the democratic leadership council, former congressman harold ford, new new york times columnist tom friedman and special correspondent for nbc news, tom brokaw. but first, the president's senior adviser, david axelrod is joining us live. welcome back to "meet the press." >> thank you, david. good to be here. >> so here is the state, the landscape the president now faces on health care. a poll this week shows the majority of americans oppose, 51%. republican leaders in the past few days have been saying if the president is going to speak before congress it is time to hit the reset button and start over. will he? >> well, look, first of all, understand that when people hear the details of where the president wants to go, bringing stability to people who have insurance today and security for them and helping those who don't have insurance get insurance, they support this plan. so the president has an opportunity on wednesday to speak to the nation and the congress on this. i think that he'll engender great support for where he wants to go. we've been through a long debate now. all the ideas are

of the democratic leadership council, former congressman harold ford, new york times columnist, tom friedman and special correspondent for nbc news, tom brokaw. but first, the president's senior adviser, david axelrod is joining us live. welcome back to "meet the press." >> thank you, david. good to be here. >> so here is the state, the landscape the president now faces on health care. a poll this week shows the majority of americans oppose, 51%. republican leaders in the past few days have been saying if the president is going to speak before congress it is time to hit the reset button and start over. will he? >> well, look, first of all, understand that when people hear the details of where the president wants to go, bringing stability to people who have insurance today and security for them and helping those who don't have insurance get insurance, they support this plan. so the president has an opportunity on wednesday to speak to the nation and the congress on this. i think that he'll in gender great support for where he wants to go. we have been through a long debate, all the ideas are

tom friedman, john mccain rejects the idea of a middle ground. he says you're basically all-in or all out. an interesting line in mcchrystal report, you don't have to fight everywhere all the time. you have to secure the entire country. they could pick their spots? >> i don't know where the balance is between the small or large footprint. what i'm focused on is one thing do you have an afghan partner? it's that partner that connects your troops with that ultimate goal. if that partner's rotten to the core, nothing's going to work. the question i'm asking, in light of the election, think how these last two elections have completely overturned their strategies, do we have a partner that's good enough? say what you want about the maliki government, it was good enough to build on. i think mcchrystal was shocked when they got over there, how rotten they were. when the president's brother's accused of being the leading drug dealer, that's not a good sign. >> if the president wants to do the most difficult thing that a president can do is change his min

tom friedman you write about this in your column today on this question of more troops. the headline from babysitting to adoption, we are not just adding more troops in afghanistan, we are transforming our mission from babysitting to adoption. we are going from a limited mission focused on babysitting afghanistan in order to prevent an al qaeda return. this is a much bigger undertaking than we originally signed up for. before we adopt a new baby afghanistan, we need to have a new national discussion about this project. how much time it would take? what would make it compelling and who is going to oversee this policy? i feel a vast and rising ambivalence about this in the american public today. two sundays ago, admiral mull lynn was on this program, and i asked him about what the u.s. enterprise was in afghanistan. watch. >> to a certain degree there is some of that going on. >> is that what the american people signed up for? >> right now the american people signed up i think, for support of getting at those who threaten up. >> tom, are we fulfilling our central mission t

tom friedman also worked his book the new yorker in january rather long glowing profile of this guy.y is right. all the major media ignored the marxist connections, the ignored the true thing until he apologized twice and it showed up in the washington post and i think one broadcast outlet. the near constant coverage until he resigned. >> we have 33 czars remaining, jane, in the administration. should the media scrub their resumes like the white house apparently innocent? >> i imagine given the the success with ben jones, given how there was footage on sotomayor three minutes after she was nominated, people are scrubbing it whether the administration is scrubbing it is the question. people on one side or the other going to scrub this, they will look for whomever has the video. the obama administration since should say to people if there's any video in a should know about sue hecht they are delegating it effectively to glenn beck. in the city quÉbec the van jones thinks not, without them. if this were a republican administration is exposing people he would be a hero of muckraking jour

we're going to get to tom friedman in a block or two.ve him because it says real men like gas tax. you're going to turn and look at me. we'll see what i say. here's -- she's going to suggest i'm not a real man. chris wallace was very angry, very angry the president did not come to fox news for an interview. let's see what he says. >> i think that "fox news sunday" is a truly fair and balanced show. >> you're p an ideological show at all. >> it's like they refuse to take yes for an answer. there's a kind of childishness. these guys, everything is personal. >> everything. >> they are the biggest bunch of cry babies i have dealt with in my 30 years in washington. >> and i can't -- >> they constantly are on the phone or e-mailing me complaining. well, you had this guest, or you did this thing. i mean, they are working the umps all the time. i think it works with the others. it doesn't work with me. >> so, willie, he uses childishness and says the biggest bunch of babies in 30 years. those are tough words. calling them babies. >> i think the

i think the question that tom friedman raises, if he's right and sanctions could hurt the regime, itkes and suggests promise if the united states can get them to go along. >> we have been talking very serious stuff here. we have something a little lighter thanks to maureen. she writes, sheryl, if you're not watching, she's the dance partner, he's macho, arrogant and he said that's me. john, you want to weigh in? >> i have to tell you, i think the best part about the show was the promo abc was running. shattering glass, it was the effects tom delay had on the capital. >> maybe it's better he didn't shake his thing in the brown spandex years ago. it's hard to look at the hammer the same way after you have seen that image. >> right. >> coming up, new developments in the alleged terror plot. the fbi is calling it one of the most significant threats to the u.s. since september 11. plus, the latest on the cdc and the fight against the swine flu. ] introducing the latest body wash from olay. tone enriching ribbons. two separate ribbons. the white cleanses. the gold moisturizes and has a tou

tom friedman said on "meet the press" last sunday, if you can define it, you can own it.ot been able to define health care reform. he had a chance last night. we'll see if he was able to do that in terms of saying what it would be and what it means to you out there watching all of this. the other piece of this and the other audience are middle of the road americans politically independent who know that health care is expensive but they also know that -- their own health care is expensive but government reform is incredibly expensive. he spoke to the deficit. he talked about paying for reforms or cutting spending if savings are not realized. again on the public option, i mean, i agree there was plenty for the left in this speech but i think he did what he set out to do. after so many words were spoken by the media and others about the public options, it was not part of the 2008 campaign but the president i thought said it has a place but it's not everything. he made it very clear, i think, that it wouldn't necessarily be in there in the end. >> lawrence, off of what david

. >> when tom friedman comes out in a column like he did this last week end and suggests or tries tode the idea of taxing gasoline, is that an idea that is gaining traction at places like cgi in are as operational ideas like that melting into the mainstream? >> i think a lot of our people would probably support it. but if you did it now with this economy the way it is -- keep in mind, even before the financial collapse a year ago this week, september 15th, 2008, even before then, the average american median income after inflation was $2,000 lore in september of 2008 before the collapse than it was the day i left office. so when health care cost doubled, cost up 5%. it's not that i love the column, real men tax gas. i think how he proposed to divide the money is not politically palatable today. i think if you had a gas tax today, you would have to rebate the money from the median on down. you have to realize most americans are having a heck of a hard time paying their bill. the unemployment rate is still crushingly high, underemployment rate is high. i think if we did it in a way that