mccain. i know that the other ticket opposed this surge, in fact, even opposed funding for our troops in iraq and afghanistan. barack obama voted against funding troops there after promising that he would not do so. >> and senator biden, i respected you when you called him out on that. you said that his vote was political and you said it would cost lives. and barack obama at first said he would not do that. he turned around under political pressure and he voted against funding the troops. we do have a plan for withdrawal. we don't need early withdrawal out of iraq. we cannot afford to lose there or we're going to be no better off in the war in afghanistan either. we have got to win in iraq. and with the surge that has worked we're now down to presurge numbers in iraq. that's where we can be. we can start putting more troops in afghanistan as we also work with our nato allies who are there strengthening us and we need to grow our military. we cannot afford to lose against al qaeda and the shia

senator mccain? >> well, thank you, tom. thank you, belmont university. and senator obama, it's good to be with you at a town hall meeting. and, alan, thank you for your question. you go to the heart of america's worries tonight. americans are angry, they're upset, and they're a little fearful. it's our job to fix the problem. now, i have a plan to fix this problem, and it's got to do with energy independence. we've got to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't want us -- like us very much. we have to keep americans' taxes low. all americans' taxes low. let's not raise taxes on anybody today. we obviously have to stop this spending spree that's going on in washington. do you know that we've laid a $10 trillion debt on these young americans who are here with us tonight, $500 billion of it we owe to china? we've got to have a package of reforms and it has got to lead to reform prosperity and peace in the world. and i think that this problem has become so severe, as you know, that we'r

senator lieberman, a close friend of senator mccain's was at the top of senator mccain's wish list for a lot of the process. after they did the kind of standard weeks long background check and considered more surface way any number of others, they left themselves, you could argue inexcusably, they left themselves with no one, they could ark, would be a good pick, no one who could get through as a net plus for them. there was writing in the book serious consideration about senator lieberman, the politics of a running mate eight years before and liberal on most issues was something they really grappled wand in the end they thought was not going to be politically effective and could be a real political problem. then they turned with just a week to go -- again, as you point out, in effect squandered many months not vetting someone who in the end they wanted to pick, with a week to go they not only reached out to sarah palin but began from a standing part and not the normal due diligence you would do in such a case to look at sarah palin's background and decide in senator mccain's case to p

so we have john mccain to thank for at least warning people, and we also have john mccain to thank for bringing in a bipartisan effort, people to the table so that we can start putting politics aside, even putting a campaign aside and just do what's right to fix this economic problem that we are in. it is a crisis. it's a toxic mess really on main street that's affecting wall street. and now we have to be ever vigilant and also making sure that credit markets don't seize up. that's where the main streeters like me, that's where we would really feel the effects. >> moderator: senator biden, you voted for this bankruptcy bill. senator obama voted against it. some people have said that mortgage holders really paid the price. biden: well, mortgage holders didn't pay the price. only 10% of the people who are, have been affected by this whole switch from chapter 7 to chapter 13 -- it gets complicated, but the point is this: barack obama saw the glass as half empty, i saw it as half full. we disagreed on that, and 85 senators voted one way, and 15 voted the other way. but here's the deal. bar

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

why did grim john mccain make such a wild pass? was he rejection of mitt as running made a sign of mitt's problems today? i am chris matthews. with us, "new york magazine's" john heileman, gloria borger, kathleen parker and clarence page. first up, two huge political explosions this week. mitt romney's enormous losses to rick santorum in three significant states, and that revolt by many catholics over the white house decision on birth control. first, romney's troubles. conservatives can't stanton barack obama, but when will they learn to stand romney prom? even after the white house handed them that huge contraceptives issue, republican voters stayed home in the three primary states this week. turn out was way down from 2008. but conservatives are the big prize. there are many more than before. they have gone from 29% of total voters in 2000 to 34% in 2004 and 2008. look at this. they now represent 39% of the people in the polls. the bad news for mitt romney, he is getting only 17% of conservatives, one in six. at the meeting in wa

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

[applause] >> senator mccain, senator mccain, senator kerry, josh? >> now to live coverage of mitt romney the campaign event in rochester, new hampshire. 35 miles east of concord and he'll be joined by governor tim pawlenty who is also a candidate in the 2011 race but withdrew and -- >> before i want to introduce a very special friend of new hampshire to some really good and in my case all friends of new hampshire who are now on the romney team. former congressman my good friend bill zelous. stand up. former commissioner of safety, richard flin. [applause] former county commissioner mark thursen. [applause] and john a very successful business person from the coast. [applause] welcome to the mitt romney team. and now it's an honor to introduce somebody who is already changed the culture of washington. somebody who fought through a tough primary and tough election and has gone to washington and is restoring common sense in our nation's capital. let's give a warm, warm new hampshire round of applause to the senator and let's finish the job on tuesday! [

sadly in 2000, john mccain quit the presidential race today. >> if john mccain was going to be president, something would have to give. [♪] >> hey johnny, what are you rebelling against? >> what do you got? >> from the start john mccain was a rebel. everybody assumed this son of grandson of admirals would be a star at the naval academy. he showed them. >> nobody tells me what to do. >> his career as an aviator was a stuff of legends. and he fought back against the man crashes not once, not two, not three, but four, but five of the navy's finest aircrafts. after ditching his final bird he spent five and a half years in a north vietmanese prison where he stayed sane by decorating and redecorating the rooms of ten different imaginary houses. for his heroism he was awarded a purple heart and hot wife and with inoculation against all future political attacks but mccain bristled under ethics when they brought him up against ethics charges. >> i'm to the king around here and don't forget it. >> johnny had had enough of congress. he was ready to take his place among america's maverick presiden

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

so john mccain had a choice. essentially a tie in iowa, mccain chooses romney. take us behind that one. >> reporter: i think it's definitely a love triangle, there's some hate but it's a love triangltriangle, no questit it with the three of them. right, romney and mccain went at it big time and they kissed and made up in the general election in 2008, and rick santorum is somebody who has always had a very, very tense relationship with john mccain. i remember covering both of them in the united states senate, actually go back to what you and i were talking about, earmarks, john mccain is a cry sausader against earmarks and santorum was -- let's say i won't repeat the things i heard quietly about each other because this is a family-friendly television show. but the bottom line is, john mccain is a very astute politician still. he knows what he's doing. he's not a big fan of rick santorum's, especially since rick santorum puts robocalls against him in 2008 saying he doesn't have temperament to be president. this was a direct hit on rick santorum and certainly helpe

. >> -- tavis: john mccain. your former colleague. john mccain has now called for u.s. air strikes on syria. your thoughts about that? >> one of the things i talk about in "while america sleeps" is our tendency to invade a country rather than having a calibrated approach, so we go into afghanistan, and we know bin laden is not there anymore, and we stay there forever. i call it the in for a penny, in for a pound, where you do the whole thing. president obama did it right in libya. he did not do the ground troops. because these same principles can be applied to syria. as i do not think this is a bad idea. as invading syria or internationally or the united states. i do not think that is the right answer. i would say it is on the table. what he is doing there is criminal. even the arab league is dying to get him out of there. there needs to be an more calibrated approach, where we do not put troops there and stay there forever. that is the best way to go. >> president obama met with netanyahu at the white house. much is still being discussed. tavis: where israel is concern

and so has john mccain. we have to fight for our freedoms, also, economic and our national security freedoms. it was ronald reagan who said that freedom is always just one generation away from extinction. we don't pass it to our children in the bloodstream; we have to fight for it and protect it, and then hand it to them so that they shall do the same, or we're going to find ourselves spending our sunset years telling our children and our children's children about a time in america, back in the day, when men and women were free. we will fight for it, and there is only one man in this race who has really ever fought for you, and that's senator john mccain. >> thank you, governor. senator biden. >> gwen, thank you for doing this, and the commission, and governor, it really was a pleasure getting to meet you. look, folks, this is the most important election you've ever voted in your entire life. no one can deny that the last eight years, we've been dug into a very deep hole here at home with regard to our econo

senator mccain? >> well, thank you, tom. thank you, belmont university. and senator obama, it's good to be with you at a townhall meeting. and, alan, thank you for your question. you go to the heart of america's worries tonight. americans are angry, they're upset, and they're a little fearful. it's our job to fix the problem. now, i have a plan to fix this problem and it has got to do with energy independence. we've got to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't want us very -- like us very much. we have to keep americans' taxes low. all americans' taxes low. let's not raise taxes on anybody today. we obviously have to stop this spending spree that's going on in washington. do you know that we've laid a $10 trillion debt on these young americans who are here with us tonight, $500 billion of it we owe to china? we've got to have a package of reforms and it has got to lead to reform prosperity and peace in the world. and i think that this problem has become so severe, as you know, that

what was happening behind the scenes in team mccain? >> well, a lot. you know, the 60-day period from the time she was chosen through the election day was pretty packed. part of what attracted us to that story for the book and attracted hbo to focus on that part of the book for the film is a compact narrative of 60 days in which so much happened. sarah palin as her supporters point out and is factually true, she performed extraordinarily well at the three biggest moments a vice presidential nominee has to perform. the day she was announced as the pick and gave a speech, the convention speech we just saw a bit of. then in the debate where she held her own for the most part against one of the most experienced politicians in our national government, joe biden. she at that moment, she was giving the speech there was a lot going on. her family was having to be integrated into a national campaign. they were all getting sort of new clothes and new briefings and understanding of dealing with the secret service. she was being briefed on how to get ready to do a

john mccain wants to continue george bush's economic policy. as president he'd provide no tax bras to 101 million americans but keep tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. he wants tax breaks for big oil and would tax your health care benefits for the first time ever. look behind you. we can't afford more of the same. >> reaction or comment? >> i don't think it's a good idea for the obama administration to compare mccain and bush? it was a good strategy mplts even mccain had trouble trying to separate himself from bush. i think overall it was an effective commercial. >> let me turn to isaiah mohammed from dick kinson college. do you have a thought about this ad? >> i thought about while reading "game change," it showed the country definitely wanted something new. that ad definitely exploited that current in the country, that people wanted something different new and that mccain and the republican party couldn't provide necessarily. >> i thought it was a good strategy. >> which gets to the core points in gettysburg college before the

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. then yesterday, he switched gears. he back pedalled at warp speed. >> is this just another briefing for three senators that have taken issue with her performance? >> 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's still john mccain with a lot of authority. so he 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 where he's going to say she answered his questions to his satisfaction and i think he's going to send the signal tomorrow afternoon that she's okay. >> maybe they will compare academic records. you write that mccain should have zero credibility on susan rice and benghazi. why does the washington establishment always seem to turn to mccain for, let's see what the go

and meghan mccain likes mitt romney and cindy mccain likes mitt romney and the whole mccain family likes mitt romney. >> is the pill you take -- >> do you want to hear why i like him? he came on the road with us. >> romney voters don't like mitt romney. >> the thing i found out about him, i had the opportunity obviously to get to know him personally and he's quite likeable and charming. >> he's like a robot. >> no, he's not. he's not at all that's not the conversation that took place. if he had endorsed santorum, i would be like slitting my wrist on the table right now. >> he could have -- >> i don't think that's appropriate. that's lax courage not to get behind someone. i find it quite lacking courage the people that refuse to do it. >> did you get to the studio early enough to hear at the beginning of the discussion, is the mccain endorsement worth much this time around? because both parties hate their losers. i heard democrats say the most awful things about john kerry after he lost the presidency by like 60,000 votes in ohio. michael due caulk kiss, like no one has ever wanted to see

senator mccain had not determined who he wants to pick. we came down to the decision it would be a bit difficult set up with the election circumstances. we would be outspent by 200 million and president bush approval rating was in the thirties. obama was speaking to crowds hundreds of thousands in europe and a fervor with his candidacy to figure out how to win. i am the person who said we should look at sarah palin from alaska sam negara you proud of that moment? >> it to freezes and slows down. [laughter] we spent a couple of days that the jersey shore. i remember every aspect of the moment. i can smell the smell of long beach. i pick up the phone and i called rick davis and we should take a look at sarah palin. the vetting done, i said it is very important u.s. then charge of the process that she has been completely go through vetting, a go through a couple of days we have done over a couple of weeks. the first part you can do a documentary on this but i do want to make the part of what we're talking about. the first part was the medical

of the angry left but mccain is no match for the cuddly left. all throughout the -- stop staring at me. who wants socialized medicine? you do. yes, you do. after honoring the president by allowing him to speak for almost eight minutes it was on to the two real stars, senators foghorn leghorn and droopy dog. >> i think -- >> i say, i say -- >> i'll tell you what. >> you know what? >> i appreciate it. [cheers and applause] >> to the distinguished senator from toon town. boing! senator leghorn went first. reaffirming the new republican mantra that the leaders of today are the [bleep]-ups of yesterday. >> he drove a corvette and dated a girl that worked in a bar as an exotic dancer. >> jon: he's with us today. hello madame secretary. and joe lieberman's turn. >> many are angry and frustrated by our government and our politics. if john mccain was just another go along partisan politician he never would have taken on corrupt republican lobbyists. >> jon: i guess what i'm saying is, you guys suck. senators and leghorn and dog reserve the harshest scorn

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

people had good memory of the mccain campaign. depressing was what many people -- how did you decide to take this slice of this amazing book that don heilemann and "game change: obama and the clintons, mccain and palin, and the race of a lifetime" 11 wrote? -- the greatest primary of our lifetime? how did you decide? >> part of it was the practical reality that we only had two hours to make a movie and we learned from recounts that if you have a story where a specific group of people in a clear hunk of time and clear beginning, middle and end that can make a good political movie -- we did look at the rest of the book but such a sweeping book it does need the sort of ken burns' many part multi part miniseries. i just thought the clinton/obama which would be a one we consider doing was a bit unwieldy. it was episodic. took place over the primary and lasted a couple years. might be a two partner in a way. there was something about this story and the specific kind of structure of it was from the place where it starts with being that f

what does mccain represent? far right conservative. >> dana: i think mccain has a certain level of gravitas. >> bob: that is -- mccain won in 2000 as well in that state. it's a state that is very strong with veterans. one of his base is veterans. i could not think of a better person than john mccain. right wing nuts will be -- >> dana: if it works out, i'll get andrea's take on this but that is that newt gingrich who came in fourth in iowa but is a leader of the union leader in new hampshire on greta talking about how he would go after romney. >> massachusetts moderate, who raises taxes, who puts tax paid abortion in romneycare, who puts planned parenthood in romneycare and puts liberal judges on the bench. you take the list, compare it to a reagan conservative. who is opposed to tax increases. helps pass tax cut for conservative judges. and who is right to life. i think in republican primaries, that clear, direct principal contrast can be very effective. >> dana: so we know what hi is against when it comes to r

here's john mccain, now endorses him? mitt romney campaigned for john mccain. so as we stand back, as intense as this is going to get in the next 3 weeks, is that a reminder at at the end of the day that you suspect that the republicans will unite and realize that barack obama is the one that needed to be defeatd? >> john mccain's endorsement of mitt romney is a reminder that we must have as our aim, defeating obama in a social big-government, job-killing policies. it is not to defeat one another. it is a contested, aggressive, pretty rough-and-tumble primary process. but it is a good process because candidates are vetted. but we still have many months to decide who it is that can best lead us to progress this country. it's another thing that c.s. lewis talked about, in talking about progress. if you erase the hijacked term, progressive that the left has taken over and tried to make it sound like progress and progressive means big government and government is the answer, if you consider what c.s. lewis said about this. he says the man who can best and soonest l

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

mccain/palin. real change. >> i'm john mccain and i approve this message. >> they call themselves mavericks. whoa. truth is, they're anything but. john mccain is hardly a maverick, when seven of his top campaign advisers are washington lobbyists. he's no maverick when he votes with bush 90% of the time. and sarah palin's no maverick either wide receiver she was for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it. politicians lying about their records? you don't call that maverick, you call it more of the same. >> darrell west, what's interesting is that ad by the obama campaign was out within 24 hours of the mccain campaign. >> today, candidates can turn things around very quickly with the advances in editing and production values. and so what mccain was trying to do was he understood his best feature with the general public was the idea that he'd been an independent-minded republican, he had supported campaign finance reform when virtually everyone else in his party opposed it. and so he's basical

then john mccain went to south carolina, not exactly a john mccain state and what happened in south carolina? not only did john mccain win there but his purported big serious establishment challenger, the massachusetts guy, got killed in south carolina. mitt romney came in fourth place in south carolina in 2008. he only got 15% of the vote. not only did john mccain beat him but mike huckabee beat him, too. and fred thompson beat him there. who? yeah, that fred thompson. put aside all of the coronation stuff, put aside all of the mitt romney inevitability storyline. blank slate. say you've been in a heyperbari chamber. if you took a snapshot, look at the presidential race right now, iowa, first contest appears to have been won by rick santorum. new hampshire won by the massachusetts guy. whatever, paul songas, mitt romney. heading in south carolina, the massachusetts guy has the big campaign, last time south carolina had the chance to vote on him they game him a buck 50. he only got 15%. he lost to who? he lost to fred thompson. it's true that mitt romney is the default nominee. that everybod