he is the one behind it. >> newt gingrich for present. thinking about it. >> what you have lived through 421 have long years is the most systematic, the leverage of obstruction of justice, cover- up, an effort to avoid the truth, we have ever seen in american history. >> that was april 27, 1998. house speaker newt gingrich on the impeachment of bill clinton. gingrich, as mark shields said, once complained clinton made him ride in the back of the air force one and "new york daily news" label and a cry very and -- but they did work together and accomplish some things. >> let's hope. he certainly has the capacity to raise money. he has sort of a temporary position. he is at an exploratory stage. a little tension in his own staff because a political guy said he would announce the exports. committee and the press i said he was not any basically did not. but he did representative -- recommend that he and mr.s during bridge has featured. unfortunately, it has won a photo and it is a crowd waiting flags and smiling, mixed racially, ethnically --

on facebook, newt gingrich has 100,000 facebook fans.tt romney has 800,000, but most significantly, barack obama has 18.5 million and that's an organizational tool that his people are right now figuring out how to update for the 2012 campaign. chris: wow. >> how many friends do you have? >> zero. chris: catty? >> the white house is very focused on the middle east and the history of the middle east, not just the invasion of iraq and specter of that and the u.n. resolutions that hang over no-fly zone over libya. they're also looking back to 1991 when george bush sr. told iraqis to rise up against saddam hussein and they did and they were massacred for it. >> the president faces a lot of problems -- libya, the budget crisis but perhaps the biggest problem is inflation. you have gas prices above $4. food prices, worldwide, 20%, but here in america, coffee up 100% on wholesale. meat, prices are going through the roof. this is going to drive prices up at your restaurants, at your local stores, grocery store. chris: not just oil? >> all the com

the problem with gingrich is lack of discipline, as you were saying. he appeals, though, to the conservative base in some way. with romney, you have to look at the flip-flop on abortion, immigration. a lot of those issues just pop up and people say is this a guy, even though he is a front-runner, that holds a conservative flag in some passionate way against obama? i just want to -- >> i disagree that many folks who are offering absolute analysis about the issue as it relates to the race thinks it's the only issue. i have don't think it is the only issue. the main issue that everyone is asking themselveses who is going to run the country right and get the economy going? that is an argument to be republican electorate or national electorate when that happens. >> chris: i want to -- excuse me. i want to move on to the other candidates. one of the interesting questions this year is who is going to run. let's put up four question marks, four potential candidates. huckabee, palin, barbour, mitch daniels. who gets in and who stays out? >> the republicans are,

newt gingrich, mike huckabee, mitt romney, michele bachmann, cannot win in a general election.he idea should be to beat the current administration, to win and not to have our favorites unnecessarily nominated. if i had to pick one at this point, i would say tim pawlenty. governor christie has been adamant. i think he needs more experience under his belt. hopefully, the soon the recently former ambassador to china, the former governor of utah has done a spectacular job in utah. i used to live there. i think he is a winnable in a general election. if i could incured by fellow voters to do one thing it would be not to become so enamored with the first half of the demographic. it has to be said out loud that barack obama one of the main reasons he won is because he was the first winnable african- american. so many african-americans i know was so twitter pated about that. host: we will take our final call. dave in pittsburgh on the democrats' line. turn down your tv if you could dave. let's try again. dave in its prepaittsburgh. caller:

former speaker of house newt gingrich. a "fox news sunday" exclusive. then, oil in the middle east. from syria, to libya and beyond. what should be the role of the u.s. military? we'll get an update from the region and talk with two of the senate's most influential voices on foreign policy. john mccain and joe lieberman. and healthcare reform one year later. we'll ask our sunday group what is the long-term prognosis for the president's signature legislation? all right now on "fox news sunday." and hello again from fox news in washington. before we talk with our guests, we want to bring you the latest on events in the middle east. in syria, government soldiers have been deployed around the cities that have seen the biggest protests. in yemen, talks for a peaceful transfer of power failed saturday. now authorities worry about al-qaeda gaining strength in that country. and in libya, bombing by u.s. and allied planes has paved the way for rebel forces to retake the key oil town of brega. for more on libya, let's bring in fox news correspondent steve harrigan in tripoli. steve? >> report

and we will very methodically lay out the framework. >> reporter: and gingrich is hardly alone. one serious candidate has launched an exploratory campaign committee much less announced for president. >> well, i think it's important to get back to your question. >> reporter: four years ago, by contrast, all three of the major democrats had thrown their hats into the ring and the major republicans had all launched their committees. >> last time you had a lot of people in for an extended period of time and that didn't really accrue any particular advantage. >> reporter: in fact, many of the possible contenders are already well known. huckabee, romney and palin all ran national campaigns last time. newt gingrich has been a national figure for two decades. >> this is a contract with americans for america. >> reporter: there are personal considerations as well. mike huckabee is making real money for the first time in his life with a t.v. show and speeches. so is sarah palin. indiana governor mitch daniels is concerned about the impact on his family and, despite huge republican gains l

newt gingrich is taking the first step for a 2012 presidential campaign. atlanta. >> today we are establishing a website exploring 2012. todd, will look at this very seriously and methodically of what we will do next. >> newt gingrich told georgia we deal that he was close to making an announcement. however, not going to form a presidential team. after leaving on ethics, he was still in the public eye. and his think tank, raising $40 million in 2010. he has been a contributor on fox news. wednesday, the networks is funded his contract and another potential. pennsylvania senator rick santorum. this suspension will not impact. >> it will not be an impact. ohio, south carolina. how the fund-raiser is going. >> both of these gentlemen fall behind the gop candidates. at the top, former president and arkansas governor, marmight cut to b i the next two weeks, this will pickup. huckabee >>catherine: >>this just in to the kron 4 news room albany police found a policmissing teenager. ammunition, and a gun were also missing. this is the albany school district they go

involvement in libya former speaker newt gingrich is putting himself front and center in the news world and hey you've got to have the your face if you're going to run for president right now when news outlets fire off questions at him about how he feels about libya it seems as if well newt's been a little bit confused check out his response to libya on fox news on march eighth. doesn't need anybody's permission we don't need to have nato we don't who frankly won't bring much to the fight we don't need to have the united nations all we have to say is that we think that slaughtering your own citizens are uninsured people and there we are we intervening. all right so new it sounded like he was all for intervention there but what happened when he did an interview on n.b.c.'s the today show just a few days later on march twenty third. i would not have intervened i think there are a lot of other ways to a for profit i think there are a lot of allies in the region that we could have worked with i would not have used american and european forces. wait a minute so now new is against interventio

. >> up next speaker is the former speaker, newt gingrich. [cheers and applause] he immersed himself in the study of history, in getting a master's in note -- history, getting a master's degree. he taught college for eight years. he was first elected to congress in 1978, where he served the six district -- sixth district. "the washington times" has called him "the indispensable leader." he got a man of the year in 1995. "meters make a possible. exceptionable leaders made them inevitable we do leaders make things possible -- leaders make things possible. exceptional leaders make them inevitable." under his leadership, congress passed welfare reform and the first balanced budget in a generation and the first tax cut in 16 years. a strong advocate of volunteerism, gingrich talks about the positive impact every individual can have. he has raised millions, including for habitat for humanity, cerebral palsy notep -- als --palsy, and others. he was named conservationists' of the year. he has published 13 fiction and nonfiction books, "new york times

chris: unbelievable and newt gingrich is in the pack. >> we talked about libya but what's happening in bahrain is more violent and of more strategic interest to the united states. chris: because of oil. >> what happens in bahrain is critical to america but it's in washington's interests that we don't report this story very much. they would like it to go away because there's no upside for them. chris: how does not reporting it help? >> they don't want attention focused on what's happening there because they don't want to be pushed into a position of helping the shiite rebels. >> we celebrated st. patrick's day, a big day for the irish. ireland has had a tough time economically and a huge election there. they are going to get a visit not only by the queen of england, but president president obama in may, which is huge. >> the key factor which actually moved the u.n. security council to actually launch this new war against libya was qaddafi. qaddafi's statement that he was going to go house by house, closet by closet to kill all these people, it was he that actually changed the entire equ

but gingrich is now a likely republican candidate for president. and an unlikely to pledge support for climate changes demand for green energy. that's because of the political power of the tea party, it is said. the tea partied has emerged as the unofficial force of the republican party. sitting to my right, washington bureau chief richard mcgregor point that out on tuesday. "the rise of tea party activists as the king makers and republican primaries has added an extra level of calculation for obama's opponent." g.o.p. hopefuls are already looking for how to get rid of their moderate political baggage. item, former minnesota governor tim pawlenty. he supported cap and trade. item, former house speaker newt gingrich. supported action to combat climate change. item, former massachusetts governor mitt romney. he passed a state health insurance reform law that some believe mirrors elements of obama care. tea party patriarchs founder mark meckler is convinced that the g.o.p. 2012 candidate will have to pass the tea party test. >> the american people wil

. >> reporter: this week, gingrich took a small step, launching a web site and exploratory committee. don't hold your breath for anything more anytime soon. >> i think it's going to take a fair amount of time. at least a number of weeks, maybe six or seven. >> reporter: if there's a front runner, it's mike huckabee. the former arkansas governor lead monday most major polls but the race is wide occupy. all of the top democratic and republican candidates had career -- declared for the race by this time in 2007, and that

and we will very methodically lay out the framework. >> reporter: and gingrich is hardly alone.e serious candidate has launched an exploratory campaign committee, much less announce for president. >> well, i think it's important to get back to your question. >> reporter: four years ago, by contrast, all three of the major democrats had thrown their hats into the ring, and the major republicans had all launched their committees. >> last time you had a lot of people in for an extended period of time and that didn't really incur any particular advantage. >> reporter: in fact many of the possible contenders are already well-known. huckabee, romney and palin all ran national campaigns last time. newt gingrich has been a national figure for two decades. >> this is a contract with americans for america. >> reporter: there are personal considerations, as well. mike huckabee is making real money for the first time in his life, with a tv show and speeches. so is sarah palin. indiana governor mitch daniels is concerned about the impact on his family, and despite huge republican gains last

tony blankly used to be an aide for then-speaker gingrich. he works for fox news and npr. he said, "i've bone been on npra long time. from a personal pe perspective, they've given me all the time i need. " he added, "no editor or host has ever suggested, can could you not be so conservative on npr. i have been open and free so express my opinion." the list goes o. i won't read all of them. i'll put them in the record. but the point i want to make is this, mr. president. at a time in america when we value our government, when we applaud freedom, when we preach it to the world, when with you beg > author aauthoritarian rega chance to hear all sides of the story, when it comes to free speech and free press should be a guidepost for the world, can we really be in the business of shutting down this -- this opportunity for americans every single day to hear both sides of the story when it comes to the big issues? i don't think that what was done in the house is about money. i think it's about a political philosophy. many of them think they just want to shut down npr because they

what about newt gingrich? he definitely seems like he's moving in that direction. >> he's got an exploratory phase going. but newt's not doing as well in the polls as his name recognition might suggest. he's definitely playing the base. he's got a lot of credibility because of his leadership in the republican revolution. but i think you'd have to say at this point, he's on the fence, looking at it but not definitely in. >> the graphics are great. we can see these guys fake running towards each flag. let's talk about sarah palin. is she in? she's certainly playing a publicity game, keeping her name in the media by talking about potentially running. >> oh, man, she sucks up all the oxygen in the room when her name comes up. but it's a polarizing process. and palin has not yet taken serious steps to begin assembling a team as she's very well known and beloved by her base. but increasingly polarizing. a new poll in iowa showed that her support has declined a bit. not definitely in. >> what about mike huckabee? he'

then they ask me about speaker gingrich. i reminded them that at least for me it was pretty disturbing to see newton gingrich sitting there with nancy pelosi talking about a carbon tax. i think that's calling to be a big problem. i suspect that all of the others are going to find out that it is easier to be kind of brash and get headlines when you are not a candidate without responsibility. but if you want to run for president you have to start speaking with little bit of discipline, of little bit of focus, the clarity on issues, and a little focus on direction. i think it's going to be a very important race. at think there is a huge responsibility on the part of republicans, and i urge republicans across the country to understand that they probably are going to be picking the next president. acting president obama has serious problems. i think the last two weeks have been his worst two weeks whether he understands there not. at think he underestimates the impact on people of what has appeared to be his indifference over the

and the very very ugly newt gingrich also appearing on a radio show yesterday gingrich touted the success of nafta and when a caller pressed him that america has lost a lot of jobs to mexico as a result of free trade gingrich came back with this winner of the response. narrative enabled us to build jobs in canada the united states and mexico in competition with china i mean our big competitors not mexico are big competitors china and india and i'd rather have jobs close to united states that have jobs overseas in places like china and india. that's been sort of a lost job is a lost job no matter where it goes you wake up i don't think it's any consolation that out of work american can actually see his job across the southern border but if that was true then maybe some unemployed americans could head up to sarah palin support alaska and look out post and see their jobs in china too was that russia any way to say apathy toward the unemployed is very clear. if this happened here could we handle it. and then you know which way the wind blows tokyo could be the half of the radioactive cloud sp

and when newt gingrich hits the highway, he will look like a presidential candidate. and others are testing the waters, too mike huckabee, sara palin, and tim pawlenty showing they may throw their hat in the ring, but no republican has been willing to declare, i'm running for president. >> how are you? >> reporter: what's everybody waiting for? >> as soon as you start raising money, you start spending it, and as soon as you declare, you have the democratic machinery that is going to come and attack you. >> reporter: this week, gingrich took a small step, launching a web site and exploratory committee. don't hold your breath for anything more anytime soon. >> i think it's going to take a fair amount of time. at least a number of weeks, maybe six or seven. >> reporter: if there's a front runner, it's mike huckabee. the former arkansas governor lead monday most major polls but the race is wide occupy. all of the top democratic and republican candidates had career -- declared for the race by this time in 2007, and that may have hurt. >> alan: all of this ugliness continue

it's actually hard to find somebody who is worthy of the ward but that's not the case today you gingrich the man who's looking more and more like it's one in twelve presidential candidate is finally trying to deal with his woman problem and for those of you that are unaware you know it's been married three types he's cheated on multiple wives not really sure how the far right the g.o.p. are going to vote for a male with such a sleazy past me supposedly they're all about family values right but newt is determined to be president so he started addressing his failed marriages listen to him talk about his troubled past on the christian broadcasting network first of all there's no question in the times of my life partially driven. personally i felt about this country girl i worked for too hard and the things that happen in my life were not appropriate. and what i can tell you is that when i did things that were wrong but i wasn't trapped in situation of those doing things were wrong and i was going on what a great way to spin your infidelity you love your country so much that you just couldn'

. -- dan balz has his take on newt gingrich. ken is joining us from waupun, wisconsin. welcome to the conversation. caller: thank you. but we should continue funding pbs. it is the only station that continues to give us the truth. there are a lot of poor people out here that get cultural education through pbs. concerts', operas -- i enjoyed watching harry connick jr. just the other night. i cannot afford to go see him live, but i enjoy his music. they do a lot for educating people. i do not think they should give that away. caller: do you contribute to that station? host: -- host: do you contribute to that caller: station -- do you contribute to that station? caller: yes, both pbs and npr. all of these people are claiming that they do not have enough work for educated workers, but they are going to cut education and now you want to take away pbs as well? and i do not understand what these people are thinking. they are not. host: thank you for the call in this ongoing debate. when republicans took back thousand 1995 with speaker

gingrich impeached bill clinton in the matter.nk infidelity will be a disqualifying issue. perhaps his positions on the issues. perhaps something else. but, um, do i believe in forgiveness? yes. do i believe that the speaker should go out there and make his case on other issues? yes. will this disqualify him? no. >> i think it will. i think it's just a great line. i can see every straying husband coming home and saying to his wife, honey, i'm just loving my country. nothing i can do about it. i mean -- >> over and over and over again. >> right. >> george, will this hurt him? >> sure. forgiveness is god's business, not the electorate's business. the answer is, gentlemen, don't try this at home. it really doesn't work. >> what do you hear from republicans about that statement, jon? because, his infidelity is not new. we have known about it for a long time. this was a rather unusual -- >> defense. >> he's had 12 years to come up with an answer for this. this is the answer? it did not play well. >>> speaking of not playing well. anoth

tough questions but then again like i said i no longer have any faith thanks to people like newt gingrich they just get to change their mind every day and still somehow get away with it and you thank you so much for joining us thanks again for me. now it's time for our tweets of the day before we go brewer has a former press secretary robert gibbs is being recruited to work at the all mighty face book so what would be a low in a show say about the revolving do. or which pushes the top level government officials almost immediately and a powerful lobbying jobs away tweet dislike of their very night show thanks for joining animation and come back tomorrow lawrence wilkerson on rushing to stop the call and call there on the program to discuss the latest out of libya also break down what obama said tonight in his address to the nation about america's latest war in the meantime don't forget to become a fan of the ilona show on facebook and of follow us on twitter and if you missed any of tonight's or any other nights you can always catch all the you tube dot com fustian or show where we post in

newt gingrich, your friend? >> formidable. one of the most intellectually sound thinkers on the planet. period. not just politics. >> his personal life a factor in this race? >> i don't think so. i think people look at your personal life history more previously than they do today. over the last several years while i was on the radio, steve, noticed that the terminal coming from listeners, where many of them had gone from being concerned about the future of america, to being fearful about the future of america. and in that regard, they want somebody that can help us get us back on the right track. >> sarah palin? >> very popular. tells it like it is and she inspires a lot of people. >> two final points. mentioned radio a couple of times. when and how long? >> i was on the radio for five years, two years doing a weekend show, the herman cane show and then three years up until the most reenforcemently. five night as week onw sv out of at lan tax georgia. >> what's the hermanator? >> a nickname given to me by member of the restaur

former house speaker newt gingrich is exploring a white house bid and he's talking about what a republican president might do on his first day in office. >> what if on the first day we had a president who said we are abolishing every single czar in the white house and their offices and cutting spending. >> reporter: gingrich and four other potential candidates were in iowa on monday night at what some consider the unofficial start to the gop 2012 presidential campaign. none of the speakers is declared a candidate, but all seem to be playing the part. >> i'm the only person thinking of running for president who was elected as a congressman and as a governor. >> we need leaders who cannot just talk the talk, but who can walk the walk. >> reporter: former pennsylvania senator rick santorum threw his hat in and a standing ovation went to atlanta businessman and radio host herman cane. but one remains noncommittal. >> will america be ready for a bit unconventional who would not beholden to special interests. >> reporter: sarah palin says one big issue, money. she expects president obama to spen

but gingrich is now a likely republican candidate for president. and an unlikely to pledge support for climate changes demand for green energy. that's because of the political power of the tea party, it is said. the tea partied has emerged as the unofficial force of the republican party. sitting to my right, washington bureau chief richard mcgregor point that out on tuesday. "the rise of tea party activists as the king makers and republican primaries has added an extra level of calculation for obama's opponent." g.o.p. hopefuls are already looking for how to get rid of their moderate political baggage. item, former minnesota governor tim pawlenty. he supported cap and trade. item, former house speaker newt gingrich. he supported action to combat climate change. item, former massachusetts governor mitt romney. he passed a state health insurance reform law that some believe mirrors elements of obama care. tea party patriarchs founder mark meckler is convinced that the g.o.p. 2012 candidate will have to pass the tea party test. >> the american people

then there was the non- announcement from the gingrich -- newt gingrich.every single candidate will make a mistake from time to time, no matter how good you are. i have looked at iowa voters and new hampshire voters, who are very different. language plays differently in those two. they're looking for someone who says what they mean and means what they say. i am using these words and a very measured way. i want to provide you with the exact language that the american people want to hear. the democratic line will not like the republican words. the republican line will not let the democratic words. "mean what you say" is the most important phrase for any presidential candidate. host: he says there are, at most -- guest: that is a very -- george will has always been the most brilliant political writer. we both went to oxford. i have that in common with him. i pay attention to what he says, because he has a very keen understanding and the way that he expresses himself as a powerful. i am not sure that i agree with his conclusion, but i always pay attention to h

all we are getting from former speaker gingrich is an exploratory committee, an intention.hy is everybody sitting back? >> in 2008 pretty much all of the candidates were on the field. john mccain was the only one who had not announced and it was obvious he was going to run. the reason they have waited in this case is that on some cases, they are very well known, the candidates don't have to get their name out, so they don't need to campaign to introduce themselves to people. in other cases, people like mike huckabee have television contracts, they would give up money and a platform if they decided to run. but also in politics now, it's not like it used to be. candidates used to think you got out there, you raised money. you put your name out there and you built a big sort of sensitive inevitability. it didn't work for hillary clinton or john mccain in 2008 and almost didn't work for george bush in 2000. the field is strewn with candidates like lamar alexander and phil gramm who tried to create the sense of inevitability and showing up first meant you failed first. a theory

also former house speaker gingrich. at 3:00 p.m., "state of the union." talking with carl levin and former national security adviser stephen hadley. at 4:00 p.m., face the nation. bob schieffer talking with secretary clinton and secretary gates. the five network tv talk jurors are brought to you as a public service by the networks. they began eastern with "meet the press," 1:00 "this week, close "3:00 p.m. cnn's "state of the union. listen to them all on c-span radio. 90.1 fm in the d.c. radio xm 132, downloadable, or online on c-spanradio.org. >> i am not interested in developing a strategy to win the primary and not win the general. i want to go out there and say we have done well everywhere. >> today rick santorum talking a presidential bid a possibility in the 2012. >> drop the month of april, we will feature the top winners of this year's student cam competitions. documentary's were submitted on that theme "washington d.c., through my lens." you can watch them every morning at 6:50 a.m. just before "washington journal." you can meet the students who

former house speaker, newt gingrich, will announce the formation of an exploratory committee.grich made his name back in 1994 as the first republican speaker in four years. >>> one of the famous pinup girls of world war ii has died. actress jane russell became a star after her sensational debut in the movie "the outlaw." it was this publicity shot from the movie that showed russell in a low-cut blouse that attracted all the attention. she went on to star in nearly 20 other films in the '40s and '50s. jane russell was 89 years old. u >> a true beauty. >>> well, time for some of last night's hoops action. one game was real close. the other, not so much. details, now, from espn news. >> good morning. i'm don bell with your espn news update. and we start with the big east. a great game in south bend. notre dame, taking on villanova. there's ben hansbrough. senior day for senior day for the irish. first half we go. hansbrough, the nba-style three. he had 30 points. his brother, tyler, he's in the nba. he loves it. notre dame, up 29-15. how about tim abromaitis? he had 9 threes, 30

gingrich said to us, "we decided that the next great offensive of the left" -- that's his phrase -- "would have to be health care." that was where they would have to try to mobilize the resources, bring them into the government, if they were going to try to expand their grip on the middle-class constituency of the country. and he said, "realizing that, we knew that whatever it was that clinton proposed, we had to defeat, because if we had allowed it to succeed, then the democrats would have, as they did with social security and medicare, lock a whole large constituency of americans into believing that their health care depended on having friends running the government." that was an astonishing statement to both haynes and to me, that he had figured that out far enough in advance, and that he was tough enough to make that the driving force in the whole republican opposition to the clinton plan. c-span: you report on a private conversation that senator jay rockefeller had with, among other people, hillary rodham clinton, where he -- well, you can explain it in your own words, but he bas

newt gingrich belongs in the category of the exceptional. he was, the architect of the contract of america that led to the republican victory in 1994. under his leadership congress passed a welfare reform and pass the first balanced budget in a generation. they passed the first tax cut in 16 years. a strong advocate of voluntarism, he has long championed the positive impact every individual can have on society. he has raised millions of dollars for charity for causes of a broad array. he is recognized for his commitment to the environment and the advance since -- advancement of common sense practices. he has published 20 books -- 23 books. he is changer -- chairman of the roup.gingrich g he serves as chairman of american solutions. he is a senior fellow of the american enterprise institute. he is a distinguished fellow of the hoover institute. he is also a news and political for the fox news channel. it is my pleasure to introduce to you tonight former speaker of the house, newt gingrich. >> let me be totally candid. i just said the herman c

. >>> just a few hours ago, former house speaker newt gingrich stopped just short of announcing he is going to run for president in 2012. >> we will look at this very seriously. and we will very methodically lay out the frame work of what we'll do next. >> reporter: with gingrich now testing the waters sort to speak. he becomes the first major republican candidate to begin raising money for the 2012 presidential race. >>> san bruno gets a big win from pg & e today as the federal hearing into the pipeline explosion wraps up. i'm carol han live from washington with what this means for you. >>> and we continue to cover developments from uc berkeley. you can see, students there five floors from the ground. >>> and there's fog there but rain is a part of the weekend. i'll show you the latest computer model forecast. ing a. the moment you feel run down or achy, nip flu-like symptoms in the bud, with oscillococcinum. get oscillo and feel like yourself again. oscillococcinum, nip it in the bud. you don't decide when vegetables reach the peak of perfection. the vegetables do. at green giant, w

. >>> the nation may learn if newt gingrich plans to run for president. fox news is reporting tonight, that the former speaker of the house is expected to make an announcement in atlanta on thursday. gingrich is expected to form an exploratory economy aimed at seeking the election in next year's presidential race. >> the latest snow pack survey is in and it looks like a big spring run off is on the way. but the state is still calling for water conservation. >>> and you wouldn't know it from looking at it outside today, but it is going to rain here pretty soon. the rain is just a bit off. it'll be rainy overnight. we'll have wet in the morning commute, i'll tell you which cities will see the most rain. >>> we all know that water is the life blood of california and the snow pack is crucial when it comes to how much water we're all going to get. ken pritchett is live with the results of the latest snow pack survey today and what it means, ken. >> reporter: you're looking at the south fork of the american river, you can see snow still covers it's banks and th

. >>> well, today former house speaker, newt gingrich, is expected to talk about the possibility that he will run for president in 2012. a spokesperson says fin grip will not set up an exploratory -- gingrich will not set up an exploratory committee yesterday. he says he and his wife need to tie up loose ends with businesses before they take that step. >>> wisconsin republicans are trying to end a boycott by democrats -- democrats with a $100 fine for lawmakers who don't show up for roll call. 14 democrats have been absent for two weeks. just one democrat is needed for a quorum so the senate can vote on the controversy plan to cut collective bargaining rights for workers. >>> the $100 fine is not the end of the world but it's certainly something that i think, once ginn, demonstrates the idea that this majority is trying to compel those senators to come back and do their jobs. >> fact is, we're working on negotiations, until those are resolved, until we have a good resolution, we're standing firm. >> reporter: fine -- >> the fine takes effect tomorrow. last week, the senate sopped -- s

and the big fish this time, former house speaker newt gingrich. >> reporter: gingrich is certainly the big fish. he was the leader of the last republican revolution, back in 1994, becoming speaker of the house. you will hear gingrich saying over and over again, managing to lead the congress when it cut taxes and balanced the budget. what i'm told this afternoon he will announce that he's considering a run he's going to call it an explore phase. a formal announcement will come in about a month. for president. but i'm told by people close to gingrich, he is running for president. >> fox says that's enough of a conflict that he has to be suspended. but they haven't suspended the contracts of sarah palin, john bolton, mike huckabee. all potential candidates. why not? >> reporter: executives at fox see what most outside observers see. when it comes to huckabee and palin, there's no indication they are taking steps towards actually creating a campaign to run for president. >> finally, maybe the most official candidate later this afternoon, out of louisiana, the former governor, buddy roemer.

former speaker newt gingrich on the hill today. austin scott, freshman out of georgia, tweets this morning. got a half an hour to go. finished a great freshman meeting. the house will come back in about an hour. general speeches to start off the afternoon and then a speech by dennis kucinich, a point of personal privilege dealing with libya. probably an hour long, worth of comments from dennis kucinich. following that the house will pick up debate on the f.a.a. re-authorization bill. we'll have the house live for you, of course, at noon herein here on c-span. for another look, a democratic look on the budget situation, we heard this morning from "washington journal" from javier becerra from the ways and means committee. welcome, sir. the cato institute has a craft this morning talking about the budget negotiations going on. it highlights the deficit at $1.60 trillion. does that number jive with what you are seeing? if that is the case, what do we do to reduce it? guest: that graf is missing a really big expenditure, over $1 trillio

then there was the non- announcement from the gingrich -- newt gingrich. every single candidate will make a mistake from time to time, no matter how good you are. i have looked at iowa voters and new hampshire voters, who are very different. language plays differently in those two. they're looking for someone who says what they mean and means what they say. i am using these words and a very measured way. i want to provide you with the exact language that the american people want to hear. the democratic line will not like the republican words. the republican line will not let the democratic words. "mean what you say" is the most important phrase for any presidential candidate. host: he says there are, at most -- guest: that is a very -- george will has always been the most brilliant political writer. we both went to oxford. i have that in common with him. i pay attention to what he says, because he has a very keen understanding and the way that he expresses himself as a powerful. i am not sure that i agree with his conclusion, but i always pay attention to

neither does gingrich, neither does palin. >> did jeb bush outlive the negative association with the president? >> i think it's a drawback but he's a potential candidate if he ran. it's a real problem for him, though. >> president reagan was right when he said people don't focus until after labor came but the republicans have to come with a candidate long before that. and the field is really very being. >> it's true that the president is very vulnerable. assume that all things sort of stay true, the economy stays weak and so on, he's vulnerable. but the question something, you can't beat someone with no one. and right now the republican presidential field is a bit of a hot mess. so it depends on whether or not you can a dark horse like a mitch daniels that will ride. >> will huckaby run? >> i don't know if he is. >> talk-show host, making good money. >> he could win the iowa caucuses if he got in now. >> but he's like you can his life too much to go through all of that again. >> how about haley? >> i just don't see it an ex- lobbyist, mississippi governor -- i mean, he is -- fits the

and last, we have newt gingrich. he loves the democratic process.s much as he loves processed meat. he used to be speaker of the house, but now he's the speaker of the mouth and he's only got one thing to say -- "more hot dogs, please!" jimmy? >> jimmy: there they are. there they are. three key players in the republican race for the presidency, honored here tonight, as our special guests. now, all we need are three contestants. who do we have tonight? >> announcer: jimmy, tonight's contestants are -- ♪ kyle pertippo, justine gureelie and mathew smith. get down here and get ready to throw your hot dogs through that hole. ♪ >> jimmy: very, very nice. here we go. what is your name and where are you from? >> i'm kyle from cincinnati. >> jimmy: kyle from cincinnati, very good. welcome. now, you're gonna be throwing hot dogs into the mouth of haley barbour. that's a pretty stern-looking target there. you think you have what it takes to satisfy his appetite for weenies? >> definitely. >> jimmy: good man. cincinnati, don't they put like spaghetti and -- >>

they asked me about speaker gingrich.t least for me it was disturbing to see newt gingrich sitting there with nancy pelosi talking about a carbon tax. i think that's going to be a big problem for him if he chooses to run. i suspect all the others are going to find out is easier to be brash and get headlines when you are not a candidate without responsibility and if you want to read to -- you want to run for president, you have to speak with discipline and focus, clarity on issues and focus on direction. i think it is going to be a very important race. i think there is a huge responsibility on the part of republicans and i urge republicans across the country to understand they are probably going to be picking the next president. i think president obama has serious problems. i think the last two weeks have been his worst two weeks, whether he understands it or not. i think he underestimates the impact on people of what has appeared to be is in difference over the last few days to traumatic issues around world. i think his e

>>pam: fox news is suspending contracts with newt gingrich and rep. it comes of its pending presidential nominations. both are expected to announce their decision soon. the suspensions will last 60 days. it also on the payroll, sarah pailin and my copy. both the full more considered to be contenders for the republican. we will be back after the break. >>pam: some veterans are not happy about a ruling from the state supreme court. it >>catherine: lot of people remember its kansas fundamentalist church and organize protests outside military funerals. you've probably seen them, they been doing this for years to pick it funerals with the message that the deaths are god's punishment for the nation's tolerance of gay. he sees some carrying signs with hateful messages. they chanted and shout back got heat perverts. today the supreme court said they are protected by first amendment right siding with the baptist church. the court said however painful, they do have the right to do that on a public property. it was only one justice told privacy over free speech.

newt gingrich is the poster child of republican hypocrisy. he supported george bush, trying to ram a democracy down people's throats at the point of a gun. in libya, a person who has killed americans, by the white, and is in the midst of -- by the way, and is in the midst, and we intervened to save that struggling democracy -- let's hope it comes to its fruition. let's hope that people like george bush, in newt gingrich, john boehner, and the rest of the war-mongering hypocrites', the chief of which is dick cheney, and all of these people who think the united states is here to provide powers that they can continue on their quest to enrich themselves at the detriment of the rest of the world. host: we will leave it there. this tweet -- host: in other news, this is from the associated press folkish enough fallout reaches europe -- fukushima fallout reaches europe. experts said wednesday they do not pose a health risk. that, again, is from the associated press. in "usa today." host: that is in "usa today" this morning. there is also this story a