Howard fineman, take us back to the mood of the country september 2002. Wounded, proud, united, as you said. Still following symbols and signs and acts of unitedness in the country and signs of americanness. Whether it was baseball games you were watching. What i did on the First Anniversary of 9 11 was go out to mount vernon where George Washington lived and appreciated the beauty and peace of the place. I think everybody in america looked for signs and symbols of togetherness. Chris andrea, i remember being at Yankee Stadium back then with Rudy Giuliani and everybody back then just rooting for the yankees. You wad had to do that that year. It was an amazing feeling, a feeling of we were in this together but at the same time there were warning signs that many people overlooked and that was the lack of questioning authority, not looking deeply enough about accepting the verities of the government as part of its rush to war. I think we all felt vulnerable still and i think there was this sense that perm nated permeated then and still to a degree now that lives with us over that decade of vulnerability and a sense of what can we do to protect ourselves and our children and our families and i dont think thats changed that much over the last decades. Chris but the unity, i remember riding on the j train in Downtown Manhattan and somebody was playing the sax, which is the great mournful instrument and i just thought theres something really quiet about new york. Its a noisy town. Maybe contemplation, maybe respect. That was also the mood more recently at boston after the marathon bombing. Right. The thing is that you have to look at the 15 years before, which were an unprecedented riod of peace, prosperity, invulnerability. This country for the last decade reencountered reality as the rest of the world knows it. I think the word were all reaching for is fear. For a long time that was not part of the american calculus and after 9 11 and with the tumult in the economy that became a dominant force in the mood in america. There was a lot of fear. Elizabeth . Heres what i remember about september 2002. That was the month after a very long month the president , president bush spent in crawford, texas, when there were a lot of rumblings about moving to war in iraq. We came back to washington in september of 2002 and there was a resolution in congress that authorized the war in iraq that occurred just six months later. I remember a sense of fear certainly but also a white house moving that fear towards war in iraq and the mood in washington was unlike a lot of septembers when you come back to school sort of, the mood was frenzied, on edge, very tense and it built and built and built over the next six months until he invasion of march 2003. Chris bob woodward, you wrote about the war in a number of books. George w. Bush had his finest moment at the site of 9 11 when from the the bullhorn firefighter and said were going to get back for this. And then his decision to go to war in iraq. Yes, what truly happened and i think because the theme during this period, are we well led . And that was always pulsing in the background about bush and his high water marc was probably the bombing and invasion of afghanistan because that seemed like it was working. There was a lot of feeling, oh, my god, the war in afghanistan was over and of course, we went even close to that end. Chris let me go to Andrew Sullivan in london. Andrew, welcome to our group. Thank you. I think looking back 9 11 was the most successful terrorist attack in the history of the world,. It terrorized and traumatized so many of us out of our senses. When you look at what happened in boston and you see they shot a whole city down because an unarmed teenager was in a boat in the backyard, i realize how profound that psychological trama was. It still affects the way we think or dont think, the way we react with our gut feelings. And we had a government that did things like institute illegal torture immediately upon this event happening. It was a grieve yowls wound in ur psyche and still hasnt healed. Chris katty kay, britain has been through a lot more, a more continuous period of terrorism from the i. R. A. And did everybody go to general quarters in england . No, i grew up living with the threat of trim. We never had trash terrorism. We never had trash cans in the subways, that kind of thing. But it did produce in america this extraordinary feeling of selfdoubt as well as the fear and unity. To me that was punctuate bid two headlines. The first was of september 12 of zpwun the headline was well all americans and the world was behind americans and a year later there was a news weaning cover that said why do they hate us . For the first time americans are saying the world doesnt love us. Chris what changed . It was the rush to war in iraq. It was as simple as that. All around the world you had massive peace merges from people saying we should not be invading iraq and i think the world looked to america and said why are you going into war in iraq . And the questions so long afterwards have still not been really answered. Chris david, how much do you think of that was european muscle memory . In the cold war therefore assive merges in places. People have always have hostile and complicated feelings about americans. Loving and hating it. Weve always had to deal with that as weve become a global super power. We had a fear but also pretty much a sense of confidence. The cold war was a major influence, i think on how we reacted. It was wound down very successfully. We had a sense our institutions basically worked, that iraq and afghanistan were going to work. And since iraq and afghanistan, leading into the financial crisis and a bunch of other stuff, institutions have failed us. Chris the military still has a high number. Explain . Because its about service and people admire that. I covered the war in 2003, the American Invasion and ill never forget the sense of confidence that was so america. That was the period of shock and awe and in this 10 years we learn it would lifts of American Military power, that as strong as we are, there are so many things we cant do. Iraq was a tough slog all the way. Afghanistan has been the same. As a journalist i learned in these 10 years to question more. I mean, our job is to ask questions. I look back at 2003, 2002, i wish id asked more questions about what the government was asserting. In that fall, that was when the intelligence n. I. E. , the intelligence assessment about weapons of mass destruction was in the safe room in the senate and only a handful of senators even bothered to read the classified version. The declassified version that was put out was all very assertive. All the caveats were in the jet version and the senate wrote it without reading. I think in the decade or so sense weve all learned not to trust intelligence. Chris it was divided on the democratic side largely on the issue of iraq. Senator clinton at the time said im for the war, basically. Senator obama said im opposed to it. Beam go to the general quarters and said it was going to be a leftright fight rather than a fight over institutions. Did we miss the big thing, intelligence . People retreated not only to their corners but to further corners than ever before. David talked about the lack of trust now in institutions. Thats a huge story over the course of the last 10 years. The other big domestic story about the iraq war is polarization. There is no more dominant theme than the increased partisanship, the bitterness, the hate in many cases that sprouted on both sides. There was a brief oneyear period after 9 11 where polization vanished for a moment and then with iraq came right back and gotten worse and ors. Chris so from vietnam to watergate, a bit of a pause and right back. Kathleen, should we be arguing more about insurance institutions and who were trusting . Sort of bouncing off of what andrew said, the words that come to mind for me are temporary insanity. All of that fear we talk about, that con vealed the congealled we were so thrown off balance. We lost our equilibrium as a country and each of us did scurry to our comfort zone, that would be our more politically entrenched positions. I think we were all willing to do whatever nanook to make sure that never happened again. Now we can sit and say gosh, we should have asked for questions but at the time all we wanted to do was take action. Chris cynthia first then mike. Well, there was a different attitude, i think, outside washington and new york. The terror had happened right here and i remember how fearful friends of mine were who lived in washington and new york. But that sense of terror and panic didnt necessarily pervade the rest of the country. But this is where our insurance institutional leaders sat and institutional leaders sat and i think they helped pass that sense of panic to the rest of the country, but i also think that domestically there were some greater risks and anxieties out there that had been masked that between 911 and the financial panic just became much more clear. One of those was the economic one. While all of us are more or less secure professionals, there are many people out there with College Degrees who were already living with a deep sense of economic anxiety that nobody had really articulated well and then the financial crisis came along and exposed all that. Chris sure did. We have to halt it there but well be right back. We have to halt it there but well be right back. The Chris Matthews show is vo ive always thought the best part about this country is that we get to create our future. You get to take ownership of the choices you make. The person you become. Ive been around long enough to recognize the people who are out there owning it. The ones getting involved and staying engaged. Theyre not sitting by as their life unfolds. And theyre not afraid to question the path theyre on. Because the one question they never want to ask is how did i end up here . I started schwab for those people. People who want to take ownership of their investments, like they do in every other aspect of their lives. Chris welcome back. Ts pick it up where we left off. Mike duffy . Something that abides in the decade and moving through today is that a desire to the public to go back to being normal. Thats what made the unity short. Can we go back to normal now . Chris whats the most recent normal . I think the Great Recession of the last five years has reinforced the feeling, i want to go back to the way it was before. Didnt dick cheney talk about the new normal . Exactly but i dont think we really believe it yet as individuals. Starting with 9 11 there was a brch moment of unity and then we wanted to heal so the divisions that started before that event are back with us. Chris kelly, we didnt talk about one institution that gets no good press anymore. Congress. I was thinking has the congress reflected the american mentality on these things . I think one of the things that congress wrestles with because they are part of the government is this public mistrust of the governments ability to do the right thing, to get things done. Whether it is the assessment of intelligence, whether it is going back to the era of katrina, how the government could serve people in congress. The sense of security. Is it the right level or not . Those who are elected around sure themselves because of all the polarization. Theres the political fight of the moment and then the more genuine sense of wanting to get it right, to do a good job. Chris it seems to me that youve been waiting for this moment. I want to you size up that 11year span. Take the big issues of intelligence, belief in institutions, security and our natural marked rebelliousness against government. There were two wars against iraq. The kuwait war was when the first george bush announced that the vietnam syndrome is over. He was right and that wasnt an entirely good thing. First in kuwait and then in afghanistan. We rolled over those enemies relatively easily and i think that gave us overconfidence about not only the practicality of invading iraq but also the justness of it, the rationale behind it, and this affects our interpretation of intelligence. You can still fight intelligence based on the attitudes in your head as youre looking at and it that led us into overreacting, if you will, around the patriot act that leads us now to question so many institutions and the information that we get, wondering who can you trust . The words security and intelligence mean something completely different outside of washington. [laughter] and security for people i think was dominated by a few things that they saw in their neighborhoods in their communities. Foreclosure signs. Strip malls that were closed. Katrina, watching that on television and wondering if the creek rises in my community will the gover so. [ gasps ] these are sandras homemade yummy, scrumptious bars. Hmm . Maybe. Rich chocolate chips. I just wanted you to eat more fiber. And then the awards started coming in, and i became addicted to the fame. Topped with chocolaty drizzle. And fraudulence. Im in deep, babe. You certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one. Fiber beyond recognition. Try new fiber one Peanut Butter protein bars. Chris welcome back. This is a shorter discussion. Quick answers to this big question in our 11 years it seems that our politics have grown more divisive. The right has moved farther right and the left has dug in its heels. Wheres the country at large . Well, the politics stinks. Is that short enough for you . Chris anybody thinks it doesnt stink . Anybody here think its not worse than anything weve ever covered . The good news is the polization is primarily an elite phenomenon. Its the institutions we work in, the congress, the way the politicians acts. The country is still basically the country, a bell curve country. Chris i get a sense of from the hill you have boehner as the speaker worried about his lue innocents and lieutenants and theyre all with their ears to the ground about this big block of Tea Party People. And the Tea Party People seem to be worried about the next primary. So isnt the it the voters . No, when i got here there ere people like jack kemp with entrepreneurs with their own individual agendas. Now theyre scared. Theres a lack of initiative. People i think are legitimately turned off on whats happening in washington, including the media. Chris your thoughts . Im in the media and not just an old news media but the new media as well. Ocial media, etc. , has empowered ordinary people, dog gone it, to be able to have more of a say. Its made members of congress more independent on their traditional leadership because they can just go right to the web with an inflammatory sound bite or something and have money flowing immediately. There is a vast center of the population that is still a fairly moderate population. The trouble is the center is silent. Chris lets go to andrew in london. Why did people love the picture of big Chris Christie of new jersey, republican, walking with beaches with a democratic president on the every of the campaign . Even the election . Because it showed the potential of barack obama if the republicans had not decided to demonize him for the getgo. I dont agree with david, by the way. I think this polization comes from the bottom, not the top and its fueled by an increasing alienation of people in the middle of the country who understandably feel left behind by these big economic changes and by social changes as well. A lot of the people that used to be balancing that in the middle have moved to the cities and the polization is increasing from the bottom up. Were just responding to it. Chris break the tie, john holman. I hate to disagree with Andrew Sullivan on something but i do think that the country is not where West Virginia is. Theres discourse on the right theres no doubt the right has moved really far to the right in our official dialogue. I dont think that conservatives, actual people are as far right as their representsives and i think thats hi. Im henry winkler. And im here to tell homeowners that are 62 and older about a great way to live a better retirement. Its called a reverse mortgage. [ male announcer ] call right now to receive your free dvd and booklet with no obligation. It answers questions like how a reverse mortgage works, how much you qualify for, the ways to receive your money, and more. Plus, when you call now, youll get this magnifier with l. E. D. Light absolutely free. When you call the experts at one reverse mortgage today, youll learn the benefits of a governmentinsured reverse mortgage. It will eliminate your monthly mortgage payments and give you taxfree cash from the equity in your home. And heres the best part you still own your home. Take control of your retirement today. Want to start the day with something heart healthy and delicious . Youre a talking bee. Honey nut cheerios has whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol. And it tastes good . Sure does right. Wow. Delicious, right . Yeah. Its the honey, it makes it taste so. Well, would you look at the time. Whats the rush . Be happy. Be healthy. Chris thats all for today. This great group is back next week for more, as we celebrate our 11 years own the air. See you here next week. [captioning made possible the thing is bee, i got my mom wrapped around my little finger. Do you . Yeah, i do. Huh. I said i want honey nut cheerios uh huh. And she just totally caved. Its all about psychology buzz. Psychology . As long as i dont tell him the cereal is healthy he cant get enough. Sad, really. I kind of feel bad that i tricked him. But. It was easy. Surprise. Uh, ha ha ha. Nbc bay area news begins with breaking news. Jiet now at 5 00 we are looking live now at the wreckage of Asiana Airline flight 214 at sfo. We have new information on the final seconds of that flight that are providing insight into what went wrong. I am terry dwyer. Well get to the investigation. First we begin with new information on one of the teenagers who was killed and the concerns tonight that she may have been killed after the plane crash. Nbc bay area cheryl herd is at sfo. She begins our expanded Team Coverage of the crash of flight 214. Cheryl. Diane, theres no doubt about