he doesn't have it yet, and mcconnell knows that, that's why mcconnell keeps daring him to hold the vote right now, reid doesn't have the votes right now, but i think reid thinks maybe in the next five or six hours i can get the votes. i'm getting close, that's a little bit of this games manship going on between mcconnell and reid right now, but at the same time, there's back channel talks. that said, everything i hear is that while they may get close to having a framework for what the final deal may look like, i don't think we're going to get the announcement of the deal tonight. the question is, does reid trust that the deal will happen and not hold his vote tonight or does he go forward anyway? and that's what we don't know. >> mike viqueira at the white house, the white house has taken some criticism over the last week from both sides saying they have been uninvolved, that they have not been hearing from them. how involved is the white house now, and especially as chuck is pointing out, if we're able to pick off these republicans, is there some back channel negotiations, some talks t

we don't know -- we do know that mitch mcconnell, at least according to mitch mcconnell, he has spoken with the president. >> in effect. >> reporter: telephonically, tweeting. he hasn't been here face to face any time recently. the meeting that's ongoing now, i should check my blackberry for updates, is between the democratic leaders. we haven't talked about that a lot in the last -- of course, the last few minutes. very significant. we don't know what's going on inside that meeting. we do know that the last time the two democratic leaders came up here last weekend that there was something that they were talking to the president it. the outlines of a deal. they decided together that they couldn't go for it. that led to a, you know, even more bitterness, an escalation of the vitriol over the last week because republicans said we had a handshake we'll do harry reid and he pulled the rug out from under us because the president told us he couldn't go for it. that's in disputes, but that's what happened the last time the leaders were up here. so reason for optimism here. mitch mcconnell say

the reid-mcconnell battle.rry reid does not like hearing that mitch mcconnell is doing an end run around his reid's leadership vice president biden. so in general, i expect we'll hear a maneuver from harry reid to make his effort to find a compromise the more important one. and if he doesn't think he has the votes, it could be delaying the vote we're anticipating at 1:00 a.m., it could be some alteration in the plan or in the bill itself. i'm not sure. but to put his plan back at center stage and not this kind of side negotiation between mcconnell and biden. >> michael, right now, though, what are the options that senator reid has? especially if he doesn't have the votes needed to get there at 1:00 a.m.. >> well, i agree with gene, of course. if he doesn't have the votes, he's got to try to yank this thing back into his orbit. you know, the potato charles simick talked about having a banquet in a madhouse. i don't know if this is a banquet in a madhouse, but it's certainly a cafeteria in the midst of chaos. i t

we're still waiting for speaker mcconnell -- sorry, we're still waiting for leader mcconnell and speaker boehner to move even a little bit in our direction. >> we'll take a few questions. not many tonight. we're all a little tired. we'll have a long night and a longer night tomorrow. >> you read mcconnell's language. [inaudible] he was willing to have his own bill. wondering -- one thing you didn't do is you didn't add any triggers. there have been a lot of talks of [inaudible] >> we have had -- we have a closet full of triggers that people have suggested literally, dozens of them. but even though they're good ideas, earlier this week, a few days ago, i was sitting talking to jack lou, office management budget, and rob neighbors, who we all know is such a good person. we talked for an hour and a half about different triggers. i came to the conclusion we were negotiating with ourselves. we can't get the republicans to agree to any trigger that involves revenue. we cannot. the american people know this, because they agree with us. we are not going to have cuts to more programs, more progra

heard nothing back from mcconnell. about 6:00 p.m. mcconnell told reid at this point he was not going to negotiate with him, so the schedule is as of right now to try and get a cloture vote early sunday morning, actually 1:00 a.m. sunday morning, late, late tomorrow night, if mitch mcconnell does not want to negotiate tomorrow, it looks like harry reid's going to have to find about eight or nine senate republicans to come on board with a deficit reduction package, which would also yield itself to an increase in the debt limit. so there's a long, long way to go on this, and i would also add that the timing, now, becomes ever so important, because with the cloture rules and the way in which the parliamentary procedure operates in the senate, 30 hours to cloture, 30 hours after that final vote. you could feasibly see a scenario of whatever compromise comes out of the senate does not get to the house of representativess until tuesday, maybe tuesday evening until that 12:00 a.m. wednesday deadline, and that could have a real affect on the

and mitch mcconnell is clearly the key man here.elieve can really bring along a senate majority, can put some pressure on some republicans in the house to go along with this. and so he's clearly the person that the white house has picked among all republicans to deal with. and mcconnell could not deal until the boehner bill had gotten through the house because he supported the boehner bill. so now i think they're entering negotiations in earnest. the question is -- where are the democrats in all of this? >> who else is on "state of the union" tomorrow? >> we have chuck schumer, the key message-man in the senate for the democrats. and we have gene sperling, one of the president's top economic advisers, to talk about where we are in these negotiations and whether we're going to get it done. >> 9:00 a.m. tomorrow, a live show. we'll be watching. gloria, thank you very much. >>> when we come back, jeanne moos finds some newsroom what's going on -- some humor in what's going on in this debt crisis. er. proper nutrition can help you get b

pick them off one by one ordeal with mitch mcconnell. the key is senator republicans and whether or not there is a deal on the table right now we don't know. last week when they were close to something, harry reid and nancy pelosi were sitting in the same west wing talking to the president. >> stand by. we'll try to get another break before we go to that live news briefing on capitol hill. can i have some ice cream, please ? no, it's just for new people. hey ! chocolate, vanilla or strawberry ? chocolate ! chocolate it is ! yeah, but i'm new, too. umm... he's new... er... than you. even kids know it's wrong to treat new friends better than old friends. at ally bank, we treat all our customers fairly, with no teaser rates and no minimum deposit to open. it's just the right thing to do. helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. my son and i never missed opening day. but wit

try to merge one would think the reid, mcconnell and boehner bills. there will not be the balanced budget amendment because democrats would not have that. and as the press conference is wrapping up the hope there on the hill on the senate side is that they get this compromise and then there is a push by the democrats and speaker boehner is able to cobble together some kind of coalition probably with all of the democrats and some republicans but still there is a lot of head counting that has to go on for the deal to get done. as we get closer to the tuesday deadline the pressure will be on obviously everyone to try to get something done. one more thing, they do have in their back pocket each of them another piece of legislation that has been passed already called the military construction. it passed the senate, it is in the house. they could speed through a temporary increase of the deadline to try to work on a bigger deal if it came to that. >> sean: our good friend bret baier, host of "special report." thanks for being with us. >> thanks, sean. >> se

nor has the president spoken to minority leader mitch mcconnell, although mcconnell did speak with vice president biden and while that drama is playing out on capitol hill, over in the treasury department, they are making decisions about which checks will be sent wednesday and which won't. does grandma sdget her social security check or does the military family get their check if we go into default. these are real decisions while political games are being played out. not games, call it what you want. principles to some people. but it's hard for regular americans to understand. and there is this lack of negotiation going on here. i can confirm that today there is still no progress toward a compromi compromise. whatever hour it is east coast time and no further along toward a deal than they were this morning, piers. >> that's quite extraordinary. i'm going to turn to jason chafitz, one of the 22 republicans who voted no to the boehner bill. he joins me now. let me ask you directly, do you really have your country's interest at heart? you are rejecting anything to do with a bill by your ow

try to merge one would think the reid, mcconnell and boehner bills. there will not be the balanced budget amendment because democrats would not have that. and as the press conference is wrapping up the hope there on the hill on the senate side is that they get this compromise and then there is a push by the democrats and speaker boehner is able to cobble together some kind of coalition probably with all of the democrats and some republicans but still there is a lot of head counting that has to go on for the deal to get done. as we get closer to the tuesday deadline the pressure will be on obviously everyone to try to get something done. one more thing, they do have in their back pocket each of them another piece of legislation that has been passed already called the military construction. it passed the senate, it is in the house. they could speed through a temporary increase of the deadline to try to work on a bigger deal if it came to that. >> sean: our good friend bret baier, host of "special report." thanks for being with us. >> thanks, sean. >> se

try to merge one would think the reid, mcconnell and boehner bills. there will not be the balanced budget amendment because democrats would not have that. and as the press conference is wrapping up the hope there on the hill on the senate side is that they get this compromise and then there is a push by the democrats and speaker boehner is able to cobble together some kind of coalition probably with all of the democrats and some republicans but still there is a lot of head counting that has to go on for the deal to get done. as we get closer to the tuesday deadline the pressure will be on obviously everyone to try to get something done. one more thing, they do have in their back pocket each of them another piece of legislation that has been passed already called the military construction. it passed the senate, it is in the house. they could speed through a temporary increase of the deadline to try to work on a bigger deal if it came to that. >> sean: our good friend bret baier, host of "special report." thanks for being with us. >> thanks, sean. >> se

and then you have, of course, what senator mcconnell, the republican leader and vice president biden have been talking about. they've talked at least four times on the phone since i think 3:00 this afternoon, and probably a couple more times since. so the chatter that you're hearing among some inside the senate is that we could be hearing a potential delay simply in the reid vote. not pulling it off the floor, doing any of that, but since there is so much -- so many moving parts in different talks, the question is, do you send the senate home? do you let them get a good night's sleep, and then do you bring them back? you could make an argument that if he's looking to score a few brownie points and harry reid's trying to find a few more republicans to bring over, letting them get a good night's sleep might actually help his cause, not hurt. so we'll see. again, that's just staff chatter. this is not anything other than that. but there's clearly a lot. we do know there's a lot of incremental progress being made in the talks between biden and mcconnell. don't know for sure of any progre

let me say if senator mcconnell would give the proposal, the one includes major elements by senator mcconnell, but no, they insist on filibuster. he said 60 votes had become routine, routine because filibusters had become routine on the republican side of the aisle. we're going to fight this filibuster, and i hope in the end some republicans will cross over and join us and break the stalemate and come up with a bipartisan agreement. >> chuck? >> well, thank you. you know, this morning at 10:00 a.m. on the floor of the senate, leader reed asked senator mcconnell to come negotiate. the door was open all day. nobody knocked. nobody walked in. and some said, well, speaker mcconnell wanted to wait until the house disposed of boehner. but after the boehner amendment was defeated, in a television conversation i was sitting there, senator mcconnell still refused to negotiate. we will not solve this problem by standing there and folding our arms and saying "i am not talking to anybody." and the nation's future is at risk. republican senator, i've talked to ten today, they want to come to an agreement.

mitch mcconnell filibustering. if all these plans fail, the only possible options are a new round of votes. the 14th amendment or default. senator reid altered his plan to give republicans more of what they want. his latest proposals includes debt limit increase matched dollar for dollar by spending cuts. its spending cuts approved by the republicans. it includes no additional revenues and includes the mcconnell plan to allows congress to include debt inkraeses. senator brown joins us from ohio. you had long days. let's talk about specifically, do you think harry reid can get mitch mcconnell to sign on to anything at this point? >> i think thomas may not get mcconnell, but i think we'll get the number of republicans we need. it's not tomorrow. they'll probably start filibustering. it's pretty amazing. we've given up a lot of things in these negotiations. this is doing the right thing. we've got the guy, the speaker of the house and it's wasting time putting an agreement out there, a bill out there that would requir

we're waiting to hear from senator mitch mcconnell.rd from the senate majority leader, harry reid, and it looks like things are moving along. didn't like high school. and then i met my teacher, mr. mccooey, and that click happened. i would never have even thought about going into the engineering field if it wasn't for these ap classes, these teachers and them helping me realize that this is a major calling in my life. ♪ i didn't always know that i would like math, but now i think it'll change my life. >>> the chief economist for moody's analytics was upbeat about how a deal would affect the economy and the marks. i spokeearlier. he was in san francisco. i have to ask you right off the bat, you've been listening this morning. what's your reaction to what you're hearing from mitch mcconnell and senator schumer? >> yeah. great news. i mean, this sounds like we're going to avoid a crisis. $3 trillion in deficit reduction over the next ten years is more than i would have expected. so if they actually follow through on that, i think that's g

so mcconnell's plan is very elegant.people outside washington, but it allows members of congress to vote against raising the debt ceiling, even as they are in fact raising the debt ceiling. then the question is, does speaker boehner actually try and work with the democrats or is he going to stick to working with just his own party? that's the unanswered question. the question is whether speaker boehner tries to forge a different path than the one he's taken so far. >> thank you both. >>> we're less than half an hour away from the start of a senate session on the debt crisis. i'm joined now by senator robert casey. thank you for your time, senator. will leader reid's bill pass in 12 hours, 1:00 a.m. is the time you're going to have to be there? >> we don't know yet, but one thing i'm certain of is there is a lot of discussion within the senate, virtually every democrat i know, including my own experience, has been that there are a lot of republican there is the senate who want to work this out. and i have no doubt that th

if mcconnell wants him in, does that mean the white house wants to stay out?k the white house -- and, you know, behind the scenes a lot of politicians have said to me in both chambers the president's presence hasn't been helpful in these negotiations. he elevates it to a point where, you know, it's so high up you can't really discuss behind closed doors, you really need to sort of -- a lot of this has to be done through staffers, through getting the basic kind of details of the bills nailed down, and elevating it to that level isn't that helpful, especially when reid and mcconnell have negotiated so many bills together, know each other so well, have a comfortable relationship. boehner and obama have negotiated, but those fell apart twice. and so, i mean, having the president in the room here, especially when you're just dealing with a senate bill and perhaps going through the house, i don't know how helpful that is given it's more so his vice president, joe biden, who has experience in hammering out these giant negotiations. >> that final vote in the senate wa

we're still waiting for speaker mcconnell -- sorry, leader mcconnell and speaker boehner to move even our direction. >> we will take a few questions. we're all tired and had a long night. >> [inaudible] he was going to have his own bill with his own cuts. you did not add any trekkers. -- triggers. >> we have a closet full of triggers that people have suggested, literally dozens of them. but even though they are good ideas, earlier this week i was sitting there talking to jack lew, the office of management and budget, and another. we talk for an hour-and-a-half about the triggers. i came to the conclusion that we were negotiating with ourselves. we can i get the republicans to agree to any trader that involves revenue. the american people know this, because they agree with us. we are not going to have cuts to more programs without some revenue. that is a line that we have drawn in the sand and we are going to stick to it. i spoke a couple of times to leader pelosi and she agrees with me 100%. >> the house has passed two plans now. you're the only game in town now. what if it does not g

what makes you and senator mcconnell think you can get this through the house? >> well, i'm not sure. first we haven't seen it yet. leader reid and democrats in the senate have not signed off on this deal. we don't even know what all the details are. so we're not yet ready to try and urge anybody to be for it. one thing that the house republicans seemed to insist on, which was a short term only kick the can down the road three or four months, the president and democrats, house and senate, have been insisted that is no way to go. we have to get enough increase in the debt ceiling so it goes past 2012 because otherwise the markets will downgrade us possibly and all we'll be doing is having this same fight over and over again when jobs and helping middle-class families is our number-one concern. and we want to focus on that. so the house is going to have to swallow that i think without question. >> well, it sounds like senator mcconnell is ready to do that. >> well, you'll have to talk to him. but obviously, you know, we have to have a longer-term, because it's jus

some combination of mcconnell-reid. >> the mcconnell-reid plan which does deal with the debt crisis byust 2nd is the operative piece of legislation that's on the floor. now whether it can incorporate some other things down the road we go further, that's remains to be seen. that's being discussed among the leadership of both parties and the white house. >> part of this is a mechanical problem with the time running out. you guy haves to vote on the senate on this cut, cap and balance amendment which by all reports is not going to have a majority many the senate. it's not going to have the 60 votes needed in fact to get through. >> it's not -- >> you have to vote on that first. that's a friday vote. >> we have to vote on it because the republicans are insisting -- we're willing to have a vote on it. i doubt it will get a democrat vote. there may be a few republicans that won't vote for it. it decimates, medicare, social security. it's the most unrealistic piece of legislation i've seen and it's for show. why are we taking until the weekend on it? the reason's very simple. there are a numb

mitch mcconnell and harry reid spoke on the senate floor back and forth. mitch mcconnell saying in order for there to be a compromise to raise the nation's debt limit there had to be participation from the president of the united states to understand what bill he would sign. listen how harry reid responded to that. >> the president knows way have put forward is good for the country, extends the debt saving, reduces the debt. i say to my friend the republican leader, the president will sign my legislation. my friend says he wants something the president would sign. he will sign this. he'll sign it. we could pass it tonight, get it through the house. woe sign it tomorrow. >> through have it from harry reid saying the president would sign his proposal. there seems to be this question of who is negotiating with whom right now. no one knows for certain. it is expected that harry required is do for example to have to reach out to some republicans to get this across the finish line. 43 senate republicans sent harry reid a letter saying they would not support his

if it comes down to the mcconnell plan or going past august 2. >> the mcconnell plan doesn't have 218 republican votes. there is all kinds of conservatives who will not support the mitch -- as chris pointed out. >> chris: i want to hear you just say, you are saying that the mcconnell plan will not pass the house? >> who knows if there is a combination of rs and ds that will go for it. house conservative members, members of the republican -- they are not going to support the mcconnell plan. i'm not going to support the mcconnell plan. this is just kicking the can down the road. the american people sent us here to make tough choices. they didn't send us here to set up a commission and give the president veto power. i keep coming back to put plans on the table like we did. the only plan out there is the cut, cap and balance plan. let the american people look at this and let's have a real debate. this is so important for the future of this country. we are headed for a cliff. if we don't fix it, now we are in big trouble. let's have that national debate, not some copout like the mcconnell

i think that senator mcconnell has that same memory.ight now they want to blame president obama for the economy and all of its weakness and if they end up stumbling and not extendinthe debt ceiling and it gets worse, then there's at least co-ownership, if not blamed to be shared more by the republicans than democrats. >> charlie: if this was left to you and senator coburn of oklahoma, do you think you could solve it >> i think we can come close. i've worked with tom and he's worked with this gang of six. there are others inlved that are important part of it. kit conrad, mark warner mike -- the six of us were close and i haven't given up on that effort. in fact, conversation continues. i think there's a wayhrough it. it's painful but it's balanced. it's certainly in the st intere of this country. if we gavehis economy a boost, a shot of confidence in saying that we have a plan that's gng to reduce this deficit or about $4 trillion over the next ten years, i think it would have a dramatic positive impact on the growth of our economy. >> c

and he's also already asked for mitch mcconnell's help.that's, of course, the republican leader of the senate, to help him get a plan that can pass through both the house and the senate, so we'll have to see what those developments are. we'll be monitoring them very closely. but as you mentioned, chris, we also got some very disappointing economic news. we learned that the economy grew just by 1.3% in the second quarter. that means that consumer spending really barely rose at all, so economists very worried about those figures, and all eyes or the markets today to see how they will react to what happened last night. we do expect the president to address the entire situation when he speaks in just about 20 minutes from now. and, again, chris, just to remind you, we only have about secretary timothy geithner has warned the nation will default on its loans for the first time in history if the lawmakers can't increase the debt ceiling by next tuesday. chris? >> thanks so much, kristen welker. >>> as she alluded to, speaker john boehner is in t

[laughter] not that mcconnell's nuts would be that refreshing. when we return, we will bask in the brilliance of mitch mcconnell with wall street journal congressional correspondent, naftali bendavid. is [cheers and applause] >> stephen: welcome back, everybody. folks, before the break -- before the break, i was congratulating congressional republicans on the way they cunningly used the debt ceiling negotiations to trick barack obama into getting what he wanted. here to tell us how the on-going negotiations are going on is wall street journal congressional correspondent, neftali bendavid. thank you so much for joining us today. i read your publication today. they had an editorial in there saying this is kind of a smart move for mcconnell to make given the situation. what is the reaction been in the republican party to what mcconnell has done? is everybody as excited as i am? >> plenty of republicans are very, very unhappy about this. the conservative blogo sphere lit up -- >> stephen: i tried to good on red state and my computer exploded. >> they

what does majority leader reid really think about mitch mcconnell?how do you get along with mitch mcconnell? >> mitch and i are friends. we talk every day. i consider him a fine man. he's a good saturday. he and i have a different political philosophy. we both believe the country needs some help and we're trying to do that. it's not easy. we have two distinct caucuses. but the problem is not mitch mcconnell. >> it's skonk as you have never seen it. trust me. don't miss the "dateline" special. taking the hill inside congress this sunday 7:00 eastern. you're watching "andrea mitchell you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. this is my band from the 80's, looker. hair and mascara, a lethal combo. i'm jon haber of alto music. i've been around music my entire life. this is the first alto music i opened when i was 24. my business is all about getting music into people's hands. letting someone discover how great music is, is just an awesome thing. and the plum card from american express open helps me do that. i use it for as much inventory a

you going to vote for the mcconnell plan?> i am working very hard so that is not our only choice. i will say this. we cannot default on our debt. americans can't choose not to pay the bills they incurred. we know what a catastrophe that would be. i know there have been bills introduced in the house that suggest that you can sort of skate by this. standard & poor's, moody's, chamber of commerce, they all say that's just not so. >> chris: we're going to go into the whole question of default and what it would mean in a moment. congressman jordan, though, stay on the mcconnell plan for a moment. if it comes down to that, you are already shaking your head. if it comes down to mcconnell plan or going past august 2 without raising the debt limit, how will you vote? >> mcconnell plan doesn't have 18 republican votes. no way, there are all kind of conservative in the republican study committee that will not support the plan. as chris pointed out, it's a path -- >> chris: you're saying that the mcconnell plan will not pass the house? >

are we close to working it out as mitch mcconnell said?nk so. >> i think this is dangerously close. it's not justice working out a bill that can pass the senate, it's got to go back to the house, pass the house, and be signed by the president. we've already seen how difficult the house of representatives can be. i think we -- i really do believe we'll get it done. but i tell you, we're at great risk. >> we certainly hope so, and the american people. thank you for coming on. again, don't mean to be disrespectful, you know, talking points -- we get so used to them, and i think people just want answers to straight talk. thank you very much, senator, appreciate it. >> good talking to you. >> all right. >>> when we come back, photo shopping causing problems in the u.k. we'll tell you what actress julia roberts has to do with it. [ female announcer ] sweet honey taste. 80 calories per serving. 40% daily value of fiber. i'm here in the downtown area where the crowd is growing. [ female announcer ] watching calories at breakfast never tasted this

mitch mcconnell plan. i am trivializing. congress tends to flat them down and if he raises the debt limit in ways, if they don't have the numbers to counter them. two-third and the debt limit gets passed. you wouldn't like that? >> not at all. i offered a letter and 87 of my colleagues said don't pass a mcconnell plan. it accedes our ability to deal with the issue. mr. president we disapprove and let's move on but raise it. >> presumably buying time to come up with a deal. i know how that goes. where do we go. in that event our debt is downgraded regardless. >> there is a decent chance it will be downgraded regardless. we pass cut, cap and balance last week, the credit rating said that was the only plan on the table that met the criteria. >> it went no where. senate tabled it as they tabled boehner last night. you guys are coming back and essentially shooting down a facsimile of the reed measure. it looks like we are playing tennis and keep batting balls. >> are they just wasting time. >> we missed our opportunity for real r

mitch mcconnell, thank you for being with us. let me get to it. can you announce this morning that a plan has been reached and there's a deal? >> we are very close. we had a good day yesterday, both the president and vice president called me and the president talked to the speaker as well, and they understand with a republican majority in the house and a republican in the senate, and we made progress in that direction since april when the administration asked us to raise the debt ceiling with no reductions at all. i think i can confidently say this debt ceiling increase will avoid default, which is important for everybody in america to know we are not going to have a default for the first time, and we're not going to have job-killing tax increases in it, and we will deal with the problem, and that's that the government has been spending too much. we have not been taxing too little but spending too much. we're in a position where hopefully i can recommend to my members they take a serious look at it and support it. >> get it done when? >> soon. >>

[laughter] not that mcconnell's nuts would be that refreshing. when we return, we will bask in the brilliance of mitch mcconnell with wall street journal congressional correspondent, naftali bendavid. ♪ ♪ i like your messy hair ♪ i like the clothes you wear ♪ i like the way you sing ♪ and when you dance with me ♪ you always make me smile [ male announcer ] we believe you're at your best when you can relax and be yourself. and at thousands of newly refreshed holiday inn hotels, you always can. holiday inn. stay you. and now stay rewarded with vacation pay. stay two weekend nights and get a $75 prepaid card. woman: saving for our child's college fund was getting man: yes it was. so to save some money, we taught our 5 year old how to dunk. woman: scholarship! woman: honey go get him. anncr: there's an easier way to save. get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. [cheers and applause] >> stephen: welcome back, everybody. folks, before the break -- before the break, i was congratulating congressi

mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, there is nobody in the senate i respect and admire more than my counterpart, the democratic leader, but we have been subjected last night and again just a few moments ago, i would say to my colleagues from wyoming and idaho, to some orwellian discussion about what is a filibuster. now, most americans when asked the question what is a filibuster would believe that it was delaying something, delaying something. so we have the astonishing development here that my good friend, the majority leader, is delaying a vote on something he wants to pass. we were prepared to have this vote last night. we were prepared to have this vote -- we are prepared to have this vote momentarily. we are prepared to have this vote at any point. i want to disabuse my friend of the notion that somehow it's going to pass. he hasn't seen it yet but we just delivered a letter to his office with 43 of my colleagues who say they are not going to vote for it. the house of representatives is going to speak a

you heard mitch mcconnell. he told you not only is he speaking with the vice president, former senator joe biden, also speaking with the president, former senator barack obama. they're having a good conversation. he told you, i like these guys. he was very upbeat, very positive. >> well, they're listening to him, wolf, which is why he likes them. he doesn't like them so much when they're not listening to them. >> he seems to like biden and the president more than he likes harry reid. >> i think mitch mcconnell -- don't forget, joe biden is essentially the chief congressional liaison for this white house. >> president of the senate, by the way. >> exactly, and a former senator in good standing with people on both sides of the aisle. what i've been told by some republican senators is that joe biden, contrary to popular belief, is actually a good listener and that he's easy to deal with and, as one republican senator said to me this week, he said, you know, joe biden knows how to close a deal. and that's what's ve

mcconnell has offered a plan that will allow each -- give them an escape hatch, essentially hand the debt issue completely over to the president and have it resolved on election day next year by putting the question to the country. if you want to take the positive or the long view, it is that you have two parties with completely different conceptions of government. this is a symptom of it, and you cannot resolve it, so the people will decide next year. >> my husband said to me a couple of nights ago that we've got each other. i'm not sure they are going to get a deal. i think mcconnell has come up with a clever -- somewhat cynical, but forthright -- the idea that could probably get as out of this, but i'm not sure that boehner can deliver a substantial number of his own folks, and it is the democrats in the house who can be equally responsible to the base of the republican party. the base of the democrats can do the same thing. i'm not 100% sure it can get through the house. >> they have a wake-up call again this week from the business community and economists who said, "do your jobs

we know that senators mitch mcconnell had a lot to say. so did patrick leahy moments ago as well dick durbin. we have been hearing from all of them who have been debating this whole issue of trying to reach some compromise as the sparring continues, kate. while we wait for harry reid to speak, give us an idea of what is taking place. where are we as it pertains to these proposals? >> reporter: we're tracking a couple of things at this very moment, fredricka. one thing we're watching, we're waiting to hear from harry reid, who will be integral in reaching whatever compromise if there is a compromise, to be reached, he'll be integral in being part of those negotiations on the part of democrats here in congress. i think he's actually speaking, fredric fredricka. let's listen in for a second. >> be fairly quick. there has been a number of conversations as i walk in here about the letter i got from 43 republicans today. it is pretty interesting that the 43 republicans, a number of whom are in contact with me and others, one person who signed th

what will that look like as leader reid and mcconnell come together? >> well, you know, as governor, i did a lot of negotiating with the legislature in new hampshire that was republican and what i understood and what they understood is that when you negotiate, everybody gives something up. i don't particularly like the proposal in front of the senate right now, because i thought it should be more come p comprehensive. but i understand that at this 11th hour, we have got to put aside our own preferences and do what's in the best interest of the country. what i want to see is our colleagues on the other side of the aisle be willing to do the same. >> so many are watching this process outside of washington, asking, wondering what is happening there. what would you say to those in the public, those viewers out there that look at this and basically are quite discontent with what's happening and that voice is growing louder every day. >> it is, they're frustrated and i share that frustration. it's hard for me to understand how we could be at this point, when

it's harry reid and mitch mcconnell. whatever they pass in the senate they're anything to have to get, i would say, close to 100 democrats in house. they're going to lose half the republicans, boehner is. and to get them-- there have to be revenues in there. you might get 30 democrats to vote for it on basis it's the right thing to do. you're not going to get the necessary number of house democrats to vote for it without revenues in there somewhere, and that is going to be a real stumbling block for a lot of republicans and it's going to be tough work in the senate. >> i would only add that the big economic news of the week, the revision downward of the economic growth number, that is a long-term political problem for president obama. it makes the next set of jobs figures likely to be really disturbing. it also complicates the deficit problem in the future because all of these plans assume maybe 3% growth. we're not even at 2% growth in our economy. these are going to be a serious complicating factor in our politics movi

the mcconnell plan on its face actually gives them that option. they are free to vote to disapprove of the president raising the debt ceiling without promote cuts. they can do that. they know that the likelihood of overriding a veto of that resolution of disapproval is slim to none. so, in fact, in some regards, this could be a safe vote for some of them. >> jamal, when i think about some of the democratic senators you've worked for over the years, max cleveland comes to mind. never mind some of the other places you've worked. give me some advice on how a democratic incumbent handles these votes? do they simply vote against and transparently vote against so they don't hand an easy direct mail vote to somebody, or can they make a case the way mccaskill was trying to make it and say, they're playing politics with on this. >> i've got to divide the candidates up. one group is a group that will campaign in states where barack obama will also campaign hard, and they're going to be a little bit dependent upon having a strong -- >> possibly that's a nels