now quest love saying i'm sorry. wait until you hear who he's apologizing to. "fox & friends" starts right now. >> i'm michelle bachmann coming to you from "fox & friends." by the way, they've got my vote. >> thank you very much. we'll talk a little bit about that song that one of those late night talk shows played when michelle bachmann walked out is apologizing. >> she's running for president and so is mitt romney. mitt romney will be joining us live today from dallas. second time he's been on fox in a week. should be pretty good. >> yep. >> in the meantime, al-qaida putting pressure on president obama to secure the release of an american contractor being held hostage overseas. terror boss releasing a brand new audio tape. in it, he claims his group abducted the 70-year-old from his home in pakistan back in august.

he will be released if he meets nine different demands, among them stop the u.s. air strikes in afghanistan, pakistan and yemen and releasing all al-qaida and taliban suspects around the world including those held at guantanamo bay. the massive u.s. military base known as camp victory handed over to iraqi control today as u.s. troops are pulling out of iraq by the end of the year. camp victory served as the headquarters for the u.s. military in iraq, some parts of the compound are already being used by the iraqi military but the iraqi government is still deciding what to do with the palaces. remember, those used to belong to saddam hussein. we'll have a live report from camp victory coming up next hour. a new twist in the case of missing orlando mom michelle parker. there's now word that her ex-fiance dale smith jr. wants to join the search. ok. smith is the prime and only suspect in parker's disappearance. police say he's been completely uncooperative to this point but now an apparent change of heart. founder of a high profile search group called texas equisearch

says smith personally requested his assistance and promised to do all he could to help. she's been missing since november 17th, the same day they appeared on "the people's court" arguing over the cost of their engagement ring. christmas in the capital. president obama and his family ringing in the holiday in washington, d.c. last night. joining their guests in a christmas carol. >> ♪ as we go along walking in a winter wonderland ♪ >> coming up, we'll talk to khaline christian burke, a former member of the white house decorating team. get all those tips of how to make your house look like the white house. >> turn every house into tinseltown. >> two tree lightings in two days for the president. because he's here in new york. let's talk a little bit about rasmussen polls. even if you say to yourselves, this is sizable or this is not the poll i go to, this is certainly noteworthy.

look at this national poll of the g.o.p. nominees. newt gingrich is on top but by a substantial margin -- >> 21 points>> over mitt romney and herman cain and ron paul locked. >> of the 1,000 people that scott rasmussen called, only 1 in 3, 33% positive they won't switch their votes so 66% of those who responded are switchable which is great news to the other people aside from newt gingrich. >> that's what we've seen going on for the last three months, you know, this person is up. this person's up, this person's up, this person's down. well, newt gingrich believes he's on top to stay. >> i will be the nominee. i mean, it's very hard not to look at the recent polls and think that the odds are very high i'm going to be the nominee. and by the way, i don't object if people want to attack me, that's their right. it's not going to be very effective. people are going to get sick of it very fast.

>> it's interesting because yesterday, his team put out the fact or he himself told staffers, look, we're going to kill the other candidates with kindness. that's going to be our strategy. and if you recall over the last couple of debates or all the debates for that matter, that has been newt gingrich's strategy. he compliments the other people and his main message has sort of been any of us on this stage would do a better job than president obama. >> he pointed out in that interview in west des moines yesterday, he said i'm not going to attack the other nominees or the other candidates because if you look at the guys at the debate who attacked, they all lost ground. he's going to focus instead on barack obama. who is going to do the attacking on behalf of mitt romney? so far, chris christie. he was on the attack yesterday and he said speaker gingrich has never run anything. he's been a legislator. sounds a lot like the guy in the white house right now. as for mr. -- newt gingrich's

extremely high poll numbers right now, chris christie say they are as solid as the cain numbers, the perry numbers and the bachmann numbers. >> i was surprised that governor christie took this tactic. >> someone's got to do it. >> that's right. and i think mitt romney maybe realizing -- we'll ask him whether or not he's going to do it. to have governor christie do it, does it backfire because then voters are reminded maybe they actually like christie better and they want him to run? >> he's definitely on the team and he'll definitely be on -- and mitt romney will be asked that by us at 2:30 a.m. eastern time and he'll also be part of a forum on the mike huckabee show at 8:00 on saturday and repeated on sunday. that's what governor huckabee looks like. >> real good looking man. >> yes, he is. i think we're going to go over that later. do a whole hour on his looks. i think newt gingrich is somebody that is going to try to stay positive. is he going to look at the "wall street journal" today about his quotes of fannie and freddie in 2007 and stay positive on that. is he going to look at ron

paul's ads in what they claim is bad character traits, will he be positive on that? how long can he keep himself above the fray? >> exactly right. and newt gingrich, by the way, coming up on monday is going to travel to midtown manhattan and he's going to sit down at the trump tower and meet with donald trump. that will be five major candidates who have met with donald trump. obviously, he would like the endorsement. >> let's talk a little bit about herman cain because he continues to get asked all those questions about the latest woman to come out and say she had this long time affair with him. now he says he's going to sit down with his wife either today or over the weekend, for a face-to-face meeting. he said they've had long phone conversations. she admits she did not know about ginger white as a friend as he describes it. she did not know she was giving her money. and now he wants to meet with her face to face and he really says that by monday, he will be announcing to the general public whether or not he plans to get out of this race or stay in this race. >> here he was -- here's what he said about this very topic with

sean hannity last night. >> every time a new bit of information comes up, that stimulates another story in the media and that hurts my family and my wife and it hurts me. so i really would rather not to go there anymore with respect of trying to play detective about how do we resolve this? we're working on it because i'm going to re-establish my reputation. >> she's making these allegations considering she's claiming all these things happened that this would be easily proven false, it may take time but is that something that you think would be worthwhile doing? >> we are going to do that, ok? relative to the telephone messages, the text messages. we've already gone back and pulled my phone messages to see if they match up. ok and we're going to do that whole analysis from the standpoint of calls and text messages that were exchanged. i thought it was a friend that i was trying to help. and so when you get blindsided

like that, you can imagine what it felt like when, in fact, didn't turn out to be a friend at all. so that's another aspect of this that was not only hurtful to me but hurtful to my wife. >> one of the sexual harassment accusers was tossed out of their home and foreclosed on and he believes money played a role in that, at least his team did and he believes money is playing a role here and the flurry of calls leading up to her big announcement, was there some type of you're not going to do this, are you? >> he claims that did not happen but he claims all of those calls were initiated by her. in the last couple of months and all asking for money. >> he did say last night to sean hannity in two segment interview that you saw here on the channel that she was not the only person that he has helped financially. he said i've helped guys as well. as for what he's going to do and he was talking about getting his reputation back, lin wood, the

attorney he has hired was asked yesterday about there's these five ladies out there with five stories. his quotation was five lies does not make one truth. >> right. ok. that's what he's paid to say. >> in the meantime, let's talk about the other presidential candidate out there, one of many, michelle bachmann. remember when she went on the jimmy fallon show last week, the band on that show. i don't know who they are. quest love. are they quest love? something like that. anyway, they played this song that was very much of a slam against really everyone. >> we're not going to say the title to it. the first word, rhyme. the two rhyming words, sass and witch. mr. quest love says he's really sorry and he forgot the b word was in the title. he went on to say "it deeply offended a lot of women's groups and non-bachmann supporters and for that, i'm deeply sorry."

wait a minute, so he's not sorry for the bachmann supporters who he slammed? >> he says it's not been fun blocking 3,500 tea partiers from my twitter account and he said the rumor is that nbc severely reprimanded the band. >> how? >> i don't know. severely reprimanded the band. >> took away his parking spot? >> is he still on the show? >> a professional organization like nbc could have come out with a better statement like that to show sincere regret. >> well, you know that had he -- had they played that when hillary rodham clinton walked out, he would have been fired on the spot. but because it is a conservative woman running for president as a republican -- i'm sorry, i won't do it again. >> did nbc actually apologize to michelle bachmann? because i don't -- >> i believe they did. jimmy fallon did immediately. jimmy fallon was more of a standup guy in this situation than that band guy. coming up in this show, a story we've been covering all week, the governor who is refusing to call a christmas tree a christmas tree. story is now blowing up.

we have the updates. >> and both sides shot down. the senate puts the kabosh on plans for both democrats and republicans. what does that mean for your bottom line? i'm talking about tax holiday. stuart varney not taking a holiday. we'll be here live. >> are we on celebrity apprentice right now? >> i think he's streaming donald trump's music. [ male announcer ] if you're giving an amazing gift, shouldn't it be given in an amazing way? ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is here, but only for a limited time.

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>> the u.s. senate voting down a democratic plan to extend payroll tax cuts another year. republican leader mitch mcconnell says the measure would hurt business. >> there's no reason folks should suffer more than they already are with the president's failure to turn this jobs crisis around but there's no reason we should pay for that relief by

raising taxes on the very employers we're counting on to help jolt this economy back to life. >> senate republicans also nixed another payroll tax cut plan from mitch mcconnell, the guy you just heard from. what does this all mean? stuart varney here to break it down. they both failed. >> as for right now, everybody's taxes go up on january 1st. >> about $1,000? >> right. roughly, the family of four, $54,000 a year, on average $100 a month they go up so both measures to extend the payroll tax holiday would defeat it but both sides want the payroll tax holiday to be extended. the argument is how do you pay for it? that's it. >> and the democrats, they really need a new bag of tricks because once again, they've gone back to the well. well, we can pay for it by we'll hit the people who are the job creators with a tax increase. >> it's a classic split in america today, the classic split in washington, d.c. today. how do you pay for this payroll

tax holiday? the democrats say tax the rich, put a surcharge on the millionaires. that's their side of the fence. on the other side of the fence, the republicans are saying, you cut government spending. you freeze federal workers' pay. you cut the number of federal workers. that's the divide today, isn't it? there's a total split. both sides want this tax holiday to go through. nobody wants your taxes to go up on january 1st. and i'm sure there will be an agreement probably at the last minute to make sure that the payroll tax holiday is extended. >> just keep in mind the overarching theme is this is no proof that it helps the economy or creates jobs having done this and social security is going to be robbed of over $100 billion. >> that's another bottom line here. you do have some democrats and some republicans who are saying do not extend this payroll tax. >> joe manchin is one of them. >> joe manchin is the key point man here. he said look, you're messing around with the financing of social security and you are robbing eventually seniors.

don't do it at all. so -- but look, and my guess is that this sooner or later, they'll have an agreement and the payroll tax holiday will be extended and taxes won't go up. >> in the break, that's your guarantee. now it's your guess. what's going on? >> what's coming up on your show? >> we have a huge unemployment report at 8:30 this morning. that's going to rule the roost as far as the markets are concerned and the economy. and president obama is watching this real carefully. 8:30, the number comes out. >> and i'm on at 9:20, ok? >> you are. great. the post-game show. >> all right. stuart, we'll see you a little later on. >> that's great. >> straight ahead, country star mindy mccreedy in trouble with the law accused of kidnapping her own son. what? details straight ahead. >> and it's a story we've been covering all week, the governor who is refusing to call a christmas tree a christmas tree. what our next guest is doing about it, we're going to have -- we're going to have you saying

"o tenenbaum".

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>> quick headlines now. raiders linebacker ronald mclean smiling for the cameras as he's hauled off in cuffs. he was busted in his hometown of decatur, alabama. he was accused of assaulting a man holding a gun to his head

and firing a shot next to his ear. honda recalling more than 300,000 vehicles because their air bags could kill you. it affects popular models like the accord, the civic, and the crv. good luck on the way to school this morning. the air bags are at risk of inflating too much and exploding. >> glad to know brian is making his way up to the set. we've been telling you about this story now for the last couple of weeks. rhode island governor lincoln chafee coming under fire after refusing to call the tree in the rhode island statehouse a christmas tree. nope, it's a holiday tree this year. yesterday, radio listeners in providence, well, they continuously called in complaining about the governor's stance. >> this is a disgrace. an absolute disgrace. i don't understand. i don't understand why everybody wants to take god out of everything. >> i pray to god no one votes for that man.

>> to call it a holiday tree, how can anyone with half a brain call that tree a holiday tree. >> that will wake you up. joining us is the radio host on wpro john depetro. you got an earful, huh? >> i did. it's a big story up here because of governor grinch and the stand that he has taken and gretchen, i want to clear up the controversy that i saw on bill o'reilly. steve doocy does not look like lincoln chafee. steve doocy is a very handsome man. he does not look like governor lincoln chafee but people are very upset about this so what we're planning on tuesday is having a flash mob at the holiday -- well, he's saying a holiday tree lighting but it's a christmas tree lighting and gretchen, what's funny is you have the gamut of people. you have the older people that they, to them, want to still sing "oh tenenbaum" and you have

kind of younger crowd like the jersey shore crowd. they think the words are yo, christmas tree. your branches are so slamming. i feel it's hit a chord with people on a governor that for whatever reason is trying to lock up the atheist voting block but it's a real insult for those of us that believe in christmas. >> so this flash mob, what are you going to ask people to do? it's going to be tuesday, what time? where should they show up? >> well, part of it has to be a little bit of a secret. that's the success of flash mob but it's going to be right at the governor's tree lighting ceremony. he's calling it the holiday tree but at the right, appropriate time, whatever that might be, we're suddenly a huge group of people. right now, it's up to about 400 or 500. it will probably be close to 1,000 by tuesday night. we'll then do some rendition of "oh christmas tree" to be very clear, you know, christmas, it's not a religious argument. last night at the white house, you saw president obama, they lit the white house christmas

tree. granted, no one is saying religion or christmas has to go into the rhode island state house. the old joke goes people gave up trying to find three wisemen and a virgin at the rhode island statehouse long ago. even a blind man could identify that a green tree with ornaments and lights, that's a christmas tree. >> i'm with you. let's look at what the rhode island governor has to say about it. here's his statement. use of the term holiday tree is a continuation of past practice. and does not represent a change of course on my part. i would encourage all those engaged in this discussion to use their energy and enthusiasm to make a positive difference in the lives of their fellow rhode islanders. that's a little disingenuous because for the past eight years before this governor, governor, your former governor, in fact, did call it a christmas tree, right? >> he did, gretchen. in the past, it has been identified as a christmas tree but beyond that, for governor chafee as we call him now governor grinch, for him to treat this as the c word, we're not talking about a major. you're talking about the word

christmas. and somehow try to take that out and change definitions, i think that's what has the listeners on my show on wpro so upset. >> well, as we've been doing all week long, we've been asking folks if they are upset, they can call your radio show and they can contact the governor. here's the phone number just in case you need it. 401-222-2080. i hope you have a lot of listeners today, john. thanks so much. good luck with that event on tuesday. >> good to be with you, gretchen. >> thanks. >> coming up next, these trucks can handle a lot but this wind storm is too much for them. flipping trailers right over. and our own rick reichmuth is going over the edge this morning. rick, where are you? i can't believe you're doing this again. >> i know. again, good morning, gretchen. we're on top of the landmark building, a beautiful morning here in connecticut in great sunrise. either because of a short term memory or really bad memory, we decided to do this again this morning. so coming up all morning long,

getting ready to propel down along with santa claus down this big building. probably a bad idea but i think we'll have some fun. stay with us. we'll be right back.

>> today some good news.

it is the holiday season at the white house, the theme for this year's christmas is shine, give, share. well, a rumor is the theme for next year's white house christmas will be clean, pack, move. that's the rumor. >> you never know. >> never know. >> that would certainly change the mood. >> we've got an action-packed half-hour. put down the remote. we'll start with the headlines. incredible new video out of utah. dozens of tractor-trailers blown over like toy cars because of a powerful wind storm know as the santa ana winds wreaking havoc from california to colorado. the storm being called the worst in more than a decade with wind gusts over 100 miles per hour. they clocked one at 123. nearly a half a million homes and businesses are without power in utah and california alone. the winds could last throughout the weekend which means more damage so be careful out there. so far, nobody thankfully has been hurt. >> country star mindy mccreedy in trouble with the law accused

of kidnapping her own son. a judge issuing an emergency court order authorizing police to take custody of the 5-year-old. earlier this week, mccreedy secretly took the boy from her parents' home in florida. they are the boy's official guardians but mccreedy claims he was no longer safe in their home. mccreedy says she's in tennessee and can't travel back to florida because she's seven months pregnant with twins. >> caught on surveillance camera, a christmas tree thief. grinch and -- took $100 worth of pines. this is the third straight year she's done it. she always strikes in the middle of the night and always shows up in the same s.u.v. police are trying to find her. how do they know it's a she? does she wear a dress? >> from making music to making beer. 90's boy band hansen looking to once again cash in on this catchy tune. >> ♪ duwop

my duwop yeah ♪ >> that was the hit song "mmmhop". more than a decade later now, the hansen brothers are coming up with mmmhop described as indian pale ale beer is expected to hit stores early next year. thank you, hansens. just what we needed. >> i like that song. if you hear some sounds on the roof this christmas, it could be santa and his eight tiny reindeer or it could be rick reichmuth? >> yes, rick is learning some santa-like skills at the top of a pretty tall building. rick, what are you doing? >> yeah, 22 stories. remember we did this last year and after time goes on, you remember experiences more fondly so you think maybe that would be fun to do again and now i got to the top of the building and i'm feeling a little afraid again. once i look down. you're the guy that's conned me into doing this again. we're doing this because there's

a big event here in stamford, connecticut on sunday afternoon. >> sunday night, 5:00. this is the annual santa rappel. it's how stamford, connecticut, usually opens the christmas season. instead of coming in on a truck, we come off the building in full costume with santa, rudolph, the elf, mrs. santa claus and an unnamed villian. and it goes off promptly at 5:00. if you're going to get here, try to get here by 4:00 and get set up down below on the street. there will be a couple thousand people. bring the whole family. family friendly event. >> so after doing this last year, brian conned me into it. i'll be taking part in the event on sunday. so today, we'll practice and get ready and try to learn some new tricks down here as well. there's a lot of stuff going on back here behind us to make sure it's safe. it looks like a lot of chaos. it's organized chaos. we've got three ropes over the edge of the building. the ropes are anchored into a

set of anchors on the roof that exist for the window washers so we know it will support us. it's a very safe setup. >> you saw the video of a santa claus in a mall that got his beard stuck in the rappelling device. >> right. right. >> that won't happen? >> it won't happen. we learned that the hard way several years ago and it was also on live tv where i got stuck half way down with a wig that got caught in the blade of ice. so we know better now and we've changed the whole rigging setup so that cannot happen. >> we have one other great guest with us. we had him here last year, brian cashman, general manager of the yankees is here. we'll be going down with him at 7:30 and we'll be talking with brian about extra yankees news. >> it's good to get him when he's hanging on a rope and he's lost his good senses to not

speak and he'll be sending all the news out. >> can't wait to see it. great thing both of you guys are doing. they're joining forces for a program called "believe in our heroes." believe in heroes. last night here in new york city, the wounded warrior project came together for an unbelievable event. a fundraiser to support our service men and women wounded during battle. i had the pleasure m.c.ing last night the event. just ended 30 minutes ago and two of the guys that featured speakers that blew the doors off the entire night, privileged to have them in the studio. wounded warrior member and a former nfl head coach, all he did is last 16 years with the tennessee titans and he'll be back at work this year, jeff fisher. welcome both of you guys. good to see you. your decision not to go to bed is a wise one. >> come on, you recommended we don't go to bed. >> that's true. >> we got some rest. >> that's true. hey, jeff, first off, a lot of people saying jeff fisher, he cares about the military. what got you involved in this? >> i got involved years ago

particularly becauses proximity between nashville and fort campbell, kentucky. our organization had a lot to do -- a lot of things got involved, a lot of things there so that's kind of how i got started. i've done a uso tour in iraq. then i did something that was really special last spring. i climbed mount kilimajaro with the wounded warrior project and believe in heroes for soldiers. >> 11 in all, eight finished, right? some of which had limbs that -- prosthetics. >> single amputees, yeah, one of them finished and one had to come down early. the one that finished, my understanding is the first single amputee to reach the summit and then to come all the way down. and first ever. and then we had a female who was with us last night, you guys got to meet. she finished as well. we started with 11 and eight

finished. it was the thrill of a lifetime. >> it was a motivational speech you gave that moved the entire room. jeff, you were amazing, too. jeff, what you did in service to the country, you're coming up on 30 years but it was wartime. you go to war. not only to fight but to also heal because you're a corpsman. >> that's right. >> what happened to you? that sent you home and stopped your 30-year career from being completed. >> what sent me home is the end of my time in iraq and some of the events and the combat actions that we had engaged in. for me, coming home was the most difficult thing in my life. >> why? >> because i left the men that i was training and the men that i was in combat with and i came home and at home, it wasn't reality for me at that time. >> you had survivors guilt and still have it. you felt bad that you survived because some didn't. >> and not just those that didn't survive but also those who came back severely wounded. the wounded warrior project, we honor the power of the wounded

warriors and when i first learned of the organization, i didn't identify myself as wounded. my physical injuries that i've sustained in my career, they slow me down but i didn't really understand or know what ptsd was at that particular time. >> find out more because you're playing a vital role for others as well as serving the country. jeff, accosta did something amazing. both of you know this. they got together with all the people they worked, this marketing group, people like heinz and clorox, they all rallied from 9/11 to 11/11 and they put together products with the wounded warrior label on it and when people bought them, they knew they were supporting the wounded warrior project. >> and last night, the wounded warrior project was presented with a check at $3.5 million check last night. >> that's incredible. >> just because of the efforts that started with accosta and obviously, that was the basis of the evening last night. and, you know, they challenged

one another to double it next year. and it just really, really was impressive that people would take the time to not only raise awareness but to raise funds so that we can continue to promote the wounded warrior project and specifically believe in heroes. >> and real quick finally, jeff. 32,226 wounded in iraq. 14,969 in afghanistan. as this war winds down, we can't forget about them. >> we can't forget about them. we can bring everybody home today. these men and women who were wounded in service to their nation, 30 years from now, they'll be living with those wounds and those injuries and wounded warrior project will be here as long as there's those men and women to take care of. >> there's a lot. you continue to grow and get the support and awareness. so people who want to help have to go to the wounded warrior project and do it. just stop talking about it especially in this holiday season. privilege to see both of you guys. thanks so much for the quick turn around today. >> thanks, brian. >> talk to you on radio if

you're not sick of me by then. which happens as the crew knows. what's the mysterious trunk of metal that crashed through a roof? it's definitely not from a plane. what is it? a u.f.o.? i think so. and can the president use the military to arrest anyone he wants? to keep that person away from judge and jury? judge napolitano will bust a gasket when he's talking about this story. he'll be here next. why? because he's walking this way and i recognize the background. i'm trading everywhere... on one of the most powerful mobile apps out there.

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>> got some quick friday morning headlines for you. if you've ever used ticketmaster, you could be in for a refund. great. the company refunding customers for transactions over the last 12 years. well, that counts just about

everybody, doesn't it? the reason -- the company profited off of processing fees without disclosing what they were. don't get too excited, the refunds are $1.50 for each time you used ticketmaster so stand by. and mysterious chunk of metal crashes through the roof of a warehouse in plymouth, massachusetts, but the bigger story here, investigators say it fell from the sky but not from a plane. brian earlier identified it as part of a u.f.o. it's solid metal and weighs about four pounds. what is it? we don't know right now. >> are you trying to find out? >> i've got my best team on it. >> really? >> yes indeed. >> all right, brian. >> all right. when asked about the killing of american-born terrorist anwar al-awlaki, lawyers for the white house say only the executive branch can decide who is an enmy in the united states. not the courts. don't forget, this is the same administration pushing to try terror suspects in civilian courts. is president obama trying to have it both ways? >> i'm so glad you asked the question, brian. and i'm even more glad there's

somebody else sitting on the couch to answer it. fox news judicial analyst and anchor of "freedom watch" on the fox business network, judge andrew napolitano. so glad that you're here to answer this. it does seem like a convoluted question. >> it has become really complex because of legislation passed by the senate that hasn't been passed by the house. we don't know if it's going to become law. legislation passed by the senate requires the president to arrest a person who he deems to be an enemy of the united states using the military in the united states. troops would arrest this person and take this person to a military facility. it doesn't give the president the discretion that he wants to decide whether or not to have troops arrest the person and ship him to the military or the f.b.i. arrest a person and process him through the civilian court system. that sets up a tension with the constitution. which says no person, not american, not enemy, no person

should be denied life, liberty or property without due process of trial. you have the president saying we'll do it this way and you have person disagreeing with the statute like your humble analyst here saying the president can't make a decision like this, what if he's wrong? you have to have evidence to demonstrate it before a judge. they may arrest the wrong person. if you arrest the wrong person, ship him to gitmo, don't let him see a judge. it's a horrible travesty. that's where we are now, the house of representatives will have to vote on this and there will be some sort of reconciliation between them. the president makes an interesting argument and the president says if a person is the enemy of the united states, they have given up their american citizenship so if the statute says the president cannot arrest americans and the president says you're no longer an american because you're an enemy, the president can arrest anyone he wants. that's my problem. >> you want a question that shows my immense intellect. how do you define an enemy? talks bad, acts bad, both?

>> those are very good questions. typically when the government wants to take your liberty away from you whether you have jaywalked or threatened the security of the united states, it presents evidence to a court. this president does not want to present evidence to a court. he wants to be able to do it on his own and that's set up tension with the constitution so right now, we're in an area where the law has not yet changed. the senate has given its version. the house will give its version. they'll somehow reconcile the two. >> it's going to be a power grab. >> yes, it is but the constitution is still there, kilmeade. >> i watched eric bolling read it. >> now you know what to give him for christmas. >> there you go. >> have a good weekend. >> we'll be watching your show tonight. meanwhile, 12 minutes before the top of the hour. take a look at this picture. he's a dead ringer for abe lincoln so who is the face behind the beard? we've got details. it looks like michael phillips took the twitter picture. >> and deck the halls with

nancy reagan and mr. t? the never before seen christmas pictures straight from the white house? that was before photoshopping. >> i don't know what you mean mr. t. why settle for a one-note cereal? ♪ more, more, more... get more with honey bunches of oats 4 nutritious grains come together for more taste, more healthy satisfaction. get more with honey bunches of oats. all right, i'll be right back. okay. ♪ [ male announcer ] sometimes the giving

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>> welcome back. last night, president obama and the first family officially marking the beginning of the christmas season in washington with the lighting of the -- there it is, the national christmas tree on the ellipse just south of the white house. and just the other day, michelle obama gave us a glimpse of this year's white house decorations as well. the tradition of the first lady decorating the white house goes back many years and joining us right now is somebody who would know about that, colleen

christian burke was part of the white house decorating team in 2008 for laura bush and is the author of the brand new book "christmas with the first ladies" and she joins us live. good morning to you. >> hi. it's definitely a christmas book right off the bat. >> it is a christmas book. there's this whole thing going on in rhode island about the governor won't call it a christmas tree. it's a holiday tree. at the white house, have they ever referred to it as a holiday tree? >> there's always a rumor floating around it might be called a holiday tree this year but to this date, it's always been the christmas tree. >> all right. very good. and over your shoulder is a picture of ronald reagan and nancy reagan in front of the white house christmas tree inside in that big room in the middle. we saw a minute ago a picture of nancy reagan on the lap of mr. t. what was that about? >> you know, nancy brought a little hollywood to the white house which i really loved. and she had celebrity santas every year so she had mr. t there and i guess he pitied the fool who went to the white house for christmas. >> right, and interesting story

about the president, he was allergic to live christmas trees? >> right. and they didn't realize this until they put them all up so what they had to do was move most of them -- the really offensive trees away from where he was. >> that's interesting. when i was working in washington, every year they'd send me out to the lighting of the christmas tree that we saw last night and for years, barbara bush would get in a cherry picker and for 12 years, she would put the star atop of it. >> yes. first when she was second lady of the land, when her husband was vice president and when he was president. she often took her grandchildren on that bumpy ride. >> i remember seeing it and there it is right there. she puts the tree topper on. all right, let's talk a little bit about hillary rodham clinton. what sort of traditions did she bring to the white house? >> she did something fun. what she tried to do every year is have one tree from the year before so she tried to incorporate every year what she did previously and then their tradition was they never decorated their own tree until christmas eve and supposedly they did it themselves. >> that's right?

now, when george w. bush was president of the united states, he became the first president to ever light a menorah in the white house. >> not in the white house, in the private residence which was significant. >> still the white house. >> still the white house. but he had it right up in his own private living quarters and that was really kind of important to people. >> and their theme was home for the holidays because at the time, the two girls were in college. >> yeah. and they picked the theme over the summer so prior to 9/11 when everything got put into perspective for us, the importance of home, their theme was home for the holidays. >> we know that the current first lady welcomed the white house christmas tree to the white house a couple of weeks ago or within the last 10 days or so, what's her theme? >> her theme is share, give and -- no, shine, give and share. that's what we're supposed to do this year. three words. >> and in all, there are going to be 27 christmas trees, live trees in the white house? >> i think they lose count, about that number. >> they got a forest. >> who needs that many? that's how many we have and the other thing mrs. obama is doing

is really remembering our military families. she's got medals on the tree this year. >> that's very, very nice. they're always decorated by volunteers and they do a fantastic job. >> they sure do. >> it is a beautiful christmas book and tells you a lot about the history of the white house. thank you very much. once again, the book is "christmas at the white house." >> thank you very much! >> nice to see you. merry christmas. >> merry christmas. >> straight ahead, the republicans like mitt romney are out to destroy the middle class, that's what you're about to hear and our next guest says she has the proof. "fox & friends" will be right back with that. stick around.

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>> good morning, everyone. it's friday, tgif. the military base that's been used officially to the iraqis, we'll go live to baghdad just minutes away. >> meanwhile this morning, newt gingrich says the g.o.p. race for president over. >> i'm gonna be the nominee. it's very hard not to look at the recent polls and think that the odds are very high that i'm going to be the nominee. >> ok casicous clay. >> those polls might not be about newt at all. we'll explain. >> and look ought below. rick reichmuth is living on the edge this morning literally, why

he's about to drop off the side. >> drop? >> yes, you heard me, of a 22-story building. "fox & friends" drops in just about now. >> we need a big pillow down there. >> hi, this is joan rivers and you're watching "fox & friends"! >> she's fantastic. by the way -->> miss her. it's been a while. >> i know. she's one of the funniest guests ever. >> i wonder what came between us. >> why don't you think about that over the weekend. >> ok. >> between the two of you would you do what rick reichmuth is going to do today, rappel down the side of a 22-story building. i'm going to be honest and say absolutely not! i would never do it. >> i would -- i would but i don't have the right shoes. >> i did it once. i did it once and i -- >> you did? >> once is enough. >> you know, i don't know if i would do it. i think rick deserves so much credit for doing this and brian cashman for doing this year after year. and video you're looking at is

from last year and rick reichmuth joined us a moment ago from the landmark building in stamford and said, you know, he had had some thoughts about it over the last year and suddenly was having some -- >> second thoughts. >> second thoughts exactly. >> he's upside down on that. >> remember that? >> i used to think it was dangerous until i saw batman do it every night. he was fearless, he and robin if those body suits. >> didn't he have that thing -- the rappelling hook where he would -- >> he had the machine where he would do the hook like that. >> the thing about batman, the way they would shoot it, while it looked like they were crawling up and down the side of the building, they moved the cameras so they were just on the floor. >> you just ruined the illusion! i don't want to finish the show now! >> ok, fine. >> suck it up. >> i'm over it. the massive u.s. military base known as camp victory handed over to iraqi control today. as u.s. troops are pulling out of the country by the end of the year. dominique is live with us in

baghdad for this historic moment. what's the mood? this is a sudden pullout, isn't it? >> it is a sudden pullout. obama announced just over a month ago, actually, that u.s. troops would finally withdraw in totality out of iraq taking everybody including the military by surprise. it is the end of camp victory. total end of a majorly significant era in modern military history over here. camp victory was not just the control center, the nerve center really of the war in iraq, it was very much the engine room. actu actually, largely in the green zone, hundreds of thousands of u.s. soldiers came through here in the past 8 1/2 years at any one time. 84,000 people, half of those u.s. servicemen and another half contractors living on the base. it's an absolutely massive compound. i think the perimeter is something like 27 miles of walls that will be protecting it, all

this long. the significance of camp victory. some people have likened it to the local military equivalent of hong kong returning to the chinese, they hand it back to the germans after the fall of the berlin wall. the iraqis themselves feeling that this is very much a symbol of having their sovereignty back but for the americans, a lot of memories here. a lot of soldiers redeployed at camp liberty as they return to their multiple tours, a lot of people that were seriously injured returned as well and a lot of u.s. soldiers among the 4 1/2 u.s. soldiers killed in action also were repatriated through camp victory, brian. >> dominique, are we leaving a substantial amount of equipment there, number one. and number two is anyone saying thank you, we appreciate it? >> there was an element of a thank you coming from the iraqis yesterday actually at camp victory, vice president joe biden was there to hear it. but i got to say from the tone of the message of the iraqis, they seem more self-focused

really on them as opposed to america's sacrifice. the 4 1/2 thousand service men and women who died here, really they were supposed to commemorate shared sacrifices and shared gains since violence dropped here about three years ago. now a fraction of what it was. joe biden, however, went out of his way really to actually acknowledge how much sacrifice the iraqis have given in bringing freedom to their country alongside the american service men and women who have fought here in all that time. we are leaving a lot of equipment behind because it's too expensive to take it home. somewhere in the region of $700 million in one figure a military spokesman i was speaking to put it on, too expensive to ship back much the iraqis, it would cost u.s. taxpayer that to really ship it back home. so the iraqis are taking full advantage of it. they're taking a container housing unit, use trucks and cars. more importantly, air conditioning units. they can't take the housing units because they're too

expensive here. >> they want them anyway. thank you very much on this big day. >> now to your headlines and a fox news alert. al-qaida claims to have that american hostage, a terror boss releasing a brand new audio tape. in it, he claims al-qaida kidnapped a 70-year-old from his home in pakistan back in august. he says winestein will be released if president obama meets nine different demands, among them stopping u.s. air strikes in pakistan and yemen, also releasing all al-qaida and taliban suspects around the world including those held at guantanamo bay. they have not had a u.s. hostage since daniel pearl was captured and killed. herman cain heading home to his wife in georgia today. republican presidential candidate having his first face to face with his wife gloria since a woman named ginger white came forward earlier this week saying she had a 13-year affair with him. cain said it was just a friendship that his wife didn't know about it. cain says he'll drop out of the race if his wife wants him to.

a new twist in the case of missing mom michelle parker in florida. there's word her ex-fiance dale smith jr. wants to join the search. smith is the prime and only suspect in parker's disappearance, the founder of a high profile search group says mr. smith personally requested his assistance and promiseed to do all he could to help. parker missing since november 17th, the same day she and smith appeared on an episode of "the people's court" arguing over the cost of their engagement ring. take a look at this. honest abe spotted at a steakhouse in richmond, virginia, wearing jeans and sneakers nope, that's oscar winning actor daniel day lewis. under that chin strap beard. he's starring as president lincoln in the upcoming movie directed by steven spielberg. it's due out next year. those are your headlines. for a moment i thought bill o'reilly's book on lincoln was going to be made into a movie already. >> you'd never know. >> meanwhile, let's talk a

little bit -- speaking about drama, receipts talk about what's going on in the presidential race. scott rasmussen has a brand new poll, called about 1,000 people. look at this, newt gingrich towering over mitt romney by 21 points, 38-17. herman cain has 8. ron paul has 8 as well. when you look at -- they ask whether or not, you know, are you absolutely sold on these candidates and suggesting you would vote on, only 1 in 3 were positive they won't change their minds which means, of course, 2/3 could be changeable? >> it's really interesting because, you know, we've seen so many other people rise to the top and then fall, you know, michelle bachmann, rick perry, herman cain and now newt gingrich so does that mean that newt gingrich will also fall and mitt romney will come to the top or newt gingrich will stay at the top? if you ask newt gingrich, he's pretty confident about what's going to happen to him. >> i'm going to be the nominee. i mean, it's very hard not to

look at the recent polls and think that the odds are very high that i'll be the nominee. and by the way, i don't object if people want to attack me. that's their right. i'm suggesting it's not going to be very effective. people are going to get sick of it very fast. >> by the way, he went on to say back to your other -- very confident, by the way, have you picked that up? >> he's had that for a while. but he also addressed his staff, he said this. he spoke to his staff yesterday morning and told them they need to focus on the positive. and they say they discussed the ron paul ad which really rips newt gingrich and his record. >> and he expects an upcoming romney attack campaign against him. he says we got here by being positive with a positive solution oriented campaign and that's how we're going to -- >> his exact words were kill them with kindness. there's something to be said for that. there really is. and if you've watched the debates you've seen that newt gingrich has complimented all the people on the stage saying that any of them would be better

than barack obama in his estimation. so is that the right move now? yesterday, mitt romney or somebody on his staff put governor chris christie out on the attack against newt gingrich and, of course, chris christie has endorsed mitt romney. is that the right move? let us know what you think. >> traditionally it is. you have the surrogates do the bloody work. that's what chris christie did yesterday. peggy noonan writes in "the wall street journal" today, there are a lot of people concerned with newt gingrich's personal baggage and she writes people feel america's problems are so huge right now, so scarafying and judgment, personal judgments feel like an indulgence. obama is a devoted husband and incompetent. let it go! >> yeah. >> ask mitt romney some of those -- >> he says his support is beyond an increase. it's an eruption in terms of how he's taken over the campaign. >> sure and charles krauthammer has an editorial today and one of the things he writes about is

he sees ultimately republicans are going to have to decide who is more electable and i think he gives a slight edge to mitt romney who is more attractive to some democrats and independents as well. >> did you say mitt romney? >> i did. he's going to be on the show in one hour and 20 minutes. put down the clicker, folks, he's coming up. plus there's going to be a presidential forum on the huckabee program tomorrow night 8:00 p.m. check it out. two hour live special with the former governor of the great state of arkansas. >> governor christie has endorsed mitt romney. who is going to meet with donald trump today? newt gingrich. he'll be in town to meet with the donald. >> on monday. >> sorry, on monday. at the same time, mitt romney yesterday met with the bushes. barbara and george bush. they say this was not an endorsement. this was just a friendly gathering between the group, there they are right there. >> that was out on his twitter feed. but they've always been close. i mean, if bush 41, mr. and mrs. bush ever endorse him, that

would be titanic. it seems as though if you want an existing relationship, that existing relationship is very strong. >> and that twitter picture was taken yesterday in houston where 41 lives. today, mitt romney will be joining us from dallas which is coincidentally where 43 lives. i wonder if we'll see a picture of him with george w. bush later today. >> george bush got a special salute yesterday which i think is significant. we'll discuss that later. >> yeah from a big rock star. >> come to your tv screen and take a look at this. a giant tree limb comes right at this car. the whole thing was caught on camera. >> one of my biggest fears. >> and are republicans out to destroy the middle class? that's what you're about to hear from one of these three people. and the other two are ticked off! wow, i got a job ahead of me straight ahead. >> is that what's my line? ugh, my sinus congestion,

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>> 16 minutes after the top of the hour. we just asked which of these three people say republicans are out to destroy the middle class? here to weigh in on nancy pelosi's comments, our political panel, republican political strategist tony sag, sky news political analyst john christopher boullie, and fox news contributor jimu green. remember that game show to tell the truth? tried to stump the person and finally at the end, the real person had to stand up. >> we have to fake it, though. right? >> so which of you believes that republicans are out to destroy the middle class? >> i can pretend. >> you have to defend it since you stood up. why? >> well, it's a pattern of neglect that has now actually

turned into a very strong effort where they're using every tool possible, budget, regulatory, legislative oversight specifically going after workers' rights, the attacks on the national labor relations bureau to slash their funding, not understanding and really appreciating that it's unions, it's collective bargaining and workers' rights that built the middle class and sustained the middle class and they're out to use scapegoats to the crumbling economy. kick them when they're down. >> some would say it's the unions that have crippled the u.s. economy and led to the united states debt. how do you feel about that? >> first of all, ask anybody on a municipal or state level which union pensions and health benefits that cripple local budgets and state budgets. but on the federal level, look, the unions represent 11% of the work force, most of these employees who are under the union umbrella make close to six figure salaries when you include the health and pension benefits. they make well beyond the average american middle class worker who is not in a union.

so for them to create this kanard that they represent all the workers of america is ridiculous and look at the national labor relations board who fought the building of a plant, a boeing plant in south carolina that would have created thousands of jobs because it was -- it's a right to work state. >> i got to be the middle man here. >> ok. >> i have to say. we are in an election year. and we're not even freezing in iowa yet. the fact is that they're framing these issues from both sides to reach their base which is extremely important. it's like world war i. battle of the trenches. they're both staring down the barrel at each other. no man's land in between who guess who suffers, the world markets, the american worker, the american people and we're in a global economy. our sky news viewers, 90 million worldwide are watching america to come through for them as they listen to the issues that affect everyone's lives now. >> is this what you're talking about? i want you to listen to nancy pelosi. >> i don't know what the middle

class did to the republicans but they're so out to get them but whether it's job creation, economic growth, the tax code and the rest, this deck is getting stacked against the middle class. >> is that what you're talking about? >> yeah, i mean, i think each -- each party chooses their base. the republicans choose the corporate folks. the democrats choose the union folks. but the fact is this -- the payroll tax extension is important for all americans and now if the republicans, rather, vote for any form of tax increase, grover norquist is going to be sitting in that man's district holding hands with his republican challenger in the next few months. they're scared about that. they have to go back to their constituents and say i got you a break on the tax code. >> it's what congressman pelosi is pointing to. it's the scapegoating saying it's unions and the middle class that are responsible for the great recession. it's not the wall street

irresponsibility. it's not deregulation. they have scapegoated, tony, everything you said is blaming the entire crash on the working -- >> how is that -- >> 20 seconds and i got to go. >> it is political. you're absolutely right. the realignment of middle class voters to the republican party is what caused the election in 2010 to be so historic as far as republicans. >> and then also -- >> democrats know it so the only way they're going to win the middle class vote is using a culture war because the economic record of this administration in congress is abysmal when it comes to middle class. >> great discussion. i got to go. you're going to stick around for this. president obama said if you can't turn the country around, he would be fine to serve one term. but now he's asking for another four. so will he be able to do the trick? and want a college recommendation letter? good luck. teachers refusing to do extra work unless their union demands are met. i'm writing some of them. i'm not even in a union, i don't think. [ male announcer ] sometimes a hint

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>> president obama's campaign message of hope and change helped get him elected to his first term but the president knows he hasn't created as much change as he would have liked to have done so now he's asking the american people for more time. >> it takes time! it takes more than a single term. it may take more than a single president. >> will voters accept the president's plea for four more years? we're back with our political panel, tony, john christopher and jamu green. good to see all three of you

again. you stuck around through the break even though we had some disagreements before. let me start with you on this. do you believe that voters who put barack obama in office in 2008 believed that hope and change would be in the first four years or that it would take eight? >> well, i don't know if they necessarily thought he would revolutionize the presidency as i think the media imposed on him that he would. but i do think that he thought he'd get a much different country than he would today particularly when it comes to unemployment, the economic picture and what's most damning for president obama, he's hemorrhaging support in almost every single vote of support. latino voters, white middle class americans that we were talking about earlier so he has very little to go other than his base which is why you hear him going to the old warfare, cultural warfare, wealth and warfare so he has nowhere to go. he wants four more years but with 75% of the country thinking they're in the wrong direction, i don't think he's going to get it. >> the interesting argument, jamu, is he's actually going to use a strategy of the do nothing

congress and point the finger instead of actually being -- coming to the forefront and pushing new policies for the remainder of this first term. so some could argue that he really could be doing a lot more work in his first term and that it really wouldn't have taken eight years for hope and change. >> absolutely he could have been more productive in the last three years but it is, i think, bigger than just the do nothing congress. it was a complete opposition congress and i think no one, when they heard him say he was thinking about only running for one term, that was not absolutely never on the table. he said it but come on, we know they're going to run for re-election and we know all the policies leading up, there's always an eye on that whether you're democrat or republican but the bottom line is i don't think anyone who has an inch of common sense in them would think that you can reverse decades of failed republican economic policies in a matter of three years. >> the culpability is across the board.

>> voters put barack obama in because they believed in hope and change. >> they didn't know how bad a situation we were in before -- >> all true. however, the fact is the harry truman saying, know nothing -- do nothing congress may or may not work. lbj didn't run for a second term, if you remember that. that was pretty shocking stuff. that obama is running. believe me, and we're all going to know. we'll be in iowa freezing watching -- following the g.o.p. folks. we've been watching all the stuff. the fact is the american people are impatient. they want -- they want jobs. they want -- this is a jobless recovery. the eurozone is falling apart. we live in a borderless economy. we're all in this together. the global melttown. there's international crisis and they want someone who has leadership who can lead. now, the question is -- obama has a record, the republican only has to say i'm going to do better than obama. so there's the issue. we'll know next november. >> we will. >> we'll see. >> panel, have a fantastic weekend. thanks for coming in. in one hour from now, we'll get the monthly jobs reports speaking of the economy but we already have a good idea of what

to expect. that's coming up next. and a driver's worst nightmare. watch this. a giant tree limb comes flying right at this car, the whole thing caught on camera. plus, would you do this? rick reichmuth is about to go free falling down this building. it's only 22 stories high. man up, rick. go for it. >> gretchen, i don't think free falling is quite the right word for it but you're almost right. this guy is telling me that i have to trust all the equipment and i'm about to do this. and i don't even like looking over it. there we go. when we come back, heading down this 22 foot wall getting ready for santa claus. i guess santa claus is a brave man. 22 stories, not 22 feet. i'll be right back. my name is jill strange,

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>> we're about an hour away from the new jobless numbers. fox business network peter barnes joins us live from department of labor in washington. what are you expecting, peter? >> good morning, gretchen. a lot of anticipation about this particular report, consensus estimate is that the economy created about 120,000, 125,000 jobs in november. that is up from 80,000 jobs in october. but the unemployment rate is expected to remain at 9% for

november. that's because 125,000 or so jobs still is not enough job creation to really start to push the unemployment rate down significantly. you need to have around 250,000 to 300,000 jobs per month to start doing that. gretchen? >> all right. we'll wait for the numbers in just about an hour from now. thanks so much, peter. >> as i look at the futures, i guess wall street thinks it's going to be a positive number for them because they're all up over -- the indices are over 1% right now. meantime, we get some headlines for you at this hour. incredible new video out of utah. look at this. dozens of tractor-trailers blown over like toy cars all because of a powerful wind storm. santa anas are wreaking havoc all the way from the state of california to colorado as well. the storm being called the worst in more than a decade. some wind gusts measured up to 120 miles per hour. nearly half a million homes and businesses are without power in utah and california alone.

winds could last throughout the weekend. batten down the hatches. thankfully nobody has been injured so far. >> oakland raiders linebacker ronald mclean smiling for the cameras as he's busted in his hometown in alabama. mclean accused of assaulting a man, holding a gun to his head and firing a shot next to his ear. last year, mclean was sued by the university of alabama student, by one of them, who said he hit him with his car on purpose. mclean is now out on bail. the 45th nfl player to be arrested this year. >> that's ridiculous! >> country star mindy mccready in trouble with the law as well. accused of kidnapping her own son? the judge issuing an emergency court order authorizing police to take custody of her 5-year-old. she secretly took the boy from her parents' home in florida. they are the boy's official guardians but mccready claims he's no longer safe in their home. she can't travel back because

she's seven months pregnant with twins. >> you heard the long arm of the law? check out this long limb. look at that. a huge tree crashing down a police cruiser as it drives through mission, kansas, a suburb of kansas city. the officers in the car were not hurt. just surprised. all caught on dash cam. all right. speaking of cameras, we got some live ones for some incredible images now. >> i think i know what you're talking about. it's a tradition in stamford, connecticut, for santa to arrive by rappelling down a 350 foot building and our own rick reichmuth has noticed this and it's becoming part of this tradition. we've been seeing the shots and seeing what you're up against, rick, any second thoughts? >> lots of second thoughts. to be honest with you, sometimes these things work well if you don't have time to think about it. we've had five minutes to think about it and i wish we wouldn't have to be honest with you. and now not only are we doing it today but we're doing this again on sunday.

a bunch of times apparently. so they tell me. >> straight down without -- >> all right. got a little bit of a ladder, right? >> a little rope ladder. >> right there. >> wait. >> ok. and that avoids the, i guess, like the first big fall that could possibly happen. >> the first big step. and -- oh, yeah, you want my hand out of there, don't you? all right. i wish there would have been another place to put that hand. >> sorry. >> all right. so -- you can step out of the -- step out of the ladder and you're good to go. >> all right. so this is the first step that you got to brave. >> and you say it's all good, right? >> yeah. >> you're good. >> lean back. ok. there you go. well -- >> lean back, walk up the wall. >> hold up there?

>> no, below. below>> gotcha. >> sit back further. lean back. lean back farther he said. ok. >> up there, you can go no hands, too, because there's so much rope weight. release both hands. >> can i talk to you or will it blow your concentration? >> no, please, please, please. please talk to me. >> i'm wondering how scared you are. >> honestly i'm significantly scared. and -- >> so do you have, rick, you're talking to me actually helps. >> do you have -- do you still have the jelly legs right now or are you getting better? >> i have a jelly belly right now. >> look better than last year. >> the legs i hadn't thought about but you made them actually a little bit weak. >> rick, last year, you kind of got nauseous, didn't you? >> i did. well, yeah, i get nauseous like

-- yeah, driving. i'm very that kind of person. >> don't look down. >> it's weird. i actually -- i mean, once this is all done, i love this kind of thrill. it's a great thing but in the moment, it's -- it's a little freaky. i forgot about this. >> yeah, right. there's the bounce of it is a little disconcerting because it feels like it's going to give but they say it won't. so -- but i'm holding on to the rope pretty tightly. >> rick, is there a crash pad underneath you? >> no. there is not. >> right. >> it looks like -- >> there is not. i mean -- it's probably too high for that to help.

yeah. that curve will help it, steve. >> gigantic cement slide. we're now looking at helicopter images of the side. and for folks -- >> ahhh! >> the other guy is doing some jumping. he's showing off right there. is there any possibility you could swing to the right and wind up looking in somebody's window? >> yes. there's the crew. >> but it's not a good idea. >> good. >> you're airborne a little bit. so rick, is he mocking you by jumping up and down? >> thank you, you just made me look down. it was a little push off from the wall there, rick? ok -- >> i think we need to do a little -- we have gone, you're right, about eight stories. >> look at that perspective. >> i thought it was more than that. >> you know what?g= p

is this supposed to swing like this? >> oh, my gosh. >> is he asking you, brian? >> you're asking me? >> no, i'm sorry, the brian i'm with here. i'm with brian van orsdel. am i supposed to be bouncing like this? >> sure. >> ok. that's a good thing. >> ok. the bounce is normal, i guess. >> rick, before you got started, did you really inspect the rope that you're dangling from? >> you have no idea how much i inspected the rope. i inspected the rope, i inspected the harness, i inspected everything and they all told me it was fine and -- >> they promised me that these harnesses never, ever break. you want me to swing, don't you? >> i want you to swing. >> let's see it. >> give it a go here. >> ok. so here's -- we trained on a rock wall. oh, my gosh. oh!

catch. oh. >> looks like he's danger you. i'm flying! flying! >> you look fantastic, rick! >> i'm not good with a dare. >> it's too late now. >> whoo! whoa! >> oh, oh, oh. >> watch the hip! i can hear chris in the studio there. >> you got your wish. look at him -- they're looking in the windows. >> he can hear chris in the studio, he says. >> i can hear him! >> he's thinking about him. because you're air boorn. -- airborne. >> oh, this feels good. >> the big finish now? >> you want to jump? >> i'm on the bottom. we're about two stories high. did i do it?

>> a little jump. >> this was the best part of last year. you're close enough now that i'm sure it would do damage if i fell but -- >> you're going to swing out, make sure -- so this is -- this is the final finale. are we ready? ready? >> yeah, just jump out a little bit and kind of control you from the ground. >> ahhh! all right! >> oh! oh! >> are you ok? >> rick? >> yeah. i'm good. >> ouch. >> the camera guy down at the bottom has an excedrin for you. >> shouldn't you wear pads? >> forget this ever happened! >> oh, my dash look at that. >> oh! >> wow! >> oh, my. >> oh. >> he's got him. >> just in case they were here. >> yeah, like they were going to catch you.

>> rick, you're supposed to do it again in an hour. do you want to? you don't have to. do you want to? >> yeah, i'm not a quitter. >> no, you definitely are not rick. >> all right. >> are you ok from crashing into the building? >> i'm fine. >> good. >> if i'm not, i'm not aware of it right now. >> you're in shock. >> great job. you look fantastic. >> keep in mind, that's how santa arrives in stamford as well. >> good job to the other brian. >> yeah, just a little summary on the event. it's 5:00 on this sunday at the landmark building in downtown stamford. we want to thank our sponsor. they've supported us unflinchingly for -- >> a long time. >> we'll get his sponsors. >> good enough. we'll check in back with you, rick. thanks. want a college recommendation letter? too bad. teachers refusing to do any extra work unless their union demands are met. right back. [ sniffling ] [ male announcer ] all stuffed up?

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>> imagine a school district where in this terrible economy, the average teacher makes nearly, what, $90,000 a year? that's the reality in the school district in pennsylvania. but now, times are tough and the school board needs to scale things back. the teachers union refusing. now, unless they get a bigger raise and back pay, teachers will work according to the previous contract. but won't sign any college recommendation letters or chaperon any events. that's crazy. i say as a father of three. joining us right now is the school board president richie webb and school board member william o'connor. they join us live in the studio. good morning to both of you. >> thank you. >> let's start by showing folks the rich deal they have. the average salary of a teacher in your school district is close

to $90,000 right there and the teachers don't pay for health insurance. they get longevity benefits. they get reimbursed for sick days and when they retire, they get a $27,500 cash bonus. richie, you can't pay that anymore, can you? >> no, sir. financially, one of the problems that's held us up is the fact that we're trying to negotiate a contract that we can afford. in the past, pennsylvania schools have had basically unlimited taxing authority. not so anymore under pennsylvania law in 2006, they passed what is known as act one which limits the school's ability to raise taxes and anything above a certain inflationary rate which is set by the state requires a referendum. >> sure. william, one of the things about this particular situation is historically teachers are generally -- have the support of the parents. but in this case, it sounds like the parents are on your side and they feel like the teachers are being unreasonable. >> for two primary reasons.

one being, of course, the economy, the pressures we're all feeling and this is a very expensive contract that taxpayers are being asked to uphold. the other part of it is the teachers have enacted a work to contract against our students. it's putting them in the middle. and the school -- and the school teachers say? >> they want to keep it. >> well, i don't blame them! >> i don't either. but we cannot afford it. and that's really what this is about. again, we are very pro teacher, but what we cannot do is negotiate a contract that we can't pay for or would require us to cut programs. >> right. >> or devastate our finances.

>> i understand. here's what the schoolteacher union president says. school board members do not want to negotiate and they do not want to settle a contract with the nft. what they want is everything take it or leave it. we want the board and the community to value teachers and respect our role. real quick, william? >> well, you know, i use this analogy if you go to a car dealer and you can only afford a $20,000 car and the dealer says here's a $40,000 car and if you can't afford it, here's a $30,000 car. i don't have $30,000. that's the problem here. they want what we cannot afford. >> it will be interesting to see what happens. all right, we thank you very much for telling us your story. >> thank you very much. >> good luck. >> thank you for having us. >> meanwhile, coming up, religious employers forced to pay for birth control. wait a minute, doesn't that go against religious teachings? peter johnson jr. says you can thank president obama and obamacare for that. first on this date in 1942, bing crosby has the number one song in america, you know what it is.

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>> all right. is the new health care law discriminating against the religious rights of catholics? let me pull this out here. >> microphone? >> cover me, steve. >> all right. under the law -- thank you very much. i'm fine. under the law, religious employers and organizations must provide insurance coverage for contraceptives including some that can cause abortions, now catholics are crying foul right now but the white house says they're still debating the law's requirements. listen. >> this decision has not yet been made. you can be sure that we want to strike the right balance between expanding coverage of

preventative services and respects religious beliefs. >> what will the white house do? >> joining us right now is fox news legal analyst peter johnson jr. >> the white house has done it. >> they have. they're talking about respecting religious rights and yet, the government is talking about mandating that catholic hospitals perform abortions and contraceptives and all sorts of stuff. >> this is a dangerous environment for all americans on the left and the right and the center who believe in religious liberty and believe in religious freedom. what the obama administration is saying is we will tolerate religious liberty in this country to the point at which we want to tolerate religious liberty. they're not saying that religious liberty is robust and that it should be protected as part of the bill of rights. and so nancy pelosi has now, while saying i'm a great catholic, is also saying that the catholic bishops are merely lobbyists on a pork bill issue. >> when did she say that sf>> she called them lobbyists.

>> here's the quote. she said i have great respect for our bishops when they are my pastor. as lobbyists in washington, d.c., we have some areas of disagreement. >> what is under the obamacare is the plan says that every employer, right, every health insurance plan must cover sterilizations and all f.d.a. approved contraceptives and abortions. and so the catholic church is saying that we have unique catholic institutions. >> absolutely. >> it is against the precepts of our religion. >> she should know that, she's a catholic! >> to foster abortion or sterilization. and so what the government is saying is there's a compelling government interest to override your right to religious freedom and religious liberty. this is going all the way to the united states supreme court. this is a core american issue. >> it certainly is. all right. peter johnson jr., thank you very much. >> good to see you both. >> all right. disturbing. all right. coming up -- >> straight ahead, the latest

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>> gretchen: tgif, everyone. hope you're going to have a great friday and weekend. i'm gretchen carlson. newt gingrich says, guess what? the race for president over? >> i will be the nominee. it's very hard not to look at the recent polls and think the odds are very high i'm going to be the nominee. >> gretchen: so what does mitt romney have to say about that? we get to ask him live. he'll join us 30 minutes from now. >> steve: i'm going to get he disagrees. speaking of 30 minutes, the monthly jobs report will be released. will it be the outlook america is hoping for? we could use a change. that's coming up straight ahead. >> brian: did you see what happened about 20 minutes ago? that's our guy, our weather guy,

rick, landing into the building. and he's about to do it again. 350 feet. "fox & friends" starts right now >> this is senator joe lieberman. you're watching "fox & friends." >> steve: yes, speed. the senator from connecticut, which is -- there is a big sky scraper in stanford, connecticut, and that is where rick reichmuth is right now. rick just rappeled down the side. he's up there again. rick, we just saw you, you didn't do this last year. you crashed into the side of the building. first on your back and then on your butt. are you okay? >> i'm fine. my shoulder hurts just a little bit after the adrenaline has worn off. but i'm all right. not bad. >> gretchen: we're watching the video. >> brian: did you climb back up or did you take the elevator?

>> yeah, i took the elevator. good call. i'm not coming up. i was tired enough after going down like from gripping on the rope. >> brian: that was nerve racking. i give you credit for doing it. you're going to do it again? >> going to do it again. then some day it's a big event. i'm been suckered into joining in on sunday and i'll dress up in a costume. i'm pushing for the adom nab snowman. >> gretchen: add some pad to go that costume. >> steve: because the event is when santa arrives in stanford. he arrives via rope. stand by. rick will dangle down the side of the sky scraper once again. if you missed it the first time this half hour. thank you. stand by. >> gretchen: let's kick off our final hour for a friday with your headlines and a fox news

alert. al-qaeda claiming to have an american hostage. the terror boss releasing a new audio tape. he claims al-qaeda kidnapped the 71-year-old from his home in pakistan back in august. he says winestein will be released if president obama meets nine different demands. here are some, stopping u.s. air strikes in afghanistan, pakistan, and yemen. also releasing all al-qaeda and taliban suspects around the world, including those held at guantanamo bay. al-qaeda has not had a u.s. hostage since daniel pearl was captured and killed. u.s. military base in iraq handed over to iraqi control today as troops are pulling out of that country by the end of the year. camp victory served as the headquarters for the u.s. military in iraq. some parts are being used by the iraqi military, but the iraqi government is still deciding what to do with all those palaces that used to belong to saddam hussein. geraldo a minute ago gave may

great analogy, it would be like leaving jfk airport hyped. imagine that. herman cain heading home to his wife in georgia today. the republican presidential candidate having his first face-to-face with his wife, gloria, sips a woman named ginger white came forward claiming she had a 13-year affair with him. he said it was adjust friendship, but his wife didn't know about it. cain says he'll drop out of the race if his wife wants him to. what would you do to find your lost dog? would you stand on the street corner in your skivies or a bikini? >> brian: yes. >> gretchen: this woman did. her chihuahua ran away six days ago in la joya, california, so she stood on the corner in her bathing suit holding a lost dog sign. i'm sure that's what they were looking at. she got plenty of attention and guess what? her dog reappeared. >> steve: it worked. >> gretchen: wow. those are your headlines. geraldo is totally in favor.

>> i'd stop. [ laughter ] >> brian: 'cause you care about dogs. >> i care so deeply about chihuahuas. >> steve: that's what i read on the blog. gretchen was talking about how camp victory, which you have been to ten times, we've handed the keys to the iraqis today. >> it is impossible to understate the lavishness of camp victory. it is not only a sprawling base that encompass these incredibly, elaborate palaces built by saddam hussein, he built them because he was embarrassed that iraq did not have sufficiently luck sureious accommodations for foreign visitors. they're ridiculous. but the facilities that we built, people have to understand, we built vast runways and barracks and -- >> steve: blast walls. >> and headquarters buildings. we have expended billions and billions of dollars and now we handed it over to the iraqis and it is on the one hand a symbol

of an era ending and thank god it's over. i hated iraq the many times i was there. i hate the fact we lost 4,000 people to replace this leader. i wish we had killed him with a drone missile strike. it would have been so much easier to replace the head of that government that way. but it is what it is and now we're handing it over, but know for a fact this is billions of dollars, a gift from the united states, from the taxpayers, to the people of iraq. >> brian: which one of my questions was to dominic, did he get a thank you? we're leaving the tanks, too, right? >> we're leaving a lot of the equipment, particularly the unarmored humvees we started this war with and paid an awful, awful price. but there is so much and whether or not you get a thank you, i don't know. at one point, and going back to where vice president cheney started this, i had hoped we would have a special relationship with iraq sufficient that would guarantee the flow of oil. this one of the most richest

reservoirs of oil that are known on the planet earth. i don't know whether we have. i know our oil companies, energy companies are buying for supremacy there. i don't know if we can protect -- >> brian: i just don't know how interested the administration is in that. he hasn't called maliki in a year. >> that's a fair question. and one thing i do want to emphasize, i don't believe that iran is going to take over iraq just because those shiite countries now. >> gretchen: why? >> because one is a persian contribution it's a different ethnic group. they're really a very, very different people, the iranian people from the iraqi people, which are arab. they really are that ethnic divide. >> gretchen: even when it comes to terrorism? >> well, you know, in terms of terrorism, nut job also find each other regardless. hezbollah is also a shiite group. but hamas is not. they're sunni and they work together. so i think terrorists are different. psychopaths are different. people prone to that kind of violence, arbitrary violence in which they victimize men, women

and children, they will find each other regardless. but i think in terms of nation states, remember, iran and iraq fought an eight-year war and the iraqi shiites had no problem killing the iranian shiites and vice-versa. i think that divide, which has lasted for millennia, will continue to keep them from the -- which is a good thing. >> steve: as you started to talk about camp victory what has happened in iraq, you said we lost 4,000 people there. a lot of gals and guys have come back and they're missing parts and you were at the standup for our heros event to honor the wounded warriors. >> standup for heros, bob and lee woodruff's wonderful event. the new chairman of the joint chiefs, it was a very, very impresssive turnout and it's only one. you had the wounded warrior fellow here earlier. i went to another one, the g.i. go fund. that's also this week. what's different, and i've been around long enough now to understand what is different is,

living through vietnam and the end of vietnam and having those guys come home really crestfallen, you know, ridiculed by antiwar activists in many, many ways, shunned by society and to see how different it is now. they come by, you see, as often as we go to airports, you see these guys walking through airports, everyone says right on. good job! thank you. god bless you. and it is so -- take my chair. it is so very different. i really applaud the united states for having evolved past politics when it comes to service people now. >> brian: they'll hire them. >> care for their injuries, care for their psychic scars. but more than anything else, difficult them a job. -- give them a job. that's the key. as bitterly divided in terms of partisanship that we are, that's one thing we are united about.

>> brian: you're going to have a special night tonight? >> gretchen: wait. as the female, i would like to announce that geraldo is man of the year. >> thank you. >> gretchen: you're going to give the award tonight? >> i am. the working organization for retarded children, used to be called. the 40th anniversary of the original willowbrook expose where we expose the conditions inside the institutions for the developmentally disabled. we have come a long way in those four decades and the biggest fight wasn't closing the institutions. it's now making sure -- everybody knows someone who has a kid with autism. everybody knows someone who is developmentally disabled in one way or another. i know it because every single day as i walk around the streets of this or any other city, people come to me and say, my brother was in an institution, my sister was. i got into the field of caring for these folks who are helping them to adjust to regular life because of these exposes and that's the challenge now, to make sure that these families

have the small community-based residences where -- >> brian: they can live a normal life. >> many of them have jobs. many of them that were in the previous decades just put away in the chateaus, left to rot there, now are living lives in the sunshine. tonight brian will emcee. i'm so proud. >> brian: here is a cup of coffee. >> thank you very much. >> gretchen: congratulations. >> thank you very much. >> steve: very deserving. >> it's the best thing in my professional life. >> brian: and congratulations and i look forward to seeing you. i'll have pictures next week. >> steve: all right. thank you. straight ahead on our friday show, president obama promised the stimulus would bring jobs, but then said they're not all they're cracked up to be. remember? >> shovel ready was not as shovel ready as we had expected. >> steve: republicans have one project that is shovel ready and will create a lot of jobs. next, the senator forcing the president to get that project started right away.

>> gretchen: plus, the latest polls show mitt romney in a distant second now? his first reaction to those 877-768-6274s when he joins us -- new numbers now when he joins us in a few minutes i take my multi-vitamin

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>> brian: it's the proposed keystone excel pipeline. oil pipeline that runs through from canada all the way through illinois and oklahoma, and while experts say it can create more than 250,000 permanent jobs, the president has decided to delay construction until after the 2012 elections. that move now angering republicans and some democrats who say this is one job that is shovel ready. north dakota senator is

proposing legislation to force the president to approve the production. he joins us right now, along with senator lugar. you are pushing this together. senator, how exasperated are you with the delay? >> well, look, this is a big-time job creator. we're talking more than 20,000 construction jobs right off the bat. ultimately more than 200,000 jobs, so it's not only a big-time job creator, but it reduces our dependence on middle east oil? le so this -- so this is ready to go. canada wants to happen. the unions want it to happen. what is stopping this? >> there has been some environmental concern on the route. the pipely runs from alberta, canada, down to the refineries in the gulf coast. and there was concern about the route through the sand hills area in nebraska, but the state of of nebraska had a special session. we've incorporated that into our legislation, so we fully addressed it. now we need to move forward. >> brian: so you've gone past that sand hills area now.

you circumvented it and that's what the administration was worried about. >> right. that was exactly the concern. and what the legislation provides is that the project is deemed approved 60 days after passage of the legislation, but we provide an opportunity for the department of environmental quality in nebraska to work with the state department and epa to reroute in nebraska and then once that's done, it's incorporated into the full route. so this really is about addressing concerns, solving the problem, and moving forward. >> brian: the other thing is, as you know, if they don't sell it to us, they're going to go sell it to us. and i'm talking about canada and their oil. so we're in a lose situation if we don't do this. >> that's a very important point and again, why this project is so compelling. there has been some concern expressed about producing oil in the oil sands of canada, that

region, because of co 2 emissions and that kind of thing. but if a pipeline isn't built and doesn't bring the product to the united states, the pipeline instead will be built to the west coast of canada, it will be exported to china. you'll actually have more emissions because they produce more and you have to haul product all over the globe in super tankers. the other important point is it also brings products from states like north dakota and montana, my state, north dakota, down to these refiners as well. big job creator, reduces our dependence on foreign oil. >> brian: it's introduced and we're going to look to see if it's passed and embraced and also helps senator lugar there, not exactly know as a bitter partisan and he has a history with the president. all good. >> right. he's ranking on the committee of jurisdiction. we're close to 40 co-sponsors already. so again, we got to get this economy going. this will be a huge help in terms of job creation and economic activity. >> brian: i love the idea of buying oil from canada.

senator john heaven, thanks so much, over in north dakota, have a great weekend. >> thanks, brian. good to see you. >> brian: still ahead on this show, newt gingrich says the gop presidential race is essentially over and he's the winner. what does mitt romney say about that? i have a hunch he'll disagree. plus, in case you missed it, last hour rick reichmuth slammed into the building on his way down from a 350-foot drop. but that won't stop him. he's going down again. yes, he's going to do it again and he's fully insured but has not satisfied his deductible.

>> gretchen: some might say it's lonely at the top, but not for our own rick rite matthew. he's about to rappel down a william with the yankees general manager. looks like you guys got a head start. >> it takes a little bit of time , especially for him to get over the edge. we got to get going. >> brian: 'cause he's a little older than you? >> he's a pretty brave guy in some ways. but i think i'm probably older than you. brian, you did this last year. >> yes, i did. >> you feeling more comfortable than before? >> a lot more comfortable. >> all right. now that we got you out here. there is a couple of free agents out there that this could be interested in. you guys meet with pew holtz this week? >> no. no big guys for us. >> there is not really been any

big news and everybody is talking about the red sox implosion this year. >> yeah: got a red sox fan handling our safety. >> be careful what you say. >> there is a stanford native? >> yeah. we got a little challenge here. mr. bobby valentine is stanford's bright light. he's now the manager up there in boston. i think we have to challenge bobby to join us on this building next year. what do you think, rick? >> all right. i'm in. i think that's a deal. i think he heard it right there. brian, how do you put a bit like this on? >> it's been going on 20 years, 22 actually. we do it every year, the first weekend in december. it's on the landmark square building. downtown, 5:00 p.m. this sunday. family event. we usually have 3, 4,000 people. we've had the blessing of having a very good sponsor. they've done it for 22 years. we have a new sponsor this year,

first niagara. >> so there you go. how about we race to get to the bottom? we did this last year. are we on? >> we got somebody coming down? >> okay. let's see what we can do? >> what the hell is that? >> something is coming over. who is this guy? >> i see somebody -- >> it's not santa though. >> there is no way you guys are beating me. i'm out of here. >> steve: batman. >> gretchen: oh, oh. >> brian: who is coming? >> it's the grinch. he's back again this year. >> brian: you guys better pick up the pace. >> steve: you're being chased by a cartoon character. >> brian: who is knocking the rope. that's diabolical batman. >> steve: as long as he doesn't have hedge trimmers, they're

fine. >> gretchen: look how fast the grinch is going. >> steve: this is about the place where rick got into trouble last time where he wound up crashing into the manage on his back and with his butt and there goes somebody right there. >> brian: i feel like we're watching a space movie. >> steve: rick, are you in control right now? >> brian: is anyone in control? >> no! i don't think so. >> brian: it looks like chaos. >> rich just took it. rick, did you have any idea that this was going to happen? >> which part? that part? >> gretchen: the grinch part. >> i had an idea. i think he always does show up for these things, it appears. >> steve: very nice! ladies and gentlemen, mission accomplished!

[ cheers and applause ] good job, rick. >> gretchen: they made it. we'll check back in after they catch their breath in a little while. coming up next on our show, look where unemployment stands, monthly jobs report due out hips away. >> brian: and newt gingrich saying the polls show it all. he'll be the gop nominee. what does mitt romney have to say about that? his reaction when he joins us live after the break the employee of the month isss...

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>> gretchen: fox news alert. monthly jobs numbers out. unemployment down to 8.6%. >> brian: wow. >> gretchen: from 9%. employers added 120,000 jobs in november. what a good time to bring in governor mitt romney, who is also -- also wants to be the republican nominee for president. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> gretchen: what do you make of it? this is going to be a boost for barak obama. right? >> well, we've had three years of barak obama's presidency. this is the slowest recovery we've seen since hoover. he's going to try and put a silver lining in a very dark cloud, but the truth is that his economic policies have made us more and more like europe and

high unemployment and low income growth, median income in america dropped by 10%. he'll have a hard time putting perfume on this pig. >> brian: 8.6, but below 9%, which is at least going in the right direction for the country. so that is a trend. we added 120,000 jobs but lost 400,000. >> yeah, brian. it's very good news, obviously, going into the holiday season, people are shopping again. very good news that the unemployment rate is down. more people back to work. but look overall at the president's record on the economy, it's been miserable. >> brian: right. governor, i got to ask you about the last time we saw you on fox was with bret baier and afterwards, he said that you reportedly weren't happy with the way the interview went, the direction it went, the questions. do you want to expand on that? >> i just wanted to spend more time talking about the big issues of the day, which are issues about the economy getting americans working again, taking

america back from those that want to turn us into a european-style nation. i want to talk about our foreign policy challenges in afghanistan, iran, israel, north korea. but it turned out to be a pretty good chance for me to talk about some of the attacks that are coming from the democrats and so all in all, i think it was a pretty good opportunity. >> steve: brett told bill o'reilly that you said you seemed irritated. you said the interview was overly aggressive and uncalled for. and bret baier went on to explain that there were a lot of issues out there right then and one of them was romneycare, which some feel is one of your biggest vulnerabilities and he was giving you a chance to respond to it. you weren't expecting just a softball interview, were you? >> of course not. turned out to be a good opportunity to talk about, you know, the mud being thrown by the democrats and i got the chance to bat back some of that. so it worked pretty well. >> gretchen: speaking of the mud and possible negative campaigning, it appears that the

guy who endorsed you, a huge endorsement, chris christie, the governor of new jersey, now he's on the attack mode for you against newt gingrich. i want to read a quote from chris christie. here is what he said: speaker gingrich has never run anything and he's been a legislator. i have to tell you, i don't think being a legislator is the best calling card. look at the guy we have in the white house now. he never ran anything and was a legislator. have you summoned chris christie to be the attack dog against newt gingrich? >> that's hardly an attack. my view is that newt gingrich and i have very different backgrounds. his background is very valid, of course, but he's been in politics almost all his life and the last decade or so, he's been working in government affairs in washington. he's been in washington, what, 40 years or so. during that same time, i was trying to build a business, doing my best to understand how the economy works. we created jobs. we created a good return as

well. i think that america needs to have a leader who has run things, who spent time in the private sector, who understands the power of the american experience and knows how it is that we can make our economy stronger. >> gretchen: are you going to go on the attack mode against newt gingrich because he yesterday said he was going to kill you with kindness? >> well, i never like the word kill in a political campaign. the democrats have been using that. they said they were going to kill romney. look, i think we're going to talk about issues and differences, of course, there are some distinctions between us and the people will get to know us better and will make a decision as to who is the best able to replace president obama and get america back from those that want to turn us into a european-style nation. >> brian: right. governor, i want to you hear what one of your main competitor, who is in front of many polls said about getting the nomination. let's listen. >> i'm going to be the nominee. i mean, it's very hard not to look at the recent polls and

think that the odds are very high i'm going to be the nominee. and by the way, i don't object if people want to attack me. that's their right. it's not going to be effective. people are going to get sick of it very fast. >> brian: do you disagree, that he's going to be the nominee? >> i sure do. let me tell you, over the last year, there have been a lot of people real high in the polls that are not high in the polls any more. there is this funny thing in america called the election. to weapon the election, you got to earn it. you got to get out and campaign, see the people, shake their hands. self grandizing statements are not going to win elections. we'll be battling up until the time moment to make sure we're successful and i hope i'm the nominee because i think i can get america back from those that want to change this country and i can get america back to work as well. but i wish newt gingrich the best. he'll run his campaign. i'll run mine and may the best person win.

>> gretchen: but the latest polls do show this, they have newt gingrich leading now 38% to your 17%. we watched as you said, michelle bachmann and rick perry and herman cain come to the top as sort of the -- i guess some people called it the anti-romney candidate. you think that newt gingrich will fall, then, as they did? >> i think that if i do a good job and if i make the kind of effort -- we've got planned this weekend in new hampshire where weather we'll have hundreds of people going door to door. i'll be doing the same thing. rallies there, that i'll be able to hold on to a very strong position and end up with the nomination. look, i'm confident that this will be a successful campaign. i'm not going to count the chickens before they hatch. there is an election that has to happen, but i'm going to be working it and earning it and you are right that the polls bounce around a lot. but fortunately over the last year, i've been able to have a pretty strong spot in the

opinions of the people of this country and hopefully i'll continue to have that in future. >> steve: somebody who has an opinion on the opinion pages today is charles krauthammer and he writes about you and newt gingrich today and he says the two front runners are flawed, but it sounds like he says that you are more electable because you're more attractive to some democrats and to some independents as well. i'm sure you would agree with that, but would you say that newt gingrich does not have that same thing going for him? >> i don't think i want to characterize newt at this point other than to point out our very distinct difference with regards to background. i think if america feels that we need somebody who lived in washington for the last 40 years to run the country, he's a good choice. i actually believe that what we need is someone who has lived out in america. not in washington, whose had the experience of leading

enterprises, who led a state, led the olympics, by virtue of those leadership experiences, having run things, understands the power of leadership and i do. i have that experience. i love this country immensely and i'm convinced that that's the background america is looking for. >> brian: now, governor, you don't get up as early as us. i don't know if you read the wall street journal, but in it, there is a story about newt gingrich and a column that says in 2007 he's on the record of saying about fannie and freddie, quote, when you need government, sometimes you need government to help spur private enterprise and economic development, seemingly lauding it, those statements in that interview was actually on the freddy web site endorsing it. how do you view that? how do you view fannie and freddie and newt gingrich's earlier opinion on it? >> look, i must admit that newt has had a very extensive, long record of working in washington with various governmental and nongovernmental agencies. and i just don't think that's

the background that is ideally superintendented, one, to replace barak obama, and number two, to lead the country. this is not a matter of -- that america needs better lobbyists or better deal makers, better insiders. i think america needs a leader. needs someone who knows how to get the job done, to get america strong again with good jobs and bright prospects for our kids and continue to kindle the power of opportunity and freedom in this country, which i think is very much damaged by a government that's become too heavy, too intrusive, too overbearing. >> gretchen: so yesterday you had a very friendly meeting with the bushes, barbara and george, and here is a photo that meeting that i believe was on your twitter page. now you're in dallas today. are we to assume you're going to meet with the other president bush? >> i'm not seeing president george w. bush today. we chat from time to time. i get advice and counsel everywhere i can find it. it really was fun, though, yesterday, being with president

george herbert walker bush and barbara bush. they are so delightful. i mean, they're just the most entertaining and delightful people i know. it was fun to see them again and hear their thoughts. barbara bush, she speaks her mind. >> gretchen: we're heard. -- we've heard. >> and her husband, he just chuckles and -- by the way, they are 100% with him. i don't know how old they are, but they are young at heart and young in mind. they're remarkable leaders. >> brian: and an endorsement would mean a lot, wouldn't it? >> oh, look, you look for endorsements everywhere. i don't think a lot of former presidents that get involved in the political process, but hey, i'm happy to see them and happy to see them standing up for the things we all believe in. >> steve: all right. mitt romney, we're happy to see you live today from dallas-fort worth, the metroplex. thank you very much. have a great weekend. >> thanks, steve. >> brian: thanks. >> gretchen: the host of fox news sunday, chris wallace up next to react to what governor mitt romney just said.

first, let's check in with dave and alisyn to see what's coming up over the weekend. >> great to see you. as you know, support is growing to save big mountain jesus, despite a push from an atheist group to have this veterans memorial taken down. we're going to have the latest on this legal fight. >> dr. oz talk being arsenic in apple juice. now new info you need to hear before you pour that juice for your kids. >> and bring the merry back in christmas. tips on how to spend the holiday stress free. our special gift guide for moms. that's all coming up. stress free, baby. and gift force moms. you'll want to take tips on that. 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. see you then. [ knock on door ] coo you found it. wow. nice place. ye. [ chuckles ] the family thinks i'm out shipping these. smooth move. you used priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships for a low, flat rate. paid for postagenline and arranged a free pickup.

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gop race. >> brian: here with reaction is host of fox news sunday, chris wallace. chris, we have another chapter to mitt romney this week, the first one was with bret baier and now we have a second. your thoughts? >> well, it's interesting that he met yesterday, i guess it was, with bush 41, to take a phrase from that president, this was the kinder, gentler mitt romney. i was surprised at his performance in the bret baier interview because i thought it was a direct interview, but certainly not anywhere over the line or uncalled for. these are the questions that people are asking about him being allegedly a flip flopper, about his health care plan and how close it is to obamacare. and i was surprised that he was so put out by it, or that he was surprised that those questions would be asked and today i'm clearly -- i talked to a couple of top advisors to romney and they thought it had been a poor performance on romney's part, that he's going to have to

answer those questions over and over and he shouldn't act like he's somehow put out by it. and today he wasn't. he was relaxed and calm and this is the way he should have behave ed. >> gretchen: you get questions asked over and over again as president, so that shouldn't be surprising when you're running for president. let me ask you about this, though, because it appears that maybe he is going to now attack newt gingrich. he sent out governor chris christie, we assume, to subtly attack newt gingrich yesterday, saying that he's a legislator and he's never run anything before. do you think that mitt romney will now attack newt gingrich, who yesterday said he will kill mitt romney with kindness? >> yeah, but i had to laugh at that because gingrich had been saying that one time and then the next time he says, you know, that i'm a real reformer. he's a manager. if you want something to manage the problems in washington, get romney. first of all, i don't think by political standards this is very tough, either side, saying that

i'm a reformer and he's a manager or christy is saying that he's a legislator and romney is an executive. that's pretty mild. look, this is hard ball. this is -- as they say, politics ain't bean bag. they're competing for the republican nomination for president. there are some differences between the two. let them have at it. >> steve: the big news out of washington will be reaction to the number that came out 17 minutes ago where unemployment in our nation dropped from 9% to #.-- 8.6%. has the white house called you yet to tell what you great news that is? >> no, but i will say this. you've been on the air doing a show, but while i was half listening to your super view with romney and also looking on the wires, one of the reasons the number dropped four tenths of a point from 9% to 8.6 is because over 300,000 people, according to the bureau of labor statistics, gave up looking for jobs. this isn't entirely good news.

yes, obviously 8.6 is better than 9, but a lot of it is because some of our fellow americans are so frustrated, they stopped looking. you have to take this with a grain of salt. >> gretchen: yeah. but this is huge great news for president obama today because they don't necessarily have to mention that fine print. all they have to do is show that new number. >> brian: republicans will. >> yeah. republicans will. and in addition, look, these numbers are going to go up and down. obviously 8.6 is still better than 9. we're still at historically high levels. remember since fdr, the highest unemployment rate any president has had and gotten reelected was ronald reagan with 7.2% in 1984 and that had come down from 10% in about a year. so if obama is in a hole, he's still in a hole. he may just not be quite as deep. maybe he can see over the top of the hole now. >> brian: who will be on your show? >> that's a very good question. well, it's one of those weeks, guys. we -- we think we have a

biggest, but we can't quite lock it down yet. as opposed to brian, i'm not going to announce it. do you want to announce our bet for sunday? >> brian: i bet chris wallace $10, it's illegal to be on the air, so we'll be taken away. giants will beat the packers and hand the packers their first loss on the season. >> how many points it you give me, brian? >> brian: none. i want to win. >> this is like taking candy from a baby. >> gretchen: i know. >> brian: i got to go stretch out. >> gretchen: i'm with you on that one. packers will win. thanks a lot, chris. have a great weekend. >> see you, guys. >> steve: all right. straight ahead for the first time since daniel pearl was captured and killed, al-qaeda claims it has kidnapped another american. but there is a lot more to this story than meets the eye. we will explain next. >> brian: let's check in with martha and find out what's on her show at the top of the hour. >> hey there. good morning. newt says he's going all the way. but romney has a new strategy to battle back that we're learning about. ed rollins and juan williams and

others weigh in on that and the huntsman girls getting in the act as well. bill and i will see you right here in america's news room. we got all the top stories coming at the top of the hour. we'll see you then. a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately.

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>> steve: fox news alert. we've been telling about this story, al-qaeda now claiming responsibility for the kidnapping of a 70-year-old american by the name of warren winestein. he was a contractor, was abducted in pakistan in august. now al-qaeda leader making demands in exchange for his safe return. among them, the release of all al-qaeda and taliban prisoners around the world. that's not going to happen. joining us right now is national security expert, deputy assistant secretary of defense, t.k. mcfarland. they got him, they say. >> they probably do have him. this is just one piece of a much

bigger puzzle and the bigger puzzle is you have pakinstani relations. they had him since august. why we just found out about it now? because the relationship between the united states and pakistan is coming under real crisis. >> steve: why this guy? random? >> why this guy? he had been in pakistan and lived there for a long time. he was known. they got him. they snatched him. the question then becomes, if we were ever to get into any of these demands, who is the next guy? >> steve: absolutely. there would be hundreds of thousands of people throughout that region who -- >> throughout the entire region of afghanistan or pakistan. >> steve: we had a pretty good feeling that pakistan knew all along where bin laden was. pakistan knew where this guy is? >> i don't think it's a coincidence that all of a sudden, as u.s.-pakinstani relations in the last two weeks have reached a crisis point that all of a sudden, out of the hat jumps this new hostage. please. >> steve: what should we be doing? >> i think we need to reassess our relationship with pakistan. pakistan decided we're leaving the region and so they're going to do whatever they can. our interests are different.

we're giving them billions of dollars a year which they're use to go build nuclear weapons and kill the taliban which are killing our people. >> steve: we got to marry from the white house on this, don't we? >> you know what they asked for, the white house? they want an apology from president obama over the border incident of last week. >> steve: that's not going to happen. so this could be a troubled time for warren. >> unfortunately, yes. >> steve: always a pleasure. >> thank you. >> steve: straight ahead, rick reichmuth has two feet on the ground for now, but he's not done rappeling yet. we'll check in live with him and the grinch in two minutes. so humpty dumpty had a...

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he >> gretchen: all right. let's check this with rick reichmuth who just completed two rappels down 22 stories. you made it, pal! >> i feel like every time we say it, the number gets bge