0 you said, the fact that they actually did it, they had a number of opportunities. the beginning of this year when they took control for the 113th congress in the senate and back in july of this year they warned they were trying this. both times they headed it off through the gentleman agreements. that's been the tradition in the senate. you get close to this and then you back away. this time that came from out of nowhere. harry reid had set this up. harry reid majority senate leader. set this up with key votes on judicial nominees. >> or did it come out of nowhere? because could this have been an orchestrated strategy, some people are saying for distraction, from obama care. others are saying so that the president could get something done in his second term because isn't a passive admission that his agenda is not going to go anywhere so at least he can appeal to his political base and get some of the federal judgeships and nominations in place? >> both of those. actually both of those. i would say two things. the set-up was always there. harry reid put these judicial nominations through over the last month in order to set this up. but the exact timing of it, the fact that it happened yesterday was a bit of a surprise. in fact, it was very much a surprise. in the previous ones we have seen weeks of debate on the floor. mitch mcconnell and harry reid sparred back and forth on the floor about whether to do this. this time, nobody had an idea until we came in yesterday and there they went ahead with it. >> real quickly, real quickly, this works for both political parties. so if the republicans now become the majority in 2014 or 2016, what kind of revenge are we going to see? >> you know, they aren't talking about that. what she said is right. democrats lit a fuse but is really up to republicans to decide how big that explosion goes. and as you said, they have the ability if they want to do this or supreme court nominees which are not covered under the deal yesterday, they can do that if they want to do it for legislation. if they want to pick and choose. it's up to republicans how angry they want to be. there's a possibility to say, let's stick where we are. i think they're going to see some retaliation. they have to do it. >> mitch mcconnell said if you like the senate rules you can't keep them. stephen dinan,have a great weekend. we want to hear from you. why do you think the white house is pushing back the obama care enrollment dates now? are they worried about the 2014 mid-term elections? go to my facebook page. you can weigh in there. we will read some of your comments as we always do at the end of the show. today, of course, the country pauses and reflects on the day that changed the course of history. assassinated in dallas 50 years ago today. ♪ hundreds turning out despite the rain, bad weather there for ceremonies in dealey plaza where president kennedy was shot. to mark the moment the shots rang out a moment of silence. the city of dallas also dead indicating a memorial featuring the final words from the speech president kennedy never got to deliver. this is a live look at the eternal flame at arlington national cemetery. crowds have been coming to pay their respects all day long. we'll have more from dallas live in just a few minutes. meantime, new concerns for obama care after "the new york times" publishes an op-ed questioning whether the botched rollout could be the end of liberal programs? plus, dramatic new video, the school bus hijacking and the frantic 911 calls moments after the driver and students were kidnapped on the way to school. imagine that one. >> he got on the school bus where a knife for the bus driver and driving down north street. >> it's okay. just calm down. and do you want to fly up into space? a huge announcement from richard branson's virgin galactic. they're now embracing a virtual currency exclusively on "the real story." >> the first person to border space, flight attendant in hawaii and she's a millionaire from building up a collection of them over the last 12 months.[ , outdoor sounds ] ♪ [ male announcer ] laura's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today her doctor has her on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition inharge™.