right now on msnbc sunday, off the coast of florida, a looming storm, a tropical storm warning issued this morning for that state. a live weather channel report in moments. these struggles have always boiled down to a contest between hope and fear. it was true when social security was born. it was true when medicare was created. it's true in today's debate. >> another day another health care town hall. the president faces some tough questions and one challenge. highlights ahead. the electric car. one rider gets a test drive. you'll hear from him about how it feels to take the new chevy volt for a spin. trying to make a warning. he's saying i killed three humans. watch out for me. >> district 9 number one. the new film tops the box office. did word of mouth drive ticket sales. what's the appeal to a movie about aliens. good morning everyone. i'm alex witt.

welcome to msnbc sunday. we have all that plus, is the economy in a real recovery? we'll get to that. first, to president obama, confronting the most popular criticisms of his plan for health care reform. at his latest town hall in grand junction, colorado, the president hit back at those who call his ideas socialist. >> there have always been those that sought to preserve the status quo by scaring the american people. that's what happened when fdr tried to pass social security. they said that was social lift. >> the president also had words for those who said his plan was fiscally irresponsible. >> if you are a fiscal hawk, and you want to finally make sure that we are looking out for the next generation, then you more than anybody should want to reform the health care system. >> and when it came time to address those death panel rumors, that's when things got personal. >> i just lost my grandmother

last year. i know what it's like to watch somebody you love who is aging deteriorate and have to struggle with that. so the notion that somehow i ran for public office or members of congress are in this so they can go around pulling the plug on grandma, i mean when you start making arguments like that, that's simply dishonest. >> i'm joined live by steve thelmthem thomma. >> good morning alex. >> this morning the president is reenforcing his message with an op ed in "the new york times." has the president accomplished what he set out to do this week?

>> alex, the jury is still out. i think between his town hall meetings and the dozens of ones held by members of congress that we've been watching, we've only heard from a few dozen american voters, particularly the louder ones, people who have yelled out questions and criticisms. we haven't heard from millions of people who are undecided about which way they want the debate to go. we know the president faced two critical audiences. about a quarter of republicans were still undecided. and a third, i think 31% of democrats and democratic-leaning independents were still undecided. that's the audience he was trying to reach. we haven't heard back from those people yet on what they think. they hold the key to this whole debate. >> okay. in the town hall yesterday, steve, the president hinted that the public auction is not the end-all, be-all of health care reform. if the white house appears willing to negotiate on that

part of the plan, will the president pick up more support from both sides of the aisle? >> he could pick up more support. i'm not sure about both sides of the aisle. it will definitely shore up or help shore up moderate conservative democrats who have concern about the public options, the government-insurance, that it would lead to rationed care. i'm not sure it would shore up many republicans. i they they're slipping away more than before. the catch 22 is if he loses the public option, he loses one of his main arguments for cost savings. it's the president who has been arguing for six months that that would create competition with private insurance companies to drive down costs. if he jetsons that for political compromise, he'll have a harder time selling that. >> there are democrats who are worried they may have to compromise more on this bill. even former president bill clinton said the democrats may need to take a, quote, less than

full loaf. how damaging could that be to the democratic party? >> i don't think it's damaging if the they compromise. if they get a bill that expands insurance and does some of these control costs, they can claim success. it will certainly anger some of their liberal supporters. i think the liberals will stay on board. they're going to lose the republicans, the conservatives anyway on this. they're already dead set against the democratic plans. if they compromise, it might help them shore up independence and moderates because the actual compromise z might take away some of the ideologically charged parts of the bill and making it more appealing. >> if the democrats fail on this plan and health care reform doesn't passion, could that lead to a resurgence of the republican party? >> i think it already has led to a resurgence of the republican party. nothing like being unified to energize a political party right after an election defeat. i think no bill would definitely

help the republicans for two reasons. one, it would probably disquiet or leave some democrats unhappy. more importantly, it would allow the republicans to define health care going into the next election or two or three. if there's a real bill, a law. they can't say what it would do. you would have the law. if there's no law, they say it would have led to rationing. it would have led to all these bad things we said were in the bill. so no bill is the best thing for the republicans. >> okay. steve thomma. we'll be talking with you again next hour. thanks so much. >> my pleasure. the obama family took time yesterday to visit yellowstone national park. today they're off to grand canyon national park. nbc's chuck todd is traveling with the president and will give us his take on the president's town hall coming up this hour. mother nature taking quite a toll on miami with a tropical wave drenching that area. the heavy rains across the city making for a slow go for

drivers. residents were dealing with low visibility and dangerous conditions. in just 24 hours the tropics have heated up. there are now two tropical storms out in the atlantic. there's ana and bill, with bill forecast to become a hurricane. meantime there's even a new tropical depression in the gulf of mexico and it is expected to impact the beaches of the florida panhandle later today. let's get the latest from mike sigh dell with the weather channel in atlanta. what's the impact you're expecting there? >> let's run them down. first, the debregs which is closer to home, in the gulf of mexico, became a depression early this morning. it's rolling north-northwest toward the florida panhandle. again with tropical depressions or even a tropical storm, this is forecast to become a tropical storm later this afternoon. it would be claudette. talking about wind and rain. that's about it. there's not going to be much more than a rainstorm. there's the satellite perspective. the radar shows you the rain

heading towards apalachicola. warnings from the suwannee river to the alabama-florida line. let's head into the atlantic and show you our first tropical storm of the season. well, let's advance through this. this need to be fine-tuned. here we go. there's the swath. winds of 50 miles an hour. it will become a tropical storm before it makes landfall tonight. here is ana, first tropical storm, it's really falling apart. the center is ahead of the convection. this one is basically on life support right now, alex, going to track towards the leewards. we have watches up for the u.s. and british virgin islands. these mountains have eaten hurricanes for lunch. it may be a long shot that it even gets into the gulf of mexico. bill has a better chance of becoming a hurricane, right now moving west at 13. slow ins tense fi case. here is the track and forecast, expected to become a hurricane sometime later on monday. right now the national hurricane

center does forecast it to ramp up to a major hurricane in the next several days, by day four and five. look at the track here. it's going to start turning to the right. we're not off the hook in the islands or on the east coast, alex. we have a trough or deep in the jet stream forecast later this week. this may pick it up and keep it away from the east coast. we've got bill, ana and what could be claudette. very busy at the weather channel. we'll keep you updated at msnbc. >> thanks so much for keeping an eye. michael vick back on the football field this weekend for the first time in almost three years. the quarterback showed off his skills yesterday in his first nfl practice with the philadelphia eagles since completing his prison sentence for running a dogfighting ring. the 29-year-old took part in limited drills with the offense. and his new teammates shared their thoughts with reporters. >> michael vick is a very talented player. he can do anything from playing receiver to quarterback, he can be a running back.

>> i can imagine how he feels stepping out there with his number 7 jersey on, feeling a part of something again. >> michael vick did not speak to reporters after that practice session. still ahead, we'll have more on the president's push in the west for his health care reform plan. is he willing to scrap the so-called public option. >> have we seen rock bottom in this session? why on why it might be smart to be optimistic. we'll show you why one boat race stands apart from all the others. ♪ bicycle, what are we waiting for? the flowers are blooming. the air is sweet. and zyrtec® starts... relieving my allergies... 2 hours faster than claritin®. my worst symptoms feel better, indoors and outdoors. with zyrtec®, the fastest... 24-hour allergy medicine,

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politics. during his town hall yesterday, president obama seemed to suggest that democrats could be willing to scrap the so-called public option. the proposed government-backed health plan that would compete with public insurers. >> the public only shun, whether we have it or don't have it, is not the entirety of health care reform. this is just one sliver of it. one aspect of it. >> i'm joined live from scottsdale, arizona by nbc's chief political correspondent chuck todd. good morning. >> good morning, alex. we have to stop meet thg way when the sun is not up. >> people are going to start talking. chuck, does the president really believe the public option is just a legislativer of health care reform or is he trying to down play how much of a hit his plan would take without that public option? >> this has been a wiggle room, or whatever you want to call it that he's been trying to create for months on this issue, not just in the last week, not in

the last few days, months. this was as direct, though, as i've heard it yet from the president. i've heard it from administration officials. i've heard it coming from robert gibbs in these press briefings which is the public option. he made a huge defense of why he believes in it, why there should be it, why he thinks it should be reform. why he doesn't think it will lead to government take-over. he spent all that time doing that with two different questioners. then he say, well, wealthish we have it or not, let's remember it's only a sliver of overall health care reform. what is the message he's sending? without it he still believes you will have massive health care reform. that shows me it is not a line in the sand issue. how some will feel about that on the left, we'll see. i've already heard behind the scenes from congressional democrats who are a little upset going, okay, if this thing is potentially not going to be in the final bill, then why are we out there having to defend it? so there's a little bit of

hand-ringing on the left from democrats over the issue as much as it is -- obviously this has been pretty much a nonstarter for any republican, even the remaining few trying to create a bipartisan view. >> let's take a listen at one of the more heated exchanges from yesterday's town hall. >> how in the world can a private corporation providing insurance compete with the entity that does not have to worry about making a profit, does not have to pay local property taxes? they're not subject to local regulations? how can a company compete with that? >> the notion that somehow just by having a public option you have the entire private marketplace destroyed is just not born out by the facts. in fact, right now you've got a lot of private companies who do very well competing against the government. ups and fedex are doing a lot better than the post office. >> you know, that was just part

of that exchange. overall, how did people react to this in the room, chuck? >> reporter: they react pretty well to it. the laughs and snickers when he makes the post office line, he first used it in new hampshire, didn't quite come up in the montana one. i think he's going to create problems with people who work in the postal service who are worried they're going to have to do a whole bunch of lay-offs and are going to be shutting down a bunch of mini offices. the point is well taken. >> i heard some horrific number in terms of what they're in the hole. in the billions of dollars. >> reporter: absolutely. >> chuck, we'll talk to you again. it's early where you are, like 5:17 in the morning. >> you know, arizona has this weird decision where half the year on pacific time, half the time on --

>> just go get coffee. wherever you are. i'll talk to you next hour. >> fair enough. almost a dozen wildfires continue to rage across california. the most troublesome of those fires is in santa cruz county south of san francisco. the fire there already charring more than ten square miles. michael okwu is live in swanton. you're with us all morning yesterday with talk about the fires. i understand that the firefighters did make some progress in the last 24 hours or so. >> reporter: well, there's definitely been some progress here. you mentioned ten square miles. it's about 6800 acres, a little more than that. firefighters aren't happy about all the territory that's been charred and how close it is to homes. they will tell you they're really happy this morning, but still very cautious and optimistic. they were worried all day and overnight about the weather. they were worried whether the hot, dry winds would start

whipping up again, fanning the flames and destroying whatever progress they made. essentially those winds never materialized. this morning i can tell you there's a very thick marine layer that has settled in over the coastal territory over here. it's providing moist temperatures. it's very, very cool. those are obviously favorable conditions for the firefighters. again, alex, they'll be the first people to tell you that they're literally and figuratively not out of the woods yet. california's governor arnold schwarzenegger detailed some of the challenges they face when he visited the fire zone yesterday. >> low humidity, very dry and also the winds up to 30 miles an hour. that's what makes it really dangerous and fast-moving. >> reporter: the fire is still within about two miles of some

1,000 homes, more than 2,000 people still remain under mandatory evacuation. but there's been a leg up here. the fire is now about 50% contained. alex? >> okay. michael okwu, thank you for that update. hate seeing the fire pictures. but we appreciate the news. still ahead, general motors big mileage promise about the chevy volt. what it really will save you and how does it drive? we'll hear from a rider who got behind the wheel of one next. change it up a bit... and you're sure to get a reaction. [ motorcycle engine growl ] ♪ don't let erectile dysfunction slow things down. ♪ viva viagra! viagra, america's most prescribed ed treatment, can help you enjoy a more satisfying sexual experience. to learn more, cruise on over to viagra.com. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. don't take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain... as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure.

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tjx companies part of marshall's and tj max stores among the bright stops during this recession. is the worst of the recession over? a special issue of "business week" is asking that question. joining me michelman dell, chief economist with "business week." good morning to you. >> good morning. >> the latest cover says "the kaeft for optimism: is the worst over." >> since it's hurricane season, let me use a storm analogy. before we were stuck in the middle of a category five hurricane, the worst in 70 years. now it's a rainstorm. it's muddy, it's nasty, but we can start seeing signs of blew out there. the storm seems to have passed us. the policy measures that the government took seem to have worked. >> i'm one of these people who always love to look for the silver lining. that's me. you're saying it's smart to be optimistic right now. >> absolutely. what happened during the boom is everybody was too optimistic. then the nasty stuff came. and everybody got too

pessimistic. everybody has their head down looking for the next hole. we or not predicting everything is going to be hundred ki dorie tomorrow. it can't be. what we're saying is keep your head up, look for opportunity, don't fall into the negativism. because around the next corner, whether three months from now or six months from now, you know there's going to be the next upturn. you want to be in the position to cash it at this point. that's the advice, keep your head up. look for opportunities. >> the people who need that most of all are those who are jobless right now and have suffered through. jobless claims were going to be released this thursday. last week not much change in terms of jobless numbers. what does that tell you? >> what you identified is the one part of the economy where things will be bad for a little longer. the unemployment rate is probably going to keep rising. there's going to be still tough times in the job market. if people get past the next, say, six months, i think you'll start seeing a revival of hiring

as people start looking up, companies start looking towards the future. if you're jobless, you have to look where the negligent growth industries are. think positive rather than defensively. >> okay. existing home sales numbers for july, we'll be getting those on friday. a 3.6% increase in june. the sales levels are still weak. what do you think we'll see on friday? >> i'm not sure. i do know the housing market is starting to recover. people see that interest rates are going to stay low for a while. people are coming in at the bottom. you're starting to see a recovery. >> definitely a buyers market right now? >> if you've got a job, it certainly is. >> "business week." there's the cover, "optimism." let's hope it stays that way for a long time. michael mandel, thanks for being with us. >> thank you. thousands turned out for the bathtub regatta in belgium.

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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. you okay? yeah. onstar. standard for one year on 14 chevy models. a much touted piece of the democrats health care plan could be off the table. liberal lawmakers want the option to buy into a health care plan. the president seemed to say the so-called public option isn't a done deal. >> the public option, whether we have it or don't have it, is not the entirety of health care

reform. this is just one legislativer of it. >> i'm joined by democratic strategist alicia menendez. joining me on the phony think because he's stuck in traffic is matt mchoey, former press secretary to senator kay bailey hutchis hutchison. >> it's hard to get to work today. there was a mayor ton. i'm really mad at news radio. i'll take that up with them after the show. let's talk about health care reform. if this bill is passed without a public insurance option, is it still a victory for the white house? >> absolutely. i think it's a huge victory. i think it shows the white house knows how to compromise. i think the more important point is it's a real victory for the american people. we've been talking about health care reform for 40-some-odd years. it's time we saw some move toward that. it wouldn't be perfect, but it would be a good step.

>> do you think that -- a question i was going to ask matt for the republican perspective, try to be independent here for a second. would republicans have to concede to the passage of any health care bill? is it a huge victory for a democratic president? >> they should concede. i doubt that they would. that is unfortunately part of the political game. i think what could happen, if democrats pass this is with a public option, without a public option, regardless is that republicans are going to look extremely obstructionist. i've been disappointed in the republican's inability to compromise on this and in5b89 to bring their own plan forward. while i think they should say, hey, democrats, good job, i don't think we're going to see that. >> what about democratic congressman john her that of pennsylvania. he said it was not clear that a health care bill will pass this fall. he doesn't think it will be passing this year, whether it will be completely crafted is even in question. if congress does not get this

done, how big a defeat will this be for the democrats? do you think it could have life in 2010? >> again, i don't know -- it is a problem for democrats. i think it's a bigger problem for the american people who really are hungry for health insurance reform. i do think we could see it in 2010. i think ideally this is going to happen in the next few months especially as the president, the administration, house and senate have other issues they need to tackle like immigration reform. >> you know what? i understand matt is here. is he on the phone? >> alex, i'm right here. >> you are in the studio. he snuck in behind me. it's crazy with this marathon. >> a question i asked alicia, if everything happens and a passage of a health bill takes place, do republicans have to concede this is a victory for a democratic president, a huge one? >> i think it depends on what's in it. clearly the democrats should get

a bill. they have a big majority in the house, 60 votes in the senate, although senator kennedy has been sick. clearly should type of bill. what appears likely right now, because there's been so much opposition, not just from republicans but moderate democrats is that president obama and the democrats in congress are going to have to scale back their ambitions. have to make sure it's deficit neutral. i suspect you won't get a public option because there's so many questions about that. so i suspect it's going to be much more modest than democrats wanted. >> you know, you bring up the public option angle of things. matt, if the democrats are willing to pass a bill with no public option, is it a victory for their image showing they're ready to move toward the middle to reach some bipartisan compromise? >> i think it's a win for both sides if we can get a bill with some reform in it that addresses the cost issue long term. the question is will the left wing of a democratic party allow a bill to pass without a public option? that's a very uncertain question right now. the better question is can

conservative democrats support a bill that is being put forward and get re-elected. they're hag about it in town halls across the country. >> to alicia, given it is an election year next year, do you think if this health care bill does not pass now, does it get the attention, the focus and the ability to pass in 2010 or not? >> i don't think it does. i think it's now or potentially never. i think part of my question to matt who i always love coming on with because he is so very reasonable is, if we do have a bill that doesn't have a public option, are we going to see some republican support for it. >> it's a good question. i think it depends. i think republicans are concerned that there's no medical malpractice reform in the bill. it's a huge part of the cost. doctors have to spend $300,000 for medical liability insurance before they turn the light switch on and start their own practice. there's real questions about it. i think if we have a modest bill, there's a chance you could

get votes from the senate from republicans. you saw senate republicans appear to be against the idea of a co-op. right now it's a very open question. >> thank you so much. a little bit of a kind of stacked weird segment. i appreciate it. alicia and matt. on "meet the press" today, david gregory will talk health care reform with dick armey, tom coburn, tom daschle and rachel maddow. today an american man held prisoner in mean march is get ag taste of freedom after a u.s. senator won his release saturday. just a short time ago 53-year-old john yettaw touched down in thailand. also on that plane was u.s. senator jim rayburn who brokered the release.

he was sentenced last week to seven years hard labor for sneaking into the home of the detained democratic leader back in may. what should be the happiest day in a couple's life, 41 people died when a massive fire broke out during a wedding party in kuwait. men and women were celebrating in separate tents. children were also celebrating in that woman's tent. cue waitity people say at least 61 people were injured. the death toll could increase. getting to work on monday might prove difficult in san francisco. a midnight strike suspected to shut down the city's rail system. a transit system used by 340,000 people every day. negotiations regarding working conditions and labor terms for train operators and station agents are under way. a spokesman says saturday talks went well and hopes remain high that a contract deal will be reached before the morning commute monday. just a month out of bankruptcy, general motors is hanging its hopes on a new car

with a big promise. the chevy volt is a hybrid electric gm. it hopes to bring to a showroom sometime near you this next year. all the buzz is centered on the automaker's high energy claim about how far the car can stretch one gallon of gas. >> under the federal test procedure, city fuel economy in a volt, we expect to be at least 230 miles per gallon. >> did he really say 230 miles a gallon? martin la monica is a writer at cnn news. with good morning to you. how was the ride, first off? >> it was fun. the thing you notice is it's smooth takeoff and quick acceleration. it was fun. >> did it go fast? >> i got a drive by one of the car's engineers. he gunned it. he showed off what it could do. accelerated fast, took turns well.

>> it seems totally like a regular car. there's nothing about it when you're inside driving it that you feel it's different or is it something different? >> the car is more high tech. there's two displays in the car. but once you're in it, the driving is exactly the same. press the accelerator and you go. >> okay. let's get to the claim of 230 miles a gallon. is it accurate? if so, what do you think that will mean for gm? >> first of all, is it accurate? no one can say. the epa has not confirmed this. the epa has not tested this. general motors came up with that number for city mileage based on this new measurement that the epa and department of energy are coming up with, which has not been finalized. that's their estimate based on what they've seen so far. in terms of what it means for gm. gm says this is a game-changer. i do think it's significant because there's all this buzz around the car. i think gm wants the attention. they want to be seen as a car company that does cutting edge

technology and green technology. they have to sell a lot of other cars to get back to profitability i think. >> do you think this is a game changer for the entire u.s. auto industry? might this be the beginning for others to follow suit? >> like i said, in the short term it's unclear whether this will be a commercial success or not. they have other cars to sell. i think for gm and the u.s. caught toe industry, it's a bet on the electrification of transportation. it's a technology bet that in the future people will be driving electric cars because it does have better fuel economy and there are a lot of other benefits as well. >> martin, will an electric car save you money overall? >> yeah, for sure. it really depends on how often you can charge up and how much you drive. if you drive 120 miles a day and charge once a day -- twice a day would be great. if you can do that, it's going to be a lot cheaper than gas at today's gas prices just because electricity, just the way it works out. it will be cheaper per mile.

probably half the cost really, cheaper per mile than gasoline. >> but the car costs about 40 grand. that is not cheap. to whom are they targeting this car? >> that's a good question. this is the big issue with the volt. i think it's going to be expensive. they said they haven't priced it yet. but the first generation is going to be expensive. they're hoping over the next two generations that they'll be able to bring down the costs, particularly the battery and all those components. i think that is the big question mark and why have other carmakers not done this same type of design? >> bottom line with you, would you buy one? did you like the ride? did you think it handled well? >> oh, yeah. it was definitely a fun car i think anyway. one thing to note is that electric cars, all electric cars will have that same feature. very responsive, smooth and generally good acceleration and good mileage.

they'll all probably be over 1050 miles per gallon equivalent. electric cars will be fine. the volt, it depends on the price. we'll have to see how it all comes down. >> okay. marlin la monica, appreciate it. >> you're welcome. a rough day in baseball for three major league players. those pictures in our next hour. first did aliens take over the box office. the latest numbers on "msnbc sunday." olay professional pro-x wrinkle protocol is as effective as the leading wrinkle prescription brand at reducing the look of wrinkles. that's because olay has teamed with a highly specialized group of dermatologists and created a wrinkle protocol that gives you the results of the leading wrinkle prescription brand, without a prescription. olay professional pro-x. this is a guarantee you're guaranteed to love.

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for u.s. journalists, an interview with the president could be considered the pinnacle of their career. damon weaver, he's already done it. he's just 11 years old. after lobbying for an interview for months, weaver finally got a chance to go one-on-one with the president at the white house. >> i've heard that you would like to make an announcement about education. can you tell me about the announcement? >> well, on september 8th when

the young people ak xros the country will have just started or about to go back to school, i'm going to be making a big speech to young people all across the country about the importance of education, the importance of staying in school, how we want to improve our education system and why it's so important for the country. so i hope everybody tunes in. >> well, student reporter damon weaver joins me right now. he's with the kec news team, and brian zimmerman, one of damon's teacher as well as the news director. good morning to the two of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> i've been looking forward to this because damon, i want to know what it was like to interview president obama. i haven't gotten that interview, pal. you've got to give me tips. >> the interview with president obama was very good. he gave good details and he was a very nice guy. >> how hard was it to get this interview?

>> well, it took eight months to get the interview. they were working on something about education because of the big speech he's going to make on september 8th. and they just thought damon weaver. >> they thought they'd let you have it. brian i understand you had to help down this long-awaited interview as well. what did you have to do? >> well, we just put in a request, and the white house -- obama's administration really is pretty open. when i put in a request, i got a contact at the white house, and i just stayed in contact with this contact and just kept pushing, kept calling and had damon makes lots of videos and had him involved with a lot of different things. eventually they called us and told us -- they called me on tuesday and asked if i could have damon there on thursday to interview the president. and we made it happen, of course. >> i'll bet you did. telling damon, damon, when you heard did you all of the sudden think, yes?

or did you get nervous? >> i was thinking hooray! >> got to love your spirit. it's awesome. damon, i understand you talked to the president about many things including school lunch. let's take a listen to part of that. >> we have french fries every day for lunch. >> see, if you were planning the lunch program, it would probably taste good to you but it might not make you big and strong like you need to be. we want to make sure that food tastes good in school lunches, but that they're also healthy for you, too. >> what did you think about the president's answer, damon? what do your friends at school think about all this? >> well, i think that they would like to have french fries and mangos every day for lunch, too. but i don't think it's going to happen because we need to be healthy and strong, just like president obama said. >> what did your friends think? i'm sure your friends were kind of supportive. they wanted french fries and

mangos, too. i wouldn't mind having french fries and mannigos every day fo lunch. what did they think of that? >> they thought it was a good question because, if he would have said yes, i would have been the man. >> yeah. i think you are pretty much the man. speaking of the man, brian, you're overseeing this whole kec tv kids news program. tell me what the program is about and how much you're able to get kids involved. what kind of program do you offer there? >> basically it's an extracurricular activity that we offer in the morning. i have two news crews. on each news crew there's about 12 kids on each news crew. they alternate each week. basically we have a tv station completely run by the kids, from the director to the talent. we announce our school lunches, the weather, what's happening in our school. we occasionally try to get off campus and offer news off the campus. that's how this whole thing started with damon. i knew that i wanted to bring

some students to cover the election when the presidential election was going on, and i saw damon did a great job at our news desk. i decided i would take him with us. his first interview ever was with then senator, now vice president biden. the rest is his fri from that first interview. >> i want to get through a bit of that illustrious history, damon. not only -- you tell me, who are some of the other interviews you've gotten? >> dwyane wade, president obama, joe biden, oprah win free, spike lee, t.d. jaex, chris tucker, samuel jackson, caroline kennedy. >> you have really just gone down one heck of a list. so who do you want to interview next? >> some football players such as michael vick, donovan mcnabb,

tony romo, tyrell owens, chad johnson. >> i think michael vicks is a good one. michael vick is a good one because he's so in the news. when you get that interview, come be on my set and let me know what he told you. how's that? >> okay. >> damon weaver, really proud of you. you did a great job. a i'm sure you're proud. >> i couldn't stop smiling during the entire interview with the president. i want to say thanks to msnbc, they have been a big supporter of msnbc. you guys have helped us out a lot trying to get the interview with the president, especially to norah o'donnell. she made sure to get damon on the air. >> norah o'donnell is a gem. we're all very happy. i'll say thank you and you're welcome on behalf of everybody.

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