you can imagine it will be derailed. >> and, tamron, anytime -- grand juries sometimes look at things and think there's nothing there. for them to actually say we need live testimony from a witness, we need live testimony from somebody who was the former mistress. that's a big deal even as this investigation doesn't have legs. with he won't know, of course, for a while. still ahead, our "face-off" on the vote of judge sonia sotomayor. will it give president obama the boost some say he needs right now going into this august break? but first, the bizarre story, the weird resemblance between the late michael jackson and a 3,000-year-old egyptian statue. will everyone with constipation please report to gate 17? thank you so much. constipation's uncomfortable enough, so why take a harsh laxative? phillips' caplets work naturally with your colon...

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>> but, david, there are only a few story that is make us say -- >> no way! >> no way! >> i love that. we've all heard the story of the three bears, right? we're going to take a look at this trio that likes to visit this backyard in colorado. got a butt shot. they visited the house several times. it did. and like to get into all sorts of mischief, including eating out of the bird feeder. mama bear tags along as well. the owners have not called the division of wildlife because they don't want the cubs separated from their mom. but did we see three bears or just the one? >> i think we just saw one. never mind bears, there's nothing like a cute little baby, right? >> well, check out this. a newborn panda cub. watch. like a little lizard this. little one has quite the set of lungs. the cub was born at the san diego zoo yesterday and weighs

about four ounces and it's about the size of a stick of butter, which, of course, you can't see it because it's blocked by the mother. its black and white markings should show up in a month. we know a panda is not a bear, it's a marsupial, so don't send us e-mails on it. >> but it's not cute until it gets a little bigger. i like them once they get hair and fluffy, fur, whatever. michael jackson fans around the world have immortalized him many different ways, but were the ancient -- >> egyptians, right? >> yeah, were the ancient egyptians ahead of their time. an egyptian woman. it's on display at the chicago field museum. the bust is said to be 3,000 years old. some visitors say it's an uncanny resemblance to the king

of pop. what do you think? >> wow. tamron, i had a friend who claimed the bangles song, qua"w like an egyptian" somehow had a michael jackson reference. >> well, it looks like it. people ceceosececsee jesus in p toast. joe scarborough, he lets it rip on late night with jimmy fallon. plus the nine lives of marion barry. we'll have a live interview with the politician who is still in the public eye despite making headlines for what he would admit are all the wrong reasons. and the police sting of a woman who they say ordered a hit on her husband. you're watching "the big picture" on msnbc. (announcer) he's sweet. even with one third less sugar than soda. kool-aid. delivering more smiles per gallon.

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i'm mary thompson with your cnbc market wrap. stocks posting losses on wall street today with the dow dropping 24 points, the s&p 500

falling 5 and the nasdaq down nearly 20 points. oil prices dipped today on more evidence of consumer anxiety and growing crude supplies. that consumer anxiety is playing out on the back to school shopping season. retail sales fell 5% in july compared to this time last year. mall-based apparel stores were hardest hit. new numbers suggest the job market is gradually improving. new claims dropped more than expected to 550,000 for the week ending august 1st. analysts estimating claims would come in higher at 580,000. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide. now back to msnbc. >> welcome back. i'm tamron hall live in new york. >> i'm david shuster live in washington. the big picture this hour, the amazing saga of marion barry, who currently serves as a city council member.

he's now the subject of a new hbo documentary, the nine lives of marion barry. he first served as washington's mayor from 1979 to 1991. in 1990 he was the target of a high-profile sting operation and crack cocaine arrest. he was convicted and served six months in prison but was still elected to the city council in 1992. then in 1994 he was elected to mayor again. ♪ >> if marion barry can do it, he can get up off its knees and raise up and believe in itself again, and bring us out of where we are right now again. >> it was like he was doing a movie and you'd say, that really didn't happen, but it did happen. >> it did and soon after his

1994 election as mayor, mr. barry was treated successfully for prostate cancer and did not run for another term in 1998. in 2004 he was elected again to the city council. since then he's pleaded guilty to failing to file a 2005 tax return and was sentenced to three years probation. he tested positive for cocaine and marijuana during mandatory drug testing. prosecutors tried to revoke his probation and send him to prison. he also fought a drunk driving charge and just last month his ex-girlfriend claimed he was stalking her but the charges have been dropped. oh, he also had a kidney transplant earlier this year. >> an incredible story, david. the bigger picture, the rides a -- rise and fall of marion barry. joining us is marion barry himself and the co-director. nine liferves is that enough?

>> i have had over 50 years of public service, over 35 years in d.c. government, mayor 16 years, and city council about 12 years, and so 9 lives probably expands from march 6th, 1936, when i was born in the cotton fields of mississippi to mayor and city council. i think nine lives is an appropriate title. >> why tell the story now? >> it's been in the makings for a long time. dana is to be congratulated. she started in 2001. had some stops and starts. trying to market it here and there. most people know me outside of washington with 30-second sound bites or 15-second sound bites. >> you're one of those people who believe you've been misunderstood? >> not misunderstood, misreported, and this documentary attempts to tell the real side of marion barry. it has some ups and downs in it,

and i'm just glad we were able to at least let the nation see the real marion barry, the compassionate marion barry, the hard working heron barry, the successful marion barry. >> you had somebody in a clip who said you basically can't make this up. i know mr. barry talks about some ups and downs. some people would say solid downs and solid ups. >> it's an amazing story. he comes from the cotton fields of mississippi and he has some incredible ups. he was successful in his first term of mayor and then he reached the bottom and then he got up again. that resonates with a lot of people, his ability to put himself back together again and get up when he's been knocked down. >> so many people will never forget 1990, the grainy video of you being arrested for crack, and you saying that blankety bank blank blank set me up.

>> the fbi spent $40 million trying to entrap me, looking into my mail, and they had the sting at the vista hotel, 14 charges, and i was not convicted of not one charge and so the federal government ought to be embarrassed that they would spend all that kind of money doing that and it was by a witness who had been given immunity and that's it. >> but do you acknowledge you did anything wrong that night? >> no. the only thing i did wrong was going to the hotel room. >> with a woman who wasn't your wife. >> of course. >> obviously people are fascinated by your story, but is this though a story about ownership? i think that's what david was trying to get to in that you can look at it and blame a lot of people but did you -- you see the video of the

african-american voters who supported you. do you feel at any point you let people down? >> let me say this, i have had 50 years of service. and that situation is but a sliver of my life. if the media were to report accurately all the kinds of things i have done in terms of fighting for civil rights and et cetera and the fact that what you ought to be reporting is the fbi spent 25 or $40 million. that's what they did and came up zero, zero, zero. i take responsibility for that which i do such as my taxes. i'm paying the price. they're taking it right out of my check, over 30-some thousand dollars a year, but for those people who are barry haters and detractors and et cetera, again, this movie begins to put it in perspective. even this interview does that. washington is not nearly the same. i made a lot of black people

fairly rich, including bob johnson of b.e.t. if i had not been in office bob johnson would not have gotten a contract. >> i'm sure you haven't worked with a more fascinating individual as this one. marion barry, dana ford, thank you both again. "the nine lives of marion barry" premieres next week. thank you very much. a 26-year-old florida woman is behind bars. this is an hbo documentary, too, waiting to happen. >> this woman is accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill her husband. she's also accused of essentially putting on an oscar-winning performance when she was told her husband was dead. dahlia sobbed uncontrollably, but her husband was not dead. it turns out the hit man that she allegedly tried to hire was an undercover cop. police then set up a fake crime scene. >> here is a woman who is saying

she's 5000% sure she wants to pay for her husband to be killed and then at the scene you have a woman who is sobbing uncontrollably because she's just learned her husband is dead. >> she insists she's still innocent. >> i didn't do anything and i didn't plot anything. >> gosh. >> police say she had agreed to pay $3,000 once the hit was finished. nbc's mark potter is in miami with more on this story. mark, take it away, amazing. >> reporter: yeah, it is amazing. it's really hard to believe. police say they first heard about this last friday from a confidential informant who told them that this woman was looking for someone to kill her husband. they were able to place a so-called hit man into the scene how was a boynton beach police

officer. police say she was actually willing to pay a total of $4,200 for the hit, the $3,000 to the hit man, another $1,200 up front and to pay for the gun. she said she was 5000% sure she wanted to do this. she said it was something that would make her very happy. the one person who is not so sure about why this happened is her husband, who was alerted by police. he was not hurt. he says he just doesn't know why his wife would want him dead. >> i feel a little bad, but i mean there's no reason she had to do this, you know. she was well off. she could have just left and did just as well by leaving. >> reporter: now, his wife of just six months was in court today. she faces charges of solicitation to commit first degree murder. a judge told her, however, she could get out of jail. she has to post a $25,000 bond and wear a court monitoring device and stay inside her

mother's house. we understand that process is for her release is under way right now. her attorney says that when the time comes, she will plead not guilty. back to you. >> wow. all right, mark. what a story. this reaction caught on tape makes it just incredible. thank you very much. david, i can't tell you how many times when i was a general assignment report, people always end up hiring cops. >> what is it about the hit squads and those cops. >> they all turn out to be undercover police officers. >> up next, today's face-off. will some republicans regret voting no on judge sotomayor's historic nomination. plus our interview with the queen bee of the birth organization make it is to funny or die. you don't want to miss it. this is the big picture on msnbc. these days, wouldn't it be great if saving money happened

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welcome back to "the big picture." it's time for today's "face-off." the historic confirmation of judge sonia sotomayor. >> it not only gives president obama a big win, but it raises serious questions for republicans, david, who voted against sotomayor. can the gop regain majorities in congress and win back the white house without the support of a growing hispanic population? listen to what robert menendez

of new jersey had to say about it. >> to say that you cannot vote for this qualified latina to be on the united states supreme court sends a message to us as a community that we will not forget. >> we're here to face-off with julian epstein, former chief democratic counsel to the house judiciary committee and doug hie who serveds a communications director for michael steele's campaign. doug, we heard from senator menendez. will there be a price to pay, if you will, if i can put it this way, for voting against sotomayor? >> yeah, i think it's really unfortunate to see identity politics coming in on such an important vote. you know, i worked in the senate for senator richard burr of north carolina during the time of john roberts and samuel alito's confirmations trying to organize some of the freshmen. what we saw are more republicans voted for sotomayor than democrats voted for sam alito. what they did was they stuck to

their principles. when democrats tried to -- >> do you see identity politics in the equation? >> but i think the irony is the republicans are the ones that made this the identity politic game. the republicans had no message during the confirmation hearings. what they talked about constantly was the wise latina comment and they paraded the connecticut firefighters behind her at the hearing. so the republicans are the ones that seem overly consumed with the race issue. they didn't seem to have any other message or any other reason for voting against her, and this really came down to a war within the republican party where 25% of the republican senators sided with the moderates, but 75% of the republicans really sided with the rush limbaugh side of the party, and i think not only is this bad for republican prospects in terms of trying to change the demographics, which are increasingly moving against them. this is another issue the republicans had no compelling reason for voting the way they

were voting. >> i think there were real reasons. republicans kept asking the question about the wise latina comment because they never got a full answer. if they had gotten a full answer, perhaps that might have changed things. certainly republicans have had problems appealing to certain groups but you're not going to appeal to any group whether it's african-americans, hispanic-americans or anybody else by selling out your principles. voters don't respect that. >> but it was the fact that the republicans seem to harp on such an insignificant thing, the wise latina comment, when sam alito had made similar comments and didn't have much else to do to go after her in the hearing. so they're the ones that elevated race much more so than the democrats did. >> again -- >> i want to move on and talk about the way this is playing out. now that this is off the table for sotomayor, the big debate of course, health care reform and the president's policies. the tensions, both of you know, have been ratcheting up to perhaps even a dangerous level at some of these town halls where democrats are trying to

talk to the congressmen. constituents show up and want to shout it down. it seems to be inspired in part by some republicans in washington but also, doug, rush limbaugh in his radio show today described barack obama as -- he compared him to adolf hitler and said the democratic party was like the nazi party. is that appropriate? >> well, i didn't listen to what rush said so i can't comment on that. what i will tell you is we've heard a lot of carping from the democrats about organizations opposing this. the democrat national committee put out a web ad yesterday and a statement criticizing organizations. at lunchtime i got an e-mail from president obama for organize america. >> but isn't calling -- julian, there's a lot of conservative websites running essentially a shot of president obama where he looks like heath ledger, the joker from "batman" and it says socialism. he has sort of a white scary face s that appropriate? does that cross the line?

>> well, again, i think there are crazies in both parties. i think the problem is in the republican party the crazies have gained a little too much legitimacy, and i think that there's nothing wrong with conservatives going and petitioning the grassroots. there's nothing wrong with the health insurance industry petitioning the grassroots for their point of view. i think the democrats will beat them at the game because they're better organized. at the end of the game the public will decide. we have a health care crisis where health care is going to start consuming $1 out of every $3 at the current rate. tens of millions of people will be uninsured. democrats have a reasonable answer. republicans have no answer to that. >> that's not true. >> republicans have no answer, no affirmative policy. they're dr. no. >> senator richard burr and senator tom coburn introduced legislation in the senate. paul ryan introduced legislation in the house. >> great talking with you both. we certainly appreciate it. >> thank you.

>> thanks for having us. up next, things we thought you should know, david. >> that's right. joe scarborough plays guitar, and some former gitmo detainees playing golf. on "hardball" chris matthews takes a look at president obama's drop in the polls. you're watching "the big picture." mr. evans? this is janice from onstar. i have received an automatic sigl you've been in a front-end crash. do you need help? yeah. i'll contact emergency services and stay with you. you okay? yeah. onstar. standard for one year on 14 chevy models. what do you say to a spin around the color wheel? to paint with primer already mixed in? test samples instead of can commitments? what do you say we dip into our wallets less

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tamron, there's a lot going on today. here are a few things we thought you should know. >> from gitmo to golf. four muslims from china who were once confined at guantanamo bay detention center are now living and working in bermuda.

they're sprucing things up at an oceanside government course for the pga grand slam of golf. the uighurs who were relocated to the island in june were hired on a temporary basis after five workers quit there. >> i guess it's nice they have a job. good for them. hosting "morning joe" isn't joe scarborough's only tal leen. check out this jam session. >> romeo addresses he was ready to kill. ♪ he couldn't sit still ♪ waiting with a safety net ♪ i'm not dead yet >> wow. he's got a nice singing voice. and he gets to perform with the group. that's awesome sgro. >> pretty cool. finally, it appears our and it belongs to us now, david, it's a part of our history, it's a memorable interview with orly

taitz, the leader of the birther movement, and that interview has taken on a new whole life of its own. at least two spoofs have apparently popped up on the internet. it's gone viral, baby, viral. first take a look at what funnyordie.com did with our interview, david. >> let me explain. you are -- they are sick of the lies coming from the mainstream media. ♪ >> you don't understand how much patience we've had for you. >> okay. >> the cat's jumpsuit is awesome. salon.com took it a step further by turning us all into cartoon characters and adding a few comments at the top. check it out. >> the only one that are on the fringe are obama's brown shirts in the media that insults

people -- >> name one. obama's brown shirts, you're referring -- you're making a reference to nazi germany and to a lot of us who lost relatives in the holocaust it's deeply, deeply offense. >> okay. you're behavior has been offensive. you and tamron hall are behaving in an offensive manner. >> tamron, they have your part on the wrong side and my shoulders are not like this. >> okay. i'm falling asleep. i look peppermint patty. then i wake up when she says my name. i go what? >> from now on i have to do all the news -- i am always going to do it like this. those ar few things we thought you should know, tamron. >> what? >> all right. moving on. in the past week the obama administration has had some relatively good economic news to

tout. last week's gross domestic product numbers were better than expected and cash for clunkers has appeared to be a shot in the arm for the ailing car industry, but the good news could come to an end tomorrow. >> let's go to our next read on politics. mark murray is deputy political director for nbc news. we saw a laundry list of things. what was not included, some slipping numbers in new polls out there for the president. >> exactly. obviously, the polls haven't been that great for president obama, and it looks like tomorrow's big political story won't be great for him as well. the big news will be the bureau of labor statistic, labor department, jobs report for july. currently unemployment is at 9.5%. everyone is expecting it to actually increase. the question is whether it gets to that big 10% figure. also, wurp we were talking about the cash for clunkers. the vote for that will be later tonight. it will be expected it will be added to about $2 billion to

that program that's been pretty successful so far. and then finally tomorrow will be the senate's last day before embarking on its recess. month-long through august, it's recess time. >> mark, i have to ask you a serious question. that animation that we saw, does it look anything, anything at all like tamron hall and david shuster? >> not at all. it looked kind of like you but it did not look like tamron at all. i actually demand that they redo something to actually make tamron look as attractive as she is on camera and in person, but that did not do any justice at all. >> that was very sweet of you. i do think they had the hair spot on. >> but i do like that cat. and we should probably make that maybe a regular part of this program. >> they had the rally monkey. they even had monkey kicking sock. let's book that cat. >> mark, thanks as always. we appreciate it. tamron, great show. >> as always, david, thank you

very much. it's always a pleasure. that does it for the big picture. up next, "hardball" with chris matthews. a month of troubles. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. leading off tonight, the dangers of august. if february is the cruelest month, this one is no day at the beach. for barack obama this august could be the month of storms. his approval numbers are dropping as the health care debate grows hot. the president's 50% approval rating is down seven points in a month now to his lowest mark yet. other polls have obama higher, but the pattern is definitely downwards everywhere. will this be the month the health care debate and worries about the economy sink the president's approval number below 50% or can he rally against his opponents and make the sale?

things got a lot uglier with rush limbaugh comparing nancy pelosi and the democrats to the nazis. that comes on top of those anti-obama town hall that is featured at least one person carrying a sign that accused obama of having a nazi-style health plan. >> just say no! just say no! just say no! just say no! >> this is a well-organized set of protests. those mob scenes are supported in part by a group called freedom works, and today the afl-cio, the labor organization announced it's going to send people to town halls as well to confront the anti-obama teams. we have organizers on both sides tonight to show the fight right here on the set. plus, the battle for america. the story of the most exciting presidential election of our times. why did ted kennedy break with the clintons and support obama. who played race in this fight and who had it played against them? and why did john mccain go with sarah palin. the