expected to come in again on saturday. that is when he was arrested. we understand from last week's interrogation he was very cooperative with authorities but then he denied any knowledge of those nine notes on his computer and he did admit, as you know, that he went to a training camp in pakistan. and he also gave a writing sample, which then the authorities matched to those nine-page bomb making note and that is his writing. >> thank you so much for that update there. now the bigger picture, just how critical were these arrests in the war on terror? federal officials suspect zazi was planning to create an explosive device, while investigators did not give any specific attack plans or targets, they are worried about possible use of backpack bombs on new york city subways and trains. authorities say they are still unsure if they have nabbed all the conspirators in the alleged plot. joining us live is nbc news

terrorism analyst michael sheehan, former deputy commissioner of the counterterrorism for the nypd and former state department ambassador at large for counterterrorism. michael, this has the feel of a case where investigators will to move quickly before, frankly, all the pieces are in place. >> that's right. and perhaps they might have gone a little bit early. some people are criticizing them for that but seems to be some reason that compelled them to arrest these people early. we will never know how serious this plot was, certainly, savannah, had the ingredient of things when i was at nyc would make us worry. >> isn't this the classic predicament for prosecutors trying to collect evidence, they want the strongest case possible, yet they can't let the case ripen to the point where suspects could potentially pull something off? >> that is right. particularly with the president in town this week, the u.n. general assembly, leaders from all over the world, sensitivity is at a heightened sense here in the city. so they moved quickly and as i said, we are not sure whether this plot would have developed, but it had some very serious problems with it. >> what do you read into the

fact that we were able to get in there and we saw these -- they were called preemptive raids in new york and their arrest following in colorado. what does that say to you about the state of our intelligence community? >> this has been a classic case of intelligence working. we know there was some intelligence that led us to this group that came from foreign sources, led us that this individual was traveling from the camps to the united states, also intelligence collection in the united states both from the nypd, very active program and the fbi. so, it all came together, international, domestic, came toward and coordinated, quite frankly, one of the breakdowns prior to 9/11. so this is a good news story. >> what do you make about the story about this imam who apparently, according to reports, a government informant who then kicked off the subject of some of the police inquiries. this sound to you like somebody playing both sides against the middle? >> well, we will know as things develop but clearly, he was a source of the nypd, so he was

cooperating with them. he might have inadvertently tipped these guys off, right now, we don't have any evidence he was playing both sides of the ledger but he pit have inadvertently tipped these guys something was brewing that might have precipitated the earlier arrest. >> michael sheman from the nypd, counterterrorism analyst for nbc. thank you so much. >> thank you, savannah. one of the situations that is scary, as michael said, all of the world leaders here. prosecutors are always in a pinch, they want to build a strong case but don't want to wait so long something awful happens. >> interesting to see what happens, once they get down and get into the nitty-gritty interrogations and start negotiating with zazi to see whether there are other suspects and whether there is even more valuable information that they can get from these three arrests. we will be keeping our eye on that of course. president obama hit the ground running this morning after a media blitz sunday. today, the president stop bade a community college in troy, new york, with the vice president's wife, joan biden. >> the first time a sitting vice

president has visited troy since dwight eisenhower. while obama was there he spoke to students about the economy. >> so as we emerge from this current economic crisis, our great challenge will be to ensure that we don't just drift into the future, accepting less for our children, accepting less for america. we have to choose, instead what, past generations have done, shape a brighter future through hard work and innovation. >> fresh off his visit to five of the sunday morning talk shows, the president is moving onto late night tonight appear as the sole guest on "the late show with david letterman." let's go to mike viqueira. we didn't see much in the sunday talk shows. what about tonight? expecting a big news break? >> reporter: probably not. one of the tenets is repetition and consistency, joint speech to congress weeks ago, contessa,

rally since then and all the appearances yesterday there were some contentious months, when he was cornered on the idea of the so-called tack and the affordability issue within health care, the statistic out there now, a family of four making $66,000 a year, chose not to have health care because of the so-called individual mandate, they could be fined as much as $3800. that is in the baucus bill you can the much-awaited baucus bill. for the most part into the a lot of new ground broke. you are right, the president is going to make that detour while in new york city on his way to the general assembly and all very important high-level, bilateral and trilateral meetings with world leaders. the david letterman shock the ed sullivan theater, i think, contessa, we can expect to hear more of the same in terms of his promotion of health care. >> politics here, pivotal players on health care reform, for instance, republican senator from maine, olympia snowe, and a new ad out urging her to back the government-run insurance option. what's the ad intending to accomplish? >> reporter: well, there are some liberal groups who they say

it is a $100,000 ad buy that is going to be airing in maine, which, of course is olympia snowe's home state. she is a republican, known as a moderate, along with susan colin of that statement the ad will be is supposedly be airing here in washington, d.c. difficult to see what they are trying to accomplish on a number of levels here, first of all it is not the public ones that is the problem as far as owe listen ya snowe is concerned. right now the white house is trying to pick her off if for a bill that doesn't have the public option so they can get to 60. the problem with the public option in the senate is moderate democrats they are going to have to talk on board if that is going to go any were at this point, doesn't seem to be. the ad faech chur a testimonial from a maine woman who lost her husband to cancer and says that if the public onning were there, the insurance companies would not have treated her husband poorly, as she alleges was the case. might strike close to home to olympia snowe, lost her own mother at the age of 8 to cancer. also, olympia snowe is relatively safe politically, i think she is not up again until

2012. last two elections, she has won by significant margins. none the less, this is what we have seen, seen some of the groups go after moderate democrats as well in ben nelson. hard to see whether or not they are going to have an effect. it could backfire in some says, contessa. >> mike viqueira, thank you, buddy. >> you're welcome. if you have groups buying ads, trying to persuade lawmakers, perhaps their money would be better spent on those moderate democrats who right now are the real obstacles to accomplishing public option, at least in the senate. >> at the same time, i think certainly keep an idea, running ads against fellow democrats isn't the best use of time and resources. >> is okay, she's republican, run all the ads you want. >> i guess. the bottom line, urging her to support a public option, which as you have mentioned, many moderate democrats don't support anyway, i don't think most people expect it in the final bill, unless things change. >> and one never knows that could happen. >> we never know in washington. coming up, the top u.s.

general in afghanistan warning he needs more troops to avoid failure. are more soldiers really the answer? we are going to talk about that with nbc chief foreign correspondent, richard engel. plus, reports that john edwards promised his former mistress he would marry her once his wife, elizabeth, died. also claims, he may soon finally admit that rielle hunter's daughter is his baby. also, dinner with sarah palin. we will talk to the woman who paid $63,000 for a private evening with the former governor. this is "the big picture" on msnbc. come on. [ kissing ] come on. good girl. mollie's never looked better. i really was amazed to see the change in her coat. people stop us when we're walking, and they'll say, "did you shine up her spots?" [ woman announcing ] just another way purina one... unlocks the brilliance of nature... to transform the life of your dog. for us to see the difference in mollie-- we were really excited about it. it just makes you feel wonderful.

[ announcer ] it's amazing what one can do. female valve: hahahaha...i am sfx:strong like the ox.ght. i crush you like tiny clown car. because you are... ...clown, yes? female valve: come, you hit me again and i break you. male valve: oh, you messed with wrong pipe now, car. ha, ha trust me...i have to live with her. announcer:accidents are bad. but geico's good with guaranteed repairs through auto repair express. [ birds squawking ] [ moos ] [ man announcing ] if you think about it, this is what makes theladders different from other job search sites. we only want the big jobs. welcome to theladders.

a premium job site for only $100k+ jobs and only $100k+ talent. your hair mixes with pollen and dust. i get congested. but now with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breathe freer, so i can love the air™.

we are getting breaking news in from honduras, the ousted

president, man we will zelaya has gone back into honduras, taken refuge in a brazilian embassy, according to the tv network there. we are hearing that the pro-zelaya crowd orally in front of the building is starting to break up there and that the officials at the u.n. building are holding a regular meeting but they didn't have any confirmation that zelaya is actually inside. now, this is the u.n. building, he is inside the u.n. building in tegucigalpa, honduras, not inside the brazilian embassy. any wake the ousted president has returned, been in exile, his first time back in three months. >> this is an interesting story, man we will zela manual zelaya is not a gave out of this administration. so they found themselves on the side of zelaya, otherwise would

not support. very interesting. and this situation where folks in south america say the u.s. should interveep more, do more to bring zelaya back into power. there was a moment in mexico with the president, he was asked about this, he basically called those folks hypocrites. said you never want the u.s. to interveep until it suits you. so just an interesting backstory. wait and see what the united states' response is now the fact he is back, again, just because he is back in the country doesn't mean he is back in the presidential palace or anything like that. this could end up being a big news story, depending how the crowds react to it there. okay, the things need to know today. >> right now, deadly storms are slamming northern georgia, causing massive flooding and killing at least two people. emergency workers in lawrenceville say they have found a woman's body inside a submerged car there. in douglas county, a man's body was found downstream after his car washed off the road watch and reports of one missing

person in carrol county. a man is wanted for getting death of his wife and five kids. the day after the man left for haiti, the victims were found in their florida home murdered. investigators won't release the children's ages or how they died. police do not expect to make more arrests in the killing of yale graduate student annie le. le's body was found hidden in a wall at a yale medical research building. ray clark, a lab technician, has been charged in the murder now. le's body has been flown back to her northern california hometown where her family will hold private is funeral services some time this week. still ahead, president obama's face-to-face meeting with a politician who the white house reportedly wants out of office. we will have some awkward moments behind-the-scenes. i bet a little awkward. >> it was. some people who there were say yeah, very awkward in fact. later in the shock don't try this at home, a 54-year-old guy tackles a bank robber, kind of hard to tackle a bank robber at home.

>> you have to do that at the bank. when you're on a diet hungry just won't quit. but you can outsmart him with weight watchers online. it's weight watchers, but it's completely online. customizable tools give you structure to make healthier choices. while restaurant guides, recipes, and mobile access give you flexibility, to live life and lose weight. sign up now and get one month free. go to weightwatchers.com/monthfree hurry the free month offer is only available for a limited time. weight watchers online. stop dieting. start living. as we get older, our bodies become... less able to absorb calcium. he recommended citracal. it's a different kind of calcium. calcium citrate. with vitamin d...

for unsurpassed absorption, to nourish your bones. get what dermatologists now recommend to fight aging... in new aveeno positively ageless multidefense. a combination of a high spf and powerful antioxidants... designed to reduce lines and wrinkles in just 4 weeks. new from aveeno. announcer: you could buy 300 bottles of water. or just one brita filter. ( drop plinks ) brita-- better for the environment and your wallet.

welcome back to the big picture. the top u.s. commander in afghanistan warns unless president obama sends more troops, the war, he says, will likely result in failure. >> general stanley mcchrystal sent an urgent assessment to secretary of defense robert gates at the end of august and now reviewed by the president n it the joan writes, "resources will not win this war but underresourcing could lose. although considerable effort and sacrifice have resulted in some progress, the overall effort is deterioratin deteriorating." sunday, it was talked about 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 have got the right strategy, i'm not going to be sending some young man or woman over there beyond

what we already have. >> nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us. what is the strategy in afghanistan and whatever it is, shouldn't the president be satisfied with it? >> i don't think he should be satisfied with it. the war in afghanistan is clearly not going very well with. and if you look at the mcchrystal assessment and nbc news has a copy of it, it is abbreviated version is on the "washington post" website, it doesn't just talk about sending more troops, it says we need to radically change the course of the war. it says, if you want to do this correctly, mr. president, you're going to have to send more troops, we are going to have to refocus the way we think about fighting the war, focus on the population instead of focusing, as it has been, about combat operations, killing taliban, we have to think about building a community with the afghan people, gaining their trust. it's a really different way of approaching the war and i think right now, the president is deciding, do we want to do this?

mcchrystal is asking for a surge. very much the same way when general petraeus took command in iraq, he said, okay, president but shall i will do this this i will take this mess that is iraq right now, but i want an open checkbook, i want more men and i want to be able to do this my way. general mcchrystal saying a very similar assessment, we need to do things very differently in his opinion if there is going to be success in afghanistan, otherwise, expect failure. >> what is so interesting here, as you know, when the president took office, he ordered a top to bottom review of the strategy looking at afghanistan and pakistan, a big announcement, rolled out this strategy for afghanistan, brings mcchrystal in then mcchrystal does his assessment, now we have the president on all the sunday shows saying let me get the strategy right, figure out the resources, people saying, wait, what was that about? i thought we had a strategy. >> well what is the strategy? the strategy, according to the ,

is to prevent pakistan and primarily afghanistan from becoming an al qaeda sanctuary. mcchrystal came back with his assessment, said if you want to do this sir, you are going to have to radically change the way the war is being fought. the government is corrupt, nato is inefficient, the government -- nato is an inefficient command structure and going to need more troops. i think you are seeing political considerations under wake the president is debating is that the only way of doing it? >> you brought up how efficiently our troops are being used, the guys and women we already have over there. what about civilian experts? if a lot of this is about truly nation building, about making sure there are roads in place, making sure that people can grow and sell crops that put money back in the family covers, wouldn't civilian experts be as effective if not more effective, than troops on the ground? >> i, frankly, am not a big fan of the civilian experts, most of the civilian experts i have seen in afghanistan and iraq are

beyond useless. most of them are people who go over there because they are enticed by contracts, enticed by tack subsidies and no idea what they are doing. they are working for their local council in texas and work in afghanistan, it sounds good they will build capacity, but it doesn't work. never worked in iraq and very little confidence it will work in afghanistan which is so much more culturally different than the united states. >> but no question that that civilian work has to be done, so it is not the civilian reconstruction teams, then who? >> well, there's two approaches here, general mcchrystal offered a max mallist approach. essaying if you want to do this correctly, you are going to have to have a comprehensive counter insur general iscy strategy, which is building the roads, building the trust of the

people, having civilians partnering with the afghan security forces, he talked about pushing the troops off the bases, get them mingling with the afghan security forces. >> that is dangerous for our men and women, isn't it? >> even in this report, he said it could seem counterintuitive that sometimes in the long-term, having less armor around you could ultimately protect you because you build the troops. yes, in the short-term it is certainly very unnerving to get out of those big armored vehicles and to walk among the people, but he is saying long-term, that will ultimately make you and the mission safer. so, he is an out-of-the-box kind of thinker saying if you want to do this, this is the one wake the other way a totally minimalist approach, leaving a very small number of troops there some drones and not focus at all on nation building, not focus at all on trying to build the trust, but just keep it focused on killing al qaeda leaders. >> all right. something secretary gates, i think, does not favor, we will hear more about this for sure.

richard engel, thank you so much. so, it will be interesting to see, because i have heard some of the people there in afghanistan saying, yes, they do need agricultural experts but the military does have people who specialize in these particular areas and maybe if they can combine the boots on the ground mcchrystal is suggesting he may need along with the suffian experts richard engle is suggesting they need, maybe something can be accomplished. >> the big question is political will. talking about major nation building in a country that has even less infrastructure and stable government than even iraq did. a lot of our questions to get into. coming up next, new detail about the extra marital affair of john edwards what, he reportedly promised his mistress and why he may be making another public confession. >> another one? >> another one. also, if you have a private dinner with sarah palin, what would you want to talk about? we are gonna talk to the woman who paid $63,000 for that chance. be right back. (announcer) carefree introduces protection, times ten.

new carefree ultra protection liners, with wings! absorb ten times more, like a pad but feel thin and comfy, like a liner. new carefree® ultra protection™ now there's new heart health advantage from bayer. its non-aspirin formula contains phytosterols, which may reduce the risk of heart disease... by lowering bad cholesterol. new heart health advantage from bayer. 90s slacker hip-hop. by lowering bad cholesterol. ♪ that can strain your relationships and hurt yourody 'cause we'pride ♪ng a ride ♪ ♪ it's the credit roller coaster ♪ ♪ and as you can see it kinda bites! ♪ ♪ so sing the lyrics with me: ♪ when your debt goes up your score goes down ♪ ♪ when you pay a little off it goes the other way 'round ♪ ♪ it's just the same for everybody, every boy and girl ♪ ♪ the credit roller coaster makes you wanna hurl ♪ ♪ so throw your hands in the air, and wave 'em around ♪ ♪ like a wanna-be frat boy trying to get down ♪ ♪ then bring 'em right back to where your laptop's at... ♪ ♪ log on to free credit report dot com - stat! ♪

i'm mike huckman with your cnbc market wrap. right now the markets are mixed, dow down 29 points. the s & p 5 had 00 off two points and the nasdaq is up, actually, about 6 1/2 points. oil prices fell more than 3% today on signs of weak fuel demand. oil settled just under 70 bucks a barrel. a new sign the economy is recovering. the conference boards index which forecasts economic trends six to nine months ahead rose for a fifth straight month. the index increased 46% in august, hitting its highest level since january, 2008. and dell says it plans to buy the information technology services company, perot systems, of ross perot fame, for $3.9 billion. dell is looking to boost interest in its personal computers by expanding its it services for potential customers.

that's it for cnbc first in business worldwide. now, back to msnbc. welcome back to msnbc to on this monday afternoon, i'm contessa brewer. >> i'm savannah guthrie. in the "big picture today" new allegations that john edwards is the father of his former mistress's child. the candidate is considering declaring these the father of rielle hunter's daughter, but the "times" reports an edwards family friend that elizabeth edwards "has yet to be brought around to the idea of her husband claiming paternity." keep in mind, the revelations come from a back proposal shopped by a former aide to edwards, andrew young. that aide once claimed he was the father of rielle hunter's baby but he has since recanted. everyone keeping up? young says not only is edwards the real father of hunter's child, he also worked with his campaign finance chairman to hide it. when edwards came forward with his affair last summer, he flatly denied he was the father

of hunter's baby in an interview with abc news. listen. >> a few years ago, i made a very is serious mistake. i would welcome participating in a paternity test, be happy to participate in one. i know that it is not possible that this child could be mine. >> according to young's book proposal, edwards told hunter he would marry her after his wife died in a rooftop ceremony with a performance by the dave matthews band. >> big promises. bigger picture here, a federal grand jury is investigating whether john edwards committed any crime trying to hide that affair with rielle hunter. when edward was running for president last year two of his wealthy donors quietly gave hunter large financial sums that were used, shall we say, to keep her out of public view. also, prosecutors are examining money that the edwards' campaign gave hunter for videos she produced. some of that money was listed as going toward furniture

purchases. raul felder is a family law attorney, also the author of "divorce, the way things are not the way things should be" and "lawyer's guide to equitable distribution." what should rielle hunter get from john edwards if baby francis is, indeed, his daughter? >> well, as much as possible that is the quick answer. it is difficult to resolve these cases because on one hand, you got a guy like edwards, throw money at her just to go away, to save whatever is left of his political career, but you can't really do that in these kind of cases. a judge sits down and says, wait, you can't give this woman $1 million, the woman may take it and the child get nothing. even though they want to settle it is not so easy. >> how complicated is this case now that there is this sideline criminal investigation, looking into whether these campaign contributions were improper because they were essentially hush money? so basically, you have got rielle hunter going in there before a grand jury and testifying to all the details of the affair that must complicate

the situation. >> it is complicated, two different tracks. now you can take the fifth amendment, they ask him any question about any of this stuff, but on the other hand, you have dna. that points the finger. used to be a test that was exclusionary. now, 99.997 comes back, the guys say it is impossible, i hardly knew the girl it is going to happen here and they have the right to order dna tests. >> then there will be these questions of the criminal intent. for instance, there was an amount of money this money that went into the pack, supposed to be for furniture purchases a certain amount went to rielle hunter, pay rielle hunter, the question about who is moving money around, who is getting money? go to his wealthy friends? we heard this before, one of the wealthy friends died, said, yeah i was doing this for two people who were in love and getting themself ises into a bad spot, we just wanted to take care of it. there is a complicated issue now. does she get anything -- if there are criminal -- if there

is a criminal side to this, which the court will assume, does it change what she gets in terms of paternity? >> no pattern knit most of america today goes by a child support guideline, very deliberate state to state. that is not so in the old days, even if you gave birth, claim it was the father of his friend and the friend would say that is my child and poll he low the payment through, but a guy can't have a good time anymore, just not going to happen. >> that is one way to look at it, raul. >> raul felder, thank you very much, essentially that is what they tried to have happen, here was john edwards' aide, andrew young, said, no i am the father of rielle hunter's baby, coming out in a back proposal saying no, i'm not, not the father. >> realize maybe he has some credibility issues as well. >> trying to sell -- wants to sell not only the book proposal, in the end, he wants to sell books. >> shopping a book by offering the most salacious details. sure his publisher is not thrilled all this is coming out now what is interesting about

this, the report that nbc has done, not as though edwards he's representatives are waving people off this story. >> saying there may be an announcement or a state statement some time even as soon as today. >> about as far from a denial as you can get. anyway, thank you. closeup today, the palin chronicles and dinner with sarah palin does not come cheap. >> well, an alabama woman has won the chance to dine with the former alaska governor with heroining bid in an ebay auction. cathy maple bid $63,500. >> may seem like a hefty amount, for a good cause, stale healthy amount, actually. the proceeds will go to charity, a charity called ride to recovery, which helps wounded veterans in cycling programs. maples owns a defense cracking company. she is on the phone with us now, skype, actually, from huntsville, alabama. okay, ms. maples, the $63,500 question, why did you enter this and what are you going to talk

to sarah palin about? >> well, one reason i entered it is because of what you just spoke of, the tried recovery program, and i had a brother that spent 20-plus years in the service and i would like to help these guys that have tried to fight for our freedom. and sometimes i think i would like her political views on things and then at other times, i think just leave politics out of it have a good dinner, a good conversation, because i already know her views, so i know what kind of lady she is. and the morals that she has. so i know what she really stands against anyway, just as a.c.o.r.n. and all these special interest groups. >> so, cathy, how is this all going to work? are you going to go to alaska or is she going to come to you in atlanta or how does this all work out? >> i don't know that yet. these details will be worked out, hopefully within the next few weeks. of course, is she is in hong kong, speaking this week.

>> and i know that when you and i spoke a little bit earlier today, you said that you were eager, you would vote for her if she were running for president in 2012. want to tell us a little bit more about that and what you like about sarah palin as a political leader? >> i would vote for her if she ran in 2012, as long as -- well, let's just say i would vote for her because i know what she stands for. i have watched her. i do a lot of research on politics. and i like it because she don't serve the special interest groups, you know, such as acorn and uaw, like i mentioned, and i don't believe she lies to get votes. i believe she is what she is. i don't think she is hypocritical. >> cathy, any member of the palin family you hope she will bring with her when you guys have your dinner? >> i would like to meet her son who just spent a year in iraq, her son. >> you know that piper palin is cute, too, i did cover the palin campaign, got to meet some of

the kids, they are nice kids. good luck to you. >> what a beautiful family. >> yeah, keep in touch with us, 'cause we would love to hear -- get a debrief on that dinner once it is said and done. >> thank you, cathy. >> you're welcome. >> made the point to me earlier today, too it is a lot to pay for a dinner with the former alaska governor, however -- >> even new york prices. >> but goes for a good cause, like i really did that for the charity, i really believe in the charity, i wanted the money to go for the troops who were coming home and need some rehabilitation. >> the former governor of alaska. >> she is going to pay for the travel? >> she does. >> who pays for the dinner, i have to ask? >> if you have to pay for the travel it would only be fair for someone else to pick up the tab. have to see how that works. >> i would think so. up next, president obama meeting new york governor david paterson one day after the world learned that paterson is going to run again. is it unusual for him to get

involved in these matters of state. the wait is almost over for tom delay's big day but a on gdansk with the stars. oh, yeah. >> for the first time ever, the republican hammer moves to the left. tom delay is gdansk with the stars. to silence headaches... doctors recommend tylenol... more than any other brand... of pain reliever. tylenol rapid release gels... release medicine fast. so you can stop headaches... and feel better fast. (announcer) transform your water. women who drink crystal light drink 20% more water.

crystal light. make a delicious change. but those days came and went, and the cigarettes remained. but today's a new day. and a few simple steps can make a real difference in your next quit... things like starting with a plan to quit smoking... getting support... and talking to your doctor about how prescription treatments can help you. talk to your doctor about prescription treatment options.

and make this time, your time. nally, good news for people with type 2 talk to your doctor about prescription treatment options. diabetes or at risk for diabetes. introducing new nutrisystem d, the clinically tested program for losing weight and reducing blood sugar. hi i'm mike, and i lost 100 pounds on nutrisystem d when i was first diagnosed with diabetes, that first step was more like a giant leap. till i discovered nutrisystem d. in a clinical study people on nutrisystem d lost 16 times more weight and reduced their blood sugar 5 times more than those on a hospital-directed plan. plus a1c was reduced .9%. choose from over 140 menu options, there is no counting carbs, calories or points. i lost 100 lbs. and lowered my blood sugar level.

nutrisystem d changed my life. mike is one of many who have lost weight and controlled their diabetes with new nutrisystem d. backed by 35 years of research and low glycemic index science nutrisystem d works. satisfaction guaranteed or your money back! new! nutrisystem d. lose weight. live better. call or click today. first of all, the man, the governor of the great state of new york, david paterson is in the house. >> well, they said it was awkward. >> in today's making their case, the president versus the governor. new york governor david paterson attended president obama's speech today in troy, new york, as white house officials tried to downplay reports the president is asking pat paterson not to run for election next fall, asked about a parade on sunday, the governor left no doubt about his intentions.

i have said time and time again that i am running for governor next year. i am not going to discuss confidential conversations. right now, my focus is that we have the most unprecedented deficit in the history of the state and the fewest means to fight back. >> according to the "new york times," last monday, when president obama delivered his speech on wall street, he didn't invite governor paterson. instead, here is what happened. "white house political director met with mr. paterson that day and told him that the president had had lost confidence in his ability to win the 2010 election, especially hold off former mayor rudolph giuliani." the white house demied anybody tried to run paterson out of office but concerns he can win. they made those concerns clear in an appropriate way, they say. should governor paterson run for election? here to make the case, a correspondent for the nation and national staff member for the 2004 john kerry presidential

campaign and also amanda carpenter, reporter and blogger for the washington times. okay, ari, starting with you, number one, did the white house handle this in a good way? should to be involved in these kinds of state political matters. >> well, you know, president obama said governor paterson was in the house, being sort of nice about it today. governor paterson is in the basement. his approval has been logged a 20 points since june. this white house, any white house in the same political party concerned about that, not just ale truistically about winning the governor's seat but in the state races, the local races going to be up and down the ballot in the midterm. the white house is saying very clearly, they want someone who can who havary little bit above 20 points, understandable and tough, a tough situation. >> amanda, let me ask you, michael steele, the republican chair weighed in on this, saw an opportunity, saying there was something, paraphrasing him, unseemly about the president not coming right out and asking paterson not to run again,

making very clear that is his preference. >> the president is within his rights, he is the leader of the democratic party but does make it uncomfortable, i think, to other democrats, namely paterson, when he has the president saying that he doesn't have his confidence, i think that makes it difficult for governor paterson to govern. i think republicans aren't too upset about this, also in the "new york times" story, it indica indicates that paterson can beat rudeddy giuliani in a matchup. other polling reflects that president obama in the press, new york press with that, which is brutal when it comes to this kind of stuff, saying that they -- he doesn't believe in paterson, a good thing for republicans. >> speaking of the new york press, elizabeth ben gentlemanman rights about paterson, he's dead man walking, president obama fixed it so paterson is the lamest of lame ducks and virtually unable to accomplish anything that might resurrect his poll numbers.

interesting you bring up michael steele, hey, his numbers are better than jon corzine. we did the checking. no, they are not. ari, sources told chuck todd of nbc news there was a bit of an apology from the president to the governor how this went down s president right is it time for paterson to think about moving aside and letting another democrat run? >> i do agree it is a death blow and agree with amanda, it makes republicans look strong. president obama runs the democratic party, along with the country, his views are important, very right to share them, but also makes it look like the democrats are nervous about giuliani or potentially any other republican because i pulled up the cross tabs today paterson, you cannot believe how low he is among every segment of the new york population. every single cross tab, every way you cut t. >> like to explain what cross tabs are? >> basically looking at different segments, are you rich? are you poor? are you a man? are you a woman? race, religion. every single category, people say he is doing a terrible job. politically, not like he is up

turn out among a certain group and come fighting back this looks like az log candidacy and why you have the national democrats scrambling. >> amanda? >> also say that i think president obama is probably right to be concerned because the governor will have the power to redistrict in 2011, makes a huge difference when it comes to the upcoming elections and also, they don't want anyone bringing down kristen gill brand, the new york senator that fills hillary clinton vacated seat. she is up for re-election and needs her to keep the 60-seat majority, reasons that president obama is worried about new york that doesn't lie with paterson's approval rating. >> thanks so much for being with us. got to leave it there. >> thank you. >> you know, the fact of the matter is the white house gets involved with political affairs all the time, a whole office, their reason for existence, i bet you they don't like it when it lands on the front page of the new york times. >> maybe not. i actually feel like any governor dealing with massive deficits right now, look in

california, it is easy to whose the confidence of the people, the politicians around you when you are struggling with debt up to your eyeballs. still ahead, an update on the three accused terrorists in court today. what exactly did prosecutors say they were planning to attack? an update on deadly floods in georgia. this is "the big picture" on msnbc. with t hatruck. vroom... vroom. okay, time's up. here ya' go ! that's a nice one, i made that. that's a piece of junk. yeah. i want the red truck. well, you can't have the red truck. see, that was a limited-time offer only. it's, ah, right here in the fine print. even kids know it's wrong to hide behind fine print. why don't banks ? we're ally, a new bank who always gives you a great rate, with nothing buried in the fine print. it's just the right thing to do.

with nothing buried in the fine print. what if you could capture the fresh taste of broccoli in a luscious soup? v8 garden broccoli. from campbell's. velvety, delicious. campbell's v8 soups. also, try new garden vegetable blend.

let's take you live davy, florida. this is breaking news. a school van was involved in an accident with two other cars. you see a yellow school bus there. that is not the car that was involved. nine people have been taken to the hospital. this was a preschool transport van that was involved in an accident, in davy, florida. that's about 20 minutes outside of fort lauderdale. as we understand it, about nine people have been taken to the hospital. not sure what the breakdown is in terms of how many adults, how many children. our first reports were the scene is that it's only minor

injuries. but, of course, we are collecting more details and bringing them to you. >> and there is the man right there, you can see the driver's side door open, and the investigators there on the scene. as savannah said, even though there are reports of minor injuries, they have been taken to the hospital. it looks like that's the man, and then the mini school bus, the broward county school bus here for preschoolers. when we get more information about this accident, we will bring it to you. >> welcome back to "the big picture." severe weather continues to cause deadly results in the southeast. >> police believe a missing toddler has been washed away by flood waters in georgia. at least two other people were killed. the cars they were in, swept off the road, because of all that flash flood. more than one foot of rain has fallen in that area over the past through days. weather channel meteorologist jeff moro has more from poudder springs, georgia. >> powder springs, georgia hit very hard in the last 24 hours, with as much as 16 to 18 machines of rain, like that if

it comes down that fast is going to cause flooding, and that's what we have here behind me. powder creek springs behind this ro road. we have talked to a lot of people, and most who have lived here, some 20, 30 years, have never seen the water this high. this is normally a recreation nal baseball field, the water eight to ten feet deep, moved all the way over to the museum here in the park, and going into that 100-year-old building you see there. this water, again, as high as people have seen it. now, the water may have crested, it looks like, and will probably start to recede. granted we don't get anymore rain. unfortunately, more rain is in the forecast here across parts of northern georgia, right on through the middle of this week. jeff morrow reporting from powder springs, georgia. >> we'll keep our eye on the attention and when we get new details in, follow that. >> will more troops help avoid failure in afghanistan.

confronting president obama. >> also the gop faithful put their faith in mike huckabee. what they say about their party. and the season of the political tell-always. new books selling secrets about the country's most powerful depositions. you're watching "the big picture" on msnbc. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 yeah, i know what you mean... tdd# 1-800-345-2550 when my broker said, "i make money when you make money," tdd# 1-800-345-2550 he neglected to mention tdd# 1-800-345-2550 he also makes money when i lose money, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 withdraw money or do nothing with my money.

tdd# 1-800-345-2550 tdd# 1-800-345-2550 what is goin' on ? i got my subaru for the confidence of all-wheel drive.

my friends thought that was smart... ( hip music pumping ) my new friends think there's something more. feel the love. into an incredibly strong, healthy cat.he has blossomed... his coat is incredibly shiny and soft and very thick. everybody thinks he's the most handsome cat they've ever seen. [ woman announcing ] purina one for indoor cats... unlocks the brilliance of nature... with a natural fiber blend that helps minimize hairballs... and maintain a healthy weight. [ laurie ] he's a character. he brings so much laughter into this household. and he's the best-lookin' cat there is. [ announcer ] it's amazing what one can do. getting an early flu shot is the best thing you can do... to protect you and your loved ones from the flu. it's also one of the easiest things you can do... because walgreens is now offering seasonal flu shots...

every day of the week with convenient hours guaranteed. so you can just stop in. our 16,000 dedicated pharmacists... and take care clinic nurse practitioners... are waiting to help you beat the flu... in neighborhoods nationwide. at walgreens we want you to know, there's a way to stay well. >> i have to exercise skepticism, any time i send a single young man or woman in uniform into harm's way, because i'm the one who is answerable to their parents if they don't come home. >> the president may be skeptical about sending more troops to afghanistan, but the top kmantder is certain, send more troops or america will lose this war. romance revelations. john edwards secret promises to wed his mistress revealed. accusations from a former aide claim he is the father of a baby girl. >> there are a lot of people

running for president, every one of them are going to come to you and tell you they're with you. but are they? >> the same old faces in the same old places. the conservative pick for the future looks a lot like the past. >> and who needs pro wrestling when you can just go to the bank? a fearless customer, a bank robber, and a full nelson caught on camera. it's all right now on "the big picture." >> and good afternoon, i'm con tess abrewer. >> and i'm savannah guthrie. david has the day off today. the top u.s. commander in afghanistan says without more troops the war could be, quote, a failure. on august 30th, general stanley mcchrystal sent a report to robert gates and stressed the gravity of the situation. quote, resources will not win this war, but underresourcing could lose. although considerable effort and resulted in had some progress, many indicate the overall effort is deteriorating. sunday on "meet the press," president obama spoke about

defining his strategy for the war. >> i don't have a deadline for withdrawal, but i'm certainly not somebody who believes in indefinite occupations of other countries. if supporting the afghan national government and building capacity for their army and securing certain provinces advances that strategy, then we'll move forward. but if it doesn't, then i'm not interested in just being in afghanistan for the sake of being in afghanistan. >> nbc's jim milk will he she have ski is live. jim, reading between the lines of what the president is saying, also saying he is in no particular rush to make this decision, do you get the feeling the white house, the pentagon, the administration is looking very closely at this strategy, and may announce some kind of fundamental shift? >> well, savannah, the white house is certainly looking very closely at this strategy. as far as u.s. military officials go, they think that general stan mcchrystal's strategy, which is to provide more protection for the afghan

people themselves, while building up the afghan security forces, is the correct strategy to pursue. the only problem there is it could take many years, up to ten years, and many more troops. it's expected that stan mcchrystal wants to ask for as many as 40,000 additional forces by next year to take on this new strategy. so we're told, according to pentagon officials, that the white house has actually signaled that in lieu of this request, for additional forces, the white house would first like to further review the current strategy, and maybe even look to a new possible strategy. all of this, of course, is not being done in a vacuum. given the fact that political and public opposition to this war is growing at the same time american casualties are at record highs. >> you raise a good point. and then the other factor to put into the mix, is, of course, the