>> production assistance for "inside washington" was provided by allbritton communications and "politico," reporting on the legislative, executive, and political arena. >> what this bill represents a complete surrender of democratic principles. >> this week on "inside washington," the tax cut deal passes to a little something to irritate everyone. a federal judge ruled unconstitutional to force americans to buy health insurance. the white house releases a long awaited report on afghanistan

and pakistan. >> progress comes slowly and at a high price the lives of our men and women n uniform. >> richard holbrooke dead at the age of at 69. wikileaks founder julian assange makes a bail. but he is not the person of the year. >> thank you so much, mark. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> much of this town's attention was focused on capitol hill this week, in between endless holiday parties, that is. issues the congreswas concerned with- how to come up with money to keep the government running. that is real important. also, the deal president obama

made with republicans to extend the bush tax cuts for a couple of years. house democrats were its toughest critics. >> the motion is adopted. >> it gives away one of the $20 billion to the super rich. >> this is so irresponsible and contradicts everything as democrats we have been fighting for for generations. >> this bill will kill our children with very ltle input or benefit at the moment. >> still, the bill passed. 139 democrats voted against, 138 voted yes. -at last, bipartisanship. >> it is a tough thing to ask members of congress to vote for a tax cut. [laughter] a rere by-the-bullet, but for a tax cut. -- a vote for a tax cut.

families collecting $26 billion saved in inheritance taxes as a result. as a bonanza of the country. >> charles, is this good for the country? >> i like it either. if you think that adding $1 trillion to the deficit when we are drowning in debt is good for the country, i don't think so. >> nina? >> i am really worried about the depths of recession and a slow recovery. in the long run, being this profligate is not good for the country, and i'm doing a tax cut is one of the most difficult things. it is going to be very difficult for president obama to do that. if it boosts the economy of it, let's see i a couple of years if anybody wants to do anything about the deficit. >> evan, democrats and

republicans on the same page. are you pleased? >> as a mushy centrist, yes. [laughter] but it is like watching an alcoholic take one more drink. if it leads to president obama come out of the state of the union and talking about tax reform with the deficit, if it is a precursor to something, it is ok. if it is one more pathetic attempt to put money into the economy at the expense -- is a bad thing. >> that is wha makes it so pernicious. it comes a month after an election that was supposedly about being fiscally responsible and all that. it came three days after -- the announcement of the deal came three days after the deficit commission appeared to have spoken for the national consensus, left, right, and

center, about attacking the major issues, including entitlements. for that reason, it is dispiriting. it may show that all that stuff that happened in november was four show, and in the end, when you have to act, you simply spend extra trillion dollars when in doubt. >> there is no national consensus. if you look at the "washington post"-abc news poll this week, an overwhelming majority wants to do about the deficit, and then you ask them, would you be willing to raise the retirement age, cut social security benefits, cut medicare, a whole bunch, they vote no, a big majority. it is a schizophrenic public opinion, and what that leads to is -- the minute you do something about the deficit --

>> what was going on up there, mark? >> the president's reservoir of goodwill, trust, and confidence in the democratic house caucus has been depleted. it is dangerously low. it is not simply the product, the determined opposition it was the process, and as one member said to me, "boy, this white house drive just off parkton." [laughter] >> obama has been trying to play with the other kid in the sandbox for the last two years. the issue is,, january, is he going to separate himself from the mass and be a leader and tried to do something different? >> members of congress are still trying to figure out how to come up money for the government.

nancy pelosi says that you don't have to be straight to shoot straight. they're trying to decide whether it makes sense to put a lid on nuclearr weapons. "wall street journal" says that the 111th congress is the worst in modern history. do you agree, mark? >> no, the chief of our significant there were some gutsy encourage -- the achievements were significant. there was a gutsy and courageous votes cast. >> overall, it is a dysfunctional mess and the country knows it. the future of the country depends on some leadership, presidential leadership, which separates its the mass and figures out a way to make congress to do some big -- separates itself from the mess and figures out a way to make progress to something big. >> 13% approval. >> i wonder who the 13 are. must be relatives of members of congress

obamacare, which will take us a generation to undo, increase of our debts, and also, it is interesting with this omnibus bill that harry reid was trying to palm on the senate and in the end it was so outrageous he had to withdraw, 2000 pages of spending, which she presented on tuesday and demanded an answer by saturday when the government is going to shut down, that was a way for the 111, which is now out of business, to control what is going to happen next year. what republicans and reasonable democrats want is allowing the government to go a couple of weeks and allowing the new congress, the legitimate one, to decide what is going to happen next year. >> to come up with the bill late and it had lots of gimmicks in it that republicans put in, it was so noxious that by the time

it was exposed to the light of day, the same republicans voted against the bill. it is crazy. >> that is exactly right. this was hypocrisy on the part of people -- in this case, republicans to put in these inserts, these special pleadings, pork barrel legislation earmarks. once they were asked about it, "oh, my god, i have got to vote against it." as far as legitimacy is concerned, funding for this fiscal year, nobody thinks it's significant that bob gates has requested it for sustaining united states defense. the secretary of defense -- i think that is a legitimate voice. >> first house in 30 years that did not even pass a budget. that is incredibly irresponsible, that is why we ended up with this train wreck at the end of the year. >> i don't know how anybody in

good conscience could vote against not just management according to a poll, the president's approval rating is 45%. congress is at 13%. >> his ratings are better than republican ratings, but not what you would call -- >> better than clinton posture at this point. -- better than clinton's at this point. >> but anything you say now about what will happen in two years is foolhardy. but i want to say one thing about the budget that did not get passed, the omnibus bill. we talked a lot about passing a huge tax cut because we have to know what kind of tax cuts we have. but these agencies, including the defense department, don't know how much money they have got. and there was a christmas party at the department of justice and people were really worried about this. these are people who do not know

exactly -- >> democrats have control the house, control the senate, control of the white house for a year, did not pass a single appropriations bill. whose fault is that? >> i'm just saying -- >> charles knows that blame is enough to go around. i want to point out that the congressional job rating -- the purpose in a poll is to make of a president look good. -- make every president look good. and to make the united nations look effective. [laughter] that is reaeay the purpose it serves. >> let me get serious for one second. there is no opportunity -- the public really hate congress and they don't like obama that much, but they don't mind him too much. he has a comparative advantage

or he can come forward and say, "i want to get serious, but i need your help." and get a mandate to make congress do something. >> you are a sweet polley anna. >> that i endorse evan's utopianism? >> you are not pollyana. >> william falalton has proposed president of what ought to in the state of the union embrace tax reform -- william of fallston has proposed that president obama in the state of the union ought to increase tax reform to pull out why it is a guy who thinks large on this -- ought to embrace tax reform. paul ryan is a guy who thinks large on this. if you could have it like bill bradley and ronald reagan in 1986, you could have a breakthrough. these are people who are smart and principled enough to do it. >> he not only pollyanna, he

is religion as tax reform began in calling for tax cuts across the board. he became a scholar and student of it. he wrote a book in 1982 but he introduced bradley -gephardt in 1982. ronald reagan appointed a commission in 1985 and that led to rostenkowski and packwood writing it in 1986. series a, we're going to write a tax reform bill -- [unintelligible] in one year we have a president running for reelection, you are unrealistic. >> he could play small ball and

do little tiny things to get himself reelected, or he can go for the big stuff and serve the country. >> he has done that. >> no, he has not. on the deficit and tax system, he has an opportunity to do tax reform and deficit reduction and have a national referendum in the 2012 election. >> just take a breath. it is unconstitutional to force americans to buy health insurance? >> you have to stay within the boundaries of the constitution, and there is no power of the congress and president to order you and me to buy any product. >> that is ken cuccinelli, attorney general of virginia, who brought the challenge to health care, and a judge ruled that it is unconstitutional to make americans buy health insurance why is it constitutional to make americans buy automobile insurance but not to make them by health insurance? >> the argument is that you do

not have to own a car. but we have a law that would suggest that the government can have a kind of -- that involves the national economy -- >> commercrcclause. >> everybody pastor health insurance, -- everybody has to have health insurance, just not on the way to the hospital. the counter argument is that you cannot force people -- if it wanted do something, you cannot force them -- if they don't want to do something, you cannot force them. that is what the argument is about. >> but if you take away the mandate, what happens to the idea that you cannot be denied all the jurors becse of pre- existing conditions? -- you cannot be denied health insurance because of pre- existing conditions? >> the public option. >> there is no way without

requiring purchase that you cannot pre-existing conditions -- that you can have pre- existing additions or any other benefits. >> the whole temple collapse without it. i am not a legal expert about this, but don't be experts at the end of the day think that the supreme court will uphold the law? >> nobody is 100% sure what the court will do. if you look at a conservative legal blogs, it is interesting how many of those folks actually think it is constitutional. >> there are two conflicting principles if you are a conservative on this, and that is why it is unclear how it will come out. there is the conservative idea that courts ought to respect the independence and autonomy of the political branches and not overturn them. not to legislate from the bench, which is what conservatives are

always willing against -- railing against it would imply he would uphold the law. but if you apply the individual mandate, requiring a person to enter into a private contract with an insurance company, and say that that is ok under the commerce clause, it becomes inconceivable that there is anything the government cannot force you into one of the commer clause. th would be an expansiono the point where you have a government -- or you no longer have a limited government of enumerated powers. the second principle will probably top the first, but it is not guaranteed. >> of the bill goes down, we will get national health. you get a lot of government. >> as a graduate of america's public schools, i would like to point out that ken cuccinelli,

the attorney general of virginia -- it is that you and i to do something, it is "you and me." it is the object could please, mr. cuccinelli, don't fall the language like the law of the country. [laughter] >> good to focus on the essentials, mark. >> it is essential to focus on how to communicate, and i know you believe that. >> this administration, it is fair to remind us all, inherited an extraordinarily difficult situation. there was no clearly defined mission. today we have a very different story to tell. >> the secretary of state is talking about pakistan and afghanistan according to the latest nbc news poll, a majority

think that the war is not worth fighting. is this going to be barack obama's the income? > -- hog barack obama's to vietnam? >> it is heading in that general direction. it is fragile, and if you start withdrawing troops, it could break. it will be obama a versus the defense establishment, because they don't want to withdraw the troops the public will say, hey, let's start getting out, and the military will say, we cannot get out. >> the secretary of state says we have a different story to tell in this administration. what is their ory? >> basically, we should have done this back when we invaded afghanistan and not when we invaded iraq. i am struck, whenever i hear experts talk about this, at the

different ways they can weigh every factor. you heard the points that evan just made, and in a country where people say that if you don't actually said a withdrawal time, the pakistanis will rely on us for ever and ever commit enough to -- and never commit enough to do something about afghanistan, on every single like the -- every single thing like that there is a yin and yang. i don't know the right answer and i am not convinced there may be one. >> n nody, including richard holbrooke, who lost this week, who cared about it passionately and immersed himself totally, can tell us with any definition what a victory would look like in 2011 or in 2014, where they appeared to be pushing an exit date back. the competition and this agreement is now between the

intelligence of the united states and the defense department. the defense department is offering for 100,000 troops, almost three times as many as -- is wanting 100,000 troops, almost three times as many as were there when obama took office. >> obama -- we were just talking about domestic policy and him needing to step up. you get the same issue on the foreign-policy side. he has got to ask himself, do i stand up against my own defense that is when? the national security state is a powerful thing. his first term, he basically went along with them. you want more troops for afghanistan? i will give them to you. he kicked them do -- he kicked the can down the road. now he has to ask a basic question, do i go with the defense establishment, or do i go into new territory, to a risky thing, and billy pull out? that is very hard. >> alexander the great, the

russians -- what does barack obama and the defense the seles's me -- defense establishment after offer that they did not? >> if you think in the tactical level, i believe the administration when it says they are making progress, we need to expand the circle of territory in the's area -- meaning the expansion of the circle of territory in the pashtun areas. the taliban -- the reason people support them is not ideology. it is fear. it is ideology, you have to change people's ideas. if it is fear, you have to be -- you have to provide people protection.

in the long run, is, it was i who can handle it and at is where the issues are --. it is high because i who can handle and that is where the issues are. -- karzai who can handle it and that is where the issues are. >> richard holbrooke, remarkable career. >> mentioning nancy pelosi i did the same sentence as the taliban is a cheap shot. >> nancy pelosi is not a terrorist. >> rush limbah call for a terrorist yesterday -- on-call her a terrorist yesterday on national radio. >> i did not think you lack a sense of humor -- >> let me talk about richard holbrooke for a second. he was larger than life. he loved the press.

he was always trying to influence and shape it. the original spinner. this is a man who made a lot of money in the private sector but his vocation, mission, passion, was public service. he was making money in new york -- he looked at it as an interruption. the dayton accords -- he did it in dayton, ohio, and it was brilliant, to bring people to dayton, ohio. not paris or geneva, but where they were determined to achieve a breakthrough. >> "time" magazine names person of the year. it is not the wikileaker. >> take down the content by taking us down, the organization, and taking me down. >> that is julian assange.

he has been released on baiai he was under arrest and being held in london, possible extradition on sexual assault charges. can the justice department get to him? >> the old law requires it to show tha he rdedhe united states. it could have helped the united states by exposing all of these secrets. it is a question of approve. it is a tough case. >> he did not leak chinese or russian secrets. >> what did he mean to hurt the united states? >> which is why they are doing the investigations to find out what he was saying to the guy that gave him the documents, whether he was conspiring to le, and whether he intended to harm. >> "time" magazine looked at him

as the possible presence of the year but they put mark zuckerberg instead. >> "time" takpicked hitler in 1939. i'm not comparing hitler and mark zuckerberg, lest mark misinterpret what i'm saying. but i think that choice was right. nobody has had as much impact as facebook, which is changing the nature of friendship. >> i thought the most positive contribution of the year was the chilean miners. a spirit and sense of cooperation and determination. it was marvelous. >> last word. see you next week. for a transcript of this broadcast, log on to insidewashington.tv.