>> as you know the rollout of the affordable care act has hit the snag along the way. why did the president mention that -- again, i should haveve>> mentioned that in my list. that is something the administration is working on, 24/seven. the items the president mentioned were focused on things that congress could do, working together,. the implementation of the affordable care act, including the effort to address the difficulties and glitches that have occurred on the website. it is important to remember the website is not along the affordable care act. thattant to remind folks

those challenges are being addressed. it tol keep working on make sure that the consumer thoseence is improved and who have been exploring options to the new affordable care act and marketplaces will be rewarded with the opportunity to enroll forth those who have not had options in the past. the website is an important part of that. inthe president made clear an interview he is not happy with it and has insisted everybody work on a four/seven to fix the problems that exist. now that weremember have taken this out of a political context that this is not just about the president's

health care reform bill that some opposed and some supported. this is about a law that was upheld by the supreme court that is being implemented and providing benefits to millions across the country come already is and is about to provide significantly more benefits to millions of americans. the have said in the past, desire for millions of americans and so many families to have affordable health insurance exists outside of partisan preference. he have seen it reported in newspapers across the country where individuals who identified themselves as conservatives or republicans who did not vote for the president may vote republican in congressional and local elections say that they are cheaply happy with the fact they now have affordable health care insurance options they did

not have before. one of the reasons -- and it was stated by those who pursue this path -- one of the reasons and effort was made in the last several weeks to try to do you real the affordable care act was the recognition that the implementation of the law would make it so much harder for opponents to overturn it in the future because so many would see that it is delivering on the promise of affordable health insurance for them. >> one question about the remarks this morning. he made reference to ideology, extremism. in congress,ion does the president need to take steps to mend fences? >> absolutely, the president has made clear in his comments and believes we all need to set other objectives and focus

on the objective of helping the american people. i do not think there is any question that the episode we just went through occurred and was driven by a wing of one party in one house of one branch of government, with some considerable assistance by a couple of members from the other house in congress. but the president does not think was approach is one that supported universally by republican lawmakers. he knows it from the conversation he has had with republican lawmakers and he has seen republican lawmakers say to you, to reporters, how counterproductive it was, how harmful it was the economy, how damaging it was to average americans, how unnecessary it was, and how harmful it was to

the party itself. as i have said, the president believes strongly we benefit from two strong parties, where there are differences of view, but where there is a commitment to working together to resolve differences where we can to move forward for the american people, and that is the spirit of what the president talked about today and it is a spirit with which he will approach all the work that needs to be done. >> i would like to follow on that. the president's remarks were not received well by republican on the hill. if he is really serious about living forward in a bipartisan way on some of these initiatives , why did he tried them for following bloggers and radio talkshow host? >> i think the president made two things clear, which it is absolutely appropriate to do.

one, that as i just said, to shut down the we went through had real consequences, real ofts, as did the threat default that was precipitated by the true strategy pursued by some on capitol hill. you cannot ignore that. it,have to acknowledge identify it, and say that is not the path we should be pursuing, and he believes there are republicans as well as democrats who do not want to pursue that path again, who want to work together and compromise of a common ground so we can resolve some of the budget challenges that face us and make sure we are investing in our economy and people in a way that is best for growth and job creation. that we can work together to pass for the first time in decades comprehensive immigration reform so we can gather the benefits from that for our economy and for our people. and for our future economic growth. that we can move forward for

laurel americans on ormprehensive -- f rural americans in a farm bill that can be, which by the end of the year. the american people had to watch and were frustrated by did this function that we saw here in washington. the president eight clear on numerous -- made clear on numerous occasions there are no like thisen something happens, because no politician wins when his or her constituents lose. everybody lost. every tax paying american out there lost because of this wholly unnecessary shut down and flirtation with default. we need to move beyond it and work together, and that was the essence of the remarks.

i have no doubt that there are republicans who still espoused the strategy and think they did the right thing who took issue with what the president said, but i think many others that we and agree we-- need to find common ground and move forward. >> a senior correspondent created a username on october 9. she is still unable to use the website. today she called the 800 number again. sheesentatives told her needs to create another account. she was told operators were mistakenly given a script and telling able that their usernames and logins needed the redone. is that true? >> i think hhs has answered this. it is not true. there are no questions that -- >> it seems were made him and there appears to be a script.

two different representatives saying the exact same thing, that they --this has been corrected >> i would say two things that hhs has been answering these questions and it is not true that if registered in the past that everybody has to re-regist er. there are issues with the website and people i've been working 24/seven around the clock to resolve them and make consumer experience better. nobody is more insistent that that work be done and experience being proved than the president, but there is no question that work is not done and there are problem's and we need to get them fixed. >> he says he wanted at a hundred percent. it is october 17. he says he wanted at a hundred percent. when do we see that, and who is

held accountable for the failure of it? guest: >> the people who are responsible for making it work are hard at work fixing the problems that need to be fixed, and that is the focus of the president cost attention and those at hhs who are working at this. the president wants to the work done so the consumer experience is improved. isis important -- the goal absolutely to make sure that americans across the country have access-- >> is there a time, a date, the goal? >> they are making improvements every day. the president cost goal is there is a process in place through the various ways that people can get access to information they need to enroll so everybody who needs affordable health insurance in states across the country can look at the options available to them because of the affordable care act, because of the marketplaces, because of the increased imitation created by

the marketplaces, and make choices that fit their budgets, that work for them because of the subsidies available for those who have low incomes, and the result will be millions of of americans who have insurance who did not have it before. that is the goal. it is nots not -- about the website. the goal is to make sure american people who have been healtht of affordable insurance options in the past have those options available to them. that is what it has always been about, and the president is making sure his team and everybody working on this is focused on making sure it is the best possible consumer experience they can. >> the president was vehement as morning when he said the american people are fed up if washington. as the president include the white house as a target of that unhappiness? >> the president made clear

there are no winners here. everybody here looks bad when washington and off function propertly. what you have seen from the president, from others on his team, from me, is rejection of the assertion by analysts and reporters that this is a zero- sum game for politic will -- political reasons, that somehow there is benefit politically out of a shutdown were so many people are hurt and the economy is hurting, and we completely reject that. that is not the way the president views it and not how anybody here views it. >> does this change the way that president will deal with congressional leadership? after last year when he spoke to speaker boehner, as you know, past presidents have had regular edition meetings -- regular leadership meetings on a regular basis. does the president plan any change -- >> i'm not bringing, and i'm not

sure if you were here, where i read at least some of the multitude of meetings and dinners and conversations and coffees president had with republican lawmakers this year and the chief of staff has had with republican lawmakers. the president has begun his second term embracing the idea that more direct engagement with lawmakers of both parties was worth the effort, and he has done it throughout the year in hopes he can work together with willing republicans to find optimize, specifically on budget issues, but not just budget issues. comprehensive immigration, national sugar, and many others. he will continue that. to ask leaders in congress about what led to the ultimate decision to pass bills

that reopened the government and extended the debt ceiling. i think again, since this was a wholly unnecessary shut down and flirtation with default, there are a lot of questions about why that was pursued and how we ended up where we were. the president position never change. the speaker of the house or others. he was asking nothing in return for the simple action by congress in doing its job to keep the government open, at spending levels that have been accepted by both parties and were promoted by republicans and fulfilling congress' responsibility to make sure that the united states can pay its bills. you took that approach, not just in the last weeks during this, but from the beginning. i think it is instructive to remember that the president made

clear that in december of 2012, december 19, he said, i put forward a very clear principle -- i will not negotiate around the debt ceiling. we will not play the same game that was hugely distracted, hurt our economy, divided more uncertainty to the business community than anything that happened. on january 1, when the so-called fiscal cliff was averted, and legislation was passed that locked in tax cuts for middle- ratesamericans and raised for the wealthiest of americans, he said, one last point i want to make -- which would suggest it was on his mind -- while i will negotiate over many things, i will not have another debate in this congress about whether or not they should pay the bills they have racked up to the laws they have passed. relative simplicity to the position the president

took, which is i'm not asking for anything in return, democrats are not asking for anything in return, congress should do its job and not harm the american people why threatening to fall. >> looking for lessons learned -- >> i think the lesson the president has learned throughout valuerocess is that the of the full faith and credit of the united states is so high that we cannot mess around with it. think learned that lesson through that 2011 process, and he -- >> [indiscernible] >> i think you are misunderstanding the lesson, but the lesson was we cannot have what happened in 2011 happened again. we cannot get into a cycle in washington where the opposition -- no, we did not, because the opposition party, no matter who was president, cannot imagine i t's profitable to make policy

or political demands in exchange for raising the debt ceiling, agreeing to pay the bills of the united states, basically threatening to default if you do not get what you want. allowing that cycle to repeat d itself in the way business is done in washington would be hugely and perhaps permanently damaging to our economy, and the president felt strongly we cannot let that happen. mark? >> einar stand why president obama does not want to say that he won, but behind closed doors, would he admit that he stood up against efforts to force his in onto get a give- obamacare, the republicans were not able to force him out of his position on that, so in that sense would you say he won the standoff? i understand why you do not want

to be seen -- >> is not about being seen, because that way, as if that is how we or he would view it, behind closed doors. winning, it is not worth winning. the harm that is done to be reckoned people, to the american economy -- he does not want that. he does believe absolutely that intook the correct position insisting no ransom should ever be paid in return for congress by any president of either party or any future party. so he does believe that was the right decision to take and it was the right decision to take a ride economy and for the record people. in thetakes no leisure fact that it took congress however many days, 16, 17 days to pass bills that it could have

passed in september and had they done so would have averted all the damage that was done to the economy, to the middle class, to our small businesses. >> would you elaborate on the no obama gave us last evening on the question about why -- does he think we should go through this again in january? why is he so sure that he turned around and said no when asked that question? >> he believes to this experience many folks in washington recognize the outcome here was again good for no one, and in particular, not good for the record people or the american economy, and that he believes that -- and he is an optimist to be sure -- but he believes that insight will prevail when it is necessary to make sure that government

functions are funded properly in the future and that the proper actions are taken to make sure the u.s. treasury always pay our bills on time. so that is why he said what he said. of course, it is fair part in refusing to answer question from beyond. that is his answer because he believes congress will not go the down this path again. >> i would like a yes or no answer to this question, which is are we going with the president to tuscany? i'm sorry. >> i do not think so. >> wasn't going to be while he was still an officer after he left office? the answer -- >> that would be quite a buddy movie. plans to no current make a trip to italy, although i

would endorse any such plans that might he in the preliminary stage. >> a couple of serious questions. an essay -- there's another report suggesting the nsa has very dramatic roles in the drone campaign. could you talk about that, but broadly, keith alexander, there are reports he is planning to step down,. was this prompted by the edward snowden scandal? >> let me go to the second question. the answer is no. you can confirm several weeks ago general alexander a firm to the president that he intends to depart his post in the spring of 2014. when he was extended for the third time as the director of the nsa and head of cyber command in march of 2013, general alexander indicated his interest in retiring next spring , and having served as director since 2005 and as commander of u.s. cyber command and 2010,

general allen xander has served extraordinarily and led the agency to times of transition. the president looks forward to work with general how tender until his term is complete and think that men and women of the nsa for the dedication they have every day to get all of the safe. this was something again that general alexander had spoken to the president about a number of weeks ago, and that he had indicated he would be doing, having extended so many times. on the other question. i can tell you the national security agency is a foreign intelligence agency. it is focused on discovering and developing intelligence about valid affords -- -- valid foreign targets. it activities are directed to this targets in response to requests from the u.s. leaders to protect the nation from threats such as terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

so i think that is a higher altitude answer that responds to the specific question about the article. articlet answer every about methods, but i can tell you it is important or member that the mission of the nsa is a foreign intelligence mission. >> on accountability on health care, we talked about robert gibbs saying the rollout has been so bad that there should be people fired. you have defended secretary sibelius. short of somebody being fired, what kind of accountability will there be? i have not asked you about these that have gotten millions of dollars in federal contracts for the website, data collection, and when robert gibbs is saying it has been watched, is there an investigation of this company? is the company plans to turn over-- these are millions of dollars of taxpayer dollars ash

is that government going to get some of that back? >> questions like this should be directed to hhs. but i can tell you is the accountability the president seeks today is the accountability that comes from those who are working on implementation, working around the clock, to ensure the consumer experience is improved and that the whole process of implementation of the affordable care act moves forward. again, it is important to remember that although there's a lot of focus on it, the affordable care act is not just a website. website is simply a portal into a virtual marketplace for an average of 50 health insurance plan options per state for americans on the individual market to many of whom have not ever had access to affordable,

quality health insurance in the past, or at least not in the recent past. and getting all of that in place is the focus of the team, and that includes improving consumer extrudes on the website. >> but nobody is being held accountable? accountability the president seeks now is from and cruising -- improving the processes, fixing the problems that have arisen, and making sure that marion's of americans for whom this program was created are getting the payment -- are getting the benefits that are provided. >> earlier we heard the president scolding republicans for their handling of the most recent price -- crisis. how going forward -- what with the president do differently in real terms going forward to know better relationships with the republican members of congress? >> a couple things. the president described what happened, make clear it was

unnecessary, made clear their work real, tangible, quantifiable damages done by the decision to shut the government down and sort with default. i think the scolding, if you want to call it that, was far less severe than some republicans have received from members of their own party for pursuing this path. and i think that has been well documented in media reports. the president was much more focused on in his remarks, both this morning and last night, on what we can do moving forward. >> what is he going to do differently? >> he will continue to reach out to members of congress of both parties and make clear that he is open to any good idea, no matter who proffers it, no matter which party that person belongs to, if it is an idea that will help grow the economy and create jobs, help in a

responsible and balanced way to reduce our deficit and managing our long-term debt, will help us enhance our energy security, enhance our climate security, will help us pass comprehensive immigration reform -- the president is interested here in getting us of the results for the american people, and he is willing to work with anyone who is interested in that as well. he acknowledged today that there are some differences that we may not be able to bridge some that are sincerely held, that are not just about political positioning , but there are areas where we can find common ground, and yet identified three that are working through congress right now that offer the opportunity for washington to demonstrate to the american people that washington can function, that partisan progress is possible. we solve bipartisan votes, 80 senators, was it, you voted for

the measure last night, and bipartisan votes in the house, and we have seen a bipartisan vote on coverage of immigration reform, on a farm bill. there is enormous opportunity here to get some clean -- significant work done on behalf of the people. >> mr. mcconnell was interviewed, and he was slightly dismissive of the budget conference plan, unless the president gets involved. will the president he actively involved in those conversations? >> i think the president will be as involved as he and members of the conference believe is useful and is necessary to help bring about -- >> [indiscernible] >> you are citing one senator about the minority leader opinion about that. our view is the house passed a budget, the senate passed a budget, that is how the process is supposed to work. the senate is controlled by one party, the house, another.

the two sides can't conference. the president has already demonstrated a level of seriousness here to the budget he put forward, the detailed budget he put forward, that includes tough choices for democrats as well as for republicans, and i think he will useful and is necessary, as well his team, to provide the kind of assistance that would be helpful to him as this process moves forward. no question it is hard, but we should not give up on it before it starts. >> can you take it behind her curtain. we saw the chief of staff greeting returning formerly furloughed workers. we solved by doing the same. secretary vilsack. did president obama make the round of some sort and greet some of the returning workers, and can you take us back and tell us what it looks like inside the white house when 80% of the staff returns? >> total chaos.

they have forgotten where to go, they do not know where the bathroom is -- no. [laughter] crowded and ite is wonderful to have folks back in and the president has had a series of meetings, including the statement added his usual national security meeting, but he has said hello to a lot of people who have not been around, including some from his own immediate staff outside the oval office, and we are all really glad that this is over. much more so for the broader community that paid a price for the shutdown, but also for us, because our colleagues here, as the president said, are here because they believe that service is good. that is true, too, of every staff member for either party on capitol hill who was furloughed. doing this, especially

those young people, because they thought to come to washington and they could see good things happen and be a part of it. now they are back in those offices, and hopefully they will continue working towards trying to be a part of something good. yes. agreementh of the does the administration is going to come out of these talks? is this really difficult -- the best fiscal year, dealing with sequestration? toit is probably not useful set expectations when it comes that could of a deal be achieved. we are interested in a larger budget agreement. that is why the president put one on the table that represented a 10-year agreement that included deficit reduction, that not only eliminated the sequester, but exceeded the

deficitr levels in reduction, and that included within it key investments in our andomy and pre--k for all investments in infrastructure and innovation. his vision is big and broad, but he has also talked in the not too distant past about winding eight deal about tax reform interests that both parties have and coupling it with the interests and investing in infrastructure development, that both parties share. thereis just to say that is ample opportunity to craft an agreement that rewards the interests of both parties, especially their shared interests, and does it in a way that is fair to the middle class and gives our economy it used instead of a kick in the shins.

again, we are optimistic there is an opportunity here, and the president hopes congress and the conferees will seize that opportunity. >> [indiscernible] he giving tois lawmakers on the democratic side as they go into ash what should they be -- [indiscernible] >> i appreciate that it has been at least a half a day since the government reopened. i do not think the conferees have just been named. we are not at the level of giving instructions to conferees. the leaders of both houses are capable of doing that. the president has put forward a budget. the senate and the house passed budgets. our interest -- the president's view is refracted in what he said today, that there is common ground and we could reach an agreement here. he hopes that the process bears

fruit. yep. yes, sorry. \ yes. sorry. ministeran foreign visited yesterday, and he said relations with the united states are in turmoil. he also added egyptian people will not [indiscernible] in order [indiscernible] egypt is on a path to freedom and democracy [indiscernible] that as ijust say noted when we talked about the adjustments in our system's programs, we are committed to our relationship with egypt, and continue to provide assistance to egypt, which reflects that

commitment. if necessary -- it is necessary to support a process that restores a democratic governance there, three democratic election, and that is a command and that the interim government has made. we have taken the actions that we have taken for the reasons that i laid out before. i do not have anything new on that that is not the same that i talk about the other day. see budget negotiations and the next increase in the debt ceiling tied in some way so that if they can reach a budget agreement it will be easy to raise the debt ceiling in february, but if they cannot reach a budget agreement, it will make it difficult, somehow? >> the existential question. [laughter]

president's view is consistent with what he said in december of 2012, january of this year, and what he has been saying for the last several weeks, which is congress must not and should not and cannot for with default. it must without drama and delay take action to ensure that the united states, as it has for more than 200 years, and pay its bills on time and retain its full faith and credit. so, as the president said in reaction to the question last night, he does not expect to have this kind of manufactured crisis repeat itself when these two deadlines approach, because he's t does not believe member s of congress want to engage

-- but obviously there may be a others that have a difference on this -- but believe this was a profitable exercise because it was so clearly not. it so clearly did harm to our economy and to the average folks out there who were just trying to make ends meet. i cannot predict all the things that will lead us to those moments except that there are opportunities for the budget conference to get an agreement for longer-term budget deal. and then separate and apart from that, as it should be, the necessary average earning the united states pays its bills will always remain. mr. harwood? >> the president talked about washington needing to work to current back the confidence of the country. as he reflects on his own performance on budget issues and what he needs to do to win back the confidence of the country,

does he think he needs to do more to bring his party along toward the kind of budget changes in the long term that he has set to his budget and other statements that he is willing to make republicans compromise with? >> i think if the question is does he think it is necessary for him to lead his party in making these tough choices, the answer is yes. i think adding more to that is suggestive that he has not delivered on the need for leadership, but he has. i think as you in particular -- i am just saying there's no question that some of the president has made in negotiation -- in the process of initiating with the speaker of the house going back to 2011 and through the various iterations , has resultedeen in the president putting forward cover harm eyes -- compromise

proposals that represent in some cases cut pills force democrats to swallow, but democratic leaders have been willing to do of a comprehensive and balanced approach. what we have yet to see in this process -- but we hope we will is that a similar kind of willingness by republican leaders on the half of republican lawmakers, and with his report of republican lawmakers, to do the same, to accept compromises, to accept some tough things, that they are going to have to go along with. that is the nature of compromise. >> do you and the president believe that democrats are prepared to take the steps on medicare and on social security -- >> you should refer to them, but i would point to the publicly pastted statements in the of support for the approach any

offers that the president has made and the budget the president put forward, which is not to say that on some of these issues there will not be some democrats who feel very strongly difficult, butoo the fact of the matter is the president has demonstrated --dership on this issue by in these negotiations that he had had wa with republicans, tht he can vote with leaders to get the votes necessary for a comprehensive budget agreement. as you know, knowing the history as well as you do, we came close to some agreements on a couple of occasions, but there was not the ability by republican leaders to say the same and deliver the same. it is a new day, and maybe

that dynamic will change. we hope it will. john christopher. ge in light of the dama that the damage of the debt ceiling has done and continues to do, does the president considered to urge congress to repeal the law establishing the debt limit? urged congress, because this authority rests with congress, to use that authority responsibly, and how they use it is obviously up to congress. we have seen the way that they dealt with it in the legislation that passed last night and the way the debt with it in the agreement from the end of last year and the first of this year. ad that was obviously somewhat novel way to approach it. his interest is not in taking from congress power that is

invested in congress. his interest is in seeing congress sure that that power is used responsibility so we are not threatening default again in this country, because the damage of the mere flirtation with default is so clear, now, on two occasions. how congress addresses this is up to congress. the president's perspective is they do in a way that never threatens the full faith and credit of the united states. >> thank you. >> james? >> i want to talk about a different subject. the house armed services subcommittee on oversight and investigation last week held its ninth hearing on the subject of benghazi. week the witness was the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general dempsey. i know you have covered the particular subject matter before in this briefing room, but it has resurfaced in a fresh context, receiving fresh surety

from the investigators, and i thought it was fair to give you another chance to address it. accept the white house conclusion that no military rescue or response could possibly have been achieved in benghazi that night because the posturing of u.s. military assets around the world was so poor on that night. this has led -- >> the statement of the house committee chairman, correct? >> this is their conclusion. this has led them to refocus their attention on a press release that your office issued on september 10, the day before the attack. it was brief, for senses. it stated the president on that day, september 10, 2011, has met the key national security principles to ensure that as the ee five the 11th anniversary of 9/11 approaches steps were being sure that protection of u.s. personnel and assets. it admitted to meetings that john brennan had held at that

time. the house investigators have determined general carter, the combatant commander, was not consulted as part of those sessions. i wonder if you could tell us more about what those meetings and tail, who the participants were, how closely vetted or thoroughly vetted that press release was, and whether the white house might be willing to make available to investigators or public the e-mails, memos, or other paperwork that was associated with the development of that press release? >> james, the president of the received aes has briefing from his national security team, and principles of that team on the ee of the anniversary of nine/11, on the actions that were being taken them up with here in the homeland and around the world in preparation for potential threats.

is -- ife question your question is was the preparation for -- was there adequate security at the diplomatic facility in benghazi to protect the americans there the answer is categorically no. as the president said after the attack in benghazi, which is why make sure hisld administration did everything it could to bring those to justice who killed four americans, and he endorsed the effort undertaken by former secretary clinton to set up an independent accountability review board to butstigate the situation, before, during, and after the benghazi attacks, with a particular focus on the question of security. problems with

security and made a series of recommendations that secretary clinton and her successor, secretary kerry, have addressed in full. every single one of them. so i am not sure i understand the question focused on a press release, which i think i probably also discussed here, as, i think, my predecessors of both administrations have done, which is because of the nature of the anniversary, there are preparations made in anticipation of potential threats, but it is clear, because four americans died on that day, that there was not adequate security. and that was revealed in the accountability review board. it was reviewed -- revealed in the testimony at 13 congressional hearings that this administration has participated in, with 40 staff briefings and 25,000 of pages of documents.

efforts by the committee that you mentioned, i believe it is that committee, to denigrate the credibility of the accountability review board were rejected powerfully by the independent inspector general, who said there were no signs of bias in the accountability review board for my board that was headed up by the former chairman of the joint chiefs admiral mullen and one of the most admired the doormats who served presidents of both parties, ambassador pickering. the president remains committed to ensure that every step is then that we can take, administration and with congress, to enhance the security of our personnel serving overseas for recognizing that by serving their country they of course are in some places and in some cases putting themselves at risk. he is committed to doing everything he can, as a country,

as a government, to bring to justice those who are responsible for the deaths of four americans. these are the issues he believes are more support. >> your reply focused on the work, which as a statutory issues, does not have jurisdiction over military posture and deployment. and your answer to me also emphasize the question of security at the consulate itself. the piece of benghazi over which the house armed services subcommittee does have is not with respect to the arms work or with respect inthat facilituy on-site benghazi, it is with respect to the posturing of benghazi around so poor--each is >> the restatement is a reflection of an assessment made by republicans who have, as you

know, attempted unfortunately to make this a partisan issue. i would say when it comes to -- and we are creating an exchange here for fox and i am mindful for that, but allow me to suggest a question about the posturing of defense forces are usually a better addressed at the pentagon. >> my question to you, jay, is what we are in gauge in here is for the record. not for fox. the fact that the posturing was such that it made remedy or rescue in that situation possible, is not a conclusion of the committee or republicans, it is a self-evident fact. all i am trying to ask you, respect to these meeting that the president had with key national security principles the day before those attacks, how is it possible that you can maintain that adequate steps were taken about force posture by the commander-in-chief and his aides when in fact the posture is now universally

acknowledged to have been such that it made remedy or rescue impossible? >> i think i said very clearly that there was not adequate security to protect those four americans. the president has been absolutely clear and forthright about that. as have the numerous investigators who have looked into this, including of course the accountability review board. i think when it comes to how the thatmilitary position -- is a question best answered by the department of defense and by commanders. but you get no argument here from the suggestion that there was not adequate security there. that is self-evident, as you administration's

corporation with the investigators has been exhaustive. cooperation full with the accountability review board, whose credibility has, unfortunately, despite the stature and independence of those who were in charge of it, being questioned by partisans on capitol hill, and i think this reflects unfortunately that kind of -- that kind of partisan gamesmanship that so first the -- so frustrates the american people when we need to be focused on making sure adequate security is provided at facilities around the world, so that our personnel serving abroad are protected, taking sure that intelligence and resources that we can apply are being applied to bring to justice those who are responsible for the deaths of four americans. and making sure that we continue to provide resources necessary to our military and the rest of

our national security apparatus andllow it to keep us safe, that is what this president is committed to, and that is reflected in everything he does and says about this issue. >> are you willing to make any of those documents associated with this press release is available? >> james, i think we are done here. thanks. barriers came down at federal memorials and national park service site at thousands -- and thousands of federal furloughed workers returned to work today after 16 days off the job is a government shutdown. the national zoo was set to reopen tomorrow, although the popular panda cam went live this morning, giving viewers a view of a cub wiggling about. -- capital visitor center

the capitol visitor center also open today. we would like to hear what you have to say, and we invite your comments on our facebook page. a question -- with the shutdown over, what should congress and the white house focus on next? good to facebook.com/cspan to respond. earlier this morning, leaders met on talks focusing on the nation's budget problems. after the meeting, they had remarks for reporters. hello, everybody. we want to say that the four of us, the ranking member of the senate budget committee, the ranking member of the house budget committee, the chairman of the senate budget committee, and myself, we had a very good conversation. we assessed how we are going to proceed over breakfast. we want to look for ways to find

common ground to get a budget agreement. our goal is that good for the mecca people, to get the f undercard patrol, and you think that we can get done to get people back to work. we will try to find how we can reach common ground and create a budget process that achieves that, and that is what we are beginning to talk about. >> chairman ryan is right. we had a good conversation over breakfast as we begin the challenge has been handed to us over the coming three short weeks. we believe there is common ground and showing you mecca people that as congress we can work and make sure that our economy is growing and that people are back to work and that we can do the job that we were center to do, to find common ground between our two budget resolutions and setting half forward for cars to work on. some people ask why this time will be different, and what i would say is not talking

guarantees failure. talking to is not guarantee success, but if you do not get together, obviously you cannot move forward. nobody can guarantee success, but what we can say is if we do not make the effort and get the other to talk, that would guarantee failure. is veryman murray knowledgeable about these issues and a strong leader. i have talked to a number of the democratic senators last night. they worsen excited about being on the conference committee and look forward to part two spades -- to participate. there's a lot we can do. a number of things we can agree on, and i hope we could agree on. we do not want to raise expectations of love -- above reality, but i think there are some things we could do. paul ryan as most of you know has dedicated himself for many years to mastering the details of this budget, so i think his

leadership puts us in a position where we may be able to uncover something good. i hope so, and the process will be helpful. >> how can you be sure you will be more successful than the supercommittee was? is there a specific dollar amount in deficit reduction you are aiming for? >> let me answer that. s were muchtee's goal broader. we have a challenge that has been handed us whatever reconciliation between at senate and house budget, and those issues are on the table, and we will talk about all of them, and our job is to make sure we have put forward these ending -- a budget passed for this congress in the next year or two or further if we can. >> it is too premature to get into the numbers. that's understand what we are doing. they're going back to regular order. this is the budget process. the house passed a budget, the senate passed a budget, you try

to reconcile differences. that is the way we are supposed to do things. that is the way the budget law is supposed to work. this is how congress is in visions -- is envisioned as working in the constitution. it is premature to get into how we will do that, because we're just beginning these conversations. >> [indiscernible] >> no yes or no questions. >> [indiscernible] our job over the next eight weeks is defined out what we can agree on, and we will look at everything in front of us and know that it will be a challenge, but we believe we can find common ground. >> what assurances can you give senator murray that you will keep negotiating? >> we want to grow the economy. we think of processes the way to do that. i explained what my concerns are . -- that speaks for

itself. i would have agreement that gets this test it under control, that does right by future generations, and we are going to try if we can find an agreement to do that. >> let me answer that as well. chairman ryan knows i will not vote for his budget. i know that he is not going to vote for my. we will find the common ground between our two budgets and we both can vote on, and that is our goal. >> [indiscernible] >> that is what we will be discussing. we will let you know. >> [indiscernible] this morning president obama talked about the temporary financial patch to resolve the debt ceiling deadline and the government shutdown. he suggested a way forward to resolving federal budget issues. >> good morning, everybody.

these have a seat. last night i signed legislation to reopen our government and pay america's bills. because democrats and responsible republicans came governmenthe first shutdown in 17 years is now over. the first default in more than 200 years will not happen. these twin threats to our economy have now been lifted, and i want to thank those democrats and republicans for getting together and ultimately having this top done. now, there has been a lot of discussion lately about politics of this shutdown. but let's be clear, there are no winners here. these last few weeks have inflicted and clearly unnecessary damage on our we don't know yet the full scope of the damage but every analyst believes it has slowed our growth. we know that families have gone without paychecks for

services they depend on. we know potential homebuyers have gotten fewer mortgages and small business loans have been put on hold. we know that consumers have cut back on half of all ceos say the shutdown and the threat of shutdown set back their plan to higher over the next six months. just the threat of the fault of america had not paying all the bills we owe on time increased our borrowing costs which adds to our deficit. of course, we know the american people lost frustration with what goes on in this town has that's not agher. surprise. the american people are completely fed up with washington. when our economic recovery demands more jobs, more