that made his party look unserious. so i think that you know the majority leader is trying to get beyond it now. >> and you also the way that you described it was like a blog post. you're a writer. what do you mean by that? what struck you about the way that the letter was crafted? >> well i mean there are a couple of elements here. one of them is just the process by which this happened which we don't know a lot about. >> he didn't answer. >> we don't know. we do know that a lot of these signatures were hurried off the floor, not a particularly serious process by which you would convene the caucus and so a lot of senators resented this in the aftermath or you would convene the caucus and have a real strategy session. it also undermined the corker/menendez kind of attempt to secure vote tow proof majority for legislation to involve them in the iran process. now they're reassessing this coming week. where are they in this process? also you've got a situation where any republican who manage himself in that seat should view

they owe it to the american people to explain why the budget blue prints from the whitehouse are unserious chatty. the president's budget is never balanced ever and keeps spending more. never balanced other. contrast to the budget before the senate. it balances without raising taxes and it is the result of omen and transparent committee work led by the chairman. this budget is another example of the new senate getting back to work for the american people. it is another example of the senate moving past failed ideas from the past like obamacare and positioning america for the future instead. this balanced budget is all about growing an economy that can work better for the middle class of today and leaving a more prosperous future to the middle class of tomorrow. it will also provide the procedures and tools via the budget reconcilation process to bring an end to the nightmare of obamacare. that is something all of us should want. since our friends across the aisle are not offering a budget of their own i would invite them to join us. join us in supporting the growth oriented balanced budget

but that dream ended up being so unserious and embarrassing that not more than a single democrat could muster the courage to vote for it. in a way it's hard to blame our friends. it would be pretty embarrassing to support a budget that contained almost $2 trillion more in taxes and hardly any serious ideas to save the programs for the most vulnerable. no wonder this budget went down in flames. 98-1. 98-1, that was the vote on the president's budget. the 98, by the way was against. and so only one budget remains. it's the balanced budget which focuses on growth, common sense and the middle class. it isn't perfect but it does represent honest compromise and the promise of a better tomorrow. if senators would prefer to amend it, they'll have that opportunity this evening. members of both parties will be able to offer amendments. i know many of our friends across the aisle are eager to do that. republicans will have their chance too. there's a lot we expect to consider. do senators want to be seen supporting a policy that will cost up to a million jobs or will they stand tall for american

the latter is unserious, and crazy, and be stuff going on the middle east is fascinating because then is in flux in a way it has not been in generations. it is fun to watch. olivia: how is everything going on in the ground affecting these talks? we are on a same side in iraq, not syria. gideon: this is what is happening. with the arab spring topping up some regimes with the right to implement them, with iraq under saddam having been knocked out, the old arab sunni authoritarian order has been discombobulated and it is kind of on the way out. that is the context on which the united states is kind of partnering with iran a little bit and many of the remaining sunni authoritarians in saudi arabia and egypt, and with their israeli l.a. now, who likes order, are trying to push back against that -- their israeli ally now, who likes order come are trying to push back against that. it is sort of like an "games of thrones" thing. it is not clear that we can dictate this, and in many respects thanks to the changed energy environment, thanks to the change broader political environment, it may b

apparently the president's budget is just so unserious and embarrassing only a single member of his party could be seen supporting it in public. what a contrast to the balanced budget before us today. it balances without raising taxes. it acknowledges the obvious truth that washington has a spending problem and takes responsible action to get spending under control. it also recognizes the undeniable fact that government programs cannot meet their mandate to the vulnerable if left unreformed and proposes improvements to programs like medicaid. this balanced budget aims to make government more efficient more effective and moral -- more accountable. it will go a long way toward getting our fiscal house in order. but that's not all this balanced budget is about. it is also about growing the economy. it is also about raising incomes. it is also about creating jobs. in short it's about promoting an economy that works better for the middle class of today and leaves a more prosperous future to the middle class of tomorrow. one way to do that is by embracing the energy revolution by lifting barrie

but that dream ended up being so unserious and embarrassing that not more than a single democrat could muster the courage to vote for it. in a way it's hard to blame our friends. it would be pretty embarrassing to support a budget that contained almost $2 trillion more in taxes and hardly any serious ideas to save the programs for the most vulnerable. no wonder this budget went down in flames. 98-1. 98-1, that was the vote on the president's budget. the 98, by the way was against. and so only one budget remains. it's the balanced budget which focuses on growth, common sense and the middle class. it isn't perfect but it does represent honest compromise and the promise of a better tomorrow. if senators would prefer to amend it, they'll have that opportunity this evening. members of both parties will be able to offer amendments. i know many of our friends across the aisle are eager to do that. republicans will have their chance too. there's a lot we expect to consider. do senators want to be seen supporting a policy that will cost up to a million jobs or will they stand tall for american