let's go "out front." i'm erin burnett. "out front" tonight, the u.s. pullout of iraq and its final hours. in 19 days all troops will be out. iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki traveled to washington to meet president obama today. >> this is a historic moment. a war is ending. a new day is upon us. and let us never forget those who gave us this chance. the untold number of iraqis who have given their lives. more than 1 million americans, military and civilian, who have served in iraq. nearly 4,500 fallen americans who gave their last full measure of devotion. we have a moral obligation to all of them to build a future worthy of their sacrifice. >> the two leaders laid a wreath at arlington national cemetery for the close to 4,500 troops who did lose their lives in iraq. but with 16,000 americans slated to remain, none of whom will be military, some are worried that america has made the wrong call in pulling troops out. one of those concerned is former vice president dick cheney. i asked him earlier about the president's decision to pull all troops out of iraq this year. >> you look at the broader area out there, we're now in a situation where we're pulling all of our troops out of iraq, period no, stay-behind force. he's trying also to accelerate the withdrawal from afghanistan. he's -- after he put forces in on a surge basis, he's taking them out early. >> right. >> it generally looks like a u.s. withdrawal from the region. and add to that the fact that the iranians are actively pursuing nuclear weapons. and i think it diminishes the u.s. presence, it reduces our leverage, it in effect is going to significantly alter our position in that part of the world and i think that's a mistake. >> the vice president did give some credit to the war in iraq for influencing the arab spring. but i asked him if he had any regrets about his decision to invade iraq, a sort of be careful what you wish for if extremists end up in charge. does it make you worry, though, maybe a case of looking back, gosh, i didn't know what i was wishing for. in the sense that dem accuracy in that region may end up putting extremists in power. people may choose something that a lot of the world would say, i can't believe you're choosing. if they choose it in a democrat infashion, they choose muslim brotherhood or extremists, we have to accept it, don't we? >> that's not the way i look at it. in saddam hussein you had terrible dictatorial operation. that cost thousands and thousands of lives. and you got rid of the worst offender. and having done that, and we obviously were part of that, we helped lead the effort, then it was important to help the iraqis establish something better to replace it. they had a constitutional convention. they wrote a constitution. they held three national elections. four now, i believe. they opted for democracy. and that's good. that's positive benefit. i think when somebody does that, the united states needs to do -- stand up and support it. especially when we had a hand in getting rid of the old regime. we had an obligation. >> let me play for you what the president said today about the drone, which is one of the most recent incidents with iran, our highly sophisticated -- rq-170 sentinel which went down intact with its crucial radar-evading technology. here's what the president had to say about it today. >> with respect to the drone inside of iran, i'm not going to comment on intelligence matters that are classified. as has already been indicated, we have asked for it back. we'll see how the iranians respond. >> they're going to respond by not giving it back to us, i would assume? >> i would assume that's the case. or they'll send it back in pieces after they've gotten all the intelligence they can out of it. the right response to that would have been to go in immediately after it had gone down and destroy it. you can do that from the air. you can do that with a quick air strike. and in effect make it impossible for them to benefit from having captured that drone. i was told that the president had three options on his desk. he rejected all of them. >> and they all involved removing is drone immediately? >> they all involved sending somebody in to try to recover it, or if you can't do that, admittedly that would be a difficult operation, you certainly could have gone in and destroyed it on the ground with an air strike. but he didn't take any of the options. he asked for them to return it and they aren't going to do that. >> should the united states now be intervening in syria? >> well, i think bashir assad is a bad actor without question. i think what we ought to do is try and support the efforts that are under way bit arab league. one of the intriguing developments there has been that a lot of the nations in the region have turned on assad. so that saudis as well as a lot of the gulf states have gotten much, much tougher with the syrians. called on them to stop killing their people. i think we ought to work through that effort and try to support and channel those efforts to see if we can't get rid of assad. >> a no-fly zone or some other kind of a -- >> i'm not in the loop these days on what's going on in the intelligence arena out there. but i think we definitely ought to come down on the side of replacing assad, of supporting those who want to change the regime and clearly an awful lot of syrians do because they've been in the streets. >> that's right. in your book, you talk about you knew newt gingrich, know newt gingrich. >> old friend. >> is he your guy? does he have your vote? >> i have not endorsed anybody. i've stayed religiously out of the fray on our side this year. i've been trying to sell books. and that's where my effort's been focused. >> there's a conventional wisdom, though, that newt gingrich will cut his own legs off at some point, and that while he may sweep through the primary season, mitt romney's the guy you have that's actually electable versus barack obama. is that a load of -- something, manure? >> i have not endorsed anybody on it'ser side. the thing i remember about newt, we came to congress together at the same time. '70. >> right. >> when newt showed up he said, we can become the majority, we can take back the house of representatives. we hadn't had the house since the 1940s. and initially, none of us believed it. but he was persistent and he was tenacious. he kept it up, kept it up, kept it up. finally by '94 he's the newly elected speaker of the house of representatives with a republican majority. so i wouldn't underestimate him. >> all right. good luck with your book sales and thank you so much. appreciate it, mr. vice president. dayne's new back is called "in my time." obviously on bookshelves now. >> next you're going to hear him weigh in on whether barack obama should replace biden with one of the clintons and see if you can guess which one as his vp. also ahead the fight over the payroll tax cut. again, washington unable to act. also, one man who says, "the iranian thing is very simple." that's newt's view. 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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor if cialis for daily use is right for you. for a 30-tablet free trial offer, go to cialis.com. the dow closed down 162 points today. amid concerns that last week's eurozone deal won't do enough to actually do anything for europe. it's a fair concern. standard & poor's put 15 eurozone countries on watch for potential downgrades. moody's says it's going to review ratings for all eu nations. that's bad for americans and american companies because we do a lot of business over there. it's disastrous for europe's leaders when it comes to their re-election. which brings us to tonight's "number." 26. that's the percent that nicolas sarkozy is currently polling at in france, going into next year's presidential election. there he is with his beautiful half, carla bruni. according to a french newspaper, sarkozy has told friends he's put all his egg in this one basket and if france's economy is downgraded he's currently dead. he's behind the front-runner who said if he wins the re-election he'll definitely renegotiate the eu deal. that's something the french prime minister thinks will cause even more instability because the markets won't take the deal seriously if they don't think it will last. the market's very, very jittery about that. but interesting to see that sarkozy is not in the lead. the front run are here in the united states facing off with the guy in the back of the pack. republican presidential candidates newt gingrich and jon huntsman wrapping up a lincoln douglas-style debate less than two hours ago. the format really different from what we've seen before. maybe it doesn't lead for sound bites but more substance. no whistles no, lightning rounds of 20 seconds or whatever it is. the debate touched on a few topicth but the subject of iran got them worked up the most. >> i think the iranian thing is very simple. are you willing to accept them having nuclear weapons or not willing to accept nuclear weapons? everything else becomes second. >> the united states is going to have to be ready to confront the reality of what to do. and in this case, you then have to say, as the speaker mentioned, the question for all of us in this country is, can we live with a nuclear iran? >> it's a big question. it's one we may not control the answer to anymore. and despite their very different standing in the polls the former speaker and the former utah governor actually showed a lot of common ground today. but really when it comes to jon huntsman, does this move him up? i mean, he's one of the guys who hasn't yet been at the top. jamal simmons is a democratic strategist. nancy is a republican strategist. john you wrote a piece saying it's time for the gop to take another look at jon huntsman. does he have a shot? >> he's put all his eggth on the state of new hampshire. that is his whole deal. this was a good day for him. he's onstage with the front-runner newt gingrich in a debate that was civil and substantive and that plays to his strengths. he's got a long way to go. i think serious should give him a second shot. >> what do you think about that, nancy? will they? >> oh, they might. i mean, i have to say that this debate was handing huntsman a real face card in this poker match. i mean, he got on the stage and was treated seriously and was able to discuss very important issues at great length with the front-runner. so that was a huge plus. it was also a chess move in my opinion against romney. because really, you've got -- new hampshire has been romney's firewall, if you will, against a potential loss in iowa and a potential loss in south carolina. if these two can edge his chances out in new hampshire, i think he could be over. >> john, let me ask you, talking about iowa, gingrich on top. you know who's been gaining, somebody that a lot of people have counted as out, rick perry. what's he gone, from 5% to 13% in one month. >> a pretty significant bump and it is some signee van gel calls are coalescing around his candidacy, which is his only play. he's going to be camping out, doing a two-week bus tour. there's some signs of newt erosion in these polls, he's down slightly. romney station steady, slate decline. ron paul hanging in there, don't count out ron paul. >> jamal, what do you think about what might happen here? some people like to say, i know jon huntsman obviously is among them, we'll look at barack obama last time around, sure action people don't count me in now but i could surge. who do you think the white house is most afraid of in a general election? is it jon huntsman? >>er rip, think every time the white house sees the republicans sort of get up on the stage they probably become a little less afraid of each one. the problem for huntsman is when the lights come on brightly, newt gingrich grows in the light. jon huntsman wills a little bit. he just doesn't really have that force of personality that i think americans are used to seeing in a president. i listen to him, watched some of this debate, most of this debate today. i'm kind of a nerd, i like policy, so it was very interesting to me -- >> you needed to be to watch this one, which as damning indictment of the media. >> i know it. it was sort of interesting to me, but i can't imagine that most americans would sit through it. if americans aren't ready to have the kind of discussion that those two people had today, they're ready to do that for the next 11 months, we could all end up a lot better off. i'm just not sure our media culture is going to get us there. >> john, you heard dick cheney saying he's known newt gingrich since 1978, he's a guy who said we could do things we didn't expect, like take over washington, don't underestimate the guy. >> yeah. >> don't be so sure he'll say something silly like he's done before and hurt himself. >> that's the key. he does have that vision. i mean, '78 to say republicans could retake the house was crazy. this summer, when he was fired by his whole campaign senior staff, and he said i'm going to keep doing it. >> look at him now. >> you've got to give him credit. >> i want to play something else that the vice president dick cheney said about your guy. and who he might pick as his vp. here he is. >> and advice i'd give barack obama today would be, take a look at it. because there are a lot of good people out there. and it's not personal. you go out and find the best candidate you can to run. and maybe, if he goes through that process, he'd end up with joe biden. on the other hand, there are people like hillary clinton, for example, your first woman vice president, that might have a certain appeal. and so -- >> she's done well the past few years in her job. >> i think there's a general view that she's probably the best they've got. >> he went on to joke that him saying that, jamal, was probably the worst thing that could possibly happen for hillary clinton. but do you think the president is seriously thinking about a change like that on his ticket to energize democrats? >> this is a little bit of deja vu all over again. i can remember in 2004 when democrats were sitting around wondering if george bush would dump dick cheney and pick condoleezza rice to be on his ticket, which they thought would kill the democratic chance to beat bush. the problem for the president is the president, if he changes horses right now and looks like a hail mary pass, i think based upon where the republicans are right now, barack obama's not in a position where he has to throw a hail mary pass. the conservatives' newfound love of hillary clinton is hilarious. >> quick word. >> wait a second, if you dial back to 2008, i remember when the entire exodus occurred of the hillary clinton supporters to john mccain because they felt she had been treated poorly. they have tremendous respect for her. i do think it is an incredibly dicey maneuver for the president. but i think that they would pick up the over 35 female vote that has become pretty much solidified against them. so i have to say it is fun. >> that's an old wives' tale. there's like 47 women -- >> i'm not going to stand for that. >> all right, we'll take this outside. >> 47 people in the democratic party who left the party because hillary clinton didn't win. we have all their names and numbers. >> only 47 -- >> i don't agree with you. >> i think there's hyperbole on this show but we're going to have you back, we'll keep talking about it. >> all right, thank you. >> thanks to all three. "the russian risk" on the unrest, the uncertainty and the future of what some say machine a crumbling kremlin. this weekend an unbelievable show of defiance. tens of thousands of people took to the streets to contest election resultth for the parliament. results many say were fixed to keep vladamir putin and his party in power. russia is the number one oil exporter in the world are the country has about 18,000 nuclear warheads. and right now, it's facing its worst crisis in decades and that is saying something. putin, a man who flexes his muscles for the camera and his country, is running for president. i thought we'd have a topless shot there, we usually do. if he thinks he's larger than life he should check out the guy who just announced he's going to challenge him. this is meek detail period of time rokorov, a billionaire many times over, a playboy. he owns the nba nets. could a basketball mogul run russia? he's a mowing bull who wants more than money. he wants power and to take on putin. high stakes for everyone, and perhaps an exciting race. is it worth it and can he really win? i asked an expert on russia. >> i think this is very significant for putin. this represents the first time that the system he has constructed, the system in which a certain elite set at the top benefit but some of those benefits are shared all the way down. this is fundamentally being shaken. this is one of the guys who has benefited all along from the putin system. he is coming in and he is seeking to change the system. whether he does it inside through a deal with putin or he does it by trying to ride this wave of public protest almost doesn't matter. this is putin acknowledging or being forced to acknowledge that the system needs to change and that's very significant. >> despite an outcry over the election an aide to putin says the votes will stand. next on "out front," the payroll tax countdown. washington will get this one done, that's our bet. but will they pay for it or just put us more in debt to china? we can't resist the winter warfare between south and north korea. it's definitely making the christmas season more interesting. confidence. available in color. depend for women is now peach. looks and fits like underwear. same great protection. depend. good morning. great day. ail. certified. international. and the mailman picks it up. i don't leave the shop anymore. [ male announcer ] get a 4-week trial plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. now a story we can't resist. there are new reports that north korea has threatened south korea with military action. why? for using psy