you knew fred rogers some. >> i did. i had met him several times as a child. sometimes my dad would bring me to work had. >> suarez: what was your impression? >> he was everything he was on the show. it wasn't an act. it wasn't just for the cameras. the times that i met him were sort of similar to the times that are in this photograph with this boy. every time that mr. rogers would talk to a child or talk to me he would get down so that he was looking at you in the eyes so you were kind of an equal plane. that made a child feel really special. >> suarez: did you realize he wasn't like other adults, that he talked to you in a different way? >> i think he did. you know, there's just something so special about meeting him and knowing him. i know that my siblings felt the same way too in all the times that we got to interact with him as kids. >> suarez: laura juddkiss of the "washington post" thanks for joining us. >> thank you. ifill: yo >> ifill: you can look more closely at that great photo on our web site, where there's also a link to "pbs parents," where you

. >> reporter: fred rogers, mr. progger to most of us, used to say when he was a little boy and he saw something scary his mother would tell him, "look for the helpers. you will always find people helping," she said. and certainly, that was the case here in newtown. jim. >> axelrod: michelle miller, thank you. will the massacre move congress to consider tougher gun laws? [ female announcer ] born from the naturally sweet monk fruit, something this delicious could only come from nature. now from the maker of splenda sweeteners, discover nectresse. the only 100% natural, no-calorie sweetener made from the goodness of fruit. the rich, sweet taste of sugar. nothing artificial. ♪ it's all that sweet ever needs to be. new nectresse. sweetness naturally. you spend all day cooking it. so why spend even a moment considering any broth but swanson? the broth cooks trust most to make the meal folks spend all year waiting for. in stuffing and more, the secret is swanson. [ sniffs ] i took dayquil but my nose is still runny. [ ma

and let's see, fred rogers. fred flintstone, fred krueger.there's more i can't think of right now. so, the next time sometime tells you to unfred, maybe you should stop and think about where we'd be without fred. and then tell jimmy kimmel to stuff it. this has been a special message from the american fred cross. fred! [ cheers and applause ] what do you have to say for yourself now? >> jimmy: it's unfriend. >> what? >> jimmy: it's unfriend, like national unfriend day, it's -- >> unfriend? >> jimmy: yeah, like on facebook. >> oh. >> jimmy: to get back to unfriend people that they aren't -- >> i feel a bit foolish. >> jimmy: this is the third year we've done this. >> it sounds like a very good idea. >> jimmy: thank you, yeah. nothing to do with fred at all. >> oh, that's a relief. thanks, jimmy. >> jimmy: well, thank you. >> do you mind if i hang out in the green room? they have great meat balls back there. >> jimmy: enjoy. stay as long as you like. >> i didn't want to do this. i feel much better about this. >> jimmy: un -- ah -- i had no idea

appropriate to acknowledge the feelings of children a lot of what i know i learned from the master, fred rogersr meeting kids where they are and that's something that we can all do. and don't forget those hugs. >> how has the tragedy affect you had personally? >> it's difficult. i'm having a hard time with it. i really am. i'm having a hard time. and i think being able to express myself on it helps an awful lot. we -- we are all experiencing this together and we are in unchartered territory here, so in this moment, i'm -- i feel like i'm helping and so i am a -- i feel like i'm, you know, i'm fine. i'm functional, but i know at the same time, i'm altered. i'm different today than i was yesterday. >> not just you, i think all of us feel exactly the same way. i think you're speaking for a lot of people and i suspect that when we hear from the president tonight at this interfaith vigil right here in connecticut, he will be making some of those same points. levar burton, thanks very much for what you're doing. thanks very much for joining us. >> thanks, wolf. >> the president wrote his speech virtu

. ♪ jean kelley fred astaire, ginger rogers they had style, they had grace -- >> announcer: stephanie who can remember. twenty-three minutes after the hour. steph and the mooks, this whole phony debt ceiling nonsense is an argument about whether he should pay our bill. we must cut spending. i'm not going to pay citibank this month. in addition to being stupid and unethical, i wonder how that would work out. [ applause ] >> stephanie: we would end up in the pokey. chris. >> the pokey? >> the big house. >> stephanie: hi marvin. >> caller: good morning, when you were reminiscent about the great george w. bush he was concerned about the surplus and he said let's lower the revenue. so this flips the argument on its head and i know that george w. bush is toxic to the republicans now, but even that goof ball saw it. >> stephanie: yeah. right. and once of our worst economic presidents ever as jim always said, these were meant to sunset. even when he did them they weren't meant to go forever. >> obama: if congress in any way suggests that they are going to tie negotiations to debt ceiling defa

they need to in her reference it's better to have them as fred as tear and ginger rogers dancing and discussing issues back and forth as opposed to what we have with thelma and louise over the cliff. we need to focus on the most important issue here. it's not just raising the taxes on middle class or anyone. the real issue here is cutting spending. we cannot just focus on the tax rates. we have to look at the out of control spending we have in washington and not just right now for the immediate problem, the fiscal cliff, but when we have the debt ceiling issue coming up the spending is going to be the issue that needs to ab dressed. >> i'm sorry. we have to leave it there. i apologize. a busy day. busy new year's eve. surprising or maybe not for many. we've been watching what is happening in washington, d.c. my thanks to all of you. hillary clinton hospitalized for a blood clot. but there is also good news for the secretary of state and it could mean something for 2016. but before we get to 2016, we need to finish this year, right? lots of people already gathering at times square to