does. they are not giving the president a pass for being just like every other politician. the first ten minutes of this film you think it s the obama election campaign. we go back with all the crowds in 2008, all the remotion. we found from the focus groups these people were emotionally invested in someone who was going to bring change, fix the economy, unite the count throw and they went all out in their support. this is where the ark of their lives and the country is that they did not unite the country and he has not spent his time or focused what they wanted him to focus on which is jobs in the economy. megyn: there s been a debate, including today between the two candidates between whether or not president obama has been devisive. you asked these folks whether he has been devisive and there has been too much class war rhetoric. at first i thought obama when he first came into office was making things better and bringing people together. but my strong belief is he s made it wor
it is a weird and delicate ballet, a phrase i have been using a lot lately, in terms of how mitt romney deals with this. on one hand, he can t give the president a pass and say look, europe is sort of, you know, the conditions over there will have an effect on us over here and sort of take that arrow out of his quiver. at the same time, he doesn t really have a prescription to solve what s going on over there or potentially any sort of i mean, the u.s. president, if you believe what biddle is saying, the president s hands are effectively tied in terms of influencing rowdy greeks. i will play off your comments again. we like it like that. it s like a ping-pong game. the european backdrop provides context for a debate we re going to have. it will be a very profound debate. if romney truly embraces ryan, the ryan plan, which he has, he has not done it with total specificity but he basically is boxed in where he has to, that next to the obama plan for the economy, that is a radic
rate through the end of the year. that s the real issue. and i think the burden will be on the republican candidate not to give the president a pass on the economy like this for three years. kim, what are the politics of an economy in this kind of shape, running in the election? i think the risk here is that republicans simply decide that thr he going to try it make this a referendum on the president, on the basis of the coaters like this, keeping a close eye on the unemployment rate, and long gas prices and the problem with na, the news begins to improve a little bit. he turns around and says, look, it s not so bad after all. what they re going to have to do is what dan just said. they have to make this about a choice, a choice of vision and focus on the policies he s he had and say that this is not good enough economic growth overall, we offer a different way ford and that s going to be the way that they can win in the fall, not just simply by bashing on 8.3% unemployment or 3.8
rate through the end of the year. that s the real issue. and i think the burden will be on the republican candidate not to give the president a pass on the economy like this for three years. kim, what are the politics of an economy in this kind of shape, running in the election? i think the risk here is that republicans simply decide that thr he going to try it make this a referendum on the president, on the basis of the coaters like this, keeping a close eye on the unemployment rate, and long gas prices and the problem with na, the news begins to improve a little bit. he turns around and says, look, it s not so bad after all. what they re going to have to do is what dan just said. they have to make this about a choice, a choice of vision and focus on the policies he s he had and say that this is not good enough economic growth overall, we offer a different way ford and that s going to be the way that they can win in the fall, not just simply by bashing on 8.3% unemployment or 3.8
with a tea party candidate. but also if elizabeth warren beats scott brown in massachusetts, that could upset some of the arithmetic. megyn: all right, guys. thank you for the preview. it s interesting. you bet. megyn: chris christie insists that he is not running for president, but he s not giving the current president a pass on his performance. and still we continue to wait and hope that our president will finally stop being a bystander in the oval office. megyn: just ahead, the white house responding to that directly and what it means for the president s re-election effort. plus, an american engineer arrested for an alleged plot to bomb washington, d.c. landmarks. new detail on his elaborate plan, three minutes awayment [ male announcer ] to the 5:00 a.m. scholar.