today, mccain said upgrade the opposition. that sounds to me if i'm reading the tea leaves like the plan has changed and this could be a lot more involved than he had originally promised or planned. >> from my sources here at the pentagon, the plan has not changed all that much. perhaps senator mccain was given more details about the plan, but it's still going to be limited in nature. it will be hours, not days. but, again, it is still a limited mission from what i'm hearing. >> jennifer, this is bob. two questions, one, the russian haves a naval base in syria. is there some concern on the russians part, do you think, the reason they're steaming these ships into the mediterranean is because they're worried about their own naval base? >> well, they're worried -- don't forget, there are russians also who are manning the air defense systems that the syrians have. they have a very sophisticated air defense system. so if you strike those air defense systems, you will likely be killing russians. but we know that the russians have be

today, mccain said upgrade the opposition. that sounds to me if i'm reading the tea leaves like the plan has changed and this could be a lot more involved than he had originally promised or planned. >> from my sources here at the pentagon, the plan has not changed all that much. perhaps senator mccain was given more details about the plan, but it's still going to be limited in nature. it will be hours, not days. but, again, it is still a limited mission from what i'm hearing. >> jennifer, this is bob. two questions, one, the russian haves a naval base in syria. is there some concern on the russians part, do you think, the reason they're steaming these ships into the mediterranean is because they're worried about their own naval base? >> well, they're worried -- don't forget, there are russians also who are manning the air defense systems that the syrians have. they have a very sophisticated air defense system. so if you strike those air defense systems, you will likely be killing russians. but we know that the russians have be

of mccain has along way to go. that's a wakeup call for this white house. but as we were saying before they started speaking, they are stepping up their game with the phone calls and direct lobbying, including the meeting with mccain and graham, and on balance this appears to be at least a relatively good moment for the president, because after saying all of that their bottom line, these two republicans who are frequent critics of the president, was it would be catastrophic if he loses these votes and congress and they want to find a way to help him here, specifically lips say graham saying that he heard some good things from the meeting and is not there yet but if the president can sell him, he'll help sell others in the congress. john mccain same -- saying similar. they're seeing positive signals from the president. who would have thunk it, john mccain might help him out. >> you point out the chiding these two top republicans gave the president. at one point senator graham saying, mr. president, clearly the air.

do they care what john mccain thinks? >> reporter: el, i think what you'll find here, what john mccain has in common with vladimir putten in this instance, apart from the fact they disagree on almost everything, they both feel misunderstood in countries they are trying to engage in. what both leaders have tried to do this in this case is communicate directly with the people, bypassing the local filters of politicians and journalists who they believe distort the message they're trying to put out. you can see that carefully in the way putin expressed the russian position on syria the way mccain is trying to stress the fact he's not anti-russian because that's what he's referred to in the country as. whether or not this is successful, i guess we might have to wait a little bit longer to find out. certainly we know putin was criticized heavily for his comments and certainly not everyone's going to agree with john mccain. generally most russians don't like being told what to do by nonrussians. >> pravda has been around forever

i thought mccain and graham there with persuasive. they're at the white house being critical of the president but probably, i would imagine, that the president realizes that needs to happen in order to move the ball forward at all. do you think that they're misreading congress and my second question is, the humanitarian crisis happening in syria and the region with over a million refugees, how is that weighing into the discussion of how to explain to america why this is in our national interests? is that at all been talked about? i've been away but haven't heard a lot about it. >> it's been part of it, but probably not enough of it. i remember being with the president in jordan in march and the king of jordan was saying back then, mr. president, the fifth largest city in jordan right now is a refugee camp. it's not an actual city in jordan. it's not actually jordanians. syrian refugees have the -- i haven't checked. it might be the fourth or third largest city. you're right, it's been is swelling. that was graham's point. where was th

senators lindsey graham and john mccain. senator mccain also thinks leaving this whole thing up to congress is a bit risky. >> i want to talk to the president. i want to find out whether there is a plan and a strategy. i want to find out whether this is just a pinprick that somehow bashar al assad can trumpet that he defeated the united states of america. but i will say that if congress overrules a decision of the president of the united states on an issue of national security, that could set a catastrophic precedent in the future. it would be very dangerous precedent to be set. >> we are waiting to hear from senator mccain and senator graham as soon as they finish that meeting in front of the white house. and what happens when everyone convenes on monday. the fact that the president has to convince congress, the senate, the house, to fwget on board with this plan for authorization. a busy schedule has left the president with a very small window to work with. look at this. before congress votes, that is next monday, the pres

john mccain. we will tell you all about it tonight. stay with us. we're coming thank you orville and wilbur... ...amelia... neil and buzz: for teaching us that you can't create the future... by clinging to the past. and with that: you're history. instead of looking behind... delta is looking beyond. 80 thousand of us investing billions... in everything from the best experiences below... to the finest comforts above. we're not simply saluting history... we're making it. nascar is about excitement. but tracking all the action and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media can be a challenge. that's why we partnered with hp to build the new nascar fan and media engagement center. hp's technology helps us turn millions of tweets, posts and stories into real-time business insights that help nascar win with our fans. lou: the only man in washington who arguably is having a worse week that president obama is his onetime rival turned best pal senator john mccain. proving himself worthy of our dunce cap awa

not bombs, senator mccain. you need to listen to the majority of the american people who do want you to go there. this is not an issue that we can take so lightly, senator mccain. >> i would much rather use our taxpayers' money to take our vets coming home from the two conflicts we've already been in. >> i don't think i need to be lectured to about veterans, okay? all right? >> even that didn't go over well. congressman rick crawford, by the way, republican from kansas said 99% of calls to his office were from calls for action in syria. mike fitzpatrick received 126 calls opposing engagement and only one call in favor. and the independent is saying unanimously people up there are saying do not get involved. brad sherman from california said i don't know a member in congress whose e-mails are in favor of this. we're joined by elijah cummings from maryland. hasn't voted out voting in favor of the syria resolution. and juan vargas from california coming out in favor of strikes. i want to start with mr. vargas. i h

>> yeah, far from a spokesperson for john mccain,ut i'll tell you, john mccain has famously been a critic of president putin back when george w. bush said that he looked in putin's eyes and could see his soul, mccain said he looked in his eyes and could see three letters, k-g-b. and mccain like many folks was angry when he saw putin getting an op-ed piece in "the new york times." he said fine, give me equal time in "pravda." it seems like foreign policy comes together on that, and mccain might have his chance to push back at putin. >> oh, my goodness. a lot of people angry, not so happy about what putin wrote, but especially right now at a critical juncture in diplomacy. might john mccain's sentiment be disruptive? could it interfere in all that's taking place so far? >> well, to be clear, john mccain hasn't written the piece yet, so he's got a chance to recalibrate. fred, just over the last few hours, the agreement that seems to have been reached between the united states and russia on syria is a game changer. it fundamentally changes the calculus and really the whole tone of conversatio

senators john mccain and lindsey graham. mccain has a big question. he wants to know whether he has a plan to take out syria's regime. >> i want to talk to the president. i want to find out whether there is a plan and a strategy. i want to find out whether this is just a pin prick that somehow bashir assad can trumpet he defeated the united states of america. i will say that if congress overrules a decision of the president of the united states on an issue of national security that, could set a catastrophic precedent in the future. it would be very dangerous precedent to be set. >> mccain has much more strong u.s. military action in syria. >> members congress got a look at intelligence on syria from white house, pentagon and state department officials. our chief congressional correspondent dana bash standing by on capitol hill. dana, did law makers have anything to say about the legislation the president sent to the hill? >> reporter: they had a lot to say. first of all, the bottom line is that it's not going to stay as-is. they believe many of them i

but not john mccain. here's what his daughter megan said monday when asked about christie running for president in 2016. >> i used to love chris christie. i'm kind of done with chris christie right now. >> why? >> ever since his speech at the convention, he just talked about himself the entire time. >> christie fired back with a response, even though he said he shouldn't have to. >> it's so ridiculous that i have no response to megan mccain. if john mccain wants to say something to me, happy to respond to something john mccain says. megan mccain has no standing to be kri tooeking me. i'm not going to respond to somebody just because of her last name. >> he would have responded if she were a new jersey citizen. >>> investors hoping stocks close on a positive note after a rough week. major averages avoiding a six-day losing streak. good jobless claims are part of the spark for that one. good morning, jeff. >> good morning to you. away from the markets, we're also keeping an eye on the debt story as well. i'

john mccain added in an amendment to the resolution. it said in essence, without all the exact wording, that the effort would be to change the momentum on the battlefield. jennifer griffin is live with us in washington. when you put the pieces of this puzzle together, they don't fit. and i don't understand why. >> reporter: shepard, you just honed in on the key language that was added at the last minute to this senate resolution. it was mccain's amendment and it talks about how the goal of the military mission would be to shift the momentum away from the assad regime on the battlefield. that's a very different mission than the president and secretary of defense and secretary of state outlined and genderly outlined as the limited, tailored mission. shifting the momentum away from the assad regime suggests moving one step closer to regime change. that's something the administration said this mission is not about. so they can't have it both ways. but mccain inserted that language because he has been concerned. he wanted to see the oppositi

steve schmidt, your former boss, john mccain. what does ted cruise know that john mccain doesn't know. ted cruise is running for the president of the united states. and this fear, is fundamentally about the iowa caucuses. the failure to pass this will simply be evidence of his commitment to true conservatism. the gospel he is preaching out along the campaign trail before very long. there is great anger in the republican party. and they don't fall on deaf ears for the activists based in the republican party. if you are about ted cruz and you care about yourself interest here. this is great politics. because, you know, he is, he is rising at the expense of the party. at the expense of the congressional brand. i think what's important to remember as you watch this play out. so many republicans pointed out by governor dean. get driven off the cliff by this stuff. we have given up five u.s. senate seats over the last two election cycles. by the nomination of the tea party crazies. by any one of the number of states. it's not clear if

seemingly more like-minded senator mccain with the president in a long time. >> right, right,down mccain is still bitter he is not in the job but he's in favor of being more aggressive in many places of the middle east. and he's happy that barack obama has said that strikes are necessary. he just wants him to be more aggressive. that's what he's going to be fighting for in the hearing committee. >> you drew the parallels to kosovo, and you were correct. >> bill clinton was making a humanitarian argument. he said, look, people are dialing. dying. they never got approval from the house and senate at the same time but he was able to move forward with troops on the ground and limited strikes, and i think that's what obama is going to be shooting for. >> we saw secretary of state john kerry, i believe at one point he was the chair of this committee. when he was senator from massachusetts. what are you going to be focusing in--before you go, we've got protesters. at least one demonstrator protester in the hall. it "z" anyone hear the statement that was made? i didn't see the sign, and i didn't

i repeat, senator mccain said he respects the will of the people. what about the will of the 70 percent of people opposed to our main assyrian rebels, opposed to a military strike by the united states against a sovereign nation, a unilateral action? he respects the will of the people? are you kidding me? for respecting the will of the people on marijuana but not on syria, well, senator, you have one again. i mean, this is startling. -- starting to look rather decadent. we did not forget. the washington post photographer with proof that senator mccain play poker on his iphone during tuesday's senate hearing on syria. that is right. this same fellow who is a very serious, serious legislator. the senator tried to brush and all of saying it was just a 3-plus our meeting. sometimes he gets a little bored. that is so appalling for a grown man in the position mccain is, and i think you would probably agree with me that deserves a dunce cap. also, it is curious why we have so many frivolous mines in washington d.c. doing the people's very serious business.

i have now found john mccain's article online on a russian website, so not the famous newspaper. what was he saying? nothing very pleasant about vladimir putin, that's for sure. the article is entitled "russians deserve better than putin." says he rules russia by corruption and violence, and it criticizes the leader for backing a sawed and says that support has destroyed russia's global reputation. strong words from senator mccain, but it's unclear how many russians will actually see them, and how many will be influenced by them. >> steve rosenberg in moscow there. senator mccain's colleagues were busy holding a confirmation hearing for the country's nominee for japan. soon, tokyo may have a very well-known american indeed in its midst. this was not your average capitol hill hearing to confirm an american diplomat. look at all those cameras. the main character -- but then, caroline kennedy is no ordinary nominee. a member of the nations most famous political family was in front of the senate. >> it is an honor to appear before you this morning to serve as united its ambassador to

senator john mccain what these learned on this well there has been some confusion in the press about what his reaction may or may not be as pertains to russian media very interesting actually so we've got senator john mccain stating that the that he would be happy to to write an editorial piece in profit and so the media turned out these reports that senator mccain wants to write something and it wasn't clear which it was because we've got the print publication the newspaper the mouthpiece of the soviet the soviet union's communist party founded in one thousand nine hundred by bloody murder lenin and it was very confusing whether he meant that or he meant ru which is a news website here at times very obvious guard and russians are kind of flabbergasted which one is he talking about now probably newspapers editor said well if he if mccain plans to write something in my newspaper it's got to be with the party line of thinking not likely it sounds more like an article in the onion so that was very very odd for a lot of people and then if he decides to write something in the website true

not bombs, senator mccain. you need to also to the listen of the majority of the american people who do not want you to go there. this is -- this is not an issue that we can fix so lightly, senator mccain. >> i would much rather use our taxpayers' money to take care of our vets that are coming home from the two conflicts we've already been in. >> i don't think i need to be lectured to about veterans, okay. all right. so anyway. >> even that didn't go over well. congressman rick crawford, by the way, a republican from kansas says 99% of the calls to his office are against action in syria. u.s. congressman mike fitzpatrick from bucks county, pennsylvania said he received 126 calls opposing military engagement, and only one call in favor. i believe that from bucks county. it's not just republicans either. senator bernie sanders of vermont saying almost unanimous people saying do not get involved and brad sherman from congress says i don't know a member of congress whose e-mails and phone calls are in favor of this

i have now found john mccain's article online on a russian website, so not the famous newspaper. what was he saying? nothing very pleasant about vladimir putin, that's for sure. the article is entitled "russians deserve better than putin." says he rules russia by corruption and violence, and it criticizes the leader for backing a sawed and says that support has destroyed russia's global reputation. strong words from senator mccain, but it's unclear how many russians will actually see them, and how many will be influenced by them. >> steve rosenberg in moscow there. senator mccain's colleagues were busy holding a confirmation hearing for the country's nominee for japan. soon, tokyo may have a very well-known american indeed in its midst. this was not your average capitol hill hearing to confirm an american diplomat. look at all those cameras. the main character -- but then, caroline kennedy is no ordinary nominee. a member of the nations most famous political family was in front of the senate. >> it is an honor to appear before you this morning to serve as united its ambassador to

the mccain slam was well deserved on russia. on russia and syria, i think president obama, forget the process, is in a place where he has 79% of the americans behind him according to a recent poll, and david ignatius has got it right, four reasons why this policy is finally centered. first of all, the russians own it. if chemical weapons are not dismantled they're going to be blamed and, by the way, if chemical weapons get in the hands of the islamists, which are a part of the rebel force, they're aim at russia. two the u.n. is taking ownership and some form of resolution will pass with the support of russia and china. certainly stronger than we've had. three, phase ii starting in geneva, what we need to get to which is a transitional government. this is what we need in syria. and hopefully it also will mean that in the election in 2014, scheduled in 2014, bashar will not be a candidate. number four, we are engaged in a covert action, i think it could be overt, to train the good rebel forces in syria. all of that is a credit, i

i know john mccain. we have spoken about this. and i don't think that he will be hurt or harmed that i am speaking publicly what he told me. he difference respects those people who use anonymous sources to attack their own. he told me that. so sheave schmidt and his crew, and granted, steve schmidt allowed his name toyyw be attad to on besmirching comment about another republican but those using anonymous sources are elevated and cited as sources, join john mccain in dismissing them and saying, journalists, quit using them. >> neil: you and the senator are not on the same page regarding this and i wonder if it taxed your relationship. >> we're not on the same issue when it comes to ted cruz is doing in trying to defun obamacare. there are certainly things that john mccain and i do agree on, though and that is that been, dog gonity, barack obama is our president and we have been better off to not be in our position now with the doubling of our debt and the deficits that reach about a trillion dollars a year ask all those things th

so you know more than mccain? you are better informed than mccain? >> mccain is not giving us the entire story. we know right now. >> mccain is lying and trying to deceive us. >> al qaeda forces have been trying for two decades to get chemical weapons so they can hurt americans and hurt israel. >> say whatever you want to say and read it off the internet and spit it out. but here is the key question. >> so everything mccain says. >> are you saying that john mccain, number one, doesn't know what he is talking about because he denied everything you just said and number two he is trying to deceive the american people? is that what you are saying? >> i'm saying that he and others are under estimating the threat of opponents to assad. they are underestimating. will he they are saying let's go in there and attack assad and get him out of the way because of the chemical attacks are horrid. >> you know more than he does. >> i'm saying is under stating bill initemly to it. >> has john mccain ever been wrong about anything, bill. >> sure, he has been wrong abo

senator, could have been president john mccain? >> some u.s. forces, approximately 20,000 should remain for a period of time to help the iraqis secure the hard-earned gains that we had made together. >> i would be very reluctant to reduce the surge troops. >> under president john mccain we would have been in two wars, in iran, libya, russia, we still would be in iraq and would not be planning on leaving afghanistan, that is where he said he was against ending the surge and reducing the troop numbers. and now, of course, senator mccain gets another chance in front of the cameras, where we wait in suspense. it would be a catastrophe if congress votes no, he said, and also he might vote no. the president's military action is not big enough, it is all war, more war, for senator john mccain or he would cast a vote that he says would be catastrophic for the country, go to war in syria or the country gets it. john mccain ran for president in 2008 under the theme "country first." he lost that election, he lost that election, he lost. and so we do not l

we have calls into senator mccain's office. but the report is he cannot support the syria draft resolution. so we know john mccain was onboard with the president's plan to strike syria. but the suggestion is that the plan has lost teeth. that it is not strong enougher to john mccain. we'll see if we can speak with him coming up. all of that when we take a quick break. we'll be right back in america's newsroom with more. waffle bars. ryan, your hotels' robes are fabulous. i have twelve of them. twelve? shhhh, i'm worth it& what i'm trying to say is, it's so hard to pick just one of you, so i'm choosing all of you with hotels.com. a loyalty program that requires no loyalty. plus members can win a free night every day only at hotels.com martha: we are back with a quickly moving story on syria. the big question right now is will president obama get the back he's seeking from congress? he needs that back he feels to gain it momentum to pull off a successful snriek syri -- a successful strike in syria to get international support whi

>> yeah, far from a spokesperson for john mccain, but i'll tell you, john mccain has famously been a critic of president putin back when george w. bush said that he looked in putin's eyes and could see his soul, mccain said he looked in his eyes and could see three letters, k-g-b. and mccain like many folks was angry when he saw putin getting an op-ed piece in "the new york times." he said fine, give me equal time in "pravda." it seems like foreign policy comes together on that, and mccain might have his chance to push back at putin. >> oh, my goodness. a lot of people angry, not so happy about what putin wrote, but especially right now at a critical juncture in diplomacy. might john mccain's sentiment be disruptive? could it interfere in all that's taking place so far? >> well, to be clear, john mccain hasn't written the piece yet, so he's got a chance to recalibrate. fred, just over the last few hours, the agreement that seems to have been reached between the united states and russia on syria is a game changer. it fundamentally changes the calculus and really the whole tone of conv

when the tv lights went down so did mccain's phone. behind closed doors he got some wayward senators who were too busy -- to start thinking of change and ultimately toughening up a resolution that you may or may not like. i don't care. it was orchestrated by a man whose war hero credentials you cannot debate. it just -- amazes me that those who have the nerve to say john mccain wasn't being serious about terror were at bhes dipers when he was experiencing it firsthand. f they were about a guy that was tortured. wish the senator had just said -- reminded these fromfer owics hacks of that. but again, real heroes don't do that. i do. because i'm no hero. but i sure as hell know john mccain is. his critics will never be. they are still prisoners of the same pathetic cheap shots to whoever judge it is prisoner of war who took far more serious shots. if they ever thought that -- if they ever cared, if they ever just shut the hell up. >>> hello, everyone. it is 5:00 in new york city. this is the "five." obama landed in st. petersburg, russia,

john mccain. we will tell you all about it tonight. stay with us. we're coming thank you orville and wilbur... ...amelia... neil and buzz: for teaching us that you can't create the future... by clinging to the past. and with that: you're history. instead of looking behind... delta is looking beyond. 80 thousand of us investing billions... in everything from the best experiences below... to the finest comforts above. we're not simply saluting history... we're making it. lou: the only man in washington who arguably is having a worse week that president obama is his onetime rival turned best p senator john mccain. proving himself worthy of our dunce cap award on more than one occasion this week. we are going to oblige him with an appropriate number. first, his comment on a phoenix radio station. >> no one wants american boots on the ground, nor will there be american bids on the ground because there would be an impeachment of the president if they did that. an impeachment of the president if they did that. lou: are you kidding me? impeachment? mccain h

i argue john bainer is more important than john mccain, no offense to senator mccain. the hill is steeper for the president in the house. any help he can get from republicans is critical to argue the case that this isn't about the president, it's about u.s. national security policy. >> we have to make that case for sure. john king great to see you. >>> we'll have much more coverage on the debate on syria, with john we'll talk exclusively with senator lindsey graham coming up and also talk to senator john mccain and we're going to be hearing from the hosts of "crossfire," van jones and newt gingrich. >>> coming up on "new day," the worm has re-turned. dennis rodman back in north korea, the lowdown on why he says he's there. >>> a strange mystery solved, find out why cars in one parking zone in london are literally melting away. building animatronics is all about getting things to work together. the timing, the actions, the reactions. everything has to synch up. my expenses are no different. receipt match from american express synchronizes your business expenses. just sh

john mccain to the white house today, you know the pitch will be strong and heavy for mccain's support. we'll see whether the president gets it. 21 past. heather: president obama's national security team briefing members of congress on the syria crisis. a congressman who was in that meeting joins us live. why he says he left with more questions than answers. bill: the blaze in the west set a new record and we'll tell what you that record is. this thing is just not going away. back in a moment on labor day. ♪ no two people have the same financial goals. pnc investments works with you to understand yours and helps plan for your retirement. talk to a pnc investments financial advisor today. ♪ dad: you excited for youyeah.st day? ♪ dad: you'll be fine, ok? girl: ok. dad: you look so pretty. ♪ dad: i'm overprotective. that's why i got a subaru. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. i don't always have time to eat like i should. that's why i like glucerna shakes. they have slowly digestible carbs to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna. helping people wit

at least, that's what john mccain thought. after vladimir putin successfully pulled off one of the great global trolling enterprises in history, by placing an op-ed in "the new york times," making a direct appeal to the american people, mccain tried to do him one better, by publishing an op-ed in the newspaper that served a as the mouthpiece to communist russia. there was just one little problem. it is not the pravda john mccain was thinking of when he first hatched the idea in a discussion about putin's "times" op-ed. >> i would like to have a chance to have a commentary in pravda. >> the pravda that mccain was thinking of, that was the original state newspaper that for 80 years delivered what was literally the party line of communist russia. the current "pravda" is a weird orphan of that one and has nowhere near the influence "the new york times" has in america. pravda is the 535th most read website in russia. though to be fair, i don't think any of the other sites accept op-eds. zlat described the new pravda as a cross betw

mccain offers a response to putin's op-ed. the republican senator accuses putin of corruption, repression and self-serving rule. the senator singles out putin and his associates for punishing mccain mentions laws which he says, quote, codify bigotry. mccain writes building a more peaceful world and says president putin doesn't believe in these values because he doesn't believe in you. on the crisis in syria mccain says putin is, quote, supporting a syrian regime that is murdering tens of thousands of its own people. he goes on to write he has made her a friend to tyrants. >>> now time for your look at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. talk about being out of touch. according to the national review, this congressman complained about his six figure salary. the georgia republican reportedly said he's stuck here making $172,000. well, it was after he criticize some had congressional staff members leave to go become lobbyists and earning half a million dollar slaollar salarie. he's running for georgia's open senate seat wh

that was, of course, john mccain during the hearing. did you see his tweet acknowledging that was him? >> i did. he kind of poked fun at himself and said, you know, the worst part of all this, i lost. look, i do think in this modern era where there are photographers, people tweeting, people posting on youtube everywhere, you're smart to just say, look, you know, i'd asked my questions, people had moved on, and i was killing time, essentially, not what john mccain said. i think it's smart to poke a little fun at yourself. gosh knows i poke enough fun at myself. >> yes, busted. we should say that on twitter a lot of people were upset because of the seriousness of the subject. >> right, and i think that's why mccain felt like he needed to say something. >> chris, thank you so much. and that does it for us for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." tomorrow, congressman elijah cummings. remember, follow the show online and on twitter @mitchellreports. my colleague tamron hall has a look at what's next on "news nation." >> hi, andrea. th

nbc's kasie hunt with some breaking news about senator mccain. >> senator mccain told me he can't support the senate's version of the resolution that would authority force in syria. that resolution came out last night. it includes limitations on putting combat troops on the ground and limits the window during which the president is allowed to act. mccain told me it doesn't make any reference to changing the momentum on the ground in syria and it also doesn't say anything about arming the free syrian army which is one of the rebel groups there. he says that means it's not good enough for him. that's a potentially significant blow for the white house as they're trying to rack votes up here in the senate. while the leadership was involved in drafting that resolution and has been on board behind the scenes, the white house still needs every vote at this point. and there are a lot of senators who are undecided. mccain also said there are several other senators who feel similarly to how he does. so i talk to mccain as he was going into the classified briefing with the senate foreign relations c

mccain. should he take the opportunity to write the op-ed? >> mccain or president obama? >> mccain. >> why not. >> you think president obama should? >> i don't think president obama has much to gain from that unless he and putin start wanting to do it in the "washington post" op-ed page. but as far as president obama doing it, i don't think he has much to gain. for mccain, why not. this is something he talks about a lot. i don't think he has anything to lose. >> what's the response at the national review when you picked up the "new york times" and saw the op-ed from vladimir putin? what was your take? >> well, we thought that -- certainly i thought that putin was sort of doing his victory dance over having gotten this new role in the middle east, that soviet and russian leaders have been trying to get for decades. >> it's a complete insult. he's preening and promoting himself. there's a kernel at the heart of it which is he wants to help get chemical weapons out of syria but the rest is deepl

maybe i'll have better luck tonight because john mccain is next. test test >> neil: you know it was not only democrats who took offense to ted cruz's 21-hour plus marathon. john mccain took took to the floor to question the meaning of what the senator was up to and comments he made about how the healthcare law was put into place. the senator joins me now. what got your goat, senator?hñ >> pundits who said we couldn't fund obama. care. we can't because we don't have the votes. it allowed hitler to do the things he did. >> neil: he was talking about pundits. >> but you know, in some ways i'm a pundit but share their view. i wanted to#2z point out in nine 2009 i spent more hours on the floor fighting obamacare, even to the morning of christmas eve. to somehow say these guys are -- they're not against obamacare, they don't fight hard enough. i fought on the floor when(zgpet really mattered and i thought we could beat it and it didn't because they have the votes, just as they have the votes now. i will take a backseat to no one -- in 2012 i spent two

mccain, other people mention this kind of thing? >> mr. mccain wasn't there. it was the chairman of the committees and it -- and the leadership. mccain had met privately the day before with lindsey graham and the president. that's been kind of the whole purpose of this week is the president's credibility. we have to stand behind the president because he made a statement and if we don't stand behind him and if we don't follow through because he drew the red line and they crossed the red line, they actually crossed it almost a year ago they used chemical weapons and he ignored that. this time they did it in a bigger way and a lot of people were killed and the media picked up on it and we've seen all these children that were killed. there have been over 100,000 people killed in the last couple of years in this battle over there. it's a proxy fight. russia is on the other side. iran's on the other side. we're on this side and we don't even know who's really on our side. >> well -- >> it's a big mess. >> mr. chairman, it is a big mess, sir. we're running out of tim

not bombs, senator mccain. we cannot afford, we cannot afford to shed more syrian blood. >> my question to you, if this is 1,400 people children and women die, they were jews. let them go, we're not going to fight them? this is a human being. we have to get rid of whoever did this crime. this is a crime against humanity. assad is a criminal. and everybody you know, how can we support him? hezbollah is a criminal organization and they supported him. iran supported him. we have to stop this madness. we have to stop assad at any price. i'm still an american and i'm proud of it. my family in syria and i want to protect them. if he will stay there. he will kill half the nation. he already did. >> take time out of their lives and prevent what i feel is a tragedy. the tragedy would be to have our military forces strike syria. i want to tell you, it does not seem to be good rationale for the attack. >> senator john mccain getting an earful from constituents yesterday in phoenix, arizona. both senators from arizona, mcc