doesn't officially start until next saturday. crazy. >> jennifer gray, thank you. >> thank you so much. that's it for us. we appreciate you watching on this sundayment. >> certainly. state of the union with candy crowley starts right now. have a good day. xxxxx. doppelganger political moments. a budget -- the dangerously escalating tensions and hotspots around the world. i'm proud of the people of ukraine and their steadfast efforts for democracy. >> hundreds of thousands in the streets of kiev in a face-off with cold war overtones. the uncle of kim jong unis executed wondering if he's consolidating power or losing it. senator john mccain joins us from ukraine. >> then, good evening. >> i who would have thunk it.

>> i think it's a clear improvement on the status quo. >> we've broken through the partisanship and the gridlock. >> a christmas miracle or just election season setting in? former director of management and budget and douglas holtz aiken on the minimalist budget deal. is the best congress can do good enough for the economy? and the consensus driven speaker of the house busts loose. >> are you kidding me? >> john boehner and the tea party, the president and the promise, the governor and the bridge. our political panel and their discussion. this is "state of the union." good morning from washington. i'm candy crowley. a political tug of war brewing in the ukraine. a country sandwiched between russia and europe. ukrainian protesters are upset with their president for refusing to sign a trade deal with the european union. it's a move that would align the former soviet blocked nation with the west.

instead, the president is turning his financially strapped country toward russia, which has offered economic assistance. nick payton walsh is in kiev as demonstrators gather for a mass rally today. nick? >> reporter: in many ways this country is split in two, candy. then in the west speaking ukrainian wanting to turn their eyes towards the european union. many thought that choice was made nine years ago with the orange revolution pushing the country in the western direction. they're back on the streets because the president didn't sign that deal with the european union that would push them in a westerly direction. more people came out on the streets, the police met with brutality. that brought more people on the streets, too, despite the freezing cold temperatures behind me. in the last few hours, we've heard a key development here. the president giving off signals suggesting that a new deal could still be signed.

we've heard from the e.u., they're not taking ukraine seriously at all. they're halting the talks on that. senator john mccain addressed this large crowd behind me, perhaps 200,000 people turning up and he said america is with you, and ukraine your future lies in your own hands but lies with europe. stepping into the fray here. weeks of standoffs in the streets, candy. >> what comes next? more demonstrations in the streets? i mean, what can happen from here? >> reporter: there's two things to watch in the days ahead. tuesday, the president goes to moscow where he may make signals about getting closer towards the customs union deal. the russians want him to sign. that's going to anger what crowds are left on the streets. the second thing in the last few days, we've started seeing pro-government demonstrations cropping up around the capital. many of the protesters bused in from around the country to express support for the president there.

many in the east worry if they lose friendship with russia, that could damage the heavy industry out there too. one major concern was one protest was about 200 meters down that way, extraordinarily close to the anti-government demonstrations, tense moments many feared. that protest has gone home, moved to other parts of the city. still, rival protests in the heart of kiev after weeks. the standoff continuing and no real leader for the opposition taking negotiations in hand. a concern perhaps. this could drift on for weeks or get out of control as we've seen before, candy. >> nick paton walsh on the scene. good to see you. appreciate it. i spoke with senator john mccain earlier from kiev where he and senator chris murphy traveled to meet with opposition leaders and officials. joining me now, senator john mccain who i know, senator, you have just addressed the crowd of protesters there yourself in kiev. what is it you're trying to do

here? >> hopefully what we're trying to do is bring about a peaceful transition here that would stop the violence, would give the ukrainian people what they unfortunately have not -- with different revolutions that have taken place, a real legitimate society. this is a grassroots revolution here. it's been peaceful, except for when the government tried to crackdown on them and the government hasn't done that since. but praising their ability and their desire to demonstrate peacefully for change that i think they deserve. >> there has been talk about the semi cold war undertones to this protest. what do you think vladimir putin is trying to accomplish here? what's been his role?

>> well, there's no doubt that ukraine is a vital importance to vladimir putin. i think it was kissinger, i'm not sure. they said it's an -- with ukraine it's a western power. this is a beginning of russia. it was right here in kiev. so putin views it as the most highly important and he has put pressure on ukrainians, the price of energy, different kinds much activities and the word is very clear that he has made certain threats. whether he would carry those through or not, i don't know. >> when you look at the totality of putin's actions over, say, the last year, things he has done with and against the united states, what is the end game for him? is this part of it? >> i've watched him become more

and more assertive in his desire as an old kgb to restore the abroad. he's put pressure on latvia, estonia, all of the so-called near abroad. ukraine is the crown jewel. and his efforts here, including keeping his naval base is part of it. there's no doubt that he is very much interested in this fear of influence. as far as his other activities are concerned, you know, as we work with the russians to remove the chemical weapons, there are flights of aircraft that are landing in damascus as we speak with conventional weapons that are slaughtering syrians, which is something that i just find appalling. so i think he is assertive, i

think that he is now a player in the middle east which he has not been since 1973 when he was thrown out by -- when the russians were thrown out by saadat. i think he's realizing, thanks to our weakness, some of his ambitions. >> we should tell people the noise that they're hearing right now are the demonstrations that continue to go on. let me ask you this about the u.s. role. i know that you have wanted of the administration perhaps consider sanctions, something to help boost the anti-government protesters. question to you is, while we're trying to work on so many things with the russians, for instance with iran and in syria, is this really a good time for the u.s. to be taking on russia? >> well, i don't think that we would be taking on russia. by the way, i am very pleased with secretary kerry's statement, our deputy secretary

victoria newland who was here. these people love the united states of america, they love freedom and i don't think you could view this as anything but our traditional support for people who want free and democratic society. we're not talking about military action. we're not talking about blockades. we're talking about the possibility of sanctions if they continue to brutally repress their people. that would require some action on our part just because that's what the united states of america is all about. by the way, there are estimates around 200 to 300,000 people are singing in the background that i hope you can hear. >> we can indeed. i want to turn you to iran right now and the fate of robert levinson reported this week in several media outlets that he was, indeed, on a mission for the cia in iran. he's been missing for about

seven years. haven't heard anything since 2011 from him. we're going to read you a part of the statement from the levinson family, which said the u.s. government has failed to make saving this goodman's life the priority it should be. is that true? >> i am confident that we are doing everything that we can under very difficult circumstances and by the way, this should and the other americans in iranian custody should affect your relations with them. frankly, what disturbs me is apparently they did not tell the truth to the congress. the cia did not tell the truth to the american congress about mr. levinson. if that's true, then you put this on top of things that our intelligence committees didn't know about other activities which have been revealed by snowden, maybe it means that we

should be examining the oversight role of congress over our different intelligence agencies. >> do you think the government of iran knows the fate of mr. levinson? >> oh, i'm sure they do. i don't think there's any doubt about that. >> and do you -- just your gut feeling, following this, knowing about this, do you feel levinson is dead? >> i don't know, candy. i know i saw that picture that everybody is seeing. the iranians are known for their brutality. but we have to keep our hopes and efforts alive for the sake of him -- for his sake and that of his family. >> after the secretary of state came up to capitol hill this week to try to persuade you all not to vote for sanctions which would go against iran that would

take place in six months if there's no deal with iran about its nuclear ambitions, you said that -- basically called the secretary of state a liar. you said it just doesn't jibe with the facts. first, do you think that was purposeful and second, do you think the senate will pass that bill? >> um, i think that it's very likely that we could have a sanctions bill which would take effect at the end of six months if there is no result in the negotiations, is i think what it would be. as far as the information, it's just a disagreement. it's not that the secretary of state is not telling the truth. it's just his view of the facts are very different from mine. for example, he thinks that the agreement states that basically the iranians maintain the right to enrich.

i don't think that that should be the case after their lying and cheating and concealing for all of these years. there's many other aspects of it. the centrifuges keep spinning, there can still be "construction" around the facility. so we are now pausing when they are continuing -- we're easing sanctions while they're continuing a lot of their activities. >> let me quickly turn you to a couple of other stories. north korea, i guess, because it is so isolated and we seem to know so little about it, you have seen the stories that the uncle of kim jong-un has been executed and this started off this whole debate on whether that means that kim is consolidating his power or if he's losing it. because this was one of his closest advisers, his uncle.

what do you make of that? >> i think it's very dangerous. i think this young man is dangerous. we know that he had begun work again on a nuclear reactor, we know that he has closed down the facility that south korea was using, a manufacturing facility, then reopened it. very aberration al behavior. this must be a huge embarrassment for china. the uncle he executed was the interlocutory with china. he maintained the relations and was a very powerful voice, i am told, for some maturity. i think it's very obvious this young man is capable of some very aberrational behavior and given the choice that he has, i think it's very dangerous. you would think that the chinese understand that as well. they've got to rein this young man in and they can. >> one of the things that we

noticed this week, of course, was now that famous handshake at the memorial service for nelson mandela between president obama and raul castro of cuba. you likened this to the handshake between neville chamberlain and adolf hitler, that pacifist -- >> do you regret that statement? >> i think it was gross exaggeration. but i have no doubt that it's a great propaganda value for the cuban government. which is oppressive, repressive. continues to jail dissidents and continues to be one of the -- probably easily the most repressive government in our hemisphere. i don't think you should shake hands with someone who continues to violate his own country's human rights. it happened. but it is what it is. i'm sure that mr. castro appreciated it. to liken the president to

chamberlain -- did you think it was over the top in retrospect? >> i'm sure it was an exaggeration, candy. if you want me to plead guilty here on cnn, guilty. >> okay. >> finally, are you going to vote for the compromised budget bill and whether yes or no, do you ultimately think it will pass the senate? >> i hope it will pass the senate. i'll do anything, not anything, but we must not shut down the government again. we can't do that to the people of this country, and my state. second of all, chairman of the armed services committee pledged to us that we will review this provision concerning military retirement and military leaders i have talked to have said because it gives them relief from the harsh effects of sequestration. i wish that wasn't in there.

to shut down the government is not acceptable act to inflict on the american people. >> just to nail this down, assuming that this budget package stays the same, you will vote for it? >> yes. >> okay. senator john mccain, we did a tour around the globe. i really appreciate your being available to us out of kiev of all places. so good to see you. come back home soon. >> thank you. i'm glad you found me guilty. >> thanks. ahead, the house passes a budget deal with bipartisan support. john boehner lashes out at conservative groups who criticize it. >> they're using our members and using the american people for their own goals. this is ridiculous. listen, if you're for more deficit reduction, you're for this agreement. is the deal the right way out of the fiscal mess? that's next. [ male announcer ] for every late night,

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joining me now, peter orszag former director of the congressional budget office under president obama. douglas holt aiken, former director of the cbo during the bush administration. gentlemen, welcome. we get this budget deal. can we stipulate at the top that

this was more driven politics than policy. they need today have a budget deal. >> so stipulated. >> when you look at this budget, what is right with it? >> i think what's right with it, it gets the basic construct of what we should be doing correct. we should be doing less deficit reduction today and more out of -- that's what this does. that's a good thing. the most important part of this deal is it just for the first time in several years signals that maybe washington won't be so dysfunctional for a period of 12 to 14 months and let the economy gain momentum. >> such an optimist. >> i think there are three things. number one, i'm going to -- this is addition by subtraction. you don't shut the government. you don't scare the consumers and hurt the economy. >> i don't care if you're a big defense or small defense person. it doesn't make sense to do -- that's pointless. it fixes that.

the third is, it changes the focus, not in a dramatic way, but in a tiny way to the annual spending by congress to the permanent programs that are driving the spending and the budget problems. that's a step in the right direction. >> in other words, to deal with medicare, to deal with medicaid, to deal with social security which many people say that's what's really driving our long-term problems. they've put aside the short term problems which is what's the budget going to be for the next year and have room in their schedules to deal with the long-term problems. >> absolutely. among those problems are pensions. they didn't take on social security. the largest and most important pension program. but they touched some of the others in little ways and it's a step in the right direction. >> the big news in the rest of that budget is medicare costs have slowed down dramatically. the first two months of this fiscal year, medicare costs were down even in nominal terms relative to the previous year. we have a revolution going on in the health sector that could, if it's continued, have massive consequences. everything you think you know

about the long-term fiscal gap would be wrong if this were to continue. >> that is the result of the lowering of medicare costs. >> multiple things. >> i think the biggest thing is the expectations that we're moving away from fee for service payment. most hospital executives thing we're moving quickly. we need to realize the expectations. everything that people are doing in advance of that shift would be dropped. >> unless, of course, it turns out -- peter said were if. if is the key here. we don't know yet. we can't fully diagnose what's going on. it's happened and it's a cause for hope. no more. >> let me get back to one of the things both of you agreed on. that is that this is a good signal for the business community. we're told prompts like hey, we've got a plan. you don't have to lay awake at night trying to figure out what the government is going to do to screw up your daily life. we've got the plan. the idea being, i think, that businesses that have been sitting on huge amounts of money

will not go okay -- let's hire people. >> not yet. this is good. as i said, this doesn't get in the way. but there are some things out there that could finish this off and make it much more powerful. immigration reform is not yet complete. speaker boehner said he's going to take this up in the house. he's going to lead that effort. that would be a good thing to get done. that's a permanent reform that changes the landscape. tax reform is the same way. permanent change, give stability. allows our corporations to compete around the world. we need to get those things done. that's what i'd look for presidential leadership on in 2014. if we do that, we'll have success. >> the debt limit coming up in the spring, i hope it's a nonevent. with that, i think we may be in for a decent, not a great, but a decent 2014. because the nonfederal sectors of the economy are actually growing north of 3%. if the federal government just kind of gets out of the way, 2014 will be better than 2013 was. >> so you think that this will

not necessarily say to businesses, we've got our act together a little bit, you can hire people? >> i don't think it's that big a signal yet. i would hope that we get the kinds of permanent reforms we need. we get the tax reforms, the immigration reforms, the entitlement reforms. that's too much for 2014. but we need to go that direction because right now we're growing at about 2%. a little bit faster maybe. >> isn't great. >> that's not fast enough. we still have to grow much faster, take all the workers who have given up, all the workers long-term unemployed and get them back to work. that's the top priority. >> will this budget deal, by itself, help the economy? will this filter in to the suburbs somewhere in pittsburgh? >> a teeny amount. the bigger thing here is it gives it a little bit even without immigration reform, a little bit of a sense of oh, we're not going to have yet more drama and debacles out of washington. the biggest is not within the

four corners. it's the symbolism, we have not shot ourselves in the foot. >> yea. >> economic policy by symbolism is not a powerful thing. that's where we are. >> but we've got if. it's better than nothing. >> so let me ask you about long-term unemployment benefits, which were part of the stimulus package. we still have a huge long-term unemployment problem. i think you would both agree. if it is not extended and has to be extended by the end of this month, those weeks of unemployment benefits will go away for eye lot of people, millions of people. what's the net effect, obviously the net effect on those who don't get their benefits is one thing and it's hard. what about the net effect on the economy because people always argue oh, no, this is monday that i goes quickly into the economy, so it's good. >> i think that, look, the congressional budget office which we both had run found exactly that. when the economy is weakened and you need additional demand, which we're in a situation where

that holds, unemployment benefits are one of the most effective ways of getting money into the economy quickly. i think it's unfortunate that we're not extending that program. >> this is a big deal for those on the program. it's not that big a deal for the economy, the cdo founded thousands of jobs. it's probably two months worth of jobs. what it should focus attention on, long-term unemployment insurance is trying to be all things to everybody. it's supposed to be unemployment insurance, something between jobs. a place to get income and so forth during job training. now it's an anti-poverty program. this is mission drift. we have a big problem with the training. we have a big problem with unemployment. we need programs that match those problem. >> i agree with that. unemployment is still elevatesed. we've -- the long-term unemployment is almost 2.5 -- the point is, always extended these benefits when unemployment is really elevated. both to help the workers themselves and also, look, 300,000 jobs is not nothing. i take it. >> i want to show you all a poll

that came out this week. it's an nbc "wall street journal" poll. which party does a better job with the economy? what's happened since february is that democrats have fallen. right now only 26% democrats do a better job. 36% say no, no, it's the republicans. >> who is right? >> what happened to the other percentage? >> i don't know. none of them seemed good at it. >> that's the highest share. >> look at that drop. i mean, my question to you is, is that correct? are republicans better at dealing with the economy? >> look, the party in power gets credit or blame for what goes on. this is a terrible recovery. the democrats are paying for it. they haven't tried anything new in quite a while. the message is old and stale. republicans have tried something new. made a budget deal and not shutting the government. >> you don't agree, i know. >> the fact of the matter, again, i come back 2014 is

likely for the first time in several years to be materially not as strong as we'd like but better than 2013. i think a lot of the numbers will change. >> they do kind of change with the economy as we see. thank you both so much. we appreciate it. >> thanks for having us. >> when we return, another tragic school shooting in colorado. even as the families of the sandy hook massacre mark the first anniversary of that tragedy. colorado governor john hickenlooper joins me next. life's an adventure when you're with her.

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joining me now from outside arapahoe high school is colorado governor john hickenlooper. governor, thank you for joining us. you had this situation friday in a school where young gunman entered a high school, shot and critically wounded a young female student and went on to shoot himself. i mean, all in a very short period of time. can you first start with anything you know about the condition of the high schooler? >> well, claire davis was a wonderful, wonderful young woman. i went to the hospital, i visited her parents. they're obviously very distraught. she's in critical condition.

you know, it's unspeakable. >> it is, governor. too often you and i have spoken about things like this. watching this unfold and the information that we've gotten, there are a couple questions that arise. first is, this is a young man who walked into a high school, got into a high school with a machete, a pump shotgun, the ammo strapped to a band across him as well as some molotov cocktails. he was visibly armed we're told. so correct me if i'm wrong. how does that happen? it seems to me that at the entrances of schools, someone that is visibly armed should not be able to get in. >> well, this is a large high school. like many of the large high schools, there's kids coming in and out all the time. they did have a deputy sheriff on the premise. i mean, the moment there was

trouble, he was running to the scene. but there's a balance. school administeministrators anl boards are trying to not make it a fortress, a place for education. those are the decisions going down the road with another shooting like this. >> looking at all the doors, perhaps locking them, obviously more expensive to have people at them all the time. but you're right, many of the big high schools have multiple doors that folks can get into. let me ask you what more you might know about the motivation of this young man. >> well, we don't know. there have been reports that maybe he was bullied. i mean, this is really kind of inexplicable that he would for seems like not that big of a deal, would come after with the intent to kill the teacher that had demoted, the librarian. i can't even fathom it. after last year at our

legislative session, we put in place over $20 million just to dramatically spend mental health, 24 hours, seven day a week call-in centers and mobile crisis centers to train people like in cpr to recognize mental illness when you see it. get to it quickly. but this kid, by all accounts, wasn't -- didn't exhibit the warning signs of mental illness. obviously, it's hard to fathom why he would have done this without being somewhat crazy. but bullying does seem to be a number of these kids were bullied at some point. we have programs now throughout the state, anti-bullying, trying to get kids to deal with that in a more constructive way. >> let me ask you finally, governor. any thought that this took place because or in some way was motivated by the one-year

anniversary of the shootings in connecticut? >> well, you know, our sheriff here, grayson robinson, announced he was going to retire the end of january. he's pretty convinced that there's no relationship to it. again, they've got to do an investigation. they've got to really look into it. but we don't see any connection at this point. >> governor john hickenlooper in colorado. let's meet again in happier times. i appreciate your time. >> thanks, candy. when we return, john boehner burns bridges, chris christie makes crossing them even harder. ya know, with new fedex one rate

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vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. with me around the table, dana hill back, amy walter, national editor for the cook political report and senior editor for the national review. thank you all. let's start with john boehner. just because the most

interesting part of the budget being passed on the house side is john boehner coming up and really taking on what we believe to be tea party groups and conservatives. here's part of what he said thursday. just comes to a point when some people step over the line. you know, when you criticize something and you have no idea what you're criticizing, it undermines your credibility. >> let us add that john boehner has been a frequent target of tea party groups conservative talk radio, et cetera. he does seem fed up. we all believe he's been fed up for months. why now and can he afford for this to be permanent? like, okay, these people out i don't know want to deal with them. >> i think it was a skirmish in a broader war. i think you can chalk this up to boehner 1, the others zero. we have a long way to go. the other issues coming forward,

they're going to be much more controversial. immigration being one of those things. it's clear that on this issue, republicans saw that it was a losing fight to go down the pathway of shutting the government down. on immigration, is it going to be easier or harder? i'm going to say it's harder to get republicans on board because you're not saving the republican party in the sense, you're probably helping the democratic party at least in the short term by switching in a midterm election. switching to the issue of immigration. >> i've written several obituaries for the tea party over the years. they generally turn out to be wrong. i think something that is fundamentally changed. there was a poll out this week saying 22% of people are supportive of what the tea party is doing now. i think john boehner feels there's an opening here. only 62 republicans, a quarter of the house caucus went against him. these scary groups like heritage action that channel the tea party, i think they're beginning to think maybe we can take on these guys. they still have a stranglehold in the primary, but maybe they

can begin to take them on. >> they can't really afford to lose that enthusiasm and the numbers that people in the republican party, a great number in the nation at large when a midterm comes. you need that enthusiasm. you can't cut the cord. >> you need people who are knocking on doors and licking envelopes and all of that. i think what the republicans p republican establishment which has had growing resentment about some of these organizations is going to try to do is say, look, i'm not talking about the tea party in general, i'm not talking about conservatives in general, i'm talking about the senate conservatives fund, like freedom works, heritage action and isolate them in that manner. >> let me move you on because this was another thing that came to the fore that happened in september but a big deal now. chris christie who everyone believes will run for president currently re-elected as the governor of new jersey turns out in september, suddenly three

lanes which led to the george washington bridge from new jersey in a town where the mayor had not endorsed chris christie for his reelection, those lanes were suddenly shut for four days, no one seemed to know what happened except for it is true that a high school friend of christie's was appointed to the board. so the question is, is this a political fight and you know, the national democrats have jumped all over this because it fits into a storyline. >> it's a delicious story. i think the democrats have been -- we've built reporters -- reporters built christie up so high, it's time to take him down a couple notches. by new jersey, scandals, traffic on the george washington bridge is not actually baring someone on the meadowlands but it does fit quite well with christie as bully. you don't like what i'm doing, i'll fix you, i'm going to shut you down. you're not going to new york today. >> it's the double-edged scorwo of being in the media market.

if he were the governor of nebraska, we wouldn't hear hch about chris christie even with his personality. the fact that he's in new york, the backyard of every major media organization definitely helps him in times looking strong standing up for the victims of sandy, but also try to get the parkway. >> exactly. just have legs, as we say, you think in 2016 we'll be talking about a traffic jam? >> in a word, no. so it's a headache for him but nothing more than that, i think. >> stick with me. we'll be right back. politifact has unveiled the lie of the year, but is it, and who told it? next. did you know more coffee drinkers prefer the taste of gevalia house blend over the taste of starbucks house blend? not that we like tooting our own horn but... ♪ toot toot. [ male announcer ] find gevalia in the coffee aisle or at gevalia.com see who does good work and compare costs.

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if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. there is no doubt that the way i put that forward unequivocally, ended up not being accurate. >> things you probably don't want to have happen as you head into, as your party at least heads into an election year as

being the speaker of the lie of the year as politifact describes it. let me add to this launching in midterm election year a couple of other statistics, something like 70% of people believe that the economy will either get worse or stay the same next year. i want to show you some demographics, the question was which party will do a better job of improving the economy. republicans ten-point edge but look at women. women pretty much even between the two parties. urbanites, dead even, hispanics, an eight-point -- 12-point lead, right? yes, 12-point lead. these are all demographics that republicans have had a hard time attracting. add all this up for me and tell me about the outcome -- how will those 2014 elections come out?

>> look, it doesn't necessarily mean that hispanics and urbanites and women are going to go republican in the next election but it could mean that the democratic base going into the midterm election is demoralized, doesn't show up to vote and that would contribute if that's what happens to a wave election for republicans. >> the thing about the health care issue though is that also in the nbc/wall street journal poll the question was asked what is the lens by which you viewed the president thus far and it's health care overwhelmingly. voters are looking at the stast ru disastrous rollout of the health care bill coloring the president's credibility, that hasn't come back and that's impacting the way they see the president and his party as their ability to actually do something positive for the economy. so if you're the republican party right now, of course, you want to be able to talk about the economy, and how you're going to make things better but at the same time, by focusing on the problems with obamacare

you're reinforcing concerns. >> dana, we saw this week the white house pushback a couple more deadlines for the affordable care act. that's not reassuring. >> if you were to read the numbers in october of next year we could say this will be a disaster for the democrats. it was a month or two ago predicting a disaster for republicans because of the shutdown. these things swing back and forth. it doesn't help neutral groups calling you the liar of the year. ted cruz says he doesn't believe the fact checkers so the president has good company. >> as an ally. >> it's not just the website but his credibility that's taken a hit. every time someone loses access to the doctor that they loved, loses the free benefits that they were getting from their

current health care, now they have to pay more, they have to do something else it's going to bring that politifact lie thing right back again, going to be in every single ad in 2014 linked to every single democrat who voted for it and those who weren't even there when it was voted op.. >> even at low points the president benefited from high personal farvelt, he's taken a hit to honesty and trust worthiness. hard to come back. >> would you agree as a final question, dana, this election has this framework, for democrats it's republicans obstruct everything, they don't care about you, for democrats is you want big government, let's take a look at health care. >> that's how they're pitching it but it's background noise compared to how people are feeling about their jobs next november. the numbers are getting better, clearly from what you've indicated people don't feel it yet but they've got 10, 11 months to start feeling that. that's what will drive it. >> dana, amy, ramesh, thank you

for joining us. thank you for watching "state of the union." i'm candy crowley in washington. if you missed any part of the show, find us on itunes. "fareed zakaria gps" is next. >> this is "gps" the global public square. welcome to all of you in the united states and around the world. i'm fareed zakaria. we'll start today's show with a simple question, are america's kids falling behind the rest of the world? the recent release of international test scores suggests the answer might be yes. i have a powerhouse panel to talk about the problem and solutions, former new york city schools chancellor joel klein, teach for america's wendy kopf, sal kan, one of the most innovative educators of the world and tom friedman of "the new york times." then, to understand the protests that have roiled ukraine