"outfront" tonight, a deal. finally, a deal. the house republicans agree to the senate's two-month payroll tax cut extension. the house added one small tweak that's going to make it easier for employers to actually process the tax breaks, since this really is the final hour before midnight on a tax change. the gop's image has taken a beating. a cnn/orc poll found when it comes to handling major issues, people have increasing confidence in president obama. look at him now, 50% have more confidence in him, back in march it was only 44. when you look at republicans in congress, 31% now versus nearly 40 in march. how damaging is this to the republican party? and what can it do to fix its image as we head into iowa. senator, thanks for coming on. >> it's great to be on, erin. >> i didn't know how this interview would go tonight. because i didn't know if we'd get a solution in washington. you've been pretty frugs traited, angry. you put out some strong statements, calling your colleagues in the house irresponsible. do you think that they actually have resolved this at this point? >> well, obviously they have, and that's a good thing, i think there's been some lessons learned. we need to work in a bipartisan manner to get something done. and i think what everybody fails to realize in d.c., we're americans first. we need to work together in this moment in time, when we have an opportunity to do it better than the rest of the world. i'm going to continue to work with people of good will who want to try to solve problems and not throw rocks, and get into the chest thumping partisan stuff. here we go, i'm glad level heads prevailed. >> i know we all want to say, okay, i know there was a deal. it was awful and it was embarrassing for americans to have this happen this way. you take a step back, it was embarrassing the senate could only come up with a two-month schedule on something that democrats and republicans wanted to do for a year, and as everyone watching knows, two-month tax policy is not anything that's going to help this economy. what do you have to say about that? in the senate, the best you could come up with was a kick the can down the road solution? >> i think that's a very good observation. i think we need to create certainty and stability, not only with businesses but individuals, so they know what's next. whether it's regulatory uncertainty, tax uncertainty and provi providing an uncertainty in benefits. we were going to do nothing? 1245 really want you want us to do? of course not. we should have finished out the year on a good note, started the new year on a good note. it goes to a bigger problem. we have to start to solve our economic issues. we're in a financial emergency, and we need to do it better. >> let me ask you about the broader issue here, which is not just how to pay for the payroll tax, but in general, have a deal with the fact that revenue and spending in this country is completely out of whack. let me ask you, the tea party, you're a guy they like a lot, that was a big part of your story. are you open to the bush tax cuts going away or do you want to disagree with me on the tea party there. >> not disagree. i was elected by everybody in massachusetts. not one particular group the left's always mad at me. the right's always mad at me. >> join the club. >> we need to do an overhaul of our tax code, make sure we can do a lot of things, repatriation, lower corporate tax rates. so we can put more money in people's pockets, the fact that the federal government is taking more of our money and using and using it incorrectly is wrong. so when you're talking about taxes expiring, listen, in the middle of a three-year recession, i think americans should have as much money as possible in their pockets, to take it out of the federal government's hand and put it in their pockets, they can do it better than the federal government. >> are you morally opposed to the bush tax cut go away? to people having their rates go up? >> listen, that's easy. we've had a tax policy now for 11 years, americans have come to recognize and rely on. we need to create a tax certainty. we need to have a long term tax policy, so individuals and businesses can plan. i'm not in favor of increasing taxes on anybody right now, especially in the middle of a three-year recession. >> okay, i guess you answered that question. that's your vote on that. >> it's pretty straightforward. >> are you in the camp where, i'm for increased revenue, but only when it's getting rid of loopholes? somebody may really pay more and their rate may go up? >> i've already voted to close the ethanol subsidy. we should do a top to bottom review of every federal program. look at all the fraud, waste and abuse, and take any savings we have, either to use it to pay down the debt or deficit. until we do that, i don't think there's any reason to raise any taxes right now, especially in a tough economic mess. the federal government taking more money out of people's pockets and wasting it, i'm not for that. >> what is a compromise in your view? you go on either side and say, we're not going to move. then we end up with two month extensions of the payroll tax. where does the compromise come from with scott brown. >> it's not a question that we don't want to increase revenue. it's a fact that -- i don't think the government is a good steward of our money. until they do it better, i don't think we should be raising taxes. that being said, are there ways to do it, increase revenues? sure, there are. the first thing shouldn't be, hey, let's raise taxes. it should be, by doing all the things that we shake our heads about, and say, i can do it better, i've worked across the lines since the day i got there, whether it was the jobs bill or a whom host of other things, i'll continue so work with people of good will who want to do that. >> have you gone across the line, i think a lot more than some people would have wanted. i was reading a story in the boston herald about you. the tea party is extremely unpopular in massachusetts. i'm curious, you're now running in a race against elizabeth warren, it's tight. she's ahead of you. outside the margin of statistical error. do you think you're going to have to go left to win in massachusetts? >> no, listen, i'm going to be the same person i've always been. certainly i'm happy to talk to you after the new year about the election. it's going to be polls galore. you know what's important, me doing my job, doing what i've done for the last two years, which is to work across party lines and try to move our country forward. i'm not a rock thrower, i'm a problem solver, and i always have been, and i'm proud of it. i'm excited about the upcoming election, but quite frankly, i'm going to do my job and spend a little time with my family. i'm going to wish everybody a merry christmas and successful new year as well. >> thank you very much senator brown. i appreciate you taking the time tonight. >> thank you. let's bring in john avlon from newsweek. independent thinker, going across lines but we're not getting revenue. >> look, he's in a tough spot. he's in a state where independents outnumber republicans. there hasn't been a republican in the senate for massachusetts since ed brooks. he's got to show he's not part of the problem, he's part of the solution p.m. he's saying, look, let's close some loopholes. the tax cut has become a theology, it's an article of faith. we're no longer dealing with simple math when we try to reduce the deficits. that's the problem. >> what do you think about that? >> i think it's very sensible. republicans have made a substantive move on this issue. there was a time when they were saying, we're not going to move on revenue at all. now they're saying, we welcome broadening the revenue base, and lowering rates, doing the sensible stuff that simpson-bowles suggested. >> how do you know it's not an intellectual move? they say 48% of people don't pay tax. >> you pay people when they're young, et cetera, et cetera. saying we want to broaden the base, the problem with that there are a ton of people that benefit from the mortgage interest deduction, a lot of them voted for scott brown, that's the kind of thing we have to go after. we have a huge amount of revenue. a lot of people would say, economically needs to go away, but politically is incredibly hard to talk about. this revenue thing. i don't see where you say they're moving on revenue. it's saying i'm for increased revenue, but i'm lowering the rate. >> when you grow the economy faster, then revenue grows that way. that's the great way during the tech boom in the late 90s, that's where the revenue came from. it came from huge capital gains revenues. >> there's a lot of retrospective love for bowles-simpson. you can't get around the fact that the republican congressmen on the committee voted against it. tom coburn had the guts to vote for it. we all know that ultimately, you're not going to be able to raise tax rates without republicans putting up the fight. that became the line in the sand last time around. one of the big pictures i think republicans have learned today, is that there is such a thing as too extreme. you start hurting your credibility with the american people, that's why republicans in congress right now are the least popular folks in washington. >> that's right. thanks to both of you, appreciate it. john edwards corruption trial was set to start next month. today his attorneys have asked for a significant delay so he can deal with unspecified medical issues. then the tsa, we talked about that this week. $8 billion a year, do we need it? someone taking a stand on that tonight. and last night, the mother of 19-year-old aiysha cannes broke down in tears discussing her missing daughter on this show. i couldn't conceive this as a heart attack. the doctor leaned over and said to me, "you just beat the widow-maker." i was put on an aspirin, and it's part of my regimen now. 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we were. and when did you know you wanted to sell insurance? i said i wouldn't cry. um... whee! it's flo time. now, that's progressive. call or click today. scorch whiskey association has won a temporary injunction against a company in india. it claims they've been passing off as an indian whiskey as the genuine article. a court today ruled that in addition to dropping the term scorch whiskey from their labels and advertising, the distillery is no longer allowed to use the name glenn mon, because it's kpon fused with traditional scorch whiskey that uses glenn in their names. their director of legal affairs, glenn barkley said we're pleases the judge recognizes our concerns in this case, through a temporary injunction. the defendants have indirectly misled the general public using the word glenmont. better watch out, you're going to be late for french if you keep acting like that. that brings us to tonight's number which is 17. that is the age of this single malt scorch whiskey. it was borrowed from our executive producer. at any rate, that is the age of the scorch whiskey, we will open it later on with two glasses. a strange development meantime, in the upcoming corruption trial of john edwards. he fathered a child out of wedlock, and used campaign funds to cover up an affair with real hunter. his attorneys say edwards has unspecified medical issues and they're asking for a two-month delay. prosecutors oppose the motion and have already delayed the trial once after edwards said he needed more time to prepare his defense and atent his daughter's wedding. former prosecutor paul callan is with us tonight. does this wreak to you of trying to manipulate? >> no, i don't see it as manipulation. the defense makes a compelling case here, not based on edwards being sick, but on the fact that they've been served with 500,000 pages of documents. 100,000 of them in the fairly recent past. and they just have not had an opportunity to review all of this material to prepare for trial. he's facing five years in prison, so they're saying, you know, judge, we just need more time to review it, and by the way, he's sick. something's wrong with john edwards. >> they've already asked for time because they needed time to look through all the documents. >> they have. >> when kate got married this summer. >> they've had a lot of time, they cite six or seven cases of similar or lesser complexity, which they say took long tore try, and got them -- the defense got more time. this is not unusual for a case of this complexity. >> does it matter what the medical condition is, in terms of what the judge will rule here or not? >> well, i'm -- >> will you be specific? >> i'm betting he's not getting a vasectomy. however, if he had done so, perhaps he wouldn't be facing these charges. the medical condition. we better break out the scorch on that one. but the medical condition, depending on what it is, could have a bearing. he has to be able to participate in his defense. if it's something serious that affects his ability to perceive and participate, yes, that would be an absolutely legitimate reason for an adjournment. i think they make a strong argument. 500,000 pages of documents, it's a lot of material to go through in a criminal case. >> you mentioned how long -- if he were to be convicted, what's at stake here? >> five years in prison for breaking campaign finance laws and for lying to federal investigators. it's a serious charge for somebody who once was thought to be a potential president of the united states. >> certainly is. paul callan thank you. we've heard the saying, if it looks like a duck, walquacks like a duck, it's probably duck. a bill that would ban tsa officers from wearing a badge of police officers, it's called the tsa breach in policy act or the strip act. there's been a lot of controversy about the tsa as of late. it has a budget of more than $8 billion. i spoke with the secretary of homeland security this week, she said the money is worth it. >> we have the largest, most complex aviation system in the world. i think there's something like 1.8 million passengers fly every day. and 450 plus airports in the united states. and it is a very safe system. but it takes work to be there 37. >> i also asked the secretary about the badges issue, she said being a tsa officer is a tough job. >> if you make a mistake, if you miss something, you are the last line of defense before somebody gets on the plane. and, you know, the result could be very, very serious. and so our officers undergo a lot of training, and continual, every day they're getting new things coming to the system. >> joining us now is the sponsor of the strip act, marsha blackburn, republican of tennessee. good to have you with us, we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> these people do have a lot of pressure on them, and they are the last line. i'm wondering why it is this badge issue is so important. >> i think it's important because they are not officers, they are not federal law enforcement officers, they do not get any federal law enforcement officer training. they are not eligible for those benefits. even though they have gone to wearing these un forms, which they did this through administrative rule making, not through coming to congress, they wear the uniforms, they wear the badge, we still have had over 25,000 breaches. and what we are saying is, these are screeners, you have reclassified their job title to say officers. they should go back to being screeners and focus on protecting the flying public not to overreaching their authority because they're wearing a law enforcement uniform and a badge. >> what do we get if they take it off. the american federation of employees say it's insulting to them. what do you say to that? >> i say that what we're talking about is tsa has now become the largest agency, when you're looking at employment, it's larger than labor, education, energy, hud and the state department combined. 65,000 employees. they have unionized 40,000 of these screeners and it should not be insulting to say, look, you need to go and be a screener. is it insulting to federal law enforcement officers, that you have someone who is a screener with minimal training. they advertise for screeners on pizza boxes and at discount gas stations in the washington, d.c., area, they do not have to go through this law enforcement training. maybe they should stop impersonating federal law enforcement officers and the overreach. >> why do this bill? why not go all the way as some have who are running for president and the republican party, and say, get rid of the tsa all together or the dhs? >> what we want to do is put the focus back on protecting the traveling public. and they have a task to perform, which is to make certain individuals are meeting the guidelines and not traveling with things they should not be. but what we also want to do is make certain that we're greetti good value for the dollar that was spent. you can look at the study that was done comparing the costs of screeners in san francisco and lax, tsa does the security at lax and san francisco, it's done by a private company, it costs $11,000 less per individual to train to tsa standards, and they find more items that should be removed before individuals get on the planes. i think what we're trying to do is focus, how do you make certain individuals are safe? how do you do it in a way that's going to be sensitive to the taxpayer, respectful of the individuals flying, and not allow these tsa screeners to impersonate federal officers. >> thank you very much. appreciate you taking the time. let us know what you think, about the badge issue and the tsa, whether you think they make this country safer. some people are watching at an airport tonight throwing things at the screen, they're not happy with the tsa. but nonetheless, let us know. moammar gadhafi's son should have access to an attorney. now, saif was captured by anti-gadhafi forces in southern libya last month. he told the group he had no complaints about the conditions of his detention, but he wanted to meet with a lawyer to discuss his case. we spoke to the former acting prime minister of libya, we asked him if saif, once considered a reformer in that country could be rehabilitated and returned to libyan society? >> no chance in hell. even this reformer, he's a killer, he's the son of a killer. even as a reformer, not a sith el reform that took place. he talked. and raised the hope of a lot of people. >> pretty direct words. and remember this image? they're hard to forget. the images of libyan leader moammar gadhafi, just moments before his execution style death. we also asked tarhuni whether it's right, people are so focused on whether moammar gadhafi was executed or not. >> i think it