lower yet again rates on mortgages and other loans but leading republicans just wrote a scathing letter, asking him to stop trying to stimulate the economy. politics, the economy, it's all mixing together. good morning, i'm bill hemmer, hope you're doing well out there, and doing well here! martha: thank you for asking, hello everybody, i'm martha mccall. so the tpud reserve is supposed to act independently of political pressure but the gop is coming on strong this time. bill: house speaker john bain e. mitch mcconnell, both saying bernanke's moves have done much more harm than good to the economy, so stuart varney, the republicans want the fed to stay away from stimulating the economy. >> this is heavy duty political pressure from politicians tkraeupld at supposedly the independent federal reserve, the senator, the speaker, and the house majority leader, eric cantor, they're saying look, ben, quit printing money, you're hurting the economy. we've had three years of

dirt cheap money and what do we got, 9 percent unemployment, housing prices slow, it's recommendnessen -- recommendnessent -- reminiscent of governor perry who said printing of money would be, quote, almost treasonous. this is big time political pressure on an independent federal reserve. bill: is the printing of money where they have the issue or other matters with the fed? >> what it call comes -- what it all comes down to, what the fed is doing, all the mesh -- measures taken, it is simply printing money, pumping dollars out either so keep interest rates low or capitalizing the banks. it is pushing money out there, printing money. the republicans are saying it's not worked, quit it. bill: what is the fed expected to do? it will drive down interest rates. how much lower can they go? >> you can't go much lower. what you can try to do is to get long term interest rates down a bit more so that mortgage rates come down even more, and we'll get an announcement of what ben

bernanke wants to do at 2:15 eastern time this afternoon. now, the question is, will he be swayed by this political pressure. we don't know the answer to that. it's going to be very interesting to find out. bill: we'll find out whether or not he's swayed, we'll also find out whether he issues comments on the letter that everybody knows now is public. >> yes, we will find that out. you've got to read very carefully between the lines. this is fedspeak, this is ben bernanke's own language. you've got to read between the lines to find out exactly the nuance, the hints, of what he's about to do. what he's doing here, what this letter does, it frames the argument, that is an intense argument going on right now, do we spend more and print more, or does the tkpoplt spend less, tax less, regulate less. that's the two sides of the fence and they're having it out right now. bill: this a day after, what, the growth of the united states is downgraded yet again for this year and next year is an election year in 2012 and we're going to measure the impact every

day of the week. stuart varney, thank you, see you 9:20, fbn. martha: well, while you guys were talking, we just had this pop into the urgent cue on the news wires and this is big news out of the imf, they are basically announcing this morning that they think the financial risk in this country and in europe are at the greatest state that they've been at since 2008. big concerns about the european banks which have been weighing on the markets for quite some time. also, expressed in this report from the imf this morning, are concerns that the united states cannot do what it takes to get our own economy back into action here. so concerns that there will not ab political consensus needed to reduce our growing decifits at home. so a bit of a warning from the imf coming across the pond to the united states about getting our own financial house in order. we'll see how the markets respond to that, opening in about 26 minutes from now. bill: about 30 minutes from now, stephen moore, "wall street journal," here to analyze this, also awaiting new home sales numbers,

analysts expect a jump in sales, but in the enough -- not enough to signal a rebound in the real estate market, home sales jel in -- fell in july, 2011 is on pace to be the worst for home sales in 15 years. martha: not a pretty picture, folks. let's take a look at politics this morning for you, gop presidential candidate mitt romney is in the sunshine state today, former governor of massachusetts holding a town hall this hour and expected to talk, of course, about the united states economy, that is issue number one for all of these folks. chief political correspondent carl cameron, live in orlando, we understand that mr. romney is closing in on these poll, tightening up a little bit. tell us about that. >> reporter: absolutely he is. as a skopb quence you'll see mitt romney talking a heck of a lot about rick perry and twot-person battle, the national polls, particularly a gallup poll this week, suggests that romney has caught up a little bit, perhaps as close to seven points behind rick perry which puts him well within striking distance on the

national level. in the state by state polls which is what matters more in the early primary nominating process, mr. perry and romney are in a statisticical tie in south carolina which for perry is a sign of romney's threat. mr. romney is focusing on new hampshire, the first in the nation primary, whereas perry can compete in iowa and south carolina where there's elanguageelical conservatives that can buoy his campaign, so you have romney going after perry and perry today, campaigning as though he's already the general election nominee, as the frontrunner, he's focusing on the occupant of the white house, democratic incumbent barack brak obama, with a new 602nd web video that was actually produced by a former pawlenty staffer, has done this for perry since pawlenty is no longer in the race and it's very tough on barack obama. listen to this: >> zero jobs. >> no jobs. >> people are de moralized. >> what's happened? >> zero new jobs.

>> that's # in six americans. >> at an all-time low. >> 6.2 billion people. >> headed in the wrong direction. >> reporter: the ad in very short order then transitions to a promotion of rick perry, talking about his leadership, et cetera, while that web video is focused on obama obviously he has to win the primary and he has to get past mitt romney. both are in florida this morning, mr. perry is fundraising in fort lauderdale, mr. p.y will short in orlando and the two will be on stage in orlando at this debate and it's very clear there's going to be a tough battle between these two men. they've been trading bashes from a distance since last week's debate, they'll get back on the stage and be shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow with a lot of answering do for things that have been raised in the last two debates. this is the cul maination of three debates that are taking place in less than three weeks and as such, it's an opportunity for

voters to take a look at the field and it's followed by a conservative political action conference on friday and straw poll on saturday. so the stakes could hardly be higher, both romney and perry, the frontrunners in florida. march big night for romney if he wants to close that gap, in particular, he's going to have to have a strong performance at that debate and we'll see what everybody else does as well. carl, thank you very much. it's going to be an interesting night, thursday night, that's tomorrow, fox news teams up with google to host the republican debate. fox news and google are handling this tomorrow night, thursday, 9:00 p.m. eastern. you can submit your question for the candidates, you can still do that, there's still time, go to foxnews.com, scroll down to the spotlight section, click on the gop presidential debate and there's a link there and you can pop your question n we've got thousands of them, really good ones, so many, so we're looking forward to this. bill: big night for us, too, right? fox news alert, the u.s. expanding its drone program, and get this, u.s. defense

officials say part of an escalating campaign in what might be the newest front against al-qaeda. steve centanni is on this story. now, which countries are of concern? and how long has the u.s. beenorking on this, steve? >> reporter: bill, the u.s. officials tell fox news it's been more than a year that this has been in the works. two important factors coming together here, the growing threat from al-qaeda in yemen and somalia and the growing effectiveness and importance of unmanned drone aircraft. according to this u.s. official that we talked to, the preferred location for a drone base was ethiopia but that took time to arrange, in the meantime we plan applying drone missions in the seychilles islands. it's aimed at the somalia group al-shabaab but this system of bases will affect the entire horn of africa and arabian peninsula. bill: we've covered these stories regarding yemen but you wonder how important drones have been in this

region already and in yemen, it's one of them but in africa, where? >> tremendous importance. the u.s. has launched drone attacks in six countries so far, afghanistan, iraq, lib kwrarbgs pakistan, somalia and yemen. they've been extremely valuable to u.s. forces in the border regions between afghanistan and pakistan, as you remember. they would go after the al-qaeda operatives, hiding in that ruget border region. important al-qaeda figures have been taken out with these unmanned aircraft. in fact, a top al-qaeda operative was killed just last week in pakistan's tribal areas. planes can be flown by experts in the u.s. but they have to be forward base, near their targets and that's the importance of new network of bases to get close to the areas where al-qaeda militants are operating, all this by the way originally uncovered in wickileaks cables. bill: what a weapon this has been in this war. from a fogged in washington, d.c., i think that's where you are, steve, right? >> i think so, too. bill: hang in there with the weather. steve centanni. martha: those are a few of

the stories on tap in "america's newsroom". how about this, folks? they're getting called to the carpet, executives from that failed solar panel maker to which $535 million of tax dollars went. those folks are set to testify on capitol hill. but will they talk? >> bill: also going inside this gun running sting that may have led to the death of an american border agent, it's called operation fast and furious, to the eyes of the man who blew the whistle on the entire operation, this is a fox news exclusive, you only see it here. martha: and is it too late for this woman to get into the race? and make a big announcement, perhaps? >> but i do think, sean, this is going to be such an unconventional election cycle because this has been such an unconventional administration. mark my word, it is going to be an unconventional type of election process. martha: what does she mean by that? there's still one candidate potentially beating

president obama in a new poll, and that person has not announced that they're running yet. we'll tell you who it is when we come back.

martha: well u. president obama is expected to address the u.n. general assembly less than an hour from now. lots of buzz over all of this and really across the nation, because one of the biggest issues for the leaders there this morning is the palestinian bid for membership. here's what he said last year about possible statehood, president obama. take a look: >> when we come back here next year, we can have an agreement that will lead to a new member of the u.n. *pb, an independent, sovereign state of palestine, living in peace with israel. martha: all right, that's what was said in 2010, when the president speaks at the united nations next hour, we will bring you that speech live. a lot of pressure on him this morning. we'll see how that plays out. bill: we will. in the meantime, there's growing concern over the half a billion dollars in

federal loans, stimulus money, for failed green energy company solyndra, a company that went belly up. there are reports the executives for that firm will plead the fifth during hearings this week. what does that mean for the investigation? utah republican jason chaffetz, member of the house committee on oversight and government reform and welcome back here to "america's newsroom", good morning to you. >> thanks bill, good morning. bill: will your committee take up this issue? >> absolutely. the department of energy and commerce have done a good job on covering this, the oversight kphaeut we with -- committee with darrell iss and others are concerned about the potential undue influence coming out of the white house above and beyond this one specific case. you got to remember there are 14 pending applications similar to this, worth nearly $9 billion, that are still pending that will get somehow dealt with before the end of the month, before the end of the fiscal year. so there's a lot to look at here in terms of what is the white house doing and is it inappropriate, an influence on where this money goes.

bill: you're saying there is $9 billion in stimulus money that went out to various companies? >> well, potentially. there are 14 applications that are still out there, with the very similar type of loan guarantee that is still need to be reviewed, so we're looking not only at this solyndra case but also at some other cases, and you know, diving into that and trying to figure out what is the white house doing. bill: seoul rained is a solar energy company. we've talked about that, another start nup -- another startup, lightsquared, there are questions about that, too. how many companies are out there, sir? >> we don't know. that's the trail we will continue to pursue. this white house claimed from the very beginning it was going to be one of the most transparent, that is not true, they have continued to rebuff. energy and commerce issued a subpoena trying to get documents about so*ld indra, those have been rebuffed. i don't think we've seen all the documents, with saopbt een the e-mails we need to see from inside the white house. we'll continue to press and make sure the department of justice, the white house are

actually complying with that request. bill: to that point house republicans have said there are e-mails that show the white house pressure the department of energy to expedite these loans. now, have you seen those e-mails? >> i specifically have not but we have people on the energy and commerce, cliff stern and others that have been diving into that. we're also looking into not what are the loan guarantees but the undue influence where you have people who are going to testify before congress and -- congress and there's been a suggestion, and we haven't documented this, a suggestion that perhaps that testimony was trying to be manipulated by the white house. those are very serious allegations and something that a committee like the oversight committee is supposed to dive into. bill: they certainly are big issues, the executives from solyndra may not testify. can you get to the bottom of this if they don't? >> i hope so. what we're looking for is the paper trail. my understanding is there wasn't a prior agreement that these people were going to testify but it is their constitutional right to plea the fifth, and in this case what we're trying to do is unearth what was happening

in the white house, what influence -- how many people were going in and out, what sort of meetings were happening, what sort of e-mails were flowing through. we haven't seen those documents yet, bill. bill: from solyndra, the company is confident the investigation will clarify the facts surrounding the events leading to the guarantee to solyndra, and it looks forward to the time when the executives can more freely discuss their views on these events. they may not talk this week. what you want to know is whether or not favorable loans were granted to certain american companies based on political donations. is that what you're after? can you prove that? >> that's one of the things. we don't know. all we want to do is have the truth surface. all we're looking for is the document, the openness and transparency that barack obama promised when he came into office. that's our goal as well. look, we're going to deal with this specific case, but we want to make sure these things don't happen again. that's good government and something we should be rsuing and something we should get support from the democrat as well on, but i recognize the political nature of this and the volatility. we just want the openness, the waste, fraud and abuse

to be ferreted out. that's our goal. bill: jason chaffetz, thank you for your time. the white house says nothing is wrong, nothing from this and we'll follow where this goes in washington. here's martha, 19 minutes past the hour. martha: school, canceled for more than 25,000 children. why a teacher's strike is keeping these kids from getting september off to a good start. we're going to talk about that. bill: also, a convicted cop killer, only hours away from his execution, why there's a growing call to stop it now. >> the last 22 years have been hell. so i really need to -- i'm getting old, you know? i'd like to enjoy my last years in comfort and peace. i don't want to go through this for the rest of my life.

bill: we have new details thaf deadly air show crash in reno, nevada over the weekend. investigators say there's a possibility the pilot's seat broke and dislodged before that crash. that was a 74-year-old pilot, with a lot of experience on planes like these. they point to photos like this taken moments before impact, where the pilot is not visible in the cockpit. if he were simply unconscious, he would be seen slumped over, but they believe the seat may have dislodged, and you can imagine how difficult it would be to control that plane given the g forces pressed against him if that were the case. the death poll by the way has gone up yet again. it's now at 11, after the crash in reno. martha: and we have bra new details that are just coming into "america's newsroom" about the pending execution of a cop killer in georgia. the georgia pardons board has just rejected the appeal

for george davis to take a lie detector test. good morning, elizabeth. >> reporter: good morning. you know, before there was possibly a chance there could be a reversal in this decision but gentlemen just -- we just heard from the georgia department of corrections and now we're hearing from the officer's mother, as well as the nephew of davis. listen. >> the last 22 years have been hell, so i really need to -- i'm getting old, you know? i'd like to enjoy my last years and kind of -- in kind of comfort and peace. i don't want to go through this for the rest of my life >> it's a case that not only highlights the death penalty but will hopefully be a big part of bringing the death penalty to an end in georgia. >> reporter: davis has seen support from hundreds of thousands of people across the world. in fact we've seen vigils outside the capitol building here in atlanta and we hear of planned protests this

evening at the prison, but in fact, just a year ago, the u.s. supreme court gave him an unusual opportunity to prove his innocence, but at that time, his attorneys failed to convince the judge that he is not a murderer, and since then, both state and federal courts have repeatedly upheld that decision. martha. martha: you know, do they think there's any other option for any kind of appellate this point? >> reporter: well, i spoke with a representative from the board, the pardons board this morning and he said at this point, that board has made their decision, and now we just heard from the georgia department of corrects and they -- and they say that poly graph test which the attorney said was their last hope has since been rejected so right now he is scheduled, this is his fourth execution schedule. he was granted three over the past four years, this is the fourth that will take place at 7:00 p.m. this evening. martha: a long road in this case, elizabeth. thank you very much. bill: in a moment, president

obama will say he inherited the economy from president bush. do americans agree with that? there's a new poll that shows the opinions on that matter might be changing. we'll fill you in on that. martha: will she or won't she get into this political race for president? new polls on how sarah palin is stacking up now against president obama. >> there -- there is still time, sean, on both sides of the aisle you're going to see people coming and going in this race. i think more and more democrats are going to realize that if they want to retain the democrat control of the white house, they're going to have to put somebody up in the primary against obama. so i think there's going to be changes on that side, and in the republican race, also.

martha: all right. america's election headquarters and we have brand new poll this is morning that are really interesting. they do show that president obama, according to these numbers, is losing ground to several republican candidates in the race for 2012. according to this mcclatchy poll are where the numbers come, from 49 percent, they found, say they plan to vote against mr. obama, 36 percent say they plan to vote for him. meanwhile other candidates seem to be catching up in the head to heads because it's interesting because it's an unannounced candidate the only one in the head to heads who actually gets the president,

and that is former new york mayor rudy giuliani who leads president obama by 7 percent. he's the only one who beats him in a head to head matchup in the poll. let's bring in tucker karlson, editor of the daily caller, also a fox news contributor, and alan coomes, host of the alan coomes show. gentlemen, good morning, welcome, good to have you. >> hello martha. martha: so what do you make of the numbers? tucker, let's start with you and we'll go to alan. it seems to show there's a lot of momentum against the president and in particular with independents which we'll show the folks in a second. >> well, if 49 percent of voters say they would definitely not vote for you, not just they don't prefer you but they have made up their minds to vote affirmtively against you, that is almost as bad as it could get. 50 percent would be worse! but it's -- it leaves a very small pool of getable voters. this is actually a disaster for the president. i think the rest of the numbers are interesting,

they show a lot of fluffs on the republican side, governor palin's numbers are remarkable. this is a bit of an outlier poll but the fact that she leads obama on independents, that pool i recovered to, the pool you need to get, is an amazing null and it will fuel speculation she might get in. martha: it's very interesting because it's a different matchup than we've seen with her in recent months. alan, let's look at this independents number because the first number was among general voters, this is an independent analysis they did at mcclatchy-marist and this says 51 percent of independents say they would -- 53 percent say they would vote against president obama and 28 percent for, and this assessment says he's lost the middle. >> everything is great until you actually name a candidate who's actually running, and sarah palin is doing better because we haven't heard from her lately. i think that has something to do with it. when you actually look on a candidate by candidate basis, none of the announced candidates beats bin laden and if you look at

independents, there was a cnn poll and also a gallup poll out in the last week or so both of which show on an issue by issue basis, on specific issues, the specifics of the obama jobs plan, for example, independents overwhelmingly favor, for example, taxing the rich more, investing in infrastructure, sending money back to the states to hire teachers, police and fire, so on an issue by issue basis, the polls, they're not as dire. i think it's interesting parlor game but the election is a year away and i know republicans love to get all crazy about this and announce terrible things are going to be, but i think it's too soon to tell. martha: let's take a look at the sarah palin numbers which you both mentioned, and this is the narrowest margin she's had with president obama in these polls, 49-44. you know, tucker, what do you think that's coming from? >> dissatisfaction with the president. let me say of alan's comments a moment ago, any democrat who suggests these numbers aren't dire for president obama is doing a great disservice to his

party. i think the last thing democrats need to do, not that it's my place to give advice, but just to imagine everything is okay, this is media spin. this is a disaster. obama in the face of this lost support among independents, it's moving left, which is a remarkably out of touch, it seems to me, campaign strategy. >> you say moving left, tucker but on the very issues he's talking about, they recent rant with independents on an issue by issue basis. the rite wing would like you to believe he's liberal, liberal, moving left and he's not. martha: it reminds me of the piece from jim carville that advised firing everybody and panicking. do democrats do themselves a disservice and their leadership a disservice but not recognizing that some of what he's doing is pulling folks away from him, especially from the middle? >> i think you've got to recognize clearly this is of concern. dire might be too strong a word, but then if all he does is appease the

pollsters they just say he's doing whatever he's doing to get reelected, he's actually doing that. he's making decisions he believes and i believe are best for the country, not just playing to the polls which are not as relevant now as they will be six months to a year from now. martha: that's for sure. we got a long way to go. >> the mondale campaign, if i can sum it up there. martha: that's tucker's thoughts for us today, think mondale! you wish, says alan coomes. we're going to leave it there. thank you, see you both. bill: love those guys. martha: you wish, bill! bill: i do. kidding. new reports on the possible release of two american hikers in iranian custody, fox news has learned two men were freed on bail, they were arrested on the iran-iraq border more than two years ago, and amy kellogg, live in london on this, what happened today, amy? >> reporter: bill, iran's state media has quoted the judiciary saying that josh fattal and shane bauer have been freed on bail, we got a report earlier from the state department saying they

have been released. to the best of our understanding, they are still in the compound of ter ran's notorious edin prison, but we are hearing reports they may have been transferred to a car, presumably a car belonging to swiss diplomats, the swiss, of course, representing american interests in iran, or possibly with the omani delegation, oman believed to have been very key in securing the release and the bail deal and possibly even providing the $1 million bail. now, this has been a saga, of course, that's gone on for two years for the hikers themselves, but for the last week, everyone has been in a bit of limbo. president ahmadinejad saying they would be released within days last tuesday, then the judiciary of iran saying maybe it wasn't a done deal, with president ahmadinejad in new york now, it's believed he wanted this to happen ahead of his trip in order to boost his popularity a little bit. the deal dragged on a bit, simply because of some details, according to the

lawyer in tehran. but it looks like they may be free any minute now. bill: you wonder about that, and the timing with the u.n. speech this week, with president ahmadinejad coming from tehran. amy kellogg is there live in london. we'll see whether or not those americans come home soon. martha: to tacoma, washington nearly 30,000 children, they might like this, but it's probably not too good for them, they're home from school, enjoying the summer, six straight days off due to this strike, and that is because their striking teachers are walking the picket lines, the educators have defied a judge's order in this case that they must go back to work. >> this is about subjective transfer language so you're not moved from building to building based on how well you get along with the principal. >> we have to get past this, we have to focus on the kids and get them back in school and we think that the proposal we've offered is one that will do that. martha: all right. that's the situation in tacoma this morning, folks. we'll keep on top of that, bring you the latest.

bill: a heck of a way to start the school year, isn't it? trying to get all settled with a new teacher? >> martha: terrible. terrible for those kids. i'm sure they're loving it! bill: playing in the yard. martha: more cartoons on the couch. bill: is blaming bush the best strategy in 2012? a brand new poll just out might be giving the white house a bit of different advice. we're on that. martha: and this is dog -- this is causing a bit of controversy. will he sing a different tune? mr. tony bennett. >> ♪ >> ♪

martha: all right, here's some of what's developing in "america's newsroom", major flooding as a dangerous typhoon heads towards jap earnings more than a million people have been ordered to evacuate, and it could hit earth as soon as tomorrow. nasa is tracking a 6-ton defunct satellite that is careening towards the earth we're told, could land anywhere from north america to siberia, to narrow that down for you! and the attorney for a convicted murderer in georgia files another appeal for a stay of execution just moments ago, davis is scheduled for execution tonight. bill: now we find a new u.s. gallup poll cod give the white house pause going into campaign 2012, 24 percent pin the blame on the current white house, that is a jump of ten points since september 2009. still 36 percent pin it on george bush. steve moore, senior writer for the "wall street

journal," steve, good morning to stkpwhraou hi bill, great to be with you. bill: what does the change in that poll tell you? >> it's a trend that's been happening over the last year and a half, bill, that obviously when barack obama first became president, you know, a huge percentage of americans blamed the problems on george bush, and what's happened is every month has gone by, president obama has been in the white house now for over 30 months, that line that barack obama has used that he inherited this crisis from bush and therefore, he's not responsible for the economy, that is withering away. and so you're right, still more people blame bush than obama, but you know what, i'll bet if you do this poll six months from now you're going to find it's probably about even, and the problem is, when you look at this poll, the same poll shows that only --less than 40 percent now think that things are going to be better next year. americans don't feel like it's morning in america right now. bill: let me come back to the whole presidential

indication in a moment. what you just said is unbelievable. it is so telling about how americans feel about their own economic health. on the screen, 61 percent say a year from now, it will be the same, if not worse. >> right. bill: only about one third, slightly better than one third, think it will be better or fully recovered. people do not feel good about what's happening. >> they don't. and what that means, bill, is the kind of rhetoric of hope and change that we all got so caught up with in 2008, and everybody really hoped we would have hope and change, now americans don't feel like hope and change is working so well, and you know, i listened to your conversation, that martha had with tucker and alan and the whole idea about how this influences the election, this is maybe the biggest problem of all, the fact that america is -- americans just don't feel confident that the program is working, and that it is going to create jobs and higher incomes, and so even more important -- >> bill: as an economic writer, you know, the pitfalls of that is that people spend less money. >> right. bill: and businesses take note of it, and they pull in

the rings, right? >> yes, you're right. passivism creates a kind of self-reinforcing negative tide in the economy where people feel things aren't going to get better, so you're right, they hoard their money, they won't go out and spend, players right now, you're seeing them kind of hunker down, they're not hiring new workers, so it becomes -- pessimism becomes a self-reinforcing philosophy. bill: that's on the consumer. back to your point about the race in 2012, take a look at this now, the imf came out with a prediction for american growth in 2011, it's 1.5%. >> right. bill: from what i hear from folks like you, you have to at least double that to get any sort of growth. >> sure. bill: go back to the screen, okay? here is the projection for 2012. put it back there. for next year, during a campaign year, steve, 1.8%. those are some strong headwinds to run into. >> they are. and the problem with that number -- and look, let's hope that's wrong, i'd like

to see growth be twice or three times that high, and it should be in this stage of an economic recovery, but if we get less than 2 percent growth, bill, here's the big problem with that number. you don't get any jobs, right? you're going to probably have an increase in the unemployment rate if we have less than 2 percent economic growth, and that means we could be headed into an election season with an unemployment rate well over 9 percent, and that is just a killer for the incumbent. and of course, you know, it's all going to circle back to the first issue we talked about, bill, can president obama then say look, the problems are not -- i'm not the one accountable, it's george bush and the republicans. that's going to be the line that democrats are going to use. bill: what happens is you have a bull's eye in the white house because like it or not, the president gets too much credit when the economy is good and too much credit when the economy is bad. watch this from rick perry and we'll get you to react. >> zero jobs. >> not a single job. >> no jobs created this year. >> people are demoralized. what's happened? >> zero jobs.

>> president, zero. >> americans are living in poverty. >> that's in 16 -- one in six americans. >> 52 million people. >> headed in the wrong direction. >> change direction. >> bill bill and what you said earlier, steve, is that in six month, you believe those numbers will change yet again, meaning president obama gets more blame than president bush, and increasingly you see those numbers get closer. >> yeah, but ads like that run time and time again for the next 12 months. it could very well be the case. >> right. and you know, i was watching those ads and you know what it remained me of, it reminded me of many of the ad that is ronald reagan ran against jimmy carter. look, i actually think presidents don't get too much blame or too much credit for the economy. they're the head coach, right? they're the captain of a ship. after 3 1/2 years, if barack obama hasn't turned around the economy, then people i think will vote for change. look, if the economy gets better, they will give him the credit as he would deserve, and so that's why

it is -- bill clinton said it best, it's the economy, stupid, and that's what this election is about. bill: clear hrerbgs in so many states. stephen moore, thank you, from the "wall street journal". >> great to be with you. march well, it is not the that's mainan devil, folks, cue -- the tazmanian devil, but you could think that, where it's something amazing out there. bill: and the whistleblower atf agent, what he's saying about a botched gun trafficking sting that may have led to the death of a border patrol agent. >> brian did ultimately come home that christmas. we buried him not far from the house that he was raise just prior to christmas day.

bill spw*eul the american legend tony bennett changing his tune after remarks he made about 9/11? the legendary singer, raising a few eyebrows when he said this on the howard stern radio show: >> themselves. >> are we the terrorists or are they the terrorist? >> wow. >> two wrongs don't make a right. >> they're the ones who started with that plane fly going the world trade center. what do you do? >> i don't know about that. >> you don't think so? >> that's another story. >> what do you mean? >> bill: well, bennett releasing this statement now, quoting, there is simply no excuse for terrorism and the murder of nearly 3000 innocent victims of the 9/11 attacks, i am sorry if my statement suggested anything other than an expression of love for my country. end quote. martha: how about that? how about this? through are new developments in the government's gun

runninging scandal, secretly recorded audiotapes suggested the atf isn't being fully truthful about the evidence found investigating operation fast and furious. william la jeunesse is looking into this from the newsroom. >> reporter: two exclusive interviews, one from an agent, another from the gun store recruited by the government to sell the guns for the cartels, hours of audiotape that revealed an agency and gun store in panic after their weapons were found at the murder scene of agent brian terry. >> it's either the biggest snitch ever in this industry, or i'm working for you. >> that's andre howard, owner -- other than of the lone wolf gun store, speaking to the lead atf agent in the fast & furious case, they secretly taped hope mccallister after being convinced the atf was lying to him about stopping the guns he sold before they reached members of the mexican cartels. >> he was acting under the direct supervision of the

department of justice and atf. he thought he was making the difference, and that these people were being arrested and that there were going to be indictments, and that there were going to be prosecutions. >> larry gatos is howard's lawyer, saying lone wolf sold more than 1000 weapons to buyers, including those used to kill border agent brian terry. >> agent terry terry's death jut brought just a tremendous amount of i guess regret and sorrow and disappointment, disgust. >> whistleblower agent larry alt is speaking out for the first time after mccallister disparaged his family in one of the recordings. here he says the fbi found three guns at terry's murder scene, not two as the agency claims. >> there are three weapons. >> three weapons, i know that. >> three weapons. >> and all three. >> that's correct. >> two came from the store. >> the lawyer says howard was spet up -- set up as the fall guy.

>> he thought he was helping the good guys and he had no way of knowing that those guns were going to crime scenes in the united states and in mexico. >> the fbi insisted there were only two guns, there was a mixup in the field but they have refused to explain that to congress and repeatedly mcical ser is saying that the informant, deep into this, the fbi knew it and is not admitting to it. martha: interesting development. william, thank you very much. bill: it is a battle ground for 2012 in a key state that helped president obama win three years ago. how is this president's popularity there today? martha: a key issue that senator obama campaigned on was closing the military prison in guantanamo bay, cuba. today it is still open as we well know but now we're hearing they're getting back into the business of closing gitmo. we'll talk about that when we come back. here's the idea...

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martha: it ice big week for the sunshine state. they're taking center stage right now in the battle for the republican presidential nomination. rick perry, and mitt romney, the two front-runners in this race, just two white house hopefuls getting ready for the big fox news google debate. florida is a very critical state in the whole election scenario. brand new hour of "america's newsroom." glad to have you with us. i'm martha maccallum. bill: how are you doing over there? martha: i'm doing good. how are you doing over there? bill: i'm good. i'm bill hemmer. good morning. president bush woken re-election in florida. now four years later president obama took that state, once again a key stepping stone on the road to the white house. >> that's right. shannon bream joins us live. she's in orlando. of course, shannon, independent voters are very key in florida.

so how are they feeling about the president in the sunshine state according to the latest numbers? >> reporter: good morning, martha. to give you a little bit perspective the exit polls in 2008, showed 52% of the independents broke with president obama. they were key to his win here in florida. but the latest polling numbers on independents how they feel how he is doing his job, not so positive. 33% of them approve of the job he is doing but 61% say they disapprove of what he's doing. he has a year to change that and win them over. and it will have to happen if he hopes to win here. he has got to get the independents. by the way in florida, the last four presidential elections gone, how florida gone, the white house has gone. it is key for him to win the sunshine state. martha: what about the voters who chose president obama in 2008, do we know now they're leaning in 201. >> we tried to canvas the state, cover it in wide geographic path talk to folks who did choose the

president in 2008 to see,000 l feeling this time around. we talk to some who expected more from him and considering possibly going with the gop nominee. others say no matter what this is the president they're sticking with. take a listen to their thoughts. >> i wanted to see the adversaries be defeated but it seems like nothing's really going on for us at this time. so, maybe somebody else will do the job better. >> i do think if his term that he had to kind of fix everything that was broken and i do think with this term coming up he will be able to make everything better, make improvements. >> reporter: and with 29 electoral votes at stake this is a big prize for whoever can capture it. martha? martha: that's for sure. shannon, thanks so much. bill: from florida now into iowa, ron paul meanwhile on the trail in that state bringing his message of tax reform and troop withdrawals

with him. paul's main focus, a balanced tax rate for both the rich and the poor, a rate he says should not break the bank. >> you should equalize it by everybody paying 15%. not trying to boost it up and everybody pay 35%. i want to cut the spending and get everybody's taxes down as soon as possible. bill: paul talk abouted longstanding ideas of his and getting rid of the federal reserve and foreign aid. getting out of wars in iraq and afghanistan. we can expect to hear more from him tomorrow night. martha: there is new face joining tomorrow night's presidential debate hosted by fox news and google. presidential hopeful gary johnson will join the eight candidates. that debate will be in orlando, florida, where we were talking to shannon. expect johnson to focus on opposition to iraq and afghanistan wars and mention his support for legalizing marijuana which is another thing he talked a bit about. remember catch that debate on fox news right here tomorrow night. we're teaming up with google

to host this debate. you can submit your own question for the candidates. go to foxnews.com. scroll down to the spotlight section. click on the gop presidential debate. maybe you will see the question asked of the candidates tomorrow night. bill: where else are you going to be on thursday night, right? martha: right in front of the tv. bill: right there. martha: absolutely. bill: prime time. voters in connecticut will see a familiar face on the ballot next year. former world wrestling entertainment ceo, linda mcmahon announced she will run again for a u.s. senate seat in 2012. last year she was knocked out in an expensive race against a democratic incumbent. mcmahon says her experience last year may actually give her a boost this time around. >> very excited to be back in the race again. i think what we have seen over the past two years is that we haven't seen things change for the better. they have in fact i think gotten worse. i just don't think peoe got to know me as well last time. i won't start from zero this time. i really have a base already

and i want to build on that. bill: while she is emphasizing her business experience painting herself as a creator of jobs. she will offer up her own jobs plan in the next few weeks so watch for that. martha: this could be what defines the 2012 election, folks. a brand newrasmussen poll" shows 56% are now in favor of repealing president obama's health care law. just 36% are opposed to that repeal. that number is a little higher on the favoring category than it has been in the past. this latest poll is a good look at that we've gotten. the critic it is of law says it will increase the cost of health care and add to the federal deficit. so health care clearly will be on the stage tomorrow night in that debate and a big center issue. bill: it sure will. another fox news alert right now. brand new housing numbers just in. existing home sales rising 8% last month. up nearly 20% from the same time last year. the latest numbers easing fears of another recession

in an already depressed housing market. dan springer live in seattle on this. what do the numbers mean there, dan? good morning. >> reporter: it means a lot of the foreclosures are now moving. it is a little bit of good news in an otherwise very bad housing market. we got news yesterday that the housing starts were down in august from july. so still a very tough market. we know millions of homeowners are underwater. the latest corelogic study came out last week. it showed 10.9 million mortgages are you know water. which mean the homeowners owe more than what they're worth. you add in another 2.4 million homes have 5% or less equity. that is 27.5% of all homes where the owners own more than what they can sell it for. many negative homes are owned by first-time home buyers who put very little down before the housing crash. she and her husband paid $600,000 for a two-bedroom condo. it is worth half that much and making all kinds of life changes for them.

>> means delaying any kind of growing of the family. it means, you know, we don't get to have thanksgiving dinner over here yet in this little tiny condo. that big sit-down dining room we envision, that is not going to happen for a while. >> reporter: bill, they bought the condo 2006. they envisioned being there three to five years which was typical for the first-time homebuyers. it is already five years and counting. bill: wow! how does this affect people thinking about getting into their first home? are they hesitant, are they willing now, what are they saying? >> reporter: they're very hesitant because you can no longer plan on being in the first home three to five years. the average now is seven to nine. so you have to think long term. what they're doing now they are looking at more home than what they typically were. instead of that two-bedroom condo or two-bedroom starter home, they're looking at three bedrooms, a four bedrooms, a home where they can grow their family. here is one real estate agent. >> i think the concept of the starter home, beginning

of the property ladder is still very much intact. i think we went awry a little bit we were thinking about short-term gain. >> reporter: short-term gain is gone. the whole concept of the starter home has changed. it is now the larger homes, stay in your home longer. don't turn or flip the small home quickly. you have to stay long term. bill: things have changed. dan springer on the story. breaking news out of the housing market in seattle. martha: this fox news alert. brand new video coming out of the west bank where thousands of young palestinians are flooding the streets of ramallah rallying in support of a palestinian state. all this happening overseas as the president just arrived at the united nations moments ago. that is where eric shawn is right now. good morning, eric. >> reporter: good morning, martha. the president has arrived in the building. we expect him to assend the green podium of the general assembly and begin a speech in the next few minutes. a year ago when he was here he called for creation of

independent palestinian state, the two-state solution. he hoped to come back a year from then, meaning today and announce that. but sadly there is a diplomatic crisis going that does not have a impasse yet. diplomatic sources tell me there is no compromise dealing with palestinian president mahmoud abbas's call for independent palestinian state. mr. abbas is intent on submitting that request on friday during his speech here at the general assembly. here is how the process will work. he will call for that at general assembly speech on friday. he will hand deliver a letter to the general seng tear with that request. that will go to the security council. that is united nations morass. what could happen could be a vote delayed for days or even weeks as potential negotiations then could begin on the sidelines. israeli diplomats tell me they would be willing to have negotiations with result within a year. we'll see what happens. the president will address all of these issues as he speaks just a few moments

from now. martha? martha: eric, thank you so much. eric shawn outside the united nations this morning. we see the president of brazil has just stepped down from the podium. we know president obama is in the building. we're awaiting his speech moments from now. bill: we'll take you there when it happens. meantime this certainly sparked heated rhetoric from critics and supporters today. islamic cultural center in the shadow of ground zero, opening its doors. why you will not see anyone worshipping there however just yet. martha: today the military prison at guantanamo bay is filled with detainees. why that could change soon and at a very strategic moment. bill: also leading republicans pressuring the federal reserve to stop the stimulus. a letter to the chairman ben bernankefter comments like this about the president's plan to revive the economy. >> you already have a $1.5 trillion tax increase coming in current law starting 2013. now we're talking about

another $1.3 trillion tax increase on top of that? he is giving us stimulus bill, basically like the old stimulus bill, half as large. >> we want to take you straight to the united nations where they are introducing president obama right now. we will listen to his speech and we'll hear from ambassador john bolton to get his reaction to what the american president says about the formation of a palestinian state being recognized in the united nations. >> on behalf of the general assembly, i have the honor to welcome the united states, to the united nations. his excellency barack obama, president of the united states of america. martha: bring back ambassador bolton. we'll have couple quick thoughts. ambassador bolton, what do you think we'll hear this morning? >> i think this will be a long list of the president's accomplishments at least in his mind from last year. very interesting to hear what he will say about the state of palestinian --

palestine. martha: thank you, john bolton. >> mr. president, mr. secretary-general, fellow delegates, ladies and gentlemen, this is a great honor for me to be here today. i would like to talk to you about a subject that is at the heart of the united nations, the pursuit of peace in an imperfect world. war and conflict have been with us since the beginning of civilizations but in the first part of the 20th century, the advance of modern weaponry led to death on a staggering scale. with this killing that compelled the founders of this body to build an institution that was focused not just on ending one war but on averting others, a union of sovereign states that would seek to prevent conflict while also

addressing its causes. no american did more to pursue this objective than president franklin roosevelt. he knew that a victory in war was not enough. as he said at one of the very first meetings on the founding of the united nations, we have got to make not merely peace but a peace that will last. the men and women who built this institution understood that peace is more than just the absence of war. a lasting peace for nations and for individuals depends on a sense of justice and opportunity, of dignity, and freedom. it depends on struggle and sacrifice. on compromise, and on a

sense of common humanity. one delegate to the san francisco conference that led to the creation of the united nations put it well. many people, she said, have talked as if all that has to be done to get peace was to say loudly and frequently that we love peace and we hated war. now we have learned no matter how much we love peace and hate war we can not avoid having war brought upon us if there are convulsions in other parts of the world. the fact is, peace is hard but our people demand it. over nearly seven decades, even as the united nations helped avert a third world war, we still live in a

world scarred by conflict and plagued by poverty. even as we proclaim our love for peace and our hatred of war there are still convulsions in our world that endanger us all. i took office at a time of two wars for the united states. moreover the violent extremists who drew us into war in the first place, osama bin laden, his al qaeda organization, remained at large. today we've set a new direction. at the end of this year america's military operation in iraq will be over. we will have a normal relationship with a sovereign nation that is a member of the community of nations. that equal partnership will be strengthened for our

support for iraq, for its government, for its security forces, for its people and for their aspirations. as we end of the war in iraq the united states and our coallation -- coalition partners have begun a transition in afghanistan. between now and 2014, an increasingly capable afghan government and security forces will step forward to take responsibility for the future of their country as they do, we're drawing down our own forces while building an enduring participation with the afghan people. so let there be no doubt, the tide of war is receding. when i took office roughly 180,000 americans were serving in iraq and afghanistan. by the end of this year that number will be cut in half and it will continue to decline. this is critical for the sovereignty of iraq and

afghanistan. it is also critical to the strength of the united states as we build our nation at home. moreover, we are poised to end these wars from a position of strength. 10 years ago there was an open wound and twisted steel, a broken heart, in the center of this city. today as a new tower is rising at ground zero, it symbolizes new york's renewal. even as al qaeda is under more pressure than ever before. its leadership has been degraded. osama bin laden, a man who murdered thousands of people from dozens of countries, will never endanger the peace of the world again. yes, this has been a difficult decade but today we stand at a crossroads of history with the chance to

move decisively in the direction of peace. to do so we must return to the wisdom of those who created this institution. the united nations founding charter calls upon us to unite our strength, to maintain international peace and security. article i of this general assembly's universal declaration of human rights reminds us all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and in rights. those bedrock beliefs in the responsibility of states and the rights of men and women must be our guide. and in that effort, we have reason to hope. this year has been a time of extraordinary transformation. more nations have stepped forward to maintain international peace and

security, and more individuals are claiming their universal right to live in freed doll and dignity. think about it. one year ago when we met here in new york the prospect of a successful referendum in south sudan was in doubt. but the international community overcame all divisions with support of the agreement that had been the agreement to give south sudan self-determination. in the summer as the new flag went up, former soldiers laid down their arms, men and women went with joy and children finally knew the promise of looking to a future that they will shape. one year ago the people of cotare approached a landmark election. when the inincumbent lost and refused to respect the results, the world refused

to look the other way. u.n. peacekeepers were harassed but they did not leave their posts. the security council led by the united states and nigeria and france came together to support the will of the people and it is now governed by the man who was elected to lead. one year ago the hopes of the people of tunisia were suppressed. but they chose the dignity of peaceful protests over the rule of an iron fist. a vendor lit a spark that took his own life but he ignited a movement. in the face of a crackdown, students spelled out the word, freedom. the balance of fear shifted from the ruler to those that he ruled. and now the people of tunisia are preparing for elections that will move them one step closer to the democracy that they deserve.

one year ago egypt had known one president for nearly 30 years but for 18 days the eyes of the world were glued to tahrir square where egyptians from all walks of life, men and women, young and old, muslim and christian demanded their universal rights. we saw in those protesters the moral force of nonviolence that has lit the world from delhi to warsaw, from selma to south africa. and we knew that change had come to egypt and to the arab world. one year ago the people of libya were ruled by the world's longest-serving dictator. but faced with bullets and bombs and a dictator who

threatened to hunt them down like rats, they showed relentless bravery. we will never for get the words of the libyan who stood up in the early early days of revolution and said our words are free now. it's a feeling you can't explain. day after day in the face of bullets and bombs the libyan people refused to give back that freedom. and when they were threatened by the kind of mass atrocity that often went unchallenged in the last century, the united nations lived up to its charter. the security council authorized all necessary measures to prevent a massacre. the arab league called for this effort. arab nations joined a nato-led coalition that halted qaddafi's forces in their tracks. in the months that followed, the will of the coalition proved unbreakable. and the will of the libyan

people could not be denied. 42 years of tyranny was ended in six months. from tripoli to benghazi, today, libya is free. yesterday the leaders of a new libya took their rightful place beside us. this week the united states is reopening our embassy in tripoli. this is how the international community is supposed to work. nations standing together for the sake of peace and security and individuals claiming their rights. now all of us have a responsibility to support the new libya, the new libyan government as they confront the challenge of turning this moment of promise into a just and lasting peace for all libyans. but this has been a

remarkable year. the qaddafi regime is over. ben alley, mubarak, are no longer in power. osama bin laden is gone. and the idea that change could only come through violence has been buried with him. something's happening in our world. the way things have been is not the way that they will be. the humiliating grip of corruption and tyranny is being pried open. dictators are on notice. technology is putting power into the hands of the people. the youth are delivering a powerful rebuke to dictatorship and rejecting the lie some races, some peoples, some religions, some ethnicities do not desire democracy. the promise written down on paper, all human beings are

born free and equal in dignity and rights, is closer at hand. but, let us remember, peace is hard. peace is hard. progress can be reversed. prosperity comes slowly. societies can split apart. the measure of our success must be whether people can live in sustained freedom, dignity and security. and the united nations and its member-states must do their part to support those basic aspirations and we have more work to do. in iran we've seen a government that refuses to recognize the rights of its own people. as we meet here today men

and women and children are being tortured and detained and murdered by the syrian regime. thousands have been killed. many during the holy time of ramadan. thousands more have poured across syria's borders. the syrian people have shown dignity and courage in their pursuit of justice, protesting peace any, standing silently in the streets, dying for the same values this institution is supposed to stand for. the question for us is clear. will we stand with the syrian people or with their oppressors? already the united states is imposed strong sanctions on syria's leaders. we supported a transfer of power that is response to the syrian people. and many of our allies have joined in this effort but for the sake of syria and the peace and security of the world we must speak with

one voice. there's no excuse for inaction. now is the time for the united nations security council to sanction the syrian regime and stand with the syrian people. throughout the region we will have to respond to the calls for change. in yemen, men, women and children gather by the thousands in towns and city squares every day with the hope that their determination and spilled blood will prevail over a corrupt system. america supports those aspirations. we must work with yemen's neighbors and our partners around the world to seek a path that allows for a peaceful transition of power from president salah and a movement to free and fair elections as soon as possible. in bahrain steps have been taken toward reform and accountability.

we're pleased with that but more is required. america is a close friend of bahrain and we will continue to call on a the government and the main opposition block to pursue a meaningful dialogue that brings peaceful change that is responsive to the people. we believe the patriotism that binds bahrainians together must be more powerful than the sectarian forces that would tear them apart. it will be hard but it is possible. we believe that each nation must chart its own course to fulfill the aspirations of its people and america does not expect to agree with every party or person who expresses themselves politically but we will always stand up for the universal rights that were embraced by this assembly. those rights depend on elections that are free and fair. on governance that is transparent and accountable. respect for the rights of women and minoritis.

justice that is equal and fair. that is what our people deserve. those are the elements of peace that can last. moreover the united states will continue to support those nations that transition to democracy. with greater trade and investment, so that freedom is followed by opportunity. we will pursue a deeper engagement with governments but also with civil societies. students and entrepreneurs, political parties and the press. we have banned those who abuse human rights from traveling to our country. we've sanctioned those who trample on human rights abroad. and we will always serve as a voice for those who have been silenced. now, i know particularly this week that for many in

this hall there is one issue that stand as a test for these principles, and a test for american foreign policy. that is the conflict between the israelis and the palestinians. one year ago i stood at this podium and i called for an independent palestine. i believed then and i believe now that the palestinian people deserve a state of their own. but what i also said is that a genuine peace can only be realized between israelis and the palestinians themselves. one career later -- year later despite extensive efforts by america and others the parties have not bridged their differences. faced with this stalemate, i put forward a new basis for negotiations in may of this

year. that basis is clear, it's well-known to all of us here. israelis must know any agreement provides assurances for their security. palestinians deserve to know that the territorial basis of their state. now i know that many are frustrated by the lack of progress. i assure you, so am i. but the question isn't the goal that we seek. the question is how do we reach that goal? and i am convinced that there is no shortcut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades. peace is hard work. peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the united nations. if it were that easy it would have been come ish ined by now.

ultimately the israelis and the palestinians who must live side by side. ultimately it is the israelis and the palestinians, not us, who must reach agreement on issues that divide them, onboarders and on security, and on refugees and jerusalem. ultimately peace depends upon compromise among people who must live together long after our speeches are over, long after our votes have been tallied. that's the lesson of northern ireland where ancient antagonists bridged their differences. that is the lesson of sudan where negotiated settlement led to an independent state. and that is an will be the path to a palestinian state. negotiations between the parties. we seek a future where

palestinians live in a sovereign state of their own with no limit to what they can achieve there's no question that the palestinians have seen that vision delayed for too long. it is precisely because we believe so strongly in the aspirations of the palestinian people that america has invested so much time and so much effort in the building of a palestinian state. and the negotiations that can deliver a palestinian state. but understand this as well. america's commitment to israel's security is unshakable. our friendship with israel is deep and enduring. and so we believe that any lasting peace must acknowledge the very real security concerns that israel faces every single day. let us be honest with ourselves. israel is surrounded by neighbors that have waged

repeated wars against us. israel's citizens have been killed by rockets fired at their houses and suicide bombs on their buses. israel's children come of age, knowing that throughout the region, other children are taught to hate them. israel, a small country of less than 8 million people, look out at a world where leaders of much larger nations threaten to wipe it off the map. the jewish people carry the burden of centuries of exile and persecution and fresh memories of knowing that six mill people were killed simply because of who they were. those are the facts. they cannot be denied. the jewish people have forged a successful state in their historic homeland. israel deserves recognition. it deserves normal relations

with its neighbors. and friends of the palestinians do them no favors by ignoring this truth, just as friends of israel must recognize the need to pursue a two-state solution with a secure israel next to an independent palestine. that is the truth. each side has legitimate aspirations. and that's part of what makes peace so hard. and the deadlock will only be broken when each side learns to stand in the other's shoes. each side can see the world through the other's eyes. that's what we should be encouraging. that's what we should be promoting. this body, founded as it was out of the ashes of war and genocide, dedicated as it is to the dignity of every single person, must recognize the reality that

is lived by both the palestinians and the israelis. the measure of our actions must always be whether they advance the right of israeli and palestinian children to live lives of peace and security and dignity and opportunity. and we will only succeed in that effort if we can encourage the parts to sit down -- the parties to sit down and listen to each other and to understand each other's hopes and each other's fears. that is the project to which america is committed. there are no shortcuts. and that is what the united nations should be focused on in the weeks and months to come. now, even as we confront these challenges of conflict and resolution, we must also recognize we must also

remind ourselves that peace is not just the absence of war. true peace depends upon creating the opportunity that makes life worth living to do that, we must confront the common enemy of humanity nuclear weapons and poverty, ignorance and disease. these forces corrode the possibility of lasting peace and together, we're called upon to confront them. to lift the speckter of mass destruction, we must come together to pursue the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons. over the last two years, we've begun to walk down that path. since our nuclear summit in washington nearly 50 nations have taken steps to secure nuclear materials from terrorists and smugglers. next march, a summit in

seoul will advance our efforts to lock down all of them. the new start treaty between the united states and russia will cut our arsenals to the lowest level in half a century and our nations are pursuing talks on how to achieve even deeper reductions. america will continue to work for a ban on the testing of nuclear weapons and the production of fissile material needed to make them. and so we have begun to move in the right direction, and the united states is committed to meeting our obligations. but even as we meet our obligations, we've strengthened the treaties and institutions that help stop the spread of these weapons, and to do so, we must continue to hold accountable those nations that have them. the iranian government cannot demonstrate that its program is peaceful, it's not met its obligations and

it rejects offer that we'll provide it with peaceful nuclear power. north korea has yet to take steps of abandoning its weapons and continues belligerent action against the south. there is a future of greater opportunity for the people of these nations if their governments meet their international obligations. but if they continue on a path that is outside international law, they must be met with greater pressure and isolation. that is what our commitment to peace and security demands. to bring prosperity to our people, we must promote the growth that creates opportunity. in this effort, let us not forget that we've made enormous progress over the last several decades. closed societies gave way to open markets. innovation and entrepreneurship has transformed the way we live and the things that we do.

emerging economies from asia to the americas have lifted hundreds of millions of people from poverty. it's an extraordinary achievement. and yet, three years ago, we were confronted with the worst financial crisis in a decade. and that crisis proved a fact that has become clear with each passing year. our faiths are interconnected, and the global economy, nations will rise or fall together. today, we tkpropbt the challenges that have followed on the heels of that crisis. around the world, recovery is still fragile. markets remain volatile. too many people are out of work. too many others are struggling just to get by. we acted together to avert a depression in 2009. we must take urgent and coordinated action once more

here in the united states i've announced a plan to put americans back to work and jumpstart our economy. at the same time as i'm committed to substantially reducing our decifits over time. we stand with our european allies as they reshape their institutions and address their own fiscal challenges. for other countries, leaders face a different challenge, as they shift their economies towards self-reliance, boosting domestic demand, while slowing inflation. so we will work with emerging economies that have rebounded strongly so that rising standards of living create markets that promote global growth. that's what our commitment to prosperity demands. to combat the poverty that punishes our children, we must act on the belief that freedom from want is a basic human right. united states has made it a focus of our engagement abroad to help people to feed themselves.

and today, as drought and conflict have brought famine to the horn of africa, our conscience calls on us to act. together, we must continue to provide assistance and support organizations that can reach those in needs. and together, we must insist on inrestricted humanitarian access so that we can save the lives of thousands of men and women and children. our common humanity is at stake. let us show that the life of a child in somalia is as precious as any of us. that is what our commitment to our fellow human beings demands. to stop disease that spreads across borders, we must strengthen our system of public health. we will continue to fight against hiv/aids, tuberculosis and malaria, we

will focus on the health of mothers and of children and we must come together to prevent, detect and fight every of biological danger, mr. it's a pandemic like h1n1 or a terrorist threat or a treatable disease. this week, america signed an agreement with the world health organization to affirm our commitment to meet this challenge, and today i urge all nations to join us in meeting the goal of making sure that all nations have capacity to address public health emergencies in place by 2012. that is what our commitment to the health of our people demands. to preserve our planet, we must not put off action that climate change demands. we have to tap the power of science to save those resources that are scarce. and together, we must continue to build on our progress made ph koppen

hagueen and cancun so that the polices follow through on the commitments that were made. together, we must work to transform the energy that powers our economy and support others as they move down that path. that is what our commitment to the next generation demands. and to make sure our societies reach their potential, we must allow our citizens to reach theirs. no country can afford the corruption that plagues the world like a cancer. together, we must harness the power of open societies and open economyies. that's why we've partnered with countries from across the pwhroeb to launch a new partnership on open government, that helps ensure accountability and helps empower citizens.

no country should deny people their rights, the freedom of speech, and freedom of religion, but also, no country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere. and no country can realize its potential if half its population cannot reach theirs. this week, the united states signed a new declaration on women's participation. next year, we should each announce the steps we are taking to break down the economic and political barriers that stand in the way of women and girls. this is what our commitment to human progress demands. i know there's no straight line to that progress, no single path to success. we come from different cultures and carry with us different histories.

but let us never forget that even as we gather here as heads of different governments, we represent citizens who share the same basic aspirations. to live with dignity and freedom. to get an education. and pursue opportunity. to love our families. and love and worship our god to live in the kind of peace that makes life worth living it is the nature of our imperfect world that we are first forced to learn these lessons over and over again. conflict and repression will endure so long as some people refuse to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, but that is precisely why we have built institutions like this, to bind our faiths together, to help us recognize ourselves in each other.

because those who came before us believed that peace is preferable to war, and freedom is preferable to suppression and prosperity is preferable to poverty. that's the message that comes not from capitols but from citizens, from our people. in the corner -- when the cornerstone of this building was put in place, president truman came here to new york and said the united nations is essentially an expression of the moral nature of man's aspirations. the moral nature of man's aspirations. as we live in a world that is changing at breath taking pace, that's the lesson that we must never forget. peace is hard, but we know that it is possible. but together, let us be resolved to see that it is defined by our hopes and not by our fears. together, let us make peace,

but a peace, most importantly, that will last. thank you very much. >> [applause] >> thank you. martha: all right, there you have it, the much anticipated speech by president obama, the entire world, really, watching and waiting to see if he would talk about the notion of a palestinian state becoming a member at the united nations. he did not address it specifically in that way, although he talked about israel and about the palestinians, to be sure. meanwhile, while he was speaking, iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad made an appearance. watch this: >> smiles and waves. we might also mention it was pretty much at the same time that we got word crossing the wires the two american hikers were on their way to tehran international airport, that was almost simultaneous that those two things happened. joined by john bolton, former ambassador to the u.n. and fox news contributor. ambassador, welcome, good to have you here.

>> glad to be here. martha: open question, really. what did you make of this speech, was it effective? >> i thought it was three different speeches. the first was a statement that things have gone very well in the world this past year, democracy is breaking out in the middle east, the united nations is functioning well. and i think it's a key part of the obama narrative that the rest of the world is doing sufficiently well, not perfectly, but sufficiently well, that it doesn't need a lot of our attention. so that he can concentrate on domestic issues. that's the implicit message. the second speech was about the middle east, as you just said, about the arab-israeli conflict. and i thought it was absolutely striking and a continuation of the pattern the president has set here at the u.n. before, a classic demonstration of moral equivalency between israel and the palestinians. peace would break out if only they could stand in each other's shoes, if they

could look at the world through each other's eyes, as if acts of terrorism and acts of self-defense are all sort of the same thing, it just depends on how you look at it. then the third speech was kind of a grab bag to get back to his real focus in life, which is domestic affairs, he talked about the economy, he talked about health care, he talked about climate change. you know, he said five times in this speech, peace is hard, peace is hard work. you think we didn't get it the first time? >> martha: all right. john bolton, thank you very much. >> thank you. martha: watching this along with us. the ambassador, former ambassador to the u.n., of course, giving his reaction to all of this. so there you have it this morning, and we talk about this while we've been watching these incredible pictures of palestinians rallying, a live report coming up with reaction from what's going on there, as folks on the ground are jubilant at the idea that perhaps the palestinian state could be recognized as

such in the united nations. andle we've got this stunning surveillance video that's come in that we're going to show you in a second. watch this! an armed man, caught in the act. when we come back. he just looked like he was wanting to get shot. he was just asking for somebody to please shoot me.

martha: take a look at this new surveillance video that shows a gunman walking into a arkansas courtroom and opening fire. it's an incredible piece of video you'll see in a second. court employees avoided the gunfire, they hid under their desk. watch him come in here, guns apwhraoeuzing, officers accused in the wrongful death of that armed gunman.

>> the caliber of gun that he had, it was so big that in this courthouse, it just echoed it. >> it looked like he was wanting to get shot. he just was asking for somebody to please shoot me. martha: wow, all right. police believe the gunman may have been targeting the judge who approved his divorce back in 2001. bill: got a fox news alert now as we were listening to the president at the u.n. *pb, palestinians have been rallying in the west bank town of ramallah, reacting to the events of the u.n. and palestinian leadership expected to request for statehood. leland vitter in ramallah, what's happening there leland? >> reporter: hi gregg. right now you have a clash between the palestinian youth here, just up there, then we also of course with the israeli soldiers, who we just had aut four or five tier gas gren -- tear grass grenades fired out. you're looking at ramallah, where there was a major rally with about 10,000 people earlier in the day.

they burned a couple of american flags. other than that, in a town that's been largely peaceful. but this is the clash they've been worried about, people coming out into the city, heading towards the "checkpoint", which is israel. if you come here, you can see the massive israeli army in here, they've been here all day. i can tell you how many molotov cocktails have been thrown here. largely now it's been quieted down a little bit. in terms of what's going forward, a number of the palestinians we talked to say this may just be the very, very beginning. we only had a couple hundred kids out here, throwing stones, but they say once the u.s. veto comes and once it gets to the point where the palestinians feel so frustrated as they have, and that comes to a head after the u.n. vote, and they may not get their status as president obama promised, these clashes will only get much, much worse. back to you in new york. bull bill it is something to wash and we shall. leland vitter, thank you.

martha: there are new reports of u.s. secret drone bases springing up overseas. we're going to tell you where those are and what kind of tools they may be in the war against terror and against al-qaeda. we'll be right back.

martha: weather in california is whipping up whirl winds known as dust devils, caused by heat and wind and caused by ash from a wildfire in this area, experts say the wind formations could swell up to 30 feet wide and grow more than 3000 feet tall! bill: put some horns on that baby! martha: i love the tasmanian devil. bill: big party tonight. martha: congratulations to all of us, right? see you back here tomorrow. bye guys. jon: and we begin with this fox news alert on two huge