embassy in afghanistan in kabul. two dead, one an american citizen. monitoring the situation from our bureau in abu dhabi. an apparent breach of security inside a heavily guarded complex in kabul. what do we know about it. >> reporter: bear in mind where this was. this was a part of the u.s. embassy compound and annex will many are working. one of the employees started shooting in various directions. he was later shot dead. his victims appeared to have been one u.s. citizen, also an embassy employee and another one injured, not life threatening and subsequently moved to hospital. has we don't know is why this happened. could it have been some kind of taliban plot? unclear. investigations are ongoing. or a personal dispute. how did this afghan get through security and carry this out? many questions but certainly a significant breach of security right in the heart of kabul's most secure area, ali. >> it's not the first time. we saw this attack a little while ago. hats going on with respect to security at that complex? >> reporter: you know, it's really hard to tell how today's attack occurred. i think has is at issue is more the psychology of it. a big lengthy attack on the embassy compound about 10, 15 days ago. we had the assassination of a key afghan politician in a similar area just last week. people are beginning to ask, if this is the taliban, if this is an insurgent plot, how is it possible these thing, getting quite so close to the heart of nato's campaign? usually useful, showing no reaches. it's not limitless, but they can get right inside, exactly where america doesn't want them to be. ali? >> thanks. when you get more, let us know. following the story from abu dhabi. in washington, this could lead to a shutdown. at odds over a stop gap spending bill that has to be passed by the end of week. the sticking point, funding for fema to aid disaster victim. democrats don't like charging it. republicans insist on offsetting budget cuts to pay for it. >> we've done a government shutdown i want to make sure hundreds of thousand of americans suffering from floods, wildfires and hurricanes get everything they deserve. that also maintains our position we should not have to kill jobs by disaster relief to people who need it. >> harry reid is holding a bill up with full funding of what is needed right now for no reason. no reason but for politics. again, this is why the people just don't have the respect for this institution in this town anymore. >> later today, the spending bill after blocking the house's on friday. and a michigan straw poll over the weekend, romney registers just over 50% of the vote with the texas governor finishing far back in second place with 17%. perry also finished a distant second in saturday's florida straw poll to businessman herman cain. cain with a surprising 37% of the vote with perry's 15%. romney finished third in florida with 15%. perry had been considered the front-runner until his disappointing performance at thursday's gop debate. what does this mean for the gop race? we'll ask herman cain live when he joins us right here on "american morning" at 7:40 eastern. president obama is keeping the focus on his jobs plan. after a fund-raiser in seattle, the president will attend a series of evens in california today beginning with a town hall. live at the white house, dan lothian is here to tell us more. >> reporter: about 250 people expected to be at that town hall. we're told the questions will be posed by members of link'd in, also the ceo of that company will pose questions to the president. the focus of that town hall will be on the economy and jobs. the president, again, will be making a public appeal to congress to pass his jobs bill, but as you pointed out, this really is a balance not only between the president pushing this jobs bill but trying to haul in a lot of cash for his campaign. he's expected to pull in about $8 million through this three-state swing. the message from the president so far is that he knows that some of these supporters who were with him in 2008 have gotten "dispirited" but that he wants them to push very hard, because he has more work to be done. he says he's only half way through, and that the same enthusiasm that he got in 2008, he wants to see it repeated again in 2012. take a listen. >> we can either go back to the same ideas that the other side has peddled, old, worn out ideas that were tried throughout the last decade, or we can build an america that we talked about in 2008. an america where everybody gets a fair shake, and everybody does their fair share. that's what this election's about. >> reporter: the president also for the first time was being critical of the republican candidates for president. he did not mention texas governor rick perry by name, but he did say that "you've seen a governor from a state that is on fire denying climate change." the president referring to many fires that they've had out in in that comment. the president also going on to say that this is a contest of values and that it is not enough that his supporters follow him but also that they should push their family members and friends to make sure that they're getting all the adequate information about his record. carol? >> tough to do when you're talking to a con stitingency wi what, a lot of unemployment? >> reporter: right. the president is trying to make a broad appeal to all the different groups. we've seen him over the weekend talking to the congressional black caucus. at an interview he conducted last week focusing on african-americans. last week, there was so much said about the campaign pushing for the jewish voters as well. the president realizing that there are a lot of people out there who are not happy, because they believe that a lot of the campaign promises, or at least some of them, have not been fulfilled. so the president's saying, listen, give me another chance again to fulfill this mission. >> just one more. dan lothian. reporting live from washington. thank you. two freed american hikers back on american soil and sliming their iranian captors. josh fattal and sean bauer, accused of espionage. they said he weren't just prisoners of iran. they were political pawns. >> we want to be clear. they do not deserve undue credit for ending what they had no right and no justification to start in the first place. from the very start, the only reason we had been held hostage is because we are american. >> in prison, every time we complained about our conditions the guards would immediately remind us of comparable conditions at guantanamo bay. they would remind us of cia prisons in other parts of the world and the conditions that iranians and others experience in prisons in the u.s. we do not believe that such human rights violations on the part of our government justify what has been done to us, not for a moment. >> now, the two men said they had to go on hunger strikes just to get letters from their loved ones and called the trial in iran a total sham. one of the people they have to thank for their release, sean penn. he lobbied hugo chavez, an ally of iran, on behalf of the two men. a man, convicted of brutally murdering her housemate. a verdict could come today. the make or break piece of evidence. the dna. matthew chance is covering the case. you were twittering about this case all weekend. >> reporter: yeah. it's been a fascinating case to cover, actually, and it's expected to come to an end at the end of this week, or the start of next week. we'll watch that closely. today it's been a session of the italian justice system. a court session where the other injured parties in this case have been able to put across their points of view. the lawyer representing the parents of the girl killed there. kircher, talking about the woman who owns the house who is claiming financial obligation from amanda knox for the impact it's had on the value of her property. and a bar owner this city of perugia accused in the beginning of being implicated in the murder is filing for financial damages because of the impact on his reputation as well. so it's a slight diversion from the actual main issue of whether or not amanda knox and her one-time boyfriend are guilty of this murder, but nevertheless, that's what we're hearing about throughout the course of the day, carol. >> matthew chance reporting live for us this morning. thank you. symbolic milestone and a cultural change in saudi arabia. saudi women gained the right to vote and run for office in future elections. only the second time in 50 years elections will be held this week and the saudi king says the change won't take effect until after the elections, and those haven't been scheduled. quit complaining and stop your crying. tough talk at president obama directed at african-american voters, but is tough love the right tactic to win back the white house in 2012? we'll ask our cnn contributor earle lewis. and bill clinton helping or hurting president obama. what he said that has republicans cheering him. it's 11 minutes after the hour. 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[♪...] >> male announcer: now, for a limited time, your companion flies free, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. conditions apply. welcome back to "american morning." president obama is doing something this week he hasn't done often since winning the white house. he is courting the african-american vote. only time is going to tell if his approach is working, because he raise add few eyebrows at a congressional black caucus dinner on saturday night. listen. >> i'm going to press on for sake of all of those families struggling right now. i don't have time to feel sorry for myself. i don't have time to complain. i'm going to press on. i expect all of you to march with me and press on. take off the bedroom slipper, put on your marching shoes. shake it off. stop complaining. stop grumbling. stop crying. >> all right. cnn contributor errol lou ewis h us. who was he talking to? congressional black caucus members? talking generally saying i'm going to press on so you should, too. who was he talking to? >> to the leadership. talking to the caucus first of all. i remember, actually, i was at the dinner right before he ran for president the first time. the caucus didn't back him. he was a member of the caucus. he started off talking how the civil rights leadership sort of treated him at arm's length. were curious about him at first and didn't really support him. i interpreted it as talking to the caucus saying you've got to get behind me. we've got to get together. certainly wasn't talking to millions on the unemployment line. he was talking to the people criticizing him. >> what is that? the complaining and grumbling and crying he's talking jab these members who have had town hall meetings and job fairs almost like representics maxine waters draws attention they be paying attention to the plight of urban blacks, dot, dot, dot, maybe he isn't? >> that's a complaint you hear from her. she's a longtime member, well-known liberal from south central los angeles. when you hear it from emanuel clea cleaver, the mayor of the caucus, in a swing state this president can't win in kansas city or votes from st. louis, when you look at the other representatives complaining in some of these midwest states in districts he has to carry real big it can be a real problem. i took it as a shot across the bow saying, look, i'med president preside president. we need to do this together or nobody's going to be helped. >> there are numbers i want to show you with respect to some polling. there is, you know, the president -- we'll just put it up on the screen. all right. let's take a look at this. the black unemployment rate. when president obama took office, it was 12.7%. that swing has widened. 16.7%, the black unemployment rate. it's gotten worse, and the optics of it having gotten worse under a black president are something president obama's got to deal with. i can't draw the line as a business journalist. i don't think it's got anything to do with president obama that it's gotten worse for black, but there are a lot of blacks that think that's ironic and terrible. >> it's terrible, but you and i followed this campaign in 2008 and subsequent events long enough to know there was no point he got up and said i'm going to narrow the gap between black and white unemployment or eliminate unemployment. he said he'd do what he could to get america back to work. it's the only message he can say as president of the united states. >> it is unfortunate for all of this time where there's been this normal spread, the spread got worse. in other words, this recession, this economic situation, has hit african-americans worse than it's hit whites, and maybe that's part of why its affecting some of his popularity, support among blacks? a recent "washington post" abc poll, blacks had a strong favorable view of the president, from 83% just five months ago. what's changed so suddenly? >> some of it is economic data and frankly some of the grumbling and complaining. you get this messaging coming out from people like travis smiley, they're going on the radio, hour after hour, day after day, it takes its toll for sure. look, you and i beeoth know the number on election day will be close to 99% of the black voters for president obama. >> and the issue is whether they turn out. >> and in what districts. >> it's tough for the president to accept the argument he's not interested in urban black issues, given that a lot of his history has been in urban black issues? >> all of his history, actually. i don't know that he takes it personally. he's no drama obama, doesn't tlaect way. on the other hand, the folks doing the grumbling, this is the kind of politics that brought them into power. that's what they do. complain against those in power. it's tricky now. the person in power, former member of the caucus, familiar with their issues hawaii been a much better political operator than any have been, done something they only dream of, it's hard for them to criticize and hard for him to get them to line up behind them. >> they've got to say, not enough is being done and that's politics? >> right. on the other hand you don't want to bother the president of the united states when he's busy and specifically ask for your help. something that anybody in the party is supposed to at least take serious regard for. >> good to see you. erral is a cnn contributor and a political anchor with new york's new york 1. good reading,erral. good to see you. now's your chance to "talk back." the question this morning is bill clinton heallping or hurti president obama. the last two-term president may have threw cold water on obama's bid for a second term. clinton said now is not the time to raise taxes i. personally don't believe we ought to be raising taxes or cutting spending, either one, until we get this economy off the ground. this has been a dead flat economy. >> but what about the so-called buffett rule? the touchstone of mr. obama's deficit cutting plan? that won't solve the problem, clinton said. conservative, thrilled, you can imagine. eric cantor saying, "i hope president obama will heed the advise of president clinton and drop his demand for one of the largest tax increases in american history." hold on. in an interview with cnn's wolf blitzer, clinton said he would support the millionaires tax and blachted republicans for their anti-tax any otherology. as for obama's jobs bill, clinton said he was all for it. this isn't the first time clinton has sent mixed messages that could derail a presidential campaign. hillary clinton, anyone? in south carolina the former president set off a firestorm of criticism for comments some considered racially insensitive. obama won that primary. gop strategist writes on the hill.com, slick willie does it again. now managed the fancy footwork of both agreeing and disagreeing with president obama at the same time. the white house is not commenting. the "talk back" question today, is bill clinton helping or hurting obama? facebook.com/americanmorning. facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your comments later this morning. looking forward to seeing what you all have to say about that. coming up ahead on "american morning," stacking the political deck. how far will the gop go to win the white house back in 2012? 23 minutes after the hour. ♪ my sunglasses. 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"minding your business" now. if the markets in europe are any indication, could be in for a nice start after the dow's worst start since 2008. u.s. futures are up, in asia the market closed lower, knock down by nagging fears over, yeah, you named it, europe's debt crisis. speaking of the european debt crisis, u.s. treasury secretary tim geithner risked the most serious risk confronting the world economy. in a statement he said european leaders must do more to address the problem. the academy of management journal study the compensation of 590 ceos from 1996 to 2005 and according to the "wall street journal" the rich ert ceo's received the biggest raises year after year and others unpaid bonuses and cuts. and delaying the launch of its stock of groupon. the company slashed revenue outlook for 2010 by more than half. netflix appears to have scored a win after expensive blunders. the "new york times" reports netflix signed a deal with dreamworks to stream the studio's films starting in 2013. 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[ 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. i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. good morning. we're passing the half hour time for this morning's top stories. a shooting at the u.s. embassy in kabul, afghanistan. two people are dead, one an american citizen who works for the u.s. government. an emba