Rubio No Vote; McCain in Hospital; Judicial Nominee Grilling.
CUOMO: All right, so they are going to get this done by Christmas or not? It seems like a forgone conclusion. And now the question is whether or not you see some of the issues about political opportunism, or is there really trouble in getting this vote done. Marco Rubio, for example, the senator, of course, from Florida, he says if you don't expand the child tax credit, he's a no. Mike Lee, another senator, is says maybe he will be. Then you have the health of two other senators also raising concerns. So let's get "The Bottom Line" with CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash. How do you see it?</s>DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Dicey. It is, right now, the whole notion of passing this must-pass bill is unclear. And I think at the end of the day, it is unlikely that Marco Rubio is going to want to be the guy to kill it for lots of reasons. First and foremost, he's a young man with ambition still far beyond the Senate, and he's likely just using the fact that he understands basic math and that if they lose his vote, they're in big trouble for leverage on an issue that he feels deeply about and also just in terms of the raw politics can use in the future. But, look, this is what happens when you have a very slim majority and you're trying to get a piece of major legislation through with only your party. It is -- it is down to the wire and it is really unclear how this is going to go. But I can tell you this, I have not talked to one Republican on any part of the GOP spectrum, guys, who has not told me that this is nothing short of political life or death for their party and, more importantly, for the majority. If they can't get this done, it means they didn't get any major legislation done in the first year in office -- excuse me, the first year of total Republican control and that it's going to be very hard to go back home to their districts and to their states and face their constituents.</s>CAMEROTA: Dana, of course, we're thinking about Senator John McCain. We're concerned. We hear that he's at Walter Reed getting additional treatment for some side effects from the cancer treatment. Do you have any reporting on how he's doing?</s>BASH: He's not doing well, which is why they decided to admit him into Walter Reed. Look, he is in his fourth or fifth round of very aggressive treatment since being diagnosed at the end of July with very aggressive brain cancer. And it takes a toll. Anybody who has known anybody, and, unfortunately, that's far too many of us, who has been diagnosed with cancer knows that it is often the treatment, the very, very strong, toxic treatment used to try to kill the cancer that also really, really hurts your body and everything that goes along with it. So he is in the hospital. Some people who I have talked to who are close to him have said that, you know, they had wished that he had kind of taken a breath and taken a step back before instead of going to work pretty much every day while getting the treatment, even though he did not feel well, a lot of those days. But that's John McCain. That's the way he is. He didn't want to hear it. He wanted to go to work. He didn't want to miss a vote. Now he's being forced to.</s>CUOMO: Let me ask you something else about this, just so people understand. Whether it's John McCain or Thad Cochran from Mississippi, is there any allowance for proxy voting or non-in person voting?</s>BASH: No. No. There is no allowance for non in-person voting. I've never seen it. It isn't part of the rules, which is why -- well, first of all, in the case of Thad Cochran, he, according to his office, had some outpatient surgery for a melanoma, and that he -- they hope that he will be in a position to be able to vote next week. With John McCain, it just -- it -- they're taking it day-to-day, frankly, hour-to-hour. But if he -- if John McCain really wants to get in there and vote, he's local. He doesn't have to get on a plane. He has to get into a car. If he's well enough and wants to make a difference on this and wants to be sort of the hero for Republicans as opposed to on Obamacare where he was the hero for Democrats, you can be sure that he's going to do what he can to make that happen.</s>CAMEROTA: Dana, we want to ask you about this moment that has gone viral from a committee hearing, I assume Judicial Committee hearing yesterday, where Senator Kennedy was trying to ask one of President Trump's judicial nominee, I think for district judge, some questions about cases, legal cases. Here it is.</s>SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R), LOUISIANA: Can you tell me what the Doughbare (ph) standard is?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Kennedy, I don't have that readily at my disposal.</s>KENNEDY: Just for the record, do you know what a motion in limine is?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would probably not be able to give you a good definition right here at the table.</s>KENNEDY: OK. Do you know what the Younger Abstintran Doctrine (ph) is?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have heard of it. But, I, again, that --</s>KENNEDY: No. How about the Pullman Obstention Doctrine (ph)? You're going to see --</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard --</s>KENNEDY: You all will see that a lot in federal court. OK.</s>CAMEROTA: OK, these were not gotcha questions from a Democrat. This was Senator Kennedy trying to ask questions. Why was Matthew Spencer Peterson (ph) so ill prepared?</s>BASH: It's very hard to understand why he was so ill prepared?</s>CUOMO: And just to be clear, some of those doctrines are a little arcane.</s>BASH: Yes.</s>CUOMO: A motion in limine is obviously Latin and it's somebody everybody learns their first week or so in law school. It's just about a motion outside the jury. You know, where you're going to decide what testimony they can hear or not. That was surprising, Dana.</s>BASH: Well, this morning you thought I was a doctor. I'm not a lawyer either. But I'm glad that you are because this --</s>CAMEROTA: But you do play one on</s>TV. CUOMO: But you did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. So, go for it.</s>BASH: But, no. But what you said is really important because you are a lawyer and you know that, you know, that these things are really basic. Look, I think this speaks to a very big question, a very big issue. Number one, this is why checks and balances exist. This is why the Senate is supposed to make sure that a person who is going to have a lifetime appointment on a federal bench is qualified. But, also, I can tell you that this is a big fear of -- as you can see there, Republicans and Democrats because now there is no filibuster on these nominees. If Republicans are OK with these nominees, then they get through with a simple majority vote. And that's thanks to Democrats who changed the rules.</s>CAMEROTA: Dana, thank you. You fooled us. We thought you were a doctor and a lawyer. So, thank you.</s>CUOMO: Doctor, counselor, thank you.</s>BASH: If only -- if only, my mother would be so happy.</s>CUOMO: They couldn't be more proud. I know your father. They could not be more proud.</s>CAMEROTA: Thanks so much for "The Bottom Line." Time for CNN "NEWSROOM" with Poppy Harlow. It will pick up after this very quick break. Have a great weekend.