the fbi to the dent of justice to the whitehouse. so there will be a real question here. this is not the fbi operational side but the political side, the real question will be what did the fbi tell the attorney general and what was justice's call on what to do with that information. and that question hasn't really surfaced yet but when it does it will certainly royal. >> sharyl atkinson reported on cbs this morning there are members of congress now demanding a joint committee to investigate this. if there are enough members of on congress hungry to do that that will likely hospital which will mean a full on colonoscopy on this store. there are so many details to be learned. >> rose: david, in cases like this when we do these looking back journalists do and looking who said what when, there are always questions that come up like this. who should have when they first heard this, said the president has to know this? >> well, i think john raised this issue. as it comes up, the chain of command and the fbi, the fbi embarked into the inqui

the fbi to the dent of justice to the whitehouse. so there will be a real question here. this is not the fbi operational side but the political side, the real question will be what did the fbi tell the attorney general and what was justice's call on what to do with that information. and that question hasn't really surfaced yet but when it does it will certainly royal. >> sharyl atkinson reported on cbs this morning there are members of congress now demanding a joint committee to investigate this. if there are enough members of on congress hungry to do that that will likely hospital which will mean a full on colonoscopy on this store. there are so many details to be learned. >> rose: david, in cases like this when we do these looking back journalists do and looking who said what when, there are always questions that come up like this. who should have when they first heard this, said the president has to know this? >> well, i think john raised this issue. as it comes up, the chain of command and the fbi, the fbi embarked into the inqui

whitehouse: mr. chairman, may i ask of the chairman if the bill -- if he would like the amendment called up now and made pending? or are we simply going to have discussion on it? mr. levin: no, no. we expect now the senator will be calling up his amendment. may i, though, correct what i said before. it is possible that there will be a need for a roll call on the whitehouse amendment. the presiding officer: very well. mr. whitehouse: first, mr. president, let me ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment be set aside the senate is not in in order to call up amendment 3180. the presiding officer: without objection, the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from rhode island, mr. whitehouse, proposes an amendment numbered 3180. whitehouse -- mr. whitehouse: i ask to dispense with further reading of the bill. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: thank you, mr. president. let me thank chairman levin and ranking member mccain for their patience and persistence in allowing us

after re-election to another four years in the whitehouse.hters sasha and malia, first lady and then there's joe biden. the vice president who the president described as america's happy warrior.

-senator whitehouse. >> i will be briefer than my colleagues. i was here for an earlier hearing and made a similar statements. i don't want to be redundant the hurricanes and the hit rhode island hard, but 9.5 ft crest at fox point at fox point was the highest ever on record, we have 130,000 homes and businesses lose power which is a significant portion of a stake of 1 million people, the southern coast of rhode island was hit hardest, the westerly coasts, you can see how hotels and restaurants along the shore were clobbered by this. coming out of the beach, vehicles from the 1930s and 1940s buried those decades ago to hold the beach impact and for the first time since then all the tearing up of the beaches have exposed them, like gold cadavers in a horror movie coming out of the beach. a closer look at that, look at the next one, this is the road, atlantic avenue that goes along the beach. the sand from all the disturbance was piled up chest high and we are still literally digging out from that sandwich. the damage went back in the neighborhood

thank you, senator sheldon whitehouse. i agree.t's not easy to turn off the check writing. >>> coming up, republicans are trying to explain president obama's re-election victory by crying fraud. i'm reporting this because it's crazy. it's not real. they are saying the president stole the election. nonsense. we're going to cover the nonsense because we like to do it here, in the "sideshow," where it belongs. we sort of fence it off from reality. this is "hardball," the place for politics. [ thunder crashes ] [ female announcer ] some people like to pretend a flood could never happen to them. and that their homeowners insurance protects them. [ thunder crashes ] it doesn't. stop pretending. only flood insurance covers floods. ♪ visit floodsmart.gov/pretend to learn your risk. >>> first of all, i caught up on "homeland." if you haven't seen it, it's the twisting tale of an iraq war vet who may or may not be a terrorist operative or a double agent who has been brainwashed by al qaeda who matches wits with a bipolar cia operative who is

talk about general john allen because there has been as we taped this proto a statement by the whitehouse by jay carney the president continues at this time to stand behind general allen well me about the allen aspect of this story. >> i think it's very very different than the aspect of general petraeus. i may be naive but i don't think anything untoward went on between john allen and jill kelly. i've been told by someone very close to general allen that he and his wife were friends with jill kelly and her husband and that absolutely there was no sex. the e-mails that you're talking about and documents and they say there are 20 or 30,000, this person very close to general allen said there were actually hundreds of actual e-mails and they came out with all the ccs to have all these documents. but there were things like hey general allen i saw you on tv today. and he would write back and say thanks, sweetheart, thanks dear. so they may have sounded flirty to someone just reading them but they insist they were just friends. i think general allen has been entanged in this. it's very bad timin

whitehouse: thank you, madam president. we are working towards a national defense authorization act. as we do that, i rise to discuss the importance of assessing and planning for, and mitigating the national security effects of climate change. our change in climate is not simply a green issue invented by environmentalists and conservationists. climate change threatens our strategic interests, our military readiness and our domestic security in many ways. it is a serious national security issue. so says not just me, but the united states department of defense, and indeed also our national intelligence community. in 2011, the defense science board provided the secretary of defense guidance for a government-wide approach to preparing for the effects of climate change, concluding that -- and i quote -- "climate change will only grow in concern for the united states and its security interests." the 2010 quadrennial defense review by the department of defense noted khroeufp as one of the things -- climate change as one of the thi

thank you, senator sheldon whitehouse.s not easy to turn off the check writing. >>> coming up, republicans are trying to explain president obama's re-election victory by crying fraud. i'm reporting this because it's crazy. it's not real. they are saying the president stole the election. nonsense. we're going to cover the nonsense because we like to do it here, in the "sideshow," where it belongs. we sort of fence it off from reality. this is "hardball," the place for politics. [ male announcer ] at scottrade, you won't just find us online, you'll also find us in person, i'm reporting this because it's reality. at over 500 branches nationwide. so when you call or visit, you can ask for a name you know. because personal service starts with a real person. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our support teams are nearby, ready to help. it's no wonder so many investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade. with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back

thank you, senator sheldon whitehouse. i agree.t's not easy to turn off the check writing. >>> coming up, republicans are trying to explain president obama's re-election victory by crying fraud. i'm reporting this because it's crazy. it's not real. they are saying the president stole the election. nonsense. we're going to cover the nonsense because we like to do it here, in the "sideshow," where it belongs. we sort of fence it off from reality. this is "hardball," the place for politics. [ male announcer ] this december, remember -- ♪ you can stay in and like something... ♪ [ car alarm deactivates ] ♪ ...or you can get out there with your family and actually like something. ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is on, offering some of our best values of the year. this is the pursuit of perfection. a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not today. [ male announcer ] bob has afib: atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, a condition that puts him at greater risk for a stroke. [ gps ] turn le

one person says romney was at the whitehouse eating free lunch.s on costco as a business, costco ceo makes a little over half a million and their workers are paid better than wal-mart employees. they are a good company. they represent workers very well and our good friend sam youngman reuters said on the guy who tried to sell biden tires t in a dreamworld he would double back and i get to see the look on president obama's face when he opens his simcoe. >> sam youngman, get your ass in here. >> we are working on it. >> bill: quickly before we go to the phones costco was originally the price club. >> absolutely. >> founded by sal price, a great friend of mine from san diego, and i might say a sponsor and investor in this radio show . >> all right. >> very nice. >> passed away a couple of years ago, but a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, very generous man that does a great deal of good in san diego. arnold, other roving ambassador, arnold, what do you think? >> i am glad you had this news up about the margin of victory. >> isn't that great. >> let me

whitehouse: thank you. i wanted to address two things. the first is that we are having a continuing discussion about the budget of our country and about the taxes of our country, and indeed, about the unfair and often upside down nature of our tax code that allows people making hundreds of millions of dollars a year to pay a lower tax rate than a family that earns $100 a year -- $100,000 a year. and in the context of that discussion there is one thing i think we can do right now that would be important and helpful to the vast majority of americans, indeed to 98% of american families and 97% of american small businesses and that is to assure them that their taxes are not going to go up on january 1. assuming we can't get to a budget agreement before january 1, then automatically all of the bush tax cuts will end, and the senate has actually passed a law that will allow those tax cuts to be curtailed. to be protected. for families that earn $250,000 a year and less. that bill has passed the senate and it's now over at the house awaiting act

>> reporter: david, the new rule in american politics is that no one can make it to the whitehouse without the hispanic vote. this tuesday about 12 million latinos will go to the polls but it will be very important to watch what hispanics do in crucial states like colorado, nevada and florida. it is no surprise that those states are being bombarded by political ads en espanol. historically, latinos tend to vote more for democrats than republicans and that won't change, presuming president barack obama will get the majority of the hispanic vote 3 to 1. but if mitt romney can get more than a third of the latino vote, it will be a very, very close election. the most important issues for latinos are jobs, education and health care, but immigration defines who is with us and who is against us. immigration is personal. president barack obama wants to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants. mitt romney says he doesn't want an amnesty even though he talks about a permanent solution. jobs might not be as important for latinos as immigration. we'll see that on tuesday, david. >> jorge ramos, t

and i think there is not really my said the whitehouse can do.tates is so gullible or we are so acquiescent and actually feel well served by their pursuit of their interest irrespective of the time to time annoyances like acquiring dictatorial powers on the part f the assembled. >> well, ithink there is -- there has beena different influence inhe region. if you take a look at the anti-american access, when you take a look at the hezbollah and hamas, these are very powerful people. they're really playing for keeps they know what they're doing. we are into the region, out of the region. secretary clinton rushed to the scene when she rushed to the middle east after the war broke out between hamas and israel. in the far east. we visited the far east. the president was visiting pagodas in the far east. lou: not going near india or china. you mentioned a moss, ron and syria along with egypt in that, if you will, axes with in the least. syria itself, the implications for it as a result of what we are witnessing and the obvious victory for iran in broker

. >> jennifer: that is the incredible senator sheldon white whitehouse unloading on his colleagues ate hearing. exactly who is he talking to? take senator gyms inhofe. he's with the senate committee of environment and public works. that senator, senator inhofe has referred to global chime change change as an alarmist. why would he say that? maybe because the top three contributers to his political campaign for the top five years are some of the top fossil fuel industries in the campaign. koch industries, murray energy. devon energy. is there any chance that reason can speak louder than money? here to help us answer that question is jefferey sachs. he's comeing to us via skype from new york. thank you for joining us in "the war room"." >> thanks for having me again. it's great to be with you. 12,347 >> jennifer: i appreciate your perspective. even on climb changes blockburg when they put it on the cover of the magazine, how can we get our leaders to take action. >> the president has to put forward a plan. it has to not only acknowledge theeverything that your wonderful show has been di

whitehouse: mr. president, i have ask unanimous consent request for a committee to meet during today's session of the senate. it has the approval of the majority and minority leaders, so i ask unanimous consent that this request be agreed to and that the request be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, let me also ask unanimous consent that a fellow from my office, mr. todd bianco, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of this congress. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: thank you. plt mr. president, -- mr. president, as the senate reconvenes this week here in washington, many states are still working to clean up the wreckage left behind by hurricane sandy, the largest atlantic hurricane on record, and the states are already making new preparations to protect against future extreme weather events. hurricane sandy will be remembered both for the large area it affected and for the devastation wrought by its fierce

nelson, amy klobuchar, kirsten gillibrand, joe manchin, debbie stabenow, bob menendez, sheldon whitehousernie sanders, maria cantwell, diane finestein, we have delivered to you a great caucus, mr. leader. >> not only did every democratic incumbent in the senate win their race last night, every single one, but democrats actually picked up two seats. elizabeth warren defeated republican incumbent scott brown in massachusetts. joe donnelly defeated tea party favorite, richard mourdock, in indiana. it should have been impossible. joining us now is steve kornacki, co-host of "the cycle," 3:00 weekdays here on msnbc. happy aftermath, steve. >> i was just checking unskewedelectionreturns.com and they said republicans have 67 senate seats now, so i'm not sure what you're talking about here. >> also, mitt romney won with a anonymous vote. >> yes, in d.c., that's right. >> that's right. what happened yesterday in the senate specifically? obviously, the expectations were leaning much more toward the democrats by the time we actually voted, but the distance between patty murray having to be essential

sheldon whitehouse in rhode island. back to you guys. >> all right. thanks a lot.florida race for senate a key one to watch as we continue to wait for some presidential projections regarding that state. in the meantime, joining us now, former democratic pennsylvania governor ed rendell and former republican senator judd gregg. governor rendell, nbc news called pennsylvania too early to call but the president has the lead. anything that you hear out of your former state? >> the enthusiasm gap does not exist in pennsylvania. governor romney is turning out high turnouts in the red counties but in the president's base the turnout is off the charts. it may surpass 2008 turnout and that means in philadelphia, for example, the president carried by 478,000 votes in '08. he may beat that total and there aren't enough votes in the rest of the state to counteract that. >> senator, what are your thoughts on what we have learned so far and in particular looking at the house and senate races going on right now. how would you look at the balance of power and what that means in te

you talk to whitehouse operatives, they cannot get the kind of audience they used to get. when president reagan wanted to get an economic speech, he got 45 or 50 million in prime time. the presidents don't get that anymore unless it's a real crises. so they go on the view, they go on letterman. they get a tax for that. but in fact, that's the only way to reach them. >> rose: they believe it humanizes them to do that. >> they do but they cannot get, it's very hard to exercise presidential leadership in the classic sense, in a culture that is so incredibly atomized. >> rose: david go ahead. >> i don't think i agree with that. if you look at what's happened over i would say over the last 30 or 40 years, this power has become centralized in washington. it's more insular and more centralized and a small number of people in the west wing that really control the administration. in congress it's certainly more centralized than the house, much more centralized than the speaker's office in the senate and much more centralized in the leadership. so i do think that if you got say obam

but it also seems like the whitehouse white house is still considering another grand bargain. >> i think what we need to do and the president believes this is, let's go for the big deal. let's go for something that we can say for a 10 to 20-year period for the first time in a long time, our country is on the right sustainable fiscal path. the only way that gets done is for republicans to step out again and mercilessly get criticized by grover and norquist on the right. >> if this sounds familiar to you folks, it should because back income 2011, president obama brokered a deal with house speaker john boehner to avoid crashing through the debt ceiling. the deal was ultimately rejected by the republicans but we know it included cuts to the entitlement programs. according to "the new york times," president obama agreed to squeeze $250 billion from medicare in the next ten years with $800 billion moral in the decade after that. he was also willing to cut 110 billion from medicaid in the short term. democrats in the senate make it sound like, you know, a deal like this could be worked out pret

same goes for sheldon whitehouse, democratic senator from rhode island. cnn projecting he has won another term. still, the drama is in those competitive races. those too close to call. we will go back to the state of indiana. look at this. it is still pretty -- it was pretty close but look at this. joe donnelly, the democratic candidate, pulled ahead of richard mourdock. he is a republican candidate who made the big faux pas in talking about the fact he believes pregnancy as a result of rape is a gift from god. he plummeted in the polls. 29% reporting right now but so far, joe donnelly looks like he is ahead. republicans say that romney has to outperform romney by ten points to win. in virginia, also very, very close. only 17% of the vote reporting but george allen is ahead by almost 34,000 points. tim kaine is a former governor. >> let's look again, how any of this affects the balance of power. >> remember, 51 is the magic number. that's what either side has to get right now. republicans have 38. democrats have 35. if you add one of those purple seats he

now with the allegation the whitehouse changed those talking points, that's false. >> everybody therenow who made these changes, and nobody knew. the only entity that reviewed the talking points that was not there was the white house. >> joining me is adam schiff a member of the intelligence committee that was part of the hearings. he has first-hand intelligence on this. both were in the same hearing but have different perceptions on what happened. what were you nold the house's hearing? >> what we were told in the house is essentially the agencies produced the best initial assess they could give us at the time and the assessment proved to be wrong but in the initial assess they believed there was a protest at the facility and we found out there wasn't. it is clear and general petraeus is strong on this point. even though the unclassified talking points were mod fighting as they went through the process there was no white house meddling, no politicization of the process. the changes made were made to protect classified sources of information. so to go after those who use those talking

act as well as with senators kyl and whitehouse and a group they convened. we had multiple meetings with the chamber of commerce. the chamber's largest concern was over the liability protections in our information sharing language, which is what i had something to do with, and the intelligence staff worked on and prepared. i asked where they thought our language was deficient. i asked them if they could improve on the immunity provisions, please send us bill language. did they? no. they did not. i think that is some testimony that's worth thinking about it. the majority leader offered to vote on a set list of amendments. he asked if the minority would put together the ten votes it wanted. as long as they were relevant and germane to the bill. and we'd go through them. no list was provided. and so we voted by a vote of 52-46 and cloture was not invoked. again, after the vote, the staff from both sides of the homeland security committee, the commerce committee, the intelligence committee held numerous meetings to negotiate a compromise. the effort did not succ

all eyes are on aq whitehouse. the country does not it a victory lap, the country needs leadership. it is time to say what they will retake. a will take to questions. >> and have cut to the president of many of them. the catholic where we have the outline the various proposals. we know what the menu is. we do not know is with what house is willing to do to hit -- to some of the ticket prices. >> i am not to going to get into the details, but as a very clear what kind of spending cuts they to occur. we have no idea with the warehouse is willing to do. >> most public statements of been public, hopeful. i you backing away from tux? >> a have to tell you. so disappointed again to where we are. where we are in the last couple of weeks. during of with a fiscal policy is serious business. i am trying to resolve it. a would hope to win house of the service as well. >> k taught us something about a phone call between president last night. >> we had a very nice conversation last night that was direct and straightforward. the assessment i give the today would be a product of both of the conver

i guess my advice to any whitehouse, in the leadership, is you have to deal with 535 people. you cannot make a deal with the 4 leaeders. you need 218 in the house and 60 in the senate. so you have to include all of those members in the intellectual process of what it actually means to do you are doing. so they take ownership. when you watch the deficit commission do is work, tom colbern is a good example, probably when he started the process he was tough for a lot of things but by the end of it, he became a real advocate for doing this for the good of the country. that is where you need to bring enough people to get it done. >> some other pluses in there. the white house obviously has more experience. you have got to have attend the place that kind of -- to even have a chance at this. now simpson bowles has legs. not that congress is about to adopt those proposals but they have shown a path for a theory they had been widely discussed in elite circles in this country with many people who did not endorse but they kept in the campaign. that have led the -- lead a foundation on w