mcconnell: obviously, i will not be objecting. i just want to say, -- to associate myself with the senator from arizona, to thank him as well as senator lieberman for their involvement in this issue, www.ale www, as well as y leader and just make one comment. frequently, these kinds of unilateral sanctions measures make little or no difference. this measure, however segregation crafted in such a way that it could actually be effective. with america alone, not having to depend upon the cooperation of the other countries that tend to be less concerned about whether iran ultimately becomes armed with nuclear weapons. so this is an important piece of legislation, as the majority leader has said, as senator mccain has said, as senator lieberman has said. it can actually make a difference. so i'm simply going to ask unanimous consent that after it passes, my remarks appear in the record as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will read the bill for the third time. the clerk: calendar number 215, s.2799, a bill to

and citizens united president david bossie sport with reporters. >> i represented mitch mcconnell in the case and was one of the lawyers who argued it in the supreme court. this is an extraordinarily triumphant day. the court has ruled that corporations, unions, and all the rest of us may participate freely and openly and spend money on the electoral and political matters. this decision is a long time coming, and as the opinion of justice kennedy makes clear, it involves the reversal of two prior opinions, one involving senator mcconnell, one two years before. the core of it all is that the right to participate in, participate about and be heard about matters political, social, and the like is one which the public at large has an interest in. there is a listener, a viewer, a reader in trust and political views, orientation and a light -- the like which the first amendment protects, and a pledge to corporations as well as individuals. as justice kennedy pointed out in his statement in court today and his opinion points out, this is a significant protection for media corporations as we

happy new year. >> this is senator mitch mcconnell of kentucky. the new year always brings with a renewed hope and a spirit of optimism. qualities that have exemplified our nation and its people from the very start. one moment that stands out took place on this very day in 1777 along the new jersey- pennsylvania border. the continental army, under the direction of george washington, had just finished a daring but successful surprise attack on the british at trenton. in retaliation, the british launched an attack of its on on the, no army. instead of retreating, washington ordered his troops to stay and fight. it was a daring move. when the soldiers in the contra army saw the size and strength of the enemy, many of them were filled with dread. as one historian put it, even in that awful moment, these men had a sense of their own strength, a confidence in what an upper, and a feeling that province was with them that night. -- confidence in one another. against impossible odds, they broke the enemy column, forcing the british to retreat. at a moment

. >> in his party's weekly address, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell delivered an upbeat look for the new year. mcconnell says despite last year's serious challenges, he has no doubt the american people will see better days. >> two long and difficult wars, a prolonged recession, double-digit unemployment, these are difficult days for our nation. and in this new year, we're grateful for the courageous men and women of our own day who keep a lonely watch to defend the cause of liberty. we're also painfully aware of how many americans were out of work this christmas. but these challenges don't define us as a people. what's always defined america is its ability to overcome even the most daunting difficulties. >>> on this first weekend of 2010, we're asking you to weigh in. so if you could suggest a new year's resolution for the u.s. government, what would it be? well, karen posted this on my facebook page -- >>> and robert wrote, stop it, just stop it. well, he could be talking about so many things, so i'm going to leave that up to you to interpret. but what do you think? what should

mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i ask consent that further oceedings der the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, the senate reconvenes in a new calendar year. it's hard not to notice that many of the toughest challenges we face in 2010 have been with us for a long time. among the most persistent of these is the ongoing global war on terror. more than eight years have now passed since september 11, 2001, and yet we are reminded nearly every day of the need to remain just as vigilant now as we were in the weeks and months after that terrible day. this fact was recently brought home to us in a vivid way when a nigerian-born terrorist attempted to kill nearly 300 innocent people in the skies over detroit on christmas day. in what could have been a terrible tragedy became instead the reminder of the need to remain focus; a wake-up call, if you will. but even before abdulmutallab boarded the plane, many americans had already begun to

. >>> minority leader mitch mcconnell delivered and up bebe outlook for the new year, says despite serious challenges he has no doubt american people will see better days. >> two long and difficult wars, a prolonged recession, double digit unemployment, these are difficult days for our nation. in this new year, we're grateful for the courageous men and women who keep a lonely watch for the cause of liberty. we're also painfully aware how many americans are out of work this christmas. these challenges don't define us as a people. what's always defined america is it ability to overcome even the most daunting difficulties. >> from terror concerns to health care, to economic meltdown, 2009 was full of challenges for the u.s. government. on this first weekend of 2010, we want to hear from you. if you could suggest a new year's resolution for the u.s. government, what would it be? how about you weigh in on my facebook page? go to facebook.com and search holly firfer or you can e-mail us. head to cnn do.com/hln. we may air some of the responses on the air today. >>> fox and timewarner cable reach

do you think you'll be someone that leader mcconnell can count on?e think it, because of the wave of anger against health care. key is effectively prot -- is pro-choice. guest: i am delighted to have any republican senator. i think on the issues he campaigned on, there is broad support, not only across massachusetts but the country and within the republican party for strong national security, a strong fiscal responsibility, and one that says that we do not want and list spending which is going to hang around the necks of our children and grandchildren. those are very solid, republican center-right issues. i think there are going to be issues that people differ on, and he will have to vote his conscience and his own state. that is to be expected. that is part of the difficulty of being the leader, counting of votes in figuring out on what discrete issues, is my caucus going to come down on? it remains to be seen exactly how he will glow. i think you will both the interests of the people of massachusetts -- in how he votes. guest: the talk right now th

in the 2003 case, mcconnell vs. the federal election commission, the united states supreme court upheld the key provision of the act against a first amendment challenge. that was consistent with 100 years of judicial precedent and law, including a longg standingg criminal law prohibiting corporations from contributing to federal electn campaigns. now, only six years after upholding 100 years of precedent, a thin majority of the supreme court, made possible by president bush's appointment of justice alito, has thrown out important parts of the law, and they have run roughshod over a long line of long-standing court precedent. mr. president, ts is a threat to the rule of law. it overrules congressional efforts to keep powerful moneyed interests from swamping individual voices and interests. in his confirmation hearing, justice alito -- i might say under oath -- testified that the role of the supreme court is a limited role. it has to do what it's supposed to do vigilantly, but it also has to be equally vigilant about

. >> mitch mcconnell -- and was one of the lawyers who argued in the supreme court.his is an extremely triumphant day for the first amendment. they may spend money on electoral or political matters. this decision is a long time coming, and as the opinion of justice kennedy makes clear, it involves the reversal of two prior opinions, one involving senator mcconnell, and one of few years before. the core of the dog -- of it all is that the rights to head -- to participate, to be heard about matters political, social, and the light is one in which the public at large -- and the like is one in which the public at large has into interested in -- has an interest in. there are views which the first amendment protects, and that applies to corporations, as well as to individuals. as justice kennedy pointed out in court today and as his opinion points out, this is a significant protection for media corp. as well as all other corporations, because there is no way the court is going to treat media and it is any different from anyone else. corporations either have rights or do no

. >> warner: senate minority leader mitch mcconnell was on the floor earlier declaring he was ready to work with the president. >> we know increased american energy without a new national energy tax will grow good jobs. we know that increasing markets for our farmers, entrepreneurs, and manufacturers overseas through trade agreements will grow good jobs. we can get these done and i hope the president will join us in calling on the majority to bring these issues to the floor here in the senate. >> reporter: and democrats promised to roll out a new jobs agenda within the week. >> the three top issues on our agenda this year are jobs, jobs, and jobs. neither party can afford to overlook this issue or it will be seen as obstructing on it. if either party does, it will be at their own political peril. >> warner: but on the house side, minority leader john boehner says mr. obama's calls for bipartisanship and his criticism of republican opposition rang hollow. >> there was nothing last night in the president's speech to indicate that there was any willingness to sit down and work together. >

they were ing to be appoind by senator mcconnell e republican leader here in the senate and four byouse member boeer, the republican lead er in t house. i'm sure they wodn't put people on thisommission who would underme the basic republican phisophy and how you approachax policy just like i don't expect eaker pelosi or speaker reed tdo at in the area of, say, social security. that's why this commission would have been succesul because you would have h pele at the table first who understand t issues which is very important and whoave a commitment to doing sothing about the issues but also wh carry thr portfolios of their vaous constituencies of the two parties. any product they produce, i believe, would have goen strong suppo. i belie it wouldn't have solved the whole pblem. we doesn't couldt do that but it wou have been a significant ep down the road towards getting this pblem under contro remember, this problem i undeniable. we a facing a fiscal bankruptcy of this natio within 7 t10 years if we do not step up and starto do something out controlling the size of the debtf our country. >>

mitch mcconnell. >> i want to especially thank president obama for being with us today.ike to thank speaker pelosi, leader john boehner, a leader reid, and the bicentennial commission for making this possible. i want to thank my good friend senator jim benning for his work on the commission did the people in my state are proud of the belt -- that that abraham lincoln was born three now -- miles south of kentucky. he was raised in a log cabin with a dirt floor, parents who did not even sign their own name. the life of the 15th president is the greatest proof we have that in america a person's dreams are limited only by his or her desire to achieve them. his greatness in a lie in the achievement of personal goals but in the greatness of his soul. many have blazed a trail of success but you have done more than this man to make it possible for so many others to do the same. choosing a single powerful quote from lincoln is hard to do. some regard his second inaugural as perhaps the greatest piece of political rhetoric in history. there are many other masterpieces. today ever

. >> reporter: senate minority leader mcconnell delivered the gop's response and he didn't talk about the bombing plot, but he said the u.s. is facing two difficult wars, prolonged recession and double digit unemployment. take a listen. >> while it's true that many of us approach the issues differently, at the beginning of a new year, it's important to remember that we're all united by our love of country and by a common faith that no challenge is too great for the american people to overcome. >> senator mcconnell said the u.s. will, quote, persevere as we always have. rick? >> molly henneberg in washington, thanks. >>> there are questions about security failures in intelligence lapses in the failed terrorist attack. it's now a top priority in washington. lawmakers have already called for congressional hearings had they get back to work next week and there has been partisan finger pointing on how to keep america safe. what happens to the other big political hot topic? remember health care? will it take a back seat when congress returns from break? joining us now for a look at the new

republican leader mitch mcconnell criticized the idea as too small. >> freezing non-defense domestic discretionary spending would be a good idea. however, if you put into the baseline the stimulus, tarp, and you account for inflation, it's not nearly as big a step as the american people are asking us to take. >> woodruff: the president is expected to address the deficit, among other economic issues, including unemployment, in his state of the union message tomorrow night. in an interview with abc news' diane sawyer, mr. obama acknowledged some choices he will make are not politically popular. >> the one thing i'm clear about is that i'd rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president. i will not slow down in terms of going after the big problems that this country faces. i am not backing off the need for us to tackle these big problems in a serious way. >> woodruff: but new numbers out today from the congressional budget office confirmed the magnitude of the challenge facing white house officials-- creating jobs while cutting spending. the deficit for the

mcconnell used the words, no one would find it credible. if it's not credible for me saying it, it's not credible for the democrats to sit back and say it was in the context of saying something nice. it's an old mindset when you are using language in a 2008 that harkens back to the 1950s and '60s. >> chris: mr. steele, turn to your problems, and you have a few. >> problem? >> chris: yep. g.o.p. congressional leaders say they did not know that you were releasing the book right now, a 12-step program for defeating the obama agenda, until they saw you selling it on tv. and former g.o.p. chairman said they can't believe that you personally are getting paid $20,000 for a speech at a time when your party is having such money problems. >> a couple of things here. one with respect to leadership, i thought that process had already been taken care of within the party and the staffing and all of that, they had been notified of that. for that, i apologize, i was not trying to blindside anybody in that regard. number two, the book was written in 2008. i

i share center mcconnell's concern. -- senator mcconnell's concern.everal points. first, it is very clear that the morale of our troops is very high. we have a tremendous fighting force in afghanistan and a very committed american soldiers who are doing their job. where our troops have moved into a region, and they have been successful in keeping their objective so far. their objective is to clear the area of the taliban and to start the process of searching long- term control. the morale is high. secondly, i was impressed with the quality of american personnel on the ground, not just our troops but of those who are running in managing all aspects of our strategy in afghanistan and pakistan. from this day department and intelligence officials all the way to our military men officials -- military officials. americans can be proud of the personnel we have on the ground they are doing such a good job. the other thing i want to comment on before i turn it over to the set is -- to lisa is there does seem to be a deficit of trust. that is both in terms of p

. >> i share senator mcconnell concerns. it was very clear that there was uncertainty among our military personnel as to how they are required now and going to be required in the future to deal with the handling of detainees. i wanted to make several points. first, it was very clear that the morale of our troops is very high. we have a tremendous fighting force in afghanistan and a very, very committed american soldiers who are doing their job. one of the impressive things i noted was where our troops have moved into a region. they have been successful in achieving their objective so far. their first objective was to clear the area of the taliban and to start the process of asserting a long-term control. it's very important point to make is that the morale is high. secondly, i was impressed with the quality of the american personnel there on the ground. not just our troops, but those who are running in managing all aspects of our actions in afghanistan and pakistan. from the ambassador to the u.s. aid -- usaid personnel. i t

mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr.onnell: a year ago this week, millions of americans were looking to washington with the hope that always comes with a new beginning. in the midst of a terrible economic downturn, a new president was vowing to meet our problems head on. americans hoped for every success. but in the 12 months that have passed since then, americans haven't seen the improvements they were hoping for. far from it. since last january, nearly 3.5 million americans have lost their jobs and nearly 3 million have lost their homes. americans are still struggling, and they're looking to washington for the policies that will right our economic ship. to their credit, the president and his allies in congress tried to do something about our economic situation. unfortunately, their policies missed the mark, and 2009 was another very, very difficult year. americans waited patiently for the administration and congress to implement policies that would create the conditions for creating jobs, growing businesses, and helpin

cnn will hostx mitch mcconnell and robert gibbs.portant, but the timing is not good. to put together a health care proposal that can get through the congress. i personally would have said let's work exclusively on restarting the economic work engine again and put people back to work. i am sure that the president would say that he is working on that too. but i would have said that first. but the president won the election, and his position, you can't fix that without fixing the health care. and we found a variety of menu health care changes. >> you can see the entire interview on "newsmakers" on c-span. "washington journal" continues. host: our guest rolf mowatt larssen is c.i.a. agent. thank you for being with us. guest: thank you. host: you have a piece on al-qaeda weapons of mass destruction and you spoke that bin laden wanted to get arsenals for his weapons. guest: the three messages i am trying to convey about al-qaeda's nuclear interests, is first they mounted an intense effort. it spanned over a decade in that terrorist attemp

happy new year. >> this is senator mitch mcconnell of kentucky. in 1777, along the new jersey- pennsylvania border, a new continental army had finished a daring and successful surprise attack on the british at trenton. in retaliation, the british wants to attack of its own on the continental army. instead of retreating, washington ordered his troops to stay and fight. it was a daring move. when the soldiers on the continental army saw the size and strength of the army against it, many were filled with dread. even in that awful moment, these men had a sense of their own strength, of confidence in one another, and a feeling that province was with them that night. against impossible odds, these ragtag patriots broke the enemy column, forcing the british to retreat. at a moment of victory, the entire continental line is said to have triumphantly chatted as one. the second battle of trenton was a great victory for washington strips and it was a great moral victory for a young nation that had become exhausted and discouraged by war. two hundred 33 years

mitch mcconnell saying he understands why show thors might be weary of the political infighting in the nation's capital, but says disagreements are indispensable to a healthy democracy. while the u.s. faces major challenges here, the minority leader predicts better days ahead. >> two long and difficult wars, a prolonged recession, double-digit unemployment, difficult days for our nation. in this new year, we are grateful for the courageous men and women of our own day who keep a lonely watch to defend the cause of liberty. we are also painfully aware of how many americans were out of work this christmas, but these challenges don't define us as a people. what's always defined americas its ability to overcome even the most daunting difficulties. >> president barack obama is pledging to hold accountable everyone involved in that botched terror plot back on christmas day. cnn senior white house correspondent ed henry has been traveling with the president in honolulu, looking like a beautiful day. big day for the president coming out officially on record saying, yes, we are linking this thw

. >> senate minority leader mitch mcconnell said today that he did not expect any more senate votes on health care until scott brown is sworn in as massachusetts' new republican senator. this is 20 minutes. >> good morning, everyone to read slow in the day -- every one. slow news day? the people of massachusetts had a chance to speak yesterday and i spoke rather loudly that they would like to see the congress: a different direction. the massachusetts special election was unique in many ways but i think we all experienced it all around the country, even though we might not be massachusetts citizens. in my own case, i was flying back from kentucky last saturday and a number of people on the plane brought up, can you stop that health care bill? but most interesting was a woman that said i am a constituent of yours, but i am married to a man from massachusetts, here he is. he introduced me to him and they said we're going to massachusetts to vote for scott brown. made a special trip to go to massachusetts said that he could vote for scott brown. this was in many ways a national referendum

. >> senator mcconnell, what is the bottom line though? is the health care bill as we know it dead? >> i sure hope so. i sure hope so. what we ought to do as we said repeatedly through the month of december. as you know we were here every day. we ought to stop, and start over and go step by step to concentrate on fixing the problem which is the rising costs and we laid out a series of things we thought would address the cost problem without having the government take over 1/6 of our economy. >> senator, given you're in the position in the fall -- what is democrats over the next ten months? >> look, there is no way to predict with certainty what the atmosphere will be ten months from now. we were elected to do the people's business and what we have been saying repeatedly, is that we would like to participate in the process of crafting solutions to america's problems. that opportunity was denied us on health care. you saw the result. the american people looked at an effort to jam the minority totally owd to, a minority totally opposed to it. and the measure ended up lacking credibilit

later in the morning, senate republican leader mitch mcconnell, along with other gop leaders, talk toportersdk÷ at afghanistan, u.s. foreign policy, and the 2010 agenda for the u.s. senate. that is why the 10:00 eastern. members of the u.s. house of representatives return to capitol hill today. coming up this hour, two reporters return as for the update. after that, former republican national

either way, at least from my perspective and senator mcconnell's perspective, that is a good thing. that is what the first amendment is all about. if you really believe that speech is a good thing and the the public ought to be able to hear all views and make up their own mind, there is no reason to limit the class or category or people or institutions who may be heard. thank you all very much. >> i'm president of citizens united. i'm extremely grateful and humbled by today's ruling at the supreme court. this has been a long, long road for us. it has been a long time coming. this is a monumental day for citizens united, for our board of directors who had the courage to support me, for our members who supported us over the years. we have been working on the theory of this case and this case since 2004. and i know it has been -- the last year here at the supreme court but its took a lot to get to this point. it is -- it is a monumental day -- it is a monumental victory for citizens united and more importantly for the first amendment and the fundamental rights of people to participate

. >> thank you senator mcconnell. i'm no, ma'am idaho and i share senator mcconnell's concern.re was uncertainty among military personnel as to how they're required and will be in the future to deal with the handling of detainees. i wanted tz make several points. first, it was very clear the morale of troops is very high. "t#orce in afghanistan and a ve, very committed american soldiers who are doing their j job and a impressive thing i noted was where our troops moved into a region they have been successful so far the first objective of which is to clear the area of the tall pap and start asserting a long term control. but i think very important point to make is that morale is high. secondly, i was impressed with the quality of american personnel on the ground. not just our troops but those who are running and managing all aspects of our actions in pakistan and afghanistan from thq ambassador to the usa i.d. person. i all the way down the line. it's, i think americans can be confident and proud in the personnel on the ground there doing such a good job. the one other thing i w

mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i want to thank the majority leader for giving me the chance to make my very brief opening remarks as i must leave the building shortly. i thank him. mr. president, the senate's newest member is coming down from massachusetts today and we'll have a chance to welcome senator-elect brown to the capitol. obviously, we're delighted to have him. senator-elect brown has captured the attention of the entire country, but he has captured the attention of massachusetts voters first. and the people of massachusetts sent a very strong message. they were log for someone who would help change the direction in washington, and they put their hope in the candidate whose views best reflected the kind of change they were looking for. so we welcome senator-elect brown to the senate. we look forward to working with him to bring about the change that americans are telling us they want. now we need to show them we are listening. on another matter, madam president, yesterday, several members of th

if that had been mitch mcconnell saying that about an african-american candidate for president of the united states, trust me, this chairman and the dnc would be screaming for his head very much as they were with trent lott. >> jeff johnson, trent lott comparisons all over the place. are they fair? you heard tara give one a minute ago. >> let's be clear. i think this is where we start trying to make race a partisan issue, and i think we need to be able to assess each statement within the context that it is. i listen to the rnc chairman, and i think what's interesting is i would question if any republican -- i'm not a democrat here. but i question if any republican who made a racist remark has the legislative record in working with african-americans and for african-americans that harry reid has. while i don't condone the comments, i think they're inappropriate and should have been held accountable. as somebody that worked with the naacp i know that harry reid has worked to fight for issues that affect african-americans and not one or two but a plethora of issues. >> so have a lot of re

. >> in the republican's weekly radio address, senator mitch mcconnell did not address the christmas day bombing plot but says the u.s. is facing "count "daunting difficulties in the new year." >> while it is true that many of us approach the issues differently at the beginning of a new year, it is important to remember that we are all united by our love of country and by a common faith that no challenge is too great for the american people to overcome. >> as for the investigation into the failed bombing, president obama says he expects final results from his advisors and recommendations as to what to do in the days to come. kimberly? >> joining me now to discuss president obama's affirmation of al-qaeda's connection to the christmas day attack is senior fellow and director of the terrorism project, walid farrah and mike baker also a host on fox news.com at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. thanks for being here, gentlemen. i'll begin with you, mike. what do you make of this? too little too late? why are we getting this information so late? >> it is odd. it seems to be behind the curve. we ha

mitch mcconnell the leader in the senate, somebody who i respect he's been able to do a great job at standing tall and fighting some of the worse things from the democratic side of the aisle and put forward a series of plans from stimulus bill to health care plan in the house john boehner has kept his team together working hard in a common cause. and you have to look at someone like sara palin galvanized our party she continues to do that i expect people across the party. get great what is going on in your home state? you have an aggressive senate race for senator kennedy's seat january 19th, is the voting day. tough race for both of them? >> i think this is surprising a lot of people. most people expected that a democrat would just roll into ted kennedy's seat has ted kennedy has year after year. massachusetts is not as monolithic a liberal state as people think. they voted for reagan twice, elected a republican governor 16 straight years. right now there's a lot of anger among independents in particular about the obama health care plan. what are seeing is people are flocking to sco

response, mitch mcconnell did not mention the christmas day terror attempt but said with two ongoing wars and prolonged recession, these are "difficult days for our nationnation." >> these challenges don't define us as a people. what defined america has been even the most daunting dif can cullties. in the new year we can be filled with new hope and optimism that our greatest challenges will be met, better days are ahead and in the difficult times we will persevere as we always have. >> president obama says he expects a final report on the bombing investigation from his advisors in the coming days. julie? >> julie: molly henneberg in washington, thank you very much. as the u.s. renews the counterterrorism effort in yemen, the failed attack put a spotlight on umar farouk abdulmutallab's homeland of nigeria. it's a country not generally associated with extremism and even the suspect's own father reported his son's suspicious activity to the united states. so what led umar farouk abdulmutallab to radical islam? contact and reaction from nigeria coming uppen up on thex report." we're look

senator, mitch mcconnell says the new year brings renewed hope and optimism. with two on going wars, recession and unemployment 10%, obama says it's difficult days for our nation, but went on to say these challenges do not define us as a people and difficult times we'll quote persevere as we always have. as for the christmas day bomb plot investigation, president obama says the u.s. had been stepping up its cooperation with the country of yemen to go after terror groups there. today, yemeni officials said they had sent several hundred extra troops to two eastern provinces where al-qaeda is said to be strong. shannon. >> shannon: molly, thanks for keeping us updated. new information about the investigation into that attempted terrorist attack on flight 253. fox news confirmed that a second man on board was taken into custody, questioned and then released. federal officials have initially denied that a second passenger was put into handcuffs, but are now apologizing for not making that information available. this apology comes after a couple on the plane told se

. >> mcconnell added, when the challenges are greatest, americans always join ranks. >>> checking other stories for you now. the death toll and itting at 39 in the suicide bomb attack on a volleyball game in northwest pakistan. police believe this bomber apparently used his pickup truck loaded down with 600 pounds of explosives, eight houses in the area collapsed because of the blast which could be felt as far as 11 miles away. six children are among the dead. 34 people injured in the blast, still in the hospital today. >>> and a somali man with an ax allegedly trying to break into the home of a controversial danish cartoonist has been charged with attempted assassination. remember the story from a couple years ago? well, the home belongs to kurt westergaard, the man who initially drew that prophet mohammed wearing a bomb as a turban, that cartoon. you knee cartoon sparked a lot of uprather o'mung the muslim community. over the years several suspects arrested for allegedly plotting to kill the cartoonist. >>> what to do about iran? president obama set this new year's deadline for making

dennis shedd and michael mcconnell waited for more than a year and a half.terrance boyle who was nominated by president bush for the fourth circuit, languished close to eight years and never received a vote. even though he passed out of judiciary committee with a majority, and the democrats had the majority. miguel he is trat a -- estrada rated well qualified by the american bar association was filibustered through seven cloture votes and never confirmed. charles pickerring, carolyn coup, william meyers, all i think outstanding nominees, all were filibustered and never confirmed. so i ask my democratic colleagues did we have any outrage from that side then? let's look at the current pace of nominations. unlike president bush, president obama did not extend an olive branch by renominating any of the outstanding pending nominees that president bush had submitted that were being held up. in fact, he ignored a request by all of the republican members of this body to do that. instead, he chose judge david hamilton as his first nominee. he could hardly be characte

my question is to senators reid and mcconnell, is you're not in favor of the conrad-gregg commission, what bipartisan proposal are you for? in other words, if you don't like the commission, then what bipartisan proposal are you for? i was also disappointed that the president initially threw in the towel on the conrad-gregg commission on the grounds that he understood that the votes to pass this proposal were not there. instead the president proposed issuing an executive order establishing a debt commission. an executive order commission, i believe, will be looked important by many on my side of the aisle as nothing more than an exercise in political messaging. but i said to my colleagues on this side of the aisle, if you're not for the conrad-gregg proposal, what are you for? what are you for? and i'm grateful this saturday the president has changed his position an stated -- quote -- "the only way to solve our long-term fiscal challenge is to solve it together. democrats and republicans. that's why i strongly support legislation under consideration to create a bipartisan fiscal commis

if that had been mitch mcconnell saying that about an african-american candidate for president of the united states, trust me, this chairman and the dnc would be screaming for his head very much as they were with trent lott. and the reality of it is racism, and racist conversations have no place today in america. this term, this you know, like he's going to pass, for example, for white america because he's you know, got this negro die alikt, that's language that harken back to the 1950s and 60s and confirms to me a mind-set out of step with where america is. but i can assure you if i had as national chairman said that well, it's all behind us and he's apologized let's move on, no one would be accepting that. there has to be a consequence here if the standard is the one that was set in 2002 with trent lott. >> is the consequence that senator reid should step down? >> i believe it is. whether he steps down today or i retire him in november either way he will not be the leader in 2011. >> governor kaine. >> well, first, the senator said i mean, chairman steel said earlier that the republ

he met with senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, massachusetts democrats john kerry and paul kirk, and republican senator john mccain. brown won in part on a promise to stop health care reform in its present form. he was asked today about working with democrats. >> am i open? i'm open to looking at every single bill on its merits and making a decision based on that and my first is going to look at is whether it's good for my state and then obviously if it's good for the country. >> reporter: but republican leaders-- invigorated by brown's election-- said democrats' health reform efforts are dead. house minority leader john boehner said congress should start over. >> listen, our goal is to stop this monstrosity. and we're working with our members so that we don't find ourselves in a position where they're able to pick off a few of our members and to get this bill passed. >> reporter: a white house spokesman said today president obama now agrees on the need to let the dust settle before trying to craft a health care bill that can pass, possibly with republican support. >> sreenivasan

. >> republicaleader mitch mcconnell would not forell his owvote but predicted bernan will get his second term. >> he is going thave have bipartisan supportn the sete and anticipate he wod be confirmed. >> wl you vote for him. >> will haveipartisan support. >> as bernke worked to rally support day, several more senators moved in to his column. >>'m going to support chairman bernanke's nomination. >> and white housepokesman robert gibb voiced optimm. >> this sends a sign to greater an overall stabili to havhis nominaon appred without political damage. and that is what we expect will hpen later this week. >> for now bernanke's improving prospects appear to help calm wall stet. the dow jones industrial average gained fearly 24 points to close near 10,00 one-- 10,197. it had fallen more than 40 pots last week. the nasdaq rose five pois today to cse above 2210. >> for a >> woodruff: for closer look at t president's moves and messages to th main street and wall street, we get the viewof two econom thinkers. robert reich is ofessor of publicolicy at the university of california at berkeley. he s

tristan mcconnell, of the international news website global post, gathered these voices. >> reporter: when barack obama took office, kenyans celebrated that a black man with roots in their country had become president of the united states. he was a source of both pride and inspiration. a year on, i went to find out what kenyans think of the obama presidency. >> so far, no disappointments, i would say. we're happy to have him as our president on the other side, and were happy to have him as part of our kenyan lineage. >> so far, obama has not helped kenya in any way. >> i'd like barack obama to check on the economy of kenya, because kenyans are so poor, our economy is so low, and its because of our leaders. and then, ask kenyan leaders to stop corruption so that he may help us in our economy. >> if there is a desire of most africans-- and to be particular, kenyans-- its that president barack obama may be tougher, so that his policies can help this country come out of intensive care unit so that it can be able to stand on its own. >> i don't think that people should put so much expectat

mitch mcconnell will be on fox news sunday. d.c.democratic delegate eleanor holmes norton and richard lugar. the sunday tv talk shows are meet the press, this week, fox news sunday. , face the nation and say that the union. you can listen to all five of these talk shows starting at noon eastern on cspan radio, 90.1 in washington, d.c., xm radio or you can follow on facebook and twitter. >> i describe myself after i left congress as a republic -- recovering congressmen. >> fred grandy was in congress for five terms. he was an actor and since 2003, he has been heard every morning on wmal talk radio in washington, d.c. and he is our guest tonight on "q&a." sunday, a tufts university professor on the 1965 voting rights act, the role it has played in black radical politics and help pave the way for future african american leadership. he will discuss his book. tuesday, your chance to talk to the authors of the best-selling "game change." this is on the 2008 presidential campaign and the impact policies. that is life tuesday morning, washi

one involving senator mcconnell, and one a few years before. the core of it all is the right to participate and speak out about, to be heard about matters political, social, and the like, is one in which the public at large has an interest in. there is a listener, a viewer, a reader, interest in political views the, orientation and the like which the first amendment protection. that applies to corporations as well as individuals as justice kennedy pointed out. this is say significant protection for media corporations as well as all other corporations. there is no way that the court is going to treat media entities and no different every kid any differently than anybody else. corporations either have rights or cannot have rights. whoever has them, and the decision says today and firmly and unequivocally that corporations and individuals have the right to participate in the political process. this is a triumphant day in terms of the first amendment. we really have no idea at and on the ground level of how big a change this will be. 26 states now

i will thank jim harrison and glenn mcconnell.on. this bill has allowed the private sector in the marketplace to work. i think not only members of the task force, but niki caylee and harry ketoe for what they did. do you want to stand again or should we class that you? we will clap at you. we talked about improving education. did we have a fight on this one? as a result of that back and forth on this administration's core belief that every parent ought to have an opportunity to decide what school works best for them and their child, a choice, more has been offered. virtual schools and classrooms allow someone in rural south carolina to get educational expertise from a different corner of south carolina. people worked hard on that one in showed real leadership? -- real leadership. we passed a school bill that was the first of its kind in the nation and i do not believe we would of thought in that bill through. we needed a larger debate on full-scale choice in education. westies deserves credit for advancing that bill. wes, would yo