>> she said we were young, it was cartoonish. > the tenth anniversary of 9/1r 9/11,9/11, a ful9 remembrances. ♪ the tenth day of 9/11, a full day of solemn remembrances. that was yoyo ma at ground zero in manhattan. preparations are under way for monday's cnn tea party republican debate. we'll begin with 9/11 observances around the country. in new york a tree filled plaza surrounds two large square fountains where the twin fountains once stood. one by one the people's names were read aloud who died ten years ago today. ceremonies at the pentagon as well. 184 people died when american airlines flight 77 flew into the side of the building. in shanksville, pennsylvania -- ♪ o beautiful for spacious skies ♪ >> there was also a ceremony at the site where united airlines flight 93 went down in a field. we go to chief white house correspondent jessica yellin. a long and emotional day for everyone, including the president. >> reporter: that's right, don. this is a day that started before dusk for the president and still hasn't ended. he gun at ground zero with former president george bush. the last time the two men spoke was the night osama bin laden was killed. today he got a look at the 9/11 memorial. we're told that he was impressed with it, that he said he felt it meets the moment and he was moved by the serenity of today, by the families and the gathering and the setting he saw there. the president in his only public remarks so far today read from psalm 46. we're told he chose that psalm because it speaks in his view to persevering through difficult challenges and merging stronger. from that site he went to shanksville, with the first lady, where he visited the impact site of flight 93. he walked through a new memorial there and laid a wreath at the site there, a very solemn moment, but he also took quite a bit of time, don, to shake hands with the crowd there, and this crowd was much more vocal than the crowd that he had seen at ground zero, at some points they were calling his name and even chanting "usa, usa" repeatedly. his next stop at the pentagon a few hours ago, they sang "amazing grace" and again he spent some time speaking with the families of those lost, and this day of remembrance, it still is not over. you know, don, for a president who really is known for his words, today has been so emotional not for what has been said but really for all of these images. >> god is our refuge and strength. a very present help in trouble. therefore, we will not fear. even though the earth be removed, though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling, there's a river whose stream shall make glad the city of god. the holy place of the tabernacle of the most high. >> reporter: to date those are his own public remarks of the day, psalm 46. we have yet to hear from him tonight, when he will be making remarks in his own words. >> jessica yellin thank you very much, jessica. we appreciate it. they may be miles from any attack sites but cities and towns are recognizing this day in their own ways, in georgia at the kennesaw mountain national park volunteers put up a flag for each life lost on september 11th. nearly 3,000 people were killed that day, the flags will fly through friday. american flags are blowing in the breeze in tempe, arizona, in a park there at what's being called the healing field. every victim of the 9/11 attacks is represented by a flag on an eight-foot, tall paul, each with a card carrying the victim's names and a short biography, the eighth year in a row that volunteers have set up the flags. against the backdrop of this somber occasion a hyperawareness of potential security threats. today incidents of two airline flights were suspicious enough to attract attention. brian todd is in washington with the latest information. so brian, let's begin with the los angeles to new york flight that triggered a scramble by f-16s. what happened? >> don that was american airlines flight 34 from los angeles to jfk airport. a passenger alerted the crew to a security concern. no one on board requested military or law enforcement assistance but out of an abundance of caution authorities shadowed the plane safely at kennedy airport at 4:10 p.m. eastern time, a little less than two hours ago. law enforcement met the flight and is interviewing passengers. in that second incident the flight crew on board frontier airlines flight 623 from denver to detroit observed at least two men behaving suspiciously. we have a tower cam picture of the tarmac in detroit. a frontier spokesman said it involved a man spending 20 minutes in the bathroom while another man waited in the forward galley, they alternated positions. they checked out the plane and found there was nothing wrong. the plane with 116 passengers and four crew members aboard landed safely in detroit but at that point law enforcement took three people into custody. now that of course differs a little bit, two people were acting suspiciously we're told but three taken into custody, they are being questioned now we're told by fbi, other federal officials and local law enforcement. the tsa has been checking out that aircraft according to the frontier spokesman so a little bit of the jitters here on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 leading to some of these security measures. >> understood, brian todd, thank you very much for that. for many survivors of 9/11 the anniversary brings back a flood of sights and sounds from that day. >> i'm sitting here and i'm seeing the flames in front of me. on this beautiful morning. >> that was our very own barbara starr, inside the pentagon, we'll tell us what it was like when a plane going 500 miles an hour slammed into that building. the cnn election express is here in tampa, we're gearing up for monday's big cnn tea party republican debate, and we'll do a little debating of our own. ng? 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[ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. monday cnn debate will give the tea party a front row seat to the republican would-be nominees but tea partiers won't be the only people watching. let's talk about all of it with lenny mcallister, a republican analyst in chicago and l.z. anderson is a senior write at espn.com and also joined here in tampa is our senior political editor mr. mark preston. mark, we're going to get to you but i want to start with lenny. the tea party is hosting the debate. will the candidates have to walk a fine line between appealing to the tea party and appealing to the rest of the republican party? >> not tomorrow. i think what they're going to be able to do, remember this is a primary. they'll continue to speak to the tea party members because they're the most likely to vote and drive the primaries. this is where the money is coming from and the votes are coming from and the momentum is coming from. don't be surprised if nobody comes to the center, particularly mitt romney who has to get party surprised. don't be surprised if he goes straight after the audience considering the tea party express is there tomorrow. >> mark, do you agree? not only tea party members are going to be watching. are they going to appeal to the tea party? >> that's the target audience but mitt romney has to be careful. we saw in last week's debate he spoke highly of the tea party. he would not say he himself is a tea party member. jon huntsman will try to portray himself as a middle of the road republican. >> this popped into my head all of the time we have been here talking there may be an opening now that amichele bachmann is ranking lower. is there an opening for someone like a romney so maybe lenny is right, maybe they'll try to go after that audience, after those voters and trying to get what michele bachmann has lost, so to speak and what sarah palin, who is not in the race has? >> what we've seen, those people that michele bachmann, have moved to rick perry and the big thing as lenny says, michele bachmann trying to get the tea party supporters that propelled per over the summer to leave perry and come back to her. >> l.z., do they need to reach beyond the tea party audience? they're going after the tea party voters, that's the target audience. do you think in the debate they need to go beyond that? >> depends what the goal is. if they need to go beyond the nomination i don't think they need to reach beyond the tea party. if they're serious about being in the white house they need to find a way to reach the right base without alienating the middle. it's the middle which decided who got into the presidency in 2008. in 2012 it will be the same, the independents and moderates will decide. >> l.z., you have written about huntsman, it was an interesting article, maybe he should run as an independent, may be better off. huntsman so far is really low in the polls, not doing very well. is this a do or die for him? after this, does maybe he stand a chance, maybe can he run as an independent. this is a do or die moment for him, l.z. >> i think he's already dead, actually. if you consider the fact that he hasn't really tried to really, he hasn't really tried to woo the ta parea party or the socia conservatives or republican base. i think that ship is gone for the presidential race. i think he can be an attractive person as vp to add to a ticket like rick perry, someone who needs to communicate to the moderate that they're not going to go full crazy on them. huntsman can be appealing in that way. i see some advantages for him staying in the conversation but not as a presidential candidate but maybe as a vp choice. >> mark, that's a pretty bold statement. he said he's done. >> a lot of people are saying that. i talked to the governor about this and said what is your strategy going to be? i was with him in hasmenew hamp. he said it's all about recognition. i need to get my name recognition to 60%, 70%, that's when he will go on the air in new hampshire. that's make or break. does he stay in it to become a vice presidential nominee. >> lenny, do you believe that, is he the only one done? what about michele bachmann and the other folks in this debate or who are in this race now? >> here's the thing, don. michele bachmann's people are down in tampa right now, those are not jon huntsman's people. he could still lay in the weeds a little bit, gather more name cache, have good points at the debates, seem like the sensible one in the room. the only two really sensible people worldly at the debates, newt gingrich and jon huntsman, both very low in the polls. huntsman knows he doesn't have the damage gingrich has to his reputation. if huntsman hangs around until the beginning of 2012, gather name cache and gather more money he can get past the hard conservative primary states and start to make a real movement for himself if he can stay in this past the beginning of 2012. >> all right, lenny, l.z., mark preston thank you very much. l.z. and mark will stick around. we'll be here live for a long time. stick with cnn. don't miss monday night's republican debate co-hosted by cnn and the tea party 8:00 p.m. eastern, live from tampa, the site of the 2012 national convention, the cnn/tea party republican debate, monday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. lots of buzz out there on social media about the tea party debate, i'm online getting lots of your messages, my blog cnn.com/done, twitte twitter @donlemoncnn. 9/11, the victim's friends and family had something tangible to touch. >> john f.gamboa. at's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? 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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. for generations, people will study the flight, the story of flight 93. they will learn that individual choices make a difference, that love and sacrifice can triumph over evil and hate, and that what happened above this pennsylvania field ranks among the most courageous acts in american history. >> from shanksville to the pentagon, thousands remember the heroes of 9/11 today. president obama laid a wreath at the pentagon memorial site, 184 people died when american airlines flight 77 flew into the side of the building. our very own barbara starr was in the building that tuesday morning doing her job as a pentagon correspondent when the plane hit. she recounts those horrifying moment, september 11th just happens to be her birthday. >> you were either here that day or you weren't. for the people who work in the building today who were there ten years ago, i don't think you can ever forget. i'm sitting here, and i'm seeing the flames in front of me on this beautiful morning. 9/11 is my birthday. i looked out, the weather was beautiful. i thought hmm, how little time could i possibly spend at work? i'll put something nice on, go out to dinner with friends and it will be a nice birthday. but then, new york. ten years ago this was the area where the pentagon press corps was working. that morning, we'd been watching the attacks unfold in new york. i came out in this hallway and suddenly there was a pentagon policeman coming from that direction, running down this hallway yelling "get out, get out! everybody get out! we've been hit! get out." american airlines flight 77 slammed into the pentagon. by the time i made my way from my office down there to this part of the hallway it was full of people, we could smell the smoke. hundreds of people coming into this hallway, coming down the stairs from the upper floors, coming up the stairs from the basement. the doors had closed shut due to the security alert, so it took a few minutes for them to open them and for people to begin to make their way out to safety. this entire side of the pentagon was a wall of flame and black smoke. i remember seeing people coming out of the wreckage where the plane had hit, some covered in blood, trying to mike their way to safety, hundreds of workers had gathered over here, at one point before a large number of police or fire personnel could even get here, they called for people who had any kind of emergency or medical training, and hundreds of military people came moving back in towards the wreckage to help in any way that they could. that's what it was really all about here, on that day, in this place, for the u.s. military, no retreat, no surrender. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement available only with liberty mutual auto insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. to learn more, visit us today. responsibility. what's your policy? 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[ engine revs, tires screech ] mom? ♪ all right, welcome back, everyone. here in tampa, the tea party will take the political spotlight at monday night's republican debate, cosponsored by cnn. let's talk about it now alex costianes and dana lash, talk show host and co-founder of the st. louis tea party and also cnn contributor. once again, l.z. granderson, cnn contributor and senior writer at cnn.com. i know it should be over here but the words are on this camera. we're in florida, a must win state for the gop, if they want to win the house. what do republicans have to do. alex, what do they have to do here in florida? >> here in florida the big issue is social security in addition of course to jobs and growth. there's a spat between mitt romney and rick perry on social security. perry has lost his campaign by firing a missile and hitting grandma's house. he might undo social security. >> i had a copy of the ad they sent out. those two going against each other. that's really targeted because they know that a lot of seniors live here and those are the voters that they're going after. >> yes. democrat or republican, you still want to pay your rent every month and a lot of seniors in this state count on that. interesting, i saw the ad that romney did, i against a flier or handout, it doesn't mention ponzi scheme, that rick perry called social security a ponzi scheme, because frankly, a lot of seniors think it is. they know there's no money there, they know social security is bankrupt. the problem is rick perry went farther than that, he might undo social security if he could go back 70 years. he said it was a failure. >> he said "reckless and wrong." mitt romney says preserve and protect social security. two candidates, saying this is a two-candidate race even though it's early on and sending out material like this. is that so? >> i think it's a little premature at this point to immediately think that no one else is in the running and we still may see other candidates get involved. there's the big palin question as to whether or not she'll toss her hat in the ring. the last debate it was set up the way it was structured, the questions fielded and the way that perry and romney specifically targeted each other, they've set it up as to being a two-man race. i think the debate tomorrow night will refrain that narrative. >> l.z. the last time we spoke for huntsman he said it's over. >> i disagree. >> l.z. these guys disagree. anybody else you want to count out in this race? >> i think huntsman made his bed fairly early in the campaign not trying to say the things or do the things to appease to the social conterveive base won the gop. if he had at least been willing to play nice with them he