thank you so much for being on "the michael smerconish program." >> thank you, michael. want to thank your listeners, terrific questions. there's a great dialogue that takes place on this show, and i just hope that we can continue the dialogue in the same spirit to solve some of america's big problems. >> thank you, sir. i'll be back in just a moment for the white house. ♪ >> pretty historic moment there. not only for us, but obviously for talk radio, and also for events at the white house. the first time we've seen something like this. we actually were expecting all the questions to mostly be about health care. but as you heard the president of the united states there, with radio talk show host michael smerconish, it was a mixture of questions, not only about health care, but also afghanistan elections, the lockerbie bombing, and the release of the one individual held accountable for that being released today because he is terminally ill and he's ed headed back to libya. and also cash for clunkers and the questions about the economy. but that leads us to the question, o

he talked to michael smerconish's radio audience on this afternoon. we'll have michael on to talk about what the president said today. can he get back control of this debate? we have michael smerconish coming up next. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. >>> coming up, with health care reform struggling, how much are democrats feeling the absence of senator ted kennedy, the last lion? "hardball" returns after this. c with an epa estimated 32 miles per gallon. and up to 600 miles between fill ups. it's the most fuel efficient crossover on the highway. better than honda cr-v, toyota rav4 and even the ford escape hybrid. the all new chevy equinox. you must be looking for motorcycle insurance. you're good. thanks. so is our bike insurance. all the coverage you need at a great price. hold on, cowboy. cool. i'm not done -- for less than a dollar a month, you also get 24/7 roadside assistance. ght on. yeah, vroom-vroom! sounds like you ran a 500. more like a 900 v-twin. excuse me. we, you're excused. >>> i think early on a decision was made by the republ

the president and michael smerconish and with an assist from tracy, ernie, joe and susan. david gregory, this was a good format for him. first of all, smerconish did a great job, the questions were good, and the president delivered his answers. >> i think the president's in a position right now where he wants to be face of this debate. the reality has been, for the white house, that these town hall meetings have, in some ways, we derailed their effort to sort of own -- the reason why they had a deadline before the recess to try to control the debate. it has spun out of control. here's an example of the president trying to bring it back under control. a couple of things stand out. the business about the public option is still a big deal. does the government want a government plan or doesn't he? by all accounts, he still does, but he's certainly going to be willing to compromise. whether he is, certainly, democratic negotiators are going to be willing to do that in order to get moderate democrats and any sliver of republican vote that they can get. the second point is, cost c

he talked to michael smerconish's radio audience on this afternoon. we'll have michael on to talk about what the president said today. can he get back control of this debate? we have michael smerconish coming up next. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. (announcer) we understand. you need to save money. >>> coming up, with health care reform struggling, how much are democrats feeling the absence of senator ted kennedy, the last lion? ha "hardball" returns after this. ♪ well i was shopping for a new car, ♪ ♪ which one's me - a cool convertible or an suv? ♪ ♪ too bad i didn't know my credit was whack ♪ ♪ 'cause now i'm driving off the lot in a used sub-compact. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free credit report dot com, baby. ♪ ♪ saw their ads on my tv ♪ thought about going but was too lazy ♪ ♪ now instead of looking fly and rollin' phat ♪ ♪ my legs are sticking to the vinyl ♪ ♪ and my posse's getting laughed at. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free- credit report dot com, baby. ♪ >>> i think early on a decision was made by the republican leadership that said, l

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michael smerconish did his radio talk show today with the president in the white house.ent obama's supporters are unhappy with the way he's handled the health care debate. our own roger simon said instead of drawing a line in the sand, mr. obama has drawn a squiggle in the mud. >>> and senator ted

also with us this morning, radio talk show host of the nationally syndicated michael smerconish programesident obama yesterday at the white house and helped deliver that message of calm. >> calm, nuthing to see here. move along. michael s, some erconish. was he like sweating flop sweat because he was in your presence? was he sweating? that whole cool thing is just a facade. >> the guy is, as you know, very calm, very collected and very smooth. he's heard it before. >> okay, all right. you're a talker, okay. expect more than a -- that wasn't even 12 seconds, was it? let me throw it open for you. what was it like interviewing the president frof the united states from the white house yesterday, michael? >> i have been very fortunate doing what i do for a living to meet interesting people but to sit in front of that fireplace in the diplomatic situation room where fdr delivered fireside chats, that's as good as it gets for a guy like me. i had to make stupid talk with the president because he arrived early and it's funny y get invited with my wife to these cocktail parties in philly where p

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i want to play you something that president obama said today on michael smerconish's radio show. >> i would love to have more republicans engaged in this process. early on, a decision was made by the republican leadership that said, let's not give him a victory. he failed on health care in '93-'94 and then we got the majority. >> is that what's happening? are republican leaders obstructing health care reform in order to make political gain? >> i think he's giving the republicans too much credit. i don't think we're that well organized. orders came from the top down and said we're all going to oppose it, i don't think it would pap. there is partisan squabbling going on but it's on both sides. i can't see where one side is more partisan than the other. people don't agree with one side. you're overly strong partisan, vice versa. i don't put a lot of stock in those type of arguments. >> what do you think is going to happen if the white house and congressional democrats try to go it alone, try to ram through some sort of a bill? >> i think they'll pass something, but i don't think the

he sat down with host michael smerconish and answered questions from listeners.nt so far promising a call health care reform will pass. >> i guarantee it, joe, we are going to get health care reform done. i know there are a lot of people out there who have been hand ringing and folks in the press are following every little twist and turn of the legislative process. you know, passing a big bill like this is always messy. >> the radio offensive comes one day after the president appealed to faith-based groups and criticized the false information being spread by reform opponents. we talked about the moves with ron paul earlier today. congressman paul, thanks for being with us. i want to play you something that president obama said today on michael smerconish's radio show. listen. >> i would love to have more republicans engaged in this process. i think early on, a decision was made by the republican leadership that said, look, let's not give them a victory. maybe we can have a replay of 1 1993/'94 when clinton came in and he failed on the reform and then he got the m

michael smerconish did his radio talk show today with the president in the white house.oins us later. >>> a lot of president obama's supporters are unhappy with the way he's handled the health care debate. our own roger simon said instead of drawing a line in the sand, mr. obama has drawn a squiggle in the mud. >>> and senator ted kennedy wh

the president takes calls when he does this radio interview with michael smerconish.partisan and the public option. he has a conference call with leader at the democratic national committee today. i think he'll this to directly talk about those two issues. it looks like grassley wants to be fired from the bipartisan talks. he's doing everything he can to get out of it other than he doesn't want to look like he's quitting. he wants to say oh, no, i got kicked out of the talks. he's doing everything he can to gum up the talks, almost looking for a way to get fired from the talks. hearing the president about that, my guess is the president isn't going to make it -- he's going to force grassley to commit the talks. two, on the public option, if the president will make it clear just how important is -- maybe to describe what the public option is in a little more detail. >> katie paris joins us, communications director for faith and public life. katie, you were the mc for yesterday's call with the president. welcome first off. >> thanks for having me. >> what is your sense

he talked to michael smerconish.he's generally seen as a conservative but he supported obama last year and is an abortion rights supporter as well. he asked about the white house support for the public option insisting is strong despite comments made over the weekend. >> what we have said is let's make a public option one choice of many choices that are available to people who are joining the exchange, and i see nothing wrong with potentially having that public option as one option for federal employees as well, but the important thing that i think i have to make absolutely clear, nobody would be obligated to choose the public option. if you went on that website and you said, you know what, aetna, or blue cross/blue shield are offering a good deal and i would rather choos that plan than the public plan, you would be perfectly free to do so. >> late they are afternoon president obama will hold a conference call and online address to promote his health care plan. >>> fireworks are possible in florida because of health

that word from the president during an interview with radio talk show host, michael smerconish. rumors mounted that the administration is willing to make sacrifices like mixing the public part of the proposal. >> we are trying to duplicate what exists for federal employees. we want to make that available to everybody else. now what we have said is let's make a public option one choice of many choices. >> as for concerns that illegal immigrants would be covered, the president says that has never been the case. >>> this just into the information center, the government plans to end the popular cash for clunkers plan as of monday. the transportation department says the program will end at 8:00 monday night. that would be the deadline to submit your application for one of those rebates. the $3 billion program offers car buyers a rebate. when they trade in their own gas guzzlers. the incentives generated more than $457,000 vehicle sales. >>> stop for a moment if you would and take a look at this picture. this is 13-year-old bryan. she was last seen sunday at her family's home on castl

point, or the lack there of, this is what the president said during an interview this week with michael smerconish in philadelphia about what republicans made a decision about. listen to the president. >> i'm confident we are going to get it done and as far as negotiations with republicans, my attitude has always been, let's see if we can get this done with some consensus. i would love to have more republicans engaged and involved in this process. i think early on, a decision was made by the republican leadership tha said, look, let's not give them a vtory and we can have a replay of 1993-94 when clinton came in. we got the majority. i think some folks are taking a play out of that play book. >> is he right? is that what they want to make it? >> i wouldn't call it that. it's extremely important. what they are trying to do, almost anything you look at, look at the two senate and house bills. number one, they demand a public plan, whether a co-op or not, it's going to be a government plan. two, they want employer mandates that kills people on the lower end of the wage spectrum. they are going to los

. >> today msnbc contributor michael smerconish will talk with president obama live from the white housewants to know what you want to hear from the president. go to questions@msnbc.com. >>> up next the convicted mass murderer behind the 1988 lockerbie bombing walks free after only spending eight years in prison. was this really about compassion for a dying man. >>> plus military kmaners prepare for a public fight in afghanistan, the public weighs in on whether the war is worth fighting. >>> in our provocative topic, has president obama ignored the lessons learned from katrina. this is "msnbc live." i'm carlos watson. we'll be right back. reduces pus immediately -- and also helps with lines and wrinkles. not surgery. this is our way to do your eyes. new regenerist anti-aging eye roller. the first complete women's multivitamin in a drink mix. with more calcium and vitamin d... to support bone and breast healt.. while helping you hydrate. one a day women's 2o. refreshingly healthy. >>> welcome back to "msnbc live." i'm carlos watson. as we always do fast forward through the top three headl

well, according to president obama in an interview today at the white house with radio host michael smerconish, bipartisanship is still possible because of people like republican senator chuck grassley of iowa. >> there are a bunch of republicans out there who have been working very constructively. one of them, olympia snow in maine. she's been dedicated on this. chuck grassley, mike enzi, other, they've been meeting in the senate finance committee. i want to give them a chance to work through these processes. >> although he generally seems quite up to date on all the latest news, i will admit, president obama might not have had a chance to read today's "washington post" before that interview with mr. smerconish. had he, he would have seen that senator grassley told "the post" about his idea of what it will take to pass any kind of health care reform. "we ought to be focusing on getting 80 votes." the threshold for passing health reform in the u.s. senate, for passing anything in the u.s. senate is actually 51 votes. that's a majority and since the vice president is a democrat now, democrat sh

time for "the politics fix" with syndicated radio host and msnbc contributor michael smerconish and politico'sup your tree tonight on a number of fronts. what do you make of this firestorm that's going on across the country? we have pictures from texas, from long island, from philly. every time a member of congress or a senator calls a town meeting now, the people show up and it's like, i don't know, it's like iran. it's like the streets of tehran. what do you make of this? >> people are hot. i sense it in the phone calls that i get every day. i think they're very nervous about what's going to come out of this debate concerning national health care, and, chris, if i have heard once in the last couple of days, i have heard it 50 times, if they can't get cash for clunkers straight, what in the world are they going to do with my national health insurance? >> you mean they won't figure out the numbers right. >> yeah, they won't figure out the numbers right and it smacks of bureaucratic ineptitude that the federal government has blown through this money so quickly on a plan that seems seemingly str

michael smerconish did his radio talk show today with the president in the white house. supporters are unhappy with the way he's handled the health care debate. our own roger simon said instead of drawing a line in the sand, mr. obama has drawn a squiggle in the mud. we'll bring up that in the politics fix. >>> and senator ted kennedy, who we all know is battling brain cancer, is trying to make sure health care reform efforts aren't hurt by his absence from the senate. he sent a letter to the massachusetts governor and state

lack thereof, senator hatch, this is what the president said in an interview this week with michael smerconish, about what republicans have made a decision about. let's listen to the president. >> i'm confident we're going to get it done. and as far as negotiations with republicans, my attitude has always been, let's see if we can get this done with some consensus. i would love to have more republicans engaged and involved in this process. i think early on a decision was made by the republican leadership that said, look, let's not give them a victory. maybe we can have a replay of 1993, '94 when clinton came in. he failed on health care and then we won in the midterm elections and we got the majority. and i think there's some folks who are taking a page out of that playbook. >> senator hatch, is he right? for republicans, is health care his waterloo? is that what they want to make it? >> well, i wouldn't call it that, but it's extremely important, because what they're trying to do. you know, almost anything you look at in the -- you look at the two senate house bills. number one, they demand a

. >> broadcasting from the cradle of liberty, this is the michael smerconish program. welcome back to the program. what an honor for me to say i am alive at the white house joined by the president of the united states. what an honor, and thank you for this privilege and thank you for coming back to the radio program. >> it's great to be on the show again. it has been a great time, i appreciate the opportunity. >> folks are stacked up. they're anxious to pose questions about health care. more than 5000 e-mail suggestions have flowed through my website in just the last 24 hours. i will start by posing the couple of questions. some of the things i continue to hear from folks, we will welcome phone callers as well. allow me to begin with this -- did secretary sibelius misspeak last week? >> she really did not misspeak. she has been saying this all along. she said the same thing among ago. let me describe what the issue is. we have consistently talked about the need for health-care reform because family premiums have gone up three times faster than inflation and wages. the

we've appeared with conservatives with michael smerconish as recently as this week. the president has appeared with chris wallace, even bill o'reilly. so the president welcomes a vigorous debate. he hopes that people keep an eye on the facts, as they're having it, but i don't know what you would base that assertion on, frankly. >> it just seems to be singled out a lot of the times, especially with regard to cable chatter. some people consider that maybe code for the fox news channel? >> oh, really? where do you think they've been singled out? >> i don't know. it seems like it's been mentioned by gibbs, by the president himself, and by others. >> when? >> over the course of the last six months. >> fox news? >> yes, the fox news channel. and it just seems like on a number of occasions -- >> i'm not sure i agree with the premise of your questions. >> it seems like in a number of occasions we've been singled out for maybe being a little more critical than some of the other cable networks, some of the other media outlets. is that a strategy or is that some -- is that more

michael smerconish, generally considered a conservative, but he supported president obama. >>> the viceoad today, pushing the administration's plan for health care reform. for more on that, and this fight, let's bring in our national correspondent, jessica yellin. jessica, what's the vice president up to? >> hey, drew. well, right now, as you can see, vice president joe biden, he's discussing health care reform. he's at a hospital in chicago with doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, it's part of the white house's effort to try and gain the upper hand in this debate. now, so far the vice president has talked about what he called the moral imperative of providing sound health care for all americans, but also the economic imperative, saying it benefits all of us. their argument, if everyone is covered. now, we have a sound bite from him. let's listen real quick. >> only concern is the fiscal side of the equation. you can't get from here to there. without a significant change in bending the health care curve, the cost curve, in order to gain control of our ability to deal with the myri

. >> signaling to host michael smerconish he may be forced to reluctantly pass a bill with only democratic would love to have more republicans engaged and involved in this process. i think early on a decision was made by the republican leadership that said, look, let's not give them a victory. maybe we can have a replay of 1993-94 when clinton came in, he failed on health care and then we won in the midterm elections and we got the majority. >> reporter: but a bigger challenge for the president is keeping peace in his own party, as he was forced to reassure liberals he would not abandon the public option. >> this is sort of like the belt and suspenders concept to keep up your pants, you know? the insurance reforms are the belt. the public option can be the suspenders. >> reporter: the president is walking a tight rope. he's still trying to show flexible that he could eventually drop the public option if he needs to to get a deal. that's to impress conservative democrats who don't like the public option. meanwhile, he's got labor unions saying they're going to try to defeat democrats who do