they are all watching what is going on. jim, i was confused earlier. the vice president joe biden, a lot of people are suggesting he is missing in these discussions involving the government shutdown and hasn t been visible publicly but i assume playing a role behind the scenes. the meeting the president had with the four leaders in the house and senate and republicans, was he there? reporter: he was there. it s interesting to talk about the vice president s role in all of this. he was instrumental in brokering a deal to avert physical catastrophe the last time this came up in 2011. he was apparently talking behind the scenes with the senate majority leader mitchell mcconnell extensively. one thing i heard from a democratic sort who would have some knowledge as to what is going on here at the white house
and these negotiations, these discussions with congress, the way it was explained to me, wolf, is that because mitch mcconnell has also been very silent through much of this, he is facing a primary battle back in kentucky as he is running for re-election. he is basically being primaried by the tea party in kentucky. he has a tough re-election battle. according to that source, mitch mcconnell has pulled back from the discussions. mick mcconnell and joe biden were sort of working together in that last standoff. this democratic source explains why joe biden has not been quite as visible ps as you mentioned, sometimes these discussions are going on and they are not read out to the news media. jay carner, the white house secretary, said to to me the other day in the briefing room sometimes these conversations are not read out to reporters for political reasons and perhaps because john boehner, the speaker of the house, doesn t want those calls right out because, you know, people in the tea
immediate end in sight. you see the classwork the clock in the corner. that is how long this has been going on. boehner says he won t allow a default when the debt ceiling votes hits in less than two weeks. we are going to get more from cnn s brianna keilar. reporter: with the government partially shut down and the united states careening towards defaulting on its debts in mid october, house speaker john boehner made a key admission about the debt ceiling. a republican who spoke to cnn after a private meeting with house gop members said boehner informed them he will not allow a default to happen even if it means relying on votes from democrats. i m all wired up here. reporter: in a city that lives for an open mike moment to pull back the curtain. we are willing to compromise and willing to negotiate. reporter: mitch mcconnoll and rand paul delivered. i don t think they we won t negotiate. i think it s awful for them to say that over and over again.
speaking moments ago, putting the pressure on congress to avert the sequester. budget cuts which are set to take effect in just a matter of days, coming up on march the 1st. the first round. senate minority leader mitch mcconnoll saying president obama still prefers campaign events to common sense bipartisan action. the president made those short remarks moments ago and once again using the bully pulpit to call for action surrounding himself by first responders and his remarks on the same day of a political report, obama, the puppet master. it s great to have all three of you here with me this morning. quoting from this politico article. the balance of power used used to be much more in the favor of the mainstream press.
about that money problem it s on the national level and has to do with, look. not a lot of faith in the house republican leadership by rank and file establishment donors and not a lot of faith in the republican national committee. there s a lot of trust in jon cornyn. trust in mitch mcconnoll and haley barbour. they are not evenly giving their money so that is where you hearing the gripe. i think the house republicans and the rnc still have a credibility problem with a lot of donors. david gregory in the midst of all this, the headline of the day. the leak has been stopped. possibly only temporarily. they are managing expectations on that both bp and the white house. what is the political dimension that that adds to this? well, i think that this is an ongoing problem. they can cap it for now. they are some time next month they get the relief well in