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McCain: Attempt to defund Obamacare was 'fool's errand'
By Becky Bratu

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Wednesday that the budget standoff in Washington and partisan bickering have eroded the confidence of the American people and damaged the credibility of the U.S. Congress.

In an interview with NBC News' Brian Williams, McCain said some House members' determination to repeal or defund President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act during a government shutdown was “a fool’s errand.”

"We inflicted pain on the American people that was totally unnecessary. We cannot do this again," McCain said. "We, Republicans, have a hole that we've got to come out of and obviously we're going to have to do a lot of work."

McCain, who himself opposes the president's health law, said that stubbornly pursuing the plan to destroy Obamacare during a government shutdown was an impossible task.

"So, you deceived a lot of Americans and that adds to the cynicism," he said.

The government has been partially shut since Oct. 1 and a default on the country's debt is just around the corner if a deal isn't reached soon.

After Republicans agreed not to block a Senate bill to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling, both houses of Congress were moving Wednesday to pass the measure…

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