the center of a lot of political activity for republicans over the last few days. president obama is keeping the spotlight on this day. he's here getting ready to come into iowa from minnesota. it's the second stop of his three-day three-state bus tour in the midwest. talking to voters about jobs, the economy and the debt crisis facing the united states. also on his agenda, a one-on-one interview with me tomorrow. much more on that tomorrow. we're standing by, though, for the president's town hall meeting here in the next hour. we'll have live coverage. right now, though, i'm joined ey brianna keeler. i catched the town hall meeting. he's getting more feisty in lashing back at the republicans. >> that's right. he really stepped up the rhetoric. he's really lambasting the paralyzing political climate in washington and really blaming republicans specifically looking back to the bruising debt ceiling battle. of course as he's facing a lot of criticisms from republicans on jobs, we didn't hear any new proposals. he continued to outline ideas that we've been hearing him outline for some time. infrastructure spending, extending unemployment benefits, extending the payroll tax cut. and what he said, wolf, is that there isn't a shortage of ideas, but that congress isn't acting, specifically looking at republicans. here's some of what he said. >> we just went through this debacle on the debt ceiling, an entirely self-inflicted wound. it wasn't something that was necessary. we put together a plan that would have stabilize our debt and our deficits for years to come. because we've got a politics in which some folks in congress, not the folks who are here, but some in congress would rather see their opponents lose than america win. >> he said i know you're frustrated, i'm frustrated, too. h he's taking specifically about people who are frustrated about the debt ceiling debate. a lot of back economic news, the seeming indags of that. he really singled out almost the entire republican presidenti presidential -- all of the candidates in the debate the other night. he specifically was talking about that one answer where he said all of these candidates were asked, would you go along with $1 in tax increases for $10 in spending cuts and they said no and he said that wasn't common sense. so kind of criticizing. rick perry wasn't in that debate. >> from the white house perspective is, that a campaign trip? they're saying this is the president going out and speaking to the american people about issue number one, jobs. >> they say it's not a campaign event. it certainly feels like a campaign event. it has a hard political edge to it. i think the one element to it is that the be the is trying to capture some of the optimism. when you look at the place headquarters's going, these five spots in iowa, minnesota and illinois, while national unemployment is 9.1%, all of these counties are 0.8 over the high 6s. it doesn't sort of help politically, because these are states that went for president obama especially iowa being very significant. >> we're standing by right behind us. the president is going to have this down hall meeting. we'll have live coverage. our analysts will be here. stand by. we'll have much more in this part of the story coming up. the republican race isn't what it used to be after perry's formal campaign announcement over the weekend and the results of the iowa poll. jim acosta is following what's now seen as the top tier candidates. >> all of a sudden, the real race for the gop nomination is starting to come into focus. >> rick perry is feeling the love in iowa. it was a response to romney's feather soft jab at perry earlier in the day, when the former massachusetts governor and ceo suggested there's a difference between running a government and running a business. >> understanding how the economy works by working in the real economy is finally essential in the white house. and i hope people recognize that. >> perry lobbed one back. >> what i would say is go take a look at his record when he was governor and look at my record when i'm governor, then you've got some apples to apples. >> the race has been blown down to three front-runners. a top tier in the making. it's a fight romney doesn't want. the strategy up till now has been all about obama. the romney campaign e blasted out this image, mocking the trip as a magical misery tour. >> frankly, i think the american people would rather see him in washington working on getting this economy going again. he seems to be more intent on trying to save his job. >> but perry's fast start changes erg. and less than 48 hours, he announced his campaign, rolled out a bus. >> conservative to the core -- >> and a new web video. >> america's jobs governor, rick perry learned the values of hard work and belief in god as the son of farmers in paint creek, texas. >> his willingness to open up in the town where bachmann was born to go after her tea party base of support is the sign that the 2012 debt has been reshuffled. >> tea party types you all are angry. we're not angry. we're indignant. >> all bets are off. >> the tea party has been the best ant dote to the out of control spending that we have seen. rather than dissing the tea party, we should be praising the tea party. >> leaving little time for one more wild card to make her move. >> perry will now be vetted like never before. a process she knows all too well, wolf. >> let's bring in jack cafferty right now. jack? >> one other note, ron paul finished second in the iowa straw poll. a very strong second to michele bachmann. >> rick perry is officially a candidate for president. >> political contributor and paul begala says that perry who, quote, threw his hair in the ring this weekend will say or do absolutely anything to win, including calling social security a ponzi scheme and saying both it and medicare are unconstitutional. perry has also flirted with secession and reportedly presided over the execution of one of his constituents who was probably innocent. in questioning perry's capacity for the job, paul begala points to his mediocre grades at texas a&m or as begala calls it, this cute remedial school we have in texas. that's a quote. one thing perry likes to talk about is how texas leads in jobs creation. it turns out texas unemployment rate is higher than the states like massachusetts and new york. and 1 in 4 texans have no health insurance. that's another highest in the nation. kruegman writes it co-comes from the economic effects of population growth. since it's growing faster than the rest of the country, job growth is also higher there than in other states. and because wages are low, lots of companies want to move their production there. almost 10% of texas workers earn minimum wage or less. in fact, there's a joke down there about texas job creation that goes sure, rick perry has created thousands of jobs. i'm working three of them. here's after question, are you buying what rick perry is selling? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile or go to our facebook page. >> all right, thanks very much. the president will be here making an opening statement. we'll have live coverage coming up in "the situation room." don't forget, i'll be interviewing the president one-on-one tomorrow here in iowa. that's tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. eastern. much more on the world of politics coming up. there's important news we're following including a horrible tragedy in indiana. officials say they're not looking for scapegoats right now, but they are looking for answers after that deadly stage collapse at the state fair. witnesses say they're baffled that a disaster like this could happen. we're investigating. the latest for you. and who's behind some major new deadly attacks in iraq. stay with us. 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'. >> we're here in northeastern iowa at the seed saver exchange. you're looking at live pictures. the president will be here soon. the president is getting ready for a town hall. his second of the day. we'll have coverage here in iowa. other news we're following right including some chilling information coming out of egypt. the world got another look at the ousted egyptian president hosni mubarak. he was pool l whe-- wheeled int courtroom case. this may be the last time we see him. the judge has barred television cameras from the rest of his corruption trial. mohammed, tell us what happened and the reaction to the judge's decision to bar cameras. >> wolf, it was the second hearing. a lot of shock today. the fact that the former president was in that courtroom. in that iron and mesh cage. a lot of procedure issues. what really shocked people with the decision to bar cameras from the rest of the trial. the trial has been adjourned. the activists are saying where's the transparency that the government promised to the citizens of egypt. they're concerned because cameras won't be allowed for the rest of the trial, people won't be allowed to follow what's going on. other activists are saying this is a good thing. they say because this is a show time, a circuit, the fact that cameras won't be allowed in there, it will still allow the journalists to cover the trial. but the people of egypt can go ahead and focus on what needs to be done post revolution, they can focus on the human rights revoluti revolution, to cuz on tfocus on requests being met. >> based on what you've seen so far, does this look like it's going to be a speedy trial? or is it going to take a while? >> wolf, based on what we' seen, it looks like it's going to take quite a while. the judicial system on a good day moves a the a glatial pace. this is considered the trial of the century here. to try to corral all the people into the courtroom, not only for the trial of hosni mubarak and other former members of the regime, that's something that's a very big undertaking. so far in two hearings for the former president, it's taken a long time. there's been a lot of lawyers present, a lot of procedural questions that haven't been answered. if that were to be granted, that trial could go on for years. >> elsewhere in the middle east right now, the worst violence to hit iraq in months. some other top stories in the situation room right now. lisa, what do you have? >> well, iraqi officials say at least 75 people are dead. and more than 250 wounded following a string of attacks across the country. the reported 20 bombings marked the middle of the the holy month of ramadan and come weeks after iraqi officials agree to ask officials to stay beyond the january 1 deadline for withdrawal. there's no claim of responsibility for those attacks. the "l.a. times" reports that officials at the san francisco b.a.r.t. transport system are warning of more possible cyberattacks. the hacking group known as anonymous has claimed responsibility for yesterday's hit which obtained the personal information of 2400 customers. the fbi is investigating and the homeland security apartment is being brought in for assistance. casey anthony is appealing a court order that she serve one year of supervised probation. anthony who was acquitted of murder charges in the 2008 death of her daughter caylee was previously charged with stealing a friend's checkbook and writing checks for more than $600. her attorneys are argiine argui she served that time while in custody. and kiss is the latest growing a list of performers paying a tribute to michael jackson. the concert features music greats like christina aguilera, smokey robinson and c. lo green. that have concert day is october 8, wolf. >> we'll check back with you. other news we're following. remembering those who lost their lives in a horrifying concert stage collapse just ahead. the family of one of those killed is now speaking out. and thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from powerful lobbying groups in washington. could it have a stake in how the congressional supercommittee solves the u.s. debt crisis? stay with us. we're hear in iowa where we're getting ready for a down hall with the president of the united states. he'll be here at the seed saver exchange, answering iowans questions. that's coming up soon. [ female announcer ] what if your natural beauty could be flawless too? discover aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals. give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on to even skin tone in four weeks. aveeno tinted moisturizers. law makers will have their work cut out for them when they try to find ways to cut the federal deficit dramatically. we'll take a look at the members of the so-called supercommittee and where their political cash is. co-ing from. let's bring back lisa sylvester. where's all this money coming from for these politicians? >> they're going to have to have pick winners and losers. the full 40us will not be able to offer any kind of amendments or make changes to any kind of compromise they come up with. it all comes down to this committee. some have deep ties to special interests. the congressional supercommittee of 12 has been tasked with slicing $1.5 trillion from the deficit. aside from feeling the pressure from their home state constituents, they are also under pressure from special interest groups. at&t and other wire leless providers want them to auction off valuable spectrum. it would be hugely profitable to the communications companies desperate for more airwaves for the next generation of portable devices. 3 of the 12 members have received generous campaign contributions from at&t over the years. more than $77,000 to representative james clyburn. more than $99,000 to fred upton and more than $53,000 to jeb henserling. >> when you kind of look around, there are all kinds of play ers that have a real stake in these negotiations. >> senator pat toomey used to head the organization has received more than $850,000. club for growth as given senator jon kyl more than $155,000. wall street has contributed more than any other industry to the campaigns of the 12 congressional members. multinational corporations like boeing, microsoft and ford motor company have also figured prominently. >> at&t, general electric, major multinational corporations have a lot at stake in these decisions. if there are tax breaks pulled back or tax increase, that could mean a big dent in potential profits. >> reporter: whirlpool receives tax credits for increasing production of high efficiency appliances. the credit accounts for a third of whirlpool's earnings this year. whirlpool was founded by fred upton's grandfather, also one of the 12 on the supercommittee. chris van hollins' two largest contributors are lobbying firms. >> are they beholden to these special interests? >> i think what's clear is all these donors have a certain level of access to these members of congress, especially the big donors. members know who their biggest donors are and they're going to be listening to these people. >> about a dozen former staffers register lobbyists. that's going to make it easier for them to pick up the phone and talk to former colleagues. if you look at the campaign contribution list, who know who's not well represented? the defense companies, wolf. and they certainly have a lot at stake here. president obama may be feeling a bit uneasy after seeing a new round of poll numbers. is he running scared? our strategy session is coming up. and after the death of osama bin laden, there's a new reason for the united states to be suspicious about pakistan. details coming up. ok refuge from the pollen that made me sneeze. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®. in one place. ♪ the race of your life you never ran. the trip around the world you never took. the best-selling novel you never wrote. but there's one opportunity that's too good to miss. the lexus golden opportunity sales event, with exceptional values on the lexus es. but only until september 6th. see your lexus dealer. energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy developement comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing decades of cleaner burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self contained well systems and using state of the art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment we are america's natural gas. i'm wolf blitzer here in iowa where any minute now the president of the united states is expected to arrive for this, his second stop on the three-day bus trip. when his town hall meeting ends, we'll bring it to you live. also, the message that president obama is seizing while on the road here. now it's time to, quote, stop coddling the super rich. and two top republican contenders outlining controversial visions for united states troops. los coming up right here in "the situation room." just days after jumping into the republican race for the white house, the competition is heating up between texas governor rick perry and a key opponent. the former massachusetts governor mitt romney. our political reporter shannon travis caught up with the campaign trail earlier in the day. listen to this exchange. >> that makes him better qualified for the job. >> i think it's oranges and apples. running a state is diffe