former senator sam nunn is here to explain. >>> plus, what role could african-american voters play in 2012? the national urban league ahead on "andrea mitchell reports." me. focus lolo, focus. let's do this. i am from baltimore. south carolina... bloomington, california... austin, texas... we are all here to represent the country we love. this is for everyone back home. it's go time. across america, we're all committed to team usa. if we took the nissan altima and reimagined nearly everything in it? gave it greater horsepower and best in class 38 mpg highway... ...advanced headlights... ...and zero gravity seats? yeah, that would be cool. ♪ introducing the completely reimagined nissan altima. it's our most innovative altima ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪ >>> a new round of political brinksmanship over taxes and spending on capitol hill could threaten to send the economy over the so-called fiscal cliff if there is no budget deal by year's end. during senate testimony today, fed chairman ben bernanke painted a grim picture of a worst case scenario. >> the congressional budget

we'll talk to former senator sam nunn.l reports" up next right here on msnbc. >>> the heat wave that grips the country goes all the way from kansas city to the eastern seaboard today. extremely hot day today, even areas of new england near 100, if not above, boston, new york city, mid to upper 90s. d.c., same for you. atlanta may get lucky, get a thunderstorm to cool you off. the only areas to avoid the heat, along the west coast. clusters of pustules, pimples. i had this shingle rash right next to my spine. the soreness was excruciating. it was impossible to even think about dancing. when you're dancing, your partner is holding you. so, his hand would have been right in the spot that i had the shingles. no tango. no rhumba. you can't be touched. for more of the inside story, visit shinglesinfo.com an accident doesn't have to slow you down... with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer... with 15,000 fewer

sam nunn >> there is a report by the national consumer law center said the outdated laws are allowingouses and reselling them. they are selling homes where home owners owe as little as $400 in property taxes. >>mark: is a wildfire that was started by lightning on saturday. this is an idaho. the and one. the blaze was threatening six homes in the area pictures that this is along with hundreds of wildfires the burning in utah and montana. >> more the chance of lightning the more fires will be fuelled. >>mark: the setting a new record for the warmest 12 month period. that average temperatures for june was 71.2 degrees. the heat wave that's blanketed much of the country has broken or tied many of the highs. >> we have hot weather here. but let's first go to traffic. >>george: let's first of they are first hot spot on interstate 80 west champion there a betty better conditions here. the backpack -- the back up this starting to dissipate. the drive time is 27 minutes >> at the bay bridge toll plaza we had to stahl's this morning which has approached the back up back to the 580- 24 interchan

climate he has a moderate manner in that he's willing to talk to democrats, he's willing to work with sam nunn, he's willing to engage with president obama on issues. and there are some liberal democrats who you'd also say are moderate in manner. and so maybe that's the language we should be more careful to use. >> tom? >> can i just follow up on that? i think susan's right. it's about more than ideology. it really is. and it would be a mistake to say this is nothing but the ideological polarization of the parties. it also has to do with the sort of process of politics and and a belief in the legitimacy of the other side and a willingness to engage in real give and take. i mean, barney frank got along pretty well with his ranking republican, spencer bachus, but bachus leveled, you know, when they finished in committee. even though many of his ideas were included, i can't possibly support you on the floor because my party has a strategy. it's a political strategy that i can't do anything about it. but mickey's right, there is a broad dynamic at work here that effects both parties. there's just

and actually saw we would end up where you are today long before i did, people like pete peterson, sam nunn and alice rivlin. and i wish pete domenici was here because those kind of people have recognized this problem for a long, long time. i do believe, and you have all heard me say before, that our nation does face the most predictable economic crisis in history. it is just math. fortunately, for all of us it's also the most avoidable economic crisis in history. the fiscal path we are on is simply not sustainable. and these deficits of over a trillion dollars a year, they are a cancer, anticancer is going to destroy this country from within if we don't get politicians here in town in both parties to wake up and decide now is the time to fact -- time to act. we have to have a comprehensive long-term fiscal plan that reduces the deficit by at least $4 trillion. 4 trillion is not a number we made up. 4 trillion is not the maximum amount we need to reduce the deficit. it's not even the ideal amount. it's the minimum amount you need to reduce the deficit to stabilize the debt and get it on a d

>> just the other day sam nunn was here with the bipartisan group on the budget and said why not takesition and then deal with postelection? pretty smart idea. nobody else is talking. nobody running for office is talking about anything specific. neither side. i think people are smart enough, the american public is smart enough to know that this is all a distraction. >> and what do these numbers tied to? >> obviously, probably the handling of the economy. we have new numbers here. the president's drop in favorability obviously may be tied to the economy. the same poll shows 39% approve of the president's handling of the economy. down five points from last month. 55% say they disapprove of his work on the economy. the poll's head to head matchup had the president and romney in a dead heat. romney at 47% and obama at 46%. >> it's the economy, stupid. >> not to be a polling geek, nobody's up or down. nobody's up for down for a month and a half. everything's within the margin of errors and the polls, it will not change until three weeks before the election. that's one thing they agree on.

as you know, there was a federal requirement that was put in sam nunn, georgia, 1992 that required on the for-profit schools that 50% of their students had to be campus-based. 50%. that was removed if i'm not mistaken and she doesn't die. so now 100% of the students of the report will show in a couple weeks since that time has just skyrocketed in terms of how many online we know to drop out rates are now and then on completion rates are at these schools then it's abysmal. so before we had a requirement. 50%. we don't have a requirement anymore. >> senator, we found lidded nerdiness the right approach. your alma mater jumped 23% distance and online credit/zero peer were basically a science and technology university. there's still many programs better served in hands-on laboratories and other spaces in addition we want to emphasize there's also the added component that there's more to what you get an intellectual material, whether it's teambuilding, living in residence halls are many other incidents that come with living on campus. so we've got to get the blood brain. >> if they may add