Rand Paul for president in 2016?

>>> we're just getting over the last one, but the presidential contest of 2016 has already inched its way into the headlines this week. let's find out why. here's the political war room . former chief of staff for west virginia joe manchin and former aide to president h.w. bush.

>> good to see you.

>> joe , we'll start with you. it was a week for republican maneuvering, if you will. rand paul and the filibuster, the talk of washington this week. now politico reporting that the senator is seriously considering running for the presidency in 2016 . senator paul telling politico that he can broaden the base of the republican party . take a listen.

>> there is somehow a middle ground between what is maybe more pure libertarianism and what is more traditional conservatism , and i think somewhere in between there is a role as long as that person can somehow bring about an expansion of the party.

>> how could rand paul bring the extreme right and the center of the party together, joe ?

>> well, i guess for people who have a libertarian bent who are democrats and certainly for those that are republicans, they would want to hear what rand paul had to say he certainly got the attention of lots of americans with the 13-hour filibuster on president obama 's drone policy, so he's somebody who i think people believe is a true believer in his cause and believes in less government, of course, and could be a voice for americans in 2016 .

>> chris , it's as if some people had forgotten some of the things that senator rand paul has said over the past few years.

>> well, they're going to be reminded of them when he runs for the presidential republican nomination. he's going to run. i would say i'd be almost stunned if he doesn't. he sees kind of a -- i don't think he really credibly seriously thinks he can win the nomination because he can't, but he can create enough noise where he can help shape the republican nomination and probable not in a good way. he has some positions that i think have some crossover appeal in terms of some of the far left and you see them in terms of the drone debate, but some of his positions are pretty extreme and they'll alienate a lot of voters that the republicans need to attract if they'll be competitive in '16.

>> he's spent a great deal of time talking about shutting down the fed and a lot of folks have made noise about it and all of a sudden, that was a really cool filibuster. it did not go over well with established republicans. take a listen.

>> calm down, senator. mr. holder is right even though he doesn't explain the law very well. the u.s. government cannot randomly target american citizens on u.s. soil or anywhere else.

>> why do that, joe watkins ? why would senator john mccain chastise his comment on the floor?

>> john mccain , as we know is a maverick and someone having been the republican nominee for president in 2008 has the stature and the ability to chastise other members of congress. certainly junior members of congress. we know rand paul is the junior senator from the state of kentucky and has only been -- this is his first elected office ask senator mccain , of course, is a veteran and first serving in congress and then serving in the senate and elected by his party to be the nominee for presidency so he has the stature to say calm duown to any of the member when he likes.

>> the washington post - op ed titled my filibuster was just the beginning. this is what he writes in part, quote, i believe the is support of this last week shows americans are looking for someone to stand up and fight for them and i'm prepared to do just that. you have john mccain on the floor chastising him. how will the republican old guard and the new guard, how will they come together in 2016 , do you think?

>> that's the million dollar question. i don't know if they can come together. i mean, look, with all due respect to senator mccain , him to lecture senator paul or anyone about their strategic insights after his brilliant analysis of why we need to go to preemptive war against iraq is questionable, at best. putting that aside his division between the republican party and the tea party libertarian wing and the traditional folks like senator mccain and others, that tension is going to continue. it's going to fester and it's going to grow and i don't think that's necessarily good for the party because then it makes it difficult for them to rally around one candidate when i think you're going to probably see more of that happen on the democratic side. so you have a weakness going into the 16th race right from the nomination's start.

>> another familiar name jumped to the front beige thpage this week, jeb bush is jumping out, and it is what he had to say about chuck todd .

>> you've been much more open about considering national office than i've heard you before. what's different this time?

>> i'm not saying yes. i'm not saying no.

>> i've accomplished things in my life that allow me to have that kind of discretion that allow me to think about it.

>> what kind of impact can jeb bush have on a 2016 race?

>> significant. significant. he's a serious player. he's somebody who had a great record as a governor. the two-term elected governor of florida , an important electoral state and he's his own person. he's not -- he happens to be the younger brother of george w. bush , but he's a very different person from george w. bush and certainly has the capacity, i think, if he decides to run to raise a lot of money and to be a serious force and to certainly be the front-runner.

>> chris , what would that mean for that popular senator from the sunshine state marco rubio ?

>> well, it boxes him in and it makes it difficult for him to have that kind of space. the republican 16 will have a much more credible field in terms of serious candidates whether it's governor christie and governor mcdonald and senator rubio, former governor bush and they'll have some serious candidates compared to what they had this last election. that being said, it's almost too many kind of credible candidates and they're going to fight over the same pie.

>> listen, if their political gods in heaven are watching, they're going to let jeb bush win the nomination or secretary clinton win the nomination because that race will be a race for the ages.

>> that would be a fun one to watch and cover.

>> really quickly, you mentioned senator clinton . i do want to ask both of you. joe , i'll start with you. you have guys like martin o'malley in maryland. you have andrew cuomo who is waiting in new york. how much time will hillary clinton have to make up her mind before the presidential wanna bes start chomping at the bit?

>> she does have more time than you would otherwise give a candidate. she's got so much credibility, she clearly is the front run or the democratic side and she has the capacity to raise lots of money and i think it's hers to lose at this point.

>> chris , joe watkins just took your time.

>> i'm sorry.

>> he's late to the interview and now he took my time.

>> he put your business on there, too.

>> i wasn't going to tell folks you got stuck in traffic.

>> it was on the sequester,