syria's opposition threatens president asad he will not leave the country alive after he bludge a state in this homeland matter watch his explosive interview with our team. cia chief david petraeus quits his post for an extramarital affair as some question whether there is another reason for his departure. on friday prayers and in violence in bahrain with police firing tear gas and opposition activists struggling to make their voices heard in ongoing anti-government protests. ten am in the russian capital you are watching r t with me arena josh the free syrian army the main armed opposition group in the country has threatened president said he would follow the fate of libya's leader moammar gadhafi this as bush said at his exclusive interview with r.t. he has no plans to leave syria thought all musri to have a say video department who's listened to the words of the president says us it is do me that it in you statement you will channel he said he would not leave syria we know these are very well because he will not be able to leave syria he and his people not money to leave the country

syrian president bashar asad speaks exclusively to r.t. about his own his country's future saying is not a western puppet as ready to die in syria. iraq obama slaps new sanctions on iran and one of his first foreign policy decisions since reelection. towns itself as a tourist destination despite some towns still recovering from conflict and devastation. this is coming to live from moscow welcome to the program now the syrian president has predicted a global catastrophe should western states intervene in his country an exclusive interview with r.t. bashar assad also vowed to live and die in syria for in this we're going to talk to our middle east correspondent. hello to you paula now how does the syrian president view his future. well in this exclusive interview with our t.v. syrian president bashar assad stressed the point that he will remain in syria he said it was only for the syrian people to decide his fate he said that he was not a puppet of the west and you have the situation where the west creates enemies that essentially they are m

syrian president bashar asad speaks exclusively to our team about his and his country's future saying he's not a western pa and warned that foreign intervention whatever global repercussions. barack obama slaps new sanctions on iran one of his first foreign policy decisions since reelection while lawmakers plan even more severe restrictions. leaving a towel to itself as a tourist destination just weeks after a deadly siege and clashes in the town of bani walid. in the russian capital you're watching our marina joshie the syrian president says western states are used to greeting anime's and are motivated by their own interest in the exclusive interview with r.t. bashar asad predicts a global catastrophe should foreign powers intervene in his country our correspondent in the region policy or has the details. in this exclusive interview with r t the syrian president bashar assad stressed the point that he will remain in syria he said it was only for the syrian people to decide his fate he said that he was not a puppet of the west and you have the situation where the waste creates enemies

opposition is still locked in talks in qatar trying to consolidate its alliance against president asad this as deadly bombing ripped through the country this week with the latest attack killing at least twenty soldiers the syrian national council the main opposition group has come under western pressure to accept a unity plan and a growing frustration from other and dissident factions the asson see elected a new leader on friday appealing for more weapons to help oust asad activists rend turkmani says the exiled opposition has no sway over the fight on the frontline. i don't see he was critical of the for the student national council as a body but i'm not against many of the people who formed this council yes it was formed lots of external support maybe externally. but they don't matter a lot to what matter is the people inside syria people who are opposing the regime inside the country everybody is asking the opposition to come in one correlation and coalitions are always weak by any sort of a fall apart in front of tough challenges and we are in front of a very very tough crisis i ca

bashar asad said only the ballot box can determine his future and he also said western powers have picked him as one of their bogeyman and warned against foreign intervention in syria r.t. sophie shevardnadze spoke to the embattled leader in damascus. we had a chance to speak about fifteen minutes before the interview very educated very down to unst earth definitely not go manic but contrary to what people like people train him in the media very well informed he feels like i think that this whole thing that's happening is like a cancer that either he has to beat or he has to die of it but there is no other way out when one would talk about his western leaders telling him to step down it sounds ridiculous because he really has no where to go like you and he were to step down where would you go and we asked in that interview the broad vision if you're going. two week old wood came before because if you have a problem if you drop the flow through. the. ability in the region and coexistence. it will have a domino effect would be to the pacific you know because you know. it's going. to go but.

syrian president bashar asad pledges to stay in as war torn homeland no matter what as he talks exclusively to our team. fresh violence players in gaza and israeli tanks kill at least four palestinian civilians with israel claiming it's targeting militants got a live update from our correspondent in the region. and china's current leadership prepares to step down to way younger leaders develop the country's powerhouse economy and a once in a decade power transfer. this is a right to live from moscow with josh now after the most expensive election campaign in u.s. history barack obama was reelected this week as a u.s. president beating his republican rival mitt romney and the man he picked obama over romney because of his softer talk on foreign policy he doesn't quite walk the walk as he's going to be on that reports. in the wake of president obama's reelection there was no sense of euphoria as in two thousand and eight but his victory did come as a relief to most americans his challenger mitt romney was widely seen as more aggressive especially his foreign policy rhetoric also a seemingly o

opposition forms a new political body to help the rebels and their western supporters topple president asad amid criticism the foreign based coalition may have not much support in syria itself. meanwhile fears are mounting in the conflict foreign country that rebel fighters are increasingly targeting civilians simply for their religion still the syrian government. and as the greeks simmer over even more cuts portugal for hair is an angry reception for the german chancellor a scene of the main force behind words of stare dry. it is not i am the russian capital you're watching r.t. with me marina joshie syria's fractured opposition has managed to form a new political body to help the rebels and there are foreign backers oust president asad the deal signed in the qatari capital doha follows pressure from western and arab supporters who are also waiting to see the formation of syria's new government in exile but some analysts are questioning just how much the initiative takes into account the will the syrians themselves. the only reason we have that almost tissue quality agreement was the threa

catastrophe should western states intervene in his country and this close of interview with r t bashar asad also vowed to live and die in syria respond in the region policy has the details. in this exclusive interview with r.t. the syrian president bashar assad stressed the point that he will remain in syria he said it was only for the syrian people to decide his fate he said that he was not a puppet of the west and you have the situation where the west creates enemies that essentially they are motivated by the selfish interests he is not the target but he did warn that these self interests of the waste lead to foreign intervention which ultimately has a domino effect he also made the point that at the moment there is no civil war in syria he said the situation was such that you had these factions fighting they were being funded by the west he called them terrorists and he said that these terrorists coming from abroad are the biggest problem facing syria today the syrian president said that the majority of arab states supported syria but that they were too frightened to admit this publicly

syrian president bashar asad pledges to stay in is more and more in homeland don't matter water talks exclusively to our team. and they're staring protests in greece turned violent as the country's parliament backs a new round of stinging spending cuts. and china's current leadership appears to step down to lead younger leaders develop the country's powerhouse economy you know once in a decade power transfer. it is ten am in the russian capital you're watching r t with me. after the most expensive election campaign in u.s. history brock obama was reelected this week as a u.s. president beating his republican rival mitt romney and oh man he picked obama over romney because of his softer talk on foreign policy he doesn't quite walk the walk as or he's going to take on the reports. in the wake of president obama's reelection there was no sense of euphoria as in two thousand and eight but his victory did come as a relief to most americans his challenger mitt romney was widely seen as more aggressive especially in his foreign policy rhetoric also a seemingly out of touch with middle class

syrian president bashar asad speaks exclusively to r.t. about he's in his country's future saying he's not a western poverty and is ready to die in syria. barack obama slaps new sanctions on iran and want to be his first foreign policy decisions since reelection. may be a townhouse itself as a tourist destination just weeks after the deadly siege and clashes in the town of bani walid. this is r.t. coming to live from moscow with me marina joshie the syrian president has predicted a global catastrophe should western states intervene in his country in the exclusive interview with r.t. bashar assad says he's not a western poppet and vowed to live and die in syria our correspondent in the region policy has the details. in this exclusive interview with r.t. the syrian president bashar assad stressed the point that he will remain in syria he said it was only for the syrian people to decide his fate he said that he was not a puppet of the west and you have the situation where the waste creates enemies that essentially unveiled motivated by the se

spoke to the embattled president in damascus shared her views on the situation in syria and president asad. the thing that really mark me the most is how really how much more complicated situation insight series that from what we see in the media because i talk to people yes the country is divided and even the people who didn't like us before this conflict started are now so scared that fundamentalists will come to our fundamentalists who are fighting on the side of the free syrian army and syrian people are not about that and this is the only secular our country that had a lot of different religious groups always living in peace with each other whether it's sunni or shia or always or christians so there are really scared that if the army will fall apart and then you know you'd have this extremist muslims coming to them and asking them to basically be just like them so it's not just about assad i think people feel like whether he goes or stays. it's only can get worse if it goes because it will get i mean that the terror attacks will continue and the fundamentalists will come to power so t

council vying to keep its made rowe has chosen a new leader appealing for more weapons to help oust asad an anti-war activist brian backer says the opposition was never after a peaceful solution to the conflict if the opposition is saying to the assad government into the forces within the syrian government that their fate will be the fate of khadafi mean sodomized and murdered by a mob of course that leaves little incentive for the syrian government to sit down and negotiate but these forces within the syrian opposition have never wanted to negotiate there were forces that did want to negotiate did seek to have change and reform in syria but without foreign intervention and without civil war and they have been pushed to the side by the syrian the free syrian army and i should say they've also been pushed to the side by washington and by the nato powers who really only wanted civil war as the main method to carry out the regime change in syria the syrian president says only the ballot box can determine his future insisting he has the support of his people and the army but shot a loss of w

managed to form a new political body to help the rebels and their foreign backers to oust president asad the deal signed in the qatari capital doha follows pressure from western and arab supporters who are also waiting to see the formation of syria's new government in exile but some analysts are questioning just how much the initiative takes into account the interest of syrians themselves. from the very beginning of the conflict in syria the big question is how much influence do these groups outside of syria actually have within syria and i think as i started wanting to say that they don't have much widespread support within syria you know before you touch on the topic of what's been happening in doha or in the last few days i think a fundamental point which has been missed is that the future affairs of an independent software in country are being discussed by foreign governments in a foreign country that is absolutely rageous we're talking about the united nations the pillars of the united nation state so currency being completely undermined i mean if there was a domestic crisis for exa

pro asad views made him a target for syrian rebels as opposition fighters are increasingly accused of killing civilians simply for the early ages to the government's. german chancellor angela merkel received a hostile welcome in portugal as hundreds of angry protesters greeted her in lisbon they blame mrs merkel for the or country's astaire drive a resulting in painful cuts and tax rises as artie's sara first reports many wonder why portugal is following a pass which is yet to reap rewards or. these measures have been killing us do they give us no future it's only for carriage and employment and misery so many people become desperate that it's almost like a visceral reaction a visceral reaction to these measures people of god getting angrier and angrier angela merkel says it supports the goal may have been meant as a sign of support for this scene daily to serve to highlight the. protestors message loud and clear way testers standing off against the riot police at the site that's become very familiar protest gatherings in europe but perhaps not so familiar portugal here until recently

the asad regime falls this area will turn into a dangerous product this is what we're trying to avoid. i asked him whether disarming might be an option to avoid more bloodshed. but we're not afraid while we were filming the lebanese army was overseeing a shaky cease fire but the sandbags are still out awaiting the next battle we're in the neighborhood as you can see behind me that is the area where the gunfire was coming down here people have been killed on both sides of the steps you can see this is one of the fighting positions this street. preacher heads a sunni militia here in tripoli as bubble to been a slum to have you with these guns. showing off his guns he says he's ready to use them again at a moment's notice. we are ready to defend ourselves and to fight fun with. sheikh mansour he accuses the syrian government of fermenting violence against the sunni's and that's why he says support for the uprising goes far beyond empathy. systems to the free syrian army then would do it within our capabilities isn't that really if it is possible to give them a gun and some of the it's do

and in just a few moments here in our news here is president bashar asad speaks exclusively to our network with his own perspective on the bloody conflict gripping his country. on the sole flight for. my chute despite. rain. snow. on the fadia all for team. the one who can use the trigger on the most reliable of the twentieth century. legend. kalashnikovs. comes. to me speak your language. programs and documentaries in arabic it's all here on. reporting from the world's top spy skiffy ip interviews intriguing stories for you. in trying. to find out more visit our big teeth dog called. thing. thinking think i thank you. thank. you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. president bashar al assad of syria thank you very much for talking to our to today you know what's going to baskets so you know many people work that state year ago today you wouldn't make it this far but yet again we're sitting in a new renovated presidential palace and recording this interview who exactly is your enemy at this point by any means terrorism and instability in syria this was our enemy not about people it

joshie of the free syrian army as a main armed opposition group in the country has threatened president asad he would follow the fate of libya's leader muammar gadhafi this as bashar al assad said in his explosive interview with r.t. he has no plans to leave syria father had of their media department has listened to the words of the president says it is doomed. me that it in his statement you will channel he said he would not leave syria we know this very well because he will not be able to leave syria he and his people not money to leave the country the free syrian army will not let him do this he will not get out of syria long enough you'll be lucky if you reach the same fate as. the western backed syrian opposition is still locked in talks over the creation of a unified group to forge a broader alliance against the government the syrian national council vying to keep its main role has chosen and new leader appealing for more weapons to help oust an anti-war activist brian becker says the opposition was never after a peaceful solution to the conflict if the opposition is saying to the assa

and you can see the full exclusive interview with syria's president bashar asad g.m.t. here on r.t. and it's also available on our website. i'm feeling and i mean. maybe you feel you have to be fancy you know but incident but. i didn't are to exclusive friday through sunday on r t r t dot com. one of america's best known military leaders and cia had david petraeus has abruptly announced his resignation stepping down the trail submit to an extramarital affair saying he was guilty of unacceptable behavior day at the trap served as a cia boss since two thousand and eleven after leading u.s. military campaigns in iraq and afghanistan reports say an f.b.i. investigation discovered he had an affair with his biographer paula broadwell she spanned here with a former cia chief in afghanistan in one viewing him for a book on u.s. warfare instead of law enforcement officials say broadwell was trying to illegally access to trances e-mails intelligence expert lieutenant colonel tony savva told our team there's more behind the resignation than just moral issues going on on the ground through the

opposition forms a new political body to help the rebels and their western supporters topple president asad amid criticism the foreign based coalition has little support in syria itself. meanwhile fears are mounting in the conflict foreign country that rebel fighters are increasingly targeting civilians simply for their regions to the syrian government. and as the greeks simmer over even more cards or to go prepares an angry reception for the german chancellor are seen as the main force behind europe's very dry. this dirty life from moscow with me wearing a joshie serious fractured opposition has managed to form a new political body to help the rebels and their foreign backers oust president said the deal signed in the qatari capital doha follows pressure from western and arab supporters who are also waiting to see the formation of syria's new government in exile are disposal your reports from the region. this comes after days of political wrangling amongst the various syrian opposition forces they have been under pressure from both the united states as well as arab governments to form this

after the break syria's president bashar asad speaks exclusively to r.t. with his own perspective on the bloody conflict gripping his country. the sun rises over what seems like analyst forest but here in new directions cry for hundred kilometers north of light of all storm as in much of the world it's disappearing at a catastrophic rate. bloggers both illegal and those finding ways to outsmart the system for filing down the forests of the more skewed region for them profit goes well beyond the future of our planet and the result could be an ecological crisis the world wildlife fund for nature makes regular trips to help local rangers do what little they can to stop the logging but it's not easy lager set up trucks making them hard to reach in an already rough terrain and have mastered ways to jump through legal loopholes this is a nature reserve we're only sanitary logging of disease trees is allowed according to law and not a single berry can be picked but loggers like this use their sanitary logging permit to cut down absolutely healthy trees and sell t

opposition forms and new political body to help the rebels and their western supporters to topple president asad amid criticism the foreign based coalition has no support in syria itself. meanwhile fears are mounting in the conflict torn country that rebel fighters are increasingly targeting civilians simply for their illegitimates to the syrian government. and as the greeks said were over were even more caught supporting here is an angry with separation for the german chancellor seen as the main force behind europe's stare and drive. and the russian capital you're watching r t with me arena josh. syria's once fractured opposition has managed to form a new political body to help the rebels and their foreign backers oust president the deal signed in the qatari capital doha follows pressure from western and arab supporters who are also waiting to see the formation of syria's new government in exile but some analysts are questioning just how much the initiative takes into account the will of the syrian people. from the very beginning of the conflict in syria the big question is how much influence d

has managed to form a new political body to help the rebels and their foreign backers oust president asad the deal signed in the qatari capital doha follows pressure from western and arab supporters who are also waiting to see the formation of syria's new government in exile well let's now talk to our middle east correspondent paula. paula hello to you now the opposition has been wrecked by divisions for months now so just how robust is the new agreement. well this comes after days of political wrangling amongst the various syrian opposition forces they have been trying to iron out their differences to form a more representative opposition body what we are under aware of is that they have been under pressure from both the united states as well as arab governments and several other officials to form this unified body the syrian factions have now announced that they're going to join for a new assembly that will be western backed and that has already received the support of several arab governments it is in sixty remember assembly voted really brings together a wide array of people and organ

the army compound containing larger tillery stockpiles is believed to be the last stronghold of pro asad forces in the oil rich area opposition forces also seized a strategic military airport in the region last week and while local media are reporting that a state t.v. journalist has been shot dead by rebels in damascus. germany is welcoming refugees displaced by the conflict in syria this after openly supporting the country's rebel coalition as marie ivanovna discovered the migrants may find out the german hospitality isn't all they hope for. with conflict in syria raging for nearly two years now the exodus continues around four hundred thousand moved to neighboring countries two and a half million are internal refugees people run even though sometimes they have nowhere to go but recently seems at least one more door was opened to them germany is really in principle to welcome syrian refugees manual is german journalist has been covering events in syria this summer he was in the capital damascus during operation a volcano when rebels attempted to seize the city mineral says the people o

bashar asad said only the ballot box can determine his future he also said western powers have picked him as one of their a bogeyman and warn against foreign intervention in syria i do so sharon as a mets where the embattled leader in the mask has. this thing that really marked me the most is how really how much more complicated situation inside series that from what we see in the media because i talk to people yes the country is divided and even the people who didn't like us before this conflict started are now so scared that fundamentalists will come to power fundamentalists who are fighting on the side of the free syrian army and syrian people are not about that i mean this is like the only secular armed camp that had a lot of different religious groups always living in peace with each other whether it's sunni or shia or waves or christians so they're really scared that if the army will fall apart and then you know you have this extremist muslims coming to them and asking them to basically be just like them so it's not just about assad i think people feel like whether he goes or st

speak to sophie shevardnadze about her experience of being in syria and of sitting down with president asad i asked her first how she was able to land at such a high profile interview. well we've been trying to get this interview from the day conflict started to ask late actually. we spoke to a woman who is in charge of the press ministry in syria she was here in moscow on an official visit that was about six months ago so after we interviewed her we also asked her for an interview but we never got a definite answer and then all of a sudden probably a month and a half or so ago they called us from presence of ministration and they told us that if we're willing to go then they were ready to receive us the rest was all about figure out the dates and the stay in syria and we should point out the german journalist jurgen towton hoffer did interview assad a few months ago and a lot of critics point out that they were giving you know this german journalist was giving mr assad a platform for his propaganda what is your response to that well if you want to know my personal take on that i think no m

beshard asad told russian television there's no war in his country and he blamed the terrorist on his country. >>> justin we will recollect vi has been introduced as the commissioner. he has been a priest for 20 years, prior to that he was an oil executive. he says he is in favor of women as bishops and won't -- bi-p shop and won't approve to it. >>> the stone is named after previous owner joseph of austria and is said to be a flawless clarity and it can be yours at the christie's office in g earthquake nejings a. just be prepared to pay 25 to 25 miles per hour. >> a sacramentoen man set to lose his job next year is celebrating a change in luck. michael rural made up the numbers. wolf says the campbell soup plant in sacramento which is slated to close next year. he says he will use the money to pay off his bills and invest the rest. >>> tonight the story of survival and dedication. that takes us from puerto mad era. it is a story you will see only on two. >>> bill martin tracking some cold weather and the chance of rain. that will be the complete by area week =8 >>> only on two, a pai

worth underscoring here slim brotherhood circles, morsi is a hard liner, not a guy they put out there asad- as a moderate. in their circles, he's used closely to the disciine and structure and ideology of the brotherhood so no one who has watched in over the years should be surprised by what he's done. lou: gentlemen, thank you very much. great to have you both her apprec to lou: ambassador rice, the agenda you bout all those governors and state legislatures? how well did the president really do in this campaign? after tonight's "chalk talk," you tell us if it's a mandate. after president obama defeated governor romney in the race for president, is the g.o.p. ready for change? after two consecutive presidential loss, is it time for republicans to reset? steven hayes and shawn spicer steven hayes and shawn spicer jo the capital one cash rewards card gives you 1% cash back on all purchases, plus a 50% aual bonus. and everyone...but her likes 50% more ch. but i'm upping my game. do you want a candy cane? yes! do you want the puppy? yes! do you want a tricycle? yes! do you want 50 percent more

beshard asad told russian television there's no war in his country and he blamed the terrorist on his country. >>> justin we will recollect vi has been introduced as the commissioner. he has been a priest for 20 years, prior to that he was an oil executive. he says he is in favor of women as bishops and won't -- bi-p shop and won't approve to it. >>> the stone is named after previous owner joseph of austria and is said to be a flawless clarity and it can be yours at the christie's office in g earthquake nejings a. just be prepared to pay 25 to 25 miles per hour. >> a sacramentoen man set to lose his job next year is celebrating a change in luck. michael rural made up the numbers. wolf says the campbell soup plant in sacramento which is slated to close next year. he says he will use the money to pay off his bills and invest the rest. >>> tonight the story of survival and dedication. that takes us from puerto mad era. it is a story you will see only on two. >>> bill martin >>> only on two, a pair of baby river otters orphaned in the wild and rescued by humans are back in the wild tonigh

it comes as the asads regime launches a new wave of attacks across the country. have an update from a photojournalist who just spent eight days inside syria straight ahead. as is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now. with scottrader streaming quotes, any way you want. fully customize it for your trading process -- from thought to trade, on every screen. and all in real time. which makes it just like having your own trading floor, right at your fingertips. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. try our easy-to-use scottrader streaming quotes. it's another reason more investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade. but i still have a runny nose. [ male announcer ] dayquil doesn't treat that. huh? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus rushes relief t

the syrian opposition appointed a new leader today to try and topple president al asad's regime.ore fallout after possibly the biggest scandal at the bbc. two senior exec it tiffs stepped down after the broadcasting company's top leader resigned. accused of covering up the sex abuse story of a star. the person is believed to have sexually abused children during his 40-year career. the tv station wrongly accused a top politician of child abuse. the broadcasting giant is now facing a major overhaul. jessica? >> thank you very much, janelle. >>> well, the puppetteer who performs as elmo on sesame street is accused of having a relationship with a 16-year-old boy. kevin clash says he broke no laws in the relationship between the two consenting adults. sesame workshop says their own investigation cleared kevin clash but they suspended him on internet use. clash is normally behind the scenes as the voice of elmo and the animator but he has published his autobiography and was the subject of a documentary last year. >>> his name shines atop the bay area skyline but is wanted for murder in

speaking of president obama, placing patriot missiles around the region to take down president bashar al asad's air power as soon as the current missile barrages can be contained. through mr. obama's critics the root of the absence of american leverage in the middle east today is a light footprint that was simply too light. is that shared? you're on the ground. is there a sense that the americans have been not present enough in all of this? >> absolutely. and it's not only that they have been absent, also when they have been present, they haven't been present substantially in the way people in the region would like them to be. president obama came to cairo after he was elected, delivered a positive speech, very much welcomed in this part of the world to re-set relations between the u.s. and the muslim world and the arab world. one of the things that he said that the united states does not accept a legitimacy of israeli settlements in the west bank. here we are four years later settlements have expanded. in the eyes of the arab world this cuts deliver. at the same time, they get frustrated what

colleagues because iran nuclear negotiations in dealing with iran more generally, number one, bringing down asad as quickly as possible. number two, but the third, i add, is the following. preventing the collapse of one or more additional pro-western regimes, especially pro-western monarchies, three at the top of the list -- bahrain, jordan, and morocco. mori row cock, mr. -- morocco figured out a strategy for survival, and jordan, however, is the most vowel network, and the one who is lost undermines u.s. expwres in multiple and immediate ways.Ñi for the life of me, there's not a good explanation where the saudis provide no assistance to jordan. i can't understand why they provide no assistance today to egypt. think of what is going on in jordan and egypt today. these two countries, each of whom borders the world's most resourced rich, energy rich part of the world, today, undergoing draconian restrictions on the uses of energy. the lights out in cairo every night at ten o'clock, and jordan has gas rations, and they live next door to saudi arabia. all right. the three most urgent issues, who ar

help align anti-government fighters whose lack of unity is blamed in part for helping president al asadtay in power. >> and from our parade of papers, "the chicago tribune," toyota is recalling 2.75 million vehicles. among them, certain models of the popular hybrid the prius. the recalls stem from problems with the vehicle's steering mechanism. and in the case of the hybrids, the system's water pump, this is the second multicar recall by toyota in the last two months. >>> joining us now with the "politico playbook," executive editor jim vandehei. jim, good morning to you. >> morning, guys. how you doing? >> doing good. you described the tactic in the fiscal cliff negotiations as sort of a game of good cop/bad cop between mcconnell and john boehner. can you help explain that? >> mitch mcconnell who runs the senate republican caucus, he's definitely playing the role of the bad cop in that he does not want to compromise at all on tax cuts, has taken a much more hard-line approach, has the bulk of his time talking to "the wall street journal" editorial page, basically speaking to the base.