bomber, that this was a way to upgrade the technology into an ie d and explosive device. what do you know? >> just speaking to a senior administration official tells us while there are many similarities to the past bombs we heard out of aqap, there was differences to this which is why they want to take the time to being make sure the fbi goes through the forensicing. we have heard a number of threats about body bombs and senior administration officials tell cnn this was not intended to be a body bomb. this was more in line with the sort of underwear bomber type of thing. look, they really feel strongly this is a success. they worked with their international partners, make no mistake about it, the best internal service against this target is the saudi service. we know that the saudi service is tipped off the americans when it came to the cargo plane threat and worked with them, and the head of the saudi service, muhammed benaif was the target of the one of the al bombs so they understand the target and they're a close ally of the united states and this administration official stressed to me that this really was an international effort although they also stress that this bomb never made it to their knowledge near an airport or an airplane prior to coming into their possession as far as their investigation has shown, and it was never a threat to the united states, so that means one of two things to me, john. either this was an early stage, this bomb plot, or it may have been made inneither by the u.s. or a security service which is why they wouldn't fear it detonating. >> an intelligence success in keeping it from either being able to be used or keeping the bomber from buying a particularet and getting on a plane, whatever, and the question now is if they were developing this new technology what is it capable of and what have they learned? here is what the fbi says tonight. as a result of close cooperation with our security and intelligence partners overseas, annum proceed iz voo the explosive device designed to carry out a terrorist attack has been seized abroad. the fbi is currently in possession and conducting technical and forensic analysis and initial exploitation indicates the device is very sim la are to i des used previously by al qaeda. if they're getting better, what are the key questions >> i don't know they're getting better. i think when they say similar to devices in the past, one of the reasons that the authorities can identify a bomb maker or a bomb making school is because they don't deviate. it is not like the chef in a restaurant trying to be creative. if you make a bomb and you have your fingers and toes afterwards to tell about it, you don't deviate too much from that. petn is the choice they used over and over and aqap, and there won't be much deviation. the underwear bomber, no metal involved. if have you it in a plastic ziploc bag and something and trying to light it with a match, there won't be a metallic object with that and there is a difference between an underwear bomber or external will i carried as opposed to what we heard about body bombs and trying to put did into a body cavity. it is a different thing and i don't know what kind of container it would be in prior to it going into somebody's cavity, and the only other concern i have in the whole plot, everyone is cheering the success so far but yet we don't have someone in custody. the question that i have is how much intelligence do we have about who made it, where did it come from, who was going to carry it, what airplane or group of airplanes may have have gone to later. we don't have a lot of details. we just have the material and it is often easy enough to obtain or intercept, and i think if you're enter ikt didding an explosive device does it give you enough information to basically interrupt the people who made it? >> what's your sense of the question tom raises from your intelligence sources? do this he have those questions or have some of the answers and we don't know them yet? >> i think, john, they actually understand a good deal more about this device than they're making public and that's for good reason. if they want to thwart these things going forward they can't signal publicly everything they know. we heard again and again this device never represented a threat to the united states. it suggests to me even when it was not in the possession of u.s. officials or their allies something had been done to it to give them that degree of confidence that this device never posed an active threat to the united states. >> and, tom, when they say never posed an active threat and they were saying all along they have no specific or credible information when asking these questions around the bin laden an verse have i, if you're the average person watching, you say they found it and stopped the plot and i shouldn't be worried about it. >> you shouldn't be worried about that bomb. it is in custody. who made it? where else are they storing them? could there be a continuing terrorist operation that has not been thwarted? there may be. it may have been thwart and had they haven't said so yet and in terms of not discussing the details of how it was made or what it would look like, at some point how are you going to tell the airline officials around the world and tsa and their counterparts around the world what to look for? if they don't know what to look for or how it could have been hidden from the scanners they have or any of that, it is not going to do a lot of good to say we found this device and not going to tell you about it. tell us about it. what are we looking for? >> important tensions between the agencies. we'll check in throughout the hour as new information comes in. the defense secretary spoke about this plot moments ago. >> i do not comment on specific classified operations other than to say that the united states engages in a number of operations to go after al qaeda and their militant allies, their terrorist allies, who would try to attack the united states. what this indianapolcident make is this country has to continue to remain vigilant against those that would seek to attack this country. we will do everything necessary to keep america safe. >> jessica young, what did people at the white house know about the plot and when did they know it? >> hi, john. officials hearsay the president was informed in april by his counter terrorism team here, john brenan, about this plot and then received continuing updates ever since then and reiterated at no point was the public ever in danger from this foiled plot. i am also told by a counter terrorism official they are confident that this plot was not tied to the anniversary of osama bin laden's death. in a statement released here they also said that while the president was assured the device did not pose a threat to the public, he directed the department of homeland security and law enforcement and intelligence agencies to take whatever steps necessary to guard against this type of attack. i am advised that means that out of an excess of precaution to make sure there is nothing else out there like this to make sure that americans are safe. the key piece of new information here is that they are confident that this was not osama bin laden's debt related to osama bin laden's death or an attack planned around that, john, and as you might guess they're insist ant and quite pleased this is a sign that american intelligence gathering has developed and been greatly enhanced since 9/11 and not a sign that al qaeda is not only a sign in their view al qaeda is degraded and the u.s. stepped up its abilities significantly since then, john. >> quite an important point there at the end. jessica yellin, we'll stay in touch. thanks for that information. much more coverage on the breaking news, the foiled terror plot to blow up an air liner and we begin an in-depth look at the campaign promises. tonight, president obama's report card on illegal immigration. ♪[music plays] ♪[music plays] ♪[music plays] purina one beyond. food for your cat or dog. high schools in six states enrolled in the national math and science initiative... ...which helped students and teachers get better results in ap courses. together, they raised ap test scores 138%. just imagine our potential... ...if the other states joined them. let's raise our scores. let's invest in our teachers and inspire our students. let's solve this. of all our different items in our festival of shrimp so we can describe them to our customers. 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[ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ [ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. we're going to take a look at the candidate's positions on key issues and grade them in the case of the president we'll grade his promise from 2008 and how he delivered in office and next week we'll spend time on the romney record as well. tonight's topic is immigration. i want to bring you this report card. four years ago candidate obama promised to act quickly. >> we'll have in the first year an immigration bill that i strongly support and that i am promoting. >> he promised the bill would be sweeping, securing the border and more. >> wool crack down on employers who exploit undocumented workers and under cut american workers and we will put those 12 million people living in the shadows on a path to earn citizenship. >> how did the president do? bring up the report card. introduce immigration reform the first year, you would have to say he broke that promise. he never introduced legislation. did talk to the congress about it and never submitted an actual bill. securing the borders, the administration claimed significant progress when it comes to securing borders and has many critic and you would have to say it is still a work in progress. the administration claims progress. how about providing a path to citizenship? this is a promise the president not kept although he says he is still open to conversations with the congress and he says he can't get anything done if you have a big partisan fight over the immigration issue. >> i would only have broken my promise if i hadn't tried. ultimately, i am one man. we live in a democracy. we don't live in a monarchy. i am not the king. i am the president. i can only implement those laws that are passed through congress. >> let's discuss the immigration report card and how it will shape the campaign. ahead, congressman charles gonzalez with texas with us and mario diaz ballard of florida that serves as co-chair. we showed them backwards there. as we talk we'll get it right. congressman, to the democrat, i want to come to you first, congressman gonzalez. in the latino people say say you promised to submit the legislation and you never did. why? even if you know they won't pass it why not keep the promise by handing the piece of paper. >> on going discussions throughout the first two years of the president's tenure, of course, and the problem was the reality of a gridlocked congress and we know it was going on in the sna the and the senate was supposed to go forward first and you know what's going on there and frustration and of course just the on constructionism. and the president has been dedicated to comprehensive immigration reform from day one. and not let up on that and the problem is he is absolutely right. >> what is the new at the moment, as you know, your party if you look at the polling has a problem with latino voters. i know you're among those that tried to suggest to some voices tone down the rhetoric, maybe we should get progress. is the problem the comprehensive part, if you did this piece by piece, could we get agreement with the democratic president on incremental immigration reform? >> i think it is important to put the facts on the table and when you first spoke about it, you did so, but when people talk about the obstructionist congress, for the first two years this president had huge majorities. democratic majorities in the house and the senate. as you said a little while ago, he said that he was going to bring forward legislation. when he controlled the house and the senate, for two years, not only he says i tried and he never presented legislation. by the way, we're still waiting. i send messages to the white house continuously and they don't respond to me about the issue. again, let's put it on the record. look, he promised he would present legislation and try to get it passed in his first 12 months. he said so repeatedly. he never -- he to this day has yet to present it and to blame congress when in the first two years he had 100% control in the house and the senate, and now to blame republicans? look, the facts don't add up. the reason we do not have immigration reform, look, it is a tough issue. obviously otherwise we would have done it a long time ago. without rest presidential leadership, it is impossible. this president only talks about it election time and giving speeches is not real leadership. the problem that we have is that while he talks about it and when he remembers it during election season he has not wanted to get it done because here is a question where is his bill. we're still waiting. >> it is a fair question, is it not, and your republican colleague is correct in that the first two years in office the democrats did run the town. >> running the town and passing legislation are two different things. one is perception that you have that majority. i love my dear friend mario, but i don't understand how he is going to reconcile the position that we tried to move just on the dream act which is, again, incremental. we voted for it. mario voted for it. i voted for it. when it got to the senate they couldn't get 60 votes just to get to a vote. they had 55 votes. where you don't have the support that is needed is just a handful of republicans. if we don't have that in the senate, you're never going to get to the 60 vote threshold and you're never going to get to a vote. that's what's happening in the united states congress today. >> congress ma'am, as you want to use this as an issue against the president if you would like to go to your community and say he didn't keep the promise and don't you have a problem in that the republican party has an image crisis i will call it in the latino community in many ways and to what degree do you disagree with your candidate and some of his proposals on this issue? >> i public lib disagreed on some of his proposals on this issue and charlie and i are good friends but let's not forget the president didn't introduce legislation his first two years. he broke that promise. the dream act which by the way one of the original sponsors of that was my brother, then congreman lincoln diaz ballard, and when the president decided to move forward on it, senator harry reid, because he had a tough election in his state, i didn't even talk to the republicans who were the sponsors including myself and my brother was the original sponsor of that legislation along with a democrat, so again the question is is it being done for political reasons or are they generally trying to get it done? is this president trying to get it done? i think the problem he is having is people are understanding that he is no different from any other politician that goes through this town and promises, promises, promises, whether you will cut the deficit in half, going to have no lobbyists in his administration, and you name it. this is another one of these typical political promises and that's why i think it is people are frankly upset. now, i would like to tell you that the republicans have been much better and i will tell you no, they haven't. on this issue, both president obama and the democrats and the republicans frankly have been i think have left a lot to be desired but for the president to claim that it is other people's fault, he tries to do that with everything. this is his watch. he had a total majority in the house and senate and didn't even try to get it done in his first two years and now it is election season and he blames others and it is tough. stop blaming others for everything you haven't accomplished. it is time to step up and show the legislation and show me where is the legislation that the president has offered? >> i will let you add the last word. >> please. >> to this point your colleague makes a passionate case. the president could cut off half the argument if he sent a piece of legislation up even if he knew it wasn't going to pass. >> let me put it in the proper perspective. this is the difference between president obama and mitt romney. the bill that mario and i voted for that was five votes shy of getting the 60-vote threshold in the senate, say they reached it, they have 55 votes. we know it would have passed. mitt romney would have vetoed that bill. that is the difference between president obama's commitment to getting along with everyone in the senate and in the house and to at least get the dream act out. have you mitt romney out there and already saying he would veto it. i don't understand where mario actually is coming from on this particular issue. we should all be sponsoring comprehensive immigration reform, the dream act, see if we can get a vote. i think you know, mario, you're not going to get a majority of the vote in the republican controlled house. >> i appreciate you coming in. we'll get to the records about romney's record as well and happy to have both of you back in. thank you so much for coming in. important as you can see and a foois i issue. congress is back in washington and talking about budget cuts. harsh austerity measures just lost big time in europe. what the results over there may mean here including for your retirement savings and britain's prince harry here in the states paying tribute to real heroes. welcome back. here is kate baldwin with the latest news right now. >> happy monday, john. hello to all of you. headlines to catch you up on. at the john edwards trial today an attorney for one of the edwards main donors testified his client gave money because she liked edwards as an individual and knew some of her money was not going to edwards 2008 presidential campaign. that could be a problem for the prosecution because edwards is accused of illegally using campaign contributions to cover up a sexual affair. medical examiners completed an autopsy on the body of a churchill downs stable worker today, but they aren't saying how the man died. his body was discovered behind a barn early sunday, the morning after the kentucky derby. police say there were 400 people in the area saturday night and they suspect foul play but haven't identified any suspects as of yet. you may be able to breathe a bit of a sigh of relief. gas prices leveled out at $3.85 a gallon, down more than 12 cents in the past month. the bad news, though, prices dropped mainly due to perceived economic weakness in europe and the united states. gas is most expensive in chicago where it is just over 4.32 a gallon. sorry. cheapest in tuls awhere it is 3.40. a royal in our midst, not only john king but also prince harry dropped into d.c. to meet with british and american wounded veterans. they participated in olympic style events last week as part of the warrior games in colorado. you see handshaking there. he will receive a humanitarian award tonight for his charitable work with the military. it is a show short visit. >> any time you can spend with the wounded warriors, they're the most inspiring you will ever meet. good for the prince. see you in a bit. new details and reactions to the dramatic breaking news, words the united states and the allies foiled a terrorist plot to bomb an air liner and a preview of the primary where republicans may throw out one of the country's longest serving and most respected u.s. senators. i have two car insurances in front of you here. let's start with car insurance x. four million people switched to that car insurance alone just last year. mmm, it's got a nice bouquet. our second car insurance, y. mmmmm, oh, i can see by your face they just lost another customer. you chose geico over the competitor. calm down, calm down. you're getting carried away. are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪ this half hour more on the breaking news, a plan to put a suicide bomber on an airplane headed for the states. new details and what it says about al qaeda's strek and voters in france elect a socialist president. what it means for europe and your retirement fund and joe biden says he is okay with gay marriage and the pressure is on for president obama to say the same. the politics of gay rights in an election year. the latest on the breaking news, a foiled terrorist plat to put a suicide bomb other a u.s. bound airliner. the plot was disrupted, quote, well before it was ever a threat to the united states. nick robertson is with us live from london. first to chris lawrence. what are officials telling you about where this plot was taken down? >> u.s. officials saying the takedown happened outside the united states but they can't say specifically where because they have on going intelligence operations. although they do stress it was outside the united states and they can't be specific about where this intercept happened. a senior counter terrorist he official say it does bear the mark of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and it was a non-metallic bomb and that it was specifically designed for a suicide bomber to use on board an aircraft. john. >> chris, stand by for us. if you listen to chris's reporting and other reporting sounds similar to the underwear bombing plot christmas day of 2009 and the fingerprints of al qaeda, what are you learning? >> the fbi says it now has custody of this ied device and it is similar to those used by al qaeda and the arabian peninsula for targeting aircraft and targeted assassinations, the time the yemen or the saudi who now builds bombs in yemen for al qaeda made a bomb to kill one of saudi arabia's princes. that was a body bomb. i think what we're talking about here is petn, the explosive, that's what's used in these bombs and it is hard to detect in sort of airport scanners because it has a very, very low smell signature if you will. it is even airport sniffer dogs have a hard time detecting this particular explosive. it is incredibly powerful, just enough to fill the tip of this pen will blow a large hole in the solid wooden desk in front of me so you only need a small amount. it is hard to detect. it sounds like this is what al qaeda is using here and we're also understand that they developing their sort of these past bombs making improvements from what they learned. the fbi has it and they'll be able to learn a lot as well, john. >> that has been the question, nick, going all the way back to 9/11 and even before 9/11 and the question is how much does the u.s. advance its intelligence gathering and network of sources in intelligence gathering and how quickly can al qaeda adopt not only to being watched but adapt technology every time it is cut? what does this tell you about al qaeda's efforts, anyway, to take it to the next level? >> al qaeda still continues to target airlines, airliners flying into the united states, be they cargo aircraft or passenger aircraft is their preferred choice. they still have that intended target. what we are learning here is that whenever counter terrorism officials in the united states, the yemen, maybe the saudis, others around the world focus on a particular area, they get better at detecting these bombs in advance. the last bomb that al qaeda and the arabian peninsula sent out to the world of printer bombs picked up by intelligence only picked up when it already left yemen and on board an yark and this time we understand that president obama from the white house we're told was getting briefings on this in april, so there is it appears as if the intelligence officials here got enough of a tip-off to be able to sort of be if you will have a lot more knowledge about this device and the people handling it on the ground. could it have been saudi intelligence officials with the tip-off this time? last time they were the ones and it could be them again. we don't know. i would say here al qaeda is struggling and they're biggest problem in yemen, they have an expert bomb maker. they have access to the chemicals. this he have access to laboratories and what they don't have is easy access that put those bombs on aircraft internationally to get the bombs out of yemen and i would say they're struggling even harder with that than they were before, john. >> important reporting. thanks. >> political bombshell in france could rattle europe and maybe your 401(k). president nicholas sarkozy is out and francois holland is in and promising a fresh start and doesn't include painful austerity measures. >> the idea that finallies on tart can no longer be something inevitable, and that is the mission from now on is miep. >> voters in greece are sending the same message and unseating politicians that slashed incomes, benefits and pensions. richard quest is with us from london. the message is loud and clear. it is unpopular but are there other options and the debt crisis cast a big shadow on u.s. markets. >> there are other options, and this comes down to a fundamental view between austerity and growth. now, even those who are against austerity don't say that there doesn't need to be any change. what they say is it has been too much, too far, too fast, too brutal. what they are saying and argument that is heard in the united states and indeed is the backbone of their administration's argument for not having too much austerity is that you can take your time to getting there and the markets will give you that leeway and it doesn't all need to be done over night. now, in some countries like greece and the united kingdom and france to some extent and spain they did decide to pretty much go hell for leather, austerity all the way. the voters have said enough. >> an important point there. american consumer watching and doesn't care about french or european politics and does care about their 401(k), what's the likely impact? >> well, you saw a bit of that today. initially a bit of a hiccup on the european market that is rallied except for greece. for the 401(k), the bigger picture and it is what's happening to global growth, what's happening to the u.s. economy. growing at just over 2%, su september i believe to european blow it off course and fundamentally the ship of america's economy is steaming forward albeit very slowly and needs to pick up speed. what the 401 k watchers need to keep an eye on is any fundamental breakdown in european agreement. if that happens, you end up with everyone back at each other's throats, the euro tanks, the european economy goes down, everybody feels the effects and we're back to the races, but i do not see that happening in the short-term. >> we'll keep track of this in the short and long-term. richard, thank you. indiana senator dick bluger don't in the middle of his fight for his political life trying to held onto the job he held for 36 years. the primary is tomorrow and the six-term senator could be toppled by a tea party candidate that argues lugger is out of touch. >> since 1976 nick lugar voted for the brady bill, the bridge no nowhere, the dream act, the tarp bailout, sonia, raising the debt ceiling. no wonder he is called obama's favorite republican. >> what's the state of play on primary eve? >> doesn't look good. i talked to a republican source that has access to internal polling and told me that he believes lugar is going to lose and it is not going to be close. he as you mention has been in the in the for 36 years. he is tied for the longest serving republican, senator serving right now, and not only has he never been challenged from within his own republican party, last time around in 2006 he didn't even have a challenger from the democratic side. that's how popular, that's how entrenched he has been. now the state senator richard murdoch is really giving him a run for his money primarily because he has huge backing from outside groups and spending millions of dollars. >> it is one race. it has a national context. help. >> well, the whole question is going to be the tea party, whether or not this is a referendum on the tea part, the question has been whether that particular group in the republican party has been on the wane, looks like they could win tomorrow and i think if you look at the issue more broadly, this is probably a lot more anti-richard lugar than pro tea party. they have been very successful, his opponents and it is not just tea partiers in painting him as somebody who simply is not doing politics 101, lost touch with the people of indiana. he bought a house here in northern virginia and 35 years ago, sold his house in indiana. never bought another one there. that is really, really hurt him. look, the fact of the matter is he spent his career focused on foreign policy and excelled and has done a lot of important things on that stage. focused less at home. >> i assume republicans think no matter who wins they keep the seat in november. >> they do hope so. they feel that indiana will stay red and they believe that this is going to be probably a place where they might have to spend a little bit more money than before if richard lugar isn't in there but maybe not as much as they fear. >> watch tomorrow the primary in indiana. dana bash out there. thanks so much. familiar face. dick lugar in trouble tomorrow. vice president joe biden says he is absolutely comfortable with the idea of same sex marriage and next the truth about president obama's thinking and why the white house is so reluctant to talk about it today. what ? 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[ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health. ♪ [ camera clicks ] ♪ it's hard to resist the craveable nature of a nature valley sweet & salty nut bar. about a year ago speaking at a lgbt reception the president gave himself a big pat on the back. >> i met my commitments to the lgbt community. i have delivered on what i promised. that doesn't mean our work is done. there are going to be times you're still frustrated with me. >> truth is, this is one of those times. gay rights groups want the 2012 democratic platform to endorse same sex marriage. the president isn't ready to do that even though he says his views on the issue are evolving. caroline kennedy, a co-chair of the obama re-election cam pam gave him a public nublg today. she applauded elected officials and judges that have the courage to fight for same sex marriage and added this, and i hope many more will follow their example. >> his views changed at all on this subject? >> i have no update on the president's personal views. >> this question is back front and center for a couple of reasons. for starters north carolina votes tomorrow on a state constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a mom, there by banning same sex marriage, civil unions and any other domestic legal unions. plus, vice president biden over the weekend made clear his views have evolved. >> look, i am vice president of the united states of america. the president sets the policy. i am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and met troe sexual men and women are entitled the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. >> as they applauded vice president biden many activists la meanted the president hasn't taken as bold a step and maybe in a second term they say. whether it is cynical or dead on, many gay rights activists believhe is too worried backing same sex marriage now would hurt him in several key states this fall. >> north carolina can do better. again, this is bill clinton asking you to please vote >> the voice of the former president there. ironically north carolina is one of those key states. its vote tuesday a test of how the issue plays out in a major november battle ground. here to talk truth, penny, are the cynics right who say if you listen to the president, he has come closer and closer. if you listen to michelle obama, she has been very open if you listen to the vice president, arne duncan, the education secretary. are the cynicing right that say the president wants to do that but he is worried about north carolina and volunteered about virginia and maybe florida? >> i think when the president says that his position is evolving, it comes can from one that is of the heart and sincerity. the american public also evolved as we saw recently, polls right now about 53% supporting gay marriage and that's a shift from 36 points from where they were just four or five years ago. i do believe that the president has and is still wrestling and evolving on this issue and the core factor is his core values haven't changed and that is to end discrimination and to allow for equal protection. he has done many things. if you look at the action the administration has taken you would say absolutely, he has re peeled for don't ask and don't tell and for repealing the defense of marriage act so there are some things and many policies you can point to that are right in line with this community. >> he is the president, ryan, and it is his convention, and the president shaped the platform. how do you deal with the tension if an overwhelming majority of your party wants the platform to endorse same sex marriage but you're not so sure? >> well, one thing you can do, a bob dole did in '96 and say you didn't read the platform and some issues obama through his career has been one step ahead or two steps ahead leading and on this issue he is always a few steps behind where the party has been and what i think he considers a sweet spot. if you look at the folks thinking about running in the democratic primary for 2016, the names that get mentioned most often, it is a litmus test for democrats at the national level. you have to be for gay marriage and people like martin o'malley and como, they're out there front on this issue and tippy top democrat recently said to me the betting among senior democrats is whether the president comes out for gay marriage before or after the election and nobody thinks that he won't do it. >> back in 2004 republicans were happy, conservatives were happy, a number of state ballot initiatives and president bush closed every speesh and every campaign stump speech is i am for traditional marriage. do you see the issue in this economy, does the issue have the appeal, the power, the turnout? >> well, i think the problem on turnout is actually with the president on this issue and that's why i think judging from the response that the campaign had today, so complicated, from based on different campaign spokesman and the white house spokesman and the vice president himself, you really couldn't figure out what their position was and i think that's because they worry that while it might energize part of the base there are other demographics within the democrat electorate that may be depressed because of the if the president were to come out with a very robust endorsement of gay marriage. i think for republicans, look, still the number one issue, the reason that governor romney is running to be president, he wants to ix if the economy and put more americans back to work. that will be the main focus. that's the issue that will most animate voters across the spectrum this year. >> and yet david axelrod in a conference call today, the president's senior advisor was trying to make the case this is a great contrast with governor romney because governor romney supports conservative bans on. [ inaudible ]on. >> just to give you a sense of what might be happening here and how significant it is, john, their share of parliament, three times the share that the then-rising adolf hitler got in 1928 when the nazi party was rising in germany. this is the far-right affiliated party in greece and it could be a very big story for america. we talk about that, plus, of course, the very latest as we're getting more information on this foiled bomb plot and whether perhaps there are other bombs unaccounted for in the latest al qaeda attempted attack on the united states. so we have breaking news on that top of the hour with the latest news we have. all that coming up. back to you. >> erin, looking forward to it. coming up here, 7,000 candidates from the battle in syria's assembly elections. lots of options, but the rebels say they're not voting. we'll tell you why. and charles barkley fast talks a celtics fan during a playoff game. it wasn't me. you'll never guess who it was. hear what he said, up next. >> they want you to say all this stuff about their team. 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[ female announcer ] purina cat chow complete. always there for you. but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. ♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network. we're back with ryan lizza, penny lee, and kevin madden. and six months out, ladies and gentlemen, we've got a race. look at the "usa today"/gallup. it's a dead heat, 47/45. kevin, get ready, softball question. is this some wonderful, wonderful thing your candidate has done, or is it just that people are getting more anxious about the economy, and therefore the incumbent -- >> it is. and the fact that there's a choice between an alternative to president obama is coming into view. i think voters are now starting to take another look at who that other candidate's going to be. but i will say, i said it before, when the polls are good, i say that it's a snapshot in time. and there's a long way to go. a month out, we'll be looking at similar numbers that show the campaign very close. so on election day, when people are asking themselves, are they better off than they were four years ago, the answer is that they need to support governor romney. >> when you look at the map from 2008, you assume you take indiana and throw it out. where else? when you look at this knowing that unemployment can be different. you can travel in the country and be an hour apart and be in states with very different economic conditions. where do you most worry about? >> places out west, nevada, and colorado and some other places, north carolina, virginia are also going to be interesting. those were traditionally red states that turned blue in 2008. virginia in particular. that is going to be a key battleground state, i think for both campaigns, in which you can try to see. they've had the lower unemployment numbers, it was actually below the national average. that was actually helpful. it's going to be interesting to see for governor mcdonnell who wants to take credit for having these great numbers, but not give obama credit. give himself as the governor. there's going to be an interesting battle. many, many things are out there, but it's a snapshot in time. >> one of the other interesting things will be whether or not people feel that the unemployment rate is getting lower. that's the big difference right now, is that even though we're at 8.1%, voters feel like it's much higher. and i think that's driving a lot of the anxiety. >> the absolute number doesn't matter, it's the trajectory, it's where it's going. >> when it's this close, you usually get a lull, a little time-out. most american people are like, please, give us a time out. but we donate ha't have a day t waste. >> obama announced today a $25 million ad buy in nine states. >> nine states. $25 million in just nineesthat' goto bhtni , ten at a times that's going to decide this campaign. >> that's right. and you're looking at even a smaller number of voters in those states that will make the difference. i remember in 2004, it was 117,000 voters in the state of ohio that helped us win there. >> that is 14,000 in north carolina that made a difference as well. >> it's interesting. it's a 45/45 country with that 10% in the middle that you guys will be fighting over. >> we'll talk issues, with i promise. kate balduan's back with the latest news you need to know. >> good evening, john. it's election day in syria, and more than 7,000 candidates are on the ballot for just 250 seats. rebels urge syrians to boycott, saying a vote for any candidate meant a vote for the current president, bashar al assad. and the election wasn't enough to calm the violence. opposition groups say at least 28 people were killed today, including five children. "fortune" magazine is out with its annual company rankings, yet some of "fortune"'s 500 haven't exactly been creating the best headlines lately. walmart is taking the number two ranking, they're under fire for a bribery scandal in mexico. and it seems superheroes are to the rescue once again. "the avengers" crushed the competition, raking in more than $200 million in its opening weekend here in the u.s. the movie easily beat the previous record of nearly $170 million set by "harry potter and the deathly hallows: part ii" last july. "the avengers" is the first of the hollywood blockbusters that analysts are hoping will help hollywood recover from disappointing ticket sales last year. yet another movie i have yet to see, but i guess i need to get on it. >> my brother was the comic book freak, not me. but $200 million, that means a lot of people like it. finally, tonight's moment you may have missed. some high-profile basketball trash talking. i was there, the celtics game in boston. analyst charles barkley with some choice awards words for a famous celtics fan who happened to be isn't the stands. >> moerm moirm. >> he was at the game in boston. >> we're going to beat you like a drum in november. don't take it personally. i like you, you seem like a nice guy, but you going down, bro. >> ouch! now, sir charles, kate, he used to be a republican, came up to me years ago at a republican convention and said he was going to run for governor of alabama as a republican. he's had a change of heart, he's a big obama supporter now, but that's some trash talk. >> that is some trash talking. obviously, everyone's entitled to their opinion, but we know that unscripted moments have

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