, you're moving the goalposts, you're tearing down the goalposts.- >> that line clearly has touched a nerve with folks at the white house. there's no question about that. but when you take a step back, as you have, kind of in writing your book, as well as kind of looking at this piece, is the less about moving the goalposts for both sides and more about both sides just trying to win this in the political sense? >> i guess so. i mean, there's got to be some explanation. i mean, you've done this for a long time too. it is baffling that they can't sit down and work out something that really would be sensible. you don't have -- it doesn't have to be cuts or tax increases or entitlement reform. now, the things they were talking about in the summer, i have all of the -- or a lot of the documentation, in the summer of 2011, it was stuff to begin in ten years on the entitlement reform. or five years. there is a way to work with this out and the question is, what's the impact in the business world, the average consumer, i mean, the stock market shooting up.

the first is it is very difficult to reach compromises when you consistently move the goalposts here it as you know, the bca, that was supposed to be a compromise. i have a list of quotes from the president and others in the white house talking about the fact that it was a compromise. no sooner than it got past, all of a sudden you started moving the goalposts and trying to get more revenue. second, a month or so ago we had a big debate. the crisis time coming out whether we would increase tax rates. the goalposts were moveon appeared the second thing is, the president has a difficult time talking to people who do not agree with him. so if you will see inset of the president bringing individuals in congress who might disagree with him and sit down and talk to them to see if they can resolve those differences, the president has surrounded himself with campaign stops where he puts people who already agree with him around a chair and clap at everything he says. if you want to reach a compromise, the best way to do that is to go in a room with people who might disagree with you and try t

. >> neil: what about the argument the president changed the goalpost knowing full well you couldn'tevenues and all of a sudden revenues were raised as part of the equation. was he right? >> we can have a legitimate debate. >> neil: who says there's no debate, the president changed the goalpost. >> the president has been saying a dollar for a dollar for a while. it was originally 2.5 dollars for a dollar. >> neil: when republicans say its disproportionately tax hikes over suspending cuts -- >> democrats think all the republicans want to do is raise taxes. democrats think republicans want to cut spending and social programs. okay, compromise. 45 billion in -- 55 billion in revenue, 55 billion in cuts. but that's the -- >> neil: the problem, joe, is not the amount of money coming in. a trillion more goes out than comes in. shouldn't that be the focus? >> you're right. i'm trying to deal with the sequestration. i said earlier when we were off the air for a second, it's like look, we got to get rid of five pound. we all agree. we could have lipo suction, we could stop eating carbs or cut

rethink your comment saying that the president of the united states asking for revenues is moving the goalpost. as i friend i think you will regret staking out that claim. woodward, of watergate fame, wrote back you don't have to apologize to me. this is part of a serious discussion. it welcome the personal advice. i am listening. conservatives are divided. eric erickson tweeted "wow! finally read the e-mail to woodward i must now move to not a threat camp." karl rove, fox news contributor, seeing it differently. >> when you say you will regret this, it carries implied threat or they want to do, or send it to broader group. maybe other reporters will get the message if you screw with us and it's chicago style politics in return. >> even lanny davis that dealt with the press in president clinton impeach. considers the e-mail inappropriate and says some of the columns from the "washington times" prompted similar threats. >> i was told most threatened by the editor if he continues to run my columns he would lose, the reporters would lose white house credentials. that is unfortunate. it is. >> the

a substitute for sequester include not just spending cuts but also new revenue, he is moving the goalposta balanced approach is reasonable and he makes a strong case that those in the top income brackets could and should pay more. but that is not the deal he made. just to point this out, the white house is adamant that that is not accurate. they have always pushed for additional revenues to be part of any deal on avoiding these spending cuts. what does all this say to you. >> i'll let bob woodward in the white house litigate who is right on that matter. disagreement abounds i would agree with peggy more than she suspects. business community, working people, pedestrians can't survive and live and flourish if we operate our government at the federal level month by month, three quarter by quarter round clips. reality 9.4% in automatic cuts if this sequester goes through, 8.25 to discretionary spending. i've heard the president and my friends in congress and manages say they wish they had a scalpel to move things around but they don't. the thing that's the most important to me, and i heard ma

he moved the goalposts from the negotiations he had in 2011. the white house is saying that woodward completely misinterpreted this e-mail that he had with we now know gene sperling. when he said, you're going to regret staking out this position, it's not like you're going to regret doing this because you're going to pay for it or you'll pay for it through access but you'll regret it because you're wrong. to that point they put out a statement saying, of course, no threat was intended, as mr. woodward noted the e-mail from the aide was sent to apologize for voices being raised in their previous conversation. the note suggested that mr. woodward would regret the observation he made. we were on the phone call they had, and as you know having covered the white house, do you sometimes have phone calls where you're getting a substantial amount of pushback. i don't think we completely know the entire story but the white house is saying he misinterpreted this e-mail. >> you know, i guess it really just underscores how important this debate is. who get

>> it that is a liberal agenda, we have really move the goalposts in our country. i thought the speech -- the sum of the parts did not create a greater whole. i thought that the parts of it were really good. i liked the minimum wage, i like to the education, i liked it training, i particularly liked the gun -- at the end. but there wasn't come in richard nixon's turn, the lift of a driving dream. >> colby? >> i don't think it was supposed to be the kind of address. i think he laid out an agenda he wants to pursue. i think he will achieve some of it. it will happen with immigration reform, i believe it, maybe not to the extent he wants. i think he will get something on guns. there is a movement out there and he hit it just right, the tone on it. minimum wage will be the traditional fight, but i think he was right to lay down the agenda that he wants to he will have to pursue it with the democrats because he will get very little support from republicans. >> nina, put your schoolmarm face on. on a grade of a to f, what would you give the speech? >> b+. there was a cer

the some municipalities of the northern states like pennsylvania as well they'll keep moving the goalposts in terms of the kind of barriers they'll put up to people being able to vote that are just absolutely ridiculous are first of all they're totally unsupported by for. they were genuine they stared ready now to disenfranchise eight hundred thousand people and when you ask them how many voter fraud cases do you have the answer is well not really that many if any it's ridiculous what they have going on here and i got to tell you daryn part of the problem with this and with citizens united is the fact that american voter turnout is by world standards abysmally low we had an election in venezuela recently eighty five percent of the electorate turned out when korea was reelected in ecuador eighty three percent of the electorate turned out over the last time we had seventy five percent of the american electorate turn out really is a serious problem and these guys are just committed to making it worse pap you're an attorney and and quite familiar with a lot of how laws made it seems to me in t

goalpost going off. it was like a scene from a site for a movie but with one exception it was real first the brilliant flash is big bright like he was shiny across the sky you know blinding brighter than the sun the skies were lit up by a meteor streaking across the skies above the russian city of over one of the half thousand kilometers east of moscow where not just any usual glare on the floor i thought of all lines from a car then we went to the window and saw this strange cloud and then and then this . would turn around and the wall was a gun at someone had moved it this eries of massive explosions rocked the entire city damaging buildings and shattering windows. nasa said the explosive force of the media were breaking up was the equivalent of two one to hear oshima bombs over twelve hundred people were injured including over two hundred children mostly from pieces of shattered glass. the windows just exploded i saw one girl he had and a growing his hand we were told to quickly put our clothes on and

it's difficult to reach compromise when you consistently move the goalposts. as you all know, the bca was supposed to be a compromise. they talk about the fact it is a compromise, but no sooner than it got passed, all of a sudden you are moving the goalposts getting more revenue in. secondly, a month or so ago we had a big debate, crisis time for whether we would increase tax rates because the compromise i'm not print and cut out and try. second thing, the president has really a difficult time talking to people who don't agree with him. so if you see the president bringing individuals in congress who might disagree with him and sit down and talk to see if they can resolve differences, the president instead has rendered himself at campaign stops where he puts people who already agree with him around to cheer and clap everything he says. if you want to reach to compromise, go anywhere with people who might disagree and listen for a moment if you can reach a compromise. third and final thing is this. the best way to get a compromise is not to think everybody who

was the president's economic advisor gene sperling saying he regretted saying that obama moved the goalpostt tration. it hate volleyball metaphors. here is woodward yakking. >> share with viewer what is is going on between you and the white house. >> it makes me uncomfortable to have the white house telling reporters you are going to regret doing something you believe in. >> greg: was sperling giving a threat or friendly advice? be? regret comment translates to you look stupid if you write that, which is how the white house man caned the media on benghazi. remember benghazi? the film "argo" won best picture being about heroic rescue of americans. obama won re-election with the opposite. michelle gave out that oscar, the joke was on us. another joke, what do washington politics and diaper have in common? at the end of the day, both are full of crap. we have obama staffer insuspecting woodward on twitter. is this a government or sorority sleepover? is fluff fluf plouffe braiding s hair? what is a few trillion when kim kardashian is pregnant? the fact, is obama is thrilled for he inherited a p

the one i understand that he is saying president is changing the goalposts are. >> there's a lot of heid she said. i'm not going to get into that. neil: come in wanting you don't like. >> i like the president. i'm not going to say anything. neil: i'm not familiar with health care. i don't like the cost. i absolutely think entitlement reform should be on the table. but that would be part of a 4 trillion-dollar package, not part of the sequestration..3 neil: i have politicians on both sides still afraid to address things because they just think that every american is going to jump on them and crucified him. >> what i would save in november or december, we have the ability of the $4.3 trillion bill. it includes social security. medicare. it wasn't medicated. but it was medicare. so there were things on the table and then speaker boehner went to that proposal, which really just put taxes on the table. if i was giving speaker boehner advice, which i would like to give to both sides, i would say do not put it on the table. let's make sure that both sides on the table are represented. >> what

the president asks for substitute for sequester include spending cut and revenue he is moving the goalposthotly disputed by the white house. >> first, the white house and the democrats were insisting on revenues as part of the trigger mechanism. the republicans refused. therefore, the sequester was the a chosen. >> that is an issue the republicans will not budge on. >> the president says we have to have another tax increase in order to avoid the sequester. you got your tax increase. time to cut spending in washington. >> reporter: boehner makes similar vows in the fiscal cliff fight and republicans are warning if he caves again he will get pushed out. >> i don't believe that speaker boehner would be speaker if that happens. he would lose his speakership. >> reporter: meanwhile, secretary napolitano pushed back on republicans saying she is not trying to scare the public. she is trying to inform the public about the possibility of a sequester which now seems all but certain to happen. bret? >> bret: you spent the last couple of weeks as the president at the white house correspondence associa

bill: the white house says we're not trying to move the goalposts. this all something that is a part of the negotiation. there is an essential question, why does it matter whose idea it was in the first place, bob? >> well, you know, bill, if the sky does fall on friday or into next week, if there are major, major economic ramifications for this one side will probably get the blame. that is the pr battle this week. there is no talk about actually getting a deal this week. it is all a pr game. so that is why both sides are playing the blame game. that will happen, i think into next week and beyond. bill: so the white house, is trying to protect itself then? >> absolutely. bill: almost doing outright denial because it is not quite sure how the public will perceive this if we go into march and beyond that april, is that what you're saying? >> for republicans the polls show right now the public would blame republicans but bob woodward is the best weapon the gop has now. bob woodward is highly respected journalist. the white house going after woodward, th

so the idea that this move the goalpost is just -- i mean there's not an ounce of -- >> -- for -- >> get its way in terms of wanting to make sure that rates went up on the wealthiest. >> well, you know, again, we take into -- we take into account the fact that we've done $600 billion in revenues. so when you look at what the president's offer is, still on the table, to speaker boehner, we're not -- we're saying that you can get less revenues. you don't have to worry about raising rates anymore. we acknowledge that that was done. but to get a deal compromised, you still need to do some closing of revenue-of loopholes and tax expenditures to raise revenues, together with entitlements. remember speaker boehner had almost a trillion dollars on the table when he left the negotiations. >> right >> with the president. so all we're saying is we have to have some compromise -- >> but if you don't find compromise are you okay with going over? it's starting to sound like the republicans are okay with going to sequester. it seems like they're saying we'll go to sequester. >> i would say that is

the goalposts are gone. the fans are gone and the ground is colored with a color opposite than what fans hoped. at least the lights are shining. let's begin our report with what happened when the lights went out. where was meredith? >> the people in the super bombe say it was a breaker -- the superdome said it was a breaker. they cut the power and this was the scene in a half lit walkway as 49er fans interpreted the unseen sparks like tea leaves. >> anything symbolic? >> define intervention to reset and pull off the greatest come back in the history of the super bowl. >> it nearly was. if you watched the game or if you read faces and we need not say anything else, here is some reaction to the 49er fans to what was nearly the greatest come back in super bowl history. >> it was an awesome third quarter. >> the momentum was with us and not them. >> it was like two brothers in a fight in their backyard. the younger brother started pounding on him at the end. >> did you give up on him at anytime? >> never gave up

you make a deal with this president before the incas dry he is moving the goalposts.opod boards article, and you can see that he outlines that very clearly. the second thing is, the president is not very good at talking to people who disagree with him. so he surrounds himself with these campaign events with people who apply them to agree with him, but yet to be back here in washington talking to people who disagree with him and his listening to them. lori: so why, congressman, i'll let you get to the other point in a minute, would have to come in here with this question. your colleague of the next county, district over, he is right there with the president taking a ride on air force one today. what is going on? what is his motive? as you nervous? a lot of people in your situation, republican congressman, tolerable for the midterm, concerned about keeping the job. >> i cannot tell you what is in his mind. all i can tell you is the congressman voted for sequestration. i voted against it. i thought it was a bad idea then and i think it's a bad idea to date. that will let

the view inside the white house is these are just other attempts to move the goalpost and delay him when there's recognition that he will ultimately be confirmed. >> republicans are looking a lot their image right now. are there some republicans questioning the wisdom of choosing this particular battle? >> well, there are enough republicans that simply don't like hagel, don't like what he represents, don't like the message that they are willing apparently to take the hit on this. there's no question this looks to be similar to what people are criticizing republicans for doing on the economy or on spending on these various battles they have had over debt, which is trying to jam the president up. >> all right, david. we'll check with you later on "meet the press". thanks. >> thanks, lester. >>> it's been a public health issue for months. the air pollution over northern utah. that dangerous air is actually making the state a risky place to have a baby. here's mike taibi. >> the pollution levels in and around salt lake city have been bad enough to concern parents of school-aged kids. >> i se

the goalposts are gone. the fans are gone and the ground is colored with a color opposite than what fans hoped. at least the lights are shining. let's begin our report with what happened when the lights went out. where was meredith? >> the people in the super bombe say it was a breaker -- the superdome said it was a breaker. they cut the power and this was the scene in a half lit walkway as 49er fans interpreted the unseen sparks like tea leaves. >> anything symbolic? >> define intervention to reset and pull off the greatest come back in the history of the super bowl. >> it nearly was. if you watched the game or if you read faces and we need not say anything else, here is some reaction to the 49er fans to what was nearly the greatest come back in super bowl history. >> it was an awesome third quarter. >> the momentum was with us and not them. >> it was like two brothers in a fight in their backyathe younr the younger brother started pounding on him at the end. >> did you give up on him at anytime? >> never g

has been calling out the administration for days now, and he accused president obama of moving the goalpostgotiations over the spending cuts. a short time ago in the situation room, he doubled down on that charge. he also said the white house has pushed back hard in response to what he wrote. listen. >> and it was said to me in an e-mail by a -- >> what was said? >> it was said very clearly, you will regret doing this. >> who sent that e-mail to you? >> well, i'm not going to say. >> was it a senior person at the white house? >> a very senior person. >> earlier i talked to senior political analyst and republican consultant and senior contribute tore margaret hoover. david, it kind of bog gels the mind that here we are facing another congressional crisis and they're not even meeting with the media until friday when it takes effect. >> the media has made it very hard for folks. going around the country i find americans are turned off and tuned out with what's going on because they're so angry with the antics. they want to know, why can't both sides get along? i can't remember a time when we s

that everytime we're up against the brink we find a way to just move the goalposts?> well, that's why i think we should use this time, next two or three months, first to replace the sequester so you don't begin to see the very negative impacts of the sequester, and according to the nonpartisan congressional budget office, if you allow the sequester to take full effect from march to the end of the year you'll have 750,000 fewer american jobs. that's not me. that's the independent congressional budget office. >> neil: think that through, congressman. let's say it's right and that's the latest number they'reogy. but we're talking $85 billion, half of which in forward years and this is something that has become the source of great acrimony that -- you know the budget numbers better than most -- know it's fairly -- a rounding error. $85 billion really, and we have north of $3.6 trillion budget. a 60 plus dribble defendant. if we can't get around to do something like this, we'll never get around to do anything of the things you outlined. >> well, aagree we should be able t

had all agreement back then, but i don't think anybody should ever think that you're moving the goalposts or anything like that. the whole dna of the sequester, the whole dna of the enforcement, was to make both sides come back and to be straight, to make democrats be willing to compromise a little more on entitlements and republicans compromise more on adding revenues. that was always the purpose of the sequester. >> which i understand -- okay, i get that, and i think all the viewers get that. you explain it well. why not, then, did the democrats and the president say, well, one thing that republicans hate is tax increases. so if you put that in, now you have them sitting here looking at all spending cuts. you're doing a good job, saying, well, you're going to hurt the elderly. you're going to do things nobody wants to do, but the bottom line is you're telling them not to do cuts and they want cuts, so why didn't you put tax revenue in there? >> let's be clear. when the president says balance, he's generally been for something that has more cuts in it than revenue increases. i think ever

the phrase moving the goalposts is not one we agree with. that's it really. >> are you concerned about the facts and the debate about this cluster and the back-and-forth about arne duncan are you acknowledging from this podium now for some of the things he said yesterday were not true? >> i have not independently looked at them. >> how can the public believe what you're saying day in and day out about flight hours if you are not checking it out? >> i had the secretary of transportation, pierre and talk about the impacts of the faa and the secretary of education talk about areas of his budgets because they are the experts in their fields. at the secretary of homeland security talk about the effects on their areas of responsibility so we do that and they know the most in in the most in-depth about those areas so you want an answer to a specific question you to take to them. i think the broader point setting aside that issue was i think strongly made which is that there will be a substantial effect on school districts around the country, on bud

and criticized the president's handling of negotiations with republicans, saying he's moving the goalposts to wolf blitzer about that. i'm curious, stephen moore, whether you think -- does he really have a point, or is the white house does have a point also in saying, look, let's just go ahead and fix this now. no one wants these cuts. let's do a balanced approach. >> well, bob woodward is unquestionably correct that this was the president's idea, coming up with the sequester plan. he talks about it in his book. i've talked to republican leaders who were in the meetings, erin, who say, absolutely, the president who came up with this. and the reason why the president came up with this is because he thought that republicans wouldn't go along with these defense cuts, and therefore, they would agree to a tax increase. and that's backfired now. but i think the big story here, where we're sitting right now, erin, i think the president has really overplayed his hand. i think americans really see what's happening, where he said, we had the term, we had an aircraft carrier and it couldn't be deploy

believe you should rethink your comment about saying that potus asking for revenues is moving the goalpostow you may not believe this, but as a friend, i think you will regret staking out that claim. jared, you know the man. does that sound like adviser speak for a knife to the throat? a bloodied threat that's coming his way? >> look, this incident that -- first of all, gene's comment was obviously a substantive comment very much in the spirit of the ones i have been making so far today. so, you know, if you want to come after gene woodward, come after me first. but putting that aside, this is just amplifying washington insanity through the washington insanity ray which seems to be taking this town over, and i don't quite get bob woodward in this context who i always thought of as a fairly substantive guy. this is just -- >> he is. >> -- taking a crazy situation and making it beyond crazy. >> i'm reminded of the british parliamentarian who when he was attacked by the british secretary jeffrey howell described it as the equivalent of being ravaged by a dead sheep. thank you both for joining

substitute for the sequester include not just spending cuts but also new revenue, he is moving the goalpostssituation room" wednesday, woodward claimed he received a veiled threat in an e-mail from a senior white house aide. >> it was said very clearly you will regret doing this. >> who sent that e-mail to you? >> i'm not going to say. >> was it a senior person. >> a very senior person. just as -- it makes me very uncomfortable to have the white house telling reporters you're going to regret doing something that you believe in. >> reporter: brianna keilar, cnn, the white house. >> the white house responded to bob woodward's charge saying, quote, no threat was intended and the e-mail suggested mr. woodward would regret the observation he made regarding the sequester because that observation was inaccurate, nothing more. >> 20 minutes after the hour. right now, tens of millions of dollars, that's how much a proposed aid package to the syrian opposition is said to be worth. secretary of state john kerry is expected to announce the details in rome when he meets with them. the administration has

but we just cannot keep moving the goalpost and talking about border security. we've got to do it all together, and i'm looking forward to working with my republican friends to do a bipartisan plan. >> all right. so you bring up bipartisanship here. let's take a listen to some oh of the reaction we're getting from both representatives in it congress as well as different senators. take a listen. >> leaking this out does set things in the wrong direction. this particular move, very counterproductive. >> this is the president torpedoing his own plan, and shows me he's really not serious. when they come out and adamantly say my way or the highway, and if congress doesn't ask, i'll put it on the desk and say pass it now, that's no way to get it done. >> sir, is this strictly because president obama's name is attached to it, and it doesn't have the -- the white house nudges, so to speak. but because this comes strictly from the president, is that why people are rekoilg from it? >> without a doubt. the process, very protective of the process, legislative process. and i

substitute for the sequester include not just spending cuts but also new revenue, he is moving the goalposts, reneging on the deal in other words. white house correspondent brianna keilar is live in washington. what should we make of this, brianna? >> reporter: well, carol, i think the white house genuinely feels that bob woodward is wrong on this issue. but, of course, when you have someone like bob woodward with his credentials, obviously people listen to what he has to say. so, i think there's very much a true disagreement over the facts of the situation here over bob woodward's op-ed and we've been getting response from the white house, not only have we learned from a democrat familiar with the situation that the source that woodward was talking to was gene sperling, this top economic adviser to president p.m. who, you know, his time in government dates back to the clinton administration, prior to that, and that is his really i guess decades of sort of familiarity with bob woodward. but the white house is saying that woodward flat-out misinterpreted this e-mail with sperling who we now k

you should rethink your comment about saying that the president asking for revenues is moving the goalpostu do not ever have to apologize to me. this is all part of a serious discussion. i, for one, welcome a little heat." now woodward says it was too hot. >> i mean, it makes me very uncomfortable to have the white house telling reporters, you're going to regret doing something that you believe in. >> reporter: the president says he values a free press that is not afraid to ask questions, to examine, and to criticize. has he ever spoken to his aides about the tone that he would like them to take, y'all to take, when talking to the press? >> we are enormously respectful of the work that you do, that i used to do, and we also believe it's important for us to make clear when we think, as we have in the past, somebody's out there getting the facts wrong. >> reporter: now, one of the president's former advisers ratcheted up some of the pressure on this whole drama. david plouffe sent out a tweet comparing bob woodward to an aging sports star. he said, "watching woodward the last two days, as he

i'm not denying -- >> you are moving the goalpost? >> no!o get away with not answering basic questions. >> reporter: john mccain, who had said that he would not go along with the hagel filibuster is reversing course, saying he too wants answers about benghazi before letting hagel go through. >> it's the first time in the history of our country that a presidential nominee for secretary of defense has been filibustered. what a shame. >> reporter: all this a day after the armed services committee approved hagel's nomination on a party line vote, amid biting accusations. >> have you been paid directly by a foreign government? >> reporter: republican ted cruz demanding to know if hagel accepted money from speeches from foreign countries that oppose u.s. interests. >> it is at a minimum relevant to know if that $200,000 that he deposited in his bank account came directly from saudi arabia, came directly from north korea. and i have no evidence to suggest that it is or isn't. >> reporter: democrats lit into cruz. >> that senator cruz has gone over

>> no, i mean, we obviously believe the president moved the goalpost.tively. don't forget, joe, the president got the largest tax increase in american history eight weeks ago. now he's trying to move the goalpost and say instead of spending cuts which is what the sequester is i need a bunch of tax increases for this as well to fuel more spending. if you take these tax loopholes you're killing tax reform. that kills our chance for economic growth and job creation. more to the point, more to the point, even with the sequester taking effect, spending will have gone up 18% since the president took office. so spending is the problem. the deficit's a huge problem. we're going to tackle this. we don't think the sequester is the right way to do it but it's going to happen and we will map out a budget that shows you the right way to grow the economy and prevent a debt crisis in this country. >> that budget will include not only discretionary budget spending but also the full entitlement part of it? >> that's right. you have to reform entitlements to save these p