this man an oscar for that incoherent performance? i believe we should. it's way too early for this. good morning. i'm willie geist. this is "way too early," the show that prides itself on giving incoherent performances each and every morning. i'm glad your up watching on msnbc or listening live on sirius. shoot me an e-mail at waytooearly@msnbc. let me know what you are doing up or let me know what jimmy carter does. we'll read the best responses later in the show. the next 30 minutes will be your cram session for friday, september 17th. bill clinton on the "daily show" with a little advice for president obama. plus, paul konerko of the white sox takes a tailing fastball in the face.

89 miles an hour. it's what he did next, though, that makes this story incredible. we'll show you in just a few minutes. first, to the news live at 5:30 a.m. here at 30 rock in new york city. this morning's "washington post" is reporting that a group of republican senators are considering an alternative approach to the tax cut debate that is bitterly dividing congress. currently senate minority leader mitch mcconnell and john boehner locked in a standoff with president obama and democrats over the fate of the bush tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of the year. democratic leaders are pushing to extend the cuts to the middle class but not to the nation's highest earners. republican leaders want all the cuts to be made permanent. but, according to "the post," some republican senators argue a two-year extension of all the bush tax cuts would give the economy time to improve and give congress time to help develop policies that restore the country's fiscal health. this has been the third alternative that they've put out

there. we'll see. yesterday house speaker nancy pelosi got a letter from a freshman democratic congressman from virginia who collected more than 30 signatures from other moderate democrats who want to preserve all the expiring tax cuts, including those for upper bracket earners. but pelosi does not seem to be budging, insisting the cuts should only remain for the middle class. >> is it fair to say you're not open to the one to two-year extension compromise. >> not for the wealthy, no. >> you made your position -- >> i made my position. again, we listen to our members. i think the president gave us exactly what we needed. clarity. and the public is with the president. >> meanwhile, fresh off her upset victory in delaware's republican primary for u.s. senate, christine o'donnell will speak at the values voters summit in washington. one of the nation's biggest gathering of conservative leaders. o'donnell will join a long list of republican stars, including some presidential hopefuls perhaps.

mitt romney, mike huckabee, newt gingrich will be there. o'donnell will meet with national republican senatorial head john cornyn who initially said he would not back her race but later promised to give her the organization's maximum legal donation of $42,000. yesterday republican national committee chair michael steele also called o'donnell to personally express his support and to pledge the backing from the national party. despite polls suggesting o'donnell has a slim chance of beating democratic candidate, they are still pouring money. chris coons had raised over $944,000 compared to o'donnell's 20 grand. 20 grand, leading up to the primary. but in just the 24 hours after her win, look at this. o'donnell racked up $845,000 in donations. that's in one day while coons

netted $125,000. not so bad either. but 8:45 on the wednesday, the day after she won the primary is remarkable. on fox yesterday, karl rove, the man who made news for his criticism of o'donnell after her win on tuesday, backed off a bit. even offering o'donnell advice on how to build up her campaign. >> she needs to do two things. she needs to in the seven weeks remaining, make a passionate, articulate, credible, aggressive case about why obama's bad on spending, deficits, debt and health care and then she needs to also be able to answer these questions about her personal background. look. everybody in their life sometimes has difficulties. and honesty and candor will be the best remedy. she can't get away with saying my answer is on my website or it's puzzling to me why the irs would file a lien for me when i didn't pay my taxes in 2005. you got to be more honest than that. if she does, she's got a shot to

win. >> o'donnell and coons faced off last night in their first debate. both candidates said they want to focus on their policy and not statements from their past. many of those which we've seen around the web over the last couple of days. >> you have taken a strong stance in the past about people's private sexual behavior. what do you single the role of government in regulating these matters. >> it's personal. >> i agree with you. it's personal. these questions come from statements i made over 15 years ago. i was in my 20s and very excited and passionate about my newfound faith. but i assure you, my faith has matured and when i go to washington, d.c. it will be the constitution on which i base all of my decisions, not my personal beliefs. >> it's my hope that in the general election campaign my opponent and i can focus on our policy proposals, on the constructive ideas that we've got for how to get this economy back on track. how to create jobs and how to

manage federal spending and reduce our debt. those are the sorts of things that i know delawareans want to hear. i don't think they are particularly interested in statements that either of us made 20 or 30 years ago. >> the race for joe biden's old seat will be a fun one to watch. former president bill clinton was on television offering president obama a little advice on helping democrats win re-election in the midterms. clinton sympathized with the obstacles obama is up against this november. >> we had a different problem than -- at that time, newt gingrich had come out with his contract on america or contract for america he called it. we had a version of what he's facing now which is that we had done things that were bringing the economy back but no one felt it yet. that's a combustible mix. it makes people angry and they ought to be angry. and it may make some of your own strong supporters kind of apathetic about whether they should vote. so i think that he should go to the areas where he can help.

and that's what he's doing. and he should help them raise enough funds so they don't get blown away. >> another democratic president, jimmy carter, out sharply criticizing the late senator ted kennedy, about a year after his death. carter saying americans could have had comprehensive health care coverage decades ago if kennedy had not blocked a plan that carter proposed. back then, the massachusetts senator kennedy unsuccessfully challenged carter for the 1980 democratic presidential nomination. carter then lost, of course, to ronald reagan. in an interview with "60 minutes," former president carter revisits his decades-old bitterness as part of a promotion for his latest book "white house diary." >> the fact is we would have had comprehensive health care now had it not been for ted kennedy's deliberately blocking the legislation i proposed in 1978 or '79. >> you blame teddy for the

failure? >> exactly. >> health case, his issue. >> exactly. it was his fault. ted kennedy killed the bill. >> just to spite you? is that -- that's the implication. >> that's the implication. he did not want to see me have a major success in that realm of american life. >> and there's even more in the book. but in his 2009 memoir, "true compass," kennedy himself wrote about this very issue. he says carter dragged his feet on health care and viewed his health care efforts as a platform to challenge his presidency. again, jimmy carter attacking the late ted kennedy on "60 minutes." pope benedict is beginning his four-day tour of britain by offering the sharpest critique yet of the child abuse scandal that has rocked the catholic church. speaking to reporters on the plane to edinburgh yesterday, benedict expressed sadness that the church was not, quote, sufficiently swift and sdisive in taking the necessary measures to prevent the crimes. the trip is the first ever state

visit by a pope to the united kingdom. in his meet with the queen yesterday, historically significant because of the divide between the protestant nation and the catholic church. still ahead here on "way too early," new numbers show that poverty in the united states is at its worst levels in more than 50 years with nearly 44 million of us living below the line. we'll have a report on what's behind these ugly statistics and what we can do to change them. and how does it feel to take a major league pitch in the face? one hitter found out last night. but wait until you see what he did when he finally came to his senses. unbelievable. that story and a check on weather when "way too early" comes right back.

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i've been looking at the numbers, and i think our campus is spending too much money on printing. i'd like to put you in charge of cutting costs. calm down. i know that it is not your job. what i'm saying... excuse me? alright, fine. no, you don't have to do it. ok? [ male announcer ] notre dame knows it's better for xerox to control its printing costs. so they can focus on winning on and off the field. [ manager ] are you sure i can't talk -- ok, no, i get it. [ male announcer ] with xerox, you're ready for real business. you took my eggs ! it's an "egg management fee." what does that even mean ? egg management fee. even kids know it's wrong to take other people's stuff. that's why at ally bank we offer rates among the most competitive in the country that won't get eaten away by fees.

it's just the right thing to do. 5:43 in the morning. a little damp here in new york city as we look at times square. let's get a check on the weather from nbc meteorologist bill karins who again was not at the mandated walk yesterday. >> no, i was here getting ready for the big tornado/wind event. >> that was crazy. >> it was. >> it came and then it went, but it was -- >> it was quick. >> a good example of what 100-mile-per-hour winds can do. that's what blew through nirk city. i took this picture on my block. this tree lost all its branchs. here's a look at what it looked like when it was rolling through. the wind just came down. literally 100-mile-per-hour gusts came right through new york harbor. it was in and then it was out. we were just left with the

cleanup and all the damage. a ton of trees down. scaffolding down in many areas. could have been worse, i guess. one fatality, which is bad enough. but for how many trees fell and how many people live in the city, we made it through all right. as far as what we'll deal with out there as far as dealing with today, it's all about hurricane karl. this storm really fired up. the damage in mexico is going to be intense. this will be one of the strongest land falling hurricanes we've seen in awhile anywhere. it's predicted to be a category 4 at landfall. this storm blew up last night to a very dangerous storm. it's moving into a pretty rural area in between poza rica and veracruz. there's a nuclear reactor. that will be interesting as we go throughout the day. also hurricane igor, still going to produce huge waves on the east coast and could hit bermuda as a category 2 or 3 sunday night into early monday morning. forecast around here doesn't look too bad. that rain we had early this morning is exiting new england. it will be a nice afternoon. much of the east coast looks

good. it's hot, willie, down along the deep south all weekend long. doesn't really change. we'll not see any really horrible weather. it's just all about the tropics and the cleanup in new york city. >> we're okay this weekend. thanks so much. appreciate it. let's turn to sports now. undefeated fighter floyd "money" mayweather is in some serious trouble right now with the law. this began last week when mayweather was arrested in las vegas on a charge of theft. police accuse him of taking an iphone from josie harris, his ex-girlfriend and mfrth his three children. but yesterday, police raised the bar on these charges alleging mayweather hit and threatened his ex-girlfriend and his children. authorities added seven more charges to mayweather's felony theft bringing his grand total of combined felonies and misdemeanors to eight. if found guilty, mayweather could face up to 34 years in prison. mayweather denies any wrongdoing. perhaps the biggest name in fighting right now. to baseball, giants looking

to overtake the slumping padres for the top spot in the nl west. giants and dodgers. aubrey huff hits a three-run home run off ted lilly. said that without debate. buster posey with the solo shot to left. giants cruise to the 10-2 victory. padres lost yesterday. the cardinals, what does it mean? san francisco giants now a half game up. they are in first place. what a fall for the padres. scary moment in the white sox game. talking about this one all morning. paul konerko takes an 89-mile-an-hour baseball off the face. hit him in the face. trainers rush out to check on him. check it out. hits him right in the mouth. after a few minutes, laying in the dirt, he staggers to his feet, gets up. they want to take him out. he says i'm staying in the game. watch what he does. same at-bat. hits a home run. later, konerko hitting for a solo shot to left.

that's his 37th of the season. he stayed in the game. actually later he hit the home run. however, the twins won the game, 8-5. now tied with the yankees and rays for the most wins in baseball at 88. and remember this incident at a houston game last month. foul ball rocketed into the stands. instead of trying to catch the ball, the guy leaps out of the way letting the ball hit his girlfriend. not a good moment for men. on wednesday, curtis granderson hit a two-run home run to right field in tampa. watch the guy in the front. steps aside to allow the ball not to hit his girlfriend but to hit a sweet old late in the front row. she is not happy. look at that. you stepped out of the way to let a home run drill me in the chops. unbelievable. i guess chivalry really is dead. >> let's get back to some real news now. nearly 44 million people according to a new report now living in poverty in this country. that's an increase 46 million

people from the previous year. numbers released yesterday from the u.s. census bureau are the most detailed picture yet of the impact the recession has had on personal income. nbc's lee cowan has more. >> reporter: it's a snapshot of the nation's poor that doesn't discriminate. the poverty rate rose for nearly all races and all ethnicities. a quarter of the nation's african-american population is in poverty. same is true for hispanics. among the hardest hit are children. 1 in 5 are now estimated to be growing up poor in the richest nation in the world. at food pantries like this one in los angeles, the new face of the poor isn't what you might expect. take alma, a professional mother of two who never thought she'd be depending on others for a meal. >> we get bread. sometimes we get seafood. sometimes we get chicken. >> reporter: across town at the local mission we found shivan, a college graduate who is now

homeless. >> i have never, ever really disclosed this to my family because it's embarrassing. i'm expected to do well. >> there's norma. she's worked since she was 13. but lost her job last year. >> when you see that you don't have nothing at home to cook or to offer what we're going to have, it makes it tough. >> reporter: she can't afford foote food, let alone health care, and she's not alone. the number of americans like her without health insurance climbed to 51 million people last year. that's nearly 1 in 6. a record. the numbers are so bad for working aged people that some are comparing them to the 1960s. just before president lyndon johnson launched a host of welfare programs in his war on poverty. >> we shall not rest until that war is won. the richest nation on earth can afford to win it.

we cannot afford to lose it. >> but critics say we've done just that. lose. >> the child poverty rate today is exactly the same level as it was back when johnson started the war on poverty in the 1960s. so, obviously, spending more on welfare isn't the answer here. >> others disagree saying that welfare programs worked for some but even more government action needs to be taken. >> the best anti-poverty program is not a new social program but a robust jobs program that prepares, trains and puts people back to work, that expands the economy. >> reporter: but when americans are searching for what to eat for dinner or wondering how they're going to feed their children, it's hard to imagine the statistics could be much worse. >> lee cowan reporting that story. again, the poverty level, $22,000. a little less than $22,000 a year for a family of four people living on less than $22,000 a year. 44 million americans are living that way. one more note on that paul

konerko pitch. obviously he got hit in the pitch. hit the home run two innings later. got hit in that at-bat, he went to first base. former president jimmy carter trashes the late ted kennedy telling" 60 minutes" kennedy is the reason the country did not have health care reform for the last 30 years. i have a strange hunch joe scarborough will want to weigh in on this. we'll huddle around the water cooler to resurrect joaquin phoenix's 2009 appearance on "letterman." turns out the bizarre bearded performance wasn't just weird. it was also oscar worthy. we'll explain when "way too early" comes right back. ♪

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a new record for the housing market. one that shows the sector still has a long way to go in its recovery. if you want to sound smart, tell your friends that the u.s. foreclosures hit a record high in august rising 3% to just over 95,000. realtytrac says factors affecting foreclosures like high unemployment and falling home prices obviously have yet to improve. enough of the real news. let's gather around the water cooler to talk about joaquin phoenix. the now legendary david letterman performance. he had the beard. just sat there.

didn't answer questions. mumbled. at first we were stunned and then said something is up here. now that's been confirmed. before we get into that, though, let's enjoy once again some of that performance. >> you've got a nice beard going. >> oh, yeah, thank you. >> how is that, the beard? >> in what way? >> is it comfortable? is it itchy? your pleased with it? >> i am okay with it. but now you are making me feel weird about it. >> in "walk the line" i said this guy is tremendous. he's singing and it sounded great. so is that the kind of music you are interested in? >> no, no, i do more of a hip-hop music. >> hip-hop music? >> is that a joke? >> joaquin, i'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight. >> so here's the deal. it was part of the movie he was shooting. casey affleck, ben affleck's younger brother directing it called "i'm still here" about the downfall. they were chronicling the downfall of a star. he started the hip-hop career,

grew the beard, fumbled his way through a number of interviews. it was all for the movie. they went to great lengths. casey affleck says it's a terrific performance. the performance of his career. you had glenn beck's big rally there in d.c. a couple of weeks ago. now jon stewart and steven colbert are going to hold dueling rallies of their own. jon stewart's called the rally to restore sanity. >> you may be asking yourself right now, sitting at home, but am i the right type of person to go to this rally? the fact that you would even stop to ask yourself that question as opposed to just, let's say, jumping up, grabbing the nearest stack of burnable holy books, strapg on a diaper and just pointing your car towards d.c., that means i think you just might be right for it. >> he went on to say we're here but only until 6:00 because we have a sitter. stephen colbert holding a

dueling rally on the same day to restore fear. that's what his is all about. still ahead on "way too early," why your awake? you are checked out for the weekend. texts and e-mails are next and "morning joe" just minutes away. [ male announcer ] mix it. blend it. sprinkle it. sweet! [ female announcer ] just about anywhere you use sugar you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. [ male announcer ] savory. fluffy. yummy. sweet! [ female announcer ] splenda®. america's favorite no calorie sweetener. oh! just come snuggle with mama. [ male announcer ] missing something?

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so with more flight options, i can find the combination that gets me there and back quickest. where you book matters. expedia. - that's right, cso we've got a list of things you can do to get active. - like jumping jacks. - or how 'bout push-ups? - sit-ups? - uh, maybe jumping rope? - yeah. or jogging. - uh, how about like a wheelbarrow race? - oh, yeah, that's a great idea. - but imagine actually trying to use him as a wheelbarrow, like stacking bricks on him and doing, like, doo-doo-doo. you know what i mean? - or yoga. - which is actually peaceful and quiet and not a lot of talking, so... - exactly. is he still looking at me?