road, pushing his jobs bill, and is using campaign style language. today, paul ryan accused the president of in his words sowing social unrest and pushing for a plan for raising taxes on the wealthy. >> to my great disappointment, it appears the politics of division are making a great comeback. instead of working together where we agree, the president has opted for divisive rhetoric and broken politics of the past. he's going from town to town impugning the motives of republicans setting up straw men and scapegoats and engaging in lazy arguments as he tries to build support for punitive tax hikes on job creators. >> he went on to say that many americans share my disappointment. here is some of the language that ryan and other republicans are objecting to. >> their plan, which is have dirtier air, dirtier water, less people with health insurance. all right. so far, at least, i feel better about my plan. >> president obama in north carolina last week suggesting the republicans favor pollution and letting people go without health insurance. and here's vice president joe biden when asked by a reporter about the stakes involved in the president's plan to pay to keep local police officers on their job. >> and if the republicans don't pass this bill, then rape will continue to rise? >> murder will continue to rise. rape will continue to rise. all crimes will continue to rise. >> tough talk. the language and tone from this white house has indeed changed as it gears up for the upcoming election, something we reported on in the last couple weeks. for congressman ryan to suggest that it's white house and democrats that are being divisive, that's not fair. mitch mcconnell called on obama to get to work on bipartisan legislation on jobs and designed to pass and not designed to fail. the same senator who said that his goal and his party's goal is to make sure that president obama failed. >> you said "the single most important thing we want to achieve is for president obama to be a one-term president." how do you respond to those democratic lines of attack? >> well, that is true. that's my single most important political goal, along with every active republican. >> on most important votes, nearly every active republican has taken senator mcconnell's advice. in realtiy, a lot of their language has been divisive. listen. >> you wonder why the price of gas has more than doubled at the pump since barack obama has been president, it's because of his failed policies. >> they are scare tactics. >> this administration hasn't sought to transcend politics of washington, d.c. this has been the my way or the highway administration. >> everything good that he said it was going to do, we got the inverse of the president's promise. >> the president has set back and tweeted but you have to do more and you have to lead. >> sample of the gop rhetoric directed at president obama and examples of democrats doing likewise against republicans, mainly on the jobs bill but the question is how much tolerance do voters have for any of it with 9.1% unemployment? it's pretty clear that it got precious little faith in washington to begin with. and a new cbs/"the new york times" poll shows 89% of americans say they distrust government to do the right thing and 84% disapprove of congress. we invited congressman ryan to come on the show and he declined. ari, you worked for a president who was criticized by the opposition side. at some point, democrats say at some point it's understandable that president obama would use the same rhetoric or tactics that republicans are using. >> when i was there, harry reid, democrat majority leader, called george w. bush a loser and a liar and al gore and john kerry called him unamerican. you don't see the same vitriol against barack obama. when you go through those quotes, remember 1800. this is nothing. the election between jefferson and adams was far, far worse. it's part of the noise of american democracy. people don't like it. i think you have to keep it within bounds. a lot of those things are substantive disagreements. there's nothing wrong with that. >> there is no denying republicans have blocked votes for the president and appointments at pretty high levels, probably unprecedented levels, isn't it? >> i don't know about unprecedented or precedent but it's the habit of whoever is there to prevent the other party from getting its appointments through and especially as it gets closer to the election they do that. i don't like that. i regret that. i think presidents should have a free hand in their appointments because they won the election and appoint people and get any more in place, if that's what you're referring to. >> bill, your former boss came to washington promised to change the tone and rhetoric. it's understandable that there's disappointment among some that they are now using those kind of tactics to pass bits of a jobs bill and to get republicans to vote on it, even though they know it's going to pass just to get republicans on the record. >> for starters, i agree with ari that some of this is just politics. politics is okay. you have two sides which are making an argument trying to advance their side or their cause. but secondly -- >> especially with unemployment the way it is, people just seem fed up with this kind of politic. >> i think that people would prefer republicans in congress work with the president to make progress on things they agreed on and allowed things through. the president has signaled he's willing to work with republicans and supported the trade bills and supports other ideas that republicans have. now it's time to go back to the jobs act and actually move some more of these things through. when you have mitch mcconnell, as you showed on the screen just now, saying that his number one job is to stop president obama from getting re-elected, you're not going to make progress. all you're going to do is make politics and that's when politics becomes a problem, when it gets in the way of doing anything at all and making progress for the american people. >> is what mitch mcconnell saying accurate or fair? >> i think what he's saying is he wants to stop those policies and limit them to four years so they don't do eight years worth of damage. i understand that. that's the point he was making. it's not as bad as people make it out to be. go back to the last big clash and that was debt limit increase. the boehner/obama agreement, where overwhelming majority of the republican freshman voted for it, they compromised and went against the ryan budget and compromised and got this done. the house democrats split 50-50 on it. freshman republicans voted for it by about 75-25. there are things that get done. it's just a very noisy system along the way. i do think that distresses people. at the end of the day, they have been able to work things out. another big test is coming up and that's on the bigger deficit/debt reduction deal due in november. have to see if that can get done. another big clash. at the end of the day, will they get it done? huge issue. >> do you think they'll get it done? >> it's hard to say. there's a lot of politics that's broken out and that may be okay, the intransigence that you have seen from the house republicans, especially freshman, has prevented a lot of important things from being able to move forward. in this one case that ari mentions on the debt limit, yes, a good chunk of the house republican freshman voted for it, but keep in mind, the house republicans control the house of representatives and boehner really had to do a lot to drag them along and get that done. the president wanted to do something bigger. couldn't do it because house republicans stopped it. >> republicans were more willing to work with barack obama than democrats were. that was the point i was making on that initiative. >> there's an interesting fox news poll. they asked whether they thought the president's re-election strategy was to bring people together. 56% said the president's message was going to be hopeful and unifying. 32% thought it would be partisan and divisive. it seems at least this poll, the majority of americans don't agree with paul ryan's assessment. >> i think what you're going to see in this election is some pretty sharp contrasts. this is a different kind of election because in 2008, no matter what, there was going to be a new president of the united states. in 2012, you have an incumbent president who is in a tough economic time, a tough political situation, and you're going to see him lay out his vision and he's going to lay it out against whatever the republican vision for the country is. i think as those contrasts come about, it's going to be tough. there's going to be tough rhetoric that flies around. at the end of the day, i don't think this is going to be anymore vitriolic than in the past. >> not anymore than it's been? >> it's far simpler to be the chief executive and one central messenger to cut across and reach the public than the cacophony of sounds that come from congress. that's historically been the case. barack obama's problem isn't he won't get re-elected on rhetoric, but his problem is substance and the economy. >> ari fleischer, bill burton, thank you. up next, new developments on the gop campaign trail. everyone wants to know if herman cain is for real. new polling numbers could provide answers on that. follow me on twitter tonight. later, rick perry's journey to birther land and believes that president obama was born in hawaii and is saying something else that doesn't stand up to scrutiny. and then co-author of a parenting guide called "to train up a child" joins us and we'll ask if the brand of discipline his book is advocating is endangering kids. >> why not use your hand instead of these materials? >> let me show you something. does that hurt? >> doesn't feel good. fore! no matter what small business you are in, managing expenses seems to... get in the way. not anymore. ink, the small business card from chase introduces jot an on-the-go expense app made exclusively for ink customers. custom categorize your expenses anywhere. save time and get back to what you love. the latest innovation. only for ink customers. learn more at chase.com/ink you know what else is early? medicare open enrollment. now through december 7th. can i stick with my old medicare plan? sure! or find a new plan with better coverage, less cost, or both. medicare plans give you free cancer screenings and wellness visits and 50% off on brand-name prescriptions when you're in the doughnut hole. it's part of the healthcare law. so it's time to look, compare... and choose the right plan for you. learn more at 1-800-medicare or medicare.gov. in the republican battle for the white house, there's a new poll from the first four states to hold presidential contests this year, iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, and florida. in two of those states, republican voters have mitt romney and herman cain in a very close race. john king has the poll results. >> new numbers, anderson. the first four states on the republican nomination calendar. what do they tell us? mitt romney is the front runner. herman cain his principal conservative challenger. romney ahead a tie. cain behind him there. that's a warning for texas governor rick perry down to 10%. why is iowa breaking down this way? evangelicals are critical. romney holding his own. among those saying they are not evangelical christians, romney leads. new hampshire is next. this one is a runaway for mitt romney. 40% to 13% to 12%. rick perry down in single digits. that's a runaway lead. why? conservative republicans by far support romney. hard to catch in the state of new hampshire. south carolina often decisive in the republican race comes up third. this is a tie essentially. slight advantage for romney over herman cain. if you're the texas governor, you need this state to have a prayer for the nomination. evangelical support, romney holding his own and way ahead of those who say they are not born-again christians. florida votes fourth. diverse state on the republican calendar and a big lead for romney there. cain the closest challenger at 18%. another warning sign for perry in single digits. this one looks like new hampshire. liberal republicans, they like romney. conservative republicans, romney leads. cain the big challenger. if romney could keep the numbers as they are, 100 nights from tonight, florida votes in 97 days, 100 nights from tonight, he could have a lock on the nomination. that's a big if. these numbers show us clear advantage romney. cain, herman cain, is the principal challenger right now. if you're rick perry, you have to wonder why are you limping when not that long ago you were among the leaders. anderson? >> fascinating stuff. thanks. ari fleischer, former white house press secretary for president george w. bush and also chief political analyst gloria borger. ari, if memory serves me correct, the headline last night was herman cain was leading in a national poll and now mitt romney ahead in four crucial states. what does that tell you about the field right now on the republican side? >> number one, state polls are more important than national polls. this is a statewide series of elections. number two, interesting piece of data from those polls, 20% to 30% in all of those four states said they know who they are supporting. 70% to 80% could change their mind. this republican race for months to come is still marked by fluid electorate. people are not locked in. the foundations are not secure. anything could still happen, almost anything could happen. >> do you think there are people that could enter the race? >> i don't think that. i think among romney, perry, cain and something tells me, nobody agrees with this, huntsman in new hampshire, you have to keep your eye on him. things can change in politics and change fast. and nobody having a strong foundation underneath them means they can crumble easily. >> iowa is a state that romney hasn't campaigned much in compared to his opponents. >> he was there last week for a bit. he hasn't spent a lot of time there. he had a near death-experience there last time. he came in second to mike huckabee and spent money trying to get caucus voters out to vote. it was terrible for him. this time, they have a decision to make. our poll looks good for him, but closer you get to those iowa caucuses, you have to poll the likely caucusgoers. the romney campaign has a decision. do they go all-in and try to win iowa or do they decide, okay, we're in. if we come in second, we can spin it as a victory. important thing to look at in iowa though was that he was making inroads with those evangelical voters, which was really surprising to me and very good news for him. >> it's impossible to look at south carolina without knowing the results of iowa and new hampshire. they create momentum for whoever is left in the race when you get down to a smaller field in south carolina. let me go back to iowa for a second. i spent time up in boston with the romney people. when you ask them about iowa, they just smile. what they're really saying is we're not going to go out there and overtly contest iowa but with all of this divide and conquer going on, if these conservatives keep splitting themselves, this could be a romney dream come true in iowa. >> it's hard to secretly contest iowa because you have to organize all of these caucusgoers and bus them into the caucuses. >> herman cain is doing a good job with that. >> at this stage, you are still in iowa. even if you don't physically show up there, they still have tv sets and radio stations. they get this stuff. at a certain point, you have to organize and you have to get people out on a caucus night, which is an organizational feat. the time is coming. the romney people are very happy with their standing in iowa without having done a lot of work in iowa. >> it's fascinating stuff, ari. thank you very much. gloria borger, as well. thank you so much. one other political note. last night we have cornell belcher on. we identified him as a democratic strategist and pollster for the obama campaign for weight. he is currently working for the 2012 campaign. coming up, "360," rick perry changing his tune on the birther issue. we're keeping him honest. and dr. conrad murray tears up at his trial. some of his former patients testify in his defense. we'll have the latest from the courtroom today. um-bum ♪ ♪ ai, ai, ai ♪ bum-bum ♪ bum-bum, bum-bum ♪ [ ice rattles rhythmically ] ♪ [ imitates guitar noise ] the redesigned, 8-passenger pilot. smarter thinking. from honda. 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[ male announcer ] just like you, business pro. just like you. go national. go like a pro. keeping them honest, it seems gop hopeful rick perry is changing his story about where president obama said he was born. he has played with the idea that president obama wasn't born in america. first came up in an interview that perry came with "parade" magazine. he talked on cnbc about how it came up when he was in new york visiting donald trump. >> i said it's a good issue to keep alive. donald's got to have fun. >> sounds like you do have doubt about it. >> look, i haven't seen his grades. my grades ended up on the front page of the newspaper. if we're going to show stuff, let's show stuff. that's all a distraction. i get it. i'm really not worried about the president's birth certificate. it's fun to poke at him a little bit and say how about let's see your grades and birth certificate. >> governor perry said it was all fun. karl rove said that the birther issue is bad political juju. >> you damage yourself. i know he's trying to cultivate, as all of them are, donald trump in order to get his endorsement. that's not the way to do it. it starts to marginalize you in minds of some of the people you need to get the election. >> influential mississippi republican governor haley barbour also spoke up, saying drop the birther talk. seems governor perry may take that advice to heart. today with florida's bay news 9, he changed his tune on the whole birther issue. >> jeb bush said republican candidates for president should reject the notion that barack obama was not born in america. this came after you expressed doubts about that. what would you say to him? >> i don't think i was expressing doubt. i was having some fun with donald trump. >> are you comfortable that he's an american citizen? >> oh, yeah. look, it's -- lighten up a little bit. >> you have no doubt he's an american citizen? >> i have no doubt about it. here's more interesting thing. let's lay out our income taxes. let's lay out our college transcripts. mine has been on the front page of the paper. if we're going to lay out all those things, let's lay them all out. >> rick perry convinced president obama is an american citizen. let's hope that's the end of the whole birther thing. somehow, we think it won't be. we're following several other stories tonight. fredricka whitfield joins us now. >> hey, anderson. new bloodshed in syria. 17 people, including two children, killed in clashes between government and opposition forces as opposition leaders call for a nationwide general strike. and better news in eastern turkey. two more people pulled from the rubble there. three days after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit. rescuers have been working around the clock looking for survivors. at least 471 people have lost their lives so far. and residents of bangkok, thailand, are urged to leave town because of rising floodw