>> walter cronkite has died. he died at his home in new york tonight. his family was at his side. eric shawn takes a look back at the life of the man who became known as the most trusted man in america. his voice took this nation into the most important events of the century. americans let walter cronkite into their homes for the newscasts. he was born on november 4, 1916, in missouri.

in high school, the journalism bug bit. he started by reading tells a foreign correspondent. his career began when he joined the school newspaper. during college at the university of texas at austin, he took a job with the "houston post." that led to a full-time position. he was given his first broadcasting shop in austin. as a sportscaster, he faced a daunting challenge. the station has knows -- had no sports wire. a nearby smoke shop did. he went there, memorized the scores, and went back to broadcast them. he tried to stay on after the broadcast season ended. he was let go, told he would never make a radio announcer. from there, he got a job with the state capital at the first international news bureau. this led to a full stop -- full- time job. his parents did not seem disappointed that he never graduated. in the midst of the great depression, the job was

considered more desirable than an education. during world war ii, he worked at the european -- worked as a european war correspondent. he accompanied the troops on d- day. he stayed on as the chief correspondent during the nuremberg war crimes trial. in 1950, he was lured to cbs. in 1962, he helped found the cbs evening news, which he anchored for the next 19 years. he was seen as an impartial newsman. more americans started to get their news from him than from nbc. he was a restaurant -- he was a respected voice. he also broke some of the sentry post a bigger stores. >> president kennedy died at 1:00 p.m. central standard time , 2:00 eastern standard time, some 38 minutes ago. >> when president kennedy was assassinated, the stoic anchor

show a motion for the first time. >> i am not very cold-blooded. i can cry over wounded animals as well as people, but that was the only time i think i really broke on the air. >> when he finally had a public opinion, america listens. >> as the communist intention was to take the cities, they came closer here in hue than anywhere else. >> when he opposed the war in vietnam, president johnson remarked, "if i lost, and cried, i have lost middle america." >> i do not believe that was a deciding matter at all. it was another drop of water in a great torrent. it was overwhelming lyndon johnson. >> his focus on the watergate scandal during the nixon administration helped propel that story to the center of the nation's headline. walter cronkite retired in 1981.

in the last 10 months of his tenure, he was given 11 awards, including the presidential medal of freedom. he continued to post specials and remained on the division's board of directors for 10 years. in 1985, he was the first newsman aside from edward r. murrow to be inducted into the television hall of fame. in retirement, he was active in a television. during the 1996 presidential campaign, he led the fight for free air time on networks for presidential candidate. in his final years, he was a highly sought after public speaker, the host of many documentaries, and an avid sailor on his yacht. television news crew out of its infancy and walter cronkite matured. walter cronkite was television news. >> that is the way it is. >> i am eric shawn. fox news. >> once again, a tv news legend walter cronkite has died. he was 92 years old. we will take you back to "the

o'reilly factor." o'reilly factor." the african-american community believes people should pull them up by -- pull themselves up by their bootstraps. laura: she does not speak -- he does not speak that way when he is talking about health care or the economy. >> if you listen to the region laura: that is part of the panda. >> if you listen to the speech

he gave in new hampshire -- laura: that seems like a long time ago now. let's start over. it is not the way he speaks if he went down to louisiana. he did not suddenly put on a southern accent. it is not just the accent i'm getting in to here. it is the sense of the guy that was supposed to be the racial peeler, and get his party seems to use race in ways that is clearly a pandering attempt to advance the left wing and -- agenda. whether it was barbara boxer belittling the report but the black chamber of commerce or other things. >> thank you for having me on. i believe that barack obama and the democrat party have proven

themselves able and willing to use race when it is to their vantage to do so. if they say, we will use the useful idiot to get our point across, it is going back to the speech last night, and also if we can tie in the comments to boxer, a few quick concerned, if i can mention them. first of all, in president obama's speech, he referenced aids as being the great killers of blacks in america. aids is not a great killer of blacks in america. abortion as. the other -- abortion is. the other point is barbara boxer had this dust up.

barack obama was there last night. 56% of black americans, 56% in a poll done by the national center for public policy research and wilson research strategies, 56% of blacks believe that policy makers have failed to adequately consider economic and quality let concerns. they said 76% of blacks want congress to make economic recovery. i fear that this whole speech, this whole thing about family, this entire thing about personal responsibility, my concern is that this man has a more sinister intention. the government has given new, -- giving you, the poor family, the black family, the chance to take care of your children and you're not doing it. laura: that was a long answer.

a lot of points in there. what he is saying is that the larger state apparatus, the bureaucracy that is being established under the administration, whether you're a democrat or republican, will be our new family. martin luther king and many other leaders have talked about the strength of individual families. the black family, the white family, what have you. are you not concerned about the encroaching government presence in all of our lives? >> not at all. families have faced this in france and england and other places. families want assistance. they want public investment in education. just because there's a public university does not mean my family ceases to exist. many of those things support black families, when you lack -- when you work for the post office, the federal government, teachers and doctors.

laura: the small businesses are being destroyed in america left and right because of what we're seeing in this economy. black unemployment is higher than any other ethnic group's on employment during the last five months. >> yes, and republicans and that trend has always continued under republicans and they have done nothing about it. republicans have been always willing to use racism. >> this is not about republicans. and for laura: tonight, we are out of time. -- laura: unfortunately, we are out of time. does obama have any idea how to fix the economy? former minnesota governor jesse ventura has some harsh words for sarah palin.

>> did the economic package --

is the economic package the right package? remiss read how bad the economy was. laura: there is a new prescription for turning things around. >> even if we wanted to keep it the way we have that now, you cannot do it financially. we will go bankrupt as a nation. when i say that, people say, what are you talking about? you are telling me we have to spend money to keep from going bankrupt? yes, that is what i am telling you. laura: winning us is a senior policy analyst. here with me is a democratic strategist. i keep hearing from people like larry summers and tim geithner that we are turning the corner. we are not out of the woods. i see an average top combined state and federal tax rate of 52%. i also see $2.6 million -- to

0.6 million jobs shed over the past six months. even with the number that they are thinking they will raise from raising taxes on the rich, they will not be able to pay for health care reform. how is this working? >> we did have a free fall and i think what we are seeing is that the free fall is stopping. it is slowing. laura: they are saying we will have more unemployment than before. they're predicting that the rates they warned us against in january as the stimulus was not find -- >> it was signed fast to help everyone as quickly as they could. laura: less than 10% of the money. >> municipalities have to get everything in order in order to be able to get the shovel-ready jobs ready for the money. right now, they have used some of this money to keep jobs that would have been lost. that number could have been worse. that novel could of -- that number could have been a lot worse. laura: the teachers and cops are

employed because of the stimulus bill. if we did not have that, we would be losing the cops and we would have criminals roaming the streets. i do not buy that. i did not buy it in january and i am not buying it now. regardless of how rosier forecast we are hearing from larry summers and tim geithner are. >> he originally set, you will begin to see the effect almost immediately. president obama said we would create 600,000 jobs by the end of the summer. we of lost 2.6 million jobs. that is not failure, what is? -- if that is not failure, what is? 1930's economics and do not work. instead of saying it is too early for the stimulus, we already have a deficit of nearly $2 trillion. it does -- if deficit spending stimulated the economy, within $2 trillion be overheating the

economy? it has not, why with the next $100 billion in spending make a difference? we cannot spend our way out of the recession. laura: 51% of the americans disapprove of how the president is handling the economy. numbers are trending downward. economic approval is going down. why do you think that is? >> obviously, they have said they thought one thing at the beginning. they thought they would have results faster. i am not saying results will not happen. it is taking longer than we expected. laura: it bush's fault? >> you said it. laura: we inherited it. >> realistically looking at what happened under bush, if you go back to the old countdown clock of 2000 when suddenly come under clinton, we have surpluses, they stopped the countdown clock. in 2002, we stopped paying that

off. we are now up to $6.20 trillion. laura: congress spent too much of the last several years. we are in 2009 and we're on the verge of becoming a european- style welfare state. we are on the verge of losing our superior economic standing in the world as china's growth rate -- have you seen this? 7.9%. china and india seems to be the place to set up business and do business. the corporate tax rate is relatively low. >> let's duva math -- let's undo the math. -- let's do the math. when you add in the state and local tax burden, we are looking at the top tax rate of 55%. france has a rate of 43%.

the president would not be able to finance his entire agenda. laura: that brings me to -- >> we are talking about the jimmy carter administration. laura: you think that is sustainable? 55% tax bracket. there are only a few countries with higher tax rates. what does that mean for america, penalizing the people who employ and expand? >> the number of people we're talking about is so small that the census does not recognize them. it is less than 0.1%. they do have an impact on the economy. when we are realistically speaking about what will happen to their lifestyles, it is nothing. laura: directly ahead, radical islamic group is gathering in chicago this weekend. we will have the details. .

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laura: this weekend in suburban chicago, a radical islamic group is coming out of the shattered to hold a conference called "the fall of capitalism and the rise of islam." the group has ties to 9-11 masterminds. with us now to give us an update is steve emerson, a terrorism expert. first, it could to see you. i start -- good to see you. i start reading about this, and how is it that a group whose

goal is to indoctrinate people is people coming in for this conference and it is no big deal. what is this about? >> we had videotape from london with them calling out for a jihad. is it illegal? no, it is going to be a free speech issue, and there will be people watching what they are doing. it is the islamic liberation party. it started in jordan in 1950, and their graduates are pretty a lustrous. -- illustrious. they believe in violence.

>> there is more indoctrination of giving you in the mindset? >> they do not do physical training in the west as far as clean -- as far as we know. they actually happened a cell in washington, d.c., back in 2002 and 2003. it never took off as it has in london, where it is the largest space in the world. >> sometimes it is a band. germany, russia, some arab countries. >> that is why they relocated to the west. britain was for a welcome to them. >> welcome back. >> that is why britain has the largest concentration of islamic terrorists in the world. >> i know there was a recent conference. the american library association held a conference.

tell me about that. >> supposedly the bedrock of the first amendment. they invited robert spencer, a respected author of radical islam, and they also invited other islamic scholars. care, an unindicted co- conspirator in hamas fund, pressured the three other speakers to withdraw from the panel. laura: shut down the debate. >> instead of allowing the debate to don or invite others to participate -- to go on or invite others to participate, they canceled the entire debate. they paid a million and a half dollars for this. laura: the obama administration senior adviser. >> an unindicted co-conspirator in the hamas case.

>> the obama administration actually said valerie to investigate. the highest official to oversee before a group. there was a speaker calling the jews observance of dozen -- of the holocaust. >> who has been covering this gammon -- covering this thurman and has it gotten much government hamas -- much attention? >> we are seeing mainstream organizations and the demonstration. >> thank you for this update. sometimes i cannot believe what i am hearing, but i believe it. plenty more coming up. will obama's plan to nationalize our health-care system actually bankrupt the number? we are going to cut some

numbers. later, we have jesse ventura end sara pailin. we hope you stay tuned for this nasty political brawl.

laura: are americans beginning to revolt against obama care. a new poll shows that 50% are opposed to the health care reform while 42% approve it.

and when the services the plan will increase the cost for most taxpayers and not save money. >> we do not see the fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount. on the contrary, the legislation significantly expand the federal responsibility for health care costs. >> with us is the associate director of the new america foundation. he also said it was unsustainable. how does this square with all the promises that it will bring down the cost of health care and this is going to be the brand new utopian vision? we have a new, integrated

system -- it does not seem to add up. >> the president has been cleared. health care is going to be paid for. >> on the backs of people like me. the numbers do not add up. >> here is something we should all recognize. this is part of the legislative process. part of the process is to give feedback. >> i do not want feedback. why do they want feedback? they are trying to ram this through without the public knowing what is in this 1000- page monstrosity of a bill. >> what you're seeing today is some moderate democrats and moderate republicans who are working on this. >> they are freaking out. yes, they are freaking out. >> we know 30% of health-care

spending in this country does not make patients healthier. >> we want bureaucrats to decide that? we have president obama talking about health care in the united states, and he was talking about end of life issues. >> the most important thing we could do about end of life care is make sure we are powering everybody to make decisions for themselves about how they want to deal with the end of life and to encourage people to the tet hospices as a legitimate option for dealing with these -- to look at hospices as a legitimate option for dealing with these issues. >> i find it creepy for the president to be saying we hope more old people -- quinn encourage you to look at hospices. the hospice actually compels seniors to submit to a counseling session every five years on issues such as alternatives to treatment and

also nutrition they might be taking -- antibiotics and artificially-administered hydration. is that not a frightening thing that old people could be visited in their homes and essentially told, you have had a good life? >> i think we're talking about giving patients more information. the data shows many patients do not get the care they want at the end of life, because they do not know what options are out there. they can have that conversation with their doctor. >> how can the government go into someone's home and have now a consultant talk about the end of life issues. >> i think you should ask the medical association. they have supported this. >> i know a lot of doctors. doctors have not spoken. now the fact that a government bureaucrat will come to an old

person's house as a mandatory counseling session -- stay away from my father, who is 83 years old. i do not want any government bureaucrat telling him what type of treatment he should be considering. >> i want you and your father to have a conversation about what he wants. >> that is none of your business. >> your father might not have the right information. >> that is none of your business. the democratic party has routinely said, hands off our bodies. it is our choice. when it comes to the elderly, basically the message from president obama is we hope you consider alternatives. >> whether you take the advantage of that is your choice. >> do you think this is going to go through? i think the american people have had enough. >> i think the american people would like us to stop having rhetorical wars and start

solving the problem. >> you think this will decrease payment? >> i think we want to give everyone a choice. >> approval for obama is handling health care. >> americans are nervous about losing health care coverage, and right now, this debate is exactly what they need. they need to know more about what is going on. >> if we had a debate, that would be great. when we come back, jesse ventura is the latest trying to get attention by bashing sara pailin. when you hear what he said, you're not going to believe it, and a cultural shocker -- women having babies in their twilight years. is it ethical? s success." well, you're looking at, arguably, the world's most successful businessgecko.

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laura: thank you for staying with us. i am laura ingram. in a personal story section, the ongoing surveillance of session syndrome, which is pleading some media -- the ongoing sara pailin obsession syndrome, which is plaguing the media. jesse ventura is the latest to chime in. >> she is a quitter. she could never make it as a

frogman or a navy seal, because if you enter the words in basic training, i quit, you are gone. if she has got plans of running for higher office, i would never vote for her, because if it gets too hot in the kitchen, she is likely to quit. laura: joining us now is leslie marshall and noel, a republican strategist. leslie, i want to start with you. i do not know what jesse ventura is up to. last time i checked, sarah pailin was never portraying herself as navy seal material. she was leader of the state of alaska and made the decision for a variety of reasons to step down. >> i would agree with the navy seals scenario -- i do not agree

with the navy seals scenario, but what i do agree with is the quitting as it. if people believe in you as the people of alaska did, she did quit and let them down. one reason we know is money. where is the family value in that? certainly, to say you love the state of alaska, you can see russia from your backyard, but you're ready to leave. laura: i think there were a lot of reasons that went into this decision. it was part family and getting tired of the investigations. that is what i got out of it. i am not saying it was the smartest move if you want to be a future political leader either. no well, when we talk about sera palin, -- noel, when we talk

about sarah palin, you become unhinged. why are they so obsessed? >> she is hardly a quitter. she is stepping down to run on a national level. she is going to campaign with people who are running for office. she cannot do that effectively from the state of alaska, and jesse ventura? do we really go to him for political strategy to see what he is going to do or where we value his comments? not at all. >> the thing i find odd about the democrats of session -- obsession, is here is this woman -- she is a different type of politician. she does not do a lot of what

the elites want to do, but she has the magnetism on the political scene like few politicians do. it looks like romney might change p -- edge palin in 2012, but even with all this, she is still pretty popular. >> i am not a big believer in poles. she is the same rating as fall of last year, and the republicans may like her. she may be popular, but when they get too brash tactics, are they going to vote for her? i think it is funny that when you put this about the palin obsessions interim, we have had a clinton obsession syndrome for years. >> hillary clinton, when she

decided she was going to run for the presidency, she was essentially quitting her said that job. as was barack obama. they were going out of their senate jobs. how is that really different? he did not have that much experience. he decided he was going to run for the presidency. he was essentially saying, i have done this a few years, but i am ready. >> the president and secretary of state were elected a position on a national level, unlike the gubernatorial position, which is a staple. the great state of alaska region which is a state level. the great state of alaska has a much smaller population. it is apples and oranges. sarah pailin to quit before her term -- she is not running.

if she was too quick to run, that would be a different story. laura: we appreciate it. thanks a lot. it is an obsession. is there something criminal about women in their 70's having babies? and they are after president obama and his mom jeans. . taking its rightful place in a long line of amazing performance machines. this is the new e-coupe. this is mercedes-benz.

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london is receiving in vitro fertilization. >> would never in vitro doctor or clinic gives this woman in vitro fertilization, it ought to be closed. >> i do not hear all these liberated women sang that man cannot do it at 72. they do it all the time. >> to me, ivf means i.v. forget about it. laura: joining us from california is the director of the stanford center for medical ethics. david, this is a stunning issue when you think about it. for years, people have just come to accept the efficacy of and legitimacy of in vitro fertilization, and it is largely unregulated in the

united states. if this happens with a woman receiving fertility treatments in an alley clinic in 2005 when she was in her late 60's, lying about her age, goes back to europe and dies and the baby is left alone. it >> one of the big challenges is on the one hand, many people believe that the right of parents to make a decision and have children without interference without any kind of regulation is a fundamental freedom. the fact has been as a result of that, technology has led to some abuses. we have had a quadrupling of the multiple birth rate between 1971 and the late 1990's. that is starting to get better. but there are a lot of problems. we have seen this situation, women having children older and older ages. clearly, something needs to be done to rein in the problem.

laura: i guess the other side of the argument, we would say it sends basically he could get an abortion in any state of the net states up to the second trimester -- in the united states and some states allow partial birth abortion, if that happens, how do you say, no, you cannot have a baby when you are 65, because we do not think that is good for the child? we do not take the child into account with our policies that encourage subsidies for abortion and planned parenthood bailout money and our legislation on capitol hill, so anything is fair game, this is what we get. >> i think when the technology is produced children that are potentially harm, have high birth rates with this terrible policy, i think it is important for the medical community that the welfare children need to be taken into account -- the

welfare of children need to be taken into account. i think what needs to happen this case, a lot of people are nervous about the state interfering, the medical community has to do a better job. i was quite pleased when she had the octuplets, it was the first time to reproductive community stepped up and criticized the clinicians and actions were taken. ultimately, whenever a woman wants to do, if she wants to have a shot at any age, -- laura: but it is her own body. >> that is the big difference. laura: here is the problem, the legal problem with your analysis, if you cannot place an undue burden on a woman's right to abort in the first trimester or second trimester of pregnancy, how can you put undue burden on a woman's desire to have a child if science can make it happen?

there is a disconnect in the thinking on the reproduction issues. >> i think the fact that it is not healthy for the woman herself as well as on healthy for the children. laura: abortion is not necessarily healthy. is a complicated issue. we have a lot more thinking to do on this. in a moment, president obama's and denim a mistake has caused quite a fashion stir. we have some unsolicited fashion a device for the commander in -- we have some unsolicited fashion advice for the commander in chief coming up.

laura: the fashion police are out in force, going after president obama. earlier this week, he took to the mound and st. louis to it brought the first pitch at the all-star game. the real curveball, his too short, too loose, too

stonewashed jeans. >> in tough times, america needs a strong leader. a leader who wears a real pants. barack obama out where is being go jeans, the jeans your mother wears. man up, mr. president, and lose the "o'mama" jeans. we need a president who dresses like this guy. laura: joining us from new york is the host of "right eye," which he can watch at 3:00 a.m. i went through my drawers. i am a mother, and i think i have a lot of mom jeans. is this president losing his cool? >> it is scary when you have a

president who dresses like a band teacher. clearly, somebody got a gift certificate to mervyn's. this is not going to intimidate putin. there will not taken seriously dressed like this. what is missing? a fanny pack and a map to all the rides at disney world. laura: greg, he has the modern man tool belt, which i cannot stand, the blackberry on one side, the phone on the other. if you are not going to carry a hammer, we do not want to see the tool belt. what about the throw? my daughter can throw better than that. greg: to say he throws like a girl is sexist. to say that he throws like a little girl is more appropriate. laura: it has been a bad week for cool.

he has been the president of cool, goes on hamburger runs, but he trips going into the g-8, the teleprompter crashes when he mentions the economy, then the pitch over the plate. are these symbolic? gerg: the teleprompter also wears mom jeans. the media loves obama's so much that his actions are seen as stylish. if anyone else had warned them, it would have banned humiliated. this will become in vogue. this will be unprecedented and it will become wonderful. laura: every speech he gives, a major address on it swatting mosquitoes at the white house. i do not think there have been any minor addresses. if george bush tripped going into the g h, you have sarkozy

checking out the checks, if that ever happened to bush, that would be all over the place. greg: he is not just the first african-american president, he is the first dork president. laura: but they are cool. i appreciate that you do the old sears geranimals. greg: i have footsies. laura: excellent. that is it for us today. also, please check out my radio show and my website. follow me on twitter. "hannity" is up next. we hope to see you again next time. remember, the spin stops here. [captioning made possible by fox news channel]