and far fewer than the nearly 700,000 jobs a month that we were losing at the beginning of the year. today we're pointed in the right direction. we're losing jobs at less than half the rate we were when i took office. >> but republicans are focusing on those jobs lost in july. in a statement rnc chairman michael steele said in the month of july alone 247,000 americans lost their jobs, which means more than 2.8 million americans have lost their jobs since the president took office. the president said his stimulus bill would keep unemployment from rising higher than 8%. it hasn't. but today the white house said it still expects the unemployment rate to hit 10%. and while president obama now owns the economy, he's not been reluctant to constantly remind everyone that he inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit and an economy in a free fall. the question is though how much longer can he blame his predecessor for the current economic situation? nbc's mike viqueira joins us now

from the white house with all the answers, as always. so, mike, we'll start with that. how much longer can he go back and be referring to president bush? >> you know, it's interesting with all the good -- i guess good economic news, we can go ahead and call it now that we had last friday with the gdp report as the president himself mentioned today in the rose garden, today's unexpected news that the unemployment rate dropped 0.1%, i think the white house is eager to get out there and point out these things are happening and they're not bashful about the fact that while the claim that the stimulus package, which has caused them so much political heartache now, the numbers of the polls going down in terms of the american's approval of the president's handling of the economy and the deficit, republicans getting traction and criticizing him about the stimulus program and a perceived lack of effectiveness, white house not shy about saying the stimulus is in fact in large of a lot of this. robert gibbs summed it up. i think the president has had a pretty good week.

i think we'll take this week, but in all the public commentary we've seen today from the administration, always very careful to talk about the jobs numbers, setting that bar of expectations very high, still maintaining it is likely to go above 10% before all is said and done. always reminding us it's a lagging indicator no matter how much the economy is growing. interesting on the part of robert gibbs, the rate of decline continues to improve with one line and this is the least bad report we've had in a while. so take it for what it's worth, monica. >> this has been such a theme for several months now. it's like you get another economic indicator and we'll hear, well, it's bad news but not as bad as we thought so we'll call it good news. my favorite line of the day, mike, comes from former dnc committee communications director karen finney on politico. she says obama has to talk the fine line between explaining and complaining. >> that's exactly right. we should mention one caveat to all of this, and it's something republicans have not been

bashful about pointing out today, is that the reason -- one of the reasons why these job numbers ticked down a little bit, the unemployment rate ticked down, is because a lot of people have simply given up and they're not being counted as job seekers and that contributed somewhat to the fact that the unemployment rate actually decreased in this last month of july. >> yeah. good point. all right, mike viqueira, thanks, as always. >> certainly. monica, the anger, despite the good economic news, there's still all that anger over health kab a care and it's reaching a fever pitch just as congress heads home for their summer recess. now it was tampa, florida, last night and a crowd attempting to get into a packed meeting which turned into a shoving match with some people being forced out. watch what happens in missouri.

>> you're going to jail! >> that became a street fight. it broke out near st. louis following yet another contentious town hall held by congressman russ carnahan. joining us live from studio here in washington is democratic congressman jim moran who said he's looking forward to his upcoming meetings. if you get a bunch of people who try to shout you down, what are you going to do? >> i think we can deal with it. frankly, i would pit my liberals against their conservatives any day, but also we have some benef benefit. fact that all we have to do is stick to the facts. i think our motivation is stronger, we're really motivated out of compassion for the people who are uninsured and fiscal responsibility, and i think that trumps greed and partisanship.

>> but it somebody interrupts you and won't let you explain and they keep shouting and screaming, how do you react? >> i've been in politics for 30 years. i think we can control the microphones. i want to let -- i want to hear them out and let them speak even if they're shouting at us, but they can't control the town hall meeting. you know, the purpose of these is to get the facts out, to hear other people's point of view, but it really ought to be a reflective point of view and talk about what we can do to make the bill better rather than simply trying to shout my colleagues down who are simply trying to explain what it is we're trying to do, why we're trying to do it and listen for suggestions on how we can do it better. this is a great opportunity to make a better bill and one that's more representative of what the people want, but it unfortunately is being used as an opportunity to kill any

progress on health reform. >> what do you make of the groups, the republican operatives who are helping to sort of fuel this stuff and, secondly, you start to see the swastikas and the nazi comparisons. we know that threats to president obama are up by like 400% compared to the bush administration. is this putting our president in some sort of danger because of some wacko that will see this stuff and say, oh, yes, it's fas simple and the way we dealt with hitler was to kill him so let's do this with our president. >> it only took one person to shoot ronald reagan and jack kennedy and so on but i think the secret service can be trusted to protect the president. it does discredit the people who are using such extreme measures to achieve an objective which is really corporate profit. many of them, not all of them, but many of them are being driven by these industries making billions of dollars off the current system so they can

afford to pay the lobbyists who organize this allegedly grassroots effort which much of it is really being organized out of washington. i think the people who belong in those town hall meetings, who live in those neighborhoods will understand that right away. i think this whole effort will backfire. bi by the end of the month i think you will see a turnaround in public opinion. they're discrediting themselves. risch lum b ris rush limbaugh has an audience who likes to listen to that kind of -- let me not characterize rush limbaugh, but it's becoming more and more limited audience. i think the vast majority of the american people want something done. they know we're trying to do the right thing, and they certainly don't want this country to be guided by the likes of rush limbaugh and that kind of nonsensical rhetoric. >> congressman, you mentioned your decades of experience in

washington. it seems to be your sense by what i'm hearing that you do not believe then that this is a grassroots effort, that you believe this is being orchestrated. who do you think is behind it all? >> i think the industries that have benefitted from the status quo, some of the insurance companies, certainly some of the very conservative groups who don't want change. they're opposed to government involvement. now -- and it's easy for the american people to pick up on that. in fact, i have had people say to me, keep the government off my medicare. well, of course, medicare is run by the government as is medicaid and the veterans administration. i can't imagine any veteran who wouldn't want the health care system they have, and yet some of them are afraid of what we're trying to do. we're trying to make health care affordable for everybody, and president obama has insisted that we use the private sector, that we not nationalize health

insurance. he doesn't believe in socialism. he believes in perfecting the system that we have and speaker pelosi has insisted we stick to the facts. don't embellish them. just make it clear to the american people what we're doing and why. >> congressman jim moran, democrat of virginia. thanks so much. when you have those town halls we will be there with cameras. we'll be eager to see your reaction and the reaction of your staff if someone tries to mess with you. thanks for coming on today. we appreciate it. monica, i don't think anybody wants to mess with this guy. >> no, no, definitely not. definitely not, david. all right, a family spokesman says eunice kennedy shriver is in critical condition. spokesman steven rivers said friday that the 88-year-old sister of president john f. kennedy is surrounded by her family at a cape cod hospital. he says her husband, children, and all of her grandchildren are by her side. shriver is renowned in her own right for founding the special olympics. monica, when we come back

here on the big picture, sex scandals and politicians. things are about to get a bit lonely for south carolina governor mark sanford and could john edwards be facing criminal charges? plus, congress criticized the big three automakers for taking jets to d.c. so why are they, the lawmakers, about to spend more than a half billion dollars on a new fleet? that's in your face-off. and taking out the taliban. was the taliban's number one taken out in a u.s. air strike by predator drones? we'll be right back on msnbc.

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monica, the temperature is

heating up. it's sizzling, and the perfect time to get carried away by summer love. >> i had no idea you were such a romantic, david. >> yes, carried away by love, but not so much for two women at the center of this season's steamiest political sex scandals. john edwards former mistress spotted by cameras carrying her baby to court in the midst of a probe into edwards' finances. south carolina's first lady jenny sanford today carrying boxes as she moves out of the governor's mansion. with us now live, politicos a andy bar. andy, good to see you. i hear your pumped up and ready to talk. let's start with rielle hunter. she spent nine hours in the federal courthouse. grand jury investigations are sealed, of course, but we assume she was testifying, right? >> that's right. they're looking into whether the $100,000 the campaign paid her as a videographer matches up

with the going rate for that kind of thing. trying to gauge whether some hush money might have been involved. >> we're looking at the shot right there, and i think it was the first time and everyone sort of gasped in the newsroom, that baby, the first time we saw that baby. what was she thinking? why brung that baby? that was not an accident clearly. >> no. surely not an accident. of course, that was the thing we were all talking about. that photo spread around very quickly. very few people even mentioning that yesterday were talking about the grand jury. it was just the photo of the baby, almost like a celebrity sighting. very interesting yesterday. >> very interesting. all right, any new details about the investigation into john edwards' finances? you mentioned it before. there are potentially charges that could be filed here. >> right. potentially charges could be filed. they're still doing that grand jury investigation. we'll have to wait for the result on that. >> andy, i have to ask you now about jenny sanford because i think there's sort of a link.

i sort of have this theory that john edwards former mistress was maybe sending some kind of signal by not getting a babysitter and bringing the baby. you have to wonder if jenny sanford -- she knows the camera is there. she's carrying some things out themselves. the sanford family just came back from two weeks' vacation. what do you make of what's going on with that family? >> it was some interesting theories especially with rielle hunter. they just got back from two weeks. sanford's first day back as governor was thursday. none of us know what happened on that vacation, but clearly there was some decision made. both the governor and the first lady say they're staying together. she and the four sons are moving to charleston, which is a change for them. all four of the kids are enrolled in private school in columbia right now. they're moving the kids along with the wife down to their home in charleston. >> i was going to ask, any political fallout?

governor sanford has some time left in office. what do republicans do with him now? >> the interesting thing about the political fallout is that jenny sanford is really the one who kind of put an end to any calls for his resignation. you remember there are tons of republicans, state legislators, calling for him to resign. about half the senate and half the house there calling on him to resign. she was going around and personally calls those lawmakers to put an end to it. she saved his political skin. it's interesting to see her moving out. >> as david mentioned, very publicly so. the camera shot we're seeing is of her just walking out there. are also some photographs where she's carrying boxes, something that professional movers clearly could have done. this is a woman who has not been quiet throughout. she's come out at certain points. i just wonder if she's not trying to make a point there. andy barr, thank you. >> you make the perfect point

because she -- she was the one that was key to the initial story that she didn't know where he was, that he wasn't perhaps on the appalachian trail. most of us would think we get the movers, especially -- unless you want to send a signal. >> and walk out after dark with the family when we're not caught on camera. gro questi i don't question her mow sifs but i think a conscious decision was made either way. >> i'm with you. you're going to love these next stories coming up. >> a ufo sighting on a bbc broadcast. hmm. let's take a look at this. the world's biggest matzo ball. >> what do you do with that? we'll tell you. we'll be right back. 90s slacke. ♪ singer: buckle up, everybody 'cause we're taking a ride ♪ ♪ that can strain your relationships and hurt your pride ♪ 90s slacke. ♪ s♪ it's the credit rollerody 'cause wecoaster ♪g a ride ♪ ♪ and as you can see it kinda bites! ♪ ♪ so sing the lyrics with me: ♪ when your debt goes up your score goes down ♪

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there are a lot of things that could be considered news in

this world. >> but there are only a few story that is make us say -- >> uncle david, no way. >> if you love soup, grab a spoon and check out the world's largest matzo ball. it weighs more than 250 pounds. it was created to promote an upcoming charity basketball game between the new york knicks and a team from tel aviv. it takes 200 pounds of matzo meal, 80 pounds of margarine and 1,000 eggs. it was donated to a local soup kitchen. what the heck did they do with it there? >> there was a lot of guilt there with grandma saying, what, you don't like my cooking? a flying image spotted during a bbc morning show has people talking ufos, and that's not the ufo. that's the flying man, but maybe we'll get the right video. >> there it is.

>> there we go. check out the speeding object that seems to pass under the arch of new castle's millennium bridge before vanishing at the top of the screen. ufo investigators say they've ruled out it's a bird and say it's a genuine mystery. ufo, monica. >> i don't know. all right, a british teacher has take pen on a high flying adventure in an attempt to fly his flake across britain. >> that is not a ufo? >> that's not a ufo. according to his website, it's a hybrid between a lightweight tricycle and a paraglider canopy. it travels at 30 miles per hour. it can reach an altitude of 7,500 feet and can go for 2.5 hours on a full tank of fuel. he took off from lands end in england on wednesday. he hopes to get to scotland. i'll tell you how to get there,

drive. that cannot be safe. >> if any of us see that thing at night or hear that thing at night, we're going to think, oh, my god, it's a ufo. >> i don't believe. you don't believe. i don't believe that you believe. >> when we come back, why the united states is no longer fighting the war on terror. plus, a very serious story. the town halls on health care turn ugly. protesters taking their anger to another level. now the police are getting involved. and the lighter moments of secretary of state hillary clinton's trip to africa. >> look at that. who knew? it's something we thought you should know. we'll be right back on msnbc. mr. evans? this is janice from onstar. i have received an automatic signal you've been in a front-end crash. do you need help? yeah. i'll contact emergency services and stay with you.

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welcome back to the big picture. i'm david shuster here in washington, and what a day this

has been. the big picture at this hour, it is official, the u.s. is no longer engaged in what they're calling a war on terrorism. neither is the united states fighting jihadists. in a speech, president obama's top homeland security and counterterrorism official john brennan officially declared terms crafted by the bush administration unacceptable. >> the president does not describe this as a war on terrorism. that is because terrorism is but a tactic, a means to an end. likewise, the president does not describe this as a global war. describing our efforts as a global war only plays into the warped narrative that al qaeda propagates. nor does president obama see this challenge as a fight against jihadists. describing terrorists in this way, using a legitimate term as jihad, with i means to purify one's self, risks giving these murderers the religious legitimate si they desperately

seek but in no way deserve. it risks reinforcing the idea that the united states is somehow at war with islam itself. >> brannon declared it is now solely a war with al qaeda. and now, david, to the bigger picture, it is believed one of the world's most wanted terrorists is dead. both the u.s. and pakistan believe a u.s. drone missile attack on wednesday killed the taliban's top commander in pakistan along with his wife and other family members. baitullah mehsud was public enemy number one in pakistan. he's blamed for a wave of suicide attacks and assassinations that have killed at least 1,200 people. they include the last year's bombing of the marriott hotel in islamabad and the 2007 assassination of former prime minister benazir bhutto. robert gibbs just said that the u.s. cannot verify mehsud is dead. we're joined by terrorism analyst bob windrem. bob gibbs also said if this is true, if it is confirm, that the

pakistanis are much safer. >> absolutely, and actually, monica, so is the united states because one of the last things that mehsud did was threaten attacks within the united states. so as someone said to me yesterday within the intelligence community, this is a man with pakistani blood on his hands. this is a man with american blood on his hands. this is a man who killed benazir bhutto and most important to the united states, threatened attacks on the u.s. so his departure was well-received in both countries. >> what are you hearing about confirmation? will we get confirmation? we spoke with richard engel on the ground in kabul and he said at this point there was no body, but again the thought was that the taliban was not lying here. >> well, certainly the pakistani authorities have said within the last few hours that they intend to go in and see what they can get and hopefully perhaps within a couple of weeks get the actual final proof. it should be noted that mehsud's

brother is at guantanamo bay, so they would have access to dna that would prove this, and certainly this is somebody who they're willing to wait to get the absolute final answer on. >> what does this mean for the taliban in pakistan going forward? >> well, it depends on what the next level of leadership is. i mean, what happened in iraq when we killed zarqawi was there were a number of u.s. and iraqi efforts at that point to take advantage of the death and it succeeded. the question is whether they're able to move quickly, and it appears they are ready, as one u.s. official said to me this afternoon, this is not merely a great victory. this is a great opportunity. >> bob, i wonder if you could talk about the predator drone technology that's being used, and i assume it was being used in this case and how much better they're getting at this. >> well, certainly the predators are better armed. it used to be they would come in with one hell fire missile.

now, i believe, they have as many as six on some of these. they can also bring in multiple predators. if there's a major target, you will see multiple predators come in and fire multiple weapons. but what's interesting about this, david, is where these decisions are actually made. i mean, these decisions are made in a place that you wouldn't expect them, the sixth floor of the central intelligence agency at the global operations center. that's where this takes place. >> and, bob, i wanted to ask following up on that, i'm looking at some of your notes earlier that you had passed along, that more than 300 pakistanis have been killed this year alone. so this is by no means foolproof. >> no, the question is how many of those were innocent. how many of those were militants. and that is a very difficult thing to determine. in some cases if you attack a camp and kill 45, is that a

problem or is that 45 people who were essentially part of the al qaeda effort? >> bob, interesting stuff, and thank you so much. nbc's bob wood re the idea somebody in a far off place is controlling these drones and they're so powerful, it's just amazing. >> to be so far away to keep our soldiers out of harm's way is certainly worth it. we have breaking news we want to report to you. this is coming from pbo.com. according to an autopsy report released today, billy mays' cocaine use they're saying contributed to the cause of his death. now, the pitch man had last used cocaine according to this report days prior to his death. he died from heart disease you will remember. it's still listed as the primary cause of death, but cocaine use

was reportedly listed as a contributary cause of death for billy mays. we'll have more on that as it comes. after the break, congress' fleet of planes about to get an upgrade. >> why lawmakers are spending a half a billion dollars for the new wheels and wings. our political strategists will face-off over this and also over the hitler language coming from rush limbaugh and that is popping up at some of the town halls that are being interrupted. where is all of this leading us? you're watching "the big picture" on msnbc. your cnbc market wrap. the dow picked up 113 points, the s&p added 13 points, and the nasdaq gained 27 points. aig is reporting its first quarterly profits since 2007. the troubled insurance giant says it made $1.8 billion in the second quarter. "the new york times" has confirmed it's looking to sell

"the boston globe." the globe lost $50 million in 2008. the times said the paper was on track to lose $85 million this year prior to union concessions. some twitter uses are facing a new round of outages this time due to defensive measures the networking site took against a cyber attack they had. that attack knocked out service to more than 30 million users. ( upbeat music playing ) 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 and grab a hold of the latest tools out there so we can quit all that messing around with extra steps and get busy turning our doing dials up a notch?

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welcome back to the big picture. here are some of the headlines we're watching right now. a law enforcement official says dr. conrad murray administered multiple sedatives to michael jackson in the hours before his death. dr. murray told the investigators were within normal medical guidelines. another arrest in connection with the murder of a florida couple that has 17 children. 61-year-old henry tice is charged with grand theft from the business owned by byrd billings, the husband and father who was murdered. the two american journalists freed from north korea are readjusting to life with their families. speaking on "today" lisa ling said her sister, laura, is recovering. >> she's quite weak, and she's exhausted, and because she would literally go weeks without talking to anybody because even though there were two guards posted in her room at all times, they didn't speak any english, so there would go days just in

near silence. >> ling also said her sister and colleague euna lee did briefly touch north korean soil before they were captured. well, town hall meetings on health care reform are starting to resemble hockey games, as you know. anger and misinformation lead to shouting matches and even unbelievably violence. >> that's right, monica. it's the subject of today's face-off. it has some supporters of president obama asking why he's not doing more to fight back on an issue he says is so important. here is face-off are mark walsh and alex. i want to start with you, alex on the protests. here is what paul krugman wrote today in "the new york times." they're probably reacting less to what mr. obama is doing or even to what they've heard about what he's doing than to who he is. that is the driving force behind the town hall mobs, probably the same cultural and racial anxiety that's behind the birther

movement. your reaction? >> i don't know. i wonder how many folks paul krugman actually went out and met with before he wrote that. i think it's unfair to take a couple examples -- isolated examples shall -- >> these are happening every day. >> and the democrats and this network are more than happy to demonstrate those examples while o ignoring the larger debate. >> if i'm interrupting you, and i know how frustrating it is when i interrupt you, imagine what it's like when you have a town hall and you can't get a word in. how can you possibly have a debate when people aren't allowed to have a rational discussion? >> i don't think that's what's happening out in the real world. the congressmen are able to go meet with their constituents. the majority of their constituents are against the health care reform ideas that

they're hearing coming out of the white house and out of washington, d.c., out of the congress. the white house is losing -- >> mark walsh, let's let you in here. mark, take it away. >> first -- >> i want to play for you rush limbaugh comparing the oaks to nazis. >> they accuse us of being a nazis and obama has a health care logo that's right out of adolf hitler's playbook. now, what are the similarities between -- >> and he goes on. mark, is it ever appropriate to -- look i don't think rush limbaugh really believes this, but the fuel he's throwing on the fire out there, does it have you concerned or do you think this is just sort of a political game? >> no, i think the irony meter is pegged at ten for two reasons. number one, the people interrupting are screaming the phrase, this is america, which i find so ironic because the

america i know they would let people have civil discourse. the irony meter hits ten when asked, people say keep your government hands out of my medicare. a government-run program. so the people in these rooms, often they are recruited by outside interests, are there to shout down and deny civil discourse over this conversation. alex is incorrect. the majority of american people want some kind of program with a third party guarantee insurer. that's incorrect for alex to say america does not want a change in the program. >> no, the more that the m.a.s. american people hear about what the democrats are proposing, the less they like that. that's why the democrats ever so eager to highlight all these distractions and they want us on tv talking about rush limbaugh and a handful of bad actors out there when ignoring the larger debate over what we should do with the health care system. >> alex, wouldn't you agree that the debate is not going on because these shout downs? >> absolutely not.

i think in congress the debate is certainly going on. republicans are offering lots of ideas. the democrats aren't listening -- >> alex, what about the debate at the town halls? >> i think congressmen are holding these town halls so they can hear from their constituents. >> but why do the town halls now look like an episode of jerry springer? >> i think the democrats are highlighting a few bad examples. there are a majority of americans who are opposed to what the democrats are proposing right now. >> that is flat incorrect. >> senator mccain on twitter said, town hall meetings are an american tradition. we should allow everyone to express their views without disruption even if we disagree. >> absolutely. >> let me jump in here. let me jump in here. here is what's going on. i would argue that alex is attempting to paint this as a few bad actors when there's a

playbook which has been revealed from the right wing suggesting these exact same actions. rush limbaugh, glenn beck, and all the right wing talk show hosts on tv and radio are highlighting when and where these events are going on and suggesting people show up and act exactly like this. alex, i appreciate your stance, but you are flat wrong to say america is against what obama is presenting and you are flat wrong to suggest these are a few bad actors. this is an organized movement and glenn beck calling the american president is racist who hates while people is flat wrong. >> i want to give alex an opportunity on another topic. >> we'll find out when congress comes back in september, they're not going to be any more inclined to support this plan after hearing from their quaets. >> here congress is now plannin spend 550 merchandise on eight knew lear aircrafts. if you want to encourage people to go to the district of representative jack hingston, a republican in georgia who asked

this be added to the defense authorization bill and protest him for wasting taxpayer money on something that americans and the military says we don't need. >> look, you know, i do think that the only thing that could make congress less popular than calling their constituents mobs, which is what the democrats are doing right now with all these town halls and name calling the people that show up at the town halls, is buying a bunch of executive jets when those same members have been criticizing ceos for flying in executive jets when their companies are going bankrupt just like the country is. >> let me suggest two quick things, if i might. first of all, the only name calling going on are the people standing up and screaming go back to europe and go back where you came from. that's the name calling coming from the right. number two, with the jets, yes, it's too much. but it's now about safety. these elected represents could flou first class on these trips but now what if at 35,000 feet they're attacked by one of the tea baggers or these sort of

fascist stance that's going on and they can't get out of the plane? this is about security now. >> i think the issue here is that they criticize ceos for flying in executive jets but then they want their own executive jets. >> mark, are you channeling orly now? is that what's going on? >> am i channeling who? >> orly. an interview we did earlier. >> oh, please. >> she had a meltdown. both of you were terrific. we appreciate you both coming on. monica, first on the airplanes, congress has such a tin ear. i can't even begin on that one. >> i'm wondering if we will hear a lawmaker come out and say we're spending this. will be good for the economy. think of it as a stimulus. >> people are mad, go protest the congressman who won't block the spending on this aircraft they don't need. all right. monica -- >> stay calm, david. >> talk about things that maybe somebody doesn't need, an xbox signed by former governor sarah

palin is being auctioned off on ebay. then on "hardball," an unexpected dip in the unemployment number, but the white house isn't celebrating just yet. you're watching msnbc, the place for politics. hi. number two, please. would you like that to hurt now or later? uh, what? sir, it's a simple question. do you want heartburn pain, now or later? these heartburn medicines make you choose... between hurting now or later. pepcid complete doesn't. it starts to neutralize acid in seconds... and keeps it under control all day or all night. sometimes you gotta make compromises, man. no, you don't... man. pepcid complete, works now and works later. now with a great new taste. mr. evans? this is janice from onstar. i have received an automatic signal you've been in a front-end crash. do you need help? yeah. i'll contact emergency services and stay with you.

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monica, there's a lot going on today. here are three things that we thought everybody should know. >> i know, and they're three good ones. first lady michelle obama and daughter malia stepped out of the white house yesterday for lunch. of course, that's going to be a big affair. they chowed down on burgers, fries, onion rings and

milkshakes at good stuff eatery. it was mrs. obama's second trip to the restaurant. she was there in may. david, you will not be surprised, there you see the video of the first lady, and this, of course, if you have looked on the web at all and checked out some of the sites, setting off rumors, the question is there a baby bump? is there a baby bump? >> wow. >> i don't see it. >> monica, you are so perceptive on this. >> when i saw the video, i didn't see it. >> i don't really see it, but you know. >> people love that rumor. that's why you see it online. >> monica, representatives for the clinton family say former first daughter chelsea clinton is not, not getting married later this month, but rumors continue to fly. the reliable source says chelsea has been looking at wedding invitations. her investment banker boyfriend was spotted shopping for rings and one washington couple even let it slip they'd been invited. here is one more thing to think about, president obama and his family are renting a house on the vineyard later this

summer which means no media helicopters flying overhead. if there is a clinton wedding this month, is this how hillary clinton is going to get down on the dance floor? this video was taken this week during the secretary of state's trip to africa. look at her. >> hey, look. that's how the secretary rolls, david. i mean, she's got great rhythm. i'm very impressed. by the way, i have absolutely zero inside information, but there is so -- there's a wedding happening. there's absolutely a wedding happening. that's just my guess. i'm just putting it out there. you can let me know if i'm wrong, but there is a wedding happening. >> any excuse to see her dance. >> there you go. >> although i don't think we'll get videos as good as this from it. if you're disappointed that the original -- did you hear about this -- that the original $1 million sarah palin autographed ex box has beautogrh

ed xbox has been taken down, fear not. a replica has been posted. i looked at the site. the person who is selling this replica says it's guaranteed not to quit for two years. >> monica, xboxs are maybe usually $200, $300? >> i have no idea. >> some of us who play video games all the time know. with the autograph you add $900 markup? >> a replica of an autograph. it's not even the autograph. >> wow. i guess people will buy anything these days. >> those are the things we thought you should know. >> politically the next couple weeks vice president been kind to the obama administration, but are things turning around? the american journalists in north korea were released. the white house's supreme court was confirmed. the cash for clunkers program was extended. the unemployment rate finally dropped. let's get to our next read on politics with the stories we will be watching heading into tomorrow.

mark murray is political director for nbc news. what do you have for us? >> this summer has been a challenging summer for the obama white house, but they have had some successes that you just mentioned that will be stories heading into this weekend. some victories for an obama that's faced a pretty tough summer so far. also on sunday president obama heads to mexico to guadalajara, mexico, for a summit with other north american leaders, and then finally on "meet the press" david gregory is going to have national security adviser jim jones obviously talk about the journalists being freed from north korea and a lot of other hot button national security issues. >> mark, looking ahead to next week, the president starts travel on sunday, is that right? >> that's right. he's heading to mexico. it's actually going to be his second trip to mexico since becoming president. >> and tell us more about what they're going to be talking about there. >> well, you know, when the president travels to mexico, you end up having the drug war,

trade are big issues. also this issue of mexican trucks and whether mexican trucks can come across the border. that's been an issue that hasn't been a front burning -- on the front burner here in washington. it's something the president is going to address and obviously all the other north american leaders will be there, but mexico is an incredibly important ally to this country. we saw george w. bush trying to forge relations with mexico and here we have president obama going to mexico, which is one of our closest neighbors next to -- and obviously canada being the other one. >> mark, i have two questions for you. answer the first one will have to be 30 seconds or less. the polling on health care, does most of the public support a public option or not right now? >> it depends how you actually ask the question, david. we had a poll just in june where 76% of the people said they supported a public option. but it was how that was worded. in that poll it said do you support having a choice of having a public option.

when we basically measured it do you support a public option or not, there was a plurality who did support it. that is going to be one of the trickier political stories going in on this health care issue, but also it's the one where it does seem the obama administration might compromise. >> and speaking of tricky, mark, i understand that you've got some pretty good dance moves and you were inspired by secretary of state clinton so wonder if you want to show us as we show the video of secretary of state clinton, show us your stuff. >> david, i'm not going to show my stuff, but i am going to applaud her for getting down. during festive events, it's never wrong to start breaking it down and getting your groove on. obviously the secretary of state is getting that and mission accomplished with that. >> we want to see that next time, mark. >> next time. >> thanks. check out first read first thing every morning. monica, great job, great having

you on today. >> thank you. i am monica novotny in for tamron. >> and i'm david shuster. "hardball" starts right now. 9.4. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. leading off tonight, been down so long, looks like up to me. for weeks the white house has been preparing us for double digit unemployment. that sometime soon the rate would hit 10%. well, the president's spokeman said that again today, but people around her figure the white house was relatively happy today when it got the monthly jobless news. the unemployment rate actually fell by 0.1 of a point to 9.4% and job losses last month totals 247,000, down from recent months. no one is suggesting these numbers are good, but, yes, they beat expectations and could give the president's poll numbers and leverage on health care a boost

just when he needed it the most. why? because they say that his economic program of targeted and overall fiscal stimulus is beginning to pump some juice into this economy. plus, let's ask this question plainly. is the anger at those health care town hall meetings only about health care or is it really about the culture war? and yes, sadly, about race? there's no question that many people generally oppose reform, but a lot of people think what's got some of those protesters so upset is that they can't accept an african m.a.s.-american as president. how much of is about health care reform and how much is about the person pushing it. and democrat versus democrat. some liberal groups have been targeting democrats for failing to support healcare reform. and mel martinez surprised everyone today when he announced today he's resigning before his term expires. in fact, he's quitting now. s