mr. mcconnell's hometown paper. the initial reaction on our staff to finding this thing about mitch mcconnell in george w. bush's book is right at the beginning of a chapter. sort of a showcase moment in the book. the initial reaction of this was, ooh, george w. bush is throwing mitch mcconnell under the bus using and abusing mcconnell to show that he, george w. bush, didn't bow to craven politics of people like mitch mcconnell. but with mr. mcconnell -- so if you think about it that way, our reaction obviously mitch mcconnell will deny this and you don't get thrown under the bus. i was the craven guy that wanted to forget national security because we wanted to do what was good for us in the elections but with mitch mcconnell not denying this account, this is now a huge story. we've just been through a midterm election that was not really at all about foreign policy and national security. those were not the main topics of discussion and actually it was an election that had very little to do with mitch mcconnell. he

mr. mcconnell and mr. boehner, with the present. mr. mcconnell served in the senate and mr.oehner had limited interactions with him. what could come up is a whole slew of things. anything from taxes, to cutting spending, or earmark reform. host: jake sherman is our guest from politico. you can join our conversation -- congressman ranl faces censure. "the new york times" and others reported that he is seeking a reprimanrather than censure. what will we hear about this? the censure could come as early as this week. guest: he is expected to be censured. the ethics committee indicated that that is the punishment they recommend. republicans are certainly by and large going to go along with this. most democrats zigging it will become a political problem for the house of representatives to deal with. mr. rangel says he will try to lobby some of his comments for a lesser punishment. he argues censure is too much. it does not fit the crime. he is asking for a lesser punishment. it is not clear whether he will get one. it does not look likely he will get anything less than censure at

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the minority leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, congressional leaders of both parties will meet with the president at the white house today to talk about the work we have to do before the end of the year and hopefully about the things we can do together to foster the right conditions for businesses to start investing again and creating jobs. americans are watching the economic drama that's playing out in europe. they expect us to read the signs of the times and work together to make sure that we avoid a similar crisis here, that we don't walk into the same problems through a lack of will or political courage. the american people expect us to put the national interest ahead of party interest and frankly that's why it's been so distressing for many of us to watch our democratic friends grope for a clear and unified position on whether or not to raise taxes in the middle of a recession. you would think that this issue would be simple and straightforward. economists say preventing a tax increase is one of the most important

mr. mcconnell, said it exactly right.they have been abused and they have become a symbol of wasteful government spending, even though they amount to a fraction of a fraction of the overspending the government is guilty of. they have become this potent symbol, ultimately the bridge to nowhere, ted stevens, what everybody thinks of. you have the tea party caucus that corralled the votes, went around the republican leadership, and forced mitch mcconnell to do a total about- face on these earmarks. and so it's a fascinating display of the intraparty fight in the republican party. >> and -- >> excuse me, and the same old, same old republican leadership trying to incorporate -- >> let me ask you this. are earmarks as bad as we think they are? as we say they are? >> as eleanor points out earmarks represent less than 1% of the federal budget. in terms of actual money reel i -- relative to the budget we're not talking about a lot but they are important symbolicically, the gateway drug to more and more spending. the reason the g.o.

mr. mcconnell and others and for some reason, there's been all kinds of comments with regards to who did did the postponing but clearly, it appears the republicans were not prepared to go forward with that meeting. >> so wheat house says the talks have been moved to a week after thanks giving. >>> now, maryland's most powerful doppler radar and the forecast certified most accurate by weather rate. >> all right. height nd awareness from the big storms that blew through yesterday morning and the gusty wind during the afternoon. we want to show outwind forecast here as we still have the northwesterly push of air. they will have to usher in clouds today. but also ease up a little bit going towards the afternoon. there's lighter winds will be replaced by a stronger surge of colder air as the arrows extend and come from northwest to southeast. that is the surge of colder air all of us will feel by friday morning. should ease up friday afternoon and on into saturday morning. we shift the wind to the southwest. and that will start bringing in slightly warmer temperatures over the weekend into ne

mr. mcconnell or you'll probably see a bigger side on that sitd. >> i think it's symbolish politics change here are significant. the first thing republicans say is earmarks as usual it's going to sour people out there on this new -- the recent election. >> yes. tim pointed out, it's one thing they can control. they can say we're not going do this anymore. so maybe we should be optimistic about that. i'm more optimistic about tax cuts getting extended. take a look at the -- . >> three to one against henninger on that. >> yes. >> senate democrats in moderit swing states up in 2012, huge incentive not to have a tax increase, liberals are howling but this is a fight over are you going to win the status quo? >> right. and the president does want to win reelection. he does want the economy to be good between now and then. i think some of his advisors wonder if if you don't extend those cuts goitsing to hurt the economy. >> i am sorry. i believe that the oral office is bloody minded the same way nancy pelosi insists on being minority speaker. i'm afraid the white house is marching to the same dru

mr. mcconnell or break from mr. demint and probably see a bigger side on that side one way or the other. >> yeah, i think that the politics are significant. the first thing republicans do is say ear marks as usual, that's going to sour an awful lot of people out there on this new, this recent election. >> yeah, as kim point you had out in the friday column one thing they can control. they can unilaterally say we're not going to do this anymore and maybe we should be optimistic about that and i'm more optimistic about the tax cuts getting extended. >> paul: 3-1 against henninger on this. >> all of a sudden the democrats in moderate swing states up in 2012, huge incentive not to have a tax increase. liberals are howling, but remember, this is all a fight over are you going to maintain the status quo, they're not asking mr. obama to embrace radical tax reform. >> paul: and the president wants to win reelection and the economy to be good between now and then and i think some of his own advisors wonder in fact you don't

mr. mcconnell: we've got a lot to do and not much time to do it in before the end of the session. the american people spoke loudly and clearly on election day. they want us to put aside the political wish list and focus on jobs. the more important thing we can do to create jobs between now and january 1 is to send a message to job creators that we're not going to raise their taxes. that's why i offered a bill back in september, s. 3773, that would make current tax rates permanent. this is the only bill that's yet been offered that would prevent a tax hike on anyone. in other words, nobody in america would get a tax hike at the end of this year. the white house didn't seem to like that idea. they said we should raise taxes on small businesses. but this should be an easy one. we should be promoting private job creation, not killing private job creation. so i look forward to hearing any ideas the white house has to achieve that. one thing we'll need to do before we leave this year is to fund the government, because democrats didn't pass a single appropriations bill this year. so now

mr. mcconnell and mr. boehner, with the present. mr. mcconnell served in the senate and mr. boehner had limited interactions with him. what could come up is a whole slew of things. anything from taxes, to cutting spending, or earmark reform. host: jake sherman is our guest from politico. you can join our conversation -- congressman rangel faces censure. "the new york times" and others reported that he is seeking a reprimand rather than censure. what will we hear about this? the censure could come as early as this week. guest: he is expected to be censured. the ethics committee indicated that that is the punishment they recommend. republicans are certainly by and large going to go along with this. most democrats zigging it will become a political problem for the house of representatives to deal with. mr. rangel says he will try to lobby some of his comments for a lesser punishment. he argues censure is too much. it does not fit the crime. he is asking for a lesser punishment. it is not clear whether he will get one. it does not look likely he will get anything less than censu

mr. mcconnell said, mr. president, he said, bring some troops home from iraq. president bush said mitch mcconnell asked him privately to withdrawal troops from iraq in 2006 because it might help republicans win the 2006 elections. that was, of course, while mitch mcconnell was simultaneously making the case in public that any democrat wanting to withdrawal troops from iraq was all but a traitor. >> the general had it correct when he said if we leave iraq, they'll follow us. they'll come back here. so cutting and running is not a strategy for protecting the american people here in the united states. >> spoken in the same month that president george w. bush says mitch mcconnell was lobbying him behind closed doors to -- what did he call it? cut and run. mitch mcconnell is calling it cutting and running. that's what he was saying publicly while lobbying president bush privately to pull the troops out. mitch mcconnell has not denied this new revelation. mcconnell's hometown paper denounced the senator for "contemptiblehypocrisy" because of this story. we reported th

mcconnell. [applause] >> thank you very much, ed. but mr. by telling you again how grateful -- let me begin by telling you how grateful conservatives are that you've found this organization and you have led so successfully over the years. [applause] i would be remiss if i did not congratulate you on your good judgment in having among your distinguished fellows the most conservative secretary of labor in american history, and the only cabinet member of the bush administration to serve from beginning to end part i am speaking about my roommate, elaine chao. [applause] all over the past two years, the american people looked at was going on in washington and they became increasingly worried. democratic leaders were ignoring our nation's ongoing job crisis. the big government policies and out of control spending was causing some to wonder about the future of the american dream itself. americans word about the consequences of a $14 trillion debt, about a health care bill with two massive entitlement programs. they worry about all of the bailouts a

mr. mcconnell: mr. president, rise today to pay tribute to a legendary kentucky newspaperman who after 39 years is retiring. the commonwealth will certainly be the poorer for it. i'm going to miss my old friend bill bartleman as his service ends this month. bills first day at the "pa youph sun" was january 7, 1972, when the murray state graduate was hired as both a reporter and a photographer. in the four decades since he has covered senators and governors, local lawmakers, and the kentuckians whose names you may not know but who in his words make life happen. he interviewed a president of the united states and he's written -- ridden a hot-air balloon over the ohio river. he's been ken kens longest-running legislative reporter. he's led quite a life of accomplishment. i wish him well in the next stage of his career. i first met bill when he covered my initial race for the united states senate in 1984 and he's covered every one of my races since that time. for my last election campaign in 2008, bill mode

mr. mcconnell, senator mcconnell, and congressman boehner. what do you think of these guys?: both john and mitch are very smart. they're capable. they have been able to, i think, organize the republican caucus very effectively in opposition to a lot of the things that we tried to do over the last two years, and that takes real political skill. my assumption is that we're going to be able to work together. and whenever we've had conversations here at the white house or over on capitol hill, they've always been cordial. >> kroft: it's just in the newspapers that they've been less than cordial? >> obama: well, you look at the... during election season, i think the rhetoric flies. and by the way, i've been guilty of that. it's not just them. part of my promise to the american people when i was elected was to maintain the kind of tone that says we can disagree without being disagreeable. and i think over the course of two years, there have been times where i've slipped on that commitment. >> kroft: when we come back, president obama talks about his upcoming negotiations with the

mr. mcconnell and mr. boehner, who have said mr. mcconnell very bluntly and mr.our task is to take the president of the united states down in 2012. that's our central task. so i don't think you can expect a lot of cooperation from them. three, they have the tea party's and boehner has a bigger problem i think than mcconnell, who are going to be screaming and yelling. you could be seeing possibly something getting through the senate, and i understand you have a dimmer view of the senate at times. but let's put that aside. you can see something getting through the senate possibly with there's ten mod ral democrats so you can see something being fash fashioned there to get through the senate. does it then get accepted by the much more radical house or really radical republican constituency and a more liberal democratic caulk suss? so when you think about the politics in the context of what needs to be done? the economy, the economy, the economy. mr. bernanke apparently has thrown up his hands and has given up on the congress and the president and is now going to buy

mr. mcconnell's speech today live at 11:00 a.m. on c-span and c-span.org. to district heights, maryland. john, democratic line. go ahead. caller: it is amazing, after listening to the president yesterday, and listening to john boehner and hearing senator orrin hatch -- it's amazing how they are continuing the same lies that they told before the election. the president stood there yesterday and said what the government did was not a policy, it was an emergency when it dealt with the banks and it dealt with the automobiles. all those things he had to deal with as far as spending the american taxpayers' money was not policy but emergencies. that is the only thing that kept this nation from really going down the drain. and here they are right back with these same lines again. but what i would like to expect, which we will not get, is accountability and integrity. because no one is speaking of how the country got to the condition that it is in and who is accountable for it. nobody wants to look back and bring somebody up front. i mean, so me, personally, when i

mr. mcconnell? >> well, the whole relationship between rand paul and mitchell mb connell has been interesting, will continue to be interesting. let me pose another possibility, as far-fetched as it may sound. perhaps rand paul has actually looked into the issue and has come to the realization that it's bunk. earmarks represent 1% of the federal budget, but i have to agree with senator inhofe on this, and i'm waiting for the lightning bolt to come down out of the sky. but he's right when he says, if you eliminate earmarks, you don't save that money. earmarks come about when you have money that's already appropriated, going to the agencies. congress has already voted for it. and then the senators and the members of the house come in and they start putting their post-it notes on the money and saying, i want this money to go to this project or this project. we have a $10 billion bridge, you know, improvement program. i want, you know, $50 million of that to go to my bridge, maybe a bridge to nowhere. so

mr. mcconnell. un that's a red herring. that will not happen. mcconnell and other phonies in the republican party, you know they only worry about the american people and this mandate they claim they have as long as they can get their tax cuts for the top 2%. but when it comes to helping the middle class, oh gosh, that's nothing but a liberal wish list. see the difference? on thursday, house republican, here we go again, voted against a $12 billion unemployment extension for the poorest americans. but they have no problem whatsoever giving $700 billion in tax breaks over the next decade to the richest americans, and you just heard mitch mccogg, let's not do this for the job creators. well, you've the bush tax cut, where are the jobs? the president met with the democratic leadership to talk about the game plan on tax cuts, and it sounds to me like it's -- they're going to need more time. according to the associated press, democratic officials said that president obama did not embrace, here we go again. we're going to stall. did not embrace a partic

mr. mcconnell has a choice. did not actually believe the iraq mission was vital to american security regardless of what he said at the time or he can explain why the for tunes of the republican party are of greater importance than the safety of the united states. let's bring in our company, joy-ann read, nicole kurakowa and airy melber. >> it's difficult. as the relative of someone serving and done two tours in iraq i would love to get to the bottom of this. i haven't read the president's book yet. i think we as americans deserve a full accounting. >> a local station tracked him down and he wouldn't deny the story. what do you want him to say? >> there are so many competing concerns. i would like his honest opinion. i would like his honest assessment because we've lost so many soldiers over there and veterans day was yesterday. the best quote i heard about veterans day was i support our troops. i believe they should be safe, legal and rare. >> interesting, interesting. the editorial said as a headline, ari, mitc

mr. mcconnell did over the weekend in the radio address in response to the president's radio address, it's all for 1 million jobs. we should extend these tax cuts and keep this legislation in place because we might add another million jobs over the next eight years. i mean if it's not serving up the big turkey for the democrats i don't know what is, but how are you going to get the 60 votes? >> well -- >> can the democrats get the 60 votes to do this. >> well we've got show the guts to stick with it, and vote time after time for only the middle-class tax cut and let the other tax cut expire. and when they bring up the tax cut for the wealthy, we've got all vote no. i mean we've got stick with it, and show the country, who's side you are on here? something that we didn't do very well on in the election. ed, basically what we're doing is mitch mcconnell saying, let's borrow $700 billion from china, give it on the richest 1 horse. true. >> and then charge it to our grand children to pay it off. i mean what's good with that public policy. >> senator, i totally agree with you, but you still hav

mr. mcconnell is worried about and most of the money isn't at the obama administration discretion is is formulasand the like. i think senator demint will win in the republican conference this week. republicans will be against ear marks. president obama will be against ear marks and we will have a wonderful moment of blessed bipartisan bliss. extending the tax rates for two or three years. an agreement on spending cuts. we will have the obama boehner demint agenda for the next three months and it will be good for the country. >> and the one the opponent for barack obama nancy pelosi. >> which wouldn't be bad for barack obama. >> and it wouldn't be bad for the country. >> in the spirit of bipartisanship, i think you are right on most of that. it is just the flavor of the moment the ear marks thing. i don't see it will make a huge difference. it is a small percentage of the actual budget and i find myself agreeing with mitch mcconnell who says you know what is this really going to make a difference or just simply playing to the crowd, grandstanding in a way that doesn't actually change anything. a

mr. mcconnell. no. mr. menendez?>> aye. >> the senate convened to send president obama a hard-fought christmas present. >> mrs. mikulski. no. >> it's first roll call vote on christmas eve since 1895. >> mr. nelson of nebraska? >> aye. >> the ayes are 60, the nays are 39. h.r. 3590 is passed. ( applause ) >> tonight, the ayes have it. the senate passes an historic health care bill... >> this was a strictly party line vote-- all the democrats voting yes, all the republicans voting no. the final tally-- 60 to 39. >> on christmas morning, everyone was sitting around thinking that he was an lbj-like genius, because it appeared that he was on the verge of accomplishing what no president had for 70 years. >> they were so close. they were inches away from getting this bill. >> they had 60 votes on record in the senate. they had the house bill in hand. the emerald city was right there in the distance. in the distance. >> narrator: the white house wasn't paying attention, but up in massachusetts, that "cornhusker kickback" was

mr. mcconnell and mr. boehner, who have said mr. mcconnell very bluntly and mr. boehner almost as bluntly, our task is to take the president of the united states down in 2012. that's our central task. so i don't think you can expect a lot of cooperation from them. three, they have the tea party's and boehner has a bigger problem i think than mcconnell, who are going to be screaming and yelling. you could be seeing possibly something getting through the senate, and i understand you have a dimmer view of the senate at times. but let's put that aside. you can see something getting through the senate possibly with there's ten mod ral democrats so you can see something being fash fashioned there to get through the senate. does it then get accepted by the much more radical house or really radical republican constituency and a more liberal democratic caulk suss? so when you think about the politics in the context of what needs to be done? the economy, the economy, the economy. mr. bernanke apparently has thrown up his hands and has given up on the congress and the presi

mr. mcconnell will be speaking at heritage foundation at 11:00 a.m. eastern time.ccording to the national journal, we will be delivering the speak and why making president obama a one-term president is the gop's top priority. from the prepared remarks he said this: >> host: we'll be covering mitch mcconnell's speak today live 11:00 a.m. eastern time, 8:00 pacific time. district heights, maryland. john, democrat line. go ahead. >> caller: good morning. thank you very much. it's amazing after listening to the president yesterday and listening to mr. boehner and had an opportunity here senator orrin hatch. it's amazing how they are continuing the same lies that they told before the election. the president stood there yesterday and said what the government did was not a policy, it was an emergency when they dealt with the banks, dealt with the automobiles, all of those things he had to deal with as far as spending the american taxpayers money was not policy, but emergencies. that's the only thing that kept this nation fromming really going down the drain. they write ba

mr. mcconnell talks about and find pockets in the country where coal producing states have a little push back there. nuclear wer is another one so i think there's low-hanging fruit. people shouldn't forget in congress they passed an energy bill with bipartisan support, and when they were talking about doing an energy bill, you know, they said go back to that. it had things with agreements. they can go back, find those things, and move forward on that to create jobs, jobs, or jobs which is what we'll hear over and over and over again. >> that's lisa spelled out; right? >> yeah >> to that point, the tea party obviously has been great for the republican base. the republican strategists and the people at the top also know that this election was about up dependence, where independence went. they want independence, and they say you can't win independence by not doing anything. you have to produce something, and i don't think it's going to particularly pretty. >> what about the message? what are we going to hear over the next two years or coming weeks from obama, obviously, compromise, how is h

mr. mcconnell and boehner for not meeting with the president. forward to hearing about that meeting. it's time for them to begin to gove govern. they have said over and over again no, no, no, no, no. now it's time to govern. >> ezra, what's your prediction, how does that end up? >> short-term extension, one to three years, probably one to two years actually. democrats continue get anything -- >> for everything? >> everything, tax cuts for the rich, for the middle class. short-term extension does less to the deficit. it's a way of kicking the can down the road a bit. i don't think they've got enough internal cohesiveness to do anything different. republicans don't have the power to force them into a permanent extension. we just do the easiest thing and make sure there's no tax increase next year. >> donny deutsch? >> i think basically if you're obama, you're not losing your base. they're not going anywhere. i think it's the right move for the economy. i think juan or two-year extension keeps things where they are. it's the right move. >> elijah,

mr. mcconnell talks about and find pockets in the country where coal producing states have a little pushback there. nuclear power is another one so i think there's low-hanging fruit. people shouldn't forget in congress they passed an energy bill with bipartisan support, and when they were talking about doing an energy bill, you know, they said go back to that. it had things with agreements. they can go back, find those things, and move forward on that to create jobs, jobs, or jobs which is what we'll hear over and over and over again. >> that's lisa spelled out; right? >> yeah. >> to that point, the tea party obviously has been great for the republican base. the republican strategists and the people at the top also know that this election was about up dependence, where independence went. they want independence, and they say you can't win independence by not doing anything. you have to produce something, and i don't think it's going to particularly pretty. >> what about the message? what are we going to hear over the next two years or coming weeks from obama, obviously, compromise, how is

mr. mcconnell very clearly, repeal, repeal. is that where it starts?ut i do not think that is what the american people -- >> i do not think that is what the american people set out of this election they want to see. >> but where is the middle ground? >> i do not want to get ahead of what some of these discussions and meetings might be about. i think both sides might agree that this provision that is overly burdensome for business makes sense to change. i think there was an effort to try to do that before the election that got held up. the president, i think common things that the -- the president, i think, thinks that the focus needs to be on the economy. the focus is on what happens at the end of the year if we do not act. >> just to clarify, you said you anticipate the president would veto. if it comes to that, what you think the president will do? >> i do not think is going to make it through both houses. >> the republicans obviously will not stop talking while you are gone. you have a plan in place to deal with what they are saying while you are go

mr. mcconnell: i thank my friend, the majority leader, congratulate him on his reelection. i look forward to working together to wrap up the business of this current congress and working with him again in the next congress. mr. president, i've seen a lot of elections in my life, but i've never seen an election like the one we had earlier this month. the 2010 midterm election was a "change" election, the likes of which i have never seen. and the change that people want, above all, is right here in washington. most americans are deeply unhappy with their government, more so than at any other time in decades. and after the way lawmakers have done business up here over the last couple of years, it's icy to see why. but it's not enough to point out the faults of the party in power. americans want change, not mere criticism. and that means that all of us in washington need to get serious will changing the way we do business, even on the things we have defended in the past, perhaps for good reason. if the voters express themselves clearly and unequivocally on an issue, it's not en

mr. issa, it's senator mcconnell made it clear that the sole duty as far as he's concerned is to try to destroy the obama presidency. we cannot let oversight become a vehicle for the destruction of individuals or destruction of a presidency. we have to have facts follow where they may and then you draw the conclusion from the facts but when you start making unsubstantiated allegations that you then try to pass off as fact, that is not what oversight's about. that's something that's not democratic and i am determined to preserve congress's role as an effective oversight capacity without any -- without any hint of innuendo or smears of anyone. >> congressman dennis kucinich, always a pleasure. i hope you get it. >> i appreciate what you say. >> i think the base in this country needs a strong lefty that won't back down in a position. i'll tell you if it's not you, the democrats better come up with a real solid strategy on how to counterpunch all of this because in my opinion, this is all about 2012, this is all about slowing down the progressive agenda, it's all about getting rid of president obam

mr. president, he said, bring some troops home from iraq. bring some troops home. that is clearly much different message that what mcconnell saying on tv months earlier and even that same month and now at the time he spoke with president bush privately he reportedly did not know mr. bush was considering the surge. a little more context about the debate, as you may recall, the surge was january 2007. that afounsment came four months after this talk with president bush. later, the former president talks about a confession of sorts from the kentucky republican, mr. bush writes, ledmy senate minority leader mitch mcconnell who supported the surge and graciously later admitted to me he had been wrong to suggest a withdrawal. we reached out to mcconnell to see if he would be on the program, he declined. he goes on to say, quote, but the public record is clear on his unwavering support for ensuring our troops in the field were fully funded and general petraeus was able to execute our counterinsurgery strategy on the ground in iraq free of ash tary deadlines for withdrawal even when it was politically unpopular to do so. that does

mr. mcconnell: like most members of this body, i am rarely for loss of words. mr. president, i think we've just had an opportunity to hear one of the most important speeches in the history of the senate about our beginnings, about our traditions, about what is unique about this institution, which really makes it different from any other legislative body in the world. and i've heard many people discuss that over the years, but never anyone so cogently point out why the uniqueness of this institution is so important to our country, as the senior senator from connecticut has done it today. and so while we had a huge number of senators on the floor, i'm going to strongly recommend that those who were not here have an opportunity to take a look at his remarks because i think they're enormous significant and important contribution to this institution and to its future. and on a personal basis, i want to say to my good friend from connecticut ham how much i'm going to miss him. wonderful personality, able to talk to anybody, really uniquely effective individual. and so we

mr. washington establishment himself, senator mitch mcconnell isn't even waiting for them to be sworn in before conceding to the ban on earmarks that we just discussed. will these rebel freshmen avoid the mistakes of the 1994 republican class, or will they get sucked into the washington vortex and become everything they ran against? that is likely, by the way. all right. now mike is a political analyst and mark tapscott from the washington examiner. what were the mistakes of the 1994 class? >> are you starting with me, cenk? >> no, mark. >> i'm sorry. i didn't hear your question. what were the mistakes of the 1994 republican class? >> well, that's an interesting assumption that they made mistakes. there's a case they made that the mistake was not to be tough enough with president clinton on the government shutdown, but that's an argument for another day. i don't think these guys will make that mistake. >> i'm referring to what they say. a lot of the tea party people, republicans are saying we don't want to make the mistake of the '94 guys. i'm trying to figure out what they think the mis

. >> there was a moment and you write about it in the book where senator mcconnell came to your office and said mrt. >> you ought to think about pulling troops out. right. the reason i put the story in there to tell the reader what the environment is right. when your own party is saying this isn't working, you can imagine what the other party was saying. but i believe victory was possible and i knew it was necessary. >> for our own security. >> karen? >> the height of financial crisis in the fall of 2008 after all the president had been through for eight years and we have seen a lot of it on the program. i called hip and i said i just felt so terrible for him that we were going through this. i remember saying mr. president, what else can happen on your watch? what struck me is what he said. he said it's a good thing we're here to deal with it. not a shred of self-concern. glad we were rising to the challenge, the enormous challenge. >> i'd say it was opportunity of a lifetime to be a spokesperson for somebody so principled that you didn't have to worry about popularity. he wasn't going to be

when the president asked mcconnell what he should do, he answered mr. om iraq. this was at the saimt mcconnell was publicly calling on the president to stay the course in iraq. >> general had it krekd when he said we leave iraq they'll follow us, they'll come back here. so, cutting and running is not a strategy for it protecting the american people here in the united states. >> a mckoj spokesmen says the senator doesn't comment on any advice he may have given the president. >>> passengers from the carnival cruise ship "splendor" describe the terrible conditions they endured for a few days, almost four days without power off mexico. passengers complained about no lights, no air conditioning, no cooked food and for a time no working toilets. the investigation into the engine room fire will be conducted by the panama maritime authority instead of the national transportation safety board. one capture captured video of smoke pouring out of the ship monday. earlier today one family told harry about their experience. >> the worst part was not knowing, you know,