statement with, i could say it's almost breathtaking in its inaccuracy. >> we'll have more on that. meanwhile, the fed reports that the recession hurt more than anyone knew. the average family lost 40% of net worth in the doturn. we'll talk to the president's top economic advisor and to a leading republican senator, pat toomey. plus fears of a new massacre in syria as u.n. monitors are blocked from investigating another possible massacre. richard engel reports as the u.n. says it is civil war. happy 88th birthday, mr. president. bush 41 celebrates that milestone in a revealing conversation with je nna bush o the "today" show. >> your socks have been making headlines. >> i like a colorful sock. i'm a sock man. this is a modest pair here today. subdued, you might say. >> they have been comparing your socks to that of justin bieber. >> bieb? is he a sock man? >> he evidently is a sock man

just like you. >> i don't know much about the bieber. never seen him. i don't know what he does. >> we'll have more of that conversation, too. good day. i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. first up, calls for attorney general eric holder to resign at an explosive senate hearing today investigating the leak of classified intelligence programs and other issues with justice. with me now, pennsylvania republican senator pat toomey. senator, we want to talk about the economy in a moment but we just want to get your perspective on this. we should point out that senator cornyn, who took the lead along with lindsey graham, but senator cornyn in particular is one of 21 senators who voted against the confirmation of eric holder. so he already had a grievance against him. but it got very fiery there today. what do you think about the whole question of leak investigation, whether the attorney general is correct as democratic senators have said, and some republicans, that it is much quicker and easier to move ahead with u.s. attorneys

investigating those national security leaks than to go through the whole process of finding a special counsel? >> well, the question, though, is do we really have an independent and aggressive investigation, because these leaks are very, very disturbing, andrea. there's no doubt in my mind that it's undermining national security and that is very, very important. it certainly looks like a pattern or at least the fact that it's happened repeatedly. this is very disturbing and i think it does call for the most aggressive possible investigation. >> you don't think that the u.s. attorneys who one of them was a bush appointee, could conduct that investigation? and do it in a more timely way? >> i'm not sure about that, andrea. that's something that i'm going to consider a little further, look into further and discuss with my colleagues. but i am very, very concerned with the frequency of very serious leaks coming out of this administration that threaten american security.

>> let me talk about the economy. as we face this fiscal cliff in the fall, there are a number of senators, now more than 32 senators including some members of the leadership on both sides, who have been meeting privately, quietly, trying to come up with proposed legislation to deal with the looming disaster in the fall. you are one of those leaders. you have been involved i believe in conversations along the way. what do you think is it possible for republicans and democrats in this election year to come up with some answers before we have the expiration of the bush tax cuts and those automatic spending cuts? >> andrea, i wish i could say i was optimistic about what we can get done between now and the election. i'm not very optimistic. i sat on the supercommittee. i worked through that process painstakingly for months and presented a framework that was a major concession to the other side, including new revenue, including the most modest and generally previously agreed upon spending reductions, and still

we were not able to persuade our democratic colleagues. as you know, we have, the house republicans have passed budgets in consecutive years. senate republicans, we have introduced budgets, we voted on them, but our democratic colleagues refuse to do this. so it's very frustrating and i'm working on a tax reform piece that i think ought to be part of this. i know i have colleagues working on other aspects of it. i wish i could tell you that we were going to get some kind of breakthrough this summer. i think that's unlikely. >> finally, i want to ask you about the report, i'm going to follow up in a moment with the white house, of course, but this report from the fed which says the recession was so much more painful for the average american family, especially middle income families, than previously thought, and that it wiped out 39% to 40% of families' net worth. does that in fact justify what the president has been saying and the white house has been saying about the need for more

help and the need for more stimulus? >> andrea, well, it's devastating. it is horrendous. families have had so much of their life savings just erased from this financial crisis and the subsequent enormous recession. the problem is, the president's program has been making it worse. the president got the big stimulus bill that he wanted. he got the huge health care takeover that he wanted. he had complete control of the elected government for the first two years, could do whatever he wanted, and he did, and we are still in this terrible situation where the economic growth is so feeble that we're not even creating enough jobs to meet the demands of the new entrants in the work force, much less putting back to work the people who have lost their jobs. what we need to do is clear away some of these excessive regulations, bring federal spending under control, because we're on a completely unsustainable level, and that's having a chilling effect on the economy, and take off the table the threat of this massive tax increase. unfortunately, the president

wants to double down on all the failed policies that he's been pursuing. >> we should point out that that fed report only went through 2010. so it doesn't even bring us up to date. we don't know what the data are from the last two years. >> but we do know the last year hasn't gone very well and even now, our economy is not even growing at 2%. that is so feeble, as i said before, it's leaving people off the payrolls, not creating the demand for new workers that would help to elevate wages and thereby, standards of living. we're still in a very bad place and we really need to break from these policies that have gotten us here. >> senator toomey, thank you very much. thanks for joining us today. as we point out that recent report, the report shows that the recent recession took an even bigger bite out of american families' wealth than previously thought. a detailed federal reserve study reveals that the recession wiped out nearly two decades of american families' wealth with net worth plunging 39% over three years.

jean gene spurling is assistant to the president for economic policy. thanks for joining us today. first, your reaction to this news. >> to the report? >> to the report. exactly. >> the report paints as you said a very brutal snapshot of how hard this great recession was and has been on working families. this is what was the result of the recklessness, the lack of financial supervision, the lack of common sense rules that took place in the previous decade and led to the great recession, and how much people are still hurting. now, there's a couple important points to make. as you said, this is a snapshot of what happened through the great recession up to the end of 2010. if we actually look at other financial reserve data, and their flow data, it does suggest that a substantial amount of those losses have been regained

over the last year and a half. so due to the things that the president has put forward, the recovery act, the financial rescue, various different housing efforts, we are slowly but surely climbing back and making progress. for an example, today, 401(k)s and i.r.a.s, the amount that is held nationwide is actually larger than what existed before the great recession started. but what's most important is what do we do policy-wise. some would suggest the reaction should be that we should actually repeal wall street reform, repeal the thing that's designed to make sure that this type of hit to the middle class never happens again. the president's out there saying let's do something as commonsense and i would hope bipartisan as offer everybody the chance to refinance their home, save $3,000 to $4,000 in costs, get more demand, help the

housing market. this is one of the things on the president's to do list. it's very bipartisan, it's common sense, something we can all do together. the president, i just heard your interview with senator toomey, the president proposed in the american jobs act actually cutting small business taxes in half for small businesses, a proposal that had been supported by many republicans before president obama supported it. he's for 100% write-offs for large companies. they've said no to that, too. he's for asking instasmall busis to cut taxes for small businesses who are hiring or giving new wages. he's for those measures together with things like putting teachers back on the job. these are proposals that are quite bipartisan. they would all be shown to have an instant impact on job growth. what's disappointing to me is that not only are the -- is the republican leadership saying no to the president's specific plans, not only are they saying no to ideas an initiatives that have been traditionally

supported by republicans, but they're not coming forward with any ideas, any -- that any independent economist would suggest would have a significant impact on job growth right now, which means they seem to be absolutely giving up on doing anything to help this economy at this point. >> well, gene, at this point, you tried to get back on message on friday after a couple of disappointing days and after that negative jobs report two weeks ago, and then the president made his comment about the private sector is doing just fine. how do you get around that? clearly he misspoke and the republicans are taking advantage of it and painting him as being out of touch. >> yeah. that's not going to work for them. i'll tell you why. the president was very clear that he didn't think the economy was fine or he doesn't think the private sector is growing fast enough or growing enough jobs to help americans. what the public understands is that's why he was calling that press conference. that's why he's the one that put forward an american jobs act

that would have put us on track for a million more jobs right now. that's why he's still out with the to do list that includes cutting taxes for small businesses who are hiring, putting teachers back on the job, giving, again, as i said, refinancing for every family, republican or democrat, obviously, anyone who could be paying lower costs on their mortgage. so i think the public knows who's out there fighting every day for them, who's out there fighting for jobs and who's fighting to say no to every single idea, every single idea. i do not see a single idea that the republicans are putting forward that an independent forecaster would find to have an immediate impact on jobs right now so they can sit there and talk, the president's asking that we act, that we act together, we put politics aside and get something that would actually give greater momentum and confidence and certainty in this economy right now. >> gene sperling, thanks for

being with us today. up next, our daily fix. republicans versus eric holder. is this just politics as usual? plus, the u.n. peace keepers now are declaring that it is a civil war in syria. we'll go live to the region with richard engel. havi ng a n irregular heartbeat havi called atrial fibrillation ng a puts you at 5 times greater risk of stroke. don't wait. go to afibstroke.com for a free discussion guide to help you talk to your doctor about reducing your risk. that's afibstroke.com. without freshly-made pasta. you could also cut corners by making it without 100% real cheddar cheese. but then...it wouldn't be stouffer's mac & cheese. just one of over 70 satisfying recipes for one from stouffer's. woman: what do you mean, homeowners insurance doesn't cover floods? [ heart rate increases ] man: a few inches of water caused all this?

[ heart rate increases ] woman #2: but i don't even live near the water. what you don't know about flood insurance may shock you -- including the fact that a preferred risk policy starts as low as $129 a year. for an agent, call the number that appears on your screen. in absolute perfect physical condition and i had a heart attack right out of the clear blue... he was just... "get me an aspirin"... yeah... i knew that i was doing the right thing, when i gave him the bayer. i'm on an aspirin regimen... and i take bayer chewables. [ male announcer ] aspirin is not appropriate for everyone so be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. so he's a success story... [ laughs ] he's my success story. [ male announcer ] learn how to protect your heart

at i am proheart on facebook. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they help save you up to thousands in out-of-pocket costs. call today to request a free decision guide. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and you'll never need a referral to see a specialist. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans

endorsed by aarp... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. in our daily fix, more trouble for the white house. top republicans on that senate judiciary committee grilling attorney general eric holder today, saying that the two u.s. attorneys that he's appointed to oversee the investigation into national security leaks should be replaced by a special counsel or so-called independent prosecutor. south carolina senator lindsey graham led the way. >> we're talking about people surrounding the president and the national security apparatus

at the highest levels and you're resisting. i think i'm missing something here. i think you're missing the fact this is a very big deal. and you're handling it in a way that creates suspicions where they should not be. i'm asking no more of you than senator obama and senator biden asked in investigations i think are no worse than this. >> i do know these people. they are good lawyers, they are tough prosecutors and they are cut out of the mold -- >> the answer is you're not going to change your mind. >> chris, lindsey graham and john mccain are trying to put through a nonbinding senate resolution today which won't go anywhere, given the democratic majority, calling for an independent prosecutor. dianne feinstein was very specific and eric holder was that they think it's a lot faster to just go ahead with these two u.s. attorneys, one of whom was a bush appointee, rather than that whole process of independent counsel.

we saw what happened with scooter libby and of course, memorably in the clinton white house. >> you know, part of this, i don't want to ascribe all of it to it but part of it is partisanship. in fact, almost every attorney general but certainly eric holder has been someone along with janet napolitano, the department of homeland security head, are sort of the two people that republicans have glommed on to as representative of what they believe a misdirection in the country. so it's hard, look, i don't know graham's motives or mccain's motives. i don't know john cornyn, the senator from texas' motives. but some of this is there is a long-standing resistance to eric holder and the way in which he managed the justice department. i would say that resistance is not unique to this white house. it is not unique to a democratic administration or republican administration. the attorney general tends to be a hot button appointment on whom lots of partisan rain happens to fall.

>> we should point out that at least john cornyn had voted against confirming eric holder so he is a long-standing opponent. want to talk about jeb bush. jeb bush is tweeting today, trying to create some context or explain what he said to bloomberg yesterday. bloomberg breakfast yesterday. he talked about the fact that as he put it, back in my dad's time or ronald reagan's time, they got a lot of stuff done -- losing my voice. with a lot of bipartisan support and right now, that would be difficult to imagine it happening. pardon me while i clear my throat. >> i think that, look, i think what jeb bush said yesterday is probably what he believes, nest ttempt to clean up a little bit of a political mess. this is bill clinton after, you know, the comments he made about barack obama and bain capital.

this is an attempt, this is barack obama after his comments about the private sector is fine, he comes out at a photo opportunity later in the day and he tries to clean up his mess. i think some of this is jeb bush doing that. but i would say look, if jeb bush wants to position himself as a different kind of republican as we go beyond 2012, i don't think -- jeb bush has been very clear he doesn't want to wind up on the ticket. so as we go beyond 2012, he is i think smartly doing so which is essentially saying there is the possibility for compromise politically, this is the kind of thing that's happened in the past, and i'm more in favor of that. we should have more of that. of course, he's not on the ballot so it's easier for him to say it but if he wants to run in 2016 or 2020, this isn't a bad kind of platform to outline. >> and what he tweeted today, thanks for giving me a chance to clear my throat -- >> i can always talk, andrea. >> one of the reasons we love you. what he also tweeted, jeb

tweeted the point i was making yesterday is this. the political system today is hyperpartisan, both sides are at fault. while we talk about that, that is such a wonderful way to remind all of us about bush 41, it's his birthday today, happy birthday, mr. president, and jenna bush brought her unique perspective to the "today" show. sit back and enjoy jenna bush talking to her grandfather. >> i'll be making some notes, writing it down lest i forget, so i can add to the report on getting older. who knows, maybe they'll come out with a new drug that makes legs bend easier, joints hurt less, memory come roaring back and all fears about falling off fishing ramps go away. remember the old song, i'll be there ready when you are? well, i'll be there ready when you are. there's so much excitement ahead, so many grandkids to watch grow.

if you need me, i'm here. devotedly, dad. >> you know, chris, when we look at that, he's reading one of his famous letters and we know that he's suffering from a form of parkinson's syndrome which clearl picture,

to make a judgment on just a jut today. mark kelly is with her, the former astronaut. and ron barber, the giffords voting in arizona in the special election today to fill her seat, resign in order with her very intensive rehabilitation. mark kelly said yesterday that people don't realize just how much work it is, that she looks so much better. everyone is struck by how improved she is but that is hard

work, the physical therapy to come back from that kind of grievous injury. >> i think people -- she was shot in the head at close range. i think we should not ever forget that. this was an attempted assassination on a sitting member of congress, the likes of which we have not seen in a very, very long time. i think the fact she is walking and talki is something close to a miracle and good for her to prize her recovery over her congressional career. if and when she does decide to come back, i think she would be welcome but recovery first, always. i think it's a nice thing for democracy, whether you want ron barber, the democrat or jesse kelly, the republican, to win to see her able to go and vote for her choice. >> thank you for all that. more on the heat against holder coming up in politico briefing. plus, american hiker joining me on the third anniversa of the student uprising in iran. do you see it ?

there it is ! there it is ! where ? where ? it's getti away ! where is it ? it's gone. we'll find it. any day can be an adventure. that's why we got a subaru. love wherever the road takes you. wow, there it is. more than 50 times a day? so brighten your smile a healthy way with listerine® whitening plus restoring rinse. it's the only rinse that makes your teeth two shades whiter and two times stronger. ♪ listerine® whitening... power to your mouth. to provide a better benefits package... oahhh! [ male announcer ] it made a big splash with the employees. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.c

♪ ha ha!

it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. [ shapiro ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side.

we have this update now on commerce secretary john bryson. president obama spoke to secretary bryson on the phone before he left for maryland thi morning, he, meaning the president. the president encouraged bryson to focus his thoughts on his own health, on his own family. he also indicated his confidence in the fact that someone who could lead the commerce department in his absence right now, the deputy secretary. there is no timetable for bryson's return. in today's politico briefing, more news on the showdown between the attorney general and congressional republicans. while the house focuses on the controversial fast and furious program and threatens contempt of congress citation next week, the senate is zeroing in on the investigation into national security leaks. joining me with more is jake

sherman. senators mccain and graham, as we have been saying, are promoting a nonbinding senate resolution on the leak investigation. is the administration going to be able to resist these calls for an independent counsel or special prosecutor? we have seen in the past how this has gone down. >> they have been pretty forceful in saying no. holder said toy in the senate hearing that he has confidence in these prosecutors but even more interesting is what's going on in the house and senior republican aides say there's nothing stopping the train from holder being held in contempt of congress. there is only a few things that could happen. the department of justice could give some documents to capitol hill republicans to slow the contempt charges, which could happen next week. there's a committee vote next wednesday. or darrell issa could lose the vote in committee which is very unlikely to happen. but this is huge. a contempt charge against a sitting attorney general is a big deal and republicans are moving full steam ahead. >> and when we, you know, there's a lot of politics in this, obviously. we've seen conflicts with past attorneys general and frankly,

the same people who are going after eric holder are people who defended alberto gonzalez, who faced a lot of legal problems, legal challenges, and investigations into his behavior. >> that's right. the politics here are an overriding factor. i mean, speaker john boehner and the house republican leadership, they're angry. they're angry that holder hasn't produced documents so they say listen, this is not politics, this is true policy, we feel like the attorney general has put us off, and the interesting thing will be how the department of justice handles this. but house republican leadership does feel there are elements within the leadership, some aides tell me, that they feel this is going to get them off message. they want to stay squarely focused on the economy. this is not the message they want. it could be seen as hyperpartisan and that's something they desperately want to avoid but there's really no way of stopping this right no almost every republican in the house republican conference, all 242, are likely to suprt this. so this train is moving full steam ahead and it's going to be

an unmovable dynamic in this election year. >> thanks so much, jake. thanks for helping us out today. topping the headlines now on "andrea mitchell reports" the justice department and florida are locked in a legal battle over that state's efforts to purge non-u.s. citizens from state voting rolls. florida is suing for access to the department of homeland security's data base to track down noncitizens. attorney general holder today told the senate that the justice department plans to file suit against florida in the next 48 hours for targeting minorities in alleged violation of civil rights act and voter registration laws. the forest service is getting help from canada, from canadian air tankers, to fight the persistent forest fires raging in colorado and new mexico. the fires have killed at least one person, destroyed dozens of buildings in an area ranging over 500 square miles. in the sandusky sex abuse trial, an 18-year-old witness broke down on the stand today as he gave graphic testimony about alleged sexual abuse. allegedly at the hands of the

remain former penn state coach. he faces 52 counts in connection with the alleged abuse. tens of thousands of russians chanted "russia will be free" as they marched through russia today. the protest went on despite the absence of many opposition leaders who were rounded up by russian police on monday. russian police on monday. up next, the teacher that comes to mind for me is my high school math teacher, dr. gilmore. i mean he could teach. he was there for us, even if we needed him in college. you could call him, you had his phone number. he was just focused on making sure we were gonna be successful.

he would never give up on any of us. ♪ power surge, let it blow your mind. [ male announcer ] for fruits, veggies and natural green tea energy... new v8 v-fusion plus energy. could've had a v8.

♪ i hear you. ♪ ♪ rocky mountain high .. ♪ born on the bayou [ female announcer ] the perfect song for everywhere can be downloaded almost anywhere. ♪ i'm back, back in the new york groove ♪ [ male announcer ] the nation's largest 4g network. covering 2,000 more 4g cities and towns than verizon. rethink possible. the u.n. peace keeping chief says the syrian conflict has now become a civil war, describing large chunks of syrian cities that are now under control of anti-government rebels. richard engel is nbc's chief foreign correspondent and joins us from cairo. richard, you reported last night that a western diplomat had told you the assad regime may be

quote, wobbling. what can you tell us about that and are there indications that the minority around him are beginning to, there are cracks in that support system? are we seeing cracks from russia under increasing pressure and isolated as there have been more and more massacres? >> reporter: several questions there. i don't think we're seeing cracks with russia and there are reports that russia's actually going to supply syria with more attack helicopters. i'll get to that in a minute. that could be a very dangerous development. the reason i was told that there are indications that syrian regime is quote, wobbling, is exactly the same reason we're seeing the u.n. today or at least one official from the u.n. saying that there appears to be a civil war in the country. when there is a civil war, it's very hard for the syrian government to command the situation. there are many factions fighting different militia groups in other parts of the country and it is not a classic war

situation where you have one side fighting another. the other thing i was told is that yes, there are command and control issues over the syrian armed forces, that assad's regime is having difficulty moving large numbers of troops across the country, putting them in close contact or in close combat with the opposition because there is a fear that if 1,000 troops enter a city and start coming face-to-face with the opposition, several hundred of them might not come back. that's why syrian troops have been surrounding cities, firing them from the outside to have a situation where you can have syrian forces watching each other so there's no defections. i have also been told in some remote areas like in the golan heights, a place that is not really partisan to the conflict right now, those syrian troops aren't getting supplies, aren't getting paid. transport is an issue. yes, there are cracks but the syrian government still has enough firepower, still has

enough militia groups, still has this shabiha that can do a tremendous amount of damage. >> when we talk about russia, one of the things i have been told as we watch these u.n. security counsel meetings, i'm getting all these messages from other diplomats saying russia is really isolated, under pressure, the evidence of massacre, the attacks on u.n. monitors, u.n. monitors being blocked, that's really isolating russia but now hillary clinton has just pushed back on a russian claim that the weapons that as you point out are still being supplied to assad are somehow unrelated to these protests and are not being used against the rebels and she's basically saying in a conference just now in washington that that's nonsense. so the whole administration diplomacy is rooted in the fact they think they can get russia to finally signal to assad he doesn't have russian support but that isn't happening, is it? >> reporter: well, russia's giving very mixed messages. at some stage it's saying that

it doesn't mind if the assad regime is removed, that it's not put all of its eggs in the assad basket, but then continues to supply helicopters to the syrian regime and over the last week or so, we have been seeing the syrian regime using helicopters a lot more and the reason i think is because logistically, you can cover quite a bit of area with helicopters. you don't need very many people to operate them. you don't have to have this supply chain and you can inflict a tremendous amount of pain on opposition cities with helicopters. so if russia is saying it's just supplying helicopters for humanitarian reasons, and syria or logistical reasons or whatever reasons, and syria is using them to attack cities that are besieged and cut off, effectively shooting fish in a barrel, then i can understand why hillary clinton and others would be pointing that as a great deal of hypocrisy.

>> to be continued. thanks for checking in, richard. thanks so much. it has been three years since a sudden uprising rallied millions of iranian students to protest against a disputed presidential election. joining me is sarah shourd, one of three american hikers who spent more than a year in an iranian prison, now working as a grassroots organizer for united for iran. they just released a music video to commemorate the anniversary of the green movement. all of the sacrifices that were made. sarah, what can be done outside, from outside of iran by your group and others to try to lend more support to any student elements who might be willing to challenge the regime once again? >> hey, andrea. it's great to be here. >> good to see you. >> well, after the post-election protests captured the world's attention in 2009, the movement for democracy and human rights and freedom was born in iran,

and unfortunately, since then it's been forced into a dormant state by extreme repression, by the iranian government. more than 20,000 citizens have been arrested for peaceful dissent. iran ranks first in the world for capital punishment and executions, and more journalists are imprisoned in iran than any other country. so the movement has been relatively quiet because of this extreme repression, and what they need more than anything else is our support. the c.d. is downloadable at unitedforiran.org. that's united and the letter 4. spread the word. listen to the incredible artists. the first female iranian artist has a song on the compilation and also, someone on the front lines of the libyan struggle, there's a song from him.

it's an incredible track. we're really sending a message of solidarity to the youth of iran, who comprise 60% of the population, and really want change. >> do you feel that the obama administration, sarah, abandoned the students? they were trying to walk this fine line between supporting regime change and also hoping that they could at that point work with the regime itself and it seems as though there's a lot of criticism on all sides that they failed in not doing more for the green revolution. >> well, the support for the green revolution was i think crucial and without it, without the international support from all kinds of human rights bodies and governments, the repression could have been far, far worse. but you know, for me, it's very important for me personally to speak out on the issue of the

possibility of an attack. thankfully, that possibility has been postponed but it's still on the table, and i don't want my imprisonment or shane and josh's imprisonment to be used as another reason why the u.s. or israel should increase aggression against iran. my treatment by the iranian government was abominable but an attack would be devastating. it would have the effect of increasing the power of the revolutionary guard and would give the regime even more of an excuse to repress its people. the human rights situation in iran is bad enough as it is. we don't need to make it any worse. >> sarah shourd, thank you very much for joining us with your perspective. up next, witness to history. the long-lost eyewitness account of that first doctor to reach abraham lincoln, that next. we're a little early for this thing... want to hop in the back and get weird? no. no.

♪ ugh, no! [ sighs ] we can have hotdogs for dinner?! yes. [ male announcer ] it's nice to finally say "yes." new oscar mayer selects. it's yes food. until i got a job in the big apple. adjusting to city life was hard for me. and becoming a fulltime indoor cat wasn't easy for atti. but we had each other and he had purina cat chow indoor. he absolutely loved it. and i knew he was getting everything he needed to stay healthy indoors. and after a couple ofeeks, i knew we were finally home! [ female announcer ] purina cat chow indoor. always there for you. with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain.

tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbaa.lt dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer.

throughout our entire lives. ♪ one a day women's 50+ is a complete multi-vitamin designed for women's health concerns as we age. ♪ it has more of seven antioxidants to support cell health. that's one a day women's 50+ healthy advantage.

a new document discovered in the national archives this past week gives a first person account of the moments after abraham lincoln was fatally shot. a researcher found the account written by a doctor who was in the audience, an army doctor who was the first to reach president lincoln's side. presidential historian doris kearns goodwin has written about the doctor before. you looked at a number of archival elements about him but this is the first time you got the first impression from him. how important as an historian is it to see this kind of account after all of these, well, after all these years? >> well, i think what's so magical, even though some of the material had been available to historians in later documents that the doctor wrote, there is something special about having this being written just hours after lincoln died, and here's this young doctor who really is an eyewitness to the nine hour death struggle that lincoln underwent. the first person to get to him,

thinking he was stabbed and realizing it was a bullet wound in the head, putting his finger in his head, to ease the blood, and staying with him until he died and recording that moment when his pulse finally gave way and people said let us pray and he died. it's a profound thing to be at anybody's death but for an historian or any of us to be at the death of abraham lincoln is pretty special. >> really extraordinary. while you're here, there are so many events going on in history today that i want to ask you about. last night there was a commemoration at the watergate building with actually an exhibit in the sixth floor office which had been the national democratic committee headquarters by the "washington post." let me play a little of some of the reminiscences of those involved, including bud grove, who spent four and a half months in jail. >> i called him up and said how about coming clean. click. i know what that meant.

>> i think i was the only guilty person in the prison that i was in. >> you're looking at watergate, you saw power, money and secrecy and today, you're seeing money and secrecy. i think the political system's being overwhelmed with money and a lack of accountability. >> bill kohn was on that committee, it was his first assignment and he had to vote against the republicans under huge pressure, he said last night, and at that moment, when he voted in favor of investigating the impeachment of richard nixon, he said he knew he would never have a career in congress, he could never rise in leadership, that that was the course he was going to take, it changed his life. fascinating stuff. that was bob woodward explaining how earlier he tried to get deep throat, mark felt, to unveil himself and he refused up until right before his death. >> what's so telling is that the poisonous effect of money on our

campaigns remains as difficult today as it was remains the sa was then. i remember the burglary of the impeachment and leading to his resignation. stevenson once said it is not how to win a campaign, but to prove it without worthy of winning. this campaign would have been won in '72, yet he had to be corrupt to win at whatever cost. >> extraordinary. looking through the transcripts of the tapes, it is another reminder of how corrupt and evil it was. finally, ronald reagan at the berlin wall. i was there. it was just one of those moments. what we learned from speech writers since, the writers were in the car trying to get him to take out the words.

ronald reagan directing . >> come here to this gate. mr. gorbechov, open this gate. mr. gorbechov, tear down this wall. >> 25 years ago today. doris, how important is to let presidents speak in their own voice and follow their instincts rather than having someone tell them what they can and cannot say. >> ronald reagan understanding that the kind of tone, that simple statement could become a shorthand for what eventually happened. you have a partnership between gorbechov and reagan. you have an arms race. the memory of all of us will be those simple words, "tear down this wall." presidents understand how to

communicate to the community. we need to trust them more sometimes as they call them the pinstripe diplomats. >> that is why they got elected. we have seen the good and the bad. thank you very much. doris goodwin. thank you. we'll be right back. ♪ [music plays] ♪ [music plays]

that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

particularly on capitol hill. that is where lawmakers and eric holder are sparring over the national security leaks. and a call for eric holder to resign. we will play you what happened today. and a showdown in florida to say the least. dealing with lawsuits filed by that state and the justice department over florida's push to remove suspected ineligible voters from the election roles. we will tell you what the governor of florida is saying. breaking news in the jerry sandusky child sex abuse case. mike mcqueary has arrived at the

courthouse. we are learning he may take the stand very soon. we will have a live report for you.ra re than 5 tim es aay? so brighn your smile a healthy way with listerine® whitening plus restoring rinse. it's the only rinse that makes your teeth two shades whiter and two times stronger. ♪ listerine® whitening... power to your mouth.

at liberty mutual, we know how much you count on your car, and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accident forgiveness, where your price won't increase due to your first accident. we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life, or they're on us. these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both your home and car with us, it could save you time and money. at liberty mutual, we help you move on with your life, so get the insurance responsible drivers like you deserve. call us at... or visit your local liberty mutual office, where an agent can help you find the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance,

responsibility -- what's your policy? support team usa and show our olympic spirit right in our own backyard. so we combined our citi thankyou points to make it happen. tom chipped in 10,000 points. karen kicked in 20,000. and by pooling more thankyou points from folks all over town, we were able to watch team usa... [ cheering ] in true london fashion. [ male announcer ] now citi thankyou visa card holders can combine the thankyou points they've earned

and get even greater rewards. ♪ hi, everyone. i'm tamron hall. the news nation is following breaking news in the sex abuse trial against former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky. former assistant coach mike mcqueary is now on the stand. he reported seeing the 68-year-old coach sexually assaulting a boy in the locker room showers at penn state in 2001. meanwhile, emotional testimony from the accuser set the grand jury investigation into motion. the now 18-year-old broke down telling jurors how the former penn state coach allegedly abused him