we have the mayor of osawatomie, phil douglas is here. we have the superintendent, gary french in the house. and we have the principal of osawatomie of the high school, doug kriz hom. doing an outstanding job of health and human services, kathleen sebelius. we love kathleen. it is great to be back in the state of texas -- oops! state of kansas. i was giving bill a hard time. he was here a while back. as many of you know, i have roots here. i'm sure you are all familiar with the obamas of osawatomie. actually i like to say i got my name from my father, but i got my accent from and my values from my mother. she was born in wichita. her mother grew up in augusta. her father was from el dorado. my kansas roots run deep. my grandparents served during world war ii. he was a soldier in patton's army. she was a worker on a bomber assembly line. together they shared the optimism of a nation that try umped over the great depression and fascism. they believed in an america where hard work paid off. responsibility was rewarded. and anyone could make

we have the mayor of osawatomie.>> we have your superintendent soup, gary french in the house. and we have the principal of osawatomie high, doug chism. and i have brought your former governor who is doing now an outstanding job as secretary of health and human services, kathleen sebelius is in the house. [ applause ] we love kathleen. well, it is great to be back in the state of tex -- nope. state of kansas. hifs i was giving bill self a hard time. as many of you know, i have roots here. i'm sure you're all familiar with the obamas of osawatomie. actually, i like to say that i got my name from my father but i got my accent and my values from my mother. [ applause ] she was born in wichita. her mother grew up in augusta. her father was from he will el dorado. so my kansas roots run deep. and my grandfather and she was a worker on an assembly line. together they shared the optimism of a nation that triumphed over the great depression and they believe that hard work paid off and responsibility was rewarded and anyone c

. >> reporter: in tiny osawatomie, kansas, president obama delivered a message aimed at both middle class americans and politicians back in washington. >> i believe that this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot. when everyone does their fair share. when everybody plays by the same rules. >> reporter: the president argues he's defending the working class while republicans are standing with the rich. it's a rallying cry for the current tax fight in washington and his own re-election campaign. >> and in 1910, teddy roosevelt came here, to osawatomie, and he laid out his vision for what he called a new nationalism. >> reporter: roosevelt argued that welfare was more important than wealth. an argument this president is laying out a century later. >> we simply cannot return to this brand of you're on your own economics if we're serious about rebuilding the middle class in this country. >> reporter: far from the soaring rhetoric, republicans and democrats on capitol hill are struggling to keep a middle class payroll tax from expiring at the end of the month. democrats are offering to

with the obamas of osawatomie.laughter] actually, i like to say that i got my name from my father, but i got my accent -- and my values -- from my mother. she was born in wichita. her mother grew up in augusta. her father was from el dorado. so my kansas roots run deep. my grandparents served duringhe was a soldier in patton's army, she was a worker on a bomber assembly line. and together, they shared the optimism of a nation that triumphed over the great depression and over fascism. they believed in an america where hard work paid off, and responsibility was rewarded, and a a anyone could make it if they tried -- no matter who you were, no matter where you came from, no matter how you started out. [applause] and these values gave rise to the largest middle class and the strongest economy that the world has ever known. it was here in america that the most productive workers, the most innovative companies turned out the best products on earth. and you know what? pride and in that success -- management to those on th

, 101 years ago. >>> in 1910, teddy roosevelt came here to osawatomie, and he laid out his vision for what he called a new nationalism. our country, he said, means nothing unless it means the triumph a real democracy, of an economic system under which each man shall be guaranteed the opportunity to show the best that there is in him. >> president added his current vision for a more balanced financial system is not about class warfare as republicans have said but about strengthening the u.s. economy as a whole and returning to core american principles. let's bring in chief white house correspondent and host of "the daily rundown," chuck todd. thanks for waking up early. >> another day, another alarm clock earlier than usual. >> you sound so thrilled to be here. >> all right. >> we'll get you in and out. that's barnacle laughing at you, by the way. i'll rouse you with my line of questioning. a decision to do it where he did it, the thyme of teddy roosevelt, a lot of people pointed out ott on "meet the press" he go the teddy roosevelt route. what was behind this. >> this sort of the camp

. >> reporter: in tiny osawatomie, kansas, president obama delivered a message aimed at middle class americans and politicians back in washington. >> i believe this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot when everyone does their fair share, when everyone plays by the same rules. >> reporter: the president argues he is defending the working class and republicans are standing with the rich. it's a rallying cry for the tax fight in washington and his own re-election campaign. >> in 1910, teddy roosevelt came here, to osawatomie and he laid out his vision for that he called a new nationalism. >> reporter: roosevelt argued that welfare was more important than wealth, an argument that this president is laying out a century later. >> we cannot return to this brand of you're on your own economics if we want to rebuild the middle class. >> reporter: the democrats are struggling to keep a payroll tax from expiring at the end of the month. the democrats are offering to pay for it by raising taxes on the rich. >> this was not a compromise but just another bill designed to fail so democr

we've got the mayor of osawatomie, phil dudley is here.e have your superintendent gary french in the house. and we have the principal of osawatomie high, doug chisam. and i have brought your former governor, who is doing now an outstanding job as secretary of health and human services -- kathleen sebelius is in the house. we love kathleen. well, it is great to be back in the state of kansas. i was giving bill self a hard time, he was here a while back. as many of you know, i have roots here. i'm sure you're all familiar with the obamas of osawatomie. actually, i like to say that i got my name from my father, but i got my accent -- and my values -- from my mother. she was born in wichita. her mother grew up in augusta. her father was from el dorado. so my kansas roots run deep. my grandparents served during world war ii. he was a soldier in patton's army, she was a worker on a bomber assembly line. and together, they shared the optimism of a nation that triumphed over the great depression and over fascism. they believed in an america where

but osawatomie, this is not just another political debate. this is the defining issue of our time.middle-class and for all those fighting get into the middle class. what the stake is whether if this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build modest savings, own a home or secure their retirement. in the midst of this debate there are some who seem to be suffering from a collective amnesia. after all--the worst economic crisis and worth financial crisis since the great depression they want to return to the same practices that got us into this mess. they want to go back to the same policies--stacked against middle-class americans for too many years. their philosophy is we're better off when anybody is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules. i am here to say they are wrong. [applause] been brought applause] [applause] [applause] i am here in kansas to reaffirm my deep conviction that we are greater together than we are on our own. i believe this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot. when everyone does their fair share. wh

and in 1910, teddy roosevelt came here to osawatomie, and he laid out his vision for what he called a new nationalism. our country, he said, means nothing unless it means the triumph of a real democracy, of an economic system under which each man shall be guaranteed the opportunity to show the best that there is in him. [ applause ] now, for this, roosevelt was called a radical. he was called a socialist. even a communist. but today we are a richer nation and a stronger democracy because of what he fought for in his last campaign. an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage for women. insurance for the unemployed and for the elderly. and those with disabilities. political reform and a progress ive income tax. i'm here in kansas to reaffirm my deep conviction that we're greater together than we are on our own. i believe this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, when everyone does their fair share. when everyone plays by the same rules. these aren't democratic values or republican values. these aren't 1% values or 99% values. they're american values. and we have to reclaim them

and we have the principal of osawatomie high, doug chisholm.r governor who is doing an outstanding job as secretary of health and human services, kathleen sebelius is in the house. [applause] we love kathleen. it is great to be back in the state of texas -- whoops -- state of kansas. i was giving bill a hard time. he was here a while back. as many of you know -- i have roots here. i am ... [applause] i'm sure you are all familiar with the obamas in osawatomie. actually i like to say i got my name from my father, but i got my accent and my values from my mother. she was born in wichita. her mother grew up in agus -- in augustus. her father was from el dorado. so mys roots run deep. my grandfather served during world war ii. he was a soldier in patton's army. she was a work on a bomb assembly line. together they haded the optimism a nation at triumphed over fascisim. hard work paid off and responsibility was reward and anyone would make it if they tried, no matter who you were, no matter where you came from, no matter how you started out. [applau

. >> and in 1910, teddy roosevelt came here, to osawatomie and he laid out his vision for what he called a new nationalism. >> reporter: roosevelt argued that welfare was more important than wealth. an argument this president is laying out a century later. >> we simply cannot return to this brand of you're on your own economics if year serious about rebuilding the middle class in this country. >> reporter: far from soaring rhetoric, republicans and democrats on capitol hill are struggling to keep a middle class payroll tax from expiring at the end of the month. democrats are offering to pay for it by raising taxes on the rich. >> this was not a compromise. this was nothing more than another bill designed to fail. so democrats can have another week of fun and games on the senate floor. >> reporter: while president obama calls for a new new nationalism, on capitol hill it's the same old politics. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. >>> on the campaign front, newt gingrich has widened his lead in the gop presidential race, however his front-runner status is stirring some debate about former

. >> in 1910, teddy roosevelt came here to osawatomie, and he laid out his vision for what he called a new nationalism, of an economic system under which each man shall be guaranteed the opportunity to show the best that there is in him. >> reporter: mr. obama again cast himself and the democratic party as the protecters of a middle class under republican assault. >> and their philosophy is simple, we are better off when everybody is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules. i am here to say they are wrong. >> reporter: and in case folks missed the reference to the middle class, the president used the phrase 20 times. >> this is a make or break moment for the middle class. >> reporter: using phrases like fair shot and fair share, he even used the language of the occupy wall street movement. >> these aren't democratic values or republican values. these aren't 1% values or 99% value, they're american values. >> reporter: in an odd coincidence, teddy roosevelt became an issue today for newt gingrich, who had once called himself a teddy roosevelt republican. gingrich also

and the economy growing, and that -- that goes right to what he was talking about yesterday in osawatomie, kansas, about his vision, about the debates they were having over the economy, and specifically about the need to pay this payroll tax cut extension and expansion. congress needs to do that and get it done before the holidays. you know, going to the second question more broadly about political primaries and processes, one of the reasons why we don't think about it, i mean, obviously we have an interest eventually because the president is running for re-election, but these are organic things and it's hard to know who you'd rather run against. we don't pick likely winners or preferred winners and who emerges, when the time is right the president will engage with the republican nominee and -- and go i'm sure toe to toe with putting forward his ideas about where this country ought to be and where it ought to go. >> jay, the president -- i paid attention to the president's speech yesterday, as you advised me to, and it was a very strong progressive appeal. it wasn't just paying tribute to

[applause] and it is that belief that rallied thousands of americans to osawatomie. [applause] maybe even some of your ancestors, on a rain-soaked day more than a century ago. by train, by wagon, on buggy, bicycle, on foot, they came to hear the vision of a man who loved this country and was determined to perfect it. we are all americans, teddy roosevelt told them that day. our common interests are as broad as the continent. in the final years of his life, roosevelt took that same message all across this country, from tiny osawatomie to the heart of new york city, believing that no matter where he went, no matter who he was talking to, everybody would benefit from a country in which everyone gets a fair chance. [applause] and well into our third century as a nation, we have grown and we've changed in many ways since roosevelt's time. the world is faster and the playing field is larger and the challenges are more complex. but what hasn't changed, what can never change, are the values that got us this far. we still have a stake in each other's success. we still believe

president obama was channeling republican president teddy roosevelt today when he traveled to osawatomie, kansas, the very same place roosevelt visited 101 years ago to deliver a speech on progressive reforms. >> this is the defining issue of our time. this is a make-or-break moment for the middle-class and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle-class. because what's at stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, secure their retirement. >> reporter: the president's advisors say he gave this speech to try and tap into the anger pulsing through the american electorate seen in the tea party movement and the occupy wall street protests. the white house also wants to highlight what they believe can be a powerful political narrative for his upcoming 2012 election, evidenced by a growing income gap. for example, a typical c.e.o. once made 30 times more than each worker. now it's 110 times more. meanwhile, the incomes of most americans have fallen 6%. >> i believe that this country succeeds wh

the attack on the country by the president of the united states in the speech in osawatomie, kansas.olicy articulated by a president is stunning. >> really an easy listening occupy wall street. this was a smooth jazz liberation theology speech. >> president obama has a thousand words for class warfare. >> that was a 56-minute sugarcoated speech on class war fore. >> let's turn to obery hendricks, professor of biblical interpretation at the new york theological seminary. author of the book "the university bends towards justice." welcome to the show tonight. >> good to be here. >> let's start where that sound bite ended. republicans love to accuse president obama of class warfare. it reminds me when you were a kid, you play the game when you saw somebody coming who was trying to borrow money from you, trying to hit you off for some dough. you're preemptive in your strike. ask him for money because you knew he'd ask you. isn't it patently unfair and they're engaging it in themselves? >> no doubt. the conservatives have it backward. one of the extraordinary things about the speech yester

in osawatomie, kansas, where theodore roosevelt unveiled the basic tenets of the progressive movement years ago, president obama spoke out against the growing economic inequality he says is destroying the middle class. >> obama: this is a make-or- break moment for the middle class, and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle class, because what's at stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, secure their retirement. >> kroft: the president, in laying out the broad themes for his reelection bid, said the system has been rigged against the middle class, and he blamed the republicans for fighting tougher regulations on the financial industry and opposing higher taxes for the wealthy. >> obama: their philosophy is simple: we are better off when everyone is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules. i'm here to say they are wrong. ( applause ) steve. >> kroft: mr. president. >> obama: good to see you, sir. >> kroft: good to see you. we spoke to the president immediately foll

but that's why people go to osawatomie. >> how did he tie it with the frustration and motivation of the 99% with this populist tone today? >> he went a long way in doing it. he put his presidency in the context of american history. and that's very important not just for, you know, history folks like you and me, but for the american public to see that this is part of a continuum of a philosophy of government that says, we owe each other something. we don't rise and fall alone in this country. we do it together. and the republicans have had a very different view. not always, not in teddy roosevelt's day. he was, after all, a republican. but in the 1920s they had a different view. in the 1950s eisenhower and the republicans came back to the square new deal approach, but then in the last 10, 20, 30 years since reagan, the republicans have moved back into this laissez-faire approach where they want every man or woman to be for himself or herself, and that philosophical difference is something that can penetrate our politics if we get speeches like this. >> mr. frank, did he succeed in connec

he spoke in osawatomie, kansas, where theodore roosevelt delivered his "new nationalism" speech in 1910, calling for progressive reforms. in his speech today, the president painted republicans as obstacles to progress. >> they want to go back to the same policies that stacked the deck against middle class americans for way too many years. and their philosophy is simple: we are better off when everybody is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules. i am here to say they are wrong. >> sreenivasan: in washington, republicans charged the speech was a ploy to divert attention from the struggling economy. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell said the president bears the blame for the impasse on jobs legislation. >> i don't think working americans should have to suffer any more than they already are for the president's failure to turn this jobs crisis around. unfortunately, the majority leader has yet to introduce legislation to can actually pass the senate or the house. >> sreenivasan: another confrontation looms later this week, when senate democrats offer a new version of th

. >> woodruff: but while that hearing was under way, the president was in osawatomie, kansas, warninginst further delay in putting somebody in charge of the new agency. >> does anyone here think the problem that led to our financial crisis was too much oversight of mortgage lenders or debt collectors? of course not. every day we go without a consumer watchdog in place is another day when a student, or a senior citizen, or member of our armed forces could be tricked into a loan they can't afford something that happens all the time. >> woodruff: white house officials have been working to win over republican senators in seven states-- alaska, indiana, iowa, maine, nevada, tennessee and utah-- in a bid to get cordray confirmed. that remains a tall order: the administration will need the backing of 60 senators to get past a filibuster and bring the cordray nomination to a final vote. joining us now to discuss the cord ray nomination are democratic senator sherrod brown of ohio, a member of the banking committee. and republican senator kay bailey hutchison of texas. senator brown, why is th

. >> but osawatomie, this is not just another political debate.his is the defining issue of our time. this is a make-or-break moment for the middle class and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle class. because what's at stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, secure their retirement. >> there you go again, ron, all the good things for a party based on the middle class. yet you hear these stories that they're going to give up on ohio, perhaps pennsylvania. they're headed towards the new economy people in north carolina, virginia, colorado. is this a bread and butter democrat speaking here or what, or not? >> well, that remains to be seen. you know, time will tell and his actions will tell much more than his words. we've all heard the speeches before. as nia said, we've heard this rhetoric before, and it's all fine. as i said, he's identifying correctly some of the problems, but these are big systemic problems that have to do with corruption

tuesday, president obama travels to osawatomie, kansas to road test his new message of economic populisma speech about fairness. most of his gop challengers will be in nation's capital on wednesday, speaking before the republican jewish coalition, expect to hear a lot of full-throated support for israel on that stage. >>> and saturday, all eyes on iowa and the abc news republican presidential debate moderated by abc's diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos. it airs live on abc at 9:00 p.m. eastern/6:00 p.m. pacific. we'll be right back. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful. you can go deep sea fishing for amberjack, grouper and mackerel. our golf courses are open. our bed and