s&p 500 lost 37. the nasdaq fell 82.5. let's get insight now about what might have caused this. fox business network correspondent peter barnes joins me from washington. good evening, peter. >> good evening, bret. stocks closed at the lowest level since august and are down 6% for the last two days, the worst two day decline since the financial crisis. three years ago. investors continued to react to that down beat outlook for the u.s. economy. released by the federal reserve yesterday. an outlook that could, we can even -- weakened further because of the debt crisis in europe racing more fears of a double dip recession. >> you have three major risks out there. we have a slowdown going on in the economy. we have the u.s. debt and deficit situation that is a big problem that needs to be solved. we have this european debt debacle that seems to keep getting worse without a solution. >> we are corrupting the global economy because the cost of propping up our economy is enormous and putting great strains on the global economy. the problems in europe aren't making the situation better. it's only compounding it. >> reporter: the imf estimates banks in europe face losses of as much as $400 billion because of all government debt they bought from greece, italy, portugal, and other struggling countries. some analysts think greece could flat-out default on its debt. european officials reportedly are pushing more than a dozen banks in europe to raise more capital now. as leaders work on parallel tracks to beef up the bail-out for separate countries. they'll continue their rescue talks tomorrow here in washington. at the ims annual meeting. bret? >> bret: more on this with the panel tonight. peter, thank you. now to the reason we're here tonight in orlando. even though the general election is more than a year away there is a lot at stake for participants in this evening debate. momentum, enthusiasm. most importantly, perhaps, fund raising. can all be gained or lost depending on performance. we begin the coverage with the chief political correspondent carl cameron and look at the guest list. >> reporter: texas governor rick perry hoped for a strong conservative policy debate performance in the wake of criticism from rival that the record is weak on illegal immigration, extreme on social security and prone to pay to play crony capitalism. he pounds on mitt romney as obama light. >> having mitt's record on healthcare is really hard to distinguish between the two. >> reporter: romney is a strong character performance to combat the reputation for changing positions over the years. secondly, to further scuff up perry as too far right and unelectable. >> we have to have a leader who understands what it takes to balance if books of a business, sign the front of a payroll check, to help build jobs. i spent my life in the private sector. i'm a business guy. >> reporter: perry leads the latest poll in florida. 31% over romney at 22%. president obama's numbers abysmal in the sunshine state. 57% disapprove. 39% approve. romney leads the president in florida 47-40. while perry trails mr. obama 42-44%. texas congressman ron paul is running third in national polls with a loyal bolster, followinrousfollowing. >> we are going to take the country back. >> reporter: plummeting in the polls since perry entered the race michele bachmann needs to restore some momentum and reassert her relevance as a credible voice of the tea party movement. huntsman who isunning as a more moderate republican needs to establish the relevance of a candidacy in the conservative grand old party. look for former pennsylvania senator rick santorum to play rough to hope to lay claim to the only true unwavering conservative on the stage with a record to prove it. businessman herman cain and former speaker newt gingrich both been consistentl strong debaters. their challenge is turning it to traction on the trail afterwards. former new mexico governor gary johnson another libertarian leaning republican will also be on stage rounding out the nine candidate roster. after the debate, the candidates will continue in florida with a very busy schedule. tomorrow, the conservative political action conference has a gathering that will attract all of the candidates and many, many republican activists. then on saturday, the republican party of florida will conduct a straw poll. more than 3,000 g.o.p. activists from the sunshine state will cast ballots and immediate judgment on the debate performance of the candidate this evening. bret? >> bret: carl, news today about congressman thaddeus mccotter and his run. >> reporter: yes. the 11th district congressman from michigan had been in the race. he had been for several months campaigning and spending time criticizing mitt romney. today he announce he will withdrawal his candidacy. he failed to meet criteria for participation in tonight's debate, failed to attract attention and money. the race is now over and he says he will continue to work from congress on his consecutive principles there is speculation not withstanding his criticism of mitt romney ultimately that is where his support may rest. bret? >> bret: all right, carl. by the way, happy birthday. we will celebrate with a big debate tonight. how about that? >> reporter: thanks, bret. i appreciate it. >> bret: president obama resumes his push for his new stimulus plan today. appearing in cincinnati, ohio. senior white house foreign affairs correspondent wendell goler reports the president's back-to-work agenda involved working over some republican leaders. >> reporter: the president took the campaign for american jobs act to aging bridge that connects the home state of the republican leaders of the house and senate. he called them out by name. >> there is no reason for republicans in congress to stand in the way of more construction projects there's no reason to stand in the way of more jobs. mr. boehner, mr. mcconnell, help us rebuild this bridge. [ applause ] >> reporter: the 47-year-old bridge has been declared functionally obsolete. out of date and with so much traffic the chance of an accident is five times higher than neighboring highways. house speaker john boehner agrees it should be replaced but he doesn't think much of the president's visit. >> now is not the time for the president to go in to campaign mode. >> reporter: technically the bridge belongs to kentucky but the votes on the ohio side are far more important to mr. obama's election. kentucky senator mitch mcconnell aimed to make it a bridge too far. >> if you really want to help our state, come back to washington and work with republicans on legislation that will actually do something to revive our economy and create jobs and forget the political theater. >> reporter: republicans say environmental impact requirements could delay replacement of the bridge for years making not more shovel ready than the stimulus project they criticize for not creating jobs immediately. the aides admit the bridge project wouldn't create jobs right away but the president says once it's done the region would be better off. >> no more earmarks, no more boondoggles or bridges to nowhere. >> reporter: still, the solyndra bankruptcy after receiving a half-billion dollar government guaranteed loan has republicans warning about throwing good stimulus money after bad. on this day, the labor department says the number of people filing for unemployment benefits fell last week but not enough to signal stronger job market. gallup poll shows the number of people mr. obama gives to blame for the economy is 50%. but less than president bush. republicans are focusing more on preventing the re-election than fixing the economy, noting that mitch mcconnell said months ago the 2012 election is his top priority. it's a charge the president hopes will drown out speaker boehner's constant question: where are the jobs? bret? >> bret: wendell goler live in the north lawn. wendell, thank you. now more on the solyndra affair that wendell just mentioned. the top bosses of that solar firm appear on capitol hill friday. but correspondent doug mckelway tells us new information out today questions why the administration was eager to support the company. >> reporter: the house oversight government reform committee set the stage for the expected appearance tomorrow of solyndra executives on the hill. released a report entitled how obama green energy agenda is killing jobs. >> the obama administration systematically waged a war on carbon-base energy. in pursuit of new green energy. >> among the findings taxpayers received little return from three years and $100 billion in so-called green energy. [ brief pause in captioning] >> just because it's hybrid doesn't make it a green job. >> would you rath ver that person unemployed? not paying taxes. >> i would rather you not try to smooth this over and make at it green job when it's a job. >> administration officials warned against culting investments in green energy. >> the united states once led the world? clean energy investment. now we rank third behind china and germany. >> a warning that brought this retort from the chairman. >> the number one exporter is china from us. they are solar panels so we subsidize them and buy them. they have low-cost energy to be more competitive to sell us the high-cost energy. >> reporter: the committee report focuses heavily on solyndra saying its failure is evidence of the folly of subsidizing green energy and politicians hand picking winners and losers in the market. it raises questions whether they were made on the basis of political favoritism. bret? >> thank you. >> bret: we will talk live with head of another company in the news. google. our partner this this debate in a bit. but first, the u.s. goes public with complaints about pakistan. there's only one bottle left ! i've got to tell susie ! the vending machine on elm is almost empty. i'm on it, boss. new pony sorry ! we are open for business. let's reroute greg to fresn growing businees use machine-to-machine technology from verizon wireless. susie ! the vending machine... already filled. cool be. because the business with the best technology rules. the count downtown is on. the country's top military officials called out the pakistani government today pointedly and in public. chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel has the story from capitol hill. >> a vehicle packed with explosives killed five people and wounded 77 coalition troo troops. the chairman of the joints chief aimed the harshest criticism at the pakistan intelligence service isi and the terrorism group he called the veritable arm. >> with isi support, operatives plan and conduct the truck bomb attack as well as an assault on our embassy. >> reporter: in his final congressional testimony before retiring next week, the chairman unloaded on the pakistanis. >> part of their national strategy to protect their own vital interest. >> carl levin said in order to have a normal relationship with the u.s., pakistan must break ties with this man, hakani and his terror group. >> because of providing that safe haven, and because of connections, between pakistan intelligence and the hakani, pakistan bears some responsibility for the attacks on us. >> secretary of state hillary clinton met with pakistan officials on sunday and said, "what we said was this is a huge problem. and that pakistan's got to deal with it. today, secretary of defense leon panetta said islamabad must do more. >> it's very important they cannot choose between terrorists. if you're against terrorism. you're against all terrorists. >> panetta did not spell out publicly the consequences that the pakistanis fail to take action but a senior official says at least some of $5.1 billion in annual aid to pakistan could be cut. on capitol hill, mike emanuel, fox news. >> bret: perhaps the most controversial leader to address the united nations general assembly took the stage today. senior correspondent eric shawn reports on the dramatic appearance of iran's president. >> reporter: he appeared to be praying before he ascended the u.n. podium. when he did, iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad predictably used his starry moment to tend the world's problems on united states and israel, what he calls the zionist state. when he again questioned 9/11, that prompted the two american delegates to walk out. >> who used the mysterious 9/11 incident to attack afghanistan and iran. killing, injuring and displacing millions in two countries. >> reporter: they turned out not to be the only ones who had enough. the french high-tailed it when he questioned the holocaust. as he continued, there was a flow of pinstripes heading for the exits. giving ahmadinejad the ultimate diplomatic snub. they missed him implying that usama bin laden was murdered to cover up the truth. >> instead of finding him, the fact-finding team they killed the main perpetrator. and through his body -- pushed his body in the sea. >> reporter: outside, protesters announced ahmadinejad even being here. >> he does not belong in the united nations general assembly. he's a terrorist. >> reporter: ahmadinejad did not discuss the release of two american hikers held in iran for two years or iran nuclear program. which many believe is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. spokesman for u.s. ambassador susan rice said instead of addressing the people's aspirations for freedom, ahmadinejad turned to abhorrent antisemitic slurs and disspickabl despicable consy theories. eric shawn, fox news. >> bret: still ahead -- how you can become part of the action surrounding tonight's debate. but first, we talk with one of the debate partners. the executive chairman of google eric schmidt. blank >> bret: two hours and 40 minute from now, we'll be on that stage. a lot will be happening. we're here in orlando. tonight where republican candidatecandidates will debateh other and answer your questions. 9:00 p.m. eastern time. fox news is sponsoring the debate along with republican party of florida and google. the executive chairman of that company eric schmidt joins me here tonight. ill has been an interesting week for you. >> so great to have me on. thank you. anything we can do to get citizens more to tar tis pate in a debate -- participate in a debate is good. >> bret: it's fantastic working with your people. it's been very smooth and hope it goes smooth tonight. you say this is a crowning moment for you for the interaction part of it. >> we always wanted to have more interact i democracy. now with the internet you can really hear from people. so today and the last few weeks we've been accumulating questions from you and people who care. you can vote on them. we had 100,000 votes so far and during the debate we'll see on people vote on questions and after the debate we'll vote on some of the answer. >> bret: fantastic. let me talk about the economy. today was a big day on wall street and bad day on wall street. the dow was down 500 points at one point and finished down almost 400. when you look at the economy, what do you see? >> first, we're in a tough spot. it's obvious. everyone is now figuring it out. what is happening is companies are doing well, but they're not hiring. if they're not hiring, they're not creating consumers. we have a jobs problem. we have a growth problem. we certainly have a long-term entitlement problem. we have to get it fixed. that is a ten-year, five-year kind of a problem. all these with medical scare and so forth. right now, we need some kind of federal stimulus, something to get the economy moval. >> bret: there is a lot of people on the stage tonight who will disagree about the federal stimulus part of it. they will say give companies the environment to make this economy flourish without the federal government. >> i certainly agree with the companies need help. companies create all the jobs. lowering and broadening the corporate tax base for example, something all of us for a long time is a great idea. right now, for a short period of time, the best thing to do is increase demand. government can help there. change payroll tax or loosen the union regulation. there are all sort of steps that the government could take in the sport term to turn it from a long-term unemployment and slow growth to something shorter. >> bret: you were up on capitol hill yesterday testifying. your perception of that and the questions you've got about google and the dominance that google has in this country. >> well, we were happy to be there. the first opportunity we have to talk about google's role. google is 100% focused on what consumers need. my personal view is as long as we make choices for consumer, making the site better, we're solving problems better, we're on the right side of that debate. >> bret: who is your competition? >> of course, microsoft, who knows a lot about this. given they went through this more than ten years ago. but the questions i thought largely reflected the competition questions. they did not focus on the consumer question. and ultimately, businesses succeed because they delight their consumers. >> bret: do you see facebook taking a bigger role? facebook is clearly winning in the internet in a number of areas and have done a particularly good job. their site for example where a majority of the traffic comes from facebook. facebook is a new player. we compete with the guys every day. that is healthy for the economy. >> bret: where do you see the sector that is going to boom the most quickest? you know, where do you think the turn-around will happen first? will it be in your sector? >> obvious, information technology is very strong right now. classic examples of global multinationals which are the u.s. -driven, u.s. jobs primarilych we're hiring, we google are hiring more than 5,000 employees this year i think. in fact, we're ahead of our target in many cases. we're investing in america and outside of america. from my perspective, the other sectors are ones that are the economy of one or another. even financial services which we always argue about. big export oriented. we have advanced manufacturerring technology. did you know that there are advanced manufacturerring jobs shortages in america for the sophisticated things that only america builds. >> bret: when you hear someone saying google is going to take over the world, i'm worried about it. or google, it seem like they're expanding all over the place. how you respond to that? >> information is very important. we have an important role there. google is one of many of the sort of new category of companies that provide information globally. i would argue if google is america's best export, that what we do is getting information to all the people around the world. stuck in the repressive regimes like what you have been covering. it's a good south korea and happy to do it. >> bret: last thing. what are you thinking about tonight and any thoughts about who needs to break out or have a big night? >> i'm looking forward to the debate. what i am particularly looking forward to is the fact we have you running the questions and you have a whole nother set of people, your viewers helping you ask the very best questions in the world. >> bret: a great partnership. thank you. >> thank you, bret. >> bret: appreciate it no grapevine tonight so we can bring you more coverage of this evening's debate. when we come back, you can do more than just watch the event, as we've been talking about here. watching it on television. very interactive. we'll show you exactly how after the break. endless shrimp is ourn at red 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[ male announcer ] provocative. ♪ unexpected. ♪ defiant. ♪ the 42 mile per gallon ct hybrid from lexus. the most fuel-efficient luxury car available. ♪ and just what you need to forge your own path. ♪ you can't change the way banking works. just accept it, man. free ? doesn't close at five ? try nature. it's a bank. what do you want, a hug ? just accept it. hidden fees, fine print, or they'll stick it to you some other way. stay with the herd, son. accept it. just accept it. accept it. just accept it. accept it. if we miss this movie, you're dead. if you're stuck accepting banking nonsense, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. ♪ ♪ >> bret: we're skipping the grapevine tonight to bring you more coverage of tonight's candidate debate. we're about two-and-a-half hours from the start of this evening's event in orlando. you don't have to wait that long to get involved. correspondent shannon bream shows us how. >> reporter: before the debate even kicks off, you can be logged in. at 8:30 p.m. eastern time, log on to youtube.com/foxnews and watch our predebate coverage outlining the holt topics for the night and giving you a sneak peek at thousands of questions submitted from all over the usa. >> on the day of the debate, you will see the information about where the questions came from. what people were concerned about. broken down by state and issue. >> reporter: from solving the debt crisis to national security, see if your biggest concerns are shared by the rest of the country. at 9:00 p.m. eastern the live stream of the debate begins and it's time for you to vote in the polls that run all night long to the right of the screen. immigration, gay marriage, government regulations, weigh in with the click of a mouse. you will be able to share your comments on what is happening during the debate in real time. think one of the candidates nailed a question or blew it big-time? head to the have your say section below the live stream. >> there will be a box there to type in your feedback on the debate. how you think it's going. another feed of what fox commentators are thinking about the debate so far. >> reporter: during the commercial breaks the coverage doesn't stop. we'll bring you up to the minute poll results, talk about your reaction about how the candidates are faring and let you know what is trending online. when the debate wraps the analysis continues with the post debate show streaming live. that is not all. >> the 21st century version of a spin room is the internet. really. so all of the questions will be, the questions and answers will be up on the youtube channel. you can watch each clip and vote on how you think the candidates did and give your feedback on how you think it went. >> reporter: it starts 58:30 eastern tonight. fire up your computer and log on to youtube.com/fox news and get ready to be part of the most international presidential debate ever. in orlando, shannon breem, fox news. >> bret: by the way, that is the press room shannon was standing in. it's getting big reviews from the press. last night, we told you the supreme court had rejected a bid by georgia death row inmate troy davis to stay his execution. that decision actually happened about three hours later. davis was put to death at is 1:08 -- 11:08:00 p.m. eastern wednesday. >> bret: tonight in our series about excessive government regulation, a woman whose department has become the embodiment of that concept to many people. chief washington correspondent james rosen reports on a rough day for the head of the epa. >> we focus on cracking down on the private sector who the job generators. >> do you have an understanding of how the uncertainty that your agent is causing is affecting the businesses in my state? >> what if you are wrong? are you infallible? >> epa chief jackson, her 22nd appearance in the witness chair was the most contentious yet. republicans on the house energy and commerce committee cast jackson as ubeer regulator, oblivious to impact of her policy in time of stubbornly high unemployment. but the witness gave as good as she got, whether defending the clean air act. >> 40-year history shouldn't be ignored just because of doomsday scenarios by those who want to stop public health protections in this room. >> reporter: or invoking last year's deadly b.p. oil spill to rebut republican call for regulation. >> not every deregulatory push works out well for the country or the environment in 2009, a company called another federal agency's rule an unnecessary burden. that agency with us mineral management service and that company was transocean. >> reporter: g.o.p. members seized on president obama rejection this month of the epa proposal for ozone standards. >> you may want to carry out your agenda, even the the president acknowledged you have gone too far. >> on the house floor, lawmakers debated a bill to subject epa rules to new enter agency process to assess cost and benefit and delay implementation of existing rules. bret? >> bret: thank you, james. we're at the site of the debate tonight. this is the south concourse of the orange county convention center. i want to give you a sense of how big this place is. look at this. the sea of chairs. i think there are 6,000 chairs in here. it's amazing facility. it will be packed tonight. it's a tough ticket to get here in orlando. behind me, you see the stage with the various screens because we're playing a lot of those youtube videos. 19,000 submitted. there you see the stage in background. the all-star panel comes up right after the break. ♪ don't you cry ♪ soon the sun ♪ is going to shine ♪ [ male announcer ] toyota presents the prius family. ♪ walk if i want, talk if i want ♪ [ male announcer ] there's the original one... the bigger one... the smaller one... and the one that plugs in. they're all a little different, just like us. they're all a little different, [ cat meows ] ♪ [ acoustic guitar: pop ] [ woman ] ♪ i just want to be okay ks ] ♪ be okay, be okay ♪ i just want to be okay today - ♪ i just want to knowoday - [ whistles ] ♪ know today,now today - [ cat ows ] - ♪ know th maybe i will be okay ♪ [ chimes ] travelers can lp you protect the things you care about... and save money wi multi-policy discounts. are you getting the coverage you need... and the discounts you deserve? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-coverage... or visit travelers.com. we are now printing on the back sides of used paper. and we switched to fedex 'cause a lot of their packaging contains recycled materials. tell them what else fedex does. well we're now using more electric trucks and lower emission planes. we even offer a reusable envelope. now, can't we at least print on the back sides of used paper? what's the executive compensation list...? [ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. mr. boehne mr. mcconnl, help us rebud ts brie. helps rebuildmeri. help u put conruction rkerback t work. ss thisill. >>o i woulduggest mrpresentou think about ways to actually hp the peoplef ktuck a ohio. instd of h youanse the roads or bridges as a backdrop to make a political point. >> bret: talking bridges today. the president traveling to ohio. the spence bridge, actually belongs to kentucky. but the votes, the electoral votes really matter in ohio. the president traveling there saying the bridge needs to be fixed. this comes on a day where the market took a big dive. down 391 points. at one point in the day it was down 500 points. concerns in europe and the euro zone very much a part of that. bring in the panel on how it fits in. steve hayes for "weekly standard." susan pariccio for "washington examiner." jeff downey, the political correspondent for "new york times." >> start with you. back and forth about the president pushing the new stimulus package, the jobs bill. how is it playing? the economy is sending shockwaves around the country. >> given where the president was today, it's a tough sell for him. people have shown skepticism of the first round of stimulus funding. nothing is identified as much as infrastructure project. not to say there aren't infrastructure needs but as a political argument, i don't think it necessarily helps the president. in this context especially, today, with what we saw on the dow with fears overseas, it made president look small to give a speech in front of a bridge when you have global recession fears and people making apocalyptic predictions about where the world economy is going and the president is standing in front of a bridge. i don't think it was what they probably had in mind when they envisioned doing this kind of a photo op. >> bret: susan, the president and his aids said that this time is going to be different. they are going to get out and hammer this thing to try to influence public opinion. they are going to go to districts where they're falling down bridges and really go after those small makers. is that selling in this environment? same question, i guess. >> look at the poll numbers. people are starting to blame obama for the economy. >> bret: put up that poll. gallup poll. 53% now that the economy is president obama's and still president bush's is still 60%s. >> if it was take an few years ago most of the blame was heaped on president bush. now people say obama owns this and he should do something more. if you get more than 50% of the folks saying it, this is his problem. another issue with him standing up in front of a bridge, republicans are just arguing back saying that even this bridge is not shovel-ready project. trying to pump money in programs that weren't ready to go and didn't create jobs he said they would create. this bridge is a prime example. it's not scheduled for any significant work until 2015. that is not going to create jobs right away. so republicans immediately hit back on that. they are hitting back hard on this. this is a tough sell. >> bret: jeff, there is such a hunger on the left for the president to get tough, to pull his harry truema truman oud start running like that. is he doing it and is it working? >> he is in some respects. we saw last week in the rose garden -- actually, this week in rose garden. a lot of democrats like that fiery talk. he does it when he goes across the country and sells it. it works with his base. the white house uses it as a multistep process. one problem is reenergizing the base. so when he goes to a district like this, ohio, pivotal swing state, democrat there will like the talk. the speech is not designed to win over senator mcconnell or win over speaker boehner but it was designed to rally the democrats, who are quietly upset because republican is in the governor's race, the republicans had a good year. obama administration is also focused on the unemployment rate in the battleground state. ohio is higher than the national average. michigan is higher than the national average. look for him to go to places at least he can't fix the problem but a lot of democrats want him to at least be talking about jobs. >> bret: you can hear the crowd behind us. i think you can hear that. they have open up the doors. thousands of people streaming in. i think we'll have more than 5,000 in the debate, maybe 6,000 in that room. susan, how does this play tonight? obviously the economy and jobs drives the day. paint the picture of who needs the big night tonight? >> clearly everyone is going to be watching rick perry to see how he handles the hits he is most surely going to take from mitt romney and michele bachmann. he stole thunder from michele bachmann when he jumped in the race. he stole her con touch whensy. with mitt romney, he is within striking distance. new polling out today. shows him really right up there with perry. it's clearly almost a two-man race at this point. you will see romney taking swings at perry. they're going to be talking jobs creation for sure. >> bret: a lot of viewers get upset, steve, when anybody mentions two-man race, because obviously there are nine candidates on the stage. any one of them could have a big night. >> it's true. i'm as sympathetic to the arguments we're hearing from the other candidates as any, but the fact given the look at the national polls, state-by-state polling the facts suggests it's whittled down to a two-man race largely. didn't mean somebody couldn't emerge but it's unlikely. i expect rick perry to be more aggressionive. his tone -- >> he said as much. he said i've been a pinata and ready to swing back. >> he took shots from everybody in the past couple of debates. he is ready to highlight some of the contrast he'd like people to talk about with mitt romney. particularly his healthcare plan and others. >> bret: last word. >> i think steve is right. no question the governor perry was a little take ain back by the criticism coming from all sides. he is not used to that. he has been governor for a long time. he is going to fire back tonight. i think really show mitt romney what mitt romney has not seen so far in this campaign. a lot of incoming fire. see how he responds to that. >> bret: it is going to be exciting. the countdown is on. we have so many moving parts it's exciting for me, too. hopefully they all work. next up, debate panel and someone who is in every debate question meeting to talk about the big night. blank >> bret: t-minus two hours, 11 minutes. countdown is on. we filled that stagement little bstage -- wefilled the s. it will be exciting. we have a gallup poll, look at the field and how it's stacking up now. rick perry has a lead in the poll, 31% over mitt romney at 24. you can see the rest, congressman ron paul, michele bachmann at 5%. newt gingrich, 5%. herman cain, rick santorum, jon huntsman, 1%. plus or minus 6% in that particular poll. that is how they are stacking up here. a lot of excitement. welcome back to orlando. i'm joined now by three of my fox news colleagues. stirewalt, fox news politics editor digital, who is in every question meeting. megyn kelly, host of "america live" on weekdays, 1:00 p.m. eastern. and chris wallace, host of "fox news sunday." we're getting ready. go down the questions first? >> put it all out there. >> everybody does better on a test if they have the questions. >> folks, if i look particularly dashing tonight it's because i spilled food all over my thigh. tie. i'm wearing a bret baier tie tonight. i'm halfway there. >> that is really big of you to admit. you usually don't admit those things. >> he got in the audience's head. look how dashing that wallace is again. >> he's sympathetic. this is your first run on the debate. a lot of preparation and your thoughts how it's gone so far. >> for us? >> yeah. >> pretty well. i was amazed to join the debate team and how much work goes into it. every day i put on a go-hour show and we do a lot of work, it's mad scramble, sprint. for this, we have been meeting for weeks. everybody has the news of the day. everything has been so many sajed and gotten down to like the -- massaged and gotten down to the best questions we could get i feel they're the best they could be. >> you were in the question meetings and helped us form them. it's unique we have so many questions from youtube. 19,000 submissions. 100,000 plus votes. >> let me tell you, the thing that is most impressive to me, you build question like steel trap. you look for crafty questions what politicians can't wiggle out. the americans are saying answer this straight-forward question i. we have a tendency to outsmart ourselves as journalists. the people say answer this straight forward simple question and it's powerful because it comes from someone as the attorney with us would say they have standing in the case. citizen or a voter. >> we saw polls going in but once you go on the stage it's anybody's ballgame. >> absolutely. dynamic is such that perry has not he battling in the two debate but he has shown vulnerabilities. you can see that. the latest poll up by double digits and now is up by six or eight points. he feels like talk to him today, all candidates come to the stage to check out the podium, check out the lighting and i went to see him. he said for the last two debates, the last two weeks i been a pinata. new kid on the block. serve taking shots at me. tonight is going to be different. i expect to see rick perry fire back and romney fire back at michele bachmann and fire back at rick santorum. i think this will be a fire zone tonight >> i think he is right. i think the stakes are high. not just for the other candidates but rick perry in particular. he got a complete pass, not a complete pass but more of a pass because he was a new guy. like me tonight. right? >> are you suggesting we give you a pass? >> i don't know. really the audience. >> you know, it's like well, he has been governor of texas. how much should and could he know about foreign policy for example? that's gone now. now he is in the race and third time around. he has to bring it. pressure on him. >> chris about that issue. foreign policy questions versus domestic. we saw the economy today and the market. that just sends ripples around the country about people that are already concerned about jobs and the economy. >> face it. the work you're doing tonight becomes more serious. because people now believe that we really are if not already in a double-dip recession, it is about to happen there is serious concern in the country. people want to see a leader rise. republicans want tonight to see a leader stride out on the stage. they feel confident can go out and beat barack obama and turn the country around. stakes are big. people feel it. reflective in the youtube questions and it adds gravity to your mission tonight. >> bret: the criticism of the debate format is that they never get enough time for the answers. you know, they never get enough time to go substantive in the debates. is there is a lot of people on the stage. >> there is nine people on the stage. a that a whole lot of people. if you take a minute a time to get around. but this is the end of the beginning, if you think of it that way. we're in next phase. this is the pivotal moment as we transition from early going to heart of this race. you guys have a chance tonight to set the course with those candidates. >> bret: the other thing, chris, the candidates themselves agree to the rules and really set the time frame. we could go on for three hour hours. if we wanted to. >> or more. >> bret: with questions. >> they push back. >> the other thing we have a choice. we could say you could be 5% of the poll and we'd have five candidates on there. this point we're still in september of the year before the election. i think it's more important to be more inclusive, have more'm on the stage. yes, the answers will be shorter. but i think it's more important for viewer to see gee, i'm going to see rick santorum rather than just hey, the front-runner, polls spoken and the pundits spoken and not going to let you see the candidates. >> one thing, bret, on the time that the candidates get. no, it's not enough. but i would urge them to do and you gave this admonishment before the last debate get off the talking point and actually answer the question that are asked. because we and the viewers who shuted questions have put a lot of thought into these. they owe it to in particular the audience to answer the question and not give us the talking point we heard on the campaign trail for weeks. that is their responsibility. >> bret: i don't know. it might not do the preamble tonight. >> i did it for you. done. >> bret: last word, chris. quick. >> dynamite night. heavyweight fight. jealous that you get a fantastic front row seat. great. >> bret: it will be fun. see you in a bit. thank you very much. that's it for the panel. stay tuned to learn how you can participate in tonight's debate. keep it here. and see katie before she goes home. 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[ engine revving ] when you pursue industry-leading safety, you don't just engineer breakthroughs in simulation technology, you engineer amazing. ♪ >> looking live inside the debate hall, it is a massive area. we showed it to you earlier. and people are just starting to file in. i think more than 5,000 will be there. finally, one last invitation for you to be a part of tonight's show, surrounding our presidential candidate debate in just a couple of hours. we've done everything very different. asking you to submit questions for the candidates or vote on the ones you like the most. but even if you did not participate in that part of it, you can still get involved in the interactivity going on right before, during, and after the debate. we hope you will. shannon bream will be reading