alprin. after 18 days, president mubarak of egypt is gone, in a revolution that sent shock waves around the world as they partied in the streets. we'll get the latest this morning from cairo with nbc's richard engel. plus insights in washington for what it means for the rest of the middle east with the former u.s. ambassador to israel and the u.s. correspondent, robin wright. first to richard engel who is in cairo as he has been throughout the story. richard, first, tahrir square, the heartbeat of where the revolution has happened. there's an attempt i understand this morning, to get back to normal. how has that played out? >> there were some people that were resisting this. the step to reopen tahrir square. the military police went in and briefly clashed with some of the demonstrators who don't want to leave the square. but in general, cars are now passing through tahrir and the

situation across this country is one where egyptians want to go back to work. >> there is that sense, i've heard your reporting this morning, that everyone feels that taste of freedom and is protesting anew. >> they certainly are. there is a wave of empowerment that people are feeling here. and there have been small demonstrations all across cairo. starting in the morning. doctors, lawyers, journalists, the police, who are used to crush the demonstrators were themselves out demonstrating today. people said they will not accept poor working conditions. they won't accept corruption. and they have seen that they can get empowerment through demonstrations. so they're going to be a lot more demonstrations in the days to come. with people demanding their rights. >> richard, we continue to look live at tahrir square as you've been reporting. the government in egypt is the military in egypt. and they are making some developments this morning. what are they? >> certainly we're getting our first sense of how this country

is going to be administered during this transition period. the military just issued a statement, it was read by a news reader on state television. and the statement had some quite new developments in it. it said that the constitution is suspended. that the army is responsible for this country, particularly that military council. for the next six months. that the head of the military council, who is the defense minister, represents egypt internally and externally. he's effectively appointing himself the leader of this country. that parliament is canceled. both houses of parliament. that the council has the temporary right to issue orders. like the orders it's issuing now and subsequent orders. that the constitution, which has now been suspended, will be reformed. that the current prime minister, ahmed shapik will remain and that new parliament will be held and that egypt is abiding by all the international agreement. we're seeing the first clear

signs from the military saying it is firmly in charge and this is how it plans to run the country for a transition period. >> richard engel, thank you for your reporting throughout this. joining me here in the studio. martin endyk, former ambassador to israeli and middle east correspondent. >> and robin wright, the middle east correspondent and author of "dreams and shadows." martin, to weeks we were here. if we go to our map, we see what has happened. we take it full from tunisia to egypt. in the space of three weeks, two leaders are gone. and over the weekend, the protests continue. in yemen, where the president has said he will not run again, they were protesting in the streets. saying they want more. they want more in the way of reform. also yesterday, in algiers, in algeria, additional demonstrations there. this is a conversation that is going on throughout the middle east, which leads to the obvious question -- as we look at these pictures, what is next? where does it go next?

>> well these are absolutely amazing days. exhilarating days. particularly for the people of egypt and throughout the arab world. you know, you had a little pharaoh in tunisia that's gone and a big pharaoh in egypt that's gone. where are the other pharaohs? it's hard to say because the circumstances are different in so many places. the republican leaders like the leader of yemen, like moammar gadhafi in libya, they're are the ones that i think going to be shaky. maybe we need to look at bahrain, where there's a large shiite majority that can be stirred up. but the king of jordan is sttryg to get ahead of the demands for change from his people. there's no doubt that this will have a powerful ripple effect across the arab world. and people everywhere will start demanding of their leaders greater political freedom, greater accountability.

>> and there's a sense, robin wright, of they've accomplished this on their own. we look at the map here. i'm going to show you, the cover of "the week" magazine this week. which is interesting. an app for democracy, our social media undermining dictatorial regimes. as we did a couple of weeks ago, we can put tweet deck back up to follow this conversation real-time of what's happening on the internet. as you look at that on your screen, from the map to the conversation, as you can pull it up full and look for our viewers, this conversation is real-time. and it's moving. the conversation keeps moving. how do you translate this conversation to a real democratic movement that leads to new leadership in a country like egypt? >> well, look, throughout the region, you have 100 million people. one-third of the whole arab world that is between the ages of 15 and 29. the cybergeneration has produced not just the ousters of hosni mubarak or the tunisian president, but actually the

transfer of power for the first time in 6,000 years, from elites to the majority of the people. and now the challenge is, how do these young people convert a street demonstration into political parties? and egypt has actually been very interesting. because you've seen a number of the young movements coalesce, come together, form a coalition and talk about what are their joint demands. how can they become a political party or a political force that can then define what comes next. that's what is the most important thing to watch. because they're also demanding and the revolution may not be over in egypt, that they participate in the power-sharing. that's not just the military. >> let me pick up on that, martin, because there are also fears about this. jeff goldberg, the author and writer with "the atlantic" magazine who knows the region well. posted this on his blog on friday, the people for the most seem to want the military. i don't think that desire will last, he writes. and because mubarak spent 30 years marginal liesing and banning secular parties and opposition movements, there's no obvious path towards

representative democracy. i'm not overly worried for moment in the possibility of the muslim brotherhood taking over but the fortunes of the brothers could change quicklying an dangerously. >> i don't think the military are going to let the muslim brotherhood take over and the brotherhood are keeping their heads down, saying they don't want to take over. the real question is, to robin's point, is how will the youthful demonstrators who basically handled themselves in such a disciplined and effective way, move into the political space that's now been opened up. and that dialogue between the leaders of the street and now the leaders of the military, is going to determine the future of egypt. >> i've got about a minute left. robin, let's talk about another flash point in the region that the administration, i know from talking to senior officials there, are paying a lot of attention to. we go back to our map and we highlight iran. because this is where a lot of the focus is right now. you've seen as protests are planned in iran, pro democracy protests, the administration, the white house being quite

critical of the iranian regime. saying they are on the defensive. what does it mean? >> absolutely. and the irony is the egyptian and iranian revolutions happened on the same day. iran is trying to claim credit for all the political change takes place in the region. the irony is that the opposition, which in many ways define people power in disputing a presidential election in 2009, has called for demonstrations tomorrow, to try to challenge the regime. and this is where the tension in the middle east between the old regimes, the elites, are playing out against the people in the streets. and iran is in many ways, the most interesting. it introduced islam as a political force and now you're seeing people saying we don't want this form of government any more. we want change as well. and iran, because of its nuclear program, is the most sensitive country for our long-term interests. so iran will be a place to watch in the next few weeks. >> all right. we will leave it there for now. thank you both very much for the perspective. the events in egypt are creating anxious moments in washington, as leaders here consider how the

shake-up in the middle east affects vital interests in the region. from egypt's support for u.s. counterterror policy, to its peace treaty with israeli. republicans have raised doubts about the administration's stance against mubarak. >> i'm not suggesting that we shouldn't have sided with the protesters, but what message are we sending? to countries around the world, who are friends of ours? that when things get tough, we walk away. >> how should leaders in washington encourage reforms throughout the middle east, in light of whaps happened in egypt? and back home, president obama hosted a trio of republican leaders at the white house for lunch on wednesday. the common theme -- finding some areas for potential compromise. >> it was a very good lunch and we were able to find enough common ground, i think, to show the american people that we're willing to work on their behalf and willing to do it together. >> but with the president's budget being released tomorrow, will both sides be able to work together on some issues, even as

battle lines over spending and the deficit take center stage? >> joining me now, the speaker of the house, representative john boehner of ohio. mr. speaker, welcome back to "meet the press." >> david, good to be with you. >> i want to talk about egypt, this is a developing story. you heard rick santorum, former senator, might run for president, voicing the view of some republicans, that we were hasty here and that the united states walked way way from a stalwart ally and we don't really know what the consequences will be. is that your view? >> well egypt has been a strong ally of the united states for the last 30 years. and this is clearly a very complex situation. but when people are crying out for freedom, when they're crying out for democracy, i think our country, has a responsibility to listen. >> do you think president obama did it efficiently, effectively? >> i think they've handled what is is a very difficult situation, about as well as it could be handled. >> the question now is what happens next? will the united states stand by democratic movements sweeping

the middle east? and should we? >> i believe we should always listen to those who are crying out for freedom, crying out for democracy. what we should not tolerate are those who want to push some radical ideology to take control of those governments. and i think that's the real concern of the administration and frankly, all of us on the hill. >> how do you deal with that? is that what worries you about egypt? >> the conversations with the opposition parties, those in the streets, has been under way for weeks. those conversations clearly are going to speed up, so that there can be some orderly transition to a democratic re-elected government in egypt. >> what about democracy, there is no arab democracy right now. what makes you think that egypt could become the first? >> just watch what's happened on the streets over the last 18 days. it's the people. you know, i believe that freedom is a god-given right. and i believe that after all of

these years, the people who have been oppressed, the people who have not had economic freedom, had an opportunity for growth. and finally had enough. >> what about the intelligence community here in america? are you satisfied with the job they've done in assessing the threat coming from this region? assessing the turmoil in this region? and do you think there are problems with how they're going to assess it as we move forward? >> well i think what happened in egypt, what happened in tunisia has surprised everyone. including our intelligence officials. and so i think there's going to have to be a reassessment of why, why, why didn't we have a better feel for this. >> you were disappointed? >> i wouldn't say that. i was surprised. and i think they were surprised. >> is that a concern? in the post 9/11 world, that the intelligence community could be surprised about the shifting sands there? >> again, this is a very complex situation. it happened very quickly.

and it really gives you an idea of the impact of digital media today, not only here in the united states, but around the world. >> let me turn back home to the budget battles, something you've been right in the middle of as well this week. and take you back as we sequence this out to the pledge to america and the promise that you and other republicans made in the course of the campaign. this is what it said, we will roll back government spending to prestimulus, prebailout levels, saving us at least $100 billion in the first year alone and putting us on a path to balance the budget and pay down the debt. republicans assumed power in the house. and that was not actually what happened. you didn't reach that $100 billion threshold initially. and there were some real concerns among some of your new members. the tea party folks, other freshman conservatives. gop angst, republican leaders struggle to reign in conservative members. will you fulfill that pledge at $

$100 billion? >> we will. and whiv we believe we met our commitment that we made in the pledge to america, i said there's no limit to the amount of money that our members want to cut. and i've also committed to what my colleagues, we ought to have an open process. and while we have instructed our appropriations committee to go meet that pledge, some of our members wanted more. fine. and this week, we were able to come successfully, to an agreement to cut $100 billion of spending from those seven months remaining in this fiscal year. >> it's going to be painful, though. "the new york times" editorialized this week in this way, beyond region in the budget, after two years of raging, republican leaders have revealed their real vision of small government, tens of billions in ideologically-driven cuts to job training they want more than $32 million in cuts into the next seven muts.

they would be terribly damaging to a frail recovery and while spending reductions must be part of a long-term deficit control these are the wrong cuts to the wrong programs at the wrong time. is this too much in this economy? >> david, we're broke. what's really dangerous is if we continue to do nothing and allow the status quo to stay in place. when are we going to get serious about cutting spending? and our members want to take this leap forward, because it has to happen and it needs to start now. >> but mr. speaker, if you were serious about cutting spending as you just said, wouldn't you deal with the biggest culprits in the budget? because you're not doing that. it's all -- >> hold on. >> you're not dealing with the military or entitlements, you're dealing with about 16% of the budget. >> in is the first step. and as i have said, there's many steps to follow. there are some defense spending cuts in this package. there are mandatory spending cuts that you'll see brought to the floor in the coming weeks.

you'll see our budgets, where i've got to believe we're going to deal with the entitlements problem. the president has asked us to increase the debt limit. and yet, he's going to present a budget tomorrow that will continue to destroy jobs by spending too much, borrowing too much, and taxing too much. >> let me stop you there. because of a few things you said, i'd like to follow up on each of them. first of all, i think it's important for everybody to recognize. when you're talking about spending cuts, you're talking about this fiscal year which ends in september, which is called a continuing resolution to fund the budget. the budget is a separate battle moving forward, just so we're clear on the terms. you met with the president this week, and talked about areas of common ground. he's talking about making cuts in discretionary spending, freezing it at levels that would take $400 billion off the deficit in ten years. is there a collision course as he talks about additional investment in the economy as well? or are you seeing room for compromise on spending? >> it's time to cut spending. the president wants to freeze domestic discretionary spending.

at existing levels. this is after this, this is after all of the money that's been spent over the last two years. locking in that level of spending is way too much. but i do think the voters last november made it clear that they want washington to cut spending. and cutting spending will in fact help create a better environment for job creation in america. this morning, i sent a letter to president obama. signed by 150 economists, that say that cutting spending now will help create a better environment so that we can begin to create jobs in our country. this is a critically important step, if we're going to end the uncertainty and start to give investors and small business people the confidence to invest in our economy. i used to be a small businessman. i understand that when you have all this uncertainty, you don't invest. if people begin to see us rein in out-of-control spending it

will bring in more business and investors around the country and we'll begin to see better job creation in the country. >> you talk about the debt limit that has to be raised accord together administration. and say we're not going to vote for that unless there are specific spending cuts we get in response. if there is not a compromise on this, would you rule out a government shutdown as an appropriate response? >> david, our goal here is to reduce spending. our goal is not to shut down the government. and i'm hopeful -- >> would you rule it out? >> i would hope that the senate and the white house heard the same thing i heard from the american people in last november's election. it's time to cut spending. >> very precise question -- would you rule out government shutdown, if you can't see eye to eye. >> our goal is to cut spending, not shut down government. >> on entitle like social security, you said the retirement age should be raised. but you said you don't want to get into negotiating how that happens just now until the problem is better defined. again, when it comes to leadership, when it comes to the lead to you know, have no limit

on cutting, don't you think americans understand what the problem with social security is? what will it take for you to join with the white house to make real reform, to deal with this piece of the budget? >> david, you may understand how big the problem is i may understand how big it is. but most americans have not been presented with just how big is the problem. and it's social security, it's medicare, it's medicaid. and i think it's uno incumbent on the leaders in washington, those of us to go out and help the american people understand how big the problem is. once the american people begin to get their arms around the size of the problem, then and only then should we begin to lay out an array of possible solutions to have that conversation. >> i want to ask you about housing policy. this administration this week said ultimately the big government agencies, fannie mae and freddie mac should be phased

out of existence. do you think the government needs to get oust of the housing market? >> i think the government needs to get out of the housing market. if you look at the bailout, we've spent $150 billion and will spend at least that much more bailing out fannie mae and freddie mac. the obama administration laid out options to go forward. we all know what the options are. it's time to get serious about a plan to phase out fannie and freddie. return them to the private sector. >> who fills the gap? they prop up 90% of the mortgages in this country. there's no money out there to guarantee those mortgages. >> they can do this as private companies. they don't need to have this implicit federal government guarantee. >> you're willing to suffer the potential consequences, which is further cratering the housing market if you privatize these companies? >> the gap that's out there will be filled. remember, the dfederal governmet started to build these organizations 40 and 50 years ago to collateralize mortgages,

in order to make mortgages more available. this is before the private sector had the ability to do it. the private sector can do this today. and fannie and freddie know how to do it. they can do it as private companies. >> but the government has got to be there today, you would concede that, given the fragility of the housing market, the federal government has to be there to back it? >> because the federal government failed in its obligations to have these institutions be sound, we're on the hook. and we're on the hook now for $153 billion. it will be well over $300 billion before we're out of it. but it's time to begin to transition to this activity, to the private sector. >> all right. we're going it take a break here, we'll come back, more with speaker boehner after this. "meet the press" is

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back now with more from speaker of the house boehner. mr. speaker, i want to pick up on something that my colleague, brian williams, asked you about in january, last month. he asked if you were willing to take on some members of your

caucus who don't believe that the president was actually born in the united states. and this was a portion of your answer. i want to play it. >> we're nothing more than a slice of america. people come, regardless of party labels, they come with all kinds of beliefs and ideas. it's the melding pot of america. it's not up to me to tell them what to think. >> and indeed, members of congress speak publicly and are outspoken and will say what their views are. sometimes they have an effect on what people believe around the country. there was something that caught my eye this week on fox news on the hannity program. a focus group with voters in iowa led by frank lunz, the republican strategist. he had this exchange with them. i want to show it to you. >> i believe that barack obama's religious beliefs do govern his foreign policy. >> and what are his religious beliefs? >> i believe he is a muslim. >> you do. how many of you believe that here? wow. you believe he's a muslim? >> yes.

>> as the speaker of the house, as the leader, do you not think it's your responsibility to stand up to that kind of ignorance? >> david, it's not my job to tell the american people who to think. our job in washington is to listen to the american people. having said that, the state of hawaii has said that he was born there. that's good enough for me. the president says he's a christian. i accept him at his word. but isn't that a little bit fast and loose? you are the leader in congress and you're not standing up to obvious facts and saying these are facts. if you don't believe that, it's nonsense. >> i just outlined the facts as i understand them. i believe that the president is a citizen. i believe the president is a christian. i'll take him at his word. >> but that kind of ignorance about whether he's a muslim doesn't concern you? >> the american people have the right to think what they want to think. i can't -- it's not my job to tell them. >> why isn't it your job to stand up and say, no, the facts are these. what you're saying is good

enough for me, for those who would believe that or talk about that, you had a new tea party freshman who was out yesterday speaking to conservatives and saying i'm fortunate enough to have an american citizen by birth and i could have a birth certificate to prove it. that was a congressman from idaho. is that an appropriate way for your members to speak? >> the gentleman was trying to be funny, i would imagine. but remember something. it's not -- it really is not our job to tell the american people what to believe and what to think. there's a lot of information out there. people read a lot of things. >> you shouldn't stand up to misinformation and stereotypes? >> i've made clear what i believe the facts are. >> but is it because it weakens the president politically and seeks to delegitimatize him that you want to let it stay out there? >> no. what i'm trying to do is do my job. our job is to focus on spending. we're spending too much money here in washington.

the president is going to outline this new budget tomorrow that i outlined earlier, spends too much, borrows too much and taxes too much. and the president wants to talk about winning the future. this isn't winning the future, it's spending the future. >> i want to ask you about something you said last june about the state of america and as a leader now i want you to reflect on it. you said the tea party protests are emblemmatic of deep voter anger against washington's leaders. they're snuffing out the america that i grew up in, boehner said. what did you mean by that? >> they aren't. no, what i was talking about, the problems in washington are snuffing out the future. if we don't get our arms around the spending, if we don't get our arms around the debt, the american dream that was available for you and me is not going to be available for our kids and grandkids. >> you say they. do you mean the leaders in washington are snuffing out the america you believe in? >> i'm talking about the spending that's going on here in

washington. >> let's talk about some of the things you've had to deal with just this week in congress. former congressman christopher lee, who resigned after posting some photos answering something on craigslist, this is not the picture he put there. we didn't want to put that up. it was a picture without his shirt communicating with a young woman via craigslist. he resigned immediately. you talked to him about it. what did you tell him? >> conversations that i have with my colleagues are private, and i'm going to keep them that way. >> but you made it very clear that that kind of behavior was not appropriate? >> i'm not going to divulge conversations that i had with my colleagues. the american people have the right and should expect the highest ethical standards from their members of congress. i made this clear to my members going back four years ago. and i told them that i would hold them to the highest ethical standards, and i have. >> so personal behavior, personal indiscretions are fair

game when it comes to evaluating leadership and fitness for office? >> i'm going to hold my members to a high standard. >> personal indiscretions, personal behavior -- >> i'm going to hold my members to a high standard. >> let me ask you about politics in 2012. do you think that the president can win re-election if unemployment is still around 8%? >> i think it will be difficult. the president has been on the spending spree for the last two years, called for this giant expansion of the federal government, claiming it was going to help our country. the fact is it hasn't. if unemployment or the perception that unemployment isn't significantly lower, i think it's going to be a difficult time. >> what about the republican field right now. different circumstance here. nobody is leaping into the race. do you think there's a front runner? >> i do not. i've never seen a more wide-open race for the republican nomination. but we all know that nature abhors a vacuum. candidates i expect will continue to come forward and

those who vote in republican primaries around the country will have an opportunity to choose one of them. >> so what are the qualities and characteristics of the nominee that it will take to beat president obama? >> i think we'll need someone who can paint a vision of the future that takes into consideration that we need a smaller, less costly, and more accountable government in washington, d.c. the american people need -- the american dream needs to be renewed. what you and i -- the opportunities you and i had growing up need to be available for all americans. that means that we need a smaller government, we need a government that allows the american people to keep more of what they earn so they can invest in themselves, their family, their business, their communities. >> but the tea party, would you argue, has a big role in the primary process, certainly bigger than we've seen in the past? >> i believe that those activists around the country will involve themselves in a big way. and we should be happy about this. there are more americans engaged in our government today than at

any time in our lifetime. this is healthy for our country. >> speaker boehner, as always, thank you very much. appreciate you being here. >> thank you. and coming up, more on what the developments in egypt mean for the u.s. interests in the region. and then, a big woke coming up in washington as we've been discussing. the president releasing his budget tomorrow. the battle lines are drawn. also the race for the white house in 2012. potential republican presidential candidates made their debut at a gathering of conservatives this weekend. we will break it all down with insights and analysis from our round table. atlanta mayor kasim reed, freshman congressman bobby schilling, former white house secretary, dee dee myers, david [ wind howling ] [ technician ] are you busy? management just sent over these new technical manuals. they need you to translate them into portuguese.

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and two newcomers, both have focused their leadership efforts on the issue of spending. tea party backed freshman member of congress, republican bobby schilling of illinois and first term mayor of atlanta, democrat, kasim reed, who thegrio.com has just named to their list of 100 history makers in the making, celebrating black history month this month. welcome to all of you. certainly a lot to get to. good to have you here. david brooks, on the subject of egypt, fast-moving developments. i thought it was striking, the speaker of the house really behind president obama and his leadership here, saying he's handled it just about as well as he could have. >> yeah, more agreement between the republicans and the democrats than between the white house and the state department, apparently. sort of an interesting fight all week. the president really wanting to be on the side of the street, the democracy protesters. the state department wanting to be more slow transition. i would say one of the big news -- first the state department, i don't think hillary clinton handled this situation particularly well. i don't think what they were thinking, that mubarak could

lead a transition into democracy, that the street would accept a slow transition. i don't know what they were thinking. secondly, i don't think the president -- i thought there were moments when he was superb but didn't really control his administration fast enough and really had to struggle to control the state department. >> mark halperin, there is a danger here that as this movement spreads throughout the middle east, this becomes a growing part of the president's leadership challenge here in terms of how much support the united states will provide for these movements around the world. >> well, they are questions that are begged overall about what his general posture is and then country by country and the balance of security and supporting democracy will be huge. we talked at the beginning of the show about iran. that's clearly where the administration would like to focus. there's a great best case scenario here where this movement does spread in a way that brings more democracy and where these governments change to a more open society without a loss of stability. it's going to take a lot of the president's attention, no question. >> congressman schilling, with fresh eyes on this, you're new to congress, you're new to the foreign policy establishment

debates. here was a stalwart ally for 30 years in the middle east and, poof, he is gone. it's not really clear where things go now. what concerns you? >> my big concern is however this gets resolved, it's in a peaceful fashion and that we still stand with israel. i think that's the key. >> right. and you hear the egyptian military saying today that all those international agreements will be kept but this will be a big issue in congress, making sure whatever leadership takes over will honor that peace treaty. >> that's exactly right. >> i also want to turn to spending for both you and mayor reed. that's the big story this week and will be next week as well. it was interesting, congressman schilling, this was the quote in the state journal register. as you were bound for washington, you promised, schilling, not boehner's clone. you and other tea party folks certainly lived up to that in the last couple of weeks because you came in and said hey, wait a minute, we made a promise about how much spending we were actually going to cut. we haven't lived up to it. are you satisfied now or upset about how the leadership handled

it? >> i'm actually quite satisfied with it. the thing that's nice about the leadership is they are giving us a voice. they could say, hey, look, you guys don't count, we're just going to run the way we want and that's the thing i have noticed with the leadership. here's the thing we've got to remember is that we've got 87 new freshmen here and there's some major growing pains, so it's not going to be perfect but we will strive towards perfection so i'm pretty happy with it. >> mayor reed, your issue as the mayorf atlanta is one that local cities and states are dealing with all over the country and that is you're strapped for cash. you gave a commencement address last december and this is part of what you said, which was interesting and it could become a national conversation. i believe the city, the state and the country is making a big mistake in not asking more from us. when you look at where america is, the bottom line is that for the country to do and to be what we have been, certainly within the last 40 to 50 years, there must be a generation tough enough to stick out its chin and take the hit and get on with it.

>> what we're trying to do in atlanta is just to go on with our work and to set an example. what cities can do faster than the federal government in many instances to be an example and get on with your work. i do believe that we need to get on with an honest conversation and we need to make hard decisions much faster. i don't think we're doing that. >> and you've done some of those decisions like pension reform. cities are dealing with across the country, which is they can't afford to keep all those promises. >> we went in in the first six months when i was an untested mayor, in my first year, did as much as we could legally. we are going to go back into this budget cycle and do it again. whether i'm mayor or not when it's all said and done is another matter. >> you might take it on the chin. >> yeah, but i think i'm doing the right thing. i think i'm doing the right thing for the city, and i think we're going to try to be a model so that other government can say show that it can be done and that you can survive it. >> dee dee myers, the spending fight that we're going to see in washington, we're already seeing

it over this year's spending for the rest of this fiscal year but then the president's budget. as i asked the speaker, is this a collision course as the president talks about winning the future or do you hear speaker boehner wanting to compromise more than perhaps the tea party will let him? >> i think that remains to be seen. there's two battles, the battle between the republicans and democrats and then within the republican caucus. we saw some of that this week. ryan produced the budget that cut $32 billion in spending. >> this is the budget chairman. >> he proud a budget that cut $32 billion for the rest of the fiscal year and that wasn't enough. other freshmen, like congressman schilling, said that's not going to do it and now we're at almost twice that. what is going to happen going forward. how is the budget going to be resolved. the president didn't take on entitlements either. >> david brooks, you fired a shot across the bow to the likes of congressman schilling this week. this is what you wrote. anybody who doesn't take on entitlement spending is an

enabler of big government. the supposedly rabid republican freshmen are big government conservatives. they will cut programs that do measurable good while doing little to solve our lawn range fiscal crisis. >> we'll see people wrestling over the bed sheets on the titanic. it's 16% of the budget. we're going to do all the fighting over that. the 84%, which will grow to 86% and 88% and 90% in the years ahead, medicare, social security, interest on the debt, veterans, nobody is talking about that. and worse, nobody is even preparing the ground for that. so all around the country you've got people like mayor reed willing to take the serious issues and get to the core of the problem. in washington i can think of maybe ten. >> congressman, what do you say to that? >> i think this is going to be done in phases. and i think that every american out there pretty much realize that say we have to go after the entitlement programs. i believe truly that everything is on the table across the board. >> spell out what you mean. are you for raising the retirement age on social

security? >> you know, i don't know if that's going to be part of it. >> testing benefits? >> i'm a small business owner that got into this because i was sick and tired of watching the direction of the country was going. it wasn't going the right way. and november the 2nd there was a mandate across this great nation saying we've had enough of this, what's going on. so do i know exactly where the cuts? i know as a small business owner what i do is i troubleshoot in, i find the problem. >> but congressman, this is the real problem. if you want to -- if you're a tea party guy, you come in here and say we've got to really reduce government. i mean we know what the issues are, we know what the choices are that have to be made. on social security you're either for raising the retirement age or cutting benefits or some combination of raising taxes. so what are you prepared to do? if you're not prepared to do something, how can you claim leadership when it comes to redue deucing the scope of government? >> i think we need to have everything on the table. i'm not going to say commit to the raising the age of social security. but if we do nothing, we know

it's broke. so we've got to put everything on the table and make good decisions. if we continue the path we're going, we're going bankrupt. >> mark halperin, what i keep hearing from leaders is we have to have the adult conversation. i keep saying we can have a juvenile conversation as long as you'll say what you're actually for. because nobody is actually saying what they're for here on the tough stuff. >> with all due respect to the congressman, this is the problem right now. all we have to do, if this is going to happen this year and i think it could, is to get to a deal that's too big to fail. a deal that has the tax increases, the kind of cuts to health care that the president would say he would not accept, somehow that deal has to come together. the events right now are just pregame skirmishes until the end of the year when i think the president and the leader in the senate are going to have to make a deal. >> but the good news is some people actually take up the mantle. it's all on the table and there are cob webs on the table. it's been sitting there year after year. if you look at the people in the senate, people like dick durbin, mark warner, tom coburn, others,

bipartisan group of senators. right now there are ten of them. they're getting serious and taking some political arrows right now because they're republicans willing to look at tax increases, there's some democrats willing to look at social security reform. an they're actually out there. you're beginning to see something really hopeful start there, but you've got to show the leaders in the house and in the white house a politically viable root and you need -- >> mayor reed, on the one hand you cut pensions in terms of when they vest but you're also lobbying for more money for the port of savannah. so how do you accomplish both? >> because i think that's consistent with investing for the future by deepening the port of savannah, georgia, we're going to create an economy and have the port ready for the panama canal ships that come in 2014. it's consistent with the president's message on infrastructure investment and job creation. >> how does it affect -- some of the cuts that will definitely come down the line, how will you feel that in the city of atlanta? >> well, the president had an honest conversation with us more than six weeks ago so we've already started winding down.

we know that those dollars aren't coming. much like the social security conversation, we know now. see, i just like to be told. i know that we're going to modify social security with regard to our age. just tell us, let leaders step up and know it. the president told us that federal funding and federal support was going to wind down so we're already preparing for that in our upcoming budget. but that's where i think we need to be going. tell us the truth and we'll get on it. >> we're going to take a quick break. when we come back with this round table, we'll talk ab we know why we're here. to build a new generation of airplanes to connect the world. ♪ airplanes that fly cleaner and farther on less fuel. and make nonstop travel possible to more places. ♪ [ female announcer ] around the globe, the people of boeing are working together -- to bring us together. that's why we're here. ♪

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we are back with more from our round table. we're talking about the big debates coming up over the budget and spending. ultimately, mark halperin, this is heading into 2012. a gathering of conservatives here this weekend, the cpac conference, this is how it turned out. who was on the leaderboard for the second year straight, representative ron paul 30%, mitt romney had double digits. here is the wider view. these are activists who paid up to show up to cpac so a little

narrower. but the wider view shows this is a spread-out race. mike huckabee at 21% and tim pawlenty at 3%. why is it still so unclear what the republicans are doing? >> because the republican party in several decades have not had no clear front runner. today i think there are three slots. we'll see how it develops and see who ends up running. i think newt gingrich has a got, mitt romney has a slot and there's an establishment alternative to romney's slot. i don't think the speech has changed much. we have to see some establishment figure step forward to try to take that mantle away from mitt romney and those three slots will be joined by a lot of other people trying to claw their way into the possibility of nomination. >> dee dee myers, what's the dynamic here? i think this week was when senator obama announced. there was so much settled across the land, the democrats could really get themselves organized at the end of the bush administration. not so this time. >> among democrats? >> among republicans i mean, but the comparison to democrats.

>> right. for, i don't know, a couple of generations the republicans have always chosen the next in line as their nominee. by traditional measure that say would be mitt romney this time but clearly something has changed. the republican party is no longer willing to takt next guy in line. i think there's a lot more churning in the base of the party. there's a lot less obey ans to that hierarchy that's driven republican politics for so long so it is wide open. >> congressman, talk about the impact of the tea party on a primary process. these folks who are looking at the presidency are understanding that part of these debates that play out in congress will have an impact on how the primary process goes. >> you know, that's very true, and i think that i personally believe that we've seen phase one and phase two coming. i think 2012 is going to show another phase. but the thing that's really interesting about the taxed enough already party, is that, you know, they're going to hold people accountable either side. i was told, hey, you know what, if you go against the things

we've sent you there for, we'll work just as hard to get you out. so i think we'll see another phase come through, but it's just a matter of time. >> and, mayor, as you look at atlanta and you look at the conversation across the country, it's what i asked speaker boehner. unemployment, if they're lucky, can be around 8%, maybe a little less. tough circumstances for the president to face re-election. >> they are. i think if unemployment gets to 8%, i think the president is going to be fine. i think it will be tough. >> what will the argument be? >> i think the argument will be that the decisions that he made, the tough decisions, the decisions he made around the automobile industry, the financial services industry actually worked and is moving the country in the right direction. he's a good person and you need to let him continue to follow through. the republican party is beginning to feel more like the democratic party in terms of the lack of organization, if you will, and the openness. so i'm actually enjoying it. >> there are a couple of outliers that aren't mentioned.

jeb bush, the president's brother, and jon huntsman, the ambassador to china for president obama has stepped down. looks like he may be looking for a run and the white house paying particular attention to him. >> and donald trump announced he might throw his hair into the ring. that would be a good thing. listen, there are a lot of people out there. i think there are only a very few plausibles. mitch daniels, who gave a good speech at cpac. mitt romney, john kuhn and then tim pawlenty. after that it's all commentary. jeb bush would be a great candidate. he's got the bush problem. huntsman, he served in the obama administration. >> chris christie? >> he would be great but he said he's not running. >> what is the theory of the case, because ultimately it's still going to be tough for the republicans, isn't it? >> if you look at the electoral college, it's not that tough. there's about seven states they have got to take away from the president to win. if they can make an argument the president has not handled himself well. imagine if egypt goes badly,

imagine if unemployment is high, it's doable, but the president will be formidable. he's a better politician today than any of the republicans thinking of running. he's better known, he'll raise more money, he's the incumbent. he has a lot of advantages. >> dee dee myers, you know about transitions there at the podium. we saw one this week, the president came into the oval office -- not the oval office, he was there too but he came into the pressroom and when robert gibbs was leaving, this is what he said. >> obviously gibbs's departure is not the biggest one today. >> that was a good line on the day that hosni mubarak stepped down on friday. what does this transition mean as we now hand the reins over to jay carney, former "time" magazine bureau chief and worked for vice president biden. what are the challenges here? >> well, i think the first two years were difficult with the press in many ways. i think robert gibbs did a great job in many ways but he did two jobs. he was a senior adviser as well as the press secretary and

spokesman. a lot of days i think reporters were frustrated they didn't get their calls returned. but i think it's an opportunity for the administration to reset a little bit and redefine the relationship with the press and to kind of start in a new direction. >> either thin skinned or too demanding. thanks to all of you. we will leave it there. that is all for [ male announcer ] at e-trade, low cost investing doesn't just mean a low price. it means getting everything you need to invest for yourself, not by yourself. it means choosing from stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and every etf sold. plus 5-star service and research designed to increase your intelligence, not insult it. so you can wave good riddance to some high-priced joker churning out cookie cutter portfolios. price is one thing. value is another. don't confuse the two. e-trade. investing unleashed. and this is everything people love about it.

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