The White House launched a messaging drive this week that $40 dollars a week buys a heck of a lot for a lot of people--and that's what is at stake for a lot of wage earners if the Social Security payroll tax cut was not extended. A small break adds up, that's the message of "Seven and a Half Cents" from the musical "Pajama Game." That's Doris Day (above) in the 1957 movie version. Lyrics below.

WASHINGTON -- President Obama, bothered by comparisons to Star Trek's unemotional Mr. Spock, pushed back on that narrative -- as he scored a win Thursday over Republicans who botched handling one of their core issues -- tax breaks.

Obama told ABC News' Barbara Walters -- in an interview to be broadcast on Friday's "20/20" show -- that the biggest misconception about him is that he is "detached, or Spock-like, or very analytical."

"People who know me know that I am a softie. I mean, stuff can choke me up very easily. The challenge for me is that in this job I think a lot of times the press or how you come off on TV people want you to be very demonstrative in your emotions. And if you're not sort of showing it in a very theatrical way, then somehow it doesn't translate over the screen," Obama said in the interview taped Dec. 15.

So it was something to see Obama lose his Spock on Thursday as he vented at a White House event whipped up to pressure House Republicans over the Social Security payroll tax cuts, due to expire Dec. 31. A few hours later, there was a deal.

Obama wanted House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to persuade his hard-line GOP colleagues to go along with a Senate stopgap measure to extend the Social Security payroll tax cut another two months. This latest episode of Washington gridlock was remarkable because Obama and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) were in rare agreement.

Said a frustrated, unusually emotive Obama, "This is an issue where an overwhelming number of people in both parties agree. How can we not get that done? I mean, has this place become so dysfunctional that even when people agree to things we can't do it? It doesn't make any sense."

The Senate on Saturday -- in an 89-10 bipartisan roll call -- passed a compromise bill to extend payroll tax breaks and unemployment benefits and advance the controversial Canada/U.S. Keystone pipeline.

(Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) voted yes on extending the tax break. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) voted no.)

The problem was getting the House Republicans to go along. The White House cranked up a publicity and messaging campaign coordinated with the Democratic National Committee and Democratic lawmakers.

Anyone who receives a paycheck got a break in 2011 by paying less Social Security tax. For someone who earns $106,000, the cut was worth about $2,000; for a $50,000 earner, about $1,000.

In order to make the argument more populist, the White House calculated that the break was worth $40 "for a typical American family." And in doing what they do best, the White House collected stories from thousands of people these past days about what $40 meant to them.

The what-does-$40-buy gambit was evocative of lyrics in a famous song from the 1950s Broadway musical "The Pajama Game," where workers in a pajama factory were seeking a 7.5-cents-an-hour raise:

I figured it out

I figured it out

Backed in a corner, the House Republicans finally figured it out.

WASHINGTON--House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) wants Congress to pass a one-year renewal on the Social Security payroll tax hike and was critical of the Senate bill that punted with just a two month extension.

What will likely happen is the House will pass its version Monday night then go to conference with the Senate to try to hammer out the differences. Time is an issue; the Senators have gone home for winter break and the tax break expires on Dec. 31.

The Senate two-month fixed passed on an 89-10 vote Saturday. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) voted against extending the tax cut and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) voted for it. (post on Kirk vote is HERE)

At a Monday morning press conference, Boehner said, "Americans are tired of Washington's short-term fixes and gimmicks, which are creating uncertainty for job creators at a time when millions of Americans are out of work. Democrats and Republicans agree that the payroll tax cut needs to be extended for a full year. And to provide the kind of relief that Americans need in this struggling economy, the House last week passed a bill to do just that.

"But instead of passing the House bill or another bill which extended the payroll tax credit for a year, the Senate Democratic leaders passed a two-month extension of punting the problem into next year. We opposed the Senate bill because doing a two-month extension instead of a full-year extension causes uncertainty for job creators.

"I used to run a small business. I met a payroll. I hired workers. A two-month extension creates uncertainty, and will cause problems for people who are trying to create jobs in the private sector.

"The idea that tax policy can be done two months at a time is the kind of activity we see here in Washington that's really put our economy off of its tracks. Last week both chambers worked together to pass a full-year bill to fund our government, and I don't think this issue is any different. It's time to -- for Congress to do its work. No more kicking the can down the road.

"Tonight the House will vote on the Senate-passed bill. This is a vote on whether Congress will stay and do its work or go on vacation. I expect that the House will disagree with the Senate amendment and instead vote to formally go to conference, the formal process in which the House and Senate can resolve differences between the two chambers and between our two bills. And I expect the House to take up legislation that reinforces the need to extend the payroll tax relief for a full year rather than just two months, again to provide certainty for job creators.

"And I think the best way to resolve the difference between the two-month extension and a full-year bill is to follow the regular order here in Congress. When there's a disagreement between the two chambers, we sit down at a conference and resolve those differences. And that's exactly what I believe the House will do.

"The president has said repeatedly that no one should be going on vacation until the work is done. Democrat leaders in the House and Senate have said exactly the same thing. So I think it's time for the Senate Democrat leaders to follow the president's example, put their vacations on hold and work in a bipartisan manner to finish the nation's business."

The White House makes the case for the tax break.

WASHINGTON--Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) are at odds over whether a temporary paycheck tax cut due to expire at the end of the year -a break on Social Security payroll taxes--should be extended: Durbin is for continuing the break and Kirk is against it.

Congress is headed to a showdown on the issue. President Barack Obama is pushing for what was originally a one-year break to be continued.

The House, with GOP votes on Tuesday passed a measure to continue the Social Security payroll tax cuts--but only by packaging it with a mandate to build the controversial Keystone Canada-to-Texas pipeline. Senate Democrats are likely to reject the House linkage and Obama has threatened a veto.

Kirk, during a C-SPAN interview on Sunday said he is against using "Social Security as a cash cow for an economic stimulus." He is prepared to let the cuts expire because he does not want the U.S. to issue more debt to replace cash in the Social Security Trust Fund that was lost when folks in 2011 were able to pay less into it.

KEYSTONE: Kirk and Durbin are also potentially split over Keystone. Kirk is for construction of the pipeline because it will produce jobs. Durbin is against Keystone being included in a Social Security payroll tax bill. He backs Obama's position that a review of the pipeline is necessary--and will wait to see what that review concludes.

Everyone who gets a paycheck got to keep more of their own money in 2011 due to Social Security payroll tax cuts Obama pushed through. Those breaks expire at the end of December. Obama earlier this year proposed continuing the paycheck tax cuts and giving a break to employers who have to pay taxes for each employee. Now he has a battle just getting Congress to let the breaks live for another year.

Under a bipartisan deal Obama made with Congress in 2010 and starting in 2011, the deduction on your paycheck for Social Security -- often called a payroll tax -- was cut by 2 percent for a year. The rate workers kicked in dropped to 4.2 percent from 6.2 percent. The employers' contribution stayed the same -- 6.2 percent.

What does this mean to you? If you make $106,800 a year, the maximum saving is $2,136. (Social Security taxes are applied to only the first $106,800 of earnings.)

Let's look at it another way: If you make $500 a week, you get a $10 weekly tax cut. If you make $1,000 each week, your break is $20; a $1,500 weekly salary earner pays $30 less in payroll taxes.

WASHINGTON--Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn hits Washington Thursday to meet with federal officials and the Illinois congressional delegation.In the morning, Quinn appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" where he said the 14-year sentence for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges was "stern."

"It is a very stern sentence....It is a sad chapter and it is closed, the book is closed. "Illinois has to make sure that the world knows we have a reform governor who believes in honesty and integrity at all times," Quinn told "Morning Joe." Noting that former Gov. George Ryan was also in jail on corruption charges Quinn said, "we want to make sure this never happens again."

The office of Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in a statement, "during the informal meeting with delegation members, Quinn will discuss various Illinois priorities including the extension of unemployment insurance. Without quick action by Congress federal unemployment insurance will expire at the end of the year."

Earlier in the week, Quinn was in Los Angeles for a meeting of the Democratic Governors Association, where he serves on the leadership team.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) praised Chicago's former first lady Maggie Daley, who died Thanksgiving eve, in a speech from the Senate floor on Tuesday. Watch Durbin's tribute HERE. Durbin attended Mrs. Daley's funeral on Monday at St. Pat's and talked about the mass in his remarks.


Excerpts from Durbin's Senate floor speech: "Maggie Daley was an adopted daughter of Chicago, but no native-born Chicagoan could have loved the city more or served it better. Last May, as her husband Rich prepared to step down at Chicago's mayor, the Chicago Tribune ran an article about what Maggie Daley had meant to Chicago. The first paragraph put it well. It read: 'There has never been and may never be a Chicago First lady of greater impact, influence and inspiration as Maggie Daley.'

"Maggie Daley was smart, funny, tireless, amazingly modest and deeply compassionate. She was also an intensely private person. Yet she managed to touch so many people with her work and her example. The love Chicagoans feel for Maggie Daley was reflected in the faces of the people who waited in a line a block long to attend her wake at the Chicago Cultural Center, a public treasure she helped to restore."

WASHINGTON--The day before game one of the World Series, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and other senators are asking Major League Baseball to ban players from using tobacco products at games, especially smokeless or chewing tobacco.

"Tomorrow night, an expected 15 million viewers, including many children, will tune in to watch the first game of the series. Unfortunately, as these young fans root for their favorite team and players, they also will watch their on-field heroes use smokeless tobacco products," wrote Durbin and other senators to MLB executive director Michael Weiner.

"During the upcoming negotiations over the bargaining agreement, we write to ask that the Major League Baseball Players Association agree to a prohibition on the use of all tobacco products at games and on camera at all Major League ballparks. This would send a strong message to young baseball fans, who look toward the players as role models, that tobacco use is not essential to the sport of baseball."

click below for senators' letter...

Click below for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) Senate floor speech slamming Bank of America on new debit card fees imposed in the wake of the reduction of "swipe" fees, a measure Durbin has championed. "The banks are in an uproar!" Durbin said

UPDATED
CLICK BELOW FOR TRANSCRIPT

WASHINGTON--White House chief of staff Bill Daley is the subject of a long piece in Politico headlined "Bill Daley struggles to fix Barack Obama's slump," which also compares and contrasts Daley with Rahm Emanuel, the former chief of staff now Chicago's mayor.

The story is by Glenn Thrush, John Breshanhan and Amie Parnes and can be read HERE.

Excerpts from Politico....

On Daley and Congress...

"Daley's style is considerably more hands-off, people who work with him say, leaving much of the outreach to his able legislative affairs director Rob Nabors, Obama economic adviser Gene Sperling and budget chief Jack Lew, who all have decades of Hill experience."

On Emanuel...

"To be fair, Emanuel, who now terrifies and exhausts staffers in the Chicago mayor's office, was nobody's idea of a prototypical chief of staff, offering a flurry of ideas and criticisms, often absent any plan to actually implement them.
And he was no LBJ when it came to negotiating either, often willing to cut quick deals with conservative Democrats or Republicans rather than risk adverse consequences. That, in turn, put him at odds with many of his own party's tougher bargainers, especially then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a longtime ally who clashed with him repeatedly during Obama's first two years in office."

WASHINGTON--The Democratic National Committee holds its fall meeting in Chicago on Friday and Saturday, previewing the 2012 nominating convention a year away in Charlotte, rallying base constitutient groups and providing a rare glimpse of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in his role as Democratic Party of Illinois chairmain.

The DNC session comes as President Obama's and the DNC's mega donors and fund-raisers are also in Chicago for briefings from White House and campaign officials on Thursday and Friday. The Democrats are gathering Thursday night at the Obama 2012 headquarters in the Prudential Building to watch Obama's jobs speech before a joint session of Congress.

I'm told that some 300 DNC members plus staff will be in Chicago for the meeting at the Marriott, 151 W. Adams in the Loop.

Madigan was last in the political news because he attended a fund-raising for GOP House Speaker John Boehner in the Chicago suburb of Lemont last month, the Sun-Times reported. Apprarently there are no hard feelings because Madigan will be addressing the group, according to the DNC schedule. Madigan is a rarity among state Democratic chairmen because he rarely interacts with the DNC.

Other speakers include Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama's former White House chief of staff, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Steve Kerrigan, the CEO of the 2012 convention in North Carolina and DNC Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fl.). State Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago) is the DNC Hispanic Caucus chair.

WASHINGTON--Chicago's South Side long struggling Woodlawn neighborhood got a $30.5 million federal boost on Wednesday, as Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) and Mayor Rahm Emanuel join Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan to announce new help for the community.

UPDATED
Click below for release....

The Obama administration established a new policy on Thursday, virtually stopping deporting students who are in the U.S. illegally, taking steps even as Congress has resisted passing the DREAM Act, which would allow children of illegal immigrants a chance to stay in the U.S.

The announcement came from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and was applauded by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the chief sponsor of the DREAM Act and Rep Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), who has been increasingly critical of President Obama's record of stepped up deportations.

The White House is acting as Hispanic groups have been stepping up complaints; in Chicago, a group of immigration rights demonstrators blocked an entrance to a highway on Wednesday to protest Obama White House policies and its "Secure Communities" program. My post on the Secure Communities program--and the growing protests over it--and the White House defense-- is HERE.

White House Intergovernmental Affairs Director Cecila Munoz said in a statement, that DHS "announced that they are strengthening their ability to target criminals even further by making sure they are not focusing our resources on deporting people who are low priorities for deportation. This includes individuals such as young people who were brought to this country as small children, and who know no other home. It also includes individuals such as military veterans and the spouses of active-duty military personnel. It makes no sense to spend our enforcement resources on these low-priority cases when they could be used with more impact on others, including individuals who have been convicted of serious crimes."

In a letter to Durbin and other Senators, Napolitano wrote, "we have initiated an interagency working group to execute a case-by-case review of all individuals currently in removal proceedings to ensure that they constitute our highest priorities.

"The working group will also initiate a case-by-case review to ensure that new cases placed in removal proceedings similarly meet such priorities. In addition, the working group will issue guidance on how to provide for appropriate discretionary consideration to be given to compelling cases involving a final order of removal. Finally, we
will work to ensure that the resources saved as a result of the efficiencies generated through this process are dedicated to further enhancing the identification and removal of aliens who pose a threat to public safety.
"
This case-by-case approach will enhance public safety. Immigration judges will be able to more swiftly adjudicate high priority cases, such as those involving convicted felons," Napolitano wrote.

Durbin said in a statement, "If fully implemented, the new process should stop virtually all DREAM Act deportations.

"The Obama Administration has made the right decision in changing the way they handle deportations of DREAM Act students," Durbin said. "These students are the future doctors, lawyers, teachers and, maybe, Senators, who will make America stronger. We need to be doing all we can to keep these talented, dedicated, American students here, not wasting increasingly precious resources sending them away to countries they barely remember. The Administration's new process is a fair and just way to deal with an important group of immigrant students and I will closely monitor DHS to ensure it is fully implemented."

Gutierrez said in a statement, "I have been vocal in my criticism of the President and his Administration over the dramatic increase in deportations on his watch and have traveled the country urging him to use his power under existing law to do what he can to help. This is the Barack Obama I have been waiting for and that Latino and immigrant voters helped put in office to fight for sensible immigration policies. Focusing scarce resources on deporting serious criminals, gang bangers, and drug dealers and setting aside non-criminals with deep roots in the U.S. until Congress fixes our laws is the right thing to do and I am proud of the President and Secretary Napolitano for standing up for a more rational approach to enforcing our current immigration laws."

READ NAPOLITANO LETTER TO DURBIN OUTLINING NEW POLICY:
11-8949_Durbin_Dream_Act_response_08.18.11.pdf

READ JUNE LETTER FROM IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT DIRECTOR JOHN MORTON WITH PROPOSED NEW POLICY IMPLEMENTED THURSDAY HERE

READ MUNOZ LETTER HERE

WASHINGTON---In the wake of the Standard & Poor's downgrade--the first in U.S. history, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) called for Congress to return from its five-week vacation to deal with escalating borrowing. S & P cited the political wrangling over raising the debt ceiling as a part of its reason for lowering the nation's credit rating from AAA to AA+

Kirk tweeted, "President should recall Congress to reduce borrowing."

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who has been leading bi-partisan compromise efforts said in a statement the downgrade was partly the result of "political gamesmanship."

White House Press Secretary James Carney in a statement noted that the path to the deal to raise the debt ceiling took too long and at times was "too divisive."

READ THE STANDARD & POOR'S REPORT ON WHY THEY LOWERED THE U.S. RATING HERE

Statements below...

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



Statement from the Press Secretary

The President believes it is important that our elected leaders come together to strengthen our economy and put our nation on a stronger fiscal footing.
 
The bipartisan compromise on deficit reduction was an important step in the right direction. Yet, the path to getting there took too long and was at times too divisive. We must do better to make clear our nation's will, capacity and commitment to work together to tackle our major fiscal and economic challenges.
 
Over the past weeks and months the President repeatedly called for substantial deficit reduction through both long-term entitlement changes and revenues through tax reform, with additional measures to spark jobs and strengthen our recovery. That is why the President pushed for a grand bargain that would include all of these elements and require compromise and cooperation from all sides.
 
Over the coming weeks the President will strongly encourage the bipartisan fiscal committee as well as all members of Congress to put our common commitment to a stronger recovery and a sounder long-term fiscal path above our political and ideological differences.


DURBIN STATEMENT ON S&P DOWNGRADE OF US CREDIT RATING
[SPRINGFIELD, IL] - US Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the S&P downgraded the US credit rating from AAA to AA+:
"S&P's decision to downgrade the US credit rating due to our ongoing debt crisis is unfortunate and underscores the need for a balanced, bipartisan and comprehensive solution to the problem. In the coming weeks, a Joint Committee of Congress will begin its work to reach just such an agreement. Their work will be incredibly important and must balance spending cuts with revenue increases."

"Last night's downgrade is also a political one. Partisan gamesmanship over the debt has left global markets, rating agencies and the American public searching for stability. Until we agree that bipartisan leadership is the only path forward, our economy and America's faith in its leaders will continue to be at risk of downgrade."
Last year, Senator Durbin served on the President's Bipartisan Fiscal Commission and voted to support its debt reduction proposal. Since January, Durbin has worked with a bipartisan group of Senators, in a group known as the "Gang of Six," to craft a proposal to cut the nation's debt by $4 trillion over the next 10 years.
-30-

WASHINGTON--Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) loosened up some by wearing a purple tie when he guested Thursday on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but there just is not much humor in talking about the tense negotiations over raising the debt ceiling that led the nation to the brink of economic disaster.

Contrast that with Wednesday night, when Austan Goolsbee, the chairman of the White House Office of Economic Advisors was on the same show--his exit interview, pegged to his departure at the end of this week to return to the University of Chicago.

As Stewart noted, Goolsbee was, well, giddy at the prospect of getting home.

"I just feel bad. The president has to stay there," said Goolsbee, who has honed his wit in Washington these past years.

Durbin on Thursday seemed recovering from the brutal last weeks in Congress. No zingers on this segment, from the host or guest.

"What we have just seen was embarrassing," said Durbin of the partisan mess Congress made of dealing with raising the debt ceiling, faced with the Aug. 2 deadline. A deal was finally struck and President Obama signed the bill just-in-time on Tuesday.

Durbin served on the Bowles Simpson bi-partisan deficit commission and was one of the Senate's bi-partisan "Gang of Six." Durbin told Stewart all told, he's been working on bi-partisan stuff to deal with the debt and deficit for the past 18 months.

He had some advice for the 12-member joint committee created in the debt ceiling deal whose job it is to chop at least $1.2 trillion -or raise revenue--by Nov. 23.

Durbin said he's been to that movie. And "it always ends the same way."

WASHINGTON--Shame on Congress, going home for a five week vacation without reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration, forcing the furlough of some 4,000 FAA workers--including 145 in the Chicago area--and sidelining about 70,000 contractors employed on airport related construction projects.

What were the members of Congress thinking, to skip town, collect their paychecks and benefits while real people suffered because of a partisan disagreement over FAA policy?

Today--Thursday--congressional leaders announced a deal to people can get back to work. Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood helped broker the deal.

Earlier in the day I was at a session with other reporters and LaHood--a former House member from Peoria-- where he was urging Congress to come back and get to work. "This is not the way to run the best aviation system in the world," he said. LaHood said he has been working "24/7" to get a deal.

President Obama said in statement: I'm pleased that leaders in Congress are working together to break the impasse involving the FAA so that tens of thousands of construction workers and others can go back to work. We can't afford to let politics in Washington hamper our recovery, so this is an important step forward."


Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in a statement: "Extending FAA authorization will put an estimated 74,000 Americans back to work and help keep airports and air operations in Illinois and around the country safe. I support this extension.

"Congress' failure to reach a deal to extend FAA authorization before going home this week is no way to run a government. We can have our political battles, but we should not have them at the expense of working Americans."

"The most recent FAA authorization extension expired on July 23rd. Since then, the FAA has lost an estimated $200 million each week in fees paid by airlines into a trust fund that supports important airport infrastructure projects directly benefiting the flying public. Without authorization, the FAA cannot collect the funds from airlines, though there are reports that several airlines are still charging the fees and keeping the extra funds for themselves."

WASHINGTON -- Just before the Asian markets opened on Sunday night, President Obama announced a deal to raise the debt ceiling, avoiding what could have been a financial disaster come Monday morning.

I give Republicans credit for leveraging the debt ceiling vote -- they grabbed control of the agenda. "Big win, I think, for the Republicans. Don't tell the Democrats," a pithy Republican e-mailed me with a bottom-line analysis of who came out ahead.

Along the way, however, some GOP hard-liners could not take yes for an answer -- threatening our economy.

The Tea Party Republicans and other conservatives took the nation to the brink, pushing too close to the Aug. 2 default deadline for a deal that was not all that different than what had been on the table a few days ago.

The agreement -- with major spending reductions -- gives Republicans much of what they wanted while opening a rift with Democratic progressives for Obama because it puts cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid "entitlement" programs on the table while not at this time closing tax loopholes to generate more revenue.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) -- who had been adamant about not touching entitlements -- gave the deal a chilly reception, saying she will see "what level of support we can provide."

The House Democratic progressive caucus will meet Monday to study the proposals. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a progressive leader, told me she will have great difficulty backing a plan that cuts entitlements.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) -- the assistant majority leader -- has been taking heat from progressives because he has been regarded as one of them -- yet he has been willing to look at revamping entitlement programs.

"This deal is not perfect, nor the deal many of us would have made ourselves, but in the end and after weeks of partisan differences, both sides have come together and compromised to avoid an economic catastrophe," Durbin said in a statement.

Earlier on Sunday, I talked with Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) as the deal was taking shape as he emerged from the Senate chamber. "This was a 40-year culture of borrowing that changed in 40 days," Kirk said.

House Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) -- the freshman who has become a Tea Party leader -- whose profile soared during the past weeks of the debate over the deficit and debt ceiling -- announced Sunday he will vote against the bipartisan agreement.

"I have made it clear from day one that I will never vote in favor of a debt ceiling increase unless it fundamentally changes the way Washington, D.C., spends money. I believe the way to do that is by statutory spending caps and a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution."

If the hard-liners keep voting no, they will undermine their clout.

The uncompromising conservatives -- those in the House Republican Study Group -- were "completely overreaching," Kirk said and will find themselves "vastly muted" with "limited influence going forward."

Kirk/Bill Daley

Kirk told me White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley has been reaching out to him -- the latest on Saturday. "We talked quite a bit. He just wanted advice [on] what would work."

Kirk said they have been discussing the situation "every three or four days."

"He's a Chicago guy and we trust each other and I always wanted to be a friend of the Daley family as much as possible."

On Sunday:

NBC's "Meet the Press" - White House Chief of Staff William Daley Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Daley; Dick Durbin, D-Ill. .

Fox News Sunday" - Rep. Joe Walsh, R-Ill.

Contrasting views on the debt talk breakdown from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) top leaders in their chambers......

WASHINGTON -- In the ongoing deficit negotiations, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is at all the White House meetings and is one of the bipartisan "Gang of Six." Then there is freshman Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), who is a leading voice of anti-President Obama tea party conservatives.

Two Illinoisans, a study in contrasts.

Durbin, the number two leader in the Senate, is a voice of reason as an Aug. 2 default deadline looms -- willing to take on Democratic sacred cows of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. A deal, Durbin told Illinois reporters on a conference call Wednesday, "requires spending cuts, entitlement reform, and revenue -- all three."

Durbin knows what makes Congress work: getting enough votes on a piece of legislation to get it passed.

Walsh, who represents the northwest suburban 8th District, sees getting media attention a major part of his job. "I came here figuratively to scream from the mountaintop," Walsh told me in an interview.

And that he does. Walsh recorded a videotape earlier this month calling Obama a liar -- because Obama said that come Aug. 3, there won't be enough money to "guarantee" that the government could pay all its obligations. The Walsh "Obama is lying" video got a lot of play on cable political shows and on the Web.

Walsh just is not right. Said Durbin (and many others): "I will tell you, though, that it goes without saying, that if we default on our debt ceiling -- default on America's debt -- the reality is that for the month of August, we will have $172 billion in revenue to spend and $306 billion in obligations. And whoever is in charge -- the President, Secretary of the Treasury -- will then have to decide winners and losers."

On Tuesday, Walsh sparred with Chris Matthews on MSNBC's "Hardball," relishing the encounter so much that on Thursday he was sending out a fund-raising appeal to raise money off the contentious interview. Walsh said in his e-mail, "I need your help to stand up to the liberal media and Democrats."

Walsh won his seat last November in a surprise win over former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) by about 300 votes. No one saw him coming. "We believe we were elected to stop what [Obama] is doing," Walsh told me.

I asked him if he ever met the Illinois president. Said Walsh: "I met him once. He's tall."

Walsh -- as the other GOP budget hard-liners -- would like to first pass a balanced budget amendment before making any deal. The House on Tuesday did approve the GOP's "Cut, Cap and Balance" plan on a 234-to-190 roll call. But it has virtually no chance of passing the Senate and, in any event, Obama vowed to veto it.

"There are lots of options," Durbin said. Walsh is for none of them.

I asked Durbin what he would say to Walsh. "So I'd say to Congressman Walsh, default has its consequences. And one of those consequences is the inability of the government to meet its obligations."

Walsh conceded to me in our interview that the government can't run forever if there is a default on Aug. 2.

Walsh, in his self-appointed role as agitator, sees compromise as wrong.

Lawmakers run on platforms and pledges -- but they are not solo acts.

FOOTNOTE: Walsh told me he is going to run for re-election. He hasn't picked a district yet -- the Democratic Illinois mapmakers redrew the 8th district to make it more Democratic.

President Obama calls congressional leaders to the White House again Monday, including Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) the number two Senate leader--and hosts another press conference--second in a week-- where he wants to talk about the stalled deficit/spending talks.

Durbin talked about the impasse Monday morning on ABC's "Good Morning America" with host George Stephanopoulos.

Said Durbin--placing blame on Republicans (blame they don't accept)-- "I'm disappointed. Last Thursday, there was resolve through most of the leadership, Democrat and Republican, to do something serious and something large enough that would address our deficit in a -- in a serious way but in a coordinated way bringing everything on the table and being balanced.

"Unfortunately, over the weekend, Speaker Boehner said I can't deliver, I can't produce on my side. We also, of course, had Congressman Cantor in the Biden talks walk out at one point too. The Republicans have to stay at the table. They have to work with the Democrats. We both have to be willing to put things on the table and get this resolved."

Given that many Democrats are balking at touching Social Security and Medicare, Durbin was asked how a deal could be struck.

Said Durbin, "Well, I think that's why the president's told us roll up your sleeves and be prepared to stay and get the job done. There have been a lot of folks on the other side of the table who have said, well, maybe we need half a deal, maybe we need it for just a few months. And the president said no. He told us over and over again, we've heard your speeches, that this deficit is a moral crisis, is holding back our economic recovery, and we've got to give some certainty to the business community across America about our future.

"And if that's the case, we've got to stay, close the deal and get it done in a timely fashion so we don't danger the economy the way your reporter made a mention of earlier where interest rates could go up and hurt families and businesses all across the United States.

Stephanopoulos told Durbin "I have heard sources say the chance of getting a deal or no better than 50/50. Do you agree with that?

"No, I disagree with that," Durbin said, not offering odds. "I can tell you the president is determined to keep us there and make certain that we're focused on the fact -- the decisions we make in that room will affect families across America and decide whether this economy is going to recovery. If we falter, if we don't have sufficient political courage and will to get this done and this economy is going to be hurt, then it's going to fall on our shoulders."