>> it's small. >> does an electric car get any girls? >> i think it's pretty hot. >> jesse watters looking into your future on the road! >> very james bond. >> at the new york city car show. >> do you drive a stick? >> i do. >> i don't! does that make me less of a man? >> caution, you are about to enter the no spin zone. "the factor" begins right now. >> hi, i'm bill o'reilly. thanks for watching us tonight. mitt romney on the rise. that's the subject of this evening's talking points memo as predicted here a few days ago, mitt romney is getting a bounce in the polls. rasmussen has the governor up 48-44 over the president among likely voters and a brand new fox news poll has romney defeating obama 46-44. that's really a tie with a margin of error that's considered. also in the fox poll, a whopping 67% of americans say they're unhappy about the direction of the country. just 32% are satisfied. finally, mr. obama's job performance has fallen five points in a month. 42% of americans now approve. 51% disapprove according to the poll. these numbers are obviously bad news for the president and it's pretty much impossible for an incumbent to be re-elected with more than 2/3 of the nation believes the country is on the wrong track. as harry truman once said, the buck stops here in the oval office. however, 2012 is different than most other presidential election years and that's because class warfare is now on the table. democrats believe voters who want government benefits will make the difference for mr. obama no matter what the performance. the election will come down a philosophy, the nanny state vs. self-reliance. traditionally, the u.s.a. has been built by private enterprise and has embraced what the president calls social darwinism. the strong prosper. but in the past 20 years, america has undergone a great change. we now have millions of citizens who are not very well educated, not very motivated to work all that hard and have a strong sense of entitlement. their philosophy seems to be, where's mine? i want stuff! and i'll vote for whoever gives it to me. but, of course, somebody has to pay for that. in greece, they're bankrupt because of entitlement spending and in spain, pretty much the same thing and here in the good old u.s.a., we're heading in that direction. president obama's solution is not to call for spending discipline or personal discipline or shared sacrifice. no! the president is primarily blaming wealthy americans for what the democrats call income inequality. mr. obama saying the system is rigged. that the wealthy get all the breaks and everybody else gets hosed. and millions of americans believe that. there are actually entire television networks, cable networks that embrace that point of view. most american newspapers believe that. and certainly hollywood continues to be thrilled with mr. obama's overall philosophy. so this election is going to be very intense. right now, mitt romney is in pretty good shape according to the polls. but talking points said yesterday, he better bring his a game when he goes up against president obama. and that's the memo. for the top story tonight, what about 67% of americans believing the country is in bad shape? joining us from boston, narian marsh and chris hahn from long island, new york. mr. hahn, what say you? >> you know, it depends on who the american people believe -- blame for the direction of this country. are they going to blame president obama who inherited one of the worst economies since the great depression? or are they going to blame the republicans who created this mess under bush? >> i believe they're going to blame president obama because he's running four points behind mitt romney who is not exactly lighting it up, is he? >> well, cnn poll last month said -- >> no, this is a poll today. this is today. let's stay -- >> right. the reality where we are. i mean, if you're theorizing the question, who are they going to blame? best available evidence says they're going to blame the chief executive officer. that's best available evidence. >> you know, that is always the case in presidential elections. they blame the president for the economy. but i don't think they blame president roosevelt in 1936 for the great depression. and i don't think they're going to blame president obama for this great recession. he did not cause it. >> if roosevelt had not improved things, they would have thrown him out of there. >> 67% of the country says we're going in the wrong direction, all right? that's after 3 1/2 years of president obama trying to turn things around. as best he could. so he hasn't succeeded in the eyes of the folks. how do you overcome that, mary anne? >> well, there are a couple of factors. no question president obama has had a tough few weeks when you look at some of the economic news. gas prices, and romney closed out the republican nomination for all intensive purposes so he gets a little bounce out of that. i'd still rather be barack obama than mitt romney for the following reasons. number one, more people still like and trust barack obama more than mitt romney. do not underestimate the value of that number especially in a close election. number two -- >> don't you think that number will change as governor romney gets more exposure because he's fairly new to the american people. don't you think that would change? could go either way. it depends on romney's performance but certainly as more people see him, particularly interacting with the president during the debates, they don't know if he's going to change, president obama can't rely on that number staying where it is. >> well, as you said in the talking points, romney has to bring his a game. we have yet to see that and he is upside down badly in that number. so he has to work very hard to do that. that's a tough hill to climb. number 2, the other thing in the fox news poll is that romney is ahead of president obama by seven points on handling the economy. that is romney's strongest card. yet, it's only seven points. and i'm surprised by that because that should be double digits for him. so he has to improve his likeability and convince people even more that he can do better on the economy. i don't see mitt romney doing that after watching him for a very, very long time. >> it seems to me looking at this -- these numbers that the campaign is going to have to be negative on both sides, mr. hahn. because the president can't run on his record. his record is dismal. you can blame whoever you want. but when you're in last place, you're in last place, all right? you can blame the previous manager, a bad farm system, the fans don't show up. whatever you want to blame, you're in last place. i'm not saying that president obama is in last place. i'm saying that the performance on the economy is not good and everybody knows it so he has to go negative and romney will have to go negative as well as mary anne pointed out to gain credibility that he's the smarter, better guy in the economy. so we're looking at negative campaign across the board, mr. hahn, are we not? >> i think so. but i disagree. i think the president's record on the economy is not stellar but i do think the economy is improving. and i think all of the indicators show that. the stock market, jobs creation. lower job losses that he was inheriting. this is a tough hold to -- >> you would actually advise president obama to run on the good economy, is that what you would do? >> you can't run on the good economy. we don't have a good economy. >> run on the mediocre economy? >> not -- >> what do you run on? >> you run on the fact that this economy was bleeding 6 million jobs when he took office. >> you run on 2008 so we'll get back in the time machine. mary anne, same question to you. mr. hahn, i -- you know. same question to you, ok? got to be a negative campaign on both sides. has to be. >> you have to do both. you can't just do a negative campaign. >> what does president obama say in a positive way? what does he say? >> well, if gas prices and unemployment continue to go down, he needs to make the case that he's the best guy to finish the job. >> finish what job? getting the gas prices higher? oh, you say continue to go down. >> getting the economy back on track. >> and here's what romney has to do. romney has to build up his positives but the super pacs are going to do his dirty job and negative campaigning against obama. that's his only shot. >> all right. and the media will do president obama's dirty job. it's a tradeoff. super pac has romney. media in the tank, they'll do the hatchet work for the president. >> we'll see. >> thank you very much. we appreciate you guys. next on the rundown, should the wives and husbands of political candidates be fair game for criticism if they campaign? later, jesse watters looking into the future. your future. in your car. what will it look like? we're coming right back. ♪ [ male announc ] you plant. you mow. you grow. you dream. meet the new definition of durability: the john deere select series. with endless possibilities, what will you create? ♪ learn more about the new select series x310 with power steering at johndeere.com/x310. so i wasn't playing much of a role in my own life, but with advair, i'm breathing better so now i can take the lead on a science adventure. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, workintogether to help improve ur lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalersor sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, take the lead. ask your doctor if incling advair get your first fl prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. >> personal story segment tonight criticizing the wives and husbands of political candidates. as you may know, democratic pundit hillary rosen said on cnn that ann romney doesn't know what she's talking about economically because she's never had a job. president obama immediately repudiated that criticism. >> i haven't met mrs. romney but she seems like a very nice woman who is supportive of her family and supportive of her husband and i don't know if she necessarily volunteered for this job. so , you know, we don't need to be directing comments at them. >> however, mrs. romney has spoken out publicly on politics. >> this is what i'm hearing. it's an economic message that i'm hearing. it's a frustration about the government spending too much and not balancing budgets. >> so here's the question -- if the spouses of political candidates are campaigning, shouldn't they be fair game for criticism? joining us now from los angeles, leslie marshall and from ft. worth, texas, jeanine turner. what say you, jeanine? >> i think it's fair game! i think it's absolutely fair game. she knows -- ann romney is a very smart, very capable woman. she knew exactly what she was walking into as does governor romney. they know what to expect. i love seeing her out there and standing tall and speaking out for women and she can take it. she can take it. >> she's strong. >> you didn't have any problem with miss rosen saying she isn't qualified to comment on the economy because she's a stay-at-home mom, you didn't have any problem with that? >> i think the comment was ridiculous. you know, only certain genres of women can have a political thought. i don't understand her comment at all. it's sort of like being in a courtroom. let me throw something out and even if it's stricken from the record, it's now in people's minds trying to divide. >> you thought the comment was dopey but the target was legitimate, is that correct? >> i think it's fair game but i thought the comment was dopey, yes. >> how about you, leslie? >> i cannot believe that jeanine and i have the opinions we have. we're completely opposite of where most people think we'd be. i honestly don't think that any spouse or child of anybody running for president, governor, congress, should be fair game unless they themselves are running. for example, hillary rodham clinton when she was first lady, hands off. but when she was running for senator, certainly when she was running for president, then i think it's fair game. i agree with the president. they may not have signed up for this. this is the spouse or parent running. >> ann romney is out there on cnn talking about the economy. telling people they should vote for her husband. she's in the arena. so you give her a total pass and same thing with michelle obama? if michelle obama hits the campaign trail and says, you know, my husband is the right person for the country, please re-elect him. these women are off-limits for any criticism? they can say whatever they want to say without anybody questioning it? that's what you're saying, leslie? >> well, certainly, bill, people have a first amendment right to say what they want. >> no, you, don't. >> for me to judge that woman, mrs. romney, mrs. obama, mrs. clinton, etc., when they're not running for office, that's ridiculous. this is not a do over. >> what i would do if i were running for president, then, i would take ann romney or michelle obama if i were running and i wouldn't say anything, i would bring them out and say whatever -- here, say this. because -- >> that's not going to work either. >> nobody can comment and say anything back to you. you have boom, boom, boom. that's what you're saying, leslie, they can campaign. they can go on national television. they can say whatever they want and no one can criticize it because you, leslie marshall said they shouldn't be touchable. they should be untouchable. doesn't make sense. >> i think that we have to keep in mind, you know, mrs. romney is not running for president. this is not a package deal. with any couple that is out there. >> no, she's out there in the arena. she's out there giving her opinion that her husband is more qualified than the other dunderhead. >> and that's what any wife or spouse is going to say, as they said. >> i'm not going to shake you out of there. now, on advancing the story you're going to have a negative campaign as we established in the a block, janine. i don't believe, by the way, that mitt romney is going to criticize michelle obama and i know president obama is not going to criticize ann romney no matter what they do because women are sensitive about being criticized by men. correct? i mean, there's that gender thing going on as well even though in this case it's a woman, hillary rosen against ann romney, say it were a man saying that, oh, my god, now would be setting themselves on fire. it would be unbelievable. right? >> well, i suppose so. i don't know. maybe i have a tough skin. i've been in the public eye for a long time and people are going to say things. if you're running for president and your husband is running for president and you're supporting him, you're going to hear all types of different things. there's a plaque that i have in my bathroom that says to avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. and i think that any woman that's going to stand by her husband, you know, she doesn't need to be the war room or anything, but if she's standing by her husband on the campaign trail, criticism is going to occur. >> all right. we all remember what happened to hillary rodham clinton when she stood by her man in the lewinsky thing, she did get pounded pretty hard. let's give leslie the right word and hope it's cogent and entertaining. go. >> ok. the bottom line is if i say to you, bill, how do i look today? it's always you look great. unlike janine, i will get in my car and cry if it's negative. when it comes to us women, our feelings get hurt. >> there are women contributors and we have more than any other cable news program on the air. we have more women contributors here. i'll give you a little jab, josh you a little because i do that to everybody but it's always in good fun and you ladies know that, all right? thanks for helping us out. directly ahead, charles krauthammer on whether taxing the wealthy would damage the economy even further. later, is it legal on john edwards facing 30 years in a federal prison and also a proposed new law in arizona could jail people who annoy other people on the net. i got some candidates for that. those reports after these messages. i'm gonna take allison jenkins to the senior prom in this. one day, i'll park this in a spot reserved for me. it's got 26,0 miles on it now, but i'm gonna take it to a thousand million. 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[announcer:] conocophillips. >> bill: president obama continues to demand that affluent americans pay more in taxes. however, "wall street journal" editorial this week says that raising taxes on the wealthy would not bring much cash to the feds and could very well damage the overall economy. pundit robert reich disagrees. >> but if we went back to before the 1981 tax cut of ronald reagan, for 30 years, the richest people in this country paid a minimum of 70%. and yet, the economy grew faster in that 30-year period than it has grown since. >> joining us from washington, fox news political analyst charles krauthammer. where is reich going wrong? i'm assuming you disagee with him. >> well, first of all, he's mixing apples and oranges to quote herman cain. number one, he's talking about income taxes and what the tax that we're talking about here, the buffet tax. that is a disguise of the capital gains tax and the reason that john kennedy, not just ronald reagan but john kennedy asked for and got a reduction of the capital gains tax is it spurs economic expansion and increases the revenues that the treasury gets. it's a perverse effect and when candidate barack obama was asked about this in 2008 if raising the capital gains tax which is what he wants to do were to reduce the amount of money going into the treasury, would you do it nonetheless? and his answer was yes but for the sake of fairness. >> he said that to me. he said he raised it to 20. what reich is talking about is the top marginal tax rate that barack obama wants to raise back to the clinton levels by nearly 40%. but rice says flat out, no equivocation, when americans, wealthy americans are paying 70%, that the economy was booming and rolling along and didn't have any negativity. >> what he's doing is a bit of a sleight of hand. the fact that we had a booming economy from world war ii until the mid 1970's was in spite of the ridiculously high income tax rates which were retarding growth. it was the fact that japan was assuming -- >> after the second world war, we had zero competition for 2, 2 1/2 decades as the observers were sent to world war. the only major industrial country that was not attacked and that's why we had unprecedented