Senator John McCain, one of the Senators leading the charge against Chuck Hagel's nomination as Secretary of Defense, said that Hagel will be confirmed by the Senate.
"I don't believe he is qualified. But I don't believe that we should hold up his nomination any further." McCain said.
McCain, a former friend of Hagel, said the nominee was not "mainstream" and some of his past comments, particularly about Israel were "atrocious."
White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough defended Hagel and argued that he would be a "great" secretary of defense and charged his opponents of playing politics with the nomination.
McDonough also shrugged off reports this morning that the White House is preparing an immigration bill that Senator Marco Rubio said would be "dead on arrival" in Congress.
When asked about the report, McDonough responded "all it says to me is that we are doing exactly what we said we would do." He argued that the White House supports bi-partisan efforts in Congress to come to an agreement on comprehensive immigration, but, should those talks fail, they are "prepared" with their on proposal.
You can watch the entire program on our website including a lively discussion on our roundtable about President Obama's approach to dealing with Congress and what is being done to avoid the automatic spending cuts slated to take place next month.
Plus don't miss the discussion with former Space Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly - husband of Gabby Giffords - about his personal mission to tighten gun laws in hopes of preventing mass shootings like the one that happened to his wife just over two years ago.
We'll be back next week. If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.
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Not Qualified, but doesn't want to hold things up.... How about just plain rejecting him and getting Oblamer to pick someone who is qualified...
That would be too easy and make too much sense for Congress to even consider.
I didn't hear McCain explain why he's turned on his friend, Hagel. this whole thing with the opposition of the repubs in congress is making me very uncomfortable. I feel like we're in grade school again. I truly believe that President Obama may be one of our greatest presidents, but having to deal with the politics of people who behave like school kids is disgusting. among other things, they appear to be prejudiced and cannot tolerate a half black man being the president. why are we not talking about taxes large corporations should be paying?
Nancy, I consider Obama to be the very worse president in history. He has done more to destroy the American culture and to support immoral behavior by the public than any president. He has added more debt to this nation than all the other presidents combined. He is driven to make this a socialist country. As far as Hagel goes, he is totally unqualified, has no management experience yet would be managing billions of our tax dollars, he is an enemy of Israel our strongest ally in the Middle East, and endorses a lot of Iran's actions while the government of Iran ahas sworn to destroy both the USA and Israel. RINOs like McQuain, that put political buddies before the safety and well being of American citzens are as bad as Obama.
OH GOOD GRIEF - no matter how bad you think Obama is - Bush was WAY worse. In his budgets, he didn't even count the two unpaid wars. Immoral behavior? He seems to be a great husband and father, which is more than we can say about any number of our previous presidents. You're just mad that Hagel isn't acting as asinine as the rest of his republican counterparts.
ROTFLMBO ... Will folks ever tire of spreading blatant falsehoods ... The teapublicans have done their dead level best to convince the public of this inaccurate assessment of the President & yet he won reelection.
There is no evidence that Hagel is an enemy of Israel or a proponent of the Iran govt or its policies. If a person makes such a statement, they should publish the evidence to support it.
Senator Chuck Hagel is a Vietnam vet who received 2 purple hearts, which qualifies him more than Robert Gates or Leon Panetta. This man served his country as an infantry man & put his life on the line in her defense. Nothing would make him more qualified to head the Dept of Defense other than his executive experience & appointments as a Senator from Nebraska.
The way Republicans turn on their own when they cross the aisle to put the country's best interests ahead of party is one of many reasons why Willard lost the presidential election last November.
So he was for Hagel before he was giants Hagel. Hmmm. Let's throw General Colin Powell's hat in the ring and see why they would object to another fine nominee.
**against**
The republicans are disgustingly prejudiced and can't stand to have a half African American president. PERIOD. This is making me feel very uncomfortable that our government is behaving like grade schoolers and making decisions for the people of our nation. this is a crisis and there should be a law in place to deal with a situation where personal immaturity and jealousy are affecting the ability for the president to do his job and seriously affecting outcomes and our nations safety.
One of the things that I do not like about transcription reporting these days is that the commentator reports on current views of guests, regardless of what they may have said a week ago. There is no "challenge" given to that individual and they are permitted to say anything.
Case in point, AZ Senator McCain. A couple of weeks ago, he mentioned that he wouldn't hold up the filibuster for Sec Def Hagel. Then, when the vote was taken last week, there he was taking opposing view in cloture vote.
Today, he indicates that he supports Hagel. Previous, he didn't. Two weeks ago, he did. And, since Senate is on a 10 day break, this is a "filibuster" even though many in GOP refuse to call it that.
No wonder the Senator appears to be losing credibility amongst the American people. He is not a "maverick", he is a "flip flopper".
The Republicans have bitten off their pound of flesh from Hagel. Is the revenge rant over, so we can have a Secretary of Defense now, or will they run to the end of the chain for one more snarling bark? It still won't heal the b*tthurt from November 6th.
What has been put in the DC water? It’s like senile kindergarten! I was extremely disappointed with the president’s State of the Union speech and the Republican responses were from not ready for prime time players. If these are the rising stars then the black hole is just around the corner. Too bad the Russian meteorite did not hit The Capitol Building during the special session!
Let “The Sequester” take effect. Hearing “The Generals” bemoan small cuts by saying they will not have money to train troops or send ships on patrol. Really! Sounds like extremely poor money management! Maybe we should take away their personal chefs to wake them up!
Why do you continue to have Carly Fiorina on your panel? She has proved herself to be an out of touch, paranoid, inept leader with viewpoints that add nothing to the discussion. How many guests have to say her ignorant statements are lies before you boot her like the HP board?
I believe John McCain needs to have a mental check up. He has forgotten how much "Cover up" there was from President "W" Bush during 9-11. ALL planes grounded except for the Saudis being allowed to fly home.
Oh, and what about all the Chatter our President Bush Administration heard and knew about prior to the 911 attacks. Mr. McCain, I'm ashamed I ever voted for you. You should just Go back to Arizona and retire there.
I think alot of questions need to be answered by the President. benghazi particulary.Somebody knows something so stop avoiding the question. I thought coming to this country ilegally was a felony. We allready have laws on the books for gun control. I believe if they kept the killers off the streets and inforced capital punishment criminals may think twice, probably not though.As it stands now there is'nt any incentive for them not to committ murder. If caught we get to pay for their up keep. Just to let you know I did not vote for either of the people that ran for our highest office. they did'nt deserve my vote so I wrote in a different name, but I still voted. NO on gun control.
Hagel unqualified yet will still be in Obama's Cabinet? When you look at the rest Obama's inner circle, this addition is no different.
I'm getting real tired of seeing McCain on the show every few weeks. He has spectacularly bad judgement and his overexposure on your show props him up way beyond his contribution to any issue with which the country is struggling. Either rename the show "Sunday Morning with Gregory and McCain" or ratchet McCain's appearances down to a more sensible level. BTW, substituting Lindsay Graham—another gamer—won't change the situation.
John McCain, on Meet The Press today, is so full of it that his silver hair was starting to turn. brown. He states that the current administration has a cover up on the Benghazi terrorist attack. I ask Mr. McCain: Let's talk about the cover up from President "W" Bush on the day of 9-11. Remember he was so secretive getting the Saudis flown out of the United States while ALL OTHER airplanes were grounded.
What about ALL THE CHATTER which the Administration all knew about well before the 911 attacks.
I believe John McCain needs to a Check-up from the neck up. And to think I actually voted for Mr. McCain. Mr. McCain, go back to Arizona NOW, before you make a total fool out of yourself.
What happened in Benghazi has NOTHING to do with Hagel's nomination. The POTUS should call Lindsey Graham into the Oval office and TELL him what he was doing the night of 9/11 TO HIS FACE!!
McCain is being honest , if not childish, about his reasons for belaboring the Hagel nomination.
George Douglas, were you outraged during the 8 years of the Bush administration when he DOUBLED the National Debt, got us into TWO wars, had no oversight into the financial crisis, and sponsored TARP? Was George Bush the worst President in history at that time in history?
I would love to ask McCain to comment on the GOP Administrations, particularly 'W's, with cover-ups, particularly 9/11, the Iraq War and WMDs and
Donald Rumsfeld was Secretary of Defense between 2001 and 2006, so none of this should be news to him:
June 14, 2002, U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan
Suicide bomber kills 12 and injures 51.
February 20, 2003, international diplomatic compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Truck bomb kills 17.
February 28, 2003, U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan
Gunmen on motorcycles killed two consulate guards.
July 30, 2004, U.S. embassy in Taskkent, Uzbekistan
Suicide bomber kills two.
December 6, 2004, U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Militants stormed and occupied perimeter wall. Five killed, 10 wounded.
March 2, 2006, U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan
Suicide car bomber killed four, including a U.S. diplomate directly targeted by the assailants.
September 12, 2006, U.S. embassy in Damascus, Syria
Gunmen attacked embassy with grenades, automatic weapons, and a car bomb (though second truck bomb failed to detonate). One killed and 13 wounded.
January 12, 2007, U.S. embassy in Athens, Greece
A rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the embassy building. No one was injured.
July 9, 2008, U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey
Armed men attacked consulate with pistols and shotguns. Three policemen killed.
March 18, 2008, U.S. embassy in Sana'a, Yemen
Mortar attack misses embassy, hits nearby girls' school instead.
September 17, 2008, U.S. embassy in Sana'a, Yemen
Militants dressed as policemen attacked the embassy with RPGs, rifles, grenades and car bombs. Six Yemeni soldiers and seven civilians were killed. Sixteen more were injured.
So did those attacks (and the 9/11 ones, for that matter) happen because of "perceived American weakness"? Is that what Rumsfeld wants to argue—that our country's diplomatic missions were targeted because George Bush's America was perceived as weak?
As for Obama, the attacks in Cairo and Benghazi are the first two attacks on a U.S. diplomatic mission in an ostensibly peaceful country during his entire presidency—and they were sparked by that idiot wingnut Islamophobe Terri Jones. The embassy in Afghanistan was targeted by the Taliban last Sept. 13, but that's a country at war.
If you buy Rumsfeld's nonsense, you can tally the numbers to determine which administration was "perceived weaker."
Why let him get away with his tripe and not call him on his own party's atrocities?
David thanks for yet another great show!
I thought David was going to step up to John McCain, not so much. Why give him a forum he is a bitter, old man.
David is a groily-undercover rethug that strives ever so hard to hide it under the mask of being fair and balanced. Tim Russert was tough, fair and balanced. David still see's the need to fit into Tim's master boots albeit as his own man. I listen to him from time to time and wonder why some very OBVIOUS questions and follow-ups are never asked. It has nothing to do with the time constarints of the show, David lacks the gut skills to do a great job. Tim would get these guys so afraid of their own shadows they dared not show their faces on MTP more than once. David lets J-Mac and others like him get away with so much cover-up and double talk that they have no fear of ever getting to the truth and are rewarded with more beauty-contestant parading on his show. John Mac is an old coot and a joke. WE ALL KNOW it and we are also aware that he has become irrelevant now, yet MTP invites him on several times per month to allow him to rehash his old theories and grievances. Its ridiculous. There are at least 80 other stars in politics who can and should get air-time. MTP needs to replace David and retire John Mac to Mexico.
With all do respect, does Sen. McCain have any credibility left? What has he been right about? Sarah Palin!
Look, it is no secret. Americans are now witnessing the last desperate efforts by the oligarchs who control Washington to maintain our nation's Super Power status. The truth is our government no longer has the resources to sustain the American Empire. Like all empires before us, the government has extended our imperialistic expansion beyond our means to pay for it. Washinton is gutting every aspect of our inrastructure and social programs.
Did you hear the president in the State of the Union Speech? Like the last two presidents said before him, our nation needs educated imigrants to come here and work, because we don't have enough educated Americans to do the job. Really!. And we are the greatest country in the world.
john should have said no way to this guy. nothing until the cover up is exposed. you are so bais no wonder noone watches .
In the old days, reporters would be asking the questions on Benghazi that John McCain had to lay out for Mr Gregory. If President Obama was a Republican, more of them likely still would be asking those questions. But with this President and Mrs Clinton at the helm, the interest in what happened before, during and after the Benghazi attack has been minimal. To cite just a few legitimate concerns: Cables from the mission were ignored or not acted upon; we had no ability to respond militarily, despite having been bombing (and droning) Libya less than a year before, knowing that eastern Libya was a hotbed of bad guys, and knowing that it was a 9-11 anniversary; there have been no interviews with any of the survivors that I'm aware of; we have a minimal accounting of the death of the Ambassador and the sequence of events associated with it; we had bogus blame immediately put on the anti-Muhammad video; we had an apology commercial produced by the State Department in Pakistan almost immediately after the attack; we had the charade of the supposed holding of folks accountable in the State Department (Are any of them employed anywhere else nowadays? Should be easily checkable for some intrepid reporter); we had the Susan Rices' 5 'news' show appearances on the following Sunday where she insisted that the video was to blame; we had the President's mixed messages on whether it was an act of terrorism; we saw the changed talking points - inconclusive as to who did it; we don't to this day know what the President did the night of the attack, and I could go on. There are a plethora of unanswered questions which the administration has been pushed by very few in the press to answer. For those who don't see a liberal bias in much of the media, Benghazi is a textbook example of that bias, as was Mr Gregory's questioning of McCain on what the administration might be covering up - it appears clear he has no real interest. (Kudo's to Cheryl Atkinson of CBS and to varied Fox News reporters - they were interested.) If anyone doubts the bias, see how much press attention the claims of John Brennan-authorized (and compartmentalized) attacks on radicals in the region might have predicated the 9-11 attack bring. Going to cover that one next week, Mr Gregory? Or will you be busy reporting the labeling of Ted Cruz as a McCarthyite?
I could not agree with Politically Infected more! I have been railing against David Gregory ever since he was hired as moderator of MTP! David is a closet republican that is asked to talk to their fund raisers and then does one of the poorest jobs ever of controling th lies and BS that his mainly republican guests spew out! Example, is good old Johnnie Mac! He is a mad old white man that lost an election with the help of his great discretion of picking another brilliant choice Sarah Palin as his running mate, and we give him the pulpit to vent his foresight with out interruption? Gregory is so biased and ill informed(by choice I believe) that he will not ask the obvious follow up questions, allows certain guests to just take over the show(republicans primairly)! Now I see that he has re-upped with MTP! I have been watching less and less of MTP because of his lack of any kind of professionalism and biased preconcieved attitude and lack of knowledge to moderate MTP! Talk about a bad decision and waste of money, this reminds me of the Karl Rove great investment! Bad decision NBC!
The total lack of leadership(which all of the republicans quote in unison as their prescribed party talking point), in this country is from the immature republican leader in the House of Representatives John Boehner and the minority leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell! I would ask everyone what have they done to move this nation forward? What is their responsibility for job creation in this nation? What are their plans to get this economy to move forward? They have not and will not tell us what programs they will cut to try and balance this budget, how they will pay for anything, how their ideas will not lose jobs rather than create jobs, but won't tell us how they will do this without spending any money and want us to believe the 30 year old lie that cutting taxes for the richest Americans an the biggest corporations will just majically create jobs! Americans and corporations have never paid lower net effective taxes, and America now has the highest income disparity since 1929 and we are to listen to the party who got us there? Americans, please wake up!