are they ready to tell max baucus, max, you're on the wrong side of this? >> well, you know, ed, there's a process that's going on now. first of all, the senate finance committee, which has put in the longest period of drafting a bill that is built on the president's principles, took them, you know, more than 15 days, you know, to work this through. they haven't voted yet. they still have to vote on what is going to be in their bill. then senator reid who is the leader of the senate, is going to pull together the committee bill from the health committee, senator harkin's committee, this senator baucus' committee, put the common elements together. there is tremendous agreement among all of the bills. they're all built on the president's principles. lowering cost, expanding coverage, deficit neutral, protecting you against unfair insurance practices. every one of these bills has got these components in it. they're going to merge the bills and vote sometime in the middle of the month. >> when it coming to a guaranteed mechanism to give the private sector compe

the only way that we will get there is something like the original max baucus plan. i do not know if this new plan will do it. shepard: by way of example only, my brother owns an ice-cream store. it is not as busy as it used to be. not as easy as it used to be. were a government to set up not- for-profit ice-cream stores, that would be it. my brother and his family would have to close down. if all of the ice-cream stores had to close down, they would go down in quality and up in price. why is that not what would happen but a government option? i am not saying that is what i believe, but there are millions of americans who see this as black and white, for-profit going out of business. all we are left with is not for profit. health care costs go up, health care goes down. >> in massachusetts these insurance plans are not for profit and they make plenty of profit. i belong to one. as someone who works in a private company. my health care is from a non- profit company. they provide the public option in massachusetts. i do not know if there is a way to bring it without co

what was in this amendment that moved max baucus and kent conrad? >> i think, ed, we hit the sweet spot. that is to say we are going to provide leverage by giving states the opportunities to opt in and they are going to do it by negotiating with private insurers. so you're taking the best of practises that exist today to drive down insurance prices. when we put that on the table, people saw that is what has happened in my state and what we can deliver for americans. >> give us an example, what is happening in your state, is there one company that has the bulk of the business, is that what it is? >> no, what happens is someone -- if you think about it, individuals right to go and negotiate with insurers, they're not getting anywhere. so when you come in with a big population, as we have done in washington state, and say the state is going to negotiate and you want access to this 100,000 people, you better give us the best price, that kind of negotiations have driven down the price 30% to 40%. so we want to see that same type of leverage used against

buy their health insurance or go to jail, courtesy max baucus. to parody my grandma, i suppose i have no choice but to shove the umbrella up my backside but you're going to have a fight on your hands when you try to open it. states can form their own public options but it will be limited to people with incomes of 133% and 200% of the federal poverty level who do not get insurance at work. >>> speaker pelosi says a federal plan will be sent to the floor. and boehner proved he knows next to nothing about anything. >> i'm still trying the first american to talk to who's in favor of the public option, other than a member of congress or the administration. i have not talked to one. i get to a lot of places. i have not had anyone come up to me and lobby for the public option. this is about as unpopular as a garlic milk shake. >> mr. boehner needs to get out of the tanning salon more often. a recent pole shows that voters in his own state, that's ohio, sir, in case you've forgotten. buying from a public plan or private health insurers, that's what's cal

what is the likelihood that reid will down the votes and say it wasn't with max baucus, but with the plan, it will be there. >> if you read the body look, the public statements and he go we're getting from the majority leader's office, what he talked about is a bill that can pass. when you look at his history, he's been a vote counter in the senate for a long time. a deal maker. that's a big part of the job. he believes at least where we sit right now, that the votes are not there for a public option. the house certainly has a lot more interest in it and perhaps the white house can weigh in one way or another and give everybody on capitol hill some final direction. but if you look at everything harry reid is saying, it does not appear a public option is likely. >> we saw the collegiality at the end. what was your favorite moment of all the we're stuff that happened? >> i'm so glad you asked. i watched hours and hour and hours of this. sort of a geek who likes these thing. i had fun. twice they sang happy birthday to fellow memberful to hear chuck grassley singing happy birthday to ki

. >>> which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow, mad max and the baucus caucus, prepare their final stages of their betrayal, the finance committee will finish debate intimately but not vote until next week to give republicans time to study the bill. that should give them all free trips to time shares, too. the truth of democratic sellouts to the health care industries is not enough for michele bachmann, she is back to telling the guys god told her to tell. >> now the federal government is going the final step and they're saying, let's put sex clinics in our schools, can you believe this? >> well, you said it, of course i can't believe it. >>> republicans for the public option, including dr. charles who gave the public option for flood insurance, socialism that helps people, bad, socialism that helps property, good. >>> sarah palin has a winner at bookstores, one problem, her co-author, her last project is defending his god which is better than a muslim's god and she called the democrats the party of treason and subversion. >>> newt gingrich real eyes he gave an award to

. >>> which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow, mad max and the baucus caucus, prepare their final stages of their betrayal, the finance committee will finish debate intimately but not vote until next week to give republicans time to study the bill. the timeshares to mack, the truth of democratic sellouts to the health care industries is not enough for michelle backman, she is back to telling the guys god told her to tell. >> now the federal government is going the final step and they're saying, let's put sex clinics in our schools, can you believe this? >> well you said it, of course i can't believe it. >>> republicans for the public option, including dr. charles bus flood insurance, potentialism that helps people bad, socialism that helps prod, good. >>> sarah palin has a winner at bookstores, one problem, her co-author, her last project is defending his god which is better than a muslim's god and she called the democrats the party of treasure son and subversion. >>> gingrich gives -- and you'll never believe who just drew the birthers and loathsome rules. >> warning

if you can't pay your medical bill, max baucus has a plan. >> i want the bill. >> so send max baucus your health care bill! all of them! >> and why not? because colbert is highlighting the $3.2 million max baucus collected from the health insurance industry and he suggests that baucus would be able to help those who aren't able to afford their health care. >> he is on to something. no competition, no choice whatsoever for anybody so god bless him. nice to see we know who is in control anyway. you got anything else? >> that's it. >> we're back here at the "morning meeting." david brooks taking on rush lame baugh. mccain's campaign manager saying palin would ab disaster. can the gop be saved and can they save our country from the corporate communists? i think maybe they can actually. we're back an after this. you've worked all your life. as the decades have past, the promise of medicare has always been there. and aarp has fought to guarantee none of the benefits you earned were ever taken away. today we're continuing that fight by protecting your freedom to choose the doctors and treat

the finance committee chairman max baucus of schedule it for next week. it will be largely a formality. he is expected to round up enough votes to approve the estimated $900 billion bill. the choice in this election for governor is really pretty simple: do we move virginia forward by continuing the pro-business economic policies that i helped put in place... or do we go backwards with the failed economic approach that ruined our economy? creigh deeds knows keeping taxes low and controlling spending is the right way to keep virginia the best place to do business. and i agree. because rebuilding confidence in our economy starts with responsible leadership from a new governor like creigh deeds. >>> doctors and nurses in cape fear, north carolina have been dealing with a population explosion. 527 babies have been born at the same hospital in september, an average of 17 babies a day. this birthrate is not a record. officials say their biggest month was january of 1992. it was nine months after commanders and troops returned from the first gulf war. at that tim

very much on max baucus to deliver a bill by the end of the week. the house is going to wait and see what the senate does. everything happening today is a crucial stage leading to the next stage of the bill, where they will be closer to the president's desk. jon: major, thank you. jane: the debate on whether to send more troops to afghanistan is heating up. two roadside bombs, taliban fighters, let's get to steve at the pentagon. he has more overt -- more on what was happening over the weekend. >> it was a bad week for afghanistan, especially this outpost. a military outpost of u.s. afghan forces, overrun by the taliban, they were firing from a mosque on the hillside. there was a daylong standoff. at the end eight american soldiers were dead, two afghan fighters were killed. a similar attack took place that left nine americans dead back in july of last year. jane: obviously the timing in these deaths is a sensitive given the debate of whether to send more troops or not. >> a big debate that you can see both sides of. more troops is what the general

senator max baucus, kent conrad, blanch lincoln, tom carper, bill nelson. the amendment offered by chuck schumer also failed thanks to baucus, conrad and lincoln. it should be noted that when the gop was the majority party, he was more than willing to pass crucial legislation with a simple majority when necessary. in 1991, republicans passed 13% of legislation, the democrats passed about 7% of its bills without that 60-vote supermajority. the author of taking on the system, good evening. >> glad you're back and best of wishes to your father. >> do you think blanch lincoln. just as an example, has ever sat in a recovery room half praying for they loved one and half hoping they have the money to get through it. >> probably the most endangered senate democrat in 2010. so she's in a lot of trouble. two, the public option is very popular in arkansas, by a 3-2 margin, so you would think if you're sitting on the outside, you think, well, if you have trouble getting elected, do the popular thing and that will help you, right? lincoln votes against the public option

. >> chairman max baucus man brought congress closer to -- than it ever has been to passing senate finance reform. where the discussions happening now? >> they are happening discreetly in the back rooms of the democrats will begin have been hovering next week to know the two senate bills that are competing they're keeping their favorites out of the play in helping tmç have at a better chance for the bills merge. helping tmç have at a better chance for the bills merge. >> coming to the end of a beautiful monday. >> you are looking off to the west as the sun slowly sinks. it will be a cool night. bright and sunny tomorrow morning. clouds will increase near the afternoon showers wednesday morning and then clearing in the afternoon triggered beautiful weather thursday and frida and may be another thunderstorm on more and more, the quality of our lives depends on our connections. access to high-speed internet, at home and on the go, is no longer a luxury. it's how our children access education. it's how we find jobs, discover information, and connect with family and friends. it's the spark th

max baucus says he has the committee votes to approve a bill with which president obama would be happy. >>> now to the developing stories of a couple of natural disasters within 24 hours. the death toll is rising in the samoan islands after an earthquake triggered a tsunami on tuesday. in indonesia, people are looking for survivors in the rubble from an earthquake. military ships and planes have arrived to deliver supplies. 150 people are dead with hundreds more missing. >>> in indonesia, the death toll skyrocketed to 1100 dead today. many more people are either trapped are still missing. a 7.6 magnitude earthquake destroyed hundreds of buildings at several schools. rescue efforts a being hampered by fire and a smaller earthquake today. the u.s. has offered assistance for both natural disasters. >>> iran has opened the door for potential progress by agreeing to inspections of its nuclear facilities. the united states is one of six major powers talking to iranian delegates at the highest diplomatic level in 30 years. >> they must demonstrate through concrete steps that it will live up t

did you hear max baucus' response? >> he said it would take me two weeks to get the bill online. >> right. the bill doesn't exist. sean: if it takes you two weeks to get it online -- i could upload it in 30 seconds. >> no, because the bill doesn't exist. you're missing the point. you think there's a bill. sean: all right. so there's no bill. it's not going to be scored. >> this is the case where somebody could make a pretty good movie, "hunting for the bill." sean: that's your next project. >> it is really bizarre. sean: let me ask you this, i don't care if it's national defense or the stimulus or the economy, but what barack obama is doing scares the living daylights out of me. i mean this -- i don't say this is frivolous way, i think he's hurting the economy in a profound way and deep in his soul is more radical than people anticipated, i believe he's a socialist, the idea we would myrrh and dyes -- myrrh anodize -- myrrh andize enemies on the battlefield is frightening. how bad do you think he is? >> i think we do n

for example, cut so much slack to max baucus, a lot of slack to mcchrystal about speaking for the need about 40,000 troops and the defense secretary making the military criticize him, you don't hear anybody in the white house saying, wait a second, you are out of line. >> i haven't talked to anybody in the white house about this, but remember the mantra in the campaign, sort of carried over into the administration, which is no drama obama. they are not about the distracts who is fighting with whom, who is getting in the way of what decision. all about what he is at goal and how do we get there without deviating from our mission. >> sometimes without drama then, people respect afraid of you and you lose some respect from people who might end up crossing you if you feel like you can get away with it. >> in terms of afghanistan, trying to figure out what to do and maybe someone will get knocked upside the head during that process. the health care reform package, in the middle of that process, only talking about the senate finance committee coming out with that bill and the real action hap

ron wyden is fuming over max baucus' watering down of the health care bill. iter v8. it's the most powerful half ton v8 in its class. step up to the best. it's gmc truck month. get 0% apr for 60 months on 2009 gmc sierra or get $6,000 total cash back on select 09 sierra 1500 extended and crew cabs in stock. see your gmc dealer today. >>> the poll data is pretty constant, pretty steady that people do not think that this is a good idea. >> i get to a lot of places and i've not had anyone come up to me, i know i'm inviting it, i've not had anyone come up to me and lobby for the public option. this is about as unpopular as a garlic milkshake. >> you know, i don't know if they're lying or just misinformed or don't get out of the beltway much. if they were watching "the ed show," the republican leaders would know 65% of people support a public option according to the latest cbs/"the new york times" poll. so do 75% of american doctors, according to the "new england journal of medicine." despite that support, the senate finance committee bill does not include a public option.

max baucus a democrat says he has the votes. >> we have to have shared responsibility. that shared responsibility is all americans are in this. we all have to participate. >> reporter: health care legislation could reach the senate by mid-october. >> we don't intoned go to the floor without a public option in our bill. that is my statement on the public option. >> the pure public option or with a trigger, i think that's dead on arrival. >> reporter: amendment passed in the senate finance committee will allow states to negotiate coverage for the poor. it's another form of a public plan that opponents say will limit options, when what is needed is more competition. >> you can go and get a great car quote but you can't with your health insurance. >> reporter: e president says his door is open and the doctors plan to keep knocking. >>> the news edge on maryland. laurel police are looking for two men that tried to entice three small children into their pickup truck. paul wagner highways that story. >> reporter: the men never tried to grab the kids but laurel police are anxio

the max baucus bill is going to cost $235 million. it does not include this fix. i wonder if these provisions will matter a great deal to those physicians who see medicare. patti ann: you are not a huge fan as it is right now? >> there is less fiscal responsibility and more sleight of hand. it is government-centered, not patient-centered. patti ann: what is the direction we should go in? >> looking at what works, by giving patients the power and an awareness of cost, they save money and they are healthy. the direction that we should go is the patient-centered approach. martha: -- patti ann: in your paper you cite barriers to transparency, undermining economically rational behavior. explain. >> when you go in for surgery, they do not know the price until they come out the door. if you were able to know what it was when you went in, if it was same quality in both places, you would go the the one that cost less. you do not know that right now in part because of government regulation. in a patient and howard system it would be different. patti ann: you say that admini

. >>> a spokesman for senator max baucus is calling this insurance industry report which attacks the senate's health care reform, call it is a hatchet job. baucus' ten year $829 billion plan goes before the senate finance committee tomorrow for a vote. what's happening here with this report from the insurance here, insurance companies are claiming by the year 2013, the average family's cost could go up by $1,700. single coverage tax payers, up by $600. by the year 2019 the new plan could raise the average family's plan by $4,000. what's the white house jay well, you can bet they came out saying the analysis was done by the insurance industry and, thus designed to reach a conclusion that benefits the industry themselves. >>> in pakistan there has been yet another deadly attack on the military there. this marks the second one in just two days. at least 41 people were killed in a suicide car bombing happening at a security checkpoint there. six security officers are among the dead. a pakistani official says the tart was a military vehicle at a market in the valley where the pakistani ar

max baucus killed the public option this week. he has received millions from healthcare lobbyists. it is not going to happen. >> the american people killed the public option. i don't think it was one politician. it was the propest of the american people saying we don't believe you can create a government bure cassie for no money. >> letting people shop across state lines would give you all the competition you want n terms of public outcome, we do better than any other country on cancer forms an an heart disease and longevity. >> we don't live as long! >> on longevity, quentin, sorry, when you take into the fact that we have more guns and drive more than other people, our longevity, quentin is better than any other country in the world. where healthcare counts we do better than anyone. >> the mortality stats were criticized and the reason we rated poorly is because we report infant mortal tizz. a lot of countries just put babies up on the shelf to pass away. >> neil, go ahead. >> it seems to me, it was interesting. the head of the mayo chinnic, dennis ortiz has been praised by the w

committee chairman max baucus said he expects it will cost no more than $900 billion. in a sense, health care reform hit a milestone because never pu& the nation's health care system gone this far, its now on the verge of clearing five different congressional committees. in the closing hours of the senate finance mark up the committee. lowered penalties on americans who do not buy health insurance, from as much as $1,900 a year for a family, down to a maximum penalty of $200 which would could rise to as much as $800 over time. it came after an impassioned plea to lower penalties came from maine's olympia snowe, the one republican who might vote for the bill. >> i just don't understand why there's this impetus to keep driving it in this way to punish people, now i understand rationality behind individual mandates, certainly we should pay for those who don't have health insurance, but at the same time, it's not as if we >> but why couldn't the average family or the individual to pay ot county. >> reporter: the amendment also, in effect exempts 2 million people from the b

max baucus said work had been completed in all phases of the legislation. democrats made last-minute changes to ease the bill's impact on working class families. one change would exempt millions of people from any requirement to buy health insurance. the final committee vote is set for next week. >>> officials say 3,000 people may still be trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings after wednesday's powerful earthquake. rez c rescuers are still finding survivors. including this woman trapped under piles of debris under her collapsed college for two days. most students could crawl out. others couldn't. wednesday's quake had a magnitude of 7.6. it killed 1,100 people. officials say the number will probably go up as so many people are still missing. >>> in the south pacific mass bur yals are being planned for the tuesday earthquake and s tsunami. survivors say they'll never forget the noise from the roar of the water and the sound of everything crashing down around them. the united states, brazil have sent in supplies and troops. >>> tlc is stopping all p

the chairman of this committee is max baucus. he drafted this proposal, this legislation with input from republicans. but snow is the only republican who says she will vote for it. >> people do have concerns about what we will do with reform. but at the same time, they want us to continue working. and that is what my vote to report this bill out of committee here today represents, is to continue working the process. i do it with reservations because i share my republican colleagues' trepidation about what will transpire on the senate floor, what will emerge in the house/senate conference and how indeed the finance committee bill will be merged with the health bill. >> what is she voting for? what is this baucus bill? well, what it's not, there is no option in this for a government-run insurance plan. instead, it sets up co-ops to broker private insurance. there was a concession to republicans in hopes of winning bipartisan support. if the bill pass, a lot of work will have to be done before health care reform actually reaches the

max baucus killed the public option this week. he has received millions from healthcare lobbyists. it is not going to happen. >> the american people killed the public option. i don't think it was one politician. it was the ppe of the american people saying we don't believe you can create a government bure cassie for no money. >> letting people shop across state lines would give you all the competition you want n terms of public outcome, we do better than any other country on cancer forms an an heart disease and longevity. >> we don't live as long! >> on longevity, quentin, sorry, when you take into the fact that we have more guns and drive more than other people, our longevity, quentin is better than any other country in the world. where healthcare counts we do better than anyone. >> the mortality stats were criticized and the reason we rated poorly is because we report infant mortal tizz. a lot of countries just put babies up on the shelf to pass away. >> neil, go ahead. >> it seems to me, it was interesting. the head of the mayo chinnic, dennis ortiz has been praised by the white

here is chairman max baucus. >> i cannot think of somebody so opposed by both. and there must be some wisdom if they are both opposed, and you have done a lot, senator, but i don't think this amendment is really the right thing to do. >> and there is wisdom there, which is that as long as you send money to politicians they will perpetuated your outdated business or data at the expense of everybody else, which is wise. and let's go to mike viqueira to find out what happened in the middle of the night. >> hi, dylan. it was basically the last thing the committee did after the extended markup, after eight or nine days, and they put it on there last. wyden had been negotiating with labor and tried to make it more palpable to them. and this was a watered down version of what wyden wanted to do. he wanted to give people a choice, if you were not eligible for the exchange, if you received employer-based benefits, then those employers would be required to offer you two choices and provide you with vouchers to get into the exchange and had a number of other provisions. in

the outcome appeared inevitable with finance committee chairman max baucus declaring that he had the votes for approval of the bill, increasing president barack obama's to extend coverage to the uninsured. during the recess, we will hear from president obama of. he attended a fund-raiser to dave and talked about the health care plan -- he attended a fund- raiser today and talked about the tashealth care plan. >> we have home to thousands of entrepreneurs. all too often, the economic pioneers are made to give up on their dreams and some of them never follow up on them in the first place because of what it would cost them to provide health insurance for themselves and their families and potential employees. right now, the cost of covering an employee could be prohibitively expensive. a new study came yesterday from the robert wood johnson groups say what would happen in the next 10 years if we failed to enact health care insurance reform. under the worst-case scenario, businesses would see premiums more than double in [unintelligible] even under the best case scenario, employers would

eastern senate finance committee chair max baucus said all work has completed on the legislation. democrats made last-minute changes to ease the impact on working class families. one change would exempt millions of people from a requirement to buy health insurance. a final committee vote is set for next week. >>> a mother is accused of being so drunk she passed out in her park's minivan leaving two toddlers to wander off. broward county deputies say someone found the kids ages 3 and 4 miles from home trying to cross a busy road. they found the woman passed out in the van in her driveway. she's charged with dui and child neglect. her husband says she's stupid. didn't mince words. all right. let's get over to bob. he doesn't mince words either. >> we'll stay away from that one. >>> big line of thundershowers now developing right around the lower gulf coast. real humid atmosphere when you get towards the gulf but you get across northern georgia, carolinas, in towards virginia and kentucky, high pressure has been dominating this area for the last couple days. still a dry air mass out

marcus malitza joins me to talk mad max and the baucus caucus. and they're not praying deliver us, obama, they're praying deliver us, oh god. lou says that gave him chills down his spine. that might be the lumbego, lou! or visit boniva.com >>> i spent large parts of 27 of the last 30 days witnessing our health care system from the front lines. i can confirm there's madness in the health care debate. the madness is that there's any debate at all. i have met no one, no one from patients to administrators to families who thinks the current system works. let alone works well. no one even believes that the incredible financial burdens and fears are not interrupting the actual ability of patients to get better. yet, in our fourth story, a democratic-controlled senate committee could not get the damn public option passed. to recap, eight democrats supported the rockefeller amendment that would have supported a medicare-type public option. but all of them against it. joined by five democrats. the more moderate version of the public option by chuck schume

neil: on health care, if you do not mind, max baucus had a nasty exchange -- it is on youtube, it is a must see. bottom line, they were rushing this. where do you think this thing stands? of >> he kept interrupting me, he would not let me complete my point. it must be playing in my earpiece right now. neil: it is. what about the public option, sooner rather than later, what you say? >> here you have the luxury of taking time to get it right. we need to make sure that we can read the bill and the holocaust with regards to the public -- read the public bill. for those that support it, they will know it is just around the corner. my concern is that one way or another we will be closed. neil: the dollar was tumbling this morning largely on the use that we are losing faith in the dollar as currency. that they are going to seek out another hedge. go to another currency. what he said that? >> i am very concerned about it. i told the bush administration that they should support the strong dollar as much as possible. we have got to have a strong dollar, but otherwise countries are going to st

marcus malitza joins me to talk mad max and the baucus caucus. and they're not praying deliver us, obama, they're praying deliver us, oh god. lou says that gave him chills down his spine. that might be the lambago, lou. ♪ ( coughs ) ♪ ( sneezes ) we're making it easy for everyone to get their flu shot, no matter how small their motivation may be. ♪ come get yours for just $24.99. walgreens. there's a way to stay well. from that first dollar forward, cash flow isn't just an important thing to small business. it's everything. that's why pnc is introducing your new cfo, cash flow options designed to effectively improve your cash flow. cfo helps every dollar work harder. from the very first dollar to the last dollar of the day. get in touch with your new cfo. pnc. leading the way. call or click today. >>> spent large parts of 27 of the last 30 days witnessing our health care system from the front lines. i can confirm there's madness in the health care debate. the madness is that there's any debate at all. i have met no one, no one from patients

eastern senate chair max baucus said work had been completed on all parts. democrats made last-minute changes. one change would exempt millions of people from a requirement to buy health insurance. a final committee vote is set for next week. >>> a mother is accused of being so drunk that she passed out in her parked minivan leaving two toddlers just to wander off. broward county deputies say someone found the kids, ages 3 and 4 miles from home trying to cross a busy road. they found the woman passed out in her van in the driveway. she's charged with dui and child neglect. her husband said "she's stupid." >>> let's get over to bob van dillon. >> sounds like you may have cleaned that up a little bit. how are you doing, natasha. >> on friday, a major cold front chugging through the middle part of the country in towards the east coast. look at the clouds wrapping up out of the gulf of mexico. the strongest part of this action is headed towards new orleans. we'll zoom in towards that area. towed watch that's getting wittaled down. here is that new orleans radar

max baucus, the chairman in montana where 70% voted to expand children's coverage last year. ben nelson in nebraska, the handling of health care is three times higher than democratic support. louisiana, 49th out of the country in health care according to a study that came out today. i will donate $50,000. $10,000 for each state i mentioned. if we succeed in holding the fairs, we may still fail in the political goal. the democrats may lock the party's up or down vote. if so, we still have succeeded in the ultimate goal, the higher goal of making health care available to u.s. citizens, if only for a day, because we can. i'm proud to be joined by the director of the free clinics, nicole. thank you for your time. >> thank you for having me. >> tell me about the people who benefit from your work and the clinics you represent and the health fairs we have been talking about tonight. >> the people who benefit from free clinics every day is the first and most important thing to remember. there are 1200 free clinics open and operational every single day. our patients, 83% of them are w

and the max baucus version of the obama care will really cost $1.5 trillion plus a huge middle class tax cut and another bailout nation. this time the fha is going under and we, the taxpayers, are going to fund it. "the kudlow report" begins right now. fasten your seat belt. good evening, everyone. welcome back to "the kudlow report." first up tonight, nobel surprise, president obama was awarded the nobel peace prize today in an out of nowhere announcement. was it justified? what thr smoking in oslo? the president himself didn't even seem to think. so take a listen. >> to be honest, i do not feel that i deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformtive figures who have been honored by this prize. i will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. >> all right. we give him a lot of credit forever his humility in that acceptance speech. here is a true irony. nbc saturday night live blasted the president for his lack after chiefment so far. take a look. >> on my first day in office, i said i would close

host: someone is saying that the max baucus bill is a mandate. guest: the caller may good point which is that insurance companies are bureaucracies, too. anyone who's ever had to deal with a claim that has been rejected understands it is not exactly like making a quick phone call and get results. the idea that there is a government bureaucrat but not an insurance company bureaucrat is ridiculous. i think that part of this debate and part of what colors this debate is that many americans have become frustrated with insurance companies and they want to see someone they think is a better coordinator of results for claims. i think they believe that the insurance company's profit motive is driving a lot of the health care decisions. what they will find out within the government system is that they don't always get what they want from them, either. host: when it comes to the benefits package, it says individuals and small businesses would have to cover benefits.tÑr levels of coverage and the least generous would pay 65% of health care per year. the mo

. >> even your fellow democrats, the chairman here, senator max baucus. i mean, he, he's opposed to what you're saying. how much pushback is there from people with your own party? >> there is no question that the biggest lobbies in the country, they are going to fight relentlessly to keep more than 200 million americans from getting choice. i understand that. i understand that we're taking on some of the most powerful lobbies in the country, but i come from oregon. we're independent. we stand up for what's right. we want to make sure that everybody gets a fair shake, and when the president says at every rally in the country you ought to get the same deal as the members of congress gets, tha is the biggest applause line. we're going to make sure in the legislation that gets done. >> so without your proposal here, though, will that happen? >> without my legislation, alex, more than 200 million americans are going to be stripped of the right of choice. more than 200 million americans will not get the same kind of opportunities their members of congress get,

commtee chair max baucus had this to y: >> soon itill come down to the senate. my colleagues, ts will be our oprtunity to make history. just think of itç our action here will determine whethewe will exnd the blessings of better health care to more amerans or not. ours is a balanced pla that uld pass the senate. oubill should win thesupport ofhe republicans and democrats alike, and now the choice isp to senators. >> lehrer: n, cost cutting abroad. last night, ray suarez ban his reporting on thepproach in the netherlas. here's ray'sart two. >> reporter: when the netherlandreformed its health care system four years ago, everyone over eighteen w required to buy covera from a private insurance compan in turn, t insurers were requiredo accept every stomer, and offer the same price, regardless of age o mecal history. the nethernds faces two challenges, strong expectatisç of high quality re and a graying populati entering a very expensive time life for healthcare at the sameime, so how do you keep sts down?ç onway to keep costs down: keep peop healthy. particularl

baucus. they said it was $829 billion over the course of the next 10 years. and that it would reduce the deficit $81 billion over the decade. that bill does not have the public option. the government insurance program. it's got a nonprofit cooperative that would be there in place. they are going to vote on that, the senate finance committee this coming tuesday. they are way, way, way off schedule here. there is another bill in the senate that is from the health, education labor intentions committee that passed long before the august break when all those town halls happens. it cost over a trillion dollars. next week, after the senate finance bill gets passed, they have got to combine those two senate bills into one. the price has got to change. they will do a whole another analysis of the cost. over in the house, there is three bills. they have all been costed out at over a trillion dollars apiece. and they have all gotcha public option. so we have got a total of five bills. none of them have

both chuck schumer and max baucus, they are activity considering the idea. and late today, you know what? i never thought i'd be left of howard dean, but i guess i am. howard dean, a doctor whose opinion carries a lot of weight with lefties, threw his support behind this state opt-in, opt-out gig? dean says it's real reform and if the opt-out proposal were to get 60 votes in the senate, democrats ought to support that. am i the last rat to leave the ship? the republicans are getting everything they want for the insurance industry, and i'll tell you what, lefties, we got to call, stay focused, we got to be on this. no cable talk show is going to talk somebody into a vote. i understand that. but i do believe that there are americans out there that want this, that can be motivated to force these folks that when they get in the conference committee, they'll remember it's about the people and not the insurance industry. get out your cell phones, i want to know what you think about this. are democrats at a point where they're just going to take anything when it co

. >> like to have you listen to what your fellow democrats, senator max baucus from montana said last night. let's take a listen. >> i cannot think of a major member either still opposed by both business and labor, both. there must be some wisdom there, if they are both opposed and i just think that done a lot, senator but i don't think this really is the right thing to do. >> senator, is it true that chairman baucus is correct with the opposition from labor and business and if so, why do they oppose it? >> well, certainly, there are some very powerful lobbies, i call them the status quo caucus, who don't want our people, more than 200 million of them, to have choice. if you're talking about say the human resources manager of some company, they like the control when they get to call the shots. they don't want workers have choices like members of congress because that might put some heat on the benefits manager to give the workary better de aworker a first place. what i'm talking about is turning the table on the insurance lobby, turning the table on some of the benefits managers who a

harry reid and max baucus are at odds. reed reid wants to go to the floor, baucus wants to wait for the cbo to score the senate finance committee bill to tell us how much this is going to cost. everybody is worried about the money. the money, the money, the money. i want to talk about the human cost off the top tonight. we went home this weekend in minnesota. there's a guy i've known there a while. dennis, good guy, had a construction company for some 30 years. small business owner. you know the story. pays his taxes, plays by the rules. smart guy.

as we stand now, nothing in the max baucus finance committee bill, which a lot of people assume is the framework for an actual bill that gets passed, doesn't have a public option in it, but now we know the white house is trying to figure out a way to get some version of it in. could be a trigger, could be a negotiated version of it that's a little bit, you know, weaker than what some strong public option advocates want. so, that still seems to be in play, at least behind the scenes. >> give me some idea here, how much pressure is harry reid under, given the fact he has to coincide these two bills, the health committee bill which has a public option, the finance committee bill, which does not and he has to go forward and isn't he basically the person who decide also there is a public option in the plan at a gets presented to the full senate? >> reporter: there is no more thankless job being the majority leader in the senate, whether you are the democratic majority leader or the republican majority leader. it is very easy to back seat drive a majority leader, very easy to say how come yo

baucus health care bill out of the finance committee how will it get scored and why does that matter? it matters in order for them to get republican olympia snowe's support. that is really the drama on health care today behind the scenes. this doctors' event is more of an attempt by the white house on the pr effort. >> back to the doctors, chuck. a recent poll of doctors who said that they, in large number, support public option. so i'm curious with that said, i don't know if any of those doctors will be present, were a part of it, but we still know that public option may be on life support but it's out there and when you look at the polling recently, doctors supported it. >> there's a lot of drs. i've interviewed doctors from all political spectrums over the years and some are very supportive of single payer, the idea of -- one of the reasons? doctors, when they run their offices, spend a lot of money on administration costs. so anything that can cut down on that, you know, that their own bottom line. doctors, they get fired up about two issues when you talk to them about it. one is

baucus, met again today to mark up and add amendments to a proposed bill. but you're looking at pictures there of the president's national security team. in the midst of all of this, republicans seemed to be saying no at every turn. on health care the republican leader mitch mcconnell said that it doesn't matter what's in the reform bill, the gop will not support it or like it. >> the core point is this, whether at the end of the day the government plan is either in the bill or out of the bill, whether they will be able to argue successfully or not whether tax funds are going to be provided for abortion, whether or not they will be able to argue at the end that dollars for health care for illegals is in or out, what we do know is what the core of the bill is going to look like. we know that for sure. it's going to be a trillion dollar bill. >> on the house side, meanwhile, republican minority leader john boehner again stood by his comments that the president should not be traveling to denmark to push for the olympics. >> two weeks ago the president said him

does that mean you're for what max baucus put out? >> no. i endorse the process of pulling people together. i think max baucus and the senate finance committee can lead on it. it's going to take more involvement by president obama in terms of coming in saying, this is what i'm for, this is what i'll negotiate. and lastly, i'm for a process that does reach out to the uninsured, bring them out to the market. but it's got to do a whole lot more in terms of slowing the growth of health care cost over time. the baucus plan, unfortunately, accelerates those costs. brian: would you have been one of the 150 had you not gone into politics, on the white house lawn yesterday? >> a lot of them were my colleagues. they're saying i need help. health insurance is overwhelming my patients, too many uninsured i'm taking care of for free. brian: even those it's 15% of the population. that's too many? >> it's really 20 million uninsured. if you're uninsure the in america today, you die sooner. i think we do van obligation. they need to pay their own way as muc

we have all seen the beginning of that caucus' bill, so how much does it cost -- max baucus ' bill, so how much does it cost? as soon as we get those numbers, we will bring it to you. trace: in the meantime, we are tracking h1n1. the first flu vaccine to arriving in clinics and hospitals today, men do not start lining up for your vaccine just yet. health officials say these initial chance are first to go to small children. marianne silber aris in georgia. why can everyone get one of these doses? >> one reason everyone is not roll up their sleeves is because they are coming in the form of nasal spray. 600,000 were ordered for the whole country. no need to be divided among 21 states. the first shipments are small, and states had to decide where they wanted to start. here in georgia, they decided that it needed to go to two and four-year-old first because it is difficult to keep them germ- free. trace: they have trouble keeping their hands clean. you understand why they are stored in there. is there a danger level for people who are younger? >> i spoke to a health official, and he said, y

baucus plan is an insurance industry plan that they would never support. bill: is that right? >> they still went to the event, the thought that they could talk to the president. the president said that this was doctors supporting him, he might as well have had his ringmaster hat on asñr he made them jump through hoops. bill: these are your words, i believe, the white house tried to find a variety of doctors? how'd you know that? >> many of the doctors i spoke with were contacted by a group called doctors for america. also tied in with the union groups. bill: that is doctors for america? >> that is right. bill: hang on. i do not want to get too far out there. one thing at a time pyriphlegethon -- one thing at a time. what about handing out of white coats? >> i heard about that. they had meetings before and after words. many of these people were contacted by doctors for america and asked to appear. bill: how do they think that when yesterday? were they happy with that? did they have a chance to express their views to the president? >> they did not have a ch

. >> there was a predicted vote today by the chairman of the committee, max baucus of montana, who chaired the committee through eight months of very, very difficult compromise efforts to get the bill, well until thursday or friday morning. no vote today, and no analysis from the nonpartisan congressional budget office. they are continuing to try and find the sweet spot based on an specific and not fully detailed legislative language. as a consequence of the plain english that is used, the congressional budget office cannot come up with a detailed cost analysis, which makes it very difficult on the floor and in committee. it is difficult, and it is believed that the hold up is in part because the numbers are not showing, but this will be targeted at $800 million and may run over. jane: when does the process with the white house start? >> it has been underway for a couple of days, but the problem is that it leads to the assumption that there is a fix in, that harry reid will get involved with white house officials and nancy pelosi on the outside, cutting a deal that will not be open for pub

the chairman of his particular committee is max baucus. he drafted legislation with input from republican members of the kms but they're not expected to support it. >> the misleading and to me harmful claims made over the weekend by the profit-driven health insurance companies are politicking for corporate gain at its worst. that's just my casual view. at a time when millions of suffering every day in the hands of our broken health care system. the idea that anyone's concern be whether the insurance companies make enough money or not is absurd, because they will. >> what could have been a strong bipartisan vote reflecting our collect irand genuine desire for responsible reform is now ending as another divided vote. as we take another step forward towards the flawed solution of reforming 1/6 of our economy with more spending, more government and more taxes. >> let's give you a few bullet points about the baucus bill. there's no option for government-run insurance plan. instead it sets up co-opes to broker private insurance. also the only go

senator max baucus says the health care bill could clear by the end of the week but it's not clear what we get. tempers are flaring and big amendments relating to the public option, abortion and illegal immigrants get shot down, that happened in recent days. the free choice act on deck and could be voted on today. we'll have a live report from capitol hill in our next hour. breaking news now on msnbc. a big boost in consumer spending, moments ago the commerce department reporting a 1.3% jump in consumer spending. that's the biggest in nearly eight years. spending got a jump start by the cash for clunkers program. on the job front, first time unemployment claims for newly laid off climbed more than expected up to 551,000 people. that's a new sign employers are reluctant to hire and the job market remains weak. incredible video from new york. this good samaritan shown rescuing a 4-year-old boy, rescued him from a burning building t. the man gives onlookers the thumbs up. you'll see it. he has this child, dragging him down the stairs and gets the boy breathing after he drops him down there