tonight, abc's jonathan karl sits down with him to ask why did they lose? how did it go wrong on election night? >> reporter: how much of a shock was it? >> well, you know, we thought we had a very good chance of winning. you know, the polling and the data and all the people who are the smart people who watch this stuff, they had a pretty optimistic view on the night. and so going into boston that day, we felt like we had a pretty darn good chance of winning. so, as you can imagine, it was a bit of a shock when we didn't win. >> reporter: you were the running mate. was that the campaign paul ryan would have run? >> oh, gosh. you know, i think -- when you join a ticket three months out, you join somebody's campaign. i was really impressed with the way mitt and ann brought us into the fold. so i was very encouraged by that. i really enjoyed it. and i wanted to run a big campaign on ideas. we did that. we ran on ideas. >> reporter: "saturday night live" poked fun at ryan, a native of jamesville, wisconsin, for failing to help romney win his home state. >> moth

thank you, jonathan karl. >>> and you heard the president mention general petraeus, engulfed in that scandal. we have a new picture tonight of paula broadwell. his biographer, standing in front of the window with cameras parked outside. it was at her brother's home in washington, d.c. and abc news has learned she is being investigated for storing classified documents on her computer and in her home. and just tonight, the army has suspended her security clearance. >>> and now, we move onto presidential candidate mitt romney, reveefling how he feels about the obama voters and the obama victory. he was talking to his big donors today and abc's david muir is here with what he said. >> reporter: this argument began, diane, in the hours after the loss, he started offering reasons for his loss the very next morning, arking america is becoming an entitled society. but today, in a recorded call, he said, giving away free stuff is a hard thing to compete with. mitt romney leaving his hotel the day after the election, next to the convention center where he hoped to deliver the one speech he'd w

and abc's jonathan karl was right there in that room asking questions. jon? >> reporter: diane, this was a confident president today, eager to lay out his agenda for the coming months, but first, he had to face questions on that scandal that has shaken his national security team. in his first comments on the sex scandal that brought down his cia director, the president said petraeus failed to meet his own standards, but he also praised him. >> we are safer because of the work that dave petraeus has done. and my main hope right now is that this ends up being a single side note on what has otherwise been an extraordinary career. >> reporter: he also addressed the central question. did the scandal put national security at risk? >> i have no evidence at this point, from what i've seen, that classified information was disclosed that in any way would have had an impact on our national security. >> reporter: on those high stakes talks over the looming budget crisis, the president took a hard line on his bottom line. any deficit deal must include tax increases on the

our jonathan karl has been on the phone today to find out what happened. >> reporter: it wasn't the way mitt romney wanted to arrive at the white house. over the gaze of the oval office portrait of abraham lincoln, known for his team of rivals, romney and obama met alone for an hour. by all accounts, much more cordial than their last encounter. >> no, i had a question, and the question was -- >> you want me to answer a question. >> reporter: on the menu, white turkey chili and southwestern grilled chicken salad. and some fence mending. but down the street, on capitol hill, was where the real fireworks were. partisan sniping and a clear sign that talks on averting the so-called fiscal cliff and preventing a big tax hike for everybody are going backwards fast. just listen to the democratic senate leader talking about the speaker of the house today. >> i don't understand his brain, so, you should ask him. >> reporter: president obama and speaker boehner spoke by phone last night in a call sources tell abc news was blunt and unproductive. both men refusing to give ground on the issue of tax

>> also on the campaign trail, jonathan karl. thank you, jon. >>> and coming up here next, flammable gas leaking and it's not just a danger in the storm zone. look. our experiment tonight on this invisible threat. hi, i just switched jobs, and i want to roll over my old 401(k) into a fidelity ira. man: okay, no problem. it's easy to get started; i can help you with the paperwork. um...this green line just appeared on my floor. yeah, that's fidelity helping you reach your financial goals. could you hold on a second? it's your money. roll over your old 401(k) into a fidelity ira and take control of your personal economy. this is going to be helpful. call or come in today. fidelity investments. turn here. but between check-ups tartar builds. keep it clean with new listerine® ultraclean™. it's the only mouthwash with a new tartar control formula for a dentist clean feeling. ahhhhhhhh. [ male announcer ] new listerine® ultraclean™. power to your mouth™. [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that

and the money is pretty clear on where this race is, and, you know you read that quote from jonathan karlt know him but i know what's in his blood and in his heart is oh, no, fox news and sean hannity and rush limbaugh and bill o'reilly and michael savage and drudge report are going to call me a lefty if i say looks like obama has the heat. that's all it is. saying the race at 75% doesn't make it over. if the guy has a two thirds chaps of winning you roll the dice and the other guy wins. here in vegas, it is fairly obvious, and fairly clear what's happening, and i went here to ask the guys who know where the money was and this is what i found out. >> so, home here in las vegas and eager to make bets on the presidential election. obviously i'm in the right place. >> i've got some bad news for you. if you're looking to bet on the election, might have to send you away. don't take any wagers on presidential elections any politics in the state enormously. >> that was a wasted trip. good news, laws against gambling seem to have no impact on americans who continue to wager illegally pretty reckl

jonathan karl, abc news, washington. >> he also said another reason that his team lost is that turnouthey also lost in states with few minorities and rural areas, iowa, new hampshire. if you look at a lot of the president's poll numbers, there was more at play than folks of color coming out in support. that's one important part of the narrative but not the full story. so, interesting, good to hear from him. and, of course, they're looking at 2016. they're all looking at 2016. we'll see. >> let's hope they look in the mirror first and restructure. >> a fine point. when we come back this morning, the verdict is in. it is "in style's" best dressed list. >> see if you agree in "the skinny." >> announcer: "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations. @ . ♪ skinny so skinny ♪ skinny so skinny >>> all right. so anybody that knows anything about fashion and wants to end up on "in style's" top dressed list, the top fashionistas of 2012 we'll start with. >> besides us. >> besides us. i think we're the worst dressed list actually. the best dressed of 2012, emma stone. actress. >> a

here's abc's jonathan karl. >> reporter: talk about a test of diplomatic skills, susan rice on capitolwith republicans determined to stop her from becoming secretary of state. rice herself asked for the meetings, but the effort to smooth things over didn't exactly work. the senators demanded answers on why she tied the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya, to an anti-muslim video. they didn't like what they heard. >> the concerns i have are greater today than they were before, and we're not even close to getting basic answers. >> it is clear the information she gave the american people was incorrect. >> reporter: the president hasn't yet decided who he will nominate to replace hillary clinton as secretary of state, but rice is the leading candidate. >> if i think she would be the best person to serve america in the capacity, the state department, then i will nominate her. >> reporter: behind closed doors, rice acknowledged some of what she said about the libya attack was wrong but that the information came directly from the cia. same is true of condoleezza rice who passed on

we had that interview with paul ryan with abc's jonathan karl saying it's not a mandate. they have a divided government so they'll continue with back and forth of head butting and the taxes should not be raised on wealthiest americans. are we headed just for the same old same old once again? >> i don't think so. first of all we are very pleased about nancy pelosi remaining as leader. she's done an extraordinary job in helping to increase our numbers here on the democratic side, in raising the money that was necessary for us to strengthen our hand here in the house and so she has done such a good job that we urged her to please stay on and that experience really does count. let me just say this, there is some posturing going on and i do think that this posturing is going to perhaps come to an end at some point and that these leaders, all of our leaders know that the american people do not expect us to fall off this cliff. they expect us to come together and both sides take a little bit of a hit, do some compromising and move in the best interests of this country and i am v

. >>> and -- >> i'm jonathan karl, i'm going to show you how this clipper will bring bipartisanship to washington. >>> hello, again. you just saw one small step for bipartisanship, is there more to come in washington? congress is back to work this week. top priority, a deal to block those automatic spending cuts and tax increases now set for january 1st, and some smart money is starting to bet that the president and congress will find a way to avoid that fiscal cliff. stocks up this week in anticipation of a deal with the dow clocking five straight of gains. and black friday consumer spending was down as well. now let's bring in t number one senator dick durbin and top republican lindsey graham. senator, welcome in. senator, let me begin with you. you see those markets going up in anticipation of a deal, are they right to be optimistic? >> they should be optimistic because we can solve this problem. unfortunately, for the last ten days with the house and congress gone for the thanksgiving recess, much progress hasn't been made, but tomorrow there's no excuse. we're back in down. george

we're joined, as always, by george will, donna brazile, jonathan karl, congressman xavier becerra, ther of the democratic caucus in the house and former house speaker newt gingrich. thank you all for being here. george will, i want to start with you, and i want to start with israel. this is a conventional war that we've been looking at in the past week. >> we've come in a sense a full circle from the war of independence in 1948 which was one essentially of small airports by israel to the great tank and air battles of the yom kip you are war in 1973, israel's enemies tried to destroy it with conventional warfare. having failed at that they went to terrorism, suicide bombers he is and all the rest and israel before had to be on the offensive built a fence. the problem is you can get over a fence with rockets and there are rockets by the tens of thousands now. now, senator levin a moment ago praised rightly the iron dome anti-missile defense system but any missile defense system can be overwhelmed by numbers and the danger is and israel will not -- for this but they will have to go in and

jonathan karl? >> thank you, mr. president. of senator john mccain and senator lindsey graham both said they want watergate style hearings on the attack in benghazi. they said if you nominate susan rice for secretary of state, they will do everything they can to block her nomination. i would like your reaction to that. would those threats deter you from making a nomination like that? >> i'm not going to comment at this point on -- various nominations that i will put forward to fill out my cabinet for the second term. those are things still being discussed. let me say about susan rice. she's done exemplary work. she's represented the united states and our interests in the -- united nations with skill and professionalism and toughness and grace. as i have said before, she made an appearance at the request of the white house in which she gave her best understanding of the intelligence that had been provided to her. if senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. and i'm happy to

top question to jonathan karl. the president has won. does nancy pelosi stay?this is the big question. she stayed last time to try to get control of the house back for democrats. my sense is that nancy pelosi is very likely to decide to retire. if people close to her said if romney had won she might have stayed for that fight but now that she did not win back the house, the president's -- president obama is back at the white house, i would be very surprised if nancy pelosi stays in the house. >> a very good chance of that. out to bill weir right now. bill? >> reporter: oh, hi, george. yeah, we're just waiting for some movement from mitt romney. we understand that he has not yet called the president to concede. he may be still working on his speech but hasn't made a move yet to come to the convention hall. we understand paul ryan is here. we've seen members of his family but what a roller-coaster ride for his supporters, for his donors in this hall tonight. there was such a sense of defeat initially when fox news called ohio for barack obama, but then karl rove

jonathan karl? >> thank you, mr. president. of senator john mccain and senator lindsey graham both said they want watergate style hearings on the attack in benghazi. they said if you nominate susan rice for secretary of state, they will do everything they can to block her nomination. i would like your reaction to that. would those threats deter you from making a nomination like that? >> i'm not going to comment at this point on -- various nominations that i will put forward to fill out my cabinet for the second term. those are things still being discussed. let me say about susan rice. she's done exemplary work. she's represented the united states and our interests in the -- united nations with skill and professionalism and toughness and grace. as i have said before, she made an appearance at the request of the white house in which she gave her best understanding of the intelligence that had been provided to her. if senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. and i'm happy to

jonathan karl, abc news, washington. >> he also said another reason his team lost the turnout in urbanst in states with few minorities and rural areas, iowa, new hampshire. if you look at a lot of the president's poll numbers, there was more at play than folks of color coming out in support. one important part of the narrative not the full story. so interesting, good to hear from him, and of course they're looking at 2016. they're all looking at 2016. we'll see. >> let's hope they look in the mirror first and restructure. >> a fine point. when we come back this morning, the verdict is in. it is "in style's" best dressed list. >> see if you agree in "the skinny." >> announcer: "world news now" continues after this from our >> announcer: "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations. action i love telling big stories about big heroes. but, at the end of thehe day, rl life is better than any story. our service men and women are the real heroes. every day they make the crifices for their country; for my country; for my son's country. the uso gives us real ways to support our

that was just today and i'm here now with jonathan karl, who has covered the campaign, coverers congressor us. what did you hear? >> reporter: he said raising tax rates is unacceptable. there is an entirely different view of that on the other side of the aisle and at the white house. if the president campaigned on one thing, it was raising tax rates on the wealthy. they say any deal that doesn't do that is unacceptablunaccepta? >> no, what happens next now? i seem to hear the speaker saying, we can talk -- >> he wa >> reporter: he wanted to reassure everybody that a deal will be done. we're not going to get to the brink. we're not going to get to the point where the credit rating is again at risk. he said he's willing to talk about anything and he called himself the most reasonable man in washington. so, i think that he is determined to get something done. >> okay, jon karl, thank you. >>> and now, we're going to turn to the other big story of this day. it is the second storm moving in on an already battered east coast. and let us show you the pictures tonight. there they are as the new

committee, and insights and analysis with our powerhouse roundtable with george will, donna brazile, jonathan karl, newt gingrich and congressman xavier becerra. >>> plus -- ♪ sugar sugar >> america's favorite tasty treat turns into another political football. is it twilight for the twinkie? >>> good morning. george stephanopoulos has the weekend off. we begin with breaking news from the middle east where despite talks of a possible cease-fire, the air war between hamas and israel is continuing. so let's get right to it. we have alex marquardt in gaza city and christiane amanpour in jerusalem, and, alex, let me begin with you. give us a sense of what's been going there on in gaza. >> reporter: good morning, martha. it's been very consistent pummeling of gaza by the israeli air force and a consistent launching of rockets by these palestinian militant groups. we are hearing the bombings going off rather incessantly. just a short while ago, a palestinian group launched a rocket from just a short distance away. this goes on throughout the day, into the night. around 2:00 a.m. we were woken up by this

higher and not just because the white house is up for grabs so is control of the senate and abc's jonathan karl, our veteran capitol hill correspondent is here and we ask in the three places he'll be watching tonight, the states also voting by the way on some pretty far-ranging things. we'll get to that in a moment. jon. >> that's the other big battle is the battle for control of the u.s. senate so very early in the night i'm going to be looking at two senate seats especially. the first one up in massachusetts, this is scott brown against elizabeth warren. the most expensive race in the country. the most high profile. it has been a bitter race. if republican scott brown loses in massachusetts, the republicans have a much harder time to win control of the senate. the other one also early in the night is going to be in the state of indiana, this is richard mourdock running against donny. they controlled it for 36 years. should have been a slam dunk but he made controversial comments on rape and abortion now it's at risk for republicans. if they lose both of those it will be virtually impossible t

abc's jonathan karl on that. >> reporter: you think election day is tomorrow? think again.lready been seeing long lines at voting places for weeks. 46 million americans are expected to vote before polls open tomorrow, more than one out of every three voters, the most early voting ever. this family waited for eight hours to vote in miami. >> you know, this is how we express our voice and this is what makes america the greatest country in the world. >> reporter: with so many states offering early voting, it's no longer election day. it's election month. in the latest abc news/"washington post" poll, obama had a narrow three-point lead among those who voted early. that's a much smaller lead than four years ago when he beat mccain among early voters by 18 points. local officials at this polling place in miami were so overwhelmed by long lines, they temporarily locked the doors triggering chaos outside. >> let us vote. let us vote. >> reporter: doors re-opened after about an hour, and in some counties, democrats successfully sued to extend early voting hours, and well over half

and abc's jonathan karl has the drama today. >> reporter: this afternoon, the first glimpse of david petraeus since he resigned as cia director. earlier, behind closed doors on capitol hill, petraeus began by expressing regret for the affair that ended his career. other than that ten-second apology, the hearings focused entirely on the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya, that killed four americans. petraeus told the intelligence committee that he knew from the beginning that the attack was the work of terrorists, not protesters. >> he thought all along, he made it clear, that there was significant terrorist involvement. >> reporter: but that's not what the white house was saying, including u.s. ambassador to the u.n., susan rice, who went on television days after the attack, tying it to protests in egypt against an anti-muslim video. but petraeus also told lawmakers that by the time declassified talking points were given to the white house and congress, references to al qaeda were edited out to protect classified source. what rice said on tv was consistent with those edi

abc's senior political correspondent jonathan karl has the drama today. jon? >> reporter: diane, the white house and senate republicans appear to be on a collision course with some prominent republicans dead set against the president's leading candidate for secretary of state. talk about a test of diplomatic skills, susan rice on capitol hill meeting with republicans determined to stop her from becoming secretary of state. rice herself asked for the meetings, but the effort to smooth things over didn't exactly work. the senators demanded answers on why she tied the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya, to an anti-muslim video. they didn't like what they heard. >> the concerns i have are greater today than they were before, and we're not even close to getting the basic answers. >> it is clear that the information that she gave the american people was incorrect. >> reporter: the president hasn't yet decided who he'll nominate to replace hillary clinton as secretary of state, but rice is the leading candidate. >> if i think that she would be the best p

abc's jonathan karl coverer ers congress and says, if the election sent a message to washington, andhat kind. >> reporter: from speaker of the house john boehner, to the newly re-elected president, an 0 live branch. >> mr. president, the republican majority here in the house stands ready to work with you. >> reporter: they better work together. if they don't strike a deal to cut the deficit in 55 day, by law, we face the so-called fiscal cliff, taxmaggedon, a mix of tax increases and defense spending cuts that would likely plunge the economy back into recession. and give a big tax hike for virtual little every family in america starting january 1st. the president has insisted and campaigned on raising tax rates on the wealthy. house republicans campaigned on no tax increases and they won, too. today, from boehner, a hint at a willingness to compromise. >> we want you to succeed. let's challenge ourselves to find the common ground that haas eluded us. let's rise above the dysfunction and do the right thing together for our country. >> reporter: the newly elected congress looks almost

abc's jonathan karl on the big picture from washington tonight. >> reporter: it's been an article of republican faith for decades, no tax increases of any kind, period. behind it all, this man, grover norquist, considered one of the most powerful men in washington. since he worked for ronald reagan in the 1980s, he's gotten virtually every elected republican to sign a pledge promising no tax increases. >> a taxpayer-friendly congress. >> reporter: they sign it to help get elected and don't violate it for fear of getting hammered for breaking their word. now how many of these things have been signed? >> pledges? >> reporter: yes. >> thousands over the years. >> reporter: he keeps them all on file. here's john boehner's pledge signed 20 years ago. if somebody signed this 10 years ago or 18 years ago, 20 years ago, are they still bound by it? >> now when you got married, did your wife understand there was an expiration date on that promise? when you borrowed money to buy your house, did you say, "oh geez, that mortgage? that was ten years ago. you're still asking me for money?" you know

jonathan karl. >> thank you, mr. president. senator john mccain and senator lindsey graham both said today they want to have watergate style hearings on the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi and said if you nominate susan rice to be secretary of state they will do everything in their power to block her nomination as senator graham said he simply doesn't trust ambassador rice after what she said about benghazi. would those threats deter you from making a nomination like that? >> first of all, i'm not going to comment at this point on various nominations i'll put forward to fill out my cabinet for the second term. those are things that are still being discussed. let me say specifically about susan rice, she has done exemplary work. she has represented the united states and our interests in the united nations with skill and professionalism and toughness and grace. as i've said before, she made an appearance at the request of the white house. in which she gave her best understanding of the intelligence that had been provided

i want to go to jonathan karl now. we're talking 880,000 jobs by some estimates that relate to the auto industry in ohio. >> and, diane, this was an issue that the obama campaign started pummeling romney with almost from the day he clinched the nomination, there was an article he wrote, i'm sure you remember in "the new york times," an op-ed by mitt romney. the headline, "let detroit go bankrupt." now, romney didn't write the headline. he wrote the article. his headline was a new path forward for detroit but a top romney adviser told me some time ago that if he loses this race, this may be the headline that cost him the presidency. >> okay, we want to head out just a second, i'll get right back to you because ron claiborne wants to weigh in. he's in ohio, he's in columbus right now and you are there at the secretary of state's office and we know every single vote, every polling place is being watched tonight, ron. >> reporter: they're being watched very closely and, diane, 1.6, 1.8 million voters actually voted early e

interesting tidbit from jonathan karl.id nancy pelosi is rather than retire, rather than continue as minority leader. poe ten sthal chatential changer echelon. >> a shackke-up after election. interesting to see if they can go become to capitol hill and practice the partisanship. boehner, said this was not a mandate. popular vote, very close. hopefully the president has gotten the message. close, popular, and congress got the message they re-elected the president they have to got together and work it out. that's what americans want to see. in case you are wondering thought the list was fascinating, the groups that staunchly supported the president could be the reason he got re-elected. folks in order here by numerical support. top five groups, thought the country headed in the right direction, big supporters, african-americans, as expected. democrats, best in 76, party loyalty. those who felt economy was moving in a positive direction, they went heavy for the president, those who thought the economy was getting better went

republicans are defying party politics and break ago pledge they made in the name of a sluchlingts jonathan karl explains article of republican faith for decade. no tax increases of any kind, period. behind it all. this man. november quist. considered one of the most powerful men in washington. sentences he worked for ronald reagan in the 1980's he's gotten virtually every elected republican to sign a pledge promising no tax increases. >> taxpayer friendly congress. >>reporter: sign to it help electricityed don't violent it for fear of getting hammered for breaking the word. >> how many of these things have been signed. >> thousands over the years. >>reporter: he keeps them on file. n boehner pledge signed 20 years ago. >> nobody signed this 10 years ago, 18 years ago 20 years ago are they still bound by it. >> no. >>reporter: when you got married did your wife make a promise when you borrowed money to bite house. that mortgage that was 10 years ago. you still asking fo me for money. if you make a commitment you mick a commitment. >>reporter: biggest obstacle to any deal that raises taxes but wi

here's jonathan karl. >> test of diplomatic skill susan rice on capitol hill meeting with republican determined to stop her from becoming secretary of state. rice herself asked for the meeting with effort to smooth things over didn't exactly wor work. senator demanded answers on why is he tied the the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi libya to anti-muslim video. they didn't like what they heard. >> concerns i have are gritter today than they were before. we are not even close to getting the basic answer also. >> it's clear the information that she gave the american people was in correct. >>reporter: president hasn't yet decided who he will nominate to replace hillary clinton as secretary of state but rice is the leading candidate. >> if i think that she would be the best person to serve america in the capacity of the state department then i will nominate her. >>reporter: hyped closed doors she annual some of what she said about the libya attack was wrong but that the information came directly from the cia. same true of condoleeza rice who passed on incorrect cia information on

. >> president obama was asked a tough question by jonathan karl. >> did we see the coordination of thesking -- >> if there was, you would have been criticizing them. i was actually supportive of jan crawford. >> cbs correspondent jan crawford. >> absolutely. where was it. >> well, it's much harder to coordinate a presidential press conference than it is a gagel of reporters on a campaign trail. >> they may be but i think he got a pretty easy press corps that week. >> this is his philosophy, i would judge from the statements. and, you know, many people put it down as sour grapes. >> and in that same conference call, terry, later came out he talked about the primary debates and he said, well, next time they shouldn't all be done by cnn and nbc, show casing liberals beating the heck out of it. first of all there were a number of debates hosted by fox news and second off all, it sounds like he's blames the media for those debates. >> anybody but himself. >> and the republican party is supposed to be a party of personal responsibility and it gives us inside how romney is a process person in

abc's jonathan karl was there. >> reporter: in his first comments on the sex scandal that brought downfailed to meet his own standard but he also praised him. >> we are safer because of the work that dave petraeus has done. and my main hope right now is that this ends up being a single side note on what has otherwise been an extraordinary career. >> reporter: he also addressed the central question -- did the scandal put national security at risk. >> i have no evidence at this point from what i have seen that classified information was disclosed that in any way would have had a negative impact on our national security. >> reporter: on the high-stakes talks over the looming budget crisis, the president took a hard line on his bottom line. any deficit deal must include tax increases on the wealthy. >> mr. voters agreed with me on this issue than voted for me. so we have a clear majority of the american people who recognize if we are going to be serious about deficit reduction we have to do it in a balance add way. >> reporter: there was a real flash of presidential anger on the topic of t

here's abc's jonathan karl. >> reporter: it has been an article of republican faith for decades.t all, this man, grover norquist. considered one of the most powerful men in washington. since he worked for ronald reagan in the 1980s, he has gotten virtually every elected republican to sign a pledge promising no tax increases. >> a taxpayer-friendly congress. >> reporter: they sign it to help get elected and don't violate it for fear of getting hammered for breaking their word. >> how many of these things have been signed? >> pledges? >> reporter: yes. >> thousands over the years. >> reporter: he keeps them on file. here's john boehner's pledge signed 20 years ago. >> reporter: if somebody signed this, 10, 18, 20 years ago are they still bound by it? >> now when you got married, did your wife understand there was an expiration date on the promise? when you borrowed money for your house, did they extend -- oh, geez, that mortgage? that was ten years ago. you're still asking me for money? if you make a commitment, you make a commitment. >> reporter: the pledge is the biggest obstacle