unite by november? also, notice anything with the latest crop of conservative candidates? there are a lot of women. we're going to take you inside what some are calling a gender bounce. and elizabeth edwards speaking out about reclaiming her life after the split with her ex-husband, former presidential candidate john edwards. good afternoon, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie live in washington. andrea mitchell is on assignment in iran, where she had the rare opportunity to sit down one-on-one with iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad. >> savannah, as you know, iran's president will be heading to new york for the u.n. general assembly next week. but when i asked him about growing support for sanctions against iran, and criticism of his nuclear program, he showed no sign of compromise. why is iran not letting the experienced inspectors who know this weapons area so well, why is iran not letting these inspectors in?

>> translator: if the iaea does everything according to the law, if they are going to go beyond the law, it is not acceptable to us. i am going to ask a question to you. we were one of the allies of the united states or the west. would we be treated the same way by the agency? >> the iaea -- >> translator: the iaea, yes. >> the iaea treats -- >> translator: please, please, let me finish. the iaea visit or inspect nuclear facilities or provide any report from those in france or the united states. do they have any access to those facilities? they have no access to those facilities in these countries. >> according to the united nations -- the iaea has, in

fact, found grounds for a special procedures in the case of iran, and there are years of sanctions that attest to the fact that iran has not, in the eyes of the world, agreed. in the eyes of russia and china, the strongest allies on the security council. will you let the inspectors in? or if you don't, is there a risk of further hostility? >> translator: we are going to do everything within the framework of the law. we have already allowed them to inspect our facilities, and the iaea has visited our facilities a few times. they should value our opposition. if they don't do it then we have to -- to the law based on the law. we have gone beyond the law, and

we have cooperated with them. but they are under the pressure of the united states and the allies and the expressed political views. so this is not a technical approach and a legal approach towards the question. it is part of the hostility of the united states against -- and this is not of real value. we are not concerned about it. >> with all due respect, mr. president, if there's nothing to hide, if this is a peaceful nuclear program, as iran says, why not let all the inspectors who know the scientific attention to detail, why not let them see what they say iran is not cooperating? you say iran is not cooperating. they say iran is not. so why not let them in if it's a peaceful program? >> translator: you say that we

should not continue cooperation within the framework of the law and they should do everything illegally in our country. they should be confined to a law. >> they say they're following the procedures. >> -- go beyond the law. we say that it is against the procedures. and we have evidence, and the evidence is there in the iaea, and they have nothing based on the mpt and other laws and regulation. let me ask another question, modification provided by mpt, the iaea was instructed to -- to provide a report about the nuclear activities of the regime. and illegal regime that has nuclear weapons. they possessed nuclear weapons and they constantly threatened their neighbors, and in the past year, they threatened iran more

than ten times. >> well, let's -- >> have they released any report about it? >> that's a question that the leadership -- >> -- of the united states and the -- >> i am honored to be with the president of this country so let's talk about what iran is doing. would you return to the proposal that were made from geneva when iran agreed with the proposals for the russian advances, fuel for iran? why did iran agree to that, and then renege on it? would you consider going back in to negotiations with the united states, and the european countries and russia and china and try to reach that agreement again? >> translator: i think you should pay attention to a few points. first, it is clearly a number of

countries, a number of countries that have been hostile to us for more than 50 years and they continue their hostility against iran. this is not new to us. but, what we said in geneva, we said the same thing in vienna, and we had -- emphasized our position in tehran declaration. we have a stable position. we have announced that within in the framework, within a clear framework and context we are ready for the fuel swap. if the other side wants to have the same agreement, within the same framework, we are ready to do it. our position in geneva is -- and in tehran is the same. so we didn't change our approach. we did not change our decision. those supposed to have the fuel want to meet concern conditions

and those conditions were not acceptable to us. that is a deal. that is a business. that can be a cooperation for the greater cooperation, but on the pretext of a fuel swap they cannot violate our rights. >> of course, among the issues that he has not been able to explain, if iran is being treated so unfairly by the u.n. watchdog agency, why have so many of iran's longtime allies like russia and china, now joined in the sanctions against iran? savannah? >> all right, andrea mitchell from tehran. we'll have more of andrea's exclusive interview coming up. well, the president is on the campaign trail in connecticut today. but not with the candidate. the president will be raising money at private fund-raisers, but will not appear publicly with senate democratic candidate richard blumenthal. in fact a new poll from cbs and "the new york times" shows that 27% of people say their vote in the midterms will be a vote against president obama. now 25% say it will be a vote

for him, and 45% say he is a nonfactor in their vote. joining me now, nbc's chief white house correspondent political director chuck todd. also, co-host of a great show here on "daily rundown" if we may say so ourselves. chuck, taking a look at this poll, found one thing to be really fascinating. it says so much about the midterms. generally when you poll people would say they don't like congress in general but they like their own representatives. >> right. >> for the first time in a long time we're seeing that's not the case anymore. they want to throw out even their own elected representatives. >> we actually had a poll question on the nbc/"wall street journal" poll we asked a couple of times, if you could cost a vote to fire them all, all members of congress, would you, and each time we've gotten approximately 49% to 51% in favor of throwing everybody out. whether it's their own, and this is -- we even asked it more

detailed, even if this meant the party you want, or your political party wouldn't be in charge. so, look, this is out there. and you know one thing i would remind people. i had somebody, frankly a viewer of ours, who said hey, i'm from minnesota. in 1998 we were fed up with both parties, how they were handling each other in the state legislature. they were unhappy with how the two political parties decided who their nominees would be so they elected this guy named jesse ventura governor. with all of this flaws and all of his supposed background, as he wasn't a serious guy, he's a former professional wrestler and it just should be a reminder to everybody, who wants to write off what's going on in delaware or alaska or write off these things, when the public is this upset, frustrated, economic downturn, anything could happen. and there's this mentality that you know what? the people that are supposedly qualified, they haven't done a good job. what's it matter who we send

there. >> yeah, it seems like it's an insurgent electorate. in other words they want to do whatever the opposite of what washington expects of them. and it's less about party, and more about trying to send a message of anger and rebellion. i also thought the poll we saw from "the new york times" and cbs today was interesting. you know, democrats fare very poorly. i think it's something like 63% disapproval. but republicans, even worse. 73%. and so, with figures like that, and i think that's been fairly consistent in polls we've seen, how is it that democrats haven't been able to make more of that gap? >> the problem is, they have nothing to run on. right, nobody likes what they're doing. so the best they could do is run against, they're trying to create these contrasts and that's what we've seen. and i'll tell you, i've talked to other sort of longtime observers of this.

there's some surprise, you have this frustration, you have this anger, more anger inside the republican primary electorate right now, but there's frustration in the middle, some anner in the middle, as well, that you haven't seen more independent candidacies. that you haven't seen more outsiders. people trying to do really the only major ones that are getting a lot of attention, of course, the one in florida. that frankly is an intraparty dispute that just sort of broke open in that way. the question i think a lot of folks ask, is if a new congress doesn't solve anything with this anger and the unemployment rate doesn't go down, 2012 could be open season on third party front. >> yeah, interesting. all right, chuck todd. >> okay. >> from the white house north lawn. thanks. >> i'll see you in the morning. >> coming up next, senator john kerry will join us live. and still ahead, more of andrea's exclusive interview with iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad. what he says about those american hikers jailed in iran and the controversy over the new york city mosque. and what's behind the surge of republican women running for

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making headlines this hour, a doctor is in critical condition at johns hopkins hospital in baltimore. after a shooting there. the latest reports have the gunman corner on the eighth floor by police. pope benedict is making a historic four-day trip to the united kingdom. he was met this morning by the queen in scotland. it is the first time the british royal family has invited any pope for an official state visit in five centuries. a disturbing new numbers, the u.s. poverty rate is now at 14.3% according to the census bureau up from 13.2% last year. it's the highest rate since

1994. and a new housing report released by the group realty track today says one in every 381 u.s. homes is in some stage of foreclosure. half of all foreclosures are in five states, california, florida, michigan, illinois, and arizona. well coming up a sneak peek at elizabeth edwards new interview. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. you always end up with something delicious. ♪ triscuit. weave some goodness. ♪ ♪ with tasty grilled flavor and goodness to savor ♪ ♪ friskies grillers blend. ♪ feed the senses.

elizabeth edwards is speaking out, again, about her marriage to former presidential candidate john edwards, her fight against cancer and resilience in the face of scandal. politico has a sneak peek at her comments which will be coming up on friday. jean, before we get into what she said, nature burkeis. isn't he the guy that does, you know, home decorating and that kind of thing? why this venue? >> well, i think what she's trying to do is start to segue

into the next phase of her life, which she defines as running her own furniture shop, and restoring furniture. it's a hobby and a love that she developed when she was furnishing these homes that the edwardss own and she recently opened her own little shop down there in north carolina. so i think she's taking -- she's trying to bring some attention to the new part of her life, but with that comes the old, as well. >> exactly. and of course, they did talk about some of the scandal, the difficulties she's had. i want to read a quote from the interview that politico has obtained. part of the reason originally why i wrote the book was to give my children a different perspective on it. i knew i was going to die at some point before i wanted to, and i wanted them to not think of me as a victim. i'm not a victim. i never want to be perceived that way. do you think elizabeth edwards fells like she needs to come out there publicly and show that she isn't just the humiliated wife,

but is somebody who can stand on her own? >> i think that in many ways elizabeth edwards had already accomplished that. i don't know that there have been very many people who view her as a victim given that she has separated from her husband and started to develop an independent life. however, elizabeth edwards is many things. i mean, she was a lawyer. she's an expert on health care. she's an author. but she is a mother first. and she has always been this way. her children are foremost in her mind, especially now with her illness. and i do believe that this is part of her trying to leave behind and define her life in a way that later, when her children are older, they could understand it better. >> well, it would be an interesting interview for sure. assistant managing editor for politico, jeanne cummings, thanks for coming on. moving on, developing now one of president obama's biggest foreign policy proposals just

cleared a key hurdle. the senate foreign relations committee is now recommending that the s.t.a.r.t. nuclear arms control treaty with russia be ratified by the full senate. we're joined by senator john kerry. thank you for being with us. coming up, i know you just took this key vote. i have to ask you, sir, about the next step. i remember hillary clinton coming to the white house briefing room when s.t.a.r.t. was announced and saying, you know, in the past these treaties had been passed by overwhelming bipartisan majorities. and yet it seems the stage is set for that not to happen. even if you get the votes you need. and i know you need two-thirds. what's changed so much that even something like this is a matter of controversy? >> well, it shouldn't be. i mean what's changed, obviously, is a level of partisanship in washington. but let me just say, i was very pleased today, and very proud of the foreign relations committee. you know, there are some members who disagree with it, and they have legitimate reasons to

disagree. but it wasn't political. i think. and you know, i think in the end we had a bipartisan, very strong bipartisan representation. i think to have a vote of 14-4 is a very significant vote. and it represents a strong prospect on the floor of the senate. i think nowadays, if you can get anything passed, in a bipartisan way, that's a big plus down here. >> are you confident we'll be ratified? >> i'm confident that we can get the votes to ratify this. barring some revelation that changes the entire dynamic. but given what we've got today and where we are today, i'm very optimistic that we can go before the senate at the appropriate time. senator reid is going to try to find that time, whether it's before or after the election. i don't know yet. but i'm confident that we have the ability to be able to put together. you know, we've had -- i mean this really is, in the security interests of the united states.

and we've had republican and democratic former secretaries of state, secretaries of defense, people spanning from richard nixon's presidency through every president all the way up through george bush, all of whom have said ratifying this is important for the national security of our country. i think even when our nuclear laboratory directors and our strategic command folks and our military come to us and say, we need this treaty because it strengthens america's security, i think that is strong enough validation for the united states senate, hopefully, to listen carefully, and to ratify it. >> well, there's so much to talk about in a foreign policy arena. i know i'm really up against it on time so i have to ask you about the bush tax cuts, a pressing issue. you certainly will be involved in. sir, are you open to a compromise to let the tax rates be frozen for all americans, not just the middle class, for a period of one or two years? i know you side with the president saying the tax cuts

for the wealthy should be allowed to expire but are you open to a compromise? >> well, i'll see what develops here. i'm going to go to a caucus now and i'll hear what our colleagues are talking about and i'll listen carefully. i don't think as a matter of real policy that it's the right thing to do. i think that, you know, the wealthiest americans over the course of the last 10 or 15 years have gotten wealthier and wealthier and wealthier. at the expense of average americans. you know, 15, 20 years ago, even back in 1970, the top 1% of american income earners took home about 7% of the total income of america. today, they're taking home the top 25% of the pay of americans. i mean, it's gotten, you know, you've had an 800% increase in the income of the higher income people in america, and you've had a very, very small increase for folks earning $100,000 and down. so if you had a cutoff at

$250,000, it seems to me that a lot of americans will understand we can't afford to yet again reward the people who've gotten wealthier and wealthier and the other folks are struggling to make ends meet. i don't think it makesson. >> well, it will be an interesting caucus meeting for sure. wish we could be a fly on the wall in there. hope you'll keep us posted. >> i'm sure you'll hear everything. you guys always do. >> good point. all right, sir, thank you for your time. >> thanks a lot. >> all right, coming up, what iran's president says about the release of american hiker sarah shourd. and the fate of her fiance and friend, still jailed in iran. plus, they are women, hear them roar. what's behind the surge of female candidates running on the republican ticket? you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. purina tidy cats scoop helps neutralize odors in multiple cat homes... keeping your house smelling like it should. purina tidy cats scoop. keep your home smelling like home.

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efforts on securing the release of her friend josh fattal and her fiance shane bauer. prosecutors have ruled out pretile release for fattal and bauer. andrea mitchell asked ahmadinejad about the fate of those hikers. >> president ahmadinejad pressed hard for the release of sarah shourd, perhaps as a gesture to the united states before he comes to new york for those u.n. meetings. but he showed no sign of compromise when i asked about the fate of the two other american hikers shane bauer and josh fattal. >> translator: we are not happy to seek -- everybody. we like to see everybody is free. of course there are two problems, and one is about the violations and offenses that might be committed. and on the other side we have

laws and regulations. that's maybe with the compassion that prevails in the islamic republican of iran has been freed and now she's with her family. the other two are under the custody of the judiciary now, and hopefully they would also prove that they didn't want to commit any offense, and to violate our borders, and they would be able to convince the judge. >> but what evidence is there that they are spies? there certainly was no evidence that she was a spy. and they were all together. they were all friends on a holiday. what reason is there not to release the two men? >> translator: i think we should

n not -- position to interfere with the work of a judge. and we should not have an early judgment about that case. i think we should let the judge and the court decide about the case. and i think this is the greatest help to all of them. >> in the case of sarah shourd, you intervened, and we saw that she was supposed to be released. then she wasn't. and the interpretation is that you, were in somewhat of a disagreement with the judicial branch of government. how should we view this? there are divisions in your government, and you finally asserted your power and authority for her release? i mean, how should people outside interpret what is going on inside the government? >> translator: are you looking for the freedom of the lady or

going to see what is going on in iran? there are certain laws and regulations in our country. we have a national law. and even somebody is supposed to be freed, that should be done according to the law. nobody can walk or take action beyond the law. everything should happen within the framework of the law. for example, there is certain power that must be within the framework of the national law. >> one suggestion, just to conclude on this, from the state department spokesman on twitter, he tweeted that you could take the two men on your airplane to new york when you go to the united nations. what's your response to that? >> translator: that was a good proposal, but, i wish they

wouldn't cross our border in order to be forced to get back to new york. if they have not violated our border, they would have been at their homes for more than a year. and we had no problem here. and hopefully there would be no violation, no offense, and otherwise the judiciary has to react. >> and he offered no information at all for the family of bob levinson. he's a retired fbi agent who was on private business, say his family, and disappeared three years ago on iranian territory, and has not been heard from since. savannah? >> well, we will have more of andrea's interview straight ahead. now to politics here at home and sarah palin's quote mama grizzlies are roaring into the midterms. palin's efforts have pro-poled one little-known candidates into

the national spotlight and given republican women a new momentum heading into november. jess macintosh is a spokesperson for emily's list which is a national organization dedicated to electing pro-choice women to office. >> thanks for having me. >> i imagine it's a bitter sweet for a group like yours. on the one hand you're dedicated to electing women. on the other hand, the women who seem to have all of the momentum right now really don't agree with your basic platform. >> there's a lot of talk this year about it being the year of the gop woman. at emily's list it is always the year of the woman. it's always what we're trying to do, promote more women running, more pro-choice democratic women. >> wait a minute, that's different, because -- >> right. >> are you happy in just in abstract sense to have more women in public life no matter their political views? >> absolutely. but let's give credit where credit is due. republicans are doing significantly better than republicans usually do at recruiting women and at voting for women. they don't match our numbers

yet. they don't come close. and they're having a hard time getting through their primaries. republicans still have a lot of work to do getting republicans to vote for women, and getting women to vote for republicans. and i think that's because of the policies that they're promoting which have not necessarily friendly to women and families. >> obviously sarah palin is at the forefront of this movement. she had her now famous ad calling mama grizzlies out, and i guess emily's list considers her to be enough of a force to respond. i want to play an ad that you all put together and we can talk about it. listen. >> sarah palin recently released a video speaking on behalf of mama grizzlies. well sarah palin -- >> you don't speak for us. >> there are plenty of mama grizzlies out there who would disagree with you. >> so you're right. you don't want to mess with mama grizzlies. >> don't mess with us. >> all right. well, true to form, sarah palin responded on her facebook page, she said, quote, lying about a sister while wearing an ewok

outfit is no way to honor our foremothers on the eve of the 90th anniversary of their victory. speaking of suffragettes i suppose. but that aside i'd love to know where you got those getups. halloween is just around the corner and piper and trig would look adorable as little grizzly bears. in some ways this has devolved. what's your approach here? >> we wanted to, as you said, she's at the forefront of the gop women's movement. and it's created quite a bit of noise in the media, and else where. so we wanted to make sure that there was a forum for women to respond. as a community to sarah palin, and to the radical candidates that she's endorsed. so, about a month ago, emily's list launched sarah doesn't speak for me. with this video, featuring the mama grizzly costumes. they're not ewoks, but we are looking for smaller versions for the kids. we have been overwhelmed with the response to that campaign and that video. >> and in all seriousness, you do it with some fun.

>> sure. >> but are you concerned that women, in particular, will look at some of these female candidates and assume they carry a set of views that they don't necessarily carry? >> women don't vote for women because they're women. if that were true we would have achieved parity a long time ago. women vote for candidates, and traditionally democratic women because they're promoting pro-women, pro-family policies. and we think that's what's going to happen this november. but we wanted to make sure that given all of the focus on sarah palin, and a couple other outsized personalities, you're seeing christine o'donnell, nikki haley a little while ago, that there was a forum for women to respond. that that was not the only noise on the playing field. >> but you guys aren't suggesting that just by virtue of someone being a woman that they have to hold a set of views? >> not at all. >> i mean, there's room for women to disagree on issues over abortion, on -- >> absolutely. and some of the races that are

absolute top priorities are women versus women match-ups. you look at barbara boxer versus carly fiorina in california. we would like to see more women versus women match-ups. i think that that should be the norm, not the exception. but that's a race where there really is no starker contrast between barbara boxer who is a major champion of women and carly fiorina who is a palin endorsed, self-proclaimed mama grizzly who is going to advocate policies that are bad for women and families. >> are you missing a democratic woman who can be as persuasive, some might think of a certain secretary of state hillary clinton, once a formidable campaigner herself who is now out of the game? >> she's out of the political game but i think she can be such an inspiration to girls and women everywhere doing what she is doing. the thing about the sarah doesn't speak for me campaign that i enjoyed the most was how many women responded and the second video that we put out which you can see it on emily's list was the response to sarah

palin. and that's where i think we're going to see the democratic answer to her. it is not one woman. it is a community of women all over the country who are standing up and saying no. >> it will be interesting to watch. jess mcintosh thanks so much. coming up next the sea party and the republicans. can they settle the rift before it costs them in november? and waiting for superman. the highly anticipated documentary about education reform premiered last night in the nation's capital. it is produced by the same team behind al gore's oscar-winning film "an inconvenient truth." the film's director hopes it will have the same impact. >> i live in hollywood. i say i'm working on a film about public education, and they go, good luck for that. tonight we're going to disprove that. we have senators and congressmen, the secretary of education, get a chance. this is a night where everyone who helps kids is coming together.

it's very, very exciting. >> some star power, too. john legend, who wrote an original song for the documentary, agrees with david guggenheim. >> what we have to realize is that these kids are not just distant kids that are, you know, somebody else's kids. these are kids with a heartbeat, with a real soul, and who have a real desire to -- to realize their pull potential. >> and a programming note, join msnbc and the net woeshs of nbc universal as we put on a special focus on education with our two-day summit education nation. and on september 26th, joe scarborough and mika brzezinski will host a town hall on waiting for superman, 8:00 eastern, right here on msnbc. ♪ [ male announcer ] at ge capital,

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this. >> that was christine o'donnell calling for republican unity after her out of nowhere win in delaware sent a rebuke to the gop establishment in washington. now, everybody's reading the tea leaves. can the republicans find a way to bridge the divide, or will democrats reap the benefit in november? here now former democratic congressman david bonnier and former house speaker republican dennis hastert. welcome to you both. mr. speaker i'll have to start with you on this one. i have to say, you know, i covered the white house, and the democrats were quite happy about the results in delaware on tuesday night. they think the republicans have essentially overreached, and now nominated somebody who's unelectable. where do you come down on this? >> well, you know, first of all it's the voters that speak, and we go along with that. if you listen to christine o'donnell, she's a relatively even person. she has -- she talks about change. she talks about cutting spending and most americans that i talk to today, that's what they're talking about. let's get a handle on spending.

let's get a handle on the deficit, and you know, she's up against a candidate who is, you know, voted for three tax increases in three straight years, and has increased spending 10%. >> i guess the issue is, republicans certainly, i don't think there's any argument, have all the energy and enthusiasm on their side, but the counterargument is that they're creating long-term problems for themselves. moderates like a mike castle who has been around for 30 years in delaware, if he can't get nominated in delaware, are you concerned about these long-term issues? >> you're going to have to look at it. you know, what are the voters saying? and if the voters are saying they want somebody who wants to represent change, that they have ideas, that they can be articulate on issues that they want, they've spoken. and we'll go forward with that. and i think that's a real issue. do people want to change. do they want lower taxes? do they want less spending? that's what the voters are

talking about today. >> congressman bonier we can talk about this enthusiasm gap. you've got to wonder why democrats haven't been able to rally their base. after all the stakes are high. the control of congress is very much at stake. you have the republicans nominating some candidates that democrats certainly view as out of the mainstream. why can't the democrats put together a more enthusiastic electorate? >> well, i think one of the things they've not really zeroed in on and focused in on the democrats is the job issue. they ought to be talking jobs, jobs, jobs. the president has offered a $50 billion infrastructure program. that ought to be all he'd be talking about up there on the hill right now. that and the inequities in the tax structure that we have. that's what they ought to be chatting about. >> what do you think they're talking about? >> i don't know. that needs to be much more clear to the american people. we've gotten a big opening i think here for instance in delaware. i mean the relationship with the republican party, with the tea party, up until now, has sort of been like that old country and

western song that it ain't love, but it ain't bad. and you know, that's the way they've kind of treated each other. now they're getting a little nervous. now we have that kind of opportunity to take advantage of the situation, because the republican party isn't doing any better than the democratic party with the public. the republican party's numbers are worse than the democratic party with the public right now. so we have an opportunity to make some changes here. but we've got to focus in on the jobs issue. people have lost their homes, their jobs, their pensions, their children's future. i mean it's much more serious and i think people really, in this town, in this beltway, understand that the unemployment rate isn't 10%, it's about 18% when you talk about the real -- >> the real unemployment numbers. >> i feel like we've only touched the tip of the iceberg. but it's great to have you both here. former congressman david bonier, former speaker of the house dennis hastert. what political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? that's next. plus what does iran's president say about the controversy over

that proposed islamic center a few blocks away from ground zero? we'll have more of andrea's exclusive interview. ning... hey. what are you doing up? i thought i'd take a drive before work. want to come? [ female announcer ] or make his day. yeah. [ female announcer ] maxwell house gives you a rich, full-flavored cup of coffee, so you can be good to the last drop. time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze... my eyes water. but now zyrtec®, the fastest 24-hour allergy relief, comes in a liquid gel. zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®.

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iranian president's said last week's koran burning was insulted and master minded by zionists living in the u.s. in a recent interview. ahmadinejad says conspiracy are fuelling tensions. >> reporter: perhaps the most interesting part was about the threats to burn the holy koran. ahmadinejad who in the past denied the holocaust happened blames some imaginary zionist conspiracy. this is what happened.

>> we had a technical problem there. we'll go to chris cillizza. always there for us in a pinch to tell us what we'll be talking about in the next 24 hours. tell us you're there. >> i am here. confirmed. what i think we will be talking about, lisa murkowski, alaska senator, lost august 24th in a primary to joe miller. tomorrow she makes the decision where whether to run for a right-end candidate for the senate. why important? this is a race that i think joe miller, the republican nominee likely to win against scott mcadams. but murkowski may pull off enough republicans up to make democrats take a look at this seat as a possible pickup. given alaska's underpinnings, we wouldn't be thinking a month ago. >> this is a child election. we've been talking about sarah palin. she's headlining a ronald reagan dinner in iowa.

>> yep. >> tell us -- be the tea leaf. >> well, look, you don't have to be a tea leaf reader to see that this is going to stoke more speculation about 2012, especially on top of the fact that, remember, she endorsed christine o'donnell and kelly ayotte. i've also said no politician goes to iowa by accident. whether she walks through the door or not, i don't know that she knows. but i guarantee you that visit tomorrow night will all the way through the sunday shows and into next week we'll talk about it. sarah palin in iowa is a fascinating story line. >> indeed. since she's sort of become the republican queen maker. the small business lending bill. this is something the president was really hammering on over the last couple months actually. finally passes.

>> a win for the white house. this is something democrats will try to go to people and say we are doing things to try to get the economy going again. remember, the economy by far the dominant issue in every poll. democrats need to be able to show that even though the unemployment rate has not come down as as they hope, the democratic led congress are doing the things that if given another year or two will turn the economy around. this is a talking point. i don't know if it turns around how people are viewing the economy in the mid tern. it's a little bit late. >> the white house will take any victory they can get. chris cillizza, post policy managing editor. thank you. >> thank you. and we have to get to breaking news. want to update you on the situation at johns hopkins hospital in baltimore. police just told us the situation is now over. the gunman was shot and killed by police the suspect allegedly shot a doctor on the eighth floor of the hospital. the doctor is now in critical

condition. that does it for this edition of andrea mitchell reports. see you back here tomorrow morning at 9:00 eastern with chuck todd for the daily rundown. ♪ [ mom ] game time is all about the traditions. it's all about the tackles and the touchdowns... and watching my boys do what they do. but for me, it's even more than that. game time is about our time. together. [ female announcer ] get low prices on all your favorites for the game. save money. live better. walmart. [ male announcer ] ever have morning pain slow you down? introducing bayer am, an extra strength pain reliever with alertness aid to fight fatigue. so get up and get goin'! with new bayer am. the morning pain reliever.

approaching the top of the hour. welcome, everyone. here with this breaking news from baltimore, maryland. we are getting word from police that a gunman who shot a doctor at john hopkins hospital and barricaded himself inside a hospital has been shot and killed by police. the doctor whofgs shot was rushed into surgery. the victim is a male. they have not confirmed much beyond that. let's bring in msnbc analyst and profiler clint van zandt. do we know if when the suspect and now the deceased