"Face the Nation" transcript: August 14, 2011

Below is a rush transcript of "Face the Nation" on August 14, 2011, hosted by CBS News Chief White House correspondent Norah O'Donnell, substituting for CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer. The guests are Republican Presidential Candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., DNC Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., CBS News political analyst John Dickerson, Gwen Ifill of Washington Week and PBS NewsHouse and Dan Balz of The Washington Post.

You can watch the full show by clicking on the video player above.

GOVERNOR RICK PERRY: I declare to you today as a candidate for President of the United States.

NORAH O'DONNELL: What impact will Rick Perry have on the presidential race? We'll ask the winner of the Straw Poll, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN (R-Minnesota/Republican Presidential Candidate): You've done it, Iowa. Thank you.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Then, we'll talk to the head of the Democratic Party about the President's own campaign and his top challenger at this point, the struggling economy.

It is all ahead on FACE THE NATION.

ANNOUNCER: FACE THE NATION with CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer. And now from Ames, Iowa, substituting for Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief White House correspondent Norah O'Donnell.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Good morning. And welcome to FACE THE NATION. We're in a Memorial Union Building on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, the site of the Republican Straw Poll. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann finished first place yesterday with twenty-nine percent of the vote. Texas Representative Ron Paul came in a close second. Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty dropped out of the race today after finishing a distant third with fourteen percent of the vote. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and businessman Herman Cain rounded out the top five finishers.

Congresswoman Bachmann is with us this morning, congratulations.

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Thank you, Norah.

NORAH O'DONNELL (overlapping): And--

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Great to be with you.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Let me ask you about the breaking news this morning and that is one of your fellow challengers, a fellow Minnesotan--

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Mm-Hm.

NORAH O'DONNELL: --Governor Tim Pawlenty has dropped out of the race. Why do you think he lost?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Well, I have a great respect for the governor. I've known him for a long time and I thought he brought an important voice to the race and I'm-- I'm grateful for the competition that we had. And I think that the results that came in yesterday were ones that indicated that the field was-- it-- it was going to thin.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Were you asked for his endorsement?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: I look forward to talking to him. I hope-- hopefully, I'll be calling him very soon.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Let me show you some of the headlines of the newspapers this morning, because they note your victory, but you also share the headlines with the Governor of Texas Rick Perry, who has thrown his hat into this crowded ring.

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Mm-Hm.

NORAH O'DONNELL: How will you compete against him?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Well, I think what I'll be bringing to this race, quite clearly, is how I have been a champion and voice for people in Washington, DC. I've been at the tip of the spear. The last two months, for instance, I have been leading on this issue of not raising the debt ceiling. People want us to get our-- our House in order financially, it's not happening. They want someone who's going to stand up and do what they say and say what they mean and that's what I have been doing in Washington. They want-- they really sent a signal yesterday--

NORAH O'DONNELL: Mm-Hm.

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: --in a strong message to Washington that they want someone who is going to fight for them.

NORAH O'DONNELL: I know you've talked about that--leading that fight, being at the tip of this spear. How do you respond to, then that many Republicans, half of the Republicans ending up voting to raise the debt ceiling, half of the Tea Party caucus voted to raise the debt ceiling. How did you provide leadership if they disagree with you?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Well, I brought that voice into Washington, and I think that at we saw is that, unfortunately, I think we should have listened to the voice of the people. I've--

NORAH O'DONNELL: Not Republicans?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Well, the good fortune that I have been having is traveling all across Iowa, I will be going up to Waterloo, where I was born later today just to thank Iowans for this vote. But I've been traveling all across Iowa. I will tell you Norah, there hasn't been one time where someone has said to me Michele, I want my taxes increased and I want to make sure government can keep spending more money we don't have. That's never happened. And so, I took that voice back to Washington and we gained a lot of attraction. We had a big debate and it was important that we have that debate.

NORAH O'DONNELL: The debt and the deficit are a big deal, but even more important to voters is jobs--

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Yes, with a doubt--

NORAH O'DONNELL: --and the economy.

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: --number one.

NORAH O'DONNELL: You're going to Waterloo. You're going to share the stage there with Governor Rick Perry. Almost half of the jobs created in America in the last two years were created in Texas. How do you feel like you have helped create jobs? What's your record on jobs?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Well, I am a job creator. I'm a-- I'm a former federal tax attorney and I-- I have a post doctorate degree in tax and I spent years in the United States Federal Tax Court. I've seen up close--

NORAH O'DONNELL: How is-- was that creating jobs?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Sure. Because I understand how high taxes destroy jobs. And then, my husband and I also started our own successful company. We've created jobs and we-- as a job creator myself, I understand how difficult it is to actually make a profit in a business. I think that's a good thing to make a profit. We need more profitable businesses. And so, what I have been doing in Washington very successfully, I think, is bringing that voice to why we need to get rid of Obamacare, the Dodd-Frank Bill and the chief author of both of those repeal bills. We need to repeal these--

NORAH O'DONNELL: Mm-Hm.

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: --because I will tell you--from Cement Tech to Competitive Edge, companies I've been to here in Iowa, they tell me that those bills are leading them to not be able to create jobs.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Other than repealing Obamacare, are there other ways that you would try and help create jobs in the shore term.

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Oh, sure. What we-- what we knew-- need to do, quite frankly, is repeal the tax code, in its current form. It is 3.8 million words. We need a tax code that is job friendly. This is not a job-friendly tax code. When you have one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world at thirty-four percent, that's not going to incentivize people to start new businesses. We need to make sure we lower our tax rate and there's a number of things in the tax code that I would change and that would help job creation.

NORAH O'DONNELL: You have spent five years in the United States Congress, what can you point to as a record of accomplishment there?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Well, I-- for the bulk of my time, Speaker Pelosi has been the speaker of the House. She's not embraced my pro-growth agenda. But that hasn't deterred me, I've continued to give a voice and bring message to why the policies of President Obama has put into place have been so detrimental. That's the voice that people now want to see go into the White House, the message that we sent yesterday is the one people want in the White House because they want job creation.

NORAH O'DONNELL (overlapping): And how do you get something done in terms of-- for people that are hurting in America, in terms of the jobs picture. Even in a divided government, could you only govern well as President if you had a Republican Congress?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Well, President Obama had an all Democrat Congress and look what we got. This last week, we got a punch to the gut in the United States, like we've never seen before. We've never lost our AAA credit rating before. We've have absolutely anemic growth in the job creation numbers are-- are terrible. This isn't what we want and that's why everywhere I go across the United States, Democrats, independents, apolitical people say to me, Michele, I am voting for you because I want a new voice, I want something fresh in Washington.

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: I offered a plan, which is different from President Obama, who offered no plan. My plan was to tell the markets there is no problem with default. We will not default. And we'll-- we'll prioritize our spending. President Obama knew in January, that we were in trouble, but he presented a budget that had 1.5 trillion in failure. So he-- he in essence, his policies planned for this failure that we are in.

NORAH O'DONNELL: But that horse has left the barn. We've already raised the debt ceiling. What would you do now in terms of the state of the economy?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: The-- well, the-- the horse left the barn a-- against the better judgment of the American people. That's what I brought to bear, the better judgment of the American people. What I would do now, is I would-- I would call all of Congress back into Washington and I would say this. We will get that AAA credit rating back and this is what we'll do. We'll announce to the markets that in no case will we default. We'll pay our men and women and the military. We'll make sure all senior citizens that are currently on entitlements get their checks. But we know the entitles are-- are destroying the country, the-- this system as it's in its current form. So we're going to reform it and modernize it because my mom is eighty years old, my stepdad is eighty-seven.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Mm-Hm.

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: I love senior citizens. The last thing I want is to see one go out to the mailbox and get an IOU when they're depending on that check. So we have to reform that system.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Congresswoman, let me turn to something you said in 2006. I want to play the audio so our--

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Sure.

NORAH O'DONNELL: --viewers can hear this as well. Let's listen.

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN (October 2006; recording, Speech at Living Word Christian Center): My husband said, "Now you need to go and get a post-doctorate degree in tax law. Tax law? I hate taxes. Why should I go into something like that? But the lord says, be submissive. Wives, you are to be submissive to your husbands."

NORAH O'DONNELL: Congresswoman, what do you mean wives should be submissive to their husbands?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Well, there was a debate earlier this week and that question was asked in the debate and for my husband and I, submission means respect, mutual respect. I respect my husband, he respects me. We've been married thirty-three years. We have a great marriage. We've built a business together. We've had five children together. We raised twenty-three foster children together in our home. And respecting each other, listening to each other is what that means.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Would you use a different word today other than submissive?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: You know, I guess it depends on-- on what word people are used to, but respect is really what it means.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Do you think submissive means subservient?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Not to us. To us it means respect. We respect each other, we listen to each other, we love each other and that is what it means.

NORAH O'DONNELL: And then finally, you are headed on to Waterloo today. What's next? How do you compete for the Republican nomination?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Well, as we are now, we're going person to person, state by state. I've been taking my message all across Iowa, and people resonate with that message. We'll be in South Carolina this week and then on to New Hampshire. And so, we'll be going person to person, voter to voter, state by state, to take my pro-growth, pro-jobs message. And as President of the United States, I will repeal Obamacare and I will not rest until we do.

NORAH O'DONNELL: And do you feel like your campaign has received fair coverage? I want to point specifically to the cover of Newsweek magazine. And your friend Sarah Palin was here in the Iowa this week and she said that she thought that the headline was worse than the picture, the headline reads Queen of Rage. How do you feel about that?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Well, you know this last week I was focused on what was happening in the country. I was trying to prevent President Obama from getting that 2.4 trillion dollar check.

NORAH O'DONNELL (overlapping): I know and you won. So what about the cover?

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Well, quite honestly, when-- when you lose your AAA credit rating and when you lose thirty Americans in Afghanistan, a magazine cover is really the least of your problems. So it really didn't make any impact on me. I was more focused on the country and how we're going to create jobs and turn the economy around.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Congresswoman Michele Bachmann congratulations on your victory.

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: Thank you.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Thank you for being here. We appreciate it.

REPRESENTATIVE MICHELE BACHMANN: We'll talk to you again.

NORAH O'DONNELL: And we'll be back in a minute to hear from the head of the Democratic National Committee.

(ANNOUNCEMENTS)

NORAH O'DONNELL: And welcome back to FACE THE NATION. Congresswoman Debbie Wassermann Schultz is also in Iowa this weekend and joins us now. Congresswoman, good to see you. I know--

REPRESENTATIVE DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (/D-Florida/Chair, Democratic National Committee; overlapping): Good to see you as well.

NORAH O'DONNELL: --you're here focused on many of the Republicans, who are part of the Iowa Straw Poll, but it was another Republican in South Carolina Governor Rick Perry who threw his hat into the ring and also offered a withering attack on President Obama's economic leadership and he talked about the S&P downgrade. I want you to listen.

GOVERNOR RICK PERRY: The fact is for nearly three years President Obama has been downgrading American jobs. He's been downgrading our standing in-- in the world. He's been downgrading our financial stability. He's been downgrading our confidence and downgrading the hope for a better future for our children. That's a fact.

NORAH O'DONNELL: The governor said that for nearly three years President Obama has been downgrading American jobs, downgrading our standing in the world and downgrading our financial stability. I am sure you disagree with that. But what's factually inaccurate about what he said?

REPRESENTATIVE DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: I-- I am incredibly proud of President Obama's accomplishments. This is a President that took on the health insurance industry and reformed health care to make sure that every American could have coverage and insurance companies couldn't drop you or deny you coverage. Took on Wall Street, made sure that banks were not ev-- ever again too big to fail, made sure that we began to get our economy turned around. So I think Americans are appreciative of the-- the hard work and effort and accomplishment that President Obama has made and certainly that those accomplishments are not reflective of any of the government-- governor's inappropriate comments.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Inappropriate, but what about the--

REPRESENTATIVE DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (overlapping): In-- inaccurate.

NORAH O'DONNELL: --and what about the argument that since the President has taken office that there hasn't been a strong turn-- turnaround. For instance, you have said repeatedly that we're in much better shape than we were when President Obama took office. But the facts are-- are very difficult, perhaps for the Democratic Party and that is this. That unemployment was at 7.3 percent, when he took office, now it's at 9.1 percent, unemployment up twenty-five percent, 11.1 million were unemployed then compared to almost fourteen million unemployed now. And thirteen and a half million more people are on food stamps today. How are we in quote, unquote "much better shape" as you argue?

REPRESENTATIVE DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Well, President Obama inherited a huge problem, the-- the worst recession that we have had since the Great Depression, created by the policies-- the failed policies of the previous Republican administration, where we went from a record surplus to a record deficit. And so, working our way out of that problem is incredibly challenging but-- but the fact remains that before President Obama took office, Norah, we were bleeding seven hundred and fifty thousand jobs a month, the economy was in freefall, we were on the precipice of economic disaster. And now, two and a half years later, although, we have a long way to go and we need to work together and come together to get the economy to continue to move, we've created 2.4 million private sector jobs, seventeen straight months of private sector job growth. So, we have begun to turn things around. We acknowledge that we have a long way to go and we are certainly no longer in freefall. We've just got to keep our nose to the grindstone and-- and keep focused.

NORAH O'DONNELL: But how you draw a contrast then against the governor of Texas, where nearly half of the jobs that have been created in America were created in Texas?

REPRESENTATIVE DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: There are dramatic contrasts with-- with the governor of Texas, not the least of which is that it's extremely difficult for him to deserve credit for that job creation when you have rising gra-- gas prices that created oil jobs that he had nothing to do with, when you had military spending as a result of two wars that he-- that created military jobs that he had nothing to do with. When you had the Recovery Act championed by President Obama that created jobs in Texas that he had nothing to do with. So it-- it is way over blown to suggest that the job creation in Texas is-- is squarely on the shoulders of-- of his policies.

NORAH O'DONNELL: We're going to have an interesting day on-- on Monday here in Iowa, because not only is Governor Perry going to be here but President Obama is going to be here in Iowa. He's getting-- launching a Midwest bus tour through three different states, key swing states--Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa. His approval rating, I just want to show you his approval rating in some of these states. In Iowa, it's dropped from sixty-one to forty-nine percent in just two years. In Minnesota, it's dropped fourteen percent, sixty-six to fifty-two percent. And even in his home state of Illinois, the President's approval has gone down seventeen points, seventy-one to fifty-four percent. Is the President in trouble?

REPRESENTATIVE DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Not at all. The President is-- in actually remarkably good shape given that he is still struggling to help pull our economy out of the Republican-- the Republican recession that he inherited. He-- his numbers are still strong. He still has widespread support. If anyone is in trouble, it's the Republican Party. Right now, they have a collection of candidates for President, who are busy out trying to-- trying to out right win each other. Essentially, they are all so similar that they might as well be Legos. They are that interchan-- they are that interchangeable. You have a-- a President who has asked the country to compromise, tried to bring them together, and all nine presidential candidates the other night raised their right hand at a debate and said, even when faced with the most reasonable question, would you support a deficit reduction deal that would be ten to one cuts to revenue? They still said no. That's how strangled by the Tea Party that they are and that's not what Americans are looking for, they are looking for solutions.

NORAH O'DONNELL: All right, the debate has begun, Congresswoman Debbie Wassermann Schultz. Good to see you.

REPRESENTATIVE DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: You too.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Thank you so much for joining us.

REPRESENTATIVE DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Thanks so much, Norah.

NORAH O'DONNELL: And I will be back in a moment with our political panel. Stay with us.

(ANNOUNCEMENTS)

NORAH O'DONNELL: Joining us now, a team of the best in the business, Dan Balz is the chief correspondent for the Washington Post, Gwen Ifill is the host of Washington Week, and the senior correspondent for PBS NewsHour, and John Dickerson is our own CBS news political analyst. Thank you all so much for being here.

John, wow the race for the Republican nomination is on. We've breaking news this morning, and we have got a different landscape.

JOHN DICKERSON (CBS News Political Analyst): That's right. You know, the-- the Republican race has been on a bit of a slow roll for now. And then in the last twenty-four hours, bang we've one candidate jumping in Governor Perry. One drops out Tim Pawlenty and we now have a front runner in Iowa, Michele Bachmann. So now the-- and that's the new pace and we have a new top tier and it is Perry, Mitt Romney and Bachmann. And the question now will be the one that was debated here in Iowa, which is which candidate can best express those Tea Party values, the Tea Party is the animating force in Republican politics and would-- but which candidate can get elected in the general election. That's the key question for the months ahead.

NORAH O'DONNELL: And Gwen what about that we're going to see Governor Perry here in Waterloo, Iowa. Michelle Bachmann switched her schedule around to go to Waterloo is well defend her home turf.

GWEN IFILL (Washington Week, PBS NewsHour): No fool is she.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Yes. What does it say about the Republican Party now the fact that Tim Pawlenty couldn't ignite any excitement?

GWEN IFILL: You know, in past campaigns we have always seen the Republicans eventually flock around the presumed leader. We-- that's why we've been paying so much attention to Mitt Romney who completely dropped off the face of the earth in the discussion yesterday. But one of the things that we're seeing this time, is the debate is-- is between at least for now, until Mitt Romney finds a way to elbow his way back in, between Tim Perry-- Jack Perry-- Governor Perry. Governor Perry and--

JOHN DICKERSON: They are all interchangeable like legos.

GWEN IFILL: --and Congresswoman Bachmann but the reason is because they are fighting for just their base. And that's what the-- the Democrats and-- and Debby Wasserman Schultz hoping they'll do--fight for the Tea Party while they're trying while they are trying to still go to the middle. And we don't whether either one of them is capable or even wants to at this stage to get to do that.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Dan, Gwen makes an excellent point about Mitt Romney, and I can show you one of the papers today, The Boston Herald and says that, you know, Rick Perry is Mitt Romney's worst nightmare. Is there some truth to that?

DAN BALZ (Washington Post): There is some truth to that. I mean, Governor Perry comes from a very big and important state. He's been the governor of that state for a decade, longer than anybody in the history of Texas. He has a record he can talk about on job creation. The question about Rick Perry that is unanswerable at this point is what kind of a candidate he will be on the national stage. He's been a very effective candidate in Texas. But we don't know when somebody steps out of that comfort zone that he is so familiar with, and on to something that is totally different, how he's going to perform.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Well, we're going to see how he is going to perform, right, John, because we've got three debates in September for the Republican candidates.

JOHN DICKERSON: That's right. He-- we got three debates and he-- the expectations are very high, with-- we've never really had a Superman candidate swoop in and take over the field. History is really littered with candidates who came in and weren't-- what-- what was expected. So he'll have to perform in those three debates. He'll have to just perform in the small rooms of Iowa and New Hampshire, a much different stage than in Texas. And he's going to have lots of investigative reporters going down to Texas. He'll have to be fighting off those stories about his terms in office while he is trying to actually mount a campaign that is a tough juggling act.

GWEN IFILL: Here's the huge advantage for Governor Perry. I expect-- he was talking to a lot of voters yesterday at the Iowa Straw Poll and of course, they are your most committed, most engaged but even the ones who are voting for also ran at least for the purposes of-- of the Straw Poll like Rick Santorum and people who were speaking only specifically about social conservative issues, they were saying, you know I like my guy but I really want somebody to beat President Obama. And they are so animated to oust President Obama that he may be able to make the case that I am best able to do that no matter how exciting the other people sound.

JOHN DICKERSON: I ran into that sentiment in the Bachmann tent.

GWEN IFILL: Yes.

JOHN DICKERSON: There was couple there who said, you know if Perry was here we might be in his tent.

GWEN IFILL: So you think that some of the Bachmann people could actually be interested in Governor Perry?

JOHN DICKERSON: If he performs and that's Dan's point, which is that he has got a lot of hurdles to jump over and he's got to show that he can do this balancing act, talk to the Tea Party but also show that he is a viable to the election.

DAN BALZ: And I think-- I think Governor Romney is going to try to make the case that he has a greater ability to reach to the key voters in a general election, that he can do better in the Midwest, for example, or these Upper Midwest states than Rick Perry. Rick Perry has been terrific at appealing to a conservative base in Texas, but he hasn't had to deal with independents down there.

NORAH O'DONNELL: And President Obama is beginning his first bus tour of his presidency here in the Midwest, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois. He will be here in Iowa at the same time as Governor Rick Perry. We're going to have sort of a debate of sorts on-- on Monday, a different visions on the economy by President Obama and Governor Rick Perry.

GWEN IFILL: Because no matter what you think about the Straw Poll and whether it was predictive and whether-- no matter what you think about the caucuses and whether they are predictive, it should be pointed out that the last person to actually get elected President to win a Straw Poll was-- was George W. Bush. Though it's not necessarily predicting the next President but it means that Iowa is going to be a battleground state. President Obama won it in 2008, but it's up for grabs this time.

NORAH O'DONNELL: And, Dan, how vulnerable is President Obama on the economy and other issues?

DAN BALZ: Well, if you just go by the numbers, Norah, he's very vulnerable. I mean 9.1 percent unemployment growth at under two percent. We go back to the Reagan example from 1983 and '84. He had high unemployment and he had low approval ratings but he had growth numbers at this point in 1983 that were so far above what anybody expects coming out. He was in the eight and nine percent growth in-- in the economy at that point that gave a sense of a lift. President Obama doesn't have that to look forward to. And so, he's going to have a very difficult time.

JOHN DICKERSON: So, how does he get out of it? Prayer and also--

GWEN IFILL: He'll be calling Governor Perry for that?

JOHN DICKERSON: He hopes that Governor Perry perhaps is the nominee and he can run against this idea that, oh, another Texan? And also, the President will then be able to run against another candidate, spend all those millions he's raising against one person rather than having to defend his record all the time. He hopes, of course, to change that conversation.

GWEN IFILL: But Norah, he has to switch up because so far, all the Democratic campaign fire has been dedicated to Governor Romney. They have been-- they have been thinking that eventually the Republicans will come home and this will be a real-- a real opponent. Now Governor Perry throws a complete, you know, spanner into the works.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Yeah, absolutely. All Right, thanks to a fabulous round table. Great to have all of you. Dan Balz, Gwen Ifill, John Dickerson, thanks so much.

And that's all we have time for today. Thanks for watching FACE THE NATION. We'll see you all back here next week.

ANNOUNCER: This broadcast was produced by CBS News, which is solely responsible for the selection of today's guests and topics. It originated from Ames, Iowa and Washington, DC.