not the best of weeks for the romney campaign. it was already under fire from friendly sources as not ready for primetime when a senior adviser said that obama care is fine for when buying insurance is a penalty, not a tax. a big oops in the political world because the republicans have used the supreme court decision to say it is a tax. reset. >> the supreme court said it is a tax, didn't they. so it's a tax, of course. >> too late for the conservative "wall street journal" who blistered the romney campaign for looking confused and politically dumb. mr. romney, it read, promised republicans he was the best man to make the case against president obama who they desperately want to defeat. and so far, mr. romney is letting them down. joining me is senate republican leader mitch mcconnell. there are few people in washington with a larger stake in seeing that mitt romney does well, than you do, because you want to go from the minority leader in the senate to majority. how do you think he's been doing? >> well, the race is very, very close. i think the best evidence of that is a gallup tracking poll which has it consistently close that the people are unhappy with the economy and they know that mitt romney is a job creator and he has a great chance of being elected. >> but his campaign has come under fire from republicans. first as being not ready for primetime, as we said, that he needs a steady sort of more national hand in this. do you have any complaints first of all about how they handled this whole supreme court tax issue, which is a major issue for you all? >> well, i think a better use of my time is to criticize the guys we are running against. i'm not here to critique the romney campaign. i do think that we've got plenty to run against. the president has a very, very poor record and that is why he does not want to talk about it. take friday's job figure for example and go back two years ago and the job figure was better and the president said we are turning the -- we're turning it around. clearly what they're doing is not working. and i think that's what this campaign needs to be about. >> and yet, we did look at the figures for this year, and you know that there were great advances in job creation in the first quarter. it's been minimal in the second quarter. nonetheless, still job creation. when you average out the first six months, it is something like 125,000 or 130,000 jobs have been created, on average. that's not too bad considering where we came from, is it? >> it's terrible. we have 41 straight months now of unemployment above 8%. 41 straight months. candy, this is the most tepid recovery, if it is a recovery, from a deep recession in american history. the economy is just sputtering along and the reason for that in my judgment is because of what the administration chose to do. spend, borrow, pass this new obamacare law with its penalty tax in it, its mandate tax, all of this is slowing the economy down. >> let me ask you about the president's jobs plan that was introduced last september, i think. and something -- this is what he's saying on the campaign trail. this was in columbus, ohio, in an interview with wbns. >> making sure that we're rebuilding our infrastructure, our roads, bridges and runways, all those things that could put construction workers back to work right now and would lift the entire economy. and then as i said, refocusing on manufacturing. that's the recipe for growth over the long term. >> so what's wrong with any of that? shouldn't congress at this point be saying the american people want this economy to be better? isn't it incumbent on you all to find something you can agree on in the long list of things that the president put in the jobs package and move it forward? >> well, we just passed the transportation bill so we are addressing an issue that we have brought agreement on. transportation is important to our economy. but look, the way we're going to get the private sector going again is to change the way that the government is treating the private sector. things like obamacare, things like overregulation are causing companies not to hire. and we have got the fiscal cliff coming at the end of the year. you know, what we ought to be doing is to extend the current tax rates for another year with a hard requirement to get through the comprehensive tax reform one more time. i negotiated with vice president biden, the two-year extension of the current tax rates that we're in right now. the president signed it because he argued that the taxes going up would make the economy worse. we have a slower growth rate today than we had then. that would settle at least part of the problem. >> let me ask you, though, because they are doing nothing because you are all at odds over what you should do. is, in fact, a lot of people argue slowing the growth of the economy here in the u.s. and adding to the jobless rate which is pretty tepid. i want to play you something that is from the managing director of the imf. >> the threat, only the threat of the delay in raising the debt ceiling and of the fiscal cliff could weaken growth already later this year, and should they materialize because no agreement can be reached, the domestic effects would be severe with negative spillovers to the rest of the world. >> so basically imf is saying that if you don't come off of this fiscal cliff and by you i mean congress, it is going to add to uncertainty, and there are certain things like obama care, you've mentioned it, regulations, not going to get the democrats to agree on it, but something that congress could do is something about this oncoming train which everyone sees coming. and yet there's no action. >> well, what we could do, what they're going to do this week, i believe, is extend the current tax rates this year, which deals with part of the problem. >> the president said he would veto it. >> but he shouldn't veto it, because he signed it two years ago saying that it would make the economy worse. i mean, look. the principle reason that we're having this economic trough is what the government is doing to the private sector. the president keeps talking about public sector employees. unemployment in the public sector is 4.2%. we've got to get the private sector going. that's the only way you have job growth which creates revenue for the government. everything that the administration has done, candy, has taken us in the wrong direction. >> they would argue that the stimulus plan and everything that they have done since and investing in the infrastructure and getting the construction jobs done and hiring the teachers and policemen have kept this economy from being even worse over a longer period of time, and i think that, you know, again, we are seeing the same arguments that we have seen now for a year and a half. i sense out there in the country and now seeing from the imf what is really worrying people is that you do nothing. it is almost not the something that you do, but it is that you look up to capitol hill for some guidance and when is the last time that you sat down with the senate majority leader and said how can we do this? >> we have passed 11 different things that the president has asked us to pass in the last six months. the point is this. for two years, the administration was able to do everything they wanted to. they borrowed. they spent. they had the government take over american health care all in place, and the question the american people should be asking is how is that working? now the president would like to do more of the same. we don't think that makes sense. why don't we try doing things that get the private sector which is the only way we will ever get out of the economic trough going again. >> we don't try, because you are in the majority and not in the majority of the senate, and yet the minority in the senate can stop things. and the fact of the matter is that don't you and senator reid need to sit down and say, this is how we can help the economy? here's what we can agree on? have you all done that? >> well, i have just indicated that we have passed a number of things the president has asked for. >> have you sat down with senator reid? >> every day we talk about the way forward and passed a number of pieces of legislation that are important and helpful, but the primary problem is that the president would like for us to keep doing more of what he was able to do in the first two years when he had total control of congress and the american people have looked at the result of that. it clearly has not worked. >> let me turn you to the senate races that are out there. sitting here today, and looking at the landscape, do you believe that you will be the majority leader next year? >> 50-50. i think it's going to be a very close, competitive election. there are a number of places where we have opportunities for pickups. not many places where we have much chance of losing a seat. i think that at the end of the day, we will have a very narrow senate one way or the other. >> and looking at the virginia race and the massachusetts race. >> two close races. good candidates in both parties. >> you could lose as easily as you could win? >> i'm sorry? >> you could lose as easily as you could win? >> well, they're close races. we expect to win them both, but they are close races. >> as you look at the supreme court decision over the past week and the reaction to it. and you read, i'm assuming chief justice roberts' opinion on that, are you sorry you voted for him? >> no, i'm not, but i was extremely disappointed. the chief justice however did make it clear that the mandate is a tax and if i may make an observation about that, candy, the mandate tax, and 77% of it will be levied on people making $120,000 and less and interestingly enough, that produces more tax revenue for the government than the so-called buffett tax that the president tried to get us to pass to raise taxes on high income people. >> and yet there's 330 million-plus population in the u.s. or around in there, we're talking maybe about 3 million people, at least according to the cbo -- i mean the congressional folks, according to them, this would affect maybe 3 million people. that is not that much to get 30 million people covered, is it? >> well, look, the question is the law in its entirety. the president said it would not raise taxes. it is raising taxes. >> on very few people, you would concede that. >> well, it is important to those people, and they are middle-income people. and more tax revenue raised from the income people, and more buffett taxes from the president who promised not to raise taxes on anyone. and it is driving up premiums and the cost of health insurance is going up and cut medicare over half a trillion over the next ten years. nothing that was inside in connection with passing this health care bill is working out. >> senator, thank you for joining us this morning. i hope you'll come back. >> i will. jobs and the president's plan for winning the battleground states with obama campaign senior adviser robert gibbs when we come back. no! but, i'm about to change that. ♪ every little baby wants 50% more cash... ♪ phhht! fine, you try. 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[ female announcer ] neosporin® plus pain relief starts relieving pain faster and kills more types of infectious bacteria. neosporin® plus pain relief. for a two dollar coupon, visit neosporin.com. the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. focus lolo, focust sanya let's do this i am from baltimore south carolina... bloomington, california... austin, texas... we are all here to represent the country we love this is for everyone back home it's go time. across america, we're all committed to team usa. i'm joined by obama campaign senior adviser robert gibbs. good to see you, robert. >> glad to be here. >> i want to run you through a series of economic figures and polls and then get your comment at the end. first of all, when you ask folks what are economic conditions like today. good, 27%. poor, 73%. when you say, how important is the economy to your vote, 92% say it is either very or extremely important to their vote. >> who are the other 8%? >> exactly. exactly. to their vote. and then finally, who would better handle the economy? romney 48% and obama 47%. if the economy is doing better, as the president argues, not as good as you want, but better, why are those numbers like that? >> well, look, i think we are coming out of the hardest economic time in our history. >> which we have been for four years. >> and typically coming out of the recession and the depth that we were in that's caused by a financial crisis which is what happened, it takes a while to dig out of that hole. we saw on friday that our economy is growing and we are adding jobs. the president believes that -- >> not enough jobs. >> we are not growing fast enough and we're not adding enough jobs. >> so what is the argument after four years, what is then the argument that re-elect me? >> well, candy, we have made progress, but we have a long way to go and this is going to be an election about two different visions, and you heard part of it here with senator mcconnell and you hear it with mitt romney every day. the best way to create jobs is to provide the millionaires and the billionaires with better tax cuts and take the regulations off of banks and wall street, and somehow we will see the jobs flourish for years and years to come. the problem with that, candy, is that it is not a theory, and we tried it for eight years and it ended in this huge economic calamity and this financial mess. >> but the jobs are not flourishing now, and folks don't actually seem to think that the president would handle it better than mitt romney, and i'm trying to figure out what the sales pitch is here. >> well, the other vision is we have to grow this economy like we did for years and years and decades from the middle class out. let's add -- continue to add opportunity. let's bring this american dream back. let's guarantee that if you work hard and play by the rules, you'll have a chance to get ahead. that your children will have a chance to get ahead. and again, we've tried these different philosophies before. and we know what tax breaks and tax cuts for the wealthy and the financial regulations off of wall street mean. they mean economic calamity and what we are dealing with now, and versus a vision where we add jobs and build out of the middle class. people take responsibility. they work hard, but they get ahead. that is what we need to do. >> even the republicans would, you know, that you think have this different version would say, we need to grow the middle class. that's where our aim is. >> that is not the primary aim, their primary aim is to give tax breaks to the very wealthy. >> that's what you think their primary aim is. >> let's look at the central plank in mitt romney's so-called economic plan. and granted, this is -- most of his economic plans and most of his plans are secret, but the one thing that he has flushed out is to take the bush tax cuts which disproportionately impact millionaires and billionaires and add to them. i mean, candy, do you think we're a bush tax cut for a millionaire away from a flourishing economy, or should we protect and keep taxes low or middle-class families and give them a chance? >> do you think the president will do anything other than veto a bill that would keep those bush tax cuts for everyone intact? >> we should protect the tax cuts for the middle class, and we should let tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires to expire. >> even though the recovery support that great. people say don't take the money out of the economy and have a tax hike, you would do it for those making $250,000 and above. >> we ought to do something about this dech sficit, and we t to protect those middle-class tax cuts. and the best way is to let the upper level tax cuts expire, and let the wealthy begin to pay their fair share and make sure that we protect the tax rate that middle-class families have had for the past many years. >> so the president's totally committed to getting rid of the tax cut for those making $250,000 and above? >> let's make progress on spending by doing away with tax cuts for people that quite frankly don't need them, tax cuts that haven't worked and have them pay their fair share. >> so is that a yes or a no? the president it completely committed to this? he won't allow it to happen? >> he is 100% committed to it. >> i want to play an ad that you have been running and ask you about it. >> running for governor, mitt romney campaigned as a job creator. >> i know how jobs are created. >> but as a corporate raider, he shipped jobs to china and mexico. as governor, he did the same thing, outsourcing state jobs to india. now he's making the exact same pitch. >> i know why the jobs come and why they go. >> outsourcing jobs, romney economics. it didn't work then, and it won't work now. >> you all have invested heavily in the bain capital element of trying to convince people of what mitt romney is about. and yet, this particular ad got four pinocchios for the "washington post," which is not true. and this is what fact check.org had to say. we found no evidence to support the claim that romney, while he was still running bain capital, shipped american jobs overseas. you now have a similar ad out. why do you keep with that? >> i would say that factcheck.org ought to read "the washington post," which is the one that came up with the report that said looking at s.e.c. filings, that romney and bain capital were pioneers in outsourcing. they shipped jobs all over the world that should have been -- >> but their point is that, in fact, mitt romney was not running bain. he had cut ties and gone on. >> that is also not true, because mitt romney was the head and sole owner of bain. but understand this, because we saw it a little bit again this week. we have a guy who believes and has been a pioneer in outsourcing jobs, and quite frankly, he offshores most of his own personal investments, presumably to shield them from taxes. candy, i don't know about you, i pick a bank because there is an atm near my home, but mitt roichl romney had a bank account in switzerland -- >> and nothing illegal, right? >> well, i don't know. >> you are not charging that he has done anything illegal with this? >> candy, nobody knows why he has a corporation in bermuda, and why he failed to disclose that on seven different financial disclosures and why he transferred it to somebody else's purview the day before he became governor of massachusetts. the one thing he could do, candy, to clear up whether or not he's done anything illegal, whether he's shielding his income from taxes in bermuda or switzerland is to do what every other presidential candidate's done, and that's release a series of years of their own tax returns. mitt romney's father was the pioneer of releasing a series of tax returns. the best way to figure it out if he is complying with the american tax law is to have him release more of the tax returns. this is a guy whose slogan is to believe in america, and it should be business in bermuda and that's what mitt romney is all about. >> which is a great line, but again, there's no evidence here that any of the fact check organizations have found that "a," he outsourced jobs or was president at bain when that happened, and "b," that he's done anything illegal. you've had a lot of advice from folks, democrats, saying get off of this particular bain thing. there's obviously some polling that shows, in fact, there's -- it's having some effect on some of the battleground states. >> and this is based on a report that "the washington post" did. i would encourage everyone to go to washingtonpost.com and read that report. the reason we are talking about that is, is that it is important and create jobs here in america and bring them back from overseas and do away from the tax breaks from companies that ship jobs overseas, or are we going to invest in manufacturing here in this country? we created half a million manufacturing jobs, more manufacturing jobs have been created in the last few years than since the mid-'90s. mitt romney famously said we ought to let detroit and the auto industry go bankrupt. again, i go back to two very different visions about this economy. >> i have to end it there, i'm sorry. i hope you'll come back, robert gibbs. >> i'd be happy to. thank you. four more jobs reports before the election. the problems and the solutions when we come back. >> the president's policies have not gotten america working again. >> businesses have created 4.4 million new jobs over the past 28 months. why not try someplace different every morning? get two times the points on dining in restaurants with chase sapphire preferred. by what's getting done. measure commitment the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through. ♪ [ male announcer ] its lightweight construction makes it nimble... ♪ its road gripping performance makes it a cadillac. introducing the all-new cadillac xts. available with advanced haldex all-wheel drive. [ engine revving ] it's bringing the future forward. it's bringing the future good afternoon. chase sapphire. (push button tone) this is stacy from springfield. oh woah. hello? yes. i didn't realize i'd be talking to an actual person. you don't need to press "0," i'm here. reach a person, not a prompt whenever you call chase sapphire. [ 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. with me now mark zandi, chief economist of moody's, and former congressional budget office director doug holtz-eakin, and cnn congressional correspondent dana bash. let's straighten out this economy thing. and have you all tell me, "a," what was the most worrisome thing in the economic report we got out of the jobless report, and what makes you think, okay, we can still survive this? let me start with you. >> well, 80,000 jobs. that's pretty disappointing. if we stick at 80,000 and that is the reality of what is going on, unemployment will rise and we have 8.2% unemployment and that is a problem. that's the most worrisome aspect of the report. but there were some positives. hours worked increased. that's a good leading indicator. businesses will ask their existing workers to work longer hours before they hire. >> so that's a precursor to new jobs. >> it is. >> sometimes. >> it generally is. hours worked are at a high level. any pickup in activity will froebl lead to more jobs. and any pickup of activity will translate into more jobs, and we got a big increase in wages which is encouraging. i noticed that wage growth had been slowing, but it is not the case. it is solid. >> and douglas? >> well, those points are right. one of the disappointing characteristics of the recovery has not been just the jobs, but the lack of income growth, and that has hurt the ability of households to spend and strength of wages is a very important part of the report. the troubling issue is that the report came on the heels of the reports that showed manufacturing slowing and the service sector slowing and to the extent that unemployment is a lagging sort of indicator that we could have further trouble down the road. i'm worried about the outlook for that reason. >> i tried to get robert gibbs to tell us how the president plays this at this point, because i think people look and think, we just thought we'd be so much further along. how do the romney folks play this, and is there any sign of working, and what can the president do? >> well, the romney folks, what they think their message is going to be going forward isn't so much the reagan, are you better off now than you were four years ago, but what we witnessed four years ago the high expectations and the soaring rhetoric and as sarah palin says the hopey changey thing. do you feel that, or do you feel like -- >> consumer confidence? >> what happened? what happened? it's that the expectations were set so high and that is what the romney campaign wants to hit big time going forward. having said that, there was some criticism, sort of friendly fire from the republican editorial boards, and you showed some of the quotes to mitch mcconnell. that's a concern. because mitt romney should be doing very well against somebody with 8.2% unemployment and the concern is that especially given the fact that his calling card is business acumen, and why isn't he doing better? >> and let me read you something from brian cropp and i don't know if you know him, but he is on the corporate board of managing director here, and this is what he had to say about a two-tiered job market. we continue to hear from the companies that it is a two-tiered labor market for people who have been employed with professional and technical skills, it is a decent job market. but for the rest of the workforce, it is still very difficult. is that accurate that we're getting sort of a two americas when you look at the american jobless rate? >> well, to say that there is two americas is too strong. it is always the case that during expansions, some skills and some sectors do better than others, and we are seeing it. there's no question. high school people have done better, and that is not unusual. especially in touch economic times. the challenge is to have enough economic growth so that the people at the moment have a low-skilled job can get in and get the experience to allow them to turn into the other part of america. we're just not seeing that right now. >> i'm sympathetic to that description. i think if you have education, if you've gone to college, if you have skills, you're doing okay. you're doing pretty well. if you look at the unemployment rates for people with college degrees and lots of skills, it's really quite low. no problem. and those folks who don't have skills and education are getting creamed in this economy. so i think that's very true. >> but here is the key to the income. they may have jobs, but not getting college or skilled level incomes out of this recovery, and the other guys aren't getting creamed. >> and that feeds into the political divide of the two americas, candy. no question. president obama has historically struggled with the uneducated voter or the voter who doesn't have the high education, and he struggles with the lunch bucket voter, and this feeds right into that. >> i want to push back on the point of people expecting this to be better than it is. the reality is that after a financial crises like the one we went through and it was a devastating crisis and looking at the string of financial institutions who are no longer with us, you always have very weak economic recoveries. and this is the history all of the way back to the 1400s. and we have made improvements. >> and you would know that because you know stuff like that. >> and the president and the advisers have pooh-poohed that research and said early on, no, no, we can get out quicker and sold it politically they could and would get out quicker, and they were probably wrong. >> well, doug, we will get out quicker typically quicker than in history, because in history, it is decades before economies recover, but we will get out faster, but we're only three years, four years after the nader of all of this. and to say we have created 4 million jobs in a couple of years is an improvement, but you are right, candy, i'm talking about an economist and not a person on the street who is nailed by this. >> and we are in the fast food nation right now. we're under a twitter nation where three years is six lifetimes. where everything happens very, very fast. and that's the problem. >> i want you all to stick with me. we've talked about the problems. after the break, we want to talk about some solutions. and later, solving washington's problems may be easier than you might think. >> it's not a quick fix, but it begins essentially by people telling you the truth. and the first trade route to the west. we built the tallest skyscrapers, the greatest empires. we pushed the country forward. then, some said, we lost our edge. we couldn't match the pace of the new business world. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. build energy highways and high-tech centers. nurture start-ups and small businesses. reduce tax burdens and provide the lowest middle class tax rate in 58 years. once again, new york state is a place where innovation meets determination and where businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. with me now, mark zandi, chief economics analyst at moody's, and also douglas holtz-eakin, and cnn correspondent dana bash. i have talked to a lot of folks like you all, and they have said that the truth is that there is not a whole lot that the president or the fed can do to make a major change in the state of the economy and that we are looking at a new normal with above 6% unemployment for the out years, as they say, maybe a decade or so to come. do you go with that? >> no, not me. i disagree totally. i think that the economy is on the precipice of very strong economic growth. i think american companies have restructured, got. their cost structures down. they've reduced debt. they have lots of cash. it's a matter of confidence. it's not a matter of ability to go out and expand, and i think they will. i think there's a lot to the federal reserve and the administration and congress can do. most importantly, you were talking about this with senator mcconnell, we've got to nail down this fiscal cliff because it's making people nervous. and it's the reason why they're not taking the next step to hire more workers. so i don't think we're in a new normal. >> are you bullish about the future? >> we get to dictate the new normal. in the '60s and '70s, we took a series of steps that led to chronic high inflation and chronic high unemployment. we changed course and got a much better performance. i'm with mark. we can do much better than we're doing now. i don't think that if you round up the usual cast of characters, this is a lot like "casablanca." like the fed, i don't think there's much you can do right now. there's bad news but they can't really push the economy much. i think we've seen enough of temporary targeted policies over the past couple years. it's time to do something we haven't done which is serious tax reform, entitlement reform and a signal to the business community that this is how we're going to live our lives. go do your thing. >> dana, on your years of capitol hill, how likely is all that? >> between now and november, it's just not. >> i'm talking about the fiscal cliff. >> correct. and listening to you all talk, my wheels were turning thinking how easy it would be for congress to give some confidence to employers, some confidence to wall street by saying you know, we're going to come together and decide, for example, how we're going to deal with the bush tax cuts that are going to expire at the end of the year. they're not going to do it. there's no way because those are political clubs that each side is using to hit the other with. and they think in a strong way before november. and it's actually sad, but it's the cold, hard political fact. >> can i say, i don't think it matters bret election because i don't think anyone on the planet thinks -- no business person. >> do you think by december 31st, or will we get another one of those, for the next three months, let's keep things how they are? >> people are expecting they'll get it together before it really matters and that's before the next debt ceiling, next february or march. tax rates may rise, but that may be the thing that's the catalyst for generating a solution here. >> i think that's really a dangerous way to think. it is, in fact, going to matter if they did it before the election because we're going to start to see equity markets get nervous about the inability to get this done. rates going from 15 to 14 and it will bleed over into the last half of 2012, and this economy does not need more problems. and if you get to the end and let taxes go up, the only way you can get through that successfully is have markets beav that there's a deal out there that brings them back down. they don't believe there's a deal anywhere. >> and guess what. rightly so at this point. i just want to say one thing. one thing i was thinking about because doug, of course, you are the economic adviser to john mccain -- >> yeah, i remember that. >> when the whole financial market collapsed in september of 2008, you saw his poll numbers collapse with it. and you never recovered. >> yeah, no. >> and so they just go hand and glove. and they have historically, but i think even more in current times. >> but then why -- we're not seeing the same thing actually with the president. i mean, there is a continuing crisis in households even if we think overarchingly the economy is on its way to growth, as you think it is. most of you think it is eventually. so why has the president been able to sustain his popularity, really? i mean, he may become -- obviously we haven't had the election, but he may be the first president to be re-elected with an 8% unemployment rate? >> remember in 2008, john mccain held in there even though the economy wasn't doing that great. the republicans owned the economy at that point. we had oil prices at $140 a barrel. the economy was suffering. it was hardly a great summer, but he did find until there was clear indications of bad news. so the risk for the president is further bad news out of europe, the global slowing or the impact of the fiscal cliff. if there's a notable downturn, i think you run into that scenario. >> two things. one is, i think people realize how bad it was. i mean, it was really bad. and i don't think people are forgetting that. i think raets one of the reasons why businesses aren't hiring. they can't get over that nightmare. it's still vivid in their memory. the second thing is there are some good things that are happening in our economy. the stock market is only 10% away from its previous all-time high. house prices are starting to rise again. and we're creating jobs. we're not creating them fast enough, but we are creating them. >> mark zandi, dana bash, thank you all for being here. a check of the lines is lat. and later, what's a presidential campaign without a bus tour? it's time to live wider awake. only the beautyrest recharge sleep system combines the comfort of aircool memory foam layered on top of beautyrest pocketed coils to promote proper sleeping posture all night long. the revolutionary recharge sleep system... from beautyrest. it's you, fully charged. in your car. now count the number of buttons on your tablet. isn't it time the automobile advanced? introducing cue in the all-new cadillac xts. the simplicity of a tablet has come to your car. ♪ the all-new cadillac xts has arrived. and it's bringing the future forward. time for a check of today's top stories. president obama is expected to see egypt's new president later this year. the white house says the president and mohamed morsi will both be attending the united nations general assembly meeting in september. morsi who ran as a pro-islamist candidate won the runoff election last month. democratic congressman barney frank has married his longtime partner. frank is the first sitting member of congress to wed someone of the same sex. massachusetts governor deval patrick officiated yesterday. it's another day of extreme heat for much of the u.s. at least 30 deaths are being blamed on triple-digit temperatures. to make matters worse, some 300,000 people are without air conditioning because of power outages. weather forecasters are expecting cooler temperatures over the next couple of days. and in jordan, a political debate gone wild. the man on the right is a member of parliament. he throws his shoe and then pulls a gun on the man on the left who had called the lawmaker a thief and accused him of buying votes. the two were eventually separated and no one was hurt. it hasn't gotten quite that bad here in washington. former senator bill bradley, though, shares his thoughts on getting this nation back on track. ou everything. check out our new mobile app. now you can use your phone to scan your car's vin or take a picture of your license. it's an easy way to start a quote. watch this -- flo, can i see your license? 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[ female announcer ] neosporin® plus pain relief starts relieving pain faster and kills more types of infectious bacteria. neosporin® plus pain relief. for a two dollar coupon, visit neosporin.com. former new jersey senator bill bradley is the author of a new book "we can all do better" which i'll just agree with on general principle. he talks about politics and how the government runs or doesn't run depending on your point of view. i asked him about his inspiration for writing this book. >> well, last summer when the debt limit debacle took place and when we were still in two wars and when middle-income people were still facing stag nantd incomes, i, as a citizen, said what can i do? so i decided to write a book and my hope and my desire was to give people hope that we have faced difficult problems in the past, and we have overcome them. i wanted to remind them that our political institutions have the capacity to deal with the situation and also to remind them of something that we frequently forget, and that is that there is a goodness in the american people, and there is a selflessness of which american policy can be built. >> and honestly on this show, we have had any number of senators and congressmen that come on, and what they speak to is a system that's broken. i mean, a complete sort of meltdown. first of all the budgetary process which is at the heart of what they are supposed to be doing, that's not a quick fix. >> it's not a quick fix, but it begins by essentially people telling you the truth. it also begins by -- >> isn't that deadly for a politician to say to the american people, we are going to have to raise -- and a lot of people say to me, it is not just the taxes on the rich that have to be increased, but taxes on everybody who has to be increased, but who says that? >> well, nobody is saying that right now, and somebody has to say it and one of the points i try to make in the book is that if we are going to succeed, we have to face our problems squarely, and the deficit is one problem. that requires taxes on a lot of people and not just the wealthy, and entitlements, defense, but the real issue is that we need more people working in america, and we need higher incomes for americans. and that requires a couple of steps to take, and i outline them in book as to outline how in the short, mid, long term to we could actually get our economy growing again and middle-income people believing that their children will have a higher standard of living than they've had, upward mobility will return, and america will be what it once was. >> and in short term, just give me the quick rendition of what you think we can do in the short term because you're right. i think the dream itself has died for so many people believing oh, my kid's going to do better. we're all going to be doing this. that sort of upward mobility you talk about is gone. >> it's pretty clear first, if we want people to work immediately, what i say is we should say if you hire a worker and don't lay anybody off, the federal government ought to pay 30% of that cost for two years. limit it to $50 billion. first come, first served. and not one taxpayer dollar would be spent that didn't create a job. next, what i'd say is take a look at corporate america today. there's $1.8 trillion in cash and liquid assets on the books of corporations today. >> sitting there. >> sitting there. if 20% of that was used to hire workers at a medium wage, $49,000, unemployment would be 5%. so how do we get them to do that? if you talk to ceos, they say uncertainty about the future, i need a rainy-day fund and not enough demand. you deal with uncertainty with the deficit reduction, outyears, not now, dealing with the issues that i mentioned earlier. and then if you're able to do that, you stimulate demand with a massive, massive infrastructure program. a trillion dollars over five years. and you say -- >> bridges, roads, schools, that kind of repair and building you're talking about? >> i think it's got to be more specific. it should be 50 high-priority projects. the problem with shovel-ready projects is whether the mayor has it, they do it, it doesn't help the country. we need to do it for all the people. so we need nationally significant projects. and you say, well, how do i get the money for that? well, if we're to already reduce the deficit in the outyears, the chinese have already lent us $1.4 trillion. and i think they could bevestor trillion-dollar infrastructure fund. >> you say in your book that government is not the problem. yet so many people don't trust government. they think it's broken. how do you restore trust enough so that people will look to their government as making good decisions rather than oh -- >> i think it's by telling people the truth. that's what i think. and yeah, i mean, we know that the tea party thinks the rollback government is the answer. but we also know that government is central to our lives. i mean, you ever go to an airport and fly? there's a federal aviation administration that makes sure it's safe. do you ever take medicine? the fda. you ever go to national parks? in addition to social security and medicare, i mean, the highways of this country, the mass transit systems, the coast guard. i mean, government is the foundation of this country. and what happens because politicians are unwilling to deal with, say, entitlements and taxes is we cut the things that are the foundation of our country like infrastructure, education. >> americans elect was a group that wanted to start sort of an online -- get itself on the ball ballot, and they have an online sort of alternative elect primary that would put somebody on the ballot in all 50 states. it failed. as so many third-party efforts have. why? >> americans elect was not a party. it was a process. it was a little bit like "field of dreams." if you build it, they will come. the people who are behind it wanted innovation in democracy. they built it. nobody came. why? nobody knew about it. first of all. second, i think the parties acted to prevent certain people from running. submitting themselves to the process. and however, it forms a very good foundation for a potential congressional party in 2014. >> former senator bill bradley, thank you for stopping by. the book is "we can all do better: how can any of us debate that?" thank you so much. up next, campaigning on wheels. was worried about 'em, you know? i mean for instance my mom went to bed tonight before making my dinner. which is fine, i mean i, i know how to make dinner. it just starts to make you wonder. is this what happens when you age? my friends used to say i was the lucky one. i had the fun parents. where's the fun now? night guys! 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[ female announcer ] allstate customers affected by the recent wildfires call 1-800-547-8676. visit a mobile claims office, your agent or allstate.com last season was the gulf's best tourism season in years. in florida we had more suntans... in alabama we had more beautiful blooms... in mississippi we had more good times... in louisiana we had more fun on the water. last season we broke all kinds of records on the gulf. this year we are out to do even better... and now is a great time to start. our beatches are even more relaxing... the fishing's great. so pick your favorite spot on the gulf... and come on down. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. presidents have lots of headaches, but transportation is not one of them. air force one, marine one and, of course, the beast, that heavily fortified presidential limo. so what's with the bus? in his first buscapade of the general election season, the president rolled into 11 stops in two states over two days. dubbed ground force one, this black behemoth is one of two secret service-approved buses costing $1.1 million per, outfitted in tennessee, built in canada. duly noted. >> i've never seen an uglier bus than the canadian one. he's traveling around on a canadian bus touting american jobs. >> and senator mccain knows his buses. his straight-talk express was among the most notable in campaign bus history. not for its creature comfort. in 2000, reporters were cheek to jowl aboard the straight talk. >> you bring us on your bus and we ask you more questions. do you ever get sick of answering questions? >> that's the second part. the first part, not so bad. >> it was kind of a moving fire hazard but a wildly successful campaign gimmick because it featured a candidate who never stopped talking. who in '08, john edwards' bus. main street express broke down on an icy iowa road. it has us wondering whether there is such a thing as pre-karma. the mittmobile made its first appearance four years ago, too. this time around romney is a lot farther down the road. >> your favorite stop so far? >> there's absolutely no wind. they're all my favorite. >> probably the most successful bus tour ever, 1992. bill and al's excellent adventure, eight states in an eight-bus motorcade that took them all the way to the white house. a bus is the ultimate campaign prop and a ride that offers endless norman rockwellish photo opes, diners, farmers' markets, convenience stores, the whole on the road again feel of a bus just oozes americana. on a bus, a guy who regularly flies air force one and marine one can relate to what washington calls real people. >> the best vacation i had when i was a kid was my grandmother and my mom and my sister, we traveled around the country on greyhound buses and on trains, and we stayed at howard johnsons. >> and that's why the wheels on the bus go round and round every time an election comes 'round. thanks for watching "state of the union." i'm candy crowley in washington. head to cnn.com/sotu for analysis and extras. and ou