right now on "andrea mitchell reports," the president in new york says the financial crisis was born of a failure of responsibility from wall street to washington. >> a free market was never meant to be a free license to take whatever you can get however you

can get it. that's what happened too often in the years leading up to this crisis. >> president obama said his reforms are designed to respect legitimate activities but prevent reckless risk taking. but do the reforms go too far or not far enough? we'll talk to cnbc's steve leaseman and john harwood and congressman elijah cummins of the joint economic committee. meanwhile, across town in new york, the vice president with the ladies on "the view." >> do you have any power? i mean, what do you do every day? >> well, it depends on whether you talk to dick cheney. >> right. >> and 40 years later, happy earth day. but just what progress are we celebrating? from the white house, carol browner and activist and actor sam waterston. i'm andrea mitchell reporting from washington. the president just blocks from the new york stock exchange warns that changes are coming whether or not wall street is on

board. john harwood is cnbc's chief washington correspondent and is on location there, and cnbc's steve leaseman both joining us. first to you, john. the speech, your impression of it. was he tough on wall street, not tough enough? what do you think of the political tone that came out of the speech today? >> i think the tone, and rhea, reflected the evolution of the political debate in washington. you know, when the president gave his weekly radio address last weekend, he was very tough on wall street and republicans talking about cynical and deceptive arguments that were being made. today there was more conciliation in his remarks. we talked afterwards to a prom negligent hedge fund manager who said, yeah, he spanked us a little bit but not all that much and tried to bring people together. interestingly, he closed his speech with a version of that famous it ration that he had at the 2004 convention when he said there's not a red america or a blue america, there's one

america. he said there's not a clear divide between main street and wall street and we all rise or fall together and if that unifying message reflects the fact it looks like democrats and republicans will strike a deal before too long. >> and one of the things he really wanted to do, steve leesman, was puncture the republican talking point from frank luntz, which democrats say was written before their bill was even put forward by chris dodd. the talking point that this is another big bank bailout. this is what he had to say. >> what's not legitimate is to suspect that somehow the legislation being proposed is going to encourage future tax bailouts, as some have claimed n. that makes for a good sound bite but it is not actually accurate. it is not true. >> let's truth squad that. steve, is it factually accurate or not? >> well, let me just give you a little reporter's notebook edition, andrea, because i was reporting this story from both

the democratic and republican camp. talking to republicans week after week, i did not hear a word about this kind of criticism that eventually exploded out into the -- into the public space, which was that this was some kind of big bailout for wall street. my understanding, andrea, was that substantial parts of this resolution authority or bailout part were written by republicans and that it was sort of corker from tennessee who was involved with dodd. -in writing this. >> exactly. >> it was really weird for me to read this in the papers as a huge political talking point when, in fact, none of the republicans i talked to -- and i believe that corker eventually called this lewd krousz and judd gregg was a little more politic and says he thinks it goes a little bit too far. so i don't think that qualifies as sort of registers on the truth squad or truth meter very high at all. >> well, mitch mcconnell took it to heart and went with it. >> right. >> and i think got brushed back by his own senate caucus. john harwood, finally, you've been looking at the bill and watching the politics for so

long, you've interviewed the president. the derivative piece of this. blanche lincoln has her much tougher version which came out of the agricultural committee. i interviewed chris dodd yesterday and he indicated, certainly signalled that the banking committee is going to write the final version of this by the time it gets on floor. where do you think the white house and treasury come down on derivatives? >> well, i wouldn't be surprised at all if blanche lincoln's language -- and everybody knows blanche lincoln is in a primary getting heat from her left in arkansas -- if it reverts back to something closer to the administration's proposal, which did not force the major institutions to get rid of those derivative swaps. the president is hoping that interview yesterday, his core principle is transparency. the exchange trading, the clearinghouse function not where those derivative desks lie. that was the signal i thought that this may be something democrats might give up in the bargaining with republicans. >> and john, you were there just briefly looking around the audience, lloyd blankfein from goldman did show up, mike

bloomberg, contrary to earlier reports, did show up even though he's been critical of the white house approach to all of this. but no jamie diamond, not some of the other major players from wall street. >> right. it was a mixed audience, and you had a lot of what the white house wanted, which was average americans as well as the business side, as the president was trying to make the case to the financial executives who were present. look, this reform's in the name of people trying to start businesses or get loans. we've got to make this system fairer, more transparent, more workable for them. >> john harwood and steve liesman, the best from cnbc. we'll watch your coverage all day. thanks so much. keep in mind the president's speech comes less than a week after the s.e.c. of course filed that civil fraud case against goldman sachs, a move that could help clear the way for reform legislation, certainly giving it political impetus. joining us, maryland's democratic congressman elijah

cummins, who's been calling on the s.e.c. to cast a wider net and look at dozens more potentially fraudulent transactions. welcome. you and peter fazio wrote a letter last week. what do you want the s.e.c. to do now? >> we want the s.e.c. to do its job. we want them to look at several other deals. there were 24 other deals that came under bacchus' set of transactions. we want to look at those, too, because we believe that this thing is widespread. it's not just this goldman deal that is the subject of the complaint. there's a lot more to it. and we want them to make it clear that if money was paid out from aig with regard to these ceos, we want to make sure that the american people get their money back and that if there was any criminal activity, and rhea, we think those folks need to be brought to justice. you just can't have a situation

where people are possibly defrauding their investors and then just say, you know, we'll fine you a few dollars and then life goes on. we believe that if, in fact, there has been criminal activity, that those matters should be sent to the justice department for prosecution. >> but of course what the s.e.c. has alleged here, if anything, is a civil case. and a lot of people are puncturing it and saying that they don't have that good a case, possibly because these things are so complicated and the disclosure requirements are very hard to prove. >> well, one of the wonderful things about the s.e.c. and mayor shapiro is they've had the opportunity to look at these things very carefully. keep in mind, they have been negotiating with goldman for over a year and they came to a point where they decided -- made a decision that they had to file this complaint, this civil

complaint. but andrea, just because it's a civil complaint does not mean that there was not criminal action in this. we don't know. but i do have confidence with regard to the s.e.c. under miss shapiro, and i think that the vote the other day, the 3-2 vote to proceed with this matter, says a lot. i leave it to their expertise. but the main thing that we have to concentrate on, and i think goldman should welcome this examination, is that we have to have a clear, transparent and accountable market because in the long run if we do not have that, people will not be investing. people need to know that when they invest their funds they are investing into a fair and honest system. >> just briefly, congressman, before i let you go, the -- what nancy pelosi has just said about the influence of money at her weekly briefing just to bring you up to date, she has said that the democrats are there for middle-class families, republicans are there for special interests, but when

asked about all the money that flows into both political parties from wall street and leading democrats were up there raising money only, you know, days ago, as were republicans, of course, she said they don't get anything because the fact is democrats have been leading the way for reform of wall street. so i don't know what you say is the fact they give more money to democrats than republicans. what matters is is the policy is here. does it, though, create an image problem for the public, for politicians to be facing a public when they've taken all this money from wall street? why raise money there if you're so critical of them? >> it does cause a problem. unfortunately, we need more extensive campaign finance reform. i can tell you that the 45 members who signed onto this letter to the s.e.c. with peter defazio and i, i'm sure that many of them have accepted money from wall street. but i can tell you they are independent thinkers, they're doing what they believe is

right. the letter is a tough letter. and it just goes to show you that more important than anything is that we need campaign finance reform. >> okay. elijah cummings, thank you very much. >> thank you. and coming up next, the ethics investigation, the house ethics committee widening its investigation into who knew what and when about sexual harassment claims against eric massa. up next on this earth day, finding new sources of clean energy. actor, activist and environmentalist sam waterston joins us to talk about the new documentary "future earth: addicted to power." and vice president joe biden asked about the open-mike gaffe. here's what he said was the president's reaction when they both got together alone in the car. >> he was laughing like the devil. i said it wasn't funny. i don't see anything funny about this. he said, katie, when my secretary, told me when you said

that to me, everybody could hear it.

the 40th anniversary of earth day and the networks of nbc are celebrating with green week. tonight msnbc premieres the fourth installment, "addicted to power" narrated by sam waterston. tonight, how our reliance on energy may be costing more than we realize. >> addicted to power. we are. across this globe of ours, the race is on to plug the growing gap between diminishing energy supply and soaring demand. meanwhile, to avoid choking on the carbon-based energy we burn, we're engaged in a worldwide search, not a gold rush but a power rush, to be first to find

and first to develop new energy sources that are clean, green, and, yes, inexpensive. >> sam waterston joins us now. he is also an oceana board member committed to protecting your oceans. great to see you. thank you very much for joining us. >> nice to see you. >> let's talk about what you're trying to achieve the documentary and the rest of your activism and talk about the auction at christy's tonight. the whole focus of clean energy has been so hard legislatively and politically in our country. every time you talk about a gasoline tax, people go crazy. how do you move it forward? what can your activism accomplish? >> well, i think that every person who advances the notion that we're ignoring the obvious is being helpful. obviously, we can't go on as we are going on for all kinds of reasons that don't even have anything to do with the environment, that have to do with security and cost.

but the environment can't take -- can't take the beating that it's getting from our depending entirely on fossil fuel, and something else has to be done. i'm on the board of oceana, as you mentioned, and one of the things that oceana points out is that the seas, which, you know, are being leaned on once again as a source of fossil fuels, are also there ready to supply unbelievable amounts of wind power. and it's very conveniently located right near the great population centers on the east and west coasts. so it would be efficient and clean, and we should just get on the case and do these things. >> when we talk about clean energy, though, some people would suggest nuclear power. there does seem to be a softening of the opposition to nuclear power, but there are so many regulatory issues, economic questions, questions of insurance that are prohibitively expensive, we haven't had new

plants lie sensed or progressed. do you think that, like france, the united states should also think about nuclear power? >> i think that the question that is outstanding at least as far as i understand it, is what it's going to become of the wave. perhaps the safety questions can be resolved. i think there's some confidence in the scientific community that that's possible. but the waste is a question that remains to be answered. if it were, it would be like clean coal. if they could clean up the burning of coal, everybody would be happy with that as a solution, too. it's just that there are these sticking points that vice president be-- haven't been resolved. >> john kerry and others, senator lieberman, others are going to be introducing legislation next week on climate change and energy, but what they've been arguing is this is a national security issue, that

as long as we rely on persian gulf oil and on, you know, importing from other unreliable sources, as long as our policy toward iran is conflicted by our energy policy, that we're never going to move forward. >> well, there's a big discussion going on in the public about whether we should be alarmed about this or not, but there isn't any dissent in the military and there isn't any dissent in the insurance companies. they know that these climate changes that we're dealing with are serious matters, and they are a matter of security and prosperity, too, for that matter. >> tell us about the auction tonight at christie's, the green auction, and what are you auctioning off and what do you hope to achieve? >> well, first of all, it's very nice to be working for a fenetwk that takes this question seriously and what we're doing is terrific and what christie's is doing is also wonderful. they're honoring four

environmental groups for their action, one of them i'm proud to say is oceana, and they're auctioning off an unbelievable bunch of trips and visits and go to the set and go to the -- go to the caribbean and all kinds of things that you can do for your own pleasure that will also support these four organizations. it's a great deal. >> a great deal and having fun while doing good. and i wish we could be up there. >> yeah. >> good luck with the auction tonight. we'll bid from afar. >> savetheearth.org is where to find them. >> thank you. we'll repeat that. watch "addicted to earth" tonight on msnbc. and coming up here, politico's jon harris on the role house leadership played in the sexual harassment claims against former congressman eric

massa. plus, john mccain offering a somewhat strange defense to the new immigration bill in arizona. and send me your thoughts. you can find me on twitter. [ male announcer ] crunch, wheat thins. that's what's gonna happen here. ♪ because you're tasty with toasty whole grain. [ crunch ] wheat thins. toasted. whole grain. crunch. the crunch is calling. perfect 10 from nice'n easy rich color stunning high gloss and flawless gray coverage all in just 10 minutes that's why it won the most awards from beauty editors perfect 10 the color that changes everything

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and breaking developments out of illinois where our favorite former governor rod blagojevich has just asked a federal judge to subpoena president obama to testify in his corruption trial. nbc justice correspondent pete williams is here with more. well, what would you call this, celebrity witness, perhaps? >> well, the defense lawyers, excuse me, for blagojevich say that the president has important information about the conversations with two of the witnesses that the government has. one is a labor leader whom they don't identify and the other is tony rezko, the chicago real estate person for whom the president -- former president

bought his house. now, a lot of the basis for their claiming the president should testify is unknown to us because let me just show you, andrea, that a lot of the documents that they file are heavily redacted. a lot of the supporting claims that they -- >> blacked out. >> -- claim the president knows about are blacked out. they say, basically, look, the president has important information for us, we are well aware of the inconvenience to the president, that this is unusual, but it's not uns predenlpre denl dented. other presidents have been subpoenaed in criminal cases, unlike jones v. clinton, because that was a civil case. but in criminal cases, the demand for evidence is higher and there's a greater justification for getting the best evidence. it's happened with richard nixon and in the past and we want a video deposition. and they also say, pardon me, what they want to ask mr. obama about is conduct that happened before he was president, so they say there's no issue here of executive privilege. >> they seem to have those bets covered. joining us to talk about this, jon harris, editor in chief of

"politico." >> hi. >> certainly not something the white house wants to hear right now. anytime you put together blagojevich, rezko, and chicago politics in one sentence, that's not a good sentence. >> no. that doesn't ring pleasantly in their ears, i'm sure. watching this report. >> john, at this stage the white house counsel, bob barr, fight it or is it something they might have to go along with? depends on what the judge says? >> i don't want to -- i want to label it as speculation because i don't know their strategy, but i would be stunned if this white house, like any white house, doesn't vigorously resist efforts to bring the president or people around him into any kind of legal proceeding, criminal or civil. in fact, they have a responsibility to do that. >> i totally agree. i think you can expect the government to resist this on several counts. first i'll say he doesn't have that important an evidence. secondly they say it's an inconvenience to the president.

they'll think of all sorts of reasons to have this not happen. i think you have to say going into this, and you never know what will happen, going into this, the odds that they would ever get what they want are very low, but, i mean, they're trying what they can. it's a vigorous defense of rod blagojevich. >> i'll say. thank you very much, pete williams with the breaking news. jon harris, let's talk about another unpleasant subject, eric massa, the former democratic gongman from upstate new york. the ethics committee now expanding its investigation. how high is this likely to go? what are steny hoyer and other who is say that they turned over these allegations immediately, what are they now saying? >> well, it's already at a high level. the massa scandal was one of those ones we thought had erupted in a fury but then quickly went offstage. what this investigation shows, the fact that the house ethics committee is pursuing this more vigorously, they've impaneled a special subcommittee to look at it, they're interviewing steny hoyer, says maybe that it's not

going away. we don't exactly know for sure what threads they're pulling on. but i think they really do want to know what members of congress knew and did they act in a timely way on the information. remember, earlier scandal, mark foley in 2006, that was one of the problems that republican leaders at that time did not move quickly to investigate when they heard allegations of improper behavior. >> john, can this explode the way the foley investigation exploded all during that midterm year? >> well, the timing is a little different. that was a brutal timing for republicans in 2006, just a short time before the elections. and it also looked like there were some very uncomfortable facts that got out in the public realm fuelling that. in this case, there aren't those uncomfortable facts. there are just questions. it appears that steny hoyer's people, when they learned about this, immediately said it should go to ethics committee. there are questions about what pelosi's office knew and whether they responded quickly when they heard about the possibility of inappropriate behavior.

>> jon harris, thank you. >> thank you. coming up, republicans are defending their anti-bailout rhetoric. plus white house energy adviser, energy czar carol browner on the efforts to get a comprehensive energy bill out of congress. on this 40th anniversary of earth day, the sun as you've never seen it before. nasa's recently launched solar telescope beaming back these stunning images of the sun's surface. scientists hope the images will help us better understand the effects of the sun on the earth.

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topping the headlines right now, coast guard aircraft searching for 11 oil workers in the gulf still missing after their rig exploded tuesday night. the platform itself continues to burn and remains at risk of capsizing. a lawsuit has been filed on behalf of one of the missing

workers already suing the companies for negligence. more than 100 other workers were rescued and are back safe lly onshore. panic and chaos in streets of bangkok today after grenades were fired into a train station and other locations in the city's business district. at least three people were killed, dozens more wounded. the deputy prime minister is blaming the explosions on anti-government protesters who've set up camp in that area. and moments ago, a group representing sexual abuse victims filed an unprecedented federal lawsuit against the vatican. the suit names pope benedict, accusing him and senior vatican officials of failing to act to prevent abuse. it also requests the names of all known priests who are sex offenders. and the white house just releasing a statement today, white house officials say that the white house is declining comment on the blagojevich lawyer's subpoena to president obama. that's that june 3rd file, and we just heard from pete williams it is not unprecedented but unusual for a sitting president to be subpoenaed.

airports in scandinavia are closed right now as shifting winds again sending volcanic ash over norway and sweden, creating more flight disruptions just as the debate heats up whether flights should have ever been canceled. nbc's chief science correspondent, robert bazell, live in iceland. there is a big debate. there has been a huge economic impact on the airline industry and they're saying the government leaders acted too precipitously. >> reporter: well, and rhea, absolutely, this is an issue where the regulators got out ahead of the scientists. what happened was that there were a few instances as recently as 1989 where aircraft flew into volcanic plumes, but they flew right over the volcano and the ash knocked out the engines on the airplanes. fortunately, nobody was killed in those incidents, but nobody knew what would happen if an airplane was exposed to a small amount of ash. meanwhile, all technology was developed mostly to study climate change to detect clouds

of particles in the atmosphere and develop computer models on whether where these clouds were going to move. so the rule was adopted by a european community. if there's any action in the sky, you don't fly. but nobody knows what a small amount of ash will do to an airplane so, that's why everybody's so furious. it wouldn't take much to study this. you don't have to risk anybody's lives. you can send a drone in. you can test aircraft engines inside wind tunnels and you can find out how much does ash really affect aircraft at what concentrations and how do you measure the concentration of what's up there so you know what the danger is. andrea? >> well, bob, is there now going to be an effort to do more scientific study? this is not going to be the last volcano. we already know that there is a lot of activity, turbulent activity, right where you are in iceland. >> reporter: well, as a matter of fact, the volcano that's right behind me is shrouded in clouds right now and still erupting at a height of 10,000 feet, which is -- and it goes up to about 20,000 feet when it gets over northern europe, and

that's why they have problems with the scandinavian airports right now. this is a situation where a little bit of money spent on scientific research could have saved all those billions of dollars, and you're very right, i would's going to be done very soon. andrea? >> especially with pressure from the airline industry and a lot of political pressure on the european government. thank you, bob bazell in very scenic iceland. beautiful out there, but of course there's a lot of danger lurking beneath those volcanos. today the 40th anniversary of earth day. a bipartisan group of senators only days away from unveiling comprehensive climate and energy legislation. joining me now, carol browner, the assistant to the president for energy and climate change. also former epa administrator, joins us from the beautiful white house lawn on a sunny day. good to see you, carol. let's talk about earth day, what we can expect. there is a warning from senator kerry, one of the real prime movers on this, and also you yourself in an interview with politico suggesting that if congress does not move on this

legislation that there are steps, administrative steps that the white house can take. what can the administration do without the force of the legislation passing? >> well, the administration believes that legislation is very important because what we want to do is create a new clean energy future for this country. we need to break our dependence on foreign oil, create a new generation of clean-energy jobs and put a cap on the dangerous carbon pollution. there was a supreme court decision several years ago. epa has been found to have the authority to regulate green house gases and obviously we have to take seriously a supreme court decision, and i have confidence at least that jackson will do that in a thoughtful manner. but in the meantime, what we want for the people of this country is a new energy roadmap. we want to compete in the global clean energy revolution, and that means creating jobs here at home if we can get the right legislation through congress. >> there have been there's ban lot of talk about cap and trade and that the legislation will try to rebrand cap and trade. one of the sponsors joe

lieberman said that you remember the artist formerly known as prince, this is market-based system for punishing polluters previously known as cap and trade. it's going to be cap and trade without calling it cap and trade? a matter of semantics here? >> no, it's not just a matter of semantics. what kerry, graham, and lieberman, this bipartisan group, have been doing is meeting with individual industry second t sectors to understand what would be the best way to work with them to achieve reductions. it's not a one size fits all response but understanding what's right for the electric utilities, what's right for manufacturing and transportation and that's what they're weaving together and i think that's what we see on monday. >> so one system for the energy sector, one system for transportation, and different kinds of tradeoffs for industry, different kinds of trading incentives, if you will, within different industry sectors? >> right. i think what's important is they are working with these

industries. that doesn't mean that they're doing exactly what the industry wants in every instance but they're understanding what's important so that we can get the kind of market certainty and predictability so that companies here in the united states will make the investments to create the jobs. you know, you talk to a manufacturer of wind turbines and what they'll tell you is i'm going to build that manufacturing facility for wind turbine where is i know i can sell the wind turbines. so we need to get the right incentives in place so we're building those wind turbines here and installing them here, and then we can compete in the global market for wind turbines. >> two words, gas tax, not a good political symbol. but aren't some of the carbon requirements in the new legislation the equivalent of a gas tax? because it would be put on at the pump. >> that is not my understanding of what kerry, graham, lieberman are talking about. what they're talking about again is a sector by sector approach that gets us the kind of reductions and gives businesses the market certainty of predictability.

as you know, there are still climate naysayers out there, people who don't think we need a different energy future and they're going to lab they will all sorts of things in an effort to not let the bill pass. we need to stay focused on the fact that there's an opportunity here, there's an opportunity with jobs associated with it. we need to get this legislation in place so we can create those jobs and compete with china and india and other countries in the global demand for clean energy technology. >> a lot of people are arguing that this is really a national security issue. i referred to this earlier when we were talking to sam waterston, an activist on this subject. if it's a national security issue, how do you frame it that way and persuade people this time that this actually requi requires, demands, bipartisan support? because of course you know bert than anyone, this legislation has been stuck in politics for years and years. >> well, it certainly has been stuck and we want to get it unstuck. i think, you know, one of the reasons lindsey graham, a leading republican, is supporting this effort, has been engaged in this effort because

he believes it's a national security issue. we certainly believe it's a national security issue. i meet regularly with individuals working on these issues, retired generals who all believe there's a national security imperative. we need to start breaking our dependence on foreign oil. the best way to do that is to pass this legislation, to give us the tools so that we can put in place the right incentives for renewables, for clean energy, for new technologies, battery technologies. the administration has made an unprecedented investment in battery technologies for our cars. we want to continue to do that, and we want to be at the forefront of that opportunity. >> the president has had this huge political battle on health care and the polling is still not coming back after that. maybe it will. but not so far. financial regulation, the next big battle. does he have the political clout, any clout left in the bank account to come up with enough to make this battle on the hill for energy and climate

legislation? >> well, it's important to remember some things are already passed in the house so now we're focused on the senate. but yes, absolutely he has that clout. he came here to do things that the american people think are important. the american people continue to believe that we need a different energy plan that we talked about it but we haven't done enough for far too long and that's what we're going to try and make happen. >> thank you very much, carol browner joining us on earth day. and coming up, joe biden on "the view" today talking sarah palin and the tea party. plus msnbc is on sirius xm satellite radio from "morning joe" to our show and prime time with keith, rachel, and chris. sirius channel 90 xm channel 120. [ crowd cheering ]

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explosion. we'll bring you more details as we get them. president obama and senate democrats are slamming republicans today for insisting that the financial reform bill will mean more bailouts for big banks. >> no matter how many times the minority leader says endless bailout, the fact is the clear language of this legislation says just the opposite. what he's reading to us is not from the bill. it's from a memo prepared by dr. frank luntz, prepared even before this bill was written. >> let's bring in democratic strategist steve mcmahon and msnbc political analyst pat buchanan. pat, i didn't know he was a doctor. >> dr. luntz, sure. >> dr. luntz. >> i was over in oxford when he was just a child. he was -- oxford. >> i remember him as an even younger child. but in any case, some democrats would say it's dr. frank enstei because of what he's produced here. they've rallied against it. >> they have stunned the

republicans very well on this thing. i do think, look, as i heard dylan ratigan say, if jpmorgan chase is going down, we're not going to watch it sink. we'll come in and save it and maybe break it apart. >> it doesn't mean it's in the legislation. >>, no it doesn't. and let me say i think the president on the politics of this, no doubt he's in front of us, he's going to win it. he's got the republicans signing up. i thought he handled it well in his speech. it was clear and simple. i don't know the real nitty-gritty of the bill, whether it's going to be good or bad when you geet gete into the regulations and things like that, but clearly the president is on the right road. this is a winner for him. and i think his sort of magnanimousness, if you will, or magnanimity, if you will, is a wise policy thereupon. once you've won the battle there's no reason to start yelling. >> patrick buchanan. >> you've won it. >> you've moderated your whole approach. used to be going off the cliff. >> well, when ronald reagan won a battle, he would say come on

over to rostenkowski, let's have a drink, danny. it's all over. >> listen to -- >> are you magnanimous? >> i think it's wonderful. what we're seeing here, ladies and gentlemen, is a kinder, gentler pat buchanan. and, you know, he's right. the president has the wind at his back on this thing. the public wants something done. frankly the public is not really sure what this bill does but they want something done. and the more you do, the better is kind of the attitude of the public. and, you know, dr. luntz, who is a doctor, and somebody who's very good at what he does, he's given the republicans language that they're trying to use. the problem is what he's telling him to say isn't true. it's not a bailout, it's not going to encourage bailouts. it's a fund that is going to be paid for by the large institutions and that would be used to dismantle and get rid of bad executives, bad boards, and companies that get in trouble so they can be dismantled and sold. and that's a responsible step forward. it's not a bailout plan. >> now while the president was addressing the world and the

nation and wall street at cooper union where, of course, abraham lincoln spoke on the economic crisis, the vice president was across town with the ladies on t the voou. this was the vice president today being asked about sarah palin today, your girlfriend. >> what is the appeal of sarah palin, exactly, do you think? >> look, she is a charming person. it's hard not to like her. >> countrywide. >> well, i don't know. i really don't know. but i know -- i say this and people look at me like i'm kidding. i like her. >> pat, you like her. >> the girls on "the view" are not middle america. >> the girls? excuse me? >> the women. excuse me. >> thank you. >> biden is right. she's a very likable person as an individual. i think she's a very attractive person, she's controversial. but there's tens of millions of americans that love her and of course a lot of people do not like what she says. but as an individual, i think

she's very interesting as a person. don't you? >> i certainly do. i've enjoyed covering her. she's going to be in knoxville, tennessee, because they've been subpoenaed for the deposition in that case tomorrow. >> bristol palin will be there. >> hacking into the -- >> yeah. >> this was also an opportunity for the women of "the view" to ask joe biden about the tea parties. let's watch. >> there's fringes in every outfit, but the vast majority of these people i think are just frustrated. and what they don't get yet, and i understand it, is they're going to see that we've spent our time cutting taxes. we've given the largest tax cut many the history of america to middle-class people. >> steve mcmahon, is that the best argument that he can make against the tea parties? >> well, i think there are a number of arguments, one of which is once people begin to understand the things done with this administration number one to low irthaurd tax burden, 95% of americans got a tax cut and to bring the economy back from

the brink, there should be a greater understanding that the administration did the right thing. frankly, and i say this all the time, but it's only because it's true, they were left an incredible mess by the previous administration and these tea party people should be every bit as angry at george w. bush and the republicans as they claim to be at barack obama and the democrats because the democrats are pulling us out, it's costing some money, it's required some investment in companies, the taxpayers are making money back. it's been a pretty good deal for everybody. >> steve mcmahon, the george w. bush statute of limitations has just about expired politically. i'm not saying factually but politically. >> joe biden is very wise to treat the tea party folks gently. they are not necessarily enemies or evildoers as senator reid says. >> i say tea partyers because they say themselves there is no massive tea party, they are individual groups. >> sure. >> quickly on approach, should the president take on immigration? >> i think if he does take it on my reasoning would be he's going to do it because the hispanic caucus came down and said, look. we're going to stand up for you on health care but you got to

stand with us. this is what you said you would do for us. i think it will cause a brutal battle and i think the president of the united states knows he will lose that battle. maybe he figures it will inspire his base for november but i think it would be a terrible mistake because that will reignite the entire tea party movement and republican party. >> i think the legislation in arizona has really gotten people so excited and upset about it on both sides of the issue. that's what may force the white house into action. we're out of time but come back again. thanks for playing with us, pat. >> the kinder, gentler pat. >> indeed. and what political story will be making headlines in the next 24 hours? that's next right here on msnbc. [ male announcer ] thank you, heat oven.

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which political story will be making headlines in the next 24 hours? chris cillizza "the washington post" national political reporter and author of "the fix" joins us now. first of all, you're about to break a story on a new white

house aide and it's someone we know very well. >> a familiar name, andrea. steph nye cutter who has been in and out of the administration, served as counselor to secretary geithner, shepherded sonia sotomayor's confirmation hearings to the supreme court. she is back. she is going to be overseeing the selling of the health care message among other policy priorities but really focused on between now and the mid-term elections selling what is a very sort of 50/50 jump ball bill at best for the white house. a kaiser poll came out today and showed 55% of the people are confused about what is in the bill. the white house needs to rectify that before november for the good of the senators and the members of congress and that's going to be stephanie cutter's mission. >> that is an admission that so far it has not worked, that all the salesmanship with all of these speeches that the president himself has given has not persuaded the people, the public that it was a good thing. >> you know, i think if you talked to white house officials

candidly and privately, andrea, they acknowledge their long-term messaging not just on health care but broadly about the administration has not been where they want it to be, that they've succeeded in winning kind of day-to-day battles be you have lost kind of the overall message, which is fascinating because that's the exact opposite of the 2008 campaign where john mccain won some days but barack obama clearly won the sort of overarching message war. >> i think this is just the beginning of some staff changes we may see seeing at the white house. thank you very much. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." thanks to chris cillizza. tamron hall is up next with new money troubles at the republican national committee. tomorrow on the show house financial services chairman barney frank. plus, remember you can follow the show online and on twitter at mitchell reports. the tallest buildings leave the lightest footprints. a fifty-ton train makes barely a mark on the environment.

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