lindsey graham has been good. we are seeing more and more interest in the house from people that i think willbroken . make themselves more known as we get into the new year. we are incredibly excited that the coming together of the latino community in this last election has awakened a bipartisan agreement that we need to act on immigration once and for all. we look forward to making it happen. >> what are the odds and we go over the cliff or get some kind of deal? >> i pray to god that we reach an agreement as a nation. the majority of americans need us to. for me, it is about can we get taxes on the table and can we get more jobs created. if that happens in december, that would be great. if it happens in january, we will be fine with that to. >> going over the cliff, if they strike a deal to say that those who make $1 million and more will make more -- enough money. >> one of the things that has come up is the tax issue. i'm curious to know where you stand on the sequester issue. what sort of solutions are you al

the senior senator from south carolina, republican lindsey graham. senator, let's get right into it. you just heard the chairs of the intelligence committees on benghazi. bottom line point, did director petraeus call this terrorism from the get go? they say yes. they don't understand why the administration didn't call it the same two days later. how do you react? >> well, i think one of the reasons that susan rice told the story she did, if the truth came out a few weeks before the election, that our consulate in benghazi, libya, had been overrun by an al qaeda-sponsored militia, that destroys the thinking that al qaeda is dead, bin laden is dead. she said i want to remind the american people this president promised to go after bin laden, refocus on al qaeda. he got bin laden. al qaeda has been dismantled. and the truth of the matter nothing could have been further from the truth, and the story she told reinforced a political narrative helpful to the president. but disconnected from reality. >> let's be clear about what you're saying. you also heard

. >> here is senator lindsey graham of south carolina on norquist. here it is. >> i agree with grover we shouldn't raise rates but i think grover is wrong when it comes to we can't cap deductions and buy down debt. i wa nt to buy down debt and cut rates to create jobs. i will violate the pledge long story short, for the good of the country only if democrats will do entitlement reform. >> does this mean you have to put medicaid, medicare on the table to get these folks to think your way. graham isn't going far enough. congressman tom cole, another republican, is willing to see what people wants. is this starting to crack? are we seeing a trend? >> democrats have pass the budget control act which cut spending by nearly $1 billion. with he were willing to support a compromise that would further reduce spending in exchange for revenues from the rich. we have already agreed to compromise and we agree we have to reduce debt and we have agreed to spending cuts. we will not negotiate the end to medicare. we will negotiate reforms and improvements to medicare

>> lindsey graham and john mccain are now proposing a special investigative committee to investigate the benghazi attack. other members say the senate can handle the job. >> budget negotiations are on hold this week as they head home for the thanksgiving holiday. they're optimistic about reaching a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. now house speaker nancy pelosi says she won't budge when it comes to tax cuts for the wealthy. that puts her at odds with john boehner. >> could you accept a deal that does not include tax rate increases for the wealthy? we've seen talk about a possible compromise that would leave rates the same but tax deductions for high income earners. is that something that's acceptable? >> no. >> not at all. >> the president made it clear in his campaign that there are not enough resources. what you described is a formula and a blueprint for hampering a future. you cannot go forward -- you have to cut some investments. if you cut too many, you are hampering growth, you are hampering education and investments in the future. >> even thousands of miles away it ap

john mccain and lindsey graham, for the love of god. where were you fellows when clarence thomas was in the hearings? where were you with allen west in florida? you'll never be found when a conservative black man is attacked. you make up these things. no one was said one word, one word, about this woman's skin color. nobody has, except for them. >> sean: it's not about that, but you can't be critical, because then all of a sudden the democratic machine in the media comes at you and we're back with -- >> sean, if she were white, they would say that mccain and graham were antiwoman. there's no talk being the issues here. they'll do everything they can to deflect. let's understand something, mccain and graham are doing their sworn duty, constitutional mandate, of advise and consent. they're doing what the law demands they do. >> sean: the media apparently doesn't care, that the american people were misled, four dead americans, the first ambassador in 30 years, but it's not a big deal to them. speaking of which, when rice goes to meet with

you know lindsey graham, he would be able to be persuaded. >> it was much more likely before the tea party two years ago. like you said, he's got a primary in south carolina. that's a deep, deep, dark -- >> jennifer: do you think he will be in the primary? >> probably. the republican right doesn't trust john mccain the moderate because they think he's a crazy liberal. lindsey graham is closely allied with john mccain and so a lot of the right wing sees them as birds of the same feather. they call them republican in name only,rinos. the pressure is pretty strong. against it. >> jennifer: are there others that you're aware of, maybe that sahil wasn't thinking about. >> lamar alexander, senator from tennessee left the republican leadership a year, year and a half ago because he said he wanted more freedom to do what is right. you've got another senator from tennessee, bob corker who is often talked about on issues of cli carbohydrate change. -- of climate change. >> jennifer: he's good on electric vehicles. he was instrumental of getting it to come to tennessee. the day after the electi

so i don't understand the argument though i think lindsey graham is also somebody that i know and is very serious and honorable. but i think it's getting political. i don't know if the issue is going to be -- if the president chooses to nominate her as secretary of state or senator kerry, what has also not been brought up there's a tradition for the u.s. senate to let an american president have who he wants or she wants as secretary of state. you know, now it's they're talking about blocking it and talking about other delaying tactics. i just think things need to cool down. the election's over. let's be bipartisan but especially in foreign policy. >> the governor brings up a good point, this is traditionally not something the president has to fight over. the president yesterday said, look, the election's over. almost as a precursor to, we need to get past this. this seems to be a way for frustrated republicans to wield some power over a choice that should be the president's to make. >> sure. you should be allowed traditionally to appoint your own team, right? there's a sort of conspi

we have to get beyond this sort of thing. >> john mccain and lindsey graham aren't beyond it. would you term them as being overzealous this week and out of bounds? what about their behavior as senators? they were ready to condemn the administration and susan rice before any testimony was heard. >> there were and as i said, it's still a political season. again, get over it. the democrats won. let's get on with the nation's business. you know, we have lost more diplomats than we have generals. that will tell you something about how dangerous it is to be a diplomat. ambassador ryan crocker, for whom i have infinite respect, made a comment yesterday. these people work in dangerous territory. that's not to say we shouldn't investigate the circumstances under which they get injured or lose their lives, but this is a dangerous job. george w. bush had 3,000 americans killed on his watch and we didn't even get to the commission that investigated him until 2004. and there was incompetence there and there was intelligence failure there, but we got beyond that. we need to get beyond this,

i think you'll probably still see john mccain and lindsey graham. >> do you think she'll be secretary of state? >> i don't know. i don't know whether she'll be nominated. that is one of the things that president obama said yesterday. he said he hadn't decided. gwen: how about is this whether she was getting a nomination or how much of not letting him tell -- >> i can nominate anyone i want to. if i want to nominate susan rice, i will. but he certainly hasn't done that right, not put in stone, so we can't do that yet. i think certainly, i have seen a couple of very negative articles in the past 24 hours, too, about her. it sort of seems there is an effort to undermine that nomination. gwen: let's not forget the big story of the week -- >> yes! gwen: just one week ago even though i don't know what the question is anymore. we have women coming in and out who have passes to the bases who have secret clearance and have had computers taken from their homes. >> sisters and the letter by two generals about the twin sisters. gwen: the custody case. >> the custody case. gwen: let's sort of clea

i think you'll probably still see john mccain and lindsey graham. >> do you think she'll be secretary of state? >> i don't know. i don't know whether she'll be nominated. that is one of the things that president obam said yesterday. he said he hadn't decided. gwen: how about is this whether she was getting a nomination or how much of not letting him tell -- >> i can nominate anyone i want to. if i want to nominate susan rice, i will. but he certainly hasn't done that right, not put in stone, so we can't do that yet. i think certainly, i have seen a couple of very negative articles in the past 24 hours, too, about her. it sort of seems there is an effort to undermine that nomination. gwen: let's not forget the big story of the week -- >> yes! gwen: just one week ago even though i don't know what the question is anymore. we have women coming in and out who have passes to the bases who have secret clearance and have had computers taken from their homes. >> sisters and the letter by two generals about the twin sisters. gwen: the custody case. >> the custody case. gwen: let's sort of clear

senator lindsey graham also breaking with norquist saying no higher tax rates but open to more tax revenue by limiting deductions. >> i'm willing to generate revenue. it's fair to ask my party to put revenue on the table. ilt not raise tax rates to do it and cap deductions. >> another lawmaker breaking with the norquist agrees. >> i think everything should be on the table. i'm imposed on tax increases. imt not going to prejudge it, and we should not take ironclad positions. >> late today in "the situation room" republican kevin mccarthy put a fresh spin on the talking points. >> if the gel oal is to raise m revenue what's the best way to do that and protect the economy? if you're able to gain more revenue by closing special loopholes and limiting them and keeping the rate down, isn't that a better outcome? >> once again, talk of tax deductions and closing loopholes, but a big note. raising tax rates, so a lot of talk but perhaps not much real movement at least for now. as for grover norquist, he told cnn's soledad o'brien today that although some republicans are discussing impure thoughts

. >> here is senator lindsey graham of south carolina on norquist. here it is. >> i agree with grover we shouldn't raise rates but i think grover is wrong when it comes to we can't cap deductions and buy down debt. i want to buy down debt and cut rates to create jobs. i will violate the pledge long story short, for the good of the country only if democrats will do entitlement reform. >> does this mean you have to put medicaid, medicare on the table to get these folks to think your way. graham isn't going far enough. congressman tom cole, another republican, is willing to see what people wants. is this starting to crack? are we seeing a trend? >> democrats have passed the budget control act which cut spending by nearly $1 billion. with he were willing to support a compromise that would further reduce spending in exchange for revenues from the rich. we have already agreed to compromise and we agree we have to reduce debt and we have agreed to spending cuts. we will not negotiate the end to medicare. we will negotiate reforms and improvements to medicar

let me salutes lindsey graham. when he just said about revenue and taxes needs to be said on his side of the aisle. we need to put everything on the table. >> does that include raising the age for medicare eligibility? >> what happens to the early retirees that needs help insurance before that person is meligible for medicare? we need to make sure there is seamless coverage of affordable health insurance for every american. my concern about raising the medicare retirement age is there will be gaps in coverage or coverage that is too expensive for seniors to purchase. host: senator dick durbin speaking yesterday on abc. we have been talking about republicans signaling flexibility on their anti-tax pledge. it's part of negotiations going on right now over the fiscal cliff. tonight on c-span, we will go back to our archives to show you some of the august 2011 debate and news conferences from the u.s. house and senate and the white house as congress considered and passed the budget control act. that is the law that cre

we have to get beyond this sort of thing. >> john mccain and lindsey graham aren't beyond it. would you term them as being overzealous this week and out of bounds? what about their behavior as senators? they were ready to condemn the administration and susan rice before any testimony was heard. >> there were and as i said, it's still a political season. get over it. the democrats won. let's get on with the nation's business. you know, we have lost more diplomats than we have generals. that will tell you something about how dangerous it is to be a diplomat. ryan crocker for whom i had infinite respect made a comment yesterday. these people work in dangerous territory. that's not to say we shouldn't investigate the circumstances under which they get injured or lose their lives, but this is a dangerous job. george w. bush had 3,000 americans killed on his watch and we didn't even get to the commission that investigated him until 2004. and there was incompetence there and there was intelligence failure there, but we got beyond that. we need to get beyond this, because we have some

lindsey graham is a constant target of more conservative elements within the republican party and already seen stories about some members of congress contemplating running against chambliss in that primary. that's the big threat here. americans for tax reform spent big money this year on house races around the country and on independent expenditures. who is to say we won't see the same kind of expenditures in republican primaries coming up in 2014 and by the way to karen's point about the administration trying to use their database, their supporters to actually turn out and vote, that's the biggest challenge for the democratic party moving forward. how do you take this organization that's centered around one particular guy, president obama, and expand that to the entire democratic party as a whole? both parties are going through a real metamorphosis. it will be fascinating to watch over the next two, four, six years. >> before we get out of here, warren buffett, the op-ed in the "new york times" and we all know in the past he said he personally would welcome a tax hike. >> right. >> here

lindsey graham has said it. they've said they'll allow for more loopholes. you're saying you agree with that, at least now. but not in the long-term, correct? >> yeah, look, i'm saying there are a lot of ways to skin a cat and we need comprehensive tax reform. you have to look at something carefully to decide whether or not you think it is an aggregate tax increase, so it's difficult to define what is or what is not a tax increase. i am against tax increases, but i am in favor of stabilizing our revenue stream. >> okay, but do you have frustration with grover norquist in such an absolutist definition? because if over time, it could mean you're never raising more revenue -- does it frustrate you? >> no. look, my pledge wasn't to any one individual. the pledge that i made was to my constituents, the voters in utah who elected me and found it significant that i was willing to say tax increases are not the answer. we don't have a revenue problem so much as a spending problem in washington. >> thank you very much. we appreciate you taking the time to joins us ton

senator lindsey graham also breaking with norquist says no on higher tax rates, but is open to more tax revenue by limiting deductions. >> i will violate the pledge long story short for the good of the country only if democrats will do entitlement reform. >> another lawmaker who's breaking with the norquist agrees. >> i think everything should be on the table. i myself am opposed to tax increases, i'm not going to prejudge it, we should not be taking iron clad positions. >> late today in the situation room, republican kevin mccarthy, the house majority whip put a fresh spin on what seems to be the talking points. >> if the goal is to raise more revenue, what is the best way to do that? at the same time protecting the economy? if you're able to gain more revenue by closing special loopholes, and limiting them. and keeping the rate down, so you have better ground control, isn't that a better outcome. >> talk of tax deductions and closing loopholes. a big note on raising tax rates. a lost talk but perhaps not real movement at least for now. as for grover norquist, he told soledad o'brien t

we have to get beyond this sort of thing. >> john mccain and lindsey graham aren't beyond it. would you term them as being overzealous this week and out of bounds? what about their behavior as senators? they were ready to condemn the administration and susan rice before any testimony was heard. >> there were and as i said, it's still a political season. again, get over it. the democrats won. let's get on with the nation's business. you know, we have lost more diplomats than we have generals. that will tell you something about how dangerous it is to be a diplomat. ambassador ryan crocker, for whom i have infinite respect, made a comment yesterday. these people work in dangerous territory. that's not to say we shouldn't investigate the circumstances under which they get injured or lose their lives, but this is a dangerous job. george w. bush had 3,000 americans killed on his watch and we didn't even get to the commission that investigated him until 2004. and there was incompetence there and there was intelligence failure there, but we got beyond that. we need to get beyond this,

i'm talking about saxby chambliss and south carolina's lindsey graham. does that say to you that the political winds could be shifting a bit here? >> i think so. i mean, to have these two senators who, you know, for the last year or so, even before the 2012 election, people were talking about a possible primary challenge, and to have chambliss and graham both go out front and say listen, the pledge isn't that important to me, that is -- that could, number one, trigger a primary contest and, remember, republicans have eaten -- dick lugar lost an election -- a primary election. senator snowe retired because she was fearing one. >> let me pause on my thought. let's listen to more of grover norquist. >> no pledge taker has voted for a tax increase. they have had some people discussing impure thoughts on national television. however, even lindsey graham, if you listen to him, he would support higher taxes if it was used to pay down the debt. of course, it won't be. it would be spent. if he got, you know, 10 to 1 rarb ratios on entitlement reform. i had long c

graham and john mccain they've been called everything from the three amigos the three blind mice and the axis of error by the website downsize d.c. . org. those are the real three amigos big but because lieberman is leaving the senate the too many goes needed a new amigo and they chose one of the republican party's rising stars new hampshire senator senator kelly or yet iow. someday we'll figure out who real clear politics even speculated may have been mitt romney's running mate for mccain and graham picking a woman as their new third amigo was particularly useful since the three amigos first job as the need of the new political year was to take down a woman u.n. ambassador susan rice so she'd be so badly tarnished that president obama wouldn't nominate her to replace hillary clinton as secretary of state and why would they care so much about destroying the reputation of a rhodes scholar a stanford graduate in one of america's most distinguished deployments well given that the three amigos have always been basically a political hit squad a two bit republican gang that's usually promo

>> i wonder if something else is going on, whether lindsey graham wants to do something on immigration reform or is trying to cover his back on benghazi or there are politicks to play but the white house can't understand the opportunity. chris: a lot of motives going on there. >> chris, i live in brooklyn and bringing you two updates for the sandy recovery on the effort back home. chris: good for you. >> good news and bad news. good news, the motorized wheelchairs are beginning to work again and old people's wheelchairs are powered by electricity and when the power goes out they literally can't move around. the power is beginning to come on in some of the high-rise buildings so people are able to recharge their wheelchair for really the first time in weeks and able to move around more easily again. that's the good news. the bad news is that things are still really tough. my synagogue was preparing lunch meals for kids at schools this week, and they found out that they not only had to do lunch, they had to do dinners for the kids to take home as well because there's no food at home. chr

graham and john mccain they've been called everything from the three amigos the three blind mice and the axis of error by the website downsize d.c. dot org. those are the real three amigos big but because lieberman is leaving the senate the two of egos needed a new amigo and they chose one of the republican party's rising stars new hampshire senator senator kelly or yeah i owe. someday we'll figure out who real clear politics even speculated may have been mitt romney's running mate for mccain and graham picking a woman as their new third amigo was particularly useful since the three amigos first job as the new of the new political year was to take down a woman u.n. ambassador susan rice so she'd be so badly tarnished that president obama wouldn't nominate her to replace hillary clinton as secretary of state and why would they care so much about destroying the reputation of a rhodes scholar a stanford graduate in one of america's most distinguished deployments well given that the three amigos have always been basically a political hit squad a two bit republican gang that's usually pro

is this a real risk that saxby chambliss or lindsey graham could end up losing their jobs over 24? >> it is a real risk. understand what direction these people are leading the party in. they conceive the republican party is fundamentally a congressional force, oppositional force. the whole point is to say, someone else is acting, and here you are laying down in advance how you will react. there's no plan here you're going to be acting, you're going to be leading. if the republican party is ever going to be a presidential party again, and has lost a majority of the vote, it's going to have to think in an entirely different way about how you make commitments to entirely different groups of voters. >> and what about on cuts, james, this is an interesting comment. dick durbin has been on this show, he's such a rational person that seems so open to compromise. he was open to closing loopholes but not raising rates, he's looked for cuts. he's a rational man in many ways. he said yesterday the democrats should not be talking about cutting social security. here he is. >> social security do

he and lindsey graham. i think they are doing the fox and the fox fuelled hysteria about the attacks in benghazi. but this reminds me of the republican flight from reality, the post truth politics mitt romney engaged in. remember, he would travel around the country saying president obama did an apology tour traveling the world. this guy, senator mccain, keeps talking about the danger of america's light footprint. if you want to deal with substance in this and not just these unverifiable calls mccain has made about weakness and light footprint, i think we need to look squarely at u.s. foreign policy in the region. and what john mccain and lindsey graham are doing is a great disservice to america, because they're distracting us from confronting the extraordinary new challenges we face in north africa and in the middle east with this stuff, this partisan witch-hunt. and that flight from reality is at the heart of the current gop. >> you know, when president obama took office in 2009, the republicans were up ag

---mientras que de la bancada republicana esta su homologo lindsey graham de carolina del sur, quien en 2010 anulo las conversaciones sobre la iniciativa... ---por su parte, harry reid, democrata y lider de la mayoria democrata ha expresado su optimismo al respecto... blanca ---esta noche, el cuerpo de un hombre fue encontrado cerca de la universidad "uc berkeley" take vo ---segn la policia, el hombre fue reportado como desaparecido por un amigo durante la maÑana ---su cadaver fue hallado al lado de una colina en el bulevar "grizzly peak" ---la policia investiga el caso y dice que hasta el momento, no hay ninguna indicacion de que se trate de un homicidio. blanca -- las labores en daly city para remover el lodo de la avenida "lausanne", comenzaron desde temprano...y contra reloj... cesar take 2 box --gabriela dellan en vivo nos tiene mas detalles.. -- el departamento de tratamiento de aguas indico que la zona de hillside esta estable,,, por el momento la prioridad es prepararse para la lluvia.. 0:20 0:31 pkg -- mientras las gotas de agua vienen en camino.. los trabajadores de la ciu

graham for their bows to block u.n. ambassador susan rice from becoming the secretary of state should she be nominated take a listen the president's statements. as i've said before she made an appearance at the request of the white house. in which she gave her best understanding of the intelligence that had been provided to her. if senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody they should go after me and i'm happy to have that discussion with them but for them to go after the u.n. ambassador who had nothing to do with benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received and as the smirch her reputation. rageous well shortly after the president finished his remarks senator graham released a statement saying mr president don't think for one minute i don't hold you ultimately responsible for a magazine i think you failed as commander in chief before during and after the attack we owe to the american people in the victims of this attack to have full fair hearing

thinks -- what lindsey graham says after john mccain has spoken. he was dead set against rice being secretary. he was looking forward to hearing her out. the subtle shift could be the result of internal grumblings on how far to take the party. did you see the size fire? mccain and graham praised all of the foreign leaders but not the president. what? he said -- hillary clinton -- i sent hillary clinton to get -- he sent hillary clinton to get -- one senior g.o.p. candidate said not united against rice. we're not convinced she was worth going after. why? because it's not going well? picking on the girl that had nothing to do with it? 29 minutes arrive the hour. rude pundit next on "the stephanie miller show." [ ♪ music ♪ ] >> announcer: stephanie miller. >> relax. this is just temporary. >> announcer: stephanie miller. >> it is an american classic. >> so is the sandwich. i don't care for that either. >> stephanie: it is "the stephanie miller show." what is the true meaning of christmas, charlie brown? grover norquist getting his ass kicked on na

graham for their bows to block u.n. ambassador susan rice from becoming the secretary of state should she be nominated take a listen the president's statements. as i've said before she made an appearance at the request of the white house in which she gave her best understanding of the intelligence that had been provided to her if senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody they should go after me. and i'm happy to have that discussion with you but for them to go after the u.n. ambassador who had nothing to do with benghazi. and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received and as the smirch her reputation. these outrageous well shortly after the president finished his remarks senator graham released a statement saying mr president don't think for one minute i don't hold you ultimately responsible for a magazine i think you failed as commander in chief before during and after the attack we owe to the american people in the victims of this attack to have full fair

lindsey graham the latest lawmaker to buck a powerful gop lobbyist and his anti-tax pledge. we'll have the view from the edge of the so-called fiscal cliff. >>> one of the most recognizable voices in hollywood lends his voice to a pro-same-sex marriage ad. >> freedom, justice and human dignity have always guided our journey toward a more perfect union. now across our country, we are standing together for the right of gay and lesbian americans. >> morgan freeman pointing out why he's behind what voters in three states did on election day. >>> and your $2 could be worth 425 million bucks. power ball reaching a new record. let's dream the dream together, shall we? shall we? "newsroom" starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> good morning to you. thank you so much for being with me on this monday morning. i'm carol costello. we begin with the so-called fiscal cliff. 36 days from the crisis. new signs of just how concerned lawmakers really are. more republican lawmakers now say they will work toward a compromise, even if they have to break a promise not to raise taxe

peter king said this two years ago, lindsey graham said this two years ago. chamblis of georgia said this two years ago. they said all these things all during the negotiations where they tried to undermine where john boehner and mitch mcconnell got 2.5 trillion in spending cuts without a dollar than tax increase and those people who are out there trying to offer tax increases undermining the rest of the republican party, undermining taxpayers and not keeping their word to the constituents who elected them. the same people are making comments now. bill: i think a lot of people on the right are not going to argue with you when they see $16 trillion in debt it just blows their minds and they think all the money that goes to washington it's not coming back home. it will only be spent and taken into a deeper hole. we have a new reality now, the wall street journel has an editorial today, it argues, let speaker john boehner debate the tax reform idea as long as he can to mitigate the damage that would come from democrats in the first place. why not allow that? >> w

as you heard there from senator lindsey graham, other, and other republican, they are now prepared to accept getting more revenue from the rich. not higher tax rates on the rich but getting more revenue from them by capping deductions. there has been no movement on the other side of the aisle. democrats like senator carl levin are still sticking to raise tax rates on the rich. the president will hit the road this week again demanding higher tax rates on people making more than $250,000 a year. there has been some movement on the republican side, bill. bill: let's get to democrats in a moment. i want to be clear on this what these republicans are talking about is revenue. that is tax reform. there is a big difference between that and a tax rate being changed. explain that. >> that is correct. what the republicans want to do, certainly senator corker this morning said, cap deductions. $50,000. that is all the deductions you can take. that is how you bring in more revenue from wealthy people. as opposed to raising being at that rates. income tax rates on the rich, that is the president's

but that's basically what john mccain and lindsey graham are saying. that she wasn't responsible for benghazi, so why did the white house put her out there? and they're saying only for political rains. and they criticize ambassador rice for not asking more questions. she got a briefing. she got a briefing on the latest intelligence, says the white house. the white house says they're the ones that put her out there. so if what she said turns out not to be true later, they should take the blame. but, boy, what a fierce defense. i'm not holding my breath much longer on seeing who his nominee is probably going to be for secretary of state. >> and wants to have a fight. interesting, though, there's no greater defender of david petraeus, we'll talk about in a moment, than john mccain. he has been a longtime champion. and she got intelligence briefing, that was coming from david petraeus, isn't that right? >> that was certainly contributed to by david petraeus, and jim clapper and they were pretty critical of clapper, but i didn't hear much criticism of petra

you have senator john mccain, lindsey graham, kelly ayotte. she went to address concerns they have over statements the ambassador made over the u.s. mission in benghazi on september 11th that left ambassador chris stevens and three other americans dead. i want you to listen to what senator graham, republican south carolina, here, said immediately after the meeting ended. >> bottom line, i'm more disturbed now than i was before that the 16 september explanation about how four americans died in benghazi, libya, by ambassador rice, i think does not do justice to the reality at the time, and in hindsight clearly was completely wrong. but here's the key. in real time, it was a statement disconnected from reality. >> and now here is senator ayotte. >> i want to say that i'm more troubled today, knowing -- having met with the acting director of the cia and ambassador rice, because it's certainly clear from the beginning that we knew that those with ties to al qaeda were involved in the attack on the embassy. and clearly the impression that was given,