there. no soon bachmann compared self to gay rapist clown serial killer, bachmann's campaign told "washington times" john wayne's parents did live in waterloo so it turned out to be a cheap shot, unlike the shot from the head cam, this is the camera's view of bachmann. this is bachmann's view of the headcam. jeannie moos, cnn, new york. >> that's it for me. for our international viewers "world report" is next. in the u.s., "john king usa" starts right now. the president takes a personal role tonight in negotiations aimed at keeping the government from defaulting on its loans. we begin with the latest official entry into the 2012 presidential race. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

i want my candidacy for presidency of the united states when we the people of the united states stand for independence from the government that has gotten too big and spends too much and has taken away too much of our liberties. >> to liberals, michele bachmann is a white ring extremist who plays loose with the facts. to tea party activists, she is a hero willing to stand up not just to the obama agenda but her own party's leadership. like her or not, she is the candidate making the greatest impact on the race for the republican nomination. the new iowa poll shows her near the top of the pack running evening with mitt romney and well ahead of a half dozen other gop contenders. even though she represents minnesota in congress, bachmann chose her birth place waterloo, iowa, to make it official. >> i o say that everything i need to know i learned in iowa.

i learned those lessons at hawthorne elementary, valley park elementary, and at my home which are a very short distance from where we are standing today. because this is where my iowa roots were firmly planted. it's these iowa roots and my faith in god that guide me today. >> iowa roots. got it? let's be honest. it's hard to see bachmann winning the republican nomination, but it's easy to seeing her have a dramatic impact on the race if she can maintain that level of support in iowa. let's discuss the bachmann factor with victoria borger, jessica yellen and chip. when you see michele bachmann get in the race, we know what happened in 2008. a lot of people are looking at this race saying if she can hold iowa, what happens to minnesota governor tim pawlenty? what happens to the canadacy of

the former speaker newt gingrich? what happens to lesser-known candidates like senator santora? >> she can be the front runner in iowa for six months. if that's all she does, it won't get very far. she is probably going to move on to south carolina and play like an iowa south carolina two-step which is what governor huckabee tried to do four years ago. the special thing about iowa, anybody can compete there. the iowa straw polls coming up in august. 10,000, 15,000 people. she is clearly expected to win that by a big margin. who is going to catch on next? who is going to get that next big oxygen burst out of iowa? there is a lot of play here. it's a long time to the caucuses there. >> she is leading the pack. a lot of people say she is a tea party favorite. people say she is a social

conservative, anti-abortion, anti-gay rights. listen to michele bachmann clearly making an effort to say i'm a broad-based republican. >> it's made up of americans from all walks of life like a three-legged stool. it's made up of peace through strength conservatives. i am one of those. it is made up of fiscal conservatives and i am one of those. it is made up of social conservatives, and i am one of those. and it's made up of the tea party movement, and i am one of those. >> if she can expand her base just beyond the tea party and social conservatives, if you add those up, that's not bad. if she can expand, she is a factor. >> she is playing to the republican bazemore broadly than the tea party. she is doing it effectively. she is communicating a message. it is clear she believes in something. that's why she is popping in the republican field where you get

the sense the mainstream candidates, the ones raising a lot of money are media-savvy or being run by media-savvy operatives. who are they and what is their character like? you get a sense of who this person is and what she stands for. >> i think of her as the howard dean of this year in a way. just the way in 2004 howard dean shook up the democrats. he shook up john kerry, gave him a run for his money. he didn't win iowa then there was a problem. but did he represent the liberal wing of the democratic party in the same way she represents the tea party. rick perry, if he gets in, that's a game-changer. that could take away a whole bunch of her strength right now. she's got a little bit of steam. she's going to take advantage of it till he gets in the race. >> chip, if you're in camp palin, and most of us think she is not going to run, she is actually going to be in iowa tomorrow for the iowa premiere of a movie about her tenure as the governor up in alaska.

does bachmann's rise accelerate your schedule or do you not have to worry about that if you're sarah palin? >> i don't think sarah palin worries about anyone else's schedule except her own. i don't think it bothers her one bit. she is going to do what she is going to do. i assume she is not running for president. if she gets in, that would change the dynamic of the race from iowa through new hampshire, south carolina, everything. >> the knock on michele bachmann is sometimes what she says simply isn't true. sometimes what she says is closer to true. i asked her about chris wallace had to apologize today for suggesting yesterday on fox news sunday she was a flake. he took that back. his point was she said on that program some time ago early in the libya invasion there were 30,000 people killed. that number was nowhere near true. when the president traveled to india she was throwing around so some exorbitant figure of what it would cost.

she said she saw that somewhere. i asked her would she have to meet a higher test. >> it isn't my job to fact check sources that come out in publication. i was using that. >> it's your job as a candidate. >> you have a very good point though. i think when you're in the presidential realm, i do think message discipline is required. i think that is something that all of us have areas we need to do better on. that's certainly one i'll pay a lot of attention to. >> you see she has a lot of pros around her now. she hired people away, ed rollins running her campaign. she seems to have gotten the message, i need to grow. i need to get better and stronger. if i keep making mistakes, i'm in trouble. >> she has been much more disciplined. she did make a little mess today in iowa. she said it's good to be back in the home of john wayne.

it was john wayne gacey, not john wane the action movie star. his parents were allegedly born there. a little awkward. if you go to politico.com, they are the standard for judging these things. she has a long list of falsehoods she made. this matters. >> she does. in the cnn debate, the thing that struck me about her was this was a candidate who had been briefed, and i was told in the briefing she took meticulous notes, paid attention. had some messages she needed to get out. got them out and did well as a result in the debate. you can see how good she can be when she is on message. the problem is when she is out there on her own, and when you're an inexperienced candidate running for president, it's hard to learn on the job. >> goes on for a long time. a lot of house parties.

>> barack obama learned that, too. >> he sure did. he happens to be president of the united states right now. there is a lesson in that, too. still ahead here, exclusive cnn reporting from yemen in syria where recommend i'm held a big meeting today. president obama steps into knee goings aimed at letting the government borrow more money. a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's the at&t network... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. is best absorbed in small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose.

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talks about raising the government debt ceiling. the u.s. government will lack the authority to pay its bills. the president met separately with harry reid and republican leader michigan mcconnell today. while the white house is putting a positive spin on the situation saying a significant deal is possible, senator mcconnell is making clear tax hikes are not an option he'll agree to. can they sort all this out? let's talk it over. i'm joined by david walker, founder and ceo of the comeback america initiative. also with us, krista freeler.

this is what gets discouraging. the united states is way up here, the current level of our debt. we've got to hit that by august 2nd. let me start with a simple question. if the united states does not do this, if these talks do not produce a deal what happens? and the government can't borrow more money? >> we don't know for sure what happens. i think it is a fair bet we have real global crisis. i think the right comparison is with the collapse of lehman in the fall of 2008. the u.s. would default on its debt, wouldn't be able to pay its creditors, wouldn't be able to pay its domestic bills. and with the global economy being so weak right now, that would be a financial crisis on par with that mega shock that the global economy sustained in 2008. >> so david, you understand washington. i'll bring this up. the basic framework of the debt debate here. as you watch this play out here,

the democrats say they want some tax increases. here is one of the proposals. raise taxes, take away ducks for wealthy. republicans say this has to start with steep spending cuts. democrats said we could raise oil and gas subsidies. here are things in the middle. cuts in student loan subsidies. reducing medicare expenditures. what about cuts in military spending and cuts in ethanol and other farm subsidies? what is missing here to get this done? >> there is no question that the problem is primarily a spending problem. there is a lot of common ground in what could be done to cut spending. where the rubber meets the road is the republicans do not want to consider anything that could even be called a tax increase. for example, if you end up reducing deductions, exemptions, credits and exclusions, getting rid of tax expenditures that people can agree makes sense to

get rid of them, but result in additional revenues, republicans don't have that on the table. frankly, right now doesn't even have the possibility of revenues if you don't hit certain deficit targets or debt-to-gdp targets on the table. that's where i think they are being unreasonable. >> you mentioned debt-to-gdp. some people don't understand the economics of it. the dark blue line is the president's budget. this is current policy and this is the percentage of debt-to-gdp. then you see the obama framework. you see the house republican and fiscal commission. the president is finally getting involved. the vice president was involved for weeks. do you get the sense, you know how washington works. they say there is no deal but they get a deal at the end. s to that climate exist right now or does the looming 2012 campaign make that harder? >> i think yes to both of your

questions. is that an acceptable answer? the looming 2012 campaign makes it more complicated, particularly on the republican side. we are seeing an interesting dance particularly right now between john boehner and eric cantor. all the republicans actually do want to deal because the republican party doesn't want to be blamed for causing a brand-new global economic crisis. on the other hand, none of the republicans wants to be the guy who signed a deal to increase taxes. i think that's the dilemma for the republican party. if i could, the other irony of this whole discussion is economic growth is the paramount problem right now, not the deficit. what is sort of astonishing is the extent to which the republicans have managed to dominate the economic debate and turn the focus, make the agenda being deficit cutting rather than economic stimulus. >> based on that, people say cutting spending could make it worse even though you want to get the deficit down. did the president wait too long

or is his timing right to try to bang heads at the end? >> i think the president waited too long to react to the simpson bowles commission report. he designated the vice president, which is the second ranking officer under the constitution in the united states, which is plenty high level enough. there is no question the president and vice president talk frequently. now it's the president, senate leaders, the house leaders. it's shocking to me the house is out for a ten-daybreak when after we come back from july 4th, nobody should take any breaks until we have a deal. >> maybe the politicians will listen to that. we'll keep in touch over the course of the next high-stakes month. up next here, a massive wildfire in new mexico threatens an important government facility. e seafood feast for $15. start with soup then have salad and biscuits

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welcome back. here is the latest news you need to know now. los alamos national laboratory in new mexico is closed due to a giant wildfire threatening the facility. residents have been evacuated. the los alamos plant there. we'll continue to track this important story. dramatic wildfires. moving on, the former illinois governor rob

blagojevich was convicted of 17 charges related to public corruption. prosecutors accused him of attempting to sell president obama's former senate seat. let's check in with jeffrey tubin. this is going to be a healthy time in prison, no doubt. >> a really long time. first of all, he is eligible for hundreds of years given the number of charges. especially bad, he testified and the jury thought he lied. judges punish defendants who lie on the witness stand. i think he could easily be looking at eight to ten years in jail. >> he said he was stunned by the verdict. are you surprised in this was a retrial. a hung jury first time out. >> i was surprised he got a hung jury the first time. the u.s. attorney's office in illinois has a very good record on corruption cases. this guy was doomed. mostly because he was guilty. >> today the supreme court overturned an arizona law that provided taxpayer finance funding to candidates who were outspent by privately-funded

opponents a slim majority said the state law in arizona was a violation of free speech. you see this as part of a trend by this court. >> a big important trend. the most important case was citizens united last year. this case is part of that trend that says, look, contributions too candidates are protected by the first amendment. expenditures are protected by the first amendment. the supreme court is in the process of deregulating politics. they are throwing out any rules that interfere with people's ability to spend money or to raise money. that means it's really going to be the law of the jungle soon when it comes to campaigns in this country. >> you say the law of the jungle. their rationale is free speech. this is america. if you got it, you can spend it. >> this is a court that really cares deeply about free speech and the first amendment. the other big case they struck down the violent video games law in california. they said that violated free

speech. liberals like that kind of free speech. liberals don't like it when the court strikes down campaign finance rules. it's part of the same philosophy, at least on the part of the conservative majority. they don't like restrictions on anything that you can interpret as a kind of speech. they clearly regard campaign spending as a kind of speech. >> i'm shocked you would say americans view supreme court decisions through their own political prism. >> shocking. >> jeff toobin, thank you. an arrest warrant issued for the libyan leader omar gadhafi. ] ♪ [ cat meows ] ♪ [ whistle ] ♪

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moammar gadhafi is the subject of an international arrest warrant. he is accused of murder thanned a persecuting his own citizens. as yet, there is little indication colonel gadhafi is willing to yield power. ben live for us tonight in misrata. the simple reaction in the country, especially among the opposition that there is an arrest warrant for their leader? >> reporter: certainly here in miss rata, john, the reaction was ecstatic. people out in the street celebrating, cars honking, young men shooting their rifles into the air. people we spoke to, all of them very happy about this.

what's interesting is that maybe some libyans don't realize this is an arrest warrant. many of them seem to think it is a death sentence. i spoke to one man who said he wanted to cut gadhafi into little pieces. i explained that actually there is supposed to be a trial going on and that there is due process, but i think the finer points of international justice have been lost on many libyans. they see this simply as yet another vote of support for them against moammar gadhafi. >> that's an important point. i want to go over to the map. ben is in misrata for us, one of the opposition control towns. the green is the regime. yellow towns are in dispute. in the sense though now, nato is not going to arrest moammar gadhafi. the opposition has no way of getting onto tripoli. will this change their tactics on the battlefield or is it

symbolically a victory? >> reporter: it's symbolically an important victory. it doesn't make any difference at all. what it does actually do is that it sort of closes a window for gadhafi to leave libya under some sort of arrangement where he might go into exile abroad. now, basically, his back is to the wall. he realizes that he either has to fight and overcome the rebels, his enemies, or he will have to fight to the death. certainly that seems to be the thinking of the rebels, that they have said time and time again that they are not willing to make any sort of political arrangements or a settlement with moammar gadhafi. their goal is to see him ousted from power. of course, what they would like to do is militarily oust them from power. what we've seen in eastern libya and also here in misrata, the

rebel s are good at warfare, bu they are simply outgunned. they are hoping faet will somehow be able to destroy gadhafi's army and open the way for them to go down that long highway to tripoli. militarily, they aren't capable of overcoming moammar gadhafi with the weapons and men they have at their disposal. >> ben wedeman live for us tonight in misrata. jim clancy raised what next the question with secretary of state hillary clinton. >> he's dug in pretty hard. we, along with our international partners, have made it very clear that he needs to leave power. he also needs to stop the assault on his own people.

part of what the international criminal court has done is to take credible evidence and pull it all together. it tells a fairly horrifying story about what he and his close associates, including family members, have been willing to do to stay in power. >> she says, tells a fairly horrifying story. any sense of now what? gadhafi is not going to turn himself in. just tough words from the secretary or anything to come of it? >> it's a tough spot for the administration to be in. what's caught the administration off guard or out is that moammar gadhafi did not roll over with the first week of nato air strikes. will indicting him make any difference? the only place i see it making any difference, it bolsters the opposition. right now, that's the best nato can hope for. this is going to be long. this isn't going to be easy at all.

it's a mess. >> the main reason you're here for this exclusive interview was the state department's report on human trafficking. they asked her about the lack of u.s. funding to combat the global problem. >> i don't accept the premise of that. i think part of the reason why i wanted to include ourselves in this report is that i think we are stronger diplomatically if we can say we are taking a hard look at ourselves. we have done so much in the last ten plus years. a lot of what we do is at the local and state level, not just at the federal level. if you look at all the resources from d.a. offices and police stations to judges who have been trained and really sensitized, all the way across our country, we are making enormous progress. >> enormous progress maybe. the secretary is defensive about america's position because america is leading the way.

the state department is raising some really important issues and taking an important principled stand. consider this, there are about 17,000 murders in the united states. i learned this week as i talked to expert. there are about 17,000 outsiders trafficked into the united states. this doesn't count the hundred thousand kids on the streets as runaways. if you want to solve murder, there are 50,000 homicide investigators out there. hillary clinton talked about the state, the local levels. that's fair to talk about, but at the state, local, federal levels, do you know how many experts we have in law enforcement on human trafficking? somewhere between 50 and 100 are the best estimates. we are way behind that. people say we have a war on terror and a war on drugs. is where the war on human trafficking? >> what is your sense of her personal involvement? she pushed back. in the clinton presidency, this was an issue tee talked about. >> she is passionate about it,

but realizes the budgetary constraints the u.s. faces. there are people out there working on this right now. the u.s. is trying to support them in every move they make. you've got to win over the public first. they've got to recognize there is a problem, as well. great to see you here in washington. >> great to be with you, john. let's turn to yemen in the midst of its own anti-government uprising. the palace was attacked by rebels and al saleh was injured. he is expected to make some sort of public appearance. it's unclear if he is still in saudi arabia or secretly returned to yemen. cnn is the only international network in yemen. rick what do we know about this talk the president is to make some statement? >> conflicting information is what we have here at the moment. the presidential advisors saying

president saleh last week was back here to yemen. that didn't happen. same advisor said there would be a speech happening some time about now. that hasn't happened. the top spokesman here at the capital center says the speech isn't going to happen any time soon. there is not clear why there are mismessages coming from close presidential advisors here. perhaps bad communication with the president still believed to be on his sickbed in saudi arabia in a hospital in the capital riyadh. perhaps what we are sensing is a drum from presidential loyalists maintaining what president saleh is saying, he doesn't intend to come back. he doesn't intend to head international pressure and step down. the advisors here have a vested interest in the president returning and continuing in power. without him they will likely be

sidelines, as well. >> without him they would be sidelines as well. we heard reports from chaos, about al qaeda benefitting from the lack of a strong presidential government with the president out of the country. now that we are in the country, what is the sense of how stable is the country right now? >> people buying gas on the black market. it's gone up six times its normal value. food is up three times. you see a lot of people on bicycles because they can't afford the transport of motor vehicles. there are a lot of check points on the road. soldiers checking drivers and passengers with flashlight after dark. very few street lights. >> nic, thanks. still ahead, leaders of the successful effort to allow same-sex marriage in new york turn their attention to new

challenges, including getting president obama to change his mind on the issue. next, more of our exclusive overseas reporting. more than. people, companiess to face the challenges yesterday left behind

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it was a dramatic day in syria. political figures critical of the regime met publically in damascus with the blessing of the government. syria now has allowed cnn

correspondents access to the country where hundreds died in a brutal crackdown over the course of three months of political protests. earlier today we visited a town where the government account of the violence differs dramatically from the reports of human rights groups and activists. >> reporter: he is saying when he arrived into this room, back here he found three bodies. one of them, he says, was decapitated. the others had gun shot wounds to the torso. he is saying it is seen as if they had been beaten, as well. back here there is a little bit of debris, a shoe and some dark stains on the wall. it's hard to tell exactly what it is. >> hara, let's start with you on your visit there. essentially what you get is two competing, very different versions of history.

>> you most certainly do. in that clip there, that was an individual who said he was an eyewitness showing us inside the military compound where the government is saying a massacre took place when armed gangs, terrorist elements stormed inside killing more than 100 syrian security forces. the government is maintaining the crackdown in the surrounding villages took place to root out these terrorist gangs that it's saying were trying to set up an al qaeda style group. activists who were at the syrian borders said they were simply peaceful demonstrators. that they had no intention of carrying out any violence whatsoever. that the military was the one that forced them out with just the clothes on their backs. >> is there any evidence to back up the government's claims or when you go in on a government-sanctioned tour like this, is it a he said/she said?

>> it is. it's very difficult. even though we are on the ground to differentiate between the truth of what we are seeing and what people are telling us because we are constantly in the presence of government minders. the eyewitnesses were provided to us by the government. there were a handful of residents. some came forward and were saying that the military had effectively been protecting them, but then there were cases where we went up at random and spoke to individuals who uncharacteristically were not talkative at all. >> as this unfolds and we try to piece this together, you have this remarkable, in some ways, meeting of the oppositions. people who said the regime must go allowed to meet by that regime. what are we to make of that? >> it's an interesting question. you do have genuine opponents of the regime that met today in

damascus. some of the people who were gathered today in this damascus hotel have done hard jail time. some of them several years in the '80s and '90s. they are genuine opponents to the regime. you have many critics that have been saying about this gathering that it is giving the regime this veneer of legitimacy. in effect, with these opponents gathering with the authorization of the government, they are allowing the government to say, look, we are allowing people to talk while the killings continue. in fact, one of the dissidents we were expecting at the meeting today that i attended at this hotel in damascus ended up not showing up. he said, i can't do it. so long as this is going to make the government look like it's tolerating opposition while the crackdown continues. >> so hala, for those who say the regime must go, what is the next test? those say we can get together to start a conversation. what is the next test to see if

there is true openness, true dialogue or this is a propaganda ploy? >> well, it's also an interesting question. what do opponents to the regime who don't want dialogue, what do they do? what options do they have? their options are to go out and protest or outside of the country, some of the activists who say they represent the demonstrators on the streets is for them to continue to protest. what kind of impact can they have? how much can they weaken this regime by the force of their presence on the streets of syria when the crackdown continues? so the big question for syria is how does the transition happen? can it possibly happen gradually? or as the opponents to the regime who don't want dialogue, must it happen in the dramatic fashion the way we saw in egypt? one of the lessons we have learned from today's opposition

meeting is that at best this opposition is divided. we have on the one hand those who want to work within the framework and those who reject the regime entirely? the path uncertain for them going forward in syria. >> let me ask each of you briefly in closing, we have been complaining cnn has not been allowed access to find out what is going on to confirm independently these reports of horror and bloodshed we get. why now? why has the syrian regime decided to say come on in, here's the visa? >> there is one possible explanation. that is the regime has started to feel the pressure of the terrible pr and the terrible image that it has projected worldwide since the beginning of this crackdown on these demonstrators. it believes by allowing a limited number of foreign reporters, at the very least they can try to shape the message. we are monitored by government minders. we are still able to piece

together more or less what's going on. we still, and she will agree with me, hope to gain more and more access as our presence here is extended. >> and just to add quickly to that also is the fact that the government to a certain degree does now believe that it can at least control the message or control what the media is seeing. there is this sense they do maybe, to a certain degree, have a better grasp on what is happening in the country, and they can limit our movements as best they can. really what we do see by and large is what the government wants us to see through that specific government prism. >> unless we are able to cover these demonstrations, unless our range of motion is extended to get a true idea of what's going on in syria is going to be very difficult. that said, getting the perspective from damascus is invaluable, as well. >> some perspective better than none. we'll continue to fight for more independent grilling, if you will.

two great reporters on the ground in damascus. thank you so much. coming up, new york says, "i do" to same-sex marriage. might this be the vote that changes president obama's mind? >> all across this country. >> announcer: this past year alone there's been a 67% spike in companies embracing the cloud-- big clouds, small ones, public, private, even hybrid. your data and apps must move easily and securely to reach many clouds,

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gay rights parade there you are seeing in new york yesterday. a celebration. on friday, late friday, governor

andrew cuomo signed into law legislation allowing same sex marriage in new york state. new york now joins five other states in allowing same-sex marriage. iowa, new york, vermont, and new hampshire. massachusetts, connecticut and the district of columbia. so six states and the district of columbia allow same-sex marriage. if you look at the map as well, seven additional states allow either civil unions or domestic partnerships. new jersey, illinois, hawaii, california, nevada, washington and oregon out on the west coast. how do people feel nationally? gallup has a recent poll that shows 53% of americans say, yes, same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. 45% of americans say no. if you look, gallup breaks it down by party affiliation. 69% of democrats say yes. that's up a bit from last year. 59% of independents say yes, same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. but look at the number among republicans. fewer than 3 in 10 republicans

say yes. same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. 28% of republicans say yes. this year, exactly the same number a year ago. so will there be a national impact from new york's same law allowing same-sex marriage. christine quinn is the speaker of the new york city council and for years has advocate forward this. two years ago i visited with her in her home to discuss it. madam speaker, congratulations. why the difference? two years ago you talked about the fear of the unknown. you came up a few votes short. what happened? what made the difference? >> i think what made the difference is nobody lost focus or hope or faith after 2009. and we analyzed what went wrong. we organized a new campaign. we were more focused. we didn't repeat our mistakes, and we had the tremendous benefit this time of an incredibly popular governor, governor cuomo, who made this one of the top three priorities of his first year. and all of that focus, hard work and support of the governor came

together in a really remarkable way. >> and so as we ask now what comes next, how might this affect the national debate about same-sex marriage. i want to focus on that point you just made because in the reaction to the new york legislature passing this law, governor cuomo signing this law, we saw people marching in the streets saying hathank you, governor cuomo and promise kept. you have an energized base that supports their governor. what about the president of the united states going order? we talked about this issue two years ago. i want you to listen to what you said about president obama who was on the record opposing same-sex marriage. here's what you said two years ago. >> president obama, i'm very grateful and excited that he's the most pro lgbt president we have ever had. he's not perfect on this issue. and i want him to be perfect. but he is very good. the best we've ever had. and i am fairly certain that pretty soon he will be perfect on this issue. and what we just have to do is

keep talking to him and keep educating him. and keep working with him. >> it's two years later, which i would vent surpast pretty soon. he's still not perfect in your view is he? >> no, he's still not perfect. that said, the position he has taken as it relates to the department of justice fighting the defense of marriage act is an enormous step forward for a president and his department of justice to come out against a law that was passed by the congress is a very powerful statement. so, you know, although i want perfect soon, i am very gratified because i think that is another important step forward. a step that we've never really seen before or certainly haven't seen in a really long time. so he's headed in the right direction. >> headed in the right direction. you are a politician. you understand compromise. you are also perhaps a little more patient than the president than some might be who aren't involved in politics. i want you to listen to the reaction as the president started to discuss related issues at a fund-raiser just last week. >> that's why i ordered federal

agencies to extend the same benefits to gay couples that go to straight couples. we're going to keep fighting until the law no longer -- i heard you guys. >> so you hear people in the crowd chanting marriage when the president is talking about some of the other steps you talk about. if we're going forward in 2012 and we have a much more competitive political environment, because of the tough economy, because of other issues that will make this a much more competitive campaign than 2008, are there any questions in your mind that some gay americans or some liberal americans who just support gay rights say you haven't delivered for us, we're going to stay home. >> i think how the process works is that's grassroots activists, communities, voters push elected officials. and we push the president to be better and i think that's part of what got "don't ask, don't tell" repealed. it's part yf the president took the bold step he did around the defense of marriage act. so i expect all in the lgbt

community, myself included to push the president and every elected official until they are where we want them to be. that doesn't mean we're going to abandon them in the voting booth but our job is to keep that pressure, keep that conversation, keep that dialogue. it has been effective with the president and it was unbelievably effective in the new york state legislature. that's why we won because we never let up. >> the president has said he's personally had an evolution on this issue that he's more open to thinking about supporting same-sex marriage. do you think by the same he accept resnomination will he have evolved to the place where you and he are in the same place? >> i would never dare to say what's going on in the president's mind but sooner the better. i'm patient but not that patient. >> when we had that conversation two years ago you were with your partner kim saying you wanted to wait for this day to get married in new york city in new york state. when will that be?

>> spring of 2012. we decided over the weekend. >> and how long after that wedding will you announce your candidacy for new york mayor? >> oh, now, now, john, i think you are getting some of these questions from my father, not kim. so one big announcement at the time, spring of 2012, is enough for a girl in one day. >> you don't have -- you still aren't sure you're going to run for mayor or you just don't want to talk about it. >> i have a lot going on. the same day marriage equality passed in new york, the mayor and i outlined the framework of next year's budget where we prevented teacher layoffs and kept all our fire houses open. i'm going to plan my marriage and do my day job and let the future be what the future will be. speaker quinn, thanks for your time today. >> thank you. you noticed where she said we balanced the budget. didn't have to lay off any teachers or firefighters. she's running for mayor. she's just not prepared to tell you that. she will in the days ahead. how important is iowa? well, michele bachmann announced her candidacy for president there today. sarah palin and president obama will both be in iowa tomorrow.