mike barnicle, thanks. knows what they've gone through and you just have to think for teddy kennedy, who was honored by the president yesterday with the medal of freedom, this is such a difficult time but eunice's life is certain to be celebrated. >> all right. andrea mitchell, thanks so much. we'll be checking back with you throughout the day on msnbc. thanks, andrea. >>> joe and mika now down in washington. guys? >>> all right. thank you, willie. with us now msnbc political analyst and chairman much of the democratic leadership council, harold ford jr., professor. thank you for coming onboard this morning. >> thanks for coming, professor. >> one of the things that's generated a lot of debate this morning that is been yet another controversial -- >> are you getting a lot of hate e-mails? >> twitters. >> i'm getting hate twitter and hate e-mail. >> i am, too. wait a minute. >> both sides. >> it's hillary clinton's comments in africa about the 2000 election, we should play it again because i think it's been a

let's tuck to mike barnicle instead. set the stage for us up there. >> well, joe, the funeral mass is going to be held behind us, normally called around here mission church. lady of perpetual help basilica. a church clearly given its height and huge spire built by immigrants 100 years ago, statesmen that we are here, we have arrived. the irish, the germans who largely populated this area. senator kennedy will be brought here because when his daughter kara was being treateded for lung cancer, this is in the middle of the medical district, incidentally. this particular neighborhood. the middle of the medical district. we are within a stone's throw. brigham & women's hospital, dana-farber cancer clinic, and have you the world famous boston children's hospital. kara kennedy was being treated for lung cancer and during her treatment, ted kennedy and vicki kennedy would come over here to the chapel alongside the main church behind us and he was so taken with the beauty of the church and the richness of the neighborhood that cl

we have mike barnicle, chris matthews, savannah guthrie. ted kennedy passed away last night and we've been remembering him for an hour this morning. he is, as david axelrod said, mike barnicle, the greatest, i suppose most prolific senator when it comes to legislation in the history of this republic. >> i don't think there's any doubt about that. chris matthews mentioned earlier all of the things he has been responsible for big and small. as time goes on and as pieces are written and as people remember, there will be elements of nearly everyone's life in this country that you can point to and in some ways say legislation that he wrote in 1966 or 1992 impacted help your child's life, helped the school that your child attends, helped provide more nurses in the hospital where your grandmother went when she was ill. so the scope, the sweep of his legislative life has been enormous. i find at least myself in these few hours since his passing was announced that my mind wanders to the personal more than the political. and i can see him walking out

our great friend mike barnicle is now with us. he's an msnbc contributor and also a great member of congress bill della hant is on now. he's at the kennedy library. you two gentlemen know what you're talking about. i want to start with bill delahunt, the congressman, if you could. i'm you're a member of the great general court of massachusetts, sir, but what will that assembly so wonderfully well applauded by mike barnicle this morning be able to do when the job seems so obvious. fill the seat of ted kennedy quickly, can they do it? >> well, they can do it, chris. will they do it i think there's some uncertainty. clearly, there's going to be a public hearing. i think they'll wait to see how the public reacts, but the question is will they make a decision to let massachusetts be represented in the united states senate for five months or will that seat just go empty and have massachusetts unrepresented for five months in the united states senate. i think it's that simple. >> do they know in massachusetts that they are the mascot of

mike barnicle, susan molinari. en, what does the president have to do in a meeting like that to get the senators' attention in a way that is different from what we see them doing in speeches? what does he have to do differently in that room than he does, say, in the press conference or in his public presentations? >> well, lawrence, he pulls out the hot poker and that can take a lot of different forms. presidents have lots of different ways of sending a message, just like your boss or my boss does. they're going to move quickly to plan "b." if the senate finance committee can't get their act together there's ways to move on. going the reconciliation route, which means passing health care without republicans, a purely democratic bill, it's not at limiting as you think. i shouldn't say you think. as most people think. you know more about this than i do. using that system, they can do the budget part of it, they can do the money part of it, they can add on some of the policy things using 60-vote amendments. using a dem

i bet mike barnicle knows. is massachusetts -- you started to explain this yesterday but we were caught up so much in the remembrances i didn't absorb it. why is massachusetts different than just about every other state in appointing senators because if this happened in florida -- you name the state, the next day, most governors can appoint the senator until we have a special election. the next time an election comes aroun around? >> massachusetts is different, joe, basically because the legislature is filled with people who are currently holding the best job they'll ever have, not exactly big thinkers. what happened in 2004 when senator john kerry was running for the president circumstance the legislature became fearful the then republican governor, mitt romney, would be allowed the opportunity to appoint a united states senator to the seat that senator kerry would vacate if he became president. so they changed the threw fit their own parochial political interests back in 2004. and now five years later, they a

mike barnicle, thank you as well. let's go right now to msnbc chief washington correspondent norah o'donnell. why did senator ted kennedy pick this particular church? what's the storin behind it? >> it is very interesting. on the wednesday morning that senator kennedy died, kennedy aide called the associated pastor at this church and said can we have the funeral mass there at our lady of perpetual help basilica? the pastor was surprised and said sure but there's no air conditioning in this church church. he said don't worry, we will send fans. but the sidewalk outside, it is not yet finished. we will have that sidewalk fixed tomorrow. so they have done some sprucing up of this church to fit 1,500 people. what's significant about this church is that this is the church that senator kennedy came to every day while he was visiting his daughter kara kennedy who was battling lung cancer, to pray for her. he met regularly with the priest that has since died, who was known as a healing priest. and then when he learned he had

mike barnicle on his friend teddy. ken burns on the last great speech in denver exactly one year before his death. lawrence o'donnell on the meaning of the lion of the senate. michael on the man history should judge as the greatest of the kennedys. and senator bernie sanders on how his passing will affect the lion's final quest and how it will affect a new president's pledge. i promised teddy. >> this is the cause of my life. new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every american -- north, south, east, west, young, old -- will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege. >> the life and death of senator ted kennedy of massachusetts. >> for all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die. the work begins anew. the hope rises again. and the dream lives on. >> all that and more, now on "countdown." the flags at the united states capitol and the white house tonight flying at half sta

the problem is north korea. >> mike barnicle?could it be, and i heard john bolton in an interview yesterday talking about this, how could it be that anyone that was the concern, this creates great difficulty for the united states among some asian nations. what asian nation takes kim jong-il seriously in they might fear him. they might think he's crazy but do they take him seriously? >> the japanese obviously worry about the nuclear program and this affects the debate about their future military. the chinese are concerned that he's going to somehow stumble this part of the region into a war and that leaves the refugee flows or much worse to a unified korea that looks like the south rather than the north and that's the last thing the chinese want. people don't take him seriously. he doesn't represent anything. this is a man essentially running the most closed, opaque country in the world. he's running, i don't know 17th century and 18th century country in the 21st century world. the one thing he has, though, is nuclear material so

health status of senator kennedy and the family legacy, let's bring in msnbc contributor, our own mike barniclemike, it's been a tough day for family and friends. you were in the service. >> yeah. >> we've had a lot of losses lately, and this one with the same funeral mass, it was tough. >> the catholic funeral mass is a celebration of a life lost. we all know that. but it's filled with remembrance for those who are gathered in the church, remembrance of other losses, other people who we've loved and have lost. so it all comes back in a tidal wave of emotion. all encapsulated in an hour and 45 minutes. >> and the extraordinary life of the woman who we were celebrating today, maria shriver talked about her mother. let's listen a little bit about the excentric qualities of eunice kennedy shriver. >> mummy wore men's pants, she smoked cuban cigars and she played tackle football. she would come to pick us all up at at scoot in her blue lincoln convertible, her hair would be flying in the wednesday, there usually would be some pencil s r pens in it. this car would be filled with all the boys and the

. >> anne, mike barnicle and i went to hyannisport for a golf tournament. i always thought kennedys are there, you're a democrat. not the case. there's quite a few republicans out there. mostly republicans. >> true. >> ted kennedy would not have won an election for the mayor. you said something earlier this morning. even though they don't agree with him politically, they take care of their own. they have always taken care of the kennedys and protected their privacy. you said that's in effect, again, this morning. >> reporter: yeah, it's very true. here, there are only about 130 homes here. people are very respectful of the kennedy's privacy. they do protect them. he does have several friends here. i have spoken to many of them. they are not all of the democratic persuasion as you would say. there's great respect here for the kennedy family and in particular for senator kennedy. it's been since 1946 that a kennedy represented massachusetts in some form or another in congress or senate or president of the united states. kennedys in massachusetts are absolutel

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mike barnicle is right. when we open up our show and every show in america and we're looking at guys in a fistfight down there in florida, people choose sides based on what they look at and america is a divided country again. >> yeah, and, by the way, what's so telling about that scene in tampa, that's the i-4 corridor, cuts through the center of florida. it is the swing part of the swing state. that's the center of america. that area decides who's president. that's an area that went for barack obama. and is going for george w. bush, it cuts back and forth. willie, the last story, a sad story especially to those of us that grew up in the '80s. >> a shock yesterday. john hughes, the writer and director of several popular movies of the 1980s and '90s has died of a heart attack at age 59. he died while in new york here yesterday. hughes was behind many cult classics including "the breakfast club." he helped shape ferris bueller's philosophy on life. >> a person should not believe in an ism. he should believe in

. >> and, mike barnicle, this happens all the time. we republicans in the house are more conservative than republicans in the senate, we used to tear our hair out because moderate republican senators would block the balanced-budget amendment, would block our version of a balanced budget. we want seven years. they suggest nine. it happens. it happens on both sides. the extremes of the right and left always get grounded down by moderate to the middle. >> both the house and the senate are within hours of both being -- during august recess, and if they truly listen when they go out into their districts and states this august, they're going to find something truly educational happening out there. they think many, many american families are asking the question that they figure the government doesn't ask and it's the question they ask if you're going to the mountains, the sea shore, the movies. can we afford it. >> and one thing that liberals and progressives don't want to face right now is the fact the president has covered a lot of ground i

. >> msnbc contributor and long-time kennedy family friend mike barnicle, thanks very much. >> thank you, chuck. >> still ahead this hour the kennedy family tree. we'll look at tragedys of the clan who lived their lives in the public eye and also kennedy's stamp in the senate. >> the work begins anew! the hope rises again! and the dream lives on. ( whooshing ) announcer: you could buy 750 bottles of water or just one brita faet filter. ( drop plinks ) brita-- better for the environment and your wallet. could save 'em hundreds on car just telinsurance.e geico it's actually doing it. gecko vo: businessmen say "hard work equals success." well, you're looking at, arguably, the world's most successful businessgecko. gecko vo: first rule of "hard work equals success." gecko vo: that's why geico is consistently rated excellent or better in terms of financial strength. gecko vo: second rule: "don't steal a coworker's egg salad, 'specially if it's marked "the gecko." come on people. some pharmacies make you work for it with memberships and fees. but not walmart. they have hundreds of generic

the three portuguese water dogs around this area, taking the golf cart around and according to mike barnicle who says up until the last days they would wheel teddy to the dock so he could get to the mya and be taken out to sea just to enjoy a little bit of time in this area that he loved so much. such a beautiful part of the country where today everyone is grieving and certainly a show of sadness and also appreciation. >> as peter is recounting the crowds in hyannis port, people are gathered along the roadway on the way to boston from hyannis port. senator boxer, which is an extraordinary expression at a time when politicians are frankly as unpopular as journalists in america, especially tv journalists. you don't find many politicians where people line up to say good-bye so touchingly. >> ted was an extraordinary leader and an extraordinary presence. it's important to note that he had his tough race, and you talked about that. he had a very hard race, and his polls weren't good. the greatness of ted kennedy is that he would say to his staff, go try to change me. i am who i am. i'm going to f

so thas whathe's trying t do but the problemis, what america wants him do is focus , mike barnicle sayshree things jobsjobs, and jobs. and so wn youtalk about health care, when you talkabout tax increes for healthare, when you talk about cap and trade, when you talk about all of thesether things that a lot ofmericans don't e directl afcting them getting a job, and indiana or ohio or whatever, i think that causes more probms. but alsoarack obama is limited by what happened over the past eight years. george. bush and the republicancochran t debt up about $11 trillion. barack obama's fit budget was very expensive. it doubled the debt. his projections, and americans just aren't ready to go tt far. >> rose: the book "restong conservatism and arica's promise" basically is an indictment of the bush adnistration. >> well, yh. i mean.... rose: they got away from main street conservism. >>it's an indictmen of republicanm. it'sn indictment of people being more interested in keeping the reblican party in power than doing wt they said th we going to do whenhey got to washington. i mean, got elected in99

but the problem is, what america wants him to do is focus on, as mike barnicle says three things: jobs, jobs, and jobs. and so when you talk about health care, when you talk about tax increases for health care, when you talk about cap and trade, when you talk about all of these other things that a lot of americans don't see directly affecting them getting a job, and indiana or ohio or whatever, i think that causes more problems. but also barack obama is limited by what happened over the past eight years. george w. bush and the republican cochran the debt up to about $11 trillion. barack obama's first budget was very expensive. it doubled the debt. his projections, and americans just aren't ready to go that far. >> rose: the book "restoring conservatism and america's promise" basically is an indictment of the bush administration. >> well, yeah. i mean.... >> rose: they got away from main street conservatism. >> it's an indictment of republicanism. it's an indictment of people being more interested in keeping the republican party in power than doing what they said they were going to do w

mike barnicle. where is barnicle? has he been arrested?i talked to him yesterday. i said we will see you tomorrow. he said not tomorrow. his cellmate was screaming in the background. >> yelling to get off the phone. >> stop it. >> look, you know -- i bring it down? this conversation. >> the fight with the cellmate. >> what's wrong with you, jonathan? >> you don't have to drag jonathan down. he will just -- >> you know what -- >> "the washington post" editorial writer. >> no. i will say, though, just women of new york city, barnicle is behind bars. today is your day to walk through central park and specifically around the reservoir, you will be fine today. you can take your children out. this is -- seriously sort of a prague spring in new york city. so we are going to be talking about mike barnicle's detention at a prison near you. also, the cia. a lot to talk about there. frightening new numbers for any parent regarding swine flu, outbreak expected coming this fall. mika is on vacation in the northeast harbor. well, of course she is. so we

. >> mike barnicle is also on the phone with us here. ke, are you there. >> i am here, dylan. >> who else are you expecting in attendance today? describe the event that you yourself is on the way to? what is building here? >> well, you know, it's, again, unfortunately, for the kennedy family, a convening of people that they are sadly familiar with. they are incredibly familiar with the road of funerals and the catholic mass and burial, and everybody in america knows that. i think it will be an interesting assortment of people by invitation only. and one element that i think will put a smile on the basis of both the family as well as people observing it will be the many people, special olympic athletes who have been affected, have had their lives so deeply affected by the words and works of eunice shriver. that's an element of joy and an element of sadness, with her death. >> what are you hearing about senator kennedy? >> i will give you the exact same answer that andrea gave you. obviously his health is slipping. it's obvious he is fighti

. >> nbc's brian williams in hyannis port this morning, mike barnicle at msnbc.om brokaw with us from montana. guys, thanks very much for your time. i appreciate it. >>> we'll continunu >> plenty of sunshine out here. we will not see a good chance of showers until friday. going to be pretty warm out there. 90 degrees today. not a lot of moisture in the atmosphere. 90 on the shores of ocean city. >> that's your latest weather. >>> al, thanks very much. there is much more to come on this wednesday morning here on "today." but first, these messages. >>> back at 7:43 with more on the death of massachusetts senator ted kennedy. one of the senator's most powerful and touching speeches came exactly one year before his death. the site was denver, colorado, and the 2008 democratic national convention. >> for me, this is a season of hope. new hope for a justice and fair prosperity for the many, and not just for the few. new hope. and this is the cause of my life. new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every american, north, south, east, west, young

mike barnicle once again the master of the irish good-bye. 45 minutes ago said i'll be right back. he just landed at logan airport, i believe. number two, i learned from "time" magazine that vegas needs me more than ever and i will be there for you, lady luck. >> willie geist, he is a patriot. willie, it's way too early. what time is it? >> it's "morning joe." and it is time for the morning meeting with our good friend, dylan radigan. >>> good morning. contessa is off, chris jansing will join us for the balance of the day. mr. capehart is here. >>> the lockerbie bomber may be getting moved back to libya. families of victims of that bombing will join us. is this a game of oil politics using a convicted terrorist as leverage? we'll have that conversation. >>> also, hillary clinton on the one hand tina brown says she's doing a spectacular job, great six months. at the same time there is this nasty web clip of her carrying on. then the generational divide. is health care quite simply about old and young and at what point do the young in this country say enough is enough. there's our fr

. >> this makes me think about mike barnicle, a lot of these types of values, anyway, or things mike aspired to. mike joins us on the phone. a boston native. your thoughts this morning, mike? >> well, she had a remarkable life. she led an exemplary life. one of the things that she focused on, the special olymp s olympics, and the treatment of special people, and she was perhaps single handedly responsible for largely removing the world "retarded" from the american language. it used to be if there was a child with special needs, he is retarded or she is retarded. that's no longer the case. it's a special needs child or adult. she opened up a whole new landscape for people who had prior to her efforts been shunted aside. many of them were sentenced to live life in the shadows. i am talking to you now from my home, which is about four miles up the road in massachusetts from a building where you pass it and it says the eunice kennedy shriver center. and it's on the grounds of an old crumbling state hospital for the mentally ill. and that was the first building set up by eunice kennedy sh

. >> yeah, we have found with us, the next generation mike barnicle, highly inappropriate, and -- >>few years? >> oh, dear. >> we appreciate having you on. >> what is today? i am lost. let's get you back on thursday. >>> let's go to nmsnbc's andrea mitchell. andrea, the white house probably at this point is a little worried about the elections and how they are panning out. what are they saying there? >> the main challenge was karzai was always the u.s. guy in afghanistan and proved to be not only corrupt but a failure to control for the central government to exert control around the country, and now he is cutting deals with the war lords, and there is concern that they are guilty of genocide or other human rights abuses. you have real problems now with karzai, and richard engel reported earlier, people that don't have any rights of their own are perhaps worse off since the days of the taliban, except for a few pocket programs the u.s. is trying to install. it's a desperate situation, guys. >> andrea, 42 meets 44 today. what is going to be happening at the white house? bill clinton re

. >> the little boy mike barnicle can cry wolf only so often. package now or else the economy will be destroyed. got to pass cap and trade bill now or else the icecaps will melt and we're going to down. we've got to pass health care now. at some point americans are going to say, okay, come on. stop trying to scare me. let's face it. george w. bush did the same thing in iraq. we've got to go in there now. rushing it, scaring people never works in the long run. >> people can tell also a government that says now, now, now, is in its own way panicking. it's not being deliberate and serious. it's saying if you don't do it now i won't get it. we have to have it by tuesday at 10:00 a.m. >> when you strip everything away from the bill, from this steaming pile of garbage. you get to the bottom point millions of americans showed up last fall at record numbers at the polls to vote for barack obama to drive the car. not sit in the back seat while nancy pelosi and harry reid drove the car. they want barack obama to get behind the wheel and drive the car. >>

. >> nbc's brian williams in hyannis port this morning, mike barnicle at msnbc.omrow with us from montana. guys, thanks very much for your time. i appreciate it. >>> we'll continueur coverage on this story throughout morning. for now let's turn to al roker with a check of the mornins weather. >>> as we look out into the atlantic, we're keeping an eye on dutanceig rht nowbo 350 miles that's just north of the hispaniola. tr course this could become a icopde prprsi, a t a storm. moving right n west-northwest m 20iles per hour. still too ear to figure the track. some models bring it along the eastern seaboard over the weekend. a big potent rainker. also making a lot of rain right now, big storm system getting itself tother, kansas, into missouri, >>> good morning a. clear sky off to work and school this wednesday morning with temperatures in the 60s in the rural areas. near 70 in the nearby suburbs as well as in washington and near the bay. highs today reaching near 90 degrees, and we'll have lots of sun, a little more humid. tomorrow partly to mostly cloudy at times

mike his exercise. >> he just sits on the bench, the barnicle bench. that's what we will call it. him to defend himself. readhe j.c. watts' quote that -- >> we finally did the research, and it's the political argue, and he says the sacrifice and commitment, that message probably resinates with a lot more. >> the republic-- what year was? >> '79. >> that was one of the great orange bowls, nebraska won. that was beautiful. >> that was twofold, j.c.? >> i am excited about who is joining us now. with us now, msnbc political analysts, pat buchanan. >> twinkle toes buchanan. >> we decided your dance was called -- >> the chop. when did "dancing with the stars" notify you, and did you consider doing it? >> it was an e-mail, and it was about six months ago, and they asked if you were interested, and i went back, and then they came back to me and i said, no, i don't think so i am not in that good of shape right now. and they are probably out there saying is there any dumber conservative in this country than buchanan -- >> can you suggesting that tom delay is a sloppy seconds next to you, pa

up in new york we have mike barnicle. and of course willie geist.t is smart journalism. >> can you see the girl hitting the roof -- >> yes, i did. i suspect tim lehreer will be talking about that on "news hour." >> he's threatened by me, i feel. >> there's no doubt about it. let me tell you something, you're like the park avenue of newscasting. you're in his neighborhood now. "way too early." here i come, alabama. pat buchanan is in washington, d.c. got a lot to talk to you about, pat, including john bolton's comments criticizing bill clinton for going over to north

with us here, mike barnicle, willie geist. we've got pat buchanan. saw pat last night on hardball. >> who doesn't love pat? >> the guys on hardball last night. i tell you what, between chris matthews and -- first of all, looks like they are trying to use this bercher, you didn't get time to talk last night. >> i thought it came off fine. the birthers have been affirmed by all this publicity they have been getting. >> that's the first thing can you do in politics, if you can find some crazy people on the other side, you jump up and down and yell and point and say look at the crazy nuts on the other side.