keith olbermann has the night off. sure, you can call it health care reform, but if it doesn't provide more americans with the insurance they need or fix what's fundamentally broken about the system we currently have, is it really actual health care reform? our fifth story on the "countdown," what, if anything, will be left in the watered-down so-called compromised bill that is now being associated by the senate finance committee? president obama took questions at a virtual town hall hosted by the aarp, the lobbying group that represents older americans. at least twice the president reaffirmed his desire for a public option in the final bill. 72% of americans, including 50% of republicans, say they want that choice. the congressional budget office has weighed in with some news about the public option with its assessment that the government-run option will not force out private insurers. house majority leader steny hoyer trumpeted the report, which contradicted a chief republican. and they said there would not be a vote

>> a guy with a best-selling book and subbing for keith olbermann, tonight at 8:00 not only can you get keith, typically wonderful show but you'll get extra richard wolf who will be sitting in. >> i won't tell you what underwear i will wear tonight. >> fair enough. talk about sitting in for keith. how was that? >> great show. fabulous team. it's got a great audience. look. these people care about the show and care about the issues and it's great to be a part of that. >> i was struck by timothy reese, the colonel about getting out. what he heard in the '60s vietnam one senator said let's declare victory and go home. do you think that is a realistic possibility including robert gates said he would pull out troops ahead of time this week? >> what is surprising it's so explicit. that people are actually using that kind of language and that really is a shift. people often say how have things changed bins the bush era. bush said i'm trusting the commanders on the ground. the commanders on the ground are speaking out a way they have not done before. i think a sign things have changed in iraq b

i'm david shuster in tonight for keith olbermann. like a vomby from "dawn of the dead" the stimulus has risen from a brief slumber. this story in the "countdown," president obama isn't afraid of a few ghouls and he's fighting back, forcing republican critics to howl in monstrous hypocritical agony. you may recall the senator of arizona ho cancel stimulus betting because of was a failure. the obama administration acted as though he meant what he said. four different cabinets wrote to the governor of arizona asking if she agreed with senator kyle. the transportation secretary. if you prefer to forfeit the money we are making available to your state as senator kyl suggests please let me know. a three-page list paid for by the $521 million that arizona is getting. republican governor made it clear her state wanted the money adding, the governor is hopeful that the federal cabinet officials are not threatening to deny arizona citizen as portion of the federal stimulus to which they are entitled. governor, you might want to take that up wi

. >> rose: thank you, you have to host the keith olbermann show and i thank you for stopping by. are you going to run for president again? >> i think it's unlikely but never say never in politics and i think senator frist.... >> rose: i was going to ask you the same question. >> i'm out for good. i'm not running for any elective office, governor or president or cabinet position. i'm out of politics for good. >> but we keel keep working. this is important stuff. >> rose: thank you. i have in front of me howard dean's "prescription for real health care reform, how we can achieve affordable medical care" i suspect some of the ideas in books you have just heard. >> and it's in english. >> rose: thank you for joining us. see you next time. captioning sponsored by rose communications captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

keith olbermann has the night off. on hot summer evening the kind of night washington, d.c. is famts for this time of year, who doesn't enjoy winding down way beer or two? in our first story on the "countdown" calming off with a few cold ones in the white house rose garden. how president obama held a beer summit with harvard professor henry louis gates and the police officer who arrested him, is the james crowley. beer delivered on a tray, one of 78 good things about life in the white house. vice president biden, a surprise guest at tonight's proceedings. the white house described the interaction between gates and crowley friendly and warm, unlike the beer. more interest, not important, details the beer preference of each at the table. the president, bud light. sergeant crowley blue moon. professor gates, red and biden, and peanuts and pretzels also served. didn't they read the note from the last guy? late this afternoon during a meeting with the president of the philippines, the president tried to get away from the term beer summit telling reporters "it's a clever term but

keith olbermann has the night off. this time last year there was speculation that senator john mccain might be on the verge of announcing that he had selected a popular republican governor as his running mate. no, not that republican governor. the governor in question was actually tim pawlenty of minnesota. instead, in our fifth story on the "countdown" senator mccain was actually weeks away from even starting to vet the woman who would join his ticket at the last minute, the once obscure sarah palin, no longer the governor of alaska. mark her down as officially unofficial news. palin handed over the governorship sunday with more than a year left in her term but she did not leave without some measure of fanfare. saying good-bye to alaskans at a series of picnics across the state. in fact, she said a lot more than just good-bye but not much that actually made sense. >> together we do stand with gratitude for our troops who protect all of our cherished freedoms including our freedom of speech, which par for the course, i

keith olbermann has the night off. six months to the day after he was sworn into office president barack obama was back on the campaign trail this afternoon. in our fifth story on the "countdown" president obama is now fighting back against the republicans and centrist democrats in congress who are now trying to block the first real attempt at health care reform in this country in nearly two decades. the president today visited a children's hospital and spoke with doctors and nurses about the short comings of the health care system. he said it's time to take action on health care because, quote, we've talked this problem to death. the president's approval numbers on health care have softened if only slightly, dipping below 50% in "the washington post" poll for the first time to 49%. his overall approval rating remains high at 59%. mr. obama also has this going for him. americans still trust him far more than they do anyone in congress. the job performance rating for the democrats is split. 47% approve. 48% disapprove.

keith olbermann has the night off. if you don't like what we already know about the health care bill that's being worked out behind closed doors by the senate finance committee, consider this. its final deal could be even worse. our fifth story on the "countdown", some democrats say they fear the committee will take away health insurance from the 11 million children who already have it just to keep republicans happy. first, the public option and now schip. dare we ask what's next? at least things appear to be going much better in the house where most of the blue dog democrats on the energy and commerce committee say they've reached an agreement with the leadership and the white house. the deal leaves intact almost everything that both sides wanted. but in the senate, democrats like jay rockefeller say they're unhappy about the concessions democrats are making to keep a few republicans onboard. senator rockefeller told "the new york times" that schip could be on the table. the president's campaign to reform health care

i'm david shuster in for keith olbermann. the governor never liked that crazy stimulus.he governor is a fiscal conservative. as a candidate he attacked officials for their hefty travel expenses, quote, this kind of lavish spending with taxpayers footing the bill just doesn't make any sense to me. if i become your governor i'll fix that problem. in our first story on the "countdown" that governor spent nearly $500,000 of taxpayer money traveling first class and staying in the best hotels. whoops. some of those trips by governor mark sanford of south carolina were to argentina where he visited his mistress. evidently sanford had no problem with his own personal stimulus plan. when sanford became governor of south carolina more than six years ago he did institute stricter rules about travel expenses for all state employees but records released under the freedom of information act offer a different picture for governor do as i say not as i do. more than $44,000 for sanford's first class and business class tickets. including trips to poland, china, and london. in june of 2008

i'm richard wolf, keith olbermann's got the night off. a knock on the door after dawn from government officials who forcibly removed a small boy named elian gonzales in miami and in places like ruby ridge, both ended in violence. all three stories are the kind of government intrusion that conservatives rail against as the enemy of american freedom. but in our fifth story on the countdown, when a police officer in cambridge, massachusetts, arests someone, a harvard professor no less and in his very own home and president obama speaks out against that arrest, go guess whose side the conservatives are on now. another day of blowback from the president's comments on the arrest of harvard professor henry louis gates. president obama making an unexpected remark in the white house briefing room this afternoon in an attempt to tamp down the controversy. this morning in cambridge, after the arrest last week, police officers gathered in a show of support for the arresting officer, sergeant james crowley. union officials called on president obama to

keith olbermann has the night off. six mont

"countdown with keith olbermann" stts tonight. . >>> which ofhese stories will you be talking about tomorrow? pelosi ndicated. the ci directoat best admitted the agency didn't keep congress fully infmed over the last eight years. the cia dirtor at worst admi the agency msl congress or the last eight years. >> i know whatyou know. >> hung out to dry, the reblicans are now tg to split the split underinformed misleading hair into underinford misleading lying. >> i do no believe that the liedo congress. i'm still waiting for speaker pelosi t put upthe fas or retract her stement and apologize. i told you, our ccess in driving the republicans to distraction, any excuse will do. >> wh was congrs not informed o of, isisled er, lied to about? not terrogation,sosothing new? palin's save ee taxpayers money excuse, leaving offifice mntnt hundndre o of thousands dololls leleftn legall fees alaanan was have to pay defend her against ethnics chaeses not true. a paalin spokesperson admits neararly a t money was ebebudted. it wasasoioing to state lawyers before t thereerer any ethnics investigations a andtt

i'm david shuster in for keith olbermann. legendary newsman walter cronkite died at the age of 82. he became known as the most trutheded newsman in america. he had been suffering from kreeb ral vascular disease. caron skit's soothing image and his words became seared into america consciousness when he covered the assassination of john k. kennedy, the vietnam war and men landing on the moon. his humanity, integrity and keen intelligence the common denominator. matt lauer has more. >>> los, texas, the flash official. president kennedy died at 1:00 p.m., central standard time. >> walter cronkite became as important as the new we recovered. >> reporter: steady telling of our history made him the most trusted man in america. a combination of triumphs and its tragedies. >> dr. martin luther king has been shot to death in memphis, tennessee. >> he was a quintessential american. he came from the heartland. he wasn't flashy one way or the other. his reporting was straight forward. >> i fell into what i ever do naturally. >> in the hostile environment of outer space. >> born walter leland cr

i'm david schuster in for keith olbermann. for every week president obama's planned health care reform gets delayed by congress that means another 77,000 more americans will lose their health insurance. 75,000 will file for bankruptcy because they can't afford bills and another 100 will die because they don't have coverage. in the fifth story in the could wantdown, the republicans have their own plan to fix medical care in this country. it starts and ends with their electoral victory in 2010. president obama back on the stump in ohio making the case for health care reform. the president took a tour of the cleveland clinic discussing medical costs and how to pay for them. the families seem to be more concerned about themselves. james inhoff from oklahoma said today if the republicans could stop health care reform, he said it would be a huge help for the 2010 health care election. it will emhelp explain how boehner will release its health care plan if it has one. we're continuing to put the touches on our bill as the democrats a

keith olbermann, i demand, i demand, you name me the worst person in the world! >> all right. fine. you're a disgrace to the ranks of right wing blow hard whose appear on comedy channels. for the real journalists you wonder how often this goes on in booking wars. governor sanford and a number of south carolina newspapers writing a piece in which he apologizes to the citizens of the state saying the experience has left him humbled and broken. john king, as i turn things back over to you sunday morning, you like everyone else in the business, wrote a couple of e mails to the governor's office but the only thing that you said was that you wanted to offer state of the union as a sane a place as i think there is in my crazy business, you or he talking to the communications director, ready to solve the mystery. >> i also did say i appreciated the governor's want door and hospitality in the past, that was a reference to when the governor invite immediate to dinner in when i was down there for the south carolina primary. i had dinner at his mansion. i said if he wants to explain himself, i'

i'm keith olbermann. good night, and goodod lk.k. 9:00 p p..

. >>> "countdown with keith olbermann" starts right now. >>> which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow? the confirmation hearings, confirmation that the senior republican is deliberately, knowingly twisting sonia sotomayor's words. words which condemned judging based on personal experience, which he pretends were words endorsing judging based on personal experience. >> philosophy can't impact your judging. i think it's much more likely to reach full flower if you sit on the supreme court. >> confirmation, the dishonesty of jeff sessions, senator from alabama. and a judge's calm, plotting, almost too gentle effort to disprove his lying. >> i do not believe that any ethnic, racial, or gender group has an advantage in sound judgment. >>> dick cheney's got a secret. now "the washington post" confirms it was an assassination squad kept from congress because it failed, utterly. but cia officials tell "time" magazine it might have been another illegal use of the agency to spy on americans. what the hell, this is dick cheney, you're probably both right. >> the american people ne

i'm richard wolffe in for keith olbermann. have a good night, everybody. our coverage continues now with "the rachel maddow show." >> good evening, richard. thank you for that. appreciate it. >>> thank you at home for staying with us the next hour. besides the most famous four beers ever consumed at the white house, today featured dramatic action by liberals in the battle over health care reform. a democratic congressman calling republicans bluff on health care. huge mass resistance to the government in the streets of iran, and more news about the winning notary, that is the birther movement. professor trisha rose, congressman anthony weiner all along tonight to discuss those stories and more. all coming up. >>> we begin tonight with what was perhaps the most anticipated, the most hyped, the most speculated about, round of beers in recent american history. tonight at the white house, president obama welcomed the two men who found themselves at the center of a national debate about race this summer. harvard university professor henry louis gates and cambrid

keith olbermann has the night off. as the old saying goes, there are two things you never want to see being made -- laws and sausages. in our fifth story on the countdown, the making of laws and sausages have collided tonight in the plans to delay and defeat president obama's health care plans. the president pushed for health care overhaul. from the rose garden, president obama said critics of this plan are sticking to a familiar script. >> i know there are those who in this town who openly declare their intention to block reform. it's a familiar washington script that we've seen many times before. these opponents of reform would rather score political points than offer relief to americans who have seen premiums double and costs grow three times faster than wages. they would maintain a system that works for the insurance and the drug companies while becoming increasingly unaffordable for families and for businesses. >> in an interview with meredith vieira on the "today" show, president obama said that his opponents see

i'm david schufferter if nor keith olbermann and now to take on pat beaux can, ladies and gentlemen,achel maddow. >> thanks, david for that appreciate it. thank you at home for staying with us for the next hour. today is the 40th anniversary of the lauth of apollo xi, landed a man on the moon. did you knee nasa accidentally taped oefb over the original archived footage of the landing? they taped over it. we'll talk about that this hour. also, another shoe has dropped in the john ensign sex and money and ethics scandal. this office finally trying to explain some of the more inexplicable details of ensign's affair and breaking late today, an even bigger shoe that dropped. a lawsuit charges that a former congressman and his mistress carried on their affair actually at c street. at the c street house where john ensign and other members of the secretive religious community live. that is all coming up this hour, but we begin with remarks tonight in new york city by the president of the united states. >> -- no matter how bitter the road, how stony the road, we have always persevered. we hav

"countdown with keith olbermann" starts right now. >>> which of these stories will we be talking about tomorrow? the gop cries uncle in health care reform after promising a plan the republicans say they won't offer one. and the rnc chair says why bother? the democrats should have the votes anyway. but the hard work of governing isn't too hard for the president. >> never closer to achieving equality for affordable health care for all americans. >> a harder time uniting democrats on capitol hill. and a day of distraction after obama's news conference. >> the cambridge police acted stup stupidly. >> the president says he stands by those worz and surprised by the uproar, a reaction led in part by rush limbaugh. >> last week we saw white firefighters under assault by agents of barack obama. now white policemen are under assault from the east room of the white house. >> the two faces of governor, bobby jindal. the stimulus is a failure, dc is bad. or, congratulations, please accept this money from me and here's a nice commemorative big check with my name on it. the two sides of liz cheney of

. >> nbc news special correspondent tom brokaw told keith olbermann last night that for a time thereas no larger celebrity than walter cronkite and despite his fame, brokaw says cronkite treated him as an equal from day one. >> the nice thing about walter was i hadn't been on the job too long in this superheated environment when i met him at a white house correspondent's din other and he took me aside and he said young man, you're doing too well for nbc and kind of laughed and gave me a slap on the back. and that was the kind of competitor he was. he wasn't patting me on the head in a paternalistic way. he took me as a colleague from the moment we first met. it grew into a very nice friendship and it meant a lot to me. >> in just a few minutes, tom brokaw will join us with more of his thoughts on the newsman. when cronkite left, he handed the post over to dan rath. last night on the rachel maddow show, rather spoke about how much he learned from his colleague and friend. >> and he never ceased being a reporter. i touched on this before. i think the public recognize this had. walter l

"coudown with keith olbermann" arts right now. >>> which of these storiesill you be talking aboutomorrow? the ill vealed, still secret, still dubious bonus secret bush prram to get al qaeda? e one in which cia dirtor panetta pulled thera this spring then told congress dick cheney orderedhe cia to not tell congress for eight yes. was th because the plan was tomuch or too little? special prosecutor. the rds are whispers of the attorney genal, mr. holder. an actual criminal invtigation in tor? the sotoyor hearings. invitati to an anti-climax. as senator gram says to her, unss you have a complete meltdownou're going to get confirmed. and the rah con woman chronicles. shs going to start her own conservative pty with democrats. plusevi johnston is now talking about her, quote, stre levels. all at aore now on ountdown." >>> good evening from new york the same bush-cheney administration which failed to heed warnings fr its own officials and om al qaeda itself, that failed to prevent the worst attackn u.s. soil, thatailed to get the rpetrators of that attack is also we learned todathe same admini

"count down"with keith olbermann starts right now. >>> which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow? today they confirm senator cornin's hypocrisy. >> what cornyn's at chief rb erts years ago. if we keep asking the same question over and over and over again, are you going to give us a different answer or the same answer? >> and they launch an ad claiming let a group supporting violent puerto rican terrorists and tries to tie her to obama's buddy bill ayers. >> the president gets the message on health care. screw the republicans. the insurance and pharma lobbyists who own them will not let them vote for this anyway. >> a hopeful sign of bipartisan support for the final product if people are serious by bipartisanship. >>> the cia's secret dick cheney plan. more details about the assassination of al qaeda leaders but the assassination of al qaeda supporters, you know, the equivalence in other countries of the people who would say things like this -- >> the only chance we have as a country right now is for osama bin laden to deploy and detonate a major weapon in the united stat

"countdown" with keith olbermann starts now. >>> which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow? the confirmation hearings? yesterday they confirmed senator session's racism and unpreparedness. today they confirmed senator cornyn's hypocrisy. >> so i want to just start with the comments that you made about the wise latina speech. >> cornyn at the confirmation hearing for chief justice roberts four years ago. >> if we keep asking the same question over and over and over again are you going to give us a different answer? are you going to give us the same answer? >> i hope my answer would be the same, senator. >> and the republicans launch an ad claiming sotomayor, quote, led a group supporting violent puerto rican terrorists and tries to tie her to obama's buddy bill ayres presumably because those lies worked so well for mccain and palin last november. >>> the president gets the message on health care. screw the republicans. even with the 160 republican amendments the majority expected they won't be allowed to vote for this anyway. >> i hope to have bipartisan support for the fina

i'm lawrence o'donnell sitting in for keith olbermann.omorrow's guest host former governor howard dean. have a good night. >>> up next on msnbc the one, the only, yes, the rachel maddow show. hey, rachel. >> hey, lawrence. i had such a great job watching you tonight on "countdown." >> can i hang around and cohost with you? >> yes. we'll take up a split screen for the next hour if you don't mind. >> okay. >> maybe some other time i'll take you up on it. thank you for staying tune tonight at home. we'll have governor dean joining us to talk health care before he guest hosts "countdown" tomorrow night and wednesday night. also, this hour we'll have congressman barney frank here to talk about who exactly is fighting to keep the fine print on your credit card statement really, really, really small. we'll also be joined by pulitzer prize winner ron suskind. he'll be here to play by play the latest round in the most unexpected republican political boxing match ever. george w. bush versus dick cheney all coming up this hour. but we begin tonight

i'm keith olbermann, i don't know what made me think about that, good night and good luck. >>> and now it's the latest episode of dick cheney's got a cia secret, with her special guest, colonel wirlkerson, here is rachel maddow. >> i've got to tell you, i've always been terrified by the idea of mermaids. >> take 15 seconds and explain this to me. why. >> mermaids, i felt like there's something deeply, deeply terrifying about them. everybody else thinks they're mystical and nice, i always felt threatened by the idea of mermaids. i'm with brownback on this. >> huh! >> thanks, keith. >> you're welcome. >> all right. well, most awkward segue ever. thanks for tuning in. colonel lawrence wilkerson will be here this hour to help us try to unravel the mystery of what exactly dick cheney was up to with the cia program that he allegedly directed should be hidden from congress. there's also incriminating news tonight about governor mark sanford. there's some stunning news about senator john ensign of nevada. and there's some outrageous news about goldman sachs. elizabeth warren will be here with

. >> keith olbermann, working even while he's on vacation. enjoy the rest of your final off. >> thank you, sir. thank you for filling in. >> thank you. it's harder than it looks. >>> that will do it for tuesday's edition of "countdown." i'm governor howard dean. and a quick reminder, in minutes you will find me on the world wide web talking with you about health care. go to progressivebookclub.com to join the conversation. i will see you back here tomorrow. >>> up next on msnbc, "the rachel maddow show." good evening, rachel. >> good evening, governor dean. you made it look very, very easy. thank you so much. great to see you. >> i don't know what you guys get paid, but you more than earn your money. >> thanks, gov. we will see you tomorrow. >> yep. >>> and thank you for at home for staying with us the next hour. today a new conspiracy theory got its wing. the president of the united states trying to talk about health care reform today but instead having to respond personally to a plot that is not quite the protocols of the elders of zion but

i'm keith olbermann. good night and good luck. >>> now with a special guest, ladies and gentlemen, here is rachel maddow. good evening. >> good evening, keith. i always just assumed that was sort of your knuckleball. your delayed impact. >> it goes so fast. the sound arrives later than the pitch does. >> very impressive. thanks, keith. >> take care. >> thank aut home for tuning in. >>> we have boiled down the sonia sotomayor confirmation hearings tonight to their snappy core. the bad news is that that snappy core appears to still be the racial obsession of the republican senators who are opposed to her. also there was only one real problem with sarah palin's big debut as a policy wonk but it was a doozie of a problem. plus, sharp attack survivors were on capitol hill today defending sharks. one of them, a survivor, not a shark, will join us along with lots of super awesome shock video. and we have a seriously feel good followup to the story of iraq's national baseball team coming up this hour. stick around

"countdown" starts right now with david shuster in for keith olbermann. >>> which of these stories willou be talking about tomorrow? scare tactics, stall tactics? rnc chair's michael steele's strategy for attack on the president's health care reform effort. >> he is conducting a dangerous experiment with our health care and the quality of our lives. all of us should be scared to death. so slow down, mr. president. >> the president's reply? seek immediate professional help. >> we can't afford the politics of delay and defeat when it comes to health care. not this time. not now. there are too many lives and livelihoods at stake. >> explain yourselves. ask senator russ feingold and dennis blaire who last week stated the cia did not break the law during the national security brief to members of congress. now new charges of wrongdoing at the cia. >> i'm scared i won't be able to go home. >> chilling footage, the latest reminder of why the way we treat detainees matters when the other side captures our guys. rumors abound that the american idol judge paula abdul will not return for the show's

." >>> countdown starts now with david shuster in for keith olbermann. >>> which of these stories willtomorrow? full-court press. the head of wednesday night's prime-time news conference, president obama still on offense. pushing his health care plan and stressing his self-imposed deadline. >> if you don't set a deadline in this town, nothing happens. there's a reason why we haven't had health care reform in 50 years. >> it could have something to do with this leaked internal rnc memo. quote, the republican national committee will engage in every activity we can to slow down this mad rush. they think they can control the clock? they don't even have possession of the ball. >>> now fraud charges at the cia. a federal judge rules cia officials were not honest in protecting the actions of the covert agents facing an illegal eavesdropping lawsuit. >>> crank calls gone wild. the brash cranksters who dupe hotel guests into destructive acts, all for the enjoyment of their internet followers. but have the jokes gone too far? >> you need to break a window, ma'am. >>> baseline hysteria, all the r