it was cated by a bureaucratic process to begin th it's interesting, historicall, judges have always had the power that hs had to overturn pay yet th've almostnever used thatower because thr views, it's impossie to appropriately predic they, instead, ry on the good officeof the board of directors and focused inste on e board, whe they appropriatel stimulated and appropriately comprise in creating the pay pkage themselves. ey let the heavy lifting be done bthe board. same thingor a pay czar. it reay sort of puzzlese why you would create a pition to begin with. it wasn't congressionally authorized. 's sort of a n idea. paicularly using the word "czar" is a little scary especially for someone who i steep in.s. busines practices. >> suzanne: do youecognize this is highly politicized process th people are oraged by the levels of compensation in this country? so whas the soluti? ok, maybe it's not a pay czar but howor should we limit executive compensation >> wel peoplehave a righto be angry. i'm one of them. i thinthe pay levels these institutions are appalng. it's a real problem. e quest

we have a fairly bri moment historicall a few years to try to get ck on track and get back in touch wh the ameran valu of discipline and prudence and frugality and ose things. and ineviy we'll start, you knowwe'll put the pedal to the metal again and probably end up in a ditch in024. >> rose: tell me aut the story the aunt and -- t ant and the grasshopper. >> we all ow the sto. >> rose: i want to y tell it. >> the ant in the table was the prudent, hard work careful collectinfood for the wier character. the asshopper didn't do that, parti, partied, partied. sang, danced. and winter comes. and th grasopper is in big trouble. my viewss i was thinking abt what had happened ove the last 25 yrs what has happened over the last 2 years in american histor is that americans are both. americanshave the ant this in them and the grasshopper in tm to a degree that i don't ink -- i think that most defines our national character this wild and crazy speculative side. and thisdisciplined hardworking sober yankeeee foder side. and we indulge one foa while, then that doesn't work so we or it gets boring t

but historicall it takes about 2 1/2 years until employment situation fully recovers. >> this economy is turning. >> but it could take awhile. >> thank you very much. it is 7:12. >> all right, meredith, now to the fiery debate over health care reform. as tempers flare at town hall forums all across the country, some are starting to ask if all that hostility is even about health care anymore. nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd has more on that. hi, chuck. >> good morning, matt. well, look, as you said, what is really being debated at these town halls? the intricacy of health care policy or something else? clearly what we're seeing is an exposure of a familiar, but deep, partisan divide. >> the supreme court of the united states -- >> reporter: the president took a break from selling health care to host a celebration at the white house wednesday for his supreme court pick, sonia sotomayor. >> this moment is not just about her. about every child who will grow up thinking that him or herself that sonia sotomayor can make it, then maybe i can, too. >> reporter: he praised her