d.c. as well wanted it over, you know what? it is over now. unfortunately there is a public survey out there that says that 60% of americans now worry that it could descend into civil war. it's now 6:00 in new york city. >> good morning, everyone, thanks for joining us for this special coverage of what's going on in the country of iraq this morning. it is thursday, december 15th. and if you're just joining us, what you're seeing is the united states officially ending its 8 1/2 year war in iraq. so while you were sleeping, the flag of the command was lowered in baghdad during the official closing ceremonies. >> let me add, this is not the shot. this is where leon panetta was yesterday. that was afghanistan. >> you can see defense secretary leon panetta was there, he called it a profound honor to shut down the nearly nine year war there. >> that's right. >> iraq will be tested in the days ahead.

by terrorism. by those who would seek to divide. by economic and social issues. by the demands of democracy itself. challenges remain. but the united states will be there to stand by the iraqi people as they navigate -- >> there you see leon panetta earlier today in his speech which, by the way, baghdad, no teleprompters yet. you see a guy speaking from the heart with his speech written in long hand. they have officially retired the flag of u.s. forces in iraq. troops lowering the flag as you saw there wrapped in camouflage. we showed it earlier formally casing it according to army tradition. right now, let's go out to jennifer griffin who is traveling with the secretary of defense is in baghdad on the phone. jennifer, there wasn't a huge iraqi presence there, was that surprising or scripted?

>> i think it's a little bit surprising. what's interesting is the number of iraqis present, the band just stopped playing, the number of iraqis here was less than a handful. you remember they don't have a defense minister right now. there's an acting interim one because it took them more than a year to form a government. so they don't have a defense minister but there was no prime minister, there was no large iraqi presence and really, i find that -- we all found it a little bit surprising, frankly. >> what do you make of that? you've been covering this side of the world for many years. what do you make of it? >> well, i think what's striking here is this is a ceremony that's taking place at the airport and it's being done, you know, we all remember the opening hours of the iraq war, the shock and awe element. it was, you know, go big, go in

quickly, get out. it's 8 1/2 years later, people are tired. i think the -- the relationship is extremely strained with the iraqis. there is a lot of concern among iraqis that civil war is going to break out when we -- when the u.s. troops leave and in the next coming days, the last 4,000 troops will be out of here. at the height of the war, there were 500 bases across iraq. there are now just two bases and those will be closed in the next couple of days. i think it's symbolic of how strained the relationship is and, of course, this wasn't supposed to be the plan. the plan was to keep the top commander here wanted 15,000 plus troops to stay here to stablize things. but it was because there was this tension with the maliki government and they did not provide immunity to u.s. forces to stay, that's the reason these troops are going home. >> you're right. you know what? it is probably symbolic that

they're doing this at the baghdad airport so that the big shots can get out of town as quick as they can. you just mentioned, jennifer, that people there are tired. the people in the seats watching the ceremony today, the rank and file members of the military, are they happy to be going home or do they feel we were in this to win it and they'd like a little more? >> you know, i feel like the people here in baghdad. we just came from afghanistan where we had a chance to talk to the troops there and that's a war that's still going on full bore but i sense that they're -- that people are tired there as well. this military has been fighting for 10 years. these are people who have been on three, four tours. what we're seeing today is -- i don't think anybody is surprised that it's ending. this has been winding down for sometime. these troops here that we see today in baghdad, they're just happy that they're going to be home with their families by the

holidays. but they all expect to deploy again, and they expect to deploy to afghanistan and they expect to deploy elsewhere because nobody thinks the situation around the world is calming anywhere soon. >> when you talk to the secretary of defense that was just c.i.a. director and before that i thought was retired. he's in the middle of this in one of the most crucial times of military history, do you get the sense that this was his decision? >> no, i don't get the sense that it was his decision. i sense a great deal -- i've had two opportunities to sit down with him in the last couple of days. i sense a great deal of trepidation of what lies ahead in iraq, he's trying to project strength so iran does not come in and fill the vacuum in iraq. there were numerous warnings that i felt were targeting iran and anyone from iran who may be listening. he intentionally, i think, told me that 40,000 u.s. troops will

remain in the gulf to counter that iranian threat. we broke the story two days ago that u.s. drone flights over iran, those spy missions being flown out of afghanistan will continue. he told me that. my sense is there's great deal of trepidation of what lies ahead but the u.s. will continue to have a very strong presence in the middle east and that the defense secretary and these soldiers and troops here today, none of them expect that they won't. be engaged in some sort of military conflict down the road or be asked to come back for training purposes. don't forget that iraq is going to be one of the largest places of u.s. weapons, they bought 18 f-16's the other day and they're buying billions of dollars of weapons from the u.s. government. somebody is going to have to show them how to fly those f-16's and show them how to use these weapons. >> all right. jennifer griffin, you've been listening to her reporting for

us. she's live with the defense secretary at that ceremony in baghdad, iraq. thanks so much for your perspective, jennifer. >> thank you. >> and stay safe as you travel with the secretary of defense through some very dangerous areas. let's bring back in general jack keene. it's official, we're folding up tent and moving out. with 4,000 troops remaining in kuwait. i understand that the presence in kuwait is greater than anyone really expected. does that mean there's a rapid force that could deploy if things go south. >> we're trying to demonstrate that we're in a neighborhood that is cable of responding. move troops back to iraq on an emergency basis would be a tough military situation. i think that the presence is there more for symbolgy than

anything else. >> what i'm confused about is if we still have troops in kuwait and obviously, we still have troops in afghanistan, then many people would surmise that this is a political move by the obama administration to get everyone out of iraq because why leave troops anywhere else? >> yes, certainly. clearly from the time the obama administration started to have influence in iraq going back to 2009, their interest from the very beginning was pull the troops out and so-called end the war. frankly, president bush had already done that in the status of forces agreement that he signed but he signed a strategic framework agreement with the iraqis that they insisted on and that was a long term strategic partnership. and the bush administration almost immediately -- i mean the obama administration almost immediately started to push away from the iraqis. so this relationship between the united states and iraqis slowly

over time through 2009, 2010 and now in 2011 began to gradually deteriorate. we began to grow apart from the iraqis politically and that's where we find ourselves today. this ceremony is camouflaging the fact that there's a strained relationship between the two countries and that's so unnecessary. >> absolutely. as you look, this is video from moments ago. we officially ended the war in iraq. general, going forward, there are going to be headlines on the blogosphere and in the newspapers saying, you know, after nine years, 4500 american dead, 3200 wounded and after spending close to a trillion dollars, people will ask, was it worth it? when you look at all those people who were liberated over there, the answer is surely yes! isn't it? well, i think the -- whether this war should have been initiated or not is always going to be argued and history will tell us whether it was or not

but i think the facts are on the table, saddam hussein, 35 years repression dictator was removed and the iraqi people, 25 million have been liberated and iraq is a country of significance and of strategic consequence to us. this is an educated class of people with enormous wealth. they have the second largest oil reserve in the world and the fact that they elected their government, they're the only arab muslim country that does elect this government, they have potential for enormous stability in the region. if we maintain a close relationship with them and help to preserve and develop that democracy with them, i think it will have enormous influence in the region. >> the longer -- the theory is the longer people get the sense they're in control of their own destiny and have a degree of freedom, the less willing they'll be to give it up. before we got there nine years ago, all they knew was repression and compliance. but general, i want to bring you back to one statement you said earlier, the iraqis left with

their own government but there was an election and the other guy won by a slight margin and we did nothing for years -- for months while this whole stand-off happened instead of brokering some type of agreement. therefore, maliki goes to iran and says can you hand me back el sadr so he, this diabolical character is back in government and he's back into power and we did nothing to make sure that did not happen. >> yeah, that's very unfortunate. and you put your finger on really one of the problems that we had. i know our generals are very frustrated because our diplomats took a hands-off approach and in other words, we were not doing anything to influence the formation of a coalition government. and they took the approach that, well, iraq is a sovereign state. it's not our business. i think anybody looking at that situation on the ground there would say it definitely is our business.

with the 4400 soldiers dead, none of them catastrophically wounded and the commitment we made to liberate the iraqi people, that we still had an obligation to help grow and develop this democracy and we should have been hands on and not hands off in helping to put that coalition together. the iranians got hands on. >> once you were in it, many people argued you had to finish you were there to do. general jack keane, great to have your perspective bright and early this morning. thanks so much. >> take care. thank you. >> we gave him an early wake-up call at 5:45. >> didn't need his alarm. >> it was historic, the war in iraq is now officially over. >> the other big story for today. tonight is the last debate before the iowa caucus. what do the candidates need to do? we want to know what you think. pretend you're a political pundit or strategist or e-mail us. you can tweet as well. we'll be right back. juice drink too watery? ♪

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>> all right. you're watching america's news and election headquarters. tonight will be the final debate in iowa for folks out there caucus on the third d of january and if you look at the real clear politics average right now, newt gingrich is leading by 12 in iowa. and this morning, according to the sioux city journal which is the paper -- >> which is late again this morning. we didn't have a chance to read it. >> i checked on line. >> sioux city is the site of the debate tonight. newt is getting a big endorsement today from a former congressman known as gopher. he used to be gopher on the love boat and he's thrown his support to newt. he's quoted in the paper as saying "it seems to me he's the target of the week for fellow republicans who somehow think he's the darth vader of the republican party." >> leave it to -- go to movies

or tv to find his quote since that's where he spent most of his time before he became a member of congress. speaking of going after newt, that's what's going to happen tonight before the debate. this is the last debate that iowa people go before they pick their candidate. there's an interesting editorial that's giving advice to both mitt romney and newt gingrich. more so maybe to newt is that romney -- or to romney. romney needs to go -- needs newt to go after him. i'm confusing myself. in other words. this says that romney needs newt because it's better to have this sparring partner than when he gets in the race with president obama. >> the term sparring comes from boxing. if you ready muhammad ali getting ready for many matches. some of the best fights out there were in the gym. so this is what they're saying with this analogy there in the column today is that if you could get newt and romney to fight it out, whoever emerges

and the article led people to believe that romney would be the better candidate, he'll be battle tested, battle hardened for a real tough battle against the sitting president who is an extremely good debater and speaker. >> and going back to the world of show business, there's a quote that this "wall street journal" column starts with from bruce lee, the famed kung fu artist. he says the best sparring partner is a mad man who goes all out. now, if i'm newt gingrich and i'm seeing that is being compared to me, i'm thinking they're calling me a mad man? but when you read the column, you realize what they're saying is that he's the one guy out there who could build up mitt romney because when you watch mitt romney this past week at the debate, you know, the $10,000 bet, that was not good and then when newt hit him with the only reason you're not a career politician is ted kennedy beat you in 1994, romney went nowhere so going forward, he needs somebody like newt to buck him up for next year. >> yeah, the article actually says that the romney campaign

would go into coma without newt gingrich around to keep it alive. and, you know, by the way, we saw that interview that mitt romney did with bret baier. so there's a third example of what happens when he feels the pressure and the thesis of the article is bring the pressure on to make him tougher. so what do you want to see from the candidates tonight when you watch at 9:00 p.m. eastern time? well, e-mail us. let us know. because you are the voters. you are the determining factor in what's going to happen. >> by the way, if -- and i know you don't like this part of it but the personal attacks are heating up. newt gingrich did not fire back. mitt romney called newt gingrich zany yesterday and he also pointed out that -- >> a rich guy. >> he doesn't understand the economy because he was critical of his days with bane capital, does he understand how the economy works? he pointed out he's a rich guy. who else could run a half million tab up at tiffany's. gloves are off. they threw the gloves down and one guy is swinging and the other one hasn't put up his hands yet. >> i think that's fascinating

and interesting at the same time, i'm not so sure when you e-mail us, let us know, do you like the fact that there's this onslaught now by the romney camp to go against newt gingrich? do you like that? >> plus, you've got ron paul as the guy who is running all the negative ads about newt in iowa and if you look at the polling -- >> he's creeping up. >> absolutely. not only in the triple peephole are they side by side but it looks like newt's gigantic lead two weeks ago is moderating a bit. lots more politics straight ahead on this thursday "fox and friends." >> by the way, rush limbaugh, we'll have his comments a little later in the show. >> good. next on the rundown john edwards has a proposal for his mistress. >> and remember what that professor said troops don't deserve care packages. remember that? because they're paid enough. it turns out most of you disagree. next, what you've raised so far and how you can continue to help. te cereal? ♪ more, more, more... te cereal? get more with honey bunches of oats

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>> 24 minutes after the top of the hours. couple of quick headlines for you right now. for the fourth time this year, there's been an accident at the lucky friday mine in idaho. seven miners hospitalized after the mine collapsed last night. 13 others, though, made it out safely. this is the same mine where a man was killed during an accident last november and another miner was killed in april when it collapsed more than a mile underground. the owners of the mine hit with a million dollars in fines this year alone and ordered to make work conditions safer. a major victory for a congressional republican. senate democrats in the white house dropping their demand for a tax increase on millionaires. but congress still can't agree on how to pay for the payroll tax cut that expires at the end of this month. the more urgent matter, avoiding a government shutdown and passing a temporary spending bill. that has to happen tomorrow

night when the government officials runs out of dough. guys? >> thank you very much, we have been telling you about thomas walker, that iowa state university lecturer who slammed college republicans for raising money and supplies for our troops. >> now, walker said in a letter to the editor of the school's newspaper to refresh your memory "don't their families send them yuletide goodies, aren't g.i.'s paid enough to buy what they need? necessities should be doled out to people who really need them." >> well, our next guest says troops really need and deserve all the help they can get from all of us and guess what? he is leading the charge sending literally thousands of pounds of supplies to the front lines. >> aaron nirbaum is the president and founder of troops direct and joins us right now from san francisco. aaron, i know just by the nature of your title, you disagree with the professor. but what has happened since we brought this to light? >> the support that we've received from americans has been absolutely tremendous.

since we were on last time, we've raised over $20,000 in support and it is helping to deliver to our service members the critically needed items that mr. walker obviously realizing are not available on front lines and it's medical supplies. it's nutritional supplies. it's hygiene supplies. it's supplies for our canines, it's equipment that they simply can't get over there. >> right. i understand, aaron, that one thing they don't need so much despite what we might think is blankets because for the most part, these guys, you know, they live out of their backpacks so they don't need blankets but they need stretchers. explain why they need stretchers because this is fascinating. >> well, what happens and it's very unfortunate is because of the amount of casualties that our american heroes are experiencing over there, these stretchers are being used on the front lines to evacuate the wounded back to hospitals.

but what's happening is these stretchers are not returning back to the front lines for them to be reused. so, unfortunately, at troops direct, a common request from the front lines, bear in mind we're talking to commanders daily and filling their specific orders is for these stretchers. we get them from a company back east and they're the best of the best. >> this professor walker should get a big thank you note. it got people motivated. with the $20,000, you can support a unit of 1,000 men for their entire deployment which is eight to 10 months. when you do give them -- >> that's correct. >> you mentioned stretchers. what else do they need in terms of maybe nutritional support? >> nutritionally speaking, the most important thing that we're sending over right now is protein powder and other nutritional supplements. you know, mr. walker says doesn't the army feed their service members? sure. but a 1500 calorie ration

certainly is not enough to fuel an american soldier who is in a combat situation for 20 to 24 hours in a given day so we're supplementing that and add to that the fact that right now in afghanistan across that nation, it's 20 degrees at night so we're sending tea over because of the amino acids and things that come from it. oatmeal, they're saying thank you so much for this. >> it's as simple as oatmeal. big thing you need is cash and towards the end of this year, people are looking for great organizations to make donations to. folks, if you're watching out in tvland and you would like to help this fine man and his organization, go to troopsdirect.org or mail your donations to the address that you can see right there on the screen. also, you can go to foxandfriends.com a little later today and we'll link our site to your site. >> i'll tell you before you let me go, i would love for mr.

walker to embed with a combat unit for a week and see if he recants his statement after living on the front lines and experiencing what our young heroes experiencevery single day in securing our freedoms here at home. >> you took a negative situation and made a positive. people are taking action. >> we do it every day for our troops. >> you should give yourself a lot of credit for spending your time helping out other people. thanks so much. >> thank you very much. have a great day. >> all right. straight ahead before you hand out your gifts this christmas, you have to hear this. interesting new information on how people perceive their gifts. why you might be better off giving them one thing instead of two. >> good. i kept the receipt. i'll return everything. and if you're dreaming of a six figure salary, consider a career in toll collection. you're going to love the outrage for this story. and stuart varney is here. don't say anything, this is what he's going to be talking about. >> notice, he's in the e. z.pass lane of the studio right now. how taxpayers are funding their

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>> finally, a nice story out of washington. other night, this is true, republicans and democratic senators set aside their differences and exchanged gifts in the first ever senate secret santa. isn't that nice? they've never done this before and they actually -- yeah, that's nice! yeah. we even have footage of a gift exchange between a republican and a democrat. this is historic. >> merry christmas, bob. >> thank you, george. >> i want to get that gift! >> that's what they're getting verbally right now and all week. >> you know, they ripped off of the fact that literally on capitol hill yesterday, the members of congress gave each other pieces of coal. i think that's where conan got his idea. >> west virginia coal. >> our national healer, al franken came up with this idea which is just extraordinary.

>> yeah. >> and he's also from my state of minnesota. thank you, brian. >> all right. let's talk a little bit about the state of virginia at virginia tech, the researchers there are now apparently studying gifting and what they have discovered is that if you give less, people might actually like it more. >> very interesting. so before you decide on the little stocking stuffers, keep in mind that it may make the person that you're giving it to less appreciative of that big huge gift that you bring out at the end. >> i mean, for example, if you give somebody a sweater that you handmade and was priced out in $5,000, you could be -- you could give someone that and they'll say great but what they really want is a dunkin donuts card. they know you go to dunkin donuts and it shows you care. they could have saved $4,089. >> that's the conventional wisdom. what they found at virginia tech is when you have that great big

gift, the handmade sweater, when you then -- if you give one person the handmade sweater and you give the other person the same handmade sweater and the starbucks card, the person with the starbucks card and the sweater actually likes it less than the guy who got just the sweater because people feel that the small gift diminish the value of the bigger gift. >> right. >> thanks for using my analogy, though. you stuck with that the entire time! >> so for next year, we can all save ourselves a heck of a lot of time. just get one gift! just get one gift for everyone. >> we've all got kids! didn't you hear that? you're all getting one thing. >> i'm not so sure that any of the kids out there will be appreciative of the presenters paradox. we'll see. >> 24 minutes now before the top of the hour. after nearly nine years, the war in iraq is officially over. while you were sleeping, the flag of the command was lowered in baghdad during the official closing ceremony. defense secretary leon panetta is here. is there, rather, he spoke just 30 minutes ago calling it a "profound honor to formally shut

down the nearly nine year war." >> let me be clear, iraq will be tested in the days ahead. by terrorism. by those who would seek to divide. by economic and social issues. by the demands of democracy itself. challenges remain. but the united states will be there to stand by the iraqi people. >> we'll just be in kuwait. at its height, 170,000 u.s. troops served in iraq at 500 bases spread across the country. now there are just two bases left and 4,000 troops in a matter of days, those troops will come streaming across the iraqi border into kuwait. >> and al-qaida now changing its name, perhaps, as part of an image make-over? well, it's true. a top arab diplomat tells fox news the terror group's arabian

peninsula branch has been struggling to attract new members since the death of bin laden and they feel a name change is going to do the trick. from now on, they'll reportedly go by answar al-sharia which means islamic law. change the stationery. >> former democratic preside pr candidate rielle hunter has reportedly asked her to move into his home. he goes on trial in february accused of using campaign funds to cover up their affair. hunter reportedly broke up with edwards before he was indicted and reportedly will testify against him. >> florida woman found herself in the arms of an armed robber. the whole confrontation seen on store surveillance. she was checking out at a gas station convenience store when i man walks up to her with a gun. he grabs her and tells her to get to the ground but she makes a run for the door instead. he hits her with the gun but she

manages to make it out of the store. >> lot of people think i'm a little crazy but i mean, you never know what you're going to do when you're in that kind of situation. pretty proud of myself. pretty much. >> you should be. the crook did manage to get away with cash. she's expected to be just fine. >> pretty dicey scenario there. some new york port authority workers are really taking their toll on your wallet. what do i mean? >> some of the toll takers are raking in huge paychecks in addition to lavish pension and health care benefits as well. stuart varney joins us live and if he had a blood pressure cuff on, it would be going up. >> yes, it would. >> we can't balance our budget in new york and now we know why. >> listen to this, these toll takers are really tax collectors but what they do is they consume a lot of the tax revenue themselves which they collect. the port authority of new york, new jersey, they run all the connections between new york and new jersey, ok? the tolls and the bridges, ok?

>> and airports. >> they -- they got 24 toll takers who made over $80,000 this year. they've got one toll taker who made $102,000 this year. they've got 11 gardners. nothing to do with the tolls and bridges. 11 gardners who made over $80,000 a year. most of this is overtime, ok? now think it through. these people are going to retire very early, probably in their 50's. and they're going to retire with a pension based on the last couple of years of their work so they jack up the value of their income in the final years with all this overtime and then retire on a small fortune for life, they're going to live for another 30, 35 years plus medical benefits. you can't afford it. drives people crazy. >> a lot of them get other jobs as well. >> of course they do. you retire at 50 after 20 years of taking tolls, you're ok. you're in pretty good shape. get out and get another job. still milk that pension.

>> many people who live in the east, they understand that you can buy something called an e.z. pass that allows you to go straight through the tolls at a quicker pace. if you didn't have as many toll takers, maybe there wouldn't be such a traffic jam. is it because of the union protection, you have people physically who do this or because some people need to pay cash? >> in part, it's because of union protection for the jobs for life for the toll takers that we've got. in part. the other side of the case is there's some out of towners, some people driving in don't have e.z. pass and they need to pay cash. they with the go that. we can't afford this. it's not just new york or new jersey. it's all across the country, the private sector is hurting by having to pay these lavish pension, benefits and wages to the public sector where they have a job for life. >> what managers that have a budget would ever agree on this type of overtime for one person where you could bring somebody else in on a different rate if it was the private sector.

>> public sector management is completely different from private sector management. basically they are. they danced to a political drummer in the public sector. you got to answer to the voters and got to answer to the politics. in the private sector, you answer to profit. it's completely different. >> why aren't they smiling if they're making six figures? i haven't gotten a smile since 1981. >> i feel better. my blood pressure is coming down. >> i got some bad news for you, stuart, you'll have to drive home and drive past them. on the george washington bridge. >> not so easy. >> they know what your car looks like. >> that's true. >> we'll check you out at 9:20 a.m. on the fox business network. have a great day. >> thank you. >> new polling shows the mood of the country is nothing like we've ever seen before and it will make this election different than any other. you need to hear this. one of our pollsters here to break it down for us. next. >> good news dads, the crying baby makes you more manly. we have the scientific proof straight ahead. >> put hair on my chest! >> where's that pacifier? [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up!

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>> welcome back. 14 minutes before the top of the hour. right now, the mood of the united states of america is like nothing we've ever seen before. and that may have a profound impact on the elections next year. take a look at these polls, an astonishing 75% say the country is on the wrong track and heading in the wrong direction. 75%! meanwhile, over 70% of americans think the best way to describe our government is dysfunctional. so how's that going to play into 2012? joining us right now is former pollster for president bill clinton and fox news contributor doug shone. good morning to you. >> good morning, steve. >> if i'm david axelrod and i see that 75% of the country says we're heading into the ditch, i'm worried. >> you're absolutely right. no matter what the polls show

now, steve, with 75% saying the country is on the wrong track, that's a problem for an incumbent. >> so what does he do? >> well, what he has been doing which is to campaign against the republicans, divide, use populous tactics, anything to divert attention from his record. >> sure, and, you know, in some measure, they've been effective and gotten the dialogue going about the 1% and everything like that. a year from now, people are going to be going am i better off today than four years ago? the answer is no, i might vote for the other guy. >> that's precisely correct. the gallup numbers of the swing states this week showed exactly that. people are voting their pocketbooks and they think they're less well off, not better off. >> sure. let's talk about what's going on on the republican side right now and that is, you know, we've been swerving all over with frontrunners. we had donald trump for a while. bachmann, perry, now newt. what does that say to you that we're serving between frontrunners? >> couple of things, first the

dissatisfaction we were speak of exists on the republican side. people literally have a flavor of the month. second, there's no real satisfaction with the field or certainty about who the nominee is going to be so people are going back and forth. >> is newt gingrich a flavor of the month? there are a lot of people who really like him because he represents, they feel, the last time something big got done in washington, d.c., he was a speaker with the contract for america. >> i think it's a little bit of both. people see him as more than the flavor of the month. he did get the contract passed. he did balance the budget but there are doubts where he's a secret progressive, hidden moderate or what he really stands for. >> all right. interesting stuff. doug shone, thank you very much. >> thank you, steve. >> we know you have to call people on the phone. >> i do. i do. >> wait until dinner. >> we start early. >> i bet you do. thank you, sir. coming up, rush limbaugh's pick for president. he's got a few but rush says there's one candidate who doesn't stand a choice. who would that be? hey, dads, feeling manly? thank your crying baby.

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>> welcome back, everyone. when you think about testosterone, you think football or boxing or guys getting fired up! but what about babies crying? well, a new study finds in some situations, hearing an infant's cry might actually boost a guy's testosterone level. joining us now is a hormone therapy expert at the age management institute, dr. erica schwartz. good to see you. just a few weeks ago, we were talking about this other study where men hearing crying babies

once they're born and testosterone goes down. what does this one say? >> the first one says, you know, they're actually going to bring down the testosterone to calm down to protect the baby as far as being nurturing. this study on the other hand says when they -- baby is crying, you actually need more testosterone to protect the baby from whatever harm is causing the baby to cry. men spring into action because the testosterone levels increase and they might be able to fend off any kind of an attacker who would come after the baby. >> possibly, yes. >> all right. >> i think what's really interesting is the fact that it mas us think that testosterone is not just about jgym rats and building muscle, like you said. it's a lot bigger. the hormones are about our environment and the hormones fluctuate with what happens in the environment. and also, the environment causes them to fluctuate. so lower testosterone,

protection. higher testosterone, protection as well but in different ways. >> interesting, so the study also saw that men who comforted the babies, they were gich tven opportunity in the study to comfort crying babies but unsuccessfully. they weren't able to do it. but the men who got to soothe the crying dolls in this case saw the testosterone levels drop 10% so the theory, i guess, would be that if they have the ability to achieve the task, they have a calming tendency but when they can't soothe the baby, they spring into action. >> which is exactly what happens in real life if you think about it. when men can't solve the problem, the testosterone goes up. we go to war. when men can solve the problem, they calm down, the testosterone level goes down and it's peace. >> that's why they have wives. >> that's right. >> because they've been around them -- >> all right. i'll leave it right there. >> that was a good place, right? >> dr. erica schwartz, thanks so much.

>> thank you, gretchen. >> when we come back, rush limbaugh says republicans have it all wrong. they can win the election but not the way they think. hear from him and his advice top of the hour. and a man on fire and seconds to act. they rush to save a woman trapped inside. top of the hour coming up. there he is, poised to discover plum amazins, the amazing alternative to raisins and cranberries with more fiber, less sugar, and a way better glycemic index. he's clearly enjoying one of the planet's most amazing superfruits.

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i'm a wife, i'm a mom... and chantix worked for me. it's a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantiis proven to help people quit smoking. it reduthe urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking orood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reactioto it. if you develop these, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart orlood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. my inspiration for quitting were my sons. they were my little cheering squad. [ laughs ]

[ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. gives you a 50 percent annual bonus. so you earn 50 percent more cash. if you're not satisfied with 50% more cash, send it back! i'll be right here, waiting for it. who wouldn't want more cash? [ insects chirping ] i'll take it. i'll make it rain up in here. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? sorry i'll clean this up. shouldn't have made it rain. >> good morning, everyone. today is thursday, december 15th. i'm gretchen carlson. i hope you'll have a fantastic day. fox news alert for you right now, american troops are finished in iraq. while you were sleeping, the flag of command came down, does that mean that iraq will now be better off? >> all right. in just a few hours, voters will see the final debate before the iowa caucus.

right here on the fox newschannel. that's tonight. this morning, though, we will tell you what you want to hear. i will find out what you want to hear from the candidates and i'll relay that to you and i'll tell gretchen and steven privately. >> let's tell cavuto so he can ask them the questions. plus rush limbaugh says republicans have got it all wrong. they can win the election but not the way they're thinking. hear from el-rushbo moments from now. "fox and friends" for this thursday hour two commences immediately. >> there you go, after nine years, it's officially over. the closing ceremonies essentially over in iraq. at one point, 500 bases. at this point, two bases and about 4,000 troops. we had 170,000 surgery into this conflict in 2007. and now, they're virtually all

gone, 4,000 of which will just stay in kuwait for a while. but many are coming home. >> right. symbolically it was held at the baghdad international airport. there you can see what they do is they retire their colors. they cover them in camouflage as is custom in the u.s. army. anyway, nonetheless, the secretary of defense was in attendance to say it's over! >> let me be clear, iraq will be tested in the days ahead. by terrorism. by those who would seek to divide. by economic and social issues. by the demands of democracy itself. challenges remain. but the united states will be there stand by the iraqi people. >> all those troops will be

home with their families for christmas and the new year. for sure in the new year. maybe they won't make it for christmas. what happens to iraq now? iran is looming. iran is looking at this like a cat looking at a mouse ready to pounce. >> and a few things, i think that's definitely a concern. other people point to the fact that turkey's attitude towards the kurds is a concern. the other thing to keep in mind, too, is that you have a prime minister there who is supposed to coalesce and bring different factions together and more and more indications from the prime minister especially according to the deputy prime minister who is in america just interviewed on another network said that he looks more and more like a dictator. the iraqi people are not going to tolerate it and a lot of sunnis in this government are concerned if the -- when or if they ever leave the government, they're going to be arrested so that's a huge worry. >> you know, when this first started, this war started 8 1/2 years ago, you know, the country was split whether or not it was the appropriate thing to do and the whole weapons of mass destruction thing changed a lot of people's minds, you know,

hindsight is always 20/20. but when you look back at what we have done over there, keep in mind, millions of people have been absolutely liberated from the regime. how many women have freedom that they never had in their lives until we went over there and kicked him out of business. >> we hope it doesn't unravel all for not. let's talk about the other big story today. a debate tonight on fox news with the republican candidates and newt gingrich will be front and center literally. literally, he'll be front and center on the stage because that's where they usually put the people ahead in the polls and literally, he'll be front and center of the attacks. everybody is probably going to be going after newt. there's an interesting editorial today in "the wall street journal" saying that actually, mitt romney needs newt gingrich to spar right now. this quote from bruce lee. the best sparring partner is the

mad man that goes all out. is that the case here? is newt gingrich good for mitt romney to prepare him for barack obama? >> which is a bold statement, too, by "the wall street journal" because in most polls on the national poll, he's trailing by 20 points so they're saying the runner-up really needs this -- to be knocked around a little bit more and more attacks on newt gingrich now directly from mitt romney himself. yesterday he said he's clueless on the economy because he was critical of his years at bane capital and he said some of his comments are just zany and by the way, this is a really wealthy guy and not a middle class guy. only a wealthy guy could run up a half million bill at tiffany's but mitt romney is a wealthy guy who never wants to talk about it. should he be calling newt gingrich not middle class? >> look, newt gingrich is a successful guy. and nothing the matter with that. mitt romney did have one positive thing to say amongst the mud. he did call newt gingrich a great historian. >> and he called him a rich one,

too, because of his time at fannie and freddie. it points out the flaws in newt gingrich's debate. mitt romney came at him and said you would be a life long politician if kennedy didn't beat you. mitt romney's reaction was poor. he needs newt gingrich to pressure him so he won't have those interactions with president obama. >> when he did get a final chance to talk. mitt romney said wait a second and newt said i'm still talking. you're right. by the time mitt was ready to talk, i also wanted to be a football player, too, but that didn't work out either. >> good line. other interesting thing to note is newt gingrich has remained positive. he said he would. even though he's being called zany now and a very wealthy man, etc., he has decided to not fire back. what will he do tonight? that will be interesting. >> i bet he fires back a little bit. meanwhile, we asked you what you'd like to see tonight.

dr. will said i would like to see each nominee state two specific things that they had to give up due to the economic crisis in our country, by the way, because neil cavuto is handling the m.c.ing of the debate, there's going to be a lot of financial questions. >> sarah in north carolina says now that herman cain is out, i'd like to know what candidate's specific tax plan is since 9-9-9 won't come up, come up, come up. >> michael asks this, i think fox news should have an "american idol" setup immediately after the debate so we can vote for our favorite candidates. i feel it will be voters watching the debate and it would be neat to see results and how it compares to the polls. that's intriguing. we'll see if they can arrange that in the next 12 hours oochlt uk see the debate tonight on the fox newschannel and the pre and post-game shows are usually very informative as well. usually they have some breaking news within that. two things happened that made

mitt romney happy today. two key endorsements. >> the washington examiner, headlines this morning is romney is the g.o.p.'s best choice. they say mitt romney is not too perfect but he is perfect enough. they say the only republican who can beat obama is mitt romney. he's not a perfect conservative, he's changed his position over the years. changed his mind. but on the plus side, he has become more conservative through the years. >> so they point out three things that he can beat president obama. number one, he thought long and hard about this because he ran, of course, in 2008. number two, because the economy is broken, they believe the washington examiner that mitt romney is the most equipped to be able to deal with that and that's the number one issue in our nation and number three, they believe mitt romney can bring back to this country the ability of hope in a different way than president obama and the ability to achieve. it's very interesting to read this article because i think it's very esoteric, it kind of

captures the mood of the general public right now and how many of you out there wants to have that dynamic spirit out about america? >> they say this, to nominate newt gingrich, the frontrunner in the polls would be to blow this opportunity. and finally, if you see some of the hits on newt gingrich which is -- >> there's a lot. >> go back to his record. look at his record in the 80's and 90's, he teamed with democrats in the bill and he teamed with charlie rangel on a federal acquisitions act and that usually isn't somebody you would want a conservative to team with. he also teamed with al gore on an ozone protection act so in the past, he's teamed with democrats. now, a lot of people listening will say i like that. i want to reach across the aisle. conservatives say i'm running for the hills. others say maybe we need that. >> absolutely and while you've got all these endorsements for mitt romney in the papers today of washington insiders and

national insiders who say, you know, mitt is the guy, there's a lot of you who say look, we don't want to listen to the insiders. our guts tell us we like newt. is he a flawed character? yes, but he has redeemed himself and said he's sorry for certain things and going forward, you know, they would love to see newt gingrich on the stage with barack obama because they -- and we were talking earlier about mitt romney. mitt romney, good debater but he's no newt gingrich. they would like to see newt take apart the president. >> and they would also like to hear somebody who talks about solutions. so does the past matter? or is it looking forward? let's take a listen to what rush limbaugh had to say. he said if the election were held today, anyone would beat president obama. except for ron paul. is he right? >> i don't believe the conventional wisdom that the republicans only have one person that can beat him. i don't believe the conventional wisdom that his billion dollars

can dwarf any campaign that his association with the media can disparage and criticize anyone to the point that they can't win, american people are hurting. obama can't run on his record. lastly, he cannot say vote for me for four more years. all obama can do is run a negative campaign, tear apart his opponent. tear apart the country in the process. but i think right now, anybody other than ron paul could beat obama if the election were tomorrow. >> do you agree with rush limbaugh? let us know, e-mail us or tweet us. >> rush appearing on the greta program last night slammed republican establishment for thinking that a conservative can't win because they've got to appeal to the independents. el rushbo says, you know what? don't compromise. be conservetive. you can win. >> a few headlines for you this morning for the fourth time this year, there's been an accident at the lucky friday mine. this is in idaho. seven miners hospitalized after

the mine collapsed last night. 13 others made it out safely. this is the same mine where a man was killed during an accident last november. another miner was killed in april when the mine collapsed more than a mile underground. the owners of the mine hit with a million dollars in fines this year alone. and ordered to make work conditions, that is, for their workers safer. a major victory for congressional republicans? senate democrats and the white house after a lot of talk into the night last night dropping their demand for a tax increase on millionaires. but congress still can't agree on how to pay for the payroll tax cut that expires at the end of this month. the more urgent matter, though, is avoiding a government shutdown and passing a temporary spending bill by tomorrow night when the government runs out of money. >> former m.f. global chief jon corzine back in the congressional hot seat today. he's testifying before the house financial services committee. it's his third capitol hill grilling in a week. former democratic governor and senator from new jersey unable to explain what happened to more than a billion dollars of his

customers' money that's now missing. a quick thinking wisconsin man and a police officer teaming up to save a woman's life and the whole thing caught on dash cam. jeff smolinski was on his way to work when he noticed a minivan smash into a pole and catch fire. the driver unconscious. he pulled over but couldn't get the van's doors open. that's when the officer arrived smashing out the car's window. >> any other officer at this department would have done the same thing. i happened to be the first one on scene and i got the call. >> don't leave yet. my heart is beating so fast, i might need a ride. >> well, that woman that they saved expected to be just fine. what would you do it in that scenario? i have some friends that had almost the exact scenario a couple of weeks ago and the husband went out and did just that. probably saved the guy's life. >> you know what my wife bought? a little hammer because -- >> my wife bought me one, too. >> the escape hammer. >> if you went into a lake, she

wanted to be able to bang the -- >> wow. that's good thinking! >> that would be great to have -- i'm sorry, what is that to have? that would be perfect for that. >> the other part -- my wife got me the same thing. obviously, they're talking on the phone and there's a little blade on the end. >> both live by bodies of water. >> we do and we cross them. at the end there's a blade so if you're stuck in your safety belt, you can cut yourself out of the safety belt. look at the other end of your hammer. >> i did not see that. >> absolutely. thanks for telling me. >> maybe i'll get one of those from one of the two of you in my stocking. >> as long as you promise to act surprised. >> on thursday morning, we showed you the ceremony that officially ends the mission in iraq. can president obama claim victory considering his position in the past? remember? >> what i do oppose is a dumb war! >> ok, juan williams, andrea tantaros here next with the debate. >> if you want to know how safe they are, you got to crash test them first. new crash test results released overnight on those cars. [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up!

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while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantiis proven to help people quit smoking. it reduthe urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking orood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reactioto it. if you develop these, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart orlood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. my inspiration for quitting were my sons. they were my little cheering squad. [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you.

>> this is a fox news alert. earlier this morning, we showed you the ceremony live from the baghdad international airport. officially ending the war in iraq. yesterday, president obama did the same when he spoke to the troops at fort bragg. >> our efforts in iraq have taken many twists and turns. it was a source of great controversy here at home with patriots on both sides of the debate. but there was one constant. there was one constant. your patriotism.

your commitment to fulfill your mission. your abiding commitment to one another. >> that's nice he would say this. did president obama who opposed the war and surge adequately acknowledge its successes. sharing their takes is andrea tantaros and juan williams, both co-hosts of "the five". andrea, we'll start with you. he did take a little credit for pulling us out but at the same time, you look at his history and we played a moment ago, he's a guy who called it dumb idea. >> a dumb war. i mean, he's also taking credit for things that president bush has put in place before. he tried to take credit for the surge even though he was initially opposed to it. look, i don't think it was a bad speech, steve. i think he could have acknowledged president bush a little bit more but if he didn't during the capture of bin laden, i didn't expect him to do it now. i do think he had some nice words to say about the troops, so does his wife. but if you look back when the president initially announced the drawdown of troops, he got thunderous applause when he talked about defeating the war on terror, something he's been very active using drones and it

could have been great to hear more of that tomorrow. only the point that he's heard thunderous applause before. he could have done that before. what i find ironic, though, with everything going on in egypt, steve, he came out. there's so much uncertainty in both countries, egypt, libya, iraq, he was more confident that egypt would be, you know, have a bright future than he was with iraq. why? because he didn't like this war from the beginning. >> who knows what will happen in egypt? >> i thought it was a great speech and a real celebration and i think it's one of these things that if you, you know, ask the american people it's the right thing to do, it's been nine years, about 4500 americans have died. >> but juan, let me ask you this. there's a poll out there that says 60% of americans that now what awaits for iraq is civil war. that means all the lives that have been lost and close to a trillion dollars perhaps for not. >> i think, you know, people

think right now in pessimistic terms. i think that attaches to the whole war experience, steve. but the fact is that right now, the united states has made it very clear that we are not abandoning iraq. that in fact, they're going to continue to get not only military training but military supplies, diplomatic assistance, you know, and their economy is growing rapidly. it turns out their economy is growing fast because of the oil getting back on line. so i think in lots of ways, people here are just sick of the war and just glad to be done with it. i think it's like 75% say yes, you know, bring the troops home. so, you know, andrea says oh, we should have said more about president bush. we should have said more about the surge. if you want to go all the way back to why there weren't weapons of mass destruction and why we were involved in a war with people who didn't attack us on 9/11, i think that just is bringing up old, ugly wounds that we don't need. we're glad to be done with it. >> exactly right. all right, andrea and juan, thank you very much.

sorry your time is short but we have the breaking news about things concluding over there. thank you very much. we'll see you on "the five." >> you will. >> straight ahead, so much for students first, teachers torching one of her own because she called out the union. that's right, don't be fooled by the rocks that she's got because she's getting rid of them. how j. low stands to rake in millions from her breakup.

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>> here now are some numbers in the news. first, 115. that's how many car and truck models got top crash test safety ratings for this year.

toyota leading the way with 15 top safety picks for 2012. next $750,000. that's how much money casy anthony is asking for her first no holds barred interview. she's reportedly shopping the offer around right now. finally, 116 million. that's how much money elizabeth taylor's world renowned jewels took in at an auction last night. that is more than double the record for a single collection. all right. brian? back to you and gretch. >> the recall efforts against the wisconsin governor scott walker is indeed intensifying. some teachers areoming out, though, to support him. >> i'm not big on recalls and i think that at this point in my opinion and i'm only speaking for me, it seems like sour grapes. it's we didn't get our way so we want to change the outcome. the person that i'm going to stand behind and that's going to get my vote is the man or the woman that says what they mean and means what they say and it's not about being popular, you

know, it's not about getting the votes. this is what is right. i mean, scott walker said from the beginning, i'm going to do what's right for wisconsin and he did. he did! >> now, that teacher in that ad says she's thinking about quitting her job in public education because the harassment from supporters of the teachers union has been so severe. kyle walker is the founder and ceo of education action group and the author of the new book "indoctrination." good to see you again, kyle. very powerful ad to see this teacher standing up for scott walker. but i want to get right to the end of the story which is the harassment she's faced as a result of it. >> right. she's facing typical tactics. if anybody wants to see those tactics played out in real time life, it's going on in wisconsin. what's happening with christie lacroix is she's standing up and saying what she believes. she had the guts to appear in this ad and now what's happening

is there actually is a fire christie movement that is forming where pro union members are threatening her with her job, they're threatening to throw out all of this trash on her. in order to marginalize her and get her to quit and, unfortunately, we're seeing this play out over and over in wisconsin. >> especially in wisconsin as the recall effort kicks in and the governor is ready to fight it. but my thing is, you do not -- you are not surprised by this. do you think she is? >> i think she is. you know, we work with a lot of teachers around the country and they're by and large apolitical people. they just want to do their job. they don't want to be in the wisconsin capital picketing and protesting, you know, and shouting and all of those things. they want to do their job. when somebody like christie stands up and says what she believes, and does it because she's convicted by that, they're surprised to have this -- this,

you know, just vitriolic reaction but it's not surprising. i was in the wisconsin capital during all of this about a year ago and there were actual lists of companies to boycott because they supposedly were -- excuse me, supporting scott walker. and so this has been going on in wisconsin for a very long time. >> but the interesting thing is if you listen to her, what she agrees with the governor about as a teacher is just that she should be judged on her merits. all she's saying is what the majority of the american public would agree with which is if you're a good teacher, you get this. if you're a bad teacher, you get something else. what's wrong with that? >> well, exactly. that's just it. i mean, there are teachers in wisconsin who are standing up and saying these reforms are working. they're treating us like professionals. we are asking to be held accountable for our performance. we would like to have performance pay. we would like to have the option of whether or not to pay union

dues and we would like all of those things. those seem like commonsense things but they run contrary to the union mindset of treating everybody like a herd. not having the option of paying hundreds of dollars in dues a year. >> the union responded this way. "as an organization of educators, we respect the varying of points of views of our colleagues. it's unfortunate to watch scott walker divide the people of this state, often friends, co-workers, families and neighbors when wisconsinites should be uniting, the governor is focusing on dividing. they're missing the point, that spokesperson. it's a woman here who is under attack. this has nothing to do with scott walker's career. it's her career. >> that's exactly it. and what has happened is christie lacroix has stepped out of line from the union line and now she is being demonized because of that. that's just it. they don't support varying opinions of thought. they want one thought and if you don't like it, then, you know, they're going to come after you. >> but they still want your

dues. keep us posted on what happens to this teacher. always good to see you, kyle. thanks. >> i will. >> he was one of the first american soldiers to face war crimes in iraq. shocking evidence set him free. why didn't you hear about it? you will now. the former lieutenant here with this story. >> one of the senators standing up for our troops and fighting those cuts will join us live back in two minutes. [ male announcer ] it's simple physics...

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visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. >> it was a beautiful day in los angeles. in iowa where all the candidates are this week, 34 degrees. it was so cold, rick perry had a brain freeze without anybody even asking him a question. >> harsh. that is balmy for iowa and all you folks watching us in the midwe midwest know what i'm talking about. >> the caucus will be indoors. >> and you'll be able to see it tonight at 9:00 eastern time. >> not the caucus. debate will be tonight. >> steve brown joins us live from sioux city with a preview of what we can expect as the candidates convene there in sioux city. good morning to you, stooech. -- steven. >> good morning. caucus and the debates both

indoor events so it doesn't matter what the temperature is outside. the debate coming up tonight will certainly be a widely watched affair for folks who haven't made up their minds about the presidential candidates, particularly here in iowa. we sat down on tuesday evening with five undecideds from the sioux city area, folks who will be watching the debate or attending the debate who are committed to go to caucus and really don't have an idea yet as to who they might stand up for come caucus night on january 3rd. we heard about a lot of questions or concerns they had with the candidates, not the least of which was rick perry who got this benefit of the doubt. >> i like governor rick perry a lot. you know, he's had a lot of, you know, stumbles throughout the campaign and i guess i'm looking -- he did better in the last week, i guess i'm looking for him to prove that he's electable, that he's somebody that can compete with barack obama. >> and last saturday night's debate by most accounts, perry

did himself some -- some good in that particular debate and folks, certainly wanting to see more. see if he can have a back-to-back consistent debate performances. a lot of questions about the candidate. here's one of the things that we're expecting at the debate. things will get pretty aggressive in the debate. be careful. our undecideds said they didn't really care for that kind of tactic, particularly if they thought it was over the line aggressive and i'll draw you back to the debate prior to the straw poll when tim pawlenty went back for the straw poll, there's some caution for you. >> steve brown live in sioux city where i can hear the wind blowing. almost time to break out those legendary earmuffs. >> yep. >> bet! you bet! i have them! don't wear them yet. >> i know you're used to it, steve and a fox news alert for you right now because after nearly nine years, the war in iraq officially over. moments ago, jennifer griffin, our own correspondent there spoke with the secretary of defense leon panetta in baghdad and she's on the plane with him

right now. and joins us on the phone. jennifer, what did he just tell you when you had a chance to chat with him? >> hi, gretchen. well, we're sitting right now on the tarmac at baghdad airport and waiting to take off with the secretary and i just after the ceremony ended, i walked out to the plane with him and asked him how he felt and was it worth it. what was the lesson that he learned from the iraq war and it was really a very emotional response from the secretary, a very poignant response about how they went into this war divided and there was a lot of divisiveness as a result of the war but we're coming out much more together, this nation will not go to war again unless it is in the country's national interest and the questions will be asked in the future before

taking that big step and getting engaged in another war and the secretary himself was very elegant. we'll have that material on air and certainly have it packaged for "special report" tonight but it was really -- it was a one-on-one moment with the secretary as he left iraqastime mission that isssentially over. iraq war is over. and the last 2,000 troops will be out in the coming days. >> all right. jennifer griffin joining us live from baghdad international waiting to take off. thank you very much for your great reporting. >> we'll look forward to that walk and talk she'll have on later on today. >> meantime, there are reports that democrats are demanding their surtax on tax cuts. is it sign for both parties are willing to compromise to get the measure passed before a looming government shutdown? >> compromise? >> the new hampshire senator joins me now live from

washington. good morning to you, senator. >> good morning to you. >> what's latest that you can tell us about this? i know there were a lot of closed door meetings last night going on amongst republicans and also democrats. >> well, there are -- there have been. i think it's good news that the democrats are abandoning their desire to increase taxes on job creators to fund the temporary payroll tax cut but, you know, that wasn't going to go anywhere anyways so i think now as we look moving forward, i hope that they will really step aside and make sure we get the funding bill done for the government which has to happen tomorrow and unfortunately harry reid has been holding that hostage saying that the funding bill that has been agreed upon, the appropriations bill between the appropriateors between the house and senate can't go forward without the payroll tax issue but we've got to resolve that tomorrow so i hope that will -- that he'll drop that. right now. >> how do you believe that they'll pay for this payroll

extension? the plan coming out of the house from the republicans there, it was complicated and several different areas that you would earn money including freezing federal pay, etc. >> there's a pay for version of what the house passed and obviously, i think that's a strong package that should go forward. hiring freeze with federal workers. other spending cuts, that makes sense instead of a permanent tax increase on those that are out creating jobs. so i think that has to be taken up in the senate. and i also think one thing we could do is if the democrats don't want the keystone pipeline issue in it, why not break up the package and allow a vote on each part of it including the keystone pipeline? had a 51 vote threshold. i know there are enough democrats that will pass that will support that pipeline so harry reid should let that vote come to the floor. >> wow, that's breaking news this morning if you believe that could happen, thank you for that. i want to move on to a topic

that's near and dear to you. this has to do with the mandatory defense cuts that will spring into action because the super committee failed. i know you are one of the republicans vowing to put a stop to those trigger cuts. how do you plan to do that? >> well, i'm deeply troubled. i mean, secretary panetta, you had him on before, he said that if the sequestration goes forward, we'll have the smallest navy since 1915 and the smallest ground forces since 1940, that we will hollow out our force and it will be devastating to our military. it's absolutely wrong. we can't hold our military men and women hostage to what they needed, what our national security requires because congress isn't making these decisions on spending cuts so i'll be working with senator mccain, senator kyle, senator graham to bring forth a package of cuts rather than devastating our national security. it's absolutely wrong. we should be holding our military men and women up and not using them as hostage. >> are you under the same sort of time deadline we're looking at now with friday and the budgets looming. those cuts were to go into

effect in 2013. do you have time to find other areas to cut in place of defense? >> we do, gretchen, actually, we're going to introduce a package at the beginning of the year, but it's important that we go forward with it right away because it takes time for the department of defense to actually implement those types of drastic cuts. but again, why are we subjectcating our national security. we can do this and we should be holding up our men and women in the armed services and not holding them hostage with the sequestration. it's wrong. >> defense secretary leon panetta has been warning congress saying this, we'd have the smallest ground force since 1940, smallest number of ships since 1915 and smallest air force in its history. the final question, the president has been very clear that he's in agreement with the automatic cuts happening. >> i think it's outrageous that our commander-in-chief wouldn't stand up for our military men and women.

and i would urge the president to listen to his secretary of defense. he's the commander in chief of this country. he has a duty to make sure we protect this country. it's a constitutional duty so i would say mr. president, please, we can find other ways to reduce spending. let's not put our country at risk. >> all right, you've been listening to the senator from the great state of new hampshire. thanks for joining us this morning. >> thank you. have a great day. >> coming up on the show, he's one of the first american soldiers to face war crimes in iraq but some shocking evidence set him free. why aren't you hearing about it, though, until now? the former lieutenant here live. and she has helped first ladies from nancy reagan to michelle obama design their christmas decorations. nancy clark here to share her stories from behind the scenes. looking forward to that. i was taking a multivitamin... but my needs changed...

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>> all right. welcome back. from formal state dinners to festive christmas parties, former white house chief floral designer nancy clark who joins us live worked closely with all the first ladies from the past four decades. >> and today, she's taking us behind the scenes in her book "my first ladies." and she's showing us some of the decor she actually did in the white house. >> good morning to you. >> that's right. that's right. good morning. thank you so much. >> let's start with what is at the end here. what is it and who is it for? >> all right, this is an adaptation of something that laura bush liked. she liked the layered look. so we have a layer of holly, then a layer of hydrangea and a layer of roses and we have turned this into a sundae.

christmas sunday, there is another option, and that is that center rose can be removed and candy canes. >> i get the sundae. >> i get it! >> tell us about how you would help the reagans decorate. >> ok. when the reagans decorated, she was very into children and all of the christmas scenes were very child oriented. we did things like mother goose and we would do different mother goose stories. >> we have a picture of you right there. >> this started when you became a volunteer for the carter administration, right snoo auto correct. i started as a volunteer and then at that point, the carters were using volunteers as their part-time florists. >> during the administration of george herbert walker bush, you became good friends with barbara bush. >> yes, i adore her. yes. >> what kind of style did she

like? >> for christmas, she was really into needlepoint so we worked on a project that took two years. >> my goodness. >> right. and then we ended up doing three dimensional needle points. >> all right. what about our secretary of state? before she got that job, she was first lady. >> right, she was first lady. and she loved to decorate. and we decorated a lot of things. >> it's interesting because you say secretary clinton did the decorating from top to bottom! >> yes, she did. she liked to decorate like i say for christmas and if we could decorate it, we decorated it. >> let's do a little decorating right now. what are you going to do right here with this? >> ok, this i'm going to finish on camera but this is the cranberry tree. >> all right. >> that you have to be -- you have to be careful. >> with one of these floral cones and then you glue the cranberries on, right? >> right. and this is the type of glue that you really need to use. it is a floral adhesive. and it will not -- it will not

ruin fresh flowers including cranberries. >> all right. very -- >> yeah, be careful with that because on bottom of this, there are picks inserted. >> beware of all the possible things that could go wrong. >> this is driven into foam in this container. >> very, very nice. check out her new book called my first ladies, nancy clark, former white house chief floral designer, thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. and then -- >> we'll do that another time. >> we will? >> ok. >> very good. thank you so much. >> coming up on this show, the american soldier faced war crimes in iraq until a shocking piece of evidence set him free. what went wrong? the former lieutenant here to share his story. >> meanwhile on this day in history of 1991, michael jackson's "black or white" was number one. remember that? [ male annouer ] juice drink too watery? ♪

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>> all right. following the 9/11 attacks, our next guest re-enlisted in the marines to help fight the war on terror. shortly into his tour of duty, he was forced to fight for his own freedom. this brave marine was falsely accused of murdering two iraqi insurgents while he was never given a fair trial. he maintained his innocence all along and shocking evidence has come to light to finally exonerate him. here to share his story and his book, the author of "warlord broken by war, saved by grace" thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you so much for having us. >> thanks for your service. at 31 years old, the 9/11 attacks happen and you go back in and a year later you're in the war and what happened? >> look, i did what every american wanted to do after seeing 9/11. i had fought in the marines once but i knew i had to get back in the fight. there i was in 2004 in fallujah, we're watching the flags come

down now. your listeners and your audience has to remember that seven years ago, a 10-year-old boy who is now 17 going into the military, you know, this far back seven years ago, i was on the ground in fallujah when it was a bloodbath. >> where you had to go house by house. to take back that city first cordening it off and giving people their i.d. cards. >> your audience remembers american contractors hanging from a bridge. this is back in 2004. it seems like a lifetime ago for some but here we were. >> tell me about your incident. you had an incident where -- >> i had to defend myself. basically, i was attacked by two men. i had to kill both of them but what happened ultimately is that a person on the scene, somebody who i had fired in the past, made an allegation. and abu ghraib had -- >> you shot him in the back and went -- >> that's right, that i shot them in the back and he suggested that i had executed prisoners which is not what happened. i was defending myself. the point is without autopsy evidence, there was no way to know for sure. it became a big investigation, the military was concerned about

something bad did happen. the doctor that did the autopsies and the doctor whose ultimate helped to exonerate me has come forward to say this should never have happened and i'm an innocent man and this is what that story is about. >> you never got to the point where you had a trial. >> we went through an investigation and investigating officer had -- and the person that accused me was read his rights on the witness stand. this book is about iraq, a courtroom book and about the redemptive power of jesus christ and saved me. >> by finding god, you believe it saved your life because like so many soldiers you had suicidal thoughts and feelings of guilt that you survived and your friends didn't. >> we have to put this in perspective, we've had 58,000 men die in vietnam, 100,000 veterans killed themselves. >> 100,000 killed themselves when they came home. >> absolute. we know and for years, we've seen an epidemic of soldiers that have returned from iraq and

afghanistan are killing themselves faster at home than they were dying on the battlefield. that's what my story and the whole point of re-releasing my story isn't because of a pity party. yes, i went through some difficult things. i served this country and i loved this country. it's to say i went through these difficult things and was saved by jesus christ. >> you're running for office in the seventh congressional district and your opponents have a web site, call you a murderer. >> the state democratic party in north carolina has been running a web site for years that has been slandering not just me but my mother and my wife so hopefully this puts it all to bed. >> marine lieutenant, your story is chronicled in "warlord" the book that's out now. >> "broken by war and saved by grace." >> thank you so much for coming in and sharing your story on this history you can day as we pull out of iraq. >> thank you. >> all right. 4 minutes before the top of the hour. let me tell you what's coming up your way in the final hour of this show, "time" magazine named these guys persons of the year. were the protesters really the biggest player of 2011? in the year in which bin laden was taken out by kill team 6?

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>> gretchen: top of the morning to you. it's thursday, december 15. i'm gretchen carlson. i hope you're going to have a great day. we start this morning with a fox news alert because the war in iraq is officially over, but while you were sleeping, flag of command came down and americans packed their bags. so the question this morning is, is iraq better off? >> steve: meanwhile, rush limbaugh says republicans have got it all wrong. republicans can actually win the white house, but not the way they think. details from el rushbo. >> brian: victoria has another secret and it's big. there is something about its sleek clothing lining lines that you weren't supposed to know. "fox & friends" starts right

now. >> you're watching "fox & friends." >> gretchen: fox news alert. the war in iraq officially over now. leon panetta making the end well-known this morning. wendell goler is live at the white house with much more. good morning to you. >> good morning. the president never said the words, mission accomplished, and there was no banner over his head when he visited fort bragg, north carolina yesterday. but the visit was a reminder that he had delivered on a campaign promise he made in 2008 to end the war in iraq, the war he believes distracted the country from a more pressing mission in afghanistan. the flag was lowered today in baghdad in a ceremony that formally ended a war that lasted more than 8 1/2 years, that cost the lives of 4500 american servicemen and women, left at least 30,000 more wounded.

in financial terms, the cost was close to a trillion dollars. defense secretary panetta reflected on the cost at the ceremony this morning. >> to be sure the cost was high, the blood and treasure of the united states and also for the iraqi people. but those lives have not been lost in vain. they gave birth to an independent, free, and sovereign iraq. >> on monday, president obama and iraqi prime minister placed a wreath at arlington national cemetery to honor the sacrifices of american servicemen and women. maliki thanked the u.s., but earlier rejected the terms the administration set for keeping a small u.s. force in iraq that they keep the immuneity from iraqi courts. there are 4,000 troops left in iraq, down from a high of

170,000 in 2007. virtually all of that 4,000 will be home in time for christmas. the president says he believes that the iraqis can provide for their own security, but critics like republican senator john mccain of arizona don't necessarily agree. mccain says the decision to bring the troops home represents a failure of vision, commitment and leadership by both the u.s. and iraq, even though the withdrawal date was actually negotiated by the bush administration. gretchen? >> gretchen: wendell goler live at the white house, thanks very much for that wrap around report. a few headlines for the furth time this year, there has been an accident at the lucky friday mine in idaho. seven miners hospitalized after the mine collapsed last night. 13 others did make it out safely. this is the same mine where a man was killed during an accident last november. another miner was killed in april when it collapsed more than a mile underground. owners of the mine have been hit with a million dollars in fines this year alone in order to make

work conditions safer. a major victory for congressional republicans. why? because senate democrats in the white house now dropping their demand for a tax increase on millionaires. the congress still can't agree on how they should pay for the payroll tax cut that expires at the end of this month. the more urgent matter is avoiding the government shut down. they need to pass a temporary spending bill by tomorrow night when the government officially runs out of dough. former mf global chief jon corzine back in the congressional hot seat. he's testifying before the house financial services committee. it's his third capitol hill grilling in the last week. the former democratic governor and senator from new jersey is still unable to explain what happened to more than a billion dollars of his customer's money that's now missing. just call her jenny from the auction block. ♪ >> gretchen: j.l.o. is selling some of the rocks she got from

her soon to be ex-husband, mark anthony. her jewelry sale includes her engagement ring encrusted with a rare blue diamond worth 4 million bucks. meantime, tmz reports she's letting her new boyfriend, 24-year-old casper smart, drive around in her $300,000 customized bentley. those are your headlines. she seems to be going in the direction of madonna, the older she gets, the younger the guys that she dates. >> brian: right. >> gretchen: more power to her! >> steve: all right. let's travel out to colorado springs, as we do once a week and there she is, michelle malkin. good morning to you, michelle. >> hi, good morning, steve. >> steve: hey, the debate tonight on fox, 9:00 o'clock eastern time, i'm sure you'll be tube side. rush limbaugh sat down with greta yesterday and said if the election were held today, of course, it won't be -- any of the republicans would beat president obama, except ron paul. listen to this.

>> he'd lose in a landslide. i don't believe the conventional wisdom that the republicans only have one person that can beat him. i don't believe the conventional wisdom that his billion dollars can dwarf any campaign that his relationship with the media can quash. obama cannot say, vote for me for four more years. all obama can do is run a negative campaign, tear apart his opponent and the country in the process, but i think right now, anybody, other than ron paul, could beat obama if the election were tomorrow. >> brian: michelle, is that how you feel? >> rush is astute as always and he takes the longview on things. there are no inevitabilities in politics. with regard to ron paul, i've had my issues with him and many people on the right have. but i think that he does deserve

some due as a long-time congressman from texas who has won the hearts of main stream republicans there. i think the problem with ron paul has been for several years, the baggage that he refuses to rid himself of with all sorts of 9-11 conspiracy nuts, anti-israel activists and fringe radicals who have weighed town his candidacy and i think separate and apart from that, of course, he himself has said that he doesn't know if he would have the wear with all and endurance to make it through the general election. so even he can't disagree i think in some sense with rush's assessment. >> gretchen: but do you think any other republican besides ron paul can beat president obama? >> i think with the unemployment numbers looking like they are now and like they will be in the spring, i think that's certainly true. of course, all of these polls

say that generic republican looks like a sure bet against barak obama. maybe what we should have is up with of these candidates change their names to make it a lock. >> brian: i think people that think that president obama is going to lose reelection regardless, i think are mistaken. i think it will be a tough battle that will see saw the entire way. he's got a billion bucks. i want to bring you to iraq. the president will run on that he did what he promised. he ended the war in iraq, but as the "wall street journal" talks about today, did he do nearly enough and are we leaving at the right time to give our best hope of keeping the peace? what do you think? >> well, i agree with the "wall street journal" and i was in iraq in 2007 when much of the surge was just getting underway. that country has been in a heap of anarchy and chaos and civil disorder for decades. the rebuilding process that so

many of the coined strategists put in place is something that was, i think, prematurely preempted and although there will be troops there until the end of the month, it is an open question and a very worrisome one about whether the roots really will have taken after we left. >> steve: let's talk a little bit about time magazine. every year this time of the year, there is some anticipation about who they're going to put on the cover as the person of the year. this year, once again, they haven't put a single person on. instead, it is just the protester in general. as you can see, all the way from zuccotti park to the arab spring, there are protests all over the country, and yet they do not even really pay homage to the tea party people who really got the ball running last year and thanks to their efforts, there was a landslide in congress last year. >> yeah. i think it's time for time magazine to end this charade of

being an objective news source when there is such double standards and how they treated the tea party revolutionaries over the last year and how they've white washed so much of the ugly side of the occupy wall street movement. if you move past the cover and actually read the long protracted peace by kirk anderson, the way that he paints and white washes these occupiers is really disgusting, especially in light of the last week. if you go to my web site at michellemalkin.com, you'll see a very extensive review of what happened on monday with these thugs who tried to shut down our west coast ports and who have as their mission chaos, anarchy and stopping commerce, commerce and blue collar workers from doing their jobs. >> brian: you got to disseminate between the arab spring and zuccotti park people who have

nowhere to go and don't shower. michelle, thane so much for joining us. >> you bet, take care. >> gretchen: if you forget to pay a bill, can companies have the money taken out of your paycheck? bob massi says absolutely. better pay attention to this one, he's next. >> steve: we could all be in trouble. then the endorse ams are starting to roll in for newt gingrich and mitt romney, but who will rudy guiliani, that man right there in the green room with the red wall, who will he support? we'll have him in ten minutes. stick around. how can you get back pain relief that lasts up to 16 hours? with thermacare heatwraps. thermacare works differently. it's the only wrap with patented heat cells that penetrate deep to relax, soothe, and unlock tight muscles. for up to 16 hours of relief, try thermacare.

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i >> brian: we've been talking to you about asset protection but why do you need it and what do you do if the bills keep piling up and a lawsuit could be cop

along? joining us is real estate expert as he does every week, bob massi. first off, the first question i find intriguing, if you're going to be sued by a creditor, how do you know if you've been sued? what do you mean how do you know? you mean we could be sued and not know it? >> here is what happens, first of all, a lot of people were concerned that if they defaulted on their mortgage and a lender is going after them, credit card, could they just take my how often my bank account? the answer is no, because you have to be sued. in other words, somebody has to go to a courthouse. they have to file a lawsuit, then they have to serve you with that lawsuit. as a result of that, so many times people feel i haven't paid something, so therefore, all my assets are gone. there is a process that every creditor has to go through in order to collect and that is file a lawsuit and serve that individual with the lawsuit. >> brian: meanwhile, if they can't find you, can they still get a judgment against you if you're really good at hiding?

>> brian, this is the most important thing i want to let our viewers know. so many people are embarrassed by what's going on in this country because of the moneys that they owe that many times they move and they don't give forwarding addresses. they sort of go run and hide. if you sue somebody and you can't find them, the law says in every state in the union that by way of what we call legal publication where you put that person's name in a local legal newspaper for a period of weeks, you can then go forward as a creditor and get a judgment against that person. you have to be able to prove to the court that you tried to serve that person. you couldn't find that person and if the court is satisfied with that, they then can enter a judgment against that person. please, viewers, don't run and hide from your creditors. face them head on. >> brian: really? okay, good. if they get a judgment against you, how long is it good for? >> varies from state to state. for example, in nevada, they can

for six years and can be renewed. generally what happens if a company or creditor gets a judgment, they will record it with the recorder's office, they'll try to find you, find out what assets you have. that's why i covered the asset protection issue so that you know perspectively that if there is something that you're involved in, you have to face it directly. too many people, brian, are basically running and hiding. there are judgments against them, then somebody says, why have my wages been garnished? because you didn't face the music. please do that. many times it could be resolved. >> brian: bob massi, thanks so much. if you have any questions, e-mail bob your questions. we'll get it to him and maybe you'll be on the show. bob, see you next week. >> thanks. >> brian: coming up straight ahead, later on this hour, a pastor and his wife working to push back some holiness, push

holiness back into hollywood. so how are they doing so far? then this man, former mayor rudy guiliani headd into our studio. how do i know? steve is going to make sure of it. we'll find out what he thinks go the gop race and the debate tonight. stick around. we'll welcome him together. 'tis the season for great gifts and big savings at bass pro shops. like... plus kids can get a free picture with santa.

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>> gretchen: 21 minutes after the top of the hour. quick headlines. moments ago, police in italy intercepted a second mail bomb at one of the country's tax collection agencies. last week a bomb exploded, injuring one of the employees. this is the third explosive sent to a european financial agency in the past two weeks. also, five terror suspects behind bars, accused of planning violent attacks against president george w. bush and several italian leaders.

the suspects are members of an extremist group known as militia >> brian: 21 minutes after the hour. ahead of tonight's debate, newt gingrich is securing his place as the front runner. in the most recent "wall street journal" poll, he holds a commanding 17 point overall lead over mitt romney. >> steve: what happened to mitt? our next guest says he's fail to go win over those conservative democrats and joining us now, the former mayor of new york city, rudy guiliani. good morning to you. >> how are you? >> steve: good. let's hop in the way back machine. let's set it for exactly four years ago today. you were number one. >> i think i was beginning to slip around december 13, 14, 15. beginning to slip in new hampshire. probably because, all the interest turned to iowa and i was not doing anything in iowa. we made a critical mistake. we didn't play in iowa. it lost us two critical weeks. might have lost anyway. i any john mccain ran a great campaign and would have beaten

me, huckabee, anyone. our particular problem was terrible mistake. we were counting on florida. then not only counting on florida, but then a week after florida came new york, new jersey, california, pennsylvania. i was holding big leads there of 15 to 20%. but being out of the game for two or three weeks, then john mccain got ahead in new hampshire, then it became four weeks. by the time we got to florida, mccain was the real alternative to romney and huckabee rather than me. >> gretchen: but to the headline today, which is people still listen to you, and your political advice and you are now on record as saying that you believe that something is missing from mitt romney. are you supporting newt gingrich or what are you doing? >> i'm not supporting anyone right now. i have a good relationship with newt for a long, long time. go back to working with him when i was mayor. have a very high opinion of him and rick perry. rick perry is a close personal friend. someone i really admire. i wonder why senator santorum

doesn't do better. i listen in the debates and hear a guy that has everything, foreign policy, domestic policy. i don't get it. i have a few problems with huntsman's foreign policy. he's a good man, but i don't get this nonactivist foreign policy. and ron paul, to me, is just a complete deflection. >> gretchen: what's miss not guilty your comments about mitt romney. >> first of all, right now get so long darn negative. i was really offended by his comment that newt gingrich is zany. that isn't the kind of language that should be coming from a candidate. and it reminds me of what mitt did in 08 where he attacked me, he attacked mccain, he attacked huckabee. whoever was out front, mitt would attack, sometimes personal attacks. sometimes these ads about family and all this other stuff. so i think this could be hurting him. this is a republican primary. they don't want to see a republican savaging another rip,

which is -- and it's not just mitt. mitt got governor sununu basically saying that newt just doesn't have the right ideas, but somehow newt is trying to create the impression he's crazy, zany. i worked with newt a long time before anybody really knew -- they knew who was, but a long time before anybody was focusing on him for president. it was the crime bill. i was the mayor of new york. bill clinton wanted the crime bill. i helped put the crime bill together in the reagan administration. it was like a ten-year compromise that was done. newt killed the crime built in his efforts to try to take over congress. bill clinton called me in, brought me in and a few other mayors and asked us if we would work op it. i worked with newt on the crime bill. we put the crime bill together again. newt helped president clinton pass the crime bill. now if you look at your list there, newt is a liberal. newt voted ultimately for

midnight basketball. oh, terrible. here is what we got for midnight basketball. the death penalty. we got 100,000 police officers. if i didn't have the crime bill money, i think i'd have reduced crime in new york anyway, but not by the numbers i reduced it. >> brian: the chronicle today and "wall street journal" say newt, everyone should know, worked with al gore on an ozone bill, worked with charlie rangel on a water bill. did this with democrats. could that be looked at as a plus in a republican primary? a lot of conservatives will be turned off. >> i worked with 45 members of the new york city council that were democrats. i got $3.5 million in tax reductions. i had the best economy in new york in 40 years, but i had to swallow all kind of social programs. i would hold my nose when i would sign the bills. but i got a billion dollars tax reduction. so i had to pay for the tin can brigade someplace. >> gretchen: is that the sign of a good leader? >> of course. ronald reagan did it. he did it all the time. president reagan's view as an

executive was, if i can get 70, 80%, i'm a big winner. never get 100. if i can get 50, it's probably worth taking. >> steve: what do you make of the fact that it looks like the gop establishment, whatever that is, is not pushing newt. they're pushing romney, because they say newt is a great guy and we'd love to see him debate the president, but he can't get elected. >> i think newt can get elected. i looked at these polls. there is a three point difference between romney. that means nothing. go back to 1980. we had a similar situation. jimmy carter's administration wanted to desperately run against ronald reagan, the actor, dumb, overstaged. >> steve: no chance. >> like newt. says inflammatory things. and then they had bush. staid, careful, establishment candidate. they didn't get the romney of that day. instead, they got ronald reagan

of that day. and right hand reagan cleaned his clock. maybe what america wants to hear, i jumped up out of my chair and cheered for newt when he said what he said about palestine. finally, thank god, somebody is saying the right things about palestine. somebody has to question why are we creating a palestinian state that's going to be another terrorist state? >> brian: that is their policy. >> in the interest of the united states of america to create another state where they're going to be training people to come over here and blow us up. of course it isn't. and someone has to have the guts o stand up and say that, like ronald reagan said, the evil empire. like remind reagan said, tear down the wall. we need somebody like that? why mitt is not catching on is because he doesn't feel like he's like that. he feels like he'll say whatever he has to say to get elected the way he did when he was governor of massachusetts. totally different position. maybe he can change. >> brian: he hasn't shown it yet for you. >> some of the other

republicans, i wish they'd have more of a chance. i wish perry and santorum would have more of a chance. >> steve: well, it's always great to hear your perspective. thank you for dropping by. >> gretchen: merry christmas. >> brian: if a republican win, you know you'll northbound their cabinet -- be in their cabinet. >> gretchen: we are waiting the weekly jobless numbers and they will be released two minutes away. what they are and what they mean with eric bolling. >> steve: yep. there is eric. never mind that man behind the curtain. then victoria secret scandal that could have your panties in a bunch. the story right after this break forty years ago, he wasn't worried about retirement. he'd yet to hear of mutual funds, iras, or annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future

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after month, week after week, headed back toward 350, which is a much more -- sign of a much more healthy economy. see if it translates into the big number, the unemployment number the first friday of next month. >> steve: last time in the last week or two when the number came out, everybody goes, oh, that's a really good number. but then you look into the details and you see that the reason it was lower was because so many people have realized there are just no jobs out there. so they've thrown up their hands and said i'm just going to sit it out. >> that was the number reloose add couple weeks. we pointed out 300,000 people left the job force, kind of the bureau labor statistics can kind of turn that number any w they want. so we went from 9% unemployment to 8.6 last month. if you don't create 2, 400,000 jobs, you may move back up in unemployment, which, again, you want to see -- gretchen, we were talking a little. if obama wants to be reelected, he really needs to get that

number down to below sub 8, really sub 7 1/2. nobody has been reelected above 7.2%. >> brian: i want to talk about the tax holiday. who will pay for the difference because social security will be out a lot of money. now we understand democrats have given up on taxing millionaires for that money. >> not quiet, but that's what the proposal is. remember, the big issue is at the end of the year, the payroll tax holiday is going to expire unless they sign another bill that extends it another one year, two years, whatever. democrats had wanted to pay for it with a millionaire surtax. if you make over 1.9 or 1.6% tax on them. that has been the big issue with republicans. now democrats say, maybe we'll back off that -- these are senate democrats 'cause the house already passed the bill. if they back off that and maybe make some concessions on the gop side with some other things, they'll send a bill to president obama that he promised to veto.

payroll tax holiday, lower taxes for the middle class, and xl pipeline that could create 20 and 50,000 jobs -- >> brian: more democrats are for that pipeline. >> gretchen: we had the senator ayotte who said the smart thing to do would be to separate the two, the pipeline, because she believes there are enough democrats to pass that because it does create jobs. >> so then separate it out and then you have to send another bill, another form of the bill to the white house. he's got to decide whether to sign it. obama said, i'm not sign ago payroll tax bill that has the pipe line. they're going to run out of money tomorrow. so they have to either shut down or figure this out next year after the tax holiday expires. it's a mess. >> brian: we're going to watch it at the fife. you're going to -- "the five." you're going to play yourself. >> i may play beckel. >> steve: thank you very much. >> gretchen: the gop presidential detainees gearing

up for tonight's fox debate, the last one before the iowa caucus. there is steve brown, he joins us live from sioux city, iowa, the night tonight's debate. no earmuffs yet. >> two weeks from now, it may be time for those. but you're right. this debate coming up tonight will be the last opportunity for folks who are really undecided to take a look at the candidates and maybe decide that that is the one that they'll go to caucus night and go caucus for. but the folks at the debate tonight, if they're going to be aggressive, they might want to be careful about how they go about it. on tuesday night, we spoke with five undecided sioux area republicans who will be watching the debate, who will be going to the caucus. we asked them, i asked them, what the turn off, what will happen at the debate that will make you absolutely not vote for somebody? they said going negatively too hard. take a look at this. >> early on, i thought the way michelle bachmann -- the way tim

pawlenty went after michelle bachmann out of the shoot was horrible. right off, i lost it. turned me off. couldn't even think about it. >> now, aggressive is expected at this particular debate 'cause it's the last time the candidates are together. but clearly there is a line there and the candidates need to be mindful of it 18 days from caucus voting. back to you in new york. >> steve: steve brown, we'll be watching tonight. >> gretchen: thank you. >> brian: 22 minutes before the top of the hour. the other stories making headlines now, al-qaeda is changing its name in an effort to revamp its image. you heard the top arab diplomat saying the peninsula branch has been struggling to attract members since the death of osama bin laden. they think a name change is just what they need to regain legitimacy. from now on, they'll reportedly go by answer al al shehri i can.

>> steve: massive wave of floating debris the size of california is reportedly heading toward the united states. it's from the tsunami in japan back in march. experts say the floating mass will likely reach hawaii's beaches by february. states from california to alaska could also see some of the debris, including entire cars washed out to sea back in march. >> gretchen: highway safety officials releasing their top safety picks for 2012 cars and trucks. it means a lot of crashing. record 115 vehicles got top crash test rating, including at least one model from every major auto maker. toyota leads the way with 15 top safety picks. followed by general motors, volkswagen, ford and honda. you can check out the complete list on-line on the insurance institute for highway safety web site. >> brian: victoria, she has another secret. >> steve: what? >> brian: the company is accused of using cotton from farms in africa picked by starved and

abused children laborers. 259 million garments produced in 2009 were reportedly made with cotton picked on child labor farms. this despite claims on its labels its products are made from fair trade cotton. the company says it is taking the allegations seriouslynd that it has strict standards against child labor. >> steve: oh, man. meanwhile, the 69th annual golden globe nominations are being announced out in hollywood. and there is a lot of picture -- a live picture. a couple moments ago, we learned who got nods for best actor in a comedy series. they are alec baldwin who does not shut off his ipad. david duchovny, johnny gilecki for "the big bang." thomas jane in high school hung "and matt la blank for" episode" >> gretchen: and best actress is

laura dern, zoe dechannel. laura linnee. >> brian: they love 30 rock. claire danes for "home land". madeline stowe in "revenge" and cally thorn for "necessary roughness." >> steve: the golden globes will be january 15. >> brian: hosted by? >> steve: don't know. >> brian: who was the guy that got in a lot of trouble. >> gretchen: oh, yeah. he was really funny 'cause he called out people in hollywood. rickey gervais. our next guests say have a little faith. the biggest problem in hollywood, they're not holy enough. >> steve: john edwards has a proposal for his mistress that's making news on this thursday

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[ man ] still lo that wind in my face talk to your doctor. don't kid yourself about the risk of heart attack and stroke. if lipitor's been working for you, stay with it. lipitor may be available little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. learn more at lipitorforyou.com. >> brian: former democratic presidential candidate john edwards reportedly asked his mistress to move in to his home. the one he would share with his late wife, elizabeth. in february, he goes on trial, accused of using campaign funds to cover up their affair. and he's one heck of a house guest. this 500-pound black bear, take a look, was found hibernating in the basement of a home in new jersey. imagine having to whisper the whole winter. he was discovered by a cable technician. he snuck in. no charges will be pressed. >> gretchen: thank you. from lindsay lohan to paris hilton, where you have seen so many young celebrities getting into trouble with the law, what if they had the presence of god

and faith in their lives? >> steve: our next guests, a california pastor and his wife, started a group called l.a. god. it's an outreach group that encourages young actors and musicians to get involved in their faith. the pastor and his wife jin us from the city of angels. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. how you doing? >> steve: doing fine. thank you very much. pastor, let's start with you. we hear so many stories about yeah, i know, those people in hollywood. they are not religious. with you you're here to tell us that's not the case. >> oh, not at all. i mean, it's an exciting time we live in where people are really drawn to something that's stable and what could be more stable than god? and so we're finding really creative ways to bring people in, to coach, to mentor, to help encourage them to really reach their dream and find their goals in life. >> gretchen: each month you get this group together at a hotel in hollywood and then you sort

of talk about faith and god and do a little ministry. 25% are models. 25% are musicians. and the rest are movie makers? who are these people? >> it is amazing. actually we have director, producers, lot of models. what we've done, gretchen, it's really exciting, is i'm an executive and a personal life coach and we brought together just this group and we pour into them really beliefs and a lot of our people of conviction and faith, but they really want somebody to believe in them, to encourage them, to challenge them. you know, i think all of us need someone to believe in our dream and these young actors and musicians, directors and producers have come pursuing their dream. we bring biblical principles and truths to hold them accountable and really challenge them in their faith. >> steve: we know that it started this at the w hotel where you would have these little groups every once in a while but now we're hearing the word because you guys have put together some of the musicians have decided, let's go ahead and have a religious band and we're

going to put out cd's and they're doing it. so far, so well, right? >> it's amazing. actually you can tell a little bit about this. they're really studio musicians who have come and you would know -- i'm not at liberty to tell who they're playing with currently. but they are studio musicians that travel all over the world and they are people of faith. they're men and women who have a deep conviction and faith and we put together l.a. god music. it went within 12 hours to number 21 on the chart. and they are really incredible, incredible musicians that are using really their gifts and talents for god. >> gretchen: i want to give this question before we go. we started off by saying that a lot of young people who go to hollywood, it almost seems like clock work, they get into trouble, whether it's drug, alcohol, relationships, et cetera. i'm wondering, do you think that you can help to curb that with your efforts? >> yeah, i think so. you got to remember that people that come here are really high

risk. in terms of they're willing to risk everything to fulfill a dream and to reach a goal. so that's just part of their dna. that's what makes it work. so, for example, the lead singer in our album, he came out here when he was 17 with $1,000 in his pocket and he's 21 now. he's traveling with huge bands, doing some great stuff. and to find a place where somebody can speak into you, sometimes they just don't have anybody. >> steve: yeah. >> anybody they can trust. >> steve: his story sounds like a song they can record. pastor phil and tammy, we thank you very much for joining us today from los angeles with your story. sounds great. >> thanks so much. >> gretchen: the l.a. god project, in case you want to know more about it. yesterday we told you about some incredible allegations of voter fraud in states that helped decide the 08 election and your e-mails poured in. an update coming up next. >> steve: first, the one and only, bill hemmer. >> how is it going?

great segment with rudy guiliani. that was so interesting. >> gretchen: it was. >> just to hear his take from 2008 and what he's seeing now. anyway, wait until you guys hear what scott rasmussen has just found in his latest polling out of iowa. here we go again. these numbers will stun you. also democrats, are they conceding on the tax issue and the keystone pipeline at the same time? guess what putin is saying about senator mccain? john mccain is here live to react and is your doctor texting while he or she should be giving you the attention? martha and i will see you in ten minutes on "america's newsroom" ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. lugging around a hot water extraction unit can be a rush! that's why i'm carpet for life. but if things get out hand, there's no shame in calling us.

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>> steve: you are watching, we told you this yesterday. allegations of election fraud back in 2008 in the democratic presidential primary in the state of indiana. we heard from folks who say they never signed a petition for

president obama, yet their name was on it. >> brian: who brought that forward? eric shaun. he's joining us now. this is getting bigger. >> it really is. we'll see what happens in terms of the investigation 'cause this stuff is unbelievable, brian. what do adolph hitler and mickey mouse have in common? their names allegedly on petitions in wisconsin in the recall for governor scott walker. what is the issue with petitions? there are concerns that there could potentially be fraud in the upcoming 2012 race. now there are efforts to try and prevent that. they're petitioning in indiana where there are allegations that fraudulent signatures got both barak obama and then hillary clinton on the democratic ballot on the primary in 2008, claims that the president may not have even qualified for the primary ballot because fraudulent signatures were allegedly on his petitions. so we talked to officials in indiana about this, both republicans and democrats, and here is what they said.

>> coming off of acorn activities, right into this, what is going to happen in 2012 when everything is at stake and both sides see this as the stakes are too high to fail? >> it is critical that voters have the utmost faith in our system. so any time there has been what appears to be some cracks in our systems and our procedures, it's incumbent upon all of us who are involved in the process to take a good hard look at it. >> senator borodin suggested some ways to try to prevent this. for example, putting stuff on-line, making sure that signatures are the signatures of real people. maybe doing an audit of signatures to make sure that they are legitimate. >> brian: what type of system allows people to feel impervious and get credit for mickey mouse and adolph hitler? for example, they must know that no one is checking this. >> that's the alarming issue in south bend, indiana. this stuff went through the st. joseph county voter registration

board three years ago and been caught now. >> gretchen: we had a lot of e-mail response. thanks for your continuing coverage. we'll be back with more "fox & friends" and more golden globe updates, two minutes away so who ordered the cereal that can help lower olesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole gin oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

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for the same low price. verizon. >> steve: the golden globe nominations being announced. "silent movie" leading nominations with six nods, including best film or musical. >> brian: following the arrestists are the "descendants," "the help ." both got five nods. the four others are "hugo," "moneyball." >> gretchen: leonardo dicaprio , brad pitt. we're going to envision what they look like. and george clooney. i know the ladies had no problem with that. >> brian: brad