explain to the people of west virginia why he doesn't have the guts to stand up to powerful special interests. we've been dealing with mr. manchin for month after month after month. but if he doesn't have the courage to do the right thing for the working families of west virginia in america, let him vote no in front of the whole world. >> i spoke with senator dick durbin before the recess, and he said if they go home for eggnog and fruit cake, maybe they'll come back with better attitudes. he was optimistic that there would be some sort of deal going into the new year. obviously that argument was not convincing enough to manchin. and the question now becomes whether or not they can do something piecemeal, something very specific that perhaps manchin and even some republicans can get on board with. jim? >> that's right, susan. and, joe, it seems like back to the drawing board. we have new reporting that the white house tried to reach manchin today before he announced his no vote. what happened with that?