chuck todd joins us in a moment from montana. plus, you know those end of life counsel prognosis visions in the health care bills which republicans, like sarah palin, have distorted into death panels? it turns out republicans were actually for end of life counseling before they were against it. that's just one of the inconsistencies we'll discuss with republican john culbertsoc. >> and how far has he fallen? there is a report that john edwards is about to finally admit he is the father of his mistress's child? where would he be if edwards had not been so wisely dejected by wise democratic voters last year. >> and bill clinton has some tough words on the networks crowd on don't ask don't tell. >> and what does it mean to be palinized? ask one who says it could easily happen to her. the definition coming up on the hardball side show. >>> first president obama and his latest push for health care reform. nbc news chief white house correspondent chuck todd is traveling with the president and joining us from montana. by my count there

chuck todd, i studied economics in grad school. one thing you learn is if you stimulate the economy through a big fiscal deficit, it has got to jack up the economy and put juice into it. now we are beginning to see that turn. in other words, we are reaching, perhaps, the end of the actual recession. in other words, the part of restrictive growth, negative growth earlier than we thought because of all the spending and all this deficit. >> that's right. they also feel, it is funny, i want to pick up on something susan said, there's a feeling of "i told you so" in the president of and his tone. we told you the stimulus was going to work. with e had to do all these things. bail out the banks, do that. then we had to bail out the auto industry, give it time on that. now they have this down tick and it is a small down tick on unemployment, but, chris, i think what helps him a little bit more is throwing the cash for clunkers. here was a program that was not part of the original stimulus program, but it was a simple easy to grasp like, oh

. >> we do know thanks to chuck todd, and we're going to talk to chuck in a moment, i have a feeling that the white house was delighted with this next weiss of tape we're going to play. here is the exchange where a guy got up, and remember tickets were distributed in a sort of wide variety of ways. they were expecting perhaps there would be some skeptical questions and they got one they wanted. here is a man who got up and proclaimed he watches cable tv. he's a member of the nra. he costs about the cost of the transition and who is going to bear the cost and watch the president's response. here is the question and the response. watch. >> you can't tell us how you're going to pay for this. you're saving here. you're saving over there. you're going to take a little money here, take a little money there, but you have no money. the only way you're going to get that money is to raise our taxes. you said you wouldn't. >> i would rather be giving that money to the young lady here who doesn't have health insurance than giving it to insurance companies who are making record profits. now, you

chuck todd breaks it all day. >>> scenes are familiar now. passionate support. passionate opposition. >> there are differences. for the third straight month, mr. obama's overall job rating has dropped. 41% disapproving. on health care, the president's job rating, while unchanged, still only has 41% approving, 47% disapproving. it's even worse for republicans in congress. just 21% approve how they are handling health care. 6 #% disapprove. >> the public is split over reform efforts. 41% are concerned reforms won't go far enough. >> i'm sorry, sir, i just don't believe you. >> reporter: and the town halls, the country is evenly divided. 43 percent say they have done more hard than good. 42% say they have done more good than harm. and republicans believe they're good. as for the controversial allegations about what's like i to happen, the president has work to do. 55% believe illegal immigrants will get taxpayer money, 50% believe it will pay for abortions. every single statement has been checked independently and proven to be false. the bottom line on health care

chuck todd from the white house on a friday night. chuck, thanks. >>> chuck mentioned this development. this morning around 9:45, president obama signed the bill giving that popular cash for clunkers car program an infusion of cash to keep it going. >>> also tonight, florida senator mel martinez, republican, said today he is quitting his job, resigning from the senate for no particular reason, he says just his desire to move on. mind you he had already announced he wasn't running for re-election in 2010. apparently that wouldn't get him out of the place fast enough. florida's governor charlie christe now has to appoint a replacement. he said he would not maneuver to appoint himself. >>> word came last night the u.s. military believes that it has taken out a man they wanted the number one taliban target, hunted for years, believed to have carried out several spectacular terrorist attacks. now he has been killed in a missile attack and one of the taliban strong holds. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is with us from kabul to

nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd. thanks as always. >> now, david, to the bigger picture and some of the most emotionally charged claims in this debate have been coming from the health care industry supporters. they argue any changes to the current system we have would lead to rationed care, fewer choices, and even earlier death. it's a talking point popping up at a lot of these town halls. >> it does want to kill people like myself. i'm 73. i'm one of those throw aways we've heard so much about, okay? i want you to know i'm not afraid of dying. >> but a former executive at a top health insurance industry says already rationed care and limited choices in order for the insurance companies to make bigger profits. wendell potter left the insurance industry after 20 years of a career and since become a whistle-blower of the industry. thank you for joining us. >> thank you, tamron. >> it's interesting when you hear some of these comments out there because you would think every individual who's walked in and saw an a doctor

nbc news chief white house correspondent and fellow floridian chuck todd joins me right now. uck, as the president heads down, as he sits in with the leaders of both canada and mexico, what is expected to come forth out of that? is it largely an economic conversation or are they discussing other issues, including illegal drugs and each the immigration question? >> probably the most important thing that the three of them are talking about is how they are going to coordinate their responses to the h1n1 flu virus that is expected to take off a little bit fountain fall. that may be frankly the most important conversation among the three countries, because having a coordinated response on this is going to be important, particularly with a vaccine not available it looks like until mid october. that might be the single most important issue on the topic in the near term. there is all sorts of -- this is very much an incremental meeting where they are discussing issues they almost always have to do when it's on trade. it has to do with the mexico trucking issue, about whether getting f

joining me now is chuck todd. i don't need a teleprompter for that. huck, it seemed the speech today was much more about jobs, much more of what he's promising to elkhart in health care reform. i heard jonathan also make this point about peoria. the illinois politics, one time senator barack obama. as elkhart goes so does the obama presidency. the community and obama's presidency are intertwined and i showed that headline to the president and he agreed. he said, absolutely. he said if i can come back here in four years and show progress and show that elkhart is moving forward, he can make the case that he's turning the economy around. if he can't, and the midwest isn't feeling good. we know what the political map looks like. the midwest which dramatically went dem in the '06 and. '08 election. they're very economically sensitive. >> chuck, do you get any credit in elkhart for the unemployment rate coming down? >> it's tough because he came here in february and it was about 15%. it peaked at that number of almost 20 that jonathan alter referenced in tha

resonating with the obama administration, we turn to nbc news, chief white house correspondent, chuck todd. chuck, moments like that the president has called ruckuses, defining the debate in the airwaves. how does he deal with it? >> i tell you today, white house press secretary robert gibbs was pointed to something from our poll last night, lester. and the fact that -- that there wasn't a majority of folks that believe that somehow his health care plan would decide when care would end for the elderly. the so-called death panel thing. and robert gibbs pointed to that as progress saying, look the president spent the last ten days trying to debunk that myth. and it's working. and, so, our poll is proof of it. so they see this as a need that they have got to keep doing this. also, though, the white house is acknowledging the fact that they're still having to debunk myths rather than push their own health care plan means they're behind as roberts said today. he said, "look, we haven't pitched a perfect game here when it comes to that. "the other thing we are seeing in health care today. lots o

ann. >>> chuck todd tonight. chuck, thanks for your reporting. >>> now with perspective on today's townhall, we are joined by david gregory, moderator of "meet the press." david, given the events of today, how important will it be for the president to continue to hold the town halls on health care reforms to counteract the negative publicity of recent weeks? >> vitally important in this respect, ann. the president wants to regain control of the debate. you heard what he said during chuck's reporting that in his estimation, cable tv, tv in general, likes the ruckus, just likes the conflict and is overlooking some of the more constructive engagement, constructive debate going on around the country. the president wants to separate what he could call extremism from the core of the debate, regain control, reassure americans about what he is trying to do and keep health care reform on track. think of the geography as well. he is out in a part of the country with more conservative moderate democrats, independent voters.

chuck todd is joining me live. what is the expectation as the president waeds into these town halls? understanding he obviously did many when he was running for president and certainly done them since becoming president normally on there other issues including the stimulus? >> right. i think the white house sees and this as an opportunity to potentially address this issue of the tone. you know, we've been having a debate about the debate and what has gotten lost is some people have forgeten what we are debating over and it is this issue how to reform the health care system which there seems to be unanimity on on capitol hill because you hear from both sides if they want to do something. of course, it's how you do it. so i think the news out of this today, inevitably, despite what the white house is talking about as far as preexisting conditions and what they want to protect for folks with health insurance reform, is going to be what he says about the tone. listen to what robert gibbs said this morning on the "today

brian. >>> chuck todd starting us off tonight. chuck, thanks. the sent m we have been talking about, anger, expressed at members of congress home for their summer recess one on full display again today elsewhere. and as nbc's anne thompson tells us tonight, health care is just one subject that has some americans feeling worried and downright angry. >> reporter: today pennsylvania senator arlen specter came face to face with what is now a familiar scene. >> he is right? >> he -- >> my constitutional! >> this is maoist china. >> reporter: voter anger at a townhall abut health care. buflt the anger is not always about health care. this man erupted when he was not chosen to speak. >> i got news for you, that you and your cronies in the government do this kind of stuff all the time. >> reporter: and this self described conservative republican railed against the direction of the country. >> what are you going to do to restore this country back to what our founders created, according to the constitution? >> if people have really -- >> reporter: when th

brian. >>> chuck todd on the rv factory floor in elkhart, indiana. chuck, thanks. when our broadcast continues along the way for a wednesday night, the former congressman and the case of the cash in the freezer. tonight a verdict in the high profile bribery trial. >>> later, he made a splash on the baseball diamond. these days making a difference in the lives of some very grateful kids. ill out of line? then you may not be seeing the whole picture. ask your doctor about trilipix. statin to lower bad cholesterol, along with diet, adding trilipix can lower fatty triglycerides and raise good cholesterol to help improve all three cholesterol numbers. trilipix has not been shown to prevent heart attacks or stroke more than a statin alone. trilipix is not for everyone, including people with liver, gallbladder, or severe kidney disease, or nursing women. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you are pregnant or may become pregnant. blood tests are needed before and during treatment to check for liver problems. contact your doctor if you develop unexplai

we'll have two reports tonight, beginning with nbc's chuck todd, who is with the president in grand junction toercht, chuck, good evening. >> good evening, lester. well, as you noted, the president is on a work vacation, she finish up the second town hall in as many days. this one here in the skeptical west, where there is a huge libertarian streblg, they always have doubts ash the government taking over something. so the government is trying to deal with those except incident and trying to retake control of the health care debate. president obama toured yell yellowstone national park. taking in old faithful with his family, treating his daughters and other young members of his entourage to ice cream. yesterday, the first lady was splashing with daughters malia and sasha on a whitewater rafting trip. but this is not all play. this is working trip. tonight, it was trying to win over skeptics in grand junction, colorado. >> health care touches us all in profound way, which by the way it means it's only natural this debate is going to be an emotional one. >> reporter: mr. obama trying to turn t

chuck todd to be a far left activist, but when even someone like him who's been a reporter for a long is out there in the last 24 hours saying, well, i think we're spending too much time covering, maybe gibbs is right we're covering these town hall protestors too much, we're not covering the moderates, the people representative. i'm thinking to myself, chuck, this is the biggest public uprising on an american polish that i've ever seen in my life and this is not something that has to be covered? and what does he make of all the polls coming out showing the people of this country leaving obama on this issue. is that not representative issue? something odd is going on here and it's clearly an effort on the part of someone at nbc news. >> it isn't odd. >> to help obama. >> right. i mean from the jump. nbc news adopted barack obama as their presidential candidate and said they're going to get behind his policies and try to convince americans what the president does is good for them. but the way it's unprecedented is, the way it's unprecedented is at the same time general electric is now b

our chief white house correspondent chuck todd was in new hampshire with the president today. starts us off from portsmouth tonight. chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. well from the outside the stage did appear set out here for the president to face some really tough critics. just like these members of congress are facing. but that wasn't the case on the inside. >> reporter: divided only by a street and a few of portsmouth's finest. >> obama! obama! >> reporter: supporters and detractors of president obama's health care plan spent plenty of time, banging drums and yelling. as they waited for a chance to cheer or jeer, the president's motorcade. but the president skirted the crowd taking a back way. before emerging in a high school gym to a very friendly audience. still, the president found himself spending much of his time saying what his plan is not going to do. >> this is not about putting the government in charge of your health insurance. so i just want to assure we are not taing about cutting medicare benefits. i am not promoting a single pay plan. >> he

chuck todd is travel wg the president and joining us now from belgrade, montana. k, at the town hall meeting in new hampshire this week, the president didn't really get any nasty questions. are they doing anything different this time? does he want a little confrontation? >> they keep saying they do behind the scenes. i was with a white house official in new hampshire at the time and in that person cringing that there weren't tougher questions. they were supporters who wanted to see him get tougher questions. they set the scene. they did a first come, first serve. they handed out two tickets per person, so they don't know who the second person is that's going to get this ticket. the likelihood you'll see as diverse an audience as you can get much higher i think than either of the system that they used, which wasn't open to the public system in new hampshire and the system they're going to be using in grand junction. >> what do you think is the target audience for the president? are they looking at the independent voters who helped the president carry states like mon

we get the latest from our chief white house correspondent chuck todd traveling with the president in scottsdale, arizona. chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. well, the president's working vacation was much more about play today as the first family added the grand canyon to the list of western natural wonders they've seen this week, but as every president knows, work always is hovering and in this case it's the work of health care. >> what do you think? pretty nice. >> reporter: the first family took in the grand canyon sunday from a number of angles. it's the second major national park visited by the president this weekend. an attempt to highlight the fee free weekend for all visitors to u.s. national park. while today was mostly about play, the president did focus on work, too. using a "new york times" op-ed to sum up the arguments ease made at three town halls. he writes there are four main ways the reform we're proposing will provide more stability and security to americans. if you don't have health insurance, you will finally have qualityffordable options once

>> chuck todd at the white house for us tonight. chuck, tha> erseas, the moh st has been the deadliest month yet as it it's offl,ff ill killed in the war this month, r 45 set just this past july. 45 set just this past july.45 d st anens 9 d tbeeahe yef ar o year of thei 182 americans killed so far with 4 months yet to go in the year. among those honored dead, marine sergeant bill care, buried today with full honors at arlington national cemetery. sergeant care was killed in action on august 13th. he leaves a wife who's expecting twins. bill care was once a congressional staffer to ted kennedy, and last week his family received a letter of condolence from the senator with a signed copy of the book "profiles in courage." it arrived the day before senator kennedy died, believed to be among the last letters the senator sent out. >>> back to california now and the story that has shocked people all across this country. the kidnapping of jaycee dugard, held in captivity for almost two decades. police are now getting a good look around at wh

nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd is traveling with the president. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, jenna. the president used his third town hall in less than a week to display a feistier side to regain his attempt for control over the health care he debait. president obama's working vacation out west continued with a second town hall in as many days, this one in grand junction, colorado >> hello, grand junction! >> reporter: he spent as much time dealing with the tenor and tone of the health care debate as he did with the details of his plan. >> whenever america has said about solving our toughest problems there have always been those who sought to preserve the status quo by fearing american people. i just lost my grandmother last year. i know what it's like to watch somebody you love who is aging deteriorate. >> reporter: during the q&a, the president faced some tough questioners. >> i'd love to have a debate, just all-outany time oxford style i you like. >> reporter: university of colorado state a 2008 mccain volunteer challenged the presi

. >>> still ahead, chuck todd's exclusive interview with president obama and what he's saying about the economy and possible claims of a tax hike. >>> plus, democrats facing a month of town hall attacks orchestrated by republicans. why are the democrats spending time and energy attacking each other? >>> and what's american idol without paula? who will simon fight with? what will be the balance of the criticism? this is the "big picture" on msnbc. you have to spend, shopping online can help save. doing it with bank of america can help save a lot more. up to 20% cash back from over 300 online retailers with our add it up program. just sign up and use your bank of america debit or credit card when you shop online. it's one of the many ways we make saving money in tough times a whole lot easier. it's one of the many ways we make saving ♪ ♪ i'm cool like that, i'm cool like that ♪ ♪ i'm cool like that [ female announcer ] there's a smarter, cooler way to get your clothes brilliantly clean. and it's a turn for the better. ♪ i'm cool like that, i'm cool like that ♪ [ female announcer ] tide co

chief white house correspondent chuck todd was with the president today and has our report now from phoenix. chuck? >> reporter: good evening, ann. the president wrapped up his western working vacation with a final speech to the veterans of foreign wars. but on a day when health care wasn't supposed to be the dominant topic, it was. >> what do we want? health care! >> when do we want it? >> now! >> reporter: another day, another health care demonstration. this time in downtown phoenix. the scene was reminiscent of other politically charged settings greeting president obama outside town halls last week. but health care wasn't the main agenda item for the president today. instead, it was a chance to recognize and honor the nation's veterans. >> we can never say it enough, for your service in war and peace, thank you vfw. >> reporter: given the ramped-up public debate over health care, the president sought to reassure the veterans, both young and old, that health care reform will not affect their benefits. >> since there's been so much misinformation out there about health care reform, let me

. >> i'm joined live from big sky, montana, chuck todd. good morning again, chuck. >> reporter: good morning, alex. >> let's talk about the president's response. what was it and did it satisfy the crowd? >> well, i think the crowd was satisfied with the answer. what the president did was, he answered specifically on this issue of paying for health care. you know, this is something that's frustrated the white house a bit. that is, from the very beginning, the president said whatever they do with health care, it is not going to add to the deficit. the problem is, you know, the general public is still seeing what government is doing in general, in seeing a big deficit, in seeing a lot of money spent. while it is true that everything they're doing, every plan they've come up will be deficit-neutral when it comes to this thing, it's just not -- that part of it is penetrating the public psyche enough, or what, because that has been something that, when you listen to these protesters and listen to the folks that have come to these town has and bee

nbc's chief white house correspondent and political director chuck todd joins us to break down the numbers. hello, chuck. >> reporter: a heated three weeks on health care, no doubt. and while there is a large majority that agrees there needs to be a major overhaul of the health care system it is about the only point of agreement in this poll. the scenes are familiar now. passionate support. passionate opposition. there are differences. >> reporter: for the president the debate hasn't been particularly helpful. for the third straight month mr. obama's overall job approval rating has dropped. now just 51%. with 40% disapproving. on health care the president's job rating while unchanged still only has 41% approvinapproving, disapproving. lyle rexler of brooklyn is withholding judgment. >> we won't know until we find out whether, you know, he gets something through. then we will find out if he did a good job or not. >> reporter: even worse for republicans in congress. just 21% approve of how they are handling health care. 62% disapprove. >> of course they want -- >> reporter: the public is spl

live from scottsdale, arizona by nbc news political director and chief white house correspondent chuck todd. good morning, chuck. >> good morning. >> as you listen to everything going out from the president to kathleen sebelius, is the public option going away? >> i think it is. we've seen this hinted at for weeks. we've been reporting it for weeks, that this is what's going on behind the scenes. when kent conrad, basically the author of this idea of this co-op idea, the chairman of the senate budget committee but also a part of the finance committee, democrat from north dakota, when he put this idea out there about two months ago, i talked with some folks inside sort of the health care war room of the white house and they all said, well, they saw how this could end up becoming a compromise. i think that, look, the president is not somebody who is going to draw lines in the sand and i'm going to get what i want and jam it through. he loves to be a negotiator, loves to be a compromiser. i think they saw this from the get-go. he still goes out there, defends the public option, believes in the

joining us now from washington, nbc news, chief white house correspondent, and political director chuck toddk, we covered all of these campaigns. you've covered the hill for years and know the real scale of this man's legacy. >> well, it's interesting. he certainly seems to have two political legacies, right? we have senator kennedy and then there was the 20-year period basically from the moment bobby kennedy was assassinated to 1988 when he was sort of the once and future presidential candidate and savior of the democratic party and when that ended it was as if that's when the persona of senator kennedy grew and when he went through that last trial, personal trial and tribulation basically when it came to the william kennedy smith trial and then survived the challenge against mitt romney, it was almost as if he were reborn again. that's where he went from just the third brother to ted kennedy, his own legacy, his own man. >> and ted kennedy was very helpful to the clintons during the worst period personally and presidentially for the clinton white house, up here, in fact, in hyannis port th

please give a big round -- >> we want to bring back chuck todd for a moment. chuck, we're starting to hear a little bit about the 2010 elections, even at this early point, and you wrote and your team wrote about a notion that republicans may start become optimistic about 2010, they make up some seats in the house inspect. is that right? are republicans feeling a little mo joe? >> history and imagine suggests they would be politically inept if they couldn't figure up to pick up some seats. democrats on the house side have won every seat left for them to win. yes, you could make an argument for a dozen more under the right circumstances they will be competitive and do very well and they might argue even as many as 36 republican incumbents that they could potentially target. but there are nearly 50 democrats sitting in districts john mccain carry and, remember, that means there's another dozen or so in districts that the president barely carried. so it's a big competitive field. house republicans are talking about 80 democratic seats that they can target. the ques

chuck todd joins me now. uck, i know that robert gibbs is going to be asked a lot of questions on north korea and won't be able to answer them. the white house is being really careful here out of concern for the safety of the journalists, but is there any question that this mission was thoroughly vetted by the white house and that they have the tacit approval of the white house? >> reporter: there's no doubt, especially when you have, don't forget, this isn't just an ex-president, and we know that when he was president, bill clinton was none too pleased when jimmy carter made his way north korea. this is a lot different, because he's not just any old ex-president, he happens to be the husband of the secretary of state. so i think because of that, there's no doubt that all the traps were run here. the question is, what else is going to come out of this, besides, we know north korea has a pattern of were they're a bit star crossed, right. they want to get the highest available u.s. official there to hand over th

fight now is getting a bill passed, and i think they think they will get that done. >> thank you, chuck todd. it looks like you have to get on the plane, chuck. >> i guess so. all right, sir. >> thanks for joining us. >>> joining me now in washington, "time" magazine bureau chief michael duffy. on this week's edition there's a story of how las vegas is gambling on a big comeback. michael duffy, barack obama is gambling on max baucus' ability to get him a bill that he can sign. how does that look as of today? >> well, you have to imagine, lawrence, that at some point the president and senator baucus did have a conversation about whether they do this in a bipartisan fashion here in the next 30 to 60 days or whether at some point they have to do it just with democrats. i suspect that conversation happened somewhere or is happening now, and that's a decision they don't have to make yet. i think everyone in that committee of two, which you just said was the most important, would like to do it with republicans. it's not clear they will be able to, and it looks like they're probably prepared to go

is chief white house correspondent chuck todd. we were just watching claire mcclass kill mccaskill having a tough time at her town hall in missouri. is it some of the town halls gone away from michigan and in missouri influencing the conversation one way or the other? >> i think it is influencing the conversation or you wouldn't have the president himself yesterday at a town hall have to spend as much time explaining what is not in his proposal for health care as he did trying to pitch what is in his proposal on health care. so there is no doubt this stuff is having an effect. i think another thing we've learned is it's a lot easier to show up at a town hall meeting for a member of congress if you're an opponent than it is to get into one of these town hall meetings with the president. that's not to say it wasn't open to the public. it's just a little more difficult, i think, in two ways. number one, just getting a ticket distributed because there's so many more people that try to get them, and, two, i think people are just -- hav

i'm chuck todd live in washington. president obama said an important chapter in our history has come to an end with the passing of senator ted kennedy. the man who the president says is synonymous with the democratic party will lie in repose at the john f. kennedy presidential library in boston on friday. what we don't know is whether he'll end up lying in state or in repose at the capitol where he made his legacy. his funeral will be held saturday at our lady of perpetual help basilica in the mission hill section of boston. president obama will speak at the mass. his body will be flown to virginia where he will be laid to rest at arlington national cemetery very close to both of his brothers. president obama issued a proclamation ordering the american flag be flown at half staff across the united states today in honor of the who served for nearly 47 years. both the president and the vice president praised kennedy today. >> the outpouring of love, gratitude, and fond memories to which we've all borne witness is a testa

chuck todd.ast relief of your diarrhea symptoms, so you can get back out there. imodium. get back out there. [ engine powers down ] gentlemen, you booked your hotels on orbitz. well, the price went down, so you're all getting a check thanks. for the difference. except for you -- you didn't book with orbitz, so you're not getting a check. well, i think we've all learned a valuable lesson today. good day, gentmen. thanks a lot. thank you. introducing hotel price assurance, where if another orbitz customer >>> all right. welcome back to "morning joe." just before 7:30 on the east coast, we're following a breaking story out of cape cod this morning. nbc news confirming eunice kennedy shriver died earlier today. she was the younger sister of president i don't know f. kennedy and also the founder and honorary chairperson of the special olympics. according to the family she was surrounded by her children, their spouses and all of her 19 grandchildren when she died. eunice kennedy shriver was 88 years ol

is chuck todd -- chuck todd's working for grassley now. he's got a grassley 2010 button on. to look at what's in front of me. in fact, this is what sort of makes us all crazy these days is just because you look at something and you say, okay, this is what he's talking about, it doesn't mean you're taking one side or the other. >> chuck, i was actually joking with you. >> reporter: i know, i know. but it's not you and me. it's not you and me it's the way our viewers, the way your viewers are going to interpret this today. they're going to interpret it in a completely more irspobsably than even what grassley was playing to as far as that sound bite was. >> have a sip of your decaf coffee and remember what they say, a river runs through it. >> he said you have every right to fear. that's one of the statements of grassley. later on, we should not have a government program that suggests you pull the plug on grandma. he got that out there. it looks like he's saying your fears, your apprehensions are legitimate and we don't want a program like that that would pull the plug on grand

i'm joined by nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent chuck todd.er and final good morning to you. >> another final good morning to you. >> i'll leave the explanation for the teepee until the end. what questions have resonated the most at thinks meetings? what do you expect we'll see today? >> reporter: well, i think obviously the two questions that seem to catch the president slightly off-guard yesterday was the one about the question from the nra member who was -- seemed to be concerned about how are you going to pay for this? that is one of the big items that comes up time and again when it comes to health care. how do you pay for it? whose taxes will go up? or will it increase the deficit? the president very ready with that answer. the last question that he got, the last tough one he got toward the end was from a health insurance salesman, who says, why railroad demonizing the industry so much? that one seemed to catch the president slight live off-guard. why? because the fact is in the last few weeks, the message has shifted slightly to beat up

>> with me now live nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd. chuck, big records words from the president who, the last couple of months, in fact, in the last week or two, has gone back and forth how much to talk about the economy turning a corner but it sounds like he is feeling good about it. >> they are. but than morning, the morning press gaggle, press secretary robert gibbs said the white house still expects unemployment to hit 10%, that, you know, the trend that they want to emphasize is that there seems to be, over the last three months, a steady decline in job losses, but we're still seeing job losses and that is why you don't see him doing a jig. they will not be danceing in the streets today about it or dancing up on stage at the white house at the rose garden so they are trying to walk that line. because could this be a summer aberration or will this be a steady decline? i mean, one of the things you hear from some economists, does it pick up speed and momentum? but these guys have been telling us, well, for the number really to go dow

. >> for more now on whether lowered voices will prevail today, i'm joined by chuck todd. another good morning to you, chuck. >> reporter: good morning. >> let's get to emotions running pretty high on both sides of the debate overall. it's clearly been a tough sell for the president. if we use yesterday's town hall meeting as an example of what's to come, do you think the president is going to be successful at getting the public on his side? >> well, i think that's still up in the air. and it's interesting that you asked the question that way. the second question that you could be asking is he going to get some form of health care reform passed and i think he'll definitely get that done. here's why maybe what's happening this month might actually benefit him over the next two months when congress comes back into session. and that is this attention that conservatives and republicans have gotten on the right, it may have awakened or at least the white house hope hos it has awakened their core supporters. yesterday the president sounded as if he was at a campaign rally again.

nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd is traveling with the president. he has the latest from big sky, montana. chuck? >> good morning, lester. the president is out west for a working vacation. yesterday was town hall number one. today will be town hall number two in grand junction, colorado, all of it is an attempt to recapture political momentum to pass health care reform. president obama came to the hills of montana with his entire family in tow for what was billed as a town hall on health care but at times felt like a campaign rally. president obama was reminiscent of candidate obama at times, as he worked the audience. >> so i need you to keep knocking on doors, talking to your neighbors, spread the facts. >> reporter: the president did take questions from a mostly supportive audience, but not before offering his own media critique of how town halls have been covered this week. >> tv loves a ruckus. what you haven't seen on tv and what makes me proud, are the many constructive meetings going on all over the country. >> reporter: mindful of tuesday's

. >> kevin, chuck todd just talked about the complexities of dealing with north korea, there's the official state media and what they have said about hillary clinton. how complicated is the diplomatic dance in bill clinton's dance, how careful he needs to be? >> he needs to be very, very careful. he needs to draw a very clear line between the case of these two journalists and the nuclear question. it's not realistic to believe what the white house is hoping for here, they would like to create a better atmosphere here. i think the white house feels it is in their best interests to have north korea come back to the table and north korea is looking for the prestige that a visit from bill clinton would be. he doesn't want to directly link these things, he doesn't want to do the things that jimmy carter did which is get involved with negotiations which should have been held between the white house and north korea. he just has to be very careful to make nice with the north koreans and leave the rest to the white house. >> there's the north korean news agency and it's not been confirmed by msnbnbc