. >> lehrer: then, judy woodruff talks to congressmen john larson of connecticut and jason chaffetz of utah about congressional security. >> ifill: we look at how a community and a nation can come together in the aftermath of tragedy. >> most of the people we talked to here at the hospital where rep giffords is recovering are looking forward to the presidents speech tonight. they hope he can help heal the community. >> lehrer: michael beschloss and ellen fitzpatrick provide some historical perspective on the president's role as national consoler. that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> for three hours a week, i'm a coach, but when i was diagnosed with prostate cancer, i needed a coach. our doctor was great, but with so many tough decisions, i felt lost. united healthcare offered a specially trained r.n., who helped us weigh and understand all our options. for me, cancer was as scary as a fastball is to some of these kids, but my coach had hit that pitch before. >> turning data into useful answers. we're 78,000 people looking

peter welch, democrat of vermont and jason chaffetz of utah, republican of utah. but we will start today talking about the announcement yesterday from senator joe lieberman that he will not seek re-election in 2012. we will talk about the state of the united states senate and all that wraps up in his political announcement yesterday. phone lines are on the screen. well, good morning. to set the stage for our conversation with you, senator lieberman's announcement was the third about the 2012 cycle. the national journal daily calls it a rapid -- announcing that kay bailey hutchison and now joe lieberman, the thought that joe lieberman may have in fact made this announcement set all the political internet sites abuzz this week. and the reactions from both sides are a nod to his legacy. this posting from the headline, let us pause now to hate joe lieberman. on the right, conservatives why conservatives should have no love for lieberman. the "christian science monitor" stated perhaps no one would have had the their party's vice presidential nomination and then made th

. >> reporter: utah's jason chaffetz, who has long had a permit to carry a gun, told us in the wake of the arizona attack, he'll carry his gun more often when he's back home. >> it's something i feel is my right. and i like to exercise that right. and you know, i hope i'm never in a scenario where i ever even have to pull it out of my holster. >> reporter: don't expect too many members of congress to start carrying guns. but the concern is real. just two days before the arizona shooting, a man threatened colorado senator michael bennet, saying he would shoot his staff and set fire to his office. that man is now in jail. >> we will, of course, thoroughly review the safety precautions that members of congress take. and consider what, if anything, needs to change. >> reporter: but most members of congress i have spoken to say they don't want bodyguards. they don't want metal detectors at their event. they don't want anything that will get between them and their constituents. >> no part of society is immune from this random, senseless violence. but we can't let it interfere with how we do

he joins jason chaffetz and others who have also said -- who are considering carrying a gun. republican and democratic leaders signaled that closer coordination with local law enforcement was a practical first step after the arizona shootings. beyond that, talks centered on legislation that would make it a crime to carry a weapon within 1,000 feet of elected or high ranking federal official at publicly announced events and a proposal to install a plexiglass enclosure it off protect from spectators and congress rolling back a 5% gop congressional cut at spending and redirecting that money towards security. house speaker john boehner democrat of ohio seemed cool on the ideas. that's from the "washington post" this morning about possible changes in the wake of those tucson shootings. we want to hear from all of you about what you think should change. here is a new cbs news poll out. this was in the "baltimore sun" this morning. did have it anything to do with the shootings. 57% of those polled in this cbs shooting said no, 32% said when you break it down by party, republicans 19

host: meet congressman jason chaffetz of utah. he represents the third district in utah. we just announced he has a new job. he will be chairing the subcommittee on national security and homeland defense. what you want to do with that panel? guest: there is a lot to do. we have hundreds of millions of dollars going out the door in the war effort. we have people from every corner of this country fighting to defend the country. quite frankly, we do not have enough discussion about the fact that we are in a war. we have a duty and a responsibility to not only work with the president, but also be the check and the balance. there's a lot to look at. also, i want to look closely at the csa and what is happening at the airports. i have been an outspoken critic of the way they are conducting the search is at the airport, and the southwest border. i'm very concerned. everyone says border security is imperative. but, is it really happening? we just heard the secretary scuttling a billion-dollar plus effort to come up with a virtual defense. i think we have a duty to give some overs