jobs in this country in the last two years were down in texas. so you're going to hear about that from the texas governor, i would bet, today. going on right now, is the red state conference here in charleston, south carolina. this is a conference for conservative political activists put on by our very own cnn contributor eric ericsson. he's going to be introducing the governor in a few moepts. this is going to be a pretty busy next few days for rick perry. he's going from here in south carolina up to new hampshire talking to a republican gathering up there and then on to iowa on sunday. so he is definitely in this race. you don't have to read it on his website or his press release. you can read it in the moves of this campaign right now. >> a moment ago, we saw on the screen a dark room, that is the room behind you. lights are down until he makes his arrival. there it is right there. so interestingly enough, he certainly will be taking center stage there in south carolina.

he is separating himself already from the pack while the pack is in iowa. what do his campaign people say about why this was the best strategy for him? >> reporter: you know, his campaign, i have to tell you -- this is going to be interesting if we see more of this in the days to come -- is very tight-lipped. they've been very tight-lipped about what is going on here in south carolina. they were confirming earlier in the week that this is indeed going to be his presidential announcement. but in terms of strategy, really you can just look at what's happening. the ames, iowa, straw poll is obviously the center of the political universe this weekend. all of the republican contenders except for rick perry is there. and governor perry did not have the organization on the ground to compete in iowa for this ames straw poll, which is nonbinding, really a beauty pageant for gop contenders. the perry people thought, what's a good way to steal the thunder of this event happening in iowa? let's announce at this red state gathering in south carolina.

south carolina is another one of those early voting states. it's going to come right after iowa and new hampshire. it's also a very prominent conservative state in the tea party movement. the governor of this state, nikki hailey came out and talked to reporters after her speech this morning and called this move by the perry campaign to make this announcement today a brilliant stroke. so the perry people are already getting the attention of big-name republicans out there trying to figure out who they're going to endorse. haley says she hasn't made up her mind yet. but rick perry is going to be fighting very hard for this nomination. south carolina figures very prominently in his campaign strategy. he may not able to win iowa. that's michele bachmann's home state, as she tooix likes to say time and again. he may not win new hampshire because that is a state next door to mitt romney's massachusetts. so south carolina is very important to the perry candidacy. >> i wonder, how does he stack up in the polls comparatively to

all the names you just mentioned? >> reporter: if you look at the latest cnn poll that came out earlier this week, it's a pretty stunning development in this race because rick perry has essentially come out of nowhere to jump into this field. if you look at the latest cnn poll, he is nipping at the heels of mitt romney, just two points behind mitt romney long republican voters in terms of who their choice would be for president. he essentially pushes people like michele bachmann down into the middle of the pack. you'll recall in the last couple of weeks, michele bachmann was very high in the polling and all of our polling as to who republicans would like to see in the white house. she has slid back. is that because of rick perry? the in your opinions sure make it look that way. and so you have to keep in mind, this is just an announcement coming from rick perry today. what will happen in a week from now? two weeks from now after republicans start to listen to what he has to say in places like new hampshire, in places like iowa? does that shake up the field even more? does that perhaps put perry on top, make him a frontrunner in

this race? it's going to be fascinating to watch. >> is it too early to know how perry would stack up against president obama? >> reporter: you know, the latest cnn poll shows something very interesting in that regard. rick perry is about five percentage points behind president obama in an our latest polling in terms of who americans would support. and that's very close to the margin of error of that poll. as you can see, a very conservative governor from a very conservative state. if you ask americans out there who they would support, president obama has something to worry about with rick perry. now, republicans are going to want to get behind the person they think is going to win. so romney people will make the case that he's the more electable candidate f. you look at the polling, governor romney does a better job of going toe to toe with the president in these polls. but rick perry is just getting into this race. so whether those numbers move even more in his direction

remains to be seen. but it's probably not a bad bet that they will. >> we're also going to be joined by paul steinhauser who's joining us from ames, iowa, keeping a close eye on this as well. jim just mentioned, paul, nikki haley, she got great support from the tea party, she was already on the stage there at this conservative gathering. but you have to wonder. the tea party -- would the tea party and its backing of governor perry be as influential going into this race as perhaps the tea party has been backing other candidates before so much recent criticism of congress? >> reporter: yeah. this is going to be fascinating how the tea party plays in the race for the white house on the republican side. no doubt about it. remember, the tea party activists were extremely influential in 2010, last year, in the mid-term elections and influencing those republican primary battles. they've got a lot of favorites, it seems, right now. michele bachmann, the

congresswoman from minnesota, is a darling of many tea party activists. ron paul, a lot of supporters in the movement as well. now that rick perry is jumping into the race, it's an interesting dynamic and a lot of these candidates will be making a pitch for that tea party support, those activists, very influential. we're seeing it play out here in ames, iowa, seeing it play out in charleston, south carolina, as well. >> are there any rumbling amongst republican there is in ames, iowa, about rick perry's announcement taking place in south carolina, the first southern state to have a primary? are there any rumbling about whether he should be in ames, iowa? >> reporter: yeah, in fact, we heard michele bachmann ask that question just the other night in that republican presidential debate right here in ames, iowa. he's not a candidate yet. now he is. but he wasn't on thursday night. and there was some talk. is he trying to steal the spotlight away from iowa. but there were complaints about that. but guess where rick perry will

be tomorrow? right here in iowa. he'll go to the state fair and campaign and talk to republicans. so not only hitting i'm sorry and new hampshire but also iowa. >> and, paul, we know that rick perry has entered the room there in charleston, south carolina, at this event. seems as though he's shaking a lot of hands there. clearly this is a room full of his supporters. do we know -- who are some of the people who are behind governor rick perry? any particular well-noted, influential republicans? >> reporter: there are a lot of republican operatives that will not be known. they're not household names. but he does have a pretty strong organization. remember. he's run for governor -- >> paul, we're about to hear the voice of governor rick perry. >> i'll tell you what, it's even better to be the governor of the largest red state in america. and it's sure good to be back in the palmetto state in south carolina.

i enjoy coming to places where folks elect people like nikki haley, true conservatives. and also where they love the greatest fighting force on the face of the earth, the united states military. and i want to take a moment. i want to take a moment and ask you to just take a silence, think about those young navy s.e.a.l.s, the other special operators who gave it all on the service of their country. just take a moment to say "thank you, lord" that we have those kind of selfless, sack official men and women. their sacrifice was immeasura e immeasurable. and their dedication, profound. and he will never, ever forget them. [ applause ]

i stand before you today as the governor of texas, but i also stand before you, the son of two tenant farmers. ray perry who came home after 35 bombing missions over europe to work his little corner land out there and amelia who made sure my sister and i had everything that we needed, including hand-sewing my clothes until i went off to college. i'm the product of a place called paint creek. doesn't have a zip code. it's too small to be called a town along the rolling plains of texas. we grew dry-land cotton and wheat. and when i wasn't farming or attended paint creek school, i was generally over at troop 48 working on my eagle scout award.

and around the age of 8, i was blessed -- didn't realize it but i was blessed to meet my future wife, anita thigpen at a piano recital. we had our first date eight years after that. and she finally agreed to marry me 16 years after that. nobody says i'm not persistent. there is no greater way to live lif than with someone you love. and my first love is with us today, my lovely wife, anita. honey? [ applause ] we're also blessed to have two incredible children, griffin and sidney. and they're also here with us today. and our wonderful daughter-in-law meredith.

i'd just like to introduce those two you. you know what i learned growing up on the farm was a way of life, it was centered on hard work and on faith and on thrift. those values have stuck with me my whole life. but it wasn't until i graduated from texas a & m university and joined the united states air force flying c-130s all around the globe, that i truly appreciated the blessings of freedom. paraphrase abraham lincoln and ronald reagan, i realize that the united states of america really is the last great hope of mankind. [ applause ] what i saw was systems of government that elevated rulers

at the expense of the people, socialist systems that cloaked maybe in good intentions but were delivering misery and stagnation. and i learned that not everyone values life like we do in america. or the rights that are endowed to every human being by a loving god. you see, as americans, we're not defined by class. and we will never be told our place. [ applause ] what makes our nation exceptional is that anyone from any background can climb to the highest of heights. as americans, we don't see the role of government as guaranteeing outcomes but allowing free men and women to flourish based on their own vision, their hard work and their personal responsibility.

and as americans, we realize that there is no taxpayer money that wasn't first earned by the sweat and toil of one of our citizens. [ applause ] that's why we reject this president's unbridled fixation on taking more money out of wallets and pocketbooks of american families and employers and giving it to a central government, spreading the wealth punishes success while setting america on course for greater dependence on government. washington's insatiable desire to spend our children's inheritance on failed stimulus plans and other misguided economic theories have given us record debt and left us with far

too many unemployed. but, of course, now we're told we're in recovery. yeah. but this sure doesn't feel like a recovery to more than 9% of the americans out there who are unemployed or the 16% of the african-americans, 11% of the hispanics in the same position, or the millions who can only find part-time work or those who have even stopped looking for a job. one in six work-eligible americans cannot find a full-time job. that is not a recovery. that is an economic disaster. [ applause ] and you think about it. for those americans who do have full-time jobs, they aren't experiencing experience recovery with the rising fuel costs and the food prices that are going up.

recovery is a meaningless word if the bank has foreclosed on your home f you're under water on your mortgage or if you're up to the max on your credit card debt. those americans know that this president and his big spending, big government policies have prolonged our national misery, not alleviated it. [ applause ] and what do we say to our children? do we say, well, you know, y'all figure it out, don't worry, washington's -- they've created 17 debt and entitlement commissions in 30 years. but the fact of the matter is, they just didn't have the courage to make the decisions to allow you to have the future that you actually deserve. washington wouldn't even make modest entitlement program reforms in this last debate.

and the president even refused to lay out a plan for fear of the next election. how can the wealthiest nation in the history of civilization fail so miserably to pay its bills? how does that happen? [ applause ] well, mr. president, let us tell you something -- you cannot win the future by selling america off to foreign creditors. [ applause ] we cannot afford four more years of this rudderless leadership. last week, that leadership failed. and the tax and spend and borrow agenda of this president led to the first-ever downgrade of credit rating of the united states of america. in reality, though, this is just the most recent downgrade. the fact is, for nearly three years, president obama has been

downgrading american jobs. he's been downgrading our standing in the world. he's been downgrading our financial stability. he's been downgrading our confidence and downgrading the hope for a better future for our children. that's a fact. his policies are not only a threat to this economy, so are his appointees a threat. [ applause ] see, he stacked the national labor relations board with anti-business cronies who want to dig at a time to a private company, boeing, where they can build a plant. no president, no president should kill jobs in south carolina or for any other state for that matter, simply because they choose to go to a right to work state. [ applause ]

you see, when the obama administration is not stifling economic growth with overregulation, they're achieving the same through their wreckless spending. debt is not only a threat to our economy but also to our security. america's standing in the world is in peril, not only because of his disastrous policies but his foreign policies. our president has insulted our friends. he's encouraged our enemies, thumbing his nose at traditional allies like israel. he seeks to dictate new borders for the middle east and the oldest democracy there, israel. while he is an abject failure in his constitutional duty to protect our borders in the united states. [ applause ]

his foreign policy seems to be based on ail ya nating our traditional allies while basing our domestic agenda on importing those failed western european social values. we don't need a president who apologizes for america. we need a president who protects and projects those values. [ applause ] we're going to stand with those who stand with us. and we will vigorously defend our interests and those who threaten our interests, harm our citizens, we will simply not be scolding you. we will defeat you. [ applause ] our nation cannot and it must

not endure four more years of aimless foreign policy. we cannot and must not endure four more years of rising unemployment, rising taxes, rising debt, rising energy dependence on nations that intend us harm. it's time to get america working again. [ applause ] to get citizens, to get our citizens working in good jobs and getting the government to working for the people again. you know, page one of any economic plan to get america working is to give a pink slip to the current residents in the white house. [ applause ] listen, we just have to get back to the basic truths of economic

success. as governor, i've had to deal with the consequences of this national recession. in 2003 and again this year, my state faced billions of dollars in budget shortfalls. but we worked hard. we made tough decisions. we balanced our budget, not by raising taxes, but by setting priorities and cutting government spending. it can and it must be done in washington, d.c. [ applause ] we have led texas based on some really pretty simple guiding principles. one is don't spend all of the money. [ applause ] two is keeping the taxes low and

under control. three is you have your regulatory climate fair and predictable. four is reform the legal system so frivolous lawsuits don't paralyze employers that are trying to create jobs. [ applause ] over the years, we've followed this recipe to produce the strongest economy in the nation. since june of 2009, texas is responsible for more than 40% of all of the new jobs created in america. think about that. we're home to less than 10% of the population in america. but 40% of all the new jobs were created in that state. i cut taxes. i have delivered historic property tax reductions. i was the first governor since world war ii to cut general revenue spending in our state budget. we passed lawsuit reform,

including just this last session loser pays laws to stop the frivolous lawsuits that are happening. [ applause ] and i know i've talked a lot about texas here in the last little bit. i'm a texan and i'm proud after it. but first and foremost, i'm an incredibly proud american. [ applause ] and i know something, america is not broken. washington, d.c. is broken. [ applause ] we need balanced budgets. we need lower taxes. we need less regulation and we need civil justice reform. those same four principles. our country's most urgent need is to revitalize our economy, stop the generational theft that

is going on with this record debt. i came to south carolina because i will not sit back and accept the path that america is on because a great country requires a better direction, because a renewed nation needs a new president. [ applause ] it is time to get america working again, and that's why with the support of my family and unwavering belief in the goodness of america, i declare to you today as a candidate for president of the united states. [ applause ] thank you. amen, brother. thank you.

thank you very much. [ crowd chanting ] >> thank you. it's time for america to believe again. it's time to believe that the promise of our future is far greater than even our best days behind us. it's time to believe again in the potential of private enterprise, set free from the shackles of overbearing federal government. and it's time to truly restore our standing in the world, renew our faith in freedom as the best hope for peace in this world that's beset with strife. the change we seek will never emanate out of washington, d.c. it will come from the wind-swept prairies of middle america, the farms and the factories across this great land, from the hearts and the minds of the

good-hearted americans who will accept not a future that is less than our past. patriots, patriots who will not be consigned to a fate of less freedom in exchange for more government. [ applause ] we do not have to accept our current circumstances. we will change them. we are americans! [ applause ] that's what we do. we roll up our sleeves. we go to work. we fix things. [ applause ] we stand up and proudly, proudly proclaim that washington is not

our caretaker. and we reject the state that in, i think, margaret thatcher's words, she said, a state that takes too much from us in order to do too much for us. we will not stand for that any longer. [ applause ] we're dismayed at the injustice that nearly half of all americans don't even pay any income tax. and the liberals out there are saying that we need to pay more. we are indignant about leaders who do not listen and spend money faster than they can print it. in america, the people are not subjects of the government. the government is subject to the people. [ applause ]

and it's up to us, it is up to us to this president generation of americans to take a stand for freedom, to send a message to washington that we're taking our future back from the grips of these central planners who would control our health care, who would spend our trush sher, who downgrade our future and micromanage our lives. it's time to limit and simplify the taxes in this country. [ applause ] we have to quit spending money we don't have. we need to get our fiscal house in order and restore our good credit. and we will repeal this president's misguided, one-size-fits-all government health care plan immediately. [ applause ] yeah, we will. [ applause ]

we'll create jobs. we'll get america working again. we'll create jobs and we'll build wealth. we'll truly educate and innovate in science and in technology and engineering and math. we'll create the jobs and the progress that's going to be needed to get america working again. and i'll promise you this -- i'll work every day to try to make washington, d.c. as inconsequential in your life as i can. [ applause ] and at the same time, we'll be freeing our families and small businesses and states from the burdensome and costly federal government so that those groups can create and innovate and succeed. i believe in america. i believe in her purpose and her promise. i believe her best days have not

yet been lived. i believe her greatest deeds are reserved for the generations to come. and with the help and the courage of the american people, we will get our country working again. god bless you and god bless the united states of america! thank you. [ applause ] >> texas governor rick perry declaring his presidency from charleston, south carolina. also making some promises as candidates saying it is time to limit and simplify taxes. he will be repealing if elected president. the government's health care plan, he's calling it obama's one-size-fits-all health care plan. as president, he claims that he will help create jobs, build wealth, innovate in science and technology, there with his family there. he mentioned earlier, introducing his family, his wife, anita, and his two children, griffin and sidney, along with his daughter-in-law, meredith, there in charleston, south carolina.

our jim acosta ] is also there in charleston, south carolina. so this presidential candidate getting a rousing applause several times there in this convention hall, making promises that he is the right fit for america to be the next president of the united states, jim. >> reporter: yeah, fredricka, this was a rousing speech. and it was received well here at this red state conference. you might want to rename this conference the red meat conference because rick perry was throwing a lot of it out there today. and this room was eating it up. he went right after the president on a number of occasions talking about the recent u.s. downgrade of u.s. credit, saying it was just a long line of things being downgraded in this country, jobs, the economy and so on. he basically touched on just about every talking point that republicans like to hear. he said he would bring down president obama's health care law. he would work to balance the budget. he said he would try to bring

tort reform to washington, something a lot of republican presidents have tried and failed to do. so this was definitely a speech aimed at conservative tea party activists in the republican party who are very influential right now and who will have a huge sway over who this gop frontrunner is going to be. it was interesting to hear rick perry begin his remarks because he really started to tell his personal story, as you said earlier, today. a lot of americans may not know much about him. but he talked about his humble upbringing. he grew up in a place called paint creek and described the town as a place that doesn't even have a zip code. so this is part of the process that a campaign that is in its infancy tries to do. it wants to get that biography out there, talk about rick perry as the human being, not necessary tily the governor of texas. but he is going to have to run on his record. and he laid it out there today saying what he has done in austin he would like to bring to washington, d.c. and i think one quote that

stands out almost more than any other at this speech is when he said he is going to work every day to make washington, d.c. as inconsequential as possible in the lives of everyday americans. that is a line that works with conservative republicans. they think that what president obama has done in the last three years in office is basically bring the state into their lives, bring government into their lives, whether it be a health care reform law, whether it be the stimulus plan. what rick perry wants to do is turn back the clock basically to 2008 and undo essentially everything that president obama has done while he has been in office. and it's a message that is going to work with a lot of republicans, fredricka. it's going to be interesting to watch. >> jim, thanks so much in charleston, south carolina. our deputy political director, paul steinhauser in ames, iowa. paul, you got a chance to hear that. rick perry perhaps spending as much time being critical of the obama administration, calling president obama a representation

of rudderless leadership as he did talking about his humble beginnings as jim was outlining there, the boy of a farming family, he eventually would become a cotton farmer there after growing up in paint creek, texas, a place of no zip code. did he sufficiently kind of introduce himself to america, much of america who perhaps doesn't know anything about him and his principles, and his politics? >> reporter: fred, as jim was just saying he really hit a lot of the high notes to conservatives and other tea party activist that is he's going to have to make the case to over the next couple of months, especially that anti-washington theme. the country, he said, is doing just fine. it's washington that's the problem. that served him very well about a year ago when he was running for reelection as governor of texas and he faced the primary election against kay bailey hutchison. you were mentioning barack obama

just now. and the obama campaign didn't wait very long at all. they put out a statement from one of their spokesman that said, in a republican field that has already pledged allegiance to the tea party and failed to present any plan to benefit the middle class or create jobs, governor perry offers more of the same. you can see right there, the obama campaign in chicago not wasting any time. i tell you, it's already been a very interesting race for the republican nomination and it just got a lot more interesting with governor perry of texas jumping in. >> and we talked earlier about the whole tea party, how influential it was in med-term elections and now you have to wonder how influential it will be in this presidential election. governor rick perry did acknowledge nikki haley, he did acknowledge her. she got a lot of support from the tea party. is that kind of his opening the door a little bit about, hey, tea party, come on in, support me, too? >> reporter: they are definitely a major factor in this run for the nomination on the republican

side. and we already have a couple of candidates in the race that are well-supported by many tea party activists, michele bachmann, the congresswoman from neighboring minnesota here, has a lot of tea party support among many of their activists. ron paul, a lot of people say ron paul was the tea party before there was a tea party. and rick santorum and a few of the other conservatives also enjoy some support. they're going to be a factor in this race. we'll see how it plays out as we lead up to the iowa caucuses and the new hampshire primary and into next year. >> paul, thanks so much from ames, iowa. we'll have continuing coverage throughout the afternoon, trying to bring to you any results from that iowa straw poll that will be taking place today as well. meantime, the rebuilding spirit of america, joplin, missouri, gets ready for the first day of school. it will be unlike any other. we'll talk to the school superintendent about where many of these students will be attending classes. it won't be in a traditional school. there's a big reason to lower your high cholesterol...

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security cameras inside job lynn high school captured the ef5 tornado that ravaged the area back in may. take a look at those images. the twister destroyed five schools in the district and damaged four others as well as the administration building. school is to begin this coming wednesday. so is joplin ready? joplin school superintendent c.j. huff joins me right now. good to see you. >> thank you for having me. >> let's begin with where students will be attending class. i understand some will be in an industrial park. others will have classes actually at a shopping mall. describe for me what first day of school is going to be like for a lot of these kids. >> sure. we had 54% of our students after the tornado that didn't have a place to go to school. so we had to build out about half of our district in finding locations, it was definitely a challenge. we did find about 95,000 square

feet of space at the local mall. and we built that out. we built out some warehouse spaces at two other locations. obviously we brought some modular units in as well as combining some of our schools to make room for other schools. we've been successful in finding all of our space for our students to start school on august 17th. >> how are the students doing? are most feeling like they are ready to get back in school? so many lost their homes and feel a little detached in that respect, just as many of the school buildings were destroyed, so were so many kids' livelihoods at home. >> we're really being cautious as we go into this next school year. our kids and families have been through a lot. our teachers have been through a lot. but overall, the general tone right now is everybody's excited. we see this as a tremendous milestone for our school district and our community, getting everybody back on track and ready to start school is an important part, getting back to that sense of normalcy. feel very good about where we're

at. the kids and teachers are excited. obviously our administration is excited. we're really proud of what we've established as a team this year. >> there's been a lot of generosity coming your way in so many different forms. you've got school supplies that have been donated. in other ways, how have organizations or private businesses helped you all out? >> we've had a tremendous amount of support. we still have a long way to go. obviously there's a price tag associated with putting all of our buildings back together. but we've received donations as small as a young lady that sent a dollar that she wanted to help out. i think it was an 8-year-old. and then yesterday, received a donation of $94 from a second-grader who baked cookies all summer that he had been selling at a local business and then we've got tennessee larger donations from area businesses and folks from across the nation. and then most recently a sizable donation from the united arab emirates to help us get our

one-to-one initiative. >> and people can actually adopt a student or adopt a school. >> we've been running the "adopt an eagle" program, you can adopt a student to help meet their needs. 3,000 kids lived in the path of that storm. so many children are going to come back and missing a lot of things. we're trying our best to take care of our kids and our families. we have the "adopt a classroom" program where folks can help a teacher get their classroom rebuild. we lost approximately 160 classrooms. we're getting ready to initiative an effort to provide house-warming baskets for our families that have been displaced as a result of this storm. there's multiple ways to help out. >> fantastic. dr. c.j. huff, superintendent there of joplin schools, thanks so much. all the best to you this school year and to all the students and the families, still trying to piece things together. >> thank you, appreciate the opportunity. >> and once again, if you want

to adopt a student, a classroom or help in any way in the rebuilding of the joplin schools, go to joplinschools.org. magicians use magic hats to pull objects out of thin air, right? but a new invention could give everyone similar power. gary tuchman has this tech technovation. >> reporter: imagine shopping online, seeing something you like and then just printing it out. it might sound crazy. but a new invention called the maker box could change the way you think. >> normally when you need something, you think, where am i going to go shop for that? when you have a maker box, you can just make it yourself. >> reporter: it's a personal 3-d printer that makes three-dimensional objects. >> you can make anything. your imagination can go wild. >> reporter: objects are made by melting plastic into thin

spaghetti-like strings. then layer by layer it's built into the desired object. >> people can make coat hooks and replacement parts. it's limitless. >> reporter: you can create your own designs or download others created be users around the world. >> it's about as close as you can get to teleportation. >> reporter: turning visions into reality. gary tuchman, cnn. the iowa straw poll is a little different than most votes. you have to have a ticket to participate. how much does a ticket actually cost? is it free. $10, $20, $30? we'll have the answer right after this. [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands.

this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. [ martin luther king jr. ] i still have a dream that one day on the red hills of georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners

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so before the break, i asked how much does it cost to get a

ticket to vote in the iowa straw poll? is it free? $10, $20, $30? well, it's a little bit of a trick question because the ticket actually costs $30, but most of those voting in the straw poll have their tickets provided for free by the candidates' organizations. so rick perry, while he has entered the presidential ring officially now, sarah palin has not -- at least not yet. she appeared at the iowa state fair ahead of today's gop straw poll. and our don lemon is there. >> reporter: fredricka, sarah palin spent about ten minutes answering my questions here in iowa from giving advice to the candidates who took part in the debate to who's responsible for the u.s.'s credit downgrade to whether or not she's steele stealing the spotlight by being here in iowa even though she hasn't declared. >> i don't think i'm stealing any spotlight. if anybody thinks i am, go find the other folks and say hello. >> reporter: a lot of people are saying the tea party is responsible for the downgrade in

our credit? >> if it weren't for the tea party, the discussion would never have gone where it went. i appreciate the tea party's passion for getting our federal government to realize it needs to live within its means. no, the last group or entity to be blamed for the downgrade should be the tea party. i think the question should be asked, is the president responsible for the downgrade? and i would say, yes, from the top, leadership starts from the top, leadership of our country. >> why haven't you decided? >> i think i'm not the only one who has not decided yet. and not ready to announce one way or the other yet. there is still, you know, there is still a lot of contemplation that needs to go into such an earth-shattering, life-changing decision for a family. >> a lot of people are pitting you and michele bachmann against each other. do you think that's fair? >> that's passe to pit -- just because there may happen to be two women in the race, that they would, as michele put it once, get in the mud and engage in some catfighting.

that's ridiculous. it is even a sexist notion to consider that the two women would be kind of duking it out. no, if i'm going to duke it out, i'm going to duke it out with the guys. >> are you at all concerned about the popularity, jealous? >> not at all. i'm glad michele bachmann is in the arena. i'm glad that she's had opportunity now to be on stage debating some good ideas. proud of anybody, male or female, willing to put it all on the line and get out there and fight for what's right in this country. michele is one of those. >> fredricka, no doubt that sarah palin is going to continue her bus tour all over the united states. when i asked her and her husband todd what was in their future, todd responded by saying, lunch. back to you, fredricka. >> thanks so much, don. we'll check in with you a bit later. straw poll results expected tonight. watch them live here on cnn newsroom special report. the iowa straw poll with cnn's don lemon and candy crowley, that's at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. [ female ] we will always be dependent on foreign oil.

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a judge rules that casey anthony must return to florida to serve a year's probation for check fraud. what do our legal guys have to say about all of this? earlier i spoke with avery friedman and new york criminal defense attorney richard herman. >> there in florida, but i have to -- you've got to cheer for chief judge perry. he did it exactly right. the fact is that there was a technical error. that's it. and what the judge did, and recall that i predicted administrative probation because you need to protect the privacy because of some of the wing nuts down there that want to do her harm, the judge talked about it, he talked about casey anthony being the most hated person in america, protecting her privacy, keeping control of her. i'm a former probation officer. you don't do probation in jail. chief judge perry did exactly the right thing. >> richard? >> fred, it has gone even worse than that. the judge has made ethical

claims against baez. what he said was at the sentencing portion on the check fraud case, this was extensively discussed, the issue of probation. all sides knew it was going to commence upon release from prison. that was an argument that was raised and discussed at length. therefore, when there was a "scrivener's error," that's what they're saying, scrivener's error, for the judge who was too lazy to sit and read his own order before he signed it, what the judge is saying is the intent and the clear statement was she's going to serve it when she gets out. for baez to argue differently and for him to allow some sort of purported probation to occur when she was in prison was wrong and unethical. he should have brought it to the attention of everyone. i think this judge will file -- >> you can catch our legal guys every saturday noon eastern time. we turn now to some startling statistics, a record 46 million americans are living

on food stamps. that's one in seven people who depend on the federal program to buy groceries. and as the jobless rate continues to teeter above 9%, the number of food stamp recipients has risen a whopping 77% in four years. cnn's brian todd caught up with one man struggling to survive on $200 a month in food stamps. >> on a short walk to the grocery store with frederick mac, in the shadow of the capital, a bracing window into how tough life's been in recent years. >> see right here, one of my daughter's child died. >> frederick now lives in a transitional home for people struggling to get back on their feet. unemployed, he tells me for eight months, on food stamps for a year and a half, he symbolizes the staggering rise of americans in the food stamp program since 2007, a climb of 70% to nearly

46 million people. advocates who fight hunger say it is a perfect storm of hardship. >> unemployment has went way up in this state, wages are flat or down for really the bottom half of the population. >> frederick mac's trying desperately to get back to his calling. he's got 35 plus years experience as a cook. in the meantime, he gets $200 a month in food stamps. >> is that enough? >> no, it is not enough. i said i found a way to stretch it. >> we duck into a grocery store where he shops. there is a lot in here that is off limits on your food stamp card. >> can't do it. >> can't buy it. >> why? >> it is high. >> and prepared. >> what do you buy most of the time? salad? >> salad and fruit. >> fruit? >> that's the cheapest thing you can buy. >> we combed through aisle after aisle. frederick doesn't buy anything that's not on sale. this is one of the meat aisles where frederick shops. he says you can pick out items from an aisle like this, but have to watch out for sales.

you can only pick out a little bit at a time. if you do that, you stand a good chance of tapping out your card every month. basic stuff here, toothpaste. >> can't do it. >> can't buy toothpaste. >> can't buy toothpaste, can't buy soap, can't buy deodorant. >> why not? >> it is not edible, you cannot buy it. >> for those items, you have to use your own money, if you have it. frederick says at 53, first time unemployed, his pride has taken a big hit from this. >> i don't want to be -- i have to eat to live. that's the only way i can do it these days. i can't go around begging or a sign on my chest, i need something to eat, help me i haven't eat today or help me i need something to eat. >> this prevents you from having to do that. >> from begging and panhandling, this prevents me from doing that. i have pride. i am a human being. >> as eager as he is to get out of the food stamp program, he said he has other