spokesman now says the president feels this is a distraction, echoing lots of other politicians. >> i think it is a natural distraction. >> this is a ridiculous distraction. >> reporter: but there's something distracting about everyone using this distraction rationa rationale. i feel like we've heard it somewhere before. >> it was a prank. intended to distract. >> this is a distract and i'm not going to let it distract me. >> reporter: this woman didn't let it distract her. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> that's it for me, thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room" for our international viewers, world report is next. for everyone else in north america, "john king usa" starts right now. >> thank you, wolf. good evening. tonight from manchester, new hampshire, we're preparing for a very big event tonight. the first major event of the 2012 presidential campaign,

debate between seven republican presidential contenders. a fascinating contest to lead a republican party still in transition stinging from its presidential defeat back in 2008 yet resurgent in congress. now the struggling economy is the biggest issue. as the candidates take aim at president obama tonight, we will also explore their differences and test their priorities as they try to juggle the sometimes-competing priorities of job creation and deficit reduction. the former massachusetts governor mitt romney is by far the front-runner here in the first in the nation primary state of new hampshire with being and as such is expect to be a frequent target of his republican rivals as governor romney takes part in his first debate of this cycle. another big question tonight -- can former house speaker news gingrich survive mags resignations of just about his entire national and state level campaign staff. and will the tea party have as much influence in 2012 as it

did in 2010, a movement that favorite michelle bachmann of minnesota makes her debut here at st. anselm college. the president knows his economic record will be center stage. the president was out today looking to remind voters the economy was already in a ditch when he took office. >> i wake up every single morning thinking about how can i make sure that anybody who wants a job is able to get a job. and that's what i think about when i go to bed at night. and i am absolutely confident about america's prospects for the 21st century but we do have some challenges and these challenges predated the financial crisis that we had in 2008. if you look at what had happened between 2001 and 2008, job growth was slow even when the

economy was growing at pretty good clip. >> the challenge for republicans, we may have some live photos of them arriving. i think we see the former governor of minnesota, tim pawlenty arriving here. the challenge for republicans is to make the case that lower regulation and taxes is the path back to prosperity. the new hampshire state republican party chairman jack kimball is with me here in manchester and eric ericsson is with us from atlanta. mr. chairman, let me start with you. simple question -- what is the biggest thing at stake tonight in new hampshire with this first debate? >> i think there's going to be two major questions. one is definitely the spending issue. the deficit issue across the country looms very large. foreign policy needs to enter the fray tonight, too. that's going to be interesting and i think all the candidates with respect to the fiscal issues are pretty consistent on those and the conservative republican side. but you're going to hear some

differences. >> governor romney have the most to lead by having a good lead here? >> i think he's the perceived front-runner but i think this is a pretty wide open race. >> when you look at the race nationally, iowa comes first, new hampshire right after. but lookingality the race right now, what's the biggest thing at stake tonight? >> i think the biggest question is who is going to become the anti-romney. i think tim pawlenty if he acts quick possibly can unless rick perry or sarah palin get in. i think it will be a rivalry between pa lwlenty and bachmann. >> how hard they go after each other is an interesting question. candidates often say things with journalist or a small house party, then they get shy whether they're up on stage and another candidate is just a few inches away. yesterday on fox news sunday governor pawlenty uses the term

obama care. this morning in new hampshire he said he probably wouldn't use that term in a debate tonight. >> during the debate i'll certainly respond to any of the questions that come up but the point wasn't to take a swipe at mitt romney who was responding to a question about the similarities or differences between obama care and what happened in massachusetts. >> eric ericsson, help me how the. if you're in a republican pry pla pra primary and call it obamney care -- zbri think that's a swipe. you have time, talent and treasure. we were's less than seven months to iowa. if he goes really negative against romney it drives up his negatives as well so he has to subtly begin to position himself as the anti-romney. he can't just come out throwing

punchts without hurting himself. >> the new jersey governor, chris christie, very popular among conservatives. growing appeal nationally. he's a guest on piers morgan tonight after the debate. he repeatedly says he is not going to run but he also gives voice to something you hear from a lot of grassroots conservatives that they're not necessarily all that thrilled yet with this field. >> a lot of those folks impress me personally but none of them have emerged in my mind yet pass a best option. when one of them do, i'll say it publicly but i'm not ready to do that yet because i don't think any of them yet have distinguished themselves to say this is the best person, not only to take on barack obama but more importantly, to lead our nation in the next four years after this election. >> mr. chairman, you talked to grassroots republicans here every day. is that common? you do pick up, eh, we'll see how these guys are. >> i basically don't agree. i think we have a stre strong field. one thing do i agree emge. one thing that's important for

me and a lot of folks in new hampshire -- and they do come out of the tea parties -- is the fire in the belly. it is very important i think for them to take off the gloves, not go at each other but president obama. barack obama is the one that's plenty of ammunition. that should be their focus. >> we'll see you inside the hall in a few minutes. it is interesting when you talk to voters here, governor romney is without a doubt the new hampshire front-runner but voters seem more settled on what the big issues are than they are on a final candidate choice just yet. this is a conversation from two republicans having coffee at the red arrow diner in millford, new hampshire. >> you're a romney guy. he's a front-runner here. think he's going to be a target in the debate tonight? >> yes. they'll beat up on him. >> why are you for him? >> because he's a businessman. >> i don't think there's a good candidate out there now, good republican candidate. >> near lip seven candidates tonight, there's nobody that you

say i want that person. >> no. no. no. >> what are you looking for? >> how much business they know. and what they're going to do with the unemployment, for seniors. >> the housing market. how about helping housing values go up. help like that. help the economy. >> the economy, the economy, the economy. let's continue the conversation with my colleagues wolf blitzer, anchor of "the situation room." jessica yellin, our national political correspondent. you have been here before, the early debate of the season. what are you most looking for as these candidates, governor romney, try to defend his league? >> i want to see how tough they get on romney right now. i remember ronald reagan, his 11th commandment, thoult shall not speak ill of a fellow republican. they'll obviously all go after president obama, that goes without saying. >> these national poll numbers, republicans' choice for voters in the candidates in the debate

tonight, romney. he has a big national lead. 33%. if you look in new hampshire -- this is why this is so interesting -- new hampshire the first primary state, romney 35%. gingrich 16%. herman cain 10%. big gap between romney and the rest. there's a lot of time. does he get the kick-me sign tonight? >> definitely. look. it's his to lose and everyone else has to stand out tonight and introduce themselves. it is a bit of a debutante ball for the rest of them and make sure they know the homecoming queen ain't exactly what they think they are. 45% of republican voters say health care reform is a leading issue for them. it's fair game. >> it is an interesting way the campaign works out though. iowa tends to be where social conservative issues are more prominent. here in new hampshire not only do you have a more libertarian

history than tradition, independents can also come in and vote in the primary. these candidates in trying to appeal to the new hampshire electorate tonight also have to remember around the country a lot of people are seeing them for the first time. >> as important as new hampshire is, people all over the country are going to be watching in south carolina, iowa, florida, and all the early -- michigan. they're going to be watching. the folks on that stage tonight -- you're going to moderate this debate -- aren't just addressing new hampshire voters. they're addressing the whole nation right now. it is critical. one other thing i'm going to look at closely, newt gingrich, the former speaker. can he make a comeback after virtually his entire staff walks. >> a critical night for the speaker to prove to republicans, fund-raisers, organizers and activists that he can withstand those mass resignations and stay in. michelle bachmann is in the house of representatives. no disrespect, when you're in the house of representatives, have you a challenge to say i'm a president, not just a movement

leader, i can be a president. >> she's hadder share of gaffes, to be honest. her challenge is to show unscripted without knowing what questions will come her way, she's holding her own and will speak forcefully and authoritatively without factual errors about these issues. she's very popular but lass to pass the credibility measure. >> what happens to somebody like herman cain who comes from nowhere? he hasn't been in politics. as you start rising in the polls, people start looking at you differently. asking can he be a president? >> he's impressive. i spend some time with him the other day. we were on the same shuttle flight between washington and new york. he had him on my show last weekend. he knows what he's talking about. for someone who was a radio talk show host, ceo of godfather's pizza to be up there among 10% of republican voters, that's pretty cool. >> he's entertaining. he connects well.

>> that's important. he connects well. people find him more authentic and believable because is he not a politician. i'm going to take my leave and head into the debate hall to get ready for big event but wolf will steer the ship for the rest of the hour. and a bit later, don't miss this -- hearing top obama political strategist david axelrod rate the republican contenders. syrian refugees share their stories. please stay with us. ananananana] this...is the network. a living, breathing intelligence that's helping drive the future of business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ machines have a voice. ♪ medical history follows you. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities...

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welcome back to the special edition of "john king usa." i'm wolf blitzer. right now, john is getting ready to moderate tonight's first new hampshire presidential debate which you will see only here on cnn. before we focus in exclusively on the political story, there are more important developments unfolding right now that you need to know about from the middle east. tonight, both the united states and syria are pointing to a hoax in order to build international support. the hoax is that a u.s.-born man

who's been studying at university in scotland is behind the "gay girl of damascus gts blog. there is no such woman even though it was widely reported, including here on cnn, she was taken into custody last week. syria's government says it proves much of the international reporting about conditions in syria are lies. the u.s. government disagrees. >> i think it speaks to the appalling human rights situation in syria that so many people saw this story, heard about this story, took it to be credible. >> tonight syria's military says it has restored security and tranquility in a northwestern city where it insists armed terrorist groups carrying out a massacre. but while syrian state television showed images what have it claims are mass graves, syrian refugees are telling cnn's arwa damon a much different story. >> reporter: wolf, syrian state tv's again blaming armed gangs

for the bodies that were found inside that mass grave say tag they were part of the 120 who it claimed had been killed when they were ambushed in jisr al shugur. but people we've been talking to say they were no weapons within their rang, no armed gangs and are saying that the casualties, the bodies in those graves, were in fact killed when syrian security forces turned on one another. those who were refusing to fight on demonstrators clashed with individuals who continued to be loyal it the regime. all of this sun folding as an even greater number of refugees continue to stream into turkey. we've been speaking to them, asking them about their experience, and the first thing they say that it was simply too horrific to put into word. we've now heard numerous accounts from residents saying

syrian security forces torched their land and livestock, destroyed their homes, literally driving them out of their villages and towns. in fact, amnesty international is saying that the syrian regime seems to be implementing a scorched earth policy and in asking these refugees, they say that they absolutely have no idea when they will be able to go home. wolf? human rights activists are watching an important trial that started today in bahrain, a key u.s. ally in the middle east. case involves dozens of doctors and nurse whose may have been tortured to obtain information now being used against them. let's check in with our senior international correspondent nic robertson. he's on the scene for us in bahrain right now. what's the latest? what's going on, nic? >> reporter: well, wolf, i was in the military court today to see these doctors and nurses brought before the judge. 1 of them. -- 11 male doctors and five or

six female doctors. males looked pathetic because their hair had all been shaven short. they looked tired, strepsed, nervous, anguish. you can see they haven't seen the sunshine for quite some time as well. that's why they look rather pathetic. but one of them challenged the judge saying that the confessioned they had aide been forced to sign had been given under torture. we heard in the courtroom there, i heard several of the lawyers said that their defendants, the doctors they were representing, had been tortured, too, and they asked the judge to allow the doctors to be visited by a civilian doctor and that these confessions that they've signed under torture shouldn't bed a ms.able in the court. the prosecutor challenged said, said that these were not obtained under torture. the judge told the doctors they'd be heard in due course and could be seen by a military doctor which is not what they were asking for at all. human rights activists say the

torture they've talked about matches what other people have witnessed while being in detenti detention. >> what do they allege these doctors did? >> they say they were using the hospital as a base of operations, that they were a national security threat because over time they were allowing the hospital to be used by certain media organizations and specifically they pointed the finger at iranian news organizatio organizations. almost all the doctors here are see ya doc shia doctors. they say it was a shia revolt against the sunni government led by the sunni royal family here. they've been alleged that there were weapons found in the hospital as well. we were in the hospital, albeit not for the whole period. but we didn't see that. we did hear the doctors talking about the types of juries they were seeing. what human rights activists are say, that while the government

wouldn't give out figures of the injured during those very violent clashes and protests earlier this year, doctors in the hospital were providing information, types of injuries, types of weapons used, numbers of casualties, and this human rights activists say showed the human rights violations by the government, and that's why they say the government is cracking down on the doctors. the government is saying that this -- that the doctors broke the law and this is a natural course of punishment for them all. >> we'll continue to watch this trial with you, nic. thanks very much. stay with us for tonight's first new hampshire republican presidential debate. in just a little bit, president obama's top political strategist also goes through the top republican strengths and weaknesses. you're looking at live pictures from inside the hall here at st. anselm college. we're going here. the debate starts in a little bit more than a half-an-hour from now.

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welcome back to new hampshire and a special edition of "john king usa." john's getting ready to moderate tonight's first republican presidential debate here in new hampshire. let's collection in with cnn's joe johns back in washington for the news you need to know right now. joe? >> hey, wolf. democratic sources tell cnn congressman anthony weiner is on the fence about resigning. he's also described as in a state of despair because of the scandal other his sending lewd photos to a number of women.

president obama weighed in on the scandal during an interview with nbc news today saying, "i could tell you if that was me, i would resign." secretary of state hillary clinton today asked the nations of the african union to do more than just call for a cease-fire in libya. >> i also urge you to suspend the operations of gadhafi's embassies in your countries to expel pro-gadhafi diplomats and to increase contact and support for the transitional national council. firefighters say a massive fire in eastern arizona is only 10% contained and will very soon rank as the largest fire in state history. it's burned an area larger than the city of houston. the transportation department revealed airline passengers forked over 5,700,000 fees last year. if you paid a reservation or baggage fee that's your money.

that's a lot of money. >> few hundred dollars of that is my money, for sure. some yours as well, joe. thank you. up next, what president obama's top strategist thinks about each one of the participants in tonight's major debay. somewhere in america, a city comes to life. it moves effortlessly, breathes easily. it flows with clean water. it makes its skyline greener and its population healthier. all to become the kind of city people want to live and work in. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions. and the over sixty thousand people of siemens

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welcome back to st. anselm

college here in manchester, new hampshire. they've just asked everyone in the debate hall to take their seats, all members of the audience. republicans aren't the only people who will be tuning in though for tonight's big debate. members of president obama's re-election team will certainly be watching very, very closely before heading here to new hampshire to moderate the debate tonight, cnn's john king sat down with the president's top political strategist, david axelrod, and asked him to rate the contenders. >> seven republicans on stage, the first big debate in the republican presidential primary. let's discuss the republican race for president with the man who will be running the democratic incumbent's campaign, david axelrod is with us. first you ran on hope and change in 2008. listen to a few snippets from the prospective and already running candidates. little bit of deja vu. >> americans are ready for true change, change to get our country back on the right track. >> i'm the guy that wants to change washington. >> for the sake of our children

we need to vp a change in course. >> in 2012 we'll change america again and this time it will be for the better. >> so, how does an incumbent who can't run on change? what is your -- i asked you this a couple months ago. you didn't have an answer. >> no, no. >> what's the slogan? >> listen. hope and change were sentiments of our campaign in 2008. they continue to be that, but the campaign wasn't about two words. the campaign was about this fundamental struggle that the vast majority of americans were facing, middle class americans who were working harder, seeing their paychecks shrink, costs going up and who were losing their sense of economic security and that's been exacerbated by a very, very deep recession. but the goal remains the same and the question's not going to be about slogans and bumper stickers. it is going to be about where we stand and our opponents stand. >> yes, you're the president's

top strategist. to the degree you can, take that hot off and just and veteran democratic strategist and assess for me in a sense or two the strength neand weaknesses of ea of the candidates. michelle bachmann. >> i think she has tremendous appeal to the grassroots of the republican party, raising a fantastic amount of money last year for her congressional race so she's got a following. i think she's got great appeal in the state of iowa which is where this process begins. if she wins there, she could go far in the process. >> you see her as a president in. >> well, i think the voters will decide that. that's what complains are for. >> herman cain, an outsider, a businessman. he hasn't held office. he's getting some traction against grassroots republicans. >> i don't know him very well. i've seen him on television and so on. i do think it's hard to make that leap because experience

does matter. i understand his argument is that it is better not to be someone who has any experience in public life, but we'll see if people buy that. >> speaker gingrich. >> it's interesting to hear him say that he's running because he's the guy who can change washington. he's been such an interesting and sometimes polarizing figure in this town for the last 20 years. i think what people are looking for is actually leaders who will rise above those kinds of partisan divisions and the fierce parts warfare at all times and look for places where we can agree. we're never going to agree on all things but we ought to find places where we can agree to morph country forward. if your posture is we're not going to be able to work together on anything, well we're not going to go very far. >> one of the guys who in 2008 challenged the republican field and will be back doing it again, he thinks differently on a lot of issues, libertarian ron paul.

>> he's an interesting guy. i will say he has distinctive views and he's been consistent in those views and he, too, has a following. >> very careful there. you're being very diplomatic. how about governor tim pawlenty of minnesota? >> again, he is new to the national scene. i did hear his speech on the economy. >> tough indictment of the president. >> it was. but you know, there was a question of standing, can you leave your state with a $6.2 billion deficit. and then moralize about fiscal responsibility. i think everyone who runs for president learns that they have to end up confronting their own -- their own statements, their own record and so on. and a lot of these candidates are new to the american people but the american people -- we went through a two-year primary process. this president was scrutinized more perhaps than any candidate

ever had been. and you have to be prepared to go through that process. so it is not really what people say on the first few days that counts, it is how they wear over time. and i think questions like that are going to ones that he's going to have to answer. >> somebody who was through the process last time and the gront runner, you could say, this time, former massachusetts governor mitt romney, someone also on the issue of the economy, very tough indictment on the president and if you look at new national polling, he runs ahead or roughly equal with the president. unique among the republicans this far out. >> i do think that the experience of having run before matters and he's been running for president for, what? six, seven years now. so that's a lot of experience and a lot of contacts generated, familiarity and that's all to his benefit. there, too, though, it's not what you say, it's what you've done and when he was governor of massachusetts, massachusetts was 47th in the nation in job creation. i don't know that that qualifies

you as an oracle on how to revive the economy. and so he'll have to explain why that was and why massachusetts lagged the nation when he was governor job creation. and it's -- the state is doing quite well under governor patrick today, i might add. >> i might add that under a democratic friend. the former senator rick santorum of pennsylvania who who criticized the president and said the president presided over the collapse of the moral sector. >> well, you know, he has to go and present that case to the american people. think the american people look at this president and they see a guy with very strong personal values, a good father, good family man, someone who's caring and i don't think that they think that at all. now there may be some small faction within the republican party that will respond to that and that may be his plan.

but as a matter of winning in a national election, i don't see that as a very constructive or successful message. >> we're just raising the curtain on this republican race with this debate. does david axelrod sit at the headquarters in chicago at this point and think i'm fairly certain i'm going to be running against "x"? >> i think, john, there's more uncertainty about this republican race than there has been in my experience. you've been around about as long as i have. and because generally, the republican party's been a hierarchical party and the guy who's in the queue moves up. that was true with bush, dole, mccain. by that count, romney should be the nominee but i don't think anybody's certain. the tea party's introduced some uncertainty in that process and it will be very interesting. it will be a good time to be a journalist. >> i hope you're watching. >> will do. >> thanks. >> good to be with you.

we're only minutes away from tonight's first republican debate here in new hampshire. up next, we're taking a closer look inside the hall. we'll preview what to look for from each of tonight's contenders. stay with us. [ man ] ♪ trouble ♪ trouble, trouble trouble, trouble ♪ ♪ trouble been doggin' my soul ♪ since the day i was born ♪ worry ♪ oh, worry, worry worry, worry ♪ [ announcer ] when it comes to things you care about, leave nothing to chance. travelers. take the scary out of life. her morning begins with arthritis pain. that's a coffee and two pills.

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the seven republicans taking part in tonight's first new hampshire debate are here at st. anselm college in manchester, new hampshire as the debate moderator, cnn's john king, is getting ready to pose tough questions. joining us during these final few minutes before the debate starts, our chief political analyst gloria borger, our senior political analyst david gergen. among those seven, gloria, who do you suspect might be the most nervous right to you? >> i think it might be newt gingrich, to tell you the truth. because he's the only one who's really got to come back this early in the campaign, because he had his campaign staff quit last week, he has to prove that in fact he has a campaign, and that he intends to continue, and that he has something to say. i would say newt. >> essentially, rick davis, executive cnn pointed out to me earlier tonight, he lives in atlanta. he says newt has never been on stage or in a debate like this before. sew may be nervous.

i would also think tim pawlenty might be nervous. he's got to show some real muscle tonight. if he wants to become the alternative to mitt romney, this is an evening in which he has to shine. >> i think mitt romney might be the most nervous tonight because he's the front-runner. everybody is going to be going after him and hayes to defend himself in the face of potentially six proponents. >> but sometimes it is easier to be light when the other people are swatting at you and you are back at them, and with humor. that's where tim la ppawlenty ho be a little careful. >> mitt romney has been around the track. he's seen all of this before. for a loot lot of these people, it is the first time out. >> some memorable moments. ronald reagan had a few memorable moments in these debates and it helped him. what happens here tonight could have a very significant impact

in shaping attitudes going ahead. >> people really don't know who most of these candidates are and i think they're going to get a good look for the first time. how many people know who michelle bachmann is, for example? >> in minnesota they might not, but not necessarily -- >> some of the best would-be candidates like sarah palin or rudy giuliani are not on the stage upon the. >> wolf, i'd have said six or eight weeks ago people weren't paying that much attention. now that barack obama looks like he might be vulnerable, this nomination is worth a lot, there are a lot of reporters here tonight. >> there will be seven candidates up there momentarily. we'll watch it all unfold. the new hampshire republican presidential debate. stay with us. [ male announcer ] the inspiration for its shape was an archer drawing his bow.

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for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you want to be. ♪ because your moment is now. let nothing stand in your way. learn more at keller.edu. only a few minutes away from tonight's republican presidential debate. waiting for all seven of the candidates to be introduced on the stage momentarily. gloria borger and david bergen are here. once they introduce the candidates, i want to listen to that, gloria. but as we await what's going to happen tonight, i have no doubt that the economy and jobs will

dom flat this debate. >> right. i think you have to assume while a lot of these candidates are going to be trying to give it to mitt romney because he's the front-runner, their main target tonight is going to be barack obama because obviously the jobs news hasn't been good lately. the president had the unfortunate phrase of saying this is just in the road, the bad economy. i think the president and the president's advisers are going to take a lot of heat. >> play a clip from mitt romney, because he goes after the president on a new video he put out on the bumps in the road comment. that's mild compared to some of the stuff we will hear from these republicans as far as the president is concerned tonight. >> i think they're going to hang this economy around the president's neck, obviously, and will go they go after romney or will they offer anything positive of their own. what will they have to say. pawlenty put a speech out there. 5% growth over ten years?

that's never happened in modern american history. what is mitt romney going to do about the deficits? he hasn't been clear about if. >> he has to do explaining and has to to come up with a real plan. medicare is a huge issue as well given the controversy surrounding paul ryan's proposals. >> medicare say huge issue. newt gingrich called that budget right wing social engineering, so he has to explain what he meant by that because that budget is the holy grail for republicans. it's very unpopular out in the country right now. >> right here in the state of new hampshire, the boston globe poll showed. >> i'll go to the hall right now. they're about to introduce the seven republicans. let's listen in. next up is governor tim pawlenty.

thanks a lot. i appreciate it. thank you. >> congressman ron paul of texas. former governor mitt romney of massachusetts. the former speaker of the house, newt gingrich of georgia. the congresswoman from minnesota, michelle bashman. bachmann. and the former senator from

pennsylvania, rick san to her yum. say hello to the seven candidates here tonight. >> there's the formal introduction. the crowd is excited obviously. momentarily this debate will formally begin. the photo opes and the photographers are there taking pictures. all seven of these candidates. as we watch this, gloria and david is still here as well. i think the initial round, the first few questions will set the stage, gloria, for what could happen over the course of two hours. >> i have to guess that the first few questions are going to be about the economy and how these republicans are going to say they would manage the economy better than barack obama. and as david was saying earlier, we don't have a lot of detail on

the plans, and the plans we do have some detail on don't seem to add up. >> the democrats are saying they put out a long memo and i spoke to robert gibbs the former white house press secretary who was here a while ago. he's in new hampshire. they make the point. if you like the way president bush left the economy back in the end of 2008, re-elect these republicans right now. you'll get that in spades. >> i'm not sure that's going to get a lot of traction, wolf. i think in the first year or two, you could hang the economy around bush. i think that was a legitimate argument. now i think a growing number of americans feel this is the obama economy, and what they were looking forward from robert gibbs and other democrats, what are your plans to get us out of this. how do we move forward? >> what you hear from the democrats is looking at governors like mitt romney, pawlenty, they're going to say, what was the economy like in your state when you were running things? tim pawlenty left with a large

deficit, right? >> let me play that little clip. the new mitt romney video going after the president. what he said a little while ago. listen to this. >> there's always bumps on the road to recovery. >> i'm an american, not a bump in the road. >> i'm an american, not a bump in the road. >> yeah, david, they're referring to what the president said when he said there are always going to be bumps in the road to recovery. so romney is hitting him hard on that. >> it was a politically inept response at the time when so many people -- by the president and his team to call it a bump in the road. it left this opening, and mitt romney seized it and was smart to get that ad out on just a few

hours before the debate. again, what would mitt romney do? what would tim pawlenty do? that's what we want to hear tonight. not the anti-obama rally. >> it's clear mitt romney wants to run against barack obama now. i got an e-mail from the romney campaign, all in caps, no joke, picking up on something the president said today about the failed stimulus package, that it it wasn't as shovel ready as they hoped in certain instances. the romney campaign sends out a big e-mail to all the press saying this is not a joke. it's clear romney is already wanting to make this a two-man race. >> the white house and the obama campaign, they're obviously worried a lot about a potential romney nomination or tim pawlenty nomination because they have respective records. they're scared if rick perry the governor of texas who has created a lot of jobs in texas since the economic collapse, if he's the nominee, and i'm hearing there's a good chance he might run.

>> there do seem to be growing prospects he would run, and he'd be a wildcard in the race. it's effective on the stump and he stirs the evangelical vote, as you know. i think he has the energy that he could conceivably run as the alternative to romney. that's what people are going to be fighting over. >> are we assuming, gloria, that sarah palin is not going to run? >> depends on which day you ask me. i'm generally assuming that she's not going to run. i know she's running out of time, if she wants to get into the race. i think you can't just expect that a campaign will somehow materialize out of the grassroots and you take it to the white house. i think decision time is pretty close. >> she has 100% name recognition. >> i'm a monday through sunday person believing she won't run. >> i think you're probably right. >> i think she's making way too much money. she's having a really good time, and i don't think she wants to go through the discipline and the likely disappointment.

>> what about rudy guiliani? he comes up here to new hampshire every few weeks or so. >> he's been asking team if he should run, and a lot say you can't run. it's very hard to see how he can get the nomination given what kind of moderate republican he is. given the tea party contingent right now and also i'm told he wants to wait and see what issues are the key issues. if it's the economy, that's not for rudy guiliani, terrorism and foreign policy might be. >> the one surprise to me in the recent cnn poll was how well he played in that poll. >> he has a lot of name recognition. >> these early polls, name recognition is very important. >> that's right. again, the question is who emerges as an alternative to romney. people think romney won't win or don't like him it for whatever reason. the most important thing right now is romney is pulling ahead of the pack, and he seems more

likely as a nominee today than six months ago. >> are you absolutely, positively kwingsed that jeb bush, the former governor of florida, who is popular in florida, will not run this time? >> yes, i am. >> i've talked to him several times. i've talked to his friends. >> a lot of republicans are dreaming, you know, even though a third bush in the white house might not necessarily sound all that -- >> as the bush years fade, he looks better. i think he'll run in 2016. but his closest friends tell me he won't do it now. >> in our cnn poll what republicans want is more than anything is somebody seven out of ten wants somebody who can beat barack obama. so they're going to be looking at this debate tonight trying to see the person that they believe could stand up against barack obama in a debate on the economy, on foreign policy, and can appeal to those independent voters of which you have so many in the state of new hampshire. they will be able to vote in