>> and mitt romney might say you want to make a $10,000 bet on the game this weekend? >> we'll see tomorrow. but i think it is clear he's an elite player. >> thank you. that's it for this week's show, thanks to my panel and all of you for watching. hope to see you here next week. >> on "fox news watch." >> a lot more anti-christian bigotry than concerning the other side and none of it gets covered... >> republican presidential candidates are subjected to liberal media harassment in recent debates. forcing the g.o.p. contenders into kiern. should the candidates have walked off? and about the debates. has the media taken control of the political process? flooding the airwaves with too much coverage and too many debates? into don >> don't read the paper. >> a book about the first family makes news and the media goes on the offensive to keep the first lady's image. >> president barack obama: i

didn't accept the decision right away. >> the end of the president's chief of staff. how did that compare to those in the past and you know you have made the big time when you see something like this. >> obamacare. >> on the panel, this week, writer and fox news contributor jude miller. syndicated columnist, cal thomas, jim pinkerton, contributing editor of the american conservative magazine and daily beast columnist, kirsten powers, i'm jon scott, fox news watch is on, right now. >> this is a choice between two very different destinies. president obama wants to fundamentally transform america and we want to restore america to the founding principles that made this country great. >> i find it somewhat fascinating when they finally get around, and this is different people, it could be in the media, could be our opponents or whatever, but i

sort of have to chuckle when they describe you and me as being dangerous! >> thank you, ladies and gentlemen. i would say third place is a ticket to ride, ladies and gentlemen! [cheers and applause]. >> hello, south carolina! >> well, mitt romney was riding the wave into the winners circle followed byron paul and jon huntsman whom you sa there in new hampshire. now, all the republican candidates are trying to ride that momentum into south carolina. the media frenzy that surrounds them continues. so, jim, take us back to this week of coverage that included governor romney's -- well a comment that he probably wishes he could take back but, address the coverage. >> well, this is the gift that keeps on giving. we have a whole new campaign in front of us on this hedge fund, private equity fund, bain capital stuff and i think the media are salivating at the prospect that newt gingrich and

huntsman and perry and who knows who else are going to tear into romney and i think they can't wait. >> late in the week, though, knute beneath seemed newt gingrich backed away from his criticism and heard from his fellow republicans they didn't like that line of attack. >> or perhaps because it wasn't working as he intended. the most amazing thing about the coverage this week, was summed up by peggy noonan when she said mitt romney is not the person you embrace, he's the person you circle back to. there's a kind of inevitability about this, despite the media's effort to kind of drum up a little excitement. there is just a sense of, jacob weisberg said this is the guy and that is not exciting for the media and we'll make it more interesting. >> kirsten, did you see the front page of the "washington post"? i think we have the graphic this week. it was a cloud cover that included the shot in the background, see the shot in the corner, don't trust the liberal

media. don't believe on the liberal media, on the front page of the "washington post." >> with all the stuff going on with the attacks on mitt romney and bain is not drummed up by the liberal media, it is drummed up by newt gingrich, primarily, and, the dnc has lodged attacks and not getting the attraction newt gingrich has gotten and perry is along for the right and, they thought newt gingrich was backtracking and his campaign, put out a statement saying we are not backtracking and i think they are... and south carolina has a high unemployment rate and they hope it will read out to their effect. >> and wednesday mitt romney went on six of the network morning shows, he was on cnn, msnbc and on fox, and, being asked about his performance, on

cnn, soledad o'brien asked him about his 16-point win in new hampshire and described it as being not a victory? >> well, it is all about expectation which the media set up. they set up the level that you are supposed to -- the bar you are supposed to jump over and if you don't jump over the bar, somehow it wasn't as great but, here i'm going to use a word now that is often heard on network television, i'll use the c-word. conflict. this is what the media like better than anything else and one of the few equal opportunities they indulge in and, when clinton was running we had whitewater and paula jones and as everybody knows republicans don't have sex and have to do other stuff now with them to keep the conflict going and it builds ratings. no surprise. >> the 16 point victory was not a victory according to cnn? >> the moral hazard of reporters is so strong, they would say,

mitt romney, you won huge, you won decisively and won bigger than bush 41 did in 1988. and, snooze, right? basically going to go over to watch reruns of some of their -- soap opera and have to keep at it and, pounding away and are making it into a soap opera but as kirsten said the handle they got this year, life saver was from newt gingrich and the 28-minute video, and all of the hoo-ha associated with that is a gift to the nielsen ratings. >> but it is also a gift to the democrats. i mean, that is the real -- how many times do you think we'll hear vulture capitalism from the white house as soon as -- or if mitt romney gets the nomination? >> republicans have been hinting like the buddhist monks, setting themselves on fire in protest during the vietnam war and are making the democratic national committee commercial and by the way, jim, soap operas are going

off the air. you have to come up with something else, one life to live is the last one. >> cbs's bob schieffer was on cbs this morning on tuesday and slamming mitt romney for the "i like to fire people" line. stating that he was looking for every way he can to try to lose and drive down his percentage of victory. >> well, look, the actual quote was, i like to be able to fire people, he was talking about insurance companies but, hello, we live in an environment where -- youtube, any candidate has to know when you say something like that how will be. >> right, probably an unfortunate choice of words and the ap, msnbc, cnn and others picked up that line and played it and didn't in the the context in which he was discussion it. >> why obama uses the teleprompter all the time even when speaking to kindergarten students so he will not mess up or ad-lib or get himself into trouble. he rarely does this, and you can knock the teleprompter but mitt

romney ought to try it. >> and rick perry jumped on it, the republicans are handing the obama administration the sword which they are happy to use. >> and the second time, it follows the $10,000 bet. because we go around making $10,000 bets, and so this is clearly something that mitt romney is vulnerable on. >> all right, time for a break. but, first, if you want to keep up on the media stories during the week go to our web site, watch our daily bias there and check out the watch list section, over a dozen debates down and more still to come. are we awash in debates? why so many? and are they helping or hurting? >> this is an unusual topic. >> a double head are in new hampshire for republican presidential candidates, two debates, same issues, same cast, same format. why are there so many debates in the g.o.p. race? plus shocking details from a new

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>> i think this -- debates have taken away the abilities of the candidates, and serious proposals that are looked at talked about by all of us and it is easier for all of us and you probably to think about performance. >> the "washington post" dan balz cautioning against the media's and the public's dependency on the debate this time around. are there too many and are they deluding the message? i heard a big sigh from across the table, judy's way. you seem to agree? >> that is note issue. what is the -- does the american public think? they are tuning in in record numbers and 20 struck me as excessive but, as long as people

are watching them, it is hard to argue that we're not going to give people what they want to see, which is the candidates in action. >> is it illuminating? >> and the public is known to -- [laughter]. >> this is a case the media have figured out they have a good gig and if they run it people will watch and, the moral hazard again, the danger of you doing something bad, that promotes your self-interest and george stephanopoulos realizes he can be part of the show. >> as a famous columnist wrote this week, namely myself, why they're republicans putting themselves into the straightjacket and feel they have to show up at the media driven debates and know they'll get the gotcha questions like the george stephanopoulos contraception and should states pass these laws kind of thing, why don't they do their own debates, and, have sean hannity or rush limbaugh show up, if he

can judge the miss america process he can be part of the presidential selection process. >> really good. >> for those who might have missed george stephanopoulos's questions, roll it now: >> do you believe the states have that right or not? >> george, i... i don't know whether the state has the right to ban contraception, no state wants to, the idea of you putting forward things that states might want to do, no state wants to do, ask me whether they can do that is a silly thing. >> do you believe... the supreme court should -- >> can you really take the time now and explain to everybody what happened there? how it was possible those kind of comments went out under your name, without you knowing about it. >> concentrating on something that was written 20 years ago, that i didn't write, is diverting the attention from most of the important issues. >> well, that is ron paul's take on those comments that go back a couple of decades, george stephanopoulos brought up now. was he being a fair minded

journalist or an attack dog? >> in those questions, i don't have a problem with them. it is strange a harvard law graduate doesn't know about griswold versus connecticut. he should know whether states are allowed to ban the sale of contraceptives and, i think george stephanopoulos was incredulous he didn't know that and i think the news letters are fair game and paul has a very important point as well, which is he's one of the only people that talks about racial issues in terms of the drug sentencing laws, and death penalty and rather than focusing on really important issues, they are focussing on something that happened a long time ago, that he has answered 50 times. >> but the real question should have been from george, okay, what do you think about jews? what did you think about the civil rights legislation? voting rights and open housing laws of 1964, 1965? you were against big government, do you think it was good legislation or not? those were the questions that should have been asked. >> george stephanopoulos spent a lot of time in the media recently but people forget when he was front and center in the

clinton administration and the argument is that he never quite took off that hat. successfully. >> and increasingly that is the way political coverage is going. activists, news people, news people become activists. i mean, it is just such a thin line at this point as to be nonexistent. >> and the other thing people forget, it was a long time ago and diane sawyer worked in the nixon administration. it's not just democrats who come out of administrations and work in the media. >> not just in the past, also future, anybody in these debates, is stupid from their point of view, in the media, to use the debate to get attention and notoriety and for all the republicans, george stephanopoulos, and, people are cheering for them and they say, my next interview with president obama, will be and, with vice president biden and michelle obama and the notion of a get is fully in that he minds of these people, as they ask the question, in a youtube question will be noted for asking the hardest question.

>> my criticism, mark mackinnon makes the point in a study done for harvard and debates on reforming the system, they should be more focused on, at this point asking questions that republican primary voters are interested in. because, really that is what this is about. and, spent so much time on issues like gay marriage, that had been asked and answered. we don't need to go over it again. >> we have to take another break, if you see something that shows evidence to you of media bias, e-mail us, newswatch@foxnews.com. up next what is the fuss over the new obama book? >> the obamas, generating tons of headlines and media coverage. but, what is the big shocker? plus, he's the third chief of staff in three years, to step down. was the timing just right for the media to ignoring a big shakeup in the white house? answers next on news watch.

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>> i guess it is more interesting to imagine this conflicted situation here, and a strong woman, and you know but that's an image people tried to paint of me since the day barak announced, i'm an angry black woman. >> the first lady addressing charges against her in the new unauthorized biography, the obamas. written by "new york times" reporter jody kanter. i haven't read it yet. i read excerpts of it, but from one of the charges about the book is that it sort of imagines what is going on in the minds of the first couple. i mean, a lot of these conversations, the feeling and so forth -- >> at leaves she interviewed

living people instead of bob woodward who channelled dead people, we get it every administration, a book presents itself inside the minds of people and what gave it credibility, after kanter reported the dust-up between valerie jarrett and robert gibbs in which gibbs used the f-word not onlyage her and the first lady and there were modest denies and he came out with an apology and, that gave credibility to her book. >> that is how it works. >> in publishing and journalism and washington and i would point out the book is now rolling off the shelves, it is sold out almost everywhere. and this is wonderful for jody cantor who interviewed 33 people in the west wing, former and current staff people and, if the obamas did not want to talk to her i don't think they're in a position to say you can't imagine what i was thinking, yes, she can, it is her right as long as she says that is what she's doing and i think he did that. >> one of the press criticisms thrown her way, judy, and you

can address this, as a former "new york times" reporter, but, it is that none of these stories ever appeared in print in "the times," until they appear in her book. >> and that is the constant tension in the daily newspaper, "the new york times" and the "washington post" had, as cal pointed out, bob woodward withheld information for the book and this is a judgment the institution makes, and i do think readers of those newspapers ought to ask, hey, what is going on here. >> and they might ask, for example, why they had the fabulous halloween party, starting johnny depp and the director, tim burton and cost a billion dollars in 2009 and nobody knew about it for more than two years. >> the white house said it was on the daily press... >> being fair to that -- some bloggers... every reporter, not just the ones with a half million dollar advance like her, every other reporter seemingly knew about it and didn't think

it was interesting they had a fabulous hollywood party with one of the biggest stars in the world and didn't match the narrative the white house wand about, we're fighting hard against recession in 2009 and, there are 3,000 press secretaries, schilling for the obama white house. >> i have a major problem actually with people withholding information. a lot of people do that. what is your first responsibility? is it to make money for yourself and become famous or report and help inform people to make a decision about the presidency. and you are covering it on the dime of "the new york times" or the "washington post" or other people. >> that is why the institutions call. >> the other interesting thing that happened this week, was the resignation of bill daly, the chief of staff who had been in the job for the year and there were signs for a while he was not exactly thriving in that post. but, they announced on monday, the day before the new hampshire primary, is that a coincidence, cal. >> i don't know if it is a coincidence but nothing in the white house seems to be a coincidence and daley announced

he was going to be more business friendly, the whole reason behind his selection by the president to be chief of staff and apparently he wasn't business friendly enough to get along with congress and, they bring in the new guy with the citigroup background and they'll try to retread him to be business friendly, too and i'm not sure it will play well. >> in an occupy wall street era i'm not sure the white house wants to be perceived that way. we'll see how he does with the new chief of staff. time for one more break, chris christie adds an achievement to his list and no, he's not running for president. i wouldn't do that. pay the check? no, i wouldn't use that single miles credit card. hey, aren't you... shhh. i'm researchg a role. today's special... the capital one venture card. you earn double miles on every purchase. impressive. chalk is a lost medium. if you're not earning double miles... you're settling for half. was that really necessary? [ male announcer ] get the venture card

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>> jon: new hampshire governor chris christie is not running for president but he is a man whose national profile continues to rise. he sat down with oprah winfrey for an interview and talked candidly about his weight problem and he received the greatest honor in american pop culture. being spoofed on the simpsons and when homer simpson wants you to occupy the oval office. >> pick the candidates you prefer and get elected. >> can't we get chris christie to run? >> i don't think so. >> the obamacare! >> jon: he was on saturday night live as