mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: could we have order, please. the presiding officer: could we have order in the senate, please. the senate will come to order. please take your conversations from the well. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: on behalf of senator tester, i have a substitute amendment which is at the desk. mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: before the clerk reports -- could we have order. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. please take your conversations to the cloakroom. the clerk will report the bill. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president, the bill has not been reported, is that right? the presiding officer: the senator is correct. the clerk: calendar number 504, s. 3525, a bill to protect and enhance tiewns for recreational hunting, fishing and shooting and for

mr. reid: mr. president, if you could direct the senate to be quiet. the presiding officer: the majority leader is correct. the senate is not in order. please take your conversations from the well. the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president, the bill that was -- that was and is most important that sends the money to the pentagon was just killed, and that's cybersecurity. mr. president, i have had a number of people come to me during the day and said are you going to allow relevant amendments on this? i said sure. they said how about five? i said fine. but, mr. president, whatever we do on this bill, it's not enough for the chamber of commerce, not enough. so everyone should understand cybersecurity is dead for this congress. what an unfortunate thing, but that's the way it is. the sportsman's bill, mr. president, i filed cloture on this bill yesterday. unless we can agree to a limited number of amendments, we'll have cloture vote on the bill early tomorrow morning, probably around 9:00. if we get

mr. reid: false alarm. quorum call: quorum call: mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the senate resume legislative session and the senate proceed to morning business and is allowed to speak up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent we proceed to s. 3642. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 3642, a bill to clarify the scope of the economic espionage act of 1996. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the bill be rethree times, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table with no intervening action or debate, any statements be placed in the record as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent we proceed to s. res. 602. the presiding officer: the c

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i had the pleasure of serving with one of the great senators in the history of this country. daniel patrick moynihan of new york. and he said people are entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts. and that's what my friend, now, has his own set of facts which belie the record that's before the american people. it's ironic that the republican leader complains about those who want to change the senate rules. it's ironic because he's been at the forefront of abusing these rules for the past six years. it's ironic because when he was in the majority seven years ago, he sought to change the rules to streamline votes on judicial nominations. he was part of that program. and it's ironic because he's one of a very small group of people who think the senate's working just fine. mr. president, rules change around here. they change. it used to be to cut off a filibuster took 67 votes. the senate changed that because it became too burdensome. now, mr. president, i've said on many

mr. reid: mr.president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to calendar number 419, s. 3254, the defense authorization bill. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 419, s. 3254, a bill to authorize aeption prosecutes for fiscal year 2013 for military activities in the department of defense and so forth and for other purposes. mr. reid: we're going to recess, as we normally do on tuesdays, from 12:30 to 2:15 to allow for our weekly caucus meetings. we're going to begin consideration of the belise treaty this afternoon. we'll either do that with a vote or with permission. it is a simple majority vote to notify this most important piece of legislation. mr. president, i'm told that s. 3637 is due for its second reading and is at the desk. officer the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. the clerk: a bill to temporarily extend the transaction account guarantee program and for other purpos

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: at 5:30 today, all postcloture time on s. 3525 on the sportsmen's act will have expired. there will be two roll call votes at that time. the first vote will be on a motion to waive the budget act, and the second will be on passage of the bill as amended. mr. president, in the weeks since our country voted to return president obama to the white house and the democratic majority in the senate, i've spoken often about compromise. i remain optimistic that when it comes to our economy, when it comes to protecting middle-class families from a whopping tax hike come january 1, republicans and democrats will be able to find common ground. president dwight eisenhower, a republican, once said and i quote -- "people talk about the middle of the road as though it were unacceptable. there have to be compromises. the mi

mr. reid: i move to the -- i ask that unanimous consent to prior the clerk reporting the motion, senator mccain being recognized. when he finishes, i -- the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. mccain: i thank my colleagues -- i think my colleagues and i who have been here for a while remember one of the more moving experiences. that was the signing of the disabilities law on the white house long. bipartisan members of the disabled community were there. the president of the united states, george herbert walker bush, and so many others. but also one of the prime individuals that was largely responsible was our beloved leader at that time, bob dole. a man who epitomized, in my view, how a disability can be overcome and go to the highest levels of american government. i freely admit that i love bob dole, i listen to him, i appreciate his leadership. i think the majority leader would agree that we appreciate his bipartisanship during a great deal of his time. i hope my colleagues

mr. reidmadam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader smed. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to the d.o.d. authorization bill. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the moas motion to proceed. the clerk: a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2013 for filth activities of the department of defense and so forth and for other purposes. mr. reid: madam president, the first hour will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, the majority will control the first half, the republicans the final half. we expect to begin consideration of the d.o.d. authorization bill today. madam president, on april 14, 1945, a very young robert dole lay gravely wounded in the mud of war-torn italian hillside. i'd been hit with shrapnel, whicher twhich tore through hisr and spine. 20 years later after rebuilding his body and political career, the senator gave his maiden speech on the senate floor. his first floor speech in the senate was about the chall

mr. reid: calendar numbered 535, s. 1998. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar numbered 535, s. 1998, a bill to obtain an unqualified audit opinion and improved financial accountability and management at the department of homeland security. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill as read be -- amendeds read a third time and passed, that any statements relating to this matter appear in the record as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until tomorrow morning 9:30 a.m., november 29. that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning business be deemed expired and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. that the senate then be in a perio

mr. reido make it more difficult for the minority party to block legislative business by changing the way the filibuster works. >> rules have been abused, and we are going to work to change them. we are going to do away from the filibuster and make the senate a more meaningful place so we can get things done. megyn: it, very dangerous to mess with the filibuster rules. even if you are a democrat and enjoying majority in the senate. some day the lup cans will have control as well, then mr. reid and others like him might regret getting rid of the filibuster or hobbling it. the current rules require 60 votes to move beyond the delay tactics. you need 60 votes to get a meaningful substantive vote. you can to be the vote if the. >>er party candidates if you have less than 0 votes. mr. reid says that tactic is unrealistic regardless of who is in charge. new developments in the search for answers in connection with the benghazi terror attack. the obama administration agreeing to send some of their to

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. eid: following leader remarks, the senate will be in a period of morning business for an hour, republicans will control the first half, the majority the second half. following morning business, the senate will resume consideration of the defense authorization act. we'll continue to work through amendments to the bill during today's session. roll call votes are expected all through the day mr. president, i would now yield to my friend, the senior senator from the state of wisconsin, and just -- i'll have more of an opportunity at later time to say things about senator kohl, but i've had a wonderful experience learning to get to know this quiet, very, very productive man. i have enjoyed his innate skills, one of the best business people we have in america today, one of the best senators we have in america today. the presiding officer: the senator from wisconsin. mr. kohl: thank you very much, mr. leader. mr. president, i rise today to thank rabbi baruch frydman-kohl for his invocation th

mr. reid reid: move to reconsid. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president? mr. president, could we have order. the presiding officer: will the chamber please come to order. may we have orderment -- order. the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president, we have one more vote t. will take -- start in just a few minutes. senator levin wants to say something about the schedule for tomorrow. senator levin. come right here. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. levin: we're going to be making a unanimous consent request and we'd like to do it right now, that tomorrow morning, that there be debate and votes on the following five amendments: sessions on bilateral discussions with afghanistan, sessions 3009; cardin, amendment number 3025 on civilian personnel; menendez, 3232 on iran sanctions; nelson, 3073 involving widows and orphans; and coburn 3254 involving second amendment rights for veterans. now, my request is that we have unanimous consent -- i will make a unanimous consent request now, that tomorrow morning, whatever time is allotted

. >> thank you, mr. reid. >>> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is nick penn. i am with [speaker not understood] south of market employment center. we've been working in san francisco community for over 40 years to create opportunities for san francisco residents in the construction industry and we see this opportunity here with the warriors dam and the momentous occasion, you have the buy-in from the developer, you have the buy-in from the general contractor to do a work force plan that is going to be successful. we're excited for the new entry opportunities for folks and we're really excited about the opportunity for better and higher. been siting and hearing the public comment. we understand the concerns of the community. we hope that this process will work its way forward, you know, through the community advisory committee or citizens advisory committee or any other forms, mission south of market employment center hopes to be a collaborater in coming together with community, with labor, with city governments to create a plan that moves this project forward

. >> mr. reid? >> rising prices to heat their homes and drive their cars are putting enormous pressures on people in areas such as argyll and bute. what steps are you doing to make the tax system fairer and put more money in their pockets to help pay their bills? >> that is precisely the centerpiece of the tax reform is a radical one to help pay income tax of 10,000 pounds up from 6,400 which is where we found it when we took over from labor and we will deliver a tax cut to 24 million basic rate taxpayers in this country including the constituency and something we should celebrate. >> we were selling arms to the gaddafi regime after the uprising. is the deputy prime minister pleased the prime minister is busy now selling arms to saudi arabia, a country where human rights is nonexistent, amputations take place secretly and we know how women are treated there. is that the liberal democratic policy as well? >> as you well know, we have the strictest controls of almost any developed economy in the world

mr. reid would like to make it more difficult for the any mort party to filibuster. but rewind that to when the democrats were the minority party. mr. reid was a vocal supporter calling it a last check against abuse of power. joining me to explain. president obama said at the time -- in 2005 we had a president bush in the white house. the republicans controlled the senate and the house. the only way of stopping certain legislation at the time was in some cases to filibuster. the legislation or in many cases president bush's judicial nominees. and there was discussion -- there was discussion among republicans about getting rid of the filibuster it was never meant for this purpose. let's blow it up. let many get rid of it. and at the time this is what then senator obama said. everyone in this chamber the senate knows if the majority chooses to end the filibuster, then the fighting, birthsmen and gridlock will only get worse. i know republicans are getting lot of pressure to do this. we need to rise above the ends justify the means to all the people, not just those wear

essentially saying the exact same thing that speaker boehner did except mr. reid chiding republicans, if you will, saying we're still waiting on a serious offer from the republicans. just a few moments ago, as you did hear live on cnbc, it was speaker boehner saying democrats have yet to get serious. you can continue to watch the comments from senator durbin, senators schumer and murray are also there as well, likely to speak. you can continue to see that as you see at the bottom of your screen on cnbc.com. >>> let's head down to capitol hill and our own eamon javers. i know you keep saying this is a negotiating tactic being used by both sides. it seems as though the markets and the investing public are the ones being held hostage. >> reporter: absolutely. they must feel that way up there on wall street. i can tell you in washington terms, this is a little bit of educated speculation trying to figure out what actually happened here today. it seems like what happened is that tim geithner came up here with some kind of offer, presumably some proffer from the adminis

even though mr. reid said he was hopeful a deal could be reached, damage was done. senator mccobble said democrats should be more actively involved in the debates. he said the president was traveling around the country having complain like stops, he should come back to the capitol and make a deal. today representativeboehner saying he was optimistic a cliff deal could be rachd. the market rallied nicely on that after disappointing new home sales results. just in the last hour, we've rallied because the president has come out and said he would like to have a deal on the fis calf cliff by christmas. that's exactly what the markets want to hear. they want a timetable for when a deal can be reached and they want it before the end of the year. we move up to the highs of the day on that news. >> a deal by christmas with a bow on it perhaps, bob. >>> dozens of ceos as we mentioned earlier meeting with congressional leaders right now to discuss how to avoid the cliff. they're part of a group called fix the debt which is calling on our elected officials to step up to solve t

mr. reid: mr. president. the presiding officer: the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: after our election i welcome everyone back of. for some it was a nice break, for others it was a lot of hard work. we welcome everyone back. and look forward to aa very productive next six weeks. mr. president, the senate is considering the motion to proceed to s. 3525, the sportsman action post-church. at 5:30 there will be a motion to proceed to this legislation on on behalf of senator leahy scoins that michelle lac co, a fellow on the senate judiciary committee are granted privileges of the floor. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: for the last year the country has been focused on the difference between republicans and democrats. for the last two years, this congress hasn't accomplished nearly enough. but as we close the 112th congress, it's time to focus on our shared goals and our common purpose. we all agree, i hope, that today now great challenges face our c

mr. l.a. reid, demi lovato, britney spears, and simon cowell. simon, a couple words really quick.rmances tonight. and i'm seeing some future recording stars. i'm very happy. >> mario: thank you, simon. we're back tomorro night 8:00, 7:00 central for the crucial results. good night, everyone. have a great evening. >>> the giants and halloween. two big parties all rolled into one day. tonight, san francisco is still celebrating. good evening, everyone i'm frank somerville. >> i'm julie haener. it is halloween night, but the rain is falling in parts of the bay area. that seems to be limiting the number of costumed characters. amber lee is live in san francisco's castro. no lack of halloween spirit. >> the castro has a reputation for knowing how to party. especially on halloween. take a look at this one one next to me. this year, things are different. maybe because it's in the middle of the week, and there's rain, or the celebration of the giants earlier today, but tonight, we've seen fewer people than in the past. >> princess of austerity. >> it's coming at you, live. >> reporter: ja

boehner, miss pelosi, mr. reid, mr. mcconnell, is to advance the common good.hese issues that we have to face both foreign policy and domestic policy and to advance the common good. i think that's what president obama should do. president bush won i believe -- eric can correct me -- with 284 votes in 2004 and determined he had political capital. the american people right now are more interested in the president, members of congress and others sitting down to advance the common good. >> let me go to ari to weigh-in on that. go ahead, ari, what do you think? >> well, let's look back a little bit. partly let's learn from mistakes. if you remember obama care and on cap and trade or what republicans refer to as tax and trade, those proposals from the president were so polarizing he was deserted by many in his own party. cap and trade became so lethal that they couldn't even get democrats in the senate to take it up. i think the trick to be successful now that we have a republican house, democrat senate and a country hungry for things to get done is to govern in a wa

not to me, as harry reid and mr. biden say. there are three things that people campaign that obama made more confusing. all the people behind him and no press questions, covered as if it were a press conference. one is all the bush tax cut laps that predate bush that they let lapse every two or four years. if that happens on january 5, it did raise taxes $500 billion a year. i guess this is the $5 trillion tax cut that obama used to attack romney for supporting. obama just sit there and does not agree to anything. or we can do all we did two years ago. again i get too worked up because the play this game of chess with the exact same people around the table with the chess board exactly the same as two years earlier. oh no. we're all going to die. we have been through this. if you do not really want to spend the rest of your administration with an economy as lousy as the one you brought us to now with no sign of making it better. this does not make the economy better. does the tax increase go up? what about the sequester? how is

mr. reid: i move to proceed to calendar number 419 s. , a the defense department authorization bill. the presiding officer: cloart motion. cloik motion to proceed to consideration of s. 3254, a bill to authorize appropriations for fleer 2013 for military activities of the dech defense and so and so forth and for other purposes. , mr. reid: the next hour will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees with the majority coalg controlling the first half and the republicans the second half. the filing deadline for first-degree amendments to the sportsman bill is 4:00 today. we're trying to work on an agreement with the republicans to vote on the sportsman bill and the cybersecurity and have a path forward on the defense authorization bill. we hope to have an agreement in the next couple of hours. mr. president, i rise today to honor my colleague chuck grassley on the occasion, the milestone of his 11,000th vote. he has cast more than 6,400 consecutive votes, more

boehner and mr. reid over the weekend.t looks like the president is going to continue the push and meet with the ceo's tomorrow. they upon meet with irskin bowles. he was the co-chair of simpson-bowles commission . mr. bowles had a great plan. he is a democrat, that offered up 800 billion in new revenue and overhaul the tax system and changes to medicare and that's why the republicans are asking the democrats to come in and explain your deal. this plan was hatched in 2010 and everyone walked away from it and now they call bowles back up? it is late. this is what the american people are upset about. nothing gets done. >> steve: we are a month from the cliff. >> gretchen: we could have avoided the cliff if they used the plan as a starting point. americans are upset nothing gets done. >> brian: norquist is the bad guy. you should walk away from grover norquest. he said you have enough money on capitol hill and stop asking us . he's been a watch dog on our money so whether you are democrat or republican you should salute him.

mr. reid rightly asked, my good friends on the other side of the aisle, what spending cuts are you talking about? it was the invention of the federal government with the ryeant white treatment act and research regarding hiv-aids that have helped people like those who are hemophiliacs and others in the large population, that means that everybody gets it. it's not a stigma. everybody is possibly susceptible to it. where would we be without that intervention of the federal government? so in the shadow of honoring those who have lost their lives in this almost terrible epidemic, which is tomorrow, to be able to thank those who have bonn -- done the research and improved the quality of life of those living with hiv-aids and saying to those millions who lost their lives that we will not forget. that's what this debate is about. it is about rental income for poor people. by the way those poor people are working people. it is about supplemental nutrition dollars for women and children. i would not cal

mr. obama is forging ahead and senator reid argues he got a mandate to do so. >> the president campaigned around the country saying we know what the problems are with this fiscal problem. we just need some revenue. that was the issue. >> the speaker of the house says increased revenues are fine, depending on where they come from. >> for the purposes of forging a bipartisan agreement that begins o solve the problem, we're willing to accept new revenue under the right conditions. >> meaning new revenue from growth and reform, not tax increases. he points to the bipartisan 1986 reagan reforms which eliminated tax deductions in order to increase revenues and lower tax rates. the same approach given president obama by the bowles-simpson commission. in washington, jim angle, fox news. >> arthel: thanks for breaking that down. by the way, nearly a quarter million customers without power, nearly two weeks after hurricane sandy. we're going to talk to an expert about what rights consumers have when they're left in the dark >> rick: bottom of the hour. day 12 without power for hundreds of thousands

both boehner and snart majority leader harry reid sounded conciliatory notes yesterday. >> mr. president, this is your moment. we're ready to be led. not as democrats or republicans, but as americans. >> it's better to dance than to fight. it's better to work together. >> boehner even opened the door to raising new revenues, code for taxes, though not through tax rates. he does put on some conditions. >> in order to garner republican support for new revenues, the president must be willing to reduce spending and shore up entitlement programs that are the primary drivers of our debt. >> so that is a shift in a negotiating position. now boehner suggested temporarily extending the current tax rates, pushing serious negotiations on a broader tax deal into 2013. while the president has hinted in the past that he's willing to include the issues of social security and medicare in the fiscal negotiations, what's not clear is whether the rest of his party is going to be willing to go along on that score. >> i want to work together but i want everyone to also understand, you can't push us

mr. obama is forging ahead and senator reid argues he has a mandate to do so. >> the president campaignedcountry. saying we know what the problems are with the fiscal problem. we just need re-knew. >> the speaker of the house says the increased revenues are fine depending where they come from. >> for the purpose of the bipartisan agreement, begins to the problem, we are willing to accept new re-knew under the right conditions. >> reporter: meaning new revenue from growth and reform, not the tax increases. he points to the bipartisan 1986 reagan reform, which eliminated tax deductions to increase re-knew and lower tax -- revenues and lower tax rate. the same approach given by bowles-simpson. >> bret: this will be a busy sometime. thanks. stocks took a dive this morning and didn't get much better after that. dow plunged 313 today. the s&p 500 dropped 34. the nasdaq lost 75. analysis of the economic impact from the colleagues at fox business network. melissa francis. good evening. >> good evening. >> yeah. when you look out at the stock market and you try to ask yourself why did it fall toda

mr. smith goes to washington and expresses his intention to late dore something." (laughter) now, harry reid'sbecause he claims republicans are abusing the filibuster. >> i have faced 386 filibusters. >> stephen: 386 filibusters during harry reid's six years as majority leader. and given how little congress works, some of that has to be mitch mcconnell stopping by harry reid's family dinner to block passage of the mashed potato. (laughter) but i say so what? that's just politics. and mitch mcconnell is warning it could get worse. >> if the majority chooses to end the filibuster, if they choose to change the rules and put an end to democratic debate then the fighting, the bitterness, and the gridlock will only get worse. in the name of efficiency they would prevent the very possibility of compromise and threaten to make the disputes of the past few years look like mere pillow fights. >> stephen: he's right. to me they already look like pillow fights. i'm pretty sure joe lieberman's jowls are memory foam. (laughter) so you've been warned, harry reid! take away mitch mcconnell's filibuster and he

harry reid, the democratic leader, said to the president, mr. president, could you please leave the room? i have covered presidents for four years. i know of no other time where the president was asked the meeting in his own house that he had called. i asked the president about this. i said how did it feel to be voted off the island in your own house. because that is what happened. he said that he was not going to stand on protocol, that the problem needed to be solved. but in the next day, he called democratic leaders to the white house from 6:00 o'clock on a sunday night. and harry reid is there, the house leader, the relations between and among the democrats are so not solved, that harry reid, is a chief of staff, makes a presentation on the deal if reid is trying to work out with the republicans. in the course of doing that, david corn says to the president of the united states, in the oval office is in his house, i am disappointed in this white house and you for not having a fallback plan. literally, again. somebody reading of the president

mr. baoehner to stop protecting the rich. joy reids managing editor of the grio and david corn is washington bureau chief for mother jones and the author of the ebook "47% percent." today the president took his pitch to a factory in the philadelphia suburbs and he made clear the rich must pay their fair share. obama's job number one, a tax cut for the 98%. the rest of the people. let's listen to him. >> it's not acceptable to me and i don't think it's acceptable to you for just a handful of republicans in congress to hold middle class tax cuts hostage simply because they don't want tax rates on upper income folks to go up. all right? of that doesn't make sense. the senate has already passed a bill to keep income taxes from going up on middle class families. that's already passed the senate. your members of congress, like alison and chaka, other democrats in the house, they're ready to go, they're ready to vote on that same thing. if we can just get a few house republicans on board, we can pass the bill in the house, it will land on my

. >> well, listen, like joy reid on this network has said, hopefully mr.oehner will be able to sing a different tune once the tea party caucus is more di anyone initiminished an speakership is re-established on january 3rd. my sense is going off the fiscal slope or curve or cliff is probably the best case scenario for president obama. >> professor reich, the president has offered a mix of taxes and spending cuts in his plan. mr. boehner responded with the ryan budget five minutes after saying they wanted a bipartisan solution. have they put any thought whatsoever into any of this? what have they been doing on all their days off. >> i don't think they've been doing anything but licking their wounds. basically the republicans are hunkered down. they don't seem able or willing to come up with any compromise, any genuine compromise, they haven't for the entire administration up until now. why should we suppose they're going to do so right at this moment? it's a lame duck congress. anybody who thinks this congress is going to come up with and the republicans in

mr. day is harry reid. he talked about cornerstones or having cornerstones and being able to work something out. [video clip] >> i feel very good about what we were able to talk about in there. we have the cornerstones of being able to work something out. we will both have to give up some of the things that we know are a problem. we arrive at it. we all know something needs to be done. we are all going to do it now. we feel very comfortable with each other. this is not something we will wait until the last day of december to get it done. we have a plan and we will move forward on it. we will work during the thanksgiving recess. we will meet when we come back the first week. i think it is a constructive meeting. i feel good about what we were able to talk about. host: your confidence in congressional leadership. the numbers will be on the screen if you want to call in. you can tweet us. this from "the new york times." it says -- ohio, this is the independent line with poland. -- owen. caller: there is only o

mr. president, the republican majority here in the house stands ready to work with you. >> even senator reidome bonding. >> it's better to dance than fight. >> congress has less than two months to prove it. the lame duck congress has the last chance to get in the history books for the right reason. the president is is reelected. that fight is over, get the message congress, accept some revenue, and go home with pride

so yesterday house speaker boehner and senate majority leader harry reid road tested some ideas for r reconciliati reconciliation. >> mrident, this is your moment. we're ready to be led, not as democrats or republicans, but as americans. >> it's better to dance than to fight. it's better to work together. >> that all sounds pretty promising, but listen a little closer to speaker boehner's call for compromise and then you begin to hear a familiar tune. >> we aren't seeking to impose our will on the president. we're asking him to make good on his balanced approach. the president has called for a balanced approach to the deficit, a combination of spending cuts, increased ed revenues, but a balanced approach isn't balanced if it means higher taxes on small businesses that are the key to getting our economy moving again and keeping it moving. >> yes, you heard it. it's that same small business melody that we've heard from mitt romney for six years. now, thankfully silenced along with the strains of kid rock's "born free," except, of course, now the lead singer is not romney, it's john boehner. if the speaker didn't get the