tv Andrea Mitchell Reports MSNBC May 3, 2012 1:00pm-2:00pm EDT
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running mate sweepstakeses? >> let's take virginia broadly. i think there's 9 and 12 swing states both parties will spend money on. if you look for the one that is both the closest potentially when we get to november as well as the state that has kind of everything, virginia may be it. it's amazing to say that because barack obama was the first president, democratic president, since lyndon johnson in 1964 to win the state. if it is, i think bob mcdonnell is in that v.p. conversation to the second question because he is extremely popular, the one thing that bob mcdonnell is going to hurt his cause, if you believe mitt romney has a woman problem and if you look at the data he's clearly the gender gap is broader right now than it's been in past elections, bob mcdonnell caught wake-up the virginia state legislature about
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transvaginal ultra sounds won't help his cause when it comes to the v.p. sweepstakes. >> and bob mcdonnell was asked about that on fox today. >> any candidate that calls a potential nominee and says listen, you can help the party, you can help the country, of course you consider it but i'm not asking for it, interviewing for it. i want to see mitt romney win. we've got a great team out there, people like chris christie, marco rubio, bobby jindal, others that are great options. >> and you're talking about virginia, we're talking about virginia but also look at the new quinnipiac battle ground. florida in play, pennsylvania not in play. take a look. some of these numbers from florida and ohio much closer than you would have thought. >> right. you know, look. i think barack obama's campaign has to be happy about that pennsylvania number, this is a state that republicans always talk about contesting and usually wind up not spending a lot of money in.
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those numbers i think are beneficial clearly to barack obama. and florida and ohio in some way it's nothing new. we expected both of those to be competitive. barack obama carried them both in 2008. george bush carried them in 2004. they are the two big, by population, swing states. they will be the one point i would make, people say if barack obama loses florida and ohio he can't win. that is not true. remember, barack obama won 365 electoral votes. if he lost florida and ohio he'd still win by -- he'd be 50 or 60 more than he needed. keep that in mind. >> indeed. thank you, chris. right now at the white house briefing jay carney is asked about the case of chen guangcheng. >> are you concerned at all that this case could open him up to criticism, though, from republicans who have seen some republicans saying that the president now the u.s. has a
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responsibility for chen's safety. >> i can assure you that the president is not concerned about political back and forth on this issue. he is focused on the need to advance u.s. interests in our broad-based relationship with china, very important economic, diplomatic relationship with china. he has and will continue to make a priority in that relationship or part of that, an open and frank discussion about our concerns about human rights. that's his focus. it is absolutely in our national interest for us to pursue that kind of broad-based agenda with the chinese. >> why release the documents now at this time to the anniversary of his death? >> two things. this morning west point's combatting terrorism center released 17 al qaeda -- >> as jay carney continues on to
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talk about other subjects, the bin laden documents, we'll talk about that later, we focus again and focus more intensely on the case of chen guangcheng. you heard him say, the president will not be dissuaded by political pressure but it's a diplomatic minefield. underscoring the relationship between the two countries. ian williams has the latest from beijing. >> reporter: andrea, u.s. officials spoke to chen guangcheng and his wife in hospital today, and acknowledged the blind human rights lawyer has what they call a change of heart. that he now wants to leave china. the ambassador lock told me officials would have to sit down with chen and go through the options. he was noncommittal when i asked him whether chen would be given asylum in the u.s. one news report quoted chen as requesting that he leave with hillary clinton on saturday. the reality, though, is that now he's in a chinese hospital under
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chinese jurisdiction which means negotiations over his future will be much more complicated and could take time. secretary clinton met top chinese officials this morning for previously scheduled talks but only addressed human rights in very broad terms. my sense is that u.s. officials are genuinely shocked that the deal they thought they had for chen to stay in china with safety guarantees, unravelled so quickly and they continue to strongly deny there was any pressure on chen to leave the u.s. embassy. they say he was insistent on staying in china and at no time during the stay in the embassy did he ask for asylum. >> ian williams, thanks to you. and william coen served as defense secretary under president clinton and spends a lot of time traveling back and forth between the u.s. and china and knows all of the leaders there. thanks for joining us. this is a very complicated
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situation. i wanted to share with you and our viewers the difference between what hillary clinton said in china last night and the prepared remarks released as she was speaking because there's quite a difference. she was focusing on the agenda, iran, north korea, syria, as well as of course the economic issue, tim geithner is with her there exploring those. here's what she said to the chinese leadership about human rights. >> we believe that all governments do have to answer to citizens' aspirations for dignity and the rule of law. and that no nation can or should deny those rights. >> what she actually had written in her prepared remarks which were released is much stronger, much stronger statement on human rights. clearly, this situation and chen guangcheng's change of heart, whether or not once he was reunited with his family who we
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are told were brought by the chinese to beijing at the request and under pressure from the u.s. once he was reunited with his wife and one of his children who he had not seen in years he apparently had a change of heart and there may be a lot of emotion and also physical pressures as well as health issues involved. how does the u.s. get around this question? >> this is a subject matter i'm familiar with. in 1978 i had the opportunity to make essentially the same speech that secretary clinton did. i was a new senator-elect and speaking to the issue of human rights. i think there has been some progress in terms of a growing middle class demanding more from their leadership. there is a good deal of oppression and certainly sup pression of the right of free speech and opportunities. i think it's unlikely that mr. clen is going to go back to the united states with secretary clinton.
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i think that would be something that the chinese would have strong objections to. in terms of the symbol of them fielding to pressure coming from the united states. that's something at this point in time with so much change in china, not only with leadership but on the ground with bo xilai and other corruption, they can't be in a position of showing weakness in the face of the united states. i doubt whether he'll be going back at this time. what might be possible is over the a period of time for the chinese to come to the conclusion that allowing him to travel to the united states and go into permanent exile with his family would be better for them since it would at least deflect attention on his activities which i'm sure he is going to try to continue as long as he's in china. i think at this point not much will happen over the long term they may find it in their interest to allow him to leave. >> at the same time, it really was clear that he initially told
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them, according to all of the briefings we had, he told them in the embassy that echted to stay in china and remain active, go to law school. and he thought be safe. he apparently realized once he got to the hospital he could not be safe and was concerned and did a number of interviews. he was concerned about retaliation against the family. so there is a lot of different stories here. they say they are going to resolve it. it's nighttime as you know in china. they are going to try to revisit him in the morning. can he really stay in china any longer? you raised the issue if there is any way to protect him. aren't we now under to be his protector. >> frankly, we lost celebrity. once he left the u.s. embassy then power shifted immediately to the chinese government. and frankly, the united states is in no position to dictate what the terms of release will
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be for a chinese citizen, dissident or otherwise. we lost leverage. >> should we have given up that protection before we nailed down the deal. there is going to be a hearing on the hill. they are going to be hammered on the right. saying that they did not act aggressively enough and they were too concerned about other issues and the economic issues. i'm sure they were concerned about the economic issues. if he remained in the embassy under u.s. protection, i could foresee a great deal of difficult going forward. i think there would have been a pry sis in the relationship at that point with many outside of the u.s. embassy, not only with the military but a great deal of anger at the united states for trying to interfere with their domestic affaired so called. we talked about this earlier in
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the week. a lose-lose proposition for the united states because the administration will be krit sized for failing to stand up tall enough in defending him. and the counter to that is well, if this is what he wanted to get out of the u.s. embassy to go to the hospital that was a choice. the critics will say we should have held him at the embassy. that would have jeopardized with china. they will be subject to criticism, even mored that the dialogue faltered and gone awry. >> are you surprised that the chinese went ahead given how this is? >> i'm not surprised. the relationship with the u.s. is key. the major issues confronting our conditions are enormous and
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cannot be -- at a crisis relationship with them. secondly another issue to consider. our relationship with china very important to all of our allies throughout the asia pacific region. they do not want to have to choose between good relations with china and not for the united states and visa versa. they live in the neighborhood. they want us to stand up for our ideals but not be poking fingers in the eyes of the chinese. how we manage that is the kind of balancing that the state department no doubt, the white house had to take into account looking at the longer and the larger picture with the chinese. we'll continue to raise the issue of human rights but we're not in a position to dictate what the chinese will do or can do with their citizens though we're critical of how they may treat their citizens we have to race this as an issue. it's hard for the u.s. to dictate what the out come of this will be. >> william cohen, thanks so
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much. dispute over chen guangcheng comes as china is reeling from a scandal. bill cohen referred to it involving a former prizing star in the communist party, bo xilai, stripped of power amid a murder mystery involving his wife and the death of their british business partner. "the people's epic of scandal," this is one of the most interesting stories and you dug into it. this has ripped the scab off of corruption. a potentially more challenging issue for the rising chinese leadership. >> that's right i think it's a great story because it does demonstrate the degree to which the chinese leadership lost the narrative. they enjoyed especially since 2008 world side, they promoted
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this aura of bureaucracy that serves the people well and this has ripped the scab off. there's multigenerational corruption, feather bedding, helping cronyism and it's really exposed just how dire the situation is among the chinese elite. >> is bo xilai a scapegoat as part after larger struggle between when -- i mean this is really shorthand but is there a reform versus hardline component in the succession? >> it goes -- the 70 members of the bureau are worth $90 billion. so i think that the current leadership.
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the standard committee of nine is trying to present an isolated case, make an example of him. they want toofrg go along as planned, later on this year it's supposed to be the first transfer of hower in a decade, all going to due effortlessly. i think that the leadership, yes, is trying to present this as an isolated case. the thing that they are worried about is a demonstration and wellization and among the chinese people that corruption and cronyism is pervasive throughout the com pew nis party. >> i know they tried to smear him but note to beijing, a story that involves murder, love affa affair, a british business man with potential intelligence die, embarrassment for downing street and a young princeling still in harvard, that's not going to go away. >> yeah.
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hollywood couldn't make this up. one of the greatest stories if it weren't so crucially serious and important. this is the largest country, the second largest economy now. a little player in global politics. so this is very serious. this is the most serious that china has experienced since 1989. >> jim, thank you so much. we want the movie rights to this one. coming up next, the bachmann factor plus letters from the secret bin laden. this is "andrea mitchell reports." ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about the cookie-cutter retirement advice ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you get at some places. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 they say you have to do this, have that, invest here ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you know what? ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you can't create a retirement plan based on ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 a predetermined script. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we actually take the time to listen - ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 to understand you and your goals...
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gingrich have endorsed mitt romney. can they deliver other conservative holdouts? joining me is strategist mark mckinnon, vice chair and former adviser to president george w. bush. hey, mark, good to see you. let's talk about the conservatives coming on board. there have been a lot of very lame endorsements, frankly. do you think that by the time this gets serious they are going to all be fully engaged and on team romney? >> they will. this is -- we're going through a period but when mitt romney takes the stage in september all of the conservatives will rally, give him the dynamic of this election against barack obama. wouldn't it be refreshing for once somebody said i wouldn't endorse romney if he were the last or for romney to say thanks, but we can get along without you. that's why voters are so cynical about this. >> saying it's more likely he would say that to santorum or
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gingrich than bachmann. >> sure. but a little honesty and candor would be refreshing. >> it's almost as if you would like to see a cartoon bubble over their heads what they are really thinking. >> exactly. >> at the same time i want to ask you about team romney and this flap over rick grenell. rick grenell, well known to the foreign policy press as the spokesman at the u.n. for john bolton, yes, very edgy, challenging to the media but also for john neg ra possibilitiy and jack dan forth. so we have his credentials in foreign policy. now there is the denial from the campaign he was forced out because he is gay. or was he forced out because he's too edgy or because he's too controversial or -- because there was pressure from the left and the right wing. i can't imagine they would have conceded to left wing using that term pressure, but were they conceding to right wing pressure
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over his being openly gay? >> whatever the circumstances it's very unfortunate development. i was thrilled when i saw that the romney campaign hired him. i thought it was the right thing to do, he has unquestioned credentials, sends the right signals. then for this to happen just weeks after is disappointing, it's frustrating for a lot of us republicans who like to see more people like grenell in positions of authority and as spokespersons for the campaign. it's unclear, i know that the romney campaign tried to convince him to stay but clearly he was being muzzled for some reason during an important time in which his voice was needed on those issues, and that seems to be a response to pressure from the right. and these are examples where people like me would like to see mitt romney stand up and say i don't care what people think, this is my guy, i'm standing behind him and i want him out front. we need to see more examples of
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that. what people ultimately want in a president is somebody who is strong, bold, and stands behind his decisions. >> i should point out he wrote nasty tweets about our friend rachel plaidow and other people which had nothing to do with politics but taking them on on all sorts of issues so he is controversial. but as you point out, he was certainly credentialed to be a foreign policies spokesman. >> i think the romney folks were well aware of how edgy he was. i think they wanted an edgy guy in the position. the problem was not edgy. >> right. exactly. thank you. thanks a lot, mark. up next, "the politico" briefing, this is "andrea mitchell reports." i went to a small high school.
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campaign with a rally in richmond, well, that's saturday, mitt romney, though, has two stops scheduled in virginia over the next two days. joining me is ken vogel. we're talking about virginia is for lovers they say and virginia is for candidates. >> yeah, that's right. it's no coincidence that president obama over the last three years spent a lot of time in northern virginia. i live in old town alexandria. he's down there at northern virginia community college for an event on education or the budget. he and michelle went there for their anniversary, for christmas shopping. it's very much part of both campaigns, the romney campaign and obama campaign. the 13 electoral votes from virginia. i think we'll see a lot more of them here. >> whatever happens with the top of the ticket will have a big influence on two formergoer running for a senate slot.
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>> this is shaping up as a hop out of the ground with tim kaine and george allen facing off. we've seen democrats win the last couple senate elections here, but obviously bob mcdonnell the governor won in rather a landslide a year after president obama carried it in 2008 so that highlights the volatility and the true emergence as a real legitimate swing state of virginia. >> ken vogel, i'm glad you live there and can be there to see it and have all of the traffic jams they come your way. thanks very much. what is next for newt gingrich. susan page's interview. bin laden's letters. what was he writing from his hideout?
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out of the courtroom in tears yesterday as testimony turned to how her mother elizabeth first learned of her husband's affair. former staffer kate upham detailed her collapse at the raleigh airport day after the first tabloid story detailed the affa affair. at one point elizabeth edwards confronted her husband on the tarmac screaming and ripping off her clothes. today a former staffer matthew nelson will testify about key events attended by donors including the been a fktser who provided the secret donations. and good news today from the office of illinois senator mark kirk. the freshman senator who suffered a stroke in january is now able to move back home with his family and is maintaining contact with his staff, they say. his team thanked everyone for thoughts and prayers during this recovery. >> the first official release of documents found in osama bin laden's compound during the raid a year ago.
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in bin laden's letters he expresses frustration with his network's dysfunction, indicating he is still hoping, was hoping to kill president obama and general petraeus then the commander of u.s. forces. jim miklaszewski has been briefed on those and joins me now. you had briefings, this is fascinating stuff. tell us what you learned about the mind-set of osama bin laden during those final days. >> first of all, there are only 17 documents but it amounts to 175 pages or more in english translation. of course the one thing that jumps out at you is bin laden's desire to assassinate president obama or general david petraeus as their government planes landed somewhere in the region, whether it be pakistan or afghanistan. because, as obama said, vice president biden was utterly unprepared to take over the job from the president.
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meanwhile, his operatives in the field realize that they really didn't have the wherewithal to do that, and they either dismissed it or ignored bin laden's wishes in that regard. but overall throughout some of these writings, there is evidence of serious dissension between al qaeda central, of course bin laden and his lieutenants and leaders, and those satellite al qaeda operations in places like iraq and somalia and yemen. obama was interested in two things, attacking u.s. targets and creating a large islamic califate. all of the regional satellites were more interested in their own territory establishing their own power. so there was serious dysfunction in al qaeda. but the one thing, it was said that he was a little delusional, he didn't realize how badly hit al qaeda had been. in one section you see where he
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warns all of the mid and upper level al qaeda to get out of wa zeer a stand as quickly as possible. you know that's where the relentless u.s. airstrikes from unmanned drones were taking place. ramped up by president obama shortly after he took office. >> jim miklaszewski, thank you very much. newt gingrich has said that his long good-bye to his presidential bid on wednesday but offered mitt romney a back-handed endorsement. >> i'm asked sometimes is mitt romney conservative enough? and my answer is simple. compared to barack obama? this is not a choice between mitt romney and ronald reagan. >> how do you really feel? before making it official gingrich spoke about his roller coaster campaign with susan page who joins me now. susan, getting in the mind of newt gingrich is something you and i have been trying to do
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since the late 80s, early 90s. but fascinating interview. share. >> so interesting. gingrich continues to be so gingrich like. it's not like a defeated candidate who stayed perhaps too long in the republican race long after his prospects are over. he's talking about big ideas, his mistake, he wasn't bold enough. should have done less of the conventional campaigning he did. though one thing that surprised me in this interview i said would you consider running again and he said essentially no. >> finally giving up the ghost. gingrich is i guess the only politician that we know who can be a noun, addverb and a verb. because he is so unique and as speaker he was, you know, the way he has redefined himself or tried to in this campaign, you would never know that he was thrown out of the speakership in disgrace. >> he does deserve a lot of credit for the fact that republicans were finally able to win control of the house of
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representatives after all of those years out in the cold. but he also led the republicans over a cliff in pursuing the impeachment of president clinton after the public made it clear that's not what they wanted to do. in this race also, he surged, he was leading in the national polls heading into the iowa caucuses and crashed. so incredibly resilient. to his credit, a politician who thinks outside the box, comes up with a lot of idea, some sound a little loony like a colony on the moon. but brain research, other things that many candidates don't talk about. >> during the debates was to attack moderators and use the media to try to stir up the conservative base. that was to a certain extent contributing to his rise from the ashes of the campaign early on. does he deliver anything to mitt romney? can he produce anything for romney on the trail? >> i don'ts see a lot that he
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does for mitt romney. it's useful for him to be for mitt romney. they will do an event together in the next couple of weeks, he is working to retire his own debt. he's got -- he had a debts of $4.3 million, the report filed at the end of march. he says he paid off about $500,000 of that so is beginning to chip away. it's hard to see electorally where he gives mitt romney a lot of help. >> another former candidate michele bachmann now endorsing mitt romney. >> thank you. thank you. thank you! thank you, congresswoman bachmann. thank you, good afternoon hampton roads. for those of you not from here, welcome to the most business friendly state in america t commonwealth of virginia.
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>> bachmann has endorsed romney. there is the try-out from the latest bob mcdonnell well liked governor in the state of virginia. a little edgy because of what happened on the women's issue with a false start some would say on the legislative front regarding abortion standards. >> interesting, though, this vice presidential -- different from the ones we've seen because it's so public. we see romney almost every day with someone who i think would probably like to be his vice presidential pick. and so the jockeying and the effort to show the auditioning seems very public this time compared to previous cycles. >> don't you think he is trying to show it's not a hurried process and will wait until the last possible moment. >> exactly. >> he's not doing what john mccain did. >> right. a different decision-make progress says than john mccain. also a way to stay in the news. how does he stay in the news.
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president obama can do that any day of the week by doing something presidential. the vice presidential discussion is one that keeps romney front and center in the news media. >> the best most dramatic contrast on that score was when mitt romney was with rudy giuliani delivering pizzas to engine company 5 in lower manhattan on the day the president was making his surprise visit to afghanistan as commander in chief to the troops. >> talk about the advantages of incumbency. >> susan page, thank you. and the case of chen guangcheng is bringing the u.s. and china into confrontation. and attempts to nudge beijing to reform. is nudging enough? very noticeably, secretary clinton in china last night softened her remarks and did not deliver what we were told she was going to deliver to the chinese leadership about their requirements of any state to
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grant human rights to people and to not punish people for being dissidents. are you concerned about that or is that what she has to say during this period of delicate diplomacy? >> the diplomacy has been unpredictable and i think the administration and sek inventory clinton in a sense are reacting to a fast-breaking situation that they are right now not able to stay ahead of. we are very concerned to assure that the administration come through on its promise to chen guangcheng and make sure he is safe, that his wishes are fulfilled. if he wants to remain in china he be able to and operate freely, if he wants to leave that he be able to do that, that his family be safe, that those who supported him not be threatened and be able to go about their activity freely. and right now it doesn't look so good. it's a very fast-moving situation. we've seen almost whiplash watching this thing unfold.
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but for the moment there are grave concerns whether -- >> do you have concerns that the administration is too focused on the economic state and will let human rights take sort of a second tier in terms of their priorities? >> i think going into these consultations, this high level dialogue with china t focus was very much on economics and security issues. what we saw is that the human rights issues are cannot be side stepped. they are front and center and that the only path to productive relationship between the united states and china must go through these issues and address these issues. there is no getting around it. i think the administration has seen that this week and that it's not so simple and that even when there isn't an easy compromise necessarily to be had, that the administration's got to keep pushing and stand up for its principles. >> and in terms of chen guangcheng, it seems as though
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he made several very emotional phone calls to members of the news media including our ian williams, crying on the phone. one can imagine he's been in isolation, he is blind, he was injured during his escape. he was reunited with his family. there is a lot of emotions, physical, emotional. it's hard to figure out what to do next. we have two experienced -- experienced american ambassador, gary locke and harry cho. you have confidence that the administration has the brain power there to handle this situation? >> i do. i think these are people who are very committed to human rights agenda and are genuinely trying to do the right thing and a complex situation, chen guangcheng has been under enormous stress, unimaginable stress. so, the idea that his sense of what's best for him and his family is shifting as he gets more information, has had the
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opportunity now to talk to his wife. i don't think that comes as a big surprise and i think it does pose a challenge for diplomats who perhaps thought they had a solution and now have learned that it won't work out and they need to pursue something different. i do think that they are going to make a genuine effort to find a way through this that gets him into a situation where he feels safe, is able to operate but i think they have to keep pushing and that's a challenge because they have a lot of other issues they did want to discuss this week and i think there is no question at this point that the dialogue has been overshadowed by this issue. there is no way around it. secretary clinton said yesterday that this is about fulfilling chen guangcheng's wishes and also human rights principles. i think that still needs to be sort of the guide post as they go through this second attempt to kind of come up with plan b for chen guangcheng. >> thank you very much, suzanne.
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i'm tamron hall. coming up on news nation, republicans now attacking president obama saying he needs to do more to protect a chinese activist at the center of a controversy with these two nations. we're going to have the latest on this emergency hearing on capitol hill, we'll get the latest also on what the white house is saying. a college student sues the government for $20 million after he's taken into custody and actually left for days in a cell, no water or food or contact with any one. how could it happen? we'll have the details. 12-time pro bowl linebacker junior seau, one of the best of his generation, found dead yesterday a gunshot wound to his chest.
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he was only 43 years old. if this is confirmed as a suicide it would be the third by an nfl player in the past year. his mother is inconsolable. >> i pray to god, please, take me. take me. leave my son. but it's too late. >> can't believe he's gone. >> i was devastated. i couldn't believe he was dead. >> joining me is "sports illustrated's" andy staples. thank you so much. you've interviewed him but what signals might there have been and what can we say about head injuries if that is partly responsible. >> let's get it out there. we now. we don't know why junior seau killed himself. we don't. so many things have happened with guys having depression, dmeng dementia, committing suicide, and some of the data they've found when studying their brains, the first thought is maybe football did this.
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maybe football had something to do with this. that's a big problem for the game. because it shouldn't be our first inclination that the game these guys love that they make their livelihood could eventually kill them. and we know it's a violent sport. i played in high school and college. you understand some of the risks you're taking. but some of this is relatively new and it is pretty scary to think about, maybe there were time you blacked out on the field and you didn't tell your coach. now you find out that these sub could not cussive hits over and over again do add up, do cause some sort of trauma over the years. i think that's one of the issues that football at all levels, not just the nfl. high school football, pop warner football. they'll have to deal with this. >> there have been cases of early onset dementia and other syndromes and i know it is hard to know what is the cause, what is the effect. how is the league dealing with this? there are new lawsuits and new
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helmet rules. >> new helmet rules. they've made a lot more rules where there are pretty stiff penalties for targeting someone's head with a tackle. they've instituted protocols where you take these baseline tests at the beginning of the year. if you sustain a concussion, you have to prove that your brain function is back to that baseline before you get back to the field. the technology and the awareness has improved a lot over the last few years. the nfl and major college football have been trying to keep up with that. but as the data comes in, it is still pretty scary. i'm really curious to see what happens when they look at junior seau, when they do the autopsy, if they look at this brain and they see there is this chronic encephalopathy. >> what about his own medical history? personal history? >> he had an issue in 2010. he was arrested, accused of assaulting his girlfriend. when he was let out of jail, he drove his suv off a cliff.
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he said that he fell asleep at the wheel. he said it wasn't a suicide attempt. that's basically what we know about that situation. so there were some documented issues going back a couple years. so like i said, we don't know why this happened. it will be really interesting going forward to see if there was anything football-related that could have caused a depression or any sort of mental deterioration over time. >> thank you very much for joining us. a sad story indeed. what political story will be headlines in the next 24 hours? . switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption.
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the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪ what political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? the chen story. chris cillizza, mitt romney has said this is a day of shame for the obama administration, talking about chen guangcheng. he is not giving them the benefit of the doubt. >> absolutely not.
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interesting engaging on foreign policy after a few days of waiting and seeing. this is clirly a calculated move by the romney campaign believing they can expose or show that the obama campaign has been lax or faulty in the way they've handled it. not the last as you point out we've heard of it. >> very, very tough indeed. a delicate time. thanks. that does it for us. for this edition of andrea mitchell reports. "news nation" is next. i think it's final seconds, ohh, shoots a three, game over. so two seconds ago... hey mr. and mrs. harris, where's kevin? say hi kevin. mom, put me down. put...the phone...down. hey guys. did you hear... the choys had their baby? so 29 seconds ago. well we should get them a gift. [ choys ] thanks for the gift! [ amy and rob ] you're welcome! you're welcome! [ male announcer ] get it fast with at&t. the nation's largest 4g network. covering 2000 more 4g cities and towns than verizon. at&t. ♪ but when i was diagnosed with prostate cancer... i needed a coach.
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see how the carrots i grow make that new stouffer's steam meal so tasty. actually, the milk so cream right dad. from my farm makes it dad can see... boys! don't you thin stoufferteam perfectag should get some credit? my carrots. my milk. [ female announcer ] new from stouffer's. farmers' harvest steam meals taste so good we'll bet thfarm on . the "news nation" is following news on the heated political fight being waged on capitol hill right now over chinese activist chen guangcheng. right now a congressional hearing is underway to discuss the details. these are live pictures of his escape from house arrest and his request for asylum here in the u.s. republican lawmakers, some of them say president obama has not done enough to help chen after his release from the u.s.
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