>> do you think of when you see a tree? a treatment for cancer? alternative fuel for our cars? to use the hope? food? clothing? sheltered? we do. we are growing ideas. ♪ >> i am very concerned about not appearing to be zany. >> this week on "inside washington" heading newt

gingrich off at the pass. what is it about this man bedbugs other republicans? >> if you know him, he will lead us on disciplined directions. >> are voters was an index -- listening? >> was the iraq war worth the blood and treasure? >> those lives were not lost in vain. they gave birth to an independent and free air record >> hi a hard time understanding why we were there in the first place. >> if you want to get congress moving, try threat in the christmas vacation. >> this congress shall not leave for vacation until they have made sure the tax increase does not happen.

>> former republican congressman joe scarborough, now co-host of " morining joe" was part of the republican revolution under newt gingrich. he said newt gingrich is not a nice human being. new york congressman peter king thinks newt gingrich the qe owes it to his insistences -- thinks he owes it to his constituents not to let it happen again. the columnist george will says gingrich would make a marvelous marxist. "the conservative -- the conservative "national journal, is urging readers not to enter a marriage with newt gingrich. they say he is put his own interests among those of the causes he champignon public.

what is it about this guy that is driving republicans crazy? >> you presented a strong indictment, but i have to say newt gingrich has an ability -- having been the man of the year in 1995, he plummeted in popular support where him a poll less than two years ago he was less than 14% favorable. there is a story where he turned to bob doll and said why do people take such an instant dislike to me, and bob dole responded it saves them time. [laughter] >> this is a man with an enormous amount of history and bad feelings, as you can tell about the people saying not nice things about him. he is trying to create a new love affair with the republican party. the people that fell for him

wants are trying to tell the people falling for him now to not do it. >> it always goes back to high school. newt gingrich is a no win all kid. he is annoying. sooner or later. >> there are the people the know him best, largely inside the beltway, the people that have only seen him in the campaign -- there are two different faces. i think it will get beyond the beltway and catch up with newt gingrich. i do not think he can sustain the candidacy in light of his own ranks. >> he was dead in the water last june, and then he went on this rocket ride. tell us about the third mrs. gingrich. >> well, his first campaign in imploded because of her. she was refusing to let him go

to iowa. the guys that work for him said you have to go to iowa, so they all quit. most of them quit. newt gingrich is resilient. he is a resilient guy. he has been through a lot. he spoke with nancy reagan. he is flying under the radar. he got something going again. she is smart she is probably a good advisory and a lot of ways, but their revulsion against newt gingrich is partly her problem because he was having an affair with her while he was running the impeachment hearings. that kind of thing, in a general election, is going to come out. >> i wonder if people care about that anymore. i wonder if it has the impact

that it did when they were in teaching bill clinton. >> i think he has a good answer to the questions, and he acknowledges the faults. his biggest problem would be related to being characterized for his irrational side, his self-centered side, the person that cannot be relied upon, and the fact that he is not a real conservative because he shows radical ideas. >> what about his tenure during the clinton administration? >> he says he balance the budget four years in a row. he did no such thing. the budget was balanced because of bill clinton and the taxes imposed on some of the rich, which newt gingrich opposed. >> he did dead the house of represent -- he did get the house of representatives to vote to cut medicare. that is almost impossible.

you cannot write him off as a joke, as we tend to do. >> and, he was the first republican speaker in 40 years. >> he did all of that. you have to give some credit for that, but people give him credit for poisoning the water. he is the classic, a charismatic figure that can also be characterized as a demagogue figure. whenever we say is on videotape. you play that, and is being used by his opponents to make him have a face that is very unattractive. that is the way is being used. >> some democrats are begging for newt gingrich as the candidate. is this a case of be careful what you wish for? >> that is always the case in politics. newt gingrich wraps himself in the cloak of ronald reagan.

in an interview with the reagan library he says he helped break and create millions of jobs, and we helped to defeat the soviet empire. he did not mention the fact that he was a constant critic of reagan, and when ronald reagan and his historic summit meeting with mikhail gorbachev, congressman newt gingrich, republican from georgia, said this is the most dangerous summon to the west since adolf hitler met with chamberlain in 1938. >> that is what i'm talking about. >> in this week's "new yorker" it is written been good and which has compare themselves to lincoln, ronald reagan. tebow.s no tim >> house republicans did not want to carry that baggage.

>> let's look the last debate before iowa. >> it is laughable but someone who campaigned with ronald reagan and jack kemp and has a 30-year record of conservatism is not a conservative? >> the evidence says that speaker gingrich took $1.6 million. if you do not need to be under the technical definition of being a lobbyist to the influence peddling. >> i know what it takes to get this economy going. qwikster you have a sample of the debate on -- >> there you have an example of the debate on fox. >> newt gingrich look a little petulant. you could feel though weathervane shift a little bit. >> it is interesting. mitt romney did not have the target on his back. gingrich had the target on his back, and mitt romney benefit.

should mitt romney get the nomination, a hit -- he will have a target on his back from barack obama, and every time he has said that target he has sort of choked and clutched. i think these debates are great for him, and if it goes on for a while it will be good for him because he has to get to the point where he can compete against the president of the united states and not look like a rich guy. >> what about ron paul? what did you think of his performance? >> he defined himself as the libertarian that he is, and his position on foreign policy is so far beyond the peril of the republican party -- >> he got some applause. >> he did, but it just does not flow beyond the libertarian strain.

i thought the person who raised the profile was michele bachmann. i accused her of being bothered with scenes -- sayings. >> by avoiding the bullying tactics, that is what mitt romney did. the yankees won the world series in 1947, i think. do you want to bet $10,000? nobody likes the rich bali. but what mitt romney has been. i thought michele bachmann did a formidable job on the influence- peddling, and saying do not call of lobbying. i think gingrich hurt himself by playing defense and defending freddie mac to republican

audience. give him credit for being honest about mortgages being guaranteed by taxpayer dollars. i was most impressed by ron paul. i thought he was energized and well-spoken last night, more than he had been in any other debate. iowa is a state that is pacifist -- democrats and republicans. >> could he be a dark horse? >> the last rasmussen poll, which does republicans, had mitt romney at 23%. gingrich at 20%, and ron paul at 18%. that is within the margin of error. >> as the only woman on this panel, i thought michele bachmann did a really nice job of same to gingrich do not dismiss me. you are dismissing me, and i

thought she really stood up for herself very nicely. >> that is interesting. to me, it sounded whitey. >> need to. >> i thought that appeal to women. >> it appears not just to women, the people who are fair- minded. i think she did a good job, too. >> i am among you sensitive people. with so many debates in a primary season that is front- loaded, with iowa, south carolina, which is scheduled this is -- which canada does the schedule favors the most? >> -- which candidate does the schedule favors the most? >> a big favor mitt romney. >> the governor in south carolina indorsed mitt romney this week. that kind of thing will keep on happening. i do not think they carry a huge

amount of weight, but they cause people to pause. >> she is down to 30 in south carolina. she slipped badly. >> you have to remember no president since world war two has won the election when the on implant rate was 8% or higher. it is now at 8.6. the housing situation is a mess. congress, all of that. >> the fascinating thing was that president obama was losing to a generic republican, but defeating newt gingrich by better than 10 points, which shows the concern republicans have. it also shows him with a slight edge over mitt romney. the president is also -- in trouble if a generic republican is running against him. >> it all depends on europe.

if europe has a severe crisis, it will drag down our economy and that will defeat obama. if europe can model through, -- muddle through and the economy can optic, obama can win. >> mitt romney had such a formidable lead. if he finds himself winning by a small margin -- >> there is a history of that. the number two gets called the winner. >> iowa, january 3. how does that work? >> it is not an election. you go to your precinct. your precinct caucus meets in the firehouse. they could meet in the school gymnasium. you go with neighbors. as a democrat, you have to make a case for who you are voting for. this has been the argument against the caucus in the past because they inhibit someone. the secret ballot is gone. you have to be there at a specific hour.

you are working nights, you cannot do it. if you do not of transportation, you cannot do it. the republicans have a more simple and direct way parity you cast a ballot on the way in, and then -- ballot on the way in, and then they give you the name. this is the first step ahead from the precinct, to the county, the congressional district, and then to the state. the final nominee is not until next june. >> the interesting thing is the democrats have a complicated system. >> cookies and everything. >> not only that, you have to have a certain number for qualification. republicans are really simple. the idea did you have to lead a huge organization as a ground game -- you have to have a huge opposition as a ground game is not true on the republican side. >> you have to get your own

people. >> you have to find your own people and persuade them to come there at a time-certain. >> remember, mitt romney was not certain whether he would go all in in iowa. >> he spent all that money four years ago. >> the question is, will he go all in this time? does he hold back? ron paul seems a key has the boots on the ground operation. >> any chance rick perry can steal a march here? he was better. he has some money. >> he is doing a huge bus tour of the state. even in iowa, and you can see people's acceptance of the notion that this is the last of these things being so important because this has become such a nationalize primary in a way.

-- nationalize primary in a way. someone like mitt romney can come in at relatively the last moment, and he has a ground game because he has an organization there, and perhaps do very well, and even win. if he wins, it is a good deal for mitt romney. >> right now, two weeks before, i really think you have to say it is gingrich, ron paul, and mitt romney with the inside rail. >> suppose if mitt romney comes in third or even force, then goes up to new hampshire, how bad does that hurt him? >> new hampshire voters are very self-satisfying. they pretend they do not pay any attention to what happened in iowa, but they do. so, how does mitt romney

respond? does he take a punch? does he lashed out? does he say i am going to be a different kind of candidate? for 11 months he ran a discipline, controlled campaign, then all the sudden we lost the lead, and he started to get more personal, more revealing about himself. which mitt romney will we see after iowa. >> we will find out the end of the iraq war could >> iraq -- we will find out. the end of the iraq war. >> iraq is not a perfect place. it has many challenges ahead but we are leaving behind a stable and sovereign iraq. >> i believe history will judge this president's leadership with the scorn and distain that it deserves. >> that was senator john mccain, and he also said it was clear the this decision of a complete pullout was dictated by politics and not in our national security interests. >> senator mccain does know how

to carry a grudge. if charles were here, he would say the obama administration threw away this victory, but the bush administration would have negotiated to stay in. i do not think that was possible. it was actively clear that this government in iraq was not going to allow american soldiers to have immunity, that they would be tried in iraqi courts. i do not think the bush should administration would have agreed to that any more than the obama administration did. >> defense secretary leon panetta in baghdad this week said "the cost is high in blood and treasure for the united states and the iraqi people. those lives or not lost in vain. they gave birth to an independent, free, sovereign iraq. how independent? i'm thinking about the relationship with iran.

there was a lot of talk about that debate on thursday night. >> we have raised the question before about insolence. they will have more influence with this government than they did with said dom same. -- said, same. -- saddam hussein. the president said we're leaving behind a more stable government. that has not been answered. america does not have broad support. there are factions there. sectarianism could still rear its head. >> let me respond. abc news interviewed the general of american forces in iraq and he said we can expect to see violence in the future in iraq and he does not think iraqi

security forces have much capability to defend against an external threat. >> obviously, it is still a mess, but as opposed to what? if we have not gone in -- said down hussein was a delusional, crazy man -- said down hussein was a good delusional, crazy man, and his sons were worse. i think the united states was destined one way or the other to go into iraq and strengthen that out. we lost a lot of men. the debt totals were terrible -- -- the death tolls will, while terrible, by historic models, and i sound cold-blooded saying this, but compare to other engagements it was not a huge number. was a terrible thing for the people that lost their lives. >> here are some numbers you cannot get around. 4500 killed 35,000 wounded, $9

trillion spent. >> saddam had iran in check. >> i do not know why you think the iraqis would have fought with us as opposed to iran. >> they were essentially going to get him. eventually those guys were going to cause trouble in the region. >> the united states went to war against a country that did not threaten us, that did not add anything to do with 9/11, that did not have weapons of mass destruction, as was alleged, that was not cable of offering a mushroom cloud over the united states as the president and the secretary of defense both alleged, and quite frankly, it was the invasion and occupation of another country that in no way threatened the united states. as a consequence, we have 4500 americans who will never see their children grow up, who will never grow old.

100,000 iraqis as well. was a bad war. i hope we are able to say good warrior, a bad war. that is the only formulation you can make. >> ok. will president obama be the grinch who stole christmas -- chrifrom our hard-working members of congress? >> i expect everyone to do what is necessary to do the people's business before the city to of the apparent >> everyone needs to step back and take a deep breath. an easy way to untangle all of this. >> there you have the spirit of decision and work toward peace on earth, good will, and on tangling the ourselves. >> the republicans do not want to be stuck with the idea that they make people pay more money. so, they are trying to figure out how to do this. they have loaded up this package would stop the president does not want, including this

gas pipeline. i do not understand if there is one to be a christmas tree, why don't the democrats put on that christmas tree things that are important to them like confirmation they want confirmed? if you have to accept the pipeline, allow us a vote in the senate on confirmation. >> it looks like congress has once again avoided a government shutdown. >> nobody wants to have that on their hands. perhaps newt gingrich did. nobody was see the government shutdown. there were cuts in trade talks with the democrats. they will have to do the same thing with the payroll tax. they will have to find a way to make sure the cuts go through and do something about unemployment insurance. democrats will have to give a little something. >> about 9% of the american people think congress is doing a great job. >> if i think it has sunk in how much the country hits congress

on the congressmen themselves. there was a shame, and that is one reason they got a deal. >> he and congress knows? >> tom gallagher, who is about as smart as anyone i know in politics, finance, and spending said there to do what they said move congress -- christmas and a crisis. that is what we are seeing right now, and happily so. i would just add this. the payroll tax extension will be the opening for the republicans and privatization of social security. >> ok. we will see. last word. thank you can see you next week. ♪ >> for transcripts of this broadcast, log on --