for that krnconference. the number of times in which earmarks came up is something that would help congress work together more effectively. very striking. they certainly believe members, staff, believe that earmarks are helpful in cutting deals especially true in the house. i don't think it's the story of understanding how we got to budget agreements, however. i think it smooths the path for other lower profile legislation more often than is key to understanding a fiscal deal. >> i agree with that. earmarks have a very long history and not just in this country, the 18th century english parliament ran on a combination of patronage and earmarks basically and was very stable. as francis dasaid, we think nowf earmarks as a lubricant, a way of getting people to get to agreement by essentially bribing them. what i think we're trying to move toward, at least we in the congressional process, everybody in this room has been talking about this, is to look at other ways of getting those kinds of agreeme agreements, oth