for so many veterans struggling with life after combat. so how can the rest of us help them? we'll have a vet turned voice for these 21st century patriots. and msnbc will bring you complete live coverage this hour of the president in a speech packed not with policy but hopefully with promise for a whole new generation of american heroes. ♪ we'll have more from camp pendleton coming up. but we begin with a new decision from president obama. he's cancelling a planned one-on-one with russian president vladimir putin. the meeting was scheduled to coincide with the president's trip to the g-20 economic trip. obama vowed to keep his commitment in attending the g-20 during a sit-down with jay leno last night. that's despite his disappointment over putin's decision to grant nsa leaker

edward snowden asylum. so are we headed toward a modern-day cold war between these two? >> i was disappointed because, you know, even though we don't have an extradition treaty with them, traditionally we have tried to respect if there's a lawbreaker or an alleged lawbreaker in their country. there have been times where they slipped back into cold war thinking and a cold war mentality. what i consistently say to them and what i say to president putin is that's the past. you know e we've got to think about the future. >> mean tiemt, many are expecting more revelations from snowden related to u.s. surveillance programs. administration officials say those very programs helped uncover this latest terror threat, a potential al qaeda plot in the middle east. about a dozen and a half u.s. embassies and consulates are still closed, a precaution taken in response to that intelligence. critics of the government secrecy says the reports of this plot say snowden's leaks are adding transparency without

undermining the successful spying operations. in his first public comments about the threat, the president urged a careful vigilance. >> well, it's significant enough that we're taking every precaution. we had already done a lot to bolster enl baa si security around the world. terrorists depend on the idea that we're going to be terrorized. we're going to live our lives. >> all right. let's bring in perry bacon, who's covering barack obama for "the washington post." how you doing, buddy? >> good to see you guys. >> let's start with the surveillance piece of this. the politics on spying and potentially defunding these programs has been shifting rapidly. the president is also speaking, of course, to a large section of the country that is still very upset, both not only about what edward snowden did, but want a the idea we can't get at him. what are the politics here? >> the politics of this, like you said, the nsa programs themselves have become very controversial. you had a vote a couple weeks ago in congress where the

majority of democrats voted in a rebuke to the president to defund these programs. the vote failed mainly because republicans were with president obama and aligned with him. that said, i think these issues are a little separate. americans are still very concerned about embassies closing, national security. look at the polls. most americans support these nsa programs. so i think the politics there cut a couple different ways. it's not because these programs from the nsa will ever be outlawed because most people broadly in polls support them. the embassy danger is a different one, though, and people are very concerned about that. i think you'll see the president is right to talk about vigilance because americans are concerned about what happened in benghazi happening again. >> perry, what do you think was the president's going in goaling on leno? ostensibly, he was just out yesterday with another economic speech, talking especially about homeownership. you think he would want to come out and tout that. but he had to be aware that these other issues like nsa and

snowden and putin would also be raised. do you think he sees those as distractions from what he wants the american public to focus on, or was that his whole goal of going on leno? >> no, they look really carefully at media appearances in terms of who they're reaching. he's had a little bit of a dip in poll approval with overall americans. jay leno's show, one he's done a lot, it's a way to talk to middle america, the people who don't watch msnbc or fox for that matter. he's trying to reach that group of the public where he's dipping in approval rating and trying to use that leno with a broader audience. he talked about the economy a lot there. it's a way for him to seem more informal, to be the natural barack obama. that's the big focus. the white house talks a lot about getting him out of washington where it's not the beltway media. >> perry, that's so true. you bring up a good point, that

many americans are sitting right now, you know, unsettled and unsure about this global terror threat that we're now faced with. president obama spoke to that last night on jay leno. let's take a listen. >> this global travel warning, this is for americans all around the world. are we telling people don't take that european vacation just yet? what are we saying? >> no, i think the general rule is just show some common sense and some caution. >> obviously, an abundance of caution is what we've been seeing. it's really hard to talk about this without bringing up benghazi. i want to point out that the first charges are being filed today on benghazi. but there are still folks that are talking about benghazi, questions that they still want asked. a lot of people are still saying that we wouldn't be here today had benghazi been handled with some quote/unquote common sense. is that fair at all to say here? >> the benghazi political issue has been reduced some. republicans talk about it less than they used to, for sure,

when it was a drum beat for a while. would we be here if not for benghazi? it's probably the case. the administration may not say this publicly, but they are more vigilant, i'm sure, in part of because of what's happened there. >> perry, jay leno asked president obama a very specific question about the terror threats and the nsa program in the interview yesterday. take a look. >> is it safe to say we learned about these threats through the nsa intelligence program? is that a fair assessment? >> you know, this intelligence gathering we do is a critical component to counterterrorism. >> perry, i mean, it seems to me the president completely dodged the question. the question was very specific. the president didn't answer it. what gives here? did it or did it not? >> you know, great question from jay leno. very simple and precise. i don't think he was being a journalist. that was an excellent question. the answer is, if you remember when these programs were first disclosed, the president was

very emphatic. these programs save lives. we're not taking your phone records. no one is listening in on your phone calls. he's kind of pulled back from that defiant tone because you've heard critics of this nsa program that are not just republicans, not just constant obama critics. people like richard durbin, who are liberal democrats who have supported obama from pretty much the entire time he's been in public life. so i think you're seeing him ratchet down his amount of support and almost encourage a broader discussion with these programs where it's a little safer. >> yeah, another piece of that is in the congressional testimony the number that has been specifically accounted for in terms of preventing threats has dropped by several scales. senator leahy was upset about that. before we let you go, i wanted to get in on john mccain here, who's playing an interesting role. the u.s. has struggled to define how it wants to deal with the shift in egypt. they've backed off any discussion of whether or not it was a coup, for various reasons, including legal ones connecting

to how much aid we give egypt. now you have john mccain over there. i want to play for you something the president said because it's interesting. it's possible that mccain is sort of moving up into playing the role that wendall wilkey once played for fdr. take a listen. >> you had that lovers' quarrel for a while. now you're best friends. what happened? >> that's how a classic romantic comedy goes, right? you know, initially you're not getting along and you keep on bumping into each other. he deserves credit for being somebody who's willing to go against the grain of his own party sometimes. it's probably not good for me to compliment him on television. >> perry, who's that relationship working for? >> i think if you look at the context of it, in 2009 and 2010, john mccain criticized barack obama a lot. but john mccain in 2010 had to run for re-eleion. he had to worry about making

sure he appealed to tea party folks and didn't lose a primary. now you're seeing the traditional john mccain. the thing about john mccain is not whether he's moderate or conservative. he likes to be in the middle of stuff in washington. think of the last 15 years. immigration, campaign finance reform, iraq, the filibuster deal. when something is happening in congress, john mccain wants to be a player in it. i'm not surprised that right now he seizes the moment where this is sort of the last time obama is going to governor on domestic policy. also, he can play a big role in foreign affairs. mccain and john kerry are good friends. i think you're seeing john mccain assert himself to the point where mccain sees the media is obsessed with rand paul and ted cruz. if you notice john mccain does interviews with the new republic because he wants to be in the mix. >> even the new republic. >> it's a liberal publication. not something he would typically deal with. he wants to go there because that's where the argument is on the conservative side. more than anything, he loves

being in the game, in the mix. >> we'll keep an eye on that bromance and your bromance here with "the cycle." >> thank you. >> we're going to have the president's remarks at camp pendleton live this hour. up next, prominent republicans are now warning fellow gop members not to go all the way to the extreme on the budget. a little dose of common sense for the party and not just from abby huntsman but from other people, as "the cycle" rolls on. i'm tony siragusa and i'm training guys who leak a little, to guard their manhood with new depend shields and guards. the discreet protection that's just for guys. now, it's your turn. get my training tips at guardyourmanhood.com

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and we're back with a term to you simply don't here in washington these days, middle

ground. well, today believe it or not, we're actually seeing a couple of notable exceptions to that rule. first, former republican presidential nominee mitt romney last night speaking to donors in new hampshire warning the house gop against shutting down the government this fall. he told them, quote, i think there are better ways to remove obama care. those words flying in the face of plans from tea party backed senators ted cruz and marco rubio. they've vowed to use this august break as an all-out effort in their districts to defund the president's signature program. they're don't fund it petition already has north of a quarter of a million signatures. mitch mcconnell has been surprisingly mum on the topic. republican senator who was speaking up against these efforts is north carolina's richard burr, who calls the shutdown strategy, quote, the dumbest idea i've ever heard of. the president's bitter rival turned bro, john mccain agrees

adding, most americans are tired of those kinds of shenanigans. so can they strong arm the rest of the party heading into the fall? let's spin. all right, guys. really interesting times. mitt romney, for example. it was less than a year ago he was the republican's nominee. here he is 180 degrees away from where many in the party are at. we're seeing a mitt romney that i think many would have liked to have seen on the campaign, similar to john mccain. once they're not running for office, i think you see a side of them that we would like to normally see. that doesn't happen very much. he said an interesting thing. he said, you know, warning them against letting their emotions dictate what they do. i think that's an important quote. i want to read this. he said, quote, i badly want obama care to go away and stripping it of funds has appeal, but we need to exercise great care about any talk of shutting down government. he went on to say, what would come next when soldiers aren't paid, when seniors fear for their medicare and social security and the fbi is off duty? he's making great points. the real problem in my mind is

lack of leadership. where is mitch mcconnell? we know where john boehner is. he's nowhere to be seen when it comes to leadership. this speaks to the trouble the party is going to continue to be in moving into, you know, 2014 and even the election in 2016. it's really a scary place. it paints a very dark picture. >> yeah, especially when you look at the guys who are behind this proposal to shut down the government it obama care is not defunded. it's cruz. it's rubio. it's mike lee. it's guys with presidential ambitio ambitions. it's sad to see that already they are jockeying to see who can get to the furthest right. it does not bode well for a 2016 republican primary. as you're pointing out, we have a lot of rank and file members coming out and saying, this is a bad idea. yet, we have mitch mcconnell and john boehner nowhere on the scene. mcconnell has a lame excuse in that he's got this tea party challenger and he doesn't want to upset his base. a pathetic excuse, really. john boehner has no excuse, and he's essentially hanging his members out to dry, who have to

go home to very conservative bases and try to defend the fact that, no, they don't want to shut down the government and they have absolutely no cover from their leadership. last point on this that you hit on, where was this mitt romney during the campaign? where was this mitt romney? he's not the type to come out and say that this proposal is dumb, even though that probably is what he's thinking. >> he might have been skiing. or playing golf. >> he showed absolutely no courage. there was not a single moment of courage and willingness to stand up to his base, to the base of his party during the campaign. i think americans would have liked to have seen that while he was running. it's all well and good now that nobody is voting for him and it doesn't matter. >> okay. so you're asking where's the leadership? i'll tell you where they are. they're scared. we have an epic battle brewing here. you have the grown ups, which is boehner, mcconnell -- >> i was going to say, who? >> grown ups in title only. boehner, mcconnell. then you have the kids. cruz, hall, the folks in the house in the tea party faction

that came in in 2010. and you have the grown ups who are deathly afraid of the kids. they proved during the 2011 debt ceiling fight, the kids that is, that they don't care. they don't give a damn about what happens to the economy, both domestically and globally, if they didn't raise the debt ceiling. so what you have happening now is president's looking at those folks and saying, okay, you want to shut down the government, you don't want to the fund the government? fine. i've been here before. you guys do that. >> good luck with that. >> but when it comes to the debt ceiling, there was a time when the leadership could go, the grown-ups could go to the kid and say, this is one thing you cannot do. boehner can't do it. he proved that in 2011. mcconnell can't do it because he's running scared, literally, for re-election. so this middle ground that we're talking about happening within the gop on this issue, i will believe that there's a middle ground when i actually see it. >> and what we have is a distinction between republicans who are actually interested in being part of government and

republicans who have no interest in governing whatsoever. >> meanwhile, they're just banging their head against the wall. i can't tell you how many times i've banged my head against the wall this past year. this is instandty. how do you describe doing something over and over and over again only to get the same result? i call that insanity. >> there's also play with what the white house wants to do here. if you just start over each time with the next intense let it abo -- threat about sabotaging the government or the way we fund our military and government and the people the president is giving tribute to today, if that's always on the chopping block, then you're always moving in their direction. i think what the president has to do is hit reset here and say, i'm not negotiating on this, not on the debt ceiling, not on the shutdown threat. if you do shut down the government, we're going to unravel everything. i'm not going to restart until you cancel the sequester here. that's the bigger picture. they have won by default. i was looking at what john boehner said the week before the sequester went into effect. he said it was a dramatic federal policy that threatens

u.s. national security, thousands of job, an ugly and dangerous way to cut spending. okay. they're on record saying this is bad, but they won't back off it. something we're going to talk about a little later in the show is that the crazy, awful part about the sequester is it punishes the most efficient parts of the government the most. so if you run in the courts where most of the funding only goes to the salaries of judges, public defenders and our prosecutors, the people who are patrolling the streets, keeping us safe or defending us and our constitutional rights, because that's all the money there is, you're seeing cuts there of a third of the staff. that's why chief justice roberts has been speaking out against the sequester, right. if you go to certain other parts that are bloated, right, they can pass off a 5% cut a lot easier. so even if you're a hard-core conservative, you're still punishing the most efficient parts of government. we've got to step back and cancel the whole thing. >> it's interesting. we keep saying, where is this romney? where is this john mccain? i think all of this comes down

to a primary problem. how do you get through a primary if you're mitt romney, john mccain? >> it's more than that. that goes to them. it also goes to what does the president do and what do the democrats do? we get they have an extremism issue. you have to conquer that in some way and push them back. >> i think what we're seeing here where the president does have potentially have the upper hand is in previous fights, the republican coalition has basically been solid. they looked crazy enough to actually take the country over the edge and were actually willing to do it. for the first time we see here some cracks. we see when it comes down to actually riding out the budget and how much money is going to go where, republicans are saying we can't do this. this is going to be bad for my district. i will pay a price with my constituents because they will see how these cuts hurt their highways, their bridges, their schools, whatever it is that they care about in their district. >> it's no longer radical. it's real. >> the rubber has met the road. >> it was really refreshing to see someone like mitt romney come out and speak some sort of sanity here. >> he's like a tall glass of

seltzer. squeeze a little lime on his hairdo. >> i was going to saly lemon. up next, it turns out zach morris was ahead of his time. >> hello, zach morris' phone. >> the track opens at noon and the first race is at 1:00? okay, thanks. >> it's ringing. ready with the buckets. this is mr. belding. you can hardly hear me? that's because of all the chaos around here. >> capehart still has that phone. it's still that big. >> if big phone companies get their way, old landlines may be history. what that means for you next. [ male announcer ] this is kevin. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again.

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the news cycle begins with an update on the health of

former president george w. bush. he's back home resting one day after doctors surgically inserted a stint to ease a blocked artery. it was discovered during a routine physical. the president's doctors say he is doing great. and it wasn't all terror and big brother with president obama on "the tonight show" last night. jay leno couldn't let him go without asking the president about his once-bitter rival turned confidant hillary clinton. the two had lunch last week at the white house. >> we had a great time. she had that post-administration glow. you know, when folks leave the white house. like two weeks later, they look great. but it was wonderful conversation. you know, by the end of my first term, you know, we had become genuinely close. i could not have more respect for her. she was a great secretary of state. very, very proud of the way she did it. >> did you notice her measuring the drapes or anything like that? >> keep in mind, she's been there before. >> that's true. >> she doesn't have to measure

them. >> meanwhile, day two of deliberations in the whitey bulger racketeering trial in boston. prosecutors have tried to link bulger to 19 killings during the 1970s and '80s while he led a notorious new england gang. three of bulger's former gang members testified against him in the trial. the judge said their testimony was effectively bought in exchange for reduced prison sentences. speaking of, the jackpot stands at an estimated $425 million and could go even higher before the numbers are picked at 11:00 eastern. a single winner could walk home with a lump sum of a quarter of a billion. that's a billion with a "b" after taxes. so folks, if i'm not in the chair tomorrow, you'll know why. >> is it because toure is back? >> probably. all right. when is the last time you used one of these? cord and all. most of us of course just use our cell phones or wireless

devices. in fact, in some states, just 25% of homes still use traditional land lines. the technological advancement, however, is fast becoming the new front line in the battle over government regulation with big telecom companies looking to ditch old lines for digital tech. regulators worry it's just an excuse to sacrifice service for savings. okay. this whole thing -- >> we had a little water incident. >> this whole thing makes my head -- >> let's bring in david. >> this whole thing makes my head hurt and my pants wet. so david, could you please explain what this is all about. >> well, jonathan, i can't explain why your pants are wet, but i can explain this. right now we're seeing a transition in how we communicate that's monumental. it's monumental. right now people are using cell phones at an increasing rate. as you pointed out, in some states, only 25% of people use the old-fashioned phone.

yet, the regulations on the bookings today are still all about that old-fashioned copper wire. now, why does this matter? let's take the case of fire island, new york, after hurricane sandy. the phones were wiped out. verizon, instead of replacing the old-fashioned phone that you just held up, they used a fixed wireless system, which sounds okay unless you're one of the people who cannot complete a call, which really is happening. they're upset. this raises the question, what do you do with phone regulations as all this technology is changing? people on the far left are saying, don't change anything. don't take out the old wires. leave it the way it is. people on the far right are saying, deregulate everything. i think there's actually a reasonable consensus emerging right in the middle. you have a labor union and a public interest group called public knowledge and even a company you've heard of, at&t, saying, well, wait a second, why don't we do some trials in a couple select markets. why don't we come up with basic principles we all agree with, like everybody should be able to dial 911. everybody should be able to get

a phone. and build some consensus around that. >> but the question is, how do they dial 911? i can totally understand the debate here. i can see both sides of it. i can see it from my perspective, from many of us that only use cell phones. i don't remember the last time i used a land line. i also think about my grandparents who only have a land line. this could be very complicated for them. what does this mean for them? >> well, i think what it really means is regulators have to wake up. i mean, this problem, this change is not going away. the fcc and all the state public utility commissions, instead of waiting for a disaster to happen like sandy, they should be leaning into this and saying, all right, everybody, let's decide on some basic principles, let's conduct local trials, let's acknowledge that this transition is happening. so somebody like your grandparents, who will still use a land line, at least know they can make a 911 call after that transition happens. i disagree with the far left that what we should be doing is freezing technology in place. that's never a good answer.

we should instead think, what are the priorities and values we hold dear? you know, embrace this technological change but make sure we're ready for the next hurricane sandy before it happens. >> well, david, i'm relatively new to this debate. so you have to help me understand a couple of things. my understanding is right now the law basically guarantees that people will be able to have a copper land line, they will be able to dial 911. and the phone companies want to roll this back and deregulate the industry further because it costs money to maintain those old, outdated copper lines. it's not making them as much money as they could be making. so i really get what's in it for the telecom industry. i'm having a harder time seeing what really is in it right away for consumers. >> well, if you think of a digital line as being able to bring you broadband video in addition to wireless services or a home wireless lan, then you start to see how digital is better service. it just is. it's more efficient. >> right, but none of that is

guaranteed, though, to people. >> well, that's exactly right. so now the question becomes, okay, if we're going to have phone companies rolling out these newfangled, fancy services, what are the things we still say you have to do? do you have to provide 911 service? i would vote yes. do you have to provide phone service to somebody no matter where they live or what their color or creed or religion? i would say yes. these are basic principles we've all taken for granted because for the last 100 years, that's been the law. so i think, again, instead of saying, sorry, phone company, you have to keep the same wires you laid 100 years ago, which to me just -- it's freezing technology in place, which ultimately is not great for consumers either. we should be saying, fine, you want to do the new services? okay. first we have to agree on some basic principles that go forward no matter what the technology is. that's really important. because whether you're a grandmother at home with a land line or a 15-year-old like my son with a cell phone who's never going to use a land line, there ought to be some agreement

in the regulations of this country about what basic things you can expect. >> i got to make my grandparents a little more hip, huh? >> now, i want to call out one thing, which is you said the liberals in this fight are trying to freeze technology. a little bit of a straw man there. i think their concerns are not so much standing in place but trying to have some accountability. i think your point is the law currently under the communications act has some of these requirements built in. the fcc has to approve it. you're calling for the fcc to let us move forward. what i want to ask you is, when you see at&t in some of these filings saying, look, we're already getting 99% of people with newer access, newer technology, everything that you're talking about today, david, that young people think is great. what is the mechanism to make sure that's true before they get a green light? >> well, right now there really isn't much of one, ari. that's the problem i see. i mean, you're right. it's probably too much generalization on my part to say people on the left say freeze the technology, but there are a lot of voices on the left

saying, well, let's not change what we've got because it's working. that's a little bit like saying, well, why should we have a car if the horse and buggy is working okay? it doesn't make sense for us on the left. i include myself on the left. it doesn't make sense for us to make that argument. instead, we should be saying exactly what you just asked which is, once that digital transition happens, can i still call 911? do i get a phone no matter where i move? that's not clear in the law today. by the way, this is also playing into the whole debate over the open internet. what do you call the internet? is it a telephone service? is it a computer service? >> a series of tubes is what i call it. >> exactly. you and the late ted stevens. look, the bottom line is, i think as a progressive we ought to see government sitting up and taking notice and dealing with this instead of hiding from it. >> david, thanks for educating on this issue today. >> thank you. >> speaking of digital, we're going to move on to a little thing at

msnbc.com/extrapresumedguilty. it's a new tv and web series that we're doing reporting on inequities in the american justice system. our latest installment zeros in on the sequester cuts we've all been talking so much about. it turns out they are punishing literally some more than others. >> it's been called shared sacrifice. >> sequester was meant to be something so bad that no one would allow it to happen. i think part of what we're learning is that we're in a new normal. >> that new normal for our nation's courts, a crisis of justice. in march, sequestration swept $350 million out from under the courts. defender services are already operating under a $51 million shortfall this year alone. public defenders are facing double and triple the cuts as their apote opponents across th courtroom. >> the rest of my report on this issue is at tv .msnbc.com.

if you want to join in, i'm going to be answering some questions and some critics in the comments section of that article. so stop on by. remember, it is the internet. so no typos. that's a joke because people often make typos on the internet. up next, in just a few minutes the president will come and meet with troops and their families at camp pendleton. we'll bring that event to you live right here on "the cycle" on msnbc. it starts with something little, like taking a first step. and then another. and another. and if you do it. and your friends do it. and their friends do it... soon we'll be walking our way to awareness, support and an end to alzheimer's disease. and that? that would be big. grab your friends and family and start a team today.

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for a body in motion. you are looking at live pictures as we wait for president obama to address troops at camp pendleton marine corps base in california, the final stop on his two-day swing through the west coast, including a meeting with marines and their family members to thank them for their service. nbc's peter alexander is

traveling with the president. he joins us from camp pendleton. what do you expect we're going to hear? >> reporter: we expect to hear from him a short time from now. we're outside hangar six. there's a lot of anticipation for these young men and women to see president obama for the first time, for most of them in person. this is his first trip to this base, the first presidential trip to this marine base since 2004. that was, of course, was president bush. the sacrifice has been significant. 326 marines from camp pendleton have given their lives in either iraq or afghanistan. right now to honor that sacrifice, we're told that the president is meeting privately with some of the wounded warriors, about a dozen of them, we're told, are going to be at the event today as well as gold-star families. some of the marines, as you can see, walking in that direction. 2600 of the marines from this base are presently serving in afghanistan. another 1,000 will head off that direction, i'm told, in january.

it was described to me by lance corporal cameron bow, this is awesome, i've got goose bumps. consider this, krystal, he was in fourth grade, just 8 years old, when 9/11 took place. now he's a part of this war, waiting for his chance to see the president in person. >> peter, it's just incredible. we can feel the emotion just watching this. it seems like it'll be a very optimistic, positive message that he will give, but you can't help but touch on the realities of when these men and women come home. i mean, the stats we see every day now, you know, more of them are committing or at least thinking about suicide. it's that much harder to find a job. how much do you think he'll touch on the realities these men and women are faced with once they return home? >> reporter: it's been communicated to us that the priority for the president really in coming here is just to say a word of thanks face to face with so many of these ma lea -- marines and others who serve

on this base. but the realities of that and the realities of the sequester. costing a lot of members of the military across the country -- creating new challenges for those families. we anticipate he will not focus on those political elements, focus specifically on the individuals, their personal sacrifices and hopefully leave here by just leaving them with a message of thanks. >> all right, peter. please stay with us. let's bring into the conferring now john sultz, iraq war veteran, co-founder and chairman of the group vote vets. john, what are you hoping as a veteran yourself, what are you hoping to hear from the president today? >> well, i hope he says thank you. you know, it's really important at camp pendleton. it's where the first marine expeditionary force is. it's one of the most deemployable installations in the country. if no president has visited there since 2004, it's great to sit down with these troops who are always influx.

this thing has been going on for 12 years. you don't meet anybody who's just been one time. to sit down with fatheir famili before anything else happens. the troops will ask about sequester. they'll ask about benefits. before the president does anything, he has to say thank you to the families and the sacrifices these troops have made over multiple deployments now at one of the most deployable bases in the country. >> as we wait to hear the president's remarks, we're talking about the funding issues. give us a sense of the temperature and mood among veterans and the enlisted folks you may be in contact with regarding this issue of funding. we've seen the congress step up and say, well, in airports and in meeting inspectors, those are special parts of the budget that will be protected. yet, many have been surprised that our men and women of uniform and health care programs have not been given that treatment. i think we want to go -- yes, we see president barack obama coming out of camp pendleton to address the troops, greeting

some as we walks in. john, if you want to speak to that question. as soon as the president comes up, we'll be hearing from him directly. but go ahead. >> sure. what you see right now, a lot of these marines have probably deployed one or two or three times and they're finally getting ready to meet the president. they're excited about that. the sequestration thing is becoming a large issue. just when i'm still on duty at times as a member of the army reserve, you know, we have a -- >> i think we're going to -- speaking at camp pendleton. >> hello, camp pendleton. listen, it is great to be here at the home of the first marine expeditionary force. and one of our nation's oldest and most decorated military units, the legendary first marine division. i think i see some proud navy folks here too.

let me thank general nicholson for his outstanding leadership of our marines in iraq and afghanistan. that include your command of the second marine expeditionary brigade out out of camp lejeune, which we recognized last year with the presidential unit citation. thank you, general. i want to thank all of your commanders for welcoming me toda today,. and i want to recognize your incredible staff, noncommissioned officers, including ronald green, scott helms, and david joe. i want to salute debbie nichols and all the spouses and military families who are here. because we understand they're the force behind the force. just like michelle's the force

behind me. i want everyone to give a big round of applause to the amazing families who serve along with you. [ cheers and applause ] and i want to acknowledge members of congress who are here, including susan davis, darrell issa, and dana raurerbach. [ applause ] now, i've got to tell you the truth. i've been looking forward to this visit because -- and this is a little tricky to say this, but my family and i, we've got a special place in our hearts for the marine corps. part of it is because every day at the white house we're surrounded by marines.

in fact, we probably got some folks here who were at the white house who are now here at camp pendleton. see? i figured as much. and then, of course, every time i need to kind of hop, skip, and jump somewhere, every time i get on marine one, i rely on some of the best aviators in the world. i've seen your honor. i've seen your courage. i've seen your commitment, whether in protecting our diplomatic posts around the world or preparing to deploy to iraq or afghanistan or recovering from wounds received in battle. you know, a few years ago you gave a great camp pendleton welcome to my wife michelle, and i know it's not as exciting when i come to visit, but she says hi. i guess i'm kind of like that

army general who once said, the more marines i have around, the better i like them. i'm here because for more than a decade you and all our men and women in uniform have bourn the burden of this war, every since that awful morning when our nation was attacked. when thousands of innocent americans were killed. we've been at war against al qaeda. our fight in afghanistan nearly 12 years has become america's longest war. i'm here because we recently marked another milestone in this war. as of this past june for the first time, afghan forces have taken the lead for security across their entire country. instead of leading the fight, our troops now have a different mission, which is to train and

advise and assist afghan forces. and what that signals is that our war in afghanistan has entered the final chapter. more of our troops are coming home. we'll be down to 34,000 this winter. by the end of next year, in just 17 months, the transition will be complete. afghans will take full responsibility for their security, and our war in afghanistan will be over. none of this progress would have been possible had it not been for you. we thank all who have served there, especially our camp pendleton marines. after our nation was attacked, you were some of the very first conventional forces in afghanistan, racing in, hundreds of miles by helicopter, toppling that regime and driving al qaeda from its camps.

then when the fight shifted to iraq, you were there, racing towards baghdad, deposing a dictator and through years of combat. your courage added to the glories of the glories of the m long and illustrious history. when we refocused on afghanistan, you led the way again. surging into helmand, pushing the taliban out of its strongholds. and when future generations study those fights, they will stand in awe of the unparalleled sacrifice of the 3rd battalion 5th marines, our dork horark ho marines. today, we hold close the memory of all who have made the ultimate sacrifice in these years or more.

and that includes 326 fallen heroes from camp pendleton. we honor all of them. every single one. and we stand with their families like the gold star families i had an opportunity to meet with before i came out here. we're grateful to them. we're grateful for their sacrifice. they've given a piece of their heart to america. and america will always honor their sacrifice. i know some of you recently returned from afghanistan. on behalf of a grateful nation, welcome home. we send our prayers to all those who at this very moment are still in harm's way, including your regimental combat team seven, which is coming home this month. i know some of you are getting ready to deploy in the months to come. this is still a hard fight. our afghan partners have stepped

up. they're bearing a bigger brunt of the firepower, taking on a lot more casualties. they're in the lead. but it's still tough, and we're still needed. and here's what i want every single one of your to know. because of you, that 9/11 generation, we are accomplishing what we set out to do. because of you, osama bin laden is no more. because of you, al qaeda's top ranks have been hammered. the core of al qaeda in afghanistan in pakistan is on the way to defeat. that happened because of you. because of you, more afghans are reclaiming their communities. their markets, their schools, their towns. and they have a chance to forge their own future. because of you, more afghans are trained and stepping up and defending their own country. because of you, and to preserve

the gains you fought and bled for, we're going to make sure that afghanistan is never again a source of attacks against our country. that happened because of you. so the war in afghanistan is still going, for you, that means fewer deployments, more training time, preparing for the future, getting back to what marines do better than anybody else on earth, amphibious operations. it means more time here on the homefront with your families, your wives, your husbands, your kids. but of course, the end of the war in afghanistan doesn't mean the end of threats to our nation. as i have said before, even as we decimated the al qaeda leadership that attacked us on 9/11, al qaeda affiliates and

li like-minded extremists still threaten our homeland, still threaten our diplomatic facilities, still threaten our businesses abroad. and we've got to take these threats seriously. and do all we can to confront them. we've been reminded of this again in recent days. so i want to take special time-out to salute all our brave diplomats and tireless intelligence and military personnel who have been working around the clock to safeguard our embassies and our consulates and our fellow americans serving overseas, including all of those vigilant marines standing guard at our embassies around the world. they're doing an outstanding job. [ cheers and applause ] as for these extremists, here's what those who would cowardly attack our civilians don't get.

the united states is never going to retreat from the world. we don't get terrorized. we're going to keep standing up for our interests. we're going to keep standing up for the security of our citizens. we're going to keep standing up for human rights and dignity for people wherever they live. we're going to keep working with our allies and our partners. we're going to keep offering a future of hope and progress in stark contrast to terrorists who only know how to kill and destroy and maim. and like generations before us, the united states of america is going to remain the greatest force for freedom that the world has ever known. you are an integral part of that. that's what you do. serving in uniform every single day. but this is not just a job for

our military. it takes diplomacy, it takes development, it takes trade, it takes intelligence to stay true to our values as a nation. this is a complicated time. the world is going through big changes, especially in the middle east and north africa. and we have to have a military strategy to protect ourselves, but we've also got to lead with our values and our ideals and all elements of our power. but it does mean keeping our military the absolute best in the world. we've got to be vigilant about that. as the war in afghanistan ends, it's true. our military, including our marine corps, will be leaner. budgets will be tighter. and that's only natural. part of ending a war responsibly is moving off a perpetual wartime footing. it's time to use some of the

money we have been spending on war to do some nation building right here at home. but, what we can't do is repeat the mistakes of history. we've seen in the past where after a war, we hollowed out our military. left our military unprepared. we've got right now the best-led, best-trained, best-equipped military in human history. our marine corps is the finest expeditionary force in the world. and as long as i'm commander in chief, i'm going to keep it that way. now, to do that, we're going to need some help out of washington.

congress couldn't agree on a plan to reduce the deficit in what i consider a sensible way, so instead, what we've got is these big across-the-board cuts called the sequester. sequester kicked in. it includes defense. and we're already starting to effects. here at pendleton, you're feeling it. hard working folks are getting furloughed. families getting by on less. fewer ships available for your exercises. the commissary your families rely on closed a day a week. we can do better than that. that's not how a great nation should we treating its military and military families. and by the way, cuts in other non-defense areas of the budget affect our troops and our military families as well. our military, part of what makes us best is we've got extraordinary recruits.

but if we want the best qualified recruits, we shouldn't be cutting investments in education. we should be increasing our investments in education. our wounded warriors, our veterans, depend on new technologies for their recovery and their health care. so we shouldn't be slashing investments in science and medical research. we should continue to be the world leader in science and research. so that's why i'm going to keep on working to get rid of the sequester. you get up and do your jobs every day. let's make sure washington gets up and does its job. and what makes me frustrated is sometimes the very folks who say they stand with our military proudly, the same ones who are standing in the way of fixing the sequester. it's important to look at deeds and not words.