always and jim norton a miracle -- a miracle child. that does it for me. i'm trapp summers. see you next time. coming here. good night america. >> bret: president obama pleads for more time for his economic policies to work. and the house minority leader john boehner over tax cuts and tea party insiders hold off newcomers. i'm bret baier. president obama pleaded for more time to let his policies work, but white house correspondent mike emanuel says even the president admits they've come up short so far. >> reporter: the president visited a family in fairfax, virginia to talk about what more he'd like to do to help

the economy and he later joined a larger group which included small business owners and john nicholas and nicole armstrong's back yard to explain what his economic policies have and have not accomplished so far. >> we've stopped the bleeding and stable is liilized the econ but the pace of improvement has not been where it needs to be. >> reporter: the president is trying to push the senate to pass a small business jobs bill which includes about 12 billion dollars in tax breaks and 30 billion dollars to encourage lending. which the treasury secretary says is what the struggling dmi needs. >> this bill will accomplish two big things, it will cut taxes for small businesses, it will make loans credit more available to small businesses. and it provides this boost for job creation without adding to our deficits. >> mr. obama says he could sign the bill into law if it were not for the republican leaders in the house and senate. >> we're still in this wrestling match with john

bainer and mitch mcconnell, about the last two to three percent where on average we'd be giving them $100,000 for people making a million dollars or more. >> the two to three percent mentioned by the president are people making more than $250,000 per year. >> that's why i'm introducing legislation today that ensures that no one in this country will pay higher income taxes next year than they are right now. >> reporter: republicans and a growing number of moderate democrats would like to see the bush tax cuts due to expire at the end of this year extended for at least another year for everybody, arguing the recovery is too fragile to increase taxes on anybody. independent senator joe lieberman of connecticut makers this argument. >> i want them to have the confidence that we're not going to raise their taxes so they go out and spend all of that money and what happens when they spend? jobs are created. that's what we need. >> reporter: fox news has obtained a draft of a letter from some rank and file moderate house democrats to

their leadership speaker nancy pelosi, and majority leader steny hoyer to extend the tax cuts for all brackets. the lawmakers are looking for more members to sign the letter and are expected to present it to their leadership tomorrow. bret. >> bret: mike emanuel live on the north lawn. thanks. the tax battle has put a new focus on the man who could soon be second in line to the presidency. correspondent james rosen reports on the sniping between the current president and the man who would be the top dog in the house. for the second week in a row, president obama zeroed in on the house g.o.p. leader painting him as unsympathetic to tonight's, teachers and state and municipal workers facing layoff. >> john boehner who wants to be the next speaker of the house, if the republicans take over, he specifically said well, these are just government jobs and they're not worth saving. now, it's just not smart from an economic perspective for us to allow a whole bunch of those jobs that are right here in the united states to go

away. >> reporter: boehner made headlines last month demanding the president fire his economic team. mr. obama returned fire in his home, calling out his name no fewer than times. >> there were no new policies for mr. boehner. >> we've offered him new ideas for the last 20 months. >> reporter: on sunday, boehner said he wants to see the bush era taxes for all income brackets, but would support an extension limited to the middle class if he has no other choice. >> i think that's bad policy. i don't think that's going to help our economy. >> reporter: still, the white house claimed the g.o.p. leader had changed his tune. >> i think that congressman boehner was fairly clear yesterday in outlining a position that the president outlined last week. >> reporter: on sunday, a new york times article portrayed boehner as indebted to lobbyists and 45 currently or recently departed house members raised more from

lobbyists than boehner, among them house speaker nancy pelosi twice as much. and yet, there was gibbs using twitter to call attention to the article. and one had kinds things to say, and kinds the white house strategy in this case inadvisable in the business of swearing voters. >> i think they hear the president talk about boehner, what the hell is he talking about, talking about matters that matter to me. he's talking about somebody i've never heard of and i don't care about. >> because republicans favor extending the bush era tax cuts to upper income brackets, the white house is hoped to portray the g.o.p. to holding middle class taxpayers, as president obama wants the tax cuts as hostages. and bob schiffer would appear to-- >> the second highest deficit

of all time, the department says it totalled 1.26 trillion through august. that is about 8% lower than a year ago. the dow gained 81 points today. the s&p 500 climbed 12, the nasdaq was up 43. the health care overhaul will play a big part in the mid term elections about you not in the way the president and his supporters originally anticipated. senior political analyst brit hume is here with some thoughts on that. good evening to you. >> during the long debate over health care reform, the health care debacle of 1994 were repeatedly told that the mistake they'd made back then was failing to pass the bill. hillary care as it was called might have been unpopular, but they would have gotten credit for passing it and the bill despite the complexities and government interventions would have ended up being popular just like medicare. enough democrats bought that argument that they rammed obama care through over unanimous republican resistance and intense public

opposition, that opposition continues and won't be diminished by a new government report the cost of health care which the obama care was supposed to bring down, is going up and health premium insurance is going up. too, the habless, kathleen sebelius talking about the rising costs with the insurance exchanges that obama care establishes. commentators on the left insist the democrats trouble with the voters this fall is a result of the economy plain and simple. certainly the economy is a big deal, it always is, not a single embattled democrat who voted for obama care is running on that vote. those who voted no are running on that much the majority of the republican favor of repealing the bill, who can blame them. bret. >> bret: brit, what do you make of this boehner strategy, the white house and democrats have? you can't make this stuff up. i mean, here we have the economy as we've been talking about. health care reform, these major issues on which obama

has principal responsibility in trouble with the voters and they're trying to make the house minority leader the issue in in election, the bogeyman of this election and the case against him seems to be that he has friends who are lobbyists as if democrats don't. that he, that these people give him money, as if democrats don't receive similar moneys. that he plays golf. that he-- that he has a tan. moo i-- my god what a monster. >> bret: all right, brit, thank you. accused christmas day bomb er abd abdulmutallab. he was accused of trying to blow up on an airliner last december. he offered no advice on a possible plea and ordered the stand by attorney for him and scheduled another hearing in a

month. the fbi says violent crime reported to police dropped 5.3% in 2009. the third straight decrease. attorney general eric holder calls it an encouraging sign sparked by smarter policing practices and investments in law enforcement and property crime dropped by 4.6%. on the job or not? that's a hot political debate in the sunshine state today. we'll tell you about it in the grapevine. speaking of politics, it's ñ÷ ider, versus outsider in

>> america's election headquarters tonight. kentucky senate candidate rand paul says fellow republicans are partially to blame for the massive federal deficit. paul told tea party supporters in bowling green sunday that g.o.p. lawmakers took the easy way out. failing to cut spending, when they had congressional majorities in the past. tuesday's republican senate primary in delaware features

another tea party darling against the party establishment candidates. chief political correspondent carl cameron reports it's a race that's a lot closer than it was supposed to be. >> 20 year republican congressman and former delaware governor mike castle led all polls for the republican u.s. senate nomination and the seat three weeks ago. but now, this moderate may lose to christine o'donnell, a self-styled conservative with personal financial issues. >> she has a lot of strikes against her, maybe more than three against her with respect to her finances and if you translate that into make the it as far as the government is concerned, i think that could be problem cal. >> three weeks ago the tea party express committee from california had an add list to help the virtually unknown and unvetted o'donnell oust castle. sarah palin recorded calls and radio ads for her, too. >> there's a wave, a tidal wave coming into delaware.

we're riding it, my opponent is drieng it. >> and she's been characterized as a rhino, republican in name only. mike castle one of the most liberal republicans in congress. the latest policy poll shows a virtual tie. o'donnell 47, castle 44. most conservatives back o'donnell despite the welcome documented money issues and dick armey, money works, major employers refuse to cite hsuppo her citing electability issues. had to be sued for thousands in unpaid bills and defaulted on her mortgage, say hello to christine o'donnell. >> reporter: at stake, vice-president joe biden's old seat. symbolically and numberically crucial to g.o.p. hopes of beating democrat in november and picking up ten seats needed for the senate majority. >> every poll i've been public and private suggest that mike castle will win in november

defeating chris kunz where christine o'donnell will probably lose the seat in november. >> it's closed to independent and democratic voters, and both sides say it will be a nail-biter with abysmal turnout. that means this tiny state may be the biggest test yet of the tea party's rage against the g.o.p. machine. >> bret: campaign carl in wilmington tonight. thanks. new hampshire republicans will also pick a senate nominee tuesday from a crowded and a cantankerous field. and molly line with the nasty game they're playing. >> in the waning hours of the new hampshire g.o.p. senate campaign. the attorney general is a clear front runner, a tough spot in the tough race.

>> she's an insider. >> businessman is spending his fortune slamming her in a series of brutal negative ads despite calls from state g.o.p. leaders for civility. >> it's tough, i make no bones about it. i'm up for it and built my own business and it hasn't always been easy and i understand that, too. i think what we've got to do is engage and add our voice to see if we can't make a difference in the political campaign. >> she's not backing down. >> bill binnie attacks kelly ayotte. gambling that voters won't be turned off by the battle. she stops by a hall to shake hands. >> i knew what i was getting into. i'd never run for office and i know washington it will be tough as well. >> meanwhile, he bills himself as a true conservative, scoring a big endorsement from the major newspaper, the

wilmington leader. >> i think that new hampshire voters recognize that and go with the candidate who talks about solving problems not creating internal turmoil. >> the latest data puts him in second place, trailing ayotte and last is jim bender, another businessman bank rolling his own bid and the g.o.p. winner will face off against the democrat in november. first elected to congress in 2006. his relatively brief career in washington could come to a close if voter supports surges to republicans. a number of recent polls shows that ayotte would be host in a matchup. perhaps the first sign of a reversal of fortune who swept in 2008. in manchester, new hampshire, molly line, fox news. >> bret: more politics later as democrats answer the question, where is the beef? and straight ahead, some possible movement in the beef

>> the imam leading the controversial efforts to build an islamic center near ground zero are says he's exploring all options for a solution and comes as 70% of participants in a new poll says the muslim group has the right to build there. 63% believe it is wrong to do so. senior correspondent eric shawn has the day's developments from new york. >> there could be a change in the so-called ground zero mosque. the project's leader, imam faisal abdul rauf appeared at the prestigious council on foreign relations and says everything is on the table regarding the project's future. >> we're exploring all options as we speak right now. we're working through what will be a solution, god

willing, that will resolve this crisis. rauf would not say what is being considered and neither would his wife and project co-sponsor daisy kahn. will you move the mosque? what do you think of the controversy over moving the mosque? what's your view of the-- look at the media and look at america watching. what's your sense? >> we are speaking to many stake holders and we need time to make the right decision for everyone. >> rauf defended the project satisfying he does not believe the building site sits on hallowed ground and accused extremists are taking over the debate. >> the battle is not between muslims and non-muslims, it's between moderate of all the faith traditions against the extremists of all the faith traditions. we must not let the extremists, whatever their

faith, whatever their political persuasion hijack the discourse and hijack the media. >> reaction was mixed. >> i think he showed moderation in what he said. he showed moderation in what he thought. >> and i do believe he's a man of peace. i believe he is acting in a way that is contrary to what he wants to achieve. >> rauf has selectively speaken out about the issue and conducting two television interviews and wrong an op-ed for the new york times and now appearing at this prestigious venue. reporters didn't have access to him. when he left the genteel on foreign relations snuck him out the back door. late they said certain members had access to the imam inside. and one reporter asked a question, but the throng outside did not see him. one of the director of an organization run by rauf reportedly said the 9/11 attacks were an enside job.

the new york post reports says that muslims have been made scapegoats for 9/11. kahn one of the founders of the american society of advancement of muslims and reportedly a partner to rauf in that organization. the lawyer for captive american hiker sarah shourd is appealing to iranian authorities to drop a demand for a half million dollar bail to release her. and the powerful revolutionary guard is criticizing the government's decision to free shourd. on another note, the head of the u.n. nuclear agency says that iran's selective cooperation with inspectors is preventing him from confirming that the country's nuclear efforts are peaceful. n.a.t.o. says a series of air strikes killed 14 insurgents in central afghanistan today. meanwhile, the afghan government is disputing an n.a.t.o. claim that it killed a top insurgent in an air strike earlier this month. it says civilians were killed inside. the pentagon is expected to announce a big weapons sale

soon. the buyer, saudi arabia. national security correspondent jennifer griffin tells us what the u.s. is selling. it would be the largest arms deal in u.s. history. 60 billion dollars in military aircraft to saudi arabia's air force over the next ten years. the pentagon officials say the deal would include 84 f-15 fighter jets. 70 apache helicopters, 72 blackhawks and 60 little birds followed by a 30 billion dollar package to improve saudi's naval defenses. if congress approves the sale. it's designed to send a signal to neighboring iran, whose march toward nuclear weapons is of growing concern to its arab neighbors. >> every message that the u.s. sends is being heard loud and clear in iran and certainly any sign that the u.s. and saudi arabia are deepening their defense relationships, certainly any sign that saudi arabia will have a stronger deterrent force, i think, enters into the calculations of the iraniaeye rain.

>> reporter: there could be a political component. boeing argues the sale could support up to 77,000 jobs in 44 states. the u.s. doesn't buy f-15's anymore and the line was slated to be closed. but the potential deal raised eyebrows among the israelis who september their defense minister barack to the pentagon and prime minister netanyahu to meet with president obama to get assurances that the weapons wouldn't get into the wrong hands and threaten israel. they were apparently satisfied and the u.s. was careful to underscore that today. >> the united states will do nothing that would upset that current balance in the region. the israelis received assurances from the pentagon that in effect, the f-15's sold to the saudies would have the long range radar targeting systems disabled. the pentagon also told the israelis that in fact the saudies wouldn't be able to fly the planes after three

months because the u.s. would be doing, doing the maintenance and they would be reliant on them for parts. so, if they fell into the wrong hands they wouldn't be able to fly them after three months. now the deal waits for congress. >> bret: jennifer griffin leaf at the pentagon tonight. thank you. some democrats on democrat sniping in california. we'll tell you about it and he's not in the office much, he's not in the office much, but florida's governor i with orbitz, i know what to expect from my vacation. bad dog, balloon pop. [ dog whimpers ] because orbitz has price assurance. leaf in face, marie, man with computer. [ man ] marie! if another orbitz customer books the same hotel or flight for less, they'll send me a checfor the difference autatically. so i know i'll get their west price. and i like nowing what to expect. bike, unrealistic splash, embarrassingly transparent. [ bell chimes ] [ male announcer ] when you orbitz, you know.

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e now fresh from the political grape vines. charlie crist says he's never more than a phone callaway. . the st. petersburg time says he's less and less time in office as he campaigns for senate. he's always in the loop, quote, i've been in constant touch with the office every day, several times a day, as long as i've got my phone with me, i'm never not governor. his opponents don't see it that way. marco rubio's campaign recalled his 2006 pledge to come to work every day, saying, quote, it's clear that's just another thing he was willing to say to get elected and the democratic kendricks meeks spokesman says he prefers to run for office rather than sitting in one. and a fellow democrat and former president bill clinton, even joked about the monica

lewinsky affair, the scandal, he was responding to this ad by republican challenger meg whitman who used an old clip from 1992 debate between brown and clinton. >> jerry i brown went out there and took credit for the fact that the people of california voted for proposition 13 which lowered taxes which he opposed and now he's going around and taking credit for it. >> bret: brown told the crowd over the weekend, quote, i mean, clinton is a nice guy who who ever said he always told the truth. you remember, right? there's that whole story there about did he or didn't he? okay, i did, i did not have taxes with this state. so, let's be clear about that. no response from the clinton camp about that, but breaking right now, the wires saying that brown has apologized to the former president. and a maine newspaper also apologized for giving front passage coverage to end the end of the ramadan season on september 11th, without mentioning the 9th anniversary

of the 2001 terrorist attacks. the publishing writes quote, we made a news decision that offended many readers and we sincerely apologize for it. and finally, liberal film maker, michael moore says he opposes building a mosque two blocks from ground zero. he wants it built on ground zero. the conservative weekly standard sarcastically writes about moore's announcement. he demonstrates once again he really has his finger on the pulse of america. >> america's election headquarters returns to iowa to reenergize the base, to prevent a blowout in november. . >> reporter: forget fired up, tom harkin wants iowa democrats ready to go and do the knitty gritty work and that's what we're doing in iowa. >> this is madonna and i'm calling with the iowa democratic party. >> we work every day, all

night. this office is always full and there's 19 other offices like it across the state. >> reporter: and they opened in june. much of the urgency for iowa democrat is over the top of the ticket races, incumbent democrat colbert has trailed in public head to head polls since january behind four term governor branstead and conlin faces a double digit deficit in the poll in her bid to unseat charles grassley. >> republicans are winning the independent voters that voted for obama in 2008 and even disaffected democrats. >> reporter: wii taking advantage of tailgating and football fans. they've cut in half the democratic registration in iowa. >> right now republicans are coming out in big numbers, i don't think we should expect that debate. >> grab one of these and cook a steak. >> reporter: at the steak

fry, two were grilling beef and serving up big portions of doubt over predictions of a big wave of republican victories in november. >> we're not going to get hammered in november. i feel like the results are going to be different. >> i think a lot of polls out there do show republicans at kind of their high water mark. >> reporter: in iowa and elsewhere, there are undecided and unmotivated voters who could turn elections for democrats, if they move quickly and smartly enough. >> bret: the administrator of bp oil's compensation fund says he may waive the requirement that wages earned for cleanup duty be subtracted from claim payouts and bp crews resume drilling the final 50 feet at the relief well aimed at permanently ceiling the blownout well. we'll talk about the back and forth over tax cuts and house republican leader

. >> we're still in this with john boehner and mitch mcconnell about the last 2 to 3% where on average we'd be giving them 100,000 for people making a million dollars or more. we'd have to borrow 700 billion dollars over the course of ten years and we just can't afford it. >> we don't know what the bill is going to say, all right? if the only option i have is to vote for those 250 and below, of course i'm going to do that, but i'm going to do everything i can to fight and make sure we extend the current tax rates for all americans. >> i'm introducing legislation today that ensures that no one in this country will pay higher income taxes next year than they are receipt nright no. >> it's all about extending

the bush era toax cuts and the over the top tier and extend them. and this is from robert gibbs earlier today. a tweet saying disarray equals boehner versus cantor, eric cantor of course congressman from virginia. boehner versus mcdonnell. senate minority leader. and mcconnell versus mcconnell and why hold middle class tax cuts hostage to these. and same thing through the white house communications director and then add a letter to the house democratic leadership from a group of moderate democrats today saying this, we believe in times of economic recovery it makes good sense to maintain things as they are in the short-term to provide families and businesses the certainty required to plan and make sound budget decisions, providing the certainty will give small businesses the backbone of our economic recovery, confidence and stability. from a group of moderate democrats and in the senate, you have a growing list of democrats, five of them now,

senators, who support extending all the tax cuts at least temporarily. with all of that preamble. we bring in our panel. bill kristol weekly standard. juan williams, national public radio and syndicated columnist bill krauthammer. bill. >> i think john boehner made a little bit of a mistake, opening the door to president obama's proposal and he would vote for only the middle class tax cuts. for now i think the republicans position should be, i think they could win on this no tax increase period and in fact, boehner walked his statement back a little bit and then mitch mcconnell and others eric cantor and tried to make it clear that republicans would welcome a fight with president obama whether there should be a tax increase. >> bret: you don't think by saying what he said, it took steam out of the argument that the republicans were holding hostage the bush tax cuts. >> i know some people think it was good he side stepped this.

i don't think, if you're winning the argument on taxes you don't need to be super clever, like a football team and gang seven yards a rush. you can't rush every down and let's have pass plays and mix it up and you're having pass plays and lost the rushing game. if you're winning, stick with what you've got going. they're back to the core argument. don't raise taxes in recession. >> bret: juan, the white house wants to hype up this position, as they see it. the republicans up on the hill say there is no division on substance, but really on strategy, that boehner wants all of the tax cuts extended, but he, perhaps, is willing to vote for something short of that. even though the senate will not. what about that explanation? is there one there? >> well, i think that given the offensive that the president and white house were on last week, i think it's paid off for them. he think if there was a trap set and as bill said, i think that minority leader boehner stepped in it. but you know, it's not only boehner, if you look, newt

gingrich said much the same thing on fox news sunday, that republicans have got to pass any tax cut as long as there's no tax hike attached to it to fund it, that anything that would allow the white house to get behind the tax cut has to be passed by republicans who want to be in the posture of saying, we support tax cuts for the american middle class, but what the white house has done is put republicans in a posture, now, i think the president and the democrats are going to be able to say we delivered for middle class voters, and we protected you against tax cuts for the very rich. that's not-- i mean, to me this is smart mre politics by the white house, a last gasp effort because they've got nothing else going at the moment as we approach november. it seems to me the first time the republicans are on the defensive and the white house can go out and say boehner versus mcconnell, you know, forget the conservative democrats that you mentioned, by the way. >> bret: right. >> they're not in this match at all. >> bret: this is what the minority leaders spokesman says, i wonder if the president is wrestling with the growing course of

democrats opposed to his plan to raise taxes. that's how they're pushing back. charles, the small business element, you've talked about here, 50% of the income from is in the 3% of the top tier, that would be taxed, the increase. >> that's why a majority of economists would oppose raising these taxes, like peter orszag, the head of the budget office in the obama administration, has argued against raising taxes on the upper 3% because as you say, that's half small business income in america precisely at a time when you want the money in their pocket. see, they can hire. instead, what the obama administration proposes a classic liberal approach. we'll tax you, left-hand you the money and may lend some back with interest if you're nice and asking in your application for a loan. which is exactly how they want

a 30 million dollar window for loans to establish small businesses, let them keep it in their pocket. under the loan program and under the targeted tax cut program which the administration is also touting as a boon to small business, they will have to invest the money according to the dictates of experts in washington and not allocating the capital in a way that is most advantageous to their own business, which is what you would have if you did not have the tax hike. that's the economic argument, but i would say in the boehner political argument, i would take the strategic retreat. he think he shouldn't have shown his hand early, but in the end if you're going to have a vote in the house and the democrats control the procedures, if you have a vote where your only choice is to vote up and down on the middle class tax cut, you have to vote yes, otherwise you gratuitously allowing the democrats an issue in an election where they cannot

defend what they have done with the economy over the last 18 months. >> on the senate side you have to get through the senate anyway, five moderate democrats already on the board saying we want all the tax cuts extended. and be tough to get to 60, wouldn't it, in the senate. >> maybe, but why give it up in the house. it's tough to give the 40 plus house democrats to vote, charles reasonably laid out, to vote for a tax increase on the wealthive. i think it's a mistake tactically for boehner to show his hand. we're not voting for any tax increase, only the middle class raets where they are, is to vote implicitly for a tax hike on the wealthy, as soon as you give us a majority we will come in and retroactively repeal this and hold taxes where they are. i would be tougher on it, it's a tactical issue and political issue, at the end of the day, the democrats are in disarray as well as, all the more reasons for the republicans to

hold back. the democrats have the table to bill. there's no bill. >> bret: there's no bill except for the bill that mcconnell put forward today. >> make the democrats step forward with their bill and insist on an up or down where you get a vote on both bodies on a full no tax hike versus the democrats. >> but now the democrats to say then that republicans are blocking a tax cut for most americans and in response to you, they're offing tax cuts to small business specifically. i don't know what economists you guys are checking with, but it seems to me the 1 or 2% of americans who make more than 250 are not 50% of america's small businesses owners. >> targeted, limited, deck tated and ineffective. let them have the money. >> it's a tax cut, a tax cut for business and i might ad, democrats are going to go after globalization and this is an economic offensive by the democrats in the fall. >> bret: last word, bill. >> and look, given how

horrible position the obama white house is in. it's not foolish of them to play this card and rev up the base. >> refs up juan. >> juan williams. >> it's a game they're playing. >> bret: tell us who you think will benefit most from the tax cut debate. log on to our home page at foxnews.com/special report and vote in our online poll.

>> though one thought that we could get this far in the primary and the same so-called experts are the ones trying to say we can't win the general. i believe we can. >> she has a lot of strikes against her, maybe more than three strikes against her with regard to her finances and if you translate that into making it as far as the government is

concerned, i think it will be problem cal. >> bret: a big primary night on tuesday, there you see them. delaware, maryland, new hampshire, rhode island, the district of columbia, here, massachusetts, new york and wisconsin. last really big night of primaries, in delaware you heard from the two-- going head to head. and christine o'donnell leading mike castle. 47-44 in the latest poll out and what about the races as we set up this primary night. >> bret: we're back with the panel. charles, start in delaware. >> speaking of the so-called experts. the palin endorsement i think is disruptive and capricious. bill buckley says he always supported the most conservative candidate who was electable, otherwise the vote is simply self-indulgence. >> bret: now, jim demints also endorsed christine o'donnell. >> equally capricious and

irresponsible. and it's a big mistake. mike castle is a shoo-in. he wins-- they call off the fight in the first round. o'donnell is very problematic, she probably will lose. now, we are in a cycle where we have seen that this is not a normal democratic administration. it's highly ideological. it's instituted changes over the last 18 months reversible like obama care and will try to do the same in the next two years or six, if you're a republican and you're a conservative, you want a majority in the senate that will stop that agenda and you have to elect the most electable. delaware is not alaska, in alaska you can endorse joe miller who is going to win anyway, even though he's more conservative. in delaware, o'donnell is going to lose and that, that could be the deference between a republican and democratic control. >> and make a difference about the obama agenda in the future. >> bret: and the tea party

express spending $225,000 on o'donnell's campaign, were ads for the campaign, but another element of the tea party movement. freedom works which you see the different tea party elements, led by dick armey say they refuse to endorse o'donnell because of that very point that charles raises. >> well, and you hear from the republican establishment in the state is they don't think o'donnell can win. against chrthe moderate democra in the state. you know, sitting here as an outsider, i'm going to let charles and bill have the floor. it's amazing to me, the tea party people are trying to reform the republican party. sometimes we overlook this. they are not comfortable with much of the republican establishment. they think that republicans should be more aggressive and harder on everything from the obama administration to taxes. they don't want to at all put themselves in the position of playing normal washington ways. so they're going after the republican establishment, which is not very popular and remember, if you asked voters

what do you think about democrats in congress, way down there, but republicans in congress are even lower. >> bret: quickly to new hampshire and the setup there. >> there, sarah palin endorsed ayotte, who's quite conservative, attacked from the right, i think unjustly so. i think she'll win, and i think that castle may pull it out in delaware,s' been governor and elected state wide. i think he's more popular than a republican who has no roots in the state and delaware republicans can-- even if you're very conservative delaware republican you can honestly say to yourself, you know what we prefer to have 51 u.s. senators and a good chance that mike castle to be one of those and a small chance that christine o'donnell can be. >> bret: in the polls it continues to pick up. >> in the past the insurgent candidates if he or she is close on election day, has won. i don't know in delaware, i think that castle is stronger

than the other candidates have been in xaerabcomparable races, we'll see. >> bret: we'll have the coverage of the primaries, that's it for the panel. are you ready for some football? .

♪ >> bret: finally tonight, for n.f.l. fans, this was a big weekend. the official start of the season, last thursday officially. the redskin fans, a big, big night last night. overall, there are some dramatic stories in the n.f.l. this year. >> the 2010 n.f.l. season kicks off tonight. drew brees was the bowles mp3 but only for two touchdowns in the saints victory over the colts. brett favre returns for a 20th season. we get closer to kickoff. >> breth