JUDY WOODRUFF, PBS NEWSHOUR: You have also said, Sen. Cruz, that you are prepared to use the debt ceiling vote as a bargaining tool. But some look at that and they say, you could be risking the downgrading of U.S. government debt, U.S. government bonds again. TED CRUZ: You fast-forward to the debt ceiling. I think that's the mirror image of the

Adam Carolla opines Chris Christie's weight and if it will matter if he runs for president, taxes going up and his mother's use of welfare and why she didn't get a job. Carolla, who doesn't have a problem with Christie's weight, says being president is the "ultimate fat job." "You can be fat and be the president," Carolla said on FOX News' "T

ALAN DERSHOWITZ: I don't think it's the NRA power. I think it's people like us, not the two of us, but Americans who care about guns aren't doing enough to make our case to the public. Because we think it's their issue. We've given that issue over to them because they have lobbyists they pay money. But in the end, the people determine the outco

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: We heard Pelosi, with apologies to John Paul Jones, which she and the president said last week we have not begun to tax and to spend. They've been open about this. As she said, she said, 'We'll, we got you on rates, that is round one. Round two, is we're going to squeeze the money out of you by eliminating deductions and loopho

CHRIS MATTHEWS: There you got Ted Cruz, a well-educated guy, another one of these well-educated right-wingers like Pat Robertson. It's like they flush out their high educations when they get out of school for political purposes. Talking about this being a political -- it's not anybody's political agenda. The only person in the world who would want

Alex Jones, one of the people behind the petition to get British host Piers Morgan deported, appeared on his CNN program tonight to explain his support of the Second Amendment and and to denounce those who want to confiscate weapons. ALEX JONES: We did it as a way to bring attention to the fact that we have all of these foreigners, a

At the White House briefing this afternoon, press secretary Jay Carney responded to Senator Mitch McConnell declaring the tax issue "finished, over, completed" on the Sunday shows yesterday. Carney says any further deficit r

Rick Santelli updates the national debt readings, explains how politicians inadvertently created a new program called "All Kids Left Behind," and explains why they should not be proud of it

White House press secretary Jay Carney says Chuck Hagel, President Obama's nominee for Secretary of Defense, has been a "staunch supporter" of Israel. Carney also says that Hagel's position and record "is in sin" with Obama's policies. JAY CARNEY: It is a routine part of this exercise that nominees are asked about their views on vari

Cenk Uygur talks to Zbigniew Brzezinski about President Obama’s nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense. Of heated criticism about Hagel, the former national security adviser says, “There are some really extremist groups which have a kind of obsessive concern about disagreements and an inclination to label people with ext

BRIT HUME: Supporters of former Senator Hagel are fond of citing what they say was his courage in bucking his party and his president on the Iraq war. Indeed, his agreement with President Obama on the issue when both of them were senators is said to have formed the bond between them. But there is another way to look at the Hagel record on Iraq.

ALEXIS SIMENDINGER, REALCLEARPOLITICS: And a quick follow-up on Major’s question about the process towards sequestration. For those who think that the President maybe learned from the process he just went through on the fiscal cliff that he will not be dealing with Speaker Boehner, does the President -- can you just clarify, does he fully intend

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): Well, I think it’s not a matter of personalities. I’ve known Chuck Hagel. He is an honorable man. He has had a record of distinguished service, but he is profoundly wrong on a number of the most important national security issues that face our country today, like denying Iran nuclear weapons, like direct face-to-face ne

MSNBC: President Obama is set to nominate former GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary, and he's facing tough criticism from congressional GOP members. The Morning Joe panel – including Time's Mark Halperin, New York Magazine's John Heilemann and NBC News' Andrea Mitchell – discusses the president's pick.

In a press conference Jan. 7, 2012, President Barack Obama put forward his nominations for key national security positions. He announced former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel (Nebraska) as his choice for Secretary of Defense, to replace Leon Panetta, and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to serve as CIA Director.

Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, New Jersey says U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, 88, has to decide whether he wants to seek another term. I want to give him the space to make his own decision. I’ve announced my intention to run, but the reality is is we’ve got a good Senator. He’s been loyal. He’s been there for a long time. And I think he’