our democrat colleagues in the senate, they rejected all of them. we've asked for a conference to sit down and try to goerkt on our differences. they will not negotiate. >> yesterday i made speaker john boehner an offer i thought he couldn't refuse but he did. >> president obama tells cnbc's john harwood he's exasperated. this world war ii veteran at the memorial. >> this woman doing a job like me. i'm a 30-year federal veteran. i'm out of work. >> the reason you are is mr. reid -- >> no, because the government won't do his job and pass the budget. >> why netanyahu believes iran's

new leader is a wolf in sheep's clothing. responding to netanyahu's hard line. >> they are governored not by rouhani but by ayatollah. it's a cult. >> it would be diplomatic malpractice of the worst order not to examine every possibility of whether or not you can achieve that before you ask people to take military action. good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. in rockville, maryland, not far from here, home to thousands of federal worker, president obama warned the government shutdown is only a shadow to what's happening with the economy if the debt ceiling isn't raised this month.

and the treasury department warned today not only might the economic consequences of default be profound, those consequences could last for more than a generation. joining me from the white house gene spurling director of the economic council and president obama's chief economic adviser. why do you and the president and the treasury secretary think the debt ceiling is going to be that much more serious? the markets have not shown a huge reaction to the shutdown so far. >> well, first of all, there's no question that if this shutdown continues for a substantial period of time, it's going to have a negative impact on the economy. it's already having a negative impact on many people's lives. there is a broad consensus that has existed among democratic and republican, democratic secretary of treasuries, republican secretary of treasuries and i

believe all financial experts that anything that threatened default or go into default for the first time in history, this would be of a negative consequence, negative event of a whole other order. the president met with ceos yesterday who said this could absolutely lead to another recession. the idea that after we have just dug our way out of the worst recession since the great depression, a time they are starting to see houses, pensions regain that we would put ourselves at risk, a self-inflicted wound of going through another crisis like that makes no sense. all the president has said is nobody, no one, democrat, republican, no faction should use the threat of default as a way to leverage in policy ideas or budget ideas through the democratic process in a way they

couldn't do through the normal democratic process. so the president has been very clear. we cannot allow anybody to use the threat of default as a way of getting their way in our political and democratic system and he will not sanction that. >> gene, there's a report on the "new york times" john boehner has indicated, given private assurances he will not let the debt ceiling go by, the crisis take place he will invoke the hastert rule and let the debt ceiling be raised with democratic votes if necessary. has he given that assurance to the white house? >> i am not aware of such an assurance. if you look at what the president is saying today on the government shutdown, the president has made it very clear, just let a vote take place. the message has been if john

boehner bring a clean, continuing resolution for six weeks, simply put that on the floor and let both democrats and republicans vote that a bipartisan majority would carry that forward and open the u.s. government. i think that is the exact right attitude to have on having a clean extension of the debt limit as well. i really would like to hope there are very few people that would like to use the threat of default to make the united states suffer those type of consequences. i think as you mentioned about the damage for years to come, many people estimate if you default even once that beyond the harm that could do in risking another recession, it could have a lasting harm because you would perfectly damage the u.s. credit rating over 200 years. small owners, student borrowers

could be paying more for years, decades to come. >> congresswoman diane damageette on last word on msnbc last night. she made the point coming from the democratic perspective she would agree to a clean cr, a clean continuing resolution for a matter of six weeks. beyond that she is not willing to go along. they have already embedded the sequester levels. so the republicans have really won the battle of the budget, the battle over spending. the social programs democrats care about have been gutted by the sequester. >> i think the important point that's being made there is that is shows how unreasonable the house republican, the most conservative faction has been. all harry reid has said is lets extend for six weeks the levels that republicans would like at the sequester level. not at the level democrats would

like. now, of course, people hope we would work out something that would be a stronger and more sane resolution that would make sure investments in the middle class and military are better funded but just think about how little rays really being asked of the republicans. just extend for six weeks at the level that you want anyways so that we can open the government, put people back to work and give ourselves time to figure out a better bipartisan resolution. that should be something they should easily accept. the idea they would then say no, that we won't do that unless we repeal the affordable care act or repeal environmental regulations is something we really have never seen before. it's something they need to move beyond. let there be a vote. lets get the debt ceiling extended, take away the threat

of defall. this president is more than willing to negotiate on the budget, put forward compromise proposals. as you saw him do with speaker boehner not only in 2011 and 2012 but even in his most recent budget. >> gene sperling, thanks very much. >> thank you. >> there was a glimmer of hope at the white house when the president sum ond congressional leaders for their first meeting when the shutdown began. it went out quickly. if he wants to break this logjam, perhaps the president needs to negotiate with the man behind the shutdown freshman senator ted cruz, something, of course, would never happen. it would make for a dramatic face-off. joining me chris cillizza, nbc capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell. welcome, both. chris cillizza, first to you. what are you hearing in terms of what has or has not happened? has anything changed in terms of republicans, less conservative republicans being willing to walk away from the tea party

core, 30 or so. >> looks andrea, truth of the matter, gene sperling said this, truth of the matter, if john boehner brought up a clean continuing resolution, nothing attached to it, a measure keep funding government at sequester levels, it would pass. there are 19 or 20 republicans who said they would vote for it. we assume all 200 democrats would vote for it. that would be enough. the senate approved a measure, it would immediately go to the president to sign. the problem here is to do so john boehner would basically be allowing without 7% of his caucus, 232 republicans, i believe, in the republican commentary, about 7% of his caucus to vote for something on a huge measure that requires not just keeping the government open but tied into the republican base of obama care. he's not going to do that now. he feels as if he needs to extract something he can go to his members and say i got this thing. they didn't want to give it to us and i got it. i think that's why you're seeing the talk of combining continuing

resolution and debt ceiling increase to in the republicans' minds raise their leverage. i don't think he can immediately, even though votes are there let it come to the floor and pass when less than 10% of his membership is behind. >> this is what senator schumer said about ted cruz. >> ted cruz is not the entire u.s. government. ted cruz should not be able to determine if he doesn't like student loans for middle class families or food stamps for people who are hungry that the government won't fund those but will fund other things he likes. we are not going along with it. how could we? >> kelly, this is beginning to hurt. maybe the markets aren't reacting. i'll have to check the boards as to what's happening today. somebody can help me with that. what's happening across the government, you've got cia, the markets are reacting, down 131,

132 almost. so they are beginning to react, s&p down and nasdaq. >> a couple of things -- >> kelly, you've got 70% of the cia analysts are furloughed. you've got people in key areas of air traffic. they adopt have investigators for national safety inspectors going to the bus accidents. miners are going down into mines but we don't have miner inspectors on the job. this is serious, to say nothing of nih where there are reports children aren't processed for cancer trials. >> let me give you a little of the behind the scenes. senators typically don't like to talk about what goes on inside their own meetings. they have acknowledged to me there has been direct criticism from ted cruz from fellow

republicans, not unlike what you're hearing publicly from all corners who oppose his particular positions on this. one republican senator gave me this description. it's like you see a drowning person and you jump in to try to save them but you don't know how to swim. there's no end game there. by that he also meant he doesn't think ted cruz has some evil motive. he believes strongly in trying to slow down or delay or stop the health care law but circumstances of how the government runs don't permit that. the health and human services department is able to begin, as we're seeing, steps for enrollment for the health care law. a disconnect between what is achievable and what is not. that led to a certain degree to the standoff that resulted in a shutdown. there is considerable frustration among republicans. >> kelly, i want to remind everyone of a government by photo-op we have and posturing from all sides. take a look again at this

picture of house republicans for a fake photo-op for a conference that was not supposed to be taking place with confearrrees the senate that were not going to come. look at this lineup of not diverse members of the house republican leadership? what kind of an advertisement is that. >> one of the things i find sort of striking here is we attended senate democrats had their news conference and they had brand-new posters printed up. certainly as members of the media we appreciate having access to them and through news conferences to bring that to the public. if there was a shutdown, how is the audio visual department operating. it's a small point. i don't mean to be petty but an example of how things are carried out. event by event where they are able to argue different positions. to some degree we need that to keep the conversation going with

the american people. it doesn't suggest there's real progress going on behind all of these events. andrea. >> not progress at all. thank you very much. another depressing report kelly and chris cillizza. we'll try to come up with better news. up next, israel's benjamin netanyahu on a charm offensive and why he isn't buying it. ais "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. some not so giant. when managing your weight, bigger is always better. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant

his day of coaching begins with knee pain, when... [ man ] hey, brad, want to trade the all-day relief of two aleve for six tylenol? what's the catch? there's no catch. you want me to give up my two aleve for six tylenol? no. for my knee pain, nothing beats my aleve.

israel's prime minister netanyahu has strong warnings about iran's diplomatic overtures. i sat down with him yesterday and he called hassan rouhani a wolf in sheep's clothing.

i asked netanyahu why he is so sure rouhani is lying. >> well, he talks about his revere for democracy in iran." he tweets here in the united states but they don't let iranian people twitter. he talks about the scourge of terrorism. iran conducts as we speak now terrorist operations in dozens of countries. he speaks of the tragedy in syria. iran's forces help us perpetrate massacre of tens of thousands of men, women, and children as we speak. so it's one thing to say one thing, it's another thing what they do. i look at what they do, not what they say. >> could it be a start. he tweeted rash shanna greetings. he told us he condemns the holocaust. the massacre of the jews is a

crime against all humanity. isn't that a difference from his predecessor. >> i think there is a difference. the difference is in style. i said ahmadinejad was a wolf in wolf's clothing, rouhani is a wolf in sheep's clothing but doesn't mean we should let him pull the wool over our eyes. now, here is the reason i say that. rouhani himself brought this, i think it's important. here is what he said in his 2011 book about his time as iran's chief nuclear negotiator. he said, "while we were talking to the europeans in tehran, we are installing equipment. that's the critical conversion facility that takes iranian yellow cake, ore and converts it. then he said, "by creating a calm international environment, we were able to create this work. so rouhani is telling you he had

had a different tactic from ahmadinejad. he's been arguing khamenei, the supreme leader. he tells his boss, i can get you the completion of the nuclear program by speaking nicely to the west. what ahmadinejad tried to do with a frown, i'll do with a smile. >> but have things changed? he was elected, he says, with a mandate to be moderate. you know they are hurting, the economic sanctions. he wants to get rid of the sanctions. things have possible changed. do you think you have a risk of overstating the dangers and hurting israel by isolating israel from the rest of the world that wants a diplomatic opening. >> no, i want a diplomatic solution but one that actually dismantles iran's nuclear weapons. >> why not test him? >> we are. i think the important thing is not what he says but whether we

get a full dismantling of iran's nuclear program. see, rouhani was elected to remove the sanctions but he didn't come here to dismantle the nuclear program. >> what is -- >> he's saying. i think this is critical. he's saying in his own words, i was able with a smile to get the nuclear program completed. now he's saying i'm able with smiles and a few nice words to remove the sanctions and get iran to stay within striking distance of nuclear bombs. striking distance. >> what is your red line? would you take unilateral military action to stop his heavy water reactor from going online? >> i think the common objective should be and i believe is both united states and israel and everyone else to prevent iran from developing nuclear weapons. i think if that can be done peacefully, that's the best for us and for everyone else. for it to be done peacefully,

you don't want partial deals that leave iran with the basic infrastructure to -- you remove sanctions that took years to put in place. they can reverse minor concessions within weeks. you don't want that. you want iran to have the program fully dismantled. >> was it a mistake for president obama to call him? >> i don't think the call is the central thing. the central thing is the substance. what happens in the negotiations. i think we don't let iran get away with it. they have gotten away with it once in the nuclear conversion plant, so important for nuclear weapons. you can tell them, look, if you want to relief the sanctions dismantle your program entirely, then the sanctions will be removed. i wouldn't go on partial deals. john kerry said the other day, a bad deal is worse than no deal, and a partial deal is a bad deal. get the whole thing done. even then make sure that you

have adequate supervision. i say distrust, verify. distrust, dismantle, verify. those are my three words. distrust, decides manual, verifverif -- dismantle, verify. >> you held up a red flag and said by spring -- >> i said who are is the red line. they were riching uranium to higher and higher levels. if they enrich to a level they will get to one bomb's worth critical fissile material. iran didn't cross the red line i drew at the u.n. you know what it does "d"? built a lot of piles of lower enriched -- >> what happens now? >> they also built something -- in very few weeks, advance

centrifuges with many more centrifuges. that's where they have gotten since i gave that speech. at the same time the sanctions have been put in place, i've argued. i think it's shown to be true that the combination of very strong sanctions and a credible military threat will get them to reconsider. now they are at the point where they are still on the ropes with sanctions but very close to the finish line. who gives away first. if the international community says, okay, lets relief the sanctions, part of the sanctions, i think the whole sanctions reme could collapse. that's what rouhani wants. he wants sanctions to be lifted, even partly, and keep the mounds of material and keep not only material but machines in place in order to be able to rush through at a time of their choosing in the future. that's what's called breakout capacity. you don't want to give it to them. >> is there a credible military threat. president obama had a military threat against assad after the

chemical attack. within hours one weekend he changed his mind about going ahead with military action. do you think there's a credible american military threat if iran approaches breakout. >> i heard the president say as much the other day. >> do you believe it? >> i think it's american vital interest to prevent iran from having nuclear weapons. you know why? everyone knows iran wants to destroy israel. it's trying to build atomic bombs. it has missiles to reach israel. they are developing intercontinental ballistic to reach you, terrorism against you. those long range ballistic missiles have only one purpose in the world. their sole purpose is to arm them with a nuclear payload. you don't want to be in a position where this meregime ge

away with building weapons of mass. >> responded to netanyahu's tough words to us about iran. >> it would be diplomatic malpractice of the worst order not to examine every possibility if you can achieve that before you ask people to take military action. i assure netanyahu and people of israel that nothing we do is going to be based on trust. it's going to be based on a series of steps that guarantee to all of us we have certainty about what is happening. if that can't be achieved, as i have said to the prime minister, as the president has said to the prime minister, no deal is better than a bad deal. >> and later more of our interview with prime minister netanyahu, what he thinks about president obama's decision to delay military action against the assad regime. coming up next, shutdown

frustration. yesterday tensions were running high at the world war ii memorial here when texas congressman lashed out at a park ranger demanding she open it to everyone not only visiting veterans. >> how do you look at them and say -- how do you deny them access. >> it's difficult. >> it should be difficult. >> i'm sorry, sir. >> park service should be ashamed of themselves. >> after hearing that, a furloughed federal worker confronted the congressman. >> this woman is doing her job like me. i'm a 30-year federal veteran and i'm out of work. >> the reason you are is because mr. reid -- >> no, because the government won't do its job and pass a budget. >> others venting their frustrations, one tweet, hubby is a low paid government employee. a day or two is the most we can afford to lose. another wrote on furlough i'm spending zero dollars on local

business and restaurants. this will have an effect on the economy. tell us how this is affecting you using #don'tshutme down. a congressman who has been there 18 times before. what he has to say about why this shutdown stalemate is different. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] build anything with the new toyota tundra. toyota. let's go places. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses.

the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, it could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call now to request your free decision guide. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. see why millions of people have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp. don't wait. call now. if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns. this is humira helping to protect my joints

from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. for many adults, humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira , your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your doctor if humira can work for you. this is humira at work.

i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more sinus symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. oh what a relief it is. me yesterday and says, you've seen it worse, haven't you? i've only been here 57 years and i never have. i've never seen such small minded, miserable behavior in the house of representatives. >> this last noon john dingell became the longest serving in the house of representatives. he was sworn in replacing his father. since then he's witnessed 18 government shutdowns but never an impasse like this one. joining me from capitol hill is michigan congressman john dingell. thank you for joining us. >> diluted to be with you.

>> great to have you. why is this different? why is this different than the past? >> there's several reasons. first of all, the speaker mr. boehner has lost control of his party. second of all they are trying to find a way out of the hole they have dug for themselves. they are disregarding the first rule of holes which is when you're in a hole, stop digging. they have got a different problem. that is they are incapable of figuring out how it is they get off the hook. on top of that, his own party is denying him the ability to lead and to cut deals with the white house. after all, andrea, remember, compromise is an honorable word and is the way the government should be working in this country. >> in the past appropriations, so some departments funded, fully funded. this the first time in my recollection, and you're memory is better than mine, there are

no appropriations bills. >> we haven't passed appropriations bills nor have we passed a budget. all we've got to do here is to pass a simple continuing resolution and then we can get down and negotiate. the problem is they don't want to do it on the other side of the aisle. the worst problem is they are now trying to pass a whole series of small, little appropriation bills to deal with particular petty parts of the problem as opposed to addressing the whole problem. the whole problem in a way that will enable the country to get going. as you have said on the program, 72% of our intelligence people are now laid off. we have all kinds of other essential tasks like that that are not able to be conducted because of this very silly, spiteful, small minded effort here. >> what do you think they are so afraid of in the house, the house caucus? there's certainly a number of

republicans, we've spoken to many of them, who want to change this. but they are really constrained by the sort of hard line tea party conservatives. the influence it seems to be of a senator from texas. >> well, you're right. but he's only one of them. i don't know how many there are. there's something like 40 to 80 of them. there's a lot of outside interest moving this pressure on people and republican people are threatened with a primary if they cooperate with the leadership and with the white house. of course mr. boehner almost lost the leadership in january when the house was reconvened. the problem is everybody over there on the republican side is scared to death. they are not able to make the necessary concessions or cooperations which they know they need to come forward to a compromise that serves the public interest, gets this country going.

remember, the economy is in danger. we're seeing the stock market is beginning to tremble some. it will do more and be in serious trouble. in addition to this we're finding jobs are not being created. all of this is related to the fact business has uncertainty they can't invest. so we have that problem plus the fact that important government expenditures necessary to continuing economic recovery are not going forward. >> congressman, you've seen it all in more than half a century. it is true that john boehner is clearly afraid he would lose his speakership if he went against his own caucus, right? >> i don't know that. i know and respect speaker boehner. he's a decent man. i don't want to accuse him of being afraid or anything of that kind. in the simple fact of the matter is he knows he can't move his party because everybody over there is scared to death and

desperately anxious not to give the president even a small win, even though it's something desperately needed by the american economy. >> john dingell, 57 years and counting. we hope you get through this crisis. this is not a great chapter in american congressional history. >> well, god bless you, andrea. you are unfortunately right. we're going to try and get through it. this is a great country. we owe it in the congress of the united states to do a better job of dealing with the national problems. after all, congress means a coming together. we're certainly not coming together. mr. boehner, god bless him, is not able to move us in the right direction. >> congressman john dingell, the dean of the house of the representatives. thank you very much. we'll be right back. meeting took forever. oh, my parents will be here any minute.

♪ canned soup? no way. ♪ mmm! this is delicious katie. it's not bad for canned soup, right? pfft! [ laughs ] you nearly had us there. canned soup. [ laughter ] [ male announcer ] so good, they'll think it's homemade. try campbell's homestyle soup. m'm! m'm! good.

same grin, same walk. and the same beautiful hair. [ female announcer ] nice 'n easy. in one step get expert highlights and lowlights. for color they may just think you were born with. [ rob ] i'm a lucky guy. [ female announcer ] with nice 'n easy, get the most natural shade of you.

>> powers spoke for the first time about being banished from president obama's presidential campaign in 2008 after she was quoted calling hillary clinton, his then rival, a monster. >> it was beyond searing. you lose your temper, you're in a campaign, things go back and forth. it completely broke my heart there's a fair amount of negativity heaped upon her i find massively unfair. >> i heard there were tears. >> certainly it was very emotional for me. i was so grateful to say that in person with something i'm immensely grateful to her for giving me that opportunity. across america people are taking charge

of their type 2 diabetes with non-insulin victoza®. for a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar, but it didn't get me to my goal. so i asked my doctor about victoza®. he said victoza® is different than pills. victoza® is proven to lower blood sugar and a1c. it's taken once-a-day, any time, and comes in a pen. and the needle is thin. victoza® is not for weight loss, but it may help you lose some weight. victoza® is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. it is not recommended as the first medication

to treat diabetes and should not be used in people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. victoza® has not been studied with mealtime insulin. victoza® is not insulin. do not take victoza® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. symptoms of a serious allergic reaction may include: swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat, fainting or dizziness, very rapid heartbeat, problems breathing or swallowing, severe rash or itching. tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. serious side effects may happen in people who take victoza®, including inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), which may be fatal. stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have signs of pancreatitis, such as severe pain that will not go away in your abdomen or from your abdomen to your back, with or without vomiting. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin

may cause low blood sugar. the most common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, and headache. some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. if your pill isn't giving you the control you need ask your doctor about non-insulin victoza®. it's covered by most health plans. now back to our interview

with israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu. we talked about the crisis in syria and president obama's bankrupt decision over labor day weekend to postpone military action against the assad regime without first getting congressional approval. >> now we have a program to fully dismantle iraq, syria's chemical weapon. notice what i just said. fully. not, well, take out 200 tons of the 1400 tons of chemical weapons. no partial lifting of sanctions. full dismantle with supervision. i spoke with secretary-general ban ki-moon about how we can help onour intention to verify they are fully dismantling the program. that he the test. we'll see what happens. if it happens, good. if there's a diplomatic solution to dismantling these wisp from syria and iran, that's fine. i'm saying a partial deal would

be bad there in syria and horrible in the case of iran. >> doesn't this dip loem lombacy mate more difficult for israel if you deem it necessary to act alone militarily? the rest of the world is saying, hurrah, iran is changing and you're is lating. >> i'm not sure i'm isolating. i talk to people. people are not that gullible. in fact, they are not gullible at all. they don't believe iran's nice words. >> you trust the president, president obama to stand by you. >> i believe the president understands we have a common goal. he said, important things he said, it's not words alone, even conciliatory words are not enough. it has to be meaningful words. we're talking. we had a very good discussion for three hours or more, what is meaningful action. i'm arguing meaningful action is full dismantling of iran's

nuclear arms program. i think they are the lessons of history you can't afford to lose sight of. >> is it one of the lessons of history that nations and people can change? the people of iran obviously voted for this man, if you believe this lesson had some measure of credibility. he wasn't the preferred choice of the supreme leader. they voted for him because they hate the sanctions. they are suffering. maybe they are ready for a change. >> i'm sure they are. >> why not give this man a chance. >> i'm sure they are. they voted for him after 700 other candidates were eliminated and they chose 1%. of that they chose the guy who is the most -- the least -- >> the least bad. >> from the least bad. if they had a free go, are you kidding? they would toss out this regime. they would go in blue jeans. these people, iranian people are actually pro western. they don't have that. they are governed not by rouhani they are governored by

ayatollah. he heads a cult. that cult is wild in ambitions and aggression. look what they are doing now since rouhani is elected, they are sending killers all over the place around the world, everywhere. you can believe them. it's nice to believe. you can't just be there uncritical and say, okay. you want to see what actions they take. i think when you have a regime as radical and aggressive as iran, make sure that you take apart their nuclear weapons program completely before you give them any breaks. they are on the ropes. if you want to knock out iran's nuclear weapons program peacefully, then don't let up the pressure. keep the anxiouses up. that will prevent iran from arming itself. that, too, will prevent the next war. be firm to prevent the next war. don't be soft. don't go wobbly. all you'll do is arm this

unchanging regime. you'll frustrate hopes and dreams of the majority of iranians. you'll throw the middle east into a terrible nuclear arms race which will turn the most dangerous part of the planet into a nuclear tinderbox. the specter of nuclear terrorism. that's not peace. you want peace? be tough in the negotiations. very, very tough. >> i've got to ask you about assad. with so many al qaeda factions now in the opposition, are you better off with assad remaining in syria than with that you might get for the opposition? are you worried in the u.s. arming the position since some of the weapons might get to radical islamists. >> two outcomes in syria horrible. first is a victory of assad, which means a victory of his iranian patrons and hezbollah proxies, that's bad. very bachld the second is the victory of al qaeda. that's bad, too. >> what's good?

>> i think we have to figure out a way to get something else. we need that for our security and the interest of many other countries but also because there's a human tragedy piling up there that is massive. it's really monstrous. you've got maybe 120,000 people killed by now, millions of refugees, some say as many as four. pretty soon nobody will be left in syria. that's a human tragedy we can't say we're indifferent to. there are other options. we have to discuss them. i have some ideas. we have to discuss them and see if we can arrive at a solution that maintains our security but also gives hope and life to these people. >> finally you gave very little mention of the talks with the palestinians that the u.s. has been sponsoring in your speech at the united nations, is that because you don't think they are going anywhere?

>> no. actually they are going -- i've done my difficult share of things to make it happen. but i think that that involves serious talks that have to proceed. i thinkissue, and that's why i devoted most of my time at the u.n., is iran. how do we make sure that we don't do the wrong thing? how do we make sure we do the right thing? it's not comfortable, andrea, to sound the alarm. but i thought that the most important thing is just to bring the glare of facts, just the n sunlight of facts to a regime that has been using deception, secrecy, terror, and not allow them to get away with it. you know, a difference in style doesn't make a difference in policy. policy is decided by the supreme dictator of iran. he wants nuclear weapons.

ahmadinejad told him, i'll get it for you by very strong rhetoric. rouhani says, i'll get it to you with very soft rhetoric. i don't care which they use, we shouldn't let them get those weapons. our future, our lives are all on line. we didn't come, i didn't become the prime minister of israel and the leader of a people that has been struggling for its place under the sun for nearly 4,000 years, i didn't get there and my people didn't come here. we selected our life in our ancient homeland. to have this radical regime snuff out the life of the jewish people, i'm not going to let it happen. >> benjamin netanyahu. we'll be right back. ercent or more on car insurance. mmmhmmm...everybody knows that. well, did you know that old macdonald was a really bad speller? your word is...cow. cow. cow. c...o...w...

...e...i...e...i...o. [buzzer] dangnabbit. geico. fifteen minutes could save you...well, you know. your husband left his cell phone on. and you're not necessarily proud of that. but tonight, he made the pizza. ...with johnsonville italian sausage. the premium cuts of pork and perfect blend of herbs and spices gave every bite even more flavor. and everyone loved it. and you're definitely proud of that. johnsonville. served with pride since 1945.

and which political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? chris, i think we're going to be talking about the shutdown. is there going to be any behind-the-scenes negotiations?

>> as of right now, i think we all had focus yesterday, as you mentioned, on this white house meeting. i think nothing really came of that. the biggest thing to come out of today is john boehner telling republicans that he will not allow the country to default, that they will find a way to raise the debt ceiling. that seems to me as sort of an opening offer that we want something to happen here. again, president obama has said he will not negotiate. does he move even slightly off of that sort of forceful statement? >> and jay carney said at his briefing again repeated that the president does not believe in using the 14th maemt to go around congress and raise the debt ceiling. >> which he said in 2011. nancy pelosi disagreed, but they're not going to go the 14th amendment route. we know that. >> chris cillizza, see you tomorrow. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." follow the show online and on twitter. tamron hall has a look at what's next. >> hi there, andrea. coming up in our next hour,

president obama today responds to the tea party congressman who said the party has to get something out of this shutdown, but they don't know what it is. we'll play what the president said in response to that. plus, turning on ted cruz. politico now reporting the senator got an earful from fellow republicans for helping to prompt the shutdown without an end game. >> this woman is doing her job just like me. i'm a 30-year federal veteran. i'm out of work. >> the reason you are is mr. reid is -- >> no, it's because the government won't do its job and pass a budget. >> plus, is it a losing pr stunt? the man who led a group of vets to the world war ii memorial says he does not want their visit, which was merely canceled to be politicized. he will join us. and this just in a short time ago. fema now recalling furloughed workers to prepare for tropical storm karen. hurricane watches up in florida, texas, louisiana. we'll have the latest on this storm and the decision to bring

those workers back. [ female announcer ] it's simple physics...

a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function

so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions, or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. don't take celebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history. and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion.