made their way to d.c. where iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki was to meet with president obama, and the plates were scheduled to flight back with maliki on his private plane on wednesday. which is to say this big president obama ends one war as republicans start another one. against newt gingrich. the president made a promise, a campaign promise, that he would bring all the troops out. >> that means us getting out of iraq. >> misguided war -- >> i'm proud to finally say these two words -- welcome home. welcome home! >> i think it's a great risk -- >> mccain slammed the obama administration for the timing of the withdrawal. >> this decision represents a

failure of leadership. >> some very strong words. >> a sad case of political expediency. >> so you approve of the agreement -- >> no. >> did not support the decision that the president made. >> there was an independent iraqi government that told us to leave. >> i don't agree withdrawing down those troops. >> still a lot of people in the republican party who are much more anxious to go to war. >> history will judge this president's leadership. >> don't judge me against the almighty. judge me against the alternative. >> there's and wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military. >> no place in the military -- >> we have a lot of momentum going our way. >> we've come up in all the polls. >> all i hear is wa, wa, wa. >> zany is great in i campaign. >> mitt romney's equivalent of the f-bomb. >> newt gingrich is undergoing a karment bombing. >> he can't keep his you know what in his britches. >> he's taking a tremendous pounding in iowa. >> what kind of cabinet position

might you like? >> my first choice would be department of defense. >> department of defense. >> what? >> that surprises me, though, herman. >> department of defense. >> what? the u.s.-led invasion of iraq began at 5:34 a.m. local time on march 20, 2003. with the goal of finding iraq's weapons of mass destruction. after finding that iraq had no such weapons, the united states' military chose not to leave but to stay encamped for nearly nine years. while losing 4,487 american lives and suffering an additional 32,226 americans wounded in iraq. the number of iraqi civilians killed by the u.s. military and by the warring insurgent factions, estimates are at least 100,000, but the exact number is

now impossible to know. our history books will show today to be the last day of u.s. military involvement in iraq. defense secretary leon panetta spoke today in a fortified court yard at baghdad's airport as military helicopters hovered above him. >> as we confront the strategic challenges of the future, we will never forget the lessons of war. let me be clear, iraq will be tested in the days ahead. but the united states will be there to stand by the iraqi people as they navigate those challenges to build a stronger and more prosperous nation. >> the u.s. forces iraq flag was lowered, marking the end of american involvement in the war. as that flag came down, a political war over iraq broke out here in the united states.

the attack on the obama administration actually began yesterday, a furious john mccain took the senate floor to lecture the president for ending the $800 billion war and not leaving residual u.s. forces behind in iraq. >> it is clear that this decision of a complete pullout of the united states troops from iraq was dictated by politics and not our national security interests. i believe that history will judge this president's leadership with a scorn and disdain that it deserves. >> mccain kept up that chant this morning on the "today" show immediately after defense secretary panetta spoke in baghdad. >> i'm also very concerned because in the words of general keen, one of the architects of the surge, we won the war and now we risk losing peace. we risk losing everything we gain. i think it's a great risk and i

think it's unnecessary. we always envisioned some residual force. this administration, they were never really serious at all. >> there's only one republican running for president who disagrees with mccain. >> i'm not denying the fact that there's still a lot of people in the republican party who are much more anxious to go to war than i am. you go to war infrequently. when you do it, do you it deliberately. you fight these wars and get them over with. so i don't think that's an unpopular position. >> the rest of the republican candidates for president are echoing some version of the mccain talking points. even a former candidate, a preposterous candidate for president can recite the party line. >> i don't agree withdrawing down those troops in iraq because my biggest fear, and the fear of a lot of the experts, is that will be a power vacuum. that power vacuum is going to be filled by an element coming out of iran.

>> joining me now is iraq war veteran john soltz, votesvet.org, and karen finney, former dnc communications director. thank you for joining me tonight. john, i want you to respond to senator mccain's point, quoting general cain. we won the war and now we risk losing the peace. >> that's offensive. i mean, general keen, the architect of the surge. the surge was a huge failure. probably the greatest failure of the entire war. two of the biggest reasons we have less violence in iraq. we still have a sustainable amount of violence. when i was waiting for my helicopter in baghdad, they blew up a truck bomb and killed 20 soldiers. we had a political adwroement in the sunni awakening. the second reason we had better security was in 2008, a battle not fought by american troops. it was iraqi against al sadr, a

radical shia. he came into the iraqi government and basically is maliki's partner, the prime minister of iraq. so, when john mccain and general keen talk about this type of rhetoric, i would just ask them, why was i just in iraq? what did we fight for? what did all these americans die for? why do we have 30,000 wounded americans and 4500 dead troops? i thought it was to build iraqi democracy. they are guaranteeing defeat because the only way americans can be defeated in iraq is to stay one day after the iraqis don't want us there. that is, 31 december 2011. an agreement signed by president obama's predecessor, george w. bush. why did we fight for democracy if we don't respect what it wants? >> john, as military expert among us, i want to ask you, strategically, what other option existed at this point in time? >> well, i don't think -- i mean, this is our only option

because the iraqi government wants us to leave. when you look at the fragile political agreement we have in iraq, the leading iraqi party in the last election was more of a nationalist party by al iraqia but nuri al maliki became prime minister because he aligned himself with the hard-line shia. they gave maliki the ability to be prime minister, they vehemently oppose u.s. forces being stayed in iraq. so, the iranians that armed these shia groups over the summer months -- have i to till, we got pounded in iraq over the summer. 240 millimeter rockets, efps going off. at one point, 20 soldiers killed in a six-week period p so the shia coalition that governed the country could have fallen and fractured if nuri al maliki requested extension of u.s. forces. he had no option but to keep status quo which is u.s. forces leave. >> let's listen to how president obama presented this to the country yesterday.

>> over the last three years, nearly 150,000 u.s. troops have left iraq. and over the next few days a small group of american soldiers will begin the final march out of that country. those last american troops will move south on desert sands. and then they will cross the border out of iraq with their heads held high. one of the most extraordinary chapters in the history of the american military will come to an end. iraq's future will be in the hands of its people. america's war in iraq will be over. >> karen, doesn't it seem hard to believe that the american president now will not be locked in periodic meetings over whether to send more troops into iraq in a surge-like move or

whether to draw them down, that we're now actually out? >> absolutely. i mean, it's a really wonderful thing to contemplate. particularly, you know, lawrence, when you think back to the beginning of the war and all of the people, in addition to the incredible work of our soldiers on the ground, the people here at home, and the movement here at home that helped to create the political pressure that moved us forward to get to this point, is so -- is really important. and i think, you know, really sparked a movement in terms of movement politics that i think is part of the carry-on of what we're seeing now and has been so important. i think it's an accomplishment that many, many people should take, you know, a great deal of pride in the work that was done to try to get us to this point. and the other thing i would say, you know, jon and i were talking about in the green room, to the political situation on the ground, it's such a vicious psych toll say, well f we leave, something bad could happen. and i think jon's point is, actually us leaving is making it more likely that something bad won't happen, frankly.

and i think, you know, we -- but this argument that the republicans have tried to use that says, well, you know, like if we stay, if we leave, something bad's going to happen and therefore we have to keep troops there. they're just not hearing the fact that american people don't want that anymore. we don't want to be there anymore. and the iraqis don't want us there anymore. hey, we all agree, let's bring our troops home. >> the polls are very clear on this. they speak very clearly about the politics of it. republicans then are speaking an unpopular position. i want to listen to one, mitt romney, one of the front-runners speaking to "the des moines register". >> they were unable to a lou 10,000 to 20,000 troops to remain which was a failure on the part of the administration. >> jon, was that a failure? >> look, it's a success of the administration. what was going on in iraq in the summer months is there was a tremendous amount of pressure from military leaders inside iraq and the pentagon. and certain members over at embassy. i mean, they are people that

wanted to stay in iraq. stories leaked to the press, we're going to keep 10,000 troops, 5,000 troops, 15,000 troops, none of which would have done what senator mccain or general keen think. we're really not that involved out in the field with iraqis any more. we're only training them on high intense conflict, not even advising them out in the field with them, you know, on the roads anymore. so, you know, it's completely false to say -- the white house deserves a tremendous amount of credit because there was a lot of people trying to deploy troops, talk about leaking stories to the press. the administration shot back with this idea, hey, we need immunity for our soldiers and marines on the ground and they knew there was no way the iraqi government would agree to that. that essentially killed this idea. there was nothing to maneuver. i mean, mitt romney has, like -- i wouldn'ter -- a, he doesn't know anything about iraq. does he have anyone on his staff that knows about iraq? these are high school answers these guys are giving. >> i think the problem is romney is listening to the same guys who got us into this mess who

are not able to read the situation which, i know, looking at the way the president was aable to -- i mean, john mccain criticized him, leading from behind in libya. that was an effective strategy the president employed and we have to change the way we engage with different parts of the world. >> thank you for joining me tonight. coming up, newt gingrich may be the republican front-runner but some polls show his lead slipping away in iowa. we'll have more on the republican race and how they're attacking each other next with dana mill bank. and mike huckabee makes abortion the issue in iowa. planned prarnthood president is here to react to the attacks on a woman's right to choose. [ female announcer ] to get a professional cleaning system you could spend as much as $200.

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let me ask you a quick question. how much beastalty is there in the military? because michele bachmann seems incredibly worried that the troops are on hair trigger. >> well, i will say that i have not witnessed any of that in my 35 years in the military. >> really? i mean, the troops have been in afghanistan for 11 years. after a while those goats have to look pretty good. no? >> i haven't seen it. >> good. then i'll pass that message on to her. you know the good folks over at prilosec otc

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i'm not going to say one word about newt gingrich. i think that his campaign will speak for itself. it's up to the republicans to nominate who they nominate and it's just interesting to watch. >> do you think that newt gingrich would be a good president? >> no. >> you don't -- >> absolutely not. >> well, i'm afraid no is one word. that was ed getting house minority leader nancy pelosi to violate her pledge not to say one word about newt gingrich. new polls show newt's popularity in iowa starting to slip. while newt was prepping his lecture on brain science at the university of iowa yesterday, rasmussen was conducting a robo call poll of likely iowa caucus-goers. not the most reliable. it shows mitt romney now leading iowa with 23% support. gingrich has dropped to 12 -- that's 12 point from last month to 20%.

ron paul's 18% puts his third. another robo poll conducted in iowa this week shows gingrich dropping five points in the last week to a statistical tie with ron paul. rommie is third with 16%. throughout today, the headline of the front page of the conservative national review online read against gingrich. that headline linked to an editorial board opinion piece reading in part, gingrich has always said he wants to transform the country. he appears unable to transform or even govern himself. at the moment we think it important to urge republicans to have the good sense to reject a hasty marriage to gingrich, which would risk dissolving in acrimony. presumably like all of gingrich's other marriages. establishment republican attacks against gingrich would be driving rush limbaugh crazy.

if he wasn't already crazy. >> the republican establishment has succeeded now. they are managing to split the conservative vote here in the primary. to take down every one of them who manages to break out. newt's just the latest one. but there was ron paul in there and rick perry for a while, michele bachmann. when each of these not romney surfaces they take them out. they settled on romney a long time ago. >> according to remarks today in iowa, newt gingrich has his counterattack prepared. an ad wishing everyone a merry christmas. >> we have an ad coming out next week, we're wishing people a merry christmas. we're talking in a totally positive way. i think if these guys keep this negative junk, it is so discordant with the spirit of christmas. it's an interesting experiment how people talk to each other and what people decide.

>> joining me washington post political columnist dana millbank. >> good evening. >> this is all democrats could ask for, republicans just attacking each other as roughly as we have seen in this kind of primary. limbaugh's got a point, that as soon as someone moves other than romney, the mainstream republican world just seems to go after them. >> right. and now we have the most delicious irony, that gingrich, who saved christmas. i mean, we are all living in newt gingrich's world. he's the one that created all these attack politics, this demonization. i mean, that was the brand that brought him to power in the house all those years ago. and everybody's learned from that now. it's now coming back and being used against him. i don't think it's the republican establishment that's doing in each one of these other contender. there's not much left of the republican establishment. it's been done in by the tea party. what's harming the contenders is

themselves. that's why romney has been able to skate through here. gingrich being the most compelling candidate, if we can call him that because he peaked so late in the game here, but it does seem the republicans are coming to their senses and saying, no, we can't hand the democrats this kind of a gift. >> and i want to listen to rush again because i think he's isolated another thing that is very good for the democrats, which is the way republicans are now attacking each other for being rich. let's listen to what rush said about that. >> we've got two republicans going after each other the way liberals talk about us, class warfare. romney out there, hey, you know, gingrich got a lot of money. he's not exactly a man of the people if he's out there $10,000, $500,000 line of credit at tiffany. but the bad thing about that is, we got two guys attacking rich people. romney's attacking newt for

being rich and newt isn't that rich and newt's attacking romney for being rich, and romney is that rich. usually it's the democrats doing that stuff. >> he's absolutely right. republicans attacking each other for being rich. next one one will propose raising the top tax bracket. >> it's terrific for newt gingrich, who's brought in $100 million in revenue since he left the house to be attacking mitt romney with $264 million to his net worth. and enjoying this all is jon huntsman who put up the photo of all the money bills flying around mitt romney, posted that on a website and jon huntsman is only worth about $71 million. it is sort of the plutocratic club here. the problem is not just that they're rich but the accusation behind this is that one slik newt is getting rich by helping companies or institutions like freddie mac, playing on their government ties.

so, it's not just the wealth but it's how that wealth was generated. and you can just imagine that the democrats are building up their files with all this stuff, having their work done for them. >> and we're running out of time. i wanted to show a rick perry ad. even the also-rans are throwing these attack ads around. in his case he's attacking romney and gingrich. there isn't a candidate out there in the republican field that isn't being damaged by candidates in the republican field. >> this is true. i mean, you know, rick perry's shot of coyote for menacing his dog, so he's not -- >> we have to leave it there. dana millbank of "the washington post," thank you for joining us. coming up, cecile richards, president of planned parenthod joins us to respond to republicans attacking the woman's right to choose. later, you're in the rewrite. you know who are you. this school had no desks in

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this school had no desks in and the kids thank you, too. last night mike huckabee hosted an eent with republican candidates minus mitt romney where it was about opposing a woman's right to choose. cecile richards president of planned parenthood will join me next. a big week in political kamdy. we'll show you the best later. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation,

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bachmann, you'll have the most pro-lie president that we would ever have. in our nation. >> we're engaged in a cultural struggle with secular elite. >> while the men and women of our nation's military defend america's founding principles abroad, those same values come under attack right here at home. >> when the family breaks down and respect for life and moral values break down, then government gets bigger and bigger and bigger. ladies and gentlemen, you understand that here in iowa. >> with less than 20 days until the iowa caucuses, four republican presidential candidates participated in a right of conservative campaign politics in iowa, a pro-life forum. the forum last night in des moines included a screening of a new anti-abortion dvd narrated by fox news host mike huckabee

and produced by citizens united. huckabee who won the caucuses in iowa in 2008 had this advice for audience members who plan to vote on january 3rd. >> i do want you to take note that there were four candidates who cleared their schedules and made this a priority event. you know, this event is not here to endorse a candidate, but i think this is significant that all four of the candidate who is are present tonight have endorsed life. and that ought to be very important to you as you consider someone to vote for in the caucuses here in iowa. >> the republican candidates speechers were full of the standard culture war stuff with one possible exception, newt gingrich, laid out a big idea for how to legally end abortion in america without overturning roe versus wade. >> we will aggressively pursue a strategy that professor robby george of principle ton has

raised is that the 14th amend mment clearly allows congress to define personhood. that should mean we can pass a bill defining personhood as beginning as conception and you don't need a constitutional amendment. it is written in the 14th amendment. it would be an act of congress and you can put in the same legislation blocking the courts from reviewing it, which is a procedure jeffersonians used. >> joining me is cecile richardson, president of planned parenthood of america. thank you for joining me. this 14th amendment approach, is this a new strategy? >> a bit of a new strategy. this personhood idea has been around. you may remember, it was just rejected. it was so extreme it was just rejected in the most conservative state in the country, mississippi. >> 42% in favor of it in mississippi -- >> that's right. >> -- 58% against it in

mississippi. >> that's right. that's because -- >> you couldn't get -- there's no state you could get a more favorable voter profile for it. >> absolutely. the reason the voters in mississippi rejected it and why the entire medical community opposed it is because this personhood idea would ban the most -- could ban the most common forms of birth control, including the pill, ban in vitro fertilization, which so many couples use now to have a family, and really threaten even women cancer patients' treatments. it's the most extreme kind of measure. it's incredible to see mr. gingrich, mr. romney, supporting this kind of extreme idea. as you say, it was rejected even in the state of mississippi. >> now, the democratic national committee doesn't mean the politics of this, which is to say, they don't mind seeing those people adopt something that is obviously a losing issue when they try to win in 50 states, when they try to go to a national campaign. does it do any damage beyond

just damage to the republican nominee, this kind of thing? >> oh, i think it's incredibly damaging. what we're seeing now is actually the major republican candidates, opposing now birth control access in this country. i mean, that's what's stunning. we see even mitt romney who said he wants to get rid of the entire nation's family planning program, serves about 5 million women every single year, with basic family planning, preventive cancer screenings, those kind of things. i think this -- we haven't seen this kind of extremism on the issue of birth control in any time we can remember. >> so, is the political dynamic when they push out into a wild extreme, that will not happen, they won't get this personhood thing, it allows them to more comfortably tinker with the edges of roe versus wade and other things in the middle zone of our politics? >> i can't figure out why they are pushing this. i think as voters look at this -- we saw this in the state of colorado, where this has been reject the twice overwhelmingly. and actually really made a

difference in that election with senator michael bennet where folks said a candidate supporting a personhood amendment, that's too extreme and too much of a government reaching into a woman's and families' personal lives. >> this is part of the war on planned parenthood to go out in extreme positions and pull back and aim it all at planned parenthood, as rick perry did on that event last night. let's listen to what rick perry had to say. >> consider this example in my home state. this year i was proud to fight for and to sign a state budget that defunded planned parenthood. and since then there have been 12 planned parenthood clinics that have shut down across texas. >> defund planned parenthood the magic words in republican campaigning.

>> you know what's sad about this, and i'm a texan so i take it personally, is that what governor perry did was actually throw three -- there is no funding -- public funding for abortion in the state of texas. this has nothing to do with abortion. he threw 300,000 women in the state of texas off birth control and off ability to get their well women checkups and basic, basic cancer screenings. i think what we're seeing, and i think governor perry is a perfect example, is now politicians playing politics with women's health and women's lives. and i think it's going to -- i think it is a -- it's a terrible idea for women. it's a terrible idea for women's health. and i think at the end of the day, the voters will reject it. >> cecile richards, an honor to you have you with me tonight. coming up, a very special "rewrite" and it's all about you. you. you know who you are. and the kings of lalt night comedy had a lot of material to choose from this week. that's later.

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♪ in "the rewrite" tonight, you. that's right, you. you finally made it into "the rewrite," not donald trump, not grover norquist. you. you "the last word" audience were bound to do something that gout you in "the rewrite" and it already is sounding like a

phoney "time" magazine things where they named you person of the year. i actually still don't know what they meant by that. but last night, and today, you, amazed and thrilled me once again. and you rewrote the future for these children in malawi. i reported to you last night on the latest work of the k.i.n.d. fund, that has allowed us to manufacturer and deliver 40,000 desks to students where most students and teachers have never seen a desk, never. i showed you the jobs we've created in malawi where these desks are made using locally supplied material. the jobs that your contributions to the k.i.n.d. fund have created in the last year have changed the lives of those workers. some of them have been able to move to better homes. all of them have been able to feed their families, which in malawi, no one takes for

granted. alldy last night was remind you of the work of the k.i.n.d. fund which we created this time last year and update you on its progress. just by doing, that you immediately went to the k.i.n.d. fund website, last night to get -- let's see. lastworddesks.msnbc.com. you can't believe how that looks in the teleprompter. it couldn't have been crazier. anyway, you went to that, many of you went to that, and some of you called unicef's contribution line at 1-800-4-kids and you started contributing money for more desks before i finished my report. from 10:45 p.m. last night new york time to 4 p.m. this afternoon, you created $105,000 to the k.i.n.d. fund. thanking as many as possible on twitter who have mentioned your

donations on twitter. i want to acknowledge some more of you now. this is from our blog. maveet writes, thanks for, this the fun, the desks, the story, the vids. you've given us a great way to donate and know it's getting to the right place. heading to our donate button next. from our facebooe ofgeosts that make me feel deey honored to have people like this in "the last word" audience. e. he had seen the previous ones about the k.i.n.d. mission. he told me, that is all he wants for christmas, is to order a desk for the kids. and i will be doing so for him. maureen, i gave my 17-year-old daughter a desk last christmas. and i was lucky enough to be able to bring her on my trip to malawi this year to see the progress we're making and for her to meet girls her own age

whose daily struggles and living conditions are more difficult than anything she could have imagined. students still in high school, like your son and my daughter, and kids in elementary schools, the only among us who spend their entire days sitting at desks in classrooms are easily inspired to help when they see what the k.i.n.d. fund is trying to do. elementary school students find little ways to raise money and contribute. high school students have run car washes and other fund-raising activities. when they see video of kids their own age sitting on those floors in malawi, or in my daughter's case, when she has an opportunity to sit on one of those floors herself in that classroom, they can instantly imagine themselves in that situation. my daughter knows she has done no more important thing in her life than deliver desks to those classrooms and she knows that i haven't either. maureen, i thank you and salute

you for raising such a fine, young man. and if you get in touch with us on facebook or online, an e-mail, thelastword.msnbc.com. i would love to send your son a christmas present in addition to the desk you've given him. also facebook from malawi. i just bought a desk for my s i live in malawi and know that every bit helps. i'm spreading the word to my friends and family back home in canada i hope others will do the same. great work. from twitter we have jack who writes, last year my wife and i donated desks to malawi after a call to lawrence. this year we're giving them as gifts. you can go to our website and buy a desk in the name of anyone you choose. maybe for one of those friends who might already have everything or someone you just can't figure out what to get, what kind of gift.

unicef will send an e-mail notification to whoever you choose as a gift notification. also on my twitter feed, our giving year but we'll be taking a collection for k.i.n.d. at our holiday party this weekend. i'll keep you posted. i know you will. i understand many people have no room in their budget this year or in this economy to make any kind of contribution at all. and i'm not suggesting that anyone in that situation should strain in any ford to try to participate now. taking a collection is a wonderful idea under the circumstances. although a desk costs $48, you can contribute any amount less than that, anything at all, that you feel comfortable contributing. if you contribute $10 and four other people contribute $10, and they will, then we can buy one of these desks. and this desk will be used by two or three children at a time

for many years to come. your $10 will help. it will really have an impact. and if it's too tough for you to contribute this year, you can contribute next year. this isn't going away. this is the permanent cause of "the last word." the deprivation level is so high in african classrooms that we will need to be delivering and building these desks for a long time to come. and in another tweet, jill said, i will be donating tomorrow. segment made me cry. great work. thanks, jill. segment made me cry, too. luckily, not when i did it on the show last night, but the first time i tried to read it allowed after writing it, i couldn't quite get through it. had to cut a few lines here and there. just like the first time i tried to talk about this on television. it's that kind of story. but i've never felt like crying in malawi, never when i'm with

those kids. even when i'm with students who have never owned shoes. there is nothing about being there with them that provokes anything like pity. because they're excited about where they are. they are thrilled to be in school. not all kids in malawi go to school. fewer girls go to school than boys. but the kids who do go to school, believe they have a clans. they believe they have a chance to some day have shoes. that's why they're in school. shoes. they know they need an education to work their way up to a better life. no matter how tired or uncomfortable they are, after the fifth or sixth hour of sitting on that floor, they believe this is the place, the only place, that can give them a chance. and when the desks you send to them arrive, they think they

have a much, much better chance. in this season of giving, i can never thank you enough for giving these kids a better chance. ♪ ♪ it's nice to be here ♪ ♪ it's nice to see you [ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪ this is zales, the diamond store. take up to an extra 15 percent off storewide now through sunday. ♪ ♪

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time for some fun. late night comedians get tonight's "last word". >> oow! gop debate. >> debate number 614. >> yeah. >> places we disagree? let's see. we could start with -- with this idea to have -- to have a lunar colony that would mine minerals from the moon.

>> what? what? you start with the lunar mines idea? romney, newt gingrich is a life support system for bad ideas and you magically reach in and pick out his one awesome idea. >> let's be candid. the only reason you didn't become a career politician is you lost to teddy kennedy in 1994. >> now, wait a second. >> down goes romney! >> $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business but -- >> oh, okay. >> this is awesome. a mormon gambling with an evangelical over who's the bigger liar. >> mitt romney challenged rick perry to a $10,000 bet and perry said, i'm not a betting man. yeah, perry also said, i'm not a spelling man, a reading man, or an adding man. during saturday's debate,

michele bachmann kept referring to mitt romney and newt gingrich as newt romney. yeah, experts say it's the closest she's ever come to endorsing gay marriage. >> newt gingrich says he is against gay marriage. that explains why it's the only type of marriage he hasn't tried yet. >> newt gingrich has had three wives, i think. let me see -- yep, one for each chin. so, he -- >> newt gingrich has sent a letter to the iowa social conservative group, the family leader, taking a no adultery pledge. yeah. he's taking a no adultery pledge. he did that already three times. it was called a marriage vow. >> last night his main rival got a game-changing endorsement from a republican heavy hitter. >> i'm endorsing mitt romney. >> boom! mitt romney is back in it. >> what's rick perry's cchilles. >> he doesn't have one. >> you just said every -- >> rick perry, has an achilles head.

>> ron paul got simpres si ventura, which counteraxe the fact that michele bachmann got wayne newton who needed to fight off the fact that rick perry got endorsed by dean cain and that had to sting dean's brother herman. >> what cabinet position might you like? >> we're speaking totally, totally hypothetical, right? >> yes. >> no, herman cain. this is your job interview for a cabinet position. >> department of defense. >> what? >> romney, how would you describe a not ideological pure conservative and can you frame it as a positive in 2002? >> i think people recognize that i'm not a partisan republican, i'm someone who is moderate and my views are progressive. >> yes, and by progressive i mean, my views will progress in any direction necessary. >> everything about romney tells

the tale of a man who just fired your dad. >> well, folks, donald trump has decided to cancel his republican debate he was going to host later this weekend. >> no. >> the good news, he only has to tell two people. the only ones who showed up. >> folks, this would be hugely embarrassing for trump if that were an emotion he were capable of feeling. every since donald trumpb dropped out of his own debate last night, there has been a giant ego-shaped hole in the republican primary. >> he announced he's not hosting that debate, trump. yep. well, i guess the last we'll hear of him. >> you can have "the last word" on our blog. while you're on our website, you can find all the information you need to donate to the k.i.n.d. fund, kids in need of desks, or