pulling back, of course, both of them are outsiders. ted cruz may be a senator, but he is -- if there's anything that would give the republican party a second heart attack if not donald trump, it would be ted cruz. i think the outsider vote, just in general, is still very much in play here. >> i think you're right about that. i've got to leave it there. thanks to both of you. you can watch the final gop debate of 2015 only on cnn. it starts tomorrow night, 6:00 p.m. eastern, live from las vegas. also later this hour, president obama makes a rare visit to the pentagon. while he'll meet with top military officials behind closed doors, the message is very public -- calm terror fears this holiday season and reassure americans that the strategy against isis is working. joe johns is our senior washington correspondent. he joins us from the white house with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carol. this is not the first time the president has been over to the pentagon, right across the river. he went there just back in july. he's also going later this week to the counterterrorism center.