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What happened? now, it's one thing to have an honest difference of opinion on something. there's nothing wrong with that. you can't walk away from your responsibilities to confront the challenges facing the country because you don't think it's good short term politics. we can't afford that. >> mr. obama teed up republicans on the stimulus package today as well, another subject on which republicans have been trying to stay on the offense, president obama again no longer letting them. >> so the very same folks in congress who opposed the recovery act and claimed that it hasn't worked have been a...

Olympia snowe pip take it as a good sign. buried in the budget yesterday was the assumption of $150 million of savings, $150 billion of savings over the next ten years for health care reform. so the president's number crunchers still think it's alive. the people in new hampshire think it's alive. people like michele bachmann and whoever talks to her from the mother ship thinks it's alive. that's a good sign but doesn't mean we're that much closer to getting a deal today than yesterday. but if the president plows ahead with this and goes long or short or whatever he has to do here and gets over...

The preparations necessary for a repeal of the current law and policy. i fully support the president's decision. >> today the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike mullen and bob gates expressed support for repealing don't ask don't tell. john mccain is on record saying that's what he would need to hear to change the policy, that's not how john mccain reacted at today's hearing. at all. in fact, he sort of blew a gasket. >> i'm deeply disappointed in your statement secretary gates. your statement, obviously is one which is clearly biassed, without the view of congress being taken...

Hardball college tour, right before the midterm elections in 2006, he had john mccain on the college tour with him in iowa. they took questions from the crowd. >> our military needs as many fine young men and women as we can get. >> yes. >> why do we have a policy that discriminates on the basis of declared sell you'll orientation? >> i listened to people like general colin powell, former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and literally every military leader i know, and they testified before congress that they felt that the don't ask don't tell policy was the most appropriate way to conduc...

Now, would it go their way? >> i don't know. it's so close, at the end of a couple hours, or 20 hours of debate, they may be down to 40 something. i believe the president wants some padding, he wants this to marinade for a while. i have some intel on this, by the way. let the president get his political power back. it's february, we're not talking beyond february. get the power back, go back on the hill, get the senators to vote, plus the vice president. get a good solid vote with reconciliation, to compliment the senate bill. the tricky part, and the heaviest lifting is to get 218 in the hous...