one of them is leading the republican presidential pack. the other is bringing up the rear in this hour. newt gingrich and jon huntsman are facing off in a lincoln-douglas stale debate in new hampshire, where the first in the nation primary is just 29 days away wp. with the calendar closing in, flying between gingrich and its nearest rival, we are talking about mitt romney. jim has the latest for us. jim? >> with the holiday ises the debate, it could be summed up as newty versus nice. but the real fight is with mitt romney and it is anything but nice. there is enough journalists swarming around newt gingrich under this pharmacy to givefully candidate a migraine. just enough room to talk with handful of voters and a parrot in the store. but the real squawking in gingrich's ear is coming from mitt romney who said the former speaker should give up the big money he earned advising the housing giant, freddie mac. >> one of the things that i think people recognize in washington is that people go there to serve the people and then they stay there to serve themselves. >> do you believe they should give that money back? >> i sure do. >> but gingrich was ready for that one. >> if governor romney would like to give back all of the money he earned from bankrupting companies and laying off employees, then i would be glad to listen to him. and i bet you $10, not 10,000, he won't take the offer. >> it come back double wamming. first, hitting the governor for his days of down sizing companies and et second for romney's high stakes wager at saturday's debate in iowa. >> rick, i tell you what, 10,000 bucks. $10,000 bet. >> i'm not in the betting business but -- >> oh, okay. >> romney who tried to sound more down to earth at a new hampshire lumber plant -- >> i love the american people. i have said this before. i worry about the very poor and i want to make sure our safety net is there for the very poor. >> also accused, former speaker of quote erratic outspokenness for his comment on palestinian rights it their own country. >> somebody ought to have the courage to tell the truth. these people are terrorists. they teach terrorism in their schools. >> gingrich says he wasn't talking about all palestinians in when he made the remark. >> did you mean that all palestinians were terrorists in your speak, mr. speaker. >> i didn't say that that's absurd. >> he later said he was talking about palestinians launching rockets at targets. but later anybody could have forgot he was debating jon huntsman on this day. sometime after christmas the gingrich campaign says it'll borrow a page from john mccain and launch a straight talk express bus tour. gingrich will calculate it up with the press like mccain did four years ago. another way to gingrich to have contrast from romney who likes to keep his distance from the press. wolf? >> rick perry is also taking romney to task for that offer of a $10,000 bet. take a look at his latest internet campaign ad. >> i'm not in the betting business. people of this country really want to get american back on track. >> our own lisa sylvester, by the way, is taking a closer look at facts behind that bet. was romney for the healthcare mandate? who would have won the bet if they would have actually done it? we are digging deeper in the next hour to bring you the results. also, rick perry seems to be doing better in iowa where the nation's first caucuses take place three weeks from tomorrow. gingrich is up with likely caucus goes at 22% but down from 27% last month. romney is down a bit as well. coming in second with 17 percent tied with ron paul. perry comes in at 13%, that's up 5% for him since last month. we are taking a closer look at gop battle in our strategy session later this hour. donna brazile, rich galen are both standing by. he was a relatively unknown illinois state senator, talking about president barack obama, when the iraq war began in 2003. now is the president and presiding over the end of the conflict he so heavily criticized at one point? let's bring in our white house controversy. he warmly welcomed the iraqi president. tell our view wloers may have missed what was going on, what happened. >> well, the president did talk about all of the progress that has been made inside iraq. he talked about a new relationship which will be much different than it has been over the last nearly nine years or so. we take a step back. there have been more than a million u.s. personnel both military and civilian serve flg iraq. now only a few thousand. all gone by the end of the year. while we remain there, interest are big challenges as that country tries to establish democracy in a tough corner of the world. >> at arlington national cemetery, president obama and iraq's president malachi remember the troops who paid the ultimate sacrifice in a nearly nine-year war. some of them are buried here. [ taps playing ] >> that emotional moment marking the end of a devicive war followed a one on one meeting in the oval office and a news conference where the president touted a campaign promise kept to pull out all troops by the end of the year and discuss the new strategic relationship fween the two countries. >> the iraqi people must know that you will not stand alone. you have a strong and enduring partner in the united states of america. >> but it was a different tone from then state senator obama in 2002 when at an anti-war rally in downtown chicago, he criticized the planned invasion of iraq this way. >> what i do oppose is a dumb war. >> the president was asked if he still felt the same way. >> i think history will judge the original decision to go into iraq. >> while there will be no military boots on the ground, the u.s. will still provide muscle in the sale of f-16s to replace iraqi fighter jets destroyed in the war. but as these steps towards democracy don't erase big challenges ahead. there are concerns about whether iraq can maintain their own security and stable system. >> iraq now has become reliant completely on its own security apparatus. >> there are a lot of questions about growing influence from eye rab. once u.s. troops pulled out completely. >> his interest is iraqi sovereignty and preventing meddling by anybody inside of iraq. and i believe them. >> now, syria is also another concern. the iraqi government has not been as forceful in criticizing the violent crack down. the prime minister saying he doesn't believe he has the right it call the president to step down. mr. obama was asked about this. he described their differences as tactical and he said that he believes the prime minister is doing what he thinks is bet for the people of iraq. wolf? >> that's pretty shocking when you think about it, dan. the only countries in the arab league in lebanon, which obviously hezbollah has close ties with syria and iraq, all of the other members basically are with the u.s. europeans, rest of the world, in condemning him. but malachi in baghdad refusing to do so. we will discuss what is going on in our next hour. also, i write about this on my blog today. let's go to jack cafferty right now. he's got the cafferty file. jack? >> not exactly breaking news, but americans are fed up with congress. really, really fed up. a new gal yum poll shows incumbents are highest they have been in years. 76% p of voters say they do not deserve reelection. democrats, republicans and especially independents, back in 2010 when the democrats lost 63 house seats to the republicans, voters were less negative than they are now. so that means our elected representatives ought to start packing up, right? and getting toward leave down? not so fast. another recent poll put their job approval rating at 9%. but as is historically the case, even though people think congress is rotten, they don't necessarily feel the same way about their representatives. the same poll shows 53% of these surveyed say their representative deserves to be re-elected. who are these people? makes it hard it shake things up in washington if people don't see their own officials are part of the problem. and that's the thing. almost every single one of these people is part of the problem in some way. part of the dysfunctional mess that our government las become. congress can no longer even be bothered to pass a budget. they are looking at year-end trillion dollar plus catch-all spending bill. they can't be bothered with the skyrocketing national debt. they can't be bothered to do much of anything when it comes to energy policy example for a long list of things they can't be bothered with. instead they kick the can down the roll on real issues and focus on getting re-elected instead. unless we stop them. here's the question. if congress is so bad, where y do more than half of americans say their own representatives deserves to be re-elected. post a comment on my block on the "the situation room's" facebook page. a is you prior change for president obama. we will talk more about that with bernie sanders. he wants a constitutional amend many to deal with money and politics. plus, as u.s. forces leave iraq. a new force is moving in to protect americans. we have details of what the controversy of what critics are calling the state's department private army. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal. and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. [ male announcer ] don't miss red lobster's surf & turf. 3 grilled combinations all under $20. like our maine lobster with peppercorn sirloin, or our new bacon-wrapped shrimp with blue cheese sirloin for $14.99. i'm john mazany and i sea food differently. k kwa. as the u.s. military winds down its mission in iraq this month, the president told reporters he wants it make sure civilians staying there and thousands of and thousands of them will be remaining at the u.s. embassy in baghdad. cons late around the country are safe. they are deploying thousands of private high lsh dipaid security contractors. this is a move stirring up huge controversy. our foreign affairs correspondent jill dougherty explains. >> american troops are headed home for iraq. but americans civilians are staying. 15 to 16,000 of them. diplomats, business and development experts, financial and agricultural advisors working out of the massive u.s. embassy in baghdad as well as posting in basra, baghdad and kir kuk. >> secretary of state hillary clinton tells cnn those will be in danger. >> the only way we can defend our people, protect them is through private contractors. >> some critics are calling it the state department's private army. approximately 5,000 security personnel armed, private contractors. >> we have a lot of evidence that actually our missions have been compromised by cowboy attitudes of the private contractors. >> just the word contractors bricks back the nightmare of baghdad's square where blackwater security guards opened fire in a traffic cirque flel 2007, killing 17 iraqi civilians. the state department revamped procedures and since then there have been no further incidents. >> the state department has no counter rockets firing. we will not fire back. that is an diplomatic activities. >> but the watch dog of how u.s. taxpayer dollars are spent in iraq tells us he has other questions about how the state department will handle its mission in iraq. >> our audit raises concerns about exactly that. and if the planning is not improved, if the oversight is not exerted, and if the metrics and mile stones we call for aren't implemented, then waste will occur. >> bowen says last spring the state department stone walled when skeed for information on a police development program. it talk an obstruction letter to secretary clinton to get the department to comply, he says. the iraq plicommission will sooe on the state department shoulders and a foreign adviser to the state department, congress and white house says stakes are enormous. >> after all of these years of fighting in iraq, after all of the blood and treasure, after all of our country has done, the suck receives failure of our mission would have turned on the ability of contractors to carry out their functions there. >> another worry, the taxpayer dollars will it cost and without careful super vision some of that money could be wasted. wolf? >> jill dougherty, thank you. susan kelly has criticizen extensively on contractors in iraq. you probably know this because we have spoken on several occasions. i'm worried about these citizens, 16,000 or so, who will remain without u.s. military presence for all practical purposes. how dangerous will this environment for them be? this sm think they will be sitting ducks. >> i don't think it'll be any more dangerous. you remember, wolf, right after 2003 when the war first started, the military went to the state department and said, we don't have enough people to protect you and you will have to do it on your own. that's how this whole industry ballooned. it'll definitely continue to be dangerous. >> the state department says that their budget for the iraq diplomats, whether the embassy in baghdad or cons late in basra, allot of them not making 5, 60,000 year, some make hundreds of thousands a year. >> contracting was meant to be a stop gap measure. a short term thing that u.s. brought in contractors when they needed to when the military couldn't do the job. then they went away. that was the cost-saving part of contractors. but looking at ten years and into the future, it is not as cheap and cost-saving as we once thought it would be. >> you wrote an excellent book on blackwater. you are an authority on that subject. where is blackwater, or whatever its new name is, where does it fit into the iraq contracting situation? >> they got kicked out of iraq after 2008 after the bloody incident in the square when 17 iraqis were killed. they haven't been allowed to operate in the country. the former navy seal, you interviewed him. i think you had one of the first interviews with him. last year he said, i'm walking away. this is too toxic. he sold it and they changed everything from top to bottom. they changed the name, changed the heads of it. they brought in john ashcroft. there is still so much plan to be made in iraq, they have their eye on protesting some of the oil and gas facilities there. >> a lot of money involved right now. we will see how it goes. i'm very worried and i wrote about it on my blog. thanks, very much. prime minister putin has competition in russia's presidential race. can putin get a run for his money? and a pipeline could make a huge difference in how much money you take home in the coming year. ♪ it's easy to see what subaru owners care about. that's why we created the share the love event. get a great deal on a new subaru and $250 goes to your choice of 5 charities. with your help, we can reach $20 million dollars by the end of this, our fourth year. lisa sylvester is monitoring some of the top stories in "the situation room" right now. the president's healthcare reform law, they are considering that, texas redistricting and now the arizona immigration law. >> yeah, a lot of people will be keeping a close eye on the high court, that's for sure, wolf. the u.s. supreme court will rule on the controversial law targ elting illegal immigrants including the block provision that allows police officers to check immigration status during traffic stops. the obama administration says immigration should be a federal responsibility but arizona rules the federal government hasn't addressed financial and safety concerns and justice elena kagan will not hear the case because of her earlier work as slit tore general opposing that law. the billionaire once described at 6'8" bachelor and martial arts expert will go up against putin. he calls it the most important he c decision of his life. he is worth billions of dollars. a convoy of truckses contracted to nato forces in afghanistan was attacked by armed men in southwest pakistan. police say the gang of motorcyclists killed one fire before setting fire to the tankers. last night's attack is the second in four days. . pakistan closed nato supply roots that killed pakistani soldiers last month. security forces in yemen shut down all roads in the central prison after 15 suspected members of al qaeda escaped this morning. men tied to the terrorist cell in the arabian peninsula dug a nearly 26-foot tunnel to escape. earlier this week, four guards were killed when a dozen suspected al qaeda prisoners, escaped, wolf. >> you hear a lot about al qaeda guys escaping from yemen. >> it is a concern. >> i guess security is not that great when they have insiders helping them. >> it is real issue. >> thank you. bernie sanders wants to challenge a law. listen to this. >> the american people, whether you are a democrat, independent, from progressive, conservative, do not believe corporations are people and corporations should be able to buy elections. >> my interview with bernie sanders is coming up. check out this, $10,000 mitt romney bill as the candidate catches lots of flak for a big ticket wager. our strategy session coming up as well. the droid razr by motorola. the newest droid armed with motocast. granting you wireless access to files on your home computer from almost anywhere. 4g lte equipped to pull pictures, music, and movies. all at mind-melting speeds. powered by verizon, this droid is too powerful to fall into the wrong hands. never took life too seriously. 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[ male announcer ] learn more from your state farm agent today. here are some of the sorries we are working on for the next hour. has the former speaker repented enough for the religious right. what some powerful voices are saying, stand by. the deadline is hours away for syrians to raise the white flag or face attack by government forces. a new sheriff in the sky. how drones are being used right here in the united states to fight crime out west. stand by. you're in "the situation room." with newt gingrich leading the race, form fr his days on capitol hill, weighing in on his potential nomination. >> joining us now from capitol hill, senator bernie sanders, independent senator from vermont. thanks very much for coming in. i want to get to your latest initiative to try to deal with the unlimited amount of money that can go into campaigns, constitutional amendment you are pushing. let me pick your brain for a minute on politics while i have you. newt gingrich, i believe you worked in the house of representatives when he was speaker. is that right? >> i was in the house when he was speaker, that's right. >> what do you think of him as potentially republican nominee? >> well, all can i say is, you know, mr. gingrich's views are very different than mine. i think he is out of touch with main stream america and i suspect he will not be a -- >> give me one example where he is out of touch with main stream america. >> you'lly, i'm much more interested in talking about citizens united. >> i am to. but i i will get to it in a minute. only because you worked with newt gingrich when he was a speaker. >> diwork with him. i was in the house when he was in the house. he was the republican speaker. newt gingrich is a right wing leader. and i think that extreme right wing advice are not what the american people are looking for right now. they want to see us create jobs, gingrich does not support a strong jobs program. rebuilding our infrastructure and putting our teachers back to work. i think the american people in many cases want to transform our envelope system. the american people, which is not gingrich's view, the american people want to protect strongly social security medicare and medicaid which is also not mr. kbrich's point. >> you obviously want to extend the payroll tax cut at least for another year so that millions of middle class families, working class families, won't see a tax increase. >> i am not a great fan of the payroll tax holiday. because i'm nervous about what it does to the future of social security. but what i do believe absolutely, is that in the middle of a recession, the american middle class and working class needs a tax relief and we also have to fund that in a progressive way. ie, asking the wealthiest people in this country to start paying their fair share of taxes? >> if they can't get that, raise taxes on the wealthiest, would you support the pipeline to be built to canada through the united states which the republicans are demanding as kwid pro we coulquid pro quo? >> no, that would be a disaster. >> they say it is freedom of speech to give money to politicians. what's wrong with that? >> what's wrong with that is by 5-4 disastrous decision, the supreme court said that bank of america, exxonmobil and other corporations are flesh and blood people entitled to first amendment rights. there is nobody i know who believes that bank of america is a human being who should be entitled to the same constitutional rights that the people of our country are. what's wrong with it is that at a time when money already plays a horrendous role, in terms of what goes on in congress, what citizens united has done, is made ater ill sit worse. here is what the practical impact of citizens united means. what citizens united means is that corporation kes call hundreds of millions of dollars into television ads, radio ads, other forms of advertising to defeat those candidates who stand up and take them on. it also means obviously they can support those candidates who support their agenda. what it means now, is you're going to have an unprecedented, hence and hundreds of millions of dollars coming into the political process, controlled bit wealthiest people in this country and largest corporations. that, to me mind, is not what american demock ray is supposed to be. we put up a petition on our, site thursday, and in three days, we have over 120,000 names on that petition. the american people, whether you are democrat, independent, republican, progressive, conservative, do not believe corporations are people or that corporations should be able to buy elections. >> but not just corporations. anyone who want it create the super packs. labor unions. progress ifs can dot same thing. some of president obama supporters generated siep super. >> that's right. but it doesn't matter if it's republicans, it doesn't matter if it's democrats. in my stays we have town meetings. people vote on their school budget. one person, one vote. people fought and died to defend democracy, with the understanding that all of us together are what makes the democratic process real. most people that i know don believe that a handful of corporations request sit together without disclosure, by the way, and pump hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars into the political process. that is not the democracy that many of us believe america should be. >> so basically, just to wrap this up, whether it is done by the koch brother on the right or george soros on the left, you hate this, and you want to see it changes? >> this is going to be a real blow to the american democratic process, no matter who is funding it. what t means in practical sense is that when somebody comes up to vote, walks up to the table in the senate and decides whether or not to vote against wall street, vote against drug companies, vote against the cowell cobalt cobathe coal companies, they think, if i vote next week, will this come back against me. so it allows countries who already have enormous power to have even more power. >> you weren't ready to endorse president obama's reelection last time we talked. have you made your mind? >> i think obama will be a strong candidate. i believe in president obama begins the fight of the working family, show working people he will stand up to big money interest, i think he will win this election and i look forward very much to supporting him. >> all right. that's a change from our last conversation. always good. senator twob speak with you. appreciate it very much. republican mitt rom flee is catching heat for challenging a fellow presidential canned doit to a big dollar wager. how damaging is that bet? is it biting back? what's going on. and christmas in washington with president obama. and it comes at a time when rick perry is accusing president obama of war on religion. not necessarily. confidence. available in color. depend for women is now peach. looks and fits like underwear. same great protection. depend. good morning. great day. let's get to our strategy session. joining us right now, donna brazile and the conservative commentator rich galen. guys, thanks very much. everyone is still talking about the exchange that occurred saturday night in that abc news republican presidential debate between romney and perry. watch. >> you are for individual mandates, my friend. you know what, you raised that before, rick. and you are -- >> it was true then. >> it is true now. >> rick, i tell you what. 10,000 bucks. $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business. >> that is forced on the part -- >> i watched it. it didn't strike me that way. nobody -- he never pretended to be that he grew up in a log cabin. everybody knows he has that. that happened to be the number that came into his head. ditweet, if i were adviser romney, is to make a $10,000 donation in perry's name to a charity 20 get rid of it. >> i thought it was the worst -- i call it a silver foot in your mouth moment. we had other rich politicians run. they normally know how to talk about issues that don't offend people. but this was his wall street moment. you know, he was speaking for the 1%, not the 99%. i thought it was a big gaff. people are still talking about it. >> mormons are not supposed to gamble. did you know that? >> and we're not supposed to eat bacon, but there you are. >> did you know mormons are not supposed to gamble? >> no, i didn't know. >> i is a pretty religious mormon. >> well, if i did gamble, i would not gamble with 10,000. >> don't start with me. >> no. >> i will play the exchange with the fox anchor and then play how newt gingrich is responding. >> do you believe that since he took money from freddie and fannie that pretty much the hated agencies now, do you believe he should give that money back? >> i sure do. >> i would just say, that if governor romney would like to give back all of the money he earned from bankrupting companies and laying off employees, over his years at bane, i would be glad to then listen to him. >> that's heating up a little bit between the two front runners. >> this is great. this what we live for. they are supposed to do this. you want to have people not hiding behind their handlers, not behind talking points but at least get angry or at least annoyed with each other. >> it is still relatively tame when you think about it. i think in part because they are afraid if they get too brutal with each other, it is only kb for democrats and president obama's reelection campaign. >> remember in 2004 when gephardt and dean got into it and kerry came up the middle. this will only help bachmann if this continues going tit for tat. >> but this sl final core back in november. it was never like this. until january. >> 3:00 call. >> all the talk, all of the republican conservative talk about -- and rick perry has an add. president obama's war on religious yob, war on christmas. last night, our sister member tnt, hosted a washington pageant. i will play an excerpt because it was good. the president was there, first lady, daughters. justin bieber, cee lo green, jennifer hudson. watch this. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> it is especially great to be here during joyous season when we celebrate a worship child by millions around the world. speak of course, of justin bieber. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ it led me to a miracle >> the story of jesus christ changed the world. for me and for millions of americans. his story filled our hearts and inspired our lives. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> if there's a war on religion from this president or a war on christmas, it certainly wasn't evident. >> you want to replay the whole thing? just replay the whole hour and we will just stand around and watch. >> it was beautiful. >> beautiful evening. >> it was beautiful but just, please -- cnn, just couldn't be more, you know, on one side of this thing. >> well, you think there is a war -- this president has a war on religion? >> no. >> rick perry does. >> i'm not defending rick perry. let's see what rick perry had to say. or you don't have it, i see. >> we had that ad from rick perry on several occasions. >> but wolf, i think there's another issue here. and that is for years i've heard this criticism from conservatives. not rich, but others. that somehow the liberals don't care about religion, we don't care about our faith. president obama is a man of tremendous faith. because he doesn't go to church every five minutes and talk about his relationship with god doesn't mean he doesn't care. >> i don't disagree with a single syllable you just said, but issue has been that you can't say christmas tree. you can't have a manger on public property. that's the kind of thing that gets i think -- >> that's what the courts have decide. if you want to see the whole hour, and i know you do, rich. >> i do. >> friday night on our sister network, tnt, p.m., you will watch it and see if this president has a war on relinlon and war on christmas. >> i love christmas, hanukkah. >> cnn has a war on republicans is the issue. >> well you be here. do you have a year on you? >> old stereo types. >> there you go. give peace a chance. >> thanks very much. >> republican presidential front-runner newt gingrich is stepping up efforts to reach the evangelical right. can catholic conversion, three marriages and questions about fidelity stand by? and a lost drone in iran. dick cheney has his own idea about that and they don't include saying please. erin burnett has her interview with the former vice president. they're high in vitamins and potassium. and idaho potatoes are now certified to carry the heart checkmark from the american heart association for foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol. so they're good for my family, and for yours. heart smart idaho potatoes. always look for the grown in idaho seal. former vice president cheney had his way, there wouldn't be much left of the u.s. drone that went down in iran. deck cheney sat down with erin burnett. erin is joining us from flork. all right, what did he have to say, erin? >> we talked about a lot of things. including whether he feels the arab spring was a result of u.s. actions in iraq. but i asked him specifically about this drone. as you know, wolf, we have been talking a lot about this drone of the most highly sophisticated pieces of equipment. now the iranians and perhaps the chinese have their hands on it because it is a in iranian hands. i asked the vice president if he would have done administration, and that is ask for it back. this is his response. >> the right response is to go in immediately after it went down and destroy it. do that from the air, a quick airstrike and make it impossible for them having captured that drone. i was told the president had three options on his desk. he rejected all of them. >> and they all involved -- >> they all involved sending somebody in you know, to try to recover it or if you can't do that, and admittedly that would be a difficult operation, you certainly could have destroyed it on the ground with an airstrike. but he didn't take any of the options. he asked nicely for them to return it. and they aren't going to return colorado th to do that. >> he said he wouldn't talk about anything classified but he had requested the iranians return the drone. i've been hearing and former secretary of the defense, william cohen, i spoke to him on friday. he says there is no doubt that iran will share this technology with the country like china who has the ability to reverse the technology. they are only a generation behind the u.s. and now they could get that crucial radar evading ability. this drone is an important issue. >> i was surprised when the president said today in the news conference, with malachi, he didn't want to get into classified information. but he did clarify he asked the iranian gentlemen re regime to return the drone and that well see what they say. i'm surprised went that far. >> i am too. and what condition will it be returned in it won't be returned and before it is observed and everything that could be gleaned from it is. and so i don't think this means that somebody didn't take out the crucial technology. >> good exclusive coming up with dick cheney. 7 p.m. eastern, erin burnett. we will be watching as we do every weekday. >> congress is scheduled to wrap up business this friday. there is no agreement on extending the payroll tax cut for millions and millions of leaders. speaker john boehner getting ready to hold a news conference. let's kb to capitol hill. kate bolduan is standing by live. what's the latest, kate? >> wolf, house republicans are preparing for a vote but leaders say it isn't going anywhere. and the with the clock ticking, there is much more than just scoring political points at stake. 19 days until the payroll tax expires. but just four days before congress had hoped to leave washington for the rest of the year. still, no sign of compromise on capitol hill. >> should we ask the wealthiest in america to pay a little more in taxes so we can provide a payroll tax cut for almost 160 million americans? that's it. what we hear from the other side of the aisle, over and over again is, is no. >> the only reason, the only reason for democrats to oppose this job creating bill would be to gain some political advantage. at a time when every one of them says job creation is a top priority. >> the house is set to vote tuesday on a republican proposal to extend the employee payroll tax cut, extend unemployment assistance and prevent scheduled cuts in medicare payments to doctors. republicans are also demanding the bill also have a measure speeding up the approval of the keystone pipeline project. that is likely to hit a wall. obama says he will not approve it and the senate says it won't even get that far. >> let's not stop the business of government. let's not stop helping this government, no matter what issue, whether a pipeline or whatever it may be. >> and this is much more than just a another political boxing match. about 160 million people will see their payroll taxes go up if the cut expires. some 5 million people would stop receiving unemployment benefits next year and lrs would say almost 28% cut in the rate they are reimbursed through medicare that would make it tougher to treat medicare patients. >> even with so much at stake here and time running out, still, there is no agreement in sight. so at the moment, all eyes turn over to the house, wolf, with its expected vote tomorrow. unfortunately, we have to remind our viewers this is one more showdown that we are watching unfold. wolf? >> seems to happen every few months. you will be busy kate, stay in touch. let us know what is going on. prs. americans are sending mixed messages about congress. jack cafferty coming up next. plus, why the man who murdered five american soldiers in iraq may soon walk free. this is a shocking story. you'll see it, you'll hear it, right here on the situation room. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people came to louisiana... they came to see us in florida... make that alabama... make that mississippi. the best part of the gulf is wherever you choose... and now is a great time to discover it. this year millions of people did. we set all kinds of records. next year we're out to do even better. so come on down to louisiana... florida... alabama... mississippi. we can't wait to see you. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. look at this hour's hot shots. in california a police officer in riot gear stands guard during an occupy celebration if oakland. in india, mourners light candles and lay flowers to honor those no who died in a hospital fire. a qualification round at pan am games. in japan, check it out, a sea lion sports a pair of antlers. hot shots, pictures come in from around the world. jack cafferty is joining us with the cafferty file. jack? >> if congress is so bad, and by the way they are, why do half of the americans in america say their congressman deserves to be elected. people kept coming up and asking me how how a sim 78ton like him could be elected or re-elect. i could only respond that there are a lot of people who are smart enough to not know by ni better. i think that's the answer to your current question. ford owners love fords and heat everything else. chevy lovers love chefs and hate everything else. voters love their congressmen. should i vote for mr. hopeless or worthless? hell with it, i'll just stay with mr. useless. jenny in seattle, bad house leaders, horrible senate leaders. constituent think it is more important to have a committee chairman than a moral leader. power mongers undermine our communi community. the old system is broken and it must be changed. lou writes because with a two party system you get to change between the do nothing incumbent or one of the crazies from the other party. that's it. it's no wonder half of americans don't even bother to vote any more. pat in idaho writes, i don't know about that, i'm voting to replace the ones in my state. if you want to more information, go to our blog. wolf? >> jack, thanks very much. and you're in "the situation room" happening now. new honor for u.s. troops killed in iraq. a new outrage. this hour, it appears man held for the murder of five american soldiers may soon go free. las new pledge by newt gingrich to be faithful to his wife and defend the new family. his marital history is under watch in iowa. for the first time unmanned aircraft like this one have helped police arrest americans right here at home. we want to welcome our view nerts united states and around the world. breaking news political headlines and jeanne moos straight ahead. i'm wolf blitzer and you're in "the situation room." a handshake and promises to mark the end of eight controversial costly years of war. president obama vowing the united states won't dessert iraq once all-american forces leave by the end of this month. today met with the iraqi prime minister over at the white house as u.s. troops work to finish their withdraw within the next several days. >> we're taking all of our troops out of iraq. we will not have any basis inside of iraq. we will have a strong diplomatic presence inside of iraq. >> today we meet in washington, ask that we have completed the first page of a constructive corporation in which we also thank you and appreciate you for your commitment to everything that you have committed yourself to and anyone who observes the nation of the relationship, saying that the relationship would not end with the departure of the last american social -- >> since the war of iraq began in march 2003, more than 4400 u.s. troops have been killed and tens of thousands have been wounded. a dangerous angle to the u.s. troop withdraw, a militant held in the killing of five american soldiers in iraq, yes, yes, may soon walk free. a story our brian todd is covering in-depth. a shocking story indeed. tell our viewers who haven't been following this case, brian, what is going on. >> is a well-planned chilling attack in 2007. five american soldiers murdered during kidnapping raid in iraq. the planner of that attack has been in custody for more than four years and the obama administration wants to keep him in american custody. but there's now a very real clans he could slip away. >> a somber wreath laying to honor american soldiers in iraq. behind the ceremony the murders of five troops is a source of tension between obama, malachi and their governments. those soldiers were killed, u.s. officials say, under an attack planned by this man. the last detainee held by u.s. forces in iraq. he has been in custody for nearly five years. but with america's military presence ending by the end of december, he may soon go free without trial. a predicament that outrages republican senators like charles grassley. >> this guy is a very, very bad guy. he's involved with killing five american soldiers. he is an enemy combatant. >> the u.s. government insists he is a long time operative for hezbollah, the terrorist group with ties to iran. u.s. intelligence officials say he admitted to working with iran's force which sponsors attacks against western targets. in january 2007, u.s. officials say, he planned a daring kidnapping commission at a u.s. base in iraq. which led to the murder of the five americans. he said he proved not only dangerous but cunning. >> he pretended he was mute and couldn't speak because he knew his lebanese accent would give him away. he pretended to be mute and mentally disabled for a long while to convince us he wasn't somebody someone we should be interested in. >> several have been pressuring the president obama to keep him here for military trial but that would undermine iraq sovereignty and undercut the u.s. relationship with iraq at a crucial time. if no deal is reached, the americans would have to hand him over to the iraqis. if that happens, the iraqis could put him through their court simmest p.m. but douglas says malachi's government, under pressure at home and iran, could eventually hand duk over to iran which could free him. >> could he attack israeli interests? >> if he is handed back over to iran, i would be shocked if he does not end up working, whether directly for the force or for hezbollah against u.s. or israeli or other western targets. >> wee tried to get iraqi officials to tell us if they would allow keeping him in custody. on the record, the is government will only say that the negotiations with the iraqi government is continuing. but one senior official told us, quote, we certainly hope reremains in custody. he remains a very dangerous individual. >> he was involve fled other attacks as well. not just the murder of these five american soldiers. >> that's right. through the force in iran that is so notorious, he trained militant on the use of ieds. the roadside bombs. there is no telling how many americans he might have had a hand in killing even before the incident in 2007. >> i can only imagine, brian. i don't know if you got in touch with them. the families of the "american idol" can sold yrs. when they hear the guy who killed their loved ones in iraq, first of all this the u.s. would hand them over to iraqis and the iraqis could hand them to iran and they would be a very man, i can only imagine how they must be reacting. >> it will be very upsetting, clearly frps if the obama administration can't reach a deal before, they may not have a choice -- >> if they had the guts to do it, they could say, we're moving him to guantanamo were ft. bragg or some place else. >> true. it the could do that. it could harm iraqi relations at a crucial time. >> don't they understand that he was the mafder mind of killing five american soldiers. >> they do. they can put him in iraqi custody and that may be something they do. they have had people in their custody before and they somehow got through the system and got away. >> it is a disturbing situation. >> thank you. we will stay on top stofrt prip. there are a few a few reasons to stay with iraq. cnn's arwa joins us. when all is said and done, if they get this guy back, give this hezbollah affiliated killer with u.s. tips to iran, how unrealistic is that? >> wolf, we just have to look at recent history to show that individuals that have been directly been involved in attacks, they are against their own forces. let's go back to that attack we were hearing about a short while aago. the attack from 2007. not just orchestrated by dakduq. again it was directly enforced. both were released from u.s. custody over to the iraqis. both of them, wolf, were let go under the umbrella of national reconciliation. one, it is widely believed, was let go for a hostage peter moore who was held for around two and half years. you have that exam there. add it that, the u.s. embassy recently issued a warning to its employees and to americans after height and kidnapping threat. a threat specifically coming from shiite special groups. these groups are still very active in iraq and given the fact it most certainly seems that this government is not going to take any measurement to try to aggravate iran at this stage, it does seem that iran could possibly put enough pressure on it. should the iraqis get their hands on him, we could see him go free. >> we know that iran has influence on some of the shiite parties. the political parties, i fillated with malachi's government. how powerful -- and have you been there from day one, you were there when the war started in march 2003. you have covered it like no one else. all of these years. how influential is iran, in iraq right now? >> it's fairly influential wolf. and some here in iraq. some even members of the government and many analysts will tell you that the u.s. has effectively handed iraq over to iran. that could one side, one must also consider the two countries share a long border. there is a fair amount of economic trade that takes place but iran still has a fairly solid political and military grasp on iraq and the sense that the special groups that it backs do still operate in this country. additionally, the iraqi government is quite open when it says that has to take its own national interest into consideration when it makes certain decision answers the iraqi government quite clearly at this point in time has decided that it is in its own best national interest to continue to maintain these very close ties with iran. this is something the u.s. military and the u.s. administration are very concerned about thp they are going to wait and see exactly how iran decides it play its cards. is it going to use the special groups, various other elements that it has operating in this country to try to expert pressure or to try to perhaps instigate acts of violence as the country tries to move forward without the u.s. military's presence here. >> arwa damon doing a fantastic job. thank you very much. we will speak with a middle east scholar and go indepth on this story. also, check out my blog. i write why i'm deeply concerned about the future of iraq. right now, despite all of the optimistic statements we heard from the white house today. jack cafferty is joining us with the cafferty file. jack? >> how much money does it take it make you rich. a new poll shows. 53% say they would consider themselves rich if they made $150,000 a year. at the other end of the spectrum, 15% of those polled said they need to earn at least a million dollars a year before they consider themselves chris rich. the poll finds higher estimates for what makes you rich among men, younger americans, college graduates, people in urban an suburban areas and parents of minor children. some say at least a half million in net worth would make them rich. that includes savings, real estate and investment et cetera. but it is a far cry from what most people have in the bank. the median income is about $50,000 a year. income and n eequality is skyrocketing. it is estimated between 79 and 2007, the incomes of poorest americans grew by only 20%. the at same time, the incomes of the richest 1% of americans jumped by 275%. no coincidence that occupy wall street crowd is targeting this top 1%. most americans agree that rich, including those who make more than $250,000 a year should be taxed more. but are higher taxes the only answer to growing income in eequal snit here is the question. what's the best way to restore some balance between the rich and the poor in this country? go to cnn.com slash cafferty file, post a comment on my blog or go to our post on situation room's facebook page. wolf? >> thank, jack. it could be a $10,000 mistake. mitt romney ridiculed for offering to bet one of his opponents. could have he have won the wager though? after two failed marriages, newt gingrich is making amends to christian conservatives. [ mujahid ] there was a little bit of trepidation, not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪ right now a $10,000 bet may be costing romney the campaign. he is being criticized for a wage are he offered perry under a republican presidential debate. we are taking a closer look at politic of the bet and the question, would romney have won that bet if perry would have accepted it. lisa sylvester is doing fact checking for us. what are you finding out? >> i think people were shocked by the notion after $10,000 bet that substance of the wager seems to have been lost. the issue you is over whether rom flee and his book be a dacated. perry declined the bet which was a good move in more ways than one. >> the bet heard around the world. >> you're for individual man tats dates my friend. >> you have raised that before. >> it was true then and it is true now. >> rick, i tell you what. 10,000 bucks. $10,000 bet. >> i'm not in the betting business. but i'll -- >> okay. >> i'll show you the book. >> mitt romney's $10,000 bet only seemed to reinforce his rich guy label among some eye iowans. >> he has a lot of money so i guess that is his prerogative. >> i think that will hurt his campaign a little bit. >> the biggest bet i ever made? $5. >> the nonpartisan group fact check.org says -- >> rick perry would have been wrong and he would have owed mitt romney $10,000. >> it turns out romney was right. the issue is over romney's book, no apology. the hard cover version has this wording. it's portable, affordable health insurance. somebody people have been talking about for decades. we can accomplish the same thing for everyone in the country. and it can be done without legislative the government take over healthcare. the paper back which came out later excludes the line, we can accomplish the same thing for everyone in the country. romney's critics say in his original version he was calling for a federal individual mandate. but romney told cnn's wolf blitzer that affordable insure sauns goal. one that should be left up to the individual states. >> massachusetts plan was crafted for massachusetts. for the needs of 8% of our population that didn't have insurance. not for the 92% that did. obamacare is a plan that takes over a hundred percent of the people in this country and their healthcare. that's one of the reasons people don't want to. >> perry's aim on the individual plan date was a little off. still he managed to knock romney off message. >> i think if you are mitt romney, you can't afford to waste a day or two of discussion. and this is going to be a significant distraction over the next couple days. everyone will do a story about it. this is what will be the buzz on the blogs and on the tv and radio. so that is a problem. >> romney would have won the wager but that bet may have cost him more. his republican opponents are not the only ones have a field day with this one. democrats are slamming romney. rm knee has it shake off his image of being a wall street guy. his assets total between 109 million and $250 million. clearly the richest candidate in the gop field. >> good report. thanks, lisa, for that. in three weeks and one day the republican presidential candidate will face off in the first test that counts. er with talking about the iowa caucuses. john king is angoring his show from iowa all of this week. joining us now from davenport. all right, john, give us a lay of the land over there. first of all on this one $10,000 bet, how is it playing out in iowa? >> you know, wolf, i just had lunch with three republican voters and none of them brought it up. they did say they were watching debates, they are aware of it. but it wasn't a defining moment. but you get the great sense that people are tuning in. it is a very different iowa campaign. remember mike huckabee was on the side last time. he proved he could defeat hillary clinton and john edwards back in those days. this state add great deal of activity. it's been more quiet and some iowans say the retail politics of the campaign slipped a bit. two guy ace top the poll answers another new one out today are gingrich and then romney. they haven't been here as much as michele bachmann or senator rick santorum. they are doing it the old-fashioned way and yet the other candidates are leaning right now but they are all due for one more debate thursday night. three weeks from tomorrow, 22 days from now, iowa votes. gingrich, i'll tell you this, you do pick up the gingrich momentum and surge. it is not just in the polling tp you pick it up in any conversation can you. will iowa have a surprise wolf? that's why we will spend the week out here. it is clear have you a gingrich surge, descent level of romney support. i'm in scott county davenport. romney carried this county in 2008, even though romney won the state. here is another thing. ron paul has a core base of support out here. some people think he could surprise and win in iowa. he will be an impactor without a doubt. >> a lot of people think ron paul has the best organization on the ground in iowa. i guess that's what -- you are probably seeing that. is that right, john? >> not only does he have an organization on the ground, they are very active on the internet and social media. one of the questions, as every campaign we learn more about the shift in campaign, technology, on-line fund-raising. we will have on the show tonight, a unique look at the social media across the country. you just played that $10,000 bet moment, we will show interesting action on the social media it that. the campaign changed some. if you just walk the streets and people see you and recognize you, when they come off the street and come out of their way to say hello, they say ron paul will win. it is great to be on the ground in the state. 2006 and 2008, you could get the pro democratic intensity gap. democrat had all of the energy in 2006 and 2008. you could feel it in iowa. come here this time, the republicans are fired up. not only for the caucuses but they think they can take this state next year too. >> the guitar, drums, whole music thing going on behind you. >> i'm showing a band. >> we will look forward to it later tonight after "the situation room." viewer, major home improvement story of being anti-muslim. a reality tv show at the center after controversy. rotein in jellyfish, impact life expectancy in the u.s., real estate in hong kong, and the optics industry in germany? 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[ tires squeal ] an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? lisa sylvester is mon monitoring other stories going on in "the situation room." >> president obama actually confirmed that the iranians do have the drone that went down on iran's side of the border. iran's state news agency is showing video of what it says the american drone and saying experts in the country are planning to copy its technology using reverse engineering. secretary of state hillary clinton also commented on the drone today saying she does not expect the iranians to give the equipment back. lowes is being hammered by critics after pulling spots from tlc's all-american muslim show. it decided after feedback it decided pull advertising saying the programming had become a lightning rod. a california state senator asked lowes to apologize and reinsftae the ads. services for held today for the virginia tech officer shot and killed. and check out this new video. an ohio prosecutor will consider filing criminal charges after an on-court brawl. the fight began in the final minutes of saturday night's game. each school suspended four athletes over this incident. brawl is definitely the word to describe it. geez. >> an good thing at all. >> no. >> not good for the universities, not good for the players, not good for the fans. >> just shouldn't happen, wolf. shouldn't happen. >> newt gingrich claims that palestinians ever, quote, an invented people. we will discuss the backlash for his campaign and for his policy if he is ejected president. find out who would even consider building towers that look like the ones destroyed on 9/11. for 5 days only, get great holiday deals. like $100 off the 4g lte samsung galaxy tab. or buy one 4g lte samsung stratosphere for $99.99 and get another one free. hurry in, these deals end december 12th. the smartphones are ready. the tablets are wrapped. get the technology they love. on the network they deserve. verizon. ♪ my hair is gone ♪ cheap cologne ♪ motor home ♪ i'm the rocket man! [ both ] ♪ rocket man ♪ burning out his fuse up here alone ♪ burning out his fuse up here alone? ahh. [ male announcer ] crystal clear fender premium audio. one of many premium features available on the all-new volkswagen passat. the 2012 motor trend car of the year. ♪ and i think it's gonna be a long, long time ♪ just getting this in. commissioner of human rights, telling the security counsel that more than 5,000 people, mo mostly peaceful protesters, have been killed by syrian authorities over these past several months. the death toll now, above 5,000. according to the u.n. high commissioner for human rights. in syria's home prop province, home shelling by security forces, continuing opposition forces say damascus warned people to stop antigovernment protests, turn in weapons, surrender military defectors or face more brutal attacks. the deadline is unclear but a cloud of fear certainly hangs over the province. let's discuss what is going on in syria, iraq and elsewhere. joining us, professor, a senior fellow with the hoover institution and expert on the middle east. i don't know what you think, but how much longer can bashar al assad stay in power given what's going on? >> i don't think there is a clearance it this. he seems to defy the laws of gravity. everyone who speaks about syria talks of the emanant demise of the regime. but he grinds on. in fact, just as his father won, if you will, this terrible war in late '70s's and early '80s, he intends on winning it. we are talking well beyond 5,000 casualties. we are talking about 15 pun peop 1500 people who perished. >> i know a lot of american officials outside experts are deeply disappointed th that mal prime minister of iraq, is condemning alasade and imposing sanctions. listen to how president obama defended that decision today. i was pretty surprised to hear the president say this. >> even if there are tactical disagreements between iraq and the united states at this point in how to deal with syria, i have absolutely no doubt that these decisions are being made based on what prime minister malachi believed is best for iraq. not based on considerations of what iran would like to see. >> now we know that iran has a lot at stake in syria but give me your thoughts when the president said that. >> i don't think this is one of the president's finest moments. in fact, it is not even just about iran and iran's desires in syria. you wrote an excellent blog on iraq and i could take one point from it, it is really the matter of syria for the malachi government and for malachi personally, he is being sectarian. he does not want to see the triumph of sunni, sunni majority and the full of the regime. he is completely thinking in sectarian terms. the iraqis have thrown their lot with the syrians and i think the government made an unfortunate choice. >> i don't know if you saw a report at the top of this hour on this, hezbollah terrorists arrested by u.s. authorities in iraq in 2007 for murdering five american soldiers, he's been held by u.s. military personnel in iraq over all of these years. but potentially in coming days, he will be handed over to iraqis, and then the iraqis might just let him kwo go to iran, to hezbollah. what does this say about what is going on right now? >> i think iraq is a big american disappointment. i return to the blog that you wrote. this hezbollah member, we should take him with us. he is an american prisoner. he killed american soldiers. if we think somehow or another that we hand him over to the iraqis and they shall keep them wib think we would be disappointed. >> let me get your quick thought on newt gingrich, what he said about the palestinians being an invented people, if you will. i want our viewers to know, i studied middle east history at johns hopkins university, so he is a real authority on the subject pip will play the clip of how newt gingrich defend heed his comments. i'm anxious for to you weigh in. >> sure. >> i think we have an invented palestinian people who are in fact arabs and historically part of the arab community and they add chance to go many places and for a variety of political reasons, we have sustained this war against israel now. since the 1940s. i think it is tragic. >> and he doubled down at the debates on saturday night, not moving away at all. what do you think when you heard that? >> well you no know, wolf wib think israel and i know israel, and i think israelis them self reject the newt gingrich argument. they don't want that kind of gift. and the argument made that the palestinians are an invented people, newt gingrich prides himself on being a historian. i have news for him. there are books on the invention of france, invention of argentina, all states are invented. there is a whole tradition of studying history that way. how states are put together and how their identity is invented in the political world. anyway, we know that newt gingrich is a good debater. i think presidency is about temperament, about t is about avoizing sayring things that are olville and offensive and i think this was an very good moment for him either. >> and as usual, thanks very much. >> thank you. >> newt gingrich also trying to hut his rocky marital past behind him. will evangelical christians buy it. local police in the united states are using crodrones to tk down suspects. that is raising red flags. the forther state official richard brothers says huntsman campaign is being mismanaged. huntsman's camp denies that. the former u.s. ambassador china is concentrating on new hampshire but is only single digit support in various state polls. a new move today by newt gingrich to appeal to evangelical christians in iowa. he pledged in writing to defend the institution of marriage and be faithful to his wife. gingrich's record on that subject has been bringing in ammunition. >> joe johns is taking a closer look. joe? >> wolf, newt gingrich signalled a report for a controversial pledge written by a conservative group that for starters want to deny marriage to same-sex couples. gingrich didn't sign the pledge but sent out aing domt spelling out his positions which can be seen as outreach to skeptical voters who could inflew enthe caucuses. he's been married three times, admitted to adull try and is still trying to get right with social conservatives. he just showed a copy after letter for a pledge relating to marriage by an iowa organization. the marriage pledge has been signed by michele bachmann, rick santorum and rick perry. gingrich's letter pledged generally to support fidelity to his spouse, respect for the marital vows of others and to oppose redefining of marriage by the government or corpse. the marriage vow is a pledge to do what bob and the socially conservative family leader organization under iowa, expect of the candidates. but it doesn't mean gingrich is going to get the organization's endorsement. at least not yet, fli way. >> absolutely not. what we did is we narrowed the field to afford gingrich, bachmann and santorum and perry, thaents and that where it stands yet today. well get through one more debate in sioux city, then we will reassess where we are at and whether we will endorse or not, and who we will endorse if we do. this does not mean that speaker gingrich has our endorsement by any means. gingrich took heat for his past. >> i have been of the opinion that if you cheat on your wife, you'll cheat on your business partner. so i think that issue of fidelity is important. >> richard of the influential southern baptist wrote two weeks ago that he sat in on about 24u7b focus groups with evangelical and says that gingrich has a problem with e n evangelical woman. he says they don't trust the speaker. they all believe in forgiveness of sin. but that doesn't mean they have to support the speak are or his run for president. >> what was really telling about his response is that he apologized for his past behavior. he admitted to what many consider to be immoral behavior. what i've been impressed with is the number of evangelical leaders who say that kind af poll ji, that repentance, made a tremendous different for them. so that maybe ten years ago they were less forgiving of his behavior. since he has come clean, converted to catholicism, remained apparently faithful to his wife, and most importantly apologized, a lot of the leaders have been one over. >> gingrich isn't the only candidate trying it push buttons among social conservatives. rick perry put out an ad accusing the obama administration of anti-religious policies. >> caused a lot of controversy. let's talk more about newt gingrich's marital hist by history. social conservatives says, the report, they say they seems to be coming around it groo gingrich. >> if this, an election to personal baggage thaents, then newt gingrich's would be a nonstarter. there is no perfect candidate for them. they have michele bachmann. they had rick perry. they had herman cain. nothing worked out. so now they are saying, you know what, we need somebody with a vision. we need somebody who can take it to barack obama. and they believe he has the fire to do that. so they are giving him a second look app as dan says, they believe in redemption. that's very important. he's come clean. he apologized. he isn't saying that's not relevant. he is saying, you're going to have to decide. they like hearing that. >> so far they seem to be. if you believe all the polls. mitt romney is becoming a bit more assertive in going after newt gingrich. listen to what he said earlier today on fox responding to newt gingrich's kpts about the palestinians being a quote, incentive people. >> right. >> it showes a level of, let's say, erratic outspokenness, which may be great in a campaign. but it is not great for someone running for president of the united states. representing this country. >> i think everyone agrees, he will have to be tougher if he is going it beat newt gingrich for the nomination. >> and he is getting tougher. and the word erratic is very important here, wolf. i was speaking with some people in the romney campaign. you're going to be hearing the word erratic. you're going to be hearing the word unreliable. and that's because it plays into a narrative about newt gingrich that is already established, which is that he a s erratic and undisciplined. they want to try and reinforce that. one thing people look for fwhb a president who after all, served his commandener chief, is someone who is dependable. the romney campaign is finally getting its message act together. i think the career politician message while romney is still talking about it didn't stick on newt gingrich because he turned it around on mitt romney. this notion of unreliability play niece the marital issues and into the temperament issue. which. >> you a know, was a problem for john mccain in the 2008 election. do you remember. >> of course i remember. is it fair it say that republican establishment is really worried, still very much -- >> worried. >> more worried that newt gingrich could get the nomination? >> yeah, they are very worried about it. they are worried he will implode either before he get's a nomination were or after he gets nomination in which case barack obama would win the election. but here is one interesting thing. the more the establishment starts piling on newt gingrich, the more people who don't like washington and establishment republicans are going to support newt gingrich. so actually he can turn that around and he can say, oh, the establishment policy in washington, they are afraid of me. they don't like me. they know i'm a change agent and that will appeal to republican primary voters. it is kind after delicate balancing act there. some folks of the establishment say, we got keep quiet. >> good point. >> gloria, thanks very much. jack cafferty is asking, what's the best way to restore balance between the rich and poor in the united states? and u.s. spy drones used against international terrorists. now they are used by local police. and critics say that may be unconstitutional. unmanned military drone aircraft usually used in hot spots around the world. but guess what? they are now used by police here in the united states. some recent arrests in north dakota are linked to drones. some say it is raising concerns. tell us what is going on, casey. >> yeah, wolf, that's right. civil libertarians and one influential congresswoman are raising terns about u.s. and border protection drones used by local police to arrest criminals. customs and border protection uses eight unmanned aircraft patrol the united states boreder with canada and as well as looking for immigrant smugglers. also helps manage natural disasters like these floods in north dakota. but what has been largely unknown before a "los angeles times" report over the week is that local police have been using the drones to conduct surveillance flights and arrest criminal suspects. it happen recently in north dakota where a local sheriff arrested members of a family involved in a dispute over cattle. and in an alleged armed confrontation with sheriff's deputies. the former california congresswoman jane harmon served on the homeland security subcommittee and said it could allow police to violate constitutional protections against unreasonable searches. >> this is mission creep. i think it is beyond the mandate that congress gave the border patrol to use drones along our bored he. we're talk b drones being used over american cities, or in rural areas over the home of law-abiding americans, potentially. >> reporter: she said congress needs to debate the appropriateness of drones being deployed for domestic surveillance which she says was never discussed. however, a custom and border protection spokeswoman cites eight sections of u.s. law that give it the authority to use drones in support of local police. the agency also says the sensors and cameras used by the drones are similar to those used by the fixed wing aircraft and helicopters which have been supporting local law enforcement for years. the main difference, the drones can stay airborne for up to 20 hours. >> wolf, we wanted to find out how widespread this practice was and customs and border protection told us these drones flew 4,100 hours in fiscal year 2011. and 274 of those hours were flown on missions related to natural disasters. but they could not tell us how many of those missions were flown, supporting local police. they say it is just not in their system to track these flights that way. so we don't know how widespread the practice is at this point. >> given the effectiveness, i think we'll see a lot more of them down the road. they can use helicopters, fixed wing aircraft, why not these drones as well? the debate no doubt will continue. thanks very much. let's check in with jack. he has the cafferty file. >> the question this hour is what is the best way to restore some balance between rich and poor in this country? james in north carolina writes, has there ever been a balance between the rich and the poor? i've done well in my business. i consider myself rich. however, compared to others, i am poor. sorry to say but the poor will remain poor unless they work themselves up. the current buffet of entitlement serves to make poor people content with the handouts rather than bettering themselves by working. i'm one of those who still believes the american dreams possible but not without rolling up your sleeves and working. ed writes, change the tax code so work is rewarded. right now, dividends and capital gains are taxed at a lower rate than wages. the current system is great for trust fund babies but not for most americans. john writes, train the poor to perform jobs that pay decently and have health benefits. then provide them with those jobs. bob in texas. restoration of the middle class is not rocket science. a look at how the economic growth in the post world war ii era happened, provides the answers. the prosperity we enjoyed for three and a half decades after world war ii was characterized by protectionist tariffs, strong labor and union contracts and the sensible graduated income tax structure. it can be attributed to the decline of organized labor, flattening of the tax structure and instrumental globalization. in oregon, he says i assume that you assume that some of other balance of assets between the rich and the poor is either needed or desirable. what are you? a communist? this is america where the chips lay where they fall. jack, this is not some third world country where wealth is manipulated. i'm surprised that your bosses let you think the way you do. apologize. and bob in iowa writes the poor will be poor and most of the rich will stay that way. when the middle class can only see the us about going south, we have to work to get the northbound buses running again. if you want to read more, to go my blog. or through our post on the situation page. it looks eerily like the towers that were destroyed on 9/11. you're going to 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[♪...] >> male announcer: book now, save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. a storm of controversy is building over the design of two sky scrapers in south korea. >> it's not even built yet but already there's a clown over this proposed building in south korea because some say it reminds them of a cloud of smoke. >> does this remind you of anything? >> yes. 9/11. i think it is in very poor taste. >> reporter: almost every person -- >> my gosh! >> reporter: we showed the architect's rendering. >> oh. a shiver has gone up my spine. >> reporter: associated with it 9/11. >> this is an outrage. i survived the towers. and this actually looks like the explosion of the towers. >> reporter: ed walker was walk go by the towers when the first plane hit. he ended up wet with jet fuel. a dutch newspaper fueled this controversy by plastering the proposed building on its front page with the question, inspired by twin towers? no way, says the dutch architectural firm, mvrdv. we never intended to design a project looking like an exploding building. why on earth would we? this is quite shocking in this discussion that people think we might have done this on purpose. no! >> i think somebody had this in mine. i don't think this is an accident will. >> reporter: really? >> do you? >> reporter: who would do that? >> p.r. you're talking about their building. >> reporter: folks are talking, all right. and for once the left. >> yep! that's what they want to build. >> reporter: keith olbermann -- >> change it. you look like ghouls. >> reporter: and the right, glenn beck sound alike. >> this is the most offensive building i have ever seen. >> reporter: the so-called cloud would actually connection the two luxury apartment buildings and would contain restaurants, a wellness center, pools. >> that's really nice. they should do it. >> reporter: they were the only ones who talked about it this is what an architect does them want to do something different. >> reporter: an online defender colonel paired comparisons to the twin towers to seeing jesus on a piece of toast. >> reporter: the architects say they everybody visioned a cloud. a cloud in the sky. a nice fluffy inning cloud. >> this image represents the inspiration for their design. the architects