let me say that again. my agenda is not to put in place a series of policies that get me a lot of attention and applause. my policy will be number one, create jobs for the american people. i do not have a hidden agenda. and i submit to you this. if you want a president who will make things better in the african-american community, you are looking at him. >> joining me now is nbc's peter alexander, who was with mitt romney in houston and covers the campaign. peter, first of all, it was important that he went. there have been republican candidates who have refused to go to the naacp convention. we know that the african-american community is overwhelmingly supportive of president obama, that has been the track record there. so it was a mixed reaction. >> yeah, i think that's definitely a good way to characterize it. i spoke to one young man, member of the naacp, just a short time ago after mitt romney left the convention hall. he said if nothing else, this was a gutsy and courageous

speech for mitt romney to come speak to this audience. but recognize the skeptical audience that it is. just four years ago, barack obama as you noted, won 95% of the african-american vote, new poll figures now show he holds a roughly 87% of the african-american support at this point. but the obvious point for the romney campaign is not so much to win this community. they will not do that. but to chip away. it's a significant community, the african-american demographic. a lot of swing states among them, north carolina and virginia. consider that in north carolina, president obama four years ago won by just 14,000 votes. >> peter, the candidate responded to the reality of where african-american voters have been regarding president obama. this is what he had to say. >> with 90% of african-americans who typically vote for democrats, you may wonder or some may wonder why a republican would bother to campaign in the

african-american community. and to address the naacp. one reason, of course, is that i hope to represent all americans of every race, creed and sexual orientation. from the poorest to the richest and everyone in between. >> also, the argument he also made was that his economic plan, his five-point plan, is good for minority communities because it will improve the economy, he says. is there anything new in this plan, because it seemed to me that this is his basic plan on energy, on trade, reducing government spending, improving education, reducing regulations, restrictions and costs. isn't this what he campaigns on every day? >> yeah, you're exactly right. this is what we hear from the campaign routinely. there has been a lack of specificity. it's been something for which he has been heavily criticized, even from the "wall street journal" just a few days back. bill kristol making some remarks saying this campaign needs to

convince voters the specifics, what he is going to do to help turn around the economy. but he thinks he has a receptive audience among african-americans, 14.4% of african-americans are unemployed at this point right now. as i heard from one of the young individuals who was in the crowd a short time ago, he said i would give president obama only a c-plus in the way he has handled the african-american community. he said he will get my vote but right now my real concern is jobs. there is obviously a sense in this community that that's a primary issue. another primary issue, of course, is the strict voter i.d. laws across this country. 12 states putting those into effect over the course of the last two years, significantly one stat that stood out to me that i will leave you with is that nationally, according to eric holder, the attorney general who spoke here yesterday, 25% of african americans lack a photo i.d. compared to just 8% of whites. >> which is a big issue, of course, with the naacp and eric

holder had a big appearance there yesterday. thank you very much, peter alexander. great to see you down there in houston. this afternoon, the republicans in the house are forcing another vote against president obama's health care law. it's the 33rd time this is happening. >> as this health tax gets ready to be imposed on the american people, based on the congressional budget office, it will cost 800,000 jobs. yet our friends on the other side of the aisle say we should take no action and just let it happen. >> been diagnosed with a serious disease and can't afford the prescription drugs you need to treat it? have chicken noodle soup. i don't know why republicans want to go back to the day when chicken noodle soup was the only option for hard-working families who couldn't afford care. the truth is, chicken noodle soup might be mm-mm-good for lunch but as a health care policy, it is mm-mm-bad.

>> nbc's capitol hill correspondent, luke russert. i don't know what to say about that. chicken noodle soup, campbell soup. >> it's always good. i like it. >> whether chicken soup is the cure for all things. >> chicken soup for the soul, andrea. >> luke, when we get to the health care vote, we know where this is going to come down today. nancy pelosi, you were at the news conference earlier, let's play a little of what nancy pelosi had to say. >> we put forth a vision for the middle class to make health care a right, not a privilege, for all americans. today, as we have done more than 30 times this congress, republicans will vote to take away that right. let's stop this legislation to nowhere that they have on the floor today. let's get with building an initiative for job creation. >> so is there any doubt as to how this is going to turn out today? i guess the one question would be what are democrats in tight

races going to be doing, races where in their districts, some say that the health care law is not popular. >> we know from yesterday's vote about how to go to the floor under the rule for democrats, i have heard anywhere from four, maybe even ten democrats will join republicans today. it's certainly a possibility. but this is essentially a replay of the debate that we have seen on the house floor in 2009, 2010, 2011 and now 2012. we have heard this rhetoric before. nancy pelosi, i just came from an event she had, she had folks who will be impacted in a negative way if this legislation were to be repealed behind her. i was remarking to a colleague of mine, my goodness, we saw this same exact setup back in 2009 and we heard the same exact rhetoric from republicans back in 2009, which was that if this were to go forward, it would hurt job creators, it would hurt people's ability to get the insurance they desire. it's the same fight. what's happening here, though, republicans want to identify themselves specifically to independent voters as being the party of repealing health care.

that's why they're doing it for the 33rd time today on the heels of the supreme court announcement two weeks ago. democrats are happy to have this fight, saying look, we own it for the most part now, people want to talk about jobs, let's get the debate continuously rolling. >> another subject, a troubling subject, one member who will not be there to vote is congressman jesse jackson, jr. from chicago. we now have heard not only from republicans for the first time calling for him to explain his long absence, it was said to be a medical absence. they have been very sparing in their explanations. i'm told that he is in a rehab facility in arizona. this is what the leader steny hoyer had to say about jackson's long absence from the hill. >> i think congressman jackson and his office and his family would be well-advised to advise the constituents of his condition. people get sick and when people

get sick, they miss work. everybody in america understands that. but i think the family would be well-advised to give his constituents as much information as is appropriate. >> luke, what are you hearing up there? because he's been under a lot of pressure, there have been legal problems, there have been investigations, there was the indictment of one of his former fund-raisers back on june 20th, and there's a lot of talk now that he is in a lot of trouble in addition to his medical issues. >> well, it's all speculation, obviously. nobody knows for certain where jesse jackson jr. is or what he's afflicted with. there are obviously rumors yesterday he had committed suicide. i spoke to leadership sources who said that's not true at all. or attempted suicide, rather. jesse jackson jr., though, has a few things on his plate that would prove to be burdensome for almost any individual. there's an investigation as to whether or not one of his chief fund-raisers was trying to get, former illinois governor rod

blagojevich to get him appointed to his senate seat. he's also had a terrible ordeal that has played out publicly with his wife, that came to be that he had actually flown his mistress out to chicago and showered her with gifts. that was all at the forefront of the political conversation a year and a half ago or so. there's a lot of different issues there. from folks i have spoken to, it's just all speculation. nobody knows exactly what it is for sure. however, they do know and most people told me it's nothing that's a real physical ailment. jesse jackson jr. is not suffering from a life-threatening disease like cancer or something like that, or something acute that could possibly bring on harm. i heard that it's more in the mental realm and that's meant addiction realm, however, it's all speculation. nobody necessarily knows for sure. the question remains where exactly is he. those questions will probably get louder next week if we do not know. >> i have been told that there are issues of alcoholism, of

addiction and that he is in a rehab facility, that he has emotional problems as well as physical problems, and legal problems, potential legal problems, and there is talk amongst some friends that he may even have to resign his seat. >> if that were to occur, obviously that would be a huge national news story. probably if that is to happen, house democratic leaders would want that to be sooner rather than later. as you know, democrats have a terrible problem with these issues continuously being a distraction. it's not the same level of anthony weiner or charlie rangel. they would rather focus on the jobs message. >> it's very clear that steny hoyer would not have been addressing that on camera today if it were not a very serious issue. >> correct. >> thank you, luke. joining me now, wisconsin republican congressman shawn duffy, member of the joint economic committee.

congressman, i know we want to talk to you about this health care repeal vote, but any reaction now that the republican campaign committee has also called for some explanation for jesse jackson's long and continued absence from the hill? >> listen, i haven't heard the nrcc's push on representative jackson but i know the people come under a lot of pressure and stress, and he has personal issues, i feel for him, and i wish him my best and his family the best. we pray for him. >> thanks so much on that. on the repeal, one question that comes to mind is why, why bother 33 times going through this exercise when you know what the outcome is going to be. >> well, listen, first, we have done some very popular things with the small repeals, from the 1099 tax repeal to the medical device tax repeal. what i think we see more and more americans, they're not happy with this legislation. we were promised this was going to be a jobs bill. we were told it would create 400,000 new jobs. we were told that health care

premiums were going to go down by $2500 by the end of the first term of the president. we have seen those actually go up by $1200. a lot of the promises that have been made just haven't come to be true. one of my concerns in my community is what's going to happen with medicare. you see $500 billion coming out of medicare going to fund obamacare. that's going to affect our seniors. but not only that, you have the independent payment advisory board, a board of non-elected bureaucrats that look at where we can reduce reimbursements to doctors, hospitals and clinics. if you reduce those reimbursements for medicare, you will impact the quality and access of care for our current seniors. i don't think that's right. >> how do you argue against that procedure, that process, of cutting the costs at the same time as you're arguing that it hasn't cut enough costs? you can't have it both ways. >> no, i'm talking about specifically what happens with medicare. what we do -- >> that's part of the health care savings from the bill.

>> right. so we're okay with the savings. but it should go to shore up medicare, not be used for a different program for someone else. when you look at medicare, it's one of the cost drivers, we do it in a way in our budget that says listen, our seniors have bargained for a promise. they deserve to get the medicare they paid for and they retired expecting. so we give it to them in its traditional form for those current seniors, any changes we make to medicare are for future generations of retirees, those who are 54 and younger. we think that's a fair way to do it. but the rationed care for current seniors, that's just not right. you can't ask someone who is 85 to go bag groceries to make up the difference now for the care they're not getting that they bargained for. that's wrong. >> thank you very much. the debate continues. the vote will be sometime around 3:00 or 4:00 this afternoon as we understand it. thank you very much, congressman. coming up next, are both campaigns outsourcing the truth? plus, budget battles hit the vice president's hometown. ♪ [ acoustic guitar: slow ]

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outsourcing is a hot button issue in this period of high unemployment in the middle of the campaign. both campaigns lobbing accusations at each other now. >> governor romney has experienced owning companies that were called pioneers in the business of outsourcing. >> if there's an outsourcer in chief, it's the president of the united states, not the guy who's running to replace him. >> on this program yesterday, romney's surrogate john sununu amped it all up. >> when you said $500 million to fisker and it goes to finland immediately, when you send the solar money and it goes to mexico, when you send the turbine money and it goes to denmark and we can go on all

day. there's $29 billion worth of purchases that came out of this administration outsourced jobs to foreign countries. >> well, not exactly. that all came right off the rnc website but apparently, today's "new york times" had time to look through it and reports that sununu's particular claims were off base, that company that he referred to did not receive obama stimulus money. it instead received loans under a bush era program and those loans were spent in the united states, according to the company, not in finland. now that we've dealt with that, let's turn to the larger question. just what are the facts about outsourcing and for that, we are lucky to have steve perlstein, financial columnist with the "washington post." you have been writing about this. let's talk about outsourcing. it's become such a bugaboo -- >> sort of come from nowhere. >> it's unemployment. >> it is unemployment. outsourcing has been going on since the first farmer and hunter decided to exchange wheat for cattle.

if outsourcing were bad, then we would all be better off if we were all self-sufficient farmers but of course, we're all better off because we're not self-sufficient. >> we live in a global trade. >> we live in a world in which we specialize in exchange and this has been going on, it's going on before we did outsourcing overseas, if you were to talk to a boeing worker today about outsourcing work from seattle to north carolina, i can assure you they wouldn't be any happier about the fact those jobs were in south carolina than if they were in taiwan. if you're at the other end of outsourcing you don't like it, no matter where it goes. now of course we're in a globalized economy so a lot of it is going overseas. >> one of the issues is whether outsourcing, whether when you do have some jobs that are done overseas, it can lead to stronger companies and more hiring here at home. >> it can. sometimes. >> and there be a net effect that's positive. >> there are companies, these are the ones they always used to like to use, boeing or caterpillar where if you take some of the work overseas to

serve overseas markets or to make your whole product line more efficient, but you're growing and you're growing through exports, then it's true, outsourcing a job there might create one or two jobs at home. there are times where that happens. >> but when the economies are slowing around the world, that may not be the case. >> but it also, a lot of smaller companies that are not big export companies, when they outsource, all that means is instead of buying something here, they are buying it there. they're not growing through exports and so sending a job overseas does not create another job over here. it might save a job over here that otherwise would go away if the company went out of business, but it doesn't work that way. so it depends what industry, what size company, what their profile of their sales is. >> what about bain? >> bain, look, bain like every other private equity firm is -- was in the business of buying companies, fixing them up by making them more efficient and selling them for more. that's how they made their money. a lot of that involved outsourcing, whether it was in

the country or offshoring and bain was part of that just like all the others were. for mr. romney to say i wasn't there in april of 2000 or wasn't there in december of 1999 because i was busy on whatever, the olympics, look, he owned the company, he started it, he hired all the executives, he set up the culture, he set up the parameters by which people got paid and compensated and rewarded. if they were doing it in 2000 and 2001 and 2002, they were doing it because that was the company that mitt romney had set up. i'm not saying that's bad. but for him to say well, not on my watch is a little silly. you know what's really crazy these days is to hear the republicans complain about obama as an outsourcer. just before i came in the studio, you showed a slide that said he had -- romney had a five-point economic plan. number two on the plan, expand trade. well, how do you think you expand trade? you expand trade in part by

outsourcing things. so for a candidate and a party that has been in favor of globalization, in favor of free trade, in favor of letting companies do whatever they want to do to move work around the world without having to pay penalties or taxes or give notice to workers, for a party that is in favor of allowing corporations to pay lower taxes overseas on their profits overseas, for this party now to complain about obama being an outsourcer is sort of ironic if not a little hypocritical. >> hypocrisy in politics. thank you very much for puncturing all of that. we appreciate it. up next, democrats battling democrats in the vice president's hometown. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare?

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call now to request your free decision guide. this easy-to-understand guide will answer some of your questions, and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. is now in our new starbucks refreshers™ -- a breakthrough in natural energy. made with real fruit, starbucks refreshers™ are delicious low calorie drinks you can feel good about. ♪ rethink how you re-energize. ♪ get a boost of natural energy with a new starbucks refreshers™, in three re-energizing ways. try one on us, only at starbucks. vice president joe biden's hometown of scranton, p.a. is facing a financial meltdown. it's pitting the democratic mayor against democratic unions, hardly good news for the white house in a battleground state.

the mayor was forced to slash the salaries for 400 municipal workers to minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, to deal with a huge budget deficit, $16 million worth. joining me now is nbc's ron allen in scranton, p.a. ron, this is a mess politically but it's a real crisis for the city, the mayor and these poor workers. >> reporter: yeah, i think it's mostly a mess that's financial because you have democrats on the city council, democratic mayor, democratic town essentially, arguing about how to solve this very deep structural problem. as you know, scranton has been a distressed city in this state for the better part of 20 years. the property tax base has declined, population has left, industry's left. and the mayor essentially said it came to a point where after paying the union workers minimum wage, he saved about $700,000 and the town had about $5,000 left in its coffer. of course, they are trying to pay peter, and begging from

paul, if you will. they're not paying other bills to try and pay the workers and it goes on and on. the bottom line is they have to come up with a plan, a recovery plan, that will satisfy the banks and creditors to lend them more money, and talk about the politics of this. one of the most daunting things is that the solutions that the council and the mayor are talking about involve huge tax hikes. the mayor has proposed a 78% property tax hike over the next three years to fix the problem here. you know republicans around this state and around the country listening to something like that are going to make a huge political hay out of it. >> well, at the same time, they're not taking the money away from the workers long term. they're not breaking these contracts. they say they are borrowing the money and will pay them back eventually? >> reporter: well, yeah, but you know, i guess most of the unions we talk to just don't see that money ever coming. they see a permanent hole. just in terms of the numbers of it, we talked to a worker who usually takes home $900 every two weeks. the cut to minimum wage slashed

his salary to $340 every two weeks which is about what his mortgage is. so that's the kind of circumstance that people are finding themselves in. you're talking about firefighters, talking about police, people who have very dangerous jobs and they're still going to go out and do their jobs but are feeling betrayed. the mayor throws his hands up and blames the council and vice versa, and there's no relief in sight from the state, the federal government. they have no money. again, it's about coming up with a plan that will satisfy their creditors, the banks, and at this point they haven't been able to do that just yet. >> thanks so much. so what is the political fallout from that? in today's politico briefing, will the deficits have any impact. joining me, alex burns from politico. what about this? this is a battleground state, scranton is a key democratic area, and it's an area that has been alternately pro-hillary clinton area during the primaries back in 2008, it's the home to some reagan democrats,

so-called reagan democrats in the past. how do they deal with this politically? >> i think it's certainly complicating the democrats' message at least in pennsylvania. we've heard a lot from the president's party this year about some of the crackdowns you've seen in states like wisconsin and new jersey on public sector unions but the reality is that a city like scranton or plenty of other cities and states around the country are simply facing a fiscal crisis of their own that are in a way as severe as the one we face nationally. and what chris doherty is doing is more severe than what scott walker did in wisconsin. >> at this point, does the vice president stay away from scranton? he's been campaigning a lot in pennsylvania, as has the president. this is of course home turf for bob casey, the senator. >> i think joe biden was in scranton as recently as last week. i think for someone in his shoes, who is supposed to be in a lot of ways barack obama's ambassador to the midwestern

blue collar white working class, i think you try to stay away from this one as long as you possibly can. there's no side of this fight that you can weigh in on that's politically safe for a national figure. >> alex burns, thanks so much. only a few hours from now, the house is going to vote on the repeal of the health care bill. we'll talk to democratic senator tom harkin, who chairs the democratic committee on health. plus family matters. the push to expand fertility treatments for wounded warriors. down here, folks measure commitment by what's getting done. the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through.

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♪ 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. with diabetes, urged us to oppose this bill. you're looking at live pictures right now of the house floor. nancy pelosi, the democratic leader, is speaking. lawmakers have been debating for a couple of hours the republican attempt to repeal president obama's health care law. throughout the day, and the vote should be between 3:00 and 4:00. iowa senator tom harkin is chairman of the health, education, labor and pension committee and joins me from the hill. senator, great to see you. thanks so much.

what do you think of this exercise on the house floor? what's going to happen when it comes over to the senate? >> well, absolutely nothing. this is sheer political theater. it's wasting a lot of time and it's scaring a lot of people. but it's nothing -- this is the second time the house has voted to repeal the affordable care act in its entirety and i think if i'm not mistaken, the 33rd time they voted to repeal some part of the affordable care act. and every time, it goes nowhere because we're not going to do that in the senate. >> let me play a little bit of the speaker, john boehner, speaking just a few minutes ago about this on the floor. >> there's a better way and that's why we're here today. americans want a step by step approach that protects the access to care that they need from the doctor they choose at a lower cost. they certainly didn't ask for

this government take-over of their health care system that's put us in this mess that we're in today. >> so that's john boehner. do you have any response to his arguments on the house floor? >> well, you know, if you follow their lead, first of all, they have no plan. there is no republican health care bill, none whatsoever. secondly, if you vote to repeal in the house, think about what you're doing. you're voting, for example, to deny up to 17 million children in america today that can get affordable health insurance even though they have a pre-existing condition, that would be taken away from them. over three million young people in america today can stay on their parents' insurance policy until they're age 26. you would take that away. over 100 million americans today, today, get insurance coverage even though they may get cancer or heart disease or

something where insurance companies used to find a way of just canceling their policy. insurance companies can't do that anymore. you would take that away from 100 million americans. so to me, what we have in the affordable care act is not government health care. there's no government health care at all. we have set up a system where everyone can get insurance, everyone can get coverage, where we have good preventive care and where we're really making sure that the kids in this country get the health care they need when they need it, not in the emergency room. >> senator, before i let you go, because you're from iowa, iowa is a critical battleground state. the president was just there yesterday. yet he won iowa by nine points last time and it's dead even. latest poll has it at 44-44 with only 5.1% unemployment in iowa, iowa is doing better than a lot of the rest of the country, why is it such a hard sale for president obama for re-election

to iowans? >> i think you have to remember for the last year, mitt romney and the other republicans have been going all over iowa and all they have done is trash barack obama, for over a year. so that takes its toll when it's day after day in the caucuses that you have that kind of barrage. i know it's going to be tough for president obama in iowa but he's going to win iowa. it's going to be close. but i believe when we start talking more about what the health care bill does for people, the fact that the president has been great on domestic energy and we get a lot of domestic energy in iowa, wind and ethanol and other kinds of biofuels, and the president has been extremely good on agricultural exports, and that has helped our whole farm economy. so there's every reason for iowans to vote for barack obama and in the end, they will. >> senator tom harkin, always great to see you, sir. thank you very much for joining us today.

now to our wounded warriors. injured troops returning from iraq and afghanistan. they assume they can count on the v.a. but for those returning with wounds that make it impossible for them to conceive, families, to have children, current policies of the veterans affairs department leave their hopes for a family unanswered. in vitro fertilization is often their only option but it is excluded now from covered services and the treatments are prohibitively expensive. at a senate hearing last month, tracy kyle, whose husband was paralyzed while serving in iraq, appealed for a change in that policy. >> as a couple who had already sacrificed so much for our country, i don't believe we should also have to give up on our dream of having a family. fertility treatments are not a guarantee of having children but it does give us hope. it gives us hope that we can have a normal life just like everyone else. >> joining me now, senator patty murray, who has introduced a bill to improve the v.a.'s fertility services and tracy kyle, who ended up paying out of pocket for in vitro

fertilization and is now the proud mother of twins. congratulations to you. at considerable cost and all the emotional stress on you and your husband and the other wounded warriors who are going through this. first to you, senator, what can be done about it? >> right now, the v.a. has a ban on paying for fertility treatments. to me that is just wrong. we have over 600 service members and their spouses who have one of the signature wounds of this war from an ied explosion or otherwise where they have genital or urinary tract injuries that prevent them from having a child. providing fertility services is the difference between them, their life's dream of raising young children and having that taken away from them. to me, it's just no nonsense common sense, let's provide this kind of fertility treatment for them through the v.a. for both the service member and their spouses, and that's what i'm

attempting to change. >> tracy, tell us about the twins, how old are they now, and what you went through with your husband, the cost, the expense of all of this, and fighting the bureaucracy. >> well, our twins are 20 months old now and we have a boy and a girl, matthew and faith, and you know, when matt was first injured, we knew right away that this was something that we were going to have to go through in order to have our children. what we did was i started making phone calls and searching through all the v.a. regulations to figure out if we could get these services provided to us and i hit a road block at every turn, and they just said they just simply could not help us. and you know, matt, this is a direct result of matt's injury. he was shot in the neck in iraq and is paralyzed from the chest down. now, we just wanted them to at least consider it and we spent

roughly $32,000 in order to conceive our twins, and we were very fortunate that we were successful on our first try, but that's just not the case for many families. and we all feel like this is something the v.a. should be covering for us. >> you know, tracy, we have a statement from the v.a. that we got which basically, let me share it with you, you have probably read this yourself, it says with the return of service members from the wars in afghanistan and iraq, v.a. is carefully considering the needs of veterans who sustain spinal cord injuries. genital-urinary injuries and other injuries that make them unable to have children naturally. v.a.'s goal is to restore veterans' physical and mental capabilities to the greatest extent possible. v.a. is aware of introduced legislation that would authorize v.a. to provide assisted reproductive technologies like ivf to seriously injured veterans who want to have children. it leaves it there. it doesn't say whether they would support it or what their

position is. what do you know from what you are being told by the v.a.? >> well, i don't find it uncommon that they're not necessarily taking a stance, but even that they're contemplating it, i think that this bill is going to force their hand in providing these services but i also think it's important to note that not everyone -- not every v.a. in every part of the country is going to be able to offer this. it would be really nice if they would sort of partner with the private sector as well. for my husband and i, it's not an option to travel to great lengths to a v.a. that's providing these services, due to his injury. so having something close to home is also very important because we're talking about the most seriously wounded from the war. >> tracy, we want to thank you for coming forward for this fight. senator murray, what are the chances of getting this through? >> well, this to me is really an

important issue for hundreds of families like tracy. the v.a. needs a directive from congress. let's get it done. but they should lift this ban and allow people with these serious injuries of war, at least have the opportunity to have fertility services covered and paid for by the v.a. i think it's something we owe them for the service they have given our country and certainly something that will build and expand our country in great ways. >> we will stay on top of this story. thank you so much, senator. thank you very much, tracy, for you, thank you and your husband for your service to our country. and for your sacrifice. >> thank you very much. i would like to add that i think it's very important to note that the war and his injuries have changed our family. it shouldn't prevent us from having a family. >> indeed. you have the beautiful twins to show for it and we hope that other returning warriors, injured warriors, are going to have that opportunity as well. thank you very, very much. >> i hope so.

thank you. we will be right back. up next, is mitt romney closing in on a running mate? [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor.

is mitt romney considering an earlier than usual rollout of his running mate? he stirred speculation with this comment yesterday. >> i can't give you the timeline for that. that's a decision we'll make down the road, nor can i give you the individual. i can tell you that the person i choose, you will look at and say well, that's a person who could be president if that were necessary. >> vin weber is a romney campaign economic advisor. well, someone who will be president, could be president, someone experienced? >> that doesn't narrow it down a whole lot. >> but when? when? >> let's understand the governor said repeatedly only he and beth myers know. i know both of them, i really am an admirer of beth myers.

no one knows except those two. >> and ann romney. >> sure. but i think there are a lot of candidates who have been speculated on and i really think most all of them would be quite acceptable to the republican base. lots to choose from. >> what is the advantage to rolling someone out early, and if that were to be the case, would this most likely be next week? because is scheduled foreign travel coming up. >> again, the top management of the campaign is going to make this decision, not vin webber. if you roll your choice out sooner, you have a chance to get the country familiar and comfortable with a ticket as opposed to just one person. if you roll him out later much closer to the national convention, the number two choice helps you to electrify your convention. there's arguments on both sides of this. i don't know what they're going to do, but it could work either way. >> you had been very closely

aligned with tom pawlenty. he's clearly in this mix. rob portman, tim pawlenty, these are safe choices but lacking in a little charisma? >> that's what people argue. tim pawlenty was charismatic enough to get elected of liberal minnesota twice and rob portman was charismatic enough to win in ohio by 1 points last time, a swing state. both are excellent choices. both of them are clearly people who could be president in a heart beat. they've got a lot of experience. tim pawlenty has run for president and knows the rigors of the trail and many other people would be good choices. >> what about kelry ayotte? >> i think he's very impressive. there's going to be a natural tendency to look at someone who has been in a national office for less than two years and maybe that's not what we want to do this time. she has real expertise. she's been on the armed services

committee, which is necessary for national politics. >> win webber is, always good to see you. we'll be right back. s country! including prilosec otc. you know one pill each morning treats your frequent heartburn so you can enjoy all this great land of ours has to offer like demolition derbies. and drive thru weddings. so if you're one of those people who gets heartburn and then treats day after day, block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place. [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. idide?e announcer ] one pill each morning. you're not my dad ahh!! hey honey, back feels better, little dancing tonight, you and me? dr. scholl's pro inserts relieve different types of lower body pain by treating at the source so you're a whole new you. go pro with dr. scholl's.

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so which political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? msnbc contributor jonathan capehart is a writer for the "washington post" and my pal from morning joe" this morning. we were up early and able to watch the naacp convention. mitt romney there today. you're going to have joe biden there tomorrow. i think there is going to be a contrast. although they were respectful and i think appreciatiative romney did come. >> certainly. african-americans are used to republican candidates generally speaking talking down to them, not even bothering to talk to them or ask for their votes. the fact that mitt romney, the presumptive republican nominee, went to that convention and spoke to them is the reason why a lot of people stood up and gave him an ovation at the end, despite the boos. >> for the health care repeal. thank you very much.

get some rest. >> i will. >> i love your sports cast. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." tomorrow on the show, james carville, stan greenberg and steve ratner. tamron hall has a look what's next on "news nation." >> i'll talk with the reverend al sharpton about mitt romney's speech before the naacp. and what about the moment when governor romney referred to the president's health care low as obama care? governor romney does not refer to the health care law in massachusetts as romney care. was this an attempt to get rye action from the audience? plus jesse jackson's junior medical mystery has his father asking for prayers and some democratic members of congress asking what is really going on with his health. we'll have a live report. ♪ sometimes, we go for a ride in the park. maybe do a little sightseeing. or, get some fresh air.

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before the naacp. >> if you want a president who will make things better in the african-american community, you are looking at him. >> romney received a standing ovation at the end of his remarks but addressing the face's largest civil rights organization proved to be as tough as expected especially when he chose to invoke the republican catch phrase "obama care" when promising to repeal the president's health care reform law. >> we have to stop spending over a trillion dollars more than we take in every year. and so -- and so to do that, i'm going to eliminate every nonessential expensive programmatic find. that includes obama care, and i'm going to work to reform and save -- >> and governor romney did, however, speak to the reality of high unemployment in the african-american community. now at 14.4% higher than any other racial group. joining us by phone is the

reverend al sharpton host of msnbc's "politics nation." let me get your reaction to what we heard from governor romney. >> well, i think that he did what was expected. he had a hard audience for him, but i think that what was interesting to me is, i think it was calculated, tamron, that he was gog attack the president's affordable health care act. call it obama care and expect that he would get some kind of displeasure from the audience because i that he wants to be able to be play to the right wing and to his conservative base that i went in and stood up and that i'm not a wall flower, i'm not one that goes from one side to the other. i stood up where i knew it wasn't going to be popular. i don't think that he went to the naacp to get support. i think he went there to play to independents that he would go and that he wanted to play to the right wing that not only