Transcripts For CNN The Situation Room 20120719

headquarters to keep hammering a comment made by the president last friday. >> if you got a business, you didn't build that. somebody else made that happen. >> reporter: a new romney web video features a small business owner taking issue with the president's remarks. >> my father didn't build this company. >> reporter: and it's catching on with republicans. take this twit pick of a restaurant sign that reads "mr. obama, i did create this business." taking the words out of context about the need for spending for private businesses. so obama's team put out its own web video showing romney echoing the president's message. >> we value school teachers, firefighters, people who build roads. >> reporter: but for months democrats and the obama campaign have done their own selective editing making a meal out of romney's own gaffes. >> i like being able to fire people that provide services to me. >> reporter: republicans say they're focused on the president's record. noting in a new web video mr. obama hasn't met with his own jobs council in six months. >> no. there's no reason except the president's got a lot on his plate. >> reporter: the fierce battle has had little effect on the latest cnn poll of polls which shows the race nearly deadlocked. but another poll from usa today and gallup could be more worrisome for romney. it shows a majority of americans want to see more of the gop contender's tax returns. something mrs. romney told abc is not happening. >> you just want to give more material for more attack. that's just the answer. and we've given all people need to know and understand about our financial situation and about how we live our life. >> reporter: meanwhile, romney may be getting a lifeline from all people -- former house speaker nans si pelosi said earlier today that too much time in this campaign has been spent on the tax return issue. meanwhile, over in the senate john mccain tells cnn's piers morgan, his team found nothing in the tax returns that would have disqualified romney in his own vice presidential search four years ago. wolf. >> so i take it this notion that we had earlier in the week that a vice presidential running mate could be selected before he heads off to london for the olympic games and then going to israel to meet with the israeli prime minister, it looks like all the vice presidential discussion is now going to have to be delayed until he comes back until after the olympic games are over in mid-august before the republican convention at the end of august in tampa? >> reporter: it looks that way right now, wolf. earlier in the week it looked like the romney campaign may be searching for some kind of way to change the conversation off of all of that talk on bain capital and the tax returns. but then came this gift from president obama himself, those words, you didn't build that, that gave the romney campaign a chance to switch gears and go on the attack against the president using really his own words instead of having to come up with a hurried vice presidential announcement. and, wolf, there are some tea leaves to read here. kelly aot said to be high on mitt romney's vice presidential search list, she is going to be appearing with mitt romney up in new hampshire tomorrow. the romney campaign announced that yesterday. wolf, i think it stands to reason that the campaign would not have announced this event, would not have said slooes going to be at this event up in new hampshire if they were going to somehow come out tomorrow and announce she's the vice presidential running mate. so i think that's an indication that perhaps this window before he goes to the olympics is closing and that the vice presidential announcement will come off the olympics are over, wolf. >> they haven't released his exact schedule yet. when he's going to be in london, israel, when he's heading back to the united states. he's going to poland as well. do we know any details about that? >> reporter: wolf, i can tell you right now that, yes, all three of those countries are on the schedule. but right now the romney campaign has kept the specific details of this trip very close to the vest. i think they're still working out some of those details. and i think for security reasons, wolf, they haven't completely released all of that to the public as of this point. we hope to have more details perhaps this weekend on specific details of the trip, wolf. >> jim acosta covering mitt romney for us and doing an excellent job. thank you. three new polls agree the presidential race is a dead heat. but a closer look reveals some real weak spots for the obama campaign. our chief political analyst, gloria borger, is here. i looked at that "new york times" cbs poll and it clearly showed that there are weak spots for the president. >> and it all goes down to the question of the economy. wolf, as we've been saying all along, this is going to be an election about the economy. and what the "new york times" poll shows is that people's perceptions on the direction of the economy are beginning to harden. and they're hardening in the wrong direction as far as the obama campaign is concerned. take a look at this. when you say is the economy getting better? if you look at where it was in april, 33% and now it's down to 24%. and that really -- i was talking to some pollsters today, democratic pollsters, they consider that to be a really significant drop. also, the question is asked do you approve or disapprove of the way the president is handling the economy? now the approval rate you see is 39%, but back in april it was 44%. so the perceptions are hardening. and this is really not good news for the president. >> this number is significant. do you approve the president's handling of the economy, it's such a significant factor, the economy, the economy, the economy. >> right. and you see that 55% disapprove. now, the question is, do they believe that mitt romney would do a better job than president obama? that has to be decided. but what you see the obama campaign really trying to do right now is disqualify mitt romney essentially as a candidate. and they figure if they can do that, then the people will say, okay, you know what, we may not be thrilled, but we really don't want to take that risk. so we're going to re-hire president obama. >> they're trying to do to romney what the republicans did to michael due caucus in 1988. >> if you look at the polling, wolf, to me what's interesting in the polling so far it hasn't moved the numbers. the thing we should look at and this race is a statistical dead heat, but what we have to look at is the races in the key battleground states. because that's where this election is going to be either won or lost. and right now most of the battleground states and you see are really still a dead heat. you look at ohio, the president is up nine points. some people believe it's not as high as nine points. but that's where this election is going to be fought. and this is where it's going to be won or lost. >> if the president wins in ohio, it would be a huge, huge win. no republican has won the white house without winning ohio. >> right. >> i think it would be because the president helped save the auto industry. and so many jobs in ohio, obviously michigan, but in ohio and other states in the midwest are dependent on the supply route for the auto industry. that would be a huge thing. >> right. that's such a key battleground state for both parties right now. and the question is whether suburban women might go for mitt romney in that state. so it's really up for grabs. so not only do you have a national poll dead heat, but you have battleground states dead heat. and some republicans are saying, you know what, if the perception is that the economy is not doing so well, why isn't mitt romney further ahead? >> as important as the national polls, the battleground state polls are much more important. gloria, thanks so much. >> exactly. >> jack cafferty's joining us right now with the cafferty file. jack. >> tough to believe still three months to go before the election. it's already turned into a knife fight. the air waves flooded with negative ads. they come at us from both sides now often, loud, obnoxious, borish and lack anything resembling dignity. most are irrelevant. coming from president obama and the democrats, they take aim at things like mitt romney's old tax returns, time at bain capital more than a decade ago. as for romney and the republicans, their attack ads focus on obama care, the disappearance of hope and change and the economy and jobs, which at least resonates for a lot of people. one obama ad features romney singing "america the beautiful" offkey while a romney ad has the president singing "i'm so in love with you." it's childish. they don't address the real problems. $16 trillion national debt, 8.2% unemployment, rapidly approaching fiscal cliff. instead they fill the air waves, tv screens, computers with noise. when asked about negative ads, president obama told cbs news he's done "a whole slew of positive ads talking about education, the tax code, how to rebuild america and promote energy development, but they're not getting news coverage." probably true. but without the negative ads, maybe the media would pay more attention to the positive stuff. just a thought. we recently reported in the cafferty file that negative ads have skyrocketed since the 2008 race partially due to the growing involvement and huge amounts of money available to special interest groups like the super pacs. unfortunately for all of us, there is no end in sight. not for three more months. anyway, here's the question. little different. i'd rather blank than watch another campaign ad. go to cnn.com/caffertyfile, post a comment on my blog. or go to our post on the "the situation room" facebook page. wolf. >> interesting to hear the fill in the blank as they say, jack. good work. thank you. >> all right. coming up next, my exclusive interview with the speaker of the house of representatives john boehner. i was up on capitol hill talking to him today. he says he doesn't talk that much with mitt romney. we'll tell you why. and in our brand new third hour in the 6:00 p.m. eastern hour of "the situation room," the u.s. ambassador to the united nations susan rice she has some very harsh words in response to russia's charge that the u.s. is big hypocrite kal of syria. and the latest on the investigation into a terrorist bombing of a bus carrying israeli tourists. [ female announcer ] want to spend less and retire with more? at e-trade, our free online tools and retirement specialists can help you build a personalized plan and execute it with a wide range of low cost investments. get a great plan and low cost investments at e-trade. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. now to my exclusive interview with the speaker of the house of representatives john boehner. there are major headlines including the republicans plans for the looming battle over tax cuts. the speaker also agrees with president obama when it comes to syria rather than the more interventionist approach of senator john mccain and other republicans. and you may be surprised with what he has to say about mitt romney. we sat down up on capitol hill in his office just a little while ago. mr. speaker, thanks so much for joining us up here on capitol hill. >> good to be with you. >> let's talk presidential politics first. a little bit about mitt romney, a little bit about president obama. we'll start with mitt romney. you raised some eyebrows last month when you said the american people probably aren't going to fall in love with mitt romney, mitt romney has some friends, relatives and fellow mormons. you went onto say some people that are going to vote for him, but that's not what this election is about. this election is going to be a referendum on the president's failed economic policies. it didn't sound to me at least like a ringing endorsement of the republican candidate. >> well, listen, i'm enthusiastic about mitt romney, and i think the american people will be enthusiastic come election day about mitt romney. the point i was trying to make is that this election is a referendum on the incumbent. and on in this case it's a referendum on the president's failed economic policies. his policies have not only not helped, they've actually made things worse. and as a result the american people i think vote with our wallets. and i think mitt romney's going to win this election. >> so it will be a vote -- a win for mitt romney, not so much because they love mitt romney but because they don't like the president, is that what you're saying? >> any incumbent president running for re-election, the election's going to be a referendum on the job that they've done. and i think this election's going to be similar to what we've seen in the past. >> do you spend a lot of time talking to mitt romney? >> i talk to him once in a while. but i don't spend a lot of time talking to him, no. >> has he consulted with you about who his vice presidential running mate should be? >> he has not. >> i'm surprised. you're the speaker of the house of representatives, you'd think he'd call you and say what do you think about x or y. >> well, listen, the presidential candidate is entirely capable of picking their own running mate. you've got to keep this on a very closed circle. and i don't expect to be consulted. i don't need to be consulted. >> do you have a favorite? >> i have a lot of confidence in governor romney able to pick his candidate. >> you think he should release his income tax returns for more than just two years? >> i think that's nothing but a sideshow. listen, i file a financial disclosure form as do all federal candidates including governor romney, and this is nothing more than a way to try to distract people from the president's failed economic policies. >> a bunch of republicans are urging him to do so as you know. >> again, i think it's a sideshow. he released his returns from 2010. he's going to release his returns from 2011. i think that's more than enough. >> all right. we got you on that. let's talk about president obama. yesterday you said this. >> i think the president's attack on the private sector in america is exactly what's wrong with this administration. doesn't give a darn about middle class americans out there looking for work. what he's trying to do is distract the american people in order to win his own re-election. >> mr. speaker, the president of the united states doesn't give a darn about middle class americans? >> if he did, why wouldn't he meet with his own jobs council? why wouldn't he spend some time over the last nine months talking to the leaders here in congress about what we can do together to help get our economy going again? the president checked out last labor day. and he's been on the campaign trail nonstop ever since. it's all about him. when the american people elect us because it's about them. >> you used to have a good relationship with the president. >> i have a good -- >> you were very close to a deal that would have solved a lot of these problems. >> yeah. listen, i have a very good relationship with the president. doesn't mean we agree on everything. and when you look at some of the nonsense that's going on in the campaign here over the last couple weeks, you begin to scratch your head. somebody's got to speak english. i'm not afraid to do it. >> on the middle class, you and he agree on one thing that 98% of american households, they should continue paying the current rate, the bush tax cuts, that is a foregone conclusion. where you disagree is on the top 2% making more than $250,000 a year. so here's the question, why not get the middle class folks making under $250,000 off the table? pass that, extend that. he says he's willing to sign that into law right away. most americans would then no longer have to worry about a tax increase. and then later you can fight over the top 2%. >> well, earnest young came out earlier this week made clear that the plan will cost our economy about 700,000 jobs. we all know that almost half that income from that top 2% are small business people who run their businesses as pass through entities. they pay their business taxes as part of their personal tax. this is the wrong thing to do. >> why not just get where you agree, agree and then fight over the 2% later? >> well, you probably will recall that in 2009, 2010 when democrats had the white house, big majorities in the house, big majorities in the senate, they couldn't pass that president's plan. couldn't do it. why? because the votes aren't there. the votes are there, democrats and republicans in a bipartisan way to extend all of the current tax rates. in this economy as fragile as it is, raising taxes on americans especially american small business people is a monumental mistake. >> i understand that. but i'm just saying the argument they make is you're holding 98% of the american people -- american households, hostage in order to make sure that the richest americans don't get a tax increase. >> that's what they say. >> that's what i said. >> what i'm trying to do is to protect all americans and keep our focus on what the american people want us focused on. and that's the economy and jobs. if we're serious about getting the economy going and creating jobs, we need to extend all the current tax rates. >> so there's no way you're going to separate the 98% a vote tomorrow, next week, next month. >> it would be the wrong thing for the country to do. >> and so you're looking ahead to the lame duck assuming nothing happens between now -- do you think anything's going to happen between now and the election? >> the house will extend all of the current tax rates. we'll do this in a couple weeks. we'll send it to the senate and hope they act. there's no reason to hold our economy hostage because no one knows what the tax rates are going to be come next year. they could act as early as september. >> one of your members, michelle bachmann and four other republicans, they wrote a letter to the state department deputy general raising questions about one of secretary of state hillary clinton's top aides. i know you've condemned this. tell me what you think about this? to me as someone who knows her for 20 years, it's pretty outrageous. >> well, i don't know her. but everything i know about her makes it clear that she's got a sterling character. i'm not sure what the basis of these claims may be, but this is dangerous stuff to be thrown around without a lot of facts. and frankly there are enough legitimate issues that we need to work with here in town here in washington that i just am very concerned about the direction that this thing took. >> have you spoken to congresswoman bachmann about this? >> i have not had a chance to talk to her. but i expect i will soon. >> what will you say to her? give us a little flavor. >> i expect that she'll offer to me why this came about, but, again, these are dangerous accusations. and if somebody had the facts, they should have put the facts out there. >> i'm with you. totally agree. quick question on syria right now. there seems to be a tipping point in what's going on. would you support u.s. military action -- not necessarily troops on the ground, but air power, cruise missiles, arming of the rebels, would you go that far at this point to get rid of bashar al assad? >> i don't think we ought to go that far. there's clear that the opposition is making progress. it's also clear that they are receiving assistance from their friends in the region. and i don't think at this point that it calls for that type of military intervention on our part. >> so on this issue you're with the obama administration basically and not let's say with john mccain. >> probably correct. because i believe that assad has to go. but i don't think that we need to overly involve ourselves to the extent of direct military action. so i'm confident that the opposition groups they're making progress and i'm confident that assad's days are numbered. >> on defense spending, the fiscal cliff and sequestration and all of the things that potentially could happen, i was listening to former senator alan simpson the other day. and he made the point that the u.s. defense spending right now, whatever it is, $700 billion a year or whatever it is, if you take the next 14, 15 countries combined, friendly countries like britain or france or canada, rivals like china and russia, adversaries like iran and north korea and you add all of their defense expenditures together, it doesn't reach what the united states alone spends. so the question is this, isn't there room for significant defense department cuts? >> there is room. that's why when we agreed to the deficit reduction act last year and put caps on discretionary spending for the next ten years, about $487 billion of what would have been spent at the department of defense is going to be kept. >> over ten years. >> over ten years. now, what is unacceptable though is the sequester. another $1.2 trillion worth of cuts. >> over ten years. >> over ten years. half of which would come out of our military. that is going too far. listen, the president promised the american people the sequester would never happen. the reason we have the sequester is that the president didn't want to be inconvenienced by having a second debt limit vote before his re-election. and he and senator reid pushed to have this automatic sequester if the super committee couldn't do its job. they also committed to help get the super committee to produce $1.2 trillion worth of cuts. and frankly didn't help. >> but with all these troops coming home from iraq and afghanistan, isn't there great opportunity now to slice the defense department budget? >> no. that actually comes out of a different budget. those activities going on in iraq and afghanistan. but understand that after ten, eleven years of war, a lot of our equipment's worn down. a lot needs to be replenished and replaced. so the first half of the cuts $487 billion i think is acceptable. and the pentagon's agreed that we can do that. but i don't think we can go much further without hollowing out our force as leon panetta described it. and not meeting our number one responsibility, which is providing for the security of the american people. >> one final question because we're out of time. you're about to celebrate your second anniversary, right, as speaker? >> well, assuming we win the majority in november. >> what's it like? we all know your personal story growing up in cincinnati. and it's an amazing story. when you think about it, here you are, the speaker of the house of representatives, you're up on capitol hill, we're talking right now. it's an amazing story when you think about it. >> it really is. but, you know, welcome to america. grow up and be anything you want to be and do anything you want to do. it's the only country in the world where there's no lid. there's no cap on what you can achieve if you set your mind to it. >> so you think about those roots you had there and see what you're doing right now. >> you get busy around here and you forget about it. but every once in a while you look up and go, why am i here? why me? >> and what do you say? >> welcome to america. >> mr. speaker, thanks so much. >> nice to see you. coming up, we're going to dissect what the speaker just had to say about mitt romney in our strategy session. standby for that. but first, some deep sea explorers recover a record haul where they found 48 tons of silver. and they're not alone. ou could e bengay zero degrees. medicated pain relief you store in the freezer. brrr...see ya boys. 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>> i don't see that happening. >> why won't they just credit the governor of ohio who obviously has something to do with the economic recovery in ohio, but the president certainly has something to do with it as well. >> well, when we see statements that we've saw from the president talking about how if you built a job, you didn't build it on your own. he does not have faith and confidence in the american people. he sees faith and confidence in bigger government and bigger spending. and the american people are insulted by the fact that if they worked hard and took risks and sweated and took chances and created a job, the president doesn't have respect for that. >> that was an awkwardly phrased statement the president made. he's getting some grief for it. >> he is. and i think it's silly. look, the fact is that the republicans are not going to be able to have it both ways. where things are getting better they're going to have to give the president credit. if they're going to hold him responsible for where things have gotten -- have not gotten better. i think what we have seen consistently is the president saying we have to do more, we have to do more. but there have been some improvements. and i think when you get down october and early november, people are going to say, who do i trust to create the kind of jobs that are going to support me? and i think the reason the president is actually holding as well as he is in a very bad economy is that they just don't think that mitt romney's on their side. >> ladies, don't go away. we have more to discuss. also, a well-known news man is calling out the news media saying some are selling out to political campaigns. dan rather's going to join me live in our next hour right here in "the situation room" to explain what he calls a "stunning agreements some journalists are making with political operatives." and michelle bachmann under fire. has she gone too far this time? e are the real things. nature valley trail mix bars are made with real ingredients you can see. like whole roasted nuts, chewy granola, and real fruit. nature valley trail mix bars. 100% natural. 100% delicious. 100% natural. focus lolo, focust sanya let's do this i am from baltimore south carolina... bloomington, california... austin, texas... we are all here to represent the country we love this is for everyone back home it's go time. across america, we're all committed to team usa. with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. these allegations about -- and the reports from which they are drawn are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable citizen, a dedicated american and a loyal public servant. when anyone not least a member of congress launches specious and degrading attacks against fellow americans on the basis of nothing more than fear of who they are and ignorance of what they stand for, it defames the spirit of our nation. and we all grow poorer because of it. >> john mccain on the floor of the united states senate really going after republican congresswoman michelle bachmann and four other republicans who are making these insinuations about a top aide to hillary clinton. let's continue our conversation with hilary rosen and alice stewart. you used to work for michele bachmann, you can't be a patriotic american and be a muslim? here's the question, has michele bachmann and the four other lau lawmakers gone too far? >> i don't know her. she works very hard at a very tough job. i do feel she should not have been singled out in an attempt to call attention to and shine the spotlight on the possibility of muslim brotherhood influence on the obama administration. it's not necessary to call out someone of her character and her good will and good nature. and i just think that was an unfortunate thing to do. >> it was really a terrible thing to do. not only john mccain, but john boehner, ed rollins, who was ronald reagan's political director, he wrote an item on foxnews.com saying mrs. bachmann, you know better, shame on you. >> right. accused her of mccarthy-type tactics. michele bachmann owes her an apology. but even the concept that there's muslim brotherhoodin filtration is ridiculous. uma and the rest of hillary clinton's team have supported the most pro-israel secretary of state we've had in a generation. these issues we have with syria right now are extremely serious even john boehner today agreed with president obama in the strategy he's taking to try and put pressure on assad stepping down. >> should michele bachmann, in your opinion, alice, call her up and apologize? >> that's her decision to make. i'm not working for her anymore. that's her mistake. i think the fact she's basically doubled down on this after some criticism seems to be rather unlikely. but as i said, it's unfortunate. i hear she's a wonderful person. >> she is. >> and i hope that she's able to, you know, get through in. >> we got to leave it there. we've invited michele bachmann to join us here in "the situation room." i hope she comes on. >> michele bachmann is irrelevant. she's irrelevant. >> she's not irrelevant. she's a lawmaker. she represents nearly a million people from minnesota. what do you mean? she's elected several times to the house of representatives. >> in a district in minnesota. >> there are 45 members of the house. >> but why her outrageous positions and shameful personal attacks get this much attention i think is just wrong. >> and it's not just her. it's four other republicans who signed that letter as well. so if each of them have almost a million constituents, that's five million -- >> it's nothing but celebrity -- >> it's an outrageous mccarthy-like charge to be sure. >> it is. >> and she does -- i know her well and owes her an apology. >> she does. >> thank you very much. a parents' worst nightmare, your child walking down the street and a man tries to abduct her. it's all on tape. standby. the medicare debate continues in washington... ...more talk on social security... ...but washington isn't talking to the american people. [ female announcer ] when it comes to the future of medicare and social security, you've earned the right to know. ♪ ...so what does it mean for you and your family? [ female announcer ] you've earned the facts. ♪ washington may not like straight talk, but i do. [ female announcer ] and you've earned a say. get the facts and make your voice heard on medicare and social security at earnedasay.org. jack's back with the cafferty file. jack. >> sick of the campaign ads? that's the question this hour. i would rather blank than watch another campaign ad. dottie says i would rather cut out my own gallbladder with an oyster fork. valerie says she would rather have her mother-in-law tell her how to cook than listen to the campaign ad. curtis writes i would rather watch michele bachmann -- on second thought, maybe not. tom in michigan writes i would rather watch fox news than watch another campaign ad, maybe. nan on facebook, have a triple root canal while being forced to watch "jersey shore." jay writes i would rather hunt quail with dick cheney than see another political ad. can dissays i would rather put out a campfire with my face than watch another ad. i would rather go to the dmv. in florida i would rather go to sleep and have someone wake me up after the election. thank god for the mute button. david says i would rather watch porn with my parents. and tom in new york says i would rather do a 12-hour road trip to canada in a cage on mitt's roof. if you want to read more about this, things people would rather do than watch the campaign ads, go to the blog cnn.com/caffertyfile or through our post on the "the situation room" facebook page. >> some very clever writer out there. funny stuff. >> good stuff. >> thank you. coming up in our next hour, my interview -- in our 6:00 p.m. eastern hour i should say, my interview with susan rice, the u.s. ambassador to the united nations. some very harsh words to say about russia. also coming up, you won't believe how easy and inexpensive it is to go online and steal someone's identity. wes, clay and demarcus tried on the new depend real fit briefs for charity to prove how great the fit is even while playing pro football. the best protection now looks, fits and feels just like underwear. get a free sample and try one on for yourself. i don't have to use gas. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. drive around town all the time doing errands and never ever have to fill up gas in the city. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. the last time i went to the gas station must have been about three months ago. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. ♪ thwould you mind if to begas i go ahead of you?omer. instead we had someone go ahead of him and win fifty thousand dollars. congratulations you are our one millionth customer. people don't like to miss out on money that should have been theirs. that's why at ally we have the raise your rate 2-year cd. you can get a one-time rate increase if our two-year rate goes up. if your bank makes you miss out, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance, where the costs to both repair your home and replace your possessions are covered. and we don't just cut a check for the depreciated value -- we can actually replace your stuff with an exact or near match. plus, if your home is unfit to live in after an incident, we pay for you to stay somewhere else while it's being repaired. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance. because you never know what lies around the corner. to get a free quote, call... visit a local office, or go to libertymutual.com today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? i tell mike what i can spend. i do my best to make that work. we're driving safely. and sue saved money on brakes. now that's personal pricing. so is the federal government accidentally helping identify thieves -- helping to identify thieves commit fraud? lisa sylvester's monitoring that and some other top stories in "the situation room" right now. what's going on here, lisa? >> hi, wolf. one senator says, yes, that is because for $10 you can get the full name of a dead person complete with social security number from the government. it's something that's known as the death master file. and senator bob casey today called for restrictions on access to it. the social security administration created it to help businesses prevent identity theft, but right now anyone can use it. and want to register to vote but don't have a stamp to mail in the form? log onto facebook. washington is set to become the first state to allow eligible residents to register through the secretary of state's facebook page. they'll have to provide name, birthday and state id or driver's license number. the state says facebook won't get that information. and a new study is showing promising search for a way to treat food allergies. the technique is called immuneo therapy. doctors gave children allergic to eggs small amounts and increased the amounts over time. some of the children lost their allergy. we have to emphasize this is not something you want to try at home. this study was done in a medical setting with tightly controlled conditions. wolf. >> lisa, thank you. and you're in "the situation room." happening now, a suicide bomber caught on tape before he blew up a bus full of israeli tourists. is he linked to iran as israel claims? and allegations the syrian president has gone into hiding. we go live to the turkish/syrian border for the latest. and dan rather accusing the news media of selling out some elements of the news media. we have details of controversial new conditions for some political reporting. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." but we begin with chilling new details emerging about that suicide bomb attack on a bus full of israeli tourists in bulgaria. six people were killed, more than 30 injured. and there are now new clues about the bomber who was captured by surveillance cameras. and who he was -- and how he was -- what was he doing? was he carrying a fake american id? those are the suggestions. we'll go live to jerusalem in a moment for the latest israeli action. but first cnn's in bulgaria with the latest details. what's the latest there? >> reporter: we're literally meters away from that explosion took place. and some of the most crucial evidence came from the terminal right behind me. they were able to catch the suspect on video. he could be any backpack tourist looking at flight arrivals, but this is the man suspected of carrying out the deadly attack targeting israeli tourists in burgas, bulgaria. he was wandering around the airport up to an hour before the attack. authorities focused on him because he was the only one killed who could not be identified. closest to the blast the man's fingerprints and dna have now been retrieved, but he did have a u.s. id. a michigan driver's license that fbi officials now say is a fake. this is exactly where the attack took place. but to solve the mystery of who carried it out and why, there's going to have to be a lot of intelligence cooperation not just between bulgaria, the united states and israel, but possibly many other countries. but bulgaria's interior minister gave cnn an exclusive look into how that investigation is unfolding. >> translator: in fact, this is the exact place of the blast. he was standing here. he detonated the backpack. the blast impact destroyed the luggage area. the whole bus caught fire. this is where it all started. >> reporter: he believes the suspect is not bulgarian but may have been in the area for up to a week preparing for the attack. it's not the first time bulgaria has been targeted for its popularity with israeli tourists. in january bulgarian security was tipped off to a luggage filled with explosives onboard a tour bus. by thursday evening the site had been closed down and the airport reopened to tired and jittery passengers subjected to random searches. the charred remains of the bus were towed away. but the question of who carried out this horrific attack remains. now as you can see, the airport is fully operational. all those passengers that have been waiting for these flights to come through are finally coming through. however, just this morning they were still going through this entire area with evidence. i wanted to show you, wolf, we did find this charred piece of a $10 billion what could have been from one of those buses hit in the attack. so bulgaria's interior minister says they're going to use every scrap of evidence they can to figure out who did it. >> and so far, atika, no one has claimed responsibility for this attack. has anyone done so? >> reporter: no. no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. of course we've been hearing a lot from israeli officials. however, bulgarian officials say they do not want to jump to any conclusions. they want to go through the evidence with a fine-tooth comb to find out exactly what happened. >> on the scene in bulgaria. thank you. israel is already pointing a direct finger at hezbollah and iran. our foreign affairs reporter elise labott is in jerusalem joining us now. elise, are the israelis saying anything about their own investigation and what they're learning? >> reporter: well, wolf, that's the weird thing. they're not saying anything at all about the investigation. they're just focused like a laser on pointing the finger at iran and its proxy groups like hezbollah and drawing a link with iran's nuclear program and the international need to prevent iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. prime minister benjamin netanyahu gave a statement just a few hours ago. after he did it in hebrew, wolf, he then did it in english clearly intended for an international audience. take a listen. >> yesterday's attack in bulgaria was perpetrated by hezbollah, iran's leading terrorist proxy. this attack was part of a global campaign of terror carried out by iran and hezbollah. this stair campaign has reached a dozen countries on five continents. the world's leading powers should make it clear that iran is the country that stands behind this terror campaign. >> reporter: now, wolf, obviously the iranians are denying any responsibility for this attack. but the question now is, is israel going to use this attack in bulgaria as a pretax to go after iran, to go after its nuclear program. for now we understand the israelis and bulgarians will be going to the u.n. security council looking for condemnation of the attack. but it remains to be seen whether they're going to point the finger at iran. it's one thing to say this in a press conference or statement. it's another thing to go to the u.n. security council when they don't actually have -- haven't delivered any concrete proof about iranian involvement, wolf. >> elise, tell us a little about the victims. what do we know about them? >> reporter: the victims were supposed to arrive here in israel any moment, wolf, on a military plane. there will be a mourners cottage delivered for them. really sad stories, wolf. three friends in their late 20s that were taking a trip to bulgaria and then a man in his 40s with another friend going to celebrate his birthday with his wife. you know, wolf, terrorist attacks aren't as common as they used to be here in israel. so much so security restrictions were reduced just this week at the jerusalem bus station. obviously this has everybody jittery thinking that the country is still under attack, wolf. >> elise labott reporting for us from jerusalem. thank you, elise. we'll stay on top of this story. other news, for the third time in ten months china and russia have vetoed a united nations security council resolution aimed at stopping the violence in syria. i talked about that and more with u.s. ambassador to the united nations susan rice. and she was totally outraged. >> ir reprehensible and immoral. they have three times now made the very harsh and cold decision to back assad to the bitter end at the expense of the syrian people and at the expense of regional peace and security. >> the full interview with ambassador rice airs here in "the situation room" in our next hour. but let's get the latest on what's going on in syria right now. cnn's ivan watson is out there on the turkish/syrian border. iran, much has been made about the syrian president bashar al assad possibly going into hiding. what do we know? >> reporter: well, he's certainly got to be concerned about his security after three of his top security officials were all killed in a bombing yesterday including his brother-in-law. he was seen on syrian state tv swearing in his new defense minister, replacing the one just killed yesterday. we don't know exactly where the syrian president is right now, but this is a very secretive regime. in the meantime, the syrian capital neighborhoods -- entire neighborhoods becoming war zones. we've been talking with one family, refugees who had to flee because their neighborhood became a war zone. a man describing how he fled with his son in his arms to the back streets and through orchards to escape with just a few small possessions in his hand and in his wife's hands in addition to their two sons as they fled. just terrifying situation for the civilian population of the syrian capital. >> ivan, on the syrian/turkish border where you are right now, what's going on? what are you seeing there? >> reporter: we've seen the rebels not only pushing the offensive in the capital but also at strategic border posts here on the turkish border with syria there was a fierce gun battle taking place earlier today just about a mile from where i'm standing at the syrian border crossing. the syrian rebels appeared to have captured it for a short time flushing out syrian army forces from there. they say they kind of looted some of the customs offices and security offices before being eventually forced to flee. further east from here also syrian rebel moves towards the iraqi border crossing. iraqi security officers telling cnn that the rebels captured that border crossing as well as several other smaller security posts as well. rebel commanders telling us they're trying to push the offensive to lower morale in the syrian government army forces and also to sell confusion within the syrian government ranks at a time where they're on the defensive both in the syrian capital and now at these strategic border points as well. wolf. >> ivan watson reporting for us. thank you, ivan. a hard-hitting web video by mitt romney's campaign portraying president obama as insulting of american entrepreneurs using his own words, but is it all accurate? we're checking the facts. jessica yellin is here. and a missing boy found trapped inside a sewer. we're going to show you the dramatic rescue. and should the campaigns be the ones to decide which candidates' quotes you see, read, which ones you don't see or read? dan rather, yes, dan rather, he's here in "the situation room." we're going to talk about what he calls a jaw-dropping turn in american journalism. i'm barack obama and i approve this message. 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[ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. jack cafferty's here with the cafferty file, jack. >> wolf, some storm clouds are beginning to gather for president obama. the latest "new york times" cbs news poll actually shows mitt romney with a one point lead over the president with 4% of voters undecided. when asked about the economy, the difference is even more glaring. romney holds an eight-point lead over the president. just 39% of those surveyed approve of the president's handling of the economy. and that's down from 44% approved in april. more bad news for the president in the crucial battleground state of virginia. romney has closed a 12-point gap with president obama. the two are now tied according to the latest poll. in 2008 president obama was the first democrat to win virginia since 1964. suffice to say if there's no significant improvement in the economy, and it better start happening pretty quick, obama could have problems in virginia and elsewhere. the jobs picture remains bleak. unemployment's been above 8% for 41 consecutive months now. 41 months. and this morning first-time jobless claims jumped sharply up 34,000 from the previous week. a new gallup poll shows americans overwhelmingly say creating more and better jobs is the most important thing the government can do to jump start the economy. which is why some of the president's words and actions are not helping him much. many took issue when mr. obama said "if you've got a business, you didn't build that. somebody else made that happen." then there's the president's jobs council. it hasn't even met for six months. the white house says mr. obama has "obviously got a lot on his plate." republicans suggest he's had time in the last six months to attend more than 100 fundraisers and play golf ten times. here's the question, should the economy prevent president obama from winning a second term? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile, post a comment on my blog. or go to the post on the "the situation room" facebook page. wolf. >> jack, thanks very much. mitt romney is seizing on one remark by the president that jack mentioned. it's the centerpiece of a tough new web video portraying the president of the united states is tone deaf and insulting when it comes to american entrepreneurs. jessica yellin is here. she's been doing fact-checking for us. you've looked at the video, you've looked at the background. what are you finding out? >> wolf, we talk about this campaign moving so fast everything's at twitter speed, but it took a few days for team romney to capitalize on this sound bite. but now it's getting traction. the team is up with this new web video. see if you get the point. >> if you've got a business, you didn't build that. somebody else made that happen. >> my father hands didn't build this company. my hands didn't build this company. my son's hands aren't building this company. did somebody else take out the loan on my father's house to finance the equipment? >> now, team obama calls that a false attack in an effort by the romney campaign to change the topic from bain. and obama campaign spokesperson says the president was simply making the point that for small business to succeed, the nation needs to invest in roads and infrastructure. well, here's the president's remark in full context. see what you think. >> if you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. there was a great teacher somewhere in your life. somebody helped to create this unbelievable american system that we have that allowed you to thrive. somebody invested in roads and bridges. if you have a business, you didn't build that, somebody else made that happen. the internet didn't get invented on its own. government research created the internet so all the companies could make money off the internet. the point is is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative but also because we do things together. >> so, wolf, the key phrase there is somebody invested in roads and bridges, if you've got a business, you didn't build that. is that referring to roads and bridges? or is he referring to a business? it sounds like the way he said it, he's referring to a business obviously he intended something else. maybe this is why he usually uses a teleprompter. >> the line in the ad is if you've got a business, you didn't build that, somebody else made that happen. it sounds like he's referring to the business. but what you're saying if you listen to the few sentences building up to that, forgive the pun, he's referring to the roads and bridges, the education, internet, all this stuff that helped you build that. >> a gaffe. >> yeah. >> it sounds like a gaffe. but it's one of those unfortunate gaffes. >> is it a serious problem for the obama campaign? >> well, the problem or potential problem for the obama campaign is that it plays into a larger narrative that the romney team has been driving. and that's the president hasn't created enough jobs and doesn't understand business. this is what candidate romney said today. >> it wasn't a gaffe. it was instead his ideology. the president does in fact believe that people who build enterprises like this really aren't responsible for it. but in fact it's a collective success of the whole society. >> now, much like mitt romney saying corporations are people too or i like to fire people, these kind of remarks tend to reinforce the views of people who already dislike the candidate. they don't really change minds. in fact, the actual economy and the actual jobs picture are both far more meaningful for the president and will be far more lasting campaign issues, wolf. >> thanks for giving us the whole context of what the president said. little artful as we say. but i think our viewers appreciate it a bit better now. jessica, thank you. ford recalls thousands of a popular suv model. we're going to tell you how serious the problem is. and shocking video of a missing boy found clinging to life in a sewer just in the nick of time. we'll show it to you and explain what happened right here in "the situation room." before the ipad it was useless, like a song, a story, something like that. all of a sudden with the ipad i could go directly to people and say, check this out. we don't have to label what it is. it's called gravel x. it's called bubble heart. if you like it and all of a sudden they did. an airline has planes... and people. and the planes can seem the same so, it comes down to the people. because, bad weather the price of oil those are every airlines reality. and solutions won't come from 500 tons of metal and a paint job. they'll come from people. delta people. who made us one of the biggest airlines in the world. and then decided that wasn't enough. last season was the gulf's best tourism season in years. in florida we had more suntans... in alabama we had more beautiful blooms... in mississippi we had more good times... in louisiana we had more fun on the water. last season we broke all kinds of records on the gulf. this year we are out to do even better... and now is a great time to start. our beatches are even more relaxing... the fishing's great. so pick your favorite spot on the gulf... and come on down. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. major ford recall. lisa sylvester's monitoring that and some other top stories in "the situation room" right now. what do you have, lisa? >> wolf, the auto giant is recalling more than 11,000 of its 2013 escape suv models because of a defect in the fuel line which could potentially cause a fire. three fires have been reported. two of them at the factory. but no injuries. ford is recommending owners stop driving their vehicles until the problem is repaired. and dealers are providing loaner cars in the interim. more bad news for the struggling economy, the bureau of labor statistics reporting a sharp rise in jobless claims last week after hitting a four-year low this month. 386,000 people filed for first-time unemployment benefits. that's up 34,000 from the previous week. some economists say it's not unusual to witness extreme moves around the july 4th holiday, but based on the data, the 8.2% unemployment rate isn't likely to go down for july. and the obama white house is throwing its support behind the idea of a minute of silence during opening ceremonies of the london olympics to commemorate the 11 israeli athletes and coaches killed by terrorists during the 1972 summer games in munich. the son of one of the victims just tweeted, i'm literally crying right now. thank you, president obama. and shocking video of a 3-year-old boy clinging to life in a columbian sewer. the child reportedly missing he apparently fell into the hole unnoticed while playing with his brother. rescue teams searched the area once. they found nothing, but later they did a second sweep. you see him being pulled out there. he is said to be doing well considering the dramatic ordeal. you saw those, wow, look at those pictures just holding on. lucky thing they came in time, wolf. >> could have been disaster. thank god for that. all right. thank you, lisa. the veteran journalist, dan rather, he's standing by to join us next to talk about a controversy brewing over what's called quote approval. should political campaigns have veto power over political reporting? and coming up in our new 6:00 p.m. eastern hour i talk about syria with the united states ambassador of the united nations susan rice. she's very upset with russia and china for blocking u.n. security council sanctions. and she's very concerned about syria's chemical weapons. i bought the car because of its efficiency. i bought the car because i could eliminate gas from my budget. i don't spend money on gasoline. it's been 4,000 miles since my last trip to the gas station. it's pretty great. i get a bunch of kids waving at me... giving me the thumbs up. it's always a gratifying experience. it makes me feel good about my car. i absolutely love my chevy volt. ♪ i absolutely love my chevy volt. male spirit present.trong it's the priceline negotiator. >>what? >>sorry. he wants you to know about priceline's new express deals. it's a faster way to get a great hotel deal without bidding. pick one with a pool, a gym, a great guest rating. >>and save big. >>thanks negotiator. wherever you are. ya, no. he's over here. >>in the refrigerator? 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[ female announcer ] and you've earned a say. get the facts and make your voice heard on medicare and social security at earnedasay.org. on medicare and social security well another great thing about all this walking i've been doing is that it's given me time to reflect on some of life's biggest questions. like, if you could save hundreds on car insurance by making one simple call, why wouldn't you make that call? see, the only thing i can think of is that you can't get any... bars. ah, that's better. it's a beautiful view. i wonder if i can see mt. rushmore from here. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. something different in this presidential campaign season. something many journalists find deeply disturbing. it's called quote approval. reporters get access to the candidates only if the campaigns get pre-can get to pre-approve any quotes the journalists plan to use. dan rather calls it a sellout by the news media. he's the acting managing director of dan rather reports on ax is tv. he's written a piece about quote approval for cnn.com. i recommend you read it. dan, first of all, explain this new so-called journalistic procedure to our viewers. what's going on? and what's different about what you and i did for many campaigns that we've covered. >> well, we start of course, wolf, with the fact that it is a fact that covering politics, particularly covering politics is a complicated and imperfect practice of the craft. and there have been versions of this before, but what's new as i understand it as times and given credit put it on the front page the other day is that when you interview certain members of a campaign whether it be obama's campaign or romney's campaign, you agree to submit any quotes that you intend to use in the piece to them before you send them to the editors. and they have the right to edit that. in other words, they can sanitize it, they can jig it around, they can say, no, you can't say that. i find this jaw-dropping. i want to emphasize -- listen, i've been covering politics for a long time and i certainly haven't done it perfectly. but this is new sort of institutionalizing the idea in effect if you're a reporter and ask for certain interviews become an arm of the campaign rather than a representative of your viewers, listeners and readers. and this is something i do think that all of us here in journalism should think very seriously about and the public at the very least should know about it. up until now there's been very little transparency. in other words, the reader doesn't know that the reporter has submitted the quotes to the campaign apparatus through the press office for what i call this sanitizing. >> i want to be clear and up front with our viewers, this does not happen at cnn. it's not something that we have done at cnn. but let me read to you from that "new york times" story that appeared on monday. major garrett is a friend, an excellent journalist. he's quoted in the article as saying this, it's not something i'm particularly proud of because there's a part of me that says don't do it, don't agree to their terms. there are times when this feels like i'm dealing with some of my editors. it's like you just changed this because you could. you go as far as saying this is a sellout. and i want to be precise because those are strong words. >> well, i do think it's a sellout for journalism. the major institutions in journalism including cnn, "new york times," "los angeles times," "the wall street journal," "the washington post," they have the leverage to reverse this and say we aren't going to do it. as a personal opinion, i think that's what we should do. in the last 24 to 48 hours some pushback on this. still not enough to suit me personally. but the main thing i think needs to be emphasized, wolf, if you're going to do this, if a reporter, his editor and a news organization's going to do it, they have to be transparent with their readers, viewers and listeners and say this is what we agreed to and you should know we submitted the quotes to the campaign staff and they altered some of the quotes to suit their purposes. >> it takes it one step further because a lot of journalists including myself i assume you've gone into what are called off the record meetings or background meetings with high ranking officials or whatever, and if it's off the record, you can't report that, obviously. if it's on background, you can report it but you can't say it's coming from somebody with a specific name. you can identify the sources if you will. this is different. this takes it to a different level when you actually go back to these people and say i want to quote what the person said but you're not quoting what that person said, you're quoting that some new statement that that person is willing to make. >> well, exactly, wolf. as i say, it's the institutionalizing of this by the campaigns for their purposes. not in the public interest, but in the campaign's interest, in the candidates' interest. this takes it to a whole new level. you're quite right there's always been off the record background, deep background where the rules were fairly new. but in all of that in my experience the reporters and their editors kept control of the quotes. >> right. >> you said, this is the quote and we're going to run it this way. this is a whole new thing to say, before we run it and even before the editors get it the reporter agrees in advance to take the quotes to the campaign press office and the press office approves or disapproves the quotes. i do find this outrageous. i recognize that's a very strong term. and i don't accept myself from the criticism inherent this. but i don't think readers and viewers and listeners know it's been going on. one, they need to know it's going on. number two, when it's practiced they definitely need transparency that the news organization has agreed to it. and it's a bad idea. i'll be very surprised if the lights of journalism realize what a bad thing this is for journalism, yes, but more importantly for our viewers and listeners and readers and begin to push back as the news managing editor said. time to push back and push back strong and hard. >> i agree. also i want to be precise, we both accept that there are times when we can't quote somebody, we get information on background or on deep background sometimes you can quote a source, you can describe the source, the american public wouldn't know that information if we couldn't put it out and to a certain degree the readers and viewers and the listeners they have to trust people like you and me and our fellow journalists that we're giving them accurate information. that's not what's happening here. what we're talking about is something different. >> well, that's exactly the point. you know, no reporter, no editor, no news organization is any better than the trust the public has. and this undercuts quite considerably i think the trust that the public has. as a matter of fact should have in reporters and editors and news organizations that do it. time to put a halt to it and just say for those who say, look, we're not going to give you access because they use access as the leverage, we're not going to give you access and then say, gently, we're going to go ahead and report it and we'll call you for comment and see what you think about that. >> dan rather, thanks for coming in to "the situation room." >> thank you very much. always good to be with you, wolf. >> let me remind our viewers you can read dan's commentary at cnn.com. a strong article he wrote for us. he calls himself america's toughest sheriff. >> i know i'm doing the right thing. i'm not going to surrender by those little small groups people that don't like what i'm doing. you think i'm going to surrender? it will never happen. >> just ahead, why his tough anti-immigration tactics have now landed him in an arizona courtroom. while energy development comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing generations of cleaner-burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self-contained well systems. and, using state-of-the-art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment. we're america's natural gas. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] you've been years in the making. and there are many years ahead. join the millions of members who've chosen an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. go long. i don't have to use gas. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. drive around town all the time doing errands and never ever have to fill up gas in the city. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. the last time i went to the gas station must have been about three months ago. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. ♪ like in a special ops mission? you'd spot movement, gather intelligence with minimal collateral damage. but rather than neutralizing enemies in their sleep, you'd be targeting stocks to trade. well, that's what trade architect's heat maps do. they make you a trading assassin. trade architect. td ameritrade's empowering web-based trading platform. trade commission-free for 60 days, and we'll throw in up to $600 when you open an account. man calls himself america's toughest sheriff is defending himself in an arizona courtroom today against allegations of racial discrimination. casey wian is joining us from phoenix. he's got details for us. what's going on here, casey? >> reporter: well, wolf, it's a question that's been on a lot of folks' minds in arizona for a long time. now that question will be answered after a trial expected to last about two weeks by a federal judge. and the question is, are arizona sheriff joe arpaio's immigration law enforcement efforts racial profiling? demonstrators outside the federal courthouse in phoenix showing their support for a civil rights lawsuit that takes aim at sheriff joe arpaio. >> the message is, you know, game over for arpaio. >> reporter: for years maricopa deputies have been conducting saturation patrol operations in search of illegal immigrants. the aclu and latino rights groups allege those actions have led to a widespread practice of racial profiling. the named plaintiffs in the case include a legal immigrant from mexico and four u.s. citizens who claim they were mistreated by maricopa county deputies because they appear to be latino. other plaintiffs in the class action case include every latino motorist or passenger pulled over by maricopa county deputies. >> they're never easy cases. you know, there's no smoking gun. we don't expect a memo on the file saying let's get these people solely because they're hispanic, we believe the evidence will demonstrate that is indeed effectively what was done. >> reporter: arpaio and his attorneys decline to comment before the trial. in opening statement thursday arpaio's attorney said there is no evidence that race or ethnicity played any factor in the detention of the named defendants. they also say the department's operations were legal and part of normal law enforcement activities. in an interview with cnn last year, arpaio vowed to continue his pursuit of illegal immigrants. >> i know i'm doing the right thing. i'm not going to surrender by those little small groups of people that don't like what i'm doing. you think i'm going to surrender? never happen. >> reporter: the suit seeks not money but an injunction against further so-called crime suppression sweeps. >> this is something that's going to change the total wave of how both arpaio and any law official, any sheriff across the nation takes actions and abuses policies, abuses power and violates human rights. >> reporter: arpaio is expected to take the stand next week to defend his department's practices. sheriff joe has a very full plate. he's also going to be defending himself against a similar lawsuit filed by the u.s. justice department. he's also been out there in public promoting those claims by so-called berther groups question president obama's citizenship. and he's running for re-election. a potential sixth term at age 80, wolf. >> thanks very much, casey. good report. the video is chilling. a man allegedly grabs a child then drops her and runs. now police make a major arrest. and a potential blow for apple and the popular ipad in an escalating battle of the tech tablets. 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>> the red cross says the death toll has climbed to 60 with more than 80 people unaccounted for that happened near the popular tourist destination. strong winds and rough waefs officials blame for the capsi capsizicapsiz capsizing are also complicating rescue efforts. chilling surveillance video out of philadelphia showing a man allegedly trying to snatch a 10-year-old girl walking home with her brother. her brother screams and the man drops her and runs. now police have arrested this man in the case. he was charged today with a series of felony and misdemeanor charges including attempted kidnapping. and a possible blow for apple which according to bloomberg has been ordered by a british judge to run ads saying samsung's galaxy tab tablet is not a copy of the popular ipad design. the move is the latest twist in an ongoing patent war on-going patent war between the tech giants. apple declines to comment on that. linsanity is leaving. they failed to match the houston rockets offer. he sat down and talked about his extraordinary rise to fame. >> it is just crazy to think about, you know, just because i remember so vividly what it was like a year or two years ago, trying to make a roster, and the blessing that i've been given and the opportunities that have come my way, you know, i'm very thankful for, and sometimes i have to kind of remind myself of everything that has happened, and how much change there has been. >> wolf, lin says he was sleeping on a couch when he first came to play for the knicks a year ago. unbelievable. what a great story. >> great story, went to harvard, not exactly a basketball powerhouse, has done great. wish him only success. see if the new york knicks live to regret that decision. we'll see what happens. let's go to jack, he has the cafferty file. what do you think, no linsanity in new york at madison square garden any more? >> he lit a fire under the team when he came to play. that night he lit up the garden, scored 43 against kobe bryant and the lakers. they raised ticket prices on the strength his two or three week performance, huge mistake to let him get away, and he is a classy kid. we could use that. the nba is not populated with classy kids, if you get my drift. >> yeah. the question this hour, should the economy prevent president obama from winning a second term? cal from ohio, absolutely positively yes. i'm going to give romney a chance. the country badly needs new direction and someone with ideas to get us on track for the economy and all of us are doomed. i absolutely do not care one iota that romney made millions. to me, that's what we need, a person that knows how to take a little and turn it into a lot. joe in missouri, no. just reward a do nothing republican congress. jay writes yes. why should he be different from any other politician. had he three years to turn it around. all we have is more debt and no new jobs. michael says no, this slks is about the future of america. to put it bluntly, the bullies, big ots and birthers are driving republicans out of the party. so sad what's happening to the gop. tony says it depends whether romney would make the economy worse. care line, god i hope so, i'll take anything to get him out. the campaign erin chief has spoken. if you want to read more, cnn.com/caffertyfile or through our post on "the situation room" page. >> popular blog indeed. he is almost 100 years old accused of nazi war crimes. and will the mighty mississippi disappear before our eyes? drought has portions of it at near record levels. i don't spend money on gasoline. it's been 4,000 miles since my last trip to the gas station. it's pretty great. i get a bunch of kids waving at me... giving me the thumbs up. it's always a gratifying experience. it makes me feel good about my car. i absolutely love my chevy volt. ♪ by what's getting done. measure commitment i absolutely love my chevy volt. the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement available only with liberty mutual auto insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. to learn more, visit us today. responsibility. what's your policy? 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[ chirp ] [romney singing]: oh beautiful, for spacious skies, visit a sprint store, or call 855-878-4biz. i'm barack obama and i approve this message. for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain, america, america, god shed his grace on thee, and crowned thy good, with brotherhood... your mouth has giggled, snuggled, bubbled ...and yellowed. because if you're not whitening, you're yellowing. crest whitestrips remove over ten years of stains and whiten 25 times better than a leading whitening toothpaste. crest 3d white whitestrips. the stage is set for what could be the last nazi war crimes trial. the accused, a 97-year-old hungarian man. paula newton reports his arrest was decades in the making. >> reporter: one of the most wanted, suspected war criminals is in custody in his hungarian home land, more than 60 years after his alleged crimes. hungarian prosecutors say he was arrested and has been charged with war crimes. authorities say during world war ii, he helped organize deportation of thousands of jews to oush wits. they allege he regularly tortured them with a dog's whip. historians say for decades they meticulously documented his crimes. >> according to survivors' testimonies, he was notoriously ruthless, cruel commander, very often it happened that he tortured and beat the victims. >> reporter: and yet for almost 15 years now, he was living in his native hungary before they brought the case. it was not a manhunt. they say after decades of living in canada, raising a family, working as an art dealer, he emgrated here in 1949. it was not until the 1990s as jewish groups presented evidence to the authorities he was accused of lying about his past. he left for there in 1997 he was stripped of citizenship saying he lied on the application but was never prosecuted for war crimes. the canadian government maintains for 25 years it has done all it can to make sure the country is not a safe haven for war criminals. in this specific case, the justice department said it was investigating whether he lied about his service with the royal hungarian police force or possible collaboration with nazi occupation forces. he denied the allegations, telling canadian officials he did not believe he was sending jews to death camps, but to labor camps. but those advocating for his arrest say he must have known most of those he helped deport would die. >> elderly people, women or children. so it was very clear that those people could not be taken for work. it was absolutely clear and i think this statement is an outright lie. >> reporter: investigators claim he was an overzealous collaborator that enjoyed the campaign against the jews. despite being convicted and condemned to death by a czech court in 1948, he never faced justice or been tried. he denies all of the charges against him, after living a full and free life in both canada and hungary, he will face trial at the age of 97 paula newton, cnn. happening now, syria attacks and the u.s. lashes out at russia and china, accusing them of reprehensible and immoral support for a dictator. new evidence the fbi missed clues that may have prevented the florida massacre. and mississippi river sinks near historic lows because of the epic drought. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room". intense fire fights on syria's borders with turkey and iraq. syrian rebels tell cnn they seized the main crossing into iraq along with smaller security posts on the border. in the capital, damascus, opposition activist says pro-government forces are shelling anything that moves, as the violence explodes, the president appeared on state tv, a day after an attack that killed three top officials, including the defense minister and his brother-in-law. the video shows him with his new defense minister. at the united nations, china and russia vetoed a security resolution aimed at halting violence in syria. russia calls that draft resolution bias. the obama administration calls the vetoes deplorable. and the united states ambassador to united nations, susan rice joins us from the u.n. now. ambassador, i know you have a lot going on. thanks for taking a few moments to talk to viewers in the united states and around the world. you said something that jumped out at me at the security council. you said now you, meaning the united states, will intensify work with a diverse range of partners outside the security council to bring pressure to bear on the assad regime. specify who are you talking about? >> talking about over 100 countries part of friends of syria group that are very much aligned with the united states and the majority of countries on the security council who believe that it's necessary to increase the pressure on the assad regime to stop the killing and make a political transition. we have been working with these countries. we've also been working within the security council. what russia and china did by vetoing a third resolution was really to slam the door, at least in the short term on any effective action from united nations security council. whether it is humanitarian assistance, nonlethal aid, ratcheting up economic sanctions, providing political support to the opposition, we will continue to do all of those things and intensify those efforts with countries in the region and partners around the world who share our objectives and share the aspirations of the syrian people for a democratic future. >> the russian ambassador to united nations turken responded this way. i'll play the clip. >> for them to fire away this bias rhetoric, saying nothing about the larger picture of their policy, to me is hypocritical. >> hypocritical. that's a strong word. what do you want to say, a man you know well. >> he can call our policy whatever he wants, but theirs is reprehensible and immoral. they have three times now made the harsh and cold decision to back assad to the bitter end at the expense of the syrian people and at the expense of regional peace and security. i don't know that even my colleague, if you gave him truth serum would be entirely comfortable with the position he was compelled to defend today. the reality is that russia and china are isolated outliars, put all their ships on a sinking assad vessel, and making a big miscalculation over the long term, in terms of their interest and in terms of how history will judge them. history will judge them as having stood by a brutal dictator at the expense of his own people, and at the expense of the will of the international community and countries in the region. >> yesterday i interviewed king abdullah from jordan, he wants bashar al-assad, no love for him, but he confirmed there are pockets of al qaeda in some of the rebels, opposition forces in syria. listen to what he said. >> our information is there is a presence of al qaeda in certain regions, syria has been there awhile. one of the worst case scenarios as we are obviously trying to look for political solutions would be if some of the chemical stockpiles were to fall into unfriendly hands. >> ambassador, how worried are you that chemical weapon stockpiles will fall into the hands of al qaeda in syria? >> first of all, we are well aware. i spoke of this to the security council today, that syria has large chemical weapons stockpiles. they have thus far been willing and able to secure them, and the message that we underscored in the security council is that it is their responsibility not to transfer them and use them against their own people. if they were to consider doing otherwise, those individuals would be held accountable. al qaeda is indeed at least a presence in syria as it has been in iraq and elsewhere in the region. it is a very small component of what is an overall conflict that is building. but i think obviously it is the responsibility of the syrian regime to ensure their chemical weapons remain secure. >> is it the position of the united states government that the president bashar al-assad could leave, find sanctuary in russia or iran, let him go, or is it the position of the united states government that this man must be held for possible war crimes charges before the international criminal court? >> ultimatel we are very much supportive of accountability for crimes committed in syria. how the syrian people choose to handle and judge those that have committed crimes is for them to determine. but certainly the u.s. point of view is that assad has to go. it is long past time for him to go. and when he does, the people of syria will have the opportunity to chart their own future, to forge a government that reflects their will, and they will then make those sorts of determinations. >> ambassador rice, good luck. thanks so much for coming in. >> good to be with you again, wolf. republican presidential candidate mitt romney issued this statement. he says russia's veto again shows the hollowness of president obama's failed reset policy with russia and his lack of leadership on syria. president obama has given away generous concessions on missile defense and nuclear arms to russia, but has received little in return except obstruction and bill i thinkerance. >> this is a huge story. >> this is a tipping point. we look back on what's going on in syria a few months from now, say this is when it turned. >> we have been saying that for months, are we getting there, are we getting there. you can hear the frustration in her voice when speaking. >> can't trust his own security people, he is in hiding for all practical purposes. >> depekss and moving to turkey. that was a fabulous interview. some other headlines we are watching. the mighty mississippi river is not looking so mighty at the moment. it is nearing record lows in some places. another sign the powerful drought is taking a toll. want to bring in cnn meteorologist chad myers tracking water levels. hi there, chad. keep coming back with the same question. what is the situation. it keeps getting worse and worse. >> we talked for days and days about the crops, haven't talked about runoff or lack of runoff. if the crops aren't getting rain, this is a picture of where the mississippi, the ohio into the mississippi, and where we take you is to memphis. there's no water for crops, no water for the river, either. this is caro, illinois, during the flood of last year. the river is literally miles wide. at this point, a trickle east of caro, illinois. farther south, the river north of memphis, you see all of that, now you see sand bars. our affiliate flew this river today, seeing more sand bars as well. this is a problem for navigation now. barges can typically hold tons and tons of freight to a depth of about 12 feet. think of a sailboat with a keel 12 feet deep. they're not allowing the barges to fill up as much, only 9 feet deep, and aren't as many barges to come together, tied together to go up the river. this is a hazard to navigation. to many people, this slows down traffic. this will be a big impact. >> that leads into absolutely my next question. the satellite images tell the tale. you say there's so much cargo that goes through, flows through the mississippi. how are the lower levels effecting commerce? do we have a dollar amount yet? >> we don't have a dollar amount because the water hasn't started to come up yet. this is another image from satellite, space, from nasa. what the river looked like during the flood, what it looks like now. kate, the river is 55 feet lower right now than it was one year ago. 55 feet from where the river is now in memphis, it was 55 feet higher. the traffic now, barge traffic, is coming to a stand still, especially south of there, waiting for dredges to make channels deeper, and even some spots, i am hearing some of the docks aren't deep enough to get barges there to load. there's no water to get the barges close enough to land. >> amazing. chad, thank you so much. we will talk more about this. other stories we are watching. officials in bulgaria say this is video of a suicide bomber just before attacking israeli tourists as they boarded a bus. he may look like a t-shirt wearing tourist, but bulgaria's interior minister says he had a fake michigan id in that backpack with the bomb that killed six people and himself. and benjamin netanyahu says the attack was in his words perpetrated by hezbollah, iran's leading terrorist proxy. those are the words of the prime minister. iran dismisses those claims though. mortgage rates just keep shrinking, hitting another record low. right now, borrowers pay 3.53% for a 30 year fixed rate loan. nearly a percentage point lower than a year ago. ben bernanke says low rates are having a positive impact on the still hurting housing market. you can buy a dead person's identity from social security and it will only cost $10. the social security administration created a list of millions of dead americans to try to help banks and businesses prevent id theft. senator bob casey of pennsylvania says the agency is doing the opposite by allowing anyone to buy details about dead people and potentially stealing their identity. casey is calling for restrictions on access to the death master file. a lot of tax fraud they're dealing with. >> senator casey has a good point. >> maybe good intentions, bad result. >> don't go too far away. a scathing report suggests the fbi ignored crucial clues that might have prevented one of the worst attacks ever at a u.s. military base. fort hood massacre. and john boehner says he rarely talks to mitt romney. is the republican's inner circle too tight? we'll discuss. bill clinton revisits the scene of what he calls one of his biggest regrets. we go there live. according to f, the works fuel saver package could literally pay for itself. jim twitchel is this true? yes it's true. how is this possible? proper tire inflation, by using proper grades of oil, your car runs more efficiently, saves gas. you could be doing this right now? yes i could, mike. i'm slowing you down? yes you are. my bad. the works fuel saver package. just $29.95 or less after rebate. only at your ford dealer. so, to sum up, you take care of that, you take care of these, you save a bunch of this. that works. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy development comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing generations of cleaner-burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self-contained well systems. and, using state-of-the-art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment. we're america's natural gas. a new investigation out on the worst attack on american soil since 9/11. suggests important clues may have been missed that may have prevented the massacre in fort hood more than two years ago. suzanne kelly joins us, has the latest details. what are you learning? >> reporter: the report casts a critical eye on what signals were missed or not communicated, signals that might have prompted a closer look at major nadal hasan. inside the declassified version of the report are hints at what went wrong. that report includes e-mail exchange between hasan and the recruiter, he was killed in a drone strike last year in yemen. his son visited that website, sent the cleric an e-mail saying it was logical to justify suicide bombings. the report shows an fbi analyst labeled that not a product of interest and not pertinent. in response to request by the san diego unit to go and question hasan, one agent recounted saying this is not san diego, it is d.c. and the washington field office doesn't go out and interview every muslim guy that visits extremist websites. besides, this guy has legitimate work related reasons to go to the sites and engaging extremists in dialogue. wfo does not assess this guy as a terrorism threat. it shows you how complicated it is in figuring out what leads to fallout. >> suzanne, what else do we know about whether there was indication ahead of time that he may have been planning an attack? >> reporter: we know investigators were monitoring his e-mail account in the weeks before the 2009 shootings, and the report found based on his e-mail exchanges, there was no actionable evidence that he was planning an attack. but the report did say sharing the information that the fbi had with his bosses at the department of defense would have been appropriate and consistent with fbi guidelines. congressman michael mccall briefed on a classified version of the report said he was earlier disappointed in the fbi handling of the case. >> the way the fbi handled this, not sharing with the commander of fort hood, they knew they had a man talking toal awe lack ee in yemen, and yet this information wasn't reported to fort hood. >> reporter: this report makes 18 recommendations, but the investigators decided not to suggest disciplinary action. as for major nidal malik hasan, he is awaiting court-martial next month. if found guilty, could face the death penalty. >> thanks very much. back to kate with other news. >> watching what's trending here in "the situation room." wolf's favorite part of the evening. number four on the trending list. you are looking at 48 tons, we will show you, silver hauled up from a world war ii shipwreck. the treasure worth $38 million, sitting in the bottom of the atlantic since 1941 when a nazi tore poed oh supg the ship. a missing toddler found in rushing water in a sewage pipe a day after going missing. soaking wet, but safe after falling into a drainage system while playing. stay there. the top two trending stories up next. for paying your friend back for lunch...from your tablet. for 26 paydays triggered with a single tap. for checking your line, then checking your portfolio. for making atms and branches appear out of thin air. simple to use websites, tools, and apps. for making your financial life a little bit easier. at liberty mutual, we know how much you count on your car, and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accident forgiveness, where your price won't increase due to your first accident. we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life, or they're on us. these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both your home and car with us, it could save you time and money. at liberty mutual, we help you move on with your life, so get the insurance responsible drivers like you deserve. call us at... or visit your local liberty mutual office, where an agent can help you find the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance, responsibility -- what's your policy? let's get back to the list of what's trending this evening in "the situation room." number four in the trending list, 48 tons of silver discovered three miles below the surface of the north atlantic. it is worth millions and there could be more bars down there. so get your scuba gear ready. just kidding. number three, a missing toddler found in rushing water of a sewage pipe. took 24 hours for columbia searchers to find him. fortunately, he is okay. florida is recalling new escapes because the fuel line can crack and cause fires. if you drive the effected model, don't drive it until the problem is fixed. number one, is the president of chick-fil-a against gay marriage? he says, quote, guilty as charged. some fans of the chain are ex-preting support, others disgust, like "the office" star ed helms. he said chick-fil-a doesn't like gay people? so lame. lost a loyal fan. this is making waves on twitter and all over the internet today. a lot of people talking about it. >> thanks very much. some top republicans are firing back at congresswoman michele bachmann for what they say is attempt to smear hillary clinton. we will discuss what's going on. and is mitt romney's personality limiting support within his own party? let's do this i am from baltimore south carolina... bloomington, california... austin, texas... we are all here to represent the country we love this is for everyone back home it's go time. across america, we're all committed to team usa. oh, just diagramming this accident with my state farm pocket agent app. you can also get a quote and pay your premium with this thing. i thought state farm didn't have all those apps? where did you hear that? the internet. and you believed it? yeah. they can't put anything on the internet that isn't true. where did you hear that? [ both ] the internet. oh look. here comes my date. mitt romney.omney. mitt romne happening now. a frank assessment of what president obama could do in a second term in my exclusive interview with the king of jordan. supreme court justice scalia talks to cnn in a rare interview. see what happens when you speed down a highway in the wrong lane. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." i have been very upset about a mccarthy like attempt to smear one of hillary clinton's closest aides, someone i have known for years. representative bachmann and four others wrote a letter to the state department deputy inspector general raising questions about huma abedin. they said her brother, brother were connected to muslim organizations. then added her position afords her routine access to the secretary and policy making. insinuations are outrages, i am glad senator john mccain went to the floor to denounce bachmann and company. >> i understand how painful and injurous it is when a person's reputation and patriotism are attacked without concern for fact or fairness. for that reason, i come to the floor today to speak regarding the attacks recently on a fine and decent american, hum huma abedin. >> others join him condemning the smear. ed rollins wrote a a piece for fox news.com entitled shame on you, michele. >> everything i know about her makes it clear she has a sterling character. i am not sure what the basis of these claims may be. but this is dangerous stuff to be throwing around without a lot of facts. >> a state department spokesman says, i am quoting, these accusations are nothing but vicious and disgusting lies. anyone that traffic in them should be ashamed of themselves. but bachmann is not ashamed and is not backing off. in her latest statement, she insisted her words were being distorted. she says she was seeking, quote, answers for questions regarding the muslim brotherhood, and other radical group access to top obama administration officials. she goes on to say this is just the latest example of the dangerous national security decisions made by the obama administration. she adds i will not be silent as this administration appeases our enemies instead of telling the truth about the threats our country faces. here is the truth about huma abedin as someone that's known her a long time. yes, she is a muslim. last time i checked, there was nothing illegal about being a muslim in america. there are millions and millions of patriotic muslim americans she's married to anthony weiner, who happens to be jewish. let's discuss what's going on. joining us, cnn chief political analyst, gloria borger and cnn correspondent john king. we'll get it right. the viewers know by now. let's talk a little. you know her. >> yes. and i know michele bachmann. i think this is craven. there's no way to describe t michele bachmann is in tough race for re-election in her district, trying to raise a lot of money. one way to do it is to draw attention to yourself, portray yourself as somebody that stands up for people that think the way she does. and i think this is about, as it always has been when she raises these issues, about getting attention. remember during the campaign when she was running for the presidency, she talked about the president's trip to india costing $200 million. well, not so much. hpv virus causing mental retardation, not so much. she got the attention she wanted and it is a way to raise money. >> this is not the first time as gloria has said has said such things. you also heard speaker boehner, not defending her. >> you can say such things and go out there if you wish, if you want to appeal to a tiny slice of the party. but as someone that had her own name and credibility challenged, michele bachmann and the other congressmen that wrote the letters should know better than to put somebody's name in there, especially somebody who by all accounts, republican john mccain, wolf blitzer, i have known huma for years, been around secretary clinton, first lady clinton, works 18, 20, 22 hours a day when necessary. one of the congressmen involved said it was not their intent to make huma the center of this. why did you put her name in the letter, why did you talk about her family. >> i thought it was interesting. pretty much he said he doesn't regret -- he regrets her name, that she has become the media focus of the story, doesn't say we regret using the name. >> and by the way do you think this woman has not had security clearances? i mean, do we think that she's -- >> anybody that gets to a position like that goes through security clearances. earlier, i spoke with hilary rosen, our democratic strategist. she says michele bachmann is not really relevant, but she is relevant. she is not only a member of congress, she's a member of the intelligence committee, and four other relevant members of congress that also signed that letter. >> if you're a member of the intelligence committee and have a serious concern about somebody's status and you think that they may have ties to muslim brotherhood and it is serious, would you raise it publicly or would you raise it privately within the confines of the intelligence community. >> excellent point. >> to the people you need to talk to, whether at the cia, department of defense or within the state department. >> lot of things in politics require nuance. this is simple. put up or shut up. if you have evidence, put it up, if not, shut up. >> michele bachmann since i think she's relevant, let her come on, we will discuss and get her perspective and we will continue this conversation. let me play another clip of the interview with speaker john boehner today. we spoke of his relationship or lack thereof with mitt romney. >> do you spend a lot of time talking to mitt romney? >> i talk to him once in a while but i don't spend a lot of time talking to him. >> has he consulted with you about who his vice presidential running mate should be? >> he has not. >> i was surprised. he is speaker of the house of representatives. >> the leader of an institution with 12% approval rating in united states of america. i am not surprised in the sense, no offense to speaker boehner. one thing you do when you talk to staff, the romney staff is in close communication with leadership staff. the house and senate side, let them know if they're doing a major policy thing, if in the neighborhood. mitt romney met privately with mitch mcconnell, speaker boehner. not a lot of communication because they don't know each other, romney is unknown, and in part on purpose. he doesn't want to run as somebody tainted by washington. last thing he wants is to be seen shoulder to shoulder, even though he would like advice. >> i sense from the capitol hill side of things that the speaker is very comfortable with talking about the vice presidential picks, very comfortable with names on the top of the list. >> i think he is comfortable with it, to the point about mitt romney, he is not a schmoozer. mitt romney is not a politician comes out, pats you on the back, thinking about tim pawlenty. mitt romney don't do that. three people know about the vice presidential pick and where it is, that's mitt romney, ann romney, and beth meyers running this. there are people vetting potential candidates, but it is like the blind man and the elephant. some are vetting some, some are vetting others. nobody has the full picture here, and that's exactly the way mitt romney wants it. but he doesn't strike me as a man, he is not lyndon johnson. he doesn't call people, say what are you thinking about this, what should i do about that. >> tells you a lot about speaker boehner. he is increasingly confident and comfortable in his position, he doesn't need mitt romney to tell him how important he is, cater to him. he has a job to lead the republicans and confident in challenging michele bachmann. people said is he beholden to tea party interest. you saw a confident speaker in the interview not worried about mitt romney, he will do his job, mitt romney will do his. >> and wants independent voters to vote republican. >> guys, excellent discussion. senator john mccain seems to be having that name. big interview tonight on piers morgan. and the cast of characters you may call the vp bunch. taking a closer look at mitt romney's choices and whether a future running mate should have second thoughts. and bill clinton, one of his biggest regrets back on the radar now. according to ford, the works fuel saver package could terally pay for itself. jim twitchel is this true? 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[ female announcer ] when it comes to the future of medicare and social security, you've earned the right to know. ♪ ...so what does it mean for you and your family? [ female announcer ] you've earned the facts. ♪ washington may not like straight talk, but i do. [ female announcer ] and you've earned a say. get the facts and make your voice heard on medicare and social security at earnedasay.org. oh, yeah? [ chris ] you can call us 24-7, get quotes online, start a claim with our smartphone app. you name it, we're here, anytime, anywhere, any way you want it. that's the way i need it. any way you want it. [ man ] all night? all night. every night? any way you want it. that's the way i need it. we just had ourselves a little journey moment there. yep. [ man ] saw 'em in '83 in fresno. place was crawling with chicks. i got to go. ♪ any way you want it ♪ that's the way you need it ♪ any way you want it ♪ now, the story of a man named romney, choosing a vice presidential candidate of wannabes. a familiar tale with a moral. here is cnn's john berman. >> we are in the middle of the vp frenzy. the question is who will it be. an equally important question is why, why would anyone want the job. if recent history and the brady bunch taught us anything, it is be careful what you wish for. is it him, is it him? him, her, or him? who will win the veep stakes? the chance to ascend to the second highest office in the land. it might be a big deal but is it a good deal, or is it like this, like the tiki bobby found in the brady bunch trip to hawaii. a coveted prize that turns out to be a curse. >> please, get it off me. >> forget the vp job itself, which according to political lore, fdr's first running mate said wasn't worth a bucket of warm spit. look what happened to the lives of this handful of recent picks. dick cheney, he shot a guy. sure, it was a hunting accident, but still. john edwards, affair, baby, indictments. sure, he was not found guilty, but that might leave a mark. joe lieberman, he lost a senate primary, probably some democratic friends, and ended up speaking at the republican convention. and al gore. >> and i stand here tonight as my own man. >> recount marriage breakup, and the earth is still getting warmer. and of course, sarah palin. while her nomination bolted her to galactic fame, it also subjected her to galactic ridicule. >> i can see russia from my house. >> while receiving the nomination as joe biden may say albeit on a different differentt best a complicated deal. so when the next candidate utters these words -- >> yes, yes, i accept your nomination. >> reporter: he or she might very well be thinking -- >> bad luck, come and get me. >> reporter: it is important to note that 14 of our vice presidents have ultimately gone on to become president. one way or another. but the last to do so was george herbert walker bush. which is get to be a pretty long time ago. so maybe times have changed. wolf. >> john berman. thanks. he's a great new addition to cnn. he's got a nice little sense of humor and who knew "the brady bunch" was making a comeback? >> i like his take on things. do you have a front-runner that you'd like for the vp? >> i was thinking the senator from ohio. he's very smart. former special trade rep. former congressman. ohio. ohio, ohio, ohio. i also think tim pawlenty is right up there. he was first runner up last time. he was almost the vice president but sarah pail lin got that. very smart guy. >> he's been a strong surrogate on the trail so far. >> i wouldn't be surprised if it's pa letim pawlenty. bobby jindal. >> you can hold him to it when we all find out. >> special, tomorrow, 6:00 p.m. eastern, right here in "the situation room." pay attention because tomorrow the former republican presidential candidate newt gingrich will be here at this table together with the reverend jesse jackson. they will be our guests. they'll talk to us. they'll talk to our entire team. 6:00 p.m. eastern, tomorrow, right here in "the situation room." >> welcome, let's chat. >> we'll have a little coffee. >> it will be fun, hopefully heatled as well. >> i think it will be nice. it won't be heated. they're both very smart. >> moderately warm. >> they tonigdon't agree on too but it will be fine. jesse jackson, newt gingrich. newt gingrich was on with snooki last night on jay leno. >> barbara walters has a history of nailing down interviews with major lnewsmakers. the big get got away and how it all played out. ding." double miles you can "actually" use. but with those single mile travel cards... 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[ all screaming ] you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names longer. you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you see all of us serving you, around the country, around the corner. us bank. george zimmerman speaks directly to his supporter. why he's saying thank you. the man charged with shooting and killing trayvon martin is relaunching a website called the real george zimmerman.com. now that it's back online, zimmerman has posted a clip thanking his supporters. >> i wanted to take this opportunity to thank you, the masses. this is our website. it's not my website. it is our website where you can personally communicate with me. and i hope to be your website to provide facts. i'll be frequently updating this website. so check back often and spread the word to your new and friends. >> zimmerman may be comfortable talking to supporters but an interview with barbara walters, never happened. walters said no not once but twice and the audience of the view watched it all unfold. here's genie moo genie moose on interview that wasn't. >> reporter: this is the story of what happened when barbara walters, the queen of the get, does not get her man and sean hannity does. >> it is an interview thatter nr took place. when we come back, i will tell you why. >> reporter: that was six minutes into "the view." by 12 minutes in, barbara was explaining how she'd flown down to florida wednesday to interview george zimmerman, an interview she thought she'd been guaranteed. >> zimmerman came in, he had already taken off the suit that he had been wearing for his interview with hannity, was wear a t-shirt -- >> reporter: barbara said zimmerman refused to do the interview unless abc met one condition which barbara wouldn't agree to and wouldn't reveal. after another commercial break, barbara got grilled. >> you know what that tells me, it tells me he wanted money, yes or no? >> she can't say, leave her alone. >> i think the viewers want to know. >> reporter: if you must know, nosy viewers, zimmerman's lawyer confirmed his nearly broke client asked abc for 30 days stay in a hotel with security. >> george was thinking, i don't want money in my pocket, but i want my wife to be secure for at least a month. >> reporter: meanwhile, back at "the view," 32 minutes into the show -- >> i was just told that mr. zimmerman wanted to talk to me on the phone. we will be back and who knows what we're going to get. >> reporter: by 37 minutes in -- >> still waiting to see if we're going to receive a call from george zimmerman -- >> reporter: while they're waiting, why not squeeze in a marriage proposal? she's a virgin from "the virgin diaries" who's been saving herself until marriage. >> will you marry me? >> yes. >> reporter: but will barbara consummate her interview? 50 minutes into the hour-long show, we finally find out. >> -- my little ear piece, i'm telling you that zimmerman called, yes, that he just called and mr. zimmerman, if you could not do the interview yesterday, i don't think we should do a quick one today -- >> reporter: no quickies for barbara walters. >> we will now continue with our program and with the people who agree to interviews and then come here. >> reporter: maybe she didn't get her man but she did get back at him. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> all unfold live on "the view." >> that does happen a lot behind the scenes, the back and forth. >> she's unique. >> she tried to get that get. >> you'll want to see us tomorrow in "the situation room," especially our 6:00 p.m. eastern hour when the former republican presidential candidate newt gingrich and the reverend jesse jackson will both be here at this table with kate and me in "the situation room." remember also you can follow us on twitter. just tweet me @wolf blitzer. that's it for us. thanks so much for joining us. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. "outfront" next, i'm live in rwanda with an exclusive conversation with former president bill clinton. we talk mitt, barack, chelsea, hillary, al qaeda's newest threat and the president's passion. >> my belief is that you got to prove this stuff is good economics. you got to change the economic model so -- and you got to keep score. >> plus baby gorillas facing extincti extinction. and an olympic hero whose six brothers were slaughtered in the rwandan genocide. president bill clinton "outfront." let's go. good evening, everyone, i'm erin burnett live tonight from rwanda where i spent the day with former president bill clinton. we talked about a lot of things. he spent some time visiting some projects. some farms and some factories where he had spent a lot of time over the past few years. with the likes, in fact, of nascar famous driver jeff gordon. also i saw the president at a soy factory he's bringing in the countryside. he arrived with his daughter chelsea. shaking everybody's hand and taking pictures with everybody who asked. and he asked a lot of questions himself. >> whenever i hear somebody say oh, these small farmers, they're just inefficient, they can't generate income, i just decided to see if that was not necessarily true. and so we get 'em cheaper and better seed and fertilizer, get their crops to m

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