pundits to pick through yesterday's results. >> cancel the balloon drop. clear the balloons out of that n net. >> i hope so. we'll find out. >> so for the final time tonight, i ask, deal or no deal. >> i think that the best way if folks are serious about getting immigration reform done is going ahead and passing the bill. getting it to my desk. and then the executive actions i take go away. i'm eager to see what they have to offer. >> how did the president play for some of those pundits? washington post, put it this way, he spoke as if tuesday had been but a minor irritation. he announced no changes in staff or policy, acknowledged no fault or error and expressed no contrition or regret. about the closest obama got to a

concession was offering to have some kentucky bourbon. obama arrived trying out his best. i'm not the scapegoat you're looking for. large parts of his answers could have been replaced by a taped run at any of the press conferences months ago. and the hill called it this way. there was little by way of apology from the president either to democrats who blame him for their losses or from republicans who disagree with his policies. good afternoon, i'm abby huntsman. you are in "the cycle." what we are going to do here is a now what show. now what for the political parties. now what for that new congress. now what for the policies we will see both domestic and foreign. and now what for the 2016 election just 733 days away. we begin, though, with the "now what" for president obama. 24 hours ago here on "the cycle." andless than 24 hours away from his luncheon with congressional leaders. it is to the white house we go.

start with nbc's kristen welker. and kristen, how is the white house trying to frame their approach to the gop's pretty big night on tuesday? >> reporter: well, abby, they continue to down play the huge republican gains. the most white house press secreta secretary would say is it is a disappointment to him and the president. framing it in that it was a good night for republicans. still, it is clear that something has shifted. the president hosting congressional leaders for lunch here at the white house tomorrow,erne tomorrow, earnest telling us the president's goal is going to be discuss areas where they can find common ground. we have heard some of the areas in the comments that president obama made yesterday, to the remarks that mitch mcconnell made. they include trade, corporate tax reform, we know that president obama's going to ask for extra funding to fight ebola. and then you get to the issues like health care. mcconnell, john boehner saying

they are going to work to repeal the president's health care law. president obama saying he will still move to act on immigration reform unilaterally without the authorization of congress. this is something his base wants him to do. immigration reform advocates want him to do. but it's essentially a declaration of war for some republicans. the question becomes, how do they move forward and find common ground when they are drawing some of these very familiar, very old battle lines. that's the key question. doesn't seem like anyone really has an answer. i suspect what might happen is that the details will -- or the answer will be in terms of the timing. for example, we might not see president obama act on immigration reform immediately. he might give some room for some bipartisan deals to get worked out. but the big challenge here, of course, abby, is the fact that the 2016 elections are going to kick off before we know it. maybe in a matter of months, potentially in three to six months. and once that happens, it could complicate efforts to get

anything done legislatively. there's certainly a lot of pressure on president obama to do something. pressure from within his own caucus. and also pressure on republicans because they now own congress. so their constituents certainly want them to get something done. >> there is always that next election ahead. thank you as always. let's now bring in presidential historian, professor, thank you, as always for being with us. >> my pleasure. >> we heard from mitch mcconnell and president obama about the need to find some common ground to start getting some things done in washington. and chris matthews made a good point yesterday. said it's not about finding common ground because there's very little that these men actually agree on. this is about compromise. presidents in the past that have been a similar situation have found a way to trade something for something else they want, for example, the keystone pipeline, for raising the minimum wage. looking at the dynamics here in the personalities at play, what realistically do you see some compromise on. >> it's going to be very difficult to get compromise.

but it's possible. congress is like wall street. it runs on two principles, fear and greed. and the democrats are very greedy for immigration reform. as you heard. there's an important element of the republican base for which that is -- however, take into account fear. republicans may be fearful about going into the 2016 campaign, both presidential and senatorial when they're going to be defending a lot more seats than the democrats with the prospect of losing 2/3 of the hispanic vote in the united states, one of the fastest growing elements of the electorate. so fear and grief possibly, could drive some kind of compromise bill on immigration. >> which is what we'll probably see we bith ebola or isis. >> perhaps we'll get that immigration reform that we need. but right now, i'm wondering, will the president be playing more defense or offense by which

i mean, are we going to see more executive orders than other presidents have done? so far, the president is low on that scale. or are we going to see more vetoes than executive orders if he has to play a lot of defense? >> a little bit of both. look, obama has absolutely nothing to lose. he's not up for re-election. he's looking at one thing now. his legacy. and he's going to do whatever is possible for that legacy. and he would be well advised to veto things he doesn't want obviously any major change in the affordable care act and absolutely, he should be as aggressive as possible on executive orders. because that helps his legacy and it helps democrats going into 2016. the democrats want a record of accomplishment no matter how that accomplishment is achieved when they go before the electorate in the next presidential contest. >> professor, one of the things that strikes me as unusual about the time we're living in. if you're just looking at the

numbers, we have certainly come a long way economically from where we were in 2008. and yet, people still feeling very strongly that the country is headed in the wrong direction, the wrong track number from our exit polls on tuesday night, 65% of the country think we're on the wrong track, only 31% say we're in the right direction. can you think of an historical parallel where things have on the surface been going pretty well economically and yet people are so deeply dissatisfied. >> there's an absolutely clear parallel. and that is 1994. another huge year for republicans during the first clinton term. republicans took both houses of congress for the first time since the eisenhower administration. and yet, unemployment was plummeting in 1994, economic growth was brisk. the united states did not face any major threats from abroad. yet, people felt -- because

clinton didn't pass his health care reform. now they feel sour because barack obama did. but, more deeply, there is a huge paradox that runs through the american electorate, which explains a lot of what's going on today. and that is on the one hand, americans hate the government, they want small government, they want low taxes. they want fiscal responsibility. but on the other hand, they expect government to do everything for them. >> right. >> they expect government to create the jobs, to have prosperity, to fight ebola, to eliminate isis. you can't have both. >> yeah. it's like they don't just want guns and butter. they want a gun made out of butter. >> yeah. we've come a long way since kennedy said, ask not what your government can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. >> you heard the president respond to this election by saying, all right, let's get me congressional action on ebola, isis and the budget. from your historical view, are there other things he should be asking for? >> well, absolutely. i think he should be pushing for a minimum wage.

probably won't get it. but if you look at the kbexit polls, even in this big republican sweep, minimum wage passed in four deeply red states, 59% of americans want to raise the minimum wage. and also, a great majority of americans want a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. shouldn't be afraid to push this stuff. >> yeah. professor at the top of this block, i read some of the reviews after the president spoke yesterday. not necessarily a positive reaction to what he had to say. did he tell the country the right thing? did he have the right message? >> i don't think so. i think he needs a much stronger message. one of the reasons why despite a lot of good things going on, people are sour is that the magical barack obama of 2008 has not reappeared. he hasn't -- i would recommend

for the next two years he takes every one of them and sends them off on a nice vacation somewhere in tahiti. >> that's some very good advice. thank you, as always, for being with us. still ahead, in our now what's special election hangover edition of "the cycle," weighing in, quoted at the top of our show, darryl west on policy implications. former governor ed rendell. and up next, kelly o'donnell live at the hill and what perhaps none of us can answer but we'll do our best shot. now what congress, the cycle rolls on, november 6th. i have a cold with terrible chest congestion. better take something. theraflu severe cold doesn't treat chest congestion. really? new alka-seltzer plus day powder rushes relief to your worst cold symptoms plus chest congestion. oh, what a relief it is. here we go!

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welcome back to our "now what" show on "the cycle." and turning our attention to the new congress. republicans holding at least 52 seats in the u.s. senate. and over in the house, wow, republicans now have their biggest margin in 85 years. and with those numbers in mind, we go right to nbc's capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell who is on capitol hill. >> good to be with you, ari. this is a new day, right? so republicans are in some ways trying to enjoy the moment and also sending a signal. i was with mitch mcconnell in louisville yesterday. you got that tone. and just a short time ago, i was with house speaker john boehner who held his first post election news conference. said some of the things about working with the president that you might expect, but he also had some very tough language for the president on the issue particularly about immigration if the president does go forward as he clearly signaled in his

own news conference with some executive actions dealing with the immigration issue. john boehner made it known where he stands. >> now, finding common ground's going to be hard work. but it'll be even harder if the president isn't willing to work with us. yesterday, we heard him say that he made double down on his go it alone approach. i told the president before, he needs to put politics aside and rebuild trust. and rebuilding trust not only with the american people, but with the american people's representatives here in the united states congress. >> and i went on to ask speaker boehner if the president were to act and if house republicans were not pleased with those actions, couldn't that be a catalyst for them to do their own legislation to work it through the senate and have a bill that the president could deal with and sign or not sign. and speaker boehner said, no, that would be like playing with matches. and he said the president should be cautious about that because sometimes when you play with

matches, you get burned. so republicans both in the senate and in the house don't want the president to take this action, but they can't tell us they will actually move on immigration themselves. what they do want to take action on, jobs related bills, dismantling pieces of the health care law and so they are still kind of on that victory lap for a big tuesday, and the way things will work in terms of the relationship is hard to measure right now, an important thing to look at is the lunch tomorrow with the president and congressional leaders to get a sense of how are they getting along? ari? >> thanks so much for that report. now we go to the former committee press secretary and political strategist. how are you? >> hey, ari, how are you doing? >> doing well. not playing with matches, not trying to get burned. i do want to ask you. we watched mcconnell's victory speech, press conference, where he showed a much more jovial side and he looked happy and answered some questions to his

credit. but he certainly didn't define anything beyond the details that we've heard on the campaign trail. that's fair. they got to meet with the president in person tomorrow. let me ask you from your strategic view. is there anything that mitch mcconnell can or should offer in compromise beyond the right wing wish list he has from his base? >> well, i think there's infrastructure, that's a big jobs creating measure i think both sides agree should be done. that's something that democrats will want to do. the president and his team want to do something on trade. i think there are some areas. they need to create some sense of momentum, though. there is no trust, and they need to build some trust. but you know, look, it was actually much different than the tone of john boehner's remarks today, which i felt were very angry and very bitter. and in terms of poisoning the well, this is the same guy that sued the president. and that lawsuit still exists. is that not poisoning the well? >> sort of exists. >> well, yeah, that's right. but i think as a practical

matter, of course, you have to deal with the house republican caucus, which looks like it has gotten more conservative, not less, and the house has become more polarized, not less. but i think what's really driving the bus now is mitch mcconnell in the senate. an interesting analysis of how mcconnell is likely to play things. he says the next play is perfectly clear. his interests lie in creating two more years of ugliness and gridlock. needs to drain away any possibility of hope and excitement from governments so the disengaged democratic voters remain disengaged in 2016. i mean, mitch mcconnell, whatever you think of him, he's a pretty smart strategist and that sounds like a smart strategy to me. >> well, it may be. but i actually think they've got nine republicans who are up in states in 2016 that the president either won in 2008 or 2012. and a lot of these folks in blue states can't afford to be viewed as dysfunctional or obstructionist. i don't know if that strategy's

going to play well with rob portland, toomey, ayotte. and if they're just running on opposition alone to the president, they're going to be in deep, deep trouble. >> yeah. and doug, there's a real big, i would say dynamic shift that's going to happen once this new congress comes to d.c. i mean, the past few years, it's been a democratic president, democratic senate. and the democrats have really had two-thirds of the power. now that is shifting. you have a democratic president, republican senate, and a republican house. now, they have the leverage. they have the upper hand. things are going to change quite dramatically, i feel, for president obama who is probably going to get a number of bills put on his desk. and he cannot veto all of those. that is not going to look very good. >> well, depends on what the bills are. if they send a complete repeal of the affordable care act, i hope the president holds a huge event in front of the capitol or the white house with all of the millions of people who have health care and vetoes that.

i actually think that would be symbolically a strong message. >> what about the keystone pipeline? >> look, i think that's likely probably to be approved. but the keystone pipeline is, you know, that seems to be the only republican jobs bill that they talk about. you know, there really isn't much beyond that. they didn't really run on an agenda or vision for america. they ran on a simple message of the president's a failure and we oppose him. these democrats don't. so vote against them. and that's not a governing vision. they didn't put on the table -- >> they won pretty big with that message, though. >> yeah. >> well, i'll give them credit. they ran good campaigns and the democratic message didn't breakthrough. but running campaigns and governing are two different things. and now they are in complete control of congress, and there's going to be a lot more accou accountability for their actions. >> ted cruz, he's been the leader of the far right movement in the senate and in the house, and yet now we have mcconnell

saying no more brinksmanship, no more shutdown. what is ted cruz' place in a landscape where the republican leadership disdains brinksmanship. >> it sounded like he wrote john boehner's remarks earlier today. it was so confrontational. but i think ted cruz made it clear his strategy is confrontation and obstruction. and for senate republicans, it's going to -- they're going to have a clear choice. are they going to work to find middle ground with the president and compromise? or are they going to continue on this confrontational approach they've had for the last couple of years. and i think ted cruz is going to play a big role here. he has very high standing with house republicans, including a lot of the new members. and so, you know, is he going to continue to try to influence house republicans and their strategy? try to, you know, undermine john boehner like he did last year with the government shutdown. or is he going to play a little more of a team role as he did during the campaign? i don't really know. but i know he's probably running

for president. and that means he's going to try to make a play for the right where he thinks he can win in iowa and south carolina. >> yeah. i don't know either. i have no idea whether ted cruz will be oriented toward team work and being a team player. >> i doubt it. >> there's no way to know. we'll have to see. >> running for president changes a lot of people's tactics and strategies. >> does it? >> we'll see. >> i mean -- >> thanks, we've got to keep moving. thank you for joining us today. we'll see you again. immigration, isis, keystone and taxes. now what for the biggest things facing our country? i'd just gotten married. i was right out of school. my family's all military. you don't know what to expect. then suddenly you're there... in another world. i did my job. you do your best. i remember the faces... how everything mattered... so much more. my buddies... my country... everything... and everyone i loved...

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the ultimate arena for business. hour after hour of diving deep, touching base, and putting ducks in rows. the only problem with conference calls: eventually they have to end. unless you have the comcast business voiceedge mobile app. it lets you switch seamlessly from your desk phone to your mobile with no interruptions. i've never felt so alive. get the future of phone and the phones are free. comcast business. built for business. our now what show continues on "the cycle." we've talked about the president and the new congress and now we look at policies both domestic and foreign. we have foreign policy ceo and

author of "national insecurity american leadership in an age of fear" that's david. and brookings institution, darrel west, it's great to have both of you with us. thanks so much. >> thank you. nice to be here with you. >> so, david, probably the biggest piece of actual news that came out of the president's press conference yesterday was the fact that he is going to go to congress and seek an authorization from the use of military force for his action against isis. do you see that as having a major impact in terms of what we're doing overseas right now. >> i don't. i think it'll give him a little bit more confidence. i think it'll give them a little bit more sense of ownership. this is an early stage, and this process is going to evolve. we'll get more involved than we have been. there'll be more troops on the ground. i think he's going to find the republican house and senate gives him a little bit of a tail wind to get a little bit more involved. >> darrel, the president has been promising immigration reform for years.

yesterday he called it his top legislative priority. he needs to do it, he knows he needs to do it for his legacy and for the emerging hispanic demo, the democrats need to hold on to and keep away from the republicans. of course, he knows that executive action would come with significant political pain. would be a very provocative move as chris matthews called it. should the president do immigration reform executive action if he can't get anything from this congress? >> i think he is going to have to do immigration reform through executive action. because he's not likely to be able to get an agreement that he would sign out of this republican house and senate. the two parties are very far apart on a way range of issues, certainly the path way to citizenship. there's no basis for an agreement. and the president needs to do this issue in order to appeal to his base. latinos have been as critical of him on this issue as have conservatives. >> certainly. and, you know, this is our "now what" show, and i see you've

answered the question. now what. and it looks -- thank you. i'm here for -- >> i'm here for fashion tips. >> i'm always, we at the table. on the foreign policy piece here. >> okay. >> it's a hard turn. >> we call that a hard turn. i was watching joni ernst. i don't care about your politics, she's a fire ball in the republican party. she's extraordinary. but picking up on what crystal was asking about the authorization, you saw in her victory speech where she can say whatever she wants about whatever she wants. she gets up there and says isis isn't going away. and that's all she said. and it made me think, okay, she's still in campaign mode. because you could talk about isis not going away all you want when you're running. when you get out there and have to legislate and sign the authorization and talk about what that means, what does that look like for the republican party? do you think these midterms have any impact on the center of gravity and foreign policy?

>> i hope it does. we'll have to see. it's going to take a big change from the republican party on the hill to go from their position of the past few years, which is criticizing and obstructing to a position where they're actually trying to get something done. just like it's going to take a big change for the president from saying i'm reaching out, extending an olive branch to doing it. >> or a bourbon branch. >> or bourbon and branch water. >> great branch. >> but what we're not doing is -- what we have never seen before, and i'm a little skeptical we're going to see it is the republicans trying to govern and obama trying to govern with them. >> right. >> a lot of us are skeptical about anything happening in the next two years. i'm hoping, personally, for the keystone pipeline. josh earnest was talking this morning and said it's likely the president will cave, sorry, will not cave on the keystone pipeline. republicans say this has been clear something they want to happen. and my guess is you're going to

have enough support from democrats it will pass through the congress. if it makes it to president obama's desk, do you sense he will veto this? can he veto the keystone pipeline? >> i think if congress just sends the keystone bill alone, the chances of it being signed are not that great. but what could happen is a deal in which obama insists on some climate change initiatives in funding that he's been pushing for in which he is interested. so you might have a deal to approve keystone if there are some environmental issues attached to it. >> actually, there are enough democrats in congress to go with the republicans to override a veto on keystone. so keystone looks like something that's likely to happen. >> may not -- >> democratic senators standing up to the president and saying, no, we're going to override your veto? >> i think on local jobs races, absolutely. >> a lame duck now. >> and, you know, out here, in

new york city, and the rest of the world, it's november 2014. in washington right now, it's already 2014. >> a lot of red state democrats would've loved the opportunity to do that and override his veto. >> why say you don't know if you voted for him when you say you vetoed him. >> darrell, i wanted to get your thoughts on an issue that has been the center of discussion, which is the future of immigration, the president's still saying he plans to go forward with executive action, republicans really pushing back, mitch mcconnell saying that would be like waving a red flag in front of a bull. and john mccain, here's what he had to say. >> i literally am pleading with the president of the united states not to act. give it a chance. we've got a new congress, a new mandate. let's let the house of representatives decide whether they want to move forward on immigration reform or not. it'll be a devastating blow if he acts unilaterally with

executive order. for dennis mcdonagh who i admire, who says if the congress acts well, they can negate an executive order. that's not how the government is supposed to run. >> john boehner also said today in his conference that going forward with this executive action would be poisoning the well. do you think the president should go forward with it, anyway. >> well, look, the house has had six years to act on immigration reform and they have not done so. and as a result of the tuesday elections, both the house and senate has actually moved in a more conservative direction. so it's just hard to imagine that they can produce a bill that the president would be willing to sign that addresses the issues that we have. so i think obama really has no choice. he's going to be criticized no matter whether he acts or doesn't act. so he might, as well, do what he thinks is right and get some brownie points with his political base. >> indeed, all right, darrell west, thank you so much.

and up next, "now what" for the parties themselves. somewhere right now, mitch mcconnell is dancing, right, jimmy? >> republicans picked up a dozen seats in the house to give them their biggest majority since world war ii. or as they put it, time to party like it's 1939. ♪

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the democratic party's leadership is going to look old and stale in comparison to where republicans are. >> oh, please. old and stale. oh, my god! someone put the bandages back on those mummies. oh, my god! the right, if they want to compete with the new young

republicans, harry reid will have to get a couple of new tattoos stat. >> fashion and politics jon stewart style. there is nothing better. this has been a blood sport for the last decade with both sides preaching to the converted and damning the other side. will this change? let's bring in ed rendell and from the national journal elise jordan. governor, i want to start with you. to be totally blunt, the democrats treated president obama like a praia the past election cycle. he really owes them nothing at this point. you did what you to do to win, i now have to do what i need to do to lead and that might mean i have to compromise on things you're not going to be happy with. >> oh, absolutely should do that. there's no question about that. president obama's first obligation is not to the democratic party as much as i love our party. his obligation is to the people of the united states. and we need progress on

infrastructure, on energy, on tax reform, on trade, on things that are -- and obviously immigration reform. we need progress. we can't just push that aside until the next presidential election because that's two years down the road. his obligation is to work with the other side. and that means doing things that you don't necessarily like in return for getting things you do necessarily like. >> yeah. tuesday night was a big night for the republicans. a far cry from just two years ago when felt like republicans could never win an election again similar to 1984 when we said democrats could never win another election, and large part of this was they didn't have any gaffes. "time" magazine has how a year ago senate republicans flew to d.c., 16 potential senate candidates teaching them everything they needed to know about trackers, about how to avoid these gaffes. that clearly went a long way here. >> no, i think the party had great discipline this go round. and it was a concerted effort

from the leadership and it showed up. what i loved about that story, too, they hazed them at the airport. putting microphones in their face, asking questions about abortion and rape, and putting them in the limelight and trying to get people accustomed to, hey, this is standards for our party. there's a certain code of conduct that we expect and a level of professionalism. and i think that really -- >> which we -- >> hey, got to do it somehow. >> it clearly worked. >> governor, i wanted to follow up on what you were saying earlier. you were saying the president's first obligation was moving the country forward, working for the american people, working for compromise on immigration reform and a number of other issues. is that really different from what he's been doing, though? he has extended the olive branch to the republicans quite a number of times and been -- been rebuffed because they were unwilling to give anything in exchange. do you think that anything is going to be different this time? >> well, i think it is because of the republicans control both houses, they know that the american people are going to be watching them to see if they can get anything done.

and they're not going to get anything done if the president vetoes every piece of unreasonable legislation they send him. and i thought your prior guest made a great point. take energy, abby. keystone pipeline. the president might be inclined to sign the keystone pipeline if he got not only climate change things, but we need help for the renewable energy business, wind and solar. we need to make the production tax credit if not permanent, we need to extend it. well, put a package together, some good for the things, for the renewables and sign the keystone pipeline for a number of democrats, as well. >> right. >> you move and make compromise, and i think the republicans are now, if they don't do it, if they just say no to everything the president wants to add and demand, they will pay for it in 2016 in a big, big way. >> governor, weeks ago, everybody said ben roethlisberger and the steelers were over and now they're fully back on track and as hot as any team in the nfl.

the dems could do the same thing if you were the head of dnc. if you were the head of the dnc, what would you tell them to do to get back on track for 2016 in terms of the oval office, the senate and the governor's mansion? >> well, there are a lot of things. we should've nationalized the campaign, as well, the last campaign. we should've gotten out there across the country, the things that we stand for, the things we wanted to do and helped our candidates give them a little air coverage for their ground game and the individual states. but what we've got to do is stop running from things that we believe in. you know, we voted for the health care bill, in most cases, people voted for the health care bill. don't run for it. talk -- remind people all the good that comes from it. we did lousy with seniors. remind seniors that if they repeal obamacare, they lose that part of obamacare that gave them almost $1,000 to patch the donut hole in the prescription drug

plan and medicare part "d." remind people, the good that has happened. and say to people, we know the economy's not where it should be at, but we're making progress. last month, we had 248,000 jobs, unemployment down to 6%. there's a lot of good things happening all over the country. and we shied away from talking about the things we've done just because we thought that would mean we'd be too associated with president obama. well, you're a democrat. you're going to be associated with president obama. >> right. >> there's no way you can flee. it's almost as dumb as when they advised al gore not to use bill clinton in the campaign. >> right. >> thinking that maybe would forget high-definition bill clinton's vice president. >> right. not going to work. >> amen, it's like kindergarten, be yourself. >> i'm ready. i'll be drafted. >> you've -- >> go ahead, governor. >> no, i'd have to give up my msnbc/cnbc gig. >> nobody wants that to happen.

going back to elise, though, he gave a big foreign policy speech, now here we are post midterms. he may be gearing up for something. but when you look at his vision of foreign policy, what is it? and what does it say about american values beyond simply pulling back from some operations that may have been too expansive and too costly? >> well, actually, i served in full disclosure, and in it he outlined basically his most important principles of foreign policy and what he thought should use of force when america's threatened under attack, what we do, the stipulations for when america needs to go to war. and then he also, number two, he said that, you know, he would step up diplomacy. number three, promoting free trade and technology. actually and probably a little off on the numbers. but, anyway, it was overall just

for action and for a realistic a approach to the challenges we face in the world. >> and looking forward for the republican party, you know, do you see the republican party as having made a lot of gains in these midterms in terms of breaking into that obama coalition? or do you think it's more the coalition stayed home because it was a nonpresidential year and republicans still have a lot of work to do there? >> well, i think that just democrats weren't very energized this year and that clearly obama's popularity has taken a lot of blows over the last couple of years. and i think democrats weren't motivated to come out and vote. and we're seeing the rise of a younger generation of millennials that aren't necessarily democrat. that's going to be interesting to watch how republicans try to bring in the next generation and if they're successful, or not. >> yeah, i think those parties have challenges on their hands.

governor ed rendell, elise jordan, thank you, both for being with us. we appreciate it. >> our pleasure. and speaking of rand paul, he's got an answer for our question of the hour. "now what." bring in 2016. hillary, i think he's talking to you. great rates and safety working in harmony. open an optimizer +plus account from synchrony bank. visit myoptimizerplus.com to open an account. service. security. savings. synchrony bank engage with us. you've been part of this family for as long as i can remember. and you just mean so much to all of us. the holidays wouldn't be the same without your crescent rolls. we got you a little something. we got you jeans. it's about time. pipin' hot pillsbury crescent rolls. make your holidays pop!

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"now what" for 2016. just 733 days away. not too soon, for that we have the ever optimistic dana milbank. you remember him for his tv review of the "barack obama show" that abby read so well at the top of our show. 733 days away. let's dig into 2016. and, of course, the top of the list, we have to talk about hillary. one thing i noticed on tuesday night is there are no ascendant democrats in the land. don't you think that tuesday was good for hilary in that way in terms of what she's going to face in the democratic primary? >> yeah, i think tuesday was probably the best news that hillary was going to get. although, she can't actually admit that, nor can any other democrats. and you can see it in a way the republicans immediately started going after her. it was hillary clinton's policies that were on the ballot that they rejected. the voters were rejecting hillary clinton. what it does do, though, is it

leaves the democrats in search of a savior. and she's the most obvious name out there who can do that there do that and it's likely to give her something to run against this all-republican congress and maybe they'll find a way to compromise with obama and ooh easier for them to run against that than a half harry reid congress. >> that's what clinton insiders are saying. we talked to someone covering the hillary beat. shameless plug. >> excellent show. >> the idea is basically, if you have the republican-controlled congress it gives hillary a very clear something to run against

and it helps distract a little bit from the drag that president obama would likely be on, and with some of those complications. >> i'm sorry, dana, what did you say before that clip? we cut you off a little bit. that was a terrific show and a terrific interview. i liked it so much i almost used his exact words. >> i find that argument a little bit silly both because historically, we've seen when the six-year midterms goes for the party in opposition and the party in opposition and the presidential election and also while you don't have a democratic candidate rising to challenge her. scott walker is looking awfully good. john kasich is looking awfully good and you have the massive repudiation, not just of the president and washington and the establishment and you will find hillary clinton. >> yes. and your list of republicans,

don't forget the great george pataki is in new hampshire. >> and ben carson, right? they're all out there and these are other good, potential candidates for the excellent show you've got there, crystal. >> obviously when you look at how the democratic coalition fractured and fell apart in terms of unmarried women and in terms of latinos it doesn't look as good for the future as it had for democrats, but largely, the coalition is still there. younger voters, if they come out. all that has to be done is for them to be motivated and assuming the economy continues to improve as it has for the last six years and if you have a congress sending bills on person hood over to the white house for the president to veto, then you can see hillary clinton with a

much sharper message that she can deliver. >> indeed. rand paul was pointing out, hillary's losers and the people who hillary campaigned alongside. he had a hash tag that the millennials like abby are all excited about. three a hash tag in front of it, and oh, it must be true. part of what hillary's got in her corner is bill clinton who has proven himself the greatest fund-raiser, perhaps of all time. he didn't operate in this sort of modern campaign finance environment and she's got elvis, the big dog campaigning and raising money for her and we're talking about a $6 million campaign. >> the whole notion of hillary's losers as if it's her fault that democrats lost. elizabeth warren was campaigning for them as was her husband. everyone was trying to get them elected and it was an awful year for that. >> they set all kinds of records in terms of spending this time

and you can be sure it will be an even more overt saturation next time and where the obama coalition has had trouble with the white, middle class voters. that's where bill clinton is strong and that's where hillary was stronger in 2008 and it is still teed up fairly well for her. we talked so much about the chris christies and crystal mentioned john kasich. why don't we talk more about the governor of ohio. he was the congressman in the late 90s and the last man to pass the federal budget. some people are calling him the ohio miracles. the state's unemployment rate has dropped and that is a real record to run on and to speak about. why aren't we spending more time talking about a person like that? >> the simple answer is he's fairly boring and he doesn't capture headline, but if you

look at it while these other guys like rick scott and scott walker were struggling to get by, he just waltzed to reelection and kasich, let's remember, is a guy that embraced the obamacare medicaid expansion. so if people are looking for the sensible candidate in the republican electorate, then he's got a real shot, but if people were looking for the sensible candidate in the republican electorate we have president huntsman today. >> making sure he's going to come back. >> i'm rooting for it. >> i'm completely in the tank. >> getting hot in here. >> very quickly, before you go. was tuesday night a new day for governor chris christie. he's head of the governor's association and he's had a lot of wins that night. is that good news for him? >> it's not bad news when a lot of your people win and republicans win at every level across the place.

>> he's got a lot of competition now. >> i don't think everyone will say this was chris christie's victory and this was his big night. he's still in the mix, but -- >> he's got to get his tone in order. >> like the mean girls. stop trying to make chris christie happy. it's over. dana millbank. we're back with a final word in a minute. >> it's time for your business entrepreneur of the week. sherry marie pullos of carlsbad, california owns carlsbad food tours, introducing tours and locals to the great food around the town. she's not only grown her business, but she's helped promote the downtown area, encouraging diners to eat locally rather than at the mall. e e american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up.

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that does it for this very special edition of the cycle. >> guess what, guys? now with alex wagner starts now. john boehner returns, and

this time he's got backup. it's thursday, november 6th and this is "now". >> when you play with matches, you take the risk of burning yourself, what looked to be a temporary truce lasted 24 hours. >> mitch mcconnell talked about repealing obamacare. we'll pass it. does the republican caucus, and we've got a bunch of people in congress that don't see any reason to do it, but my way or the highway. >> this is not a game. >> will they want cocompromise with the president? >> it's not like the president hasn't tried to compromise. will the president protect the base and his agenda? >> i'm still not sure exactly where the areas are of compromise, immigration and sounds like it's not one of them. >> if he acts unilaterally, he will poison the well. let's let the house of representatives decide if they want to move forward. >> t p