[Costello:] Benjamin Netanyahu is likely putting the finishing touches on his address before Congress next week. But the frigid Washington weather only marks the beginning of the chilly reception awaiting him. Neither the president nor the vice president will meet with Netanyahu while he's here in this country. The secretary of state is also sitting out of the visit. Both Biden and Kerry say they're traveling. The National Security Adviser Susan Rice and U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power are speaking at the same pro-Israel conference as Netanyahu this weekend, but they won't be meeting with the Israeli prime minister either. That might be a good thing considering what Susan Rice said considering what Susan Rice said about Netanyahu's visit earlier this week.
[Susan Rice, National Security Adviser:] On both sides there has now been injected a degree of partisanship, which is not only unfortunate, I think it's it's destructive of the fabric of the relationship.
[Costello:] CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott is following the story from Jerusalem. Hi, Elise.
[Elise Labott, Cnn Global Affairs Correspondent:] Hi, Carol. Well, certainly you thought it couldn't get any worse, this bad blood between the White House and the prime minister. But it gets continues to get ugly and the jobs ever more personal and sharper. But Prime Minister Netanyahu is coming. He'll be addressing a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, and AIDS say that he understands there's a politically fraught tone to this visit but he's trying to, if you will, creating a new word, departisanize this visit. He won't be meeting with any Democrats, any Republican separately. He will be, after that speech, addressing just a small group of bipartisan senators, Carol.
[Costello:] So, I'm just curious. Israel's election is just two weeks away. What do Netanyahu's chances look like?
[Labott:] Well, he's kind of in a neck-in-neck race with the labor candidate, Isaac Herzog. There are a lot of undecideds. And the question, is this visit really affecting his chances? And it doesn't seem to be because Israelis are really split on whether they should go, about 43 percent either way saying he should go or he shouldn't go. Those supporters of Netanyahu think it's a good idea for him to go and speak up about Iran which is a very important issue to Israelis. Those that don't support him feel he's damaging the U.S.Israeli relationship. You know, Prime Minister Netanyahu's security is his big issue. Iran is his big issue. So, the more he keeps the Iran issue and security in the forefront of the campaign, the better it is for him, Carol, because that's where he polls the strongest. And it deflects on the weaker areas where he doesn't poll well.
[Costello:] So, it is true that Netanyahu's address before Congress is actually helping him back home, right?
[Labott:] Well, I think it depends how the visit goes. If he gets a rousing reception as he has many times in his addresses before Congress, certainly he goes back and he's able to say, I did the right thing. If it doesn't go so well and there are a lot of empty seats in that chamber as many Democratic senators have been threatening, it might put a little bit of a dent in his numbers. But it doesn't seem to be the big issue that Israelis at least say that they're voting on, Carol. You know, housing prices, food prices, very high here. The economy seems to be one of the things people are most talking about, but when they go to the polls, a lot of people think when they get in that booth to make their vote that security is in the forefront of their mind and that's an area where Prime Minister Netanyahu is trusting over his other opponents to protect Israel against Iran. I might add that President Obama does not poll so well in Israel when it comes to the issue of Iran. Three in four Israelis do not trust President Obama to protect Israel when it comes to Iran, Carol.
[Costello:] All right. Elise Labott, reporting live for us from Jerusalem. Thanks so much. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, critics slam Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker for comments he made at CPAC. Up next, why Governor Walker says his comments are being misconstrued.