ron brownstein and michael sheer, white house correspondent for "the new york times." the president is not getting a mulligan on obamacare because it's such an important program for a lot of americans out there. we saw they put this new number out there, 2 million americans or more than 2 million americans have signed up through federal or state-based exchanges. we were talking earlier about this. this may not be an entirely new number. there seems to be new numbers almost on a weekly basis. but it is kind of a milestone for this administration to wrap up the year. it's not looking at grimace it was back in october. >> that's right. and i think any shred of evidence that they can seize on to counter the kind of what we expect i think will be a continuing republican narrative of problems and things that are negative about it, they're going to seize on it. >> what do you think, ron? do you think that -- are the new enrollment numbers that are coming out enough to sort of put this issue to the side for this president in the coming months. >> look, i think the short-term p

senior political analyst ron brownstein here to break this down with us. ron, let's with obamacare.hat's obviously top of mind right now. this has been real trouble 0 for president obama. does the program get stronger or perhaps more importantly do perceptions of the program get stronger or will this continue to drag down the white house? >> first of all, innerry christmas to you and everyone. i mean, this i think is the critical question. obamacare was the most important addition to the social safety net since medicare and medicaid in 1965. when the president won re-election, even john boehner seem seemed to be hypotheticaling the debate was essentially over and it was entrenched as the law of the land to use his words. but a year later after really an incredible procession of difficulties that they're only now beginning to turn around, it's an open question again whether obamacare can survive beyond his presidency. i think the critical issue for him next year and in these last three years is can he build enough of a constituency for this program it will in fact be difficult to und

ron brownstein is cnn's political analyst and director of the national journal. house speaker jon boehner blamed senate democrats. so who is at fault here, ron? >> you can -- the question for the blame is even the right word. the fundamental reality we have two coalitions reflected in the democratic majority in the senate and the white house and the public majority in the house that have antithet cal views about what the government should be doing and what the country should look like and they have proven unwilling or unable to bridge their differences and that is the fundamental divide we are facing and there is no sign it's going to end any time soon. you talk about the number of bills and talk about bills of substance. there may be only a single one that was approved earlier this year and even that passed with opposition from a majority of house republicans so we are looking at very low levels of productivity. >> and then, of course, upcoming we have the deadline to reach a new budget and that would be friday. bo jon boehner said come friday we're at the end of

let's discuss with our senior political analyst ron brownstein. the editorial director of the national journal, as well. so some folks are saying the president, whose job approval numbers now are at a record low, he's in deep trouble because of the launching of obama care is calling in the cavalry to help. >> it's not usual kind of pattern in the second term of an administration. you reach out for some of those more veteran washington figures. think of reagan and howard baker. after iran-contra. this precedent for this, john podesta is a fascinating figure. he was close to the clintons, chief of staff so he knows how to deal with a hostile congress. he has worked with obama. he ran the transition for him and also built what has been the most successful left of center think tank launched, the center for american progress. someone with very good ties inside the broad democratic coalition and has experience dealing with congress. >> what does it say the president is calling on him to bring him in as a counselor to the president? >> the counselor is a

ron brownstein, cnn senior political analyst.ornel belcher, cnn political commentator, democratic pollster. terry jeffrey, a nationally syndicated columnist. john king makes a pretty good point. 2008, rudy giuliani at the front of the pack. how much stock can we put into this? >> presidential polls three years out are probably the least valuable, kind of the predictive tools, in the sense that as john pointed out, it is heavily about name identification at this point. but they can affect the dynamics in the race and once they get going, and i do think what you see here is something we will hear a lot of that will cause heartburn for terry's side of the republican party which is going to be the argument that chris christie is the strongest general election nominee, has the best opportunity to deal with their two systemic problems, suburban whites and minority voters. that will be an argument used against him by conservatives who are reluctant to entrust him with the future of their party. >> they are fairly worthless, a year out,

joining me to talk about this, cnn senior political analyst, ron brownstein, editorial director of the national journal, and cnn political commentator, ryan lizza, also washington correspondent of "the new yorker." thanks for being with me on boxing day. happy holidays to you. you saw dana's piece. americans think this congress is just the worst but she also said the bar is low. is this the worst congress ever? >> it could get worse. we're only halfway through. it's year one of a two-year congress. >> wait, there's more. >> they could do even less next year. but look, when you have divided government with a democrat in the white house and democratic controlled senate and republican house, that's historically a unique set of circumstances and not a lot gets done. now, even given those circumstances, these guys managed to do less than previous congresses. >> it raises the question of what you think the purpose of congress is. if you think the purpose of congress is to, in a very forceful way, articulate the divergent views of the country who disagree, they are doing that. most members fe

house correspondent for the "new york times," michael shearer and cnn senior political analyst, ron brownstein. happy new year. little parting gift. let me ask you about the numbers on afghanistan. they struck us as being -- obviously the war is not popular but this unpopular, almost the level of the approval of members of congress unpopular. let's put up another number from the cnn polling. is the u.s. winning the war in afghanistan. 33% yes, 60% no. ron, what is striking, this is the war that americans all thought was a worthwhile cause in the beginning because of september 11th and rooting out al qaeda and osama bin laden. >> it may be as simple as you're still there 12 years later with inconclusive results despite incredible heroism, commitment and performance by the american military. and you know, you kind of look at these numbers and in that sense they're not surprising given that we're still doing this and there are consequential. we saw the impact of disillusionment over afghanistan and iraq. there is the sense that faith has been enormously dissipated that american arms can truly tra

cupp and cnn political analyst ron brownstein, editorial director of the national journal. we will start with you, ron. what's the white house doing? >> improvising and playing for time, really. because this really is a game about playing for time for them. they are looking at very difficult numbers in public opinion, as the polls showed again today, that aren't likely to get much better any time soon. it's been pretty consistent throughout. they have had enormous difficulty convincing most americans this will benefit them and their family or even benefit the country overall. that's very tough. on the other hand, the other set of numbers that they are watching are how many people can they sign up and get into the system because ultimately, if this is going to endure beyond his presidency, i think the key is building a constituency for it both in people who are obtaining the benefits and within the medical community that believes this is something that benefits them. that race, they're doing better on but still a long way to go on that front, too. >> what do you think? when i