New hope for ‘grand bargain’ after Obama dinner with Senate GOP

>>> good morning. there's new hope for a grand bargain after the president's dinner with republican senators. last night compromise was on the menu at the jefferson hotel , where president obama dined for more than two hours with a dozen republican senators, talking about ways both sides could finally move forward.

>> i think it was very good for the president to have that dinner, and i think he needs to do a whole lot more of that, because relationships matter, and building trust and confidence, knowing you're not going to get gamed is the way you get something done for the american people .

>> these are very difficult issues, but i think there's a real fatigue in just going from crisis to crisis. i think tonight was a good first step.

>>> a senior white house officials temperatures nbc news that the president greatly enjoyed the dinner and had a good exchange of ideas. he also picked up the tab. and the outreach will continue today. he's invited paul ryan and chris van hollen to lunch at the white house . let's bring in david serota, and politico chief investigative reporter ken vogel. gentlemen, good morning.

>> hey, chris.

>> good morning.

>> this is a bit of a departure for the president. he has urged to get more personal. next work he is making a rare visit to capitol hill , going to meet separately with the caucuses. will we look back potential six months from now and say it was a turning point in easing gridlock in washington?

>> i don't know if the president's outreach will be the turning point. in other words, i don't know if that's what's going to change the equation here. i do think your point about fatigue is a real one. i think that probably these senators, lawmakers are going home hearing from the constituents, bakley asking, what are you doing? what's happening there? i think it can only help that the president is doing this, but i'm not sure that that's what moves senators ease votes on questions as big as they're facing now.

>> let me go over what nbc news is reporting went on. apparently the president talked for a couple minutes, each senator had a chance to speak and the president responded. that was followed, we are told, by a pretty open discussion with the tone described as very positive, very productive. how do you think this plays into all of it, ken? you know, is this key? what about pressure from constituents? what about crisis fatigue?

>> yeah, i think that all those things, all the external factors, all the charm offensive, all the tactical maneuvers amount to very little in the grand scheme of things. they are big philosophical issues that have long divided the parties, this idea that republicans won't support additional revenue, which isn't just a philosophical issue in the abstract, we've seen them come out and say as a part of any grand bargain they will not support any -- and the idea that they'll be protective, and will be less than willing to come to the table with serious proposals for entitlement reform. no amount of dinner, of bread breaking of pressure from constituents is going to change that. particularly when you look at the timing of this, where the next sort of -- the window of opportunity po templeally closes they end of the summer when congress is likely going to have to raise the debt ceiling again. that comes right at a time when there are going to be primary challengers getting ready to go against particularly republicans who are in any way supportive of increased revenue. so i think just the outside pressure in that way, and the political pressure as well as the philosophical divide is just too vast.