there is no one else in south carolina than lindsay graham. senator graham has served his state incredibly well. he understands the foreign affairs are real like no other. i look forward to learning more about foreign affairs from senator graham. i will also say that over the last two years i've had the privilege of gaining a new family. some people don't think we look alike, but sometimes we do. \[laughter] i'll tell you that everyone from joe wilson, who we have referred to as the scoutmaster, to nicholas mulvaney -- i'm not sure what it is, but this wonderful haircut, and jeff duncan, who's not here with us and the new addition, tom rice. i have been afforded one of the greatest opportunities in the world to serve in the house of representatives. but what has made it more meaningful is to have served with these four guys and our scoutmaster. and i look forward to continuing to build on the family known as south carolina. you know, i haven't won anything yet in the senate and i have to run for re-election in 2014. and i look forward to havin

. >> senator lindsay graham is one. how does this impact his prospects? >> lindsay graham has been a target for the right for some time. he's up in 2014. this is when that new senator appointed by governor haley would be up as well. part of this initially was good news if you're lindsay graham because conservatives are going to focus on that senate seat instead of him. but if he chooses someone like tim scott, who everyone in the party likes, who'sed a adequately conservative, they're going to train their sites back on graham's seat. look, he's survived challenges before. he's very well-liked but again, it's a republican primary in a time when you're going to have so much energy. >> doesn't lindsay graham's behavior on the senate floor and his prominence in some of these issues, really taking on the administration suggest he's running scared and scared in his own primary? >> yes. every single republican up in 2014 if you'll note also voted against bob dole's bill. he wanted to see a disability bill through the senate because they were worried it was going

(cheers and applause) (laughter) >> jon: is lindsay graham about to propose to mccain and lieberman? (laughter) imagine lieberman's response. >> i'm the happiest man. i'm in a threeway tie for bride. (laughter) actually, lindsay graham is page the age-old slippery slope argument. >> i mean if gay people can get married why can't three people get married or ten people, or anybody to anything. again, placing gayness into the category of whimsical desire for something unconventional as opposed to a state of being who you are. going up against the supreme court, these guys are going buy some [bleep] slippery slope argument. >> justice antonin scalia was answering questions about his legal writing. >> a student on monday asked why scalia in past writings has compared sodomy laws to laws on beastiality and murder. >> jon: scalia! good old slippery sodomy slope scalia. ruff laugh aka antonin, aka lips manlis from the dick tracy movie. totally a pairing, you see on one of those web sites where the people look like other people. and then you click on it. (laughter) anyway, another standard bu

you heard lindsay graham and do republicans pass whatever the senate agrees to? >> the odds are somewhat better than 50/50 we get a minimal deal in the senate. not one that solves our debt problem, as you pointed out earlier and this is a prequel to going through it again around the first of march over the debt ceiling and getting us through this crisis, slightly better than 50-50 and the real question is in the house of representatives and will it be enough of a compromise, that enough republicans can vote for it, to get through the house? i put that at 50-50. >> chris: byron, the most we can say, or will be ale to say if congress passes something is they were able to stop the crisis, that they created, in the first place. but, they will have done nothing, i mean, it is really quite astonnishing to deal with the debt problem which is what the crisis was supposed to be about and, in fact, if you extend the bush tax cuts for 98, 99% of americans, and you have just these small, automatic spending cuts, you actually increase the deficit, by trillions of dollars over

i think it's about policy partly, clearly on the part of lindsay graham and john mccain. but a lot of it is about politics. they didn't get the chance that i think that a lot of them wanted to during the campaign, because mitt romney actually did not lead the charge on benghazi. john mccain led the charge on benghazi. and they have a sense -- there's nothing you can do to a senator to keep them out of the loop. and there is a sense there that not only were they not told the truth, but the american people were not told the truth and they decided -- i mean the white house calls it an obsession. jay carney has called it an obsession. but i do believe that there are lots of republicans who don't want her to be the secretary of state. and whoever thought there would be a republican caucus to get john kerry -- gwen: well, if you're a member of the senate you're part of the club and that's probably what's going on. but i'm curious about the folks at the white house, mike, it seems to me the people at the white house are trying to decide if it's worth it. >> i don't often say thi

go to gretawire.com. >>> up next, senator lindsay graham. he said yes, these are his words, the crazy bastards at guantanamo bay may want to kill us all, and they should be kept off u.s. soil. senator graham is here to talk about the controversy. >>> superstorm sandy victims ripping into female. fema. ♪ [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. sowhy let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. ta

this entire puppet show that john mccain and lindsay graham have done right now john mccain is waiving susan rice's scalp around trying to make his former friends like him again. so when you make a joke like i just did that they will finally find him butch, you'll find the conservative straight homophobes get so upset. >> stephanie: he said -- in my state we're not going to change the traditional definition of marriage -- he is a confirmed bachelor, isn't he? i support the traditional definition of marriage not out of hate but i think it's gist best for society. >> it's for society, not for him. >> he never settled down. he is a bachelor. lindsay has a friend -- he lives with a friend. >> my manner is -- man servant. >> stephanie: he said here is a country that stands on the grounds of freedom democracy and equality. are you telling me that's fine as long as you live in the same state. john mccain, lindsay's lover -- [ buzzer ] >> stop it. >> stephanie: the constitution of the united states have all rights re -- morgan said would you allow slavery in some states but not others? >> very

. >> south carolina senator lindsay graham and president obama -- the state of our fragile economy. president obama made his final argument, placing the blame squarely on congress, specifically, house republicans, mr. obama is cautiously opt mifertic that lawmakers will reach a watered-down deal, but no mention of debt, tax reform or entitlements. i'm shannon bream. the senate will convene in an hour. we have team coverage on capitol hill and at the white house. we start with mike, live on capitol hill. what's the latest on republicans? and how are they reacting to the comments we heard from the president? >> reporter: good afternoon. the critical comments from president obama in a critical stage in these negotiations, certainly seem to hit a nerve. a spokesman for senator mitch mcconnell says while the president was tapingly those remark, senator mcconnell was trying to bring republicans and democrats together on a solution. the spokesman notes, discussions continue. if senator mcconnell and harry reid can reach a deal in the next couple of hours, leading senate republican notes th

lindsay graham and mccain in a hotel room. >> stephanie: yeah i loved he was on a show the other day speaking out on marriage equality with his lover john mccain. aledgedly! >> i hope they suffer for it these two jerks. >> stephanie: i know. look at this woman how unbelievably accomplished she is, and to be denied secretary of state because of some stupid non-scandal. >> it's all of that white male rage. >> stephanie: yeah. and it was so blatantly political. it was almost a campaign ad for john kerry. >> i know they want that senate seat and scott brown will get that, right? >> stephanie: i don't know. the voters rejected him once. i would love if that blew up in their face too. >> that would be fun. it's fun to watch them go down on the titanic, isn't it. i don't want to gloat, but -- >> stephanie: yes, you are so soft-spoken on "the view." >> i have calmed down a little bit, because it doesn't pay to argue with elizabeth anymore. it's too exhausting. i can't. i have too many things to do. i have gifts to wrap. i can't. [ laughter ] >> stephanie: exactly. we have been doing kind of

lindsay graham and john bolton are here to discuss that. but michigan police on hunt for the violent masked protesters, wanted for ripping down a tent near the state capitol and terrorizing those inside the tent. that violence was sparked by the passage of the right-to-work law. the union supporters, tearing down the tent with the people still inside the tent. the tent belonging to americans for prosperity. today, the filing of a police complaint. you will hear the latest in just a minute. but first, caught under that tent, as it was coming down, vendor clint tarver, the hotdog guy, he was giving out hotdog when is he got the care of his life. so other tell me what happened? you got hired to sell hotdogs, you got there at 10:00 in the morning. take it from there. >> at 10:00 in the morning, i set up to sell hotdogs. at 10:30, i was ready to sell hotdogs. everyone had to have a ticket to receive a hotdog. so -- i guess about 11:30, maybe a quarter to 12, two guys came into the tent. and one was wearing the mask looks like a devil's mask. the

go to gretawire.com. >>> up next, senator lindsay graham. he said yes, these are his words, the crazy bastards at guantanamo bay may want to kill us all, and they should be kept off u.s. soil. senator graham is here to talk about the controversy. >>> superstorm sandy victims ripping into female. fema. wait until you hear that next. it's coming up. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later, i was saving big on car insurance. with snapshot, i knew what i could save before i switched to progressive. the better i drive, the more i save. i wish our company had something this cool. you're not filming this, are you? aw! camera shy. snapshot from progressive. test-drive snapshot before you switch. visit progressive.com today. aww, not the mall. well, i'll do the shopping... if you do the shipping. shipping's a hassle. i'll go to the mall. hey. hi. y'know, holiday shipping's easy with priority mail flat rate boxes from the posl service. if it fits, ithips anywhere in the couny for a low flat rate. yeah, i know. oh, you're good. laughing ] good luck! [

. >> chris: nascar lindsay graham not satisfied with a new report that found systemic failures at the state department contributed to the deaths of four americans at the u.s. consulate in benghazi. we are back now with the panel. the state department investigation found appointed by the state department found that state provided grossly inadequate security at the consulate in benghazi and laid the blame at the assistant secretary level not at the level of secretary of state clinton but given that report and the fact that susan rice pulled h her name out and is not going to be the next secretary of state, laura, is the benghazi controversy effectively over? >> i don't think so. so many questions that were still left open and a number of the senators addressed those this week after this report. we have gross negligence but the culpability doesn't reach the secretary's office. some of the information got to her and not enough information. and then hillary clinton suffers from the immaculate concussion. she doesn't show up to testify and maybe will testify in january. all seems a little t

. >> reporter: senator lindsay graham told me this morning his phone rang during dinner saturday night. it was defense secretary leon panetta calling to say he had been told that the bill to avoid the fiscal cliff will not include anything to avoid sequestration. on tuesday, leon panetta will have to write 800,000 layoff notices to the defense contractors. >> if the president doesn't deal with this, is a cloudy commander in chief. i would be very disappointed in the president as commander in chief and disappointed in the republican party for allowing this to even be a possibility. >> reporter: sequestration is designed to be painful. it was the penalty the congress imposed on itself last year. now, half of the cuts are directed at the pentagon but president obama said today the dramatic across the board cuts can be offset by raising taxes on the rich. >> if we have raised some revenue by the wealthy paying a little bit more, that would be sufficient to turn off what is called the these automatic spending cuts and that would have a better outcome for our economy long term. >> reporter:

. >> bob corker and lindsay graham, both of whom enjoys a government-run single health payer system graham enjoys two of them, say if we don't slash medicare we're going to end up like greece. well, that's just stupid. >> stephanie: yeah. but you know this is what i have been talking about all morning. and i couldn't stop playing that clip for you from david gregory. sunday after the election should the president bring in mitt romney to negotiate the fiscal cliff. maybe the fact that grover norquist has a seat at the table, as if he won this election. >> i can see putting him in there, but the party is at least pretending to run away from him right now. >> stephanie: right. >> for all of the people who are running away from him, i think we should notice we are essentially arguing to bring the top marginal rate back up into the lower 30s. >> stephanie: exactly. i love the way you state. you say i have said it more than once it's not the president's job to tame john boner's tax reform um. he has no obligation to water these down just to get a deal down just for the sake of appearances. i mea

words are not exactly that that's right and that's and the same when lindsay graham says you are terrorists shut up you don't get a lawyer who is deciding what people have done in advance but that's what we have the courts for we have the courts so people can give due process in a fair trial so you know i think this is another terrible provision. i don't know whether it will cause the president to veto it i don't i don't think he will but whatever whatever he does it goes against obama's campaign promises to shut guantanamo one time and has been a shameful chapter in american history and it repeatedly been sanctioned and cited by the court for improper practices there so we. we are part of this process too as lawyers we are our second circuit case where the government is appealing judge force ruling which stated the n.b.a. is unconstitutional is coming up soon we might even have some more litigation surprises that will let our team know that. in the near future well we always appreciate that you know and let's not forget you know the president said he would veto it last year and ended up si

what does lindsay graham think about the newest senate colleagues and why did he mention us on the record? you will are had from him in a moment. >> and there is news about secretary of state hillary clinton and her health. she had to cancel the health. she had to cancel the health. but joto the best vacation spot on earth. (all) the gulf! it doesn't matter which of our great states folks visit. mississippi, alabam louisiana or florida, they're gonna love it. shaul, your alabama hospitality is incredible. thanks, karen. love your mississippi outdoors. i vote for your florida beaches, dawn. bill, this louisiana seafood is delicious. we're having such a great year on the gulf, we've decided to put aside our rivalry. now is the perfect time to visit anyone of our states. the beaches and waters couldn't be more beautiful. take a boat ride, go fishing or just lay in the sun. we've got coastline to explore and wildlife to photograph. and there's world class dining with our world famous seafood. so for a great vacation this year, come to the gulf. its all fabulous but i give florida the edge. ri

what does lindsay graham think about the newest senate colleagues and why did he mention us on the record? you will are had from him in a moment. >> and there is news about secretary of state hillary clinton and her health. she had to cancel the health. but john bolton thinks there is more to the story, next where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery. by december 22nd it's hard to see opportunity in today's challenging environment. unless you have the right perspective. bny mellon wealth management has the vision and experience to look beyond the obvious. we'll uncover opportunities, find hidden risk, and make success a reality. bny mellon wealth management >> it was a political loave fest and governor nucky halle named congressman scott has the next governor. senator grahamine giving us on the record a shout out and praising the conservative record of congressman tray grouty. >> tray, you are on greta almost as i am. that is impress itch. he comes from the conservative part of the state and t

graham. we have heard changes to the president's cabinet could be coming sooner rather than later one of the changes secretary of state. >> susan rice is one of the top contenders to replace hillary clinton. that's what lindsey graham has been talking about. he has been critical about benghazi. here is his reaction to her possible nomination. >> if you believe she is the best person in this country you have a lot of people to turn to to be secretary of state that she is the most talented and gifted. i am inclined the presidential choices i voted for every candidate official almost all of president obama's judges. when it comes to susan rice i find great fault with what shea has done. in another areas. when it comes to secretary of state. this is up to the president. >>> senator john kerry another name rumored to be a possible replacement for hillary clinton. >> time for a check of today's weather with maria molina. >> good morning once again good morning everywup. mild and warm temperatures a

republican senator lindsay graham and joe lieberman predict a top confirmation process. chuck schumer also stopped short of endorsing him. a minnesota man narrowly escaped a helicopter crash. the experienced pilot was landing in his son's backyard that's when the chopter malfunctioned hit a trailer and caught on fire. the son got out and helped his dad. he survived with only minor injuries. >>> coming up next you have done all of your shopping. you have done the wrapping and the entertaining and of course the cooking now it is time to treat yourself. where should you go after the christmas madness? we have ideas for you. >> we know there are trials and tribulations that the griswolds went tlau to deck the halls. meet one family that could make clark griswold jealous. with the spark cash card from capital one, sven gets great rewards for his small business! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purche, everday! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card! why settle for less? tes

republican lindsay graham and diane feinstein to see if there is time for a deal. >> national hockey league does making a new offer to the players in hopes of breaking the stale mate. it was presented to the players on the thursday . players and owners have not discussed the lock out. and nhl season is cancemed through the franth. they had said they don't want a season with fewir than 48. >> fbi and marilyn monroe . was there a link between the movie star and communist party. correspondant ixplains what new documents were released and say about the late actress. >> the fbi released new information about actress marilyn monroe. they were monitoring for ties to communist. >> she had a lot of high profile friends and under media scrut ninny . some of these people were possibly connected to the communist party. they focused on the trip to mexico in 1962 and her association with frederick. and that is it the guide. and she was spending quite a bit of time. she was spending time with frederick vanderbillt hills. he had extreme leftist views and put her in a light that suggested that maybe

. >> lindsay graham raising concerns about president obama's role in the critical seven hours and want to know what he knew as of hours past to see if it misled the country saying it happened because of an anti-muslim video. >> i think the criticism of the president is unfair and not right. as you remember. there were demonstration in many of the embassies in the middle east and muslim countries that week after the publicication . file video from california . other demonstrations outside of libya were promoted by the video . so the administration had a theory. but once they decided and more information came n it had to be a terrorist attack . i don't think they are misleading. i think it is it a very difficult time. . your reaction to john kerry to be the next secretary of state in >> i think it is a good apoignment and there are few people more qualified than john kerry. he spent a lifetime preparing for this and he ought to be a good secretary of state. >> thank you. we appreciate temperature >> we talked a lot about the fiscal cliff. the government spends more than 11 billion every

republican senator lindsay graham says he respects rice's decision to withdraw her name. graham has been highly critical of rice and her role in the administration's public response to the terror attack in benghazi. meanwhile former u.s. ambassador to the snuchlt john bolton explains why he thinks all of this suspect had aing. >> i think they had come to a political conclusion it was too costly for the nomination to go forward and she wanted to get her $0.02 on that. i wouldn't be surprised after a few friendly interviews there is more discussion about it. i think the administration wants to get this off the radar screen. >>> massachusetts democratic senator john kerry is now believed to be president obama's top choice to replace hillary clinton and secretary of state. don't expect ambassador tore rice to dispier. she is being mentioned as a pick for national security advisor a very important job that does not require senate confirmation and it is on the schedule to meet with president obama later on today. heather? >> thank you so much. no senate confirmation. that might

>> no deal like lindsay graham says. the meeting was political theater. >> andrea. >> no deal. he doesn't want one. [laughter] >> unfortunately, there probably will be something in early january -- >> with the parachute or not? >> it will be, whatever it is, it will be a bad deal for everybody. >> squishy republicans i. you are mad at republicans, you are mad at democrats. >> i am mad at lawmakers in d.c. -- >> i think you are going to say deal. >> i don't think there will be a deal before december 31. but i think they will put a place in deal to vote before january 7 and the markets would panic. >> the market's going to panic on monday. >> juan, aren't you excited -- we are going back to the tax rates? >> i think they're appropriate. but i am not excited about it. >> democrats go to pass further cuts, isn't that an acknowledgement that the clinton tax rates were too high. >> it's an acknowledgement that what has been said at the table is true. >> come on. you don't want to hear -- >> i thought you loved the clinton tax cuts. >> 39%. >> obama -- tax cuts. wait for it. hillary c

>> no deal like lindsay graham says. the meeting was political theater. >> andrea. >> no deal. he doesn't want one. [laughter] >> unfortunately, there probably will be something in early january -- >> with the parachute or not? >> it will be, whatever it is, it will be a bad deal for everybody. >> squishy republicans i. you are mad at republicans, you are mad at democrats. >> i am mad at lawmakers in d.c. -- >> i think you are going to say deal. >> i don't think there will be a deal before december 31. but i think they will put a place in deal to vote before january 7 and the markets would panic. >> the market's going to panic on monday. >> juan, aren't you excited -- we are going back to the tax rates? >> i think they're appropriate. but i am not excited about it. >> democrats go to pass further cuts, isn't that an acknowledgement that the clinton tax rates were too high. >> it's an acknowledgement that what has been said at the table is true. >> come on. you don't want to hear -- >> i thought you loved the clinton tax cuts. >> 39%. >> obama -- tax cuts. wait for it. hillary c

>> stephanie: i bet that was lindsay graham's other job, laying brick. >> oh yeah. his hands have seen bricks. >> of gold. >> yeah. [ laughter ] >> stephanie: senator bob corker. >> once you give him the right on the top 2% it's actually much lesser tax increase than what he has been talking about. the focus then shifts to entitlements, and maybe that puts us in a place where we actually can do something that really saves this nation. there is a growing body. i am beginning to believe that is the best route for us to take to again shift the focus where it needs to be which is in entitlements. >> stephanie: there is not a crisis on social security or medicare, and you are not going to address in two weeks. >> exactly. >> stephanie: kevin mccarthy. he is a whip, you know. >> the president says he wants tax rate because he wants revenue. republicans have already offered him the revenue. the president -- >> woe! >> that means two and a half to three times as many spending cuts as there is to revenue. >> idiot. >> stephanie: uh-huh. he is a human talking point. >> yeah h

bye-bye [ applause ] >> stephanie: senator lindsay graham. >> i met with jim demint this morning, and to say i was stunned is an understatement. he has always been a friend somebody i could count on. we have really enjoyed our time together. >> wait a minute go back. >> stephanie: once again, another stunned moment for me! vapors. >> we had some wonderful times together. >> something tells me that lindsay graham has clutched some pearls before. >> as god as my witness i will never go hungry again. >> compared to jim demint is a stark-raving mad liberal. >> stephanie: and senator harry reid. >> i have always liked the guy, and even though i disagree with so much of what he has done i appreciate -- i personally believe he does this out of a sense of real belief. i like jim demint and wish him well. [ inaudible ] >> stephanie: all right. [ buzzer ] >> stephanie: stop it. stop it. he comes out of a belief that he deserves to make more money. >> yeah. [ bell chimes ] [ applause ] >> stephanie: i am severely i'm going to be on with the governor tomorrow night. she is awesome. we'll be right

they said tunisia wouldn't give us custody and two months, senator lindsay graham -- not the president of the united states, he makes a phone call and we have access to this guy. why -- why didn't -- why didn't the u.s -- why did -- why didn't they actively investigate that? >> this report should have answered tows whys. it lays out the fact that there were numerous attacks, that there should have been more security, that the state department was grossly negligent, which is a heck of a charge it make. but it doesn't plain why -- >> here's another one, the fbi -- a couple of hours they stayed there not until the end of september. on october 26, foreign policy dot-com has reporters there and they find adult documents critical to the investigation, a magazine finds it! i mean, where was that -- why are we so bad at the investigation of this? >> none of these questions have been answered. all this does is ratchet it up to gross negligence on the part of the state department, completely unexplained, no one explains why the state department is grossly negligent in a very, very sensitive inta

all it takes for senators like lindsay graham, john mccain to stand up and say no. one of his nominees would not get through. in some ways if chuck hegel is going to be the person you might end up seeing the white house having to fight doubly hard after what ended up happening to susan rice. there was the impression and the white house said john kerry was just in the mix of susan rice when the secretary of state job. because of the impression they let her withdraw her name increases the pressure that they go fighting for chuck hegel even if they have to lose in fighting. >> if not chuck hegel, who? >> a lot of names on the list. chuck hegel seems to be at the top. the former top official in the defense department, if michelle would be picked and confirmed she would be the first female to head the defense department, other names and defense officials, ashton carter as well as rhode island senator jack reid who doesn't necessarily seem to be resistant to joining the cabinet and whose name would be floated if hegel's isn't. >> thank you as always, sir. >> thanks, craig

lindsay graham and the retiring joseph lieberman are hawkish on the national defense and both show trepidation about hagel. here they are. >> a lot of republicans are going to ask him hard questions and i don't think he's going to get many republican votes. i like chuck, but frankly all of them are out of the mainstream and well to the left of the president. i think it'll be a challenging nomination. >> i wouldn't say that his votes disqualify him, but if i were in the senate on the armed services committee and he was nominated, i would have some really serious questions to ask him. president obama obviously has earned the right to nominate whoever he wants. but i think this will be a very tough confirmation process. >> chuck schumer was also just like those guys. is this going to be too much of a fight for president? gentlemen, thank you. i want to start with steve on this one. this sunday when given the opportunity to defend hagel, chuck schumer i just mentioned, refused to do so. listen to what this very smart senator from new york had to say. >> that's his choice. i think once he makes it,

is this a victory for john mccain and lindsay graham? >> i don't think so at all. they acted like bullies. they mistreated susan rice in this process. now they -- in the world of fox news, i guess, they have a scalp. but it doesn't advance their interests in any way and it basically ends this as an issue for them. they can go ahead and hold benghazi hearings, but nobody will pay any attention except fox. >> michael, what's your reaction to susan rice dropping out of contention for secretary of state? why do you think she did it, and was she forced out with just a media circus? >> no, i think that's a good point, ed. i think she did largely because of what she said. she wanted to protect the administration going into the second term, not to have the distraction of a contentious confirmation hearing. as you know, senator mccain was already positioning himself on the appropriate committee to be a part of that grilling process to come. so i think she really looked down the road and saw for the betterment of the president's agenda in trying to get ahead of the noise to

so people like lindsay graham and john mccain know him and respect him. so i think he will breeze through the confirmation. >> well, with that, i want to play a sound bite of both those two senators that you just mentioned, their reaction today to the choice. 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

we're hearing more lawmakers saying publicly, we just heard from lindsay graham yesterday. i had a congressman from vermont on the show, he said the same thing that we could very well be jumping over this cliff. posturing or reality? >> well i think it's something of a reality. but this is case where the moniker of fiscal cliff i think is going to wind up hurting republicans. because it sounds so scary. even though there is not going to be any immediate fiery death, if things don't happen. and i think the president kind of looks better going into this, i think they know that they say in game of chicken, he who cares the least wins. and i think it's the white house who kind of just is going to let the republicans play this out. however they want. and there's also a chance that boehner will have more ability to make a deal after the new congress gets sworn in. this all might be kind of just like posturing. until boehner can sit down with his new congress. i'm not really sure, i am not particularly worried about the fiery crash. something will happen. i do think the white hous