0 someone like billy jean king will make this a part of the conversation. others in the delegation who will want to talk about these lgbt issues. it forces it to be at the forefront while at the same time here are people with real standing to be among olympic athletes and there to support the athletic endeavor as well. so it has the benefit of being more than one point being made. to be very present by going to the games and representing the united states with these issues knowing that vladimir putin is going to be paying a lot of attention to his own credibility with all that he has put on the line for sochi. so that makes a realize difference in sending this kind of political message. >> and chuck has just asked this of jay carney at the white house briefing. let's listen to what jay has to say. >> janet napolitano and featuring brian boitano and billie jean king to represent the united states at the opening represents, and he looks forward as every american does to the competition and to the effort that american athletes will demonstrate when they compete in sochi. >> i understand that, but would you wave off the interpretation that clearly the united states and the obama administration wants to send a message about russia's questionable treatment of -- >> i don't think -- i would simply say that's not a message we would wait to send through this manner. we have been very clear. the president has been very clear he finds it offensive, the anti-lgbt legislation in russia, for example. and we take very clear and strong stands on that issue as well as the curtailment of civil society in russia, as well as the harassment caused to those who protest corruption in russia. you know, the issues we have with russia that we are very upfront about. >> you want this delegation to bring some attention to these issues. >> i think this delegation brings attention to the remarkable diversity of the united states as well as the success that the united states has had in sports, both at the olympics and beyond. >> well, you can see that jay carney is clearly sending the message as chuck todd tries to pin him down. they are clearly sending a message to sochi, to russia, to putin. >> yeah, and look, the emphasis -- you heard jay carney say the wordy verse -- the wordy ver -- word diversity three or four times. jay carney mentioned this, that president obama has spoken out on this in the past. he has. he's said, look, we're not going to boycott the games because of that, but he did say he hoped that gay and lesbian members of the u.s. team did win medals. so quite clearly i think the president making a statement here. you know, i think jay is being cautious not to sort of go too far beyond and above what the president has already said on it. >> chris cillizza, kelly o'donnell, thank you so much. and mississippi senator roger wick eer now joins us. he's one of the leading members opposing today's budget deal. he joins us now. senator, thank you for being with us. >> glad to be with you. >> let me ask you about your objections because of the military retirees, the pension cuts. there have been a number of people, including john mccain, who have pointed out this will be fixed before it kicks in. so why vote against the whole budget deal to make this point? >> andrea, this has been a good fight, and i think the fact that we have been so aggressive on this has maybe gotten us a little farther down the path than we would have. i think before we got the facts, the american people thought, you know, 1% less c.o.l.a. is no big deal. >> the cost of living increase. >> that's right. it was a small group at first that pointed out. this means $80,000 plus to the average enlisted guy, over $120,000 to the average officer lifetime. and it's a huge chunk of income to take from the people that stepped forward and volunteered to have a military career. so i think we've made some progress. we had an opportunity yesterday to actually correct this in the bill. a lot of people who have given lip service to making a correction chose, for whatever reason, not to vote with us on that. so you know, a promise is nice. an assurance that we will visit this later on, have hearings, introduce stand-alone bills, that's helpful, but it's not the same as getting the language that was negotiated in secret changed before it goes to the president for his signature. >> i want to play a little bit of yesterday's arguments from the senate floor. this is john mccain. >> i understand that there are many of my colleagues on this side of the aisle that are very unhappy with this deal and intend to vote against it. my only response to that is i respect their vote, but i'd like to know what we do in order to avoid another shutdown of the government. i have concerns about the budget deal. everybody, i think, does because the nature of the way business is done. but to somehow vote against it without an alternative to keep the budget -- keep the government from shutting down, then i think lacks some intellectual integrity. >> what do you say to that? >> well, i think we did have an alternative. i really respect senator mccain, and i respect his military service. but i think he was presenting a false choice. it wasn't a choice between shutting down the government. we have until the middle of january to work this out. and we could do it if, as we've been assured by the leadership, this is something that really needs to be fixed and we're all agreed on. so it's a false choice. we could have fixed it. whether we win today or not, and it looks like we will not prevail today, we're going to carry this issue forward and make sure that we don't take a heavy chunk out of the hides of the people who volunteered to keep us safe. >> thank you very much. thank you, senator wicker. merry christmas and happy new year to you. >> thank you. and this is one of those dog stories that we all love. we all know labs are smart and loyal. but orlando, the black lab, proved he is just more than a man's best friend. he's also a lifesaver. cecil williams, a visually impaired man, fainted and fell on the subway tracks. without hesitating, his guide dog orlando jumped on to the tracks and tried to pull him back. witnesses did get the engineer of an oncoming train to brake but not in time to prevent at least several cars from running over both man and dog. miraculously, they suffered only minor injuries. now they're up against a new battle. 11-year-old orlando is set to retire as a guide dog. williams could lose his trusty guide because his insurance will only pay for an actively working dog. today people on social media have maxillofacial iobilized to aid. we'll keep you posted on how you can help on our facebook page. life with crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis