Congress ron barber. Meanwhile on capitol hill, Cruise Control or controls. Its House Republicans versus the Senate Conservatives as the tea party drive to defund the president S Health Care law hits Speaker Boehner against the texas senator named ted cruz. Plus with the senate set to consider Caroline Kennedy, a look at the intersection between policy and how it compares. Good morning, its thursday, september 19th. Well begin with more that were learning about the red flags surrounding the alleged gun map aaron alexis and the days and weeks before mondays massacre at the Washington Navy yard. Map aaron alexis and the days and weeks before mondays massacre at the Washington Navy yard. The investigation is complete on site. Building 197 is mostly reopened. But the probe into alexis background is just beginning. He sought help as recently as august. He visited two va hospitals and complained of insomnia and was given a generic antidepressant. When questioned, he denied depression. The doctors were not a waiver the report from Rhode Island Police who had notified the navy weeks earlier that alexis told him he was hearing voices. Officials looking for clues in to the motive revealed he had carved phrases into the stock of the sawed off soft gun he used in the attack. They read better off this way and my elf weapon. That could stand for extremely low frequency. But officials caution they dont know what the phrases actually mean. Vice president by ten biden visited the two shooting victims still hospitalized and the president and first lady will attend a Memorial Service on sunday. Back on capitol hill, we finally got a glimpse of some of the outrout r outram rage that continues to feel as if its missing in the days since the attack. It came mostly from the families of shooting victims who tried to reignite a debate over gun control. Were all different colors and classes. But we all have the same thing in common. That we last one, someone that did not deserve to die. I dont want another family to go through what im going through right now. I dont want another 15yearold to be having to pick out his sisters casket. There is such a thing as righteous anger and you have heard it here today. Its justified when our leaders do nothing. A number of reviews are now under way. Three by the navy, two more by the pentagon. When you know back in hiin hindsight and look at all this, of course there were red flags. Should we have picked they will up . Why didnt we, how could we . All those questions need to be answered. The Justice Department is looking in to alexis got the security clearance in the first place. Joining me now, michael isikoff. What more have we learned about the various security clearances, issues with alexis . Well, chuck, there has been a pretty aggressive Ongoing Investigation that the u. S. Attorneys office in washington here has been conducting in to the whole procedures of granting of security clearances. In fact they have made Something Like 19 convictions and guilty pleas among investigators who have done these background checks for submitting fraudulent reports. Claiming to have done interviews that were never done, claiming to have checked records that were never checked. And the u. S. Attorney is now saying hell ramp up those efforts and look at what happened here with the alexis security clearance. We know he was granted the clearance in march 2008, which is after that initial Seattle Police arrest in which he says he blacked out because fueled by anger, shot out the tires of a neighbors car. His father says he suffered from tells police he suffered from anger management problems. Why wasnt that picked up . There is the additional arrest, one in georgia for disorderly conduct, again in ft. Worth for shooting the for discharge of a firearm. All this is reported to the navy. But it never affects his security clearance which he can take with him for ten years. So when he goes to work for that Information Technology from the experts as civilian contractor, they say they know nothing about this and they checked with d. O. D. , the security clearance is in good standing. A lot of people looking at this saying something there are a lot of things that fell through the cracks and were there did people misreport. And by the way most of the folks that do these background checks are government contractors. They dont actually work for the government themselves, if im not mistaken. Exactly. Threefourths of the background checks, and there were Something Like 2. 1 million in 2012, threefourths of those are done by outside contractors. One of those firms, usis is the most prominent. Theyre already under investigation. They did the background check on edward snowden. And they denied yesterday that they did the background check on alexis, but we are told from sources that an outside contractor yet to be identified did do the alexis background check. Were trying to find out which one it was and how extensive the check really was. Clearly may not have been anymore extensive than making a phone call to confirm he still had the security clearance. Thank you very much for your reporting. I want to focus on the Mental Health impact now. There is pressure building in congress to address some aspect of these shootings. If gun control cant seem to be something that everybody can agree on, why not this. And why is this legislation on hold. So with me now is the author of Mental Health first aid act. Its a man who of course has firsthand experience in dealing with gun violence. Arizona democratic congressman ron barber. Congressman, walk me through your legislation and if you can, how you think your legislation could have at least helped connect some of the dots for the various warning signs that were there with alexis. I would like do that, but first let me say, chuck, to the families, the survivors and also the families who lost loved ones, i really am heartsick and i acceptsend my condolences to. I know whats happening in knows families and i want to make sure im thinking of them and sending my best wishes and praryers. As far as the legislation goes, if question perform parents, teachers, make them more aware of what theyre seeing, what the Treatment Options are available, services, and know how to dehe is askdeescalate a crisis, i th we can minimize to some degree the dangerous activities of people who go over the edge. In tucson, the shooter was displaying serious Mental Health issues for at least two years. Parents, students, the college all saw something, but they never put it together. The act provides training across the country to all of these First Responders and others who night come in to contact to give them a better understanding of mental illness, what theyre seeing and understanding what theyre seeing and knowing how to get someone into treatment. And thats really the focus of the bill. Its gathering a lot of support both in the senate and house. Im very hopeful we might pass this bill. It seems if there is ever a road block when it comes to Mental Health, it always comes to one word. The word is privacy. What is the line here between what kind of power do outsiders have in sort of forcing somebody who might have who might appear to have some Mental Health issues to get the treatment that they need. Well, what we do know is that at least in arizona, and i believe its true in many states if not all, Police Officer who responds to a situation where they feel the person is displaying simple tomorrows s they feel the person is displaying simple tomorrowymptos mental illness, they can take that person for at least a 72 hour observation by a professional in the field of Mental Health. That could well lead to a desire and need to have that person in treatment, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. And i think we need to make sure that our First Responders have a lot more information about what theyre seeing and knowing what to do about it when they see it. This is not panacea. This is not cure all by any means. We have a lot of things we need to do. But we need to focus a lot of attention and i think well get bipartisan support for attention on Mental Health services, making early identification and treatment more available. The bipartisan support appears to be already there. We know what happened during the entire manchintoomey debate. Senator reid has said he wants to link anything on Mental Health with an effort on the expanded background checks. That may be your preference. I dont know. But do you want to not see your bill pass if it ends up if it gets tied to the gun control, politics of that, and then your bill doesnt pass, is that a failure . Well, i certainly didnt want to see the Mental Health bill in the house or the senate for that matter go down. I think its important that we go forward. I also believe that expanded background checks are an important part of the answer. We have ten categories of people in this country including people who are seriously mental ill who should not be able to buy a gun. As long as we have gaps in that background system, people can get a gun. If theyre linked and they go down together, that would not be a good thing. I hope we can get the Mental Health bill through and see background checks expanded. Do you want to see them go separately then . If thats the way we have to go. Leadership will make their decisions. I know from the leadership of the Majority Party in the house my sense is that they want to have a Mental Health bill, a package, if you will, of bills including the one that ive proposed to go forward and probably not deal with background check issue. Thats where we stand. I think we have two different approaches in the two different chambe chambers. Ron barber, thanks for on coming on this morning. Thank yyou very much. Still ahead here, a new way to get an early look at who is looking stronger for the Midterm Election and the balance of power in the house and senate. Well pick apart some interesting numbers that we have put together. Nine months worth of data and comparing to 2009. Well explain. Plus more of this mornings first read. Are we on track for a shutdown or another last minute deal that just puts things off for a few more weeks . But first here is a look at todays politics planner. Vice president by the way meeting with King Abdullah of jordan today here in d. C. Mr. Boehner has a meeting with mr. Facebook. And then of course the president speaks to the export council. Youre watching the daily rundown brought to you by styx apparently. Fe driving bonus che. Rock beats scissors [ chuckles ] wife beats rock. And with two checks a year, everyone wins. [ female announcer ] switch today and get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. Only from allstate. Call 8669068500 now. [ dennis ] zach really loves his new camera. Problem is. This isnt zach. Its a friend of a friend who was at zachs party and stole his camera. But zachs got it covered. With allstate renters insurance. [ female announcer ] protect your valuables for as low as 4 a month when you add renters insurance to your allstate auto policy. Call 8669068500 now. What are you doing . Were switching Car Insurance. Why . Because these guys are the cheapest. Why . Good question. Because a cutrate price could mean cutrate protection. You should listen to this guy. [ female announcer ] with allstate you get great protection and a great price, plus an agent drivers who switched saved an average of 498 a year. Call now and see how much you can save. Just a few more ways allstate is changing Car Insurance for good. [ female announcer ] call an allstate agent and get a quote now. [ male announcer ] bobs heart attack didnt come with a warning. Today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. If youve had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. Back now with more of first read. Wash, rinse, repeat. Setting the country up for yet another budget crisis and more economic uncertainty. Back in march, Speaker Boehner argued risking a Government Shutdown to defund the president S Health Care plan was a losing strategy. If we were to put obamacare into the cr and send it over to the senate, we were risking shutting down the government. That is not our goal. Do you want to risk the full faith and credit of the United States government over obamacare . Thats a very tough argument to make. But yesterday after losing that argument, among house conservatives, boehner decided if you cant beat them, join them and he officially capitulated. Were going to continue on do everything we can to repeal the president s failed Health Care Law. This week, the house will pass the cr that locks sequester savings in and defunds obamacare. By playing the game of survival in the party versus survival of the party, boehner chose a very perilous political path, if this crisis is not resolved by october 1st, the government will shut down. Ir ir ironicily the same Day Health Care exchanges are set to open up fp boehner may have set up the best chance the president has to get the public to rally around hiS Health Care law which isnt very popular right now. The president did his best to take advantage wednesday in his remarks to the business round table. You have never seen in the history of the United States the debt ceiling or the threat of pot raising the debt ceiling being used to extort a president or a governing party and trying to force issues that have nothing to do with the budget and have nothing to do with the debt. And of course this is now turning in to potentially a lose lose situation. The effort to defund the Health Care Law raises expectations for the conservative base. What happens if the feel legislation doesnt touch Health Care Law at all . Moderates in the party have not been thrilled. We cant let the government shut down. Complaint be kamikazes. But the capitulation was still not enough for some in the cruz crowd. Be kamikazes. But the capitulation was still not enough for some in the cruz crowd. Harry reid will no doubt try to strip the defund language from the resolution and right now he likely has the votes to do so. House republicans must tap firm. While his statement enraged some House Republicans who believe cruz is somehow now passing the buck. Tim griffin tweeted, so far senator rs are good at getting facebook likes and town halls, not much else. Do something. Asked to respond, a boehner spos map said we trust republicans in the senate will put up a fight worthy of the challenge that obamacare poses. Perhaps this is boehners exit strategy, what he and out republicans might be telegraphing is if Senate Conservatives cant stand firm against harry reid, then House Republicans arent going to go down wloon on this either. Its not clear, though, what success looks like for boehner and House Republicans if health care is not involved. Any sane person knows the Obama White House is not going to negotiate over the president s signature necessary tick chief thement in any way, shape or form. How does bay per get a win here . Thats the Million Dollar question. One more thing, shutting down the government doesnt actually affect the implementation of the Health Care Law. As a report stated back in late july. Quote, it appears substantial you were prepa implementation of the law might continue during lapse of appropriations that result in a temporary Government Shutdown. Meanwhile ben bernanke warned it could have serious consequences for the economy and the fed surprised investors by announcing it will keep buying government and mortgage bonds. Maybe because of all this. Saying the u. S. Economy is too weak to stand on its open and because of that the market soared. The dow spiked more than 100 points after the fed announcement closing at 15,676. The s p 500 jumped to a new high of 1725. Both posted their best day since june 13. Nasdaq closed up 1 . With me now, jack markow of delaware. So the fed announced the economy is not doing well. You cant look at it any other way. The fed wouldnt be doing if they thought the economy was doing well. I think there are millions of americans who would agree. The people across the country love to be working and who arent better your state is having a harder time than others getting out of this recession. Id say over the last year our employment growth has been better than the nations. But id also say as long as there is a single delawarean who is not work whog waing who want being we have work to do. Moodys said more than any other state delaware is at risk of recession. Why did they say that . In it w it was a bit of a strange report because weve been better than the rest of the country. Theyre concerned about housing, about the financial market. All the banks in delaware are hiring. Even their report lists a bunch of states that are at high risk of going into recession, so im not sure exactly why they did what they did. Explain to me what you believe the impact of the back and forth budget and whats going on with the budget, sequester, the debt ceiling, how does that impact your State Government budget . What it really does is it creates unbelievable incertainty for businesses which can put off hiring more and if theyre not hiring, not putting people back to work, thats the most direct impact on our budget. We can identify very clearly what the impact of sequester is, but in terms of the longer term, the real issue is are businesses hiring, are they expanding. Youve been governor through all these fights thats been happening in washington. And this is a very repetitive fight. I guess it ends probably the same way. House cant do anything. Senate comes up with some bipartisan proposal. Boehner puts up his hands and voila, an uneasy resolution to this until we do it again in a year. How has this impacted your budgeting . Because youre getting tippi continuing resolutions. You do rely on federal money. We do. Every state does. Its unbelievable to me that the republicans in congress continue to create these selfinflicted crises and now its about the repealing a law thats been law for a couple of years. And the impact on the states. We have to do what were going to do. We have to have a balanced budget. So we go through the process basically over the next few months, have to present a budget in january, and there is a lot of uncertainty. So one of the important things to be a governor, you have to tolerate a lot of ambiguity because you have to go a little bit on the fly in terms of how are these federal funds gamble that the money will probably be there. Yeah and you have to make sure youre doing everything you can to get people working. One of the reasons youre in washington is you were doing meetings on common core and the issue of education. Common core has become a shocking political football particularly some conservative groups that are fighting this that teams to have broad bipartisan support in common core to explain it is sort of a federal Government Initiative that states give states more flexibility to decide but have a certain amount of curriculum so that there is certain curriculum in different schools. There any part of the conservative argument that you think is legitimate . No, because its based on mythology. Every krit seccriticism you think is bunk . I do. This is a program started by states, by governor, by superintendents of education recognizing that we need higher, you fewer and clearer standards. And thats what this does thp so a couple weeks ago, we had back to School Nights in delaware where we invited Community Leaders to go in, have actual lessons taught by real teachers. And if you talk to most of the teachers out there, they would say this is better. And by the way, were leaving how to teach it up to the teachers. This is not a national curriculum. These are standards set by states. How are these mythologies getting spread . There are folks out there who are against anything that smacks of change, anything that smacks of future. Governor mar kell, thanks for coming on. Coming up, were trying to predict the future. Crunching some past poll numbers. He well explain how we do it and why it means midterms might not be 2010 or 2006. But first, r, ann currys excle interview with irans new president. And todays trivia question, under which president was the congress al bucongressional bud office created . First person to tweet the correct answer gets the shout out. Time for your business entrepreneurials of the week. These are just a few of the Small Business owners in bedford, pennsylvania. These entrepreneurs are trying to fill empty store fronts and bring in new customers. Find out how they have helped revive downtown on your business sunday morning at 7 30 on msnbc. Has its ups and downs. Seasonal. Doesnt begin to describe it. My cashflow can literally change with the weather. Anything that gives me some breathing room makes a big difference. The plum card from American Express gives your business flexibility. Get 1. 5 discount for paying early, or up to 60 days to pay without interest, or both each month. Im Nelson Gutierrez and im a member of the smarter money. This is what membership is. This is what membership does. Guys, you took tums® a couple hours ago. Why keep taking it if you know your heartburn keeps coming back . Thats how it works. You take some tums®. If heartburn comes back, you take some more. That doesnt make any sense. It makes plenty of sense if you dont think about it really, honey, why cant you just deal with it like everybody else . Because i took a pepcid®. Fine. Debbie, youre my new favorite. [ male announcer ] break with tradition, take pepcid® complete. It works fast and lasts. Get relief from your heartburn relief with pepcid® complete. What are you guys doing . Having some fiber with new phillips fiber good gummies. Theyre fruity delicious just two gummies have 4 grams of fiber to help support regularity i want some. [ woman ] hop on over [ marge ] fiber the fun way, from phillips. Ann curry is the First Western journalist to interview rowhani who was elected to succeed ahmadinejad. He insists his country has never sought to develop a nuclear bomb and theyre only building peaceful technology. Can you say iran will not build a Nuclear Weapon under any circumstances whatsoever . Translator the answer to this question is quite obvious. We have time and again said that under no circumstances would we seek any weapons of mass destruction, including Nuclear Weapons. Nor will we ever. And with the civil war raging, ann asked about irans closest ally, syria. Can you assure the world that president assad will give up all of his chemical weapons . Translator we are not the syrian government. We are one of the countries of the region that seeks peace and stability and elimination of weapons of mass destruction in the entire region. The interview comes ahead of rowhanis first speech to the United Nations feks wenext week. Meantime senator john mccain is responding to putins oped on a russian news site. Mccain writes putin has given and you political system that is sustained by corruption and repression. And isnt Strong Enough to tolerate ds ca dissent. He rules for himself, not you. The article was published on the russian news site pravda. Not the paper during rush is thats soviet years. Up next, betting on the house. An interesting way for you to make 2014 predictions by the numbers. And you can geek out on the prekicks dikss and the polls on the website. Is this the bacon and cheese diet . This is the creamy chicken corn chowder. I mean, look at it. So indulgent. Did i tell you i am on the. [ both ] Chicken Pot Pie diet me too [ male announcer ] so indulgent, youll never believe theyre light. 100calorie progresso light soups. [ male announcer ] bobs heart attack didnt come with a warning. Today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. If youve had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. Over the next year, you can expect plenty of action as lawmakers battle for their congressional seats. But will anything really change in 2014 . Looking at our nbc wall street journal poll, the newspapers point to status quo. Weve done this by combining all of the polling information on the specific question on who you want to have control congress. When democrats have a double digit lead in the polls like 2008 and they did in 2006, they will net a lot of seats. 20 to 30. When republicans had any lead like they did in 2010, they win big. 63 seats that year. And when democrats hold a slim lead like last year, just a couple of seats he said up changing happened. And thats where we are. Meaning if history holds, the balance of power will essentially stay the same. Numbers also show good news potentially for both parties. For the republicans, core republicans, mccain and romney voter, tea party supporters, all more republican leading today than they were three years ago at this same time. And we know how that turned out for the republicans. However, for the democrats, their biggest advantage comes from women. Overall the democratic edge with women has more than doubled from six points to 15 points since 2010. And white women in particular who leaned republican by a wide margin in 2010 are now leaning democrat. Lets bring in our thursday gag he will. Reed wilson and kay bailey hutchis hutchison, dee dee myers, and dav david, my friend and colleague from the washington post. Always sitting there as frustrated as i am with the answers we get. I will start with you. You heart republicans say its not fair, democrats create this had. Whatever you call it the fact of the matter is the numbers have move. And if the difference between republicans having a big chance at making gains completely erased. Obviously in that poll you see it. And republicans need to stick to the message where they have credibility, which i think is the economy and National Security. And they need to really stop talking about the social issues where families can disagree within the family. If we havent learned something from the last couple of elections on that point you survived politically as a republican in a conservative state by walking the line on social issues. Why did you survive and why cant others in similar situations do that . I think that the people who are entrenched on one side or the other, abortion, gay marriage, are so intense, they are very active in both parties. And thats what is driving some of this social issue war. And i think that is not where republicans strength is. We need to look at the economy, jobs, our National Security situation and say, you know, its time to govern. Its interesting looking at the polls basically other than the Movement Among women, republicans became more republican. Democrats became more democratic. Its like everybody is more dialed in. This is a long term trend over the last 10, 15 years as partisanship has increased here in d. C. , its increased in state capitals. And that has meant not only is the electorate becoming more divided, so are the districts in which they are electing. The redistricting that happened in 2010 into 2012 led to a lot of swing seats becoming solidly republican or solidly democratic seats. As you take a look at the numbers now, the polling numbers dont argue for a big change in the house and senate. And the house districts dont argue for big change. Youll see a very small number of seats in places like iowa and arizona and california which have i said redistricting commissions, but basically everywhere where there is a partisan redistricting process, there are fewer and fewer competitive seats. That makes it harder for democratic to make big gains in the house. From your point of view, the biggest problem democrats have going into the midterm is with seniors. The shift in seniors, maybe its generation al, whatever it is, it is to me one of the most startling shifts over a very small period of time. They are now solidly republican. That is a big shift because while weve been out there on the front lines, fighting Social Security and Health Benefits and protecting medicare, medicaid democrats have been the party of these benefits. But i think theyre less receptive to social issue mess ams. Sometimes gay marriage and things like that are unfamiliar to people. If you look at the polls, those are much more Younger Voters are much more likely to be, say, pro gay marriage. And i think there is a lot of change going on, demographic change, social change. And the older you are, youre more resistant. And so much of the bathe base base is older and theyre not reaching the Younger Voters. And the larger unintended consequence, success at a midterm doesnt necessarily translate to a president ial year. Whats best for the Republican Party in 2016 may not be whats best in 2014. Absolutely. This is a huge issue. Ive talked to folks who say if the House Republicans dont act on immigration, latino groups whether campaign in 2014. It wont have an impact. Thats why a lot of the house conservatives are not moving on immigration. But the Party Leaders do want to get it off the table for 2016. Youve seen marco rubio, even ted cruz and rand paul who were against the immigration bill, they went and talked about it because they know its important to build that base up and at least appear to be receptive. Do you think the basic problem is republicans running in the Midterm Elections dont have to deal with certain voters and if they had to deal with swing voters, they would look out for the best interests for the party nationally . I think youre discounting a couple of things. First of all, i think the Senior Movement toward republicans is the economy. It is that they are not they have no interested bearing accounts. You cant get one almost. And so theyre suffering in their retirement from that standpoint. I think also i would say you ought to be looking at the senate, not just the house. Because i think the republicans do have a chance to make big gains in the senate. Assuming they dont step on their message as they did in the last two cycles where should have had big gains and instead we had small gains because we got tripped up with maybe one person who said something that was totally out of line that was denounced by the Party Leadership and yet republican candidates and thats the thing. It looks like status quo, but something could change things. Out budget fights end at the end of the year hwill impact. Senator is right. You heard a number of Senior Leadership in the house, you had a great clip earlier saying we cant be kamikaze pilots. If the Republican Party cant handle these budget cant find its way out of the problem it faces right now, then that path to 51 in the senate gets a lot slimmer. You mentioned huge number of seats in indiana and ohio five out there. And republicans have 46 seats. Which mean thats 51. The entire landscape could change. Were not set. Four years ago, we were more set because health care was the driver and we knew this was going to be what it was. We dont think there might be a big battle. We know there are big battles. A lot of people put the smart money on that the government will shut down. Will the republicans get blamed. Will that change the generic ballot. Possibly. And the white house doesnt see any enp send difference to help boehner out of the box in that is it i dont think so. When they tried would years ago, it didnt work out. Lowest approval. This time the president has dug the line in much more strongly. All right. Our panel is sticking away. Coming up, Caroline Kennedy is following sort of the family foot steps. Well explain how. Keeping an eye on her Senate Confirmation hearing to be the next ambassador to japan. 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Can i get the smith contract, please . Thank you. Thats three new paper shredders. [ boris ] put em on my spark card. [ garth ] boris Small Business earns 2 cash back on every purchase every day. Great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. Read back the chickens testimony, please. Buk, buk, bukka [ male announcer ] get the spark Business Card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. Choose 2 cash back or double miles on every purchase every day. Told you id get half. Whats in your wallet . Weve always been on the forefront of innovation. When the world called for speed. When the world called for stealth. Intelligence. Endurance. Affordability. Adaptability. And when the world asked for the future. Staying ahead in a constantly evolving world. Thats the value of performance. Northrop grumman. And i had like this four wheninch band of bumpsles it started on my back. E. That came around to the front of my body. And the pain from it was it was excruciating. I did not want anyone to brush into me to cause me more pain than i was already enduring. I wanted to just crawl up in a ball and just, just wait till it passed. A quick clarification. Earlier we reported the navy yard was mostly reopened including building 197. Most of the navy yard is reopened, but building 197 and the base gym are still closed. Meanwhile the trif yarks the answer about when was the cbo created, who was president at the time, richard nixon. He officially created the Budget Office as part of a new law in 1974. It was sort of something that was forced upon everybody. Forced upon the president. But he signed it into law. Congratulations hyperinflation. We know what youre information or against i hope. Send your trivia questions in. Well be right back. [ male announcer ] the allnew 2014 lexus is. This is your move. [ male announcer ] the allnew 2014 lexus is. Always go the extra mile. To treat my low testosterone, i did my research. My doctor and i went with axiron, the only underarm low t treatment. Axiron can restore t levels to normal in about 2 weeks in most men. Axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. Women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. Report these symptoms to your doctor. Tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. Serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs. Common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. Ask your doctor about the only underarm low t treatment, axiron. As we were telling you, Caroline Kennedy will be testifying and u. S. Ambassador to japan. She is not a current diplomat, but nor does she have any Foreign Policy experience, per se. Instead, her selection is considered to be a political one. And thats usually code word for an appointment typically given to big donors or highprofile allies and shes in the political ally than the donor category. Its happening a bit more ununder this president than it did under his most recent predecessors and we put together this research for you. Under president obama more than 35 of the ambassador ships have been in the political category. Under george w. Bush the rate was 30 . Under bill clinton, less than 28 and under george w. Bush under 30 . Records for Ronald Reagan were incomplete and you have to go back to ford to find a certain percentage of political appointees and lets bring in Kay Bailey Hutchison and didi meyers and david nakamura. This is par for the course in washington and what is always interesting and obviously, we know donors, its usually a donor that gets written in france. With Caroline Kennedy its usually the japanese want a political celebrity. Theyve had baker in the past and walter mondale. I spent a couple of years in japan and i talked to folks at the Japan Embassy and theyre very excited because she does offer the sheen of celebrity. That said, ive also talked to americans over there and american Foreign Policy folks who were surprised to say the least when her name first came up six months ago. I thought more people thought it would be paris. Yeah. Even our secretary of state doesnt have much experience in asia. What does that mean . The japanese are excited that it means something. The name of Kennedy Still weighs large. Theyre off used to reward people who have been helpful to a president or who can be helpful to a president and in the case of someone like Caroline Kennedy she was hugely helpful in the early days of they were looking for a way to pay her back for a while. I dont think she was looking to be paid back, but theres nobody in either party in this country that wont return a call from Caroline Kennedy. Theres nobody and also someone who has been in the spotlight her entire life, and i think shell be a fantastic ambassador to japan and shell be great and just an outside the box choice. The other thing thats always been interesting to me is were the only country who does it this way. Our closest allies get political celebrities or donors. I like it. I think that president s should have this discretion. I think putting the kind of people like Caroline Kennedy out into the world is great for america and i think the president should have a lot oflyway, as long as its not something that will make america lose face. Vettings been has picked up. A couple of interesting points. The one that surprised me the most is the former executive director of the dnc. Very high ranking obama political. This isnt just fund raising and this is the guy writing the field plan is now the u. S. Ambassador to south africa. Also . Japan, its fascinating to see the u. S. Has focused diplomatically much more on china where jon huntsman and gary lock. With china and russia and countries that are friendly adversaries, all of a sudden the more serious people and not to say that some of the Political Parties arent serious, but they put more people with larger resumes. Shameless plugs. I have a piece in this weeks atlantic and the first of three pieces coming out on the big trip i took to new zealand. You were in new zealand too long. Sorry. Today, north texas giving day. If you do your Charity Today the Community Foundation will give a match. Very nice. My husband at politico. Look for his byline for the most insightful writing in all of washington. Hes the most insightful writing. Is there any doubt . This is a tough week for everybody at the navy. My wife works at the navy. A lot of people think of the folks as faceless, nameless bureaucrats and i want to give a plug to the folks doing their jobs and continue to do so in serving and lets stop, theres a great piece in the post about where is why are we so numb . Where is the anger . Where is the outrage . Thats it for this edition of the daily rundown. Tomorrow, why fdr kept his third virtual campaign. Up next, chris jansing. Byebye. People dont have to think about where their electricity comes from. They flip the switch and the light comes on. Its our job to make sure that it does. 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