advice to politicians or people i cover, obviously, but i have two words for governor christie: fred thompson. it was four years ago this month that former senator thompson, t.v. actor, high-name recognition, a lot of people liked him, he was the... what i call the great right hope. he's the guy who was going to be the new ronald reagan, this time a little southern pride from tennessee and the same sort of siren song was directed at him by people who weren't particularly happy with the choices. mccain, giuliani and so he's in that same mode now. fred thompson came in in september of 2007 and he was gone in five months. he got nine delegates and he never came up above third. maybe governor christie would be better campaigner than former senator fred thompson, but the fact is time is awasting and if... as it looks down, you're going to have three or four primaries a caucuses in january, you've gothree mons to get ready and you'd have to be superman to be ready on that short a time frame. >> rose: some say if there are two words to be applied, it is barack obama. when you should go is not really

just ask fred thompson or rudy giuliani, even governor perry. yes, perry still leads the gop pack in national polls, but his views on immigration, including in-state tuition breaks for children of illegal immigrants, are giving some conservatives pause. so, how do you think hard-line conservatives would process this? the new york times quotes governor christie as saying this back in 2008. "being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime." and then there is this, from just last year. >> so the president and the congress have to step up to the plate, they have to secure our borders, and they have to put forward a common sense path to citizenship for people. >> a common sense path to citizenship. citizenship for illegal immigrants is about as popular with tea party voters as president obama or deficit spending. christie, like perry, would have explaining to do. so, again, i say, take him at his word. >> what do you want me to say? like i'll jump off a building if they'll nominate me? i can't say this any other way. i am not a cand

all of this talk is it going to be fred thompson.aigner than fred thompson ever was. when you look at the polling here, it shows everybody competitive with the president at this point. how does the white house react to this? or are they quite happy to let this go on and see gives big speeches. >> it is a moment of peril for the white house. they have to be feeling nervous about where they are at. put aside who will win the republicandom nomination. you have an incumbent going in to an election year with 9% unemployment. their own report says it is not going to be better next year, absent some great movement on the part of congress or something we don't kpnt and that is a debill dating position for a president to be in. how quick it changes, though. four months ago we were talking about bin laden being killed and that lasted two news cycles. it is a long time between now and then. and the best thing that he can hope for is someone that isn't too radical, too much for a lot of independent voters to stomach. >> even if they aren't, he w

on one hand, perry's -- this could lead to the beginning of the end, could be like fred thompson andark. on the other hand, is mitt romney in the role of hillary clinton here where he has to continue be perfect at a debate until he's not? >> i don't think so. that's what you're doing really is comparing rick perry to barack obama. >> no -- >> i'm saying rick perry is no barack obama. the thing that's hard for republican candidates, it seems like in the end, they pick the person who probably has the best shot at winning, i think mccain probably had the best shot at winning hand i think mitt romney has the best shot at winning and probably end up with him. he has the baggage of having moved to the right considerably and i think romney will be the nominee but i think he will be hurt because he had to move to the right too much. >> it's clear that has the romney strategy. at the end of the day, you will go with the guy with the best shot at winning. this is not your father's republican party, a different republican electorate than we've seen in president primary is in the past, is that r

there was all this time is it going to beat fred thompson.ner than fred thompson ever was. when you look at the polls, the polling here which shows him -- everybody really quite excessive with the president at this point. how does the white house react to all this? are they quite happy to let this go on and he gives big speeches to the joint session of congress. >> it's a moment of real peril for the white house. i think they have to be feeling quite nervous about where they're at. put you have an incumbent who says it's not going to be better next year absent any great movement on the part of washington. that's just a debilitating position for a president to be in on on of of the questions about leadership. how quickly this changes. four months ago we were talking about bin laden being killed. all the talk was he just secured his re-election. that lasted for two news cycles. the best thing for obama to hope for is republicans nominate somebody thought of being too radical for a lot of independent vetters to stomach. >> my guess is even if no

fred thompson, 27%. john mccain, the ultimate nominee, in third place at that time. she have a point? might governor perry be a flash in the pan? >> if you go back, everyone thought senator clinton was the odds-on nominee. perry has been governor for nearly 11 years of texas. during that time, you've seen per capita income has increased from last year to this year. at a time the president's offering as talk and promises, rick perry is creating jobs. for me, it's not about polls. he's not the kind of guy that sticks his finger out in the wind and sees which ways the polls are going. we elected a leadership, president obama, that gives great speeches. clearly has been overwhelmed by these economic challenges. in rick perry, a man with executive experience, been governor of a very large state with a very complex economy. has done a great job to create jobs, cut the regulations creating jobs. i think he's got lasting power not because of the polls or because of the temporary attention, but because of his track record and executive experience, that's what the american peo

. >> and not only that, brian, look who was in second place, a late entrant into the field, fred thompsonhalf the republican vote in national polls were the two candidates who would go on to not win a single primary or caucus. by the way, look at that democratic number. a woman by the name of hillary clinton had nearly a 2 to 1 lead over the current president of the united states. we have a long way to go. >> let that be a lesson to everybody. chuck todd in our d.c. newsroom, thanks. >>> and something extraordinary happened in washington today. needless to say, it had nothing to do with politics, and had everything to do with personal, physical courage and the inspection of the washington monument from the top down. the monument, of course, took a big hit from the earthquake that shook up the east coast back in august. tom costello is on the mall tonight for us. tom, good evening. >> reporter: brian, lightning late today postponed the attempt to repel down the side. instead, engineers spent the day securing the raking at the very top of the monument. the close inspection comes tomorrow. b

people said about fred thompson before the debates.he still has a way to go to prove himself. >> a lot of time on the clock. >> michelle, you mentioned the male/female dynamics. let's talk about one of the females. scott con roy reports that this weech in an iowa speech, palin will lean on loaded phrases like crony capitalism and permanent political class. though she will not call perry out by name, palin's carefully-crouched rhetoric wil attention to the texan's popularity as a candidate. >> i thought what motivated her to continue to get on the bus was that she couldn't stand for michele bachmann to get all the spotlight. toor her to go after perry, that will be a surprise to me. >> i've got to tell you, i disagree with you. i won't call awe sexist. i understand how you could make the connection. but i disagree. personally, i feel that sarah palin has always been motivated by the same things that motivate male politicians. it's power, power. power, power, power. >> see never -- >> and frankly look at -- >> what about money? >> look a

what people said about fred thompson in the debates. >> a lot of time on the clock.ou mentioned the male/female dynamic. scott conroy of real clear politics records that this weekend in an iowa speech palin will lean on loaded phrases like crony capitalism and permanent political class in laying out her view of the us.system's dee though she will not call perry out by name, her carefully couched rhetoric will leave the impression that she may soon draw more overt attention to one of the texas's potential vulnerabilities as a kacandidat. i'll give aw chance to call me a sexist. i always thought what motivated her to get on the bus was she couldn't stand michelle back mang getting all the notoriety. for her to go after perry, that will be a surprise to me. >> i disagree with you. i won't call you a sexist. i can understand how you would make the connection. but i disagree. i feel that sarah palin has always been motivated by the same things that motivate male politicians. >> what? >> it's power, power, power. and frankly, look at all of the -- >> what about money? mone

senator fred thompson said at -- senator fred thompson and joseph lieberman. they want me to come to washington so that i can advise them on many computer systems owned or operated by the federal demint. here i am walking out of custody after being this bad hacker. now the government is asking me for my health. i went and testified and offered them the advice that i could. then i basically from that point became what we call an ethical hackers. now i have acted to systems all the time. a couple of days ago and broke into a server. the only difference is now have authorization. the company now allows me to hacked in so that i can find security holes, so that they can fix them before the real bad guys break-in and cause damage. there is a little bit about my story. i have some demos to show you. when i do speaking engagements buzzing makes the audience happier than doing some demos. interested in taking a look? all right. perfect. about six months ago i had a assignment to break physically into my client's building in san diego california. have you ever seen a l

talked to the republican half that said we were looking for ronald reagan and we don't even have fred thompson in this case. that's a tough judgment but i think >> where do they with their guts and brains. if they see one is ready and another not, do they say this is the year to go with the all-out conservative? >> timing is everything. 2010 was the tea party year. rick perry the tea party candidate. i think economic fears is the kind andrew was talking about are going to reward someone who looks like they know what they're talking about. chris: let's start quick. i know you're ready to go. who will jump in? let's start with the first one. will palin jump in now that her guy september doing well? >> i think provides a big opportunity for her. every poll we have shows her third. >> i will say what i said for the last year -- chris: you have been saying she will run. >> i hope to god i'm wrong. i will never be happyer than the dime proven wrong about that. chris: very irish of you. >> i think perry makes room in the field. chris: on the other side, moderate to centrist republican point of view,

. >> fred thompson. >> let's take a look at one of the weakest moments on the fox news debate for mr. perry, governor of texas. he stumbled over what should have been, this is the easiest. a six-inch putt, i'm not a golfer, but a well rehearsed gift on romney's flip flops and he couldn't say it. let's listen >> i think americans don't know which mitt romney they are dealing with. is it the mitt romney that was an on the side of against the second amendment before he was for the second amendment? was it before he was before the social programs from the standpoint of he was far standing up for roe versus wade, before he was against it. roe versus wade. he was for race to the top. he's for obama care and now he's against it. >> david, i have never counted so many brain freezes in one sentence. >> please make it stop. please. we saw it last night. he's making george w. bush look like the most articulate statesman from texas ever. as bad as that response was, he obviously had prepared for that line of attack and then couldn't pull it off. >> you can't remember the capital of florida. for a

and you express your disappointment as you came in that-- people like fred thompson, who had a career as an actor, sonny bono, who was at one point a symbol of the counterculture long ago-- neither one expressed much support for n.e.a. did that surprise you? it did, because i think artists, even if they're very successful in the commercial sector, should understand that we all need to be nurtured. and most artists begin in the nonprofit sector or in arts education in their school systems or after-school programs. and i thought surely sonny bono would understand that, but he didn't. and he said a pretty, um, obtuse remark, actually, about the n.e.a. he said, "i never knew anybody who received an n.e.a. grant," ergo it wasn't important. that was just silly. he didn't get around much. well, in other cases, you had people who were champions that i think most americans wouldn't think of immediately when they're thinking about, sort of, heroes of free expression. possibly the least offensive musician in america, kenny g., steps up and takes a stand for the n.e.a. can you talk a little bit a

i mean if we had gone by the polls back in 2008, fred thompson would be president. howard dean back in 2004. i believe we've already had about four frontrunners in the race so far. stay tuneded. there's a lot to play out. >> schieffer: the clock just ran out, governor. i'm very sorry. thank you so much and good luck. >> thanks again. i appreciate it. [ male announcer ] this...is the network. a living, breathing intelligence that is helping business rethink how to do business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ in here, machines have a voice... ♪ [ male announcer ] in here, medical history follows you... even when you're away from home. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities, creating and integrating solutions, helping business, and the world...work. rethink possible. [ male announcer ] how could switchgrass in argentina, change engineering in dubai, aluminum production in south africa, and the aerospace industry 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 mutua

around because they are going to bludgeon each other to death but one we had rudy guliani and fred thompson they seemed to disappear altogether. i can't remember where they want. since chris wallace doesn't qualify somebody on the stage, herman cain, the fact that we both apparently agree with the gold standard. we're wearing the yellow ties and 999 mixed with my tax policy would be the most competitive thing this nation could achieve. i would say herman my s my man. >> brett: that is it for our debated tonight. our thanks to candidate and staff. a big thank you for our debate partner, google and the florida republican party. so for all the people here and the state of florida that not have been more hospitable, stay have been more hospitable, stay tuned to fox luck? i don't trade on luck. i trade on fundamentals. analysis. information. i trade on tradearchitect. this is web-based trading, re-visualized. streaming, real-time quotes. earnings analysis. probability analysis: that's what opportunity looks like. it's all visual. intuitive. and it's available free, wherever the web is. this is h

is a weak front runners and front runners in 2007 look at polls in 2007 where rudy guiliani and fred thompsonnd in 2003 howard dean and wesley clark. you can have a nominee that is not a front runner. >> chris: why? >> this is not a good primary season and i am talk taking a quote. people who havability lack conviction and they are not on the stage. there is a hankering for someone to come in after perry made the pump. it was a bump in terms of republican confidence. that number is going back down. but the ippression they are giving to the nation as a hole. it is a limited conversation among the tea party element and far right of the republican party. not only three dollars for cut and one dollar for a tax hike. and immigration argument that held center with perry saying children of illegal irmglant should be qualified to get state aid. and that is important for the hispanic. and i am watching that show. gee. these people don't like immigrants of any stripe. >> chris: once again. bill kristol having his hopes dashed about ryan in the race. and now his heard is won to chris christie. two quest

if you look back to 2008, guiliani and fred thompson were the frontrunners.ohn mccain has no man and fired all of his campaign an ended up being the nominee. don't count michelle bachmann out. she's a tough fighter, she's always been out there on the front lines. i won't be surprised if she comes back. i wouldn't count sarah palin out either. a recent poll this past week puts her within five points of trailing obama and that is not good news. martha: we've heard some folks from the tea party say that they are frustrated and they would like her to stop teasing them in words of one person. do you feel that way? do you want her to get in or get out. >> i would like her to get in or get out. i would like to know. she's always done things her way and another real strong supporters of the tea party movement and a strong fighter on the front lines, we are all sitting on the edge of our seat waiting to see what she does. martha: all right. amy thank you so much. good to talk to you today. we asked our viewers this question today. which candidate can best fix the u.s.

it reminds me a little bit of fred thompson.ebates, he looks older than ron paul. seriously, if you're watching this morning, i'm sure you are because it's "fox & friends", if you call me, i will personally buy you a bag of gummy bears and case of redbull. you've got to do better in these debates. >> yeah, call me. you just said mitt romney is closing the gap. all he has to do is make sure he doesn't fall down, doesn't trip and he'll do ok? >> i think that that is the romney team strategy is just keep on running this race down the tracks at the same speed and the other horses are going to hoof themselves to death and i think he believes that strategy wins the nomination. >> ok. and ron paul, as you just mentioned is still in the top tier. let's take a look at the second tier candidates and you've got surging, mr. cain as you can see in the center, he's surging followed by newt and michelle bachmann as well. >> all the action, i think, right now and all the interesting story lines are in this middle pack as herman cain had what a

fred thompson was second and he was the flavor of the day. everybody saying wow, this can be the guy that cannot only play a president but become president and senator mccain had 15% of the vote, he was third. senator mccain would come back and get the nomination. >> this is what i think is the most important and fascinating thing that we've discussed in weeks because everyone thinks that it's come down to these two. every pundit, in fact, says that. they say michelle bachmann should drop out of the race right now but when you look at that, it signifies why maybe they shouldn't because things can change dramatically in 12 to 15 months. >> sure. who won? we'd love to have you e-mail us, friends at foxnews.com. we'll tell you what some of the blogs are saying this morning. rich lowry on national review says i thought rick perry would get better. he hasn't. he's been coming back to earth lately part on even debate performances. red states says the winner was herman cain. says the audience loved him and his answers were out of the park awesome. a

and in the last election cycle, fred thompson jumped in late, and he was polling at 31%. isn't unusual. campaigns aren't settled in a day. this is a marathon and by the way, with our campaign, our campaign is doing very well. ed raulings was with me in california at the reagan library and is my chief champion and supporter. there's no disruption. we're a lean, mean machine and moving forward with gusto and picking up votes and supporters across the united states. >> let me close by asking you a question, you're going to go to the iowa state/iowa game this weekend. who's your team? >> well, i was born in waterloo, iowa, and i love being back in my state. as a matter of fact, i'll be there later tonight. a woman, john, you will love this, offered to sew a shirt for me. she's taking half of one team's shirt and half of the other and sewing it together. so that's what i'll be wearing tomorrow at the game. >> splitting the difference. safe politics in iowa i would guess. congresswoman michele bachmann, thank you. >> i can't wait to be there. john, thanks so much. great to be w

we've got a fred thompson moment.ing for the savior. >> look at the first question perry got on foreign policy. herman cain said about pakistan, about afghanistan, he would consult the generals. it's one thing to run a state government, even a large state like new jersey and the good job he has done. quite another to get on a national stage. >> sean: what do you think that tells you, cain winning in florida, christie and some people trying to draft him. how do you interpret that? >> i think there's dissatisfaction. christie is the wrong guy for the republican party. if you're talking about a pure conservative candidate, i could argue -- >> he's an effective conservative candidate. his problem is, first of all, getting in this late. he's never been in a presidential race. >> clinton got in october of '99. he was very well known around the country. christie has only run one time. he has a big record on the unions, but the other stuff is controversy. i don't think he'll win. it's now between perry and romney. >> he would

around because they are going to bludgeon each other to death but one we had rudy guliani and fred thompsonhey seemed to disappear altogether. i can't remember where they want. since chris wallace doesn't qualify somebody on the stage, herman cain, the fact that we both apparently agree with the gold standard. we're wearing the yellow ties and 999 mixed with my tax policy would be the most competitive thing this nation could achieve. i would say herman my s my man. >> brett: that is it for our debated tonight. our thanks to candidate and staff. a big thank you for our debate partner, google and the florida republican party. so for all the people here and the state of florida that not have been more hospitable, stay tuned to fox news headquarters l the way to the election. [ male announcer ] each of these photos was taken by someone on the first morning of their retirement. it's the first of more than 6,000 sunrises the average retiree wl see. ♪ as we're living longer than ever before, prudential's challenge is to help everyone have the retirement income they'll ed to enjoy every one of thei

followed by fred thompson at 27, john mccain at 14, mitt romney at 11, and mike huckabee who turned in to, as you recall, a serious contender, below 10%. so we're relatively early in these national polls. perry has gotten a good bump. he's now the front runner. there is no ifs, ands or butts. what is happening in the early states? because people in iowa, new hampshire and south carolina, particularly the first two, had been paying more attention to these candidates, have seen them more and have more firm opinions than do people in states like oregon or washington or florida or colorado or california, who are only now starting to wake up to the process. if you take a look at the individual state polls, in iowa, this was run by a pro-perry group, 24 perry, 22 bachman, 19 romney. that's clustered in there. in a state like this, it's up for grabs. in new hampshire, 36 romney, 18 perry, ron paul at 14. and bachman below 10%. in south carolina, perry at 31, romney -- >> laura: lift that board up. we don't need a graphic department. now we lose them. there we are. is this bachman in south car

he still that a way to go -- remember fred thompson. >> a lot of time on the clock. >> you mentionedcept. a report this weekend in an iowa speech, "palin will lean on loaded phrases like crony capitalism and permanent political class in laying out her view of the u.s. political system's deep-rooted ills though she will not call out perry by name, her rhetoric will leave the attention she may soon draw more overt attention to one of the texan's potential vulnerabilities. call me a sexist. i i thought what motivated her on the bus, she couldn't stand michele bachmann getting all the spotlight and notoriety. for her now to go after perry if in fact she does it that will be a surprise to me i. disagree with you. i won't call you a sexist. i can understand how you'd make the connection, but i disagree. personally, i feel that sarah palin has always been motivated by the same things that motivate male politicians. >> what? >> it's power. power. power, power, power. and look at all -- >> money. it's money, money, money power. >> look at all the money she's making. sarah palin -- for the peo

fred thompson jumped into the race. he was leading in every single poll.ohn mccain's campaign had self-destructed. he was very much like michelle down to five, 10, the maximum. he went on, took new hampshire, won that. mike huckabee -- >> bill: it's a different time. >> no, why is it a different time? >> bill: i'll tell you why. because john mccain had basically the background and the credibility to run for president, whereas michelle and rick perry have to prove themselves. mccain really did. it was a preference. and this time the anti-obama feeling is so huge that a lot of people just looking for somebody who can beat him. >> absolutely. >> bill: they'll put their ideology on the shelf for a little while. the vaccine comments, did that help or hurt michelle bachman? >> they were very good in the debate when she attacked him on executive overreach and basically doing something he shouldn't have done with his cronies. obviously she stumbled at the next day when she talked about the vaccine. but at the end of the day, she's a great debater. >> bill: but i w

four years ago at this time, rudy guiliani, the former new york city mayor and former senator fred thompsonar the top of the poll in the battle for the republican nomination. >> let's talk about perry and romney. they seem to be duking it out as if they were only a two-person race. what's going on? >> reporter: yeah, we saw that wednesday night for the first time rick perry taking part in one of those republican presidential debate at the reagan library in california. he stood by his comments that social security was a ponzi scheme. that started a fight between he and romney. we've seen it play out in the days since then and i have a feeling it will play out again monday night at our debate here in tampa, florida. social security is such an important issue for seniors and people nearing retirement age and there are a lot of them right here in florida. >> and all expected -- all of the republican contenders that we know of expected to be at that debate? >> reporter: yep, we're going to see all eight that we saw on wednesday right here. we brought the bus, the cnn express is with us. we're on

. >> let's keep in mind, though, that this time and four years ago we had rudy giuliani and fred thompsoneading the polls and both faded quickly once the process started. it can still change in the next 120 days. >> i think some of that was thompson's doing, too. >> not the candidate people thought. >>> the latest from the amanda knox trial. what lawyers said in court today. the appeal i should say. dr. conrad murray, a shocking day in the courtroom. a record of michael jackson slurring speaking. listen. >>> coming up, what a day incourt. the trial of michael jackson's doctor starts with a photo of jackson's body after he died and a recording of him sounding like you've never heard him sound before. we'll play you the tape in a moment. first eye sha sese with the bulletin. >> amanda knox's lawyers are set to give their final arguments thursday in her bid to have her murder conviction overturned. today a lawyer for knox's former boyfriend who was also convicted said there was no physical trace of either of them at the murder scene of knox's roommate meredith kercher. >>> a convicted killer

about four years ago at this time as our pal chuck todd was pointing out last night, giuliani and fred thompson were leading the republican race and hillary clinton was leading barack obama 2-1 in the fall back then. with the filing deadlines and with florida now trying to accelerate the calendar, they have to make a decision by might have had-october. >> people like christie and governor palin do need to make a decision and they will be players. watch rick santorum in iowa and jon huntsman, they may put pressure on perry in iowa and mitt romney in new hampshire because things are so fluid, even the front-runners have huge flaws this time. >> mark halperin and you're cataloging all of it behind the scenes, john heilemann, the two of you, thanks for being with us. today, police in alabama are enforcing parts of a tough new effort to crack down on illegal immigration. a federal judge upheld key provisions while other controversial elements are still being debated in court. pete williams is the justice correspondent and has it all covered. pete, how different is this from other laws around the cou

front-runner assault, the comparable period in the last cycle hillary clinton and rudy giuliani and fred thompsone the front-runners, so you have to stand up to having the target on your back, which i think he -- his political skills as are evidenced in his longest-serving governor in texas are considerable and misunderestimated as we adopted texans say, so we'll get through the debates. and i think it's got down to the two-man races as ed rollins was saying last night on cnn. >> to continue the metaphor, i guess the question is what is his stratergey heading into the edates? cnn has a debate september 12th in tampa florida and september 22nd the month of debates ends with a fox news/google/florida republican party debate. rick perry eclipses mitt romney and national polls can be deceptive. you got to win iowa and new hampshire and then we go state by state, what is your sense that in three weeks he's changed the race? what are the strengths and the question marks? >> the real question mark is it doesn't mean anything. mary's right, great number, 39%. but the reverse is, we had donald trump as th

hillary clinton, rudy giuliani, fred thompson, the list goes on. don't know why we have to name front-runners so early. and this group here these last three days in talking to these delegates, howard, they are soft on perry and romney. that's what led the way for cain. they are very much taken aback by what they see as governor perry's liberal views on treating illegal immigrants. they are underwhelmed by romney's, what they see as his techno carr technocratic style and are tired of the bickering -- >> i want to bring this back to the media experience. david shuster, you worked at fox a long time ago. it's a news network with a lot of conservative anchors, obviously -- >> i still have friends there, too. >> conservative hosts, i should say, not anchors. isn't this the third debate where the fox moderators, megyn kelly, asked tough questions of the candidates? >> look, they did ask some tough questions. but there were also questions, howard, that were frankly incredibly silly and stupid. for megyn to ask mitt romney, oh, are you going to call presid

. >> and late entrants like perry and fred thompson do not do well.n you asked republican primary voters are you satisfied with the field there has been a sharp uptick in people who are satisfied with the field. bill, his view, shared by a the love people, but more republicans are saying this is our field. we're fine with it. >> lehrer: let's go to the two votes in congress. yesterday in the house and this morning in the senate about-- well, the bottom line is are we going to have another "shut down the government" crisis? >> i look at history and i assume that we will just do just enough to stay stagnant and miserable. we never seem to solve our problems but we never quite walk off the precipice. so i'm going to assume that's going to happen again. you know, substantively, i disagree with both parties. i don't think we should offset our disaster spending with cuts elsewhere. i don't particularly think we should do corporate welfare for electric cars, either. the main takeaway is the whole world is in a very precarious situation, europe is sliding off

. >> fred thompson. >> let's take a look at one of the weakest moment many people believe on the fox news debate for mr. perry, the governor of texas. he stumbled over what should have been -- this is the easiest, which is a chip, a six-inch putt, and a well-rehearsed riff on romney's politics, and he couldn't say it. let's listen. >> i think americans just don't know sometimes which mitt romney they're dealing with. is it the mitt romney that was on the side of -- against the second amendment, before he was for the second amendment? was it before he was before the social programs from the standpoint of he was far, standing up for roe versus wade, before he was against verse -- roe versus wade. he was for race to the top. he's for obama-care, and now he's against it. >> david corn, i have never counted so many brain freezes in one sentence. >> please make it stop, chris, please! we saw it last night. he's making george w. bush look like the most articulate statesman from texas ever! but as bad as that response was, you know, he obviously had prepared for that line of attack and then

. >> fred thompson last cycle. >> like a guy or girl you like after the first day, you're like, oh, she'she greatest girl i've ever met. >> i think he's taking advantage of this three-state or four-state tour to raise more money for his race in 2013. >> at the end of the day, however, jimmy, will it be possible for any republican primary candidate or this president or anybody else that would theoretically primary this president, although that appears to be an absurd concept, have any credibility with the american people if they are bought? which is what they all are? >> well, i think everybody in politics is bought, whether they want to be bought or not. >> a system buys politicians, 94% of the time. >> i think the problem with this whole floundering and reaching and grasping for the perfect republican candidate or the perfect democratic candidate, like either hillary clinton or barack obama is this. why is it that they need a silver bullet to take out the current guy? is -- and that makes me -- that bothers me. >> what do you mean? i'm confused by that. >> apparently the arsenal that is

and with any candidate, we've seen this cycle after cycle, the longer you wait, it happened to fred thompson, it happened to wes clark, the expectations go up. and you have to then enter the race, and you have to be pitch perfect and ready to go. so part of what's happening is rick perry is sort of trying to catch up. at the same time, in the race, you have someone like mitt romney who has the benefit of having been through this before. so he knows how to pace himself for a debate. he knows how to not get tired. i guess rick perry's excuse was that he was tired. it just makes rick perry look less ready for primetime. at the same time, as you said, it's not about texas because this is a much broader scale, and this is a much deeper level of scrutiny than he's probably used to. >> karen, really quickly, i want to talk to you about what the president said at the congressional black caucus over the weekend. i want to play a quick bite and talk about it on the other side. >> put on your bedroom slippers. put on your marching shoes. shake it off! stop complaining! stop grumbling! stop crying! we a

senator fred thompson and joseph lieberman. they want me to come to washington so i could advise them on how to protect any computer systems that are owned and operated by the federal government and i thought that was quite an honor. i was actually flattered. here i'm walking out of custody after being this bad hacker and now the government is now asking me for my help. so i went and i testified and i offered them all the advice i could. and then i basically from that point became what we call an ethical hacker. because now i hack into systems all the time. in fact, a couple days i broke into a server. the only difference is, is now i have authorization that the company now allows me to hack in so i could find their security holes so they could fix them before the real bad guys break in and cause some damage. so that's a little bit about my story. i have some cool demos to show you because when i do speaking engagements around the world, nothing makes the audience happier than doing some hacking demos. are you all interested in