now? >> i think it is probable that they will get something done. i also think that it is possible that there will be a lame duck. it is not an foreseeable to me that they do not get a full-year extension, but they get it through november and let the decision be decided again. the democrats finally feel like they have an advantage in the surtax debate, the millionaire tax -- but i do not think it is possible that will be solved before the election. they will continue to hammer that. there is a certain amount of class fwar in terms of trying to strike this -- as far as solving the problem, it is going to be very complicated. >> we have talked about, what does this mean for speaker boehner. the next 60 days will tell us a couple things. one is that speaker boehner was willing to take it two-month deal.

he had a strategy that was never given a chance to be tested. maybe in the future. democrats are willing to do this on the two-month basis. let's bring you it on the two- month basis. each time it is the government's, let's get -- each time it is two months, let's get something we want. introduced one thing you want to get each time. on this, they had the keystone xl pipeline, which was not obvious when this started. that might be something house republicans want to do. we're a long way from knowing if they will fall in. >> do you think there were some lessons learned by house gop rank and file? >> i do not know if it is good that they have a month away to think about what happened this week. i do not think it was any question that it was bad for the house republican's politically.

>> they admitted that. >> john boehner told his conference last saturday to do what they ultimately ended up doing, take the extension and live to fight another day. he cannot be criticized for being wrong the first time. i think, perhaps, he could be criticized for not doing a better job of making his conference follow him. as this class has shown, you cannot tell them what to do. the traditional style of house leadership is different under john boehner. in part by his own design. >> the question of whether he is going to be able to get them to follow him into the next debate is one that i am not sure we know the answer to yet. >> one of the lessons that john boehner might have learned, and i say this tongue-in-cheek, is to have a conference call where only he can speak. that is what he did on thursday. when he let everyone else speak, things got out of control.

i think that is part of this dynamic. >> what about his speakership? is it in jeopardy? >> not in any real sense. there is no one who is rallying or plotting against him. john boehner has a very respectful, institutional relationship against harry reid. what good could come from any republican swapping out the speaker in the teeth of an election year when things in the economy are so unstable and the question of leadership and management in washington -- it does not reign supreme, but it is not insignificant. republicans need to work on their internal ability to work with themselves and understand that writing a house bill is only one part of the process. when you do not have a majority in your party, you have to understand not only what you're writing and what you want to fight for, but what you are willing to accept in the end, and they're not there yet.

ank you, both. happy holidays. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> c. "newsmakers -- see newsmakers with representative chris van hollen again later today. coming up, we'll hear from secretary of state hillary clinton talking about a recent executive order to promote women's rights. later this afternoon, former president bill clinton marks the 20th anniversary of his first presidential bid with former campaign advisers and strategists gathered in little rock, arkansas. they talk about the 1992 campaign, coming up at 2:30 p.m. eastern, you're on c-span -- here on c-span.

>> with the iowa caucuses next week and the new hampshire, south carolina, and florida primaries later in the month, c- span's series "the contenders" looks back at 14 candidates who ran for president and lost, but had a long-lasting impact on american politics. on monday, thomas e. dewey, who ran against. truman. tuesday, adlai stevenson, who lost to dwight eisenhower. wednesday, barry goldwater. wednesday, vice president and civil rights advocate hubert humphrey. friday, the fourth time governor of -- george wallace. saturday, george mcgovern, followed by billionaire businessman ross perot. "the contenders" every night at 10:00 p.m. eastern only on c- span. >> the white house recently opened its doors for tour of this year's holiday decorations. the team is "-- the theme is "shine, give, share." >> pleasure to be here.

beautiful holiday ornaments. probably the state dining room is absolutely spectacular, but there are a lot of beautiful rooms. it is all done very well. [inaudible] >> a replica. you're looking at the cards. those are historical cards. >> one to my senator. senator -- office contacted the white house on my behalf.

>> when did you get the word -- [inaudible] really little.'s [inaudible] ♪ ["what child is this?" playing]

[inaudible]

>> the house is made of gingerbread on the inside, that is the foundation, and white chocolate on the outside. in his architecturally -- it is architecturally accurate. it has all the carvings that you see on the outside of the real white house. it weighs about 400 pounds and takes about two months to make. we moved it here on monday morning. since then, we have added the marzipan and macaroon forest.

you see the macaroons and the marzipan shaped into fruit. everything in the room is edible except for the electrical parts. we do this in a little kitchen in the basement of the white house that is set aside a pretty much for this production. we started slowly, sometime in october. weep for the chocolate, the walls, then we start to carve the -- we pour the chocolate, the walls, then we start to carve. it sort of crescendos into the last week, where everybody comes together to work on it. almost all the departments of the white house work together to work on the decorations. we had help from carpenters, engineers, plumbers, electricians.

everybody kind of takes part in it. it is really for decoration. >> also at the white house, first lady michelle obama welcomes military families. she was joined by white house chefs and the white house florist, who demonstrated holiday crafts and made treats. the theme honors military families who have members serving in wartime. her remarks are about 10 minutes. >> good afternoon.

i am from the great state of kansas. i am a gold star mothers. it has been an honor to be part of preparing for the holiday season in this beautiful home. it is a season filled with family time and wonderful memories. this year has been particularly meaningful for members of the united states military and their families. .n april, mrs. obama and drl jill biden announced the join ing forced campaign to encourage all americans to take action and make it real commitment to supporting military families. in that same passionate spirit, the first lady invited members of america's military families to participate in this year's white house decorating the event. blue and goldstar families were united in a common cause and they compared their individual -- prepared their individual

trees with love. we celebrated, we trcried, we remembered, and pledged renewed spirit. the future of our nation is bright. it shows in the brilliant focus of your design. it shows in the beautiful smiles of these children, god's greatest gifts. it is my distinct honor, privilege, and pleasure to introduce the first lady of the united states of america, michelle obama. [applause] >> how's everyone doing? you excited? you ready for christmas?

>> yeah. >> where are malia and sasha? it is great to have you all here and your families as well. good afternoon and welcome to the white house as we kick off the holiday season. this is -- yes, here's a little one. you come on up. this is one of my favorite times of the year. i was so glad to share it with all of you. want to start by thanking jennifer for that lovely introduction, but more importantly for all that you and your family have done for our country. military families like yours, all the ones that are here today, truly represent what is best about america. and that is something that i have seen again and again as i have travelled across the country over the past few years.

i have spoken to so many military spouses who are raising their kids alone while their loved one is stationed overseas for months at that time. i have heard from so many wonderful military children who pick up extra chores and just step up and keep their grades going while mom or dad is away. not every american knows what a gold star or a blue star family is. we don't understand what it is like to be a military family. that is when the reasons why jill and i started the joining forces initiative because we want to rally all americans to

honor, recognize, and support our military families. we wanted to make sure that never again would someone have to ask the question -- what is a gold star family and what is that sacrifice mean? we should all now. it is also why we are using the holiday season here at the white house to highlight our troops and our veterans and all of their families through this which is ame, share, give, shine. you got it? throughout the house, we found creative ways to pay tribute to folks like all of you. the first is in the east landing when you first, and as a visitor. as -- they will have the opportunity to send handwritten notes to happen and -- to our troops stationed around the world. they will also see the goldstar

tree which jennifer and several other families helped create which honors our nation's goldstar families whose loved ones have made the greatest of sacrifices for our country. the tree is decorated with beautiful special ordinance, each of which has a gold star families to visit here to write their loved one's name and and get on the trade. -- tree. the tree is surrounded with photos. and stories from more than 800 goldstar families. each one showcases the strength and resilience that characterizes our goldstar families. they are heartfelt notes like this one from my wife in east peoria, ill. -- she wrote about her husband -- these are her words -- "he never thought of

himself as a hero but he always was to meet. it is are hard to know that he is gone. he was my soul mate." there are just simple messages like this one from an imam in anchorage, alaska. she wrote," i love you and miss you, son. thank you for all the great memories we shared." we're also honoring military families like all of you in the blue room, the big tree where we decorated the official white house tree with cards we collected from some of our country's military kids. the tree is decorated by kids. that is very cool. the notes are a lot of fun as well and you can read and as you go through. some are inspiring like the five children in medical lake washington who wrote --"no matter how many christmases our debt misses, he makes every christmas special and we love

him." you guys -- that is why santa comes. you guys are great! then there are some more matter of fact was like the one from a boy from el paso, texas who rode," hey dad, it is cool you are in italy so when are you coming back because i already know what i want for christmas." [laughter] just keep it straight forward. of course we also have many of the traditional holiday favorites alongside these tributes to our military families. we have 37 christmas trees here at the white house, 37! that is a lot, right? we also have a 400-pound white house gingerbread house. 400 pounds -- and also in several of the rooms and this is something you all have to look for, we have