Rep. Peter King says he’s dead serious about exploring a bid for the White House, even as GOP strategists and consultants offer steep and potentially insurmountable odds for the New York Republican. 
 
 “This is not a game I’m playing, I’m serious,” King told The Hill after spending the earlier part of this week in New Hampshire meeting with voters. 
 
 
 
 
 
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 King said he’s headed back to the first-in-the-nation primary state for the first two weekends in September to continue testing the waters, but that his final decision won’t likely come before early 2015.“I’m serious about looking at it and we’ll see where it goes from there,” he said. “I have no intention of being there just for the sake of being there, so if I think there’s any real chance and support, then we’ll move forward."The 11-term lawmaker has yet to hire any campaign staff, conduct any polling, or extensively reach out to major donors, however, which has given GOP insiders pause as they wonder whether King is really serious about vying for the presidency in 2016.“The congressman is a classic definition of a long-shot primary candidate up here if he decides to run, there’s no question about that,” said Jim Merrill, who led Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign in New Hampshire.“That’s not to say that he can’t contribute meaningfully to the debate but it’ll certainly be a challenge for him.”King, the former chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee and a member of the highly secretive Intelligence panel, has become a leading voice on television news shows espousing his views on the issue of national security and criticizing the Obama administration.The issue has become his central platform and initial message to voters, as he tries to guide his party away from the libertarian foreign policy and defense positions held by other potential GOP presidential candidates, such as Sens.(Ky.) and(Texas).“This has nothing to do with Rand Paul personally, but I definitely want to keep the party from going the route of what I call the ‘Rand Paul isolationist wing’ of the party,” King said.“At the same time I’m testing the waters myself presidentially. It’s sort of like walking and chewing gum at the same time. I’m very serious about the issue but I’m also very serious about seeing what the possibilities are about running for president.”King told the Burlington Free Press earlier this week that Paul's policies have "set the Republican Party back 50 years."Some strategists wonder which is more realistic for King — impacting the national security conversation or becoming president — and whether he’s using a possible presidential bid as an excuse to try to fundamentally change the Republican party’s direction and message on national security as a whole.“It seems that he’s far more wedded to the GOP emphasis on national defense than he is to actual ambitions of sitting in the White House,” said GOP political operative Ford O’Connell.“Internally he may be testing the waters but he knows in the back of his mind that he has a better chance of winning the Powerball jackpot this year before he becomes president of the United States. And I think part of it is that he’s getting coverage because we’re a leaderless party with no true front-runner," O'Connell said.Even Democrats wonder whether King stands much of a chance. After King hinted at a possible presidential bid last month, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was asked by a reporter during a press conference for her thoughts on the matter.“Was he serious?” she responded to a room full of laughter.Coming from the House chamber, King faces historically steep odds because he doesn’t have the donor base or the name recognition that other candidates coming from a governorship or the Senate may have.In a recent Quinnipiac University poll, more about 70 percent of respondents did not know who King was. 
 
 "Even if there is about 29 percent of the country that knows who I am, well that’s about 40 million voters. That’s not bad for somebody who’s starting from a congressional seat," King said. 
 
 
 
 King also stressed that of those who had met him, the poll showed strong favorability ratings for him. 
 
 
 
 “That means that once people do get to know me, I make an impact on them,” he said. 
 
 
 
 Indeed, Pelosi elaborated on her remarks to say that King was a “great guy” and that she liked him personally. 
 
 
 
 King said he isn’t looking for any endorsements at this point, but that he’s talked to some of his political colleagues, calling Sen. Kelly Ayotte Kelly AyotteLewandowski saw no evidence of voter fraud in New Hampshire NH governor 'not aware’ of major voter fraud Former NH AG: 'Allegations of voter fraud in NH are baseless' MORE (R-N.H.) ahead of his visit to let her know he was coming and touching base with staff who work with former New York City Mayor and 2012 GOP presidential hopeful Rudy Guiliani. 
 
 
 
 A more fundamental problem for King, however, may be his ability to raise money, according to Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak. He especially may face an uphill battle to fundraise if New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie decides to enter the race. 
 
 
 
 “Going from the House is extremely difficult if you want to become a first tier candidate. You don’t have the donor base, you don’t have the name ID, the staff, and the organization. And so you, at best, come in as a second or third tier candidate by default.” 
 
 
 
 “What major donor is going to prefer Peter King to Chris Christie? Maybe King’s family members. He’s going to have an enormously difficult time raising money.” 
 
 ||||| Rep. Peter King says President Barack Obama should have spoken out sooner about the National Security Agency’s data collection efforts. 
 
 “I applaud the president for continuing the NSA program. What I’m very critical of him for, though, is basically he’s been silent for the last two months,” the New York Republican said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “He’s allowed the Edward Snowdens and the others of the world to dominate the media and now we have so many people who actually think the NSA is spying on people, is listening to our phone calls, is reading our emails.” 
 
 “The president of the United States, as commander in chief, has the obligation to be aggressively and effectively defending this program and he really didn’t do it,” King added. “There are so many misconceptions, so many misperceptions out there and I think that’s partly because the president, who has the bully pulpit, did not use it over the last several months … when people in Congress have been responsible.” 
 
 King also said the president should have denounced Edward Snowden when he had the opportunity to – during the Friday press conference during which the president announced new oversight and reforms to quell public fear over privacy. 
 
 Appearing on the same show, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said the reforms are necessary to educate the public about the necessity of the program and the protection of their privacy. 
 
 Read more about: Peter King, National Security Agency, NSA, Edward Snowden ||||| Sen. John McCain said Sunday it's "fine" that President Barack Obama canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Obama's actions and statements show he does not understand how to deal with Putin. 
 
 “The president comparing him to a kid in the back of the classroom, I think, is very indicative of the president’s lack of appreciation of who Vladimir Putin is," the Arizona Republican said on "Fox News Sunday," referring to a comment Obama made in a press conference on Friday. "He’s an old KGB colonel that has no illusions about our relationship, does not care about a relationship with the United States, continues to oppress his people, continues to oppress the media and continues to act in an autocratic and unhelpful fashion.” 
 
 Canceling the meeting, which the president did last week after Russia granted asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden, was "symbolic," McCain said, but the U.S. needs to expand the Magnitsky Act and enforce human rights, get Georgia into NATO and expand missile defense systems in Europe. 
 
 “We also need very badly to understand that Mr. Putin does not have the United States-Russia relationships in any priority and treat him in a realistic fashion," the senator said. "hat’s the way to treat Mr. Putin, not just canceling a meeting." 
 
 Read more about: White House, John McCain, Russia, Vladimir Putin ||||| Rep. Louie Gohmert charged on Sunday that President Barack Obama lied when he said during his White House press conference Friday that Republicans want to stop Americans from getting health care. 
 
 “That's a false narrative. He said that we're trying to keep people from getting health care. That's just not true. That is an absolute, blatant lie," the Texas Republican said. "We're not trying to keep anybody from getting health care. And whether or not they have insurance under an exchange or not does not prevent people from getting health care." 
 
 (WATCH: Obama says Obamacare repeal in GOP’s “holy grail”) 
 
 Gohmert was appearing on a political roundtable panel on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday with a fellow Texas congressman, Democrat Joaquín Castro, who defended Obama's remarks and criticized Republicans for "extreme ideology." 
 
 “The fact is you have millions and millions of Americans that can't afford health insurance. Obamacare is helping people get health insurance. Republicans have offered no other solutions or plans,” Castro said, adding over Gohmert's objection: “At this point, Louie, it's just, you know, ideology. It's just extreme ideology.” 
 
 Gohmert said he supports efforts to shut down government unless Obamacare is defunded, saying there aren't enough votes for it now but there may be after August recess. Castro told Gohmert he needs to accept Obamacare is law. 
 
 "It's the law of the land. The Congress passed it, the president signed it. And a conservative Supreme Court upheld it, Louie. It is the law of the land,” Castro said. 
 
 Gohmert, who called Castro "brilliant" and one of his favorite Democrats, said Republicans were not being too extreme and disagreement is healthy for Congress. 
 
 “I think Lyndon Johnson said it, that if two people agree on everything, one of them is unnecessary," Gohmert said. "It's good to have a good disagreement. That's how we got to the Constitution." 
 
 Read more about: Louie Gohmert, Obamacare, Joaquin Castro
– John McCain think it's great that President Obama axed his meeting with Vladimir Putin, but comparing Putin “to a kid in the back of the classroom, I think, is very indicative of the president’s lack of appreciation of who Vladimir Putin is," McCain said today. "He’s an old KGB colonel that has no illusions about our relationship, does not care about a relationship with the United States, continues to oppress his people, continues to oppress the media, and continues to act in an autocratic and unhelpful fashion.” In short, Putin "does not have the United States-Russia relationships in any priority," and we need to treat him as such. Elsewhere on your Sunday dial, as per Politico: Pete King on running for president: “This is not a game I’m playing, I’m serious. I’m serious about looking at it and we’ll see where it goes from there. I have no intention of being there just for the sake of being there, so if I think there’s any real chance and support, then we’ll move forward." King on Obama and the NSA: “I applaud the president for continuing the NSA program. What I’m very critical of him for, though, is basically he’s been silent for the last two months. He’s allowed the Edward Snowdens and the others of the world to dominate the media and now we have so many people who actually think the NSA is spying on people, is listening to our phone calls, is reading our emails. The president has the obligation to be aggressively and effectively defending this program and he really didn’t do it." Louis Gohmert on Obama's claim that GOP is trying to prevent people from getting health care: “That's a false narrative. That is an absolute, blatant lie. We're not trying to keep anybody from getting health care. And whether or not they have insurance under an exchange or not does not prevent people from getting health care." House Homeland Security chair Mike McCaul on Obama's NSA reforms: "I think when the story initially broke, the president went under cover. He just finally came out last Friday trying to come up with ways to salvage the program by window dressing.. . The problem is he's failed to explain these programs which are lawful, which have saved lives, which have stopped terrorist plots. He has not adequately explained them or defended them. "