in general because they have insurance, they don't, they are not hearing the what's in it for them. the president has tried to do that at some of these town halls but probably spent about half of his time having to debunk the issues, for instance, on when, you know, when or if the government is ever going to get involved in end of life issues. >> and in fact, your numbers show that 53% of those who have insurance are against this, so, they are definitely losing the battle with those who actually have insurance. >> 80%. that's 80% of that. >> of americans. >> and look, the one thing they can hold their hat to, when you read a description of the president's plan, it still gets majority support, but of course, it's when you get into the details and start knit picking at it someone used this analogy, i think it is lawrence o'donnell, used this analogy, it is like a thread, you pull the string and suddenly everything

unravels. that is what you are seeing here, the opponents of this thing are able to knit pick at one individual thing and all of a sudden, it can just unravel the entire plan. >> now the president is doing a phone call later today with supporters. he is also going to go on radio tomorrow. he talked to supports today, tomorrow, going on a radio talk show in philadelphia. so, he is trying to adjust the message. also considering using the clintons? we saw the clintons saturday night in pittsburgh talking about this, any chance they would use hillary clinton well beyond her role of secretary of state? >> i would find that highly unlikely. you don't take somebody that is in a position supposed to be basically a nonpolitical position, a partisan position, but it is a nonpolitical position. you know, you don't see secretary of states, for instance, deployed during re-election campaigns for president. you sort of clash is crossing a rube con that they probably don't want to do then you can

get into the whole politics of this thing, hey, actually, the clintons failed at this, too. so are they -- >> didn't make sense to me. >> reporter: brings up, i tell you this, andrea. this is what it really brings up, they don't have any other surrogates. there is nobody on capitol hill that is capable of selling this thing to the public there is no other allies that the president has. they only have him and his ability is diminishing. this is the problem. they don't have a second, third or fourth person to deploy. >> chuck, quick question though, why did the public question become the sine qua non here? went president made the speech to the nation, address it had in march, it wasn't a big deal. how did this become the thing the liberals will not live without? >> reporter: i think it became the big deal to the left because originally, it was sort of the immediate point of attack from some conservatives.

immediately. that the first thing they went after is the public option, almost wonder was it simply a political reaction by the left they don't like it we love it. you snow there are health care advocates on the left who say you have got to expand government coverage here or they won't believe there is any kind of reform that is something he has to deal with politically inside his own party. >> speaking of what he has to deal with inside his own party, our next guest, chuck, thank you so much, liberal democrats who are furious with the president for saying that a public option is no longer a critical element in overhauling health care. independent senator bernie sanders of vermont sits on the senate house committee and supports the public option vigorously. senator it is great to see you. thanks for joining us. why is this so important? is it better to have a plan than not a plan that includes the public on? >> we have a health care system disintegrating, not 46 million without any health insurance f we do nothing, the cost of

health insurance for people who have insurance now or don't is going to double within eight years which is economically disastrous for this country, in fact, unsustainable. we have 18,000 americans dying every single year because they don't get to the doctor when they should. we have 1 million people going bankrupt. clearly we need health care reform. and one of the important aspects of health care reform has got to be a public option. the american people, quite correctly, do not trust private insurance companies whose function in life is not to provide health care, it's to make as much money as you can. so you need comp it 'tis for the private insurance companies which is what a medicare-type public option would be. yes, i strongly support that, at the very least. >> now, you have said that a co-op is "unacceptable of." is that not an alternative to the so-called public option in terms of providing a nonprofit alternative where people could gather together and try to cut better deals for their services?

>> i think, andrea, the answer is no, it's not really. and would be much too weak, much too small, not have the base you need to negotiate with providers, not be national in scope. look, the truth of the matter is, medicare has its problems, but if you ask percentage siege ors especially how they like medicare compared to private insurance companies they can come out much more supportive for medicare. what i think we need is to give the american people a public medicare-type option to choose from. and if they -- what that does is give them that choice or put pressure on the private insurance companies to keep their rates as low as possible. but if you don't have that option, then you can assume, absolutely, that the private insurance companies are going to continue to raise their rates. they are going to continue to throw people off of health care because of pre-existing conditions or because they have actually got sick the previous year and ran up a high bill. that is unacceptable. >> people are happy with

medicare because up until now, medicare, despite cutbacks and budget cuts also haas done a reasonable job of reimbursement, but that is the next big problem that medicare has not controlled costs to the satisfaction of, you know, fiscal hawks and people worried about it say medicare is the worst possible paradigm for a new expanded health care system. >> no i really don't believe that, andrea, at all. the evidence is, i mean, you're looking at private health insurance. and in states around the country, you are seeing small businesses see their rates increase by 20%, 30%. you're seeing -- you're seeing administrative costs in private insurance running to about 30 cents of every health care dollar. there is a reason why our country spends almost twice as much per person on health care as any other nation and that has a lot to do with the fact we have thousands of separate plans

administered by the private insurance companies and great costs, ceo compensation off the wall, jacking up rates. the evidence is quite clear, from an administrative perspective, medicare spend a lot less money in running their program than do the private insurance companies. >> let me read you a quote from the "washington post" coverage today this is an anonymous quote, admittedly, from a white house senior adviser which says i don't understand why the left of the left has decided this is their waterloo. we have got ton a point that the health care on the left is determined by the breadth of the public option. i don't understand why that has become a measure what we achieve in health care reform t is mystifying things. we are forgetting why we are in this. white house frustration boiling over to people on your side of the democratic party. are you hurting the president and his whole agenda by coming out so strongly in favor of the public option? i don't mean you personally, of course, i mean the whole part of the party? >> right.

well, i'm an independent, but from my perspective -- >> fair point, sorry. >> cost-effective health care for all americans, the way you do it is a single payer system, eliminate $400 billion in waste and bureaucracy the private can bes are engendering. you don't do that and don't have the political support in washington to do that andrea earthquake the only way you're going to get cost containment, the only way we are going to prevent health care costs from doubling in eight years, which will be a disaster for the economy and for millions of individuals, is to have a public option. this is not some kind of esoteric idea, oh, gee, i love the concept of a public option. it means you give competition to the private insurance companies, whose only goal in life is to make as much money as they possibly k they need that competition. the american people need to have a choice. if they don't want to go into the public on tos, they have got the private. but at least it keeps the private insurance companies on their toes and keeps them

honest. >> independent senator bernard sanders, thank you very much, bernie for joining us from burlington, vermont. good to see you. >> good see you again, andrea. up next, do democrats go ait alone on health care? if so, how will that impact the rift growing inside the party in the chicago tribune's clarence page and the new york time's jeff bellamy joining us. before we go to break, we want to take this moment to remember a pioneer, "6 to 0 minutes" creator don hewitt, died today of pancreatic cancer at the able of 86. he was known as the father of modern television for a good reason. he was the executive producer of cbs news, a title he took after stepping down only five years ago from "60 minutes." his journalism career spanned six decades, really, the history of broadcast news. played a major role in news events from the 1940s to the 1960s and on, including the first televised presidential debates in 1960, the nixon/kennedy debates, one in

this very studio. avenues producer, director and developer whose greater achievement was creating "60 minutes" in 1968. he was survived buys his wife of 30 years, marilyn berger, a former correspondent. he is home with his family at new york when he passed away. (announcer) illness doesn't care where you live... ...or if you're already sick... ...or if you lose your job. your health insurance shouldn't either. so let's fix health care. if everyone's covered, we can make health care as affordable as possible. and the words "pre-existing condition" become a thing of the past... we're america's health insurance companies. supporting bipartisan reform that congress can build on.

some congressional democrats are prepared to bush bipartisan efforts aside and move a completely partisan health care bill through the oval office but how about negotiations inside the party change with republican outs of the picture? we have two reporters here with us. jeff, you wrote with no need to

negotiate with republicans, democrats might be better able to move more quickly, relying on their large man majorities in both houses. democratic senators might be empowere empowered. as you just heard from bernie sanders there are some on the left of this debate who wouldn't go with the cooperative. will that really get them to the finish line? >> the face of it andrea, may sound like it would be easier to do a democratic-only health care bill it actually will be as difficult if not more difficult. really, what the white house is seeding here, senior administration officials tell us, what they have seen the last couple of week of august, senator charles grassley from iowa, leading republican negotiator and other republicans at the table are showing no signs they are willing to continue negotiating. of course, senator grassley says that is not true. so, what the white house is

doing is doing -- seasiding to plot a strategy to get only democrats, use their majority to try and get health care reform, not necessarily their first option as the option that they feel -- that they have been left w there is no question that senator sanders is right. a lot of these democrats are not on board with this. so, that's some big work for the president. >> well, perhaps that is why you heard from max baucus today, put out a statement that they are going to have a conference call of their finance committee, bipartisan group of six tonight from "vacations" or wherever they are during this congressional recess. perhaps they are trying to show that they are still engage that is it is not all over for a barn agreement. >> that's right. they do give up on the notion of a bipartisan agreement, they have conceded a tremendous amount right there. this actually relieves pressure on the left in the democratic party because they now are just

batting other democrats and trying to hold onto the public option with even -- even greater fury. the problem is that there respect enough votes not senate for the public option and the house, which is more liberal, will be able to pass that with greater ease but still not going to have any impact on the senate side. right now the white house stays is holding out on the public option and president obama has compromised on several other measures involving health care in the past and willing to deal on this one. >> in terms of a compromise though, jeff, you had senate minority whip john kyle saying on the co-ops it doesn't matter what you call it, they want to accomplish something republicans are opposed to it is a public plan by another name it is a trojan horse and therefore, no, i don't believe republicans will be inshrine klined to support a bill. so if the republicans won't support a co-op and bernie sanders won't support a co-op and you know the house democrats aren't there how does the president, how does rahm emanuel

craft a compromise? >> that is one thing they are trying to figure out here the next couple of weeks before september 7th when congress resumes. this isn't necessarily about trying to get republican republicans on board this co-op idea it is about trying to get senate moderates on board. look at senator ben nelson from nebraska, for example, holding his first town meeting this afternoon in omaha. i would like to see what the reaction is there from voters in nebraska. look at other moderates throughout the senate. this is about getting them on board. and the president and the white house thinks at the end of the day, senator sanders and others will be able to be brought along to this. they think too much attention has been paid to the word public option, but this is not about enticing republicans because the white house views that that is essentially over. >> all right, jeff, clarence, thank you both for being here. >> thank you. north korea now ready to restart relations or at least diplomatic talks with the west? new signals today that the freeze may be thawing. that is next on "andrea mitchell

reports" on next on msnbc. th all the pet hair in the air, i'd spend class preoccupied, bothered by itchy eyes. but now i have new zyrtec® itchy eye drops. it works fast, with just one drop, to relieve my itchy eyes from allergies for up to 12 hours. no other allergy itchy eye drop works faster or longer. which is good, 'cause there's a lotta paws to shake. with new zyrtec® itchy eye drops i can love the air™. (announcer) find it in the allergy aisle next to other zyrtec® products.

lly, good news for find it in the allergy aisle people with type 2 diabetes or at risk for diabetes. introducing new nutrisystem d, the clinically tested program for losing weight and reducing blood sugar. hi i'm mike, and i lost 100 pounds on nutrisystem d when i was first diagnosed with diabetes, that first step was more like a giant leap. till i discovered nutrisystem d. in a clinical study people on nutrisystem d lost 16 times more weight and reduced their blood sugar 5 times more than those on a hospital-directed plan. plus a1c was reduced .9%. choose from over 140 menu options, there is no counting carbs, calories or points. i lost 100 lbs. and lowered my blood sugar level. nutrisystem d changed my life. mike is one of many who have lost weight and controlled their diabetes with new nutrisystem d. backed by 35 years of research and low glycemic index science nutrisystem d works. satisfaction guaranteed or your money back! new! nutrisystem d. lose weight. live better. call or click today.

welcome back to "andrea mitchell reports." here are the top headlines we are following now on msnbc. more than 95 people have been killed following a series of attacks in baghdad. the deadliest, a truck bomb, hit across the street from iraq's foreign ministry. attacks come amid fears that government troops are not ready to provide security, as promised. the u.s. government has released new guidelines to help employers prepare for a new round of swine flu. the recommendations include sending sick employees home and encouraging workers to get a seasonal flu shot. and a report in the journal of the american medical association is raising questions about the hpv vaccine, which can prevent cervical cancer. the report suggests drug manufacturer, merck, used money and influence to promote the vaccine without properly pointing out potential dangers

and points of interest. the vaccine is generally safe, another source says. straight ahead, is secretary of state hillary clinton about to return to familiar ground? we will talk about that and why the white house might ask the former first lady to help in its health care strategy, perhaps behind-the-scenes. could that move backfire? this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. women who drink crystal light drink 20% more water. crystal light. make a delicious change. (announcer) what are you going to miss when you have an allergy attack? achoo! (announcer) benadryl is more effective than claritin at relieving your worst mptoms. and works when you need it most. benadryl. you can't pause life. i just gave you some at the restaurant. yea i know. i threw them out. they were old so... old! they are rollover minutes. they are as good as new. ya know not everyone gets to keep their unused minutes.

and these days we can't afford to be wasteful. saving minutes... ...saves money. yea. (announcer) only at&t's family talk with rollover saves your family's unused minutes. and saving minutes saves money.

introducing the all new chevy equinox. with an epa estimated 32 miles per gallon.

and up to 600 miles between fill ups. it's the most fuel efficient crossover on the highway. better than honda cr-v, toyota rav4 and even the ford escape hybrid. the all new chevy equinox. here is a strange suggestion, could we see secretary of state hillary clinton do something very -- undiplomatic, playing a role in health care? i'm not sure how that works. joining us now, pat buchanan. msnbc's own. and michael feldman, democratic strategist, who has some connection to past clinton/gored a minute tree veils, including health care. first, does it make any sense

for the secretary of state to do something that is, first of all, partisan and political, which is not traditional, second of all, would remind people the last time democrats tried and failed to achieve health care? >> well, look, secretary clinton is an extraordinary resource, i can imagine her being part of a discussion internally about strategy and not unusual for administration to deploy all of their resources, cabinet secretaries and the like. that said, secretary clinton has an important day job. i don't know anything that hassan been reported. my sense, there is a health care team in place and work hard to get past it. the health care team is not clicking on all gears, pat buchanan. seems to me the republicans attacked the public option right away and now that, which wasn't even part of the original plan as the most important part of the plan, has become something the liberals will not deal without. >> won't deal without, blue dogs won't accept it, this is a real cause of division inside the democratic party between blue dogs and liberals.

frankly, those are the two groups who are going to decide whether we get health care. most of the republicans are gone. but on hillary clinton, for heaven's sakes, she is secretary of state. to use her as a partisan lobbyist in a health care bill on the hill, i think, would diminish her. traditionally you know, andrea, you don't have henry kissinger and the secretary of defense out speaking in a -- >> that may not be the best example, because henry did a lot of things in the white house, he was both national security adviser and secretary of state. so he was bridging a lot of divides, on foreign policy. >> you don't have the secretary of state out on a political campaign. they and the secretary of defense are above and beyond that usually in a campaign and especially for hillary clinton, who has risen above the partisanship of the campaign, which was necessary to be secretary of state. already, a lot of her franchise is being outsourced to bill clinton, to richardson to mitchell, to biden, to -- i mean to dennis ross and to who wihol.

she is losing the whole franchise. let me say one thing. i don't think she lost the franchise and effective as secretary of state, unfortunately because of a lot of issues tangled up, we didn't see a lot what she achieved on the africa trip. she continues to be a strong advocate, she commands the public stage, not just here but around the world. she has respect of somebody of a senior statesman and he is suspect that is what she will keep doing. >> mike, did you find it strange that yesterday, they scheduled a news conference and meeting with the colombian foreign minister exactly at the time that bill clinton was in the white house in the situation room and the oval office, having his meeting with joe biden, the president, of course, the national security team? i understand the reason to keep those meetings separate and try to keep those roles separate, but the secretary of state would normally have been there? >> first of all, i don't think that was planned by the president. my sense, that was planned as a debriefing from his trip. after all, president clinton spent several hours on the ground in north korea with the senior leadership there i think

he probably has some very valuable information to pass on to authorities at the white house and others. that is the reason why he was there. >> what are the north koreans doing out in new mexico? hillary clinton has maintained the tough policy in north core wry ya, no more concessions for you guys' bad behavior every time they offer something. bill goes there and scoops off this atention with a sort of very ugly opening and now the north koreans reciprocate going to new mexico to see richardson? isn't this the province of the secretary of state and the united states? if she is the first spokesman and the leader in foreign policy? >> well that is the perfect segue. give you a moment to rebut because we are now going to new mexico and we have exclusively an interview with bill richardson who has just come out of that meeting? >> let me just remind everybody here. president clinton went as a private citizen to north korea. he very effectively handled that and able to win the release of those two women from north korea but not the same as their foreign policy. >> he said, they asked me to go. what are you talking about?

>> let's try to clear some of this up with who better to go to now than exclusively bill richardson. governor, great to see you. you have just met with the north koreans, i know you know them, they have been there in the past and you were privately involved in some of the conversations that led to the successful visit of bill clinton to get the two journalists out. what signals are you picking up now? is there a possible thaw with north korea from your conversations today? >> well, i do see a a possible thaw. let me just say that i'm governor of new mexico. i'm not representing the obama administration. as you said you can the north koreans asked to see me, i saw minister kim, who i've known over the years. but what i sense was, one, the temperature is really cooled down in the relationship. it was very hostile. i think the clinton visit has helped a lot, the release of the two americans. and i sense with the north koreans that they are now prepared to have a dialogue with us.

the issue then becomes is it within the six-party talks or bilaterally face-to-face with north korean officials and u.s. officials? north koreans want face-to-face. they think the six-party talks are not work and they don't want to return to that. but at least the temperature is way down. they spoke positively of the clinton visit, seemed to want to engage now. but for the last eight months they have been very negative, very hostile, shooting missiles so, maybe there is a little thaw and possibly signalled by the visit there they asked to come, the state department approved, we are going to meet again this afternoon, tomorrow. they are going to visit some renewable energy facilities. again, i'm not negotiating -- i'm not a member of the administration. they have come here twice before. and if i can be helpful to get the two countries closer, i will do that. >> a couple of other signals,

south koreans going to launch a rocket, minutes of launching, they canceled that. the north koreans sent a letter of condolence to the south koreans because of the death of the former leader and said they will send a dell takes about south korea. those exchanges are resuming. meeting of thedie executives, chairman -- chairwoman, i should say ofdie was in pyongyang over the weekend meeting with kim jong-il. what have you picked up about the health of kim jong-il? clearly, president clinton briefed the white house said he was in better shape and the succession was in the inially to the extent our own intelligence community thought? >> i haven't discussed that with him but did he look pretty healthy to me. i think this talk that he is -- he is physically ailing, he looked a lot thinner. we haven't discussed that i know kim, minister kim, the chief u.n. person for many years and

he was very positive and restrained saying we want to have a dialogue. then the issue becomes how do you do what? do you do that within the six-party talks or do that bilate really? the next move, i expect is going to be an administration decision on how to resume the dialogue. the north koreans feel they are owed something, they release the two americans and that they want a gesture in return. we are going to continue talk bug again, i'm not negotiating, speaking for the administration. they wanted to see me and -- >> one of the things hillary clinton said yesterday and said repeatedly, we are not going to go back to the dwras we basically let people get the same deal over and over again, we keep making concessions and they kept reselling the same gold. that is probably the wrong term.

they have to give something up and don't they have so somehow fudge the six-party talks? they have to agree to sit down with the allies, even if we are having one-on-one talks separately at the same time? >> i agree, will be hard to keep south korea, japan, china, out of any discussion with north korea, we want north core wry ya to eliminate their weapons in the region. we want regional stability in asia, but maybe there is a framework that involves fewer participants in the six-party talks. maybe as secretary clinton said, bilateral discussions with the six-party talks, maybe they are not accepting it now, but there is bargaining and diplomacy that has to take place. i'm not negotiating but they are telling me things they are prepared to do i will face on and leave it up to them, i think administration handled north korea well.

they got the humanitarian release of the two journalists that a huge priority. the clinton visit help do that there is a thaw you explained come in a number of ways, condolence messages, south korea canceling their launch, so you know, let's take advantage of this thaw and the next step should be some kind of dialogue that involves the united states and north korea. we all want nuclear when pops in the region to disapae pear with he don't want them selling nuclear materials to other country. we want an improvement in the human right there is, so it is in our interest for there to be a positive dialogue. >> two years ago, you went, i went with you to beyoung yang, any chance you might be undertaking another mission? >> i don't see it right now. i have got to deal with the new mexico legislature, we got a little budget short fall. but anyway that i can help. once again, the north koreans asked to see me, the state

department approved the visit. i'm not official at all but if i can be helpful in pushing both sides to get closer together, i'm going to continue doing that. >> minister kim, what's left on his agenda? there are reports he meeting visiting some other cities in the united states? >> i don't know. he is going to be here tomorrow. he is going to visit some renewable energy facilities, meet with some executives here. we are going to have discussions this afternoon, one more tomorrow. but the first three hours we had were positive. i detect a lowering of the temperature, a cooling off period, which i think is good. possibly they are sending signals that they are ready to resume a dialogue. >> once you have visited santa fe, how do you get them back to pyongyang? thank you, governor richard san, great to see you. looks like a beautiful there.

>> give our best to pat. >> he is right here, watching. >> how are you, governor? up next, wet get reaction to the north koreans' meeting with governor reaction from a senior adviser for the center of strategic and international studies and a former member of the bush nfc on "andrea mitchell reports." stay with us. i was in the grocery store when i had a heart attack.

my daughter was with me. i took a bayer aspirin out of my purse and chewed it. my doctor said the bayer aspirin saved my life. please talk to your doctor about aspirin and your heart. i'm going to be grandma for a long time.

and i'm joni. we've been best friends since we were two. we've always been alike. we even both have osteoporosis. but we're active. especially when we vacation. so when i heard about reclast, the only once-a-year iv osteoporosis treatment, i called joni. my doctor said reclast helps restrengthen our bones to help make them resistant to fracture. and reclast is approved to help protect from fracture in more places: hip, spine, even other bones. (announcer) you should never take reclast if you're on zometa, have low blood calcium, kidney problems. or you're pregnant, plan to become pregnant or nursing. take calcium and vitamin d daily. tell your doctor if you develop severe muscle, bone or joint pain or if you have dental problems, as rarely, jaw problems have been reported. the most common side effects include flu-like symptoms,

fever, muscle or joint pain and headache. nothing strengthens you like an old friendship. but when it comes to our bones, we both look to reclast. you've gotta ask your doctor! or call 1-866-51-reclast. year-long protection for on-the-go women. after a year of echoing intentions, new signs that washington's frozen relationship with pyongyang might be frozen. we spoke with governor bill richardson about his meeting today with two north korean diplomats in santa fe. now, victor cha at the strategic center for international studies, asian affairs for the george w. bush white house. a visitor to pyongyang as well on that trip. victor what is the significance of the u.n. diplomats reaching out to governor richardson again? >> i think, andrea it shows that over the past weeks, north

koreans are attacking back a little bit and trying to reach out using opportunities like president clinton's visit as a spring board to reach out and as governor richardson said, reduce the temperature a little bit in the relationship. but where this all leads is not clear yet. >> one of the things clear from the talking to governor richardson now, they are still insisting on the six-party -- not participating in the six-party framework. they want a one-on-one relationship with the united states. that does not fit our administration's strategy. >> i think that's right. i think that is generally right. i think the one thing that i would beg to differ with my good friend, governor richardson that maybe rhetorically true, in practice, when they actually sit down and negotiate, there really is no difference between bilateral or six party, because do you a lot of bilateral negotiations in the context of six-party talks. >> you go on the side and in fact, what chris chipper hill did the former negotiator, now

our ambassador, of course in iraq, but when he was in charge of those talks, that's how they broke through, when condi rice got the approval to begin to have one-on-one talks? >> that's right. that's right. most of the substantive can be done in those side bilateral meetings. >> do they still want to be recognized as a a nuclear power and be able to pocket what they already achieved? >> i think you put your finger right on the point thatth is the real question. the one thing i think significant about president clinton's trip is that kim jong-il said nothing about his past promises to denuclearize and it leads to the question as to whether they are following come back to talks but they want to come back to talks as an established nuclear weapons state. >> how significant was it that the nuclear negotiator showed up on the tarmac and sat in on the meeting and that kim jong-il, frankly you looked a lot better? the inference at least that president clinton and his team seemed to draw was that perhaps the succession battle is not in full, you know -- fully engaged yet and that we are not going

through this passage? >> yes, i think up until the point of this visit, there was a rush to judgment that the leader was very ill and that a transition was happening almost imminently. and i think a lot of that has been pushed back by these visual images of the north korean leader doing quite well. and the people sitting around him being normally the people who interact with americans. >> no coup or anything. >> no coup or anything nothing like that. >> thank you very much. we will hear more about this, we suspect from the white house. we will go there right now. robert gibbs, the daily briefing. let's join. >> what are you folks doing right now to energize that base which seems fairly quiet in relation to what one hears daily from those who are opposed, for example, to health care? >> well, again, i -- i think i would dispute the beginning characterization. i think, again, particularly the

events that you saw the president do, i don't -- i don't think you noticed a lack of support for providing health care reform among those that were outside the president there. i think the president will just continue to do just as he promised to do in the camp pafrn. that is important for people that sent us to washington to them. we are committed to -- we are committed to getting our economy back on track, laying a foundation for long-term economic growth. addressing the urgent needs for energy independent, performing the health care system. making our schools vet best. and making this country and

homeland safer by changing foreign policy. i think that is exactly what the president promised to and do what he's busy doing in washington. >> so you're satisfied with what you're hearing from whatever the space is, especially on health care? >> yes, i think we're -- i think there are millions of people out there that know that are on -- quick frankly part of our political base and others that are independents or republicans that believe it's time that the health care system change, that we need reform and can't continue to do what we are doing now. i think that's precisely it. yes, sir? >> there are others inside and outside your base that think you have lost control of the argument and wonder whether the president has the political muscle to see this through. >> stay tuned. >> well, would you -- how do you respond to the suggestion that you've lost control of the argument? >> i -- this is -- the

argument's not over. the discussion's not over. the debate's not over. the legislative process isn't over. >> expect to have this back and forth within the party about the public option? >> again, contrived almost entirely by you guys. yes, sir? >> [ inaudible ]. >> i said that this morning, that this -- that this notion of changing the position on the public health care plan or the public option was -- >> absolutely wrong? >> was not something that any of you-all picked up on saturday went president said that. we did it this morning. none of you did that story. >> [ inaudible ]. >> do you have your pen ready? >> yes. >> what do you think the president -- the president for the first time in public said or not? >> i missed yours. >> there was a lot of people that did that story. >> i will be happy to look up that. nobody volunteered that this morning. >> i'm going to read right what

the president said all along, helen. president believes we have to have choice in competition. in a private insurance market where people are entering, they have to have the ability to choose among insurers. they will drive down their costs and improve their quality. his preference is for public option. if there are others that have ideas about how we can institute choice and competition, he is happy to look at those. >> public option. >> if -- we will fight for whatever is best, that brings about that choice in competition. that's what the president always maintained and that's what we have continued to say. yes, sir. >> before we do get any further to on health care, just a quick question on iraq. there is nearly 100 people that have died in the latest bombing in iraq it is the bloodiest day in the year. it comes just weeks after u.s. troop, combat troops pulled out of the urban senters. what, if anything, does this say about the readiness of iraqi security forces to take of other

responsibility and is there any concern that the u.s. pullout of those cities was premature? >> no, i don't think -- again, remember, that was -- this is determined by the iraqis as part of agreements that were made. look, i think it shows you the degree to which extremists will always go to wreak havoc through senseless violence that harms innocent human lives. i think the president talked about this in his speech in cairo, that not only is the violence the shocking violence, certainly to different venn us, but when you factor in the fact that it's muslim on muslim violence -- the degree to which that underscores the deplorable

and shocking nature of it. that i would point out that the number of attacks is at or near an all time low. there will always be those that believe they can or should be heard only through this type of violence. it's obvious that the vast number of iraqis believe and want to live in peace and security. we will continue to assist the iraqis in securing their country until the agreements are made. >> and joining us now as we take a short break is anne kornblut. let's talk about the dilemma they face on health care. what do you expect? >> we're going to hear them continue to talk about the fact

that they are not -- what they're hoping to do is keep this bipartisan process. they were stories out today saying they had all but given up or looking forward to giving up being a bipartisan process. that's not the case. they're going try to keep it open. >> and of course tomorrow, the president is going to be going on the radio as well. thanks for that and we'll go back to robert gibbs as the white house fighting back against the perception that they are losing on the battle. >> we've all got a way to go. >> i will pop popcorn and watch your newscast. no, again, we can quibble about whether he phrased it one way that time. we can quibble about the way he phrased it when he stood here in front of you in june and talked about now drawing lines in the

sand. again, i think the president has stated his position. >> and in terms of comments made resently by republicans on the senate finance committee whether in negotiations, whether senator grassley's recent comments, is it still the intention of this white house to have a bipartisan bill in the senate? >> absolutely. the president believes strongly in working with republicans and democrats. independents, any that seek to reform health care. that want to see costs cut, coverage increased, insurance reforms implemented that no l g longer discriminate against families and individuals. the president strongly believes that we are making progress. has had conversations with members of the senate finance

committee as i said in friday and others. and our preference is to work through, work through this process and hopefully come out with a bill that has agreement among both parties on that committee. >> are you expecting any republican votes for this bill in the senate or the house? >> i think there are many that would like to see some health care reform and i trust that the three republicans that are working on the senate finance committee are doing so in good faith. i have no reason to believe they're not. >> the question is, how is it that you think you can achieve a bipartisan bill when it seems you're having trouble achieving a partisan bill? the divisions between the democratic party now, the blue dogs and progressives in the house, the -- >> i think that's sort of -- you

know, that -- there are blue dogs on the energy and commerce committee that voted out a bill on the house side before we left for recess, so i think this notion that it's impossible even to get agreement on our side on what a health care plan looks like belies the notion that this is a piece of legislation that went through three committees on the house side. i think the notion that we can't get something done like that just isn't true. >> i get that more than divisions between the house and senate. what can make it through the senate according to some senate democrats? >> i think the president has talked about -- that's what we're going to spend the fall doing. i think part of that process is going to be what progress the senate finance committee can make. working democrats and republicans, working together to come up with what we hope is a

bipartisan solution. yes, ma'am? >> this morning, i just wanted to clarify something you were asked. in response to this question, have there been discussions here streenlgically about going all democratic and you said no. >> we're focussing on how to get bipartisan support, on how to get members of both parties who want to work on comprehensive health care reform. that's what we're focused on. >> but given some of the comments you're hearing from republicans, you mean to say no one in the mrgs is looking at -- >> we are focused on a process that continues in the senate with both parties. the president again met with

senator baucus on friday in montana. they discussed the progress being made between democrats and republicans on the finance committee. that's our focus. >> senator grassley this morning talking about broad-based support for health care legislation that so far, no one has developed that kind of support. neither in congress nor at the white house. that doesn't mean we should quit. it means we should keep working and put things together to get widespread support. >> the white house completely agrees with what senator grassley says there. that's why i said this morning that our preferred option is to go the route of getting all those involved that are at the

table to agree to something that can be supported by both parties. i can't speak to what republicans will ultimately end up doing. the president doesn't have control over every person's vote on this. he can and will continue to work to try to get agreement on both sides of the aisle on this. the president believes this issue is far too important to not try. to walk away from a perfect opportunity to bring both sides together in order to make progress on an issue we've seen fail time after time after time. that's why, as i said today, the president goes at this not wedded idea logically to different things, but how to get the best reform for people. >> would you say about the line

in the sand, would you say the $250,000 not raising tax on anybody making $250,000 or less as far as health care is concerned is a line in the sand? >> the president reiterated that just the other day. >> the administration's commitment on the public option equally as strong as the commitment -- >> i think i've answered this like 12 times. >> 13 times. so, the answer is no. >> i'll go slow. the president believes we should have -- keep writing -- choice in competition. good -- a choice in competition. for people entering the private insurance market in order to hold down costs, in order to provide quality of coverage, we have to have choice in competition. the president's preferred way is a public option.

if there are others that have additional viewpoints or ideas in policy that institute that policy in competition, he is and we are ready to hear it. >> so, is it wrong or correct to say that the president's commitment on not raising taxes is equally as strong as a public option? >> i'm not going to get into ranking. >> well, that's a line in the sand you've drawn. >> chuck, i'm not -- the president addressed that in here and i'm not going to get into ranking different priorities like the preseason college football poll. >> why don't you have him come down here and tell us again. >> i didn't work the first time? >> when you say preferred, you're not saying -- word. >> i'm saying that's his preferred option. >> preferred means? >> his preference exceeded that above the others.

>> do you guys accept any responsibility on the fact that you have in some of the other issues that you've had to go against whether it's on incorrect interpretations of the bill other than do you accept any of that responsible lty? >> no, no, no. i don't think anybody here believes we've pitched a no-hit game or perfect game. i don't think that's the case. i think we just have to continue to be out there. your poll -- one of the biggest myths two weeks ago was this notion of the government making end of life decisions on behalf of seniors, right? your poll show that is that is not actually believed by the american people. i think the president has had