out an see military members starting the line up there for the greeting of the pope once he lands roughly around 4:00 p.m. the president and first lady on the tarmac. kate childs graham, thank you for joining me. i appreciate it. thank you. now to the political showdown on capitol hill. democrats blocked a gop bill banning late-term abortions. today s vote comes less than 48 hours ahead of the address of the pope to the congress and amid a broader debate of whether or not to strip planned parenthood federal funding and trying to avoid another government shutdown. kelly o donnell is at the white house. the outcome no surprise. was it more of a social appeal to conservative voters? reporter: it is certainly that but it is also sort of the building blocks of trying to figure out a way to address this issue that is important to conservatives and at the same time set up a stage where there would not be a government shutdown. we ll get that o that in a mome.
labels or boxes. and even though especially i think american labels or boxes. he s his own man. and what i what i think is that, you know, the most appropriate label that i ve heard this week has been the people s pope because he is really a pope who s listening to the people and that s why so many folks are responding to him. so pope francis famously said back in 2013 if someone is gay and searches for the lord and has goodwill, who am i to judge? people thought then it signaled a shift towards same-sex relationships within the catholic church. but is that accurate, kate? well, i think we saw what we saw or heard was a shift in tone and we shouldn t undersell a shift in tone. that s important for a church around as long as the catholic church has been and need to see follow is swift, decisive
claudio, knowing the stir the papal visit incited there, give us a sense of what america is in for next. reporter: basically, it s easily summed up. expect the unexpected. the pope of loves to just go off the cuff. now, most of his speeches will be in spanish so maybe it s about time to learn that language, but there will be only four speeches in english, but he always goes off cuff, especially when he s around the youth. now, the one thing the pope loves to do is to get in touch with his flock so he doesn t like to be he likes to be he doesn t like to be at an arm s length. that s why the security, the massive security plans have been put in place for obvious reason during his trip to d.c. and new york and philadelphia will be probably a problem for that. he loves to just stop the popemobile, loves to get off, likes to pick up a kid. he loves children. of course, the disabled and the poor. and we love to see whether he will be allowed to get anywhere close to the flock
dionne, kate childs graham. thanks so much. today s tweet of the day is reflective in ways in which the church has not changed. it comes from pope francis, i join the march for life in washington with my prayers, may god help us respect all life, especially the most vulnerable. . what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus severe cold and flu speeds relief to these eight symptoms. [ breath of relief ] thanks. [ male announcer ] you re welcome. ready? go. [ male announcer ] you re welcome. my dad has aor afib.brillation, he has the most common kind. .it s not caused by a heart valve problem. dad, it says your afib puts you at 5 times greater risk of a stroke. that s why i take my warfarin every day. but it looks like maybe we should ask your doctor about pradaxa. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate). .was proven superior to warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke. and unlike warfarin, with no regular blood tests or dietary restrictions. hey thanks for callin
to the vatican. now the two, the president and the pope, have never talked, but on march 27th during a four-day trip to europe, he will meet with pope francis. the associated press describes it this way, in the complicated relationship between the obama administration and the catholic church, the white house sees the popular new pontiff and his emphasis on the plight of the poor as a form of moral validation on the president s economic agenda. i want to bring in washington post columnist and msnbc contributor e.j. dionne and columnist and reporter of call to action, kate childs-graham. good morning. good to be with you. when president obama was at the vatican in 2009, pope handed him a document. are you thinking this is going to be a different kind of meeting? you know, when you go back to that meeting, i believe the pope also handed him his economic document and on economics,