. >> karen finney, the vote is scheduled for tomorrow in the senate. 83 votes in favor procedurally already. there will be an amendment by jim demint that will basically extend all the bush tax rates permanently without paying for it and so there will be the extreme republican version of this on the floor as an amendment option. the bernie sanders version of this will be on the floor as an amendment option before the final read/mcconnell compromise. do you see anything getting in the way of the reid/mcconnell compromise carrying the day tomorrow in the senate? >> ultimately not. because at the end of the day, right, politics will play out. and that is to say that nobody wants to get to january 1st like the white house keeps saying and have all of this expire and have all this uncertainty. and let's be honest, the republicans at the end of the day want to protect those tax bonuses for their wealthy contributor. that's what this is about. democrats, though, one thing that ezra said that i disagree with a little bit, i actually think that republicans would have a hard time getting this deal do

let's bring back our company, patrick gavin, elise jordan, karen finney. im, but they don't like the job he's doing. if you're the president's communication strategist, what do you want him to do with those numbers? >> i tell you, whenever i look at polls, those numbers about likability are really important because if people like you, they're more willing to trust you and kind of give you the benefit of the doubt and i think president obama is a really important place here. people like him, they're not so sure about his professional abilities. there's still some questions. they're kind of willing to give him another chance and they think he got the message and the message that i would say to the president is it is critical coming out of the block in january that there is an aggressive strategy where you put forward your vision, show the kind of passion that you show, sort of in the second part of that press conference we saw the other day about what you want to accomplish for the american people and make it clear that is your primary goal because while peop

from the west, karen finney. a new righty at the table and one we're proud to welcome.r republican congressman from new york, rick. and our insider, the man who's trying to make america love their lobbiests. jimmy williams. steep hurdle, my man. if anybody can do it, it is you. we did the constitution. but, rick, how can the american people remotely trust their ledgislative judicial process when day after day after day there are large and small examples of this kind of nonsense. now, whether it affects the judgment or not, the appearance of impro prity that betrays the trust a judge has with their constituencies has no bounds. am i wrong? >> it appears in this case and in cases like this that the best course of action is to disclose or recuse if it's a discloesure you have an opportunity for the depending parties. it's going to go up. but yes, should people have confidence in the judicial system that there are no other factors that may affect the decision, yes. >> okay. it's a good thing -- rick is right. there's a problem though. there's relatively little federal law d

karen finney is a democratic strategist and msnbc crib tor. and robert tran is in roll co mtv.e now following the clinton pattern and moving to the center? is that how he's going to govern as he moves forward? >> the president believes he made the best deal he could. i disagree in the way in which he did the deal, in terms of what it meant for democrats. i think the president truly believes that the ultimate goal is to get away from the partisan politi politics. that wouldn't be good for anyone i certainly think he also needs to work better with democrats. >> we had a scroll next to karen going up of what's in the bill coming up throughout the hour. but what do you say to that? >> she makes a good point. first and foremost, there's a political upside to the president to work with republicans. they're the ones controlling at least one part of the legislature, i.e., the congress. so he recognizes there's a new sheriff in town, so to speak. so he's got to strike up a deal. the other side is the american people time and time again have told us all they want all these politicians to

. >> karen finney, thank you for spending time with us this morning. we do appreciate it. >> thanks for letting me talk about my friend. >>> let's head to the news desk. good morning, richard. >> good morning, amy and lester. we begin with that 12-year-old virginia girl missing for a week and now found unharmed in california. brittany may smith was found in san francisco with jeffrey scott easley after a tip to police. the two had not been seen since they were captured while shopping at a virginia walmart. easley was the live-in boyfriend of brittany's mother. he's been charged with abduction. >>> justice for elizabeth smart. a jury rejected the insanity defense and found brian mitchell guilty of kidnapping and transportation of a minor. smart reacted friday saying it is possible to move on after something terrible has happened. we'll speak to the u.s. attorney for utah and one of the jurors who found mitchell guilty. >>> a single female white tipped shark is likely responsible for three out of five attacks on tourists at a popular egyptian red sea res

i looked at ellis and at karen finney and the secret service. we shook our heads and smiled.eturned and said, you know, ms. edwards, you're right. it was quintessential elizabeth. one of my favorite passages from the new testament is the birth from hebrews about encountering people we don't know. st. paul tells us do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that, some have entertained angels without knowing it. st. paul would sur i had -- would surely use elizabeth as a grand example of that device. but truth be told, elizabeth never knew a stranger. in every new encounter, elizabeth recognized a new friend who warmed her heart as she seemed to warm theirs. it was my privilege to watch her embrace thousands of people she'd never met. even protesters who she often saw as a sign she was really making a difference. on one particular night when she was signing books for a really long time, and the line of people was still wrapped around the store, and i knew she was exhausted, i was exhausted, i whispered to her that she needed to avoid long conversations or she