good. the unemployment rate is still stuck at 9.1%. dan lothian is adding up the numbers. what do they mean for the president and for the american pe people? >> the economy is having a difficult time finding traction even as the 2012 campaign ramps up. republicans are blaming this on the president's quote failed policies, but this is all showing a sense of urgency for the president and members of congress that they need to do something now. on a beautiful fall day in the nation's capitol, nothing but blue skies and sunshine. but a dark cloud continues to linger over the nation's economy. >> the reason we're not seeing the hiring we want is because we're not seeing the economic growth we need. >> the latest numbers bare that out. unemployment remains at 9.1%, what a white house called unacceptably high. while employers added 103,000 jobs, the report was relative weak. >> it is far from good enough. >> white house aides say this underscores the need for quick action on the president's jobs bill, but mr. obama described as an insurance policy against a double dip recession. >> at a time when so many people are having such a hard time, we have to have an approach. we have to take action that is big enough to meet the moment. >> but there's resistance on capitol hill where the jobs act as one piece of legislation seems unlikely to pass and republicans were quick to point to the unemployment numbers as yet another sign of failed leadership. >> and after three years of false hopes and broken promises, americans continue to be left asking the question, where are the jobs? >> with success in the 2012 elections expected to hinge on the health of the u.s. economy and republican presidential hopefuls taking shots at the president, there's mounting pressure on the maix to turn things around. >> can he get re-elected if the economy is not significantly improved and does he deserve to? >> yes. because what the election will be about is whose vision for america's future is best? >> the president met here at the white house today with democratic leaders in the senate including harry reid. carney says it was a good meeting. they talked about the president's jobs act and what the leadership is planning to move forward on a vote on this next week, wolf. >> thank you. meanwhile, the republican presidential front-runner laid out his vision of a strong united states playing an activity role as leader of the free world. he accused president obama of shrinking from the challenge. it came on this day the exact tenth anniversary of the start of the war in afghanistan. listen to this. >> i'll order a full review of our transition to the afghan military to secure that nation's sovereignty from the tyranny of the taliban. i'll speak with our generals in the field and receive the best recommendations of the commanders. the force level necessary to complete our gains is a decision i will make free from politics. i will bolster and repair alliances. our friends should never fear that we will not stand by them in an hour of need. i will reaffirm as a vital national interest israel's existence as a jewish state. i will count as dear our relationship with united kingdom and -- this is america's moment. we should embrace the challenge and not shrink from it. not crawl into an isolationist shell. not wave the white flag of survrender nor give into those who assert that america's time is past. that's utter nonsense. an eloquently justified surrender of world leadership is still surrender. i will not surrender america's role in the world. this is very simple. if you do not want america to be the strongest nation on earth, i'm not your president. you have that president today. >> all right. let's talk about this with our chief political analyst and chris lawrence. this was a very tough speech on the president's foreign policy record. >> it was, wolf. and mitt romney was saying something we've heard before from many republicans, which is this notion that barack obama does not embrace american exceptionalism. the president was asked about it and said, yes, i believe in it, but the british probably believe in british exceptionalism. it's been easier to say this is a president who doesn't believe we are the greatest and who spends too much of his time apologizing for america rather than defending america. >> chris, what are they saying at the pentagon about what romney's strategy in afghanistan is all about? >> i think when we talked about going back to the commanders on the ground and getting their best assessment and making sure the withdrawal decision is not based on politics, it was a pointed attack at president obama setting the 18-month deadline and governor romney is right in the respect that many military leaders did not approve of setting that firm deadline. but go back just a couple of months to the june republican debate. in that case, governor romney said quote, u.s. troops shouldn't go off and fight a war of independence for another nation and it's time for us to bring our troops home as soon as we possibly can. that statement sounds a lot like president obama. and if governor romney was going to open the possibility of extending a larger u.s. presence in afghanistan, you have to deal with the effects of cost. by some estimates, it costs $700,000 to upwards of a million dollars for every man that the united states has in afghanistan. >> that's costing about $2 billion a week in u.s. taxpayer money to keep all those troops in afghanistan and president's strategy says another three plus years. 100,000 eventually will be withdrawn, but they're going to be there until the end of 2014. i didn't hear a lot of difference between what the preside president's strategy is at least as far as romney's sfrat ji right now -- >> there isn't a whole lot of difference. what romney was trying to do was place himself firmly on the side of the generals, which is a good political position to be in, and say that the president is withdrawing troops faster perhaps than we ought to be doing it right now, but in terms of 2014, he agrees with the president that we ought to be out of there. what's interesting is that i think romney was criticizing republicans in this speech, too, by talking about a strain of isolati isolationism. talking about his fellow republicans like ron paul and michele bachmann, who wouldn't want to remain under any circumstances even if the jeopardies said, you needed to stay. >> yeah, he ridiculed that wing of the republican party. chris, romney also said he doesn't want to cut anymore defense spending on day one, he's going to stop that defense cuts in order to try to balance the budget. was there anything in what romney was saying that the military might not like? >> i think the one thing that jumped out to me was when he said i will reverse president obama's massive defense cuts. the reality is that defense spending has gone up every year that obama has been in office. now, the president has proposed cutting about $400 billion in defense, but again, that is a proposal right now and that's spread out over the next 12 years. the other thing that jumped out was specifically that the governor would like to increase the number of ships that the us navy is building from about nine a year to about 15 a year. that has music to the ears of many in the navy and also to a lot of states like virginia where you've got shipbuilding. the question is, how do you pay for that? his aides have talked about going after waste, but even robert gates says all that low lying fruit has been picked. they've already made the easy cuts when it comes to waste. they call themselves values voters, but right now, republican hopefuls are trying their hardest to lock down their votes. we're going live to hear what some of those republican candidates are saying. and what happens to the economy if neither side budges in time. two expert rs standing by to debate that and more. the former white house chief economist, austan goolsbee, and stephen moore. ♪ do you believe in magic? 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>> well, wolf, i was able to pull aside here just for a few moments, dr. robert jeffers. the pastor of the first baptist church of dallas. he also gave a speech introducing rick perry and if you don't mind me saying, you've created a bit of a stir coming out of that speech because in talking to reporters, you said in pretty strong, plain language what you think of mormonism. you described it as a cult and you said that if republican votes for mitt romney, they're giving some credibility to a cult. do you stand by that comment? >> absolutely. that's not some fanatical. that's been the -- southern baptist convention has officially labeled mormonism as a cult. i think mitt romney's a good, moral man, but those of us who are born again followers of christ should prefer a competent christian that's why i'm enthusiastic about perry. >> what do you say to those voters who said religion as mormonism shouldn't be an issue. he's just as american as anyone else. >> i aglee and article 6 of the constitution -- >> and mormons do say they are christians. they believe in jesus christ. >> a lot of people say they're christians and they're not. i again believe that as christians, we have the duty to select christians as our leaders. that's what john jay, the first justice of the supreme court. between a rick perry and a mitt romney, i believe evangelicals need to go with rick perry. >> well, you started an issue here. we appreciate your time and just want to also mention that i had a chance to talk to upstart insurgent presidential candidate, herman cain, about dr. jeffers' comments as he was coming in. here's what he had to say. >> remarks? >> no comment. no comment. some people feel that way. you know, i respect everybody's, you know, religious beliefs and mormonism's been around a long time. no comment. not going to get into that. >> do you think that's appropriate to say? >> i don't think it's appropriate to say, but he said it. okay? he said it, but i don't want to get into it. i want to focus on growing the economy. creating jobs. >> what did you think about the jobs report today? >> i think it's another indication that this president has had failed economic policies. period. and what some, what some people have done is they've tried to create a distraction with this whole wall street thing. the policies -- they shouldn't be -- >> shouldn't some people on wall street be held accountable for what happened during the financial crisis? >> wall street didn't write the economic policies. the white house did. what happened on wall street is part of the problem, but it didn't create this high unemployment. >> and that was herman cain on the economy, but this issue of mitt romney's faith is certainly taking center stage here and i had a chance to talk to tony perkins, the head of the organization hosting this event. he said mitt romney's faith should not be an issue in this campaign. it should be the issues all americans will be voting on, the economy, how to get the economy moving again. >> i want you to relay this question. is he saying that because mitt romney is a mormon, people shouldn't vote for him for president of the united states because of his faith? >> wolf is skl me to ask you, are you saying that because of mitt romney's faith, that people should not vote for him? they should not go into the voting booth because of his faith? >> look, i think if it came down to a contest between mitt romney and barack obama, i would hold my nose and hope for mitt romney. i would have a nonchristian who at least supports biblical principles than a professing christian like barack obama who embraces unbiblical positions, but we're in the primary season right now and because of that, i believe that christians ought to select evangelical christians. >> and nobody from the perry campaign asked you to bring this up today? >> absolutely not. i have no reason to believe that governor perry shares my views at all. he probably doesn't. but i'm speaking at a pastor, not as a politician or pundit. >> as you heard, wolf, this issue is coming up here. it is an issue that mitt romney thought he dealt with in the 2008 campaign. he gave that big speech at texas. it appears that issue is now back. >> one quick question if you could ask him how he feels about this hypothetical. what if there's a nonchristian like eric cantor, the republican leader in the house of representatives who's jewish. could he support a jewish republican conservative like eric cantor if he were running against an evangelical christian. >> wolf has another question for you. that is because a lot of people have talked about eric cantor as a potential presidential or vice presidential nominee, would you hold his faith against him, the fact he is a jew? would you be okay with seeing a jewish person in the white house? >> no, i don't think it ought to be held against him. given the preference of having a christian versus a nonchristian, it was john jay said we should prefer and select christians as our leaders. we need to remember this. in 2008, 30 million evangelical christians sat at home and didn't vote. barack obama won by ten million votes. whether you like it or not, mitt romney will not energize evangelical christians. the fact is -- >> not everybody b agrees. tony perkins says that's not the case. >> i understand that, but people don't always tell the truth to pollsters. what they say to a pollster and what they do in the voting booth sometimes are two different things and i believe for a significant number of evangelical christians, they would prefer a strong christian like rick perry to a mormon. >> this is going to be an issue that evangelical christians will be talking about. it makes folks uncomfortable, but it is coming up. >> let's just point out that mormons consider themselves to be christians. they believe in jesus christ. even if the reverend and others do not believe. i think this is going to cause quite a stir out there. thanks very much. nerves were already frayed in congress with the bitter dispute over the economy and election year partisanship, but there was an extraordinary outburst of arraign in the senate last night. the flash bill was a bill aimed at punishing china for so-called currency manipulations, but the bill does have bipartisan support. it was really about power and politics and it broke out as minority republicans tried to tack on some unrelated amendments to the so-called china bill. after democrats gathered the 60 votes needed, a stalling tactic used by which ever party is in the minority, they shocked republicans by ramming through a rule change preventing republicans from adding the amendments. let's get more from athena jones. >> the issue here, the whole idea of minority rights. senate republicans are in the minority, so to offer amendments to be heard, but also about the idea of keeping the senate going and getting things done. what mitch mcconnell wanted to do was tack on unremitted amount amendments like the farm bill and this jobs bill. he wanted to see democrats vote on the original version of the president's jobs bill. this is the one without the updates that senator reid added changing the way the bill would be paid for. so, they wanted to push through this vote knowing that it might show some divisions among the democrats. if you talk to majority leader reid, he'll say this was really just a delaying tactic op the part of the republicans. it got heated. l let's listen. >> the united states senate, the minority is entitled to be heard. not entitled to win, but entitled to be heard. and so that the core problem here and i'd say to my friend the majority leader, nothing personal, we are fundamentally turning the senate into the house. no amendments before closure. no motions to suspend after. the minority's out of business and it's particularly bad on a bill that has the support of over 60 members as this one did. if your not among those 60, you're out of luck. >> i found over the last congress in nine months that when i try to have an open amendment process, it is a -- road to nowhere. we haven't been able to effectually single bill being passed that way regardless of whether that's right or wrong, that's what i did. >> i really don't want to speak. here's what i want to happen. i think members on both side of the aisle feel like this institution has degraded into a place that is no longer a place of any deliberation at all. and i like for you and the minority leader to explain to us so that we have one story here in public, as to what has happened this week to lead us to the place that we are. that's all i'm asking. that's all i want to know. explain how the greatest dlib rative body on a bill that many would say was a messaging bill in the first place, ended up having no amendments and we're in this place that we are right now. i just like to understand that. >> and so there you saw these simmering tensions right leading into a week where we're going to have a lot of big bills on the floor. they're supposed to be discussing the jobs bill, free trade agreements and the currency bill. right now, doesn't make it look like -- it shows more dysfunction in congress. >> certainly does. not a great surprise though and i think it's just going to begin. thanks very much for that. 103,000 new jobs created last month. where did they come from? we're talking jobs, the economy much more with austan goolsbee and wall street senior exhibition writer, stephen moore, thath coming up. exploding tankers full of ethanol. we're getting new details that's forcing hundreds to evacuate. but they also go beyond banking. we installed a ge fleet monitoring system. it tracks every vehicle in their fleet. it cuts fuel use. koch: it enhances customer service. it's pretty amazing when people who loan you money also show you how to save it. not just money, knowledge. it's so much information, it's like i'm right there in every van in the entire fleet. good day overall. yeah, i'm good. come on in. let's go. wow, this is fantastic. ge capital. they're not just bankers. we're builders. they helped build our business. my son and i never missed opening day. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better, and that means... game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. 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[ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. back to our top story. better than expected jobs number for september and upward revision for the two previous months. what does it mean for the overall economic picture? let's discuss with austan goolsbee and stephen moore, the senior economics writer at "the wall street journal." almost 300,000 jobs created july, august and september. not great, you need at least 150,000 jobs a month to see that needle move down, but it's a lot better than losing 7 or 800,000 jobs a month which was what was happening when obama took office. >> if you look at these numbers, we talked about the numbers last month and it looked like we were headed into a double dip recession. when you've had thunderstorms and see a little sliver of sunshine, it looks good to you. this was a accident number. we had 103,000 jobs in month and they revised numbers for the past two months that were upwards of another 100,000. we shouldn't get too excited about this because if you look over the last six months, the labor department tells us we've been averaging about $75,000 jobs a month. we need at least twice that many to keep pace. so, frit good report, but not great. >> if you look deeper into the month of september, 103,000 jobs created, but 45,000 of those were from the verizon workers who were off work for a few weeks because of a strike. that really is a little phony, that number, right? >> yeah, there are also bumps, but they got subtracted from last month. i thought some of the good things in the report were you sarted to see life coming back in the construction industry, which has been down for years and one of the negatives was you're still seeing the negatives on manufacturing. i think the stuff going on in europe is not good. it's driving the dollar up. it's making u.s. companies pricing less competitivcompetit it's a rough patch for manufacturing. it's good it's better than expected, but not a great report. >> and unemployment remains at 9.1%. both of you, first to you, steve. are we in or heading toward another recession? >> if you asked me a week ago, i would have said a good probability, but this reduces the risk, thank god, because that would be horrible for the economy. but i want to say one thing that is very interesting and i bet you will even accept this number or believe it. but if you look back at the same stage of the reagan expansion in september of 1983, same stage of his presidency and this one, do you know how many jobs we've created in the month of september 1983? 1.1 million. i would make the case that maybe we shouldn't be looking at the reagan ideas and move away from these obama ideas. >> which is the most important? -- hold on -- >> the top -- >> the most important one that austan and others should be looking at. let austan respond. steve, which reagan idea do you want -- >> i think he should start taking regulations off the economy and stop talking about raising tax rates and maybe austan, start talking about lowering them in exchange for getting rid of loopholes. >> i will simply point out that the top federal marginal tax rate at that time was 50%. so i really don't think that was the main driver of recovery. >> what was the main driver? >> what happened in the 1980s, and we should go back to that, is they were able to return to what the economy was doing before the recession began. here, we're trying to get away from what we were doing before the recession began because it was rooted in a bubble. i think stephen and i both agree we've got to put a focus on growth. unless the economy's growing, we're not going to add jobs. >> austan, if there's no action in congress, if the political gridlock continues between now and november of next year, what happens to the u.s. economy? what happens to job growth in the united states? >> i mean, it will be less than it should be. and i'd say it also hinges on whether the europeans step up and deal with their problems. i mean, they got some very substantial financial problems over there, which are having a negative impact on our economy. i hope that we can find some whatever the bipartisan things we can do to get the economy growing, let's do those because it's bumpy here, but outside the u.s., people are strapping on their parachutes. >> steve? >> the big problem with the economy now is we're supposed to be in an expansion and we're growing at only 1 or 2%. we need to ramp up growth more quickly than it is growing now. look, i don't have any confidence that that jobs bill would create many jobs cht looks to me like it's just stimulus, too. if we don't see a big pick up in jobs over the next six months, you're talking about a president going into re-election in the fall with an unemployment rate of 8.5, 9%. it's hard to see how president obama's going to get re-elected with numbers like that. >> you want to have to final word, austan? >> look, i'm not the political expert, but i think everybody ought to be 100% for let's get the growth rate up and there are a number of bipartisan things we can do. let's do those things. >> i'm getting suspicious they won't be able to do much. >> maybe a payroll tax cut. >> if they do something, that would be good. this gridlock is pretty awful. thanks very much. fallout from the bin laden raid. why a pakistani doctor could face execution and why bin laden's three wives may go free. plus, a train derails, cars go up in flames. what it means for local resid t residents in illinois. the postal service is critical to our economy-- delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet they're closing thousands of offices, slashing service, and want to lay off over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains 5 billion a year from post-office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. congress created this problem, and congress can fix it. and what it doesn't cover can cost you some money. that's why you should consider an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. all medicare supplement insurance plans can help pay... some of what medicare doesn't, so you could save... thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses. call now for this free information kit and medicare guide. if you're turning 65 or you're already on medicare... you should know about this card -- it's the only one of its kind endorsed by aarp; see if it's right for you. all medicare supplement plans let you keep your own doctor, or hospital that accepts medicare. there are no networks and no referrals needed. help protect yourself from some of what medicare doesn't pay... and save up to thousands of dollars in potential... out-of-pocket expenses with an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. call this toll-free number on your screen now... for this free information kit, including this... medicare guide and customized rate quote. aspercreme breaks the grip, with maximum-strength medicine and no embarrassing odor. break the grip of pain with aspercreme. herman cain is speaking at the values voters summit here in washington. speaking about all sorts of social issues. speak speaking about abortion right now. let's listen briefly. >> dad went to pursue his american dream with the only kind of equity he had. sweat equity, and he was able to achieve his american dream. he and my mother and dad wanted to give us a little bit better start in life and they did. dad wanted to make sure that one day, he could buy a whole house for the family. you see, growing up in atlanta most of time, we lived in what my brother and i called a half a house. it was a six-room house with three rooms on one side. three rooms on the other side. we lived in half of it. my brother and i, being typical kids, said, dad, why do we live in half a house? dad said, it's a duplex. because we didn't know that dad was saving for his dream, which one day buy a whole house for the family and he did. dad knew that the pursuit of happiness meant working those three jobs. dad also knew that -- >> all right, you're listening to herman cain. he was talking earlier about abortion. his opposition to gay marriage, other social issues. he's speaking at the values, voter values summit in washington right now. earlier, and you saw it basically unfold here in "the situation room," one of the organizers told us, told the crowd there earlier that he could not support mitt romney because of his faith. because he's a mormon and he says not a christian, even though mormons believe in jesus christ, he believes it's a cult and says evangelical christians believe that the mormon religion is a cult. we're going to have much more on this part of the story coming up because it's exploding into a huge issue right now. romney being a front-runner for the republican presidential nomination and all of a sudden, a group of conservatives and republicans insisting they should not vote for romney because a, he's not a christian, b, he's in a cult and they should vote for real christians. stand by for more on this. also, this just coming in. the attorney general of the united states, eric holder, is furious over allegations that he misled congress. mary snow is monitoring that. what's going on here? >> house republicans have accused holder of not being truthful about when he first learned of a continroversial at gun running program and holder is furious. he's just sent an angry letter to key members of congress insisting his testimony was truthful and accurate and blasting irresponsible and rhetoric. we'll have more on this story in the next hour of "the situation room." walt disney says bob iger will step down in march 2015. the company's value has increased by more than a third under iger and annual revenue has reached $40 billion. no word on a successor. and a train derailment and fire has forced some 800 people to evacuate in north central illinois. about 115 miles west of chicago. they were going to let the fire burn out, but ethanol exploded. no injuries are reported. >> thank you. pakistani doctor wo tried to help the united states with the hunt for osama bin laden could soon be facing treason charges, possible hanging by the pakistani government. we're digging deeper into a very, very disturbing krcase. ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪ major political news breaking right now. over at the values voters summit i should say. the some of the organizers, evangelical christians insisting they could never vote for mitt romney because he's running against what they call real christians. mitt romney as you know is a mormon and they are suggesting that the mitt romney belongs to a cult. that he's not a real christian, even though mormons believe in jesus christ and believe they are christians. the governor of texas, rick perry, his spokesman issued a statement, telling our jim acosta the governor, meaning governor perry, does not believe mormonism is a cult. let's discuss with two of our strategists. james carville, tony blackly. let me let you weigh in first. this is a huge uproar. it wasn't discussed much over these many weeks and months. the fact that mitt romney and jon huntsman are mormons, but all of a sudden, you're hearing complaints they're not real christians and that evangelical christians should not vote for them. >> we've always known this attitude exists amongst some evangelicals. it happened to orrin hatch when he was running briefly in the '90s. i think it was one of the reasons why romney has had, not the only reason, why he's not been able to get much about 25% in the primary process. just analytically, the most important statement that the reverend made, didn't catch his last name, was that in the general election, they could vote for him if other issues justified it, so these are votes that are not lost i think to romney should he become the nominee, but clearly, some are going to be lost to him in the primary. t"the washington post" poll showed some 20% of evangelical christians wouldn't vote for someone who they junled not to be of their faith. that's down from four years ago when it was at 40%. z >> the reverend robert jeffers, he's the one that spoke to our own jim acosta -- you're the son of the south. what do you make of this? >> first of all, the church of jesus christ, latter day saints, they believe in jesus christ. the point here is that people of that faith have served this country honorably for a long time without any influence from the church. udall is one of the great families of democratic parties, harry reid's a mormon, they tend to be more republican, but it's very important to note that they have a real tradition of service in very comp tant and honorable l service. i would hope that the reverend would reconsider his position, but it may be something that governor romney's going to have to address. i hope not. i think we got bigger problems than that, but it could be. >> how much anguish is this going to cause among republicans and conservatives? the fact that all of a sudden, this has come up as an issue? >> i think it's part of what has been known to be some concern that romney does not invigorate important elements. some because issues he's taken in the past. others because the view on religion. obviously shared james' view on the contributions the mormons have made and continue to make in american culture. this is part of the rich and unusual tapestry of american politics and goes back as you know, jack kennedy had the problem with being catholic in 1960. we work through these things, but it's complex. >> listen to the sound bite. then we'll discuss. play the clip where we heard the reverent robert jeffers telling jim akos that he could not support romney because he's not a christian. >> you said in strong, plain language what you think of mormonism. you described it as a cult and you said that if republican votes for mitt romney, they're giving some credibility to a cult. do you stand by that comment? >> absolutely. that's not some fanatical comment. that's been the historic position of evangelical christianity the southern baptist convention, which is the largest prod es tant denomination has labeled it as a cult. he's a good, moral man, but those of us who are born again followers of crist should prefer a competent christian to a competent nonchristian like mitt romney. >> we have to take a quick commercial break. much more on the breaking news. all of a sudden, some evangelical christians at this conference saying they cannot support the front-runner because he's a mormon, because he's not a christian, they say. belongs to a cult. more after this. we knew james carville that mitt romney is a mormon. wasn't an issue, all of a sudden, it's become an issue as a result of this conference unfolding in washington. how will it play out do you think as far as his chances of winning the republican nomination? >> what struck me, that gentleman is the pastor of the first baptist church in dallas. that is a very influential church. used to be a guy, chriswell, this guy in the evangelical world is not some rule, probably a serious guy, so i suspect this could mushroom into something. these conservatives, they don't like a -- he's little bit like a lot of democrats. no matter what he says, they just not going to sort of warm up to him and that seems to be what it is and you know, this sort of religious thing which i think is completely bogus, but might give him some parking spot to make him feel different about it. i don't know, but he's probably going to have to address this at some point. i hate that politics is like this. i personally find it not my cup of tea, but that's what's going to happen. >> quickly, what do you think, tony? is this going to be a major issue now that it's come out in the open? >> i think it's always been a factor and now, it's public and may move more votes. this is a fraction of a fraction within the republican primary. it's not all evangelical christians as "the washington post" poll showed. majority of conservative christians do not judge harshly or make the decision based on whether the candidate is a mormon or other form of protestant, but it is a factor. i think it will determine depending on who the romney's alternative candidate is going in when it comes down to the last two, how strong that one is will determine whether it's critical. i think romney is probably safe, but it's going to be a challenge. >> thanks very much. also, jobs and wall street. protests, unemployment concerns are bringing out unlikely activists. we'll meet some of them. [ boy ] hey, i thought these were electric? uh, it is, yeah, it's a chevy volt. so what are you doing at a gas station? well it still takes gas to go farther. but you're not getting gas. true. not this time. uh, don't have to gas up very often. so you have to go to the bathroom? no. yes you do. thought these were electric? yes, it's a uh, a chevy volt. so what are you doing at a gas station? [ boy ] hey, i thought these were electric? uh, it is, yeah, it's a chevy volt. so what are you doing at a gas station? well it still takes gas to go farther. but you're not getting gas. true. not this time. uh, don't have to gas up very often. so you have to go to the bathroom? no. yes you do. thought these were electric? yes, it's a uh, a chevy volt. so what are you doing at a gas station? let's listen a little bit to the republican presidential candidate, herman cain, at the values voters summit. >> because we have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and because it is our right and our responsibility to do some altering on abolishing, we will be able to push that shining city on the hill back to the top of the hill. ronald reagan, the giper, reminds us just how fragile this thing called freedom and this thing called liberty really is. when he said, freedom is never more than a generation away from extinction. you can't pass it on in the bloodstream. it must be thought for. and protected. of one day, we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our grandchildren what the united states of america used to be like when men were free. i'm not going to have that conversation with my grand kids. and i don't believe you want to have that conversation with your grand kids. help me put united back into the united states of america and let's retake the hill! the shining city on the hill! the united states of america! you're in "the situation room." happening now, the attorney general of the united states, eric holder, he's furious. this hour, his red hot reaction to a republican charge that he may have misled congress about a program. also, a values test for the new rising star of the presidential field and his rivals. we're taking a hard like at herman cain's appeal and whether his come from behind campaign is viable and president obama gears up for a senate showdown over the jobs bill. and reads the bill with a cautious eye. i'll ask gene sperling if the president is fighting a losing battle. breaking news and political headlines straight ahead. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com all that coming up, but let's get to the breaking news. a stunning, stunning remark about republican presidential candidate and front-runner, mitt romney, and his mormon faith. it happened just a little while ago at a gathering of social conservatives. meeting in washington. a baptist pastor from dallas, texas, declaring that evangelicals will not support mitt romney because of his religion. jim acosta is at the values voters sum. we saw that live in "the situation room." wow, this is causing a huge youp roar already. >> absolutely. he first made the comments after he introduced governor perry at this value voters summit. he didn't make it in his introductory remarks, but after he came out of the ballroom and talked to reporters after the speech, he told reporters that he believes that mormanism is a cult and we interviewed him to press him on this and whether or not evan vel cal voters will vote or not for romney because his religion. >> the southern baptist convention, the largest protestant denomination in the world has officially labeled mormanism as a cult. i think romney is a good, moral man, but those of us who are born again fol lores of christ, should always prefer a competent christian to a competent nonchristian. >> what do you say to those voters who say that religion shouldn't be an issue in this campaign? he's just as american as everybody else. >> i agree he's just as american and article 6 of the constitution -- >> and mormons do say they are christians. >> a lot of people say they're christians and they're not, but they do not embrace historical christianity. and i again believe that as christians, we have the duty to prefer and select christians as our leaders. that's what john jay said and again, i think when we've got a choice, between a rick perry and a mitt romney, i believe evangelicals need to go with rick perry. >> and i asked dr. robert jeffers from the first baptist church of dallas, whether or not the perry campaign asked him to give those remarks or whether or not it was the event organizers. dr. jeffers says no, it was the event organizers who asked him to speak at this event, so he denied there was any kind of collusion that was going on between himself and the perry campaign. wolf, i had a chance to ask the perry campaign or e-mail the spokesman about this. whether or not governor perry shares these views and minor says no. governor perry does not believe that mormanism is a cult, but as you said, this caused a huge uproar. it was what a lot of people are talking about and it comes as romney is going to be speaking at this event tomorrow. tomorrow morning, he's going to be giving what will be a very high pro file speech. this is the segment of the republican party that had a problem with this campaign in 2008. he gave that big speech at texas a and m to put this issue to rest. >> other conference organizers have distanced themselves from the reverend's remarks, accusing mormanism of being a cult. >> i talked to tony perkins, the head of family research council. the group hosting this event. he said that look, governor romney's religion is really not an issue in this campaign. he said that what he thinks evangelical voters will be focusing on is the economy, immigration, issues such as abortion. those conservative social issues that they tend to look at in presidential elections. that's what he says evangelical voters will be looking at, but it remains to be scene. as you heard dr. jeffers say in that interview, he believes that there are some evangelical christians who are going to go into that voting booth and vote for governor romney because of his religion. those are his words and he stated them publicly today. >> have you received any reaction yet from the romney campaign from these comments? >> i have not. i reached out to them. haven't heard back yet, but i would imagine they are going to say what they've said about governor romney's faith in the past in the 2008 campaign, that his faith really shouldn't be about his faith. it should be about issues like getting the economy going again. that's where governor romney likes to spend his time talking. >> mormons insist they are christians. they deny any notion of belonging to a cult. when you get reaction from the romney campaign, from some of the other campaigns, let us know. we're going to stay on top of this story, jim acosta breaking the news. meanwhile, we've heard some hard sell appeals at this summit, the texas governor, rick perry, looking for a rebound after sliding in the polls. he did get a strong reception today and blasted the cultures message of self-indulgence over social obligations. >> is not government or individual freedom. it is the family. and the demise of the family. is demise of any great society. >> herman cain began his pitch to social conservatives a little while ago. he took note of the attention he's getting now he's considered a top tier contender. >> just to set the record straight, you know, when you run for president and you move into the top tier -- i'm just saying. you get this bull down on your back. and people take pot shots left and right. but i don't want you to be unclear about where i stand on certain things. and you won't be confused by some of the garbage that people are going to throw out there because they are little bit afraid that this long shot may not be a long shot any longer. >> until recently, herman cain had been more of an asterisk in the republican race, but now, he's pulling in double digits from some and he's getting lots of attention. joe johns is joining us with more on herman cain and his sudden surge in the republican race for the white house. joe, what are you finding out? >> the current rise of herman cain is surprising and if you look at some of the polls, you might come to the conclusion he's picked up support at the same time, rick perry has seen support slip away. that said, what we're seeing with this candidate is an unorthodox approach. >> ladies and gentlemen, the republic candidates for president of the united states. >> nipping at the heels of romney, herman cain is sampling the unconventional again. fuelling critics who say he's more self-promoter than serious candidate. he says he's multitasking. >> this book tour helps to get my name out there, but don't think i'm not going to be doing campaigning in the middle of this book tour, so this is a great tool that helps me to get my name out. >> a guy running for president who did something other than run for office all his life. >> i am a business man of 40 years. so that makes me a problem solver because of the things that i have done in my career. >> you've probably heard his resume by now. former ceo of god father's pizza. headed the bank of kansas city, grandfather, cancer survivor. >> when i found out that i had a 30% chance of survival from stage 4 cancer and i was able to win against it, that was the biggest aha moment of my life. >> cain is plain talk although it gets him into trouble. he once said communities can ban trouble because islam is different than other religions. what's gotten him respect lately, his 999 plan. a flat rate on net business profits and a national sales tax at 9%. some experts say it might work. like kevin haset of the american institute. >> the plan gets better and better the more you look at it. very politically sophisticated. >> but skeptics like "the wall street journal" don't trust it. they say national sales taxes abroad ballooned out of control. even haset needs to know more. >> it's likely there will be some analysis of people who lose if we switch to this plan so their taxes go up a lot. >> people don't believe he's for real. >> i love herman to death. he ain't going to win the nomination. >> at this stage, who knows? a lot of people said the same thing about barack obama. for voters starting to pay more attention to cain, is fact is he is the only african-american candidate in the race for the nomination and it poses a bunch of potential questions, especially since he's running in an environment where the first african-american president is the guy republicans are trying to beat. >> thanks very much. remember, the republican race is getting more exciting just in time for our next debate. join cnn for the rest debate in las vegas. it airs live tuesday night, october 18th, 8:00 p.m. eastern. meanwhile, another breaking story we're following. the attorney general of the united states, eric holder, says he can't sit idly by while government employees are accused of being accessories to murder. very strong, very harsh respond by holder to a republican-led investigation of the fast and furious gun running program. brian todd is here. he has new details. what's the latest chapter in this story? >> holder's been blistered over the program. republicans in congress really turning up the pressure on him this week as well. as you mentioned, he is furious with this. this is the gis of a letter he wrote to house and senate investigating the program. quote, i simply cannot sit idly by as a majority member of the house committee on oversight and government reform suggested has happened this week that law enforcement and government employees devote their lives to protecting our citizens be considered accessories to murder. such inflammatory rhetoric must be reputeuated. those who serve in law enforcement deserve our nation's thanks, not the disrespect that is been heaped on them by those who seek political advantage. we know who he's referring to. this is referring to a comment by a republican congressman on the house oversight committee. republican of arizona, who told the daily caller this week, this is a quote, we're talking about consequences of criminal activity where we actually al w allowed guns to walk into the hands of criminals. when you facilitate that and a murder occurs, you're called an accessory, that means there's criminal activity. that's what congressman gosar said. i talked to his aide a few minutes ago. the aide said he was not talking about the agents involved. he said he was meaning in the real world when something like this happens. they're trying to clarify that, but the back and forth between holder and these republicans in congress is really intensifying now. as you know, republicans in congress are calling for a special council to investigate what the attorney general knew about fast and furious and when he knew it. that stems from this may testimony where he said well, i only heard about this in the last few weeks. there are memos that have been leaked to the press that indicate they were references to the fast and furious program. he and his team have said they do not know the exact tactics and details, but only found out about it this year. this is a real mess and now, it's getting more intense. >> thanks very much. better than expected isn't exactly what the white house was looking for as the jobs report could have moved the needle for the unemployment rate apparently we now know it did not and the administration responds. hillary clinton has a big decision to make over a controversial pipeline project. could lobbying from people with connections to her and president obama, could that cloud her judgment? we have new information on this story as well. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." t my back pain. then i tried salonpas. it's powerful relief that works at the site of pain and lasts up to 12 hours. salonpas. 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number on your screen now... for this free information kit, including this... medicare guide and customized rate quote. aspercreme breaks the grip, with maximum-strength medicine and no embarrassing odor. break the grip of pain with aspercreme. fuel for the campaign debate over jobs. the government reports hiring was stronger than expected last month with 103,000 jobs added. july and august figures were revised to show an additional gain of 99,000 over the summer, but the overall rate did not improve. the obama white house isn't jumping up and down about today's jobs report. with the director joining us, gene sperling. your immediate reaction when you heard 103,000 jobs created although the unemployment number, the rate at 9.1% not changed. what was it? >> when i looked at the numbers, the fact there was 137,000 private sector jobs created was significantly better than projected, but i also thought and i think the president, i know felt that it was small comfort because this isn't even in the ballpark of job growth that is strong enough to make a major difference in unemployment and to start bringing the long-term unemployed back to work and that's why he's made us his center piece this fall. his economic center piece, passing an american jobs act which as you know, top independent forecasters had suggested could lead to up to 1.9 million more jobs next year. up to 2% more growth next year. and it's why we've said to those who opposed this plan if you oppose the american jobs act, then it's imperative for you to put forward a plan that the same top forecasters would estimate would create as many jobs or make the case to the american people that you think the economy is good enough. that it's okay to have growth projected to be this way and to do nothing. we do not believe doing nothing is an option. that's why we're pushing to pass the american jobs act. >> but you know and i think you agree that raising taxes, even on millionaires, is a poisoned bill as far as the republicans are concerned. almost all of them in the house and senate and the president now says he wants a 5.6% surtax on people earning more than a million dollars a year to pay for this jobs bill. that's not going anywhere, is it? >> well, the president is pushing the american jobs act. again, a plan that has overwhelmingly bipartisan support across the country. democrats and republicans support the idea of preventing teacher layoffs, of getting more construction workers back to work rebuilding our schools and bridges. a significant tax cut for small businesses, cutting their payroll tax cuts in half for 98% of small businesses around this country. this has overwhelming support. b what the president said was we need to also do this in a way that doesn't increase the long-term deficit. we've put forward a plan. the senate democrats put forward another plan that the president would accept, but the real issue is passing the american jobs act. >> i understand that -- >> we cannot afford to risk a small risk. if republicans have another strategy for helping to create up to 1.9 million more jobs next year as moody's projects, then let's hear it from them. rhett's hear that. >> they have some other ideas -- >> wolf, this is very important. they do not have other ideas. >> they say get rid of all the regulations. that will create jobs. that's an idea. >> here's my challenge to them. do they have ideas that top independent forecasters would estimate as creating jobs next year? look, a lot of what they want to do the passing the free trade agreements patent reform, we support those, but nobody, no one suggests that's going to help this recovery take hold that that's going to create jobs next year and as long as they're simply in a position of opposition, they are engaging in dramatic and unforgivable risk taking with the american economy. >> fair enough, but let me read to you what some of the republicans, it's endorsed by the chamber of commerce for the united states. here's from the tom donahue, president, ceo of chamber of comers -- donahue says that would create a lot of jobs cht republicans agree. that's their counter proposal to you. >> number one, this president absolutely agrees that we can do better. this country can do better on regulatory reform and he has cut regulations and has regulatory reform. but whether you support doing more of that or not, it is simply just a political statement to suggest that serious economists believe that that is a plan to inject greater demand into our economy to get job growth growing. this is not a time for political statements. i know that every single year fore ever, the chamber of commerce would like to have less regular laces. but this is serious, wolf. people are projecting that we will only grow at 1.8% next year. this is a time for serious people to put forward serious plans that independent economists who don't have a political stake in the outcome will suggest could increase growth by 1 to 2% or jobs by 1 to 2 million jobs. as the president said, why should we even take a small risk? any risk of having a double dip recession when the economy is already suffering so many head winds. so, we can have good debates about what we should do on regulatory reform. what should not be a debate is that we need a strong american jobs act. >> thanks very much. good luck. >> thank you, wolf. >> lot of people are counting on you guys to get something done with the republican leadership in congress. we'll see if this gridlock goes away. meanwhile, if occupy wall street movement the making ground. calling it quote a mob. that's not all he's saying. stand by. and a plan to create thousands of jobs is smaparking lots of outrage from texas to canada. much more on this part of the story coming up. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. want to update you on the breaking news we've been following. an uproar at the values voters summit in washington. evangelical christians including one leader today suggesting they could not vote for the republican presidential front-runner, mitt romney, because he's a mormon. they say he's not a real christian. they say mormanism is a cult and that's causing a huge, huge uproar. the pastor who introduced rick perry went on to say that to our own jim acosta. the pastor, robert jeffers of dallas, texas. governor romney's spokesman, perry's issued a statement saying governor perry does not believe mormonism is a cult. we just got a statement in from the church of jesus christ saying this -- that statement coming to us from a spokesman for the mormon church. we're staying on top of this story. much more coming up on this story later, but it's causing a huge, huge political uproar here in washington and indeed across the country right now. meanwhile, other political news we're watching including some occupy wall street news as it's called. the protests today in a number of major cities. the movement now three weeks old and growing. the political sparring over the protest is escalating as well. today, eric cantor called the demonstrators a mob and suggested they may have been egged on by the obama administration. that did not sit well with the white house. listen to this. >> if you read the newspapers today, i for one am increasingly concerned about the growing mobs occupying wall street and the other cities across the country. and believe it or not, some in this town have actually condoned the pitting of americans against americans. >> i sense a little hypocrisy unbound here because i think that what we're seeing on the streets of new york is an expression of democracy. and what -- which i think i remember mr. cantor is how mr. cantor described protests by the tea party. and i don't understand why you know, one man's mob is another man's democracy. i think both are expressions that are totally consistent with the american democratic tradition. >> we want to just point out, we did some checking to see what eric cantor actually said. this quote in 2009, referring to the tea party's rise and i'll put it up on the screen -- that statement from eric cantor back in 2009. and as this occupy wall street movement takes off, we're also taking a closer look at people behind it. our mary snow talked with protesters in new york today. >> in the three weeks this protest has been taking place, most of the people camping out in lower manhattan have been young people, but today, we found some grandparents showing up for the very first time and it's their concern about jobs that's bringing them there. as protesters mark day 21 of their occupy wall street movement, 73-year-old ala harris decided it's time she join them. the retired grandmother says she's frustrated for seeing jobs shift overseas. >> i'm worried about my son, my grandchildren. my neighbors. i just worry about decent people who want to work and can't get a job. >> that worry also brought jim wortimer to the park for the first time. >> i'm retired, get social security, get a pension and you know, maybe when they get to be my age, they'll have the same thing, but the way it looks now, they may not even have a job. >> while there's no singular message among this group, 43-year-old buddy bolten says the lack of jobs prompted him to come here and spend the night. he says he lost his creative design job a year ago and spent his savings on surgery. >> my situation is so bad that i felt like i wanted to be among other people with the same thing. i came to support and help get the message out that this is a shame on america. >> 86-year-old harvey, a world war ii veteran, is also a newcomer. he is a long time union member and lobbyist. >> i get kind of emotional because i spent my whole life fighting these forces and it's like a ten-headed snake. you cut one head off and another one grows back. they're insidious, totally. >> you say they. >> the wall street crowd. the bankers. >> by midday, some still remained in their sleeping bags. the curious looked in from the outside. more unions are showing support, but some union workers are skeptical like rob chester. >> they're unorganized. i don't know what point they're trying to make. they need to march on washington. i don't know what they're doing here. >> some of the older people we spoke with disagree. they say they should remain in new york and they say they do plan on returning to these protests. they say they hope to contribute in some way. >> thanks very much. more on this story coming up. meanwhile, secretary of state hillary clinton is under fire from propents of an oil pipeline stretching from canada to it can. environmentalists are accusing the company behind the project of behind the scenes maneuvering at the state department in order to get approval. jill daugherty has the story. >> reporter: the promise of new oil. >> trans canada will begin to put 20,000 americans to work right away. >> reporter: and the environmentalists who fear it. >> no, no to this pipeline. no to death. no! no! no! no! >> reporter: if it's built, the keystone xl pipeline would stretch 1700 miles bringing crude oil from canada to the texas gulf coast. the proposal has ignited a celebrity fueled fire storm. the final decision since the pipeline would cross an international border is in the hands of secretary of state hillary clinton. >> we are leaving no stone unturned in this process. >> this is the last of nine public hearings that the state department has been holding across the country in what it claims is a fair and trans parent process. the state department is working with eight other federal agencies, holing hundreds of meetings with industry representatives, but opponents charge the process is corrupt. the chief lobbyist for the pipeline served on clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. they cite e-mails between the lobbyists and a staff member at the u.s. embassy in ottawa featuring smiley faces. the state department says that officer had very friendly relations with environmental groups as well. >> we do not believe that there is any issue here with regard to affecting in an inappropriate manner the skigs z igss the secretary needs to make. >> reporter: the pipeline says one expert could be a new source of oil from a friendly neighbor, not volatile middle east. >> in theory, one pipeline alone would be able to bring in something like 1.1 million barrels of oil a day. we use about 19 million barrels. this is actually a reduction of about 9%, so again, not trivial. >> reporter: but the debate rages on. >> you can take a pile of horse manure and you can sprinkle flower seeds on it and you can call it a rose garden, but it doesn't change what it really is. >> for the men and women of our union, the keystone xl isn't just a pipeline. it's a lifeline. >> now, the state department says that no final decision has been made yet, but it's wrapping up these public meetings this week and that secretary clinton is expected to make her final determination around the end of the year. >> thank you. ten years after the start of the war in afghanistan, a damming evaluation in that war zone. stand by. 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 country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self contained well systems and using state of the art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment we are america's natural gas. and what it doesn't cover can cost you some money. that's why you should consider an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. all medicare supplement insurance plans can help pay... some of what medicare doesn't, so you could save... thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses. call now for this free information kit and medicare guide. if you're turning 65 or you're already on medicare... you should know about this card -- it's the only one of its kind endorsed by aarp; see if it's right for you. all medicare supplement plans let you keep your own doctor, or hospital that accepts medicare. there are no networks and no referrals needed. help protect yourself from some of what medicare doesn't pay... and save up to thousands of dollars in potential... out-of-pocket expenses with an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. call this toll-free number on your screen now... for this free information kit, including this... medicare guide and customized rate quote. mary snow is -- some of the other stories. including the calendar that's creeping closer and closer. >> we could soon see a repeat of the 2008 nomination fight. iowa's republican party is close to naming january 3rd as the date of its presidential caucus. that would be followed by new hampshire's first in the nation primary. nevada, south carolina and florida would follow by the end of the month with the cnn debate coming two days before the south carolina primary. prince harry hopes to prove he has the right stuff. the third in line to the british throne arrived in california for the final phase of training. prince harry's instructors say he has a flare for flying. if he passes, he will be considered limited combat ready. that means with four to six months more of training, he could be deployed in afghanistan. and thieves in pennsylvania have really outdone themselves this time. they made off with a 50-foot bridge presumably to sell it for scrap metal. authorities say the bridge is valued at around $100,000. it was located in a remote wooded area north of pittsburgh. the company that owns the bridge recently closed off access to it because of copper thefts in the area. and apple founder steve jobs is being laid to rest today. "the wall street journal" reports that his funeral will be a small family affair. apple says there won't be a public memorial for jobs, but a website will be created to allow fans to offer their online condolences and tributes. jobs died wednesday in california after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. wolf? >> thanks very much. pakistani doctor could be put to death for allegedly helping the cia track down osama bin laden. we're taking a closer look at the treez tn charges that the pakistani government have now levelled against him. ♪ [ cellphone rings ] cut! [ monica ] i have a small part in a big movie. i thought we'd be on location for 3 days, it's been 3 weeks. so, i used my citi simplicity card to pick up a few things. and i don't have to worry about a late fee. which is good... no! bigger! bigger! [ monica ] ...because i don't think we're going anywhere for a while. [ male announcer ] write your story with the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. get started at citisimplicity.com. mitt romney is promising he won't surrender america's role in the world if elected president. he gave a major foreign policy speech today in south carolina. exactly ten year offense the start of the war in afghanistan. romney accused president obama of failing to provide strong, global leadership during dangerous times. >> i'm here today to tell you that i'm guided by one overwhelming conviction and passion. this century must be an american century. >> today, president obama saluting more than half a million u.s. servicemen and women who have served in america's longest war. over the past decade, the conflict has cost 1,690 american lives in afghanistan, hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars. general stanley mcchrystal says the u.s. went into the war without understanding the region. >> we didn't know enough and still don't know enough. most of us, me included, had a very superficial understanding of the situation in u.s. history and a frightingly simplistic view of cent history. >> u.s. troops have done more than one tour of duty. sometimes, the stress is more than they can handle. >> reporter: it began when they landed in bag ram. ten years of jet fuel, faith and now, fatigue. here, you can see what it takes to carry on through this decade's wars. lieutenant colonel eric albertson is champiplain to thousands. >> number of our soldiers on their third, fourth, some cases, fifth tour, there is a fatigue factor. emotionally drained, physically tired. we've had instances where soldiers have taken their own lives here. that's tragic. we've had about six or seven since i've been here. when someone takes their own life, there's almost a sense of you know, you've reached out to me for everything else, why didn't you reach out to me thr this. >> the ripples of a suicide reach far. she is in this war so her three sons won't be. her three tours marred by a recent loss of a friend in iraq. >> it was actually, she overdosed. and like, she was younger than me, so i didn't -- i thought she had a lot to live for. i don't know why it happened. i wasn't necessarily talking with her frequently at that time, but it hurt me a lot and how? because i knew her. i knew what some of her dreams were and now, she didn't get to live those dreams. it's like it ended. >> this was a dirt road a decade ago. now, it's home to one in nine of america's troops in afghanistan. when the americans landed here ten years ago, it was on this russian made runway and now, they've been here nearly a year long er than the soviets. the cost to the soviets, huge. the cost to america, still unknown, although signs of sadness and change are everywhere. the prison here now gone. it's afghan prisoners elsewhere. soon, troops will leave for good, but will carry away with them the scars of here and iraq. >> what i do every year is i call the family, either the spouse of the parents of the individual that had been associated with me that was lost in combat. and then i also call a very close friend of mine that was severely injured on the day that that occurred. like you said, i make three calls a year. actually, four. sorry, four calls a year, to family members. i wouldn't say it makes me feel good or bad. i just think it's something that i need to do. >> the closing stages of a war longer than anything america's ever coped with before. >> hard to believe the u.s. has been in this war now for ten years exactly. i covered the start of the war ten years ago today. if somebody who you have said to me then, the u.s. would still have 100,000 troops fighting in afghanistan, ten years later, i wouldn't have believed it at all. no american service member has died in the raid that led to the assassination of osama bin laden, but one pakistani man could pay for his life for the mission that killed tried to help the united states track down osama bin laden and now a pakistani doctor may pay for it with his life. cnn's brian todd is working the story. >> reporter: an ingenious plan to confirm bin laden had been tracked down to a hideout, now a pakistani doctor could hang for allegedly helping the americans. a pakistani commission recommended bringing charges of high treason against dr. afradi, accused of helping u.s. intelligence with a vaccination program to try to get dna samples to see if bin laden or his family lived in the compound the whole thing didn't work, they were never able to get access to the compound, didn't get the dna but instead of the president going in with i 50%, if they had the dna they would have gone in with 100%. >> reporter: a pack skistani official could not say whether they'll put the doctor on trial. peter bergen says if they do the pakistanis may have a case. he compares it to a well-known spying case in the u.s. in 1980s. >> pollard was try for spying for the countries intelligence service, israel, why should pakistan treat its citizens any different than the way we treat americans who spy for friendly countries. a source tells cnn u.s. officials spoken to the pakistani counterparts to get the doctor released. i asked robin wright and u.s. officials said nothing about the matter. maybe revealing detail of the operation? >> the united states done want to oto implicate him. >> reporter: pakistan is likely to free other key figures in the story. the three wives of bin laden, take noon custody by the pakistanis after the raid. pakistan has decided they're free to go back to their home countries and contacts saudi arabia and yemen to make arrangements. >> saudi arabia, the wives will not be a major issue. saudi women are hidden from view in most cases anyway. and these are observant women not looking for attention. >> robin wright says, bin laden's wife from yemen may be treated differently there, may get more attention, because she was wounded during the raid. >> do they want the women back. >> we asked that. a diplomat tells thrust are no retrickses to the return of any yemeni citizens it looks like the yemeni wife will be welcomed back. no word from the saudi officials whether they'll take the other two wives back. >> championship teams visiting the white house, a long tradition. the team was supposed to meet with president reagan. they finally made it, only 25 years later. it doesn't cover everything. and what it doesn't cover can cost you some money. that's why you should consider an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. all medicare supplement insurance plans can help pay... some of what medicare doesn't, so you could save... thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses. call now for this free information kit and medicare guide. if you're turning 65 or you're already on medicare... you should know about this card -- it's the only one of its kind endorsed by aarp; see if it's right for you. all medicare supplement plans let you keep your own doctor, or hospital that accepts medicare. there are no networks and no referrals needed. help protect yourself from some of what medicare doesn't pay... and save up to thousands of dollars in potential... out-of-pocket expenses with an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. call this toll-free number on your screen now... for this free information kit, including this... medicare guide and customized rate quote. president obama welcomed the chicago bears championship team to the white house today. they won the title 25 years ago but weren't able to visit the white house because the space shutt shuttle chg c shuttle chl chl exploded days after the victory. >> the greatest team in history, 1985 chicago bears. now, i know that may get me into some trouble in some cities that i visit. but i believe it is the truth. cynics might say i'm only hosting the '85 bears today because the green bay packers were here a couple months ago and i was not going to be outdone. but as it turns out, after this team won the super bowl, it never had a chance to celebrate here in the white house. they were suggesting that i should dance the super bowl shuffle. can't do it. but i do remember, and in chicago you could not get away from the song even you wanted to, i think it's safe to say that this is the only team in nfl history with a gold record and a grammy nomination. >> 1985 chicago bears, we consider him one of us. a great group of guys. we're very proud you honored us. only 26 years after the fact, and a fine administration, but thank you.