being in good company. what a clue? 49 out of 50. the senate careens towards christmas not with holiday cheer but with partisan sniping. a debate over a rather productive lame duck session is helping president obama stage a year end rally. new polling is among the items to debate. first let's ask dana bash if the republican objections to the s.t.a.r.t. treaty with russia are on policy or political grounds? >> reporter: the answer to that is both. many republicans have substantive issues with the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. if you look live right now on the senate floor the senate is voting tonight on gop amendments, attempts to change it. some argue it doesn't go far enough to putting verification systems in place so russia will live up to its commitments. but there's no question in talking to several republican senators in the hallways today