Awkward

An awkward minute on live TV as Harry Reid waits for New York senator Chuck Schumer to begin his press conference on the debt ceiling: 

Schumer is responsible for messaging among Senate Democrats, so I guess Reid's pregnant pause makes sense. And it's altogether less awkward than that phone call of Schumer giving advice to members of his caucus: 

Unaware that reporters were listening in, Schumer put his foot in his mouth this morning during a conference call -- instructing other Democratic senators to call Republicans "extreme" when it comes to proposing budget cuts.

Moments before the start of the call, Schumer -- not aware that many of the reporters were already on the line -- went into spin doctor mode, instructing his fellow senators on how to talk to the media about the federal budget.

“I always use the word extreme,” Schumer told Sens. Barbara Boxer, Benjamin Cardin, Thomas Carper and Richard Blumenthal. “That is what the caucus instructed me to use this week."