KING: President Obama and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell have had a running battle since day one of this president's administration. I went to see the senator and I asked him, are you willing to compromise with the president, maybe do something before the election to help people out there in America find a job? He said he's willing to talk but listen here, I wouldn't expect much.

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SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: Well, we're certainly willing to talk to the president about anything that might help get us out of this economic trough we're in. But at the same time, he is recommending that we continue to pursue higher taxes in the middle of what most Americans think is a recession. I don't think these targeted efforts are going to have nearly the stimulative effect they might have if you were not depressing the economy with things like raising taxes. This particular tax increase he has in mind that he will characterize as a tax increase on the wealthy, in fact, impacts 50 percent of small business income, 25 percent of the workforce, and our friends on the other side can say, oh, it's only 3 percent of small businesses. I had my staff check to find out how many businesses that is. It's 750,000 businesses, the most productive small businesses in the country.

KING: As we sit here today, do you believe there's a reasonable chance of the ten-seat pickup that would make you the majority leader?

MCCONNELL: I think I'll be the leader of a larger group than I am now. I'm the leader of 41. I'm optimistic I'm going to the leader of a larger group.

KING: 8, 9, 10, 12?

MCCONNELL: We have a long way to go, a lot left to happen. We're giving it our best shot. The wind is at our back. That's an experience we haven't had the last two cycles. And it's good to be running in an environment where people seem to want checks and balances in Washington. They're not in love with either side, we know that but they've looked at what this administration has done, they don't like it, and they'd like some balance in Washington.

KING: What do you see is the message to you in this campaign, right here in your home state, the tea party candidate won Republican Senate nomination, defeated the candidate you endorsed. That's not the only example. You can go across the country and see what it's Kentucky, Alaska, Colorado. We could go down the list of surprises for the Republican establishment. What message for voters in your own coalition sending you, that you will have to deal with people who have challenged you who have said straight out, Joe Miller, the nominee in Alaska, I spoke to him a little more than a week ago. I asked him if he wins that race, will he vote for you for leader, and he said, let's see what happens. They're mad at the Republican establishment. They think their own party has let them down, supported too much spending, maybe not stood up to Obama enough. Do you take a lesson from that?

MCCONNELL: I'm for Joe Miller whether he's for me or not. I already have enough votes to be re-elected leader and we'll work with him no matter what his view may be.

KING: Do you think in all that you personally or the leadership in general has to change its way are, or is your message to them, you know if you win and you come to Washington, maybe you'll learn more about the system and you'll understand it a little better?

MCCONNELL: If you look at the current leadership, 18 months ago, we were down 12 points in the party generic ballot and presiding over a small number. I think John Boehner and I have had a lot to do with the comeback we may well have this November in warp-speed time. In 18 to 20 months, we've come back from all the articles being written about the demise of the Republican Party. I think some of that is attributable to good leadership.

KING: So no apologies?

MCCONNELL: Apologies for opposing the Obama initiatives? No apologies for opposing the stimulus. No apologies for opposing the health care bill. No apologies for opposing what they call the Wall Street bill. I think those were measures that were wrong for the country. And it's a shame that the president didn't choose to go to the center. What I'm hoping is after this election, he'll become a more born-again moderate, move to the center as he campaigned in '08. If he does that, we'll be happy to meet him there.

KING: How about the period before the Obama election or before the Democrats took back the Congress in the -- after the 2006 elections, some of those conservative activists are mad for that stretch, thinking you spent too much money and forgot about conservative principles.

MCCONNELL: This election's about the future, not the past. We're running against this administration and this Congress and what they've done over last 18 months. I think that's what the American people are focusing on.

KING: How hard is it to be a leader today, and want to be the leader tomorrow, at a time there is some house cleaning going on?

MCCONNELL: We have a lot less tension than the other side. They're busy pointing the fingers at each other blaming the white house for the dilemma they're in. Their candidates are running away from the speaker and the president, running ads that feature the speaker and the president, saying, I don't work for them. I've got a very happy conference, looking forward to having a larger number of people after November.

KING: If you have a larger group, let's start with this hypothetical, if you have a larger group, but you're still in the minority, what will the first conversation with the president be? You two have not developed a very close relationship. We have talked about this since right after he was elected.

MCCONNELL: Yeah, well, I don't dislike the president, but we -- he just, I think, felt he didn't need me. We did have a private meeting right before the august recess and we agreed not to discuss what we talked about there but I did say afterwards that I thought he had the feeling he was going to be talk to me a lot more often in the future and I think the reason he thinks that is because he thinks I'm going to be the leader of the larger group. Look, I don't want the president to fail. I want the president to change. He needs to move dramatically away from this leftward drift that's tried to turn America into a western Europe-type country. And come back to the middle. We can meet him seriously on reducing spending, reducing debt. He says he's for nuclear power. I'm for nuclear power. He says he's for clean coal technology. I'm for clean coal technology. There are a number of things that we can do where there are similar interests, it's just that he hasn't chosen to do any of those in his first two years.

KING: And he says if there's any evidence to go back to the Bush administration idea of taking a small sliver of your social security money and being allowed to put it into private accounts, he will wield the veto pen, he says no privatization on his watch. He says if you try to significantly repeal or change the health care law, that he would have a veto pen for that too.

MCCONNELL: Well, nobody's talking about social security except the Democrats. They always bring up social security --

KING: Some of your candidates, Mr. Miller in Alaska says maybe even phase it out --

MCCONNELL: The Democrats bring up social security every single election. The president himself has appointed a deficit-reduction commission to which I have appointed three people. John Boehner's appointed three people. They're looking at the entitlements. We'll see what they come back and recommend in December. But if it's election time, you can guarantee the Democrats are talking about social security.

KING: They do talk about social security you're absolutely right. It's been an age old Democratic strategy.

MCCONNELL: We're used to it.

KING: This time, they've been getting some fresh coats, if you will, from people like Mr. Miller who says in his view the country can't afford it and should start thinking about making that a states right program. Mr. Buck in Colorado has also said it needs significant changes and he questions whether the founding fathers could have ever envisioned it happening. When you have Republican candidates saying things like that, it gives them fodder. That's two candidates. 50 states. But do you have conversation with those candidates saying look, it's not helpful if you talk about that?

MCCONNELL: We know what this fall election's about. It's about too much spending, too much debt, too many Washington takeovers and tax increases in the middle of an economic slowdown. That's what the elections about. There will be some candidates who talk about different kinds of issues. The Democrats will try to run against President Bush again. We know what's on the minds of the American people. And we think that they're headed toward a serious midcourse correction that can bring the president back to the political center.

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KING: Mitch McConnell in his office in Louisville a bit earlier today. One of gifts you get when you go on the road is you get to come to beautiful places. As we go to break, take a look at this sunset along the Ohio River. Next, some things we've learned from some remarkable people we've met along the way.