there are things that we could not control. you had an arab spring in the middle east that promises more democracy and human rights for people, but drove up gas prices. tough for the economy. a lot of uncertainty. many had the situation in europe where they are dealing with debt challenges, and that washes up on our shores, and then a tsunami in japan, and that broke supply chains, and created difficulties for the economy all across the globe. so there were a bunch of things taking place over the last six months that were not within our control. but here is the thing. the question is how do we handle these challenges? do we rise to the occasion? do we pull together? do we make smart decisions? and what has been happening over the last six months and a little bit longer than that if we are

honest with ourselves is that we have a political culture that doesn't seem willing to make the tough choices to move america forward. we have a willingness to play partisan games and engage in brinkmanship, that not only costs us in terms of the economy now but also is going to place a burden on future generations. and the question is, can we break out of that pattern? can we break out of that pattern? think about it. we just went through this debacle with the debt ceiling, an entirely self inflicted wound. it wasn't something that was necessary. we had put forward a plan that would have stabilized our debt and our deficits for years to come.

but because we have got a politics in which some folks in congress, not the folks who are here, but some in congress would rather see their opponents lose than america win, and we ended up creating more uncertainty and more damage to an economy that was already weak. now we can't have patience with that kind of behavior anymore. i know you are frustrated, and i am frustrated, too. we have got to focus on growing the economy and putting people back to work and making sure that the american dream is there not just for this generation but for the next generation. [ applause ] another way of putting this is, we expect our political representatives to show the same level of responsibility that all

of you show. i don't know most of you. but i can guess that you are all working hard, you're managing your budgets, and you're putting something away for your kids' college education, and maybe for your retirement, and you are at the local church, working at the food pantry or doing something to help out your community, coaching little league. you are following through on your responsibilities, and that's true all across the country. people are doing the right thing. well, if can you do the right thing, then folks in washington have to do the right thing. and if we do that, there is not a problem that we face that we cannot solve. think about it. our biggest challenge right now

is putting people to work. biggest challenge is getting the economy growing as rapidly as it needs to go. it has been growing, and we have been able to reverse the recession. we added over 2 million jobs in the private sector over the last 17 months. but we're not growing it as fast as we need to drive down the unemployment rate in a significant way and give people confidence. here are some things we could do right now that i have been talking about for months. we could renew the payroll tax cut that we gave you in december that put $1,000 in the pocket of a typical family so that you got more money in your pockets to spend to meet your obligations, and it also means businesses have more customers. and it means they might hire a few more folks as a consequence. all we need to do is renew it. it's already in place.

if we have certainty next year that same tax cut will inbound place that will help businesses make decisions to hire people and open up and make investments. that's something we can do right now. congress can do that right now. congress right now could start putting folks to work rebuilding america. one of the biggest things that cause this recession was the housing bubble. and all the subprime loans going out, and they were getting packaged in wall street and folks were making millions and billions of dollars off them and then the whole thing came crashing down. nobody has been hit harder than constructer workers. for us to say at a time when interest rates are low, and contractors are begging for work, and construction workers are lining up to find jobs, let's rebuild america. we could be rebuilding roads and bridges. and schools. and parks all across america right now.

we could put hundreds of thousands of folks to work right now. there's a bill sitting in congress right now that would set up an infrastructure bank to get that moving, and attracting private sector dollars, not just public dollars. congress needs to move. right now we have got our veterans coming home from iraq and afghanistan. they have taken their place among the greatest of generations and made extraordinary sacrifices. i meet these young people -- [ applause ] i meet young people, 23, 24 years old. they under charge of platoons, making life or death decisions, and they are in charge of millions, tens of millions and hundred millions worth of equipment, and they are coming home and can't find work. we said let's give tax credits

to companies hiring veterans and put them back to work and let them use their skills to get this country moving again. congress could do that right now. trade deals. you know, trade deals have not always been good for america. there are times when we have not gotten a fair deal out of our trade deals. but we've put together a package that is going to allow us to start selling some chevys and fords to korea. we don't mind having hyundais and kias here, and we want made in america stuff in other countries, and that's something congress can do right now. and our intrapreneurs, when they come up with a good idea, if we could reform how that system works and cut some of the red tape, we could have intrapreneurs creating businesses like google and

microsoft right now all across the country, but we have to make the investment, and congress could make that decision to make it happen. so there is no shortage of ideas to put people to work right now. what is needed is action on the part of congress. a willingness to put the partisan games aside, and say we're going to do what is right for the country, and not what we think is going to score political points for the next election. now, we also need to do this in a way that allowed government to live within its means. like i said, everybody here, you make responsible choices about what you can afford and what you can't afford. america needs to do and can do the exact same thing. there are some programs that don't work. we should stop funding them.

there is some red tape that needs to be cut, and we should cut it. but the fact of the matter is that solving our debt and deficit problems simply requires all of us to share in a little bit of sacrifice, all of us, to be willing to do a little bit more to get this country back on track. and that's not too much to ask. basically what we need to do is cut about $4 trillion over the next ten years. now that sounds like a big number. it is a big number. but you know, if we were able to, as i proposed, cut about $2 trillion in spending, if folks who could best afford it, millionaires and billionaires were willing to eliminate some of the loopholes they take advantage of in the tax code and

do a little bit more, and if we were able to take on some of the long-term costs that we have on health care, if we do those things, we could solve this problem tomorrow. i put a deal before the speaker of the house, john boehner, that would have solved this problem. and he walked away because his belief was we can't ask anything of billionaires and billionaires and big corporations in order to close the deficit. warren buffett had an apt ed that he wrote today, where he said we have to stop coddling billionaires like me. that's what warren buffett said. he pointed out that he pays a lower tax rate than anybody in his office, including the secretary.

he figured out that his tax bill, he paid about 17%. and the reason is because most of his wealth comes from capital gains. you don't get those tax breaks. you're paying more than that. now i may be wrong, but i think you're a little less wealthy than warren buffett, and that's just a guess. the points is, if we are willing to do something in a balanced way, making some tough choices in terms of spending cuts, and also raising revenue from folks who have done very well even in a tough economy, then we can get control of our debt and deficit and we can start still investing in things like education and basic research and infrastructure, and make sure that our future is bright. it's not that complicated. but it does require everybody being willing to make

compromises. i was in michigan the other day, and i said i don't know about how things work in your house, but in my house if i said, you know, michelle, honey, we have to cut back, so we're going to have you stop shopping completely, you can't buy shoes or dresses, but i am keeping my golf clubs, you know, that wouldn't go over so well. the point is, some things happen in washington where we think that kind of compromise that we do every day in our own families with our neighbors and co-workers and friends, somehow that has become a dirty word. that has got to change. that has got to stop. [ applause ] so here is the bottom line.

obviously with the markets going up and down last week, and this downgrade, a lot of folks were feeling a little anxious, and distressed and feeling like, boy, we have been working so hard over the last two and a half years to get the economy back out of recession, and some folks worried we might be slipping back, i want all of you to understand, there is nothing that we're facing that we can't solve with some spirit of america first. a willingness to say we're going to choose party -- we're going to choose country over party, and we're going to choose the next generation, and if we do that we will get small businesses growing again, but i will need your help to make it happen. you have got to send a message to washington that it's time for

the games to stop. it's time to put country first. [ applause ] it is time for the games to stop. some folks were asking me, why don't you just call congress back. i said, i don't think it will make people feel encouraged if we have congress come back and all they are doing is arguing again. what they need to do is come to cannon falls, and they need to come -- they need to go back to their districts, and talk to ordinary folks, and find out how frustrated they are, and hopefully when they get back in september, they are going to have a new attitude. but i want everybody to understand here that i am not here just to enjoy the nice weather, i am here to insist you

in a fight. we're fighting for the future of our country. that's a fight that we are going to win. that's a promise that i make with your help. thank you very much, everybody. [ applause ] thank you. all right. so everybody have a seat. here is how we're going to do it. i am just going to call on folks, and we will go girl boy, girl boy, to make sure that it's fair. i have a couple daughters, so i know sometimes, you know, all right. right here. go ahead. yeah. >> hold on, we have a mike, and introduce yourself for me. >> i am civilian. first off, president obama, i want to say as a young voter thank you for helping me believe

that it will be good some day. >> it's going to be good. >> but i have a question, i promise. my question is, how are you going to usue renewable energy o create jobs in the future? >> that's a great question, especially for rural communities all across america. the former governor of iowa knows a little about agriculture. when i put tom as head of the department of agriculture, one of the first things we talked about was how can we mobilize the incredible resourcefulness and hard work of rural communities all across this country, not just to create jobs but to win back energy independence. as a consequence, we have put billions of dollars into energy research and help move in a direction of greater reliance on

fuels that are homegrown. so let me give you a couple of examples. one, obviously is biofuels. a lot of folks here are familiar with corn-based ethanol, but the fact of the matter is technology is moving where we need to start taking advantage of a whole range of biofuels, using refuge, and using stuff that we don't use for food to create energy. we're seeing incredible progress on that front, but it's key to make sure that we continue to make the research and we also use the incredible purchasing power of the federal government to encourage it. we are working with the department of defense to start saying let's run some of these -- let me just say this. the department of defense uses a lot of fuel. so the question is, can we get

trucks and jeeps and in some cases even fighter jets running on alternative fuels, which is important for our national security, but also could provide an incredible boost to communities all across minnesota, and all across the country. the other thing that we have to do is look at things like wind power and solar power. and the next generation of electric vehicles. you know, you will recall when i came into office they were talking about the liquidation of gm and chrysler. and a lot of folks said you can't help them, and it's a waste of the government's money to try and help them. but what i said was we can't afford to lose up to a million jobs in this country, particularly in the midwest, but we also can't afford to lose leadership in terms of building an auto industry that we used to own. and so we turned around those

auto companies, and they are now making a profit for the first time in decades. they are gaining market share for the first time in years. but what we said was, if we are going to help you, then you also have to change your ways. you can't just make money on suvs and trucks. there is a place for suvs and trucks, but as gas prices keep on going up, you have to understand the market, and people are going to be trying to save money. what we have now seen is an investment in electric vehicles, and then what we did is put investments in something called advance battery manufacturing, because those electric cars, how well they run depends on how good the batteries are. how long they can run before they get recharged. we had 2% of the advanced battery manufacturing market when i came into office. we're on track now to have 30,

40, 50% of the market. we're making batteries here in the united states of america that go into electric cars made here in the united states of america, and it creates jobs, and it creates -- and it creates energy independence, and it also improves our environment. so that's the kind of approach that we have to take using the private sector, and understanding that ultimately the private sector will be creating jobs, and also understanding the government can be an effective government in that process, and nowhere is that more true than in middle america. great question. all right. the gentleman right here. you can borrow my mike. do you have it? >> i got it. >> mr. president, i am gary evans from wminnesota. i run a broadband company there, and i have a couple messages that i hope you will take back

to your colleagues in d.c. the first year we had 60 employees, and tomorrow we will cross 100. we are making the investments in this country, so my first message is, help the job creators. do what it takes. secondly, it was already apparent as the debt debate went on that the mood in america had shifted again to skepticism, and so i am hoping that you and your colleagues will do everything possible to make certain that confidence is restored to the country and that we have a bright future. i think that broadband is a key, and i appreciate what you did for it during the stimulus act. thank you. >> thank you. [ applause ] >> we're talking earlier about rural america. despite all its incredible advantages, especially as

people, a disadvantage is that rural america by definition is a little more spread out. it's a little more stretched out. population density is not as great. so as a consequence, when we have seen all of these investments in wireless and broadband and all of these new technologies that are stitching the world together, a lot of times rural america is left out. and that's why when we came into office, one of the big investments we said that we were going to make is in broadband technology, so we can connect every single town all across america. we want 98% coverage when it comes to broadband, and we want that same kinds of coverage when it comes to wireless. what that means is -- what that means is, if there's a small business in canyon falls that has a great idea, you don't have to just confine your market to cannon falls, you can start selling in rochester, and then you start selling in des moines, and then you start to sell in

new york, and maybe you start selling something in paris. and there are incredible opportunities in terms of business growth, but it requires a connection to all of these wider markets. the days are gone where any business will succeed just by selling right where they are located. that's why we have made such a big investment in this, and i am pleased to see that it's working. in terms of boosting folks' confidence, i think people would actually feel pretty confident if they felt like their leaders were working together. that's my belief. i also think they are looking for practical common sense. you know, i know it's not election season yet, but i have to mention, you know, the debate -- the other party candidates were having the other

day, when they were asked to reduce our deficit, and reduce our debt, and would you be willing to take a deal where it was $5 of spending cuts for every $1 of increased revenues. who would take it? everybody said no. and they said how about 10 to 1, $10 of cuts for every dollar increase in revenue. are you saying none of you would take it? none of them would take it. everybody raised their hand. think about that. i mean, that's just not common sense. ronald reagan, george h.w. bush, and clinton, you have to take a balanced approach to solving the debt problems, the same way a family would. if you knew you had to cut down

on your budget, you wouldn't stop funding the college fund for your kid. you wouldn't say, sorry, johnny, you know, things are tight, so -- we're going to keep on, you know, taking our -- you know, annual vacation, and i am going to buy a new car next year, but you are not going to college. that's not how you balance your budget. well, the american people are expecting that same kind of common sense reflected. if it was there, i guarantee confidence would go up. i speak to ceos all across america, and what they tell me is, you know, we're actually willing to do a little bit more when it comes to our personal taxes, because they know they have done very well. they said the single most important thing we want is making sure that middle class -- >> you have been listening to president obama in cannon falls,

minnesota. one of the first moments in his three-day, three-state tour. he explained we have had bad luck here in the u.s. for the last six months, and wants to rebuild america right now, and he says that is possible and could put hundreds of thousands of folks to work right now. he says it's time for the games to stop. time to put the country first. as i said, this is three days, three states, and five little towns under a big political spotlight. any second now, we have been listening there, and any second now he should continue with the questions from cannon falls, minnesota. stop number one, what the white house is calling the economic bus tour. and mitt romney calls it a magical misery tour. and the rnc pinpoints, it crisscrosses states critical to the election. cannon falls has not host add

president since coolage in 1928. president obama reflected on more recent history, the gridlock of summer of 2011. >> and some would rather see their opponents lose than america win, and we ended up creating more uncertainty to an economy that was already weak. now we can't have patience with that kind of behavior anymore. i know you are frustrated. i am frustrated, too. we have got to focus on growing the economy and putting people back to work and making sure that the american dream is there, not just for this generation but for the next generation. >> before i go any further, i want you to know that wolf blitzer is interviewing the president one-on-one, and that's on ""the situation room" ," only

on cnn. s 5:00 p.m. eastern. and then now, a job approval rating below 40%. this from the gallop daily tracking poll, and it never has been lower. at the same time, the preobama rhetoric has never been higher. mitt romney said this today in new hampshire. >> the president has set about a bus tour today going to swing states, and frankly i think the american people would rather see him in washington working and getting this economy going again. he seems to be more intent on trying to save his job than to try and create jobs for the american people. i saw this morning that his approval ratings are at an all-time low for him, and that's not because he is not campaign,i

campaign,icampaig campaigning, but because he is not leading. >> and here is the iowa straw poll. and all this brings me to a republican leader who is not running for anything, but has a huge role to play in the year ahead. and this heads the republican national committee and joins me on the phone from where else, cannon falls, minnesota. what are the odds? you are shadowing the president's bus tour, and you say it's not about the economy, and this is about the election, am i right? >> well, that's right. he is spending taxpayer dollars on a bus tour disguised as some kind of, you know, economic event for the country, and we all know what it is. it's a campaign event paid for by the taxpayers. you just heard his speech. he is living in an alternative universe. he is talking about who is playing games in washington. this president is the king of games and the king of speeches and the king of campaigning, and

he has not led on a single thing in the country since he passed a trillion dollar stimulus package that lost 2.5 million jobs. you know, he can go and keep competing for the forensic speech award, but the american people are looking for somebody to start leading the country, and he is blaming bad luck, the arab spring for our problems in this country? how about out of control spending and entitlements that are out of control and a president that is not engaged? that's the problem. >> let me ask you about the rnc airing the radio ads and the web spot calling it quote the debt end bus tour, and explain what you mean by that. >> well, that's right. that's why we're in minnesota. we're launching the debt end bus tour. we're doing text campaigns to

highlight to the american people that what this president is the king of, is not only the king of games, but the king of debt and the king of failed promises and the king of saying one thing and doing another, and that's why we're here in machiin minnesota iowa and throughout the midwest and we will be highlighting to the american people that what this president is feeding us is a bunch of dog food and trying to disguise it as some economic food for america, and it's a joke and paid for by the american people, and it's about time that some people start calling it what it is, and it's a fraud, and that's what we're doing here in minnesota. >> let's talk about the gop field in the wake of the iowa straw poll. you look at the names now, and you have rick perry in and tim pawlenty out, and michele bachmann as the frontrunner, and mitt romney seventh, and how important do you think iowa is? >> it's important. all the tests are very important. it creates a tremendous amount

of buzz for our candidates. i am a big believer in the big primaries. it gets the voices out there and people in the newspapers and on television, and we start to have a conversation with many different candidates about what we need to do to change drebtions in this country, and save america economically, and make barack obama a one-term president. that's great. >> pleasure to have you on, and rnc chairman, and enjoy your time in cannon falls, that's a lovely place. thank you. coming up, why a man that paid nearly $7 million in federal taxes last year wants the government to take more. don't go anywhere. prescription strength relief-t from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®. that's not going to satisfy you. come on. it's time for a better snack. try this. it's yoplait greek. it has two times the protein of regular yogurt.

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president obama was speaking about warren buffett. he begs congress to make the rich like himself pay more taxes. he said he should not pay a lower tax rate than the people in his office. and he writes, quote, our leaders asked for shared sacrifice, but when they did the asking they spared me. i checked with my mega rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting and they too were left untouched, but for those making more than $1 million i would raise taxes, of course, including dividends and capital gains. my friends and i have been coddled enough by a billionaire-friendly congress.

it's time for our government to set serious about shared sacrifice. many americans agree it's the only way the country will dig itself out of the concern the economic mess. and in the survey, they think the new bipartisan committee in charge of deficit reduction should raise taxes on higher income americans and businesses. and just how many americans are considered, quote, rich? 3% of tax returns were filed by people earning a gross suggested income of $200,000 or more, and americans earning $1 million or more were more rare, surprising just .2% of total tax filers. and those earning $10 million or more, 8,274 strong according to the irs. out of the 4 million rich people making $200,000 a year, 1470 did not pay any income tax

whatsoev whatsoever. for a link to the article, check out my facebook page, facebook.com/randi kaye cnn. and the indiana state ferry opened with a memorial fair. at y on the red hills of georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. i have a dream today! [ male announcer ] chevrolet is honored to celebrate the unveiling of the washington, d.c., martin luther king jr. memorial. take your seat at the table on august 28th.

the indiana state fair re-opens with a memorial service. as you can see in the video, a wind gust took down the stage saturday night minutes before the band sugarland was set to

perform. many rushed trying to help those trapped under the stage. five were killed and 40 others injured. the stage collapsed minutes after a warning about the storm. and then officials for the san francisco bay area rapid transit system are warning riders of a protest later today. members of the group anonymous are organizing that demo. they hacked the website on sunday. they said it reacted to b.a.r.t. cutting cell phone stations last week. and b.a.r.t. said they blocked the cell phone services to stop them from coordinating protest activities. and then the ncaa has given a school until the end of the day to make a change saying the 90-year-old moniker is abusive

toward native american indians. the school was in the process of changing it when legislators passed a law ordering them to. but the school needs to follow the rules if they don't want to face sanctions. and this year, towns focusing with less people. can you guess who we are focusing on today? here is a clue. >> reporter: this town has something in common with the home of kentucky derby and has more than 300 days of sunshine. we'll let you know after the break.

what place has plenty of space to horse around? number one on money magazine's

list is louisville, colorado. the outdoors atracks people to the town. it has 27 parks and trails to keep you out in the sun. >> when you need space and have a family, louisville is the perfect place. the world was shocked by last month's twin tower attacks in norway. and then you may recall first there was a bombing in the capital oslo that killed eight people last month. as first responders rushed to care for the wounded the attacker went to a nearby island and attacked anybody he encountered. he has admitted carrying out the attacks. with the country still struggling, he returned.

for eight hours he led police through a simulation of the actions, and sometimes he stopped and held his arm up as pretending to take aim at the victims. he showed no remorse. they needed to clarify details that would be used at his trial. and then 75 people were dead and more than 250 wounded when violence hit about every region of the country, and appeared to target security forces in sunni and shiite forces. it made it the deadliest single day in months. there are no claims in responsibility. a jihadists website did praise the attacks. and then mubarak on the bed and in the cage was too much. the president was back in the

court and in the cage today, and he said that spectacle would no longer be televised. mubarak is charged with the killing of anti-protesters earlier this year and corruption. he faces the death penalty if convicted. trial is scheduled to resume september 5th. if the future of farming and shipping containers in abandoned parking lots? the possibilities are dless. inin..

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way, every city in the world will be filled with old shipping containers. it could be a good thing actually. his company uses containers to grow fresh local produce. he claims in a 320-square foot area, he can produce an acre's worth of that saves water, lights and nutrients. if you live in atlanta, you may have eaten one of the plant for dinner and not known it. it stores 150 pounds of lettuce, arugula and other micro greens.

the founder of pod pon ix. joins me for the big eye. >> thank you. >> tell us how you grow this type of thing, i guess in a pod. is that how it works? >> that's correct. what we do is convert the shipping container into a controlled environment that provides just the perfect environment for the crops that we grow, in this case, lettuce. what happens there is we use a technology called hydroponics as well as other technology that we invented using computer controls and other things to give the plant exactly what it needs and only what it needs. there's no waste whatsoever. >> does that mean it grows in water? >> that's correct. >> you brought some here. what are we looking at here? it looks fresh, not what i might buy in other places. >> what you see is our salad mix that we provide. it has five different types of lettuce varieties in it. we've selected upon taste and color. we've sampled this with various chefs in the atlanta area and honed in on a well-taesing

salad. >> does this take locally grown to the next step? >> this is the epitome of locally grown. we grow it in the city of atlanta as opposed to 100 miles closer. we divorced land from food production, which is the important part here. we can bring production of food at the place that it's actually consumed. >> it sounds great. is it more expensive? >> it retails for about the same price as you would expect or dpan i can product -- organic product on the store shelves. if it's the epitome of local, it's as fresh as it can possibly be. >> absolutely. it's literally hours old. it was harvest this morning. >> that's pretty good. >> most of the comparable products in atlanta on the shelves are at least a week old. >> so i'm looking at this and and wondering, it's obviously free of pesticides. >> that's correct. because we control the environment. we have no need to put pesticides on it. that saves energy and money. more importantly, it avoids

having pesticides on the food that you consume. >> does that make it organic or differ from an organic lettuce. >> organic has several other characteristics besides pesticides. in fact, organic lettuce does have pesticides oftentimes. they're just organic derived. ours are different than organic in the sense that there is no pesticides. >> i also know that this -- from what i understand, you can save on energy the way you grow this. >> that's correct. >> how does that work? >> when you look at the total energy footprint of seed to sale in a customer's hand, there's a lot of different energy inputs and traditional agriculture that we don't have because we're right at the point of consumption, we can avoid transportation costs. we don't have the costs associated with producing the pesticides, applying the pesticides and because we don't waste any fertilizer or water, we also save on the energy associated with that. >> can you grow this anywhere? does it matter if you're alaska or florida or houston? >> that's correct. you can grow it anywhere. we've divorced the local climate

from the crop selection. so we're able to grow it here in atlanta where traditionally lettuce is tough to grow in the middle of the summer or a tough winter. we're able to grow without concern for season or weather. >> because it's lunchtime, i'm going to put this to the side and keep it for myself for later. >> okay. very good. >> thank you, matt. appreciate it. very interesting product. for more about pot ponics, check out randi kaye, cnn. check us out tomorrow same time and channel. it was a big weekend for republican presidential candidates. are there three front runners? now we'll check in with paul steinhauser after this. [ male announcer ] imagine all of your missed opportunities in one place. ♪ the front-row tickets you never bought. the lucrative investment you never made. the exotic vacation you never took.

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to emerge. deputy political director paul steinhauser standing by with much more on this. is the battle for the gop nomination essentially a three-way race? >> a lot of people are saying that, randi. a lot of people are saying that, things could be different, a different race for the republican nomination than it was a couple days ago. it has changed. tim pawlenty is out. rick perry is in. you have the results of the straw poll in iowa, michele bachmann winning. we have a top tier. number one on the tier would be former massachusetts governor mitt romney. he's still the front-runner in most polls. he's the overwhelming front-runner in new hampshire. michele bachmann part of that tier as well. she's the front-runner in iowa and winning the straw poll cements that status. let's add rick per toy that tier. he's climbing in the national polls and has a formidable organization we think. that's where he was today and will be tomorrow. in iowa. he announced in south carolina the other day on the day of the

straw poll. that maybe upset people in iowa. he went to iowa. he's there today and will be there tomorrow. meanwhile, mitt romney has criticism of perry and the rest of the field. let's hear what he had to say in new hampshire. >> i respect the other people in this race, but i think the only other person that has that kind of private sector experience is herman cain and i respect herman cain, but i also think it's helpful to have had that government experience that i've had. >> romney touting his government experience but counting his business world experience. is that a -- randi, perry in iowa a few moments ago responded said i'm thinking texas is the real economy. so we'll see where this goes from here, randi. >> we'll keep watching it, paul. thank you. wolf blitzer is interviewing president obama one-on-one. you can see it on wolf's show tomorrow. the situation room. it airs at 5:00 p.m. eastern, 2:00 pacific. only on cnn.

three days, three states, five little towns, a very big political spotlight. president obama has just wrapped up his remarks in ken an falls, minnesota. stop number one in what the white house is calling an economic bus tour. republicans have other names for it. mitt romney calls it a magical misery tour. the rnc points out that it happens to crisscross several battleground states critical to the president's reelection. in iowa this evening and illinois on wednesday. it's south of minneapolis, hasn't hosted a u.s. president since calvin coolidge in 1928. in his outdoor town hall, president obama reflected on more recent event. the credit downgrade and the issues behind it. >> that problem real and the deficit problem is real. it's a manageable problem. if you don't believe me, think about it. even after the downgrade, the next day when the stock markets were going haywire and everybody was thinking what's the best

risk-free investment, what did they invest in? they invested in treasuries. so the market said, this is america is still one of our best bets. they're betting on us. and that's why you have to recognize this is not a financial crisis. although it could turn into one approximate we don't do anything about it. this is a political crisis. this is manageable. >> presidential road trip always comes with baggage and mr. obama is weighed down with the fragile economy and exhausting fight over debt and now this. take a look. a job approval rating below 40%. this is from the gallup daily tracking poll. it's never been lower. at the same time, the anti-obama pre-2012 campaign rhetoric has never been higher. fresh off his 7th place finish, mitt romney said this today in new hampshire. >> the president has said about -- set about a bus tour

today going to swing states and frankly, i think the american people would rather see him in washington working on getting this economy going again. he seems to be more intent on trying to save his job than to try and create jobs for the american people. i saw this morning that his approval ratings are at an all-time low for him. that is not because he's not campaigning. it's because he's not leading. >> i mentioned the iowa poll. it was narrowly won, as you know by michele bachmann. now one of three apparent frontrunners for the gop nomination. the others are mitt romney, despite his showing in iowa and the new west horse in the race, texas governor rick perry. i spoke last hour with a republican leader not running for anything but has a huge role to play in the year ahead. he heads the republican national committee and he is in cannon falls today shadowing the president. >> caller: that's exactly why we're in minnesota. we're launching the dead end bus tour. we're doing a digital reach,

commercials, radio ads, text campaign to highlight to the american people, what this president is the king of, is not only the king of games, he's the king of debt and the king of failed promises, he's the king of saying one thing and doing another and that's why we're here in minnesota. we're going to be in iowa, we're going to be throughout the midwest and we're going to be highlighting to the american people that what this president is feeding us is a bunch of dog food and he's trying to disguise it as some economic tour for america. he's a joke. >> the president returns to washington wednesday and sets out thursday for a ten-day family vacation. let's check other developing stories now. the hacker group known as anonymous has made good on its threat to attack the bay area rapid transit system known as bart. anonymous hackers defaced the my bart site with the logo and released personal information of at least 2,000 of the site's users. it took the action to block

wireless service in several of the stations last thursday. bart said the action was necessary to disrupt a planned protest over a deadly transit police shooting last month. anonymous and other critics say the action is an attempt to limit free speech. it's calling for a peaceful protest this evening at the civic center. philadelphia is breathing a sigh of relief. no flash mobs or teen violence reported in the first weekend. mayor nutter is giving the policy a thumbs up. he says there were about 70 curfew violations over friday and saturday nights. there also was a stabbing incident involving two teens. a suspect arrested and the wounds were minor. nutter imposed the curfew after teens were a -- in joplin missouri, a day many believed would not happen if ever. on wednesday, kids in this tornado ravaged city go back to school. for months they've been working

towards this moment. teachers are gearing up by holding a rally. you probably recall the massive twister in may that ripped through the city destroyed homes, buildings and schools. nearly 160 people were killed. since then, residents struggled to recover. opening temporary buildings to the students will show everyone that the city is getting back up on its feet. in indiana, the state fair has reopened after this weekend's deadly stage collapse. we're learning more about just how much the people in charge of the fair knew about the dangerous weather heading their way. chad miers will join me live, next. ings ] it's time for recess... and more pills. afternoon art starts and so does her knee pain, that's two more pills. almost done, but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve because it can relieve pain all day with just two pills. this is lisa... who switched to aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels.

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♪ amazing grace, how sweet the sound ♪ >> five people were killed and at least 40 injured when a huge gust of wind blew through the fair minutes before sugar land was supposed to take the stage. take a look. [ screaming ] >> and that wasn't the only angle caught on camera. here's another. incredible pictures there. here's what one woman describes seeing as that stage collapsed. >> my main thing that i just remember is seeing the guy that was up in the lighting. i just saw him completely timbering down. >> then, of course, there are videos and pictures of all the people trying frantically to

help those around him right after it happened. many people rushing to lift up the fallen scaffolding to try to rescue people that were trapped underneath. and then working together, turning concert chairs into makeshift stretchers. >> the governor of indiana is calling it a freak accident saying the focus today should be on grieving for the victims not on looking for scapegoats. we are learning more about the weather at the time of the collapse and how much was done to keep the crowd of 12,000 people safe. witnesses say the crowd was warned about severe weather right before the stage collapsed. but was also told that sugar land would still take the stage as planned. >> they had come on to the stage and they had let us know there was severe weather coming our way. they were going to try to proceed with concert. they gave us an evacuation plan. then they said to just hang tight, that they were going to try to continue on in sugar land

should start in a couple of minutes. >> chad myers joining us with more on the weather in the area at the time. chad, i understand the people in charge of the fair had been in close contact with the national weather service right up until this collapse. >> correct. >> what happened? >> you know, the weather service put a warning on the storm about ten minutes before the collapse happened. there was an announcement made about four minutes before the collapse happened to basically get away, to evacuate the area. it just didn't happen. there's not enough time. here's how it all happens. this is the risk of looking at a radar when you don't know at home what you're looking at. especially if you don't have the doppler signature to look at. here's where the rain was falling here. all the way down. that's what the radar would show. it would show a big red blob right here. i'll show you that. the problem is, when the rain hit the ground, it was like taking a bucket of water and pouring it on the ground. the ground gets in the way. so the water goes poof and goes right away from the center where the water is pouring down. the air does the same thing.

when the rain pushes the air down so frantically, it will hit the ground and spread out like water hitting the ground from a hose. so that front was about five miles ahead of where the rain was. let me make a dot right there. that's the fair ground right there. here's where the weather line was. still about 18 miles well west of the center of where -- stop that right there, dave. there we go. i want you to look at this little tiny line. there's a tiny line of blue right through there. that's bugs and dust and everything. that's the gust front. that's the air pushing ahead of the storm. you could only find that if you were in the weather service was watching on the doppler. easy to find that line on the doppler radar and that's right through the center of the state fairgrounds. even though the weather, it looks like on the radar is still ten miles away, the wind was right on top of the fairgrounds and that's when all of the bad stuff happened. it was one thing right after another. there were plenty of warnings

and watches from 5:30 until 8:30, 9:00 the warning was issued. the stage issued the warning announcement saying get out of the way at:45. but by 49, four minutes later that stage collapsed. >> a tragedy there. chad myers. thank you. a suspect accused of killing dozens in norway last month returned to the island where the shooting rampage took place. to reenact the massacre. we look at what police chose in terms of doing this. we'll be right back. ♪ let me entertain you

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we showed you this haunting video before the break. anders bearing breivik accused of killing dozens in norway

returned to the island where the shooting rampage took place to reenact the massacre as part of a police investigation. you can see him apparently wearing a bulletproof vest and harness that tethers him to the police as they roam this wooded island. joining me now bob ricks. thanks for joining us. you were an fbi assistant special agent in charge of the waco siege and also in the oklahoma city bombing. we're happy to talk with you. you can share your expertise with us on this one. the first question that comes to mind is why have this suspect, breivik, return to the scene of the crime? is this a usual practice? >> i find it somewhat perplexing as to why they're doing this. we oftentimes do reenactment of crime scenes and sometimes we even take suspects back to a scene. but usually it's for evidentiary purposes. we're trying to find perhaps where bodies are buried by serial killers, we're trying to find homes that have been

burglarized by burglars when they're willing to cooperate. to actually take a killer such as in this case, is really quite unusual. >> why do you think they would have done this? to take him through there. apparently they spent eight hours to watch him reenact what he allegedly did is just very surprising to many of us. >> i think it is also. i know that they're struggling with this whole situation. they're obviously -- there obviously were problems that occurred. the response was not timely. it took them too long to get there. if this would have occurred in the united states, you would have a swarming of law enforcement from all sectors regardless of even those in their own jurisdiction. so i know that they're trying to kind of grasp and get a hold of this thing and trying to get a picture of what actually occurred. there's nothing wrong with trying to gain as much information about what has happened here.

the big concern i have, are you giving this person perhaps a forum in which he can continue to espouse his hatred. this is kind of falling in a little bit into his trap. that's exactly what these types of people generally will looking for, is more and more exposure. >> that's what i was going to ask you. it seems like they may be giving him some sort of stage here. as you watch him walk around this island, he holds his arms up to show them how he allegedly pointed and shot people. so that is a concern for you as well, then? >> it is a concern. we interviewed numerous serial killers, serial rapists, we try to find out what motivated them, what caused them to do what they're doing and how can we take steps to learn about techniques so we can identify these individuals. i know this is probably what they're grappling with is trying to come up with some logical

explanation, and sometimes we have difficulty just seeing evil and identifying evil for being evil. >> apparently he didn't show any emotion according to those that were there. does that surprise you? >> i don't think so based on his prior statements that he's made. it does not appear that he would qualify in any way for an insanity defense. it looks like this was a cold, calculated action that he took, that he had been planning for some time. believes that he's in the right for what he did. and is typical such as a timothy mcveigh, up almost until the end did he express any remorse. we have some indications timothy mcveigh was at least coming around and showing some emotion and at least some regret. but these people typically are so imbued with hatred, it's almost impossible for them to show the normal signs of emotion that you and i would express.

>> fascinating insight. bob ricks, thank you for your time. the time right now is about 20 minutes past the hour. time to check in on top stories that we're following. billionaire, warren buffett making news today in a new york times op-ed. he begs congress to make the rich like himself pay more in taxes. buffet who paid nearly $7 million in federal taxes last year say the super rich should not be protected liken dangered spotted owls. in a surprise deal that would be the largest acquisition ever, google agreed to buy motorola mobility for $12.5 billion. google the world's search leader believes the mobile device maker will help it gain a stronger foothold in the mobile marketplace. david cameron today blamed last week's riots on a slow motion moral collapse. london police have arrested more than 1500 people in charges of looting, disorder and violence since the unrest erupted over the killing of a man during a

police operation. his alleged beating and death ignited public outrage. the answers to why and how. kelly thomas died could come down to the decision of a police watchdog. in a couple of minutes we'll talk to the man the city is looking to for some answers. this easy to talk with a mac and this easy to talk with an ipad. facetime. just one more thing that makes an iphone an iphone. i don't always have time to eat like i should. that's why i like glucerna shakes. they have slowly digestible carbs to help minimize blood sugar spikes, which can help lower a1c. [ male announcer ] glucerna. helping people with diabetes find balance. is best absorbed in small continuous amounts.

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we first told you about kelly thomas two weeks ago. we've been staying on top of the investigation into his death allegedly at the hands of police. we want to update you now object on the latest as the controversy and pressure builds for accountability. the fullerton city council is drafting up a contract to hire an independent consultant to review the alleged beating and the police department's response along with its policies and procedures. this move comes after thomas' parents filed a claim against the city an the police department. the consultant called in to conduct the review will join us in a moment. the council is expected to vote on his contract tomorrow. as we've been telling you, this story, this tragedy and now investigation and review center around kelly thomas. he was 37. he was homeless and schizophrenic. i want to warn you, this picture is graphic and hard to look it.

it's important that you see it. this is kelly thomas. you're looking at what he looked like before and after the alleged beating by six fullerton police officers. take a look at that. on july 5th, fullerton police responded to reports of a man breaking into cars near a bus station. it began with a search of his backpack. ended with this. tasered multiple times, hogtied face down, smashed against concrete, his head slammed with a flashlight. he died from the injuries five days later. since then, thomas' death not only has become the center of a federal and local investigation, but has ignited weekly protests outside the fullerton police station. in the meantime, the city clerk received notice that residents are starting a petition to recall three elected city council members, including the mayor and city councilman pat mckinley who we spoke with on this program last week. do you know any of the officers

involved? >> oh, i'm certain i do. i probably hired them all. >> you hired them all you think? >> well, probably. >> how do you feel then considering that officers that you hired might have been involved in this? appear to have been involved in this. >> well, i'm going to guess now. i'm going to guess that there may be two that are deeply involved. the others i don't think will -- the investigation will show had any culpability. >> the six officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave. >> michael sellers took paid medical leave last week. kevin hamilton stepping in as the acting police chief says there is no cover up and the police department is cooperating with the fbi and the district attorney's office in their investigation. >> if the officers are culpable criminally or if they're

culpable internally, they are going to be held accountable. there's a notion out there that we are in some way, shape or form going to try to cover things up in the investigation or influence things with the d.a.'s office or the fbi or the internal investigation. what i want the public to know is this. we are not going to influence any of that. >> but according to the los angeles times, the officers allegedly involved in the beating wrote their reports after police department supervisors allowed them to view a videotape of thomas' beating. that's just one of the things michael ji knock owe will be looking into if his role is approved. he joins me now from los angeles. michael, thank you for coming on the show to talk about this. what specifically will you look at as you start your review assuming the city council signs off on this? >> assuming we have a contract and can get started, which we will do right away once we get one, we'll be taking a broader look at this incident.

taking a look at not only the incident itself, but using the incident and being informed to take a broader look at systems issues, policies, protocols, training, the hiring practices and the way in which this investigation began. how it was in fact investigated. that will all be looked at by our review. >> and speaking of policies, i want to ask you about these officers who allegedly were able to review the videotape of this beating before they wrote their reports. is that unusual or is that something that's considered standard procedure? >> i'm not sure there is a "standard procedure" with regard to that. one of the problems with regard to video evidence is that many departments have not moved forward enough and considered what you do with a video when you have video evidence and how you present or when you present or if you present that to witnesses. that's something that certainly would be part of our review and, while it's premature for me to

expound on that and come to a conclusion, that would be an example, an illustration of what we would be looking at. that and a bunch of other things will enter into our focus. >> have you heard of this happening before or is that strange to you? >> it's not strange. i have heard of it happening before. so that's one of the things that we'll be looking at and we'll also need to look at that with regard to whether that had an impact in the collection of evidence as it was developed. but, again, until i dig into the actual witness statements and those reports, i'm only sort of theorizing. i certainly do believe that it has been identified and should have been identified and has been identified as an issue. >> have you had a chance to see some of the video of this beating and, if so, what are your thoughts on it? >> i've sort of held back on actually reviewing the video because the only thing out there is what has been portrayed in the media. but once i get a relationship, a legal relationship with the

city, that would be one of the first things, of course, i would do. >> the d.a. told us they're planning to interview a hundred witnesses. will you plan to interview those same people, including thomas' family. >> we'll have to take the witnesses and information that the d.a. has collected from the witnesses as a starting point. but because we have a broader focus, there may be additional questions that we'll be needing to ask not only the fact witnesses but also the individuals responsible for the development of these systems that exist in the department, like training, like hiring, like the development of policies. those are the kinds of sort of nonfactual questions that we'll need to get into that aren't necessarily going to be part of the probe by the folks that are looking at criminality. >> so if you have the fbi already investigating, that's an external investigation, then you have the d.a.'s office. what's going to be different about your investigation then? >> our investigation or our review will be a broader reviewer.

it will take a look at not only the incident itself, but we'll be looking at it for purposes of improving and making recommendations on systems reform with regard to the way in which the city of fullerton police department acts every day. these police officers didn't just come to work that day for the first time. whatever they did was guided by the fact of their training, by the protocols and manual that was handed to them and a lot of other things. so what we need to do is pull that apart and see whether or not there is a better way of doing business with regard to the way in which the police are protecting the community of fullerton. >> very quickly, how much weight will your findings have on the d.a. in terms of charges? >> i think the d.a. will probably, if i was a d.a. and i used to be a prosecutor of police officers, i think they will rely on the evidence that they collect. but certainly, we will take advantage of that preliminary information as a starting point for our much broader, deeper

review. >> michael genacco. keep us up to date on what you find. thank you. >> we will keep you posted. thank you. the race for president is taking shape with the gop field thinning out whochlt is in? who is out? we'll have it all next. [ nurse ] i'm a hospice nurse. britta olsen is my patient. i spend long hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable. one night britta told me about a tradition in denmark, "when a person dies," she said, "someone must open the window so the soul can depart." i smiled and squeezed her hand. "not tonight, britta. not tonight." ♪

aspercreme breaks the grip, with maximum-strength medicine and no embarrassing odor. break the grip of pain with aspercreme. 32 minutes past the hour. time to check the headlines and other news you missed. president obama kicking off a three-day, three-state bus tour across the midwest.

earlier we heard him at his first town hall meeting in cannon falls, minnesota telling americans that they need to work together to get ahead. >> you make responsible choices about you what you can afford and what you can't afford. america needs to do and can do the exact same thing. there are some programs that don't work. we should stop funding them. there is some red tape that needs to be cut, we should cut it. but the fact of the matter is that solving our debt and deficit problems simply requires all of us to share in a little bit of sacrifice, all of us, to be willing to do a little bit more to get this country back on track. >> later today, the president will hold a town hall meeting in decor a, iowa. tuesday he hends to another city in iowa before heading to illinois on wednesday. wolf blitzer will sit down with

president obama on tuesday. some at 5:00 eastern time. in the gop race for president, texas governor rick perry is in. former minnesota governor tim pawlenty is out. and mi minnesota representative michele bachmann topped the iowa straw poll leading the pack with 29% followed by texas represent ron paul. pawlenty came in third with 14%. but he says the ranking wasn't strong enough to keep him going in the race. so with pawlenty out, here's a look at who is in. perry, bachmann and paul are all in. so is mitt romney, newt gingrich, gary johnson, rick santorum, john hunts man, herman cain. the indiana state fair reopened today with a memorial service for the people killed after a stage collapsed during a violent storm over the weekend. as you can see in this video, a wind gust took down the stage saturday night minutes before the band sugar land was set to perform. people in the crowd rushed to the rescue trying to help those trapped under the stage.

look at that come down. five people were killed. at least 40 others injured. police say the stage collapsed minutes after a warning to concert-goers about the storm. protestors could disrupt the ride home for san francisco's subway commuters today. the rapid transit system are warning riders of a protest at the civic center station later today. members of the group anonymous are organizing that demonstration. this after claiming they hacked the website for the transit system. my bart.org on sunday. the group acted out of response to bart cutting cell phone service at some of the stations last week. bart says it blocked service to keep potential protestors from coordinating their activities. this new york bus driver who helped police during a hailstorm and got fired for it has been hired back. george dau was driving a minibus with a teenage passenger and chaperone on board as a storm tore across long island. he saw an unmarked police car stalled on the side of the road filling up with water. he pulled over to pick up the

officers and this act cost him his job. he was fired. here's what he had to say on our show last week. >> when people are telling you they're police officers and they're asking for your help and they're in this situation and they're telling you they got to get to the precinct and you're assuming that they're being called in because of this horrendous situation they're in with this bizarre storm. you know, what do you do? i did what i thought anybody would do. it's no big deal. >> the bus company says that he violated company policy but that they understand his decision to help the stranded police detectives and now applauds his instincts in doing so. good for him. an american kidnapped in pakistan. he was abducted from his home. but why? some answers after the break.

it is a kidnapping that makes no sense to pakistani or u.s. officials. american warren weinstein is a world-renowned development expert who worked and lived in pakistan for years. on saturday, several men abducted him from his home in lahore where this mystery begins. we're joined from the pakistani capital, islamabad on the latest on this. rez a, what are you hearing from officials today about this case? >> randi, at this point it looks like officials don't have much to go on.

a lot of mystery still surrounding this kidnapping. i don't think there's any question his family desperately wants to know if he's okay and where he is. it seems neither pakistani police nor the u.s. embassy here in islamabad have any information about his condition and his whereabouts. the only bit of new information that we received today was that pakistani police are saying they've detained weinstein's three security guards and his driver, but they are only been detained for questioning. they point out that they're not suspects in this kidnapping. they only want to ask him questions. in pakistan the law does say that you can detain someone for up to 72 hours for questioning and we're still in that 72 hp hour window. weinstein kidnapped early saturday morning around 3:00 a.m. assailants broke into his home, tied up his security guards, pistol whipped his driver, eventually left with him. at this point, randi, the focus is on the security guards and the driver. but police point out, not

because of necessarily suspects. but they seem to be the only witnesses to this kidnapping. >> he isn't new to pakistan. reza, was there something about his work that may have made him a target? >> it's tough to say. but he's been a long time resident of pakistan. actually going back and forthment he's been in this region for a long time, well-traveled, he knows multiple lang wangs. worked for a company based in virginia. a development company. they were involved in social and economic development. basically working to create jobs, get pakistan's economy back on its feet. one of the projects they were involved according to the website was pakistani dairy farms to increase output and increase jobs. he was doing some important work here in pakistan and work that was funded by the u.s. government to improve relations in pakistan and win some hearts

and minds. >> reza, thank you. a gut wrenching court ruling that could rip a little girl from the apples of her adoptive story. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ ifyou don't have facetimene, on your phone, which makes it this easy to talk face-to-face with another iphone. this easy to talk with a mac and this easy to talk with an ipad. facetime. just one more thing that makes an iphone an iphone. have i got a surprise for you! yeah, it's new [ barks beneful healthy fiesta. gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo!

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advocates say she was stole fren guatemala, kidnapped and sold to an adoption agency of. a ruling may force her adoptive parents to say goodbye to her little girl. raphael row mow brings us the story. >> she broke down in tears after hearing the decision. for the first time a judge in guatemala is giving her the possibility of seeing her daughter who she says was

kidnapped. >> i have fought so hard for this. it's been almost five years and the surprising ruling makes me very happy. >> it happened almost five years ago. rodriguez told authorities she was arriving home in guatemala city with her three children when a woman grabbed her then two-year-old daughter and got into a waiting taxi. the girl now six years old was apparently sold to an international adoption agency and eventually adopted by a couple in liberty, missouri. >> all i want to tell them is to return my girl. i don't -- that's why i want to ask them to return her to me. because i have been suffering for five years. >> rodriguez searched for her daughter, posting flyers, talking to officials and even staging a hunger strike at one point. adoption reform advocates say this is an emblem attic case. >> just a tragedy. but if something like this is

what it takes for there to be real reform and oversight over the international adoption process, that portion of it is a good result. but i would never wish this on anyone. >> the american couple apparently had no idea that the girl they were adopting was kidnapped. a spokesman for the adoptive parents says the family will continue to advocate for the safety and best interests of their legally adopted child. they remain committed to protecting their daughter from additional traumas they pursue the truth of her past through appropriate legal channels. >> i would just have to think about like what if the situation were reversed and my only child were kidnapped. it's sad to know that somebody in our community is going through that. we're being joined now with raphael. this is a sad story for both families involved here. so this ruling was made in guatemala. does it hold up here in the u.s. is the question? >> it's uncharted territory when it comes to international law. i can think of at least two other cases in the past where

you had an international dispute, for the example the case of elian gone galz who was brought here after she separated from the father and the boy was returned to the biological father. there was another case involving an american who married a brazilian. the mother took the child to brazil and eventually, when she died, the boy was returned to the united states. internationally, most of the time the children are returned to the biological parents. in this case, however, it's so complicated because the family the united states, they thought they were doing everything under the law. they didn't know that this girl was kidnapped. so you have two families facing a very similar tragedy. >> it is just awful to see this play out. what is the reaction in guatemala? >> the reaction in guatemala is that i was talking to one organization that monitors this kind of cases and they say, well, every country in the world needs to respect international laws. ha they're advocating is the

united states to respect international law and return the girl. >> imagine if she has to go back. fascinating story. thank you. the white house is thousands of people have jobs because of the 2009 stimulus plan. but many republicans say it was a giant waste of money. up next, we look for answers from professor robert rice. former u.s. secretary of labor under president clinton. you may be surprise by what he has to say.

. 2009, $787 billion stimulus plan was the largest one-time economic recovery effort in u.s. history. one of the most questioned decisions by president barack obama. the white house argues thousands

of people have jobs because of it. but many republicans say it was a giant waste of money. joining me now, robert reich, the former u.s. secretary of labor under president clinton and current professor of public policy at the gold man school of public policy at the university of california at berkeley. thank you, mr. secretary for joining us. >> hi randi. let's get right to it. did the stimulus plan work do you think? >> most studies show that it saved about three million jobs, three million that would now be unemployed are employed because of it. but the stimulus did not go nearly far enough given the size of the decline in consumer and business activity in 2008-2009. and also given the fact that the states and localities were cutting like mad. cutting their budgets. and really basically overwhelming the impact of the stimulus. >> you say it didn't go far enough. why do you think that is? >> because the decline from 2008 to 2009, 2010, the decline was so huge. the commerce department recently looked back on the data and

revised the data. in the fourth quarter of 2008 for example, we saw a decline almost 9% on an annualized basis. we haven't seen that since the depression. consumer spending declined in 2009, 2010, 2%, 3%. that may not sound like much, but that's huge. when consumers are not spending because they're worried about their debts, worried about their home values going down, they're concerned about losing jobs and their wages are dropping and obviously the private sector is not going to create jobs without enough consumers, then the government has got to be the spender of last resort. this whole idea, randi, that somehow by shrinking government we get more jobs is exactly the opposite of what mainstream economics, economic analysis, what anybody who looked at the last eight recessions, in fact, if you include the great depression and the spending for world war ii, the last nine down turns would conclude. >> when you talk about or when you think about a bigger stimulus, could we afford that

now? >> we could certainly afford it. we afforded it in world war ii. we had by the end of world war ii, our debt as a proportion to the national economy was 120% of the total national economy but everybody was back to work and it laid the foundation for a huge growth in the 1950s. we would have otherwise still been mired in recession. we do need to have, we can afford it now. look at the ten-year treasury bill trading at under 3%. if we want today right now, we could borrow very cheaply as a nation from international markets, put that money into all of the things that we're not doing. that need repairs. i mean the deferred maintenance on highways and bridges and ports, airports, everything else. look around us, look at the congestion. look what we need as a country. so many people are unemployed right now, if we had a works project administration like in the new deal, if we had a civilian conservation corps, if

the government was actually having contractors go out and rebuild our infrastructure, we could put people to work. i mean, it now is the time to do it. >> what would you have advised the president on this one? >> well, i would have said to the president and i would say to the president right now, even though the republicans are likely to oppose you, even though they're going to say no, you've got to tell the american people the truth. we are in a terrible economic fix and the only way out is through right now more government spending on infrastructure and more government spending like the wpa and the ccc and also a government program to mitigate mortgages, to give people the opportunity to declare bankruptcy on their home mortgages so that they have an opportunity to have more bargaining leverage with lenders, with banks. randi, the problem is, a lot of people in the white house are saying the opposite to the president. they're saying don't do this

because the republicans will never go along. it will look like an empty gesture. it's not going to change anything. we're getting into the election year. to me, that is fatalism. that's resignation. that's saying there's no possibility of leadership, no possibility of leading the charge on a fight and mobilizing and energizing the country around something that must be done. >> robert reich, always appreciate your time, mr. secretary. thank you very much. >> thank you. when rick perry announced his candidacy over the weekend, it changed the whole dynamic of the gop presidential race. mitt romney's reaction next in our political ticker. you're gonna look so handsome once i get these little white pieces off you. how many do i have? more than you think. [ female announcer ] you can't pass mom's inspection with lots of pieces left behind. that's why there's charmin ultra strong.

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time now for a cnn political update. the republican presidential race is heating up. now the texas governor rick percy in the race. cnn political editor mark preston joining us from washington. mitt romney was considered the only front-runner until now. how is he reacting, i guess, to rick perry's candidacy. >> it's interesting. all he seems to want to talk about is the economy, the economy, the economy. which basically he's been on the same message since day one. in the couple of debates so far, he wouldn't attack any of the other candidates on the stage. all he would do is focus his sights on president obama. now, when he was asked today at an event up in new hampshire about rick perry getting into the race, this is what he had to say. >> rick perry now getting in.

good guy. good governor. he'll get a chance to be heard. we'll have a lot of debates. we'll see where it goes. i don't really measure the success of my campaign based on what other people are doing. but instead, based on whether what i'm telling folks is connecting and as seen by the american people as what america needs. so i wish rick the very best. as the process goes on, we'll see whose background and skill most fits the need and the needs of the country at a critical time like this. >> there you have mitt romney there talking about who has the appropriate background to not only be the republican nominee but also to be the next president of the united states. he thinks it's him. he says he's got the business background to turn the economy around. i got to tell you, he was saying the same mess ang friday night up in new hampshire. that's what he's sitting home on, jobs, jobs. >> what's been the reaction to the corporations of people comment? >> that was a dust storm we saw on thursday when romney was

walking around the state fair. he was asked that by a democratic activist. he said look, corporations are people too which went over like a lead balloon. he is embracing it. mitt romney put out a fundrai fundraising note. he's raised $59,000 as of this afternoon in an e-mail solicitation to republicans saying that he's going to stand by those words. we also expect him to put out a national direct mailer to try to raise more money. he's trying to own it. he's not walking away, randi. >> doesn't sound like it. wolf blitzer is interviewing president obama one-on-one. you can see it on wolf's show tomorrow, the situation room airs at 5:00 eastern. 2:00 pacific time. only here on cnn. that is going to o do it for me. i'll hand it over now to brooke baldwin. hi there, brooke. >> hello, ms. kaye. have a wonderful monday afternoon. hello. i'm brooke baldwin. breaking news. shocking evidence. the latest police documents here on this