welcome back, as angry as many americans are about the bailouts, look what they did in indonesia? look what legislators did inside. watch. we'll see you tomorrow, folks. rick, thank you. happening now, senators chase after a way out of jim buenning's squeeze play. the former pitcher is still holding up a crucial package. we're tracking the republicans' moves and any hopes of a breakthrough. stand by. a texas showdown billed as a battle for the heart and soiled, this gubernatorial primary under way right now could have an impact well beyond texas. even if your check is in the mail, you might not necessarily get it for a while. the u.s. postal service is ready to take an ax to the budget and most of us will be affected one way or another. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." he's it would add to the federal deficit. it's hard to say who's more frustrated, democrats, even a lot of republicans urging buenning to give up on his one-man crusade, or reporters trying to catch up with buenning and pin down his motives. watch our dana bash give it a try. >> reporter: i have really just a couple easy questions for you to answer. >> i bet you do. >> reporter: no, sir, specifically on the fact that i understand your point, i understand your point that you're making about the point for they benefits, but what democrats are asking, i think is a fair question, why now? why not before? >> what -- i have been. >> what has changed? why are you now calling for things to be paid for? >> le's bring in our senior congressional correspondent dana bash. >> the republicans are proposing this $10 billion package, which includes benefits, but along with that, to have three separate votes on different ways to pay for it, don't it doesn't add to the definite sith. that was proposed to harry reid, but he said, you know what, i'm happy to have one vote, but one voight only. vote only. >> they can vote to have it paid for. they can have that, but we're not having four votes. >> reporter: he said four, the republicans, including senator b bunning says, sorry, this is his offer and final offer. his says he's not negotiating on this. listen to what he told our paul coursen. >> reporter: so you won't accept one vote? >> i am not negotiating. i guess you can't hear. >> reporter: there you go, he's not negotiating, but despite him saying that, we are told from sources in both parties to stick around, that perhaps before the night is over, wolf, they will have some kind of way to break this impasse. what we're talking about is one senator, jim bunning, not that he's opposed to these expiring benefits, but it's time for the government to star paying its bills and not spend money it doesn't have, and he's looking for ways to do it. >> let es vote on that or withdraw your objection. >> is there an objection? >> there is. >> objection is heard. >> that was a bipartisan bill that was society aside for a very partisan bill that senator reid brought to the floor. and rammed through. in the motion to reconsidering be laid upon the table. >> is there objection? >> madam president -- >> the majority leader. >> reserving the right to object, madam president, i'm sorry that my friend from kentucky has made this so personal, because it really shouldn't be the case. so i would think that my friend from kentucky should get a different historian to help him with his facts, because they're simply wrong, and i object. >> the question i've been asked mostly is why now? well, why not now? s if i have the same right that he does, he was elected by people in nevada with fewer people than the people in kentucky. >> madam president, i can't match now or ever in the past my friend's fastball or curveball or his 40 grandchildren, but i do have 16 grandchildren. we condensed that 20-minute exchange into about a minute or so. mitch mcconnell, where is he in all of this? >> reporter: in a word, nowhere. it was almost to the point of comedy, wolf. as a stakeout, where he was talking to reporters. he wanted to talk about health care. all of us wanted to ask about his position on senator bunning. obviously a member of his caucus, but it's no secret the two of them have a pretty horrible relationship. he simply would not answer the question, wolf, even on whether or not he supports the principle that jim bunning is pushing, which is if you're going to spend $10 billion, you've got to pay for it, repeated something that they're in the process of working it out. the most vocal republican has been somebody who opposes her fellow republican, susan collins, who actually went to the senate floor during that exchange that you played today, and she said that she wants to get this done because of people back in maine, she said 500 people in maine, for example, have already lost their unemployment benefits at this point. >> hundreds of thousands of people are affected with their unemployment benefits. you'll keep us informed if we get any developments. senator bunning has a long history of stifling opponents. before his political career, he pitched 17 seasons in the major leagues, playing for the tigers, phillies, pirates and dodgers, in 1964 with the phillies he pitched a perfect game, a feat achieved only 15 times since 1900. that earned him a spot in the baseball half the fail. he was elected to the house of representatives from kentucky, where he grew up. he served 12 years before being elected to the senate in 1998. he easily won reelection in 2004, but decided not to run against this year. with all his accomplishments, bunning says his family is the highlight of his life. husband defiance against democrats and fellow republicans is getting mixed review in his home state. check out this protest, organized by one of the democrats running to replace him in the senate. both democrats vying for the nomination have condemned his actions, but both candidates for the republican nomination are cheering him on. beyond the politics of all of this, some kentuckyians are facing the loss of jobless benefits, and they're not happy with their senator. >> it's been rough. there's not a lot out there. i've put out 87 resumes, and i'm not getting any response. it's really bad. >> i may end up homeless. i may -- i don't know what the future holds for me right now. >> unemployment was all that was keeping the mortgage going, so we're really concerned. >> reporter: you may have to sell your house? >> yeah, we're looking -- thanks, bunning, we're looking at foreclosure. this chile, they're trying to put battered lives together after that devastating earthquake, chile still shakes. look at this, another aftershock one of at least 12 experts say recorded in the past 24 hours. also chilean officials increasing the death toll on this day to -- excuse me, 795. as for aid, it's slow to rivaled. they asked the u.s. for field hospitals, power generators, water, purification plants and satellite phones. the secretary of state hillary clinton has some, she says the united states will send more. cnn's karl penhaul is in chile. >> reporter: a fishing boat stranded on the main street. it was washed ashore by a tsunami that fisher men say hit the town of talcahuano just an hour after the earthquake. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: the boat came krashing up this street against the houses, and it was followed by shipping containers, he said. the tsunami brought a sea of sludge, too. residents say two waves over two meters or 6 1/2 feet high, slammed into homes closest to the ocean. shipping containers were tossed together with cars. franciso rodriguez takes me to where she used to live. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: that was my home, she sobbed. when the earthquake hit, we just got up and ran. when it's that strong, you know a tsunami will follow, she said, but according to her and other neighbors, navy marines and police used megaphones to ask the townspeople to go home, assuring them there was no danger. chile's defense ministry is now accusing the navy of failing to warn citizens about the tsunami threat, thereby costing hundreds of lives, but in talcahuano, nobody died. they learned their lessons from a killer quake in 1960. the inhabitants say it's because they followed their instincts and listened to the experience of their fathers and forefathers that they survived. they say if they had listened to the authorities and returned to their homes, hundreds would now be dead. the entire town ran to high ground and is now camped out here. groups of women take turns cooking for the whole community. look at the time, this is the first time we've eaten since we had bread and tea a day ago, she said. it's the men's jobs to scavenge for ingredients. even if that means ransacking the local fish cannery. s looting as if we were taking tell visions, but how can you call that looting when we need to eat, he says. some drag their cans of mackerel off through the sludge, looking forward to the next meal. a street away, others are looking back. salvaging a few precious memories spared by the tsunami. karl penhaul, cnn, talcahuano, chile. we'll have more on this story coming up later. meanwhile, some people are wondering if it's time for david paterson to get a lawyer. the new allegations just ahead. should he rethink his refusal to resign? and president obama gives something to republicans before he reveals his new road map. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." he insists recent ig nation is off the table. maybe he should think again. the "new york times" reports that the governor personally contacted two state police to contact a woman who accused an aide of assault. the woman accused david johnson of choking her, smashing her into a mirrored dresser and preventing her from calling 911. i goes that's sort of a violent nonviolent. according to the article, the governor also asked another state employee to contact the woman before she was to appear in court. that same employee set up a phone call between the governor and the woman, and apparently it went like it was supposed to. the woman never showed up in court and the case was dropped. paterson could face -- the governor denies any wrongdoing, saying he never abused the office, not now, not ever. last week he's announced he's ending his campaign for reelection, but in refusing to resign, he says he retains enough authority to govern new york for the next ten months. perhaps he should think about retaining a defense lawyer instead of retaining his job. even some top democrats are calling on governor paterson to quit. chicago has nothing on us here in the big apple. charlie rangel remains under vagsz for a whole basket of other things, but he won't step aside, either. rangel is arrogant. in paterson's case, he's just being dumb. here's the question -- why do you suppose governor david paterson just won't resign? post a comment on my blog. jack cafferty, thank you. jack isn't the only one wondering about that possib resignation. gloria borger, representative israel, i asked the governor to end his reease legislation campaign and he did. if the attorney general's investigation proves that the governor inappropriately tried to influence a domestic violence case oar that he abused his office, then he should resign. the pressure is clearly mounting. >> the pressure is mounting. they believe he'll have an increasingly difficult time governing. when you talk to politicians in new york state, a couple things become clear. one is they believe that governor paterson has become increasingly isolated. for example, aside from charlie rangel in washington, there aren't many democrats or republicans he speaks with who are part of the congressional delegation. he hayes a core group of people. those people met with him and they said he's not giving any indication he wants to resign. the second thing is, some have raised the point, think back to eliot spitzer, it may be politically wise for the governor to stay in office, so he has some leverage in case there's charges leveled against him. spitzer did that, and when the prostitution ring was prosecuted, he was not a part of that prosecution. >> yeah, because -- i mean, he may need a criminal defense attorney if they go ahead with charges. it's not just a matter of being governor or not. there could be legal issues involved as well. >> that may be the answer for jack's questions, which may be he's hanging out there, because temperature be better for him in the long run. >> let me move on to senator bunning of kentucky. what are you hearing about this whole brouhaha? >> it's interesting. it took a long time for a couple of republicans, senator jon kyl and the rep leader of the how john boehner to come out and sort of support him, but what i'm hearing, i spoke with two senators today, one republican senator said to me, this plays right into the democratic narrative that we're on instructionist. they were getting a head of steam on health care. they did very well in that summit, and now suddenly they're looking like, oh, my god, the republican parties wants to take away extended unemployment benefits for people in need during a recession. the democrats make the case that, yes, we believe in pay as you go, but this is an emergency. >> and the fighting continues on this issue. we'll see if there's a resolution today or wherever. >> they're working on it. >> it's an idea designed to make sure that no one dies in a preventable car accident. wait until you hear what the transportation secretary is recommending for all new vehicles. and toyota isn't the only car company dealing with recalls. general motors is also dealing with recalls right now. if you or someone you know drives a gm, you're going to want to hear this. lisa sylvester is monitoring other top stories. what's going on? >> hey there, wolf. president obama has unveiled a new proposal he hopes will be as popular as the cash for clunkers program speaking in savannah, georgia, he says the administration's homestar program would offer incentives to people who buy energy-efficient equipment. the program would give those people on the spot rebates of $1,000 or more. the cost of implementing the program is estimated at $6 billion. it would require congress's approval. another unseasonal blast of winter is hitting the south today. several southern states woke up to a winter storm warning with rain and several inches of snow across parts of alabama, georgia, tennessee, kentucky, and the carolinas. the weather prompted several north county counties to cancel cool. and hundreds of flights out of atlanta were canceled. ray lahood says his department may recommend that all new vehicles sold in the u.s. have brakes capable of overriding the gas pedal. the idea appears to be gaining support as toyota returns to capitol hill for another round of hearings. toyota has said it will put such a system in all the new cars sold in the u.s., and will give the u.s. and canadian divisions more authority to decide when to issue future recalls. wolf? >> thanks very much, lisa, don't go away. general motors, by the way, is initiating a recall of 1.3 million chevrolet and pontiac models in in order america. at issue, faulty power steering linked to 14 crashes and an injury in the united states. all the cars are essentially the same car mechanically in body time. they're sold as 2005 to 2010 chevy coballots and 2007-2010 g5 models in the united states, and pursuits in canada, and 2005 to 2006 pontiac g4s in mexico. it sends to affect people with 20,000 to 30,000 miles on the cars, gm says. president obama set to reveal his so-called way forward on the health care reform issue, but first he's showing republicans today a little love. is it a real example of bipartisan ship or just for show? and a texas brawl between big-name republicans. right now gop voters are choosing among governor perry, kay bailry hutchison and another primarily challenger. we have a report from austin. we didn't think dog food... could make that big of a difference, but it really has. we thought, oh, goldie, you're getting older, and she started eating the purina one... and people would say, "what did you do to her?" [ announcer ] purina one for seniors unlocks the brilliance of nature. [ kristen ] it's a great feeling having a beautiful, happy dog. it makes you feel like you've done something good for your pet. [ announcer ] it's amazing what one can do. now, reformulated with... enhanced botanical oils... that naturally nourish... to help sustain a bright mind. to our viewers, you're in "the situation room." happening now, losing billions and losing market share. the u.s. postal service announces plans to cut tens of thousands of jobs and consider slashing other services. you'll probably be making fewer trips to the mailbox. stand by. california attorney general jerry brown announces plans to seek the democratic nomination for governor. he occupied the governor's mansion before. can he win the job against? i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." the road for health care reform has -- just to keep up. at the final destination, passing a health president obama wrote a her to the congressional leadership, saying he's open to four gop proposals, and they are -- allowing undercover investigations of health providers receiving medicare/medicaid, and other federal programs. $50 million for grants to states for resolving medical malpractice suits. increasing medicaid reimbursements to some doctors, and ensuring that certain high deductible health plans will be offered in the exchange. let's bring in our senior political analyst david gergen to assess what the president has done today. i read that her, i'm sure you did as well. is it just for show, or will it -- wolf, president obama today offered the velvet glove. tomorrow he brings the steel fist. this was an outreach to republicans that they quickly brushed back. but that does not mean we're supposed to support four amendments. so, the leaders -- republican leaders of the senate and the house both said no to this. everybody knew they were going to say no, but it does give the president some talking points to the country and to democrats saying, look, we tried to be reasonable, we listened, and we tried to incorporate some of them. >> i like the way the president finessed that in the letter, mentioning names. he said i like the ideas that senator coburn, senator bure, senator ensly, senator grassley, senator ba rasa, senator mccain. he kept mentioning names. they made good points in that discussion, and sort of trying to win them over, though it's probably not going to be enough. in fact, is there anything the president can do short of starting from scratch that would win over republicans? >> no. it's the bill is so fundamentally as lahar alexander, this is a car that could be recalled and can't be fixed. so that's their view, and we're heading into a bruising battle. tomorrow, i think, wolf, you've been hearing, i've been hearing, the president will come out swinging with a steel fist, and he's going to make it clear, look, if you guys aren't coming along, we will use this process of reconciliation, and i think as we get closer to that day, we're learning it will be messier than anybody might have predicted, and it could easily be a long battle, wolf. >> i'm told the president will make that statement in the 10:00 a.m. eastern hour. we'll have live coverage, of course, here on cnn. david, thanks very much. in texas, right now a primary race is under way to drive home some of the big divisions within the republican party nationwide. it pits the incumbent governor rick perry against kay bailey hutchison and the activist debra medina, a popular figure with the tea party movement. they'll be closing the polls in a few hours. right, candy? >> it has, and it has pitted basically kay bailey hutchison, who is seen a