Page 8 - Threshold Question News Today

Every vote here in the senate and mitch mcconnell says its time for president obama to lead. the threshold question is, can something pass the house of representatives? can john boehner put something on the floor that needs the majority of democrat support that will not get republican support and none to speak of that would allow taxes to go up for people making more than $250,000 or 400,000 as was in the presidents last offer and the answer to that question remains very, very unlikely. so we ar...

Nil. >> right. >> reporter: i will say this, i dont think all is lost. i dont think anybody is going to throw in the towel on this thing. there may be some wiggle room but theres also the possibility that we do go over the cliff on january 1st. here is the threshold question, im going to break this down as easily and simply as i can. >> you are aware i am dumb, so thank you. >> would john boehner, a republican speaker of the house, would any speaker of the house, put something on the floor that ...

Giving a short briefing there about the ongoing fiscal cliff negotiations in washington, d.c. nbcs mike viqueira is standing by on capitol hill. mike, i guess the big head line to come out of this other than the old christmas adage about the ifs, ands, buts, is the fact its tied mainly to negotiation? >> yeah, if you spend any time around here, andy, two things are going to happen to you as a reporter, youre going to be insulted by john boehner, and youre going to hear him say ifs ands and buts ...

Is finding those responsible and bringing them to justice. in a year in which it wouldnt have been a presidential election thats what we would be doing and thats what we should be doing now. >> well, about that affair with paula broadwell, and the possibility of classified information being compromised, what did you learn about that? was that discussed at all? >> it really wasnt discussed at all. there was a threshold question at the outside -- outset of the hearing just to set the stage essenti...

Understanding there were threats against the ambassador prior to the attack in benghazi and this is something that even you can confirm. why didnt we protect him and keep him safe? >> that is i think the threshold question in all of this. there had been earlier threats in libya -- in tripoli, excuse me, that he had gone out on runs and they were going to try to hit him on a run so they cut the runs out for a period of time and then they went back to that. so they knew that he was in jeopardy. bu...

Understanding there were threats against the ambassador prior to the attack in benghazi and this is something that even you can confirm. why didnt we protect him and keep him safe? >> that is i think the threshold question in all of this. there had been earlier threats in libya -- in tripoli, excuse me, that he had gone out on runs and they were going to try to hit him on a run so they cut the runs out for a period of time and then they went back to that. so they knew that he was in jeopardy. bu...

Understanding there were threats against the ambassador prior to the attack in benghazi and this is something that even you can confirm. why didnt we protect him and keep him safe? >> that is i think the threshold question in all of this. there had been earlier threats in libya -- in tripoli, excuse me, that he had gone out on runs and they were going to try to hit him on a run so they cut the runs out for a period of time and then they went back to that. so they knew that he was in jeopardy. bu...

Think of pennsylvania. not to get ahead of things, but would you see him as a fit, maybe, maybe, on someone elses ticket such as a romney romney? >> the party that mitt romney as weve seen has had trouble connecting with to the social conservatives to the conservative base. the question is, you know, the threshold question for a vice presidential nominee, can he pass the do no harm test. mr. santorum is a polarizing figure. that would be something that might give people pause. but i have to say,...

barack obama. i think it will be very hard for him to win the general election because i think it just blurs everything. i think a real conservative who stands for solid values, essentially for new hampshire values -- >> the former massachusetts governor holds what looks like an insurmountable lead in new hampshire so he is moving on to south carolina. that states primary is january 21st. it has been a deadly day in iraq. at least 60 people were killed in attacks in baghdad and other...

romney romney, now tied nationally among republicans. each with 28% support. congressman ron paul runs a distant third with 14%. the other candidates all trail in single digits. moments ago, gingrich at a media event as he struggle to reverse the slide. >> the only person who profits from republican ads attacking other republicans is barack obama and i think thats a pretty reprehensible behavior on the part of some of the candidates. so im going to be honest. we did this saturday morni...