governor will appear next november 21. thanks for inviting us into your homes tonight. that is it for this special election coverage. as always, fair, balanced. good night. >> reporter: voters making their voices naerd states across america this election day. in kentucky democratic incumbent steven lynn basheer defeated. and bill bryant will be suckeeding hailey barber. in ohio voters rejected a new law restricting bargaining rights, seen as a blow to republicans in a state that could prove pivotal in deciding next year's race. obama administration is clearing the way for more oil and gas kriling off our nation's coastlines. and the expansion is less than

what republicans claim is needed to create jobs. the white house is moving cautiously in the wake of the 2010 oil spill contaminating the gulf with millions of gallons of crude. a grand jury bringing charges against a soldier accused of plotting to bomb. the private first class was charged on tuesday in texas. one charge including allegations that he tried to use a weapon of mass destruction. he was arrested in a motel near the army base. police say he told them he planned on bombing a restaurant where many soldiers eat. nba players rejected a labor deal saying the current sofr not one that we're able to accept. the key issue remains revenue sharing. nba commissioner says the offer will be off the table by 5:00 wednesday night. the commissioner has cancelled

the first month of the season. i'm ainsley earhardt. now back to "hannity". for headlines we encourage you to log into fox news channel. have a good night. fox. now it's time for hannity. >> sean: and tonight is election night 2011, and we'll be bringing you breaking developments from all across the country throughout this hour, but first we move to some major news on the road to 2012. today republican frontrunner herman cain held a press conference to address the allegations that have been hurled at him by sharon bielek and her celebrity attorney. he revealed that he doesn't even recognize the accuser. take a look. >> i tried to remember if i recognized her and i didn't. i tried to remember if i remembered that name, and i didn't.

the charges and the accusations are absolutely -- i absolutely reject. they simply didn't happen. and as far as the accusations causing me to back off and maybe withdraw from this presidential primary race, ain't gonna happen. >> sean: also today cain's accuser and her attorney appeared right here on the fox newschannel. we asked whether or not her decision to come forward was financially motivated, she had an interesting answer. listen to this. >> people look at the situation and say she's coming forward for money. has anyone offered you any money in the situation? >> absolutely not. >> do you plan to make any money off of it? would you write a book or do interviews for money? would you do a magazine interview. >> this isn't why yo i came

forward. >> would you do it? >> i'd have to think about it. that's so far off the radar. >> meanwhile the cain campaign has called into question her credibility and has distributed a detailed press release about her background. joining me with with more on all of this is the chief of staff to herman cain. you might remember him from the smoking ad, mark is with us. >> thanks for having me, shawn. >> look. he couldn't be more adamant in his denial today. he's addressed it all head on. does this end it from your perspective? >> we're hoping it ends it, sean. mr. cain went before the american public today and categorically denied that he ever had any sexual harassment charges that stuck. i mean, it's become quite aapparent that mr. cain's candidacy and his rise in the poll is the -- both the left and the right's worst nightmare. you have all of these allegations coming out, you know, eight nine days ago from

politico. you start connecting the dots and trying to figure out whether it's com coming from opponents n the left or the right. just at the press conference it was brought up that someone had come out as one of the women. come to find out her son works at politico. >> have you confirmed that? i've been hearing that all day. you've confirmed that now, right? >> we confirmed it that he does indeed work at politico and that's his mother, yes. >> all right. let me -- this is how insane it's gotten. one of the things i did is prior to all of this i went back and i put together a montage of things that have been said about herman cain. i've known him over a decade. this is not the herman cain i know and watched and been on stage with and been in crowds with. i've actually had a chance to see him up close and personal over the years. we worked on an affiliate radio

station together, but prior to all this happening, he's smoking the proverbial crack pipe, he's the conservative or the tea party's quote, black friend, he's a bad apple, etc., and worse, far worse than that, things i can't even say on television. so that raise the questions in my mind. now we've got cnn citing an anonymous friend of an anonymous accuser in their news stories, so are you saying that this is all a smear campaign? if the media is doing this all up to this point, are they going to expect? do you expect it to stop? >> sean, put things in perspective. this man has had a 40-year business career, and he has priewch leadership in every job that he ever had. within the last eight days all

of this explodes in conjunction with him rising and staying ahead in the polls? start connecting the dots. i think his candidacy is the worst nightmare of both the white house and some of our opponents. it looks like it's politics as usual. sean, i'm telling you. we have gotten thousands and thousands of e-mails, text messages from all across the country. the american people are sick of this gutter politics. >> sean: is it a bad idea when herman opened up the door to the possibility of a lie detector test? that was the only thing as i'm watching the press conference, i thought he absolutely was, you know, unequivocating in his denial. he's out there saying it didn't happen, explaining every situation, but you know, does he not run the risk of turning it into a circus if this becomes okay, what is the lie detector test say and gloria allred will be insisting it's her person administering the test. was that a bad idea?

>> i don't think so because when he watched the press conference yesterday, the first thing he did is turn to me and said mark, if i need to take a lie detector test, let's do it. let's get this out, done, and finished. >> sean: well, karen finney was on nbc news talking about that there's a layer of black sexuality infused into this. the g.o.p., how are they going to react to a black man being sexually aggressive towards a woman, especially a blonde? i mean, these type of racial comments that have been made, this happens to every african-american conservative i know. what does this tell you now that you've been through all of this in the campaign about race, politics, and america and those that are black and conservative? >> what i see, sean, and what you just spoke of is not what we

see on the campaign trail. again, i think these are vicious attacks on mr. cain's character because he has risen in the poll, and quite frankly, you have to admit. it's been an unconventional campaign with an unconventional candidate, and those in the inner circle or the washington elite just don't understand why this is happening. but if you get out of the beltway of washington, dc and see how his programs are resonated, the fact that he not only talks about the problems but offers solutions, especially 999. that has resonated and almost become an iconic trademark across the country. his people understand it. >> sean: mark, we're going to switch you to gars. we'll get you off the cigarettes. it's better for your health. we appreciate you being with us. >> glad to be with you. >> sean: coming up, juan williams and ed gle gles gillesh

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address these issues directly and forthrightly. i will repeat. i have never acted inappropriately with anyone, period. >> sean: that was g.o.p. presidential hopeful herman cain earlier today. now the cain campaign has been heavily criticized for their handling of the situation since the story broke. joining me now with reaction, the author of the "new york times" best seller muzzleled. juan williams, and the chairman of the republican state leadership committee, ed gillespie is here. you would think this will end it, but it's not. here we have this woman, i guess she works in the obama administration, and she's out there saying, karen, that she would be willing to now have a joint press conference with all the other women. now, so what does that mean? so all of these women together are now going to come out publicly and the story never

goes away and the media will never stop asking, there never comes an end to this? in this case it's he said, she said? >> that's the thing, sean. i will say this. there's at least a greater sense of fairness, however unfair it is, that we're not dealing with anonymous accusers any more. people can see and hear from both sides. that's helpful to herman cain. a blanket denial today. couldn't be any more strong in terms of the denial. denies the other one as well. we're at a point where like you said, one person is saying one thing, somebody else is saying another. we're spending more time talking about this and it is distracting from pretty critically important issues. >> sean: at least the media only asks obama one question. juan, you've been cre critical of the process in the media. cnn is sorting an anonymous friend of an anonymous accuser as a news source in one particular case.

we've got a fifth woman who only said she was suspicious. then went out to dinner with him, and then was mad that he ordered two $400 bottles of wine and he exhibited no inappropriate sexual behavior, but the media tells us that's the fifth woman, so what are we to make of all of this at this point? >> i mean, i'll pick up on what ed said. it was a blanket statement by the candidate today. herman cain said i never behaved inappropriately with any woman and he said very clearly he did not engage in any inappropriate behavior with miss bialek. she has all these graphic details, he touched her here and there and he bought her a bigger upgrade on a hotel room. the fact is he says he doesn't remember her, she's a troubled woman, and it didn't happen. if she's got any evidence, any evidence whatsoever of something that she says happened 14 years ago. i want to manufactur emphasize ,

sean. he's got such a big target on him. it's not a high tech lynching. it's lane of mob. if the mob has any evidence given what herman cain said today, bring it on. let's see it because it would devastate what herman cain said. he said nothing happened. he wasn't playing any games. he wasn't mincing words. he said nothing happened. if they've got anything, let's see it. right now, i don't see anything. he is a presidential candidate who is doing well, he's a black conservative. they don't apparently worry about the conservative have figured out any time you want to take black man down, bring in sex. this is ridiculous. >> sean: what do you think? >> there's no doubt that the liberals reserve a special pretty vitriolic disdane for black conservatives. you see it time and time again. it's important when someone raise a charge like this, the woman stood and said it.

he stood and issued a blanket denial. we're distracting from important issues. this week alone the national debt goes over $15 trillion, the poverty rate is at 16%. one in five men between 25 to 29 are living at home with their parents. you have testimony by eric holder on fast and furius that contradicted earlier statements. this is a huge distraction. that's why the media is fanning the flames. they'd rather not talk about those things that are so damaging to president obama. >> sean: let me ask you this, juan. this is commentary on nbc news on their cable channel. so it says we're going to see how open the g.o.p. is to their new black friend when they find out he's harassing blonde women as opposed to black women, says cain's predatory black sexuality is very frightening and threatening. i didn't know that any of this was proven. this is now happening on a

regular basis. is this the high tech lynching? you used that phrase. do you view it this way? >> you know, i view it as, you know, to me he's being treated d like a pinata in the wind and they're beating up on him. they're all threatened by him. i know the left is threatened by a black conservative who would actually say there is something to be said for conservative policies and ideas that could attract black and hispanic voters. that's why they talk about him as a bad apple and the crack pipe and on and on in order to demean him. >> sean: that was all before these charges came up. >> right. and i think they're using these charges again to say to people and this is the damage you and i have talked about, sean. this gets into the voters' minds. i think it gets into women's minds and it gets into swing voters' minds. that herman cain, he had some trouble. there have been some allegations. as he said about this woman who came out today and revealed her

name and identity, he said you know, this thing was reviewed by the national restaurant association. they didn't find a basis is what herman cain said. if that's wrong, he will pay a price, but that's what he said, and he said there was not a settlement but an agreement as a personnel issue, and again, that pushes it to the side. she now says she wants to tell the story. she wants the media attention. what did you hear today from bialek, basically what she said was there may be a book deal or a magazine deal, and she has serious financial trouble. herman cain did not dismiss sexual harassment as a critical and serious issue for women in america, but he said he didn't do anything. if they've got something, sean, it's time to show their hand. >> sean: put up or shut up? >> that's what i'm saying to you, buddy. >> sean: do you agree with that? >> yeah, i do. he's fortunate i think in terms of the timing to the extent you can be fortunate dealing with a story like this. i don't mean to be too glib, but there's two months before people

start voting in the republican primaries. he'll have time. >> sean: he'll have time for this to settle out and be over with. guys, good to see you. juan, as always thanks for being with us. governor haley barbour is here as our election coverage continues. more on the fallout of today's highly charged press conference in the cain sexual harassment allegations. our legal panel reacts to the presidential candidate's shocking proposal to take a lie detector test. was that a good move? was that a good move? we'll find out ...

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>> sean: and tonight we're continuing to monitor the fallout from herman cain's bombshell press conference. as we've been reporting tonight, complaicain is denying the clai. he said he's willing to go to great lents to prove his innocence. take a look at this. >> as distasteful as it might be, would you be willing to do a lie detector test to prove your honesty in something like this? >> yes. >> go ahead. >> yes. i absolutely would, but i'm not going to do that unless i have a good reason to do that. that was one of the first covenants amade in watching this to my staff. >> sean: joining me now with reaction is our legal panel from the american center for law and justice along with fox news contributor tamara holder.

good to see you. i thought he did a very good job in the press conference today. he was adamant, he was passionate. i thought he gave specifics. jay, if i was advising him, i would have told him not to agree to that for one reason. not because i don't trust lie detectors, because i know gloria allred. she is going to demand it's her guy. gloria allred will want it immediately and want to video tape it and turn it into a circus. i think that would be a mistake. your thoughts. >> well, number one, there's a reason that these lie detector tests aren't admitted into evidence. i have to say this to herman cain. he didn't equivocate for a moment. if you're going to start administering lie detector tests, let's administer them to the accusers and purported witnesses. when hav you have a traumatic et but nothing was done for 14

years and now you've got the leader of one of the people, the top of the republican g.o.p. nomination for president of the united states, 14 years later a woman comes out and said these allegations have been made and happens to live in the same apartment as david axelrod and the person coming out this afternoon is a part of the obama administration, do they think the american people are stupid? this is outra outray outrageous. >> there's no proof. there are political connections in the case. in the case jay mentioned in particular, there's been no specific evidence given. he's contradicting the story. he said, she said, and at this particular point i don't see any evidence that convinces me that any of this took place. >> okay. well, i shockingly agree with jay about the fact that this was 15 years ago and then all of a sudden this stuff comes to light. there was no police report. there was no complaint filed

back in the day. from what this woman has said, it was clearly not just a sexual harassment claim but there was battery here or some kind of crime that she is saying he committed. she never went to the police. however, sean. herman cain did this to himself. he's the one that put that noose around his neck and started tightening it as quickly as he could. >> sean: what does that mean? >> dismissing the claim of the women. he's hanging himself. he dismissed the claims of the women that he had settlements with or i'm sorry, you want to call it a severance package. there were two of them, two severance packages. >> sean: tamara, wait a minute. he never signed onto anything. wait a minute. i corrected gloria allred. i interviewed her earlier today. gloria allred said settlement. it was not a settlement. this is easily proveable. he said they were investigated and proven not to have merit. >> if it was totally baseless,

they would not have taken two women and given them money whether you call it a settlement or severance. >> let's get some facts straight here. number one, he didn't sign anything. nonnumber two, there were independent investigations and the board of directors and the human resource office found there was no cause to go forward with anything. these severance packages in these kind of situations are done all the time because the cost of litigating is a lot more than getting the matter resolved. tamara and i were on your radio broadcast and agreed this is an unusual situation where we agree. i do think that cain's people the gate were slow here. i said that last week. >> sean: i agree with you. >> i think that hurt him. i think that continues to hurt him. on the other hand, i will say today he could not have been more emphatic. i don't disagree. it was too dismissive and done poorly. having said that, today he could not have been clearer. the question is this. it's been teed up now in the

sense he's made a completely unequivocal denial. goria allred said she waved these affidavits but yet refused to release them. sean, that is nonsense, punching and boxing with the wind. that's not fair. >> but he's playing into it. he's playing into this by saying i'll give a lie detector test. those are for suspected criminals. he is not a suspected criminal at this point. >> i disagree with what he said. >> why is he offering that? >> he's saying i have nothing to hide. >> sean: i don't think he thought through what gloria allred might turn that into. i don't think he should fall into that trap. >> he's not thinking through anything. from the very beginning he should have said look, these are confidential agreements, whether you call it a settlement agreement or a severance. >> sean: you're missing the point. that's not going to work. wait a minute. people on the left that don't

like him, his political adversaries sense blood in the water. there's no answer he can give that's going to satisfy those that don't like his rise in the polls. >> yes, there is. >> sean: no, there is nothing he can say or do at this point. you're missing the point. >> i'm not missing the point. you're not even letting me give a point. i have these two men yelling in my ear. >> sean: it's called stereo men in your ear. >> that's harassment. >> enough already. the thing is that he keeps feeding into this media frenzy. i am not defending these women. >> sean: how is he feeding into it? >> he gave an unequivocal denial. >> he said i'll give a lie detector test. what about the next one and the next one? >> you'll be complaining about that. >> sean: you can't sat satisfy e left. >> exactly. >> sean: they're never going to be satisfied. >> go back and campaign. get back to work. >> what about the right? >> what about the right? there are people on the right

after him, too. >> sean: jay's right. go back to campaigning. he's given his answer. if somebody comes up with proof, it will ruin his campaign. if there's no proof, he'll move forward and the voters will decide. that's the way it works in the system. unfortunately. 15 years later. i don't want to hear 15 years later, honestly. if these things happened -- he should have done it at the time. >> politically convenient attacks. that's what they are. >> sean: we have the jennifer flowers tapes in the case of bill clinton which made any allegation against him ma far me credible. he does not have any history. >> there's no history and pattern? there's two settlements or severance packages. >> sean: they were not settlements. you're a lawyer, tamara. you're a lawyer. you don't know the difference between a settlement and a severance? >> sure she does. >> it is the same thing in this situation. >> no, it's not. >> sean: no, it is not. did you pass the bar? >no, ididn't. >> there was no finding of probable cause to move forward.

>> sean: we've gotta go. guys, it's election night. when we come back. voters in mississippi are making a number of key decisions today including electing the next governor, outgoing governor haley barbour will be here next. will he be in the running for will he be in the running for the look, every day we're using more and more energy. the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia,

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from america's news dress desk it can passed a package of economic reform. many investors see him as an obstacle in efforts to resolve the growing debt problem. and the dow rose 102 points. a report claims to provide strong evidence iran is trying to build a nuclear arsenal

that. report from the un's national atomorrow nick energy agency concluding iran is conducting experiments soley aimed at developing nuclear arms, israel warned about a possible military strike and the sochl considering pressing for new sanctions against iran. voters in mississippi defeating a controversial ballot initiative, if passed it would have declared life begins at kons yepgs. and the measure dividedded states medical and religious communities. members of one group says it intends to renew efforts through legislation or another ballot initiative. a giant asteroid making a close encounter with earth in more than 30 years with no chance of colliding with the earth. how close did it get? nasa says it passed more than

200,000 miles, last time it came that close was in 1976. it's not expected to happen again until 2028. how old are you will you be? i'm ainsley earhardt. for headlines log on to fox news.com. you're watching the most powerful name in news, fox news channel. e ground in mississippi where i'm now joined by the state's outgoing governor, haley barbour. i can still call you governor for a while. how are you? good to see you? >> you can call me governor for a couple more months. >> we'll call you governor for a couple years. you've earned the position. by the way, in fairness you did a really good job there. you had some very tough times, a hurricane and natural disasters. a tough time for your state. i'll put you in the reporter position being on the ground there. how is it looking for the lieutenant governor? >> it looks good right now.

we've got a big turnout. big turnouts help republicans. we won the governor's race in mississippi four of the last five elections. the one we lo lost was because a small turnout. if it's a big turnout, it will be good for republicans. phil bryant could replace me as governor. >> what about the two controversial initiatives? one is 26 which would define life as beginning at the moment of, quote, fer tilization or cloning or the functional equivalent there of. where does that stand tonight? >> there are a lot of pro life people in mississippi very concerned about the wording. cloning is illegal in mississippi. why is it in there? what do they mean the functional equivalent thereof? does that mean inve invitro fertilization. i believe life begins at

conception. there are a lot of pro life people in mississippi who voted against it today because of the ac gutierrez and thambiguity ann consequences. we would have done much better to take it through the legislature. our legislature would have taken this and smoothed out the wrinkles and th it may lose. >> sean: the legislature could pick it up in the future, i'm sure. this is interesting. we spend a lot of time on this program on eminent domain. you had initiative 31. this is important. emnaneminent i domain has run a. you have municipalities and counties that want more tax dollars. they take the homes in some cases of veterans that serve their country. people that have owned their

property for 40 years not to build a school, a hospital, a road, but because they want to build new buildings that bring in more tax revenue for the city or municipality. so you guys have that initiative. i hope that that goes over well tonight. >> well, the problem in mississippi is the story you just told has been told by the proponents. mostly the institute for justice from washington, dc. the problem is that doesn't happen in mississippi. it has never happened in mississippi. 99 plus percent of all the eminent domain cases in the history of mississippi would still be allowed if this initiative passes. we don't have the problem they had in kilo, connecticut, never have had because we have very strict protections of private property rights for job creation in our state today, so it's not going to solve o the problem. even the farm bureau, the biggest proponents of this, said in their statement we don't have a problem now, but we could have a problem in the future.

never a problem in our state. >> sean: i hear you, and why do i always fear government in the future? that's why when congress says they're going to cut money and all the tax increases go in effect immediately, and then future congresses which are not beholden to the tax cuts, it never happens. i like the idea of being proactive and saying listen, they're going to limit the ability of the state to take people's private property. >> let me promise you that the mississippi legislature and the u.s. congress are very, very different. we have never had this issue in our state, but we have toyota coming to mississippi this month, 4,000 new jobs. >> sean: that's great. >> we could not have done that without eminent domain because of a bunch of mineral rights owned by people that nobody could find. we couldn't get a deed from them, but you're right. if this was being abused in mississippi, we ought to stop it, but it's not. never has been. >> sean: governor, good to see you, and you might be breathing a sigh of relief.

your job is almost done. congratulations. you may be on the short list for vp. thanks for being with us. >> well, i doubt it, but thanks, sean. great to talk to you. >> let not your heart be troubled. our great, great, great american panel will talk more about panel will talk more about herman cain coming up next.

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>> sean: tonight on our great, great american panel, he's an editor at dailycaller.com. tucker carlson is here. she's the host of the nationally syndicated leslie marshall show. sam marshall is with us. he's a nationally syndicated columnist and tony blankly is back. good to see you. good to see you. >> sean: all of this is going on. all of herman cain's numbers have pretty much held up even after this goes on for well over a week. how do you think he handled it today? >> he made a complete all his chips in complete denial, promised to take a lie detector

test. >> sean: i didn't like that idea. what is he supposed to say? if he says no, he must be guilty. he can't win. >> no. it's hard. i've been fighting the liberal media in washington for 30 years and i hate the unfairness of it. the reality is that i think he's got a challenge ahead of him. they're going to keep coming back and the question is what is the average conservative primary republican voter think? if they get suspicious at some point, he's in trouble. if they don't -- >> by casting doubt in their mind, they want to beat obama we can't have the chance. i love herman cain. i know him. i think he's a great guy. i mean that. i was at a cain conference last week where he couldn't answer a basic question about his 999 program. he could not answer it. he's completely mishandled it. his team has done such a poor job of dealing with these allegations. i don't think he's showing readiness to be president. i've got to be totally honest with you.

i hate to say that, but it's true. >> sean: i don't want to believe that. let me say this in his defense because he's running a different type of campaign because he's a different candidate. he's a business guy. i'm not going to make sciewrses. when they had ten days warning and they didn't prepare better for this, i think that was a mistake, and the second thing is i thought they got out of the box slow. i think they should have been much stronger. with that said, he got his footing, i thought he did an hour on the radio, answered every single question. i ran out of questions. i couldn't ask him anything else. what did you do with her, her, her? i'm going through it. he is so passionate in his defense that he did not do this. >> sean, at this stage of the game, remember, this is sexual harassment, and until we found out, you know, who did pay for that hotel room and until we actually have evidence, it does come down to he said and she, she, she, and she said. >> sean: so the person said he had two rooms here, would you like an upgrade. >> he said she doesn't look

familiar to him, he doesn't recognize her. there are conservatives at a tea party function. >> sean: i believe everything he said. i like herman cain. he's still casting blame in every possible direction. that's not what conservatives do. conservatives don't whine and don't blame people. he's blaming people. >> he has a right to complain. >> i couldn't agree more. the press is stacked against him. it still doesn't mean we should hold him to a lower standard. he could be president. >> that's a strange thought. it's unfair, but the political reality is where it is, and i think that it's going to be pretty hard for him to sustain the confidence of the republican voters. if he can, he's home free, but this is going to keep going on day after day. >> sean: i'll ask you when we come back, but newt's numbers

have gone up. you work for newt. >> yeah. >> sean: does this open the door for newt gingrich? >> i think the door was opening over the last month. i think at this point he's about to be at least the next alternative to romney. i think he's going t to do very well. >> sean: we'll talk about it more when we get back. we'll have more with the great, great, great american panel. the host of the leslie marshall show. do you like your name? sam? >> men get paid more. >> sean: we'll continue straight [ engine revs ] what makes us number one in motorcycle insurance? we love bikes. we love riders. and most of all, we love to ride. perfect hair every time.

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>> sean: we're continuing with the great american panel. how long have you worked for newt? >> seven years. >> sean: even karl rove said this the other day. everybody recognizes he's come off very well in the debates. his poll numbers are coming up after every date. >> he's pretty much in third, yeah. >> sean: what do you think? is he now after pawlenty, after bachmann, after perry? >> i think given the plight of this country and the desperate need to fix it, as the voters listen to newt discuss every issue they care about he at a level of insight and solution

orientation, i think they'll give him a chance. i think over the next month we're going to see the media focus on him more and i think he's going to perform remarkably well. >> sean: you said the person as a liberal you fear the most is romney. why? >> hi 4 he appeals to the moders and the centrists. i think this guy doesn't have an opinion. i think he appeals to whoever his audience is. it will be more difficult to run against him. >> i think conservatives have deep misgivings about romney. >> sean: he still stays at the top. i don't think he's broken 30%. 25% is his average. >> he's a serious guy. he's a good person. >> sean: don't you think he's debated well and done better?

>> he's also had better judgment about how to talk to fellow republicans. he hasn't been as aggressive. >> sean: he's been hidden away. you try to get an interview with mitt romney, and it's very, very difficult. he doesn't want to talk. i think he'll have to engage in the events of the day a little bit more. i do think a newt-obama race would be the single most exciting, interesting, informative debate. >> who wins that? >> who wins the debate? newt. i think he could win the election. >> sean: do you think newt is -- for whatever reason and i asked him about this, and he explained. i said all right. you did a lot as speaker. the contract was great. you actually got to a balanced budget. you led a revolution that brought republicans to power for the first time in 40 years. it seems to be some lingering, you know, because it was a very cocontentious time. >> i've alternates -- always resented the fact that people said newt was good with ideas but couldn't manage.

clinton was one of the shrewdest politicians i've ever seen. i think he has a tremendous record to run on. >> sean: you think he's done a good enough job of selling that? >> he's talking about it more. >> he seems like he's mellowed enough, he smiles a lot. he's got a charm. >> he always did. he always did. i think back in those days he also when he felt like it in public, he would get more forceful, perhaps, than he needed to. he always in private and around and a lot of reporters knew he was funny and charming. i think you're seeing the real newt now. >> sean: real quick, les. >> i agree with that. i think he's being less newt gingrich, the republican, the g.o.p. umbrella, and he's saying what he believes. he said listen, when the american people are saying don't touch medicare, you've got to listen to tt.