with us is michael crowley. michael, it's great to have you. >> thanks for having me. >> i'm going to get right to it. where's the president? >> well, he was keeping a safe distance. for several months john kerry was trying to pull these talks together. he traveled to the region six times. obama was hanging back not saying much about it. he put a little bit of his stamp on things when the talks commenced this week and obama showed up and he met with negotiators, did photo ops and i think it was a sign that was probably necessary because people were saying, where is the president? is john kerry freelancing? did he say, kerry, you go off and give it a try and let me know if it's going somewhere? i think people in the region were wondering how invested the president is. obama's said i'm paying attention. this is important to me. but it still remains to be seen whether he's going to really stick his neck out, take any political risk, try to put anything specific on the table that could come back and bite him. that w

crowley and michael crowley and washington post diplomatic correspondent ann biernan. thank you all for being here. p.j., i want to start with you and this announcement by president obama that washington is canceling the joint military operations. how significant is that decision? does it carry any weight whatsoever? >> i'm sure it will be heard loud and clear by the egyptian military. how they respond to that, we'll have to see. i think the administration's challenge right now is not only what message it sends to the egyptian military, of course the president again decided not to tinker with the existing military assistance, but also what message do you send to the muslim brotherhood. do they have a mounting list of grievances. of course, the policy objective is to return to inclusive democracy. the real challenge over the next several weeks is how do you entice the muslim brotherhood that's been the victim of a coup and violence back into the political process. the end result is stronger than what was overthrown six months ago. >> michael, they've refused to call the

i want to bring in "time" magazine senior correspondent michael crowley. obvious question, how real is the possibility of a full-fledged civil war in egypt? >> well, i think it's real. it depends on how you define civil war, i suppose. for time.com this morning i wrote a piece in which analysts were envisioning something. maybe you would call it more like an insurgency where you had, you know, bombings, assassinations, a lot of ongoing violence around the country. you know, there are different estimates to how much support the islamist movement has. i'm not sure that -- if you look at some of the low-end numbers, it's enough to say you have a full-fledged civil war. i think it's going to get worse before it gets better. there's likely to be more violence. this kind of crackdown is likely to produce a backlash. so, yes, short answer to the question, the possibility for widespread ongoing mass violence and chaos seems to be rising. >> republican senators john mccain and lindsey graham, michael, just issued a statement a short time ago. i'm going to read it i

that's what nsa does. >> michael crowley joins us live.anks for your time here. >> thanks. >> obviously, we didn't hear a lot of some of the partisan bickering we've grown sadly accustomed to. nevertheless, it was still there over the sunday morning programs. >> sure, we've seen this now for a decade. when you have a terrorist event or a major alert, people rush in with their agendas. you know, and it's interesting. i thought rick santorum's criticism in particular was kind of off base. he was saying that the president is timid about calling islamic terrorism -- about using the word terror. rhetorically, he's gone soft on this stuff. the reality is we have waged a really aggressive drone campaign in yemen to the point there's a lot of concern that the drones are doing more damage with public opinion than the benefit we're getting from killing terrorists. the president is under a lot of pressure from the liberal base to scale back drone strikes. there's a sense he's gotten carried away with them. in particular in yemen, of all places, where

michael crowley is a senior correspondent for "time" magazine. michael, i love this stuff.nk "hardball" watchers love this stuff. others might be thinking, oh, it's just too soon. what is the importance of the early jockeying? >> well, you know, on some level it's not that important. a lot of the people who get early attention and applause at these things don't end up going anywhere. we'll recall how michele bachmann won the straw poll last time around. but there are these invisible primaries under way. particularly i think the most interesting one right now is the jockeying to be. there is clearly going to be, you know, a modern establishment candidate, a romneyesque candidate. it might be someone like chris christie. and there are a lot of people who want to fill the role of the more tea party libertarian hard-core take no prisoners conservative candidate. so i think what is happening right now to a large degree within the party is jockeying, you know, for instance including cruz and rand paul to be that more conservative alternative. but this is all still very nebulous.

thank you, michael crowley. not that there's anything wrong with jimmy carter but he wasn't exactly a fighter in that sense. jonathan capehart. we always agree, jonathan, that's very dangerous. up next, it's august and congress is out of session. it's hard to know. it's like calvin coolidge, he died, how did you tell. anyway, the birthers are back and this is "hardball." the place for politics. [ man ] look how beautiful it is. ♪ honey, we need to talk. we do? i took the trash out. i know. and thank you so much for that. i think we should get a medicare supplement insurance plan. right now? [ male announcer ] whether you're new to medicare or not, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. it's up to you to pay the difference. so think about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. i did a little research. with a medicare suppl

i think michael crowley's cover stou cover story got it exactly right. during the bush administration, they wanted to go to war. all evidence to the side. they were so animated about wanting to go to war, nothing would stop them. is this a president who does not want to be involved in syria, who does not want to accepted tho send those ships. and frankly, i was a big critic on how pathetic and disorganized the obama administration's response after their first declaration of chemical weapons a while back in which there was not the kind of signals intelligence that i think we clearly have on hand today. the president feels this collapsing norm needs a response and that has been characterist characteristic. >> and this has been the conundrum for this president from the beginning. when the campaign, i thought when are you on the outside and you don't have the intelligence, it's easy to say. but once you own it, it's different in terms of nature of the intelligence, what your thinks ons are. and so in your piece, you make the point this has been a tension poi

thank you, michael crowley.ot that there's anything wrong with jimmy carter but he wasn't exactly a fighter. we always agree, jonathan, that's very dangerous. up next, it's august and congress is out of session. it's like calvin coolidge, he died, how did you tell. anyway, the birthers are back and this is "hardball." the place for politics. ♪ [ male announcer ] some question physics. some question gravity. and some... even have the audacity to question improbability. with best-in-class towing and best-in-class torque these are some of the bold, new ram commercial trucks -- built to blow your imagination. guts. glory. ram. [ babies crying ] surprise -- your house was built on an ancient burial ground. [ ghosts moaning ] surprise -- your car needs a new transmission. [ coyote howls ] how about no more surprises? now you can get all the online trading tools you need without any surprise fees. ♪ it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. it's just common sense. cashback concierge, here. wh

we have now joining the conversation from washington "time" magazine senior correspondent michael crowley. john kerry got these negotiators together in washington last month. he's said that the palestinian president is committed to holding these peace talks with israel. so from your per spektdive, what you know from your sources, why would prime minister netanyahu potentially have put these talks in jeopardy at this stage? >> well, a lot of what happens around the talks -- i mean, we don't know for sure. a lot of it is posturing for domestic audiences. each side does things and reacts to the other side as part of somewhat of a choreographed dance. i think to some degree, you know, you see the settlement announcement around the same time as the prisoner release. that's probably not a coincidence. john kerry said these announcements were largely unsurprising. it might have been a little more than they were anticipating. i think to some degree what's happening here is each side has to show they're going into the negotiations where they're not caving, they're protecting the interests of their

thank you, dana bash and michael crowley with "time" magazine.o tune in today at noon eastern for cnn's special live coverage on the crisis in syria. for the entire hour we'll break down the evidence, u.s. military options, and how the crisis impacts the markets and your money. today noon eastern. humans. even when we cross our "ts" and dot our "i's", we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies. if you qualify, your rates won't go up due to your first accident. because making mistakes is only human, and so are we. we also offer new car replacement, so if you total your new car, we'll give you the money for a new one. call liberty mutual insurance at... and ask us all about our auto features, like guaranteed repairs, where if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, the repairs are guaranteed for life. so call... to talk with an insurance expert about everything that comes standard with our base auto policy. and if you switch, you could save up to $42

thank you, michael crowley. that there's anything wrong with jimmy carter but he wasn't exactly a fighter in that sense. jonathan capehart. we always agree, jonathan, that's very dangerous. up next, it's august and congress is out of session. it's hard to know. it's like calvin coolidge, he died, how did you tell. anyway, the birthers are back and this is "hardball." the place for politics. the last four hours... have seen one child fail... to get to the air sickness bag in time. another left his shoes on the plane. his shoes. and a third just simply doesn't want to be here. until now. until right... booking now. planet earth's #1 accommodation site. booking.com booking.yeah has oats that can help lower cholesterol? and it tastes good? sure does! wow. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy. thto fight chronic. osteoarthritis pain. what's the rush? to fight chronic low back pain. to take action. to take the next step. today, you will know

i want to bring in "time" magazine senior correspondent michael crowley and lehigh university professor james peterson. glad to have you here. michael, the worst fears have been realized after egypt's government threatened for days to clear the protest camps. now we have this going on. as ayman was reporting there, saying that there seems to be this civilian face on what really is a military-run country. >> yeah, absolutely. that is what it is at this point. it does put the obama administration in a very uncomfortable position. i think this administration does not want to cut off the substantial military aid we send to egypt. the white house sees it as a way to maintain ties with the generals who obviously are the real power in the country right now. they want to keep those ties. they want to keep their influence. our influence has certainly dwindled in egypt. it still exists, but it's gettiget ing harder and harder or less and less tenable for the spokesperson to say we condemn the violence. but what are you going to do about it? at what point does the administration put its foot down?

michael crowley in "time" writes this about the unhappy war. obama faces a defining test in syria. the art is preventing no win decisions from ever presenting themselves and in retrospect obama's caution may have worked against him. what is your take on what michael wrote there? >> it's relaally a tension bein able to warn off these tensions but also the iranians. we're seeing what happens when syria crosses that red line. do we take action? do we actually punish them for this? balancing that at home with the deep unpopularity of any idea of going into syria. clearly we're not even talking about putting boots on the ground, any kind of involvement in syria is very, very unpopular with americans. that's really obama's struggle here. >> general mccalffrey, let's talk about the options. it's not about removing bashar al assad. it's pointed out more answers needed on syria. they go on to write, mr. obama has yet to make clear how military strikes will actually deter chemical attacks without further enflaming a region in turmoil. ayman mohyeldin reported this is more than a battle for s

. >> i want to bring in michael crowley and ann garran. what is the calculus the white house is weighing this morning? >> is there a bipartisan call in congress to suspend aid. really as you pointed out in your introduction, chris, there isn't a ton of aid left to go this year out of 1.3 billion. it's something between 5 and 600 that is left so they could withhold some of that. it probably wouldn't have a great effect or immediate effect on the generals in cairo but send a symbolic message than the white house has sent before. on the other hand, you have israel and powerful gulf allies and many within the administration and at the pentagon saying don't suspend aid because as slim at, it's the only leverage we have and it will only cause greater problems down the road in you yank it than if you keep it going. >> michael, it is important to point out the majority of the u.s. goes for military purposes and a smaller portion for economic aid. is there any indication coming from the administration that they are giving any serious consideration

cnn political contributor maria cardona and cnn reporter for people magazine, michael crowley.s that everyone thinks was aimed at bobby jindal. he said, quote, i'm not going to be one of these people who goes and calls our party stupid. of course governor jindal, who is also a 2016 presidential candidate once said our party has to stop being stupid. >> the point that chris christie was trying to make was that we have to be in a party that is about ideas. we have to describe what it is that we're for and describe where we stand on all the big issues that the american electorate cares about. the challenge that chris christie is going to have here, though, is he has to reconcile that with comments he made that infuriated a lot of republicans back when he was blaming john boehner and congressional republicans for what happened with the sandy aid, sandy aid that many folks believe was loaded up with pork from a lot of democrats and a lot of special interests. so he's saying that in boston and got a really good line of applause for it, but there are many republicans that still rememb

michael crowley from "time" magazine, thanks. >> coming up, total recall. san diego edition.y with us. >> he came up to the desk and leaned over the desk and took my hands and says, i think i could go eight hours. and i looked at him and said, are you kidding? anncr: expedia is giving away a trip every day. where would you go? woman: 'greece.' woman 2: 'i want to go to bora bora.' man: 'i'd always like to go to china.' anncr: download the expedia app and your next trip could be on us. expedia, find yours. good and close. discover the new way to help keep teeth clean and breath fresh. new beneful healthy smile food and snacks. he'll love the crunch of the healthy smile kibbles. you'll love how they help clean. with soft, meaty centers, and teeth cleaning texture healthy smile snacks help keep a shine on his smile. it's dental that tastes so good. new beneful healthy smile food and snacks. humans. we are beautifully imperfect creatures living in an imperfect world. that's why liberty mutual insurance has your back, offering exclusive products like optional better car replacemen

thank you susan page, michael crowley.p next, the verdict in the racketeering and murder trial of whitey bulger. this is "hardball," the place for politics. humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? otherworldly things. but there are some things i've never seen before. this ge jet engine can understand 5,000 data samples per second. which is good for business. because planes use less fuel, spend less time on the ground and more time in the air. suddenly, faraway places don't seem so...far away. ♪ >>> republican governor pat mckrurry of north carolina quietly signed is sweeping new election reform into law without fanfare and no signing is ceremony. the new law slashes early voting and requires voters to show photo i.d., somethin

joining us, hillary rosens are along with "time" magazine senior correspondent michael crowley.ng to get that right. listen to ted cruz. i'm going to read to you what he said in the new issue of "time" magazine, our sister publication. he said a conservative is either stupid, too dumb to know the right answer and even worse, if they know the right answer, then they're evil. they want people to suffer. i suppose i feel mildly complimented in that they have recently invented a third category, which is crazy. ryan, what do you think about this rival that is emerging, ted cruz on one hand and chris christie on the other? >> i think it's very healthy. there was a recent pew study that found base republicans are not sufficiently conservative. on the other hand you have swing vote who are increasingly find it less attractive. you it tea party candidates doing very well because you have very different electorates. it's important to have this debate. i think it's a constructive thing. >> you know republicans in seeking the presidential nomination, they run to the right. but if they get t

going in opposite directions o lou: now we have the "a team" michael goodwin, monica crowley, a when for the secular military in egypt and the administration does not appear happy. >> the secretary of state can now with a strong statement of condemnation five that they are really shaking in their boots of the wrong side of history once again the military is dog the right thing. lou: with threats of withdrawing a it seems there is the appearance of the good guys but with passivity , . >> right or wrong. [laughter] the whole time the encampments, since the coup that we dare not call it that they did not try to broker a thing we see the same thing in syria but i agree your point also i would rather have passivity from this the administration rather than an ignorance so i will go with passivity. [laughter] >> that is not what i was thinking of but i see your point. >> president obama former body meehan said playing 15 games of spades or heartsore whatever it might be while our military was risking their life to killed osama bin live in what is your view? >> another disturbing pattern by

. >> michael smerconish, thank you so much. p.j. crowley as well and bobby goesh. i appreciate your time and perspective on this topic. >>> coming up, crews gaining ground trying to contain that raging wildfire that keeps growing in california and is threatening the water and power supply. >>> plus, strong reaction to a controversial plan to address homelessness in one state's capital city. two of the options, relocate or get arrested. join our conversation on twitter. you can find us @newsnation. we had never used a contractor before and didn't know where to start. at angie's list, you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare written by people just like you. no company can pay to be on angie's list, so you can trust what you're reading. angie's list is like having thousands of close neighbors, where i can go ask for personal recommendations. that's the idea. before you have any work done, check angie's list. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. i love you, angie. sorry, honey.

crowley and sirius x m's michael smerconish. p.j., let me start off with you. i want to play senator jack reed, who was on "meet the press" this sundays, discussing the u.s. aid, the billions of dollars sent to egypt from this country. let's play it. >> the acts of the last few days by the egyptian military are completely unconscionable. i do believe we have to change our aid. i think also we have to have included in the legislation and national security waiver. >> p.j., a spokesperson said the same thing, that the aid is under review. put this in perspective now that you have saudi arabia saying we will fill the hole if said is removed. it seems all along that we in the states were talking about possible influence in egypt because of these billions of dollars when, in fact, this money could have always been replaced by other arab nations. >> sure. i mean, it just highlights that we have a relatively weak hand we're plag we're playing. we're a relatively influential country, but our ability to direct what's happening in egypt and the ripple effects of democracy

and to barareak it all down, cn chief political correspondent, candy crowley anchor of "state of the union" and michaeler. candy, let me start with you. we heard what the president had to say. congress and how difficult republicans can be. listen to what his republican friend, senator tom coburn had to say about president obama on wednesday. >> what you have to do is you have to establish the criteria that would qualify for proceedings against the president. and that's called impeachment. [ applause ] but that -- you know, that's not something you take lightly. and you have to use a historical precedent of what that means. you know, i -- i think there is some intended violation of law in this administration. but i also, but i also think there is a ton of incompetence. of people who are making decision decisions. >> candy, this is a man who is the president's friend. they cam e to congress together. saying this about a man who is his friend. does this make the president a lame-duck already? >> i think for a variety of reasons the president is fighting lame-duck status at this point. certainly we are, it

michael mccaul and steve king,, democratic senator claire mccaskill. with00 p.m., "this week," an appearance by edward snowden's father. bob menendez, and republican representative and royce and louise geomet. mccain, joe trippi, and strategist.n, candy crowleyks with the chairman of the republican national committee. my credit representative jim republican representative jim clyburn. bob schieffer rep -- welcomes the maryland democrat, and peter king. general michael hayden, former nsa and cia director. an appearance by len downie, former executive editor of "the washington post." service, by the networks, and c-span. rebroadcasts of the shows begin at noon eastern with "meet the press." union."n "state of the 4:00 p.m., "face the nation. shows at 90.1 in the washington, d.c. area. channel 119. download our app for your smart phone, or listen online. affairsing public events from washington directly to you, putting you in the room at congressional hearings, white house events, briefings, and conferences, and offering complete gavel-to-gavel coverage of the u.s. house all the public service of private industry. c-span, created by the cable industry and funded by your local cable or satellite provider. now, you can watch us in hd. host: we ar