. >> from washington, d.c., here's bret baier. >> bret: the story of former vice president cheney is one of the most fascinating in modern american politics. he came to washington in the late 60s without a well formed ideology. he left 40 years later, as one of the most uncompromising conservatives in the nation. he's someone as comfortable alone for hours in a river fishing, as he is in washington's high tension power plays. he suffered multiple heart attacks. that never slowed his career. he's a behind the scenes player who became as much as anyone, the public face of the bush administration's most explosive controversys. on august 30th, cheney will be back in the news when he releases his memoir. the book will cover four decades in public service. i've spent a lot of time with him over the last decade when he became as often said the most powerful vice president in history. >> i believe you are looking at the next vice president of the united states. >> he said i found my running e going to be a surprise to everybody. >> i picked him because he is president of the united states. t

bret? >> bret: steve brown, 00 yards away. steve, thank you. >>> syrian troops reportedly killed at least 11 civilians today in an armed assault against the city of homes. they established control of another town after four days of intense fighting. back here at home, the u.s. has slapped sanctions on syria's largest commercial bank and cell phone operator. chief washington correspondent jim ankle reports something bigger is on the horizon. >> with the syrian government getting ever more brutal in the crackdown on protesters, officials say the obama administration is about to call on syrian president bashar assad to step down. they said as much at the white house today. >> the president believes that syria will be better off, would be better off without president assad. >> saudi arabia's king adullah and or arab nations have unified use of force. saudis and other nations withdrew ambassadors this week. the treasury department announced new sanctions on syria bank close to the government which they say is implicated in illegal

i'm bret baier.tead of waving their hands in victory, many lawmakers in washington are holding their noses, a as they prepare to vote for the compromise debt ceiling bill agreed to sunday. many others, however, are vowing to fight the packal of spending cuts and bar rowing authority. we have fox team coverage tonight ahead of the vote. ed henry reports on how the deal is sitting with the president's friends on the left. but we begin with chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel who tells us where we are in the voting process right now. mike? >> reporter: bret, good evening. a lot of discussion on capitol hill. lawmakers sounding off on what they don't like about the bipartisan debt compromise. the house is due to vote first this evening, speaker boehner made it clear it's not just on his shoulders to deliver the votes to pass it. >> this is an agreement between the bipartisan leaders of the congress and the president of the united states. >> vice president biden on capitol hill spent 2-1/2 hour

bret >> bret: thank you jennifer. we'll talk live with a man who knows what it is like to rup and win in iowa a bit later. but first, we will tell you how democrats fared in their attempts to seize power in the wisconsin senate. [ jon ] we don't just come up here for the view up in alaska. it's the cleanest, clearest water. we find the best, sweetest crab for red lobster we can find. yeah! [ male announcer ] hurry in to crabfest at red lobster. the only time you can savor three sweet alaskan crab entrees all under $20, like our hearty crab and roasted garlic seafood bake or sn crab and crab butter shrimp. [ jon i wouldn'tut it my table at home, i wouldn't bring it in. my name's jon forsythe, and i sea fd differently. >> bret: welcome back to ames, iowa. on the campus of iowa state university for the special edition of "special report." ups of security forces are preparing for the worst again tonight in great britain. the prime minister david cameron said today the country is sick. many britains are feeling a deep sens

. >> bret: this is bret baier. weak global economy fears in market around the world from a variety of issues sparked this. stocks on wall street took a major nose dive today. the dow jones/industrials industrial average was down by more than 500 points in the final half hour of trading. the dow closed off 513 points for the day. the s&p 500 plunged 60. nasdaq 137. liz claman has analysis. ed henry tells us the white house is getting ready for disappointing numbers on friday. we begin with fox news network correspondent rich edson on a tough day in the market. >> good evening. widespread losses in the market. investors rush to sell their stocks. analyst fail to agree on a single cull pit. ongoing economic concerns that recently collided to lead the dow jones/industrials average down 4-1/3%. the largest drop since 2008. down 10 of the last 11 trading days, 10.5% drop in the period. the lowest close since early december. investors see athemmic job and economic growth and european december crisis that won't quit. that

, bret. >> bret: coming up. we'll talk to the sunday panel right after this break. impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. with investment information, risks, fees and expenses ♪ >> bret: >> there are things we can do that mean more in the country. only thing to not pass the bills is the refusal of congress to put it before the party. >> bret: president obama blaming the republicans for not doing more. it is time for the sunday group. bill kristol from the weekly standard and ab stoddard from the hill and haze haze from the weekly standard and evan bayh. senator, the president obviously is taking a

bret. >> bret: i'm bret bare i bret r chris wallace. along the cam tape trail it's game on. as the economic recovery stumbles and remains job challenged presidential candidates criss-cross key early states. the intersection of politics and the economy with fox varneys anchor stuart vascular and two top white house aides working to get their candidates elected. then how does a candidate turn a solid debate outing into cash and better poll levels? we will continue our 2012 series in an exclusive with former pennsylvania senator rick santorum. then, america pressures syrian president assad to step down and u.s. involvement in libya continues for a fifth month. we will ask our sunday panel about the foreign hot spots and what should be done next, all right now on "fox news sunday." and hello again from fox news in washington. we will talk politics with our guests in just a moment. first, the economy. shaken by fears of a recession at home and the debt crisis in europe, the stock market had a rocky week. the fourth in a row. take a look. on thursday and friday, the dow dropped 5.

bret? >> bret: steve, thank you. let's bring in a man who knows a thing or two about iowa politics, chuck grassley is in his sixth term as united states senator from iowa. he joins us now. senator, welcome? >> i'm glad to be with you. >> you've been through a few of these. >> yeah, i think since 1979. >> bret: what do you think of this one, turnout and the overall anecdotes you're hearing? >> more people turning out. there is an undercurrent of outrage. i think because of the president's discredited economic and fiscal policies. there is a real determination to change the leadership of this country. it's not -- this was a quiet turnout, as you meet people one on one. but under there, there is a current. >> bret: do you sense that across the state? >> yes. absolutely. and particularly in the last three or four days as i interacted with so many people two days at the state fair, and almost as many people here. >> bret: there is a lot of discontent across the country for congress and getting things done and some say tha

bret? >> bret: rich, thank you. noticeably grayer president obama is marking his 50th birthday, but amid parties and fundraisers, there is a grim reality facing the president. chief white house correspondent ed henry has details. good evening. >> happy birthday to you, by the way. you don't look grayer. but face it, the president has a lot on his plate. really gyrating, gyrations on wall street. as you saw, the stubbornly high unemployment. new numbers today suggesting just how jarring the debt crisis has become. with dow skidding an wall street now bracing for what could be grim new unemployment figures friday, president obama's team is grasping for answers. >> there is no silver bullet. i not heard one proposed by anyone in washington or beyond. >> not exactly the gift the president was expecting for his 50th birthday. at a glitzy chicago rundraiser he fell back on a familiar refrain that fires up his base. blaming the bush administration. >> we knew the road ahead was going to be difficult, that the climb was goi

bret? >> bret: mike, thank you. perhaps no one is happier to get this over with than president obama. chief white house correspondent ed henry tells us it was an unusual end to a difficult period. but as we heard from mike, beginning of more battles to come. good evening, ed. >> reporter: right. it was striking to see the president and solitaire figure in the rose garden, no pep rally or cheering lawmakers with him. they didn't think there was a lot to celebrate here. so instead he was focus today on trying to position himself for the next round of deis it talks and also for the 2012 cam pape ahead. this was the president framing himself as the compromiser in chief. the only guy in the washingto washington. >> it ought to compel washington to corporate and compromise. >> reporter: it's convenient for the president to start looking ahead to 2012 and move beyond the debt ceiling fast, since his old position evolved. while he is now touting the success of deficit reduction, a few months ago his administration was incys

>> bret: good evening. i'm bret baier. fox news alert. a buckle your seat belt day in the stock market spurred by a major decision by the federal reserve following monday's 635-point dive. stocks rode a roller coaster, before skyrocketing to a close. the dow jones/industrials average finished ahead 430 points getk back over the 11 thank you mark. s&p 500 took back 53. the nasdaq surged 125. in economic climate, every bid is unstable as the dow today. federal reserve took a step to inject a bit of stability. chief white house correspondent ed henry is here to tell us what that was and what the fed action says about the future. good evening. >> good evening. the fed seemed to give the market certainty about interest rates but the same time, they seemed to give the president even more uncertainty about the re-election prospect. >> after a wild ride on wall street, the market finished with a surge. spurred by the federal reserve providing certainty. declaring it will keep the interest rate near zero for two years. >> the fed was telling busin

bret? >> thank you. >> bret: brawnback is returning a grant to help them set up health insurance exchange because of the strings attached, he says, and doubt about whether the federal got can pay the grant in future. emotional homecoming today for family and friend of those killed over the weekend in afghanistan. president obama made unscheduled trip to the ceremony. national security correspondent jennifer griffin has the story to the pentagon. >> president obama spent over an hour with the families of the fallen and the military top brass but thepedia was not given access because the pentagon said remains haven't been positively identified and 19 families asked the ceremony remain private. they announced brigadier general comet, deputy commanderer of the 101st airborne would lead investigation in to what brought down the chinook ch-47. weather enmy fired rocket propelled grenade and why so many members of one unit were on board one helicopter. was the root in the valley preprogrammed pred

bret? >> bret: jonathan live in south carolina. thank you.arkansas governor mike huckabee rejoins me. governor rick perry is in. how does that shake up this race, number one? number two, does it matter that he's not here in ames and debate thursday night? >> it changes the race in that you have a very strong candidate coming in. he'll have lots of money. he's the governor of a large state. he'll have a lot of grassroot support not just from texas, but attracted to the tea party and fighting with michelle bachman to be able to sort of garner that and become the candidate of the tea party. here is the challenge: he made this decision on the day when the centre of the political universe is not in south carolina. it's in ames, iowa. the press a team, the varsity from every news organization of the world is here today. he has made this announcement with basically the b team coverage. he shares what ever announcement he made with the bigger story of what's going on in ames. it seems to me that that was a tactical error. i know people will say, i'm

bret baier again this washington. the senate votes tomorrow morning, bret?et: shep, tomorrow at noon. senator reid took to the senate floor and said the motion to concur. the vote will happen at noon. 60 vote threshold needed. no amendments, no points of order. very little surprise here obviously any senator could step up and say something. highly unlikely after this vote in the house. new jersey is the vote eastern time. >> shepard: reid has suggested that he believes all the votes are there, period. >> yes. there will be high profile no votes. he believes that he and the minority leader mitch mcconnell can get this through. >> shepard: one of the biggest surprises of the day, bret, in a day well, we were pretty much out of surprises we thought. was the appearance of congresswoman gabriel giffords, the democrat of arizona there on the house floor. it's my understanding you have some more information about what was to me a secret. i don't know but guys down in d.c. about an hour before the vote. he met with her right before they entered the house chamber app

now to bret baier in iowa, for the debate. [ applause ] >> bret: thanks bill. welcome to ames, iowa on the campus of the iowa state university and the republican presidential debate. [ applause ] our event is being sponsored by fox news and the washington examiner. in conjunction with the iowa republican party. we've been seeing on fox news channel, streamed on foxnews.com. you can log on and check out how you can react to our debate. we are being heard on fox news radio and these folks in the studio are just fired up, as you can hear. [ cheering and applause ] >> bret: okay. now let's meet the candidates. former senator rick santorum. businessman herman cain. congressman ron paul. former massachusetts governor mitt romney. congresswoman michelle bachmann. former minnesota governor tim pawlenty. former utah governor jon huntsman. and former speaker of the house, newt gingrich. [ applause ] >> bret: joining me at the desk tonight chris wallace. and byron york and susan ferrechio. we are gathered at an unsettling moment for americans. we've watched the stock mark

that is what the president is concerned about. >> bret: a.b. white house press secretary says they don't believe there will be a double dip recession. but the former advisor wrote this. indicator suggests the economy has a one in three chance of falling back to recession if nothing new is done to raise demand and spur growth. you hear the president with the refocus. they trite not to talk about the pivot but refocus on jobs. how will the white house capitalize on the message? >> it's so tough for them. thaw know they have a small window. we talk about the debt ceiling debate about the term nant state of a budget fight. that the congress will be in. the fall will be taken out with fighting over the budget for 2012 to take us in to october. the super committee, that is set to resolve the debt saving that the debt deal promised, it goes in november and december. the president can't talk about jobs. he has a couple of weeks where he can tour the midwest to focus on jobs but he knows at the end of december, some, the payroll tax cut and the unemploy

captioned by closed captioning services, inc >> bret: good evening. i'm bret baier. fox news alert. nervous investors spent the weekend stewing over late friday downgrade of the nation credit rating ran for the exit today from the opening bell to the closing one. the dow jones/industrials average finished down 635 points to fall below 11,000. the s&p lost 80. the nasdaq plummeted 175. we have fox team coverage tonight. liz claman puts the selloff in perspective. ed henry reports on what the president is saying at the white house. we begin with the fox business network correspondent rich edison on how the stock slide is playing here and around the globe. good evening. >> good evening. the markets continue the freefall, after the economic recovery and the european debt problems. for the first time, the debt traded without the top natch triple-a for one of the big three rating firms. the wall street investors are again rushing to sell the stocks. >> there is a realization among global strategist that the slowdown is coming. >> the investment top rating agency standard & poor's downgrad

. >> bret: world headlines now. there was more rioting in london after shooting of father of four thursday. copycat violence spread to other part of the city preparing to host the economic games next summer. the u.s. announced a $105 million aid package for people affected by the famine in east africa. somali government troops abandoned by the group al shabob said to be the most significant gain for the united nations backed government. >>> bahrain recalled the ambassador to syria. today, the u.s. ambassador has not been recalled from damascus. there is fresh utility fire. and 42 people were killed sunday. a syrian defense minister replaced by the army chief of staff. president obama today said the nation will press ahead and succeed in afghanistan despite the attack and ensuing helicopter crash that killed 30 american troops on saturday. he praised the warriors for perseverance, courage and willingness is to shoulder burdens. national security correspondent jennifer griffin has reaction to the death. >> there is no

now to bret baier in iowa, for the debate. [ applause ] >> bret: thanks bill. welcome to ames, iowa on the campus of the iowa state university and the republican presidential debate. [ applause ] our event is being sponsored by fox news and the washington examiner. in conjunction with the iowa republican party. we've been seeing on fox news channel, streamed on foxnews.com. you can log on and check out how you can react to our debate. we are being heard on fox news radio and these folks in the studio are just fired up, as you can hear. [ cheering and applause ] >> bret: okay. now let's meet the candidates. former senator rick santorum. businessman herman cain. congressman ron paul. former massachusetts governor mitt romney. congresswoman michelle bachmann. former minnesota governor tim pawlenty. former utah governor jon huntsman. and former speaker of the house, newt gingrich. [ applause ] >> bret: joining me at the desk tonight chris wallace. and byron york and susan ferrechio. we are gathered at an unsettling moment for americans. we've watched the stock mark

now to bret baier in iowa, for the debate. [ applause ] >> bret: thanks bill. welcome to ames, iowa on the campus of the iowa state university and the republican presidential debate. [ applause ] our event is being sponsored by fox news and the washington examiner. in conjunction with the iowa republican party. we've been seeing on fox news channel, streamed on foxnews.com. you can log on and check out how you can react to our debate. we are being heard on fox news radio and these folks in the studio are just fired up, as you can hear. [ cheering and applause ] >> bret: okay. now let's meet the candidates. former senator rick santorum. businessman herman cain. congressman ron paul. former massachusetts governor mitt romney. congresswoman michelle bachmann. former minnesota governor tim pawlenty. former utah governor jon huntsman. and former speaker of the house, newt gingrich. [ applause ] >> bret: joining me at the desk tonight chris wallace. and byron york and susan ferrechio. we are gathered at an unsettling moment for americans. we've watched the stock mark

. >> bret: next up, the friday lightning round including the latest on syria. do you think president bashar assad will resign, step down? vote in the online poll on the home page, foxnews.com/specialreport. results after this break. ♪ [ slap! slap! slap! slap! slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums >>> every week, viewers vote for your choice online. in our friday lightning round poll. this week, president obama's vacation, won with 43% of the votes. we talked about it before and back with the panel. what about it? the first full day and the images and in this environment, steve? >> they are going to try to control the images but i don't think it will matter. the problem is he is tone deaf on the issue of sarah palin said yesterday. the real problem is if you talk to people and spend time outside of washington, d.c., you talk to people, people are really struggling. people, you know, at virtually all economic levels. people wh

in case mitt wins i'm limited to one acre. >> bret: governor any response. >> that's just fine. >> bret: okay. senator santorum. nothing about your lawn. governor pawlenty says america can quickly grow 5% a year for 10 years. with the right mix of policies. is he right? >> america has unbounded potential. i think we've grown at faster rates than that it has been focus on one thing i've traveled to 68 counties in iowa, 50 in the last 14 days, working and meeting with the people talking about what we will do to grow the manufacturing sector. when i grew up in pennsylvania, little steeltown, 21% of the people in the country worked in manufacturing, it is now 9. if you want to where the middle of america ? to china, malaysia, indonesia. we need to bring it back. i put together a plan including producing more energy. manufacturers use more energy than everybody else in the business world. the big thing is to take the corporate rate which makes us uncompetitive and cut it to zero for manufacturers. you want to create opportunity for businesses cut that tax to zero, our jobs will come back. [

and i think that's a very important point, bret.licans are coming away no tax increases, that was something the democrats had said there would be no deal without revenue increases. euphemism for we're going to raise your taxes. and now, it doesn't appear that there are any tax increases. there is a sense, in which i wonder why aren't republicans declaring victory on this and move forward because they have an opportunity rather than to see things shut down. if that happens, they're going to get blamed, whether they think they are or not. they will be. >> so, speaker boehner apparently has made an impassioned speech to his caucus, much like we saw him on the house floor the other day speaking before that vote on the third iteration of the bill that came to the floor. and in that speech he is trying it sell his caucus on that is he point, governor, to try to say, this is our deal, this is the time to take the chips off the table, this is the one we need to vote to to avoid any default or any situation that is tied to what the treasury

[ applause ] >> bret: welcome back. our next round is a lightning round quick before we get too foreign policy and national security. are we missing a candidate on the stage? we are. she will be right back. congresswoman bachmann. there she is. that's okay. there we go. texas governor rick perry, obviously is not here tonight. he's giving a speech on saturday in south carolina. we're told he's getting into this race. but he's not answering questions tonight. he's not taking part in the straw poll on saturday. is he out-smarting you? congressman paul? [ inaudible ] >> bret: are you worried about his strategy? >> no i'm pleased that he's coming in. he represents the status quo i feel like i'm separated from the other candidates with my strong belief in liberty and limited government and different foreign policy. >> bret: mr. cain, what about texas governor perry? >> welcome to the contest. from my perspective, it doesn't bother us or my campaign. that's just one more politician and that makes this business problem solver

[ applause ] >> bret: welcome back. our next round is a lightning round quick before we get too foreign policy and national security. are we missing a candidate on the stage? we are. she will be right back. congresswoman bachmann. there she is. that's okay. there we go. texas governor rick perry, obviously is not here tonight. he's giving a speech on saturday in south carolina. we're told he's getting into this race. but he's not answering questions tonight. he's not taking part in the straw poll on saturday. is he out-smarting you? congressman paul? [ inaudible ] >> bret: are you worried about his strategy? >> no i'm pleased that he's coming in. he represents the status quo i feel like i'm separated from the other candidates with my strong belief in liberty and limited government and different foreign policy. >> bret: mr. cain, what about texas governor perry? >> welcome to the contest. from my perspective, it doesn't bother us or my campaign. that's just one more politician and that makes this business problem solver

i think there's room in the race for governor perry, sarah palin and bret you too. >> bret: speaker gingrich. >> mayor giuliani has every right to run. governor perry has a great record of job creation in texas. very formidable person. governor palin has a nationwide audience. it is a shock times to political folks the first delegates are chosen in january. people have lots of time to come and play. they are missing this great opportunity to be with you guys and have all the fun we are having here tonight. i would like forward to anybody who wants to run, that's what america is about. >> bret: foreign policy and national security. governor pawlenty. another five u.s. soldiers were killed today in afghanistan after the single biggest loss that helicopter crash over the weekend, last weekend. almost 10 years after 9/11, after the killing of osama bin laden, casualties mounting there, costs adding up, many calling the government there corrupt. is it still worth it? >> first of all, let's stop and pause and reflect upon the loss of life the five brave members of the military that you mentioned,

bret baier is standing by with a us as well, bret and, obviously, this economic news still very muchthe forefront of everyone's mind as we move ahead. we can't forget that there's an election next year. >> reporter: sure. and we have a debate next week in ames, iowa. thursday, august 11th, a republican debate on fox which will be the next big event ahead of the iowa straw poll on saturday or the andth. the 13th. so it will all factor in this, and there will be a lot of talk about domestic policy and the economy and all of this and the debate and how the presidential candidates have weighed in to this whole thing. obviously, congresswoman michele bachmann has been firm in her stance that she would not vote to raise the debt ceiling. mitt romney was against this deal, but others supported it, like jon huntsman. just some specifics about what's happening now, this compromise bill now that it has passed the house, it has passed the senate, it will be signed by the president pro tem and the speaker. it will be physically signed. and then it will physically make its way down pennsylvania a

. >> he fired back at bret and chris both.ome say the questioning was too tough. >> it was remnant of sarah palin. you have to respond to the questions and same thing with herman cain . said crazy stuff and that is a joke. his positions are a joke . he shouldn't have acted all upset being asked tough straight questions. >> it was feisty stuff. there was a lot of debates that are snoozers and this set a new mark. >> whatever happened to mine mine nice. it was lifely and it was gripping and i hats off to patriots to bret and chris for keeping going . pressing those questions. we needed those answers and bret baier thought that gingrich won the debate. but here's a pin head. by ron of anding -- michelle bachmann who said i define is submissiveness with respect. she was classy. >> i tell you why. she didn't. >> tell me why. >> biblical view of submissive to the husband and would you act that way as president of united states. >> she chutely did. allenn. >> i respect my husband and he respects me. >> her interpretation of submissis

bret, terrific job to you and everybody out there in ames, iowa. we'll be watching this weekend, okay? >> thanks bill. bill: you bet. there is special coverage throughout the weekend on fox, the straw poll in ames is tomorrow. bret is going to have complete coverage at 5:00 eastern time, it's a special installment of "special report", they are on the road this weekend in iowa. also to you at home, what do you think? who won last night? so far, more than 4500 votes in our nonscientific poll, almost half say newt gingrich, ron paul is second at the moment, the rest trailing behind. paul has about 20 percent of the vote there. we're adding them up as we go throughout the hour, we'll let you know at the end of our show today who you think won the most last night or did the best or performed the best. so it's anecdotal, it's just a snapshot of what you're thinking at home. alisyn: still interesting. i can't wait it see what happens an hour from now. >>> meanwhile the nation's debt growing by the second as you know, the sphaering amount is today more tha

megyn: thanks, bret. >> reporter: see ya, megyn. megyn: well, you're not done with bret baier, not by a long shot. this saturday contest that we're waiting for could spell the end for a handful of these campaigns. bret baier will be anchoring our special saturday coverage of the iowa straw poll. who will survive and who will not? be sure to tune in to fox news at 5 p.m. eastern time tomorrow afternoon. >>> well, the battle over america's money is also a big issue, or was in last night's big debate, and now the white house is lashing out at the republican candidates who declared they would not support a budget deal that includes tax hikes if it were $10 in spending cuts to $1 in tax hikes. white house spokesman josh earnest says that the position of the gop candidates shows they are not on the side of the public, and we're hearing that a lot from the folks on the left right now. here's the moment that the administration is talking about. >> reporter: say you had a deal, a real spending cuts deal, 10 to 1 as byron says, spending cuts

joining me is bret baeir.as today's activities in the straw poll surprise or was it what you had seen shaping up. one congresswoman bachmann proves her organizational chops today. pulling off the win is a big win in a place like iowa . two, i heard a story that she at one point after speaking today. >> mike: i will now. >> give you a suggestion people that hadn't vote walked over and pied piper style to the voting area and say now please go vote. she vote by 152 votes over congressman ron paul and that is a big deal . by proving the win it is making a line in the sand with the newest candidate who got into the race day governor rick perry today. he will be here in iowa tomorrow and that is a battle that we are going to watch develop over the next couple of months. >> mike: when i visited with you not just a couple of hours ago, i felt governor perry made a mistake not by being here and making his announcement on the very day that the focus of the politics is in iowa. your assessment did he make a tactical erro

>> sean, bret baier is right. the power put up by the republican shows 50 percent of the automatic cuts if the trigger comes from defense. it come -- it will be a big obvious point of discussion. >> we have two words going on. you know when the young marine asks am i going to get paid? the answer is yes you are going to get paid but we are going to give you the equipment to fight and win the war. we are going to give you the capability. we are not going to do your children and your generation to come to greece but we are going to get this nation out of debt. the number one obligation of this federal government was to defend the nation from threats foreign and domestic you need a robust defense department to do that. >> senator vitter what it says in the power point is total reductions would be equally split between defense and nondefense programs. i don't see that as 60 percent. but 50. >> i said 50 percent. >> i am sorry. i didn't hear you correctly. >> that's way, way more than what defense represents as a perce

i am bret baeur.e are three hours away from a debate that could separate the gop concontinueders from the pretenders. i will take you on a tour in the stevens auditorium and catch wup iwans to see if their opinions have changed on the candidates and the contentous political environment and how the debate will factor in the straw poll. we start with the coming war of words and the search for the killer sound bite and scripted ab-libs. karl cameron is here with what we can expect. >> it is the consequential debate and day on the campaign trail. the best way to rehearse and prepare is interact with the voterss and one of the candidates had a heck of a rehearsal today. national front runner mitt romney felt the heat before he got on the debate stage. badgered by a democrat group. iowa citizens for improvement on entitlement. >> hold on a second. hold on a second. heckling and then romney forceful >> are you ready for my answer. i am not going to raise taxes. that's my answer . if you want member who can r

bret baier will host hapb we wilhost and we will go in-depth with bret in a few minutes. jenna: major acknowledgment from the u.k. that's been dealing with the worst rioting in a generation. prime minister david cameron says police are admitting to mishandling their response to the chaos that gripped london and virtually every major english city over the last couple of days. cameron is insisting, a quote, culture of fear will not rule the streets there, this as british police are going off the alleged thugs in their own homes. this is sky news showing authorities arresting suspected looters and retrieving items from their homes. there is uneasiness prevailing over london and several cities there. a look at the sites and sounds from the last several days in the uc. >> thi u.k. >> this is not just a game, this is criminality. >> we are here for one reason, to stick up for our families. my girlfriend and my children sit at home, i'm here to protect them. >> this is burglary, this is violence. >> we do believe, don't we lad, there ain't enough of them. there is too much going

[cheers] >> bret: these folks have been for having us in your home tonight. "the o'reilly factor" is next. >> juan: "the o'reilly factor" is on. tonight. >> you said the era of small government was over. that sounds a lot more like barack obama if you ask me. >> she has got a record of misstating and making false statements. >> juan: fireworks at the republican debate. >> i'm not going to eat barack obama's dog food. what he served up is not what i would have done if i were president of the united states. >> winners and losers. >> washington doesn't have the capacity to come together and get things done. that's why people are frustrated. maybe you hear it in my voice. that's why i'm frustrated. >> president obama says he is frustrated with the way washington works. doesn't the buck stop in the oval office? we will debate it. >> thank you, i will take applause any time please interrupt. >> i'm sort of enjoying the weather as well, having coming from texas just recently. >> i feel right at home. >> and we'll take you to the iowa state fair, the center of the g.

>> sean, bret baier is right. the power put up by the republican shows 50 percent of the automatic cuts if the trigger comes from defense. it come -- it will be a big obvious point of discussion. >> we have two words going on. you know when the young marine asks am i going to get paid? the answer is yes you are going to get paid but we are going to give you the equipment to fight and win the war. we are going to give you the capability. we are not going to do your children and your generation to come to greece but we are going to get this nation out of debt. the number one obligation of this federal government was to defend the nation from threats foreign and domestic you need a robust defense department to do that. >> senator vitter what it says in the power point is total reductions would be equally split between defense and nondefense programs. i don't see that as 60 percent. but 50. >> i said 50 percent. >> i am sorry. i didn't hear you correctly. >> that's way, way more than what defense represents as a perce

and there is a video i put up with bret baier. and bret is a moderator thursday night go.ll get the behind the scenes with bret ba

>> i took seriously bret's injunction to put aside the talking points. i wish you would put aside the gotcha questions. i would love to see the rest of tonight's debate asking us what we would do to lead an american whose president has failed to leave instead of playing mickey mouse games. >> if you think questions about your records are mickey mouse, i'm sorry. that's questions a lot of people want to hear answers to. and you are responsible for your record, sir. >> there is too much attention paid by the press core about the campaign minute neuro shah my knew shah distinguish us from barack obama. >> mitt romney tried to distinguish himself from barack obama debt deal. >> if you were president, you would have vetoed that bill. >> i'm not going to eat barack obama's dog food. what he served up is not what i would have done if i would have been president of the united states. >> i know, but that deal was the deal on the table. >> women, i'm not president now though i would have liked to have been. if i were president, what i would have done is cut federa

shannon: all right, bret. thank you for sticking around with us. we know you'll have it covered on "special report" tonight, 6 p.m. eastern. >> reporter: okay. shannon: all right, chris stirewalt, did it feel like a stump speech to you as well? >> >> reporter: well, sure it did. you heard his themes that you always hear about the private yes ts and the -- jets and the oil companies, you felt like you had heard it before and you could kind of give it yourself. the thing to remember here is if you want to know how relatively insignificant -- and i say that advisedly -- but relatively insignificant the compromise that was just reached to increase the debt ceiling is. president obama just laid it out for you. because the speech he gave after it passed was pretty much the same speech he gave before it passed. this battle, this fight over debt, deficit spending, taxation continues to rake -- rage just as it is since the shellacking of president obama's party in november. that battle continues to rage and will continue, quite frankly, until election day 2

he also was unhappy with bret baier when he asked him a question about libya.lot of viewers, as steve was saying, responded 'cause they thought that fox moderators were asking questions that kept the candidates on their toes and took them out of their talking points mode for once. one of the questions came from bret baier about governor rick perry who is not in the room and his name seemed to hover above -- what was the sense on the moderating panel? did it seem like governor rick perry's name was hovering above the entire debate? >> i think that's somewhat overstating it, clayton. but what i would say is that, look, if you're a political reporter, you know this race is going to change this weekend. one thing is going to be the ames straw poll. i don't think you can win in ames. it's not make, but it is break. if some of these candidates who have particularly focused on iowa were to finish very poorly, they might just drop out of the race. but it will also change this weekend because rick perry is going to get in and he immediately vaults and becomes one of the

>> i took seriously bret's injunction to put aside the talking points. i wish you would put aside the gotcha questions. i would love to see the rest of tonight's debate asking us what we would do to lead an american whose president has failed to leave instead of playing mickey mouse games. >> if you think questions about your records are mickey mouse, i'm sorry. that's questions a lot of people want to hear answers to. and you are responsible for your record, sir. >> there is too much attention paid by the press core about the campaign minute neuro shah my knew shah distinguish us from barack obama. >> mitt romney tried to distinguish himself from barack obama debt deal. >> if you were president, you would have vetoed that bill. >> i'm not going to eat barack obama's dog food. what he served up is not what i would have done if i would have been president of the united states. >> i know, but that deal was the deal on the table. >> women, i'm not president now though i would have liked to have been. if i were president, what i would have done is cut federa

joining us now from the debate site is susan freeshio from "the washington examiner" and our pal breter anchor of "special report" along with chris york. they will be moderating the debate in less than an hour coming on up. all right, brit, so what is the frontrunner mitt romney have to do tonight? i mean, he has got -- i think he has got to do something but i'm not sure what it is. >> well, that's a good question, bill. i think it's more -- it's not what he is not going to do. not make a big mistake. obviously the frontrunner here. is he not really competing in iowa, that dust-up there was with democrats as you mentioned. he is not loved here in iowa but he has some support. he has to not make a mistake number one. number two, he needs to outline his solutions after this week on the markets and the economy, the debt ceiling downgrade. his solutions. he needs to. >> bill: he can't play it as safe as he has been playing -- both of you guys have got to nail romney tonight with tough ones. what are you going to do when you are staring at the governor. kind of like doing the rope a dope.

megyn: how significant is this politically, bret? know, when usama bin laden was captured and killed, the president's approval rating shot way up, and many people for the weeks after that considered him unbeatable in connection with his re-election bid. this is, i mean, you tell me, but this is another victory for the president in terms of a plan that was much maligned and criticized by his opponents and yet seems to have worked out in the way the president wanted. >> reporter: yeah. two caveats. one is it's not over yet. they don't have gadhafi, and it's not fully established that -- but it seems like it's heading that way. and they've said his days are numbered, and now they are likely single digits. two is that there's still criticism about how it's developed, and there are questions about the post-gadhafi regime and how that will work out. so if you, if supporters give the president full props, if you will, for how this has turned out, the question is whether the administration will then own the post-gadhafi regime and how that t

i see my colleague bret baier. are we going to bret next? he's in front of the camera outside the d.c. bureau, bret? >> reporter: we are right out. >> it the d.c. pure off. this green glass building. inside as you heard from folks we felt it for 25-30 seconds. the floor shaking beneath us. and then everyone -- the alarm went off and everyone went down the stairs. if you take a look over here. there are hundreds of people out on the streets in d.c. outside the capital, outside all of the buildings. all these folks waiting to see what they can do as far as getting back in. we have just been told by the building management that we can go in right now and get our things and then 30 minutes from now they are going to shut down this building for right now. and because they are concerned about aftershocks and whatever else about the building structure. so we are work on special report obviously. we are going to have it outside here tonight. and we'll do the show from here. you can hear the fire trucks and ambulance right here passing by. i can tell

. >> bret: good evening. i'm bret baier. this is a fox news alert.