also mitt romney's preemptive strike on jobs, the republican unveils his plan days before the president's big speech. this hour political leaders zeroizer zeroing in on issue number one. do any have a plan that will really work? and texas wildfires destroying more than 700 homes in 48 hours. a massive blaze growing closer to the state's capital is growing bigger and more destructive every minute. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." i've covered dick cheney for many years as a defense secretary and certainly as vice president of the united states. today i found him to be very much the same as i always knew him, steadfast in his views, unapologetic for doing what he believed, and still believes is right. i interviewed cheney here in los angeles earlier today. your biggest regret as it relates to your time in office? >> i covered 40 years. >> the eight years you were vice president. >> i think as a general proposition on the big decisions i think we got it right. i worked for george bush, proud to have worked for him. i think a lot of the most controversial things that we did that people didn't like, and criticized us for, things like the terrorist surveillance program or enhanced interrogation techniques were things that allowed us to save lives, and the net result, the value of our policies is best evaluated in terms of the fact that after 9/11, there were no further mass casualties attacks against the united states, that we stopped every single prospective attack on the u.s. for the last seven and a half years we were there, i think that speaks well of our policies. >> certainly does but you're a human being. i make mistakes all the time. you must have made some mistakes as vice president of the united states. >> well, i made mistakes that i talk about in the book. >> give me an example. >> well, i got kicked out of yale twice. >> i'm talking about as vice president. we all make mistakes when we're in college. >> what i find in this whole operation is people want you to admit -- >> what's wrong with admits making a mistake. >> they don't want just an admission of mistake. they want to you say you did something wrong that they disagreed with. it's all about politics. >> but there's nothing wrong with that. >> wolf i wrote what i believe. i wrote my experiences. i talked for example about things that i got wrong in the bush administration, disagreed for example with the idea of goinging to congress to get authorization to go into kuwait, the president overrode me, he was right, i was wrong. there are examples like that. >> that was the first. >> i thought controls was a serious mistake. i was an integral part -- >> during the year of the second bush administration, no mistakes? >> i have said all i'm going to say about it, wolf. >> all right. >> i'm proud of the policies we put in place. i think they did the job we intended for them to do, and i'm not inclined to make any mi mia culpas. >> justhat's just a little bit my interview. stand by for much more of the economy, the future, much more of the book, the heart condition, the device that helps keep him alive, stand by for much more of dick cheney coming up in "the situation room." now to the one word, the big issue weighing on all of america right now, we're talking about jobs. there is a new sense of urgency right now as congress returns from a break, and republican presidential candidate mitt romney unveils his own jobs plan today. the markets are ratcheting up the pressure on all political leaders with stock prices tumbling once again today, all part of the dramatic lead up to president obama's critical jobs speech on thursday. the white house is offering a glimmer of hope that this time the president and the congress will find a way to work together. >> while expectations for what washington can do are tempered with skepticism, americans should not have to expect that washington will, by its actions, actually harm the economy. >> our correspondents jim aco a acosta, kate bolduan and mary snow are standing by. just a little while ago mitt romney laid out his vision for growing the economy and jobs, speaking in nevada, a key swing state. we have more on his plan and appearance in the west, jim acosta? jim? >> mitt romney has some urgency behind this effort today to put out this jobs plan. two new polls today show him behind in the polls by double digits to the new front-runner in the gop field, the governor of texas rick perry. so mitt romney went to nevada today with a very important mission, that is to say he is on the case when it comes to creating jobs and he not only put out a 59-point plan, he put out a 160 page book a few days getting the jobs speech, sort of a my jobs plan is bigger than your jobs plan and some of the stuff in this plan is tailor made to appeal to the tea party voters out there in the republican party, talking about ending obamacare and the president's health care law and lowering taxes but look at what mitt romney says he would do on day one of his administration if elected president, five executive orders, the first to end the national health care law that republicans call obamacare, he is also talking about issuing orders to cut red tape, in his administration, lessen regulations, in his administration. he wants to boost domestic energy production across the country, obviously more oil and gas drilling and perhaps the one component that will generate the most heat, he wants to sanction china for unfair trade practices, basically accusing the chinese of being cheaters when it comes to currency ma nip place and the fifth item, going after organized labor. earlier today, mitt romney went after the chinese, something that a lot of people did not expect to hear in this speech, take a listen. >> so i will dramatically increase the interest and the effort in our nation to establish trade relations with other nations. and that is i'll clamp down on theet chooer e echeaters and ch worst example of that. >> it's interesting to note the tough talk in china is not something we've heard on the campaign trail since donald trump left the race. back in april donald trump delivered a profanity laced speech in loss vegas, going after the chinese on that issue so that's interesting to note. the other thing that is interesting also is that mitt romney's fellow republicans are going after him on the jobs issue. jon huntsman who has struggled to get traction in the polls put out an ad contrasting his performance on jobs with the governors of massachusetts, bringing up the fact that when mitt romney was governor of massachusetts, that state had the 47th worst job creation performance in the country, and that is something that you've heard from democrats as a talking point. it is now something that republicans are bringing up, and you're sure to hear it tomorrow night at this debate here in california when these republicans go toe to toe out here, bowolf. >> we know he attacked president obama on a wide range of economic issues. did he criticize any of his republican challengers today? >> we didn't hear much of that today. this was really a chance for mitt romney to change the conversation. he has seen rick perry really shoot to the top of now four national polls if my counting is correct showing rick perry with a double-digit lead in this race, and i think what we saw today from mitt romney was an attempt to change the conversation, to go after china, the way that he did. we've been asking the question, is there anything that the government can do that it hasn't tried to do up in this point in terms of trying to get the economy going. one thing that this country has not tried to do during this recession, wolf, is pick a trade war with china and mitt romney just about do z that today with his speech, calling the chinese cheaters. those are white hot words to be using in a presidential campaign, wolf. >> thanks very much, jim acosta with that. the republican presidential candidates will be debating in tampa, florida, next week. i'll be the moderator for the debate, sponsored by the cnn tea party express, monday, 8:00 p.m. eastern on cnn. on capitol hill in washington, lawmakers are getting back to business after their five-week summer break and they're gearing up for president obama's address before a joint session of congress thursday night. we bring in congressional correspondent kate bolduan. tell our viewers some of the things on the list to do. >> reporter: you could almost call it a laundry list of things they need to address. after a month-long recess the house back today, the senate back tomorrow. it will be a jam packed fall session but it can be summed up really in one word, jobs. >> the senate will come to order. >> reporter: after the bruising battle over raising the debt ceiling, democrats and republicans returned to washington saying enough of the gridlock. let's get something done. >> the august employment report released last week should be a wake-up call to every member of congress, democrats and republicans. we cannot waste any more time as has been wasted over the last eight months. congress must act quickly to jump start the economy and in do that it will help the recovery. >> reporter: topping the list, jobs with both sides pushing different prescriptions for putting americans back to work. the republican focus, rolling back labor and environmental regulations, calling for small business tax cuts. >> many of us will continue to press for and entirely new approach, with unthat puts individuals and businesses at the center of our recovery, one that lifts the cloud of uncertainty holding job creators back and enables the american people to move our economy in the direction that they want. >> reporter: democrats though want to spur job creation through infrastructure spending. >> and so you've got to get the economy moving again, inf infrastructure projects, repairing builds, schools, bridges and roads are very important part of it. >> reporter: at the same time the so-called super committee created by the debt ceiling agreement is said to begin its work to find $1.5 trillion in deficit savings in the next three months, and congress must face outstanding budget battles over everything from funding the faa to averting another government shutdown at the end of this month. one potential and rare area of agreement, pending trade bills with south korea, panama and colombia, which both sides have said will boost the economy. >> the president himself acknowledges these trade pacts would create tens of thousands of jobs right here at home, by vastly expanding the market for u.s. goods, he should send them to congress today so we can finally ratify them. >> reporter: just today the two top house republicans sent a letter to president obama laying out their suggestions for possible areas of cooperation in terms of jobs measures, including in the area of infrastructure initiatives, but at the same time house speaker john boehner and majority leader cantor asked the president for a meeting of top congressional leaders ahead of the president's thursday speech to discuss the president's job proposals, top republican leadership aides say they have not yet received a response. wolf? >> you also, kate, have new information about what the republicans are planning on doing after the president's speech before congress thursday night. >> reporter: wolf, this is interesting and something we've been tracking for days. there has not been one person, one lawmaker, one high-profile republican designated to make the customary formal response to the president and one of the big time prime time speeches but according to one senior republican aide, there likely won't be one republican response, many or all lawmakers fanning out to respond and rebut the president's speech as they will. we did speak to aides to house speaker john boehner and they have declined to talk about any of the plans for a response but interesting developments two days out from the speech, there may not be one formal response as usually happens, it may be many republicans fanning out to make their opinions known. >> kate bolduan thanks very much. when president obama lays out his new jobs plan thursday night cnn will carry it live. don't miss our special coverage, it will begin here in "the situation room" 6:00 p.m. eastern thursday night. if president obama needs any reminding about the dire economic situation right now, he need only look to his home state of illinois. our own mary snow is looking closely to what's going on there, another state facing a painful budget crisis. what is going on? >> wolf, this is the latest chapter in the state's budget problems and they are big problems. the governor of illinois says the money isn't there to pay for the full fiscal year, threatening job cuts, one report indicates those cuts could be drastic. >> let's go! >> reporter: like many states, illinois is starting the school year with fewer services. it's just one area affected by cuts. now, illinois governor pat quinn is reportedly considering laying off thousands of state workers. he blames state lawmakers for the budget they sent him. >> there's no question their decisions will result in a situation where our state won't have enough money to get through the fiscal year, so we have to make reductions and i'm prepared to do what has to be done. >> reporter: quinn didn't spell out specifics but "the chicago tribune" reports in addition to layoffs the governor may close a state prison, juvenile detention center, homes for the mentally ill and developmentally disab d disabled. >> we think that threatening layoffs and facility closures, huge cuts and needed services and the loss of thousands of jobs, that would plunge the state into chaos. >> reporter: illinois' budget problems drew attention earlier this year after lawmakers passed a massive tax hike to create revenue. those who follow the budget policy say the fact the state has been mismanaged for years is magnified by the slow economy and stimulus drying up. >> the cuts will leave people screaming and going to inflict a lot of pain but some kind of solution is necessary. if we don't borrow there is going to have to be some kind of painful cuts. >> reporter: and it's on top of cuts already made. elizabeth mcnichol with the center on budget and policy priorities looked at state education cuts in 24 states and found illinois topped the list. mcnichol expects drastic measures to also be taken in other states as well. >> we're expecting this year the 2012 budget year the way we're seeing the impact of the cuts to be the worst year of the recession, revenues have not come back up. the federal aid has ended. >> elizabeth mcnichol who you just heard from there says looking at dozens of states the two biggest areas for cuts are education and health care and she says she does not expect revenues to return to pre-recession levels for several years. wolf? >> mary snow thank you. one of the most revealing moments of my interview today with dick cheney happened when he showed me the medical equipment that keeps him going after five heart attacks. he'll explain how that battery pack works. stand by for that. we'll also take you inside the fire disaster unfolding right now in texas. hundreds and hundreds of homes have gone up in smoke. ♪ whoa! hey! 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