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shutdown soon? they are heartbreaking and real. the stoirs of those already affected by the government shutdown. will any of this make congress move quicker? new information today on the motorcycle road rage incident in new york city. how might six cops be correct connected to that intercept? what happened to karen. >> she's still going to hit the southeast coast. but will she pack any punch. a live report just ahead. hello, everyone. it's high noon in the east, 9:00 in the west. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." i'm mara sigh vo campo. st. paul day five of the shutdown and two big developments this hour. first a new interview from president obama with his take on the shut down stalemate and that creep towards that october 17th debt ceiling deadline. >> just as it true with the government shutdown, there are

enough votes in the house of representatives to make sure that the government reopens today. and i'm pretty willing to bet that there are enough votes in the house right now to make sure that the united states doesn't end up being a deadbeat. the only thing that's preventing that from happening is speaker boehner calling the vote. >> meantime, texas senator john cornyn, delivered the gop weekly address. >> the democrats have calculated that by prolonging the shutdown and maximizing the pain, they can bully republicans into doing whatever president obama and majority leader reid want them to do. it's a very cynical game. >> the other big development, the house has passed a bill guerin teeing federal workers will receive back pay once the government reopens. that vote was 407-0. the white house has signaled its support, unlike other piecemeal legislation offered by the gop,

this one stands a chance of passing the senate. >> finally, a moment of decency. finally, we turn to the men and women whom serve our country, 00,000 federal employees who are furloughed and we do something decent for them. >> having a bill like this where we come together in a bipartisan way, we can reduce some level of frustration, we can give some level of peace of mind to those employees. >> for more now, i'm joined by nbc's luke russert on capitol hill. good afternoon, luke. so, just what is going to happen with this legislation now? where does it go from here? >> so d.c. for once worked today. there was a lot of anxiety amongst furloughed federal workers, over 00,000 of them, whether or not they would be able to res tro actively. the house voted today

unanimously they would be able to. that was not a guarantee ten days ago when more conservative members were questioning whether they should pay workers for days they did not work. this move onto the senate and then to the president's desk. and this really does alleviate a lot of the concern that federal workers had about their livelihoods. now, it's retroactive. so they don't get paid immediately. a lot of them have to live off savings till the shutdown is over. but to know on the horizon you'll get all the money that would have been owed to uh-huh been able to work every day, i think a lot of americans in that predicament are breathing a sigh of reeve. >> luke russert, thanks so much. for more, i'm joined by someone with an insider's view, democratic congressman, adam schiff, member of the appropriations and intelligence committees. thanks so much for being here. your democratic colleagues announced a plan yesterday to force a vote on a clean spending bill using something called a discharge petition.

how would that work and how likely is it you'll move forward with that? >> the way this petition works is if the speaker or leadership or committee chair won't bring a bill to the floor, if you get a majority of members signing a petition, you can discharge it from committee and force a vote on it. that takes about a week though and none of us want to wait a week. at the same time, for the republican members who have been saying they support a clean bill to open the government again, this really will put him to the test. are they just saying that for consumption back home or do they really mean it. if they really mean it, they'll sign the petition and we can be guaranteed this will end at least on a day certain. >> of these piecemeal punding bills, you've said let's be honest what the house leadership is saying. we will choose which agency of the government we will release. as we just reported the house approved this bill for back pay of federal workers. why do you think this piece of legislation got unanimous

bipartisan support. >> this wasn't a piecemeal opening of the government or picking and chooses can of agencies we should let release one hostage at a time. this was instead letting furloughed workers have the peace of mind knowing they're going to get paid once the shutdown is over, they get paid so they can tell those they're working with or owe bills to or their mortgage company, i will be able to pay this bill. so you know, i think on a bipartisan basis, all the members recognize that's a moral obligation and the decent thing to do, but it doesn't change the fundamental predicament we're in. this isn't at the president alluded a fight between democrats and republicans. this is a fight between republicans and other republicans, and predominantly that's a fight within the house. we have an ironic situation where a speaker that has been talking about the hastert rule all year, that being a rule he'll be governed by a majority of the majority party, that is the gop has now moved to a place where the rule is the minority of the majority, the tea party

is really calling the shots in the house. part of that is driven by the fact that a lot of the nontea party members run in desperate fear they'll have a tea party challenge if they support reopening the government. but we need the mainstream gop basically to run their own house and put up this bill and the president's right. if we took up a bill to fund the government today, it would have passed overem whenningly. >> this week we heard from jam clapper, director of national intelligence in a hearing on wednesday. let's quickly listen to what he had to say. >> this is a dreamland for foreign intelligence service to recruit, particularly as our employees already, many of whom subject to furloughs driven by sequestration are going to having i believe even greater financial challenges. >> do you believe that this shutdown is creating national security issues? >> absolutely. and it's everything from having to furlough all the analysts

that work for the intelligence agencies. it's also we're learning those that are work on sanctions on iran to keep the financial pressure on iran are being furloughed. so it has definite national security implications. and it's not enough to say well, let's just try to fund the intelligence analysts because one of the things that we have done over the last several years is try to make sure all the intelligence agencies and domestic agencies talk to each other so you have the fbi talking to the department of homeland security, talking to the nsa, talking to cia so that we connect the dots. you can't basically say we're going to fund certain dots and not others without having a real problem in terms of our ability to detect threats against the country. >> secretary kerry said this morning that while the shutdown is not a sign of "weakness," it does hurt the message that the u.s. sends to the rest of the world when we "capital get our own act together." how do you think this is affecting foreign policy and our image on the global stage? >> i think it's a terrific

embarrassment and more than that, when the president of the united states can't go on the trip to asia to meet with some of our allies in the region because he's got to stay here because we have a dysfunctional government, i mean it really makes us look ridiculous. and it's so painful to watch because it's so completely unnecessary. and beyond the impact it's having around the globe on our reputation is the fact that our economy still hasn't fully recovered. i'm convinced that if we weren't going through these every other month manmade artificial crises our economy would have recovered a long time ago. so americans are paying a real price. our credibility around the world is paying a real price. our security is impaired. and it's all so completely unnecessary. >> and when it comes to that, the issue of it being unnecessary, that this could be worked out, you hear republican talking points that it's really the democrats refusing to negotiate on anything. what's your response to that? >> i think you see some of the republicans saying that

publicly. what you hear them almost all saying privately, in fact, i had one of my california republican colleagues mention you know all that stuff you democrats say about us? well this time, it's really true. the mainstream members of the gop in congress won't say publicly but will say privately, this is an internal problem of theirs. they've let the tea party hijack the show. senator ted cruz is the new speaker of the house and is calling the shots. and now publicly they want to make this a democrats versus republican thing and don't want to air their dirty laundry. the reality is that this is an intragop fight. until that fight is resolved, our government's going to stay closed. >> we will be speaking with some of your republican colleagues later in this hour. we'll ask them about that. congressman, thank you so much for your time. a triple threat of wind, snow and rain across parts of the country. in wyoming and south dakota, the problem is snow, as much as three feet fell in some areas. also in south dakota and in nebraska and iowa, tornadoes

caused significant damage to neighborhoods, minor injuries were reported. and along the gulf coast, a sigh of relief for tropical storm karen, a storm that lost much of its steam. meteorologist bill karins is here for the latest on na. what can we expect from karen now? >> karen is the one that gets all the buzz because it's something in the tropics in the gulf of mexico where some of our worst storms in history have been. this one never got its act together. a lot of dry air got into it. these storms need the humid rich air. this is funny. this is the radar. there's not many showers in southern louisiana right now, but the storm is heading for the louisiana coast. it should move in later on tonight and again, you'll see bands of rain and gusty winds. you're not going to see flooding. you're not going to see much wind damage if any. the storm will track from southern louisiana kind of parallel in the coast a little bit. even and mobile, panama city get gusty winds. waves up a little bit at the baeps. we're not talking about anything that would make you

significantly change your plans. we showed you the tornadoes. how impressive were thoses? some were a mile wide. thankfully, they missed most towns. i say most because the town of wayne, nebraska, did get hit. they did have a couple injuries there, too. the mayor says over $1 million worth of damage. again, they were concentrated last night. who's at risk today? this afternoon? that's one of the ones that was about a mile wide, that one you saw there. that was one that was weakening as it picked up debris and tossed in the air. that was in the nebraska vicinity. who's at risk today? if you have outdoor plans, really from the midwest from chicagoing to st. louis all the way to indianapolis, a line of strong storms will roll through today. and when that happens, go inside for a quick half hour. the other thing that we have to watch this weekend is the winds, mara, are really strong and gusty. it's very hot in southern california. they're very afraid of any fires. that's the catch, right? if you get the wind situations, if the fires don't form, no big deal. if one forms, we could be

talking about mass evacuations and a huge blaze. fingers crossed there. >> keep your eye on the fire condition. bill karins, thanks so much. new development haves today in the shocking road age incident here in new york city. police have just released pictures of this man, they believe slashed the tires of the suv and assaulted the victim after surrounding and then chasing him through new york city streets. police say they're also investigating whether as many as six off duty officers were part of the motorcycle club. in the meantime, the man seen using his helmet to break a window of the suv has surrendered and is being questioned by police. he is not yet being charged. however, another biker has been arrested and charged. well, who getsing hurt the most in the government shutdown? coming up, some personal stories that are sure to upset you. and a new legal fight for jodie arias. why her lawyers don't want you to see video like this during the retrial for her sentence. [ male announcer ] you know that family?

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it's day five of the government shutdown. and new today, within the last hour, the house passed a measure making sure 800,000 federal workers on furlough will get back pay when the government reopens. also today, president obama giving a new interview about the shutdown standoff. specifically the tea party's role. >> my concern has less to do with the tea party per se or the particular positions that they take on issues. but rather it's this idea that if they don't get 100% of their way, they'll shut down the government or they'll threaten economic chaos. that has to stop. >> joining me now staff writer for the hill newspaper, elise vee beck and white house reporter for the "washington post" david knack i mora.

thank you both for your time this afternoon. >> thanks. >> david, in his new interview with the associated press, the president said he would be "happy to talk to republicans about the health care law, the budget, the deficit." this after weeks of firmly stating that he would not negotiate on some things. so do you think this softened tone is in response to what we've been hearing from republicans that repeatedly they've been trying to paint the president as unreasonable and immovab immovable? >> i think there's -- what they're saying there's two different things going. this is a debate about changes to the health care law to make it easier for people to enroll. that debate has to come after the debt limit is raised by october 17th. the white house is still holding firm to the idea they're not going to roll the first of hose into the second. and i think what the president made clear again in that interview even though he says he's open to bigger debates later is that he's going to stand firm. he suggested in the interview, it was very tell it go he had read john boehner's comments in

private to other members that he's not willing to let default happen. it had been reported that the house wos eventually maybe vote on a bill that required support from democrats. i think the president is trying to put pressure on republicans that way. >> elise is, noa elise, this is piecemeal funding measure. why is this one different? >> i would echo what the representative you just interviewed said. it's basically a and to federal worker are in trouble during the shutdown. both parties came together in order to say listen, we want to make sure the shutdown, when it stops, doesn't continue to have an effect on the people who had nothing to do with the causes. so i think that's why they were able to come together. we're expecting is the senate to pass the bill very shortly. it isn't really a bill to reopen the government in this piecemeal way. what it is is lessening the effects on federal workers as

has been done in the past. nobody wants to see those people hurt because the shutdown had nothing to do with them. >> david, at least 138 lawmakers say they plan to donate or refuse pay during the shutdown. almost half of the 535 members of congress are millionaires. their net worth is $966,000. compare that to $66,740 for a typical american family and in many cases, even their own staff members don't make that much money. so does this carry much weight when they say they're going to donate their salaries, refuse them, or does it ring hollow to the public? >> makes a symbolic point. the president was asked if he would do so and jay carney said that's not the issue. i don't think it's a surprise money plays a big role in getting people elected. he folks who are wealthy in the government. most federal workers are concerned about what's going to happen. they want to go back to work. it's not like a big vacation to

them. to echo what elise said, one thing that this vote does today is it allow sort of lessen the pressure to open the government because they say look, we're going to take care of you afterward. i think what's going to happen, you'll see now this fight over the budget into the debt ceiling. we're headed to an october 16th showdown. it's unlikely anything is going to get resolved despite congress being open right now, potentially negotiating. you saw the white house chief of staff on the other day. there are negotiations, there are talks, maybe not negotiations, how to get this done. it doesn't look likely anything's going to happen till the last minute. the get ready for a long monday night. >> elise, your latest article is titled "gop slams scheduled maintenance on obama care site." the gop has been seizing on the within site problems as a sign the law isn't working. is that a fair indicator of success less than a week of these exchanges being open? >> certainly the obama

administration and i.t. experts would say no. when you're rolling out a new website, it needs time to work, time to figure out glitches. the administration said it was because, 8 million people tried to come to healthcare.gov and open accounts this week. that's why we saw so many problems. what happened yesterday was hhs, the federal health department came out and said they were going to take the application portion of healthcare.gov down during nonpeak hours this weekend in order to strengthen that part of the website, which has experienced problems in the last week. and john boehner as well as many of his deputies came out and said hey, this means obama care is a failure. the federal health department should not be taking it down. that's going to mean people don't have acis esto the application. i think the administration just wants to strengthen the website and they have six months for this enrollment period. we'll see whether those glitches are fixed but i think it's going to be an ongoing process. >> all right, elise vieebeck and david, thanks so much for your

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d.c., l.a., and new york. the president received a 38% approval rating from his hometown of check which ranks seventh. "vanity fair" names amazon founder jeff bezos as the top disruptor in its new establishment list. he leads the way thanks in part to his purchase of the "washington post" and to reports that amazon is about to unveil a tv settop box like row cue or apple tv. jay-z and my girl beyonce grabbed the top spot on the fares that list for their money making success. ♪ ♪ >> and, of course, taylor swift is no music industry slouch herself. she leads pole star's weekly concert tour list with almost $2.8 million in earnings. and those are your number ones. [ female announcer ] so how long have you been living flake-free

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with alex witt." i'm mara sigh vo cam poe. iran's supreme leader is hinting today he disapproves of the phone call between presidents barack obama and hassan rouhani. the call happened during rouhani's visit to new york last month. the leader's comments come after hard liners criticized the conversation aimed at ending three decades of estrangement between the two countries. an investigation is under way after 18 middle school students took a prescription drug in arizona. up with student is believed to have brought clonidine to school and shared it with others. the drug is used to treat high blood parish and adhd. all students were taken to nearby hospitals. all but one released. attorneys for jodie arias are asking a judge to ban live tv coverage inside the courtroom during her sentencing retrial. she was convicted in the 2008 death of boyfriend travis alexander in phoenix. the same jury failed to reach a decision whether she should get

the death penalty. house members are back on capitol hill today. they just passed a bill that will ensure furloughed federal workers get paid when the government shutdown ends. and while fighting continues in washington, the personal impact is being felt across the country. nbc's miguel almaguer has more. >> reporter: in talledega, alabama, wendy robinson has been furloughed. a single mom with three mouths to feed, today she got her last paycheck. she blames congress. >> i do think that it is nonsense and that they need to get their acts together. >> a teacher in the government-funded head start program, robinson has also lost her child care and has no savings. >> i'm at a loss for words really about it because i'm not used to not giving my kids a christmas. >> in oak lawn, illinois, families in need turn to this assistance center. offering discounts on infant formula, the clinic will soon run out of money. >> i do not think that congress

is even thinking about the little people like us. >> single mother of three, rebecca war pow ski is worried and unemployed. >> i need these programs to help me survive. >> at the feeding south florida distribution center it, shell shelves aren't empty yet but the usda sent you the its last shipment of supplies yesterday. for more than 200 food banks across the country, when shelves go bare, people will go hungry. experts say if the shutdown lasts a few more days or weeks longer, it's going to hit us right here in the grocery store. the fda which checks fruits and vegetables for quality and safety has furloughed nearly half its workforce and canceled routine inspections. >> the consumer may see prices rise if things cannot be imported because inspections are not being done. there may be less of a choice in the grocery store. >> fewer inspectors means higher

prices. >> puts me and my family at risk if the fruits and vegetables being being inspected and if the price increases, as well, it's a strain on our budget. >> the impact in the grocery store could be next. but many families are feeling the pain now. miguel almaguer, nbc news, pomona, california. joining me now for more is republican congressman michael burgess of texas. thanks so much for being here this afternoon. >> good afternoon, mara. >> you just heard some of those sad stories where people's well-being and health are at stake. what's your reaction to these stories. >> well, that's precisely the reason why in the rules committee and on the floor of the house we have passed many of those bills, head start and the wik program attracted a significant number of democratic votes to those bills. i guess it's a big question why those won't be taken up in the united states senate. last saturday, pay for soldiers was passed unanimously on the floor of the house. the senate did take it up, did

pass it, it was signed by the president. today we passed the pay for furloughed federal employees. that passed unanimously in the floor of the house. i expect the senate will do that on a voice vote perhaps this weekend. my prayer is that the president will sign that, as well. but every other aspect of the appropriations process is copping through the rules committee. we are sometimes working late into the night to get these bills ready for the floor of the house. and in my mind, that is exactly what we should be doing right now. i hope the senate will start to pick these up. >> i want to ask you about the legislative strategy of tying budget negotiations to legislation. if things were the other way around, if say democrats controlled the house and there was a republican in the white house and house dems wanted to tie budget legislation to say like background checks for guns, is that a strategy that you would support. >> do you want to set that precedent? >> well, actually, the president press department has been set for some time. few people remember a congressman from massachusetts

but on an intelligence authorization bill, he offered an amendment that was accepted that prohibited the expenditure of any funds for the cia in nicaragua. it caused problems for the reagan administration and we all remember how that occurred. but in fact, congress does have an obligation. that's what the whole separation of powers is all about. we do control the purse strings. so to say this is something new or novel, in fact, that's not entirely accurate. it happened at the end of the vietnam war with the boland amendment. harry reid used it not too long ago to shut down yucca mountain. there are precedence for this being used. what has not been a precedent is for a republican or conservative house to use it against a democratic president and that's why i think everyone is caught asking so many questions because that precedent has not been used. >> but what do you make of the argument, sir, that this battle is being waged or a piece of legislation that was signed by the president, that was affirmed by an election and the supreme court and that now you're

essentially trying to repeal a law through ties to the budget negotiations that has already been affirmed on several levels. >> because the law is so desperately bad. and in can the fa, you're seeing that now in the first five days of the signup period. it the facebook page for healthcare.gov is just reflects the anguish that people have been feeling the last five days as they've tried to deal with this labyrinthine government process now visited upon them which they are required to take or face a fine. look, this thing was passed in the middle of the night in the senate on christmas eve. it sort of came to the house through the backdoor. it was never the subject of a conference committee because harry reid said i've lost my 60th vote. so the house has to take what i did. there's no chance to improve anything. just think for a minute. would lyndon johnson have not passed the civil rights legislation if he had lacked a

couple vote in the senate. of course, not, he would have gone and gotten that vote. we might not have liked the way it looked at the time but that's what leadership was all about. in this case, it was hands off. get the house to affirm what the senate did after and they convinced enough house members to vote for it, it became law. it's a rough draft of legislation. this thinging is unworkable because of all of the drafting errors contained within. that's why it's been so hard to plymouth. they've had 3 1/2 years, billions and billions of dollars and are no closer than three years ago. >> i want to ask you to something one of our colleagues said awhile back. this was adam schiff just on with us. he said that privately, moderate democrats are coming to him and saying, i'm sorry, moderate republicans rather are coming to him saying they feel like they're being controlled by the far right of the party, by the small faction of the party. i do want you to respond to that sentiment. >> no one is controlled by anyone else. we all represent our districts an our constituents. we go to the floor.

we have an obligation to to vote our district, vote our heart. the only thing that anyone has ever told me was don't surprise me at the last minute. i always try to be forthcoming for whatever reason i cannot be with the party leadership. but everyone controls their own vote. there have been procedural votes where if people had wanted to stray from what leadership had wanted, they were perfectly able to do that. what is telling about this is there has been no attenuation of republican support on those procedural votes but the democrats have certainly lost a lot of their members coming over and voting with republicans on things like head start nih and the wik program. you noted prior, you mentioned some of the technical problems that we're having with the implementation of this health care legislation that the healthcare.gov website is having a number of problems and you've sensed frustration online. the white house has said the high number of visitors to the exchange site is a sign of the interest in getting affordable insurance. you have said most of those who

visited the site were members of congress and journalists. the healthcare.gov site got almost 5 million visitors on the first day. do you really believe that was five million congress people and reporters or do you think there's genuine interest from the public in this legislation? >> there's no question there's genuine interest. all i said the other day was perhaps if you walk back the number of visits from members of congress and their staff and reporters because after all, where is there a lot of interest in how this thing is going to work? it's right here in the capitol of the united states. but regardless of that, regardless of that, why weren't they ready? i mean they knew it was coming. they knew it was coming for 3 1/2 years. look at medicare part d. that had rough starts to it. the bush administration got it together pretty quickly and corrected those problems. perhaps the obama administration will, as well. but why not take a page out of the implementation of part d? why dut let it crater and then come in and have to swoop down and try to pick it up?

everyone knew this was coming. you knew it was coming since march 20th of 2010. this is not a surprise to anyone. it's no surprise that the number of visitors were going to be high. when officials from hhs would come to our committee, we'd ask them questions, are you ready for this? can you share us your beta testing, no answer. i asked two weeks ago, are you going to be ready october 1st? it's a yes or no question. i could not get a direct answer to that question. >> congressman michael burgess of texas, thanks so much for your time. watch "meet the press" tomorrow. among david gregory's guests, treasury secretary jack lew and republican senator rand paul of kentucky. topics will include the shutdown and debt ceiling. check your local listings. office politics and we diction what will happen if the debt ceiling crisis is not resolved coming up. first, i want a way to help minimize my blood sugar spikes. then, a way to support heart health. ♪ and let's not forget immune support.

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here's a sample. >> tell you ricky the shutdown is bad. >> how bad is it. >> for halloween a lot of kids are cressing up as federal workers and staying home. >> democrats and republicans continue to be at a stalemate. please help us, dennis rodman. >> it is so bad, you know the liberty bell? it's now a taco bell. that's how bad it is. terrible, terrible. >> and unfortunately, there's probably a lot more material on the way. well, today's office politics "morning joe" economist steve rattner. alex talked with him about his brush with two presidents and his dad's brush with broadway fame. first he painted a catastrophic picture for the economy if the u.s. defaults on its loans come october 17th. >> the ripple effects would be disastrous. it's not just our loans. i think the treasury has been relatively clear they would simply cut back what they're paying for all services. so social security payments

would be delayed. medicare would be delayed, people who sell things to the government would be delayed and the debt would be delayed. i think you would see a moment like we saw in 2008 after lehman brothers failed when congress failed to act on the first plan top provide capital to the banks, the stock market went down 700 points and then con res came to its senses. you would see a dramatic moment like that if we did go over the october 17th cliff. >> is there a scenario under which you can envision we default on our debts? >> yes, because there is a scenario that i can imagine that happening. for a couple of reasons. first, this shutdown was not over a simple issue that you could compromise out. in other words, it's not that the republicans said we want to cut $20 billion from the deficit and obama wants to cut $10 billion and you compromise on 15. the republicans have said we want obama care delayed. there's no possibility the white house is going to agree to that in my opinion. so the grounds for compromise are harder see than they often have been. secondly you have a group in the house that absolutely do not

want to raise the debt ceiling under any circumstances. it will require i think speaker boehner effectively going against a majority of his caucus and using democrats to get this passed. that's something he's done before but he has said he's not going to do now. we'll have to see. >> i suspect some of your writing ability may have come from your father who was not only a successful businessman but also an off broadway playwright. >> i think back on it often about my father who i was close to and how interesting it was. he went to college. he was a depression baby, a war veteran. part of the greatest generation. he came back from the war and basically said i've got get a job and ended up working in a paint factory and running a paint factory that belonged to his wife's family. he was going to long island city and making paint and selling it. but he always read a lot. he was always interested in things and then just decided business was not enough and

started writing plays. he ultimately in fact spent a year or two years going up to brown, which happened to be my alma mater and getting a master's degree in play writing long after i was gone. but i was actually a trustee of brown when he received his degree and i the ability to hand it to him. >> that's cool. >> there's a picture on the other side of the room of that. that was really cool. >> an interesting picture i saw here in the office, that is a picture of you and your wife with presidents clinton and bush 43. how did that picture happen. >> into it was pretty funny. so we were invited to a corporate dinner which the two presidents were going to speak and my wife drags me up to the front row and we're sitting there and the two presidents are talking, and at one point president clinton who has a really great way about this says, you no he, one example of how you can be successful is the auto industry and steve rattner is sitting out there and he did it and he was nice about it.

at that point bush, who i have never met or been in the same room with to my knowledge looks up and goes like this, rattner, rattner, you out there, rattner? >> can't you see him doing it? >> instantly, of course, i liked him. later in the conversation, they started talking about subprime mortgages. and they're back and forth about it and bush says, you know, i wasn't smart enough to see that coming but rattner, you probe saw that coming, didn't you? it was really pretty funny. i know, and i would have sat in the back. so then there was a photo line and we went and got our pictures taken and my wife who was the finance. chairman of the of dnc, democratic national committee for four or five years looks to president bush and says i spent for or five years trying to get you out of office. he smiled and said it didn't go well, did it. >> in our next hour it, steve explains how the shutdown hurts the economy and what he thinks would be happening in washington if johnson were in office today.

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the machinery of obama care underwent its first serious testing this week, and some early fine tuning. in fact, the health care exchange portal's website was taken down for several hours overnight to upgrade and repair the system. it left many waiting for hours this week as they tried to sign up for coverage. joining me now is ann philly pick, president of enroll america focused on getting uninsured americans to sign up for obama care and formerly a deputy at the white house and kept of health and human services. thanks so much for being here this afternoon. >> thanks for having me. >> we're now in the fifth day of the exchange's being live. how have things gone so far. >> the health insurance marketplace was launched this week in every state across the country. and we are seeing interest that is ves very high. hhs has announced that 8.6 million folks visited that i ever website this week.

over 400,000 people called a hot line. and that's really reflective of what we're seeing across the country. so we know that millions of people have started this process. they visit aid website or talked to someone in their community. now they're going to talk to their friends and family and they're going to compare their options. they know they have till december 15th if they want to enroll by january 1st, they have till december 15th to finalize the process. >> i tried to sign up this week just to see how the process worked. it didn't go very well. the site was overloaded. helps lines were unavailable. do you think that the government was underprepared for the roll out of this massive program. >> well, we did see some glitches this week. we've been expecting there might be some glitches. for something of the scope and scale, it is a huge undertaking. what i will say though is my focus is really on consumers and we've been really paying close attention to how are people who can benefit from this reacting. those folks that did visit that

website and what we're seeing is people are really undeterred. people have been waiting for years to find quality affordable health insurance. they even if they're a little frustrated with the technology glitches, they remain excited and interested. and we're also seeing the non-profits on the ground who are helping them go through this process. they're taking advantage of the chance to educate people about what's coming. so i think people recognize they have till december 15th to enroll if they want to have coverage by january 1st and they remain excited and interested. >> hhs still hasn't released details on how many people have actually enrolled. do you have numbers or estimates on that? >> we don't have numbers but do have stories of folks across the country who have enrolled. we've talked with daniel who's a 22-year-old student in florida. and he was able to enroll in coverage that cost him just $70 a month. and something to know about that is that that is actually the same amount that daniel was paying before. the big difference is that previously he had a catastrophic

plan that only allowed him to go to the doctor three times a year. now he's paying $70 a month and has much better coverage under the marketplaces. >> leading up to this week, the polls weren't great. one from the kaiser foundation found that 74% of uninsured people didn't know that the exchanges opened on tuesday. do you think there was a communications failure your here on the part of the white house? >> we do know there are mill yops of people out there who stand to benefit and don't know about it. that's what the work of get covered america campaign is all about, working with partners to have a presence in communities to talk to the uninsured and let them know, what does this mean to them. i think something, the fact we saw so many people check out the website or find someone in their community to talk about this or call a hot line, that says something about both the awareness and also the real hunger that people have to learn more about how this can help them. >> what's next? what steps are you focused on next in making the process better and simpler and getting the word out?

>> well, enroll america and our partners across the country are really doing what we've been doing for the last few months. it is working in partnership wpt faith leaders and local non-profits and individual volunteers and communities across the country to have neighbors talking to neighbors and friends talking to friends about what is here, how people can benefit and how they can access it. something i've seen this week is the incredible importance that that presence in communities has. that our ability to answer those questions about you know when folks should go and sign up for the time to go through the process. so we're going to continue doing what we're doing, working community by community to get the word out. >> all right. ann filipik, thanks so much for your time this afternoon. new details about some policemens's ties to the group who took part in that wild motorcycle chase in new york. that's coming up. ties to the g who took part in that wild motorcycle chase in new york. that's coming up. across america people are taking charge

of their type 2 diabetes with non-insulin victoza®. for a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar, but it didn't get me to my goal. so i asked my doctor about victoza®. he said victoza® is different than pills. victoza® is proven to lower blood sugar and a1c. it's taken once-a-day, any time, and comes in a pen. and the needle is thin. victoza® is not for weight loss, but it may help you lose some weight. victoza® is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. it is not recommended as the first medication to treat diabetes and should not be used in people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. victoza® has not been studied with mealtime insulin. victoza® is not insulin. do not take victoza® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer,

multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. symptoms of a serious allergic reaction may include: swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat, fainting or dizziness, very rapid heartbeat, problems breathing or swallowing, severe rash or itching. tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. serious side effects may happen in people who take victoza®, including inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), which may be fatal. stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have signs of pancreatitis, such as severe pain that will not go away in your abdomen or from your abdomen to your back, with or without vomiting. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. the most common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, and headache. some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. if your pill isn't giving you the control you need ask your doctor about non-insulin victoza®.

it's covered by most health plans. add brand new belongings from nationwide insurance and we'll replace stolen or destroyed items with brand-new versions. we put members first. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ ing >> government shutdown, day five, and no end in sight. more hardships, more anger.

>> we sent you guys up there to take care of the business of the country. so take care of business. >> we need the people to be taken care of. and that's why we voted you all in. so please, do your job. >> we elected you to do a job and that's what we want you to do. do your job. >> lawmakers are working today, but what are they doing? the latest in a live report coming up next. plus, the motorcycle madness. a stunning new revelation. why was an under cover police officer involved in that wild chase. >> the dallas police are here to execute the laws of the state of texas. >> now. >> and emergency room showdown. it's in a new mean on the assassination after president kennedy, bringing to light little known facts about the tense moments at parkland hospital.

>> good afternoon. and welcome to weekends with alex wit. i'm mara schiavocampo. it's 1:00 in the east. here's what's happening. in a brand-new interview with the associated press today, president obama says he's willing to negotiate changes with republicans to the affordable care law and define ways to reduce spending but he strews he is not willinging to bargain till after congress ends the government shutdown and passes a new debt ceiling. >> what we can't do is keep engaging in this sort of brinksmanship where a small faction of the republican party ends up forcing them into brinksmanship to see if they can somehow, you know, get more from negotiations by threatening to shutdown the government or threatening america not paying its bills. >> in the meantime, the house just voted unanimously to guarantee back pay for

furloughed workers once the government reopens. nbc's luke russert is on capitol hill and joins us from there once again. luke, good afternoon. welcome back. >> how are you? >> i'm good, thanks. the house is heading home for the weekend but the senate buy gan its session an hour ago. what's next for the legislation? >> so this legislation most likely will be voted on monday by the senate. it's even possible it could be done by unanimous consent, which is the body agrees all federal workers should get retro actively their pay for the time they missed during the shutdown. a lot of federal workers were worried this wasn't going to happen because there's been such an appetite to cut spending from house republicans. house republicans are no big fans an of the federal workforce ordinarily. so there was a lot of fear of that amongst them. but this is quite a bipartisan moment. a bill passed unanimously in the house and the workers will get their pay retroactively. we've seen the house pass

piecemeal bills, things like funding nih, things like trying to fund the national parks, things like funding the basic operations of washington, d.c. they're going to continue on that strategy next week by working with things sort of funding the fda, funding head start. trying to put democrats in this difficult position of voting against popular government programs. but democrats are saying look, we don't want to pit one program against another. we want to funds all of them. just bring a clean bill to the floor. from where we are right now, mara, if a clean bill to fund the government went to the floor, it would pass. there is bipartisan support for that. just from everything cans i've had with republicans today, you're starting to see a little bit of the break in the line from folks who think there's no point having the government shutdown when the real fight is the debt limit coming up october 17th. this has become all about posturing. it will be interesting to see how it plays out early next week. the members here are gone till 6:308 p.m. on monday. they could be called back at

anytime at a moment's notice. the business of washington, d.c., tomorrow will be a football day for members of the congress and they're back at it on monday. we'll still be shutdown more likely than not. >> luke russert, thanks so much. while congress debates the shutdown, american who's rely on the federal government for everything from their paycheck to vital health care are suffering. for many, time is not something they can afford. >> cancer patient michelle was hoping she would be approved for a clinical trial at the nih hospital this week. she's concerned her chances will dim if the shutdown continues. >> when you're given a terminal diagnosis, each month counts. >> josh and laura hail have five girls and zero pay. bowing are on furlough from write patterson air force base outside dayton, ohio. >> just because our paycheck stopped doesn't mean the bills stopped. they're still trying to recover from losing six days pay each because of the sequester. >> even if they end up getting reimbursed for the time off,

it's too late. you know, we need money now. >> joining me now from capitol hill is congress mann frank pallone, democrat from new jersey. thanks so much for your time this afternoon. >> thank you. >> i just want to ask for your reaction to what you just heard how real people are suffering through this. >> there's no question about that. many federal employees are -- or most federal employees are furloughed, not sure they're going to get their paycheck. now we've passed this bill. that gives them some relief but the bottom line is having a negative impact on the economy and confidence in our economy is disappearing. so we need to get this government open. look, the bottom line is 200 democrats including myself have signed a letter saying they want government open with a clean resolution. and there are at least as many republicans that could make a majority in the house to do. i'm just saying look, mr. speaker, please just bring up the clean bill. we can negotiate and talk about the budget or other issues

later. but there's absolutely no reason for the republican leadership and speaker boehner not to just bring up the clean bill so we can reopen everything and not do this piecemeal approach. >> in a lot of cases of political gridlock, you know there are behind the scenes negotiations going on. at least there's progress there, whether or not it's being relayed publicly. we're hearing from our sources even that is not taking place right now. where do you see this ending? how long do you see this dragging on? >> obviously, because the speaker sent us home until monday at 6:30, nothing's going to happen till monday after 6:30. i'm hoping when members do go home, they hear from their constituents particularly the republicans obviously who are in the majority and they come back and agree to do this clean bill on monday. obviously, the earliest that we can reopen now is going to be monday. but again, i can't stress enough, i mean, i know there definitely are some republicans and clearly most democrats that just want this clean bill and

then we can you know, figure out later you know, while the government reopens we can negotiate the budget or other issues. but right now, the speaker and the republican leadership are not willing to do that. i really don't understand why not. it makes no sense at this point. >> you're the ranking member of the subcommittee that oversees medicaid, the food and drug administration, the national institutes of health and the centers for disease control. how do you respond to criticisms that the house is picking and choosing which programs and agencies to fund, for example, nih. >> well, again, i think that the republican leadership in deciding to just pick and choose what they want to fund, it's not the way you operate a government. we've already passed laws basically that say, for example, that there have to be food safety inspections and certain procedures carried out by the fda, you know, for drugs, for approval of drugs. the nih research programs. these should continue. there's not a funding issue here, mara, because the packet of the matter is that speaker he

will pel has already agreed to the numbers that the republicans want, are at least on a temporary basis. you know, to reopen the government. so i just don't understand why the republican leadership is putting, you know, cancer patients, other people who are in research programs, those looking for nutrition programs, head start, veterans, all at risk. it doesn't make any sense. there's nothing accomplished by this continued shutdown because we've agreed on most things in terms of the budget. and we can continue to negotiate. but we don't need to have the government shutdown in the meantime. it's like hostage taking. it's not accomplishing anything on the republican side. >> all right, congressman, thanks so much for your time this afternoon. we appreciate it. >> thank you. we want to know how the government shutdown is affecting you. you can tell us by simply sending us a short video response using the #don't shut me down. now to the latest on tropical storm karen as it closes in on the gulf and could make landfall as early as tonight.

tropical storm warnings and state of emergency issued for some states in the path. joining me now for the latest on all of this is nbc meteorologist bill karins. bill, karen weakened overnight. where do things stand right now? >> it's trying a little bit to get more rain bands wrapped around it. there's too much dry air. this is different image than i normally would show. you. an x-ray of the atmosphere, how much moisture. these are called tropical storms. they need humid air. when you see the blue and white, that's the humid air. look at the red, that's the drier coming off of texas. this storm is sucking in the dry air. they can't exist like that. the right said has the tropical air, the left side the dry air. that's not a healthy system. actually, the dry air has been winning out and it's been weakening. that's not going to change. finally great news for the gulf coast. right now, you can see there are some rain bands out there. it's not like going to be completely dry. this will move along the gulf

coast over the next 24, 36 hours. waves will be up. bands of rain, maybe localized flooding at worst. this forecast is very minimal impacts. that's great news out of the region. the much bigger storm that caused so many more problems is the one in the midwest now heading up through south dakota. we heard got some new pictures in. i've been waiting to see these from wayne nebraska. this happened last night about 8:00 p.m. this was a big tornado that went through. report at one point to be 1 to 2-mile wide tornado. you can see some of the destruction and devastation there. looks like it went through a tractor yard and farm equipment manufacturing plant there. you can just see some of the destruction. the mayor of wayne has already said a couple million dollars worth of damage there. those look like some of the combines there for the fields. they just tossed a lot of them around and some of the buildings in the background there. you can see how rural of an area it was. it could have been a lot worse. just missed the downtown portion of wayne by about two miles. so what else do we have to worry

about today? we will see additional storms. thankfully the snow is almost over with. you still can't drive interstate 90. out toward rapid sti, they had 31 inches of snow. that's like up to here. i've seen pictures an of snow drifts halfway up doors. it's like 90 degrees in d.c. today. the only other thing is we have to watch out for more storms today but nothing like the tornadoes from yesterday. >> all right. meteorologist bill karins, thanks so much. the white house strategy in the midst of this government shutdown. what are administration insiders saying? that's coming up next. get paid to do something you really love, what would you do?" ♪ [ woman ] i'd be a writer. [ man ] i'd be a baker. [ woman ] i wanna be a pie maker. [ man ] i wanna be a pilot. [ woman ] i'd be an architect. what if i told you someone could pay you and what if that person were you? ♪ when you think about it, isn't that what retirement should be, paying ourselves to do what we love? ♪

it's day five and both president obama and congress are in washington today. but there's no apparent progress in ending the government shutdown anytime soon. joining me now, msnbc contributor and political editor

for the grio, perry bacon junior and msbc political analyst, jonathan alter. jonathan i should mention is also the writer of. >> the center holds. obama and his enemies. there's the cover, of course. make sure you get it. jonathan, i want to start with you. step back and me your assessment where we are right now. does it seem we're any closer to resolution? do white house insiders think there's any light here? >> not really. things are still at a stalemate. but there are some indications of where it might and i really have to stress might because it's a guessing game now, might go. it wouldn't be this week or necessarily next week. it would go on to as frustrating as this will be for federal employees into the middle of the month when they're talking about the debt ceiling. and it looks now like the debt ceiling and the government shutdown will end up being part of the same process.

the republicans found to their surprise that this president had a real spine on this. they thought from the 2011 that he would cave. they would win this argument or at least some of them thought so. and it's turned out that he has held firm. he's not going to negotiate with a gun pointed at his head. and they're going to have to eventually move on both a clean cr as they call it to reopen the government and on extending the debt limit, but they won't do it until there's some indicationing that after that takes place, they can get on to negotiate about some of their issues. >> perry, i want you to to ask you to touch upon as the president's spine, his words, because this is a president who spent most of his political career focused on compromise, something that was very important to him politically and seemed to be built into his personal dna. why do you think it is in this case he is holding so firm?

is it because obama care is his baby? because he'll never have to run for election again? what is different this time. >> you've named two reasons. first of course, is the republicans are insisting upon obama care being changed or repeal. that's the thing -- he's most defines his presidency. the second thing is unlike 2011, he doesn't have to run for re-election. he's not worried about winning who had rat vote ares in swing districts. that's the second important factor. the third factor important to note is the white house feels they have to breaking this republican idea that the debt ceiling is a way to extract policy changes. they want to break that for the next three years and ultimately for the next president on some level, as well. they think they have to break the ideas the republicans can use the debt ceilinging to push policy. they think it's the wrong thick to do and want to set a new precedent and make a new normal out of this and that's why they're pushing so hard. >> jonathan, i want to read you what an unidentified in the

administration said to the "wall street journal" "we are winning. it doesn't matter how long the shutdown lasts. what matters is the end result. the preds then tried to walking that back yesterday. listen to what he said. >> there's no winning when families don't have certainty whether they're going to get paid or not. as long as they off the job, nobody's winning. that's the point. >> jonathan, what do you hear from the white house about this is quote and this source? >> it complicates things a little bit. it's just a very small bump in the road. it led john boehner cry some crocodile tears, this is not a game. they have to say this. kind of a kabuki dance in washington where somebody makes a gaffe, which is saying the truth which it is a game. they are playing a very deadly game of poker. and then everybody on both sides has to claim no, it's not really a game. the bottom line here is that john boehner got more than he bargained for. he's in a very tough position

because if he doesn't figure out a way out of this, he could lose his speakership. this is the most important thing to him. mara, this is what a lot of people i think haven't fully understood. politics is personal. john boehner was booted out of the republican leadership in 199 . it was very humiliating for him. his worst nightmare is he can't hold this caucus together and that after the dust settles, they throw him out of the speakership and humiliate him once more. so everything he's doing is to protect his own skin. i wish i could say that he was acting in a patriotic fashion, but he's just not. it's clear that he went back on a couple of deals that he made in september that would have prevented this. he went back on them because he couldn't hold his caucus, the white house likes to say john boehner can't even deliver a pizza, and there is some truth to that, he cannot can be deliver those republican votes because he has these radicals in his party. so we'll see whether he can

finesse all of this. i don't envy him but don't think he's showing real strength and character at this moment. >> perry, the house earlier today passed a measure to guarantee back pay to furloughed federal employees. harry reid actually responded to that saying house republican republicans had put workers on a paid vacation that could cost more than had sandy did. workers don't want to be without a paycheck and don't want to be furloughed. where does this legislation go from here? >> it's going to pass in the senate. i was surprised senator reid said that. federal workers are losing pay right now and will get it back. i expect the senate will pass this on monday. i think he, while disagreeing with the tacticing will ultimately agree with the strategy. i want to add unwith thing about the republicans and boehner. one challenge they face in their districts, a lot of republican voters are behind the strategy. i talked to a member yesterday who said the calls to his office

were eight to one in favor of this shutdown over of obama care approach. this is a member who thought the strategy was stupid himself but felt like he was being pushed by his public and his district that the tea party in particular to be behind this. he felt he couldn't say publicly this is a bad idea because of the fact that he got a push from the conservatives in his own district. >> jonathan, i saw you nodding. what's your response? >> they created a frankenstein which is now biting them. it's true. i don't think it's the majority of republican districts but a significant number of them, they've been fed this steady diet from the rush limbaugh and the rest they actually believe -- ted cruz. they actually believe there's a chance, you know, of defunding obama care. not only is there not a 1%ence cha, there's not even a 0% chance. it simply is not going to happen. they're living in a dream world. and this is the product of

what's happened over the last several years where a minority of a minority is acting as if they can prevent majority rule which is what this country was founded on. >> all right. jonathan alter, and perry bacon, thanks so much for your time this afternoon. a new movie on the jfk assassination hit theaters last night. but why is this one different from all the rest? the producer and director of "parkland." joins us next. across america people are taking charge of their type 2 diabetes with non-insulin victoza®.

for a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar, but it didn't get me to my goal. so i asked my doctor about victoza®. he said victoza® is different than pills. victoza® is proven to lower blood sugar and a1c. it's taken once-a-day, any time, and comes in a pen. and the needle is thin. victoza® is not for weight loss, but it may help you lose some weight. victoza® is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. it is not recommended as the first medication to treat diabetes and should not be used in people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. victoza® has not been studied with mealtime insulin. victoza® is not insulin. do not take victoza® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. symptoms of a serious allergic reaction may include:

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you tell us what you want to pay, and we give you a range of coverages to choose from. who is she? that's flobot. she's this new robot we're trying out, mostly for, like, small stuff. wow! look at her go! she's pretty good. she's pretty good. hey, flobot, great job. oops. [ powers down ] uh-oh, flobot is broken. the "name your price" tool, only from progressive. call or click today. welcome back to weekends with alex wit. it's nearing 30 past the hour. new developments in that wild chase between at least 20 bikers and an suv driver in new york. we're hearing as many as six officers could have been part of that group, also new, one of the

men seen here trying to smash a window of the suv is being questioned by police. another biker who police say tried to force open a door on the suv is now facing assault charges. the driver beaten in front of his wife and 2-year-old has not been charged 37 but a biker he ran over while trying to get away may now be paralyzed. joining me for more on this, former prosecutor faith jenkins. the driver is not being charged. the wife of the man who was hit and is paralyzed is asking for action here. just 0 deal with the charges relating to the driver, is there any chance he could be charged here? and if so, what would the charges be. >> i don't see him being charged. he could be charged with aggravating assault, assaulting bikers and with the use of a dangerous instrument which would be the vehicle. but they'd have to prove some kind of negligence on his part and based on what we've seen from the portion of the video we've seen, i just don't think the prosecutors will charge him. i do think you'll see additional charges against more of the

bikers if they they can be identified. >> we're getting into a very tricky space with this undercover officer. sources are saying he was so deep undercover that he was living the life of the man he was pretending to be. and that there was no way he could have come forth and identified himself as an officer at the time. if you're an undercover officer and there during the commission of a crime and you don't act on it, how does that muddy the waters here? >> there's one undercover officer, but then additional police officers apparently may have been present and in new york city, under code of conduct, even if you are off duty as a police officer, if you witness a crime, are you required to act. even if that means that you just call the police, you are required to take action. so that's why you're going to see the nypd investigating these officers. the undercover officer made a choice here. he don't necessarily have to blow his cover to intervene to try to stop an altercation or to try to stop someone from being nearly beat to death. he can just simply make the choice to try to intervene and not let civilians step in when

you're trained and you have the knowledge and experience to know how to intervene in volatile situations. >> now in terms of civil liability, does the family of this man who was run over and injured or say the driver, do they now have a case against the nypd because there were officers present who it would seem didn't act to intervene? >> they may have a case here. it depends on what these officers actually witnessed. if they literally stood by and watched this man being beat in the street by these bikers with their helmets and from all accounts from the witness accounts it's very violent beating, you're looking at some liability here. it could very well be the case. >> talk about the men who either have been identified and are in custody or being questioned or presumably, there are others who will be brought in an at some point because there were a lot of people involved in the incident. what are the charges they are most likely to face and what are the penalties associated with this level of crime? >> obviously aggravated assault because not only 0 did they beat the driver of the suv but

apparently used their helmets to beat him. so you're looking at escalating factors. by the use of a dangerous instrument, when you inflict harm or injury on someone and use a dangerous instrument like your helmet t to do that, you're looking at escalating factors. you're looking at a very serious violent felonies here which could account for years in prison for these bikers. again, the police and the investigators have to go forward and try to identify additional individuals who are involved before the beating took place on the street, i understand that the bikers slashed tires of the suv, broke windows and carried out all kinds of acts to inflict property damage on the suv before they the physical injury to the driver. >> does it matter that it was a group in the commission of this crime? does that defuse the responsibility of the people that are going to be charged or are they going to each be facing all of these charges? >> when the prosecutors look at this is ca, they have to prove charges against every individual that's charged. so it's not going to be, oh, you

were there so you'll be swept up into this investigation to the charges. they know they have to to problem the elements of a crime with regard to each individual being charged. that's how they're going to look at the case. >> attorney faith jenkins, thanks so much. this is a case we'll be covering for time to come. nearly 50 years after his death, the story of jfk like you've never seen before. new film "parkland" debuts this weekend in theatersfationwide and recounts the heart stopping moments in the immediate aftermath of president kennedy's assassination. >> it is just you. >> do something! >> doctor, it is ---ing. >> i know who it is. >> joining me now is the writer and director of "parkland" peter landesman. >> great to be here. >> this is a story that's been told many times and quat often told very well. how is your telling different from what we've seen before?

>> go ahead. >> that scene was actually real indicative. for so long, for 50 years really since this happened, we've seen the story of the jfk assassination played out solely through the murder mystery, the conspiracy information and conspiracy idea. this is so much more powerful and interesting and fascinating and kind of compulsive element to this. we completely ignored it all this time. the story of the doctors, zack ephron brilliantly plays this rookie 26-year-old resident who is a student, not even a real doctor who is alone with the president for ten minutes before anybody else comes in. that's all true. i goss fascinated by that side. who were those people? the nurses, the doctors, the brother of the killer, the fbi agency knew about oswald. >> that is a fascinating detail. i haven't seen the film yet. that alone sold me. roll call describes your movie saying "it's both a thriller that tells a familiar chapter of history in an incredibly original way and tragedy of immensely personal dimensions."

was that the kind of story you wanted to tell? >> perfectly. i wish i wrote that story myself. i might have. you know, i went through 9/11 in lower manhattan as a reporter for the "new york times" magazine and was quickly in afghanistan and pakistan, and so i saw, that was a big inspiration for me because i saw what was a large worldwide event solely through the ground level through the people happening. you know, what was happening to them on the street, the firemen, policemen, reporters, soldiers on the ground in afghanistan. it's how i tend to see big historical pictures is through the small lens which frankly, turns out to be the bigger more profound more personal and more inspiring and emotional way in. so it's a way for an audience to connect with t jfk assassination personally, not through history books, not through conspiracy ideas. it's really a very personal, wonderful emotional movie. >> there are some intense scenes in the film. gut wrempling at times points. there were automobile a lot of

gruesome details you had to contend with when you're making a movie like this. where did you draw the line between trying to portray reality and not being too long graphic in your portrayal. >> we wrestled with it till the very end. it's a gut decision. we wanted to be real. went waed to give the audience the experience of being, for instance in that trauma room or in the limousine when kennedy was hit. we needed the audience to be able to digest it and be there without looking away, without feeling upset or upset in a way. it's okay to be intense and okay to be confronted, but it's not okay to be overwhelmed by it. and you know, it's about calibration. this much, this much in this direction and finally okay, this is enough blood. this is how we can get there. i know over that line, it's not a thing you put your finger on but know when you're there. >> it deals with the footage of the assassination, abraham za puder. let's take a look.

>> the film in that camera is the only way we have to know what happened out here today. do you understand that? it's a matter of national security. >> i need to think. >> sir, i'm no longer asking. >> and the film also focuses on lee harvey oswald and his family. why did you want to convey those parts of the story. >> you know, again, these are things we think we know everything about. the zapruder film and oswald. the truth is in reality we know nothing. lee harvey oswald was a sad sociopath thick way ward narcissistic little kid. same psychological profile as the guy in aurora, colorado. these people all share a psychological profile that forces them nons small people to do horrific things. zapruder's story is ca that's right tick, fascinating. that film has become a piece of pop culture but there was a man who shot that film and what happened to him after, that film

was used in many ways as a weapon against him. >> peter landesman, thanks so much for your time this afternoon. a fascinating film. in today's office politics, alex talks to "morning joe" economic analyst steve rattner. he tells him about a curious encounter and his wife and former president george w. bush. first, alex asked steve what would happen if the government shutdown goes on. >> hurts the economy in any number of ways for businessmen, it creates enormous uncertainty. you can't plan, you don't hire. there's a fair amount of evidence when washington gets into one of these dysfunctional moments, business pulls back from making any kind of major decisions. that's obviously bad for the economy. secondly, you have 800,000 government workers now off the payroll. maybe they'll get paid later, maybe they won't. if you look at economists' estimates it will reduce our growth rate and cost jobs in this economy. so it's basically a way that washington is not only not helping but is actually hurting

our chances of getting out of this economic funk we've been in. >> who do you blame for this constant government by crisis mode? >> again, i think the system has changed. i know people like to blame the president because he didn't play golf enough with them, he didn't bend their arms, didn't have them in for drinks. sure, in a perfect world, i would have loved to see him do more of that. do i think if you dug up johnson today and put him in the qulous, do i think stuff would get done, not particularly. medicare was passed because democrats had an overwhelming majority in both houses. obama never had an overwhelming majority and he doesn't have the 60 votes in the senate. so you have gridlock, divided government. all the factors we talked about that have taken power away from our leaders which i actually think is a bad thing. leaders should have some power. >> you guys like to ski, huh. >> we did a lot of skiing. i skied a reasonable amount in my youth. my approach to my kids was there

were a bunch of sports i wanted them to learn how to do and in later life they could do it or not do it. >> does anyone in the family love art as much as you do? because as we look over here, that is an original picasso. >> that's a picasso work on paper. it's the low end of picasso has the little plaque. but it's interesting because i mostly starred collecting prints. and mostly contemporary and then kind of worked my way back and started doing works on paper like that. but in the print world, so i have prints and there are others around. what's fun to me when the kids were little i would take them down to the museum of modern art and they would say we have that picture. all these years of being here where we never talked much about it, i didn't think they absorbed it, they absorbed more than i thought. none of them are yet in the collecting world but perhaps they'll pick some of that up. >> next week's guess, kill berle dozier who covers intelligence and counter-terrorism for the associated press will tell us about her experience in the war

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heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact and goes to work in seconds. ♪ tum, tum tum tum tums! it's time for the big three and "today's topic"s, living in a bubble? tired of the blame game and best week, worst week. let's bring in my panel now, managing editor of the goldie taylor project and msnbc contributor goldie taylor. democratic strategist maurice reed and msnbc contributor susan del%io. >> thanks for having us. >> goldie, i want to start with you. talk about living in a bubble. at least 138 lawmakers say they plan to donate or refuse their pay during the shutdown. almost half of the 535 members of congress are millionaires. their net worth is $966,000, compare that to $66,740 for a typical american family and there are staffs in many case,

staff members don't make nearly as much as they do or nearly as much as the average family. so does this so-called sacrifice ring hollow? >> it really does. i think if anyone has not declined or even given their check to charity this week when certainly furloughed federal workers are suffering irreparable harm, even if they vote this had morning to repay them for this time off work, if any one of you has missed a paycheck, you know there are late fees, eviction notices to cure, there are late card notes, all of these financial damages these workers are suffering. they will never be able to recoup those costs. i really do think they are disconnected from how real people are living their daily lives. >> to that end, susan, "the new york times" editorial board highlights the economic gap between lawmakers and their constituents. is that part of the problem? because lawmakers are so far removed economically from the people they're representing, that they are living a little bit in a bubble? >> they live a little bit in a

bubble because they live in a world they're entitled to all the things that are washington, d.c. and that they are very important when they go back to their districts. the fact is, this is nothing more than a pr stunt. i'm sure a lot of those members are waiting till next thursday which is when the federal employees will get their paychecks so right now, while they're not working with a bay check, the paycheck doesn't come till next thursday. that's what everyone's looking towards. >> morris, i want to take a listen to debbie wasserman-schultz told msnbc earlier this week. >> are you going to continue to take your salary. >> yes, i'm going to continue to take my salary. >> and we should note a lot of republicans are also saying the same thing. so what about backlash from constituents angry that their represent tins are getting paid during a shutdown? do lawmakers have anything to be concerned about there? >> i think everyone that works in the government has something to do with the shutdown needs to be mindful of this and there's going to be a backlash whether you're a republican or a

democrat. it's the audacity that you would grandstand and use political stunts to have the impact they're having on american people's lives. there's children at stakes, grandparents at stake. it's not like we're living in the greatest economy in the world. so the fact that congress would play these type of fiscal games with other people's money, that's the key here. they're playing games with other people's money. they can do all their political stunts but do them and have impact on your own pocketbook, not the american people. and it doesn't impact washington, d.c. it has a ripple effect around the entire country. >> morris brings up a really good point i'd like to add to. it's what people will feel at home. if they're feeling the ripple effects of the shutdown, whether it's because they can't make their bills or grocery oz or can't get into the certain things or people are furloughed, that's what's going to affect it, not these grandstanding measures of taking a paycheck or not taking a paycheck. >> our next topic, tired of the

blame game. take a quick listen. >> we have other members in this orwellian week saying that the shutdown is all about respect, and we've got to get something out of this. we just don't know what it is. >> this week they said no to opening up our national memorials or our national parks like yellowstone or the grand canyon. >> our hard working public servants should not become collateral damage in the political games and ideological wars that republicans are waging >> this administration has chosen needlessly to furlough workers. >> that's all ound from the house floor just today. so goldie, does it really matter right now who's to blame or does the public just want them to figure this out? >>. >> well, i think there's really nothing to figure out. i don't think that you tie the health care law, you know, to whether or not you're going to run this federal government forward or not. i just don't think you tie the two together. it's nothing short of blackmail. at the end of the day, the president and this speaker of

the house really need to come together and make a decision right now that they're going to reopen this government, they're going to lift the debt ceiling and later, after they've done that, they're going to have meaningful conversations about debt and and this country. i think those are real conversations to be had about right sizing this government. but the very notion that you don't want 25 to 30 million people in this country to have access to health care coverage and so you're going to shut down the federal government, which is causing some irreparable damage to real families and to our nation's economy is poppyand has to stop. >> we had congressman ryan last week and he said redistricting essentially saying the republicans in the house are safe in their home districts because the lines have been redrawn. and in many cases they're concern if being challenged by someone who's even more conservative than them. is that factoring in here? >> well, yes, it absolutely is. but people in those districts,

those extreme right districts if you will, they're being applauded. their constituents are happy with the shutdown. they are okay with it. so they get to go home to their districts as heroes. it doesn't make them, in my opinion, a hero in what they're doing in washington. in fact, it's despicable that they've shut down the government over a piece of legislation that has passed and is in effect and went online on tuesday. so it's absurd that's the case. but i think that we're going to go towards something of throw those bums out, not just on the right, but you're also going to see it on the left where washington is just going to become an ugly place and people are going to say we want change. >> morris, we're going to pick things back up with you after the break. and coming up next, jay leno has some laughs at my expense. that's coming up next. humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement

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well, before we get back to our big three, i wanted to share a clip from "the tonight show" when obama care enrollment went online tuesday, i tried to sign up. and we taped it to show what the process would be like. we used that as a segment on

msnbc. turns out that wasn't the only place it was used as jay leno has fub with it. >> they keep saying it's easy to do. one msnbc reporter tried to sign up live for it on the air the other day. this is real. take a look. >> so i sent an activation link to my personal e-mail account. i'm going to proceed. i keep getting this error page. so i'm going to call the help number now. now i'm on hold. it's my second time calling. so it just started ringing again. but i haven't reached a person yet. >> so just for the record the jay leno folks manipulated that video. i did not freak out like that on the phone or the computer. but i would say that's my best and worst moment for the week. and i'd like to turn to my panel for your picks and worst, morris, i want to start with you. >> well, i think that the winner for the week is that the shutdown is our competition,

russia, china, iran, you know, as we show the dysfunctionalty of washington, d.c., you see their leadership moving forward with their agenda and the president is not even going to the summit in asia. the losers of the week are the taxpayers. if this is what our tax dollars are going to, this dysfunctionalty, we all deserve a refund and demand a refund. >> gold goldie. >> i was going to say senator harry reid may be my winner this week, but i think nobody may be my winner this week. >> good call. >> at the end of the day who's lost this week is all of us. these hundreds of thousands of federal workers who are now taxing the unemployment trust funds and their individual states and so this is really having a really harsh trickle-down effect that i don't think we're going to be able to overcome for quite some time. >> susan, quickly. >> best week goes to governor chris christie because he has nothing to do with washington. in fact, he used that as an example of what's wrong. and then the worst week goes to the gop. right now they are looking as the problem and not the solution.

>> all right. goldie, morris, susan, thank you all so much. that wraps things up for me. i . up next, we have the latest on the shutdown. have a good one. i'm on expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for, because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way.

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