i m don lemon live in tampa, florida, for monday night s cnn gop tea party debate. a preview ahead but we start first with the 10th anniversary of 9/11. it s been a long day of deep emotions and quiet memories. america pauses to remember the attacks of 9/11 exactly ten years ago. the site of the 9/11 memorial opened today. fountains occupy the space where the twin towers once stood. cnn s poppy harlow has been there. i want to foe what the reaction is now that the memorial is open. is there some degree of comfort? reporter: i think there is, don, from all the people that i talk to today, those that lost their children, those that lost fathers, brothers, mothers, aunts and uncles. for a lot of them this was cathartic in a sense and this was closure and also rebirth for some of them. it was the first time this morning they were able to walk into the gates, the memorial with each and every one of the names of those who lost their life at 9/11 at the twin towers etched in stone
a quick handshake, good luck, as you would say, be strong. it s a very important night, a consequential night for the country. let s show you that live picture inside the haul. eight republicans for president engaging in this debate. in recent days, a crackling debate about the 2012 presidential campaign. not only, and you ll hear it all night long, taking aim at president obama and his agenda, but we have playing out a fierce and an increasingly intense battle for the leadership, the heart and soul, the policy agenda and the philosophical approach of the republican party. watch these eight candidates tonight. we know the texas governor rick perry has emerged quickly as the front-runner. the massachusetts governor, the former governor of massachusetts, mitt romney, his lead challenger, number two. and then there s a break between the other candidates. if there is one other candidate who perhaps has the most to prove tonight, it is the minnesota congresswoman, michele bachmann
today. here in south carolina, a handful of republican presidential candidates took part in a forum organized by the conservative and tea party power broker senator jim demint. what are the programs at the federal level that we need to get out of the federal government? well, that s a difficult question because that s a long list. i d rather you give me the list of one of the things we should keep. president obama was also on the road this labor day in detroit for what the white house billed as an official policy event. thank you, everybody. thank you. thank you. thank you. but those chants of four more years and the appearance with major players from organized labor left doubt the focus was on the troubled economic climate that puts the president s re-election hopes in serious jeopardy. now is not the time for the people you sent to washington to worry about their jobs. now is the time for them to worry about your jobs. action in new hampshire too, where the fo
sales of existing homes dropped. and manufacturers had been expecting a modest increase. and inflation on consumer goods was up. add in collapsing consumer confidence and you get sober advice like this 2012 could be a very difficult year. i m on the camp that we have more chance of being in recession than avoiding it. so, they should be conservative right now. their confidence should be down because there s every reason out there that they shouldn t feel confident. getting us started tonight our chief business correspondent ali velshi takes us behind the numbers. john, when you have days like this, it s hard to get a sense to pull back and take a further view, so i wanted to do that and pull back and take a look at the dow which is, you know, what a lot of people s 401(k)s look like, wanted to take it from the beginning of the year. 11,500 on the dow, went up to 12,500,000 and back down in june and july went back up. middle of july you would have thought everything wa
memorial day. on this national holiday, a heavy rush of politics. sarah palin s mystery tour rolled into town. we don t know when she will appear because her aides will not tell us. her stops included ft. mchenry and she s being cagey on the subject of whether it s a rolling civic lesson or a 2012 campaign. i believe there are many more people out there to add. competition breeds success. i would hope that there is going to be debate. also this day, president obama leads the traditional wreath laying at arlington national cemetery and announces a major change in his national security team. with america fighting three wars, we ll explain whether the new war council signals a new approach. i m announcing my choice for the successors today because it transition must be seamless and we stay focused on the security challenges before us. but, first up, like it or not, she s back. sarah palin is on a bus tour that mixes landmarks of america s past and battlegrounds of her po