the top white house advisor, david axlerod refusing to reveal the president's hand. >> i'm not going his program. >> on fox news sunday, walking back from earlier comments that the president was ready to give in, axlerod insisting the white house hasn't changed its position against a permanent extension of cuts for upper income taxpayers, but refused to rule out a temporary one. >> i've heard many different verifications discussed over the last week publicly, i've heard a variety of ideas surface publicly by various members of congress and others, and we're looking forward to getting together with the leaders of both parties in congress. >> if they let them expire the bottom tax rate will jump from 20 to 15%. top rates 39 in6% from 35%. a key party backer jim demint sounding ready to deal on the two or three-year extension of cuts for wealthy americans. >> well, if that's all we can get out of the president then he is the president, so we'll work with him on that, but i hope he doesn't come back with the idea that oh, we're going to raise taxes on 750,000 small businesses, as he's bee

the top white house adviser david axlerod refusing to reveal the president's hand.rom earlier comments that the president was ready to give in, insisting the white house hasn't changed its position against a permanent extension for cuts for upper income taxpayers. >> i've heard many different variations discussed over the past week publicly. i've heard a variety of efforts. we're looking forward to getting together with the leaders of both parties in congress. >> reporter: if they don't hammer out a deal, and do let the tax cuts expire, the bottom tax rate will jump from 10 to 15%. the top rate to 35.6%, from 35%. >> well if that's all we could get out of the president, and he is the president, so we'll work with him on that, but i hope he doesn't come back with the idea, we're going to raise taxes on 750,000 small businesses, as he's been talking about. i think if he can work on our side of the ledger, we might can work together. >> reporter: sounds like a compromise might be worked out with neither side ready to tell americans that their paychecks are getting slic

david axlerod getting pounded i think for acknowledging the obvious which is that the president now has to deal with the republican congress. are the tax cuts going to be extended, all of them and for how long? >> before we get to whether they will be, let's describe what will happen if they did extend them. if they extended all of those tax cuts for three years, he think it would just be the biggest check booster we've seen. cash will start to be unlocked from corporations and the stock market would go up. what are the chances, you know what, i'd say about 25%. >> 25%? >> yeah. >> to be-- in three years? >> that's right. >> wow. >> you mind if i get real? >> i put them higher than that. >> allow me to get cynical. >> i think this is a trap, paulment i really do. i do not think that the administration or the democrats are going to deal in good faith. i think the game is just what it was before the election, paint the republicans as the party of obstruction, and specifically tee up john boehner as the republican pelosi and you know, this new kinder john boehner is not the real john boehn

chris wallace in washington, he's on fox news sunday, of course, his guests include david axlerod ande just mentioned, jim demint. check your local listings for what time it's on in your town. bye, chris, see you later. gregg: telling the truth in washington? apparently there are no gaffes there. martha: yeah. gregg: all right. its name does not suggest all that much is going to be getting done, but could the lame duck session be one of the most productive yet for congress? what it could mean to your bottom line. martha: and a midair scare prompted this emergency landing. now there are new answers to the safety questions surrounding the biggest passenger jet that flies in the skies. gregg: plus, you'd probably get scared off the the water if you saw one of these heading your way. ♪ gregg: sharks and other animals overcome incredible obstacles to migrate. mother nature at her best, you're not going to want to miss this -- martha: whoa. gregg: look at that. martha: i guess the seaweed was just an appetizer or that he ha? just an appetizer or that he ha? hanging out gregg: sushi. good ho

the white house now addressing comments from the president's top adviser, david axlerod.s ready to accept an across-the-board extension of the bush tax cuts. mike emanuel's live at the white house. so, mike, what is mr. axlerod saying about the bush tax cuts today? >> reporter: there's sensitivity about the word permanent versus the word temporary. for upper-income individuals, the white house recognizes the new political reality is they need to strike a deal with the republicans, though they seem to be signaling a willingness to give a permanent extension of the middle class tax cuts, but a temporary extension for higher-income earners. in an e-mail to me from senior adviser david axlerod, he writes, quote, we need to extend tax cuts for the middle class. we can't afford to borrow another $700 billion for permanent tax cuts for the top 2%. there's pressure to get this done because if congress does not act during this lame duck session, everybody gets a tax hike starting in the new year, jenna. jenna: mike, we were talking about david axlerod, one of the top advisers to t

. >> a white house advisor david axlerod announced today he will leave his post to begin president obama's reelection campaign. axlerod told fox news sunday he will return to chicago in the late winter or early spring. the 55-year-old advisor served as mr. obama's steve strategist in the 2008 campaign. >> a previously secret justice department report shows that the u.s. knowingly allowed german nazi party members to live here after world war ii to work on the space program. arthur rudolf was one of the nasa scientists featured in the report published today in the new york times. now, according to the report, rudolf admitted to u.s. officials that in 1947 he directed a german rocket plant during the war where jews and others were used as slave labor. in spite of orders from president truman to keep nazis out of the u.s., rudolf became the father of the saturn 5 rocket that put americans on the moon. and previous court filings, the justice department said its report was never finalized and contains numerous factual errors. >>> coming up, finally a heroing experience at sea ends for a couple

sitting here a week ago after i talked to david axlerod and jim demint we all thought there is the dealorary increase of all of the bush tax cuts and no increase in rates for two years or three years or four years but that seems less likely rather than more likely this week. >> the interesting dynamic right now is just how opposed the democratic leaders are up -- up on shrill seem to be towards this white house. i think the white house always had a problem with capitol hill before and they were liked but never feared or respected. i think that have probably gotten worse. i think the other thing has to do with the simple fact that the republicans up on the hill are sowing their oats a little bit and they feel like they have all the leverage and leverage right now is the most important thing you can have in the lame duck. and john boehner and mitch mcconnell are willing to work and wait until they have a clean slate come january. >> chris: why do you think that they put off the meeting until november 30? >> i take everybody at their word that there were different problems, scheduling issu

. >> they are bringing in david and david axlerod will be going to chicago. as they gear up, who do they think they would be running against? >> they would like it to be sarah palin. if this is playing out as we all think, then there are all sorts of divisions within the republican party they think they can exploit. we may end up with a republican like mitt romney or mitch daniels. they are looking at those governors as well. i quote the vice president talking about how some of those governors have taken recovery money and they are going to be railing against obama's economic policies. they see openings where maybe the polls don't show it. >> the polls show a dead heat, obama versus romney. a dead heat, obama verse su huckabee. a 48-40 over sarah palin. >> let me play a little bit more of barbara bush, who with former president bush, bush 41, was on "larry king live" and asked about sarah palin. >> what's your read about sarah palin? >> well, i sat next to her once, thought she was beautiful and i think she is very happy in alaska and i hope she will stay the

the president opened the door last week on 60 minutes and david axlerod walked back and angered a lot wait a second you're opening the door on this thing, a lot of democrats are upset with the white house over this, because they felt as if they sort of gave them too much. almost enough rope to hang themselves with. let them back it off a little bit and that's what they're upset about. >> senator orrin hatch talked about this very thing. listen. >> and trying to act like he's the only one that cares for the middle class. there is not anybody who doesn't want the middle class to have this tax relief, but we also need to have 800,000, 750 to 800,000 small businesses that would be thrown into the extra tax that the president wants to charge and we create 75% of all new jobs, so it's just stupid to not kick it completely over and i think the president knows it. >> and senator max baucus is talking about it and i was suggesting the small businesses that orrin hatch was talking about. >> and what do you think. should congress do what the tax cuts and the big numbers, 53% say extend cuts for

whether or not there's a compromise on a two-year extension it seems open to that and of course david ax axlerod will be on. and president george w. bush waded into the talk and he tried to awide it, but finally this week he weighed into it with bill o'reilly. take a listen. >> i think it's important to understand that most jobs are created by small businesses. many small businesses pay income tax at the individual rate and therefore, raising any income taxes will cause there to be less capital available for small businesses which will make it harder create jobs. >> all right. now, you're looking for a place where there might actually be compromise, dave, i know you always are. this might be the topic that gets democrats and republicans and even tea partiers together perhaps and it's an earmark. okay, there are people on the democratic side. >> pork. >> and certainly, the tea partiers who are anti-pork and in fact the tea party has more of a coalition to press the g.o.p. to ban all earmarks and some republicans are pushing back on this, and saying that they don't want to do that. >> right, senat

david axlerod saying the president only wants a temporary extension for the higher earners and they doorary. drama on the bay bridge where police arrested a man threatening to kill himself with explosives. remember this blast from the past? >> we struck out with the vault. i'm disappointed. this is one time in my life a post gold would have been a lot more fun than chasing the rainbows. our sonic test must have been slightly awry because we didn't find the much heralded hollow spaces we were led to believe were in there. i told the critics if we didn't find anything, i would sing a song. ♪chicago, chicago megyn: how adorable. nothing was in al capone's vault. nothing big, anyway. it was a golden live tv moment and geraldo rivera got to relive it on a special edition of oprah. a who's who of talk show hosts. our own geraldo reflecting on that big tv blooper >> i was sailing with my family around the world. i was in the panama canal. someone said we have a vault in chicago if you want to come open it on live tv? i said how much? they said $25,000. >> you got $50,000 for opening that vaul

david axlerod, the president's top adviser, told chris wallace just last sunday on fox news sunday thatin the current legislation are already done. i mean, they're embedded, and he doesn't see they're going to be taken out. if that's the case, republicans are going to have a ripe target, and the target is going to have president obama's face right in the bull's eye. shannon: we know that this spending is just a fraction, a tiny portion of the federal budget, but what is this, is it really just about symbolism, these folk who are stepping up to say, time to get rid of them? >> you know, i think it is about symbolism, but here's the thing, it's not about specifically cutting the budget, shannon, so much as it is about the notion of corruption and waste. and that speaks to the idea that the government is too large which is a refrain we heard from voters in exit polls in the last midterm election. they think government's too big, too wasteful and as a result, taxes the american people too much and the like. so what earmark have become is the first step, it's the evidence that the government

david axlerod saying the white house is willing to accept an extension of the cuts. but it's not for everyone. just for the middle class. the bush tax cuts set to expire in january if they do not get a deal. a family making $50,000 could see a tax increase of $2,900. happening here in america's newsroom. first backlash on that number right there. a bold new proposal. our national debt $13 trillion. now the commission responsible for crafting a plan to bring that number down giving a sneak peek at the radical proposals. lots on the line. i see you are wearing the red for the red ink. happy veteran's day. i'm bill hemmer. martha: i'm martha maccallum. president obama's bipartisan debt commission has drafted a report that targets everything from social security to medicare to the u.s. retirement age. they say if we don't implement these strong changes the u.s. will be head for disaster. bill: president obama telling critics on both sides of the aisle hold your fire. at first blush you have seen the proposals and you have seen what, stewart? >> extraordinarily bold. this

president obama has signaled his willingness through his advisor david axlerod.ssing matters than a ban on earmarks. two very major things loom. whether to extends the 2001-2003 bush era tax cuts. obama said they do not want to extend them and make them permanent for folks earning over a quarter million. republicans say no go. that is a major battle that needs to be resolved. in addition there is the question of keeping the government open. they don't have a budget passed because of the controversy over don't ask, don't tell gays in the military. those things undone. republicans with their new chief party strength and the wind at their backs aren't likely to let that line in the sands shift at all. >> reporter: what are the odds we wind up with another government shutdown? >> reporter: there can be a continuing resolution, what what we refer to as a cr. where they say we'll keep the government open at current spending levels until we work out the math. republicans are not going to give any ground knowing in the house they will have the majority and let democrats

on wednesday david axlerod made headlines, telling "the washington post," obama was ready to give in. the president. >> that is the wrong interpretation, because i haven't had a conversation with republican democratic leaders. here is the right interpretation. i want to make sure that taxes don't go up for middle class families starting on january 1st. that's my number one priority. for those families and for our economy. . >> reporter: well, the president sits down with republican and democratic leaders next week to try to hammer out a deal and republicans want a tax break for everyone. so the pressure is on to avoid a jam and if there's no action by the end of the year during the lame duck session, kelly current tax rates expire across the board and the huge question at this point of course, how far is obama willing to move on a very really money issue for millions of americans. if the tax rates expire the bottom tax rate jumps from 10 to 15% and the top rate 39.6% from 35%. there's real money differences there, kelly. >> real indeed. julie kirtz bringing us the details. thanks so m

on the sunday talk shows, white house adviser david axelrod said the president is opposed to a permanent extension of the cuts, but axlerod refused to tip the administration's hand on negotiations. >> these taxes the way the bush tax cuts were designed, are going to expire on january 1st. we want people to have the certainty of knowing that's not going to happen. congress ought to, before they go on vacation, ensure that people have better vacations of their own by knowing that this matter has been taken care of. we will work hard to do that. >> he's open to compromise, is that fair? >> the bottom line is he wants to sit down and talk about this, but -- >> is he open to compromise? >> there's no bend on the permanent extension of tax cuts for the wealthiest americans. >> he's open to compromise? >> he wants to sit down. we want to get this done. the american people expect to get this done and we are -- we are eager to sit down and talk about how to move forward. i'm not going to negotiate with you on this program. let me repeat what the president's position is. we have to extend these middle-class tax cuts, absolutely hav