it tickicks off at the variety y house in atlanta. >> do me a favor. >> i'm not going anywhere. >> stay right there. i want you know before you and i go live, i want you to say, and here now in "the situation room" is wolf blitzer. >> oh, my goodness. anderson cooper is so jealous right now. >> go ahead, you're on. >> and here now in "the situation room," it's wolf blitzer. woof woof! >> all right, guys. thanks very much. happening now, president obama wants your attention. he's seizing on any momentum after a major health care speech and not backing down from responding to people he says engage in false claims and name calling. he shouted at the president, you lie. that republican congressman is apologizing. but some republicans say he does have a legitimate point to make. and sex, guys, and videotape. a pro family values politician is caught on tape bragging about racy sexual exploits. he's resigned to disgrace. the way we explains his sex talk may shock you. i'm wolf blitzer in cnn's command center for breaking news, politics and extraordinary reports from around the world. you're in "the situation room." president obama says the nation is now the closest it's ever been to seeing health care reform. so he's wasting no time. the day after his mayor speech before a joint session of congress, the president is back in his pitch. today's audience, a group of nurses strongly supportive of the president's plans. the president also met with his cabinet over at the white house on t . on the issue of health reform the president stressed the need to work together and work against the bitter back and forth. >> our goals are generally the same. whether we're democrats or republicans. in fact, most americans don't even think about those labels all that much. they are turned off when they see people using wild accusations, false claims, name calling, sharply ideological approaches to solving problems. they want pragmatism. they want people to stay focused on the job. and i hope that some of the fever breaks a little bit. >> that harsh political fever was not broken last night when the president spoke to the lawmakers. surely you know by now about that unusual outburst from a republican lawmaker, accusing the president of lying. today, that congressman, even his fellow republicans have something to say about that. let's turn to your congressional correspondent, brianna keilar. she's up on capitol hill watching the fallout. the fallout, brian na, has been significant. >> it has, wolf. a lot of the talk here on capitol hill today was about whether president obama was able to achieve what he wanted with this speech. whether he was able to push democrats to move forward on health care reform. but that outburst, it was the water cooler moment that made a little known republican now infamous. amid a skrum of cameras and reporters, south carolina congressman joe wilson tried to explain himself today. >> it was spontaneous. it was when he stated, as he did, about not covering illegal aliens. >> reporter: when president obama told congress wednesday night that a democratic health care overhaul will not cover illegal immigrants, wilson shouted from his seat, accusing the president of lying. >> the reforms i'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> you lie! >> that's not true. >> reporter: the unusual outburst drew boos from democrats and the glare to end all glares from speaker nancy pelosi. >> it was stunning. to hear such a statement made on the floor of the house when the president of the united states was speaking. >> reporter: wilson quickly apologized and republicans refused to defend him. many where many, including california's dan lund gren say they understood why he was upset. >> i would expect more civility on the floor. but i understood his frustration. republicans offered an amendment specifically to disallow illegal aliens from benefiting from any public plan or federal sub sidization of health care. that was defeated on a party line vote. >> reporter: minority leader john boehner also pointed to a study. >> facts are -- crs says there's nothing in this bill that will prevent these people from getting this type of insurance. >> reporter: that study found illegal immigrants may be able to purchase either private insurance or a new government-run insurance plan if there is one under the house democrats' health care overhaul plan. but unlike american citizens or legal u.s. residents, the study found that illegal immigrants would not be able to get government assistance to help pay for that insurance, wolf. >> brianna keilar is up on capitol hill. meanwhile, president obama is saying what he thinks of the congressman's apology. let's go right to our white house correspondent, suzanne malveaux. he was asked and he answered, suzanne. >> reporter: wolf, he was meeting with his cabinet. there was a group of reporters there. they were being ushered out of the room when our own elaine key han nose stood back and asked the president whether or not he accepted the apology of the congressman. he obviously, wolf, wanted to address this issue if for the very least to put it behind and move forward on his main agenda. that is, of course, health care reform. president obama accepted congressman joe wilson's apology. >> i'm a big believer that we all make mistakes. he apologized quickly. and without equivocation. and i'm appreciative of that. >> reporter: mr. obama never directly talked to wilson but rather received the apology through his chief of staff. the fallout from the tense moment gave the president the opportunity to present himself as above the fray. >> we have to get to the point where we can have a conversation about big, important issues that matter to the american people without name calling, without the assumption of the worst in other people's motives. we are all americans. we all want to do best for our country. >> you lie! >> reporter: the congressman's outburst came after a month of emotional town hall meetings surrounding health care reform. >> the time for bickering is over. >> reporter: the president's speech was supposed to lower the temperature. some republicans said it only stoked their anger. >> i have never heard a more partisan speech by a president in that house chamber. the terminology he used like partisan spectacle, unyielding ideological, bogus claims spread by chose whose only agenda is to kill reform at any cost. >> reporter: mr. obama also said the media just can't resist controversy. >> the media can always be helpful by not giving all the attention to the loudest or shrillest voices and try to stay a little more focused on the issues at hand. >> reporter: the issue at hand, health care reform. >> we have talked this issue to death. year after year, decade after decade. the time for talk is winding down. the time for bickers has passed. >> reporter: and, wolf, the talk continues here at the white house. at this very hour, the president is hosting a group of about 15 or so, smoderate democrats to talk about the proposal and see where they can meet with common ground. he is saturday going to be traveling to minneapolis holding a town rally to take his case directly to the american people, wolf. >> i know you're going to try to catch up with some of those democrats after the meeting. let us know if anything emerged. let's bring in jack cafferty. he's got the "cafferty file." >> that republican congressman from south carolina made a complete fool of himself during that presidential address to a joint session of congress last night. in the process he confirmed what a lot of the american public simply cannot stand about politicians. but he also had a point. south carolina's joe wilson shouted, you lie, at the president after mr. obama denied that the proposed health care legislation would mean free health coverage for illegal aliens. the fact of the matter is they get free health care now by just walking into any hospital emergency room, no questions asked, and nothing in the proposed health care reform legislation would change that. nevertheless, it was pretty low. even with our reduced expectations of our lawmakers. wilson stunned the room. everybody except the president. republicans just froze. house speaker pelosi frowned. vice president biden shook his head. president obama just looked toward the outburst, he said that's not true, and continued right on. there's been a steady and very noticeable decline in civil discourse in this country over the last few years. the whole month of august that we just got through filled with scenes of angry americans yelling at each other in town hall meetings over the subject of health care reform. when a member of congress yells at the president of the united states, calling him a liar in the middle of an address to a joint session of congress, it doesn't get much lamer than that. how did we get to the point where the highest office in the land is treated with such utter disrespect? here's the question. should congressman wilson face punishment for yelling, you lie, at president obama during last night's address to the congress? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile. post a comment on my blog. we run footage of those foreign governmental bodies when they fight with each other, throw chairs and furniture. we laugh about it. we're getting there. >> we haven't seen any fistfights. >> i haven't seen anything like this in all the years i've been doing this. unbelievable. >> i haven't either. >> that's always a very formal kind of -- everybody's on their best behavior. >> there's some recommendations for a formal resolution of censure to be passed by the house. i don't know if that's going to happen. >> the democrats may do that. they have the votes, i suppose, if they wanted to. some of the fellow democrats say president obama has some convincing to do amid the divide over health care reform in the president's own party. it appears the speech last night softened some very hard lines. first of all, this conversation never took place. that's an exact quotation from bernard madoff. unflattering new tapes revealing the extent to which madoff went to keep his scam secret. wait until you hear the rest of what he had to say. amid calls for him to resign as governor of south carolina, mark sanford is now out with new comments. nefits package at no direct cost to the company... it was a perfect fit. find out more at aflac!... ...forbusiness.com once you've mastered the complexities of a headache... the rest of the body is a no brainer. doesn't your whole body deserve excedrin strength relief? excedrin back & body. excedrin. what ache? 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(announcer) benadryl is more effective than claritin at relieving your worst symptoms. and works when you need it most. benadryl. you can't pause life. what heals me? girls' night out. and for damage from acid reflux disease, my nexium. announcer: for many, one prescription nexium pill a day can heal damage to the esophagus that acid reflux disease may cause over time. and nexium can provide 24-hour heartburn relief. headache, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are possible side effects of nexium and other serious stomach conditions may still exist. announcer: ask your doctor about the healing purple pill. learn how you can save online. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. very disturbing story just coming into "the situation room" right now. let's go to cnn's fredricka whitfield. >> a car accident involving a school bus full of children and an suv taking place on staten island. we have some images to show you. we understand that the suv and the school bus crashed into one another, actually careened through a fence and ended up in someone's yard. you're looking right there at a good number of the 25 children and two adults. they were actually treated for their injuries on the scene. one adult was actually taken to a hospital. unclear exactly why this accident took place. but you're seeing right there first responders on the scene trying to do the best they can to make sure that all those who were shaken up by this pretty frightening accident involving a school bus and an auv, that everyone is being tended to. wolf? >> we'll get more information. thank you, fred. president obama asserting his authority in the health care reform debate with a speech to congress last night. republicans may not be lining up behind him, but what about members of his own party? our senior congressional correspondent dana bash is joining us now with more. dana, what are you hearing on this, the day after? >> reporter: what we're seeing and hearing, wolf, is that at least some of the democrats whose differences have slowed the democrats' health care plan are starting to slowly climb out of their frentrenches. if the president's speech was meant to bridge the divide in his own party, listen in. it may have had an effect. >> all the stars are aligned. i want to help this president make history. >> reporter: massachusetts congressman jim mcgovern describes himself this way. >> i'm a proud liberal democrat. >> reporter: he strongly supports a government-run health care option. but says the president's address helped convince him to be willing to compromise. >> we need meaningful health care reform. and it may not be everything i want. i mean, i'm a single payer person. but at the end of the day, if it moves the ball forward, then i think it's going to be worth supporting. >> reporter: to be sure, some liberal democrats are still firmly entrenched. >> we don't have health care reform unless we have a public option. >> reporter: but the house speaker even softened her stance. this often repeated line in the sand -- >> there's no way i can pass a bill in the house of representatives without a public option. >> reporter: now noticeably absent. >> this is about a goal. it's not about division. as long as our goal of affordability and accessibility and quality, then we'll go forward with that bill. >> reporter: that's a telltale sign that liberal democrats are now more accepting of this reality. any health care bill must be conservative enough to pass the much more moderate senate. in fact, pelosi even signaled the house now will not act until it's clear what the senate finance committee will produce. their proposal now has no public option. and on other issues, the democratic chairman boasted, the president's new plan tracks with theirs. >> very close to being in synch here. >> reporter: talk to just about any leader in the house or senate and they can tell you the president's health care plan depends on a pretty large group of democrats in the senate. 15 of those just boarded a bus here at the senate steps. they are headed to the white house right now to meet with the president. >> thank you. we're going to watch that story over at the white house, see what happens. suzanne malveaux will be joining us later. meanwhile, the fate of the health care reform package could also ultimately come down to two moderate republicans, o limp ja snowe and susan collins. john king is in portland, maine, right now. john, these two women, they potentially could hold the fate of health care reform in their hands. >> reporter: wolf, they certainly could hold in their hands the question of whether any republicans will come on board. so that's bwhy we wanted to com to maine the morning after the senator's speech. we stopped by senator olympia sn snowe's office. some were saying how were you going to pay for it? others were saying, i want you to fight for the public option. that's the advice senator snowe is getting from her constituents. this is state that has more undeclared voters, independents, if you will, than democrats or republicans. it's interesting to watch. that's where the president has suffered the most, among independents so far in the health care fight. we wanted to come here and get a flavor for it. talking to a number of people. some small businessmen saying they're worried about the cost. others saying they want something done. we did our diner segment this week with people who support the president's plan. the most interesting dynamic is here's a state where barack obama wins by double digits. the very same year republican senator susan collins is reelected by double digits. so you ask, what do the people of maine want? i spent some time with the former independent governor, an gus king today. he said, look. olympia snowe and susan collins are virtually untouchable. if they want to support the president's plan they'll have the support of the people in maine. if they say in the end they can't do it, that will be fine with the people of maine, too. >> they're the great hopes of the white house, these two moderate republicans. maybe one or two others. that would be a huge deal for the president if he could get a few republicans on board. john, you had a moment today with a lobster in maine. we've got a picture. i want to show our viewers john king with a good friend over there. what happened? >> reporter: well, i want everyone to tune in on sunday. i'm doing a little math here. some interesting math i'm working on the lobster talks in portland. tune in on sunday to see the method to my madness or the madness to my method. we stopped with a small businessman who sells lobsters. he's concerned about the cost. we used the lobsters as a demonstration as part of a piece for sunday. it's a critical part of the economy here, wolf, the lobster industry, fishing industry. we stopped at one small business. the man says he pays $300 per month for each of his employees to have health care. he's a republican. it's very typical in our travels, he said, sure, i'd like some help. sure, if this would actually lower my costs and protect me, i'd be all for it. i'm very skeptical the government can get big things right. i think we have too big of a deficit right now. that was a conservative voice in the state. on the morning after the president's speech, here, he seems to have done a fairly good job convincing the people of maine to at least support him going forward trying to get it done. >> tune in and see what happened to that lobster. looked like a two pounder, three pounder, what was it? >> that was about a 2 1/2 pounder. we saw some 3 1/2, 4 pounders too, wolf. they've got some beauties here. >> they certainly do. all of us who have been to maine appreciate it. growing calls for south carolina's embattled governor to resign. but will lawmakers take matters into their own hands and impeach him? mark sanford is speaking out again. plus, new details of the man accused of hijacking a plane and why he wanted to meet with mexico's president. 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"but i don't even live near the water." what you don't know about flood insurance may shock you. including the fact that a preferred risk policy starts as low as $119 a year. for an agent, call the number on your screen. fredricka whitfield is monitoring other important stories incoming in into "the situation room" right now. >> reporter: hello again, wolf. mexican officials say the bo live yan pastor aused of hijacking a plane yesterday is undergoing a menltal evaluation. the 44-year-old told investigators that he had had a divine revelation and hijacked a plane to force a meeting with mexico's president. investigators are also looking at how he got a fake bomb past airport security in cancun. washington is not impressed with iran's latest response to international concern over its nuclear program. a state department spokesman says, a new proposal from tehran to the united nations doesn't sufficiently address the issue and that the country insists that its nuclear file is closed. the u.s. is buying it. it's discussin