>> production assistance for "inside washington" was provided by allbritton communications and "politico," reporting on the legislative, executive, and political arena. >> malia and sasha generally finish their homework a day ahead of time. congress can do the same thing. if you know you've got to do something, just do it. >> this week on "inside washington," president obama to republicans -- grow up. republicans to the president -- behavior self. >> he should be ashamed. >> first class cent of robert gates.

>> the president has failed the american people and turning the economy around. >> and it michelle bachmann off to an impressive start. >> i believe in new york has sent a message to this nation loud and clear. >> a major victory for new york gov. andrew cuomo, the comeback kid. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- here is my favorite line of the week, written by david rodgers forge "politico" -- "congress has the poisonous feel of a back stabbing midwest city council arguing the sandbag techniques while flood waters rise." >> they are in one week, out one week, and then they are saying,

"obama's got to step in." you have got to be here. i've been here. i've been doing afghanistan and bin laden and the greek crisis. >> the president says he wants to get working, wants us to get working. i cannot think of a better way than to have him come over today. ng.are waiting sen >> senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. for all the kids were outraged by the president's remarks. -- republicans were outraged by the president's remarks. but harry reid was listening. what you make of the president's performance on wednesday, mark? >> i think the president recognizes two things. over the last two years, democrats lost to the debate on their major initiatives, economic recovery and health care. they don't want to run the risk this time.

they have to lay out what the consequences are, the recklessness and irresponsibility of even entertaining the possibility of letting this country defaults on its obligations. >> evan, what do you make of it? >> you cannot be partisan about this. at least he is showing some energy. but he has got to be an arm twister behind the scenes, and he is not really lyndon johnson. this is serious now. this is his moment of leadership. this is no joke. he has got to get it done. >> nina? >> in the modern era, there isn't a lyndon johnson. the criticism of him, by david brooks most recently, is that he's too much like the senate majority leader. the president has a bully pulpit and he used it. the fact that republicans started screaming bloody murder, indicate that they are worried about it. >> charles?

>> the problem is this has the feel of a town with a leader who is not leading. he has not proposed a budget t on. the one he proposed was voted down by the senate 97-0, it was so preposterous. we have a president in full campaign mode was not proposing anything at a public -- who knows whether in private. there is no democratic proposal on the table for the budget. he is demagoguing against medicare and the ryan plan. he has decided, do that and that is how you get reelected. that is why the town is laundering. >> consistency has not been a problem with republicans. they endorsed the ryan plan, which does not provide for a balanced budget, and now they are pushing for a balanced budget. 103 house republicans have gone on record as saying they will not vote to raise the debt

ceiling unless there is a cap of 18% of federal spending, which is 7% below what we are spending right now. in addition to that, they are pushing a constitutional amendment to cut spending, the deficit, by half next year. all of which are impossible. every serious person who weather in a steady group or commission or whatever, knows there has to be revenue enhancement, taxes raised, as well as spending cuts. the idea of just trying to do it with spending cuts alone is just irrational. >> the democrats have not even produced a budget for 2012. >> the -- >> that is their -- >> now, the case is there a -- >> where are the numbers and where is the plan? >> it is right there -- >> where? >> look, the president, the

dealings with joe biden, the senators and congressmen -- it is there. $400 million in revenues, $2 trillion in cuts. that is 1/5. the republicans walk away and say, "we cannot touch it. >> everybody does the republican leadership is afraid of its own members. -- everybody knows the republican leadership is a friend of its own members. -- afraid of its own members. the democrats are, frankly, demagogues about medicare and medicaid and social security. if ever there was time to package these things together -- for example, increases in the age of qualification for medicare, which would add a lot of money to the federal budget if you do not have to spend it, plus revenue enhancements, aka taxes -- this is a time for

everybody to experience pain and no one was to experience. >> everybody is in campaign mode. the republicans are the party of the very wealthy -- is that playing out in the real actor? >> -- the real electorate? >> i don't think the electorate realizes how serious this is. they are playing with fire. really bad things can happen. markets get spooked, investors get spooked, interest rates go way up. we are plunged back into a serious recession. this is not just a political game -- >> and we are not -- >> i think the country is ever -- >> what happened in 2007 on a steroids. >> evan tells us how serious this is. what do we get? a president who in a press conference not once, but six times, the tax break for corporate jets.

i did the math on it. if you were to collect that tax for the next 7000 years, it would not cover one year of the debt obama has added. i will put it another way. you were to collect that get starting with john the baptist and every year since, it would not cover the amount of debt, has added between january 1 and in june -- the amount of debt obama has said it between january 1 and june of this year. he mentioned it six times. >> the president has a thing about corporate jets even though he gets to ride around in a nice chat himself. -- nice jet hemswell. >> before the cut childrens' education and sacrifice investment in research and innovation, it is only fair to ask an oil company or a corporate jet owner to give up the tactic that no other

business enjoys. > -- the tax break that no other business enjoys. >> he is playing class warfare. the-people who pay capital gains on income -- there are loopholes they need to close. but charles' point is white. these are tiny, tiny little drops in a big ocean. there is not enough in corporate jets or even the hedge fund guys, although i would like to. they have to raise revenues, i hate to say it, on the middle class. this is the point that gets lost on this. everybody is in this boat. there is no way out of it unless every single american does something. >> raise revenues on the shrinking middle class, mark. >> everybody is in it, and evan is right -- evan addressed the possibility of default. when that happens, the federal government of the united states,

which bars or 40 cents of every dollar we spend every single day, is faced with the option -- do you pay a sergeant in combat in kandahar, a grandmother with a 1-bedroom apartment in social security check, or to meet the obligations of bankers who are holding their debt in beijing and beverly hills? the answer is simple. the prior claim is on the second group. the reality is we are talking about -- the president is proposing increasing taxes, revenues, by 1% over the next 10 years. $400 billion. we are going to collect $39 trillion in the next 10 years. he is saying we ought to increase that by $400 billion as part of the package right now. you cannot touch the single blond hair on the beautiful head of our tax system, according to

grover norquist and apparatchiks -- >> there is something wrong when the top 400 earners -- wjthey richestearners -- americans pay taxes that are half what they were during the clinton administration and they are earning three times more. it is an astonishing income that we have. -- income gap we have. we know what the drivers of the deficit are, it is not just that. it is the entitlement programs and defense, third, and lastly, taxes. >> the political argument is old folks, kids over here, i corporate jets over here. -- fats cats in corporate jets over here. >> it is demagoguery. if you confiscated the wealth of the top 1000, it would not make

a dent. the problem, as larry lindsey pointed out, is not that somebody is not going to get a coupon on the debt in august of this year, but that in 10 years, we're not going to be able to pay anybody anything on our debt. is that many years which is now at stake. i will give you -- he is that 10 years which is at stake. i will give you an example of the demagoguery of democrats. the proposal by a lieberman and coburn to index retirement and medicare at the way social security was in the greenspan commission of the early 1980's -- as a result, social security is 66, 67, but he stuck to 65 of medicare. if you index at 200, you will save billions of dollars. the democrats, however, won't, and you know why? medicare is the one issue of next year. you are telling me that democrats and the president are serious about -- >> washington is still stuck in

partisanship. on this one particular issue, everybody who thinks about this for half a second realizes that you absolutely have to -- it is not negotiable, not a document -- you have to, have to, after raise taxes and you have to, have to, have to cut entitlements. i just a little, a lot. if you don't do that, the entire standard of living -- >> me that deb -- either the republican or the democratic leadership will add that publicly. >> with a minute, is easy to talk about cutting programs that is absolutely crucial of the survival of seniors in this country. why not talk about it being based upon need and ability to pay? the head to fund managers that evan talks about pay at the rate one-half that a firefighter

or a teacher or aany income tax in this country -- in income tax in this country. they pay such as a great and benefits put -- pay social security and medicare benefits. that is indefensible. >> you may not have done this, but in the republican plan, you have means testing for medicare. precisely as you suggested. democrats have refused. democrats refused also on raising the age. >> ok, let's talk about means testing. how does that work? you get social security, but if you make it so much money -- >> you get less. if you are poor, you get more. it is actually in the ryan plan. you guys act as if pox on all houses. the republicans step forward on medicare, and you don't have an

answer. means testing. >> i haven't answered for paul ryan and -- i have an answer for paul ryan and -- vouchers. that's what seniors what to do, spent time negotiating with insurance companies. he is absolutely convinced that markets worse. if it is so brilliant, as dr. krauthammer insists it is, why is ever republican in full flight from it right now and why is john boehner ruing the day they voted that way? republicans are on the defensive on this issue alone. they did exactly what in 1993 democrats did, come up with a full-blown health care plan and said, "you vote for it," and democrats did in, republicans did. >> the democratic governor and republican legislature could not come to terms -- it is crazy. politicians are supposed to

compromise and get things done. >>i confess i am not an expert on the ins and outs of the minnesota government, but i suspect what is in all of these kinds of crises, one side or the other -- the public debate tilts. we will see in minnesota how people feel about this. of course there will be people on both sides, but the public opinion -- a shutdown just as it did with the federal government moves people's views about what they want. i cannot tell you how it is going to move, but it will not be the same in a week as it was yesterday. >> all right, does anybody have any suggestion as to how to get this thing moving? >> yeah, because it has happened before. obama has got to be president of united states, has to do two things. he has to make a public case for how bad this is. they are not being honest about --

>> he did not do this on wednesday? >> no, it was partisan. excuse me. he was being a party guy. it is not getting you anywhere. he has set to rise above that and then in private, he has got to make a deal. >> instead of saying that we have a problem, a serious problem, growing problem, a structural problem, as he said -- in the sound bite you show, it is a choice between helping the elderly on medicare and corporate jets and oil tax breaks. >> gentlemen -- >> that is pure demagoguery. >> simms and balls -- simpson- bowles, commission after commissions as you have to have serious cuts. and they have to have revenue. the reality is, and charles krauthammer acknowledges you

have to do it revenues, but it has become an article of faith that you cannot be a republican -- ronald reagan rose taxes 16 times but you would never know it. >> you are missing the point. what have democrats offered on entitlement? name it. >> they haven't offered a anything. >> what is the plan, what is the policy? >> the president has publicly stated they will have to cut entitlements -- >> oh, that is tough. >> you guys seem to think the president of the units is should get up and act like a professor and say, "we have a problem here and we need to negotiate in private and here are the reasons it is so bad at." politicians, presidents are politicians, that is why they get elected. they don't do that. >> franklin roosevelt said, "we

have a problem, it is called old war ii." he did play a role. >> michele bachmann at getting a lot of attention this week. >> i am committed to life. [applause] >> congresswoman michele bachmann at a campaign appearance in south carolina. she was talking about the time she suffered a miscarriage, and that hurt renew reverence for life after that. she makes -- and her renewed reverence for life after that. she makes mistakes, but nobody is ridiculing her for that. what does this parents tell you about michele bachmann? -- this appearance tell you about michele bachmann? >> it gives a narrative to her pro-life position. but i have to contact her interdiction -- introduction to this race with that of the former speaker of the house newt gingrich. with each passing day, in spite of the stumbles, her stock has been enhanced and her position

has been improved. newt the last time was trying to close out his tiffanies account. >> she was no. 2 behind mitt romney. >> democrats underrate her at their peril heard the talk about her the way they used to talk about ronald reagan, and that is dumb. having said that, politifact analyzed for statements and said that 27, none were entirely true, of the controversy once, and 10 were pants-on-a fire false. >> how powerfully are republicans in iowa -- how carefully are republicans in iowa going to look at this? >> she is the best thing to happen to the democrats.

>> you think she can win the nomination? >> it is not likely. she remains a longshot. she has a good chance of winning iowa, but i dhave not sure where she goes in terms of winning after that. she could easily end up number two. she is very appealing. the more you learn about our -- 23 foster kids, five kids of our own. looking after each other -- she talks about life, family, love the game after each other. it is not only rhetoric. she would have a hard time in the general election. >> defense secretary robert gates retired this week. they gave him a good a sendoff at the pentagon. he said when he looks back at his service, he will think of the younger warriors, the ones who never came back. remarkable guy, don't you think? >> certainly the only secretary of defense in history to serve

the successfully and a president of different parties and get the trust and admiration of both of them. he had a sobering remarks on the way out. "i go to arlington, i go to hospitals, i meet with the families, i know the awesome responsibility and the unpredictability of war and those who be the drums have to be aware of that." what he was most proud of, bob gates said, "listening to the press on the mine resistant vehicles that we finally got to the troops so that they wouldn't be blown up by ied's in afghanistan, and the conditions of the hospitals and the treatment of the veterans and warriors at places like walter reed." >> he is exactly what is missing today in washington. politically unafraid. he stood up to the military-

industrial complex. he was honest with the american people on all fronts. credible guy who could somehow rise above petty interests. we are missing that. >> i want to say something for the advantages of moving up the chain over the course of a career. he started out -- this is a bureaucrat made brilliant secretary. for people who always talk about, oh, they are just bureaucrats, this proves the best of the bureaucracy made into an actual leader. >> charles? >> in addition to the deep sense he had for the soldier and a sacrifice, he was also concerned about the country. in one of his last speech is -- he almost intimated at one of the reasons he was leaving he had lived and lead at a time when america was dominant, and it looks as if america is now looking to reduce its role in the world, and he implied that it was not a world he wanted to be meeting in. -- leading in.

>> andrew cuomo, the new comeback kid. >> new york for many years has served as the progress of a beacon in this country, and pass a marriage equality advances the entire discussion. >> that is andrew cuomo, the governor of new york, we signed a law legalizing same-sex marriage in new york a week ago. he had a few rough years, but he is back now. >> he sure is. placed in "the new york times" as the comeback kid. he is a powerful figure, not just on gay marriage rate he got a budget through the legislature in new york. whether he has long term, i am not sure, because he is a volatile guy. >> if he can do it in new york, why can we not do it in washington? >> good question. good question, gordon. [laughter] same-sex marriage has a sense of inevitability.

but right now, barry goldwater said we are cut off, the eastern seaboard of the united states. massachusetts, connecticut, vermont, new hampshire, new york -- >> iowa. >> iowa did it by the court and the court is about to leave. the reality is this was a signal achievement. for a guy who lost in 2002 the democratic primary in a bad way for governor, to come back as far as he has, is a real achievement. >> i want to know who put him there for that day before the vote, the president's weaselly answer in front of a gay audience may enter, the better and the president look worse. -- andrew cuomo looked better and the president look worse. >> i think this is a historic vote. it was not done by judges as in massachusetts. it was done by residents --

representatives in new york state. this is an issue that is essentially decided is generational change. cuomo did something interesting the morning after this. he is now going to expand or propose expanded drilling for natural gas and the factor -- and the process that will pick up all the people on the right. i think this is a guy who is looking to have a large constituency are larger than the governorship. >> thanks, see you next week. for a transcript of this broadcast, log on to insidewashington.tv.