nbc's mike viqueira reports. >> reporter: president obama today in full campaign mode. >> thank you so much. thank you, seattle. >> reporter: kicking off a western swing, three days, five cities, seven fund-raisers. still pushing his jobs plan, while at the same time throwing red meat to his political base. >> don't just talk about helping america's job creators, how about actually helping them. get this bill passed right away. >> reporter: the trip comes after the president gave a fiery speech to the congressional black caucus, with black unemployment near 17%, and many black leaders openly critical of his approach. last night mr. obama had tough words for a close ally. >> put on your marching shoes, shake it off. stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying. we are going to press on. we have got work to do. >> reporter: but there is also turmoil among republicans. >> send washington a message! >> reporter: business man herman cain, well behind in most polls, pulled off a stunning upset saturday in the florida straw poll of gop party faithful. >> they're ready for solutions, not more

mike viqueira spoke with white house spokesman jay carney. staff, fantastic internally and externally advancing the president's policy goals, brings enormous experience to the job and i would simply say he took over that job at a critical and remarkable time." okay, that being said, does that sound like a ringing endorsement to you, karen? >> it sounds like a ringing endorsement in washington. which everybody knows the way we talk in here is a little different than the rest of the world. again, i go back to i don't think the issues for example with the communication with capitol hill, as a democrat, i'm very frustrated in that relationship and i do think the white house could be doing a better job, is bill daley the reason that it's not good? no. there are a number of people who can participate in improving that communication and that relationship. so again i'm reluctant to -- it is very much the sort of washington habit to say let's go after one specific person and i do think again there is, you know, a lot of people in here who could be hel

. >> nbc's mike viqueira joins us live from the white house this morning. ke, this plan bypasses congress, which many republican lawmakers are ang sgri aboprett about. >> reporter: it's going around congress because they're frustrated with congress and the president made that point today. he says that congress has had, since 2007, when the original authorization for no child left behind expired, to do something about it. they haven't done anything about it. the president said a couple of times, i will do something about it. thomas, many of our viewers and anybody with kids, this is the time of year to go to the parent/teacher conferences, the back-to-school nights, find out how your kids are doing. coming up in the next weeks or months. if you've been to one of those, you almost heared teachers gripe that they don't like the no child left behind. they feel it ties their hands with creativity as teachers. many teachers i've talked to and even president obama mentioned weren't of the most frequent criticisms that's developed over the years in no child left beh

mike viqueira lived to the entire thing. he is live in richmond. as you think about the speech a day later, what's new in it? >> reporter: there is a lot new. a few surprises. to theline price tag. let's mention one other thing here first. it was a tough tone the president took last night. everything i'm hearing from democrats and democrat activists, they are saying it's about time. republicans say there are things in there that be possible areas of compromise, although they object to the tone. let's go back when we had the blow-up during the debt ceiling debate when reportedly eric cantor said something to the president that made him angry. he said, eric, we'll take this to the american people. today the president isn't only taking it to the american people but taking it to eric cantor's people and the district he represents in congress. he'll make the speech following up on some of the details. there were a few surprises last night. the payroll tax cut that is in effect right now that expires at the end of this year, the president wants to extend

>> mike viqueira at the white house for us. mike, thank you. >> certainly. >> so that number, $300 billion. it is a big price tag. some democratic lawmakers think it's simply not enough to jump-start this economy, and is this package really bold enough to satisfy president obama's base. joining us now live from capitol hill is representative recall grijalva. a lot of pressure on the president to boost jobs overall. but especially in hard-hit minority communities. what do you want to hear from the president tomorrow night? >> well, to that end, the black caucus, hispanic caucus, asia pacific caucus and progressive caucus have sent a letter to the president saying let's meet before the speech. we feel that this package has been outlined in the press, $300 billion is not big enough. we feel that the severity of unemployment, the severity of the economic downturn requires a lot more government intervention. it requires a bigger package. and to begin to revive this economy, and to give -- and to bring the unemployment rate down. part

mike viqueira with the latest.president have in the tar heel state. >> reporter: he has three udien carolina, the audience in congress, and most importantly he's got an audience in 14 months that will go for the poll in the form of the american electorate and the president certainly has bad news here. a bloomberg poll, the organization that focuses on business news, out today those disapprove of the way the president is handling the economy and 51% think that the plan that the president has been pushing will not do anything to lower the 9.1% unemployment rate. and as a matter of fact by the white house's own calculations, unless that jobs plan is passed, which at this point prospects appear sketchy at best, the unemployment rate is supposed to whoever around 9% next year. the president has been to richmond, virginia, to ohio, today in north carolina, another big speech early next week on deficit reduction. what do those three states have in common? first of all, they're home to the republican leadership of congress

mike viqueira at the white house, glen thrush who covers the white house for politico, co-sponsor alongith nbc of that debate and our great mega panel. karen finney, susan del percio and jimmy williams. welcome ant lialysts all. political event. five great brains to dissect it simultaneously. vic, start with you. jay carney went through a painful press briefing asked repeatedly who really dropped the ball at the white house to be in a situation where this kind of date wasn't vetted properly in advance and the president looks once again kind of weak, and it's kind of the gang that couldn't shoot straight. what are you hearing? >> the suspicion in the press room, it was vetted in advance, and they tripped up on their own selves in having a conflict and having john boehnane describe boehner to describe asking for a new date. the american public does note give a lick whether this speech son wednesday or thursday. having said that, carney said the reason they went for wednesday is because the president wanted to speak to congress since they'll have to pass many of these 3r0er8 proposals he'l

mike viqueira joins us from the white house with the surprising results. >> reporter: no one saw this coming. businessman herman cain had been pulling well behind the frontrunners in fifth or sixth place, in single digits at 5% or 6%. late today, he crushed the competition in the florida straw poll. with more riding on the result than any other candidate, today rick perry made one last appeal to straw poll voters in florida. >> what americans are looking for isn't the slickest candidate. they're looking for an authentic, principled leader. >> reporter: today's poll was open only to party activist, who in a stunning upset chose herman cain who won by a whopping 22%. >> send washington a message! >> reporter: before the straw poll, perry had been damaged by hits from conservative rivals. most recently in a debate on fox news channel, on allowing insfat tuition rates at texas colleges to the children of illegal immigrants. >> i would not allow taxpayer funded benefits for illegal aliens or for their children. >> reporter: a victory today was considered crucial for perry's chances. >> if

nbc's mike viqueira is at the white house for us and with a good day for you, when do you think the highcould come in the thick of primary season. republican primary season. and that is going to be a very interesting predicament. there was no question and everybody agreed from all sides in washington, all over the country, 26 states and national federation of independent businesses, small business lobby in this country, foremost small business lobby, they had all gone to court to try to stop this health care law that was so difficult in passing that the president got passed and that takes -- effect in 2014. the cornerstone of which is this individual mandate. all of these entities, 126 states, and the nfib, were trying to stop it before then. the atlanta appeals court ruled on, as you said, the core portion of this. the individual plan date requiring americans to get insurance and the reason why that's important, if you remember back to that vitriolic debate that caused so much con stern sxags led to the town halls and big republican victories in part, over the course of the last electio

we get our report tonight from nbc's mike viqueira. >> reporter: tomorrow president obama will unveil a new minimum tax for everyone making more than $1 million a year. today, republicans were already on the attack. >> class warfare will simply divide this country more, attack job creators, divide people, and it doesn't grow the economy. >> reporter: the white house is calling it the buffett rule, after wealthy investor warren buffett, who says the rich are being unfairly taxed, not because rates are too high, he thinks they're too low. recently writing, my friends and i have been coddled long enough by a billionaire friendly congress. time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice. today that stance and the president's embrace of it drew scorn from the senate's top republicans. >> if he's feeling guilty about it, send in a check. but we don't want to stagnate this economy by raising taxes. >> reporter: the economists say effective, the new tax should be part of a larger overhaul of the tax code. >> get rid of most of the exclusions and exemptions, require people to rec

mike viqueira, nbc news, washington. >>> to the latest front in the battle for libya. tonight rebels are trying to gain control of one of the last places held by forces loyal to moammar gadhafi. this all comes amid new reports about america's relationship with the gadhafi regime in recent years. we get the latest now from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: we traveled south of tripoli on the road to one of gadhafi's last strongholds, the city of bani walid. rumors circled all week that the toppled dictator and his sons might be hiding out there. but at a rebel base where fighters take joy showing their contempt for gadhafi colonel al habashi told us there was no cause for concern, there would be no fighting. "a deal has been negotiated," he says, "we're just waiting for the invitation to enter the city." the gadhafi family has left. but a short time later, further down the road to bani walid, a different story. despite the commanders' assurances that a deal has been struck, we've been stopped here just over 40 miles from the city. we're told it's too unsafe to go any f

. >> nbc's mike viqueira joins us from the white house. ke. >> hi, martin. >> the president spoke out today, praising the takedown of al qaeda, the latest in a run of high-profile kills for the military under president obama. but what's the reaction there at the white house, say, in comparison with what happened when bin laden was taken? >> well, certainly, this doesn't approach the magnitude of what happened with bin laden, but it's certainly reflected in the way that this has been rolled out or announced by the white house. you remember when osama bin laden was killed back in may in that daring raid on his compound, under the noses of the pakistani military academy there. the president -- we were told to go home for the day, it was a sunday. there hadn't been much going on that weekend. they called us all back, back in the east room, a big, grand red carpet walk. the president announced to the nation that osama bin laden had been killed. i think for very obvious reasons, that was the case, martin. >> and mike, there's already been critici

. >> mike viqueira is live at the white house this morning. jared bernstein is a contributor for cnbc and msnbc and the former economist for vice president joe biden. ryan, i want to start with you. let's talk about the big numbers here. we've seen the market reaction. what do today's numbers mean for the average american? >> well, you know, i hate to say it. they're unequivocally bad. there was very little good news in this report. average hours worked were down. the goose egg, we have not seen that on a monthly report since 1945. clearly, this was not the worst job report we've seen. what it means is that the economy may at some experts on wall street are saying has hit stall speed, that we're at the risk of rolling over into another recession. we saw that in the manufacturing data this week. we're seeing it in the employment numbers this morning. we are at risk for much lower growth than anybody hoped for this time of the we're. >> the white house issued a statement a short time ago that many of us in the news room found to be surprising. t

. >>> nbc's mike viqueira is live on the north lawn for us this morning.vick, does the white house really believe that anyone is buying that they didn't know what they're doing? >> there's a lot of disbelief about washington on both ends of capitol hill here. one thing is certain, nobody is looking good and the white house and the congress are encouraging people to sort of move on. this all is a prelude to the campaign season. start the dragnet music here. the anatomy of a kerfuffle. yesterday the chief of staff here, bill daley called john boehner, informed him that he would be getting a letter that would request next wednesday at 8:00, as you mentioned, that conflicts with the republican debate that conflicts with rick perry. the speaker's office insists that daley never got a go ahead but he merely took it into consideration that you would consult the folks around the capit capitol. at 11:45, that request becomes public. at 12:30 or thereabouts, jay carney had a briefing. he calls the timing or the conflict coincidental. in spite of the congressional sc

. >> joining me now is mike viqueira. do you think the president can bring both sides of the aisle together on his jobs proposal? >> i tell you, the prospects aren't all that great, are they, after everything we've seen over the past sell days. the president talking about a transportation bill that's a bonanza for congress that everybody loves that passes worth hundreds of bhil yonz of dollars worth of transportation projects. throw on top of that the fema funding, there's a fight about that now. federal aviation administration. remember the fight at the beginning of that month. all kinds of things. even the debt ceiling, obviously, which did so many to shake confidence, we're now learning, of consumers around the country, and did real damage to the economy. that's just the blind that the president has to walk. a joint session of congress on thursday night at 8:00 here in the east. does he go big? you hear that term being thrown around a lot. get really am birns. part of the problem with that is then is it just to be poli

. >> mike viqueira, thank you so much. >>> minnesota congressman keith ellison is the co-chairman of the progressive caucus and is joining me now. you've seen parts of the president's plan as the co-chairman of the progressive caucus. is the president taking the stand necessary to make a real dent in the jobs crisis? because we keep hearing the words bold, big, urgent, comprehensive. is it really going to live up to what we're all expecting? >> i certainly hope so. and i also think so. from what i've seen of the president's job proposal so far, he is headed absolutely in the right direction. the only open question in my mind, is it bold enough and big enough? i have a jobs plan right now that calls for $350 billion to put into direct job creation, helping state and local governments. but i also think we need another $25 billion to fund the national infrastructure bank bill. i hope it's at least about $375 billion. it's going to need to be at least that to make the dent i think we need. the republicans haven't put up anything. they're full of criticism, but not full of any sort of pro

mike viqueira. could you not cue the lawn blower? the second you start talking. what is that?rather amusing. thank you very much. >> all right. loo at least there's something to laugh at. we invite you to watch the president ae speech to congress at 7:00 p.m. on thursday on msnbc. >>> well, president obama is spending labor day in michigan, and he is set to deliver a speech in downtown detroit. it should serve as a preview to his big thursday night speech on job creation. i'm joined mou live by the mayor of lancing, michigan. mr. mayor, thank you for joining me. >> my pleasure. >> what are your expectations for the president's visit to your state? >> well, look, we're happy -- always happy to have him in michigan to see what's actually happening on the ground. you know, we're grateful for his action in saving the auto industry, which is going strong. that's an investment in gm and chrysler that is paying back. that's what is saving us in lancing. our manufacturings sector is -- it's coming -- barrelling back, and it's a reminder that we need to put the p in gdp. the reality is

we start with nbc's mike viqueira at the white house. what, if anything, did the president accomplish with any constituency today? >> reporter: well, apparently he may have borne fruit on the international stage. there is an indication, dylan, they may be able to delay this, and it may spark another face-to-face sitting down across the table between the palestinian authority and benjamin netanyahu's israeli government. you know, it was a year ago in this same venue, dylan, where president obama expressed hope this a peace agreement could be reached this year, 2011, that there could be the outlines of a palestinian state. he wanted the two parties to sit together. remember, he had a new initiative that started about a year ago and then benjamin netanyahu and his government lifted the moratorium on settlements in the west bank. one thing led to another. those talks -- the u.s.-brokered talks immediately collapsed, and now we have a spectacle of mahmoud abbas pushing this resolution on the united nations general assembly which would have pu

we have a packed show starting with msnbc's mike viqueira at the white house and luke russert at the capitol and politico's executive director joins us along with the mega panel in a bit. you guys are better at this than i. every time there's a special election. anybody who wins says that's a referendum on the other guy and whoever loses says no, it wasn't. mike, what's the white house spin on the special election losses? >> reporter: well, i've got to tell you, dylan, the burden of proof is going to be on democrats. we're talking about a 61% district and as you point out not since the 1920s has that seat been held by a republican. here's what the house says today on the presidential aircraft, air force one, jay carney says that special election are often unique to their outcomes and do not tell you very much. about future regularly scheduled elections, and he goes on to point out that over the course of the two years in the last cycle, in 2009 and 2010, some ten special elections, democrats held most of the seats and the republican seat, where you're from, dylan. >> that guy was cra