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the call was made by robert gaty, a close friend of mcnair. >> a male or female? >> two, there's two people. >> two people? >> yeah. >> and they're both -- appear to be deceased? >> i think so, sir. >> tennessee state officials have revealed they were developing a suicide prevention public service announcement before his death. the 62nd announcement never aired. officials say that airing now would be in their judgment, inappropriate. >>> new york is now the first state in the nation to use taxpayer dollars to pay women for their eggs to be used for stem cell research. the controversial practice raises serious ethical concerns, including whether it leads to the exploitation of poor women. ines ferre with our report. >> reporter: for years, the private inveto row fertilization pays women for their eggs. the empire state stem cell board says it will use taxpayer money to pay women between $5,000 and $10,000 to donate eggs. dr. robert cliffman sits on the board's ethics committee. >> now that we can pay women for their time and burden for donating eggs, the stem cell

i think she will be candid but if you cite anyone for confirmation, since robert bork, they have been reticent, quick answers. they've stayed out of trouble and i don't blame them but, yes, i think we'd be a lot better off if senators would say, i won't vote for an individual up for confirmation unless they give straight answers, albeit ones which don't answer how will you vote in this case or that case that would be a great improvement. >> just to reiterate what -- sitting on the judiciary committee, you shouldn't support a nominee who will not answer a direct question. >> of both parties. >> absolutely. thank you very much. wendy, thank you very much. we appreciate you both being here. >>> the federal deficit soaring to a record high. there's talk of another stimulus package. wow. what's it been, 4 1/2 months? just about. >>> well, joining me now, ron christie, former adviser to president bush and vice president cheney. president of christy's strategy and mark, senior political analyst for "time" magazine, cnn contributor, robert zimmerman. thank you for being here. well, what do yo

you have chief roberts for his unpiloted metaphor. judge sotomayor took it one step further saying all she does is applies the law to the facts, nothing further said. what she did was repudiation very forcefully president obama's empathy standard. that was good to see. but then when senator kyle walked her through the statements in her record that caused real concern about whether she had that commitment to impartiality, she denied what those statements plainly mean, statements that were a carefully composed, reiterated over a period of years. so i think she has a lot to walk away from. one of the most striking passages is when senator shochur got her to say this even though she said the opposite a few months ago. really brazen. >> i'm not sure she said that. what she said was you don't use international law to base your decision. but i would say if you look at her 17 years on the court. at the district court, court of appeals level. you find a very careful, meticulous, thorough, open-minded judge. and i think today her comments reall

white house press secretary robert gibbs in may said. hawaii provided a copy of the birth certificate with the state seal that's posed on the internet. documentary proof needed to run by office varies from state to state. federal election commission you may be surprised to learn does not require any kind of certification or proof of citizenship in running for president. they leave that to the state. and in the state of illinois, for example, where president obama first ran for office, proof of citizenship is not required prior to the state legislature or to run for congress or for the united states senate. up next, attacks on wealthy americans, won't be enough to pay for the president's tral dollar health care plan, and some say it may doom it to fail our. should judge sotomayor be confirmed? that's the topic of our face-off debate here tonight, next. has gingko for memory and concentration... plus support for bone and breast health. just what i need. one a day women's. >>> should judge sotomayor be confirmed as the next justice of the s

robert? >> i thought it was a very inspired speech. obviously, he did lay out the obstacles and the history. but he also laid out a path for the future. i thought that was very important. it was a great source of pride for the naacp. obviously to have him. there but i think every american can take pride in watching that moment. >> yeah, we're told that naacp wanted to get yankees stadium for the appearance. but the white house said, wait a minute. we did one at denver. >> enough is enough, right? we don't need another speech. i think president obama gave a very rousing speech. he was very, very fired up. >> there you go. you does a robert zimmerman. can't you all get along? why can't you get along? >> that's why we're here with you, to bring us together. >> i'm saying, lou, i'm saying actually i thought he gave a rousing speech. the thing i didn't like about the speech, it almost made it seem like the speech could have been given 40 years ago and there is not significant progress in the african-american community. i mean we have overco

robert, what is your thinking on this? >> well, the program was never fully operational. >> right. >> so, that means in terms of cia or bureaucratic speak, we don't know. but the bottom line this is a policy that neither party wants to pursue. if you notice, the controversy has pretty much quieted down. but when director leon panetta went before the intelligence committee and informed them that vice president cheney and obviously through president bush instructed the cia to withhold information from the congress, then it became an issue that, very frankly, our congress can't ignore. and, in fact, what bush and cheney did to compromise the cia, these are brave men and women putting their lives on the line for us, by -- by insisting the cia withholding information, truly did compromise the agency. this is an investigation that has to take place. >> but, you know, we had a top republican on the committee, pete hofstra, called it little more than republican theater. >> they may want to make it a political issue, but let's reme

. >> deference secretary robert gates today said he's disgusted the way the taliban hases treating one of our soldiers they captured in afghanistan three weeks ago. releasing a video of private first class bowe bergdahl in cap activity. >> secretary state clinton called it outrageous, secretary gates said it's disgusting. other words we've been hearing out of the pentagon is this is a humiliating way to treat a prisoner and violation of international law. here is a little bit of a few hours ago of how secretary gates summed up the situation. >> our commanders are sparing no effort to find this young soldier, and i also would say my personal reaction was one of disgust at the exploitation of this young man. >> the military believes that he has been moved several times since his capture a few weeks ago, sparing no expense to find him means a combination of using the carrot and stick approach, dropping leaflets over afghanistan. one of the leaflets shows a soldier, an american soldier surrounded by children with his arms outstretched that says one of our american guests has gone missing.

political science professor and author robert spitzer says such fears are self perpetuating. >> it's a way for the gun rights community to rally supporters, to increase membership, and to depict the obama administration rightly or wrongly as this arch opponent of gun owner ship and gun rights. >> reporter: during his campaign president obama made a promise. promise to defend the second amendment. >> you've heard it here. i'm on television. everybody knows it. i believe in the second amendment. i believe in people's lawful right too bear arms. i will not take your shotgun away. i will not take your rifle away. i won't take your handgun away. >> i hope he keeps those campaign promises. i'll tell you this, though, if they break them, the nra and the american public will be there defending this freedom. >> story definitely has people talking today. one gun dealer says he tells time in two eras. he says pre-obama versus post-obama auto supply era. but spitzer and a number of different gun dealers say the shortage should run itself out in the coming months. >> and somebody is actively seek

let's see what robert gibbs had to say. let me be clear, he, the president of the united states, was not calling the officer stupid. cooler heads on all sides should have prevailed. that clearly substantiates your perspective on it, candy. this is what candy -- this is what sergeant crowley said to y today. let's listen in. >> he's the president of the united states and i support the president to a point, i guess. i think it is disappointing that he waded into a local issue. >> it is interesting, because both professor gates and sergeant crowley initially said that both the city and harvard, the professor and the sergeant had resolved things and were not going to move further. >> here's the thing. he said it is a local issue. the point is it is not a local issue. racial profiling is an issue as a whole. whether it happened this in case, i don't know. this is a national problem. this is what the president was pointing out in this press conference last night. >> had he done that, that would be one thing. if he said that was a

border patrol agent robert rosas is the first agent to be killed in the line of duty this year. the shooting took place in a remote mountain area in san diego county which is, of course, right on the border. casey wian has the report from campo, california. >> reporter: about a mile over this hill is the united states border with mexico. it was here that border parole agent robert rosas was shot several times and killed thursday night while pursuing a group of suspected drug smugglers or suspected illegal immigrants. >> approximately 9:00 in the east border area, campo area, border patrol agent robert rosas was murdered by assailants at the international border. >> reporter: they would not allow us closer to the scene of the shooting because federal and local law enforcement agents were still investigating. >> they were tracking a group. the group broke up. so, the agents broke up to follow them. they lost contact with them, and unfortunately by the time they found him, he had suffered from some -- from multiple gunshot wounds, and i believe he was pronounced dead on the scene.

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spokesman robert gibbs said he believes some lawmakers are giving bad information. >> the white house announce add list of federal budget cuts as the president had set a deadline for $100 million cuts by his cabinet secretaries but those cuts coming eight days after the deadline. his cabinet secretary proposing $243 million in savings, $102, that was the deal, $140 million next year. that's $2 million more this year than the president had demanded back in april of his cabinet secretaries. well, that sounds impressive until you think about what the savings are. they are actually only a tiny fraction of next year's $3.6 trillion federal budget. some of the savings may seem min is kuhl including $35,000 by automatically shutting down computers to save money, some $2,000 using electronic copies of newspapers. well, to put all of that in perspective, we should point out that one top citigroup trader, his name is andrew hall, is demanding that citigroup honor a contract that would give him a upon us of more than $100 million. citigroup, of course, has received $45 billion in government bail

robert zimmerman just joining me. let me start with you, robert. your thoughts? i think that is a poignant letter from the sergeant. this teachable moment, what is it? >> teachable moment was demonstrated by the example that was set of these individuals coming together, professor gates, sergeant crowley, the president and vice president. i mean that is a teachable moment that has to be replicated in our civic associations and our communities and our neighborhoods. >> harold? >> absolutely. in the confines of the white house and back in cambridge, it's a relatively sedate, sort of working through the problems. people are on their best behavior. the sergeant, as you said, very well spoken. this other sergeant writing a very eloquent letter. professor gates, i'm sure, is going to play his part. all outside, though, is a much rougher conversation. there are boycotts. there are all this angry talk on the airwaves. there's a boston police officer who sent an e-mail and is about to get fired. he had his gun and badge taken from him. so what is being taught here is you c

. >>> coming up at the top of the hour, john roberts in for campbell brown. >> hey, kitty, great discussion. at 8:00, what really happened the day that michael jackson died? his personal chef was there. she is going to join me live. >>> has celebrity stalking gone too far? two police chiefs are charged with breaking into the home of the surrogate mother of sarah jessica parker and the small business owner who went toe to toe on president obama with his health care plan. >>> still ahead, we have heroes. stay with us. when i was told i had diabetes, i felt amazingly boxed in. (announcer) joe uses the contour meter from bayer. (joe) my meter absolutely adapts to me and my lifestyle. i'm joe james, and being outside of the box is my simple win. (announcer) now available in five vibrant colors. you know why i sell tools? tools are uncomplicated? nothing complicated about a pair of 10 inch hose clamp pliers. you know what's complicated? shipping. shipping's complicated. not really. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service shipping is easy. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the co

today, white house press secretary robert gibbs says summers and geithner were speaking hypothetically. dan lothian reports from the white house. >> reporter: the president's two top money men may have a good grip on all the numbers, but their words may have gone offscript. >> i think they allowed themselves to get into a little bit of a hypothetical back and forth. >> reporter: that's the clarification of comes made by treasury secretary timothy geithner and economic adviser, larry summers, on the sunday morning talk shows. the two seemingly leaving the door open to a middle had-class tax hike in order to pay down the deficit and afford health care reform. >> it is never a good idea to absolutely rule things, rule things out, no matter. what. >> we are going to have to do what it takes. we are going to do what's necessary. were. >> reporter: spokesman robert gibbs again stressed the president's commitment to not raise taxes on americans making less than $250,000 a year. >> though there's no -- there's no real scenario there as the administration sees it where middle-class taxpayers mi

robert gibbs suggested the protests are not spontaneous. let's listen to gibbs first. >> i also have no doubt that there are groups that are -- have spread out people across the country to go to these things and to specifically generate videos that can be posted on internet sites so that people can watch what's happening in america. >> the american people want health care reform and we're going to do health care reform. in spite of the loud, shrill voices trying to interrupt town hall meetings and just throw a monkey wrench into everything. we're going to continue to be positive and work hard. >> the senator reid's comments clearly directed at protestors like these exercising their rights to protest. here's how one lawmaker reacted to such a demonstration in long island, new york. >> no one is talking about the government taking over health -- >> oh, no, no! >> another congressman under fire for supporting the president's health care plan, congressman lloyd dogget who was heckled over the weekend. >> just say no! just say no! >> and along w

these are political aims that they have. >> i love the exchange between one reporter and robert gibbs, the white house press secretary. he was talking about manufactured opposition here and the reporter asked, well, what is the difference between the manufacturing of opposition when it's liberals. and he said, well, the republicans seem to be bragging about it, is basically the answer. i mean, we're having to split some very fine hairs here. >> it depends on which side you're on, most of the time. >> and if you're in the middle? which is where i live? >> well, then it's an interesting time, isn't it? >> you better believe it. thanks a lot, candy. appreciate it. you can join the debate on how the obama administration and the congress are doing. go to cnn.com to cast your vote on how the president and the congress are handling the economy, health care, and a number of other important issues, and then you can see the results here on cnn tomorrow evening 8:00 p.m. eastern on the cnn national report card. the second 100 days. >>> up next, more on the confrontation over the president's heal

sotomayor will be sworn in saturday by chief justice john roberts. >>> up next, california ordered to release tens of house to of prisoners. we'll have a special report on a league and political showdown. we'll be examining the health care system of the united kingdom, as we ask the questions no one else on television is addressing in the fight over the president's health care proposals. others buy the car of their dreams. during the lexus golden opportunity sales event, you can do both. it's an opportunity today. it's a lexus forever. special lease offers now available on the 2009 is 250. i had a great time. me too. you know, i just got out of a bad relatio... it's okay. thanks. goodnight. goodnight. (door crashes in, alarm sounds) get out! (phone rings) hello? this is rick with broadview security. is everything all right? no, my ex-boyfriend just kicked in the front door. i'm sending help right now. thank you. (announcer) brink's home security is now broadview security. call now to install the standard system for just $99. the proven technology of a broadview security system deliver

it's really astonishing. >> robert, what's going on? >> i'm still trying to figure out what you just said. i mean, the reality is you've seen the democratic congress deal with this issue of health care for over now a year in terms of multiple public hearings. while there was a goal of getting the process moving forward by august, no one was discouraging town hall meetings. what troubles me is that you don't see, for that matter, any of the democratic progressive groups out there trying to shut down republicans -- republicans from their sessions. yet you see this constant barrage of attacks, and very frankly, i think the open debate is important, healthy, and critical. but when you try to block debate and try to shut down the town hall meetings and you try to engage in really vial rhetoric, i think it demeans both the republican party and to me. >> so, you're agreeing with me and james? because we're talking about the great, open, democratic process. >> we're all encouraging that, but we're not witnessing it from the right wing of this c

senator ron widen of oregon and republican robert bennett of utah proposed a health care plan that does incorporate many of the features of the dutch system. lou? >> thank you, kitty. one of the things we're seeing here, we have gone through six nations, looking at the comparisons, we're going to continue that, probably we'll look at 25 systems before this is concluded, this series of special reports. one of the things that must be fascinating to folks is to see that there are nations, i think most americans think they have the highest life expectancy in the world. i think most americans, and i'm saying this without any knowledge of any polling on it, i think they also believe that ours is the best and is not as far askewed in terms of the cost as it obviously is right now. >> yes. when you do the cost comparisons it interesting to see. it is enlightening to see what works and what doesn't. you have test models out there globally, you can really actually look. >> and oddly must have, the national media not focusing upon them and oddly enough neither the democrats nor the republicans foc

we've heard from robert gibbs that this is all manufactured astroturf. what's the deal here? >> i don't know that i know for sure, but i will say, lou, that many times that i've had town meetings, there were very few people there, so to the extent that we get people to turn out and participate in town meetings is probably a good thing. >> absolutely. congresswoman? >> yes. you know, one of the things that i saw in the three town halls that i did last week was to say we're very organic. we had great crowds. we had sometimes five and six times the number of people that we thought we were going to have. and, lou, they come asking very specific questions. they are very concerned. as the young lady in the clip said, what they are beginning to feel is the pressure from t.a.r.p., from the stimulus, from the omnibus, from the housing, from cap and trade and now health care. and they're going, wait a minute, this is not the kind of change that i wanted. i want congress to get itself in order. >> are you hearing, i mean, anybody angry? you're obviously a republican. and we're seeing wh

dan lothian, cnn, the white house. >>> white house press secretary robert gibbs was on the defensive as i said on the issue of whether the president misrepresented the aarp's position on health care. we're going to play for you the entirety of that section of the press briefing from the question onward. let's listen. >> yesterday the president said aarp endorsed the plan. as you're aware, aarp said yesterday it hasn't endorsed the plan. where on the information or disinformation scale would the president's remark fall? >> well, the president said -- aarp said they are certainly supportive and have been for years on comprehensive health reform. i don't think the president meant to imply anything untoward. i think he discussed the notion that aarp is supportive of -- an agreement that would fund filling the doughnut hole for seniors as part of medicare part d as well as additional savings vings for comprehensive health care. >> [ inaudible ] aarp hasn't endorsed the house pending slax. >> which is what i've just said. >> he's aware of that. he wasn't trying to mislead anyone, he just m

take a list zone to what robert gibbs had to say today at his daily briefing. >> i think he believes very strongly, as we talked about how to address misconceptions or misimpressions about the bills. i do believe that the president feels strongly that when he makes his case, it helps the case for overall health care reform. >> so, again, the white house believing that these town halls have been effective for the president to get his message across and that's why you'll see the president going to a town hall meeting tomorrow in montana and then off to colorado on saturday. lou? >> now, this sounds awfully like manufacturing. it sounds like astro turf on the part of the white house which is the very same press secretary robert gibbs was -- well, has been moaning within the past week. all of the noise, as they see it, some of the misinformation as they are calling it at these town hall meetings out there. and they said, yeah, there is that concern. obviously, though, the white house hoping that they will base it on facts and not any misinformation as they see it. what they are trying to

. >>> at the top of the hour, sitting in for campbell brown, john roberts. >> hi, lou. tonight, should louisville coach rick pitino be allowed to keep his job now that he's caught up in a sex scandal? plus, is dick cheney joining the critics of george w. bush? i'll talk to mary matalin. >>> and an all-star tribute to a guitar legend. steve miller and richy sam bora join me to remember les paul. >> is he responsible for the eight strak. track. these days, wouldn't it be great if saving money happened as automatically as everything else? at bank of america, it practically does. use the bankamericard power rewards visa credit card and earn rewards like cash back with every purchase. cash you can put into savings. or even use to help pay down your credit card balance. it's one of the many ways we make saving money in tough times a whole lot easier. >>> join me on the radio 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. each afternoon. go to loudobbs.com and get the local listings in y

. >>> and john roberts at the top of the hour. >> tonight, we're going in depth on a story you mentioned earlier. michael vick back in pro football. has he paid a high enough price for his crime? >>> plus, i'll talk to one of president obama's biggest supporters on the push for health care. >>> and three of rock's guitar legends share their secrets on the eve of the anniversary of woodstock. >>> and up next, our weekly salute to the men and women who serve in nation in uniform. shopping online can help save. doing it with bank of america can help save a lot more. up to 20% cash back from over 300 online retailers with our add it up program. just sign up and use your bank of america debit or credit card when you shop online. it's one of the many ways we make saving money in tough times a whole lot easier. i had a great time. me too. you know, i just got out of a bad relatio... it's okay. thanks. goodnight. goodnight. (door crashes in, alarm sounds) get out! (phone rings) hello? this is rick with broadview security. is everything all right? no, my ex-boyfriend just kicked in the front door

robert gags on the return here to washington. he was pressed time and time again, and they seem to think this is really being overblown. that what is happening here is what the president has said all along, he's always been open to other good ideas. and so he remains open. they don't think this is a shift in policy. >> all right. thank you very much, dan. dan lothian from the white house. >>> new indications of sharp divisions within the president's party. many democrats among them are refusing to support the health care legislation. congressman boyd concerned about the cost of the plan and the so-called public option. jessica yellin has our report. >> reporter: here's one way to diffuse town hall rage, side with the critics on something. >> i cannot support this bill in the version it's in now. we can do better. we can make it better. >> reporter: so blue dog alan boyd is opposed to the health care bill moving through the house. he says the bill doesn't do enough to control costs. so much for democratic unity. the republican par

columnist robert novak dead at the age of 78. thanks for beingit

robert zimmerman, robert, good to see you. let's start. when asked which would be better, passage of the current bill working its way through congress, i love that expression. i'm not sure it's working its way through at all or no passage at all, the great majority said it's not better to pass health care this year. robert it looks like the end game is near. >> the game has just started. wall street journal, nbc news poll out today said 60% of those sampled said the system should be overhauled. when you look at the fact -- ask people what they feel about obama's position his approvalle ratings jumped to 53%. my point this is a tough process but the process is under way. i think the -- i give congress extraordinary credit for trying to build a bipartisan coalition. >> now talking about bipartisanship? >> we're talking for it over a year now. >> mia. >> by staipartisanshbipartisans you know, he's holding them out there but not embracing it. i think bipartisan ship looks different. i think he can pull off a few republicans but whether or not

i asked robert gibbs about that today. he said the white house wants to try to stay out of the back and forth. they may not be able to do that for long. there could be a civil war brewing within the party, lou. >> a civil war. and back and forth. isn't that the nature of politics itself? >> reporter: certainly. if you have people on the left threatening more conservative democrats just days after the president was trying to show flexibility in order to reach out to some of those conservative democrats and show that he's willing to listen to all sides in the debate, that might obviously make it a difficult for the white house moving forward just to keep their own democrats together let alone winning over republicans. >> keep them together or get them together. >> reporter: maybe get them. >> what is this expression. i never heard it before. none of our folks here have heard of it before. what is wee weed up as the president said. >> reporter: i had a sneaking suspicion you might ask me that. i hate not to have an answer for

let's go on to what he was actually talking about, which is health care, and we do have something that robert gibbs said today, but it's pretty interesting. let's listen to that. >> he continues to be very resolved, to getting something done on this issue. the president continues to believe that the worst possible outcome is doing nothing. >> but if this passes without a single republican vote, would that be a victory? >> yeah, in political terms, it would be. i mean, it would be giving up the opportunity for a big bipartisan victory. but at this point, the white house has got to start to decide brass tacks. do you want a bipartisan defeat, or a partisan victory? they might be willing to settle for a partisan victory, if they can even get that, and there is no guarantees that they can corral all 60 senators and get democrats on board, all on the same plan, whatever it is. of but they might settle for a win of any kind, given the way this debate has gone south. >> i would say this is a moot debate, because the reality is the way the blue dog democrats are, and the moderate caucus in the nation

with the passing of senator kennedy and robert byrd in the hospital, they only have 58. at built for the senate to stop a filibuster, you need 60 votes. the democrats just don't have the votes with the vast, vast price tags upon these bills that we've been talking about. so it's going to be a very interesting debate to see how they can try to find a way to pass something that meets the must we are some of the congressional democrats who are more conservative yet still meets the muster of the more liberal members of the house. it will be a very interesting time the next couple months. >> they'll make up that massachusetts vote. the democrats who have an 8-1 majority in the massachusetts legislature are probably going to pass a law allowing the governor to appoint the replacement senator which, by the way, which is what the law was before 2004. they changed it to prevent romney from appointing someone. >> gentlemen, we have to take a break. we'll be back and have so much more with our panel in just a moment. >>> take a look at this. this is a "washington post"/abc news pol

reporter: and it's not just republicans, one vocal critic has been west virginia democratic senator robert byrd who began questioning the president's use of policy czars back in february. >>> coming out, a chilling new details about the man charged in the kidnapping of jaycee dugard. >>> also and ana bell star arrested, he's denying charges he attacked his girlfriend. and does the federal government have the right to regulate firemans manufactured and sold in a single state in that story coming up next. anyone can prove they're strong once. the real question is can they prove it again and again. ♪ at northwestern mutual, we've answered that question compellingly... for over 150 years. northwestern mutual. consistency counts. put our strength to work for you. learn how at northwesternmutual.com. can add up fast. so i'm packing my own lunch now-- for less than $3. thanks to walmart. just two times a week saves my family over $500 a year. save money. live better. walmart. >>> tonight states are stepping up to protect their resident's second amendment rights from what they see as the long ar

robert byrd himself expressed concerns with the number of czars. >> i don't agree with robert birds concerns. if you have a car czar, what does the secretary of transportation do? he's got cars and the department of transportation and what have you. now the environmental czar, what does the e.p.a. administrator do? there's a conflict that's built. >> it makes it look like anybody who took a secretary's job is an idiot. >> usually you have an office in the west wing. >> there's an institutional question that has to be judged. it's not a partisan issue, but i'm saying whether the president has a right to put the staff around him he chooses to and what the role that congress has in terms of confirming presidential staff. >> advice and consent is a constitutional requirement. >> for cabinet positions. >> and a cabinet person who would have a czar enroaching on 3/4s of his department might be something that you would want to dismiss. >> in our modern presidency, we have had czars from both peters. >> at the end of the day, they have a big office and no staff. so they don't get to do much. >> the

robert zimmerman and democratic strategist hayne shinekofp. instead of honest debate, we have seen scare tactics, some have dug into unyielding ideological camp and out of this blizzard of charges and counter charges, confusion has reigned. what's your reaction to that? >> it's about time he put the facts out there and got in his face. >> but he won't name any names. >> but as he said he i'm call them out. this is a last chance president obama is going to have to speak to a national audience and to rally them. and hiss adoption of a bipartisan theme is going to be very important for democrats from moderate and conservative districts. >> what about the democratic strategist here, hayne shinekofp, the dnc has an ad out right now for the republicans and seniors. can we really continue to watch this suggestion that there is a bipartisan possibility here? >> it's absurd to assume there's bipartisanship. what we do is the midterm congressional elections going on right now, and if he doesn't get the meat off the bones, democrats are going to have a p

news columnist earl lewis and robert zimmerman. gentlemen, thanks for being with me. thoughts on a.c.o.r.n. and the whole saga that's evolved over the weekend. >> i can't speak to the quality or the integrity of these filmmakers and i certainly couldn't say that a.c.o.r.n. is representing job growth or job development. the bottom line is these are serious issues and a.c.o.r.n. does not do itself any service when they're not straight forward or candid, for example when they came on this program and denied there were any investigations they were facing until lou dobbs set them straight and laid out the record. so their lack of candor and they lack of transparency is truly hurting any potential hope they have to in fact establish credibility. >> ron, i'll go to you next. >> i agree with robert on this. i think that they have been less than candid in some of their dealings not only with the federal government, but with the state governments around the country. and these are very, very serious charges that bill outlined in these report previously. you're talking about peop

robert recktor joins us now. robert, good to have you with us. this is an extraordinary amount of money and why is it not in plain view as we look at the budget numbers and what is being proposed? >> this spending is largely hidden, because when you deal with similar programs like medicare and social security, they are a single item in the federal budget. but when you look at aid to the poor, and that's cash, food, housing and medical care for poor and very low income people, it's spread out among 71 different programs and 14 different departments and agencies. so you have to literally go through thousands of pages in the budget to uncover how much we spend on poor people. but when you do that exercise, what you find is that this year, we're going to spend about $800 billion on poor and low-income people. and it's about 5% of the gross domestic product. it's the third largest category of government spending. social security and medicare come first, then public education, then comes aid to the poor or means tested welfare. and we're now at a recor

now defense secretary robert gates has reversed his position on the assessment of that threat and what the united states should be doing about it. >> reporter: today defense secretary gates personally conducted a pentagon press briefing to explain why he had completely changed his mind about the threat from iran in renouncing the defense missile shield he supported just three years ago, gates said his decision to go with a new system was based on military intelligence. >> although the iranian long-range missile threat is not as immediate as we previously had thought this system will allow us to incorporate future defensive capabilities against such threats as they develop. >> reporter: joint chiefs of staff general james cartwright said the new system has more flexibility for future threats. >> one thing i'm relatively sure of is the threat will change. we have a thinking adversary and have it acknowledge that. >> reporter: a strategic analyst at the conservative heritage foundation nil gardner says the obama administration abandoned allies under pressure by the russians. >> this is an

robert gibbs had a very funny line about this today. he said i'm looking at these questions of is he over exposed in between the interview requests from your news organizations. look, the white house, i think what they said to howie is probably right. from their point of view, every time the president goes on and talks about the plan, he helps himself. as he certainly did when he went before the joint session. they must think it can't be too much of a good thing. >> let's look if we may and just put this out, please, so everybody can see this. he is, as of sunday, eight months in office as president of the united states. in this time he has given 88 speeches. that doesn't include fund raising events, joint availability with other world leaders, nor does it include bill signings or remarks for special events at the white house. these are 88 speeches. 16 town halls, seven press conferences, two joint sessions of congress. and one of them uninterrupted. i mean, this is -- this is an amazing amount of activity for any president, joe. and th

first, a preview of what's coming up at the top of the hour wrshgs john roberts, he is filling in for campbell brown. how are you doing? >> good, lisa. good to see you tonight. tonight, is a teenage girl being brainwashed by a church or trying to escape an honor killing by converting from islam to christianity? we have the latest on this explosive custody battalions. also, jack kevorkian after eight years behind bars for an assisted suicide, does he have any regrets about helping patients take their lives. i'll ask, plus, why are some parents trying to make sure that their children won't hear president obama's address to students. i'll talk with one republican leader up in arms about that speech. a whole lot more coming up at the top of the hour. >> all right. thanks. we will have much more on wur panel right after this. ( revving, siren blares ) there's no way to hide it. sir, have you been drinking tonight? if you ride drunk, you will get caught... and you will get arrested. >>> we are back with our panel. let me ask you, hank, somebody explain to me -- you know, japz was just makin

. >> first, sitting in for campbell brown at the top of the hour, john roberts. john? >> lisa, thanks. tonight, we've got an incredible story, a man survives after his heart stops for 45 minutes. i'll talk to the doctors who literally brought him back from the dead. >>> we're also taking a closer look at that story, allegations of hazing and embassy contracts in afghanistan. >>> plus, is whitney houston really ready to make her comeback. everyone's talking about her big debut. we'll have that in the "mashup" at the top of the hour. >> we'll have more with the panel next. ( revving, siren blares ) there's no way to hide it. sir, have you been drinking tonight? if you ride drunk, you will get caught... and you will get arrested. ...or if you're already sick... ...or if you lose your job. your health insurance shouldn't either. so let's fix health care. if everyone's covered, we can make health care as affordable as possible. and the words "pre-existing condition" become a thing of the past... we're america's health insurance companies. supporting bipartisan reform that c

the white house today, robert gibbs he basically said you know, jones continues to keep his job when he was asked about this. is this a big problem for the administration? >> it's going to be a bigger problem because obviously, they're going to dig for anything he's said and he's been a very controversial man. i don't know the man. but at the end of the day, anybody in a high level white house staff position or low level, you don't embarrass the president. the president does not need more distractions. my sense is either he has to learn to keep his mouth shut or resign. >> nia, should he have been vetted more carefully. >> the thing is he is what we're calling a czar. he doesn't have to go through congressional approval. what you see now is a lot of conservatives who have had problems with a number of czars notice obama administration. there's something like 30 czars in his administration. this is giving them kind of a new talking point and a new flash point for really pointing out that these czars do need to be essentially vetted and to be looked at more closely. i think ed is exact

is going to be out of the white house in terms of pushing for heldth insurance reform, but you heard robert gibbs say they felt the president has been active in guiding the debate. the question really is, what you hear from a lot of democrats, is they want really guidance and leadership from the president in terms of talking points for health care, but also some sort of a real proposal. i talked to a senior white house official today who essentially said that probably won't happen. but again, it could be a case of they're not showing their cards, and we might see a change come september. because i think the real sense is they lost the debate in august. >> yeah, ed, we also had those new deficit numbers, and i've got to believe that's going to make it much for difficult for the white house to try to move the meter on this issue. >> the deficit numbers are terrible. you have unemployment numbers coming this coming friday. the presidents numbers have dropped dramatically, too. lowest numbers in the gallup also. so they've got to get their game together, and they've got to basically articulate

robert, you say there should definitely be an investigation. tell me why. >> we're getting this drip-drip of accusations of the cia in the last three or four years, and it's better to get to the bottom of this and have a lawyer look at this, explain why he's going to prosecutor isn't. in any case, the cia has always operated under american law and it always should. and if somebody has gone farther than they should have, they should be prosecuted. the cia is not above the law and america doesn't want them above the law. if nobody committed a crime, nobody gets prosecuted. >> gary? >> the cia operated under directives given by the federal government, then others provided them advice. there was significant leadership oversight during the bush administration on this, and it sounds more like a battle between the justice department of the bush administration and the obama administration than it does the cia. it's unfortunate it's being so positi politicized. they're going to now need their own attorneys. they're not going to want to step out and take

filling in for campbell brown is john roberts. what are you working on? >> thank you very much. the hunt for an american soldier kidnapped in afghanistan and held captive by the taliban. we'll have the latest. also, president obama defends his stimulus plan as unemployment hits a 26-year high. and the latest from the michael jackson investigation and the other news coming your way at the top of the hour. >>> still ahead, why middle class americans can't buy homes, even as prices continue to fall. >>> home prices, they rear -- they're down across the country but homeownership is still a dream for many. in las vegas, real estate investors are profiting from the market. these investors are beating out first-time buyers in need of mortgages. >> reporter: newlyweds are eager to buy their own homes. >> a big kitchen would be nice. >> reporter: michael, in the recreational vehicle business, wants a two-car garage. there are thousands of available properties in las vegas, and for first-time home buyers who are saved $10,000 for a down payment, you would think they could move out of thei

would look like.talk you talk about the founding fathers, harvard law professor roberta ungar.essor robert explain his influence and the likely impact. >> obama was obsessed with his father. his own father. barack obama, senior. w but baraack obama senior was an absentee father. throughout his life, obama went to look for surrogate fathers and founding fathers. andok he learned chapter and vee of what he took to be a father'a ideology from those guys. we know about some of those a communist likenist, frank marshall davis in hawaii. we know aboutha jeremiah -- jeremiah wright. and we know about a brazilian socialist. has written about brazil, ba sayit's a china, and russia commenting upon the united states. that he says with a bad idea for america to be number one, he calls that american hegemony. he says it's time to end it. the he wmants the world to come together and pull america down.a and. lou: why is such a maner. tolerated? i mean, what is the point? what does he bring the students at harvard university. what kind of madness is that?ur lou: it's like the fools who thought the euro wo

robert. you do not remember this because you have been away and italy. [laughter] >> >> really wanted to ask about debbie wasserman schultz. >> she did not remember saying it. >> negative remember denying it. [laughter] >> to not think that everything you say is not being recorded? >> to be substantive and mitt romney talks about zero-based foreign-aid going at zero every year. >> that is not what he said. lou: what you talking about? >> he said we evaluate commitments of other countries. lou: you will tell me what jerusalem to be the capital. explain how god and jerusalem suddenly appear after two-thirds of democrats said node jerusalem. note god. there is because they have spoke up the platform has been and light and. [laughter] there are enough so they can overcome the others? >> you should vote for democrats because foreign aid is the highest it has ever been. lou: catching up quickly is the muslim brotherhood. >> there is intelligence cooperation superb between israel and the united states. despite the fact that yahoo! and obama does not get along v

colonel robert maginnis. turn to the obvious question how could any ambassador enter a safe house that was not save with the consulate not protected in one of the most violent and volatile places of the united states? >> we will know but he felt uncomfortable he had friends. they celebrated him as a hero. bet he knew the al qaeda flag was flown over the city. for some reason somebody did not tell him what was brewing. 9/11 was a red flag. they should have known but they failed. lou: if this was the ambassador's choice not to have marines but to have responsibility for his own death that to waste should not be his but a matter of state department, protocol amd requirement. >> absolutely. the marines are there for the very reason. next-door supposedly the ambassador told the marines not to take live ammunition into the yard for the people to get over the fence. that thinking is dumb in this part of the world. think of what could happen anywhere in the world if the marines are not ready to kill if you try to kil