>> we have seen a decade before i came into office in which jobs were being shipped overseas. we had run two wars on a credit card. gone from splu is to deficit. wages and incomes actually went down during this period even as the cost of everything from healthcare and college were going up. a few folks at the top we're doing well, but a lot of middle classes families, folks were working harder and harder, and if you were lucky you were treading water. that was before the economic crisis that hammered so many families all across this state and country. people losing their jobs, homes, savings making the american dream further out of reach. when i ran four years ago. when we talked about how we were going to restore the basic bargain, i told you there were no quick functions, no simple spluigsz. what i said if we were willing to work hard and come together,

i had no doubt we could meet every single challenge. because we've got so many things going for us. we got the best workers in the world. we've got the best entrepreneurs and small business people in the world. we got the best scientists and researchers and best universities in the world. [ cheers and applause ] >> you know, compared to other developed countries, we are a young nation. parted have it we have the greatest diversity of talented and ingeneral auto. people want to come here because they understand what america means. so no matter what the naysayers say, how dark they try to paint things around election time, there is not another country on earth that would gladly trade places with the united states of america. [ cheers and applause ]

>> they understand, they understand we understand that here in america, if you are willing to work hard, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, you can make it if you try. that is what the last four years has been about. whether it's been saving the auto industry or getting healthcare passed or creating 4.5 million jobs or making sure that young people have an easier time affording college, it's all about that the idea to make sure that hard work was rewarded. that is what my presidency is about. that is what the campaign is about. that is why i'm running for a second term for president of the united states. [ cheers and applause ] >> now, my opponent and his new running mate. they have a different view of

things. they have wonderful families. they good people but they believe in a different vision. they think the best way forward is top down economics that got us into this mess in the first place. they truly believe that if you roll back regulations that we put in place to control wall street. if you get rid of regular la regulations that we put in place to avoid our air and water getting dirtier and if you combine that with more tax breaks for the wealthiest americans, somehow prosperity will rain down on all of us. look, i'm not exaggerating here. you can go on their websites look at congressman's ryan budget. the centerpiece of romney's plan is a new 5 trillion dollar tax cut, a lot of going to folks

like me, wealthiest americans. new running mate congressman ryan put forward a plan that would let governor romney pay less than 1% in taxes each year. that is a pretty good deal. just paying 1% in taxes. you make millions of dollars. now, here is the kicker. they expected you to pick up the tab. governor romney's tax plan would actually raise taxes on middle-class families with children by an average of $2,000. this is not my analysis. this is the analysis of independent economists whose job it is to analyze these plans. every media outlet checked on the numbers and their estimate is it would cost you an extra $2,000. not to grow the economy or reduce the deficit or not to make sure that our schools are

working well or building roads, we're strengthening the middle-class -- all this would be to give another tax cut to folks like governor romney. it would give the average person who is making more than $3 million a year another $250,000 in tax cuts. now governor romney and congressman ryan will be in new hampshire on monday so you can tell them if you think it is fair. you should ask them, how do you think that is going to grow the economy? how is that going to strengthen the middle-class? we have tried this trickle down snake oil before. it didn't work then, it won't work now. it's not a plan to create jobs or reduce deficit. it's not a plan to strengthen our economy. it's not a plan to strengthen the middle-class! it won't work. we're moving forward. they want to take us backwards.

that is the choice in this election. that is why i'm running for a second term. [ cheers and applause ] >> truth is, if you ask consultants, they know their economic plan is not popular. that is why they've got to be dishonest about my plan. they are just throwing everything they can at the wall to see if it sticks. the latest the latest approach is to try to challenge me on medicare. now, let just think about this for a 2nd. governor romney wants to turn medicare into a voucher system.

congressman ryan wants to turn medicare into a voucher system. i and have strengthened medicare we made reforms that extended the life of the program. saved millions of seniors with medicare hundreds of dollars on their prescription drugs. we're closing the donut hole. the only changes to benefits was to make the benefits better by making sure that medicare now covers new preventative services like cancer screenings and wellness visits for free. [ applause ] >> meanwhile, governor romney and congressman ryan wanted to give seniors a voucher to buy insurance on their own. somebody did the analysis, not us and they estimate this could force seniors to pay an extra

$6400 a year for their healthcare. how many people think that is a good deal? it doesn't strengthen medicare. it undoes the guarantee of medicare. that is the core of the plan that was written by congressman ryan and endorsed by governor romney. if they want to talk about benefits, they should be straight with you. those new cancer screenings and prescription drug discounts, all those things we put into place with the affordable care act, those would be eliminated if governor romney has his way. take away from seniors and replace with something better. here is the bottom line, my plan saves money in medicare by cracking down on fraud and waste and making sure insurance companies aren't getting unfair subsidies. [ applause ] >> their plan makes seniors pay more so they can get another tax cut so rich folks that don't

need a tax cut. my plan has extended the life of medicare by a decade. their plan would shorten the life of medicare and end medicare as we know it because they turned it into a voucher system. those are differences, but that is one example of the choice in this election. that is what at stake. that is why i'm running. you can see it on every issue. when it comes to taxes, four years ago i came before you and i said, middle class families need relief especially during this crisis. i'm going lower taxes on middle-class families. guess what, i kept that promise. [ cheers and applause ] so if get in an argument with your republican cousin or friend or what have you -- you just tell them. look the typical family is paying $3600 less in federal

taxes since president obama came into office. right now what i wanted to do is keep taxes right where they are for the first $250,000 of income. now, that means 98% of americans make less than $250,000. 97% of small businesses make less than $250,000. so under my plan you wouldn't see your income taxes go up a single dime next year. [ applause ] >> that is the contrast with governor romney's plan. in the interested of full disclosure here, if you are fortunate enough to be in the other 2%, you are still going to get a tax cut on the first $250,000. you get to keep that. all we're asking is if you contribute a little bit more so that we can pay down our deficit in a responsible way and invest

in things like education that helped us grow. [ applause ] >> you'll hear people, taxing the top 2 percent that won't eliminate the deficit. that is true. government has to do in cutting spending. we cut trillion dollars worth of spending and we're slated trillion and a half on o in my budget plan. but we're not going to get education and science research and no longer investing in our entrepreneur. -- infrastructure. >> we wanted to go back to rates with bill clinton. we created 23 million jobs. we had a surplus instead of a deficit and we created a whole bunch of new millionaires to boot!

6 part of the reason it worked out pretty well? when a teacher or construction worker or nurse or receptionist when they have a little extra money in their pockets, they spend it on basic necessities. that means maybe that old beat up car you've been hanging on, you decide it's time to get a new one. maybe you decide our kids are going to college, make sure they have a new computer. that means business has more customers. which means business gets more profits. which means they hire more workers. those workers have a little more money in their pocket. everybody does better. that is how you grow an economy, not from the top down but from the middle and bottom up. when everybody is doing well, we all prosper. that is the choice in this election, that is why i'm running for second term as

president of the united states. [ cheers and applause ] >> on issue after issue the choice could not be clearer. when the auto industry it was on the brink of collapse, governor romney said let's detroit go bankrupt. i said let's bet on american workers. three and a half years the american auto industry is back. [ applause ] >> governor romney likes to tout his private sector experience but a lot of that experience is investing in companies that have been called pioneers of outsourcing. we don't need more outsourcing. we need some insourcing. i want to give tax breaks i wanted to give tax breaks that are investing right neither neer rochester, right here in united states of america, with american workers making american products

it stands for three proud words -- made in america. that is what i'm fighting for. [ applause ] >> my opponent thinks new sources are like wind energy is imaginary. congressman ryan says they were fad. since i took office we have doubled the use of renewable energy. thousands of good american jobs have been created. it is helping us to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. that is not imaginary, that is real. we need to stop giving $4 billion of taxpayer subsidies that to oil companies. let's give those tax breaks to producers of clean, renewable energy right here in the united states of america. that is choice in this election. [ applause ]

>> i'm running because i mayor a promise back in 2008 to end the war in iraq and we did. i said we would go after al-qaeda and bin laden and we did. [ applause ] >> we're transitioning in afghanistan so we can begin to bring our troops home. [ applause ] >> all of this was accomplished only because the incredible service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform. which is why we've already passed tax breaks for companies that hire veterans and we've made investments in the v.a. because my attitude anybody that has fought to for our country shouldn't have to fight for a job when they come home.

[ applause ] >> after a decade of war, i want to take some of those savings and do nation building at home. let's take about half the money we are no longer spending on war and put it to use putting people back to work. rebuilding roads and ports and wireless, two and rural communities and creating a veterans job force to help returning heroes to get back to work as cops and firefighters in communities that need them. that is the america we want to build. that is the choice in this election. [ applause ] >> i want to make sure we have the best education system in the world. i want to help local school districts hire and retain videotaped best teachers especially in math and science, create 2 million more slots for

americans to go to community colleges to learn the skills that businesses are looking for right now. i want to keep working to reduce the cost of tuition for colleges and universities because a higher education is not a luxury. it's an economic necessity in the 21st century. that is choice we have to make in this. >> yes, i believe in this nation. we shouldn't go bankrupt. you know i'm actually kind of fond of the term of obamacare. [ applause ] >> i fought for that bill because i cared, because i cared about the 6.5 million young people that can get insurance by staying on their parents plan. i care about the millions of seniors that are now getting discounts on prescription drugs

and free preventative care because of what we did. i care about all those folks here in new hampshire and around the country with preexisting conditions that can get health insurance because of what we did. [ applause ] >> the supreme court has spoken. this law is here to stay. we don't need to re-fight this battle for another three and a half years. we're moving forward. [ applause ] >> we're not going back to the days serving the country depending, we thought don't ask, don't tell was the right thing to do. we're going forward. i believe women should be in charge of their own health care decisions. we're not going backwards, we're

going forwards! >> on issue after issue there is a clear choice. now, over the next three months the other side is going to spend more money than we 6 ever seen. i mean they are writing ten million dollar checks, individuals to run the same ad over and over again. variations on the same theme which is economy is not where it needs to be and it's obama's fault. the reason they got to say that, that is their only message because they no their economic plan won't sell. they don't have a plan to create jobs. they doch the don't have a plan to grow the economy. they don't have a plan to help the middle-class. i do. [ applause ]

>> here is the thing. i've been outspent before. i've been counted out before, but what gives me hope, what gives me confidence is you. because i know when the american people start paying attention after all the ads have been done and they cut through all the nonsense. they started remembering the story of their families, their parents and grandparents, all the struggles they went through, what it means to work hard and get ahead and overcome obstacles the same kind of story i've had in my life, the same story michelle has in her life. their parents had a blue collar worker, mom a secretary, we know what it's like to go through hard times. but we also know what it's like to have hope and determination and watch the next generation do

better. when you guys are focused on that idea which is the essence of who we are then all that money, all that other stuff doesn't matter. [ applause ] >> so new hampshire i'm going to need your help. we have come too far to burn t you were back now. we still have more good jobs to create, more good teachers to hire. more students have to go to college, more troops to bring home, more home-grown energy to general. more doors of opportunity to open for everybody who is willing to walk through them and work hard and put in the effort and if you are willing to stand with me one more time, we'll knock down some doors and make some phone calls, talk to your friends and neighbors, we will finish what we started. we will win new hampshire, we

will win this election and we will show the world why the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth. god bless you. god bless the united states of america! thank you! >> gregg: live at the campaign trail in rochester, new hampshire, a familiar stump speech. it appears word for word he gave before. he touted his accomplishments which included bailing out the auto industry not mentioning what taxpayers or the hook for. he was proud of obamacare. he liked the name obamacare. he also said that his stimulus plan, his economic plan has saved 4.5 million jobs in america. he ripped in to the romney-ryan campaign everything from their tax plan which he says favors the rich to the disadvantaged

poor and middle-class. welcome to a brand-new hour. i'm degrees jailer. >> heather: and i'm heather childers. a busy day to say the least. paul ryan also on the campaign trail today. tackling medicare, as well. congressman ryan appearing on stage with his mother in florida hoping that she can help him connect but ryan slammed president obama saying it's time to try something different. >> it's very clear that president obama inherited a difficult situation. there is no two ways about it. the problem is, he made matters worse. this is why the president has run out of ideas. this is why the president is not running on hope and change

anymore. he is running on anger and frustration. >> heather: chief political correspondent carl cameron had a chance to sit down can paul ryan and joins us. >> reporter: very busy morning for paul ryan. he is going to the villages, the largest retirement development. he had a huge crowd, several thousand turned out to hear him address what is the hot button issue. it was week ago that he joined the ticket. seven days later he comes to the florida with the highest population of seniors in the country and highest per capita of medicare recipients. he argued that the obama administration raided medicare in order to fund the start-up monies for the president's

obamacare. he is calling the affordable care account referring it to obamacare. he got a warm reception. we had an opportunity to talk to him and ask specifically about the democrats' argument claim when he put out his first budget out two years ago he would have taken $700 billion out of medicare himself. so his claim is hypocrisy. >> what mitt romney is talking about is making sure that we keep the medicare program intact for people that are near retirement and preventing this raid that president obama to pay for obamacare. by repealing obamacare we can restore medicare. also, we are offering a bipartisan solution for future retirees. >> reporter: he brought his 78-year-old mom that has had a a house in florida. he brought her out on stage he won't do anything to hurt his

mom's medicare and he wouldn't do anything to hurt his medicare that their grandmother relied on. one of the other things is to point out he has a voting record in the house, not only on medicare but also on the stimulus and it's been reported recently he signed off on on two letters in his office requesting stimulus funds for wisconsin. when he voted against the stimulus saying the obama stimulus package is a failure. i asked him to ask the criticism is trying to have it both ways. >> democrats trying to attack your integrity on this. you said you opposed the stimulus package, you signed a couple of letters asking for stimulus projects. you were against it while you were for it while you were against it. >> sure, my office sends tens of thousands of letters to federal engages agencies.

i take full responsibility for it. this doesn't change the fact that stimulus was a bomb. >> reporter: one of the things, in the past particularly when related to earmark spending, republicans say i'm opposed to earmarks but if congress give earmarks to other states, i want to make sure that my state gets some, too. he wasn't in support of stimulus funds. he didn't recognize that was happening in his office. last week we talked about foreign policy. 42-year-old is avowed numbers nerd that spends most of his time on domestic policy. for policy is not something he has a lot of experience. i asked to him deal with that. and specifically what should be done in syria. >> syria, civilians getting wiped out. what is wrong with the

president's policies? >> i think he was late to speak forcibly. assad is butchering his own people. we were late to help the opposition doing what they need to do to get the dictator out of there. >> reporter: he campaigns through the weekend. he will be reunited with mitt romney. they will be in new hampshire for a townhall meeting. ryan got talking points under his belt and many ways he has added energy to the ticket that romney needed. >> heather: next to new hampshire where the president was today. thank you so much. >> gregg: congressman ryan talking about syria. it is coming apart at the seams, the fighting raging on as united nations petitions keepers finally give up and leave the country. is embattled syria at the breaking point? we'll talk about with it with

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>>. >> gregg: syria on the verge of unraveling. government forces and rebels waging an all out combat bringing powerful weapons to the battle. last chance for a peaceful solution appears to have come along. last of the u.n. observers leaving. john bolton former ambassador to the united nations and fox news contributor. ambassador, good to see you. long ago you predicted this that the u.n. effort would fail. it is by anyone's standard. kofi annan gave up. more than a million have fled. where do do you see this going? >> at this point. every education is that the

conflict will simply grind on. let's go back to the basic strategic interests at stake here. russians and chinese to a lesser extent and iranians are backing the assad regime. they wanted to see it stay in power. iran wants to extend influence. russia because syria has their only naval base. that has been true for the last 18 months. it has never changed. it's not going to change. if assad falls, that will be a significant setback to russia and iran. that is why they are prepared to shed so much blood. >> gregg: is v puitd might ignoring and defying every effort by president obama and his administration? >> i think it's worse than that. i think the russians understood from the get-go that the kofi annan diplomatic mission, u.n.

military observers were doomed to failure. this was to buy time we back kofi annan, let him negotiate. i think they were hoping they could put assad opposition down. it has given them a substantial period of time to consider different options. >> gregg: what should we do? >> at this point after 18 months we are still waiting to hear which of the opposition leaders can we trust to back with more than token assistance. i would like to hear names and background. some reason we can trust people who won't take weapons and turn them on their fellow syrians if assad falls. >> gregg: you recently wrote this. while assad's defeat would be welcomed, what kind of regime would follow? one dominated by radical islamists devoted to israel's

destruction? is that the real threat here? >> look the opposition is divided. i haven't heard anybody yet that politically or militarily there is any structure to the opposition. after 189 months. what do intelligence agency and what do friends in europe tell us about who the leaders are of the opposition we can trust. let's get some names out on the table. let's get some organization that shows it's capable of maintaining itself and not allowing resources to be seized by al-qaeda or transferred to hezbollah and next-door lebanon. >> gregg: last question for you. what can be done to secure syria's chemical weapons stockpile which is vast so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands? >> i think that ought to be a fundamental pre-condition to give any assistance to the opposition. they will turn over those chemical weapons and other programs to either the

organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons to us to somebody to make sure that whatever the successful regime and as you say they don't fall into terrorist hands. i think that is critically important at this stage. >> gregg: thank you very much for being here. >> heather: we're getting new video that could shed light on the death of a 21-year-old in arkansas. police say chavez carter shot and killed himself while handcuffed. the family says he was healthy and happy no reason to end his life. arkansas police maintain this was a suicide. they released this re-enact. shows how it could have been done. an officer of similar height and weight from the back of a patrol car. you can see him there. leans over and lifts a weapon to his head and with the same kind of handcuffs aimed the gun at

his head. they are capturing the scene in the moments after the fatal shot. >> he was in the back of the car he got in. he leaned over. he was handcuffed behind him. >> heather: a lot of questions. let's bring in michael den. -- michael baden. what are investigators looking for? >> they are going to be looking at number of things to determine whether this happened as a self-inflicted wound. as unlikely as that that would be. autopsy would determine whether this is a contact gunshot wound to the area shown in the side of the head. if it's not a contact wound, must the against the skin then he couldn't have done it.

it would also determine the trajectory, the direction of the bullet to see if it was going in the direction shown in the reenactment. the gun will be investigated because there will be dna and fingerprints on the gun that can be obtained. the providence of the gun. is this possible that chavez had possession of that gun. certainly the procedures of the police in overlooking the gun is a severe deviation from proper police practice. he could have shot the police. >> heather: the. >> heather: that is pretty big, as well? >> 38 caliber, it's a big gun. supposedly they patted him down twice and it's very unlikely they could have missed it. the other thing that is interesting is the car itself

will show the distribution of the gunshot residue, coming out of the muzzle of the gun and blood spaters to indicate where the position was. they are doing examinations of the body, the gun, the inside of the car. that should be able to determine what really happened. >> heather: you begin by saying perhaps it really wasn't feasible. how feasible do you think the officer's story is? >> i think the story itself is extremely unlikely because they put themselves at risk when they don't properly pat somebody down. i think that it's possible. that will be able to be clearly determined by the autopsy on the body of the car and gun to see whether or not there is any possible merited to the way the

police say it was done. it's possible but extremely unlikely. >> heather: they have witness accounts that seem to corroborate their story. >> gregg: medicare front and center on the campaign trail. you heard it a moment ago. we're going to break down what kind of impact it plays on the presidential election. be right back. max. this is the plan that revolves around you.

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>>. >> gregg: a dramatic shift of focus taking place in the campaign for president. medicare now taking top billing as the hot button issue and pushing jobs market out of the spotlight. who has the advantage here? joining here is shan shane april. i was looking at recent poll in several key swing states. it shows governor mitt romney leading in florida, ohio,

virginia, neck and neck in colorado. does the momentum appear to be shift can and is it because of paul ryan and medicare? >> i don't know the momentum some shifting because of paul ryan. you are seeing movement in key states that is giving the romney campaign a bit of a jolt. i think what is most interesting about this medicare debate, immediately after paul ryan was put number two on the ticket last week, one of the first things, when are we going to see paul ryan down in florida. he s he is going to be a liability that largest number of seniors in the country down in florida. he was headlines a rally talking to seniors and i think it tells about the romney campaign strategy. they will be aggressive with this. >> gregg: many democrats assumed

just judging by comments a week ago, that by picking paul ryan, republicans would lose the debate on medicare. did the democrats fail to recognize that the president's decision to diverted $716 billion to obamacare might hurt him more among voters. romney's plan returns $716 billion to shore up finances? >> this is what the romney campaign is going to hang its hat on. when you talk to some republican strategists they will point to a special congressional election from earlier this year in nevada where the republican candidate out there had similar success on the issue of healthcare talking about this same exact point. what you saw paul ryan do today which was to try to bring a humanizing face to the image the democrats are trying to paint him in his budget. he stood up on stage with his

mother. i think that is shown to be compelling. it's something that is going to helpful to the ticket. the idea to undercut this dire picture that democratic media strategy jistsd are going to paint of ryan. >> gregg: president obama claims that his opponent would end medicare as we know it. david axelrod says his 85-year-old dad would be tossed out. given the fact that nobody over 55 would be forced off medicare, in fact anyone under 55 would be given a choice to keep it if they want to, aren't those claims arguably dishonest? >> in the context of some of the ads that have been run. the notion a vote for the ryan budget was a vote to kill

medicare, end of story. this is something without the context that you just mentioned that the ryan budget doesn't change the system for folks 55 plus, so i think the democrats have got to be careful with how far they go on the attack ads. i don't think they were anticipating that republicans were going to embrace this debate as much as they have. i think that is going to be a key point. it's an aggressive posture. >> gregg: people in obama campaign don't even know it that gee, it doesn't affect anybody over ae 55. we had a guy on the air and he was surprised at that fact. maybe its an educational process. shane, i wish we had more time. thanks for being with us. >> heather: coming up. drivers across the nation are watching prices rise at the pump. just ahead, what the administration is considering to help ease the pain and will it

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>> heather: oil is hitting the highest prices in months. gas prices are going up to the $4 mark and white house says

they may tap the strategic petroleum reserve. is this the right solution? carl harrington joins us with his take on this. hello. thank you for joining us. is this the right solution? >> no, heather. tapping the special reserve was historically reserved for war time. for catastrophes, for situations that were catastrophic in the u.s. i think this is a -- spotlighted is on barack obama and his administration with the unemployment rate being over 8%, with weak g.d.p. growth. gasoline at the $4 mark, it wants it below $4 a gallon. he is going to do anything he can in an effort to do that. >> heather: ang average up 40 cents since early july. if this is not the solution,

what is? >> listen, we have some solutions. in my opinion the keystone pipeline was an arrangement. natural resources within the country, exploration of those resources to be less dependent on middle eastern countries and create more supply to drive the price of gasoline down was very inning project. then we saw the administration shoot that down pretty quickly. there was one area i thought we would explore further. we have not. >> heather: so realistically how much does any administration, obama administration or any other really have when it comes to controlling gas prices? >> i mean, look -- barack obama and his administration would not like this to be said but we are in a free market in the united states. supply and demand arguably and ultimately will set the right

price for gasoline. with the middle east volatility that continues and has been that way for a long time, you are going to see oil prices higher and you are going to see the administration that is currently in place trying to manipulate those prices and have controlled because that is what the government would like to do. >> heather: thank you very much. we have breaking news. we appreciate it. >> gregg: two distinctly takes on just how to fix medicare featured on the campaign trail today. how president obama and vice presidential candidate congressman paul ryan each say they would tackle this very thorny issue. we'll be right back. g better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day.

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>> heather: hello, everyone. i'm heather childers. welcome it a brand-new hour inside america's election headquarters. >> gregg: i'm gregg jarrett. glad you're with us. medicare reform, the hot button issue on the campaign trail today. president obama in new hampshire where he is blasting governor mitt romney's proposal saying it would force older americans to pay more so the wealthy can get a tax break. >> heather: but vice presidential nominee paul ryan pitched the plan in the key state of florida. the state with the highest percentage of seniors in the country, by the way. the wisconsin congressman defended the proposal, saying that you have to reform medicare so it doesn't go bankrupt. >> medicare should not be used as a piggy bank for obamacare.

medicare should be the promise that it made to its current senior, period, end of story. [ cheers and applause ] >> heather: we have fox team coverage. steve centanni is in washington but we begin with carl cameron. he had a interview with congressman ryan. hi, carl. >> hi, heather. both sides accuse the other of playing loose and fast with the truth. for decades it's been a dicey issue for both parties. for the years, the democrats have been considered to have an advantage and accuse of republicans of wanting to end it. the republicans this time say wait a minute. the president took $716 billion from medicare to use it to start obamacare, as you heard mr. ryan say at the villages. he had a big crowd. he brought his mom along in order to persuade folks that he wouldn't take his medicare away from his mother or late grandmother. he supports it and wants it to stay the same. i had an opportunity to talk with him after his remarks and

sort of quizzed him on a lot of the criticism that has come and whether or not he thinks it's fair to be called a radical and extremist as a consequence of his desire to protect medicare and the republican framework of it. listen. >> that was rated the lie of the year last year. the president can't run on his record. it's bad record. the president raided $716 billion from medicare to pay for obamacare. >> mr. ryan has been in the race exactly seven days. it was a week ago today that they joined the ticket. the romney campaign said for months they wanted a substantive debate, talking about the major issue, the size of government and getting the economy back on track. ryan's addition to the ticket has certainly focused attention on medicare reform. >> democrats try to attack your integrity by saying issues well, although you said you oppose the stimulus package, you signed a couple of letters asking for stimulus projects and therefore, you were against it while you

were against it and for it while you were against it. can you leer that up? >> sure. my office sends various letters to several agencies. it was treated as a case work request. i take full responsibility for it. it wasn't my intention to send letters supporting stimulus. but this doesn't change the fact that the stimulus was a bomb. it didn't work. it was a boondoggle. borrowing and spending, spending money on things like solyndra, that does not create jobs. >> i want to make sure i understand the distinction. in the past, there have been republicans who said i'm against earmarks, but if this passes with them, i'm gog bring home some for mine. >> i didn't know about those letters until very recently until they were brought to my attention because they went through our constituent case work system. i take full responsibility for that. >> he signed them. we talked about ryan's lack of foreign policy experience, a point he doesn't concede, though he says he's ready to do the job and wouldn't have taken romney's offer and romney wouldn't have proposed him being the running mate were he not of the mind

ryan could handle the job. we talked about foreign policy. he criticized the president saying the president was not bold enough, act enough and wasn't clear enough as things began to fall apart in syria. he was critical of the so-called u.s.-russian reset. said it hadn't worked. he is criticized for supporting mr. romney's plan and policy to crack down on china for its trade policies. in the past, mr. ryan has been reluctant,. heather. >> heather: all right. carl cameron live for us on the campaign trail in orlando. thank you. meanwhile, she joined her son to pitch the romney-ryan medicare plan. congressman ryan's mom, betty ryan, douglas. here is a look at her background. she just turned 78 years old last week. she lives part-time in florida. her first husband died of a

heart attack when paul ryan was a teen-ager back in 1986. she then married navy veteran bruce douglas who died in 2002. gregg? >> gregg: turning in the focus to president obama's plan for medicare, the president highlighting the differences between his proposals and governor mitt romney's during a campaign stop in new hampshire. steve centanni live in washington. what's the president telling voters in new hampshire? >> he's saying he's trying to strengthen medicare by doing away with waste and fraud and to make it operate better and last longer. he's attacking the gop plans for a premium support system that is paying seniors a certain amount to buy private insurance. democrats at the same time put out a memo saying romney and ryan aren't giving many details of their medicare plan because it would be, quote, politically suicidal. and the president said this. >> governor romney and congressman ryan have a very different plan. what they want to do is they

want seniors to get a voucher to buy their own insurance, which could force seniors to pay an extra $6,400 a year for their health care. >> the president and the white house continue to push back on gop arges that they cut $716 billion from medicare to pay for obamacare. the white house says no, those are savings. that's a benefit to taxpayers. gregg? >> gregg: the president kept referring to his plan today, but that may be news to his own treasury secretary, tim geithner, who said we don't have a definitive solution to the problem, referring to the insolvency pend not guilty medicare. look, how is congressman ryan selling his medicare plan? >> well, with a little bit of a personal touch, to make it a little more warm and fuzzy, so to speak. he appeared with his mother on the stage in florida today at a retirement community. 78-year-old betty ryan douglas. ryan said he saw medicare at work when his grandmother had

alzheimer's and she moved in with the family and said his mother also benefits with the program and he said we need to keep that promise for everyone. >> we will end the raid of medicare. we will restore the promise of this program and we will make sure that this board of bureaucrats will not mess with my mom's health care or your mom's health care. >> of course, something has to be done about medicare because 76 million baby boomers will turn 65 over the next 20 years. gregg? >> gregg: steve centanni, thanks very much. >> heather: well, the price at the pump rising steadily over the last month. now the white house is considering a drastic step to try and bring those prices down. peter doocy has that story in washington. >> the white house is keeping an eye on gas price which is have risen 40 cents in august due to high oil prices and because of problems with refineries in parts of the country and there is a big enough spike in prices at the pump, there's a chance they'll tap into the strategic

petroleum reserve. >> the administration does carefully monitor the global oil market and the global price of oil. so it's something that we watch closely because of the economic consequences for changes in that market and changes in the price. it's also one of the reasons that the president has advocated so aggressively for taking steps that will make the united states of america independent on foreign oil. >> motor club triple a says reserve oil should not be released right now peace they say there is no emergency supply issue just yet, despite sanctions on oil exporter, iran. republican congressman denim, who sits on the natural resources committee, doesn't think the oil reserves should ever be reloosed unless the united states is under attack. >> i served in desert storm and i believe the strategic oil reserve is there in case we have some catastrophic incident where we get attacked or the oil supply gets shut down.

not just because the president doesn't want to make choices on gas prices. >> those gas prices are still high at the moment. 3.72 on average for a gallon of regular, according to triple a. heather? >> heather: thank you, peter. the obama and romney campaigns offering differing views on how to combat high gas prices in the future. we will break down both of their plans for you straight ahead. gregg? >> gregg: extreme weather for hundreds of firefighters battling those wildfires across the west. now some evacuees in washington state and california being allowed to return home if they have homes to return to. crews are hoping to have one fire in washington fully contained by tomorrow. in the meantime, some residents in rural idaho are also being chased out by wildfires, told to get out of their homes and head for safety. >> heather: it is just the opposite problem in southern california. torrential downpours, weather

triggering flash flood warnings, forming dangerous mud slides in parts of san concern dino and riverside counties. drivers are being warned to use caution. residents told to stay clear of any storm runoff. maria molina is live in the fox weather center with more on this. hi. >> hi. good to see you. we are looking at more heavy rain across parts of southern california. basically you saw from the images with all of that runoff and we still have some flood warnings in effect out here to the east of los angeles and san diego because we still have that possibility for more storms. although right now the saddle right radar picture is showing relatively quiet conditions across l.a., san diego, a few isolated showers further toward the east of that. these are very slow moving downpours. even though these look very small, they're producing heavy rain in over several hours. that's what we're looking across southern california, threat for more ongoing flooding. northbound, the opposite problem

is that fire danger. we have a number of red flag warning, fire weather watches in effect for states like western montana, parts of idaho, parts of northern nevada and states of washington and oregon. these are in effect throughout this weekend because we're talking about generally dry weather that we did experience. we've been experiencing very hot temperatures. temperatures really won't be that hot anymore, but there will be some isolated thunderstorms that will not produce a lot of rainfall, but lightning. that lightning could be sparking new wildfires across this part of the country. we're keeping a close eye on that. over the last couple of days, temperatures made it into the 90s for places like seattle and portland. very unusual for this part of the country to really see temperatures that are that hot. now seattle, a little better. 77 is the high temperature for tomorrow, interior parts of the west dealing with the extreme heat. 96 in boise. 103 in las vegas. as we continue southbound, still very warm, phoenix expecting a high at 102 degrees. as we head east across parts of

the carolinas and further west across texas, oklahoma, parts of mississippi and also northern louisiana, we're talking about the severe weather risk for today. large hail, damaging wind gusts, and even some isolated tornadoes possible from some of these storms. you can see them already popped up across oklahoma, texas, and into parts of mississippi. so these are very heavy storms producing a lot of heavy rain across this part of the country. we'll keep you posted if we get any tornado warnings. >> heather: thank you very much. we appreciate it. >> gregg: a big weekend for the historic battleship known as old iron side. the uss constitution, the world's oldest commissioned warship, is getting ready to sail from boston. she's a beauty. sunday will be only the second time in 131 years that the ship has traveled under her own powers. it marks the 200 anniversary of the ship's battle. in the war of 1812. they spent the past year

preparing for this. >> the ship is in remarkable condition. she's almost 215 years old, you don't take anything lightly. be moved by the fact you have this living, hero of the war of 1812 and a lot of our early nation's battles still doing the same thing that she did, although we're not controlling the seas. our navy today is doing those same missions of keeping the seas free. it's connecting the past with the present. >> gregg: how did she get her name? the ship earned its famous nickname, old ironsides, during battle when a sailor saw british cannon balls bouncing off its wooden side. it's lasted all those years. >> heather: still living up to its name sake, old ironside. pretty cool. mark david chapman, remember him? up for parole again this week. could officials make john lennon's killer a free man? >> gregg: plus, heated new rhetoric over competing plans for medicare. our political panel weighs in on the style and substance of those

campaigns. >> their plan makes seniors pay more so they can give another tax cut to millionaires and billionaire. >> we think the best way to save medicare is to empower 50 million seniors, not 15 unelected beaurocrats when you have diabetes... your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. starts with arthritis pain and a choice.

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>> gregg: welcome back. time for a quick check of the head lines. eight people injured in a south korean subway station. the alleged attacker in police custody. john lennon's killer up yet again for parole in new york. this is the 7th time for mark david chapman. a decision on his status expected soon. a florida woman suing casey anthony for defamation is busted. she is charged with giving liquor to a minor back in 2008. you may recall anthony told investigators gonzalez kidnapped her daughter. but later admitted she made up the whole story. anthony was acquitted of killing her two-year-old daughter last year. >> heather: the campaign is mixing it up over medicare today. both sides blasting the other's plan for managing the program going forward. >> congressman ryan wants to turn medicare into a voucher

system. i, on the other hand, have strengthened medicare. we made reforms that extended the life of the program, saved millions of seniors with medicare hundreds of dollars on their prescription drugs. we're closing the dough naught hole. >> medicare should not be used as a piggy bank for obamacare. medicare should be the promise that it made to our current seniors, period, end of story. [ cheers and applause ] >> heather: voucher system or piggy bank? is this likely to remain a hot issue on the campaign trail moving forward? joining us now, brad blakeman, former deputy assistant to president george w. bush, and martin frost, texas democratic congressman. thank you for joining us. >> sure. >> heather: brad, i will start with you. is this the topic that both campaigns should focus on moving forward and if so, who does it benefit most? >> this is the opening salvo for democrats to test to see whether

they have a weakness in the vp nominee of romney. that's ryan. it's part of the democrat's 3 d strategy of distorting the romney-ryan record, distracting away from their own abysmal record and dividing the american people. i don't believe it's work. we're seeing in the polls that medicare is not having the kind of negative effect on ryan as they thought they were going to have. so i think this is a momentary issue because the fall election will be really on jobs, debt, budgeting, gas prices, that's the immediate problem facing the economy. i think those are the ultimate issues that will decide the election. >> heather: congressman frost, what do you think? ryan says this is what he wants to talk about. >> every day that the campaign talks about medicare is a good day for democrats. obama has some challenges on the economy. but when they're talking about medicare action they're not talking about the economy. this is a real problem for republicans. ryan is the poster boy for changing medicare.

the basic issue here is that seniors don't trust the republicans on medicare. ryan may say we're just going to affect people who are under 55. seniors basically don't believe a word of this. they think if you start tinkering with medicare action it's going to affect them. also ryan is very vulnerable because he criticizes obama for making some cuts in medicare, and yet he had those exact same cuts in his budget that they presented to congress. so he's got a little egg on his face, but i love the fact we're talking about medicare. every day we talk about this is not a good day for the republicans. >> heather: congressman frost, you mentioned that seniors over 55 may not believe it, but is that part of the problem and could republicans benefit moving forward if they work on their messaging and could ryan be the person to do that because really, these benefits, they don't go into effect, the changes, until those entering the program in 2023. that's a fact. >> well, that's his proposal. that's correct. that's what he's proposing.

i'm just saying that if you poll seniors, who do they trust on medicare? the answer comes back democrats and it does not come back republicans. again, let's have this discussion about medicare. i think it's wonderful that we're doing it. i think the president has a sound position and i think every day that we're not talking about the economy is a good day for the president. >> heather: brad, what do you think? does that benefit ryan if he can move forward on the campaign trail and get the messaging fixed and change those polls with seniors? >> sure. i moon, seniors are no different than any other american. of course they're concerned about health care, but they have to believe that barak obama is robbing peter to pay paul. the $700 billion he's taking out of medicare, incidentally, medicare is going bust. even secretary geithner acknowledges there is no long-term fix that obama has put into medicare. but look, he's robbing from medicare to pay for obamacare. that's a fact. instead of providing good quality medical care that we have supposed to be doing under existing law, obama created a

whole new entity which is unfunded. so a trillion dollars more a year is going to go into obamacare, money we don't have. so i think if we're truth tellers and go out there and explain to seniors and all americans that this is really the ultimate ponzi scheme that in order for us to get it back in a healthy situation for our economy, not only do we have to provide quality health care that we promised, but affordably. >> heather: congressman frost? >> i know brad didn't mean to say this, but he said robbing peter to pay paul. paul was paul ryan. and paul ryan proposed the exact same cuts that the republicans who are now criticizing obama for. you'll have to change your rhetoric a little bit, brad. >> no. congressman, what paul is doing is paul is not taking money out of medicare to put into obamacare. he's cutting the medicare abuses and that is the difference.

he's making it leaner and leaner and more worthy of the kind of entitlements that seniors are expecting. that's the difference. >> let's be clear about what these supposed cuts were. this was taking money away from the insurance companies, the republican congress had passed subsidies to insurance companies to subsidize what are called medicare advantage plans, which were managed care plans to compete with traditional medicare. and a lot of what the republicans are now decrying as cuts were simply taking away subsidies from insurance companies. so i think everybody is going to trip over their own rhetoric here. but i love this discussion on medicare. again, the republicans have a long way to convincing seniors that they're trustworthy -- >> they don't have to talk about jobs and debt s a good day for democrats. because day of reckoning will come because there is election day and american voters will be vote being budget and debt. >> yes, they are. there is no question about that. and we'll see how that plays out.

i think that the president has a good message on the economy. i think he'll continue to carry that message. romney has a message on the economy. but those two messages are getting lost right n in this debate over medicare. so my guess -- >> we've got to bring it back to the economy. >> this is a prediction. this is a prediction, i think y'all are going to figure out how to stop talking about medicare pretty soon. >> heather: all right. we will see what happens. we'll see which one is true. thank you both for joining us. we appreciate it. >> gregg: they're called kitchen table entrepreneurs people turning hobbies into successful businesses. one couple only had to look as far as the front porch to realize their dream and now the profits are really rolling in. elizabeth prann is live in atlanta with more on that. hi, elizabeth. >> hi, gregg. these entrepreneurs who we spoke with say their success didn't happen overnight. in fact, for many, it took years. but the key to success for them was starting with a very think small approach.

what started with just two laptops and a few ideas at a kitchen table has blossomed into a successful business for dave and mary morris. a few years ago, they launched porch ideas.com, a web site where you can find tips, photos, and building materials to give your porch a makeover. >> with this web site, there were so many different ideas, very detailed, very easy to understand that it wasn't overwhelming to us. >> at first, they got 30 visitors a day. but today that has grown to more than 9,000 thanks to growing advertising revenue, they quit their day jobs. >> during the daytime, i had a corporate job downtown. >> when i came home, dave and i would sit at the kitchen table and work on our business. >> the corporate world wasn't a good fit for this couple either. the duo started good-bye girls.com, a web site selling vintage and used clothing.

as their customer base graduation be so did their inventory. finally they transformed their home-based web store into a real shop east of downtown nashville. >> we didn't want to take out any loans. we didn't want to ask for money from people. we found people that would help us with little handyman jobs. >> one of the things that her co-owner told me, if she didn't feel happy at her desk job. if she didn't have that emotional unhappiness, she wouldn't have been motivated to leave her desk job and find out what she really wanted to do. so it was a very interesting story. gregg? >> gregg: good story. elizabeth prann live in atlanta. thanks very much. >> heather: coming up, gregg, straight ahead, we are going to talk more about the election as it rolls on and also on america's election headquarters, new developments into drew peterson's murder trial. what the judge did yesterday that could actually seriously help the defense. we'll have that straight ahead.

>> gregg: and a multi-vehicle pileup in the state of indiana, break down of the victims in this horrible wreck. look at that. we'll be right back okay, here's the plan. you have a plan? first we're gonna check our bags for free, thanks to our explorer card. then, the united club. my mother was so wrong about you. next, we get priority boarding on our flight i booked with miles. all because of the card. and me.

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>> heather: welcome back. it is the bottom of the hour. that means it's time for the top of the news. vice presidential candidate congressman paul ryan promising to protect medicare for those in or near retirement. but he says the program needs to be overhauled during his generation so his children will be able to count on it. >> gregg: president obama is talking about medicare as well today. he claims his republican rivals would alter the system for older americans, make them pay more at the same time the wealthy would be getting a tax break. >> heather: one person was killed and two critically injured in a car pileup in indiana this morning. roughly 12 vehicles were

involved in this wreck. >> gregg: gasoline prices rocketing once again. take a look at today's national average. 3.72 a gallon. where does each presidential candidate stand on how to keep those gas prices down? john roberts takes a look. >> let's produce more oil and gas, but let's also produce more biofuels. let's produce more fuel efficient cars. >> awful of the above is the president's energy mantra, developing new sources is the key to america's security, he believes, a policy that scores big points from the energy company. >> we're not going to be able to power a 21st sentry economy with 20th sentry energy. >> mitt romney wants to exploit existing resources the u.s. has not tapped. >> what i would do if i were president is take advantage of the energy resources we have and that we can find. i'm going to open lands for

exploration. >> the industry loves it. >> there is a vast amount of oil on federal lands that we could develop. over 100 billion barrels. if we were to produce that over 30 years, it would be 10 million-barrel has day or what we import. >> what are we doing to address rising gas prices? >> here is how the plans compare. barak obama is driven by environmental concerns, alternative energies and government mandated fuel efficiency standards. mitt romney would streamline regulation, freeing private industry to quickly seek out new sources of conventional energy and develop viable alternatives without government mandates or taxpayer investments in enterprises likes sign dr. and the chevy volt. >> because we don't know what technologies will survive. the key thing is the federal government should be spending money on basic research. not commercial development. >> while the president is look beyond fossil fuels, his supporters insist barak obama has not forsaken domestic oil production. >> he's got domestic production at an eight-year high.

american energy dependence at a 16 year high. >> we're producing more in the united states. he's wrong about the reason for it. >> the reason for the increase, according to the nonpartisan research service, is drilling on private and state lands. production on federal lands decreased from 2010 to 2011. the actor goes that outside of releing emergency oil, there is very little the president can do to affect the price of gasoline in the short-term. the industry points out even the promise of more supply can put downward pressure on prices. >> that's what happened in july 2008 when president bush and congress green lighted new exploration off the u.s. east coast. record high oil prices dropped $9 a barrel overnight. but in the wake of the bp oil spill under pressure from environmental groups, president obama put the plan on hold until 2017. >> we certainly don't think the outer continental shelf, the atlantic ocean ought to be exposed to the degradation we

saw in the gulf of mexico two years ago. >> mitt romney would reverse all of that, opening up the atlantic and pacific coasts. more of the gulf of mexico, even the arctic national wildlife refuge to drilling. >> if we're able to open these areas that are off limits, we could become energy self-sufficient from a north american basis. >> as for canadian oil and the keystone pipeline? >> i will build that pipeline if i have to myself. >> romney's policies foresee a rebounding economy fueled by low cost energy. president obama would biological a new economy around green jobs and alternative energy, insisting if the u.s. doesn't take the lead, its global competitors will. >> china is investing in these ultimatetives, in efficiency. not because of some love of the environment. they're doing it because they believe these are going to be the jobs of the future. they believe there is going to be real social mobility and profit behind it. >> two visions for america's energy future. two distinctly different ways to get there. in atlanta, john roberts, fox

news. >> heather: pay back time now for a large group of black and hispanic children who claim they were kicked out of a swim club in pennsylvania because of the color of their skin. anna kooiman is live with more on this story. hi. >> hey there. it is taken three years of fighting for what they call a civil rights issue. it looks like dozens of minority children from a philadelphia-based day camp who were asked not to come back to a swim club are being awarded over a million dollars. the camp had a contract to use the pool that was in june of 2009. it paid $1,950 to swim there. the camp director said some of the campers said they heard racial slurs coming from club members and a few days later, the club canceled the camp's contract and refunded its money. the club officials said it was more of safety concerns because there weren't enough lifeguards for the 65 campers. many of whom could not swim.

>> this is not something you ever expect to have a child to worry about, to grow up thinking, am i going to be accepted here because of my skin color? >> i heard them say what, are they doing here? and i'm assuming that that means african-americans because they pulled their children out of the pool. >> the club filed for bankruptcy after the allegations and sold for $1.46 million. if a recent agreement is approved by a pennsylvania bankruptcy court, the minority children will now share the proceeds. >> in connection with the monetary settlement aspect, it's important to note that for all of the minors who are you should the age of 18, those funds will be held in trust 'til they're 18. so the money doesn't go to their parents or anything of that nature. it will go to them when they turn 18 years old, assuming the court approves the settlement. >> after court costs are paid, campers will get a portion of the money. so when it's all said and done, 73 people will be sharing up to $1.1 million. back to you. >> thank you very much.

anna kooiman. >> gregg: dramatic new developments in the drew peterson murder trial. the judge handing down critical rulings. do they favor the victim, peterson's dead wife? peterson's missing fourth wife, siesta'sy, what about her? drew peterson himself, judge jeanine pirro will be with us coming up. >> they're keeping stacy out of this and i think kathy does need -- her testimony will help her find justice in this courtroom.

>> gregg: brand-new developments in the drew peterson murder trial. the judge has been allowing some hearsay testimony to be heard by the jury. yesterday the judge barred other hearsay testimony that would have undercut peterson's alibi. let's bring in judge jeanine,

host of "justice" who has been hanging out inside that courtroom in joliet. good to see you. so listen, just so our viewers don't get confused, he's on trial for killing his third wife found in a bathtub. but his fourth wife, stacy peterson, went missing. as i understand it, the judge is going to say we're not going to be able to tell the jurors that stacy is missing? >> right. she is the 800-pound governor in the room, stacy peterson being the fourth wife, because what they're trying to do, the prosecution, is bring in evidence of things that drew peterson told stacy, who then disappears into thin air regarding wife number three. >> gregg: she's got a friend by the name of scott, who is prepared to say that stacy told him that drew said, if anybody asks, i was at home at the time that savio allegedly drowned. but isn't that double hearsay? >> you know, it is what the defendant said to a victim who

is dead. but you see, there is something from the common law called forfeiture by wrongdoing. where if you silence someone so they can't testify in a divorce settlement or can't testify in a murder trial, then you can not benefit by that and say that it's hearsay. that's when the courts say wrong. it comes in now. >> gregg: the judge is not going to allow this? >> the judge is not going to allow it, because although they had an army captain, having said that grandmother and police reports and statements, when the prosecution sent a memo, they put the wrong date in it, they call it ascribe notes error. but here is the bottom line. this victim, stacy, may yet come into this courtroom because she went to her pastor and talked about what drew peterson told her. here is the thing, this is all reliable 'cause these witnesses don't know each other. >> gregg: isn't that prohibited by the priest privilege? >> she's dead.

>> gregg: so? >> so, it's abated. it's like a prosecution. it's abated. >> gregg: really? >> absolutely. >> gregg: here is one that does come in. i want to you explain it. it's hearsay testimony that peterson told savio, his now dead third wife, that he could kill her and make it look like an accident. >> let me tell you about that. the judge allowed, i could kill you, and blocked out any reference and make it look like an accident. the defense, by accident in cross-examination slipped it in. now it's in there! i could kill you and make it look like an accident. by the way, he said to wife number 4, i could kill you and make you disappear. i mean, what happened? one is an accident and one disappeared. >> gregg: now, allegedly the accused, drew peterson, tried to hire a hitman for $25,000, allegedly. is that going to come into evidence? >> on the first day, and i was there for the opening statement of the prosecution. the judge said, absolutely not. it's a violation of rule 404,

whatever it is. and now the prosecution is going back on tuesday. they're going to try to get this in because now the defense has notice of this alleged prior bad act. but drew peterson apparently offered someone 25,000 to kill his third wife while he was going through that divorce settlement. >> gregg: look at the guy here. >> he's crazy. >> gregg: play it again. he loves to talk to the media. here he is accused of murdering his wife -- >> it is like a circus in that courtroom. >> gregg: here is my question, this guy strikes me as fellow who loves the attention, loves the media and probably wants to take the witness stand. >> oh, you know what? i think his defense attorneys are having a terrible time trying to convince him not to take the stand because this ego is so strong -- >> gregg: you can't tell this guy anything. >> you can't tell him anything. by the way, i was right hyped him when he said, i don't want a mistrial, to his attorneys. >> gregg: really? >> right. they're asking for a motion for

mistrial with prejudice. he said, i don't want a mistrial. then all of a sudden they withdraw it the next day. >> gregg: you ever talk to him? >> he's always winking at me. he winked at me again. his hand on his heart. this past week, i said stop winking at me! >> gregg: you got a couple of lawyers on tonight. >> i have his lawyers fly not guilty from chicago. we're going to grill them tonight. >> gregg: catch it tonight, "justice," 9:00 p.m. eastern time. right here on the fox news channel. don't think about winking at the judge, trust me on that one. heather? >> heather: i was gog say, don't wink at her, whatever do you. >> gregg: not me. >> heather: coming up, new poll numbers revealing who voters think is the best fit for president. we're not talking about president obama and governor romney. hmmm. this contest is between congressman paul ryan and vice president joe biden. so who would make a better commander in chief? that is up next.

>> gregg: president obama beating out governor mitt romney in the latest real clear politics average. take a look at this. the president averaging 48% in recent poll. that's an average, though. while governor romney is at 44 1/2%. >> heather: the split is much smaller in the daily rasmussen

tracking poll. president obama leading romney by two points. 46 to 44%. that is within the poll's margin of error. what else are these polls telling us this week? joining us now is scott rasmussen, author of "the peel's money." how are you doing? >> doing great. it's a fascinating time of year. a week ago at this time, we said governor romney was up two points. now it's president obama. no matter how you look at it, no matter how many times i talk to you about it on saturday, the race is very close and it won't be for another month or two if we see it will stay that close 'til election day. >> gregg: now look, a lot has been said over the course of the last week about both congressman ryan, who is the vp on the gop side and joe biden who commit add couple of gaffes. who is more qualified? >> 42% say ryan. 40% say biden. not surprisingly, republicans,

romney supporters, say it's ryan. obama supporters and democrats say it's biden. this is a partisan issue. by the way, paul ryan's ratings after being nominated were pretty much the same as biden's and palin's from four years ago. it takes a while before we really understand the impact and how people perceive the nominees. >> heather: tax cuts and spending. what do likely voters expect from a second term obama administration or a first-term romney administration when it comes to that? >> on the issue of taxes, a neurallity of voters say they're going up no matter who wins. they're more likely to think there will be higher taxes with obama. but plurality saying regardless who have is in the white house, taxes are going up. >> gregg: raising tens versus cutting spending? >> this is very important. two out of three americans say the best thing the government can do for the economy is to cut spending. but most say it's not going to happen with either of these guys.

54% believe spending will go up if barak obama is reelected. a plurality say it will go down under a romney administration. only 39% are optimistic about that. there is a lot of concern and one of the reasons is government spending has gone up every year since 1954. >> heather: so how do we fix it? in terms of budget priorities whack do people say should be tackled first? >> the question is do you cut the spend to go reduce the burden on the economy or try to cut the deficit first to reduce the debt? 49% say we've got to cut spending first. 40% say the focus should be on the deficit. obviously if you cut spending, you can also cut the deficit. really that's a plurality of people are saying that's where the priority should be. >> gregg: extending the bush tax cuts? >> there are people of the idea, but not sure washington can pull it off. 43% say it's likely it happen. 46% say it's not. this tells us more about how skeptical people are about

official washington than it does about the bush tax cuts. >> gregg: all right. scott rasmussen. thanks so much for being with us, as we get closer and closer, we become more dependent on your numbers. thank you so much for taking the time. >> always look forward to talk you with you. >> heather: really interesting to see how the polls change and shift. >> gregg: it used to be that the campaigns really didn't get going 'til after labor day, after the conventions. not anymore. >> heather: no. >> gregg: that's going to do it for us. rick folbaum, patty ann brown taking over. >> heather: i will see you later on the fox report at 7:00 p.m. eastern. see you then