. >>> coming up, the national journal. the national journal has a story today entitled "clueless, heartless, and gutless: today's gop." what a statement. the reason? rand paul calls extending unemployment insurance a disservice to these workers. that's orwellian. that's supposedly a good thing. >>> also can lightning strike again for democrats? tea partiers are going after seven seats out there held by republicans. maybe will get nominated and maybe the democrats can pick off a seat or two. >>> and what happened when newt gingrich and ted cruz posted respectful tributes to nelson mandela? they were savaged by right wing critics who portrayed mandela as a terrorist. if that doesn't smell of racism out there, nothing will. >>> finally, if you've got a birther on your christmas list, have we got a gift for you. get it now before supplies run out. and this is "hardball," the place for politics. ♪ [ male announcer ] ever wonder why no other mouthwash feels like listerine®? because no other mouthwash works like listerine®. in yo

today the national journal writes about president obama's resilience. can obama recover?oining me now is the reporter with that story, national journal political correspondent alex sikes wald and james peterson, professor at lehigh university. thank you for being here. alex, your piece is about the president recovering. tell us what you noticed. >> if i had a dollar for every time somebody said obama or obama care is doomed, i could pay for the website rebuild myself. you know, at every stage when scott brown got re-elected, everyone was sure obama care was done. when the tea party came, everybody said obama care was done. obama himself, from controversies like the irs to when he criticized the arrest of henry lewis gates, he's been done. and he continued. this should be no surprise to anyone who's paid attention to history. bill clinton emerged from an impeachment scandal with the highest approval rating of his career. he's the president. he has the support -- he won the 2012 election with the support of many americans. and the health care law is here to stay. it's not g

gotten high marks from the groups like chamber of commerce, american conservative union, the national journal named him the second most conservative senator behind only alaska's representative painting of jesus drilling for oil. [laughter] someone is going to commission that. [ laughter ] i'll tell you what give me a taste of this steve stockman guy. i want to know what is considered tea party electable these days. it's amazing what they are saying is covered by obamacare. if you decide to become transgender you can get that covered. >> good to know. >> next time i call your show -- [laughter] >> jon: i get it because -- it's funny because he is an (bleep). at this point the only guy that could live up to the ideals is ronald reagan himself. >> ronald reagan brought about obama's election. let's look at what political hero ronald reagan tried to do with three million illegals. >> reagan botched it though. >> exactly that's what i'm saying. >> we have to stop worshiping ronald reagan. [ laughter ] >> >> jon: holy (bleep) when ronald reagan is just another hollywood liberal you have to say your

today, the "national journal" reports on the return of the welfare queen. the return of this talk. >> she wanted a divorce to get an $80 raise. she's eligible for $330 a month in the aid of children program. she got the idea from two women in her neighborhood who had already done that very thing. >> it's a vicious old talking point. and it's back. joining me now is dana milbank. dana, the cover of this story shows a woman driving a fancy car and wearing expensive clothes. why is this demonization of the poor back? >> i'm not sure it ever really left, reverend, and i think, however, the republicans have left themselves in a very vulnerable position here. so, have given themselves an extra long christmas break and then three days after christmas, 1.3 million americans will be turned off from their benefits and the most vulnerable will be made further so. so i think there's always been a strain within the republican party, whether it was the welfare queens or whether it was the 47%. the rhetoric is not necessarily the main issue here, but when it's accompanied

"national journal" political correspondent alex seitz-wald has checked out the numbers.d to see you, alex, good morning. >> thanks for having me, chris. >> come on, hating congress is something of a national pastime but you write it's not the cushy job we think it is. >> there are so many good reasons to criticize congress but this isn't one of them. members of congress work on average 70 hours a week when they're in washington, 60 hours a week -- >> i don't believe you. >> they could be putting in tons of hours but clearly not doing very much. they have passed historically low number of bills. they shut down the government. they have driven their approval rating really low. that doesn't mean they're not working theoretically. this is a really grueling job. they get up super early in the morning. they're out at events by 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. and work straight in the evening until 9:30 p.m. when they're back in their districts, they're feegt with constituents, meeting with the press, holding town halls. whether or not they accomplish anything legislatively that's a different

as the national journal points out. that exact headline showed up in 2008 during the primaries, and in 2009 during the health care fight. and in 2010 after scott brown won that victory in mike galanos. after the bp oil spill, and during the 2011 bad economic news, and during the 2012 election. even this year when the president took on syria. so the next time somebody asks you, can obama recover? i think the smart bet is, yes, he can. so to you -- >> can i point out. >> surmaking my point, sir. if in fact it is the case, betting on the failure, isn't it reckless and foolish on the part of the republican party to have one strategy, which is to hope obama fails? that's the only strategy, as best as i can tells. >> remember the shovel ready? remember obama care, demonstrated weakness around the world? >> again, this is your whole strategy. >> it's not a strategy. >> but what is your strategy? you have no strategy for getting jobs for the country, no strategy for immigration. am i wrong? >> the next time i do this showing i'

richard smith adding -- chris christie got some results on the national journal poll.an is up first on our call of who has the best year in politics pit he is from kent, washington. good morning. -- in politics. he is from kent, washington. good morning. how would you respond to this question he echoed -- this question? caller: i think the independents had the best year. most people in america realize we need government for our society to function. one of the most dramatic things that has happened is while they closed the national parks and it pointed out it costs more to close some of the veterans memorial limited to simply leave them open -- veterans memorial then it did to simply leave them open. everybody i talked to was very dismayed that the government did not choose to keep the blue angels up. they have to practice anyway so it does not cost anything to have them demonstrate. they are about as 5 -- about five times as dramatic as russian airplanes flying around. why these think it is independents who won the day? -- why do you think it is independents who won th

marsha coyle with the national law journal provides an inside look at the supreme court in "the roberts court: the struggle for the constitution." military historian max boot presents a history of guerrilla warfare and terrorism in "invisible armies: an epic history of guerrilla warfare there ancient times to present." in "the way of the knife," mark mozetti, national security correspondent for "the new york times," reports on america's engagement in clandestine warfare. anita ragvan recounts the collapse of a $7 billion hedge fund in "the billionaire's apprentice: the ride of the indian-american elite and the fall of the galleon hedge fund." for links to various other publications' 2013 notable book selections, visit booktv's web site, booktv.org. >> well, now on booktv we want to introduce you to simon booker. mr. booker, what is your professional background? >> guest: well, i've been with -- [inaudible] over a half century starting with the baltimore astros. i had a -- [inaudible] who went to harvard or, carl murphy -- [inaudible] and he always wanted me to be a journalist. so i foll

the return of the welfare queen, the latest story on "national journal" and hits the hot spots.he fancy sports car with the fins. this is back to the '60s. babies galore in the car. a tin of caviar. aforementioned king crab legs flying out of a whole foods grocery bag. paperwork for welfare, food stamps, paper for medicare.gov blowing in the wind there and last but not least, a obama/biden bumper sticker. bobby brown, and margaret carlson. i don't know if you laugh at the ridiculousness of it or stereotypical. i'd love to see you in court as a prosecutor asking this character, lee bright, strangely named nickname. he's called mr. bright by his friends. here he's saying he has obviously not observed somebody with the fingernails he thinks are really delightful or with expensive bag which may well be a knockoff for all he knows and of course, driving around in a very zippy car. i don't think he's ever watched anybody in a line at a safeway or a piggly wiggly or any place he goes shopping. i think it's all stereotyping and all the game -- it's called the dog whistle. we know what h

host: we are talking with clara ger from the "national journal." she was part of the writing team here. today is your last chance to get insurance o. meant us of the allowance -- announcement last week. guest: sure. administration did a little mini one of their own last week. they announced that for all of the consumers who had received cancellation notices -- and we don't really know how many consumers that was, there were estimates in the millions -- for the consumers are received health insurance plan cancellation notices, because their coverage did not meet the coverage requirements under the law, those people had two options. either next year they do not have to shine up for health insurance and would not face the individual mandate penalty or they were now newly eligible for catastrophic coverage. that is bare-bones coverage, a lot cheaper. then your typical bronze or silver plan on the exchanges. those people were given somewhat of a reprieve. that is really important. a significant portion of consumers would be affected. the administration

ron fornier from the national journal and our chief national correspondent, john king.ll in the "washington post," who do you trust to do a better job on the economy, issue number one. back a year ago, 54% said obama. 36% said republicans. now look at this. 41% say obama, 45% say republicans. that's quite a swing. >> it was up 18 points, now down four, right? it's crazy how this has switched, even given the fact that the republicans blew the government shutdown in october and you would think the president might still be riding on that but he's not, for a variety of reasons. one is people don't think he's as competent as they used to think. they don't think he's as trustworthy as they used to think. one of the poll numbers also shows that they don't believe he's going to protect the middle class as much as they once believed and we all know that's his bread and butter, when he ran for re-election, that was it. i'm all about the middle class. >> is it simply the rollout of the affordable care act, the health care website, the promise if you like your health care plan, you

marsha coil, chief washington correspondent for the national law journal provides an inside look at the supreme court in the roberts court, the struggle for the constitution. military historian max. presents the history of guerrilla warfare and terrorism in invisible armies, an epic history of guerrilla warfare is national-security correspondent for the new york times talked about america's engage in a clandestine warfare. contributing correspondent for the new york times recounts the collapse of a $7 billion hedge fund in the billionaire's apprentice, the rise of the indian american elite and the fall of the galion hedge fund. for an extended list and links to other publications 2013 notable book selections visit booktv's web site, booktv.org. >> it also intel's you about his father who was a prominent freedom fighter, who spent many years in jail, cousin told me when i was in calcutta interviewing in 2011, joe was like a house to him. i will start with that. ever since he was born, he was like infant to his father. as handsome as his father with the same chiselled be online the gave b

that cost her thirty dollars a month that has a deductible of only five hundred dollars for the national journal spank is now thrilled with their coverage and states that created their own exchanges are reporting huge surges and sign ups just days before the first of all deadline california average fifteen thousand and romance a day last week up from an average of seven thousand a day the week before and in kentucky in raleigh. forty percent since thanksgiving as states as three thousand kentucky ends a day are being approved for medicaid or qualified health plans so isn't all this proof. that at least in those places around the country were republicans are not sabotaging obamacare it is incredibly successful mark no i don't think so i mean first of all your dad i thought well first of all you're talking about the fact that all these people are signing up when they're compelled by law but i think it's a bigger question to pragmatically we can look in so you can tell by law they're compelled by the tax code of our previous discussion well but seventy five bucks you know the understand it is the o

white house officials are touting a national journal poll that gives a rosier view.ng the same age group, 53% fee there should be changes before the lot is upheld. and 5% say more money needs to be given to implemented. under fire, the president is trying to shift the onus on republicans to come up with alternatives in a range of other issues. >> if you don't think that we should raise the minimum wage, let's hear your idea to increase people's earnings. reporter: a gop health reform plan mocking the president's claims that he will talk to anyone that can improve the new law. >> we have asked and we haven't heard a word. my phone number in the office is 225-4510. reporter: harry reid is exempting some of his top unrolling some of his staff as well. lou: thank you, those in attendance being described as the president missionaries for obamacare. which means that this administration now has missionaries and navigators and a tax hour and a grassroots army organizing for action, all pushing obamacare. they certainly have their work cut out for them. twenty-one of 36 state

. >> reporter: as first reported by the "wall street journal" the u.s. and gulf nations are engaging with islamist groups in order to strengthen those who are not directly linked to the al qaeda franchises in syria. while these groups including the newly organized islamic front are not members of al qaeda, they still fly the black flag and support the establishment of an islamic state within syria, which runs counter to democratic principles. as for the syrian president assad, who's agreed to send a delegation to january peace talks in geneva, switzerland, defense department officials say the administration is trying to build support for the conference and trying to determine whether the u.s. can partner with islamists. >> it's worth knowing whether these groups have any intent whatsoever to be moderate and inclusive or whether they are from the start intend to be radical. >> if this is all going to come to some kind of a diplomatic solution, then all parties involved are going to have to be represented some way. >> reporter: critics say the direct talks are more confirm

it is not clear that cornyn, despite being ranked the second most conservative senator by the national journalo win this thing. two years ago, everyone knew who was going to be the next republican senator from texas, it was going to be senator david due hurst. he got to the right of him and beat him by budget digits in a runoff. and that's senator ted cruz. howard fineman, here's the challenge for an msnbc host, describing steve stockman, it is generally a challenge. we use all these words all the time to describe the far right opposition, that is sort of intent on the president's demise, that believes in a whole variety of awful, terrible and ridiculous things and nothing could quite capture the dark, wierd magic that is steve stockman. >> well, i'm tempted to say that the great thing about the earth is if you poke a hole in it, steve stockman comes out. i mean, you say this stuff coming out of texas is -- you know, you thought it was a parody. i question how much time you have spechblt in texas. i mean texas is built on being a parody and they're proud of their texasness, to a point that it'

the national journal writes it's a dark time for president obama.sliding as confidence wanes and his competence and the government's ability to do anything right. i'm talking, of course, of the 2010 bp oil spill. or perhaps hurricane sandy. or maybe the irs controversy. disasters that seemed sure to doom the obama administration, but they suddenly didn't. all of these got widespread long coverage in terms of a lot of plays particularly by the right on these issues. these were the things that were going to bring the president down and people heard it over and over and other again. >> sure. and the president even seems more determined than even a couple years ago. you saw it in his speech that he gave the other day where he highlighted inequality and he challenged republicans to put their ideas forward. but he was isolating on what he sees as the problem. republicans. whereas in the past he would use the term washington. now he's saying well it's not washington. it's republicans and particularly it's how republicans. the president's in much more of a

. >> anyway, today in national journal, ron fornier gets more into it with a memo with people who spokecondition of keeping their names out. here's the consensus of opinion, he said. your biggest hurdle isn't your age, the president's record, your husband, or even benghazi/whitewater. it's you, hillary. you're the problem. that is if you once again show yourself as an institution of washington awaiting a political coronation. to win, you must be the anti-hillary. you must blast the public's caricature of you and replace it with what we know as the real hillary. steve mcmahon a democratic strategist who does this all the time with democratic candidates. let's look at what he says hillary needs to do. i'll read a portion of each bullet point. first of all, accessible. be a constant presence on twitter and facebook and other social media. you, not your staff. two, be honest and authentic. take tough stands and take them clearly. number three, be vulnerable. remember choking up in new hampshire, you look human. and people like humans. be flexible. be quick to change your strategy, your mess

that's how the national journal describes the republican party today. a gop that puts its far right ideology over families. even over children. children like desani, an 11-year-old homeless girl profiled in an amazing article in today's "new york times." she lives in poverty in a shelter with her family. a shelter infested with roaches and rodents. the walls covered in mold. in the richest country in the world, no child should live in these conditions. but deshani is just one of 22,000 homeless children in new york city. across the country, one in five children lives in poverty. this is a real crisis. right now this country is facing this crisis. but republicans in washington don't seem to care. in just two weeks, unemployment benefits will run out for 1.3 million americans. yet this is the response from a top republican. >> i do support unemployment benefits for the 26 weeks they're paid for. if you extend it beyond that, you do a disservice to these workers. when you allow people to be on unemployment for 99 weeks, you're causing them to be part of th

he national journal has a headline recently -- does obama's credibility matter? jimmy carter is the headline there. t quotes frank newport gallup polling's editor and chief on the difference between approval ratings and trustworthiness traitings. approval ratings go up and down. asic faith in a person is more precious and a more fundamental judgment about a president. it's hard toe that, get back. where does a president stand on of trustworthiness. is that a bigger problem now than job approval? i think so. first of all, this is a his dent from the start of administration made honesty and transparency and trustworthiness a central part of his brand, of his politics. e contrasted himself with the previous administration, the weapons of mass destruction in appear.t did not he said he wasn't going to be that kind of president, he feels going to be honest. when his approval ratings were low, his marks for honesty and ss and personal likability were very high. and that helped to buoy him his overall when low.oval rating was the recent this year, because of you can kee

joining us now washington bureau chief susan page and ron fournier from national journal.me both. susan, are they beginning to get around the initial rollout problems? have they turned the corner? >> they have certainly turned the first corner. i don't think this is the last conner on the track. they have now succeeded in alleviating those incredible concerns we saw in october when the site clearly wasn't working at all. it now seems clear they are on their way to making the consumer part of the site work. we still have big questions about the back end of the site as with that "washington post" story who said a third of people enrolled have problems with the information their insurance companies or intended insurance companies have gotten. this is a good first step on what's going to be a long road for the white house. >> ron, you've written you think the white house needs a reboot, second term reboot. explain. >> he's had a miserable year, one of the worst years you can imagine for second term president. to begin with aca, with obama care that's been a disastrous capstone

ron brownstein is cnn's political analyst and director of the national journal. house speaker jon boehner blamed senate democrats. so who is at fault here, ron? >> you can -- the question for the blame is even the right word. the fundamental reality we have two coalitions reflected in the democratic majority in the senate and the white house and the public majority in the house that have antithet cal views about what the government should be doing and what the country should look like and they have proven unwilling or unable to bridge their differences and that is the fundamental divide we are facing and there is no sign it's going to end any time soon. you talk about the number of bills and talk about bills of substance. there may be only a single one that was approved earlier this year and even that passed with opposition from a majority of house republicans so we are looking at very low levels of productivity. >> and then, of course, upcoming we have the deadline to reach a new budget and that would be friday. bo jon boehner said come friday we're at the end o

the senior political analyst of the editorial director of the national journal, as well.esident, whose job approval numbers now are at a record low, he's in deep trouble because of the launching of obama care is calling in the cavalry to help. >> it's not usual kind of pattern in the second term of an administration. you reach out for some of those more veteran washington figures. think of reagan and howard baker. after iran-contra. this precedent for this, john podesta is a fascinating figure. he was close to the clintons, chief of staff so he knows how to deal with a hostile congress. he has worked with obama. he ran the transition for him and also built what has been the most successful left of center think tank launched, the center for american progress. someone with very good ties inside the broad democratic coalition and has experience dealing with congress. >> what does it say the president is calling on him to bring him in as a counselor to the president? >> the counselor is a historically a pretty fuzzy term. it usually translates into you give a lot of advice, y

. >> joining me today political reporter at the national journal, "washington post" columnist and msnbc contributor jonathan capehart. senior fellow bob herbert, nbc correspondent luke russert who mercifully is not wearing a fancy christmas sweater. >> stand up to kearns, great organization. >> had to do it. now i feel bad. i now i just feel bad. i have to go to you first, jonathan, that whole series, soliloquy. >> stand up in october. where was that man in october? where has he been the entire of his speakership since the tea party folks came in. this bipartisan feeling and spirit that sort of washed over a bit of washington now, you know, it's sort of been there. the debt ceiling crisis, government shutdown, all those things could not have happened if john boehner decided lets just pass it. republicans you don't like it, don't vote for it, bring it in with democratic votes. what's about to happen today could have been happening all along. the whole time. you covered capitol hill. that's what's so amazing, john boehner has refused to put on the floor what extreme parts didn't want prec

host: a national journal story looking at your poll, the headline is -- why is important millennial's support law? guest: a couple reasons. i would argue if it were not for millennial's, we would not have had barack obama as president today. very well likely would have been hillary clinton. it was in iowa caucus that three times as many moneyless showed up as before. by a margin of five-one, they supported barack obama over hillary clinton. they had a significant role throughout the general election of 2008, as well as 2012. millennial's have been one of the two or three most important political groups associated with the president over the last four or five years, number one. number two, when it comes to the health-care law, certainly a lot of economics would indicate it is important that younger and healthier people sign up for the law. in order to compensate for older and sicker people, in order to bring the risk pool down and the cost down for everybody. that is the exact message moneyless have been hearing for the last few months. from a young person's perspective, it is not the

take a look at this "national journal" poll that just came out.ar-olds say that it is likely that obama care is going to be repealed, they think. joining us now is kennedy, the host of the new show called "the independents" on fox business network. kennedy, good to have you here tonight. welcome! >> oh, martha, thanks so much. it's great to see you. >> it's great to see you, too. so, what do you make of this? >> i think that millennials are psychic, because the majority of them do feel that the president's centerpiece of especially his second term is going to be repealed, and the interesting thing is 40% think that their care is going to get much worse in the near future, and these are from people who haven't even been sick yet. i mean, you're talking about a group of americans, a demographic that has never really needed insurance and that they're bailing, it has reached critical mass, certainly. >> let's take a look because these polls were interesting, too. and i want to pull up some of the harvard poll numbers as well. they asked 18 to 29-year-

and joining us to discuss our political panel, the national journal sam baker the hill's jonathan easilyulie are a ragenski here in new york. any surprises, sam. >> no probably not. i think gallup says the sitting president has been the most admired man in the country for something like the past 30 years i think it was and obviously hillary clinton has been pretty far up there as well. i would expect this is about what you would expect and both of them also, saw a smaller share and gotten in the past which would track with president obama's poll numbers. >> jonathan, when you look at this, the people down just slightly below, at least on the man's list was george w. bush. you think that surprised the democrats at all? >> it is a little bit surprising, i think. if you had told george w. bush back in 2008 that by 2013 he would be number two on this list i think he would be ecstatic. >> believe me. >> bush this year, he really calm out and showed his personal side and i think that buieed him. we got his paintings. he went on the late show. it remind people that hey this would be a guy i wou

that's how the national journal describes the republican party today.uts its far right ideology over families. even over children. children like desani, an 11-year-old homeless girl profiled in an amazing article in today's "new york times." she lives in poverty in a shelter with her family. a shelter infested with roaches and rodents. the walls covered in mold. in the richest country in the world, no child should live in these conditions. but deshani is just one of 22,000 homeless children in new york city. across the country, one in five children lives in poverty. this is a real crisis. right

that is the headline of a "national journal" piece today on the modern republican party, which analyzed the congressional republicans' positions, such as letting unemployment insurance for 1.3 million americans expire three days after christmas and concluded the most charitable thing you can say about the republican party is that it has an image problem. president obama used his weekly address on saturday to challenge the republican opposition. >> extending unemployment insurance isn't just the right thing to do for our families, it's the smart thing to do for our economy. and it shouldn't be a partisan issue. for decades, congress has voted to offer relief to job seekers, including when the unemployment rate was lower than it is today. but now that economic lifeline is in jeopardy. all because republicans in this congress, which is on track to be the most unproductive in history, have so far refused to extend it. >> then, on sunday, fox news sunday' chris wallace asked rand paul about unemployment. >> do you, personally, do you support extending unemployment benefits or would you let 1

"the national journal" says the republican civil war is getting bloodier. "politico" writes the gop's private war goes public. basically, conservative groups like heritage, freedom works and americans for prosperity are urging members to vote against the deal. and it made speaker boehner angry. >> most major conservative groups have made statements blasting this deal. >> you mean the groups that came out and opposed it before they were sought? >> yes, those groups. are you worried -- >> they're using our members, and they're using the american people for their own goals. this is ridiculous. listen, if you're for more deficit reduction, you're for this agreement. >> a statement signed by more than 50 members of conservative groups reads, quote, it is clear that the conservative movement has come under attack on capitol hill today. and the head of the senate conservatives fund said, quote, john boehner has apparently decided to join mitch mcconnell in the war on conservatives. mcconnell called us fringe traitors who should be locked in a bar and punched in th

based on this headline that came out from the national journal where congress has the lowest output since this year alone congress will close the year with 58 public bills. they may add a few in the last day of the year but it's not going to change much substantially, you announced you're going to be running and seeking your 33rd year in congress. when we look at now having the lowest output since 1947, a member like yourself wants to go back. you want to go back to this rodeo one more time for the 23rd time. explain what you hope can kwhche with keeping your position. >> you know, when you have a bad marriage, and we are married to the republican party as a congress, you still have a bad marriage. and i have invested too much love and sacrifice in trying to improve the quality of life of most americans so that they can have the great opportunities that i've had. and the president has two more years to fulfill an exciting, progressive program that creates jobs, enhances education, gives hope to the poor that they can become the middle class and hope to the middle class that they can becom

in this "national journal" article out by ron fornier says if obama needs to shatter the cycle of dysfunction or risk leaving office like bush unpopular and relatively unaccomplished. he goes on to add both presidents deceived the public about their signature policies and their credibility crumbled. vice president dick cheney famously said the iraq insurgency was in its last throes. obama and his advisers characterized the website as glitches. as we look at this, ezra, and compare apples to apples if we can do so on this and just on the term "credibility," presidential credibility, the president has taken a hit. can he rebound? >> i find ron's analysis tends to put politics and what politicians say at an over essential role in the way american people evaluate them. what has hurt president obama is that they did a very bad job doing something real, right, rolling out the affordable care act, putting up healthcare.gov. what hurt president bush was first katrina gave him a little hit but the iraq war was just an absolute grinding disaster. the american people do not sit around waiting to hear wh

the return of the welfare queen, the latest story on "national journal" and hits the hot spots. the fancy sports car with the fins. this is back to the '60s. babies galore in the car. a tin of caviar. aforementioned kings cab legs flying out of a whole foods grocery bag. paperwork for welfare, food stamps, paper for medicare.gov blowing in the wind there and last but not least, a obama/biden bumper sticker. bobby brown, and margaret carlson. i don't know if you laugh at the ridiculousness of it or stereotypical. i'd love to see you in court as a prosecutor asking this character, lee bright, strangely named nickname. he's called mr. bright by his friends. here he's saying he has obviously not observed somebody with the fingernails he thinks are really delightful or with expensive bag which may well be a knockoff for all he knows and of course, driving around in a very zippy car. i don't think he's ever watched anybody in a line at a safeway or a piggly wiggly or any place he goes shopping. i think it's all stereotyping and all the game -- it's called the dog whistle. we know what

s who believe that the publishing of snowden's revelations that advantage in national security journal is going mood he believes it's all part of a public flogging campaign it's theater because it's actually for internal consumption it's really for the united kingdom and they view cameron is trying to demonstrate that he's the strong man that he's tough on terrorism that he's not going to let journalists you know tell him what to do and therefore he's coming out with these statements which for the rest of the world thinks pretty crazy because everyone is saying from president obama downwards that we should have this debate about what are the limits of surveillance and what kind of oversight should we have and is really only david cameron and the u.k. government that's saying we shouldn't do that. and as we reported line the n.s.a.'s appetite for private data seems only to be growing as a technical savvy u.s. intelligence to t.n.t. and twine don't world after it successfully launched a new surveillance out wide with a logo speaking for itself. plus joyous sandra maines holed up in ecuad

to talk about this, cnn senior political analyst, ron brownstein, editorial director of the national journal, and cnn political commentator, ryan lizza, also washington correspondent of "the new yorker." thanks for being with me on boxing day. happy holidays to you. you saw dana's piece. americans think this congress is just the worst but she also said the bar is low. is this the worst congress ever? >> it could get worse. we're only halfway through. it's year one of a two-year congress. >> wait, there's more. >> they could do even less next year. but look, when you have divided government with a democrat in the white house and democratic controlled senate and republican house, that's historically a unique set of circumstances and not a lot gets done. now, even given those circumstances, these guys managed to do less than previous congresses. >> it raises the question of what you think the purpose of congress is. if you think the purpose of congress is to, in a very forceful way, articulate the divergent views of the country who disagree, they are doing that. most members feel they are artic

six in ten in a recent national journal connection survey said cooperation between the white house andwill be just as bad next year as it is now with nearly a quarter saying there will be less agreements between the two parties. not a lot to look forward to. christi, victor. >> paul steinhouse. >> it's sunday, that means you've got to get ready for the week ahead. we'll help you do that. lets talk about what's going on. tuesday, nelson mandela's memorial service, president obama, former presidents george w. bush, bill clinton, all going to attend. move on to "times" person of the year. "times" editors choosing the person of the year who had such an impact or people talked about so much. as for the online poll, we know egypt's defense minister came out on top followed by others such as new jersey chris christie, amazon ceo jeff besos. and yes, miley cyrus as well. friday, lets talk about budget negotiation deadlines for congress. uh-huh. getting it done is going to avoid another federal shutdown. we'll see if it happens. saturday the one-year anniversary of the sandy hook shooting trage

cupp and cnn political analyst ron brownstein, editorial director of the national journal. we will start with you, ron. what's the white house doing? >> improvising and playing for time, really. because this really is a game about playing for time for them. they are looking at very difficult numbers in public opinion, as the polls showed again today, that aren't likely to get much better any time soon. it's been pretty consistent throughout. they have had enormous difficulty convincing most americans this will benefit them and their family or even benefit the country overall. that's very tough. on the other hand, the other set of numbers that they are watching are how many people can they sign up and get into the system because ultimately, if this is going to endure beyond his presidency, i think the key is building a constituency for it both in people who are obtaining the benefits and within the medical community that believes this is something that benefits them. that race, they're doing better on but still a long way to go on that front, too. >> what do you think? when

and you can tell me if i don't succeed on the news hour and in my work for the national law journal to play the court down the middle and try to give everyone enough information to make their own decision about whether you think the court did the right thing. so i think they viewed me as fair. but they are very nervous about talking to the press. it surprised me how many of them don't really understand the ground rules. one justice said i will talk to you but it is all off the record. and i said you know, i am an old fashion journalist and off the record means i cannot use anything you say to me unless i can find another party to say the same thing or confirm it. what about background that means i can use it but i don't say you said it or name you. and the justice said that is fine. so you would think after all of years they have been on the court and had interviews with press they would understand the ground rules. some of them only talks off the record but were gracious enough to let me go back and talk about things i would like to put on the record. scalia allowed me to put portions