Computer to fly jumbo jets . And football frenzy. Millions tuning in, millions more online. Has america finally gone crazy for soccer . Come on lets talk about that live in lets talk about that live in the cnn newsroom. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com good morning. Im carol costello. Thank you so much for joining me. Right now, secretary of state john kerry is wrapping up his second day in iraq, hoping to calm a wartorn country and ease the violence that shows no signs of slowing down. Secretary kerry is in Northern Iraq meeting with kurdish and sunni arab leaders as cities across iraq crumble under isis control. The leaders kerrys meeting with say they want to go to bat for a new government, but kerry remains skeptical. We have to let that organic process work out a little bit. Words are cheap. Im not taking anything i hear to the bank and saying, wow, its going to be solved, but im hearing things that indicate to me that if they follow through on the things theyre saying, there is a capacity to have a new government that could be a unity government, that could reflect a greater capacity for success. Cnn National Security correspondent jim sciutto is traveling with secretary kerry in iraq. Reporter as secretary kerry touches down in iraq for a second time during this crucial mideast trip, he says the president is prepared to take military action, even before iraqi leaders make the political compromises that the administration believes is necessary for any medium or longterm solution here. He says that the president has options prepared and that when he takes military action, it will be sustained and intense. We were able to sit down with secretary kerry here in erbil. Lets talk about the u. S. Response, if we can. 12 days ago, june 12th, the president said, he was appearing with the australian prime minister, that my team is working around the clock on options to respond. During that 12 days since, we calculated isis has captured an additional 11 cities and towns, a key refinery, crucial roadways and border crossings. Hasnt the delay in the administrations response here on the ground, military action, strengthened isis during that time . I think the real question, jim, is not what happened in those days, the question is what can happen going forward, the strategy thats really going to work. The reason the president sent me out here is that if he were to make the decision i mean, he may have to, ultimately but if he made the decision without trying to see whether or not you can have a government that can work or reconstitute the military, then you have a whole different set of options. But you said yesterday that the president was prepared to act before there is political compromise. He might be. Well, hes always prepared to act, under any circumstance. He reserves the right to use force if he has to, if its going to accomplish a goal. But the primary effort is to get the government to form so that you have something backing up what youre doing, so that you have a military here which can be reconstituted. So, you have Political Leadership that can pull people together, and they will feel invested in their government and prepared to push back. Reporter here in kurdistan, the political divisions that are pulling iraq apart are clear. Kurdistan operates essentially independently. The kurds made a land grab of their own in the last week, seizing kirkuk. And as secretary kerry met with kurdish leader masoud barzani, barzani told him there is a new reality in iraq. As with military action, Political Action here will require u. S. Help and pressure that is also sustained and intense. Jim sciutto, cnn, erbil, Northern Iraq. President obamas still weighing military intervention but says that will not include american combat troops. In the republican stronghold of mississippi today, there is a runoff vote so ugly and so divisive that Time Magazine calls it the battle for the soul of the gop. Senator thad cochran is the embodiment of the establishment. 36 years in office, mostly unchallenged in his reelection bids. But Chris Mcdaniel edged him out in the primary, riding a wave of rebellion from Tea Party Groups and conservatives fed up with washington. Chief Congressional Correspondent dana bash is in jackson, mississippi. Good morning. Reporter good morning, carol. Absolutely, this is so much bigger than each of these candidates. It is a battle, probably the last battle for this primary season for the soul of the republican party. But when it comes to thad cochran, the incumbent, hes trying to keep his seat by broadening beyond his party. 36year Senate Veteran thad cochran flew in a famous establishment republican, john mccain, to help close the deal with mississippi voters. Send thad cochran, a good and decent and honorable servant, back to the United States senate. Reporter cochrans conservative opponent, Chris Mcdaniel, got more votes in the june 3rd gop primary, but not the 50 needed to win, sparking a threeweek runoff. Tea party groups already invested in mcdaniel as their best hope of defeating a senate gop incumbent, redoubled efforts. The conservative resurgence for this country starts right here in mississippi. Reporter nervous, traditional republicans from around the country trying to beat back the tea party are here, too. The chamber of commerce airing a hail mary tv ad with former star quarterback and mississippi native brett favre. Thad cochran always delivers, just like he did during katrina. Reporter and a super pac supporting cochran is spending money courting democrats allowed to vote in the gop runoff. Youre not a republican, are you . No, im not. Reporter especially African Americans who want to help a republican helping them for years. Jackie brand passed out 5,000 cochran fliers. Traditionally, African Americans vote a Certain Party reporter democrat. Democrat, right. And we wanted to raise the awareness to African Americans that we do have a stake in this runoff election. Reporter mcdaniel argues cochran reaching out to democrats will fire up conservatives against him even more. If senator cochran is going to court liberal democrats to save his seat, it is a clear indication that he has abandoned conservatives in the state of mississippi. Reporter i just talked to Chris Mcdaniel, who said that the fact that youre courting African American democrats, or democrats in general, is proof that youre a liberal, youre not a conservative. Is that right . Well, you know, my responsibility as a United States senator has been to represent the people in the state of mississippi, not Just One Party or one race. Reporter now, carol, polls open here a little more than an hour ago. And we are at a polling station in a predominantly African American part of jackson, mississippi, and already we have seen voting turnout here much higher than the locals here say they expected it to be. I personally have talked to several voters who came out saying that they voted for thad cochran. Theyve never voted in a republican primary before, but they are really riled up for two reasons. One is they like cochran, but maybe in some cases, they are concerned about mcdaniel, the conservative, actually winning here. All right. Dana bash reporting live from mississippi this morning. In oklahoma, a tightly contested republican primary could be headed to a runoff. One frontrunner in the senate race is t. W. Shannon, a rising star who has the backing of such tea party heroes like senator ted cruz and former Alaska Governor sarah palin. If elected, shannon would become the second African American gop senator. He faces a rising star in the house, though. After just two terms in congress, James Lankford is now the fifth ranking house republican. Hes a baptist minister who has faced criticism for voting to raise the debt ceiling. Shocking, new revelations uncovered by cnn at the va hospital in phoenix. Patient records changed or altered in a deliberate attempt to make dead veterans look alive and hide the startling number of just how many died while waiting for care. This new information comes directly from the scheduling clerk at the embattled hospital. And Pauline Dewenter says she was ordered to handle the secret waiting lists. News of the allegations quickly made its way to capitol hill last night before our report aired, prompting intense questions at the House Veterans Affairs committee hearing. I just got a note from a constituent that says there must be some kind of a cnn program on tonight and that there is a new revelation. It says records of dead veterans were changed or physically altered, some even in recent weeks to hide how many people died while waiting for care at the phoenix va hospital. A whistleblower told cnn in stunning revelations that point to a new coverup in the ongoing va scandal. Deceased quote unquote, notes on files were removed to make statistics look better so veterans would not have to be counted as having died while waiting for care, and the quote is from pauline dewinter. So, youve been to the phoenix facility four times. Are you aware of this new revelation . Im not aware of the revelation. I am aware that the oig is looking carefully at all of the deaths that occurred. I do not know if any attempts to hide deaths, congresswoman. Under all the scrutiny, all the lights, all the spirit of full disclosure, phoenix is still doing this kind of stuff, and you guys have had them under a microscope and youve physically been there four times and this is new . Congresswoman, i dont know the details of the accusation. Disturbing, right . Senior investigative correspondent drew griffin broke the story last night. He joins us now with more. Good morning. The allegations are coming from a woman weve been talking to for months. She is the deep throat in this phoenix va scandal. She is the keeper of the secret list. And she is coming forward right now because she wants everybody to know that this coverup continues. Pauline dewinter, a scheduling clerk at the phoenix va, is coming forward, because she believes she knows something that is frankly unthinkable. That is saying something, considering the shameful facts of what we already know happened at this va. She says someone now is trying to hide the number of u. S. Veterans who died here waiting for care. In seven cases so far, where she has determined a veteran on a waiting list was, in fact, deceased, she says someone above her has changed the record back. The veteran suddenly listed as alive. Somebody is going on that electronic wait list, and people are identified as being dead. Somebody is changing that and saying, no, theyre not dead. Correct. To hide the fact people died on that list . Thats my belief. What would be any other purpose . There wouldnt be any other purpose. Reporter why . Dewinter says the numbers of dead in this va wait list scandal may be even bigger than first reported, and someone, she says, is trying to cover up the record. And that has been happening fairly recently. Yes. Reporter that is a coverup. Yes. Reporter did you feel that the investigators are on to that . Yes. Reporter because you told them. I have surrendered evidence, yes. Reporter if there ever was a doubt there was a secret waiting list at the phoenix va, dewinter says shes here to lay the doubts to rest. Beginning last year, she says she was told by managers to take requests for new appointments from veterans seeking care and hide them. What happened to those people . They went into a desk drawer. Reporter so, if you called for a new appointment thinking you were being placed on the electronic wait list, you were actually being placed on a piece of paper in somebodys desk drawer. Correct. Reporter is that the secret list . Yes. That would be the secret list. Reporter and theres no doubt in your mind that was a secret list . No doubt. Reporter there simply were not enough doctors, not enough appointments to handle new patients, backlogged patients, and yes, very sick patients. Dewinter, a scheduling clerk, was making lifeanddeath decisions. And that really overtook even the wait list, because now i have a consult where veterans are very sick, so i have to ease up on the wait list. Sounds so wrong to say, but work these scheduled appointments so at least i felt the sickest of the sick were being treated. Reporter and youre making basically those triage decisions. Yes. Reporter so, youre bumping one veteran for the other, based on whos the sickest. Yeah. Reporter a spokesperson for the Veterans Administration refused to respond to the specifics of this report and would only say that as acting secretary, sloan gibson has said in va facilities around the country, we must Work Together to fix the unacceptable, systemic problems in accessing va health care. That includes getting veterans off wait lists. Carol, we believe the information is in the hands of the office of inspector general. Were not sure if the fbi has that information, but as she says, she believes there is a coverup still taking place there. And just watching her, pauline, shes clearly emotionally distraught. What might happen to her . Shes very scared. She was very reluctant to do this interview, but she felt she had to because she didnt want to get this latest allegation lost or swept under the rug. But she is fearful, like all these whistleblowers are, of retaliation at the va. She feels her career is possibly over, but she was willing to come forward because she felt you could see the weight on her shoulders. Shes had it. Good for you, pauline. Thanks so much, drew. Still to come in the newsroom, as thousands of undocumented children stream across the border between mexico and texas, the governor of that state is pressing for a solution. This isnt a democrat problem, this isnt a republican problem. This is an american problem. But will congress be able to find a solution . Thats the focus of a hearing on capitol hill this morning. Polio sandoval is there. Good morning, polo. Carol, good morning. Its front and center again. The head of Homeland Security taking the hot seat before lawmakers. A preview of this mornings hearing in only minutes. The average person will probably eat something or drink something that is acidic on a daily basis. Those acids made over time wear the enamel. A lot of patients will not realize whats happening to the enamel. Once its gone, its gone away for good. I recommend pronamel. Its designed specifically to help strengthen the teeth. Pronamel will actually help to defend the enamel from the acids in our diet. If you know that there is something out there that can help, why not start today . Explaining my moderate to severe so there i was again, chronic plaque psoriasis to another new stylist. It was a total embarrassment. And not the kind of attention i wanted. So i had a serious talk with my dermatologist about my treatment options. This time, she prescribed humiraadalimumab. 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Clearer skin is possible. Texas governor rick perry is demanding action on the thousands of undocumented children pouring into his state over the border with mexico. 52,000 children have reportedly been captured since the start of this year, some of those children ending up in Detention Centers like the one youre looking at. Well, now, governor perry is taking aim at not just the obama administration, but also the u. S. Partners in Central America for not doing more to solve this problem. I mean, this is an absolute humanitarian catastrophe waiting to happen, and i do not understand why there has not been more interest in washington, d. C. , to secure the southern border with mexico and the United States. I perceive that mexico and those Central American countries are our partners, and we need to be sending a clear message to them you have to do your part to stop this huge deluge of individuals. In about 45 minutes, congress will dig deeper into the issue and maybe, possibly, come up with some solution. Cnns Polo Sandoval joins us now. So, apolpol will this be a solutionfinding mission or a fingerpointing session . You can bet that the politics will undoubtedly heat up on capitol hill later this morning. Well be watching closely for this mornings Homeland Security hearing. Jeh johnson expected to face tough questioning from both sides. Republican critics have been really sounding off about this issue of families and unaccompanied children since it began gaining political momentum in recent weeks. Michael mccaul, not only is he the republican chairman of this committee, but hes also from texas and is expected to open this hearing, citing the sheer numbers, 52,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the southern border so far, and that number on the rise this morning. Thousands more which are referred to as family units those are the mothers and the fathers who are crossing with their children, as well adding to some of those numbers, but really, all of this adding to the workload for Law Enforcement on the ground. We spent some time in the region in the rio grande valley, which is the southern tip of texas, about four hours south of san antonio. Thats perhaps now one of the busiest regions when it comes to this immigration crisis, this growing issue. Border patrol, local police, all of them struggling to keep up, juggling the numbers. Theyre moving so many of these families and also so many of these unaccompanied kids from one Detention Center to another before either being released or eventually sent back to their country. Secretary jeh johnson already responding by sending a letter to some of the families there in Central America, encouraging them, again, carol, not to make this treacherous journey. In the meantime, his office releasing a portion of what are expected to be his threeprong approach, his potential solution to this. Whether or not, though, that will be the answer, we will be watching very closely to see if thats the case. Carol . Yeah, hopefully, some of these things will come out in the hearing later this morning. Polo sandoval, thank you so much. Still to come, the u. S. Could lose its big world cup match against germany and still advance in the tournament. What . Well take a look at all of the scenarios for you when we come back. When folks think about what they get from alaska, they think salmon and energy. But the energy bp produces up here creates Something Else as well jobs all over america. Engineering and innovation jobs. Advanced Safety Systems technology. Shipping and manufacturing. Across the United States, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. When we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. 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As you can see, fans blocked one intersection. Earlier, some people surrounded a van and they rocked it, but overall, there were only a few arrests. With yesterdays win, mexico advances to the world cups knockout stage. Breaking another record for soccer in the United States, a combined 25 Million People watched sundays u. S. portugal draw on two espn channels and univision. That more than doubled the previous record made last week in the u. S. ghana match. Now the focus for the United States turns to thursdays crucial match against germany. Cnns andy scholes looks at what the United States has to do to move on to the next round, but we start with cnns amanda davis. Good morning, amanda. Reporter good morning, carol. Yeah, if the u. S. Werent battling some of the best teams in the world here in this tournament, they are also battling the most grueling travel schedule you could imagine. Group g was the group that nobody wanted to be drawn into when the draw was made in december. Jurgen klinsmanns side have been seriously racking up the air miles over the last few days. They had a 1,700mile journey to natal and back to sao paulo for their opener friday. They then went to manaus, an 1,800mile journey and then back to sao paulo. They landed at 5 00 on monday morning. They had a rest day, but then this morning, tuesday, theyre training again, then getting straight back on an airplane to take the journey to recife and back. In all, just to get to the second round, Jurgen Klinsmanns side are racking up 9,000 miles. Thats like traveling from new york to south africa. The shortest distance traveled, just to put this into context, is by belgium. For their three games, theyre only traveling just over 400 miles. Thats 1 20 of the distance. And the bad news for u. S. Fans is belgium might well be the team they play if they make it into the second round. Okay. So, my head is spinning now. So, andys here to parse this all out. What happens if the United States doesnt beat germany on thursday . Lets start there, andy. Well, the good news is, carol, win, lose or draw, team usa still has a chance to advance to the knockout stage. Now, there are a bunch of scenarios to make this happen. Lets look at the easy ones first. Beating germany on thursday or tying them will automatically put the u. S. Into the round of 16. Now, if we lose to germany on thursday, thats where things can get a bit tricky. Then, us moving on will depend on the result from the ghana portugal game. If they tie, team usa will advance, but if either ghana or portugal win that game, its all going to come down to goal differential. If we take a look at the Group G Standings right now, we see the United States has a plus one in the goal differential, ghana is at minus one and portugal at minus four. So, clearly, ghana has the best chance at jumping team usa in the standings. Now, that being said, carol, our worstcase scenario for thursday would be lose to germany and then ghana beat portugal by two. If that were to happen, we would be eliminated from the world cup. Now, both games, of course, usa germany and ghana portugal both kick off at noon on thursday. So, if there is ever a situation where we needed two televisions at the same time, this is it, because the result from both games is going to be very important to see who moves on out of group g. Wow. Okay, im going to i know youre going to give me a quiz later, so i tried to listen. Thank you, andy, and thank you, amanda. Still to come in the newsroom, a top lawyer takes the stand over those missing irs emails, this as the irs chief insists there was no coverup. Athena jones is following that story for us. Good morning reporter if last nights more than 3 1 2hourlong hearing is any indication, todaytoday theyre in for heated language and tough questioning in part two of the hearing the Oversight Committee is calling irs obstruction. Lois lerners missing emails. [dog] larry . Larry . Larry . Wanna play . [announcer] a healthy dog is a playful dog. [dog] lets do this larry [announcer] help him keep those muscles while he loses a few pounds with beneful healthy weight. Made with wholesome rice,real chicken,soy, even accents of vitamin rich veggies. Its calorie smart and tastes so good. Beneful healthy weight from purina. Thank ythank you for defendiyour sacrifice. And thank you for your bravery. Thank you colonel. Thank you daddy. Military families are uniquely thankful for many things, the legacy of usaa Auto Insurance can be one of them. If youre a current or former military member or their family, get an Auto Insurance quote and see why 92 of our members plan to stay for life. 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Capitol hill is bound to be intense. Lawmakers are wondering how the irs lost emails connected to an investigation on targeting the tea party and other groups. The hearing is expected to be contentious. Last night, the current head of the irs pushed back on republican claims that theres a coverup involved. All the emails we have will be provided. I did not say i would provide you emails that disappeared if you have a magical way for me to do that, id be happy to know about it. The American People should believe that if they dont have the resources to pay their taxes, they shouldnt pay their taxes, because if the irs doesnt have the resources, they wont keep records. Thats pretty much what youre telling us here tonight. The i. T. Budget has been cut by over 100 million over the last four years. This years budget for 2014 required 300 million just for the implementation of the Affordable Care act. Congress provided us zero. That meant that that 300 million to implement a statutory mandate had to be taken from other i. T. Programs. There you have it. Athena jones live in washington. I would expect more fireworks later today. Well, we heard a lot of angry words, a lot of accusations being thrown around last night and we can expect a lot of the same kind of tough questioning today when a white house lawyer, lawyer for the white house counsels office, jennifer oconnor, takes the hot seat today. Shell be testifying. One of the witnesses testifying before the committee. Now, Committee Chairman darrell issa subpoenaed oconnor to compel her to testify yesterday. This is after the white house declined to make her available. They said their reasoning in part was they discovered, the irs discovered these emails had gone missing back in february, and that postdates the sixmonth tenure that oconnor had as a lawyer at the irs. She was there only until november of 2013. But chairman issa accused the white house of trying to block the committees first request for what he called voluntary cooperation from the white house, the kind of voluntary cooperation he says the white house had promised him. He said that he wants to hear from oconnor because before she moved on to the white house, she was in charge, the response of the irs to the congressional inquiry into the targeting of these conservative groups, in these emails. And so, she should be able to answer questions about why attorneys at the irs didnt focus and flag lerners lost emails sooner. So, we definitely expect to see more tough questioning today. All right, athena jones, well check back. Thanks so much. It is the most costly and most caustic primary race in the country, unfolding right now in mississippi. Senator thad cochran is the poster boy for the republican establishment, even able to call in john mccain to join him on the stump. Six terms in office and decades since cochran saw a real challenge. Enter Chris Mcdaniel, a tea party upstart who actually edged cochran in the primary. Mcdaniels riding an upswell of anger thats aimed at washington and the pork project spending that cochran delivered that once made him invincible in mississip mississippi. We take a closer look. We have editor in chief of the daily beast and a political commentator and op ed columnist for the new york times. Welcome, gentlemen. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. So, mississippi lags in many economic and social areas. Can the state really afford to give up the federal money for things like, you know, building highways and airports and such that cochran brings in . Well, carol, its an interesting dynamic called red state socialism. Mississippi gets 3 for the federal government for every 1 it gives. Thats made people bring home the bacon like thad cochran very popular. But in the republican primary, which is along the ideological debates, its a vulnerability. Now, the Practical Impact of it . People want their cake and they want to eat it, too, you know. The conservative populists want to rail against deficit spending but get those dollars in to keep local tax rates low. Does it compute . No. Does that matter emotionally on a primary . Not in a way that benefits thad cochran, necessarily. So, for us, does that mean voters dont realize how federal money helps their own state . Well, in fairness to the voters, its not always clear that the money helps those states in the long run. Mississippi, as john says, has been getting much more money from the federal government than it takes in, and yet, its still an underdeveloped and, you know, highpoverty, loweducation, all the rest state. And there are actually some Interest Research suggesting that these kind of pork barrel projects do, in fact, as conservatives would argue, tend to crowd out private investment and ultimately depress growth rates, at least in some cases. So, thats i think what youd say in defense of the ideological consistency of those voters. The other thing youd say is just that this is a case where, look, its obvious that mcdaniel is being cast as an extremist by his supporters and mcdaniel is an extremist. You know, he is a talk radio host with all the baggage that comes with that. But at the same time, this is a case study in why the republican establishment has problems in these races, because thad cochran is, im sure, a very nice guy, but also kind of a time server. And he clearly, in certain ways, doesnt want to actually be out on the trail for this race. He is 106 years old. He is in his early 80s, and there is you can understand why he would be having trouble winning an election. And larry, we were having trouble with your signal. Youre politics director at the university of virginia. Larry, we talked about, you know, federal dollars pouring into mississippi and voters not so much concerned about that in this primary race, except for African American voters who are actively campaigning for cochran because they benefit from the jobs created from these federal dollars. So, its just kind of strange that theyre actively campaigning for thad cochran and theyre going to vote for him. Well, its lesser of all evils. In mississippi, democrats vote in the republican primary and vice versa. If cochran has an upset, and it will be an upset. Most people expect mcdaniel to win because he got more votes in the primary. Typically, the incumbent loses in the runoff when that happens. But the cochran people have come alive. Their campaign has come alive, and theyve decided to bet everything on a Bipartisan Coalition of moderate conservative republicans who do like the pork, plus, democrats, not just African Americans, also moderate, white democrats that are trying to get him to the polls. Well see whether it works tonight. So, john, if the Tea Party Candidate pulls it out, will it really be a victory for the tea party, or is the establishment candidate just so old and tired that it wouldnt matter who ran against him . No, look, i do think it matters. There are two dynamics going on here. Patricia murphy has a great piece in the beast today about how committee charmz are actually more vulnerable for losing election than members of congress who are under investigation. Incumbency can be a real vulnerability, particularly in these narrow primaries, as eric cantor saw. The other dynamic, though, thats gone with the tea party insurgencies is they tend to elevate candidates who are less credible general election candidates. Thad cochran is trying to put together a general Election Coalition in a republican primary, possible because there is no Voter Registration in the state of mississippi. And the best hope the democrats have, the only prayer they could have of picking up a seat in mississippi is if folks make the case in the general that a guy like mcdaniel isnt just too extreme, as ross said, but a potential embarrassment for the state of mississippi. And thats one of the dynamics weve seen play out over the last few congressional cycles, whether its sharon engel, Christine Odonnell or now this challenge from mcdaniel. But its interesting to watch. But i think the fact that you have democrats rallying around cochran at this point suggests that they dont have a lot of confidence in their ability to put together a general Election Coalition and defeat mcdaniel. Often, youll get democrats crossing over into republican primary or vice versa to try and elect the more extreme candidate, and you saw this, todd akin in missouri was deliberately boosted by Claire Mccaskill in her reelection effort. But in this case, the fact that theyre going for the candidate who would obviously be tougher to beat in the general election tells you that democrats dont think theyre going to win a general election even against someone as vulnerable, potentially, as mcdaniel. Interesting. Ive got to wrap it up. John, larry and ross, thanks to all of you. Still to come in the newsroom, can you Stay Grounded if youre a bazillionaire, or was cyndi lauper right, does money change everything . Well talk about that next. 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We want to be healthy and strong through the course of our life, and by using pronamel every day, just simply using it as your toothpaste, you know you will have that peace of mind. Yeah, citi mobile. Pay the dog sitter . And deposit that check . Citi mobile. Pack your bathing suit . Wearing it. Niiice bank from almost anywhere with the citi mobile app. 30 years ago, with a hit song for cyndi lauper, but this next tune seems to sum up a controversy for Hillary Clinton. Money changes everything i said money, money changes everything maybe shes right cyndi lauper is right, money does change you, or perhaps if youre Hillary Clinton, it really depends on how you make your millions. In an interview with the guardian newspaper, clinton said despite her enormous wealth, she is not part of the problem when it comes to income inequality. Clinton said but they dont see me as part of the problem because we pay ordinary income tax, unlike a lot of people who are truly well off, not to name names, and weve done it through the dint of hard work. Now, this comment comes on the heels of another headscratcher. Clinton told abc not long ago she and bill clinton were dead broke when they left the white house. We came out of the white house not only dead broke but in debt. We had no money when we got there and we struggled to, you know, piece together the resources for mortgages for houses, for chelseas education. A thought from my op ed on the subject on cnn. Com, wouldnt it have been grand if clinton had simply said i worked hard, yes, but ive been blessed for so many years. I cant say i totally understand your life, but having been there once, i promise you, ill try. Wouldnt that have been simple and much more honest . Because lets face it, money does change everything lets talk about that. We have a macro economist for the Heritage Foundation as well as jason johnson, contributor for hln and Political Science professor at hiram college. Welcome to both of you. Good morning. Thank you. Good morning. Okay, so, celine, does money change everything . So, people in power are always going to be able to find people with money who are willing to make a deal, and thats why power is dangerous. So, as long as we have an executive who can regulate the entire economy at will no, thats not what im asking you. Im asking, if you become wealthy, does it change you . Does money change you as a person . I dont know. Ive never been rich, but i do think the comments that you read at the beginning of the segment are really a frightening window into this idea that income inequality is a problem but not my income. Its always theres someone richer than me and theyre the one thats the problem. Thats frightening when thats coming from a person whos been in a position with a great deal of power of secretary of state. Okay, salim is coming at this from a purely political angle, and its fine. Its fine. I just want to get to the root of the question, so jason, i will ask you this question, does money change you, even if you come from a humble background . If you become wealthy, does it change you . Yeah, im less cyndi lauper about getting more money, more problems. When you make a lot of money, of course its going to change you. There are things you can do. There is the amount of money you have where you dont have to worry about working. Theres the amount of money you have where you can tell everybody to leave you alone. It fundamentally changes you as a person. Now, whether that makes you qualified or changes how well you can do your job as a politician is completely different. The thing about Hillary Clinton is, shes been rich for so long and were so used to her being rich for so long, im not surprised shes going to make comments like this. Im waiting for her to Say Something similar to mitt romneys 47 . So, money changes you, but it doesnt mean you cant be elected president. No. We have many wealthy politicians in this country. So, salim, ill throw it to you with another question about whether money can change you. Lets say you won the lottery tomorrow and you became a do you think the money would change you instantly . Would your friends treat you differently . I do think your friends would treat you differently. I honestly think you need to take a humble attitude when you have been blessed. I think your op ed comment was correct. If you acknowledge that you are rich, that you have been blessed, you are more likely to take a sober view, and you dont let it change you, and you dont say my circumstances have changed and i need to treat the world differently and i need to acknowledge that im not dealing with the struggles ordinary people deal with, you are going to make comments like romney comments or clintons comments. That is unfortunate. I dont want to see our politicians coming at power with the attitude oh, im poor, i need to somehow make this work for me, when they are really not by any reasonable standard we have. I could not agree more. If wealthy politicians really wanted to prove they understood the middle class, perhaps they should do what senator Robert Graham did for 1977. He did different jobs for driving a truck, changing bed pans, teaching a class. Thats a great idea, dont you . I do. Heres what politicians could really do and republicans and democrats could do to show they care about regular middle class people. They should listen. We want more Affordable Health care. We want improvements in minimum wage. Americans have never had a problem with rich people. We love mark cuban, bill gates. The only time we have a problem with your wealth is when you stop listening and there have been plenty of very wealthy politicians and very wealthy people have been able to demonstrate that despite being born with a silver spoon in their mouth, they still listen to people. You can take the job, but i would rather you just listen. Thanks for the discussion. I appreciate it. If all of you would like to read my op ed, money changes everything, scroll down to the opinion section on cnn. Com. Ill be right back. By offering things like onthespot data upgrades an idea that reduced overcharge complaints by 98 . 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