bill, if you can get this fixed, why not -- why not do the right thing for the american people even though it's not exactly what we want. >> full details of the deal, the compromise and reaction. president obama said, for the past several weeks i've stated consistently it was critical congress not go home without preventing a tax increase on 160 mill americans. an agreement meet that's test. more reaction coming as well. latest on the details and the political fallout. dana bash is with us and jessica yellin. let's go to the hill first. house republicans are saying we have a tweak in the language here to help small businesses, but this is cave with a capital "c," no. >> reporter: tweak with a little "t," barely you can see the tweak. house republicans gave in here. you could see it in the house speaker's demeanor. you could hear it in his voice. he all be gave a concession speech. both on the politics and on the policy of this. policy meeting as he said we fought the good fight. there's no question that they were unintense pressure inside the republican caucus from fellow republicans in the senate, from the "wall street journal" editorial board and more importantly, i think, in the past 24 hours or so, john from their own constituents. we're hearing from republican sources that members of congress left here yesterday, they went back home and they were hearing from constituents what are you guys doing? we don't want to lose $1,000 from our paycheck on average, get this done, fix it. >> now what happens? most have gone home. they can use a process called unanimous consent. one republican and democrat in the house, one republican and democrat in the senate. when will that happen? is there a possibility somebody could throw a wrench in this? >> reporter: there's always a possibility could could throw a wrench in this. the likelihood it will happen tomorrow and it will -- the expectation is it will go through without having to have a formal roll call vote. i got off the phone with one member of congress on the conference call with the house speaker who said it was clear, he's not going to take any revolt this time. he described the speaker as tires and ticked off, something he had never heard from the speaker before and he said this is what we're going to do this is the deal, the call lasted ten minutes, he hung up, that was it. it didn't look like -- he's been through a lot from his own caucus and the house speaker does not have the stomach to let this go any further. it's very likely it will pass tomorrow. >> just this morning the president was surrounding himself, as the president has the bully pulpit with real people, they're going to lose $40 a paycheck. tonight the president is celebrating, from a political standpoint he decided to do it by issuing a statement, not coming out, why? >> reporter: this isn't done yet, john. they're going to you know hold their fire until it's all signed, sealed and delivered. i will tell you the fact that dana reported that speaker boehner is not going to take any revolts is going to be music to the ears of everybody right here inside the west wing. one of the frustrations, time and again, has been that every time they feel that they have come close to a deal with speaker boehner it's sort of with lucy and the football and charlie brown. all of a sudden snatched away and things fall apart because he caves to something that happens in his caucus that's unexpected. so they don't ever want to get ahead of the story and they want to wait and see that the vote happens and it's done before they actually celebrate and pop that champagne cork. so i think they're being cautious at this point. but this sounds like, you know, the speaker's going to hold firm on this one. i wouldn't be surprised if we hear from the president after things are done, john. >> from a white house perspective and the politics of this, one 0 of the reasons the republicans took their position first many republicans thought the president would blink. in the past, sometimes he has blinked. from a political perspective, what is the team obama think is the biggest lesson for them here in victory tonight? >> reporter: well, in this instance, first of all, they, you know, this is their point of view, they don't think they blinked in the past. inside the bubble, inside their views they have their own view of things. but in this instance, there was no question that they had the right policy on their side, you know, a very clear question of a tax increase for the american people that was going to hit everyone, you no, in the pocketbook. and then they had democrats and republicans on their side and senator mitch mcconnell. when you have the guy who is the president's arch enemy all year politically siding with the president all day today and through this issue, it was not even hard call for the president to hold firm. i'll tell you one big game changer, one game changer, if you will, was when the speaker called the president this morning, he asked, would you send your people up to capitol hill to negotiate with me today? and the president said, no, i'm not negotiating with you. you have to talk to speaker reid's office. and then speaker boehner's office realized they had nowhere to turn, they had to deal with speaker reid. then you had mitch mcconnell saying i'm not with you so he had no space to maneuver. >> jessica yellin at white house. dana bash at capitol hill. joining us now, david derggerge. you've been saying all week republicans have been in an untenable position. what do you believe was the key in the speaker going back to the very same members and saying, we're taking it now? >> well, john, as you know, there's a kenny rogers line that you have to know when to hold them and when to fold them, and it became increasingly obvious to speaker boehner he had to fold. he was not only under pressure from constituents back home from pressure from senior republicans who believe this has been so botched that it is not only, you know, soured the american people once again on congress and washington, but it's left the impression that the real problem in a broken washington is a republican party held hostage by the tea party. you know, that was playing into a narrative that was very powerful for the president and democrats next fall. i think it's the political reality of what they were facing that i think eventually forced their hands. though they -- as you and i talked about earlier this week on monday on the merits -- they had a good case for a year long. that's what president obama w t wanted wausa year long but on t politics they had to fold. >> taxes will not go up. american people will not have payroll taxes go up. they won't say i'm short of what i was going to have in there. is this forgotten or will the price the republicans paid this week carry snoev. >> that's a really good question, john. my sense is that the issue itself will be forgotten quickly but symbolically, it had an importance that went beyond the mer litits or the immediacy com at the end of a rotten year in washington, it left the impression right at end that the real problem is the tea party and the extremism on the republican side. even though democrats deserve an awful lot of blame for what happened, what went wrong in washington this year. no question national year ended on a down note for republicans. even as they foal, there is symbolically, lasting damage. and overall, you have to say, look at overall picture over the last three or four months this has been a story, the bigger story is the resurrection of president obama and democratic hope for 2012. >> there's no doubt about that. it if you look at it again, a long way off, a lot can happen but the president's approval rating, it's up, overall approval rating inching up. talking about 2011, still approaching the new year. we'll see what happens. a contrarian question, you heard dana bash reporting speaker boehner was ticked off, tired told the freshman members who at times have pulled him along this year, this time you're listening to me. might there be an important lesson for them? could speaker boehner actually benefit from this in the long run next time around? can he say we're not doing that again? >> i think so. i think he's going to get tougher because speaker boehner was put in an awkward position. not only were the republicans getting hurt but there was a real chance republican losses next fall would be larger than expected and speaker boehner's job might be in question as you well know. what's gotten interesting having made an important argument are we ever able to return payroll taxes to their old levels? you know this does have a lot to do with the viability of social security. if we act like you can't raise taxes $1,000 in order to pay for social security, we've got a more severe problem than we ever thought we had with the defic deficits. >> absolutely right. the only way out of this, the bush tax cuts are about to expire, now you have a payroll tax holiday on the books it's a political issue. only way to get out of this is comprehensive tax reform. appreciate your insights. one quick moment for those at home, this is not just a washington political fight. this would have been money out of your wallet. we assume the deal's going to go through. you can watch it with us. if this compromise holds $35,000 a year, that means you will keep that $700 a year payroll tax holiday you've been getting in recent years. instead of having your taxes go up 27 a paycheck. if you make $50,000 a year, let's assume now that means you'll keep that $1,000 payroll tax holiday next year instead of losing $40 a paycheck. this is the number the white house was focusing on, most of those making 75 grand you will keep next year $60 a paycheck. that' paycheck every two weeks is the calculation. if you make more money, you'll save more money. still ahead here, exclusive talk with michele bachmann who says she's sensing something in iowa that will shock the rest of us. coverage of the breaking news, the deal to extend your payroll tax cuts. for a hot dog cart. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner. let's see if we can buy the property." and the branch manager said, "all right, i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america for the last 71 years. my old contacts would sometimes move and blur my vision. then my eye doctor told me about acuvue® oasys for astigmatism. he said it's the only lens of its kind designed to realign naturally with every blink so now, i'm seeing more clearly. 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'cuz robots work for free. robot 1:good morning... robot 1:...female child. sfx: modem dial-up noise woman: are there flaws? yeah, um, maybe. anncr: there's an easier way to save. anncr: get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. 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. john boehner announced house republican as degree to a two-month extension. now the speaker just this morning said no, he wanted a one-year extension. tonight the speaker bowing. with us, paul begala along with susan molinarmolinari, a former congresswoman in new york, a mitt romney supporter in this presidential year. you have experience in these deals. i'm going to come to you first. >> lucky you. >> you have -- you are not a fun of him in the presidential race but former speaker gingrich was on the road yesterday saying republicans are right on the policy, two months is a joke, it should be a yearen they should make the process work in washington but need to find their way out of this the incumbent president he said, in in case the democrat, almost always wins. >> it pain me to say this but newt gingrich was right. this was a -- the prushs were lag on this discussion in the beginning, making it so that the democrats were able to finally, you know, reclaim the man tell of the party of the middle class which they have not been all year. then the republicans came up brilliantly with the keystone amendment forcing the president to choose between his base and the independents who want to see job creation in the year of his election. they should have declares victory and gone home. an amazingly brilliant political move. it still will bear fruit. a year from now, no one's going to remember this, but this did not have to be fought. >> i'm -- i agree with you a year from now people are not likely to remember the details. there should be a lasting piece of who's on your side narrative that we'll find out in a minute. to susan's point the republicans, some people at home agree, some disagree but the republicans have been disciplined. leader mcconnell on the senate side, speaker boehner since they took charge in the house. disciplined together on strategy. here they got up to the goal line, got the keystone pipeline and fumbled. >> they did. >> a failure to communicate and mitch mcconnell thought it was a good deal and boehner couldn't sell it what happened? >> you had idealists in the republican party saying correctly that a one-year extension would be far better for the economy and far better for taxpayers and they were tired of the kick the can done the road brinksmanship we've seen over the last year. unfortunately everything's timing in life. this did not go well. it was good policy and bad politics. boehner knew it, he's a professional, mcconnell knew it he's a professional, and they had to extricate. >> paul you're not a fan of how the president communicates. today he used the bully pulpit as any good president, regardless of party would do. surrounds himself at the white house with real people and says the republican are wrong, don't listen to me, listen to real people. >> richard from rhode island wrote to tell us having an extra $40 in his check buys enough heating oil to keep his family warm for three nights. in his words, i'm quoting, if someone doesn't think that 12 gallons of heating oil is important i invite them to spend three nights in an unheated home. or you can believe me when isao that it makes a difference. >> not a natural populace but they figured this out. >> right. that is an event reagan could have done 30 years ago, bill clinton certainly would have done 15 years ago. bully for president obama. the question of who's on your side to me can be the defining issue of his re-election campaign. 2010 is who is going to cut spending and republicans always win that fight. if president obama, looks like he's spent the year moving the debate off of who is going to cut spending and on to who is on your side. republicans, god bless them, thank them for doing what my party could never have done on its own, redefining the democrats. we know how to run this play book. it's a gift. i want to thank them. >> i don't mean this the way it's about to come out, because i have great respect for people in both parties and position of leadership. but speaker boehner is sometimes like a puppy dog you can see his emotions on his face. he might be trying to say i won this but you can tell by his eyes he didn't. look at the speaker earlier. >> sometimes it's hard to do the right thing. sometimes it's politically difficult to do the right thing. but you know, when everybody called for one-year extension of the payroll tax deduction, when everybody wanted a full year of extended unemployment benefits, we were here fighting for right things. it may not have been politically the smartest thing in the world but i'm going to tell you what, i think our members waged a good fight. we were able to come to an agreement. we were able to fix what came out of the senate. >> is he hurt by this? is his standing with his own caucus hurt by this? >> i think everybody gets this was a fractures caucus, to your point. the speaker helped himself because he came up with what was a smart strategy and he was sort of pushing against the ideologue, for better or worse. at end of the day he cracked the whip and said we're not winning this, time to cut our losses and slink back. let me say something. it is always easier for an incumbent president, one president, to stand up and have the bully pulpit and you don't have to be a great communicator to be the one person out there to make the speech when you to deal with a multitude of ideologies that make up one political party. there's no one in the republican party that wants to see anyone go without their heat or to go cold. but what they were try to do, to nancy's point, two months, three months is not workable and it's not practicable. let's act like grown-ups and get a real deal. when it looks like it wasn't going to happen they folded. >> they lost that argument. look, democrats or republicans, two-month extension of a tax pool si is poolish. >> right. >> the way washington works now is childish, we can all agree on that at the table. but they lost the fight when majority of senate republicans joins democrats and embraced the two-month extension. if republicans were going to hold that's when he had to told. >> the speaker's been hurt by this it's probably because he didn't understand his own caucus well enough and communicate to senator mcconnell so the right flank could have held strong if you will. i do think they had the better policy. one thing that is sad is the american people are angry at the house of representatives. if i were going to be angry at anybody, any body of government, it would be the senate. the house has produced a budget. the house has done things that the senate has punted on. it spent almost three years since the senate's produced a budget. i'm annoyed that they're coming out looking like the heros. >> you know what i think -- it does go to something that's been said. it wasn't the arcment as it was the timing. if the republicans advances the arguments on all of these things the extension of the payroll tax, which they intended to do but never talked about politically and three months, two months versus a year, if they started that conversation first, they would have won this. >> what happens next year? because you know, you're all smarter than i am on the math. we've been taking money out of the social security trust fund. it's a payroll tax holiday. the george w. bush tax cuts are about to expire. i assume the argument is you don't want to keep undermining social security so you need to take that money back. you have to do tax reform. no way in you know what that's going to get done between now and the presidential elections. how do they deal with the tax issue now? >> here what happens senator bob casey, a former client and dear friend of mine, proposed. income over $1 million, first million you pay the same rates. over $1 million they tack on 1.9%. >> not in an election year. >> democrats want that fight. they think it's a better policy. you're asking millionaires like big shot cable news hosts to pay 1.9% more on the money after the first million to give a tax cut to working class people. that's better policy, better for the economy and better politics. senator casey and the democrats have the better of the argument. >> you'll all be back as we fight that one. >> taxing job creators is not a good idea. >> the breaking news tonight oois your taxes will not go up in nine days. the debate will be back after the holidays. developments. after fedex officials watched i have yo of their own deliveryman delivering the package the hard way. most searched term on the internet. a hint. it's been on top three years in a row. act my age? 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[ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? sorry i'll clean this up. shouldn't have made it rain. forty years ago, he wasn't worried about retirement. he'd yet to hear of mutual funds, iras, or annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurance... to health care options. learn more with our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa. major story developing overseas tonight. 66 people died and 196 wounds today in a coordinated series of bombings across baghdad less than a week after last u.s. troops pulls out of iraq. the country is descending into chaos. arwa, how tied is this violence to what seems to be a political unraveling? >> reporter: most certainly is a political unraveling and perhaps the beginning of the collapse of the government, john. when it comes to the violence in politics here the two tend to be fairly intertwined in the sense that political instability creates a vacuum and that vacuum when it comes to iraq tends to be fills by terrorism. for the iraqis the challenge is not going to be going after al qaeda, training up the iraqi security forces. if they want to combat violence they need to create political stability. a number of extremist groups operating if iraq, not just al qaeda, who view the political instability as being an opportunity to carry out acts of violence because they believe through violence they can grab power. >> the u.s. troops are gone. anything the united states can do to try to resolve this crisis, to help in any way or is the united states powerless? >> well, the u.s. is trying in the sense that it is urging the various political players here to try to get around a table and rebroker some sort of a power sharing agreement. but beyond na the u.s. does not yield all that much influence though it's not necessarily a bad thing because the current government largely came together because of a power sharing deal that was to a certain degree, negotiated by the u.s. the opposing bloc to prime minister al maliki's state of law coalition says flat out that the u.s. put them under immense pressure to accept the power sharing deal that they say at the end of the day was nothing but a sham and that, they say, is what has led to the current unraveling of the government that could potentially lead to more violence. >> arwa damon live in baghdad tracking this disturbing story. kate bolduan's here with the latest news you need to know. >> good evening. shipping companies say today is the deadline to get your holiday packages in the mail in order to have them arrive by christmas. arrive, that is, hopefully, in one piece. by now you've probably seen this video which went viral this week, plump to the embarrassment of fedex officials. the company's issues a video apology from one of its executives. >> we are determined to make this right and i'm pleases were able to meet with our customer who has accepts our apology. the customer is satisfied. >> the company plans to use the video as a training tool. big headline, walmart stores removes eneemoves enfeenfamil. you have to remember those incredible pictures of the 2004 indonesian tsunami sweeping everything away in its path. recently a 15-year-old girl arrived in a smalltown telling people she was looking for her mother. she was only 8 when the waves swept her away from her mother. the girl not only survived but people in the town helped her reunite with parents and relatives who had given her up for dead. seven years ago. can you believe that? >> i tears up this morning hearing about this story. when i was there after the tsunami i spent a day with a gentleman going through refugee camps trying to find his 2-year-old daughter who he was holding when the waters came, they pulled her away. remarkable. seven years later. >> amazing. >> that's a miracle. thank you. ne next, back to capitol hill. a deal to extent the social security payroll tax cuts. your taxes will not go up. mitt romney, he tries to show at least he's just like us. what's left behind? 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[ female announcer ] from neutrogena® naturals. 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. ♪ an exclusive conversation with michele bachmann who says we're all in for a big surprise in iowa. in 15 minutes tonight's truth explores the decision by santa claus to take sides in campaign 2012. but this hour we're continuing to cover breaking news, reaction continues to pour in after john boehner and his fellow republicans cave and agree to let you keep a tax cut. just this morning the speaker said there was no way republicans would give in. they would not take a two-month extension, he said it had to be a one-year extension. less than an hour ago, speaker boehner changed his tune. >> we have fought the fight, the good fight. but you know, i talked to enough members over the last 24 hours who believe that, hey, listen, we don't like this two-month extension. we don't like this reporting problem in the senate bill. if you can get this fixed, why not -- why not do the right thing for the american people though it's not exactly what we want? >> tax cut extensions supposed to be approved by christmas, emphasis on supposed to be because it's been kind of ki quirky. any questions this will be approves by christmas and taxes will not go up, even temporarily? >> reporter: you said it's been quirky. i'll stick with that. you never know it's going to be done until it is done. every expectation tomorrow we will see this two-month extension of the payroll tax this two-month extension of people's money in their paycheck continue and it will pass. i don't expect that to change. what's very interesting is the house is not calling members back to vote on this. they're going try to get this through and hope nobody objects. what's more interesting politically the house speaker when he had a conference call with his rank and file an hour and a half ago, john, announces the deal, he said this is what it is, this is what's going to happen and did not allow time for questions and answers or the complaints that led the house republicans to this problem that they had where the republicans say we didn't like this two-month deal, but now they're caving. >> fascinating point there. let's talk to one of those republicans who was on that call. representative mike kelly of pennsylvania, freshman republican. let me start right there, sir. just two two days ago you issued this statement, the american people deserve better than the short-term, short-sighted solution the senate was willing to give them. the speaker says you have to embrace short-term, short-sighted solution. you okay with na? >> no, i'm not okay with it. i was up and down the third district in northwest pennsylvania today. you can see the frustration in people's faces, hear it in their voices. they want certainty. they want to know they can go forward into the next year having an idea that least for one year something's going to be done. why the agreement was made, i don't know, i wasn't in the conference. i listened to the conference call but i wasn't in the conversation. i've got to tell you the colleagues that i came to congress with this year, the freshmen, we came with a sense of purpose and we were sent to fix the way washington works. am i disappointed? yes. i tell you what, i have more resolve now than i ever had to get back to washington, make sure we fix this. not so much for me. i'm going to sit at the christmas table with my four children and five grandchildren and tell them we're not going to quick. we're going to get it fixed. this is not about republicans or democrats, it's about the american people. they are so disgusted with the fact we can't come up with a if and we've got to do that. >> you could if you wanted to, a couple hours drive from where you are to washington, d.c., you could come to the capitol tomorrow and say i object and break the deal if you don't like it. will you do that? >> john, you know what? i'm not so sure i'm not going to do that. i have to find out more in the language. did it add certainty? for me, the fact that we don't project what the american people are looking for. this is a country that's always led. behind me in pittsburgh we have a quarterback that plays with a broken ankle, a linebacker. not just republicans, not just democrats, but for every single american family that's our duty. we have got to get it done. i may get in my car and drive down. i'm that -- i'm so determined that we have to get this fixed for the people that sent us. >> are you mad at the speaker? did the speaker cave here? >> i'm not mad at the speaker. he's under great appreciate. i think that there's so much confession, again i go back to my colleagues, we have so much resolve. i have a great career, a great family. going to washington every week and fighting that fight, it's a fight i have to do now. my parents fought through world war ii, depressions. they did it because they had to. we've got to get this fixed for the american people right now. we've got to let them know this is the greatest country in the world because we've got great people willing to fight the right fight. we've got to keep doing this. we've got to live within our means and bring those together to give the folks that are out there that depend on us every day to do right thing, let us do the right thing. i'm tired of hearing of the political strategy, who won, who lost. at the end of the day the american people have to win. it's about the american people. and we're going to fight that fight. we're not going to give up until we get it fixed. >> if you decide to make that drive, let us know. we'll continue the conversation tomorrow. if not, merry christmas. this fight is not over, no matter how this ends up. >> it's not over. and i'll tell you what, i'll let you know. i made saddle up and start down there before too long. merry christmas to you and all of our viewers. >> thank you for your time. you might be surprises by michele bachmann's take on the payroll tax extension fight. she's joining us iowa for an exclusive interview. plus, this year's most searches term on google. it's a repeat and, no, it's not a politician. 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"erin burnett outfront" coming up at the top of the hour. in the middle of the payroll tax partisan just-up you're going to sit down with the massachusetts senator, scott brown, tonight. >> that's right. we're going to talk to senator brown. he had been one of the ones who said this was irresponsible and out of line by house republicans. got a lot of attention. he was the most vocal in an angry way at his own party for what happened in the house. obviously, you've been talking this week about now you've got people around the country having more confidence in the president to deal with the problems than they do with congressional republicans and you've seen the republican party approval ratings go down as obama's has come up. we'll talk about all of that with scott brown who, as you know, is in a fight for his seat up in massachusetts. also going to talk to the governor of iowa about who he's voting for and who he thinks is a sleep that you should be watching now in iowa that right now is not the center of media attention. all of that coming applause the top of the hour. back to you. >> thanks. michele bachmann needs another iowa surprise. the republican presidential contender won the ames straw poll in august, and is counting on her grassroot supporters to shock the establishment again when iowa votes 12 nights from tonight. the minnesota congresswoman crisscrossing iowa on a bus tour and joins us this evening. congresswoman, it's good to eyou. i want to get to iowa and the campaign in a minute. i want to ask you about an issue that is big in washington and reverberating around the country. the president says they should give in, pass the tension. the senate republican leader says they should give in, pass the temporary extension and john mccain, your party's presidential nominee in the last cycle says the gop is getting hammers here. listen. >> it is harming the republican party. it is harming the view if it's possible anymore of the american people about congress. we have got to get this thing resolved. with the realization that the payroll tax cut must remain in effect. >> should speaker boehner and your fellow house republicans give in here? >> well the real problem is that this is one more temporary gimmick. it's not a permits solution. that's been the problem from the beginning. president obama's unwilling to lead to get the country back on the track of job creation. this isn't going to create jobs, john. that's the president's problem in all of this. he said if we lower the payroll tax that it will create jobs. there's not a shred of evidence it created jobs. all it did, john, is blow a $111 billion hole in the social security trust fund. it put at risk social security checks for senior citizens. i'm not willing to do that. what i want to do is have a permanent solution that's going to create jobs. what we have to do is abolish the tax code and lower the tax rates on businesses so we can create jobs. this just more smoke and mirrors on the part of the president. this is what people hate all across iowa. i came from brooklyn, iowa and a guy said what is congress doing those senior citizens? i'm with him, he's exactly right. i told my colleagues last year don't fall for the gym africa president obama. >> republicans will take the political heat. should they agree to some temporary compromise or hold firm until you get to the long-term debate? >> we need a long-term answer and that's what we need to do. it was wrong for harry reid to lob a bomb into the house and then dismiss all of senators and send them on recess. this is, again, complete failure in washington. people are tired of. that's wery we need a new president, new leader. i'll be one tough leader with an iowa voice coming to washington saying, come on, let's get it together, and get the country back on track. people are tired of it. they want jobs. >> you make the case you believe you'd be the tough candidate against the president of the united states. you've made it with me here before. listen to yourself on the cbs "morning show" the other day. >> i'm the only one that will be able to debate barack obama on the stage and defeat him i think it's very important that we have a candidate that can go toe to toe with barack obama. >> you have confidence, congresswoman bachmann, you are that candidate. in our polling we asked republicans, polling of republicans who would you not support under any circumstances? 42% of republicans say they would not support you under any circumstance. if you look at head-to-head matchups, governor romney, congressman paul, speaker gingrich do much better than you do head-to-head in our polling up against president obama. we asked that question last week and it was 58% obama, 37% bachmann. how can you make the case you're the best candidate? >> everybody said the sail thing before the iowa trau poll. the only state wide election we've had so far. we've had incredible numbers of people switching, undecided, they've been switching towards me because they know that i will be the candidate to take on obama. i did in the last debate. i took on ron paul over the issue of a nuclear iran. people see that i am the one that will have the ability to take it to barack obama and that's what we're seeing here in iowa as well. we're at the deuce cafe today. people are very excited. they want a new president. they know that barack obama needs to be a one-termer. they want somebody that will speak wit their voice forcefully and i will. i look forward to do that in the upcoming caucuses january 3rd and iowa will have their voice, not media. real people in iowa, and they want somebody that's going to represent them and they're seeing that i'm the best candidate to do that. >> i'm with you 100%, it's time for the people to make their choices here, the people decide this, not the media. in the latest polling of iowa republicans, not the media, answering the poll you come in fifth right now. your campaign doesn't have the resources of many rivals and you're not up on television in the state right now. if you place fifth in iowa, would that be fifth, would tha be a farewell? do you need to be in the top three or four? >> all you're doing is continuing to spin the media spin. in our race, we're doing what no other candidate is doing, we're going to all 99 iowa counties over a ten-day period. this is phenomenal what we're seeing on the ground. it's not just a state where you buy time. it's real people. and that's what we're doing, we're making a very real campaign, a positive campaign. and people are responding positively. people are going to be shocked what happens on january 3rd. we're thrilled with the response, there's polls up and down all day. who cares? the main thing is, what happens january 3rd? and real people are going to have their say. that's what i have behind me right now. all these good looking people. they have something to say to cnn, and it's michele bachmann on january 3rd. >> we appreciate the enthusiasm of your supporters, and we'll see if this -- i like the old fashion go 99 counties way. >> say hi to john, everybody. >> hi, john. >> tell them john says hi back p.m. we'll keep in touch over the next 12 days. >> thanks. from iowa county, bye-bye. ahead, his $20 million dream home is almost finished. what famous patriot will soon be hosting tea parties in that hollywood mansion. why britney spears is generating buzz on the internet tonight. officer at twenty-three. i was an avionics... tactical telecommunications... squad leader. i think the hardest transition as you get further into the military is... you know it's going to end one day. chase hired me to be a personal banker. i'm a business analyst... manager. i'm very proud to work for chase. when you hire a veteran, you get... great leadership... decisiveness... focus. chase knows, when you hire a veteran, you're hiring america's best. chase is proud to help 100,000 veterans find jobs at home. will be giving away passafree copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. it's christmas week, of course, so the mailbox is is full of greetings from family and friends, new pictures from the nieces and nephews. and then some fancy resumes. many of them are holiday hits. santa even has a starring role in this one, suggesting president obama's biggest christmas wish is newt gingrich as the presidential nominee. here, another look but the same message. first he voted for obama care, then mitt. ho-ho-humbug. the super pac that stole christmas? here's the truth. sometimes you gets what you ask for. should the campaigns and these so-called super pacs have better christmas taste? of course they should. iowa votes in 12 days. iowa's vote was january 10th, january 17th, it would be different. iowa jumped up to january 3rd because of the silly debate we have every four years, whether iowa and new hampshire deserve their place at the head of the nomination. if that means a vote nine days after christmas, don't be suched if santa appears in an attack ad and mailings, sometimes you get what you ask for. kate bolduan joins us with the news you need to know. a review of the november air strike that killed two dozen pakistani troops shows u.s. forces were targeted and engaged three times and acted in self-defense. >> the loss of life. and for the lack of proper coordination between u.s. and pakistani forces that contributed to those losses, we express our deepest regret. we further express sincere condolences to the pakistani people, to the pakistani government. and most importantly, to the families of the pakistani soldiers who were killed or wounded. >> pakistani sources say their own investigation contradicts the u.s. finding for self-defense. the website mashable has released the moved searched terms on the internet. the winner, facebook? it's the third year in a row facebook has topped the list. what are those sweet tunes i hear? google celebrating a pop star. britney spears has racked up another career first, she's the first google plus member to reach 1 million followers, john king is close behind. google's challenge to facebook launched last june. take a look at this. this is the very impressive $20 million dream home of tom brady and his supermodel wife. according to boston.com, the house has eight bedrooms, a covered bridge, a six-car garage and a lagoon shaped swimming pool. and one heck of a commute to boston. clearly you bought that as a house warming gift? maybe he's going to move to hollywood. i have a great house warming gifl gift. this is for giselle or tom. they do have the old uniforms they bring out every now and then. cufflinks for a house warming gifts? that's better for a birthday, christmas? >> these are two people that have everything they could possibly need, so maybe just a holiday card from john king. every candidate wants you to think, i'm just like you, i do things just like you. i go to the grocery store, or i pump gas. mitt romney, the former massachusetts governor is a very wealthy man. this is his campaign bus. he's in lancaster, new hampshire there. democrats had a field day with this, because they say, do any of you use two hands when you pump gas? they were trying to make the case that governor romney doesn't do this all that