tonight on "nightline," difficult questions. as his approval numbers slide, president obama makes a primetime pitch for his sweeping healthcare reform. but can he get it done? we're live with all the details. was it manslaughter? the inside story of today's dramatic raid targeting michael jackson's doctor. the same man who was with him the day he died. did this powerful drug kill the king of pop? and is this man to blame? plus, steamy read. breathless love making. whips, chains, you'll find it all in the blush-inducing novel

of anderson cooper's 85-year-old mom. it's a "nightline" interview with gloria vanderbilt. captions paid for by abc, inc. tonight on "nightline," difficult questions. as his approval numbers slide, president obama makes a primetime pitch for his sweeping healthcare reform. but can he get it done? we're live with all the details. was it manslaughter? the inside story of today'sdramt good evening. we begin tonight with president obama's plan to reform the nation's healthcare system. an issue that's as critical as it is complex to all americans. six months into his administration it's become the foremost priority of the president. but his current proposal lacks uniform support even among democrats and has been the target of criticism for many republicans. so the president took the microphone tonight to plead his case. and as he did so, he also took aim at another flash point of controversy. as our senior white house

correspondent jake tapper reports. >> president obama came to talk to the press and the american people about healthcare reform. but what was most interesting came at the very end of his press conference and a question not about healthcare, but about his friend, harvard professor henry louis gates, jr. last thursday, cambridge police were called to gates' home by someone who said she saw two african american men breaking in. that was the professor and his driver trying to force through a broken door. >> there was a report called in to the police station that there might be a burglary taking place. so far, so good. right? i mean if i was trying to jigger -- i guess this is my house now. probably wouldn't happen, but let's say my old house in chicago. here i'd get shot. >> gates initially refused to show his i.d. according to the police report and then

"exhibited loud and tumultuous behavior and made accusations of racial bias". he was arrested for disorderly conduct. >> the cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. >> the charges were later dropped. >> i don't know not having been there and not seeing all the facts what role race played in that. but there is a long history of african-americans and latinos in this country being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. that doesn't lessen the incredible progress that has been made. i am standing here as testimony to the progress that's been made. >> but the progress on the healthcare reform bill in congress was the larger focus of the night. the president came armed with some new lines about what his opponents in his view are offering. >> if somebody told you that there is a plan out there that is guaranteed to double your

healthcare costs over the next ten years, that's guaranteed to result in more americans losing their healthcare and this is by far -- and that is by far the biggest contributor to our federal deficit i think most people would be opposed to that. that's the status quo. that's what we have right now. >> it seems clear that the senate and maybe not even the house will pass healthcare reform by the president's deadline of august recess. >> you have been pushing congress to pass healthcare reform by august. why the rush? >> if you don't set deadlines in this town, things don't happen. the default position is inertia. >> he even seemed to suggest that with his earnest poking and prodding for congress to act, he will not go along with what congress puts before them. >> i won't sign a bill that adds to our deficit. i won't sign a bill that

families and government aren't saving money. i'm not going to sign a bill that i don't think will work. >> the american people the president suggested will not have to give anything up. nothing in terms of choice or tests. referrals and of -- and end of life care. >> do you except the premise that the american people have to give anything up in order for this to happen? >> they're going to have to give up paying for things that don't make them healthier. and i -- speaking as an american, i think that's the kind of change you want. if there's a blue pill, and a red pill, and the blue pill is half the price of the red pill and works just as well, why not pay half price for the thing that's going to make you well? >> up with -- one reporter asked

as a gesture of good faith if the president would take the plan that they're pushing. >> i would be happy to abide by the same benefit package, but i'm honest with you, i'm the president of the united states, and i have a doctor following me every minute. >> but this is about his presidency. this is jake tapper for "nightline" at the white house. >> our thanks to jake tapper and we're joined now by our chief washington correspondent george stephanopoulos. george, the president talked about 47 million americans without healthcare. and then described a new marketplace, a different plans that would include a public option. but isn't the reality that a public system is likely to provide in theory a coverage when compared to a private one? >> it may not provide the same kind of coverage that the most expensive gold-plated private healthcare plans provide, but advocates say that the congressional plan, medicare provide quality care at a lower cost than many private plans.

i think the big question will be how much of a government subs did this gets and the public option f it receives too much of a subsidy the private insurers won't be able to compete. >> and thereby the notion of the competitive marketplace that the president envisages. >> that's why they have fought this tooth and nail in the congress so far. the president did not emphasis this public health insurance option tonight. >> the president said, we'll pass reform and we'll do it this year. but i'm assuming it won't happen before the august recess. >> it won't, especially not in the senate. dick durbin said it's not possible to get it through the senate. even though the speaker of the house nancy pelosi has said she wants to get it done before august it's much less likely it will happen. >> he also said he won't sign a bill if it increases the deficit or doesn't decrease costs in the

long term. that sounds impossible. >> not impossible, but difficult. you saw the president come back to it again and again tonight. those are the two red lines he's drawn for this bill. but right now the bill is in play according to the congressional budget office, are not completely deficit neutral over ten years and a lot of members of congress and senators are concerned it doesn't do enough yet to control costs. they're working on some new ideas that's one of the reasons this whole process is slowed down. >> as ever, our thanks to george stephanopoulos. and tomorrow, my co-anchor, terry moran, spends the day with president obama and will be behind the scenes as he takes his healthcare pitch to ohio. terry will anchor tomorrow night's broadcast live from cleveland. that's tomorrow. but when we come back, the michael jackson death investigation intensifies. what federal agents were looking for in today's raid and the doctor at the center of the probe. man: trish was relaxing on her friday commute

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it's almost a month since he died, but earlier today, the michael jackson investigation took perhaps its most dramatic turn. a team of law enforcement agents raided a houston medical office belonging to the doctor whose cpr failed to save the king of pop. while the complete toxicology report is not expected until next week, the raid suggests that criminal charges may yet be on the way. as lisa fletcher now reports. >> this morning, dozens of federal drug agents, los angeles police detectives and houston officers descended on the medical office of dr. conrad murray. serving a search warrant on the man who was michael jackson's personal physician and with him at the time of his death. law enforcement sources tell abc news that the search warrant was based on preliminary results of the autopsy. that indicate jackson's death was tied to the drug propofol, a

power anesthetic normally used in hospital emergency rooms. >> in order to obtain that search warrant they needed to show there's probable cause that a crime has been committed and that they believe dr. murray is the one who committed the crime. >> murray's lawyer ed chernoff released a statement following the raid saying that it authorized law enforcement to search for and seize items including documents they believed constituted evidence of the offense of manslaughter. law enforcement concluded their search around 12:30 p.m. and left with a forensic image of a business computer hard drive and 21 documents. in a separate statement, chernoff went on to say that based on dr. murray's minute by minute and item by item description of michael jackson's last days he should not be a target of criminal charges. >> i would think at this point he's a suspect, but nothing is

confirmed for certain. but normally when your office or home is searched that's not a good sign. >> doctors who have spoken with abc news agree who whoever was giving jackson propofol has some explaining to do. >> it was designed as an anesthetic. >> the full toxicology report from jackson's autopsy isn't expected on the ready until next week, but because of the ongoing investigation, may not be made entirely public. >> if it shows that propofol was administered to michael jackson, that's a very dangerous drug that really should only be administered in the hospital environment. there and's why this has become a criminal investigation. >> any physician administering propofol in the home should be subject to sanctions. >> should he lose his license? >> most likely, yes. >> records were subpoenaed from the office of cheryl lynn lee, the nutritionist who treated jackson and said that jackson

requested a power anesthetic to help him sleep. >> he went to sleep quick. he was so reassured that it would be okay because of the fact that he wanted his physician to come in to monitor him. >> michael jackson's addiction to pain ki8 -- killers can be traced back to this commercial for pepsi. jackson received serious burns on his scalp and face. but in candid interview given to french television even jackson's brother jermaine continues to deny any knowledge of michael's drug abuse. >> i never seen my brother have any different abnormal behavior, any substance that would cause that. i have never seen it, so i would say no. >> almost a month since his death, some are frustrated with the slow pace of the investigation. but retired lapd detective bob jacks, he said the case is unfolding at the perfect pace.

>> there's no time line in this type of investigation to go out of st

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it may not be the type of what you'd expect from an octogenarian, but most women in their 80's can't claim marlon

brando and frank sinatra as their lovers, but still, gloria vanderbilt's "obsession" is causing a stir. sharyn alfonsi now with gloria vanderbilt in the "nightline" interview. >> introducing jeans that were built for your figure. vanderbilt for your figure. >> she is perhaps best known for the iconic jeans bearing her name. >> with one of my terrific blouses, a terrific look. >> gloria vanderbilt, railroad heiress, artist, actress and socialite and today at 85 years old, vanderbilt is still adding to her resume, publishing an erotic novel called "obsession". did you set out to make it an erotic novel? >> no. it just kind of fell on the page that way. >> the novel on stands now is to put it mildly racy. >> cavalierly ordering me to apply my milk of honey lotion to

her body. >> i rest my arms on the seat cushion as -- >> you get the idea. >> i think that's awesome. >> tell me why. >> why? because i hope i'm going to be like her when i'm 85. >> i think at 85 if she wants to write that, god bless her. >> but in a recent book signing on manhattan's upper eastside, the book left readers gasping. >> it is very erotic. this book. >> i have discovered the first pages, but i don't expect anything else from madam gloria. >> each will interpret it in a different way. as for myself, i'm still looking into it. >> vanderbilt also seems to take delight in the book's blush-inducing passages. she let her -- she lent her voice to the audio recording. >> when he returned home after a trip, greeted me at the door,

and always demanded to make love instantly. >> other scenes involved whips and chains, even spanking with a hair brush. >> that's a $150 hair brush. could you believe the author was an 85-year-old woman? >> well, this particular 85-year-old woman perhaps. >> after all, she has no shortage of material to draw from. gloria vanderbilt is the only child of railroad titan reginald vanderbilt. she became the heir to his fortune when he died from alcohol poisoning. gloria was just 18 months old. her father's death set off one of the most scandalous custody trials of the time, depicted in "little gloria, happy at last". >> do you remember being told that your child i will not go, i am afraid of my mother? >> you don't remember what you tried to do. >> her mother was accused of having a female lover and deemed

an unfit parent. so young gloria was raised by her icy aunt gertrude. at 17, gloria went to hollywood and married power agent pat decicco. divorcing four years later and marrying conductor leopold stokowski, man nearly 40 years her senior. >> he told me he'd never give me a divorce ever. i felt paralyzed and sinatra came along and wild horses couldn't have stop med. off i went. >> later she dated errol flynn and marlon brando. >> marlon brando was the man of the moment and a great actor and so mysterious and really so boring. you know? but he was -- >> boring? >> yeah. you know, he really -- he projected such inner turmoil or sensitivity and i don't really think he was that sensitive. >> in fact, she says brando kept

a framed picture of himself next to the bed. she would marry a third time to director sidney lumet and a fourth time to author wyatt cooper, the man she calls her soul mate. >> we would be married today were he still alive. >> the couped -- the coupleal had two sons, anderson and carter. but then in 19 88 carter committed suicide, and jumped out of the apartment's window as she desperately tried to stop him. >> carter had he lived would have been president today. he had that fitzgerald thing, a romantic readiness. and whether he would have been tough enough for politics or not, i don't know. >> welcome back, we're live -- >> anderson would go on to become a popular cnn news anchor. and ever the proud mother, her art studio is filled with tapes of his broadcasts. begging the question -- what does he think of his mother's latest racy novel?

does he ever say mom, enough? >> no, no, he's always very, very supportive. >> but her friends weren't quite so sure of the latest endeavor. >> i did have two friends who are very waspy who -- even mores with a -- even more waspy than i am and they said, this book is going to ruin your reputation. so i restrained myself from saying oh, goody. >> that is gloria vanderbilt in a nutshell. approaching 90 fearlessly n a style that is still uniquely her own. for "nightline," sharyn alfonsi in new york. >> i'm trying not to blush. our thanks to sharyn. when we come back, tonight's "closing argument."