The United States needs to play a greater role in Libya to avoid a stalement with Khaddafy, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said on Meet The Press this morning.
But, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee ruled out the use of ground forces, saying with "efficient use of air power, we can bring Khaddafy to his knees."
Also this morning - The Donald. McCain had Trump's support when he ran in 2008, and I asked him what he thought of a possible Trump candidacy. Here's what he told me:
"I'm staying out of it. I think that Mr. Trump is having the time of his life. I congratulate him for getting all the attention that he's getting."
Also this morning, two members of the "Gang of Six," a bipartisan group of senators who have been working to craft a debt-reduction plan. Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) did not mince words - with Conrad telling me, "Our country is headed for a fiscal cliff." You see the full discussion on our website.
Plus, our roundtable's take on the Trump phenomena and the economic worries Americans face this Easter Sunday.
I'll be joined next week by a rising star in the Republican party, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.
If it's Sunday, it's Meet The Press.
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I find Mr Gegory to be most deficient in his idea of what constitutes fair and balanced coverage of these budget questions, as well as more than slightly ignorant of the facts.
He parrots TEA Party propaganda with scarcely a whit of critical thinking. He tries to get us to believe that only this "gang of six" has any cred on the money numbers.
For a time I thought he would actually be a fair minded journalist, those days are gone.
I wonder if Terry or someone else can provide examples of the supposed TP bias because I didn't notice it. In fact, linking the "gang of six" (which includes 3 Democratic Senators and 1 moderate Republican Senator) to the Tea Party seems to be either a willful deception or a step beyond the logic that is presented in the post.
I agree with Terry. Why do we have to constantly pay attention to rising stars or hasbeens in the Republican Party? Sick of McCain. Sick of Rubio. And what's with not going after the comments of wingnuts? He seems to grill opr seriously challenge Republicans the least.
I was very disappointed in the interview of the two members of the Gang of Six. From what the Senators were saying, I was literally pumping my fist in the air: Entitlements need to be cut, taxes need to be reformed, and we should take debt ceiling votes seriously. The line of questioning, however, went right back to the "horserace" reporting that degrades our politics. I don't normally agree with Senator Coburn but I was feeling sorry for him having to answer questions about whether tax reform equals raising taxes. There was a great opening to move past the typical "Democrats want to tax & spend" and "Republicans want to cut taxes & spend" and instead the interview went right back into that gutter. By all means you should buttonhole an interviewee when they show hypocrisy but you should reward them with better questions when they show leadership. Please please please Meet the Press should be a force for good in the tenor of US politics not a tit-for-tat scoreboard.
I don't have a problem with David Gregory, I think he has a good handle on the issues/facts and is a good moderator. Besides, this is NOT FOX NEWS (thank God!), therefore there is no smoke-screen of being "fair and balanced". Where I think David might do a bit better is in his choice of MTP guests at the Round-table. Ms. Dunn is clearly still an Obama mouthpiece, using mainly talking points from the White House as her substance. I think where MTP has always shined (especially under Tim Russert's leadership) is in getting past "Talking Points" and into the meat behind the issues.
You say DG gets past the talking points, but I have a real problem with the way he tried to conflate Senator Coburn's support of tax reform with a tax increase. The Republican Senator's apparent agreement with Senator Conrad criticizing corporate tax dodges in the Cayman Islands was a step forward in political discourse. Instead DG ambushed him with a visual of a "No Tax Increase" pledge. Why would MTP do that just when the conversation was getting interesting? Does MTP want guests to go back to Talking Points rather than go out on a limb?
I am becoming increasingly annoyed by what's not asked in this show. When you talk about gas prices, for instance, it's Obama that gets the blame. What about Congress, for not creating a rational energy policy? What about the Koch Brothers who have apparently been warehousing gas to control prices? What about Exxon for its campaign of disinformation?
When you talk about the budget, how can you avoid talking about the cost of war? When you talk about security, how can you avoid talking about climate change?
Do the guests limit the conversation as a condition of coming on the show, or is this a network decision? Or is it Mr. Gregory?
Think I'll watch something else.
Another "step forward in political discourse" was wasted when DG cut off a strong discussion on energy issues to to dive back into the tabloid mud of "The Donald." Surely his contract with NBC allows for and even encourages some discretionary editorial judgement.
Yes, I agree, Col Irish. Glad it's not just our family that notices this about DG.
I am wondering why no one is attacking the root cause of the deficit problem.
We borrow money from the banks. The banks borrow from the central bank. Where does the central bank get the money from? It is free for them, they just print it whenever it wants, and whatever amount it wants.
If the money is free for the central bank, then why do we have to pay it back? Why there will be a deficit? Isn't it that central bank is holding us hostage? Shouldn't we try to solve that problem?
Remove the central bank. That is what the Nobel Prize winner in economics, Milton Friedman, said.
Why are we afraid of bypassing the root cause? Where is the Tea Party? Where is the Republican Party? Where are the people? Why no one is talking about it? Where is the President?
Would some one answer my questions?
Of course McCain will say "we need to do more". He's not the one ultimately responsible. He ruled out ground forces, yet you didn't bother asking him how he'd accomplish anything on the ground in Libya without it. The bigger question should be: Why are we there?
On your incessant referrals to Donald Trump, no one within their right mind would be even considering him a valid or serious candidate, especially in light of the things he has said. I posit that the only reason that he polls well (in very light sampling) is his celebrity and the never ending love he gets from NBC and FoxNews. I remember when Ross Perot began falling off the rails. No one wanted to touch him. David, Trump fell off the rails from the start. Just like Palin, the only reason he exists as a "serious" candidate is because intellectually dishonest people like you keep the light on him.