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We have resolved the revenue issue, and the question is, what are we going to do about spending? i wish the president would lead us in this discussion rather than putting himself in a position of having to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to the table to discuss the single biggest issue confronting our future. you know, until we adjust the entitlements so that they meet the demographics of our country, we cant ever solve this problem. the time to solve it is now. >> do you, then, agree with th...

Want to confirm. so youre telling me that chuck hagel, if you look at his record, he actually has a record of strong support for israel? >> if you look at all the votes, all of the things hes done as a senator, you will find a record of strong support for israels security. >> thats interesting. let me ask you the question that weve been knocking around. lindsey graham claims that chuck hagel is out of the mainstream of u.s. foreign policy when, in fact, as andrea mitchell -- >> in-your-face pick...

Extent that you diminished the tax cut -- the tax change at the high end, you would have to claw down into the middle class to get more revenue. >> are you, then, saying to the upper classes, get ready, youre going to have to pay some more? this is not the end of it? >> well, im saying thats not off the table. >> welcome back to "morning joe." 22 past the hour. joining us now from washington, d.c., nbc news chief white house correspondent and political director and host of "the daily rundown," c...

Some others. it is true that hes been more open, for example, to an opening by the united states to hamas than some israelis would feel comfortable with. i dont mean to minimize the way -- he is a voice, you could say, on the left, a more critical, skeptical voice, but thats from a bedrock of very strong support. >> john heilemann. >> hey, david. youre a great student of this administrations foreign policy and its foreign policy personnel choices. you just raised susan rice. i have a question fo...

Completely in a different direction and brought up a very good point. but back to today, if you look at what happened and you look at where were going and why were not talking about spending, its because the president got rolled on taxes last time around. he got hammered for it. he had no choice but to make this happen the way he did. and quite frankly, boehner, cantor, mcconnell, the most difficult people on the face of the earth is what weve learned by watching the sausages being made. could a...

Whether he is fundamentally concerned about the course of obamas foreign policy or doesnt like these two nominees, i dont know. >> but you say lindsey is out on the wing. certainly nobody in washington, outside of lindsey graham and john mccain and a small group of neocons, believe that chuck hagel is out of the mainstream on u.s. foreign policy, do they? >> joe, i think when people look carefully at this record, after the charges were initially made and looked at the many years in which he -- s...

They refuse to put out a budget. and when the president, as john heilemann said, the leader of their own party, puts a budget out, he gets zero votes year after year after year. who are these senate democrats, and why does the mainstream media continue to give them a free ride? >> its a very good question because they could just continue to point to john boehner and blame everything on the house. but they have taken no responsibility for any kind of fiscal solutions here. >> yeah. >> when are th...