PM Note: Too Fat, Too Old, Too Bald? Nah!, Jerry Brown Treated for Prostate Cancer, Still 'Far Apart' on 'Cliff'
Chris Christie to Barbara Walters - "I didn't help (Obama) win. I was Doing my job." http://abcn.ws/QVEdHi
Watch Hillary Clinton and Chris Christie on "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2012? tonight at 9:30 P.M. ET on the ABC Television Network.
Would Hillary Clinton Be Too Old? - "I am, thankfully, knock on wood, not only healthy, but have incredible stamina and energy," she told Walters. "I just want to see what else is out there. I've been doing, you know, this, this incredibly important and, and satisfying work here in Washington, as I say, for twenty years, I want to get out and spend some time looking at what else I can do to contribute." http://abcn.ws/W6vilt
Would Chris Christie Be Too Heavy? - "That's ridiculous," Christie told Walters. "I don't know what the basis for that is… I've done this job pretty well, and I think people watched me for the last number of weeks and Hurricane Sandy doing 18-hour days and getting right back up the next day and still being just as effective in the job. So I don't really think that would be a problem." http://abcn.ws/QVEdHi
Would Marco Rubio Be Too Bald? - " #Esquire report on having less hair than I once did is sadly true. But good news is I am still in upper 2% in Senate. http://soc.li/8aubTIS " he tweetedto his followers.
Since We're Talking About Rubio's Hair, What About Clinton's? From Dana Hughes report - "It's longer than it has been previously, and that, Clinton told Walters, is by design. "I do not travel with any hairdresser, or anybody, to help me do that, and I'm not very competent myself. I've been admitting that for years, which should be obvious to everyone," Clinton joked. "And so it became simpler to just grow it so that I can pull it back, and I can stick rollers in," said Clinton calling the conversation "girl talk" between her and Walters.
Rather than being annoyed by all the talk about her hair and appearance Clinton said she finds it amusing. "It's fascinating to me how people are so curious about it. Because after a while, it just got to be really burdensome to try to find a hairdresser in some city, somewhere, oftentimes not being able to speak English, that at least I could communicate with," she told Walters. "So, I said enough, we're just going to try to go with as simple as possible." http://abcn.ws/W6vilt
Roundup -
California Gov. Jerry Brown Undergoing Treatment for Prostate Cancer - KGO report - http://bit.ly/XUmvXS
No Interest Rate Hike 'Til Unemployment Reaches 6.5 Percent - http://abcn.ws/SVIhqS
Penn. Gov Latest to Reject Obamacare Health Exchange - http://abcn.ws/SVsDvE
Intern to Sen. Bob Menendez was undocumented immigrant, sex offender - http://abcn.ws/SS635L
'Far Apart' on 'Fiscal Cliff' - Boehner held a press Conference, Obama didn't, the two sides have been trading proposals, but they seem remarkably like the proposals each side has already rejected. Boehner said they're "far apart." John Parkinson's full report - http://abcn.ws/U7WpLs
Tapper Seeks Fact from Carney, Gets Magic Beans - Again -
TAPPER: "A White House official told me that in his counteroffer yesterday, Speaker Boehner asked for - one of - part of his proposal was a permanent extension of the Bush tax cuts for the top-two brackets - for all the Bush tax cuts, but including the top-two brackets. The House speaker's office disputes that; I was hoping that you could shed some light on the - on what exactly John Boehner in his counterproposal suggested should happen?"
CARNEY: "I'm not going to get into the details of the proposals that have gone back and forth. But I can say that - because it has been public in the positions that the speaker has put forward, that, you know, we do not accept the position that was outlined in the letter that the speaker sent previously that Bush tax cuts for the top earners can be extended.
The president has made clear: He will not support legislation that hands another tax cut to the wealthiest 2 percent of American earners. We can't afford it. It is bad economic policy. And the result of pursuing that policy would mean added burdens to the middle class, added burdens to seniors, added burdens to families with children who have disabilities. That's unacceptable to the president … To say that we can somehow magically achieve significant revenue on the order that we need for that balanced deficit reduction package simply by closing loopholes that they will not name or capping deductions what they - that they will not specify sometime in the future. That is - you know, those magic beans are just beans, and that fairy dust is just dust. It is not serious. And the president will not sign an extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest."
At a briefing on Tuesday, Dec. 4, Carney called the GOP's plans for the fiscal cliff "magic beans and fairy dust." http://abcn.ws/128TNTp
Kristof Welfare Column Turns Heads, Sparks Debate - From Sarah Parnass - New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, the journalist who champions human rights around the world, wants the government to stop giving welfare checks to poverty-stricken children with disabilities. It's a stance that inspired solidarity with conservatives and fiery criticism from liberals, not Kristof's usual reception. http://abcn.ws/U8MLbl
AG Holder was also asked what steps the Justice Department was taking in response to the recent state laws in Washington and Colorado to legalize marijuana.
"We are looking at those two initiatives those two statutes and trying to determine exactly how we will respond and expect we will be doing so relatively quickly. There are a number of issues that have to be considered among them the impact that drug usage has on young people, we have treaty obligations with nations outside the United States, there are a whole variety of things that have to go into the determination that we are in the process of making." Holder said.
In reference to the treaty obligations the Mexican government has been upset over the two state laws in light of the massive drug wars that have killed about 60,000 people in Mexico.
Sandy Relief Bill Released - "The Disaster Assistance Supplemental provides $60.4 billion in discretionary funding. The emergency spending contained in this bill is equal to the President's request, and contains no earmarks. A summary of the legislation is provided below. The complete text of the Supplemental can be found here."
GOP pollsters - "The Republican 'Brand Needs Substantial Resuscitation ' Among Latino Voters" - From Univision's Emily DeRuy - http://abcn.ws/TVd4ov
Syria Launches Scuds at Rebels - http://abcn.ws/UUrTHP (Martinez)
U.S. Recognized Syrian Opposition, But Declares Some Rebels Terrorists - Alex Marquart and Dana Hughes report - The designation of the Syrian rebel group al-Nusrah Front as a terrorist organization at the same time the United States is formally recognizing Syria's Opposition Coalition is not a coincidence. The Obama administration wants to send a clear a message that while it supports Syria's Opposition Coalition to lead Syria's democratic transition if or when the Assad regime falls, there is no place for extremism in the country's future… In practical terms the designation means that Syrian opposition leaders will not be able to work with al-Nusrah and still receive U.S. support. The administration's announcement also served to "out" the group to Syrians who may be sympathetic, said the officials. "It means that as al-Nusrah Front tries to wrap itself in the legitimacy of the opposition that does reflect the Syrian's people desires, we have called them out, and for those who are seeking to support the legitimate opposition of the Syrian people, we have drawn a bright line," said an official. http://abcn.ws/SRlSJX
Is American Detained in North Korea? - State Department Vague - http://abcn.ws/Sdvulm (Hughes and Parnass)