britain's conservatives and liberal democrats will continue tomorrow. gordon brown remains prime minister in the meantime. c-span will continue to cover the story as it develops. >> the president got on the phone and said to me, "judge,ryi would like to announce you as my selection to begin nep[f$l associate justice of the united states supreme court." and i said to him, i caught my breath and started to cry and said "thank you, mr. president." . .

>> how do you see this playing out in the coming days? do you anticipate a bipartisan vote in the final passage? >> there were three consecutive days with the republicans voting to filibuster the bill. they wanted to stop it from coming for consideration on the floor of the senate. meanwhile, those on the left of the stage or having committee hearings of carl levin, the permanent subcommittee on investigations with lloyd blankfein and the folks from goldman sachs making a spectacle, which was witnessed

by the world. the republicans senator started to come up to the leadership and say, we're on the right set of the issue -- the wrong side of the issue. we're seeing more and more amendments. we are finding some republicans want to join us. my guess is we will have a substantial number of republicans join us for pulp -- for passing wall street or form. i think they recognize that is where the public sentiment is -- wall street reform. i think they recognize that is where the public sentiment is. >> do you expect the debate to conclude within a week? >> that is a hard question. you're going to be broadcast on sunday. my guess is we will not return to the bill until tuesday. you'll have to work pretty hard. we only have 3 or four days in this coming week. there are a lot of amendments. as we get together for this show, there are over 140 amendments pending on the floor. that is not unusual pending -- unusual.

we have 53 members would have filed amendments. each one is won, you can see that will take some time. >> you are a member president obama's that is the commission. you were quoted saying, "it would take a miracle to come out with some sort of result that might win a vote on the floor." you of that publicly and you gathered privately yesterday. -- you have met publicly and you have gathered privately yesterday. what are the chances -- >> i also said i believe in miracles. it's hard. it is really difficult. 18 members -- substantial numbers of democrats and republicans and a number of outside folks were coming back like the senator who knows the issue pretty well, erskine bowles who worked in the white house, and a number of people from private industry -- it is a

lot of talent. after this second meeting, you can see the complexity and the challenges are growing. what is possible? what can we come up with to bring 14 of the 18 together? if everything is on the table, it means some of us will have to swallow hard. those who are hard and fast against any consideration of new revenue may have to give up a little. those were against any cuts in discretionary and domestic spending may have to give a little. we owe it to the country. they are looking for us to do this. i sense a growing sentiment across the united states, even among those who would traditionally be on my side of the issues, that concern that we need to address as we try to whip -- try to work our way out of this recession. >> senator, how difficult is it to get 14 of 18 to agree? he would have to put everything on the table -- you would have to put anything on the table in every sort of agreement.

>> that is the only way to approach it. it is not just the entitlement programs -- social security, medicare, medicaid, veterans' programs -- all of which are explosive, politically. it is discretionary spending on defense items and non-defense items. it is tax expenditures, which keep reminding people -- as we give up deductions and credits -- give out deductions and treasurys -- deductions and credits, we're literally taking money out of the treasury. put it all on the table and talk about what is reasonable. can we come to a commonality? i am not sure we have a good -- i am not sure. we have to the zero leaders to lead us down the path. -- we have two leaders to lead us down the path. >> you saw what happened on thursday on the stock market. are you sensing more anxiety among your colleagues about

this? secondly, why did not democrats decide to take this on -- you have a large majority. you have all the leap -- the levers of government right now. why not try to take this heavy lift, even though it is an election year? >> we know this is going to work, politically. we have to work together. if one party came out with its solution, it would be fairly predictable and unlikely to pass. if both parties come out with a solution, it can pass. in 1983, a new member of the house of representatives said social security is about to go bankrupt. democrats and republicans came up with an approach together. has worked for 25 years plus. -- it has worked for 25 years plus. we know the basic model is a good one. we know the death of a nation can bring it down financially. -- debt of a nation it can bring

it down financially. greece is proving that point. if you cannot move quickly and decisively to try to turn a recession, you can fall back into that pit again. we have high unemployment, which is starting to come down ever so slowly. if we decide to get the breaks, in terms of government stimulating the economy -- hit the brakes, in terms of government stimulated the economy, the unemployment could go up again. it is not an easy place to locate. i think we can do it. >> on a related topic, president obama has promised to extend a lot of the bush tax cuts to middle-income people. for how long are you going to extend an? will you do that before or after the election? >> it is not clear yet. we are still negotiating that. we have a package called the tax

extenders which says that some of those need to be extended. people are waiting for a signal that they should invest in certain things or continue to invest in certain things. we have a that package together with a lot of concerns. -- we have not packaged together with a lot of concerns. what will we do about teachers who are being laid off? there are questions about reimbursement under medicare for the doctors. it is a huge package. it includes a lot of considerations about how far you can go with taxes and what you can afford to do and what you can pay for. >> looking ahead to the election cycle that we are entering, what do you think the big questions are that democrats need to answer for voters? how do you get the party right with folks who may have supported you just a couple years ago, who were very enthusiastic about president

obama's election, but are now struggling? >> i survive 1994. i was a member of the house and had an opponent who was not a serious challenger. i won by 6 points. it was closer than it should have been cured and what this atmosphere is like, even if i am not on the -- it was closer than it should have been. i know what this atmosphere is like. we have a lot of time to do things in congress and address concerns of the american people. they are many and they start with the economy. people are concerned about jobs. what are you doing to create more employment and put people back to work? we have to give them an answer about what we have done and what we've plan to do. -- we plan to do. what assurance that we will not fall into this recession again. -- they want assurances that we will not fall into this recession again. if we do this right, it will lessen the likelihood that we will run into another recession

with more jobs lost and more savings lost. we have to build the confidence of the american people. we recognize the challenge and have responded to that. the republican control of congress would plunge us back into bush economic policies that greeted this recession. it is a stark choice -- that created this recession. it is a stark choice. are we going to give up everything that we won in the last presidential election? are we going to stand up to the people who would move us in the same direction? we have a chance to activate our base in the next six months. >> what about jobs legislation, specifically? >> there are a variety of plans for a. two -- for it. we have tw all plans. -- two plans. there are increases in the effort under the small business act to provide loans and credit to small businesses.

there is an effort from the administration to want to work with -- to take some of the s.t.a.r.t. -- the t.a.r.p. funds and move them. i believe that small business is the engine that will pull us forward out of this. i am all for infrastructure projects. creating a better climate for small businesses to survive and flourish is the best way to come out of this recession. we have many programs to do just that. first, a credit. tax incentives for hiring the unemployed. small business loans. there are many different approaches to it. it is not going to be a huge, new deal type of government spending. this stimulus was a major investment. i think it helped. without it, we would be in terrible shape. this has to be a more targeted approach. >> health care took months to pass.

financial debate is taking a while. how do you do what you just said plus immigration reform and climate change? are they all on the table? >> whether we can move them is another story. we have 13 weeks left before the election. that is a very limited amount of time. we also have the budget and appropriations process to work through before it is all finished. what harry reid and nancy pelosi have tried to do is get us to where decisions can be made. i would say candidly that the other side of the aisle sees it differently. the more they can slow it down and the more it can take, the less we can accomplish. that appears to be there goal. >> all lob -- that appears to be their goal. >> a lot of us who follow the senate seat things that used to be done very routinely would get stalled -- unemployment extensions, for example.

it seems like it is broken, in a lot of ways. after the election, even a good results, you will likely lose a few seats, and you could lose a lot of seats. if you do, you are likely to see many more conservative republicans of the jim demint type. on your side, one of your incumbents, blanche lincoln, is being challenged from the left. you see a senate becoming more and more polarized when, in order to function, it needs to come together. can you address what the institution is facing? is there a way to put hump the dumpy -- humpty-dumpty toget her again? >> that is a pretty rosy picture. we are bound to go through this phase for some period of time,

even after the election. the republicans believe their most successful strategy is to make sure we can do little to nothing. we spent an entire week debating the extension of unemployment benefits for four weeks. you think, this is not going to work out well. we spent an entire week debating the nominations of five people who were all approved by the senate without much controversy. we have 97 nominees on the calendar palau been passed out of committee virtually committee-- who have been passed on the committee virtually unanimously. we'll give you an assistant secretary in commerce to deal with oceans, because of the spill in the gulf. let's hold 96 others. let's see what we can get for them. the same thing is true when it

comes to build on the floor. we have had 96 filibusters in this congress. that is not common -- it is uncommon. it is becoming our current trends. your question is a valid one. what happens if the senate and house moved toward more republican membership? it means even more delay. there are things that definitely need the be done. -- need to be done. >> do you envision changes in the rules? >> we thought we had accomplished that. we thought we had eliminated the old anachronism from the old days of the senate when senators used the very quietly put their thumb on a nominee and say, he ain't moving. i do not have to tell you this is my thumb. we passed a big reform bill on earmarks, travel, gifts, secret homes.

even though many of those changes have been implemented, the other side has said it will not bite. changing the rules takes at least 16 votes -- 60 votes, sometimes 67. we hope we can convince some of our republican colleagues to join us on some of these changes. >> usage the notion of bipartisanship -- you say the notion of bipartisanship is likely to be an issue in the next presidential election -- the full notion of leadership. is there anything president obama could be doing now -- is there anything that democrats could be doing to see more of the kind of collaboration we're seeing with financial regulatory reform, and maybe less -- i suppose you could wait for republicans to change their strategy. is there a way to take the initiative here and try to bring

people together on some of these simple issues and nominations? >> we have tried. we need to continue to try. the american people need to see our good faith efforts. are an aunt -- wall street reform is a good example. chris dodd spent two months meeting with his toboggan counterparts, richard shelby -- with his counterpart, richard shelby. it did not work. he said he would meet with bob corker. that took one month and could not reach an agreement. they said, let's take it to committee and see if we can reach an agreement by the debate and amendment process. republicans filed 400 amendment and refused to call any of them to be considered. 20 minutes after the banking committee got together, the final vote sensible -- sent the reform to the floor. now after a week of filibuster, the filibuster is broken and

we're seeing some cooperation on amendments. i have just described a four- month process that should have taken just a matofeeks. they have dragged out the process. we are now seeing an element of cooperation. if we're going to do that on every important issue, we will not get much done. we have to show good faith and try. if we fail, as the american's think we have been faithful in our efforts, they may follow up. >> there is a piece on thursday -- obama and mcconnell are perfect strangers. it talks about them not having that outside the public meetings that they have had with public leadership. i am wondering if president obama needs to do more to reach out to republican leaders. as majority whip, how often do you meet with your counterpart?

>> jon kyl and i are in conversation every day about what is going on on the floor or the issues that we face in the judiciary committee or some other place. it is a frequent. -- it is a frequent occurrence. in defense of the president, he really has spent more time entertaining republican senators during the health care debate -- we felt like we're being jilted by our president on the democratic side. there are some senators who had a regular invitations to lunch at the white house. it did not help. not at any of their votes, -- we did not get any of their votes. how many times are you going to ask this young lady to the prom and she says no? you have to decide to stay home and find another day. we need to find another way to

do this that is more successful. >> we have another five minutes. >> here is a question you will not like and you made duck. senator mccaskill -- you may duck. senator mccaskill made a recent stroke. everybody knows senator reed has a very difficult -- senator reid has a very difficult reelection race. there is a lot of buzz that you are seeing some tension. can you address it? >> harry reid is the majority leader and he will be that after the election. i have kept my word that i would not approach anyone to discuss this issue in any way whatsoever. he is the leader. it does not help the caucus or harry reid to have all of this

speculation. >> do you think chuck schumer said the same thing? >> i do not know. that is my standard and i'm going to live by it. >> tell us more about the midterm landscape. it is a confusing landscape. there are so many different candidates. it does not seem to be -- liberals seem to be doing well, moderates in others. how do you reconcile the frustration that people have with government right now and the general disregard they hold both parties in? how do democrats break through that as candidates and begin connecting with people on issues like the deficit? have you addressed things that they are looking to the tea party for, because they're not

hearing what they want to hear from democrats or republicans? >> i spoke with tea party people in illinois. they had a demonstration in front of my office -- entirely peaceful on a cold from a saturday morning. there were confronting me on my healthy care vote -- they were confronting me on my health care vote. i said i respected and very much. you are doing what you are entitled to do -- expressing your point of view. you're doing it peacefully. we disagree complete, but i will defend your right to do it. i do not think there was a person in the crowd who had ever voted for me. i respect the fact that the care enough to get involved and to learn about the issues. i did not view the tea party as defections from my voting base, or those of most democratic senators. i think they represent a very conservative element in the

republican party, by and large. people are going to look to the state of the economy. if it is moving in the right direction, that is important. they will look for honesty. i recently started doing something to see how it turns out. tom harkin has a proposal -- $23 billion -- send it back to the states and cut the number of teachers being laid off in half. as a people could have three votes -- play the role center. keep your nose -- i said to people, you can have three votes. played the role of senator. keep your nose out. pay for it and add to the deficit. increased everybody's income tax by 1% to pay for the hiring -- increase everybody's income tax by 1% to pay for the hiring of public service people. everyone voted for the tax increase.

there is a precision that if your candid with people, they get -- you are candid with people, they get it. we have to find ways to make it better. i think a candid and direct approach -- approach will help. i do not think people want to return to that kind of leadership. >> are you concerned about the current economic situation with what we have seen in greece and the oil spill in louisiana? some have said that could bring us into a double-dip recession. are you concerned? >> i am worried about greece. we saw the stock market reaction to greece, perhaps part to go, perhaps spain -- it shows that we're in a global economy. it shows what would happen if any of these countries started to have these difficulties. i do not think it will bring us down for a longer period of time.

we have our own resilience. as far as the oil spill is concerned, i think it is a valid issue in terms of the actual impact on the states and businesses in those states. it is a valid issue in terms of energy. how much do we want to rely on offshore and deep water drilling? what kind of safety precautions will we have? i do not think it will cause a war in the middle east or have a long term, negative impact on the economy. >> greater than greater thanbp' -- do you think that bp is effectively managing this? if they do, will that managed some of the reaction to some of the potential -- will that have managed some of the reaction to some of the potential drilling?

>> i am not going to call this three-mile island, because i do not think it has reached this level. that changed our national thinking on nuclear power for a generation. i think this is going to give people pause when they think about offshore drilling. it will have some hard questions on technology and protection. the notion that we're charging 8 cents a barrel to the oil industry is not generating enough money to deal with the magnitude of the crisis. we have to be more honest about that and the industry should, too. >> senator dick durbin, thank you for being with us. >> shailagh murray, andrew taylor, let's talk about what we heard from senator durbin. what did you hear from him on financial regulation? >> they expect a pretty clean

finish to this bill. it is a remarkable departure for the senate. they were bitterly divided almost over everything. we have a big commitment on the floor of the senate that are passing unanimously or nearly unanimously. many of them have a heavy populous. it seems like they want to make themselves whole after the t.a.rp. -- t.a.r.p. vote. this is coming full circle. you heard some of the frustrations democrats have had with the republican opposition they have confronted in the past -- unfair in their mind. they're not encountering that with this bill. >> it could wrapup by the end of this week? >> senaotr ri -- senator reid

wants to finish this as quickly as possible and move on to this litany of other bills. senator mcconnell wants to continue the debate as long as necessary for these amendments to be heard and everybody to have a chance to speak. that is usually worse things break down over these little thing -- where things breakdown over these little things in the senate. that is where the battle lines are drawn. >> on the litany of other things that senator durbin went through, realistically, i asked him -- you want to do this on jobs and immigration and climate change. realistically, what are you hearing about what they can get to? >> realistically, this is probably the last big bill we will see this year, barring any sort of national crisis. we will see smaller initiatives

-- unemployment extensions, bills to extend expiring tax credits, various smaller provisions that would address the oil spill and liabilities. you may see things on immigration and climate change -- these big objectives that they're talking about are absolutely unrealistic, at this point, as are any serious efforts to address the deficit and other issues that matter a lot to the moderates voters that people are scrambling to win over for november. >> andrew taylor, what did you hear about the debt and deficit? >> and heard not to expect very much out of them -- i heard not to expect very much out of them. he is a very savvy interview. he is a very savvy interview.