joining us now is mark begich of alaska. of the democratic senators who met with the president today, the first democrat that alaskans have sent to congress since 1981. senator begich, it's great to have you back on the show. thanks very much for taking the time. >> thank you very much, rachel. you're not going to beat me up tonight, are you? >> well, it depends on what you say, sir, of course, and i assume it would be mutual. >> it's always a pleasure to come on your show. last time we had a little back-and-forth on mr. bill and how to write a book. i hope you got the book i sent. >> i did get the book. it's awesome. >> a great book. we had the author sign it, too, to boot, so i thought it would be a great future for you there to read that book there. >> now i'm worried you didn't get my thank you note and it's stuck in some anthrax-freeze zone in ohio somewhere. i'll redouble my efforts. >> the amazing part for a second, the mail system in the capitol is outrageous because you never get anything because they sanitize it to