i want to bring in former senate majority leader, george mitchell. senator mitchell, president clinton's special envoy to northern ireland and served as two years as president obama's special envoy to middle east peace. thank you for stopping by. israel's announcement of increased settlement construction, criticized kbi the white house as quote counterproductive. france, great britain and the eu also criticized. >> the location as opposed to the number. the announcement to build on the area that is known as e-1, designated in that way. is highly significant. because no government of israel has previously announced major construction in that area. it's pretty much open land. and it represents the possible last link in blocking a geographically contiguous palestinian state. so it's highly significant and will be seen that way in the region. >> are the settlements, are they the biggest impediment to a long-term solution? >> no i don't think they are the single-biggest impediment, i think they are one of the impediments, i think it's a mistake to assign r

the surpluses of the 1990's were generated by the agreement that came out of what tom foley and george mitchell and bob dole and george herbert walker bush did with the budget enforcement act, which required those budgets to make sure they did not spend more than they took in. i think the surpluses of the 90 or the best legacy of the budget agreement. i will stop there. >> thank you. let's turn to my old boss, the former chairman of this particular committee. a little factoid, he will remain in history as the longest-serving chairman of this committee because of term limitations placed after his departure. senator. >> thank you. thank you for your interesting remarks. it is interesting to see how things are similar and how things are so different. i want to say to all of you, my voice is not as good as it used to be. they tell me i still have hopes of it coming back. my recollection is not as good as it used to be. i will not contribute as much. i do want to say i think this is an exciting thing to do i hope you finish it. i hope you put down what happened now, what happened then, what happened

it was george mitchell who make fraking possible. why do they love wind power. they are the biggest buechlers for birds around. >> it is amazement that we are having the discussion . it never worked in the past and if markets can't support wind energy no reason to subsidize it >> bill, over all factor, we are trying to cut the expensive government. wind power is going in the opposite. that is a program despite paying billions hasn't paid off. >> it hasn't paid off. i am trying to dole with a congressional addiction . green stuff, i have to feed it somehow and it is the least harmful way. >> they are green addiction it is our dollars . they are spending trilons on that. >> it goes to big companies. wind energy and seimens and ge know where to get the trax break. >> you are against corp right welfare f. you are ge and other companies that love to kiss up to the government this is a way to do it. >> that is if you cut subsidies for everyone. >> okay, okay. >> and we'll be giving billions. >> john, aren't you good with cutting the subsidies. >> hold on, morgan isn't

i'll pose that question to former special middle east enjoy george mitchell coming up at 9:15 eastern time. >>> so what is the future for pop star psy? he may have the most popular video in the history of youtube, but an old video surfaced of the rapper calling for the death of american troops serving in iraq. if you are one of the millions of men who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with

i spoke with george mitchell last night on the program. about to speak with senator trent lott. bought have written op-eds. in talking to them it's like talking to adults because they're talking about, you know, the way it was even five or six years ago where people actually had meetings with each other on opposite sides, and you know, knew each other and didn't just kind of disappear to their opposite corners and fly away to their home districts. they actually compromised. it's amazing to me how much things have changed just in the last couple of years. >> it's true, anderson. it's dramatic. and i think there's a lot of blame to go around here. i don't want to try to push it one way or the other. but seeing bob dole on the floor yesterday of the congress, on the disability question and remembering how bob dole and george mitchell, how much they respected each other, how much they worked together, how much they both wanted to negotiate. there was a sense in the senate especially, but even in the house some years ago, that the purpose of being there was to make progress for the c

earlier, i spoke with former senator george mitchell.obama's former middle east envoy. i asked him what the u.s. can do to solve the crisis in syria. >> i believe the united states should not intervene millitarily in syria. that's what i said. i do not favor standing aside. there are many other ways in which we can and have been involved, primarily diplomatically, economically, and supporting other of our allies who are providing direct assistance to the rebels in syria. but i want to remind people, we just finished a ten-year war in iraq, we're trying to end a 12-year war in afghanistan. a military intervention by the united states now, to have a third war in the middle east going, i think would be a mistake and it wouldn't solve the problem. that's the central issue. it wouldn't solve the problem. you said 40,000 people have died in your preparatory report here. that's true. that's a terrible tragedy. every one of them. but five million people have died in the congo. should we intervene there? of course not. people want us to intervene

. >> and former senator george mitchell has said the united states needs to stay out of syria while senatorscain and lieberman said thursday that the u.s. must get involved. what is the fear if the u.s. does get involved? >> well, precisely that. that they don't want to get bogged down. nobody is talking about putting american boots on the ground or any other boots on the ground. the question is, can you take other military measures that will stop this war? i think what you have now, most sort of seasoned observers and most people who look at what could possibly be done to mitigate this nearly two-year war now in which more than 40,000 people, men, women and children have been slaughtered and after nearly two years of this administration saying, you know, assad must step down and it not happening, the best one can hope for, perhaps, is that you know some kind of intervention that shortens this war. without intervention, it's going to be a long war. u.s. officials have told me that despite the gains by the rebels recently, they don't see any sign that assad or his regime are going to crack or

. >> i spoke with george mitchell last night and i was about to say, in talking to them, it is like talking to adults, they are talking to people five or six years ago they had meetings with each other and knew each other and kind of disappear to opposite corners and fly away to home districts. it is amazing to me how much things have changed in the last couple of years. and i think there is a lot of blame. there was a sense in the senate, but even in the house that the purpose of being there was to make progress for the country. and yes you made your arguments loud and clear. but at the end of the day you sat it out. all this week, we have been focusing on what it is about this administration that makes it seem like compromise seems like a dirty word. we have been talking with past leaders who sat down at the tab table. listen to him. senator mitchell who we spoke with yesterday on the program, you said one solution was for congress to start holding routine committee hearings, i think most americans would be surprised to hear that, that is their job. most of us would assume isn't that thei

spokesman says those cuts could force the defense department to abandon its new military strat george mitchell it's also likely to affect spending, as well as how the military provides for troops and their families. >>> this morning, signs that there may actually be movement on the fiscal cliff talks. kayla is live with that. >> reporter: a little bit of movement potentially. president obama and house speaker john boehner spoke by phone yesterday as democrats and republicans continue to dig their heels in over this budget standoff. there's been no announcement of any new face the face talks as lawmakers try to reach a deal to avoid the so called fiscal cliff in january. treasury secretary tim geithner tells cnbc republicans have made a little progress, but the obama administration is "absolutely ready to go over the cliff if the gop doesn't agree to raise tax rates on wealthy americans." apple has lost a bit of its shine. the tech giant stock suffering its worst day in four years on thursday. several factors may have been at play. investors worried apple may be giving up ground in the tablet m

. >> former senate majority leader george mitchell knows what it's like to be in the middle of the debate. he joins me now. senator mitchell, you more or less have been in john boehner's shoes. you were a congressional leader hammering out a tax and spending cut deal with the president of the opposing party. how is what we're seeing now different than what you experienced two decades ago? >> it's similar in terms of the issues, the positions of the parties have been that way for a long time. it's different in several respects. first, when i was there, it was the president who had made the no tax pledge. president bush the first, as you'll recall, made a very famous no tax pledge which he eventually backed off of. in this case, it's the congress. the republicans in the congress specifically, who have made the tax pledge, and the president who is trying to get them to break it. secondly, the numbers are very much reflecting the passage of time. we were very concerned because we thought the budget was going to be -- the deficit was going to be about $150 billion. that shocked everyone into a

days, even the '80s and '90s you came to the cliff and there was bob dole and pete dough min chi george mitchella way back. and now it is just much more difficult. the polarization is much more entrenched and harder for these parties to come together, even when they feel the alternative is worse. >> they no longer feel the alternative is worse. both sides seem to feel the alternative is better than if we act in the next ten days. >> i will move you to guns real quickly. so much going on with the fiscal cliff, it's hard to imagine they are going to jump into this gun debate really any time soon. i think people say, oh, we're going to act now on guns. well, now is a relative term on capitol hill. when will that happen? >> that can be any time in the next decade. we saw the president try to buy some time this week by appointing his task force and putting joe biden in charge of it. his first meeting is with cops. i suspect the second and third meeting will be with cops. there aren't a lot of other people to meet. it will be a long time as senator lieberman said before we have what is required to pas

former senate majority leader george mitchell has ideas on how to get a deal.speak to a political panel, eric erickson and rich gaylen and what it will take to stop the suffering in syria. we show heart breaking pictures of these like a family fleeing for 21 months now. we know it's hard to watch. we think it's worth making sure the world knows what is happening inside the country. senator john mccain has also been keeping a close eye on syria. you'll hear from him tonight. >>> and the image of a man in the final seconds of his life about to be struck by a subway train. we'll ask dr. drew pinsky about why he was being photographed instead of rescued. there was a lot of people standing around on the platform. should they have gotten involved. a lot more at the top of the hour. >> we'll see you in a few minutes. >>> now our fifth story "outfront." did hollywood get access to classified information? "zero dark 30" is about the situation in which osama bin laden was killed. it hasn't opened yet but has oscar buzz and is sloweded in controversy. republicans say the

senator majority leader george mitchell joins me. >> my mom wanted me to be able to play and i hatedher wouldn't let me play anything interesting. i got bored and quit and didn't touch it for 20 years. and then i heard this piece on the radio and i thought it was impossible for a human to play that. i couldn't imagine being able to move my hands that fast. and i got obsessed with it. it's the third movement of the moonlight sonata. [ male announcer ] this december, remember -- you can stay in and share something... or you can get out there and actually share something. ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is on. this is the pursuit of perfection. there's a health company that can help you stay that way. what's healthier than that? but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers f

. >> can you imagine a bob dole or george mitchell not getting that done?> no. >> and the president did go to $400,000 on the tax level. i think it's clear he probably would go to $500,000, too. >> sure. >> the really important thing he did, he went along with the republican demands of entitlements on acola. that's a big deal. and means testing, affluent seniors for medicare. that's not as far as some are willing to go. >> it is, though. there is no doubt the president doing that, the white house is getting killed. >> by the left wing. >> by the left on -- and i think that really is the measure. they're getting killed. >> on acola. >> andrea, i creditized the white house a month or two ago about the president always talking about being courageous, but he was always courageous on the health care bill, on the stimulus, all these things that republicans weren't going to support anyway. but here it's significant. here talking about the cost of living adjustments. that's a lot of money over time. i thought boehner going to $1 million was significant as well. the

george mitchell, margaret smith, bill cohen.ll of them, like columbia, exemplifies the principal that public office is a sacred trust. olympia's inspiring record of service is but part of an even more inspiring life story. several times from childhood on olympia has been visited by tragedy that would have caused most people to become discouraged, disheartened, and negative. each time, she rose up transcending her personal tragedy and was more determined than before to succeed and to contribute to a better life for others. for well-deserved popularity transcends party lines and is testament to her strengths and her spirit. the people of maine and america are grateful for her many years of service. i am grateful for her leadership and her friendship. i know that olympia snowe will continue to influence national policy for many years to come. but independent angus king will be filling the seat of retired olympia snowe. he was elected with nearly 53% of the vote. mr. king says he will caucus with the democrats for committee assignme

aaronburg was an aide to senator carl levin as well as to senator tsongas around majority leader george mitchell, so a long career of experience here on the floor of the senate. and the other was robert dove, who is robert dove? he was the parliamentarian of this chamber. he spent his time working here from 1966 to 2001. and in the chapter of their book titled "bring in the cots" they explain how this works. between pages 146 and 152. here are a couple of the passages that i thought summed it up. "those who call for forcing the filibusterers to talk either ignore or are unaware of the fact that for a sizable organized minority and certainly for a minority of 41 senators or more, lengthy sessions are little more than exercises in scheduling. the filibusterers are able to take turns holding the floor and since they can demand the presence of a quorum at virtually every moment it is the majority that carries the heavier burden because they need to keep 51 senators nearby. if the filibusterers call for a quorum and it is not produced under the rules, the senate must adjourn. they lay out the theory.

who have preceded me from maine at nasty to go colin the former majority leader of the senate, george mitchell. throughout my tenure i was born witness to governance as an instrument for the common good. i've also experienced its capacity for sterile dysfunction indeed as i stated in announcing it would not seek a fourth term in the united states senate. it is regrettable that excessive polarization today is presenting preventing us in this monumental consequences for a nation. as i prepared to conclude my service, that may be abundantly clear. i am not leaving the senate because of believing in its potential for a no that the institution, but precisely because they do. i'm simply taking my commitment to the senate in a different direction. i intend to work on the outside to help build support to those in this institution were working to reestablish as a place of refuge from the passion of politics, as a foreign. as our founding fathers truly intended. because the senate in particular is our essential legislative mechanism for distilling the vast diversity of ideologies and opinions in america

chris mitchell, cbn news. >> george: and protests rocked egypt as morsi moved to expand his power. he issued a decree giving him control of all branches of government. >> wendy: and he backed the constitutional assembly two months early without the input of christians or other minorities. now some are calling morsi a new pharaoh. once again, highe here is chris mitchell. >> they want morsi either to step down or rescind his decrees. >> the position is obvious, there is no negotiation. and the political powers will not meet with president mohammed morsi until he has cancelled the constitution of declaration. >> reporter: morsi's decree stated no one can change or reverse any of his decisions. it puts him in charge of executive, legislative, and judicial. he claims it is only temporary, but many disagree, like mohammed al-baradi. >> we have a doubt. we thought we had moved from the pharaoh-type to the 21st century, and now we're back to having a new pharaoh. the country, in short, is falling apart. >> reporter: egypt's stock market lost 10% of its value over the political instability

when george mitchell announced his retirement in 1994, olympia threw her hat in the ring and won in a landslide, with 60% of the vote against her opponent's 36%, and carrying every county in the state. believe it or not, it was the smallest margin of victory she has enjoyed in three senate races. with this victory, olympia became the only woman in history to serve in both houses of her state legislature and both houses of congress. in the senate, olympia has worked tirelessly as a member of the finance committee, the armed services committee, the committee on commerce, science and transportation, the select committee on intelligence and as chair of the committee on small business and entrepreneurship. now, a lot of people like to focus on olympia's independent streak but my experience is that she herself has always cared most deeply about the people of maine. she has gone to great efforts over the years to talk to her constituents directly. i have made main street tours across the state a hallmark of my tenure in public office, she once said. they are like my secret poll. it's through

join the pantheon of great leaders that our state has produced: margaret chase smith, ed muskie, george mitchell and bill cohen. all of them, like olympia, exemplify the principle that public office is a sacred trust. olympia's inspiring record of service is but part of an even more inspiring life story. several times from childhood on olympia has been visited by tragedy that would have caused most people to become discouraged, disheartened and negative. but each time olympia rose up, transcended her personal tragedy and was more determined than before to succeed and to contribute to a better life for others. her well-deserved popularity among maine people transcends party lines and is testament to her strength and her spirit. the people of maine and america are grateful for her many years of service. i am grateful for her leadership and her friendship. and i know that olympia snowe will continue to influence national policy for many years to come. mr. president, we have a tradition in the senate of referring to our colleagues on the senate floor during debate as "my friend from this state" or "

who have receded me, from ed muskie to bill cohen and the former majority leader of the senate, george mitchell. throughout my tenure i've borne witness to government's incredible potential as an instrument for that common good. i have a also experienced its capacity for serial dysfunction. indeed, as i stated in announcing i would not seek a fourth term in the united states senate, it is regrettable that excessive political polarization in washington today is preventing us from tackling our problems in this period of monumental consequences for our nation. but as i prepare to conclude my service in elective office, let me be abundantly clear. i'm not leaving the senate because of cease believing in its potential or i no longer love the institution, but precisely because i do. i'm simply taking my commitment to the senate in a different direction. i intend to work from the outside to help build support for those in this institution who will be working to reestablish the senate roots as a place of refuge from the passion of politics, as a forum where the political fires are tepid, not stoked. as

on senator mitchell, he said, "george could utter the most partisan statements and still sound as innocent as a choir boy." [laughter] he said, "he is such a man of intelligence and charm, i could disagree with him and still be his friend." on senator biden, "joe was smart, young, ambitious, disorganized, and bursting with energy and enthusiasm." what has changed? on david souter, he said on david souter, he said something -- each of us

. >>> topping the headlines on andrea mitchell reports, former president george h.w.en moved to the intensive care unit of a houston hospital where he's been battling a cough since november. the 88-year-old was moved to the icu recently after a foout few setbacks including a persistent fever. doctors are optimistic. >>> another member of president obama's administration is stepping down. lisa jackson, head of the veermtal protection agency. jackson answers tenure includes mat matches. they've praised the effort with families close. >>> the late senator daniel inouye's successor will be sworn in today. hawaii's lieutenant governor flew to washington with president obama earlier today. he was chosen for the position by neal abercrombie despite inouye's choice that colleen take his seat. he's just 40 years old. >>> and russian president vladimir putin says he will sign a law banning adoptions of russian children by american citizens. putin has indicated he is, quote, retaliating against an american law that punishes russians accused of human rights violations. the state

george h.w. bush's health. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. we've all had those moments. when you lost the thing you can't believe you lost. when what you just bought, just broke. or when you have a little trouble a long way from home... as an american express cardmember you can expect some help. but what you might not expect, is you can get all this with a prepaid card. spends like cash. feels like membership. >>> and developing news on a story we've been following here for days args spokesman for former president george h.w. bush is telling nbc news doctors have seen a, quote, slight improvement in his condition. this morning, joining me from houston on the latest on the 41st president's health. little bit of good news, charles. >> reporter: certainly is, luke, i spoke with a spokesman for the bush family that doctors are seeing a slight improvement, his fever is now gone, but the 88-year-old former president remains at methodist hospital here in houston, where he's been before thanksgiving, suffering from a chronic cough. doctors remain cautiously optimistic that he wi

one of them, the famous walk in the woods by paul mitchell, and roswell will identify with this. george shultz and secretary of state for approximately a month came to the state department for somebody well versed in economics and business. he wasn't somebody who paid attention to the strategic nuclear balance at that time. i got a call and paul mitchell was coming in to have lunge from the state department and went to the lunch and paul and secretary shultz, on his informal chats with the russian ambassador on their proposed arms control which would have led to lower levels, not the zero option, but would not converge to missile all narrowed out. the big problem, when i listen to this, the secret of our success, very close to the allies. the fact that our ambassador without telling anyone and giving them a sense of ownership is very dangerous. the reason he didn't go off of the road was the russians turned down that deal. they could have stopped it in our tracks. one other quick anecdotes we deployed those missiles about a month after a crisis in which the soviets shot down of korean a

a building named after mitt's father, george romney, who according to buzz feed opposed right to work laws, unlike his son. but governor snyder tells an dia mitchellthat this is about helping workers. >> i think it's a good thing. it's about being pro-worker. it's about giving freedom of choice to workers and secondly as was mentioned in the earlier report, it's about economic development. >> that's what we describe as a crack burger. the president stated on monday what actually will happen. >> these so-called right to work laws, they don't have to do with economics. they have everything to do with politics. what the they're really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money. >> joining us now is julian epstein, a democratic strategist, and dr. james peterson, an associate professor at lehigh university and a contributor to thegrio.com. welcome to you both. julian, you spent a considerable amount of time toiling in michigan politics. you know the phrase right to work is about as good a euphemism as fair and balanced. this has nothing to do whatsoever with right to work, does it? >> no. this is a gratuitous attack on the labor move

mitchell off of the bench, scoring a season high 19 points. the terps won 11 in a row and that is the longest winning streak in a decade. georgeason plays south florida tonight, american at 6th-ranked kansas. >>> meanwhile, losing to three of the last four games and out west facing byu15 secs into the game and hits the 3-point, later in the first half, left all alone and guess what? hits another 3-pointer and had 29 points in the first half and eddie with the offensive board and the putback and with that team high of 17 points. and with that rebound to davies and the foul, the career high, 42 points, virginia tech falls to byu, 97-71 and the hokies open up acc play next saturday, hosting maryland. >>> tonight, the wizards can win back-to-back games the first time since last april. early on, things didn't look good against the magic. nelson made four first-quarter 3-pointers and with that 25-8 lead. in the second quarter, rallying back from a 17-point deficit and off the rebound. the perfect alley-oop for the dunk and had 11. the wizards led by 3 at the half. in the second half, this time gives it to a cutting nene down the lan

george bush but he opened a national dialogue and the nation rejected it. i don't think the president -- and by the way, nancy pelosi yesterday on andrea mitchell was saying she votes for this. >> bill: i know. >> caller: i feel like i have been betrayed. >> bill: i do, too, jean. i think a lot of people feel like they have been betrayed. >> that's why i asked barbara lee and she said nancy hasn't talked to her but john conyers said nancy has been twisting arms. she said this is a deal she could go along with. maybe raising the 250 to 400 is -- could go along with for democrats. not social security. i would hope every democrat would vote against this. en though obama our president. time magazine has announced their person of the year for 2012 is: president barack obama with a great big reelection win. time magazine's person of the year. good pick even though we don't like the social security compromise. >> this is "the bill press show." i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look ou