I think you really have to consider what are the pluses and minuses of the macbook vs. mbp - I will list just the pluses as the minuses of one would just be the pluses of the other and vice versa:
In my OPINION (I know there will be tons of people quoting and disagreeing with me, but this is MY opinion) after having used both extensively:
Macbook:
1. Much more portable as they are smaller, lighter, and more rugged whereas mbp's seem much more fragile to me.
2. I think they look nicer than mbp's, but of course this is highly subjective and likely not that important
3. They are a great deal for the money.
4. They will do EVERYTHING you mentioned (email, office, surf the web, music, photos, movies, etc - these are the things that every "regular" user does and that is the target audience of the macbook and it will accomplish those tasks beautifully).
5. The current macbooks will be almost just as fast as the mbp's in anything NOT requiring graphics card power - which are most high-end applications (none of which you mentioned) and games. One thing I should tell you is that photoshop elements works well on macbooks if you ever feel like you need photoshop and the difference for end users is very small so don't listen to people saying you need it for photoshop.
6. I really like the keyboards more, but that of couse is personal opinion.
7. I use a mouse with my laptops so I think multi-touch is useless and am the wrong person to ask -> which brings me to one negative that I will list of the macbook which is that the USB ports are on the left so if you are right-handed (like 90% of the population) and you try to use a mighty mouse you are screwed because the mighty mouse cable isn't long enough to get to the right side (you engineering fools!).
8. I think they are of a very good build quality, and you shouldn't discount them of that because of their price or their intended audience. They are very solid and stable.
Macbook Pro:
There are (in my opinion) two BIG reasons to go for the pro over the macbook.
1. Screen size - if you want a lot of screen space you have to go for the pro and no one can argue with you. Now, I have worked on 1920x1200 and 1280x800 screens and they DO make a big difference. However, the truth is that once you get used to a resolution it's fine. Think about that old tv you used to watch before you got a bigger one. It was fine at the time right? Then you got a slightly bigger one and now you could NEVER go back. That's the way it is with resolutions on a screen. However, from personal experience (my laptop was stolen and I had to go back), you CAN go back. It's painful at first, but definitely doable. You must remember though that the increase in screen size comes at a cost in portability. The larger the screen size, the less portable and vice versa. This is YOUR own decision to make as to whether you want screen real estate or portability (and probably the one giving you the most agony when you stop to think about what is making you ultimately choose between the two).
2. Graphics power - if you play games or use any intensive applications, just save yourself any further agonizing about this decision and get a macbook pro. You will need the graphics card, end of story.
Everything else about the macbook pro is just bells and whistles in my mind and those are the two main things you should be considering.
In the end, this will of course be your decision, but think to yourself if you think of this computer more as a desktop replacement that you can move from time to time when you need to, albeit rarely, or as a computer that you may need to do some traveling with on a somewhat regular basis. If all else fails then choose the macbook pro if it is more the former and the macbook if it is more the latter. Good luck.
