smaller. the senate minority is smaller and they didn t whip the presidency. so there are real factors. and you can say that the country is still nominally conservativc, but on the big question of finding more revenue, the country said yes. now we just have to decide under what semantic umbrella do we raise more revenue. higher rates, republicans say no. tax reform, republicans are giving a green light. everyone has to figure out how to get into that or under that semantic umbrella and make things happen. one of the criticisms of the president is that he spent so much of his early part of the first term focused on health care when he should have been focused on the economy. is there another big idea that you think could overwhelm the more pressing issues of unemployment and the deficit? anything that can happen on the international stage could take precedence. and i would say the next 6 to 9 months months, iran and the nuclear question will loom large. if there are going to be exte
i think a lot of senate democrats would like to see that. i also bring up social security. jay carney mentioned social security could be part of some grand bargain. senate democrats especially harry reid do not want to such social security. so i think there will somebody road blocks there. it will take negotiation through all three chambers to get something done. two chambers, excuse me. andy, who blinks first? i would say the president has more leverage at this point. after the election, there s been a lot of soul searching on the republican side about can we not appeal to latinos, are we losing women. and if we do go over the fiscal cliff, there s a chance republicans will get blamed for that and they could lose support in the business community. there s another factor here. if all tax rateses for americans rise on january 1st, the president can just come back and say, hey, i ve got a great idea,
with george poe tacky with his analysis. in a moment, the polls that show voters may be ready for a tax hike. but why won t republicans believe it? . the way it cleans. everything about the oral-b power brush is simply revolutionary. oral-b power brushes oscillate, rotate and even pulsate to gently loosen and break up that sticky plaque with more brush movements than manual brushes and even up to 50% more than leading sonic technology brushes for a superior clean. oral-b power brushes. go to oralb.com for the latest offers.
hear some pressure from the republican side of the aisle asking whether this is a fight they really want to have. do they want to go over the cliff with grover norquist or do they want to respond to what the american people said in the election. majority of americans said it was okay to raise taxes and especially on the rich. the tax initiative passed in california. and this is clearly a different environment. the republicans like to say it s a status quo election. but there are huge shifts and even the house which remained republican, more democrats voted and the republicans maintained the house only because of restricting and jerry than dering. so i do think the white house has the upper hand. but president obama has to be willing to also go over the cliff if necessary and not allow he can t be the one who
reelected. and also the democrats have gained seven seats in the house and four seats in the senate. all hoe we do know that the republicans still have the majority in the house. but most americans are tired of the campaigns. they re tired of the rhetoric. they just want us to come together now that the election is over as americans to put the country forward. americans are willing to pay a little bit extra as long as they know it s not going to wasteful spending, as long as it s going to make sure we re balancing our budget and finally paying down the at the time which admiral mike mullen said is the national crisis the worst threat to america.time which admiral mike mullen said is the national crisis the worst threat to america. so we get it, now we have to act on it and put the country first. robert, is your greatest concern that it would go to wasteful spending? no, not at all. i think the devil s always in the details. when you ask most americans do they want the wealthy to pa