and if you have a hit or miss, send it to jer@foxnews.com. thank you to my panel and all of you for watching, i'm paul gigot, hope to see you right here next week. . >> jon: on fox news watch, as the fighting in afghanistan raged, some white house advisors apparently were fighting their own battles. that according to this new book, but is there more to the story that the media aren't telling? >> watch how this campaign unfolds. they started the ads this week and they're attacking me personally, they're not attacking where i stand on stimulus. >> jon: all eyes are on delaware's christine o'donnell as mid term elections are fast approaching, but the g.o.p. senate candidate takes a pounding even from some within their own party and media are after her, too, good journalism are political piling on? >> and enough is enough. >> jon: corruption in

california as eight city council members are arrested following a salary scandal. but you probably don't know their party affiliation, j is that not part of the story for virtually all of the coverage. he's the most trusted news man in america, is he a political leader? on the panel, writer and fox news contributor judy miller. syndicated columnist cal thomas, jim pinkerton, fellow new america foundation and columnist kirsten powers, i'm jon scott, fox news watch is on right now. the man who helped blow open the watergate scandal, bob woodward has written a book about the division within the white house regarding the war in afghanistan. in obama's wars, woodward writes that some of the president's top advisors were actively undermining each other as they debated the afghan war strategy and the book reports that the president set a withdrawal plan because he said, quote, i can't lose the whole democratic party. so, judy, what's been the

media reaction? >> well, there has been a firestorm much to simon & schuster's absolute delight because i'm sure they were worried about a book about the afghan war, but look, it's been-- some of it's been very, very critical, les geld called the portrait of obama that emerges, a professor in president's clothes. he said give me a break, this man is supposed to be president and he can't get the plan he wants on afghanistan. other people have said, well, no, he emerges as compassionate and thoughtful. you know, my reaction to this is, why don't we wait and see what's actually in the book? all of these reviews begin. i haven't read the book, but i'm going to wait to read the book. >> jon: they have done a good job of keeping the book under wraps. >> of course because it also helps sales. >> jon: you have said jim, that the media treatment of the office holders much more harshly when it comes to

things like this, president books was-- president bush was the subject of books. >> the portrait of obama is not bad. the portrait of his white house is terrible. so, who knows what obama thinks about the book. he might they he's coming across as a smart guy. i agree with judy that that les geld piece is telling, he has to write his own memo because he can't get the staff to do it for him. which is a strange way to run the country. the largest question, how can you run a foreign policy, a military policy when everybody in pakistan or afghanistan knows that every conversation they have with richard holbrook or with hillary clinton is going to wind up in a book six months later? >> well, is it because, does the president get that kind of treatment because he is on par with bob woodward as a hero of some reporters? >> it's a danger to welcome bob woodward into the white house because you don't know exactly what you're going to get. if you go back into the fox

news watch archives you will hear me predict at the height of obama's popularity that even more than the love the media have for obama is their love for a good story and when he doesn't measure up to this messiahic vision projected on him, but by him, the media will turn. bob woodward's book gives the rest of the media to turn. they won't turn on his policies, but turn as michael moore and keith olbermann got into it because he's not liberal enough. >> that's a refrain you seem to hear from the media a lot these days. >> i actually think the reason this is so attractive to the media because it involves a bunch of in-fighting and petty, you know, the little disputes between people that have been longstanding and i think most people in washington already know about, but now it's all been exposed for everybody else and so, i think if there was actually some serious substance in this

it wouldn't be getting the same level of attention. >> i think the bulk of coverage is about the infighting between the different people and that's what people are focusing on. if you then want to read more into it, you can find out more substantive stuff, but let's face it, what most people are talking about is the name calling and this person hated this person and that person hated the other person, the junior high school stuff they did the same thing with bush, you know, with the infighting among bush's advisors. >> you know, judy, i was reminded of the rolling stone article on general stanley mcchrystal which exposed infighting in the obama administration and you know, it cost the general his job. >> right. >> is the same thing going to result from the book? >> of course not, because the president authorized bob woodward the access that bob woodward enjoyed. >> as long as the president said-- >> exactly, it's amazing, absolutely amazing. >> obama authorized general jones to call the guy across the hall, and don't think he authorized david petraeus to call him a spin doctor.

>> there's more than junior high attitude in this. as the washington post and from the 43 white house written on the commentary blog and one in "the washington post," this is not a warrior president. from the beginning he's not talking about victory and bringing the war to a conclusion that will benefit freedom in america, he's talking about getting out and not spending money on it. >> kirsten, what about it. if you're in the white house why do you let bob woodward come in and expose your dirty laundry? >> well, i think that they presume that bob woodward will get access somehow, he will be able to get people one-on-one to talk and they want a opportunity to tell their side of the story. that's part of it. the other part they're full of themselves and believe, oh, once bob woodward comes in and sees me he's going to write a definitive book what an amazing leader i am. clearly they're not aware of how they are or they would not be doing this kind of stuff around, you know, so bob

woodward could find out about it. >> the sad thing is, there is obviously real news in the book like, hamid karzai, the leader of afghanistan is clinically manic depressive and we're asking american men and women to die for a man who has to take his meds and that i found shocking and media paid little attention. >> jon: the bbc's mark marredle called it, the book, a scathing portrait. that's pretty strong. >> we'll see what happens when it gets more coverage as it gets released in the weeks ahead. time for a break. first check out the new website and keep an eye on the big media stories in our watch list section. you can also go behind the scenes and listen to the discussions we have in here during the commercial breaks. it's all very interesting and it's right there for you. up next, delaware's republican nominee for the u.s. senate christine o'donnell is done with the national media at least for now. smart strategy or will it back fire on this tea party

favorite? >> she's drawing fire from both sides. >> i'm not going to do anymore national media because this is my focus, delaware is my focus and the local media is my focus. >> why is delaware's darling shunning the national media? plus, eight city council members were arrested in california. did the mainstream media withhold one tiny fact intentionally? answers next on news watch. ♪ for he's a jolly good fellow ♪ the meeting's tomorro in dals ♪

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>> you're going to forget the taunting, if you will, of the national media. >> let me say what they will. >> and rand paul went through the same thing started doing a lot of national media and you know what, i'm sticking with kentucky. you're saying no to the national media. >> i'm not going to do more national media, delaware is my focus and the local media. >> and that's her appearance

with sean ahannity. she had been scheduled on sunday morning chat shows and pulled the plug at the last minutes. why? >> the witch rumors or the witch story was a little too much and they were kind of-- bill maher, since he revealed this she's been fighting a defensive campaign since. >> jon: why not go on then, and explain yourself. >> i think she will. she's tactically going underground until she gets her head together, but two months before the election, i predict she's on every show you want her to be on between now and november. >> jon: kirsten you're watching her speaking there and you're watching your head, shaking your head oh, i think tactically for her not to do national media is totally the wrong way to go. she has a limited amount of time and i think the attacks from the media help her. if she can do a sarah palin she has a lot in common with sarah palin and spunky

self-confidence and these are all the people who are in charge, they're attacking me, push back again it and she would get more attention and rally people to her aside. >> jon: do the attacks on sarah palin help her. >> certainly helped her with a million dollar book, a contract with fox and some big speaking engagements, that's not bad. i agree with jim and kirsten, i think that she's going to have to come on and do it with a self-deprecating humor, halloween weekend with a hat and broom and say, hi, folks, i'm the good witch and destroy them, but you're right she's using things from her youth the way they did bush 43 about his drinking and given up and-- >> and well, that's fine, but he was a new man and all of that he said and they're trying to distract from the problems of no jobs and all of these other economic and other problems we have. >> jon: but delaware is a small state, why not stick with the local media. >> i don't think it matters, local, national media in this media environment, come on,

everything she says is going to be looked at and by the way, she's diverted attention from the real story, which is the allegation that she's spent $20,000 from campaign funds illegally. i mean, that to me strikes me as a more serious question about her witchdom. >> look at the fact the opponent called himself a bearded communist, quote, in his-- and the democrats on taxes gave up the effort to repeal the bush tax cuts and it's complicated, but the bottom line is that if the democrats get their way we're going to have a-- everybody in the country is going to have a huge tax increase in january. and if the wave is politics is anti-democratic and anti-incumbent, then o'donnell has a pretty good shot no matter what she does. >> jon: would you agree because she is a favorite of the tea party she's ostracized in the media? >> no, i think that the things that she says is why the media are attacking her, but i think that if you actually go

through most of the things she said, i mean, come on, the witch thing happened in high school, it's ridiculous, i can't believe how much it comes up in the media and a lot of the other stuff sort of orthodox, doctrine christian positions and the bottom line, she's a christian and happens to believe what the church says, she would easily request defend if she would stop letting people spin it out of control. i think a lot more people would identify with her belief than the belief of the media. >> i agree with that and the big story the rise of the conservative women. when feminism came on the scene, this was the wave of the future. all about women, women, women. now that the conservative women are rising through the ranks, and many of them very, very credible, and good public servants and weng office all of a sudden, the whole female bonding thing isn't as strong as it used to be in the '70s. >> jon: time for another break, up next, eight members

of the city council in bell, california arrested. the feds say it's a case of corruption on steroids and yet, almost no media outlets found it important to mention all eight are members of one political party. why? . . >> it's corruption on steroids in california. but did the media report all of the facts in the arrest of city council members? and john stuart launches a rally to restore sanity. has the most trusted news man gone too far? that's next on news watch. [ announcer ] how do you plus up breakfast?

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. >> jamie: the loans were unauthorized and weren't any process and regardless whether or not they were paid back they were illegal.

you can't take public money and say i'll get it back to you next week, that's a crime. >> prosecutor jennifer snyder talking about the current and former city council members in bell, california who are arrested on corruption charges. there have been more than 300 stories on the scandal, but just one paper mentioned their party affiliation. one newspaper cough it up, the orange county register did finally mention that these allegedly corrupt officials are all democrats, but it was only in response to reader complaints about the peculiar omission. why did that happen, cal? >> gee, i wonder why. especially surprised in orange county supposed to be a conservative county, but there's a way that the viewers can now assess this information if they don't mention the party, the party of the person who is being perp walked, it's a democrat. that's the way to do it. >> if all of the republicans, would it have drawn the attention of the papers and media. >> i don't know what the relevance is, we're supposed to believe that somehow the behavior of the people are

representative of all democrats? this is a very unusual situation, not something that happens very often and i mean, sure should they have padded it? okay. i don't see it as a conspiracy. >> the l.a. times had a perfectly good explanation why they didn't mention this, these were nonpartisan posts and these people hadn't run because they were republicans or democrats. weren't there because it's one or other. it's nonpartisan so shouldn't have had anything to do with the story. >> hats off to news busters, first on the national level and i think that actually, the common thing as cal says, i have an e-mail pal that find examples she finds of criminals, never mentioned party registration and the particular will offender in her mind is ap for not doing this. >> jon: if she remembers the clinton impeachment thing, dan rather every night spoke of ken starr and he said the republican ken starr and labeled him and jessie helmes,

the republican jessie helmes, when there's a policy they don't like, they label it as a republican. when it's something they do like or-- let's move on to a shuffle of top executives at cnn and nbc. first, cnn announced on friday that john cline, the president of cnn u.s. is exiting that network after six years on the job, and a memo of jeff zucker chief at nbc universal states he's stepping down from his position after nbc is taken over by the comcast cable television empire. so, what about the departure of these two, what does it say about the media age? >> well, in john klein's case, i think it says something about cnn ratings. he's had six years to try and address the loss and in fact, things have gotten worse and the issue is, why did it take them so long. >> the new york times online posted an article about

klein's departure and i found this quote interesting attributed to the online new york times, he said some reporters like anderson cooper, sole dad o'brien and sanjay gupta transformed into global news superstars during my time here, that's one of achievements, is that what they're supposed to do turn people into stars. >> i think that's what they puzzled over, the glossy advertising campaigns and billboards and you know, really trying to convince people that these are people that you're really supposed to want to watch, but meanwhile, you know, fox is spending almost no money that i'm aware of promoting people like shepard smith and he still has-- is killing everybody with-- >> maybe cnn should just cover the news. that's a novel idea. >> i think zucker and klein are ideal for the plumbing industry because they've driven the ratings for both networks into the toilet. it doesn't matter who replaces

them they're liberals and have the same world view. it's like replacing the captain of the "titanic." the thing is still going down. >> we have to take one more break. when we come back jon stewart heads to washington. >> jon stewart is planning a rally to restore sanity. >> see you october 30th on the national mall. >> how did he get to the place where media figures are playing politicians? that's next on news watch. oul. it was a real shock. i remember being at the hospital thinking, "i should have done more to take care of myself." you should've. that's why i'm exercising more now. eating healthier. and i also trust my heart to lipitor. [ male announcer ] when diet and exercise are not enough, adding lipitor may help. lipitor is a cholesterol-lowering medication that is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients o have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. lipitor is backed by over 18 years of research. lipitor is not for everyone,

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the rally to restore sanity. he sat down bill o'reilly to explain why. >> when i go out to real americans, plumbers and such, they tell me they don't feel represented by these system, like fox news and other things like that. they say the real voice of the people have been muted by extremists. that the loudest voices carry the day. what i am hearing they want to feel a catharsis that they are not alone. we are trying to find that slim sliver between pinheads and patriots, if you will. >> there is no denying that glenn beck and the tea party movement have given jon stewart all kinds of material to work with this year but his rally is raising eyebrows. he is moving closer to moving toward the establishment that he

lamb poons. is he becoming a politician? >> i think he is a public figure and he is playing off being a public figure. there is no problem with it in my mind. i think he talks frequently and it's a legitimate gripe he has with the media, he feels it's too polarized and doesn't represent most people. >> five words, a face in the crowd, 1950s movie starring andy griffith about a talk show host that thought he was leader. see the movie. >> seriously, you can't suggest that somehow strange that jon stewart is doing this. >> it's almost predictable. >> jon stewart is a performer, he says he is a performer. >> than the odd site of steven colbert testifying in front of a congressional committee on frid