in the corporate hierarchy, he still visits 200 hotels per year. and he shows no signs of slowing down. that's it for today. have a great week. we'll see you next "fox news sunday." this week on the "journal editorial report," president obama reacts to the midterm by moving left and ramping up his rule by regulation from immigration to climate change to control of the internet. we'll preview the coming confrontations with the new congress. plus, the supreme court takes up another obamacare challenge as one of the chief architects sparks outrage with controversial comments. and tensions rise as russian troops and tanks pour over the ukraine border. what is vladimir putin's next move?

welcome to "the journal editorial report." i'm paul gigot. if there was a question to the president's midterm response, it was answered this week with the administration making it clear it's moving left and ramping up its rule by regulation. and from a china climate deal to imminent executive action on immigration, the president and his party seem to be set on a collision course with the new republican congress. so how should the gop respond in let's ask wall street jushl columnist and deputy editor, james freeman and washington columnist, kim strassel. kim, most president who is take a beating in the midterm election, do they either sound contrite or they move to the middle or both? this president doesn't seem to be doing that. what is the white house calculation and so directly confronting congress in so many areas? >> i think the argument here is that the president has taken on is that he believes that they didn't lose this election

because the voting public disapproved of them. they lost it because they didn't turn out their base. they didn't do enough to energize their side. and so he's going to run out and he's doing climate environmental issues, he's going to do immigration to talk to hispanics and the idea is to rally up his base and get them on board on the path to 2016. >> so they don't think that obama's popularity was at all an issue here in they think it is basically what the president put in the conference to the two-thirds of the public who didn't vote. i heard you and we'll mobilize those for the next time. and they do that by basically saying to the republican congress, we don't care what you do, i'm going to do what i want to do. >> nancy pelosi said this in her press conference and said, republicans didn't win because people approve of republican policies. we just had a bad night. >> that was a bad night all right. okay. all right. >> they are delusional.

colorado, a state we talked about a lot on this show, senator mark udall ran on climate change. marx mark udall lost because cory gardner talked about benefits from energy and the economy. so it's not as though their message did not get out, it's that in these elections they lost. and as kim is suggesting, they now think it's because their base didn't vote. >> and james, immigration looks like that will be one of the early new regulations and an executive order to provide amnesty, stop deporting up to as many as 6 million people. we'll have to wait to see the details. what is the president's calculation here? because in my view, that will really make it very hard to get any kind of durable reform out of this congress? >> well, i guess depending on whether you think it is delusional or cynical, the

collation is we've got to get the minority turnout and the hispanic turnout. we the democrats back to where it was in previous years. i think his calculation is, so what if i can get a deal and solve the immigration problem with the republicans, the better plight politically is to force them into an argument where they once again sound like the anti-immigrant party. other than that cynical political calculation, i don't see how anyone can think this is a right move. >> it doesn't solve the incentive for coming over, you want to give a guest worker program flexibility and then go back based on labor demand. and they are not solving the problem for agricultural workers or solving the problem for high-tech workers or stem of engineering and science degrees. nothing like that. >> and the republicans in both the house and senate, the leadership has said, i think just about every way they know

how, a lot of those things can get done in a big bill but a piece bill, they they can get the bill that way. >> that may not be too strong of a word in the republican ranks with them all divided in how to respond with people saying let's use the power of the purse to cut off funds which he would veto to lead to a shutdown. how do you think the republicans will respond and what should they do? >> i'm in the cynicism camp with james here. this is why he did it. he did it to divide them. >> kim, you weren't cynical before you went to washington. >> it's your fault, paul. you sent me down here. but look, they are going to have to -- that's the most important thing what you just said, they have to retain unity in the party and have a strategy for going forward. the best thing they can do is go out and criticize this as extralegal authority, talk about as you just did the fact that this is not solving the problem for hispanics and then get to

work on the actual immigration law. maybe done in a piece-meal fashion and send it to him that does solve the problems and dare him to not accept what they have sent him. >> all right. i don't have a lot of confidence that the republicans are going to act like that, but we also have the democrats basically re-electing their leadership. nancy pelosi on the house and harry reid on the senate. >> bringing elizabeth warren into the leadership. >> the popular senator who doesn't like banks. >> but she is a tremendous fund-raiser for the party and a lot of this is going to be about raising political money. if the republicans react and go nuts, then they're going to say to their base, send us money to drive him out of office. >> quickly, james, with the keystone pipeline vote harry reid discovered an urgent need to have in the lame duck session after blocking it for two to four years, is that going to save mary landrieu in louisiana? >> i kind of doubt it and it sounds like we're going to get a veto out of the white house.

the president dismissing this that we get no benefit from the massive pipeline down to our refinery in the south. >> especially because it will carry north dakota oil, too. >> right. still ahead, it's back. obamacare returns to the headlines as the supreme court agrees to hear a fresh challenge to a key part of the controversial law. and its chief architect tells the truth about the administration's view of the american voter. patented sonic technology with up to 27% more brush movements. get healthier gums in two weeks. innovation and you philips sonicare save when you give philips sonicare this holiday season.

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wnchts the supreme court announcing last week it will review a centerpiece of the affordable care act and decide this term whether the obama administration is improperly providing insurance to the federal tax exchanges. that is three separate comments

about voter stupidity were key to the law's passage. he's just one of jonathan gruber's comments. >> this bill was written in a way to make sure that the mandate of taxes is in a healthy law which means healthy people will pay in and sick people get money. that would not have passed. lack of transparency is a huge political advantage and calls the stupidity of the voter or whatever, but that was really critical to get anything to pass. >> we are back with dan hettinger and joe rago joining the panel. joe, you can be cynical but just can't keep up no matter how cynical you get. you can keep your policy if you like it. you can keep your doctor if you like it. it will reduce costs. it's not a tax. and it will reduce the budget deficit. all promises on which this law was sold. all false. so we knew that, though, okay?

at least those of us who condemned to follow this on a daily basis knew this. what importance politically are the gruber admissions going to provide? >> look, nobody likes to be called stupid. which is part of the reason these comments have gotten so much attention. but i think the real reason is that he's being candid about what the law does. he's saying there are all kinds of higher taxes, liberal policies for redistribution, for example, embedded in insurance policy after obamacare. he's talking about it openly and people are starting to notice. >> so all hail the honest man? >> he sounds like he writes for "the wall street journal" page. >> enrollment started this weekend with the remark getting wide publicity. the average person thinking about signing up for the coverage for this must wonder whether they're stupid to do so. it's created lot of doubts in people's minds.

and especially now that you've gotten the supreme court agreeing to take a case over the constitutionality of the exchanges. that has also thrown the future of the law into doubt for a while. so this thing is really going to be trading water now for at least six months until the court decides the case. >> those voters that he's celebrating how he fooled them, you know, a lot of them didn't buy it. they put scott brown in ted kennedy's old seat in massachusetts and the republicans had a historic sweep right after the law was passed. it's amazing to think how unpopular this thing would have been if its marketers had told the truth about it. >> well, they always thought the popularity of this would turn around once the subsidies kicked in. that really hasn't happened, well over 50% of the public still doesn't like the law. what about this supreme court case, joe? it challenges the subsidies that are provided through the federal exchange because it looks at the statute to say that the law

provided through an exchange established by the states. so what is the -- how important is this case and could it up-end the law? >> it is very important. i mean, unlike the previous health care cases of the individual mandate to buy health insurance policy or pay a penalty, there's no real constitutional issue here. >> the black law interpretation. >> the real importance of this case is if they vacate the subsidies in the 36 states, lit throw the law back to congress, reopens the debate and republicans can say, look, we want to help you fix this problem, but we also want to fix all these other problems caused by the law you passed. >> we don't know what the supreme court will do. one of my judicial sources, legal sources, says that it's probably a 75% chance they will

overturn the federal exchange subsidies, justice roberts and justice kennedy being the two swing votes as usual. >> what i think we'll see here, paul, is it will get ugly. there's an unprecedented attempt to intimidate justices on the court. for example, the newark public magazine had a headline this week that said, "supreme court is now a death panel." what that means is if they rule against the law, a lot of people have no access to insurance and will die. that's the tenure pushed at the court. >> the republic or "new york magazine." >> i believe "the new republic." >> okay. >> that's really the significant of the gruber comments. this is pretty clear in the law that the administration should lose. the subsidies should not go to the exchanges. but the question has been, kennedy and roberts, again, do they have the political stand to

go against the pressure. and that pressure just got a lot tough we are the architect of the law basically admitting to lie to push it through. >> how should republicans respond? >> i think they have a few options. i think they should say, look, we've got our own plan that involves -- after that, they've got a response to those who ten terribly losing subsidies to liber liberals. and what is vladimir putin preparing for and how will the west respond? est [ female announcer ] crest presents 3d white whitestrips for the holidays.

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we used 80 pounds of russian equipment, primarily russian tanks, russian artillery, russian air defense systems and russian combat troops entering ukraine. forces, money, support, supplies, weapons are flowing back and forth across this border completely at will. and that is not a good situation. >> general phillip breedlove confirming russian military equipment and combat troops have been seen streaming across the border to eastern ukraine in recent days. and officials fear the build-up ahead of a renewed military action. and the end of the two--month-old cease-fire agreement. the wall street journal editorial board member matt

kominsky is here following all things vladimir putin. so what is putin's game here? >> putin is back on the war track. i think that's very clear. what we changed in the last two months since they signed the cease-fire in early september is that he was very upset by the outcome of the elections in ukraine, which saw a sweep by pro-western parties then. he was a bit frustrated that he can't give the europeans divided and give up on sanctions. i'm going to give back and rearm these guys in eastern ukraine and am looking to push toward crimea very soon or he'll have to wait until next spring when the weather gets better. >> he wants to keep that land bridge or establish a land bridge from russian proper all the way across to crimea so they don't have to reopen force crimea by air. >> and he's building up an armed fortress or operating base in

the east to be a con strant threat to the new pro-western government in ukraine itself. >> and i assume his conclusion is that the u.s. and europe will simply lack the will to respond forcefully enough. >> well, yeah, especially since he invaded europe 40 times. the sweeps think they found a sub in their waters, undoubtedly russian. they just reported the lowest wage of growth since 2000. the rouble is very low. they are experiencing capital flight at home, which makes him more dangerous because he has to figure out a way to take the minds of the russian people off their own problems and cokops trait on the other problems occurring. >> if the u.s. and europe did you night to really increase sanctions and put the pressure on, how would that affect putin's mentality?

>> i think there's danger here of the corner rat syndrome. that he'll be more dangerous because he is feeling a bit desperate. he also is not a map who is very flexible. >> wouldn't it increase -- wouldn't it increase the domestic pressure on putin? if the economy is in a recession, if you get inflation becaus falling, which you are already, you are in capital fight to hurt investment and the economy. won't that hurt his approval rating domestically? >> but the way the political system works, he's neutralized the independent players in business and politics who have been put in jail or forced into exile. he's now relying on a circle of the security services, the military and kjb. and he can suffer through a lot of pain because this being the war president in russia, i think he's decided is the way that he has his regime survive. >> the other thing from the west that we can do is arm ukraine. they voted recently to accepted

lethal arms to ukraine. president obama doesn't support that strategy. is this something that the congress should just force on president obama, pass it and then decide if he wants to veto it? >> absolutely. i think they should. the former u.s. ambassador to you cape said to give them anti-tank weapons to fight back against the tanks rolling into their country obama won't do it but the senate should convey that. >> do you think they will, matt? >> i think they will pass it and fund it and go in the defense act toward the end of the year, but i think he's dead set on not. >> i think president obama is is a historically weak president who will try to take advantage of the last two years, so watch out the rest of eastern europe and the baltics. we have to take one more break. when we come back, the hits and misses of the week. our hitsnd m when we come back. ..

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time now for hits and misses of the week. kim, start us off. >> a hit for americans for prosperity, the outside conservative group fresh off electing a whole bunch of republicans is back up on air with 200,000 dollars worth of ads in republican districts pressuring them to do the right thing in an upcoming tax subsidy debate. they want republicans to finally allow the desks of the market handouts, it's good to see them trying to keep all the new members honest to their promises of smaller government. >> i understand the free market principles. joe? >> paul, this week the new york city mayor bill de blasio said anyone found traveling with fewer than 25 grams of pot or marijuana will not be arrested but will receive the ticket instead. as you can see in the video, that's kind of a small garbage bag full of marijuana.

i guess this is a hit as it were, but i wonder about the impact on the rule of law and it's a good thing i only travel with 24 grams. >> i don't know where to begin with that. it's not true, audience. >> and here's a hit to the human race which this week managed to -- specific to the european space agency which sent ten years ago a spaceship called rosetta that loops around the sun in a giant loop and on wednesday managed to land a small probe on a comet traveling nearly 100,000 miles an hour about millions of miles into deep space. so if we can do that, we should do better on a lot of things. >> and maybe it will even revive european innovation and self-confidence. >> they said they are doing well in this field.

>> thank you to you all. if you have your own hit or miss, tweet it to us. that's it for this week's show. tweet it to us and to all you watching, i'm paul gigot. see you all here next week. and the white house is now confirming the third beheading video and its authenticity. it is too explicit to play here, but it shows the head of u.s. aid worker peter gassic who is the third western hostage beheaded by isis. conner powell is reporting live with more. >> reporter: given isis' brutal