standards exposes flip inside the gop. >> this is becoming a top-down approach, just like obama care. >> it's local schools with local school boards and high standards. i don't know how anybody can disagree that. >> two key players debate the merits of common core. texas governor greg abbott and former education secretary bill bennett. plus, president obama wants to break those automatic spending caps and spends billions more on new programs. our sunday panel weighs in. and our power player this super bowl sunday hall of famer, john riggins, on his larger than life legacy on and off the field. >> i came to play. i was there to play the game and to have fun. and i think i accomplished that. >> all right now on "fox news sunday." and hello again from fox news in washington. we begin with breaking news. jordan has renewed its offer to trade an al qaeda prisoner for a juror pilot being held by isis after they released a video which appears to show the murder of a second japanese hostage. we'll discuss the worsening situation in the region and growing criticism of u.s. policy with some key players on these issues. but first, conner powell is live in our mideast news room with the latest. >> chris kenji goto's death is the latest in a long line of challenges facing the united states here in the middle east just about every corner of the region there's cause for concern from the growing threat of isis, iran to the friction between the united states and one of its closest allies. >> two days ago there was hope that talks would lead to the release of japanese journalist kenji goto and the pilot muath al-kaseasbeh. but saturday night, they released the video showing goto's execution and vowing more violence. despite losing the city of kobani isis launched a major offensive of kirkuk proving the fight against the radical group is far from over. [ screaming ] >> tensions flared once again between israel and hezbollah after israel launched a strike that killed several militants and and iranen general. they ignited nearly another war. in israel, the fallout from netanyahu's decision to speak before congress despite objections from the white house took center stage. this shocked some at fox news, seen here at pro-netanyahu would criticize the move. >> there is a sense here in israel and really across the entire middle east that the u.s. has lost both the ability and the desire to help shape and stabilize the middle east chris, at a time when it needs it the most. >> reporting from jerusalem, thanks for that, connor. now let's bring in top middle east experts and president obama's policies. former army vice chief of staff jack keane. senator kelly ayotte who is on the armed services committee. and dennis ross, who served as the mideast negotiate to four u.s. president. welcome back to "fox news sunday." >> thanks chris. >> glad to be here. >> i want to start with that map which you presented to the senate armed services committee this week. what what do you think it demonstrates? >> first of all, the united states is confronting a security challenge at a scale that's not seen since post-world war ii with the rise of the soviet union super power and the spread of communism globally. we see radical islam morphing into the global jihad. and state-sponsored terrorism representing by green on the map, as it begins to control and influence the major countries in the middle east and influence or control those capitals. >> ambassador ross, the map is stunning and you look at the spread of islamic extremism, are we winning or losing the war against islamic extremeismextremism? >> look at this point they're fighting each other. iranians are fighting isis. we may want both sides to lose, but the fact is we also have to find a way to ensure that the non-islamists in the region begin to gain. what you would hope to see over the next couple years is everywhere the radicalists are on the move they begin to lose and see reverses and begin to see the nonists in the region advance. >> you're not seeing that on the map. >> no, not right now. we have approach in regards to isis still hasn't resolved the fundamental problem. you cannot defeat isis in iraq unless you deal with the problem of syria. only attacking the isis targets in syria and allowing assad to attack the non-isis targets you're creating a problem for yourself. you have to resolve that contradiction if you have a strategy that's effective. >> i want to go back, senator ayotte, to the big picture and to that map. the obama administration's continued refusal to say that we are in a war with islamic extremism. here this week secretary of the state john kerry. >> today we are witnessing nothing more than a form of criminal anarchy anilism. >> senator, ayotte why does it matter what we call our enemies in the region? >> it very much matters because you have to define your enemy. here is the problem i think they should spend less time on being worried about being politically correct about how we define our enemies and more time on a strategy to defeat them. one of the things we heard consistently this week from the national security experts including general keane, a lack of a strategy. it was very disjointed as a strategy. we saw more outgrowth of the extremists in this region. >> i want to pick up on that. you had some of our leading national security thinkers sounding the alarm it's a tipping point in a way. let's put them up on the jean. michael flynn, retired head of the defense and intelligence agency said this you cannot defeat an enemy. you do not admit exists? general james mattis former head of u.s. central command which had responsibility for the middle east said we need to come out from our reactive crouch and take a firm strategic stance in defense of our values. which raises the question, and you addressed it in the little clip we had in the opening general keane do we have a winning strategic at this point against islamic extremism? >> anybody looking at that map would come to the conclusion, which the obvious we do not. al qaeda has grown four-fold in five years. isis, which began when we pulled out politically and military from iraq grew from an organization less than 3,000 to an organization over 30,000 in 3 years. radical islamist spread from south asia to sub indian continent. what is the strategy to stop it? we have not stopped it and we certainly don't have a strategy to defeat it. it is absolutely compelling. what is our strategy? we use drones to kill al qaeda leadership in pakistan and also in yemen. that's a vital tactic we should use it but it's not a strategy. we partner with very selective countries in africa to help them do some training. that's fragmented at best. there's no overall strategy. until we bring the countries that are involved and those that have interest together and put together an alliance and establish a strategy, we're not going to be able to push effectively against this. >> ambassador ross, let me pick up with you. you were -- we talk about four presidents, you were a special assistant for the mideast, president obama for his first two years in office, it's not like you're a knee-jerk critic of this president. it's not just the spread of islamist militants. it's also iran which we now see its influence is spreading to baghdad and damascus and beirut. if the threat is radical islam, does the president have a sound strategy both militarily and also in terms of messages to deal with islamic extremism and what do we need to do different or better? >> couple points. senator, your point not being reluctant to identify who the enemy is essential. we have to say who it we're actually fighting. look at that map and see iran being on the move, you see radical islamism as reflected by iran fighting radical islamism as reflected by i would say isis, the muslim brotherhood. we have to decide, radical islam, sunni is the enemy. we have to work with those who see that as a threat to them. we shouldn't be reluctant to call it islamic radicalism precisely because there are those in the middle east who see it as a threat and they're the ones who ultimately have to discredit it. we cannot discredit radical islam. they have to discredit it. >> we're not acknowledging that that's what the problem is it will be hard to get the people in the region to discredit it and fight it. >> we have to be prepared to be forthright on it. they also have to see that we're prepared to fight it. they have to see we're prepared to support those who are prepared to fight it and then have to invest in a way to succeed with them. >> senator ayotte what do we do? we talk about these coalitions we have the jordanians but what do we do when we see that map, it's like the fire alarm is ringing. >> there is a fire alarm ringing, chris. i think what we do is they're expecting american leadership in terms of bringing us together. they have to take the fight there. we help them with the capacity. they have to have the will. but they right now i think many of those in the arab nations are looking to us that we could work with and saying can we count on them? will they stick with their word? that's one of the problems we face as we look at an overall strategy, yes we can't do all the fighting and they need to step up against radical islam, no question. but as leaders, we need to bring people together. they need to be able to count on us and we have to make sure, chris -- >> you don't think at this point our so-called allies feel they can defend on this president? >> unfortunately i don't. there's been many instances -- one of the things we took from the testimony we heard this week, our word has to matter. there's a real concern out there that not only a lack of a strategy but in order to be a leader to bring everyone together to work together you have to be able to be counted on. that's a real worry. >> jean keane, general flynn compare what had we need to do in this region now to the u.s. and allied effort against the nazis in world war ii and you mentioned it the cold war and the west's effort against the soviets. give me specific ideas. what do we need to do? >> we can be informed by beating the nazis with brute force. we formed alliances in nato and southeast asia treaty organization to contain communism. that's what we need here. we need to come together and form alliances. this is not about our viewers shouldn't think in looking at that map the united states troops will be fighting wars all over the middle east and on the indian subcontinent. this is not true. this is about the countries doing their own heavy lifting. we have learned a lot how to fight this enemy. most of these militaries are conventional militaries. they have to transition to deal with a regular warfare like we have transitioned in the last 13 years. there's much we can do to help. >> i want to talk about one last area. we're running out of time. that is you talk about alliances, our relationship with our strongest ally in the region, israel, seems to be at an all-time low after benjamin netanyahu accepted an invitation from the house speaker john boehner to speak to congress about the dangers of the iranian nuclear threat without anybody telling the white house. brett bare asked speaker boehner about that this week. >> do you think there's some kind of antipathy in this administration towards netanyahu? >> of course there is. they don't even try to hide it. >> ambassador ross, you have worked on this issue on the middle east israel, palestinians, almost your entire career. and yet i want to put up some of the comments that were being made this week. put them up on the screen. a senior administration official says of netanyahu, he spat in our face publicly. another top official tells "the new york times," israeli ambassador to the u.s. ron burmer placed mr. netanyahu's political fortunes above the relationship between israel and the united states. how serious is this breech? >> well i think it is serious. president obama will be there for another almost two years. whoever merges in the israeli election will be in a sense dealing with administration as it relates to this prime minister where there's a profound sense of distrust and the prime minister made a decision in the sense not to work with the administration but to work with the congress. in a sense beyond that to make it a partisan issue not an american issue. israel and this country has not been an republican issue, not an democratic issue but an american issue. we need to preserve that. >> that seems to be falling apart? >> i think that's put under more risk than we've seen before. >> 30 seconds. >> final thought, i think there is still bipartisan support in congress for israel. there's been too much conceded -- >> you're talking about iran? >> absolutely. strong bipartisan voted out strong sanctions. many on both sides of the aisle are concerned that we have a strong vary fiable agreement that ends their nuclear program. that goes back to prime minister's concerns, too much has been conceded already. you'll find bipartisan support in congress for the concerns that the prime minister has about the on going negotiation with iran. >> senator ayotte, general keane, ambassador ross, thank you so much thank you for coming in today and helping us understand what is a really grieveus situation. up next, our sunday group joins the conversation what can the u.s. do to fight the spread of islamic extremism across the middle east and africa? want to know how hard it can be... ...to breathe with copd? it can feel like this. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva is a once-daily inhaled... ...copd maintenance treatment... ...that helps open my airways for a full 24 hours. you know, spiriva helps me breathe easier. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens your throat or tongue swells,... you can get hives, vision changes or eye pain or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. sfx: blowing sound. does breathing with copd... ...weigh you down? don't wait ask your doctor about spiriva handihaler. the taliban is an armed insurgency. isil is a terrorist group. we don't make concessions to terrorist groups. >> white house spokesman eric shulgts trying to distinguish between our trade with the taliban and jordan's talks with isis to swap for a failed suicide bomber for a pilot. it's time now for george will, julie pace who covers the white house for the associated press co-host of the five dana perino and peter baker of the new york times. george, this seemed to me to be the week when all the fine distinctions the white house tries to make terror islamic extremism, when all of that came tumbling down, not only the generals i talked about in the first segment, but big strategic thinkers former secretaries of state, henry kissinger and george schultz all told congress we don't have a plan. we don't have a strategy to defeat islamic extremism. >> i think that's a fair criticism, but it's also fair to say try and build a strategy. begin with this the president wants and congress evidently wants to pass a new authorization for the use of military force. try and write one. who are we fighting and where are we fighting them? this week we learned that isis isil, we haven't agreed on the term, is now in libya a failed state that our policy created. second, our big success so far, militarily is beating isil away from the border town in syria of kobane. we used 75% of all of our air strikes since september for that one small achievement. third, we seem to be agreed politically and for other reasons if they're tl won't be any significant u.s. ground troops involved. fourth, that throws us back on the regional powers. "the washington post" reports this week that some of the training done for the iraqi army is afflicted with such shortages of ammunition and weapons they go through their training exercises shouting bang bang instead of firing weapons. that's the mess from which we're supposed to construct a strategy. >> julie, how do they respond at the white house to what seems -- let's put that map up. you can't get enough of looking at that map, the fact that islamic extremism from al qaeda to isis to iran is on the march? >> they don't necessarily argue that there aren't more groups out there. they argue that the threat that those groups pose to u.s. interests and the homeland is far more when you were talking about core al qaeda in pakistan. what's so interesting about the strategy that the u.s. -- that the white house says they have here is that so much of it is out of their control. yemen has really been the example that president obama has pointed to where he says we have our counterterrorism campaign we launched drone strikes against al qaeda. that government doesn't exist anymore. when you're dealing in these countries that have such instability in them, we don't have control over the pieces that we say need to be in place in order for these strategies to succeed. >> day narksna, i'm hearing about the problem. we can't let them grow and build. this feels in certain ways like the 1990s when you had and everybody was aware of, maybe not worried about, al qaeda building training camps, comments from bin laden and then suddenly 9/11 happened. at a certain point, you have to confront it don't you? >> so we are a lot better as a nation of confronting terror and trying to get in front of it and prevent terror attacks than we were on september 10th 2001, but that complacency, that worry that we haven't had an attack in a while on the homeland in terms of a catastrophic attack that things are better. the white house is in this rhetorical box. they are trying to say, well, the president has fundamentally changed foreign policy. gotten us out of two wars. look at that map, in the meantime the other troubling thing is you have isis now in afghanistan. taliban joining up with isis in the border regions. i hope we're not returning to a situation where we were on september 10th. that's why you had so many people come out this week publicly and say, we are alarmed, mr. president, we also want to help you. i think he should take them up on that. >> peter you had a tough piece "the new york times" yesterday in which you reported that netanyahu -- we talked earlier about the split over netanyahu accepting boehner's offer to speak to congress that netanyahu and obama have basically given up on each other and suggesting that u.s./israeli relations could be in the deep freeze in netanyahu gets re-elected in march for two years. >> six years of scar tissue at this point is being picked at and picked at. it's not about a speech, a different world view between these two leaders. president obama would love to find some way iran that would make the region we talked about the map, safer if they could get iran back into the community of nations on some level. netanyahu lives in the region and says this is a threat to my country. they're talking past each other at this point. and so all the small things like whether you give a speech or not end up causing a big -- much bigger rift. i think you're right prime minister netanyahu decided that republicans in congress is his way to go at this point. president obama looks at the march 17th election, maybe the chance we get a different government in there, frankly they made clear they don't want to work with prime minister's netanyahu's ambassador here in washington. >> isn't that dangerous everybody -- one of the unified issues in which republicans and democratics stood was support for the state of israel. if this now becomes a political issue netanyahu, i'm not saying who is responsible, netanyahu is throwing in with the republican congress against the president, isn't that bad for u.s. and israel? >> it takes away from the fact that we all have a similar goal. iran should not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon which to have power over the entire region and destroy israel, their stated claim. i would hope that that rift could actually be smoothed over. i think it takes big leaders to be able to say all right i might not like you personally, but i know we've got to work together. and i don't think that waiting until march 17th for a new government is a good idea. a new government takes a while to get established. meantime, iran is playing out the clock. so i would hope that they would take the opportunity to figure it out. i think that congress will work on this deal. they'll come to some sort of agreement and get something that the president can use in the negotiation. >> julie? >> some ways the iran deal will force the u.s. and israel to at least be aware of each other on this playing field in some way. if there is a deal, israel has to decide whether they accept the terms of the deal or whether they try to move ahead on their own perhaps with some kind of military action. the more dangerous situation, i think if there is no deal and then basically the u.s. and israel have to decide what's next? do we try to continue with sanctions and restart deplomsy at another point or is this a time for military action? if they're not on the same page, it creates a very difficult situation not just for our two countries but for the region. >> we have to take a break. up next, the growing controversy over common core education standards. we'll have a debate over what's become a hot political issue. plus what do you think of common core? let me know on facebook or twitter and use the #fns. superpower. surprised? in fact, america is now the world's number one natural gas producer... and we could soon become number one in oil. because hydraulic fracturing technology is safely recovering lots more oil and natural gas. supporting millions of new jobs. billions in tax revenue... and a new century of american energy security. the new energy superpower? it's red, white and blue. log on to learn more. ♪ chances are you've heard of common core, education standards for grades k through 12 that 46 states adopted just three years ago. now the program has become so controversial among conservatives several states have dropped out. joining us to debate common core, texas governor greg abbott who says the program is banned in his state. here in d.c., former u.s. secretary of education bill bennett author of the new book "going to pot" why the rush to legalize marijuana is harming america. a run for president in 2016, have made opposition to common core a key issue. take a look. >> why is the federal government getting involved in an issue where there is no mention whatsoever in the constitution education. >> we need less common core and more common sense. >> no school district in the state is required to use common core standards. >> mr. bennett, are they all wrong? >> yes, they're all wrong. but it's understandable why they're wrong. common core has been vilified because there's a tremendous amount of misinformation about common core that it requires teaching of islamic extremism after reading all of obama's speeches. a whole mythology is built up around common core. common core are state standards for math and reading by grade. that's all they are. anybody who questions what they should read what the standards say. they say such things as kids should fix on arithmetic in the early grades, learn how to count, multiply, divide and subtract. reading they should emphasize phonics, the meaning of words and good clear expression. >> governor abbott does another myth about contrary to wide-spread public belief this program wasn't started in washington, in fact, it was started by the nation's governors and by the nation's state education chiefs. so why this thought that this is a federal takeover of education. >> well, two things, chris. one is we have seen buyer's remorse by the governors and states that bought into it to begin with. and they bought into it at a time before its implementation began. what we have seen after now the federal government is tying billions of dollars to whether or not states comply with what is becoming a national standard. and so what we're dealing with is a one-size-fit-all national standard being pushed down from the top, from the obama administration and that is why suddenly we've seen so many parents, so many states, so many school districts reject it so harshly. >> all right. let me pick up on that, while the feds didn't start common core, mr. bennett. >> right. >> the fact is that they have used grants under the race to the top program to try to encourage states to adopt common core and you, even as a big conservative supporter, say that was a mistake. >> absolutely mistake. the governors point three quarters point there. the government put its big foot on this and said if you want government money federal money, race to the top money as it was called then, this would be a very good or smart thing for you to do, common core. from there it went to the notion that the federal government was dictating it. now, one can understand -- >> let me ask, is the federal government dictating it? >> no there isn't. there's been legislation passed and more legislation coming that will prohibit the federal government from getting involved in the common core. as a conservative, one is rightly suspicious of this administration getting into matters that is none of its business. these standards were developed locally. they are administered locally. in terms of governor's buyer's remorse, talk to governor branstad in iowa they're very happy with these standards. there's a reason we had to do this, chris when states were reporting their own numbers in math and english i saw this when i was secretary we had this woe be gone effect. 85% of the students were proficient in math and english. took the national assessment of test, students in that state turned out 40% were proficient. you have to have some kind of independent assessment, benchmark standards in order to see how our kids are doing. >> governor abbott, the use of common core has been banned by the state legislature and you as the attorney general before you became governor said it is banned in the state. but, there are reports that two thirds of the math program that texas set up your own standards overlap with common core. i want to put up this report which speaks to mr. bennett's last point. in education state report card your state of texas got an overall rank of c minus and rankedrank ed 39th. the top nine states in terms of their performance all adopted common core governor. >> well, let's clarify a couple of things. first of all, what i believe is the correct approach for education is to return genuine local control which is what i have charted the pathway for as governor. and we will improve our schools from the bottom up by allowing teachers to excel, by increasing parental involvement by engaging students. the best way to do that is not with these one size fits all mandates from washington, d.c. or even from austin, texas. but instead giving flexibility at the local level, starting with building a strong foundation. >> local control is what we have. and local control is what we should have. curriculum is set locally. >> i've got to disagree. >> curriculum is set -- you just set you want local control. you got local control. you decided common core won't be in texas so it's not in texas. and texas can teach math any way it wants. what texas can't do is change the nature of mathematics and what mathematical reasoning and math mall cat sequencing becomes. excuse me. >> governor? >> chris, i have to strenuously disagree with that. and this is going to be easy, frankly. i hope all your viewers will go to google and plug in nine plus six common core. and when you do that, if you just plug in nine plus six common core, you will find a video that shows the way that math is taught under common core. and remember this -- >> put me out of my misery i would think nine plus six is 15. what's the deal? >> you would think so. >> when you plug in nine plus six common core you'll find it will take you more than a minute to see how a teacher teaches a student to learn how to add nine plus six. >> is that true? >> these are the -- chris, these are the common core standards that are now being pushed down from the top that we must get away from. >> wait wait, wait. you made your point. go ahead. >> easy way to resolve this. i haven't seen this but i'm going to tell you if it's crazy, it probably isn't common core. it's probably one of these myths that's developed. we understand why it's developed. here is what the audience can do. here is what you can really do. down load the standards themselves. the common core standards. that's what they did in idaho and utah and they said to the citizens, do you have any objection to any of this. not what someone said the standards were. not what google reported. not what some citizens group decided was common core, but the actual standards themselves. they are public. and anybody can examine those standards. you tell me what's wrong with saying, kids should learn how to parse and diagram sentencing, memorize, read the declaration of independence. that's what i want to know. >> governor, everyone from teacher's unions to the u.s. chamber of commerce is in favor of this and at a time when by international standards you see us falling -- us as a country falling behind, what is the idea about having some standards so you can measure how students in texas are learning as compared to students in ohio and how students in texas are learning as compared to students in england? >> and let's clarify some of the misinformation that you had in your statement. you said that unions are in favor of this. remember this go back to 1993, you saw massachusetts create one of the premier education programs in america. now it has turned out that massachusetts is going down the pathway of common core. the president of the teacher's union in massachusetts has come out against using common core in massachusetts. what we're seeing here, chris, is every time we peel another layer off of exposing what common core really is, everyone, whether it be parents or teachers or local school districts or states or governors, they're running from it like a house on fire and there's a reason for it. that's because common core violates the four core principles and the four core pillars of education, parental involvement, excellent teachers student engagement and adaptability for the uniqueness of each particular student. >> mr. bennett -- >> i've been for those principles since before governor abbott was born. i have a pretty good record as a conservative on education. once again, we can resolve this dispute by looking at the standards. governor haslem of tennessee a republican said before we had these common standards these agreed upon standards agreed upon by governors, we were dishonest in reporting the proficiency of our students to their parents. that's what parents want to know, are our kids learning? why not a voluntary basis of agreement for assess snmt by the way, there's an intellectual problem. if you decide to go it on your own in math and english? what's your benchmark? how do you validate it? how do you say this is what kids in texas learn compared to kids in ore states? the common core standards are the first to be developed the standards we see internationally. that's why the states that are using them i think will continue to rise to the top. >> 30 seconds left, governor abbott, you get the final word. >> sure. using secretary bennett's words, there is an intellectual deficiency here and it was shown by the professor at stanford who was the only person on the common core committee looking at mathematics and that professor said that the mathematics portion of common core will set students back in the united states of america as opposed to advancing them forward. >> again the more we learn about common core, the more problematic it. >> listen, i never thought we were going to solve this but i hope that we have provided some light and not just some heat to a very important issue. we'll stay on top of this mr. bennett, governor abbott thanks for coming in. >> wish i could be with you. good for you. >> i want to point that out. governor abbott you're having chris kyle day to honor a true american hero. thank you for coming up with that. that's a great program. >> thank you. when we come back, president obama rolls out his budget tomorrow and he's calling for an end to those automatic spending caps. what do you think of the obama plan to spend and tax more? just go to facebook or twitter @foxnewssunday and we may use your question on the air. plus, now that mitt romney decided not to run, where does that leave the republican presidential field for 2016? now you can connect with "fox news sunday" on facebook and twitter. check out exclusive material online on facebook and share it with other fox fans. and tweet us @foxnewssunday using #fns. be part of the discussion and weigh in on the action every "fox news sunday." let's make sure that we end this across the board sequester that doesn't differentiate between smart government spending and dumb government spending. let's take a scalpel and not a meat cleaver. >> president obama seeking support from house democrats this week for his new budget, which would break automatic spending caps and spends billions more on government programs. and we're back now with the panel. so, here briefly is the president's plan for his new budget, which will be out tomorrow. the president wants to go 7% over the automatic spending cap sequestration with $38 billion more for defense and $37 billion more for domestic programs. he would pay for this with $320 billion over 10 years in new taxes and fees. julie, do white house officials really think that they can get republicans who clearly want more defense spending to go along with this? or is this really about the white house trying to get a good political issue? >> it's a wish list. what they want in the perfect scenario. on the sequester, when it comes to defense cuts in particular, they're hoping to find some alignment with republicans. everyone agrees that the sequester has been a bad idea. no one wanted it to go in place in the first place. there's a huge gap though, between the way the white house is proposing to get rid of the sequester cuts and what republicans want to do. i think mainly the white house's purpose here is to say, i've put out a plan. the president put out a plan. it's your turn, republicans, if you want to get rid of these spending cuts. if you want to put forward a budget, now you go. >> we asked you for questions for the panel and we got this from mike johnson on facebook who writes -- there is no reason to end caps. the spending caps. what reasoning is there to spend trillions more when the debt is so high already? dana, how do you answer that pretty good question from mike? is there a danger for republicans to oppose if they oppose the president's budget, not only free community college and expanded child care but also his plan to increase defense spending? >> well i think two things. remember the administration said sequester would ruin the economy. now they say the economy is doing better they no longer need the sequester. so i'm not sure that they can actually square that circle. i think the best thing republicans can do is say thank you for your budget request mr. president. try to find democrats that will go issue by for issue by them. there's very few moderate democrats in the congress. >> george, your thoughts about the president's budget and this way -- you know the republican way would be, well if you want increases in spending in some areas, then cut spending in other areas. obviously the white house has a different view which is hundreds of billions of dollars more in new taxes. >> well, the sequester is the worst form of government except for the way we used to do it which is to have no sense of restraint whatsoever. the real problem is at a moment when the foreign policy skies are darkening, the effect of the sequester is to disportion natalie disarm the country. one half of all the cuts come from the central business of government which is national security and defense. >> let's turn to another big story this week and that is after a three-week flirtation, mitt romney decided on friday that he will not run for president. here is how he explained it to his supporters on a conference call. >> after putting considerable thought into making another run for president, i've decided it's best to give other leaders in the party an opportunity to become our next nominee. >> peter what does romney's decision tell you about where the republican party is in 2015 and what the messages he was getting from that party and where do you think it leaves the field for 2016? >> that's a great question. i think this is about mitt romney. he ran twice before. once as a nominee and the party wants to look for somebody who can win. lot of people who supported him thought this is not a time for him to come back. mitt romney himself put it this way, look i understand everybody is sitting there telling me to run are telling me that because i'm not in the race. once i were to get in the race it would look different. he tested that thesis, turned out to be true. as for 2016, obviously it leaves more room for jeb bush, chris christie to get in, the establishment part of the party clarifies that a little bit. we have a very open-ended race here. 15, 20 candidates at this point potentially. and it's a very open field. >> george did mitt romney make the right decision not to run and how do you think this shapes the field or what we think will be the field for the next two years? >> mitt romney became wealthy because he knows how to read markets. he read the political market. its response was uniformly negative. this is a mixed blessing for jeb bush. it opens up the donor class to him more but he wants to delay as long as possible. the time before the bullseye on his back says the definite article, the establishment candidate, so he has to avoid that trap. >> julie, i'm sure because they're all political animals that they talk about all of this in the white house, how do they handicap the field, what do they make of mitt romney getting in and getting out and who do you sense -- they're not going to run against whoever the candidate is it will be hilary clinton probably, but who do they think is the most formidable republican opponent? >> i think on the ladder they look at someone like jeb bush and see that he is someone was a governor, he has a record he can run on, he clearly has a donor base, he's making smart moves early. they think he would be viable. >> there's always interest in the white house about people like ted cruz ran paul because they deal with them so much on the hill. in terms of romney i don't think there were any people who wanted romney to run than the democrats and people on capitol hill. they had a great argument they could make against him. if you look at comments the president made the night before romney said he wasn't going to run, president had this pretty sharp jab against mitt romney talking about how the former presidential candidate was talking about poverty and inequality. obama welcomes that kind of debate. there may be disappointment in the white house that romney is not running this time around. >> what do you think about jeb bush and the degree the bush name is tainted? >> well if you remember, obama had this comment a few months ago he talked a americans wants a new car smell when they look at their presidential candidates. i think that they -- looking at their own experience feel like candidates who are fresh who are new can bring new ideas and new energy to presidential campaign, that that's their preferred model. they're not going to say that bush shouldn't run. i think there is some sense that maybe some younger people, a new generation should have a chance. >> do you think -- i got to pick up on this. do you think there are people in the white house who think elizabeth warren would be a better candidate for the democrats than elizabeth warren? >> they try to down play this rift between elizabeth warren and hilary clinton. for some of the people in the white house who worked for the president before who really relish a great primary fight, a great political debate, that they would like to see her in there. >> dana less than a minute left. how do you see this shaping up? a midwestern governor candidate and furthered right-wing tea party? will we have semifinals and all go off together in the finals? how will this work? >> if you look at the number of gop voters that are undecided right now, it's all of them. they're going to take all these candidates out for a test drive and see what they like. right now, if you look at the iowa polls today, scott walker is up on top. >> to be continued and very interesting. good for sunday talk shows. thank you, panel. see you all next sunday. up next, our power player of the week. a super bowl legend on today's big game. ♪ ♪ you may have heard they're playing a football game tonight. it's been a long time since my washington redskins' were in the super bowl, but the memories of one game and one player have lasted for decades. here is our power player of the week. ♪ >> super bowl is here. championship ring here. this is second place actually. >> what does that mean to you the super bowl ring? >> i don't think it's the ring so much as it is the memory really is what i have. >> and what a memory riggins has of super bowl xvii. his washington redskins trailing 17-13 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. facing fourth and one at the miami dolphins' 43 yard line. >> then the play started and all i remember is getting a piece of don mcneil or he getting a piece of me and then it was 40-some yards to the end zone. i can't believe it, i'm in the end zone. how about that? >> the redskins won the game and riggins was named most valuable player. but then he was always larger than life. for instance the super bowl party earlier that week. >> i wanted just to have fun so i rented the top hat and tails. everybody loved it. that was the kind of week i was having. >> riggins made the pro football hall of fame with his bruising runs especially the riggo drill where the redskins would run out the clock at the ended of games giving him the ball over and over. >> i came to play. i came to play. i was there to play the game and to have fun. >> which brings us to his antics off the field. >> 90% of these are rumors, chris. 90%. 10 are true. >> well i was there for 10% because i was at the next table. >> you mean the night that sandra day o'conner and i got engaged? >> it was a black tie dinner in 1985. >> i knew that justice o'conner would be sitting at our table, so i started -- i had a double scotch when i got there. then i had another. >> as the night wore on riggins said these famous words -- >> loosen up, sandy baby. but then again, you're asking me? i wouldn't make a very good witness on this one. >> after football, riggins went into acting. and now has a cable show called -- "riggo on the range." ♪ >> we're out hunting now. >> what do you think of pro football today? >> chris, i think probably the word -- there's two words that come to mind, show biz. it's all about basically deceiving you or making you think i'm going to do something else. back when vince lombardi was coaching, it was kind of look you straight in the eyes and say, can you stop me? here we come. >> as for deflate gate, riggins thinks it's been wildly overcovered but says this about the patriots' coach -- >> if i was ever to rob a bank i would take bill belichick along because i know when we get caught and we will get caught just because it's bill he ain't telling nobody anything. >> will you watch the game? >> chris it gets down to this. if i get a better offer. right now the bowl is the best offer i got, but, you know, you call me up and say, hey, i got some single malt over here, come on over who knows. >> oh, riggo. riggins is picking seating to beat new england in a close contest. his reasoning, a better running game. now a personal note. my wife lawyer rain has a new cook book out called "mr. and mrs. sunday suppers" go to our website you'll find her recipe for pork chops with glaze sweet onions. i promise, you don't want to miss it. that's it for today. have a great week and we'll see you next "fox news sunday." discover the champion in you! . . (applause) well, god bless you. it's always a joy to come into your homes and if you're ever in our area please stop by and be a part of one of our services. i promise you we'll make you feel right at home. but thanks so much for tuning in. thank you again for coming out today. i like to start with something funny. i heard about this minister. he'd been out bear hunting all day long. he searched and searched through the woods with no sign of a bear. finally, in frustration, he threw his gun down to the ground. he went down to the stream to cool off. about that time, he sees this huge grizzly bear running straight toward him full force about a hundred yards away. he fell on his