broadening his attacks on a grand old party increasingly in disarray. this is a picture of president obama wrapping up a town hall forum in mountain view, california where he was asked by a wealthy search engine pioneer if the president would please raise his taxes and offered this push back to republican no taxes plans. indeed, the president's campaign is engaged in a full court press trying to make up for lost ground when he was forced to cancel ten fund-raisers in the debt ceiling fight. while the president does the meet and greet with the lakes of lady gaga and mitt romney and rick perry, they flail in the sunshine state. both presumed front-runners taking a live to herman cain. "saturday night live" has the same question you do.

>> who? >> mr. cain, your own experience is serving as a ceo of godfather piz a. how does running a pizza chain equate to running a country? >> there is no better model than that of a pizza place. pizza doesn't come unless you ask for it, but it will be there in 10 minutes. >> it could be the clearest sign yet of voter dissatisfaction with the republican field. if rick perry is the great hope, why is he pulling just 15% in a crucial state like florida? why is the darling of job creation doing no better up north, pulling just 17% to mitt romney's in michigan's straw poll. perhaps it has something to do with the less than superlative debate performance. >> the shape of a man likes to attack mid-romney as a flip flopper. >> this is when you normally get tired and confused.

>> not tonight. i'm ready. the romney city was for, against obama care. >> is it the mitt romney on the side against the second amendment before he was for the second amendment before he was before the social programs from the standpoint of he was for -- >> with each successive debate it agrees more urgent. is this the best they've got? after five straw polls and five winners, why are republicans finding it difficult to put for the a front-runner. if this is a golden opportunity to defeat a vulnerable president obama, why are not more heavy weights jumping in. where are the big shots? what about the massachusetts maverick scott brown and senator from the bay state? wisconsin senator ron johnson

and south dakota. i'm starting to miss john mccain. the real will he or won't he fervor is around the popular new jersey governor, chris christie. he said he won't run, but hasn't pushed away from the table and left the room. if it's such a piece of cake to walk into the white house, why doesn't he do it? is it possible that president obama won't be that easy to roll over? is it possible that as he showed this weekend before the congressional black caucus, this president is getting started. >> take off your bedroom slippers and put on your marching shoes. shake it off. stop complaining. stop grumbling. stop crying. we are going to press on. we have work to do! >> barbara lee is a member of the congressional black caucus and joins us from capitol hill. good afternoon. >> glad to be with you. >> president obama was in rare

format the cbc annual award speaking in thundering tones with a rolling cadence. why is the president so assertive and effective and much less so when he is governing? >> i think the president is very effective while he is governing, given especially the obstructionist agenda of the republican tea party. when you look at mitch mcconnell saying that their first priority in terms of oral agenda was to make sure president obama would be a one-term president, we see what is taking place and what is happening here on capitol hill. the president when you look at the last two years, we passed health care reform and a variety of measures that really began to dig us out of this hole from the push administration policies. the president is a fine campaigner and he is governing as he is. >> i want to be polite, but

unemployment is still over 9%. you are saying these legislative successes have transformed the country, but where is the evidence for that? >> i'm not saying that. unfortunately we have to move forward a jobs agenda. we tried and the republican did obstruct every effort. i chaired the caucus and i know how many jobs bills were put forward to be defeated. we are working on this again. the president came up with his package of his jobs bill and believe you me, we will work like crazy, hopefully in a bipartisan way to get it passed. the country will see what is taking place. >> were you offended when the president said stop complaining and get to work. i imagine you feel like you have been working hard. >> i have been working hard and every member of the congressional black caucus for years and years has been. i had many call asks people are saying i know the president

didn't mean that. he knows what the suffering and pain is out there. he must have been caught up in the moment and went off script. what's important is to recognize the cries of the people and the least of them are real. we have over 16 1/2, 17% unemployment. the asian pacific american community. people are hurting. national average over 9%. there is no way that the cries and the needs of these people cannot be heard by any of us. we are working hard to try to turn it around. >> we have seen the weak approval ratings calling him a-term president. if he is so vulnerable, why are the republicans having such a hard time putting forward a credible solid leader they wish to press against him in 2012. >> i must sea the tea party republicans are running the show.

they came to dismannedle government and the american people understand that there is no jobs agenda. i don't believe many republican who is have a jobs agenda can emerge as a credible candidate. you have the tea party republicans here to stop any initiative and agenda to create jobs. that's a fact. i hope that the american people are beginning to see what is taking place. i think the debates and the fact that they won't support jobs initiative. we have been fighting like -- you know how we have been fighting to fight the jobs bills and they stop to keep progress from moving. let me say, there people who are unemployed more than 99 weeks. i have to remind the public that republicans and democrats and independents, we have tea party member who is have been unemployed for more than 99 weeks and need to pass legislation to at 14 more weeks for the 99ers. we have a lot of work to do and target resources to the african-american and minority communities where the problem and the unemployment rate is the

greatest. i think this package begins to attack unemployment in a big way throughout the country and does begin to recognize that there huge disparities in the community, especially the african-american community. this is an uphill battle. no one said it would be easy. we have our marching shoes on and had them on for more than 40 years. because of many of the legislation that has been passed and because of congressman john lewis who nearly died for the right to vote and so much work of the congressional black caucus. we have a heck of a lot more work to do and will continue to fight until our communities are treated equally and fairly. >> barbara lee fighting the good fight. thank you for joining us. >> for the republicans have the momentum in 2012 as they like to claim, why does that energy appear so scattered as the campaign kicks off in earnest.

msnbc political analyst and columnist. if this president is so profoundly damaged by a weakened economy, why can't republicans decide on the best candidate to fight him? >> it always takes a while. we are not in the election year yet. it's not surprising. >> we have been fighting over this for sometime. >> what happened is that in the period where you had to decide if you were going to be a serious candidate, late 2010, early this year. the president looked like he was going to get reelected. when you were at that moment when you had to make that decision to get the organization and raise the money to be a series candidate and not a fringe candidate, you did have to decide by early this year. now when the president looks weakened and more vulnerable, it's too late for anybody to accept a rick perry who was

governor of a big state to jump in. chris christie is about the only who could get in at this point and conceivably get the nomination. even for him and his aides have been saying this, very hard road to get the money necessary to compete. we have seen what happened to rick perry. he is not ready for prime time. he didn't start to get his skills and knowledge base to the level where he could be competitive. >> that was very generous for a description of rick perry. do you think this issue of the president, is he better at campaigning than governing? we were speaking to barbara lee. you don't think so? >> what folks have to understand, that's one of obama's favorite words, mario cuomo had this. he said that you campaign in poetry and govern in prose.

you don't get out with a stem winder like we just saw when there is not an election on. when people say where is the passion and the barack obama we remember from 2008. here he is again because it's campaign season. it's inappropriate for him to be running a government at that level of passion. having said that -- >> inappropriate? >> for governing. you get up there and give a stem winder about the middle east peace process. >> for he behaved like that over the debt ceiling -- >> that's a different question. not a retor cal issue. i think he went too far to the prose side and his presidency needed more. he took the dictum too much to heart and he hasn't had that poetry. governing is different when you

govern. you are judged by results and as the congresswoman said, he put a lot of points on the board. when people say what has he done, he wasn't gotten unemployment down, but he didn't promise he would. they had projections it would come down, but he said at the beginning of his presidency, it took a long time to get into this mess and it will take a long time to get out. he had the most productive legislative agenda since lyndon johnson in 1965. that's not opinion. that's fact. if you actually look at the legislation that has been passed. i forgive him a little bit when he said crybabyism. people have not taken a careful

look at the record. >> is america more racist now that president obama is sworn in. well, thank you both for coming. oh, thank you so much. i love the vermeer collection. vermeer? dutch painter? only painted, like, 34 paintings? oh what an odd name. you've got like five of them in your hallway. those were actually in the attic when we moved in. we just both really love the color yellow. uh... [ host ] you guys are a lot of fun. yeah. [ male announcer ] the audi a8. named best large luxury sedan. new car? pretty cool. ♪ [ woman ] my heart medication isn't some political game.

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turning now to the state of race relations in america as we approach the 2012 election while recent events are provokes concerns about who will lead the country. a college student bake sail joined criticism over price fixes.

$2 for whites and 75 cents for blacks. families plastered by graffiti. white teens beat and drive a truck over a black man, killing him instantly. we use themselves because of comments made by morgan freeman. claiming america is more racist under president obama as a result of the tea party movement saying the tea partiers with their stated policy publicly say the side to do whatever it takes to see to it that a bottoma only serves one turn. what underlines that? screw the country. we will do whatever we can to get this black man out of here s. is america more racist now? we definitely into race relations in the book, who is afraid of post blackness. do you think that's a fair analysis?

>> think for the most part it is. is the tea party racist their stated e those is taking the country back. back from who? the black man who is running the country. the fear that black people are taking control and the fear of white supremacy is ending. we are not. even though there is a black man at the top of rung. >> you talk about the need to strengthen the teflon shield so black people can survive the thousand cuts of racism experienced every day. i am assuming that you entirely reject the idea that by electing president obama we entered a post racial society? >> absolutely. i would say that it represents some things have changed. that made me want to start to do the book. has everything changed? we are not in a post racial society. race does not matter or racism is -- i would ask you, can you

define what post racial is? >> i can't. >>io and i don't think the usage is consistent throughout public conversation to where it is defined. the concept of race doesn't matter or race absolutely matters. we talk about the 1,000 cuts. we are talking about the sorts of racism that we experience all the time. the overt racism and also the more shuttle racism with microaggressions and the things we deal with every day. >> you talk about the way you believe black people need to become and embrace their americanness. you sound like karl marx with the working class. you can't be in a society and not own the means of production. you need to feel as though you are part of america and fully

embrace our americanness to maximize the power and as a collective. are you saying that the black man and woman want to reduce the self confidence and embrace their americanness? >> i meal like a lot of black americans love where they are from. houston, atlanta, detroit, chicago. they love the city they are in, but feel tortured about mex because the 3/5 of a man thing. whoever. things that happened in their own life. am i american? i love america, but i am tortured about america. we have to be part of america and feel fully part of america to get the full embrace and get the most that we can get out of america. the election is a home going and feeling of wow. maybe we are. i finally feel at home in the country and in the wave of hate

crimes and the rash of racism against obama and others said yes, the country has not changed. >> do you think finally president obama has correctly embodied the spirit of owning his ethnicity and being an american in the fullest and truest sense? >> absolutely. i think barack obama is a president who happens to be black. he is not doing the in the a black way. this is the challenge of a black politician. you can't be there for black people even in a way that president clinton or president bush who had two black secretaries of state. barack obama can't do that. you can't have a special reach out for black people. even the beer summit where black men sat at the equal table and wrongly arrested an old man who was doing nothing wrong. insulting the cop for trying to arrest him. they are sitting on an equal

plain. why? >> msnbc contributor, thank you very much. you can head more from toure, who is afraid of post blackness? next, michele bachmann's vision of america. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health.

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next, rick perry loses his lunch on national tv. stay with us.

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now as the rhetoric intensifies, the race among republicans has begun to look

like this. against the backdrop. the president is preparing for his own campaign. here are today's top lines. >> perry really did throw up all over himself at a time when he needed to raise his game. he did worse than in previous debates. romney was strong as he has been and clearly raised had the game with the emergence of perry. >> rick perry is not the best debater. he is jujitsuing that weakness. >> rick perry is not prepared for the president of the presidential stage. >> i don't think you have a heart. >> these are weak front-runners. >> the problem that the republican party too southern. the last five presidential cycles. they got 79% of the votes from the south. it's too much. >> taka off your bedroom slippers and put on your marching shoes. stop complaining and stop

crying. we have work to do! >> it's not longer hope and change. it's we could have been worse. i hope it works for you. >> worry patience and firm determination, i will press on for jobs. i will press on for equality and the sake of our children. >>? >> who? >> i love that speech. it didn't offend me at all because it was a good spoof about yes, vote for me and i will deliver. >> for more on the look at this, i am joined by strategist crystal ball and "the washington post" writer and msnbc contributor. both are wonderfully addressed. if i can start with you, the reverent al on his broadcast gave out a series of awards and gave rick perry an outstanding performance in a foreign language film. in the attempt to explain terror

networks in afghanistan. what do you think? >> he deserves it. he had it for last week. it's in this pile on and his performance was terrible, but it was one debate. the real question is can he get better. he can be weak in the early debates and improve, but we haven't seen any inclination. this was his worst performance. >> people get better overtime. he comes out on time. explain. are republicans going to want herman to run in 2012? >> the straw polls and polls in general, the base is sending a message to the party that they are not satisfied. they are hoping that governor kristi gets into the race and maybe hoping that a half term governor of alaska might jump in.

after the debate performance going into florida and saying you know what, let's give it to the pizza guy to send a message that we are not happy. >> knowing they would never support him in a general election. >> i don't think so. >> what about michele bachmann? what happened? she's at the bottom in florida. >> she has totally fallen off the map. >> it's unreal. the large part of the narrative for her is rick perry entered the race the same day that she won the straw poll and it has been downhill ever since. there has been a gender stereotype and sexist media portrayal. it's not the dominant thing. the news week cover and are you a flake and the hair and make up

and the focus, that stuff undermines a female campaign. >> although i would add that michele bachmann gives critics plenty of ammunition and plenty of material by saying things that are untrue and false and doubling down when pushed. it's great because she appears focused and determined, but it doesn't do anything for her credibility. it's a mix. >> it is absolutely. >> you are one of the few people or many who has an open phone line to donald trump. >> i was just talking and staking out the position and apparently the meeting happened. what's remarkable about this as garrett pointed out, no pictures. remember when rick perry came to new york, there were cameras and pictures and everything. pizza and everything.

and apparently romney just decided he wanted to have his meeting with the donald and not have all of the extra hoopla and fanfare. i think it's because mitt romney perhaps doesn't want to be seen with donald trump. >> because? >> think about it. when donald trump burst on to the scene with his flirtation of running for president, he rode the wave based on the birther lie. if you are mitt romney and you are going to -- you hope get the nomination and have to swing back to the center, how is it going to look if you have a picture standing next to king of the birthers? i'm not sure that plays well with moderates and independents. >> the final question. doesn't the president or some people you would say doesn't the president seem a cut above the candidates? >> i would say so.

in your opening clips, i feel fired up. i think he has his mojo back and is coming out fighting. that's what we have been waiting for. >> thank you so much for joining us. lout this week, nbc news is bringing you the 2012 education summit devoted to a discussion about the challenges facing students and teachers alike. i'm reminded of what a great american one said. education among all other human devices is with the great equalizer with the conditions of men. sadly if you look in the classrooms, it's the middle class that is losing out in this warfare. according to a study, over half of college administrators say they consider a candidate's financial situation when offering entry to their doors. those who need aid have a bigger step to climb.

live from one of the biggest college towns in the country, boston. good afternoon. >> i remember reading your book, the price of admission where you explain having wealthy parents is a plus in college applicatio applications. the downturn made matters much worse. >> i think it made matters worse at state universities. their budgets are being cut by legislatures and what they're doing because there is different levels of tuition. they charge instate and out of state and for international students there is a surcharge. they are recruiting heavily not just in their own state where they have the residents they are supposed to educate, but out of state and internationally, particularly from china. the number of students from china at america's state universities has been going up rapidly because they pay the highest tuition. >> how damaging is it for the

potential for social mobility if american kids can't afford to go to the colleges anymore. >> i think it is damaging. the mission of the colleges is upward mobility. the role is to identify student who is have diamonds in the rough and the talent and the potential to move up in society. if instead they are taking students who are affluent and on the private university side they have preferences for children of alumni and wealthy donors and students who play elite sports like rowing or horseback riding. if they give all those students a break, there is going to be less spaces for kids from the working and the middle class. >> indeed. let me play what the candidates said at the debate about the department of education. listen to this. >> if you care about your children, you will get the federal government out of the business of educating our kids.

>> education has to be held at the local and state level, not the federal level. >> i would take the federal education law and repeal it and go over to the department of education and turn out the lights and i would lock the door and send all the money back to the state and localities. >> yeah. sounds great. if republicans got their wish, what would happen to the student who is rely on student aid? >> it's important and i am not sure they are talking about getting student aid out of education. they are talking about testing standards and so on. federal financial aid is important for low income student who is want to go to college. like the pell grant program who are vital to upward mobility. coming up, john boehner and his

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here's a look at how the stocks are doing today after a rough and tumble week on wall street. s&p up six or seven points and the nasdaq up a cool 25 points. gas prices dropped 12 cents in two weeks. the national average price for a gallon of regular gas is now $3.54. that's it from cnbc first in

business. back over to you. >> thank you, kayla. here we go again. the senate is in talks aimed at preventing a government shut down. they are in this position due to a my way or the highway piece of legislation pushed forward by the republican leadership on the hill. from passing spending bills to raising the debt ceiling, they stalled legislation unless democrats gave in to demands. here we go again. >> we need to cut wasteful spending and we need to stop washington's spending binge. >> i like the president personally. we get along well. but a president is not leading. >> i stuck my neck out a mile to try to get an agreement with the president of the united states. >> they decided to vote against the disaster swallow millions of americans. >> nbc's luke russert has the

latest shut down and luke, the senate blocked to fund the government and right now we know the senate is meeting and what's the next hurdle? >> breaking news, martin. fema officials telling nbc news and words are circulating and fema might have enough money to last through friday. that's the end of the fiscal year. if that is actually the case, it means that these dire predictions that fema could run out of money because of the shut down will not come to fruition could offer a way out over the impasse. if people to had has enough money, $1 billion within this being appropriated is not needed. fema has enough money for this year and can start collecting the money appropriated for the next year that starts on october 1st.

what it does is offers the senate the opportunity to pass a funding bill that does not have to deal with the fema offset presumably. shall we say acceptable and it would cost $2.65 billion. >> that's only the fema aspect. what about the government through to november 18th? >> they don't have much disagreement about that. that's quite amazing and they set how much was spent with the agencies during that debate. they knew how hard it would be to have these as they moved forward. with the fight over fema in an offset, the offset the republicans wanted was the green car loan initiative, some said is a job creator. if fema has money, that program

will not be cut because there is no offset needed. the vote you mentioned tonight is expected that that's going to go down from both sides. reid will be left figuring out a way forward. fema has the money until friday and could mean a clean government funding bill that won't have a fight about this offset. >> good news. thanks to you. congratulations on your buffalo bill. >> thank you very much. it's a great day in america. >> congratulations. >> all these experts that picked us to be last in the league. >> enough. goodbye, luke. parta> >> take care. >> the moment the argue struck 500 feet above ground. how frightening that moment must have been.

now, is it possible that the republican candidates are going about winning the white house in the wrong ways? maybe they want to rethink their strategy and take a page from vladimir putin. one of the world's most announcement that he'll make his own run for president again next year. and if he wins, he'll swap seats with current president dmitry medvedev. and while here in america candidates are going to spend what seems like an eternity on the campaign trail, kissing babies with the hopes of being the republican candidate, mr. putin is already demonstrating the keys to victory. perhaps rick perry should ride a horse shirtless. perhaps mitt romney should learn judo. perhaps michele bachmann could prove her courage by getting up close with a tiger. of course, mr. pew the u.utin d really need to run for president, he tends to just take power. i'm joined by james cargan, a

former u.s. ambassador to russia. good afternoon, sir. >> good afternoon, martin. >> isn't this the clearest sign yet that for all their talk of modernization and democracy, mr. putin's desire to return to the presidency is relevant to former russian leader who is like to roar for as long as possible. >> well, certainly, he's coming back. and i suppose it's clear it's not exactly an open election. >> what is mr. putin's disposition toward the united states, then? >> well, i think we have to assume that over the last several years, when president obama has done the reset with president medvedev that mr. putin was intimately involved. so i think we can assume that there'll be a degree of continuity. he is, i think, skeptical. he wants to be shown that the americans are truly ready to work with russia, but i don't think we can assume that the more positive policies that have emerged over the last three or four years were anything but

done with his blessing. >> the russian people themselves have rather warm memories, fond memories of putin, who ruled, of course, from 2000 until 2008. how do you think people in russia are reacting to this news that, indeed, he is going to come back next year and fight this election? >> well, he still has a very high rating and is popular in russia and haze support, but i think it's also true that there is a growing disaffection with government in general in russia and there are some of the same issues i think we have in this country of people seeing government not managing to meet their needs, troubles with the economy. yes, certainly mr. putin got them through and improved the economic well-being of almost every individual russian, but, you know, politics is the art of what have you done for me lately. and in that sense, there are issues that are, today, a problem for the putin -- the

future of putin presidency. >> if you compared putin with the current list of republican candidates, he's a swashbuckling heroes, hee fig fights bears, r horses topless. is there anything this current list of candidates could learn from mr. putin's playbook, do you think? >> in particular what they could learn is that theater is very important. and mr. putin, if nothing else, is very good at political theater. he knows his people, he relates to his people, he understands what plays well. and in that sense, i think he's done two things. he's done good theater, but he's also had a rather consistent message, and that message is, you know, i'm working for you, i'll fix your problems, and that has been pretty effective. as i say, however, it's not 100%, because the popularity of the government or the sense that the government is doing its best or doing a good enough job has been reoding over time.

>> james collins, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us. >> my pleasure, martin. >> we'll be right back to clear the air. and we lee you a live picture of the education nation experience here at 30 rock. it will be going on all week long, so stay tuned. [ male announcer ] when it comes to saving energy, we're off to a good start. but now it's time to go to the next level. so let's do a little detective work. pick up what we need. roll out... caulk...and install. and pretty soon, we're seeing the fruits of our labor right there at our bottom line. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. owens corning ecotouch attic insulation is only $9.97 a roll. delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet they're closing thousands of offices, slashing service, and want to lay off over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses,

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[ female announcer ] something unexpected to the world of multigrain... taste. ♪ delicious pringles multigrain. with a variety of flavors, multigrain pops with pringles. it's time now to clear the air. and the house of representatives is in recess this week, and that's probably preferable, given the way the republican majority has tried to prevent and obstruct any kind of collective progress. the only trouble is, funding for fema may run out this week, and that means the strong possibility of a total shutdown, unless an agreement is reached on the overall funding of the government through november the 18th. sounds familiar, doesn't it? in april, there was a similar showdown over a shutdown. then there was the debt ceiling row, something most of us hadn't

even heard of until mr. cantor and boehner realized they could use it for their own purposes. the president has said that the american people devoted for divided, not dysfunctional government. but congress has been behaving more like a foreign government. actually, that's unfair to foreigners. compare what's happening in washington with what's going on in europe. the your zone comprises no less than 17 separate nations. since the financial crash of 2008, several countries have faced catastrophic debt crises. in greece, ireland, spain, portugal, and now italy. but the response of other eurozone nations has been to provide economic support and financial assistance in order to bolster the single european currency and to enable some of these vulnerable economies the to survive the turmoil. many individual leaders like angela merkel of germany are putting their personal political status at risk in order to help other nation states. it's what public servants do in

moments of crisis. it's almost miraculous that 17 separate disparate and entirely distinct nations, nations that in the last century went to war against each other twice, that these nations can find it in themselves to work together for the good of the continent. now compare that with this congress. a congresses that supposed to be an arm of the american government, serving the american people. supposedly on america's side. but for all their talk, this house of representatives is about furthering one party's political agenda. it's not focused on getting people back to work, it's hellbent on putting one man out of work, the current president, barack obama. that's why this congress is not simply divided, it's not just dysfunctional. it's why most americans regard this congress as a disaster. and they're right. thank you very much, indeed, for