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just a few hours, president barack obama delivers his first state of the union address. can he convince skeptical americans that he is leading the country in the right direction? special coverage right now on msnbc. and joining us, msnbc's rachel maddow, white house economic adviser christina romer and former labor secretary. the coverage starts now. good afternoon, everyone. i'm tamron hall in new york. my colleague david shuster is out on assignment today. angry voter, skeptical democrats and newly emboldened republicans will be listening closely when president obama delivers his state of the union address before congress. the president is expected to admit making mistakes in his first year while also citing what the white house sees as accomplishments. on "morning joe," white house press secretary robert gibbs offered a glimpse of tonight's speech. >> he will talk tonight pout continuing efforts to get money and tax cuts to small businesses to spur hiring, lending through community banks, so that they will be able to do so. making our country safer and more secure and understanding the anger and frustrations american people are facing about their economy. >> as we've seen from past presidents, mr. obama has invited several people to be special guests at tonight's address and sit at the house chamber's executive gallery with the first lady. tonight some of those guests are volunteers. just before his inauguration, the president kicked off a nationwide volunteer program called the new spirit of america. in the past year, the president and his family have led by example, they say, by most recently marking martin luther king jr. day in a soup kitchen. now an army wife and vol ear fr -- volunteer who has been invited to sit next to michelle obama. when did you find out you would get this honor. >> i got a phone call from a staff and it was very, very exciting. my husband and i were sitting at home when i got the call. >> a lot at stake in the speech. the president's first state of the union. we know the situation in wisconsin and other parts of the country. what are you looking to hear beyond certainly the acknowledgement of the work you and other volunteers have done? >> i'm excited to hear about money put forward to family readiness programs, that they have added some additional money for that budget. so i'm excited to hear about that. i'm looking forward to hearing about our future in iraq and afghanistan. >> and specifically iraq and afghanistan, we know this president was against the war in iraq, campaigned against it. we know, though, that the withdrawal of troops more difficult than anyone perhaps imagined at least with that campaign. we know more troops on the ground in afghanistan than were there with the previous administration. what are your feelings on the direction the president is pointing the country regarding those two wars? >> well, my husband just returned from a tour in iraq just about two weeks ago. so he has served two tours over there. as a military family we are supportive of our government and of our nation. if he's called to duty again, we certainly will perform as indicated. >> tell me a little more about your volunteer work. we're showing pictures of your family, your children. adorable kids. >> thank you. >> you've got there. tell me more about the work and why you got this honor again? >> what i do is i'm the 32nd brigade family readiness volunteer. we have 3200 families in our brigade. 3200 soldier deployed. i was, along with my other lead volunteers, active ensuring these families had information they needed throughout the employment and for the deployment so they were ready, mission ready, everything they needed. and throughout the deployment we focused on our motto, which is moving forward, giving back. so we set up many community service projects for families to participate in and give back to the community wile our soldiers served overseas. >> janell, you've done great work. thank you for volunteering for the country and tell your husband thank you for his service, we appreciate it. congratulations on the honor. we'll be looking for you on tv tonight. >> thank you so much. this is fantastic. >> absolutely. congratulations. the new nbc "wall street journal" poll shows 5% of americans don't think the president is spending enough time on the economy while just 5% say he is p nbc correspondent and ho of the rundown, savannah guthrie at the white house, we'll certainly talk about the hope that swept him in the white house. we're looking at a reality obviously far different than we hoped we would be in at this time. >> i think we're going to hear that sense of frustration from the president about the way washington works and how slow change really is. i think this is a president who may let off a little bit of steam on that, because things haven't been able to turn around as quickly as he would like to. whether he'll acknowledge his own role in the failings of washington we'll have to wait and see. it's our understanding he'll accept some of the responsibility on health care. the process didn't go as smoothly or quickly as he hoped. this is mostly economic speech, job speech, themes aimed squarely at the middle class. there will be foreign policy as well. he's going to talk about health care, no question about that, make a strong pitch for it. i think we'll hear him issue challenges to republicans to get on board, to try to be helpful, not be obstructionist, hit themes of, fine, you've got 41 votes, now you've got to be part of the solution here. in terms of laying out a way forward on health care, that's something we won't hear from the president because frankly it's something they just don't know yet. they say health care will pass this year. but how it happens and what it will be, that's a big question mark. >> savannah, you bring up the president addressing republicans. there's a problem in his own party, there's a difference between the opinions, senate, house, individuals on what he should say. i want to read on politico, regarding democrats. some want him to go down fighting on health care reform. others say he should try one last time then move on. some applaud planned for partial freeze on spending others say will kill the social safety net. it goes on to say within the party themselves they greatly differ on what he needs to say tonight. >> no question about it. actually, haven't we seen this movie before, tamron. it could be said the democratic party that caucus fractured all year long. if they were all speaking with one voice, they already had health care. it wouldn't have been so hard. they had 60 votes for a time. the democratic caucus is not monolithic. this is just symptomatic of that. the spending freeze is a perfect example of why the president feels frustrated. either it from both sides. people on the left saying how can you do a spending freeze when we're in the middle of this terrible recession trying to recover, unemployment is terrible. we need to spend money to attack jobless problem. on the other side republicans saying this is the tip of the iceberg, the deck chair on the queen mary, we're not going far enough. you have to start somewhere. the president -- the audience is as much the american public as it is congressional democrats who are feeling very, very skittish about their own re-elections. they have got to get on board, believe obama can carry them to re-election before they sign onto his agenda. >> interesting. the nbc "wall street journal" poll, his popularity better than both parties quite honestly when asked who is to blame for the situation, more blame republicans slightly than are blaming democrats. might we see the president be a tougher leader with congress in total, not just the republicans? >> yeah. i think what we'll hear is a raling against washington. the election of scott brown in massachusetts was a reflection voters want change. they are sick of the way washington works. rather than saying i'm part of that, he'll say, look, that's how i got into office. he will try to still hold onto that change mantle and rale against washington, whether democrat or republican, things need to change, snugs need to change. it will be interesting the tone he strikes. i think we'll hear that frustration, that fight in president obama. whether or not he's going to use those words, the state of the union is strong, i've asked a lot of officials. that i haven't got an answer, i've been told wait and see. >> quite a tease but won't need it, many will be watching. thanks so much for that. what will president obama accomplish with the state of the union? what does he need to say to turn the tide of anger and frustration among his supporters. today on "morning joe" mike barnicle suggested another speech alone will not do the trick. >> we'll all listen and say, wow, what a speech. out there in the country, 10% of the people will say what a great speech he gave. pass the corn flakes. i have no job to go to. what do they do that. >> that's the line of the day. rachel maddow host of the rachel maddow show. thanks for joining me. david is on assignment. i've got to ask you off the top, what does the president need to say. this has been asked of everyone, i'm curious your perspective. >> i think he's got to bridge the gap, as you were suggesting, his personal popularity and political troubles. right now 90% of the people dig him as a person, an individual guy, it's not helping him politically. the way you help yourself politically, the way you succeed politically is by winning, passing things, having a record of accomplishment. this president has done a lot of things, passed a lot of things but on the big stuff, health care, wall street, jobs bill, cap and trade, all of those things are in trouble. all of those things are in trouble for the reason that barack obama, the politician, is going to have a very hard time talking about. that's because his brand is we're not red state, blue state, we're united states, we can get along, not so much that divides us, republican, democrat, doesn't matter. that does not jibe with the reason he's not getting things passed. the republicans are not part of his united states of america. they are saying no the kumbaya approach will not continue to point. >> you can't have a jedi moment where he stairs into the camera and convinces us he's on our side he has to work with republicans to get something done. on face value the democrats have not been able to do it together. >> that's the right diagnoses, completely wrong prescription. if the president gets up there and says i'm hoping for republican votes, let's take longer on health care because maybe republicans will vote for it, maybe republicans voting on anything else he's proposing he's in la la land. it's not going to happen. barack obama, the candidate could have inspirationally convinced us some republicans would vote for him barack obama the president is paying the price for that. republicans won't vote for anything, democrats have to do it alone, that's what he has to sell to american people. >> do you think he'll do that. >> if he says the hope for america is bipartisanship you can kiss the agenda good-bye. it's a question of seriousness. is this gimmickry, bumper sticker politics or do you want to get something done. if you want to get something done, you have to explain why republicans are not going to be part of the solution to their own detriment and the country's. i want to switch topics, what came out of new orleans, louisiana watergate and other names floating around. what's going on. you've got this guy praised by conservatives, james o'keefe, next great filmmaker, tried to bring down a.c.o.r.n., now he may have brought down himself by this stunt, as it might be described by some, what's going on. >> we don't know the motivation, the seriousness. there have been arrests. we know from talking to the ap an actual listening device was found. that makes this very serious felony territory. how political this crime was versus how just stupid or malicious is doing to make the difference as to whether or not this becomes a story that lives on for a very long time. >> whether he was working for or with others. >> or part of a conservative political agenda. this guy was not just hailed as a hero for what he did on a.c.o.r.n., he was hailed by the future of journalism. >> praised by 31 members of congress in a resolution. none of those members have yet today come out and said i need to distance myself. >> this was not just a kid who was a conservative activist who did right, they were praising his methods as being something that ought to supplant the way journalists do work. james o'keefe is the model we ought to be following rather than the mainstream media they deride as being liberal. now james o'keefe has gone to prison. >> facing ten years. >> facing ten years, with the listening device found, it may be more than ten years. interesting story about this one guy. it may be story about political reckoning with conservatives who elevated him to be such a hero, as a way to bash mainstream media and tactic. let's pay attention to what those tactics are, in this case felonies. >> arrows are certainly pointed in that direction at least according to some. thank you very much, rachel, for coming. i'll look for the aha moment for the president if he does reach across the aisle or the fighter ready to pull back and say let's get something done. a reminder stay with msnbc all night for state of the union coverage beginning with hardball followed by ed show at 6:00, "hardball" at 7:00 and countdown at 8:00. hear the president's speech at 9:00 and special live editions of countdown and rachel maddow tonight. pat, you just don't want to go to sleep. just sit there with coffee and watch the best place for politics. toothpicks and ice. good stuff. to a cough. to a full body ache... at 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[ announcer ] it's amazing what one can do. here is a look at what we're watching right now. senate republican leaders about to hold a news conference on capitol hill, just wrapped up senate republican annual meeting. we'll keep an eye on it and if any news comes out we'll bring it to you. americans anxious to hear what the president says tonight and they are clicking away to find out on yahoo!.com, state of the union searches up 1,000%. as for who is searching, most clicks from new york, washington, d.c., l.a., chicago and dallas-ft. worth area. while economy and jobs remain the number one priority for the president, immigration, an issue largely untouched in his first year in office is also expected to be mentioned in tonight's state of the union address. joining me is jose diaz, from our sister station telemundo. jose, thanks for joining us. >> pleasure to be here. >> before we talk specifics, i want to get your idea, perception of the mood there. so much at stake with this speech tonight. people want to hear such specific things from the president. >> interesting. i think the mood here is that health reform is not done. if there is a shot at something passed soon. how large, how conch hencive, that is yet to be determined. there is an optimism that some form of health reform can be achieved in the next couple of weeks or month. another issue important to the hispanic community is immigration reform. the president promised he would be tackling that the first year in office. hispanics, along with everybody, know the economy should be priority number one for the president. a lot of folks in the hispanic community who look for him on leadership in immigration reform are willing to give him time because he's got larger fish to fry. but it's important he comes out clearly stating he wants to see some form of immigration reform that would include some way of legalizing the 12 or 14 million undocumented workers that currently live in this country. >> jose, what would you say you're hearing from hispanic leaders they would like to hear from the president specifically regarding jobs. >> the fact is african-american and hispanic young have been disproportionately hurt, affected by the recession. one in five young people in this country are hispanic. 50,000 hispanics turned 18 years of age every month in this country of there's a higher level of unemployment among our young than the general population. what are we going to do as a country to help people just starting their lives, whose dreams and aspirations of the american dream don't seem close within their reach because of the economic situation. i think our community specifically is looking for concrete things that they can see, feel, and touch that could generate jobs without increasing taxes and immigration reform. i've been very encouraged by meetings here at the white house today that the white house is clearly on board with immigration reform and we'll see it shortly. >> thank you very much jose d z diaz. what issue do you want to hear the president address tonight? logon to msnbc.com, cast your vote, find out what others americans are concerned about. we're keeping a tally today. earlier jobs was beating everything by a long shot. coming up, this story making headlines. toyota putting brakes on sales of the biggest selling vehicles. what you need to know next. an unbelievable story out of haiti, another one. a man res tud from the rubble two weeks after the earthquake. it's amazing. ñ now to. welcome back to the alleged plot to tamper with mary landrieu's phone lines. back in court after getting out on bail, o'keefe, a conservative activist has charges against him that could keep him in jail for ten years. he tweeted, i am a journalist. the truth shall set me free. pete williams joins us live from washington. pete, what more do we know specifically about the charges against these men? >> well, whatever the truth is, james o'keefe is not saying anything about the case. this may be because the judge yesterday admonished the defendants not to talk outside of court. they were back at the federal building in new orleans today for a meeting with the pretrial services people, which is fairly common after you're booked as they agree on the conditions of release. what they are actually charged with is a relatively odd statute. it makes it a crime to enter a federal building under fraudulent pretenses with the intent to commit a felony. the crime here is tampering with a federal phone system. exactly what they were intending to do is not at all clear. because the ability to just walk into a modern office building and tap the phones is pretty millimet limited these days. gone are the day you could walk in and find a bunch of bair terminals you could stick your alligator clip on, there's a digital array of equipment. it's not an easy thing to walk into somebody's office and tap phones unless you really know what you're doing. there aren't any indication that is they did. on the other hand, the government said they did something to the phone in mary landrieu's new orleans office. they took the handset and in the words of court documents manipulated it. we're not certain exactly what they did to it. by the way, it's not that easy to manipulate a handset. the ones we have you can't unscrew the mouthpiece like they used to be able to. we don't know what they were up to. it's clear o'keefe was making a video. he's told the fbi that according to court documents. was it a stunt? that's what juan of the lawyers for these young men in their mid-20s says, but on the other hand what were they doing with the phone in we don't know. >> what about the listening device in a vehicle they were using? >> yes. two other things about this case that are sort of odd. one is the fourth man, stan dai was arrested outside the building with a listening device but it wasn't clear what he was going to listen to. was he listening to the four guys inside the building or was this something later to listen into the phones? we don't know the answer to that. also we heard yesterday and are hearing again today that two of the men, the ones dressed up as phone company repairmen were carrying hard hats. one of these hard hats, at least one of them had a tiny camera, which gives additional credence to the idea it was all about a video. >> thanks for the latest on the investigation in that story. but coming up, jobs, jobs, jobs. the president will unveil a jobs heavy agenda when he addresses the nation tonight. one of the president's top economic advisers, dr. christina romer joins me live after a quick break. six of the nine supreme court justices will be attending tonight's state of the union. chief justice john roberts, anthony kennedy, ruth bader ginsburg, stephen breyer, sam alito and sonia sotomayer. they will be there by the marshall and clerk. or as the recession that made us great? 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(announcer) gillette fusion. fresh blade. more comfortable shave. welcome back to msnbc. president obama's first state of the union address is just over five hours away. the president is expected to spend the lion's share of his speech discussing the economy in his plan to get people back to work. joining me now, the man that served in three administrations, most recently labor secretary under president clinton. professor of policy at the university. >> hi, tamron. >> the question everyone is asking, what does the president need to say tonight. and your answer to that question. >> he needs to convince americans he's on there side, particularly related to jobs. he has to show american he understands the depth of the problems they are facing, the era of big bailouts for wall street is over, he has to concentrate like a laser beam on jobs. he has to connect the dots. he can't give up on health care. has he to show how health care is related to jobs. also he has to unveil what he's going to do with regard to getting jobs back. >> isn't that the key here? many things we just mentioned we've heard in different speeches from this president. the american people seem to be looking for something specific. even you yourself, when it leaked out the president was talking about a freeze on spending, you were unimpressed with that information we expected to hear in the speech tonight. >> tamron, the thing is, really what the president has to say and i hope he does say, right now, this is no time to worry about deficits. yes, we worry about ten years from now those deficits, the most important thing is to get jobs back and people back and the economy moving. that may require more government spending. if the private sector is not going to create jobs, consumers going to buy the government is the last resort. even a w pitcher a program for getting people jobs and getting people back to work. >> many people are comparing this state of the union to the state of the union president clinton gave. i want to read a part of it. he talked about the economy at that time, quote, next month america will achieve the longest period of economic growth in our entire history. we actually this in his own words from 2000 january. >> next month america will achieve the longest period of economic growth in our entire history. [ applause ] >> we have built a new economy. my fellow americans, the state of our union is the strongest it has ever been. >> obviously you can make comparisons but we will not hear that kind of message because this is not the strongest our union has been. how does the president balance that optimism people at home want to hear with the reality of 15 million people will not have a job to go to the next morning after the speech. >> tamron, i think he's saying he understands how bad the economy is. we have not seen this bad an economy in many respects in 70 years. he's got to temper that with optimism things will get better. there are indications, a lot of them, things are beginning to get better. the pain is still out there but the future looks better than it has bchblt that's a double-edged sword. it's tough to get poth messages out. he's got to try both. >> realistically what will change tomorrow morning? we're looking at opinion polls. people unhappy with congress, both democrats and republicans of the president still has a 50% approval rate, you have his own party, they are unhappy with the way he handled health care. he should have put more of his political capital on the line. they are unhappy with spending freeze as you articulated as well. tomorrow morning, what do you believe the headline will be from this? >> not very much than today, tamron. what the president has an opportunity to do and he's very good at this, at least during the campaign, is framing the issue, overall issue. i don't think americans particularly want or need a long laundry list of things the administration is planning to do. they have had a laundry list. he's got to show how everything is connected to everything else and also convince people, again, he is really focusing his attention on this jobs issue. i think, look, if things start really turning aroundf in the next three or four or five months people see jobs are beginning to come back, even though the economy is very, very weak, i think that will help democrats and the president a great deal. >> very interesting to see. thank you so much former labor secretary robert reich, always a pleasure. >> thank you, tamron. >> take a look at the blog at robert reich@block spot.com. as the president focuses on create jobs and restoring confidence what can you expect when it's said and down. my colleague david shuster spoke with ed rendell from the democratic national committee earlier today. here it is. >> i think you're going to see tremendous benefits to small businesses in loan guarantees and tax credits and tax cuts and incentives and that's terrific. secondly, you're going to see renewed emphasis on infrastructure and infrastructure, roads, highways, water systems are working to boost jobs and manufacturing. i think you'll see that's going to be the key about getting the economy moving again and getting people back to work. that's a good message, a message that will resonate very well in pennsylvania. >> tonight is an opportunity for democrats for the white house to take stock of what has been and has not been accomplished over the past year. we've talked so much about failures on health care at this point. for democrats, let's be fair, what do you say are the three accomplishments of president obama over the last year? >> well, certainly i believe the stimulus worked. and the stimulus and some of the t.a.r.p. worked to avoid a total nick meltdown. what we're dealing with isn't good. without the actions president obama took, it would be much, much worse. i think that's the major accomplishment. we've had a good foreign policy, restored our credibility around the world. he's made the right choices in places like afghanistan, being a moderate, not tending to one side or the other. that's a strong and important thing. i think he's done good things for the environment and energy. energy is really one of the great opportunities for us to grow our economy home grown here. >> that was my colleague david shuster's interview with pennsylvania governor ed rendell. coming up one of the president's top economic advisers dr. christina romer will join me on what we can schenectady to hear from the president tonight, his plan to create new jobs. be sure to stay with msnbc for complete coverage of the president's first state of the union address. our special coverage begins with "hardball" at 7:00 p.m. -- at 5:00 p.m. and "the ed show" at 6:00 p.m., "hardball" again and special speech coverage. live editions of countdown and the rachel maddow show. we'll be right back. the vegetables do. at green giant, we pick vegetables only when they're perfect. then freeze them fast so they're as nutritious as fresh. ho ho ho green giant upbeat rock. ♪ s♪ i know i know i knowo can i shoulda gone to ♪ ♪ free credit report dot com! ♪ that's where i shoulda gone! coulda got my knowledge on! ♪ ♪ vo: free credit score and report with enrollment in triple advantage. that keep you cool and dry have now inspired stayfree® to create a whole new level of comfort when it comes to your period. only stayfree® ultra thins have thermocontrol™. designed with the comfort of athletic fabrics in mind, stayfree® with thermocontrol™ quickly wicks moisture away for exceptional dryness. so you stay incredibly comfortable no matter where your day takes you. stay dry. stay cool. with thermocontrol™ only from stayfree®. we're shopping for car insurance, and our friends said we should start here. good friends -- we compare our progressive direct rates, apples to apples, against other top companies, to help you get the best price. how do you do that? 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[ male announcer ] you should not take reclast if you're on zometa, have low blood calcium, kidney problems or you're pregnant, plan to become pregnant or nursing. take calcium and vitamin d daily. tell your doctor if you develop severe muscle, bone or joint pain, of if you have dental problems, as rarely jaw problems have been reported. the most common side effects include flu like symptoms, fever, muscle or joint pain, headache, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. share the world with the ones you love! and ask your doctor about reclast. or call 1-866-51-reclast. year-long protection for on-the-go women. welcome back to msnbc. president obama's first state of the union address just over five hours away. the president is expected to spend the lion's share of that speech talking about the economy and his plan to get people back to work. already one part of the president's speech is on spending on national parks, air traffic control, is criticized by even progressives. christina romer, chairwoman of the house of economic advisers she joins us. thank you for making time for me. >> great to be with you. >> i just had robert reich on. i want to read his reaction to the spending freeze. he said his three-year freeze on large portion of discretionary spending will make it possible for him to do much or anything for the middle class that's important. chalk up another win for wall street, another loss for main street. what is your reaction to those that have already criticized the plan to freeze spending. >> that's just so untrue. i think the important thing is, you know, the president is, as you mentioned tonight going to talk a lot about the economy. the very first thing he's going to talk about is jobs and the additional measures he thinks can be taken to jump-start private sector job creation and that's incredibly important. what he's doing to tell you is the same time we have to be doing emergency measures to make sure we get people back to work, we also need to be having our eye on the future and that long run fiscal deficit. just like a family facing the situation they have to make choices around the kitchen table, the government has to make choices. one thing when robert reich says we're going to freeze education, no, what the president is talking about is overall level of non-discretionary spending. he's going to do rearranging. he has some parts like education where he thinks reforms are incredibly successful. he's going to want to put more money there. we have to discipline ourselves and say there's going to be someplace else to cut back. >> we know the president will talk about miss steps and some mistakes made. in the past, still have people criticizing the stimulus saying that didn't work. others saying it wasn't large enough. where does the stimulus fall as far as you see getting people back to work. we've even seen people within the administration give conflicting numbers on how many jobs created. >> the council of economic advisers has to do a report to congress. we just did one. our number we think falls in the range of the nonpartisan congressional budget office, private forecasters, we think as of the end of 2009, it saved or created 2 million jobs. i think that is an important accomplishment. that is something that we're on track to meet what the president said it would do, save or create 3.5 million jobs by the end of next year. what he's saying is we do need to do more. there are actions we can take at this stage in the recovery process that he thinks will be very effective. >> your job certainly is to talk about jobs and hopefully get people back on a job. when you lo at our new nbc poll, folks in this poll believe the president has not talked enough about the economy, talked enough about jobs. in fact, he talked far more in their opinion on health care and focused too much attention to that do you believe enough attention was paid to the job situation by the president? >> absolutely. i can tell you from the inside that is the number one thing he asks us about when we meet each morning. it's been his number one focus. what he's also known even before this crisis, middle class families were having a hard time. they had seen their income stag nate for a decade. as we deal with jobs, let's deal with longer run problems. >> the problem, was it at all underestimated by this administration? because in reality you said the president every morning talking about looking for ways but very little change. we have 15 million people out of work, 7 million since the start of this recession. we know the clock started before his administration took office but he and his team took the job, to use the word of the day. took the job. >> absolutely. the president did take responsibility for the economy the day he assumed office. that has been absolutely his focus. we have taken incredibly aggressive action, right? the stimulus act you talked about, the financial rescue, what we've done for homeowners to try to keep them in their home when they are facing foreclosure. all that is part of a comprehensive package. the stimulus, as big and bold a package as we could. it is the boldest in american history. what the president is focusing on is where we are now, what more do we need to do. he's determined as he always said earrings going to do everything it takes to get the american people back to work. >> dr. christina romer, thanks very much. we appreciate you taking the time. i know a lot is going on there. breaking news out of north carolina, family friend of elizabeth and john edwards saying now the couple have officially separated and elizabeth is, quote, moving on with her life. this is something the associated press is now reporting that elizabeth edwards is, quote, moving on with her life. she's separating from the one-time presidential candidate senator john edwards who just last week admitted he actually fathered a child with his former mistress rielle hunter. he's still under investigation on whether money from his campaign was used to pay rielle hunter off in some way. so that investigation continues. as it stands right now, his wife saying she's moving on with her life. she played a great role in his political career from the very start and now a very sad ending to their marriage plagued by the scandal. now to some other headlines. today another amazing story of survival out of haiti. a man has been rescued from the rubble in port-au-prince two weeks after the quake hit. the u.s. army's 82nd airborne division helped pull the 35-year-old to safety. it's not clear if the man was trapped in the initial quake or one of the many aftershocks. he's now treated for severe dehydration and a broken leg. meanwhile, a former nba journeyman paul shirley played a total of 18 games over three seasons says he will not donate money to help victims of the quake. he went on a blog saying i haven't donated for the same reason i don't give money to homeless men on the street. if i use history as my guide, i don't think the people of haiti will do much with my money either. today espn fired shirley from his freelance job with the sports network. today the parents of slain virginia tech student morgan harrington are calling for justice after police confirmed the remains found in a farm field were, in fact, those of the daughter. the 20-year-old disappeared in october following a metalica concert. her mother says through the grief there's some closure. >> for the first time in 101 days, i'm not thinking every minute what is he doing to my daughter now. what is he doing to her. what is she having to endure. >> virginia state police are working to find leads in the case. right now they have more questions than answers. toyota suspending sales of top models to fix faulty gas pedals. vehicles using late model corolla, matrix, avalon, rav 4, tundra and sequoyah vehicles. the pedals can stick causing unintended acceleration. there was a recall for these eight models. this is a big recall for the company that has done so well. the long wait is over. after a lot of speculation and buzz, apple unveiled its latest creation, it is not i tab let, whatever. it's ipad. it's a tab let-style computer. kind of looks like iphone but w. it is half inch thick, weighing 1 1/2 pounds. it was speculated this would go up to $1,000 retail. the cost $499. far less. yeah. that was the lead. far less than what people far less than what people speculated.t i need to control my diabetes, to stay healthy - and get on with my life. it comes from liberty medical. and now, it's not only where i get my diabetes testing supplies - but it's where i get my prescription drugs as well. see if you're on medicare, the cost of your diabetes testing supplies as well as your prescription drugs may be covered. liberty takes care of all the paperwork with medicare and sends the prescription forms directly to your doctor for approval. then, on your schedule, packs up this box and sends it right to your door with no charge for shipping. and liberty assures you have everything you need to manage your diabetes, including most brand name meters. call now and we'll send you a free meter. plus, a free cookbook when you join. call liberty. they can help you live a better life. call the number on your screen. welcome back. we continue the countdown. a little more than five hours away from president obama's first state of the union address. a new nbc news "wall street journal" poll think 5% of americans spending too much time on the economy. 44% say he is spending too much time on health care. i have my panel. chris, i'll start with you. the president's popularity is still up there, 50%. his policies and the members of congress who seem to not be popular flat out with the american people. so how does the president position himself where he is popular, his policies are not and the democrats are not? >> i think you are going to see tonight in the speech a strong defense, the actions the president nook the last year in order to turn around the economy. health care sucked up a lot of oxygen. the president took dramatic steps. it is inspirational and positive in tone and forward looking and lay out a strong defense how the president and the democratic party -- >> chris, let me get you to hang out. i had breaking news. john harwood is saying he left an interview with house speaker nancy pelosi. she is saying she can get the votes to pass the senate health care if certain changes are made in the reconciliation process. >> that is big news. you are going to see that become a very key part in this speech. you will see the president make a very strong statement about now is the moment to get health care. >> jennifer, you respond to this pelosi news saying she can after saying before she couldn't get the votes with reconciliation process. >> this could mean more trouble for the obama administration. what we saw happen in massachusetts was a direct rebuke of the health care policies that this administration is trying to nut place. if you look at the amount of spending, independents are worried about. president obama is talking about a spending freeze, on elevated budget levels in '09 spending up 10%. he exempted things like this $1 trillion health care proposal and nondiscretionary spending and entitlement programs. people are going to hear him out of one of his mouth but saying he is going to stop spending. that is hard to square. >> hard sell for the president. thank you both for joining me. dylan ratigan up next.
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