now -- >> john kerry was the president -- >> no, exactly. obama did not blame john kerry. they think this president had a hard time taking romney serious. he was a sort of gaff-prone rich guy that was not at his level. i think he won that debate because of overconfidence. he went to -- was doing some tourism in the days leading up to that denver debate. he was not focused on it. >> it was also a two-way street, you see, because obama lashed out at his own team for not prepping him properly. they had gone in -- in august they will gone in with an aggressive strategy, and then romney had the 47% comment. we have folks quoting obama who say you have confused me. you don't really -- >> here is the president and john kerry standing by and watching this mom nation. >> our nation was engaged in two wars, and al qaeda was entrenched in their safe havens. many of the alliances were frayed, and america's standing in the world did suffer. over the past four years we have begun a new era of american leadership. we ended the war in iraq, but the al qaeda core on the path to defight, an

he wants longtime senator john kerry to replace hillary clinton. the formal announcement coming in the next hour at about 1:30 or so eastern. we'll have that live. we asked americans how they feel about john kerry as secretary of state, but first, kerry's nomination hardly a surprise. people close to him already calling him mr. secretary. here's a little bit about him from kate bolduan. >> thank you very much, mr. secretary. >> reporter: his senate colleagues have joked about his ambition, what many regarded as the worst-kept secret in washington, even in recent senate hearings john kerry sound like he was looking ahead to the future job and the anticipated battled over the state department budget with with congress. >> that must change and in the next session of the congress i hope it will. >> reporter: he wasn't the president's first choice. u.n. ambassador susan rice took herself out of the running after republican backlash. >> it was unjustified to give the scenario as presented by ambassador rice. >> reporter: senator kerry knows himself about

we've heard an endless stream of republicans come forth and endorse john kerry. as a matter of fact, i just saw john kerry coming out of a briefing on, guess what? a closed briefing from the dni, james clapper, on benghazi.

. >> thanks, this is "studio b" today, the president today tapping senator john kerry to replace hillary clinton as secretary of state in the experts say he will not face much opposition. details ahead. plus, the head of the n.r.a. making the first public statement since the sandy hook elementary school shooting amid protests there. his plea to put armed guards inside schools coming up. >> the united states marine held in mexico for an technique gun set to walk through today. all ahead, unless breaking news changes everything. this is "studio b." first from fox at 3:00, president obama revealing his choice to be the next secretary of state today nominating senator john kerry to that job. many analysts had already called it washington's worst kept secret. if confirmed senator john kerry takes on a key role in the national security team during the second term. senator john kerry would replace the current secretary of state, hillary clinton, who will step down early next year. this afternoon, president obama calling senator kerry an exemplary public servant. >> we turn the page on a decade

here it is. >> we have known john kerry for many years. we have confidence in john kerry's ability to carry out the job. >> i think senator kerry was a very solid choice by the president. he has a lot of experience. he has been on the foreign relations committee for a very long time. he knows most of the world leaders. >> the susan rice/benghazi witch-hunt, what is your reaction to that? >> well, keep in mind john kerry is barack obama's first choice. susan rice wasn't a choice. she got tied up into the politics of benghazi. but this is who the president likes, believes in. kerry gave obama that great nominating speech slot in 2004. but kerry has been able to be bipartisan in the true sense. he has been able to cut deals and work with senators -- senator murkowski is a friend of his from alaska, for example. this is going to be one of the best appointments, selections that the president could have made. and most people on capitol hill feel the same. >> quickly, will he go through confirmation easily? >> he will go through. i think vicki ke

john kerry cannot be trusted. >> since the swift boating of john kerry eight years ago, there has now been, to put it mildly, a change of heart from those on the right. >> i think john kerry would be an excellent appointment and would be easily confirmed by his colleagues. >> if the president wants an easy confirmation hearing and an easy confirmation process, what he would do is nominate john kerry, who is eminently qualified to be secretary of state. >> of course, these same senators were the ones to torpedo u.n. ambassador susan rice's nomination, but their kerry love fest isn't based solely on the fact that he happens to not be susan rice. if kerry moves on to the state department, republicans will have a shot at picking up another senate seat. a special election would be held for his replacement opening the door for scott brown who made sure to leave the door open for himself on the way out. >> as i have said many times before, temporary victory -- defeat is temporary. depending on what happens and where we go, all of us, we may meet again. >> the washington post reports that bar

i like john kerry like she said. john kerry is weak, i'm sorry. i voted for him. but he's not the strongest person against the republicans. and we need to pick our battles and start now. i'm sick and tired of being told by republicans who blankety blank we can pick and who we can choose while they think this is the reason why they're the way they are now because this president gave gave, gave. i'm sick of the give. i worked my butt getting people out to win ohio. i've been writing him. do not pick john kerry. i'm sorry. i don't care how many battles he has to fight. he ain't got no more time to run. fight him off. i'm here to help fight against all of those people in michigan, too. i'm sick of this. oh, we have to do this because of the republicans. >> rack her. >> bill: brenda, you're my baby! i love you! interesting, that spirit, right? i think if the president went with susan rice, it sounds like he would have a -- make a lot of people happy and have a lot of people fighting with him. >> doesn't mean he wins. >> bill: fight the fight. >> it seems there are a lo

john kerry occasionally committed verbal gaffs in the past. remember i voted for it when before i voted against it. he is proud of fact that he speaks language of diplomacy which is french. you don't want to him to go up to the microphone and laps lapse into french. lou: kt mcfarland joined us. ambassador boltons beside himself. he had run out of countries that kerry was going to mess up. what areyour deepest fears? >> look, i mean for the obama administration i think john kerry is fine choice. he will do exactly what the president tells him to do. he will help the united states pass what he once famously called the global test. this is what john kerry was made to do. i agree with judy. this is it sort of the perfect. lori: job for him. he is looking to have a job for this if not years but for decades. he will carry out the president's wishes. he will consult with the president. i don't think he will be driving u.s. foreign policy in any sense of that word. lou: presumably he will not be easily concussed and therefore not available for the con

the new world order john kerry for secretary of state. mr. obama expected to make the announcement any moment at the white house. with kerry at his side, but without hillary clinton. the secretary of state is still

patty culhane has more. >> john's enter life has prepared him for this role. >> john kerry has waited and worked for this moment. named as president barack obama's pick to be the secretary of state. >> if confirmed he will be a key part of the national security team bringing with him the experience of a war veteran turned war protestor. >> i'm john kerry and i'm reporting for duty. >> in the past presidential candidate who promised care when using the military. >> i will send a message to every man and woman in our armed forces -- you will never be asked to fight a war without a plan to win the peace. >> he hasn't always been in lock step on libya with the president. he pushed for the administration to push for mubarak's resignation early on. and chastised the u.s. on peace talks. but he has been a fierce deferned on the president's approach on sanctions. he thinks diplomacy could still work in the senate he has made clear how he would deal with the arab spring. >> the opportunity, i see is a way for us to not dominate, not -- we shouldn't seek to. we should seek to cooperate. we shou

like me had to ask john kerry about susan rice. he kind of looked at us like are you asking me this because it was weird because it was clear he wanted the job. then over the past week after susan rice took her name out, every day we would see kerry in the subway that runs underneath here or the elevator saying, hi, mr. secretary, congratulations. he would say not yet, not yet. so he's kind of been in an odd waiting game, waiting for the official news, and even this morning my understanding is his senate office didn't know officially this was going to come today. so there definitely has been -- there's a feeling this is a long time coming for senator kerry, and that's why for a number of reasons it's pretty clear that he's going to be confirmed. >> he canning loud and proud now. dana bash reporting live from capitol hill. thanks so much. >>> also happening now in washington, lawmakers are saying good-bye to hawaii senator daniel inouye. there's a special memorial service. the senate chaplain will deliver a sermon and you see presid

john kerry can help barack obama be just that. joining me now is nbc news chief white house correspondent and political director chuck todd and "the washington post's" nia malika henderson. do you know when the president decided with or along with ambassador rice to decide that she should formally remove herself from consideration? >> well, this is not just the story, but it was my understanding the president was never -- never asked her to do this. she came to this conclusion on her own sometime in the last 24 hours and decided it wasn't worth it, that this was causing the president a share of political problems. this was causing extra headaches that weren't necessary, so she made this decision on her own. i can tell you, the president has been conflicted on this for some time, and he'd been getting conflicting advice. some of his -- some of the political advice he had been getting is, you know, mr. president, how many fights do you want to have on the hill? democratic senators were quietly sending word to the white house, we've

john kerry worked his way up to the political ranks. susan rice has done every job you need to have done in unelected politics, if you will, to be qualified, to have the resume, to have the experience to be secretary of state. and, by the way, don't forget there was also the fact that kerry and rice in some ways some could argue see the world a little bit differently. susan rice is somebody a little more of an interventionist. wants to get involved. look at libya. she was somebody that was strongly there. john kerry is somebody who has seen war firsthand and is somebody who is very much hesitant as an interventionist when it comes to things. voted against things. so there was a lot here i think that was more than just am i going to do something with my friend or do something to reward the party. more complicated than that. >> i guess that's why as a commentator i feel more comfortable with kerry, just that's my opinion. let me go to our other great correspondent, andrea mitchell, on foreign relations and 9 white house intrigue here. i s

john kerry could serve ably in any number of positions. want to say about egypt, i don't know how much time you have, andrea, but some key egyptian national security officials are in washington now explaining egypt's recent actions. again that's a whole -- >> we were going to -- >> big pile of moves. i mean many good, some troubling, hopefully egypt and the people of egypt can find their way through this latest constitutional crisis and there can be a adopted by referendum a constitution that most of the people in egypt fear -- feel is fair. my comment there is sadly, both sides don't do politics very well. they're good at protesting and boycotting and issue decrees, they're not as good and our congress isn't so good at the moment either in working out compromises. after all, if both sides are a little unhappy it's probably the best way forward. >> jane harman, thank you very much. >> thank you. >>> up next, jazz great winston mars marsales to celebrate an important milestone. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. we've all had

if the president wanted john kerry, i see no reason to stand in the way of john kerry as secretary of state. i'm certainly if i were president never select john kerry as secretary of state. >> why? >> i think some people in our military will have a very hard time. those people who were in the hanoi hilton listening to john kerry attacking america and attacking american soldiers will have a hard time with this. >> if you were president obama, who would you go for? >> what i'm saying is i'm not president obama. are you saying to me is this an acceptable choice within the realm of president obama's right to choose? which i believe in very much. yes, this is an acceptable choice. >> let's move to the fiscal cliff, because it's become a real pain in the back side for everybody really and everybody is waiting for what they believe to be an inevitable deal. it would seem today that john boehner and president obama met at the white house. that's a good move. they haven't come out attacking each other, that's encouraging. are you looking at this as a pre-christmas done deal, rudy? >> i think s

if the president wanted john kerry, i see no reason to stand in the way of john kerry as secretary of stat yes ts aacptle choice. >> let's move to the fiscal cliff, because it's become a real pain in the back side for everybody really and everybody is waiting for what they believe to be an inevitable deal. it would seem today that john boehner and president obama met at the white house. that's a good move. they haven't come out attacking each other, that's encouraging. are you looking at this as a pre-christmas done deal, rudy? >> i think so, because it seems so obvious that you have to do it. i didn't like the comment that they had a frank talk. that reminds me of the cold war. that's when kruschev and kennedy would meet and the next thing after you said they had a frank conversation, everyone went into shelters and said oh, my god, what's going to happen next? to me a deal is doable, but you've got -- you have to recognize what both sides -- obviously the president needs a hike in taxes. >> and that's going to happen, isn't it? let's be honest, the republicans have lost that argumen

and john kerry is certainly not a new face. in a way, it's a throwback to foreign policy of past decades. >> brown: ba kind of new ideas, or what are you referring to that he would lack in terms of experience or ideas about how to cope with current problems or future problems. >> no, he-- as a matter of experience he certainly has lots of experience. and in that sense, that is a strength for him. but i think he hasn't over the years been an originator of new kinds of policies. if you take, for example, china policy i think that he may be reluctant to react to a china which is very different from the way it was in the past. >> brown: let me bring david ignatius back. i guess it depends on what you think is needed right now, right? >> i think the world's a mess as kerry believes. he's right. and needs a strong american voice. needs the sort of steady hand that some of these experiences can bring. i point i would make about kerry is that although he often comes across as a stiff, as an establishment figure very form layic, in term

a nice statement from john kerry. i assume, by all account, until there's something we don't know, he's going to be nominated for secretary of state. >> yes, i think he will. what is interesting about john kerry is he has been out there publicly defending susan rice, saying that she would be a terrific secretary of state even as everyone knew that it's a job that he's coveted forever but being a statesman and someone who is a team player and someone who knows, likes susan rice, he went out of his way on capitol hill to defend her should she be nominated for that job. >> do you have any idea what is is going to happen for nomination as far as secretary of state is concerned? >> there hasn't been anyone else discussed. susan rice -- the main opposition was from the right but a little bit of drumbeat on the left from her record in africa that was an interesting development towards all of this. all of the signs are that senator kerry could sale through the one concern has been, can you hold his seat in a special election

>> well, first of all, do i think that john kerry will probably be nominated by the president. and i do think that he will sail through.one thing, as you pointed out, there's another advantage for republicans because it opens that senate seat in massachusetts and they have a strong candidate, scott brown. in terms of the chuck hagel appointment, from the outside looking in this looks like a very smart, shrewd, perhaps even wise move. hagel is a republican, fairly long-time republican senator. he was in the service during vietnam. he knows what it was like to be in military uniform during that -- during jungle hell. >> absolutely. >> so that could be a very good appointment for him. but you make a good point that digging around on kerry and hagel because many republicans are in the more, quote, conservative wing of the party consider hagel not a real republican. he was too moderate, too willing to compromise, quote unquote, in their words. so they'll be poking around. and if they can find anything on which to attack they probably will. >> dan rather, anchor and managing editor o

>> he is going to nominate john kerry, secretary of state. that process has been in development for some time. when susan rice withdrew over the criticism attached to her from the benghazi incident, it left john kerry as really the principal candidate for that decision. we are told that is the only announcement the president will make today. well not hear about defense where leon panetta is headed to leave that post. >> reminder, we carry theory the president's address live just shortly on "power lunch." michelle, over to you. >> yeah, we are waiting for a lot of stuff, aren't we sue? right now, kevin brady, republican from texas, a deputy whip in the house, joining economic senior member of house ways and means, joining us live from capitol hill. representative brady, let's start with plan b. as a whip, if our audience members doesn't # don't understand what a whip does, you are supposed to help whip up votes. that didn't happen last night. you failed. what went wrong? >> we do. we count noses. try to get 218 unified republican congress to m

we've got to compare john kerry with john kerry, not with somebody else. >> what do you think his biggest hurdle will be in his upcoming confirmation hearings? >> i do not think he will have much of a hurdle. the senators know him. there has been a tendency for the senate to easily confirm one of their own. he is knowledgeable. no one is going to deny that. he has all the credentials necessary to be a good secretary of state. >> mr. rogin? >> the senate usually does confirm members -- we know there is a huge opposition to the nomination of chuck hagel to secretary of defense. he referred to the pro-israel lobby as the jewish lobby. do you think it is fair to hold chuck hagel accountable for that remark? >> i think that remark is troublesome. it shows at the best lack of sensitivity. at the worst, prejudice. i am concerned about the nomination. obviously chuck hagel has been at the center for many years and has good attributes. there's a lot of controversy not only with that remark, but with some of his votes. it is troublesome. i've been hearing a lot from my constituents, mainly in oppos

the idea of a john kerry. on the other hand, they're friends. i'm not saying anything is smooth sailing but john kerry is certainly the front-runner. there aren't any other strong candidates. >> you'd be surprised if it wasn't him. >> i'd be astonished. >> we'll hold you to that. >> thank you. >> we'll need you to weigh in on another story. >>> today on this show, let's call it the budgetary boondoggle. both sides met last night in what they'd call a frank conversation. boehner earlier in the today accused obama of dragging this out. >> i've been pushing all year for us to address this problem. here we are at the 11th hour and the president still isn't serious about dealing with this issue right here. it's this issue. spending. >> if we go over the cliff will you permit a vote to decouple that and fight again on the -- >> ifs and ands and buts are like candy and nuts. if that were the case every day would be christmas. my goal is to get to -- i know, it's going to be here real soon! my goal is to get to an agr

john kerry can help barack be just that. joining me now is nbc news chief white house correspondent chuck todd. chuck, this has been fascinating chlts do you know when the president decided with or along with ambassador rice that she should formally remove herself from consideration? >> this is my understanding, the president never asked her to do this. she came to this conclusion on her own in the last 24 hours and said this is not worth it. it was can causing the president a fair share of problems. so she made this decision on her own. i can tell you, the president has been conflicted on this for some time. he had been getting conflicting advice. democratic senators were quietly sending word to the white house. we've got a lot of heavy lifts to do for the president. a heavy lift on whatever the fiscal deal ends up being or not being. a heavy lift on immigration. don't add to the angst. don't add to the anxiety. look, i think that she's a victim of an old fashioned media feeding fren si that we're going to look back on and

john kerry would be great and is a member of the same club. the other thing about the story that is jaw dropping is here is someone who has a record serving the government none of which came to bear on the secretary of state. her record crafting africa policy for much of the krin ton years which was subject to critique, none of it had anything to do with anything except the base scalp. and she was attacked for what she said on a tv talkshow by people all of whom have lied on talkshows at certain points. saying your entire career comes down to his one exchange on television. and an attack by the guy who does nothing else but go on sunday talkshows. i guess he is an expert of how you do it right. she was not in super advisory capacity over. she was giving the talking points like john mccain does when he goes on sunday talkshows. it was so small but this is why people hate washington. >> here is what we don't know. i think we can assume there were two names on the list. and what we don't know is in a world with no static, what was president obama

>> john kerry is very qualified. i had the occasion to work with him on the foreign relations committee for four years. he has been very active and engaged in international diplomacy. in particular the comprehensive peace agreement in sudan successfully concluded last year. i think he would be a good nominee for the president. jon: the senate is said to be a club, members are polite to one another? do you see any impeding his way to nomination. >> we have our approval hearings and at vice and consent in the senate. i'm sure there will be questions and analysis of his career but i think he will be confirmed. jon: would you, i presume that is going to happen fairly quickly? do you know a timetable on all of this? >> that is an important question. i think we need closure on the benghazi issue and he is in particularly interesting position as chairman of the committee while we're holding hearings on benghazi. i think it vest important for his sake and the country's sake we have closure what happened on benghazi and put t

if anything, you know, john kerry will come in absolutely unscathed. with incredibly powerful relationships, throughout washington and the administration. and, i think he has the full power, you know, you look at susan rice, he has been loyal to obama and i have known her since she was a kid. she was the attack dog against john mccain, in the, you know, 2008 election and, i think that that is what hurt her in the senate, as much that's fact she used the talking points on benghazi. >> rick: fair enough. does john kerry sail through confirmation? >> sail through like a missile. the funny part -- >> rick: like a missile, you say? >> like a very fast missile. >> rick: a discussion about our top diplomat... i know what you mean. >> the rule used to be, a senator was the easiest person to confirm, because there's all kinds of privilege and all of that. but what we are seeing with chuck hagel, a republican, whose name has been bandied about for secretary of defense, he's getting shot at and, we see the words, getting rice -- because of comments he made about

you worked for john kerry for a period of time. >> bring it on. bring it on. >> he went on bob schieffer's program and accused our troops of killing innocent civilians and old people in the dark and night during the iraq war. >> what are we talking about here? >> i'm asking john kerry and whether or not he's qualified to be secretary of state. he said our troops, bob, are going in the dark at night and committing these atrocities. that was during the iraq war. very similar to what he said about our troops after vietnam when he accused them of cutting off limbs and tying electric wires to people's testicles. >> yeah. okay. i will say that -- >> should that be an issue? >> i think john kerry is imminently qualified to be secretary of state and a lot of republicans senators agree with me on that and a lot of republicans in the house agree as well. >> so he accuses of troops of atrocities and that shouldn't be an issue? >> the totality of john kerry's record as war hero and fearless advocate. >> war hero? >> listen. when it comes to defense, there's n

how effective will john kerry be? >> he has great spirits. in a sense, the obama administration has used him very effectively in the past four years. he was first on the ground in copenhagen with the climate change negotiations. he was inserted into the troubled relationship the united states has with pakistan. he has had effective conversations with president karzai, and he did some yeoman's work when it came to negotiations with south sudan. he has made his mark already in terms of conflict reduction, crisis mitigation. i think he will carry that experience into his new position. >> nevertheless, some would say he has enormous shoes to fill. hillary clinton has almost got a cult following among some people. how is his style going to be different to hers? >> you are talking about a man who ran for president in 2004. >> she tried to do that, too. >> he has his own persona, but he is quite experienced on a national stage, on a global stage, so i do not think he will shrink from the spotlight. >> but does he have that sort of personality, the c

but today senator john kerry's endorsement was made official. president obama nominating kerry for one of the highest posts really in the world. >> i'm very proud to announce my choice for america's next secretary of state, john kerry. in a sense, john's entire life has prepared him for this role as the son of a foreign service officer. he has a deep respect for the men and women of the state department. the role they play in advancing our interests and values, the risks that they undertake and the sacrifices that they make along with their families. having served with valor in vietnam, he understands that we have a responsibility to use american power wisely, especially our military power. john, i'm very grateful that you've agreed to take on this new assignment. i'm confident the senate will confirm you quickly. >> we know john kerry is a veteran senator. we know he ran for president in 2004. cnn's kate bolduan looks at the man in the moment. >> thank you very much, mr. secretary. >> his senate colleagues have joked about his ambition, what ma

john kerry did not stop. there's no medimmediat -- anoth scrum waiting to see what his reaction might be. i think the red flag that was raised here and talking about what chuck was talking about, having seen that cabinet meeting last week or was it the week before, martin, when president obama led a round of applause and gave a hearty endorsement to susan rice as she sat at the end of the cabinet room. i don't think there was any secret that this was very visceral for the president. any evidence you need of that privately or publicly you can look at his reaction in that post election press conference when he essentially said come after me if you're going to come after susan rice. but one of the red flags and this was mentioned earlier is when after one of those closed door briefings that we have here in the senate, susan collins, the very moderate senator from maine emerged to express her own reservations. she said she wouldn't put a hold or filibuster the nomination, i think that raised a red flag. and final

he doesn't, then john kerry will implement the president's foreign policy. that's what the secretary of state is charged to do. but usually, when we have had truly cons quential successes of state, henry kissinger, george schulz, james baker, the secretary had a lot of leeway to create and shape the policy, rather than execute it. that's wawe don't know right now. will kerry be allowed to do that? or will he essentially be an executor of what the president wants. >> jamie: >> jamie: what type of foundation did hillary clinton, as secretary of state lay for the next secretary? >> it's really fascinating. she was a secretary of state who came to the office with more star power and quality than any of our previous successes with the possible exception of colin powell. i mean, she had 8 years in the white house. she was almost the president -- at least she was almost the democratic candidate for president. so she had tremendous appeal. i think by and large, she understood that barack obama is a withholding president and she identified in issues -- they weren't w