this stems and the article by robert kagan in "the new republic."ere is a story from " the new york times." that is the story this morning from inside " the new york times." back to you the question of whether or not you think america is in decline. amy is joining us from michigan. caller: i don't think it is. i think this is the dawning of the age of aquarius. usually get our cards right. this symbolizes the intuitive mind and the water being poured from the jobs represents the order of new life. hopefully, we can get it right. host: thanks for the call. from "the washington examiner" -- back to your calls -- bill is joining us from massachusetts -- is america in decline? caller: yeah s, it has. we have become the picture of dorian gray. the only have to watch "washington journal" a couple of weeks to see how polarized and angry and uninformed and divided this country is. people will feel totally alone, scared, and disenfranchised. this is the unintended result of lyndon johnson pause on funded great society. if obama wins, the uninformed on the le

and finally there is robert kagan or the instigator he's no michael hayden he's never been in the military before but he has no problem telling them what to do and fact he's one of the people credited with being the architects of the iraq invasion. now these guys are all expected to sway romney to toughen up on iran russia north korea and china none of them are afraid to wage war even encourage it so is america ready to bring back the bush era. joining me now from our blogger for forbes dot com mark. welcome to the show mark so this is romney's team why choose these guys. i think he's trying to demonstrate that he's very much in the republican mainstream i mean as a former governor of a very liberal state like massachusetts the last thing he wants to be labeled as a kind of nor the fit northeastern liberal and as you can see from the guy's records they're not going to be confused for people. who are scared of using military force and i mean i actually thought it was not worthy on a romney's campaign web site the in his foreign policy section the first thing that he lists even ahead of terr

kagan to sit that one out. by the way she did not participate in the vote or decision that led to denying the group's request. chief justice john roberts defending colleague but kagan and justice thomas has been asked to recuse from this case. here is what he said in an end of the year report he put out. quote, i have complete confidence in the capability of my colleagues to determine when recusal is warranted. they are jurists of exceptional integrity and experience whose caringer and fitness examined through a rigorous appointment confirmation process. he is backing them up. he is telling the groups to back off. looks like all nine justice will stay in for the long haul on this case. general that? jenna: fascinating case at that. thank you. jon: dangerous storms in texas unfolding yesterday during "happening now." we're getting a better picture of just how severe it was. you remember that radar image from yesterday? well it brought buckets of rain, powerful wind and at least one tornado ripping through the state. in college station, significant damage to homes and businesses. storms knocking down trees, leaving many without power and

matily the decision is hers. >> and both cases of justice thomas and justice kagan, the chief justice, justice john robertsyear end report and said i trust my colleagues to make the right decision and to the extent there have been any legitimate questions of recusal they have been asked and answered and it is time to move on to the merits of the case and any further attempts to bring up the grasping at straws types of arements about recusal hurts the proponents of the federal care act. >> shannon: we will be talking about the case quite a bit as we are just weeks away now. thank you both. >> thank you very much. >> shannon: we have brand new video just in of the accident we have been telling you along i-75 in florida just outside gainesville. at least nine people were killed and 18 injured. there were a series of accidents again in the gainesville area. the highway apparently had been caught in a fog and smoke from a brush fire, had been shut down at one point. it was reopened, that is when the accidents were triggered. we understand it is, once again, closed. this is the first video coming out. at least n

kagan. the way this policy seems to work is like nobody can use four dirty words or indecency, except for steven spielberg. chief justice john robertss the only justice with small children. all we're asking for, he said, is what the government is asking for, is a few channels where you can say, i'm not going to -- they're not going to hear the "s," word, "the f," word. there could be a tie decision. any decision that's not expected to come until early summer. diane, that means stay tuned. >> okay. thank you, cecilia. >>> now, it was rev your engines day. the 2012 north america auto show in high gear in detroit. amid big news for more mojo for cars made in america. japan's automaker, honda, moving its brand right here to ohio. here's abc's chris bury with the hot, new cars in detroit. >> reporter: at this year's big show, the mo in motown stands for "momentum." 40 new models, introduced with the glitz and glamour so missing during detroit's doldrums. >> what's the message? >> i think the message is the car industry is alive in detroit and in america. >> reporter: the new year, looking up after a strong 2011. car sales up 10% for the

roberts, jr. defending all of his colleagues when it comes to the matter of recusing himself. justices clarence thomas and elena kagan to withdraw from the health care case due to possible conflicts of interest. roberts says supreme court does not sit in judgment of its own members' decisions. >> heather: this year a new plan to keep your health care costs low. a new fee on your insurance plan aimed at weeding out overpriced prescriptions, but, could it be used against the president? here now, david nelson, chief strategist with bellpoint asset management, and he joins us to talk you a little more about this fee which ranges from a dollar to $2, when it begins, which will be in 2012. >> it seems to be $1 to $2 and the issue is whether or not it is' tax or not and fit is, it is a modest one and will not have an economic impact on the economy and the real issue, here, is government yet again. we are making another government agency and actually, congress labeled it as a nonprofit organization, and, yet is funded by taxes. >> heather: and the agency is this patient centered outcomes research institute ni. >> i long name

roberts said coming to the defense of his colleagues. now, there are those that raised questions on the side of miss kagan but there's no financial conflict're not talking policy here. we're talking about a failure to disclose a financial interest with clarence thomas which is not alleged with anyone else on the court. am i correct? >> you're right about that. and it's a deeply disturbing connection. the fact is, clarence thomas has a financial steakake in an issu that is coming before the supreme court. it's a violation of his duty and he has refused to do so. this is something that all americans need to know more about. i think americans should raise their voices and we have ways to do that. you can go to keithellison.org but the fact is that people need to raise this thing and we need to get more public attention on how difficult this is for all americans. >> especially on the eve of the iowa caucus when in the republican debates many of the candidates named thomas as among the jurists that they add mire and they don't seem to have a problem and their word and anthony ska lea and john roberts. >> across the board, thomas is an example

roberts is saying neither one happen. megyn: very innocuous. very innocuous, isn't it, joey? the evidence tying kaganround this case seems to me very innocuous. same is true for thomas. as a lawyer of nine years i feel like the supreme court chief justice got it exactly right. aren't we too quick to politicize the supreme court? >> i think we are. at the same time though, so many people are looking at this obamacare law and they have a vested interest seeing it be overturned or that it be accepted. so therefore tempers are flaring. ultimately however, the supreme court will make those decisions and their ethics could be called into question all they want. kemberly talked about title 28. it is very expansive. it talks about your impartiality can be cause called into question. >> but they're not bound by that. >> they're not bound. >> they're not bound by that supreme court is bound by nothing. they make up where they are going to sit and there is no review. >> exactly. megyn: kimberly, you tell me, should that change? we need finalty at some point. congress will now review all supreme court decisions

roberts walking in, justice kennedy. looks like he has a nice contingent from the supreme court. you can see who's going in right now. let's see who else is coming in with bader ginsburg. elena kagan the supreme court. five justices are there. >> it was justice alito, i recall, who shook his head at the president when he challenges the citizens united campaign on finance. that was controversial, as they were sitting there watching him speak. >> the first individual introduced was the dean of the diplomatic corps, ambassador in washington served here the longest, from jubati, from the horn of africa. there, you see the first lady of the united states. let's listen in to the reception. [ applause ] >> this is the third state of the union, gloria, the president has delivered since taking office. for the first lady, it's her third appearance in that gallery with her special guests as well. let's listen in. you ju

roberts says he trusts his colleagues to make their own recusal decisions. adding this. quote. basically saying, back off for all the calls for recusal. no indication that justice kagan is even considering it. megyn: some of the realtors are done crunching the numbers, and 2011 is one of the worst years for home sales on record, in fact they say it is the worst ever. what does that mean for people who are trying to sell a home, who own a home or who are considering buying one? and what does it mean for the economy in general in they all say it all links back to the mess in the housing market our economic problems. charles payne has answers after the break. a very emotional murder case coming to a close today. a father and son accused of an honor killing of these three girls and their mother. now we are learning about a possible bomb threat at the court just as the case finishes up. breaking news just ahead. and a suspected carjacker learning the hard way this is not the grandma you want to mess. megyn: . look at her. her incredible story just ahead. >> you hold it right there. [bleep] and i said, don't you move. i will shoot. that's why there's new glucerna hunger sm

roberts. secretary of state. >> good job tonight. good job tonight. >> oh, a nice compliment for the head of the pentagon, leon panetta. justice kennedy, justice ginsburg. enthusiastic hug for the president. justice breyer. justice kagan. tall gentleman right there is aodieao drks aod aodierno a gentleman from the iraq war campaign now with the pentagon. a distinctive tall figure. the president is two people away. there now congresswoman giffords. >> speaker of the house. navy veteran, restaurant, husband of congresswoman giffords. >> member of congress, i have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the president of the united states. thank you so much. thank you very much. . >> mr. speaker, mr. vice president, members of congress, distinguished guests and fellow americans, last month i went to andrews air force base and welcomed home some of our last troops to serve in iraq. together we offered a final proud salute for the colors underwhich more than a million of our fellow citizens fought and several thousand gave their lives. we gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has made the united states safer and more respected around the world. . for the first time in nine years, there are