shutdown? the thing i'm nervous about is if we can't negotiate the smaller deal about a government shutdown, i think there's going to be catastrophic risk. >> we have to go. thanks so much. that's it for "the lead." we're still waiting for president obama to speak. it should be about a minute, minute and a half. i will turn you over to wolf blitzer right now in "the situation room," who will usher in president obama. thanks for watching. jake, thanks very much. happening now, with the government shutdown only seven hours away, president obama goes public on the deadlock that has divided congress within a minute or so. we will hear from him live at the white house. the key players in the shutdown standoff are faring poorly right now in the american public's eye. our brand new poll is just in. we will tell you who's getting most of the blame. and the clock is also ticking for millions of people who plan to buy health insurance on the obama care exchanges. we will show you how this marketplace, a brand new marketplace, will work. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room."

only within the past few moments, we learned that the president of the united states will go into the briefing room at the white house and make a statement. he's getting ready to meet with his cabinet elsewhere in the west wing of the white house. there you see reporters standing by, getting ready for this live coverage. the president obviously wants to say something with now less than seven hours away from this potential government shutdown. the president will walk in, make his statement. we don't know if he will answer reporters' questions. we do know that there is lots at stake right now. passing a spending bill is clearly sort of blame game volleyball that's going on in washington. republicans and democrats are hitting that money ball back and forth from the house to the senate, back to the house. the average american may feel confused. here's the president. >> good afternoon, everybody. of all the responsibilities the constitution endows to congress,

two should be fairly simple. pass a budget and pay america's bills. but if the united states congress does not fulfill its responsibility to pass a budget today, much of the united states government will be forced to shut down tomorrow. i want to be very clear about what that shutdown would mean. what will remain open and what will not. with regard to operations that will continue, if you're on social security, you will keep receiving your checks. if you're on medicare, your doctor will still see you. everyone's mail will still be delivered and government operations related to national security or public safety will go on. our troops will continue to serve with skill, honor and courage. air traffic controllers, prison guards, those who are with

border patrol, will remain on their posts. but their paychecks will be delayed until the government reopens. nasa will shut down almost entirely, but mission control will remain open to support the astronauts serving on the space station. i also want to be very clear about what would change. office buildings would close, paychecks will be delayed, vital services that seniors and veterans, women and children, businesses and our economy depend on would be hamstrung. business owners would see delays in raising capital, seeking infrastructure permits or rebuilding after hurricane sandy. veterans who have sacrificed for their country will find their support centers unstaffed. tourists will find every one of america's national parks and monuments from yosemite to the smithsonian to the statue of liberty immediately closed. and of course, the communities

and small businesses that rely on these national treasures for their livelihoods will be out of customers and out of luck. and in keeping with the broad ramifications of a shutdown, i think it's important that everybody understand the federal government is america's largest employer. more than two million civilian workers and 1.4 million active duty military serve in all 50 states and all around the world. in the event of a government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of these dedicated public servants who stay on the job will do so without pay, and several hundred thousand more will be immediately and indefinitely furloughed without pay. what of course will not be furloughed are the bills that they have to pay, their mortgages, their tuition payments, their car notes. these americans are our neighbors, their kids go to our schools, they worship where we

do, they serve their country with pride. they are the customers of every business in this country and they would be hurt greatly, and as a consequence, all of us would be hurt greatly should congress choose to shut the people's government down. so a shutdown will have a very real economic impact on real people right away. past shutdowns have disrupted the economy significantly. this one would, too. it would throw a wrench into the gears of our economy at a time when those gears have gained some traction. five years ago right now, our economy was in meltdown. today, our businesses have created seven and a half million new jobs over the past three and a half years. the housing market is healing and our deficits are falling fast. the idea of putting the american people's hard-earned progress at

risk is the height of irresponsibility and it doesn't have to happen. let me repeat this. it does not have to happen. all of this is entirely preventible if the house chooses to do what the senate has already done, and that's the simple act of funding our government without making extraneous and controversial demands in the process. the same way other congresses have for more than 200 years. unfortunately, right now, house republicans continue to tie funding of the government to idealogical demands like limiting a woman's access to contraception or delaying the affordable care act, all to save face after making some impossible promises to the extreme right wing of their party. let me be clear about this. an important part of the affordable care act takes effect

tomorrow, no matter what congress decides to do today. the affordable care act is moving forward. that funding is already in place. you can't shut it down. this is a law that passed both houses of congress, a law that bears my signature, a law that the supreme court upheld as constitutional, a law that voters chose not to repeal last november, a law that is already providing benefits to millions of americans in the form of young people staying on their parents' plan until they're 26, seniors getting cheaper prescription drugs, making sure that insurance companies aren't imposing lifetime limits when you already have health insurance, providing rebates for consumers when insurance companies are spending too much money on overhead instead of health care. those things are already happening. starting tomorrow, tens of millions of americans will be able to visit health care.gov to

shop for affordable health care coverage. so americans who lived for years in some cases with the fear that one illness could send them into bankruptcy, americans who have been priced out of the market just because they have been sick once, they will finally be able to afford coverage, quality coverage. many of them for the first time in their lives. some of them may be sick as we speak and this is their best opportunity to get some security and some relief. tens of thousands of americans die every single year because they don't have access to affordable health care. despite this, republicans have said that if we lock these americans out of affordable health care for one more year, if we sacrifice the health care of millions of americans, then they'll fund the government for a couple of more months.

does anybody truly believe that we won't have this fight again in a couple more months? even at christmas? so here's the bottom line. i'm always willing to work with anyone of either party to make sure the affordable care act works better, to make sure our government works better. i'm always willing to work with anyone to grow our economy faster or to create new jobs faster, to get our fiscal house in order for the long run. i've demonstrated this time and time again, oftentimes to the consternation of my own party. but one faction of one party in one house of congress in one branch of government doesn't get to shut down the entire government just to refight the results of an election. keeping the people's government

open is not a concession to me. keeping vital services running and hundreds of thousands of americans on the job is not something you give to the other side. it's our basic responsibility. it's something that we're doing for our military and our businesses and our economy and all the hard-working people out there, the person working for the agricultural department out in some rural community who's out there helping some farmers make sure that they're making some modest profit for all the hard work they're putting in. the person working for hud who is helping somebody buy a house for the first time. there's somebody in a va office who is counseling one of our vets who's got ptsd. that's who we're here to serve.

that's why we're supposed to be carrying out these responsibilities. that's why we should be avoiding these kinds of constant brinksmanship. it's something that we do in the ordinary process of this extraordinary system of government that we have. you don't get to extract a ransom for doing your job, for doing what you're supposed to be doing anyway, or just because there's a law there that you don't like. the american people sent us here to govern. they sent us here to make sure that we're doing everything we can to make their lives a little bit better, to create new jobs, to restore economic security, to rebuild the prospects of upward mobility. that's what they expect. and they understand that there are differences between the parties and we're going to be having some tough fights around those differences. and i respect the fact that the other party's not supposed to

agree with me 100% of the time just like i don't agree with them. but they do also expect that we don't bring the entire government to a halt or the entire economy to a halt just because of those differences. that's what they deserve. they've worked too hard for too long to recover from previous crises just to have folks here in washington manufacture yet another one that they have to dig themselves out of. so congress needs to keep our government open, needs to pay our bills on time, and never, ever threaten the full faith and credit of the united states of america. time's running out. my hope and expectation is that in the 11th hour once again, that congress will choose to do the right thing and that the house of representatives in particular will choose the right thing. thank you very much. >> there he is, 10, 11 minutes,

the president making a statement in the briefing room over at the white house, making it clear he's not about to budge. he wants congress to pass legislation, legislation that has already passed the senate, to pass in the house of representatives, that will avoid a government shutdown at midnight tonight. you don't get to extract a ransom for doing your job. that's what the president of the united states just said. john king is here, gloria borger is up on capitol hill. john, i still believe and i may be overly wildly optimistic, there's still a tiny little chance a government shutdown can be avoided. >> there is the time, you see the clock up there, almost seven hours left for them to do this or they could go past midnight and get it done by daybreak and wouldn't have any problems with it but there is zero evidence in terms of what people are saying they're willing to do, especially as the president noted, the house republican majority, there is zero evidence at this hour that they are willing to do something that would get a house and senate into agreement and send the president something either by midnight or shortly after midnight. is there time, yes.

do they know how to do it, yes. is there any evidence they are willing to do it at this moment, no. >> is there any evidence, gloria, that the president is going to call john boehner, the speaker of the house, republican leaders, say you know what, he just outlined what's at stake for hundreds and hundreds of thousands of american people out there, is there any indication he's about to make a phone call to john boehner and say you know what, it's enough, let's just resolve this? >> you know, wolf, he may decide in the end that he's got to do that. i don't know if that would be before the clock strikes midnight or after the clock strikes midnight, but you know, in a way, there's really nothing the president can offer john boehner in the way of help. this is a decision that john boehner has to make, you know, as speaker of the house. he has to decide whether he is going to provide enough republicans to go along with democrats to pass the funding of the government without attaching something that would kill obama care on it. that's a decision he has to make

as speaker of the house, with his own caucus, and the president really can't offer him any help on that, and he can't offer him any advice on that. i mean, john boehner already knows what the president thinks he ought to do and i think in listening to the president just now, it was very clear to me that he wasn't really interested in a month or two delay on any of this, because he seemed to be saying very directly we would only end up back in the same spot that we're in right now. >> you know, dana bash is up on capitol hill also, our chief congressional correspondent. dana, it's a huge if, if the speaker were to allow the language of the resolution that has already passed the senate to come up for an up or down vote in the house of representatives, almost all the democrats if not all of the democrats would vote for it, but a large number of republicans, maybe even a majority of the republicans, would vote for it at the same time so why doesn't the speaker let that resolution come up for a vote and as a result, there

would be no government shutdown? >> reporter: it's a great question, but it's something that he does not seem willing to do, at least not yet. in fact, wolf, despite the president's pleas for a clean cr, excuse me for using the lingo here, but for a spending bill that has no strings attached, it does not look like the speaker would even do that when the clock strikes midnight tonight and the government shuts down. listen to what the speaker said earlier today. >> is a clean cr off the table? is that not going to happen? >> it's not going to happen. >> do you think you're being fair -- >> it's not going to happen before midnight or ever? >> the house will act this evening and we will send it over to the united states senate. >> dana, good question. he says it's not going to happen, but let's say he learns that a majority of the republicans would vote for that resolution. i understand a lot of the tea party supporters would oppose it because nothing would be attached involving obama care, but let's say a majority of

republicans would support it. would he then go ahead and allow it to be up for a vote? >> reporter: from what i'm hearing from republican sources, at least tonight, unlikely. and you're right, it doesn't seem as though it would be difficult to pass a bill that simply funds the government with month strings attached. the democrats have already come out and said they would support it even though the funding level is lower than they would like, and there are a number of republicans, in fact, who say let's not do this. in fact, i spoke to one of them earlier today who spoke up in the meeting that house republicans had saying don't do that, but on the other side, you have a very vocal, very empowered minority of the minority perhaps at this point, saying keep the fight up. listen to interviews i had with two of those house members. it sounds like what you're saying is that if the government does shut down, you believe it's house republicans' fault? >> well, i'm not going to say it's the house republicans' fault but i suspect we will be

blamed regardless of whose fault it is. i will look bad on everyone in washington if the government shuts down. i suspect the republicans will be more blamed than the democrats will, but i'm urging my colleagues that a government shutdown is not in anyone's interest. it's not in the american people's interest, not in the troops' interest, not in the republican party's interest. get on with the business of governing, get it on and we'll be able to debate some of these issues again with the debt ceiling. we'll have all these debates again over the next few weeks. >> reporter: are you fighting a kamikaze mission here? you know the way senate democrats will respond. >> if our senate colleagues want to vote against what i think every american would think is right, that is we're all in, we are not getting a subsidy either on the affordable care act, this resonates deeply with the american people. they want members of congress to live like everybody else and so i think it's a wise path. i have been critical of our leadership many times but i think this is a viable path. >> reporter: that viable path is not so much the house plan to

delay the individual mandate for a year which is part of what they're going to vote on early this evening, but also, the idea that members of congress, their staff, the executive branch, people who serve in the federal government here in these halls should not get federal subsidies for their health care. the republicans are banking on the fact that that might be very difficult for members of congress politically to vote against even though personally in their pocketbooks it would be hard for them to vote for. again, just to make clear, down the hall in the senate, the democratic leader insists they will reject, they have the votes, they will reject what the house sends over and that will put us very close to midnight and just to sort of wrap this up where we started, house republican sources are saying that at this point it looks unlikely that they are going to do what the president and what the democrats want, fund the government in a way that he will sign it and that means a government shutdown at midnight. >> could be a government shutdown at midnight but they can stay in session, the house and senate, until 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 a.m. and see what they can do by tomorrow morning

when people are supposed to go back to work. could be a long night for all of us. stand by. wall street already very aware that a government shutdown could cost the u.s. economy billions, yes, billions of dollars. nervous investors today sent the dow plunging another 128 points. the other indices suffered relatively smaller losses. up next, as the clock ticks and it's ticking toward the beginning also of the obama care insurance programs, the exchanges are about to get under way. what you need to know about buying health care coverage in the new marketplace. and president obama's making a point of not engaging with republicans as they try to derail his health care law. is that the right approach? ♪ [ male announcer ] may your lights always be green. [ tires screech ] ♪ [ beeping ] ♪ may you never be stuck behind a stinky truck.

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midnight tonight marks the start of the government shutdown and also marks the debut of a key provision of the law at the heart of this political standoff, the obama care insurance exchanges. cnn's tom foreman is standing by with a closer look at how this will work, how it's supposed to work. what do our viewers need to know right now, because millions and millions of americans will want to know about the opportunities to purchase health insurance for many of them for the first time.

>> reporter: sure, they will. the truth is, all this talk about the monumental changes to health care, for most people who have insurance, those changes won't seem apparent at first. they will be modifications because this is really about the 48 million people who do not have insurance, about half of whom are now expected to buy it through these health care exchanges. about seven million of those before the end of the year, just to give you an idea of how fast this is going to happen. so how do we imagine these health care exchanges, how do you make sense of it? imagine a store, if you would, where you could go in and buy four different insurance packages, you could get the bronze or silver or gold or platinum. if you buy at the lower end, in the bronze program, for example, what you're going to do is you're going to pay a relatively low monthly premium, but if you actually get sick and go to the doctor, your co-pay, deductible, other out of pocket expenses are going to be higher. if, on the other hand, you want to go with the platinum plan,

then you are going to have a different equation all together. you are going to pay a much higher premium month to month to month but when you go to the doctor, all of your expenses will be lower than you would be under the bronze plan. by the way, this is not going to be the same state to state to state because local companies are involved. so you're not going to be able to just call your brother-in-law up in north dakota and say what are you doing, because in your state, mississippi or alabama, it could be a little different. >> but there are certain universal parts of this health care reform plan, aren't there? things will be the same no matter where you live for various parts of it. >> reporter: yeah. these are some of the most popular parts of this plan. for example, no higher premiums if you get sick. that's one of the cornerstones. no denial of coverage if you're already sick and trying to get insurance. and no fees for preventive care. if you need a physical or your wife needs a mammogram or your kids need a vaccination, those things would be covered. nonetheless, this could be expensive to a lot of people out

there who don't make a lot of money, a lot of people who don't have insurance, so this is what the government's doing to help. if you make only $46,000 a year as an individual, or $94,000 a year or less as a family, the government's going to give you a refund to help pay for all this. it sounds complicated, but these are the bare bones of how it's going to work. >> interesting stuff. some states still don't like the plan, they have opted out, but obama care does apply to everyone in the country no matter where they live, isn't that right? >> reporter: yes, it does. this is something you really have to bear in mind. let me get rid of all this and bring in the map. yes, there are dozens of states out there that have opted out of obama care, and if you live in one of these states, you may think it doesn't apply to you anymore but that is not true. all that means is that your state government will not set up this medical marketplace in your state. the federal government will do it and you will have to sign up through a federal website. but with few exceptions for people whose immigration status is uncertain or people who are

very, very poor, the great bulk of people who are uninsured right now, if you don't get out there and pick a plan and get involved, you are going to be fined by the federal government for not doing so. so the time for choices really is even with all this turmoil, upon people coast to coast. >> it starts after midnight tonight. tom, thank you. good explanation. coming up, the key players in the shutdown standoff are faring very poorly right now in the american public's eye. our new cnn poll is just out. we will tell you who is getting most of the blame right now. i'm a careful investor.

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one faction of one party in one house of congress in one branch of government doesn't get to shut down the entire government just to refight the results of an election. >> president only moments ago in the briefing room making the case to keep the government operational, don't make any attachments to obama care, to current legislation passed by the senate that would allow the government to go forward with no

government shutdown. our latest poll shows the public is taking a dim view of the key players in this shutdown drama. let's bring back our chief national correspondent, john king. he's got the new numbers that are just out this hour. >> wolf, they show us in our new poll that none of the major players here are anywhere near high standing with the american people. look at the president, for example. we just heard from him in the briefing room. he's under water when it comes to his approval rating. majority of americans disapprove of how the president is handling his job. this is why so many republicans are so frustrated. you just saw the president using the bully pulpit. they think they have the president down right now and are worried a shutdown could bring him back. let's look at the president's standing by party breakdown. democrats, this has been a constant in the obama presidency. 8 in 10 democrats approved his job but look at this, almost two to one independents he's under water and republicans so deeply disapprove of this president, that is the polarized partisan environment we're in. if you think the president is under water with his approval rating, what would you call this? beyond bankrupt.

only 10% of the american people, one in ten americans, approve of the job congress is doing right now. that is a stunning number. nearly anyonine in ten disappro. the disdain and mistrust with which the american people hold congress right now is stunning. the house speaker, john boehner, is the big player when it comes to house republicans in this debate. he's even in worse shape than the president nationally, 33% of americans, one in three, approve of the job he's doing. unfavorable opinion, nearly half of americans of the speaker. look at this. we showed you eight in ten democrats approve of the job the president's doing. here's the speaker's problem within his own party. 54% of republicans approve of the republican house speaker, the most important republican in washington and barely a majority of his own party support him. among independents he's under water and among democrats he is way under water. want to show you another person, very unknown nationally until recently. ted cruz, the new freshman conservative senator who has been pushing house republicans to stand up to the president, to defund obama care. three in ten americans have a

favorable opinion. nearly four in ten americans, unfavorable. ted cruz still largely unknown. more than a third of americans still don't quite know who he is although they are getting to know him more in this debate. so all the key people involved, the president, the house speaker, even the senate democratic leader harry reid not held in very high esteem. i want to end as we look right here, they're not held in high esteem when the american people want them to do this, fewer than three in ten say it's a good thing to shut down the government. nearly seven in ten say what could happen in just a few hours is a bad thing. >> yeah. they don't want the government -- nobody actually wants the government to shut down, although it could shut down over these disputes. john, thanks for those numbers. just a little bit more than six hours to the shutdown deadline tonight. been there, done that. the former house speaker newt gingrich was involved in two government shutdowns at the end of '95, early '96. he has some advice. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪

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with the clock ticking toward a government shutdown, i'll speak live with press secretary jay carney at the top of the hour. what would you like me to ask him? tweet your questions to us using the hash tag sitroom. [ shapiro ] at legalzoom, you can take care of virtually all your important legal matters in just minutes. protect your family... and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side.

get back to the looming government shutdown in a few moments but there's other news we're following. just days after his groundbreaking call with iran's president, president obama sat down at the white house today with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, who described the moderate new tone from iran as quote, sweet talk and smiles. jim sciutto is here. so what happened? >> the president has some convincing to do, still does when it comes to the israeli prime minister. israel's position is iran's new outreach is purely tactical, intended to buy time to build a nuclear weapon.

president obama met today with the american ally most skeptical of any nuclear deal with iran. a point israel's prime minister netanyahu made clear. >> iran is committed to israel's destruction so for israel, the ultimate test of a future agreement with iran is whether or not iran dismantles its military nuclear program. >> reporter: the president answered he's going into talks about iran's nuclear program quote, clear-eyed and with all options on the table. >> as president of the united states i've said before and i will repeat that we take no options off the table, including military options. >> reporter: a new cnn/orc poll shows the president has the american public's backing. three quarters of americans say they support direct diplomatic talks between the u.s. and iran. in the days since the iranian and american presidents exchanged their historic phone call, however, the

administration's consistent message has been that further progress will depend on concrete steps by iran. a point secretary kerry made on cbs' "60 minutes." >> what we need are actions that prove that we and our allies, our friends in the region, can never be threatened by this program. >> reporter: still, israel is warning that iran's nuclear program is more advanced than the administration believes, including a recent assertion by a senior israeli minister that iran is just six months away from a breakout nuclear capability. a charge the iranian foreign minister dismissed on abc this week. >> netanyahu and his colleagues have been saying since 1991, and you can refer to your records, that iran is six months away from a nuclear weapon and we are how many years, 22 years after that, and they are still saying we are six months away from nuclear weapons. >> reporter: vice president biden also making the administration's case today, speaking at the j street organization this afternoon, he

said quote, he served seven presidents and none of them more supportive of israel than obama. tomorrow, prime minister netanyahu will speak at the u.n. general assembly and if you recall his speech last year complete with the diagram of the march to the bomb, you can expect -- >> iran's march to the bomb. thanks very much for that. just ahead, the former president bill clinton is blasting republicans. we will tell you what he's saying and also discuss with "crossfire" hosts. also coming up, your question about the looming government shutdown for jay carney. tweet what you want me to ask the white house press secretary using #sitroom. twins. i didn't see them coming. i have obligations. cute obligations, but obligations. i need to rethink the core of my portfolio. what i really need is sleep. introducing the ishares core, building blocks for the heart of your portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs.

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he was the speaker of the house during the last two government shutdowns. newt gingrich's advice for the current speaker, john boehner, when we come back.

so we're a little more than six hours away from the federal government shutdown. one former president laying the blame squarely on the republicans. let's talk about that with the "crossfire" co-hosts newt gingrich and van jones. talking about bill clinton. he was on abc yesterday. i'm going to play a clip of what he said about this government shutdown. >> they so badly want it to fail. can you remember a time in your lifetime when a major political party was just sitting around begging for america to fail? i don't know what's going to happen but i'll be shocked if it fails. >> he's saying the republicans and you're a republican, newt. you're begging for the country to fail. >> look, bill clinton is being bill clinton. that's totally partisan hyperbole. the republicans believe that the level of debt we're building up, the level of government centralization we're getting is,

in fact, a real risk to our future. now, maybe bill clinton doesn't agree with that but i think it's typical of the exaggerated rhetoric on both sides that it can't be an argument over the facts, it has to be an assertion that this group wants america to fail. it's one thing to say they want obama care to fail. it's a big difference to say they want america to fail. >> you agree with bill clinton, i assume? >> well, i think he's right, i don't think they want america to fail. i do think they want obama care to fail and i think that's bewildering. don't forget, part of the reason why democrats are now being so tough and not willing to negotiate, we already gave away single payer. we already gave away the public option. this is the compromise. the compromise is we would go with the heritage foundation's idea that we would go with romney's idea, that we would go with a competitive marketplace and now that's being called socialism. because we have actually put in place a republican program, they have no place to go but crazy attacking a republican program as socialism. that's why we don't want to move. >> your idea of compromise got

zero republican votes on final passage. at the very beginning of this bill, it only degenerated in a very partisan fight which has continued now from 2010 all the way to today. >> let me tell you how we see that. you tell me why i'm wrong. it held by top republicans. they said we're going to oppose this guy on everything. rather than saying we'll find areas to work with the president and not to work with the president, there seemed a wall of opposition. even on the stimulus bill, we put a third of tax cuts and stimulus bills, and republicans voted down $300 billion of tax cuts. it felt to us, no matter what we do, when we compromise, they will not take yes for an answer. obama care, they should take yes for an answer. they won't even -- >> i think you make an interesting point. one of the great problems is almost no one on the democratic sides understand or appreciates the legislative process. take the stimulus. not a single republican

amendment was made in the house, nancy pelosi rammed through the bill she wanted on her terms. she said you have to vote for it to find out what's in it. that poisons the well. we've now been suffering since 2009, what i think is an increasingly bitter and increase gill different situation. >> let me pick your brain. you were the speaking of the house when they were two government shutdowns. bill clinton was the -- in his autobiography, he says you told him, you newt gingrich, you told him you thought the president would cave as far as the party demands were concerned, didn't tell him that afterwards -- >> sure, i thought he would, and over time, he did. we got welfare reform, but it was a long slow-motion slog. >> between bill clinton and

barack obama in handling you -- bill clinton handling you, barack obama is trying to handle john boehner. what's the difference? >> i have to say, i love the shot of you earlier today, the younger out there in the white house. >> you were much younger 17, 18 years ago as well. >> look. here's the biggest difference. pell p.m. found time today to meet with the prime minister of israel, but not with the republican speaker. he found time this weekend to speak with the president of iran, but not the republican speaker. he did a totally nonsense white house briefing back to the same partisan baloney. if you're five hours away from a shutdown, you don't go on the tv to attack your opponents. you try to find some way to reach out and say let's do something together. >> what about that? >> i tell you. one dink i think is newt gingrich versus boehner. boehner seems to be a hostage himself. he's being taken hostage by the tea party. boehner said, obama care is

over. now he's out there with the tea party line on obama care. he's getting drug along. there's a difference. we don't have anybody to negotiate with. >> hold on, i know at 6:30 you have a lot going on, i want to make viewer stick around for that. good thought from you, newt gingrich and jones, 6:30, "crossfire". jeanne moos gives us her take on the looming shutdown next. also at the top of the hour, a "the situation room" special report shutdown countdown. the republican senator ted cruz, he'll join us live. i want peacocks. peacocks? walking the grounds. in tuscany. [ man ] her parents didn't expect her dreams to be so ambitious. italy? oh, that's not good. [ man ] by exploring their options, they learned that instead of going to italy, they could use a home equity loan to renovate their yard and have a beautiful wedding right here while possibly increasing the value of their home.

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government shutdowns then and now. here's cnn's jeanne moos. >> reporter: the clock was ticking. >> tick tick tick, with a ticking time bomb. >> reporter: sometimes two clocks. people seemed to be getting ticked off. >> with a compromised position. >> that's not fair, don't you dare put this back on me. you know full well you attacked obama care. >> whose bidding are you doing? >> even bidding someone good morning. >> good morning, good to see you. >> is it really? >> reporter: a shutdown showdown enough to leave an anchor off-balance. >> simply pass back to the house -- >> reporter: and apparently some lawmakers on the house floor saturday needed a drink. a politico reporter tweeted, i can smell the booze wafting from members as they walk off the floor. congress found itself the butt of shutdown jokes. >> what does that mean to me? >> when it -- how will we really be able to tell? >> here's what i don't understand. >> reporter: let's take a trip

down to memory lane. 1995, the year o.j. walked. >> not guilty of the crime of murder. and "e.r." was the number one show. >> i was young, a fool. seal had the grammys. but republicans and democrats weren't kissing. >> you don't hold the government hostage t. you are. >> sound familiar? 1995. 2013. >> but you can't do it at the point of a gun. >> reporter: wolf blitzer looked a little younger there, but covered the same old ground. >> a very high-stakes game of chicken is at hand. >> reporter: 1995 was the year drew barrymore got on letterman's desk and flashed him. someone else flashed the president. >> it was dug the shutdown that

the lewinsky afavored started up. telling how monica, the unpaid intern was at the white house working since paid employees had been furloughed. it was the second day of the shutdown when she found herself alone with president clinton. >> she questioned she had a crush on him. she also showed him her thong. >> from there things progressed. the movie line that was big in 1995 applies just as well today. >> houston, we have a problem. >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn, new york. happening now, a "the situation room" special report, the shutdown countdown. president obama warns americas about the consequences of a government shutdown only hours from now, puts the blame conveyorly on republicans. i'll ask his press secretary jay carney if the president is willing to make any compromises. plus a driving force in the

shutdown showdown. i'll speak with republican senator ted cruz of texas, get his reaction to the president's tough words. it's been called the suicide caucus, how a group of gop lawmakers push the house speaker and the nation to the brink of crisis. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." there are about six hours left until a federal government shutdown and there's dwindling hope that the runaway train can't be stopped. just a little while ago president obama accused house republicans of holding the government for ransom. >> one faction of one party in one house of congress in one branch of government doesn't get to shut down the entire government just to refight the results of an election. keeping the people's government

open is not a concession to me. it's our basic responsibility. >> it's now up to the house of representatives to make the next move. the democrat fick-controlled senate voted today to go ahead and approve a stop-gap spending bill to keep the government running, stripping out any changes to obama care already approved by the house. but house republican leaders, at least for now, they are standing their ground, moving toward another vote on a new emergency spending bill with more add-ones aimed at gutting the president's health care law. >> we're going to move here in the next several hours to take the senate bill, add to it a one-year delay of the individual mandate on the american people, and get rid of the exception for members of congress. it's a matter of fairness for all americans. >> unless someone blinks by midnight, some 800,000 federal employees will be furloughed, and certain government services

will be suspended or delayed. we're getting world from capitol hill right now of a possible revolt brewing among some members of the republican party, including a revolt against the republican leadership. let's go immediately to our chief congressional correspondent dana bash. what's going on? >> reporter: what's going on is i have spoken to some moderate house republicans who are working as we speak to stage what effectively would be a revolt to try to stop their own party from passing their plans. why? these moderate republicans say they've had enough, they don't think it is the appropriate course to be passing yet another spending bill that they believe the senate is simply going to reject, which would ultimately end in a government shutdown. as we speak, charlie dent of pennsylvania, peter king of new york, they are working the phones, others as well, michael grimm of new york, trying to get enough votes to stop this on a proposal vote. that vote will happen within this hour, and we'll see if they

can do that. just looking at the map of the republican caucus, they probably would need in the ballpark of 20 republicans to go against their leadership and more importantly to go against the conservative base, who definitely would wage political war against them for doing this. >> so basically what they would do presumably all the democrats to vote in favor, but if you're saying 20 or 30 more moderate republicans join the democrats, then they would be able to pass this procedure language to allow the government potential to stay open? is that right? ivities it would happen in the opposite way. the republicans would join democrats in opposing the procedure vote, which would effectively stop house republicans from bringing their plan up for a vote. this procedure vote has to happen first. it's call the rule that sets the terms of the debate on the house floor. if that doesn't pass, they're not going to be able to bring up this plan. >> we'll wait to see what happens, dana, thanks very much.

let's go to the briefing room. the president's press secretary jay carney is joining us. you want to react to what dana just reported, jay? >> well, wolf, i'm fascinated to hear dana's report. i think it reflects that so much of what we've been seeing in these past days has been the result of an internal political struggle within the republican party, and especially within the house republican conference. remember, that speaker of the house boehner initially indicated that he was pursuing a course of action that would lead to the passage of a clean continuing resolution, a clean bill that would fund the government without any extraneous agenda items, but he withdrew from that course of action under pressure from the tea party caucus, and now according to cnn's reporting and others, there is a movement of some more mott rat republicans within that conference who are saying simply that it's bad for

the american people to go down this road and to shut the government down for a political, partisan reason. congress has two responsibilities, as the president said, to ensure that the government is funded, and to pay the bills of the united states. 6. >> i spoke with shawn duffy, who said he would be open to voting in favor of a week-long extension of this, a clean continuing resolution, as they call it, a clean bill without any obama care-related attachments, to allow the government, the negotiations to continue for a week and avoid a government shutdown. are you open to that, at least a short-term legislative initiative that would avoid hundreds of thousands of workers being furloughed tonight? >> i would say a couple things. one is i can't really respond to ideas floated by individual congressmen and give an official position.

our view is that congress needs to act responsibly to fund the government, not attach a partisan agenda items to the government bill, but simply fund the government. and the bill that the senate passed would do that for, i believe, six weeks, which does allow time for negotiations to continue over a broader budget compromise, which the president is very willing to do. what he won't do and what they thinks is irresponsible and reckless by house republicans is allow for, you know, to have these negotiations under threat of a shutdown or under threat of reaching the debt ceiling and throwing the economy into chaos. >> we asked our viewers on twitter to send some questions. here's one that we got. will barack obama meet with speaker boehner before midnight to avoid a government shutdown? what say you? >> i a meeting -- the president said he expected to speak with

leaders of congress today and in the future about this matter, and, you know, when we have more, we'll provide it, but here's the essential proposition, wolf. the president is not asking for anything in return for the government -- i mean, congress doing its job form the democrats aren't asking for anything from republicans in return for congress doing its job. the only party to these, to this dizzy bait, putting demands on the table simply so that it does its job is the house republican conference. we're not -- the president said today, it's not a concession to the president or any president to keep the 2k3w06789 open. it's not a concession to the president or any president for congress to pay the bills of the united states, and not default to the first time in our long history. >> an editorial comment from the "wall street journal" editorial page today, i'll put it up on the screen. with president obama's approval rating down and independents leaning toward the gop, he

figures the only chang to salvage a legacy is restore nancy pelosi, the be opening is to make a shutdown or debt limit crisis he will try to blame on republicans. a shutdown is as a strategy as it is mr. cruz', refer to ted cruz, the senator from texas. do you want to the respond to that? >> well, i'm not sure who wrote that editorial, but it bears no resemblance to reality, wolf. as we say all the time, the president is not interested in trying to achieve in split cal gain out of this. he's not running for reelection. as i said earlier, about the comprehensive immigration reform, a lot of people i'm sure have said passing that would be good for the republican party for the future politics. you know what? the president hopes they pass it, and he will sign it into law. doing the right thing, and ensuring that congress pays its

bills i think your poll shows congress' approval rating at historic lows. the president wants them to do that. the idea that we want anything about wheeze right for the economy and right for the middle class here is simply wrong. i mean, here's another way to look at it. if the president were doing what the republicans were doing, he might say, i will only sign a bill keeping the government open if republicans agree to pass background checks at gun shows, and to improve that system, because obviously he would like to see congress act on that, but he's not asking for that. he would be saying as i would let our economy default for the first time. but he's not doing that. he's not attaches any conditions. >> will there be a shutdown? >> he wants congress -- >> will there be a shutdown

tonight? >> i am, as is my boss, especially optimistic that congress, even howls republicans at the 11th hour will understand that the right thing to do is to pass a bill that funds the government and keeps it open so that we don't have all the negative effects that i and others have talked about today. >> jay carney, the white house press secretary, thanks very much. >> thank you, wolf. coming up in our special report, republican senator ted cruz, his response to the president's harsh warnings about the looming government shutdown. senator cruz will join us live. the small but influential group that pushed the speaker john boehner to take a stand against obama care, we'll profile what some are calling the suicide caucus. so are you for or against the shutdown? tweet us your thoughts, use the hashtag sitroom. customer erin swenson ordered shoes from us online

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we heard president obama a little while ago accusing the government being held hostage. listen to this. >> you don't get to extract a ransom for doing your job. for doing what you're supposed to be doing anyway, or just because there's a law there that you don't like. the american people send us here to govern. they send us here to make sure that we're doing everything we can to make their lives a bit better, to create jobs, restore security. that's what they expect. let's discuss what's going on with a key player in this entire battle, senator ted cruz, republican of texas is joining us. thanks very much for coming in. >> thanks, wolf, it's good to join us, a president paints a dire pictures. they're going to lose their

jobs, they're not going to get paid, there's going to be all sorts of disastrous consequences. why not give at least a week or two weeks an opportunity to let the government continue. then you could continue the negotiations with the white house. >> well, look, wolf, i don't want a government shutdown. the only reason we might is if harry reid and president obama force one. you know, if you look at this process over the last several weeks, the how has been trying to negotiate a compromise. the problem has been harry reid and the president have refused to compromise. they have refused even to talk. a lot of people have been commenting on the fact that president obama is willing to negotiate with the iranians, but not willing to negotiate with congress. >> he says negotiating on obama care, had el's not negotiating with a gun pointed at his head. >> let's be clear. you know my view is it should be repealed? its entirety. >> but you don't have the votes.

>> source in the spirit of compromise, we started with a compromise position, where is where the house of representatives was, that it should be defunded. that went over, passed the house. >> failed in the senate. >> it went to the senate, and majority leader harry reid said, no, absolutely not, no discussion, we vote it down. it then went back to the house. the house compromised again. they then came back with a one-year delay. that was a promise from defunding. >> but it failed against in the senate. >> let's be clear, it didn't fail. >> you didn't have the votes. >> it didn't -- >> the republicans were against. >> my point is the democrats are not negotiating, they're not compromising on everything. >> so what do we do at this late moment with only a few hours left, and a lot of people are going to suffer if the government shuts down. >> i'll tell you, i think harry reid wants to force it. the house acted at 12:30 in the morning on sunday. i think the senate should have been called in session.

harry reid decided to leave everyone home instead of calling us in to work. i think harry reid affirmatively wants a government shutdown. i think that's unfortunate. we're seeing right now the house is compromising a third time right now. harry reid has said, whatever you do, i won't talk to you, i won't compromise, smile absolute position is if every bit of obama care isn't funded, i'm shutting the government down. >> we heard from dana bash, there's a little revolt brewing right now, saying you know what? this is too serious, would el have to phyto'bama care another day. i want to play some sound, a few republican house members saying go ahead and fund it for now. >> maybe we'll have a weak extension of funding, so we have more time to have this conversation. there are a number of different opportunities we have. >> there are over 180, probably

190 members of the -- who have a serious sense of governance. we have a few dozen who don't have the same sense, and we're just going to have to get on with, pass a bipartisan bill and keep the government running. >> you say, under no circumstances pass this legislation, which doesn't have anything to do with obama care. >> look, i don't know those particular individuals. i can tell you there are billion who are hurting, but, why not fight that fight later? >> because this thing isn't working. why is it that the unions are being asked to let out? why is it that millions are losing or at risk of losing their health care? i think the problem is washington is not listening to the american people, but let me be clear, i want to except the house of representatives. and harry reid and president

obama's position is we won't even talk. let me point to something that's a good sign. this may have been missed in the coverage, but it's a good sign of washington working the way it should. today a piece of legislation was passed. the house of representatives passed a bill sunday morning that says regardless of what happens if there's a shutdown or not, we're going to fund the men and women of our military. for weeks president obama and harry reid had been threatening the men and women of the mill their their paychecks would be lost. today harry reid did something good, something i praised him for, so the senate unanimously passed that. that will go to the president's desk for signature today. that's a step in the right direction. that is ensuring that our soldiers and sailors, airmen and marines are not held hostage. >> so at least a bit of bipartisanship. i want to take a quick break, continue this conversation. there's a lot at stake, as you well know. much more of our conversation can senator ted cruz.

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for your needs. because when people talk, great things happen. we've got more questions for senator ted cruz. he's here in "the situation room." stay with us. we'll be right back. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities.

we're back with texas republican senator ted cruz. all right. we're only hours away from a government shutdown that will be very painful. what would you do? you've got to do something. you're a smart guy. you know the math in the senate and the house. give me an idea of how to avoid the pain -- >> i don't think we should have a shutdown. i think harry reid would stop refusing to negotiate. >> what do you want? give us a realistic proposal that could have a chance of success. >> what i want is to keep the government running. at the same time to deal with

the harms, the millions of americans losing their health care, at risk of losing their health care, i want the american people to be treated the same as president obama is treating big corporations and members of congress. >> now at midnight, they're not going to resolve it. >> give me another strategy that ought to happen. we saw today a continuing resolution funding the military passed both houses unanimously. the president listed all these terrible things that would happen. i think we all to start passing continuing resolutions narrowly focus focused. let's pass a continuing resolution that funds border patrol agents. he says he plans to close every national park, let's fund the interior, keeping the parks open. one at a time let's demonstrate the same bipartisan cooperation we saw today with the military and address all of these people that he's holding out as will suffer. if the president is actually willing to roll up his sleeves

and work, we can deal with much of the down side consequences. >> how many of those resolutions do you think you can pass between now and midnight? >> look, there's no rule that a continuing resolution has to fund -- we should pick the critical priorities, the areas where, if the democrats force a shutdown, the areas where there will be the most pain and let's address that. let's take them off the tape. i think the house tonight ought to pass several continuing resolutions. i was glad the president made clear even if they force a shutdown, social security will continue, the military will continue, medicare will continue, but we ought to address the other areas, the va. the house should -- send it to the senate. >> specific proposal coming from senator cruz. thanks very much for coming in. we'll see what happens. we'll touch base with you again in the course of the evening. >> very good.

thank you, wolf. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'll be back 8:00 p.m. filling in for anderson cooper ark. meantime, "crossfire" starts right now. not backing down. >> you don't get to extract a ransom for doing your job. >> will a last-minute deal keep the government open or change obama care? >> the house will act this evening and we'll send it over to the united states senate. on the left van jones, on the right newt gingrich. in the "crossfire" brad woodhouse against delaying obama care, and andrew roth, who wants to repeal it. who gets the blame if the government shuts down? welcome to "krofr fire." >> tonight there is an amazing amount of hysteria and vitriol