. >> mike mcconnell: can you imagine your life without electric power?> kroft: until february of 2009, retired admiral mike mcconnell was the nation's top spy. as chief of national intelligence, he oversaw the central intelligence agency, the defense intelligence agency and the national security agency. few people know as much about cyber warfare, and our dependency on the power grid and the computer networks that deliver our oil and gas, pump and purify our water, keep track of our money, and operate our transportation systems. >> mcconnell: if i were an attacker and i wanted to do strategic damage to the united states, i would either take the cold of winter or the heat of summer. i probably would sack electric power on the u.s. east cost-- maybe the west coast-- and attempt to cause a cascading effect. all of those things are in the art of the possible from a sophisticated attacker. >> kroft: do you believe our adversaries have the capability of bringing down a power grid? >> mcconnell: i do. >> kroft: is the u.s. prepared for such an attack? >> mcconn

mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the objection is heard. the senator from from -- the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: madam president, i would only briefly offer that the offset i just offered was one the majority just voted for. obviously, they didn't find it offensive in the context of t measure that was defeated. we'll continue to work on this in the hopes that we can pass this worthwhile measure without the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i'd ask consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, today there is about a million people in america who terribly disappointed with what took place here yesterday. a million people. that's a million in one category. there are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of others who are disappointed because of different things done to them yesterday as a result of the republicans not supporting legislation that was fully paid for. the statements made by republicans after this bill was rejected by them are simply without any

mitch mcconnell is calling the letter full of contradiction. he said "he is calling on congress to pass a jobless bill that will add about $80 billion total to the deficit, then calls for fiical discipline." we want your reaction to this. our phone numbers will be on the bottom of the screen. you can also join the conversation online at twitter. fred joined us from ocean city, maryland. caller: yes, that mitch mcconnell comment just about says it all. the president has been talking out of both sides of his mouth for most of his presidency. he makes a summit the sky is falling when it is not -- makes it sound like the sky is falling when it is not. i cannot believe that people are falling for it. he cannot run this country. he is doing a terrible job. host: edward joins us from maryland. caller: good brain. i have a solution to the oil spill problem. i am a scientist. what you have there is a column of oil and a pipe that goes below the ocean floor for nearly 3.4 miles. that is a considerable amount of moving mass. it is approximately one ton mo

tonight, harry reid and it mcconnell talk of unemployment benefits. and house oversight committee meeting on a mortgage foreclosures. president obama talks on the regulation bills. >> let me say to the american people but this is a change in personnel and not a change in policy. he fully participated in our review last fall. he both supported and helped design the strategy that we have in place. >> learn more about the president's choice to head u.s. forces in afghanistan. in general petraeus has been on c-span more than 40 times. what his appearances online anytime online at the video library. it is washington your way. on thursday, an effort to extend the eligibility of unemployment and if it failed in the senate. here is some of the discussion on the issue before and after the vote. from mid mcconnell and majority leader harry reid. this is 15 minutes. president, i have indicated to our friends on the other side of the aisle i would be propounding a consent agreement. let me just make a few brief observations, and then i will do precisely that. the

. >> woodruff: on the other hand, senate republican leader mirb mcconnell criticized the president for citing the spill in a renewed appeal for energy and climate legislation >> fact that the white house wants to use this crisis as an excuse to push more of its legislate agenda on the american people with the same kind of arguments it used to push health care is really nothing short of startling. >> woodruff: along the gulf coast, reaction to last night's address was decidedly mixed, including this sampling at a marina in southern louisiana. >> in my opinion , he didn't talk enough about stopping the oil. >> he's president, and there's only so much he can do. everything is really in b.p.'s hands. >> woodruff: in the gulf today, b.p. cranked up a new system to burn up to 400,000 gallons of oil a day. the oil burning is part of b.p.'s larger plan to capture or burn 2.2 million gallons a day by the end of the month. that would be roughly 90% of the estimated total flow from the damaged well. bob dudley is managing director of b.p. and one of the company's executives who met with the presi

senator mitch mcconnell was quoted in april saying we need to have real disclosure. why wod a little disclosure be better than a lot of disclosure? republican leader john boehner in twetch said, i think we ought -- what we ought to do, we ought to have full disclosure and went on to say i think that sunlight is the best disinfectant. this measure, the disclose act, has been supported by government reform groups including common cause, league ofomen voters, and public citizens. senate majority leader harry reid and the chairman of the senate rules committee have released a letter indicating their strong commitment to senate action on the disclose act. the white house strongly supports the disclose act. the president says he'll sign this bill when it comes to his desk. now, i ask my colleagues, will you stand with the american people in calgary for -- calling for disclosure and transparency in the political process? or will you allow corporations to overtake our democracy with the expenditure of undisclosed,% limitless amounts of money? i think that we should stand wit

mcconnell: mr. president, i, too, would like to say a few words aboutur departed colleague. the first thing to say is that we're sorry. first and foremost to theamily and also to the staff of senator byrdor their loss. and the nexthing to say is that it's a sad day for the united states senate. mr. president, everybody who has been here for a while has got a few robert byrd stories. a couple couple to mind i thought i would share. along with senator reid and senator dodd who were here on the floor earlier, senat byrd in the early part of the decade responded to my request to come down to the university of louisville, my ma mater, and to speak to the students and to a broader audience. at his age and parcularly given the fact that i was a member of the opposition party, there was frankly no particular reason for him to do that, but he did and made an extraordinary imprsion on the students and inconvenienced himself on my behalf, which i always appreciated. my second and really my favorite recollection of senator byrd, i found myself a few years ago in a curious position, at v

i got a kick out of the republican senator mitch mcconnell. i think he was talking about the negotiations going on in the senate over the details of the financial reform bill. his reply was that the government is taking over. our financial system -- is taking over our financial system. as if this idea is not going to resonate with the american people. [laughter] i am sure a lot of people heard that and they said, right on. people are angry at the banks. turning to the election -- it will be a fierce battle. i do not have to tell you that the outcome is uncertain. it will have vast repercussions, either good or bad. billions have to be spoken to about the status of these elections. millions will have to be nudged to talk to their neighbors, co- workers, and fellow churchgoers. they must be urged to vote as if their future and their families futures depended on at -- family's futures depended on it. they cannot be convinced to buy into the right-wing, republicans spin. the primary results this week suggest that it will not be as easy as the repu

mcconnell: mr. president, i, too, would like to say a few words aboutur departed colleague. the first thing to say is that we're sorry. first and foremost to theamily and also to the staff of senator byrdor their loss. and the nexthing to say is that it's a sad day for the united states senate. mr. president, everybody who has been here for a while has got a few robert byrd stories. a couple couple to mind i thought i would share. along with senator reid and senator dodd who were here on the floor earlier, senat byrd in the early part of the decade responded to my request to come down to the university of louisville, my ma mater, and to speak to the students and to a broader audience. at his age and parcularly given the fact that i was a member of the opposition party, there was frankly no particular reason for him to do that, but he did and made an extraordinary imprsion on the students and inconvenienced himself on my behalf, which i always appreciated. my second and really my favorite recollection of senator byrd, i found myself a few years ago in a curious position, at v

thank you to all of them for their leadership and also senator reid, the majority leader, senator mcconnell. none of this ever happens without the majority leader of the senate taking a leadership role and insisting that this matter move forward, that it be addressed before we break for the july fourth recess period coming up next week, and in the midst of all the other things we're involved in -- as my colleagues know, we have been involved in a very lengthy conference regarding financial reform, but i'm delighted to take some time out from that effort to address this particular proposal and urge our colleagues to be supportive of this proposal. i also want to support what i mentioned earlier, president obama's approach and appreciate his team's work in helping us approve this important legislation. i mentioned earlier our secretary of state and former colleague, we had extensive meetings with her. national security advisor general jones. deputy secretary of state steinberg, under secretary of the state levy as i mentioned, tremendous work he has done, stewart levy, assistant secretary of

for a long time republicans, say senator minority leader mitch mcconnell had opposed finance campaignying the real thing is disclosure. it's not how much they give but who gives it. let them give anything they want but disclose it immediately. with the internet, we can have it out that day, we can find out who did what. but the funny thing is now some of these folks who wanted immediate disclosure are not so big on disclosure saying this is a united ruling. didn't have anything to do with that. so now they are kind of hemming and hawing. so there are very strongly-held views and principaled views on the first amendment and it's an issue that draws a lot of emotion. and when you take time digging into the fascinating issue, it's one of the long in this country. we wrestled with money and politics. the powerful or well-resourced to influence our political process is not one that's going to go away. as long as we have elections, we're going to have this issue. hoot: have you ever seen a carveout such as the one that was created for the n.r.a.? >> sure. guest: sure. tax bills. they won't

>> senator mcconnell said he was against an energy tax. he did not say he was opposed to energy legislation as such. i may speculate that he is. >> whatever it is, the fact is, countries recognize that the country that is the head in the grain economy will be the nation that leads the global economy. he said we want america to be that nation. you cannot ignore the fact that we ave an environmental challenge. this is a national security issue, it is a jobs issue. it is something we have a responsibility to do. how works out is a matter -- it how it works out is a matter of legislative process. we [unintelligible] is a debate that we welcome and this event shows so eloquently the need for us to have a new energy policy. the deeper we dig and go all the way into the earth to extract, the more dangerous and risky it is. the wind, the sun, the soil. that is where we should be looking for renewals. we have to transition and that is where we have to have a national debate about before calling any such initiative dead, recognize that is on the wro

senator mitch mcconnell was quoted in april saying we need to have real disclosure. why would a little disclosure be better than a lot of disclosure? republican leader john boehner in twetch said, i think we ought -- what we ought to do, we ought to have full disclosure and went on to say i think that sunlight is the best disinfectant. this measure, the disclose act, has been supported by government reform groups including common cause, league of women voters, and public citizens. senate majity leader harry reid and the chairman of the senate rules committee have released a letter indicating their trong commitment to senate action on the disclose act. the white house strongly supports the disclose act. the president says he'll sign this bill when it comes to his desk. now, i ask my colleagues, will you stand with the american people in calgary fo -- calling for disclosure and transparen in the political process? or will you allow corporations to overtake our democracy with the expenditure of undisclosed,% limitless amounts of money? i think that we should stand with

host: mitch mcconnell says, " senator byrd, a devotion to the u.s. constitution with the people learning of history to defend the interests of a state and the traditions of the senate." stephen, good morning. caller: that is what i was going to tell you, that america has lost one of its great, great leaders. i mean, you know, it is hard for me to speak right now, because my mother-in-law went to school with his daughters, and we was at the airport 15, 20 years ago, picking her up, coming in from fort lauderdale, and robert byrd was getting ready to fly back to washington from west virginia. he took the early bird flight. carol, my mother-in-law, walked up to him, and she had not seen him in 30 years could walk up to that man, and he recognized that man, and he recognized her, knew her, in the family, and she asked, "what are you taking the early bird flight?" he said, but " i am taking the early bird flight because i am not going to take first class when everybody else is in hard times, and i'm going to go ahead and take the early bird flight to save

for a long time republicans, say senator minority leader mitch mcconnell had opposed finance campaign saying the real thing is disclosure. it's not how much they give but who gives it. let them give anything they want but disclose it immediately. with the internet, we can have it out that day, we can find out who did what. but the funny thing is now some of these folks who wanted immediate disclosure are not so big on disclosure saying this is a united ruling. didn't have anything to do with that. so now they are kind of hemming and hawing. so there are very strongly-held views and principaled views on the first amendment and it's an issue that draws a lot of emotion. and when you take time digging into the fascinating issue, it's one of the long in this country. we wrestled with money and politics. the powerful or well-resourced to influence our political process is not one that's going to go away. as long as we have elections, we're going to have this issue. hoot: have you ever seen a carveout such as the one that was created for the n.r.a.? >> sure. guest: sure. tax bills. they won

for a long time republicans, say senator minority leader mitch mcconnell had opposed finance campaign saying the real thing is disclosure. it's not how much they give but who gives it. let them give anything they want but disclose it immediately. with the internet, we can have it out that day, we can find out who did what. but the funny thing is now some of these folks who wanted immediate disclosure are not so big on disclosure saying this is a united ruling. didn't have anything to do with that. so now they are kind of hemming and hawing. so there are very strongly-held views and principaled views on the first amendment and it's an issue that draws a lot of emotion. and when you take time digging into the fascinating issue, it's one of the long in this country. we wrestled with money and politics. the powerful or well-resourced to influence our political process is not one that's going to go away. as long as we have elections, we're going to have this issue. hoot: have you ever seen a carveout such as the one that was created for the n.r.a.? >> sure. guest: sure. tax bills. they won

senator mitch mcconnell was quoted in april saying we need to have real disclosure. why would a little disclosure be better than a lot of disclosure? republican leader john boehner in twetch said, i think we ought -- what we ought to do, we ought to have full disclosure and went on to say i think that sunlight is the best disinfectant. this measure, the disclose act, has been supported by government reform groups including common cause, league of women voters, and public citizens. senate majority leader harry reid and the chairman of the senate rules committee have released a letter indicating their strong commitment to senate action on the disclose act. the white house strongly supports the disclose act. the president says he'll sign this bill when it comes to his desk. now, i ask my colleagues, will you stand with the american people in calgary for -- calling for disclosure and transparency in the political process? or will you allow corporations to overtake our democracy with the expenditure of undisclosed,% limitless amounts of money? i think that we should stand

senator mitch mcconnell was quoted in april saying we need to have real disclosure. why would a ltle disclosure be bett than a lot of disclosure? republican leader john boehner in twetch said, i think we ought -- what we ought to do, we ought to have full disclosure and went on to say i think that sunlight is the best disinfectant. this measure, the disclose act, has been supported by government reform groups including common cause, league of women voters, and public citizens. senate majority leader harry reid and the chairman of the senate rules committee have released a letter indicating their strong commitment to senate action on the disclose act. the white house strongly supports the disclose act. the president says he'll sign this bill when it comes to his desk. now, i ask my colleagues, will you stand with the american people in calgary for -- calling for disclosure and transparency in the political process? or will you allow corporations to overtake our democracy with the expenditure of undisclosed,% limitless amounts of money? i think that we should stand wit

for a long time republicans, say senator minority leader mitch mcconnell had opposed finance campaign saying the real thing is disclosure. it's not how much they give but who gives it. let them give anything they want but disclose it immediately. with the internet, we can have it out that day, we can find out who did what. but the funny thing is now some of these folks who wanted immediate disclosure are not so big on disclosure saying this is a united ruling. didn't have anything to do with that. so now they are kind of hemming and hawing. so there are very strongly-held views and principaled views on the first amendment and it's an issue that draws a lot of emotion. and when you take time digging into the fascinating issue, it's one of the long in this country. we wrestled with money and politics. the powerful or well-resourced to influence our political process is not one that's going to go away. as long as we have elections, we're going to have this issue. hoot: have you ever seen a carveout such as the one that was created for the n.r.a.? >> sure. guest: sure. tax bills. they won

senator mitch mcconnell was quoted in april saying we need to have real disclosure. why would a little disclosure be better than a lot of disclosure? republican leader john boehner in twetch said, i think we ought -- what we ought to do, we ought to have full disclosure and went on to say i think that sunlight is the best disinfectant. this measure, the disclose act, has been supported by government reform groups including common cause, league of women voters, and public citizens. senate majority leader harry reid and the chairman of the senate rules committee have released a letter indicating their strong commitment to senate action on the disclose act. the white house strongly supports the disclose act. the president says he'll sign this bill when it comes to his desk. now, i ask my colleagues, will you stand with the american people in calgary for -- calling for disclosure and transparency in the political process? or will you allow corporations to overtake our democracy with the expenditure of undisclosed,% limitless amounts of money? i think that we should stand

for a long time republicans, say senator minority leader mitch mcconnell had opposed finance campaign saying the real thing is disclosure. it's not how much they give but who gives it. let them give anything they want but disclose it immediately. with the internet, we can have it out that day, we can find out who did what. but the funny thing is now some of these folks who wanted immediate disclosure are not so big on disclosure saying this is a united ruling. didn't have anything to do with that. so now they are kind of hemming and hawing. so there are very strongly-held views and principaled views on the first amendment and it's an issue that draws a lot of emotion. and when you take time digging into the fascinating issue, it's one of the long in this country. we wrestled with money and politics. the powerful or well-resourced to influence our political process is not one that's going to go away. as long as we have elections, we're going to have this issue. hoot: have you ever seen a carveout such as the one that was created for the n.r.a.? >> sure. guest: sure. tax bills. they won

fights mcconnell's four to six hours, so understanding where your adversaries are trying to go -- fights may last only four tt six hours. now, let's put it in cyberspace. we have no situational awareness. it is very limited. oftentimes, our situation awareness is, indeed, forensics, which means that something has happened. we are now responding to that, and we are saying, "ok, something got throat." how do you see your network? -- something got thhough." you did not have real-time situational awareness. and the consequence of that is it was almost -- after the fact as opposed to mitigating it. we need real time situational awareness of our networks to see where something bad has happened and to take action at that time in. that is both a coordination issue among the services -- to take action at that time. this is both the court may issue -- a coordinating issue among the services -- we are working towards that, but we do not have that. now, if you take that to iraq and afghanistan, you would find the same things. we need to fix those. i would fix the war fighting once first and in the g