i'm don lemon live in tampa, florida, for monday night's cnn gop tea party debate. a preview ahead but we start first with the 10th anniversary of 9/11. it's been a long day of deep emotions and quiet memories. america pauses to remember the attacks of 9/11 exactly ten years ago. the site of the 9/11 memorial opened today. fountains occupy the space where the twin towers once stood. cnn's poppy harlow has been there. i want to know what the reaction is now that the memorial is open. is there some degree of comfort? >> reporter: i think there is, don, from all the people that i talk to today, those that lost their children, those that lost fathers, brothers, mothers, aunts and uncles. for a lot of them this was cathartic in a sense and this was closure and also rebirth for some of them. it was the first time this morning they were able to walk into the gates, the memorial with each and every one of the names of those who lost their life at 9/11 at the twin towers etched in stone. 2000 of them went up and would rub their hand over the name of their loved one. it was a touching moment. something else as it got dark here in lower manhattan. i want to show you a shot that means a lot to new yorkers. this is a shot i have watched over the past ten years. you see the blue lights reflecting of the twin towers reminding us where they stood, what they meant. it's a shot we see once a year and now on this 10th anniversary of 9/11. what stood with me looking back on today is the personal story. there is no way to tell them. i want to tell you one that struck me about a girl named andrea haverman from milwaukee, wisconsin. her first business trip ever. she flew here, went to a meeting on the 92nd floor of the world trade center. i sat down today with her father. listen to what he told me. you lost your daughter andrea ten years ago. >> my daughter andrea was murdered ten years ago. i didn't lose her. she was on the 92nd floor. all of them were murdered that day. >> reporter: the north tower? >> north tower. >> reporter: this is andrea, right? >> this is. close to the heart. >> reporter: i have heard from some people that they felt a bit of hope today, that today wasn't as somber as some anniversaries. >> the memorial is beautiful. it's been a long ten years. i was honored to read names again. like i told you, i don't think they will be doing that in the next year or so. it's a passage for me. >> reporter: what will you leave here feeling tonight? >> i'm with friends. i have a whole new york family. >> reporter: that's what came out of it? >> i'm blessed. >> reporter: if you can believe it, somebody going through a tragedy like that saying "i am blessed," don. certainly leaving feeling much different than he and their family did when they lost their daughter ten years ago. he told me the moment they saw the plane hit the tower they got in their plane from wisconsin and drove out to new york trying to rescue and find their daughter. there is a book being written about her. i want to point people to the website. it's an amazing story. it's called justafewsleepsaway.com. this is one of 3,000 stories. it's a somber day, a sad day but a day of renewal and hope and a day of moving on for some this morning throughout the ceremony and throughout the day today. >> poppy harlow, thank you very much for your reporting today. president obama traveled to all three locations devastated ten years ago. he attended a memorial at the pentagon. earlier he walked the fields of shanksville, pennsylvania remembering the 40 lost there and he began at a ceremony at ground zero where 2,753 people were killed. the first lady and president and mrs. bush walked with him during the service. mr. obama gave a reading from the bible. tonight, he spoke at a concert for hope at the kennedy center in washington, d.c. ♪ >> join us later in the broadcast when we look back on this full day of remembrance. the moments to remember. we'll show you how our nation paid its respects. we want to listen now to the president earlier tonight in washington. >> in the decades since, much has changed for americans. we have known war and recession, passionate debates and political divides. we can never get back the lives we lost that day or the americans who made the ultimate sacrifice in the wars that followed. today it is worth remembering what has not changed -- our character as a nation has not changed. our faith in god and in each other. that has not changed. our belief in america born of a timeless ideal that men and women should govern themselves, that all people are created equal and deserve the same freedom to determine their own destiny. that belief through test and trials has only been strengthened. these past ten years have shown that america does not give in to fear. the rescue workers who rushed to the scene, the firefighters who charged up the stairs, the passengers who stormed the cockpit, these patriots define the very nature of courage. over the years, we have also seen a more quiet form of heroism. in the ladder company that lost so many men and still suits up and saves lives every day. the businesses that have been rebuilt from nothing. the burn victim who's bounced back, the families who press on. >> fighter jets were scrambled today because of reports of suspicious activities aboard two domestic flights. both planes landed safely and there were no further signs of trouble. but three people were taken into custody from a frontier airline flight from denver after it landed in detroit. f-16s shadowed a flight to new york from los angeles after reports that several passengers were behaving strangely. 9/11 was honored in afghanistan, too, but soldiers were left reeling by a suicide attack that wounded 77 americans. here's barbara starr. >> reporter: all 77 nato service members wounded in a saturday attack against a coalition base in afghanistan are u.s. troops. a spokesman for the international security assistance force said on sunday. two afghan civilians and 25 others were wounded in the attack which occurred on the eve of the 10th anniversary of al qaeda's attack on the united states. none of the u.s. injuries is life-threatening and those wounded are expected to return to duty shortly. it was a suicide truck bomb at a u.s. base in wardak province in central eastern afghanistan where the attack took place. barbara starr, cnn, washington. >> and next we turn our attention to politics. cnn and the tea party express will be hosting a republican debate just hours from now. we look to the connections between the tea party and the gop and a scene of excitement becomes a scene of horror when a balcony full of people collapses. ♪ [ dr. ling ] i need to get the results from the m.r.i. see if the blood work is ready. review ms. cooper's history. and i want to see katie before she goes home. [ male announcer ] with integrated healthcare solutions from dell, every patient file is where dr. ling needs it. now she can spend more time with patients and less time on paperwork. ♪ dell. the power to do more. just having some tender chicken and some tasty noodles. let's see...south western vegetables...60 calories. ya' know those jeans look nice. they do? yup. so you were checking me out? yup. [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. one stage, eight candidates, all fighting for attention and support from the tea party and any other republican they can attract. let's preview monday night's debate here on cnn. amy kramer is with me in tampa. in new york tonight, cnn contributor and political anchor for new york one, errol louis. let's talk about the tea party and the republican party. do you see much difference between the two and what are the goals going to be come tomorrow night? >> the tea party plan is to send a conservative to washington. this is a direct result of people being frustrated and angry with both political parties but especially the republican party. they have gotten away from the conservative values. so we want a conservative in washington. not necessarily a republican. >> but the people on stage obviously tomorrow night are all republicans. what is the tea party looking for them to say tomorrow night? >> we want to know who is going to turn this economy around. it's about jobs, jobs, jobs. that's what americans are concerned about now. >> what about candidates like john huntsman. he's trying to present himself to people as someone who is a viable candidate. what does he have to do? >> i think he has to move off what he tried in the last debate which was trying to make the unusual case of saying, look, i can be elected in the general election, but because i am not all that unacceptable to independents or to crossover democrats. that's not what you normally want to hear if you are a gop primary voter. he's got his work cut out for him. he has to try a different angle of attack if he wants to get into this race. we should see if he makes progress with that tomorrow. >> you know, it's interesting to me, amy, that the republican candidates have rarely talked about issues like afghanistan. is that okay? does the tea party have a position on that? >> we stick to fiscal issues. we try not to go into foreign policy or social issues. you will never get everybody to agree on that. we can all agree that we want a balanced budget and we want washington to live within their means. >> a lot of the candidates, even tea party favorites have agendas when it comes to social issues and they put it front and center. >> right, but at the end of the day people decide what their issue is and there are people that will vote on the social issue that's important to them, but most people vote on the economy. it's about jobs. >> errol, if afghanistan isn't an issue, is that good or bad politically for president obama? >> i think it doesn't bode well for the president if people decide as was just said that it isn't about foreign policy. it isn't about his record on catching and killing osama bin laden. well, that takes a couple of important points off the table for him. that's not good for the president. i'm reminded of the first president bush who was popular, won the gulf war. the voters thanked him by voting him out of office. it could backfire for the president. we'll see if it is a real issue or not. >> as someone who has been covering this forever do you think we'll see a lot of talk about seniors and social security? does rick perry have damage control when it comes to that issue? >> oh, i would say so. one in three republican primary voters in florida is over 65. that's a lot of people who have experience with the system who paid into the system who don't necessarily think they have done something wrong or that this system is keeping them alive. it's some sort of criminal enterprise. he made his point that, yes, in 20, 30 years the system has to be retuned or adjusted somewhere along the way. i don't know if it's going to sell to make it sound as if it's got to get done this year, right now. it scares people when you talk about cutting off or possibly cutting off an important lifeline for them. he'll find out the hard way, starting tomorrow. >> mitt romney's people think he has explaining to do. they have been handing out flyers on social security in florida. >> when the medicare board of trustees has said medicare will go bankrupt in 2024 if it is not reformed it's radical and irresponsible for washington not to do anything about it. i think the seniors would rather know what they are going to face down the road are people who will be facing retirement in the next 10 to 20 years instead of the unknown. it's irresponsible not to do anything about it. >> you think perry's language, the way he's treated, does it resonate with people here? >> there is a serious problem. somebody has to address it. like i said, it is irresponsible not to. rick perry is shining the light on something we need to deal with. maybe he hasn't used the correct term that people would like him to use. there is a serious issue there. it needs to be dealt with. >> amy kremer, i feel like you have been coanchoring with me. we appreciate you joining us on cnn as you do every sunday night. don't miss monday night's debate. it will be live from here at tampa, site of the 2012 republican national convention. monday night, 8:00 eastern on cnn. 184 people died when a plane flew into the side of the pentagon. barbara starr was there ten years ago. her vivid recollection is next. . uh, forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? um... try the number one! [ jack ] yeah, this is pretty good. [ male announcer ] half a day's worth of fiber. fiber one. thousands remember the heroes of 9/11 today. president obama laid a wreath at the pentagon memorial site. american flight 77 flew into the side of the building. barbara starr was in the building that tuesday morning doing her job as a correspondent when the plane hit. september 11 just happens to be her birthday. >> you were either here that day or you weren't. for people who work in the building today who were there ten years ago, i don't think you can ever forget. i'm sitting here and i'm seeing the flames in front of me on this beautiful morning. 9/11 is my birthday. i woke up that morning, looked out the window. the weather was beautiful and i thought, hmm, how little time could i possibly spend at work? i'll put something nice on, go to dinner with friends and it will be a nice birthday. but then -- new york. ten years ago this was the area where the pentagon press corps was working. that morning we'd been watching the attacks unfold in new york. i came out in this hallway and suddenly there was a pentagon policeman coming from that direction, running down this hallway yelling, get out, get out, everybody get out, we've been hit, get out. american airlines flight 77 slammed into the pentagon. by the time i made my way from my office down to this part of the hallway it was full of people. we could smell the smoke. hundreds of people coming into this hallway, down the stairs from the upper floors, coming up the stairs from the basement. the doors had closed shut due to the security alert. so it took a few minutes for them to open them and for people to begin to make their way out to safety. [ sirens ] >> this entire side of the pentagon was a wall of flame and black smoke. i remember seeing people coming out of the wreckage where the plane hit, some covered in blood, trying to make their way to safety. hundreds of workers gathered over here. at one point before a large number of police or fire personnel could even get here, they called for people who had any kind of emergency or medical training and hundreds of military people came moving back in towards the wreckage to help in any way that they could. that's what it was really all about here. on that day, in this place for the u.s. military, no retreat, no surrender. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >> barbara and many others remembering what happened ten years ago today. more signs the end is near for the moammar gadhafi regime. his son flees to niger. and a balcony crowded with people collapses during a festival and people are seriously hurt. those stories and more in your top stories next. i'm richelle carey in atlanta. back to don in a moment. first a check on the top stories. the latest saadi gadhafi, a former soccer player and playboy now in niger. he was accepted with eight former regime officials on humanitarian grounds. he is not the first to leave. moammar gadhafi's wife, two sons and other relatives fled to algeria. one person was killed sunday and several others injured when a balcony collapsed during a procession in mumbai, india. two women are in critical condition. the balcony was crowded with people trying to catch a glimpse of a religious idol as it passed marking the last day of a hindu festival. across the country people paused to remember victims of the 9/11 terror attacks. in new york a tree-filled plaza surrounds two fountains where the twin towers stood. one by one, the names of the people killed on this date ten years ago were read aloud. ceremonies were held at the pentagon as well. 184 people were killed when american airlines flight 77 flew right into the side of the building. in shanksville, pennsylvania -- ♪ o beautiful for spacious skies ♪ ♪ for amber waves of grain >> beautiful, isn't it? there was a ceremony at the site where united flight 93 went down in that field. on the eve of the 9/11 anniversary, the taliban showed coalition forces are still in danger in afghanistan. 77 u.s. troops were injured when militants launched a suicide bomb attack overnight on a nato base in wardak province. at least two afghan civilians were killed and 25 others hurt in the blast. none of the injuries are believed to be life threatening. militants used a truckloaded with firewood to hide the massive explosives. fighter jets were scrambled today because of reports of suspicious activities aboard two domestic flights, both planes landed safely. there were no further signs of trouble. three people were taken into custody in detroit after a frontier airlines flight landed from denver and f-16s shadowed a flight after reports several passengers were behaving strangely on a flight from los angeles to new york. jacqui jeras is here. the security issues we mentioned, will they affect travel at all? >> they may tomorrow. if there is a major security breach there will be a problem. hopefully not much more than inconvenient for you. maybe 10, 15 minutes because of extra security. this is at airports, train stations and subway systems. in new york city in particular they are doing an increase of baggage checks at all the areas. additional officers are patrolling. they will be working extra hours. canine teams have been deployed. they are doing checks at tunnels and bridges but expect a gradual decrease in the upcoming days. this has been going on since september 1. they say it won't be a big drop off tomorrow. what can you do? arrive early, be on alert. if you see anything suspicious, report it to authorities right away. let's get to tomorrow's commute tonight. number five, los angeles going to see fog delays there. number four, d.c. and baltimore, showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. windy in minneapolis. arrival and delays at the airport. number 2, new york city, fog as well as issues due to security. number one, miami. lots of rain. richelle? >> thank you very much. those are the top stories. let's head back to tampa and my friend don. hey, don. >> everybody here is talking about, look at these two good women on the set in atlanta. where are you, don? in tampa. thanks for inviting me to the party. >> we're holding it down for you. >> thank you, richelle. up next, what gop contenders must do to win monday night's debate from our political analyst. we're back in two minutes. welcome back to tampa, site of monday's cnn tea party express republican debate. and fasten your seat belts. we're going to talk with two people who are never afraid to share their opinions. eric erickson in atlanta, a cnn contributor and the editor in chief of redstate.com. and cnn political analyst roland martin. thanks for joining us. eric, i will start with you. rick perry isn't backing down from calling social security a ponzi scheme. how will that play in peoria and florida? >> a lot of people understand what he means. the right-leaning nobel prize winner milton freeman and left-leaning nobel prize winners also said this. there is word michele bachmann may try to attack perry over this. i think he may be able to couch it in a way he doesn't want to end the system, he wants to fix the system. polls suggest senior citizens get it. >> we'll see tomorrow night. but he said it. ponzi scheme. was it a bad term? may not have been the right term but social security is on shaky ground. >> it's a dumb term. you don't want to fall for the bumper sticker slogan and not adequately explain yourself. here you are going to another debate and now if you're governor rick perry you have to explain yourself further. the previous texas governor who was president, president george w. bush talked about private security accounts. it was a logical thing that republicans supported. perry better be clear what he's talking about or the opponents will tear him to shreds and he will lose ground by talking about ponzi schemes. >> it's a bumper sticker slogan. we have all heard romneycare, that's a slogan. rick perry has to explain more because he's being criticized as well for what some people call perry care, his mandate in texas that young girls are vaccinated against sexually transmitted viruses. >> i said this would be his achilles heel in the republican primary. i disagreed with what he did in 2007. it never went anywhere but it was a judgment call based on his loathing of cancer and a personal history with members of his family. i get it, but he handled it poorly. i'm waiting to see if he pulls a tim pawlenty and says, i screwed up. he got a pass. i think perry has to say, yeah, i screwed up. >> does perry care hurt in the long term or the short term? >> this economy will come down to the election. it's not coming down to perry care. sure, folks will try to score points when it comes to romney care. it boils down to the economy. one of the big mistakes we'll make is we continue to make this debate tomorrow all about governor perry and mitt romney. if you are michele bachmann you want to do well. if you're john huntsman, stay away from science talk or whatever. hone in on the economic message which the wall street journal, a conservative editorial page, really supported. i think it's wrong for us when one ballot has not been cast to make the whole debate out to be perry and romney. that's a huge mistake by the media. >> there are other people in the race. everywhere i go people are talking about a person not even in the race. i'm talking about sarah palin. she's not in the debate tomorrow. i want to play this from a supporter in florida i spoke to this week. listen. >> you know, my favorite is my role model, sarah. i would love to see sarah do that. >> sarah palin. >> i'll take a bullet for her. >> listen, i have just about 15 seconds left here. first, erick, what's your reaction? >> a lot of people want sarah palin to come in. she needs to get in soon. if she's not in by october she's lost ballot access. she's doing herself and others a disservice. polls are showing if she gets in she won't have a real impact. >> roland? >> don, stop following this woman around. if she gets in, great. if not, fine. we are the ones making a big deal out of this. we keep asking rudy giuliani. guess what. if she wants in, she'll get in. we are making a bigger deal out of this than anybody. we should shut up. >> that's right. >> thanks, guys. i have to say she draws a crowd though. rudy giuliani and no other candidate draws a crowd like sarah palin and when you put her on tv the ratings go up. >> so does james brown but he's not running for office. >> james brown is dead, dude. thank you. i appreciate it. the republican debate co-hosted by cnn and the tea party at 8:00 p.m. on cnn. next, we'll look at the tea party's influence on the gop nomination. plus, my sit-down interview with americans about what they want to hear with the americans. we'll drill down on the no talking points coming up next. let's continue our political discussion now with mr. mark preston and senate political reporter shannon travis. you got the word about michele bachmann that she'll come out targeting rick perry. >> perry is the person who's taken wind out of her sails. we are all wondering would she go after perry tomorrow in the debate. i have been told by her campaign advisers that she'll try to differentiate herself. three issues, hpv vaccination mandate. >> they're calling it perry care. >> social security. differentiate herself on that one and she really wants to show that she is the true conservative in this race now. >> okay. there are other people in the race and we have been sitting here talking mostly about three candidates. honestly, there are five other candidates who will be on stage tomorrow. and people may feel left out. you heard roland martin say, hey, it's not a two or three-person race. >> let's call it a two-person race for the moment. yes, we are going to see herman kane and rick santorum. it's still a national stage. not just tea party activists watching. >> shannon, you have been following the tea party. you did a documentary? >> back in october. since the birth of the movement really, since february 2009. >> how have you seen a change? some think they are fractured now. they may be more organized and now the first tea party debate. they have grown. >> they have. like most movements they have grown in size. the message has grown. they are a lot more fractured. people don't realize the tea party embrace a common message of less spending adheres to the constitution. but they have little warring episodes or warring moments at times. another way they are different now is that they are trying to seem or at least appear a lot more moderate. remember, the criticism, the rap on them was they were crazy and extreme. i spoke with a tea party express chairwoman. she said the fact that we are having the debate on cnn will help. >> and the tea party is not a party. they are not republicans or democrats. they are just a movement. >> i spoke to them here. they said, you know, we are tired of people making us out to be crazies. we're not crazy. don, say that. i tell them, listen, early on, the signs and people thought they were racists and the demographics of the tea party. it's really older people. >> older, largely white. although they have some african-american minorities. >> but amy said party doesn't matter. but most people in the tea party are republicans. >> most are. the vast majority are conservatives. >> do you know any democrats in the tea party? >> i have met some, but very small in number of democrats in the tea party movement. they want to do this whole rebranding themselves, seeming more moderate to attract democrats and independents. again, they know that the conservative fire breathing works in a conservative primary. they need more people to help them in a general election. >> in the short time we have left, have you seen anything like the tea party movement gain so much momentum in a short amount of time? >> absolutely not. they are just conservatives and they have been able to come together and bring in independents, conservative independents and folks who were necessarily involved in politics. that's what we have seen. >> mark, shannon, thank you. get some sleep. it will be a long day tomorrow. many americans may not think of themselves as tea partiers but they may have something in common with them. during my time in florida this week i met with a lot of tea party supporters. they shared a view to our elected officials that cuts across party lines. they are tired of spin and talking points. take a look. >> when you said the voter wants a real person and not a political robot, not someone who's going to spout off talking points. >> we want somebody who has created something, who's been a producer in this economy, not just always being one that's been on the government side or the academic side. >> is that why it doesn't matter if you have political experience for the tea party? you want a real person. >> in the political experience probably isn't nearly as important as leadership experience. the able to demonstrate that you can get something done. >> yeah. political experience. i'm not saying you don't need that, but what we are saying here from a grassroots perspective, we want to get local people to run for local offices and become the farm team because then you groom those people and they can go further. >> as a member of the tampa tea party who do you want to hear now? >> i want to hear they are going to offer something other than the same tired dribble we have been hearing for years. >> like what? >> like i have a plan to cut spending. i have a plan to reduce government. we have heard the same song. >> talking points. >> well, sometimes talking points aren't bad if they are important points. i get that. but there has to be real commitment. everyone can talk talking points. it's living up to it. >> if you had one piece of advice to give to them -- one -- what would you give to them? >> i would want them to give us a solution. >> make it short, sweet, right. >> well -- >> i'm broadcasting here from our wtbm studios -- >> and the local talk radio host hears from voters every day. >> when you hear from people listening to you, what do they want to hear? are they sick of talking points? they want real people? >> i think they want candidates speaking from the heart. when you hear canned responses or the same responses over and over, that's when the age of the internet and the age of twitter and facebook, we have a more educated population. they can tell when someone is speaking from the heart. we want to leave the washington buzz in washington. >> voters here in florida voicing their concerns. more than 1,500 homes destroyed by texas wildfires and the number of fires continues to grow. that report and more of your top stories next. let's see...south western vegetables...60 calories. ya' know those jeans look nice. they do? yup. so you were checking me out? yup. [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. i'm richelle carey at the cnn world head quarters in atlanta. we'll go back to don in a moment. first a check on the top stories. across the country today people pause to remember the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks in new york. take a look. a tree-filled plaza now surrounds two large fountains where the twin towers once stood. one by one the names are read aloud of the people killed on this date exactly ten years ago. ceremonies were held at the pentagon as well. 184 people died when american airlines flight 77 slammed into the side of that building. in shanksville, pennsylvania. ♪ o beautiful for spacious skies ♪ ♪ for amber waves of grain >> the sound of children's voices at the site where united airlines flight 93 went down in a field. on the eve of the 9/11 anniversary the taliban showed coalition forces are still in danger in afghanistan. 77 u.s. troops were injured when militants launched a suicide bomb attack overnight on a nato base. at least two afghan civilians killed, 25 others hurt in the blast. militants used a truckloaded with firewood to hide explosives. and the wildfire disaster in texas is growing. the number of homes destroyed by the still raging flames has risen to more than 1,500. 17 people are unaccounted for, but people believe or are hoping people are simply out of town. more than 180 fires have erupted in just the last week. those are the top stories this hour. we'll go back to tampa right now to my friend don lemon. i know, don. >> let's hope they get relief soon. thank you. next we'll show you how people across america remember the victims of 9/11 on this ten-year anniversary of the terror attacks. uh, forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? um... try the number one! [ jack ] yeah, this is pretty good. [ male announcer ] half a day's worth of fiber. fiber one. from sun up to beyond sun down the nation remembered what we lost and how we triumphed through this day ten years ago. here now some of the moments that brought us together as we remember september 11, 2001. ♪ oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪ ♪ o'er the land of the free ♪ and the home of the brave >> we will not fear. even though the earth be removed, the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, the lord of hosts is with us, the god of jacob is our refuge. >> please join in observing our first moment of silence. [ bell ringing ] ♪ amazing grace ♪ how sweet the sound ♪ that saved a wretch like me >> although words cannot ease the pain of these losses, paying tribute i recall not just the horror of the day but the heroism as well it can hopefully give you comfort and stiffen the resolve of this nation. >> i pray that our heavenly father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost. >> firefighter gary richard box. >> christopher blackwell. >> and my dad, michael boch. >> god bless every soul that we lost. god bless the family members who have to endure that loss. god, guide us to our reunion in heaven and god bless the united states of america. [ applause ] ♪ ♪