here's to the owners showing us the way. [trumpet playing "reveille" fades to silence] right now on msnbc sunday, the pastor of a georgia mega church is expected to address his congregation this hour. we've got a live report coming up. back to court, the american student known as foxy knoxy faces another trial this week in italy and we're going to tell you why. yard sales, the woman known as octomom tries selling her stuff to avoid foreclosure. good morning, everyone. i'm alex witt. this morning, the influential pastor at the center of a sexual scandal will address the allegations against him this morning. four men now say bishop eddie young lurd them into sexual

relationships when they were teens. bishop long has denied all of the allegations. i'm joined now live by the reverend eugene rivers, pastor of the izuzu christian community and a msnbc political analyst. how are you doing? >> i'm well, alex thank you. and you? >> i'm well, thank you. first of all, your reaction to what's happening there in georgia? >> first, prayers to the family, the wife and the kids and secondly, regardless of how this turns out, it's a tragedy. if it turns out that the allegations are false, he -- i don't know how he recovers. if it turns out that the allegations are true or some portion of them are true, he is effectively destroyed this multi million dollar ministry that he spent the last 20 years building. >> and it's a ministry that he went from 300 condegree gants to 25,000 people. >> that's right. >> now, it is important, reverend, to emphasize that

bishop long has denied all of these allegations against him. having said that, how does a congregation police a man of god? who is he responsible to if he were to face false allegations? >> listen, alex, you hit the nail on the head. the reality is that the celebrity ministry business that he epitomizes did not have a structure for moral and ethical accountability so that, you know, hanging out with young boys, even if there was nothing done, it's the wrong image. the fact that there was not an oversight committee with any moral teeth has resulted in this remarkable tragedy that is going to traumatize countless numbers of people around the world who have looked to him for spiritual leadership and moral consistency. >> and reverend, if innocent, is he able to continue with his ministry effectively?

>> i don't know how one recoups from this. you know, the saying in politics in boston is you never recover from -- this is so terrible -- lies, boys, dead girls or money. i don't know how the accusation, how one recovers from the accusation. you're damaged significantly. because there's always a question mark in the mind of the public that maybe you did do it, you just didn't get caught. >> in terms of damaged significantly, i want to pick up on that. today's washington post looks at the effect this scandal is having on the african-american community in particular. there's a religious professor who says atlanta is the epicenter to religious life. what is the conversation so far about this scandal? >> listen, if you go to every barber shop, street shop and

street corner, everybody is talking about eddie long. every conversation either begins or ends with lord, what's happening down there in atlanta. no, this is above all across the black world. >> you know, again, we have to reiterate the bishop denies the allegations against him. we do expect him to speak at some point this morning and we'll have that for our viewers on msnbc this morning. this is described as similar to what happened to ted ha xwggard. did the haggard scandal, though, change the way the church community views or handles allegations like the ones made against bishop long? >> that's the question. look, number one, for white people, god bless white america, right? haggard did not have the same influence and prominence in the white community that eddie long in black atlanta had and black america. this is a major deal because the black church plays a greater

examine more influential role in black america than the white evangelical community plays in white america. so this is having a much more dramatic impact on black people than was the case with ted haggard. >> rev rapped, always appreciate your comments. thank you so much. >> good to see you. thank you so much, alex. >> we're going to have a live report from ron mott who is outside that church. we're also expect to go hear from bishop long this morning, scheduled for 10:00 a.m. bishop's wife, attorney and missionaries from the church are expected to be on hand. from there to washington, and tomorrow, the president is hitting the road. he's going to stop in four different states over the next three days and the economy is right at the top of his agenda. mike is live at the white house for us. >> morning, alex. >> so what is the president aiming to accomplish on this road trip? >> he's going be mixing politics

and policy as usual as we get close toon election year. plenty of fund-raisers, plenty of talk about the economy. it all goes hand in hand here pep starts off tomorrow morning here live on the "today" show. a live interview with president obama. after he conclude that interview, shortly thereafter he will board a plane and head to albuquerque, new mexico, where the following day he will have a small gathering at somebody's house. we saw him do this last week in the washington area, a sort of backyard economy, talking about the initiatives that the obama administration has put forward to bring the economy back from the abyss. something the president has now said is happening on an official basis. although a lot of people are still hurting with the unemployment rate from 9.6%. from there, he goes to madison, wisconsin, for a dnc rally on tuesday, i believe. i'm traveling along that trip. and then to des moines, iowa, more talk about the economy.

more small home gatherings with neighbors, people to talk about their challenges and the things that they have experienced and incidentally, some of the things that they have benefited from that this administration has done. then the president back to richmond, virginia, the following day on wednesday where he has another one of those events. so the focus on the economy and politics as the president heads into this week, alex. >> okay. clearly, the president and mike will be all over the map this week. mike, thanks so much. >> okay. florida police found the abandon getaway car used in coral gables. the drivers took off in a red mustang belonging to a teller at the branch who was allegedly held hostage. the mustang was found blocks away from a bank. the burglars remain on the loose. a suspect in a deadly shooting near new jersey's seton hall university is still at large today as the community mourns a 19-year-old sophomore who was killed. four others were injured when a gunman opened fire at an off

campus party just after midnight on friday. the gunman tried to crash that party but was kicked out. he later returned with a gun and a grudge and opened fire into that crowd. violence broke out in california overnight. this time at a birthday party in east los angeles. at least one person was killed after an argument spun wildly out of control. in all, eight people were shot and three people stabbed. an official from the police say that it was the most assaults she had ever seen from a single crime scene. so far, no arrests have been made. there is new aerial footage of the devastating florida in central florida. as much as 10 inches of rain doused that region. businesses along the swollen cannon river remain inundated and there were more evacuations yesterday. hundreds fled hammond where main street was under 12 feet of water. wow. the complete weather forecast, let's go to the weather channel's jeff morrow. good morning to you. 12 feet of water on main street. wow.

>> that's some nasty flooding going across the upper midwest, alex. the good this is news that i can impart to those folks is it's dried out there and it should stay dry for the most part over the next several days. i don't see any big rain for the upper midwest. where the rain has shifted to is in the southeast. we'll take it down here. not flooding rain, but it will cool us off a lot bit. believe you me, it has been a long, hot summer over the south and we're going to finally get some cooling. as we head farther south, san antonio is still in the 80s. but that's not too bad. notice as we head into the northern plains, sunshine in minneapolis at 65 today. most of the west, actually, start to go heat up. it's going to be a hot day in l.a. at 97 degrees. 91 in salt lake city. the only cool spot will be out hoot here in the pacific northwest. other temperatures across the country today, phoenix, 106. detroit and st. louis nice and cool. boston, only 67. we're getting some of that cooler 60 and 70-degree air

thanks to parts of the rain. tampa will be steamy and new orleans steamy, as well. we've been waiting for a long time for autumn to try and make inroads into the south, alex. believe me, it's been a hot summer. take a look at my cooling bill and i'm glad to see the cool air. >> i know atlanta has been brutal. >> it has been. >> let's be thankful it's coming to an end zoon. defending herself, why student amanda knox is going to trial again in italy. and a police officer arrested over a fake arrest. nor on a possible white house shake-up. will rahm emanuel pursue his dream job of chicago mayor?

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a potential shake-up at the white house would not only impact things in washington. it may also have a big impact on chicago. white house chief of staff rahm emanuel may give up his position in the white house to run for mayor of chicago. >> good morning again, alex. how are you? >> i'm great. it's nice to see you. >> and i want you to be an oddsmaker. how likely do you think it is that rahm emanuel is going to run for mayor chicago? >> a lot better than bush era tax cuts being voted on in the next week or so. for friends of mad men, a lot better than don draper enlisting in the vietnam for mets fans, a lot better than the manager being re-signed. very, very good. >> a little something for everyone there. let's get to your recent column in which you discuss what it takes to be an effective mayor. you've quoted your friend who said, quote, being a great

teacher doesn't mean you can get a great principal. being a good legislator doesn't mean you can be a great legislator and being fabulous at national politics doesn't mean you can run the $6 billion company called city of chicago. so put that to rahm emanuel in terms of his strengths and weaknesses. >> a lot of strengths and a lot of weaknesses. strengths would be very, very smart, very focused. he wants this badly. he has the implicit support it would seem of the kingmaker here, mayor richard m.daley. and it will be curious to see whether president obama gives him some explicit support at some point down the road. i believe that he will. also, there is the likelihood that given his legendary abilities at raising money, that he could conceivably blow away a lot of folks in the race early, especially other potential white candidates. remember, alex, that this is going to be probably a two part

race. it will be a race in february. everyone and his mother is going to run. unless there's a 50 plus one winner, there's going be a two-person runoff of the two top vote gutters. and it's not beyond the possibility that there is a white candidate in that runoff and a minority candidate. >> you're bringing up the issue of race. obviously emanuel has the top contacts in washington. what does that mean to voters who could end up making this race? >> i think that's key also, he brings weaknesses to the table, too. he has a famously abrasive personality. there's a managerial style of my way or the highway. and i think he's going to have to reign that in and i think that he will. by all i can hear about some of the conversations he's having, mostly in washington with people, he's trying to plot out a sort of reform minded agenda and also to deal with the

catalytic personalities that a lot of folks have. as far as the washington thing, there's always the problem of somebody being seen as having native in washington and having been too concerned with the problems of washington. there's no doubt that he will carry some baggage, both from the clinton era and from the obama era. and the clinton era, alex, will be union who are still fuming over his pushing the nafta free trade vote and with the obama administration, a lot of people wanted that so-called public option on health care and he was seen as having deep sixed it. >> this is a guy who can do a political opponent and he can fight with them with the best of them. can he fight crime? can he fight failing schools? >> he is an extraordinarily smart, gifted guy. these are vexing problems. how are you going to deal with the new teacher contract? how are you going to deal with a

me moralized police force unless you can fill the 1,000 vacancies that they have. he is going to have to be a guy who not just gets 50 plus 1 and becomes mayor, he's going to have on be a different rahm emanuel, brick a lot of people into the fold, not skruft be a fighter, but also be -- you know, without getting melodramatic, a bit of a lover, particularly at times when revenues like most other cities are plummeting. huge budget shortfall. unfunded pension liabilities and a state which is verging on california-like bankruptcy situation. very tough. >> jim, don't stay away so long next time, okay? thanks. >> love you guys. see ya. have a great day. well, the parents of a 15-year-old california boy say they want a police officer to go to jail for making a fake arrest on their son. the parents say the officer came to their home and pretened to arrest their son for having sex with the officer's 14-year-old daughter. the boy's stepfather used his

directly phone to record the cop hand cuffing the team. the officer says his client was simply trying to scare the boy about his behavior. nadya suleyman hold a yard sale for mortgage money. we're going to tell you which items were the hottest sellers, coming up here on msnbc sunday. smooths damaged cuticles for 75% more shine in one use. real shine, for real life. yours. [ female announcer ] new aveeno nourish plus shine. [ technician ] are you busy? management just sent over these new technical manuals. they need you to translate them into portuguese. by tomorrow. [ male announcer ] ducati knows it's better for xerox to manage their global publications. so they can focus on building amazing bikes. with xerox, you're ready for real business.

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to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's new motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. new motrin pm. the california mother known as octomom held a yard sale this week in an attempt to avoid foreclosier on her home. she's selling her stuff to pay for her debt. items up fop sale include her nursing bra and a bikini. here is what sold. eight double costumes, went for $50. a lakers jersey signed by suleyman fetched $125. .someone paid $80 for a refrigerator that once stored all the baby formula. sully mom charged $10 for a picture with her and $ 00 to

pose with her and the octuplets. suleym suleyman's lawyer says the single mother of 14 is considering going on welfare. now back to the influential mega church pastor at the center of a growing sex scandal. four men now say bishop edly long forced them into sexual relationships when they were teens. he says he will address them head on before his congregation this morning. the services are right now under way, the first of two, i believe, this morning, ron. so good morning to you. what is the mood there this morning? >> reporter: hey, alex. good sunday morning to you. you can see there is a very large congregation. 25,000 members. i believe these folks are late for the 8:00 eastern time service that's now under way, about 25 minutes or so. there's a second service that begins at 11:00. eddie long says he will address this congregation to go over these issues from the four yen men that they were into course,

into sexual relationships with eddie long over the past eight or nine years. one thing that we should point out to you, eddie long is allowing the media to cover part of this morning's service live and then we have to shut our cameras down for the part where he addresses these alleges with his membership. in between services, he is going to sit down and address this. the attorneys for the four men say this is someone grooming young people to get them comfortable, to get them into a situation where they may be open to a sexual relationship. this is what b.j. burn ddzseed had to say last week. >> the manipulation starts at 14 or 15 or basically they're indoctrine nated into this man and he goes forward with that next phase. so the law may not recognize it as child molestation, but i assure you that manipulation of someone like this and abusing the pastoral relationship this way, that is not consent. >> eddie long has issued a

couple of statements through some intermediaries, including his lawyer. this is what eddie long' lawyer said this week. take a listen. >> ron, i think we're going to read, have our viewers just read that. we didn't have the audio of that. if our director can go back to that previous full screen graphic if possible. there we go. the charges against me and new birth are false. i have devoted my life to helping others and these false allegations hurt me deeply. but my faith is strong and the truth will emerge. that was one statement from pastor eddie long. but ron, i know people are trying to pack themselves into that church use it now and it looks very crowded. do you think this is a normal attendance or do you expect almost everyone one of the 25,000 condegree goods gants to

be there? >> i would think this is probably going to be one of the most well attended sunday these year to hear bishop long address this congregation. a couple of the members here, they are absolutely in shock behind us. they say there is nothing in his past, in the relationships who are in some long fellows academy program that he started four young mem men to try to teach them to be men. they say this is uncharacteristic of the eddie long that they know. a lot of rumors obviously circulating. a lot of folks do not expect him to step down. they believe he's a strong and principled man of faith and he's going to take these charges head on and fight them within alice. >> do you get a sense that they are partyive of the bishop at this point? we have to remember that people are innocent in this country until proven guilty. >> absolutely. on the blogosphere, you're

getting a lot of people saying there are sinister motives. one of the issues that we've reported on is that one of the four young men was actually arrested over the summer in connection with a burglary at the church here. bishop long apparently tried to persuade authorities in dekalb county here in georgia to drop those charges. they not been dropped. they are felony burglary charges. they are still pending against this young man. so a lot of folks are wondering what's the motive behind these allegations, alex. >> okay. much more to come there. ron, thank you opinion. another trial for mesh student amanda knox. why she is the center of a new court case. ♪ just one bite opens a world of delight... ♪ ♪ dreams of land meet sea, deliciously ♪ ♪ friskies surfin' and turfin' favorites. ♪ ♪ feed the senses. we need directions to go to... pearblossom highway? it's just outside of lancaster.

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st: could switching to geico did the little piggy cry wee wee wee all the way home? piggy: weeeeeee, weeeeeee, weeeeeee, weeeee weeeeeeee. mom: max. ...maxwell! piggy: yeah? mom: you're home. piggy: oh,cool, thanks mrs. a. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more. i'm alex witt. here are the top stories at the bottom of the hour for you. the pastor at the center of a sex scandal is scheduled to speak this morning at a service at his georgia mega church. he's expected to address the

congregation about allegations made against him that may be going on right now. but a lawsuit says he lured young men into sex with gifts. the victims of the gulf oil spill can expect faster checks. many says the payments have been too small and slow to come. the dea and police departments receive tons of prescription drugs turned in at sites across this country. people dropped off unused drugs at more than 4,000 locations yesterday. the drugs will be destroyed. it is part of an effort to prevent prescription drug addicti addiction. amanda knox will be back in court this week, this time on charges of slandering italian police. she's currently serving a 26 year sentence for the murder of her classmate. during that trial, knox testified that police abused and threatened her until she

confessed. so where do things stand? >> good morning to you. yes, this slander charge is based very much on amanda knox's testimony in court when she said that she was intimidated into writing an all-night confession. police officers had slapped her on the head and she says that that is when she was intimidated into putting forward this false confession. it's something that police deny, so it's very much her word against theirs. but also backing up on the police's side of the argument are the police interpreters. unfortunately for amanda knox, she's never been able to identify the police officers in question. >> so with regard to additional time, would that be if she were convicted on this, would she get more on top of the 26 years she already faced? >> that's right. she absolutely would. she would have another six years. so add that to the 26. that's 32 years behind bars. and that's a very long time by anyone's standard. but for a 23-year-old, that is a lifetime. >> okay.

also, a fellow inmate of knox, jenny, say there's a new book claiming police encouraged her to take psychiatric drugs, says there were tranquilizers. could that factor into this slander case? >> well, actually, it probably wouldn't. and the reason being because there's no suggestion that she was pressured into taking any kind of drugs in the early stages of those police interrogations. there's no suggestion that she was being asked to take drugs at that stage. this has come from one of the inmates, a brazilian woman, a 58 yooeld woman who got to know amanda knox during her time in that woman's jail in italy. >> what about this tv movie called the amanda knox story that's in the works? the lawyers for amanda knox say they want to have this banned? >> that's right. they don't want this toe about aired at all. because essentially there are appeals still ongoing. on the 24th of november, they're going to begin proceedings. the hearing of her appeal is going to start. and so as far as they're

concerned, this isn't over. amanda knox may have been convicted of the murder of meredith kihcher, but she still says she's innocent. she's not the only one protest background this. the solicitors, the attorneys for the -- her former boyfriend, former italian boyfriend, they're also objecting to it, as well. >> okay. it's okay. you can say solicitors. no worries. meantime, it's one of the world's most complicated relationships. the it's and iranian governments have been ate for decades. they talk about each other nearly every day. iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad wrapped up his visit to the u.n. conference. steven was one of the people who attended that dinner with iran's president. steven's new book is "reset,

iran, turkey and america's future." how did you get that invitation and what was that dinner like? >> i've written a lot about iran. there are some people in the iranian government that would like to reach out to people in the united states that are interested in iran. it is a little bit odd to be seeing our favorite villain suddenly appear at dinner at a new york hotel. he doesn't breathe fire in real life. in some ways, he seems disconnected from our political process. this is one of the most dysfunctional relationships in the world. iran and the u.s. have so much to gain from working together. we have so much in common in terms of our long-term security interests. but we're so caught up in emotion that we can't see our mutual interests. >> did you find him to be charismatic? i know you write that he was a gracious host, he seemed to be comfortable in the role. >> i would say gracious host, but not really charismatic. he's not an outspoken person.

he's soft spoken and dissident, which is not exactly what we expect. but nonetheless, he represents for the united states a new kind of a puzzling threat and opportunity. he certainly doesn't make it easier for us to deal with him. how is a president of the united states going to get up and say, it's time for you to embrace the holocaust denying, israel-hating, woman-stoning leader of iran. on the other hand, without iranian participation, we are never going to settle down the situation in iraq. iran can do a huge amount to help us calm afghanistan, which we have no other way out of. if we could see our mutual interests more clearly, we would get past the rhetoric and understand that these two countries have a huge amount in common. >> well, here is something that stood out to me in the daily piece in which you suggest that iran and the united states, they talk past each other. because you write, much separates them, language, religion, history, geography, culture. they are united, however, in a death embrace that has made both

of them believe they can maneuver their way out of confrontation. and if that confrontation comes, they want win. that is a very strong image you paint with your words there. talk about the u.s. approach to image to dealing with iran. is it talking past? and who are they speaking to? >> the united states feels that we are going to deal with iran by pressure. we're going to force them to do what we want. but there's probably no country in the world that has had the last 150 years of history that included includes so much foreign intervention and that has produced such a sensitivity to foreign pressure. so by the course that we're following, we're making it less likely than we could ever make a deal with iran. but we really feel that we don't need to talk to them, that we can force them to do what we want. meanwhile, the iranians are thinking, whatever we're going to do, we're going to show them we've had 30 years of sanctions, that we can continue to survive like this. and ultimately, america will

have to give in. we're thinking, ultimately iran will have to give in. and so what we're not doing, we're seeing ourselves as adversaries and not thinking that a negotiating process could be good for both parties. >> so where is that point of compromise, if you will? if everyone has to give a little bit, where is that initial point? is there an initial point that you could see there's a place where we begin to forge a relationship? >> what i'd like to see is us talking enough to the iranians to ask them, look, we want you to expose your nuclear program to full international inspections. what would it take for you to do that? what would you need from us? we haven't even asked them that question. all we want to do is force them to act without being willing to make any reciprocal steps. so i think the first step we need to do is broaden the agenda of any talks. don't say all we want to talk about is the nuclear issue because that's what we are intpd intd in. there is no reason for iran to go into talks just on that.

but if you broaden the agenda, if you have concerns about us, then we'll address those, too. then i think you can get concessions on the nuclear issue in exchange for something else. what would that be? we haven't gotten to the point yet where we know the answer to that question. >> okay. good to talk with you. thanks for joining us from the daily base. >> great to be with you. a new round of attacks in the midterms. have voters grown tired of these tactics? ♪ when it's planes in the sky ♪ ♪ for a chain of supply, that's logistics ♪ ♪ when the parts for the line ♪ ♪ come precisely on time ♪ that's logistics ♪ ♪ a continuous link, that is always in sync ♪ ♪ that's logistics ♪

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the 24-year-old spent 12 hours in jail friday before posting $300,000 bail. let's bring in our legal panel to weigh in on this. rebecca rose woodland and jonna stillworn, what do you think is going to happen? >> honestly, i think this judge is tough. the judge has been tough on lindsay from the beginning. i think she's going to say, lindsay, back to rehab. >> back to rehab? not back to jail? >> no. and i honestly hope she does tell her back to rehab. this is a form of incarceration, but it will help her. clearly, the girl needs help. so let's try to work it together with her probationary period, put her in a rehab facility where she cannot leave, obviously. >> but jonna, how much does that supersede, them, punishment? do you think a judge is going to weigh that and say, look, do you need to be punished first and then go to rehab? could it be a two-fer or not? >> i don't think punishment is really the answer. if she were able to, we wouldn't be hearing about this.

she's been on probation forever. she was punished previously by having to go to jail. she obviously has a drug problem. i don't think jail is going to resolve that or teach her any kind of lesson, either. she needs to get clean. she needs to get healthy and the judge is in a position to help her do that. >> until october 22nd, she has to walk a fine line. she's wearing this ankle monitoring bracelet. she can't go anywhere that serves alcohol. do you think she'll comply with this? and what happens if she doesn't? >> i have some sources in los angeles that says she is desperate to get help. she doesn't know how to get the help, she doesn't have the structure in place. maybe i think lindsay would be smart and her defense attorney would be smart to check her into rehab early. then that would alleviate all of the problems. >> i'm curious what you think about nbc news chief dan

abrahams told me yesterday, she's not getting any preferential treatment. were either of us to do this, it's a misdemeanor. you shouldn't be going to jail for 30 days. so did that first judge overreact? >> if first judge most certainly did. and she's on misdemeanor probation and she's been on it since 2007. it's not supposed to last forever. now she's on $300,000 bail. you could kill somebody and get a $300,000 bail. >> you can kill someone and get less bail. >> exactly. not only is she not getting special treatment, but she's probably getting overtly difficult treatment. >> more ladies next hour. thank you. analysts will be watching the markets tomorrow after the dow surged 197 points on friday. the markets have been on a tear for four straight weeks this month. great news, right? also this week, we're going to get another reading on how the economy grew. of course, the sum of all the goods and services made in

america. auto sales numbers come out for september and the sales are expected to be a little bit higher. and on friday, bp's embattled ceo tony hayward steps down following the largest oil spill disaster in this nation's history. just over a month until the midterms and democrats are taking off the gloves. candidate res launching a new offensive of negative ads to try and discredit their opponents and lure them into a fight. so far, at least, few republicans are taking the bait. let's bring in emily high staff. eleanor is with us, as well. oh, yay, we're all good. the girls have gathered. eleanor, ielg begin with you. there is a thought among democrats that if this is the right strategy, these negative ads can be successful. but right now, the voters are impatient with political games. people want no funny business any more.

what's your opinion here? >> i think that the president and the democrats have got to fight back. they've let the republicans and the tea party define everything negative about the economy and the president's agenda. and in democrats don't respond, the republican narrative stands. so i think democrats, for the most part, are glad to see the president get off the mat and join the fight. >> okay. emily, what about the democrats trying to make these races local by highlighting their rival's records on all the things like taxes, lawsuits, even divorces. they're trying to avoid a national referendum on president obama and his party. right now, is that working? >> well, that's interesting. there's always been that sort of idea that if you asked the voter, what do you think of congressmen or, you know, politicians, they'll say, oh, they're sleazy, they're corrupt. and then you say, what do you think of your congressman? oh, bob is a nice guy. i've met him before.

so people taking that idea, that sort of national generalized antipathy towards politicians and making it local and erasing that advantage as people have as people that have met their constituents is not a bad idea. the thing that republicans are lucky in is they don't have any nationally identifiable target for democrats to put in their ads. you've got any democratic incumbent knows that if there is a picture of them somewhere with nancy pelosi whispering in their ear that it's going to kind up an attack ad. there aren't so many republicans doing the same o other side. >> interesting. eleanor, i want to play you an ad from republican rick byrd in north dakota. let's watch this. >> earl pomeroy wants you to forget his vote for obama care and his vote for allowing wall street bonuses for wall street executives. isn't it time north dakota has a congressman who will change and not change the subject with

negative ads? >> doipg it sums up the republican message? they're trying to make this race almost entirely about the record of democrats on health care. they've got a taxes blip, the stimulus. is there a risk in that strategy? >> i'm still amazed at the loss of leadership skills in the white house that a stimulus package that has saved a lot of people's jobs and health care reform, which will -- which has delivered some positive benefits already, how they've allowed that to be turned into something negative. but that has happened and i think the republicans are nationalizing the race around the major accomplishments of the obama administration and it's really absolutely an amazing bit of alchemey when the republicans can go from the verge of extension to now taking over one or both houses of congress. so i can look at these ads and think they're playing down to

people's intelligence, i think, but their strategy is working and you can't argue with success. >> emily, the strategy we just discussed ab discussed about highlighting the locals' records, keeping it off a national scale. in ohio right now, we have republican jim renessee who is being attacked by his democratic opponent over unpaid taxes for him. here's the response. he said as far as i'm concerned, you always know you are doing well when your opponent is attacking. do you think there's a risk that democrats will look desperate when they go after their opponents in this way? >> it depend on how trivial the offense is. i think if we're talking about a few unpaid parking tickets, for sure, yes, they will look desperate. and attacks are usually made by those playing defense. it's true. and so i finishing you seize on something very trivial, then you do risk looking terrible in an attack ad. i think what people do v to do here is if they make these attack ads they somehow have to

tie that not just, oh, he doesn't pay his taxes but they have to tie that to something broader. something that people that resonates about that person's character. that means maybe that they can't be trusted. they're not trustworthy. so you have to make that connection. it can't be just, oh, he didn't pay a parking ticket. you have to be careful when you do an attack ad. people can have a negative reaction very quickly. >> emily, eleanor, more next hour. thank you. 75% of americans will be obese by 2020. we're going to ask dr. ian smith what can be done to stop that. ♪

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nbc is kick off a nationally broadcast in-depth conversation about improving education in america. during an interactive summit on rockefeller plas apparents, teachers and students will all

come together with leaders in politics and business to discuss the challenges and opportunities in education today. i'll bring you a live preview from the plaza coming up at 11:30 eastern time. and we'll be followed by teacher town hall hosted by brian williams live here on msnbc from noon to 2:00 p.m. eastern. you can also check out our website, educationnation.com. there you can find out where your school ranks nationally as well as within your state. you can also take a quiz with your child about learning. it's all there for you at educationnation.com. let's go to the worldwide fight against obesity and the country with the biggest obesity problem, yeah, it's us. americans lead the way in obesity among the 33 richest countries in the world, according to a new report. in fact, the world obesity forecast says 3 out of 4 americans will be overweight or obese by 2020. and that is 75% of the u.s. population. dr. ian smith is the medical expert on vh1's "celebrity fit club" and also the author of "happy: simple steps to get the

most out of life." good morning. nice to see you. >> good morning. thanks for having me. >> we're going to talk about things right now which are bad enough. one-third of the people right now in the u.s. being overweight. another one-third of americans, 72 million people are obese. why is the u.s. leading this unfortunate trend? >> i think that the primary reason is because americans don't understand how serious the problem is. there are so many people in america overweight that being overweight has become the norm. we don't realize that you, know, 10 and 20 pounds is still a problem. i think also that if you look at the portions that we eat you, can go to restaurants or all you can eat buffets. we are typically eating two or three servings per meal, which is outrageous. and lastly, of course, our inactivity. everything is delivered. you can have movies delivered, dry cleaning delivered. we need to become more active. >> and this is not just a health problem, dr. smith. it's also an economic one. given the costs associated with obesity, right?

>> it's unbelievable. about $147 billion a year are spent on obesity related complications. in fact, the economists say that 1% of our total gross domestic product is spent on this. so, you know, people say, well, i don't want to do it for health reasons. look at the economic side. there's every kind of motivation for people to lose weight. let me tell you something. people have to first take this seriously. i say in my books. the first thing you need to do is understand there's a problem. let's not talk about the diet plan yet. let's talk about acknowledging that you have a problem. once you acknowledge it, then being serious about making a change. >> and what about the kids. this problem is starting so much earlier than it had been previously. >> we have been ringing the alarm for so long, telling parents that this is the heaviest our children have ever been. in fact, this is the first time that we have predicted that a younger generation, may not outlive their parents. this is a serious problem. and until parents and school boards take it seriously by

putting gym back into required classes, we're not going to be able to do anything about this. >> dr. ian smith, we'll get more on this from you next hour, or 10:00. he's accuse of coercing young men into sex. up next, a report from georgia as the pastor of a mega church addresses his congregation about the allegations made against him. rrexion deep wrinkle night cream is clinically proven to give 10 years back to the look of skin. diminishing the look of even deep wrinkles. 10 years? i'll take that! [ female announcer ] roc® we keep our promises.

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