mr. axelrod, with conservative democrats in the house now saying they just can't go along with what their leaders want to do, is the president ready to scale this whole operation back and bring it into line and more into line with what these conservative democrats want to do? because quite frankly if you can't get this group of democrats you can't pass this bill. >> well, bob, first understand that there is agreement on probably 80 percent of these issues, and the reason there is an agreement is because we have seen health premiums double in the last ten years, out-of-pocket costs go up by a third, healthcare is going up three times the rate of wages, and this is an us u unsustainabe the trends for families and businesses, everybody i think wants to get something done and now we are at that final point, final 20 percent and trying to work through those details, but i think that we are going to get there because this is a situation that is untenable for the american people moving forward, and within the things that we are going to do is a vast array of insurance reforms that have been long

mr. axelrod, good morning. >> good morning, maggie. >> i'd like to get your response to governor jindal's remarks saying the president's speech was great but it's all market g marketing. what he would like to see and what everyone would like to see is not actually what's being discussed. >> the truth is that almost everything he said is subsumed in the president's approach to healthcare reform. he's embraced a lot of the same concepts, and that's heartening. the problem is that many of the members of his party in the congress have not embraced a lot of those principles. the bottom line here is right now healthcare premiums have doubled over the last decade. out of pocket costs up by a third. healthcare costs are growing three times the rate of wages. it's an unsustainable path, and the government is being crunch the by it, businesses are being crushed by it. we have to respond. mr. jindal says, well, the government shouldn't interfere in the market. the bottom line right now is everyone is at the mercy of the insurance industry, and this would reform the system and put consumers in contro

on face the nation this morning bob schieffer asked presidential advisor david axelrod whether where mr. obama stands on that invitation. >> he did get assurances from both of them that they do want to meet and kind of talk this out. >> they expressed an interest in coming -- in coming to the white house. and -- and, you know, i think that -- that will likely happen. >> mitchell: secretary of state hillary clinton meets with china's foreign minister this week in washington. continuing what has been a busy time for the state department. kimberlie dozier has more now on the obama administration's globe-trotting summer. >> reporter: if you think this administration is stuck on the domestic u.s. agenda, hillary clinton would degg to -- beg to differ. >> the united states is back and ready to read. >> reporter: she racked up et0,000 air miles in the crofsey aras secretary of state touring from germany to india des pit a brief pause after breaking her elbow in june. last week on a visit to asia she issued a tough warning to north korea after its multiple missile launches and nuclear test this

mr. obama's remarks saying the president was not calling the sergeant stupid, just remarking that cooler heads should have prevailed. katie. >> couric: jim axelrod. jim, thank you. there is, of course, a long history of tension in this country between african americans and the police. and wherever there's a suggestion that race may be involved in a confrontation with an officer, emotions still run high. bill whitaker explains why. >> reporter: when it comes to matters of race... >> both of them exercises poor judgment. >> reporter: the professor skip gates incident is like a national rorschach test. what you see depends on who you are. today, many african americans see racial profiling. >> this is not right. this is happening all over the place. >> this is a racist incident? >> reporter: others a cop performing his duties. >> this is a cop doing his job. >> reporter: this latest incident spotlights a history of mistrust between police and minority communities. in may, a white new york city cop mistook a black colleague for a criminal and shot him dead. in oakland, a transit officer fatally shot an unarmed black man in the back on new year's day.

do you know people axelrod, anybody in the white house, got to the president afterwards and said, you're off the rails on this one, mrt? do you know who got him back on the rails by saying, let's all be friends, this rodney king thing he's doing? >> i am sure some of his advisers did. they keep it pretty close. look, the president is a pretty astute politician. i think what you saw is he waited a few days, essentially said, not a big deal, i could have used different words. but by friday he knew he had to address it. friday he had to say, look, i regret saying what i did. he understands that if you walk away from this sort of thing, it will just grow and grow and grow. that you've got to pour water on at some point. you can't just ignore there's a fire. >> while you're on the fire issue, do you think the republicans want to put out this birthing issue themselves? are they going to get to the point or are they already there with this vote on hawaii saying he is, in fact -- every republican voted said last night, yeah, it's a citizen. they had a vote. they chickened out or got off this crazy thing they were playing to.

mr. obama there at the vatican, the meeting taking place -- just a moment. robert gibbs, the president's press secretary, david axelrod, a chief adviser, the entire red new getting introduced to the pontiff right here. julie: this is symbolic for many reasons. he is going to go on to ghana where he will be the first african-american to visit a black african country. jon: you can see a painting their by rafael. our correspondent is there. >> the president has broad and his staff and his wife -- he has brought in his set and wife. but the tone is very warm, and they are exchanging gifts there is a relic of a missionary saint here which the pope is giving out. what we can tell from here is that it was a cordial meeting. they're obviously going to have a civil meeting. they're doing a group picture. this is an american archbishop lining everybody else. the president is expected to have left by now. this is last act. he will say goodbye, with the pope giving gifts to each of them, like a medallion, and a medal of st. peter's and a rosary. each of those who have come will get that. jon: this is going to be a frank exchange

axelrod. they're right in the times that the shifting in varmint make it harder for mr.bama to run for reelection. democrats worry about the potential erosion in battleground states like ohio. caller: people are just going to have to breathe. this will not turn around overnight. i grew up here in texas pour, my mother worked three jobs, we always want quick solutions. this is not a quick fix. there are some jobs you will have to do, like the gentleman said. maybe mob some floors. my mother did it with two children with no complaints. my husband's mother worked domestic and did whatever she had to do. richness in america means that sometimes you get to forsake your dinner. we need a wake-up call and teach children how to be responsible. host: louisiana on the republican line. caller: january 2008 and became a republican. i felt there was a socialist government, now the americans are like the americans when fdr was president. down here in louisiana, we went through an environmental disaster called hurricane katrina. everybody moved out of town and things like that. some of