WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And it's
the beginning of the week, and
so we are joined now by our

regular Politics Monday duo,
Amy Walter of The Cook Political
Report and Tamara Keith

of NPR.

Welcome to you both.

AMY WALTER, The Cook
Political Report: Thank you.

TAMARA KEITH, National
Public Radio: Thank you.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Before we
get to Alabama and policy and
all that stuff, let's talk

about Sean Spicer and his little
cameo last night on the Emmys.

For those who didn't see it,
he comes out, and it seems
like he's trying to poke fun

at his first day of the job,
President Trump's inauguration.

He comes out and, all
evidence notwithstanding,
he says that president
had the biggest audience

ever in the entire
history of the universe.

And then that was
his declaration.

And he pointed his finger
at the journalists and
told them, report this.

Last night, during the Emmys,
Stephen Colbert is wondering
about the size of his audience.

And out comes Sean Spicer.

Let's take a look at that.

(LAUGHTER)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

SEAN SPICER, Former White House
Press Secretary: This will be
the largest audience to witness

an Emmys, period, both in
person and around the world.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: What
do you make of that?

AMY WALTER, The Cook
Political Report: You know,
this is life imitating art.

Right?

He was actually channeling
Melissa McCarthy, who you see
there, who was making fun of him

in her "Saturday
Night Live" skit.

Look, this, to me, is a sign
about where we are more broadly
as a culture, which is, there

is no such thing as having
bad publicity or notoriety.

You can always cash in on it.

And it's very short-lived.

So, the name Sean Spicer is one
that most people know today.

It's hard to know that
it's going to be the
same a year from now.

So, take it while
you can get it.

Take it to the bank.

A lot of other Trump supporters,
his former campaign manager,
for example, got fired,

and then ended up as a CNN
commentator, is a lobbyist now.

So, people trying to use
their cache while they
can here in Washington.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Tam, what
do you think about this?

Is this us not being
able to take a joke?

Or is this us, as many people
have argued, that we're being
encouraged to chuckle at

the idea that it's just fine
for the press secretary to
lie to the American people?

TAMARA KEITH: Well, this is
Sean Spicer's rehabilitation
tour, his image rehabilitation

tour.

He also went on the Jimmy Kimmel
show, and then today, in an
interview with The New York

Times, said that he regretted
that press conference
where he came out and
told reporters, report

the facts that
were not the facts.

They were alternate facts.

And that was sort of the
original sin of his entire
time as press secretary.

He came out and said something
that was unverifiably untrue.

And it led to further questions
about whether what he said was
true, whether what was said

from the podium in the
White House press Briefing
Room, which has typically
had some connection

to reality, whether that
could be trusted from
this administration.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Some
connection to reality.

I love that.

OK, let's talk about the
runoff next Tuesday in Alabama,
very big Senate runoff race.

AMY WALTER: Right.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Roy
Moore and Luther Strange.

What is at stake in
that particular race?

AMY WALTER: Well, these
are two Republicans that
are challenging each other.

And what's interesting here
is, it is the choice between
which Alabamans are going to

like more.

Or their choice is between
loving Trump more or
whether they dislike
Mitch McConnell more.

That is what they
get a choice between.

Roy Moore is the outsider.

He is a former state
Supreme Court judge.

He has been kicked off the bench
twice now, but he's running
as the anti-establishment,

anti-Washington firebrand.

Luther Strange is in a Strange
position, which is, he's been
endorsed both by Donald Trump,

and Donald Trump is coming down
on Saturday to campaign for him.

But he also has the
support of Mitch McConnell
and the leadership.

So, really, what we're looking
for here is, how strong
is the Trump connection?

Can support from Trump, the
president, coming down, giving
outward, in this case a rally,

outward support, enough support
to overcome what voters'
reticence, especially in a place

like Alabama, for the
establishment -- Roy
Moore, polling has
shown him ahead, some by

bigger margins, some by smaller.

So, Luther Strange, who is the
incumbent right now -- he was...

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The interim.

AMY WALTER: ... the interim
here, replacing Jeff Sessions,
starts off as the underdog.

The real question for
Republicans, what really
is at stake, two things.

One, if Roy Moore wins and
comes to the United States
Senate, the fear from
Republican establishment

people like Mitch McConnell
is, he's another rogue agent.

They have very few votes
that they can lose.

They only have a
52-seat majority.

They can't afford somebody else
who goes off on his own tangent.

And the second is, it may
encourage, if he succeeds, it
may encourage other candidates

to challenge sitting
Republican incumbents.

That's not something
they want to deal with.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, Tam, the
president can read the polls.

He must know, even if he
prefers Strange, that he might
be backing the guy who ends

up losing.

Like, why is the president
-- why is he willing to
risk capital on this?

TAMARA KEITH: I haven't
quite figure that out,
to be perfectly honest.

It's a big question.

And the other thing is,
President Trump is doing
what Mitch McConnell
wanted him to do,

which is endorsing Strange
and working for Strange.

But the flame keepers
of President Trump's,
you know, agenda, the
Steve Bannons, the Sean

Hannitys, they have
all endorsed Moore.

And so it's this really bizarre
fight for, you know, who is
the really -- the true Trump

candidate, the guy who Trump
endorsed or the guy that all
of Trump's allies endorsed?

And I don't know how this is
going to turn out and what it
will mean for President Trump's

political capital.

The interesting thing
is, in this case, he's
for the incumbent,
whereas, in some other

states, he's talking
about wanting to primary
the incumbent Republican.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Right.

AMY WALTER: Yes.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Right.

Let's talk about
health care quickly.

The GOP, it seems like, are
taking one last stab at putting
the dagger in the Affordable

Care Act with the
Graham-Cassidy bill.

Why are they pushing for this?

AMY WALTER: It's
about a deadline.

That's usually what gets
people motivated in Washington,
is, they look and they see,

we only have a certain
amount of time.

In this case, September 30 is
the last day that Republicans
can pass a health care bill

with just 50 votes under
this reconciliation deal.

After that, they have
got to get 60 votes.

So this is really the time
to be able to do this.

Talking to folks who cover
this today, there is a great
deal of skepticism that this is

going to happen.

It's pretty clear that the
folks that held out on the
first version, John McCain, Lisa

Murkowski, Susan Collins, Rand
Paul, are not committed to this.

Rand Paul has already
come out publicly and
said he's not for it.

So, still, I wouldn't say
it is impossible, but it's
-- the odds are longer.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM:
Last to you, Tam.

On the Democratic side, you have
seen Bernie Sanders has been
pushing his Medicare-for-all

plan.

We just saw Hillary Clinton
express some skepticism
about that, sort of
implying that it wasn't

that realistic.

But yet a lot of Democrats,
including many who are thought
of as 2020 contenders for

the presidency, are
signing onto this.

So, why are they risking
capital on something that
may never go anywhere?

TAMARA KEITH: Well, and
Bernie Sanders says this
bill is not going anywhere.

They, I think, see this as a
way to send a signal, to say
that they care about health

care.

And they're not talking about
what's practical and pragmatic.

They aren't at that stage yet.

It's -- 2020 is a long way off.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Tamara Keith,
Amy Walter, thank you very much.

AMY WALTER: You're welcome.

TAMARA KEITH: You're welcome.