negative way he said this is a big deal guys run run the grab so we can hear what he had to say mr joe biden vice president. the president the united states of america barack obama. thank you everybody. not only not only was heard by barack obama but it was heard by everyone on stage even people started tweeting about it saying that you are mr joe biden you're absolutely right in the you know that guy's story or is it just me or has a bronco obama in some way been involved in almost all of the open mikes whether he's talking to someone or being talked about or it's his vice president he's you know involved in a lot of action i actually barack obama is pretty good i think i think he does work with the whole you never alone with myself i get bored in them but people does get caught in the wrong zones certainly there's talk about a guy getting caught the wrongs are not just afghanistan but well deep under the covers with one of his colleagues who wrote his autobiography general david petraeus you know the top guy there the former cia director the head of everything in afghanistan let's have a l

joe biden. in fact, just a few minutes ago, reid was asked how things were going. he said ask mr. l and joe biden. so there's an indication of how things are going. >> you wrote that democrats are hesitant to put a deal on the senate floor with no republican backing, because it just offers them a chance to score political points when public opinion does seem to be favoring the democrats. democrats don't have an incentive to waste a show of support for something that can't pass, right? >> that's exactly where democrats are. they feel like they want to get a deal with republican backing, if they can. but remember on friday, the president kind of put republicans in a box. he said either cut a deal in the senate and push it through, or i'm going to ask harry reid to put my scaled back plan on the senate floor. and remember that scaled back plan has tax increases for everybody who makes over $250,000, which republicans don't love at all. i'll have harry reid put that on the floor and you'll have to block it. and you will have to then take responsibility for not pushing it through. so re

there is a republican senate, but mcconnell, taking the lead directly with vice-president joe biden on the phone. mr. mcconnell said the two parties were very close to an agreement. they were close to an agreement on the tax side that would avert tax rises before the vast majority of americans at midnight here tonight. what they are still talking about is the spending side. the question is what happens -- do they get deferred or delayed? still arguing over that period there is optimism the deal is emerging that if we do get it, remembering everything that is agreed has to be approved by the house and senate. there is certainly some suggestions that the house of representatives might not vote on something tonight. >> we will keep you up-to-date with the fiscal cliff situation over the next few hours. we showed you athens a few minutes ago and the fireworks displays around the world have been heralding the start of the new year. north korea has joined other countries in having a pyrotechnics display. australia, china and russia are well into 2013. we are tracking the celebrations. >> residents in samo

it is now, and the clock is ticking on vice president joe biden's gun violence task force. mr. obama wants to announce new initiatives before his state of the union address in late january. >> there's no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. we're going to need to work on making access to mental health care at least as easy as access to a gun. we're going to need to look more closely at a culture that all too often glorifies guns and violence. and any actions we must take must begin inside the home and inside our hearts. >> reporter: after congresswoman gabrielle giffords and 18 others were shot in arizona and 12 were murdered in a colorado movie theater the president offered up words but little else. now words appear to be yielding to action and impatience. >> i will use all the powers of this office to helped advance efforts aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. we won't prevent them all but that can't be execute not to try. >> reporter: biden wrote the 1994 crime bill that imposed the first-ever ban on assault weapons. th

this afternoon, reid essentially said he didn't have another offer to give and best of luck, joe biden and mrl in your talks. my sources have said that those talks went very well and they've restarted the talks now between reid and mcconnell. now, it's going to go probably late tonight, late tonight. we'll have to see. >> okay. we're going to have to leave it there. that wraps things up for me. we continue to wait for a deal to be reached on capitol hill to avoid the fiscal cliff. you're watching msnbc, the place for politics. better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or hi

mr. obama will announce that vice president joe biden will lead the effort to form new policies and reingun violence. this morning's briefing comes as newtown prepares to bury several students and a beloved teacher. vicki soto used her body to shield students from the gunman. the national rifle association finally breaks its silence. the nra promising to take part in a gun control debate it has scheduled a friday announcement. more on that in a minute. first to the white house and cnn's dan lothian. >> reporter: white house aides say this will be a chance for the president to talk more about the process of setting up this effort which, as you pointed out, will be led by vice president biden. i'm hearing also as part of that effort will involve homeland security, the education department, health and human services and also the justice department will be looking at ways that they can come up with policies to address this issue of gun violence. again, this is the president reacting to some pressure as to what he would do. you know, right after this violent event took place, the president ca

the president tapping vice-president joe biden to spear-head the effort. mr.bama calling on congress to reinstate an assault weapons ban which expired in 2004 and to pass legislation for more background checks. the move following the massacre at a connecticut elementary school, when a single gunman killed 20 children and 6 adults. a major winter storm causing travel headache miss the rockies, dumping more than a foot of snow in some areas and closed down the interstate from denver to the kansas state line. drivers in kansas and nebraska are orged to stay off the roads and at chicago international airport, there could be delays. now back to "on the record" with greta. >> if bee can take people out of north korea and they have reported all over the world and go and back up the rest of the world, can't we bring one of our own home? just one. just one guy who is want even 10 miles from the border. >> greta: that was a plea from ian mcdonough, arrested with a marine who took his grandfather's rifle across the bordener august. john harmar is still in a mexican priso

joe biden for vice president. >> results of the tally are 18 votes for barack obama for president and 18 votes for joe biden for vice president. mrcretary, please explain the procedure electors are to proceed with. >> title 3, chapter 1, of the united states code requires electors shall sign six certificates of all votes given by them. we have the six certificates of votes for you to sign on the table at the front of the chamber. these are the official certificates that must be forwarded to the president of the united states senate, the archivist of the united states, and united states district court, certifying that you have fulfilled your duties in electing the president and vice president at this electoral college. my staff will escort the electors to the tables. be sure to sign all six copies. electors will now sign these certificates of votes according to the secretary's instructions. >> all the certificates of vote being signed, i asked for a motion that they may be delivered into the keeping of the secretary of state, who will distribute them as required by law. is there a motion? >> i move that the signed certificates be

mr. obama to come up with a new proposal. vice president joe bidenin 15 minutes. all this comes as the government announces a gain of 146,000 jobs in the month of november. the unemployment rate fell to 7.7%. that is the lowest in four years but that was mostly due to people who stopped looking for work. both sides agree the u.s. does not want to follow down the path of greece. what is to blame there? too much austerity or too much taxation? we'll look at the problems inside his own party, for speaker boehner. it's friday. that means the lightning round with the panel. "special report" from washington starts at 6:00 eastern. now back to new york and "the five." ♪ ♪ >> bob: kay. there is music for you. on december 3 last year, 16-year-old tyler alfred from oklahoma was driving under the influence and crashed his pickup truck killing his passenger and friend 16-year-old john luke. he pleaded guilty to first degree man slaughter in august. in the muskogee county -- it's oklahoma, district judge mike norman he sided not to give him -- decided not to give

obama has announced vice president joe biden will lead a team which will present a set of gun control recommendations to mrbama. >> the fact that this is a complex problem is no excuse of not doing anything. the fact that we cannot steadily reduce the violence and prevent the very worst violence. that is why i have passed, the vice president to lead an effort to include outside organizations and members of the cabinet to compile a list of concrete proposals that i will press through, without delay >> issues likey to be at the forefront. military- style assault weapons, high capacity ammunition clips, and loopholes to get around background checks. the president said he will make very specific proposals once he gets the recommendations next month. on friday.the n-r-a will hold its first press conference since the elementary school shooting. >> california has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation - but some state lawmakers are looking to make them even stronger. several california law makers are saying. it is time to put into place more restrictions on guns. specifically assault weapons like the ones us

president today when he was naming joe biden to head this task force, and the question was, this did not come up during the most recent campaign and where were you, mr. president. that's a very blunt president, he said i'm busy being the president of the united states, financial crisis, two wars, some say that's a bit defensive, but then he said we all have to reflect on what we've done. what do you think of the white house leadership here? >> well, the white house must lead. the president must lead. members of the house must lead. members of the united states senate must lead. we must be a headlight on this issue and not a taillight. when you see these little children, these little babies, being slaughtered, we have to act. i don't want to shed anymore tears. i don't have any tears left. >> congressman, what about the other range of issues, mental health issues, violence in our media, health questions, educational questions, is it all guns, or should we not let the perfect enemy of the good take it step by step? >> it's not all guns. we must bring the issue of mental illness out into the sunlight, out of the shadow, out of the closet, deal with it,

mr. obama said the newtown school massacre changed the way we look at that issue and tapped vice president joe biden to lead a new gun violence task force. >> i will use all the powers of this office to help advance efforts aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. >> reporter: the president's top priorities are reinstating the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 banning high capacity ammunition clips and putting all gun sales through private dealers and gun shows through federal background checks. in a couple of hours the vice president will meet with law enforcement officials across the country, they may well suggest additional measures. >> we bring in host of "face the nation" bob schieffer, good morning. >> good morning, charlie. >> bob you heard the president say there is a new reality about guns coming out of the massacre in newtown. how powerful is this new reality to get something done? >> well i guess i would ask how bad does it have to be to cause congress and the american people to focus on a way to make sure that this kind of thing doesn't have to happen again. i mean i cannot i

joe biden. that's just some of the details as you so well know here but let's remind ourselves, though, of this word that we have been using. that was termed by mr. bernanke. he called it a cliff. but really -- >> right. >> it is like falling down stairs, isn't it? >> right. more so a staircase or a slope in the sense that some of the damage you just described actually takes a while to arrive and if congress is able to quickly reverse the cliff dive, it could be more and i have heard folks use this, more of a bungee yump to get back up to the cliff. >> at the end of the day, right. >> the tax increases you noticed, these are tax increase that is are fazed in over the course of 2013. so it's not until april 2014 when you're filling out the tax bill for the prior year that you would be looking at some of the increases you just described. now, a couple of nuances, though. the payroll tax cut that's been in effect, the 2% on your paycheck of a payroll tax break, that does go away right away. and people will likely see that quickly. and by the way, i don't think any party is talking about bringing that back in to the picture in 2013. also, this amt p

joe biden and also with us is msnbc political analyst karen finney. david, first, senator demint dumps all over boehner's job plan, now he's jumping ship altogether. how much of a loss is mrdemint, a man who once said single mothers who live with their boyfriends should not be allowed to teach in public schools? >> we at mother jones.com just put up the seven craziest things jim demint has ever said. there was a lot to choose from. don't ask me why we stopped at seven. >> do you have one better than the one i just quoted? >> that was pretty good. i think that's on the list. >> good. any others? >> people can just go there. the main thing here is that jim demint has been more an obstacle in the senate than, of course, in the house and i think his departure from there is good news i think for the one remaining moderate republican senator because he's really been quite responsible for choosing and picking and getting behind these tea party republicans like rand paul that have burrowed their way into the senate and made it much harder for anyone to come up with a reasonable deal there or any place else on capitol hill. so if he wants to go make a million dollars at the herita

celebrate hanukkah. [ cheering ] or as joe biden put it, hey, it's human nature from beauty and the beast. sing, sing! he's not singing! >> steve: hilarious. mrs end -- we've heard a million times, the end of the year, that's the fiscal cliff if we don't come up to a solution by then, we're going to sail off the fiscal cliff thelma and louise style. washington doesn't work like where everybody is in the hall and work it out. no, they're estimating if we're going to wind up with a deal that will go into effect on the first day of january, 201, they've got to hammer things out by this weekend. so this weekend is the fiscal cliff. >> gretchen: because it takes a while to write the bills. >> eric: and has to originate in the house and right now, john boehner and president obama are miles apart allegedly. it doesn't look like they're gotting any closer. so it's got to go to the house, then gets sent, assuming it passes, to the senate, gets marked up and has to be agreed upon in committees and conference and then eventually gets signed by the president. >> steve: it just takes time. >> eric: there is a holiday. >> gretchen: somebody who had to handl