fom. >> even those that parodied kate middleton's weight. >> when widaishgs wait. >> when will he marry me offered congratulations and what's eight or nine years when -- >> we're looking forward to spend the rest of our living together. >> jeanne moos. cnn, new york. >> i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. john king usa starts right now. good evening, everyone. a busy day in politics and must see tv to share tonight, including a royal engagement. >> it went really well. i was very pleased she said yes. >> plus a hero at the white house. the first living medal of honor recipient since the vietnam war. >> sal to her guiuta risked his

life above and beyond the call of duty. >> as we approach the busiest travel period, the two pressing issues dealing with air safety. the transportation security administration was on capitol hill today and asked about the recent terrorist attempt to ship two packages containing powerful explosives into the united states on cargo planes. >> but for the intelligence tip that was provided by our allies, with our current security systems have detected these package bombs? >> in my professional opinion, no. >> a homeland security correspondent jeanne meserve joins us. that was a short and sobering answer there. >> he's stating unfortunately an obvious fact. there's a huge hole when it

comes to cargo security. the tsa took immediate steps stopping shipments from yemen and somalia saying there won't be high risk cargo on international planes for instance. this is an international problem. the u.s. can't impose something here. different countries have capabilities in terms of money and technology and exactly how they solve this problem and plug this hole while keeping commerce moving is a real tough problem, a real tough nut to crack, john. >> take with us as we bring a question back here. administrator pistole was questioned about the new screenings. as you know a passenger who recorded his objections to the patdown procedures, he's become an internet and cable tv sensation in recent days and it was made clear today that tsa isn't happen about that. >> there's been a lot of publicity out there about a certain individual who recently tried to travel but did not want

to have that patdown, and i think if people get way from just the passenger to hear what the security officer was saying, very cool, calm, professional, and that's what we expect. >> so jeanne, not backing down all the? >> they're saying they have no intention of changing the screening procedures despite this incident with john tyner. the administrator is very calm and cool and collected individual, but i got some phone calls today that tell me a lot of people over at tsa and dhs who are very angry about how this incident has been portrayed. bu they say they're not backing down at this point in time, though we expect adjustments before pilots are concerns. the pilots say why are you convenienting us? we're in the cockpit and in chrome of planes which are potential weapons of mass destruction. so some changes there, but not for the general public at this point in time. >> all right. jeanne meserve appreciate your thoughts tonight.

to politics. actions have consequences and elections too. the actions of rangel brought a stinging rebuke today. guilty on 11 to 12 counts leading to tax evasion and mailing privileges. rangel not too long ago was one of the most powerful members of congress. now he faces possible expulsion. there's a new effort to block or stall nancy pelosi's bid to remain leader of the house democrats as well as attempts to strip powers from her office. let's dig deep and the sentencing face. here to help cnn contributors roland martin and ed walters. congresswoman, let me begin with you. charlie rangel the longest standing member of your caucus. here's what the subcommittee said today, among the charges, failure to pay taxes on vacation home, political use of a

rent-controlled apartment, improper use of government mail service and letterhead. charlie rangel was not at the hearing today, but a few moments ago he said this. >> thdoes it sound fair that yo have a respondent that sent the case to you that it took them two years to reach a conclusion, and the accusations made just before your election. the hearing is declared after the election with the understanding that there would be no witnesses called by the prosecutor's office. so i am saying that it just doesn't sound like the fair thing to do. >> congresswoman, he says not the fair thing to do. some of his colleagues including some democrats are saying the committee needs to think about recommending possible expulsion.

>> let me say, first of all, chairman rangel was not found guilty of any corruption charges, nor any charging of enriching himself. he was found guilty of using congressional letterhead for improper purposes, and also when he -- >> raising money for an institute that bore his name. >> also, when you look at the issues as it relates to the tax problems and difficulties that were raised and the charges that were raised, he actually initiated this investigation. he hired a forensic accountant to go over all of these records -- >> after news reports raising questions about it. he was the man in charge of the committee that wrote tax law. >> he repaid the irs. it's too early to say what will happen next, but i hope that fairness and justice prevails. when you look at what he was found guilty of in terms of not found guilty of corruption charges, he was not found guiltky of enriching himself,

the punishment should be appropriate to what he was found guilty of. >> what should that be? >> that's up to the ethics committee to determine. again, it's very premature to really determine that. that's their decision. >> dana, what are the pressures of the members? they try to get along. there have been tensions during the rangel hearing and waters trial which is about to come. they try, because it's policing the house to have a consensus. where's the consensus? >> there were virtual consensus today in the verdicts. the pressure is to figure out exactly the best punishment to fit the crime, but it could go to expulsion. but my sense is it's not going to get that far. maybe a censure or a slap on the wrist. >> roland martin, charlie rangel thought that the president of the united states was trying to convince him, you've been around a long time and you're a proud guy, step out of the way.

it's clear tonight he's going to push and push. >> well, absolutely. look, i believe whether you're a democrat or republican, you should have your hearing, you should be -- you should allow for the information to come out. i don't believe in premature resignation until frankly it's been decided. the ethics committee decided this. the reality is congressman rangel had an opportunity to present his legal defense. he talked about his lawyers withdrawing, the lawyers say they did not quit. so we don't know what's the full story there. he could have launched a legal defense fund. this has been going on for quite some time, but i think the public expects members of congress to be above reapproach and follow the rules. he talked about due process. this is not a court proceeding. this is a house with their own rules separate from a courtroom. >> rollins, what should happen? >> he's been tried by peers.

this is their rules. i like charlie rangel. he's a beloved figure on the hill, but clearly his fellow members thought he violated whatever the rules are. i don't think they should throw him out of congress. he was just re-elected. i think a letter of censure is just fine. at the end of the day you have to have rules and enforce them. >> the house democrats are supposed to meet tomorrow to move oot let the recordship. the congressional black caucus was silent whether nancy pelosi would stay on your leader? >> we were not silent. as we speak we're discussing with speaker pelosi the entire leadership team. what makes sense in terms of moving forward to ensure that jobs are created for the country and that the economic recovery becomes real in so many ways. >> you're not happen how it's been handled? >> we have worked with mr. clyburn, and we're working on his new leadership position as assistant leader.

that portfolio is being developed, and we're going to move forward with consensus on a leadership team able to challenge the republicans in terms of them -- in terms of their attempts, for example, to privatize social security. we have to make sure we create jobs for people that are suffering and desperate for jobs. >> dana, what other pressures are there? some others have said to delay the election and don't have it yet? >> some have said that. there's a resolution to try to do that. it's unlikely what from what i'm told that will pass on delays it. some of the more conservative democrats, i talked to dan born of oklahoma today. he said it's time to make sure other voices are heard. it may seem like inside baseball but it's symbolic. they want to make clear that the democratic congressional campaign committee something that is appointed by the speaker is elected by everything. >> it's a tough call, ed roll s

rollins, where you have an election, so you think the manager has to get fired heading into the new season. on the other hand, she's a veteran politician and has loyalty among the members. how do you deal with that struggle? >> she's the leader of democrats. she's not the leader of the house. from my perspective we're happy to have her and happy to have the entire leadership back again beg . if you lose 60 seats, it doesn't matter. at the end of the day you have three men over 70 years of age. you're not reaching out to the new generation, women or hispanics, and i think that's important long term for the party. >> the real issue is of the folks that say they want to be the leadership, how have they led? where have they been? you have pollcy, hoyer and clyburn at the top, but you have to prove you have the ability to fight the opposition, you have

the ability to raise money, to galvanize your members over the next couple of years. it's easy for somebody to say like heath schuler, i'll throw my hat in the ring. you have to show yourself over the last two or four years as opposed to the person who knows how to lead. can somebody drive the agenda and lead the opposition? that's the position. >> nancy pelosi's point is she was the target because she raised the most money and she was the most effective, but i'm not hearing a ringing endorsement from you or from the moderates in the house either. >> let me just say we have unified -- at least we're working with the congressional black caucus in terms of being around nancy pelosi. we met last night. we want to make sure that the portfolio is what it should be, and that is this. mr. clyburn is very effective with moderates, he's very effective in rural communities. he comes from south carolina and

knows urban area. he helped shepherd through community clinics in the health care bill and increase in pell grants and black colleges and universities. he's an educator and organizer. he's a smart person with experience to bring our caucus together so we can meet the xhal lengs we have to meet. yes, we're working to make sure that speaker pelosi is elected as the minority leader and mrmr. mr. hoyer becomes the whip and clyburn will turn the economy around. >> we'll watch how it plays out tomorrow on capitol hill. we'll take a break. when he we come back, dick cheney returns to the political stage. look closely. he's lost so much weight, but when you come back, we'll see he hasn't lost his political punch. [ beeping ]

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much. he battled heart ailments and look at the pictures of the stage today. with the stimulus debate in mind for months ago, he still has political punch. >> of course, the george w. bush presidential center isn't much to look at just yet, but the workers are ready, construction will move fast after today's groundbreaking. this may be the only shovel-ready project in america. >> oh, a little stimulus fire back there from dick cheney. when he spoke, the former president bush made clear he still thinks he made the right choice. >> you know, i've been doing these interviews trying to pedal my book. i'm asked about dick cheney. here's what i say. dick cheney was the right pick in the year 2000, and as i stand here, there is no doubt in my

mind he was the right pick then, he was a great vice president of the united states, and i'm proud to call him friend. >> protocol says we go to the texan first. roland martin, what do you make of that? >> that sounds like he's getting a little push-back from the folks talking about when cheney came to him as to whether or not he should have been his vp. that's his way of saying, hey, dick, i have your back. first of all. >> a little texas jealousy going tlo. we haven't seen the former vice president for some time and he's up on his feet. the democrats don't like what he said, but just that he's jumping back into the game. i take that as a good sign. >> considering all he's been through, he's very fortunate to be alive and still fortunate on the stage. obviously his mind is still clear. whatever the diet he's on, row lan and i don't want to go on. >> hell no.

i'm with you, ed. >> and i think he showed a little humor. it was not -- at this point in time presidential libraries, there's an old saying the two happiest days of a president is the day he's inaugurated and dedicates his libraries. president bush is going through a recovery period. >> you don't hear al gore in every debate, but you hear dick cheney's name. >> don't forget, there was tension between these two fellows particularly during the second term when dick cheney thought george w. bush was going soft on him, and he was also upset about the fact that the president didn't pardon scooter libby. he thought he should have done that. it's not as if these two men haven't had their moments, and neither of them is denying it, by the way, which is great. >> refreshing. >> yeah. >> the one thing i will say is dick cheney's joke about shovel-ready, the president agrees with him.

ed president says there's no such thing as shovel-ready. >> let's show that everybody in life needs an editor and sometimes everybody gets an editor. we played it the other night. this is tina fey accepting a mark twain award. >> i would be a liar and idiot if i didn't thank sarah palin for getting me here tonight. all kidding aside, i'm so proud to represent american humor. >> that's tina fey. she's always funny. what we learned since then, though, is pbs decided they say for time reasons to edit this part out. >> for everybody else, it's a win-win. unless our awe gay woman who wants to marry your partner of 20 years. but for most women, success of conservative women is good for

all of us. unless you believe in evolution. actually, i take it back. the whole thing's a disaster. >> ed rollins, she's funny and political. do you take it it was edited out because they had to get to a certain time of the program and politically editing? >> it was politically editing it. pbs does it from time to time. i think to a certain extent they made each other, and i think to a certain extent i'm happy to see her get the mark twain award. i'm a big fan of tina fey. >> is this the first time pbs has been accused of editing of favoring republicans. they're accused of being too liberal. >> they edited out something paul mccartney said that was offensive to republicans, so probably not. >> go ahead, roland. >> this is a perfect example

they edited out the funniest stuff they said. people ask why pbs is boring, hello. exhibit a. >> i thought it was a master plan. they wanted to be boring so they can talk to the liberal democrats. >> they want you as a viewer. >> even my liberal conservative friends don't like boring, he had ed. >> when does pob culture collide? bristol palin has been on "dancing with the stars" routinely with poor ratings from the judges. many say it's sarah palin's political network. she tweets about her daughter and tell people when to vote for her. bristol palin thinks it's more that she has an everyday american connection. let's listen. >> i think i'm definitely relatable to the audience out there and untouched and raw and vulnerable. no offense to anyone else, but i'm not fake. people do connect with me because they feel i'm real and

i'm not typical hollywood. >> sounds like her mother. >> in fairness i watched last night, and she did really well last night. she's no jennifer gray, but no one can be baby. >> you can do just as well, dana. >> she did baby. >> can we put baby in a corner? >> first of all, john, aum of a sudden you say i'm real, i'm not a fake. you're on a reality show because you're mom ran for president. you're not in the celebrity category. you're not hollywood. you're cashing in on fame. let's not forget. >> almost famous. >> i do think she's kind of every girl, though. i think she struggled. my wife watches it, so i'm forced to have it on in the room. >> hey. get two tvs, ed. >> you're with a jury of your peers. >> she has worked hard. >> my husband doesn't know how good he has it, because i don't force him.

>> my wife has to watch 12 football games a week in return. >> roland, next time there's a football game on for dancing with the stars, we'll do that again. >> john, you will never see me watching that show. >> when we come back, we're going to talk about something royal. a royal engagement. you'll hear from the new couple that has britain up in arms with joys. senator mccassel is on the ballot in 2012 and fighting her own leadership over earmarks, that spending many in congress want to get rid of. at the end of the program we talk with pete dominick. no bells, grocery chain restricting salvation army around the holiday season. good idea or bad idea? [ woman ] alright, so this tylenol 8 hour lasts 8 hours.

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welcome back. let's check in with joe johns for the latest news you need to know. >> a new research poll shows 73% of the american public thinks the u.s. senate shut ratify the new treaty with russia to reduce weapons. jon kyl told democratic leaders he doesn't think it should be voted on until next year. the national transportation safety board called on all states to have motorcycle helmet law. right now only 20 states require all riders to wear helmets. motor trend's car of the year is gm's chevy volt. the magazine says its tests show the plug-in hybrid gets almost 73 miles a gallon, 50 miles on electricity, and then the gas engine kicks in. that's pretty impressive. >> i was out at the gm design center a little more than a year

ago. we went to the room where they designed the volt interiors, and it was amazing. maybe we have to add cost of electricity. we do cost of gas around holiday travel. i say that for a reason, joe. we're heading into the thanksgiving week. many americans are going to start traveling. it's one of the busiest travel seasons of the year, so what is happening. here's what aaa says, 42.2 million people expected to travel for thanksgiving. that's up 11.4% from last year. the economy has a big role there. people clearly willing to spend more, but it's down 30% from 2005. clearly there's still also an impact of the slow economy on holiday travel. here's how it breaks down and how people will be traveling. about 94% of americans who travel around the holiday do so in their car. that's why gas prices matter. about 4% travel by plane during the thanksgiving travel weekend. now, 94% travel by car, and this is one of the things they want to know. what's the average price of a gallon of gas? it's going up. 2.95 a gallon is the national

average. let's take a look. it varies. if you look at the green, the darkest green is below 2.59 a gallon. the red is the highest prices out in california, up in new york state. that's state gas taxes knocking it up more. redd a red and orange are higher prices. there's your price of gas if you're traveling. one last look. how much does it cost you to travel this year? airline fares up 4%. that's one thing to look at. car rentals down about 4%. the cost of hotels is up about 6%. i don't know about you, joe. you doing holiday travel? >> i'm flying for the most part. i'm always looking for the great deal, and you can go to one gas station and there's one price and three blocks down the street it's 20 cents hire. >> i should be aaa's test subject this year. i'm doing a little bit of driving and stay in a hotel and

see family and fly back. i'll give you a full report on the other side. >> why don't you take a boat, too? >> there's a harbor shuttle in boston. i'll take it to the airport. that's good. you know what else i'll do? eat. just a thought there. joe is with us. when we come back, big news that americans care about, too, and not just the brits. we'll show you the new couple and hear from them and our own royal watcher richard quest tells us why it matters. ♪

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there had been rumors for months it's been coming, so much so that magazine covers obviously ready and waiting. look at that. the announcement was a surprise. prince william is edge gauged to kate middleton. he's the oldest son of prince charles and the late princess diana. the prince gave her his mother's engagement ring. after the photo op they sat down for an interview. here's a bit what they said. >> it was about three weeks ago on a holiday in kenya. we had private time away together with friends, and i decided it was the right time really. we'd been talking about marriage for a while, so it wasn't a massively big surprise. but i took her up somewhere nice in kenya and proposed. >> it was very romantic.

>> and you said yes, obviously? >> of course, yes. >> thankfully. >> you knew you were going to do this from day one? >> i planned it for a while. it takes a certain amount of motivation to get yourself going. i was planning it, and it felt really right out in africa and it was beautiful at the time. i had done a little bit of planning to share myrow mantic side. >> kate, you'd been on holiday a wheel, so did you see this coming? was he getting nervous and jumpy? >> not at all. we were out there with friends and things, so i didn't expect it at all. i thought he maybe thought about it, but, no, it was a total shock when it came and very excited. >> and did you give her the ring there and then? >> yeah, i had been carrying it around for about three weeks before that, and i literally would not let it go. i kept go of it, because if it disappeared i'd be in a lot of trouble. i planned it.

it went fine. you hear a lot of horror stories about proposing and things go horribly wrong. i was very pleased she said yes. >> it's a family ring? >> it's my mother's engagement ring. i thought it was quite nice because obviously she won't be around to share the fun and excitement and all in this. this is my way of keeping her close. >> you are obviously going to enter this family the most famous royal family in the world. william's mother was this massive iconic figure, the most famous figure of our age. is that worrying? is that intimidating? does that -- do you think about that a lot? you particularly, kate. >> obviously, i would have loved to have met her, and she's obviously -- she's an inspiration for women to look up to. obviously, on this day and, you know, going forward and things, you know, it's a wonderful family. the members who i've met have

achieved allot and very inspirational. yeah, i do. >> like kate said, you know, it's about carving your own future. no one's going to try -- no one's trying to fill my mother's shoes, and what she did is fantastic. it's about making your own future and destiny, and kate will do a very good job of that. >> a remarkable moment there. so let's get a quick observation now from cnn's veteran royal watcher, richard quest. >> john, it was the relaxed, comfortable way that william and kate conducted this first joint interview that spoke volumes about their relationship. this wasn't a couple that had been thrown together in some state-arranged marriage. this was two people who were in love, have known each other for many years, and actually live together at the moment. in fact, the length of their

relationship, some eight or nine years, was said by both of them to be a good thing. it meant they got to know each other in the good times and bad. obviously, the shadow of william's mother, the late princess of wales, diana, was throughout the day. kate admitted she would love to have met diana and found her an inspiration, but william said quite clearly that this was not about filling diana's shoes. kate middleton would have to carve out her own future and make her own contribution. as they plan for a wedding in the middle of next year, spring or summer they say, britain is entering a time designed to cut a huge budget deficit. a royal wedding is perhaps as some would say just what the country needs, and once again, it seems, the royal saga and the house of windsor has come to the

rescue. john. >> our thanks to richard quest there. there was another moment today right here in washington, d.c. that made you stop and watch. the white house, a living soldier was awarded the medal of honor. salvatore giunta was recommended hours after a bloody ambush and firefight in afghanistan in 2007. he's the first living medal of honor recipient for a current conflict since 1976. watch this. >> it is my privilege to present our nation's highest military decorati decoration, the medal of honor, to a soldier as humble as he is heroic, staff sergeant salvatore a. giunta. i'm going to go off script here for a second and just say i really like this guy. salvatore giunta risked his life

for his fellow soldiers because they would risk their lives for him. that's what fueled his bravery. not just the urgent impulse to have their backs, but the absolute confidence that they had his. >> specialist giunta's decisive leadership under extreme enemy fire were integral to his platoon's ability to defeat an ak bush and recover a fellow american soldier from the enemy. >> this is an incredible time, but it's also kind of a bittersweet time. times like this, because of this day, i lost two dear friends of mine, special hug gone mendoza and sergeant joshua brendon. although this is so positive, i would give this back in a second

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. welcome back. let's check in with joe johns for the latest news you need to know right now. the investigating officer sent his recommendation on how to proceed in the case against accused ft. hood shooter hasan. it's goes to his defense team and was not made public. u.s. senator chuck schuler says the u.s. food and drug administration is prepared to ban alcoholic drinks that have caffeine. they say it's geared to young people and encourage them to spend more time drinking. a pugh hispanic poll asked who was the most important

hispanic leader today? one was no one, and among the names mentioned is sonia sotomayor, and lewis gutierrez and the los angeles mayor and jorge ramos. that's a pretty good collection, but so many people didn't know what to say. >> fastest grows segment of the population. clearly a vacuum of leadership. something to watch in politics. when we come back senator claire mccakacclass kel changing her o leadership on an important issue. d they work closely with business leaders to develop curriculum to meet the needs of top businesses. which means when our graduates walk in the room, they're not only prepared... they're prepared to lead. devry university's keller graduate school of management. learn how to grow the business of you at keller.edu.

in what you might call a little bit of capitol hill bipartisan, republican senators t coburn and mccain are trying to force a public vote on giving up earmarks, those spending projects members of congress slip into legislation. they're bipartisan push-back.

earlier today senator mchaskell tweeted he's bucking republican leadership while supporting earmarks while i buck mine by fighting them. senator, you're correct in saying your republican colleague roy blunt wants to fight to keep earmarks but so does your leader, harry reid. brown said it won't save money and sometimes it helps them get monies to medical clinics in ohio and other critical projects in ohio. harry reid re-elected today as your majority leader says this about earmarks. >> i think i have an obligation to the people of nevada to do what is important to nevada, not what is important to some bureaucrat with green eye shades here. so i'm not personally going to back off of bringing stuff back to nevada. >> now, you were for this, senator, well before the midterm elections. but after the midterm elections, even mitch mcconnell got the

message and says he backs a moratorium. does harry reid not get it? >> i think a lot of my colleagues don't get it. this isn't about the power of the purse. we have the power of the purse for the whole budget. earmarks only began in the 1970s. this is -- it's not about whether or not you want a projectflawed. and if we can't do this, this is the easy stuff, john. this is like the change in the couch. how in the world are we going to step up and stop some of the other spending that we've got to do to balance our budget? >> well, let me pick up on that point. you call this the change in the couch. you also tweeted this today. back in d.c., so much we need to get done. hopeful that compromise will not be an evil word. let's explore that. your froend this earmark issue, tom coburn has said he doesn't want tax increases. if it the only way to have a serious conversation about deficit reduction, he is open to some tax increases as long as he

sees spending cuts and as long as he sees democrats willing to make some changes in social security and medicare. are you willing to put social security and medicare on the table as part of an adult conversation about deficit reduction? >> i think everything has to be on the table. we need to focus on not whether or not we are cutting taxes for certain levels of income but how much are we giving away? of tax dollars to people with high incomes. we have a lot of things we give away to people who are very, very wealthy in this country. and i'm not sure our federal government can afford that. so we've got to look at all of it. and we have to be responsible about it. frankly, earmarking is not the problem. it is a symptom of the problem. and that is, we treat this money as if it is our own instead of precious tax dollars. and we've got to be more respectful of these tax dollars, and that's what the voters were trying to tell us. >> you talked about tax. social security and medicare need to be part of the conversation also. >> absolutely.

there are three legs of the stool. spending, entitlements and making the tax code fair and equitable. that's the three legs of the stool. if we do all of those in a responsible, bipartisan way, i think the american people would all be very, very happy. >> what about right now? after the mid-term election the president called it a shellacking. you can call it what you will. there is a debate in the democratic party about who are the democrats supposed to be right now in this lame duck session? are you supposed to be the party that still controls everything in washington? speaker in the house, a bigger margin in the senate, or are you supposed to back off and shy away saying the voertz sent as you message? specifically in this lame duck, should leader reid bring back the repeal of don't ask don't tell. the dream act which would give citizenship benefit to children who came into this country as illegal immigrants but who went on to college. should he try to repeal the bush tax cuts for wealthy american? >> i think we have to be principled by pragmatic. we have to look and see what we can get done and prioritize what we need to get done in this lame

duck session. one of the thing we have to get done is a final decision on on tax policy regardless which of way we decide. just so the business community out there gets some certainty so we begin to get some of this reinvestment and private sector job creation. that has to be our priority. now, if we have additional time and we can do more, i'm not opposed to us debating any of the thing you've talked about. all of us have been on the record about them. but we've got to make the priority. getting the tax policy decisions made so that we can remove that excuse from the table so we begin to get some of this investment back into job creation that's currently sitting on the sidelines. >> you are one of the people we who cover politics most closely watch. not only did it not vote for president obama in 2008 but it just convincingly elected roy blunt. the margin, 51-41. when claire mccaskill looked at what happened two weeks ago on a tuesday, what do you see as the

message of the electorate? >> i think they're trying to tell us that everybody in america has been focusing on how much they're spending and they don't believe that we have done that. and to a large extent, jeff sessions, the republican from alabama and i have been trying all year to pass a cap on spending. and even though i got 17 democratic votes for that, we were two short of getting it done. all the republicans were voting for it. i think they want us to look at spending. i think they want to us focus on private sector job creation. so we can get out of these economic doldrums we're in. i think they want to make sure we're listening. i think also, they want us to be independent and not always march to a party mandate. at northeast missouri, that's what they want them want me to exercise independent judgment from my party about what is best for the people in missouri. and i think we've got to continue to do that. i've tried to do that from the day i got here and i'll continue to do that even though it irritate the leadership in my party sometimes. >> you mentioned the leadership in your party.

i was looking before the election at the senator barack obama late 2006 mid terms and it includes stops in missouri. looking ahead to 2012, knowing the president's standing in your state, down quite a bit. do you envision campaigning side by side with the president or would you rather do this on your own? >> at this president has to really focus on getting elected to a second term in 2012. and i need to focus on making sure i'm accountable to the people of missouri. if our paths crossing that's great but i think that's frankly kind of a political question that is not as relevant as what i can do between now and 2012 to earn the trust for the missourians to decide to hire me sycamore years. >> we'll keep in touch this year, next year and into that campaign. appreciate your time tonight. thank you. >> next our offbeat reporter checks out a big grocery change, new restrictions on salvation army bell ringers. give me just one person. questions about retirement?

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when something come in that sounds a little off or just not right, we like to chikt out with our offbeat reporter. pete, here's the question. the salvation army which you know, after holiday season is outside a lot of stores. giant foods, the big supermarket chain here, is restricting their hours this holiday season. i won't go through the number but in years past, they could be there about 35 or 36 hours a week in november and december. now giant foods says they can be there about 12 hours. one week in november, one week in december. >> i support these restrictions. we were warned. it is clear they're trying to recruit outside these groceries