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Improved but it doesn't always feel that way. it does feel like one step forward, two steps back. is this just going to consistently be a problem, it's industry or what do you believe it is? >> i think some of us remember when we didn't think it was safe to go near the inner didn't think it was safe to go near the harbor in baltimore. it could be better but it is better than one time. i look at the river and the problems we've had and what we've done with fish elevators and trying to preserve the fresh water supply and the commitments made from new york to maryland we have joined together and ...

It was a dinner date with republicans, and president obama picked up the tab. blocks from the white house at the swanky jefferson hotel, food and fiscal challenges, and an effort to find compromise less than a week after across-the-board cuts kicked in. >> how did the meeting go? >> just fine. >> reporter: 12 republican senators invited by the president broke bread for more than two hours. >> what was the tone in there like? >> very positive. encouraging, candid. focused on how do we come together. compromise is necessary and it's possible. the issue is how do we get there. >> reporter: presid...

>> ultimately the way we're going to get stuff done, personal relationships are important. obviously i can always do a better job. >> reporter: the dinner didn't result in any major agreements, but it was viewed as a positive step in the right direction. >> that's why these kinds of dialogues are so important and there needs to be more of them. >> reporter: so again, they see this dinner as a good foundation for further discussions, but none of these senators is naive. there's still some big challenges out there. as one of the senators pointed out, that it's still unclear how we get from here ...

There. >> reporter: president obama has stepped up his outreach to republicans in recent days. series of phone calls, this dinner, and planned trips to capitol hill next week, engaging in a way his critics say he failed to do in his first term. >> ultimately the way we'll get stuff done, personal relationships are important and obviously i can always do a better job. >> reporter: the dinner didn't result in any major agreements but it was viewed as a positive step in the right direction. >> that's why these kinds of dialogues are so important and there needs to be more of them. >> these senato...