>> i don't know about that. i think they certainly believed that it was through zazi's contacts in pakistan that he was with known al qaeda associates. now, how you take it from that point in pakistan further into the leadership of al qaeda, i haven't heard anybody talking about the possibility of learning more about that. i think their focus is the other direction trying to figure out who was in the circle of people in the united states and they now believe was a very active deadly terror cell. >> pete williams, thank you. a bleak assessment on the war in afghanistan. the top u.s. and nato commander says more troops are needed there, or the u.s. risks failure. now, that's according to a 66-page document that's been obtained by "the washington post." here is what the president had to say about adding troops on sunday's "meet the press." >> i have to exercise concept tichl conceptism. any time i send a person in harm's way because i'm answerable to their parents if

they don't come home. i have to ask some very hard questions any time i send our troops in. >> democratic strategist julian epstein and republican strategist alex cohen join us. he states in "the washington post" failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurtingent momentum in the near term while afghan capacity matures risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible. alex, do we need more troops and, if so, how many more? >> well, that's clearly what the military is asking for is more troops and the administration has had this report now for three weeks and i think it's curious we're just finding out about it now. the president has kept saying, you know, he has kept kicking the can down the road on afghanistan. all summer, he virtually ignored the war and went months without speaking about it and now when the elections didn't go well

there the military saying they need more commanders. he is finding he doesn't have political support in congress to deliver the additional troops with the long-term commitment needed there. i would argue one of his own makings since he ignored the war so long this summer. >> let me play another sound bite from the president on "meet the press." >> i'm not interested in just being in afghanistan for the sake of being in afghanistan. until i'm satisfied that we've got the right strategy, i'm not going to be sending some young man or woman over there beyond what we already have. >> julian, it sounds as if the president is pretty clearly shifting the debate here. he is not so much focused on the numbers. we know we'll have 68,000 troops in afghanistan by the end of the year. he's not talking, though, whether he would add more. now, he seems to be shifting the debate to strategy. what is our strategy and our end game? >> the most important problem that we've had the afghan government has been riddled with

corruption and the prison system in afghanistan has been a breeding ground for insurgent terrorism. so i think the white house is looking at this and looking at how iraqi war brought down the bush administration for three or four years starting in 2003-2004 but very important differences. the first important difference is that this administration recognized early, i think unlike the bush administration in iraq, you need to invest now in order to avoid having to kind of pay later, so make the commitment on troops early in the process when you see it going south. the second difference in afghanistan is that the u.s. is very popular inside afghanistan and the taliban is very unpopular. they've done a number of polls and the u.s. has a faverability rating from 60 to 80% and the taliban about 10%. that's very important because you need to be able to build on popular support and win the hearts and minds of the local people.

really, the third kind of difference is that this administration has been able, unlike the previous administration, to achieve bipartisan report. lindsey graham said yesterday basically the administration has been doing the right thing in afghanistan. i think there's clearly now a need for troop increase to about 130,000, but the administration is really pushing the afghanis to step up to the plate and increase their security forces to 400,000. at the end of the day this is something that is win or lost by the afghanis but the u.s. has to play an important role and i think the administration will learning from the lessons of the last administration, step up a troop increase some time in the next year or so. >> you talk about the administration and the president letting this linger too long through the summer but many critics saying the bush administration let this linger far too long in afghanistan and that is why we are where we are. >> we are where we are so we should debate what we should be doing going forward. as julian said there is bipartisan support especially

among democrats. the democrats in congress are beginning to peel off. saying they aren't going to support more troops. you have important senate democrats like senator levin saying he doesn't necessarily support more troops. that's a failure of presidential leadership when the head -- when the -- >> the president saying that he believes that maybe we need to shift strategy, then that's not necessarily a failure, is it? >> but why all of the indecisiveness? this is no, sir a surprise. we see the traj injectry that more troops are needed and now we have a president who has had this report three weeks saying he is going to continue to study it. >> is this the administration trying to make a thoughtful decision on a very difficult issue here? >> i'm not sure to what extent alex has had much experience on capitol hill but the idea of the three-week delay is let the committees of jurisdiction review the report and to allow on a bipartisan basis members of congress to offer their comments. so, secondly --

>> clearly, the president -- >> he has not done that. >> alex is very keen on playing politics here. i think the fact republicans play politics on the iraqi war hurt them politically. >> we have to let it end there, gentlemen. thank you both. former arkansas governor mike huckabee on top of a crowded field of 2012 presidential hopefuls at least if you ask social conservatives. he was the clear favorite in a straw poll conducted this weekend at the annual values voters summit and racked up more than double the votes of mitt romney but nearly a four-way tie for number two spot, romney, pawlenty and palin and mike pence getting about 12% of the votes. >> a lot of of people are running for president and every one will come to you and tell you they're with you but are they? many of them will come to you. i come from you.

>> voters are going to make their intention clear in the 2010 elections. that's a public option i agree with by the way. >> all of the five made appearances at the summit except sarah palin. ahead president obama gears up for a busy week on political affairs but does the drama in upstate new york derail hi attention? finding out you're pregnant with someone else's baby. the heartbreaking mix-up one ohio couple is now facing. it's caught on camera. the scuffle that everyone is talking about. a wisconsin man takes matters into his own man to stop a bank robber in action. it's all next on msnbc. ♪ i got troubles, oh ♪ but not today ♪ 'cause they're gonna wash away ♪ ♪ they're gonna wash away ♪ ♪

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developing this hour.

deadly storms are slamming the southeast today. at least two people have died in northern georgia. emergency workers in lawrenceville they say they found a woman's body inside a submerged car. then in douglas county, a man's body was found downstream after his car rushed off the roadway. jeff moror from the weather channel is in powder springs. looks like a down pour is around you. what can you tell us about the area? >> looks like right now, roadways and you just mentioned the fatalities here. two of them. roadways here you definitely don't want to try to cross. it is blocked off here but the water is gushing across the road there behind me and i can see how any vehicle would easily be swept, maybe swept downstream here. powder springs creek which is the creek behind me has expanded about ten-fold and rushing through this low-lying area. fortunately where i am there aren't a lot of residential houses and mostly a park area. ther are some out buildings that are actually for sell but they

are under water right now. so you might be able to get them pretty cheap, i'll tell you that. water here is still rising. we haven't had really heavy rain here for a little while, but the water that had fallen overnight and we're talking anywhere between 12 to maybe 16 inches of rain, has really caused this area streams and rivers to rise quickly and it's going to take a while for this water to go back. so rain is still in the forecast here the next 24 to 36 hours. beyond that, it does look like we might have a chance to dry out as we head later into the week. right now, georgia is probably dealing with some of the worst flooding it has seen in, i would say, at least 30 years. back to you. >> incredible pictures. jeff morrow, thank you for bringing that to us. that is secretary of state hillary clinton ringing in the trading day at the new york stock exchange this morning. a big week for secretary clinton who is in new york for the u.n. general assembly and kicks off the week by meeting with a host

of dignitaries and participating in a dialogue with japan and australia. president obama is on his way to new york city. before stepping on to the international stage he is tackling domestic issues and start in upstate new york and any minute now he and dr. jill biden will tour a college. mike viqueira is covering it up a. president obama the first sitting president to visit troy, new york, since dwight eisenhow eisenhower? >> i didn't know that. >> i didn't either. why troy? >> the hudson valley community college is there and he wants to talk about his innovation agenda and after he speaks there, he is going down to new york city and before he makes speeches and has important meetings with many of the world's leaders, he is going near times square to the ed sullivan theater and tape the

david letterman show and appear on that tonight and part of that flooding the zone the media strategy that started when he gave that speech to a joint session of congress and other rallies and, of course, yesterday where he flooded the zone on five sunday morning public affair shows we've been talking about so much this morning. there is a full plate here. the president is trying to push his health care agenda while other issues are happening on the periphery. >> and speaking of other issues, something of interest to a lot of new yorkers, although it actually is more than just local politics, it has some national ramifications. the president getting involved in state politics. "the new york times" reporting the president sent a request to new york's appointed governor david paterson to drop his re-election campaign. let me play for you what rnc chair michael steele had to say. >> the white house sent word to only up with of two black governors in the country not to run for re-election. i find it to be stunning and rather bold. i just think it's a curiosity for me that the president would

inject or the white house would inject itself no that debate when i don't think it's appropriate nor necessary. >> so it's actually not that curious because there's some 2012 election issues raised here? >> there is 2010 election issues here, too. democrats running down the ballot. freshman democrats running in marginal districts who don't want the top of the ballot to be david paterson because that could hurt them and this he could potentially lose. robert gibbs, the president's spokesman on the plane on the way to troy, he spoke to the press and here is what he said. i wouldn't add a lot to what you've read on the reports in "the new york times" principally about what the white house has told david paterson and what we've read essentially the white house has told him and not very subtle terms that perhaps he should step aside, give that -- this is a decision that paterson will ultimately have to make. incidentally paterson is there in troy.

a table for two? with the president? could be some awkward moments there. andrew cuomo is also going to be there and a potential rival of paterson so that might be a little dicey and a little awkward when they get together later today. >> yeah, no kidding. awkward reservation for two i think is the name on that one. mike, thank you. >> sure. protesters in pittsburgh want the g-20 nation to know they need to do something about unemployment. the first of many protests and we expect to see throughout the week. organizers of a march scheduled to friday they say they are expecting 7,000 to participate. coming up, new details on why paramedics were called to david hasselhoff's home overnight. john edwards former aide filling secrets what he says about the paternity rumors. was edwards planning to marry his former mistress? you're watching msnbc. your place for politics. (male announcer) if you've had a heart attack

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breaking news in dallas, texas. we've got pictures just coming in. live shots. a school bus, obviously, in a pond in the dallas area. what we're told is it appears that the school bus had dropped all of the children off so thankfully no one was inside other than the driver is what we believe at this point. somehow that school bus made its way into this pond. again, we're in the dallas, texas. the back hatch door is open and the hatch on the roof open as well. it appears that the driver got out safely. but, again, no children believed to be aboard that school bus. we'll update you if we get any more details. a would-be bank robber in wisconsin meeting his match. a customer leaps toward him from behind and tackles him to the ground and security cameras show the suspect taking money from the tellers. he told them that he was carrying a gun. the customer who took that masked man down says he was

worried about his wife who happened to be standing near the suspect. the space shuttle "discovery" set to arrive at the kennedy space center today on the back of a modified 747 jet. that is always a cool shot. it had to refuel overnight. discover dvr landed in california on september 11th after two-week, 5.7 million mile trip to the international space station. former u.s. senator and presidential candidate john edwards is, once again, facing allegations that he fathered a child with his mistress rielle hunter. a former aide once claimed he was the father of the child says in fact, he helped edwards hide that secret. joining is john becker a washington correspondent for reuters. "the new york times" reporting that edwards may be ready to admit he is the father of rielle hunter's child. a lot of people will say we

thought this all along. >> a lot of people have thought this all along. it's interesting that the news organization on top of all of these stories has not been "the new york times" or the "the washington post," a member of the mainstream member, it's the "national enquirer." a sorted story if "the new york times" is completely accurate and it becomes even more sorted. according to an aide to former aide to john edwards, john edwards knew and has known that the child of rielle hunter is his biological child and according to "the new york times" will admit so very soon. there is a grand jury investigation going on right now. the timing of this admission may be connected to that grand jury investigation. >> and there is, jon, a serious question this is not just about gossip. this is also about a serious legal question here, potential legal ramifications. talk about the grand jury investigation and we've known it's going on some time and saw the shots of rielle hunter when she went in front of the grand

jury and she brought that baby with her then. we know that prosecutors are haggling with this notion whether candidates to -- payments to a candidate's mistress to keep that mistress silent is part of campaign donations. >> this is what prosecutors are contending with right now, whether or not this is a violation of the law. john edwards it should be noted has hired a criminal attorney, not an attorney associated with just federal election campaign violations but a criminal attorney associated with this investigation. it's unclear whether even an s.e.c. violation may have occurred but if prosecutors go that route, they could also bring criminal charges against the people involved. not just on john edwards but the people who actually gave money to rielle hunter. >> and "the new york times" is talking about this book proposal from the aide and they say that he also priswhere is that mr. edwards once told miss hunter that after his wife died, he would marry her in a rooftop ceremony with a appearance by

the dave matthews band. is anybody refuting this? >> no, no comments from anybody connected with the edwards family. john edwards has essentially been in seclusion in his house not far from chapel hill, north carolina, for quite some time. they have not been responding to this latest store ni story in "the new york times." this becomes more salacious when you hear the details associated with that book proposal. >> jon decker, thank you. >> thank you. an ohio couple was overjoyed to be pregnant what they thought was their fourth child but the fertility clinic they used reportedly implanted the wrong embryo. the baby she will soon deliver is not hers to keep. this morning they told "today" they are trying to see this as a gift for another family. the family who -- that embryo blongs to. the family didn't ask to be

placed in this difficult situation. >> of course, we will wonder and about this child every day for the rest of our lives and we have hopes for him. but they are his parents and we'll defer to their judgment on when or if they ever tell him what happened and any contact that's afforded us. you know, we just want to know he is happy and healthy. >> carolyn savage cannot carry any more children due to a health condition but the savages have just signed a contract with a surrogate who will be implanted with the couple's remaining embryos. according to tmz david hackle hoff hasselhoff has been hospitalized for drug poisoning. paramedics arrived at the home after a friend call 911. no word from hasselhoff's reps. in 2007 you will remember his

daughter intermediate her father who was extremely intoxicated and that was leaked to the media. ahead, cadaver dogs locate an area of interest in back yard of kidnapping suspect phillip garrido. is american ready to commit more forces in afghanistan or face the possibility of failure. developments out of atlanta two people have been killed in flash floods there. we'll have the latest next on msnbc. okay. you were right. these healthy choice fresh mixer thingys, they taste fresh... say it again! say it like, "mmmm, these healthy choice fresh mixers taste freshh!!" they taste fresh... wait. what are you doing? got it. you're secretly taping me? you know, it wasn't a secret to us, we knew. yes, but it was a secret to me. of course, otherwise i would be sitting like this and completely block his shot. so that's why i was like... didn't you notice this was weird? no. made fresh from your desk, cook it fresh, strain it fresh, mix it fresh. healthy choice fresh mixers, look for it in the soup or pasta aisle.

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the atlanta metro area and north and west of the city and more rain on the way. the rain pulling off to the north of the immediate metro area but the last 24 hours many locations to the west and northwest of atlanta metro 6 to 12 inches of rain and flood warnings in effect and potent storms are moving north of the city. marietta on over towards dallas and on down into locations just to the west of atlanta seeing a tremendous amount of rain in short amount of time and this is not just from this morning. last six days have been very wet and more rain is on the way. flooding rains back into birmingham as well and those moving off to the east and northeast. despite all this flood warnings in effect and more rain on the way, atlanta hartsfield only running 30 to 40-minute delay for their departures but more rain is expected, i do think that the departures will be gaining ground here through the afternoon hours. more rain is expected today and

tonight and as we get into tomorrow, maybe some break in the pattern but flood warnings are ongoing and more rain likely to move into the metro area. >> ryan phillips, great to have you. thanks. three terror suspects head to court today in an alleged bomb plot and afghanistan-born man and his father set to appear in colorado and a third man at a mosque in queens is in a new york courtroom right now accused of knowingly and willfully making false statements to the fbi in a matter involving international and domestic terrorism. the first doses of the swine flu vaccine expected to arrive in the united states by october. it will produce 800 million of the vaccine per year. president obama getting involved in getting chicago to host the 2016 summer games. he will likely go to copenhagen to make his pitch to the ioc. california firefighters racing the clock as they

continue to battle l.a. station fire. tonight the santa ana winds scheduled to move into the area. those bring gusts up to 45 miles an hour and that, of course, could fuel the flames. right now, station fire is 93% contained. the top u.s. commander in afghanistan says more troops are needed there or the u.s. risks failure. "the washington post" got their hands on general stanley mccrystal's 66-page report on the war sent to the secretary of defense last month and is now under review by the president. reporter for "the washington post" joins us live, karen. i'm struck by the notion the president has had this and looking at it for some time, we understand. but we also heard him this sunday on "meet the press" talking about the fact that he was focused less on the number of troops as a debate and more on what the strategy should be overall in afghanistan. >> the president has made clear that he's going to go at this in a very deliberative way, that he's not going to be rushed, that he wants to hear everybody

out, that general mccrystal's assessment is only one input among many he will receive and consider. i don't think they're in any big hurry to make a decision on this. >> are we nation building in afghanistan? do we know exactly what the new strategy will or should be? >> well, i think we are nation building to a certain extent at the moment. what general mchrystal has recommended is ramping up that effort very quickly and with significantly more resources. he is basically said that unless you adopt a full counterinsurgency strategy that would build up the afghan government, build up the afghan economy, whale, while, at the same time, proceeding security for afghans and do that in a very comprehensive way, that we can't win. >> and to do that in a comprehensive way, though, seems to call for not only far more troops but far more time. we hear more and more about the afghan government being ripe with corruption. how could you possibly reform in 12 months' time?

>> this is the major fly in the ointment right now, because of the disputed afghan elections and the fact that it doesn't look like there is going to be a government that is recognized by the united states and its allies or, more significantly, by the afghan people that is legitimate any time soon. on the one hand it gives the administration a little bit more breathing room to make a decision. on the other hand, it eliminates a lot of possibilities because whatever strategy they decide on depends, in a large part, on having a partner in the afghan government and building up the afghan government so that it can take over. that's our exit strategy. >> this document was leaked to "the washington post" all signs pointing to the pentagon having leaked this. if that's the case, are they then saying, mr. president, you don't have the time? you need to make a move here? >> well, without discussing who leaked it, i would want to note that the -- in discussions with

the administration over the weekend, the administration decided to unclassify or declassify a large portion of the document. i think the military is -- they are frustrated. they want some kind of answer. they feel like they're in the middle of a strategy there and they have determined, through general mchrystal, what the way ahead is, and they would like to continue with it and they would like a decision sooner rather than later but, again, president obama has said he is not prepared to do that. >> karen, thank you so much. >> you're welcome. touching moments in roam during a state funeral of six italian soldiers killed in afghanistan. thousands paid their respects during a national day of mourning. the six men were willed killed in a roadside bomb last week in kabul and it was italy's deadliest day in the afghan war. this morning a murder suspect who goes by the name of psycho sam will be arraigned in court. police say 20-year-old richard

mccrossski flew from california to virginia to attend a so-called horror core concert with a teenage girl. it is a type of music that combines hip-hop beats with violent lyrics. police say after the concert he killed the girl and three other people in her home. her myspace page says he rapped about killing people slowly and watching their die breath. police investigating jaycee dugard abduction investigationor have honed into a particular spot in the garrido's yard. they are the couple suspected of kidnapping dugard and imprisoning her for 18 years. the search for evidence resumes this morning, michael? >> yeah, the search for evidence resumes this morning and as a result of those findings your -- you were talking about it means inconsistencies in that spot. what investigators basically

call anomalies that there is something out of the ordinary in that particular area when you compare it to the rest of the area around that half-acre property. something could, in fact, be buried in that area. officials also caution, however, that it could be something as benign as a tree root or a large stone, a whole host of natural things. in other words, as far as the investigators are concerned, absolutely nothing. what we do know at this point investigators have recovered three bone fragments from the garrido property and take them several weeks perhaps to determine and analyze those bones and to determine whether or not they are human or animal remains. what investigators have basically been doing for the better part of four days now is literally scouring over that property, pulling you -- up all of the concrete and searching it high and low to find any possible clues that might connect the garridos to the disappearance of two young girls

back in the late 1980s. there is real consistencies between that case and the case of jaycee dugard. >> michael okwe, thank you for the update. markup time on capitol hill. senators begin work on making changes to the health care reform bill introduced by senator max baucus last week. plus the best and worst places to raise a family in the united states. how does your city stack up? you're watching msnbc. your place for politics. [ woman ] dear cat. gentle cat. your hair mixes with pollen and dust in the air. i get congested. my eyes itch. i have to banish you to the garden. but now with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. i can breathe freer with zyrtec-d®. so, i'll race you to our favorite chair. i might even let you win. zyrtec-d® lets me breathe easier, so i can love the air™. zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed. [screeching] [dejectedly] oh.

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how the driver is doing but they did manage to remove the driver as well. all 18 students are safe. believe it or not, they just left an aquatic center of all places and on their way back to the school when this happened about 10:00 a.m. eastern time and now it looks like everyone is all right. now the top economic headlines. oil dropping today due to weak demand. federal reserve considering new rules on bank pay to stop the excessive risk taking that prompted the global financial crisis. house considered emergency legislation to extend unemployment benefits to more than 300,000 people for 13 weeks. that extension would help those people who live in states with unemployment rates 8 .5%. the full senate finance committee heading behind closed doors this week to begin marking up the commit kesees health care plan. no small feat. committee members proposed 564 amend it is to the bill you who is counting? kelly o'donnell is live on

capitol hill. someone is counting. what is in these 500 plus amendments and when would we see an actual bill? >> good morning, monica. when you say 564 it is sort of eye-popping and as you would imagine it covers a whole range of different ideas. amendments offered by both democrats and republicans. so from the democrats' side among the things that we've been hearing about and reading in those amendments, for example, trying to reintroduce the idea of a public option, trying to increase tax credits for the poor to make things more affordable if an insurance plan moves forward, those sorts of things. on the republican side, we're hearing things as simple as replacing the word fee with tax. and that would set up a political argument to try to call this bill a tax increase. also kinds of ideas about medicare, from different points of view, how much should it be cut or expanded, those sorts of things. it gets very detailed and it really reflects the scope of all

of the arguments that we've been hearing about. now, because some of these ideas are from republicans, in addition to democrats, the president has been thinking a lot about the whole notion of bipartisanship and during his interview with "meet the press" host david gregory, he talked about trying to get republican ideas in this legislation. >> i think there are going to be a whole series of republican ideas, ideas for my opponents during the campaign that we have incorporated and adopted, and this is hard, and, you know, one of the things i always said is if this had been easy, it would have been taken of care of by teddy roosevelt. >> it is hard work and it will take time. tomorrow, the finance committee, the full committee will examine the document that we all saw the other day. the first draft of what is known as the baucus plan. and then they will go through these 564 amendments and they will be voting on each one so a lot to talk about and a lot of ups and downs about what is

moving forward and what is not in the days ahead. monica? >> kelly o'donnell, thank you. activist group a.c.o.r.n ordered an investigation into this video. because of the video the house has voted to deny all funding to a.c.o.r.n. the senate agreed to shut off housing and community grant money as well. if you're a parent you want to hear this next story. children's health magazine is ranking the best and worst places in america to raise a family. even when the sunny beaches and warm weather, miami is listed as the second worst place to raise children and only detroit ranked lower. on the list of worst places, orlando, florida. so you're thinking that's great. tell me where i want to go then. best cities, burlington, vermont. followed by madison, wisconsin, and fargo, north dakota. we're following developments out of upstate new york where president obama is expected to

talk about green jobs to a group community of college students. there you see the live picture there. the president is expected to speak at any minute. live coverage right here coming up on msnbc. ( conversation ) garth, you're up. hold on, i'm at capitalone.com picking a photo... for my credit card. here's one from my prom. oh, what memories. how 'bout one from our golf outing? ( shouting ) i know, maybe one of my first-born son. dad, mom says the boys gotta go. personalize your card by uploading... your own photo at capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? ♪ who switched from geico to allstate... saved an average of $473 a year? no way! way. ♪

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president obama is focusing on the economy today in a speech in troy, new york. you see the live pictures there. the president is about to address community college students one day after a report that new york's unemployment rate rose to 9%, the highest in 26 years. chuck todd is traveling with the president. chuck, first lay out a preview for us today. the president is going to be talking about the economy. >> reporter: the economy and some of the jobs they would like to see created. the idea of community colleges as job retraining areas. this is the type of economic

event you are probably going to see the president do a lot more of as the fall wears on and the health care debate fades. a lot of focus on this issue of jobs. a lot of people hear the stories that the economy might be out of recession, may be recovering, but they don't feel it. you will hear the president talk more and more about jobs every chance he gets. >> chuck, let's talk about an awkward moment. the "new york times" said the president sent a kwk to governor paterson to drop his campaign. the governor is saying he is going to run. what can you tell us? >> here is what i know, they greeted each other. governor paterson was there when the president got off of air force one. a refurbished air force one. that is an aside for you air

force one junkies. governor paterson was there. they exchanged a couple of comments. a couple of sources telling me it had to do with the president expressing regret how this whole thing played out, how it went public. not surprising that the president would say that to the governor. there is a little bit of defines by the governor. he is saying, no one is going to push me out of a race. no one is going to tell me what to do. it is a badly kept secret. a lot of new yorkers have been hang wringing about governor paterson's number. cuomo would give the democrats the chance of holding this governorship. there are a lot of local politics that trickle down pr the governor's seat. the president is here in the new

york's 20th congressional district. the democrats won a special election five months ago where now senator kristen gillibrand, the seat she represented, the tough seat for democrats the hold. if you have the governorship and a strong candidate they can hold the coat tails in 2010. >> chuck, we've got dr. jill biden here, wife of the vice president stepping up to the podium. she is here joining the president and about to introduce him. let's pause and listen to dr. jill biden. >> thank you. good morning, everyone. thank you. i'm jill biden and i'm honored to be a community college professor. i've been an english teacher for almost 30 years and i've spent

much of my career on campuses just like this one. in fact, tomorrow i will be back in my classroom at a community college not too far from the white house. so i feel right at home here at hudson valley community college. people often ask me why i chose to teach at a community college and the answer is simple. it is because every day my students inspire me with their commitment and belief in education as their best hope for a brighter future for themselves and their families. i have seen firsthand the power of community colleges to change lives and serve as a gateway of

opportunity for students at all stages in their lives and careers. i know educations gained on campuses just like this one will provide the knowledge that will power the american and global economy in the 21st century. president obama knows it, too. i have always said community colleges are america's best kept secret but this administration has recognized their value from day one. president obama is making an historic and unprecedented commitment to higher education and bringing more students to colleges like hudson valley so they, too, can gain the skill and confidence to succeed in a new era. i can't think of a better investment in america's future. i'm proud to be here as a community college instructor, but i'm especially proud to introduce a president who not

only recognizes the value of higher education but is committed to making it a reality for more americans. please welcome president barack obama. >> thank you. hello, hudson valley. thank you very much. thank you so much. thank you. everybody, please have a seat.

thank you. thank you very much. what a wonderful reception. it is great to be here. thanks for whoever organized the weather. i want to first of all say thank you to jill biden who has been a teacher for almost three decades and she spent most of that time in community colleges. she understands, as all of you do, the power of these institutions to prepare students for 21st century jobs and prepare america for a 21st century global economy. that is what is happening right here at hudson valley community college so give yourselves a big round of applause. we've got some special guests here that i want to acknowledge in addition to jill. first of all, a wonderful man, the governor of the great state

of new york, david paterson is in the house. your shy and retiring attorney general andrew cuomo is in the house. andrew's doing great work enforcing the laws that need to be enforced. i want to thank the comptroller thomas dinapoli is in the house. speaker sheldon silver is in the house. the democratic conference leader state senator john sampson. albany mayor gerald jennings.

we've got three outstanding members of congress who are just doing great work every day, maurice hinchey, paul tomko, scott murphy, please give them a big round of applause. president of hudson valley community college, andrew matinech is in the house. did i pronounce that right andrew. joe sharubi executive director of tech smart who gave me a wonderful tour. now, you may ask why are we here a at hudson valley. we are here because this is a place where anyone with a desire to take their career to a new level or start a new career altogether has the opportunity to pursue that dream.

this is a place where people of all ages and backgrounds, even in the face of obstacles, even in the face of very difficult personal challenges can take a chance on a brighter future for themselves and their family. i was talking to the mayor of troy. we were in a room and he said he studied calculus in a room where we were taking a picture. i had to inform him i didn't take calculus. but he was testimony, he was an example of what you can do because of an institution like this. i know that here in troy you want and need that chance after so many years of hard times. communities like this one were once the heart of america's manufacturing strength, but over the last few decades you've borne the brunt of a changing economy that h