representative john mika and the senate environment and the committee chair barbara boxer. michael was focused on delivery reforms and boxer, innovative financing and those are the key points that you will see in the bill itself. president obama signed it into law in july. and back in june, i don't think that anybody was expecting that we would actually see this bill come to fruition. but within a couple of weeks following the bill was on the president's desk for signature. the primary issue to point out with map 21, is that it is a two-year bill and it does not fundamentally change federal transportation policy. you can see from the picture on the slide in the corner, that it is illustrative of the politics of the bill. this is president obama at the signing of the bill and you see representatives of teachers unions and the u.s. department of education is also in this picture and arny duncan because it included provisions on college loan interest rates and also representatives of the industry along with la mayor, since the tifia expansion and a $500 million boost to projec

mika and our "morning joe" crew. >>> and when we come back here, we'll huddle around the water cooler where john kerry suggests drago-stylehe must break you. a "rocky iv" reference makes its way into the dnc when "way too early" comes right back to charlotte. [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be nice if there was an easier, less expensive option than a traditional lawyer? at legalzoom you get personalized services for your family and your business that's 100% guaranteed. so go to legalzoom.com today for personalized, affordable legal protection. ♪ >>> because all they have to offer is the same prescriptions they've had for the last 30 years. have a surplus? try a tax cut. deficit too high, try another. feel the cold coming on? take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations and call us in the morning. >> welcome back to charlotte. we're inside the black fin saloon, and once again, you've seen it every time this week. mi mika brzezkinski where she is most comfortable in the world, seated not at the bar, but on the bar. she can't get close enough to the booze. we're pouring bloodies this morning. no, no straight vodka yet, mika,

john mccain. good to have you on the show. >> thank you, mika. >> we know you spent july in libya traveling with ambassadorom you about the loss of this man, america's ambassador to libya and a diplomat that you knew well. >> well, thank you, mika. of course, sean smith and two others, we mourn for them and their families. chris stevens was a unique individual. he literally came into benghazi at the very dangerous time on a cargo ship. he lived in a hotel there. his life was endangered literally every day. as ambassador, he had these very close ties with the libyans. i was with him on election day in libya when the overwhelming majority of libyan people voted for a moderate non-islamic government. he is a genuine american hero. also, could i make this point, the last thing that chris stevens would want is for america to withdraw from libya. these people have a chance at democracy. and the fact is, there is al qaeda there. there is extremist groups. there's thousands of weapons. there's porous borders. and they're struggling, but they can have a democracy. >> when you were traveling with the ambassador, you

john's. prufrnlt with him, meaning ka, when he made this power presentation? >> no i came along a limb later. >> how did we find mikag to gone, i can't believe he is interviewing us, i meet mika for the first time and we are in the newsroom. and she insults me. >> well -- >> what did she say? >> you know, see, i did this show, asks scarborough country" in florida on the boat all day 15 minutes before, i swim in my swimsuit, go to "scarborough country." and mika would do a 30-second news break. >> a freelance gig. >> she would go "scarborough country." hey, dude that woman is making fun of your show. this went on and on. i said, i know you are making fun of my show? she says, how can i make fun of a show i've never seen? seriously, i picked up a phone, called phil griffin, i found our co-host. willy, from the very beginning, was dish knew we had to have willie. >> like a son to you. >> no he is not like a son to me. like a brother. like a flaming -- he is a flaming super nova. womenly is a so willy is a superstar. >> i contributed to "scarborough country." >> i didn't know that. >> before we knew you. >> we walked do

john heilmann on a friday. >> he is half-baked. >> i'm more than half-baked, mika. >> more than--baked. >> great. >> baked in is an expression i was going to use because unlike '88, unlike 1980, you know, there aren't a lot of undecided voters. if you really dig into the numbers, you've got 3%, maybe 4% undecided. fewer undecided voters than ever before. so for mitt romney, if romney's down even by two or three percentage points going into the final week or two, he's going to have to pull 80% of the undecided voters. that's just not going to happen. and it's certainly not going to happen because of 30-second ads. >> and this campaign's been going on for well over a year. the country knows mitt romney. the country has a feeling about who he is. they don't know, though, what exactly he'd do. and that's, i think, his opportunity. he's got two months to lay out in stark terms specifically what he would do on the economy. instead of just ripping president obama about what's happening overseas, how would you handle the situation? some of his aides are coming out this morning and explaining a little bit what he wou

mika. obviously this president has faced the challenges of -- >> exactly 46 past the hour. the moment of silence. ♪ ♪ >> johndministration carried, to hold true to the words that so many americans spoke 11 years ago, never again. and what a burden that is for him. >> never forget. you talk to presidents. you hear president obama talk about the most solemn responsibility is sending other people's children into battle. he's doing it in this case in protecting the country because at this hour, 11 years ago, civilians who were innocent became combatants in a war they did not know was unfolding and it was the murder of innocence and the slaughter of innocence and that's what we commemorate now. >> the remembrances will continue throughout the morning. another moment of silence at 9:03 a.m., the moment the second tower was hit. we'll be right back with more live coverage. losing weight clicked for me when i found a plan that was as active and on the go as i was. weight watchers online is absolutely that tool. it was never further away than my pocket. my sidekick! the weight tracker really let me see that my real p

john boehner's going to be concerned, for good reason. and what about mitch? h s e ri leader. and he has a chance. so yeah. mika by the way, wasn't it great seeing bl clinton again yesterday? >> it was a very nice interview. i thought you both were very well behaved. you really like each other. it's unbelievable sometimes when they get together. it was good. he was good. don't you think? >> i thought it was great. >> i like the clinton global ni inittive a lot, what they do. >> great stuff. >> it was fun. great toe over there. tony bir wfati guess who we have coming up. >> who's that? >> former british prime minister gordon brown. >> no way. >> it continues. and get this, sheila bair comes to the table. her new become on t financial crisis has some stinging words so award-winning presidential historian evan thomas will take us inside his new book on dwight eisenhower. and from the new nbc show "guys wi kids," actor anthony anderson will be here. > andoming up, mike allen oloboe top stories in the >>> first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. bill. >> he's fantastic. >> well, no, we would not go that far.