and in part because of the president's travels to the midwest and in part because of the new energy that texas governor rick perry is adding to the republican race. wednesday governor perry visited new hampshire, and while it's clear he's the flavor of the moment in presidential politics, the more he speaks, the more people, including many republicans, ask this question -- by so aggressively appealing to the republican base, is governor perry undermining his appeal as a general election candidate? this comment in new hampshire questioning man's role in global warming is new fodder tonight for the perry electability debate. >> i think that there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling in to their projects. and i think we're seeing it almost weekly or even daily scientists who are coming forward and questioning the original idea that manmade global warming is what is causing the climate to change. >> here's another comment from perry today that is suspect when put to the fact check test -- >> what six weeks ago the president went to el paso and said the border's safer than it's ever been. i have no idea. maybe he was talking about the canadian border. >> and generating the most heat is perry's iowa salvo suggesting it would be, quote, treasonous for the fed chairman ben bernanke to loosen u.s. monetary policy in an effort to keep the recovery going. >> i don't know what you all would do to him in iowa, but we'd -- we would treat him pretty ugly down in texas. >> on the campaign trail the confident candidate appears unfazed. even amused. >> you know, yesterday president said i needed to watch what i say. >> even perry fans in the republican establishment see signs of potential trouble, quote, he needs more bio and less texas, that's how one top party strategist put it to me tonight. let's debate the perry factor with cnn contributor eric ericson and alex castellanos and david gergen. alex, i want to start with you in the room. if you get on global warming it's a huge issue and big issue with the republican base. but look at the gallup poll, do you think the increase in earth temperature is due to human activities, 52% say, yes, natural changes 43%. a majority of americans say humans is contributing to global warming. governor perry clearly questions and disputes that. if you look at it broken down by partisanship it gets fascinating. it isn't exaggerated, 22% of democrats say so, 43% of independents and 67% of republicans so what governor perry is saying has clear appeal to republicans but is he risking his potential support among independents and even conservative democrats by saying that. >> on all the issues you have to say what you believe. it's what he believes. it's only worse if you're inauthentic, but, yes, that's the concern about rick perry. one of them is that he appeals to the base but that in a general election he could become george mcgovern or even barry goldwater, candidates with intense support but unable to reach across the middle. and you accent that when you shoot from the lip as some texans are known to do, you know, does he have mad cowboy disease. >> and, he talked today, he joked, he mocked the president going to el paso and saying the border is as safe as it's been in recent memory. obviously he's a border state governor. obviously he has a unique perspective being from texas, but if uf just look at the numbers, if you look at the numbers, el paso, texas, on the border is one of the cities in america with the lowest rate of violent crime. others are on the border, too, san diego and phoenix. el paso had 12 murders in 2009. if you go across the border, the town across the border had 2,000. more than double the size of border patrol agents than in 2004. 1,200 national guardsmen across the border and if you look at the study and more attribute it to the economy than the obama administration but the number coming across the border is also down. can the governor's credibility be questioned when he says things that the numbers don't seem to support? >> i think it depends on which numbers you look at, yes, the violence in el paso is down, but in rural new mexico and texas, the violence is up. they are not coming across in el paso. and you had the drug cartels fighting the bloody border right on the border and on the border you have the fast and the furious nonsense with the atn. on the global warming issue, i see the gallup poll, but there are other polls that show a lot of the public doesn't know. this global warming is not going to be an issue in 2012. it will be jobs. yes, rick perry, i think alex is right, he has to be careful what he says. he can get painted into a box. he can get in trouble. i think it's early. i think the big issue is jobs when it comes to -- when it comes to next year, but he doesn't want to get painted into a corner. >> david, it is early. it's his first week on the trail and a lot of candidates say things they take back or modify, and president obama criticized governor perry probably because he said a lot of things as a young candidate 2007 and into 2008, but particularly drawing scorn from a lot of republicans and democrats is the idea that ben bernanke would be treasonous or treacherous behavior if he kept putting money into the economy. last night i had one of the lesser-known republican candidates rick san for rey san the program and he took a shot. >> you don't up the ante on the rhetoric and it's out of place and hopefully governor perry will step back and realize we're not in texas anymore. >> what is he learning, david, this first week on the trail, governor perry? >> he's playing in the big leagues, on the national field. he's won three big elections in texas and he said things that people questioned, but he sort of brushed them off and went on. now he's playing in the big leagues and he'll get a lot more scrutiny. i'm still laughing over the mad cowboy disease from alex. but i tell you this, i -- the border statement today i didn't think much of. global warming, he didn't come out and call it a hoax at least. but i thought what he said about bernanke was a real gaffe, and, you know, on almost treasonous if he goes back to kwantative easing and we treat hem ugly in texas, that kind of swagger will scare the hell out of a lot of voters. you know, he's done well in the early polls in the republicans, but i'm here in new york now, i've had people come up to me on the street and say i'm scared about rick perry. and the kind of comments he makes, you know, he'll play much better obviously in the south than a place like new york anyway, but there are some people out there now who -- who are listening and saying, oh, wow, i didn't realize he meant that. >> and to david's point, john, i think it's exactly right, it's different, it's big league pitching in the presidential campaign. it turns out, for example, there were two governors who signed a letter asking ben bernanke of all people to get moving with that $700 billion t.a.r.p. program. one of those governors was rick perry. so these things kind of come back to bite you in the big leagues. >> another thing that get scrutiny, bp oil spill disaster, and if you go back in those days, he was talking about should we suspend drilling and what should we do. from time to time there are going to be things that occur that are acts of god that cannot be prevented. acts of god that cannot be prevented. we know what happened on the rig was horrible, that there was some negligence involved and questionable maintenance and questionable calls by the leadership. i bet that's one he'd like to have back. >> you know, i'm not sure, you know, at the time it was blown this acts of god thing, you know, anybody who is a lawyer understands what acts of god means, accidents. at the time that that happened there was still a probe and there was a lot of speculation it could have been an accident, yeah. there was a lot of negligence involved at the time but i think most people understood what he meant who aren't in new york and washington. >> aren't in new york and washington. that's a shot at us, i think. >> it is. >> what, john? you know, i'm curious about why the bushies are going after him. why karl rove and the others from the george w. bush, what's the nature of the tension. >> there's inside-texas rivalry, talk among the bushies that as governor he tried to say he was better than george w. bush and supporting rudy giuliani in 2007 he went to an event where he said george w. bush was no fiscal conservative, it goes on and on -- >> it won't hurt him in a republican primary. >> it probably won't hurt him, and there's consultant feuding that happens from time to time, you know how it happens from time to time? >> there's an interesting war now and then. but, you know, the other thing about rick perry is let's give him his due, when he came out of the box, he came out as a man who knew his mind, who didn't have to ask other people who he was and what he believes. and when you contrast that with an uncertain president who, you know, is for what he's against going to libya while you're coming out, you're going to reduce the deficit while you spend more, he actually looked pretty strong and decisive. we've got to watch him. >> and we're talking about him which means he jumped into the debate with a little get of gusto and we'll talk about it in the weeks ahead. a new jobs promise from the president and some advice for you from suze orman. >> i think 2012 could be a very difficult year. i'm on the camp that we have more chance of being in presessipr recession than avoiding it. and the syria regime's violent reaction to the demand to end violence, but do the rebels gain progress as they try to put a choke hold on tripoli? 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[ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. what's vanishing deductible all about ? guys, it's demonstration time. let's blow carl's mind. okay, let's say i'm your insurance deductible. every year you don't have an accident, $100 vanishes. the next year, another $100. where am i going, carl ? the next year... that was weird. but awesome ! ♪ nationwide is on your side a 2-year-old girl is the new face of global outrage as syria ignores international condemnation and continues its deadly crackdown. this horrific video of this young girl shot in the eye comes from the city where syrian forces have been on the assault for four days now. cnn's arwa damon is tracking the story from beirut tonight, and arwa, the government said it's pulling out and the forces leaving latakia, what are your sources telling you? >> reporter: activists that are located in that very neighborhood are saying is that quite simply is not true. they told us that two, maybe three military vehicles, armored personnel carriers pulled out, went to another area, but that the security forces are still fanned out. just a short while ago i got a message from an activist who was saying he was hearing sporp radek gunfire, there were snipers on rooftops, checkpoints, pharmacies, bakeries, all remain closed. families most certainly not coming back, so they're saying that the syrian government is quite simply trying to buy itself more time by making those various statements that it is, in fact, pulling out of this area. >> and, arwa, a couple of weeks ago it was this teenage boy dropped on a doorstep beaten, it looked like he had cigarette burns, and now this horrific video of this 2-year-old girl, inside syria obviously the administration is trying to send a chilling message to these activists, but inside syria, how are they receiving it? is it causing them to pull back or making them have more resolve? >> reporter: when it comes to the demonstrators, just about every single act that is a by-product of the government's excessive use of force has only served to harden them and make them even more determined. the case of this little girl, they find it horrific, yes. but at the same time, they will tell you that it doesn't really surprise them. they fully expect this type of behavior from the government. now, in this case it seems as if she was not deliberately targeted. but they do cite other instances where children, they say, have been deliberately killed, detained, tortured, all to send some sort of a message. they say that this regime doesn't differentiate between adults and children when it comes to silencing voices of dissent. and they'll also tell you this isn't something that emerged ever since this uprising began. they'll tell you that this has been the regime's behavior ever since it came into power, so for around four decades which is exactly why they say it simply has to go. >> arwa damon for us in beirut tonight, arwa, thank you. and in libya rebels claim progress for circling tripoli to choke off the gadhafi food and other supply lines, sara sidner is in libya tonight. i under you just talked to a rebel commander. what is his sense of the state of play? do they believe they have the necessary momentum? >> reporter: yes, the short answer to that. but here's what seems to be happening now. the city that is quite important because it is a lifeline to tripo tripoli, where fuel comes through and other supplies, an easy way to get those things into tripoli and as you know fuel is scarce there, and we're hearing that food is becoming quite scarce for residents there as well. according to this colonel, the situation is that the rebels do not have complete control of zawaia that they have control of some parts of the city but the gadhafi forces are still there on the eastern side of the city and they are shelling into the city and that there are snipers there near the hospital even on top of buildings. those snipers belonging to the gadhafi regime. so, there is still fighting in that city. they do not clearly have control of that city. >> is the goal, sara, to ultimately march on tripoli or just to encircle it and choke off the regime? >> reporter: i think it's two-fold. one, they do want to encircle it and choke off the supplies and, therefore, weaken the regime, but the real goal here is to move into the city. move into the capital, and move out gadhafi and his regime. that is what the rebels have been asking for. they want him to go, and if they -- if they have to do it by force, they say they will do that. there's a lot of optimism. we heard from a commander earlier this week that he believes they will be in tripoli in the next few weeks at the end of the month. >> and, sara, don't answer the question if you're worried about your safety, just say good-bye, but it's impossible not to know of the gunfire behind you. what to make of that? >> reporter: yeah. so, here's what happens. oftentimes and as you've seen throughout this war, when there is celebrations, a lot of times there are lots of people with guns, and people get very happy and very excited. and they start firing, and it's something we all have to contend with obviously. i mean, for our own safety, we're always kind of looking over our shoulder and trying to listen to make sure it's not coming our way, but sometimes it is. and a lot of times it's just enthusiasm on the parts of the rebels blasting into the air. but, again, a dangerous thing, and something that actually we talked to commanders in the early days when i was in benghazi and in misrata for several weeks and said why waste the ammunition? i mean, we know people get excited, but why waste this when you know that you have limited resources. the answer was, we're trying to control the situation, but we can't control everything, john. >> sara sidner, amid what we hope is just the celebration in libya tonight, sara, thank you. let's get some important context from experts nick burns is the former undersecretary of state and cnn national contributor fran townsend is also with us, she's a member of the external advisory board of the cia and the department of homeland security. i want to go to the map first, let's go to libya, sara sidner making the point i want to show you if you see the stripe, it's held by the rebels and tripoli the capital, they are beginning to put a circle around. but the question is the government towns here and the regime towns. fran from you first, from the folks in the intelligence community do they have confidence that the guys finally have their act together and they really might have a chance to choke off and maybe even march on tripoli? >> well, john, this is the most strategic success they've seen coming out of the rebels. and the question is can they put the internal sort of machinations aside? we've seen some indications that there's tension among the ranks of the rebels. if they can put that aside and actually really choke off supplies, it will weaken the hold inside tripoli and really provide them with an opportunity. along with nato support, there's a chance that they can actually achieve their objectives of choking off the gadhafi regime, but it remains to be seen. i mean, look, this will require a sustained and persistent effort that we haven't yet seen. >> let's ask the former nato ambassador, nick burns, the strategy for nato, we see a lot of air strikes in tripoli, if the rebels can get a surround right here, what does nato have to do and will nato, if you will, clear a path, then, to march on tripoli? >> well, john, i think fran is right. it's a consequential week shaping up for the libyan rebels and they have an opportunity if they can take the town to essentially cut off supplies from the western part of libya into the gadhafi regime. nato has intensified its bombing campaign. the reports are that the united states is adding predators, so you're beginning to see i think an opportunity here. both for the rebel alliance but also for nato to put some pressure on the gadhafi regime to relieve this stalemate that has been in place now for the last six months. >> and you see i just brought up here the pipelines here. if the rebels can keep this circle right here, they can also cut off pipelines going into tripoli which is an important economic resource, but i want to move the conversation to syria, if we can. august 7th and 8th, the saudi king said stop the killing machine. the killing continued. the united states and the turkish foreign minister meets with assad, stop, and he says he won't relent in his pursuit of what he calls the terrorists. and august 10th the united states announces new sanctions and i can go anywhere on this map and i will pick this town here, international pressure on the regime and this is what you get, people on the street protesting for their right being shot at. nick burns, secretary of clinton said yesterday we haven't called for assad to step down because we're using, quote, smart power, we want others in the community with closer and more important relationships to step forward, does that pass what i'll call the sniff test? >> well, i think it's understandable that secretary clinton would want to have key countries in the middle east, turkey, saudi arabia, egypt, and others work with her in concert to call, together, for the remove of bashar al assad for his resignation, given the outcry and legitimate indignation of the world community over the images you've shown on your television tonight. but in the final analysis, if those countries cannot act with the u.s., there really is no substitute for the power and the leadership of the united states despite our many problems we are still by far the most powerful country in the world, i think it would be a dramatic signal of the international condemnation of the regime if the u.s. would call for his resignation. i think it would galvanize others to do the same. >> appreciates your insights, we'll stay on top of it, big weeks in syria and libya as well. and still ahead, piers morgan asking christine o'donnell about her more controversial views. you will want to see her reaction. she walks off the set. and next suze orman on how you should navigate the kollar coaster stock market. and her picks on president obama's jobs program. the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. i have a dream today! 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[ female announcer ] yoplait greek. it is so good. it's pretty good! whether it can be done safely and responsibly. at exxonmobil we know the answer is yes. when we design any well, the groundwater's protected by multiple layers of steel and cement. most wells are over a mile and a half deep so there's a tremendous amount of protective rock between the fracking operation and the groundwater. natural gas is critical to our future. at exxonmobil we recognize the challenges and how important it is to do this right. the word volatile just doesn't seem to do justice in describing the past couple of weeks on wall street. giant drops followed by big gains, and vice versa. there are jitters about the messy political debates here in washington and about major debt problems across europe, not to mention worries the economy could again stall into recession. so what should you do about your 401(k) or big decisions like buying a new car or home or setting aside money for a college fund? our friend suze orman is here with her advice on how to survive the confusing times. i want to start with a suze gut check. if you look at economists, "usa today" polled a survey of leading economists, are you more or less optimistic than you were three months ago about the economy? 95% said they were less optimistic. are you that down about the economy? >> well, here's the problem. i've been down about the economy since 2008. i can remember coming on cnn, writing a book called "the 2009 action plan" where in that book i actually said it will be until 2015 until we feel like we even have hope again. so, this doesn't surprise me. it doesn't surprise me that we're not out of the woods when it comes to housing. doesn't surprise me that we have 9.1% unemployment. doesn't surprise me that nothing is working the way that it should because the devastation that happened in 2008 was so beyond the beyond of anything we could have imagined was possible that i don't understand where we could be except where we are right now. >> and so if we are where we are right now, what should we do? if you look at just the past couple of weeks, the startling 19% swing in the ups and downs just last week? you hear people say buy gold, it's on its way up, people say cash out, get out of this crazy market. what does suze say? >> suze says this, again, i hate to keep saying that i said this, i've said it now for almost two years, if you're going to be investing in the stock market, i personally would like to see you be investing in dividend-paying stocks or exchange-traded funds depending on how much money you have. why? because during wild swings when it goes up and down, all you want to know at this point in time anyway is that your money is yielding you 4%, 5%, or 6%, otherwise that money is going to be out of the market and doing, what, john? it's going to be sitting in a money market fund making you a half a percent, 1%, we heard the fed chair say he's going to keep interest rates low until at least 2013, so i wanted to be paid on my money. so, again, if you can find good high-yielding, four.5%, 5%, 6% dividend-paying stocks or exchange-traded funds where the dividends are safe and there are good economics behind the company, up, down, eventually, you'll be ahead of the game. you want to look for what it gives you more than what your money is doing in itself. >> does the current situation impact at all if somebody is out there watching and they're thinking about you mentioned the low interest rates. maybe they think it's time to buy a new car. maybe they think it's time to buy a new home. should any consumer's decision of the big ticket purchases be influenced by the last week? gli think it should be influenced if your job is not secure. a lot of times when we see a roller coaster happening, it is also possible that some of that roller coaster has to do with a company that maybe you're working for, so if your job is secure, if you have at least 20% to put down, if you have at least an eight-month emergency fund, besides the 20% to put down, if you can afford a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage and the property taxes and the insurance and you can get a steal of a deal, because i don't think we've seen the bottom in the real estate market, i think we're definitely now in a double dip, i think in many areas you could see it go down another 3%, 5%, 10%, if you can get a steal of a deal and your job is secure, go ahead and do it. if all those things aren't there, can you just wait? same thing with a car. you better need, really need, a new car to buy a new car. and if i were you, i wouldn't be buying a brand-new car unless you have so much money you didn't know what to do with it. you could buy a new car for you, but you should buy a used car, because new cars the second you drive it off the market -- or the lot there, they're down 20% or 30% in value the second it leaves the lot, so what are you doing, people? watt are you doing with your money? you need to be conserving it for what's coming ahead. >> we've talked about this many times in the past about how we live in a consumer-driven economy, if the consumer spending goes up, the other indicators goes. but people are in funk. a preliminary report in august, 54.9% consumer confidence, and that's the lowest since 1980 which is also a recession year. what will it take to get people out of their funk? >> truthfully to get out of the funk we have to have people agreeing in washington. there's nothing more disheartening when you don't know what to do and you're counting on your leaders to really lead you through the battle, through the victory so that you'll be okay. and they're fighting with one another. they're bickering with one another. they're waiting for the very last minute before they pass bills that protect the consumers out there. so, what do you expect these consumers to think? they don't have faith that anybody in any side of the political battle here really has their best interests at heart. they're watching all these things. they're not understanding it, and the truth of the matter is, they shouldn't have a lot of confidence, because, again, i think 2012 could be a very difficult year. i'm on the camp that we have more chance of being in recession than avoiding it. so, they should be conservative right now. their confidence should be down because there's every reason out there that they shouldn't feel confident. >> when you say you're more in the camp that we're going to fall into another recession than less, are you way into that camp, are you still a little divided? >> i'm pretty much way into that camp. but i've been way into that camp for the past year or two, obviously on my own show, "the suze orman show" i've been saying to my viewers to be careful of 2012. and they keep writing, why, suze, why? it's obvious if you look what's happening out there. for this economy to recover, we need housing to recover. housing can't recover unless jobs recover. housing can't recover until you take care of the excess of all the homes that are in foreclosure and the banks are willing to work with these people that want to keep their home but they're so under water they don't know what to do. all of these problems, plus more, what's happening in europe, everything adds to we have trouble ahead. i hope i'm wrong. i hope i'm wrong so much i can't begin to tell you. i don't think i am, however. >> i want you to listen to a guy who hopes you're wrong. he's the president of the united states and he has to run for re-election in 2012 and if we were to fall back into recession, it would hurt his prospects for re-election. the president is focusing on jobs, we need jobs, it would be a good spark for the economy. i want you to listen to the president who outlines what he thinks should be done now and i want to get your sense on how much it would help now. >> the payroll cut that put money back in the family's pocket this year, let's extend it. construction workers who have been jobless since the housing boom went bust, let's put them back to work rebuilding america. let's cut red tape in the patent process so entrepreneurs can get good ideas to market more quickly. let's finish trade deals so we can sell more american-made goods around the world. >> how are those ingredients? is that a major jobs package or is that more small ball playing around the edges? >> i think that's more small ball playing around the edges. and i'll be the -- you know, my political affiliation, i don't hide. i am a supporter of president obama. i want him to win again more than you have any idea for many of the reasons out there. however, many people don't work in construction. many people don't benefit from some of those things. yes, $1,000 would be good and all, but there are a lot of people that lost their jobs. why? because of productivity. a lot of these corporations are so productive now without them because of technology, they don't need to hire them back. so, how does that help the women or the people who had jobs either on wall street or wherever they were, and they're not construction workers, three don't do those things and they've been trying to get a job now for two years! and they still can't get a job. we need to really do a whole lot more than that to solve this problem, but it's a start. do i think it's a big enough start? i'm so sorry to say i don't. >> and the jobs debate comes as part of the deficit reduction debate, the president wants the congress to do more on that front. he's getting a little help, the president said they should raise taxes on the wealthiest americans, and warren buffett wrote, for those making more than $1 million, there are many howls holds in 2009, i would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million including, of course, dividends and capital gains. he goes on to say for those making $10 million or more, they should raise taxes even more. if you look at the warren buffett plan does that get from suze an approval or deny? >> it gets an approved. if you watched me recently or even over the past year or two i was absolutely against president obama wanted to raise taxes on anybody for $250,000 or more. because you can be in new york city make $250,000 and you don't have enough money to pay your bills, believe it or not. but once it gets to the tune of $1 million or $10 million a year, i'd be more than happy to pay extra money in taxes if it solved the problem. because it's true, john, you know, you look around and when you're making a few million dollars a year, our lives haven't been affected, but everybody around us has, so would a difference of $50,000 or $100,000 from me in more taxes make a difference? no, not to my lifestyle, but if it would help the economy, i think every one of us should do that and i don't have a problem with that. >> as always, appreciate the frank and very blunt and some sober advice from suze orman. thank you for coming in. >> any time. >> thank you, my friend. next, christine o'donnell abruptly ends an interview with cnn's piers morgan. and you see this... it's the end of the road. the last hurrah. it's when ford's powertrain warranty ends. but in this ram truck, you've still got 39,999 miles to go. ♪ guts. glory. ram. ♪ discover customersl are getting five percent cashback bonus at the pump... and at many of the places their summer plans take them. it pays to switch, it pays to discover. so i take one a day men's 50+ advantage. as a manager, my team counts on me to stay focused. it's the only complete multivitamin with ginkgo to support memory and concentration. plus it supports heart health. 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[ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. welcome back. here's the latest news you need to know right now. in india thousand of demonstrators have surrounded a new delhi jail to show support for a 72-year-old reformer who is threatening to begin a hunger strike to protest government corruption. vice president joe biden start a five-day visit to china today. a key goal of the trip getting to know the next generation, the rising generation, of chinese leaders. a short time ago former u.s. senate candidate christine o'donnell cut short a taping for piers morgan tonight when piers asked her view on gay marriage and republican presidential candidate michele bachmann, take a look. >> i'm just asking you questions based on your own public statements and now what you've written in your own book. it's hardly rude to ask you that, surely. >> well, don't you think as a host, um, if i say this is what i want to talk about, that's what we should address? >> not really, no. you're a politician. >> yeah. okay, i'm being pulled away, you know, we turned down another interview for this. >> you see right there, her aide steps in front of the camera and after he blocks the shot there, o'donnell walks out. pretty straightforward question from piers there. you can see the entire exchanges tonight on cnn at 9:00 p.m. on "piers morgan" tonight. we'll ask the republican congressman who is right there at one of the president's town halls today, will he and his party work with the president or will we go back to gridlock? in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's the at&t network... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. try this. bayer aspirin? it's not a heart attack. new bayer advanced aspirin's for pain. it has microparticles and enters the bloodstream faster. works twice as fast as before. did you invent this or something? dr. eric first, from bayer. wow. [ male announcer ] new bayer advanced aspirin. discover aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals. give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on to even skin tone in four weeks. aveeno tinted moisturizers. "anderson cooper 360" coming up at the top of the hour. anderson with us for a preview. tell us about the shocking series "ungodly discipline" an amazing story out of california. tell us more. >> there's a little girl 7 years old, she didn't have to die, she was beaten to death by her parents in california. all the other family members are in foster care. the parents have been arrested. a book found in her parents' home taught that god wants parents to spank their kids and the spanking wasn't just spanking with your hand. it should involve a belt or a rod and be hard enough to cause real physical pain. and what's interesting is that many people are now preaching this kind of message from the pulpit. i want you to listen to an audio recording of a sermon given just last month from a man named roger voglin the leader of the fair haven baptist church in indiana. >> the writings and scriptures never carefully define but it's obviously some kind of switch or stick. and this is it. it's designed to give a sharp, unpleasant pain. if that isn't the result of your spanking, then you're failing. a sharp, unpleasant pain. >> certainly some people will listen to that have no problem with it. our question tonight, though, is are some parents -- some paren s s -- now using the bible to justify their bad treatment of their children, and we're following libya and we're following the rick perry story and keeping him honest. it's interesting to me how many candidates right now these days are making statements that are misleading or not supported by facts, and i guess it's always been this way, but it seems easier to kind of catch them at it now. >> it's easier in the youtube age to find videos that they might have said and the internet age to find the past statements more easily and governor perry is learning things that all candidates learn the first couple of weeks out, being a governor is a lot easier than a candidate for president. everything you say and do is now in the microscope. >> yeah, sure is. >> see you in a few minutes. new proposals for job creation and deficit reduction, our chief white house correspondent jessica yellin told the jobs plan will come in a speech after labor day and will be a complete legislative proposal, not just a list of ideas. jessica here with more tonight. the administration clearly feeling the pressure. the president out on the road saying i understand you want jobs, so you're told a new plan, new proposals, and he'll actually say to congress, here it is. >> but remember a few weeks ago his critics were saying not enough specifics and not being firm enough on the republicans, now we're seeing as detailed as it gets. it will be, i'm told, actual policies written out as legislation. these are not the infrastructure bank and the patent reform we've been hearing him talk about lately. it will be proposals that are not already before congress. separate from the deficit reduction committee proposals he'll make separately, and he'll take it to the trail arguing for americans to support it and if congress blocks it, he'll say they've got an issue, why the republicans blocking. >> we'll see how it plays out. you talked about the republicans and the president believes i think i'm right in saying this, the white house thinks they have a win/win, and if they don't pass it is, he can say the obstruction is congress. >> that's the politics. >> moveon.org from the left put this out, saying president obama has spent too much time pandering to a minority of tea party republicans who will never negotiate in good faith. instead he needs to start listening to the vast majority of the american people who say job creation is not the number one -- is the number one priority and the rich and corporations should be taxed more, not less. as he thinks he can do battle with the republicans here, he's got some trouble on the left flank. >> and they know that, that the base is going to be frustrated with him if he doesn't do what they're asking in every respect, but they feel like at this point they have a strategy and a proposal moving into the fall campaign season that gets him away from washington, away from the gridlock here. that's when his numbers go down. they're trying to appeal to independents. though, they feel confident, the campaign does, they can win these supporters back come next year. >> win them back. and gallup has new numbers out tonight that are stunning. if you're on the president's re-election team you have to look at these and say whoa, you think he's got a political win, you think they think they have a political win on the job numbers. the opinion of the president's handling of creating jobs, 29% of americans approve, 65% disapprove. his overall handling of the economy, 26% of americans approve. 71% disapprove. to get 65%, 71% disapproval, that's not just republicans, that's a lot of democrats and independents. >> absolutely. and i hear you make this point all the time which is you've not seen a president get reelected with unemployment where it's at. these are the numbers republicans are pointing to and these are numbers that concern the president's advisers. what they can point to is that the republican brand went down after the debt talks. americans do not like gridlock and fighting do not like gridlo and fighting and that hurt the brand for republicans and that the president remains personally popular in their view. those are two things they are trying to navigate through and we'll see him hitting the trail talking about jobs trying to work on his likability and build that into support for his job approval. those numbers are terrifying for the campaign. >> i want to move onto something he said on the road today. when they talk about the new proposals, will they pay for them? unemployment insurance cost money. infrastructure cost money and there are new proposals we'll have. are they going to say here's our plan and we understand the deficit reduction is important. here's how we'll pay for it? >> yes. this proposal to the super committee will include cuts beyond the $1.5 trillion that's been laid out as part of that package. >> back to the grand bargain. >> exactly. and they'll account for extra spending in the jobs proposal with the new cuts in the grand bargain. >> the white house says it's a listening tour. it's not a campaign trip the president is on. you can listen to him getting his themes ready. here he is. he must be listening to governor perry saying i want to go to washington to make it less consequential in your life. you'll hear people bash the government but -- >> you're going to hear a lot of stuff over the next year and a half just like you have for the last 2 1/2 years. people attacking government and saying government is the problem. i think jordan just reminded us, government, our police officers, our firefighters, government is all those young men and women who have been serving, protecting us in afghanistan and iraq. don't buy into this notion that somehow all our problems would be solved if we eliminate government. >> he has to be careful there though. he has to be careful. say republicans want to cut it all. he can't appear to be big government guy. >> this is a fine line they have to walk. part of what they're trying to do is find different philosophies about how to govern but they want to say the government can help more without seeming like big government. >> fascinating week. fascinating few days. a campaign that's kicked into higher gear. thanks for coming in tonight. up next, a very, very important story. it's back to school day in joplin, missouri, less than three months after that killer tornado hit a remarkable little town. every day, all around the world, energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy developement comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing decades of cleaner burning energy for our 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[ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. with diabetes, it's tough to keep life balanced. i don't always have time to eat like i should. and the more i focus on everything else, the less time i have to take care of me. that's why i like glucerna shakes. they have slowly digestible carbs to help minimize blood sugar spikes, which can help lower a1c. glucerna products help me keep everything balanced. [ golf clubs clanking ] [ husband ] i'm good! well, almost everything. [ male announcer ] glucerna. delicious shakes and bars. helping people with diabetes find balance. while i took refuge from the pollen that made me sneeze. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®. >> this was a big day in joplin, missouri's, recovery from last may's deadly tornado. school started. for some students that means classes in a renovated shopping area. this is the first time that classes have been held since the may 22nd tornado. it left much of the town in ruin. the joplin high school principal joins us now. mr. principal, congratulations on your first day back. i have to assume it was an emotional day. >> it was an emotional day. seeing the expressions on the students' faces and all of the excitement around the building was just almost too much for a while because it was just good to have everybody back and to see kids happy. >> i want to listen to one of the fourth grade teachers. you're a high school principal. listen to a fourth grade teacher talking about pins and needles coming into the day and then this. >> to see how things have turned out and how wonderful joplin has turned around, it's pretty simple. it's going to be all right. >> pretty simple yet fighting back the tears there. take me inside your school as you wandered the halls today to check in to make sure everybody was okay. >> we were all over the place all day today. we had volunteers too. the teachers did a good job to make sure they directed the students around. our school is different. we have much wider hallways, different learning spaces, different size rooms. the kids were eager to look around the place and get a feel for what was going on. i can tell you the high school students were really fired up today to be in the new school and it's really a good kickoff for what i think will be a great year for us. >> you lost a school secretary and seven students. how did you remember them on this day as you try to look forward, how much time was spent looking back? >> one of the things we talked about before handing out laptops and had meetings with each class, we talked about caring for each other, looking out for each other and we're all here together and that goes for teachers looking out for students, student looking out for teacher and so on. our district has gone a good job to make sure we have extra staff around, counselors, extra staff throughout the year and make sure the healthy well-being of our students and teachers are taken care of and all staff members in the district. we mentioned that right off at the beginning of giving out laptops and a bit about how far we've come from and how far we've been and where we're headed and at the same time every day is a new day. >> we talked about this a couple weeks back. the coping and having enough mental health professionals on hand. what do those professionals tell you about when they think you could encounter problems. you have a lot of new equipment donated by people all around the world and bless them. when do they tell you there may be a boom and it sinks in and people may need some help? >> we hear a lot of different things. the 60 to 90-day mark is something that you really have to watch out for folks because sometimes people have delayed reaction to trauma when they suffer something like this because they are doing so much things so quickly all at once and then all of a sudden some things happen or an event happens or we have our first tornado drill sometime next week or something of that nature may trigger something in a student or faculty member. we have to be cognizant of that and warn people ahead of time and we have to be very careful. >> the principal of joplin high school. sir, congratulations on a great first day. we hope, we hope, you have a safe and productive school year going forward. things continue to get better in joplin. >> thank you for talking to us. pleasure to be with you. >> you take care, sir. thanks again. that's all for us tonight. "anderson cooper 360" starts right now.