in the house passed bill. what we don't know is the final committee structure. i think the president is just continuing to say let's not have this be the only focus of the conversation. >> rick: good morning, again, everyone. i'm rick. >> i'm jamie colby. good to have you with us as the president heads on the vacation. number two on the healthcare reform push drops the bombshell. no public option to. now, the question about the controversial part of the healthcare reform push were dominating the sunday talk shows, even before the sebelius news broke. caroline shively joins us from the bureau in washington, d.c. this is a bombshell, caroline. i'm curious whether killing the pub llic insurance option, turning it to to cocan op helps or hurt the bill's chances? >> it will do both. on the senate side, it would absolutely help. on "fox news sunday," ken conrad, democrat, gang of six, bipartisan group in the

finance committee negotiating this. he says there are not votes for the public option on this side of thing on the senate. so he came up with the idea for non-profit co-op run by the companies. the insurance company instead of government getting involved. it would help on the senate side. opponents of healthcare should take a look at it. if you look at the house side, three committees passed a bill with the public option. i think it would pull off liberal democrats on the house but might game traction on the senate. >> interesting when we talk about the house first. when they go back to session and they have all the choices and now there are all the other variance coming to play that are so different, this is a stunning change in policy. even though the president says he's not proclaiming

what he wants but his health and human services seems to have now. what are the chances of passability? what about new deadlines? he wanted this done before they left on their break. >> we have had -- we have seen several deadlines flip earlier in year. you know, the president and democratic leaders wanted something passed in the house and senate before they went on recess. one of the members said hold up, this is huge. we are talking about 1,000-page bill, one-sixth of our economy. we want to go home and talk to our constituents. certainly as we have seen in all the town halls, they are getting an'reful from the folks back home. the senate finance committee have had a deadline of mid-september all along to get something passed. that may be slipping too, jamie. take a listen to senator conrad. >> we have agree that we are going to be ready when we're ready. we are working, we hope to be able to reach conclusion by the middle of september. but we have agreed that if we

still don't have all of the answers back from cbo, that we will not be bound by any deadline, that the most important thing is to get this right. this affects every american person. it affects one-sixth of the american economy. this is not something that should be held hostage to any specific deadline. >> so is it passable? >> president obama says there is 80% agreement in congress, but not everyone in congress agrees with that. senator shelby says he thinks the bill is in deep trouble. also, interestingly on the house side, congressman jack murtha, a democrat, says they may not pass anything on healthcare this year. >> it's interesting. in the spot you have, the senator talks about being held hostage, that there won't be a deadline. it's interesting that yesterday the president said the insurance companies are the ones that ared the ones holding everyone hostage. what is the buzz to focus on the shift about the insurance company? >> it is a shift. he had been talking, the

president had been talking about the economy. it's one-sixth of our economy. real focus on the money of this. and how he wants something to be deficit neutral. we have seen him shift to attack mode of town hall and insurance company. the ama is on board. they have been talking. we see if insurance companies push back on this. >> i know you'll monitor it for us. thanks. >> meantime, in nebraska, congressman lee perry getting an'reful from constituents anxious about the president healthcare plan. republican fielding questions for almost three hours in omaha. supporters and critics alike asking thoughtful, important questions about the crucial issue. take a listen. >> i do believe philosophically in limited government. >> so do i. it can be as small as -- >> i will tell you, and i

believe we can make it work without health and becoming universal. >> people is angry that the government is considering taking over a personal issue of our life. e's very scary. >> unlikely challenger takes on the healthcare reform. it happened at the president obama healthcare town hall in grand junction, colorado. 23-year-old university student came up with a tough question on the public option. >> how in the world can a private corporation providing insurance compete with an entity that does not have to worry about making a profit, does not pay local property taxes, they do not have -- they're not subject to local regulations. how can a company compete with that? >> jamie: join me on the phone is the colorado student jack main.

jack, good to have you here. >> good to be here. >> jamie: the president said you have hootspah and good question. it's now part of the debate. we are hearing that the public option may be off the table. what are your thoughts? >> your last person on mentioned the president had 80% support in congress. but he doesn't have 80% support in the public. he has less than 50% support in the public. more and more people are coming against this as they realize what is in the bill. >> jamie: you were persistent and you kept asking for the right to ask the question until you were called on. the president seemed to be happy you persisted and asked a question. do you think you'll have a chance to discuss it further? we saw dr. hill showed up a second time to try to ask his representative for answers and details he could take back to his patients. maybe you want to explain it to other students. your age group could

potentially face a tremendous deficit if this plan goes through as it's been proposed. what are your thoughts about having a further discussion? any word from the white house? >> jamie: no word from the white house, but we already have facing a deficit with the stimulus package. this s this going to make it worse? i'm not expecting more conversation from the white house. they know the issue. they're just failing to address them. hiding from it. >> jamie: zack, what do you think will work? >> check the president premise. the premise is we need to ensure the people low incomed and make preexisting conditions insurable. why don't we reform the safety net and catch people from going through the cracks and cause them to have insurance that they have

coverage and not have something that's overarching and have the option of covering everybody in the united states. >> you are very passionate as many people are. will you continue to try to voice your opinion? >> definitely. my opinion, there are so many people out here that are categorized as unruly mobs and trying to insight an uproar. that's not what we're doing. we see the government is not paying attention to the genuine concerns and they're not listening to us. whatever wi do it to make them listen, obviously, peacefully, we need to do that. >> jamie: zack, college student in colorado asking question many are asking as we. thank you for being with us today. >> it was my pleasure. >> rick: same topic, as voters asked increasing number of tough questions on healthcare, supports ramped up attacks on some of those who say they're worried about

reform. the senate leader harry reid was giving an interview to publication called "the hill" last week when he said the town hall protesters are evil-mongers using lie, innuendo and rumor to drown out rationale debate. i never heard that word before. but the latest poll says 62% of people ask say protesters at town hall meeting are really outraged over the healthcare reform plan. 29% side with reid camp saying they were fake mobs there to put on a show. >> jamie: for those of you who can't get to town hall meeting thousands are trying to speak out via your computer and you're finding it crowded on the internet superhighway. so many people e-mailed the representatives with questions and concerns that the house web servers were overloaded. >> technical personnel

warning that it would be unresponsive and slow due to traffic. >> rick: a town hall exchange between doctor from georgia and congressman got heated and it got attention. the doctor challenge congressman on reform plan and the congressman mistakenly challenged the doctor where he was from and what his motives were. this weekend they met. round two, you could say. this time, the doctor, brian hill, got his own microphone. the congressman david scott had more answers. take a listen. >> for people who consider themselves on the democrat, the liberal side, whatever that means do you want republicans setting up a healthcare plan for you? anybody? >> okay. conservatives, conservatives, republicans, whatever you call yourself, do you want democrats making healthcare plans? the powers come and go,

right? these guys come and go. we practice evidence-based medicine. don't come in my office with a cancer, i look at the research, i look at the data, right? i pick the right choice for that patient. i don't ask if you're a liberal, democrat, conservative or whatever. let's fix the healthcare plan the evidence-based manner. if i practice medicine in an evidence-based manner, everybody should be having that. we have to fix the price. congressman scott, first, you talk about the public option, right and talk how it will bring down the healthcare cost and increase the access. we have models out there we looked at already where it's not doing that. okay? if we have the models out there, why are we doing it with the united states. einstein definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. everybody agreed on that. that is not going to work. all i want, i want numbers and healthcare cost numbers. what are the healthcare cost. it get it from the cms,

government medical website, state department of massachusetts website numbers. please look them up, okay. i won't run through the numbers. i want him to tell us the numbers. i think we should release the plans in a couple different states. conservative plan in a couple states, a -- that's okay. i'm your representative for healthcare guys. i'm a patient advocate and i'm here for patients. congressman scott, please. can you show me the numbers where the public option plan did what you want, bought down cost, increased access, because it's not working. we need to have the numbers to show it. i see people every day and we can't have the wrong choice. >> the american medical association represents the physician -- >> 29, 29% of physicians. >> numbers. >> 29% of the physicians are in the ama.

>> i want number how the public option will work. it's not working in massachusetts. healthcare cost is going up in massachusetts. i have talked to you about that. you're not answering that. you have to do this. i know you're a good man. you've got to. >> what do we got? >> jamie: now to california, 11 uncontained wildfires are sending thousands of california residents from their homes up and down the coast. governor schwarzenegger ordering mandatory evacuations. the cruz fires scorch i scorchi 8,000 square miles. mother nature is not helping out. temperatures are in the 90s and soaking the flames. 25 firefighters are injured, 1,000 homes and buildings threatened in santa cruz

county alone. >> rick: it could be a tough start on monday when the stock market opens for a new trading week. consumer confidence taking unexpected dive on friday. the bigger story may be what it means for our larger economy. let's talk with brenda buttner host of "bulls and bears" on fox news. nice to see you. >> good to see you, rick. >> rick: what is the headline? >> the consumers are pessimistic about their own economic future. and perhaps for good reason. right now they are looking for nearly 10% unemployment. they are getting their wages cut. if we look at the stock market, we had a huge run-up since march. up 40, 50%. but from the lows, we're still down. we're still way down. plus houses aren't worth as much as they were two years ago. right now, they are not spending. consumer spending as everybody knows is the engine of the economy. it's back to school time. we saw july retail sales drop.

so there is a real fear that if consumers are pessimistic that will translate to longer recession. >> rick: is there a disconnect do you think, brenda? do expermits say between -- do the experts say between the stock market that's steadily going up and what is happening with the economy? >> stock market is a leading indicator. it usually goes up before the economy goes up. it gives us some crystal ball into when we're supposed to get into recession. of course, that is hardly foolproof, but there are real reasons why the stock market did go up. there was so much cash out there waiting to get in and take advantage of the bargains. even though we see unemployment very high, we are seeing the housing market starting to stabilize. but there are signs, bright signs out there. but really the consumer is the key to it all.

if he or she is pessimistic for whatever reason this economy cannot take off. >> rick: we saw headlines in the last several days, leading economists in the economy, even members of the fed. the fed saying it appears that the worst is over, recession may be over and recovery could be starting. i wonder if they're the kind of headlines to help out with consumer confidence. >> consumers when they look into their wallets or looking ahead, they're not looking for economist who have been very wrong in the past. the trouble, ben bernanke the fed head, the economists can't go out and buy enough in the u.s. economy to get it moving. those paying down the debt and doing so wisely, but they have to go out and spend money. we have aren't seeing great evidence of that. >> host of "bulls and bears,"

my friend brenda buttner. good to see you. >> same here. >> jamie: some of russia's most elite pilots are involved in a horrific accident at an air show. we tell you what happened and what may have been the cause. >> we have break news from afghanistan where marines are running in tough resistance in the new push on the taliban there. new tape from the battlefield. a live report from kabul coming your way in two minutes. for fast relief of itchy summer skin get new cortizone 10 cooling relief gel. cools instantly with the strongest itch relief medicine. cortizone 10 cooling relief gel. what do you say to a spin around the color wheel? - to paint with primer already mixed in? - ♪ yeah yeah yeah... - test samples instead of can commitments? - ♪ whoo! - what do you say we dip into our wallets less... - ♪ are you feeling it?

- ...and grab ahold of the latest tools out there... - ♪ oh! ...so we can quit all that messing around with extra steps - and get busy turning our doing dials up a notch? - ♪ whoo! ♪ oh! more saving. more doing. - that's the power of the home depot. - ♪ yeah yeah yeah.

>> rick: welcome back. tragedy at air show near moscow. who air force jets colliding

there and reports indicate one of the pilots was killed. a woman on the ground was seriously injured when one of the jets slammed into a house. several others on the ground injured as well. it's part of the elite russian knight aerobatic team, preparing to perform in air show, showcasing the best of the russian aerospace industry. that show was on tuesday. >> fox news alert. you are looking at new video. this is close combat video of u.s. marines engaging insurgents in southern afghanistan hellman province. marines going on the offensive and needing fierce enemy resistance, as they push deeper into the stronghold of the taliban. american for forces requiring predawn raid on compound. battling in the heart of taliban territory shows no sign of letting up.

connell powell joins up on the phone from kabul, afghanistan. conner, set the scene there. what is the purpose of the operation? >> there are two goals. short run, they're trying to secure hellman so the afghans can vote on thursday. international community wants thursday's vote to be as legitimate as possible. the more afghans that turn out in roads, the better it will be. in the long run, the goal is to engage the local villagers to rebuild so taliban can not return. >> jamie: what about kabul. are they more violent or beefing up security? >> thaw're bracing for several -- they're bracing for violence. they pulled out attack outside the nato headquarters. seven people were killed. more than 90 were injured.

they launch attacks all over the country, not only just in kabul. but all over afghanistan. >> i recall from yesterday's reporting, 600 pounds or so of explosives, huge getting past the security checkpoint. how did it happen? >> that is one of the questions they're trying to find out. they think the taliban had outside help. nothing like this is something they normally do. they think the taliban probably had outside help from the pakistani militant or al-qaeda, but no verification of that. they're trying to figure out how they got 600 pounds of explosives in afghanistan and so close to u.s. international facility. >> jamie: is this tied to the upcoming election? >> excuse me? >> is this increased violence

of this magnitude to the upcoming election? >> yeah. over the last few weeks we have seen a dramatic increase in violence, not only kabul but across the country. taliban said they'd strike every day now. they've not done it every day but targets. rocket attacks in kabul. attack on government and military facilities across the country. the taliban has been promising to disrupt the election an they're trying to show fear among the afghan population. >> jamie: conner powell joining us live from kabul. thank you. stay safe. >> thank you. >> rick: we have breaking news all morning about the white house possibly walking away from the so-called public option for government funded healthcare plan. we'll talk with mike emmanuel travelling with the president about that, coming up in two minutes. >> jamie: plus seniors, the aarp and healthcare reform. as more and more older americans express worry about having uncle sam as their doctor, the question is being asked. who is really representing

america's most vulnerable patients? one group's answer in three minutes. >> leave us alone. that's all we would ask. would you leave us alone? they said it would never last. but it's been two months, and you're still going strong. glade lasting impressions. two fragrances alternate to keep things... fresh and exciting day after day. - and not just for 30 days. - ( inhales deeply, sighs ) but for 60. it's the longest-lasting plugins ever. get freshness that won't fade away for 60 days. ahhh!

with plugins lasting impressions. and yes, it's glade. s.c. johnson, a family company. that's a-- tiny netbook. yeah, it's-- good-looking, lightweight. generally awesome. and you could just-- go online, video-chat with my cousin. this is un-- under $200. are you some kind of-- mind reader, visionary ? no, i have them. huh. the new lightweight hp mini netbook with windows and america's largest and most-reliable 3g network built in. only 199.99 with mobile broadband plans from 39.99 i am-- speechless, envious. wanna be me right now. getting one.

it's taken my time. it's like you're getting violated. it affects your whole well being. not just your name being used for something... or your social being used for something, it takes away from your life. take control of your identity. protect yourself with lifelock's proactive protection and our... $1 million total service guarantee. i feel very secure now that... i am becoming a lifelock member. you can live confidently knowing that with lifelock, we help stop identity theft before it happens. and if our service doesn't work as intended, we'll help fix it at our expense... up to $1 million. you can take control of your identity. call now for special savings and we'll also give you... 30 days to try lifelock absolutely free. call now and mention id. call now or go to lifelock.com.

♪ >> jamie: fox news alert. health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius dropping a bomb this morning, saying that the president would be willing to accept a healthcare reform bill without the so-called public option. mike emmanuel travelling with the president in scottsdale, arizona. good morning. let's talk about this. >> good morning. >> jamie: the realization now or the explanation that maybe the president would move away from this? >> all indication that they're realizing this is crunch time in the debate over reform and they're not

sure what the senate finance company is going to come up with. the president is hoping there will be a bipartisan option, bipartisan solution when you talk about reforming one-sixth of the american economy. the public option has been extremely controversial. so now, kathleen sebelius, the health and human services secretary has signaled it may not be a deal breaker if there is no public option. take a listen. >> the way the process works the senate will have a version, the health committee has already come out in the senate with a version that has a very robust public option. it's the same version that is in the house pass bill. what we don't know is the final committee structure. the president is just continuing to say let's not have this be the only focus of the conversation. >> so a non-profit co-op that would basically try to introduce competition and choice to perhaps rural areas of the country that don't have a lot of health insurance options appears to

be agree to believe the administration at this point. realizing they don't have the vote for an all public option, jamie? >> jamie: what does it mean for people watching at home, showing up to the town halls. if the white house does, in fact, back off of the public option or is able to convince those on capitol hill to do so. >> the white house is obviously put all-in on the health reform effort. they made it the number one priority. the president, they saw him this week through three town halls in five days when there is a lot going on in the world. so they are all in on the process. they need a victory of some sort. some suggested what is going to come can out is ultimately going to be healthcare reform, like something that is not as objectionable to people across the country. we have seen a lot of protest and pom number numbers where popularity is dropping, because people don't like the public healthcare reform option. it may be a deal that may be struck as the senate works to try bipartisan option.

they talk about reformatting huge portion of the american economy and people are uncomfortable with it, because they feel what is the rush with such an overhaul? but they're concerned long they're i wait, less likely it will be to get done. >> jamie: thanks. >> rick: president obama saying he's confident that the drive to overall healthcare will succeed in "new york times" op-ed piece. he's citing powerful organization as allies in the fight, including the american medical association and the aarp. the nation seniors may not be on his side. joining us jim martin, president of the 60-plus association, lobbying organization representing over half a million seniors nationwide. good to talk to you, mr. martin. thank you for being here. i'm curious why the president would include this in an op-ed piece toad when he caught flak earlier in the week when he said the aarp was on his side. they quickly came out and said that's not the case, mr. president. what about your organization? >> i think the aarp, they're

slipping and sliding away from the proposal, because the heat is on. there are thousands of seniors that are flocking toward the 60-plus association as they learn more and more that the aarp is in bed with the huge overhaul of healthcare. they don't like it one bit. they don't like the provisions in the bill. they are up in arms about it. so are we. >> what is your main beef with the reform talked about in washington? >> medicare cuts. over half a million in cuts staring us in the face. there's been story after story about the cuts. ron white, senator are oregon said he will fight them. i'm a conservative type of person. limited government, less taxes. $500 billion in cuts. the cbo says there is probably another $116 billion including medicare and medicaid. it's $616 billion in cuts facing seniors. they don't like it one bit.

that is the health finance insurance for 45 million uninsured. we say go find money elsewhere. senior citizens paid in the program for the life of it, the 44 years it's been in existence. seniors paid their dues. now they're in the twilight years and they're asking to take cuts. that is going to be fewer hospitals, fewer imbursement to hospitals, fewer doctors. there is already a huge nursing shortage. >> rick: let me jump in. there seems to be disconnect, because the president is addressing exactly the concern that you are stating. i'll go back to his piece i printed out from the "new york times." he says by making medicare more efficient, he says more tax dollars will go directly to the care for senior citizens. he says reform will reduce the amount seniors have to pay for prescription drugs. he says it will help out with seniors and the healthcare that they receive in this country.

with an is the president saying that you're obviously not believing? >> well, i'm from the old school. i'm not going to say the president, my president is lying. i think they're playing fast and loose with the truth. >> not much of a difference there, sir, if you don't mind me saying between playing fast and loose with the truth and that he's lying. he comes out day after day, i heard him say it over an over again, he's talking to seniors, as well as everybody else. he says if you have health insurance that you like, you can keep it. if you have a doctor who you like, you can continue to see that doctor. he keeps saying it. people like yourself and others just aren't buying into that idea. i'm just wondering why not? >> again, yesterday in colorado for example, he started talking about tax cuts and leaving more money with you the taxpayer.

if you like the plan you're under, you can keep it. it close my eyes for a minute and i thought it was george bush i was listening to. about tax cut and tax relief if you will. everybody agrees there those be health reform. they don't throw wrecking ball at system that helped seniors for so many years. >> rick: let me ask about another part of the debate. opponent to the president's plan talk a lot about. yesterday in colorado, the president talked about his grandmother he lost days before the election to persuade people he's not interested in pushing our country toward the, quote/unquote, death panel pane that so many people have been talking about. a lot of people come out and

say there is no idea of death panels that is talked about or floated around washington. the president remarked on this. did he convince you he's not trying to push the government for government assisted euthanasia? >> let me answer in this fashion. that language is so ambiguous they talk about it on both sides. senator grassly said they'd take it out. i thought it was rather ironic that the president was saying and i heard his compassion, and i lost mine favorite senior, and nobody wants to go down the path. this is a politically explosive issue. ironic it's in colorado because it's the state where the first person who brought up the language about we

should look at those in the twilight of their years, those terminally ill perhaps shouldn't be put on life saving medicine was a democratic governor richard lamb in colorado 30 years ago. >> he's head of a 60-plus organization that is getting attention now that so many are upset with healthcare reform. thank you for coming to talk to us today. >> thank you. glad to be with you. >> jamie: massive shipments of international aid flowing into taiwan. as people there on the island cope with the worst weather disaster in 50 years. the aid includes water purification tablets, tents, prefabricated homes. they need all of that. taiwan attorney ministry saying 59 countries pitching in to help, massive landslides and flooding. it killed more than 500 people.

>> fox news alert. bizarre story out of milwaukee, wisconsin. the mayor of milwaukee tom barrett is in the hospital. he was attacked last night by a person using a medal pipe. this was as the mayor was leaving the wisconsin state fair. the police department there in milwaukee issuing a statement on sunday saying that the mayor is in stable condition at a local hospital. he's alert and he was talking when he was brought to the hospital last night. it goes on to say that barrett was leaving the state fare when he heard a woman crying out for help in the city of west alice, wisconsin. barrett was calling the emergency dispatcher 911 when the suspect attacking the woman charged the mayor and began hitting him with the medal pipe. they fled the scene. they're searching for the suspect. bizarre story. >> jamie: develop now. white house is considering

putting gitmo detainees that will be released in a prison in the u.s. prison in the rolling hills of michigan. pete hoekstra of michigan has thoughts on that in a segment you can't miss. finding big news in the healthcare debate today. what could be the beginning of the end for the public option. there is new reaction coming in at the top of the hour. stay with us. >> if this plan is mandated by congress, healthcare plan by congress, can you assure me that that plan will also be for congress, itself, and not just a -- [ applause ] a

coming up live from washington, two key congressmen in the healthcare debate, one a doctor will tell us what they're hearing at home in the midst to the town hall turmoil. plus insider will share amazing stories come from secret service agents about what happens inside the white house and what threats our president is facing. a convicted murder who wants taxpayers to pony up for his laser hair removal and sex change operation. that and more coming up in 20 minutes. >> jamie: welcome back. the dems are considering

michigan prison as possible new home for gitmo detainees but it's not sitting well with lawmakers. congressman pete hoekstra ranking republican on house intelligence committee fired off a letter to defense secretary robert gates and one to attorney genre rick holder. he is asking to lead michigan delegation to gitmo to see the terrorists that may be moving to michigan eye-to-eye. congressman hoekstra is joining me now. >> local politicians want to welcome the detainees but you have intelligence information classified we may not have available. i want to get your perspective. what is the risk of moving the detainees to michigan facility? >> take a step back.

the president has not answered the question what problem he's solving by changing the zip code address from gitmo to standish, michigan. he hasn't answered that. the second thing he hasn't outlined to the american people or people of michigan the new legal rights he'll transfer and give to the individuals when they move from guantanamo to michigan or anywhere else in the united states. if he made that decision, which i think is bad, to move them to the continental united states, he ought to be fully transparent. he should let communities and the state officials who have to put up with the detainees. let's be clear who they are. these are killers. if we move them in the community, let us look at what the facility in gitmo look like, who the people are, what the differences may be between facility in gitmo and what we have in michigan. he will be transparent.

the people in standish, michigan, and the law enforcement officials in the state of michigan can see for themselves the difficulty and challenges brought to us by holding and detaining these individuals. >> jamie: that is all you asked for. give the press in michigan and some of the elected officials the informatiinformat and actually the people in charge of overseeing the facility with the detainees there, let them know straight up what they could be facing. a field trip did take place, actually. a number of people came through the standish facility. what do you know about their site survey? >> we haven't heard anything about their site survey. but the problem is this is going backwards and this is the federal officials determining if they can keep them in standish. we have to go the other way and look at whether the people of michigan and stand ish want these people in the community and the challenges that may pose.

this is backwards, rather than the fed imposing on the state and local community what the feds think are appropriate, give the folks at the local level a clear view of who the folks are and the challenges that that community will face if the people come there. >> jamie: congressman hoekstra you wrote the letter to the defense secretary and to the attorney general. we'll just have to wait and see if you get a response. keep us posted. thank you. >> i'm sure we'll get a response and hopefully soon. >> jamie: take care. >> thank you. >> rick: coming up, yet another change in tactics for the white house on healthcare reform. what the changes are and what the administration is saying now as the atmosphere at some of the town halls gets hotter and hotter. >> many things you said here today sound wonderful. but when i go back into what is in the bill i don't see that that is verifiable. he ran off with his secretary! she's 23 years old!

- oh, come on. - enough! you get half and you get half. ( chirp ) team three, boathouse? ( chirp ) oh yeah-- his and hers. - ( crowd gasping ) - ( chirp ) van gogh? ( chirp ) even steven. - ( chirp ) mansion. - ( chirp ) good to go. ( grunts ) timber! ( chirp ) boss? what do we do with the shih-tzu? - ( crowd gasps ) - ( chirp ) joint custody. - phew! - announcer: get work done now. communicate in less than a second with nextel direct connect. only on the now network. deaf, hard of hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com. what do you say to a spin around the color wheel? - to paint with primer already mixed in? - ♪ yeah yeah yeah... - test samples instead of can commitments? - ♪ whoo! - what do you say we dip into our wallets less... - ♪ are you feeling it? - ...and grab ahold of the latest tools out there... - ♪ oh! ...so we can quit all that messing around with extra steps - and get busy turning our doing dials up a notch? - ♪ whoo!

>> rick: fox news alert, more on a story we told you a little bit about. mayor barrett is in the hospital after he was attacked by a person using a metal pipe when he was leaving the wisconsin state fair. the mayor is in stable condition. he's okay. joining us on the phone is kathy orz, with wici television in milwaukee. good to talk to youca, thy. it sounds like the mayor, the mayor was trying to be a good samaritan and help somebody out. >> good afternoon. that's exactly what he was trying to do, according to milwaukee police. he was leaving the state fair before 11:00 last night, walking back to his car to his family when he heard a woman crying out for help. she was asking for someone to call 911. the mayor went to assist the woman that the person she had

been arci arguing with turned o the mayor. we're told he attacked the mayor with a metal pipe, beating him over the head. the suspect then fled the scene. at this point, we're told that the milwaukee police are still searching for that man. apparently a known suspect who does have a police record. we are told the mayor is in stable condition, recovering at the hospital. we're awaiting a press conference later today with more updated information from the police department. >> well, it doesn't sound too good when you get beat over the head with a metal pipe. what do we know about the extent of his injuries, anything? >> we don't know a lot right now. police say he was alert and he was with responsive and talking with emergency responders last night when they brought him to the hospital. that's perhaps a good sign. anytime you hear about someone getting hit over the head with a metal pipe, certainly the injuries could be severe. we are told he's in stable condition at this point. again, awaiting an update

later today. >> rick: i guess it's good news they know who the attacker is. obviously, they know he has a criminal past. that might help track him down to find him. >> if they know who they are look for, it might make their job easier. since this is a high profile case now, one has to wonder if this guy knew who he was attacking. certainly everyone else in milwaukee now knows about this. so i would imagine anyone who knows where this individual is hiding out, who the individual might be. would be a little bit, they wouldn't be reluctant to hand that information over to police, we hope. >> rick: kathy, thank you for talking to us. we appreciate the info. >> you're welcome. >> jamie: the critics of healthcare reform are certainly making a lot of news these days. in fact, they're packing town hall meetings or asking questions. all they want are answers. so how is the media covering them? you won't believe what one pundit has to say about them.

liz trotta taking a look. the great taste

of splenda® no calorie sweetener and added a little fiber? sweet! sweet! sweet! (announcer) splenda® no calorie sweetener with fiber. now for the first time, a gram of healthy fiber in every packet. sweet! (announcer) splenda® no calorie sweetener, but it's not sugar. no calories and a little fiber. how's that taste? (together) sweet! sweet! (announcer) splenda® with fiber. imagine life sweeter®. that's a-- tiny netbook. yeah, it's-- good-looking, lightweight. generally awesome. and you could just-- go online, video-chat with my cousin. this is un-- under $200. are you some kind of-- mind reader, visionary ? no, i have them. huh. the new lightweight hp mini netbook with windows and america's largest and most-reliable 3g network built in. only 199.99 with mobile broadband plans from 39.99 i am-- speechless, envious. wanna be me right now. getting one.

>> rick: how is the media covering the critics of the administration healthcare plan as citizens exercising their right to speak out? or assen unruly mob carrying torches and pitchforks? joining us now is liz trotta, author and journalist and fox news contributor. nice to see you, liz. i was interested in reading what one gentleman from "time" magazine had to say

about the way the media is focussing on these people who are showing up to voice their opinions about healthcare reform. >> that is mark halprin. we go to it now and take a look at the wonderful quote. he says, "i don't care why the protesters are showing up. but this is a horrible breakdown of our political culture and media culture, to allow people who are going in with the intent to disruption to become the story." >> rick: a horrible breakdown of our culture, liz. why is it so terrible to cover what the people had to say? >> mr. halprin must have skipped journalism 101 wherever he went to school. this isn't the story, that we have people all over the country turning up at the meetings. whether it's organized or not by the way, it's still a story. he wants to believe that it's organize and also refers to it as a freak show. he also says that he is really embarrassed about what is going on in america. and that's a direct quote.

he is only one in the liberal media trying to bail out obama on the healthcare business. this furthered emphasizing the riff between the, the chasm between the political elite and average americans who by the way, believe that under the constitution they have a right to speak. >> rick: i am curious to people who complain about the coverage of the protesters. let's get serious. in our business, television business, we go for the most dramatic video. in this case, the pictures of regular, everyday citizens confronting their elected officials at the town hall meetings, not only is it dramatic, but it's newsworthy. >> right. they fail to note, and i don't think it could be noted too much that very active organizations like moveon.org and the dreadful code pink who run around doing all kind of activism on behalf of the

left, that is all right. that is a real expression of the people. i agrees with the progressive. on the television, though, which we mention is cable tv they're really aiming at. the president said that himself. even he dispatched robert gibbs to say that, that it's, that the cable tv is, and the protesters are standing in the way of an alternative to having corporate america run the show. this is absolute, right out of the canned left department. >> rick: robert gibbs, interesting that you mention him, because i'm sure you saw the exchange week between president spokesman and our own major garrett who uncovered what could turn out to be a huge story with the white house putting together a list of people and sending out unsolicited e-mails to folks basically lobbying if this turns out to be the case, which is something the white house is legally not permitted to do.

the white house spokesman didn't take kindly to the back and forth, to the question. >> no. he's a prickly one, he is. and i want to make the point, one point that keeps getting not noticed. that is that all of the major polls have shown that people, audiences watching these town meetings on television believe overwhelmingly that the anger is real. that it is not manufacturered and organized to the "n"th degree. it's interesting that the big polls should be saying this, right in the face of liberal writers who like dan boston, the "washington post," i'll quote him once. he says there was a dip for obama. but now it's stable. i mean wake up, the "washington post." he's sliding badly. >> rick: liz trotta, good to get your thoughts on these things. thank you for joining us. >> jamie: thank you, liz. that will do