with republicans who on wednesday will debate about how and who should try to replace the president. the side shows don t matter, the economy matters. it does, and it s not getting better. the question is how likely is it that congress will pass an obama jobs package that includes more spending or investment in the economy? you remember the debt ceiling debate. we have to create more jobs and we have to do it fast. and most of all, we ve got to break the gridlock in washington that s been preventing us from taking the action we need to get this country moving. gridlock happens when there s an election, and next november is coming faster than you may like. this a week for serious joeying in the race. is sarah palin in or out? she dangled the prospect of a candidacy in iowa this weekend. the challenge is not simply to replace obama in 2012, but the real challenge is who and what we will replace him with. mitt romney now trailing texas governor rick perry in the poll
get people back to work, but what are the prospects of washington acting during a fierce ideological fight over the economy? political paralysis is just one of the factors holdingmerica back and raising new fears that our country is in decline. this morning, a special discussion featuring the new york times columnist thomas friedman, co-author of the new book that used to be us: how america fell behind in the world it invented and how we can come back. plus, previewing the political battles ahead in the 2012 campaign as republicansrepare to square off for the first debate that will include the new force i the republican field, texas governor rick perry. also with us this morning, historian and author doris kearns goodwin the wall street journal s paul gigot, democratic congresswoman from los angeles, maxine waters, and political strategist mark mckinnon. then, as the nation prepares to mark ten years since the 9/11 attacks, army captain and veteran of iraq and afghanist
what the government can do to get people back to work. what are the prospects of washington acting during a fight over the economy? political paralysis is one of the factors holding america back, raising new fears that our country is in decline. this morning, a special discussion featuring thomas friedman, co-author of the new book, that used to be us. how america fell behind in the world and how we can come back. plus, previewing the political battles ahead in the 2012 campaign as republicans prepare to square off. it will include a new force in the republican field, texas governor, rick perry. historian and author doris kear kearns. maxine waters and political strategist, mark mckinnon. as the nation prepares to mark ten years since the 9/11 attack, veteran of iraq and afghanistan, joseph joins his mother doris to discuss how that day changed his life. how the attacks defined his generation. good morning. labor day weekend marks the unfortunate end of summer and kicks off
journal s paul gigot, democratic congresswoman from los angeles, maxine waters, and political strategist mark mckinnon. then, as the nation prepares to mark ten years since the 9/11 attacks, army captain and veteran of iraq and afghanistan, joseph kearns goodwin joins his mother doris to discuss how that day changed his life and how the attacks define his generation. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. labor day weekend marks the unfortunate end of summer and kicks off an intense, high-stakes political season. and if there is a headline that underscores what this campaign is all about, is saturday s lead news in the new york times zero jobgrowth latest bleak sign for the u.s. economy. this morning, as we near the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, america is taking stock of what the decade meant and what challenges the country now faces. the president this wk will yet again try to focus attention on jobs as the economy is stuck in slow gro
having the debate. the question is, as a nation, are we having the right conversation about the best way forward? that s what we re going to attempt right here this morning. joining me now, editorial page editor of the wall street journal paul gigot, presidential historian doris kearns goodwin, democratic congresswoman from los angeles maxine waters, and co-author of the newbook that used to be us: how america fell behind in the world it invented and how we can co back, tom friedman, as well as former adviser to presidents george w. bush and john mccain as well as co-founder of no labels, an ganization dedicated to putting party labels aside and politics, mark mckinnon. welcome to all of you. happend of summer. that s what this means, as i said, and the challenges that awt us as we get into fall are pretty steep. here s the context of the debate we re having in politics and in the economy. the unemployment numbers that came out in august have kept unemployment at 9.1% and