the fight goes on. >> i want to bring in chris dodd, another close friend and can colleague. senator dodd, iant to ask you about something that was so poignant that came out of the funeral yesterday from his son. he said my dad taught me how to like republicans because he said they are just the kind of patriots, they love this country as much as i do, and they're out there fighting the same kind of fight. yet, your colleague and friend lamented in recent years that it became harder to wor across the aisle, that bipartisanship was something that was fading away. what happened? >> it's not about bipartisanship. i think that had its moments and its peaks and valleys. it's stability in the process more than anything else.

john kerry, chris dodd and feingold.eb, seniority, personal charm, legislative savvy and ideological zeal that made kennedy the most effective senator in a generation. todd won stebster, what senatord closest fit that description and fill that bill? >> it's going to be hard to fill those shoes and it will take years and decades. a couple of people come to mind, one is shearer of ohio. he's a real progressive, unabashed progressive, shearer brown is a tough one to watch. the state of ohio may mean that it's harder to get re-elected but he is certainly one to watch. another one that's often overlooked, not only because she's only about 5'6". she's on the health committee, she's the first woman on the veteran's committee, she's on the appropriations committee, meaning that she makes a lot of deals and can work both sides of the aisle. but is a very, you know, very effective legislator, very hard working legislator and i think is another one who is still on the rise. >> tim griffin, why did conservatives throughout his caree

is chris dodd going to take that? and how does that make health care more likely and how does it make financial reform more or less likely? >> it's interesting. chris dodd is an -- is in an interesting position because he did take over in ted kennedy's stead in the health, education and labor and pensions committee. but he's also the chairman as you said of the banking committee. and this is going to be a big decision for him. and on top of this, he is facing what could be the most difficult re-election battle in the country next year. so i think at this point, it's impossible to predict precisely what he's going to do. but there's -- there's certainly always been a lot of sense in the senate that there's nothing that ted kennedy would like to have seen more than to see his dear friend, chris dodd, take his life's work to the finish line. >> unable to do the kind of compromising that teddy was able to do. is there anybody in the senate who comes close to being the legislator that ted kennedy was? >> not in the same wa

first from you senator dodd.you sit here this morning after all the emotion of the past week, what is the meaning of senator kennedy, the man and the legislator that you are thinking about this morning? >> well, john, i think said it very well. one thing that was so difficult. how do you capture 30 years of friendship in eight or ten minutes? his ability to overcome adversity was stunning to me. i mean, i just -- what he went through and to come back day after day, time after time. he used to say that all of our difficulties, he would say whatever you're worried about today, i promise you a year from today you won't remember it. if you worry about something else a year from now, but you won't worry about this. he brought that kind of vitality to his life that i think is critical for every human being. i don't care what you are doing. each and every one of us has to sort of get up every day and confront your life as it is and make the best of it, and do something larger than yourself. make a contribution. that's t

sator kerry, senator dodd, thank youothery much.haveore hereoming up more o senor kennedy's life and legy with his nce then knedy townse, ng-time kennedy advis bob shrum, and presidential hiorian dor kearns goodwin, and a special lock backt setor kenny's 45-year history pearg on this ogram. it's cominup only on "meet the pres" >>> mo on the late tedennedy and th highlht of his appearanceays spaing 45 ars on "meet t press" after th briefommercial break. >>> ted kennedyas the ln of the nate, brut he was also the cuof the kennedy family, and it w as young man, just 30, at he made his very first appearan here on "meet the press." in fact, his moth,rose, wrote lett in 1965 tohis program's en moderatoroting he boys john, robert, and teddy each made their debut on the ogram aund theame you age. >> sths a stickle and kep her de boxo shenew the facts about every one of us a we we sort of growing up. is was -- i c remembe when my brother was a congssma and on "meet e press." it was in the winter time, and my motrndathe bught us l in thisas th

i w chris dodd put ut a statement ere he said this is probably the right cice. which doen't sound like h was holding him tight >> ben bernanke eems to be ry popular on wall seet right ow. the wall streecrowd really wanted him reapointed. the senate ismore ambilent ansome members of the house are downrit hostile. i think that refles the high-profile that rnanke and the fehave taken in this rescue a become a lightning rod for bailinout wall street. they wll be -- he wi be put under e ringer but little chance he will geturned down. >> some orry the fed may be topowerful? >> they dobut if they were worried out it then what would they be saying i president ama had replaced him with sometng -- someone of his hone party and chosing? gwen: it would be a wholother convertion. we'll come back to that e. next week we'll bring you "washingn week's" ba-to-school edition. everything you need t know out what to expect in the nation's capital wn everybody gets back to wk after labor y. send us your questionso washingtonweek@s.org. keep up with dily developments the newshour wih

dodd received two countrywide mortgages in 2003.t two country countrywide mortgages in 2004. feinberg reportedly told the republican investigators, quote, you don't say no to the v.i.p. dodd, of course, is the head of the senate banking committee. wow, i don't know why you would feel intimidated to say no to him. he's a five-term senator, and i think that's where it will end. suddenly he is in the fight for his job in the 2010 election. oh, if he could just have connections to, i don't know, like acorn. oh, he does? never mind. conrad is the chair of the powerful budget committee. both senators were members in the program known as "friends of angelo." it's me angelo. i'm the former head of countrywide. he played a big part in the foreclosure crisis. he's been charged with civil fraud and illegal insider trading, but he was a friend of chris dodd. he denies any wrongdoing. i believe him. you know what i'd like to see, america? i'd like to see us draft general schwarzkopf, petraeus and general franks, and then we take them on one of t

>> chris dodd leads the education committee, too, so you'll have a good debate. just to get you clear on the record now, if you were in the united states senate now and if you were voting on health care reform this year, you would vote no to every single proposal made by a democrat or republican in the senate this year, right? >> it depends on the proposal. the ones on the table now, yes. >> every proposal by chuck grassley or any of the republicans in the senate you would vote for, is there a single sentence you would vote for by chuck grassley? >> one thing i would support would be reducing income taxes and then making -- >> that's not on the table -- >> let me finish my point. >> there's not a single thing that any republicans has suggested you would vote for. >> and then tax as ordinary income. only if you lower income tax. you have to lower income taxes to keep it revenue-neutral. >> peter schif is in favor of raising taxes on connecticut citizens that have private health insurance? >> no, remember, i want to lower taxes. >> you want to lower the income tax,

it was kiss dodd, was cleared of charges surrounding his preferential treatment of a v.i.p.oan from countrywide. >> yeah, yeah. eric: what about that? >> conrad and dodd, one is in charge of the budget committee and one is in charge of the banking committee and neither one knows a good deal when he sees it? they got the sweetheart mortgages, points were waved and thousands saved in each case, and conrad got a loan for an apartment building which normally is only supposed to be covering for houses and they said they didn't know. now, the guys if countrywide said they knew. if you're in charge of the banking committee, how do you not know a really nice mortgage when you see one? eric: conrad sits on the banking committee and chairs it so he should know. $661 billion, right, it's money that we haven't paid out. it is probably closer to $750 billion or $800 billion. let's just say the money we haven't paid out yet. that's never going to come back to us, right? >> no. eric: why not? >> because they're not going to stop spending. if we don't spend it on this, we're going to spend

senators roland burris of illinois, kent conrad of north dakota and chris dodd of connecticut and new jersey's robert menendez. house members being investigated include john murtha of pennsylvania, linda and loretta safn chez of california and charles rangel of new york. the politico reports that rangel has now spent more than $1 million in his defense. the u.s. commission on civil rights is demanding an explanation from the justice department about its dismissal of a civil complaint against three members of the new black panther party accused of intimidating voters last november in philadelphia. commission chairman scwerld reynolds tells the washington times, quote, if you swap out the new black panther party in this case for neonazi groups or the chu klu klux klan you likely would have a different outcome. the only charge that stood was a weapons complaint against the leader. the justice department says the evidence did not support the case. the times reported last month

chris dodd is -- s in an intereing position because he did take ver in ed kennedy's stead the health, education and labor and pensions committee. but he's also the chairman as you said of the bankin committee. and this is gog to be a big decision for him. and on top o this, he is facing wha could the most difficult re-eleion battle in the country next yr. so i think at this oint, it's impoible to predict precisey what he's going o do. but there's -- there's certainlalways been a lot of nse in the senate that there's nothing that d kennedy would likeo have seen more than to se his dear frnd, chris dod, take his life's work to the inish lne. >> unableto do thekind of compromising that teddy s able to do. is there anybody in t senate who comes closeto being te legislatorhat ted kennedy was? >> not in the same way. there are people o can mak a deal on very specific subject. bu kennedy who had the knack of dealing with republican democrats, on a whole ariety of isses. i an, we think of him as a legislator on ealth care. but his touch was on so many other subjes, immigration and law reform.

-- senator kennedy's friend chris dodd shepherded through the committee. it limits the republicans, but then, possibly, they will wait until later on to do some of the difficult moneychanger tricks and medicare trimming tricks in the finance committee, which is where this bill is at least a nominal team of republicans and democrats working together. it is time for our high points and low points. mine is a high point. just this past couple of days since kennedy's passing, we have seen these medical retrospectives of old photographs from the earlier era of democratic politics, and it has been really cynicism neutralizing to see these beautiful images of the past, especially these black and white ones. budweiser is now branding deal with college logos. as it we needed another reason college students to be drinking at football games. that is a low point? -- >> that is a low point? do you have a college-age child >> by chance > i do, and we're hoping it does not make it to the point. >> i started college when i was 16, and it did not have to be branded. we foun

and senator dodd said it took ted kennedy several seconds to begin his response. and he thought he had slowed way down too much so he said to him later, ted, why did you take so long to answer that question? and senator kennedy looked at dodd and he said well, i was thinking, that's a damned good question. that kind of candor and that feel for the boston street, if you will, that he had almost pitch perfect tone when it came to understanding what to say it was ball. as a reporter, you can be at a big cocktail party or at a convention someplace or at a gathering. there would be a lot of drinks and good times being had. if you went over to senator kennedy and asked him about a specific piece of legislation or about somebody who had just arrived in the senate and tried to get his assessment, he changed his tone and his demeanor and he would cut right to the chase. he could give you the best read on what the prospects were for getting complicated legislation through or what the soft points were to his opponent or strengths were in his opponent. he had a high regard fo

one of ted kennedy's closest friends is us with, senator chris dodd. he'll join us soon. don't go away. if you've had a heart attack caused by a completely blocked artery, another heart attack could be lurking waiting to strike. a heart attack caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots. ask your doctor about plavix, protection that helps save lives. if you have a stomach ulcer or other condition that causes bleeding you should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines including aspirin may increase bleeding risk, tell your doctor before planning surgery or taking aspirin or other medicines with plavix, especially if you've had a stroke. some medicines that are used to treat heartburn or stomach ulcers, like prilosec, may affect how plavix works, so tell your doctor if you are taking

course senators mccain and senators hatch, two republicans, senator kerry and we just saw senator dodd pulling in. and at the end of this, we'll hear from caroline kennedy, who just a short tile a lot we also saw arrive here at the library, it's been interesting on of course this day when so many people have come out, i think one of the more poignant moments was watching teddy kennedy iii, the 11-year-old grandson of the senator, was out here all day walking in the rain of course and he has that longest bob of blond hair and freckles across his nose and doing interviews with the media and interested in everything. he told my colleague peter alexander when asked about what he felt this day, he said he's sad that his father is gone, but he's happy that so many people came out and paid respects today. so really a very sweet moment. one other note, we also saw john and elizabeth edwards together, a short time ago arrive here, they spoke with the press and of course talked about missing senator kennedy, elizabeth edwards of course also suffering from terminal cancer, seemed very upbeat here

let me ask you this, wait until you read or hear chris dodd tonight. wait until you hear chris dodd tonight. >> chris is a great pal of teddy's as we all know. >> marty nolan from boston now living in san francisco. up next, a preview of our documentary, "the kennedy brothers" as we continue our coverage of this night of tribute to ted kennedy, teddy. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. (announcer) illness doesn't care where you live... ...or if you're already sick... ...or if you lose your job. your health insurance shouldn't either. so let's fix health care. if everyone's covered, we can make health care as affordable as possible. and the words "pre-existing condition" become a thing of the past... we're america's health insurance companies. supporting bipartisan reform that congress can build on. you weren't always my favorite day. with all the pet hair in the air, i'd spend class preoccupied, bothered by itchy eyes. but now i have new zyrtec® itchy eye drops. it works fast, with just one drop, to relieve my itchy eyes from allergies for up to

chris dodd is down in the polls.there is a problem with committee chairman becoming too cozy with the industries that they are regulating. the whole profusion of political action committees that there is supposedly vol untarry contributions. dodd was considered too cozy with the companies. he's also chair of the banking committee of the company he was supposed to chair and have oversight. the ultimate punishment was the non-election or running a very, very tough campaign where before you had a very easy campaign. 0 host: back to the op ed piece. do you think no laws were broken or that the laws don't apply to the executive branch? >> i think the executive branch went through the process of getting an executive opinion as to when was legal and what was not legal. that was the appropriate way to go about it. i believe that the legal opinions were sound. unless there are cases of individuals who violated the law as it was laid out, these people were following the law. we have to remember, what they were trying to do, wh

presently, have that they go too far, and i think that is what dodd was saying. it? >> is what you are saying that those against the bill are going too far? no, we are just representing what we believe in. hi a lot of us have read the bill. i have read most of the bill, and it does not according to the american constitution. neil: if you are in favor of what they are saying -- let me get out of your sense of where this goes, because many are looking at the passing of senator kennedyç in any sort of bipartisan sympathetic wave that has gripped theç country -- vey much a game changer on health- care reform, and this could create more appetite for the very thing that you are against. what do you make of that? >> i think that the far left is using emotion. they are not using principal. i think that most people believe and agreed that senator kennedy was about defending the constitution of the united states of america, and that he was about all of the liberties and freedom that this country has to offer, and, quite honestly, it's the majority of americans are agains

we had chris dodd on a few moments ago. this fellow who just passed away really like the constituent service. he liked it when the mayor called him and said we have a problem with the bridge, we need some money. teddy seemed to like to do those jobs. >> he did, and how different it was from jack who would have been bored by it or bobby who thought for a time of running for governor of massachusetts and said, i don't want to sit in the state house deciding on sewer contracts. he was a regular guy. he was an extrovert. he loved to connect with people, and maybe, chris, it had to do with the fact that, you know, as a small child, he knew franklin roosevelt and winston churchill. you can't go very far up from there. so he wasn't really impressed by anyone, and i think to some extent, you know, he really kept it real. >> explain the commitment to health. now, here is my theory. i'll run it by you. i think the kennedy family had seen what was done to the older sister rosemary, incredibly tragically treated by the father, given a

for 1,000 days in the white house as chris dodd mentioned, president kennedy inspired. for 80 days on the presidential campaign trail, robert kennedy gave us reason to believe in hope again. and for more than 17,000 days as the united states senator, ted kennedy changed the course of history as few others have. without him, there might still be a military draft. the war in vietnam might have lasted longer. there might have been delays in granting the voting rights act, in passing medicare or medicaid. soviet might have been ignored, and who would have been there to help them as ted did? without him, we might not have stood up against the partide as forcefully as we did. if everyone only knew. without ted, 18-year-olds might not be able to vote. there might not be a martin luther king day, meals on wheels, student loans, equal funding for women's college sports, health insurance, the family medical leave act, the americans with disabilities act, workplace safety, americorps, if everyone only knew. he stood against judges that would turn back the clock on constitutional r

as chris dodd said, he got to live every irishman's dream, which is to live to see your own eulogy. for the last 15 months or so, there's been a procession of tributes and memorials. the one honor he enjoyed and thought was cooler than any other was throwing out the first pitch at fenway park on opening day. >> mark leibovitz, some terrific reports. we'll ask you to stick around and get into more of what you reported this morning, include youing incredible moments over the last couple of moments. we love the part with all the reports that ted kennedy was just about to die over the last couple of months, that he would call his friends or call people he hadn't talked to and say, i'm still here. >> i love when they talk about the sing-a-longs the family would have. vicky would plan dinner parties and people would come over and sing songs together. of course, we were not there, but it's something if you close your eyes, you can visualize what might have happened on those nice nights in that beautiful home with these amazing people. >> more coverage of this historic day from boston, for

chris dodd, john kerry, those who were so close to him.e senate. do you think that the climate now takes them in that direction where they would be more apt to go that direction because they want to make sure this thing gets done? >> yeah, i think so. it's a balancing test. you know, it's true that ted kennedy, and i heard mr. pearlstein and he was terrific in his analysis. ted kennedy to reach across the aisle and make the deal and settle for 70% because he knew 70% was better than zero, and there's going to be an inclination to do that as we deal with democrats who haven't made up their mind yet, but we cannot compromise and produce a bill that really doesn't do anything, that is a bill in name only. we've got to fight for something that's substantial. we've got to fight to make sure that people who have prior illnesses can't be denied health coverage, people who get sick can't be dropped. that health care truly is portable and everyone has access to a decent plan. those are the things that we cannot compromise on. so there's a danger wi

i think his last conversation with dodd was about -- it was right before dodd went into surgery for hisrostate cancer. i don't think kennedy was weighing in at all. i think he was following it as much as he could. but at a certain point it was really his staff. even that i think especially during recess a lot of the focus has been on the finance committee and so i think recently he really hasn't been much of a factor. >> ted kennedy spent time on the porch of his house. you talked about him enjoying the salty air, enjoying the sail boat, that sort of thing. was his entire family with him the entire summer? people coming and going? >> a lot of the summer. patrick has been in rehab but when he's gotten out he has been largely in hyannis port. ted jr. has a house down the street. kara kennedy was around most of the time. jean smith his oldest surviving sibling rented a place down the street for the summer. >> the shrivers as well? >> the shrivers were there. eunice obviously passed away a few weeks ago but there were a lot of shrivers coming through and they lived right up the street. vick

[applause] >> as a senator dodd said, senator kennedy had good staff.oment, you will learn more of his other talents. welcome him now, nick, to the podium. [applause] >> i think that, for the senator, one of maya most important attributes was that i could sing. you'll know that he loved to sing. vicki and he and family members and pianists that they invited in all participated in these magnificent sing-alongs. i get to sing with the center in so many places over so many years, washington, boston, the senate, the cave, in maine, and those were all magnificent times. he even had may seem to senator hatch as they were wrapping up the deal on children's health. [laughter] that was the senator at his best. i like the songs that he knew best. we sang "the street that to live" thousands of times. when we sang to a crowd, both of us, if i got to love, he would give me that look and i knew i was in trouble. tonight, i'm going to sing one of the songs he especially loved and which we always sang every single evening when we get together to sing. we sang this song

>> we had senator dodd and senator lieberman.greta: have you contacted senator dodd or senator lieberman? both, i imagine, are in support of it, certainly senator dodd, but have you contacted your senators? >> i absolutely have, yes. yes, i did that right away. greta: what kind of response are you getting? what kind of response are you getting? >> i got a canned responses that had nothing to do with my views, and it was something that had been well prepared, and as soon as a conversation comes up that says "healthcare," they have an automatic response that is programmed into their machine. i also called washington. i was not allowed to speak to the senators, but i was allowed to have their voice mail, and i made my views known. greta: have you been to any town hall meetings? has a town hall meeting been held in your area? >> not that i know of, no. greta: would you like to go to one? >> yes, absolutely. i do not know if you are aware of this or not, greta, but on craigslist, there is actually an advertisement for people to be pai

yes, the banks were part of this, but so were barney frank and chris dodd.id: plenty of blame to be going around, but i suspect barney frank will not be going to jail. >> you don't know yet. he was a big part of this. >> we could put his pension. david: let's hope that at least comes true. when we come back, a new plan that may have some rolling over in their graves, literally. in their graves, literally. cash for cas hoveround power chair? the statue of liberty? the grand canyon? it's all possible with a hoveround. tom: hi i'm tom kruse, inventor and founder of hoveround. when we say you're free to see the world, we mean it. call today and get a free hoveround information kit that includes a video and full color brochure. dennis celorie: "it's by far the best chair i've ever owned." and if you qualify get it for little or no money. jim plunkitt: "no cost. absolutely no cost to me." breaking news...when you call today, we'll include a free hoveround collapsible grabber with the purchase of your power chair. it reaches, it grabs, it's collapsible and it's por

it is very ugly, andenator christher dodd has been on the house committee well senator kennedy was very ill. has said that sometimes y will come to an agreement in the coerence committe, and sometimes u did not reach an agreement until yo are on the floo >> i get t fling that congress on this one is more like a jy, sitting there aring the evidence and then making up their nds. based on what they feelhese powerfullyeld positions are but what the represeed, we do not kn. >> it i not congss in a sense, b it is the sixr seven key legislators who actuallyet the work don which going backo kennedy, that iwhy he was good. kennedy's bestork was done sitting in a roomike this with s colleagues saying we're not going to take the provision. we areoing to give you thi and that is really where the business gs conducted. the boy that h has left is who steps in andoes that kind of work? its hard work. >> is one o the president's problems that he is not your on the hill? >> that is true, and i d not think he understas the bl very wel -- he is not fead onhe hill. there is comparison bween him and lbj but

dodd announced he had been diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer. the five-term democrat has taken a lead role in the health care reform effort. he is expected to return to work end of this month. >>> coming up tonight on news 4 at 11:00. metro acknowledges an operator left the station with too many cars on one train. drugs may be to blame. air tran makes plans few expand at reagan national ahead of comp competition. a tourist takes aim at the mona lisa. as surity scrambles to take her down. bob, how about the weather? >> still warm, humid, jim. that will change a bit. and anna, anna may be born tomorrow. i will explain. >>> thank you, bob. coming up. devin thomas gets counsel from a veteran. also red sox and tigers throw down in beantown. and nine in a row. find out if the nationals are still streaking when news 4 at still streaking when news 4 at connie loves target for its incredible deals. d with her daughter starting middle school tomorrow, connie's got some high expectations. she expects look 11 might be the one. she expects look 17 might be t

. >>> do we have senator chris dodd?s offering his reflections on his friend, senator ted kennedy. >> normally i'd take the trip up to hartford, so, i really appreciate you coming down here. get you all in. just let me know when you're ready. >> sorry, senator. >> yeah. you saul set you guys? >> all set? >> this will be very brief. i don't have a long statement to make. well, look, the country lost a great advocate. there are millions of people who counted on this guy every day to stand up for them. and for decades to come, history will talk about his legislative accomplishments and the difference he made in public policy. for me, i lost my best friend in the senate. just a great friend. was here many occasions, right here in this river. and so it's been a long year, a year and three months, but he died peacefully about 11:30. i talked to mrs. kennedy a little while ago. and he fought like a lion this last year, to stay alive, and to be around. she talked about him. we got the mental health parity bill done. we got the t

yes, the banks were part of this, but so were barney frank and chris dodd. david: plenty of blame to be going around, but i suspect barney frank will not be going to jail. >> you don't know yet. he was a big part of this. >> we could put his pension. david: let's hope that at least comes true. when we come back, a new plan that may have some rolling over in their graves, literally. cash for caskets. wait until you hear about this. david: so first it was cash for clunkers. now it's cash for caskets. this is real, folks. state and local governments paying for funerals for people who can't afford them, with taxpayer money. it's happened before, but it's being taken to a whole new level. jack gates says this is taking cradle to grave entitlements to a whole new level. >> i'm all for publicly funded funerals for service men and women that come back, that have died in the field of battle. but look, this is ridiculous. you have to have a bare minimum as a social safety net for those who can't afford funerals. but expanding this program takes the worst part of cash

one of ted kennedy's closest friends is us with, senator chris dodd. he'll join us soon. don't go away. >>> today, more than ever before, i believe that each of us as individuals must not only struggle to make a better world, but to make ourselves better, too. >> larry: joining us now, one of the senator's closest friends, senator chris dodd, democrat of connecticut. when did you last see him, chris? >> i saw him, larry, i think about -- i guess in july. i was at my niece's wedding. in massachusetts. we stopped on the way back, my two daughters, my wife and i. had a wonderful visit with him. he was so funny. i recall we spent, vicki and i and teddy and i sat and chat for about an hour or so. i told him in passing, vicki said ahead of time he really couldn't have children around. because his up mine immune system was so vulnerable. but when he heard the children -- i didn't tell him the children were in the car. they were in the car with their babysitter. and he said please bring them in. vicki said, no, you can't. he had them outside the window making rabbit faces at him.

the dodd bill in the senate and the pelosi bill in the senate drives the deficit up and it doesn't cut insurance inflation, and we need to tackle those issues as well, and then the other thing is, if you have reconciliation, it's a partisan approach, and i have said -- and everybody else is saying, too, this is such an important issue, you know, it's one-sixth of the economy, health care is, and health care implies life-and-death issues of every american and it ought to be done on a broad, bipartisan basis. that's why we have the group of six. that's why we're trying to develop a bill that will get 70-80 votes because you need a consensus on something this very, very important. >> schieffer: you bring up a very interesting point, because president obama said, last week, that he now thinks republicans -- or many republicans think it's more important to defeat this for political reasons than it is to pass a health care reform bill. why shouldn't -- if that is the case, why shouldn't the president just go ahead and try to ram this through with just democratic votes, senator grassley, if t

you know, he was very version -- until a month ago, he was pretty closely engaged, deputized chris doddnd chris dodd, you know, got the bill out of the committee, so, you know, at this point it, it is unclear what was going on. >> interesting, jeanne, here president obama has the problem with his base on this question of the public option, a government plan alongside private insurance plan to create competition. while that's become the area where the fight is really heated, you look at some of the things already achieved possible here carrying out, getting the insurance industry on board, not deny people based to on conditions, those things in agreement with pharmaceutical companies, individual mandate that alluded ted kennedy back in previous addition. >> he was one to say don't let the perfect get in the way of the possible. and it is -- it is easy to look at the health care debate right now see how the president has tried to signal to his left he wants to give baucus room to of move the co-op deal if that is the compromise that has to be reached in the senate to get the legislation o

senator chris dodd writes --. very close relationship.u know, ed, senator kennedy handed to senator dodd responsibility for the health committee as it's known in the senate which has been responsible for a big part of the health care legislation that is still working its way through here. you get a sense of the sentiments and they are coming from lom all of the members. my inbox has been flooded today with very heartfelt remembrances and it goes beyond that. staffers here at senator kennedy's office tell me they are adding phone lines to accommodate the many phone calls that are coming in to express sympathy. we have also seen flowers being delivered to the office here. it's very much a sense of trying to connect with the legacy and the friendships that were made here by ted kennedy. >> kelly, i have to ask you. we're getting a lot of e-mails here at msnbc and on the ed schultz show that many americans would like to see if health care legislation is passed, ted kennedy's name put on it. has that conversation circulating around capitol hil

the kennedy/dodd committee leaves 34 million people uncovered. the kennedy/dodd bill increases costs by $33 trillion in the second ten years. and both of those cost people their insurance. if you want to keep your insurance, you may not be able to, because employers will dump you on to the exchange and pay penalty, because it will be cheaper. i would like to see a plan from the white house that specifically supports the ideas he's put forward, because i support them. now, there are two bipartisan plans floating around this congress, which have very strong support. the one is the wieden/bennett plan, which has -- which i'm a close sponsor of, which has 16 members on it, eight democrats, eight republicans here in the senate. and here we have this initiative by senator grassley and senator baucus, which has been very substantiative and very thoughtful and they've been negotiating aggressively. i i'm hopeful that that will either come to fruition or people will come a hard look at the bipartisanship wieden/bennett plan or my own plan that accomplishe

the surgery was a success, and senator dodd they say is doing well.g to remain in the hospital for a few days. after a brief recuperation at home with his family, he's looking forward to getting back to work later this month on behalf of the people of connecticut. we're just getting word that senator dodd did undergo surgery today to treat early stage prostate cancer. he's doing well and he's looking forward to getting back to work after the recess. >>> tamron, in the big picture right now, the growing saga involving south carolina republican governor mark sanford. the governor held a meeting with his cabinet this morning as democrats demanded an investigation into the governor's use of state aircraft to attend his kids' sports games and even get a haircut. here is what governor sanford said about that after the meeting. >> all of a sudden folks are saying, wait a minute, you took this, though that's been going on for 20 years. i'd say at some level there is a double standard, and if -- with all due respect, if they were s serious about the inquiry in

david, you know, just listening to senator dodd and the vice president and the choking back the tears, that is a part of the humanity you just mention that had everybody is talking about today. the legislative record will last the test of time. it will be in our nation's history and kids will go to washington, d.c. and learn about senator kennedy and also in their books, but to see that raw emotion from people that he talked with regularly and saw every day, it's very powerful. >> absolutely. everybody has lessons and anecdotes from ted kennedy. the one thing we keep hearing all day long, that ted kennedy didn't dabble in the small stuff, the petty personal attacks. that was not him. i think that's why so many people are feeling so sad not only for the loss of him but for the loss of perhaps a political era. so much to talk about. are you watching msnbc special coverage of the death of ted kennedy. >> up next his special relationship. it's been talked about a lot with president obama. we're going to take a look back at kennedy's endorsement of president obama in 2008, one of the most

where we are right now is senator kennedy's committee, which was led by chris dodd in his absence, has passed a pretty strong health care bill, which among other things has a strong public option, which would substantially increase the number of community health centers in america so that all americans in fact would have access to a doctor, to dental care, to low cost prescription drugs, a greater emphasis, much greater on disease prevention and on quality care and of course access for all americans. that was passed by the senate health committee but as you also know the senate finance committee seems to be going nowhere in a hurry. my view, and i think many other people in the senate think enough is enough. let's take the senate health committee bill. if no republicans are prepared to support it, and i certainly hope that some of them will have a change of heart with senator kennedy's death, then we go it alone. we have 60 votes within the senate and we can defeat a republican filibuster. we negotiate with the house and we finally pass health care reform that this country has been wai

he workewith dodd. over the last several nths and he would say he was talking almost daily with senator kennedy over thehe phone. he would make calls when they were needed to be made but this was not the role that ted kennedy wanted to be playing. he wanted to tre been in the middle of it, in the mix, striking the deals, fighting the fights and his absence was something that was really felt as this battle went forward. >> watching his deteriorating health, one of the things that stuck out in my head is that statement he made that everybody american should be able to get senators are entitled to..s. so looking forward, knowing what this man's legacy was and w wha he wanted to see accomplished, i mean, is this a setback for the fight? >> it's a tremendous setback. you know, there is a sense in which it could be a motivatg factor, you know, a ted kennedy memorial bil on health care. but it is such a monumental loss because ted kaefs the one of those unique figures in the united states senate that could rea

we don't just give chris dodd painkillers like a handful of them at a time!e can wash it down with ted kennedy's whiskey! >> and as we talked about last night, democratic congressman lloyd doggett of texas endured an equally nasty scene during a town hall event he held over the weekend. congressman doggett will be joining us in a moment to talk about that. >>> in terms of the origins of these protests, a big protest of the media continues, i think, to miss the obvious. d.c. lobbying groups with ties to the health care industry have not only been organizing these events, these made-for-youtube ambushes, they also have been taking credit for them. meet conservatives for patients' rights. it's a washington, d.c.-based lobbying organization that's run by a former hospital executive named rick scott. rick scott was actually forced out of the health care company amid a fraud investigation that ultimately resulted in the company paying a $1.7 billion fine. well, now rick scott's conservatives for patients' rights is e-mailing out town hall alert fliers and e-mailing

dodd's office says the surgery was successful.ator dodd hopes to be back at work later this month. bernard madoff's former cfo pleaded guilty to securities fraud, fra fraud,. >>> the costa rican president under quarantine after being diagnosed with a case of the swine flu. now back to "hardball." >>> welcome back to "hardball." eunice kennedy shriver, the founder of the special olympics, died earlier today in hyannis, massachusetts. mrs. shriver was the sister of president kennedy, of robert kennedy, of ted kennedy. she died surrounded by her family. doris kearns goodwin is an author, of course, and presidential historian, and mike barnicle, our friend is a friend of the kennedy family. i want to start with doris because sarge shriver once told me before he got alzheimer's, we were having lunch, he said if you really look at my wife, eunice, you'd see jack kennedy. they're almost genetically the same person. if she weren't a woman, she would have been president. something like that. tell us about the importance of eunice shriver w

now, i actually talked to senator dodd and talked about raising those limits.we can help small business in that way it would be a tremendous boost to the economy. i don't think this is a small business issue, if you're making $1 million a year at your small business my guess is you could afford to do something. don't forget president bush cut taxes mostly on people making a million dollars a year and i think we put those rates to where they were isn't a bad thing. tavis: you suggested earlier how you thought it should be paid for but conceded that's not how it's going to be paid for. what is a i about this trillion dollar figure that's going to have to come from somewhere to pay for this? >> it's not a trillion dollar figure but $600 billion which is less than what we're spending in iraq. and i think the senate finance one has been scored most recently at $80 billion a year so the numbers are a lot less than people thought. that's an influence of the bulldogs and even the republicans pushed back on the cost and i think is a good thing as well. 2/3 comes from sa