our union strong. [ applause ] >> right now on "andrea mitchell reports," the state of the union, president obama's unconventional approach, tax hikes on the rich tax breaks for the middle class. family leave, community college. is he setting the agenda for 2016? the president's closest adviser valerie jarrett joins us in a moment. a new threat for isis another video demanding ransom. is the u.s. doing enough to take on islamic state? the new chairman of the senate arms services committee, john mccain joins us next. will cuba be -- we'll ask pat leahy just back from cuba when he joins us live. democratic leader nancy

pelosi on how democrats will deal with the republican congress. good day, everyone i'm andrea mitchell coming to you live from capitol hill. tonight president obama will deliver his sixth state of the union address but will this be the first time he's doing so in front of a republican-led house and senate? for more on the president's message, i'm joined by valerie jarrett, senior adviser to president obama joining us from the white house. valerie, thank you very much for being with us. >> my pleasure andrea. >> good to see you. this is a very big day. the president said he wanted to work with republicans in 2015 at the end of the year but his tax reproposals that have been released in the last couple of days are never going to fly with this republican congress. so is he -- >> they certainly fly with the

american people, andrea. what you'll hear from the president tonight the state of our union is strong but he's determined to make it even stronger. that means applying middle class economics that's going to grow the middle class and provide ladders of opportunity to families who want to move into the middle class. that's what the american people are asking for. he's not going to give up working with congress to try to get that done. >> so far you have better economic numbers, 45% of americans say they are satisfied with the economy in our latest nbc news/wall street journal poll. the president doesn't seem to get the credit for that but it does seem to lift people's outlook. still a majority are not satisfied and there's a growing wage disparity. >> we had 58 straight months of private sector job growth. 11.2 million jobs. we're moving in the right direction and it's clear that the president's economic policies that he's embraced since day one are working. but there are still people who

have been -- who have not benefited. what he's determined to do is make sure that wages go further, make sure that all of our workers have the opportunity for the skills they need to compete for the jobs in the 21st century and create moer jobs right here at home and create incentives for that. that is approach is one that resonates broadly with the american people. he's going to work with congress and as he has said in the couple of weeks leading up to the state of union, will work with governors and mayors and legislators around the country to try to move those policies forward as well just as he did with a call to raise minimum wage. also as you heard last week a call for paid sick leave. these are policies that the american people support. just take massachusetts, for example. there a republican governor was elected but under a referendum the people of massachusetts voted for paid sick leave. these are issues that should not be considered partisan at all. these are issues that affect

families all across america and that's who the president is going to be fighting for for the balance of his two years in office. >> it doesn't strike -- doesn't escape our notice that these are also very poll driven. and it seems to be laying out an agenda for democrats in 2016. is this the real impact here whether or not he wins votes in congress? he's laying out a democratic playbook really for the candidate, presumably hillary clinton. and therefore his legacy down the road. >> the approach of the president is going to layout tonight, andrea, is consistent with what he laid out in his first campaign back in 2007 and 2008 and every year in office. he has been very very consistent. as he says he's run his last race. what he wants to do is wake up every morning figuring out what can he do to grow our economy and further keep america safe and that's what's motivating him. this is, again, these are issues that traditionally have not been

polarizing ones where we have seen republicans and democrats work together. infrastructure. early childhood education, these are issues that people sit around their dining room table talking about every single day. how can we be competitive? how can a small business export not just here but sell their goods and services overseas that's who he's responding to. >> well he's trying to focus clearly on the domestic economy. at the same time yemen, a very important ally in the region the government there is under threat. we see protests around the muslim world against "charlie hebdo" and what happened in paris. there was criticism among the allies that no one from the white house attended the solidarity march. how do you respond to things that you can't control that are happening around the world? >> it's a good question. i would say to you there's nothing more important to president obama than keeping

america safe. as to your specific question on yemen, he's in touch with folks on the ground our embassy and getting regular updates from the national security team. he condemns violence and very interested in pursuing a peaceful solution. but these are issues that were being confronted around the world. it is his top priority. what can we do working together here in the united states involving the american people and certainly with our colleagues around the world to keep america safe. >> and is there a plan in place to evacuate u.s. citizens and the embassy if necessary? >> i'm sorry, i couldn't hear your question. >> i'm sorry. is there a plan in place if necessary to evacuate that embassy and u.s. citizens from yemen? >> well, i don't want to get ahead of ourselves. i can tell you we are in close touch with the embassy keeping our folks safe who are representing the united states around the world is a top priority.

and i have no more news to announce on that right now. >> okay, valerie jarrett, thanks for the preview. good luck to all of you tonight. >> thank you. >> and the president will deliver tonight's speech as we say as yemen's government a key ally against al qaeda is under siege. isis has released a new hostage video threat appears ready to concede that syria's dictator will not end be up -- will end up as part of the solution to the raging civil war. i'm joined by john mccain, just back this morning from the middle east and persian gulf. just to be clear about all of that, the ally yemen, against al qaeda plus an isis threat new video with japanese hostages. >> first of all, let's remember that the president trumpeted yemen as the success story. yemen and somalia of his foreign policy and national security

policies of course which is just ludicrous. and the interesting thing about yemen right now, the people who are basically taking over the capital sanaa are iranian-sponsored group caught houthi. we have the country in chaos and this is a success story of the administration? it would be amusing if it wasn't so tragic. it's another example of the failure of our policy or lack of policy. right now, i wish you would have asked valerie jarrett or perhaps a chairman of the joint chiefs of staff or susan rice what is the strategy to degrade and defeat isis which the president articulated? i would love to hear that tonight. you're not going to hear it. there is no strategy. there is no path forward to defeating isis. and now abandoning the free syrian army at least if the "new york times" story is accurate today, is -- i promise

you this. you're not going to get young syrians to go and fight against isis and be barrel bombed by bashar assad, it's assad that killed nearly 300,000 people and driven 3.5 million people into refugee status. by the way, there's a humanitarian crisis looming because both jordan and lebanon are closing their borders to refugees which will be a huge humanitarian crisis. our strategy has been a complete failure. >> the president comes tonight. he's already in the past declared victory if you will over some of these terror groups. you have now the rising threat of isis a new video today. what would you do if you were in the white house? >> well first of all, i would recognize the threat. the president keeps talking about the end of war in the last -- i believe it was his

last state of the union speech been laden is dead and we've eliminated a core al qaeda. that's all ridiculous. isis is on the march. isis has been expanding and winning while we've been using american air power. first of all, we need a strategy. second of all, you have to treat syria and iraq the same, it's the same enemy. third of all, you have to have more american boots on ground in form of air controllers and special operations advisers and trainers. and you're going to have to have that and of course an overall strategy of training and equipping iraqis as well as free syrian army. we're about -- well they have already abandoned the free syrian army to fate that is just absolutely terrible. >> what is striking politically, just politically, is that usually when a white house loses both houses and has such a

midterm defeat they drop in the polls and the republicans rise in the polls. in this case he seems to have mitigated the defeat rolled out the state of the union proposals in an unusual fashion, and he's rising in the polls. the economy is lifting him up. lower gas prices are helping him. politically, republicans are not well positioned going into 2016. >> oh, i think, look, the head of mi5, the british intelligence gave a speech last week where in an unusual act of giving a speech saying that these people are a direct threat to the united states of america talking about isis and this radical islam, which the president refuses to call it what it is and they will be attacking. the threat is growing all the time as thousands of young men from europe and asia and the middle east are drawn into this isis conflict. and it is a growing threat.

so to ignore that as the president seems to and by the way, finally, if any republican running for office had said i'm going to support raising taxes and increasing spending if you elect me then of course that just wasn't the case -- >> he said he's paying for it. raising taxes on the rich to come up with infrastructure in middle class. >> then we get into definition of the rich and all of that. >> this has been the longest recovery in history and we're glad but the reason why americans still are very ambivalent about it we know that the middle income and lower income americans have not really benefited by this recovery. and i understand the president's message tonight, but why wouldn't he sit down with us and say, let's work out tax reform. let's sit down together. republicans and democrats, americans overall want tax reform. that's one of the best ways to keep the economy going. but we don't have to increase taxes and increase spending to do it. >> lightning round, mitt romney

for a third run? >> i would think that he feels justified in running for a third term. i respect his desire. he's a very fine man. i'm proud to know him. my candidate is a dark horse, lindsey graham i'll do everything i can for lindsey graham. >> and what about jeb bush? >> i think he's a very viable candidate also. very successful -- >> who is the strongest candidate? >> it's too early to tell. i was written off as you might remember a year before i won the nomination. it's too early. i think debates matter. we'll have nine debates. more and more americans' opinion is swayed by what they see in the debates amongst the candidates, whether that's good or bad, i'm not qualified to judge. but i think see how these debates go. >> you are uniquely qualified to judge, senator. >> well i guarantee lindsey

graham will do very well in a debate. you and i know him well enough. >> we do, indeed. john mccain, pleasure. the senator who helped free alan gross from cuba. pat leahy just back from cuba today. and nancy pelosi. and what matters to you about the state of the union? we want your answer economy, national security, immigration. go online and we'll show you the results coming up. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" live from capitol hill only on msnbc. why do i take metamucil everyday? because it helps me skip the bad stuff. i'm good. that's what i like to call the meta effect. 4-in-1 multi-health metamucil now clinically proven to help you feel less hungry between meals. experience the meta effect with our new multi-health wellness line. ♪ ♪ i love my meta health bars. because when nutritious tastes this delicious i don't miss the other stuff. new meta health bars help promote heart health. experience the meta effect with our new multi-health wellness line.

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welcome back tonight alan gross, free after five years in a cuban prison will be sitting

in the first lady box at the state of the union. a big test tonight for the president's controversial opening to havana. pat leahy has been working for years towards this policy change and just got back from cuba late last night and here today. welcome. >> thank you. >> what are you hearing from your meetings with the more than minister? >> you have almost two levels. one, everybody is excited. i've never seen -- you've been to cuba before and know around the shops and cabs and all, have american flags on them. we never saw that before. and it's like okay we've done this and now everything wants everything to be normal and i keep reminding them it's been one month. one month since we said let's change 52 years of policy that didn't work. and so we talked a number of people more realistic, you have

to take this step this step this step. the question i kept asking where do you want to be one year from now, two years from now? >> to this he want to have an airline banker-- >> banking and -- >> the airline yes, they do among other things getting mail back and forth. people are talking about a year to do it. i say couldn't you compress that to far less. banking is going to become more difficult because some of our laws require them to pay in advance on everything. and that cuts off things that we could export to them talk about powdered milk they have to go to new zealand to get it -- >> won't the opening of credit and change of treasury regulations make it possible without paying cash up front? >> yes, that's going to be

extremely important. the internet everybody says they are in favor of it but you know yourself if you have a toe tal tear yan country and they say oh, that internet. they can criticize us on there? they can have outside voices? >> they are still opposing freedom of expression. >> oh, yeah. i think thiley'll try to control the internet at first. but if we have really open internet, we have companies coming in there, there's only so much they can control. it will become enormous. and they do try to control dissent. it's crazy. i point out to them i have people in the press all the time criticize me that's the way america goes. they've got to start accepting that. that's very very hard for them to understand. and i think the internet if you get anywhere near an open

internet, that will probably do more to change cuba than anything else. >> at the same time you have the leader in the house, house speaker boehner, of course, and marco rubio in the senate bringing cuban dissidents to the chamber tonight. are they trying to send a message of congressional opposition to the president's opening. >> they may be. i have to see what they say. we're going to -- alan gross told me the other day how excited he is. he's going to be there. i know how excited i was to pick him up. just a month ago in cuba and bring him back. but we have as i said before we have senator rubio has his position and understand that. frankly i like pope francis' position, a lot more realistic and a lot better. if we have a policy that hasn't worked for 52 years, let's try

something different. >> in your trip this time what did you sense is different? you described the public excitement. but are cuban leaders having second thoughts, are they nervous about this opening? >> i think they are nervous. during the alan gross think i had a lot of private secret meetings. you always sense that we want change, what is that change going to be? >> you had private meetings with raul castro? >> i had a couple of them and sent a private letter to me and my wife which was interesting, they know there's going to be change. i think their concern is how much of that change will they have control over. i told him, frankly, real change, nothing of us will predict where it goes. that is a concern. but also realization they have a

declining population and, an aging population. they've got to do things that hold out more hope for the young people. i would like to see exchange of students between the united states and cuba. that's going to help us both. >> can congress block this? >> ultimately no because the american public knows that it's time for change. we've had everybody say to the president -- president eisenhower, president kennedy, every single president has been no change. the american public is way ahead of the politicians. >> in a new nbc news/wall street journal poll 60% polled in favor of the opening. thank you very much. >> good to be with you. >> up next we have an amr exclusive, house leader nancy

pelosi. >> here's joni ernst, can she beat the curse of failed statements. >> americans can do anything. when we pull together there's no challenge we can't overcome. >> the tea party is a dynamic force for good in our national conversation. it's an honor for me to speak with you. >> nothing has frustrated me more than false choices like the one the president laid out tonight. >> so who gets your vote for the most memorable state of the union response? tell us on facebook and twitter at mitchell reports. we'll be right back. huh, fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know you that former pro football player ickey woods will celebrate almost anything? unh-uh. number 44... whoooo! forty-four, that's me!

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is democratic leader nancy pelosi. we have state of the union with an unusual rollout of democratic white house proposals beforehand teeing this up and polling indicates there's a lot of favorable support for this. what about the fact that the president rolled out tax increases on the rich breaks for the middle class, without any negotiations without talking to paul ryan and ways and means and orrin hatch in finance. republicans are complaining if he were serious, he would have dealt with this as a negotiation. >> i don't think the public cares about the process. they care what it means to them and what the president is talking about is something we've been talking about for a very long time. and he is now strongly putting it forth. it reflects the attitude of the american people. you've said he's gotten a favorable response. i'm excited because last year in the state of the union he said when women succeed america succeeds. we took that message around the

country and in the policy proposals he's making whether it's about pay, sick leave, child tax credit and the rest affordability of education, many of those provisions are there. we talked about in our opening day of better infrastructure bigger paychecks. and i think what the president is putting forth really reinforces that. initiative for america's working families to grow their paychecks while we build infrastructure of america in a way that helps the middle class. >> at the same time the top priorities as reported by the people we polled in the nbc news wall street journal poll the first is creating jobs 85%, defeating isis 74%, that's something that the president might have a really tough time answering. cutting the deficit 71%. securing the border 58%. dealing with iran 56% among the top priorities. at the same time, in terms of whether the country is on the

right track or wrong track dispute the boost in the president's poll numbers and the sense of the economy improving, 45% now think the economy is improving which is the best number since 2004 still a majority think the economy is not improving and at the same time 59% nearly 6 out of 10 say the country is heading in the wrong direction. >> let's say, we are a new year new congress fresh start on how to work together to get the job done for the american people. protecting and defending our country is the oath of office that we take. we have to work together to do that. isis is a challenge asking the american people the right to say it's an important priority for us to address. what affects them directly is their job and their job security and the value that is placed on their work. and that is really a challenge that we have to find common ground. building infrastructure of

america has always been bipartisan deal and it's not partisan and shouldn't be now. building hopefully in cybersecurity which is important to our national security we can work in a bipartisan way to get that done. we just passed a very strong bipartisan way the clay hunt bill which helps returning veterans. everything that the president is talking about, helps our veterans returning vets. and that's important and the job creation helps -- who better than they to build the infrastructure of america. we have to think in terms of what are the priorities we established and decisions we make. where can we find common ground and recognize that they are all connected and again priority for us is what we hear out on -- in the community is how does this affect our veterans. >> you are the democratic point person on the hill. i have to tell you, from republican and white house sources, they say they've never seen a stronger democratic

leader a stronger political partner, and leader for the democrats. that said you're facing historic republican majorities and the hold up on money for homeland security. how are you going to counteract the republican numbers on that on trying to get -- win that appropriation through? >> you know better than anyone the public sentiment is everything. that's what abraham lincoln said public sentiment is everything. i believe that we can find common ground which american people expect us to do if we take our message to the american people. let's try to find areas where we can reach agreement. let's show the american people what the debate is and what the choices are. and i believe that that will make -- that will make the difference. we have to do revenue reform tax reform. the president is putting out some issues that say reward work. reward work.

that's very popular with the american people and in fact it produces jobs reduces the deficit at the same time to help people reach their aspirations. i'm kind of calm about this. i see this as an opportunity for us, whatever the subject is that comes out. does it create jobs? does it reduce the deficit? does it help our veterans? we owe them a future worthy of their sacrifice. if we use them as our north star it would be taking the country in the right direction. >> is the least popular proposal that he's going to make tonight with democrats the trade? >> well the trade -- the democrats always been a party of trade. i represent san francisco and california, a state huge -- >> exporter -- >> raised in baltimore, same things in terms of clipper ships. >> now it feels threatened and replay of nafta where many

democrats are angry. >> that's true. i don't know if they are angry at the white house but they have questions. what we're saying we can find a path to yes. we can find a path to yes if there's transparency. we know what is in this bill. if there's consultation. i saw in the paper coming here last night they had pros and cons about the fast track for trade. the pro was the president can negotiate the bill in secret and give it to congress to vote up or down. the con was the president can negotiate the bill in secret and give it to congress to vote up or down. it's not a good idea to do it secretly. people want to know it creates and protects american workers. it's no protectionist, it's treating them fairly as every other country that enters into a trade agreement does. i'm optimistic always that we can find a path to yes. but we have to change some attitudes. and mightwhat i say to my own people

the more we look willing to cooperate, the more we might be able to bring them over to prioritizing america's workers. the president says that but we want to make sure the bill does that. if we say we're not voting for anything, they'll go all the way to the extreme and only be about financial services industry and more of the same that we've seen. >> we have a lot more to ask you about. we'll be back in just a moment. coming up a lot more with democratic leader nancy pelosi after this. we'll get her thoughts on 2016. first, this is what republican majority leader mitch mcconnell had to say today. >> tonight is a big moment for the president and to our country. the tone he strikes and the issues he highlights will tell us a lot about what to expect in his presidency's final act. there's a lot riding on it and we'll be listening closely.

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and a thousand other things. so you call pwc. the right people to get the extraordinary done. ♪ ♪ welcome back we're here on capitol hill with nancy pelosi. i want to ask you about politics but a quick question about foreign policy. the president isn't focusing tonight on it on the speech. isis on the march and al qaeda in yellen yemen are threatening. there is a crisis and the american people have noticed. >> i don't know what the president will say about this tonight but i know what the president is doing and that is this is his responsibility. the fight against isis is one that is not just about the u.s.,

it's a global fight. as you saw the prime minister of great britain here a few days ago to talk about this subject. i think he will be talking about cyber security tonight which is central to our protecting and defending the american people. this is -- this oath we take our first responsibility to keep the american people safe. he's the commander in chief, he takes all of that very very in the forefront of everything he does, very seriously. >> a lot of what he's proposing in terms of taxes and middle class -- benefits for the middle class, going after the wealthy, it seems poll tested and seems to set up 2016. and we're waiting to hear from hillary clinton. is she the presumed -- not only front-runner but do you assume she will be the nominee? can she win an election? >> yes, yes. >> yes, yes.

what about the high interest in elizabeth warren in the quote, progressive wing of the party who believe that hillary clinton's policies or economic policies are not -- are too close to wall street and not progressive enough? >> your question was do i believe she's the presumed nominee and will she win if she runs. she has so much titles senator, secretary, first lady, if the secretary runs, i believe she will run and be one of the best prepared people to enter the white house in a long time in terms of her experience and her knowledge. that doesn't mean that the party is devoid of other voices and again, getting ready for what comes beyond and to help president clinton should that be the case be a great president. the debate as to where the party comes down on certain issues is certainly a lively one. i've had my own disagreements

even with the white house on some of the proposals that have come forth. but that's why we're the democratic party. we love each other, let other versions exist. >> she's recently taken steps to retain some of the top advisers from the campaign from the obama campaign. does this indicate that this white house is behind hillary clinton and that there is a coming together of obama and clinton forces? >> no this means those people -- this means those particular people have now decided to move onto the next election. i don't -- i think that vice president is a name that has been out there. he's part of the obama administration. i think it's an individual thing. i think that if you're interested in running for president, people -- i remember my time mario cuomo, whom i love and miss he said to me years ago when we were hoping he would run for president.

where would i get the personnel? where is the democratic personnel for this? the most talented are those who have most recently won the white house. so it is a natural coming together. >> who would be the toughest republican opponent for democrats? what about mitt romney? >> you know what that's going to be up to the republicans to decide. it will be lively. again, every race is a new race never know how it's going to turn out. it's just about ideas and i would hope that whomever the republicans put forth that it would be someone who would share the views of the economic stability of america's workering families and about fairness and opportunity, fairness in terms of education and the homeownership, pensions, the rest of it. many of these issues really have bipartisan -- have had bipartisan support along the way. it's up to them who -- if i thought somebody would be the toughest i wouldn't tell you.

but i don't know who that is anyway. >> thank you very much. nancy pelosi it's always a pleasure. up next, more on the democratic playbook for 2016 from the man who got barack obama to the white house. stay with us you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. alright, so this tylenol arthritis lasts 8 hours, but aleve can last 12 hours... and aleve is proven to work better on pain than tylenol arthritis. so why am i still thinking about this? how are you? aleve, proven better on pain. when it comes to medicare, everyone talks about what happens when you turn sixty-five. but, really, it's what you do before that counts. see, medicare doesn't cover everything. only about eighty percent of part b medical costs. the rest is on you. [ male announcer ] consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans

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this new picture from the white house photographer pete souz souza, how does the president's speech set up the presumed hillary clinton campaign for democrats in 2016? joining me now to discuss nbc news senior analyst david axe el elrod elrod.

if you were laying out the issues for the state of the union, anything you would tweak? or do you think they are looking at the polls, looking where they want to be laying it out? >> i have to be honest with you, i think that there's no doubt that this focus on middle class economics is very very important, popular, res nant and been an element of his message as long as i've known him, since he was? the state senate and ran for senate and ran for president. i think we have to separate issues. there's no doubt this is where democrats should go in 2016. it also happens to be what he believes, other things he's championed climate change immigration reform closing guantanamo that fall out the list of things that people call priorities. and yet he's pursuing them because he thinks that it's right. this issue of middle class security and what's happening to

the vast number of people in this economy working harder and worder, even as the economy grows and not getting ahead is a fundamental issue for this country. he's right to focus on it. >> this is the first time that a president has laid out everything from the speech pretty much everything from the speech before hand including the guest in the first lady's box and all the rest. he's been going on the road showing his hand shall we say, so that we're told that tonight's speech will be nor narrative and theme attic. what do you think of that strategy? >> i think it's a good strategy for a couple of reasons. you get more individual attention for different planks of your proposal. when you give a laundry list state of the union proposal they all run into each other and something gets lost. that's one reason. the second is fewer and fewer people watch the state of the union speech these days neil sen says it will be the lowest rated perhaps on record.

you have to try to reach people in a lot of different ways. they've done things with social media and they will tonight to try to reach people. they are looking at the world the way we find it. and i think they've developed a strategy here that makes sense given the way people get their information today. >> what is your take on the republican field, the surprising reemergence of mitt romney what that means for jeb bush what it means for chris christie? does it advantage even the more conservative candidates huckabees and santorums and ted cruz, rick perry to have this division among the mainstream republicans? >> we'll see how it sorts out. even in the republican party there's probably a limited amount of money at some point. whether all -- many of them are going to the same sources for fund raising, particularly romney, bush and christie. and we'll see if there's enough

there to go around and whether some of the early reviews that have been rough for governor romney discourage him in any way. some have been rough for governor christie. we'll see what happens. bush as you know there's a question of the third bush and so on. this all has to sort out but i think the thing that's remarkable is just how large the field is right now. and anybody who thinks they can predict the outcome at this point, i think is a fool. it is a very very difficult thing to handicap. in some ways you would think bush has advantages but you know he carries into this his support for immigration reform very unpopular with the republican base. so there are a lot of questions to be sorted. it's going to be a fascinating race i think. >> indeed. thank you very much david axelrod for joining us today. weaver back in a moment with our

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no trip to capitol hill would be complete without hearing from our two insiders, kelly o'donnell and luke russert at the house side. kelly, you've been in the chamber so many times for states of the union. this is different in that we've seen the bones of the speech already so now it's going to be the drama of how they react to him and it's the first time for him with a solid republican house and senate. >> i'll be looking for that. i always keep a tally and when do they stand up and what topic, just democrats and republicans and bipartisan. so much rollout ahead of the game. they will be prepared whether they want to get out of their seats or not. the theater will be important and guests they have chosen on both sides and in the mood in the room. i think the president will give a nod to republicans in the new control and republicans will

want to at least appear polite and optimistic about what can be done knowing that these proposals are going nowhere. this is also bring your favorite colleague to work day. so glad to have you here. >> thank you for that. luke russert, mitch mcconnell knows that the math is not in his favor to keep his job two years from now. he might be more interesting in governor but john boehner has the biggest house majority in decades and decades. what is the mood on the house? >> the mood on the house side is for a lot of these members the first time going to a state of the union, they'll be caught up in the pomp and circumstance. more so i would, andrea, john boehner, the entire question about 2015 and 2016 what can he do to try to shield mitch mcconnell from taking tough votes on the senate floor. they are not going to like what president obama says and work on

too much. it will be a fascinating thing to see develop andrea. >> luke russert, kelly o'donnell who will be here for all. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." follow the show online and on facebook. "ronan farrow daily" is up next. uh, and i know my iq. okay. uh, and i know-uh-i know what blood type i have. oh, wow! uh huh, yeah. i don't know my credit score. you don't know your credit score? --i don't know my credit score. that's really important. i mean -- i don't know my credit score. don't you want to buy a house...like, ever? you should probably check out credit karma, it's free. credit? karma? free?...so, that's... how much? that's how much it's free. credit karma

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welcome, everybody, it is 1:00 p.m. here in washington, d.c. we're live for our special coverage of the moment you've all probably not been waiting for but you'll watch and fire up a few tweets anyway it's time for the awkward handshakes and stink eye across the aisle, michelle obama being better dressed than everybody, it's the state of the union! this is a new picture of president obama putting the final touches on the sixth annual address as president just eight hours from now he'll be delivering that address and awkward han