well, president obama responded this morning, and he hit a home run. >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders who've been taken off the field whether i engage in appeasement. or whoever's left out there. ask them about that. >> ask osama bin laden is all the president needs to say. it should be his answer anytime a republican tries to criticize him on foreign policy. in fact, i think he could make it work as a response to any kind of criticism. >> the president went about this all wrong. he went around the world and apologized for america. >> ask osama bin laden -- >> all the radical islamist leaders are saying is that just wait america out, america is weak -- >> ask osama bin laden -- >> the president has been a failure when it comes to foreign policy. >> ask osama bin laden. >> it is as though we have decided we want to lose in the war on terror under president obama. >> and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders who've been taken off the field. >> the obama administration's dangerous policies of incoherence and accommodation. >> ask osama bin laden. >> this gu

. >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders taken off the field. >> women's groups ask the question of betrayal after allowsing the so-called morning after pill to be sold to girls 16 and under. >> this is why we need more women in leadership. >> those stories and more in a packed hour ahead. let's get you up to speed with the news you need. deadly violence today at the university already infamous as the scene of mass murder. virginia tech, 33 mats kerr massacred in 2007. today shots rang out again, a frightened campus immediately lockdown. a gunman approached a campus police officer in his vehicle area shot the officer dead. the gunman was seen running towards a parking lot where a second body was found a short time later. was it the gunman or someone else? still unknown tonight. here's what they said at the news conference a short time ago. >> you consider this case other than figuring out the details is basically closed. >> i wouldn't say closed, no. >> harm to the public -- >> i would say when the university lifted the alert they consulted with several people an

to ask osama bin laden and the twenty two out of thirty top al qaeda leaders who've been taken off the field whether i engage him appeasement. or whoever's left out there ask them about that. while that is some cold blooded stuff it's the president gloating about all the people that been killed under his command and on his orders so i guess that's what he feels he has to do in the face of our of again attacks although from an outside perspective i think that any normal individual would be disturbed by this statement when asked if this is really what it's come down to in our political discourse so what was the mainstream media's response. well but here's what brought the president out today there was a vote in the senate and it had to do with the man that the president wants to head the consumer financial protection bureau his name is richard cordray the main reason why the president came out was to speak about the blocking of the nomination of cordray now that the senate has refused to move forward on cordray is nomination the president has the power to do a recess appointment. congres

. >>> ask osama bin laden and the ç >>> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders've been taken off the field whether i engage in appeasement. or whoever's left out there. ask them about that. >> and in the white house press conference, he said ask osama bin laden if i'm an appeaser. >> right. he wants to talk about bin laden. it's terrific he got bin laden. we all give him credit for that. iraq and afghanistan are two places where this president is absolutely failing. >> welcome back to "the ed show." any time president obama dares to take some credit, particularly on foreign policy, here come the cheneys. it's a family thing. they can't help themselves. liz cheney on fox news on sunday attacking the president. the next day her father, former vice president, he's out on cnn. but it still wasn't enough. so the former vice president went on to the early show on another network. three days and three appearances by a cheney in the attack mode. it would be hilarious if it weren't so infuriating. the man who played a huge role in getting us into the most ill conceived w

gained in saying the president has been weak in the world when he can say what he just said go ask osama bin laden how weak i have been in the world. yeah that's right with the exception of john king over at c.n.n. nobody even paid attention to the call by the president made they just went on about the payroll tax cut the consumer financial protection bureau all of which are also incredibly important issues and it shows just exactly how broken our political system is how far removed the actions of our politicians are from the needs of everyday americans but you think that just for a moment we would see people show some pause reflect upon this other statement the president made not so much even john king took it as a boo but to say that the republicans have nothing to say that to the president because he just totally gave it to them has already gone completely crazy here when unfortunately i think the only answer is yes in a way the collective establishment mentality of our politicians are pundits our journalists has become one where killing rather than capturing the drone strikes of special

questioned his foreign policy and whether he's too weak to take on america's enemies like iran. >> ask osama binen and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field whether i engage in apiecement or whoever is left out there. ask them about that. >> william cohen served as defense secretary under president clinton and currently the chairman and ceo of the cohen group. that was -- everybody wondered how would the obama president obama use this big foreign policy victory of his, osama bin laden if it came up in a political campaign. i think we heard the response. >> well, clearly he will use that during the course of the campaign, but frankly it's going to be old news by that time. he got a one week or two week bump if that with the news. it was something that republicans have been longstanding commitment to try to achieve president bush, smoke him out, dead or alive. the president produced on that. that's been discounted at that point and the attack will come that he's weak on foreign it will -- with respect to iran, wwe have to take care. we have to approach this with s

. >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field whether i engage in appeasement. >>> elizabeth warren is running high and riding even higher, and the 1% is running scared. >>> and a sneak preview at willard's secret plan to take down newt. you're watching "politics nation" on -- with al sharpton on msnbc. [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up! ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. >>> folks, president obama left no doubt today. he's ready to take it to the republicans if they try to paint him as soft on defense. republicans, meet the facts. that's next. are choosing adv. here's one story. [ regis ] we love to play tennis. as a matter of fact it was joy who taught me how to play tennis. and with it comes some aches and pains and one way to relieve them all is to go right to the advil®. i have become increasingly amazed at regis's endurance. it's scary sometimes what he accomplishes in a day. well i'd rather not have time for pain but unfo

. >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field whether i engage in appeasement. >>> the president in attack mode as the white house gets a clearer picture of the republican presidential race. and gloria borg we are new information on the battle between newt gingrich and mitt romney. that is coming up next. ♪ sent her back to college for her sophomore year ♪ ♪ co-signed her credit card - "buy books, not beer!" ♪ ♪ but the second at she shut the door ♪ ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ ♪ she bought a pizza party for the whole dorm floor ♪ ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪ ♪ and a ticket down to spring break in mexico ♪ ♪ but her folks didn't know 'cause her folks didn't go ♪ ♪ to free-credit-score-dot-com hard times for daddy and mom. ♪ if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on top of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised

the past three years, he can stand up and you can hear him say, i've taken out more bad guys, ask osama bin laden if i'm an appeaser. he can literally say he's taken out al qaeda leadership in pakistan and afghanistan. so he feels he would be on firm ground there but whether that translates to the rest of the american populace, whether american voters are thinking that, i don't -- >> the polls show he's favorably viewed by americans on foreign policy and unfavorably viewed on the economy. gwen: except on iraq. it looks like it's crumbling. the moment we decided to leave and there have been critics, including john mccain, saying that is what would happen, the treasure we invested in iraq is falling apart because we pulled out too soon. does anybody agree with that? especially after a week like this? >> i think people could look at the events of iraq this week and say, yeap, i was right, we theldn't have been there in first place because he's conflicts have been going on for centuries with or without american troops on the ground and other people writing this is the reason why obama was wrong

. >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field whether i engage in appeasement. or whoever's left out there, ask them about that. >> well, that's pretty somber. let's take a look at the obama record, by the way, from killing bin laden to getting health care reform done, and find out just how strong a case the president does have for re-election. >>> and herman cain, rick perry, michele bachmann, which republican presidential candidate has been the butt of more jokes on late-night tv? well, someone actually tracks this stuff. we've got the answer tonight in the sideshow. >>> but let me finish tonight with some advice. be careful, progressives, for what you wish for. i'm talking about those wishing for newt gingrich to be the republican candidate. >>> we start with mitt romney on the attack. republican strategist steve schmidt worked on the bush/cheney 2004 campaign and ran the 2008 campaign. he's also an msnbc political analyst. and jennifer donohue is a senior fellow at the eisenhower institute and a "huffington post" contributor.

strategy. >> apiecement. >> consistently engaged in appeasement. >> nothing but appeasement. >> ask osama binhe 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field whether i engage in appeasement. or whoever is left out there. ask them about that. >> well, whoever is left out there. boom. basically. i mean, we've talked a lot about obama having a very more partisan, a stronger sort of message from a left standpoint in the last few weeks. the payroll tax debate i think has given him a lot of fuel to sort of stand on principle. he seems to have the general public with him, if not his party. foreign policy is one of those areas where he has thus far had a pretty good track record, although republicans have found a way to try and attack him. >> i found his response to the question politically deft but substantively awful. it strikes me as really a sign of a sick political culture in which the response to a totally baseless charge of appeasement, which is a very specific meaning, is to list the amount of people that you have had killed. and in fact, if that is the political respons

>> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field. > we wouldn't have gotten bin laden if obama had gotten his way, is actually intellectually dishonest "psycho talk." >>> a government takeover in michigan is under way. will the justice department intervene? ben jealous of naacp and congresswoman sheila jackson lee will join me on this powerful story. >>> rick perry's deep brain freeze continues. see what he can't remember this time around. mike papantonio and lizz winstead will weigh in on that and a whole lot more. where sleepless nights yield to restful sleep. and lunesta can help you get there, like it has for so many people before. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase th

let's listen. >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of top al qaeda leaders who've been taken off thee in appeasement. or whoever's left out there, ask them about that. >> that was pretty cold. cynthia tucker. steve mcmahon, who's never won a pulitzer prize. i don't think they give them for running campaigns. what do you think of that, cynthia? the cold kind of clint eastwood comment there? >> the campaign has been joined. you know, republicans have been saying this sort of thing an the president the last couple years. he's weak, he apologizes. mitt romney's, the apology tour. usually the president lets it roll off his back, doesn't respond. the campaign has been joined. he's tough. he went in there after them. he's not going to let any of these comments pass without taking them on. >> he's kind of cool hand there. i wonder if we're going to see more of that. the people who watch this program, most of them are looking for that. >> this is what john kerry never did during the campaign. when the republicans challenged his service in vietnam, he never smacked them down like this. >> whos

. >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field whether i engage in appeasement. >> reporter: chuck todd, nbc news, washington. >>> there is new video tonight of what iran says is the u.s. drone that crashed last week. the video aired on iranian state tv. it showed iranian military officials examining the alleged drone. as we have reported, u.s. officials have told nbc news the cia had used a stealth drone in the past to spy on iran's nuclear facilities and hezbollah training camps inside iran. >>> up next as our broadcast continues, a big decision today on whether to keep two popular birth control pills on the market and a lot of women are thinking about the brand they might use. >>> and later, he defied the flight attendant's order to turn off his phone. how many of us have done the same thing and is it really dangerous? r: >>> medical experts have been taking a close look at the new generation of birth control pills, including the one called yaz, because of studies that show they may be more likely to cause dangerous blood clots

. >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field whether i engage in appeasement, or whoever is left out there, ask them about that. >> republican leaders in the house plan to vote early next week on a proposal to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance, but the deal contains add-ons. president obama says he will get a deal done even if it means canceling his christmas vacation. >> we will stay here as long as it takes to make sure that the people's taxes don't go up on january 1st and make sure that folks who desperately need unemployment insurance get that help and there is absolutely no excuse for us not getting it done. >> the president wants the payroll tax cut to be paid for with a new tax on millionaires, something republicans oppose >>> just ahead on the "morning news," why more drivers are taking their eyes off the road. >>> plus, a manhunt in california, after a brazen attack on a police station. >>> but first, scott pelley with a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." >>> it may be the biggest threat to the

. >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field whether i engage in appeasement. or whoever is left out there. ask them about that. >> well, with the deadline approaching to extend the payroll tax cuts, the president questioned republican motives for standing in the way of that legislation. >> they think we should do a payroll tax but the question is what price will they extract from the president in order to get it done? and i just want to make clear, this is not about me. they shouldn't extend the payroll tax cut for me. they shouldn't extend unemployment insurance for me. this is for 160 million people who in 23 days are going to see their taxes go up if congress doesn't act. >> president obama warned of a quote white christmas in washington threatening to keep congress working through the holiday if an agreement is not reached. >>> the motive in yesterday's deadly shooting at virginia tech is still unclear this morning. a shaken campus struggles to deal with its second act of gun violence in nearly five years. nbc news justice c

. >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 of 30 top al qaeda leaders that have been taken off the field whether i engage in appeasement. or whoever is left out there. ask them about that. >> christiane, do you think this is a hint of the strategy to come? >> possibly. the president hass inoculated himself and his administration and the democratic party on an issue of national security that they're always accusing the democrats of being weak on. having taken out osama bin laden and any number of al qaeda leaders, having conducted the most drone strikes of any president, he's put that to rest. some republican strategists admit that as well. at the same time, they're drawing the tent in when it comes to foreign policy. not wanting intervention. >> you'll be watching closely as well. she'll have the fallout tomorrow morning on "this week." later tonight, a behind the scenes look at this debate hall. what you don't see at home and the one thing to watch for tonight. diane and george moderating this evening. a brand new way to weigh in in realtime. you can download yahoo!'s into now app. >>> we move

." >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders who have been taken out in the field whether i engage in appeasement. whoever's left. ask them about that. >> pelley: the president had a sharp answer when he was asked whether congress will extend the current payroll tax cut which expires december 31. norah o'donnell is at the white house tonight. norah? >> reporter: scott, it was interesting to hear president obama say today that his personal frustration level with congress is off the scale. today he was combative, he was unwielding, vowing to fight congress, those republicans, tooth and nail in order to get extensions passed on his payroll tax cut as well as unemployment insurance even if it means canceling his christmas vacati vacation. >> we are going to stay here as long as it takes to make sure that the american people's taxes don't go up on january 1 and to make sure that folks who desperately need unemployment insurance get that help. and there's absolutely no excuse for us not getting it done. >> reporter: now, the president's advisors say they are at least ple

. >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field whether i engage in appeasement or whoever is left out there. ask them about that. gwen: the first voting is only weeks away. are we seeing a race to the top or to the bottom? covering the week in politics, charles babington of the associated press, major garrett of "national journal." john harwood of cnbc and "the new york times." and alexis simendinger of real clear politics. >> award-winning reporting and analysis, covering history as it happens, live from our nation's capital this is "washington week with gwen ifill." produced in association with "national journal." corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> this rock has never stood still. since 1875, we've been there for our clients through good times and bad. when their needs changed, we were there to meet them. through the years, from insurance to investment management, from real estate to retirement solutions, we've developed new ideas for the financial challenges ahead. this rock has never stood still. and t

. >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field, whether i engage in apiecement. or whoever is left out there. ask them about that. >> the president today. >>> meantime, to your voice, your vote tonight, and two dames until those republican contenders battle in iowa during the abc news republican debate. as the newly manipulated front-runner, newt gingrich could take the hardest hits. so, tonight, we ask, what kwal tips is he shows the vote their have propelled him to the top? abc's jake tapper is live in iowa tonight. and jake, they're setting up behind you. >> reporter: that's right, david. just 24 dames after the republican candidates square off here for the abc news debate saturday night, republican voters will go to the iowa caucuses and most of them say they still could change their minds. at dahl's grocery in the heart of des moines today, voters are taking it all in. >> it's kind of a toss up, i haven't decided on anybody specific. and it will be interesting to see how things play out. >> reporter: as the clock ticks down to