and the e-mail is from valerie jarrett and turns out that jarrett is in a meeting. so nobody e-mails her back. and they told me the story afterward and told me how concerned the first lady was and how she didn't want to cause a fuss and she didn't want to k w know -- she didn't want to cause a stir by expressing too much alarm. and so she finally picked up the phone and called the white house operator and asked for her husband. so both told me that story on the record and to me it was a really illuminating and moving reminder of the restrictions of this kind of life. and also the anxiety that runs through it. you know, when there was a news story a couple of weeks ago about how a bullet hit the back of the white house, the sort of undertone of the story -- the real importance of it is that, you know, the back of the white house is where malia and sasha go out and play, right? there's a swing set out there. and that's where they can go kick and play a soccer ball. and so part of what the book is showing is -- is what it's like to actually live this life. and by the w

coverage of the state of the union continues, we're joined now by white house senior adviser, valerie jarrettss jarrett, thank you very much for being with us here tonight. >> my pleasure, rachel. how are you doing this evening? >> i am great. i have to ask you about governor mitch daniels' address. i know you were able to hear at least some of it. were you able to hear some? >> i was certainly able to hear some of it. >> first, i guess he accused the obama administration of running a grand experiment in trickle-down government. so do you recognize what that might mean? and secondly, do you think there might be a sort of crack of light here for moving forward in a bipartisan way, after governor daniels said that we should crack down on the wealthy having so many tax privileges? >> well, i think, as the president said this evening, we are optimistic. we think that if everybody comes together, there is an opportunity to move forward. i will say i thought -- i agreed with you, rachel, i didn't think that he had a very -- that mitch daniels had a very optimistic vision about our future. so on tha

i think, no way i would let me kids play. >>> valerie jarrett is going to join us as well.t's happening this evening. you're watching "starting point." okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle -- 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! >>> look at that. holding thebaby and trying to eat your breakfast. i have done that many, many times. >> that's momma there. look at the daddy. >> hand off the daddy. welcome back, everybody. you're watching "starting point." tonight the president will deliver his third state of the union address. what are we expecting to hear from the president? valerie jarrett is a senior advisor to president obama. we want to talk about state of the union.

union address and again the white house last week and joining us now, senior white house adviser valerie jarrett progres. >> ha! >> a robust agenda. >> i'm setting the agenda. >> you go, mika. take control. >> first, the president's plan to make good on his promise to streamline the government. how quickly is this going to happen? over a ten-year plan and exactly how much money will be saved? >> well, we hope to begin immediately after congress passes the authorization. as you said in the introduction, it's very important that we shrink government. it's very important that we streamline it. it's very important that we make it friendly to both business and consumers who want to use government, and this authority that every president from hoover to reagan had in the first step. the president also highlighted the first agency that he would streamline, and it's one that's so important right now in this economic climate. one that serves both business and trade. so it would take six different components and put them together so that the business community, smale, medium and large works have one place

valerie jarrett is an old friend of the obama's from chicago. she is their mentor and really helped them to get started politically in chicago and in a way made a transition because she goes from real-estate in chicago, she did have some city government experience to being a senior aide in the white house. this theme of the book islic what is public and what is private in the presidency, dollar sign jarret is a great, herres role, captures how complicated it is. on the mind and she is a senior adviser in the westenh wing and has a portfolio of rome and then one of the president and first lady's closest friends. . .for matters of race. this is true in the campaign and the white house she is kind of a newcomer to the national politics and came from a very different perspective. and the -- in my reporting as was seen, the tremendous -- it's funny because some people in washington talk about her as a kind of hang iran and i don't see see her that way because she's given the president and first lady so much i think that she would run in front of a tr

and from what i read about that, the tension between rahm emanuel, david axlerod and valerie jarrettft, and succeeded by david plouffe and gentleman jaert is attacking gibbs, the first lady is upset about how handled a question and turns out she's not tense at all. and that kind of thing drives you nuts. >> sean: and we've got too many for the white board. >> you were mentioning florida. bad news in the president. in that 44% of the voters in florida believe he deserves reelection and 52% don't. he's losing to mitt romney, and ahead 46-43, but there's 52% of the people today don't think he ought to be reelected. that means that once this republican contest is finished, whoever the nominee is, has a chance to grow that lead from being three points to being a, you know, an essentially an eight point lead in florida. if you lose florida by eight points, it signals a significant amount of distress around the country. >> sean: karl rove, thanks for being with us. >> appreciate it. thanks for having me, sean. >> sean: next several rights activist dr. cornell west tonight. we go head to hea

robert gibbs, kelly, left the white house in early 2011, valerie jarrett is still there. >> kelly: stillhere. and has the white house reacted to the stories, the story in the book at all? >> yes, and they're trying to make it sound like the author, jody can tore, also a new york times reporter, doesn't know what she's talking about, with the white house spokesman eric schultz telling fox, the author last interviewed the obamas in 2009 for a magazine piece and did not interview them for this book. the emotions, thoughts and private moments described in the book though often seemingly ascribed to the president and first lady seem little more than the author's own thoughts. the author did speak with over 30 current or former white house staffers and the rest of the book hits the shelves on tuesday, kelly. >> kelly: peter doocy with that book, tell-all book that a lot of people will no doubt be standing in line to read. thanks, sir. ♪ >> you know we often talk about illegal immigrants in the united states and how those that should be deported aren't. how about someone who is deported that sh

joining me now from the north lawn of the white house is valerie jarrett, white house senior adviser and assistant to president obama. ms. jarrett, thanks, as always, for coming on the show. >> my pleasure. good evening, reverend sharpton. >> now after such an optimistic speech last night that i heard nothing but a lot of applause and a lot of positive comments from all kinds of americans, what do you make of these absurd claims from some elements of the republican parties that this is divisive and that the president's disconnected from the middle class? >> well, you know what? we prefer to listen to the american people. what we heard last night and what we've heard in the course of today is overwhelming support. an outpouring of support for president obama's message because, reverend sharpton, you are right. was an optimistic message. a message about fairness and equality and making sure that we're building an economy that will last and where nobody gets left behind. those are the basic values of our country. and the president had a chance to outline his plan. it's a bold plan. it's

coverage of the state of the union continues, we're joined now by white house senior adviser, valerie jarretts jarrett, thank you very much for being with us here tonight. >> my pleasure, rachel. how are you doing this evening? >> i am great. i have to ask you about governor mitch daniels' address. i know you were able to hear at least some of it. were you able to hear some? >> i was certainly able to hear some of it. >> first, i guess he accused the obama administration of running a grand experiment in trickle-down government. so do you recognize what that might mean? and secondly, do you think there might be a sort of crack of light here for moving forward in a bipartisan way, after governor daniels said that we should crack down on the wealthy having so many tax privileges? >> well, i think, as the president said this evening, we are optimistic. we think that if everybody comes together, there is an opportunity to move forward. i will say i thought -- i agreed with you, rachel, i didn't think that he had a very -- that mitch daniels had a very optimistic vision about our future. so on that

laura ingraham will be here as she always is to weigh in and give us her thoughts as well as valerie jarrett because she's going to be previewing the president's state of the union speech for us during our -- >> so, we're going to look for mitt romney's taxes for the first time and the contract that newt gingrich has for fannie and fleddy, that he signed for freddie mac for the first time and review the debate you might have missed last night and previewing the state of the union. are we capable of doing all that? >> we better be! >> ok, good. >> more on last night's debate in a few minutes. other big stories making news right now. congresswoman gabby giffords returning to washington to wrap up her congressional duties. the house plans to consider a bill she proposed to crack down on drug smugglers that use small planes. tonight, she and her husband mark kelly will attend president obama's state of the union address. in tucson yesterday, giffords met with fellow victims of last year's shooting massacre. she's hugging the intern who helped save her life in this photo. illinois senator mark ki

valerie jarrett is an old friend of the obamas from chicago. she is there mentor. she helped them get started politically in chicago and she made a transition as improbable as the one the obamas did because she goes from being a real-estate executive in chicago, she had some city government experience to going and being a senior aide in the white house and the theme of this book in a way, what is public and what does private in the presidency, valerie captures how complicated it is. she is a senior adviser in the west wing and she has this outrage portfolio of her own and on the other hand she is one of the president and first lady's closest friends. she represents michele obama's dues in the west wing. she is also the highest level african-american in the obama senior circle and responsible for matters of race. this is true in the presidential campaign and the white house. she is a newcomer to national politics and came from a different perspective. in my reporting i have seen tremendous -- some people in washington talk about valerie at the hangar on. i don't see

tension with the first lady, but friends confirm he blew up at obama's senior adviser and friend valerie jarrett over a french book quoting mrs. obama as telling france's first lady that living in the white house was, quote, hell. >> every day is a very tense working environment. >> reporter: the first lady, a princeton and harvard law graduate, portrayed as struggling with her new role, telling an aide, i don't want to be hillary clinton, i can't be that person. but she recently denied feeling trapped in the white house in an interview with barbara walters. >> someone asked me a question about whether i feel confined or trapped in some way. that couldn't be further from the truth. >> reporter: the obamas did not give the author an interview for the book, which white house officials say understates the couple's personal relationship and they say any infighting between the first lady and the staff is much less than in previous administrations. andrea mitchell, nbc news, manchester, new hampshire. >>> we wanted to note the passing of tony blankley. he was born in london, but moved to this country

obama spoke, valerie jarrett, senior adviser to the president reacted to his speech as well as the republican response. she talked about the president's message to congress and the american people. jarrett said it presents an opportunity to both parties to find compromise and make some progress. take a listen. >> in terms of making sure we have a system that's fair and k equitable that's sustainable for long haul, you'll be able to have a good job, send your kids to college, retire with dignity. i think that's what the president's message was tonight. it was one that really believed in america. it believes in our manufacturing. it believes we can be independent of foreign oil and invest in our own energy. he believes we can train the work force to be the best for the 21st century. he believes we could come together and share a sense of values. i thought at the end when he drew the analogy to our navy s.e.a.l.s who were all a part of a team and a selfless act, it was a role model for how we should behave. i thought it was an opportunity for everybody to come together and work together and forg

inside the minds of people and what gave it credibility, after kanter reported the dust-up between valerie jarrettt gibbs in which gibbs used the f-word not onlyage her and the first lady and there were modest denies and he came out with an apology and, that gave credibility to her book. >> that is how it works. >> in publishing and journalism and washington and i would point out the book is now rolling off the shelves, it is sold out almost everywhere. and this is wonderful for jody cantor who interviewed 33 people in the west wing, former and current staff people and, if the obamas did not want to talk to her i don't think they're in a position to say you can't imagine what i was thinking, yes, she can, it is her right as long as she says that is what she's doing and i think he did that. >> one of the press criticisms thrown her way, judy, and you can address this, as a former "new york times" reporter, but, it is that none of these stories ever appeared in print in "the times," until they appear in her book. >> and that is the constant tension in the daily newspaper, "the new york times" and th

wolf, valerie jarrett saying that they always worked through their disagreements and out of my clul respectnes are bygones and the white house is certainly anxious to move past this, wolf. >> is it snowing there? it looks like you got snow coming down. >> it's beautiful, wolf. i was just in the islands in hawaii last week. and how it's snowing. a rude awakening for me. >> so nice. a little snow in washington. good to see. thank you very much for that, brian briana. >>> jon huntsmans' daughters. i'll speak to them about their dad. >>> and do newt gingrich supporters have their facts straight? in a blistering new ad targeting mitt romney's tenure at a private investment firm. can you enjoy vegetables with sauce and still reach your weight loss goals? you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce. >>> in new hampshire, a new policy suggests that jon huntsman is making gains while rick santorum is stalling. we're following the last minute appea

i reported that with valerie jarrett. we were sitting upstairs in her west wing office. she told me the story of that dinner. itas at her house. she spent several hours eaking with the obamas. i asked her about the obama's response to it. so that is, you know, the kind of reporting that goes into that book. >> rose: but we don't know that that is what mrs. obama was talking about when she says nobody knows what i was thinking about. >> well, she said she hasn't read the book. so but anyway, the-- the-- the thing that i found that was so interesting about the reporting, charlie, was how much more aides around and friends can say than the obama. an interview with mrs. obama is kind of rare right now. she doesn't do at many. they are pretty limited. she often does them to support very specific initiatives, you know, something new is happeni with childhood obesity. she will do, you know, a few minutes with a magazine or a tv show to fell that stor and my goal was to get different kinds of stories, stories that really represented the inkrebld transition they were going throug

valerie jarrett is a friend, a mentor that helped them get politically started in chicago and made a transition as the one that the obamas did because she is a realistic against chicago she had it the government experience and going to be a senior aide in the white house. the theme in this book today is what is public and what is private and the presidency. she is a great -- her role really captures how complicated it is. because of the one hand, she is a senior adviser in the west wing and she has this outreach portfolio of her own. and on the other hand she is one of the president and first lady's closest friends. she often represents michelle obama's views in the left wing. she is also the highest level african-american in the obama senior circles and she's often responsible for matters of race. this is true in the campaign and the white house she is kind of a newcomer to the national politics and came from a very different perspective. and the -- in my reporting as was seen, the tremendous -- it's funny because some people in washington talk about her as a kind of hang iran and i

what they're jodi kantor said that key staff members like valery jarrett and robert gibbs provided information for her book she also covered the first couple during the presidential campaign for what she was a reporter at the new york times but she has not spoken to resources since 2009 the first couple declined to be interviewed for this book and the first lady is speaking out denying what some say reggie easiest parts of this book >>i suppose is more easy to imagine conflicting situations >>parts of the books say that the first lady clashed with people like rahm emanuel when he was chief of staff and there was tension with robert gibbs who was the former press secretary and one of the author's sources >>the white house denied all of these claims sang at the first lady never had a cross word with rahm emanuel and that robert gibbs to this day is a trusted adviser >>she tries to portray me as some kind of angry black woman >>anxious not angry are the words that the author describes the first lady as behind-the- scenes >>she is very anxious for her husband to succeed and achieve his goals >>the

did valerie jarrett's address at a martin luther king event possibly violate the law?e break. >> firefighters and policemen whose jobs are now in jeopardy because congress -- let me be specific -- because the republicans in congress [applause] -- the president taught me to choose my words clearly. because the republicans in congress would not pass the americans jobs acts. what makes scottrade your smartphone's most powerful trading app ? total access - to everything. from idea to research to trade. including financials, indicators and real-time streaming quotes. whether you check your investments every day or every minute, our app can take them from thought to trade. at scottrade, seven-dollar trades are just the start. try our powerful mobile app. it's another reason more investors are saying... i'm with scottrade. megyn: "kelly's court" is back in session. using a house of worship as a bully pulpit. valerie jarrett using the platform to pump up the president, touting his accomplishments while attacking republicans. in doing so, she may have gotten the church which un

that there's this inner circle of guys who surround the president and even the first lady and valerie jarrettspend quite a bitç of tim with the men and we are a team of people who work closely together, who bat around our opinions. we have differences of opinions sometimes, but we're a unit that works together. all focused on making sure we can re-elect the president so he can continue to great work he's been doing. that's what it's all about for us. >> debbie, schultz who has been having [ kate ] many women may not be properly absorbing the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption. >>> and, which political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? what do you think? chris, can we figure this out. this is what it's all about. it's election day in new hampshire. we love it. the polls close at 8:00. >> 8:00. i'm going to keep it where the i have my dial at all times on msnbc. i have a feeling