>> steve: a reminder, it's big cat week tonight on nat geo. 8 p.m we thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. >> gretchen: big cats all week long. have a fantastic monday. log on for the after the show show. martha: thank you, guys. good morning, everybody. setting a bold benchmark for the nation's economy. president obama saying unemployment could be around 8% by the time americans cast their votes in the fall. hero is on "60 minutes" on cbs. check it out. >> do you see some hope? do you think things will get better? do you think you might have the unemployment rate down to the 8% by the time the election rolls around? >> i think it's possible but i'm not in the job of prognosticating on the economy. i'm in the job of putting in place the tools that allow the economy to thrive and americans to succeed. keep in mind that when i came into office eight

million jobs were gone. and, things were cratering. six months later, the economy was growing again. martha: all right. but will it grow enough is the big question? and will the president's policies work? i'm martha maccallum. good morning, everybody. we are here in america's news room. hey gregg. >> i'm gregg jarrett in for bill hemmer. how the u.s. economy fares will have a huge impact on the results of the presidential election. just last month the unemployment rate did fall slightly to 8.6% after having been stuck at or above 9% for months. martha: so that's the big question. how does the president think he could get that number down? are we headed that way? looking at recent numbers, fox business stuart varney. stuart, he said he didn't overpromise when he came into office, is that true? >> in the budget which the president signed in may 2009 the forecast in that budget was for an unemployment rate

of 7.1% this year, 2011 and 4% growth. that was a pretty bold promise. obviously that has not come through. this year, 2011 we have an average unemployment rate for 9% of this year and growth rate of 1.7%. so if that budget was a promise from the president, he did in fact overpromise. martha: can he hit this number by the election time? >> to hit 8% even by november of next year, you would either have to have one of two things. either 200,000 new jobs each and every month for every month until the november election. or hundreds of thousands of people dropping out of the workforce, discouraged people. if you shrink the workforce and keep the same number of jobs then you have a lower unemployment rate. that is the only two ways you get to 8% by november of next year. martha: i guess that is what happened to some extent in order to get to us 8.6%. >> that's correct. martha: in the last monthly number we got we had a lot

of people dropping out of the workforce. i guess the question have those people been flushed out? is that the low as the number will go or will more people become disaffected that we don't know. >> we don't know. if the economy is looking better people come back into the workforce and unemployment rate probably goes up. on the other hand if people are discouraged and that is very bad sign for the america feels about itself, if they're discouraged they drop out of the workforce and down goes the unemployment it will be difficult and painful to get to 8% in november. martha: if you got to 8% could be a bad thing. if we go higher it could be a good thing people are encouraged again in a weird way. thank you very much, stuart varney fox business network coming up shortly. gregg: i didn't do very well in econ 101. martha: always inverse relationship with economics. gregg: counterintuitive in many ways, martha. the 8.5% prediction is so

bold because the unemployment rate has been above 8 1/2% for president obama except the first 12 days the president took office. here is where we are as mentioned earlier this year. the november took a slight dip in the november after staying at or above 9% for six straight months. in 2010 the unemployment rate was above 9% every single month. in 2009 the economy had its worst hit with unemployment reaching 10.1% that october. martha: add all that up and voters according to the new numbers we're seeing are not happy. look at the brand new "cbs poll." it says 54% of voters think that president obama does not deserve re-election. 41% believe he performed well enough to be elected to a second term. those are tough numbers for the folks in the white house to be mulling over. gregg: indeed they are. in the meantime let's head to the midwest because all eyes are squarely on iowa to see which candidate will get

the nomination to take on the president in 2012. it is the first caucus state. in the latest faceoff the gop contenders focused their fire on a surging newt gingrich. >> if you look at newt-romney, they were for obama care principles. if you look at newt-romney they were for cap-and-trade. if you look at newt-romney they were for the illegal immigration problem. and if you look at newt-romney they were for the $700 billion bailout. >> real difference i believe is our backgrounds. i spent my life in the private sector. i understand how the economy works and i believe for americans to say good-bye to president obama and elect a republican they need to have confidence that the person they're electing knows how to make the economy work again and create jobs for the american middle class. >> four allegations, can i get four responses? >> take your time. >> let's start with the last one. let's be candid the only

reason you didn't become a career politician you lost to teddy kennedy in 1994. >> wait a second. >> with regards to the idea i would have beaten ted kennedy, i would be a career politician that is would be true. if i in the nfl when i was a kid i would have been a football star. [applause] gregg: not a bad line you about, take a look at the new numbers because they show gingrich surging way past the state of iowa getting strong numbers in places like south carolina and florida. kelly wright is following the numbers. he joins us live in washington. hi, kelly. >> reporter: good morning. what a spirited debate, huh? in every key battleground state including iowa newt gingrich is enjoying a comfortable growing in the polls. that isn't causing other republican candidates as we've seen to pack up their bags and go. evidence is the recent republican presidential debate in iowa, each of the

candidates explaining why they should be republican nominee, ron paul, michele bachmann, rick perry, rick santorum made their case. the debate turned out to be dueling match between the two front-runners in newt gingrich and mitt romney. in one exchange they sparred over how to create jobs. >> as speaker of the house with president clinton and following very similar plan we ended up with 11 million new jobs in a 4-year period. went down to 4.2% unemployment. >> having spent my life in the private sector i understand where jobs are created. they're not created in government. they're not created in washington. >> reporter: as we've been discussing here, newt gingrich continues to surge to the top of the republican field among republican primary voters. a new nbc poll, gingrich is he had looing in south carolina by 19 percentage points. in sunshine state of florida, gingrich is maintaining double-digit lead of 15 percentage points over the republican presidential

hopefuls. romney speaking on fox and this morning, he believes he will still emerge as the choice for the republican nomination. >> as people look at our respective records as leaders how we performed as leaders, they will come to the conclusion i should be the guy to go up against president obama. >> reporter: speaking of president obama and while republicans prepare for the iowa caucuses and primaries that follow, president obama says whoever is the nominee they have the same philosophy that will show a stark contrast between their vision and his vision for the country and american people will see a choice and good debate. gregg: i think they have preferences in the white house who they prefer to face. we'll leave that for another segment. kelly wright in washington. martha: just a few stories we have for you in "america's newsroom.". coming up the big moment of that debate was mitt romney put money where his mouth is asking rick perry to bet

$10,000 on his stand on the individual mandate. very interesting moment. very interesting reaction. the candidate catching grief about that from his wife he said. >> let me tell you, afterwards my wife came up and said mitt, it was a great debate. you're great at at lot of things, just not betting. so we're over with that. martha: we're over with that he says e. we will see. romney's critics saying a lot about that comment and how they think it could be used against him. gregg: you can hear it and see it on an ad, can't you? the battle over payroll tax cuts really heating up in washington now with a deal hanging in the balance what will congress do next? >> what are the chance that is a deal will be worked out before more than 150 million americans get a payroll tax hike? >> yeah. that isn't going to happen. gregg: where everything goes from here, coming up. martha: and did you see this? tim tebow, does it again. i think that is six times in a row now, right?

just when it looked like the chicago bears would not give him a chance to do what he has done every weekend in recent history they could not keep him at bay. gregg: they love him in denver. >> another fourth quarter comeback. >> if you're not a believer coming into this game, you have to be now and this is spread throughout -- he's clearly enjoying one of the planet's most amazing superfruits. hey, keep it down mate, you'll wake the kids. plum amazins. new, from sunsweet.

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martha: boy, this is an incredible story. a daring escape for an american teenager who was held hostage by an al qaeda-linked group in the jungles of the philippines. 14-year-old eric lundman. look at this man. he disappeared five months ago while on vacation with his cousin and his mother. he decided to make a run for it. he spent two days wandering without shoes until villages came along and helped him out. he is back home and his father is finally thrilled to have his son safe. >> i'm so proud of my son and i am so happy he is

released or he escaped. nobody in the world has any idea how i feel. i'm just so happy. it was a tough time. it was a tough five months. martha: wow! what a story. his captors released his mother two months ago. and he was still there. then his cousin snuck out and escaped shortly after that. so he was only one left and made a run for it and made it home. unbelievable. gregg: it is an incredible story. all right. it is not every day that republican mitch mcconnell sides with the teamsters or the afl-cio but the senate minority leader, majority leader claims many democrats and their union-based support a payroll tax cut that includes a controversial pipeline project. that is the majority leader. minority leader, excuse me. and it is president obama who is the real roadblock to a deal. take a listenen to this. >> what are the chance that is a deal will be worked out before more than 150 million

americans get a payroll tax hike? >> yeah, that isn't going to happen and obviously we'll reach an agreement. the president is posturing here. you have to stand up to the afl-cio. i'm on the same side as jimmy hoffa and the afl-cio on this. the teamsters and the afl-cio want the keystone pipeline, want it now. gregg: republican congressman steve scalise of louisiana sits on the house energy and commerce committee. he joins us here in studio. great to have you here in new york. >> great to be with you. gregg: majority leader, minority leader at odds. harry reid says no chance the payroll tax cut extension with the keystone pipeline extension will pass. there is bipartisan support and lindsey graham comes in seems to contradict mcconnell. saying it will probably not sell who. is right here? >> we passed a similar bill out of the house a few weeks ago that jump starts the keystone project. we had over 40 democrats that joined us voting for the bill.

clearly they're is a bipartisan support for this bill that creates something over 20,000 american jobs. this is something the president ought to embrace if he is concerned about the middle class. this is great way to start about 20,000 middle class and by the way bring in the 7 billion of private investment to america. gregg: shovel-ready. won't cost taxpayers a nickel. teamsters and afl-cio support it. what is the hang up for the president? environmentalists? >> radical environmentalists have the president taking wrong direction on this. if you look at keystone will do, we have pipeline running throughout the country already bringing in oil and natural gas. keystone would allows us to reduce dependence on middle east oil by a million barrels a day. this is something good for america's energy security. something great for jobs in the middle class. gregg: now look the democrats want to tax millionaires as part of the extension of the payroll tax cut. there is new report by a nonprofit group found the top 30 richest, biggest corporations in america over

the last three years, made a total of 164 billion in profit. paid zero in taxes except fedex which only paid one percent out of the 35% top corporate tax rate. people like warren buffett and other democrats say, you know what? millionaires enjoy the same tax privilege. what is wrong with their millionaire's tax on this payroll tax cut extension. >> about a year ago the president himself acknowledged if you raise taxes on people it is actually going to make the economy worse. what we've said the problem in washington there aren't enough taxes coming in, that washington spend too much money. you don't solve that problem by sending washington even more to spend. you close the loopholes which we proposed by the way. close the loopholes and use that to lower overall rates for everybody. that creates jobs and makes america competitive again. we're about to have the highest corporate tax rate in the entire world. that makes american companies uncompetitive. let's fix the problem. gregg: look, they shouldn't be paying zero, right? >> if you close the

loopholes, again we actually proposed a plan that closes loopholes so everybody pays their fair share and you lower overall rates. president wants to raise taxes to give washington more money to spend. gregg: if the payroll tax cut bill with the pipeline attached won't pass and if the democrat version with a millionaire tax attached won't pass, where is the compromise here before the end of the year? my goodness, time is running out. >> i think what we've laid out in fact we filed our bill friday, we'll vote on it this week. we laid out a true compromise that actually solves many problems. we keep the payroll extension going. it is paid for so it doesn't take any money away from social security. we include a project like keystone that creates over 20,000 middle class jobs. gregg: are you on the board with extension of yet another extension of unemployment benefits. >> i always said it has got to be paid for so it doesn't take from social security but also get the keystone project done. this would be --. gregg: you don't think that is disincentive for people not to seek jobs? >> it will be something that

gets quick jobs created in middle class. gregg: i'm talking about unemployment benefits? >> the unemployment benefits you have to reform the process right now, you've got with 99 weeks. it is not paid for in previous version. you have to pay for it. you have to make real reforms so it encourages people to get those jobs that are out there. gregg: congressman steve scalise. thanks for dropping by today. martha? martha: this just crossing the wires moments ago, nato officially announcing the permanent withdrawal of troops from iraq. with u.s. troops already set to leave, iraq is on its own. we spoke to some of them, our troops, about the conditions on the ground there. listen to what they have to say. >> i'm happy for the iraqi people, that they are able to secure themselves and or, you know, looking out for their best interests. i'm happy we're upholding the security agreement and leaving on time. martha: this is all fraught with controversy. meanwhile president obama and iraqi president nouriel

maliki are talking today in washington. critics say they should have been talking all along and that iran is ready to make its move in iraq. we have got more on that coming up. gregg: and a bench-clearing brawl on the bass ball -- bass call court. look at this. the latest fallout from the xavier cincinnati fight. >> with nine seconds to go in a blowout.

gregg: fox news alert. developing this morning, nato announcing it is officially shutting down its military training mission in iraq and withdrawing all of its soldiers by december 31st. this as we're just minutes away from a pivotal meeting between president obama and the prime minister of iraq.

greg palkot streaming live from baghdad with more. hi, greg. >> reporter: gregg, it is just about the end of the road for the u.s. military in iraq. for those of us who covered this long conflict and i know that includes you, gregg, but of course for the iraqis this is momentous occasion. the military is telling us we're down to 6,000 or less u.s. troops in country and. that goes down every day. that is down from a high of 170,000 at its peak in 2007. many are heading out through kuwait. they have to be out by the end of the year according to an agreement with iraq. they should be home for christmas but what kind of country are they leaving behind? what kind of effect has the u.s. had here. that is what we're trying to find out the last couple days. this is brief glimpse what we found out. u.s. army tanks stood guard nearby. they will all be going in

the next several days. in their place, traffic and a lot of people and there are still problems. glass walls protecting this market in the center of baghdad a couple weeks ago were taken down. a couple of days later, there were three bomb attacks, leaving dead and injured. folks here face a security problems. there is still remnants of the al qaeda network here as well as iranian-backed militia, the influence of iran in this country is a big concern including for washington as is the government of prime minister nouriel maliki. some say it excludes some groups and for others that could lead to problems. some economic woes and you definitely have a work still in progress here in iraq. gregg, we talked to people out on the street. we talked to one and he was very grateful that the united states helped to topple the despised regime of saddam hussein here. we talked to another person and he was kind of happy to see the u.s. troops go. he said we do not want the occupiers.

yet we talked to another person and in perfect english he said we have everything here. we just need to sit down together with love as he says and run our country by ourselves. i think americans and a lot of people will feel the same way. back to you, gregg. gregg: time will tell. greg palkot who log ad lot of months in iraq. greg, thanks very much. martha? martha: back here at home the occupy movement is seeking some new ground. parks and downtown plazs are so yesterday in this whole thing, folks. straight ahead, what the protesters now have their sights set on. you will not believe think, words he probably wishes he could take back. placing, well, a little wager. that is causing a whole lot of grief. will the comment cause him to lose big in the campaign? >> i'll tell you what. 10,000 bucks? $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business. >> okay.

martha: well, it was the big talk over the weaken and now this morning mitt romney is reacting to the whole media firestorm surrounding this bet moment where he tried to make a bet during the weekend's republican presidential faceoff. romney challenging rick perry to a $10,000 wager. take a look. >> you know what? you raised that before, rick. you're simply wrong. >> it was true then and it is true now.

>> rick, i'll tell you what, 10,000 bucks? [applause] $10,000 bet. >> i'm not in the betting business. >> oh, okay. martha: awkward, right? here is romney commenting on all this morning. here is what he had to say? >> this was an outrage just number to an answer an outrage just charge and proved wrong time and time again he keeps raising it. let's put something outrage just there, hey, i bet awe million bucks, x, y, or z. let me tell you, my wife came up. mitt, it was a great debate. you're great at at lot of things but just not betting. so we're over with that. martha: that is the attempt to put behind us this morning. bob cusack, managing editor of "the hill.". what was your reaction. >> i think the amount where we stumbled. he said i bet you a dollar i think there would have been fine, no controversy. $10,000, nobody does that.

reminds people of his wealth and shows that romney, the attacks on his health care plan in massachusetts, i mean they sting. so he came back with a strong response but it was too strong. martha: yeah. you know, it is interesting, in some ways what was weird about it the awkwardness of this moment and it is, you know, he is reaching across and break that personal space and, rick perry, kind of recoils and sort of a weird, to me what it reminds people had he has trouble connecting with people. just sort of being that regular guy. the effort, you can see that it is happening that what he wants to achieve. maybe that is what he is going for in that moment but didn't seem to work for him. >> no. mitt romney is nuanced. that doesn't sell with voters. he is not good at retail politics. he is not good sitting in a diner. you have to be good at that to become president. president obama is very good at connecting with people. this is just another obstacle to connect with the republican base, mitt romney

is struggling right now. he has the organization. he has got the money but newt gingrich was able to take a punch in that debate and it willing interesting where they go next couple weeks. can newt gingrich expand his lead? it is amazing how gingrich is winning in these early states. martha: it is. we'll get into that a little later. we'll show everybody those numbers and talk about that in a little bit more detail. i want to take a look, this whole issues, fascinates me, being punished for having been successful for mitt romney. and i did hear other people have this reaction. what's the big deal? the man is rich. he is successful. don't you want somebody who has the ability to be successful in life to be president. united states? he sort of addressed a little bit of his background and economic background in this sound bite over the weekend as well. get your thoughts on it. >> i didn't grow up poor. if somebody is looking for someone growing up with that background i'm not the person. but i grew up with a dad who had been poor and my dad wanted to make sure i understood the lessons of

hard work. and my mom and dad wanted to make sure that i understood the principles that made america the greatest nation on earth. >> what do you think? does that diffuse the issue a little bit? >> i think it does. it personalizes mitt romney which he has to do more. so i think that is a very good answer. shows, that i'm wealthy. but i've been a successful businessman. if people like that. the rise of herman cain. he wasn't a politician. he was a businessman. i think that background helps mitt romney and the way he dealt with that was a strong response i thought. martha: he is, obviously in a tough position when you look at the numbers. as i said we'll look at those in a little while and they are trying to have sort of humanized element of this campaign. he is out there a lot more. he is talking to the press a lot more. do you think he has the ability to sort of ability to close that loop, that gap in what has been presented in this campaign so far? is he that guy i guess is the question? >> yeah, i think potentially he is. this will be a long, long race.

a lot of the states are proportional this time. we could see a similar race we saw between hillary clinton and president obama in the primary. this will go on for a while. will he close the deal anytime soon, no. is he a better candidate than four years ago? yes. in the debates has he done well, not recently but can he capture some of that magic? i think he can. martha: great to at that talk to you as always, bob cusack from "the hill". >> thank you, martha. gregg: difference last time around, 2008, all the primaries and caucuses were frontloaded. everything was over by super tuesday. they changed it this time, it is backloaded. big winner states in april, may and june. martha: that is numbers and how the numbers add up. we'll break this down for you in a little while. the other question in terms of momentum and psychological victory, if you take new hampshire, iowa, florida and south carolina, it is possible newt gingrich can do is it emotionally over for voters out there?

we'll look at what you're talking about. gregg: it only amounts to 15%, just 15%, but momentum can be everything. political observers saying michele bachmann may have scored some points with her attack on both gingrich and romney linking the two front-runners by, well, a catchy name newt romney. bachmann is explaining why she put the two together. >> it is very clear that there is not a dime's worth of difference between the two of them because both of them have advocated for the health care mandate and in newt gingrich's case for 20 years and in mitt romney's case he is the only governor in the united states history to put into place socialized medicine. they both agree with barack obama but also, newt-romney are on the same side of the president when it comes to cap-and-trade, the $700 billion bailout, illegal immigration. even the payroll tax this week where there isn't one sled of evidence that that's created a single job.

gregg: we're going to see if bachmann carries the newt-romney line of attack when fox hosts the next gop debate. that is this thursday in sioux city, iowa, 9:00 p.m. eastern time. fox news is the america's election headquarters. martha: as for gingrich he will get for one of the lincoln-douglas style debates he has been asking for. the gop frontrunner squaring off against jon huntsman in new hampshire. it is a 90-minute event. the debate is reminder of unorthodox campaign gingrich sunning are. most front runners wouldn't take the risk of mixes i it up with a opponent as huntsman is but huntsman says he will do better in new hampshire than everybody thinks. gregg: anti-wall street protesters trying to shut down posts up and down the west coast from san diego to north of vancouver canada. in san francisco, tensions are high.

police storming into the occupy camp in front of the federal reserve building busting, 50 people. >> why should i have permission to sleep in public spot. >> you can not sleep on public street set up cooking utensils and bed stuffs and book shelves and then commence to live there. gregg: dan springer joins us live from the up the coast in portland, oregon. dan, what are we expecting today? >> well, here in portland, gregg, it might be the calm before the occupy storm. they are calling this protest the wall street on the waterfront. ist is a protest that has been in the works for over a month and they want to basically shut down the 19 ports along the western seaboard all the way from san diego up to alaska. there are 19 ports in all. about nine of them are major ports. the largest one obviously is down in los angeles, the los angeles-long beach port. and we have some video just shots moments ago showing

crowds have already gathered just outside there. there are police in place. not sure yet if they have been blocking trucks and longshore workers trying to get to work there but this is loosely organized by the occupy oakland group. they were in charge of a november 2nd occupy protests at the port there where they blocked about all the ways in and out of the port. 30,000 people blocked that port that day and shut down operations. here in portland they vowed to gather at a park nearby and walk here and disrupt the opening of the operations, the opening at 7:00. we'll see how many people they muster. we've already seen a couple of people ride by in bikes. it is yet to see how many people show up at these protests, greg. gregg: dan springer, we'll check back with you later on. dan, thank very much in portland. martha: he snagged the most valuable player award for the national league. new reports say ryan braun has tested positive for a banned substance.

coming up why the mvp says he is innocent. gregg: president obama making his case for a second term saying he believes the unemployment rate will take a dip before next fall. our panel debates it next. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome gn out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year wagreat but next year's a be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and you can go deep sea fishing for amberjack, grouper and mackerel. our golf courses are open. our bed and breakfast have special rates. and migrating waterfowl from all over make this a bird watcher's paradise. so if you missed it earlier this year, come on down. if you've already been here come on back... to mississippi.. florida... louisiana...

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martha: when it comes to fixing our economic crisis president obama now says he didn't make promises to americans that he couldn't keep. here he is during a "60 minutes" interview. take a look and we'll talk about it. >> i didn't overpromise and i didn't underestimate how tough this was going to be. i always believed that this was a long-term project. that reversing a culture here in washington dominated by special interests was going to take more than a year. it would take more than two years. it would take more than one term. probably takes more than one president. martha: boy, a lot to talk about just in that one sound

bite kirsten powers, a dalely beast columnist and fox news contributor. karen hand raty, former news director of the republican congressional committee. what really jumped out at me, -- welcome, laid is. what jumped out at me reversing the culture in washington dominated by special interests, that would take a long time. i thought to myself, what do you think the president has really done substantively to reverse the cult you are in washington? karen, do you want to take that on first. >> i think he has done absolutely nothing to reverse the culture. what is one of the big issues on fox the past week or so? it is this keystone pipeline that would produce $15 a barrel oil in the united states and provide tens of thousands of jobs, even unionized labor supports it. who doesn't support it? environmentalists and they are huge contributors to the president. absolutely no reason to stop that project that is special

interests getting in the way of job creation. and so the president is certainly part of the problem and is not done anything to create a solution to that problem. martha: kirsten, has he made attempts, sincere, legitimate attempts, to reverse the culture in washington? >> i think initially he did think that him reaching out to republicans and asking for their input on different things was somehow going to change the culture. you know, i think once he did that and they weren't really that interested in what he was offering, he decided that he wasn't going to do it anymore. there was sort of this attempt i think it takes two sides to play. i don't think the republicans are particularly interested in changing the culture, but i just have to say i don't think changing the culture in washington is even in the top five of people's concerns. people want the economy to turn around and so you know, for him to talk about, well, it takes such a long time to

change the culture, who cares? like that is not what we're focused on right now. martha: here is why i think it does matter. when you talk about the stimulus package for starters, the criticism of that was that he sort of handed it over to congress and a lot of people's pork barrel projects in the pipeline what went through as a result of stimulus instead of really substantive things that could have helped the economy. that doesn't change the culture. look at relationship with wall street for example, which he talks down to a lot and still, accept as lot of money from wall street investors in the campaign. that doesn't sound like changing culture. so very specific things with regard to the economy, what has hurt the economy and what could help the economy don't seem to be, you know, on the agenda necessarily when it comes to that issue of changing the culture. >> well -- >> go ahead. martha: kirsten, go ahead. we'll come back. >> i just feel like the idea that somehow with the stimulus for example, yes the stimulus was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but it has

really been maligned in a way i don't think is accurate. i think it was successful. perhaps it didn't get us under 8% unemployment which they never should have promised, many economists including john mccain's former economist but for the stimulus we would have been in a depression which i consider a success. i know that doesn't sound great to a lot of people but i don't think, i don't think, a, obama did anything particularly wrong there and b, i don't think the republicans are particularly interested in working with him. >> karen, this new "cbs poll" we showed a little while ago, 54% say they don't believe president obama deserves re-election and yet, the numbers of him up against the top runners are not looking, are looking favorable. looks like he could get obama. that he could beat romney. for all of this discussion about what has gone wrong, it seems there are a lot of voters out there who do want to give this president another opportunity. he says he thinks it will take another term and maybe even another president because the damage has been

so deep in order to correct it. >> first of all he has done a lot to create the damage. look, the stimulus was a very contentious fight in washington, d.c. the health care bill, he was on "60 minutes" in november last year and admitted that it was a lot harder than they expected and they extend -- expended a lot more political capital they expected to spend to get the health care plan passed. that was with the democrats controlling the house and senate. he created a lot, added to the vitriol in washington, d.c. but if you look at the poll numbers, a vast majority of americans think that this country is off on the wrong track. they don't, they like him personally and i think republicans should be very careful about attacking him personally. they should not do that. let the cable shows, prime time cable shows and talk radio do that. candidates, members of congress and their surrogates should not be attacking the president on personal level but they

certainly can attack the policies that he has tried it implement that have not succeeded. martha: ladies, thank you. a big conversation to talk about in the coming months as well. kirsten, karen, good to see you. have a good day. gregg: it could dredge up a very ugly chapter in baseball. the mvp of the national league, ryan braun, reportedly testing positive for an bad substance. why braun says, hey, it is all a big misunderstanding. martha: president obama sized up his competition for the very first time. what the president is saying about newt gingrich and mitt romney. stick around for that. we'll be right back in "america's newsroom.". ♪ feel the power my young friend. mmm! [ male announcer ] for unsurpassed fru and veggie nutrition... v8 v-fusion. could've had a v8.

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martha: well xavier university and the university of cincinnati suspending four players each. did you see this over the weekend? check this out, folks. there is the beginning of it,

okay? and then, explodes into a huge brawl. xavier blew out cincinnati by more than 20 points in this game. the melee was sparked by when a xavier guard apparently trashed talked the cincinnati bench. the team, when they went out there they were ready for action. >> we got disrespected a little bit before the game. guys talling us out. we're a tougher team. we're grown men. we have gangsters, not thugs, zip them up at the end. game. zip them up. that's what we did to them. martha: avenue a whole bunch of gangsters this locker room. holloway is senior. he got one-game suspsp cincinnati suspended three players for six games. the coach said it was biggest embarassment of his professional career. gregg: i thought they only trash the talk on the housewives series but now they do in it college basketball.

martha: we both really blew it and embarrassed shouldn't let that happen. that is not professional and sportsman like. that didn't happen. gregg: you're the gangsta on "america's newsroom". martha: i am. i'm loaded for bear. gregg: major league baseball is rocked by reports that one of its young rising stars, ryan braun, of course he is the winner of last season's national league mvp award, has tested positive for a banned substance. laura engle, live from our newsroom. laura, what do we know so far about these allegations? >> reporter: gregg, if these reports are true there will be many heartbroken baseball fans who have been rooting for this young all-star. according to espn and the associated press, people familiar with the case saying braun tested positive for elevated levels of synthetic testosterone in october. braun was right in the middle of what was his secret appeals process hoping to have the test result rejected. major league baseball doesn't announce positive tests and penalties

involving initial positives until all arbitration is concluded. appeals process will not likely have a resolution until january. gregg: what is at stake here for ryan braun? >> if he loses this appeal he will be suspended from the milwaukee brewers without pay for 50 games into next season. that means he wouldn't be able to play until may 31st, next year, which would cost him 1.87 million of his $6 million salary. in a statement given to fox braun's spokesperson says this. there are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support ryan's complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program. while ryan has impeccable character and no previous history, unfortunately because of the process we have to maintain confidentiality and are not able to discuss it any further but we are confident he will ultimately be exonerated. the situation of course opens a fresh wound for major league baseball. seven-time mvp barry bonds faces his sentence next week on an obstruction of justice

conviction in his case stemming from the federal grand jury investigating illegal steroid use by pro athletes. the sport has seen several stars test positive over the last decade over performance-enhancing drugs. baseball commissioner bud selig repeatedly said the sport cleaned up. gregg: manny ramirez was the last big name to get a 50-game suspension and he quit over the charge. martha. martha: we're 10 days now from the start of winter and temperatures are starting to feel like it a little bit out there across the country and today there are some new fears about devastating cuts to the federal heating aid program which could cause a big problem once we get into the winter days. who it would hurt most. gregg: one state's controversial illegal immigration law may be getting a makeover as several other states may see their new laws front and center, well, at the u.s. supreme court. our legal panel breaks it all down.

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martha: it was a slug fess over the weekend. president obama is looking across the mat at his potential contenders and he is comment tpoerg the firsfor the first time on mitt romney and newt gingrich. >> he's soupb who has been around a longtime, is good on tv and debates. but mitt romney has shown himself to be somebody who is good at politics as well, he's mad had a lot of practice at it. i think they will be going at it for a while. when the republican party has decided who its nominee is going to be, then we'll have plenty of time to worry about it. martha: very interesting, right? a little bit of back-handed compliment in there in a way and also just sitting back and

saying, we are going to wait until they figure it out, then we'll come out, which is what most presidents would do in this situation. good morning, everybody, that's how we get started today. i'm martha maccallum. gregg: i'm greg jarrett. there are new polls showing newt gingrich has the early states all shown up. martha: a spokesman for jeb bush joins me right now. justin walkum good morning to you. newt gingrich is on fire and expanding his lead in a huge way, look at this 31% ahead. that's iowa. let's show how things going in new hampshire. he's been closing that gap in new hampshire. mitt romney has a pretty descent lead there. 41% for newt gingrich.

this is a state a couple o weeks ago herman cain was leading it. then we have florida, 43%. you would think if you're mitt romney, justin you'd want to fill up at least two to three of these states, and according to what we are seeing it's not being done. >> there is a lot of campaigning to be done before our first caucus in iowa. there is a lot of money to be spent on television. once voters start going to the polls and caucuses and voting i think you'll see the numbers will change a little bit. newt gingrich has caught momentum at the right time, and i think it's a grit way to end thgreat way to end the year. he's picking up some of that herman cain support, at least in south carolina, that's where herman cain was. i think that's what is really

going on right now. he's picking up herman cain support. >> the president is right, he's been at this a longtime, he ran back in 08. everybody thought he was going to be the frontrunner in this case and he simply is not. do you sense there is desperation and panic in the romney camp right now? >> i'm not sure. i don't think there should be desperation in the romney count. we've seen different candidates, donald trump, michelle perry, herman cain take the lead at different times. we are within weeks of the first caucuses in iowa. it has to give the romney campaign comfort that they still have a pretty significant lead in new hampshire. that will be the second state and the second primary state. martha: a lot of people are saying the republicans are unsatisfied and the polling now, both of those mean, romney and gingrich and it raises the

brokered convention again. do you give that any credence? >> i don't think there is a likelihood that we will have a broke end convention. however, if it turns into a two-person race with mitt romney and newt gingrich diving up delegates and if ron paul does well enough to pick up 5 to ten to 15% of delegates we could have a brokered convention. that is certainly a remote possibility, but a possibility nonetheless. martha: great to talk to you as always. gregg: breaking news to report here. the u.s. supreme court according to reuters news service says it will decide and take up the issue of arizona's very controversial immigration law, and of course there are several other states, including alabama, indiana who have several laws, the u.s. supreme court apparently has decided it will

take up that case as well. so you've got healthcare, texas redistricting, several political cases, the supreme court will decide. martha: that is all going to weigh on people's minds as they go to the polls and think about the next president of the united states or whether the president will be reelected. gregg: as the president starts commenting the democratic party turning to newt gingrich instead of focusing on mitt romney. they released a web video blasting gingrich calling him the original tea partier. >> i'm newt gingrich, general chairman of american solutions. i'll invite you to a party, a tea party. gregg: well a spokesman for the newt gingrich campaign saying it's nice of the democrats to recognize newt's conservative efforts. martha. martha: mitt romney sitting down with fox news just a little

while ago speaking one-on-one about the surge of his biggest competitor, newt gingrich. here is what he had to say. >> people will get a chance to see us over the coming months, look ot our records and experience. if the final analysis i think i'll be the guy that wins the nod. that is the pros si the process, you take a close look at the candidates, i think as people look at our respective records, as leaders, how we have performed as leaders, they'll come to the conclusion that i'm the guy that should go up against president obama. martha: he's going to get a big opportunity to do that and to talk about what he wants to do at the big debate, the fox news gop presidential debate gets underway in iowa, this time around 9pm eastern, 6pm pacific. we'll have instant analysis and live chat with fox news contributors at

foxnews.com/debate, thursday night. gregg: president obama may be using the support ever a critical group of voters instrumental in putting him in the white house in 2008. steve brown joins us live from des moines, iowa this morning. why is the president slipping among young voters? >> reporter: well, generally for the same reason that other groups have seen support erode, and that is economic ones. we are talking about voters between 18 and 30. if there is an erosion it's shraoeufplt it's down to about 60%. the turn out amongst in group is expected to be lower. a minus, plus a minus, even if they are small looks to be pretty big. christian fong a republican operative in iowa says this is a reality of post college at life

for these players. >> college age kids that are 50 to 60 higher, one in every six people is unemployed and the large number of the rest are under employed, can't get their careers going. >> reporter: while the president may win this group overall it does appear that there are a little less motivated than they were in 2008 and he may capture a little less of them. martha: pressure on capitol hill as lawmakers prepare for a new battle this week on the future of the payroll tax cut. this is one hot issue right now. mike emanuel is covering it from us live. we heard from mitch mcconnell last hour. what is the latest from the democratic side on this? >> reporter: martha, we believe that democrats who do not like the house republican plan that was unveiled on friday have been back at the drawing board all weekend trying to come up with a new plan that they hope will get

60 votes in the united states senate. we saw late last week that a democratic alternative and a republican plan failed in the senate, and so all eyes shifted to the house republican plan which they say is fully played for, includes expending the payroll tax holiday another year. they say 90% of the pay fors are things that the president himself has liked in the past, so the house republicans say it's a good idea. they've also included the keystone xl pipeline which supporters say would create 20,000 direct jobs, construction jobs right away, and perhaps a half million indirect jobs over time. that is something the democrats don't like pwaug th because the environmentists don't like that moving forward. >> this is a break or make for the middle class. the republicans have consistently said they will

refuse to increase the taxes on the wealthiest people in america one penny if that's what it takes to make sure that working families get a payroll tax cut. it is a clear defining moment, a contrast between the parties that the president has made clear. >> reporter: that's been kind of a classic democratic argument essentially, asking the rich to do a little bit more to give everybody some tax relief. bottom line the republicans say that they are going to pay for it without that millionaire surtax. they believe the keystone xl pipeline makes a whole lot of sense because when i look at the construction sector there is more than 13% unemployment. why not put those folks back to work. we are heading for a showdown this week because christmas is getting close and the end of the year is right beyond that, martha. martha: it sure is. it's coming quick. mike emanuel in d.c. it will be very significanting to see if the president changes his mind on how he feels about this keystone issue with regard to all of this.

asthma colonel pointed out the unions are on his side. the only contingency he has on that side the environmentalists. gregg: it doesn't cost taxpayers a penny, it's all privately funded. the governor of iowa has friendly advice for mitt romney these days if he wants to beat newt gingrich and taken the state. we'll tell you what he has to say next. martha: breaking news crossing the wires, the supreme court will take up the controversial arizona law at the center of a major lawsuit by the obama administration. our legal panel coming up on that breaking news. gregg: and you've got to believe, tim tebow does it again, another stunning over time win. the quarterback is quickly cementing his reputation as a miracle man. can you say charlie sheen, winning. [ jill strange ] osteo bi-flex is a great product.

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martha: breaking news, this is a big one that could real implications for the presidential election. the supreme court has just announced that they will indeed hear the challenge to arizona's controversial law targeting illegal immigrants. republican governor jan brewer has appealed to the high court and urged the justices to revive the law. the controversial provision -fs this law were knocked down by one judge, and now it will go to the supreme court to see if the supreme court will uphold the right of arizona to give its police officers the right basically when you pull someone over, when they are brought over for another violation to ask them for their documents and paperwork. this is going to be big. gregg: a lot of big cases they are taking. martha: yeah, in an election

year. gregg: mitt romney being too cautious in iowa, according to the governor there republican terry branstad, and maybe he has a point. take a look at the latest numbers. newt gingrich pulling a substantial lead over romney and ron paul 31% to their 17%. governor ramstad said it's do or die for romney. >> i think he's starting to understand that he's going to have to get much more aggressive. he's going to need to spend more time here. he's opened a campaign office. he was in cedar rapids the day before yesterday. i understand he's going to be back campaigning more aggressively. he's starting to advertise on television. this is a wide open race in iowa, the lead has changed hands many times. i think there is still a lot of undecided voters. it could go any way. gregg: matt strawn is chairman

of the democratic party. is the governor right in his assessment? >> i think one thing we've already seen, governor romney is taking governor branstad's advice to heart. i think we will see mitt romney here frequently not just for thursday night's debate. i think governor romney and the other candidates understand this race is fluid. we had two-thirds of caucus goers tell poll sters say they could still change their mind. being on the ground for the next 32 days is vital because of undecided caucus goers. gregg: i want to talk to you about the $10,000 infamous bet.

our correspondent on the brow ground there, steve brown in des moines says this is not going over well with people there. some say romney came across as rich and elitist. what is your view of it? >> i think that's one thing you have with the iowa caucus, why it's so important to be on the ground, whether it's governor romney or any of the candidates, over the remaining 22 days get to the state and have the average iowa citizens look you in the eye and ask those questions. with the debate season we've had so far you know how predictable this has been. having a debate three days from now can reset things in iowa. any candidate can get momentum going into the caucus. gregg: i've made mistakes at

times. i've had to go to god for forgiveness, i've had to seek reconciliation. i'm also a 68-year-old grandfather. i think people have to measure who i am now and whether i'm a person they can trust. gregg: you're looking at calista his third wife. he earlier admitted infidelities. how is that issue playing among iowa citizens, matt? >> well one thing we've seen here in iowa with newt gingrich, he's one that iowa citizens know very well. he's been slow setting up a campaign organization here. he's been to the state effectively overt years. they know his policies. easy loud iowa citizens to look into his soul and ask him questions. i think that gives them comfort. there is no question that newt gingrich has a message that is resonating with iowa politics. whoever our standard bearer is

against barack obama will stand up for republican principles and prosecute the case why barack obama's policies have failed america, and that is the message resonate -lg here in iowa from newt gingrich. gregg: thank you for being with us live from des moines, we appreciate it. martha: u.s. troops soon to be out of iraq. the president of iraq meeting at the white house with president obama right now. this is a se significant moment. president obama ran on the idea that he would get us out of iraq and that is now happening. but what does iran, perhaps have in mind for iraq's future. we'll talk about that. gregg: regardless of a supreme court ruling the american healthcare system has already perhaps been changed forever, some say. steve moore from the wall street courage will weigh in on that, coming up. what's this? it's progresso's new loaded potato with bacon.

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gregg: former dictator manuel mor noriega touching down in his home country after 20 years locked up abroad. is gng to spend even more prison time on two counts of murder. iran says it's almost done decoding an american spy drone adding it will use the information to file a lawsuit against the u.s. for, quote, evasion. >> studio executives are not worried pointing to a series of

blockbusters set for release next weekend as there were many empty seats, the most since 9/11. martha: nato officially pulling the plug on military training in iraq after talks to extend that mission stalled as you may remember, this adding to fears that iran may be poised to expand their influence in iraq, which there are plenty indications of sues the ie forces leave that country. coalition troops here seen handing over a key base. president obama is meeting with the president of iraq at the white house. we have a general with us. when you take a look at the president meeting with m with the president. what has their relationship been over the years, and is it ending

the right way. >> this is a public relations visit designed so that the president can have a victory lap for ending the war in iraq and bringing our troops home. it conceals the harsh reality that our relationship with iraq has strained over the past two years. when the obama administration came in in 2009 they pushed away from the iraqis and kept them at arm's length. after after the iraq president was reelected he bee gone to undermine the policies in iraq. we've chosen not to interest tphraoupbs any of that. that is really unfortunate. martha: the bush administration put in a plan basically to continue to keep a very strong relationship between the two governments so that everything that was lost there, including a presentation 4,000 lives lost in iraq that all of that would be for something, and that it would mean, you know, a long relationship in the future,

right? >> that's exactly right. bush and malaki straoeupbd an agreement which established a partnership with the two countries which would be even during and it would transend politics, dip blahmatic, scientific open visa programs, strengthen their democracy. that was actually in the document and also continue to grow and improve the iraqi secure forces. that essentially has been pushed aside by the obama administration. they focus completely on bringing the troops out and ending the war. martha: i know you've been critical of that. the next logical question is, do the iraqi people want any influence from iran in their country? the two countries had a long war as we all well remember. do you think iran will get what they want, in terms of the ability to have a lot of sway there? >> the iraqi people themselves have no tolerance for iranian influence. we've seen that very clearly, even down in the south where there is a significant shiite

population. malaki is plague a dangerous game. he's moving towards the iranians but at the same time he doesn't want them to have undue influence in his country. the fact of the matter is they have significantly more influence today than they had two years ago, and once the united states is out, completely at the end of this month their influence is going to grow. martha: general, always good to see you and get your thoughts on all of this. thank you, sir, we will see you soon. >> take care, martha. martha: you too. gregg: he has been missing for nearly a month now. find out who may be getting custody of michelle parker's three-year-old son and daughter, plus this. >> if i'm president of the united states we are going to get rid of obamacare. >> i'm committed to getting rid of obamacare. >> who can look obama in the eye and say obamacare is an

abomination for this nation. and i'm going to do that. >> could it be too late for that? could they even do that if they tried. coming up new terrance that even if the supreme court strikes down the law healthcare in america may never be the same. the best approach to food is tkeep it whole for better nutrition. that's what they do with great grains cereal. they steam and bake the actual whole grain while the otr guy's flake is more processed. mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal.

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martha: we have brand-new iowa numbers that we want to show you. they just came in. let's take a look at those. newt gingrich losing a little

bit of his traction according to this poll in iowa. he's still ahead. 29% for him. romney is at 20%. ron paul 10%. this the caucuses were held today here is how things would basically shape up. romney says if he gets a nice finish in iowa he'll feel good about that. if he comes in second in a solid way and can squeeze that to a single digit margin i think the romney folks will be happy with that moving ahead into new hampshire. we'll see how that shapes up. gregg: in iowa because it's a caucus state everything depends so much on organization between the third and fourth place. in 2008 there was only 400 votes. you've got to drag the people out there. it's been said of newt gingrich he has no organization there. martha: fascinating. we'll see. very interesting. gregg: republican candidates all saying if elected they will repeal obamacare, but there is a new op-ed that says despite what

happens from here on out healthcare has changed forever. steven moore is an author for the "wall street journal." has it changed forever? and if so for better or worse. >> it sure has. i certainly agree with the republican candidates that step one in reforming the healthcare system is to abolish obamacare. what we were doing with that is putting 30 million more people under the medicaid system. that will accelerate th the demise of our healthcare system. even if it is eliminated by the courts or congress, you're right we still have a massive problem with the cost of healthcare in this country. i was looking at the numbers over the last 20 years. the fastest two growing industries in america have been government and healt healthcare. those two go hand-in-hand. the problem is if we stay on the course we're on in 20 years we're going to spend all of our gdp on healthcare. yes, we have to have cost con taeupblt and new ways of paying

for this or else we're not going to have any industry, all we'll have is healthcare and hops. gregg: with increased prepayment through insurance, what effect does that have, steve? >> that really is the source of the problem, gregg in my opinion. we actually have the best healthcare system in the world, in terms of the quality of care that you get if you go to doctors or whose i hospitals in this country. the profession that has occurred with diseyesess and cancer and the such has come a long way. but it's like going into an all you can eat restaurant. nobody cares. it's paid for by government or health insurance. i think we need a whole new way foe pay for healthcare. gregg: the op-ed i referred to

makes a couple of points. hospitals are bulking up into huge mergers. and insurers are buying healthcare providers. what does that do to all of us. >> there is more consolidation going on in the healthcare industry. that is a double-edged sword. on the one hand consolidation can mean lower costs, but think about this implication, gregg, it also probably means less competition. and less competition can mean higher prices. i see this as a real double edge sword in terms of reducing costs. we can't continue to have healthcare costs over the next ten or 15 years growing at two to three times of the rate of inflation of the ko*fs everything else we by. it becomes completely unaffordable. you'll have more and more people uninsured because companies won't be able to afford the insurance. gregg: what about the good aspects of it that even

republicans have embraced, which is your kids get to stay on your program a lot longer, no exclusions for preexisting i illnesses, foe lifetime caps, so on and so forth. >> if it gets repealed you will have a situation where they will have to repeal the healthcare system. barack obama was tkp-l right we pay way too much for healthcare in this country. if obamacare is resealed the first act of the next congress and the next president, if it's a republican is to have a new healthcare reform bill that rile does drive down costs. my problem is i think obama care is going to drive up costs not drive them down. gregg: steve moore great to see you as always. thanks very much. a reminder this thursday, december 15th, a fox news gop presidential debate gets underway in iowa, 9pm eastern, 6:00 pacific time.

you will have access to instant analysis at foxnews.com/debate. martha: the supreme court in this breaking news just about 15 minutes ago say they will indeed take up arizona's controversial illegal immigration law. this is huge in terms of the election ramifications of this decision and healthcare. our legal panel will be here in a few minutes to weigh in on that. did you see this. good grieve if you turned off the tv a couple minutes early you missed it. he is on fire, folks, another last second impossible win for tim tebow and the denver broncos. somebody up there likes him. gregg: he has the will to win, no matter what. welcome idaho,

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over the weekend it burst into flames. the driver apparently unloaded fuel at the time. he's being treated for burns to his arms and legs. around 500 other people were forced to flee from a nearby nightclub. there were no injuries there. the exact cause of that explosion is under investigation, and we hope he gets better. gregg: big news today america's high court will decide on immigration's immigration law -- arizona's immigration law. the supreme court agreeing to hear an appeal on the constitutionality of arizona's controversial new crackdown on illegal immigrants, and it could have a major impact on the race for president. mercedes cowan is a fox news legal analyst. federal judges had blocked parts and all of similar laws in arizona, utah, georgia. there was the decision by the 11th circuit. are you surprised the high court is taking this?

>> no, gregg because they've taken a lot of politically charged cases in the last few months. heading into an election year it's very intriguing if nothing else. i'm not surprised they took it. i think it's fairly obvious where they are going to go with this. issues concerning immigration to the united states, naturalization have always been strictly within the fell many of the federal government. while i am certainly no defender of the obama administration's approach to immigration or lack thereof, i don't think allowing the states to usurp the power of the federal government serves any purpose other than perhaps to motivate the obama administration to do something. gregg: what is interesting is the position of the obama administration. they say this is solely the province of the federal government. but i checked five different federal courts that have actually upheld state actions on

immigration matters. the fourth, the fifth, the 8th, and the ninth and the 10th circuit courts. for the administration to say it's always been the federal province is not exactly true, is it? >> it's a complete fallacy. if you look at arizona law in and of itself, arizona has been saying but the feds are doing nothing to enforce the laws. what we are doing is within our purview to do it as a state. we are allowed to pop popl you to take these kind of most you ares. with the feds doing nothing, there have been murders on the border states, agents have been killed. these ranchers, there has been such a flux of people with these illegal immigrants coming onto their lands, pillaging their lands, committing crimes on their land. they stepped in and said, this is within the province and we'll

do it. we can and will protect our citizens. that's why arizona has been hitting so hard against doj saying step out, get out we are the ones that are entitled to do all this. gregg: i wonder, tom if there is actually concurrent authority. because when the federal government to some extent a abdicates its responsibility doesn't that shift responsibility to the states to undertake their own laws? >> let me be clear, certainly not me is contesting the right of arizona, alabama, any of these other states to police within their borders. and if there is criminal activity going on within their borders she should prosecute that the same way they would pros kwaoult a u.s. citizen, regardless of immigration status, whether they are here legal lease, illegally so forth. just taking the arizona laws, i mean requiring immigrants to obtain and carry id, making it

illegal for them to seek work, check being the immigration status of children in the schools. i mean, really in 2011 is that the correction where we want to take america? >> it's for public safety, that's what it boils down to. gregg: people say wait a minute. when you engage in this kind of activity what you're really doing is rationally profiling folks, and in fact that's what a u.s. district court judge said, quote, how in the world do you think police are going to make these determinations of legality, illegality without profiling? there are a lot of problems with this law. what about that? >> i think that's a good point, gregg, but frankly it's really a balancing act. the rights of the individual versus the rights of the society and the community that they are trying to protect. that's why when it comes to individual rights some of them are sacrificed for the benefit of the greater good, and that's what arizona is saying. no arizona poll situation is going to come forward and say we put this legislation on the books so that we can target

hispanics which really are the largest group in arizona that is considered illegal immigrants. that's not what they are saying at all. they are saying we have a significant issue and crime issue in our boarders. we have to control it we have to do something about it. gregg: alabama says look the illegal people here are taking legal jobs away from the legal residents, so that is another issue. tom keneff, mercedes cowan good to see you both. martha: let's go to jen a lee who is down stpaeurs in the newsroom for us. jenna: we had that landmark event at the white house today, the future of u.s. and iraqi relations in focus. we'll ask what is next for our country and theirs. how much does simple organization factor into an election? it factors a lot into holiday shopping. how about an election, right. why 2012 may change the face of presidential campaigns. they are calling him, martha, the miracle man. it's not gregg jarrett, no, no, tim tebow. he pulled out the big win this

weekend. we're going to talk to father jonathan about awful this. martha, and find out a little devine interest sepbg intervention. god bless, martha, god bless. martha: thank you very much, jenna in the news room. we have an update on the case of the missing florida mother. this has been a real mystery. michelle parker's family has now reached a deal with the prime suspect in her disappearance. what they agreed to, why they would do that. that is coming up. gregg: devine intervention, inspired play or just plain luck, you know who we are talking about, we were talking about a couple of minutes ago tim tebow the bronco's quarterback -- this was really unbelievable quash quash last second nailbiter. next we have a sports writer who says, yes, it is time for

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gregg: a small slice of comfort for the family of a missing florida woman, michelle parker, missing now for almost a month, vanishing the day she appeared on an episode of the people's court. now her parents reaching a custody agreement with her former fiance dale smith. parker's twins have been staying with smith since she disappeared even though he is considered to be a prime suspect in the case. this weekend the three-year-old boy and girl decorated a christmas tree with their grand parents. the family has been telling them their mother is on vacation.

martha: he's been called god's quarterback, and impossibly, incredibly yesterday tim tebow did it again, folks. the bronco's quarterback leading his team to another over time victory. most people had turned off the game, okay. they scored ten points in the last two minutes against the chicago bears. that set up a 51-year-old field goal kicker matt potter to seal the deal in this one. what a story, this is the story of the nfl season. pat joins me now. i think you're a bronco's fan, correct? >> from the crib, absolutely. martha: what do you make of this? >> it's incredible, it really is. i have rarely, if ever in my life seen such a remarkable turn around for a franchise. this is hope for the hopeless if you look at where denver was at the beginning of the season, 1-4 and going nowhere and now 7-1 with tim tebow. as you said it's one improbable

come back victory after another that has just really kind of electric tried people. he's defied statistics and common-sense and the protocol of how a quarterback is supposed to play to succeed in the nfl. it doesn't matter, they are winning games. martha: he clearly has a kwebgs god. a connection with god. he doesn't think god helps him win. he praise to god for support. this is intregral in tim tebow's life. it's almost like a made for tv movie, and you watch the guy an struggled at the beginning of this game yesterday. it's always the final minute thing that he allows him to pull it out, and people say, well i guess somebody up there likes him, right? >> it adds to the storyline and charisma that he has is remarkable. the one thing that he does have to me is a faith that he can get it done and a belief and

optimism, that even down to the bitter end when people around him may want to give up, they are not going to because he finds a way. that's what has been remarkable about this. from a religious standpoint, to me, martha, the thing i like about tim tebow is he doesn't use his religion as a weapon, he uses it as a tool. he does a lot of good things for a lot of people. he isn't just talking the talk, he actually walks the walk. he's done more for other people at age 24, 25 than anybody else i can think of. martha: and he was criticized for sort of his religious -- his outwardly religious motioness makes on the field. i don't think people will be criticizing him all that much if he keeps playing like this. next week he gets to go up against tom brady. >> that is a bit of a storyline there. that's probably the most high profile and successful franchise in the nfl over the ten years against the guy who has become the story of this nfl season.

we are talking about the most accomplished quarterback out there right now against a guy -- some guy are trying to figure out if he's completely lucky, or what is behind his ridiculous success. martha: thank you so much, pat. great to see you. i'll be watching that next weekend. that is going to be fun to see. thanks, pat. gregg: they should have started him at the beginning of the season for goodness sakes. martha: maybe that's what gave him the drive to really pull it out. gregg: it's something we all do at christmastime. could your craving for a certain sweet treat be putting your health at risk? today, investors want retirement planning on their terms.

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the best approach to food is tkeep it whole for better nutrition. that's what they do with great grains cereal. they steam and bake the actual whole grain while the otr guy's flake is more processed. mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. gregg: finally a town in kansas being overrun by penguins. this is