<p>BRIT HUME, HOST: Both political parties praise President Bush's handling of the war, but when it comes to domestic issues, such as an economic stimulus package, there have been sharp differences. For the Republican perspective, we're joined now by the Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott. Also here with questions, my Fox News colleague Fred Barnes, executive editor of the Weekly Standard. Good morning, Senator. Nice to have you. SEN. TRENT LOTT, R-Miss., MINORITY LEADER: Good morning, Brit. Glad to be with you again. HUME: What are you going to do about making a deal on a stimulus package when the Senate majority leader, Senator Daschle, says that anything that is agreed to by him and his team must be acceptable to two- thirds of the Democrats? He says that's not unusual to deal with it in that way. What do you say? LOTT: Well, clearly, I think he made a mistake by saying that in a way that it was taken to mean that that was the actual number, the literal number. I'm believing and hoping that it was just a figurative speech. But we need to get a bill that's broadly supported. I think he caused problems by saying, oh, I got to have two-thirds of my caucus. I mean, you're going to have to do that with all four caucuses. But here's the point. There's only two things we have to do before the end of the year absolutely. Number one, get the defense appropriations bill done so the president, the commander in chief, can sign that bill so we'll have the money for our men and women in the field, on the sea and in the air. We finally got that passed Friday night after a war over efforts by Senator Byrd and others to add a lot more money for non-defense issues. The other thing we need to do is to deal with the economic stimulus package. How do you get it done? I think that the four leaders in the Congress, the bipartisan leadership, should come together and say, enough of the positioning, and tell our negotiators we want a product by 5 o'clock Wednesday of this coming week. Do it, or if you can't come together then we'll just have to move on.</p>
