0 they're going to get the health insurance in the emergency room, that drives up costs for all of us and it's bad for the individuals, as well. i'm hoping maybe, just maybe the republicans are finally interested in quality health carrot lower cost, but up until a couple of days ago they weren't talking about health care almost for a generation. >> bob casey of pennsylvania. thanks for making time for me this morning. i appreciate it. >> we say good morning to special correspondent kelly goff and the managing editor. james, let me start with you. how do you think that kathleen sebelius did on the hill yesterday, if you were rating her presentation and the way that she answered? did she put up a good fight? >> i think so. i think i would give her an emmy, an 8 or 9 on the scale of 10. what the administration needed for her to do was two things. one, kind of toe the administration's line which is he was going on with a huge advantage into midterms. the numbers for the gop could not have been worse going into midterms with the shutdown and now they're getting what they want and now it's hurting the president and the democratic band. >> let's talk about ted cruz, and because it's halloween, we have special music. everyone is trying to get what i'm doing here. politico says he's telling his colleagues that he won't intervene for the senate conservatives fund. is this a way for cruz trying to make nice with the colleagues he angered? >> it's one thing for him to say that, thomas, but i -- i have to see that in practice. is he really not going to support the tea party and the candidate that's challenging mitch mcconnell. he's not going to support some of the high-profile tea party candidates that are drawing the early funders that are centered to his own presidential fund. we need to see him disavow and disconnect himself from his father's statements about the president. while he's trying to reach out to the moderate republicans and he's got to take his own shop. the rachel maddow interview and he had this to say about. cruz's future. take a look. >> if i didn't care so much about our country i would hope he would get the republican nomination for president because that would be the end of the republican party. >> in what sense? >> he stands for everything america doesn't. >> it would be the end of the republican party. are those strong words? might ted cruz be the democrats' secret weapon in 2016? >> he managed to single-handedly drag down the republican approval rateing to the lowest number in history, to the lowest number in the history of polling and it's hard for me to imagine as he looks to 2016 and ambition that he'll have a lot of support from the people who fund republican elections from big business and traditional republican establishment and yes, he has a small vocal and loud support in the grassroots, but if he's really serious, i think, he needs to work as a senator. he needs more of those olive branches he's now extending and we'll see where he gets and if he runs in 2016, it will really hurt republicans and the tea party plan and we heard from people like bachmann, how does he do it? ? how does he broaden the tent in fellow republican basis? >> we don't know if he wants to do that, thomas. we don't know if he wants to become the next reagan or the next sarah palin. sarah palin became a queen maker by going out of establishment politics. he wants to play kingmaker for the rest of his life and he's well on his way for doing that and he's not going to do that by extending olive branches so it remains to be seen. >> kelly goff, james peterson and igor of big progress.org. thank you very much. have a good holiday. i don't know if you've seen igor's holiday pictures. that's a good plug for his twitter handle. join our agenda setters and just log on to msn msnbc.com/thomasroberts. what scares you the the most about our current political climate? weigh in on twitter and facebook. 47 million americans who rely on food stamps will see painful cuts starting tomorrow and it may only be the beginning. more cuts could be on the way. coming up i'll talk to congresswoman barbara lee who is an impassioned defender of the food stamp program who is someone that relied on them to pull themselves up and out of it. actor and politician fred thompson will join me to talk about his broadway debut in a play "a time to kill." i've gotten to see it. it's fantastic. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ constantly putting out fires. so i deserve a small business credit card with amazing rewards. with the spark cash card from capital one, i get 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. i break my back around here. finally someone's recognizing me with unlimited rewards! meetings start at 11, cindy. 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