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that's what lifelock provides. you can take control of your identity. call now for special savings and we'll also give you... 30 days to try lifelock absolutely free. call now and mention id. call now or go to lifelock.com. ♪ some say he saved the world financial system, others say he caused the financial crisis in the first place with easy money. but bernanke is getting another chance as fed head. we'll get real with the sheriff who's already auctioning off weapons for cash. "it's the economy," on msnbc.

met products at parties, the boom in direct sales, the tupperware party is gone to the dogs. and are people are twitter and facebook are self absorbed narcissists? we might be in trouble. wait until you hear what the survey says. but the big story, the chairman of the federal reserve is staying on the job. >> the president announces he wants ben bernanke to stay on. is that a coincidence? the president interrupted his vacation on martha's vineyard to make the announcement, and bernanke then gave some positive news about the economy. >> the u.s. economy appears likely to expand at a moderate pace over the second half of 2007. to a rate close to the economy's underlying trend. >> already, with us now is jimmy

pepicoucus. am i wrong to be a little bit suspicious of this? ben bernanke had to wear white shirts to make this announcement. >> i think you're being a bit cynical, but what's your take? >> i'm not naturally cynical, i'm incredibly cynical. i think they not only timed their own budget relief of that, so there's only going to be one day of a lot of story. but, yeah, i do think they timed his announcement on this really horrendous budget deficit numbers. but yes, ben is back, the guy who is involved with screwing up the economy, also would save the economy. what have you done for us lately, what he's gone for us lately, wall street would like. >> and you have allen greenspan, his predecessor is saying that bernanke has done an excellent job in especially trying

circumstances, and he has earned a new term as chairman. >> up until 2008, wall street which seems to love this news right now, they did not think much of ben bernanke for a long time. they thought he acted too slow. and he downplayed the severity of the problem. >> he was too academic. >> even bernanke himself admits that figuring out the daily ebbs and flows of the economy on the real-time basis, he was not particularly good. he said i have to get better at that. but since that point in october, it's really tough to criticize what he's done. >> the other main point, one of the other alternatives here, the other main candidate, the former presidential secretary is obama's chief economic advisor, do you think that would have been a better choice? >> the knock against summers would be that it would be a danger to the pennant.

. >> he's pretty independent. i think he does what he wants to do. >> i think you're right, they may have been worried about being too independent. i'm a very forceful personality. they're going to need some help with the fed chairman, dealing with some of these big budget deficits. >> big, to the tune of $7 trillion or $9 trillion. >> jimmy p., we appreciate it. >> the manhattan journalist is trying to publicize which banks got fed funds and how much. it would hurt the borrows' competitive position. the judge said too bad. the records must be made public within five days. we'll stay on top of. a political fight heats up as the government begins its probe into what it calls inhumane interrogation techniques. >> dick cheney is standing

behind his position saying the people involved deserve our gratitude, they do not deserve to be the targets of political investigations. the bottom line is they say that they produce or dick cheney says that a lot of good information came out of this, do you buy that argument? >> i don't really buy that argument. one of the things dick cheney had claimed before the documents came out was that when some of these documents were released that they would show that these enhanced interrogation techniques are effective. when in fact when those documents came out, they showed nothing of the kind. and dick cheney's response was to sort of spin that and they did back him up when in reality they didn't. >> and diblg cheney says measuring the effectiveness of these enhanced interrogation techniques is not without concern. he says it's difficult to measure how successful it was because it was combined with traditional interrogation

tactics. but let's look at some of what has not been redacted out of this. that some of the threats here that they held handguns to terror suspects, power drills, they threatened to kill suspects families, there was threatened sexual assaults of family members. what do you think at this point should happen? you've got the president who says yes, let's change the way we have conducted our interrogation. but let's not go muckraking through the past. do you need to muckrake? >> i don't think it's about muckraking through the past, it's about upholding the law. the attorney general has suggested a preliminary review as to whether there's enough evidence to launch a full investigation. i think most people who have looked at it agree that there is enough evidence to do that. >> when you look at what's been blacked out, some 35 pages of, what, 100 pages of a report, also redacted out were the

recommendations by the cia, what the cia should do about this. >> and what the cia inspector general said after his report came out was that he expressed regret that his recommendations had beredacted. >> what's the conventional wisdom, are people more likely to say more or not to say anything in order to get it to zblop people on both sides of the debate will say different things. but this is the position that a very experienced interrogator for the fbi says, that all of the good actionable intelligence that was gotten from khalid sheikh mohammad was done through interrogation techniques rather than through these ill leg harsh interrogation techniques and in fact the conventional techniques are far more effective. >> what do you think dick cheney has -- in defending his actions even though it doesn't make a

lot of sense and it doesn't coincide with what we have seen in the report. >> you would have to ask dick cheney that, i can't really put it into his head. whether it's a combination of wanting on some levels to defend his legacy, but at the same time, i'm sure he genuinely believes what he's been talking about. it's a difference of opinion. >> we appreciate you coming in and talking about this. >> thanks for having me. we have breaking news coming from from afghanistan, the death toll is climbing from a massive bombing in afghanistan. 34 people have been killed and 64 people wounded. five car bombs blew up simultaneously almost five hours ago. it happened in the southern city of kandahar. >> gun fire erupted on the streets as well. another grim statistic, 2009 is officially the deadliest year of the war for coalition forces. nato says four americans were killed today when their patrol vehicle hit in southern afghanistan. >> improvised explosive devices

can be out there again. and we're looking at the second deadliest move in afghanistan because of those ieds. >> it's called a homicide by the coroner. >> court papers show his personal doctor, gave michael jackson enough drugs to kill him. they do have enough evidence to move forward to say yes, a crime was committed. >> david, good to see you today. it's good to have a smoking gun so to speak. when do you expect formal charges. >> we have to go through and decide what are charges are the appropriate ones.

>> the facts that they have opened those will require the prosecutors to investigate that dr. murray knew the risks, he knew that michael jackson could die and proceeded nonetheless in the face of that risk with conscious disregard to it. the other is involuntary manslaughter. if medical professionals would come forward and simply say that by this dr. administering -- >> we have had so many doctors on who say this is ridiculous, you would never use that as a sleep aid, you would never administer outside of controlled hospital situations. it dichbt seem to be illegal to do that. >> that's exactly the point for the involuntary manslaughter, i think that's going to be turn out to be a much easier case for them to make because they don't need to get inside of dr. murray's head and determine what he knew. all they need to do is look objectively at what he did and

compare that to what the medical industry and professionals will say was the right course to take. i like you have watched and listened and i haven't heard anybody come out and say that administering propofol with the mix of the other drugs that he gave him that evening seems to be quite a lot. >> someone who has investigated michael jackson for years, said that having a live in doctor is like having an in-house drug pusher is really what it's like. does that fit with conventional wisdom? unless you have a life threateni threatening medical condition. >> this is a cardiologist, this isn't a pain management specialist, it was a cardiologist who was camping out with him for six weeks administering this drug that from all accounts from people i have heard is usually used in a medical setting in a hospital. >> i have some big questions on

this and david before i let you go i want to put them up and see if you can answer any of these. how exactly are they going to find out how was it that jackson gol his hands on the propofol. and when did jackson stop breathing, that seems to be another question that needs to be answered. and if they're looking at comrade murray, we also know that there were prescriptioni s ins here by dr. kline and other medical professionals. >> as far as the prescription drugs are concerned, that was the search warrants that they executed in different parts of the country. these drugs are controlled and that's where they're starting as far as the search warrants are concerned. >> thanks a lot, we appreciate you coming in, david. >> my press. the world would soon find out who bought the winning ticket in last week's 2$260

million powerful ball drawing. >> i wish it was me. i wouldn't be sitting next to you -- i'm just kidding, i would b a south florida education spokesman says that the winner will be in -- a man bought the single winning ticket for the drawing and he bought it at a gas station at a convenience store next to a walmart in columbia. >> the power ball jackpot is the largest ever won in south carolina which has the nation's fifth highest unemployment rate. there is a good chance the winner could take home $150 million. the game is played in 30 states t direct of columbia and the u.s. virgin islands which means a whole lot of people as the jackpot grows. >> and you're shoou sure it wasn't you? >> i didn't buy a ticket, you can't win if you don't play. i wish i had. still ahead, have we moved

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welcome back to "it's the economy" you're looking at live coverage right now, and this is a packed town hall for senator john mccain. let's listen in. >> if they practice defense

medicine and understandably so because they're being sued. no bill right now they're going through right now is part of the medical malpractice bill. why? because they're trial lawyers. duh. so we would save $100 billion a year in health care costs just by allowing physicians not to have to practice defensive medicine and the prescription of tests and procedures that are absolutely unnecessary. there's some specialties that are paying as much as $200,000 a year for their insurance for medical malpractice insurance? who ends up paying for that? we all know who does. we all know who ends up paying for that. let's have tax reforms and incentives to purchase insurance. during the campaign i was much maligned because we said that we should give everyone in america a $5,000 tax credit so they can

go any place in america. if you live in new york and you think there's an insurance policy in arizona that's better, you're not allowed to do that? why in the world is that? and as you know, there's great disparities between the cost of health insurance, varying from one state to another. back on malpractice a second. california has enacted some real improvements, texas has enacted some real improvement. we need national change to medical malpractice. let me mention -- [ applause ] i'm not going to get into too many more details, but you know one of the great increases of costs that we have today? the readmissions to hospitals. everybody here knows someone who went into the hospital, was discharged too early and had to go back to the hospital again and the costs have dramatically

increased. the problem there, my friend, is the insurance companies who know they won't pay for more than a few days. that needs to be changed as well. as you know. so i have mentioned about the risk pools, i mentioned about long-term cost reductions, what are those? wellness and fitness. there's a guy who's gotten pretty famous lately and he's the ceo of safe way, and you know what they have done at safeway? they have programs and policies that incentivize their employees to practice wellness and fitness. to not smoke, to get regular physical checkups and they give them cash rebates and they give them policies that fit their particular needs. and guess what? safe way's health care costs have gone down. why can't we adopt that on a national scale. why went we reward people for

practicing wellness and fitness? finally there are many things that we can do sitting down together. but i want to emphasize again to you, if we go to this government option, what they call a public option, then one of two things will happen, it will be just another insurance policy that's available out there along with 1,500 other insurance companies in america, or you will see the government advantage come into play and you will see more and more movement into the government and into health insurance and you will see the disappearance of private health insurance in america over time. so i'm very concerned. now what you want us to do, what you want us to do and what i want us to do is remove this, quote, public option off the table, but sit down together, let's enact some of these reforms that are just there. i am sure that my friends, my

democrat friends across the aisle would agree with some of those. and let's have a beginning. and one other real quick, we need to have outcome based basement for treatment as well. if someone has a chronic disease, and that person is going to need treatment for a period of time, let's say, okay, we'll give you x amount of dollars and if that patient is in better health at the end of that year or period of time, then we'll give you a reward. outcome based treatment. rather than paying for every single procedure, many of you have seen your bills and the cost for each one of those individual procedures and treatments. so i'll stop now saand say, loo america is a great country, and one of our obligations is clearly to provide everybody with an equal opportunity to

better their lives and full full the obligation that our parents and grandparents have, and that is to give our children a better country than the one we have inherited. we have got to make health care affordable and available to all americans. and we don't want to lay a debt on them of people who are seriously ill so that their premiums are unaffordable. but i'm confident that sitting down together, americans with the same goal in mind, affordable and availability health care and a quality that is still the best in the world that needs to be maintained, that we could all work together. i'm grateful for the town hall meetings, i'm grateful that you're here, and i'm grateful for your involvement. and i'll tell you right now, if it had not been for these town hall meetings all over the country, i believe that a health care and a government plan would have listen railroaded through the congress.

>> they're in sun city, arizona. the interesting thing that he's talking about right there are the rights and responsibilities. if we're all in agreement that in america everyone has the right to quality health care, then along with that right comes a responsibility. so he's talking about why wouldn't you reward people who do the right thing and work out and make their health a priority, talking about companies like safeway that have done a good job encouraging their employees to be more fit and their health care costs have gone down. let's go back to the town hall. >> more representation left. >> congress is arrogant and self-serving, faiscally irresponsible and now even vindictive, to me the two party system has failed our nation miserably.

why should -- their ability to achieve results on these tough issues has been far less than satisfactory? >> i don't know. let me -- i think you may be seeing the beginning of a peaceful, and i emphasize peaceful revolt in america. against what -- i have seen involvement and engagement on the part of americans that i have never seen the likes of which before. but let me tell you an example of the frustrations that you feel. and, you know, everybody in the special interests have gone over to the white house and sat at the table and said we need your support and when you finish we'll take care of you. no better example than the drug

companies of what i'm talking about. now, the lobbyist for the drug companies, a guy named tozan who makes over a million dollars a year, went to the white house and he was quoted across this country, when he says, and i quote, we assured we need somebody to come in first. if you come in first, you will have a rock solid deal, unquote. billy tozan, ceo of pharma on august 6. then he said the white house had tracked negotiations throughout ascending to decisions to move away from ideas like the government negotiation of prices or the importation of cheaper drugs from canada, that $80 billion in savings would be over a two-year period. he said $80 billion is the max, no more, no less, adding other stuff changes the deal. that's by the head lobbyist.

has been anybody here been invited to the white house for a deal lately? huh? here's the pharmaceutical companies who have done everything they could to block generic drugs to be on the market. apparently there won't be competition in medicare between drug companies to get you the lowest price and now the white house will adopt a policy of importing drugs from canada. that's the price of pharma. and reportedly they're spending $150 million in ads supporting, guess what? the democrat bill. so if that doesn't make you cynical, my friend, nothing will. we have got to take back our government from the special interests. >> hi, there, thank you, mr.

mccain, you are the most patriotic person that i have had in my lifetime to know. >> i knew i should call on you. >> i worked on your campaign too. but anyway, my concern is a.c.o.r.n. what in the world is going on with that and why do we keep giving them money? this is ridiculous. and it's a -- and it's just out of control, thank you. >> let me just say that -- most of you know they are, quote, community organizers and there are allegations of irregularities in the last election and in previous elections. i think that those irregularities like any other allegations need to be investigated. but i do not have information that would indicate except for what has been alleged there needs to be an investigation. so far, i do not think there has been. yes, in the back.

>> yes -- >> wait until the microphone comes, if you would. >> thank you senator mccain -- >> a little closer. >> can you hear me now? >> mechanical failure. it's intentional. no, go ahead. >> can you hear me now? i can yell real loud. >> we'll get you another one. >> is it working now? >> we the people who express our concerns about our country, we love our country and are very concerned. i went last week to the rally in front of the convention center across from a.c.o.r.n. and noticed hr 676. they chanted health care now, health care now. i didn't know anything about it. i haven't heard anything about it on fox news. so i went home and did home

work, and i found out that 676 is now on the house floor as the waner amendment. it will make it a single payer legislation. so all their talk about co-ops and public options, we will become a single payer. the bill actually states that the united states national health insurance act established a unique american universal health insurance program with single payer financing. the bill would create a publicly financed privately delivered health care system that improves and expands the already existing medicare program to all u.s. residents. and all residents living in u.s. territories. then it says eligibility, every person living in and visiting the united states and u.s. territories will receive a united states national health insurance card and id number. how do they plan to pay for

this? >> how long is it? >> it's just how to pay for it. maintain current state and federal funding for existing programs. a modest state tax on all employees an all employers of 3.3% each, a 5% health tax on the top 5% of top income earnerings. a small tax on stock and bornd transfers, closing corporate or tax loopholes for the highest 1% of income earners? >> do you know about the bill, sir? >> i do not know of a house bill. but i have heard of similar proposals and it has come from the liberal left in america. i understand that. i respect their philosophies, i respect their views, but obviously i would vehemently oppose such a proposal. but that's what we are looking at as it comes from the people in this country, in all

sincerity who believe that a government run health care system is best for america. by the way, if you like that, you'll love cash for clunkers. but the point is, but the point is, that i would never support such a proposal, i have seen those proposals around and obviously that quote public option to whatever degree it is in my view is the beginning of the private health insurance in america because of the advantage that it would give to the government plan. if you're an employer, and you can get a health insurance plan that's less expensive, at least initially, from the government, of course, you're going to take it. and of course if you're facing a fine that you're either going to pay the fine and have the government provide the health insurance, or you're going to adopt the health insurance policy that if it's not government run, then it has such

high requirements that it basically is harmful for your ability to hire and keep employees. yes, ma'am. >> thank you very much. i may be a literally one-person minority here, but i wish to speak anyway. it's kind of interesting that republicans have been in control of government at almost all legals, presidency as well as congress for a number of years. >> well, tragically, we lost the house and senate in 2006. >> i'm aware of that. >> so we have not been in control for the last three years. >> but during the time when george bush i was in, when ronald reagan was in, george bush ii, there was no amendments

to fix the health care system. the number of uninsured and under insured, a lot of people have health insurance, but it really doesn't cover major situations when they occur, or as with my own daughter and her family, and i'll make this much shorter, but there's limitations to everything, so you go past a cap and they don't pay. so how come during that time when the republicans were in power, the number of like i say uninsured and underinsured rose and health care costs skyrocketed? and the drug companies and the insurance companies have made a huge, huge profit and of course their administrative costs are twice that of medicare, if not maybe more. so i would appreciate some kind of response to that. >> thank you.

thank you for being here. one we should have done more and there were some initiatives made, but we should have done more. we should have done more on a bipartisan basis. but we also needed to work more on a bipartisan basis and we need to work on a bipartisan basis now. but there were a number of attempts, i'll be glad to give you many of those bills, and in the senate, when you don't have 60 votes, then those can be blocked even from consideration. look, i'm not here defending the spending practices when republicans were in power. i, in fact, i fought against them at the time and i fight against them now. whether it be republican or democrat. but obviously, health care issues such as medical malpractice reform were not going to be accepted by the democrats either. but we need to do a better job, the time is now and i think we should and obviously, there's

plenty of responsibility to go around, but now we're where we are. and the solution proposed by the democrats in my view will destroy the quality of health care in america. yes, sir. >> is it on? okay. i appreciate this opportunity to ask you a question, senator. i'm an 87-year-old veteran of world war ii. [ applause ] i was very fortunate to survive the war fighting for the -- with the 29th infantry division and i think you realize where their position was in world war ii in france and germany. that's beside the point. i have been blessed by my god to have lived for these 87 years and 66 with my beloved wife.

[ applause ] 23 years on social security, what country would support me for 23 years with social security payments far above what i ever put in, and i'm on a medicare advantage plan, and i'm very happy with it, i'm happy with my personal physician. so far we have spent several trillion dollars and haven't gonen anything for it. every time an objection comes up

on a point that are printed already, and it turns out to be something kind of solid, then the president comes up and says, we're not going to put that in there. i want to make sure it doesn't get in there and i appreciate you and your work across the aisle, i recognize that you have reached across the aisle, and i don't know how much reception you've gotten, but we end up with something more than a pig in the poke. thank you, sir. [ applause ] >> well, i'm always honored to be in the presence of the greatest generation and i thank you. could i just say, this is what this national debate is all about. >> i still believe that the american people can overcome the special interests, they'll overcome the american medical association, with all due respect, the aarp and others who

have dogs in this fight and i think we will be able to succeed because your program is typical of so many millions and millions of americans who like their health care plan, who like their medicaid, who like their medicare. who want to keep it. so our job is to get the costs down, which has you know is double digit inflation, and at the same time preserve that same quality of health care which america has in some very small way repaid you for your great service to the country. [ applause ] >> senator it's very nice of you to be here with us. i want to know how the president is getting by with all of this money, it's against the constitution, doesn't he know that we still live under a

constitution? >> i'm sure that he does. i'm sure -- no, no, i'm serious. i'm sure that he does and i'm sure that he respects the constitution of the united states. no, no, i really do. i am absolutely convinced of it. i just believe, my friends, that there's a fundamental difference in philosophy and about the role of government. that's why we have competition for public office and competition amongst parties and competition about different ideas and visions for the future of america. i am convinced the president is absolutely sincere in his beliefs. but -- wait a minute. he is sincere in his beliefs, we just happen to disagree and he is the president of the united states, and let's be respectful.

in the back there, yes. >> thank you, sir. >> and by the way could i mention that i still want your simply for the mothers of arizona because arizona is still the only state in america where mothers can't tell their children that someday they can grow up and be president of the united states. go ahead. >> i think i'm a mother of a daughter that would probably be the president, okay? >> good. >> we don't give up hope. >> no. i would like to tell you that i agree with what you have said today. but i want to know how? i thank everybody for being here today. what do we do, tell me what to do? >> see that list right over there? we need to have malpractice reform, we need to have outcome based -- we need to have outcome

based treatment for patients. we need to have -- >> how do i get -- >> for those who have preexisting conditions. we need to have long-term reductions, we need to have incentives for wellness and fitness. we need to reward people for not smoking and for wellness and fitness. we also need to review the free lunch program. that's what we can do. >> i want to be involved, i want that to happen, that's why we're all here today. >> yes. >> but i don't vote for the public or government option. you do. we want to know how to help you. >> thank you. thank you. by doing exactly what you're doing today, participating in the most fundamental and i think the most valuable part of democracy and that is participation by our citizens in the process and making their wishes known. and i repeat again, i still believe if it had not been for

the veritable uprising of people all over this country about these proposals that are about to be ran through the country. we would not be here discussing it, we would be lamenting it. there in the back, yes, ma'am. >> good morning, senator. what i want to say is first of all, some input from a constituent and a question to follow. input on the -- i guess it's plan b where we're going to have nonprofit co-ops inste of the public option. thank you for -- to j.d. hayward for telling us exactly what that means. he said they're going to be called gses, government responsiveness order sb sponsored industries. they're fannie mae and freddie mac. senator, we don't want to be

having a health care bailout in ten years. so no co-ops, we want typical, what we have now, private interprice. >> thank you very much. >> but secondly -- >> may answer that? and then i'll go to the second one real quickly. number one i agree with you, if you want to start a co-op today, you can start a co-op. really what they're talking about is a backdoor to a governor sponsored insurance program. go ahead. >> what will make any health care reform a nonstarter, what will shoot it down from the beginning is failure to exclude illegal aliens from the benefits. [ applause ] when you're talking -- >> okay.

>> yes. >> wait a minute, let me detail that. >> okay. >> currently the plan for tax credits to purchase insurance is no less full of loopholes than the earned income tax credit which illegal aliens have ava availed themselves of all the time. there has to be a verification of legal presence in this country through the safe system that every social security number covered under the tax credit plan is a valid one and a legal american resident or citizen, under no circumstances. >> thank you. >> that's the input. and my question is this.

on another -- >> i knew we would get here. >> the idea that the president can appoint 30 plus czars with no accountability for anything to anybody is appalling. and what's even worse, what's even more appalling to me is that nobody in congress seems to be objecting. >> let me just say, i object. we have -- they have now more czars are the romanovs had. it's a way of getting around the

confirm ration process of the united states senate and whether they're qualified or not. it's been done before, but certainly never to the degree to which this has been done. it's funny you mention that because i think it causes a significant breakdown in the efficient conduct of foreign policy among other things. a national security policy, so i agree with you and i think that this has become now a sir couple vengeance of the fact. there's no proposal that i know of that would include illegal aliens. but the problem that -- illegal immigrants. but the problem we have got is that we still got to get the border secured, okay? and the problem is that because people have come across the border illegally and not that

are here. so that's why i put on the board there on the other one that 11 million of the people that are lumped into the, quote, uninsured are people who are in this country illegally. we have to continue to secure the borders, we have to continue to work with the mexican government to stop the drug cartels that continue to export poison into this country that's killing our children. yes, ma'am? >> senator mccain, i am a lifelong democrat, but not this last time. i voted for you, the republican party, straight on. i contributed and i answered your phones. and i think i'm speaking for the majority here today, we're very regretful that you're not in the oval office. [ applause ] first, the health care proposal needs to be killed now. in it's entirety. no compromises, senator, please.

because if it passes in any form, it will give the obama administration opportunity to build on it and i think we all know that. with all due respect, senator -- i propose that you go back to d.c. and propose that congress return to the medicare health care plan and the social security retirement plan because if these plans are not good enough for you in your family, sir, then they certainly aren't good enough for us and our family. no compromises. no compromises. no compromises. no compromises. senator, nuke it now. thank you.

>> i'm glad i called on you, ma'am, thank you very much. thank you. could i just say, look, on this issue, and really let's have some straight talk here, my friends, let's have some real straight talk. the system is broken. the costs, inflation is not acceptable, okay? the medicare trustees say the system is going broke. and social security is going broke. whenever you have double digit inflation, then you have a huge problem. so i can't just go back, in all due respect, ma'am, and just say, well, do nothing. because our kids and our grandkids should be able to have medicare and social security as well. it's got to be there for them. so let's go back with constructive free market incentives to improve the quality of health care and the affordability and availability. so i understand your frustration

at a government-run proposal and an increase in taxes and all of the things that you hear bandied about, including the legislation that the young woman in the back talked about. but we need to fix this system. and let me just mention one idea to you if i could. since we can't act, what about a brack commission. let's get together and say here are the long-term fixes for social security and medicare and have congress vote up or down. because the systems are going broke. and we got to preserve your health care, we have got to preserve medicare, medicaid, social security, but our trustees of the system tell us that they're going broke. so we have to fix it. is to go back, frankly and do nothing just delays this problem for other people who come after us. so i hope you appreciate that.

to do nothing is not the answer either. okay? and i hope -- you're very skeptical, but i hope to be able to convince of you that. but to have a government takeover is exactly the wrong way to go. >> what we need in washington are true statesmen, not more trial lawyer politicians. we need to encourage or congressmen, ted frank, because he's a true states man from the state of arizona. >> may i interrupt you for a second and ask you, do you know

the difference between a lawyer and a catfish? one is a scum sucking bottom dweller and the other is a fish. there goes the lawyer votes right now. there they go. my lawyer friends, it was meant in jest, go ahead. >> also i think it's a noble idea to examine the health care from foreign countries, on a national level, that they have national health care, but we have something that's closer to us. we have what we call american indian reservations, and we should be examining and studying what goes on on those reservations as far as government health care goes. and it pains me and it scares me to hear american indians, who by the way, are american citizens. say if you get sick, or you have

an accident, do it before june. because after june, the health care on the reservations runs dry. >> i understand. the indian health service has got a lot of good people in it, but the indian health service has been continuously underfunded and the indian health service is not complied with the treaties we made with our fellow native americans. yes, ma'am, in the back. >> thank you, senator mccain for coming today and i do agree with most of your views and i want to thank you for being one of the first to try to stop run away spending in years past, not just this year when it's vogue to do so. but i do have a question, may i

ask you about guantanamo bay? i feel that we should keep that open and president teddy roosevelt negotiated with cuba and i thought that was ours. why do we have to build and put money into other prisons and get these terrorist killers on our soil? and i respectfully ask you, why you voted to close it? i really am befuddled. thank you. >> first of all guantanamo bay is a symbol throughout the world of mistreatment of prisoners. now, my friends, it is. let me just tell you a story real quick and we all have the right to disagree. i was in a prison camp in iraq with senator lindsay graham who's an air force lawyer, we arranged to meet with a former

high ranking member of al qaeda, a terrorist, a murder and a killer. and in the course of our conversation, i said to him, i said how did you succeed so well after the initial american invasion? he said two things, he said one after the initial invasion, there was total chaos, murder, rape, robbery, everything was rampant because you didn't have control of iraq. he said the second thing he said that allowed me to recruit thousands and thousands of young men we're abu graibh, because the view of the people you americans held prisoner in abu graibh, we're all familiar with those pictures. so in my view, we have to have a policy, hopefully return these detainees to the country they came from and then put them on

trial and then put them in prison for as long as is necessary. and by the way, this return of this guy to libya is really an absolute outrage that was responsible for -- my view is the mistake that the obama administration made was that they didn't have a policy of how to put these people on trial, they are enemy combatants, some of them we can't bring to trial but we can't release and there is not an overall policy associated with it. thank you. yes, sir. >> thank you, senator mccain. i am an american nurse, it's something they have done for the past 43 years. >> thank you for all you do. >> you're welcome. but i can say that all you have to do is stand in an emergency department for an our or two and you can see the problems that are inhesrent in our health car

system. one of the biggest problems is that patients can't get to their primary care system. and one of the things as you said we have to improve access to primary care physicians and it's expected that in 2012, we're going to be over a million nurses short in the united states. >> could i ask you a question? >> yes. >> in your duties, do you see the problem that i was talking about? >> every single problem you have mentioned, i have seen and i see daily. so i agree with all of your issues on health care reform. as a nurse, it's hard for me to know all the fiscal answers and i would leave that to your expertise and the experts that you use. but i would like to see more primary care physicians. >> how do you in your view, can we one, get more people in the nursing profession. and number two, more primary physicians? from a nursing care perspective, most of the nu