not to mr. romney's campaign directly, but to a pac being run for his benefit. there's a giant contribute button and some boilerplate comments about candidates. but it's really all about mitt romney. it is run by mitt romney's backers. they have had mitt romney solicit donations. it's a mitt romney gig. they raised more than $12 million in the first half of the year. and 1/3 of what they raised came in million dollar chunks from four sources. including the aforementioned mysterious w. spann llc, a company that seems to have done pretty much nothing besides give $1 million on april 28 for the better. of mitt romney's political career. on july 11, two weeks before this mitt romney pac had to file its report with federal elections officials, two weeks before that pac was to reveal its donors, this company shut down. its wealth transfer specialist lawyer lawyer filed this certificate of cancellation with the state of delaware. so whatever this company was supposed to be, whatever it was, after founding itself, submitting a single $1 million check on mitt romney's be

but it is the latest poll that shows mr. romney all of a sudden 12 points behind mr. perry. and the question now in presidential politics is how long rick perry's shine is going to stay shiny. and how mitt romney is going to adjust his campaign to try to deal with the threat of rick perry. rick perry after all is new on the national stage. and mitt romney has been around for a while. he has essentially been running for president for the last eight years. people got to know him really well when he ran in 2008. they got to know him really well, and then they picked the other guy. there's a thing about mitt romney that the republican elect yorate didn't like back then, or at least not enough. >> some of your opponents pass out these flip floppers, that mitt romney flips and flops on the general issues. >> when you hear them on immigration, flip flop, flip flop. >> the former governor faces doubts about his conservative credentials all the way home to massachusetts. where democrats have posted his alleged flip flops on issues like gun control, gay rights, abortion. since romney'

romney won't make it? >> i think mr. romney won't make it. i think the tea party is the republican party. i think romney will soon go after perry. but for example, on the jobs issue. romney is more vulnerable. perry is an outright radical on a lot of these social issues but that helps him in today's republican party. this is a republican party that doesn't care about those polls the congresswoman was talking about. promised it was going to go to washington in 2010 and fight for jobs. and has done anything but that. they fought to destroy jobs. they want a recession. their definition of recover is that they take back the white house. >> let me ask you this, congresswoman, talking about radical, just the payroll tax extension that would cost, if we don't get it, roughly $2100 to each one of the taxpayers, working class people. but look who opposes it. opposes payroll tax cut extension. eric cantor. camp, ryan. i mean, how do you deal with these people who you go back after the labor day weekend, when these people won't even deal with payroll ta

mr. perry is more conservative than mr. romney and he often uses spirit in his presentations. mr. romney is running as america's ceo. a man who has succeeded in private business and who knows how to handle the free marketplace. governor perry is pretty much running on that as well showcasing texas economic success story. the truth is that both romney and perry have many things in common. including good hair both them would offer a challenge to barack obama. at this point it's gobble to say which man has the most going for him even though governor perry leads in the polls he is untested in debate and americans don't know him very much. governor romney has big name recognition but many are suspicious of him not popular in republican primaries. the perry romney battle is a toss-up and could go either way depending on how the candidates perform in the upcoming debates. as they like to say in texas. there will be a high noon between these two men. a verbal shootout that will leave just one standing. and that's the memo. now for the top story tonight. let's bring in the aforementioned c

romney's lead twenty five points. but also added i must tell maintained their top three position with a two no victory over stepan volga the new boys were reduced to ten men approaching the half hour yet going to allow up to yellow cards in just over a minute one with a man advantage to now and then scored an absolute beauty and he got some shots. at some but some. completed the school on the midfielder first to the rebounds and to injury time. well meanwhile locomotive stayed seventy three nowhere now lost off the meter lost golf netting the first after just eight minutes this third goal as many games then ten minutes after the interval of quote unquote humble the ball retreat citroen double post late in the penalty spot . not lately past of stop the thirty nine minutes to go the beleaguered hand side but also refused to ten men for the last few minutes up at. the top the second yellow but it was a great start for new lot of money to set up with two wins. so a quick look at the top of the table after eighteen matches

. >> let's talk about the rest of them including mr. romney the frontrunner who on the day that the compromise was reached that at least made some progress and set a process in motion to do the rest. he jumped in after ducking and dodging and evading and took a position against this. without any solution. these are... presidential races are tests. this was a test of their presidential metal. in this case he failed in most of those candidates failed. >> schieffer: i want to show you something. this is an interview that the president had with matt lauer of the today program about a month after he took office. in 2009. i just want you to listen to this. >> look, i'm at the start of my administration. one nice thing about the situation i find myself in is that i will be held accountable. i've got four years. >> you know how quickly people can.... >> that's exactly right. a year from now i think people are going to see we're starting to make some progress but there still be pain out there. if i don't have this done in three years then there'

romney, i absolutely oppose allowing people to go bankrupt in the manufacture and sector. as a nation, we have to produce well, farm, manufacture, in a big. -- innovate. there's also the underlying premise that having seen wall street bailed out with no restructuring, with a failure to actually get the credit flowing back down, to turn around and say to working people that live in 90-foot loss that there tax dollars are being used to bail of people in 90-foot loss is unacceptable. >> yet, it was a republican president that said that the u.s. was on the cusp of financial disaster if wall street was not build up, if some of these too big to fail companies were not helped out. >> i disagree with president bush in the past. i respect him very much. i think history will be kinder to him that some of the recent evaluations of his performance have been, but that is where you have options on the table. if you did not want to throw $700 billion at them and hope they went away, that somehow you were not advocating any type of policy. you had a former chief economist of the imf talki

mr. romney who hopes to beat mr. obama in 2012 even put out a campaign ad complete with apocalyptic music. >> yes, we can. thank you. if i don't have this done in three years, then there's going to be a one-term proposition. >> this from a candidate who politico accuses of gheeg the mittness protection program because he didn't take a stand on the debt deal until it was done. senators left capitol hill for a five-week paid break without approving funding for the federal aviation administration. doesn't sound like a big deal until you learn that 4,000 federal employees, along with thousands of construction and support workers are out of work with no paycheck. one furloughed faa engineer has had it. >> the debt ceiling argument ended on monday and tuesday. well, where are you at on wednesday? you don't have to go on vacation. take another day. get it finished. >> so the talkback question today, when is it okay for political leaders to take a break from washington? send us a message on facebook. facebook.com/americanmor

romney hen he lost his run for senate against ted kennedy back in 1994. watch. >> romney's firm bought a company called scm, fired awe. some could reapply at a 25% pay cut. but many who were pregnant or older were denied jobs and romney made $11 million in two years. >> i would like to say to mitt romney -- if you think you can make such a good senator, come out here to marion, indiana, and see what your company has done to these people. >> we have no rights anymore. >> they cut the wages. >> we no longer have insurance. >> basically cut our throats. >> i would like to say to the people of massachusetts, if you think it can't happen to you, think again. we thought it wouldn't happen here either. >> when that is the baggage that candidate mitt romney brings to his presidential run, getting rattled by hecklers and blurting out this statement is not going to be helpful to him. >> corporations are people, my friend. we can raise taxes. of course they are, everything corporations there goes to people. where do you think it goes. >> it goes in their pocket. >>

politico reports that the president's team has decided mr. romney's numbers are so weak, mr. obama's numbers are so weak, the only way to win next time, to destroy the likely challenger, who they believe is mitt romney. has hope been changed and replaced by dig up and destroy? >>> and on wisconsin -- in fact, on wisconsin, democrats get their chance to get even with anti-labor republican leader scott walker today. six republican state senators face recall tonight, and if the democrats can pick up three seats out there out of six, they will regain control of the state senate in wisconsin. this is more than a local fight. this is the first big fight politically of the 2012 electoral cycle. on a day president obama was at dover air force base as the bodies of the navy s.e.a.l.s were brought home, let me finish tonight with some big questions about our mission in afghanistan. i can't think of a better time to ask what exactly is it? >>> we start with what the president should be doing about jobs. howard fineman is an msnbc political analyst and a huffington post media group edito

even the gentile, mr. romney, referred to him as awfully european. what is this about? that he is not really one of us? a relentless point here. >> congressman walsh also said you don't understand what makes america great. the implication being that you are somehow not american because only americans can really understand what makes this country great. i do think that our politics and discourse has been coarsened over recent years but there is a personal edge to this. that you don't usually see. there's some sense in which for these people that the president just kind of sticks in their craw in a way. it is not that they've accepted them and rejected him, they never accepted him from the beginning. and that was a difference with george w. bush for example who after 9/11 had the whole country gather around him. however momentarily. and everyone accepted him as leader for that moment, then he lost a lot his political capital. this president, he never started with the full out ascent of the whole country. >> he could be mighty mouse everyday of the week saving the day. lik

it is and mitt romney, a former governor of massachusetts. [applause] mr. romney is speak -- seeking the republican nomination for a presidency. let's give him in iowa or welcome. [applause] >> thank you, carole. thank you for the work of the desk moines register, one of the grape pickers in america the kids our democracy free and open. i appreciate the free press and the work you do. it is good to have so many friends here today. what a great day. this is fabulous. last and i was here four years ago, i will speak louder -- does that work better? there is brian kennedy. it looks like he stacked the crowd with a couple of old friends. i appreciate your help. this is a challenging time. i wish i could start off with terrific news about how the country is doing and what bright prospects people fill in their hearts but right now, people are concerned about the country and recognize that america is in crisis. that is because we have 25 million people out of work or have stopped looking for work or are in jobs will be need their skills. with kids coming out of co

>> come on, mr. president. you can, by yourself, cut the spending, agree to cut spending, cap the spending, and put in place a balanced budget amendment. >> so governor romney says he favors a plan to cut the deficit without raising revenue and it's not for us to say whether it's a good or bad thing. but keeping them honest, that's not the case he made back in 2004 when he was lobbying s&p to raise massachusetts credit rating. politico obtained 27 pages of confidential discussion materials and the governor staff gave to s&p. they say it's unclear whether mr. romney took part in show casing it but in april he said that he was proud of his role. >> the president really ought to personally sit down and meet with s&p. i did that the when i was governor. i met with the ratings agencies and talked about our future and tried to instill confidence in our future because how they rate our debt and our future as a nation will affect the interest costs that we end up paying and affect homeowners and borrowers all over the

human beings, my friend. >> juan: doesn't mr. romney have a point? joining us from los angeles, ucla professor mark sawyer and jonathan hoenig a fox news contributor who also runs a private investment group. jonathan, quickly, what do you make of mitt romney's comments and the fact that the left is all over him for saying that corporations have rights like individuals, like people? >> well, you know, juan, the left loves to paint corporations running rough shot. what is a corporation? not a vegetable, not a mineral or animal. governor romney is right it's people. >> voluntary association of people. those individuals have rights. doesn't matter if they are part of a corporation, a labor union, a charity. they don't give up those rights. they don't get new rights, either by joining a corporation. freedom of association. doesn't matter if a small business, a charity or a big evil corporation as too often the left would have you believe i want to hear what the left has to say about governor romney's statements. >> this is his statement is the no corporat

>> i wish mr. romney would come on this program and explain the graph i put up quite often about where middle class wages have been in 30 years and where profits of the corporation have gone, right to the top. >> corporations are not people. the supreme court in that absolutely grotesque case, citizens united against the federal election commission, the supreme court dominated by republican appointees, corporations are people. their first amendment rights are wiping out the first amendment rights of average people, who can't keep up with the money the corporations are plowing into the system. mitt romney is a corporate -- i won't say stooge. that's not fair. that's not nice so say. but certainly, is someone who represents the big corporations against the interests of average, working people. there's no question about it, ed. the republicans, not only jim demint, but mitch mcconnell. over and over again, they said their number one objective is not to get the economy going. it's to get president obam

while president obama is in martha's vineyard, mitt romney will also be in martha's vineyard. mr. romney will be having a fundraiser in a nice part of martha's vineyard across the island from the obamas in a place called eggertown. by this point in his presidency, after 31 months in office, reagan had taken 112 vacation days. president bush 180. president obama has taken 61. 61! outrage! he's over worked! i know hypocrisy is the crime that has no punishment in politics. i know that the republican party of massachusetts denouncing president obama for something that president bush actually did is not something they will feel embarrassed about. i know that karl rove attacking president obama for a secret service decision is not something he will be embarrassed about. i know that mitt romney attacking president obama for going to a place that he himself is also going is not something that mitt romney will feel embarrassed about. hypocrisy, thy name is thursday, i realize this is par for the political course. but to criticize a president for going on vacation or riding in a secret serv

they made sure they were in new hampshire on the day mr. romney was trying to make a splash with their own announcement. it's like wearing white to someone else's wedding. i'm sorry, did i step on your moment. all the republican candidates trying to make a splash with a good showing in the ames-iowa straw poll will be overshadowed by rick perry making his first appearances in south carolina and new hampshire. the rick perry, soon to be campaign. all though he won't formally say he's running for president, the appearances mean he's running. they do represent the official-unofficial start of his campaign. anybody who sees iowa and the iowa straw poll and pr they might get from doing well in the straw poll as crucial to the campaign, hint, hint, michele bachmann. we'll have more on his candidacy and why it's important in the republican presidential field, we'll have more on that over the course of the week. finally, we have an answer to a campaign finance ministry. ministry, mystery, sorry. a million dollar donation to mitt romney. michael isi

. >> now, jonathan, speaking of the republican race, mr. romney has announced he is going to make a major jobs speech after labor day. as well as we know the super committee in congress will come back. does in romney really have a jobs plan? >> we're going to find out. i believe the speech is september 6th. the president is either giving hi address that week -- but not long after they come back on labor day. to have any kind of traction it's going to have to go beyond the usual talking point. he's going to have to step out front and say specifically how he, as presidents, would get the american people back to work. the fact that he's trying to big foot the president or trying to go toe to toe with the president is a lot of political stagecrafting that -- you as someone who could be an alternative to the guy who's already in office. whether he'll be successful at that, we'll find out on the 6th. >> we will, and of course he has to get it together while he works on extending his new home out in california. when he gets through all of that may

they can aclooef dominance by attacking each other, attacking mr. romney or attacking mr. obama. the smartest course is the last. if they are all saying, listen, this is what the president is doing wrong, how would they distinguish from one another at this point? you've got republicans out there who want to know where they stand as far as being tough on spending and all of these other things where they quite honestly differ. >> i think what strategy they come up with will reveal to the public how much of a threat each sees the other. i think rick perry will shy away from attacking michele bachmann. i think bachmann probably the onus is on her to attack perry more. because what she's confronted with now, you see this in some of her remarks and attempt to address this, she is a legislator confronting two executives. one current executive, texas governor and one former in mitt romney. they have very different issue profiles. she's going to need to, i think, elaborate a bit on her agenda and show some contrast and show why she's in the same ballpark in terms of experience. you hear t

human beings, my friend. >> juan: doesn't mr. romney have a point? joining us from los angeles, ucla professor mark sawyer and jonathan hoenig a fox news contributor who also runs a private investment group. jonathan, quickly, what do you make of mitt romney's comments and the fact that the left is all over him for saying that corporations have rights like individuals, like people? >> well, you know, juan, the left loves to paint corporations running rough shot. what is a corporation? not a vegetable, not a mineral or animal. governor romney is right it's people. >> voluntary association of people. those individuals have rights. doesn't matter if they are part of a corporation, a labor union, a charity. they don't give up those rights. they don't get new rights, either by joining a corporation. freedom of association. doesn't matter if a small business, a charity or a big evil corporation as too often the left would have you believe i want to hear what the left has to say about governor romney's statements. >> this is his statement is the no corporat

let me repeat that, 11 points over mitt romney. and things are getting a little heated on the campaign trail for mr. romney. >> how do you think the government cannot provide funds for the people, its citizens? >> okay. let me answer the question. of course government provides funds for its people, the citizens. of course we take care of america when there are national disasters. of course we honor our promises to seniors. of course it costs money. but not more than you take in. 50 states in america, 50 states in america balance their budget every year. [ applause ] >> 50 states in america balance their budget every year. i balanced a budget every year. had you your turn. you had your turn, madam. let me have mine. let me have mine. listen, i will give you the microphone in a moment but let me complete. i'm sorry. it's my turn. had you yours now it's my turn. would you please hold on a moment and let me finish? >> juan: joining us now from charlie'sville, virginia. dr. sabato the director for senator of politics at the university o

criticized mr. obama for muddling the mission. expressed hope that libya will now move toward a representative form of government that supports freedom, human rights and the rule of law. that was for a new york times assessment of his statement. very eloquently incoherent to me. >> well said. what i see missing the whole point here, is they don't know how to acknowledge success. abraham lincoln had his detractors during the civil war. roosevelt had his detractors during world war ii. he's under good company. the reality is, what he said out to do, said it work in an international way, with nato and in a progressive way to help the libyan people free themselves. that's exactly what happened. >> there are still concerns. we don't know whether the factions among the rebels who are not a cohesive force, whether they can govern, kurm together, what's going to happen with the oil. what's going to happen with a lot of the assets. i mean, what are your concerns? you're in the foreign affairs committee. do y

mr. romney what do you expect tomorrow night real quick. >> i think it's going to be a lot of the fun. a lot of give and take. at least eight folks on the stage, maybe more, you never know. big audience, this is a time when people are focusing on a new direction for the country. they know what we right now isn't working. they want to see someone new leading this country and they want to take look at all of us. sarah palin is going to make a visit to the state fair on thursday or friday. >> it will be fun. i will there tomorrow. it's a great fair to go too. take care. >> mitt romney with a surprise visit, caught me off guard. that's the nature of it quickly now, sarah palin is coming to iowa to the state fair. probably for an appearance on friday. her troops are jeght in in order to undertake this. report that rudy giuliani is hire campaign state in the first in the primary state of new hampshire. his aides say that is not accurate giuliani has not made up his minority -- mind not looking

it is and mitt romney, a former governor of massachusetts. [applause] mr. romney is speak -- seeking the republican nomination for a presidency. let's give him in iowa or welcome. [applause] >> thank you, carole. thank you for the work of the desk moines register, one of the grape pickers in america the kids our democracy free and open. i appreciate the free press and the work you do. it is good to have so many friends here today. what a great day. this is fabulous. last and i was here four years ago, i will speak louder -- does that work better? there is brian kennedy. it looks like he stacked the crowd with a couple of old friends. i appreciate your help. this is a challenging time. i wish i could start off with terrific news about how the country is doing and what bright prospects people fill in their hearts but right now, people are concerned about the country and recognize that america is in crisis. that is because we have 25 million people out of work or have stopped looking for work or are in jobs will be need their skills. with kids coming out of co

romney was trying to make a big splash with his own announcement. it is like wearing white to somebody else's wedding. am i stealing your moment? i'm sorry. this weekend the nonbridal proverbial white dress will be born worn by perry when the candidates trying to make a splash in the ames iowa straw poll will find themselves overshadowed by rick perry making the first presidential campaign trail appearances in south carolina and new hampshire. the rick perry soon to be campaign leaking to anyone who will listen today that although governor perry won't formally say he's running for president on saturday, these appearances mean that he is running and they do represent the official, unofficial start of his campaign. so anyone who sees iowa and the iowa straw poll and any pr bounce they may get from doing well in the straw poll as crucial to their campaign, hint, hint, michele bachmann, rick perry has a present for you this weekend. we will have more on governor perry's candidacy and why i personally think it is quite nornt the republican presidential f

we know mr. cain the businessman, herman cain. mccotter many people may not know he's a congressman from mitch. ron small very well known. governor pawlenty from minnesota, senator santorum from pennsylvania, former gingrich is on the ballot, governor huntsman makes his appearance on the ballot. but say governor pawlenty from neighboring minnesota, he's put a lot into the state of iowa, if he comes in third or fourth, is he still in this race? >> well, you know, that will be a decision, you know, that the various campaigns will have to make seeing where they place on saturday evening. but what i can tell you is that he's got a very robust organization that he's put in place here with an infrastructure that will deliver those pawlenty votes that they have around the state, but, you know, i'm a sports guy, so that's why they play the game. we'll find out on saturday how the candidates fare. >> that is why they play the game, and it's a fun game you play in iowa with the straw poll and the caucuses. governor romney sort of have kwtd

. >> come on, mr. president, you can by yourself cut the spending agree on cut spending, cap the spending and put in place a balanced budget amendment. >> so governor romney says he favors the plan to cut the deficit without raising revenue and it's not for us to say whether that's a good or bad thing. you can make up your own mind about that but keeping them honest that's not case that he made back in 2004 when he was lobbying s&p to raise massachusetts' credit rating. in a 50-page presentation, the governor's staff gave to s&p. they say it's unclear whether mr. romney personally took part in showcasing it, but knack in april, he said he was proud of his role. >> the president really ought to personally sit down and meet with s&p. i did that when i was governor. i met with the relegated season and talked about our future and instill confidence in our future because look, how they rate our debt and how they rate our future as a nation will affect the interest costs that we end up paying and will affect

. >> any chance, that if your last candidate, mr. romney, doesn't hit the accelerator in iowa, you could end up with governor perry? >> well, i think it's possible. i mean, i'm very excited about the entire field we have. i think we're blees pleased tha have such a wide array of choices. i fully expect to be enthusiastic about somebody. and i could probably take a very good case for almost all of them. certainly governor perry is somebody who i will look forward to getting to know. >> i want to ask you both about governor palin. she's going to come to the state there. she's not on the straw poll ballot. many us for a long time have assumed governor palin is not running. let me close this one down and bring this one up. it works a little better this way if you do it right. i'm showing our viewers a poll for standing among republican voters and how many republicans what percentage want her to be the nominee. you see since the 2008 campaign it's gone up and peaked up, 12% now of republicans nationally want governor palin to be their nom

perry called make us great where mr. perry is in number one place and either mr. romney or mrs. bachman is in second place. >> well, i think we're going to see a lot of that, steve. i don't know how it's going to shake out. but i do know that all of the horsepower right now in this country for how we're going to get america back on track is on the republican side. look, the president's giving speeches. he's going on taxpayer made buses made in canada giving speeches. >> steve: you're taking a shot at the president and his vacation in martha's vineyard because i understand you have an app with a download that is the obama vacation debt clock. you can have it on your smart phone all the time. right? >> that's right. if you go to obamaget away.com, you can get find it there. or gop.com, you can get it that way as well. this president talks about how everything that's happening in america, it's everyone else's fault except barak obama. he said he would get the deficit under control. he introduced the biggest structural deficit in america, he said to get the debt under control and un

romney if he'd like to respond. no, that's ok. he had a big smile on his face. take the joke. >> one of the other names that was brought up and one of the candidates who was missing from the stage apart from michelle bachmann not showing up after one of the commercial breaks and bret baier asking, we're missing a candidate. there was a candidate missing and empty podium in the middle. she made it back on stage and handled it with grace and there was one candidate who was not there who is set to announce, of course, tomorrow in south carolina. that is texas governor rick perry. his name was sort of hovering above the debate the entire night. and bret baier asked the candidates, did he outsmart all of you by basically avoiding iowa? >> it's interesting. some people think he's made a mistake. notable people like governor huckabee who won the iowa straw poll the last time around and did very well in iowa. he said to use his words, it was a dis to iowans to announce your campaign right before the straw poll but not technically take part in it and not take part in the

romney had to raise his voice in order to get over the din of what appeared to have been hecklerlers according to folks who saw it. the iowa frontrunner is michelle bachmann, from minnesota next door, the chairman of the house tea party caucus. she has been dominating the buzz here, drawing huge crowds with a great deal of enthusiasm, so both of them have a great deal riding on tonight's debate, mitt romney will face his share of criticism from the rest of the field and michelle bachmann who has largely escaped direct criticism will be standing shoulder to shoulder with some of her rivals who have been from a distance tweaking her for an absence of executive experience because she's never been a governor. it will be interesting to see how the two face that. mitt romney got a bit of it today at the state fair. jon: so it's jon hauntsman's debut but he's not even competing in iowa, really. what's the story there? >> reporter: he's been in the race now for a little over a month or so and this is his first stop in the first of the caucus states, jon huntsman, former governor of utah and