this hour on msnbc, while prosecutes obama goes back to school some parents keep their kids home to boycott the president's classroom speech. right now, president is meeting with nine graders in virginia and we are an hour away from that speech that has sparked so much controversy. congress is back! as lawmakers return from summer break a bipartisan health deal on the table and we could know

any minute now whether senate republicans will support it. hugo chavez with one of the america's best known film directors complete with matching outfits and, yes, a fist bump. what is going on there? good morning to you. i'm tamron hall. >> i'm monica novotny. we begin with breaking news out of afghanistan right now. u.s. military officials are reporting that four american soldiers and undetermined number of afghan military were killed when their unit was attacked in eastern afghanistan today. one official describing the attack as sophisticated and complex. the officials say the americans were part of a training team embedded with afghan security forces. >> also in afghanistan today in the largest attack in kabul since the presidential election, a suicide bomber today struck outside a nato military base at the city's main airport. at least three civilians were killed in this latest attack. san francisco/oakland bay bridge has just reopened to traffic. in the nick of time.

inspectors finding a crack in the 73-year-old bridge saturday. they had to replace a section the size of a football field with a new double deck scheck section. >> nasa is waking up the screw of the space shuttle "discovery." this afternoon they will undock from the international space station and head home. landing is set for thursday at the kennedy space center. fred is strengthen with maximum winds 50 miles an hour. the national hurricane center says fred may be a hurricane within the next few days. president obama will address the nation's schoolkirn in the next hour. the speech was supposed to be televise in the classroom but a week of back and forth some schools have decided not to allow students to see the president at all at least while at school. savannah kujry joins us now. an interesting development in that the white house released the entire speech so that parents and others who were concerned could see what his message is to students. this is only about 25 minutes

long but even with the work from the white house, you still have parents today saying i don't care what the speech says, i don't want my kid to hear from the president. >> yeah, there are those who team fooel that way and some school districts that won't play this speech but the white house has done what it could to try to sway some of those concerns by, as you mentioned, relieving the text of the speech 24 hours in advance. if you read the speech, it's basically a, hey, kids, focus on personal responsibility, you're had in charge of your own destiny, don't quit school because you will be letting down your country. it's that kind of a speech. some were concerned that the president was quote/unquote trying to indoctrinate students with his political views. there was early on an accompanying lesson plan that had a suggestion of writing a letter to the president to talk about how you can help the president reach his goals or something to that effect and they did change the wording there so that was an acknowledgment that could have been handled bear better.

if you look at the speech it is a speech corrected directed to students rain not heavy on politics. i have to say here at the white house a lot of aides are pushing back on the criticism saying, look, if the president can't speak to students, if is there not a consensus around the idea of work hard and stay in school, then we're in a sad state in this country. >> it's interesting. we have one of the excerpts from the speech. when he talks about needing education for career, as you mentioned, and in part it says -- you say, savannah, some of the white house staff pushing back today. i'm curious. were they at a point they just threw their hands up in the air

and release the text and let the president give this speech and move on from this? it seems as if no matter what the white house is doing here, you got a part of our country who seem to be hel-bent against these remarks. >> yeah, i think there is frustration here. david axelrod on sunday he was bewildered by the response to this. also in kind of a shrewd political way i think some aides see an opportunity this is an occasion, in their view, that opponents and critics have gone too far and stepped beyond common sense. even newt gingrich this morning on the "today" show said nothing objectionable in this speech and i think everyone should read it. i think the white house feels pretty good they've put out the speech and the speech itself is not political and some people will always criticize the president and they are not too worried about that. >> great to see you. >> you, too. the president will give that speech less than an hour. here is the big question. why is the president's speech to

students barking backlash from some parents? monica, you're a parent and when you hear this, you want to make their concerns legitimate but you want to understand when it is also irrational. joining us is lynn sweet, washington bureau chief for the washington sun times and as well as craig gordon, white house editor for politico. lynn, how do you separate the rational concern of parents some of the irrational language we've heard out there? >> well, this is not a case where there is raging rationality involving it and the department of education and the white house gave their critics an opening by having the lesson plan, you know, tell the president what to do. and some of the --, you know, critics said this is benign. this speech also has advice to kids, wash your hands so you don't get the flu. i don't know who wants to disagree with that. i think this episode shows how highly polarized the situation is in washington and how quickly

this can in fact, precincts out in the nation for people who want to look for a way to criticize the president even in a situation that basically does not have it. we have a big week coming up here with issues such as health where there really will be a lot of policy debate. this one is probably not one but a good lesson, as we are talking about school lessons, how these things can get out of hand. the obama white house was not vigilant on that point. >> craig, now that text of that speech has been posted we are hearing from folks on the other side of the aisle, gop leader in florida now saying after he raised so much commotion about it initially now saying i've read the text, it's okay and i would let my own children see it. interesting turn there. former house speaker newt gingrich supporting the president's speech on the "today" show. >> president raeg reggan did it and president george h.w. bush did it. i read the speech yesterday and i think the white house is important to post it. if he can give the speech in the

tone he did to the students this country could be much better off. it's a good speech. i would love to have every child in america read it, think about it and learn they should stay in school and should study. >> craig is there a lesson here? no matter what the topic is perhaps some folks should have waited to see the text before they jumped on this? >> i do think you're seeing some of that reaction in republican circles. laura bush even came out saying she thought students should be allowed to hear the speech. i think concern on the right side of the spectrum here that maybe some people got a little farther out ahead than they might want to be in and try it reel it in but i'm with lynn on this one. i do feel this shows the hyperpartisanship that exists in washington and around the country. people reacted to it badly. a lot of this is what barack obama ran against when he ran in the fall, you know, trying to turn down the temperature in washington and i think we can

see that simply not happened. >> i want to read what bob herbert wrote in "the new york times." it's time to get help is the headline. he says the following. >> i got to tell you, lynn, i spoke to a parent in texas and not letting students see this speech and i had an african-american mom who said she went and took her kids out of the school so they could watch the president's speech at home and for her, this was a matter of respect for the president. we heard the former first lady laura bush also say we need to respect the president. and the office of the president, no matter whom that person, he or she, maybe one day, is.

how has the white house turned this into perhaps a good for them in the end? >> well,, you know, the point is it shows their critics are, i think, speaking before they looked at the speech. criticized the speech once you read it. there is nothing in there. you have pointed out, we've all been pointing out it should not get any parent alarmed. everybody is for every kid staying in school and as far as i know that's not big policy dispute here. white house could just use that most effectively by saying our critics are out of hand so let us calm the temperature. it's going to be a lot harder to do that on health care which is the big speech coming up wednesday. much, much harder on. on this one, though, i think the white house could say we have more of a high ground because the speech speaks for itself. >> interesting if you can't get traction with the high ground you wonder what will happen tomorrow with something more at stake with something more important. thank you both. watch the president's address to the nation's schoolchildren on msnbc less than an hour from now.

noon eastern time. fire crews in southern california are in for a tough day. crews north of los angeles plan to set preventive backfires but, staeeds they are trying to snuff out a fire that flared up. the flare-up is blamed on strong winds and low humidity. they continue the homicide investigation. as you remember, two firefighters were killed fighting that blaze. in san francisco commuters who use the bay bridge were saved at the last minute from a traffic nightmare this morning. >> through the night, the crews have worked nonstop for almost 70 hours and were able to complete the repair work on the damaged i-bar beam found over the weekend. >> the bay bridge reopened an hour ago. everything seems to be moving smoothly through. construction crews fixed the five-inch crack. they closed the bridge down friday night for labor day weekend as they worked on strengthening it against earthquake and that is when they found the crack. a suspected serial killer

has been arrested in milwaukee. authorities say walter ellis has been charged in connection with two of the homicide and more charges are expected this week. police arrested ellis at a wisconsin motel after they linked dna from his toothbrush with two of those victims' body. president's upcoming school speech a way to inspire students or a political maneuver to influence emimpressionable kids? terrorists changing tactics, aiming for easy to hit targets which happen to be the very same places where you might be taking your family. gecko vo: geico's the third-largest car insurance company in the nation. but, it's not like we're kicking back, now, havin' a cuppa tea. gecko vo: takes lots of sweat to become that big. gecko vo: 'course, geckos don't literally sweat... it's just not our thing... gecko vo: ...but i do work hard, mind you. gecko vo: first rule of "hard work equals success."

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a global intelligence company says terrorists are aiming for softer targets as security and military and government falvetings continuous to improve. hotel abroad are the most attractive target. the number of attacks has more than doubled since the 9/11 attacks when compared to the previous eight years. a handful of white house officials are marking back to school week with visits to east coast schools. kathleen sebelius will talk to students in philadelphia how to protect themselves from swine flu. secretary of state hillary clinton is at the manhattan charter school in new york city hosting a my education my future event. in the meantime in the nation's capital attorney general eric holder visits elementary school there. he is talking to the students about taking responsibility for their success in school. it's president obama's speech coming up in less than an hour that has gotten parents

fired up. earlier i spoke with randy winegartn and asked for her reaction who says the president is pushing a political agenda in his back to school speech. >> you know, i was really saddened by this controversy last week, because as i said last week, before i read the speech, but, you know, just knowing that if the president wants to get on tv and talk to kids, that's a good thing. he is a role model. just like president reagan was and president bush was a role model. he is a role model and if he wants to get on there and tell kids to stay in school and do their homework, that's good. i'm glad he is doing it. >> did you get any complaints from your members? >> in fact, i got the opposite. my members across the country saying we need an adull to help us. this is about shared responsibility and about all of us working together to help kids succeed and when you have the president use a bully pulpit to say to kids do your homework and

stay in school and don't drop out and show some examples of kids who have really beaten the odds, that's a really important message to our kids in america. >> looking ahead to tomorrow night's speech before congress, what do you and your members need to hear from the president? >> remember, my members are americans and we -- we teach kids every day and make a difference in kids all the time. what they want is what all americans want which is quality, accessible and affordable health care for all. >> there is such a debate over many issues within this -- the health care reform and also, i think, most specifically, obviously, the public option. other unions saying if there is no public option we are not going to back this. have your members come out as strongly? >> look. my members want a public option because they want americans to be covered. they know that sometimes the difference between foreclosure, a bankruptcy, or just losing

everything, is a diagnosis of cancer. >> if there is no public option, will it still be considered reform? >> what we want, what -- the importance about the public option, monica, is that we have had is that it will drive down costs, it will make health care more accessible, it will help make sure that people don't lose health care if they have preexisting conditions. so we haven't heard anything better and i'm hoping that what the president does is use his eloquence to drive home the message what the values are and, ultimately, get to comprehensive health care reform. >> finally, switching gears here, randy, quickly. back to school season and swine flu already in the headlines. do your teachers feel well informed and protected? >> remember, i went through the h1n1 virus as the president of the new york city local and the teachers in new york city are coming back to school today. the real key in terms of this

flu is information, information, information. making sure that we wash our hands, making sure that if kids are sick, they stay home. you know, we just don't know what the scope is going to be this year. once the vaccinations come, making sure not that they are mandatory but that kids get them and, ultimately, parents have a right to know what is going on in their schools. so information, information, information, washing our hands, doing all the other sanitary things we have to do and if kids are sick or an adult is sick, stay home. >> the president will address the nation's schoolchildren at noon and we will bring that to you live when it happens. not every student will get to hear president obama's message today after a week of controversy, some districts are tuning the president out today. up next, we'll have a live report from one school who has chosen to show the speech. check this out. this pair of underwear, they

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welcome back. wall street is back from the holiday weekend and here is a look at the top economic stories we are keeping in our headlines for you. opec signaled it likely will not change oil production. around 68 dollars per barrel and opec producing under 25 million barrels a day. health care debate may have stalled key financial reforms enacted by congress. the obama administration still hoping to enact tighter bank and market rules by the end of this year. let's get a quick look at wall street and how things are trading at this hour. dow is up 50 poise and trading

volume there 94, and keep an eye on that. monica sf. less than one hour, president obama will address the nation's schoolchildren in a speech that has sparked controversy before the president even uttered a word. some parents say the president aims to push a political agenda. that of course, prompted the white house to release an advanced transcript of the speech. michelle kosinski is live in florida. the speech will be broadcast to kids in pembroke pines, florida. i wonder what you're hearing from students and parents and have you spoken to any parent or teacher that went online and took a look at the speech itself? >> yeah, plenty of parents knew about this. people have been debating this speech about a week now. we've been hearing about the controversy that long. everybody knew it was coming. the question many parents minds would be what would their district do? would they enforce kids to watch

it? would they give parents options? what would be the setup for each district? interestingly here in broward county, florida, which is a strongly democratic county in this state, considered the democratic stronghold they did make it mandatory for kids. whereas other districts next door, miami-dade and palm beach county said parents are bothering us and the districts asked their attorneys what they should do in those situations. the attorneys said give the parents an option to pull their kids out of a viewing of the speech. but here in broward we have a broad curriculum and have kids watch it and if parents want to pull their kids out of the school for the day that would be considered unexcused absence. this wouldn't align with their practice of giving kids a broad education. here is what two parents said this morning. >> if it's just going to be about education, that's fine. but he has no right to talk to

them about anything political that you stay away from our children when it comes to trying to push your political agendas. these are our kids. and we will talk to them about political happenings, not you. >> it's a shame. i mean, everybody has their own feeling and their own take on things and i think that you should be more open-minded to different -- >> most of the parents we talked to here this morning did not mind the airing of the speech. many republicans not only here in florida but around the country, also felt that the speech was appropriate based on its content. a lot of parents problems arose not from that content but on the timing of the speech with the health care debate. also the fact that these kids are basically a captive audience and also the white house put out that suggested curriculum kind of a lesson plan to go with the speech and rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. not necessarily the content but the entire controversy going on

around many subjects right now in this country that really, i think, helped sparked surrounding this school speech. >> thank you for that, michelle. dramatic picture out of eastern canada a hiker trapped on a steep mountain cliff. the man became trapped when pieces of the earth gave way under his feet. high rescue team help him out and reach him using safety cables. fortunately the man suffered no injuries. but you can imagine he was shaken up. this man is preparing for a journey to the international space station later this month, the founder of solou and will attempt a tv program from space and use the opportunity to promote universal action to cleaner water. he is the seventh space tourist to blast into orbit and estimated he paid about $3 million for his seat on the russian soyuz rocket.

money well spent if he comes back okay. republicans getting a big look at the underwear that belonged to britain's queen victoria. brace yourself. they've been in a private collection, apparently, for a hundred years. >> perhaps they should have stayed there because there they are. they measure more than 50 inches around the waist and embroidered with a small crown and initials vr come with a large matching top. i think the top is on the left and bottom on the right. they've been added to the dress collection in london's kensington palace. was that necessary? >> you shouldn't show a woman's under wear. a person there says she had gained quite a few inches. the average british woman's waist is, kort this report, 33 inches. not so bad but she is not here to defend herself. >> we are all cheating these days with our spanks!

four u.s. soldiers killed today in afghanistan as the debate heats up what the next move is for that country. this should indicate that president karzai will he remain the country's president? a watchdog group says clear evidence of fraud there. how will it affect the u.s. mission? a live report from kabul is next. plus, we will tell you why venezuelan president hugo chavez and director oliver stone are suddenly bff, if you're not hip and monica and i still process to be, it stands for best friends forever! these guys are even dressing alike and giving a fist bump. what is going on here? as i get older, i'm making changes to support my metabolism. i'm more active, i eat right, and i switched to new one a day women's active metabolism. a complete women's multivitamin plus more for metabolism support. and that's a change i feel good about. new from one a day. but i've still got room for the internet.

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sonia sotomayor. president obama and vice president biden will attend that ceremony. eastern afghanistan four soldiers killed and one u.s. military official describing it at, quote, sophisticated and complex. the american is part of training team imbedded with afghan forces. a suicide bomber today struck outside a nato military base in afghanistan at the city's main airport. at least three civilians killed. there are more allegations of fraud in the election there. it is leading now to a recount. president hamid karzai has, for the first time surpassed that 50% threshold needed to praevent runoff but it comes as a united nations back watchdog claim to have committed fraud. richard engel is live for us in kabul and tell us about the situation and where the situation stands now. >> well, there have been allegations of fraud mounting by the day that we have seen here.

the afghan people went to the polls, not many of them by most accounts, last month and the election commission has been giving out results a little bit at a time, just a few results every week over the last -- over the last couple of weeks and then, today, they announced a new group of results. so far, 91% of all of the ballots cast have been counted according to the election officials and for the first time today, karzai is over this critical 50% margin. he has won, according to these officials, 54% of the vote, but it comes as amid all of these allegations of fraud, amid this call for a recount of the vote. if things continue as they are now, he would win the election outright but there will be, as far as we know, some recount but no time frame has been given for how long that will take. >> how might this impact any decisions that president obama will make regarding afghanistan? i know we are going to hear more

from him in the near future regarding the strategy and the plan for troops there. >> this is a major obstacle. and i think it's easy to get confused in the percentages and the allegations of fraud. everyone here, all of the election observers, say universitily and i've been speaking to many of them there was a great deal of fraud in this election and it will take a long time to sort it through. what this means for the americans right now there is no credible partner in afghanistan. you cannot make plans because there is no government in place. the entire u.s. mission is to send in troops here so that they can reinforce the government so that they can try and help the afghan police and security forces take over places that have been controlled for the taliban and controlled by the taliban. right now, they have no partner, they have no -- nobody on the other side to deal with. not even a time frame how long this could take before it is resolved. >> richard engel live for us in kabul, thank you very much.

in iraq today, four u.s. soldiers killed today in separate incidents. the first happening in baghdad when a patrol hit a roadside bomb. one american soldier was killed. in northern iraq three u.s. troops hit after a patrol hit an ied. the woman is free now in sudan. she could have faced a possible sentence of flogging but she invoiced not to pay the fine but today a journalist union reportedly pay her fine and freeing her. as president obama prepares to deliver that crucial address to a joint session of congress, divided house democrats are returning to chill today. a new poll shows they are divided on health care reform. 39% would urge them congressman to vote against the reform and 37% are in favor of it.

robert andrews of new jersey joins us now. congressman, thanks for your time. i was looking over your previous interviews. you've said in the past reform could be toothless without the public option, but you've also said that it's not the only option. which is it? >> well, it needs to be something that keeps the insurance companies honest. i think the public option is the best way. but i think passing something that protects consumers and regulates insurers and covers the uninsureds is what we have to do. i'm not drawing lines in the sand here but i strongly prefer the public option. >> would you support a plan without a public option? >> i don't want to answer a hypothetical question. i want to fight for a plan with a public option and i want to work with the president. yeah, i would if ied to but i would rather have the public option in it. >> on politico, roger simon is writing in terms of the president speaking that this is not a time for a inspiring speech. he said the president has to get specific on wednesday. do you agree and does he need to get specific about the public

option? >> yeah. i think he does need to get specific. i think he will get specific. with all of the respect to the commentators this president is pretty good at making speeches and understanding how to communicate with the american public. i have a lot of faith that he will deliver a very persuasive and coherent message. >> i want to play for you a bit of the president yesterday talking to the health care critics. >> i've got a question for all of these folks who say, you know, we're going to pull the plug on grandma and this is all about illegal immigrants and you've heard all of the lies. i've got a question for all of those folks. what are you going to do? what is your answer? what is your solution? you know what? they don't have one! >> have you spoken to any of your colleagues who are on the

other side of the aisle? have you had any good conversations on what ideas they my have here going forward? >> yeah, i have. i've responsible to eight or nine republicans over the past couple of months and they have good ideas but they have to come forward with them. as the president said i think persuasive yesterday you're guaranteed if you do nothing to have higher costs and a lot of uninsured people and the insurance industry calling the shots. i don't think that's what the american people want. republicans can offer an alternative and they didn't do so in the committee i'm on. i hope they do so now. >> thank you for your time. >> thanks. watch the president's address tomorrow night at 8:00 eastern on msnbc. rod blagojevich stint as illinois governor did not go as he planned it and then e79ed to be a reality tv star but that dream went up in smoke, too. now he has a new job. a new gig. we will tell you what it is. making one of the most powerful democrats in the house just isn't fulfilling any more.

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well, is it soon to be secretary barney frank? the house finances chairman says he would be interest inned running the housing and urban development. he told a biographer he would like to top off his career there. but he was quick to say he's not planning to leave capitol hill any time soon. it's a no from joe. joe kennedy that is. the former congressman and son of bobby kennedy says he won't seek his uncle ted's massachusetts senate seat. he wants to continue working at citizens energy that provides discount oil to low income families and that company receives much of its oil from venezuela. 34% of african-american children raised in two parent households what can be done to

strengthen the foundation? we are all in this together, right? hill harper is the author of "the conversation." he joins us now with his new book out today. before we talk about the book and i know it's a big part of the conversation that is happening even with the president's personal responsibility with african-american, i got to ask you about this backlash on the speech. you went to harvard and known the president a long time. what do you think of parents saying they don't want their parents to hear from the president? >> it's sad to forme. i've known president obama about 20 years now. it's sad we've gotten into a place where we are using politics to define every movement someone make as if there is some type of hidden or political agenda with something as positive as staying in school. we know the higher the dropout rate the higher the crime rate and whatever community. when you hear from the president of the united states saying, look, education is important, that's how i got to where i am,

stay in school and to protest that message and make it political, it's sad, a sad commentary on where we are now. >> you were involved in the campaign. we've seen this last seven months become so polarizing. it's not just the rights, though. you have progressives like yourself on the left who are saying if the president doesn't have a public option, if he doesn't do, you know, this or more troops are put in afghanistan, i'm not going to support him in the future. this is a lot of pressure from both the right and the left. did you see this coming when you were out there pounding the pavement trying to vote for change? >> you know, i didn't see -- i didn't think that we were going to get so stratified and so divided on attempting to vilify each other. the idea is i thought we were going to be working towards solutions which the president has really attempted to do. if you look back he attempted to appoint republicans -- >> but from the left and he is also getting it from the left. >> that is what is so

interesting about it. he is much more moderate and looking for solutions and really efficient way and how he has been since i've known him for 20 years. he is about solutions, not about politics as much as people try to make it seem. and when you talk about progressives criticizing him from the left or conservatives criticizing him from the right, it's a sad commentary that we're not just talking about solutions. because really what we want to get to in my opinion in this country and most people want are effective efficient government. >> a lot of what you present to the conversation is based on your background what happens in the home and the relationships that exist before you even make it to school and perhaps hear from the president. we did hear president obama talk about personal responsibility in relationships. how does that tie into the message you are trying to present in this book? >> as a single man -- >> how can you be single and give love advice? that means like me, we both fail! >> not about failure. >> okay. >> the idea this book is different. it's for men and women.

i found a lot of my single men, they don't have credibility. they are married and want me to get married, too. if they hear from a single guy talking about partnership and what partnership means and how you can actually create a better and bigger life if you're with the right partner and from a single man's perspective it carries women away. they know i could have dates, right? that is the anecdotal piece. in 1966, 84% of african-american raised in two households and it dropped now to 31% and 70% of blacks are single. it made me ask the question what is going on and as a single man, am i part of the problem? >> and the impact it has on the american landscape. thank you so much for joining us. check it out. hill hrpary's new book. now over to monica. >> thank you. blago is back. in his new book, rod blagojevich

denies allegations he tried to sell president obama's former senate seat. this morning on "today" he defended his actions claiming he was just engaging in a routine political deal. >> the irony here -- and it's as thick as can be -- that is the very accusers who said those things and took things out of context had me arrested and creating jobs in the state and guarantee to not raise taxes on people the very people who made those accusations are the ones going to court and prevent those tapes from being heard in their full context. >> he is set to stand trial next year on charges that include racketeering and conspiracy. you like your health coverage, but worry what happens... if you get sick, or change jobs.

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welcome back. health care is not the only issue lawmakers are getting back to work with as they return to the hilda. proposals in both the house and the senate would extend unemployment benefits another 13 week, making some eligible for

nearly two years. but there's a catch. the extension would only apply to the state's hardest hit by the recession and michigan congressman sandra levin, company spok co-sponsor, joins us. the number of people out of work, in your home state, it's double digit, but when you factor in those working part-time and smch the other indicators, some numbers estimate it's around 20%. so obviously an extension of unemployment would be greatly needed in a lays liplace like ye state. >> in mine and really so many other states. the estimate is that this month 400,000 people are going to essentially wear out their benefits. they're going to be left without any support at all and the estimate is for the country, a million and a half will exhaust their benefits by the end of the year. for those peoples, it's a real crisis and we need to respond to this crisis. and one other factor so

important, the estimate is for every job that opens up, almost six people are seeking it. so something has to happen here. >> how would your proposal work and what kind of support are you getting for it? >> it would add an additional 13 weeks. and i think there will be a lot of support because there is really a human situation here. it isn't people who aren't looking for work, it's people who want to work. and six people are looking for every job that opens up and we're talking about 400,000 people as mentioned the estimate is. it will be a million and a half by the end of the year. so washington needs to act. >> you were asked about the critics who say that extending the benefits would not spur people to go out and look for a job or in some cases move to other states where unemployment numbers are not quite as high. i believe there are 15 states in the double digits when it comes to unemployment. how do you respond to that?

>> first of all, people have to be looking for work to be eligible for unemployment compensation. secondly, as mentioned, six people looking for every job, there are job fairs, thousands of people show up for a relatively few jobs. so i think it's just a mistake to say that these are people who are not looking for work. just talk to these families. that's what i sgt. >> what about the cost to taxpayers? you've got some critics who say that the government is continuing to spend money that is not just out there, even if it is a cause that is perhaps at all of our doorsteps which could be unemployment. >> look, what's the alternative i ask everybody. we have to be fiscally responsible. but we cannot be irresponsible in terms of the lives of people who are out of work, a million and a half by the end of this year who on will have exhausted their benefits. they're looking for work. what's the alternative?

i think action is the only alternative. >> congressman, thank you very much. we'll certainly keep track of it this proposal and see what kind of assume you get. thank you, sir. >> thank you. venezuelan president obama hugo chavez received a standing ovation at the venice film festival yesterday. they shared a fist bump. the documentary portrayed chavez sympathetically as a hero to the people. fist bump, it's everywhere. >> you remember what chavez did for president obama, ambushed him with a book. so he's appaeshtly good with the photo op. >> that let's it for us. >> i'll be back at 3:00 for the big picture with my colleague, david shuster. and dr. nancy snyderman picks up our coverage next with live coverage of the president's controversial back to school speech that is just moments away right here only on msnbc. ♪

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