and for chuck making it... but as much or more for the viewer painting, one isaig made to become aware of one's own perception and one's own use of one's perception because you have to look at this painting up close to see the free abstraction of the brush work, of the shapes that are made, the color form. and then you step back to see, oh, there's roy liechtenstein. and the process that you went flu making it is so embedded in the painting that as the viewer you are almost made to recreate it. >> both ofs, all the evidence of its own making is right there in the work itself. the fact that there are incremental units-- which is true from the very beginning, even a continuous tone paintings-- were made in incremental units is also driven by my learning disability. i was overwhelmed by the whole. i didn't have any... how am i going to make a head? how am i going to make a nose? it's too overwhelming. it makes me too angs but if i break it down in a lot of little decisions, lots of... this was a coping mechanism i

chuck's born in '40, richard is born in '39. they both are becoming artists in their teens, in their early 20s when abstract expression schism the reigning dominant force in art. this is the masterpiece kind of philosophy about making heroic art. for them... both of them at yale together, by the way, in the early 1960s, there was an absolute reaction against that. as much as yo were wanting in part way to emulatehe t majestye gndreu of a jackson pollack or ar painting byl bile kooning, there was also an absolute need to get away from there that. >> rose: is there an explanation for why there are bursts of creativity at certain places and certain times? >> well, i think both of them could speak that very much. there is no question that the myth of the isolationed genius in the studio is quite inaccurate or incomplete. because i think the generation of these two and many others-- whether you're talking about, in fact, theabstract expressionists or the french impressionists or florence in the italian renaissance, it's the togethern

nati he wanted america to be a better chuck nation. as a senator, chuck percy took aconomy strong interest in the economy and international affairs. he was the chairman of the foreign relations co mmittee and traveled the globe going to the countries whose names are still hardly known in the time veryra few or even traveling all.o that. he wanted to do that and he was an good at itd and he would get into the tiniest cracks in a little and small village to try to meet people maybe even breakingg to shake cultural habits by trying to allowed shake hands with people who werehey not allowed to shake handsoo because they were considered toonothing impoverished.couraged nothing discouraged him, and heon and wanted to make himself a better person and a better senator.pect he was on a tripth to inspect theeven tho battlefield of the vietnam even though he was skeptical of thatn his he was on a helicopter when the aircraft took fire from vietcong about 90 miles north of saigon. the helicopter lifted off for safety but left shot with four other

chuck? >> right. the campaign has begun. kristen welker in cincinnati. thanks very much. >>> the u.s. government says if persuasion doesn't work, then a veto pen will. this is, of course, on the issue of the israeli palestinian peace process. the obama administration is prepared to single handedly stop the palestinian bid for u.n. recognition. that is unless some kind of compromise can be hammered out first. jamie ruben is a former state department spokesman under president clinton and now executive editor of "the bloomberg view." jamie, yesterday president obama met with abbas. and before he had that meeting, the palestinians let it be known that they're going to be patient about this application to the security council. that's a small victory for this administration, is it not? >> well, yes. i think the worst thing that could happen right now is if the palestinians and their supporters pushed for an immediate vote in the security council. the number of countries that have stated support for this kind of idea of a palestinian state before the negotiatio

>> i don't know, chuck. i think this race has been so interesting in that there's been so many sort of fits and starts and so many people kind of getting in and kind of twists and turns and our strategy has been very consistent. you know, we're going to just plow ahead, go campaign, have governor romney go out there, talk about his record on jobs and the economy, talk about how barack obama has failed the american people particularly on the issues of jobs and economy, talk about how governor romney is the most qualified person to deal with this issue, virtue of his experience, 25 years as a conservative businessman. that we're just going to keep plowing forward. and, you know, at some point people decide to -- >> there as report out there this morning that behind the scenes your campaign is saying to donors, perry can't win the general. rick perry can't win the general. do you believe that? >> listen, i think that anybody right now can beat barack obama. i think that really as governor romney has said, anyon

a lot of that's already priced in, chuck.re we're actually going to get a bump from that. as you can see right now, we are skidding into this open. >> all right. thank you, courtney. "the daily rundown" will be back in 30 seconds. zbrvrjts bottom of the hour. a quick look at what's driving the day. president obama will speak in the rose garden later this morning to announce his plan to reduce the nation's deficit by at least $3 trillion. in addition to the $1.2 trillion agreed to in the budget control act for an overall ten-year decrease of over $4 trillion. >>> world leaders are convening in new york city today as the u.n. general assembly begins its 66th annual session. president obama traveling to new york as well following this morning's deficit announcement. two big things on his schedule for the u.n. have to do with libya. then dealing with this palestinian statehood situation. >>> and the opening bell is 28 seconds away from ringing on wall street. much of the focus this week will be on the meeting of the federal reser

thank you, sir. >> thanks, chuck.nk you very much. >>> we'll be right back with our panel for a preview of tonight's gop slugfest. last time it was mitt romney versus rick perry. will tonight be the night that michele bachmann makes a last stand and says, hey, it should be a three-person fight. >>> first, the white house soup of the day and it's corny, it's mushroom and leek. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. [ male announcer ] this is coach parker... whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ it's real milk full of calcium and vitamin d. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk. or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business -- it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities, s

>> well, chuck, it is like you said.month we saw earlier this month the main national campaign manager moving on and no big deal, but new hampshire is the place he has to win or at least move, because we know it won't happen in iowa, so when you lose the new hampshire campaign manager and they are i sag itnt is a personnel move, but if he wants to do well anywhere and a top staffer, it is in new hampshire, because it is important. and it feels like he can't get off of the ground and this is less than 24 hours after he announced the jobs plan in the state, and spending five days in the state. we haven't seen him move. any time in a national poll when you are behind gary johnson, the former governor of new mexico, that is not a great place to be. >> and chris, i heard him making the argument, it is early and nobody is paying attention. that is not true. >> no. >> a lot more people are paying attention. >> and chuck, it is true of a national audience, right. if you are not in an early state, but in iowa or new hampshire or

for chuck. but chuck didn't hesitate. his work helped pave the way for his election, in fact, to the senate, in 1966, not by design but because of its excellence and because of the depth of his wanting to understand what we had to be ready for by our 200th birthday in 1976. but even more than that, his report served as a template that i've mentioned for the reflection, for the soul-searching that went on in this country ahead of that 1976 bicentennial. he really cared about the 200th anniversary of america. everybody did. but he really did. and he wants to know what we could do better, what we could do more of, and that's what he used that commission for. he wanted america to be a better nation. as a senator, chuck percy took a strong interest in the economy and international affairs. he was chairman of the foreign relations committee. he traveled the globe, going to countries whose names are still hardly known at a time when very few senators were even traveling at all. he could do that as chairman of foreign relations,

for chuck. but chuck didn't hesitate. his work helped pave the way for his election, in fact, to the senate, in 1966, not by design but because of its excellence and because of the depth of his wanting to understand what we had to be ready for by our 200th birthday in 1976. but even more than that, his report served as a template that i've mentioned for the reflection, for the soul-searching that went on in this country ahead of that 1976 bicentennial. he really cared about the 200th anniversary of america. everybody did. but he really did. and he wants to know what we could do better, what we could do more of, and that's what he used that commission for. he wanted america to be a better nation. as a senator, chuck percy took a strong interest in the economy and international affairs. he was chairman of the foreign relations committee. he traveled the globe, going to countries whose names are still hardly known at a time when very few senators were even traveling at all. he could do that as chairman of foreign relations,

cha chuck todd is in for andrea. >> you could have cut into my time. up next we have john boehner set to call on the super committee to reconsider broad tax reform.

it's friday, september 9, 2011, i'm chuck todd.ht to my first read of the morning, of course, we begin with the speech. a fiery president in the house last night. the president struck a populist tone in a speech scrubbed of washington-speak. the president had a message tomatic sure no one missed it, he repeated it some 17 times. >> pass this jobs bill. >> pass this jobs bill. >> pass this jobs bill. >> pass this jobs bill. >> pass it right away. >> pass it right away. >> pass this jobs plan right away. >> you should pass it. and i intend to take that message to every corner of this country. >> well, the 447 billion dollar american jobs act, which the president formally sends to congress next week called for this -- tax breaks for companies that hire new workers with special incentives for someone who sent more than six months looking for a job or for hiring veterans. extend unemployment another year, cut payroll taxes in half for every american and every small business. the president says that would save the typical family $1,500.

>> well, chuck, a couple of things. one, listening to the debate in florida, i think almost any of those candidates will be an improvement over president obama. secondly, i think the issue in this election is going to be the economy. we're now at record unemployment rates. it's one of the worst recessions -- the worst recession since the great depression. president obama continues to believe in more spending, more taxes, more borrowing. contrast with governor rick perry. he has consistently fought against excessive regulations, held the line. first governor in decades in texas to cut general revenue spending. but here's the most important fact. he has got a proven track record. not only does he talk the talk, he has walked the walk. in texas, they have created nearly half the jobs that have been created in america over the last two years. under president obama, the country has lost millions of jobs. under governor perry, texas has created nearly 1 million jobs. so for me, you've got a fundamental choice in this election

this is the dal "the daily run,m chuck todd. could washington be headed to the brink for another government shutdown, deja vu all again. to governor perry and the pressure is on him. republicans are looking at perry's candidacy and seeing a flashing red light. from new jersey to washington to florida, republicans are wringing their hands after a vote last week turned into a protest against him the key florida republican straw poll this weekend. >> i think rick perry is not prepared for the pressure of the presidential stage yet. >> these are very weak front runners. >> perry really did throw up all over himself in the debate after he needed to raise his gain. >> over the weekend, former pizza owner her man cain surprised. taking 37% to perry's 15%. perry did eke out second place over mitt romney. perry's loss in florida is blamed on his debate showing both in substance and style and seeming inability to effectively attack romney. >> was it was before he was before the social programs from the standpoint he was for standing up fo

did you hear the latest, chuck? a letter from the republican leaders of the house and senate to the federal refuse serve board instructing them not to take any action to lower interest rates in the next two days? that is as one former commissioner said, outrageous, and indefensible. >> do you believe that that is -- do you believe that is an attempt by the republicans to manipulate the federal reserve in some way? >> why else would -- come on, why else would they send the letter? they are trying to put political pressure on them not to lower interest rates. when i go home to illinois, the businesses i meet are struggling to borrow money, to expand their businesses and hire people, lower interest rates will help them. homeowners who are facing the restructuring of their mortgages would welcome lower interest rates. and none w the republican leade say despite this, despite the unemployment, the federal reserve board should do nothing. that is the republican answer to our weak economy, and it's not one that's going to

i'm chuck todd. this is a special edition of "the daily rundown" coming to you live from the reagan library in beautiful simi valley, california, site of this evening's debate. i have top aides to the top three campaigns with us this morning plus massachusetts governor duval patrick will weigh in for the democrats and let me get to my first reads of the morning and of course, it begins with the debate. eight republican candidates face off tonight here in simi valley, california, at the nbc news politico debate and while the physical backdrop is the reagan presidential library, and of course, air force one, the 9.1 unemployment rate, a country's confidence shaken. three in four americans say the nation is headed in the wrong track. only 21% believe the economy has hit bottom. 72% believe it still has a ways to go and a majority believe president obama is facing a long-term setback from which his presidency is unlikely to recover. so tonight, the candidates on stage will each have the opportunity to te

here comes chuck. >>> that's right. another heated republican debate and everyone was piling on one man, perry. the texas governor was playing defense the entire time and even lost a crowd toward the end. did any of the other candidates stop his momentum? we get the full analysis ahead. plus, president obama hits the road today traveling to john boehner's home state of ohio to promote air campaign for the jobs bill. in the rose garden we saw the theme he will be hammering on in the weeks ahead. >> this is the bill that congress needs to pass. no games, no politics, no delays. >> we'll talk about how he wants to pay for it coming up. and in an exclusive interview, iran's president tells nbc's ann curry the two americans imprisoned for spying, accused of it by the iranian government, may be released in days. those hikers for their families the long nightmare could be over. it's tuesday, september 13th, 2011. this is "the daily rundown." i'm chuck todd. also this morning, a gun fight erupts in kabul targeting the u.s. emba

good talk with you. >> you, too, chuck.ou. >>> despite what you may be hearing and reading, president obama's base is not abandoning him. in fact, the latest poll number shows more americans are open to the white house's jobs plan. what's with all the doom and gloom on capitol hill? we'll ask our panel next. >>> first, the white house soup of the day. i believe yesterday was chicken noodle. so did they save the chicken and throw in chipotle spice and make is chicken tortilla? you're watching "the daily rundown." where'd ya go? there you are. there you go. [ female announcer ] you always went for the tall, dark, handsome types. so who'd have ever thought the love of your life... would be short and bald? having a baby changes everything. helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. you had me at "probiotic." do you have an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibril

give me the answer at chuck todd@daily rundown.l have the answer and more coming up on "the daily rundown." just think of this. it will be about a tweet. i promise you. we'll be right back. that was a hint. ♪ ♪ [ country ] [ man ] ♪ gone, like my last paycheck ♪ gone, gone away ♪ gone, like my landlord's smile ♪ ♪ gone, gone away ♪ my baby's gone away with dedicated claims specialists... and around-the-clock service, travelers can help make things better quicker. will your auto and home insurer... be there when you need them most? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-coverage... or visit travelers.com. ♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪ [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, every innovation, every solution, comes together for a single purpose -- to make the world a safer place. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. >>> well, it looks like wall street will kick off the day with a major hangover. the opening bell is just about to ring on wall street. cnbc's courtney reagan is here with the market rundown. will f

chuck grassley a lot through his teeth to his constituents yesterday. that's right when pressed by constituents about his party's plan to privatized social security and handed over to the wall street banks toure's grassley brushed it aside and said he only knows a one member just wanna lose cannon who he won't name who wants to privatize social security he doesn't want to name names because he's that one guy back in two thousand and five as chairman of the senate finance committee grassley spearheaded an effort to privatizing social security two thousand and five new york times article documented grassley efforts writing grassley chairman of the senate panel responsible for social security supports private social security accounts grassley told reporters he would push for the private accounts even if a majority of the public does not appear behind the idea and approach george w. bush who is president of the time support a grassroots efforts and later complained the failure of privatizing social security was one of the biggest regrets of his office and s

how does this affect his plans for his big speech next thursday night, chuck? >> gwen, the speech as you said was going to be about jobs all along. the problem is that there's only so much any president can do and particularly this president because he's tried so many things. the stimulus package, which a lot of economists said helped. but it proved to be very unpopular with the public. and now there's so much emphasis on cutting spending, and that has an anti-stimulus effect if anything. so the president really is probably -- he'll repeat some of the rather small bore things he talked about like patent reform and trade deals that might produce some jobs. but the thinking is he can't -- he can't make a sweeping dramatic proposal, jobs, for jobs that would be very plausible. gwen: and he didn't even get to do it on the day that he originally chose he sent this letter to the hill saying i'll see you wednesday night at 8:00 and john boehner said not so much. >> it so happened gwen that was the night we'll have a republican debate, the first one involving rick perr

i'm chuck todd. also this morning, check out the political historian with a formula he says obama will win re-election despite low poll numbers. he's been right since 1984. let's get to my first read of the morning. we begin with the new nbc news "wall street journal" poll. as the president prepares to unveil his jobs plan before a joint session of congress on thursday, he is promising to move forward with job creation proposals with or without cooperations from congressional republicans. yesterday before a labor day crowd in detroit, he said this. >> we're going to see if we've got some straight shooters in congress. we're going to see if congressional republicans will put country before party. there is work to be done and there are workers ready to do it. labor is on board, business is on board. we just need congress to get on board. >> well, the president's campaign to jump start the campaign comes as ratings of his presidency have sunk to all time lows. 44% approve of how he's handling his job. t

chuck, this really is hardball. there's no interpretation that comes to me, except to say that the white house said, you know we want it to be on the same night. how do you read it? >> well, if the president, it was kind of interesting when you now look at the tick tock of the entire day. the president, this morning at the event with the chamber of commerce and afl-cio calling for passage of a couple bills, some extensions of a couple bills in order to not harm is the economy deal with some job issues, he talked about the political gamesmanship must end, and then we proceeded to have a six-hour back and forth of political gamesmanship here. apparently what happened is when the white house made this request of speaker boehner and senate majority leader harry reid, they didn't sort of prewire this. you know, in washington normally, when some of this stuff happens, when a president wants to address a joint session -- >> it's already been determined? >> yeah, it's sort of a precooked deal. from what i understand, there

slide legislative and political director of the new york metro area postal union chuck welcome. oh hello tom in the current you for having your on your program thanks for joining us is it true that under this piece of legislation that was passed in by a voice vote in congress there we don't even have a record of who voted how. other than the you know it was a voice vote republicans running the show that seventy five years of retirement funding by the post office has to be paid off in a ten year period to have the right. that is correct but it really has to do with just one portion of retirement benefits it's the health care benefits for future retirees that this legislation as you aptly put required the postal service to fully funded within a ten year period which means that the postal service is five point five billion dollars you know in the hole before it sells one stamp each year. but it's as outrageous as this is it's not all of what's been done to the postal service. by. congressional mandate the the guy who wrote this legislation tom davis says one of his major lifetime d

i'm chuck todd. let's get to my first reads of the morning. it starts with chris christie with a third quarter filing deadline looming friday, the republicans running for president are on a final fund-raising push. president obama himself is also doing it. rick perry is in washington this morning where he'll raise money at the willard hotel. mitt romney held multi. fund-raisers in new york. no press, no pictures. he hid from the cameras so people didn't see him with donald trump. then there's the guy who repeatedly has said he's not running for president whose packed fund-raising schedule is raising some eyebrows. he holds the last of three fund-raisers in missouri today, then he'll fly to california for a keynote address at the reagan presidential library. he's calling that speech "real american exceptionalism." his aides say we'll use president reagan's transformative leadership to talk about how the u.s. role in the world is defined by who we are at home. then wednesday, chrissie gets an assist raising money from newly named hewlett-packard

chuck, welcome back. nice to see you again. >> thanks for having me, tom. >> tom: we saw you back in the springtime in march. you were not yet convinced stocks had entered a bull market back then. clearly, we've moved lower. what's your take now? >> the dow theory which is a tool my firm use divine the market, which looks at both the dow industrials and dow transports, says this is still a bear market. we had a bear market signal on august 2, a very clear signal, as a matter of fact, under the dow theory and the market subsequently fell about 1,000 points. it has recovered. i don't necessarily think we're in for a very deep bear market. that's me talking and not the dow theory. i think there are things out there that will kind of put a damp or a dramatic plunge from these levels, but still i think you'll see the trend, at least in the short term here, the pressure is probably going to be on the downside. >> tom: what are some of those things you see coming perhaps before the end of the year that could sig

we're back to square zero, chuck, i think. the intense diplomacy that took place in new york last week at the u.n. has not brought the two sides any closer together. in fact, it's probably driven them wider apart. we have a position at the moment where the court s have power, te u.s., the u.n. and russia are trying to force the pace on negotiations, trying to replace a process with substance, saying, look, we have to get around the table with a month, go to get a deal done in a year. but if you talk to either side at moment, the israelis or the palestinians, you lael really do not see the scope for any kind of agreement, any kind of common ground between the two sides. >> and, john, is there any resistance inside the knesset, inside the coalition government of benjamin netanyahu on doing these new settlements? >> there will be the usual is suspects, but netanyahu has returned from new york from the u.n. with his tail up, he's boosted his popularity amongst israelis. the poll seems to say he's getting more popular. he's got a w

this is "the daily rundown," i'm chuck todd. call it presidential pile on day. let's get to my first reads. four months ago republicans got a wake-up call losing an election largely on the party's plan to turn medicare into a private voucher program. last night it was the democrat's turn for a sharp rebuke from voters in new york state. democrats lost in queens, in new york's 9th congressional district. once represented by chuck schumer which hasn't sent a republican to congress in 90 years. bob turner beat david weprin by eight points. turner called his victory a message to washington. >> this message will resound for a full year. and will resound into 2012. this is a referendum and we're ready to say, mr. president, we're on the wrong track. >> the president's approval rating sits at just 43% in this district. more bad news for the white house. in nevada where republican mark amaday crownsed kate marshal by 22 points, 58-36, he won in all 17 counties. you can explain away both special elections on a localized basis, but the fact is, this is the july-august han

i'm chuck todd. this is a special edition of the "the daily rundown" coming to you from burbank, california. we've broken down all the sets at the reagan library. let's get to my first reading of the morning. who would have bet six months ago that the single most contentious issue that could decide the nomination would be the future of social security? the battle lines have been drawn with nancy reagan looking on. rick perry and mitt romney tossed aside the former president's 11th commandment and made it clear they're willing to fight. the scrappy exchanges started around minute five and it was on jobs. >> we created more jobs in the last three months in texas than he created in four years in massachusetts. >> texas has zero income tax. texas has a right to work state, a republican legislature, a republican supreme court. governor perry doesn't believe he created that. >> michael dukakis created jobs three times faster than you did, mitt. >> as a matter of fact, george bush and his predecessor create

how has this changed chuck colson. >> oh, my.a person out to rush and save the world and have been since i was a young man and max is the first person who's come along who stops me cold, he's not interested in my theological knowledge and what i spent time teaching. you've got to get down on the floor and on your knees to understand max on his terms. my understanding of people who are hurting and in need and i have come to appreciate a totally different kind of love than i'm used to and max gives love unconditionally. you feel his love immediately and when you pay some attention to him. it's just a joy, but you have to stop and get out of your world and into his world. and that for me, has been a life changing lesson. he's humbled me a lot and it's been good for me, great for me and i'm so proud of course of what emily has done and max is being used by god. >> mike: it's a magnificent story and not a story to bring you down. it's a story to lift you up and also to tell you, that child who autistic is a remarkable child, a gift of

good day for chili. >> zac brown band, good choice, chuck. let's design a vacation on a bumake it work.edia. see what anandra did? booking her flight and hotel at the same time a serious money-saving maneuver. book it! major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. it's pro-cool technology releases armies of snowmen masseuse, who cuddle up with your soreness and give out polar bear hugs. technology. [ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. the same technology used by physical therapists. go to bengay.com for a 5-dollar coupon. my subaru saved my life. i won't ever forget that. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. and i was a pack-a-day smoker for 25 years. i do remember sitting down with my boys, and i'm like, "oh, promise mommy cigatte." ♪ my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hos

cha chuck todd is in for andrea. >> you could have cut into my time.n boehner set to call on the super committee to reconsider broad tax reform. we'll bring his speech live at the top of the hour, plus, does president obama have a case of blue state blues. and why are some calling florida the big ka hoona when it comes to the 2012 calendar? andrea mitchell reports starts right now. >> here's a look at your business travel forecast for today. i'm bill karins and fall is arriving in a big way in many locations. a very strong cold front is sliding through the east with showers and thunderstorms. airport delays are possible as the front blows through. temperatures already dropped in chicago and detroit. in dallas, highs in the 80s. enjoy. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. or crea

chuck todd in our d.c.ewsroom, thanks. >>> and something extraordinary happened in washington today. needless to say, it had nothing to do with politics, and had everything to do with personal, physical courage and the inspection of the washington monument from the top down. the monument, of course, took a big hit from the earthquake that shook up the east coast back in august. tom costello is on the mall tonight for us. tom, good evening. >> reporter: brian, lightning late today postponed the attempt to repel down the side. instead, engineers spent the day securing the raking at the very top of the monument. the close inspection comes tomorrow. but the first out the window today was a renowned rock climber, dave megerly. it was just before 10:00 a.m. when the first member of the team climbed out of a small window at the top of the washington monument. >> i think it must take a lot of guts. >> reporter: at 555 feet above the ground, a lot of guts, indeed. the first job, to painstakingly secure the ropes and

chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. well in that fiery speech last night the president admonished congress not to play politics with the jobs issue. today we went in politics for the jobs bill he unveiled last night.e went in politics for the jobs bill he unveiled last nighhe went in politics for the jobs bill he unveiled last night.e went in politics for the jobs bill he unveiled last nighhe went in politics for the jobs bill he unveiled last night. >> hello, richmond! >> reporter: president obama took his message to the swing state of virginia. >> i know you folks are as frustrated as i am about the economy. pass this bill. >> reporter: sounding like candidate obama, he urged the richmond audience to pressure members of congress. >> i want you to call, i want you to e-mail, i want you to tweet, i want you to fax. i want you to visit, i want you to facebook, send a carrier pigeon. >> reporter: while the white house tried to play down any political significance in today's venue, republican house member eric cantor's dis

chuck, first to you. the debate last night, was this in some ways good for mitt romney in that everyone was ganging up on perry? or does perry show that he is just a really, good, natural debater and natural politician? >> well, with mitt romney i think you saw certainly he sees how many potential allies right now he has on stage and it also shows why he doesn't want this to be a two-man race right away. the longer michele bachmann, rick santorum is there to throw darts at rick perry, particularly from the right, and you saw the blowup on hpv on the vaccine and the mandatory vaccine versus not. you know the most intriguing thing about it last night, andrea, was to me the crowd. the role the crowd played. early on, the crowd helped rick perry out on the social security back and forth with mitt romney. sort of made mitt romney's hits maybe not as effective or feel as effective at the time. but as you went on you saw that perry was losing the crowd. he lost them on hpv. and then he lost them on immigration.

chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. last night we told you there were some twists and turns ready to go in the presidential race. well, we have our first twist. chris christie opened the door a crack to running for president. advisers tell me a final decision will likely come in a matter of weeks and perhaps days. it's what new jersey governor chris christie did not say at the reagan library tuesday night that froze the republican presidential race in place. he didn't say no. >> are you reconsidering or standing firm? [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: at first he had fun. everyone go to politico.com. it's on the front page. i'm not going to bore you with it now. click on it. those are the answers. >> i'm not running. >> i'm 100% certain i'm not going to run. >> i don't want to run. i don't feel like i'm ready to run. >> reporter: when an audience member pleaded with him -- >> i mean this with all my heart. we can't wait another four years to 2016. [ applause ] >> we need you. your country needs you to run for preside