struggling to pay back student loans. john harwood is our chief washington correspondent, and joins me now. before we talk about the plan, i want to play a little bit of what the president's remarks were just a few moments ago in denver. >> all these steps aren't going to take the place of the needed action that congress has to get going on. they're still going to have to pass this jobs bill. they've got to create jobs. they've got to grow the economy. about you these executive actions we're taking can make a difference. and i've told my administration, we're going to look every single day to figure out what we can do without congress. >> and, john, so the president has now offered this student loan plan. in a nutshell, will this make a big difference? >> it will make some difference for more than 1 million students in the estimation of the administration. save a few hundred dollars a month by consolidating, lowering the interest rate for some, and also lowering the rates of payment from discretionary income and shortening the time

that those borrowers have to repay that money. but as the president indicated, it's not a substitute for broader improvement in the economy. the growing crisis in student loans is a symptom of the economic sickness that we're experiencing right now. but these steps aren't a cure if it. if you're the president of the united states, however, unemployment is 9.1%, you can't just sit and do nothing. he's trying to do something since congress isn't cooperating with him on his other agenda. >> he is offering these policy provisions this week, but he is also making an argument now, a political argument, about congress. and to a certain extent, the american people seem to be with him. let's look at the latest cbs/"new york times" poll, which shows disapproval of congress at 84%. only 9% of approve of congress, and the president's numbers aren't great. but in comparison to congress. when you see numbers like that, you kind of scratch your head and wonder, why is it that congress hasn't seemed to get the message that the american

people want it to come up and do something, accomplish something? >> part of it, savannah, is the nature of congress and how congressional districts are drawn. because national numbers showing people don't like congress obscure the partisan divide, so many districts that are represented by republican members like what those members are doing, likewise with the democrats. so the president -- we've seen this in the summer, when we had the debt limit debate. he was making some progress with public opinion, convincing people that he had some of the right solutions. but that didn't translate into effective pressure on congress to do something and act. you're right, the president does have an advantage as he grows in the arguments that he's making, using that bully pulpit against congress. the likelihood is given the economy, the weakness in his numbers this is going to be a negative campaign that is won or lost on the negative, how each

side did i fiefines the other s rather than a positive campaign. >> where does it stand in terms of the president's jobs plan? obviously, the effort to get all of it passed in one big package failed. are any of these provisions likely to get through the congress? >> i still think, savannah, at the end of the day, and this is why it's sequenced last in the progress, is that the payroll cut, which is the bulk of the dollars the president has proposed, is likely to get through, but democrats want to string out the fight a little bit longer, take a few more shots at the republicans before they get to that point. >> john harwood, thank you. president obama made at least 10 stops on his west coast trip, everywhere from "the tonight show" to roscoe's chicken and waffles. kristen welker has been traveling with the president and is joining me from denver. in terms of what the white house was hoping to accomplish from this western swing, what are you hearing? >> well, savannah, you know, this trip was really a mixture of policy and politics, if you will.

it was book ended with these two big policy speeches, one of which you were just talking about. the one that took place a few moments ago. the president offering relief for students, repaying their loans. and then remember on monday, he made this announcement about helping homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages. so the white house certainly trying to show that the president is taking action on the economy, given the fact that congress hasn't acted on his jobs bill. the president has continued to give congress a real tongue lashing for that, by the way. but certainly there was a mix of politics involved in this trip. six different fundraisers. three different states, including some celebrity packed fundraisers in los angeles. and it's also worth noting the geography of this trip, savan h savannah. nevada, his first stop, a major swing state of course. and colorado is as well. and then you have california in the middle, which is a big donor state. he also did have a little bit of fun on this trip, stopping by and talking to jay leno.

they talked about everything from libya to the republican field. the president having a bit of fun with that when jay asked him, have you been watching the republican race closely? and he said, i'm not going to really get too involved until almost everyone has been voted off of the island. so this trip certainly a big mixture, savannah. >> and i want to play another portion of his interview on leno where he talked about that beloved rumor in washington that somehow vice president biden and secretary clinton might swap jobs in the next term. let's listen to what he had to say. >> this is a fun story. this is stuff i love. this rumor that joe biden and hillary might swap, and she might run for vice president is. there any -- >> i think that they are doing great where they are. and, you know, both of them are racking up a lot of miles. joe tends to go more to pittsburgh. hillary is going to karachi. but, you know, the -- but they have both got important work to do. they're doing great.

>> but you don't want to say big f'ing deal in rauchy. that's not good. >> and then we hear him talk about mrs. obama on halloween. >> halloween's coming up, and she's been giving -- for the last few years, the kids fruit and raisenins in a bag. and i said the white house is going to get egged if this keeps up. >> yeah. you've got to go -- yeah. >> you need to throw some candy in there. >> moderation. exactly. >> come on. a couple of reese's pieces or something. >> kristen, no secret about the strategy there. the president clearly trying to reach a different kind of audience. and remind voters why they liked him in the first place. >> that's absolutely right, savannah. you know, jay leno appeals to a lot of young voters. and also a lot of midwest voters. he's got a huge audience. robert gibbs spoke about this, in fact, several months ago when he said, it's a huge audience.

it's a no brainer. why not go on a show like jay leno? so you're right, certainly trying to get out there, show his lighter side as well. because we're used to seeing him, of course, generally in these types of forums, where he is speaking to students, to homeowners. so he goes on jay leno and gets to show a different side of himself. >> all right. out of washington. and in every way imaginable, kristen welker traveling with the president. good to talk to you. democratic members of so-called super committee on the hill are laying out an initial blueprint for slashing the deficit. the panel held its first public meeting in over a month today. and luke russert has the details. what do we know? >> reporter: good afternoon, savannah. we should remind our viewers that the super committee has met in secret for the past few months, and now we are starting to learn a few deails on what exactly democrats are offering. the plan they have to hit is $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction by november 23.

the democrats are now according to sources offering a plan that would cut $3 trillion from the federal deficit over the course of 10 years. how would they pay for that? it would be a mix of roughly 50% entitlement reform, 507% revenue increases. have i also heard there's a possibility of some stimulus within this plan. but most importantly, a senior democratic aide told me, look, what the democrats on the deficit reduction committee are trying to do is emmult what john boehner and barack obama were trying to do over the summer in terms of a grand bargain. democrats feel that by going out and saying we will have substantial entitlement reforms particularly on medicare is a sign saying we are willing to jump off the deep end, if you will. and they make a point that the republicans have not necessarily shown that they would be willing to go that far on something that's near and dear and close to them such as raising taxing. this is really the first information we're getting about any plan that is being offered within the supercommittee. remember there is still a long

way to go until that november 23rd deadline. it's inching forward, but in terms of d.c. time, we'll surely hear a lot more from both democrats and republicans. but it's interesting to sort of get a rough idea of where the democrats are starting to negotiate from. so whether or not this comes to fruition is still a long way away. >> it's interesting, because as you indicate, it sounds like the democrats are offering some of their sacred cows in terms of entitlement reform. is there any indication that republicans on the committee are willing to meet them halfway in terms of offering revenues? because everything you read and hear at least publicly is that that's still a hard line for republicans. >> it is a hard line for republicans. and the revenue so far, as far as sources i have spoken to, have been introduced in the force of comprehensive corporate tax reform with this idea of this term you hear a lot on capitol hill broadening the base. but the important thing to know about these discussions, while we focus on the 12 members, make no mistake about it, john boehner and harry reid very much have their hands behind the

scenes working on this. and the that is the reason why some folks think, ok, there could be a larger deal than the one mentioned getting done. all that being said, i have heard from numerous republicans any idea of a tax increase which democrats call a revenue raiser is a nonstarter with the house gop conference. >> and, luke, obviously the motivation here is that if the super committee does not come up with these cuts that automatic across the board cuts will take place. clearly this is something that democrats don't want to see. do republicans fear that outcome just as much? because it would spill into defense spending, for example. >> reporter: absolutely. i would even make the argument that republicans fear that more than democrats simply because there is a new report out today from the defense industry that was quoted in "the washington post" that said that hundreds of thousands of jobs could be lost in the defense contracting business. and a lot of republicans, such as john mccain, have been very outspoken saying cuts to defense could significantly weaken the united states from the standpoint of national security. there are even some progressive

house democratic members that would like the super committee to fail because they see this as the first time to get substantial cuts to defense. cuts for democrats would be more on the benefits side of certain social programs. but all that being said, the most underreported story about all of this, congress has this november 23rd deadline. if they really want to, they can kick that down the road. they can report out something, report out a new deadline. remember, none of these cuts that would occur if they fail happen until 2013 i have to spoken to numerous numbers that said, we could agree to something and then fix it in that year's time. no republican will allow massive defense cuts to go forward, savannah. it would be much too burdensome not only on constituents but on their ideology. >> you're saying it's a faux deadline? >> reporter: all i'm saying that in washington, d.c., there is a tendency of deadlines being able to be moved magically or a different interpretation to kick it down the line. >> yeah, we've noticed that.

>> reporter: great seeing you, savannah. we miss you in d.c. don't get too hipster on us in new york. >> i'm in no danger of that, luke. good to see you. talk to you soon, thanks. >> reporter: take care. still ahead -- we'll dig into the details ever the student relief plan with melody barnes. a and recruits are gathers today in washington. we'll talk about the game plan with democratic congressional committee chairman steve israel. and he may not be able to quiet a fussy congress, but babies are another story. president obama took just a few seconds to calm a crying baby and then handed her back to mom. last june, the president got a reputation as something of a baby whisperer again after calming a cranky infant outside the white house, as you see there. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. [ male announcer ] to the 5:00 a.m. scholar.

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the house democrats are bringing the campaign to washington. ri kr recruits are in the capital today. new york congressman steve israel is in charge of getting democrats elected as chair of the democratic congressional campaign committee. congressman, thank you. it's good to have you here. >> great to be with you. >> let me put it on the screen, this latest "new york times"/cbs poll which i'm sure you have seen. it shows congressional job approval stands at 9%. you're in single digits. the unemployment rate is now higher than congress' approval. does that make a harder sell to the folks that you are hoping will run and help get democrats back in control of the house? >> no. in fact, the same poll showed that over 70% of the american people think that the house

republicans who are in charge of the house of representatives favor the richest 1% and don't care about any of the others, don't care about the middle class. house republicans who haven't been able to pass a single bill to create a single job have to be held accountable for this. the only thing they have done is try and cut medicare. and that's why we have over 107 candidates from throughout the country, 36 states, we filled 60 districts. and what i love about these recruits is they are problem solvers. they are small business people, entrepreneurs, innovators, a nasa astronaut, a rest tour. they know how to get things done and solve problems. that's why i'm confident we can take back this house. >> let me ask you about what the president has been doing out on the road. this is from the jay leno show. >> you recently said that you didn't watch the girls watching kardashians.

>> i am probably a little biassed against reality tv, partly because there's this program on cspan called congress that is -- >> right. >> that i -- [ laughter ] >> congressman, i mean, you make the distinction between house republicans and house democrats. but the president doesn't seem to. do you -- does it irk you at all that he is going around the country basically running against congress and not really making the distinction between democrats and republicans? >> no. look, the president knows that when democrats had the majority in the house, we passed legislation sent to the senate that improved the economy. that helped small businesses. that reduced the costs of college education, that continuously supported the middle class. and since then, when the republicans took control of the house, they have not produced anything that will help small businesses create jobs. they have tried to end medicare, and fund tax cuts to big oil companies. the president knows that and the me american people know it. >> from "the new york times" poll that you just cited a few

minutes ago, it says, do you think barack obama does or does not have a clear plan for creating jobs? 56%, he does not. this is after the president has done almost nothing other than push this jobs plan for the last month or so. i mean, does that shake your confidence in his ability to communicate with the american people and push forward something that you have argued is popular in the country? >> well, i think the president has made a very clear and convincing case. he's been traveling the country. quite honestly, the republican -- their strategy to do nothing may have worked for them politically. it's just hurt the country. their strategy to do nothing hasn't created jobs. and it should be no surprise that many people will hold the president of any party responsible for that. i think the president has made the right decision to explain that to the american people. and we are going to hold these republicans accountable throughout the country. the fact that after we lost the majority, we have 107 recruits. we need 25 seats to take the house back.

the fact that we have over 60 districts filled, 107 recruits, and we outraised the house republicans by almost $4 million, is a vote of confidence. you talk about a vote of confidence. that's the vote of confidence we have in our ability to take back the house. >> gotta leave it there. steve israel, good to have you. >> thanks. coming up, rick perry hits the airwaves in iowa. will his promise to create 2.5 million jobs help turn around his sinking poll numbers? the politico briefing is next. but first, hurricane rina continues to churn away in the gulf of mexico. current forecasts show the late season system is threatening florida as a tropical storm late sunday. meanwhile, colorado saw the first signs of winter with four inches of snow falling in denver just this morning, in time for president obama's visit. [ male announcer ] humana and walmart have teamed up

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rick perry is taking to the airwaves with his first television ad in iowa. take a look. >> in texas, we created over 1 million new jobs.

while the rest of the nation lost over 2 million. i'll start by opening american oil and gas fields. i'm eliminate president obama's regulations that hurt other sources of domestic energy. like coal and natural gas. that will create jobs and reduce our reliance on oil from countries that hate america. >> with the texas governor losing support in the polls, what will it take to turn it around? politico's national political reporter alex burns is joining us now. and looking at the latest poll numbers, there's rick perry at the bottom of the heap with just 6% now. he's going up with a positive ad in iowa as we just saw, but also seems to really be going after romney hard. is he trying to create the illusion of a two-man race? >> well, savannah, if i think if rick perry is knocked out of this race, somebody forgot to tell rick perry. his ad he's up with in iowa is trying to reclaim some of the market space he had in the race to begin with, that sort of conservative job creator candidate.

and as you say, we is going after mitt romney more aggressively to try and make this a contest between two guys who have well over $10 million in the bank, and who at least on the level of organization could go the distance in the primaries. >> he also of course offered his sort of quasi, pseudo flat tax proposal yesterday. it got mixed reviews. the "wall street journal" seemed to like it better. how is it coming across? >> i think what's important for rick perry with this flat tax proposal is that it gives conservatives a reason to take another look at hcandidacy. he was the guy to beat, and now he's not. or so we thought. he is trying to put out ideas that cause folks on the right to say, maybe we judged him too soon. maybe there is something worth liking in this campaign after all. >> and he has money in the bank, right? >> he reported having $15

million on hand. it seems like he's probably overstating that a little bit by pushing some bills into the next reporting period. but the bottom line, is he can afford to spend mono television. that's not something that most of mitt romney's other opponents can do. >> alex burns from politico. good to talk to you. thank you. >> thank you. coming up -- the occupy wall street wild card. what effect will the protests have the political parties? plus, john edwards back in court today arguing that the criminal case against him is all about politics and should be thrown out. but first, squash. the morning commute turned intereinto a major mess when a truck dumped hundreds of pumpkins on the freeway. crew has to break out snowplows to clear away the pulverized pumpkins. and call off the search dogs. after 61 days on the lam, jack the cat has been found. the feisty feline earned something approaching celebrity status. had his own facebook page after going missing at jfk airport in august. he turned up healthy and happy

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what's in your wallet? topping the headlines on "andrea mitchell reports," in los angeles, conrad murray's attorneys are shifting their case's focus to show the doctor's positive traits today. five character witnesses are testifying to counterclaims that murray was reckless while caring for michael jackson and cared only about money. the defence could rest its case as early as tomorrow. a british coroner says singer amy winehouse died from accidental alcohol poisoning. an autopsy showed her blood alcohol level was more than five times the legal driving limit when she died. the 27-year-old star fought addiction for years but had reportedly stopped drinking for weeks before picking it back up the day before she died. a former top executive with goldman sachs is facing criminal charges today after turning himself in to the fbi. he is accused of leaking

confidential information to a former hedge fund manager who's now serving 11 years in prison for insider trading. gupta denies doing anything illegal. the supreme court may decide whether to hear cases against federal health reform as early as november 10. the justice department has appealed multiple lower court decisions that ruled the individual insurance mandate was unconstitutional. if the supreme court takes up the case, the process could begin in the spring. officials worry time may be running out in turkey where rescue teams are in a desperate search for survivors of sunday's earthquake. at least three more people were saved from the rubble today. the country's prime minister meanwhile is blaming poor construction for exacerbating the death toll, which now stands at over 460 people. nbc's michelle franzen is live in one of the hardest hit areas. michelle, tell us the latest. >> reporter: well, the latest is that nightfall is here once

again. it's probably one of the coldest nights since the earthquake struck. we are here just outside the city where tents are set up, a shelter area for the thousands who were displaced from their homes or just too scared to go back in. there has not been enough tents to go around, and the demand has been such that people lined up all along the route leading into ercis today just to wait for shipments as they arrived. and the long line wrapped probably for about half a mile. in the meantime, those rescuers are continuing their work by day and by night. as you mentioned, more rescues today. people pulled out alive. we had heard of four people overnight. and one more this morning. a 27-year-old school teacher who taught english. she was also pulled. and of course yesterday, what many people are calling a miracle when baby ezra was pulled out as well as her mother and grandmother. ezra and the mom are doing well. they were flown to ankara for medical attention. but it's certainly a dire sort

of time here, because we're getting into that fourth day, that time when a lot of the health organizations say that it will be very hard for people to survive here. and the focus again is going back to the survivors and how to meet their needs. you've got international aid that is now coming in. and even israel is sending prefabricated homes here as people in this region get ready for snow. savannah? >> all right, michelle franzen on a cold night in ercis, turkey. thank you. back here the political headlines today, mitt romney trying to set the record straight in ohio, but may have opened himself up to new accusations of flip flopping. while holding an event, he said he's 110% behind governor kasich's law to restrict union rights bon day after he said he didn't have a position on it and wouldn't comment on the ballot measure to ratify that law. another indication that michele bachmann's campaign may have hit hard times. the congresswoman did not personally sign up for the new hampshire primary.

she mailed in the paperwork instead. bachmann also could have sent a staffner her place, but her entire new hampshire team quit last week. nbc news has learned that democrats on the congressional super committee have proposed a plan to reduce the deficit by $3 trillion over the next decade through a mix of entitlement reform and tax hikes. no official reaction from republican members yet. the super committee's deadline for a deal is less than four weeks away now. the occupy wall street protests are making headlines again after police in oakland, california, clashed with protesters across that city. authorities cleared protesters from their encampment earlier in the day. the confrontations last night saw police fire tear gas on at least three separate occasions in their attempts to calm down the crowds. in atlanta, meanwhile, police cleared woodruff park of occupy wall street protesters earlier this morning and arrested 50 people. atlanta's mayor cited security concerns after a man with an assault rifle was spotted among the protesters on tuesday.

let's bring in ej dion, a senior fellow at the brookings institution and also a contributor to the "wall street journal." good to see you here. >> good to see you. >> the latest poll from "the new york times" shows that the support for the occupy wall street movement is growing. 43% saying they do approve of the protests. and yet it seems like on both sides of the political spectrum there's a little bit of what do we make of it. you know, what they should do about it. let's start with the republicans. i know you've observed that it see seems like republicans can't make up their minds whether it's a bad thing or if they want to align themselves with the broader sentiments. >> the republicans have had a kind of whiplash on it. within a few days, eric cantor seemed to be one side of them, and then on the other side of them. what the republicans would like to do is write them all off as a bunch of 60s left wing hippies

or something like that. and you can see that in some of the conservative commentary. but on a lot of the basic issues like were there serious abuses on wall street, should millionaires pay more in taxes, are we in this mess because of financial shenanigans, republicans are with the protesters. so they would like to turn it into a general protest against the status quo and thus against obama. but i think they know this hurts them more than the democrats because the conservatives want to argue all of our problems stem from washington. these folks are saying, wait a minute. a lot of these problems came out of wall street and the financial system. >> at the same time, it seems like the president and democrats are also being careful here. i mean, in terms of some of the things that the protesters talk about, you would think they would be more naturally aligned with democrats. but it's not clear whether the president is going to try to exploit that energy, seize on that energy, or if he's concerned that maybe it could backfire. >> well, i think they are not exactly sure, the democrats, where this goes.

and that picture you showed just before our segment of that tear gas, some democrats are worried what will happen with these demonstrations. now, the fact is if you look around the country, these demonstrators have been very disciplined on the whole. they have been very focused. and i think they do have a sense about what a big role they're playing nationally. and you have also had the unions start coming in, in support of these demonstrations. so that i think what you're going to see is democrats getting sort of cautiously closer to them. but in a lot of ways, it's like protesters in the past. you had the labor movement that was both to the left of franklin roosevelt but supported him. you had the civil rights movement that was pushing lyndon johnson but supported him when it mattered. i think you're going to have that same kind of push and support relationship here within wall street. that's what democrats hope. >> you cite those two examples,

and you can also cite the tea party. in all of those prior cases, you could come up with a one liner. you knew what the protesters were ultimately looking for. in the case of the tea party, they want to cut government spending. in terms of the civil rights movement, you know what they wanted to do there. do you still feel that there's a sense that you know that the occupy wall street protesters are excessingpressing a lot of but you don't know what the ask is? >> well, first of all, i think it's easier to say cut taxes and cut government than get the financial system under control, which is something more complicated to do. but i do think there are some unifying themes, if you look at some of the wonderful signs they have, and one of them is we need to regulate these guys, not deregulate. and the other is the top 1% have done a whole lot better than 99% of us. a lot of people have suggested they rename their movement as the 99 percent. and i think that aspect of their message speaks both to reality,

when you look at what's happened to wages and incomes, and the feelings of a whole lot of people. >> all right. ej dion from "the washington post" and an msnbc contributor. good to talk to you. thank you. >> good to be with you. former presidential candidate and north carolina senator john edwards wasn court today to fighting to get criminal charges against him dropped. the justice department alleges that edwards received illegal campaign donations during the 2008 election cycle and used them to cover up an extra marital affair. edwards' legal team says that case goes way beyond the law, it's politically motivated, and this be thrown out of court. lisa myers has more. >> it's unusual for a judge to agree to hear arguments at this stage of the case. basically what edwards is trying to do is get the case thrown out before it goes to trial. some say it's the legal equivalent of a hail mary. john edwards walks back into a courthouse in greensboro, north carolina, today.

>> mr. edwards, what are the chances for acquittal? >> with five arguments as to why the indictment should be dismissed. it's a return to hard reality. just four days after the joyful celebration of his daughter's marriage. prosecutors charge that edwards requested, accepted and received unlawful contributions in order to hide his involvement in an extramarital affair, and therefore preserve the liability of his campaign to be president. >> no other candidate has been charged criminally with any case that even approximates this. >> reporter: ken gross, a former head of enforcement for the federal election commission, and previously a consultant for edwards' defense, argues the case goes beyond the law. >> none of that money was used for any campaign related expense. no tv ads, no radio ads, to pay campaign workers or to otherwise advocate his election. >> reporter: the government says edwards broke the law by not reporting almost $1 million secretly provided by two supporters.

which was used to hide his pregnant mistress, rielle hunter, in fancy homes and on private jets. >> i don't think it's that novel. >> reporter: former federal prosecutor dan boyce says the government has laid out a strong case. >> the defense doesn't want this case to go to the jury. they're trying to get out of the case on a technicality. >> reporter: edwards insists he did not violate the law, and claims the case is politically motivated. if the judge doesn't buy edwards' arguments, he could be back in court for a trial in january. now the judge is not expected to rule today. by all accounts, edwards faces an uphill battle to get the case thrown out, given the momentum of a federal indictment. most of the time, savannah, judges would rather have a jury decide. >> all right. lisa myers, thank you. coming up, team obama tackles the student loan crisis. melody barnes will join us next

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coming up on "news nation" -- >> if anybody is a racist, it's the democratic party that's the racest. >> a tea party member on attack where herman cain was the keynote speaker. we're waiting for cain's remarks which include attacks on african-american leaders. sniecht plus, a new movie about the life of j. edgar hoover has the chairman of the hoover committee furious saying it's not based in fact because it explores his relationship with a top male aide. we'll have more on that. "news nation" at 2:00 eastern. the challenges facing new

college graduates are staggering, and it's not just about finding a job. many are entering the work force with soaring student loan debts, a concern that's keeping some meshes from renrolling in collee in the first place. today, the american rolled out a new plan to tackle this problem. melody barnes is joining us. thanks for being here. >> great to be with you, savannah. the president not just with regard to student loans but also with the mortgage crisis has been rolling out serious policy initiatives under the idea that we can't wait. he's going to take actions he can do unilaterally. why did the president wait until now to unveil these initiatives? it's the fall of 2011. if he could have taken these actions before, why did he wait so long? >> well, savannah, he's been building on initiatives that we already started, things that we've been working on since day one. you take the announcement he made today with regard to

student loan debt. this is something that we've been focused on, the high cost of college. in fact, if you look at information that's recently been put out by the college board, it says that even as college tuition and college costs have been going up, because of the things that we've been doing, the american opportunity tax credit, expanding pell grants, we have been able to keep that relatively flat for students and for families. but we still know that there's a big problem out there, and that's why the president is saying we can't wait for anyone else who won't take action when we know people are hurting. i'm going to do what i can based on my authority to make things better for students and their families. >> watching these occupy wall street protests, you can't help but notice that a large number of the demonstrators are young people who can't find a job, who have tens of thousands of dollars in debt, in some cases from excellent institutions, and yet they are unemployed. is this a direct response to that? is the president trying to seize on some of the energy he sees among young people in the hopes

that those young voters might repay the favor at the ballot box next year? >> savannah, this is a response to the thousands, the millions of students, we have been hearing from since day one. we have been encouraging people to go to school and to get a higher education because we knee that many of the jobs that are coming online over the next five, 10 years, over the next year or so, are jobs that require some kind of post secondary credential. at the same time, people are afraid to do this because they know debt will be high or they go to school and they have these heavy burdens and they aren't able to take jobs that may be lower paying. so we're responsive to that. you know, we've got this we the people website. over 30,000, 30,000 individuals sent a petition to us saying, we've got a crushing debt burden. please help us. please do something about it. so we've expanded an initiative that congress passed about a year and a half ago. we've pulled the date forward so students will be able to benefit from it by the year 2012. and we're also encouraging

people who don't know about it, millions of students who don't know about it, people who are working now, to take advantage of those better terms that we have put in place in march of 2010. >> and with regard to the mortgage relief plan, i think the criticism was that it really affects so few of the homeowners who are really struggling. for example, you have to an excellent record of paying your mortgage. so people are saying, you know, you're not reaching the broad swath of americans who are really struggling. what's your response to that criticism of the initiative the president rolled out this week? >> well, first of all, consistent with the fact that the president is saying we can't indica wait, we're doing all we can with the authority that we have. but i would argue that if you're one of those million of individuals, one of those million homeowners, that you are pleased that the president took action this week that's going to help keep you in your home. at the same time, we're going to keep pushing and pushing to do all we can to try and expand those benefits for as many people as possible. we're hoping congress will work

with us. but until they do, we're going to keep using executive authority to make life better for the american people. >> all right. melody barnes. thank you for being here. good to see you. >> great. it's a pleasure. thanks so much. thank you so much. >> what political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? that's next. i found one that uses robots instead of real people. 'cuz robots work for free. robot 1:good morning... robot 1:...female child. sfx: modem dial-up noise woman: are there flaws? yeah, um, maybe. anncr: there's an easier way to save. anncr: get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. to bring you a low-priced medicare prescription drug plan. ♪ with the lowest national plan premium... ♪ ...and copays as low as one dollar... ♪

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we're committed to improving lives and linking americans to what matters most with honest, personal service... 5-year price-lock guarantees... consistently fast speeds ... and more ways to customize your technology. ♪ which political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? msnbc contributor and managing editor of post politics.com, chris cillizza joins us to tell us. good to see you. >> good to see you. i think we're going to be talking about, at least i'm talking about it, i don't know if everyone is, but newt gingrich. remember old newt left for dead over the sum where his campaign imexplode a nice way to say what happened. is starting to get a little bit of traction. third in the new york times cbs news poll. i think a lot of this has to do

with the last six weeks of the campaign have been almost entirely dominated by these debates and newt gingrich has done quite well for himself there but he doesn't have the organization in places like iowa, new hampshire that you need. i think it may be a little false positive in terms of a newt comeback but kind of interesting. always a second act in politics. >> i read your piece about this. it does seem to be based largely on the fact that he does give a compelling debate performance. what would he have to do to make it more real? he is in the double digit club again in term of the latest new york times poll. what would he have to do to take it to the next level? >> i think the short cynical but probably right answer is raise more money. his people, it was in the piece that i wrote, he raised about $800,000 between july 1 and september 30. the third fundraising quarter. that's not much. they've already raised more than that in okay. a lot of that is on the strength of his debate performances but

he is still $1.2 million in debt. the only way you can build these organizations in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina and florida is to have money behind it and he is not there yet. >> all right. rick perry may not like debates but newt gingrich will debate every night of the week. thanks. good to see you. that does it for this edition of andrea mitchell reports. plus the eu ambassador to the united states on the global economic crisis. and remember, you can follow the show online and on twitter. now tamron hall has a look at what's next on "news nation." developing news out of california, protesters with the occupy wall street movement are planning another face-off with police after a night of violent confrontations with officers. we'll have more. plus, new numbers show the

income of the wealthiest people in this country grew by 275%. meanwhile, people in the middle class saw their income grow by just 18%. michael smerconish will join me to talk about the numbers. i'm not a number. i'm not a line item on a budget. and i'm definitely not a pushover. but i am a voter. so washington... before you even think about cutting my medicare and social security benefits... here's a number you should remember. 50 million.

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the points on dining and no foreign transaction fees. whoa! chase sapphire preferred. a card of a different color. apply now at chasesapphire.com/preferred right now on "news nation." protesters in california bracing for another night of potential violent clashes with police. 100 of the occupy wall street movement protesters were arrested in oakland overnight as the police try to clear them from their camp in front of city hall. and it is not the only city where police are trying to move out protesters. we'll have a live conversation with a woman who was there when police moved in in oakland. show me the money. a new report follows the money trail in this country and shows how much more the income of the nation's wealthiest has grow