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

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

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

house, they're talking to each other through the white house, and apparently -- i'm speaking of mitch mcconnell, harry reid. right now, there's been a lot of this back and forth. and what's going on between the reid office and mcconnell office is ugly. that said, there seems to be optimism from the mcconnell folks that they are making progress in coming up with what is is the big sticking point, of course, in the reid bill, which is this trigger to deal with the second round of deficit reduction that would guarantee them cuts in order to make the second dead part of the debt ceiling, so that the president gets what he wants, which is a guaranteed debt ceiling increase through the entire 2012 year, into the spring of 2013. you go from the republican side, they believe they're making progress in their talks with vice president biden and president obama. it's mitch mcconnell and byten that are doing a lot of talking. i've been told today. democrats are not as optimistic about what's happening, harry reid said they're no closer to a deal than they were four or five hours ago. you have to figure out

we know he spoke with senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. he met with harry reid and nancy pelosi. he's putting pressure on behind-the-scenes. you heard luke talk about the fact that democrats would like to to see a deal that extends through 2012. well the president has said he won't sign anything less. in fact he wants to to see a deal that goes through the 2012 election up to 2013. individuals tell me they want to to see major progress by sunday. here's why. there are two reasons. first of all, the markets. as you know we saw the stocks dip to their lowest level in about a year showing their lowest weekly decline in about a year. we got some pretty negative news that economy grew by 1.3%. far lower than economists wanted to to see. so there's really an urgency to get this done before the markets open up on monday. the asian markets will open up our time on sunday. so some urgency there. president obama also putting pressure on publicly. he spoke on friday about this publicly. urging congressional leaders to compromise, urging people to con

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 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

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

nevertheless, let's take it at face value with whatmi mitch mcconnell said. he's talking to the president about a possible deal. that's the first time we've heard that. that's something we've been waiting to hear for two days. >> leader mcconnell made a deliberate effort to come to the microphone twice to be emfat big this, and he used the word and emphasized it, seriousness. they have the level of seriousness, on his level. brought up speaking with the vice president and president, making an effort to bring that point across. >> reporter: you know, there was a question to harry reid earlier and again to john boehner, a small thing it would seem but something that could change the dynamic of this whole debate. it didn't even happen in washington, richard. happened when admiral mike mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs who was visiting afghanistan right now, our jim milk krzyzewski chef -- mckrzyz there now. we were asked from a soldier in a war the table, but our men and women are in harm's way, and i'm not going to shortchange them at this critical time. >> i

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 move closer to that deadline in three days. >> well, first of all, we've got to see where mitch mcconnell reid's plan is pretty much what mcconnell has been offering. this is something the white house likes. the red line inside the white house is there should not be a two-step process where we have this whole debate again in six months' time with a different bunch of demands and a different budge of hostages being taken. so mcconnell's plan is very elegant. it may sound confusing to 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, senato

does mitch mcconnell fight for this bill?oposal, trying to say it's the only thing senate republicans will support or be open to some sweetener from harry reid to try and get the debt limit through 2012, like president obama wants somewhere boehner was open to that being a possibility. certainly he does not want to see it. his goal through this process is to jam the president, get this through to the weekend and it be the last proposal standing, however, he did not completely shut the door on further compromise. a significant point's in in a don't so rigid, folks not wanting to get out of their corner to leave the tiny window available says there's still a long way to go and we could go through the weekend. no one wants this the markets to open monday with this still on the table. however, it's a possibility to see this go through to tuesday. >> take your first scenario. say mitch mcconnell decides he'll hold fast. what happens? do we get to midnight? on august 2nd? what happens? >> reporter: that's the question that i think

mitch mcconnell is negotiating with the white house.emocratic leaders met with the president earlier today, as well. also in the nation's capital, teachers rallying against standardized testing. >> this is what democracy looks like. >> they marched to the white house carrying signs with slogans like children are more important than test scores. and i am not the problem. the group says emphasizing testing takes the focus away from students. actor matt damon also joined in on that rally. >>> federal agents are appealing to the public for information about assault rifles stolen from ft. irwin in california. the atf is offering a $10,000 reward for information on 26 assault rifles and one sniper rifle stolen earlier this month from an army warehouse. one weapon has been recovered and some arrests have been made. >>> dna evidence is taking center stage as young american -- a young american woman appeals for her murder conviction in italy. amanda knox was convicted of killing meredith kercher in 2007 but insists she didn't do it. a forensic e

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

that, in fact, the talks between the white house and mitch mcconnell had picked up to a degree.blican side are also adamant that harry reid was not going to be able to reach cloture tonight on his plan, whatever which way he changed it up to try to republican members. one aide said, if harry reid were able to get cloture tonight, i would personally cut off my right hand on msnbc. so they were quite confident that was not going to occur. but what i'm hearing, maybe a white house meeting tomorrow between congressional leaders and somehow a way to figure out what exactly, what chuck was speaking about earlier, will be this trigger. obviously, with washington speak, to get a second extension of the debt ceiling through 2012. if this bipartisan commission is mentioned in the bill, which is supposed to come up to a solution to enact spending cuts can't reach it, what will be the painful trigger that would hurt both sides that would force them to try to cut spending before the next extension of the debt limit. now, thomas, assuming this deal gets done tomorrow, there is all inclination

tonight cnn has learned that mitch mcconnell is in direct contact with the white house and democratic leaders in congress met face to face with the president late this afternoon. but just a short time ago on the senate floor, senator harry reid insisted that claims a deal could be near are simply not true. >> today the speaker republican leader held a press conference to announce they're in talks with the president and that a bargain to raise the debt ceiling is in the works and is close. mr. president, members of the senate, that's not true. >> i just spent two hours with the president and vice president and leader pelosi. and it's fair for me to say that the engagement there is not in any meaningful way. the speaker and republican leader should know merely saying you have an agreement in front of a few television cameras doesn't make it so. >> the only way we're going to get an agreement before tuesday is to have an agreement with the president of the united states. the only person in america of the 307 million of us who can sign something into law. and i'm more optimistic than my f

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

mitch mcconnell says that a deal is very close.fe, about the same time, said no agreement yet. we have agreements of what is on the table in terms of a possible agreement. let's couch it that way. if we learned one thing over the course of last week, nothing is done until it's done it would raise the debt ceiling by $2.8 trillion, get us through the next election, that's a condition president obama had all along. initial spending cuts of $1 trillion of discretionary spending would take place in the short term. there would be a clean vote in the senate on a balanced budget amendment, not agreement there, amendment. that is expected to go nowhere, but it's in there nonetheless to make some people happy. the super committee of members of congress that they are going to form is going to be meeting from now until thanksgiving. mandated to find $1.8 trillion in cuts, and you heard david plouffe say everything is on the table, including entitlement cuts, aka, social security, medicare, medicaid. as well as revenues, but republicans say ne

kim, a lot of conservatives are saying that mitch mcconnell is selling out their principles and what's he really up to? >> well, what mitch mcconnell is actually up to is saying, look, we took a big bet on this debt ceiling thing opening to use the mefrj to make the president agree to spending cuts. what house republicans want. it's not working. everything he wants meager spending reform, wants higher taxes or he's saying he seems to be willing to go all the the way to shut down default. lets he' step back and let him take control of this and consequences of the action of not dealing with real spending reform. >> paul: dan, sellout. is this giving up too easily as a lot of right wing,are saying? >> no, i don't think so, paul. i think they overestimated their ability to leverage the president into big spending cuts. somehow, it seems to me, behind all this have is a misunderstanding about the power of the presidency, it is vast and getting into a big fight over big spending cuts and let's make it clear here, we're talking about reforming entitlement spending, medicare, medicaid spending

i think mitch mcconnell is the person to have in the hot seat this morning, don't you?- i don't know, all these guys are power brokers. he seems to have become more of a power broker when he said i am going over here to the white house and going to talk over here. why was he insisting that the president got back in the mix in a major way? >> because the president is the only one that can give the final signoff on something. don't forget, it was the president that threatened to veto a short-term deal, and so he wanted to hear it directly from the president. mitch mcconnell had to wait until john boehner got his bill through the house, and that took a couple days if you recall, and he had to wait until that was done to start negotiating really full steam ahead, because, of course, he supported boehner's plan, and he couldn't look like he was undercutting him in any way shape your form. when that passed, then you saw the speaker and mitch mcconnell go out there and say, okay, folks, we need to have some serious discussions, and hopefully we will hear in a short while what

that was mitch mcconnell saying they were close to raising the debt ceiling and we're hours away from a planned vote on harry reid's plan. they delayed the vote after the white house asked for more time to reach an agreement with the gop. the talks that have been taking place have done nothing to cool the bickering over which side is more committed to finding a compromise. >> i spent two hours with the president and vice president and leader pelosi. it's fair for me to say the engagement is not in a meaningful way. the leaders refuse to negotiate in good faith. >> i might say i cut short a conversation with the vice president to come out for this important vote on a live way. i want to get back to work and hopefully solve the problem. howard dean, former chairman of the democratic national committee. i have to tell you, in addition what we heard about that bickering between harry reid and mitch mcconnell and proceeded by mitch mcconnell saying we are close to a deal, we are monitoring "meet the press" and have white house adviser saying no, we don't have a deal yet. me what's going on

president were talking constantly throughout the day with people on the hill, including senator mitch mcconnell idea of mcconnell being optimistic but we heard from reed s reid saying there's a distance to go. >> all right, joe, they'll telling us to be cautious here. >> right. >> yesterday at one point in day you had mitch mcconnell get up and say it looks like we're close and right behind him on the senate floor, harry reid opens up and says, huh-uh. we don't know what to believe up there on capitol hill. >> right. a senior senate republican aide telling me this morning that what he's been seeing in the media reports is essentially what athena reported, that the numbers seem to be a little bit off, either they're too big in some places and too small in other places. that's the reason people haven't come out yet. i don't think anybody's shooting down the idea that there is a framework out there that they're working on now and that the republicans mostly have really been having a close conversation with the president about how to get something that can be signed. by the way, you know, all eyes

the old guard wins because as we were sit tlg talking to mitch mcconnell, we were tough on mitch butnd guess what? he talked to us. >> yes. >> very gracious. i savaged trent at times. there was an open door. there was talking. it's how washington works. you work through things with people. as i sat there talking to mitch mcconnell, it struck me that barack obama never had a one-on-one with a top republican for his first two years. there's a disconnect and distrust. >> this is commander in chiefitis. he controls so much, he stepped into this issue and as pat points out, the house republicans have the hammer here. he knew that. that was reality. he did this negotiation with boehner. one of the things you learn in negotiation is don't get the other guy to give something that he can't deliver. >> right. >> that is what happened with boehner. we went back and they told him. they said hey, $800 billion in revenue, no way. >> bill clinton loved newt gingrich. he loved freshmen like myself. he didn't understand us. we were aliens to bill clinton. a guy, a product of the '60s versus the young

host: senator mitch mcconnell brought it up on the floor. here he is thursday. >> republicans will not be reduced to being the tax collectors for the obama economy. we will not call a bad deal a good deal. if the president wants to threaten seniors or rattle the world by attending that we cannot pay our bills, he can do that. he will not implicate republicans in these efforts. as a last result -- resort, i have a proposal. if the president would rather default than cut back, let him explain that. if he wants to preserve his vision of washington, let him explain that. if he wants to spend us into oblivion, he can do that. do not expect any more cover from republicans on it then you got on health care. none. host: your response? guest: republicans a implicated in all of this. it started under the bush administration. we are in a situationith the debt spiralling of control. we had to bail out an economy that was about to collapse in 2008. under who's watched did that occur? under whose watch did we have wars in afghanistan that we started? unde

i think mitch mcconnell is clear here. he knows how to play the game very well.think over the next several hours, as we head into the night, that's going to be the critical time. >> so you see the democrats in the senate. let's go across and will we see the same here with boehner doing that with pelosi? >> you would think so. right now i think it's up to the senate side to come -- deliver something that they can propose to the house and bring them home. you're going to have to see a real coming together of a lot of interesting dynamics, because you're going to have to have bipartisan votes and voting blocs together. what we're hearing from everybody involved is there's an all-channels, vice president biden and his staff has been talking to lawmakers in both houses and it doesn't look right now very promising, but there's still a lot of discussion. >> part of that work, if that were to happen, as we were talking about the house there, the question is will speaker boehner leave tea party candidates in the cold for this next round. >> absolutely. as you say, they've

earlier this hour, senate republican leader mitch mcconnell told us negotiators are, quote, very closeid the deal would call for $3 trillion in spending cuts over the long term. he said the debt limit would be raised in two stages with some sort of mechanism to increase the ceiling again next year. senator chuck shuker grants that they're making progress, but says there's no deal until everything is agreed on. the president's chief economist says the white house does not expect additional revenues in the next year and a half. >>> the attorney for the two american hikers detained in iran says the verdict should be issued within a week. josh fattal and shane bauer were arrested two years ago while hiking in iraq, accused of entering the country illegally and spying. a suicide bomber's car exploded in southern afghanistan killing 12 officers and injuring 14.

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 is important. you have the republican house that is resisting a deal with the president and resisting raising the debt limit. you need republicans to move forward, but mitch mcconnell has shown a willingness much more f. he and a senior leader can make a deal t becomes more difficult for republicans to block it in the house. they will lose the republicans anyway. remember, john boehner passed the his plan that has no chance of going forward in the senate. it has debt limit increase on passage of a balanced budget amendment which is not going to happen. mitch connell can try to move that process along, but john boehner has to figure out how to get to a majority in the house. that's why nancy pelosi is relevant again as well as members of the caucus. >> this passage of a budget amendme amendment, if that's not put in there in some shape or form whether tied to raising the debt ceiling or a side bar, what does that say for the tea partiers who demanded this and have been relentless in demands for this

leaders made it clear we will not be the ones who put the government into default. >> that's the mitch mcconnell last ditch effort? >> it's mcconnell-reed. >> that will be what you agree to if all else fails? >> that's what the senate is proceeding with. but the house of representatives will have to decide what they will do. but at the end of the day i don't think there's going to be a default. >> you talk about taxes. obviously, the republicans made that a line in the sand, no new taxes. and yet, poll after poll recently said the american people are not with you on that approach. the majority said there's a polled approach. whether quinnipiac, the majority of republicans said there should be no new tacks. do you think you're out of step with the american people on this? >> christiane, i haven't seen the polls you're referring to. i looked for polls that backed up the president, couldn't find any. the last poll, if i could, just three days ago, the question was, do you think a tax hike should be included in any legislation to raise the debt ceiling, 55% say no. 34% say yes. and even the majority

mitch mcconnell's office is vehemently denying this report. what's with the discrepancy here? >> well, listen, the president, vice president, members of our administration, are in constant contact with leaders in both parties. i'm not going to describe the specificity of any of those conversations. i think once the political theater of the boehner thing is done tonight it's clear it isn't going anywhere until senate, dead on arrival, hopefully you will begin to see more progress and energy in terms of finding where the common ground is so we can move on. obviously people are getting more and more concerned rightly and this is completely a function of washington inaction and politics and dysfunction. this is a correctable problem, let's get this over with, and let's move on. >> are you concerned, you're chief strategist in many ways, while you've won the argument about what the plan should look like, that everybody's looking at washington and say you know what, the president's in charge of washington, why can't he run that place? >> well, i think what's important is the america

, much like the deal he's striking now with mitch mcconnell. you heard harry reid say the deal is being negotiated at the white house. if the democrats have to vote on cuts to entitlement programs, you and david were talking about this -- they're already on the record as opposing any sort of dramatic change to medicare and social security. when they voted against that ryan plan, which would have been a dramatic overhaul of the medicare program. even though the president, the top democrat in our country, has already put it on the table publicly talking about reduced cost of living adjustments and social security in the run up to this and reduction in medicare benefits, possibly raising retirement age and some other adjustments to strengthen those programs, they're already on record against that in voting against the ryan plan. you take away all their cover if this is what comes out of this super committee, especially if it is due to the fact that republicans are unwilling to raise taxes. those bush tax cuts, this does not touch them. correct me

a solution for our nation's republican hostage taking crisis yesterday senate minority leader mitch mcconnell proposed an opt out plan for republicans suggesting that congress give president obama the authority to unilaterally raise the nation's debt limit until the end of his current term but his plan was criticized by many house republicans who are digging in instant increasing the debt limit and dismissing the potential economic consequences from a default today mcconnell revealed the real objective behind his controversy our proposal just like we do should go to government and i did not if i was not going to work for. bill clinton get reelected i refuse to help prop obama get reelected. republican senate group position where we go on a trip a bit of comedy. and later in the day mcconnell made it even more evident that republicans are willing to do anything not to give an inch in this process even if it puts american democracy in jeopardy. if these debt negotiations are conventional anything it's that we can't leave it to politicians in washington to make the difficult decision they need t

there is any moment where he's going to be able to have some sort of more real conversation with mitch mcconnell? >> look, i had conversation -- i've had three conversations with the majority leader since the republican leader mcconnell told him he wouldn't negotiate with him, and i can tell you, i think senator reid, leader reid, was really taken aback, because i think he read the situation the way you have that it first had to be clear that the boehner proposal could not pass in the senate, and then it would be time for a serious negotiation. but instead, mcconnell, the republican leader, said he will not negotiate with the democratic leader, the majority leader of the united states senate and has begun a filibuster of the reid approach, denying a simple majority vote, which is what happened in the house, they had a simple majority vote, leader reid asked for the same in a senate, a simple majority vote, mcconnell refused and therefore is filibustering the only possible vehicle that can get across the finish line in time. >> senator kent conrad, i know you have to get back to the senate floor.

if anyone benefitted from the events of last night, it was but mitch mcconnell went to the senate floord doubled down on speaker boehner's bill. but it looks like now if boehner cannot get this through today, it will be a huge issue in which mcconnell and reid would figure out some sort of compromise. but now the question becomes timing. reid file ed cloture, and the earliest the vote could be would be sunday night, monday, if you cannot get a compromise exped e expedited on sunday or monday, the tuesday limit, the markets have dropped an amazing amount the last few days, how long can they keep delaying this, the house was supposed to vote on wednesday, it didn't happen, it was thursday and it didn't happen. the bill in the house has been changed three times. it will garner no democratic support. where is the next step in boehner passes a bill out of there. they have some sort of compromise on that, essentially what we're waiting for is a bill to pass out of the house which protects john boehner's leverage, and then it somehow is transformed in a way which is a compromise which will mos

mitch mcconnell is negotiating with the white house. democratic leaders met with the president earlier today, as well. also in the nation's capital, teachers rallying against standardized testing. >> this is what democracy looks like. >> they marched to the white house carrying signs with slogans like children are more important than test scores. and i am not the problem. the group says emphasizing testing takes the focus away from students. actor matt damon also joined in on that rally. >>> federal agents are appealing to the public for information about assault rifles stolen from ft. irwin in california. the atf is offering a $10,000 reward for information on 26 assault rifles and one sniper rifle stolen earlier this month from an army warehouse. one weapon has been recovered and some arrests have been made. >>> dna evidence is taking center stage as young american -- a young american woman appeals for her murder conviction in italy. amanda knox was convicted of killing meredith kercher in 2007 but insists she didn't do it. a forensic

where we have co ownership of a bad economy." >> i think mitch mcconnell deserves credit for candor. and in a murky washington were petty squabbling passes for serious rhetoric, he has been very blunt. what he is saying is to his own party, "if we let this happen, we say now that barack obama owns the economy politically, its president going into a reelection campaign, and our fingerprints are all over this disaster of the united states going into chapter 11, then we will on the economy with him. we will be co-owners. so, forget about it, folks." i think it was a very candid and grown-up piece of advice. >> let's look at how we got here. republicans were the ones who got with raising the debt ceiling to deep cuts. they were the ones who created the fiction and sold it to their supporters that somehow the two were tied together raising the debt ceiling with increased spending. in fact, there were no new authorizations in appeared faced with the prospect, mcconnell has no means to default. he wants to back away from it. but as he stepped up and say they want to share the sacrifice? he

here is senator mitch mcconnell. so what he is referring to is senator reid trying to move his plan on the senate floor trying to do it with 51 votes instead of 60 votes and i should note that the house today struck down the language of the reid bill in the house. governor? >> mike emanuel, thank you very much. reporting from capitol hill. >> sure. >> republican congressman david dreier from california is joining me for an exclusive interview. first of all, today you introduced the so-called reid lookalike bill. tell us what you were doing anded why you would introduce harry reid's bill as a republican in the house. >> it is great to be with you. in our quest to be bipartisan i would like to take your deer hunting cooking story and quote president truman and say if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen. >> mike: our audience loves that. i think you nailed it. >> i don't care about them, do you like it, mike, is the question. >> mike: tell us about this bill. >> as you know, from the house we have passed two

. >> now, all eyes are on the senate and the republican leadership mitch mcconnell, but despite jammed phonelines and dropping markets, mitch mcconnell is saying it was the president who blocked the bipartisan bill. >> if he had decided not to blow up the bipartisan solution that members of congress worked so hard on, we would be voting to end this crisis today. >> right over to capitol hill where chris van hollen, the ranking member of the budget committee joining us now. good afternoon, sir. >> good afternoon, martin. >> the clock is ticking, congressman, and what did you think of the farcical scenes of mr. boehner incapable of securing enough support for the plan, and do you think it is likely to pass today? >> well, martin, many weeks ago, speaker of the house john boehner called for an adult moment, and last night we saw them heading in the exact opposite direction. this is a time, as the president said, for responsible compromise, and instead of reaching out across the aisle, what he is doing is to catering to the far right tea party extreme of his own party, and went from a bill

you had mitch mcconnell on the floor of the senate. basically shunning the leaders impatient to get with him and to come one a compromise and putting all the blame on the democrats. how do you get out of this impasse? >> well, if you look at leader reid's proposal it includes increasing the debt ceiling by as much. we reduce the debt itself. it includes no revenues as something to republicans have asked for. and all of the reductions in spending are those that the republicans have already agreed to. so i think we've gone pretty far in reaching out to the republicans. i know that leader reid is prepared to do more. he's meeting with leader mcconnell. if you want to compromise, we'll be able to reach a compromise. but if the tea party controls the actions in the house are able to block any types of compromises, then we're going to have a real problem. >> is there any way to reconcile you think what harry reid is proposing and what john boehner is proposing? >> absolutely. i think there's a lot of common ground there. what is important is

mitch mcconnell speaking now.an who may hold the key to finishing this deal. >> the treasury said we'll be in a default situation, and the president of the united states is rolling out new mileage standards today. how about this? how about a plan from democrats in washington that can pass both chambers, prevent the crisis, and protect americans from a worsening economy? i would suggest to my friends on the other side this morning, they start taking their responsibilities as a majority party a little more seriously. because at this point, the only people who are disregarding the consequences of default are senate democrats, not the republicans in the house, but senate democrats. republicans have been doing the hard work of governing this week. it's about time our democratic friends joined us. mr. president, i yield the floor. >> president? mr. president? >> majority leader. >> i really appreciate my friend's statement. i haven't been here at all, but i certainly heard -- >> all right, that was mitch mcconnell respo

there is no way you'll do that, even if mitch mcconnell says it's the only option? >> mitch mcconnell is not the only person with a brain here in washington, d.c. >> reporter: after more than a week of sniping, the two republican leaders in the house say they've made peace. but not the rank and file. republican paul brown says he wants the debt ceiling lowered, not raised. if your leadership comes to you and says, "look, you have to vote to raise the debt ceiling." what do you do? >> i vote no. >> reporter: no matter what? >> no matter what. i think it's wrong. >> reporter: that's what you might call a "my way or the highway" approach. but democrats are playing that game, too. the president says he wants a deal that includes cuts to popular entitlement programs like medicare. but listen to what nancy pelosi told us when we asked her about cutting medicare. but are cuts in benefits on the table? >> no. >> reporter: absolutely not? >> absolutely not. >> reporter: with so many red lines being drawn, the bottom line right now, diane, is that no plan has the votes to pas