mr. bowles didn't get a lot of support from democrats and republicans.a lot of people ran as fast as they could away from it. now that you've had two years to think about this, what is going to bring them back to a plan like yours? >> damned if i know, but the probably the markets will call the shots. and forget about the ratings agencies. that is small potatoes. it's going to be the markets that call the shots, and when they call the shots, people are going to look around who have to pay more interest, who get diddled on this program or that or lose this program. and they are going to look around and say, "who were the guys in office when this happened? who knew this was going to happen and let it happen?" il >> tom: a day after the federal reserve seemed ready to provide new help for the economy, a less encouraging statement from a regional federal reserve official helped cool down stocks. the s&p 500 was in the red the entire session. the index is down three t of the past four sessions since hitting a post-recession high. 591 million shares traded on

. >> mr. bowls referring to the simpson boles committee reporter which the president connected. he criticized ryan last week so he may be changing his mind. ryan must convince voters is he not a demon. keep it simple and avoid answering far left propaganda. brit hume interviewed the congressman earlier today and i will analyze that interview a bit later on. that's the memo. what about florida with 2 electoral votes. two recent polls say two different things. quinnipiac 51%. mitt romney 44. a ppp survey puts the president at 48, mitt romney 47. a virtual tie. joining us now from washington, fox news analyst charles krauthammer. so, tell me who is going to win in florida, chals. >> if i knew, i would be rich and i wouldn't be here, i would be in the caribbean. on my yacht. look, i think it's very true that ryan is a risk. but i think he has got a real upside. the risk is obviously that the democrats will succeed in defining him as some wild eyed extremist by saying to seniors in florida abolish medicare or toss granny in the snow. it seems to me that is so factually false because

mr. bowles about who he thinks is a better leader for moving the economy forward, for putting forward a balanced responsible budget, because i can bet you he's going to say barack obama. let's not forget that one of the reasons that we couldn't have a grand bargain, couldn't have a bigger deal, is because republicans, including paul ryan, wouldn't put revenue on the table, and that's really put us in a stalemate in washington. so we're happy to continue to have that debate. i will also add that mitt romney and paul ryan, they both support a radical budget that will extend tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires while balancing it on the back of middle class families and that's what this race is about. that's what families in iowa are talking about and we're happy to have that discussion over the next couple of months. >> i know you all are happy to have the bright lines, the contrast that you now have, clearly, but do you have concerns about the energy, the enthusiasm that the republican base now clearly has for this ticket? >> well, you know, look, we always know there's going to be excitemen

mr. bowles had some very nice words about ryan's alternative budget proposal and about ryan himself.his. >> have any of you all met paul ryan? we should get him to come to the university. i tell you this guy is amazing. i always thought i was okay with arithmetic. this guy can run circles around me. and he is honest. he is straightforward. he is sincere. and the budget he came forward with just like paul ryan. it is a sensible, straightforward, honest, serious budget and it cut the budget deficit just like we did by $4 trillion. martha: joined by bob beckel, former democratic campaign manager and andrea tanteros, daily news columnist both co-hosts of "the five." good morning. what do you make of this clip, bob? it is making rounds. >> you left out calling it a radical proposal. i'm not surprised. a lot of people consider ryan to be serious and thoughtful. i certainly do and good with numbers but that doesn't change his policies. i mean we never made a big deal when the economist bartlett who worked for reagan and kemp and george bush came out for obama's stimulus package. you will fi

simpson-bowles plan, mr. president your commission, name one thing that you like? that you would get behind. democrats don't want to do it because it was his commission and he did not act on it and did not have what the democrats wanted and that is a value-add tax. >> i could turn it around. mitt romney, you have been waffling on the debt commission work. i could see both sides. we don't want the predictament. >> but mitt romney's running mate not running for president but run for example vice-president did not. >> did not support the plan. he was a member of the commission. >> paul ryan put out his own plan that was praised by the co-head of the commission. where are the people in washington that is have done something about this. paul ryan has and he's on the ticket. that's the problem that the democrats have. any time you nationalize the debate they will lose because of paul ryan, who is very effective at talking about big national issues. >> julian, i don't think any presidential debate commission where it solves even though they may be inclined to be sympathet

mr. phelps. on becoming the most decorated olympian in history. and congratulations to my toilet bowl, it's going to be the recipient of the largest poop in history. >> i wish i hadn't heard that. >> we've got four to go to today's top video. at number four, it's not bad weather, it's a great opportunity to make a good video. >>> new jersey was recently hit with really bad weather and these images from nbc 10 in new jersey, we see some of the activity. >> that's a lightning strike. >> but you know what, yada yada yada, because the people in this community are making the best out of this bad weather. they took to the flooded streets in sea isle city in jersey. they surfed the flooded streets. ♪ ♪ >> i like that there was still traffic coming in the other direction. >> it looks like a lot of fun. >> this is a beach community and that's all these people are out playing in the puddles on the streets. they're playing in the street water. there's an ocean like 20 yards away. >> but the ocean is there all the time, beth. this is a, you know -- somewhat rare occurrence. >> this is different.

mr. ryan had in his own budget. then, there was his swipe at the president over the simpson bowles commission. >> he created a new bipartisan debt commission. they came back with an urgent report. he thanked them, sent them on their way and then did exactly nothing. >> oh, dear, but mr. ryan neglected to say that he sat on the committee and voted no on the urgent report to which he alludes. how about his slam of the stimulus? >> the stimulus was a case of political patronage, corporate welfare and cronyism at their worst. you, the american people of this country, were cut out of the deal. >> actually, more than a quarter of all stimulus dollars went in the form of tax relief for workers who and then there was the claim that the president failed to keep open a gm plant in ryan's hometown of janesville, wisconsin. >> candidate obama said, i believe that if our government is there to support you, this plant will be here for another 100 years. that's what he said in 2008. well, as it turned out, that plant didn't last another year. do dry your tears, scott walker. that plant effectively closed in december 2008, a month before t

bowl time? at half time -- who is responsible for that, mr. eastwood?o, a lot of my friends on the pretty tough left were angry about the delivery, the younger members of my family think that not getting rid of gitmo was not good. did he want to get rid of it? no, he said he had to keep it. so what was the point of that. >> i think he was clearly off the te-- >> they let this guy come out, say whatever he wanted to say. >> clint eastwood's speech tonight, his performance brings to mind the famous line from ross perot's chosen vp running mate, admiral stockdale. it is not fair, he is a great american hero, but what a line. let's watch. >> you're opening statement, please sir. >> who am i? why am i here? >> you know, i hate that because he was a p.o.w. for so many years. he is a great guy. and yet -- he is wonderfully honest in saying i don't belong here, do i? >> no, it was not a good opener. >> okay, let's hear some great lines, what will he -- will stewart do with this baby? >> i think you will just have to watch and find out. one of my favorite moment

bowl. >> people of detroit know there's something about this. they almost lost everything. but we all pulled together. now motor city is fighting again. >> mr. eastwood says the ad was about job growth, and the spirit of america, not an endorsement of president obama. >> question. is oprah's 2008 endorsement of obama the equivalent of clint eastwood's 2012 endorsement of romney? eleanor clift. >> i love clint eastwood but i just don't think he carries the same kind of constituency. >> you mean women. you mean a lot of women. >> well, even -- >> what's this again? >> oprah had a dedicated following. people would buy any book she told them to buy. few right. >> i tried to get her to endorse my book. didn't work. >> she has more -- >> by far, by far. and obama's got dirty harry reid on his side. >> she brings that female vote which we said on this program is so critical and under analyzed. >> she's an important endorsement. i don't think clint eastwood resonates to that extent. >> no, but he resonates, but not to that extent. you're absolutely right. she had a really dedicated following. so hers was different. but it doesn't hurt. you know, if

mr. eastwood and or his camp was kind of trapped from the criticism of the super bowl ad and him not wanting to play too much political favorites. it just looked like a mess. when you're talking about conventions, the question is what gets across. what got across was confusion and disorganization and improper vetting on the part of the romney camp. >> dana, you know that if you were a professional nfl wide receiver or linebacker and you stormed -- >> that's not funny. >> and you stormed forward and scored a touchdown and you did this across your throat, you would likely be suspended. what on earth was this man do g doing? >> i think here, we have another instance of it's not clear eastwood knew what he was doing, that the romney campaign had no idea what was going to happen. they're saying when he asked the stage hand for a chair, they thought he wanted to sit it in himself. it's inexplicable to me that let's give the republican party some credit. they run these sorts of things like clock work to the second with every little word sketched out and i don't know why they chose this time. it was

mr. hoyer. >> [inaudible] the issue in this presidential campaign -- the issue, which is very much related. [inaudible] adopting a bowles-simpson plan that would put us on a fiscally sustainable path -- i hope that we will do that in the lame duck. i do not know that is possible, but i will work toward that end. secondly, i think that both want tax reform. if we are going to make it in america, we will make it in america -- it is profitable. regulations and taxes are items we need to address. we believe that the bill that we offered -- i thank you for making that order. speaker boehner had indicated he would do that. we had a colloquy about that. i think that'll be an important debate. but i would urge my friends and the republican side to reflect upon the 1993 bill. that did, in fact, raise taxes on 1.5% of the highest earners, almost to a person -- mr. boehner, mr. kasich, mr. armey -- all of them said that we would explode the deficit and destroy employment and the economy by adopting that plan. exactly the opposite happened. we had a very robust economy. we created more jobs than any administration -- 22 million in

mr market. well there are loads of lawsuits being filed as we speak but you know as this oklahoma was the center of the great dust bowl of the one nine hundred thirty s. and where did all the okies head but to california so if they head out to california today however they're going to find economical wasteland which is probably worse than the dust bowl but just the financial and economic dustbowl happening in california headline reads california cities i plan to seize mortgages officials from san bernardino county in two of its cities have formed a local agency to consider the plan to condemn troubled mortgages the idea was broached by a group of west coast financier's who suggests using the power of eminent domain which lets the government seize private property for public purpose in this case they would condemn troubled mortgages so they could seize them then the borrowers would be helped into mortgages with significantly lower monthly payments stephen glocks stern terram and of the newly formed san francisco based mortgage resolution partners says his main concern is the help the economy which is being held back by

mr. erskine boal, a democrat, who is -- erskine bowles, a democrat, who was the former white house chief of staff under president clinton. two of the toughest and smartest people in this country when it comes to our finances. since i've been here, the most bipartisan effort to fix our finances stay in has been led by erskine expwoalz ala bowles and. they were asked to head up the president's national commission on fiscal responsibility and reform. it was bipartisan when it began. it stayed bipartisan all this time and it has grown with a number of senators from both sides of the aisle who understand that we need a big fix that comes from both sides of the aisle in a bipartisan way. bowles and simpson paint a grim picture about the problem we're facing. and in december of 2010, they laid out a serious blueprint for a solution, one that isn't perfect but that has earned more support from members of both parties than anything else that has been proposed in washington. since then, too many of our leaders have put their heads in the sand about this proposal and the choices we face. but west v

mr. ryan. chris matthews joining us from tampa. what's your reaction? >> for not supporting the simpson-bowles compromise. this is a guy who walked away from simpson bowles. i don't know how he can criticize the president for not doing what he didn't do. and he's failed to accept leadership. it was a verycon stricted, very negative speech that didn't have anywhere near the elevation of condoleeza rice's speech. thought cdoleezza reez's speech was spectacular. it was thrilling, american. it talked about the wonders of immigration, the brilliant people who come to this country to work and live and talked about it's not where you come from, it's where you're going. it was a complete smackdown do all of thutae attacks on barack obama's past. this speech was pretty much a canned political advertisementcome paadvertiseme compared to condoleezza rice. >> her speech was received very, very well in the hall. it was not at all toward mitt romney. what do you think of the comparative weight of the two addresses? >> they were both great, they were different. this was a wonderfully written speech by john mcconnell and

mr. chairman, so so far this morning, we've heard that ryan's blocked the farm bill, that he's responsible for the death of simpson-bowlesause. it didn't take very long, did it? >> well, and unfortunately for americans, it's all a bunch of bunk and lies. the only person in america who has blood on his hands when it comes to medicare is barack obama. i mean one of the things that we're seeing is that either the hosts don't understand the facts or we're -- we need to do our job as well in making sure that people understand a couple of things. number one, any person watching the program right now who is 55 or older, anything paul ryan has proposed has nothing to do with those people. everything stays in place. what we're talking about is what people my age are concerned about. people my age, whether they're republicans or democrats are concerned that medicare is going to go broke, and under this president's plan, medicare will go broke. so the question is what are we going to do about it? and i think it's about time that people in this country -- and i thank appreciate -- are given the opportunity to have a big debate about

mr. unforgiving clint eastwood. this is a great visual. it adds a quintessentially american voice, celebrity star power. that just kicked it up another notch today. >> and clint eastwood did an ad during the super bowlo independents and appeals to mainstream american republicans. always have trouble with celebrity. now we've got it this time. >> all right. margaret hoover, john avalon, guys, thank you. how about that? clint eastwood. make sure you watch cnn tonight for all the speakers. >>> coming up, health officials, they are already saying this could be the worst year ever for the west nile virus. will the flooding in louisiana and mississippi make it all worse? dr. sanjay gupta, he's going to join us next with what you need to know to stay safe. great shot. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. there's natural gas under my town. it's a game changer. ♪ it means cleaner, cheaper american-made energy. but we've got to be careful h

bowl. >> no commercials, no interruptions. got to see the entire oak ridge boys -- >> it's geek heaven. >> it really is. what do you want to start with, mrsromney? >> sure. i think you could say the same thing about romney and christie. what is interesting about these speeches is in a way it's a window into what the campaign perceives their challenges, their vulnerabilities are. they're not going to build up the areas where they feel safe and strong. so with ann in particular, i think you saw a campaign extremely aware of a gender gap. they have a lot of work to do with women. we're all familiar with the obama campaign's message about this war on women and the controversy we've had around mr. akin, the senate candidate in missouri, so on and so forth. she really played hard to that female audience. really trying to make a gender connection and also at the same time, trying to empathize with the lives of middle class voters. and finally to hit that point that you can trust mitt. i think those three right there with her, three issues the campaign is worried about. the gender gap, the sense the romneys may not understand the lives of ordinar

bowl either. >> joe willie nay must did. the red sox shocked the baseball world, dismantling their team sending four players to the l.a. dodgers, standing by in new york, mr. mike barnicle, showed up a little bit for work. couldn't make it down here to talk about the trade. how happy are you this morning as a red sox fan? >> willie and joe and everyone, there's really only one way to look at this deal, it occurred on the same date in history 68 years later that paris was liberated. 68 years from that day the red sox were liberated from a huge number of hefty contracts involving adrian gonzalez, josh beckett, carl crawford and nick punto who carried the luggage out to los angeles. obsessive in the media market that is the red sox. carl crawford made a mistake a couple years ago when he did something just for the money and signed with boston instead of the los angeles angels. he was never comfortable in boston. so he's gone. josh beckett unfairly blamed for everything that has happened in that clubhouse over the last year, had to leave the market because it was just -- it was terrible. every time he appeared the boos rolled out of the stadium and rocked the

bowling. he launched an orange down the aisle to the cheers of the press as senator marco rubio gave the fruit a roll as did attorney general, pam bondy. >> steve: funny stuff. today mrn the critical battle ground swing state of ohio. that's where steve brown is standing by with a preview of coming attractions. good morning to you. >> good morning, steve. as you can see, the front end loader over my shoulder, you can probably guess we're going to be talking a little bit about energy and specifically about coal. it has not been the best of times for the coal industry in this country. in part because of the natural gas industry boom and also because of tighter regulations into the obama administration's epa environmental protection agency and its regulations. coal production nationally, according to the energy department, is down by about 2 or 3%. coal jobs are also off. again, not a good time. so the romney campaign likely to make hay out of this particular issue in a battle ground state and the campaign saying in ohio and around the nation, the president's energy policies have resulted in fewer jobs and higher costs at home, as president mitt romney will reverse pres

mr. camp: i just yield myself 15 seconds and say that the plan the gentleman refers to is a made up plan. what we're looking at here is the model set up in the bowles-simpson commission way has been endorsed in a bipartisan way that will be an open process, that will allow amendments so we can allow those in that process, not this made up bill that they went and are discussing on the nor today. so at this time i yield three minutes to the distinguished chairman of the health subcommittee, the gentleman from california, mr. herger. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for three minutes. mr. herger: thank you. yesterday, this house voted to stop the job destroying tax hike that threatens to hit every american taxpayer at midnight on december 31. today, we have an opportunity to build on that. we have an opportunity not only to do the right thing for jobs and job creators in the short term but to begin building the foundation for a more stable and prosperous economy in the future. few would argue that our current tax code is ideal. it's far too complicated with taxpayers spending over $160 billion each year just to figu

bowling green, kentucky, the tang family owns the great american doughnut shop. their family fled war-torn cambodia to come to this country. we go there frequently. the tang work long hours. mrsthe night to make doughnuts. the tang family have become valedictorians and national merit scholars. the tangs from cambodia are an american success story. so, mr. president, don't you go telling the tang family that they didn't build that. [ applause ] when you say they didn't build it, you insult each and every american who ever got up at the crack of dawn. you insult any american who ever put on overalls or a suit. you insult any american who ever studied late into the night to become a doctor or a lawyer. you insult the dishwasher, the cook, the waitress. you insult anyone who's ever dragged themselves out of bed to strive for something better for themselves and their children. my great grandfather, like many, came to this country in search of the american dream. no sooner had he stepped off the boat than his father died. he arrived in pittsburgh as a teenager with nothing, not a penny. he found the american dream, not great wealth, but a bit of property in a new land that gave him