JOE SCARBOROUGH: Let me ask you losers, political losers of the year? CHRIS MATTHEWS: Terrible year for the president. I mean, it’s terrible, this -- SCARBOROUGH: Can you go back a year? One year ago, the president was getting ready for his second inauguration. So much hope. This has been a terrible year. MATTHEWS: There's another piece

Q: But sir, it's not just your legislative agenda. When you look at -- (off mic) -- you talk to Americans, they seem to have lost confidence in you, trust in you. Your credibility have taken a hit. Obviously, the health care law was a big part of that. So do you understand that those -- that the public has changed, in some way, their view of you ov

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: He looked tired, he looked exhausted, he looked like a guy that had a bad year. I don't think he had a lot to say. It looks like he really wanted to get out of town but he didn't want to leave without facing the press or there would have been stories about he's kind of escaping, he's kind of unwilling or afraid to face the pres

RICK SANTORUM: This country was founded on freedom of religion and what we seen from the folks at GLAAD is exactly what they preach against. They preach against intolerance and they are in fact the leading intolerant organization out there when it comes to anybody who disagrees with their point of view. What Phil Robertson did that was so offensive

JULIE PACE, AP: Thank you Mr. President. Despite the data points that you stated in your opening statement, when you look back at this year, very little of what you outlined in your inaugural address and State of the Union has been achieved. Healthcare rollout obviously had huge problems, and your ratings from the public are near historic lows for

GLENN THRUSH: I have to say, I was listening to Chuck talk, he is a wonderful professional, insofar as he was able to stay awake for the entire press conference. I thought this was a moment for the president to really cap a terrible year, to make his argument about some of these questions he'd been asked, and really put pressure on Congress like yo

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Jon Karl. JONATHAN KARL, ABC: Thank you, Mr. President. It's been a tough year. You may not want to call it the worst year of your presidency, but it's clearly been a tough year. The polls have gone up and down, but they are at a low point right now. So what I'm asking you -- you've acknowledged the difficulties with the health

NEWT GINGRICH: I thought overall, it was sort of an Eisenhower-quality press conference in which he managed to obfuscate and obscure whatever he needed to avoid getting in trouble on, and I think Ike would have been proud of him. The fact is when you listen to that one section, he has learned nothing. This is really embarrassing. I think,

PRESIDENT OBAMA: The basic structure of the law is working despite the problems. Despite the web site problems, despite the messaging problems, despite all that it's working, and again you don't have to take my word for it. We've got a couple million people who are going to have health insurance just in the first three months, despite the fact that

MARK FELSENTHAL: Thank you, Mr. President. One of the most significant events of this year was the revelation of the surveillance by the National Security Agency. As you review how to rein in the National Security Agency, a federal judge says that, for example, the government has failed to cite a single instance in which analysis of the NSA's bulk

ABC's Jonathan Karl says President Obama didn't give a specific answer for what his biggest mistake was.

A&E suspended “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson after he made controversial statements regarding homosexuality in a new GQ interview. The Daily Caller’s Matt Lewis and Thomas Roberts discuss. Lewis says the message is clear, if you disagree with homosexuality you better keep your mouth shut.

Daily Show: Fox News defends a "Duck Dynasty" star's right to say ignorant s**t on television.

In an interview with Steve Chaggaris, RCP's Caitlin Huey-Burns explains the obstacles still separating Republicans and Democrats on the budget. Even with government shutdowns now off the table, Congress still faces fights over appropriations and the debt ceiling. 

Just 45% of Americans in a recent Fox News poll said the president was "honest and trustworthy," a huge drop from 73% in 2009 . RCP's Tom Bevan explains how  this happened and what President Obama can do about it. 

Sideshow: Chris Matthews offers a thought to those who would defend “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson.

Virginia Senator Mark Warner joins the "Special Report" panel to discuss the budget deal, Obamacare, and Iran.

O'REILLY: So summing up, the country is repudiating Obamacare, Americans do not want big government.

Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation talks with Rachel Maddow about the fragility of the negotiations to end Iran’s nuclear program.