republican senator olympia snowe, a key popularity on the finance committee's gang of six, negotiateding. and she joins us now by phone. thank you so much for joining us, senator. can you tell us what came out of that meeting? are you going to scale it become and is the co-op still in there as an alternative? >> the co-op is, andrea. we're not scaling anything back, but we're looking at various issues and refining, modifying, evaluating, and we're continuing on track. i think the recess, in many ways, is helpful, because it gives us a chance to meet with our constituents, better understand their concerns, their issues. and to get a better feel for the greatest concerns that we have regarding health insurance. and obviously, they're hearing a number of things about a variety of packages. so i think that it, obviously, adds to the element of the confusion that's surrounding this very substantiative and complex issue. >> do you get the sense that the president is about to give up, senator, on working on an bipartisan deal with all the pressure coming from the left, from his own party, is he

their dad is facing kidnapping and false imprisonment charges. >>> police in olympia, washington, shot and killed a patient in a hospital emergency room and investigators now want to know how the man managed to conceal a handgun, even after police had searched him. officers found two other loaded guns when they were called to the hospital about an unruly patient. >> at some point, he starts getting more unruly, and that was part of the original call as well, was a suspicion of firearms and unruly behavior. and the second time, he starts becoming unruly, just with simple -- asking him to do simple things to prepare for being evaluated further. and as he becomes more unruly and gets loud, the officer steps into the room. as he's stepping in, at some point in there, this subject produces another handgun. >> police say that's when a struggle started and an officer shot the man. the hospital staff did try to save him. >>> the first family is touring national parks this weekend with stops at yellowstone and the grand canyon, but controversy over gun law the president signed in may is followi

olympia snow or susan collins. maybe even chuck grassley. that's a grimmer. >> it is a glimmer. i was with chuck grassley in four town squares yesterday. the fringe didn't take over. they were, in fact, pointed but they were not hostile. people got up and said, we'll put you out if you support this but it wasn't in some crazy, yelling manner. i think by and large, we can assume that most of the town hall meetings are fine. people are upset. people are looking at major things. i think what's interesting now is that as we are now looking and i'm sure you have gotten this in your e-mails as well, at what i think is a shift in how the democrats are approaching this. it used to be, this is the fringe. these are crazy people, the t bag people, the birthers. most of the town hall meetings are just fine. i think what they have seen is they have moved more against it than for it. >> the white house, it is becoming more assertive. >> they are. david axlerod sent out a six-page e-mail refuting a lot of what they called myths about health care. >> and asking recipients to keep forwarding it

. >>> police in olympia washington shot and killed a patient in a hospital emergency room. now the investigators want to know how the man got into the hospital with three guns undetected. officers found two of them loaded when they were called to the hospital about an unruly patient. >> at some point he started to get unruly. that was part of the initial car, suspicion of firearms and unruly behavior. the second time he becomes unruly, just asking him to do simple things to prepare him for being evaluated further. as he becomes more unruly and loud, the officer steps into the room. as he's stepping in, at some point in there, the subject reveals another. >> that's when the trouble started and the officer shot at the man. the hospital staff tried to save him but could not. >>> 2500 people who protested and were arrested during civil rights demonstrations in birmingham, they are being pardoned. but ebony hall from wfma reports, some don't want their names wiped from police records. >> you don't have a weapon. >> reporter: the reverend was there as other foot soldiers looked o

hey, just talking to olympia snowe about health care reform.uldn't be a false deadline. do you agree have should be a deadline on health care reform, you'll get it done this year when you get done? >> we need to get to work when we get back trying to reconcile all these different versions. i'm focused like a laser on insurance reform an cost containment. no one can say there's a serious deficit hog if they're not worried about cost contain tainment in health care. that's the 100-pound gorilla that will handcuff up for generations if we don't figure it ounchts one of the things looking at bill clinton coming in at an airport in california, one of the things that concerned me about the debate. i loved hearing you say that. i think we talked about the moral side of the issue any of which is the 47 million american whose need health insurance, but we haven't talked about math. haven't talk about cost containment over the next ten years. what do you do when you come back from recess to talk about how we bring down costs in the long run? >> well, the

just in the past hour, andrea mitchell interviewed olympia snowe.e will not be a public option. how big a blow is that for the white house? >> in many respects, it's why president obama has been sort of going back and forth on will there be a public option or a cooperative bipartisan plan. i mean, this is no surprise to the white house. they know that the house is in favor of a public plan and the finance committee is not. part of this is the negotiating tactic. look for new phrases to come out in september to get them away from the word, public plan, so to speak. it's really the culmination of what's been behind the discussion all week. >> i guess one of those new phrases is no wee-weed. let me ask you about "the washington post" abc news poll. we've seen this anger out there is real. 49% said they thought obama would improve health care. that's a 20-point drop. how does the white house react to that? how are they going to change that if the mood of the country is souring on his proposal? >> we heard from robert gibbs today that the president is wi

not in the final seconds yet, so i think they ought to try to hold out, and if not grassley, then olympia republicans. >> the senator from iowa has made it very clear that he will are not support anything that has any language every a government program or a public option how's the president going to navigate around that? >> remember, you heard robert gibbs talk about getting some of the out of the finance committee that would progress the process. the idea is, you just keep the shark moving so that it doesn't drown. whatever comes out of the finance committee is probably will be what the senate bill looks like, but, you know, these deals are done behind closed doors when the senators and house members and white house meet to hash out the final deal. that was always what president obama wanted down before the august recess that we didn't see this kind of mayhem we're seeing. they'll have to do it in september. first they need something through the senate. >> karen, i thought the president did an excellent job in portsmouth, new hampshire, debuvged all the right-wing bullet points and even

charles grassley, mike enzi and olympia snowe. i give those three republicans a lot of credit because they're under enormous pressure not to engage in any kind of negotiations at all. and in the current political climate, they are showing, you know, some significant result. i don't know if in the end they can get there. >> especially every time senator grassley opens his mouth, the iowa republican now directly challenging the president to give up the public option as a condition of republican involvement. telling "the washington post" it was "pretty important if you're really interested in a bipartisan bill." but wait, there's more. senator grassley pointing at town hall anger the reason why the scope needs to be scaled back. "people are signaling that we ought to slow up and find out where we are and don't spend so much money and don't get us so far into debt." if you can consider health industry employees a sort of right-wing militia members but only know they hate this president if you consider them regular people. a message to

take a look at ad targeting her. >> senator olympia snowe has a leading role in the health care debateeral democrats. >> there's no harm in talking. >> but what are the democrats talking about? tell senator snow not to safe into the liberals on health care. >> what are the politics here? is this the republican party trying to score a victory versus the democrats or somebody in the republican party who actually wants health care reform? >> well, i'll tell you this. i think olympia snowe judging by comments she made in the "washington post," i think she offered a hint on where she is on this. grassley said to the post he is seeing all this anger at the town halls that convinced him they have got to take a step back, do less on this. olympia snowe said she's also been doing a lot of town halls and she's convinced they have to do health care reform and they have to do more. what does that tell you, dylan? she's going to be at the table. democrats know they probably have her support and she's negotiating with them in good faith. with grassley, i think he was negotiating in good faith. it wa

chuck ghastly of iowa -- chuck grassley of iowa, olympia snowe from maine and mike en sign. >> they are roop facing huge crowds that turned out for grassley's afternoon event. >> congress is excluding us! >> organizers of the tea parties against tax and spend government waste are are among e most angry. >> we will stand up and do it, whether it is in the election season next time oh somebody stepping out of this and running, in a situation, or if we have to, march on washington. >> the idea that ghastly could face a republican challenger for all this has certainly got under his skin. all day long he has been suggesting that he is like a little boy holding his finger in the dike to keep a flood of liberalism from spilling forth. he said were he not at the table to slow down the process, these august town halls would not have happened, he argues because of his work to find a deal, showed it down -- slowed it down to let all of america have a chance to let them know their sentiments. >> the treasury department said the federal deficit for july totalled $181 billion, pushing the fiscal year

in the senate finance committee there have been a couple republicans, chuck grassley, mike enzi, olympia snoe who have been willing to negotiate with democrats to try to produce a bill. but they haven't yet. i think at some point sometime in september we're just going to have to make an assessment. >> many democrats openly wonder why the senate health care negotiators the so-called gang of six are shutting out other democrats from the committee like senator jay rockefeller quoting him all the attention is going to those three republicans. watch as this bill diminishes. those three won't be there when the bill passes. let's turn to the washington editor of "the nation" magazine chris hayes. good evening. >> good evening, keith. >> has senator rockefeller summed this up and if so why hasn't the administration learned its lesson from the stimulus package? >> well, i think he has summed it up. first of all, i think he is stating the obvious point which is that mike enzi and chuck grassley and olympia snowe is sort of another story, mike enzi and chuck grassley are not going to vote for this

olympia sowee wi. tony snowwill. >> i just tew that out there. i own northeast. i'm sure iwould be just like e book tour. vote for him >> okay, if yo say so, okay i will ve for him but they kicked colinowell out of the party is insane i learned on the book tour t is fascinatingpeaking in new england. ha lot of people come up to me, a lot of older gentlema especially come up tme and say i ud to vote for republicans when they wereikeou. i said i'm really conservative. >> yeah. >> rose: . >> i like a libearian i'm so consertive. >> no, no, no, no you're not a ter. and what irealized on this book tour, t things. one good,ne bad. the good thing is that moderate its, en people left of cere will listen to you if you don't come to them and tell them barack obama say mmunist and son sotomayor is a racist. they willisten to you and you n have a debate on philosophy >> rose: who saithat sotomayor was a racist. >> i frget now. i played a lot football, charlie. aot of republicans said she waa racist. >> rosesome of your friends. >> sad on the other side, you call th my friend

yeah, i got to admit, i like olympia too. they are diligently working to see if they can come up with a plan that could get both republican and can democratic support. but i have to tell you, when i listened to folks like lori, and families all across america who are just getting pounded by the current health care system, and when i look at the federal budget and realize that if we don't control costs on health care, there is no way for us to close the budget deficit. it will just keep on skyrocketing. when i look at those two things, i say, we have to get it done. and my hope is we can do it in a bipartisan fashion, but the most important thing is getting it done for the american people. all right. this young lady right here. all right. this young lady right here. she's still enjoying her summer. when do you go back to school? >> i go back to school september 3rd. >> september 3rd. okay. what's your name? >> julia halls from malden, massachusetts. >> nice to meet you, julia. >> i saw -- as i was walking in, i saw a lot of si

they may get olympia snowe, well, because she's more of a moderate. but enzi and grassley are much more conservative lawmakers, if they're satisfied, it means a lot of others aren't, including, i think, a majority of the country. >> all right, we'll see if the new deadline holds, senator brown. thank you for joining us today. >> thank you, appreciate it. >>> joining me now is democratic congressman lloyd doggett from texas. congressman doggett, you had one of the famous events where you were basically kind of chased into your car and out of there by these -- these protesters. >> well, lawrence, that's really the right-wing spin on it. they dribbled out a little videotape. what it doesn't show is i spent an hour discussing and debating this bill and listening to all the taunts and the pictures of the tombstones with my name on it. and they showed some video at the end when their noise got so loud, it just wasn't productive to stay any longer. democrats shouldn't flee. we need to stand and fight these people. >> all right, so now you're telling me somet

olympia snee will tony snow ll. >> i just thr that out there. i own northeast. i'm su it would be just le the book tour. vote for him. >> okay, if youay so, okay i will vot for him. but they kicked colin pell out of the party is insane. i learned on the book tour t is fascinating saking in new england. hi lot of people comeup me, a lot of older gentleman, especially come up to and say i useto vote for republicans when they were lke yu. i said'm really conservative. >> yeah. >> rose: . >> i'mike a libertian i'm so conservave. >> no, no, no, no. you're not a har. and what i alized on this book tour, twothings. one good, o bad. the good thing ishat moderate its, eve people left of cent will listen to you if you don't come to em and tell them barack obama say counist and sonia sotomayor is aracist. they will lsten to you and you cahave a debate on philosophy. >> rose: who said at sotomayor was a racist. >> i foet now. i played a lot of football, charlie. a l ofepublicans said she was racist. >> rose: me of your friends. >> sadlyn the other side, you call themy frien

olympia snowee will. tony snow will. >> i just threw that out there. i own northeast. i'm sure it would be just like the book tour. vote for him. >> okay, if you say so, okay i will vote for him. but they kicked colin powell out of the party is insane. i learned on the book tour t is fascinating speaking in new england. hi a lot of people come up to me, a lot of older gentleman, especially come up to me and say i used to vote for republicans when they were like you. i said i'm really conservative. >> yeah. >> rose: . >> i'm like a libertarian i'm so conservative. >> no, no, no, no. you're not a hater. and what i realized on this book tour, two things. one good, one bad. the good thing is that moderate its, even people left of centre will listen to you if you don't come to them and tell them barack obama say communist and sonia sotomayor is a racist. they will listen to you and you can have a debate on philosophy. >> rose: who said that sotomayor was a racist. >> i forget now. i played a lot of football, charlie. a lot of republicans said she was a racist. >> rose: some

olympia snowe will. >> rose: well, in the northeast... >> i just threw that out. there i own the northeast with mika with me. okay, mika, if you say so, i'll vote for you. but they kicked colin powell out of the party. you know what i learned on this book shower in it's fascinating. speaking in new england. i had a lot of people come up to me, a lot of older gentlemen especially come up to me and say "i used to vote for republicans when they were like you." said "i'm really conservative, i'm like a libertarian i'm so conservative." they said "no, you're not a hater." and what i realized on this book tour, two things, one good, one bad. the good thing is that moderates even people left of center, will low pressure to you if you don't come to tell them barack obama's a communist and sonia sotomayor is a racist. they will listen to you when you can have a debate onphilosophy. >> rose: who said that sotomayor was a racist. >> i forget now. i've played a lot of football, charlie. a lot of republicans said she was a racist. >> rose: so your friends... >> sadly on the ot

. >> whether they can peel olympia 3nowe of, or whether they have last weekend, senator schumer, head senatorial and he has big the democratic he said, in essence, we to go without votes.can we will do it with 51 votes as of what is called "budget reconciliation." think this was a threat. this is indicative of seven some of the key letters leaders, whi(r is, "forget working with republicans. not need a bipartisan bill. go forwarding to with democrats only and try this procedure of which wouldon require only 51 votes." i have talked to some experts say there are real problems with the democrats in doing this. it cannot be pulledç off with e chuck schumer talked about on sunday. greta: do you thinkç senator trouble?d is in his numbers are slipping down, but, politically, for him back home? yes, look, his numbers are dreadful in nevada. not only that, it spilled over with an effect to his son, though is running for governor, and there is a twice failed candidate running for office, and basketball coach, and he is losing by 5 points to a former state assemblywoman a state chairman. i me

you would not get olympia snowe? >> i do not believe so.assley and snowe and others are working on the finance committee to find a middle ground that would get support on broadsides of the dial. they are fighting that very difficult, -- on both sides of the aisle. they have said they do not get their government-run insurance company as a part of this, they will insist that the democratic leadership divide the legislation and give them the parts that they want and then give republicans the chance to vote on apparently another piece of r,ç but, of course, that would be no deal, because you'll have the government-run insurance, and then there will be the point the democrats plan to pass with just a bare majority. neil: that is what they're saying. not meeting the filibuster-proof majority. is that doable -- not needing the filibuster-proof majority. >> there are certain things that are filibusterable, but they cannot achieve everything they wanted just threw that reconciliation process. as a result, they will have to get republicans -- they c

olympia snowe is from maine, a moderate state.l vote with democrats on a variety of bills and her but can be key to breaking a logjam or filibuster. with the stimulus bill it was stuck. republicans had the votes to block it. generally you need 60. the democrats went to olympia snowe and her fellow maine republican, susan collins, as well as arlen specter who was still republican than. they try to cut a deal. that is another way that a senator can wield influence if the margin is so close that their boat is key. -- that there vote is -- their vote is key. caller: good morning. i have a couple of comments. on the question of clout, we have a dairy business and can i get any senators or congressman to help. we do not done enough i think to their campaigns to be recognized by them. a question on insurance, we are small business and must provide our own interests which costs us $1,200 as a family of four. i do not hear anything about small businesses and their costs. we do have one employee. that is more insurance. i do not think we re

he joins lindsey graham of south carolina, susan collins and olympia snowe of maine, florida's mel martinez, richard lugar of indiana, and lamar alexander of tennessee. congress members will travel in style at your considerable expense and look at the politics involved in bill clinton's trip to get two american journalists back from north korea. come on. [ kissing ] come on. good girl. mollie's never looked better. i really was amazed to see the change in her coat. people stop us when we're walking, and they'll say, "did you shine up her spots?" [ woman announcing ] just another way purina one... unlocks the brilliance of nature... to transform the life of your dog. for us to see the difference in mollie-- we were really excited about it. it just makes you feel wonderful. [ announcer ] it's amazing what one can do. bret: reporters held prisoners in north korea are sprenning their first days back in the u.s. and bill clinton is being lauded for his efforts for retrieving them. jennifer griffin reports on what happened behind summary scenes to make the homecoming possible. >> when the two ame

": greta: have you spoken to senator olympia snowe? >> i have not spoken to her. i hope that she and senator collins and others, who understand, from some very difficult parts of the country in terms of being a republican running for elected office, but i think on this issue, i think the philosophy is right. i think politics is right, and i think the opportunity is right to really define this in terms of the patient-doctor relationship with as little intrusion from the federal government as possible, and i think senator snowe and others will understand that. they are having town halls up in maine and parts of new england, as well. it is no less exciting, if you will, then it is elsewhere around the country. greta: thank you -- than it is elsewhere around the country. this was just faced at a town hall. >> please answer this, because you dr. a hard question. greta: right in the heart of the i'm robert shapiro. over a million people have discovered how easy it is to use legalzoom for important legal documents. at legalzoom, we'll help you incorporate your business,

he talked with senator olympia snowe yesterday and senator conrad. as we've discussed, talked with senator baucus on friday. that's our focus is continuing to work this in a bipartisan way. i know that six senators on the finance committee have a conference call slated according to -- >> so there's secretary robert gibbs. a lot of questions swirling around about whether the senate might institute some different rules that would allow just the democrats to take over know this health care reform bill and move ahead and whether maybe that would happen by splitting the health bill into different parts. >>> coming up, new developments in the case of a murdered california model. the one suspect has fled to canada. we'll get more ahead. >>> later, afghans head to the voting booth, but will their ballots bring real change to a nation rocked by deadly violence? this is msnbc. >>> california police want to talk to a radio show contestant in the murder of his wife. police have named jenkins the person of interest in the death of jasmine fiore. her body was foun

. >> whether they can peel olympia snowe of, or whether they have3 last weekend, senator schumer, the a senatorial committee, and he has big leverage inside the democratic caucus, he said, in essence, we are ready to go without republican votes. we will do it with 51 votes as part of what is called "budget reconciliation." i think this was a threat. this is indicative of seven minds of some of the key letters -- leaders, whi(r is, "forget working with republicans. we do not need a bipartisan bill. we are willing to go forward with democrats only and try this risky procedure of reconciliation which would require only 51 votes." i have talked to some experts who say there are real problems with the democrats in doing this. it cannot be pulledç off with e ease that chuck schumer talked about on sunday. greta: do you thinkç senator harry reid is in trouble? his numbers are slipping down, but, politically, for him back home? >> yes, look, his numbers are dreadful in nevada. not only that, it spilled over with an effect to his son, though is running for governor, and there is a twice fail

and we should also point out, the president almost seemed to go out of his way to give credit to olympia snowe, chuck grassley, the republican senators who they're counting on. there's some sort of good cop, bad cop. the president -- are democrats are like, to hell with the republicans, let's do it alone. >> they had a couple of bad days when it seemed like a white house was going to cut the public option loose and then yesterday, i talked to health care advocates who said seeing them say publicly they can't support something even insurance reforms that are popular. chuck grassley, in some bill, includes everything they want. it really showed that no matter how much negotiating, it may not end up producing what they want and so you know, they've kind of felt like a turnaround yesterday. even tonight with this conference call, mike inze's another one we have to watch. before the august recess, he was giving democrats the most heartburn in terms of his public statements. >> interesting. we thank you both. monica again, in a way, you're watching a slow motion divorce, but only the white hou

olympia snowe from maine. >> but despite senator grassley's comments yesterday about what's being called a death panel, the white house still wants to get republicans on board and again, listen to how carefully press secretary robert gibbs handled grassley this afternoon. >> i still think there is the possibility of getting bipartisan agreement through the finance committee in order to make progress on a piece of legislation that can pass the senate. >> and when asked specifically about whether grassley was playing rope dope, he said, we'll see. richard, what have democrats gained by trying to work with grassley so far? >> i think president obama generally if you look at the polls, is getting high marks from the public on the stimulus and elsewhere in trying to reach out on health care particular, when the question is is president obama trying to work with republicans. the public says yes. are the congressional republicans trying to work with democrats? the public says no. president obama did get elected on the flat form of trying to break all the old tension and the public wants that. n

it may be like the stimulus, where they get a couple of republicans in the senate, maybe olympia snowe, one or two others, and then the house, they get none nap could very possibly happen. the bigger problem the democrats have right now is with the blue dog democrats. they've got to hold them in line. essentially what you have is the republicans are the party of no. the democrats need to be the party of yes. they can argue about the detail, but the idea of sustaining status quo is unacceptable, and democrats all over the country have to just come out and say, we need a bill. argue about what's going to be in it but don't -- don't talk about they're being no bill. >> when you hear some of the things in this, in these, that are actually, that actually supposedly reference health care, some of them ar are no better word for it, so dense as to be amazing. you want to try to back some of these things -- nobody ever hears debunkings, at least we can give it a try. arkansas town hall. this one's kind of standard. >> it's like say 100% of americans, 80% of them have insurance. maybe more. i'm

to admit, i like olympia, too. you know, they are diligently working to see if they can come up with a plan that could get both republican and democratic support, but i have to tell you, when i listen to folks like laurie and families all across america who are just getting pounded by the current health care system and when i look at the federal budget and realize that if we don't control costs on health care, there is no way for us to close the budget deficit. it will just keep on skyrocketing. when i look at those two things, i say we have to get it done. and my hope is we can do it in a bipartisan fashion, but the most important thing is getting it done for the american people. all right. let's -- this young lady right here. all right, this young lady right here. she's still enjoying her summer. when do you go back to school? >> i go back to school september 3rd. >> september 3rd, okay. what's your name? >> julia hall from northern massachusetts. >> nice to meet you, julia. >> as i was walking in, i saw a lot of

one of them, olympia snowe, in maine, she's been dedicated on this.huck grassley, mike enzi, others, they've been meeting in the senate finance committee. i want to give them a chance to work through these processes. we're happy to make sensible compromises. what we're not willing to do is give up on the core principle that americans who don't have health insurance should get it, that americans who do have health insurance should get a better deal from insurance companies and have consumer protections. we've got to reduce health care inflation so that everybody can keep the health care that they have. that's going to be my priorities. and i think we can get it done. >> a bit off message. today the scots released the lockerbie bomber due to -- i -- actually maybe it is health care related. he's got terminal cancer. your take on this? a lot of folks very upset about a perceived lack of justice. >> we have been in contact with the scottish government, indicating that we objected to this. and we thought it was a mistake. we're now in contact with the liby

he joins lindsey graham of south carolina, susan collins and olympia snowe of maine, florida's mel martinez, richard lugar of indiana, and lamar alexander of tennessee. congress members will travel in style at your considerable expense and look at the politics involved in bill ♪ meet jack. recently turned 65. glad he's now got medicare on his side. but jack knows that medicare doesn't take care of everything. in fact, part b covers only... 80% of medical expenses. so, he got himself an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan -- insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. yep, when it comes to jack's health, it's all about team effort. ( team cheering ) a medicare supplement plan... allows you to keep your own doctor, helps you budget medical costs, and it picks up some of that 20%, potentially saving you thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. smart choice. if you're turning 65, or are 65 already, call now for this free information kit... and medicare guide... and learn more about aarp medicare supplement insurance. you'll enjoy a wide range of coverage options... to help meet

quite a impressive people, present company excluded, on that company.ed senatored that cochran and olympianowe, great historians and his beloved niece caroline. sometimes we would be deadlocks because there were lots of great nominations and ted kennedy would then weigh in. in the beginning it was confusing where he was going. in a couple minutes you knew exactly where he was going and a consensus immediately formed an we went for ted's choice. and i mention this process one time toed that congress cochran and he said "now you know how 99 senators feel." he had that touch. >> wid where did that come from, this deep, a, understanding, and b, visceral feeling about beinge able to do things for those who could not do for themselves? clearly robert kennedy had a kind of epiphany when he beganhe to go to appalachia and see a things, and mississippi. >> one theory of the case is that as the runt of the family,m he understood what it was likest to get picked on. >> rose: as the youngest? >> as the youngest. the youngest of those powerful formidable sons. and he clearly had a kind of rooseveltian

least of which the reason is there are republican here, influential republicans like chuck grassley, olympia snowe. if they can somehow bring these republicans in, key republicans, these are serious people. these aren't just people they can pick-off and call it a bipartisan bill. if chuck grassley signs into what senate comes up with on health care reform, health insurance reform as they like to call it around here right now, there is a great deal of hope. we saw last night the president told our nbc chuck todd, the white house correspondent here, that perhaps they might have to go it alone, use that 60 vote majority. they have special procedures in place that would not require them to get 60 votes on many major components of this health care reform bill. they have a deadline of october 15th deciding whether or not to pull the trigger on that. that hangs over these negotiations as we move through august when congress is on recess and into the fall. so a lot riding on this meeting here today. nobody is quite sure where this is all going to go. one thing, carlos, one final thing is, it appears

of quite a impressive people, present compy excluded, o that company.ed senatored that cochn and olympianowe,great historians and his beved niece caroline. sometimes we would be deadlocks because there were lotof great minations and ted kennedy would then weh in. the beginninit was consing where he was going. in a coupleinutes you knew exactly where he was gng and a consensus mediately formed ands we went fored's choice. and i mention this process one time toed that congress cochran and he said "now you know how 99 senato feel." he d that touch. >>id where did that come from, is deep, a, understanding, and b, viscera feeling about bingee able to do things for those who could not do for themselves? early robertennedy had kind of epiphany when he beganhe to go to appalachia and see a things, and ssissippi. >> one theor of the case is that as the runt of the mily,am he understood what i was likest to get cked on. >> roseas the youngest? >>s the youngest. the yngest of those powerful formable son and helearly had a kind of rooseveltian nobles oblige, i think far moreo than robert kennedy and

republican who might really be willing to reach across the ideological divide has been republican senator olympia snow of maine. she is the other republican in the gang of six besides grassley and enzi. senator snow had this progress report earlier today. >> we have not had the public option on the table. it's been addressing afford arment a affordability and manageability in the table. >> no public option on the table. not on the table. since the white house has been reiterating all week long how much the president wants a public option for insurance in the bill, i can't wait to hear the white house reaction to that. they're not even considering it. >> well, that's democracy, isn't it? >> you have folks that come from all different speck trumz trying to get something done. >> wait. that's democracy? the president says he wants public option. three committees in the house have already voted favor of a public option. the one committee in the senate that already voted voted for a public option. the top democrat on health care in the senate max bachus put in right at the start of the health care fig

the senate finance committee, there have been a couple of republicans, chuck grassley, mike ensley, olympia snowe who have been willing to negotiate the democrats to try to produce a bill, but they haven't yet. and i think at some point, some time in september, we're just going to have to make an assessment. >> senator, what point do you think will the president get enough republican support to proceed, or do you think that he will end up going with what's called reconciliation and not seeking 60 votes, but seeking the bare majority? >> well, let's remember that he hasn't put a plan forward, specifically. the only two plans that are pending are one that came out of the kennedy/dodd committee, the other came out of the house committee. neither of those accomplished the goal that he set out. the kennedy/dodd committee leaves 34 million people uncovered. the kennedy/dodd bill increases costs by $33 trillion in the second ten years. and both of those cost people their insurance. if you want to keep your insurance, you may not be able to, because employers will dump you on to the exchange and pa

they will need olympia snowe and maybe susan collins. >> at least one. >> and so -- and they're goingeed those moderate democrats some of whom are getting unenthusiastic like joe lieberman. the idea that this is going to be rammed through with all the things the democrats want, it's unrealistic and unted kennedy. >> i'll give you my premise. i'll tell what you i think and then say do you agree or not. i think the keys are within the democratic party. they need to have a meeting and write a bill. if they can get 60 they will get somebody from massachusetts appointed in the next couple weeks. that's going to happen. they will get 60 democratic senators. the question is can they get the 60 democratic votes. that's the key to me. if they can do that, they will have a bill. it'ses a simple as that. 60 democrats will make this happen. will they get them? >> i think they will, but they will have to tell the liberals particularly on the house side, this idea of drawing a line in the sand, this idea of a public option or not is not going to work. if they can't get it, if the system doesn't all