to pass an extension. now, if it gets extended, the average american will save about $1,000 in taxes next year, senate r.s and ds have been meeting right now. and john thune of south dakota stepped out a moment ago. we're hoping for some good news. what can you tell us? >> right, it's a two-month extension, erin. it has unemployment insurance, it has the payroll tax cut extension, and what we call the doc fix, which deals with physician reimbursements under medicare. and then it also has the keystone pipeline language that was in the house, also in this particular senate bill. so i feel really good about where we are considering the fact that the senate democrats i don't think were comfortable with the pay-fors that were being proposed. and we would like to have gotten a full year like what was passed through the house of representatives. but this is where we are. we get a two-month extension of the three things i mentioned, plus we get the pipeline. >> okay. two months, though, is really not something that makes people feel very good. i mean, we're going to be having the same conversation in 60 days with another countdown? >> well, my guess is we probably will. we'll have to revisit this issue. like i said, that was not the the preferred alternative for many of us. we wanted to see the same thing that passed through the house of representatives pass in the senate, which was a one-year extension. but the democrats would not accept credible offsets to pay for it in the senate. so this is what we got down to in terms of a package that we could get support from both republicans and democrats for. for republicans, this is a big victory in the sense that the keystone pipeline was really important. we think the real jobs component in this bill. this is the thing that creates jobs in the near term. >> i'm curious, though, because there were so many things that democrats liked that some republicans liked, as well, that could've paid for this. and it seems, you know, some might say, look, you republicans, you just pushed for some of the things that democrats really didn't want when there were some things like increasing fees to mortgage lenders or means testing for some on medicare that would've gone on board, that would have funded this thing for the year. >> right, and we were all in favor of those things, erin. i'm not saying -- what i'm suggesting is i don't think that senator reid could sell some of those pay fors to his caucus. he couldn't get democrats on board with supporting some of those. in fact, the pay-for that's going to pay for the two-month extension is the increase in the guarantee fees on the gses. so that's something that everybody agreed on. that was something that both democrats and republicans felt comfortable with. but the other pay-for is something that we both supported and we thought we could get democrat support for. evidently, he could not. >> so you're saying you feel good. i feel a little bit let down. i was hopeful you would come up with something more than two months, especially when you all wanted to do this and you agreed to pay for it. it's sort of like, gosh, if you guys can't get this done for a full year, what in the world can you guys get done? >> well, look, i don't disagree with you. i'm disappointed as well that this isn't a full year. we had a full year passed out of the house of representatives. they sent it to the senate, the pay-fors were pay-fors in the senate that most of the senate would have supported. but there's a lot of opposition to the way this thing was paid for. so to get it down to a level where everybody was comfortable with the offsets that were being used to pay for those three things, this is where we ended up. now, what that simply means is that we will revisit this in another two months, and obviously, we'll have these probably same debates all over again. it's not a perfect solution by any stretch. >> no. >> but it's what we're able to get through. >> all right. this keystone pipeline, let me just ask you about that. the president will have the right to say he doesn't want to do it because of national security concerns. do you think he'll do that? and i'm also curious, because the current version of this pipeline, obviously, you know, this is going to go through your state. and you're going to benefit from it. so i get that you support it. but how many jobs are we really going to get? i looked at this today. some studies said we were going to lose jobs because it's going to hurt farmland. other studies said we were going to gain 583,000 jobs, which frankly seems a little bit absurd. and the state department said only 5,000 jobs. it kind of seems like nobody has any clue. >> right. well, the president -- what he has -- if he has determined that this is not in the national interest in order for it not to go forward. but with regard to what it does for jobs -- and the numbers that you have used are not numbers that i have seen. we've seen a 20,000 number, jobs created in the construction phase, and then also, of course, lots of jobs after that. but in my state of south dakota, for example, when keystone one went through there, it created about 2,400 jobses, both full-time and part-time, and that was actually more than was predicted that would be created. it's good for my state, obviously, in terms of jobs and the economic impact it would have, and a lot of other states as well. but think about the other issues here. this is an energy security issue. general james jones, the president's former national security adviser came out today and said that this is in the national interest. this helps make us less dependent upon foreign sources of energy. and if we don't benefit from it, that energy is going to go some place else probably west toward china. >> all right. well, senator thune, thank you very much. and before i let you go, let me just confirm, what's your sense as to whether this has been vetted through the house. is this really done? is this going to be voted on tomorrow. or is it possible this two-month deal you have somehow doesn't happen? >> it's never final until it's final, of course. but we had our -- our caucus met, i think there was general acceptance and pretty broad support for it. the democrats, i think, are meeting as well tonight. the question is the house of representatives. my understanding is, at least, if it has these elements in it, the house would be for it. we'll vote on it tomorrow. if everything moves forward according to plan, the house will have to come back and vote on it some time probably sunday or monday. >> i guess they go on vacation later than you do. thank you, senator. let's bring in john avalon, cnn contributor. so not quite 24 hours ago, we were sitting here. and we were upset about a two-month deal because it doesn't do anything. doesn't put a lot of money in people's pockets, doesn't cause hiring and we're back to square one on something they all agreed on and here we are, john. >> here we are. this breaking news just shows how addicted washington, d.c. is to brinksmanship. they can't get past the kabuki theater, even when they agree. and what we have is kicking the can down the road two more months. and we just heard senator thune say it, we'll probably be back here in two months. >> no, he said it. we'll be talking about the exact same thing. my problem here is you made a list of ten different ways to propose to pay for it. some the democrats hated, some the republicans hated. and yet, that left seven or eight. >> that's right. >> and they couldn't use them! >> and they couldn't get it done, past kicking the can. because apparently republicans would not give up on de-linking the keystone pipeline, despite, as senator rand paul said on the show a few nights ago, he said, let's de-link it from the payroll tax and give it an up or down vote. keep it straight. keep it honest. this shows how much bad blood there is, how much distrust, and shows that pew poll that said 2/3 of americans believe that congress should be kicked out, there's a reason for that frustration out there. this is just the latest example. >> and then on top of it, one thing that's getting buried in this, because we have this breaking -- i put quotes around it, because this is a two-month deal -- but the government shutdown was averted. there were eight threats of that this year, but they're going to fund through next september. you say, great, there's not going to be this problem until next year, until one month before the election. >> broadly speaking can -- >> can't wait for that. >> right. we'll see the specific timing. that is good news, right? we'll hopefully not have a brinksmanship about lack of money in a presidential year. that's great. that should also be filed under no-brainer, right? you know, congratulations, you're not going to shut down the government. that's the standard of success right now? >> yes, pretty much, john, it is. >> that seems to be the standard of success. we've got a payroll tax cut, it shows 160 million americans going to be affected by this potentially, so they're not going to see their taxes go up immediately. >> it's an average of up to $160 over two months. so if the whole point is to make you feel wealthier and have money to spend on things and you don't even know if you're going to have it in month three? >> this falls short. this creates that exact atmosphere of uncertainty that people have been complaining about. >> that's right. >> so, you know, look, kicking the can down the road, it's great they're going to pay for the government, but this payroll tax gets filed under epic fail again. >> all right. thank you very much, john avalon. i was hoping this would be with a different conversation tonight. still "outfront," presidential candidate mitt romney picks up a big endorsement tonight, south carolina governor nikki haley. will her, yes, matter? move the needle in the palmetto state. and the s.e.c. files suit against the former ceos of fannie and freddie, mac and mae. the u.s. government is giving them $100 billion in the form of a bailout right now. do we need them? and nuclear material found in an airline passenger's luggage today going to tehran. we have the latest developments in tonight's installment. that's a little harder to find. but here's what i know -- td ameritrade doesn't manage mutual funds... or underwrite stocks and bonds. or even publish their own research. so, guidance from td ameritrade isn't about their priorities. it's about mine. straightforward guidance. that's what makes td ameritrade different. ♪ [ male announcer ] trade commission-free for 60 days. plus get up to $600 when you open an account. 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[ male announcer ] don't miss red lobster's surf & turf. 3 grilled combinations all under $20. like our maine lobster with peppercorn sirloin, or our new bacon-wrapped shrimp with blue cheese sirloin for $14.99. i'm john mazany and i sea food differently. so a lot of people have fallen in love with a guy named tim tebow. the denver broncos were 1-4 until this guy, tim tebow, was named the starting quarterback. since then the team was 7-1. football gurus are pretty mystified about how he's managing to win, because obviously some sort of superstar, but the numbers don't seem to work. we considered comparing tebow's stats to tom brady's. obviously if you don't know who he is. come on, he's married to giselle, you know who he is, the quarterback for the new england patriots, and tim's opponent this weekend. but instead, we decided to look at his fat head. yeah, the number tonight is 50,000. that is how many dollars worth of tim tebow tebowing fatheads the company sold in its first two days of release. for those unfamiliar with tebowing, there was someone in our staff who was unfamiliar today. let me explain it for you. the quarterback signature that has become a sensation and a way for rivals to poke fun at the phenom. fathead, the maker of life-sized graphics that you can stick on your wall started selling the tebowing image on tuesday. it quickly became the best-selling image on the site. it's on pace to have the best one-week sales of any fathead ever. wow. $50,000. tom or tim? who you rooting for this weekend? okay, a very high-profile endorsement for mitt romney today. south carolina governor nikki haley made the announcement on fox news this morning. >> what i want is someone who is not part of the chaos that is washington. and what i wanted was someone who knew what it was like to turn broken companies around. someone who had proven results by improving a failed olympics that ended up being a great success story. and someone that knows what it's like to make a decision and lead not just make a vote. >> now, it's not a huge surprise that she chose to support romney. haley has endorsed romney before and he's endorsed her. but here's why it could be a little bit bigger of a deal. number one, she is the republican governor of south carolina. south carolina will be the first state in the south to hold a primary next month. after iowa and new hampshire. romney, of course, could use a bit of a boost there. the latest cnn poll shows newt leading by a big margin, 43% to 20% for romney. all right. that's one reason that it matters. second reason, governor haley was elected into office with the help of the tea party. and romney, as all our viewers are well aware, has had a lot of trouble getting supporter from tea partyers and conservatives. cnn political analyst david gergen, and good to have all of you with us. let me start with you, scott. i'm curious, what do we read into this? because nikki haley supported by the tea party, but her approval rating in her state right now is not very high. >> yeah, that's right. it is an important endorsement, but endorsements today mean less than they did probably 10 or 20 years ago. south carolina is an incredibly important state. it sort of deals the knockout blow to the challenger in a republican primary situation, with '96, 2000, and 2008, the eventually winner of the gop primary in south carolina getting the nomination. i think, for what it's worth, i think an endorsement, say, from very popular conservative congressman tim scott from south carolina may actually mean more in the end game of this campaign in south carolina than, say, the nikki haley endorsement does, because tim scott is very influential, continuously influential with those tea party voters. so that endorsement may actually mean more in the end result of the primary. >> david gergen, it is interesting, though, that the romney camp has managed to get a couple of these endorsements. nikki haley, obviously this week, christine o'donnell, which obviously came with a -- well, let's play that sound bite of why that one was a little bit more problematic here on cnn's "american morning." >> that's one of the things that i like about him. because he's been consistent since he changed his mind. >> she said that with a straight face. maybe she was being tongue in cheek, i don't know. >> that was the old line, i voted for it before i voted against it. listen, if endorsements were going to determine the outcome, this would be over now. romney would be ahead by 30 points. he's collected most of the endorsements. that is a result of his diligence, his support, and frankly, the money he's put in to help people in the past. and that's politics. that's what you should do. but the critical thing is this. this endorsement will not matter much if he's coming -- if romney comes limping out of new hampshire. on the other hand, if romney can beat expectations in iowa and win new hampshire, then the haley endorsement could actually matter a lot. because at that point, gingrich might seem to be faltering, and this endorsement could really push romney over the top. he's a long way back now, but in that scenario, the haeley endorsement suddenly becomes very important. >> jen, speaking for the obama campaign and administration, are they still counting on mitt romney being their adversary, or has the feeling inside the obama camp changed? that perhaps they may be fighting someone like newt gingrich? >> well, i wouldn't want to be making a bet right now in vegas, i have to tell you. and i think that's true for most people who are watching. what's interesting about this endorsement is that nikki haley is a favorite of the tea party, as you touched on. this race has now become a race to the right. you have newt gingrich and mitt romney duking it out for who can be more conservative and who can appeal more to the conservative base. and at the same time, you've seen their support among independents drop. so the longer this goes on, the more interesting it will be, to the see how far to the right they go, in the pursuit of the nomination. >> and she uses the word "interesting," david gergen, but i would imagine that she's being polite. that barack obama would say, the better this becomes for him. because all of a sudden he's got all of these campaign fights going on on the far right that help him win over the is. >> well, it depends how far right they get drawn. it's -- you know, these debates overall, i think, have helped gingrich a great deal, including the debate last night, where he was on the defensive for the first half of the debate, but then he came roaring back in the second half. so i think he more than held his own last night. romney was very steady. but while the debates have helped newt gingrich and made him very competitive, i think, overall, it's been a two-edged sword. and that is the debates, the hard wright quality of these debates, you know, week after week, has also deepened the impression in the minds of a lot of independents, these guys may be too far right for me. so, you know, it is -- that's why i think the debate have said a two-edged sword for republicans overall. >> thanks to all three. please enjoy your weekends. >> thank you. >> thank you. earlier today, the s.e.c. filed civil suits against the former ceos of housing agencies, fannie mae and freddie mac. now, these suits claim that daniel mudd, the former fannie mae ceo, and richard siren understated the amount of subprime securities they were exposed to by hundreds of billions of dollars. ken rosen of uc berkeley told "outfront" today that, "it's long overdue attempt to hold accountable some of those responsible for the massive losses in the mortgage market meltdown." now, fannie and freddie are ground zero for the housing crisis in this country. companies were created to provide stability in the housing market, no increase home ownership in this country. and in the process, they became massive government-sponsored enterprises. they make too big to fail look tiny. combined, they hold or guarantee $5 trillion of u.s. home mortgages. that's half the total u.s. mortgage market, and since this whole crisis began, they have been buying nine and ten mortgages in this country. it is why the government had to bail them out, at a total estimated cost of $125 billion through 2014. but do we really need fannie and freddie? canada does not have a home mortgage interest deduction or a fannie or a freddie. and canada has the same home ownership