administration officials like jeff neely. is it effective, bill? we have to distinguish between the political and legal. in a legal case taking the fifth doesn t mean you are guilty. when you are president you get blamed for things that aren t necessarily your fault. i was in the white house when katrina hit. that was something bush got after and for even though many of the decisions were at the state and local level. president obama is harmed because he represents the part why it of government and these stories lend credence to the idea that government is too big and out of control. it s not a narrative that benefits him. megyn: how does it affect the spending debate we are having in this country, and who we want to entrust with our taxpayer dollars. president obama has been arguing we need to hike taxes on the rich and the government can be
and over a trillion dollar budget. the fact that they can t get their act together, the democrats to put a chill on a budget. i think the american people are going to reject that. okay, all right. athey stay there won t be the cuts the republican wanted in the house. how are democrats planning to pay for it then? well, you know, i want to know how bush paid for it when katrina hit. it s always bush, come on, get off the bush thing, bush is gone. and back then, back then, republicans had heart. chris, let s talk about the here and now. and saying, hey, hold on, brad, you had a chance to rhetoricalize whatever you did just now. tell the truth. in the white house, you passed a bill that gave aid. he didn t worry where it would come from you worried about that during the budget process. there s a super committee that s going to fix the deficit and i know the goons
but if american citizens suffer a tornado or earthquake or a forest fire, we need to be there for them just like we would for anyone else. and as a beneficiary of the goodwill of this country, when katrina hit, and rocked our world down here, i just think it s wrong for me not to stand up and say, we you all helped us when we needed it and we should be there to help other americans. and if it takes republicans and democrats agreeing, you know and i know, that s not going to happen in a quick manner to help the people when they need it. and we re really seeing the country right now fight with finances. yes. and have we gotten to the point where we ll do anything to make the budget work? i mean, you ve got a hurricane that s bearing down on the east coast the last few days, and we re talking about cuts to see if we re going to help our people. what s that say about the country? well, i think it s worse than that. i don t think the true motivation is about cuts or anything else.
world. but if american citizens suffer a tornado or earthquake or a forest fire, we need to be there for them just like we would for anyone else. and as a beneficiary of the goodwill of this country, when katrina hit, and rocked our world down here, i just think it s wrong for me not to stand up and say, we you all helped us when we needed it and we should be there to help other americans. and if it takes republicans and democrats agreeing, you know and i know, that s not going to happen in a quick manner to help the people when they need it. and we re really seeing the country right now fight with finances. yes. and have we gotten to the point where we ll do anything to make the budget work? i mean, you ve got a hurricane that s bearing down on the east coast the last few days, and we re talking about cuts to see if we re going to help our people. what s that say about the country? well, i think it s worse than that. i don t think the true motivation is about cuts or anythin
northeast are desperate to escape the flooding and the damage unleashed by hurricane irene. we re tracking the rescues and the danger right now. and we ll put the arrest of the uncle in a dui charge. this hour, and whether they matter to most american. i m wolf blitzer and you re in the situation room. up first this hour, a very tough political debate over national security that will unfold between president obama and his republican challenger, whoever that might be. the commander in chief dep and it s no coincidence that war and foreign policy are getting more attention on the campaign trail with the ten-year milestone of the 9/11 attacks only a few days away. let s bring in cnn s jim acosta. he s watching all of this unfold. we know the economy will be issue number one. but national security will be a key debating point for the democratic and republican candidates. that s right. it s flareed up recently with libya and with the killing of osama bin laden. it s still import