there were some boos, of course, when he talked about cutting the president's health care bill, repealing it, but he did get a standing ovation from some in the audience at the end. today, joe bidenreaandrea, it w of a speech. president obama took heat for not addressing the naacp convention. he sent vice president joe biden in instead. you also see why biden is a very effective surrogate for president obama in the campaign. he's actually able to say things probably president obama can't or doesn't do as effective of a job. when you saw joe biden tick through the accomplishments of the obama administration, the health care passage, the killing of osama bin laden, those are things that actually we haven't seen president obama make as effectively and so you end up having joe biden making those arguments for president obama today. >> and meanwhile the other big theme today in the campaign is outsourcing. the back and forth, "boston globe" with a new story today alleging that mitt romney actually left much later, he was

signing s.e.c. documents two years after he said in his financial disclosures he actually left bain capital. and at the same time, a new mitt romney campaign ad accusing team obama of lying about outsourcing as well. >> a furious back and forth, d andr andrea. the romney campaign has called that "boston globe" article inaccurate and make the point that mitt romney had no control over the investments or no involvement of the investments after 1999 when he left bane in capital to run the olympics in salt lake city. "boston globe" reported on s.e.c. filings that mitt romney signed ahead, he was a ceo of bain capital, do allow democrats and the obama campaign to say, look, some of the things, mitt romney had an involvement with bain capital. maybe he wasn't running day-to-day operations, moving investments here and there. his basic dna, everything about

bain capital goes back to mitt romney. that's the argument they're going to be making, whether jobs are created or whether jobs were outsourced by bain. >> a statement has been issued saying, "the article is not accurate, as bain capital has said, as governor romney has said, confirmed by independent fact checkers and multiple times. mitt romney left bain capital in 1999 to run the olympics and had no input on the investments or management of the companies after that point." the obama campaign pushing back on that. we'll have more on that coming up. of course, we're going to speak to steve rattner today and other guests. thank you, mark murray, for setting the table in our daily fix today. for more on the battle over bain and democratic strategy overall in this very tough election year, democratic political consultant and former lead strategist for president clinton's campaign, james carville and democratic pollster stan greenberg. authors of the you book "it's

the middle class, stupid." so great to see you. we got you back from new orleans. got you back from your other many assignments. >> good to be here. >> so let's hit this right out of the box. >> okay. >> let's take a look at this romney ad, this new romney ad about bain capital and outsourcing, hitting back at the obama camp. let's watch. >> when a president doesn't tell the truth, how can we trust him to lead? the obama outsourcing attacks, misleading, unfair, and untrue. there was no evidence that mitt romney shipped jobs overseas. candidate obama lied about hillary clinton. >> so shame on you, barack obama. >> but america expects more from a president. obama's dishonest campaign. another reason america has lost confidence in barack obama. >> okay. you saw a familiar face there, james. effective? >> you know, i think that they got to try something. and, you know, they tried this

and then today there's the "globe" story that says this then tomorrow there's going to be something else. they clearly have taken on some water as a result of this thing. people won't tell us any more. i kind of will try the same thing, myself. >> you don't want to be here. i mean, you don't want to be back and forth -- >> this is not the argument you want to be having. >> you're not talking about the performance of the economy over the last four years. you're talking about your biography. the only biography you're talking about is bain, did it outsource, did he fire people in these companies? >> right. they did that because they were taking on some water. >> it's a week after the first attacks. not the first attacks, but after a concentrated period of attacks over bain. the president's case for re-election, now, you've written "it's the middle class, stupid." you say in the book, "remember, it's the economy, stupid. well, now it's the middle class stupid. after the 1992 election, bill

clinton gave his first joint session address to congress. clear the tables right at the beginning by saying we're only talking about the economy. we're only now talking about the middle class." that's on page 208 of your book. james, why is this the middle class? why is this the theme you would stick to if you were running the campaign? >> it's been a 30-year decline. better than a 30-year decline. with the exception of during the '90s. that was it. people tend to think this started for the financial crisis. it didn't. it's been going a long time. it was like someone with pneumonia being hit by a truck. their lives have been deteriorating, lost 40% of their net worth, had no raise, productivity has gone up. this economy isn't working for the middle class. they know. so we believe it is a great crisis facing the united states today. and we're urging president obama, which he's starting to do, by the way, very, very

impressed with his campaign of late, to put the middle class front and center in the things he's going to do. >> stan, when you talk about the middle class, is this why the president delivered this middle class tax cut proposal and contrary to the arguments of some, joe scarborough was making this point yesterday with us, that he should have just gone up to the million dollars? i mean, that's what chuck schumer has said. that's what claire mccaskill, bill nelson, others who are running in tough elections, that when you target only $250,000 and list, you're not reaching the whole middle class and you're also hurting middle class businessowners and job creators. >> look, this is -- he has a mandate on this issue. he ran in 2008 on, you know, keeping people whole under $250,000. he had three weeks of debate. let's not forget joe the plumber. that whole issue was around this issue. he has a mandate on $250,000. 98% of the country is protected by this. i think he's at the right place

for the argument he wants to make. he's now driving a story about the middle class. that puts him in a much stronger place. >> a stronger place now, but as you point out in the book, james, you wrote "my biggest complaint with the president is that there's a narrative in front of him and he refuses to drive it." that's on page 162. >> i think he's starting to. i think -- we've been both -- both been very impressed. i think coming out, doubling down on what he did. this is the perfect campaign issue, by the way. it was something that he's consistent, he's always for. it's popular. it's like 68%. all right? and he's got a clear distinction with romney. it shows him in a place. i think this was good. i think the immigration thing was good. i think that the attacks on bain were good. and i think that the president talking about the middle class, going out in iowa and sitting at the kitchen table with these people. this is a big improvement for him. >> when we did "the economy" in '92 we thought we were dealing with recession and coming back.

that was the context for "it's the economy, stupid." >> it was not a financial -- >> right, this is not just a -- you're right. this is two things. this is a financial recession which is tough but it's also three decades of stagnation, job loss, and -- >> and growing wage disparity. >> and wage disparity. all that truth. when you say middle class, why we say it's "the middle class, stupid," this is an argument about the character of the country and a very big argument about the futures. it's a very strong place to be to run a presidential election. >> sure is. >> you wrote about mitt romney in your book, "if you don't want to help the middle class, confine talk about income inequality to your quiet room where you can look at pictures of each other's yachts and count how many cadillacs you're "you have a way with words. >> he said we should talk about this in quiet rooms. my point, no, we need to scream about it from mountaintops. why point is, why isn't there a presidential commission on

restoring the american middle class? why isn't there a university center, a think tank that does this? why don't they have lobbyists? why don't they have any of this stuff? mitt romney doesn't want that because the uncomfortable truth will emerge about what's happening to wages in this country, in spite of the fact we had this productivity. because it will talk about making things that mitt romney doesn't want to make like investments in education or go against people you don't like, like getting health care costs under control. i think that's truly one of the really telling things that mitt romney has ever said. don't discuss this stuff in the public. this is -- we shouldn't do it. >> can the president go too far with this populist appeal? can he scare off independents and swing voters and the business community? >> no. >> okay. >> look, he's advocating for the middle class. he's cutting taxes for those under -- for 98% of the country. this is hardly class warfare in any, you know, in any big sense. it's a very inclusive concept of

let's have the middle class grow and that's the center of his project. i think it's a win/win. it is not polarizing. there are no conflict -- this is a consensus issue. two-thirds of the country. 75% of the country wants to raise taxes on the wealthy. >> henry ford used to pay $5 a day. they thought he was crazy. he wanted people to be able to buy his cars. i think these companies get that -- you know, spent all their time trying to fight for a high pollution, low-wage model which is the current model in favor right now in this country. i think they're making a big mistake. i think if we can figure a way and give people sort of tools and the skills they need and we can make the kind of things they do, i think it's great. i want people to make more money. i don't like the fact that the greatest predict r of success in the united states is how much money your parents have. i don't like the fact out of 30 nations we're 26 on income mobility. it's something stan and i feel very intently about and it's something that needs to be discussed and not in quiet

rooms. it needs to be discussed in baurer shbaur barbersh barbershops, diners, universities, the halls of congress, the white house and every other place. >> stan, did the president err in pushing for health care and not pushing on this agenda? the income inequality agenda? >> first of all, we're not -- the thrust of our book is what's happened to the middle class. the hit they've taken. the fact they're not making income gains. >> it is a premer on how to win re-election, is it not, for barack obama? >> not going after the top 1%. you absolutely need to raise their taxes. there's so much we need to do. what we're trying to do is raise the middle class. that's the central argument. >> yeah, if somebody's making $3 million, makes $3.3 million, that's great, but what worries me is somebody making $30,000 and not making $33.3. that's my problem. >> there's a tweet from ben smith at buzz feed, he talked to you at the 92nd street "y" and

confided, perhaps, that you think bill clinton wants hillary clinton to run in 2016. >> never told me i wanted to run, but he was so involved and into her campaign in 2008 and i can't believe that bill clinton wouldn't want to be in the middle of another campaign. i just -- that's just my guess. do i know for certain? no. but an educated guess says -- i'll confide in you. he likes politics. >> he likes politics. by the way, you point out that he likes politics. arianna huffington on "huff post" has her political animals blog which now is connected, of course, to the usa network's launch on sunday night of the "political animals" serious, the limit the summer series. what about the fact bill clinton loves politics? does barack obama love politics? >> you know, i think -- i think

he likes leading. i think he likes being president -- >> the rough and tumble. >> but no one has with bill clinton in that sense of liking politics, liking people, sort of being connected. >> i've watched him campaign over the last couple months. he's been very energetic. on the move. taking the initiative, proactive, getting romney. he's enjoying it. >> his campaign -- he's the more aggressive. romney's got the less aggressive campaign. obama's more aggressive now. but, look, i'm a bill clinton guy. what can i say? everybody knows that. >> i also wanted to share with you joe biden at the naacp offered this today. it will be familiar. >> you know what they say? flattery is all right as long as you don't inhale. >> memories of 1992. those were the days. >> i was there.

i was there when it came off the set, see, it's not a problem. >> marcia cramer, cbs, right? the new york primary, not a problem. >> got it under control, george and i. so many memories. >> we could just take this off camera and talk forever. >> i'm telling you. >> bill clinton, hillary clinton, so, 2016, get started. get your engines started. she's in laos and cambodia and again traveling the world. the secretary of state. the most popular woman -- >> in the world. >> in the world now. james carville. >> very proud of her. >> the book "it's the middle class, stupid!" you guys aren't stupid. james carville, james carville. great to have you here. up next, eyes wide shut. the penn state report going public. plus new details on congressman jesse jackson jr.'s whereabouts. i don't spend money on gasoline.

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after months of waiting for penn state's internal investigation into the sandusky affair, former fbi director louis freeh hired by the university issued a scathing report, blamed top university officials including former penn state football coach joe paterno for failing to stop years of child abuse. joining me, nbc's ron allen live from state college, pennsylvania. the paterno family issued a statement saying, "we have said from the beginning joe paterno did not know jerry sandusky was a child predator. paterno didn't interfere with any investigation. he should have gone further, he should have pushed his superiors to see they were doing their jobs. we accept this criticism."

of course, joe paterno died in january. what is the reaction there on campus to this devastating report? >> reporter: one producer i was just talking to heard that at a student center here there are abo about 100 students watching the louis freeh press conference live and left the center and walked away, perhaps in misbelief. a lot of people here are trying to get their head around this. after listening to two weeks of testimony in the jerry sandusky trial last month, people know what's been going on. and i think it's just difficult for a lot of people here who had such a revered impression and memory of joe paterno to ago september what louis freeh's report saying. it points the finger at him, says as far back as 1998 he was made aware of things sandusky was allegedly doing we now know he's been convicted of doing and he did nothing. more importantly that he and the others, spanier, curley and

schultz actively did things to prevent sandusky's wrong swdoin from being made public. they concealed and deceived. that's heartbreaking. >> heartbreaking for sprieveryo involved. the victims. pressure off congressman jesse jackson jr. after a statement was released clarifying contrary from denials earlier from his wife, he is in a residential treatment facility for what they describe as a mood disorder. >> i think that that statement should enable him to have the care and time he needs to get well and his constituents to know that this is what the nature -- because we just didn't know and now we do. >> i think this is an issue between he and his constituents. i just wish him well and hope to see him back soon.

>> and for more on the mixed signals coming from the jackson camp and of course the political fallout, kelly o'donnell is on capitol hill. kelly, just again today, sources close to the family, reconfirmed to us that he is in this residential treatment facility in arizona. that his problem is severe clinical depression. troubling, obviously, sad. and that there is also treatment for alcoholism. something that the office has been denying. so that's the case, there are mixed signals. apparently there's difficulty within the family with jesse jackson's family. the parents, the siblings all very, very concerned. his wife who's an elected official, an alderman in the city of chicago, being very protective. what about the fallout on capitol hill? >> reporter: i think the very leaders you just played the clip from giving a little breathing space to jesse jackson are really among the same people who are probably providing the tipping point. only yesterday pushing his office to reveal more.

constituents had been asking questions, certainly people in the community he represents back in illinois wondered where was he? and, of course, media had inquired. but when you have leadership in the democratic party on the hill saying that he needed to provide more, it seemed like that helped to push this forward. what makes it so flikted, as you outlined, you have family issues here, personal medical issues and political issues, not only for the congressman but for his wife back in chicago. and when you have all of those personal, in some cases painful and complicated competing interests, it has been muddled to a degree. first, there was an explanation of exhaustion. then more disclosure just a week ago that it was a physical and emotional problem that had been going on for a long time. and now the acknowledgement that he is in a hospital receiving treatment. they say his recovery is making progress. and they do define it as a mood disorder. the evidence of comments of alcohol use and so forth, in those sorts of areas certainly

there can be symptoms and there can be a diagnosis and they may not always be evident to lay people. one of the things aides have said is he is not required to give all of that information because federal law protects his medical privacy, but the reality politically is that people wanted more. they've now given a bit more. and we may see more of a push at some point when we know that he is completing that treatment or is released or whatever those next public steps might be. there may be more pressure for jackson to say what's been happening to him. >> and, of course, the federal law, the hipaa law, only says that doctors cannot disclose. patients, individuals can disclose anything that they want. >> reporter: yes, they can. >> or need to. and the other fact is, of course, he's under a continuing review. the house ethics committee investigating charges that they're continuing to look at in terms of campaign money and the use of campaign money involving some personal issues as well. complicated and sad. thank you very much.

thanks, kel. up next, new questions about just when mitt romney officially left bain and why it matters. time for the "your business" entrepreneur of the week. ohio based interior designer, pamela, was doing well serving big corporate customers and passing on smaller clients. when the work stopped coming, she had to rethink her business plan. diversifying by thinking both big and small. she made sure every customer knew they were valuable to her. for more, watch "your business" sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. the medicare debate continues in washington...

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get the facts and make your voice heard on medicare and social security at earnedasay.org. ceo in name only or was he legally liable for jobs sent overseas and for any jobs created at home during that period? here's romney's top adviser, ed gillespie with savannah guthrie on "today" this morning. >> some outsourcing allegations have been disputed by fact checkers saying the outsourcing happened after romney left day-to-day control of bain capital. should romney not take credit for jobs created by bain after that point in 199 after he gave up day-to-day control? >> up of the essential reasons the ad is false, he didn't have control and didn't shut down jobs. to say that, you know, moving jobs overseas when it didn't happen while governor romney was the ceo of bain, patently false. americans have the right to know

that. >> joining me now, steve rattner, wall street financier and former counselor to the secretary of the treasury. during the administration's restructuring of the auto industry. thanks so much, steve. great to have you here. well, you don't have your charts. i didn't ask you to bring your charts. i've got something here. this is the s.e.c. filing. which is from february of 2001. so it's for the year 2000. and it says, w. mitt romney, chief executive officer, president and managing director of bain capital, 2 copley place, boston, mass. that indicates he was there after 1999 which he put out on his financial disclosure forms. does it matter? this argument is going back and forth. both campaigns have had conference calls. there's new campaign ads. there's the "boston globe" story today. you know, what is the kernel of truth? >> first, he represented he left

bain in 1999 and they continued to represent that. there seems to be suggestions he had some authority. we always knew. there's a question about his credibility and truthfulness that needs to be answered in terms of what exactly his role was. >> bob bauer and stephanie cutter were on a conference call for the obama campaign and they said there are legal issues potentially as well. if you signed a s.e.c. document, you've been in private equity for some time. what is the significance of the annual filings with the s.e.c., what your role is with the company? >> every filing with the s.e.c., you're making a legal representation as to what your role is. so that has to be explained as well. i think the probability is his legal status was whatever the s.e.c. filings said and what the campaign is saying, you know, they can say whatever they want. that's not as much of a legal issue. >> can they argue that he was not effectively in control of bain capital because he was in salt lake running the olympics?

he wasn't doing day-to-day management? if he did sign an s.e.c. document that says he was the ceo and chief operating officer? >> i think they can make that argument. i'm not a securities lawyer so i don't want to completely opine. i think they can make that argument. i think the point savannah made is a really good one. the romney campaign has taken credit for every job created by every company bain invests in including jobs created up until today. they're trying to walk away from any job lost after 1999. those two things don't line up with each other. >> i wanted to ask you about the fiscal clear and what we face, because you have been such a persuasive exponent of doing something and taking some tough decisions. this is some of the conversation. warren buffett and some other players that you know very well, simpson and bowles on "squawk box" with becky quick today. >> the u.s. economy is doing better than virtually any big economy around the world. this economy has come back a

long way with the exception of housing from where it was a few years ago. i still think it would take housing coming back significantly to move us generally significantly upward. >> i think if i had to tell you the probability, i'd say the chances are we're going over a fiscal cliff. >> why do you think the odds are we go over the fiscal cliff? >> because it's politically painful. it's really tough. >> it's not going to get less painful in the future. >> this, of course, at herb allen's annual retreat, summer camp for rich people. >> and moguls. >> let's talk about -- there's no indication from either camp that anybody wants to speak truth to the american people in this campaign. we're arguing about bain capital, we're arguing about a lot of other things which are big issues. what about what we're about to face in the fall after the

election? >> you're right. the solutions to the fiscal cliff are painful and involve sacrifice on both sides. it's not surprising when you're running a political campaign it isn't your first choice to necessarily deal with a for -- >> walter mondale approved that. >> walter mondale proved that on the tax issue, for sure. the fact is the deadline is coming. i'm not as pessimistic. it's so insane to go over the fiscal cliff that i have to believe at the end of the day people avoid that. what's starting to happen, you're starting to see in the markets nervousness about this. people are starting to focus on it. there's something called the fear index. there are other indices around all suggesting that. this is starting now to get through to the investor community that we have a problem. >> just one other point is there is some conversation on the hill. there was a politico story yesterday that mccain, lindsey graham and other big players, john kerry and others are talking about taxes. >> i think there are a lot of conversations going on on the hill among the responsible people including a lot of the people you just mentioned who

recognize that going over the cliff is crazy. but it's kind of a little bit like -- it's a lot of foreplay. i don't think they're really yet down to anything serious. the other thing happening is the special interest, like the defense industry are starting to use their muscle to try to get what they want out of this. i think the games have begun. >> thank you very much, steve. >> thanks for having me. >> good to have you here. up next, team romney fighting back on bain and other issues. plus "rock center's" kate snow taking us inside scientology and what happens when a member wants to leave. [ female announcer ] the power of green coffee extract 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.

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the romney campaign is pushing back hard today against a story they've been fighting all week. accusations that bain capital outsourced jobs and that mitt romney was in charge for part of that time. joining me now, bay buchanan, romney adviser and president of american cause. great to see you again. >> thank you. >> "the boston globe" has more information today. we just showed you there's an

s.e.c. filing which has mitt romney, chief executive officer, president and managing director of bain. this is from february of 2011. so he's claimed all along in his personal filings with the campaign that -- 2001, rather, not 2011 -- that he actually left bain in 1999. the campaign's argument has been he left with all intents and purposes that he wasn't really running the company. >> correct. >> isn't that a hard argument to sell given he's signing the s.e.c. documents saying he was the ceo? >> the key here is there was no question he had ownership. he had some ownership involved here. as he has said, as bain has also confirmed, it has independent source after independent source has said, including as recently as today, brooks jackson, again, reaffirmed the fact that mitt romney left in february of 1999 to run the 2002 olympics. he went out there, he was 16 hour days out there at olympics.

he had no management, no active management role whatsoever at bain after that time. now, that's just the facts. and andrea, whatever report says, suggests that he was anything else, would be an inaccurate report. no question there is -- >> why did he sign the s.e.c. -- >> i think the key is there's ownership and how you state that, whether it's, you know, this title or that title, he had no active management at the company. what he has said has been reaffirmed by everybody who was involved. and also by outside sources. so i don't know what else you can do but to tell you what he has said is accurate. it's the truth. it's been reaffirmed. there's no evidence otherwise. >> do you think this is hurting his campaign? >> no, i think what is hurting, what potentially can hurt, is when the other campaign deliberately distorts the truth and suggests to the american people that his reputation is not as stellar as it is. you know, mitt romney was enormously successful

businessman. he has a stellar reputation as an individual. and he earned that. he earned it the hard way. you know, you work, you start your own company, you take risks. and bain capital is enormously well respected in the industry. so to have someone come in and deliberately distort the facts and to try to tear him down and to make him be somebody he is not, that can hurt and we're not going to sit back and let them do that. because barack obama cannot run on his record, because his record is one of total failure on the economy, he has to find something else. >> should mitt rm romney stop taking credits for jobs created by bain's companies after 1999 then? >> if you look at somebody like staples, all right? staples is a company, it was just an idea when it came to mitt romney, and he saw that idea and said, hey, i think there's some promise here. and so he helped find the funds that allowed staples to be created. staples wouldn't be there if it weren't for him, right there in the early days. so does he get credit for helping to get started a business like staples?

i think it's completely and absolutely legitimate, but decisions, business decisions made after he left bain, he shouldn't -- i mean, nobody asked him whether it was good or bad. nobody counseled with him. it has nothing to do with him so he should not be suggested that somehow he was involved in decisions. he was not involved in. as i said, he left bain february 1999. he went to the olympics. we should ask him about how he did at the olympics. another terrific job he did out there showing for ining enormou successful. he went on to be an extremely successful governor of massachusetts. he's willing to run on his record any day of the week, his actual record. we're not going to allow the other side to distort the fine record he's earned. >> bay buchanan. thanks so much. >> you're welcome. >> we have to leave it there for now. to be continued. the intense media coverage of tom cruise and katie hoems. their breakup shined a spotlight once again on cruise's religion, church of scientology.

today on "rock center" kate snow talks to former members of the church who describe what they say the lengths the church has gone to to keep people from leaving. >> in your position did you ever order surveillance, did you ever order private investigators? >> absolutely. >> to check up on people who had left the church? >> yes. then they would use private investigators who could get you bank records. there were certain p.i.s who had lines of communication where people were bribed in the credit card companies where they could -- >> they could get credit card records. >> i mean, up to the minute. like -- >> you could find out where he's using his card. he just went to the restaurant. >> he just went to the denny's in san bernardino. right? i'm telling you, six cars would take off to san bernardino and scour the place. >> this sounds like movie stuff. i'm sorry, marty. this sounds too complicated to believe. >> yeah, i know. you know, that's the way it is. i don't know what to tell you. you know, can you handle the truth?

>> "rock center's" kate snow joins me now. kate, what are the claims from the church of scientology? >> we've been overwhelmed with responses, letters and e-mails from the church of scientology. they posted hundreds of pages on their website already to date against marty rathbun who you just saw and suggested we should not air his comments and that they might take legal action against us. specifically they say rathbun and other former members like him are ex-communicated self-promotors profiting from their anti-scientology agendas and are untrustworthy, unreliable. they say rathbun was violent toward other members of the church,andrea, a claim he acknowledges but he said it was at order of church officials. >> you went to minnesota. they were having a reunion of former members of the church. do other tell stories of having trouble leaving the church? >> they do. many tell us stories of family members trying to keep them

inside the church if they were still scientologists. the family members would come after them, try to get them back. if they left the church, they call that in scientology a blow. if they blew from the church, their name would disconnect with them, completely cut off all contact with them. there were a lot of stories told. you'll hear more of it tonight on "rock center." >> kate snow, we won't miss it. don't miss kate's full report. thanks so much, kate. "rock center with brian williams." 10:00, 9:00 central, right here of course on nbc. up next, the biggest enemy facing our troops. the enemy within. our current dividend tax rate will expire this year, sending taxes through the roof and hindering economic recovery. the consequences? millions of americans will see their taxes on dividend income spike, slowing investment in u.s. companies and jeopardizing development in energy projects

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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 sfx: sounds of marching band and crowd cheering sfx: sounds of marching band and crowd cheering so, i'm walking down the street, sfx: sounds of marching band and crowd cheering just you know walking, sfx: sounds of marching band and crowd cheering and i found myself in the middle of this parade honoring america's troops. which is actually quite fitting because geico has been serving the military for over 75 years. aawh no, look, i know this is about the troops and not about me. right, but i don't look like that. who can i write a letter to about this? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. military suicides have now reached crisis levels with one active duty service member taking his or her own life every day. since the war in afghanistan began more u.s. military personnel have killed themselves than have been killed in action.

incredible and heartbreaking. a problem secretary of defense leon panetta called an epidemic in his address to suicide prevention conference last month. >> this issue, suicides, is perhaps the most frustrating challenge that i've come across since becoming secretary of defense last year. >> in this week's "time" cover story, mark thompson explores this terrible toll. and mark thompson joins me now. mark, living with this story in itself is very, very tough. the stories you tell are heartbreaking. do you see any pattern? is there any way the pentagon can do a better job of prevention? >> the trouble is, andrea, every case of suicide is unique. the template that works for one person won't work for the other. the military, the army is doing their best to try to solve the problem, but it keeps getting worse. i interviewed general carelli

who until he retired in january was the army's top suicide fighter for four years and he's a soldier. he thought he could conquer this. he could not. the frustration is evident in his voice. >> 154 military suicides in the first 155 days of this year. one a day. you're talking about active duty members. is there any way that this can be dealt with more effectively by the pentagon? do you fault them at all in the way they approach this? >> the pentagon is spending about 4% of its medical budget, $2 million on mental health a year. there's not enough mental health experts in american society never mind the army or military. they could throw more money at it but it really would be sort of a blunder bust approach. they don't know what works so they have, to you know, sort of throw money at the problem and hope that something works. that's the essential conundrum we're in right now. >> tell me about rebecca morrison, one of the widows whom

you spoke with. >> she's a second grade school teacher. met online on a christian dating site with a west point student iain morrison. he's a helicopter pilot. went to iraq last year for nine months. he flew 70 missions. and came home and quickly became anxious and despondent and despite help to get him effort from the army in the final davis his life he couldn't get the help he needed and took his own life. >> was he actually on the phone, on a suicide prevention call? >> that's what rebecca tells us. yes. the final communication they had between the two of them was in the form of text messages, and ian texted his wife and said i'm still on hold. she respond poignantly they can't say you're not trying.

that was their last communication. >> the pentagon is saying, we asked them for a statement, they said they make suicide prevention a top priority. that they've undertaken the largest study of mental health risks and that they've developed training to service members so they can recognize suicide warning signs and have skills to properly intervene. you have these repeated deployments and that's probably at the heart of this deployment. >> you're subject to the relentless pressure of being in an army at war. >> mark thompson thanks for the cover story. thanks four work. appreciate it. coming up, what political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours. that's next. stay with us. beautiful blooms... in mississippi we had more good times... in louisiana we had more fun on the water. last season we broke all kinds of records on the gulf. this year we are out to do even better... and now is a great time to start. our beatches are even more relaxing... the fishing's great. so pick your favorite spot on the gulf...

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which political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours. our editorial writer for "the washington post." jonathan since you're in new york you're not going to be in jackson hole for the big romney fundraiser. >> no. but we'll talk about it tomorrow. this fundraiser $30,000 a couple

for them to be at the home of vice president dick cheney and should be pointed out this is the first time that mitt romney meets with either president george w. bush or vice president cheney. this is really sort of a passing of a baton from the former republican administration to the presumptive president nominee. that does it for mitch reports. happy birthday dad. he's 78 years young today. congratulations. my colleague craig melvin has a look on what's next. >> happy birthday from craig. counter punch. we have the latest reaction to vice president joe biden's rousing speech in texas before the naacp, one day after mitt romney took that same stage. how did vice president biden do? should president obama have spoken before the group instead? we'll talk about that plus that scathing report issued on the

penn state cover-up at the highest levels of the university over the jerry sandusky scandal. and, the aclu sues a school district for violating a student's right to learn to read. should schools be sued for not properly educating students. we'll talk about that. it's our "news nation" gut check next. and focus on the things that matter to you.

good thursday i'm craig melvin in for tamron hall. we're following vice president joe biden's fire gentlemen counter punch before the naacp today, speaking to the same crowd that mitt romney addressed yesterday. he pushed back against the governor's claim that he would do more for the black community than the first black president. >> i believe this election will come down to character, conviction and vision. and it will not surprise you, i don't think it's even a close

call. >> vice president also took shots at republicans in congress accusing them of putting politics over getting americans back to work. >> mitch mcconnell just said it out loud when talking about lessons he learned from history he said quote the single most important thing we want to achieve is obama to be a one term president. not, not to get us out of this recession. not to promote jobs. not to do the things that needed to to be done. but make barack obama a one term president. >> let's go ahead and bring in our "news nation" politicalle panel. richard fowler with alice stewart and ann henderson, political reporter for "the washington post." good afternoon to all of you.