McConnell snubs White House invite

>>> now let's get some rapid-fire response from the panel on these stories. republican leaders, mcconnell and boehner , they are snubbing president obama 's invitation to attend tonight's state different. and sarah palin 's unpopularity hits an all-time high, but of course, the tea peat partiers they still love her. with us tonight, bill press, nationally syndicated radio talk show host and with us tonight, john feehery, republican strategist and president of quinn gillespie communication. gentlemen, good tough with us tonight. the state different, john, i got to go to you first here tonight, i know where you stand on this, but, you know this is now not boehner it is mcconnell it is the whole republican clan that doesn't want anything to do with the country that we absolutely have to do business with. can you defend them on this?

>> there is only one slight problem with your story, ed, and that is harry reid is also not going. the senate majority leader. so the fact is this --

>> he is out of town, but that's okay.

>> mitch mcconnell just got back from pakistan and he is in ken keep. john bayer has other things going on. this is not a snub of the president. this is not a snub of the chinese. the fact of the matter is that harry reid is the guy who called the chinese president a dictator. you know, this is not really -- you're making -- manufacturing a story where there really is so no story, ed.

>> they not there after being invited. i didn't manufacture the invitation and not telling boehner and mcconnell , you know what they had to do, not going to listen to me on that issue, that is for sure. the fact of the matter is they have to be part of the equation if we are going to create jobs in this country and deal with china, deal with the issues this mr. paul just talked b.

>> john boehner 's meeting with the president -- president hu tomorrow. he is meeting with him. so, this is a -- the fact of the matters is the republicans understand you got to positively engage with the chinese.

>> look, look, nobody manufactured this dinner tonight, john.

>> a story.

>> i want to go you one further, john. i think harry reid ought to be there i think mitch mcconnell ought to be there and i think john boehner ought to be there. there are certain duties and responsibilities that come with the territory. i think it is important. nancy pelosi , by the way, nobody has been a bigger critic over the years of the chinese than nancy pelosi . she is there she knows that, i think, it is important to show a bipartisan face for the united states when you're entertaining a head of state. now, john bainers a problem is that this is three in a row for him. accident go to the dinner for india, he was invited, not to the one for mexico or this one. you don't like the ceremony, john, why are did you run for speaker?

>> bill, he hasn't been to one of these -- been at one of these dinners his life, 2007 . he doesn't do these things. it is not that big of a deal it is really not that big of a deal.

>> the deal with china it is not a big deal to deal with china?

>> it is a big deal to deal with china, missing this dinner is not that big of a deal.

>> this is the united states on display.

>> not going to make any business arrangements that the dinner. this is just ceremony.

>> ed, chris christie is at this dinner tonight, republican governor of new jersey . if he can come down from trenton, john boehner can come down from capitol hill .

>> gentlemen, how aggressive should president obama be with the chinese president when it comes to trade, when it comes to cheating on trade agreement , when it comes to currency manipulation what do you think?

>> i think he should be very tough, he should be very tough on intellectual property, stealing our patents, stealing our movie, stealing our -- all kinds of products we bring in. we need to be very tough on that. i think we need to be tough on currency manipulation. i think that is a big problem.

>> bill, what do you think?

>> listen, i have got to agree with john on this one and disappointed today on the human rights issue, ed. i was there at this news conference, seeing the video of it now and i was disappointed the president didn't mention the win with over the nobel peace prize last year -- this year not allowed to go to norway bus he is sitting in a prison cell in china and i think he should a directly confronted president hu about this.

>> bill is absolutely right. that was an outrage they kept that guy in jail, something should be said about that.

>> all right, john feehery, sarah palin , she is going in the tank in the ratings, except for the tea partiers. is she going to be able to politically recover? you're a strategist, what do you think?

>> that is a great question. i don't know what she is trying to do i don't know if she wants to be a rate show star or a serious political leader. she seems to be making movements in both directions. you know, she has got some work to do independent voters can't stand her. obviously, more moderate republicans have problems, women voters have problems with her. she is going to -- if she wants to become a political leader in this country, she needs to go beyond her tea party base.

>> bill press, unfavorability rating an all time high, sitting now at 56%.

>> yeah ed.

>> can she recover between now and probably the next six months is when she is going to have to make a serious move to run for the nomination for the republicans. can she do it?

>> not if she continues the way she is, ed. i think only sarah palin and sean hannity are -- failed to realize that she really blew it with that video. i mean, the " washington post " poll, 78% say president obama responded well after tucson. 36% caesar rah page. ed, i said this the other night on your show, she has got to decide that she is going to move beyond the fridge only. she happens