you start this tome at the funeral of tim russert. for those who have not yet read it, and there may be two or three americans, the book is selling so well, but there may be two or three people who have not read it yet, but for those persons, tell us why you start with the funeral of tim russert. >> tim russert struck down in old, and008, 58 years his memorial service at the kennedy center was a state funeral-like event. it was like someone important had died. everyone was there. solemnobviously a big, event. it was on live television. and what i was struck by, and i knew tim well enough to be invited to the service, i was struck about how this immediately degenerated into a cocktail party. throwing business cards around, people trying to get on tv, people as a themselves to be tim's press,"ent on "meet the all at his funeral. i am thinking this is like an epic washington scene that has to be a jumping off what for a book, and as it turned out, i had not thought what the theme of the book would be, but it was a moment that i wanted to

nbc news capitol hill correspondent luke russert. luke, it falls to you to explain what is happening and what will happen next. give us a time line of how things will roll out today. >> well, what is happening is that no one knows exactly what is happening, joy. here is sort of an idea that we have. boehner is boxed in. aides admit that, republican aides admit that. he's in a difficult decision because of the house gop conference unwilling to support the bill with every gop goody you can imagine inside it. here are the three ops options boehner has regarding government funding. he can do a clean extension of government funding once it comes over from the senate. i asked him if he would do that. he said i don't see that happening. so presumably that won't happen. number two, he could attach something to it, something republicans like, perhaps getting rid of a tax on medical license, perhaps topping government payments to the employees of members of congress for their health benefits, something like that. this senate democrats want to

russert. that is they'll either come up with a bill today that will once again have this defunding piece to it and pass it, or they'll come to agreement they need to pass a clean cr and maybe they pass a separate bill on obama care, but at least the senate then can pass the clean bill and we can keep the government running, or, and this is entirely plausible, alex, they just can't come to any agreement today and we don't vote on anything today. and it gets pushed off till tomorrow. they are at such a level of dysfunction, there's really no predicting the outcome into that's why you've had a change of heart thinking 12, 24 hours ago we may avoid a shutdown. because of the timeline you're 24iing huh-uh? >> that's exactly it, alex. there's a certain time necessary just mechanically to get bills through the house and senate. particularly the senate. so even if senator reid calls people back asap, as we've seen with mr. cruz, it takes a lot of time to move anything in the senate. each hour that tic

. >>> this is luke russert in anaheim, california. for high school teacher hassan tweet and his syrian-american family, days are filled with anxiety, worry and fear. >> just walking inside the house and look at your children sleep in peace, and knowing that other people cannot have that peace. we really lost the peace, the sense of serenity and the sense of humanity. >> reporter: he tries to call his family in syria daily. he doesn't always get through. but this day, he does, just a few hours after president obama's address to the nation. the conversation is harrowing. >> we are so scared. bashar is killing us. i have no childhood anymore. i miss all my family. mr. obama, please president obama, please, please help us. >> reporter: what's it like talking to them when they're in that condition? >> they could have been dead by now, so it's really heartbreaking. at the same time, i feel really happy inside that i can hear their voice. >> reporter: while hassan understand the president's decision to seek congressional authorization, he th

luke russert is live on capitol hill with where they stand now. today, right, luke? >> reporter: good morning, lester. a few hours, the house gop conference will meet in a rare weekend session called by speaker boehner to try and figure out some way forward in order to fund the government. >> reporter: countdown to shut down. a warning from president obama to the house. >> my message to congress is this -- do not shut down the government, do not shut down the economy, pass a budget on time, pay our bills on time. >> reporter: the legislation now heads to the house where it faces opposition from republicans who oppose the bill because it doesn't defund obama care. >> this is like holding a gun on each other now and standing in a burning building and deciding who is going to blink. >> reporter: senate democrats say the position of house republicans is extreme. >> the country is not going to be distorted. we will not be hit with a gun to our heads. >> reporter: today the house begins a rare weekend session to try to forge a compromise before the gove

nbc's luke russert is live outside the washington hospital center. luke, do we know when other vehicles may have been taken to hospitals in the area? >> reporter: there was reports of one victim going to george washington hospital. as far as we're concerned we have three victims, one you mentioned is a metropolitan police officer. the good news from the briefing we got from the doctor at the trauma center, all victims in critical condition arrived at the emergency facility alert, obviously in severe pain, but they were able to have conversations with their doctors. the doctor who briefed us said the conversation she had with the victims, she believes being an experienced doctor with a lot of shootings in washington, d.c. it's a semiautomatic weapon. the victims described a rapid succession of gunfire, bang bang bang bang. the officer here in the or. we believe he's no longer there are. sort of gotten out of there, listing critical but stable condition. there's a heavy police presence at the hospital, andrea. there are guards stationed out front. when

nbc's luke russert has been following the drama for us all day.r the past hour, since we checked in with you last, any updates? >> reporter: the main update is that aides over on the senate side close to democratic leadership have officially said that the senate will not take up this bill once it's passed out of the house, presumably they would actually move to table it to outright reject the bill if they wanted to. what's interesting, though, here is you see this republican option that's gained steam. the outside conservative groups that have been aligned with ted cruz have had such an outspoken role in this debate so far. right now, they seem -- they're going to go along with this plan. they're comfortable with it. it's a plan to delay the health care law, permanent delay on medical devices and to make sure the troops get their pay if the government shuts down. all this does is messes with the calendar. come monday at midnight, the government will shut down. the senate will not take up this plan. they're going to reject it. the house is now sayi

not there for domestic policies anymore. >> luke russert, thank you, sir. joining me is a member of the armed services committee who attended yesterday's contentious hearing on the foreign relations committee. congresswoman, great to have you here. the obama administration is really trying to convince the left, secretary kerry will chat with political bloggers. you say on your facebook and i oppose the united states taking military action against the assad regime in syria. explain what would the alternative be at the president's request to do it? >> i do oppose it, barring anything else happening here, and the reason for that is because it's chaos there and we're not sure exactly what would happen if we intervened, if our strike is too light, we could embolden assad and he could claim that he was able to still stand and resist the united states. if we strike too heavily, we could accidently upset the balance of power and there's an alphabet soup of extremists waiting to step in. so there's no clear path right now through the civil war and that's the reason

memorial service for tim russert. i almost stopped going to correspondence dinners. i think there were a lot of things he was absolutely right on. but having said that, it was pretty much snark from beginning to the end. i think some places maybe in were true. ste. memorial service for tim russert. i almost stopped going to correspondence dinners. i think there were a lot of things he was absolutely right on. there were individual things i thought were ok, but i didn't enjoy it. i think fundamentally he was right. >> do you think if people read it they are getting a pretty ood picture what goes on here? >> i would hope that anybody that reads it, it's not the only hing they are going to read. >> i don't know if there is anything in the book that isn't true, but something can be true but not the whole truth. he barbecued some people, and some people deserved it, but it was sort of trying to make everybody look bad. and i think some of these people are very well intentioned hard working people and didn't necessarily deserve this. >> here you are at the omni in atlanta

this was not a filibuster as luke russert was reporting to us. ted cruz is not just a random politician. he is a parliamentary expert -- >> knows what he's doing. >> he's a smart legal mind and argued nine cases before the supreme court, more than any other member of congress. i would end by saying this tells us something about him that he wants to fool all of his followers and do this in what i think was a dishonest way. >> i'm not entire -- yes, he's fooling his followers and in a way he's not. if your folks hate government, you do this fake buster, they are like, yes, this is great. and nothing bonds like a common enemy and they hate government. this attack on government -- >> and hate obama. >> even if they lose it's a val yant thing and bonds them together in this way. the king of the tea party movement at this point without question, how far can he carry it though? >> well, guys, i don't know about you all, i've been inspired about senator cruz's fake filibuster, inspired to pass a fake resolution here at the cycle which we'll have just as

luke russert is on capitol hill right now with the latest. luke, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. here on capitol hill for a rare weekend session for the house of representatives as they try to figure out some way to avoid a government shutdown. yesterday on a party line vote, the senate passed a bill to continue to fund the government. it's a clean bill that did not have any funds to defund the president's health care law and it's sitting well with house republicans who want to see changes to the law. president obama issued this warning to house republicans in congress. >> president obama issued this warning to republicans in congress. >> our message to congress is do not shut down the government, do not shut down the economy. pay our bills on time. refocus on the every day concerns of the american people. >> so house republicans had a meeting today as a conference and are going to try to figure out some sort of possible compromise. as of now it looks like they're going to try to change the bill that came over as the senate,

luke russert, thank you very much. >>> midnight is not only the witching hour for government shutdown, marks a rollout for obama care. we'll preview crucial and busy october 1st when the white house's jennifer palmieri joins us next on "now." my customers can shop around-- see who does good work and compare costs. it doesn't usually work that way with health care. but with unitedhealthcare, i get information on quality rated doctors, treatment options and estimates for how much i'll pay. that helps me, and my guys, make better decisions. i don't like guesses with my business, and definitely not with our health. innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. cheryl burke is cha-cha-ing in depend silhouette briefs for charity, to prove that with soft fabric and waistband, the best protection looks, fits, and feels just like underwear. get a free sample and try for yourself. wout of landfills each year? plastic waste to cover mt. rainier by using one less trash bag each month, we can. and glad forceflex bags stretch until they're full.* so you can take them ou

>> luke russert, thanks very much. coming up, people in chicago including the chief of police absolutely fed up with the gun violence in that town. it's been plaguing the city. we reported on it. last night 13 people killed in a mass shooting and if that's not bad enough, one of the people, a 3-year-old boy in critical condition. >>> illegal guns, illegal guns drive violence. >> mayor rahm emanuel returning to chicago after canceling an appearance in new jersey and meetings in d.c. we'll talk to the father of pendleton the 15-year-old girl shot to death in a park in chicago earlier this year. a writer and a performer. ther, i'm also a survivor of ovarian and uterine cancers. i even wrote a play about that. my symptoms were a pain in my abdomen and periods that were heavier and longer than usual for me. if you have symptoms that last two weeks or longer, be brave, go to the doctor. ovarian and uterine cancers are gynecologic cancers. symptoms are not the same for everyone. i got sick... and then i got better. of providi

joining me from capitol hill is nbc's capitol correspondent, luke russert. harry reid just said at the conclusion of that almost 22-hour session of bloefuation, i don't think we learned anything. did you learn anything, luke? has anyone on capitol hill learned anything? >> yeah, this is something, alex, that everybody has an opinion on, but if you talk to the majority on it, both sides, privately, democrats say they love this. let ted cruz as long as he can because then they can stick the government shutdown solely on him. you saw harry reid making the point, i want to get this over to the house as quickly as possible to figure out a solution here. democrats are more than happy to say the obstructionist ted cruz delayed the funding of the government all in the name of trying to defund a law that's going to move forward. they love this. republicans i've spoken to, majority of them can't stand this. you're setting up a civil war within the republican party. you have mitch mcconnell, who's actively been trying to court the tea party his entire re-election campa

nbc news capitol hill correspondent luke russert, who has not been up all night. although i know he could do it. joins us right now. luke, gop leaders, even tea party allies, senator rand paul had privately urged cruz not to stage this marathon because of all the criticism that it brings. but he said come hell or high water, i'm going to go forward with it. what are people saying now as we near this finish line of noon. >> reporter: it's fascinating, tom, as this stunt, filibuster-like performance, we've heard all sorts of descriptions from all sorts of people here in d.c., if it's done anything, thomas, it's divided the republican party. so much so that it's really put the leader of the party in the senate, mitch mcconnell, in a very difficult position. obviously he's running for his own re-election and he is now sort of against ted cruz after spending all this time courting the tea party. what's most fascinating about this is when you read into the tea leaves, last night this kind of went unnoticed. reince priebus sent out a tweet saying stand with ted. senate m

let's start with nbc's own luke russert. what do you think?> reporter: well, tour'e, john boehner is in an extremely difficult position. he's been boxed in by the more conservative element of the house gop conference. they say they will not fund the government unless the president's health care law is completely defunded. the government passed a clean bill now in the hands of the house. we're unclear as to what path he'll take. he can attach a conservative amendment to make it more friendly for conservatives or pass the clean one or one week to two week delay. but no one necessarily knows how it's going to play out. he's most likely going to need the help from democrats. as for what would happen in the government shutdown. essential services like national security will continue to function and paychecks from medicare and social security will continue to go out. however, it will cause a headache for a bunch of americans who want to get passport visas coming to d.c., can't see the panda at the national zoo because that's closed and national park

. >> let's go straight to nbc's luke russert. luke, we're watching that clock there. in about four or five minutes we expect the count to begin. is it expected to pass here shall as many have said? >> reporter: yeah, it should pass. this is something that the house gop leadership, richard, has whipped quite extensively. there are a few republicans who are uncomfortable with this because they subscribe to that idea really that has sort of taken hold of republicans in the senate, the more moderate ones that this is a charade, the law will never be repealed or defunded completely but is a waste of time but expect universal democratic opposition. perhaps a few republicans will join this. this should give the republican leadership a victory in the sense of getting some type of continuing resolution to fund the government out of the house. we thought this would be unheard of a few months ago that they would go forward and try to defund the president's health care law. a lot of leadership aides said it was a stupid idea. now it's the principal strategy and you're seeing it p

luke russert is standing by for us there.we checked in with you about 30 minutes ago, at that time it sounded as if a lot of lawmakers, a lot of the leadership had resigned themselves to the fact that a shutdown is inevitable. has that changed at all? >> no. and the reason being because we still do not know what comes after this. and when i say this, i mean this republican-backed bill that will most likely be passed later tonight between 10:00 p.m., 12 midnight. the reason it's being delaying is strictly procedural. the gop conference is going to be after meeting around 8:30 p.m. they're going to discuss their messages after they pass their bill, what their members should sfa and how they should go into the last two days of the fight before the government shuts down. you heard from kristen welker, the white house said they're going to vie to the bill if it got through and the senate said they're not going to take it up. everything that comes out of here right now is dead on arrival in the senate and the white house. we don't

they have put faith in their leaders to do what's right. >> let's go straight to nbc's luke russert.r or five minutes we expect the count to begin. is it expected to pass here shall as many have said? >> reporter: yeah, it should pass. this is something that the house gop leadership, richard, has whipped quite extensively. there are a few republicans who are uncomfortable with this because they subscribe to that idea really that has sort of taken hold of republicans in the senate, the more moderate ones that this is a charade, the law will never be repealed or defunded completely but is a waste of time but expect universal democratic opposition. perhaps a few republicans will join this. this should give the republican leadership a victory in the sense of getting some type of continuing resolution to fund the government out of the house. we thought this would be unheard of a few months ago that they would go forward and try to defund the president's health care law. a lot of leadership aides said it was a stupid id

luke russert, kristen welker, thank you both. for more, we go to our politics insider. josh, when you look at the economy, health care, deaf fit, federal budget, more americans disapprove ever -- i guess it's been two years. two-thirds of americans saying we're on the wrong track, which is the highest number since 2012. are people -- has the president lost the american people? have they stopped listening? >> i think it's been a difficult summer for him. i think the syria trajectory made him look a little lost on foreign policy. i think on domestic policy with these issues with the budget and obama care implementation it looks like things are not working as well as they're supposed to. i think the public is blaming both the president and congress for that. congress, of course, also has terrible numbers. it's not like the president is alone in this regard. i think the one thing that's really propping up the president right now politically is that house republicans are shooting themselves in the foot so much politically looking even more lost than he is. so i think even th

luke russert thank you. david gregory who is on "meet the press." >> mike lee, senator lee.erre of the nra. he's back as well. >> thank you so much. greatly appreciate it. ted cruz. i like mike lee a lot. i think a lot of people like mike. still got goodwill but man, mark halperin told me coming into last year that ted cruz was a smart guy and was going to do well and now we're all scratching our heads going -- >> harvard professor. >> he's not playing in the minor leagues. >> he was one of the smarter students he ever saw and he acts as, if you know -- designee acts as if everybody is stupid. >> it's like he had a huge i.q. hair cut when he came to the senate. he's not making sense. he's going to raise a lot of money and raise his own profile. selfish move. jim demint is raising a lot of money. >> there's 40% chance he's secretly shooting a reality show. >> by the way wasn't it john boehner who said he wasn't going negotiate with president obama any more for some grand bargain over the debt ceiling and not the president? that's the way i remember that. >> doesn't sound like

and luke russert is there. luke, what is the latest. >> reporter: the latest abby is all three victims brought here are in critical but stable condition and are expected to survive. one of the victims is a police officer, the d.c. pd, two other victims are females who are shot at the navy yard earlier today. we can report just developing now is that secretary of the navy ray mavis is on hand talking to victims and paying respects and saying hello. we're also told in just about 20 to 30 minutes, admiral greenert, highest ranking naval official actually at the naval yard, chief of naval operations will be addressing the police. he was brought to a secure location and not believed to be in any harm. there's been a huge police presence at the hospital behind me in d.c., much like other major cities whenever an officer is down, everybody shows up in full force. we saw that earlier today. but the good news is these victims are going to be okay. one other interesting detail we learned from the doctor, the victims came

we've got luke russert straight ahead. chuck's show. >>> breaking news, the new jobs report shows the unemployment rate falling again. and the jobs numbers falling short of expectations. but the real tough news may be in the latest round of revisions for older numbers. we'll break it all down in minutes. also this morning, president obama lowraps up two days of intense talk over syria with other world leaders in russia. his effort to convince congress didn't slow down one bit during the trip. now he heads home to try to get it done. meanwhile, back at home, john mccain hearses an earful on syria at a town hall in arizona. and outgoing homeland security secretary janet napolitano. >>> good morning. happy friday from washington, d.c. it's september 6th, 2013. i'm luke russert in for the great chuck todd who will join us in just a moment with more of the president at the g-20 in russia. quite busy here. we begin with the new jobs report for the month of august. the good news, the unemployment rate is down to 7.3%. that's the

luke russert is up straight ahead with "the daily rundown." >>> road to a resolution. as president obama arrives in russia for the g-20 summit. tension over syria is thick. the meetings host, president putin, argues against action. more classified briefings today aimed to shape the debate back here at home. also this morning, senator mcconnell is campaigning hard to keep his job. it's not just a battle of democratic foe allison grimes. we'll talk to the man bringing the fight on the right, republican primary challenger matt bevan. plus, student athletes make millions of dollars for their colleges coast to coast but they don't make a single cent for themselves. has the time come for a big change right? the author of "time" magazine's brand-new cover story out this morning is here. he'll talk to us. good morning from washington. it's thursday, september 5th, 2013. this is "the daily rundown." i'm luke russert in for chuck todd who is traveling with the president and will join us in just a minute. this hour, the two-day summit of the world's 20 largest economies known as

luke russert joins us now with the latest. set the emotional tone there, luke. we know harry reid already said the senate will never go for this. the white house said today and they issued a statement saying they would veto this. what's it been like there around the house members tonight? >> reporter: this is about the fifth time since 2010 where we have had a long day. i have been here since 6:00 a.m. a bushing it to the brink type of day. this is the only one i can remember where we went all day literally for nothing. harry reid said he will reject the bill. the president said he would veto it. let me set the stage. house republicans, we have stories of them being fractured and boehner not in control. they were able to come together, had a meeting and decided on this pathway forward. what is the bill? it's a one year delay for the health care law. funding troops, the event the government is shut down. when the plan was announced, there was applause. a lot of outside conservative groups were tight with senator ted cruz, running the debate. they backed off and s

. >> we're joined by nbc's luke russert now, who is with us from near the hospital. luke, dr. orlowski also said, it's a great city, a great country. we've got to get rid of this. we have to help each other. she went on to express her prayers and thoughts for those who died. and she said this is not america, this is not washington, d.c. this is not good. i hate to contradict the learned doctor, but sadly, this is america. isn't it? >> it is, martin. and it's something that's very much a common presence here in washington, d.c., a city that's had the effects of urban violence throughout the last few decades. i've been up here my whole life and you turn on the 11:00 news and hear about shootings, but never at this scale. and usually the victims are brought behind me, the washington hospital center, as the doctor talked about, the best trauma center in the region for these types of injuries. they were the center that got the three folks today. one of who was a metropolitan police officer, and what the doctor said, some words -- made me choke up personally, this officer still in s

luke russert is on capitol hill right now with the latest. >> reporter: here on xcapitol hill as theyernment shutdown. yesterday on a party line vote, the senate passed a bill to continue to fund the government. it's a clean bill that did not have any funds to defund the president's health care law and not sitting well with house republicans who want to see changes to the law. president obama issued this warning to house republicans in congress. >> my message to congress is this -- do not shut down the government, do not shut down the economy, pass a budget on time, pay our bills on time, refocus on the everyday concerns of the american people. >> reporter: so house republicans have a meeting today as a conference. they are going to try to figure out some sort of possible compromise, but, as of right now, it looks like they are going to try to change the bill that came over from the senate, attack the president's health care law some in way or do something to change it up. that will not sit well as democrats who do not want any changes to the clean government funding law. as we move f

but some of the most legendary figures in this business from the sainted tim russert to sainted mr.have done this so this is how the business works. >> did he disarm you with that? >> i would just say this. according to elsbeth reeve, this is the 21st journalist who has gone to work for the obama administration. i have to say, dana, you're right, given your performance on "hardball" earlier this week there's zero chance the administration ask you to join them. >> i have not had the phone ringing off the hook. >> i guess you were critical? >> i have occasionally been. >> no federal job for you. >>> but there is a long tradition of some people going from journalism into politics or public service as they would prefer to put it. clearly there has been a lot more of it in the obama administration. i think rick stengel was a pretty good editor during his seven years at the helm. but i was interviewing him once and said can't you find a good conservative columnist to go up against joe kline and he said he was still looking. so i wonder if it does -- whether it's something -- does it raise

chuck todd, host of the daily rundown and msnbc news luke russert. luke, first to you. lets talk about this brinksmanship. what would john boehner say to what dan pfeifer just said, there aren't going to be any conversations because there's nothing to negotiate? >> well, i think the speaker certainly -- they have been playing this hot potato about you didn't call me. you should have called me over the last week, this whole idea the president is on the phone with the head of iran but won't talk with the speaker, that was sort of the back and forth. i do think john boehner would take the president's call as procedurally. i think it's very interesting, though, andrea, 2:00 the house gop conference said to meet on capitol hill. there's where john boehner will learn where his caucus is. they passed the bill out early sunday morning. yesterday someone on the senate step staged a pep rally. stop obstructing our bill, the one that defund the president's health care law for a year. not going anywhere with harry reid. options will become apparent at that 2:00 meeting. from conver

russert's carefully coifed hair failed to pass the test?ir is impeccable but his caucus is not, stay with us. [ phil ] when you have joint pain and stiffness... accomplishing even little things can become major victories. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. when i was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, my rheumatologist prescribed enbrel for my pain and stiffness, and to help stopoint damage. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. you should not start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have symptoms such as persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or pa

for "today," luke russert, nbc news, los angeles. >>> up next here on "today," the little boy and double amputee who went from watching his favorite dolphin in a movie to swimming with him in real life. that after this. [ female announcer ] when you have a picky eater... won't touch this. breakfast together can be a...bit of a dance. ♪ won't touch -- stop. eggo time. [ female announcer ] but eggo waffles can win over the pickiest of eaters. can't touch this. [ girl ] l'eggo my eggo™. >>> just a little warning for you, it is going to be pretty tough for you to not fall in love with a little boy in our next story. he lost both of had his legs when he was just 13 months old. he now walks in prosthetic legs, as you can see. he loves to swim. for that, he has some very special flippers. >> and a lot of same leyritz with a dolphin in a kids' movie. what if the two had a chance to meet? now with a dolphin tale that will make you smile. >> reporter: what should be obvious is cieran kelso will stand up and conquer challenges. the 8-year-old traveled from england with his dad, mom and sister to vi

i'm luke russert filling in for the great andrea mitchell who's traveling with secretary of state john kerry. president obama will take his message on syria directly to millions of homes across america tuesday, but today in russia he was pressed repeatedly on what his next step would be if congress does not give him the authorization to attack syria. >> if the full congress doesn't pass this, will you go ahead with the strike? >> i did not put this before congress just as a political ploy. >> i still haven't heard a direct response to breanna's question. if congress fails to authorize this, will you go forward with an attack on syria? >> right. and you're not getting a direct response. i'm not going to engage in parlor games now, jonathan, about whether or not it's going to pass. when i'm talking substantively to congress about why this is important. >> joining me now for our daily fix, chris lizza,msnbc contributor and host of the post tv in play and "usa today" washington bureau chief susan page. i'll start off with you, susan. what happens if congress, and it looks better possibly i