bipartisan support and house republicans rejected earlier this week. that opened up a divide between house hard-liners and the gop establishment. leading republican voices were openly calling on john baner to back down to agree to a two-month extension or risk ruining the bran. tonight, looking pretty grim. >> doing the right thing for the right reasons is always the right thing to do. and while everyone asks for a full-year extension of these programs, a lot of people wrn willing to put the effort in as the holidays were aetch proing to get it done.ç our members were. so i'm proud of the efforts they put into this. >> dane a bash will join us shortly to explain the specifics. president obama was quick to praise the outcome, the staple reading this, this is real money that will make a real difference in people's lives. i want to thank everyone american who raised their voice to remind folks in this town what this debate was all about. to give you an idea of the intense pressure the lawmakers were feeling, take a look at these two entries from republican congressman's rick crawford's web page. the first one reads crawford rejects irresponsible payroll tax deal. and a 180, crawford to boehner, let's compromise. joining us to explain the compromise, how it works, what it means for you, dana bash joins us now. she's been very busy over the last few days. house republicans saying they wrn going to budge on this at all. what changed between that and this afternoon? >> even when they were saying that, sanjay, we talked about last night, the pressure on them was enormous. first of all, this morning, right after that press conference, the senate republican leader basically issued a statement breaking his silence and really shoving the house republicans into this position, saying enough is enough effectively. you've got to go ahead and pass this two-month extension. privately, i'm told, he was more stern, that he doesn't want negotiations. the speaker called the president asking for help from the white house to negotiate something kind of a middle ground. the president refused. the white house refused to send anybody up here to the hill so the speaker had to negotiate with the senate majority leader and he tends to take and his people tend to take a harder line. lastly, maybe this is the most important, sanjay, the people, the constituents, people who sent them here. they were very upset. we heard from republican sources that the members who did go home for christmas were hearing from people, wait a minute, you really are going to be there in washington and not pass this extension and make sure i have this extra money in my pocket? that's just not going to fly. >> i want to point out something as well, dana, that may be a formality but an important one. the speaker says he's going to get this passed unanimously without having to call people back to vote. here's what congressman mike kelly told john king about this this evening. >> you could come to the capital tomorrow and say i object and break this deal if i don't like it. pill you do that. >> john, i'm not so sure i'm not going to do that. >> dana, are we sure this is really going to happen? and this is going to pass tomorrow? >> after covering this congress for the past year, i will not say i'm sure about anything anymore, sanjay, however, the speaker's office certainly feel pretty confident they are going to be able to get this passed without having to call members of congress back to actually do it in person. but i'll be here tomorrow night. that's going to happen tomorrow night. >> still have a chance to check in with you on that tomorrow. stay with us now. i'll bring in john king and candy crowley as well. thanks everybody for joining us. we talked about this, you and i we heard house republicans making braveheart-type references about fighting to the end. this looks like a surrender. does it? is it? >> they fought till the end and they surrendered, yes, they can say they did both. they're getting a small tweak in the language but they caved under relentless pressure. you have a president who used the bully pulpit today, effectively over the last week or so. today he surrounded himself with real people. he said these would be the people who would be hurt. you have the senate republican leader who said i cut this deal with the democrats. the republicans lost their leverage when that happened. we had a majority of republicans in the senate voting for the two-month extension. they lost the leverage in washington politically and they were losing the narrative out in the country politically as well, heading into an election year, sanjay. they cut their losses. >> candy, if you give us a peek behind the curtain was it a sense, do you think, that the republicans thought they could really win on this issue? >> as hard as this is to believe, i have to tell you, the great mystery of this is that this was such a losing issue for the republicans from the start of this, six weeks ago, when you looked at it, there is no way you could allow this tax cut on payroll, on the payroll tax to expire withoutç people saying, wait a minute, republicans fought all year long against tax increases for millionaires and now they're doing a tax increase on middle class. that's exactly how the democrats portrayed it from the very beginning. and here is a party, the republicans, who have threatened to hire. you're saying we can't do tax increases. it just was a very, very hard one to do. i must say, i think there were some in the tea party portion of the republican party on house side that saw a string of victories that they have been able to have, often working with the president which may have been why the president sent john boehner back to harry reid. nonetheless, they may have been encouraged by past victories. you know what, we're on an election eve year. and it just didn't work this time. >> you know, i want to explore some of those details, dana, that candy is bringing up we like to keep them honest here on "360," as you know. this is a two-month fix. they promised they're going to start negotiating right away on a year-long extension but we don't have a guarantee that will happen. that was part of the resistance that we heard from the house republicans, right? >> that's exactly right. the resistance even more importantly from the senate democrats, why they felt they needed and the senate republicans why they needed a two-month extension. issue at this point in time everybody says they want the one-year extension but how do you pay for it? the whole package costs between 120, $160 billion. and the whole reason why they had the short-term fix in the senate is because they couldn't come to an agreement on how to pay for it. does it sound familiar? it should, because this is the issue we've seen throughout the year on various battles. how do you pay for it to make sure the debt and deficit don't go up? there are partisan divides on just how to do that. that's not going to stop. it's going to continue. it's not going to be easy for them to come together on this. >> speaking of paying for it, one of the narratives, john king, that was part of this as well, millionaires were going to get taxed to help pay for this. that's not part of this deal. given that were you surprised in part by some of the statements from democrats that sounded a bit like they were gloating? >> they're gloating today but you make an important point. the democrats have not gotten what they want, that is to change the tax rates, make millionaires pay more to pay for this. the republicans backed down. when we come back from the holidays, we'll be in the election year, not just talking about the election year. all of these issues will come back up when they negotiate the long term, they'll have to pay for it. they won't get tax increases on millionaires, most likely. what programs are we going to cut? that's a tough one. we're talking about a tiny issue, payroll tax. a lot of people don't like to think about it because it comes out of the social security tax fund. we're going to get that a tax cut debate next year and the republicans will use the kbots the democrats said this week, how could they possibly raise taxes right now? those quotes will come back on this debate. this chapter is closed but the fight is not over. >> people will be held accountable for those words to are some time to come. candy, any idea of the impact on this on the republican candidates? are people feeling on the defensive, should they be engaging more. >> the republican candidates stayed as far away from this as they could possibly get with the exception of michele bachmann. they did not want to get into this, because of what was driving the opposition is the tea party. you don't want to get caught between the tea party. >> lyght, right. i couldn't help but notice, dana, if you looked at speaker boehner's demeanor and you talked to him directly, you notice his demeanor in the presser, he just did not seem happy at all. you get this idea he's leading the caucus filled with people who don't care as much about the political consequences. how tough a year has this been for him, do you think? >> obviously it's been a great year. incredibly tough, sanjay. you're exactly right. i was struck by something candy said earlier about the fact that this was obviously a politically terrible idea for republicans from the beginning to fight this fight. guess what, the house speaker didn't have much of a choice. he is a very smart politician. there's no question, he knew this was a bad political fight to pick. he had a çconference, a republican caucus which revolted when he said he wanted to make this deal on a two-month extension. there's no question it's been incredibly tough for him. so far he navigated it pretty well. i'm told on the conference call he had this evening with members of his conference, generally he comes to them and asks them for approval. not this time. he said this is my deal, this is what istruck and this is what i'm doing. did not take any questions and it was over. i was told he sounded, quote, tired and ticked off. >> i bet. you saw a lot of this unfold, fascinating insight. we appreciate it. happy holidays, guys. thanks for joining us, dana bash, john king, candy crowley. let us no he what you think at home, on google, facebook as well as twitter. up next, speaker boehner, president obama, who ben it ifs from today's breaking news? it may not be as simple as some are claiming. later, does a wave of deadly bombings mean things are unraveling in iraq? you'll hear from an expert who says the region is bracing for civil war. first, though, let's check in with isha. >> we'll tell you about a woman who's doing time because one dog did just that. was it legit or anotherple example of junk science in court? that and much more when "360" continues. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurance... to health care options. learn more with our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. breaking news tonight, congress is back on track to renew the payroll tax cut. house speaker boehner bringing his republican members back on board saying this about his earlier opposition to a deal. quote, it may not have been politically the smartest thing in the world. more now on what this means politically for the speaker,ç r president obama. here to talk about it tonight paul begala and former bush white house secretary ari fleischer. ari, let me start with you. everyone thinks they lost the optics on this tax cut issue. what do you think went wrong here for them? >> what i think went wrong is house republican's put perceptions first. they tried to do something long term. it's why the tea party got elected to change the way washington does business. my message to the president and harry reid is congratulations. you're now governing in two-month increments. what a wonderful way to lead a country. that's what they did for us. they mistook for for a town where you could do it for a year long. politically it didn't work. >> you have to agree, ari, that a lot of people who have been paying attention on both sides of the aisle say, look, the optics in the end were the house republicans look like they weren't going to allow this tax cut to happen. and that's a core issue for them. >> no, republicans passed a measure that cut taxes for one year. it was the senate that didn't let that happen. i don't think there's any dispute about that fact. they got into a dispute about whether the tax cut should be two months or one year and you had a washington standoff. they passed a one-year tax cut. the notion that republicans aren't for tax cuts is a laughable notion. republicans always have been for them, always will be. what's happening is the democrats are getting dragged along through republican position. they did outmaneuver the republicans in terms of the december 31st deadline. >> one of the things you brought up, ari, when we talked about this earlier in the week, paul, i want to ask you about this, is a little bit more about what the deal is all about, and the substance, for example. what is paying for these tax cuts? one of the things the president wanted, paul, all along is taxing millionaires to help pay for these tax cuts. he didn't get that. is this an unqualified victory for president obama and the dems? >> i think that's a very good point. that's the real dispute. democrats didn't want two months and the republicans wanted a year. what happened is republicans wanted a year-long tax cut for the middle class, paid for -- so we wouldn't lose the money out of social security. the payroll tax comes out of the social security trust fund. we don't want to lose the revenue so democrats put forward a proposal that would ask citizens who make more than a million a year to pay 1.9% more. less than two pennies on the dollar after you make a million bucks to pay for this middle class tax cut. it was good economics. it was good politics. that's where the republicans balked. they don't believe in tax cuts per se, not if they go to the middle class. if it's about the rich they will pay any price, bear any burden, defend any friend, oppose any foe to make sure that millionaires and billionaires don't have to pay even two pennies -- two pennies -- more. that's really the heart of the republican problem is that they're seen now as the party of the wealthy elite and the democrats are now seen as the party of the middle class. that's who this fight was about. >> ari, i want you to respond to that. the issue all along was how this was going to be paid for. that does seem to have gotten buried over the last couple of weeks in discussing this. >> paul's exactly right. the democrats want to pay for everything with another tax hike on somebody. that's why the taxes always go up when you have democrats in charge. the reason that's so destructive, especially for social security, if social security is no longer a retirement fund, you take money, you give it to the government, they're supposed to invest it for you in social security. they're supposed to not spend it which they always do. as soon as you break the bond where your money that comes out of your payroll taxes goes for your social security and you pay for it out of general revenues, it's a welfare program. you have broken the bond that fdr, lbj and all of those who came before us fought for. now social security is nothing but another redistribution of income program. and to extend paul's logic, one year from now when the same tax cut is up again, what will they do? let's tax somebody else and make them pay for somebody else's social security. let's just abolish all payroll taxes in that case and make it all come out of income taxes. that's the inevitable logic. >> happy holidays to both of you. i know you're spending time with your mother as well. wish her happy holidays. >> thanks and to you too. >> thank you guys. in iraq and now with u.s. troops gone the violence is ramping up. a string of coordinated attacks killing more than 60 people today in baghdad. what does this say about security there without american forces and could this be a step towards civil war. a lot of people asking this.ç plus, former players suing the nfl. they say the league misrepresented the impact of concussions after their days on the gridiron is over. vegas! no, this is a test drive. vegas! 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