warren buffett secretary in the box. this is all theatrics. it's designed to get people in the audience who are sitting home on their duff, that obama is convinced this is a good thing for the economy to get a check. angry at the neighbors going out and working hard and are creating jobs. this is not a speech to unite. this speech will be pure politics. it will be tough to take if you are someone trying to grow the economy. who collects a paycheck. >> the first lady box is always full with people making a political statement. you know that, right? >> andrea: i do. buffett rule is so disingenuous and phony. >> dana: they will have great people in there. but they rub the whole box including warren buffett's secretary. that's the only thing anyone is talking about. >> greg: i got a preview of the talking points. i'm on the mailing list. i get things before everybody else does. i would share them with you but then i'd have the edge. the message is under the title america built to last. that is a scary notion from commander and chief that lasting is your goal. generally, that is the

warren buffett swinging like a school kid? does it have anything to do with him making big bucks off the obama pipeline decision? e-mail us at thefive@foxnews.com. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ [ mujahid ] there was a little bit of trepidation, not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪ of how a shippingiant can befriend a forest may seem lie the stuff of fairy tales. but if you take aw the faces on the trees... take away the pixie dust. take away the singing animals, and the storybook narrator... [ man ] you're ft with more electric trucks. more recycled shipping materials... and a growing number of lower emissions planes... which still makes for a pretty enchanted tale. ♪ la la la [ man ] whoops, forgot one... [ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. ♪

warren buffett and his secretary. she will be not audience. i will tell you about that in a bit to senator demint of south carolina with me now, on this issue of fairness. and, whether this pitch is going to resonate tonight. what do you think, senator? >>guest: well, it is going to be hard to sit through because the president's doing everything he can to avoid his own record. what has hurt the middle class has been his policies, the policies of the democrat party the last few years so he cannot protect the middle class we need to protect the middle class from him. >>neil: so when he argues as he will, that there has to be a way to get the nation going again and for everyone to pitch in and that the rich have not, and that maybe one way for the rich to pitch in is to pay more in taxes, we know how that going to go over with the republicans in that crowd. we don't know how it is going to go over back home, but, obviously, he has tracker would look at this, and pollsters, and it does rally the base. so, where does this go? >>guest: well, we have to convince americans that successful

-- all right. well directly ahead. did you know that warren buffett's secretary may actually be a 1%er? uh-huh. according to a "forbes" analysis we have details. that's up next. blast from the past. five of us. this is brutal. dig up our own yearbook photos. trying to heavily photo shop them in this break. give us a moment. we'll be back with that. you don't want to miss it. you'll be laughing it up forever. don't forget to e-mail us at thefive@foxnews.com. you have can't believe bob. ♪ ♪ it's such a tough... yeah. the spectrum is from lg. and the r2 unit is from... from naboo. naboo. yeah. the spectrum's got a 4.5" screen, fits nicely in your hand. r2-d2 needs a starfighter. starfighter ? that's like a million dollars in gas. yeah, it's pricey. it's got verizon's 4g lte for lightspeed downloads and a true hd screen to watch movies. i'm going to go with the... it's a good choice. ... phone. the lg spectrum powered by verizon 4g lte, for true hd mobile entertainment. ♪[music plays] when you're responsible for this much of the team... you need a car you can count on. ♪[music play

you know that warren buffett's secretary may actually be a 1%er? uh-huh. according to a "forbes" analysis we have details. that's up next. blast from the past. five of us. this is brutal. dig up our own yearbook photos. trying to heavily photo shop them in this break. give us a moment. we'll be back with that. you don't want to miss it. you'll be laughing it up forever. don't forget to e-mail us at thefive@foxnews.com. you have can't believe bob. ♪ ♪ p@?ñm Ñoy÷h>óñc>ó ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> welcome back to "the five." controversy surrounding warren buffett's secretary is heating up. you may remember debbie was a guest of the first lady at the "state of the union." and the president used her as a champion for secretaries across the country. well, he is and her boss warren buffett sat down with abc news to talk about her new role. >> you said that you felt as if you are representing secretaries across the country yesterday. >> right. i just feel like an average citizen, so maybe i should say i was representing just the average citizen who, you know, needs a voice. a

the darkness of night? >>> the secretary speaks. warren buffett and his secretary, who pays a much higher tax rate than him. he says, not fair. she's now the center of a huge debate. what does she think? an abc news exclusive. >>> sick at sea. what happens if you get sick on a cruise ship far out to sea? tonight, the incredible lengths the coast guard will go through to save you. dramatic, new picture. >>> prying eyes? that controversial, new headline. the search engine, now searching your e-mails. >>> and fighting fat. what is this high-tech suit? and what is this woman standing in? it could help you burn off your dinner tonight. the secret weapon and the new science revealed. >>> good evening. diane is on assignment tonight, set to interview the president. we'll have more on that later here. but we do begin this evening with that secret rescue mission, once again pulled off by that elite navy s.e.a.l. team 6, parachuting in under the cover of night, to save a 32-year-old american woman held hostage by pirates in somalia. here's a video the pirates took of her to prove they had he

you're averaging a return on your investment every year. having george soros or warren buffett would kill for that kind of return on investment. so a dramatic increase in wealth. i will argue at least part of that, large part of that is connected to her political position. what about a republican? the speaker of the house immediately before her was dennis pastor from illinois. dennis have stirred when he became speaker in the 1990s had a net worth around $300,000. when he left as speaker less than a decade later it was in the millions. it could potentially have been $11 million. he didn't inherit money. he didn't win the lottery. it is a function of leveraging his position in order to enrich himself. those are two individuals but there are others i talk about in the book. i name people from both political parties and this information comes from their public financial disclosures and comparing their activities with what they're working on in terms of legislation and with assets they might have to sensitive information. how does this work? how is the elected officials are able to lever

country, short of igniting these embers of class warfare. >> the president using warren buffett's secretary to kick off his class warfare campaign in last night's state of the union address. >> last night our president declared war on success. in the name of this class warfare politics. this envy. >> class warfare seems to be their talking point. and, you know, someone tweeted me today, senator, something that's very interesting. when they attack working class people and the poor, when they attack people that need assistance, when they attack people that need help, when they attack people who want the right to collective bargaining, when they attack people that want better schools, it's called responsibility. but when those people question why they pay less percentage of tax, why they have loopholes, it's called class warfare. so if the rich attack, it's not warfare. if the poor raise a question, it's warfare. there's something funny to me about that scenario. >> well, i think, al, the republicans now have a very hard and difficult hand to play. they are very much on the defensive, and they

warren buffett's secretary and so many millions of other americans are frustrated is they see policies that have been promoted for the last three years by this white house that frankly don't work. >> i have never seen i a president pit americans against each other like this president does. >> more talk of division, but the poster boy of unfairness had his own take. >> i also looked at a president who, i think is disconnected from reality. i just don't think he understands what's happening in american homes across this country. people in the middle class in america are hurting. >> the president doesn't understand the middle class? this from mr. .006%. this from let detroit go bankrupt. this from foreclosures run their course. no, willard, you are the one with the disconnect. president obama is doing what he can to fix it. joining me now from the north lawn of the white house is valerie jarrett, white house senior adviser and assistant to president obama. ms. jarrett, thanks, as always, for coming on the show. >> my pleasure. good evening, reverend sharpton. >> now after such an optimist

taxes on the rich. >> warren buffett's secretary shouldn't pay a higher tax rate than warren buffett. >> reporter: aides say he'll add detail on how to fix it from policy stand point and he may also exploit it from political stand point by literally having warren buffett's long-time secretary sit in the house chamber with the first lady and other special guests including ten people from battleground states like virginia and north carolina. >> when the middle class workers are paying more in taxes than people making $50 million a year we have to change that. >> reporter: the president may revive previous plans to institute a millionaire surtax of up to 5.6% and raise capital gains for upper income taxpayers, moves to infuriate republicans making it harder to see how both sides can come together on the president's agenda in an election year. >> i don't think it's a good idea to pit americans, one against another to divide the country. with the acerbic rhetoric of class warfare. it's un-american. not helpful. aides say one pillar is energy and may announce new drilling for oil and gas but not going

-flop will stick to him. >> basketball. >> let's talk about taxes and warren buffett's secretary. >> my net worth is within that number, between $250 million and some-odd million dollars. >> i don't blame mitt romney for paying the taxes he paid. i blame congress. >> warren buffett's secretary pays taxes at a higher rate than her boss. mitt romney pace 13.9%. how will that play in peoria? >> not well for mitt romney. he will be docked by this through the campaign -- dogged by this through the campaign. he is a poster boy it's what people say is wrong with the system, the income inequality. he is going to be -- republicans are going to come up with a nominee that they will have a lot of hard work to do to keep -- >> everybody aspires to be where mitt romney is. >> yes, and at other cycles, this may not be as much of and liability if it becomes one. in this environment, when you have in public opinion polls a sense from the public that they don't think their kids are going to make it, that is not a good place. the other thing is that a is not the number that is the problem, but the

anti-immigrant candidate? >> the idea is repulse of. >> a starring role for warren buffett's secretary. >> she pays twice the rate i paid. i think that is outrageous. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> florida republican voters g to the polls next tuesday to decide whether they want itt romney or newt gingrich for the november election. rick sanrum and ron paul are also on the ballot, but they don't haveuch juice in this one. at the thursday nigh debate, romney and in which werere trying to out-freddy and fannie each other. >> may governor romney should tell us how much money he has made of how many households or close on his investments.s. >> have youu checked your own investments? you also invested in fannie mae and freddie mac. >> romneycare makes it a point to remind us that he has never -- >> lived in -- romneycare has made it a point to remind us that he's never lived in washington d.c. still, he wants to hear pretty badly. gingrich says that by the end office second turned we will have a permanent base on the moon. >> we saw in the final days of

the president's press secretary, warren buffett out in "time" magazine cover story. he has this to say about this same tax rate, this 15% tax rate. "time" magazine writes this. buffett doesn't want to hovel capitalism, he wants to give it a heart. he says the way to do that is change our tax policy to insure that people who earn their money from investments rather than by working for a paycheck, contribute their fair share. >> right. this is exactly the point i was just making. i wrote about warren buffett's taxes. you know when he said, jenna he pay as lower tax rate than his secretary or that, and his plumber, that simply isn't true because warren buffett is like mitt romney. he owns companies. companies pays taxes. jenna, why don't we get rid of corporate income tax together, pass taxes on individual, have them pay a rate of 20%? what i believe is most economically efficient and that is, fairest for everybody is to have a flat rate tax with no deductions, no carveouts for rich people. 15 to 20%. that way everybody pays the same rate. jenna if you're 10 times richer than i am, you pa

house tonight. thanks, cecilia. >>> and now, first it was warren buffett and now it is reality tv star kim kardashian. what could they have in common? both center stage on the question of fairness in the way the country taxes the rich versus the middle class. some big unions in california have created an ad saying people like kim kardashian are the reason the tax code has to change. we asked abc anchor bianna golodryga to dig in. >> reporter: she's made a fortune by talking about, well, nothing. and now she's got a lot of important people talking about her. a lib y'all california advocacy group says kim kardashian, who made $12 million in 2010 alone, should pay more in state income taxes. they say she pays just 1% more than folks who make a middle class wage. >> the time has come for people that make the kind of money that kim kardashian makes to pay a little bit more because they benefit the most from society. >> reporter: it's an argument similar larm to the one made by billionaire investor warren buffett, who last year got the world's attention by making the case that the nation's t

between warren buffett and grover norquist. grover norquist says that no tax increases under any circumstances. warren buffett says, the wealthy in this country can pay more and they should pay more. indeed, balancing the budget is a way for more economic growth down the line. who knows more about the american economy, grover norquist or warren buffett? >> who knows more about tax policy? the right course for america is not raise taxes on americans. i understand that president obama and people of his political persuasion will like to take more money from the american people, and they want to do that to continue to grow government. and the answer for america is cannot grow government, it is to shrink government. we have been going over the last 40 years, government grows faster than the economy relative to inflation. that is why i have a plan that reduces government spending. i cut programs, all series of programs, and the number one cut is obamacare, that size is $95 billion a year. return the state's whole series of programs, and said how much goes to them, and with regard to en

saying that. we're saying we want everyone to pay their fair share. if warren buffett's secretary pays 30%, warren buffett should. and mitt's biggest problem and i told you, i think he was a good governor. but his biggest problem is he's got a tin ear fop say i made $378,000 in speeches but that's just pocket change. pocket change in this economy to the average working american? >> and you said he was a good governor. whether i agree with that or not, he's not running as governor. he's running as a businessman. >> he's running away from what he did as governor. >> exactly. >> you had john mccain out stumping for him today trying to use the bain experience in a positive light. watch this and tell me whether or not you think this is wise. >> i think rather than be embarrassed in any way about the record of bain capital, we should be glad that there are people and companies and groups that will go out and buy companies that are ailing and fix them up and make them job creators again. >> michael, they've also bought companies and fired or laid off a lot of the workers. >> yeah, but, revere

you, man. that's for sure. >>> also this morning, billionaire warren buffett's secretary and her political message about the taxes that she pays. her appearance during the president's address, and what it means to you and what it means to me and to you as well. >> she has become the poster girl for this whole message you heard in the state of the union about fairness and should the wealthy pay, you know, more taxes? she's, you know, the face of that debate now. >> mm-hmm. >>> all right. and later this half hour, forget about retirement. meet a teacher who is turning 100 years old. >> 100. >> still working. no plans to retire. >> 100? >> yep. 100. and the lessons of course that she can teach all of us. >> i love her. she looks so loving. and it's a story from my old stomping ground. >> you'll do this job till you're 100. only ten more years to go. i'm joking. i'm joking. >> come on. i'm 60. >>> but first, preparations are being made for jessica buchanan to be reunited with her loved ones following that heroic navy s.e.a.l. rescue earlier this week. >> despite a medical condition t

in the end. 19 past. martha? martha: billionaire investor warren buffett saying he wants to pay more tax tas and mitch mcconnell says, go right ahead. buffett is calling his bluff. bill: tebow time, saturday night, martha. i know where you will be. the denver broncos quarterback joining list of michael jordan and tiger woods. he is getting his own song, an '80s classic. ♪ when i grow up, i want to fix up old houses. ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight. i want to run a marathon. i'm going to own my own restaurant. when i grow up, i'm going to start a band. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're ner done growing. thanks, mom. i just want to get my car back. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. bill: so you know smoking can be deadly, all right? but not like this. sheet of glass falling from a 24-story office building, smashing on the sidewalk on the spot where

of the "buffett rule," which holds a billionaire like warren buffett should not pay a lower tax rate than his secretary, debbie bosanek. to drive the point home, bosanek will be sitting in a place of honor with the first lady at tonight's state of the union speech. >> the president believes it is not fair, inherently not fair that those who are millionaires and billionaires pay at a lower rate than average americans who are struggling to get by. >> reporter: the issue took on new urgency as mitt romney released his tax returns. showing he earned more than $42 million over the last two years- - almost all of it from investments-- and paid more than $6 million in taxes, for an effective tax rate of 14%. romney did not mention his tax rate or the buffett rule today, but he vowed to lower taxes on the middle class, and attacked the president for using what he called "divisive" language. >> we don't demonize prosperity. we celebrate success. that the difference between our party and the president. >> reporter: many economists say it makes sense to tax the kind of investment income romney

and wife out there struggling, sit around the table saying it upsets me that warren buffett doesn't pay as much as in taxes as his secretary. the thing these people have been thinking about is we've had an unemployment rate between 8 and 9% and a economy growing under 2%. >> but manufacturing is back and million jobs. >> and if we give more money to community colleges everybody will be an electrical engineer. this president is vulnerable and he knows it. he's trying to change the subject. the burden will be on his opponent not to change the subject. >> you know, the governor of indiana, mitch daniels, gave a very good response to the state of the union address and once republicans are done beating up on each other they will do well to revisit the speech. he says to stress opportunity, the have have as and soon to ha. that's what the republican party should focus on. >> my favorite was trickle down government. >> it has not worked. >> kim, if this was not successful, why are democrats so happy with it? that's the message we hear all week. they deemed delighted by this and united behi

, changes at research in motion. gas at the pump rises. and warren buffett's strange cultural exchange. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. >>> plus, the underdog film about the underdog world war ii pilots steals the thunder from the weekend's top dog at the box office. >>> the patriots survive. the giants need overtime. and remembering the life and times of football legend joe paterno. you're watching "early today." >>> good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. >>> at least 178 people were killed in attacks by islamics insurgents in northern nigeria. gunmen and car bombers struck friday in a coordinated series of attacks targeting police stations. >>> after 33 years in power in yemen, departing president ali abdullah saleh has left the country and is headed to the u.s. for medical treatment. he was badly burned during a rocket attack on his compound last summer at the height of the violent protest calling for him to resign. >>> arab league foreign ministers propose that syrian p

know her. but she's secretary to the third-richest man in the world, warren buffett. why is she there? the billionaire says she illustrates why the tax code is so unfair to workers. heays a lower tax rate than she does. which brings us to abc's jake tapper. and the president will almost certainly bring all of this up tonight. >> reporter: he will put it in terms of tax fairness. republicans will talk about class warfare. campaign 2012, in my ways, tonight, begins. preparing for his third state of the union address, president obama this afternoon walked from the cabinet room of the white house along the colonnade. >> may have a few touch-ups left. >> reporter: he was asked how he feels about the speech he'll give in a few hours. >> it's not bad. >> reporter: he may have seemed serene. but white house officials, trying to build excitement in a west wing kind of way put out this behind the scenes video with shots of his speech writers working with the president on the address. and close-ups of the pages. tonight's speech is intended as a follow-up to the fiery populism the presiden

warren buffett will -- rule. >> record home foreclosures opportunities to few, this is the real state of their union. >> under a banner saying, "obama is not working," speaking back in to douse a date. >> we make today barack obama's last state of the union address. >> poor ones, mitt romney and rival new gingrich agree. -- for once, they agree. >> i thought i might suggest a few things to improve the state of the union. >> the rnc already airing an ad blasting what it calls "the real state of the union." >> immediately after the speech, expect the amount of span that will come from both sides of the aisle and the response for the gop tonight. the president of indiana will give the gop response and for the tea party, herman cain. >> and we also know about some of the invited guests. they include adam rapp a cancer survivor benefiting from the obamacare overhaul. debbie bosanek the secretary of warren buffett, and mark kelly husband of gabrielle giffords. dickensian tire address as well as the republican response at 9:00. then we will have reaction from local members of congress on abc

warren buffett who is very popular in china for investing there and for his wealth popped up on chinese tv with a happy new year wish and a classic american folk song. ♪ i've been working on the railroad all the live long day ♪ >> who knew warren buffett to sing and why is he saving it just for the chinese? we'll look into that. >>> finally, the oscar nominations and why many are talking about the silent movie again proving silence just might be golden. ♪ >> reporter: in thomas edison's studio, dancing, no words, those steps saying it all. from there, thousands of films would be produced from the birth of a nation to slapstick comedy, so many from charlie chaplin. at the time as many as 800 silent films a year from some 20 movie studios. it was october 6th, 1927 whts films of hollywood broke their silence opening night for this movie known for breaking the barrier, you would hear the words ♪ mammy >> reporter: believed to be the first movie with speech and sound, a smash hit at the box office, the movie's profits proof to an industry to talk even more. so eight decades l

paid. rich people like mitt romney and warren buffett is twice as high as the tax rate paid on the middle class. >> so, 15%. >> that's right, that's a big differential. so it's a myth that somehow, warren buffett and mitt romney are paying less than a plumber or a secretary and of course, as we all know, barack obama is going to make that class warfare issue the center piece of his reelection campaign and he also has to do a better job, in my opinion. he said he wasn't going to apologize for being successful and then he apologizes for being successful. i think that's his problem. he's on the defensive too much. >> paul: why won't he-- we met with mitt romney, mary, he came in and we had a very good session, almost 90 minutes. why won't he come out for a tax reform that says i pay this because of the reason that steve made that point. now what, i'd like that for everybody. >> you know, i think his big problem is he wants to run as a moderate, the more center guy who can, you know, both votes from the right, but also those independents and i think he's afraid that, you know, if he ca

last year. and symbolically he'll also be talking about warren buffett, the billionaire investor who says he already pays a higher proportion in taxes than the secretary does and the secretary of warren buffett will be up there in the gallery alongside michelle obama as her husband makes his points. >> this is probably the biggest audience the president gets him except perhaps the democratic intention speech he'll give later in the summer. do you think it makes a difference in his re-election chances in what he says in the state of the union tonight? >> i think it's certainly a colossal platform for him, 43 million people nationwide watched this on television last year. there will be a similar audience but at a time when there's a real debate of the direction of the nation. so barack obama will have to think he does make a difference and will take the opportunity because the weeks and months now the republicans of course, as they run for the nomination to challenge barack obama has been sucking the oxygen of publicity and he'll try to take advantage of it tonight. >> let's talk a