flaring and deadly political upheaval. we re learning more about who these young men are and why their families are so frightened. i m wolf blitzer ayou re in th situation room. we re coming to you from washington s historic constitution hall, the scene of tonight s cnn republican presidential debate in which we ll focus on national security and foreign policy. in just under four hours, the candidates will walk on stage. it s been ten days since their last face-off an in that time, there have been some dramatic changes in the race. newt gingrich is now at the front of the pack according to our new poll. in this statistical dead heat with mitt romney. and while his new top tier status puts gingrich in the spotlight, romney is always getting a lot of attention for his first television campaign commercial. an ad that s misleading at best. democrats are calling it quote, dishonest. and deceitful. cnn s joe johns is working the story for us. what is this all about? this is a
president mr. obama, quote, found it necessary to be more sympathetic to the kinds of things we, the bush administration, did, unquote. so how about cheney s prediction that president obama won t get a second term? there s a new poll out that shows president obama s approval rating is up five points since december and that more americans think he is a strong leader who can handle a crisis. cnn opinion research corporation poll puts mr. obama s approval at 53% and what might be most significant here is that the increase comes from the ever important independent voters. also, president obama s rating of the start of his third year, six points higher than bill clinton s was, 16 points higher than ronald reagan s was. so here s the question. dick cheney says president obama will be a one-term president. is he right? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile. post a comment on my blog. jack, thanks very, very much. the tucson shooting put politics as usual on hold, at
sheriff good luck to you. sheriff clarence dupnik the sheriff of pima county. one top bush administration official is back in the spotlight and jack cafferty has that. jack? in his first interview since heart surgery last summer former vice president dick cheney says he thinks president obama will be a one-term president. cheney told nbc news that mr. obama chose a course of action that didn t have as much support as he thought it did. cheney points to a lack of job creation, deficit spending and big government programs, including health care reform. cheney also suggests president obama has taken some lessons from the bush administration. cheney says the president has learned from experience that some of his predecessor s decisions concerning terrorism were necessary, things like not being able to close the guantanamo bay terrorist prison camp. also, cheney cites the obama administration s expanded use of drones in pakistan. he believes now that he s
united states. and if you bear any faith, you may worship freely here in the united states unless you re a muslim. in our fourth story, the ratcheting up of us versus them and the politics of fear. first lady michelle obama s recent trip to spain with daughter sasha first. the mostly right wing criticism now shrill enough that even former bush white house press secretary dana perino has stepped in to defend mrs. obama. and there is rush limbaugh who says the media does not criticize the trip because of our country s slave past. the media thinks the first lady deserves the vacation. he not only pointlessly injecting race into the issue but losing sight of what could be the only valid criticism that could look tone deaf. the first lady to vacation in spain in the middle of hard economic time at home. this footnote. then first lady laura bush went on safari in africa in 2007 with her two daughters. other parts of the trip were deemed official visits but that was vacation. guess who paid f
hook, line, sinker. done. if you were born here in the united states, you had better not vacation in another country, particularly if you are the first lady and you did not hire your own secret service for the trip. if you were born here to parents who were illegal immigrants the suggestion is even more sweeping. that you should not be considered a citizen of the united states. and if you bear any faith, you may worship freely here in the united states unless you re a muslim. sooishlgt muslim. in our fourth story, the ratcheting up of us versus them and the politics of fear. first lady michelle obama s recent trip to spain with daughter sasha first. the mostly right wing criticism now shrill enough that even former bush white house press secretary dana perino has