the other step that is really important and i think was part of the success of the last couple weeks is that was in addition to leadership from the white house and the president you had outside experts weighing in certainly on the s.t.a.r.t. treaty certainly all the former secretaries of state weighing in and cabinet secretaries weighing in. you saw a broader coalition outsides of the white house of voices that helped to amplify the message and i think that will be particularly important when we get to talking about the deficit. okay, thank you, both. i appreciate you stopping by karen finny,s as well as ron christy. we ll talk about these issues throughout the day. eight months since the bp rig exploded in the gulf and lives there are forever changed. rahm emanuel is home in chicago for the holidays, but has he been there long enough to run for mayor? ring ring ring ring
worse if you re evading police, it was something was speeding through a secret service checkpoint. this car was. this truck was. the driver was not trying to find the first family, he was trying to lose the cops looking to arrest him for a string of traffic warrants. the president was working on his golf game while all of that was happening. nbc mike viqueira has a tough assignment of the holiday in the alow ha state. that is the thing to stay on a bright hawaiian christmas day. yes, richard. what is on the agenda for the president? day two begins for the obama family. this might be day five or six because first lady michelle obama and the kids and first dog, bo, were out here last saturday, as scheduled. the president s trip was delayed. he had that winning streak going back in washington. some legislative successes and getting here late the night before last, if memory serves correctly. day two now beginning. you re right, they say it is going to be low key. so far th
i m joined by jason scheckter who served as assistant press secretary in the clinton white house, and ron christy, former public strategist in the bush administration, and jason, let me begin with you. last week, the democrats were all up in arms with the tax cults for the wealthy and this week, it is the estate taxes, and are they picking a new fight? yes, i believe they are, because this tax cut is good for the middle-class, and there is a new payroll deduction which will affect middle income earners. and for small businesses, a detection for capital expenditures and for everyday, there is a maximum dividend rate, and middle-class benefits here, and a lot of the people on the wealthy is political posturing. why do you think that democrats are saying now, we can t afford the tax cuts? there was big spending going on all through the last congressional season, and all of the sudden now is when you are
common ground, but we won t compromise the principles. since you bring it up, ron. we were talking about the big pow-wow in new york talking about moving beyond labels, and any chance that political strategist, that politicians are going to move beyond politics? is there the appetite for that? i think that there is the appetite for that once you get out of washington, d.c. and once you get out of new york and get into the real world. people want people to come together and to actually find solutions to problems rather than just bickering. and we have seen far too much bickering. jason, is there an appetite to move beyond labels? yes, there is. and this tax compromise is a good example of this. this is house democrats working with the republicans to find solutions to benefit all americans. jason and ron, thank you. pleasure. thank you. and sarah palin is home after a brief tour of haiti. she went to visit a cholera treatment center, and she said
good mornday, everybody. i m contessa brewer watching the big storm coast to coast. and we are waiting for the senate s vote on the tax compromise which could signal whether you get a tax hike or a tax break come january 1st. this legislation will help 115,000 children gain access to school meal programs. the hunger kids free act helps hungry children in schools. the first lady was there for signing. and the first lady helping unwilling holiday corralers. everybody say cheese. and obama is having a tougher time with live-in liberals. and today is the first signal of whether the come promitzed tax plan can pass without changes. senate democrats are expected to hold their noses and vote yes. i can say that we have a good caucus from left to right who are willing to accept this. the minor leader and majority leader mitch mcconnell and harry reid are expected to meet to see if they can all support the plan the way it is right now. i think it is worth it, and it wi