country since medicare passed nearly 50 years ago. he got that done. tonight, once again, before a joint session of congress, president obama faced his stiff political head winds and called for another big new initiative. one to fend off the unspoken, but looming, threat that the country may be about to plunge back into recession. after barely escaping a depression brought on by the financial system collapse at the end of the george w. bush administration, after a recovery that tried and tried to bring us back all the way, but now seems to have stopped in its tracks, can washington act to stop a double economic dip? can the gleefully obstruction republicans who control the house and act as a super empowered or not? 447 billion dollar plan 60/40 tax cuts to spending. now this was not a high concept speech. this was not a vague goals kind of speech. the president has a piece of legislation with very specific proposals in it. many of them taken from the republican side of the aisle. and he would like that legislation passed, please, right now. >> i am sending this congress a plan that you should pass right away. it's called the american jobs act. pass this jobs bill. pass this jobs bill. pass this bill. pass this jobs plan right away. pass this jobs bill. pass this bill. you should pass it right away. pass this jobs bill. pass it again. right away. pass this jobs bill. this plan is the right thing to do right now. you should pass it and i intend to take that message to every quarter of this country. >> ignoring calls from his democratic base to name and shame the republican party for having blocked economic progress thus far. president obama instead noted over and over again tonight the republican origin or past republican support for many of the ideas he was asking republicans to vote for tonight. >> everything in here is the kind of proposal that has been spousted by both democrats and republicans, including many who sit here tonight. 50 house republicans have proposed the same payroll tax cut that's in this plan. this jobs plan builds on a program in georgia that several republican leaders have highlighted. i agree we can't afford wasteful spending and i agree there are some rules and regulations that do put an unnecessary burden on businesses at a time when they can least afford it. every proposal i've laid out tonight is the kind that has been supported by democrats and republicans in the past. >> sort of a push me pull you move with the republicans he needs to get his jobs bill passed, president obama tonight not only tried to woo them with the bipartisan pedigree he also called out the constraints that republicans may perceive themselves to be under. constraints that would prevent them from voting for this jobs bill. >> i know that some of you have sworn ojs to never raise any tacks on anyone for as long as you live. now is not the time to carve out an exception and raise middle class taxes which is why you should pass this bill right away. this larger notion that the only thing we can do to restore prosperity is just dismantle government and refund everybody's money and let everyone write their own rules and tell everyone they are on their own, it's not who we are. it's not the story of america. yes, we are individuals. yes, we are strong and self-reliant. and it has been the drive and initiative of our workers and entrepreneurs made this economy the engine and the envy of the world. but there is always been another threat running throughout our history. a belief that we are all connected. and that there are some things we can only do together as a nation. >> taking aim there at what may be the less politically sus sustainable positions of the republican party's activist base characterizing the only thing we can do is dismantle government and let everybody write their own rules and tell everybody they are on their own and taking aim at that position of the republican party's activist base tonight. the president pivoted and took aim at what he sees his own base. saying tonight he would be willing to consider changes to medicare. since he would be opening medicare for surgery in washington under the care of a republican minority which says they would like at it with a chain saw, please! that was a line about medicare that will cause some sleepless nights on the left and among america's seniors and elsewhere. the president obama said the reappearance of obama, the political fighter. the confident knows where he is going guy who knows how, among other things to win elections. >> to let the economy roll we have to roll back hidden fees by credit card companies and laws that prevent the health insurance industry from short changing patience. i reject the idea we have to strip away collective bargaining rights to compete in a local economy. regardless of the arguments we have had in the past, regardless of the arguments we will have in the future, this plan is the right thing to do right now. you should pass it. and i intend to take that message to every corner of this country. >> joining us now from the white house is white house senior adviser valerie valerie, thank you for your time. >> my pleasure. how are you? >> i'm great. every night there is an address by a joint session to congress, it's a tyne li little christmas. >> it's a good night for you. >> well, tell me. you look back at this president's choices about big speech venues. he, of course, has had two state of the unions sessions before joint session of congress and the other address happens after the president is inaugurated and sort of a state of the union but not really. the only other time he addressed a join session was unveil his health reform plan. is this as big a deal? >> absolutely. there is nothing more important to the president right now than getting our economy going, putting people back to work, putting a little extra money in the pockets of folks who are struggling as they face this tough, tough economic time. and i think the message that he made very clear tonight is the congress should pass this plan and they should do it right this minute and that it's fully paid for. it is bipartisan in nature. these are -- provisions in here both the democrats and republicans supported before and no reason we can't move forward this minute. tlrp benefits in here for small business. there are opportunities for construction. in fact, rachel, i was thinking about you this morning. when i woke up, i turned on the tv and i saw the commercial that you have standing in front of a bridge and you're saying that, you know, the private sector can't do everything. there are certain things that americans expect their government to do. our infrastructure is vitally important. putting people back to work with construction is important. our roads, our bridges, our sewers, our waterways, our dams, this is what makes our country so special and as we try to compete in this global marketplace, we need to rebuild our infrastructure. we need to rebuild our schools. we need to make sure that teachers and first responders and veterans who are coming home from serving our country so proudly have jobs waiting for them. we know all across the country companies are discriminating against people who have been out of work for a long time. this bill has a very important provision where if you've been out of work sever six months, will give a company a benefit if they will hire you so we can get the long term unemployed back to work with the skills they need. no reason we can't move forward precisely and promptly. they will make it easy for the president next week. >> next week? >> next week. >> does that mean the president has a plan for passage? is he planning to meet with the individual committee chairman and do a full-court press to lobby for this passage? >> the president plans to do a full-court press with the american people. he'll be in virginia tomorrow and ohio next week. he said he intends to take this message all over the country. the reason why he wanted to do the speech this evening before congress is not just speak to the members of congress yet important they hear the message but important he have a chance to speak directly to the american people. they are out there struggling trying to make end's meet and they are the ones who elected the people who are representing them here in washington and now is the time for washington to remember that and act. >> congressional democrats, among a lot of other challenges this year, have been sort of delighted about the prospect of running against congressional republicans who voted for the paul ryan plan to kill medicare. even dog catcher races are delighted to be a part of the party standing up for medicare given so many republicans voted to get rid of it by turning it into a coupon program and voucherizing. given that the president unilaterally offering tonight to tinker with medicare himself. does the white house not recognize the political impact, not just on the president's re-election chances, but on democrats on every ticket in the country for muddying those waters and making it seem like maybe democrats can't be trusted with medicare either? >> no, it doesn't muddy the waters at all. in fact, if you listen carefully to what the president said and if you look at the bill, he intends to strengthen medicare. he intends to protect existing beneficiaries and you're right. the republicans intended to dismantle it completely. so there is a clear contrast. the president is fighting to make sure that medicare is available for future generations and that we protect those who are depending on it right now. so, no, i don't think we muddied the waters at all. i think he clarified the waters and he strengthened his position because he made it very clear that he intends to protect medicare. we do have tough choices ahead, rachel. i think he laid that out this evening and there are some pretty clear clois. the republicans for example said they want to protect the income of the very wealthy and corporations that are extremely profitable. the president said we need a fairer system. we need balance and those who most depend upon government have government when they need it and extend the unemployment benefits for people out of work and make sure that youth and disadvantaged families have jobs throughout the summer and the throughout the year, so they can experience what it's like to have money in their pocket and develop lifelong skills that will keep them employed over the long haul. we need to make sure we have the ability to offer mortgage refinancing for people who are under water with their mortgages and restructure those and make sure that our neighborhoods that have been blighted by these mortgage foreclosures have tools they need to get rejuvenated again and we need to make sure our teachers are employed. we have so many states around our country who are facing these tough budget times and are having to lay off teachers. we want to make sure we put those teachers back to work and that we put them in schools where our children are in good schools where the roofs are protected and they are renovated and they have the technology and the labs that they need so that they can compete in this global marketplace. everything i'm describing to you, rachel, is a part of the american dream and a part of the fabric and makes our country so special and the president really wanted to call on congress to remind them of what our mutual responsibilities are to each other and to the country that the americans who elected them. and i think that it was an optimistic message. he is confident that if we put politics aside that we really can work together and that is what he is going take to the american people beginning tomorrow morning. >> one last question for you on a different topic i did not expect to ask you. the potential terror threat we have heard about in the last few hours. can you let us know if the president is fully gauged on that issue along with his responsibilities of the speech tonight? >> absolutely. he was briefed this morning and received updates throughout the day and ordered his team to redouble our efforts as we go into this weekend where we are having, obviously, the tenth anniversary of 9/11 and he is absolutely vigilant in doing everything he can to protect the american people. >> white house senior adviser valerie jarrett, many thanks for your time tonight. i know you get up early if you see the ads with me in the hard hat. >> the argument sounds much better without the blue hat so a good move you guys didn't go with that tonight. nice to see you. thank you. the latest on the terrorism alert we have been notified about tonight. also a big blackout in san diego and other parts of the far southwest tonight. millions of people affected. plus coming up we have a rather ecstatic reaction to tonight's speech from president obama from an economist who is used to finding himself more on the president's left flank. that's all coming up. i want healthy skin for life. [ female announcer ] improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno. [ male announcer ] sitting. waiting. hoping. that's a recipe for failed investing. open an e-trade account and open doors, seize opportunities, take action with some of the most powerful yet easy-to-use trading tools on the planet all built to help you maximize the potential of every dollar you invest. successful investing isn't done by throwing ideas against the wall and hoping. it's done by lowering your costs and raising your expectations by using unbiased research and powerful screeners to build a diversified portfolio with stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and every etf sold. and we'll help you every step of the way. with 5-star research and free education covering everything from the basics to advanced investing strategies. start now and we'll give you up to $500 and let you trade free for 60 days. visit our website, call us, open an account. e-trade. investing unleashed. three days after barack obama defeated john mccain in the 2008 presidential election, three days after that election victory, mr. obama called his first press conference as president-elect of the united states. from his transition headquarters in chicago, a victorious and look at him, notably much younger looking barack obama announced to congress and to the american people what his first priority would be as president. >> the one thing i can say with certainty is that we are going to need to see a stimulus package passed either before or after inauguration. i want to see a stimulus package sooner, rather than later. if it does not get done in the lame duck session, it will be the first thing i get done as president of the united states. >> a stimulus package. that stimulus package ultimately wasn't passed during the lame duck session of congress. that followed the election, but while bush was still president but when president-elect obama, boy king, said there that the stimulus would be the first thing he would get done as president, he was not kidding. less than a month after ing sworn into office, president obama got that stimulus package. inaugurated in late january and congress passed it in february and he immediately signed it into law. they move really fast on that. why did we move really fast on that stimulus? well, we happened to be right in the middle of catastrophic economic free-fall at the time! here is what the economic picture looked like at the time when he was sworn in. in the third quarter of 2008, just before the presidential election, the economy wasn't just not growing, it wasn't just stagnant, it was actually shrinking. getting smaller. that is very, very bad. the economy shrunk by half a percentage point during that quarter which is a big deal when the economy is as big as ours is. but then in the fourth quarter of 2008, look at that. it went off a cliff. the economy shrank. shrank! another 3.8%! that is the situation president obama walked into. free-fall and so we got the stimulus. a piece of legislation that was responsible for not only stopping the free-fall but for propping up an economy that was, frankly, plunging toward depression. instead of the economy shrinking at that rate of 3.8% the stimulus is credited forred adding one or two percentage points and it yu the economy because of the stimulus act, up to 2.9 million people had jobs who otherwise would not have had them. in that sense, even though nothing turned up roses, the stimulus did work and did what it was supposed to do. it made things a lot less bad than they otherwise would be. things were still unspoolg at the in 2009. in december 2009, president obama called for a second round of stimulus. remember? >> even though we have reduced the deluge of job losses to a relative trickle, we are not yet creating jobs at a pace to help all those families who have been swept up in the flood. my economic team has been considering a full range of additional ideas to help accelerate the pace of private sector hiring. >> one of those things that sort of been lost to the political memory hole the last few years because it didn't happen. the lost second stimulus speech. in december 2009, the white house recognized that we needed more stimulus. that we had done some good with the previous stimulus but more was needed. the problem was really bad but nothing materialized. we got health reform but we didn't get a second stimulus. essentially no additional stimulus for the economy since then. since then, here is the most important thing. since then, we have also learned that the whole problem that the stimulus was designed to address, the whole economic problem was way, way worse than we thought it was all along even when they thought it was really bad. remember i said the economy shrunk by half a percent in the third quarter of 2008? turns out it did not shrink by a half percent. it actually shrunk by 3.7%. ugh. turns out it wasn't 3.8%, actually, it was 8.9%! that is not a typo. that's how fast the economy was shrinking. republicans look at this chain of events and say, see? well, the stimulus didn't work. everybody else looks a at these numbers and say the stimulus did something but given what we now know what we were up against, it's clear it was not enough. it's clear we actually did need that second round of stimulus the president was sort of pushing for in december of 2009 but not that hard. what we are seeing in the economy is the effect of not getting further stimulus. not only given that the economy has proven to be resiliently bad but way worse than we thought it was when we initially designed the things we were going to do to try to fix it. the hope it is not too late but time is up and we got to do something now. >> the people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. the question tonight is whether we will meet ours. the question is whether in the face of an ongoing national crisis we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy. ultimately, our recovery will be driven not by washington but by our business and our workers, but we can help. we can make a difference. there are steps we can take right now to improve people's lives. >> joining us now is jared better thansteen, a former member of the economic team. he is an msnbc contributor. jared, thanks very much for your time tonight. >> my pleasure. thank you for inviting me. >> i have been watching your tweets and so i know that vaguely happy but let me get your baseline impression of the relationship between the scale of the problem and the scale of the solution that the president offered tonight. >> that's where i thought the speech was par