the harder it becomes. i ve said this before. there comes a point when you have to make some decisions and move forward and vote. we re at that point. time to make decisions. republicans can afford to lose but two votes and pass the bill. yesterday afternoon, three more republicans said they were against the plan as written. the total is now nine. a new poll from usa today and suffolk university that shows americans do not like this plan. it s approval and a survey taken saturday through yesterday shows 17% approval nationwide. still mississippi s senator roger wicker thinks the party can get to 50 votes by the end of the week. in that case, president pence would break the tie, when it comes for a vote sometimes before the break in august. senator wicker says he s optimistic because his colleagues are determined to get something done. mike emanuel live with more. what are we hearing from mitch
caught on tape. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. the politics of unemployment swirling today as president obama and the republicans try to spin the latest jobless numbers to their political advantage. while the president is highlighting new signs of economic strength, the republicans are spotlighting the unemployment level that remains unchanged despite solid job growth. cnn white house correspondent dan lothian has more in prince georges county in virginia. dan? reporter: wolf, the president came here today because he says rolls royce jet engines are helping to boost the economy. 140 new jobs expected here, another hundred at a plant in indiana. but it was also a chance for him to cheer the latest job numbers which he says proves the u.s. economy is on the right track. even though not everyone agrees. the u.s. employment picture is far from sunny. but the better than expected february job numbers seems to have pushed a few more dark clouds out of the way.