and it was written by jim webb now the u.s. senator from virginia. he was -- there were the two most highly decorated marine platoon leaders in vietnam were jim webb and ollie north. and he -- jim wrote a novel that is still thought of as one of the great war novels. very different cup of tea, if that's quite the right expression from catch-22, a book called fields of fire. and jim wrote this appreciation in the "wall street journal" and it's quoted at some length in the introduction. and he recounts being in really, you know, the ninth circle of hell, he and his platoon have been taking terrible casualties. he said we were there -- are in the sides. we're crawling hook room from bad water we had been drinking and in the midst of, you know, this blood and misery and death, one, he hears this -- someone shouting in a his foxhole and saying, you got to read this. you got to read this. and it's a tattered copy of catch-22. and webb had written the book growing up as an air force brat on an air force base in nebraska. and he said he devoured it. his men

he was a, they were the two most highly decorated marine platoon leaders in vietnam were jim webb and ollie north. and he, jim, wrote a novel that is still thought of as one of the great war novels, very different cup of tea if that's quite the right expression from "catch-32," a book, called "fields of fire." and jim wrote this appreciation in "wall street journal", and it's quoted at some length in the introduction, and he recounts being in, really, the ninth circle of hell, he and his platoon had been taking terrible casualties, he said we were, our inside were crawling with hook worm from bad water we had been drinking. and in the midst of this, you know, blood and misery and death, one -- he hears this someone shouting in his foxhole and saying, you've got to read this. you've got to read this. and a tattered copy of "catch-23." -- "catch-22." and webb had read the book growing up as an air force brat in nebraska, but he said he devoured it. his men were passing it around. and he said, it didn't matter the me at all that that i was reading a book that, and this is, these are his

they're vying for the senate seat of retiring senator jim webb. >> the best way to get more jobs ande is by having a vibrant economy. i think americans and virginians are taxed enough tree i know my opponent has a different view. >> i have a different view about the deficit and how to get the economy going again. the plan george as outlined is what he did when he was a u.s. senator and tank the economy. >> george allen is hoping to win back the seat he lost in 2006. both men have to win their party's nomination before running in that general election. >>> the president of syria has clung to power in the face of protests. it's estimated 4000 circassians have died in unrest. in an exclusive interview with barbara walters, the president denies he ordered the deadly crackdown on the government protesters. >> not by your command? the crackdown was without your permission? >> there's a difference between having a policy to crack down and -- no government in the world kills its people. >> he admitted some officials made mistakes but contended his forces are fighting militants, drug smuggler

jim webb will deliver the keynote address. 2400 americans were killed on december 7 1941. >>> a drunk driving arrest ended the career of the head of the federal aviation administration. randy babbitt resigned yesterday. we have reaction. >> it probably was not very safe to drvie on the wrong side of the -- to drive on the wrong side of the road. >> she is the next-door neighbor. randy babbitt was charged with driving while intoxicated after police charged him with going the wrong way down old welee hi with paired >> it is a good idea because he has a high-profile position. >> ray lahood blasted the way he learned of his arrest. >> i was very disappointed in the way i learned about this, through a press release. >> the former airline captain submitted his resignation stating that serving as the faa administration has been an honor and the highlight of my professional career, but i am unwilling to let anything cast a shadow on the outstanding work done 24 hours a day by my colleagues at the faa. those in his neighborhood questioned just how this happened to the personable family man the

both are vying to replace senator jim webb. the democrat is leaving the senate after one term. >>> well, president obama is heading the america -- is heading to america's heartland today. he is going to deliver an appeal that the white house is calling a make or break moment for the middle class. daniel noddingham has the latest now where lawmakers have four weeks to cut a deal to prevent taxes from going up. >> reporter: president obama headed for kanss to make a case for economic fairness for the middle class. the president speaks in the same small town where president theodore roosevelt made a similar appeal more than a century ago. time is running out for congress to extend payroll tax cuts, and the president is pushing lawmakers to act before taxes go up for millions of americans. >> my message to congress is this, keep your word to the american people and don't raise taxes on them right now. now is not the time to slam on the brakes, now is the time to step on the gas. >> reporter: republicans and democrats are in favor o

the two former governors are running for the seat being vacated by senator jim webb and both stood their ground on taxes and raising debt. even makaka came up. >> reporter: the makaka incident --. >> let's give a hello to makaka. >> when he singled out a young man and said welcome to america, welcome to the real virginia, there was no mistake about what those words meant. >> it was a mistake. i never should have singled out that young man. he was simply doing his job. >> reporter: allen stressed his concern for working families and rising debt blaming the obama administration. he criticized cain for his allegiance to obama and taking the chair of the democratic national committee while fill governor. >> policies and agenda of president obama nancy pelosi and harry reid were you or were you not advocating for their agenda? and their agenda surely wasn't consistent with what is in the best interest. >> wiping out al qaeda. >> reporter: allen tried to paint cane as a liberal spend er. >> and voting for these big tax increases, the deficit has ballooned because of policies that george allen

both are looking to succeed jim webb, who announced he's not running for re-election. >>> candidatesigning in fairfax county can no longer litter streets with their campaign signs. last month many of the 99 candidates in fairfax county blanketed roadsides with their advertisements. a virginia code allows authorities to remove the signs along vdot right of ways, except for fairfax county. it was exempt from the code until now. the board of supervisors unanimously approved legislation, ending the county's exemption. it's also working with the state to get more illegal signs off medians. >>> several area police departments are investigating a possible hate crime after anti-semitic fliers were found in a northern d.c. and virginia neighborhoods. they first turned up a week ago saturday, but at least two residents on north 25th street in arlington found the sheets lying next to their newspapers. others were found in cleveland park and dupont circle in northwest washington. the fliers came the jewish people have taken over the world and altered the asxis of the earth. >> i have lived here

the seat is being vacated by jim webb. the debate was held today in richmond. allen and cain are not the only candidates in the race. the other six contenders fail to meet the qualifications for participation. >>> coming up tonight, julie carey will have more on the tension over taxes as the candidates go head-to-head. >>> seven decades ago today, the japanese launched a surprise attack on pearl harbor killing 2500 million more thanes and changing our history forever. today, the sight played host to a ceremony to remember those lost and honor those who survived. stephanie stanton has more on the anniversary from hawaii. >> reporter: a military flyover in the missing man formation followed by a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m. marked the moment the attacks began here. the presentation of colors and the national anthem helped commemorate the anniversary of the surprise attack on december 7, 1941. "uss arizona." more than 2400 died that day. now, 70 years later, 3,000 people came to remember including more than 100 survivo survivors. among them, this 88-year-old. he

senator jim webb will deliver the keynote address. 2400 americans were killed on december 7 1941 in that surprise attack by japan. >>> the head of the faa is out of a job this morning. faa administrator randy babbitt resigned four days after being arrested and charged with drunk driving. he was pulled over after he was spotted going the wrong way on old lee highway. >>> time now 5:06. 58 degrees outside. >> another accuser has come forth in the child sex abuse scandal at penn state. what he is saying, and a complaint filed against former assistant coach jerry sandusky. >> a messy week in parts of the southwest. more on the snow that is causing plenty of problems. >> we have another check on >>> winter a few weeks away, but you cannot tell by looking at the southwest. snow is in the states including new mexico. the snow proved to be troublesome for some drivers. the children were enjoying it. making snowballs. >> it is fun and less to have to work in it. >>> flooding is a problem in ohio. the mill closed. it is famous for its 3.5 million lights during the christmas season. but the lights

. >>> the seat is being vacated by jim webb. carey has details from richmond on how the candidates went head-to-head. >> reporter: the most seasoned political figures both former governors. they didn't hold back accusing each other of big spending. cain took aim at allen's spending. >> they turned the biggest surplus in the history of the united states. >> reporter: republican allen blasted cain for promoting president obama's initiatives. >> deficit spending, trillion dollar annual deficits have become the norm. $4.4 trillion added to the deficit. >> reporter: they would stipulate life begins at conception. >> i do not believe the state should say life begins at conception. >> i believe life begins at conception. >> reporter: it didn't take long before george allen's 2006 gaffe entered the conversation when a panelist asked cain if the subject was fair game. cain complimented allen for his apology, but added -- >> there's a name calling and bullying aspect of this, which is in very long supply now in washington. it's not who vi

both are trying to replace senator jim webb. the democrat is leaving the senate after one term. >>> word is expected from the nfl at any moment on the suspensions of trent williams and fred davis, the two redskins reportedly violated the league's ban on recreational drug use. they will soon be forced to sit out the rest of the season. >> "the early show" begins in just six minutes. >> chris wragge is back with a preview of what's coming up at the top of the hour. >> mike, andrea, good morning. we'll have the latest on campaign 2012. in a cbs news poll out this morning, iowa voters say newt gingrich has the best chance to beat president obama next year and we'll have the latest from iowa and also congresswoman michele bachmann will talk about her chances for the republican nomination. she joins us here in studio. we may not be alone. nasa scientists said they found a planet that has ideal conditions to hold life. are there others out there? we'll talk with neil tyson about the new findings coming up on "the early show." mike, and

both are looking to succeed jim webb who announced he is not running for re-election. sthich >>> let's talk about the weather. >> across the country, we have got an amazing variety of weather. right now in los angeles, it's freezing. people are scraping frost off their windshields in a los angeles, and throughout much of the west it's frigid, and that frigid air is there from the pacific coast all the way to the appellations. and that cold air mass, that huge cold air mass is slowly pushing to the east and becoming our way tonight changing our rain over to snow. right now in washington we have light rain falling, and that's a live picture showing traffic still streaming around the roads, and there's a lot of ponding of water and do not attempt to drive quickly through water because you can lose control of your vehicle quickly. and the precipitation extends from mississippi and alabama where it's snowing as well as in tennessee, and from georgia it's raining from there all the way to maine, and then on the western area, it's snow from western new york state and person p

they're looking to succeed jim webb, who is not running for re-election. >>> republican presidentialte mitt romney has opted out from a debate moderated by donald trump. romney called trump personally and told him he just couldn't make it happen. trump was not happy about the decision. several prominent republicans have urged candidates to skip the so-called trump debate scheduled for later this month. they predict it will be a media circus and a distraction from important issues. so far nude gingrich and rick santorum are the only ones participating. >>> newt gingrich is widening his lead in iowa. gingrich has the lead with 28% followed by romney at 18% and ron paul with 14%. two-thirds of those polled said they could change their minds before the iowa caucuses on january the 3rd. >>> today the republican presidential candidates will be in town for a jewish forum. everyone is expected to be there except paul. the jewish republican coalition did not invite him because they say he has, quote, misguided and extreme views on israel. >>> today disgraced former governor rod blagojevich wi

it was also like one of those races like jim webb's in 2006 that helped decide the senate for the democrats a congressman. he's elected at large so he's already won statewide there. this is going to be a razor thin race and dave is exactly right. with all the spending from outside groups, particularly crossroads, it's cheap to advertise there. voters will be real tired of seeing ads on this guy and tester is in some big trouble. you never know.açó the obama people really recognize that this is a key state so that might mean they stay out of it for the presidential, but they will make sure organizationally people are in place. >> anybody with a crewcut is no lefty. thank you both. happy new year. >>> up next, the republicans running for president move further to the right to attract the evangelical vote do, they run the risk of alienating the average woman voter next november? this is "hardball." we're going to talk abortion rights now, only on msnbc. >>> welcome back to "hardball." the republican presidential field moved further to the right following rick perry's decision to support a ba

caller: as far as democrats that i like right now, my favorite in the party is probably jim webb, senator from virginia, he helped secure veterans benefits quite a bit. clare mccaskill, a number of other different people. i think i would like to see obama probably move in the direction of the more moderate democrats. i think that would be my best answer to that particular question. host: let's look -- answered, thank you, daryl. let us look at what's aaron says on facebook -- let's hear what a viewer from new jersey has to say. horace, good morning. caller: how are you doing? i would like to congratulate you for your very informed and this -- a former to show. i am very enthusiastic about president obama. this is the only present and we have ever had that only had -- president we ever had that only had a last name and ever-present to most people. that i don't understand. black voters -- is not in there for civil rights purposes, but he is there for the presidential candidate of the united states. he works very hard to try to keep things on a balance. he don't try to focus on self, but on