independents. so that's where things are right now. what i do think is the most remarkable situation is that it looks like mitt romney and his campaign are moving away from this issue. they would rather fight on other terrain than on this health care law. >> you know, i have to say that i thought from thursday on that while people say that the health care issue is a big issue for them, it seems to me that any day they're not talking about the economy pure and simple, yes, health care is an economic issue, obviously, but the economy is what people are really concerned about and that's where they really are setting their concerns and that's where they should be firing their guns. let's talk also about the whole issue of a tax versus a penalty. how is that playing out today? >> well, as i mentioned, the romney campaign seems they want to really talk about the economy, other things than the

health care law. they sent out several e-mails this morning and all of them have to do with the economy, the deficit, the debt, not on this health care law. the reason behind that is that the more we talk about the federal health care law, people start drawing the similarities between that and the health care law that mitt romney instituted in massachusetts. as we all know very well, that massachusetts health care law also had an individual mandate. this is really tricky terrain for the romney campaign. as we've seen, republicans, including on senate races, down ballot contests, they want to be able to use this to hammer democrats who supported the law, supporting a tax. but the romney campaign doesn't want to touch this at all. they want to move on to other things. >> chris christie was asked about this on cnbc this morning, asked about eric fernstrom's comments to chuck todd yesterday. >> listen, let's not focus on what spokespeople are saying, okay? spokespeople get in and fill in space on the cable stations, no

offense. i care about what the candidate says and governor romney has been very clear about what this election should be about. it's about reinvigorating our economy, it's about releasing entrepreneurial spirit. those are the things this election's going to be decided on, not what a spokesperson says on a cable news station in july. >> also, the romney campaign put out this statement from the governor. the supreme court left president obama with two choices, the federal individual mandate and obamacare is either a constitutional tax or an unconstitutional penalty. governor romney thinks it is an unconstitutional penalty. what is president obama's position? we kind of know president obama's position in terms of that, although as we have been pointing out, he did say that it was, you know, a tax that, he was against taxes before and now they of course are embracing the fact it has been upheld as constitutional even though it was upheld on the basis of it being a tax.

>> we found one issue where mitt romney and barack obama and their campaigns do agree, that this is a penalty and not a tax. others, particularly republicans, want to turn this into a tax argument and certainly with all the reporting pete williams has done on the subject looking at chief justice roberts' opinion, he certainly viewed it as a tax as well. but right now, the romney and obama campaigns agree it's a penalty. as for chris christie's comments referring to eric fernstrom as a spokesperson, i remind people that he is more than just a mere spokesperson for the campaign. he is very close to mitt romney. >> and was with him back in massachusetts when they were working on health care together as well. probably the longest standing advisor among the inner circle there. thank you, mark murray. democrats are now trying to beat back t republican argument that the individual mandate is a tax, pushing to instead call it a penalty. but is this argument going to work? joining me now here in aspen is los angeles mayor and chairman of the democratic national convention, antonio

villaraigosa. tax, penalty, does it matter? >> i don't think it matters. they both agree. governor romney and president obama, that it's a penalty. it's a penalty for those who don't buy insurance and all of us have to pay for the people who are uninsured. so this is basically about personal responsibility. in fact, i think that's what governor romney said when it passed. he talked a lot about personal -- when romney care passed in massachusetts, he talked a lot about personal responsibility. i think that's what it is. what's important is 36 million people are going to have health care now. people withpre-existing conditions, upwards of 100 million people, young kids who are still living at home will be able to qualify. this is a good thing. certainly a good thing in california, where we are going to establish, we're already in the process of establishing our exchange. >> a lot of the governors say they won't. we have already heard from a number of governors. i'm going to explore that also

with zeke emanuel coming up, but how can this health care system work if potentially, let's say 26 of the governors, 26 states that challenged the health care in the supreme court, decide not to go along with it? you have to achieve scale in order for these exchanges and for these costs savings to be realized. >> we'll ramp up that scale i think over time. here at aspen i heard a couple experts speak to that. you will see that they are saying now they're not going to implement it and over time they're going to. remember, it took arizona some 20 years i guess to implement medicaid. you're going to see a gradual shift. this is a good thing for people who don't have health care, a good thing for all of us. it's going to lower our debt and or deficit, as you know i think -- well, i'll let the experts speak to the exact amount but it's a positive thing and i think the governors who say they're not for it right now ultimately will be. >> let me ask about the convention. are you the chairman of the democratic convention.

already we have heard from the west virginia delegation except for of course jay rockefeller, but joe manchin, the other senator, and the congress members not going to the convention. there's very little support in west virginia for president obama. claire mccaskill in a tough race in missouri, not going to the convention. what does this say when leading democrats do not want to be seen at the convention renominating their party leader, president obama? >> i've heard senator mccaskill talk about it and she's saying she's going to campaign. that's what you do when you're up for election. >> but if the president were that popular with the voters, with the democrats in missouri, she would want to be at the convention. she would want to be in that picture. >> we will have thousands of people and the vast majority of democratic elected officials who are delegates are going to be there. i think it's a lot about nothing. at the end of the day she's campaigning. i think that's probably tru for senator manchin as well. yes, it's true that in some states we got a lot of work to do. that's what campaigns are all

about. i expect that the convention will frame the campaign. that's when people will be watching and it's going to be a very close election but ultimately i expect the president will win. >> you just saw the congress finally approving the transportation bill you fought so hard for. what are the benefits for people in california? >> thank you for highlighting america fast forward and the surface transportation bill on a number of interviews we had. this is great for l.a. we will be able to accelerate -- we will double the size of our rail system, be able to accelerate a subway and a number of lines. what it means for l.a. with the extension, probably 400,000 jobs in the next decade. your next speaker, jane harmon, was a big supporter of that when she was in congress. we appreciate it. took them a long time. they extended it 11 times. there's $200 billion in it and about $2 billion for america fast forward which allows cities like my own to accelerate our

projects by loaning and then paying the federal government back. >> mayor antonio villaraigosa, thank you. we will see you all summer and of course at the convention. >> i look forward to it. speaking of infrastructure and things that need to be de in this country, the heat wave that is scorching the east coast has killed at least 22 people, left millions still in misery, particularly the 1.3 million still without power following this weekend's violent storms. nbc's tom costello in washington. tom, you're one of those who did not have power. has the power been restored to your home? tell us about the region, obviously. >> we got power back in my house sunday night, thankfully. my teenaged daughters were starting to drive me crazy complaining they had no internet. this is a very serious matter for people up and down the east coast who have no a/c, no electricity and that means they can't cool down and if you are in one of those populations that is vulnerable, the elderly, for example, the very young, it can be a very serious matter. as you suggested, quite a few

deaths already attributed to this. the major utility companies here in the east, especially pepco and dominion in the greater d.c. area, have brought in repair crews from as far away as oklahoma and canada to help in what they say is quite literally a rebuilding effort, rebuilding that entire power network that was so, in their words, destroyed by these storms that rolled through last friday night with these 91 mile per hour winds. really an unbelievable scene of destruction here in the greater d.c. area and throughout many other states, with huge trees down, power lines down. when the trees come down, of course they fall on cars, on houses, and the destruction here is really quite remarkable. we continue to hear from the utilities that they expect that almost everybody will be reconnected by friday night at about 11:00 or so, but that's still a long time for folks to have to wait if they are sitting here on a tuesday and maybe have two, three, four more days to go until power is restored.

some nursing homes in the maryland area still don't have power. that's a major concern for health authorities, although we are told all hospitals have now had power restored and 911 centers should be operating normally now. but it is, as you mention, a huge rebuilding effort of this infrastructure. back to you. >> tom, just very briefly before i let you go, is there any way to prevent this from happening again? >> you know, i asked the president of pepco, the big utility company here in the d.c. area, why don't you bury your lines so they're not vulnerable to trees falling on them. his answer was that would cost us somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 million to $3 million per mile and it's simply cost-prohibitive. but you've got to believe they are going to be considering doing that on new lines that they put in. >> thank you so much, tom. thanks for all your reporting on this. we have very sad news today for generations of americans who grew up as i did watching him on tv. andy griffith has died.

the long-time tv and film star died this morning at his home in north carolina. griffith appeared on broadway and in movies as a young man, but he really became an icon when he took the role of sheriff andy taylor in the "andy griffith show." griffith, along with a young ron howard and don knotts made the show a ratings hit throughout its eight-year run. ron howard, who got his start playing opie with griffith will join us coming up ahead. selling health care. if states aren't going to buy into the medicaid expansion, just how is this program going to work? zeke emanuel joining us right here in aspen. this is "andrea mitchell reports."

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it's hard to believe but 41% of americans in a new kaiser family foundation poll were unaware that the supreme court had even ruled on health care. guess they weren't watching pete williams. what does that mean for the president's campaign to build support coming ahead? dr. zeke emanuel is one of the architts of the president's program when he worked in the white house, he's a former health policy advisor for the obama administration, now a professor and vice provost at the university of pennsylvania and chair of the department of medical ethics and health policy at the perelman school of medicine. i can't add another title. we don't have enough space. dr. zeke, let's talk about the health care bill. how do you sell it to the american people? half the people were unaware or 41%, i should say, not aware of the supreme court ruling. the nation evenly divided right now. so it is a blank slate. we're seeing a pickup in democratic support but the swing voters are still out there. as a political matter, how does the white house -- >> you're asking the wrong

doctor about politics. >> you've still got that emanuel gene in you. >> we have a communications challenge and i think the best way is to try to summarize the law and make clear what the various provisions are. there's still a lot of confusion about the mandate and what does it mean for people who already have employer based insurance. they don't understand that insurance satisfies the mandate and think they have to do more. many of the advantages, people are unaware are in the bill like expanding health coverage to kids up to 26 years of age, closing the doughnut hole on prescription drugs. a lot of people didn't realize this was part of the bill. there has to be this education effort and communication effort. i think that the best way is to get doctors and nurses who understand the advantages of the bill out there, explaining it to the public as well as obviously washington doing it. >> there's going to be a huge lobbying effort, couple hundred million dollars already was spent to try to defeat it, and a lot more is going to be spent to

try to kill it. there's going to be a house vote july 11th. >> i think most americans want us to move on. they say it's been decided. the issue is implementation. we have done the litigation. i think we wasted a lot of the last two years, instead of getting in there and implementing it, making sure it goes well. we spent this time and a lot of hospitals and others have been uncertain, do i actually go full steam ahead, do i wait until maybe it's not going to hold. i think the american public wants something done and we've had the litigation and the president's bill is constitutional. let's move on and get it done. >> i was talking to mayor villaraigosa about what happens if all of these governors, potentially 26 governors, maybe not that many, but you've got a lot of governors saying they're not going to implement, they're not going to do the exchanges or the medicaid expansion. if you don't reach real scale nationally, because you've got nearly half the country boycotting it, what do you do? >> first of all, the exchanges

are going to go up. many states like california have pushed forward and they will continue to push forward and there is in the bill a fall-back option which is that the federal government create an exchange that operates in states that haven't had an exchange. you do have a slight contradiction here on the one hand, states want state control and it's exactly those states that emphasize state control that have decided to do nothing. it's really too late. if you haven't done anything yet, you have a year before you really have to start open enrollment and it's too late to get those up and running. they're too complicated. i should say, if we get the exchange going in washington, anyone who has income 100% of poverty and above is eligible for subsidies in the exchange. that will cover probably up to 20 million people. second, for most states, for all states, getting into medicaid and expanding medicaid to cover everyone under 133% of poverty is a good deal. it's a good deal for two

reasons. financially, they save money on their state employee insurance because that cost shift, uninsured people, increasing the price of premiums, will come down. then many states and localities actually pay uncompensated care for people who are uninsured. they pay hospitals, they pay doctors. that will go away if more people have insurance. net/net the council of economic advisors actually did an analysis and showed that most states actually make money by implementing the health care reform. so the only reason not to join is purely idealogical. i think most of the citizenry, once this gets moving in 2014, will say let's put the ideology behind us and do the right thing. after all, getting health insurance for all americans is both morally, financially and the right thing and it really does help the whole system, able to control costs. >> dr. zeke emanuel, thank you very much. you do have the gene, the emanuel gene. that's a good thing.

>> nowhere near as much as rahm does. up next, pakistan reopens critical nato supply routes and the u.s. issues an apology. hillary apologizes to pakistan. we'll have the latest with jane harm harmon. and he played opie on "the andy griffith show." ron howard reflecting on the death of his former co-star and mentor, andy griffith. [ male announcer ] if you have to take care of legal matters.

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call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. o0 hey america, even though slisa rinna is wearing the new depend silhouette briefs for charity to prove how great the fit is even under a fantastic dress. the best protection now looks, fits and feels just like underwear. we invite you to get a free sample and try one on too. an apparent breakthrough today with our relationship with pakistan. secretary of state hillary clinton says that after a conversation with the foreign minister, pakistan has agreed to reopen supply routes into afghanistan. for the first time in more than seven months. this after an apology from hillary clinton. with me now is former california congresswoman, jane harmon, veteran on foreign policy, and president and ceo of the woodrow

wilson center. steve inskip from npr. both back from recent trips to the middle east. jane, the back story here is of course there was this attack, u.s. attack, pistani soldiers were among those killed. there was fault on both sides, according to the u.s. military, but no apology. for months and months the administration foreign policy team debated should we apologize, should we not. meanwhile, pakistan closed the key supply routes into afghanistan and said that if we were to reopen them, they would put a huge premium. now finally, hillary clinton on the phone apologized. >> well, it surprised me that she did it. i didn't expect that we would do this, to remind -- >> good thing or bad thing? >> think it's a good thing to reopen the supply routes and i think this was the price of admission. as steve just said to me, by the way, he's the first male voice i hear each morning on npr and we never even had a fight --

>> that will come later. >> i once again reiterated our deepest regrets for the tragic incidents last november. the foreign minister and i acknowledged the mistakes that resulted in the loss of pakistani military lives. we are sorry for the losses suffered by the pakistani military f that had been said within a month, max, but to go all of these months and have this become a major issue. >> it was a huge issue for pakistanis. i have to say that the administration proved me wrong here because time and again i would talk with pakistani officials or friends, they would go on about demanding this apology and i would say of course you realize the president cannot do that for you. i was looking at the political optics. we have a president running for re-election, being accused of apologizing america which technically we had not done. i assumed an apology would not be coming. it demonsttes apparently how desperately the pakistanis wanted this and how much the

united states needs pakistan to get supplies through. >> presumably the state department wanted this apology and pushed very strongly internally. >> we need a relationship with pakistan. for all the mistakes and all the problems, i think we should calibrate our military aid to pakistan based on whether they go after terror groups but i think being able to move supplies into afghanistan to help stabilize afghanistan as our troops leave is critically important. >> let's talk about iran. iran, most people believe is saber-rattling with missile tests now. new sanctions have kicked in. they're trying to show their strength. steve, what we heard out here from ehud barak was hawkish language about what israel would do on its own without the united states if they feel iran has crossed a red line on its nuclear program. >> barak has been hawkish all along but you have to ask the practical question, what can israel do, what can israel do by itself and can israel be effective given the way that nuclear program has been secured. that's always an open question

to which i don't know the answer and the israelis if they were to choose to strike quite possibly would have to make that strike not knowing the answer. it's a tough call. >> let's talk about egypt. you're both back from that region. morsi now sworn in, the new egyptian president. he's got his own struggles, having lost a lot of power to the military. here he is, the day he's sworn in, declaring, jane, that he wants the release of the blind sheikh who is responsible, convicted, imprisoned for the first attack on the world trade center in 1993. >> that will never happen. i think it says he has political needs but also has other political needs and a couple of other things that he said were that he's going to appoint a woman and a christian as his vice president. i want to add something on iran. we have a new amphibious platform in the straits of hormuz which contains people who could stop iran from mining the straits but it could also have

helicopters and troops and the insertion of this platform is very interesting. john kerry was quoted as saying it shouldn't send the wrong signal. it's a tough balance here. >> long planned but obviously prepositioned for any eventuality. >> i think it sends a signal to the iranians they better not mine the straits but also could send a signal to the israelis that we're not kidding and there is a red line which only president obama knows which iran cannot cross. hopefully the sanctions work. >> i wanted to show some of the pictures and talk about your trip, because you went from tunisia, you were in libya, tunisia and egypt. you sort of went through north africa, into the middle east and really tried to assess what has happened. >> it was a gat experience. 2700 miles was our estimate of the travel that we took. i found a number of things. you mentioned morsi, the new president of egypt, making this demand for the release of a terrorist. that's one of the things you find throughout these countries, islamists making demands that

seem to us really kind of irrelevant given the trouble these countries face. they're arguing over alcohol in tunisia, arguing over terrorists in egypt. you find some of the more liberal forces are pro-western forces in these countries, seeming quite downcast, depressed. i think that's a fair term. yet at the same time, as i traveled, i could not help but see the potential of each of these countries. each one could be a vibrant economy. each one could have a lot going for it. i haven't really given up on any of these countries yet. >> i think there's a good news story here which is the rise of islamist political parties. it's much better to have islamists in the tent than outside the tent like al qaeda, blowing up the tent. i think this is al qaeda's worst nightmare. there are many varieties of islamist parties. in fact, 52 according to a wilson center book just published by robin wright. my point here is that to govern egypt, there's no question in my mind that the muslim brotherhood has to move to the center and

work together. it's a lesson we can learn in our own country but a lesson they are learning in egypt, notwithstanding some of the crazy rhetoric. >> fascinating trip, steve. we all wake up to you. thank you very much. to be continued. up next, oscar winning director ron howard speaking to me about the death of his tv dad, andy griffith. plus, mitt romney talking tough on trade with china. we'll get an economic reality check next. we're at the legendary southfork ranch in dallas for a cookou with world champion grill master brett gallaway. he's serving his guests walmart choice premium steak. but they don't know it yet. they will. it's a steakover! the steak is excellent. very tender... melts in your mouth... so delicious... tonight you're eating walmart steak. what? it's good steak. two thumbs up. look, i ate all of mine. it matches any good steak house if not better.

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eight years on "the andy griffith show." thank you for joining us. our condolences to you. you said in a statement that andy griffith really shaped your life. i think you were only 6 years old when you first went on the show. >> yes, i was actually 5 when we did the pilot for the show, which was a spinoff episode from the "danny thomas show." danny was an executive producer on the series along with sheldon leonard. he definitely did professionally, and personally in a lot of ways because he created an environment on that set that was very creative, very playful, but extremely disciplined and it was sort of, you know, that simple lesson that i witnessed week in and week out from the very first episode to the very last when i was 14 years old, which was, y know, if you're doing it you might as well do it well and

this is an opportunity to, you know, to be involved in something that could be memorable and just to respect that. it was never spoken that clearly but like all great lessons, it was observed. >> how different was he from the character that he played? tell us about andy griffith, the man. >> well, i think the character evolved, you know, into something much closer to the real andy. in the beginning, you know, it was everyone's design to just do something broader and a little more, you know, kind of country bu bumpkin-ish or something, closer to some of his monologues which were broad and very kind of hayseed. but as the show went on, he felt very comfortable basically not providing the punchlines but being the center of the show and

i think, you know, the character became a much greater reflection of andy, because andy was a natural leader, extremely intelligent, and -- but, you know, a really thoughtful guy who loved to laugh and created a very humanistic kind of environment. there was never a lot of tension on the set but there was always a sense of professionalism. >> in what ways have you modeled your own work and life on that example and how did he stay a part of your life? >> well, as a kid, i was unbelievably fortunate in that i was really allowed to sort of witness this colborative creative problem-solving process that andy allowed, and it was

amazing. i was allowed to sit around and listen to he and the writers, you know, talk about fixing the script and improving jokes and which jokes were appropriate for characters and which jokes were perhaps undercutting the integrity of characters. the other cast members were also part of this discussion. it was just the most spectacular education but i do try to create an environment on the films that i direct where people feel safe, they feel confident, and it's, you know, a ple to excel. but the expectation is that we're all there for a reason and that's to try to do good work. so again, without getting up and making speeches, i try to create that environment as andy did. >> it's extraordinary because he had such a big influence on all of us, but to know that he had this long and creative and

productive life and that there was a good person behind all of that is very reassuring. >> well, he really, i hope he's remembered not only for "the andy griffith show" but also for "matlock" and for his music and even going way back to some of those first monologues which he did on the radio and the recording studio which are still hilariouand take a look at the overview, whether it was comedy or drama, there's a reason that he is so impactful in so many different mediums and styles, and that's because he cared about what he was doing. >> ron howard, thank you so much. thanks for joining us today to share your memories of someone who was such an important influence in your life. thank you. >> thank you. pleasure. back to politics and foreign

policy. china is an easy target for mitt romney as he tries to woo voters who are frustrated over the unemployment rate and slow recovery here at home. here is romney in ohio last month. >> well, on day one i will label china a currency manipulator and that will allow me to apply tariffs where they steal our intellectual property and kill jobs. >> james is a national correspondent for "the atlantic" magazine and author of "china airborne" and has lived there for many years off and on. and vijay is a correspondent for "the economist" and author of "need, speed and greed." both have spent a lot of time in china. thanks so much. what is your take, because you come at this not from a political perspective, of what mitt romney says about what he would do about china and about what we really nd to do about china. i think you think there's a

disconnect. >> two things are almost certainly true. one is if governor romney becomes president romney, he will not do what he's saying on the campaign trail, just because almost every candidate runs against china being tougher on them but when they get in office it's more or less the same policy. second, the bigger problem for america may be china's troubles in the next year or two rather than its just unstoppable success because you know the economy there is having lots of strains, political system is under strain. it's a little bit different from the way he's portraying it. >> vijay, the slowdown in their growth rate, they still are growing faster than we are, but the phenomenal growth rate has slowed considerably and that becomes a problem eventually for us. >> it does. the world will be envious of a 6% growth rate which is considered a slowdown in china. but they have a lot of people to keep fed. so for them it's a real crisis. i think coming to the point about romney, not only will he find it difficult to implement, for example, branding them a currency manipulator on day one. that's something he said many, many times.

if you actually look at what's happened to chinese exports, the account surplus used to be 10% gdp at its peak, less than 3% last year. currency has appreciated 30% in real trade weighted terms. in other words, the actual facts don't support the assertion. a lot of that has to do with the fact we're at the end of cheap china. china wages are going up, regulatory burden is increasing. it's becoming a middle income country, not just the sweat shop to the world. china itself is grappling with the transition from being again a sweat shop economy to being more of an innovation economy. that's a very difficult transition. that's part of what's the challenge in china. >> similarly, the obama campaign, let's do a little fact-checking on that. this is their new ad out today attacking the romney campaign for outsourcing. >> what a president believes matters. mitt romney's companies were pioneers in outsourcing u.s. jobs to low wage countries. he supports tax breaks for

companies that ship jobs overseas. president obama believes in in-sourcing. he fought to save the u.s. auto industry and favors tax cuts for companies that bring jobs home. outsourcing versus in-sourcing. it matters. >> so we're talking about the whole bain attack. they think it's working. the polls seem to indicate it's working. but the reality of that? >> certainly if you look at the bain record during romney's time there, it had big successes and some failures. i think this is sensible for the obama campaign to promote. also, it's true that during the last year or two of president obama's watch, manufacturing has had some kind of recovery in the united states. whether or not he can take direct credit for that is a whole more complex issue. but this is the natural, anybody in the president's position would be making this ad. >> is it fair to attack -- is it accurate to attack mitt romney for outsourcing from his days at private equity? i know that's a complicated

question. >> there's a couple things that the ad is problematic. one, there's a decision between offshoring where you send factories overseas, and outsourcing which can be to an i.t. company down the road. so the ad colates those two things. the second thing is during the time when he ran bain, they did make investments in companies that were good at outsourcing but take a broader perspective. if the u.s. were to pass a law saying we don't want any offshoring or outsourcing, what would actually happen is that american companies would become less competitive. versus foreign competitors. this is not a realistic propositio >> the stronger point they made in some bain ads is that romney got a lot of profit even when the companies were failing. i think that probably is powerful. >> to be continued, i hope you will come back. thanks a lot. we'll be right back. been as here at the hutchison household. but one dark stormy evening... there wertwo things i could tell: she needed a good meal and a good family. so we gave her what our other cats love,

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drug addiction baffles many people. abusers are often assumed to lack willpower or moral values,

but science is telling us that addiction is far more complex than we think. quitting takes a lot more than good intentions. as head of the national institute on drug abuse, norra volkov is revolutionizing the way america views addiction as a disease, not a moral failing. this has huge implications for treatment. welcome. it's very good to meet you. tell me how should we think about drug abuse? what is it scientifically that happens in the brain that makes us addicted to certain chemicals? >> drugs can attract our attention because we are hardwired to favor immediate rewards so pleasurable things motivate our behaviors and that's how we ensure that we procreate but drugs directly can activate it so they trick ourselves into believing these are behaviors we need to do. people that are vulnerable for a variety of reasons, they can result in addiction and now we know, for example, that drugs

directly affect the way that the brain functions, underpinning or ability to exert self-control. >> does this affect our response to certain foods, for instance? let's talk about caffeine and coffee, chocolate, the other things that often we want to eat that we shouldn't. >> i'm laughing but -- >> chocolate. me, too. >> drugs can be -- drugs are extraordinary rewarding but certain foods can also be very rewarding. but drugs are more potent. therefore, the pathology that ensues through pathology that ensues to the loss of control develops much faster with drugs. but yes, certainly, these other rewards can lead to a state of poor control where the person no longer wants to -- nobody wants to be obese, highly stigmatized, and yet they cannot control the urge of eating. and this is driven in part in certain instances where there's

not abnormality properties, but dealing with food. >> how is this knowledge, all your studies on the brain, influence therapies and treatment modes? >> well, it's to start with, by bringing addiction as a disease of the brain focus the responsibility of treatment into the health care system. that for the most part has ignored both the screening and prevention and has also ignored the responsibility in trting. so being able to document that this is a disease will hopefully engage the health care system. >> all of this is so interesting. at the same time, we find more and more addiction and fewer resources available to people. how can we get the information, the research that you're doing at nih into the hands of general practitioners and other doctors? >> the fact that you're interviewing me on addiction is a very strong start. to focus the attention of the

impact of addiction, how much it's costing our nation and also very importantly that it can be prevented and that it can be treated. is a first alerting people, educating them so that they are then willing to put the resources necessary to do it. >> it is a great pleasure to meet you. thank you so much. and more of "andrea mitchell reports" live from aspen coming up next only here on msnbc. you know, those farmers, those foragers, those fishermen... for me, it's really about building this extraordinary community. american express is passionate about the same thing. they're one of those partners that i would really rely on whether it's finding new customers, or, a new location for my next restaurant. when we all come together, my restaurants, my partners, and the community amazing things happen. to me, that's the membership effect.

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earlier this hour, i talked to actor and director ron howard about the creativity in his life, namely andy griffith who died today. well, yesterday here in aspen, i moderated a panel on the same issue exploring the role of arts and creativity in education. this for education nation in partnership with the aspen institute, the panelists included damian wertzel. and formally with the new york city ballet.

he's now working with a lot of other artists on president obama's initiative for arts in eight pilot school districts across the country. here's damian describing a recent experience he had in the bronx. >> when the classroom can't be managed well, not a lot of learning gets done efficiently. you spend much more time trying to manage the classroom. one of the things the national dance institute does so well. everybody is in line. it's simply the noise level starts rising and -- and we're back. and sure enough, the next week i came in and the teacher was doing that with her class and they were back down and it's simply skills -- they're tools. they're artistic tools, they're simple, they're child-like in a way, but certainly sharing best practices and ways to get there are what we're going to be doing. tangible things, music teachers, dance teachers, ways to focus on individuals. >> and there's a lot more of

that conversation on the education nation website. and that does it for us for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports" in aspen. i'll be back in d.c. tomorrow. taking the day off so i can go to the best neighborhood parade the palisades parade. craig melvin has a look at what's next on "news nation." hi, craig. >> happy july 4th to you, as well, andrea mitchell. coming up next, why some liberals are worried about a roberts rebound. i'm going to talk to josh gerstein who says the surprise vote on health care gives him a chance to make a strong conservative mark next year without suffering much democratic backlash. we'll talk about that plus we also are following some developing news in pakistan. some routes have been reopened there. crucial nato supply routes after the u.s. issues an apology over last year's deadly air strike. and we will have new reaction to the death of tv legend andy griffith. ini-wheat has gotta be just right. perfect golden color. rich in fiber. my dad taught me, and i taught my son out there.

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i'm craig melvin in for tamron hall on this tuesday. the news nation is following dangerous heat across this country as we head into the fourth of july. temperatures nearing triple digits are forecast from the plains to atlantic coast with more of the same tomorrow. this is more than 1 million people are still without power from indiana to virginia. more than 300,000 are blacked out in ohio alone. can you imagine sitting, sweltering in this heat without a.c. folks are frustrated. >> they told me seven days, who can wait seven days. >> for more on what to expect, we turn to the weather channel's heather tesch. >> well, it's going to be hot and my husband was one of those people suffering in the heat as he was on