i was at the hair salon yesterday and they talked about his favorite. where you were. for five minutes. how much they like him. how much they can gel. >> it moves. >> what is in there? >> i bet you have deer ticks in there too. what what time is it? >> right now it's time for chuck todd. it the all come down to michigan? romney attacked machine released the first ads there and senator um is already responding. no overstating michigan's important to romney's future. unemployment benefit and the payroll tax holiday and millions of americans could mean $20 more take home a week for the average

worker. we will talk to one of the key negotiators. intentions sore as iran announces new advances in the nuclear program while a carrier group makes its way through the vital straight of hormuz. it's wednesday, february 15th, 2012. i'm chuck todd. let's get to the first reads of the morning. the race for the republican nomination, could it come down to michigan. the republican race goes national. 18 contests over 15 days. polls are showing rick santorum either ahead or a point or two behind romney. it's michigan is taking on new significant. the state where his father was governor or his mom ran for the senate and romney launched a campaign for president. a state romney won in 2008 when he wasn't the front-runner. we hoped to reverse the fortunes

during the last campaign. >> tonight marks the beginning of a come back. michigan heard and voted tonight. >> but romney's rally in grand rapids is bill as a welcome home event. he is not afraid to remind voters of his roots which he does in this tv ad. >> i grew up in michigan. i remember going to the detroit auto show. that was a big deal. i want to make it stronger and better. michigan has been my home. this is personal. >> if that drive looks familiar, romney ran a similar ad in new hampshire. he won michigan in 2008 with less than 40% of the vote. a loss would be devastating. exactly why the more conservative santorum is targeting the core weaknesses there in the state. >> who has the best chance to beat obama? rick santorum. a conservative, he is rock solid

on values issues. a favorite of the tea party. >> santorum is hammering that point home on the trail as well. >> governor romney is casting himself in this as a conservative. he has no track record of having ever been elected. that raises a lot of questions for people when the primary is over whether he will be a conservative. >> the romney machine is going into overdrive. this new ad is from the super pac is up today in michigan. arizona and ohio which ohio holds the primary on super tuesday. >> how did rick santorum actually vote? santorum voted to raise the debt limit five times and for billions in wasteful products like the bridge to nowhere. big spender, washington insider. >> in ohio, a poll out this morning shows romney might have

something to worry about in the neighboring state of michigan. santorum leads romney by seven points. 36-29. ohio and michigan have a lot of similarities. we haven't seen great polling, but we are willing to. it is clear santorum is on the move. we are seeing it there. the question is what does santorum look like after ten days of this? is that the best attack that the romney campaign can use against him or are better attacks the type of attacks that the romney campaign can't do which is try to attack santorum for say being too conservative. romney may want to claim that behind the scenes and can he say that publicly? santorum is trying to downplay before they get out of hand. he said he hopes to finish a good strong second. instead of basking in his poll

numbe numbers, he is focusing on president obama. if obama is reelected, you will find people holed up in their homes afraid to go outside at night. >> the family has broken down. there is no marriage. when the church has abandoned ship that, is the future of barack obama's america. >> don't you see how they see you? how they look down their nose at the average americans. these elite snop snbs. >> romney responded to having to vie with a conservative for the nomination. >> is it a two-man race with you and rick santorum. >> it has been a two-man race many times. it changes. first me versus michele bachmann

and then tim paw lenty and then newt gingrich and now it seems like rick santorum. newt gingrich can come back and ron paul. time will tell. >> i don't think mitt romney meant to make the rick perry oops joke. his love for zoos has been well document and took time off from the campaign trail yesterday to visit the san diego zoo. it's the zoo of all zoos. he is fund-raising in california. though he ducked national reporters, he held a facebook town hall with facebook supporters. when he spoke to the press, he responded to the calls that came from the national review to get out of the race. >> this is like the ncaa final four with no elimination. this is like riding space mountain at disneyland.

by super tuesday we will be right back in the middle. >> in the news that is damaging to the entire process, pressure is mounting for the main republican party to reconsider the results of the caucus. remember mitt romney narrowly beat ron paul with 39% of the vote, but it's not just that one county whose caucus was delayed where the results were not counted. according to town by town results, some communities that had caucused before february 11th were not counted and nearly all the towns were blanked in the results released by the state party. iowa couldn't figure out how to count. maine is struggling. nevada was not close, but they had a counting problem. don't be surprised if this creates a call to get rid of caucuses and the reason for caucuses is because it does save money. states don't always fund

primaries and parties don't have the money to put on the primaries. that's why you have caucuses in the first place. this is a rough year. president obama heads to wisconsin today where he will be greeted by the embattled republican. they have a three-state trip that will take him to california and seattle for fund-raising. in a tour of the boeing factory, the state the president won by 14 points. yesterday the president managed to get in interviews with affiliates in four other states. florida, nevada, north carolina and georgia. the white house still hopes of course to put in play. he weighed in on the compromise cut on capitol hill with the nbc-florida affiliate. >> i am cautiously optimistic at this point. they are sending signals that they don't want to go through the same fight that we had in december to get it extended for

a couple of months. they estimate they could add a percentage point to our gdp and means there will be a lot more jobs out there. i'm cautiously optimistic, but in congress things are never done until i'm signing the dotted line. >> we will have more on that in a second. president obama is not backing down on his anti-super pac stance, but said he won't sit on the sidelines while the opponents spend millions. first time he responded to the super pac decision he made. >> we are not going to unilaterally disarm and let a bunch of folks who are not only self interested, but aren't always disclosing what the contributions are to be able to purchase an election. >> the president was asked how he expects the supreme court to decide on the individual health care mandate. >> you never want to make

predictions because obviously there folks whose job it is to make these decisions. i would not have opposed the notion that people have to get insurance rather than rely on you and me and others to buy their insurance or pay for their medical care. i wouldn't have proposed that if i didn't think it was constitutional. >> well, house republicans and the president and democrats, potentially a big victory agreeing to extend through the end of the year without demanding a way to pay for it. one of the negotiators and a top democrat on the budget committee and joins me now. the deal as we understand, good morning. we understand it would extend the payroll tax holiday through the end of the year. that would not be paid for. $100 billion added to the deficit. unemployment is extended for 63

weeks. less than what you were asking for and the fix that corrects some out of date and bad math o. >> the good news is that we are very, very close, but as the president warned, it ain't over till it's over and we have details to go. on unemployment insurance, the length is longer. there is a new formula, but we are getting the final details. it's actually longer than that depending on what state you are in and the level of unemployment. overall i think we have a good framework, but there details still to go. >> let me ask you about that formula. when you say you have come up with a formula. 63 weeks will be the minimum? is that the case?

certain states if the rate is higher. explain that. >> again, we are still having finalized this and they haven't signed a report and there discussions going on. my reading is that for states with severe unemployment, you can get up to 72 weeks. again, it ain't over until it's over. the good news is the republicans finally backed off their position on the payroll tax cuts and making sure that goes forward for 160 million americans. you comfortable with not paying for the payroll tax holiday. >> we would have preferred to pay for it by closing a lot of tax loopholes and ending the special breaks for corporate jets and that kind of thing. republicans were insisting that it be paid for by cutting programs that benefit middle income americans and it makes little sense to try to help

little income americans 160 million working americans with the payroll tax cut on the one hand and on the other hand, taking measures that hurt them. that does not accomplish the objective of moving the economy forward. the other thing was republicans have had this double standard when it comes to tax breaks for the folks at the top, the millionaires, they changed their house rules to say it's okay to put that on the credit card, but oppose the short-term 10-month tax cut for 160 million americans without offsets. we would have preferred to pay by shutting down the loopholes over the next ten years. this is a good result for the economy and jobs as the president said. >> are you confident that house republican leadership will bring this to the floor even if they don't have a majority of their majority supporting it even if it will take more democrats to

get it passed at the end? >> i think the house republican leadership should have learned a lesson when they took us to the brink and put the tax cut for 160 million americans at risk. i think they are determined to move forward and hope get this done. >> this is the last major piece of business this congress will get done before november? should be that cynical? >> unfortunately that may be true, chuck. i hope at least one exception. i hope with many exceptions, but realistically i hope we can get a transportation and infrastructure plan through. the house bill and the house republican bill is a disaster as you know. former republican congressman ray la hood called it the worst transportation bill he has ever seen. unfortunately that's the case. on the senate side, you have a bipartisan bill.

neither bill does what we need to do, to adopt the president's proposal that he laid out for a major new infusion of funds for infrastructure on roads and bridges. i hope we get something done. you are right. on the other issues, you have got a republican leadership in the house that refused to take a balanced approach when it comes to the deficit. that's what we will be talking about in the budget committee. we have the acting director today and will be talking about different approaches to reducing the deficit. >> ranking member on the budget committee. thanks for coming on this morning. >> thank you. >> up next, the showdown in the mideast. iran unveils the technology as israel accuses tehran of a terror campaign. we are live in tel aviv are the latest on the tensions. covert war under way and as the bloody battle escalates in

syria, new concerns about the chemical weapons falling into the wrong hands. president obama's lasting legacy. we will look at the progress and pitfalls of the president's first term and how it affects the 2012 race and unbelievable great cover story from the atlantic. we have the author to talk about it. a look ahead at the president's schedule. he goes to milwaukee and a little face-to-face. i doubt it will be as contentious. you are watching "the daily rundown." we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] succeeding in today's market requires decisive action.

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today israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said iran is trying to destabilize the world by trying to assassinate diplomats. in thailand they said evidence found with three men may be the link between tehran and failed plots in india and georgia earlier this week. live for us in tel aviv, there appears to be a covert war between iran and israel. iran thinks the israelis are behind the deaths of the nuclear scientists and israel has this evidence of what iran is doing. what's the latest? >> and lots of denials about that war as well. you certainly have iran denying accusations out of israel. you have thai officials in bangkok that investigated this apartment. c 4 explosives as well as they said magnetic bombs. they would not go as far as the

ambassador publicly in saying they linked to the earlier attacks in the week. that is where israel is going and you heard tough words from prime minister netanyahu. >> what is it about the israelis think they will have more attacks like this in other parts of the world that they haven't been thinking about? >> that is the concern. they said this violence is going to spread to other countries. this country is on a higher state of alert as well as the embassies, but the fear for a lot of people is that the targets could be softer and more unprotected in places like synagogues and jewish centers around the world. that is the fear. they are vulnerable. >> stephanie, thanks very much. amid the tensions in israel, they said they are willing to resume nuclear talks with the un security council. the mideast expert from the

woodrow wilson center and long time journalist, of course. it was an interesting thing in the times. he just left the president's national security staff. his portfolio was iran and making the case that even here we are at the brink of where iran looks like they are trying to start a war with either the united states and israel that now is the time for the connection. do you buy that? >> all of the six major powers who were engaged believes there is one more round. >> that are is serious. >> it's serious. they try to find little ground. there is a recognition that iran probably down the road will get some right of enrichment and the question is how much. there have been a number of developments with loading fuel and that is in any progress, an ominous step on the road to a

nuclear capability even if it is for a peaceful energy program. >> can the united states policy or any administration ever publicly accept the idea that iran could have the rights to develop nuclear power that somehow they could be trusted and only develop power for domestic use. >> for depends on how many weapons inspections there and the kind of terms the united states and the europeans want, particularly iran to suspend their own enrichment and there is to be special supervision or to have the process actually done outside and brought back to iran. to develop the peaceful nuclear energy, iran is a part of the nonproliferation treaty and that is its right. >> what are is going on between iran and israel? is this the war that iranians think it's the israelis and the attacks. they feel like there is plenty of evidence that the iranians

are behind the attacks. >> it's interesting that the tactics that were tracked in the thai incident hiroki kurodaor what happened to the nuclear scientists in iran. it's the attaching of explosives to a car. if the evidence is true, it could be some kind of tit for tat. we can do what you are doing for us. this comes at a time of tension and the danger is that you have these smaller attacks, whether it's iranians or surrogates of iran. they lead to the kind of tensions that play out on a much broader scale over the program. something small will cost us, but then it leads to justification for a strike. >> everything is connected in the mideast and no greater ally than syria. syria is on the regime and could be days, months, or could be for all he is concerned he figures out a way to stay in power.

how much is iran trying to prop up or are they trying to stay out? >> they are important in trying to prop up syria. always has been. the only arab ally. >> losing this would isolate the way they have. >> you have the spring playing out in a way that changes the dynamics across the board. they are nervous that the idea of people power that they witnessed for years after their own presidential election are a threat to them. it's not only losing syria, but the idea of people power. >> it's clear assad is killing hundreds a day. is there any way they get involved? >> i don't think militarily. the reliance is going to be on the regional players whether turkey or saudi arabia to take the lead. >> militarily? or just to fun you will arms? >> to create corridors along the border with turkey. i don't think anybody is talking about military action, but this

is becoming increasingly unacceptable and beginning to use words like genocide. paf of what is the difference between what they are doing and what they did in libya? >> nothing. >> there far more killed in syria than were killed by gadhafi. the international community stopped the process early on. >> i have to leave it there. the former long time journalist, thanks very much. looks like wall street will be heading for a down day. we are taking a deep dive into president obama's first term. successes, failures and where they go from here. >> which governor spent time as a computer warranty salesman before taking up a career in politics? one would say you can talk someone into buying a warranty, you can talk them into voting for you.

"the daily rundown" with the correct answer that get to follow wednesday. i got this wrong. we'll be right back.

opening bell about to ring on wall street. that means it's time for the market run down. jacky is here. every day this month it seems like there has been an expectation of a sell off. >> that's right. >> and yet the market bounds back, right? >> that's what we have seen. it's tough with the headlines out there and greece will be the focal point today. those headlines continue to dominate. according to the latest reports, the leaders of the two parties participating prepared written assurances committing to

implement the terms of the bailout. eu minsters canceled the meeting. what comes out of that will be crucial. the strategists are considering tossing apple out. earnings on are track for the 6.6 year on year rise. once you take apple out of that, the gain is 2.8%. this is according to ubs investment bank. warren buffett increased his bets on intel and ibm. he added to media companies according to the regulatory filing. berk shirt added a new position and made a near $1 billion investment, raising the stake nearly five fold. back over to you. >> no sex as primary until june. could be "the daily rundown." we will be back in 30 seconds.

>> a few other stories making headlines. antonio villaraigosa will be the chair of the democratic convention in north carolina. he is at two-term mayor of los angeles and his convention is expected to potentially help democrats woo spanish voters for president obama. that's why the obama campaign wants him there. it looks like the texas primary will get pushed back for a third

time. a panel indicated that the primary should be moved again, this time to as late as june 26th. texas picked up four new congressional seats after the census shook three million residents live in the state. the minority groups said the new numbers are not reflected in the way the legislature redrew the map. not enough hispanic districts have an impact on the process. it just will. is president obama a master strategist or accidentally lucky president? that's one of the questions raised in the latest issue of the atlantic that takes an early look at president obama's legacy. joining me now is the author of this look. first things first that i enjoyed about your piece. you tried to get into the issue of how we rank. the first thing you have to do

is win that. >> it sounds like an obvious point. we tend to pupu it. he said he would rather know an excellent one-term president than a mediocre two-term president. that's whether you get a second chance to cement in the laws and all the rest. it does matter. >> you bring up health care, but basically health care is on the ballot. the law and you are making the argument it's on the ballot. he will get it in a way that it never gets taken away. >> approximate are larry summers said a generation from now if obama is relerks et ceteraed and the health care law survives the way we do medicare which was divicive, medicare, if obama is beaten, there is a retrospective air of failure that happened to jimmy carter for whom i once worked. it happened to the first george

too. >> for he loses, health care will be the reason. they will begin the where did it all go wrong with health care. >> there is these narratives and one reason i want to do the article is we don't know how it will be written. after the election there is a sense of predestination either for success or failure that colors every description. >> let's talk about the observations of him and you used a variety of sources inside and talked to people on the outside and former presidential wannabes if you will. others that you talked to. his important was suited or not for the presidency. >> one of the things people all made is nobody has all the skills required. they demand so much that everyone falls short. the way in which president obama falls short in a view of people in that world is the eq realm. somebody who was such a master at appealing to emotions seems no the to have that part of his

make up with individual dealings and small groups and the kind of smoozing that counts insignificant. >> i had a senator say to me you didn't come up on the greasy poll of politics and that shows. he doesn't know how to play that game. >> it's true that if you are a rational person as barack obama supremely is, there is so much that drives you crazy and makes you think it shouldn't matter if senators have pictures of you and vanity gets appealed to or not. but it does. bill clinton, you can see him grow and drive and lyndon johnson. obama does that with reluctant. >> the second bush more so than the first president bush. you seem to be surprised. you were taken aback and this is something i hear a lot at how much his staff came under criticism. >> you have a better position to judge this over the years.

i was mainly asking people who dealt with the team and seeing the president himself, this is a guy in the highest standards of everything. his own achievement and fitness, etc. given with the caveat that every white house staff complained about and thinking there was not the same enforced excellence on the whole supporting the president that he asked of hills and his family. >> you singled out a long time friend that every president has. you talk about the current administration he had. powell and the close friends. he was not a good chief of staff. close family friend. some centering on her. >> yes and bearing no will whatsoever towards her, what's unusual about her position seems to be the omni presence of her personal and professional. they vacationing to sp she has a role for which there is no exact precedent in modern presidencies of how important she has been. >> let's talk about at issue, we

talked about the do nestic and internationally. isn't it true of all approximate presidents that they relish the international part of the job? >> you can understand why. you are the leader of the free world, you don't have this fighting with congress. you can do things without either interference or democratic process. you can't do it with democratic policy. this is a problem for modern america and during the course of my time in d.c., presidents have been more and more drawn to the international affairs and secret affairs because they don't have to bother with us in the press and the congress. >> that makes you nervous? >> it's not good for democracy. george washington would be squirming. >> because they are doing it covertly? >> it's more attractive to have the covert noninterference part than the other part. we saw it objectively that worked out and the president did

not involve congress. i think in the long run, that's not so good for us. >> one thing you didn't address and there was no reason to, does he he an heir apparent? is this the party of obama or is it bigger than him? >> it's a fascinating question. i will interview but that at some point. the day after this election however the election turns out, that's where the attention will turn. if he wince, you will assume there will be either the hillary clinton camp or the next generation camp. it will depend on how his legacy is seen successful and failed in which ways. >> i love it because it was the idea of okay, if it's a one-term, we can be looking at the narrative. it's really a good read. thank you, sir. >> my pleasure, chuck. >> up next, out of gas. it's do-or-die time for mitt rom

no in michigan and a million dollar ad buy bail him out of trouble? as always because everyone always wants to attack me. it's the white house soup of the day. today it's broccoli cheddar. i never say yes to cheese soups. feels like it defeats the purpose of soup. [ female announcer ] if whole grain isn't the first ingredient in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check.

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in the state where he grew up where his father was a popular governor and his mom ran for senate and romney is playing it up with his personal history in the state. >> i grew up in michigan. it was exciting to be here. i remember going to the detroit auto show with my dad. that was a big deal. >> michelle bernard is the preside president. kelly, we said it's a blessing and a curse that michigan is responsible all this importance to mitt romney. he should be able to win it. if this is the do-or-die state, he is glad it's on home turf f. he loses it -- >> you can feel a real shift. i have been traveling with santorum and the crowds were different than when i was with him and even the span of a few weeks. the credibility momentum is beginning to pick up with people

who said he can hold his own. he is beginning to do fund-raising and wrapped up wins. he looks at michigan as a place where his message can play in terms of blue collar appeal with the ad that mitt romney is running. it gives thaw sense of the great detroit of old and a little bit more of his youth that doesn't give you the capital period. >> for felt very deer born. not enough of the working class aspect and conservative voters. something santorum said about the mandate and about how he tried to -- seemed to me he would be appealing to blue collar conservatives in a way you wouldn't picture romney saying this. >> let's mandate that every insurance policy covers toothpaste and deodorant. deodorant. soap. where do you stop? >> that's the type of rhetoric that strikes me that will appeal

to that conservative that doesn't yet believe mitt romney. >> absolutely and it's not just the rhetoric. it's also optics matter. he looks like a man of the people. he looks -- i'm talking about santorum. >> it's the sweater vest. >> he is asked where is my sweater vest. >> some find it appealing, but he looks comfortable when he makes these statements and comfortable with all the people he talks to. when he is talking about health care the way he did, it's not just a swipe at president obama, but a swipe against mitt romney. >> it's interesting that the super pac is out and the ad they chose to hit him on being a washington guy. probably the biggest vulnerability that he would have on this this stuff among conserfative voters. it felt like is that all you got? it's interesting. it could be effective, but it wasn't like with newt where you

were able to hit him on this. he is kind of erratic and they haven't figured out how to get that. >> if you think about it, it represents two things. big government and he is on to that and all over it. the second thing they don't like are the two sets of rules that let wall street do really well. they get the shaft. i think the ad is about two things. the washington insider and they want to make him big government. it's like he voted to raise the debt ceiling five times and 58 bills to raise spending and to cut. they are trying to make him not just an insider, but big spending and the same big government washington type that republicans don't like very much. >> you have been covering these things. >> that's big government. >> funny you say that. the other part that you talked

to some republican and say he is too conservative to be the nominee. that will drive electability. romney can't hit him on that. that's a dangerous place for him to go. >> people associate with the social issues. when you are out and he speaks for an hour, he is not hitting those very hard. the news drove that in the last week or two. but he is trying to make himself much more the economic message here. >> we have to keep the conversation going and i have to get a break in. hang in there. trivia time. which governor spent time as a computer warranty salesman. that guy that asked you to spent an extra $30 on your computer. wisconsin governor scott walker. a parenty salesman. if he was good at it, that's why he was able to get elected. if you can talk them into that, you can talk them into anything. you are watching "the daily rundown" on msnbc.

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this time, romney's firing his mud at rick santorum. romney and his superpack have spent a staggering $20 million attacking federal republicans. why? because romney's trying to hide from his big government romneycare. >> let's bring back the panel. steve, you're an ad maker. what's interesting here, the difference we're seeing in the campaigns. rick santorum's campaign was a old-style infrastructure campaign around him. newt's campaign never came up with a real response to romney attack. as we see, we don't know if there's any real money behind this response. santorum already with a response. >> there's a thing about this ad that every ad maker loves is it's a memorable ad. you see it one time and you remember it. people have to see it five or

ten times before they get this information. this one you get one time. and even with no sound you would get it. >> and a little humor helps, too. >> any thoughts that, well, here comes the romney machine, it crushed newt, it will crush santorum. will that backfire on romney? >> rick santorum's come so far with no money, it hurts romney to the sense that people will say, if rick santorum didn't need any money virtually to do what he's done in the last two or three weeks, he's somebody that we can believe in. he's somebody who's more like us than mitt romney is. >> santorum has to figure out how to not just be another mitt romney. >> yes. >> and romney to stop him is going to have to get out of character. ultimately when you defeat an opponent, you're able to get at character. these first attack ads don't get at that? >> they don't.

and romney has the whole family image. well, so does santorum. >> you can't use that with santorum. >> one of the things they talk about is the fact that the santorum family still lives in the d.c. area. he talks about his pennsylvania roots. doesn't really live there. that's one of those things that in this particular moment being the washington insider isn't helpful. but is that the kind of thing that gets at people's gut? >> you mentioned character. the character play there is, is he really what he says he is or is he a hypocrite? it doesn't turn that corner. when you look desperate late in a campaign because you're behind, that says something about you, too. mitt romney is starting to look desperate and people don't like that in a candidate or a president. >> newt is trying to downplay the santorum surge. he was in fourth two weeks ago. he's kind of right. there is no incentive for newt to get out. >> absolutely no incentive for him to get out right now. super tuesday is just a few weeks around the corner. who knows what's going to happen.

every republican candidate has had a surge during this primary season. >> he had time to go to the zoo yesterday. >> shameless plugs? >> how about follow me on twitter. @kellyo. >> and my wonderful wife cynthia forgave me for showing up late last night. thank you for being so understanding, honey. >> no more shameless plugs on valentine's. >> february 26th, hosting a fabulous education equality now campaign in cleveland, ohio, at the trinity outreach ministries church of god and christ. >> my hometown. >> that's it for this edition of "daily rundown." coming up next, "jansing & co." and don't forget, andrea mitchell at 1:00 who's right in this seat. bye-bye.

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good morning. i'm chris jansing. here's a shocker. looks like congress has actually made a deal. no last-minute drama, no threats of holding anything hostage. it is a tentative deal but it would extend the payroll tax cut, extend unemployment benefits and deal with medicare payments to doctors. big win for the democrats. and we thought all along the republicans were saying, we won't do this extension unless it's paid for. well, apparently not. >> maybe it's just possible that in this circumstance, we both wanted the same thing. we're not focusing on the paid-for in this particular part of the bill. it's the people's money to begin with. when we cut taxes, that's not the same as spending. >> luke russert is live on capitol hill for us. how did this getdown done, luke? >> reporter: on monday night, the republican leadership realiz t