you're in the situation room. it's part economics snapshot, part political football and there's only three more jobs reports coming out before the november election. the latest one released today has something for everybody. the labor didn't reports better than job gains in july. the unemployment rate still picked up a notch. dan, how does all this play out on the campaign trail? >> reporter: for mitt romney it allows him to say see, i told you so. unemployment still going up. it's still above 8%. what the president is doing is not working. the president was putting the spotlight on what he says is working even though he admitted there's still a lot of pain. >> thank you everybody. >> reporter: surrounded by a group of hand picked middle class and workers, president obama defended his policies and emphasized gained in a struggling economy. 163,000 jobs created in july. 1.1 million so far this year. 4.5 million over the last 29 months. >> those are our neighbors and family members finding work. the security that comes with work. let's acknowledge we've still got too many folks out there who are looking for work. >> reporter: the jobs growth was greater than economists expected. the president's opponent, mitt romney, said that was more evidence of the administration's failed policies. >> it's another hammer blow to the struggling middle class families of america because the president has not had policies that put american families back to work. >> reporter: romney promised voters his economic plan would create 12 million new jobs by the end of his first term and bring the economy, quote, roaring back. he's finding believers but in los angeles, we found a skeptic of romney's promise. >> i don't think he's with the people. >> reporter: ernie lost his job as a mortgage broker right before president obama took office. >> i'm so tired of collecting unemployment. >> reporter: a desperate craigslist posting landed him work after four years as a cleaning company supervisor. he's not satisfied with the president but thinks he deserves more time to fix the economy. it's an appeal president obama has been making on the campaign trail. >> we recognize there's no quick fixes or easy solutions to all the problems we face. >> reporter: republicans call that an excuse, and say mitt romney's business experience lies the solution to put americans back to work. as you saw the president was surrounded by those middle class families. a way to emphasize that campaign theme that he's looking out for the middle class and his tax policies will benefit the middle class as opposed to what mitt romney is offering which he says will benefit the very wealthy and what the president describes as upside down economics. >> thanks so much. we want to talk more about jobs and the presidential race with gloria. i look at the numbers and listen to the analysis. here is what i hear. pretty much what i've heard for the past many months. the economy is creating jobs, not much jobs. has anything changed? >> the american public is getting set on the fact that they are pessimistic. if you look at the job numbers, the creation numbers go back to january. things were going pretty well. look at that line up until july. you see over the last seven months things have been heading in the wrong direction and the american public is beginning to kind of sink in. that's really a problem for the president because the public is so pessimistic. >> when both of these guys are both mr. fix it. i'm going to fix it or continue to fix it. here is what we see, who has good ideas to improve the economy. romney, 43%. obama, 36%. it seem like a key question but that doesn't match what we see in the overall numbers. >> first of all, this is clearly mitt romney's strong suit which is why you hear him talk about the economy over and over and over again. he's presenting himself as mr. fix it. if people were to vote on that single issue alone, that would be really good for mitt romney. there are other factors here that people take inconsideratio when they vote for president. who is more likable and number two, who is somebody that understands their problems. by all of those measures the president does a lot better. that's why you see the president trying to dismantle and disqualify mitt romney on the economic issue. they know they do better along all those other measures. this is the one area they have to take him down on. they have to say he's really not qualified. he really was not a job creator when he was over at bain. he was a job killer. romney has to counter that but he also has to show the rest of himself to the american public. that's what where he says there another part of me. you can like me. i really do care about the middle class. those are the points he really has to kind of focus on right now. >> we say it's all about the economy, we mean it's all about the economy and a couple other things. >> and a couple other things. people vote their pocketbook, but they also vote -- >> there's a good feeling. >> they also look at other things. >> rick perry told cnn that he doesn't think whoever mitt romney picks as vice president will dramatically change the equation. do you agree? >> yeah. i think that's probably right. i think we saw sarah palin was sort of the big game-changer, if you will. and even she didn't end up changing the equation. mccain did not win. i think mitt romney's choices are kind of solid. and what he may look at is somebody who can bring him a state. if you have portman of ohio or marco rubio of florida, if either of those men could deliver a state, that might be a game-changer. >> that's key. if they could. >> if they could. i think that's a big if. so in the end i think mitt romney's going to end up going with somebody he believes has the experience and whom he's comfortable with. and they're going to make sort of an anti-palin choice. and i think theyrobably agree with the former vice president that sarah palin was a mistake. and maybe they'll pick someone like tim pawlenty who can't deliver a state but who's run for president before. and mitt romney's quite comfortable with. we'll have to see. >> chief political analyst -- i bet we'll talk about this again. >> you think? >> i bet. gloria, good to see you. romney finds himself engaged in a public battle with senate majority leader harry reid. the senator says he's been told by a former romney associate that the candidate has not paid taxes in a decade. so far reid has offered no proof. and now romney is telling him to "put up or shut up." cnn congressional correspondent dana bash has the details. >> reporter: the latest just came to my inbox, this is a fund raising e-mail sent out by harry reid to his supporters asking for money specifically because he says he is not backing down when it comes to pushing romney on this unsubstantiated claim. mitt romney didn't even try to hide his disgust with harry reid. >> harry reid really has to put up or shut up, all right. so, harry, who are your sources? >> reporter: what romney wants reid to put up or more likely shut up about is this unsubstantiated claim. >> the word's out he hasn't paid any taxes for ten years. let him prove that he has paid taxes because he hasn't. >> reporter: let's be clear, that word is out because reid himself put it out there, multiple times. he says he got the information from an investor at bain capital, romney's former firm. reid refuses to say more than that. and also refuses to back down saying in a statement "as i said before, i was told by an extremely credible source that romney has not paid taxes for ten years. people who make as much money as romney have many tricks at their disposal to avoid paying taxes." reid won't reveal his source and romney won't release his tax records. he insists he paid his taxes. >> let me say categorically, i have paid taxes every year. and a lot of taxes. a lot of taxes. so harry is simply wrong. >> reporter: the senate democratic leader is known for verbal gaffes that make his aides wince like complaining about smelly tourists. >> because the high humidity and how hot it gets here, you could literally smell the tourists coming into the capital. >> reporter: but reid's attack on romney is different. multiple sources close to reid tell cnn it is a calculated strategy to lure romney into responding. and getting the what's he hiding tax issue back in the headlines. a trip half a dozen years ago to reid's hometown of searchlight, nevada, explained a lot. he grew up in a trailer with no running water. and literally fought his way out of poverty as a boxer. as a politician he's not afraid to punch below the belt. like when he called president bush a loser and a liar. and told cnn this about then-fed chairman alan greenspan. >> i think he's one of the biggest political hacks we have in washington. >> reporter: when reid personally dislikes someone, it often fuels hisolitical attacks. like when he said this about john mccain in 2008. >> john has bad temperment. he's wrong on the war and wrong on the economy. >> reporter: this week mccain used the romney tax controversy to say, back atia, harry. >> i've known senator reid for many, many years. and occasionally he displays some rather erratic behavior. >> reporter: now, candy, we have to underscore that harry reid isn't some back bencher trying to get attention. he's the senate's top democrat making an unsubstantiated accusation at the presumed republican presidential nominee. now, it is really easy to see why republicans especially and even some democrats are saying this is just irresponsible of harry reid to do. but i've talked to lots of sources close to reid. and he simply to be frank doesn't care. in fact, he relishes this. says he is eager to be the guy who gets out there and throws some punches to keep the metaphor going. and he understands he's going to get hit back. and he is eager to do so. >> i suspect none of the democrats are complaining actually work for the re-election team for the president. they're just as happy to have harry reid out there doing this. >> reporter: that's a very safe bet. >> all right. dana bash, thanks so much. appreciate it. there is a wildfire burning out of control forcing people nearby to flee their homes. we are following breaking news. also the picture that launched a thousand questions. now we know who's riding roller coasters with the north korean leader. plus, he was bitten by a great white shark and lived to tell the tale. now he is. we'll hear it in his own words. >> there was really only one option, which was swim. swim towards shore. ♪ [music plays] ♪ [music plays] ♪ [music plays] syou know, i've helped a lot off people save a lot of money. but today...( sfx: loud noise of large metal object hitting the ground) things have been a little strange. (sfx: sound of piano smashing) roadrunner: meep meep. meep meep? (sfx: loud thud sound) what a strange place. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. brave knights! as you can clearly see from this attractive graph that our sales have increased by... sorry, my liege. honestly. our sales have increased by 20%. what is this mystical device i see before me? it's an ultrabook. he signed the purchase order. with an ultrabook, everything else seems old fashioned. introducing the ultra sleek, ultra responsive ultrabook. a whole new class of computers powered by intel. trick question. i love everything about this country! including prilosec otc. you know one pill each morning treats your frequent heartburn so you can enjoy all this great land of ours has to offer like demolition derbies. and drive thru weddings. so if you're one of those people who gets heartburn and then treats day after day, block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place. [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. right now we're bringing in some dramatic pictures of a wildfire burning near oklahoma city. our meteorologist chad myers is standing by. chad, it's already brutally hot and really windy there. >> it is. >> and now this. >> yeah, right. the temperature today is going to get to 111 degrees. and then you're a firefighter and standing next to this fire trying to put it out, that must be 120 to 130 degrees. i've seen some helicopters in the sky. here's oklahoma city itself. let's drive down i-35 down toward noble. little farther off to the southeast, slaughterville. and this is where the fire is. kind of in a wild land area. not a lot of homes. no subdivisions out here. but the problem is if the wind continues to blow from the southwest at 20 to 30 like it is right now, it could blow this fire into pink, maybe toward shawnee or tecumseh. you're in the way of the embers that could be coming down from the fire. we're going to keep you up to date on this. this is not an unusual situation for oklahoma. there are hundreds if not thousands of wildfires in oklahoma every year. you typically don't get them very close to houses like this is. and that's why this has become a story, candy. >> yeah, but as far as we know so far nobody injured and no forced evacuations, correct? >> no. exactly. this is not blowing toward noble or moore or norman. this is not blowing toward those big cities. it's blowing away from the cities actually. and eventually if it keeps going -- i hope not, but up toward i-40 near tecumseh and shawnee, if they can get a handle on it, as soon as the wind dies down the fire stops leaping so quickly. >> chad myers, thanks. i know you'll keep an eye on it for us. united nations, a resolution condemns the violence that's killed as many as 17,000 people. it also slams the security council's failure to reach consensus on tough resolutions against syria. we want to get the latest with cnn's mohamedamjoom following developments from abudabi. >> reporter: candy, opposition activists have been telling us about details emerging in the city of hama, we're told another government massacre happened there today according to opposition activists, at least 70 people were killed there earlier today. this coming on the heels of news that emerged yesterday about a massacre that happened in the damascus suburb. this would have happened late wednesday. amateur video posted online yesterday showed very disturbing and graphic scenes. one of which you're seeing right now purports to show a mass burial site. dozens of bodies wrapped in sheets awaiting burial. a very chaotic scene as residents in the town and loved ones very, very distraught about what happened there. for its part the syrian government said what happened was that terrorist elements were vanquished, that many terrorists were killed and captured because of their activities in that town. but also today we're hearing about renewed and more intense clashes in the capital of damascus in several neighborhoods. one in particular we saw amateur video earlier today showing rebel free syrian army fighters as they swept through the streets of a damascus neighborhood. and you could hear gunfire in the background. the results of clashes there with regime forces. candy. >> what about aleppo? we've heard so much over the past couple days of massacre in aleppo and saying the fighting is getting worse. has it reached a peak? or is the worst still yet to come? >> reporter: what's so worrying, candy, is that officials that we've been speaking with and residents of aleppo and activists there are all saying that they believe the worst of the violence has not yet been seen in aleppo. the u.n. peace keeping chief also said earlier today that the main battle for aleppo had not yet started. the activists that i've been speaking with there the past few days have said that there's a humanitarian crisis going on there. that military reinforcements are still arriving there. the tanks are still arriving. they believe the battle for aleppo, syria's commercial hub, is still to come. and we're hearing about families that are huddling in public buildings in makeshift shelters, in schools trying to take shelter from the shelling -- the constant shelling going on in neighborhoods there. we've heard of war planes attacking different neighborhoods there. it's a very, very dire situation, candy. >> sounds like the worst is yet to come. cnn's mohamed jamjoom coming from a lot of different places. thank you so much, mohamed, i really appreciate it. bitten by a great white shark. this man lived to tell the tale. he shares his story of a too close encounter with a real life jaws. and the war of words between mitt romney and harry reid. we'll talk about that and more with paul begala and alice stewart in strategy session. [ male announcer ] count the number of buttons in your car. now count the number of buttons on your tablet. isn't it time the automobile advanced? introducing cue in the all-new cadillac xts. the simplicity of a tablet has come to your car. ♪ the all-new cadillac xts has arrived. and it's bringing the future forward. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. in here, every powerful collaboration is backed by an equally powerful and secure cloud. that cloud is in the network, so it can deliver all the power of the network itself. bringing people gether to develop the best ideas -- and providing the apps and computing power to make new ideas real. it's the cloud from at&t. with new ways to work together, business works better. ♪ with new ways to work together, business works better. by what's getting done. measure commitment the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through. [ feedback ] attention, well, everyone. you can now try snapshot from progressive free for 30 days. just plug this into your car, and your good driving can save you up to 30%. you could even try it without switching your insurance. why not give it a shot? carry on. now you can test-drive snapshot before you switch. visit progressive.com today. i'm candy crowley. here's some stories we're working on. no long lines this time but same sex couples head to chick-fil-a to make a point. in our next hour engineers prepare to hold their breath as nasa attempts its riskiest-ever mars landing. and the important projects congress left undone when lawmakers head home until football season. standby, you're in "the situation room." in nevada today mitt romney insisted again that senator harry reid is simply wrong in accusing romney of paying no taxes f ten ye romnd reporters, i have idaxes every year and a lot of taxes. joining me for today's strategy session are democratic rategist paul begala along with republican strategist al lis sewart whos a spokesperson for the michele bachmann and rick santorum campaigns. you were busy in the primary season. mitt romney came out swinging today against harry reid calling his claims a diversion from the economy. let's take a quick listen to romney. >> harry reid really has to put up or shut up, all right? so, harry, who are your sources? let's have harry explain who that is. by the way, harry, i understand what you're trying to do. you're trying to deflect the fact that jobs number