john mccain. john mccain, along with his shadow, lindsey graham, and their new third amigo, new hampshire senator kelly ayotte, they released a joint statement today, praising the cease-fire declaration, but then adding were for good measure, quote, what happens in the middle east will impact america's vital national security interests for the foreseeable future and stronger, smarter american leadership is desperately needed. smarter leadership! take it from john mccain. remember, john mccain's big idea on foreign policy at the moment is that we should not have a secretary of state at all right now. john mccain suggesting that he will personally block anybody from being confirmed as secretary of state in the second term of the obama administration, because according to john mccain, u.n. ambassador susan rice, who's a likely candidate for secretary of state, she once said something wrong on the sunday shows. in the days after the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, back in september, susan ri

senator john mccain is leading a preemptive strike to keep u.n. ambassador susan rice from being nominated for secretary of state. rice's name has been floated as a possible replacement for secretary hillary clinton. but mccain says he's convinced that rice is part of an obama administration cover-up over the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. mccain articulated his theory this morning, pledging to do everything he can to stop rice's nomination from moving forward. >> susan rice should have been known better, and if she didn't know better, she's not qualified. she would have known better. i will do everything in my power to block her from being the united states secretary of state. she has proven that she either doesn't understand or she is not willing to accept evidence on its face. >> and of course, mccain has enlisted reinforcements. here's comes senator lindsey graham of south carolina who is also questioning rice's credibility. >> i don't trust. the reason i don't trust her, because i think she knew better, and if she doesn't know bett

mccain on this. same goes for susan collins of maine who did go to the classified briefing yesterday and noted publicly that john mccain was not there. even though it was his committee. mccain's special investigation idea was also shot down today by republican senator richard burr who said, quote, i think you've got to allow the structure we have of oversight to function and i think the intelligence committee is more than capable of handling this. in other words, the senate is getting information so maybe we should, you know, get information instead of continuing to scream on tv about not getting information. here's how you know when somebody is being disingenuous. when they demand something and then you give them that thing that they just keep demanding about and they pretend that you're not giving it to them and they just keep making the demand anyway as if it hasn't been met. john mccain obviously sees some advantage somewhere in continuing to scream on tv about the fact he's not getting informati

jonathan alter on the epic throwdown with john mccain. plus the new senator even nate silver didn't see coming. >> we missed the north dakota senator. >> yes, you did. >> heidi highcamp joins me for an exclusive interview. and republicans in ohio haven't learned anything. tonight state senator nina turner on today's republican vote to defund planned parenthood. >> good to you have with us tonight. thanks for watching. absence of arrogance. president obama continued his fight for the middle class today and hit back at republican bullies in the process. the president held his first new conference since winning the president once again pipts the first time he's faced the news media without the worry or pressure for reelection. president obama is staying in constant communication with the american public as he makes it clear the country cannot afford to extend the bush tax cuts for the wealthy. >> this shouldn't be a surprise to anybody. if there was one thing that everybody understood was a big difference between myself and mr. romney, it wa

he was going to say, i john mccain have the moral authority, i john mccain have the credibility to block susan rice if i want her to be blocked and by god, i'm going to do it, and then suddenly, yesterday, huh-uh, boy, he switched gears. boy did he back pedal at warp speed. >> huge. >> it was a fascinating thing to see. >> what's this meeting tomorrow all about? is this just another briefing for three senators that have taken issue with her performance? what's this about? what do you expect out of this meeting? >> i think it's a savvy political move by rice to say that -- to understand that you know, she does have to answer mccain's concerns because he still is to some people, not to me, but to some people, he still is john mccain with a lot of authority. and so she has to go see him. but i think she's going to come out of this meeting looking fine. i think mccain is going to have a press conference tomorrow where he's going to say she probably -- that she answered his questions to his satisfaction and i think he's going to send the signal tomorrow afternoon that she's okay. >> maybe the

so why is mccain doing this? as "the huffington post" pointed out, in january, senator mccain will lose his top ranking seat due to term limits. the only ranking spot available to him next session will be on the affairs committee. the creation of a special committee would give mccain the opportunity to stay relevant and create more problems for the president of the united states who defeated him in 2008 to prove just how disconnected from reality this man is, mccain is now demanding u.n. ambassador susan rice go on television and apologize for the way she characterized the benghazi attacks. >> maybe she could start out by publically coming back on this show and say, i was wrong. i gave the wrong information on your show some several weeks ago. that might be a beginning. >> let's bring in katrina vanden heuvel. i just find that comment on sunday by john mccain outrageous. why is he attacking susan rice like that? >> there are a number of reasons. i think he's trying to stay relevant as you said. i think this is a

that john mccain? are we talking about hanoi hilton john mccain? he was so badly beaten, all but every other hour to this day he is incapable of simply raising his arms above his head? that john mccain? the guy who after all of that refused preferential treatment and an early release because his father was an admiral? that john mccain? that is the guy who needs to man up and pick on someone his own size? leaving aside the clearly sexist tone of the president faux rage, more like leave the lady alone, go after me. is it more or is senator mccain already on record trying to go after the president or get a simple answer from the president on the whole benghazi mess? wasn't it the president who put susan rice out on the weekend talk shows after the september 11 attacks to address this matter? if she wasn't your go-to person, mr. president, why did you make her that? why were her words deemed the official white house reaction after that? memory sevens me right, john mccain asked that himself, why susan rice speaking for the president? where was presiden

and by the way with john mccain, it's been said before, but can't be said too much. i admire john mccain. i have not forgotten the years he spent in a north vietnamese prison camp. when he talks about susan rice and these things, this is a man who picked sarah palin to be possibly one heartbeat away from the presidency of the united states. can't have it both ways, even if you're john mccain. >> dan rather, it's always such a pleasure to have you here. i don't know why you honor us with your presence, but i'm glad you're here sir. >> i'm always glad to be here. thanks a lot. take care. >> thank you. >>> you know the expression, vote with your wallet? this election, some donors got back more on their investment than others. way more. you've heard a lot about the people who wasted their money? what's next is the people who really did not. that's coming up. the common wisdom is that that is completely impossible because of the political power of the national rifle association. the nra doesn't want any gun laws and so we can't have any gun law, they're too powerful, they

why has john mccain become this john mccain? he's like the joker in batman. you know, life's been good to me. what happened to that guy? >> i think it's personal peak. i think he never got over 2008. he's got a double standard going on between the two rices, and it's apples and oranges. susan rice had nothing to do with benghazi. condoleezza rice had a lot to do with the war in iraq. and the intelligence there. the comparison is specious on any level. >> why doesn't he ever talk about all the republicans who voted against $300 million that hillary clinton wanted to beef up embassy and consulate security? there are some questions that republicans who opposed that need to answer. that's one of the reasons those people lost their lives. >> it's sad. it's sad to see this deterioration. thank you, ron reagan, and thank you, jonathan alter. you guys were incisive tonight. >>> coming up, there are dog whistles and then there are bull horns, and another republican official is blowing his next. and this is "hardball," the place for politics. so, what hap pens if i'm i

i have a real issue with that. >> when ask good mccain, rice was conciliatory -- asked about mccain, rice was conciliatory. >> i have great respect for senator mccain and his service to our country. i always have, and i always will. i do think that some of the statements he made about me have been unfounded, but i look forward to having the opportunity at the appropriate time to discuss all of this with him. >> that's today. after saying mccain would do whatever it takes to block rice's nomination, he now appears to be softening. he says rice deserves the chance to explain her actions. so in light of all of this, the "talk back" question -- should susan rice be considered for secretary of state? facebook.com/carolcnn. facebook.com/carolcnbc. yo -- facebook.com/carolcnn. your comments later. >>> do police have a right to seize your cell phone for evidence some what about your gps and texts? we'll talk about this legal clash between the law and technology. [ male announcer ] with over 50 delicious choices of green giant vegetables it's easy to eat like a giant... ♪ and feel like a gr

benghazi. >> john mccain demands answers on benghazi. richard wolffe breaks down another bizarre day for the arizona senator. >>> denny's is serving up a grandstand breakfast on obama care. details ahead. >>> and they couldn't beat him at the ballot box. so now the far right is talking secession? and impeachment? >> our only recourse now is to move forward with a full impeachment of president obama. >> we'll break down the latest freak-out with michael tomasky. when you take a closer look... ...at the best schools in the world... ...you see they all have something very interesting in common. they have teachers... ...with a deeper knowledge of their subjects. as a result, their students achieve at a higher level. let's develop more stars in education. let's invest in our teachers... ...so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. humans -- even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why, at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident f

benghazi. >> john mccain demands answers on benghazi. richard wolffe breaks down another bizarre day for the arizona senator. >>> denny's is serving up a grandstand breakfast on obama care. details ahead. >>> and they couldn't beat him at the ballot box. so now the far right is talking secession? and impeachment? >> our only recourse now is to move forward with a full impeachment of president obama. >> we'll break down the latest freak-out with michael tomasky. >>> more than two months after the benghazi attack, there's still many unanswered questions. >> oh, he wants answers. in fact, for weeks republicans have been complaining about the lack of information surrounding the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. senator john mccain leading the charge. in the process, placing blame on u.n. ambassador susan rice. mccain spent the better part of yesterday on television maligning rice and threatening to block her nomination if the president taps her to be the next secretary of state. yet when mccain and other republicans were given the op

i hope it dissipates soon. >> senator john mccain joins me now. senator, you said today you plan to do everything in your power to block susan rice's nomination to be secretary of state if president obama nominates her. supporters say she was simply repeating the earlier assessment that she had been given by the intelligence community about the benghazi attack, and a spokesman for the national defense confirm ed in late september that we disseminated the information, and it was only later the intelligence assessment changed. do you not believe the dni? >> well, first of all, talking points came from the white house, not from the dni. but, second of all, it was obvious within 24 hours that the station chief from the cia said this was a terrorist attack. obvious to one and all that this was not a "spontaneous demonstration." in real time, they saw there was no demonstration. the -- ms. rice, i hope saw am -- ambassador rice i hope saw when i was on "face the nation" that immediately after she spoke, the head of the libyan national assembly, the pres

. >> same thing happened with mccain! same thing! >> bill: did it really? how many did mccain get? >> there were 59 voting districts. 57, mccain got none. zero. not one. >> bill: you know, they do she unanimous begans going on? >> i don't think so because i haven't heard any reason to think so. it's not like republican high school some huge numbers in these precincts up until romney, you know. >> bill: these are largely african-american? >> almost uniformly black. almost universally inner city and not particulary wealthy and the philadelphia enquirer went out there and said, we're going to get to the bottom of this.

. >> reporter: senators john mccain and lindsey graham said rice was either lying or incompetent when she made this statement five days after the attack. >> we don't have information at present that leads us to conclude this was premeditated or preplanned. >> reporter: president obama said the ambassador was presenting the intelligence information she was given. he challenged those who attacked ambassador rice. >> if senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody they should go after me. >> reporter: senator mccain accepted that offer. >> the president of the united states, the commander-in-chief is the most responsible and i hope the president has no illusions about our view of his responsibility. >> reporter: mccain and graham want a watergate style committee to investigate the benghazi attack. and general petraeus will testify here on capitol hill tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. back to you. >>> president obama and republicans in congress have staked out their position on the so-called fiscal cliff. that's the package of tax increase and spending cuts schedule

"the washington post" john mccain's benghazi, and some say it's about mccain being bitter about losing to obama four years ago. >> i think five names and a conflagration, and number one petraeus and broadwell and number two, benghazi, benghazi, petraeus, broadwell, military ethics, mccain obama reduction, and fifth, the susan rice story, which life imitates art. if you go back and watch the movie advise and content shall the novel then turned movie, it was a south carolina senator opposing the president's nomination as secretary of state that is the whole dynamic of the movie and i'm it willing you, find it on youtube or net flicks because it really parallels, echo out. >> and if it's a media we'll turn it into a media review. the media had an opportunity to ask hard questions and didn't get any at the news conference, why not. >> the format is not controlled to follow-up. he picks the people he's going to call on. people can't respond and say, wait a minute, mr. president, we want a follow-up on this. this is his chosen forum. i'm surprised he hasn't used it more, because we do know t

senator mccain continued to lead the charge. as of this weekend, for politicizing the attack on the u.s. consulate in libya, he's not only saying he would block susan rice from being nominated to succeed hillary clinton as secretary of state if president obama makes that nomination, he now says he would block all nominations for anybody to succeed hillary clinton as secretary of state until he feels satisfied that he, john mccain, has received the information that he wants to receive about libya. this coming from the man who didn't bother to show up to the three-hour briefing on libya that was in his committee last week. but he's not embarrassed by that. he wants america not to have a secretary of state until he gets what he wants. even though we don't know what it is that he wants. because it's definitely not more information, because when information is being offered, he's not showing up for the briefings. how did john mccain get to be the republican party's north star on foreign policy in 2012? i mean, senator mccain had a ca

senators mccain and graham, not to let this go. whether it means if president obama puts up susan rice who is currently the u.n. ambassador for secretary of state, whether it is using that as an example to try to fight that nomination, and block it, or whether it is to continue their push, which they formally announced today, which is the initial reason john mccain went to the senate floor right now, to push for a new select committee to bring all of these questions together, because they say there are so many questions, so many different committees that have jurisdiction that are looking into it and so many things that they say are unanswered. but the fact he specifically said it is the president is very interesting. they're making it personal. >> we're talking about lindsey graham and john mccain. do they represent a chorus of that very sentiment on capitol hill? >> reporter: that's a really good question. i will tell you, one of the subplots going on here, it goes back several months to the presidential campaign, actually, not e

young girl from south asia, you're saying that mccain is being driven by racial prejudice here? >> there's no other way to look at this. >> jon: another week and another twist in the media coverage of the benghazi terror attacks and the aftermath and ambassadors susan rice and reworked talking points about the deadly event. you kind of got a sense testify there, jim. there's a suggestion that any criticism directed toward the obama administration is either racist or sexist. is that the new media mean? >> and rich wilson has no other way to look at it. that settles that. look, it's clear that for time magazine they said it's ace politics for the democrats, if the obama administration nominates here and see her support there and the tact that they'll take at sort of a mass political level. at the elite level. i think the administration is doing a pretty good job of saying, well, actually the talking points were massaged by james clapper and by the justice department and a lot of fingerprints there and david petraeus came along and said there are reasons why they took out the al-qa

. >> romney personal, mccain political. >> i think it's personal. a lot of people don't like this president, and i think that's the case here. chris: ok. thanks for a great roundtable. i agree. dan rather, katty kay, jodi kantor for "the new york times" and sam donaldson. that's the show. thanks for watching. hope you and your family have much to be grateful for. see you back here

bengha benghazi. >> john mccain demands answers on benghazi. richard wolffe breaks down another bizarre day for the arizona senator. >>> denny's is serving up a grandstand breakfast on obama care. details ahead. >>> and they couldn't beat him at the ballot box. so now the far right is talking secession? and impeachment? >> our only recourse now is to move forward with a full impeachment of president obama. >> we'll break down the latest freak-out with michael tomasky. ♪ ♪ a new way to save on your prescriptions. it's the aarp medicarerx saver plus plan from unitedhealthcare. with this plan, you can get copays as low as a dollar through a preferred network pharmacy like walgreens -- where you'll find 8,000 convenient locations. best of all, this plan has the lowest part d premium in the united states -- only $15 a month. open enrollment ends december 7th. so call today or visit your local walgreens. stop! stop! stop! come back here! humans -- we are beautifully imperfect creatures living in an imperfect world. that's why liberty mutual insur

that is yet another mccain lie. he was able to schedule more television time on the "today" show this morning where he adopted the graham rule in explaining condoleesa rice's failures. mccain voting for her confirm ration. >> back in 2005 when you supported the nomination of condoleeza rice. she made the comment that the weapons of mass destruction might have been a mushroom cloud. you said the opponents were expressing sour grapes after an election loss. why is this different. >> because every intelligence agency in the world believed that iraq had weapons of mass destruction. that was a different situation. >> he is lying about the scheduling confusion thing. i worked in the senate. all the senators are talking about it. they are talking to each other about it beforehand. they are talking to each other about it. mccain shirked what he otherwise would claim to be his duty to be in that brief. >> scheduling error is political speak. not likely the case or he just doesn't want to have to get to it. he clearly has som

it was john mccain. and that's one of the ironies that's lost in all this. >> because gadhafi was our help -- >> he was helpful against al qaeda. absolutely. >> this is really black spy, white spy. this is crazy stuff. thank you. michael o'hanlon and jonathan landay. >>> elections have consequences, i say it all the time. and the democrats are feeling emboldened. they want to see taxes go up on the rich. they want to protect programs like medicare and medicaid. will they give president obama room to negotiate some kind of deal that gets through this hell coming january 1st. they say they won, the other side lost, they're going to fight. >>> plus democrats are moving to end the so-called silent filibuster which republicans have used to quietly say if you don't have 60 votes, you ain't going nowhere. this is the big question, if they're successful, it's possible, it's possible the democrats will be able to get some things done. we'll talk about that in a minute. they're going to be just like jimmy stewart

what in the world is going on with john mccain? a day after the president publicly humiliated him for cowardly attacking u.n. ambassador susan rice, someone who had nothing to do with the libya tragedy, mccain was out looking for another tv camera again. hey, america. this is what bitterness looks like. >> four americans died that didn't have to die. and for someone to go out and convey something that is absolutely false to all america in my view bears responsibility. >> i don't know how you logically assume that she had nothing to do with benghazi. the american people were told false information by her at the direction of the white house. >> now, we all know ambassador rice was stating the intelligence that had been provided to her. but mccain wasn't done. >> by the way, i'm not taking anybody on. the american people have lost four brave americans. we owe it to their families. we owe it to other americans who served. we'll find out what happened. for the president of the united states for two weeks afterwards to deny that that was