last summer but came in dead last in the caucuses last night among the candidates competing there. she said on this program she was going to south carolina. she had the media advisory, a couple of events wednesday and thursday but now the news this morning she is going to suspend her campaign, at least for now. jon: you see the podium waiting for the minnesota congresswoman to make this announcement. let's go to the winners in iowa first. mitt romney, rick santorum, ron paul in the top tier. the race very, very tight. just eight votes separating romney and a surging santorum. >> rick did i think a heroic job going across the entire state. devoted his energies to the state of iowa. during the same time period i've been building a national campaign team going to the a bunch of states and of course pulledding a fund-raising organization that will help me down the road and if i'm the nominee. jenna: santorum says it is game on now. romney set to pick up an endorsement today from john mccain, his challenger in 2008 and the last republican presidential nominee. today santorum weighed in on that news. >> john mccain is a great man. someone who was honor to serve with. he has served this country and sacrificed more than frankly anybody that i have had the privilege to know in any way and so i, i commend governor romney for getting his endorsement. i'm not surprised by it. john is a more moderate member of the republican team. jenna: back to iowa in a moment. we see waiting for the congresswoman. we'll go to d.c. where we find our chief washington correspondent james rosen with more on all of this hi, james. >> reporter: jenna, good morning. iowa is famous for winnowing the field of primary candidates. this year the hawkeye state is running true tomorrow to. one candidate still in the hunt is texas congressman ron paul who finished third. paul's ground game turned out 4,000 fewer votes than romney and santorum. a surprise to ed rollins who predicted paul would win. gingrich told supporters he is marching on to new hampshire and he again contrasted himself, quote, reagan conservative with mitt romney, a quote, the massachusetts moderate. in his remarks last night however rick perry suggested he may pack it in. just hours after his campaign had begun purchasing tv time in south carolina. >> with the voters decision tonight in iowa, i decided to return to texas, assess the results of tonight's caucus, determine whether there is a path forward for myself in this race. >> reporter: jon huntsman forfeited iowa although he still collected 745 votes there and placing all his chips on new hampshire, the first primary contest next tuesday. campaigning in peter borrow, the former utah governor was asked when he would say to the winner in iowa. welcome to new hampshire. nobody cares. how he would differentiate himself from governor romney. i could get elected and he hasn't been quote, on three sides of all issues. bottom line if you've grown addicted to the information overload and intramural sniping of this 2012 cycle, stay tuned, more fat feasts await. jon and jenna. jenna: no one puts quite like you, james. we're thankful. james rosen in d.c. more from james throughout the next couple months on this campaign. we're ready for it. jon: well, it is a bittersweet day for the supporters of michele bachmann. maybe more better than really any sweet at all. maybe that is just not the right term to use. we are expecting her to step up in that podium in des moines any moment now and announce she is suspending her campaign after she told us yesterday she had her tickets booked for south carolina and would continue to fight on. let's talk more about the results from the iowa caucuses. david drucker joins us. he is a staff writer for "roll call." a lot of people wonder why not soldier on if you're michele bachmann. you have a couple of debates coming up this weekend, some opportunity for free television exposure. wouldn't really cost that much to continue on in the race and maybe pick up some support. is that unrealistic, david? >> i think it was. coming out of the iowa caucuses she was supposed to have her best chance propelling herself into the race. don't forget she won the straw poll back in august. it was clear she wasn't well-received by the voters. they just weren't interested. if you want to soldier on you need money. she doesn't have any. she will have to go deep into debt. heading into new hampshire she was clearly not going to go because she wasn't going to pick up any support, going to south carolina would not do her any good because they're greatly influenced by success and performance in iowa and new hampshire. south carolinaians want to elect somebody that can actually win the general election. michele bachmann hasn't proven she can do any of that. her and her team understand the position she is in. that is why she is poised to drop out. jon: our steve brown is telling us now it is expected to be 10 minutes before she takes to the podium. she is running 15 minutes behind schedule. she was a favorite of the tea party movement, david. does this suggest that the tea party influence is on the decline? >> no. i think there were a lot of candidates in the race that were able to grab the tea party mantle. just after michele bachmann won that straw poll, governor perry got into the race. he has been a favorite of the tea party since the inception of the movement and he was able to grab that from her. basically with conservatives and tea party activists and people not interested in mitt romney have been doing going from candidate to candidate. they loved michele bachmann. they weren't sure she could be president. they had somebody in governor perry here is a guy we like and could be president. he faltered. said things that rubbed them the wrong way. they went to herman cain. he fall erred. and they have moved on to rick santorum. this is just a process. you can't lose early states and stay in simply because there are more primaries to come. you need to show support. you need to raise money. you need to show you can win. that's why these early contests are crucial. jon: talk about the winners, rick santorum among them, whether he came in eight votes behind mitt romney or not, effect tiffly tied for first place. that is the pretty stunning achievement, isn't it? >> he did a great job. nobody gave hem a chance to do anything myself included. we'll have to see rick santorum going forward can he take a punch. his surge, he should get all the credit for the hard campaign. he clearly connected with iowa voters. he was able to do so without anybody paying attention to him. without his competitors trying to tear him down. rick perry tried to do a little over the last few days of the campaign but nobody really went after him. the question, can he take a punch? a lot of the other candidates haven't been able to. will his message transfer in new hampshire and florida and son other states. it will translate into south carolina. he would have a do well next week to avoid everybody saying the iowa victory was a one-hit wonder. jon: interesting the sound, mitt romney. he congratulated. stayed positive about santorum but you said he has been working state really hard and i've been focusing building a national organization. that is kind of a backhanded compliment you might say. david drucker from "roll call." thank you. >> anytime. thank you. jenna: we'll look for more backhanded compliments. jon: there will be more down the way. jenna: we'll have a tea party panel coming up about where they see themselves in this campaign. is it newt gingrich? is that where they're going next or rick santorum? speaking of newt gingrich. he is reacting the results of iowa caucuses. praising one of his opponents but many explanationing several others. rick folbaum has more on this part of the race. >> hi, jenna. the former speaker urged all the fellow candidates to follow ronald reagan's rule not attacking a fellow republican that. was when he was leading in the polls. now he is near the bottom of the pack the gloves are off. yesterday newt gingrich calling mitt romney a liar. then last night after placing fourth in iowa he announced he would continue to slam the former massachusetts governor. he says there is one key question. >> whether this party wants a reagan conservative who helped change washington in the 1980s as ronald reagan and helped change washington in 1990s as speaker of the "house." somebody who into changing washington. whether we want a massachusetts moderate will be good ad managing the decay but given no evidence of his years at massachusetts any ability to change the culture or change the political structure or change the government. >> don't call him nasty. gingrich says he is telling the truth. >> it sound negative that is because romney's record is negative. who benefits most if gingrich goes after romney in print and television ads? rick santorum, last night's second quarter place finisher who came close to winning the thing. gingrich was glowing in talking about his rival from pennsylvania. >> rick santorum, he waged a great, positive campaign. [applause] i served with rick. we've had a great relationship over the years. and i admire the courage, the discipline, the way he focused and i also admire howe positive it was. i wish i could say that for all the candidates. >> as for ron paul, gingrich said his foreign policies ideas are dangerous for the u.s.. mitt romney, might want to brace himself as the former speaker gears up to save his campaign no matter how he has to do it. jenna. jenna: will be interesting to watch. rick, thank you very much. we're awaiting congresswoman bachmann in iowa. i saw someone step to the podium to give us the two minute warning. we give cover her at any moment. everyone tries to stretch a buck and some campaigns are doing a better job than others. we saw this in the "washington post" today. texas governor rick perry spending the most in iowa, about $4.5 million on media. divide that number, divide that by the number of votes he got and it comes to $364 each. that is the jon scott vote, right? $364. jon: i couldn't afford that. jenna: next up, mitt romney, the former governor of mass as -- massachusetts. won iowa eight votes. each vote costing him $49. rick santorum though got the best value by far. according to what we're looking at here, the former senator of pennsylvania coming in second place, spending just over $21,000 in iowa. winning over 29000 votes. that means each vote he got cost him 73 cents. jon: how many pair of shoes did he go through visiting all 9 counties in that state? jenna: sweater vests. that is his trademark. jon: he is little engine that could. he is plugging away in iowa a long time. last night it paid off for him. we're continuing to watch for michele bachmann. when she speaks we'll take you back there live to des moines. right now president obama is taking his economic message and a controversial appointment to ohio. that critical swing state is one that he won in 2008. he's expected to speak there this afternoon and he will challenge his republican rivals on the economy in this his first presidential trip of the new year. ed henry, live at the white house with more on what the president is up to today. ed? >> reporter: good to see you, jon. yes, this is the most aggressive of aspect we can't wait campaign we've seen from the president, basically using his executive authority to use a recess appointment while congress is out right now in order to get richard cordray in as a new consumer protection chief. why this is so controversial among republicans is that this is an outgrowth, this consumer protection office of the controversial dodd-frank wall street reform bill. republicans need to there needs to be more accountability to this new office before somebody is appointed and installed there. they think this office could end up issuing all kinds of regulations that will choke off businesses. the white house view is they have the authority to move forward here. republicans were blocking the president's nomination and they want to make sure consumers have new protections in place in this tough economy. all of this in the backdrop of enabling the president to portray himself, continue to do as we've seen before as a warrior for the middle class. he is doing it today in ohio, traveling aboard air force one with richard cordray. cordray is the former attorney general in ohio. last night while all you will iowa caucuses were playing out, the drama on the republican side, the president was here in washington with a live webcast with iowa democrats who were caucusing for him. his message he is not waiting around for congress. he wants more time in office to get more done. take a listen. >> the main message we're going to have in 2012, that we've done a lot but we have a lot more to do and that's why we need another four years to get it all done. >> reporter: interesting because in early 2009 you remember the president told nbc's mat lawyer if he didn't get it turned around in three years, this would in his words, a one-term proposition. he is trying to buy a second term. the eventual republican nominee likely to make the case the president had his time in office. the country not better after off after four years. they will make that case. the president pushing back saying he is put things on the right track and needs more time, jon. jon: more on the controversial cordray appointment. ed henry at the white house, thank you. >> reporter: good to see you. jenna: we're awaiting michele bachmann. fox news confirming she will suspend her campaign. that is the microphone. we're waiting for her at. again it has been about six months of, just six months ago when she announced her campaign for president. when she steps to the microphone we'll bring you back to iowa. we'll be right back with more. great guest experience. that makes my day. and during the four course feast, there's so much to choose from. 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[ jody ] it's really good value. all my guests love it. i'm jody gonzalez, red lobster general manager. and i sea food differently. jon: sometimes it is said that iowa is less about who wins than about who doesn't win and one of those who did not win, congresswoman michele bachmann from minnesota, she is originally from iowa. had sort of staked her campaign on a strong finish in the iowa caucuses. she did not get that strong finish and now fox news has confirmed she will suspend her campaign as soon as she steps up to the microphone there in des moines we'll bring you back there to hear her words. one of the questions going forward is, will the congresswoman endorse another competitor? we have yet to see what she has to say. we'll take you there live when she speaks. jenna: you never know what phone calls are happening now behind the scenes. meantime we have new concerns about mounting tensions in the middle east between our country and iran. reports are just in a top iranian naval commander announcing plans to expand naval war drills next year. this is after the con chrigs of the war games in the strait of hormuz the last week and a half ago. that strait is a major gateway for the major portion of the oil shipments. acceleration of the country's nuclear program in iran and this is all happening as the president signed a bill over the weekend imposing potentially crippling new sanctions on iran's central bank. where is this going? that's one of the big questions for 2012. joining us former u.n. am bass u.n., john bolton. also a fox news contributor. happy new year, ambassador. >> happen nee year to you. jenna: what do you see as far as the our relationship with iran? >> this could be a critical year. secretary panetta said last month that iran could be a year away from getting a nuclear weapon. that may be optimistic. i think that is very much on the minds of the regime in tehran. jenna: what is the tippingpoint do you think that you're looking for? >> well, i think israel has got to make a decision very, very shortly whether they're going to use military force preemptively against that nuclear weapons program because if they don't, the odds on outcome is that in a very short period of time iran will have nuclear weapons. so if you don't like the kind of threats you're hearing now, imagine how much more profoundly dangerous they could be once iran gets nuclear weapons? jenna: a scary thought. a scary thought for all of us to think about as we head into a brand new year but why israel? isn't the nuclear ambitions and nuclear projects happening in iran enough for us to get involved militarily? isn't that enough for a preemptive strike on our own behalf? >> absolutely. this is not a israel problem. this is really a global problem since iran's propensity to aid terrorism financially through weapons around the world makes it one of the most important state sponsors of terrorism but i think the odds are under president obama the chances of a u.s. military strike against iran are about as close to absolute zero as you can imagine. that's why the spotlight is on israel. the administration seems to think economic sanctions will work. they haven't worked for the last 10 years. even these new sanctions, no indication they will work either. jenna: keeping an eye on iowa we're also talking about a major international issue. we're watching for congresswoman bachmann. i know in the past whether officially or unofficially you were working with rick perry, is that right, ambassador bolton? >> i haven't endorsed anybody as a fox news contributor but i've been speaking to a lot of the candidates about foreign policy and i'm happy to do that. jenna: if you will stand by with just for a moment here as we see the congresswoman come in. we'd like to hear your thoughts who you think potentially the next republican presidential nominee has the best international policy. let's go in and take a listen here in iowa. >> michele bachmann. >> thank you, brad. thank you so much. thank you everyone for being here. i appreciate it. my name is michele bachmann. entrusted to every american is the responsibility to watch over our republic. you can look back from the time of the pilgrims, to the time of william penn. to the time of our founding fathers. all we have to do is look around because very clearly we are encompassed about with a great cloud of witnesses that bear witness to the sacrifices, that were made to establish the united states and the precious principles of freedom that make it the greatest force for good that has ever been seen on the planet. every generation has served as the next stepping stone down the path of our liberty, and every day i'm reminded of that conviction that we have to the principles of freedom and justice by a painting. it is a painting that hangs in the united states capitol. it was made by howard chandler at the signing of the constitution of the united states. it hangs in the east graham stairway of the united states capitol. every schoolchild is familiar with this painting but i've been privileged to see it on regular basis doing my duties in congress. never with the painting's poignant reminder more evident on the evening of march 21st, 2010. that was the evening that obamacare was passed and staring out from the painting are the faces of the founders and in particular the face of ben franklin, who served as a constant reminder of the fragile republic that he and the founders gave to us. that day served as the inspiration for my run for the presidency of the united states because i believed firmly that what the congress had done