>> these aren't rad a radical ideas. >> from his republican rivals cries of too little too late. >> mr. president, actions speak louder than words. my actions as governor are helping create jobs in this country. the president's actions are killing jobs in this country. >> one of those republicans went as far to offer the president a little speech writing advice. >> i hope he begins by recognizing that his plan three years ago hasn't worked, that his responsibility of turning this economy around was not fulfilled, that it's been a failure. >> the back and forth on jobs is crackling proof the campaign's suddenly in a more engaged phase, that in part because of the president's travels to the midwest and in part the new interest the texas governor rick perry is adding to the republican race. wednesday he visited new hampshire. while it is clear he is the flavor of the moment 234

presidential politics, the more he speaks the more people including many republicans ask this question. by so aggressively appealing to the republican base, is governor perry undermining his appeal as a general election candidate? this comment in new hampshire questioning man's role in global warming is new fodder tonight for the perry electability rate. >> i think there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling in to their projects. and i think we're seeing it almost weekly or even daily scientists who are coming forward and questioning the original idea that manmade global warming is what is causing the climate to change. >> here's another comment from perry today that is suspect when put to the fact check test. >> what six weeks ago the president went to el paso and says the border is safer than it's ever been. i have no idea.

i mean, maybe he was talking about the canadian border. >> and generating the most heat is perry's iowa salvo suggesting it would be treasonous for ben bernanke to -- >> i don't know what y'all would do with him in iowa. but we would treat him pretty ugly down in texas. >> on the campaign trail, the confident candidate appears unfazed, even amused. >> you know, yesterday the president said i needed to watch what i say. >> well, amused there. but even some perry fans in the republican establishment see signs of potential trouble. "he needs more bioand less texas". that's how one top party strategist put it to me tonight. let's doe bait the perry factor with cnn contributors eric

erickson and alex castellanos. alex, if you get on the global warming, a good issue with the republican base, but look at this gallup poll. do you believe increasing earth's temperature is due to human activities? 352% say yes. natural changes 43%. so a majority of americans say humans are contributing to global warming. governor perry clearly questions and disputes that. if you look at breakdown bipartisanship it gets fascinating. global warming seriousness. is it exaggerated? 22% of democrats say. so 43% of end participants and 67% of republicans. so what governor perry is saying has clear appeal to republicans. but is he risking his potential support among independents and even conservative democrats by saying that? >> in all these issues you have to say what he believes. that's what he believes. it's even worse if you're inauthentic. but that's the concern about rick perry, one is that he appeal to the base but in a general election he could become george mcgovern. or even barry goldwater.

candidates with intense support but unable to reach across the middle. and you ack sent that when you shoot from the lip as some texans are known to do. does he have mad cowboy disease? >> and eric, he talked today -- he joked, he mocked the president going to el paso and saying the border is as safe as it has been in recent memory. obviously he's a border state governor. obviously he has a unique perspective being from texas. but if you just look at the numbers, el paso, texas on the border is one of the cities in america with the lowest rates of violent crime. others are on the border, too, san diego and phoenix. el paso had 12 murders in 2009. if you go just across the border, the town across the border had 2,000. there is a town across the border. border patrol agents today, 20,000700 -- 20,700. the number of those people coming across the border is also down. so can the governor's credibility be questioned when he says things that numbers

don't seem to support? >> oh, i think it depends on which numbers you look at on that, john. yes, the violence in el paso is down. look in the rural parts of texas, arizona and new mexico, that's where the violence is increased. likewise you have the drug cartels fighting their bloody war south of the border. right on the border you've got this operation fast and furious nonsense with atf down there. on the global warming issue, i see the gallup poll but there are other polls out there as well that show that a lot of the public doesn't know. this global warming is not going to be an issue in 2012. it's going to be jobs. yes, rick perry, i think alexis right, he's got to be careful what he says. he can get painted into a box. he can get in trouble. i think it's early. i think the big issue's going to be jobs when it comes to next year. but he doesn't want to get painted into a corner. >> and david, it is early. it's his first week on the trail. a lot of candidates say things they regret or take back or mod fight. barack obama yesterday took a pass on criticizing governor perry i bet in part because he said a lot of things he

regretted especially as a young candidate early in 2007 and into 2008. but particularly drawing scorn from a lot of republicans and democrats is the idea that ben bernanke would be treasonous or treacherous behavior e if he ke putting money into the economy. rick santorum said this. >> he might say lots of things about misguided the policies. but you don't up the ante to those types of rhetoric. it's out of place. hopefully governor perry will step back and realize we're not in texas anymore. >> what is he learning, david, this first week on the trail with governor perry? >> he's playing in the big leagues. he's won three big elections down in texas. he said things people questioned but he sort of brushed them off an went on. now he's playing in the big leagues and he'll get a lot more scrutiny. i'm still laughing over the mad cowboy disease from alex. but i tell you this, the border

statement today i didn't think much of. global warming, he didn't come out and call it a hoax at least. but i thought what he said about bernanke was a real gaffe. almost treasonous. we treat him ugly in texas. that kind of swagger is going to scare the hell out of a lot of voters. he's done well in the early polls. but i'm hearing in new york, i had people come up on the street and say i'm scared about rick perry and the kind of comments he makes. he'll play much better obviously in the south than a place like new york anyway. but there are some people out there now who are listening and say, oh, wow, i didn't realize he meant that. >> and to david's point, john, i think he's exactly right. it's different. it's big league pitching in the presidential campaign. it turns out, for example, there were two governors who signed a letter asking ben bernanke of all people to get moving with that $700 billion t.a.r.p.

program. one of those governors was rick perry. so these things kind of come back to bite you in the big leagues. >> another thing he said that i think will get scrutiny in the campaign, during the b.p. oil spill, texas is a big oil state, if you go back to those days he said he was talking about should we suspend drilling, what should we do?" from time to time there are going to be things that occur that are acts of god that cannot be prevented". acts of god that cannot be prevented. erik, we know what happened on that rig was horrible. negligence involved, horrible maintenance, questions involved by the leadership. i bet that's one he'd leak to have back. >> i'm not sure. at the time it was blown up this acts of god thing. anybody who's a lawyer understands what acts of god means accidents. at the time that happened there was still a probe and there was a lot of speculation it could have been an accident. yeah. there was a lot of negligence involved at the time. but i think most people understood what he meant who aren't in new york and washington. >> aren't in new york and washington. that's a shot at us, i think. >> it is.

>> not necessarily. >> john, i'm curious about why the bushies are going after him. why karl rove and others from the george w. bush. what's the nature of that tension? >> there's some inside texas rivalry, talk among the bushies as governor he tried to say he was better than george w. bush and also in supporting rudy giuliani in 2007 he went to an event where he says george w. bush was no fiscal conservative. >> that's not going to hurt him in a republican primary. >> but also some consultant feuding that happens from time to time. right, alex? >> it does happen. war now and then. but the other thing about rick perry is that let's give him his due. when he came out of the box he came out as a man who knew his mind, who didn't have to ask other people who he was and what he believes. and when you contrast that with an uncertain president who is for what he's against go into libya while you're coming out, you're going to reduce the deficit while you spend more, he actually looked pretty strong and decisive. you've got to watch him. >> we're talking about him which means he jumped into the debate with a little bit of gusto.

we'll talk about him a lot more in the weeks ahead still ahead here, a new jobs promise from the president and some advice for you from sue suze orman. >> 2012 could be a very difficult year. i'm on the camp we could be more chance of being in a recession than avoiding it. >> next blood sheed. is the regime's answer to end the violence. plus libyan's rebels gain progress as they try to put a choke hold on tripoli. used by physical therapists.y go to bengay.com for a 5-dollar coupon. your nutritional needs can go up when you're on the road to recovery. proper nutrition can help you get back on your feet. three out of four doctors recommend the ensure brand for extra nutrition. ensure clinical strength has revigor and thirteen grams of protein to protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. and immune balance to help support your immune system.

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>> a 2 y8d girl is the face of global outrage as syria ignores global condemnation and continues its crackdown. this video of a 2-year-old girl shot in the eye comes from -- arwa damon, the government says it is pulling out, the forces are leaving latakia. what are your sources telling you? >> reporter: well, what activists who are located in that very neighborhood are saying is that that quite simply is not true. they told us that two, maybe

three military vehicles, armored personnel carriers, pulled out, went to another area, but that the security forces are still fanned out just a short while ago i got a message from an activist saying he was hearing sporadic gunfire. there are still snipers positioned on rooftops, checkpoints, shops, pharmacies, bakeries, all remain closed. families most certainly not coming back. and so they're saying that syrian government is quite simply trying to buy itself more time by making those various statements that it is in fact pulling out of this area. >> and arwa, a couple of weeks ago it was the teenage boy dropped on a doorstep beaten, it looked like he had cigarette burns. now this horrific video of this 2-year-old girl. inside syria, obviously the administration is trying to send a chilling message to these activists. but inside syria how are they receiving it? is it causing them to pull back or making them have more resolve. >> reporter: when it comes to the demonstrators, just about every single act that is a by

product of the government's excessive use of force has only served to harden them and make them even more determined. the case of this little girl, they find it horrific, yes. but at the same time, they will tell you that it doesn't really surprise them. they fully expect this type of behavior from the government. now, in this case it seems as if she was not deliberately targeted. but they do cite other instances where children they say have been deliberately killed, detained, tortured, all to send some sort of a message. they say that this regime doesn't differentiate between children and adults when it comes to silencing voices of dissent. they'll tell you this is not new. they'll tell you this has been the regime's behavior since it came into power for four decade. that is why they say it has to go. >> arwa damon in beirut tonight. thank you in lib in libya tonight,

rebels choking off ga da fee's food and supply lines. sair remarks what is the rebel commander's feeling about the state of play? do they feel they have moment snum. >> reporter: yes, the short answer to that. here's what seems to be happening now. in zowiya that is important because it is a lifeline to tripoli where fuel comes through and other supplies, an easy way to get those things into tripoli, fuel is scarce there and we're hearing food is becoming quite scarce for residents there as well. according to this colonel, the situation is that the rebels do not have complete control of zowiya, that they have control of some parts of the city. but that gadhafi forces are still there, they're on the eastern most side of the city, that they are shelling into the city and that there are snipers there near the hospital, even, on top of buildings. those snipers belonging to the ga da fee regime. so there is still fighting in

that city. they close do not control of that city. >> is the goal, sara, to ultimately march on tripoli or to circle it and choke off the regime? >> reporter: i think it's twofold. one they do want to encircle it and choke off the splice and the regime. but the real goal here is to move into the city, move into the capital and move of gadhafi and his regime. they want him to go. if they have to do it by force they say they will do that. there is a lot of optimism. we heard from a commander this week he believes they will be in tripoli in the next few weeks, at the end of the month. >> sair remarks don't answer the question if you're worried about your safety. but it's impossible not to notice the gunfire behind you. what to make of that. >> reporter: yes. so here's what happens. oftentimes and as you've seen throughout this war, when there issel brakeses a lot of times there are lots of people with guns and people get very happy and very excited and they start

firing. and it's something that we all have to contend with, obviously. for our own safety we're always kind of looking over our shoulder and trying to listen to make sure it's not coming our way but sometimes it is. and a lot of times it's just enthusiasm on the part of the rebels blast into the air. but again, a dangerous thing and something actually we talked to commanders in the early days when i was in bengazi and mizrata for several weeks. we said why waste the ammunition? we know people get excited but why waste this when we know you have limited resources? the answer was we're trying to control the situation but we can't control everything, john. >> sara sidner amid what we hope is just a celebration in libya tonight. sara, thank you. important context from our experts. nick burns and fran townsend is with us. i want to go to the map, fran and nick. first let's start with libya. sara sidner making the point, if you see the stripe this is held

by the rebels. the opposition, tripoli the capital right here. you see they're beginning to put a bit of a circle around. the question is a couple of government towns here, regime towns here. fran, to you first from folks you talk to in the intelligence community, do they have any confidence that these guys finally have their act together and they really might have a chance to choke off and then maybe even march on tripoli? >> well, john, this is the most strategic success they've seen coming out of the rebels. the question is can they put the internal sort of machinations aside? we've seen indications there's tension among the ranks of the rebels. if they can put that aside and choke off supplies it give them an opportunity. along with nato support, there's a chance that they can actually achieve their objectives of choking off the gadhafi regime but it remains to be seen. this is going to requires a sustained and persistent effort. >> nick burns, the strategy for nato, they've been dropping a

lot of air strikes in tripoli lately. if the rebels can get a surround right here, what does nato have to do and will nato if you will clear a path for them to march on tripoli? >> well, john, i think fran is right. this is a consequential week shaping up perhaps for the libyan rebels. they have an opportunity in zowiya if they can take the town to essentially cut off supplies from the western part of libya into the regime. nato has intensified its bombing campaign. there are reports that united states is adding predators. so you're beginning to see an opportunity here both for the rebel alliance but also for nato to put some pressure on the gadhafi regime to relieve this stalemate that has been in place for the last six months. >> i brought up the pipelines here, if the rebels can keep this here they can cut off pipelines to tripoli. i want to move the conversation over to syria if we can. if you look at this august 7 and 8 the saudi king says stop the killing machine. we know what happened. the killing continued.

august 9 the turk irk foreign minister meets with assad. he says stop. assad says i won't stop in my pursuit of the terrorists. august 10th the united states announces new sanctions. again i can go to just about anywhere in this map. highly pick the town of harasta here. international pressure on the regime and this what is you get. people in the street protesting for their rights being shot at. nick burns, secretary of state hillary clinton says we haven't called for assad to step down because we're using "smart power" we want others in the community with closer relationships to step forward. does that pass what i'll call the sniff test? >> well, i think it's understandable that secretary clinton would want to call together for the removal of bashar all assad for his resignation. given the outcry over the images like you've shown tonight. in the final analysis, if those countries cannot act with the

u.s., there really is no substitute for the power and the leadership of the united states despite our many problems. we are still by a wide margin the most powerful country in the world. i think it would be a dramatic signal of international condemnation of the regime if the u.s. were to call for his resignation. i think it would galvanize others to do the same. >> nick burns, fran townsend appreciate your insights. we'll stay on top of this big important week in libya and syria as well. still ahead, piers morgan asking the former u.s. senate candidate christine o'donnell about some of her most controversial views. you will want to see her reaction. she walks off the set. next, suze orman how you should navigate the stock market and her take on president obama's job pitch. and my itchy eyes took refuge from the dust in here and the pollen outside. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. it's the brand allergists recommend most. ♪

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doesn't seem to do justice in describing the past couple of weeks on wall street. giant drops followed by big gains and vice versa. there are jitters about the messy political debates in washington and about major debt problemses across europe, not to mention worries the economy could again stall into recession. so what should you do about your 401 k or about big decisions like buying a new car or home or setting aside money from a college fund? our friend suze orman has her advice on how to survive these confusing times. a gut check, if you look at an economists. a "u.s. news and world report"

survey, are how optimistic are you about the economy for the rest of 2012 compared three months ago? >> i've been down about the economy since 2008. i can remember coming on cnn, writing a book called "the 2009 action plan" where in that book i actually said it will be until 2015 until we feel like we even have hope again. so this doesn't surprise me. it doesn't surprise me that we're not out of the woods when it comes to housing, doesn't surprise me that we have 9.1% unemployment, doesn't surprise me that nothing is working the way that it should. because the devastation that happened in 2008 was so beyond the beyond of anything we could have imagined was possible that i don't understand where we could be except where we are right now. >> and so if we are where we are right now, what should we do? if you look at just the past couple of weeks, the startling 19% swing in the ups and downs. just last week. you hear people say buy gold. it's way up. you hear people say cash out. get out of this crazy market.

what does suze say? >> again i hate to keep saying i've said. this i've said it for almost two years. if you're going to be investing in the stock market, i personally would like to see you be investing in dividend-paying stocks or exchange-traded funds depending on how much money you have. why? because during wild swings, when it goes up and down, all you want to know at this point in time, anyway, is that your money is yielding you 4, 5 or 6%. otherwise that money is going to be out of the market and doing what, john? it's going to be sitting in a money market fund making you a half a percent, one percent. we heard the fed chair say he's going to keep interest rates low until at least 2013. so i wanted to be paid on my money. so again, if you can find good high-yielding 4.5, 6% dividend-paying stocks or exchange-traded funds where the dividend is safe, there's good economics behind the company,

up, down, eventually you'll be ahead of the game. you want to look for what it gives you more than for what your money is doing in itself. >> and does the current situation impact at all if somebody's out there watching and they're thinking about you mentioned those low interest rates. maybe they think it's time to buy a new car or a new home. should any consumers decision about a big ticket purchase be influenced by the roller coaster of the past few weeks? >> i think it should be influenced if -- if your job is not secure. so a lot of times when we see a roller coaster happening it is also possible that some of that roller coaster has to do with the company that maybe you're working for. so if your job is secure, if you have at least 20% to put down, if you have at least an 8-month emergency fund besides the 20% to put down, if you can afford a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, the property taxes, the insurance, and you can get a steal of a deal. because i don't think we've seen the bottom in the real estate market. i think we are now definitely saying we're in a double dip. i think in many areas you could

see it go down another 3, 5 or 10%. so if you could get a steal of a deal and your job is secure, go ahead and do it. if all those things aren't there, then you just wait. same thing with a car. you better need, really need a new car to buy a new car. and if i were you i wouldn't be buying a brand-new car unless you had so much money you didn't know what to do with it. you could buy a new car for you but you should buy a used car, because new cars the second you drive it off the lot there they're down 20 or 30% in value the second it leaves the lot. so what are you doing, people? what are you doing with your money? you need to be conserving it for what's coming ahead. >> we've talked about this many times in the past about how we live in a consumer-driven economy. if consumer spending goes up a lot of indicators go up, too. people are in a funk right now. the university of michigan which tracks consumer confidence just came out its preliminary august report, 50.9. down from july. 50.9. that is the lowest since 1980 which is also a recession year.

what is it going to take to get people out of their snung. >> truthfully to get them out of the funk we have to have people agreeing in washington. there's nothing more disheartening when you don't know what to do and you're counting on your leaders to really lead you through the battle, through the victory so that you'll be okay and they're fighting with one another, they're bickering with one another, they're waiting for the very last minute before they pass bills that protect the consumers out there. so what do you expect these consumers to think? they don't have faith that anybody in any side of the political battle here really has their best interests at heart. they're watching all these things. they're not understanding it. and the truth of the matter is, they shouldn't have a lot of confidence. because again, i think 2012 could be a very difficult year. i'm on the camp that we have more chance of being in recession than avoiding it. so they should be conservative right now. their confidence should be down. because there's every reason out there that they shouldn't feel confident. >> when you say you're more in

the camp that we're going to fall into another recession than less, are you way into that camp are you still a little divided? >> i'm pretty much way into that camp. but i've been way into that camp now for the past year or two. obviously on my own show on the suze orman show i've been saying to my viewers forever, please be careful of 2012. and they keep writing, why, suze, why? and it's obvious if you look what's happening out there. for this economy to recover, we need housing to recover. housing can't recover unless jobs recover. housing can't recover until you take care of the excess of all the homes that are in foreclosure and the banks are willing to work with these people that want to keep their home but they're so underwater they don't know what to do. all of these problems plus more, what's happening in europe, everything adds to we have trouble ahead. i hope i'm wrong. i hope i'm wrong so much i can't begin to tell you. i don't think i am, however. >> well, i want you to listen to a guy who hopes you're wrong. he's the president of the nights. he has to run for re-election in

2012. if we fall back into a recession it would severely hurt the prospects of his re-election. the president is focusing on the issue you just mentioned. we need jobs. jobs would be a good spark for everything in the economy. want you to listen to the president outline some of the things he thinks should be done now. >> that payroll tax cut that put $1,000 back in the average family's pocket this year? let's extend it. construction workers who have been jobless since the housing boom went bust, let's put them back to work rebuilding america. let's cut red tape in the patent process so entrepreneurs can get good ideas to market more quickly. let's finish trade deals so we can sell more american-made goods around the world. >> how are those ingredients? is that a major jobs package there or is that more small ball playing around the edges? >> i think that's more small ball playing around the edges. and i'll be the -- my political affiliation i don't hide. i am a supporter of president obama. i want him to win again more than you have any idea for many of the reasons out there.

however, many people don't work in construction. many people don't benefit from some of those things. yes, $1,000 would be good and all. but there are a lot of people that lost their jobs. why? because of productivity. a lot of these corporations are so productive now without them because of technology, they don't need to hire them back. so how does that help the women or the people who had jobs either on wall street or wherever they were and they're not construction workers? they don't do those things? and they have been trying to get a job now for two years and they still can't get a job? we need to really do a whole lot more than that to solve this problem. but it's a start. do i think it's a big enough start? i'm so sorry to say i don't. >> and the jobs debate comes as part of the deficit reductions debate. the president wants the congress to do some more on that front. he's getting a little help. the president says we should raise taxes on wealthy americans. he's getting help from one of the wealthiest americans out there, warren buffett who wrote

"for those making more than $1 million, there were 236,883 households in 2009 i would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including of course dividends and capital gains. for those who make $10 million or more they should raise taxes even more. does that get from suze an improve or deny? >> that actually gets an approve. if you had watched me recently or over the past year or, two i was absolutely against president obama wanted to raise taxes on anybody from $250,000 or more. you could be in new york city make $250,000 and you don't have enough money to pay your bills believe it or but once it gets to the tune of $1 million or $10 million a year, i would be more than happy to pay extra money in taxes if it solved the problem. it's true, john, you look around when you're making a few million dollars a year, our lives haven't been affected but everybody around us has. so would the difference of $50,000 or $100,000 for me in

more taxes make a difference? no. not to my lifestyle. but if it would help the economy i think every one of us should be willing to do that and i don't have a problem p with that. >> as always appreciate the frank and very blunt, some sober advice from suze orman. chr-- men with erectile dysn can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day,

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here's the latest news you need to know right now. in india thousand of demonstrators have surrounded a new delhi jail to show support for a 72-year-old reformer who is threatening to begin a hunger strike to protest government corruption. vice president joe biden start a five-day visit to china today. a key goal of the trip getting to know the next generation, the rising generation, of chinese leaders. a short time ago former u.s. senate candidate christine o'donnell cut short a taping for piers morgan tonight when piers asked her view on gay marriage and republican presidential candidate michele bachmann, take a look. >> i'm just asking you questions based on your own public statements and now what you've written in your own book.

it's hardly rude to ask you that, surely. >> well, don't you think as a host, um, if i say this is what i want to talk about, that's what we should address? >> not really, no. you're a politician. >> yeah. okay, i'm being pulled away, you know, we turned down another interview for this. >> you see right there, her aide steps in front of the camera and after he blocks the shot there, o'donnell walks out. pretty straightforward question from piers there. you can see the entire exchanges tonight on cnn at 9:00 p.m. on "piers morgan" tonight. >> next new details of the president's planned new jobs proposal and alaska congressman who was right there at one of the president's town halls today, will he and his party work with the president or will we go back to gridlock? 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!

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new word from the white house about new proposals for job creation and deficit reductions. jessica yellin told the jobs speech will come after labor day and there'll be a complete legislative proposal, not just a list of ideas. jessica here with more tonight. the administration clearly feeling the pressure. the president out on the road saying i understand you want jobs. so you're told a new plan, new proposals, and he'll actually

say to congress, here it is. >> reporter: remember just a few weeks ago his critics were saying not enough specifics, not being firm enough on the republicans. now we're seeing as detailed as it gets. it will be i'm told actual policies written out as legislation. these are not the infrastructure bank and the patent reform we're been hearing him talk about lately. it will be proposals that are not already before congress, separate from the deficit reduction committee proposals he'll make separately. and yes, he will take it to the trail arguing for americans to support it. if congress blocks it then they'll say he's got an issue why are the republicans blocking? >> you talk about the republicans. the president believes i think i'm right in saying that white house politically thinks they have a win/win here. he puts forward a proposal. if they don't pass it he can say the obstructionist congress. >> you're right on the politics. >> moveon.org from the left today put out this e-mail to its supporters "president obama has spent too much time bandering to a minority of tea party republicans who will never negotiate in good faith. instead he needs to start

listening to the vast majority of the measure people who say job creation is the number one priority and the rich and corporations should be taxed more, nor less". so as he this he can do battle with the republicans here, he's got some trouble on the left flank. >> and they know that, that the base is going to be frustrated with him if he doesn't do what they're asking in every respect. but they feel like at this point they have a strategy and a proposal moving into the fall campaign season that gets him away from washington, away from the gridlock here. that's when his numbers go down. they are trying to appeal to independents. they feel confident the campaign does they can win these supporters back come next year. >> and gallup has new numbers out tonight pretty stunning. if you're on the president's re-election team you have to look at these and think, whoa. you say they think they have a political winner on the jobs proposal. 29% of americans approve, 65% disapprove. overall handling of the economy, 26% of americans approve, 71% disapprove. to get 65,71% disapproval,

that's not just republicans, that's a lot of democrats and independents. >> absolutely. and i hear you make this point all the time you have not seen a president get re-elected with unemployment at the high levels it's at. these are the numbers republicans are pointing to, and these are the numbers that concern the prisonesident's advisers. they can say that republican brand went down after the debt talks. americans do not like gridlock and fighting and that hurt the brand for republicans. and that president remains personally popular in their view. so those are two things they're trying to navigate through. that's why we'll see him hitting the trail talking about jobs trying to work on his likability and build that into support for his job approval. but those numbers are terrifying to the campaign. >> i want to move on something he said on the road today interesting about the campaign. when they talk about these new proposals will they pay for them? if they put the payroll tax up that cost, money. unemployment insurance costs money. infrastructure costs money. new proposals, are they going to say here he's our plan. we understand the deficit reductions is important.

here's how we'll pay for them? >> yes. this proposal to the super committee will include, they've said, cuts beyond the $1.5 trillion that's been laid out as part of that package. >> so back to the grand bargain. >> exactly. and that they'll account for extra spending in the jobs proposal with the new cuts in the grand bargain. >> it's interesting. the president said now officially the white house said this is a listening tour, a presidential listening tour, it is not a campaign trip the president it on. but you can listen to him getting his themes ready. he must be listening to governor perry who gave a speech the other day saying i want to go to washington to make it less consequence in your life. listen to the president saying you're going to hear a lot of people bash the government but -- >> you're going to hear a lot of stuff over the next year and a half just like you have for the last two and a half years, people attacking government and saying gand saying government's the problem. i think jordan just reminded us, government, our police officers and our firefighters, government

is all those young men and women who have been serving, protecting us in afghanistan and iraq. don't buy into this notion that somehow all our problems would be solved if we eliminate government. >> he has to be careful there, though. the republicans want to cut it all but he can't appear to be the big government guy. >> reporter: he can't. this is a very fine line they have to walk. part of what they're trying to do is define different philosophies about what -- how to govern. but they want to say the government can help more without as you say seeming like big government. >> fascinating week. a fascinating few days. we have a campaign that has kicked into a little bit of higher gear. jessica, thanks for coming in tonight up next, a very, very important story. it is back to school day in joplin, missouri. less than three months after that killing tornado in a remarkable little town. [ woman ] welcome back, jogging stroller. you've been stuck in the garage, while my sneezing and my itchy eyes took refuge from the dust in here and the pollen outside.

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joplin, missouri's recovery from

last may's deadly tornado. school started. for some joplin high school students that means classes inside a renovated area of a shopping mall. others will share space at a middle school. this is the first time classes have been held since the may 22nd tornado which you will recall killed at least 160 people and left much of the town, including schools, in ruin. joplin high school principal dr. kerry seketa joins us now. mr. principal, congratulations on your first day back. i have to assume it was an emotional day. >> it was an emotional day. sighing the expressions on the students's faces and all the excitement around the building was just almost too much for awhile. because it was just good to have everybody back and to see kids happy. >> and i want you to listen here to one of the fourth grade teachers. you're a high school principal. why don't you listen to a fourth grade teacher here talking about a little bit of pins and needles coming into the day and then this. >> to see how things have turned out and how wonderful joplin has

turned around, it's pretty simple. you know it's going to be all right. >> pretty simple. yet fighting back the tears there. take me inside your school as you wander the halls today to check in and make sure everybody's okay. >> well, we were all over the place all day today. we had volunteers everywhere, too. and the teachers did a great job of making sure that they directed the students around. our school's different this year, at least at the 11 and 12 campus. we have much wider hallways, different learning spaces and different-sized rooms. so the kids were eager to just really look around the place and kind of get a feel nor what was going on. i can tell you the high school students were really fired up today to be in the new school. and it really was a good kickoff for what i think is going to be a great year for us. >> if i have this right from the research you lost a school secretary and seven students. how did you remember them on this day as you try to look forward, how much time was spent looking back? >> well, one of the first things we did when we talked about them before we handed out the laptops

and we had our meeting with each class is we talked about caring for each other, looking out for each other, and that we're all here together. and that goes for teachers looking out for students, students looking out for teachers and so on. our district has done a good job of trying to make sure we have extra staff around, social workers, counselors, throughout the district for the year, and make sure that the healthy well being of our students and teachers are taken care of. all staff members in the district. so we mentioned that right off at the beginning of the -- giving out the laptops and we talked about that a little bit and the fact that how far we've come from, what we've come from and how far we've been and where we're headed. and at the same time, every day is a new day. >> and we talked about this a couple weeks back, the coping and having enough mental health professionals on hand. you just mentioned them. what do those professionals tell you about when they think you could encounter issues? obviously it's an exciting new day of school.

you have a lot of new equipment donated by people all around the world and bless them. but when do they tell you there may be a little bit of a boom and it sinks in and people might need some help? >> well, we hear a lot of different things. i think the 60 to 90-day mark is something you really have to watch out for folks. because sometimes people have a delayed reaction to trauma when they suffer something like this. because they're doing so many things so quickly all at once. and then all of a sudden some things happen or an event happens or possibly when we have our first tornado drill next week sometime, something of that nature might trigger something in a student or faculty member. so we have to be very cognizant of that and warn people ahead of time. we just have to be very careful. >> the principal of joplin high school. sir, congratulations on a great first day and we hope -- we hope you have a safe and a productive school year going forward. and things continue to get better joplin. >> thank you for >>