many are looking at the gop presidential candidates with a fresh eye. did rick perry do anything to damage his status as the frons runner? i ll ask newt gingrich about his performance as well. stand by. he s joining us live. plus, a brazen taliban attack on the united states embassy in afghanistan. some insurgents may still be on the loose now. we have new pictures and information coming from kabul and some top california politicians are trying to figure out what, if anything, is left of their stolen campaign war chest. a well-known democratic campaign treasurer stands accused of swindling more than a million dollars in campaign donations. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. rick perry may have walked away from his second presidential debate feeling battered and bruised. the tea party face off proved to be a very tough test for the texas governor. less than 24 hours after the republican candidate stood on stage with me in tampa, reviews still are coming in about
situation room starts right now. thanks, very much happening right now. the gop battle for the white house. eating up here in tampa, florida. just three hours away from hearing eight presidential candidates go ahead it head. they will join me on cnn s first ever tea party republican presidential debate. can the texas governor rick perry maintain his growing lead in the polls despite a highly controversial stance on social security? or will mitt romney come from behind and once again, seize the top spot? is it too late for michele bachmann? standing by with complete coverage and analysis. meanwhile, in washington, president obama scrambling to defeat them all and save the ailing economy before time runs out. but there are new signs in congress his blueprint for recovery could be dead on arrival. i m wolf blitzer in tampa, here in the situation room. we re just three hours away from what s going to be a critical potentially make or break moment for some of the republic
left off. big debate tonight. there s no denying this guy, texas governor rick perry, is the republican partly front-runner for president. we have a brand new poll. rick perry sweeps it it. have a look with me. republicans choice for president, rick perry 12 points ahead of mitt romney. sarah palin, ron paul the only others in double digits. then this one, best chance of beating barack obama, perry by a long shot, over mitt romney. strongest leader, perry and once again double digits ahead of romney. most likely to get the economy moving, say it with me, rick perry. a rick perry sweep in this poll. that debate tonight, as you now know, from tampa, 8:00 p.m. eastern time, co-hosted by cnn and the tea party express. eight republican ready to go. joins me from austin, texas, the guy who knows rick perry like no one else, we ve discovered here, wayne schrader of the dallas morning news. wayne, as a guy who s dofred rick perry for years and years, are you surprised to see him roc
thanks so much. just hours from now, eight presidential candidates will square off in tampa, florida. rick perry the front-runner and also the main target of his fellow republicans. and perry may have made the bull s-eye even bigger by attacking social security, a program considered sacred by millions of older americans. jim accosta is in tampa. and let s begin with word of a new endorsement we re hearing about this morning. reporter: that s right. if mitt romney was looking for a spark to help his campaign, he may have gotten it this morning. former minnesota governor tim pawlenty has announced that he is getting behind the former massachusetts governor. so that is good news for mitt romney. but this debate comes this evening, kyra, as a new cnn/orc poll shows that there is a big lead for rick perry. the race is basically boiling down to rick perry and whoever can keep up. texas governor rick perry has ditched his cowboy boots for his running shoes, staying far ahead of th
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