>> chris: i'm chris wallace, and this is "fox news sunday." the disaster in the gulf three months later. what is the latest on capping the run-away well? we'll get a report from the scene. and talk with louisiana senator david vitter. and talk with louisiana senator david vitter. and the president of the parish. we'll also survey the political landscape with two congressional leaders. south carolina democrat james clyburn and indiana republican mike pence. plus, president obama turns

to bill clinton to sell his record. we ask the panel if turning to the comeback kid is smart politics. the power player of the week hooks me up with his pastime on "fox news sunday." hello again from fox news in washington. day 90 of the oil spill in the gulf, here is where things stand. government announced a one-day extension of the test to determine if the new cap on the b.p. well is holding. the test is set to end late sunday afternoon. but the president point man retired admiral thad allen says even if the cap is working they plan to go to a containment oil to bring oil to the surface. phil keating is reporting from the gulf for the latest. what can you tell us? >> reporter: b.p., thad allen and the engineers and scientists like what they have seen and not seen so far. we are 65 hours in the

testing period with no new oil gulfing in the gulf of mexico -- oil gushing in the gulf of mexico. they have not seen or detected any new oil over the integrity test. a small fleet of remotely operated vehicles and multiple seismic and sonar readings conducted from the service. it indicates that the well's integrity appears to be sound. but instead of leaving it cork and waiting for the relief well, the plan remains to open the riser and have collect service on the surface. the deep relief well should connect with the relief well at the end of the month, the ultimate fix. >> it may take seven days or a week. they want to go real slow to make sure it doesn't go wrong. >> reporter: one thing, they want the two wells to intercept and b.p. can pump down the mud and cement the gusher shut once and for all.

by the time it happens, it will be three-and-a-half months since the major disaster began. once the oil flow is stopped in the gulf, it still leaves everyone to deal with the $94 to $184 million estimated gallons of oil already out there. chris? >> chris: phil keating reporting. thanks for that. joining us now to discuss the situation in the gulf, louisiana republican senator david vitter and the president of plaquemines parish, billy. vitter, based on the information you're getting how good is the news about the oil well. perhaps you could throw up some information for us. because they say they like the cap so much they would like to keep it on until they kill the plug in mid-august. but on the other hand, thad allen is talking about opening up aspect of the cap to collect oil and bring it to the surface. which is it going to be?

>> my understanding is they are going to bring oil to the surface and that is the safer route. but it may be in the process of being reexamined. that was my understanding. this is obviously, big, big news and hopefully it's going to hold and hopefully it will mean we're really turning the corner in terms of ongoing flow. obviously, everybody is very cautious and the tests are continuing. so we don't want to declare victory prematurely, but hopefully it will turn the corner. even if it is, we still have major challenges. specifically, two. protecting the marshes and coasts and dealing with the economic disaster including the drilling moratorium. >> chris: we'll get to both of those in a minute but i'll bring in mr. nungester. are you prepared to say that the well is under control? >> we are watching it closely. we hope so. this weekend for the first time, our crews are picking

up more oil than is being released, because none is being released. before this was a losing battle because we pulled out and 100 times was going back in. we feel like it's progress. >> chris: senator vitter, get to the question of the clean-up. both of you are exactly right. even if not a drop more oil is spilled in the gulf, according to some estimates, $200 million gallons are already in the water. senator vitter, how long will it take to clean that up and how long does it take to restore the coastline and the fragile marsh land? >> ultimately, it will make years. i hope everyone in the nation realizes that so we don't forget about the story once the flow is stopped. i home president obama

realizes. he hasn't been to louisiana since june 4. i'm araid he's decided to deal with the issue politically not coming back here and trying to move it off the front page rather than dealing with the situation forcefully. even if the flow is stopped permanently we have major challenges ahead, number one in clean-up and number two in the economic devastation, including the drilling moratorium. >> chris: let me follow up. why do you say he is moving it off. i know you were critical. we'll get to mr. nungesser in a second, initially and how the administration is handling this. are you saying they are trying to sweep it under the rug now? >> i get the impression that's the president's political motivation. his way of dealing with this. he was coming here on a pretty regular basis. trying to deal with thes personally. he hasn't done that in louisiana since june 4. that's personally

disappointing to me. >> mr. nungesser, do you feel -- forget the question of the president actually coming down to visit. do you feel the federal government is acting more quickly, more effectively now dealing with the problems that you folks have on the ground there? >> you know, in the last two weeks, james lee witt came aboard, working with b.p. we have seen a great difference in the response. the crews are now staying out on the water, not spending two hours going back and forth every day or shutting down every time there is a thunderstorm. we have made great progress in the amount of oil we are able to pull out from the mashes each day. we have over 6,000 acres, just in plaquemines parish that have been inundated with oil. that is a massive clean-up if we don't get hit by any more. so the response has been a lot quker. i've called a meeting next week the president of b.p., james lee witt, and those folks to make sure we keep the boots on the ground and

keep the focus out there. because i have some -- because i estimate for another year or two we'll see pocket come on shore and we have to keep the fight on the front line. >> chris: talk about this issue and senator vitter, i know you are ready to talk about it, but let me start with mr. nungesser. that is the controversy over the moratorium on drilling from obama. the flat ban was rejected twice in federal court and they come up with a new moratorium, instead of bag flat ban, it's yes, rigs can continue drilling if they pass a safety test. mr. nungesser, is that any better? >> i told the president when he came to plaquemines parish. we gave some good explanations. you put a rig marshal out there, you make him 99% safer tomorrow. along with the shut-off valves they use in the north sea, gives you a fourth safety valve. if there is any other devices

it doesn't take six months to make them safer. sit around the table and get it knocked off and not shut down the oil industry. we just can't take that kind of blow to the economy. so i'm hoping they will fast track it, put whatever on the table they want to do. i'm sure the oil companies will agree to it. let's move forward. six months is only going to, you know, that is not going to solve anything. it looks good on paper. but anything we're going to do, we can do in a shorter period of time. >> chris: senator vitter, what impact, economic impact has the moratorium already had on the gulf? and if it were to continue for several more months, what effect would it have on jobs and wages in your region? >> chris, it's already been a huge job killer. and if it continues, six months or more, it will kill more jobs here than the oil, itself. that is the bottom line. this isn't a switch you can turn off and then turn on six months and a day.

these huge structures are already moving out of the gulf to brazil, west africa, elsewhere. so this could be a long-term economic hit to the gulf and the country and a long-term hit to the energy and national security. i'm really, really concerned about this moratorium issue. >> chris: how many jobs are we talking about here? >> i think when you put everything together, you are talking about 140,000 jobs plus. that hasn't materialized yet. but it's quickly beginning to. >> chris: but senator -- and we had david axelrod right here on the set. >> sure. >> chris: exactly a week ago and i asked him this very question and he said look, this is the worst environment environmental catastrophe in the history of the country and we can't start drilling until we are sure the companies want fail-safe mechanisms and then if everything goes wrong they can stop another disaster. it does have a certain logic to it, doesn't it?

>> it is the worst environmental disaster. that doesn't mean we have to make it doubly bad economic disaster. i agree with billy. we can do things right now that dramatically increase the safety measures. that will absolutely prevent what b.p. did, which was reckless to begin with, from ever happening again. if we put our minds to it and come together, we can do it now, not in six months or a year or 18 months. for the good of jobs, for the good of the nation's energy and national security, i think we need to do that. now, chris, when an airliner goes down, and potentially in some cases, hundreds of people are killed, that's horrible, that's tragic. but we don't ground every plane the next day until the complete ntsb investigation is completed six months later. >> chris: senator -- >> we don't do that, we never do that and we shouldn't. >> chris: senator vitter,

quickly, because we're beginning to run out of time. is it something they're going to do -- i know they're not doing well in federal court, but is there something you'll do in senate and congress to block the moratoria? >> absolutely. we have a bill i'm a lead sponsor of to end the moratorium. i'm meeting on regular basis with secretary salazar and other administration officials giving them good specific concrete ideas of safety measures we can do now, today, tomorrow to lift the moratorium. >> chris: finally, less than a minute less, mr. nungesser, i wonder, not to get aof ourselves as the president says, but is there a feeling of hope in plaquemines parish this morning there hasn't been for 90 days? >> absolutely. when i was at a town hall meeting and announced it, cheers broke out in the room. i saw hope in the face of the fishermen they can get their life back soon. so, we're very optimistic. we see light at the end of

the tunnel. a very long tunnel. but today we're making progress. >> chris: mr. nungesser, senator vitter, we have to leave it there. thank you for talking to us. >> thank you. >> chris: i speak for everyone when i say good luck with the oil spill. >> thank you, chris. >> chris: up next, the political battle for 2010 heats up. we have a front line report from two congressional leaders about who will control the house. one word turns innovative design into revolutionary performance. one word makes the difference between defining the mission and accomplishing the mission. one word makes the difference in defending our nation and the cause of freedom. how... is the word that makes all the difference. how...

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>> chris: the mid-term campaign is in full swing and joining to us talk about are two house leaders. from columbia, south carolina, democratic congressman james clyburn. in studio, republican congressman mike pence of indiana. welcome back to "fox news sunday." >> thanks, chris. >> thank you. >> chris: let's start with the big political story in washington this week, that, of course, was the white house press secretary robert gibbs saying house democrats -- repeat "could" -- lose the house in november. nancy pelosi on down reacting with fury. congressman pence, you're not a democrat, but i'll start with you. what do you think the white house is up to and what do you make of the flap inside the democratic party? >> well, let me say i'm optimistic about this year's, you know, elections. maybe not as optimistic as robert gibbs but i like our chances. i mean the reality is, and you see this whether it's tea parties or town hall meetings across the country, the american people are tired of borrowing and spending and

bail-outs and takeovers and i believe they're poised to express themselveses in the mid-term elections. how republicans are determined to give voice to those millions of americans that want to see our country turn back to limited government, personal responsibility, freedom and the fundamental principles of the american family. >> chris: congressman clyburn, you were in a meeting of house democrats this week. where your colleagues were blaming the president for not providing political cover and forcing a lot of tough votes. let me put something up on the screen. here is what congressman said to the "washington post" -- he accused the white house of wanting to pre-emptively pin the blame on lawmakers, should the democrat lose majority, and not on obama's sagging approval rating. question, how widespread is the feeling among the house democrats that the white house is all take, and no give?

>> not widespread at all. as you know, we had a meeting at the white house three days ago and he was not mentioned and there was no discussion of his comments. we are poised to carry out the campaigns this year. we believe that we are going to have a very strong showing at the polls in november. i would say to the american people, and especially my friends on the other side of the aisle, you know, i heard the same thing in peninsula 12 about how much they were going to win. it's like they were all prepared to go out and have this big announcement of winning 100 seats. what happened? the democrat won by eight points. that is what i call a strong showing. that is what is going to happen as we go into the elections. this is a tough climate. we're tough campaigns and we're tough people. we are going to take our contrast and comparisons to the american people and are

comfortable with the choice i think they are going to make. >> chris: wait, wait, wait. let me bring up a specific issue that you can talk about. that is the big issue on voters' minds; that is, the economy. congressman, you say the economy in your words failed. these are numbers from the congressional budget office and it estimates stimulus boosted growth between 1.7-2%, and increased the number of people employed by 1.2 to 2.8 million. is that failure? >> the reality, bureau of labor statistics, that part of government that tracks the economy when people are hired and fired said since the stimulus was passed we lost 3 million jobs overall and 2.5 million net. 14 million americans are unemployed and that's what it

was a year ago. we can't borrow and spend and bail our way to growing economy. >> chris: the non-partisan congressional budget office in effect saying it would have been worth and it has seen growth and it has gotten millions of people employed. >> our economy is beginning to grow in a tepid way on the margins, i would argue, in spite of the prescriptions of the physicians in washington, d.c. the american people know what is necessary to get this economy moving again. it's fiscal discipline in washington, d.c., across-the-board tax relief for families, small business and family farms. all we're getting from the democratic majority in congress and the white house is more bail-outs more spending, more planned spending, more deficit and debt and the american people have had it. >> chris: congressman clyburn, let me bring you in and put numbers on the screen. 2 million jobs have been lost since the stimulus was passed. the white house said unemployment would top out at 8% with the stimulus.

it's now 9.5%. question: is that success? >> i think we have had suck. you know, if i might use a medical analogy that mike the first thing you've got to do with a sick patient is stabilize. you have to stabilize the patient before you start making the patient well. we have stabilize our economy. we took over a very sick economy, and we were hemorrhaging 750,000 jobs a month. we have stopped the hemorrhaging. in fact, we had 140,000 job growth last month. that's what i call progress. i'll tell you something else i use. i just saw the headlines here in south carolina on yesterday. $140 million more last quarter than they expected to get in taxes. that means that people are going back to work in south carolina. they are paying taxes and we're collecting the taxes.

that is progress. we are no longer hemorrhaging in this economy. we think we can do better. if we could just get the senate to stop filibustering, give us the unemployment insurance for the american people, so they can begin to continue to spend and -- >> chris: let me, congressman clyburn, let me jump in, because i want to ask exactly about that issue. there is, congressman pence, a big vote coming up on whether to extend unemployment benefits. they say it must be paid for. president's response -- >> i have no problem for spending money on people at the top who have no need for them and don't ask for them but they don't help those who need help. >> chris: why extending the unemployment benefit has to be paid for, according to republicans but extending the bush tax cut for wealthy which would cost $678 million doesn't have to be paid for? >> look, republicans, me included supported numerous

extensions of unemployment benefit and we are anxious to do so again. the deficit is $1 trillion for the second year in a row and more. the american people have had it with the run-away spending, deficit and death and they want to see men and women in washington, d.c. to make the hard choices and prioritize the spending. >> chris: the other part -- i can understand the argument, pay for the unemployment benefit. why then not pay for the bush tax cuts for the wealthy? >> the reality is, as you study, when president kennedy cut marginal tax rates and ronald reagan had tax rate, they had economic growth and expand the economy. >> chris: the deficit still grew. >> the deficit grew under reagan and bush administration for different reasons and had a lot to do

with spending. the reality, in the reagan years we doubled the revenue we were sending to washington, d.c., after the tax cuts took effect. the point is we have to get the economy moving again. we can't go back to the tax and spend policies of the democrats or the tax cut and spend policies of the prior administration. fiscal discipline and tax relief is how we get america -- >> chris: congressman clyburn? >> i'll tell you what we cannot go back to. we can't go back to the policies that lost 8 million jobs in eight years. we cannot go back to those policies that refuse to give 95% of the american people, as we had done, a tax cut. moving tax cut to upper 2% and not paying for them is what got us in this, in the first place. the american people don't want to go back to that. the democrats will not go back to that. i'm going to tell my friend, mike pence, you are misreading the tea leaves

here, and i mean it as an intended pun. we are going to take our contrast, between us and the republicans to the american people this fall and we plan to win this election and win it big. >> chris: let me bring in another big issue -- congressman, clyburn, we're running out of time. let me bring up another big issue. obama administration filed suit against arizona for the new immigration law, cracking down on illegal immigrants. hispanics back the lawsuit opposing the new law by a margin of 4-1, all the polls indicate that americans overall oppose the lawsuit by a margin of about 2-1. question: are you prepared, are democrats prepared to go to the american people and say this is what we stand for? we are going to oppose the arizona law cracking down on illegals? >> you know, we cannot have 50 different immigration laws in this country. we need one comprehensive immigration law and it should

be at the federal level. i applaud president bush for going forward with that. i'm sorry that senator mccain walked off the field and will not help us do a comprehensive program for illegal immigrants. >> chris: we're running out of time. you're prepared to go, all of your congressmen, you're the house whip in the districts, there are districts around the country and say we're against the arizona law? >> we are against anything that will lead to racial profile or against anything cut off a path to citizenship for hard-working people in the country. i'm talking about people who don't just work hard, many of the people served in the military, they have been injured, they have lost their lives in iraq and afghanistan. we did not require the citizenship before. let's not punish these people when they have given so much so you and i can enjoy the

freedoms we currently have. >> chris: we have a minute left. let me bring in congressman pence for the final minute. >> look, the american people are frustrated with the lack of leadership in the administration, people of the arizona seeing a lack of security for enforcement and made a good faith to restore order to the community. whether it's the people of the gulf coast, governor bobby jindal who has been clamoring for months for en energetic leadership or millions of people saying when is the administration going to focus on getting spending under control and get the economy moving with a time-honored principles of growth, that previous republican and democrat administrations embraced? i really do believe what we are seeing is absence of leadership by the administration. as the elections approach this fall, the american people are looking for men and women committed to the

timeless american principles to get the economy moving again, fcal discipline in washington, d.c., fast-acting tax relief for working families and policies grounded in the constitution. >> chris: the mid-term campaign are in full swing. we have want to thank you for coming in today. gentlemen, please come back. >> thank you. >> thank you so much for having me. >> chris: up next, president obama faces bad poll numbers. anger in his own party and even criticism of his vacation. our sunday panel looks at his problems and the unlikely place he is seeking help. back in a moment. there's oil out there we've got to capture. my job is to hunt it down. i'm fred lemond, and i'm in charge of bp's efforts to remove oil from these waters. bp has taken full responsibility for the cleanup and that includes keeping you informed. every morning, over 50 spotter planes and helicopters take off and search for the oil. we use satellite images, infrared and thermal photography to map and target the oil.

then, the boats go to work. almost 6,000 vessels. these are thousands of local shrimp and fishing boats organized into task forces and strike teams. plus, specialized skimmers from around the world. we've skimmed over 27 million gallons of oil/water mixture and removed millions more with other methods. we've set out more than 8 million feet of boom to protect the shoreline. i grew up on the gulf coast and i love these waters. we can't keep all the oil from coming ashore, but i'm gonna do everything i can to stop it, and we'll be here as long as it takes to clean up the gulf.

there are some folks who want to go back, who think we should return to the policies that help to lead to this recession. some of them made the political calculation it's better to construct than lend a hand. >> americans want democrats to focus on creating jobs and they're running around washington like keystone cops. >> chris: the president and the top house republican in mid-campaign form as they look toward the november midterms. time for our sunday group. brit hume, fox news senior political analyst. contributors, nina easton of "fortune" magazine, bill kristol of "the weekly standard," and juan williams from national public radio. i think it's fair to say that the white house obama got hit by a series of tough polls this week. let's take a look at some of them.

the latest fox news opinion dynamics survey shows the president with 43% approval matching his previous low. if the election for the house were held today, 41% would back the republican. 37% the democrat. when asked what their vote for congress will express in november, 33% say support for obama. 41% opposition. with the democrats passing financial reform this week, the big question in washington is why isn't the president being rewarded for pursuing and passing his big agenda? >> his big agenda has not seemed to the public to focus on the things the public is concerned about. economy was job one. they did something on the economy the public did not like and does not believe it and does not believe in to this day, the stimulus program. sie then, the president has been on to other things, other things that were nowhere high on the public priority list. i speak of the healthcare reform bill, financial reform

regulatory reform may be something the public felt ought to be done but it doesn't come near the priority that people have on the creation of jobs and the awakening of the economy, so that it will boom enough to generate jobs. and, you know, think about this for a minute. think of the things he could have been talking about. he could have been working with the regulators so credit would be more available through smaller banks, to smaller banks and to smaller borrowers, small businesses that create most of the jobs. you hear nothing from him on that subject. >> chris: nina, pick up on one thing that brit talked about, the big victory this week, financial regulation. what is interesting is when they were going, leading up to the vote, democrats were just salivating about this. they thought we'll be on the side of cracking down on wall street, the republicans will be on the side of protecting the fat cats. yet, now the republicans say bring it on, let's argue financial regulation. >> it's fascinating, because the bill, as you said, was going to be the cracking down

on fat cats of wall street has got small community banks concerned, formers concerned who deal in derivatives for the business. it's got something like 533 rule-making proceedings are going to be going in, which creates lots of uncertainty and a lot of fear. interesting this week, the president in an interview talking about poll numbers saying i'm facing 9.5% unemployment and he has unpopular economy, the way president bush in 2006 had unpopular war. we grant him that. what is ieresting is that the landmark pieces of legislation that the white house thought would help them in november are actually possibly not going to help him. you have stimulus that most don't think helps, divisive healthcare reform and fascinating to us you have this wall street reform, it doesn't look like it's going after wall street. i'm not sure it will help them in november.

>> chris: bill, as you look at all the polls i ran at the top of the segment and the fascinating despite the fact that congressman clyburn fatly denied it, kind of ugly split between the house democrats and the white house this week, how much trouble are they in? >> i think right now it looks like democrats might loose the house and the republicans might win it easily and they'll come close in the senate. this is shaping up -- it's been steady. that is the striking thing. this has settled in for the last six months. president obama approval rating is mid-to-high 40s. the partisan identification, reliable, slowly changing indicator, which democrats' lead on that has been two points if you average out -- >> chris: if you ask -- >> it changes much less quickly than do you like the president or this piece of legislation or that? it's plus two democratic in 2005. it went up steadily to plus seven democrat. if you average the polls, and

then if you average them this year it's to three. and then last poll had republicans over the democrats for the first time in five years in the fox poll. there is more going on than we just don't like the bill or that bill. people are looking at the presidenand the democratic congress and the big government agenda. saying no thanks. >> chris: juan? >> i think it's true. right now, part of the, you know, argument in washington is obama a socialist? a poll that 55% said he was a socialist. the idea that his policies are too liberal have taken route. -- taken root. if you ask people to reiterate what we heard, the stimulus didn't have a personal benefit for them, clearly as we come out of a recession. people might argue about the expense of recovery in terms of the job specific but the fact is we are arguing, the

argument from the white house is we'd be doing. most americans still blame the bush administration in terms of the economic policy. t when you ask them has what president obama done helped you, that's where you see a disconnect. that's particularly key with the independent voters who were so important. we've seen growth in the number of people who identify independents much more than the focus that bill is making on the growth of republicans. people are just anti-incumbent. it's almost half of the people asking the fox poll said they would like to see a third party. >> chris: one of the fascinating developments for democrats in trouble, the 2008 primary bad blood between obama and clinton, but who does obama administration bring in for political help? >> who but the man that loves the house of representatives in 1994, bill clinton. [ laughter ] >> chris: anyway, here is a -- that is true. he lost them in 1994. look at the numbers, they're

fascinating. bill clinton, this may explain why they are going to him. voters are asked whether they're more or less likely to vote for a candidate that various people support them. with obama, minus ten. palin, minus 14. bring on -- >> the big dog. >> big dog. bill clinton. plus four. how much can clinton help democrats this year? >> not much. when they ask if someone is more or less likely, it's a little bit more or a little bit less. they're not voting, and bill clinton won't be on the ballot and obama won't be on the ballot, though his policies are the atmosphere of the election. sarah palin won't be on the ballot. he may be able to stir the base or elements of the democratic base a little bit, but i don't think he or any other non-office hold er will have effect on the election. >> he can raise money and

that will help. >> chris: do you agree? >> the president strategy from the white house officials is stir the base. we're talking about the minorities and the young people, folks who turned out in 2008 to help him. >> chris: he needs help to stir the base? >> he can stir the base. >> chris: why clinton? >> he can stir it as well. clinton is popular in the democratic circles there. might be a distinction in clinton and obama among democrats but i don't think if you get out there and talk about wanting democrats to come to polls and you want the independents who may be unconcerned about obama and the experience in dealing with the crisis, critical issues with the declining confidence with war in afghanistan and oil spill. i think people see clinton as now, odd to say, but senior statesman. revered in some circles. >> he speaks to independents. i saw it in capetown. he does. he talked about how to approach the b.p. oil spill,

implicitly criticizing the president's approach by the way but said let's all row in the same boat. this is what president obama -- >> but how likely is it that a voter who is angry and upset with conditions in the country or out of a job and effected by economy in negative way to vote for the incumbent party because it rather likes the past president members? >> that's not what he does. he helps them articulate their case to the independent voters in a way i think the white house has shown -- >> chris: they need help articulating their case. we have to step aside for a moment, but when we come back we continue the conversation about a wild week in washington. including whether the best agenda for republicans is no agenda at all. and the president's vacation. back in a moment. [ male announcer ] the financial headlines can be unsettling. but what if there were a different story? of one financial company that grew stronger through the crisis.

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>> chris: we're back with the sunday group. with republicans looking pretty good for november right now, one of the big questions, bill kristol, whether or not they should offer their own agenda and staying out of the way and keep criticizing democrats. what is the right answer? >> the right answer is to offer your own agenda, because president obama, as we've seen is going to offer the republicans' agenda if the republicans don't. president obama might have some success saying we want to go back to the bush policies and just cruel and heartless, so republicans need to step forward and say we're serious about reducing the size and scope of the government. they should be bold and they should really try to limit government. juan said earlier in the first segment, you know, he doesn't understand why obama is doing badly, because the economic indicators went up. that is true. they're higher. but obama's numbers are lower. maybe it suggests voters

aren't moved by the latest g.d.p. number and they're concerned about the growth of unlimited arbitrary government. they want to hear an articulation of a broad agenda. >> chris: when you say "an articulation of an agenda," are you saying if there is a lot of spinach in terms of cutting spending and cutting popular programs and cutting entitlements, they should say it now before the election? i'm not talking about whether it gets them in the political science hall of fame, but whether -- >> i'm with you on that. i think obama will say it anyway so they might as well put it in their own terms. >> chris: juan? >> you know, they got a vote set tuesday again on unemployment benefits. what we heard yesterday from president obama's radio address, these are heartless republicans. won't help people who need a job. nina i think went after you because he said the people want to say that the unemployment benefits discourage people from taking jobs and he says he hasn't met anybody like that in america. >> he should meet nina. >> right. [ laughter ] >> oh, no, no, no. >> my take is, if republicans are serious, then let's talk!

so exactly, are you going to tell the old folks who are so upset with obamaare, yeah, we want to cut your medicare, we want to cut social security, we need, in fact, to have less spending in defense, the defense budget is out of control. we need to do all of this, because the entitlements are the big problem. it's not that the government, the bureaucrats -- >> chris: we got it. bill? >> first, the plans to render social security and medicare and the other programs that are going to bankrupt us more solvent. in most cases, exempt current beneficiaries. certainly in social security they do. so the old people that juan speaks of would be exempted. the benefits would continue as they are now. but the whole issue goes to this question: if are not buried under an avalanche of debt as a nation, sooner or later something serious will have to be done about all of these things. this is an area the president

could have led and he chose to ignore the problem and ignores it to this day. a good question whether the republicans would profit in this campaign if they came up and did something. my hunch is that the country is ready in a way that it has never been in my time covering washington, because it's so alarmed about the debt and deficit, ready for someone with a serious program. i might turn out that the more serious it is, the tougher it, even indeed the more controversial it is the better is it for them politically. not sure it's true but i have a hunch it may well be this time. >> chris: not talking about what is right and wrong but what is politically smart. >> i was going to say as a matter of good government that's what we'd like to see. raw politics on campaign trail politics, rahm emanuel strategy in 2006, keep 80% of it on attack, 20% issues is a good one in the environment. i'll give it to examples -- but you keep it 20%.

general ideas. cutting spending. this is a real-life example. governor chris christie of new jersey, when he ran against a very unpopular governor, he kept the focus on the governor and on the incumbent and pummelled for not putting forward a detailed plan on where he would make cuts. now he has gone in and he is making serious cuts. he's a hero in the state and nationally. i am not sure he would have gotten elected if he put the cuts out there on the campaign trail. >> how are the cuts flying with the public? >> great now. >> if he said he'd do something, it would be great. but before he didit, he didn't do it. >> chris: another subject. the first family is enjoying a lovely vacation on the coastline of maine, it's cooler up there. you can see them on the beach

having a wonderful time. what makes it interesting is what president obama and mrs. obama urged other americans to do on their vacation. >> there are ways to help the gulf right now is visit communities and the beaches off of the coast. >> the beaches are clean, safe and they are open for business. >> chris: bill kristol, fair to criticize the obamas for not following their own advice? >> it would be a cheap shot to look at their vacation in the maine and not show solidarity with the people of the gulf who are suffering. it would be wrong to say that. [ laughter ] >> it's a little odd they didn't have a token -- it's just a weekend. >> you saw the two pictures, obama was down there he said it and she was there, too. that hard to go to alabama instead of maine? >> i think where the president's kids go to school and vacations are off-limits. give them a break.

>> vacation are never off-limits. most infamously when bill clinton polled in 1996 and found no more martha vineyard, he has to go to jackson hole. >> right. they should be there and again -- >> jackson hole is a tough spot. oh, my gosh! that's the image. the reality of jackson hole is plush. this is ridiculous. let the guy go on vacation. c'mon. >> >> here is where i don't think it's ridiculous because the fact is there is a tremendous problem with tourist dollars in the gulf. there a lots of people who think i'm not going down there and i'm not putting my kids in oil-infested waters. the beaches are empty, the bars and the restaurants are closed. i know malia andsasha might be crying but put them on a plane and go to gulf coast. >> i don't think they'll be crying. the beaches are open and businesses are suffering.

>> it would be a very well publicized -- >> yeah, political move. >> it would also be economic terms, it would make a difference. my sense is they ought to go wherever they want but the question is whether they should have spent a couple of days down there before going to maine, which they probably could have done. >> that would have been a nice gesture. >> give them that? >> a big commercial. sign that the beaches -- >> the president is planning a longer vacation in august -- we don't have time to answer this. going to martha vineyard. but he will also go to the gulf? my guess is yes. thank you, panel. see you next week. much better when i ask and answer the questions self. don't forget to check out the latest edition of panel plus where the group here continues the discussion on our website, foxnewssunday.com. we'll post the video before noon eastern time. time now for some of your comments about washington and the economy. thomas peterson from bay city, michigan, sent this --

>> chris: and richard gridon los angeles writes -- >> chris: please keep your comments coming. find us at foxnewssunday.com. up next, our power player of the week. ♪ [ man ] if it was simply about money, every bank loan would be a guarantee of success. at ge capital, loaning money is the start of the relationship, not the end. i work with polaris every day. at ge capital, we succeed only when they do. whoo! awesome! yes! we've got to get you out of the office more often. ♪ my turn to drive. ♪

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>> chris: recreational fishing is now a $40 billion a year industry. as we first told you in june of last year, even in washington, type "a" personalities are taking it up. here is our power player of the week. ♪ ♪ >> bass fishing is the new golf. people come out here and instead of taking it to the golf course, they bring a boardroom to bass boat. work on that bank. that's a shallow slot bank. >> chris: steve chaconas has been the top bass fishing guide on the potomac river for 11 years now and business is good. most of the customers used to be hardcore fishing enthusists and now he says it's lobbyists and

professionals. >> how about politicians? >> yeah, yeah. it makes it easy to lie about the fish you catch because they're good at it. >> chris: steve took me fishing last year and i think it's fair to say i'm a novice. the first lesson, how to cast. >> bring it back and forth. okay? there. start there. that is where you let it go. there you go. there you go. >> chris: steve's services don't come cheap. eight-hour day for two people is $365. $460 on weekends. >> now that seems like a lot of money. you're enjoying catching a few fish, enjoying spending quality time in a quality environment. not that much. >> chris: about catching a few fish, i was casting and casting, and not a nibble. >> okay. whew! >> i didn't touch you. >> learn the whole deal. >> where is the fish? where is the fish? >> chris: steve says on a good day, he and his two customers may catch 100 fish. he says a big reason is he's willing to take you to his

best spots along the river. >> there is a conflict of interest with guides who fish tournaments so i don't fish tournaments at all anymore. >> you tell me you will take your very best secret spot here? >> not you! >> chris: evidently, steve was a man of his word. >> why haven't i caught a fish yet? >> isn't this great? this happens to us every day. >> chris: one thing i learned is steve is good company. he's sold cars and anchored one of the first financial shows on radio. >> you were a former talk show host. you used to write for howard stern. >> oh, boy. >> chris: what happened? >> well, in radio, my bosses kept getting young and dumber. >> chris: by this point, it was clear i wasn't catching anything. steve put a stunt fish on my line so i could find out what it feels like. >> use the rod to control him. >> chris: now what do you do? >> i don't know! >> you're the fishing guide! [ laughter ] >> there we go. >> that is a beauty. >> chris: that's when i learned something else about

steve. it's strictly catch and release. >> there we go. goodbye! when you go golfing you don't eat the ball. we let the fish go, too. >> is it that the river is polluted, too? >> it's a professional courtesy. >> even if i catch more than i thought i have to let them go. >> it's important to transfer my knowledge and skill to somebody else. i get joy taking somebody else out and show what i do and have them be successful. >> by the way, that good-looking that was catching all the fish is my son. he's the one who introduced me to captain steve. that's it for today. have a great week. we'll see you next "fox news have a great week. we'll see you next "fox news sunday." captioned by closed captioning services, inc