>> senator mccain, this is the same amendment offered as the mccain-dorgan-snow language? >> i think the senator from north dakota would prefer to call it dorgan. >> i apologize but that is the same amendment. i know the issue has been raised by senator enzi. that is the question of whether or not, whether it was the cochran or roberts language -- is it part of this bill or not? i don't know the answer to that? >> according to senator mccain's staff, it is not in here. they put safety provisions in there. they always mention that. i have gotten a copy of the cochran-roberts language which places some requirements for safety certification before the bill can go into effect, which is what we've always passed when this bill has come up. at some point they figure that with that amendment in there, it's a worthless bill. but i would ask unanimous consent to be able to offer this second degree amendment to the mccain amendment. >> mr. chairman, it's fine with me. let's have no doubt who wrote that, pharma and no doubt about the effect of it. it will kill the bill. you can vote f

i would say senator mccain is not here that my view is the mccain the amendment is offered without the roberts cochrane or whoever else would be offering the language will fail. i also would be supportive of the amendment to deal of the safety and effectiveness issues but i would tell people as a look around on my job and right now if john is interested in adopting you will be better suited and excepting the road that deals with these other issues otherwise would not make it so my advice would be they want to hear advice is to wait until title one to allow for amendment offered and that is my judgment. so obviously they have a right to offer amendments but if it were offered at this point that is not a conclusion. >> senator mccain was two go ahead with a vote, i thank you know sometimes we tilt at windmills and he may not describe it that way, you know sometimes you lose but he knows as i do that to the so-called safety language is a language that really does restrict the importation. we have all seen this, we have seen the drug industry every year every time there is a spite we have

they tried it but they didn't defeat john mccain, john mccain and defeated john mccain. [applause] if you put up the two candidates on a split television screen, one of them was yesterday and the other one was tomorrow in the american people really vote for yesterday. george bush defeated john mccain immensely unpopular, got us into a very long war and, however, it turns out and we all pray that it turns out well, the american people not like long wars. the republican party defeated john mccain -- they took power in the year 2000, they have the white house in both houses of congress and they were the grown ups, they were the fiscally responsible ones and they spent money like imelda marcos in a shoe store. [applause] and president bush

so i haven't had chance to look at the mccain eminence. i want to take everyone's word is the same language but i have some concerns and out ask senator brown, it has been dropped

mccain: madam president, i yield the floor. mr. nelson: i respect greatly my colleague from arizona and his concern about spending. i share that. the presiding officer: i'm sorry, go ahead. mr. nelson: i share that concern. and as it is noted, the increase in the spending requested in the appropriations bill is about 2.4%. while $200,000 is a lot of money and it certainly is a lot for people today i think it's important to point out that this is associated with a the legislative branch in the following matter. the durham museum is seeking to provide a public service of federal interest making it appropriate to promote a public-private partnership. the funding of the project in this bill is only 10% of that total cost. the durham museum will be privately raising the remaining 90% and occur all ongoing operating costs. $200,000 requested to this bill for the durham museum is to begin the brez vacation and digitalization of the museum's photo archive collection that will create new jobs, preserve our history and improve access to thes

>> no by proxy. >> senator mccain? >> aye by proxy. >> senator coburn? senator roberts? >> no. >> aye by proxy. >> did senator coburn vote? has he voted? >> no . >> senator bingham votes no by proxy. >> senator sanders, did you get that? >> yes. >> did you get that? all right. >> vote is ten ayes. >> it is not agreed to. all i can say is my nose counting was correct. >> it sure was. where are we here at this point now? are there any additional amendments? >> mr. chairman? >> senator casey. >> i just wanted to get back to the fraud and abuse section for a couple of moments. i know senator enzi had some comments before. we were dealing with senator mccain's amendment so i wanted to just respond to a couple of things. first of all, i wanted to commend the way senator enzi, along with our chairman has conducted himself in this whole process over these many days and weeks, and grateful for the way he approached this bill, as difficult as it is. and as much as there is conflict on a lot of major elements. with regard to the fraud and abuse section, i wanted to do a couple of t

in 2000, mccain was well liked in terms of the media. he is that kind of guy. he will talk to for a long time. we did he will talk to you for a long time. it probably worked in his advantage, but he did not denomination. >> if you look at mccain and obama, she is right. obama does not talk to as a whole lot, but became did. it is a real double edged sword for mccain freewheel like him as a person and he was great to talk to, but he put his foot in his mouth. -- it is a real double edged sword for mccain, as we like him as a person. he lost his unique character and he was just another bottled up politician by the end. >> questions from the audience? >> i think you sort of touched on this already. what you think the role of the outspoken dick cheney is it now. is at the beginning of the pendulum turning the other way towards a more empirical congress perhaps? >> a more whites? >> >a more w -- a more what? >> a more empirical congress. >> he is making the argument for the need of the president -- go ahead. >> since we have gotten to this stage with the release of

that that you research center did a study suggesting there's and on a level playing field between mccain and obama of the media was clearly period obama and perhaps continues to be pro obama. do you think that has been part of the problem. terry, did you want to -- i wasn't referring to the weekly standard. [laughter] >> ebitda pos some of the writers of the standard. anyway, i would say this, when i published the media journal for for this some years ago i had someone look at this question and coming back to 1936, every presidential reelection since then and this was through '96, all the surveys that had been done of journalists in terms of voting preferences or presidential elections or political preferences where you stand on this issue or that had revealed the same bottom line which is to say that journalists, and these are journalists at the highest levels, they say the laws that cover national politics sometimes a would be surveys of the bureau chiefs in washington, etc., etc.. they would fall in the democratic liberal side by a wide margin sometimes even huge margins, sometimes na

john mccain said clearly over the weekend he is not calling for u.s. troops to be in iran or anything like that. it is unclear exactly what the republicans are looking for and why what the president has said so far is weak, and then stopping short of a call for a regime change which would be complicated and a part of the world. i think it is just a big, not out of hand. the president said yesterday he believes john mccain is passionate, but he does not agree with them. host: is he doing with foreign policy compared to his domestic agenda? guest: i think the american public has a lot of confidence in what he is doing. he is getting high marks in the polls. higher than in some of his domestic policy, particularly his managing of the federal budget. health care now is on capitol hill. i believe there are five different committees writing this legislation now people are concerned about this complicated subject. he addressed that yesterday also. at this time many of us are hunting for an ideology. the bush administration had a very clear sense of the way th

senator mccain, thank you for your service. you are one of the most honorable men i've ever witnessed on tv. >> guest: thank you, sir. >> caller: we should all be on the level and as square as you, this place would be a lot better. i have a question with north korea. that's a problem. how big of a problem and i wish you were at the helm. that's the only, that's what i would like to know. >> guest: well, thank you, bill. as we speak there is a u.s. ship -- in fact, happens to be the destroyer named after my father and grandfather that's tracking a north korean vessel that there is published information that may be carrying weapons or technology that are nuclear in nature. now, it's common knowledge in testimony last week in the senate that the north koreans and iranians were working together on nuclear, on the development of or nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. so north korea does pose a threat in their proliferation of nuclear weapons. the israelis had to attack and destroy a facility in syria that was being built with th

lindsay graham and john mccain, i am so relieved that john mccain did not win. if he had run -- there would be a third world war. there are ways that you can impact countries without overtly doing it, and that is what we should be doing and i think the present -- i don't agree with him on a lot of things. mccain really scares me. what would they have us do? send troops there to lose their lives? if people want freedom badly enough, they should be ready to pay the price with their lives. host: james on the line. good morning, as we look at video from youtube from over the weekend. caller: good morning. absolutely a timid response from obama and it is typical of democrats' approach things, they stay on the sidelines and let things happen in front of them. your previous caller had mentioned that no news program is covering this -- of course they are not going to cover it because it is bad for obama. one thing also on that you can help -- u.n. help, without us there is no u.n.. it is not much to ask the digesting we support people fighting for their freedom. it is a

john mccain has been in force from the bottom. his father and grandfather helped him get admitted to the naval academy. this person, why is he considered a leader? why is his point of view so important? why should obama listen to him? this is what happens with a president who is not too bright. like george bush, he is manipulative. guest: it seems like the caller does not like any of the republicans at all. i do not know that mccain is that influential within the republican party, per se, but he has a long history of being in the defense business and knows something about it. as far as the bogeyman, you could say something about the boogeyman of radical islamic terrorists after september 11. if you consider -- if you continue to see the launches of north korea and iran, i guess you could say it is the boogeyman. it is clear they are refining uranium and in reaching it. there is only one reason to do that in their case, and it appears they have the attention of -- they have the intent of making nuclear weapons. and we have a leader

mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: mr. president, i send a resolution to the desk and ask for its appropriate consideration to be placed on -- referred to the appropriate committee. the presiding officer: the resolution will be received and appropriately referred. mr. mccain: mr. president, the resolution that i, on behalf of myself, senator lieberman, and others, is exactly the same as has been introduced by congressman berman and pence in the house of representatives. it's the exact same resolution, expresses support for all iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties and rule of law, and for other purposes. the resolution expresses its support for all iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties and the rule of law. it condemns the ong

mccain: well, let me say to the majority leader -- mr. reid: i have the floor, madam president. mr. mccain: would the senator yield? mr. reid: yes, without losing the floor, i would be happy to sure. mr. mccain: i would say, i am very aappreciative of the difficulties that he neighs on a bill of this nature and the challenges that -- of amendments and nongermane and also it's -- the difficulties that he faces in managing legislation. this issue has been around for a long time. could i say to my friend from nevada, it's been around for a long time. we should address it. it is important to the american people. it really does have a lot to do with the -- with the pharmaceuticals in this country and i availability. and i would point out -- and its availability. and i would point out again to the distinguished majority leader, there shouldn't be a lot of debate on this. i mean, people have taken their positions. but i also know that farm -- and i have an -- but i also know that pharma -- and i also know that i have an e-mail that was sent, from pharma, to not have a debate and vote on it

with senators dorgan, mccain, snowe and a number of senators are very interested to that legislation and we will try to work it out and have this on the floor administration early as possible. the other is the so-called cash for clurchgers. i object to any further proceedings with respect to these bills en bloc. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. mr. reid: madam president, yesterday -- the presiding officer: the bills will be placed on the calendar. mr. reid: madam president, yesterday this city and our country experienced a terrible and horrifying tragedy. a man by the name of stephen johns went to work every day for six years at our most moving museums, a living memorial to one of our world's more horrific atrocities, the holocaust museum. while standing guard yesterday at that united states holocaust museum, mr. stephen johns was killed protecting thousands of others who were inside the building. protecting them from the same fate that he suffered. his death is shock, upset and anger for the senate, our nation and all who detest senseless bloodshed. mr. jones was murde

they took john mccain to task. john mccain said, i don't know this guy. he is just some guy from cincinnati. the next morning, this talk show host bill cunningham was on the today show saying what does he mean he has never met me? i met him three or four times. they told me to warm up the crowd. i knew it. i knew that the machine had developed some serious operating efficiencies. the conservative movement works in a very integrated way. people knew what was being set off stage. suddenly, you have to talk about trust. the power of people testing each other, and being able to struggle and sacrifice together, and maybe even be willing to step aside cannot put aside one's ego for the sake of a greater cause. conservatives don't have that anymore. this guy, bill cunningham, was no longer willing to fall on his sword and take a bullet on behalf of the cause that he believes to be greater than himself. we see the machine that has ground down in a way that is quite extraordinary. let me conclude with something i find amazing. grover norquist, we all know is the c

john mccain says he is republican. tim pawlenty, the republican governor of minnesota says he is a republican. be that as it may you have the debate going on right now for the dousoul of the republican party. it will continue even after someone emerges as the leader of the republican party. the party is in about the same state as in 1964 after lyndon johnson won a landslide victory over barry goldwater. people said we will never see the republican party again. four years later the people elected richard nixon. you will see these various points of view about what a republican is in for the party is going. eventually republicans will select their leader. if they will be successful as a party bringing in support you will see them coalesced around the leader. but at this time, and it is too soon now, obviously, there is no identifiable leader of the party. as for the round table's, i do not have much to do with george stephanopoulos. and who he decides to put on his program on sundays. he has the same relationship with me.

it's mccain number two. >> it's mccain number two, titled to determine whether existing federal government sfon sponsored health and wellness initiatives are effective in achieving their stated goals. >> thank you, john for it. i think it's a worthwhile helpful amendment. >> could i just briefly, mr. chairman, i know we've got a lot of work to do. as i mentioned, the title of the amendment, secretaries should report to congress, evaluating programs as they relate to changes in health status of the american public and specifically on the health status of the federal work force which is only 1.8 misdemeanor employees including absenteeism employees, productivity of employees, the medical cost incurred by employees and health conditions, including workplace fitness, healthy food and beverage incentives. also include conclusions on why such existing programs have proven successful or not and what contribufactors contributeh conclusions. we spend billions on government programs. we don't know how well they're working. this is just to get an assessment of all the programs concerns wellness and f

mccain: mr. president, i take the floor this afternoon to discuss the issue of importation of prescription drugs and the amendment which is 1229, which is now pending but may be made nongermane because of a vote, if cloture is invoked. there's also been some discussion about the fact that i am holding up the bill because of my desire for this amendment. i'm not. i'm simply asking for 15 minutes or even 10 minutes of debate and a vote. and i understand that there's other amendments such as one by senator lieberman and one by senator burr also that should be considered. so i want to point out that i'm not holding up the bill nor put any hold on the legislation. the fact is that importation of prescription drugs is certainly germane and should apply to this legislation before us. last week the majority leader was kind enough to say that he would see about this amendment and when it could be considered, and has just informed me that he has discussed the possibility that it be brought up on the health

were you influenced at all by john mccain and lindsay graham accusing you of being timid and weak? >> what do you think? [laughter] look, i think john mccain has genuine passion about many of these international issues. and, you know, i think that all of us share a belief that we want justice to prevail. but only i'm the president of the united states. and i've got responsibilities in making certain that we are continually advancing our national security interests and that we are not used as a tool to be exploited by other countries. i mean, you guys must have seen the reports. they've got some of the comments that i've made being mistranslated in iran suggesting that i'm telling rioters to go out and riot some more. there are reports suggesting that the c.i.a. is behind all this. all of which are patently false. but it gives you a sense of the narrative that the iranian government would love to play into. so members of congress, they've got their constitutional duties and i'm sure they will carry them out in the way they think is appropriate. i'm president of the united states and

mccain was going to be with the insurers and big business and everybody else in started talking about deregulation a word not use that much in the healthcare debate. it is not part of the parlance but it hacked into wall street. there was a guy back in the fall, the big debate about how many houses the hatem bill might remember that number as well but he was going on to that and lastly there was a specific about taxes. almost every healthcare reform proposal, you can test whether it is in focus groups just looking at getting a group of eight or ten people together, hearing how they react toward doing it a statistically valid way or some of these couples on the internet, and not always so statistically valid but the one proposal people don't like is taxing benefits. it is because a lot of the healthcare debate, and that will put this says that the mikan pick up later, the idea of what looms large as of the potential gains, the potential losses. if you say we are going to cut costs, they say that is something i like. i understand you are taxing something i'm getting and you say it is go

yeah, i guess i'm coming back -- first of all, i've got a lot of admiration for senator mccain. i supported you greatly in the campaign, but i do have to bring us back to health care. i have to agree with the lady that said for $5,000 we can get health care for a family, and i know from here in georgia and a family of four a $5,000 credit on our income taxes would be very difficult to actually put adequate quality health care on a family of four. having done that myself where i spent over $12,000 a year for a family of -- to insure them adequately that's our biggest problemment and i just want to address my wife is in the health care industry. he's a doctor. she's a doctor. and i see the problem as more the insurance issue of not being able to pull smaller companies. we have a small business, and we can't afford to put adequate health care or provide adequate health care for our employees of three -- >> host: tim, what's your business? >> guest: we actually have a dental office. my wife's a dentist. and what i'm, what i would like to see instead of a single provider is actually

i thank the chair and i think that leads us to the mccain amendment. >> if i could, i appreciate that very much. as i understand it here, these are -- obviously, i'll have the staff take a look at these proposals. as i said earlier in the week when the issue was raised by i think it was senator coburn raised the issue, we wanted to proceed by doing title of title by this legislation so we have a manageable way by which to proceed. we still have remaining obviously to deal with the long-term care issues because of the scoring problems and we still have title i to come back to, as well. those matters will be left open until the following week, the week we come back from independence day recess. i also made it clear that i wasn't going to be so insist event upon that closing out titles that i wouldn't consider because of circumstances of matters that come up. i intend to live by that promise, as well. i would ask colleagues again, and i respect the fact we all have conflicting obligations around here as evidenced by several of our colleagues that are off doing other things this morning a

mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: tomorrow the committee on health, education, labor and pensions will begin consideration of a 615-page bill that seeks to reform our nation's health care system. this bill introduced by senator kennedy and others just last week has very grand ambitions. we all agree that health care reform is necessary. we all agree that congress must act. but we must not act recklessly. we must not act with haste and political expediency. health care reform will affect each and every american, and we must do it right. i strongly believe that we have to start over and act in a truly bipartisan manner to address the issue. unfortunately, the legislation before that committee seeks to enact a massive government-run health care program that intrudes into the lives of all americans by making decisions on each american's choice of doctors, employer health plans and insurance providers. and it leaves major questions unanswered. every american should know the answer: how much will this massive expans

i am incensed with john mccain. how can we go into someone else's country in go and dictate americana? we need to urge them towards democracy, sure, with most parts of the world. we cannot go in and tell them to do exactly what we say. the people realize that the government has been lying to them about the way that we feel about iran. there were giving them a totally different ideology. president obama would love to have a nice, good diplomatic relationship with them, but he told them if they would unclench their fist we would work with them. host: thank you for your thoughts. we will look at what the president said yesterday at the end of a news conference with the south korean leader. >> i have said before that i have deep concerns about the election. i think that the world has the concerns about the election. you have seen in iran some initial reaction from the supreme leader that indicates he understands the running people have deep concerns about the election. it is not productive given the history of u.s./iran

chairman, senator mccain, members of the committee. thank you for the opportunity to appear before you. i would like to thank the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the president for nominating me to serve on the team engaged in this important mission. i am a company today by my wife, her love and support for 32 years has been extraordinary. the president's strategy outlines the past to achieving the strategic goals in afghanistan. it is important to give you my perspective for work we believe we are and where we must go. i appreciate this opportunity. first, i would like to recognize the many afghan citizens, who along with young americans and coalition partners have sacrificed to stand up and fight for afghanistan. i honor thefal fallen. you gave me the opportunity to investigate pat tillman in connection with this committee a year ago. i stand ready to answer any additional questions that you may have. i would like to express my deepest condolences for the loss of a comrade and to his family, who lost a brother, a husband, and a

it sounds like the speech that john mccain has been urging you to give. you referred to an iron fist in iran. were you influence by john mccain accusing you of being timid or week? >> what do you think? [laughter] i think john mccain has genuine passion about many of these international issues. i think all of us share a belief that we want justice to prevail. only i am the president of the united states. i have the responsibility in making certain that we are advancing our national security interests and that we are not used as a tool to be exploited by other countries. you have seen the reports. some of the comments i have made have been mistranslated in iran, suggesting that i am telling writers to go out and write some more. there are reports suggesting the cia is behind all of this. all are false. it gives you a sense of the narrative that the iranian government is trying to plant. the members of congress have their constitutional duties. i am sure they will carry them out in the way they think is appropriate. i am president of united states, and i wi

what senator mccain does -- is interesting, because this is not get a lot of attention. he actually dismantles the plan. if your health care through your employer now, this plan is to take that away and give people money. you go out and get your health care on your own, which is a very risky thing to do. we don't want to deal with insurance companies on our own without resources. ladies and gentlemen, -- egest kissed me on national television. my former boss. it he was the chair of the democratic party in the 2004 cycle, and the chairman of hillary clinton's campaign. i would be nothing but for this woman. >> he finally recognize that. we are married. thank you, terry. >> there is not a government program that exists that is worth a dime if it does not serve you. the program serves you, you do not serve the program. and what we say is, let you be free to choose. but you take your money and put it in a private retirement account. if you want to stay and social security, you can. if you want to put your own money in your account that you manage, you should be free to do so

we will be talking with john mccain and bob schieffer. more on the economy as we look at gm, ford and chrysler and the bailout. and this had mine from the " arizona republic" some people are set to survive hard times. the situation in the state's also the budget year will start with a $384 million hole. first up is daniel on the phone from fort washington, maryland. caller: good morning. i would just say as a long time the work and analysts of politics, there is definitely no light at the end of the tunnel right now. host: why is that? caller: no concrete actions have been taken. the real core issues, the financial systems and the dominance of the economic system, and the federal reserve's secret nature, some of that is being addressed. they're getting even more power to the fed. our government is based on transparency and it is not transparent. host: the fed meeting today and we will be talking with john taylor was served in the bush administration. we will talk about his views on what the fed needs to be doing and may not be doing quite

spokesman health-care we will hear from gary read and match mcconnell but first here is senator john mccain. this is 15 minutes. >> mr. president i would like to say a few words about health care and obviously, we are going to, most media reports and as members of the health committee basically we're at a gridlock. the congressional budget office stated money in response to the legislation considered and the health committee that wants the proposal and i quote is fully implemented the number of people who have coverage by a employer will decline by 15,000,001 hall scorer consulting firm estimates the number to be much higher and estimates 70 percent of all americans who have private insurance today come a 120 million americans will lose their health insurance and be forced onto the government payroll. that stance in the stark contract -- contrast to the repeated assertions if you like your health care you can keep it. analysis by the health care economics firm bound to get all americans covered under the democrats' bill will cost a staggering $4 trillion and resulted in 79 million americans

lot of -- there is a lot in common between the goldwater campaign and the mccain campaign, both oppose nomination, and do you think that is true, and what does that mean? also, i constantly hear from people that you just cannot replicate the structure, the institutions of the right but that instead, we have to make new infrastructures that are adapted to the needs of today. what does that mean? what is an example? people keep saying it, but there is never anything behind it, and least in my experience. >> both the goldwater general election campaign in 1964 and the john mccain campaign of 2008 were conducted by -- by a very bad dysfunctional party, so i think there are a lot of similarities there. >> and i think he posed a question about why cannot the old tactics were, and we have talked about exactly what we can learn from the conservative movement and the things they did. there were some organizational decisions they made, some ideas about how they chose to behavior, that we're very, very affective for them, which could be effective for us. there are areas where the things that they

caller: good morning, senator mccain.arlier we had talked about the deficit spending, there is a difference between deficit spending and what you would do with private insurance. during reagan's time, we became -- we went from being the biggest lender nation to the biggest debtor nation. now we are trying to invest in our people. my main issue is your view on health care. 90% of bank of this -- of bankruptcy is are due to catastrophic illnesses and with the unemployment rate creeping towards 10%, that is only going to become more so. you are offering a $5,000 tax credit for health care. my insurance costs $20,000. collectively, between my employer and myself. how is $5,000 going to help? and the cost of the private health care is due to the private insurance -- interests. the insurance companies are driving of the costs with the public plan and, certainly, with the single payer plan that would be eliminated. i do not understand your reluctance to a public plan if you are so concerned about competition. isn't that what hel

. >> senator mccain. i just want to make sure -- use it you improved, he met that even though some of the actions -- he meant that even though some of the actions relative to the detainees were approved by the sector of defense, when you say you approved of them, you reduced the number of techniques which were utilized, even though they had been authorized. is that correct? >> that is correct. >> were you uncomfortable with some of the techniques you saw? >> when i took over, i was. >> and the reduction of the use of those techniques, even though they had been authorized by the secretary, nonetheless was something that you felt was a proper and necessary? -- appropriate and necessary. >> that is correct. >> general mcchrystal, general mckiernan reportedly had a request for the deployment of an additional 10,000 troops to afghanistan in 2010. do you expect to renew this request, alter it, or rescind it? >> i believe i ought to make an assessment on the ground. >> what is your initial assessment? do we need

. >> senator mccain will join us on tomorrow's "washington journal along with bob schieffer of cbs news. on thursday, tom ridge is our guest. "washington journal" begins each morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern.

we just heard senator mccain attack this bill that's before us that primarily funds two wars and takes care of our wounded warriors, invests in new hospitals for them to be treated for their brain injuries, helps them with their child care, and singly starts us on the path of bringing our troops home from iraq -- something that president obama promised to do and changes our focus in afghanistan which has really been very scattered and focuses us on routing out the taliban who really make it possible for al qaeda to thrive. so this bill protects the american people. now, i've been very clear. i've said i want to see this afghanistan policy work. i said i'm going to give it this year for that to happen. and i hope it does happen. because we were attacked by al qaeda. we were attacked by osama bin laden. we were attacked because al qaeda had sanctuary in afghanistan, and instead of going into afghanistan the way we should have, we shortchanged that mission that i voted to go into and turned around and went into iraq and we had president obama with his constant focus on iraq lead us to a v

when john mccain talk about the situation in iran , where do see that heading? guest: i am afraid -- we're talking about the news today and you'll hear me say this many times on almost every story -- we do not know where we are on iran right now. we know that people have gotten a taste of freedom and they are communicating with one another, through twitter, through facebook, through all these electronic means people have now. but they are not satisfied with the government that they have. there is this great dissatisfaction. they want changes. whether they will win this particular battle, my guess is no. but i think the battle has begun. they are bringing pressure on the government. i don't think this can help but to improve the situation there in some way. as we saw in china, the demonstrators in tenements where did not win the day, but there is no question -- and in tienamen square --but we see the impact today. china is not a democracy, but it is a much more open society. people have more rights now than they ever have had. we want them to have a lot more, but

i just -- senator mccain, senator grassley, senator stabenow and myself in fact president obama was a co-sponsor of the legislation last year. he has included in his budget a provision for this kind of legislation. >> will the senators please move their conversation outside? senator from north dakota. >> as i indicated, then senator obama last year was a co-sponsor of our legislation. we had over 30 senators republicans and democrats who believe the same thing and that was we ought to allow the american consumer to access fda approved prescription drugs and not from other countries, not because we want them to shop and other countries but we believe the ability to do so would put downward pressure on prescription drug prices in the country. madam president, if i might by consent jody still bottles to a describe what we are talking about this is lipitor produced in ireland, same pill in the same ball by the same company just shipped in different directions. even the ball is identical accept one is a blue label and one is a red label. one of them went to canada. one of them into the uni

mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: mr. president, as we all know, health care dominates the agenda and the thoughts and efforts of the congress of the united states, and it has to be addressed. and it is an historic opportunity to achieve the health reforms that americans need today more than ever. we need fundamental reforms, reforms that not only help people get affordable health care coverage, but reforms that bring down the costs of health care. given the enormous costs associated with the bill that's been proposed, i called on the other side to scrap the bill and start from scratch. we've got to get it right. it shouldn't be a partisan process that forces a bad bill through committee. in starting over, we must address the fundamental components of health care reform, including the major drivers of increasing health care costs. one of the main factors keeping health care cost trends too high is defensive medicine. ask any doctor, ask any practitioner, they order additional procedures for fear of litigation, which drive

the clerk will call the role of the mccain amendment. [roll call] aye by proxy. no. aye. aye. enzi --no. gregg -- no. [roll-call] mccain -- aye by proxy. [root calloll call] senator roberts? no. senator kennedy? aye by proxy. we're waiting on senator coburn -- has he voted? pass. this is senator dingham boats no by proxy. senator sanders -- aye. vote is 10 ayes, 12 nays. >> the amendment is not agreed to. all that i can say is that my nose count was correct. where are we at this point? are there any additional amendments? . . at this point now? are there any additional amendments? >> mr. chairman? >> senator casey. >> i just wanted to get back to the fraud and abuse section for a couple of moments. i know senator enzi had some comments before. we were dealing with senator mccain's amendment so i wanted to just respond to a couple of things. first of all, i wanted to commend the way senator enzi, along with our chairman has conducted himself in this whole process over these many days and weeks, and grateful for the way he approached this bill, as difficult as it is. and as much

but there was a lot of it, the reason that he mccain lost was because of the media. the media was square behind obama and they've never denied it. for crying out loud. everything they tore palin down. everything that came up, the media went after him. host: well, let me deny for you right now. number one, when you, if you think the media was always in love with him and only gave him positive coverage, you have got to have forgotten the two month period all the way through the pennsylvania primary and beyond, which was dominated by one man called jermimia wright. i'm sure you remember him. it was compounded by candidate obama saying people were bitter in america. this was the worst coverage of any candidate in any election. so i guess if you sit at that side and say that never happened, then you could make a case. but then you would also have to set aside the media's absolute fascination for sara palin, because for the initial week or two of her rollout, she was a super star. you know, and then candidate obama made jokes about the fact that she was getting more magazi

. $150 million was devoted to attacking john mccain for saying -- including health benefits as a tax care exchange. they spent $100 million attacking the idea that this would be the first time we've taxed health benefits. like everyone else, you have a trillion dollar plan k discussed, you have huge chunks of money, so there is a movement in the senate in considering taxing people at some level. you find ways in which campaigns can strain policy. i think it would -- be awkward for the administration after making that marker not to tax health care benefits. i think in that way the campaign becomes now an issue when you think about where we are in policy. i think that's another confidence in the 2008 campaign as we look to the health care policy. >> do i detect a note of jealousy when you were talking about $800 million? >> it was clearly envy. i tell people i joined the republican party in the late 1970's. it was like the 10 commadment, one that said, you'll have more money, so running a camp -- campaign wu where you are getting your head beat in, yeah, i was jealous. envy. >> normall

jill, baby, drill -- not john mccain and. really the first green republican and in the past 25 years in the seventh to step forum and to make some great steps for it on the green issue. now but barack obama seemed like this and when i say that there are a lot of my conservative friends said how can you say that. i am not looking to an ideological lens. this is about temperaments, this is per canada. it is about russell kirk talking about how conservatives concerned, how conservatives established social order and how americans don't want to starting to far one way or another. >> host: this is a guy to work in tv and cares about how things look and sima and the impression given. sometimes i think the world and america understood george w. bush to be your right wing super conservative as opposed to how you characterize them and the world saw him as writing in super conservative because he seemed like someone white male from texas as you were saying who was a little bit to become a little bit like this. >> guest: bring in done. >

host: arizona senator john mccain, good morning. guest: nice to be back and best regards to brian lamb. many people said we were separated at birth because of our resemblance. he has done a great job and so have all of you over the years covering the capital in a dispassionate and objective fashion. host: thank you. iran -- the president's response, has it been appropriate, and now? guest: the president is having a full-blown press conference later on today, and, i mean, no one could watch the film of the young woman

how great he is, which may be he is, i don't know but there was a lot of it with the reason that mccain lost was because of the media. the media was square behind obama and they never denied it for crying out loud. everything, they pour palin , everything that came up the media went after. >> host: let me do my for you right now, number one, if you think the media was always in love with him and only gave positive coverage you must have forgotten the two month period for basically all the way through the pennsylvania primary and beyond which was dominated by one man called jeremiah wright and i assure you remember him. it was compounded by candidate obama singing people were bitter in small towns in america and this was two months of the worst coverage of any candidate in any election. so i guess if you set that aside and say well, that never happened, then you could make the case. but then you also have to set aside the absolute fascination for sarah palin because for the initial week or two of her rollout, she was a superstar and in candidates obama made jokes about fact she was getti

[laughter] >> lucki think john mccain has genuine passion about many of these international issues. and i think all of us share a belief that wants justice