market, the stock market by by the way about to open considerably lower. stuart varney is on deck with the headlines, we'll explain all this, only moments away. in the meantime, late yesterday, new fallout this morning now from a surprise loss to republicans in the house, a major blow to house leadership, lawmakers rejecting a spending bill, and now we're getting word the house could be back to work this weekend. what a -- they love to work weekends don't they? >> martha: don't they? >> bill: a little o.t. on the calendar. how you doing? >> martha: good morning, everybody, i'm martha mckalgum -- maccallum. wednesday's defeat came at the hands of tea partier, 40 republicans broke ranks with the house leadership on that vote. bill: the measure would have provided $3 billion in disaster aid and prevented a government shutdown next week. both sides now playing the blame game on capitol hill. >> the reports said there will not ab shutdown. i'm not that sure.

i'm not that sure. because the tea party-driven house of represent i was has been so unreasonable. >> it is only harry reid talking about a shutdown, not us. bill: byron york, washington examiner and fox news contributor, down there covering the big debate later tonight in orlando, what's the deal here, byron, what happened? >> bill, this is another one of these continuing resolution fights and they're always kind of nasty. in this case, democrats oppose the bill because they felt it didn't provide enough for disaster leaf after hurricane irene and some of the other disasters they've had recently. conservative republicans felt -- opposed the bill because they felt it didn't cut enough spend sog essentially the two got together and beat up on john bain e. john boehner wanted to pass this, the speaker of the house wanted to pass this bill, avert a government shutdown and he lost because he lost 48 of his own republicans and only # democrats came over to his side. put those numbers together and john boehner doesn't control the house of representatives. bill: what does that mean

for john boehner, what does it mean for republican leadership, byron? >> it means it's difficult for him to control his own team. if you look back, there were two continuing resolution fights earlier in the year and in each successive vote, boehner got fewer -- less support from his freshmen, from the conservative tea party caucus, now he lost 48 votes, so what it says is he's going to have to come up with sharper spending cuts, with a stronger proposal, to get back their support. bill: how real is the possibility of a government shutdown, as we stand right now? will that happen? >> right now, it doesn't look that imminent, because the numbers involved are not that big. some sort of deal on disaster relief could come out. republicans, by the way, to pay for disaster relief, they wanted to cut a program to make cars more energy efficient so that irritated the democrats, but right now the numbers separating them are not too big so a deal is possible. bill: it was a shocker last night. we'll see what happens today. we're watching it out of

florida. thank you byron, enjoy the debate later tonight, okay? martha mass more. martha: told on -- hold on to your hats, folks, look at what is at stake, you've got this 2011 fiscal year that will end october 1st, the continuing resolution will keep the government open until mid november, but failure to pass a bill by october 1st would cause a government shutdown. now, this is something that congress also dealt with, as we well remember, back in april. they avoided that shutdown by passing a spending bill after a week of negotiations and that's how we got where we are today. we'll see what happens, and we have very ugly numbers that have just come out in the jobs market and that comes one day after fed chief ben bernanke hinted that we are heading for another recession that could last, quote, years. wall street is reacting to that news right now and they're not liking it, not liking any of it, your 401(k) is likely to get hit at least at the open this morning in a big way. stuart varney joins me from

fox business network. bad combination here. >> a very bad combination. here's how bad it will be for your money. in about 20 minutes when the dow jones industrial average opens, they will be down close to another 300 points. the price of gold is already down more than $70 an ounce, as of right now, and oil is down 4.50 a barrel. you backtrack, why is this happen something one word, recession. fed chairman ben bernanke hinted very broadly that we are indeed headed towards recession. he said the economy is very weak right now, and there is significant downside risk. now look, you've got to interpret what this man says and investors are interpret thank statement as a sign of recession, almost upon us. with that word out there, stocks are down, gold is down, oil is down, and there is very little confidence that ben bernanke or president obama can do anything to fix the recessionary mess. martha: boy, that is not a pretty picture, stuart, and as you say, his words have to be read into and that's

the way we always deal with the language of fedspeak, but significant downside risk is clearly what the markets are feeding off of right now as we go into the open here, and as you point out, you know, sort of -- it makes it more clear that what has been tried in an effort to avoid a second dip has not worked. >> well, ben bernanke has already tried printing a great deal of money. that didn't work, it did not stimulate economic activity. president obama has already tried spending a great deal of government money. that didn't work. we've still got 9 percent unemployment. so there is little confidence that any new polices, the polices being proposed right now by ben bernanke or president obama, will actually work. i'm going to give you one silver lining to this mess, and that is interest rates. as of right now, martha, literally, right now, america's long term interest rates are at an all-time record low. they've never been lower. the yield on the ten-year treasury, and that's the base for mortgages, is down

to 1.79 percent. all time low. martha: now folks just need the money to buy a house. >> can they qualify for a loan, that's the question. martha: thank you very much. yes. for that cheery start on this thursday morning! bill: it is thursday. a bit of context now, the dow closing down 283 points late wednesday afternoon, the biggest one-day drop we have seen since the ninth of september, and man, they were selling and running for the hills yesterday, right about 2:30 eastern time when the fed came out with its announcement, lowest close since september 1 #th, only ten days ago, but we are heading lower again today. martha: all right, let's go now to the folks who hope to get a handle on the white house in order to try and fix this problem. the economy will be at the center stage tonight, fox news and google debate tonight, mitt romney is in florida, turning his fire on president obama the listen to what he had to say:

>> the president made it harder for the economy to reboot and that's why, three years later, home values still go down, 25 million people in america, out of work. or stopped looking for work. or can only kind part-time work when they need full-time employ. this is a trag tkefplt it's an american crisis. and it's the result of a president who doesn't understand how the economy works. look, i don't think he's a bad guy. i just think he doesn't have a clue about the economy. martha: that's a phrase we've heard a lot from mitt romney, president obama, of course, won florida back in 2008 and in 2012, florida is going to be key for any republican candidate if they want to win the white house. we're going to see interesting poll numbers we're going to show everybody in a little while about how folks are thinking right now in the state of florida, ahead of tonight's big debate. bill: florida is big and so is new hampshire, new hampshire, a survey among republican voters showing that mitt romney out in

front, commandingly, 41 percent, ron paul, congressman, in second place, making a big jump out of fifth to third, and jon huntsman, earlier the huntsman campaign shifted staffers to new hampshire and out of their headquarters in the state of florida. martha: what do you think about all this? we're asking that question in "america's newsroom". which candidate can best fix the u.s. economy? log on to foxnews.com, let us know what you think about that, we're going to check in on those results later. that's the big question on everybody's minds. bill: in the meantime, there's this. emotions overflowing as two american hikers, freed from iranian jail, reuniting with their families for the first time in more than two years. >> that's the kind of plane you want to run off quickly,

right? josh fattal, shane bauer, embracing relatives and friends as they landed in oman, they were granted freedom after the sultan of oman posted a $1 million bail for their release. >> we are so happy we are free, and so relieved we are tpraoefplt our deepest gratitude goes towards his majesty, sultan kabos for obtaining our release. we are sincere -- sincerely grateful to the government of oman for hosting our families. >> the president makes his address to the united nations this morning, amy kellogg watching all -- all of this. how did this release come about? >> reporter: first of all if there was any question about how it would feel to get out of rannan prison after two years, those pictures do say it all, we saw josh fattal and shane bauer, bursting down the steps of that plane and into the arms of their loved ones. the glitch, the delay in

their release was a technicality in getting the million dollars bail in place. the timing, no doubt w. ahmadinejad's trip to new york, calling it an act of islamic mercy, a response to call to freedom, ban ki-moon, hugo chavez, the iraqi president, jalal talabani and the sultan of oman who put up the bail money and he says he helps this reps -- hope this reps iranian relations. bill: amy, thank you for that, those two men, certainly happy to be out of there. martha: you can just imagine what those family felt like when they got their arms around those two young men, who a great story that has ended. should have been a long time ago. those are a few of the stories we're watching in "america's newsroom". coming up, bill clinton, not

a big fan of president obama's new tax plan. why clinton is now coming out against the plan. bill: also you're going to hear about that tonight, right? because here we go again. republican candidates, facing off in a big debate tonight in orlando, florida. we'll tell you what you can expect from the two frontrunners on screen now. and then there's this: >> [applause] >> martha: what a moving moment that was. and as you know, if you've heard anything about dakota meyer, you know he doesn't think of himself as a hero. but he earned the nation's highest combat honor. >> i'm definitely not a hero. that's the furthest thing from the truth. i knew it was right that we needed to get in there and they needed that support, this they needed that truck with that heavy gun and that's what it goes back to, knowing what's right and doing it.

bill spwo*eul of all people, criticism of president obama's tax plan from former president bill clinton. clinton says the obama plan to tax the nation's top earners will not make a difference. >> i personally don't believe we ought to be raising taxes or cutting spending, either one, until we get this economy off the ground. i don't think you can spend or not spend enough to get america back to a full employment economy, until we flush that debt. we don't have a lot of resentment against people who are successful. we kind of like it, americans do. it's one of our best characteristics, that we think if someone earned their money fairly we do not resent their success. americans lost the fact that whatever you think about this, millionaires, i don't really care because i would pay it, but it won't affect me because i already pay the minimum because i live in new york. but i'll pay more. it won't solve the problem.

bill: steve hayes from the weekly standard, good morning to you, also at that debate down in orlando. what do you make of this? >> it's a pretty interesting comment from the president of the united states, directly taking on the current president of the united states, saying it won't solve the problem. you can't be much more blunt than bill clinton just was about this millionaire's surtax. so i think it's a pretty stark contrast with the president and he also said, as you played earlier, that raising taxes on the wealthy is not going to solve our problem. if that's not going to solve the problem, and there are economists who believe it will significantly exacerbate the problem, i think president obama has some problems. bill: wow. i find two other things interesting in that interview. he also said don't cut spending right now. then he went on to say don't change the regulations on american business. because he says that when he talks to business leaders, the last thing they want are changes in the way they're doing things, and they try to dig themselves out of a hole. he's like two for three of

the talking points on the republican party, is he not, steve? >> yeah, he really is. look, we've seen this before, we've seen this pattern president clinton, sort of liberated from the burdens of being president comes out and says exactly what he thinks and it's often done in association with these press interviews he gives for this clinton global initiative, but this is the last thing president obama wanted now. he's already facing skepticism from democrats in congress about raising taxes, about various elements of his plan. the last thing he wants is for somebody who speaks with some authority as president clinton does, having presided over what democrats like to call, you know, the best economy we've had in the past 50 years, president clinton speaks with some authority. i think when he talks about these issues, people listen more than they might to, you know, the average congressman. bill: we crunched the numbers on the millionaires in america, this is what we found, if you make a million dollars plus, you make up .2% of all tax returns in america. yet, those people pay

20 percent of all taxes. that's one out of every 500 who file taxes. there's the number about the 20 percent overall. this will be an issue tonight during our debate in orlando, you can guarantee it. now, who best plays to this issue, do you think? >> you know, it's a very good question. rick perry has, as we've talked about before, a good economic return that he can run on in texas, and i think when he speaks, he speaks with some authority on these issues. mitt romney has laid out a plan, that's 160 pages long, filled with n notes, it's glossy, it's slick, it looks good. i expect he'll want to run ass businessman. he says i've spent most of my career in the private sector and i know how to create jobs. i think you'll hear herman cain talk about the 999 plan and a number of the candidates, of course, will spend most of their time going after president obama on these issues, exactly these issues. bill: stephen, we're looking forward to it. thanks for your time today, stphobg.

>> thanks bill. bill: steve hayes, our guest in orlando. we'll see what he writes tomorrow, huh? who knows what's going to happen tonight. that's why we w-fp. -- we watch. martha: looking forward to it. some say it is the key for president obama to win florida in 2012, the key voter's group that the president may need if he wants to stay in the white house. bill: also from the front lines in that war in afghanistan, to the ball field, one in one week, this man was fighting in the war, and then hunkering down in the dugout, just las night. he is our guest. >> they're the ones, they're the real heros. she's my hero. it's good to be home. i'm finally home now.

bill: 23 minutes past the hour, nato saying their mission in libya is, quote, not over by any means,

stressing that qaddafi's well-armed supporters are still dangerous in that country. leon panetta on the hill, expected to talk about the future of the u.s.' troubled relationship with pakistan. we'll keep an eye on that for headlines. >> a massive ad campaign by target backfiring, the discount retailer's website crashing after a flood of order phos an upscale italian designer. shoppers -- shoppers are airing their frustration necessary a big way online. martha: missoni. bill: is that who it was? >> martha: yes. big, big item. i didn't get one. did you? >> bill: i did not! martha: we are awaiting iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad at the u.n. been -- at the united nations and he's going to address the general assembly there. what can we expect from mr. ahmadinejad this aim around, eric? >> reporter: hi martha. you know, he's back! and it's almost like he never leaves. this is the seventh time that mahmoud ahmadinejad has

addressed the general assembly at the united nations and as expected, we can expect him to attack the united states. and israel. and deny iran is pursuing nuclear weapons. we'll also get his view of the upcoming palestinian vote. you know he's denied the holocaust, called for wiping israel off the map, said there are no homosexuals in iran and called protestors criminals. he has given one on one interviews, an opportunity for him to spread his message. this is one we did last year when i conducted an interview with him for fox news. at that time, he said that the u.s. government was involved in 9/11. i asked him why he would say much nutty and insane things. this morning, "the new york times" says he's making an effort to be friendly and conciliatory, but some opponents think he should be arrested. >> he belongs in a cage in central park, rather than

speaking at the united nations general assembly. he is a murderer, his actions, his acts of terrorism, extends from lebanon, iraq, afghanistan, to buenos aires. >> that was in reference to a bombing of a jewish center back in 1992. after the speech he'll have more opportunity toss speak out. he's giving a news conference here in new york. martha, back to you. martha: wee look forward to that. eric, thank you very much. eric shawn. bill: will we? >> martha: did you see, he was smiling and waving to everybody on his way in. bill: came in mid-speech with president obama. social security, should it be a state program? there are two republican candidates going back and tpo*t on this, at least two. the big feud we could see during that big debate on the fox news channel. plus this: >> [applause] >> martha: what a moment at

the white house, a marine, dakota meyer, the first living marine to receive the medal of honor in 38 years. >> we're either going to go in there or die trying, you know, and that's how it is, you know, that's your brothers in there, it's your family, your brothers, your marines, you know. that's what you do for a brother. >> martha: the young man is quite a hero, folks, and sarient dakota meyer is live in "america's newsroom", next.

bill: got an election alert, republican candidate rick perry taking a lead in the state of florida. here's the latest quinnipiac poll numbers, showing perry ahead of mitt romney and sarah palin by a considerable margin in the sunshine state. carl cameron is live in orlando with the rest of the team. there is new polling data out today. what does it tell us about the race for the white house? because you know florida, i mean, all these big issues, they all come to a head in the state of florida, carl. good morning. >> reporter: hi bill, yeah, florida makes a petri dish for the national debate, whethert's social security because of the high population of seniors here, illegal immigration because of the high population of latino, particularly cuban americans who tend to be more conservative and because this is a very important swing state and the fox news debate is decisive, the quin teeac poll shows it's at the top

of the race, rick perry remains the frontrunner but at 28 percent he's six points ahead of mitt romney, that's so close in fact that romney is well within striking distance and to many people it's a 2-person race in florida, as well as across the country. that's the republican side of this. but the democrat incumbent has serious problems, mr. obama is under water in florida, his disapproval rate is 57 percent. any incumbent with a disapproval rate over 50 percent is in bad shape, 57 percent is pretty extraordinary and only 39 percent approve the president obama's performance. when the republican candidates are matched up head to head, mr. romney actually beats the president, 47-40 percent, but it's worth noting neither one in the matchup get over 50 percent and rick perry who is again the national frontrunner would actually trail president obama if the election were today, he'd lose 42 percent to the president's 44. so it really illustrates that romney would seem to have an advantage over president obama in florida. mr. perry has an advantage

over mr. romney in florida. and mr. obama has got a serious problem in the sunshine state. bill: we'll be watching for that. i think the debate is a big deal, carl, but i don't think it's half as big as the fact today is your birthday. >> cut it out! thank you very much, bill. bill: it's a big one, too! >> a fox debate and campaign carl's birthday. bill: when they scheduled this, you were doing cart wheels, my day, my birthday! thank you carl, see you later tonight, all right? tonight is the night, where will you be? fox news teams up with google, 9:00, prime time east coast time, submit questions to the candidates. it's not too late. get one in to ask them, just like this sample here. >> all the candidates have stated that one of the reasons why they believe the economys so burning is that there are so many regulations coming from washington, d.c. if you elected president, my question is, what specific regulations would you repeal to spur growth in the

private spector. bill: how will they answer tonight? that question, many more just like it, so for tonight's debate, if you want to file a question either in written form or videotape, go to foxnews.com, scroll down to the spotlight section and click on the republican presidential debate. there it is. martha. martha: bill, thank you very much. well, he says that september 8th, 2009 in afghanistan was the worst day of his life. but last week, marine sergeant dakota meyer was given the medal of honor, the nation's highest military honor for his actions on that day . the 21-year-old dakota meyer

went against orders, straight into the middle of a massive firefight, a convoy of fellow marines were being am burred in a valley in eastern afghanistan, they dragged out the wounded and then went back, five times in all, under heavy and close fire. in the end, 13 americans and 23 afghan soldiers were saved. we are honored to have marine sergeant dakota meyer here in "america's newsroom". thank you for your service is an understatement in this situation. so we are so happy to have you here today. >> thank you. martha: welcome and congratulations. we just watched that moment of you with president obama. what was that like for you? >> well, you know, it was like surreal, you know? you hear about it, and finally, you're there and you're in the white house, and all this is going on, it's going so fast. it's really just amazing. martha: you know, you think back to your actions on that day, what went through your mind as you were making the decision to go in there?

and you had ignored the orders to pull back? >> you know, it was really a simple decision to make. your guys are in there, getting shot at, they need help, so we made the decision to go in there and try and get them out. martha: you knew you might not come out of there alive. >> i don't -- i didn't know i was going to come out of there alive. i didn't think i was going to come out of there alive. i knew i was going to die. but that's something you accept and you just go ahead and do it. martha: it sounds like it's so easy for you to say that and i know some of the people who watched, and the choppers from bop, they simply were speechless, they couldn't believe what you were doing, going in, dragging people out, five times you were down there. where do you think the strength came from to be able to do that? >> it's not just me. any man or woman standing in this uniform has the ability to do that and it's in them. you know, they serve in the military for a reason and that's how it is. but it's just part of you. your training.

you know, you have to really believe in what you're doing and if you believe in what you're doing, that's how you live. martha: i think most of us are in awe of your humanility and saying that. i know that you feel that even though you saved the lives of 36 people, that -- you said you were a failure because of the four that you got to who were lost, and we have pictures of those men who were your friends. talk to us a little about these fine men. >> they're great. you know, gunner sergeant, he was a big yankees fan, that's all he talked about was the yankees and he was like my best friend and lieutenant johnson, he's a cross fit guy, he loved to do cross fit, funny guy, not like your normal marine type, he wasn't like all hard charging like that, but a great guy. doc layton, he was closer to my age, we were always joking with each other, always close, and gunny johnson, he's a big cross fit guy, every time he was

doing workouts, we regretted it, we were like this is going to be bad. then you know, sergeant lesbrook, i didn't know him before this day but all i heard was good things and how awesome a man he was. >> when you denied the orders to come back, do you think -- did you think you would get in trouble? >> we discussed it, but the situation is not as bad as we think going in, we're going to be hammered for it, but i was -- i would be sitting in jail for disobeying an order or whaefr the repercussions came from it, and then have my guys here than to have not gone in there and done something. martha: after all this, i'm sure unexpected day, and what was your reaction when you heard -- and what was your family's reaction when you got the word you were going to receive the medal of honor which i should point out is the star in the middle because you have so many honors on your lapel there, but it's the one right in the center of the star. what was your reaction, what

did your family say, what did your parents say? >> you know, i heard it was going through, i heard it was going up the chains and this and -- this and that, and whenever i was getting wrote up for it, i laughed, i said there's no way. you know? and you know, there's a lot of emotions attached to it. i lost four brothers that day, and you know, it's a lot of emotions attached to it. martha: so what now? i know you've started a scholarship fund. tell us about that. i'm sure people would love to do something for you, you've done so much for so many others. what can we do for you? >> i've joined up with the marine corps foundation and i wanted to find a way to give back, the marines that have given us so much in america, giving us freedom every day, so i started the dakota meyer scholarship initiative and it's going to help out marines in combat, their children go to college college paves the road to success, so you can go to dakota meyer.com, find out the information on it, you can donate and it will

really help out. i went ahead and said i was going to raise $1 million by next may, and that's my goal. martha: we put that website up there as well and we're going toelp you reach your goal i hope as well. so what's next? what are you going to do after this? >> i don't know. that's a good question. i just keep going with the flow. martha: good for you, you go with the flow. dakota meyer, thank you very much, we appreciate it and we thank you very much for your service, everything you do. >> thank you. bill: well done, sergeant. making the state of kentucky proud, aren't you? nicely done. fox news alert, this is not good news, the markets are on a tear in the wrong direction. off about 300 points right now. reacting to what the fed did yesterday afternoon. that maneuver called the twist, reacting to markets overseas, that had a major selloff. hong kong sold off almost 5 percent overnight. then the jobs number that came out, showing that our own employment picture is not getting better. throw all that in the mix now, we're off to a bad

start on wall street. there is time. it's only 9:40 in the morning. we'll see where we go together. martha. martha: well, a battle ground state, president obama took the state of florida, of course, in the 2008 election, but he could be in trouble as we're hearing from carl cameron in 2012. so what the key may be to winning florida. bill by and strange symbols, appearing on board southwest airplanes. is that vandalism or is that something more sinister? >> it raises the issue, airports are supposed to be well-policed, lots of security cameras, everywhere we're told that some of the employees the airline are somewhat spooked.

martha: an emotional home coming brings to wife to tears when her husband, sergeant first class todd parker came into the dugout. she's a huge cardinals fan. >> there are two things that my wife loves very much, but

i'm not sure in what order. that's me and albert pujols. i think sometimes those might get confused a little bit. i'm not sure. i'll find out here in a little bit. everybody wants to come up to me and shake my hand and say you're a hero and that's great, don't get me wrong, but i always ask, if you see me and my wife with me, thank her, because she's sacrificed just as much if not more than i have. martha: what a humble statement and so true. the families in this country do sacrifice so much when their family members are serving overseas. her husband is serving in afghanistan. we just have had heroes all around here today! bill: they look like really good partners, too and the cardinals are making a run for the playoffs! martha: a happy lady today! bill: so to florida, it could be trouble in 2012 for the white house. three years ago, independent voters in that state were

overwhelmingly in fave of president obama, 52 percent of independents voted for the then-senator and those voters could be key again in 2012. take a look at what history shows us. in 2004, florida was a red state, republican, in 2008, it went blue. christopher han is democratic strat twist and former aide to senator chuck schumer, howing -- howing doing? >> angela mclallan is a fox news analyst. how you doing? >> doing well, bill, nice to see you. bill: what do you think right now about what's moving down there? some of the polls show the independents, they jumped the line and they've gone away from this president. >> well, florida, if it's a litmus test, bill, the president is in trouble. independents, as you said earlier, gave obama the presidency. independents are results-oriented, they want solutions, and right now, this administration is not giving us solutions. all of obama's polices have been failures, and it's not only going to be the

independents that are going to decide this, you have democrats that i think, christopher, might vote republican. bill: chris, are you going to jump the line? >> well, you know, listen, angela is always very insightful in her analysis, but the point she's missing is that social security is a bigger issue in florida than in any other state in the union. and right now, the 2gop -- two, gop frontrunners, romney and perry have their problems there. rick perry doubled down on the idea that social security is a ponzi scheme, and mitt romney supported george bush's failed 2005 attempts to privatize social security, and he still hasn't really packed off of -- backed off of that. >> christopher -- >> i got tong that senior citizens and many of my family members live down there now are not going to be voting for these people. >> there are no questions -- i believe that perry is right, social security is a ponzi scheme. having said that, we need to articulate the question more

if we want to change the social security system, we need to come up with solutions and proposals, and i think in the debate tonight, we're going to hash that out. bill: we shall. let me get back to the point because the numbers out of florida from the independent voter show 61 percent disapprove of the job president obama is doing. that's a huge number. and also in that state, chris, as you know, 25 percent of the voters don't declare a party. that means they're independents. that's where that state goes. >> right. you know, 41 percent of the voters in that state are democrat. so unlike most of the country where democrats need to win more of the middle, in florida, they've only got to get about 30, 40 percent of it, so the president is probably right where wants to be right now as long as the democrats come out to vote, and i think if there's an extreme right wing at the top of the ticket, particularly rick per yes, you're going to see democrats come out in record numbers, because as much as they might be uneasy about the way things are going with the president, they don't want to see rick perry in the oval office.

bill: what do you think about it, angela? he's making the point that the tea party is scaring people away from florida. are they? is there proof for that? >> the taet party is -- the tea party is not the entire republican party and i adore the tea party, they represent what americans are supposed to do. florida is not the only state, bill, that the president should be worried about. wisconsin is up for grabs, ohio is up for grabs. bill: and you go down the line. listen, here's what i want both of you to do in a moment here. i want to play a sound bite of mitt romney in florida, talking about social security, then perry reacts to that, i want both of you to give me a quick prediction about what we should expect tonight. first, roll it, romney on top. >> now, we did something unusual about three years ago. we elected a president we didn't know very well. didn't have a track record to look at. never worked in the private sector. had no experience, really, in leadership. and so we elected him

president of the united states. wondered how he'd do. >> i think i am that person who can clearly de lin ate the differences. we don't need to nominate obama light, we don't need to nominate someone who's going to blur the lines between president obama and our nominee. bill: chris, you get the first shot. what do you expect tonight? >> i expect mutually assured destruction from the two of them tonight. romney is on the heels of perry and perry feels the heat and he's going to have to fight back and romney is going to come hard at perry on social security. >> i never thought that you and i would agree. it's going to be a mitt romney-perry night. it's going to be a battle. bill: we shall see. a good team. you got it, we'll bring you back. martha, what's coming up? >> martha: unemployment is also shaping up to be a huge key issue in this 2012 race and it may be an even bigger issue in some critical states. a closer look at what is at stake employment wise, state by state, coming up. bill: also, watching and waiting in the sky, right, for a satellite that could

hit earth. martha: refrigerator size! bill: we're tracking it. the latest on where they think it may land. martha: stay tuned for that. >> where is it going to land? >> we don't know. >> anywhere? that's great! >> i read about it. >> are you worried? >> no. i remember back where the sky lab was falling down and it made for some good parties.

martha: wow, look at that! beautiful morning in california today. but it could start to turn ugly as space junk rains down from the skies, okay? a nearly 6-ton dead nasa satellite is hurtling toward the aefrplt there's the animation of what it might look like as it comes to the earth, massive pieces are expected to break off and

crash tomorrow. where it lands, though, pretty much anybody's guess at this point. kris gutierrez is tracking it live from johnson space tph-r in houston. so how is this all going to turn out for us, kris? >> fingers crossed it doesn't hit here and we're learning it probably won't hit here now. believe it or not, the department of defense has a sophisticated system of radars, martha, that's actually tracking this thing and they pass that information on to orbital scientists at the johnson space center so they are currently tracking this thing and the latest projection is this satellite will not be flying over north america when it comes crashing down and reenters the earth sometime we're told tomorrow afternoon. remember, you mentioned the satellite weighs 6 tons so it's roughly the size of a school bus but during reentry it's expected to break apart into 20 different chunks of steel and titanium, as small as 10 pounds, as large as 300 pounds and nasa right now has no idea where that debris will land. listen here: >> this object is uncontrolled, so it's

behaving in ways that are random in essence. it is frustrating to not be able to predict with more accuracy but it's long been known this is the problem. >> nowadays, these rockets and these satellites are built with an extra engine so nasa can direct them to a certain spot, for example, to land in the ocean. they're also built at times with extra gasoline that can pully -- actually propel them into areas so they won't land in places where people live. martha: that's pretty cool. kris gutierrez, we'll let you know if the refrigerator lands in the back yard! bill: people want to know. martha: you know, it's a diversionary tactic. you've got this market to look -- to look at if you want to check out things that are actually going to hurt you in this world! bill: we're trading lower. martha: ugly. bill: 353 to the negative side and only 26 minutes of trading. the dow is at 10700, the peak was # 2800 in the recent bull market, the

recent bull run, i should say. so we're down 2100 points since reaching our high, 356. we're just in a crater mode right now. martha: that's not good news, right? all right. we're going to talk about this coming up. the investigation into that failed solar panel company, solyndra, is heating up, folks. now the company's top executives, causing some issues with this investigation. we've got more on that, right after the break. bill and i will be right back. ican tonight, so another pill then? unless we eat later, then pill later? if i get a snack now, pill now? skip the snack, pill later... late dinner, pill now? aghh i've got heartburn in my head. [ male announcer ] stop the madness of treating frequent heartburn. it's simple with prilosec otc. one pill a day. twenty-four hours. zero heartburn. no heartburn in the first place. great.

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popcorn and friends around for that. both are simultaneously attacking each other over entitlements programs, probably the most important issue on the table for florida's booming retirement population. welcome everybody. brand new hour of "america's newsroom." i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. insists romney, that he has a plan to reform it by raising the retirement age for all americans and reducing benefits for wealthier americans. martha: texas governor says it should be run by the states. listen. >> what would happen to the social security trust fund if you sent social security back to the states? how would they divide it? would it be florida's responsibility to meet the social security needs of everyone who comes to florida? how would you deal with with people moving all over the place? what happened if one of the states didn't have it? what happened if one of the states got in financial trouble and raided their fund? i believe in social security.

there are tens of billions of americans who rely upon social security to meet their needs. i want to protect it. i want to save it. >> that's the old tactic that the democrats used back through the years to try to scare the senior citizens and that is irresponsible. if anyone on that stage, i mean, the that's a republican and wants to be a republican nominee is trying to scare our seniors with this issue that somehow or another i'm going to do away with social security that is just not, that is not appropriate, it is irresponsible. martha: all right. so there's a setup for the big night tonight. joined by bret baier and from special report. he will run the show as theee y. martha: that's whate're expectin tonight a real head-to-head for these two and obviously engagement by all the others asking and answering questions as well

about what to do about entitlements in this country because everybody seems to agree we have to do something in order to turn the ship around. >> clearly, martha, it's a big question a big thing in this campaign right now as you just played the sound bides from governor romney and governor perry. governor romney was down here yesterday in florida did an interview with "usa today" where essentially he called governor perry unelectable on this issue. i'll tell you this with our partner google and all the videos come in around the world, we have video questions submitted from everyone of the 50 states here in the u.s. and they are all over the snap -- map as far as issues. not just on the social security issue. the number one top pick and you will not be surprised by this, jobs and the economy. and obviously debt and government spending fall into that bucket as well. we plan to set the environment to enable the candidates to really expand

upon some of the things they have said in previous debates. martha: we're looking at video of the setup down there. it looks just great. we're looking forward to very exciting night when you guys get in there and start the ball rolling. let's look at a recent quinnipiac poll with shows romney and perry. perry at 28. romney at 22. the gapar lots of viewers want to remind us this is not a two move man race just yet. there are other people in this race. we'll watch michele bachmann very closely tonight. ron paul very closely tonight and all of the others and see what they will do. >> sure. there are big moments for a whole bunch of candidates. as we've seen in the string of debates the last debate in iowa a few people had big nights. we expect big nights out of some of the other candidates as well. it's clear to point out though and everyone pretty much realizes the comparisons to 2008 when rudy giuliani and fred thompson were at the top of the polls roughly at this time, it seems and

feels a little different with governor romney and governor perry one and two. here in florida, they are tied in the recent poll by the "miami herald". newt gingrich is actually in third, about 20 points back. martha: very, very interesting. we're looking forward to night, bret. we know you will do a fantastic job. we will watch you and chris wallace and megyn and all the people who sent in their questions. here we go. bret, thanks so much. bill: martha from new jersey. >> martha from new jersey bill from ohio. bill: a little behind the scenes on social security right now. 54 million americans receive some form of social security. expenditures for the fiscal year 2010 were about $700 billion. that is 1/5 of all federal spending. at that rate, analysts predict reserves for social security can last to about the year 2036. tonight's debate will be the most interactive ever. starting with other online preshow at 8:30 eastern. log on to youtube.com/foxnews

where you find a numbwer of ways to make your voice heard. 9:00 the debate begins. time for you to start voting in the lls that run all night long on the right of thscreen. immigration, gay marriage, government regulations, weigh in with just the click of a mouse andou can have your voiceeard tonight. >> you will be able to sre your comments what is happening during the debate in realtim fox news and google teaming up at 9:00 p.m. for the republican debat make su you tune in. it completely interactive experience. chat and scream, not justt your tv but actually get your voice hrd. bill: yeah also at the moment right now hearings underway in the house on the president's green jobs agenda. the controversy surrounding the failed solar energy company th burned throug half a billion dollars of tax money. today's developments on the hill come a day before the top executives of the now-bankrupt solyndra expected to plead the fifth

when they're grilled by lawmakers there. doug mckelway is on that ory. he is in washington. doug, good morning. what do we expect? >> reporter: good morning to you, bill. solyndra ceo and brian rrison and bill stover both annound they will plead the fifth on during their question on advice of their counsel. the ficial that represents solyndra in the hearings advised the clients not to talk because the ongoing justice department investigation over sole lynn drachlt they are expected to testify tomorrow. republicans investigating the obama administration's green jobs policies are now focusing on key private investors in the failed solyndra solar company asking them for all pertinent documents. we're talking about thousands upon thousands of documents. two of the companies that they have asked to turn over docs are argonaut private equity and madrone capital. one of those, argonaut is headed by george kaiser. he is the bundler of obama campaign funds. the fact they're pleading the fifth is obviously a

maneuver to protect themselves from potential misstatements that could be used in the ongoing justice department of investigation of solyndra. republican inquisitors also wonder if there are other reasons? >> there has been a suggestion, we haven't documented it there is suggestion that perhaps that testimony was trying to be manipulated by white house. he is though are very serious allegations and something a committee like the oversight committee is supposed to dive into. >> reporter: the hearing got underway at 9 clin 0. we're watching closely the key solyndra players not expected to testify until tomorrow. bill: doug, thank you for that story. we'll see where it goes if anywhere. martha: well a controversial execution in georgia of a convicted a police killer and that happened finally after many delays last night. up to the very last minute, there were appeals to save the life of troy davis. john roberts joins us live with more on this from atlanta. hi, john. >> reporter: good morning to you, martha.

three previous times troy davis came within minutes of being executed. last night it was carried out of the there was a brief moment of hope, actually four hours worth of for his attorneys and supporters when the supreme court of the united states took unexpectedly long time to consider a motion to stay. but the georgia supreme court which passed the state up to the supreme court had said that troy davis's attorneys presented no new evidence or arguments and they didn't take long to deny the motion. the execution began at 10:53 last evening. at 11:08 troy davis was pronounced dead. before they began the execution, troy davis had some words for the family of officer mark mcfale. they were present in the witness room. he was the police officer killed in 1989. he is the person for whose murder troy davis was on death row. here is john lewis. he is a radio reporter with wsb. he witnessed the execution. >> he claimed he was innocent. he wasot responsible for what happened that night in 198. he did not have a gun.

he was not personally responsible for the death of officer mcfail. >> according to lewis, davis said to the family that he was sorry for their loss, martha. martha: what a moment that must have been in that room. so this is a case, john, that has really captured so much attention all around the world, really. >> not just here in the united states. it has been a rallying point for death penalty opponents. since he was convicted and sentenced to death in the 1991, seven of nine witnesses recanted testimony. three of the jurors who voted for the debt penalty said they made a mistake. there was no fingerprint evidence, no dna evidence and no gun found. for so many people there was so up doubt he shouldn't be executed or people believed he was completely innocent. here is one of his attorneys, immediately after the execution. >> our sadness, the sadness of his friend and his family, as tempered by the hope that troy's death will lead to a fundamental legal reforms so

we will never again witness with inevitable regret the execution of an innocent man like we did tonight. >> there is the macphail family side. i spoke with maddison, who 18 months old at the time of her father's debt in 1989. we exchanged texts. it is a sad day for all families. our prayers go out to his family. we will try to start the healing process. martha? martha: quite a story. john roberts thank you very much. john roberts in atlanta. bill: watching the stock market with half an eye open because it is not something you want to see. 50 house republicans, about 50 house republicans that voted against a spending bill that could keep the government running. one of them joins us live in a moment and explains that no vote and what it means. martha? martha: somebody is messing around with southwest airlines, painting invisible ink on the side of their

planes. why investigators don't think it is funny. bill: they tried to block a train and laying across the tracks. things got really ugly when the police showed up. >> anybody else, that is not our job. it is not our mo to do that kind of thing.

martha: big fight on the hill over spending. watch this. >> on this vote the yeas are 195, the nays are 230. the motion is not adopted. martha: so 48 republicans went against house leadership. they joined democrats in defeating a spending bill that would prevent a government shutdown. here is house appropriations committee chair, hal rogers before the vote. >> this is a clean bill. this bill extends the time for us to work with the senate to perfect a continuing bill for the balance of 12.

it gives us five or six weeks but only three or four of those weeks will be available because both bodies will not be here all that time. martha: that's always a problem. one the republican lawmakers who voted no is arizona congressman david schweikert. he sits on the house financial seices committee. welcome. >> good morning, martha. martha: so you had a had a lot of pressure from john boehner and others in leadership to pass this bill. why dud decide not to? >> it would be budget discipline. look, the numbers that were in this continuing resolution look to be about 24 billion above our budget resolution. now that is sort of, i think personally a violation of our promise. so when you walk onto the floor, i made a promise when i voted for that budget resolution. we would stick with the numbers or try to do better, this was going the wrong direction. martha: you raise a really interesting point. we think about, try to put these things in our own terms. if you make a change in the

house budget and say we're simply not going out for dinner anymore on the weekend and then the next month you say, maybe just this once, we'll do it just this once, once you've sort of breached that agreement it makes it pretty difficult to go back. >> martha, i have to say that is brilliant way to phrase it. if we stand up all of sudden say this time we'll look the other way, do we set up a pattern for the rest of the year and do we start breaking promises both to the american people? also the good work we're starting to do, convincing the world markets that the united states is now going to start taking its debt seriously? and my fear is, if we break the promise, we lose the goodwill we started to build. martha: if you look at market it is pretty unconvinced that any fiscal discipline will change anytime soon. let me ask something -- let me ask this and get back to your point, john boehner basically said this, if we don't pass this wait until you see what the senate will send us. if you think this bill is

unappealing wait until you see what they are going to get done. >> if you judge your vote purely on hypothetical, what the senate, god forbid they actually do some work, actually send us something, what my great hope is we'll regroup, we'll engage in that little bit of additional budget discipline and we will put together a package someone like myself can vote for. martha: this bill, if i heard you right is $24 billion short of being below the spending cap that was set in the budget bill, is that right? >> long would be the better way to phrase it. martha: yeah. >> from my calculation looks 24 billion beyond our budget resolution promise. martha: okay. are we going to see a government shutdown on september 30th if we can't get this resolved? >> i actually can't imagine that. in the scope of things we're all very close. so this is one of those occasions where if we can move the ball forward, if we do a couple things in the negotiations also with the senate, i am truly hoping no

threat to shut down but that we are also able to step up and keep our budget resolution promise. martha: come up with a bill below that threshold and cuts that other 24 billion, have you got that? >> yeah. a lot of folks, from the rsc have been actually proposing numbers that would accomplish that. martha: representative, thank you so much. >> anytime. >> david schweikert joining us today. bill: interesting battle. jobs considered the key to winning the white house in 2012, we know that but some of the most critical swing states are seeing some of the worst numbers across the board. larry sabato breaks it down with his crystal ball for the first time in moment. >> look forward to that. the planes look normal but once they take off an invisible symbol is revealed on the side of them. this is bizarre. what does it means? >> it raises issue airports are supposed to be very well policed. lots of security cameras everywhere. i'm tol some of the employees of the airline are somewhat spooked.

martha: take a look at this. union members scuffling with the police. these are members of the longshoreman's union, guys that work on docks at ports around the country. brawling, that is not a pretty scene with officers that showed up to arrest them protesting at the port of longview in washington state. that got pretty ugly. >> we want them to protest peacefully to do whatever they can without violating the law. martha: union members were laying down in front of a freight train trying to block a shipment of grain because the dock is using members after different union. bill: there was an investigation now into strange symbols showing up on the side of some airplanes. they are made with a chemical that is only visible after the plane

heats up after takeoff. many are asking how in the world could this happen? >> it does raise disturbing questions about the security. because anybody who has the ability to write on an airplane and can get that close to do it, also has the ability to do other things to that aircraft. bill: this is coming out of l.a. right now. kttv's bob decrass slow is live at l.a.x. what to they say about all that? >> reporter: we just talked to southwest airlines a few moments ago to get to the bottom of this they want to stress this is not a federal investigation although they contacted the tsa and the fbi. they call this an internal investigation. they're calling it vandalism. what is interesting we understand it is very common for these ground crews, for example, to write something on these planes, especially when the planes are dirty. sort of like what you would do if your car is dirty. there are reports that a chemical is being used to etch something on the planes. when the planes are turned on, auxiliary systems are

turned on and the plane heats up and what is revealed are writings, etching, graffiti. some are calling it arab-like symbols. southwest said they have heard none of the sort. they wouldn't characterize the graffiti being ara i can about. and they are saying they are not hearing that any chemicals are being used. what they're saying is that it is internal investigation and they have notified all the employees to keep an eye out for anyone that might be vandalizing their planes. at this point they're saying this is internal matter and they have notified the feds. bill: any changes in security result of this, bob? >> reporter:. yeah they said they have not bumped up security whatsoever. again they notified the authorities and they say this has not changed their operations or the safety of their aircraft. bill: bob decastro. you have a mystery on your hands there at lax. thanks for your time, kttv.

>> reporter: yeah, certainly is. bill: it is no secret that economy is the critical issue for voters. which swing states could give the white house the biggest headache come next november. we have the list. martha: we have a new book that slams the president for the way he handles the economy and the underlying confidence of him and his job. we'll talk to the author of that next right here in "america's newsroom". >> it is our poll question of the day, right? which candidate can best fix the economy. more than 1600 votes already. go to foxnews.com/"america's newsroom" and vote and tell us what you think. while you do that we'll take a commercial break. martha and i are back in three minutes. fire! ♪ [ mom ] wow! [ female announcer ] cascade complete pacs. love it or your money back.

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[ woman ] now, instead of cutting waste and loopholes, washington wants to cut our benefits? that wasn't the agreement. [ male announcer ] join the members of aarp and tell washington to stop cuts to our medicare and social security benefits. bill: about 10:30 in new york now. new weekly unemployment numbers in. 423,000 americans filing for unemployment benefits last week. down the thousand from the previous week. that is still too high of a number to cut into a healthy economy or turn the economy around. it's not a pretty picture especially when you break it down state-by-state in some of the critical battle ground states. in nevada back in november of 2008 when americans voted unemployment was at 8.7%. that was three years ago. now let's jump to 13.4% as of hrat month. that leads the nation right now. how about florida, key swing

state every year in the race for the white house. in november of 08 7.6% late wide. last month the numbers at 10.7% for august of 2011, a substantial difference in the sunshine state in only three years. larry santlarry sabato is here. how wil are you doing. >> i'm doing fine. bill: if you look at the top ten states in the worst shape i think you can make an argument here that at least four of these ten are critical swing states in 2012. nevada and flashes but also michigan and north carolina. how do you see it? >> those are it. you took the words right out of my mouth, bill. those four states have higher than expected unemployment rates, it's higher than the national average. obviously the republican nominee will make that issue one in campaigning in each of those

states. you know, we have too much focus on the national number, bill. the national number is interesting, but we have a state-by-state system of electing the president. what really matters to people is the unemployment rate in their state, and in those four states that is going to be the big issue for the republican nominee. bill: i want you to explain that in greater depth here. you write in your website here, national unemployment rate alone is not a good indicator of results. a lot of people look to this number and try to make predictions, but you say that is not important? >> it's important, people pay attention to it, but what really matters to them is what they are seeing in their state, in their localities, among their friends and families. so it's the rate locally that really matters to people politically. after all that's what politics is all about. people reflecting their personal concerns in casting their ballot. bill: the second ten, i find

three states interesting here, illinois, new jersey, and ohio. we all know the history for ohio, but illinois and new jersey, these are democratic states. could they flip based on what you're seeing in your crystal ball? >> no, this is what is really interesting, and ohio could certainly flip. but illinois and new jersey, highly doubtful unless we have another 1980, and you had a republican nominee winning 40-plus states. but as long as it's a competitive race party identification triumphs factors even as significant as unemployment. california has a higher than average unemployment raeurbgts much higher than average, is that going to flip california? not a chance. that is a deeply blue state. on the other hand you look at the dakotas. the dakotas are right at the bottom. they have the lowest unemployment rates in the country. will obama get credit for that? not a chance, they going to vote republican. so party i.d. triumphs

unemployment. that's why i'm saying look to the swing states, that's where the unemployment rate in the state will really matter in 2012. bill: a great point. there is another poll, not yours necessarily but in florida given the debate later tonight, it shows that perry leads romney in a head-to-head match up, but in new hampshire romney is walking away with it, he has like a 21-point lead. anything significant in either state for either man? >> well that is pretty much what is expected. look, perry is lining up the south. i've watched these polls state-by-state, in the deep south and also the upper south and even the border states. this is romney's big problem. if perry lines up the south and the border states it is very difficult to stop him for the nomination. on the other hand romney is getting support in most, not all, but most of the northern states. new hampshire is his best early state. if he can win that big then he comes in to south carolina and nevada and florida with a bigger

head of steam than he would have otherwise. bill: larry, thank you it's good to see you. we'll talk to you in about a week. deal? >> yep, there you go. martha: here is the point about confidence and the white house. a new book takes a behind the scenes look at the inch fighting and the turmoil turning president obama's handling of the u.s. economy in the first couple of years and really all the way up to the present day. in a fox news poll nearly two-thirds of registered voters say that they disapprove of the way that the president is handling the u.s. economy, pulitzer prize winning journalist and author ron suskind joins me now. he's the author of confidence man, wall street, washington and the education of a president. what an education it is, it's an exhaustive book. you've spent hours talking to all of these people. fine finally you got 50 minutes

with the president sit down. how did that come about. >> i went to the white house on a final pass, i said here is what i've got. i laid it out for them. they said, you know you need to talk to the president. i sat down with the president did an edge to edge of disclosures, of reporting inside the white house, outside of the white house and wall street too and said let's talk. he was quite open. i don't think he had been confronted with a lot of this stuff up to then. he affirmed, he didn't deny anything. then he talked about what he had done, how he'd grown, he says look this is a tough time and i learned some hard lessons, and, you know, it's interesting because you can feel him trying to sort of manage a kind of evolution in that interview, that's why people are reading every word of it saying, i don't think i've ever seen the president like this. martha: it's fascinating. one of the things that caught may attention early on in the book is a discussion on how to grow the economy. this was happening right after the bat a couple years ago. they talk, today, mr. president we need to go out and put points on the board with this speech,

and they are discussing green jobs and he's presented with an economic scenario that says at the most you're going to get, i don't know a hundred thousand, i forget the number that exactly it was out of that. we think we should go in another direction to really build jobs in this country an keeps going back to the green jobs issue and now we see only 3500 jobs produced out of that. >> there are all sorts of.along the way where he's advised essentially ahead of time what ends up being the problem later. well no this will run you into problems mr. president down the road. he seems to ignore it. he gets his ideas fixed on something and it's hard for advisers to dislodge him when the evidence doesn't support it. in other cases obama says, this is what i want to do and he's quite forceful but is advisers will not bulge and it doesn't get done. that's part of the really controversial stuff in the book. he has trouble expressing his will in action, and i talked to him about that. i said skwraoedz, that is a real accountability issue. some presidents would fire these people. what is going on here? it's a stuff meeting, a tough

interview. martha: what does he say about that. >> he says the pwraoubg rock crazy moves slower than i wanted. these things are really hard issues. the evidence is in many cases obama wanted to be more dynamic than he was and he got gamed by his zoned advisers. many of them worked for bill clinton. many of them did not rise in the great heroic journey of barack obama to the white house. they really didn't understand what his political base was about, where he got his power and you have the division. martha: you've got larry summers saying things much quoted in discussions about this book that bill clinton never would have let this happen, never would have let the mistakes be made. let me take a look at one quote, this is from your sit down discussion with the president. it's especially relevant right now. he's talking about the bush tax cuts and the decision to extend them at that crucial point. he says part of what was

important in the tax deal was not that my mind was changed around the bush tax cuts, i still think that they were a bad idea, but i think i was able to recognize was that at this juncture the country will kneel better about itself and that will have important ramifications. the most important deficit reduction program that i can initiate is to get this economy growing again. and boy so now he's decided that the bush tax cuts should be let go, should expire, and he says that is going to make the country not feel great about itself. >> at the very end after that he's got this quote which is the confidence quote, it's called confidence is the coin of the realm in america, it always has been. he got his confidence battered. he got here being a confident guy unflappable. that's been bruised. he got the wind knocked out of him in the first two, two and a half years. he says it's not about me being confident, leadership in this office it's somehow to make the american people feel confident.

he says in a way symbols and gestures will be as important as any policies we push forward in terms of this office. i think it is some would say an evolution, others would say a compromise for the president. interestingly at the end you can hear him opining about reagan, how reagan could turn a switch on annex you'd optimism, and he says i've never been like that, but clearly he wants to be able to flip a switch. martha: you see a flip switching now when you see him give these speeches? i hear people saying, i think he's turning around. >> i do, actually. if he were sitting with us now. you see suskind's interview. i'm doing it. i'm talking about jobs. he's much more forceful this week. and now he's saying some people won't be happy rather than everybody will be happen here. just trust me. he's a guy with a long who the shot personality. he does best when the odds are the longest. either he does it now or he's in

real trouble. martha: you talk about all the people who are around him in this period. is bill daly having an influence on him or the structure there at all do you think? >> he could be. pete rouse, bill daly. he says in the book this is the team i need going forward. he got rid of the other team and we'll see if it's about the team or about the man in the middle. martha: it's a big question. >> it's usually the man in the middle. martha: it's a great read, confidence men. thank you so much for being with us today. good to talk to you. bill: a lot to talk about there. 20 minutes before the hour now. conservative republicans, tea party members going against their own leadership in a pag major vote on spending. we'll talk to a key member of the tea party movement about that. a controversial center is now open to the public at ground zero. what one person thinks he should have done differently. >> it's very humbling and excited to be able to open the doors today with this

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bill: the controversial islamic center near ground zero holding its first public event. a photo exhibit with children from 106 countries that live in new york city. the site is blocks from the site of 9/11. a fierce battle broke out between supporters and opponents of the project. one of the project developers speaking out about one of his biggest regrets. >> we didn't know that we had a responsibility to interact with the 9/11 families, but today we realize the responsibility and what we have to do. bill: the developers still working to raise the millions of dollars needed in order to build a mosque in a theater next door. that's the plan. martha: there is a feud over social security that has been taking center stage ahead of tonight's gop debate. rick perry and mitt romney sparring over retirement benefits in a state that has quite a few retire reese, as we

well know in florida, the polls show perry edging out romney among republican voters in that state. it's getting tighter, though, 28 to 22. social security obviously will be discussed tonight. watch this. >> what would happen to the social security trust fund if you sent social security back to the states in and what happens by the way if one of those states got in financial trouble and raided their fund? i believe in social security. >> let's have a grown up conversation. republicans have identified that social security is wrong, a lot of republicans, bug paul ryan have said the same thing that it's broken and got to be fixed and i agree with them. martha: what es the tea party want to hear from tonight's debate. amy kramer chair of the tea party express swroeupbs us today. amy how are you doing? >> hey, martha i'm good how are you. martha: good, good. what do you think about that? you listen to the two men, where does the tea party stand and who

will you be watching closely tonight? >> we will be watching all of them. it will be interesting tonight because gary johnson will be in this debate so there will be nine candidates there. romney and perry, they are the frontrunners right now, that's what everybody is focusing on, and the last debate when governor perry mentioned the ponzi scheme it really took off and that's all people have talked about. look, mart that, this is the thing, social security is broken. baby boomers are entering the world at an unprecedented rate, people are living longer, it's simply not sustainable. the democrats have always demagogued this issue. we've seen granny going off the cliff in terms of medicare. the thing is all of the candidates on the stage realize what a problem it is and we have to deal witness. unfortunately they all are dealing with it in a different way. governor perry is not the first one to call it a ponzi scheme,

actually. three nobel laureates have called it a ponzi scheme and governor romney talked about it in his book. martha: they need to be clear when they layout their plans about the timeframe under which they would like to make changes because we do see a lot of folk get very nervous if they are already receiving these benefits and they want to hear what is going to happen down the line. i do want to ask you about michelle bachmann. there has been a lot of sort ever in the bloodstream lately that she is slipping and lost her edge in all of this. what do you think about that? >> you know, i wouldn't count anybody out. i mean there are going to be ebbs and flows. if you look back to 2008, guiliani and fred thompson were the frontrunners. and john mccain has no man and fired all of his campaign an

ended up being the nominee. don't count michelle bachmann out. she's a tough fighter, she's always been out there on the front lines. i won't be surprised if she comes back. i wouldn't count sarah palin out either. a recent poll this past week puts her within five points of trailing obama and that is not good news. martha: we've heard some folks from the tea party say that they are frustrated and they would like her to stop teasing them in words of one person. do you feel that way? do you want her to get in or get out. >> i would like her to get in or get out. i would like to know. she's always done things her way and another real strong supporters of the tea party movement and a strong fighter on the front lines, we are all sitting on the edge of our seat waiting to see what she does. martha: all right. amy thank you so much. good to talk to you today. we asked our viewers this question today. which candidate can best fix the u.s. economy? isn't that what it really all comes down to at po this point? almost 3,000 people have weighed

insofar. right now rick perry and ron paul are running nec neck-and-neck each with about a third of the vote. go to to foxnews.com/"america's newsroom" and you can log on and tell us what you think. bill: we paid our electric bill, i don't know why -- martha: did you pay that. bill: jenna lee is coming up in 11 minutes. jenna: the dow is down more than 300 points bill. more on the stock sell off today. the big fox news and google republican presidential debate don't. a present view of that. early dicks on presidential candidate jon huntsman. he'll be taking your questions in a town hall usa. go to foxnews.com/"happening now." we will read all of your questions and ask one to jon huntsman. bill: what is iran's president going to tell americans when he speaks in moments at the united nations? stocks are falling through the

floor again. what is moving the tparbgt markets way down.

bill: iranian president ahmadinejad will make his speech to americans in the world today. he's at the united nations and protestors are making their own voices heard. that is him yesterday entering when president obama was in the middle of his own speech. steven yates former deputy assistant to vice president dick cheney for national security affairs. how are you doing so and good morning to you. >> just fine, thank you bill. bill: this comes on the day when two americans were released from an iranian jail, the timing is perfect. and not without coincidence,

it's typical of him, ahmadinejad. >> they basically release people who never should have been held in the first place in the hopes of shaping a positive environment for concessions with their negotiating counter parts. western leaders should never ever get into this kind of tactic. bill: will he mention his nuclear program in his speech today? >> i doubt that he will. but it does stand in stark contrast to some of the vision president obama tried to layout in his speech about a world without nuclear weapons. with the threat of iran's program with its posture in the middle east i think it's an important out liar in what the president is going to assert. bill: how much longer do we have to deal with him, or take him i guess. is he in trouble back home? >> he's been undercut by the supreme leader. that doesn't change the nature of the threat from the state of iran. there are parliamentary elections coming up next year in eye lan.

presidential election is not until 2013. there is sometime left in his clock. he's been involved in a domestic struggle. even the release of the hostages was a tactic. he said he was going to pardon them. the supreme leader said no, and the supreme leader released them before mahmoud ahmadinejad was supposed to speak. bill: what is the headline of his address today? we hear why the in the world is he making a speech in the first place? nonetheless he is here. >> it's a chance to offend western values in the united states and of course the state of israel. we'll get more of the same where he's inflaming positions that are deeply hostile to israel and our interest in the region. bill: thank you for you your evaluation, we'll see it when it happens. martha: big night tonight, nine candidates in the fox news-google debate.

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martha: take a look at this. >> it might be the dumbest thing we've ever done. i almost took a bite out of your boot. so what do you think about that. a little close encounter with a bear. it happened when they were fishing in virginia. they say it stayed around for a while and high tailed it out of there. bill: we'll see you tomorrow for a full debate of what went on tonight. jon: don't try that bear thing at home folks, good morning i'm jon scott. jenna: i'm jenna lee. so glad you are with us today. "happening now," have you checked