jon: quick update on one of our heros, army captain greg myra. jenna spoke to him yesterday during our 9/11 coverage. went to iraq, served, was wounded. he's leading a bike ride. go to "happening now," our show payment, we'll get you -- our show page, we'll get you updated on the route. jenna: thanks for joining us. "america live" starts right now. megyn: fox news alert, i'm megyn kelly, welcome, everyone. new questions coming in right now on the president's challenge to congress. president obama this morning standing up in the rose garden to echo a theme that we heard

last thursday night. >> this is the bill that congress needs to pass. so let's pass this bill. pass this bill. [applause] we can do that by passing this bill. megyn: the president saying there is no time now for games, politics or delays. the $447 billion jobs plan is going to congress later today, and then the president is hitting the road to sell it to the public, and the democratic national committee is backing him up with a big new ad campaign in some key battleground states. chief white house correspondent ed henry live at the white house with some breaking news now on more about how the president plans on paying for this plan. the details are starting to be filled in. >> reporter: that's right, megyn. we just got the details from jack lew, the president's budget director, and they're pretty dramatic. basically, this white house is now coming out and saying flatly that they are going to be raising taxes on a whole slew of people all around the country. in order to try and pay for this

jobs bill. the biggest one of all is they say they want to raise $400 billion over ten years by limiting the types of itemized deductions our viewers can get. they will limit the deductions if you're an individual making at least $200,000 a year. quickly, they're going to want to raise $18 billion as well by changing the way carried income is treated, this investment 23478. they also want to raise $48 billion by changing oil and gas provisions and finally a pretty small sum, $3 billion, by changing corporate jet depreciation. but let's go back to the biggest one, that's the one that effects our viewers the most. this white house is saying flatly they want to change the way people can itemize detuxes on their taxes. if you write off medical expenses, state and local taxes, mortgage interest, charitable contributions, there's going to be a lot of opposition to this

plan because this will effect people in major ways, you know, charitable organizations that depend on people contributing money may see less coming in if all of a sudden the way people are taxed and the way they write that off is changed. important reality check here is i was covering this white house in early 2009 when they brought up this very same provision. to change itemized deductions. and they were saying back then in early '09 that this was the magic way to pay for health care. they said it was going to raise hundreds of billions of dollars. remember in early 2009 you had a democratic house, democratic senate, and that idea was rejected. it never went anywhere, so i was just pressing jack lew and jay carney about the fact this couldn't pass through a democratic house and senate, how is it going to pass now? they say, look, we've got some tough choices to make to pay for the jobs bill to reduce the deficit elsewhere, but the bottom line is they are going to face a lot of heat now for coming out and saying that they're raising taxes. megyn: very interesting, ed henry.

thank you so much. i want to tell our viewers that we're going to be joined in about ten minutes by lou dobbs who will weigh in on that breaking news. we did not know how the president planned on paying for his jobs bill when he made his announcement on thursday night. now we are learning in part it will be through tax hikes. tax hikes that you heard ed henry say could not get through a democratically-controlled congress, so what does make the president think he can get it through congress now that only is further to the right? we'll talk about that with lou dobbs upcoming. got an alert coming in the now, ironically, on unemployment. just as president obama pushes congress to accept his jobs plan and get it passed immediately, we're getting word of a flood of pink slips for a wall street powerhouse. america's biggest bank announcing today that it will cut 30,000 jobs. stu varney of the fox business network hosts "varney & company." stu, what are we talking about? >> reporter: 30,000 job cuts closing literally hundreds of branches, $5 billion each and every year in cost cuts and

selling a credit card business to the canadians. that's the situation that bank of america finds itself in. indeed, many banks find themselves in a similar situation, really having to trim down their work force and cut costs left, right and center. now, why is it happening in particular to bank of america? well, they're at the center of the housing crisis. they bought countrywide which had more bad loans on its books than anybody else. they're paying the price for that. they have to pay out a great deal of money to settle this foreclosure paperwork mess, and they are subject to regulation under dodd-frank where they've got to take less risk, and they've got to put up more money. bottom line, the banking industry's in trouble. bank of america is in particular trouble. and, frankly, megyn, this is a complete reversal from everything that we've seen for the past generation. for the past 25, 30 years, it was bas, it was financial services companies which were expanding their employment, a real engine of job growth.

that's come to an end. it's in reverse, and b of a is dropping 30,000 positions. megyn: 30,000 jobs. i mean, that is, that is a lot of folks who are now going to be hitting the unemployment lines, stu. >> reporter: yes. megyn: when they say over the next few years, what does that mean, and are these folks likely to pick up other employment? are these sort of the wall street big wig investment banker types, or are these regular folks? is. >> reporter: regular folks. these are branch managers, tellers, they are people in headquarters in charlotte, north carolina, yes, all of those people. can they pick up jobs elsewhere? this is a lousy jobs market, to put it bluntly, and you have to remember that goldman sachs, jpmorgan chase, morgan stanley, bank of america, all of them are involve inside significant downsizing of staff, so the idea of just going from b of a to another bank, very difficult. megyn: wow. stu, thank you. >> reporter: sure. megyn: well, new developments today with a solar panel company that filed for bankruptcy after

taking half a billion dollars of your money. federal loans, basically, for a company that's now bankrupt. the fbi raided the offices of saw lin da and the home of its ceo late last week looking for documents on what happened to all that taxpayer money and reportedly asking questions about whether this company made misrepresentations in trying to get your money. this morning the republican national committee went after the company as a, quote, failed stimulus project. steve centanni explains that live from washington, d.c. today. steve? is. >> reporter: hi, megyn. yeah, pressure clearly mounting on the obama white house as the fbi, congress and now the republican national committee all have serious questions about the company and how they got that federal money and how they went belly up afterwards. now, the president went to the company in california last year touting this company as a harbinger of america's clean ener future. then they declared bankruptcy, throwing over a thousand people out of work. just last week the justice

department, as you mentioned, stepped in to raid the company looking for any evidence the company misled the government when accepting the government loan. now, today the rnc released a 15-page document basically turning up the heat on the obama administration urging it to release all its records and documents relating to saw lin da. the rnc chairman said in a statement after laying off 1100 workers, wasting over $500 million in loan guarantees and becoming the subject of an fbi investigation, solyndra is now the prime example of stimulus failure. before taxpayers are forced to spend another dime of stimulus money, the white house must explain why they were so reckless the first time around. now, one major investor is george kaiser, a major obama campaign fundraiser. members of congress want to know if solyndra got special treatment. the white house was asked about the treatment, here's what jay

carney said. >> there are no guarantees in the business world about success and failure, that is just the way business works, and everyone recognizes that. and that's why there's over 40 companies, as i understand it, 40 guarantees involved in this program that merit looking at. >> reporter: now, we could be hearing more from carney right about now, he's holding a briefing at the white house. we'll let you know. megyn: all right, steve, thank you. voters are in new york, and they are heading to the polls tomorrow to decide who will fill anthony weiner's former congressional seat. the republican candidate in this district worked hard to associate his democratic opponent with president obama. now, that strategy appears to be working. polls show the heavily-democratic district could actually go to the gop in what many see as a repudiation of the white house policies. eric shawn joins me live now with more on that. eric? is. >> reporter: well, it is a heavily democratic district.

the last republican sent to washington, get this n1923. but history could change tomorrow in what's seen as a race that really is a referendum on president obama. polls now show that republican bob turner, a businessman who's never held public office and has made president obama's economic policies the cornerstone of his campaign, the polls show that he's beating veteran democratic politician david weapon, new york state assemblyman who comes from a prominent democratic political family. the most recent poll shows turner six points ahead of his opponent even though democrats in the district outnumber republicans by three to one, and only 31%, less than one of-third of the voters, have a favorable view of president obama. a recent poll also shows the democrat trailing by the same amount, six points, and even though the president's name is not on the ballot, the nation's top democrat seems to be in the voters' sights. >> if this district which is

about as blue as they get turns red, and i believe it will, that message can't be ignored in every corner of washington d.c. and the message is we're on the wrong track, fix it. >> >> washington is not perfect, and that's one of the reasons i'm running. i want to make a dent, i want to try to work to bring people together. i have the right mix of both private sector as well as public sector background, but i am committed to fighting to preserve social security and medicare. >> reporter: some prominent democrats have crossed party lines to back turner like former new york city mayor ed koch. the democratic establishment, though, is behind weprin who does not live in the district. the congressional district is likely to be redistricted out of existence in 2013. meanwhile, megyn, in another special house election tomorrow in nevada republican candidate mark amade will likely win over

democrat kate marshall, that according to the latest survey by public policy polling. he leads marshall 50 to 37%. megyn: eric shawn, thank you. so why is a republican doing so well in a historically democratic district? you heard the numbers, three to one normally democrats to republicans in that district. and what does tomorrow's special election mean for the 2012 presidential race? karl rove joins us live to discuss it next hour. well, an outburst on the court that could cost her big time. >> really, don't even look at me. i promise you, don't look at me because i am not -- megyn: don't look at me. serena williams going off at the u.s. open finals. now she could be banned from the u.s. open next year. fair play? that's on the docket in today's kelly's court. and lou dobbs, as i mentioned a moment ago, is here with his report card on the president's jobs plan and will

react to this breaking news about how the white house intends to pay for it. that's immediately after this break. also new york times columnist paul krugman calls rudy giuliani and president bush, quote, fake heros of 9/11 and says 9/11 is a day of shame. some are calling for him to be fired. we'll have a report. >> i can hear you! [cheers and applause] i can hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people -- [cheers and applause] and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon. [cheers and applause]

megyn: fox news alert, moments ago news breaking at the white house on how president obama hopes to pay for his $400 plus

billion jobs plan. moments ago white house budget director jack lew showed up at the white house briefing to outline a series of tax hikes, many of which the president could not pass when the democrats controlled congress, that the white house now says is how it's going to pay in part for the jobs plan. here's one of them. >> um, the specific offsets that are in the package are a series of tax provisions. i think they'll be familiar to most of you because they're ideas that we have been talking about, for the most part, for some time. first, there's a limit on itemized deductions and certain exemptions for individuals who earn over $200,000 and families earning over $250,000. that limitation raises roughly $400 billion over ten years. megyn: joining me now, fox business network's lou dobbs, host of lou dobbs tonight. what are we talking here, mortgage interest deduction,

other sort of taxpayer-friendly tax breaks that they want to get rid of, but they say, don't worry, we're only going to pinch the people who make more than $200 for individuals and $250 for families. >> reporter: this is sort of the first installment. those who can afford to pay just a little more. megyn: pay their fair share. >> reporter: fair share. 5% of the top income earners in this country pay 60% of the taxes. now, jack lew talking about tax provisions, he just couldn't bring himself to say what he meant which is tax hikes. this, this president gave a terrific address. i truly believe it was the most an -- animated, energetic speech of his presidency. the problem is the substance is so toxic, so corrosive -- megyn: creating jobs? >> reporter: that's a purpose, not a content. and the fact of the matter is as a purpose, it's laudable. it's unfortunate it took two and a half years to focus on it, but the content, the substance of this proposition is absurd. megyn: all right.

let's put aside the breaking news we just had for one second, we'll get back to it, but let's put that aside because folks have come on this show and said what is not to like? he's going to give corporate, small businesses tax breaks for hiring, he's going to give tax breaks that people wanted to have along with employees on the payroll tax holiday. >> reporter: right. megyn: he's going to invest in infrastructure which something in the past republicans have called for. >> reporter: i'm excited about that. megyn: what's not to like? >> reporter: i suppose i love it all. the problem i have, megyn is, one, there is not a surface transportation piece of legislation once enacted that has ever been able to succeed and have an impact in the course of 15 to 16 months. this president is going to have zero impact as a result on infrastructure. two, the man is talking about as a priority hiring teachers. we have more teachers employed in this country today than ever in our existence. megyn: well, i think he's talking about preventing layoffs of teachers, cops and firefighters. >> reporter: is this sort of

like jobs saved and created? now he wants to save the jobs of the national teacher employee unions? that's what this is. megyn: well, when you think about it -- >> reporter: no, this is a theory on my part, this is a theory on the president's part. megyn: let me give you his defense which is, in theory, we don't want to help the unions, but when it's my kid who's going to lose science in fifth grade because we're going to have to layoff the teacher unless we help the state pay for teachers' salaries, then i have a problem with it. how's my kid going to learn science? >> reporter: well, you know, that's terribly dramatic and important, but the question i have is why aren't these questions being asked by the national liberal media? one, how many teachers have been laid off over the past two years net? two, just exactly how many long-term unemployed teachers are there in the country, because we know there's six million out of the private sector in this country who are unemployed, that is have been unemployed for six months or longer. we know we've got a million

veterans in this country who are unemployed. a million. and this president isn't even addressing those issues. megyn: well, he wants to extend unemployment benefits -- >> reporter: another year. how's that worked so far? we've seen unemployment under this president rise from 7% to over 9. we have seen unemployment in this country remain above 9% for 25 of the last 28 months. this president is talking, he's talking, speaking from the top of a candy rock mountain. he is making, literally, no empirical sense whatsoever in this address and in this legislation, purportedly, that he's going to bring to congress. megyn: need a quick answer. does he get these tax hikes through? >> reporter: not a one. megyn: that's quick. >> reporter: yes, ma'am. megyn: thank you, lou. lou dobbs, everybody. catch lou every night on the fox business network, "lou dobbs tonight" airs weeknights at 7 p.m. eastern time. well, it became the photo that defined the day yesterday, and it really is chilling. just look at this.

look at the anguish. a father marking ten years since his son's death in the world trade center. we have the story behind this moving moment at the new memorial. just a bit. plus, we have new details on why they scrambled the air force twice yesterday to deal with scares aboard two different passenger jets. that's coming up, stay with me. >> we just heard that there was some unusual activity up in the front of the plane, that people were, a couple, you know, few people, three, i guess, were going to the bathroom, spending a lot of time there and acting very suspicious. i was terrified. i was really scared. looking good! you lost some weight. you noticed! these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain.

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megyn: one of the most moving images commemorating the ten-year observance of the 9/11

attacks has now become the symbol of the nation's grief. as the 9/11 memorial officially opens to the public today, look at this photograph, showing a father overcome we motion, falling to his knees near the north tower pool where his son's name is now forever engraved. look at that poor man. the picture of robert instantly went viral on the internet, also made the front page cover of "the new york post" and the new york daily news. robert's son, james, died when trapped on the 104th floor of the north tower. well, after decades of relative peace, diplomatic tensions are right now taking a turn for the worse between israel and egypt. the latest blow came when hundreds of protesters stormed the israeli embassy in cairo over the weekend. 86 israelis forced to flee for their lives as protesters smashed through the embassy walls making it all the way to the front door.

leland vittert is live in jerusalem with the latest. leland, you know, when we saw the arab spring take place in egypt, there were a lot of concerns, most notably from israel, about what this would mean between israel and egypt which under mubarak had had, you know, peace for lack of a better word. it wasn't complete peace, but it was peaceful for the most part, and now we have this, leland. >> reporter: well, absolutely, megyn. remember, egypt was once considered israel's most reliable ally here inside the middle east. now we are learning that it took a call from the u.s. defense secretary before the egyptian troops would actually move in and save those israelis inside the embassy. during those very tense hour on friday night, the israeli prime minister was calling the egyptians, the egyptians weren't even picking up the phone. and as you noted, these are the very pictures everyone was so worried about when president mubarak was kicked out of office

back in january. the riots certainly mark a huge change inside egypt that was once israel's closest ally. last month gaza militants used now lack security inside of israel to smuggle weapons down into the israeli border and then launch an attack that killed eight and wounded 40. turkey has now expelled the israeli ambassador over diplomatic incident last year when israel attacked a turkish ship and tried to keep it from heading into gaza and break the blockade there. right now even it's getting worse for israel, further isolated, megyn, as the king of jordan says the situation is the worst it's ever looked for israel. and, of course, the lack of progress here with the palestinians is not helping anything for israel. and to give you an idea, the iranians are even piling on, megyn. today they praised the ransacking of the israeli embassy and stood behind all those egyptian protesters. megyn, back to you.

megyn: leland vittert, thank you. chilling new details on a possible terror plot targeting america. the fbi unleashing a massive security sweep in the days leading up to the observance of the 9/11 attacks. new information on what the feds turned up and why they are keeping up their guard. plus, new york times columnist paul krugman calls rudy giuliani and president george w. bush fake heros of 9/11, calls 9/11 a day of shame. [applause] >> day of shame? the debate, fair and balanced, is right after this break. >> it is my hope that in the months and years ahead, life will return almost to normal. we'll go back to our lives and routines, and that is good. even grief recedes with time and grace. but our resolve must not pass. each of us will remember what happened that day and to whom it happened. [ male announcer ] this...is the network.

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well, i'm a film, left behind by a floor cleaner i thought was going to take me places. wait! now life is dull... darling! ♪ i believe in miracles [ male announcer ] swiffer attracts dirt. swiffer wetjet's new upgraded solution loosens and lifts off dirt to help prevent streaks and residue. and reveal more shine than a mop or your money back. you had me at "bzzzzz". megyn: while america was watching tributes at ground zero, the pentagon and in shanksville, pennsylvania, yesterday, security teams were watching our airlines, rails, tunnels and bridges. and in two separate incidents yesterday, the air force was forced to scramble to escort passenger planes as the story leaked out there was, obviously, a lot of interest. doug mckelway has the latest live in washington. >> reporter: when was the last

time you saw two grown men, some reports say three grown men, locking themselves in an airplane restroom at the same time? it raised a lot of suspicion yesterday, enoug that two f-16 fighter jet were scrambled to escort the plane to the airport. here's what one passenger said upon landing. >> up until that point, there was actually nothing really suspicious or alerted us to anything, although i understand that people locked themselves in the bathrooms and a little bit of a queue for some time. but they did a great job, the staff, the hostesses, all the air crew because no one really was panicked, everyone was really calmed, and it was handled very professionally. >> reporter: all of this happened in the context of that fbi alert issued late last week to a possible al-qaeda attack during the 9/11 time frame. the threat believed to be centering on car bombs. but one of the more troubling scares was not at a car bomb

atmosphere or in the air but, rather, on facebook. the secret service investigating three threatening messages posted on the white house's facebook page. one said welcome back to 11/9/2011. another said today will come, 11/9 $2011. and then a frontier airlines flight pulled off in a remote area of the detroit airport based upon the suspicious behavior of three passengers. here's one of the passengers speaking now. >> we started noticing something when the pilot said we're not going to go to our regular gate, and he said don't move, very stern. like, don't move, there will be consequences. and i thought that was odd. i thought that doesn't sound normal, you know? >> reporter: apparently, those three passengers were moving about smiling at one another in ways that raised the fear level among some passengers. and in another incident, a man

was detained at kansas city's airport after an x-ray of his carry-on raised suspicion. it proved to be harmless, but the alert status is way, way up there, megyn, and it continues to be. megyn: doug mckelway, thank you so much. there is another 9/11 story getting a lot of attention today. paul krugman decided to mark the occasion yesterday with "the new york times" blog entry called "the years of shame." in it he writes, quote: the atrocity should have been a unifying event, but instead it became a wedge issue. fake heros -- megyn: he goes on, quote: megyn: brad blakeman is the

former deputy assistant to president george w. bush and medea benjamin is founder of code pink. brad, let me start with you. some are calling for "the new york times" to suspend or fire paul krugman for saying what he said and choosing to do it on the ten-year mark since 9/11. what say you? is. >> he should be fired. he's a coward, he's a hack. the fact is that he doesn't speak for 9/11 victims. i served president george w. bush on 9/11 and the years in the aftermath. i lost a nephew on that day, a first responder who was killed saving people. he certainly doesn't speak for me. 9/11 is not a phony event for me. i served in government. where was paul krugman? what the hell did he will do except spew hate without any basis of fact? even opinion is based on fact. i saw what president george w. bush diss for -- did for this country. i was there, i observed it. i also saw what rudy giuliani did as all americans did. he was a mayor at the time not

just for america, but for new york city when they needed him the most. paul krugman has absolutely no regard for any members who suffered that day, and again, i say he's a coward and a hack. a coward because he would not allow, megyn, readers to comment on his article, quote-unquote, for obvious reasons. he should be fired. megyn: me day ya, who is paul krugman to pronounce for the world that 9/11 is, quote, a day of shame, an occasion for shame? >> well, i think paul krugman is right. 9/11 was used to justify two unjust wars that have led to the death of over 6,000 of our soldiers and hundreds of thousands of innocent iraqis and afghan civilians -- >> that's an absolute lie. >> it's been used to bloat the pentagon budget that has tanked our economy, and it's been used as an excuse to condone torture and indefinite detention which has sullied the reputation of the united states worldwide, andings, and that is a shame.

megyn: i'm going to get back to brad, so the invasion of afghanistan, bombing al-qaeda, that was not justified by 9/11? >> it's justified to go after individuals who attacked us and al-qaeda, but not to start an indiscriminate bombing campaign in afghanistan that has led to the deaths of more civilians than were killed on 9/11. megyn: okay. let me get brad to respond. >> look, our actions against those who seek to do us harm and did us harm were absolutely legitimate. absolutely legitimate in afghanistan. and let me say this -- >> was the war in iraq legitimate? >> trying to somehow justify 9/11 for our invasion of iraq is absolutely erroneous. we went into iraq separate and distinct from the acts of 9/11 and the taliban. you know that, you use it as a talking point to try and drag in an unrelated event. you know it's not true, yet you and krugman and others use that as an attempt to degrade the memory and the loss of 9/11, and it's shameful. megyn: you know, medea --

>> that's ridiculous. megyn: let me ask you -- >> i must respond to that. megyn: i'm going to give you the floor, but let me just tee up the next question, then it'll be your chance, i promise. i want to ask you, obviously, i know your feelings about president bush given that you founded -- >> war criminal. pend he should be behind bars. megyn: i know. we've been there, had you on many times. let me ask you about the attack on rudy giuliani, many people admired the way he brought not just thecity together, but the country together with his calmness and the way he led through the tragedy. do you agree that he is a, quote, fake hero? >> yes, he profited off of 9/11. he used 9/11 as the reason for a failed presidential campaign in which all he could talking about was 9/11. and he has continued to profit from that personally. and i think the american people saw through it and wanted a leader who is actually going to use 9/11 to bring people

together, and that was not rudy giuliani. megyn: all right, brad clearly wanted to respond, and he will get the chance to do that. panel, if you would, please stand by. we're going to carry this over to the other side of this break with. we'll be right back. uh, i'm in a timeout because apparently riding the dog like it's a small horse is frowned upon in this establishment! luckily though, ya know, i conceal this bad boy underneath my blanket just so i can get on e-trade. check my investment portfolio, research stocks... wait, why are you taking... oh, i see...solitary. just a man and his thoughts.

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megyn: for those of you rejoining us or just joining us, we are in the middle of a debate about new york times columnist paul krugman's blog post calling rudy giuliani and george bush fake heros and claiming they raced to cash in on the hero on what he now calls is an occasion for shame, meaning 9/11. brad blakeman and medea benjamin, i want to give brad the opportunity to respond to medea's comments about how giuliani raced to cash in on the horror and mr. bush is, in the her words, a war criminal. >> rudy juvenile yangny give -- giuliani gives inspirational speeches all over the world, all over the. >> he makes a lot of money. >> so does paul krugman at "the

new york times" for spewing lies and cowardice allegations! there's a big difference between telling the truth and getting paid for it and telling lies and getting paid for it. i prefer getting paid for telling the truth. and the fact is that paul krugman has a safe job at an institution that is more in tune on a commemoration where we should be bringing the country together than tearing us apart. that's the difference between the two. megyn: let me ask you about that, medea, because some of the criticism of krugman is, number one, he didn't even allow anybody to comment. he just made the post and claimed the blog for comments quote, for obvious reasons. why do this on the ten-year mark of 9/11 when we even saw president bush on the same platform as our current president, president barack obama, on a day of unity? look at these two men and their wives trying to bring people together for a day of healing. what a different approach paul

krugman took. >> i think paul krugman has opened up a dialogue. look, we're on this show talking about it -- >> there's no dialogue at all because if he wanted it, he would have allowed comments. >> the best way to honor those who died on 9/11 is to stop the wars, to bring the troops home, to close the over 800 bases we have around the world where we shouldn't is be, to use our military to defend us here at home and to use the savings to rebuild america. that would honor those who died on 9/11. megyn: you know, brad, clearly, no one was able to comment in response to krugman, at least not yesterday, but does anyone listen to this guy? obviously, when he speaks on the economy, people do listen. is he having an impact? >> yes, he will have an impact, unfortunately. he writes for an internationally-known paper. certainly, the old gray lady ain't what she used to be -- megyn: should his editor, should

somebody have stepped in and said you can say what you want to say, that's what the first amendment's all ant, but you're not going to say that on nerve, the ten-year mark? >> absolutely. >> oh, come on, you probably justify all those speeches -- >> the freedom of a newspaper to spew hate and lies. it's just the wrong thing to do. it's downright un-american. >> i guess you don't believe in freedom of expression. in fact, that's, unfortunately, one of the things that has been suffering post-9/11. i say it's time to rededicate ourselves to our bill of rights and our constitution -- >> well, do you think, do you condone, do you condone, madam, krugman's not taking comments on his blog? do you approve that kind of activity? >> it's opened up a dialogue -- >> can't you answer a question? >> a platform right now to be thinking about that. >> by refusing to allow comments to a very controversial blog entry? >> he made a very courageous statement, and now the entire country is talking about it.

megyn: but you're not -- [inaudible conversations] >> people like you who, obviously, don't believe in freedom of expression. >> i certainly do. megyn: let me just stop you because you're accusing brad of not allowing freedom of expression, and you're defending a man who -- >> he wants -- megyn: on the very blog post that started the conversation. how do you justify that? >> paul krugman put out his thoughts, and now we are discussing that. your guest is now saying he should be fired for putting out his thoughts. i think that's a terrible reflection on this gentleman's idea of what the bill of rights is all about and what democracy is all about. >> no. it's either you agree with paul krugman, or you don't. and he doesn't want to hear any disagreement on his post, so he's not going to allow anybody to have any comment. you've got to do it in another forum. you believe in that kind of activity from the somebody who's supposed to be a journalist? >> i believe that putting forward an important expression that post-9/11, ten years later we are no safer, people have

used 9/11 to justify wars we shouldn't be in -- >> let me say this. megyn: quickly, wrald, i've got to go. >> the men and women in uniform fighting for us today are fighting for the right for you to spew this kind of nonsense. megyn: we're going to have to leave it at that. i thank you both. had a lot of time for the debate. both points, both of you able to make the points you wanted, and i appreciate you doing that here. all the best to you both. >> thanks for having us on. megyn: wow. you've already found the e-mail address from the look of it, and that's kelly at kelly kelly@fox. unlike that particular blog, your comments are welcome here. well, rick perry is today defending his stance on social security as mitt romney goes on the attack. former minnesota governor tim pawlenty, the brand new co-chair of mitt romney's campaign, joins us live with the fiery preview to tonight's debate. plus, pieces of a satellite

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megyn: the taliban now claiming responsibility for an attack on a nato base in afghanistan that hurt dozens of american troops.

a homicide bomber blows up a truck at the gates of the base leaving a crater 20 feet deep. 89 people including 77 u.s. troops were injured. it happened saturday at a nato base in afghanistan's eastern wardak province, the same province where insurgents shot down a helicopter last month killing 30 american service members. fox news extreme weather alert, firefighters in central california holding the line on three major wildfires near bakersfield at this hour. the wind and fear of lightning strikes makes the job even tougher. casey steegal has more on this. >> reporter: yeah, megyn, a very large area, in fact, impacted here when you talk about fires burning in more remote areas. structures are threatened, but no homes have been lost in that particular region as of yet wish they could say the same

thing up in washington state near the oregon border. look at this, at least 18 houses have burned in the town of goldendale along with some 4,000 acres of land. folks doing anything they can to defend their properties, but for some it was just too late. >> i'm still in shock. i'm devastated. i've been building up my place for to year -- 20 years, and it's all gone. i'm going to pull myself up by my boot straps as best i can. >> reporter: wow. a rare weekend electrical storm in central california to blame for igniting at least 50 small fires near bakersfield. the dry brush just wasn't a match for all of that lightning. a series of fires have burned more than 23,000 acres near the sequoia national forest. residents are under voluntary evacuation orders in some spots because dozens of homes remain in this fire's path according to cal fire.

but it is 30% contained at the moment. finally, crews are getting the upper hand on yet another blaze in that area, this one also in kern county, again, central california here. the ken complex fire as it is known, more than 7,000 acres have been destroyed with that fire, but the containment figures at this hour now at 92%. of course, we don't want to wave the white flag just yet, megyn, and declare a victory with that, but it certainly is progress. it appears they seem to be getting that particular fire licked. back to you. megyn: casey steegal, thank you. former congressman anthony weiner's house seat is up for grabs, and it is in about as blue a district as they come. so why is the republican now leading? >> karl rove is here with a very big story from the campaign trail that may have something that's going to say about what's going to happen in 2012 according to some pundits. and tennis star serena williams in the hot seat again for an incident that could ban

her from next year's u.s. open. fair play? that's in kelly's court. almost tastes like one of jack's als. fiber one. h, forgot jack cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? um... try the number one! [ jack ] yeah, ts is pretty good. [ male announcer ]alf a day's worth of fiber. fiber one.

megyn: fox news alert. a social security showdown shaping up for two top gop candidate for the presidential election. brand-new hour of "america live." welcome, i'm megyn kelly. rick perry and mitt romney sparring over social security. perry penning an article saying i'm going to be honest with the american people. our elected leaders must have the strength to speak frankly about entitle many reform if we are to right our nation's financial course and get the u.s. working again.

mitt romney continues his attacks claiming the fox opponent wants to eliminate social security all together. dropping off flyers on the doorsteps of florida republicans ahead of a key bait in florida next week. carl cameron is live in floor where it's all happening. it's getting ugly between these two. >> reporter: romney added a new voice to his campaign choir. former minnesota governor tim pawlenty spent most of the last two years running for president mostly against mitt romney and coined the term oh bom obamney-. pawlenty will back the national campaign chairman. today paw hen i picks up the

rhetoric attacking rick perry on the issue of social security reform. >> i know this, governor romney wants to fix social security, he don't want to abolish it or even it. he doesn't believe it should be thrown out. he believes it should be reformed and fixed. i think that's the right approach. most republicans, most american understand we need social security reformed going forward. that's what mitt romney supports and that's what i support as well. >> reporter: listen to to that it wouldn't be unreasonable to suggest that he wants to do away with social surety. rick perry wrote that america's goal must be to fix social security make it financially sustainable for the long term. in his book in which he described it as a ponzi scheme

and unconstitutional. michele bachmann has come out and said that she, too, believes that social security needs to be reformed and that the rhetoric coming from rick perry is not on bad for social security and america's seniors, but not so great for the republican party either. megyn: as carl just mentioned, tim pawlenty became the national co-chair of the romney campaign. he will be my guest live and i will ask him about these allegations the romney camp is making about perry on social security in about a half-hour. stay tuned for that. as we reported last hour, there are rumors of corruption surrounding the bankruptcy of a california green energy company that could lead to headaches for the administration.

federal agents raided the offices of somoffices of solryn. the government gave this company about a hatch billion dollars in loans over the octss of other people within the government is my understanding, saying hold on. it doesn't look that good. >> then the president spoke there. the warning by price waterhouse coopers, the accountants, that that company was about to go down. the issue becomes, is it incompetence or is it corruption? some republicans point to connections between a major investor who has attended 19 white house meetings who has a connection to that company. megyn: a guy who bundles

donations for obama. >> a guy named george kaiser. there have been no charges leveled against him. megyn: so he has a stake in the company. >> in terms of repaying the loan. his investment. we have the inspect tear general. the -- we have the inspector general, the fbi, and the congress looking at why did this incredible amount of money go to a company that had so many indications it was a weak company to begin with. is it a matter of putting ideology ahead of competence? and vetting competence? megyn: the fbi raided the company because they are trying to figure out whether they misrepresented the facts when they secured those federal lone guarantees. but the question is if the company didn't lie, if they

opened their books and showed the government how poor things were at the company, then there is a question of incompetence on our government's part. >> if there is criminal wrongdoing, then a grand jury has its place and the fbi has its place and the congress has its place in seeing what happened. was there a favor exchanged? was it tit for tat? megyn: there is no suction of that so far. >> there is no evidence at all. but in the staggering amount of money when it appears there are so many signals about a company that was financially weak in an industry in which their product was untested at that point, they were providing a new cylinder shaped solar panel that went out the window with the chinese cutting their prices on a similar product. why was that done?

was it the ideology of pushing green jobs? was there corruption? was there recklessness? was there incompetence in terms of putting this money forward? the larger question is, should there be these kinds of relationships between government and private industry in the other thing i think you are aware of this, the federal government was represented in four meetings of this company once they knew there were problems. megyn: energy department officials sat in on board meetings. there is a question of what they knew and when they knew it. the government is saying you win some and lose some in these investments. you try to win some with the stimulus money and it doesn't always work out. >> the truth is the government investments rarely work out. megyn: this one certainly did. it's not happy to have president

obama on tape touring that facility. there could be a brand-new challenge to roe versus wade as voters in misget to vote on an abortion initiative. one that lets them decide whether life begins at conception. >> it's initiative 26 or the personhood amendment. they have been fighting to get the measure onto the november ballot. it would define the term person saying life begins at inception. the mississippi supreme court weighed in giving supporters a big win ruling it will be on the november ballot. it says this court cannot impede votervoters from submitting pros through the voter initiative

process. the proposed amendment is con constitutional and it will interfere with the doctor-patient relationship. the center for reproductive rights reacted to the state supreme court's ruling saying it could have implications far beyond women's abortion rights, including prohibition against many times of birth control. the leadup to the november 8 vote, that's wait comes down to, the voters. a similar ballot measure was defeated in colorado. and petition drivers in in florida and georgia. megyn: voters go to the polls tomorrow to pick a replacement for disgraced congressman anthony weiner in new york.

it has been a democratic district for 90 years. karl rove says polls show the republican is in the lead and what that may mean for the 2012 election. taking our first steps on hallowed ground. the 9/11 memorial open to you at ground zero for the first time. but there is a catch. the new outburst that could sideline serena williams in today's "kelly's court." >> don't even look at me. i promise you, don't look at me. we're cracking down on medicare fraud.

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we're cracking down on medicare fraud. let's make medicare stronger for all of us. but think about your heart. 2% has over half the saturated fat of whole milk. want to cut back on fat and not compromisen taste? try smart balance fat free milk. it's what you'd expect from the folks at smart balance. megyn: a new death may be linked to this rare brain-eating

parasite. the latest victim from kansas apparently got infected after swimming in a lake. since 1960, the cdc said there have only been 120 case of this happening. this year alone three deaths in three states have been linked to this parasite. just? case you are wondering. they say you should wear nose plugs. coming up be voters go to the polls in new york tomorrow, new york city to pick a replacement for anthony weiner. it has been democratic for 0 years, but things apparently about to change. polls giving the edge to the republican. they say it may be a harbinger

of things to come in 2012. is this a big deal what's happening in new york and? >> it could be big deal, harbinger of what we are likely to see next year. this district in new york city has been democratic for 90 years. we have three polls showing the republican up by 4 points. today received the endorsement of one of his opponents. a popular assemblyman from the area that represents a largely orthodox jewish communities. megyn: this guy turner the republican. 47% and the democrat at 41%. he made the election a referendum on president obama. are we likely to see more of that by down ballot races? >> in this race, where president obama carried by 11 points.

and that's the group that will decide the 2012 election. they were with the president in 2008, in this area of the country where they should be with him today they are strongly against him. >> the democratic approval rating is in the high 30s in this districts. disapproval is in the high 60s. those numbers are translating in the polls to exact support of the democrat or the republican. >> there are 133,000 more democrats than republicans in this district. so the president has a strong republican opposition and seeing significant defections in his own cam from nominal democrats. even more significant in some ways is what's happening in nevada, too, which is a district john mccain narrowly carried. and of which the democrats had high hopes. marshall got off to a strong

start after the former state chairman on met i care and she used all the attacks they have been using as a predicate for next year. and she went ahead from being behind. i have to say a group that i'm associated with as been doing a lot of work on that race in get out the vote activity in early ballots. so i have to make full disclosure. but interestingly enough as of the close of early voting. 40,000 republicans had vote early, 25 thousand democrats voted early, and only 9,000 independents. megyn: the democratic campaign committee poured 25,000 into that new york seat to hold on to it. the democrats quote will look like dumbies and the dccc will get a black eye.

did we overstate the case? sometimes election polling can be off. >> this is a district obama won by 11 points. the last republican congressman from this district came in the 1920s. and to bring the force to put a half million dollars into a seat in new york, even if they win it. the poll.all showing the republican winning. i think it's likely to happen. if it does happen it will unsettle a lot of democrats who say my district is a will the more competitive than new york city. megyn: we'll interview tim pawlenty in a couple minutes. romney and perry are battling it out. it's getting ugly with accusations about what's been said about social security. does this kind of back and

damage the republican party if it wind up being rick perry in particular? >> not thus far. it's using each other's word to go at each other. i that governor perry did a smart thing by seizing the opportunity in "usa today" to say i'm in favor of saving and strengthening social security. people are for reform. he has to reform plan, to turn it over to the states and let states decide what to do with it. but you have got to start the pro severs reform by reassuring the americans. i thought it was a smart move. but thus far both side plan tough but fair on the issue of. megyn: it's always interesting getting your perspective as the man who's' been there. there was an explosion at a nuclear storage plant in france. we are live with that story in 10 minutes. major progress at the site of

the worst terrorist attacks in our nation's history. there is one little catch at opening of the memorial site and we'll show it to you. >> i was a few blocks away from these towers when they fell down. to see all these families come together at the site and touching the names, it was such an emotional day. it's hard to talk about it.

megyn: a major milestone marking 10 years since the 9/11 attacks. the national 9/11 memorial opening to the public today for the first time.

scores of visitors pouring into lower manhattan getting their first chance to set foot on the site where the twin towers once stood and pay tribute to the lives lost on that day. >> reporter: this is the first day you don't need a hard hat or badge or trespass or connection to get in here. but you need a reservation. apparently they are not easy to come by. i want to give you a look from our bird's-eye view from the perch of the one world trade center. 8 acres. you see members of the public wandering around for the first time around the pools where the towers once stood. they can touch the names etched in bronze of the nearly 3,000 lives lost here in 2001, also '3 and shanksville. you hear the waterfalls. you can hear the sound of the waterfalls almost drowning out

the noise of the city. you can see the oak reefs in that park. we spoke this morning with a woman who lost her brother. he was on the 104th floor of tower one. >> i'm so gratified this place of darkness and chaos has been transformed into a place of lightness and light and grace and beauty. and it fills me with hope. >> reporter: the memorial is free to visitors. but you have to sign up online at ninememorial.org. we spoke with the memorial director who told me he is proud and happy of this site. >> after 9/11 people rurving in from across the country.

now that we are opening the memorial. people will be standing by by side doing what was tried to be destroyed that day. it is bringing people together. >> 10ong years. the people we spoke with this morning say what they have come up with here was worth the wait. megyn: rick leventhal. a deadly blast sparks a nuclear scare. an investigation is underway and we are live with that story. plus serena will cams seems to lose control as she loses her match in the u.s. open. then the tennis star goes after the ump. should she be find or kicks out of the grand slam all together. "kelly's court" is right after this break. ♪

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leaks. gregg? >> it was a scare, megyn for a while, prompting fears of a serious radiation leak in a part of southern france, a major population center. one tourist spot, around 30,000 population. it happened in the facility in france, multiple nuclear reactors manufacturing plutonium. now it's about decommissioning nuclear reactors. that's what today's explosion was all about. it was a low-level of radiation followed by a fire. there walking one person killed, four people injured, one seriously. the industrial aspect of that

explosion. still a perimeter was set up around the site. the fire trucks came in. police trucks, helicopter, et cetera. the indent is under investigation. a nuclear power very important to france. over 70% of all electricity generated in france comes from nuclear reactors. still 6 months after if you can chicago ma the incident in japan. people are concerned about safety. that's why they are look closely at this incident and pleased it could have been worse. megyn: earlier edition of "kelly's court" back in session. on the docket today, no love from the queen of the clay court. roll it.

megyn: obey, serena williams now facing a ban for next year's u.s. open. williams shouting, come on after a call she didn't like. then the real trouble started -- the umpire gave her a

game-ending penalty for saying "come on. that's when serena went off on the umpire. all this after being find for a raging rant against alliance woman. how if at all should they punish her? they will come out with a decision today. all right, guys. they are considering it. we'll gets an announcement any moment. mark, you know, she said she never complained. why would they be doing this to her? >> well, she has one person to blame for her actions and it's her. forget about what i think should happen. playing teis is not a privilege. strike that. it's not a right, it's a privilege. and they have every right to do what they want to her. she was on probation. she violated what i think they are going to deem a major violation. calling the ref a loser. that has to step over the line.

megyn: if it's a minor violation she could get fined $20,000. and if it's a major violation she can be fined $250,000. but she only had to pay $80,000 if she behaves the next two years. >> the tirades lasts a period of time. if they did issue that sanction, they would be in the right to do so. megyn: arthur, is this major? >> i'm holding my tongue. i mean, both of you were too young to remember the days of jimmy connors and onmcenroe. he went up to the ref saying you are a jerk, you are a jerk. screaming as the him over and over again. he wasn't banned from the tournament. why would you ban serena williams who is at the top of

her game and the top of her sport. you have guys kicking dirt at umpires. give me a break. megyn: this is not football. he raises a good point in particular about john mcenroe. you put it mildly about you are a jerk. here is what he said. one time he got a $14,000 fine for using six swear words in 10 seconds. during the wimbledon he called the umpire the pit of the world. in the french open he fumed at the ref, i hate this country. then he said what the "f" do you care blank blank. the fines were penny ante. >> the good old days. i think arthur is sympathetic to serene a because what h -- what she does on court he does in

court. if they want to get more strike don't make what they are doing unlawful. if they wanted to do it, could they? the answer is yes. i see your outrage. i understand. people get uptight. passion. and they probably would have come to exactly that conclusion at had it not been for this old chestnut back in '09. let's watch. >> that's as angry as i have ever seen her. >> she already has one code violation for breaking a racket at the end of the first set.

>> there goes the referee. >megyn: you remember that. see the lineup pyre running over to the top judge? she said she was going to kill me. >> i did not say i was going to kill, are you kidding me? does that play against her when they are evaluating what to do? >> it shouldn't but it probably will. megyn: she is still on probation for that. >> then i stand corrected, then it will. this is the way i look at it. that passion and energy -- the fact that she cares so much about what she is doing, i would love to see everyone whatever job they have to have the intensity and desire to be the best they could be and she could be. megyn: the next time i get yelled at i'll say you are unattractive inside. >> if i don't like a judgment

ruling arthur will defend me when i saw, judge, around loser. megyn: one time a guy parked me in so closely and i couldn't get in my car. i left a note on his windshield and all it said was loser. all right. let me ask you this. what do you think is likely to happen to her. they gave her a big fine for "i'm going to kill you" taken edly. then they knocked it down to $80,000. they could be banned from wimbledon, french open, australian open. >> i agree with arthur that's not what we want. it's not good for u.s. tennis at all. she is the only one advancing u.s. interests in these grand slams. fit am not going to be a suspension it needs to be an enormous fine. they are probably going to give

her something. >> they would and they should. jimmy connors is the on player i believe who walked off a court and refused to continue play. and he wasn't given those kinds of sanctions. this is on a major event. she did her tongue flash between points. megyn: she didn't apologize or shake the umpire's hands. these are major breaches in the world of tennis. >> a multi-billion dollar world of tennis. give me a break. they are out there to win. they are out to there to do everything they to be give themselves the advantage to win. telling a woman she is ugly inside and a loser, i don't think that's enough to ban her from any match. megyn: the next time you are in court and a ruling goes against you. look at the judge and say loser. >> i had a lawyer who threw this briefcase towards the front of

the bench. megyn: thanks so much. one final word for our viewers. she lost her cool. it happens, especially in sports. given what they have fined other players, a hefty fine would be excessive, even given her history. she should be given some sort of fine. she should not be banned from the grand slam and the rest should probably try to understand that even in tennis people can sometimes get upset. coming up, rick perry called social surety a upon custody --y a ponzi scheme. mitt romney fired bam. former presidential candidate tim pawlenty joins the romney cam and joins us live after the break on what is becoming one the hottest issues in the battle for the gop nomination. >> there is one candidate in this race unmatched in his skills and talent when it comes to turning around this economy

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megyn: presidential candidate mitt romney attacking his leading competitor when it comes to the issue of social security. he pend an tart cal slamming social security, but says the only way to fix it is to be honest about it but making clear he does want to fix it, that after he called social security a ponzi scheme. it's something he wrote in his book and doubled down on in last week's debate. mitt romney going door to door with this flyer in florida telling voters that mr. perry is quote reckless and wrong on social security. tim pawlenty is the former governor of minnesota who is also a former candidate for the

republican nomination. he has come out saying he will officially back mitt romney for his campaign. there has been a lot of news on this whole perry-romney back and forth. this is what backers of rick perry have started to say. who is mitt romney to go after rick perry on his attacks over social security when mitt romney in his own book that came out just last year said the following it's a little long, bear with me. i'll putted the full screen quote to the screen for our viewers. this is romney on social security.

megyn: there you have your guy mitt romney comparing those managing social security to criminals. who is he to drit size rick perry. >> i think the public is getting misdirected using ponzi scheme other pass yaj you just said. governor romney believes social security should be saved and fixed and reformed and maintained in contrast to what governor perry has said calling eight failure -- calling its unconstitutional and saying things along those lines.

there is some difference. i wouldn't get hung on the labels. i would get hung up on what is the substantive approach of these candidates. in governor romney's case he wants to save and fix social security. megyn: governor perry did not say he does not wants to fix social securities. at the last debate he said we have to be focused on how we are going to change this program. he says people on social security don't need to worry about anything. he says folks for the status quo of social securities, that's a man truss lie. he says the first step in fixing a problem is to admit there is one. do you reject that governor perry wants to fix social security. >> i don't think there is a debate that social security needs reform and fixing. governor perry says block grants to the states. if you had 10 different jobs in

five different states, where would you get your benefits from. governor romney wants to reform social securities. i'm sure we'll hear more about it tonight. megyn: so are you then admitting that governor perry also wants to fix social security, he just has a different approach to that of governor romney? >> well, again i think the press has got hung up on ponzi scheme labels. that's interesting. but the important points is what are you going to do bits. in governor perry's words he called social security a failure. governor romney says it has done a lot of good. yes it's in trouble. but let's have a thoughtful debate about getting it reformed. i think they just have a different approach and different view of how to do that.

megyn: i want to ask you about another back and forth that you had with the man you are endorsing at the last fox debates. we'll come up against a commercial break. i want to play this sound bite for you. if you have time to reacts after. here is you and mr. romney at the fox debate. >> look, obama-care was patterned after mitt's plan in massachusetts. for myth or anyone else to say there aren't substantial similarities or they are not essentially the same plan is incredible. that's why i called it obanney-care. i think that's a fair label. the boston globe said two out of three of mitt's judge selections were pro-choice, democrat or liberal. i appointed conservative strict constructionists to my supreme court. we'll have to take it to barack obama and show contrasts, not

similarities. megyn: are you no longer worried about his position on obamny-care? >> he said one of his first orders of business at president will be to repeal obama-care granting waivers to states to opt out. i'm convinces and assured he will do everything he can and will refeel -- and will repeal obama-care. megyn: we'll be back with if you two minutes. announcer ] this is coach parker... whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil no and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪

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megyn: joining me now former minnesota governor tim pawlenty who endorsed mitt romney for

president today. i played a sound bite of you going after mitt romney on healthcare and criticizing his judicial appointees. you said we'll have to show contrast with barak obama, not similarities. >> mitt indicated he will appoint strict constructionists to the bench. those who will apply the law as written. and i understand the massachusetts judicial selection system, there are some limited options or choices he had as to who would pick from to fill some of those slots. but his commitment to appointing strict constructionists gives mow rei sure he will do that. megyn: why did you go for romney over the others.

>> the next president of the united states is going have to lead this country on jobs and the economy. he is uniquely situated given his private sector background. starting businesses, providing jobs, to lead this country forward with that experience. that will be important for the next president. number two he has the most capability. he has the most knowledge, he has the most electability. i think he will make the best president not just for the republican party, but for the nation. and he can beat barak obama. he can rally the republican base and get conservative democrats and independents to joint cause as well. megyn: might he also have you as his vice president. >> no, megyn, he won't have that. he will have a lot of great choices for that. i want to help him because i believe he will be the best president for our country. not because i want to be vice president. megyn: guess what?

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