so did chuck. chuck norris approved. well, that little ad got a lot of play during the campaign. and by the way, i want you to know chuck norris does not necessarily approve of president obama's health care plan. he and his wife gina join us from the ranch in lonestar state of texas to tell us why. chuck and gina, i'm so glad to see you guys. welcome to the show today. >> hi, mike, it's great to see you, happy anniversary. >> yeah, we wish we were there to get a chance to meet your audience, maybe next time. >> they're fantastic. >> mike: they are fantastic as are you, and we're looking forward, i think you guys may be with us in new york in the coming days near, nearby and i hope that's coming up. i want to get right to a very important question, chuck, you've written several articles in world net daily in your column on the particular internet site that-- talked about some concerns and anxieties that you have with the proposal that's floating about in washington called health care reform. tell me what is the thing that troubles you the most that americans need to know about wha

>> we are back with chuck and gina noris. coming from texas. >> you told us that there were issues with the whole thing of government control. i want to talk about if we put chuck noris in charge. what would health care reform look like and clementelements to be doing? >> first thing i would want to do if i was in charge, mike, i would use the rest of the stimulus money to shore up small business in america. remember the millions of people who are unemployed are laid off by small business and let's use the money to shore up the small businesses in our country and make them successful and i would bring all unemployment back in the workplace. i think that is the thing we need to do immediately. >> uh-huh. >> you know, something you have been part in your whole life, you are a fit guy. personal responsibility, taking charge of one's own health. that has to be a part of the reform. i know the government can't make us healthy and force us to eat right and exercise. but at some point we have to address the fact that there is a heal

jonathan, you agree with chuck on that? >> i was going to say chuck's points are very, very shrewd. i think politically what the trigger does, it provides cover for liberal democrats who have gone out on a limb and said, look, there's no way we can support a bill with no public option. if they contain the trigger option, those democrats, those progressives, can make the argument i'm still voting for a bill that has public option language in there. at the same time you bring home the moderate democrats in the senate from red states who are wary of a public option. >> chuck, before we go, this is a rather sensitive issue. i wonder if there's any sense within the white house that you hear, that you pick up, that they think race might be a part of this argument against everything that the president does? >> reporter: in the- -- even on background they will never touch that. >> right. >> reporter: they don't want to go near it. they don't want to be accused of crying race. remember, it would come up in the campaign and you would have back and forth sort of accusing them. oh, look, by say

>> it's interesting, chuck.ctually recommended that some reporters go back and look at the early campaign speeches of george w. bush and barack obama and all their language about changing the tone in washington and trying to work for bipartisanship was very similar. now, we know that that broke down under both presidents and i argue that a part of that, at least, was the fact that we had a recount and many democrats never saw george w. bush as a legitimate president, and that just poisoned the well from the very beginning. but i think the fact that president obama, who campaigned on a similar message of change and restoring some to politics in washington and we could see the difficulties that he's having suggest that it is a washington problem. and, you know, we can ascribe a lot of things to it. jerry mandarin of districts, hyper media coverage, but i go back to my point. the only way we're going to change the behavior of the elected officials is if we send them the message that they're going to get sent home a

gentlemen, let's start with you, chuck, as you know better than most, chuck. i've been around a long time. i've got to tell you, this furor over the president's school speech to students, the continuing jam over which democrats are with him on health care, which aren't, and the continuing prognostications about all the different polls out there as the obama presidency at an end? what is going on here? >> reporter: well, i think, you know, i talked to one outside democratic adviser to this white house and it was put to me this way, that, look, they are aware in many ways this fall, and how -- and frankly, it starts tomorrow -- that the white house and the president, himself, is taking a character and leadership test. that this is a moment in time for him to show he can take control of a debate, he can take control of his party. he can figure out a way to cut through some of the problems of sausage making inside of his own party and maybe not about figuring out how to stop polarization among the two political parties. i don't think any one person can end that, b

i'm chuck bass!> jimmy: all right, one more. one more for you, ready? >> all right. >> jimmy: we'll both do this one. ooh, bad dog. bad dog is a purebred schnauzer pees on your priceless velvet loafers. [ laughter ] you first. >> i'm chuck bass! [ laughter ] and then the animal rights people call me. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: there we go. and then i'll do mine. ready? i'm charles bass. [ light laughter ] [ laughter and applause ] don't give him -- you don't give him -- >> don't give him the angle. >> jimmy: you don't give him the angle. the season premier of "gossip girl" airs monday, september 14th. this monday at at 9:00 on cw. check out ed's guest spot on "californication" on showtime this season, too. ed westwick, everybody! queen latifah performs next. so come on back! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ [ female announcer ] give your eyes the attention they deserve with covergirl exact eyelights. mascara with light reflecting metallics and a hint of tint that brightens eye color while defining lashes. turn

i'm chuck bass!one more. one more for you, ready? >> all right. >> jimmy: we'll both do this one. ooh, bad dog. bad dog is a purebred schnauzer pees on your priceless velvet loafers. [ laughter ] you first. >> i'm chuck bass [ laughter ] and then the animal rights people call me. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: there we go. and then i'll do mine. ready? i'm charles bass. [ light laughter ] [ laughter and applause ] don't give him -- you don't give him -- don't give him the angle. >> jimmy: you don't give him the angle. the season premier of "gossip girl" airs monday, september 14th. this monday at at 9:00 on cw. check out ed's guest spot on "californication" on showtime this season, too. ed westwick, everybody! queen latifah performs next. so come on back! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: thank you very much, everybody! here once again, backed by the roots, to perform her new single, "cue the rain" from her album "persona," please welcome, queen latifah! [ cheers and applause ] >>

but chuck is a smart guy.eeds a little training. >> try and get in touch with your feminine side a little bit more. >> great idea. probably not what he meant. but, hey, that works. >> angelina jolie is in somalia. i think she's taking the blend into your surroundings a little too far. >> you put that on the website. >> she is so skinny. all you see is just her collarbones. it's not good when the refugees have more weight than you do. >> when they hand you food. >> coming up -- >> hugh jackman in new york. ever since you started doing the play with daniel craig, we wanted to know who would win in a fighting, wolverine or james bond. >> plus -- >> venus and serena williams are owners in the dolphins. >> by the way, they lost. for owners of the team, they're all smiles. >> coming up -- >> halle berry went to boa for dinner. she got some sparkly dessert. >> i was there and i didn't see her. >> i was there and i didn't see her. >> you didn't see the giant >> what a beautiful baby! >> we have hugh jackman in new yor

thank you so much, chuck. up next, lindsay laces them up to talk hockey with the coach of the capitals. it is a fire they don'mind fighting. why this mini bonfire is a good sign for workers in one city. >>> some philadelphians are fighting being fired with fire. they set stacks of layoff notices on fire yesterday. the best part of the whole thing, none of the notices got to their intended targets. they were supposed to go to the fire fighters and other city employees but a last-minute bill raised the sales tax one cent and created enough money to save the jobs. >>> a bitter end to last season for the washington capitals fans. what's the team's head man doing to enjoy sweet success this season? bruce boudreau sat down with lindsay czarniak to discuss the upcoming season as well as culinary peculiar area in this week's edition of "lunch with lindsay." >> scary because everybody knows i'm sort of a burger kind of guy. i haven't seen this place. it is going to be interest. >> is that like your go-to burger? >> wel

chuck todd's snowe meter. tell us what to look for in olympia snowe's reactions tonight. >> reporter: we talk about the public option. olympia snowe is the first one -- she takes credit for the idea of the trigger. to explain the trigger, that's this idea where basically they would pass a health care reform bill and they would be open to the threat, basically, government would be telling the private insurance companies we are leaving the option open we will institute a government-run insurance program if you do not meet these specific goals, if you do not meet this number of -- you know, you don't do what these reforms are supposed to make you do then we'll start this public option. she's the one that came up with this idea. she talked about it earlier on our air here on msnbc that this is the way that she sees as a potential to bridge the divide. you have ben nelson, a conservative democratic senator from nebraska who has expressed openness to the trigger if, in his words, it's a real trigger. so, you know, t

meteorologist chuck bell is in storm center 4 with the forecast. hi, chuck.ybody. welcome to your weekend. we had a little sliver or two of sunshine early this morning. now the clouds are continuing to thicken across the area. look live across downtown washington with the u.s. capitol dome in the distance there. couple of lonely showers in western loudoun county. also, the very tip of the west virginia panhandle now. few sprinkle from charlestown, und hill, north sides of sane. you folks for leesburg and hb

good evening, i'm chuck todd in washington filling in for chris matthews who will be back on monday. image problem, the outburst by joe wilson has us asking, are we at the point to say the intense opposition is about more than health care reform, stimulus plans, is it also about ideology, regional differences and race? the support he's received in the south carolina district. is it threatened to harden the republican party reputation now? we'll talk to two members of congress. plus, september 11 is the reason we waged war in afghanistan. what is our mission there today. richard engel has been in the region recently and will give their take on the present state of afghanistan. it's the latest dwolment in an important week for president obama which included health care and his back to school speech. press secretary robert gibbs will do a briefing here. plus, with an interview sunday, we'll ask, are we seeing too much of president obama? it's all in the politics fix. it wouldn't be a political scandal without david letterman. that e's in the "hardball" side show. we begin with press hou

we are going to take a look at the forecast with chuck bell. good morning, chuck. >> good saturday morning to you. happy weekend, everybody. cloudy skies have been plaguing us all week long. we are still going to have more clouds than sunshine today. still weather is getting ready to improve in big way. area of low pressure clouding our skies all week is still bringing rain to portions of central pennsylvania and some of those showers may wrap back down into our area for today. by and large, most of us will enjoy a mostly dry saturday. 64 here in washington this morning. 58 in springfield. 63 in frederick, maryland. 61 degrees in martinsburg, west virginia. low 60s alongside the bay. a more cloudy than sunny day today. a chance of a light passing rain showers but by and large if you are planning doing something outside the further north you go the better rain chances will be. further south you go, fredericksburg and charlottesville, better chances for a dryatto sy day.da da toy.day d, orange expect expect in tgak dhe wn taking weekend. truck ma

chuck? >> good morning. optimistic our weather is just on the cusp of big improvements. forecast coming up. >>> we had have those stories plus much, much more when "news4 today" begins in less than two minutes. >>> confusion and panic after reports of gunfire on the potomac river. what really happened that caught nearly everyone off guard. president obama continues his push for health care reform. where he will be today and what he will be doing. in nshe, what will it sh like for your weekend forest ? all the details straight ahead. >>> good morning. welcome to the 9:00 edition of ". >> narrator: "news4 today. ." i'm eun yang. >> after a very cloudy and cool week across the area, our weather is just about ready to start the improving trend we have all waited for. radar shows a couple of light rain showers now across portion of pennsylvania and maybe a few sprinkles into northern virginia. by and large everybody sunday a cloudy sky with dry conditions this morning. 65 downtown. 63 degrees right now in prince

or the rattle chuck or the united states of chuck? final score? chuck norris, 1. tyranny, 0. >> so weird. thank you. i have a weird update for out a story we've been covering the last couple days. mahmoud ahmadinejad, president of iran, here for the u.n. iranian protestors turning everything green. a mile-long banner down brooklyn bridge today, a protest. then there was this coincidence that they had asked for the empire state building to be turned green as part of the protest. the empire state building said no but happily it would be green anyway for the 70th anniversary of the wizard of oz. but it's not. that's a alive shot of it that we have. can we put that up there? it is red. >> not green. >> they say it is still for the wizard of oz but now it's red, not green. >> what about the wizard of oz people? ruby slippers? we're looking into it. thank you. "hardball" with chris matthews is up next. >>> the democrats have 60. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm mike barnicle, in today for chris matthews. leading off tonight, filibuster proof. the democrats got t

let's start with chuck todd. what is the mood within the white house over the latest development with regard to iran? they have iraq to worry about. they have afghanistan choices have been made coming up very shortly. and now this revelation. >> well, it is a little frenetic. there is no doubt this is the issue that has dominated the week and we in the press corps didn't feigned out about it until 4:00 this morning when this thing went public in the new york times. so we're now learning what the weak was really like for this white house. behind the scenes with the russians, behind the scenes with the chinese. it was all about letting them know what was going on with iran in this nuclear facility. they briefed the russians, they briefed the chinese, all in an attempt to get everybody on the same page because they knew this thing, the iranians had found out that we had known their secret. and so became a race to sort of get each side, to get this side of the story out, to get their case together in front of the int

happy to help. >> the chuck todd psa. they're doing briefings within all of nbc universal with chuck todd teaching everyone to sneeze. thanks as always. you're great. >> thanks. >>> now the bigger picture, michelle obama's role as first lady. her speech on health care was the most high profile push for her husband's legislative priorities. in a couple weeks from now, she will also be playing a big role in chicago's bid for the 2016 summer olympics. she'll be traveling to copen has gone enfor the olympic committee instead of president obama. carl anthony is an historian with the national first lady's library. he joins us on the phone. just on that note regarding her speech for the summer olympics, i believe it was valerie jarrett saying her speech, there won't be a dry eye in the house. it sounds like she has something very special planned here. >> well, i think chicago means a lot to her. it is really, really, not only the roots of her parents and grandparents living there, and she of course returns to it after graduating

his friend chuck grassley knows that. they worked together to provide health care to children with disabilities. on issues like these ted kennedy's passion was borne not of some rigid ideology but of his own experience. it was the experience of having two children stricken with cancer. he never forgot the sheer terror and helplessness that any parent feels when a child is badly sick. and he was able to imagine what it must be like for those without insurance, what it would be lk to have to say to a wife or a child or an aging parent, there is something that could make you better but i just can't afford it. that large heartedness, that concern and regard for the plight of others is not a partisan feeling.

chuck, good evening. >> reporte good evening. last night was the easy part for the president and his attempt to regain control of the health care debate. today, began the hard part, turning words into action. the president delivered a stripped down version of his pitch for health care to a gathering of nurses, arguing his plan would improveealth care for those with health insurance and cut costs for everyone who doesn't. >> as folks go about their every day lives, one thing they won't have to worry about as much is health care. >> reporter: as the president acknowledged to knowing laughter -- >> there remains significant details to be ironed out. i believe -- >> reporter: the biggest detail how to construct a government n program, the so-call ed public option that appeased the democrats but doesn't chase them off. >> it would be one option among any. no one is forced to choose i >> reporter: the televised speech has an effect. they indicated flexibility on the issue, a first for both. >> i don't think you go into a negotiation an

let's bring in nbc news white house correspondent chuck todd who joins us now. chuck, it was interesting to hear him, this really was sort of an intersection. we heard will the job creation and stimulus and then the shift into health care and what i found interesting in recent days is that we've seen the administration in washington in general so focused on health care reform and, yet, a poll out the other day that talked about americans saying their number one concern right now is the economy, namely, unemployment. >> that's right. in fact, our own poll when you ask when -- what will be the number one way that you'll be able to know the economy is turning around and it's when there are more jobs available, when a person can feel like they can either change jobs or find a job. but i tell you if you're rahm emanuel, the white house chief of staff, you want evens like this every day when you're in the middle of the health care debetter and you can sit there and talk about jobs and stimulus money and science research and talk about health care. it was striking to h

senator chuck grassley and made public just yesterday, chuck. he has written it a while ago and she is supposed to be part of the group from both sides of the aisle bringing this. the letter in part set the record straight on my firm and on waivering opposition to government-run health care. is the government ready to give up on bipartisanship? >> one of the other three republicans in this, you know, they want to be kicked out of the bipartisan talks. not good politics for them in their home state. at the same time, the white house doesn't want to kick them out because they want to say, no, no, no, they want the republicans to quit the bipartisan talk. a little bit of a game of chicken. neither side wants to take the blame for ending the so-called bipartisan negotiations. i don't think you'll see them ever officially end, you'll see at some point the finance committee will come out with a bill and grassley andensely. he is in a box, he's up for re-election in 2010. he has admitted it. where he was in his head august 3rd versus where he was exper

>> thank you jamie rubin and chuck todd. coming up, the democrats could be up for a rough 2010 campaign season. the fund-raising is dropping while the republicans are raking in the bucks. can the. we're a talking to strategists we're a talking to strategists on both sides of the fence. even tone, brighten, smooth, hydrate, and lock-in moisture, all in one clever little package of total effects. okay. right. these healthy choice fresh mixer thingys, they taste fresh... say it again! say it like, "mmmm, these healthy choice fresh mixers taste freshh!!" they taste fresh... wait. what are you doing? got it. you're secretly taping me? you know, it wasn't a secret to us, we knew. yes, but it was a secret to me. of course, otherwise i would be sitting like this and completely block his shot. so that's why i was like... didn't you notice this was weird? no. made fresh from your desk, cook it fresh, strain it fresh, mix it fresh. healthy choice fresh mixers, look for it in the soup or pasta aisle. why is dick butkus here? i hired him

hey, chuck. >> reporter: ann, the president was asked repeatedly today, okay, what's next? you revealed the evidence you believe iran is trying to make a nuclear weapon program. what next? he pointed to october 1 and the talks andrea mitchell pointed out. also, seemed to duck the idea of exactly how long they would give the iranians. talking to officials behind the scenes, they believe that iran has to immediately allow for the international atomic agency to inspect. two, this may be about trying to get china on board. one of the things that makes this administration hopeful is this time they mean it when it comes to sanctions on iran is russia is on board. everything about next week may be making the final case to china to get them to finally come aboard. the fact they didn't get a statement has some officials concerned. >> we learned five more americans died in afghanistan. does the president have anything to say about whether he would send more troops to afghanistan. >> reporter: he was asked directly about this question. we know there's a request for possibly as many as

when he's calling chuck grassley out for death panel talk?not have a government program that determines you're going to pull the plug on grandma. we should not have a government plan that determines you're going to pull the plug on grandma. we should not have a government program that determines you're going to pull the plug on grandma. >> all right. for more i want to be joined by our panel tonight. laura flynn, author of "blue grit" and host of bluegrit tv.com. michael, also with us, talk show host. michael, how can mr. grassley say something like that in iowa and come inside the beltway and say that to capitol hill reporters and put it on the president? i need definition. i need clarification here from a conservative here, michael. take me down this road tonight. >> please don't ask me to explain the mind of chuck grassley. i think he's a good guy. however, remember, this is the same guy who said about the wall street executives they should follow the example of the japanese and kill themselves when it was exposed that they were taking the

chuck, you wish you were there?philadelphia, pennsylvania. looking good, philly. >> city of brotherly love. we're going down there, going to talk to the national association of broadcasters. >> that will be fun. >> now we're home to new york city. live pictures from the top of our building at "30 rock" a feller plaza. >> it's the top of the hour. we have rick stengel with us, he's going to be unveiling the new cover of "time" magazine in a few moments. >> and also chuck todd here as well as of course the great willie geist. lots to talk about. let's start out with a quick look at the top stories before finding out what's on the cover of "time." >> time for a look at some top stories. this morning president obama will chair a meeting of the security council. the u.s. embassy in london is playing down reports that say the white house turned down repeated requests from the british government for a bilateral meeting between president obama and prime minister brown. the british media is framing it as a snub following sco

let's get the latest with meteorologist chuck bell in storm center 4. what's going on, chuck? >> i can tell you one thing. we will start dry and then turn wet around here by late this afternoon and this evening and overnight tonight, it is going to come down by the bucketload. if you have something you need to know outside this weekend, giddy on up and get going outside. the way -- wet weather is not that far away. beautiful sunrise, though, first thing this morning. radar around town is still dry. there are already a few sprinkles towards harrisonburg and charlottesville. if you are traveling down towards the virginia tech for the game today, expect cloudy skies and rain in southwest virginia and that rain is coming towards our area as well. temperatures on your way out the door. upper 50s to 60 degrees first thing this morning. clouds will be on the increase. they will lowe and thicken during the course of the day. any time after about 3:00, 4:00 this afternoon, rain becomes more and more likely. a 100% chance that it will rain tonight. >> all right. we heard it from you. th

chuck? >> the old saying that by the time anybody inside the beltway has heard the same message in million times, only then is it beginning to penetrate all outside the beltway. and the people who don't follow the debate day-to-day, hour to hour, suddenly are perking up and listening and beginning to absorb what has been going on. repetition, repetition, repetition, is a well-known political marketing tool, -- >> oxford back in 1911 -- someone said nothing is done until everyone is convinced it needs to be doing, by which time it is time to do something else. >> a lot can be said for that. we spend time here in washington obsessing over the president's schedule, we look at the daily guidance. would look at all of these interviews. who is this guy? one thing i would say to follow on bob's remarks, you do 5 sunday morning shows, everyone but fox, another story. all of same questions, commentaries, and the same anchors, celebrity tv anchors trying to make news and try to be confrontational. the

chuck todd is sitting in tonight. "hardball" starts right now. >>> the president's political health. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chuck todd in washington filling in for chris matthews who will be back on monday. leading off tonight, image problem. the outburst by congressman joe wilson has us asking, are we at the point where we can say the intense opposition to barack obama in some parts of the country is about more than health care reform? stimulus plan? is it also about ideology? regional differences and perhaps even race? what is more, wilson's remark and the support he has received in his south carolina district. is it threatening to harden the republican party's reputation right now inside the beltway? we'll talk to two members of congress in a mole. plus, september 11 is the reason we waged war in afghanistan. but eight years after we went in, what is our mission there today? nbc new chief foreign correspondent richard engel. and they'll give us their take on the present state of afghanistan. t

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we'll have elmo give chuck a special greasing. get elmo over. he knows how to sneeze. >> you may remember the muppet character featured in a public service video on how to sneeze without spreading germs. you don't go like this. you go like this. >>> jimmy carter raising eyebrows in recent days by accusing president obama's critics of racism. now the former president is diving into a very different controversy, pitting rapper kanye west against country music sweetheart taylor swift. listen to the question and carter's punch line. >> what do you think of kanye west calling out taylor swift at the vma? >> all right. >> do you agree with president obama's response to his action? >> i don't know what obama's response was. i thought it was completely uncalled for and his punishment was to appear on the new jay leno show. >> president obama you remember called him a jack ass, kanye west. remember, for the latest political news any time check out cnn politics.com. >>> president obama back in campaign mode right now. >> are you fired up? ready to go? >>

thank you, chuck. >>> we have had enough. that's the message thousands of protesters want to send to politicians. they are part after tea party movement and marching to capitol hill today to protest what they see as a government out of control. derrick ward is live at freedom plaza where the demonstrators are beginning to gather. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this is, indeed, a spirited rally. thousands gathered here at freedom plaza in washington for what will eventually be a march to the u.s. capitol. now, they say that they are patriots and calling this a tea party to protest what they say are the tax and spend policies emanating from washington. i'm joined right here with one of the protesters. a gentleman from texas. tell me what this march is about. why are you here today? my main reason is i want to make sure that the politicians adhere to the constitution of the united states. and that's what i'm upset about. they are not paying attention to the constitution. we all need to do that. our forefathers fought f

just to add on to chuck.tion that all along, all this talk about reconciliation was a bit of a power play here to try to get olympia snowe on board, get others on board. but they do have to recognize that they're in a position where they have to move forward on that. and the president, i'm told, is not as gun shy as others might be about moving toward reconciliation if they absolutely have to do it. as chuck said, everything they're doing now is about getting the 60. >> chuck todd, let me ask you about nancy pelosi. she sort of talking about violence that happened around san francisco city hall, the i city where we are now, back in the 1970s. what's your take about nancy pelosi getting emotional and talking about concerns that history might be repeated in a very ugly way. gl i have a feeling it's going to put the president in a tight spot today. you know, i'm not going to pretend to know what david's going to ask him. i'll tell you, it does seem at some point the president's got to tell his own supporters, en

has the rain gone away, chuck?> the heavy rain has pulled out of the area, eun, but we are off to a very cloudy and a very wet start across the area. even without the rain coming down it's still quite soggy in the great outdoors. you can see from our city camera picture, very, very gray conditions today in the washington area. a couple of light rain showers still in prince george's county and the eastern parts of the district of columbia. a few showers right along the northern neck and nestled up alongside the chesapeake bay. not any heavy rain left. that has pulled away. but a brief passing shower can't be ruled out this morning. again, a chance for showers later on today. most of your sunday will be rain free. temperatures in the mid office now after an inch and a half of rain. only a brief chance of a passing shower this afternoon. not another washout. >> okay. sounds good. thank you, chuck. >>> in the news this morning, a small community is in mourning today after a mother and her two children were killed. a me

chuck, first to you. the day after the morning after. was joe wilson sort of a gift that they had not expected, at least make barack obama look like the victim here? >> reporter: it is. it's -- you know, i'm sure they would like other parts of the speech to be talked about, quoted from, but if this is the day two story that comes out of this, which is joe wilson becoming a symbol of the republican party, not wanting to work with the president, the white house will take that. at the same time, i think the actions of the white house today are fascinating. they're meeting behind the scenes with moderate senate democrats, and we're not hearing of talks of republicans. and there was a lot of -- and a lot of republicans today saying, hey, this is not real bipartisan. we're not seeing it. in many ways, they're right. it's done. the white house's goal was to have the public see him reaching out to republican ideas, help try to win back some of the political middle, but the reality here in washington is that this white house is now working on uni

>> chuck, i don't have an answer for you on that. i don't know a legislative strategy that get you from here to the end. howard fineman, you know political history better than i do. i was asleep in the '80s, you were paying attention. is there a speech we can point to and say that speech to the congress or to the country saved the legislation in trouble? >> the key word is saved. i think the answer to that is no, lawrence. i think there have been speeches that helped revive presidencies. bill clinton gave one in the '90s that focused on the nuts and bolts of government. his state of the union speech. the public liked that. it is possible to speak over the heads of washington and revive your pill standing. i think this is part of what this is about. his poll numbers are sagging, his numbers on health care are sagging. he is not speaking to legislators tonight but to the public. this is the kind of speech you want to give just before the final votes after the conference committee, after the legislation, you've watch this sausage being

good morning, chuck. >> good morning. off to a beautiful start outside first thing this morning on your saturday, everything looking aok for anything i want to do outside on this beautiful morning. look at that. mostly clear skies over washington this morning. the current temperature here in downtown washington is at 65 degrees. sitting at 62 now in gaithersburg and germantown. 54 in frederick, maryland. 62 degrees in ashburn. also 59 degrees in front royal, virginia. not too much in the way of visibility problem this morning. little touch of fog towards frederick, maryland. also down towards culpeper, virginia. visibilities reduced to a little less than the usual ten miles which is clear sky visibility and then our forecast for today, sun is up at 6:53. sunrise 22 minutes away. high temperatures getting up into the mid 70s today. and upper 70s tomorrow. no problems at all for the weekend forecast. more details coming up in a bit. >> very nice. looking forward to it. >>> a disaster. that's how maryland senator mikulski is

maybe chuck has a better sense of timing, but what i hear is, yes, they are going up.hrough the mid-term elections, but not through the full re-election cycle, so that's where it is coming through. if you look at the deficit and taxed every in the top 5%, you wouldn't get rid of it. the math doesn't work and the tax increases are going to come in some way, shape or form. >> where can the president stick to the pledge of not taxing the middle class when it comes to health care? >> the overwhelming lesson of all the reform projects is it is impossible to do. that's why the specifics are so important. >> the public option of this, before we take a break here, is this dead and gone, chuck? or isn't it? >> no, i think this trigger, the idea of the trigger, and to explain that, the threat of a public option so it would never go away, but the threat of the public option, of the government starting an insurance plan to compete with private insurance. if it always is there, i talked to one policy guy inside the white house who said, when you actually have a gun to the head of t

nbc news political director, white house correspondent chuck todd. obviously, norah, we're going to be glued to our seats to see those numbers. i was glancing over at chuck's paperwork. >> i want to know. i do. i want to know -- >> i hold in my hand -- >> how will this change the conversation we're having tomorrow when those numbers come out? >> i'll say this. i think there are bigger things here that could change the public's view in afghanistan. it could be as simple as the more we learn about this terror plot. we don't know how connected is this terror plot with -- you know, did -- you know, were there contacts in pakistan and afghanistan? the public pays very close attention. i think we don't know what's going to have an impact on public opinion here. another thing to remember. when a president makes a significant national security decision, the country rallies around that president. doesn't matter which party they are. so don't be surprised if these numbers are more fluid than they seem right now. >> all right, chuck. thank you very much. >>> no

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>> oh, chuck. savannah, you need to get on him there at the white house.okay. >>> coming up -- we'll tell you which republican lawmaker is actually claiming president obama wants to control how much food we eat. >>> also -- what the debate about race says about politics and civil society in america. this is "the big picture" on msnbc. r told me something i never knew. as we get older, our bodies become... less able to absorb calcium. he recommended citracal. it's a different kind of calcium. calcium citrate. with vitamin d... for unsurpassed absorption, to nourish your bones. (announcer) what are you going to miss when you have an allergy attack? achoo! (announcer) benadryl is more effective than claritin at relieving >>> i'm bertha couples with your cnbc market wraps. the markets today snapped a three-day winning streak to end the dow down about seven points. s&p 500 closed about three and nasdaq about six. an unidentified buyer has apparently snatched up bernard madoff's beach front home in new hampton. a spokesman for the broker says the buyer cited mor

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. >> but senator chuck grassley, the ranking member on the finance committee, says this bill could haveter. >> it seems to me that some people in the senate would rather have it done right now instead of being done right. that artificial deadline pushed us aside and put an end to that bipartisan work before it could produce a bipartisan bill. >> right now, all eyes are on republican senator olympia snowe. democrats are holding out hope that she will eventually support this bill. but right now she says there's a lot more work to be done. >> we are far from the finish line. there are many miles in this journey. >> and the obama administration is working hard to keep health care in the headlines. today, vice president joe biden spoke about the need to overhaul the system to a group of insurance commissioners. >> i've read your statement. you support reform. i'm not tying you into our plan or any specific plan, but you know there's no -- this is no time to tinker. you can't rearrange the deck chairs on the "titanic." we've got to change ships here. >> president obama has been out front on t