rahm emanuel, now the mayor of chicago, has a saying. i think it's his original saying. he likes to say never waste a good crisis. sometimes it takes a crisis around here to get something done. he likes to say never waste a good crisis. we've wasted this crisis. and we should not have done that. and we should have taken the bull by the horns. i wish the president had embraced his own deficit commission sooner more robustly. i wish our leaders, democrat and republican here and over in the house had said, you know, that's a pretty good idea. let's give that a shot. unfortunately, they chose not to do that. it was bipartisan. i think it was bicameral. it's unfortunate. but it is what it is. it is what it is. we need to move forward. and i would just hope that our colleagues will be given the opportunity to provide a lot of input to this bipartisan committee, joint committee that's being created and maybe in their wisdom reporting back to us in the beginning of december will be some of the elements in deficit reduction captured by that deficit commission that are missing in

. >> and his former chief of staff, rahm emanuel, now chicago's mayor, of course, does have the president's back after mitt romney ripped chicagoan the obama record, rahm struck back. >> 1.2 million people today have a job because he didn't listen to conventional wisdom like drafted by then ex-governor mitt romney. who suggested that detroit should just, meaning the auto industry and all the related industrial base of america, should just go bankrupt. when he was governor, massachusetts was 47th out of 50 in job production. in case he forgot that, i'd like to remind him of that. so when it comes to chicago, i'll get him a groupon discount on the seats of the idea festival for theext jobs. >> romney and the rest of the republican field are looking forward to next week's iowa straw poll. the first test of their organizational strength in the first caucus state. so is t upcoming straw poll a make or break day for republican pridential hopefuls? you bet it is. mark murray, nbc's political director and is here for the first look at first read. we see a big change with tim pawlenty's campaign pul

jennifer hudson's got a funny look, rahm emanuel has this weird look off from the side. could have found a better one? >> $35,000 for this fund-raiser? only -- who exactly is going to this, ali velshi. >> i'm totally inviting you to my 50th birthday for a whole lot less than that, pete dominick. >> how many years away. >> for me? >> yes. >> 15 years away or something like. >> tell me about slow cap for congress.com. >> apparently somebody came up with another one. the slow clap shows how little you appreciate them. it's sarcastic. you can watch these people slow clapping. this is how happy americans are for how congress is behaving. it's just one these t. really is excellent. >> i love the site. love it. perfect. >> pete, good to see you, my friend. whenever you're overly caffeinated and up at this hour, please feel free to join us. >> i'll join you at any time, ali. i'll see you at the hair salon later on, too. >> and at the gym. >>> major league baseball brass want to find out if alex rodriguez was a player in a couple of high stakes poker games in 2009. radaronline.co

his former chief of staff and confidante, now mayor rahm emanuel, was on the scene.s herbie hancock, the band okay go, and jennifer hudson, who also sang happy birthday to the honoree. ♪ happy birthday to you ♪ >> president obama is the third u.s. president in 130 years to turn 50 while in office as president. the other two, theodore roosevelt, 1908. bill clinton, 1996. this means bubba is now 65 and can select social security. as for mr. obama the president joins 29 u.s. and 137 u.s. house members who are already enrolled in the club, the 50-something club. barack may be the youngest 50- year-old in the club. he plays a full became of basketball without a oxygen tank in the corner. but turning 50 is still a sobering reminder of life's problems and a midpoint to contemplate one's limited stay on planet earth. the average life span for an american man is 76, by the erag do you think that president obama is perhaps availing himself of this time to contemplate whether he wants to take four more years out of his life and run for president with all of that detail and plus

getting trained for the jobs of the future. >> former white house chief of staff and chicago mayor rahm emanuel take a few shots at his potential 2012 opponents. emanuel was asked about a new mitt romney act that uses chicago as the backdrop to slam the president on the economy. the mayor responded saying the spot was hypocritical saying it was president obama's tough decisions that put people back to work. >> 1.2 million people today have a job because he didn't listen to conventional wisdom drafted by then ex-governor mitt romney who suggested that detroit should just, meaning the auto industry and all the related industrial base of america, should just go bankrupt. when he was governor, massachusetts was 47th out of 50 in job production. in case he forgot that, i'd like to remind him of that. so when it comes to chicago, i'll make sure i get him a groupon discount on the seats o the idea festival for the next job. >> when asked if he was concerned about president obama's poll numbers and fund-raising efforts, emanuel joked that he is, quote, out of that business. the white house announced ye

introduced by his former chief of staff rahm emanuel, who is now the mayor of chicago. herbie hancock and okay go were prersent. proceeds went to the obama victory 2012. this runs about 30 minutes ♪ >> hey, chicago! [applause] >> this looks like the uptown music district. well, the city at work. we like our president. we have of president with termination, the grit to see through the change this country needs. [applause] as you know, two years ago, the auto industry was on its back. its back was broken. some people said, let it go. let chrysler go. let general motors go. let those workers be treated like scrap metal. and i saw a president reject all the ideas of conventional wisdom coming out of washington and new york city, and he said when it comes to the american workers, we will double down on the american worker. in two years, gm and chrysler has paid back the taxpayers what they borrowed. more than paying back, we are 1.2 million jobs better off today because of the president and his grit to say not to conventional wisdom. when it comes to doing what is right for

i watched rahm emanuel athe global initiatives. it was about chicago and about his well-being to create an environment that was conducive. this was the superintendent's role. it is to help create an environment conducive to learning. >> they think you should be superintendents. do a quick round. >> i have a grt job that i love. tell you what i think is the weakest argument. >> need to give them more discretion. they have full discretion today to terminate this. with this a big problem your whole theory about testing this? >> this is why we are lining up with this. there are policy makers. triggers what it will be based on simple measures. >> iis indefensible. >> this has the of proximity to fairness. this obfuscated the whole impact of the whole amounts of layoff. -- wee're starting to see saw a bunch of unions. obfuscated the fact that there were layoffs. there is performance. you're not gonna do have an impact. willing to say goodbye? >> nothing is going to hold that question anymore. it is about evaluation. >> you must use it. i

the obama white house you apparently gave some very sage advice to the incoming chief of staff rahm emanuel -- >> well, we had a meeting con vealed by josh bolton our chief of staff of all the people that had previously held that job. at the meeting they asked each person to give a crucial piece of advice to rahm what was about to take over as president obama's chief of stachl. when they got to me i said make sure you've got your vice president under control, which got a great laugh. >> how do you think he did with joe biden? >> well, i like joe. and we've got along fine over the years. we're very different kinds of people. >> but he's known for speaking out. >> he is about everything. >> what is it with you vice presidents? >> well, some do, some don't. each vice president's unique. each set of circumstances is unique. the relationship you have with the principal and so i'm reluctant to judge my colleagues and those who held the post before. you think you've got to cut him a little bit of slack. >> we'll have much more tonight including a look at one of those undisclosed locations that che

and he also tells a story about during the transition, giving a piece of advice to rahm emanuel, who chief of staff, and he said to him, whatever you do, get control of your vice president. >> a moment of self-awareness from dick cheney. jamie, thank you. and you can see more of jamie's exclusive interview with vice president dick cheney on a special edition of "dateline," monday, august 29th, at 10:00 p.m. eastern on your local nbc station. >>> checking back on the tense situation along the east coast, where hurricane irene is rapidly approaching. officials are warning people not to take this storm lightly. here's new york city mayor michael bloomberg, just a few minutes ago. >> unfortunately there is an element of unpredictability when it comes to the weather, and so we hope for the best, but we prepare for the worst. and that's why this city is i think ready for this weekend. >> nbc's al roker is live in north carolina. al, what sort of preparations are under way already there? >> reporter: well, they have mandatory evacuations for both tourists and for residents in ocracoke islan

. >>> and chicago's mayor rahm emanuel, former white house chief of staff, has the president's back, going after mitt romney for attacking chicago and the obama jobs record. >> when he was governor, massachusetts was 47th out of 50 in job production, in case he forgot that, i would like to remind him of that. >>> breaking news. fears about the faltering economy at home and abroad are sending stocks into a free-fall. the dow is down more than 250 points. keep in mind, tomorrow we will be getting the july unemployment report. with me now, cnbc's chief washington correspondent, john harwood. the white house can't be happy about this. what's going on? what are the economic drivers today? >> reporter: i would put this in the category of the last thing president obama wanted for his birthday after getting past the debt deal, only to have these jitters on the state of the global economy. i just walked out of the white house briefing where jay carney has been getting peppered with questions, what are you going to do about growth, what are you going to do about jobs. he falls back on what the

also in attendance, the president's former chief of staff rahm emanuel who is now the chicago mayor andouse minority leader nancy pelosi and secretary of state hillary clinton. >>> and last night, an iowa 2012 republican candidate rick santorum spoke to more than 200 guests and mid-speech he was cut off when the power went out. he broke into song singing "strangers in the night." here's that moment. >> [ inaudible ]. ♪ strangers in the night >> those are the things we thought you should know. say i'm. i type in e-n-g... and he gives me a variety of options. would you like to have a look at a map, my lad? ah, why not? shall we check on the status of your knighthood? yes. again? yes, again, please! thank you. with my digital manservant, i'll never be homesick again. would you like me to put the kettle on, sir? no, i'd like you to get rid of that ostrich. it's been here a month. [ male announcer ] the new hp touchpad. get it now for $100 off, starting at $399.99. especially behind the wheel. nothing wrong with that. in fact, allstate gives them a bonus -- twice a year -- for being safe dri

and he even took a shot from one of the president's men, rahm emanuel, last night.listen. >> when he was governor, massachusetts was 47th out of 50 in job production. in case he forgot that, i'd like to remind him of that. >> that was an interesting comment. romney's expected to be in new hampshire the day of the poll. he'll be in iowa just before. how do you think he'll fare? >> oh, he's not going to do very well in the iowa straw poll. he deliberately skipped it basically and downgraded it because he's made a wise decision, i think, martin, not to involve himself in these straw polls which since he's the frontrunner can only serve to elevate some outer candidate who targets one and beats him. so i think he's made the right decision there. i do think the iowa straw poll is critical, however, especially for tim pawlenty who's got to come in first or second. he's got to show a tremendous organization and a capacity to win there or he's out of the race. it's important to michele bachmann who's got all this fire and energy. i think she's got to come in first or second.

we have a new mayor, rahm emanuel, who has basically said, look, i'm going to have to cut things andactually got the unions to come to the able and present their own suggestions. and the rest of the state it's a little better. places like decatur, illinois, which we featured in a report, have seen some hiring going on. it's not as bad in the rural areas of illinois but the big cities are suffering. >> brown: david swenson, you certainly had politicians in galore in the state of iowa recently. i mentioned that the unemployment is 6%, which feels a little low to many, but how does it feel there? >> well, 6% unemployment rate is much higher than iowans are comfortable with. we went into the recession a little later than the nation, but we rose at about the same pace or at the same slope thereafter and we've maintained a high... relatively high unemployment rate since that time. the higher-than-average unemployment rate is worse, though, out in some of our medium-sized cities. those cities depend on manufacturing jobs, we know that manufacturing has taken an extra special hit. manufactur

we'll show you part of the interview where he gives some advice to the incoming chief of staff rahm emanuelo the obama white house, you apparently gave some very sage advice to the incoming chief of staff rahm emanuel. you told him -- >> well, we had a meeting convened by josh bolton, our chief of staff. of all the people who had previously held that job. at the meeting they went around the table and asked each person to give a crucial piece of advice to rahm who was about to take over. and when they got to me i said, look, rahm, first thing you've got to do is make sure you've got your vice president under control, which got a great laugh. >> how do you think he did with joe biden? >> well, i like joe. and, you know, we got along fine over the years. >> he's known for speaking out. >> he is. about everything. >> what is it with you vice presidents? >> well, some do, some don't. no, each vice president's unique. each set of circumstances is unique. the relationship you have with the principal. so i'm reluctant to judge my colleagues or those who have held the post before. i think you've got

the obama white house, you apparently gave some very sage advice to theincoming chief of staff, rahm emanuel? >> well, we had a meeting convened by josh bolton, our chief of staff, of all the people that previously held that job. at the meeting, we went around the table and asked each person to give a crucial piece of advice to rahm, who was about to take over as president obama's chief of staff. when they got to me, i said look, rahm, first thing you've got to do is make sure you've got your vice president under control, which got a great laugh. >> it's funny, though, jamie, you know, vice president biden has been a pretty strong vice president. maybe not exactly like eney, but pretty strong. >> and dick cheney likes joe biden, by the way. >> right, right. >> he goes on to say. >> keeping the model up and running. >> absolutely. absolutely. >> all right, we're going to take a quick break here. as i mentioned, we'll be right back with more from our roundtable, also the very latest on hurricane irene with nbc's al roker from long beach, new york. that's coming up on "meet the press." [ man ]

new mayor rahm emanuel says its past time to turn the tide in the city that's become infamous for murderedivity, you are safe. >> reporter: critics of concerned parents point to lack of enforcement of the existing 10:30 curfew. in 2009 police issued 23,000 curfew citations. last year 19,000. but halfway into this year the number is only 8,000. the mayor says that will change, particularly since the new ordinance will hit parents in the wallet. a parent or guardian can face community service or a fine of up to $500 if their child is caught after curfew. a pending recommendation would triple the fine for three offenses in one year. the idea is that threatening absentee parents with a heavy penalty may spare their children from paying the ultimate price. dean reynolds, cbs news, chicago. >> you talk about a heavy duty fine, $1500. >> a lot of money. >> reporter: 500 is tough far lot of folks. >>> coming up next, a little girl's heart condition was so bad she had little hope of surviving much longer. >> but she did. we'll hear about the transplant. that gave her a second chance at life. stay c

about another jobs plan when he gets back from vacation is incomprehensible, i don't know that rahm emanuel if he's still would have put up with this. someone has given this guy lousy advice and the american people are saying enough is enough. megyn: nancy, of what it? our own chris stierwalt who writes power play says normally i would defend any president for going on vacation because they need vacation, they have to rest and relax and probably more so than anybody else, but even he said that it is the optics of it, that it looks bad to go off on a ritsy vacation, to a house that's 50 240ud a -- $50,000 a week and martha's vineyard, the chic place, while so many americans, 16 plus million americans are out of work or only part-time work and they're thinking he doesn't understand me. >> mitt romney said he was unemployed, too, to a group of unemployed workers. hey, vacation is off the tail. president bush was on vacation one third of his time in office. megyn: and no more so than president obama in their respective terms. >> he has -- he has to face crisis after crisis. what mike said, my d

that is like rahm emanuel trying to run away from barack obama. [laughter] now is not the time for reinventions, now is the time for reinforcements! [cheers and applause] republicans, republicans who will stand alongside jim demint and marco rubio and mike lee and the new generation of limited government leaders. and i would be proud and honored to be one of those lead exercise that you -- leaders that you send to washington next year. please, join our movement. visit adam hasner.com. connect with us on facebook and twitter because this is a battle for the heart and soul of our country, and we must rise to this generational challenge like those before us rose to theirs. because when we look back at this moment in our nation's history, i want us all to be able to say that we answered the call. join me to fight the status quo in washington, and together we will save the united states of america! thank you all. god bless you and god bless the united states. [cheers and applause] >> so, say, you know, we put 'em on the spot here at the redstate gather

he was introduced by his former chief of staff, rahm emanuel and spoke to a crowd of 2400 supporters and contributors at the historic error on all routes north of downtown. -- historic eragon algren north of downtown. caller: i would like to propose a 1% surcharge on stock . rchasess if you do not buy stock, you do not pay the surcharge. also, cut back presidential, a cabinet, and legislative retirement payments by 33 percent sent here get get rid of the capitol police force and put a 20% charge on campaign contributions. host: thank you for calling in. from "the associated press" -- host: next called, modesto, california. tony on the republican line. caller: you cannot do anything until you stop all of the waste in this government. the gravy train needs to be over. all of these people better on various welfare programs, social security, medicare. there are a ton of people that should not be on it. and number two, you had a group, which is the democrats. all they do is blame people and point fingers. i see the republicans trying to fix things, and they do not like it. the other thing

at the same time, you have to remember what did rahm emanuel say about never letting a good crisis goon't think rush is saying the president wanted people's lives destroyed or lives lost, he's saying a distraction might work best for the president as he gets ready for his economic speech. >> i mean, he also said that he thinks president obama wanted to seize on performing better than president obama did so this would be a nice contrast. if he gave up his vacation and rushed back to washington, that it would be better than how president bush had handled katrina and so that's what the president was trying to do. that was rush's theory. meanwhile, let's talk about the postal service, u.s. postal service. as you know, it's hemorrhaging money. $9 billion this year. and one of the problems is that because of labor contracts, the post office has to pay people whose jobs may have become somewhat obsolete if -- because mail volume is down, there are not as many people needed in post offices to sort through the mail. yet, they can't be fired or reassigned. so they go to these sitting rooms. the

his former chief of staff rahm emanuel who is now the mayor of chicago. >> we are 1.2 million jobs betteresident of the united states and his grit to say no to conventional wisdom. whether it comes to doing what's right for this country, this president never takes the short course. he never takes the easy road. it is great to have somebody back that he decided when he wants to have a birthday party, to come be with friends and family. >> he's not taking the short course. he's taking a long time for the president to get this economy going again and that's what he said last night, that i didn't promise change in days or months, but here we are, two years and people are still waiting for that change. and tomorrow, the unemployment rate might not change if it stays at 9.2%, that's what economists predict. so how long will this take? how long do people have faith that these policies -- >> you have to wonder what the new campaign slogan is going to be. >> that's a good question. >> hope and change four years later. i don't know. that's an interesting way to throw a caveat on the change that it

chicago mayor rahm emanuel wants to raise school property taxes by that amount despite having a huge million. finally, $1.1 million. that's how much president obama's new bus ride costs. he's using it on his u.s. tour. it was brought by the secret service and has tinted windows all around. they claim it's going to be used for other dignitaries in the future. clayton? >> president obama traveling to the midwest on that bus on a three state swing. he made his first stop yesterday in cannon falls, minnesota where he blamed partisan politics for the country's economic woes. listen. >> there is nothing wrong with america that can't be fixed. what's broken is our politics. >> how did the president's message fare with the good people of minnesota who were at that event? joining us for a fair and balanced discussion on this, done shrier is a nurse practitioner and president obama supporter. she attended yesterday's town hall and diane, a small business owner and tea party member who attended a counter rally but overheard and was discussing what the president said there. nice to see you both

i watched rahm emanuel at the last, um, clinton global initiatives give a greeting, and the greeting was about chicago and about his role being to create an environment that was conducive to grow business. a principal and a superintendent's role is also to help create an environment that is conducive to learning. and that's part of our, um, that's part of our evaluation. >> you mentioned the superintendent's role. stephen brill thinks he should be superintendent of the new york schools. >> i've heard. [laughter] >> let me, i'm going to do a quick round -- >> i have a great job that i love right now. >> it's going to be called the weakest link. i'm going to ask which of you what i think is the weakest part of your argument. i'll start with you, rick. you say we should give managers more discretion, yet most places they have full discretion today to terminate untenured teachers, and yet they almost never do. so isn't that a big problem with your whole theory about trusting front line leaders and managers? >> yeah, huge. [laughter] this is, actually -- and this is why we're winding up w

i watched rahm emanuel at the last clinton global initiative give a greeting, and the greeting was about chicago and his role of being to create an in fibernet -- his role being and to create an environment that was conducive to growth business. the superintendent's role is also to help create an environment that is conducive to learning. that is part of our evaluation guest. >> it is interesting you mentioned the superintendent's role. steven brill thinks he should be superintendent -- [laughter] >> i have a great job that i love. >> i will ask each of you what you think is the weakest parts of the argument. i will start with you, rick. you think we need to get managers more discretion, and yet in most places they have a full discussion today to terminate untenured teacher is, and yet they never do. is that a problem with your theory of leaders and managers? >> yes, and that is why we're a part winning up with these relatively -- why we are winding up with these relatively crude one size fits all systems. reformers and policy makers, rather than default to the judgments, are saying heck

but a very determined, the very brilliant, very vocal, very tough mayor of the city of chicago, rahm emanuel. [applause] i am watching from washington but it looks to me like he is doing a pretty good job. [applause] as far as i can tell, he has not cursed in public yet. he has come close, he says. what he has done is providing extraordinary energy and vision to a jump that he has wanted for a long time and i don't know too many people who love the city of chicago more than your mayor and i cannot be more proud of him. we have a great governor of the state of illinois in the house. we have one of the finest senators in the united states of america, dick durbin is in the house. we have one of the greatest members of congress in the house -- we have the ageless jesse white, the secretary of state in the house. a great friend of mine, someone who i would not have been elected to the u.s. senate without them, the former head of the senate, -- i know we have a lot of other important people like you in the house. [applause] it is warm, hot, and you listened to some good music and you don't want to

that is like rahm emanuel trying to run away from barack obama. now is not the time for reinvention. now is the time for reinforcement. [applause] republicans who will stand alongside jim demint, marco rubio, mark lee, and i would be proud to be one of those leaders who you sent to washington next year. please join our movement. visit adamhasner.com and connect with us on facebook and twitter. we must rise to the generational challenge like those before us rose to their spirit because when we look back at this moment in our nation's history, i want us all to say that we answered the call. join me to fight the status quo in washington, and together, we will save the united states of america. god bless you all. god bless the united states. [applause] >> but we put them on the spot here at the redstate gathering. not only do they have to pay their own way, but they have to take questions, too. questions? >> [inaudible] >> let me just share with you that i was one of the first in the country can -- candidate to embrace paul ryan's plan for medicare. i