matter how painful they might be. after some initial frustration voiced by those families, officials are in overdrive trying to provide answers. we will talk with one official trying to help. but first, here are the other stories we're digging into tonight. it is so good to be here. let me ask you, don't you love your freedom? >> she's back after a season of reality tv. sarah palin returns to what she does best. >> wow. >> scaring the heck out of some republicans. >> tea party americans, you're winning. >> is she the king maker or the queen? and baseball and ponzi schemes. >> i got it, i got it, i got it! >> jeff toobin say the new york mets and bernie madoff used to be on the same team. can the mets survive and win again, or will they strike out? >> you're out of here! then, the financial meltdown. who's the blame? a new investigation names names. they failed to do their jobs, and some of them got promoted. questions remain about the number of bodies yet to be identified and why family members are still being prevented from visiting the morgue. to shed some light on those and other questions, i'm joined by mark bridges, coroner for newton county, missouri. mark, thanks for joining us again tonight. >> sure thing. thank you. >> let's start where we have to start. are you making any progress? you're the coroner. you're in charge of the morgues. are people finally getting the information they need about whether or not their loved ones are, in fact, in the morgue? >> i have been to the morgue today, and, yes, they are making good -- good progress. highway patrol has a team down there. they are pulling -- actually pulling individuals out of the line that they think they have close to a positive identification on and going ahead and making the rest of the identification on them so that they can get them to their families. >> here's the question that people still can't get their arms around. there are a lot of unidentified bodies in the morgue. there are a lot of people who are still just being listed as missing. why can't the family members of those who have a loved one who's missing go into the morgue and see if the person who's still listed as missing is, in fact, in the morgue? as we all know, that unfortunate story where he ended up being in the morgue whole time while his family was searching for him. why can't we just let those families in? >> well, the situation that we had early on is we had some family members that made identification on an individual, let's say, start off with, and they got into the mortuary, got him involved, got him dressed, and when they went back, it was not their son. so the jasper county coroner, rob chapel, clamped it down at that time, and that's when demort came in, and they were many the process of setting up to make positive identifications. and that's what's taken the time. >> look, i certainly give you every bit of credit for doing everything you think you possibly can, but i guess the fact that one or two errors were made doesn't mean that you don't want family members to go in at all, even if what you get is a tentative or a nondefinitive identification, where so much time has gone by. let me ask you another way that maybe could be tried. why haven't the family members of those who have a loved one missing been asked for a dna sample? then you take a dna sample from every unidentified body in the morgue, do a cross-reference, put the computers to work, and see if the matches would suggest an identification? >> that is being done. the problem is those are being sent to dover, delaware, to dover air force base, and they've got the process down to a matter of -- it was to months, and now it's to a matter of weeks. now, the problem of somebody coming in to the morgue, this is not a morgue as most people would know it. this is a temporary morgue where people are in body bags in numerous trailers. so what a person would have to do, they would have to open up every trailer and open up every body bag to look at each individual in the bag. so it's not a morgue as you would know it. >> right. mark, look, everybody appreciates your working in circumstances that are almost beyond description where the ordinary circumstances that you're used to working in have just been destroyed by the enormous power and wrath of this devastating tornado. so we give you every bit of credit for doing everything you possibly can. i think everybody's frustration is palpable and real. let me ask you this. at a personal level, are the families ssympathetic? unfortunately for you, you're the one they talk to and kind of ask the hard questions to and perhaps vent some anger. are they sympathetic that you're trying to do everything you can for them? >> i'll tell you what, i personally have not had one individual, when i described to them what was going on, that left -- they left frustrated, but i haven't had any left mad. now, last night, when i attended the family meeting, there was a number of individuals that were very agitated, and those individuals did sign a list, and the highway patrol went out. and we were told that those individuals had identifying marks such as tattoos that we could readily identify them with. so we went ahead and the highway patrol members started looking for those people, and those are being identified today. so as we -- and i took a list out, also, myself of individuals that should be able to be readily identified, and they say that they would put them at the high priority also. >> all right. well, mark, we know you're doing everything you can, and i think as you said there's frustration, but hopefully there's not anger because everybody's on same team here. thank you for all you're doing. we appreciate you coming on the show. >> thank you. thank you very much. appreciate it. now to dan mitchell, a youth minister in joplin, who's found himself picking up the pieces in a city that's literally been torn about. he found yesterday his friend, 16-year-old lance hair, died in the storm. as families brace themselves for more bad news, dan is one of the people they've been turning to. dan, thanks for joining us again. >> my privilege. >> so, first,i just got to ask, how is the community faring emotionally? are people beginning to pull together? is the grief still just overwhelming the entire town? >> i think things are relatively overwhelming. we are, you know, forced into a major operation where we're organizing efforts to make a difference, to make the straightest line to the victims, and all of us are traumatized, too, by the friends we've lost and just the fear of life and death, things that have occurred here over the last few days. and so everyone -- this is a strong community, and there's a deep faith here, and god is good at bringing order out of chaos. and that's what's happening. people are seeing that happen. like this morning i was with the pastors praying at the home depot parking lot, and all around us we could hear god's work being done. and that's very comforting. and then we see people from all over the country, like i would even say cnn being able to broadcast this story. it's like people have your back, and that's very strengthening. but that doesn't always make it easier. it's still a tough road. >> sure doesn't make it easier. a community that is so small to have lost so many people, as you point out, everybody knows somebody, everybody knows many people who have been lost, injured, and just unbelievably difficult. a huge rift through the fabric of the community. you and your ministry have become a central player in trying to rebuild, now to where you ear one of the critical distribution points. explain what you're doing, traying to get the basic necessities out to folks. >> well, there are many places doing that, and the bridge -- what's happened, again, we wanted to be able to help as many people as possible. one of our original goals was to find kids. as i look across the bridge, i look across the disaster zone. i think that's where my kids lived. and i figure if i have what they need i'll get to see them again. >> and you -- >> many people all around the community -- i was going to say many people all around the community have done similar thing, and it's beautiful. it's not just a bridge. there are many people doing great things like that. >> now, the president's going to be visiting this sunday, i believe. what do you hope to hear from him? and what do you want to show him? assuming you had a chance to speak to him, what would you say to him? >> i'd say we welcome the presence here of the government, the governmental bodies that are here. today one thing i heard at a meeting was, you know, we don't want to step on anybody's toes. if you're overwhelmed, we'll step in. we're overwhelmed. we need you. in the meeting i had today, i had any number of people tell me we need a warehousing and distribution center set up, but i have to get this list of things before that can be set up, because until that's set up we have to tell people we can't take your supplies that we know we'll need in eight months. so we do need some help. i think our local officials are amazing men and women, and they're doing an incredible job under the circumstances. but there's more here than we can do, and i think that protocol needs to change. and i also think the best human resources we can get involved here where we can bring in -- like i need two forklifts. i need someone who can get that done. and i just think that's kind of the deal right now. there are local people here who can get things done, but the local government, they have to get the streets cleared. but there are other issues that have a human element to them that have to be handled. and so i would say let's step -- go ahead and step on our toes and help. >> you know, dan, i think the president will be there not only with the full force of what the federal government can bring through fema and the resources but also i'm sure his power of emotional strength that he will bring to the community, as well, to thank you and so many others who have done so much. i'm sure that will be a wonderful visit coming this weekend. dan, thank you for coming on the show and everything you've been doing in the community since this horror struck. >> thank you. thank you very much. >> more on our website, information to gain access and be helpful to the people in joplin. dan, thanks for being with us. >> thank you. coming up later in the program, our capitol hill duo who bat sol hard they could take their act to broadway. and jeffrey toobin is here with his blockbuster story this week about bernie madoff and the mets. jeff? >> who would have thought bernie madoff had such an impact on major league baseball? but it really seems like fred wilpon, who owns the mets, may lose control of the team. he has already given up part of control of the team because he was the single biggest loser in the bernie madoff scandal. and the mets are very much up for grabs at this moment. >> amazing story, fascinating article. i read it top to bottom. and now somebody else to blame for the mets losing all the time. i say that as a yankee fan. any other luxury brand. bn ♪ intellichoice proclaims that lexus has the best overall value of any brand. ♪ and j.d. power and associates ranks lexus the highest in customer satisfaction. no wonder more people have chosen lexus over any other luxury brand 11 years in a row. see your lexus dealer. ♪ well, you know i love it too ♪ ♪ you love money ♪ well, you know i love it too ♪ ♪ i work so hard at my job ♪ and then i bring it home to you ♪ ♪ i love money in my pocket the field of gop contenders is getting more crowded every day. as the race heats up, so has the poll. mitt romney tops the field, but have any of the candidates said anything to generate excitement beyond the fringe of the party? rick lazio, former republican congressman, and steve kor natty, news editor of salon.com. steve, you wrote an interesting, intriguing article in which you said the republican leadership, the elite of the party, as it were, was afraid of the palin candidacy. why? explain. >> i think to understand what's going on you have to think back to the 2010 midterm election, which was fantastic for the republicans, but there were some rough spots there. i think the republican sort of establishment looked and said, you know, the economy was terrible, the democrats controlled everything in washington, voters wanted, you know, to throw the opposition party -- you know, give them some power. so republicans were necessarily going to win. yet there were big races, like the senate race in delaware with christine o'donnell, in nevada with sharron angle, where a republican base insisted on nominating candidates that were unelectable, even in 2010. i think the republican establishment took the lesson from that that, hey, the key to 2012 is if the economy is still bad and voters want to get rid of obama, let's not do anything as a party to screw that up. let's not nominate christine o'donnell or sharron angle. i think they think sarah palin represents that. >> congressman, do you buy that log logic? >> i think there's an increasen inability for the so-called elite or establishment to control outcomes. you see grassroots efforts spring up. the whole tea party movement itself is outside of the establishment, elite party structure, and it has pride in that sort of sense of being outside that structure. so i think that absolutely you want to have a candidate if you're a republican leader who's going to have broad base sf supporters, has the ability to bring over independent voters, that crucial swing voter that republicans and democrats are looking to lock up. if you look at the polling numbers, you're probably saying romney has a bert chance of being that person than palin or michele bachmann. >> you're saying steve's logic is correct but the meat of the party may not have the levers to determine the outcome. you, on the other hand, steve, have been pointing out even from roger ayles, sort of the quixotic position, in the media business, but a powerful person in the republican party, he's been playing a role in this. >> right. when we use the term elite, we think of people who are sort of automatically, you know, have nothing to do with the base of the party and the grassroots. i think we have to think about a guy like roger ayles who controls fox news channel, which everybody in the republican party these days watches. think about charles krauthammer, probably the most influential columnist on the right "paula zahn now". these are people in the republican establishment who have a lot of influence on what the base thinks. if you look at how they've treated sarah palin since last november, you' an uptick in the negativity expressed about her. even among republicans she's not that popular. shoo within your party's possible nominees, who of the nonfringe candidates -- take away santorum, palin, and bachmann -- who is saying something that genuinely excites people? >> we have a fragmented field right now, so republicans are now whatever they are, nine or ten republican candidates in the field. a few are at the top with rom y romney. >> on the first issue, repeal obama care, mitt romney last week and newt gingrich, we haven't spoken about, not quite sure where to put him, both said the individual mandate makes sense as a matter of being the sennial premise of health care. what do you make of that, steve? >> also news today that tim pawlenty three or four years ago was saying pretty much the same thing, he was open to the idea of the individual mandate. the history of that suggests the individual mandate was pretty much a conservative idea. as recently as 15 years ago in the united states congress, you had a fair number of republicans in the senate like bob dole, orrin hatch, saying you know what, if we're doing health care reform, do it with the individual mandate. it speaks to the season we're in right now, which every republican needs to appeal to the base of the party, which is convinced the worst thing that ever happened in the country was bom care. if one of these guys like romney gets the nomination, does he change his new london tune in t? >> there was an article that is how you get rid of the free rider program in health care. but how does mitt romney deal with that issue? >> first of all, what he would say as governor is the bill that ends up in place right now is very different from the bill that he proposed. what he proposed was for people to either have a bond or have sort of a catastrophic health care policy. he proposed vast deregulation, a lot more choiceer, person, espe the individual insurance market, and deregulation on the group side. deval patrick comes in and reregulates it. he would say a lot of the cost issues were driven by the fact a democratic governor came in, they did just the opposite of what hepted. two, he'll say -- >> ten seconds, yeah. >> he'll say, number two, it's state choice, not a federal mandate. don't jam it down the throats of the states. third, he's going to say, listen, i actually increased the amount of poor people who got health care coverage. that was good thing. >> look, it will be interesting to see if it plays out. it will be an interesting record to debate. steve kor knack i can, rick lazio, thanks for joining us. up next, politicians can point fingers on medicare all they want, but with the plan splat slaited for bankruptcy in 2024, maybe their time would be better spent tixing it. i talked to two members of congress with very different ideas. ♪ [ male announcer ] in 2011, at&t is at work, building up our wireless network all across america. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible. in an effort to give you the best network possible. it's true. you never forget your first subaru. should i bundle all my policies with nationwide insurance ? watch this. on one hand, you have your home insurance with one company. and on another hand, you have your auto with another. and on another hand, you have your life with another. huh... but when you bundle them all together with nationwide insurance... ... they all work together perfectly-- and you could save 25%. wow... it's all in the wrists. ♪ nationwide is on your side democrats have been taking a victory lap this week over their surprise upset in the congressional election in new york state, claiming that republican plans to restructure medicare is political poison. but with medicare on track to be bankrupt by 2024, are democrats whistling past the graveyard? joining me now, republican michael grimm, a congressman from new york, and loretta sanchez, a democratic congresswoman from california. congressman grimm, let me start with you. your party got walloped this week. it was a special election, a swing district. medicare was the issue. the republican party lost. how does that make you feel? you're in a swing district also in new york, staten island in new york city. are you afraid of this medicare program right now? >> no. i mean, i'm not afraid. i also want to emphasize it was a third-party candidate. that had a lot to do with it. but it's no question we have to message better. here's the reality. it's easy for democrats to say we want to kill medicare. the problem is it's not true. obama care changed medicare as we knew it, took over half a trillion dollars out of medicare, and put a 15-panel bureaucratic whatever together to decide what our seniors are going to have. i just can't allow medicare to go broke in whether it's 10 year, 12 years 14s