♪ now brings figy pudding ♪ now bring us a figge pudding ♪ and bring some right here hello, i'm gregg jarrett and welcome to "america's news headquarters." topping the news this hour, he may be leading in the polls in virginia, but newt gingrich will not be on the ballot in that state. gingrich, along with rick perry, failing to qualify for the state's primary. we'll tell what you it means for their campaign. massive protests in russia, gorbachev calling for putin so step down. pope benedict saying christmas eve mass. greg what, do the folks say in his homily tonight?

>> gregg, this mass is just ending right now at this minute. it's very interesting what the pope had to say. he said don't get blinded by the bright lights, the commercial side of christmas. he said, there is a whole spiritual side of this which has to be recognized. he said see through the superficial glitter of the season and to be at the true joy, to receive the true joy, the true light of christ coming. he also talked about the humility necessary in order to previous and in order to accept christ. he actually spoke about that basilica of the nativity in bethlehem and how it's a very small door, you have to lean down to get in there. he said christians need that kind of humility on a night like tonight. >> there has been some concern about the pope's health. how is he doing? >> well, not too bad. this ceremony tonight was two hours. for somebody who is 84, he's going to be 85 in april, he looked tired, but i think that's natural. one of the things they have done to try to help him out is they

have a sort of stand wheeled platform which he goes into saint peter's and out of saint peter's on that. but that's because the church is so big. he doesn't have big problems walking, definitely. he has full schedule ahead of him. so i don't think it's a major, major scare right now. >> the pope said he wants to go to cuba in the springtime. what is the reason for that particular trip? >> you know, that's an interesting trip. cuba is one of the few countries in central america, in the caribbean actually, but i mean in the whole catholic world, the latin world where the church has some trouble. it has s se problems in terms of freedom and freedom of movement and that kind of thing. i think the pope wants to take that issue there and make the case for the catholic church in cuba and overall for religious freedom around the world. that is one of his big topics. there is mo doubt about that.

>> all right. greg burke live in rome, thanks very much. a major road block now for republican candidates newt gingrich and rick perry, both failing to qualify for virginia's primary. now some political analysts say this is serious signs of trouble and things need to change. >> if i were newt this morning, i'd find the guy who told him mr. speaker, we have the 15,000 signatures, we're on the ballot in virginia. i'd find him and give him another assignment in the campaign, maybe emptying out the trash cans and making sure that everybody had hot coffee is cold drinks. >> peter doocy has more from washington. peter? >> to get on the ballot for the virginia gop primary, you need 10,000 signatures from registered voters, including 400 from all 11 counties in the

state. governor rick perry and former speaker newt gingrich didn't do that. so now they will not be on the ballot in virginia. now front runner newt gingrich is saying only a failed system excludes four out of the six major candidates seeking access to the ballot. voters deserve the right to vote for any top donald tender, especially leading candidates. we will work with the republican party of virginia to pursue an aggressive write in candidate to make sure the voters can vote for who they choose. the perry campaign says they're looking at the law to determine whether or not an appeal or challenge is weren't with ad, but say this is an isolated situation and won't affect the governor's ability to get on the ballot in every other state. as for gingrich, analysts say this is not good. >> this is a problem. if you're the front runner and you can't organize your campaign so you can meet these filing deadlines. it's elemental. it's the fundamental thing you do. >> the university of virginia, senate for politics director larry sabato says another way to look at the ballot fiasco is

that ours just found out two campaigns have what it takes to compete organizationally. that would be romney and paul. the only two will be on the primary ballot. virginia has 13 electoral votes. you need 270 to win and president obama won that state in 08. >> peter doocy, thanks very much. here with us now to talk about it, susanest ridge, professor of law and professor of science in southern california and of course news contributor. great to have you in new york. >> great to see new person. if only upstairs, gregg. merry christmas to you. >> merry christmas. thank you very much. look, sabato probably has a pretty good point here. this doesn't bode well, at least in terms of management and organization for some of these republican presidential candidates, right? >> no, as you know, this is really just awful. there are some states that have really onerus ballot requirements and candidates have trouble with them.

but virginia shouldn't be that hard. 10,000 signatures for a serious candidate for president, it's just not a big obstacle and the fact that neither gingrich nor perry could meet suggests not only are they going to get those delegate, but they've got real organization problems in their campaign. >> the interesting thing is if you're out on the campaign trail with newt gingrich, he's forever trumpeting his leadership skills. but if you talked to some of the people who served with him when he was speaker of the house, they say in many ways just the opposite. let me quote one assessment here by william douglas, mckarachi newspapers. 20 disgruntled republicans in the house jeezd into lindsey graham's office july '97 and rebelliously vented about gingrich. they were tired of his chaotic management style, worried he was caving to then bill clinton and

sick of having to defend him publicly on questions of his ethics or latest statements. he was described as a good strategist, but a horrible manager, managed by chaos. are we seeing evidence of that here in virginia? >> well, you said it. i was on the other side back in those days. i was very close to president clinton, as you know. and what was stunning about gingrich, he's a brilliant guy. we worked with him here at fox news. he's got a command of history and a command of the intellects and political science. probably unrivaled among political candidates. but in terms of his leadership at the house, clinton, who was not known for organization, was a master at those skills compared to gingrich. really a lot of people felt that he squandored what was a great opportunity for republicans 'cause he couldn't organize his way out of a paper bag. i think some of that is on display right now and it

reflects not only in virginia, but you're an iowa voter. you're looking at this and you got to say, what is going on there? >> you got to have a strong ground game in iowa and the take on gingrich is he's got hardly anybody there and those that he does have on the ground have been there a short while. look, if you look at the polling data in iowa, he's deflating faster than a blowup santa with a puncture wound. is that because of all of the negative ads that have been playing nonstop in iowa? >> part of it is the negative ads. but he reminds me of howard dean. remember when howard dean around december, same time as gingrich peaked, looked like the surprise front runner. and at that point in time, i think a lot of people said hey, hold on a hip. it's been fun, but we better take a second look at this guy. as with gingrich, they took that second look and they said, this guy is not going to be able to win the presidency. and i think that's why gingrich is falling. and frankly, this is a red

letter day and not just christmas eve for mitt romney because it really suggests that if all these candidates, conservatives may have to swallow a little bit hard and recognize that romney is the only one ready for prime time. >> he's got a good organization in iowa. of course, new hampshire. he's organized just about in all of the relevant and important primary and caucus states. but if ron paul pulls a win in iowa, what then, susan? >> well, then ron paul, and i think this is going to start right now, gets the same scrutiny that gingrich has had and ron paul, again, while a very interesting candidate, has taken a lot of positions over the years, which are not going to look so great under careful scrutiny. this is a guy who questions the civil rights act of 1964, thinks the united states should withdraw from the u.n., is opposed to the war on drugs, and if you ask me who the easiest candidate will be for democrats

to paint as an extremist, it's ron paul. >> and the toughest candidate for the democrats, and again, you served in democratic administrations. too they fear the most mitt romney because he has the greater ability to appeal to moderates in and independents who dictate most elections these days? >> well, mitt romney is by far the scariest and it's partly 'cause he's perceived as a little bit moderate, which is why conservatives have to swallow hard. but it's also because his issue is the economy. when it comes down to it, when the economy is bad, that's what voters vote. i think if the economy is the issue in this campaign, mitt romney is the strongest candidate republicans have. >> all right. susan, great to have you here. safe travels back to california. the land of sunshine. >> and warm weather. >> yes. >> happy holidays, mere i wouldn't say christmas. >> thank you, you, too.

gorbachev urging putin so step down. the former soviet leader address add massive rally in moscow today and called for new elections. he said that putin should follow his example by leaving office to comply with popular discontent. some 120,000 russians braving sub zero temperatures to voice their anger over last month's disputed parliamentary elections. it's the largest show of outrage over the voting allegations and organizers say they expect 1 million people at their next demonstration. iran beginning navy drills in international waters. the ten-day exercise taking place near the strategic oil route that passes through the strait of ormuj. it could bring iranian ships close to u.s. navy ships in the area. criticism mounting over their nuclear program. iran insisting the program is for peaceful purposes only.

in great britain, queen elizabeth's husband, prince philip, expected to spend another night in the hospital recovering from heart surgery. earlier queen elizabeth flying by helicopter to visit her husband in the hospital outside london. prince philip was taken to the hospital yesterday suffering from chest pains. doctors inserted a coronary stent after finding a blocked artery. buckingham palace is decline to go say if he suffered a heart attack. no word yet on when the 90-year-old prince will be discharged. after a bitter stand-off on capitol hill, president obama signed the two-month payroll tax cut extension into law before heading off to beautiful hawaii to spend christmas with his family. doug is traveling with the president and joins us live from honolulu. doug, how is the president planning to spend his vacation? >> well, in a word, golfing. he arrived about an hour ago for his first round of golf, pretty impresssive considering that he's been here in hawaii for

less than 4 hours and he is in no doubt all bracing for the next political battle that lays ahead in the new year. right before he left dc, he signd into law that two-month extension of the payroll tax holiday after a big battle with republicans. but he noted at the time that he and congress will still have to come to an agreement next year on a full year extension. >> and when congress returns, i urge them to keep working without drama, without delay to reach an agreement that extends this tax cut, as well as unemployment insurance through all of 2012. last week i said that this should be a formality and that's still the case. >> it's probably not the case, gregg, that this is going to be any easier when they approach this battle next year. >> at the same time, the president preparing for reelection next year, democrats already throwing around some

pretty big numbers. tell us about that. >> yeah. there is talk of campaign effort on the president's side of things they could approach a billion dollars or so in fundraising. we saw the president get off of air force one last night with a little spring in his step. certainly he has reason for more optimism now than a few weeks ago. his poll numbers improved a little bit. democratic officials confirm that they expect to raise about $60 million or so just this quarter. that puts him on track for a pretty big spending effort heading into 2012. the president has made a number of campaign fundraising appearances through the course of the year, although they say he will not be making any fundraising appearances while he's here on vacation. >> let's talk about the first family for a moment. how are they planning to spend their time in hawaii? >> you know, they don't tell us a whole lot about that. we're catching glimpses of them now and then. we saw the presidential motorcade last night turning a

lot of heads. the president and the first lady went out to dinner with friends and family. beyond that, it's probably going o include beach outing, maybe a shaved ice outing or two and no doubt a number of rounds of golf. >> doug, hang ten, good to see you in beautiful hawaii. president obama's reelection campaign and the democratic national committee both returning thousands of dollars in donations from jon corzine. former new jersey governor and goldman sachs chief was running mf global when it collapsed in october. it was one of the largest bankruptcies in american history and more than $1 billion in customer cash still missing. in all, more than $70,000 is being returned to corzine and his wife, according to campaign records. corzine was one of obama's top fund-raisers. christmas in the holy land.

christian pilgrims gathering in the town of bethlehem where jesus is believed to have been born. leeland vitter is live in bethlehem with the latest. >> merry christmas, gregg. we can officially say that here in bethlehem. it's about 1:00 o'clock in the morning, so midnight mass has wrapped up and that is where at the very end, they take a doll representing the baby jesus and walk it from the church of the nativity cathedral behind me, down into the grotto. that's when the patriarch claims the baby was born and it's officially marks making that one of many reasons that this is a christmas celebration in bethlehem unleak any other. -- unlike any other. with bagpipers leading the way and a full drum corp. keeping time, the palestinian boy scouts marched into bethlehem for christmas eve. by mid afternoon, the patriarch arrived, who announced the beginning of christmas. the same place it started more than 2 millennia ago. >> we're finally here.

it's a pilgrimage of sort. you're here where it all started 2,000 years ago. ♪ >> for each of the 90,000 people who are expected to visit the holy land, they've got the trimming, festivities and the carols and all the decorations. but what everyone really comes for is this, a chance to walk here, into the church of the nativity and see where the bible says christ was born. many say they walk out a changed person. >> the people from all over the world and going in and actually touching where christ was born, that was wonderful. >> with night fall in bethlehem has come a very cold rain here, but there is nothing that can dampen the christmas mood. they've been blasting christmas carols in arabic. we have street vendors selling tea and a great palestinian sweet corn, which is a delicacy. a much needed energy to keep you going through midnight. >> this is bethlehem, ground zero, where christmas started.

>> now, midnight mass is conducted in french. it's also conducted in arabic inside the church of the nativity. only for foreigners who are allowed inside and the tickets are given out by lottery. it's tough to get a ticket for the standing room only event there inside of the church of the nativity. gregg, we heard from the patriarch and a couple of things he said. he asked for peace here in the world, which is always a fleeting hope here in the middle east. you can imagine everything changed in the past year since we last had christmas in bethlehem. and he also reminded all christians around the world the plight of christian palestinians, which he says is continuing to come under even greater threat. gregg, back to you. >> merry christmas to everybody there. lee land, thanks so much. the department of justice, led by eric holder blocking a controversial law in south carolina. why they're rejecting the state's decision to require photo i.d. at the polls.

plus, chances are you have one lit up in your living room right now. but how did the christmas tree become a holiday tradition? the surprising answer when we come back. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people came to louisiana... they came to see us in florida... make that alabama... make that miissippi. the best part of the gulf is wherever you choose... and now is a great time to discover it. this year millions of people did. we set all kinds of records. next year we're out to do even better. so come on down to louisiana... florida... alabama... mississippi. we can't wait to see you. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home.

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>> gregg: time for a quick check of the headlines. the department of justice rejecting the voter i.d. law, calling calling it discriminatory. it would require photo i.d.s at the polls. the department of justice says

it discriminates against minority voters, but supporters of the law say it needs to stop voter fraud. release of limited edition air jordan sneakers causing near rioting in stores from washington state to georgia. the shoes retail for about 180 bucks. going for double on-line. in seattle, police used pepper spray on about 20 people who started a fight while waiting in line. and for basketball fanatic, the wait is almost over, after an extended lockout and feels of no season at all, the nba will tip off tomorrow with five christmas day marquee matchups. military families ready to celebrate christmas now that their loved ones are home from both iraq and afghanistan, but many of them are having a hard time during the holiday season. charities say the demand for help is up dramatically from last year. elizabeth prann is live in atlanta. merry christmas to you. and what are you hearing from the soldiers there?

>> merry christmas to you, gregg. we're hearing from the soldiers that they're basically living paycheck to paycheck because the unemployment rate for veterans is right around 11%. that is putting further strain on the organizations that help needy military families. operation home front being one of them. the national charity that assists veterans all across the country, they say the demand from soldiers this year is unprecedented. that being said, volunteers gathered from across the state of georgia to organize both toy and food drives, making sure that families will have toys under the tree and a warm christmas meal tomorrow. >> we served over 160,000 families this year alone. just for marks i would say probably a quarter of a million children. >> about 400 families at fort benning came last week to pick autopsy warm holiday christmas meal. >> gregg: hats off to operation home front. what a great group they are. look, is the charity trying to

expand because that's probably needed. >> absolutely. like we said, it's tough for everyone right now, but we are seeing more people give. in fact, that food drive that we spoke about took place at six bases across the country. one young family who we spoke with at that toy drive and the food drive, mary and dean dewitt, they tell thus is their first christmas in two years. dean, who is only 27 years old, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, reminding us that military families face everyday struggles like civilians while serving our country. in fact, this is the first time they've even had a christmas tree since he was diagnosed. here is what his wife had to say. >> i think the biggest misconception is that you're basically taking care of in every way and we live paycheck to paycheck just like everybody else does right now. >> in another family we spoke with, gregg, said they've been donating to the program for years. they have four children. this year, times got too tough and they actually had to take

from the program. >> gregg: we wish them all well and merry christmas. elizabeth, thanks very much. >> merry christmas. >> gregg: speaking of which, nor ad is tracking santa claus. not only is he bringing gifts to kids all over the world this christmas eve, he is breaking records along the way. the north american aero space command has 100,000 likes on their page and they have received a record number of calls from people wanting to know santa's precise location. right now i can tell you this, we just updated this 30 seconds ago. he is flying over monte carlo in monaco. he's not going to stop by for black jack. he's heading straight for andora. he was just in paris minutes ago. you can track santa yourself at noradsanta.org. and you go, wall street.

heading into the holiday weekend with a pretty nice rally capping off a strong week before christmas. so will 2012 be a bit brighter for the economy? we're going to weigh in on that coming up next. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle -- 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge!

>> gregg: bottom of the hour. time for top of the news. newt gingrich and rick perry both failing to qualify for the republican primary in virginia. the republican party in that state says the candidates fell short of the 10,000 signatures required to appear on the ballot. iran flexing its muscle, launching naval exercises near the entrance of the strait of ormuz, a key passageway for the world's oil. iran says the war games will go on for ten days.

and pope benedict xvi, urging the faithful to look beyond the commercialism of christmas and find its true meaning. early christmas present for many investors. the dow ending the week on a high note. closing up 124 points, hitting a five month high as rehead into the holiday week. so is this just a year end spike or signs of better things to come? joining me from dallas, ed, managing partner of chapwood capitol investment management. good to see you. ed, markets yearn for clarity and certainty. that's not us right now. so what does that pourtend for the marketplace early this next year? >> well, you're absolutely correct. merry christmas to you. basically what's happening right now is that we don't have a lot of clarity, but we have a little more clarity than we did a couple of weeks ago in terms of

europe. europe has been the story for the end of 2011. the stage is set economically and earning wise for the -- to look for a strong beginning of next year. so that's what the stage is set for now. but we're hyper sensitive to headlines coming out and moment we have a lack of clarity, you will see stocks start to sell off again. that's what happening in the market today. >> gregg: are stocks already undervalued in your judgment? if so, by roughly how much? >> well, you have to look at stocks and their value based on earnings expectations. based on earnings expectations and where interest rates are, it's a little confusing. stocks right now are 21% undervalued. that doesn't mean that they can't become overvalued at some point down the road. but right now stocks are the place to have money and do not have money in bonds or interest rate sensitive bonds especially. >> gregg: why? we should be in equities because stocks are undervalued and bonds are paying a low interest rate? is that it?

>> well, that's one of the reasons. but also with all of the money that's been printed and the inflationary pressure, you will see interest rates rise. the short run -- excuse me, on the short end, you won't see those rates rise. but the long end, rates will rise and that will hurt bonds. anybody owning a bond fund, gregg, should get out of of that and get into money market. i'm telling you right now, get out of those bond funds. >> if you look at the average 401(k) and even iras and so forth that are managed, you've got choices to make. you can be a large cap, small cap, international growth funds and so forth. where should we be, in your judgment? >> i would have about 30% in large cap value. 30% in large cap growth. have no money in small cap growth. have somewhere around 20% in small cap value. and have money in emerging markets, but stay away from developed international markets. those are still going to be hurt. the merging market also go up

because commodity prices will rise and when commodity prices rise that, helps the emerging markets more. >> gregg: ed, always love the picture behind you in dallas, texas. thanks very much. >> thanks for having me. >> gregg: merry christmas. if you left your christmas shopping 'til the last minute, you're not alone. nearly half of all american consumers still looking to finish off their gift list. the holiday season proving to be just too busy for some shoppers. >> why do you have 09% of your list left? >> been real busy. a lot of work. christmas parties and all sorts of other stuff that's been going on. >> so how much did you get done so far? >> not everything. not the most important ones. mom. i still got her. don't tell her, please. >> gregg: nice. you're in trouble. casey stegall looking festive at the grove shopping mall in los angeles. hi, casey. >> hey, gregg. merry christmas. i know you are not one of those people. you had your shopping done months ago, right? consumer confidence is rising,

gregg, especially when you look at the numbers. some of the analysts we talked to say that holiday spending is projected to be up about 7% this year over last. e commerce has risen 15% this year. that is all of the internet sales. a lot of folks don't even step foot this a store anymore. economists tell us there are several reasons we're seeing promising numbers this year. many retailers are offering a big deals to lure people to their stores. but as we also know, unemployment numbers have dropped this year. and fewer folks are in debt because of the economic down turn. not overextended as much, leaving more cash for things like christmas. >> consumers have reduced their debt servicing burdens immensely over the past three years. we now see the consumer debt servicing burden or installment credit payments relative to income the lowest it's been in 27 years.

>> stores really do not mind that people are waiting until the last minute to buy. in fact, businesses anticipate the procrastinator rush, especially when you consider that the national retail federation tells us that half of americans wait until they're shopping just this week before christmas. another reason why there are so many deals to be had in this final stretch. >> i think the retailers are generate ago lot of cash flow. their margin also be lower because of the deep discounting that's going on. you're getting these certificates mailed to your home, come in, spend so many dollars, we'll give you a 15% credit. >> this is very crucial because it's estimated that about 40% of a retailer's profit for the entire year comes from holiday sales. so a lot of people have their eyes on those numbers. but gregg, judging by the crowds here at the grove in l.a., folks are certainly out here trying to snatch up those last minute deals. >> gregg: there are deals, 'cause i walked by a couple of

big retail chains today. 50% off. it wasn't that way a couple of days ago. you know, the procrastinators may be financially wise. casey stegall, live in california. thanks very much, merry christmas. >> thanks, gregg. >> gregg: christmas just wouldn't be complete without the chestnuts. but of course, the nuts themselves may not come necessarily from the u.s. how about europe or asia? there is an effort to change that. david lee miller has that story. >> that's right. you name it, and america imports it. chestnuts are no exception. but now a group of researchers is working on a way for the u.s. to become self-sufficient when it comes to this holiday treat. >> chestnuts roasting on an open fire. an american tradition. but these nuts are imported from china. european and chinese chestnuts are the only ones available in the u.s. but the smaller and sweeter american chestnut could be on the verge of a comeback.

researchers are trying to save the all but extinct american chestnut tree. >> we lost 4 billion of the american chestnut trees. we were all too young to remember them. they were the dominant tree in the eastern forest. >> more than 100 years ago, american chestnut trees that accounted for up to 60% of the forest the in the east were wiped out by a blight introduced from china. healthy, american chestnut trees like this one not only provided food to the earliest pioneers, but wood for homes and furniture. a nonprofit group called the american chestnut foundation is cross breeding, blight resistant chinese test nut trees with the taller, more majestic american version. these fourth generation hybrids planted in pennsylvania show promising results, but many are still susceptible to the disease. >> the blight enters the tree through a wound. it's a fungus. and eventually it starves the tree. >> of the 1,000 american chestnut trees planted in this breeding orchard, researchers

hope to use the best 15 to create the next generation. >> the only thing we want from the chinese trees is the blight resistant genetics. everything else we want from the american tree. >> experts say a viable american chestnut tree will have a small percentage of genetic material from its blight resistant chinese cousin. researchers are optimistic the program will be a success and one day again the american chestnut tree will provide not only a source of lumber, but those holiday delicacies as well, chestnuts roasting. gregg, it's not a bad idea to try and use them in the oven as well for stuffing for a turkey, for example. >> gregg: absolutely. all right. if you put the stuffing together, i'll cook the turkey. >> i'll get back to you on that. >> gregg: thanks very much. the stand-off over extending the payroll tax cut is finally over for now, at least. but what's the fallout from this latest battle? we'll take a look at both sides coming up next.

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>> gregg: here is an amazing story. up covering what he says is a long lost letter from president john f. kennedy was postmarked on the day of his assassination. back in 1963, this woman was a second grade teacher and assigned her class to write letters to the president. well, president kennedy sent her a letter to her home, thanking the students for their correspondence. this is -- she said the letter arrived when the nation was in mourning, so she just filed it away with the children's art projects. some new fallout from a bruising fight over the payroll tax cut extension. some critics saying republican in fighting over the bill shows serious divisions inside the party and it might have consequences for the 2012

election. let's bring in syndicated columnist cal thomas and former clinton pollster doug schoen, both are fox news contributors. cal, let me start with you. cal, did republicans get snookered or outmaneuvered by the democrats or did republicans kind of pull a barney fife and shoot themselves in the foot? >> well, to bar from david lee miller's report, i think they got their chestnuts roasted on an open fire. look, every time that the republicans try to play the game on democratic turf, they lose. that turf is about taxation and fairness and the balance between the rich and the poor. instead of playing on their turf, they ought to be talking about waste, fraud and abuse. misuse of the taxpayer dollars. the issue ought to be for republicans, how much of our money that we earn we're going to allow government to spend. not how much of the money we

earn government will allow to us keep. if they debated on that line, they're more likely to win. >> gregg: you know what, doug, democrats wanted a millionaire's tax on this thing. they didn't get it. republicans wanted the keystone pipeline provision and they got that in truth. one could argue republicans gained more than democrats, yet the perception is republicans came out looking like losers on this. in politic, perception is everything. so how did that happen? >> well, it happened because the bottom line was that if the payroll tax extension hadn't been voted upon, it would have been perceived as a tax increase that the republicans allowed to happen upon the middle class. that would be an asthma to the electorate. perception is reality. republicans don't appear to stand for anything. there is mo clear republican philosophy. painer and mcconnell are at

odds. and the tea party is at odds with both of them. the republican candidate for president are fighting. not surprising, obama is going up in the polls. >> gregg: i'm glad you brought up the tea party. that leads me to my question to cal because i'm sure cal, you read the "wall street journal." it's conservative editorial page, calling this thing an entire fiasco that damaged the party and kind of blaming the house tea party caucus. here is a quote. after a year of the tea party house, mr. obama and senate democrats have had to make no major policy concessions beyond extending the bush tax cuts for two years. mr. obama is in a stronger reelection position today than he was a year ago. and the chances of mr. mcconnell becoming majority leader are declining. cal, do you think the tea party house has really hurt more than helped the republican party? >> gregg, i was born in washington. i've seen the politicians come and go. liberals, republicans, they all come in here, all bright eyed

and bushy tailed. we're going to change the way washington works. listen, nobody changes the way washington works. washington changes you. either for the better or for the worse. but these tea party republican freshmen, 87 much them, should have looked back to 1995 when the republicans won their house majority for the first time in 40 years. they tried to do too much, too fast. you can't do that in this town. it's been compared to a big ship. it takes time to turn it around. you've got to earn your right to change things. i think they've learned a valuable lesson, at least i hope they have. >> gregg: you know what, doug, i interviewed one of the tea party freshmen yesterday, jeff landry. he claims he would have opposed the deal, struck yesterday. but he had flown home so he couldn't object. which may say something about either his convictions or understanding of how legislation really works. but by standing stridently on principle, is that conservative house group hurting the party? >> well, i think the poll

evidence is very clear that they've hurt the party. the tea party has gotten less favorable. they're perceived as intransient and the republican party's own negatives are going up and the democratic support and the generic vote is going up. so yes. the tea party has not really stood on principle. they've been divided and their caucus is divided and the net result is that the democrats are benefitting. >> gregg: you know what, cal, maybe the real losers are the folks who have to pay for the $33 billion extension because it comes from home loans to fannie, freddie and fha. if you have a $200,000 loan, over ten years, you're going to have to pay a fee or penalty to pay for this payroll tax cut of almost $2,000. double that for the $400,000 loan. you're going to pay $3,600. in a way, are we paying for a tax cut by creating a new

tax/fee? >> the problem is, gregg, we're not paying for anything. the debt is over $15 trillion. we're not paying for anything. we're borrowing it. we are mortgaging our future. when a republican is in the, who the democrats say this is catastrophe. but now that a democrat is in the white house, we hear nothing about the debt. at least from them. we can't go on like this. nobody in the world behaves like this. all these people out buying their christmas presents are the last -- at the last minute, when the bill colts due in january, they got to pay for it. only the government gets to spend forever. >> gregg: yes, we should all be mini government. thanks very much. cal thomas, doug schoen, happy holidays. merry christmas. >> thank you. same to you. >> gregg: thank you. they are keeping notes about your health. so why are some doctors opposed to sharing that info with you, the patient? fox news medical a teamer joins us next on that debate.

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>> gregg: very emotional reunion at fort hood military base in texas, just in time for christmas. nearly 200 soldiers greeting family and friends who waited for hours in the rain. the group is part of the last unit to leave iraq. welcome home. should a doctor's notes be put on-line for the patient to see? a new study showing doctors and patients completely disagree on this one. patients say absolutely having that information would empower them. but doctors are not so sure. joining me now a very fine doctor, dr. mark siegle, professor of medicine at nyu medical center, member of the fox news medical a team. dr. siegle, good to see you. >> good to see you.

>> gregg: tell us about this harvard study. >> this is a very unusual study. they used something called open notes where they allowed patients on-line access to their doctor visit notes. they surveyed 37,000 patients and only 173 doctors. so the first point is we need more information about what doctors think. the study was really astounding because between 90 and 100% of patients surveyed said this is very good. i want to know what's in those doctor notes. i want to know it before the visit. it helps keep me informed. and it leads to better health. that's what the patients are saying. the doctors had a mixed reaction. they said a little differently. >> gregg: let's devil into the upside. sharing the information with patients. >> the upside is, communication, because a lot of times doctors think patients understand what's going on and they really don't. my patients will say sometimes, as they're leaving, hey, doc, and i say, wait a minute, i thought i just explained to you. i may not have. if they can then go home and look over the note, they may be able to formulate more questions

o for me, be more educated and i absolutely agree with the patients surveyed that the more educated a patient, the better they are. >> gregg: all right. the flip side is doctors are not very happy about this. there's a down side, i suppose. >> here is the down side, gregg. first of all, doctors think patients are going to worry too much 'cause there is a lot of technical jarringen in those notes. things like rule out lung cancer. well, i may not think lung cancer is possibility, but i write in rule out and patients don't necessarily know how much of a risk that is. doctors are also worried that this information is going to get out because patients surveyed said 50% of the time they shared it with other patients. so it goes around and around and you lose track who have has it. the other possibility is, by the way, not only about worrying, but how much excess work is this going to generate for physicians? i hate to sound selfish, but we are already so overburdened with work. >> gregg: so it's so easily to misinterpret the doctor's notes, the meaning, his intent and so

forth. that's going to mean more time for you trying to communicate with the patient. 'cause they're going to have a million questions. >> no question about it. and a significant number of doctors surveyed, and this worries me, too -- said they're going to write different notes. if they know a patient is looking issues they -- you as an attorney may zero in on that. you asked me before we came on if you thought there was a risk -- if i thought there was a risk of legal issues. i really don't. i don't see this as a risk of malpractice, but doctors might write more defensive notes knowing a patient is looking. >> gregg: i see this in terms of tort litigation and liability for doctors. those notes could arguably be misread by lawyers in litigation and thus, they could be used against you. although generally speaking, lawyers are able to get their hands on medical records. can patients get their hands routinely on their records, but not notes? >> they can get their hands on both right now, by the way. but they have to request. that interface of having to put in a formal request usually slow this is process down.

i find a lot of times as i'm about to go into an exam room, the patient is reading their notes and i think that's fine. but sometimes the questions they ask are excess worry driven. a lot of the times -- here is the bottom line, gregg. i want the opportunity to explain this to patients. if they want to read their notes, fine. but i have to have a chance to explain what i mean. >> gregg: thanks very much for being with us. that will do it for us this christmas eve. thank you for watching. very merry christmas to everybody. the fox report is coming up next. have a great night. ♪ holy night ♪ ♪ all is calm ♪ cash. according to research, everybody likes more cash. well, almost everybody... ♪ would you like 50% more cash? no! but it's more money.

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