in the meantime, let's get back to our hillary clinton story. jessica yellin has traveled a lot with the former first lady and secretary of state. jess, we talked about her grueling schedule again. we're working with very limited information. we know she's being treated and what she's being treated with. we don't know exactly where this clot is. >> we don't. i do get the sense from people who are close to her that they feel she's going to be okay. but, of course, there's a lot of, you know, upset and concern because it's been some two weeks now that this woman who is constantly on the go has had such a bad case of first the flu and then a concussion and now this that she's had to be completely grounded. that's what just stuns the people around her. usually she's the one telling them to come on, keep going, she's always up and on the go and the fact that she actually is ill in this seriously sick is just completely confounding and unusual to them. so, you know, this is a woman who's traveled almost 1 million miles, some 400 different -- i think i

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>> hillary clinton is whether -- she likes it or not, as well, a clinton industrial news complex. everything she does sparks speculation, sparks all of these incredible obsessing over whether it's a positioning for this year or for another year or positioning against somebody. >> right. >> that's something to happen and i think a lot of people looking at whether or not what her preparations look like and to inherit the obama success. >> yeah. you stuck me with the four that none of you picked. joe biden, got to figure out how to navigate the clinton industrial news complex. i like this. news cop plex. angus king, can he be independent? jeb bush. jim demint. do you buy ceo of the conservative movement? >> i think it's very hard for jim demint to go in to -- i think it's many ways sort of like an awo n aol/time warner m. jim demint wouds of the senate and in to something that's in the think tank world. >> more of this. talking 2016 of this. more from the gaggle coming up. six-year itch. it's a bed rom of conventional wisdom. is it a med up thing? we'll let you know whether we think

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clinton, and they told me that bill clinton and barack obama ave had a major falling out. lou: wow, after all the campaigning? the elegant speech, really? >> because of this estrangement, i'm told, is back to the presidential election when clinton struck a deal with obama. in the deal, clinton said he'd give the nominating speech and go out and campaign for obama, but in return, he wanted a couple things from the president. first, clinton wanted to be a allowed to name the next chairman of the democratic national committee to have effective control of the party apparatus and all the money that goes with that. lou: that's a big gift. >> well, he did a big deal for obama. lou: right. >> secondly, he wanted obama to agree that he would back hillary if she runs for president in 2016, and that was a verbal commitment he believed he had from barack obama. shortly after the election, according, again, to my sources, clinton sent obama a list of five names from which he could choose the next chairman of the democratic national convention. lou: a list from clinton to the president?

clinton, and they told me that bill clinton and barack obama ave had a major falling out. lou: wow, afterll the campaigning? the elegant speech, really? >> because of this estrangement, i'm told, is back to the presidential election when clinton struck a deal with obama. in the deal, clinton said he'd give the nominating speech and go out and campaign for obama, but in return, he wanted a couple things from the president. first, clinton wanted to be a allowed to name the next chairman of the democratic national committee to have effective control of the party apparatus and all the money that goes with that. lou: that's a big gift. >> well, he did a big deal for obama. lou: right. >> secondly, he wanted obama to agree that he would back hillary if she runs for president in 2016, and that was a verbal commitment he believed he had from barack obama. shortly after the election, according, again, to my sources, clinton sent obama a list of five names from which he could choose the next chairman of the democratic national convention. lou: a list from clinton to the president? >

>> hillary clinton whether she likes it or not as well, is like this clinton industrial news complex. everything she does sparks speculation, sparks all of these incredible obsessing over whether it's a positioning for this year, positioning for another year. positioning against somebody. so i think that's just somebody that will happen. and i think a lot of people will look at whether or not -- what her preparations look like, whether or not she can inherent the obama success. >> so you guys stuck me with the four that none of you picked. joe biden, the guy has to figure out how to navigate the clinton industrial news complex. angus king, the independent, can he actually be an independent? jeb bush who may be the transitional leader of the republican party, whether he likes it or not, and jim demint. do you buy ceo of the conservative movement? >> it's very hard for jim demint to go in -- it's in many ways like this aol/time warner merger. >> harder than you think? >> makes sense on paper, but will he be able to overkocome t constitutional challenges. >> we'll have more of this, talk

clinton is testifying anyway. why are the republicans playing this movie over and over again using different i. targets each time, molly? >> well, to be fair, i think we should specify that this is a few people on the fridges. this is not coming from elected republican officials. so this is a fringe view. but you saw with the whole susan rice thing, that the idea of a conspiracy, the idea of a cover up, became so much more politically powerful than the actual facts of the case. now, what we saw in that report was that there were serious problems in benghazi. there were security lapses. but that's not sexy enough. it's more sexy to imagine these conspiracies and fake illnesses and whatever else. so when that is the assumption, whatever facts come up are just funneled into that weird assumption. >> could any of this be political, as well, ryan? newt gingrich. he says that hillary clinton is the candidate to beat in 2016. he says i mean there -- i'm quoting gingrich -- i mean if their competitor in 16 is going to be

clinton. you're coming in and abc in the '90s, and bill clinton is president. yet the impeachment woes. did you have to deal with any of second term clinton problems? >> yeah, a good part of my first year at abc news was dealing with the clinton issues. the monica lewinsky story broke 10 months into my tenure in january of 1998. i was down in cuba. the pope was visiting cuba and we're all -- peter jennings, ted koppel, we have had well over 100 news people down there to cover the event. i got a call one night, cokie roberts and some of the other people from the desk in your thing we've got this investigation we've got going on that looks like it's going to break. there's this young intern who told her close friend that she had a relationship, inappropriate relationship with the president. i said that's ridiculous. that can't be right. we had no reasonably just telling the truth, that a friend is some truth so forget it. i went back into then and in about an hour they said we just confirmed jan

truman, eisenhower, reagan, clinton, and bush. we're including truman because even though he wasn't elected in 1944, he took over after fdr died just three months into his term. nixon is out before he resigned before the second midterm shellacking. let's put up the numbers. in truman's second term, let's take a look here, as you can see, in that midterm in 9050, his democratic party lost 28 seats in the house, 6 in the senate. in ike's second term in 1958, the gop got wiped out, losing 48 house seats, 13 senate seats. reagan, '86, republicans lost 5 seats in the house, 8 seats in the senate. i'll tell you about that in a minute. but it cost republicans control of the senate in the process. president clinton, of course, is the big outlier here, if you'll recall. he didn't lose anything in the second midterm, winning five house seats for his party, staying even in the senate. eight years later, president bush got hammered, losing 30 seats in the house, 6 in the senate, but control of both houses were gone from republicans. a couple

hillary clinton is, whether she likes it or not, as well. this clinton, industrial news complex. everything she does sparks speculation, sparks, you know, all of these incredible, you know, obsessing over whether it's not -- it's a positioning for this year, positioning for another year, a positioning against somebody. so i think that's just something that's going to happen. and i think a lot of people are going to look at whether or not her preparations look like. and she can sort of inherit the obama success. >> so you guys stuck me with the four that none of you picked. go biden. i like this. cinc is a network. >> king is an independent. >> that's what i'm going to be watching. >> do you see the ce,of the servetive movement? >> i think it's hard for jim demint -- it's like this aol time warner merger. it makes a lot of sense on paper. we'll be able to overcome some of the institutional challenges. it's something that's out in the -- the think tank worl. >> we'll have more from the gaggle coming up. plus, the six-year itch,it's a bedrock of conventional wisdom. or is it just a

one, the health of secretary of state hillary clinton. she's in the hospital right now with a blood clot. we've been talking about the fiscal cliff, as you heard, as you heard ryan hlizza say, there's no agreement yet, and not a lot of time left. the latest on both, next. >>> getting close to the bottom of the hour, we want to get you a look at the headlines right now. secretary of state hillary clinton has been hospitalized, this after doctors discovered a blood clot. the former first lady had been cleared to go back to work when doctors made the discovery. she suffered a concussion after fainting a couple weeks ago. she had a nasty stomach virus and collapsed from dehydration. we have a live report coming up in just a couple minutes here on cnn. >>> the other big story is the action or inaction on capitol hill. if lawmakers do not reach a fiscal cliff agreement, you could see your taxes skyrocket and deep spending cuts kick in. major sticking points, entitlements and tax increases. house republicans have ended their meetings for the nig

the clinton world is not sitting quietly, though. t "the new york times" kicked off what is likely to become a monthly exercise by somebody in the media. we may come up with a meter. probably throw in jeb in there, right? we should call it the hillary jebatron version 2016. probably jon stewart starting that up already. jodie cantor interviewed a number of clinton aides about future plans and strikingly a lot of them talked. while clinton has dozens of options when she leaves the state department, cantor makes a smart observation. she is a big constraint. the more serious she is about 2016 the less she can do. no frank, seen it all memoir, no clients, commissions that could prove problematic in the 2016 primaries or the general. instead cantor reports that secretary clinton is considering writing an upbeat look at her time as secretary of state. not a painful examination of her failed 2008 bid as she once proposed. likely to be quoted in a handful of clinton aides willing to go on the record with "the times" even when asked questions

bill clinton along with others says if there's a movie made about hillary clinton, meryl streep should get the part. >>> next, secretary who? at a u.n. event to benefit people with disabilities, john mccain took on the rumors of who will be the next secretary of state after an introduction from john kerry. >> senator mccain. >> thank you very much, mr. secretary. >> kerry stepped up again after mccain but refused to bite on that one. >> thank you very much, mr. president. this is what happens when you get two losers up here, folks. >> that was a good line. kerry has been careful to stay clear of the public speculation about whom the president will actually pick to replace hillary clinton. >>> also, arizona governor jan brewer, she's a heavyweight, in a comment about global warming. she doesn't think it's manmade, but her own explanation for climate change is rather lacking. here is what she told a local reporter. >> everybody has an opinion on it, you know, and i probably don't believe it's manmade. i believe that, you know, weather and certain elements are controlled maybe by differen

president clinton is one of the most talented politicians in an entire generation. >> bill clinton is one of those rare people that is able to really connect with a crowd, convey warmth and empathy, while also being the smartest guy in the room. >> here is somebody that is charismatic but also incredibly fallible. he has lied. he has cheated. >> not a single time. >> yet he is such a beloved figure in american history. >> bill clinton runs one of the biggest, most prestigious foundations in the world. the clinton global initiative. >> and he's cool. he's a cool dude. >> i don't know what the magic is that he has that, you know, he can absolutely, completely screw up and people still dig him. >> you know, a lot of names from the world of politics have made our list so far. will the top three be from that world as well? well, we'll see. but, first, before we reveal more names, our pollsters had some fun by asking americans to pick who they'd like to have dinner with. we have brought from price water -- what is it? weiss waterhouse? >> price waterhouse cooper. >> we have brought from pri

do you think that clinton, secretary clinton or former president clinton, they have done this i know in private, said what they thought about this, they were for kerry. did they ever express that or lobby for kerry or against rice in this case do you know? >> it's my understanding they didn't. i think that hillary clinton understood where the president's loyalties lie, that he was leaning towards susan rice, and she wasn't going to start a debate and try to -- and i think, in fact, those close to secretary clinton really tried to snuff out those stories that secretary clinton wanted kerry over rice, didn't want to have rice replace her. i think she stayed out of that a lot. so i don't think that they were going to step into that at all. i mean, i know there's always been speculation that susan rice and secretary clinton weren't close, and it all -- some of that all goes back to the '08 primary campaign. susan rice was a very prominent surrogate and, in fact, you have some people who believe that that's what -- that's the issue john mccain has with her, that this goes back to the 2008

and hillary clinton said the buck stops with her. the president says the buck stops with him and yet, they're the only two people who seem to be taking any kind of responsibility. >> but, here is my problem with that is that tom nigh was sent out there because he's hillary's political deputy. he's the one that hillary says is going to testify because she has a concussion, he's got to take responsibility for looking at the cable, for the undersecretary in the different departments, for the regional bureau assistant secretaries. the state department power is in the regional bureaus. the assistant secretary of state for near east, pat jones, is not named in the report. she's responsible. if she would have approved security, it would have been done. you can't blame others and tom nye is her boss. so, the as a matter of fact of the matter is, the coverage for tom nye showing up for hillary clinton was atrocious. cnn basically said it was something that tom nye said we could do better on when in fact, tom nye is married to the cnn deputy b

do you think that clinton, secretary clinton or former president clinton, they have done this i know in private, said what they thought about this, they were for kerry. did they ever express that for lobby for kerry or against rice in this case do you know? >> it's my understanding they didn't. i think that hillary clinton understood where the president's loyalties lie, that he was leaning towards susan rice and she wasn't going to start a debate and try to -- and i think, in fact, those close to secretary clinton really tried to snuff out those stories that secretary clinton wanted kerry over rice, didn't want to have rice replace her. i think she stayed out of that a lot. so i don't think that they were going to step into that at all. i mean, i know there's always been speculation that susan rice and secretary clinton weren't close, and it all -- some of that all goes back to the '08 primary campaign. susan rice was very prominent surrogate and, in fact, you have some people who believe that that's what -- that's the issue john mccain has with her, that this goes back to the 2008 c

clinton and president obama. they are different. they're in a different category. anybody with undersecretary and below is dead meat in terms of this thing, can be fired, embarrassed humiliated however, hillary clinton and president obama are on their own. >> jon: and you had questions, judy, whether secretary clinton questions about this. >> this is the amazing thing about the press conference on friday, that the republican senators had because they suggested that she hadn't even sat down and talked to the men who were leading the panel that she created. if that's true, that is truly an astonishing omission and i don't think she is going to be able to escape responsibility for it. she's already claimed responsibility, but i think that questions are going to be continue to be asked what she knew when. it's not good enough. you're not going to be able to get away with saying this is just an assistant secretary problem. it's not. >> jon: those three republican senators came out in that news conference and said ther

this comes after clinton was hospitalized on sunday. this was former president bill clinton leaving the hospital this afternoon where his wife will remain for at least another day. the 65-year-old was last seen in public on december 7 in northern ireland where she spoke about life after her retirement from the state department. >> i look forward to coming back and having some time just to relax and spend a few hours talking with friends and thinking about things besides public life. >> reporter: clinton develops a stomach virus was on that trip to europe and had to cancel a subsequent visit to morocco. a few days later back in the u.s. she fainted and fell. her aides say it was the result of dehydration. on december 15 the state department announced that clinton had sustained a concussion in that fall. doctors recommended, quote, that the secretary continue to rest and avoid any strenuous activity and strongly advised her to cancel all work events for the coming week. clinton canceled the december 20 appearance before a congressional co

this is the second time clinton has suffered a blood clot. 1998, clinton was hospitalized because of a clot behind her knee. >> it's possible it's one in the leg, deep vein thrombosis and dehydration both lay lie to clinton. >> reporter: clinton's colleagues in the senate are sending well wishes. >> i just want to say how much secretary clinton is in our prayers and hope she recovers rapidly from this health problem. >> reporter: the state department said they won't comment any further on her condition. doctors said she may have been prone to additional blood clots because she already had one. >>> a westminster man is recovering from a crash that happened this morning. >> reporter: 78-year-old thomas skipper, jr. had some sort of medical emergency this morning just after 8:00. police don't know what happened but he went on a wild ride before crashing into one of the hospital's buildings. you can see the tracks that go from the sidewalk outside the emergency room to where his car finally stopped. the office window is tarped and taped up. he had a health issue of some kind while he was

do you think we're looking at bush versus clinton in 2016? >> i think the picture on the democratic side this far out, there's a little more clarity to it -- there's a lot more clarity than the republican side. if hillary clinton were to run in 2016 there are obviously no guarantees in life or politics, but within the democratic party for the democratic nomination, she will be a front-runner like we have never seen before. and i know we sort of said that about her in the run up to '08. she had two liabilities in '08 that were gone. she was considered too much of a polarizing figure. can she get independents to vote for her in the fall. the republicans who had been just relentless critics of her for 15 years in the '90s and the last decade, they have rolled over and lionized her as sort of this alternative 1i78 boll. this is the democrat we like. there's that and the other thing that dragged her down on the democratic side was the iraq war and i think largely that's forgotten now. i think her two big liabilities on the democratic side are gone

hillary clinton is in the hospital right now with a blood clot. full details on her condition and prognosis. also tonight, say the words with me here, fiscal cliff. no vote yet, no agreement yet. and not a lot of time left. can you say one more day? we're going to start with the secretary of state, hillary clinton, hospitalized with a blood clot. it was discovered today during a follow-up exam. are dids say it is related to a concussion she suffered earlier this month. you'll recall the former first lady was suffering from a omach virus when she fainted. we want to bring in dr. sanjay gupta now. she was just cleared to return to work this week, and now this. >> first of all, there are a couple things that are important. it sounds like she went in for a routine exam, they found a clot, a blood clot, they did not specify where this clot was located. she's hospitalized on blood thinners, anti-coagulants. these are important points. from a medical perspective, first of all, finding this on a routine exam means that she didn't go in for some particular

bill clinton along others says said if there's a movie made by hillary clinton meryl streep should get the part. >>> next, secretary who? at a u.n. event to benefit people with disantibiotics, john mccain took on the rumors of who will be the next secretary of state after an introduction from john kerry. >> senator mccain. >> thank you very much, mr. secretary. >> kerry stepped up again after mccain but refused to bite on that one. >> thank you very much, mr. president. this is what happens when you get two losers up here, folks. >> that was a good line. kerry has been careful to stay clear of the public speculation about whom the president will actually pick to replace hillary clinton. >>> also, ads governor jan brewer, she's a heavyweight, in a comment about global warming. she doesn't think it's man made, but her own explanation for climate change is rather lacking. here is what she told a local reporter. >> everybody has an opinion on it, you know, and i probably don't believe it's manmade. i believe that, you know, weather and certain elements are controlled maybe by different thi

they impeached bill clinton but made a deal. they made a deal that was nor the right of where most democrats are. this president has a unique opportunity to make a deal for more towards his left. remember dick cheney said to -- speaking of sequels. remember when dick cheney said you got the high approval ratings you can spend them on the iraq war. republicans what they want is the president to spend some of his popularity and put out unpopular ideas for cuts. democrats don't have an incentive to do that. >> big news. stand by. my thanks. in need to pass along this breaking news from across the pond. we're just learning that prince william and kate middleton are expecting. this is news from clarence house. they will be having their first baby. nbc news is working further to confirm this but the rest of the royal family has said to be excited by this news. she was admitted to the hospital this afternoon because of morning sickness. she's pebted to stay in the hospital for a few days. the panel can all agree -- >> republicans and d

a health scare for hillary clinton. the secretary of state is hospitalized this morning after doctors discover a blood clot. we'll have the latest on her condition. >>> also this morning, a different kind of contract for a young iphone user, what this teen's mom is making him agree to before he's allowed to talk or text. >> i think it's fantastic parenting by the way. >>> a huge weekend in nfl action. the bitter end for some teams. >> yeah. >> bears. and the beginning of playoff hopes for others, who's out, who's in, who shouldn't be. fantastic details. >> bears and giants are both out. >> can y believe that? >> i can't. >> we're not the only ones work thing overnight. talks are going on in washington trying to avoid the fiscal cliff. >> but we're getting something done. the average american family would see a tax increase of more than $3,400. preeti arla is joining us with more. >> reporter: top leaders seemed optimistic early on, but that seemed to shift, replaced by pessimism and still no deal with time running out.

clinton was hospitalized last night. we'll get to the latest on her condition. but first, a look at some of the other stories we're following for you this monday morning. a meeting is set as lawmakers work to avoid the fiscal cliff. but the clock is winding down. i don't know about you, but i'm so tired of talking about this. >> i feel the exact same way. >> just go over the cliff, get something done so we can stop talking about it. >>> a chilly end to 2012. it is cold out there. old man winter reminding us what time of year it is. a large part of the nation will ring in the new year with temperatures below freezing. >> we wouldn't know anything about that because it is hot as -- >> in the studio you mean. >> yes. >> maybe it's warm because i have my new slippers on that rob got me. >> that's not fair. >> you can put them in the microwave. >> really? >> yes. >>> but if warm, sunny skies are more your style, pasadena is the place to be. we'll take you behind the scenes of the annual rose parade to see how an army of volunteers build the majestic floats that smell

one the health of the secretary of state hillary clinton. she's in the hospital right now with a blood clot. we've been talking about the fiscal cliff, as you heard, brian lizza say, there's no agreement yet, and not a lot of time left. the latest on both next. [ buzzing ] bye dad. drive safe. k. love you. [ chirping, buzzing continues ] [ horn honks ] [ buzzing continues ] [ male announcer ] the sprint drive first app. blocks and replies to texts while you drive. we can live without the &. visit sprint.com/drive. >>> getting close to the bottom of the hour, we want to get you a look at the headlines right now. hillary clinton has been hospitalized. this after doctors discovered a blood clot. the former first lady had been cleared to go back to work when doctors made the discovery. she suffered a concussion after fainting a couple weeks ago. she had a nasty stomach virus and collapsed from dehydration. we have a live report coming up in a couple minutes. >>> the other big story is the action or inaction on capitol hill. if lawmakers do not r

they're both named clinton. hillary clinton now says that, quote, all doors are open after she steps down as secretary of state. that means that 2016 buzz won't go away any time soon. >> still to come, majority of the country now supports same-sex marriage. a look ahead at the president's schedule. kind of quiet today. if he does something public, might be a bad time in the fiscal talks. if he keeps it private, maybe we find out they're sneaking the speaker into the white house today. you're watching "the daily rundown "identify only on msnbc. ♪ ♪ obligations, but obligations. i need to rethink the core of my portfolio. what i really need is sleep. introducing the ishares core, building blocks for the heart of your portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss

clinton in the six-minute clip. this video seems like an international endorsement of a presidential campaign ad all rolled into one. but the kind words didn't stop there. hillary clinton's boss recorded this special message for her. >> through it all, i have relied on the shining qualities that have defined your life. your conviction, your optimism, your belief that america can and must be a force for good in the world. i'll say it again. you've been one of the best secretary of states in american history. >> there doesn't seem to be any democrats that could come close to hillary clinton or joe biden when it comes to running for president, but there's plenty of time. we're only three years and 11 months away from election day. let's turn to michael tomasky, correspondent for "the daily beast". it's a lot of fun to talk about it, but it's amazing -- not that she doesn't deserve it. it's a quick endorsement on all fronts globally. how do you compete with that? >> it's awfully tough to compete with that. the speculati

so, hillary clinton i am for. i think it is really hard for a lot of presidents because the number one thing is to keep our ego out of it. i strongly support hillary clinton. i am very strong for education. i know that her being a democrat, i know that she would support obamacare and continue to support it and would not damage it in anyway. being a person who is impaired, i really appreciate that. host: last month there was a tribute, a video tribute, to hillary clinton. [video clip] >> she has put that all together in the pinnacle up until now in her public service which has in deer herd to millions and millions of people all over the world then the. ♪ >> she has been a splendid representative of the united states. >> she is doing it [indiscernible] ♪ >> in the end, it is not about being a good politician. it is about being a human being. >> we have always pushed human potential and promise forward. if you vbet on the side of human rights, human dignity, more countries may have the same extraordinary good for

one is that clinton would be formidable backed by her husband. that's right. second, he said that if there were a popular president obama, that would be helpful to her. that's really not accurate. if you look at it, truman, lbj and bush 43 were all unpopular and their parties lost the white house at the end of eight years. then eisenhower and clinton were both popular and their parties lost at the end of eight years. we had one president whose standing was neutral in november of 1988, right hand reagan's job approval was 51%. his party kept the white house. >> bill: i think the speaker -- what the speaker is trying to get across is that at this point, republicans are pretty much in disarray and they can't compete with the organized democratic machine. that's why romney lost. the machine won it. got the vote out. romney himself couldn't mobilize, got fewer votes than john mccain did. >> that's not accurate. he now has moved ahead of what mccain got four years ago and president obama got about 94% of what he got four years ago. i accept the point that today the

praised clinton in a more than ten-minute video tribute. take a look at this. >> strength, toughness, very strong streak of principle. >> i had the opportunity to work with her, to achieve ceasefire between israel and hamas. >> a strong and determined leader. >> politics as a mother, as a senator, the pinnacle up to now of her public service. >> one of the best secretary of states in american history and finally, hillary, a lot has been said about our relationship and here is what i know. you haven't just within one of my closest partners, you've become a great friend. >> yet this was not it at the 2016 convention yet. for those wondering if clinton may have politics in her faw tour listen to how the video wrapped up and secretary clinton's reaction. >> on the side of human rights, human dignity. more countries may have the same extraordinary good fortune that we've had. >> someone who knows a thing or two about political comeback, i can tell you i don't think we've heard the last of hillary clinton. ♪ girl, you're amazing just the way yo

like secretary clinton, i trust them with my life. it's important to recognize the colleagues and bureaus of diplomatic security and middle east affairs and across the department at home and abroad get it right countless times a day for years on end in some of the toughest circumstances imaginable. we cannot lose sight of that, but we learned very hard and painful lessons in benghazi. we are already acting on them. we have to do better. we owe it to our colleagues who lost lives in benghazi. we owe it to the security professionals who agented with such extraordinary heroism that awful night to try to protect them, and we owe it to thousands of the colleagues serving america with great dedication every day in diplomatic posts around the world. we will never prevent every act of terrorism or achieve perfect security, but we'll never stop working to get better and safer. as secretary clinton said, the united states will keep leading and engaging around the world including in those hard places where america's interest and values are at st

i mean, if their competitor in '16 is going to be hillary clinton, supported by bill clinton and presumably a still relatively popular president barack obama, trying to win that will be truly the super bowl. and the republican party today is incapable of competing at that level. and it's part of this cultural thing with our consultants. you start out thinking giving away 47% of the country, by the way, which included retirees, veterans. you know, it was an absurdity. and i think this is much more than mitt romney. we didn't blow it because of mitt romney. we blew it because of a party which has refused to engage the reality of american life and refused to take -- to think through what the average american needs for a better future. >> but recall what you said about 1964. in december 1964, lyndon johnson was re-elected. goldwater was finished. it was the end of the republican party. and at the end, the republicans nominated a man named richard nixon. and he became president. unthinkable. >> so you can have a campaign between hillary clinton and jeb bush, representing 36 years of bushes on na

clinton rates as he says. when you had these taxes in, his proposal to actually increase taxes on the rich, quite a bit above where they were in the clinton years. >> the new taxes on wages and investment income, they're designed to raise, the number is, $318 billion over the next ten years or about half of all the new revenue that will be collected under the health care law. it's been pointed out the new taxes also come with a marriage penalty for those who qualify. >> i'm not hugely convinced. here's the way it works. the taxes kick in for individuals making more than $200,000 or families making more than $250,000. number one, anybody who's getting married is under those levels is seeing nothing here. that's the vast, overwhelming majority of americans. now, the way the marriage penalty can work is let's say two people get married and they both make $200,000. or $199,000, maybe. if they didn't get married, they wouldn't experience any tax increase. if they do get married and they file jointly, you're making

you know the clintons, is there doubt or no doubt she's running for president? >> there's not in my mind much doubt. zero doubt in bill clinton's mind as to what he wants. he desperately wants her to do it. chris: you notice what he did in pennsylvania this time, knocked off people that opposed her in the past and helped people that have been with her. >> he is organizing his public life around keeping options open for her. hillary clinton would say, look, i'm exhausted, give me a year to get my life back in order to think about it but i think at every turn in hillary clinton's public life when she's had an option to do something more ambitious, she's chosen that option so to my mind there's not a lot of doubt. chris: let me ask you about the think we alle i agree she'll be encouraged to run. seems to me that other people like vice president biden and governor of new york, they have to get going and make their move. the secretary of state gets to relax, get her head clear, read a novel or two, think about something other than work. how long does she have? >> lin

one is that clinton would be formidable backed by her husband. that's right. second, he said that if there were a popular president obama, that would be helpful to her. that's really not accurate. if you look at it, truman, lbj and bush 43 were all unpopular and their parties lost the white house at the end of eight years. then eisenhower and clinton were both popular and their parties lost at the end of eight years. we had one president whose standing was neutral in november of 1988, right hand reagan's job approval was 51%. his party kept the white house. >> bill: i think the speaker -- what the speaker is trying to get across is that at this point, republicans are pretty much in disarray and they can't compete with the organized democratic machine. that's why romney lost. it. got the vote out. romney himself couldn't mobilize, got fewer votes than john mccain did. >> that's not accurate. he now has moved ahead of what mccain got four years ago and president obama got about 94% of what he got four years ago. i accept the point that today the republican party

clinton's role. she does take she stakes responsibility, and she promises to testify about what happened at the house foreign affairs committee hearings held next month. for more on this let's go to the former spokesperson for the last four united states ambassadors to the united nations, and he joins us from los angeles. good morning, rick. >> good morning, eric. thanks for having me. >> secretary of state clinton says she will raise her right hand and she will testify about what happened, what she knew and this sort of thing. what do you expect she will say? >> first of all let's make it perfectly clear. the senate should make sure that she is still the secretary of state when she testifies. we should not move forward and make john carey the next secretary of state if hillary clinton has not testified as the sretary of state. i is a this because they held an incredible press conference that really crystallized the issues of benghazi and the failings of the report. this report didn't name names, and

i mean, if their competitor in '16 is going to be hillary clinton, supported by bill clinton and presumably a still relatively popular president barack obama, trying to win that will be truly the super bowl. and the republican party today is incapable of competing at that level. and it's part of this cultural thing with our consultants. you start out thinking giving away 47% of the country, by the way, which included retirees, veterans. you know, it was an absurdity. and i think this is much more than mitt romney. we didn't blow it because of mitt romney. we blew it because of a party which has refused to engage the reality of american life and refused to take -- to think through what the average american needs for a better future. >> but recall what you said about 1964. in december 1964, lyndon johnson was re-elected. goldwater was finished. it was the end of the republican party. and at the end, the republicans nominated a man named richard nixon. and he became president. unthinkable. >> so you can have a tcampaign between hillary clinton and jeb bush, representing 36 years of bushes on n

this is not to say this is what happened with secretary clinton. but a subdermal hematoma can be life threatening that's what killed natasha richardson. where she got her blood clot is critical in this. if the blood clot's in her brain, it's dangerous. any other part of the body it's dangerous because it can migrate into her brain and cause a stroke, which is the biggest concern, why they're monitoring her and the second thing it can go into the lungs and cause problems there, if it's moving around through the body. they say they're trying to get rid of it with standard blood thinner medication, cup ma din, we've heard about that, it's standard treatment. but until we know more details we don't know exactly what kind of situation she's in. >> the fact they found it and the fact she's hospitalized, obvious obviously, i guess argue for she's getting the best treatment possible. >> yes. she is being followed and that's very critical. she would had routinely, someone of her statue, someone in the united states would get a cat scan after a concussion to

. >>> health scare for secretary of state hillary clinton, hospitalized with a blood clot near her brain. what her doctors are saying tonight. >>> flying high. we all know air travel can be no picnic. but tonight there's some good news. >>> and in with the new. ringing in 2013 all over the world. "nightly news" begins now. >>> from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. >> good evening, i'm kate snow in tonight for brian, and on this new year's eve, lawmakers may be watching the ball drop from their offices at the u.s. capitol. it has been a day of twists and turns in washington, both procedural and political as the white house and congress tried to find a way to avert those automatic tax and spending measures that kick in midnight tonight. the bottom line at this hour, we are headed over the proverbial fiscal cliff. we say that because the senate hasn't voted on any kind of deal. you see it there live. and the house has said even if there is a deal, they're not going to bring any bill to a vote on this new year's eve. so the big question

barack obama won, so they liked hillary clinton. if hillary clinton had won in 2008, you would hear lots of republicans saying, none of this would be happening if that idealistic barack obama had won instead. if hillary clinton is the nominee in 2016, this will be an election decided by three or four percentage points. it will not be a 57/30 election. >> it always tightens. i'm curious about the other side since you're talking about 2008. marco rubio and paul ryan both spoke at this dinner and they were -- these were speeches where they're trying to define themselves as who they are. both probably going to run in 2016. how would a rubio/ryan stack up against a hillary clinton? in a sense it sort of feels like 2008 reversed, right, except for experience would come on the democratic side with hillary and the youth and this sort of idealism might perhaps come from a rubio or ryan on the republican side? >> well, if i look at that poll you were referring to, hillary clinton is the overwhelming favorite among young people, especially you