marriages fail and watched soldiers die. >> my faith in my god who cares for me and will never leave me is solid. but there are those times when you feel like there's a lot that's being expected of you and you just have to persevere. >> reporter: from the young, to the experienced, they truly serve god and country. >> chaplains bring the hope for the future. and that is our message as we work with our soldiers. that it's a dark day, but it's going to get better. >> chris lawrence reporting for us. thank you. i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. the news conditions on cnn. . good evening. we begin tonight with major breaking news in libya and syria. we know from our correspondents covering the battlefield in libya that the rebels are beginning to make important progress in their goal to encircle tripoli and march on the libyan capital.

barbara starr is hearing tonight from her sources of preparations for perhaps a final last stand by the libyan dictator. barbara, when you talk about a last stand, what are your sources telling you? >> well, they say that there is some indications they believe an assessment, if you will, that kad could be preparing for a last stand that it possibly would of course be in tripoli, his last major strong hold where he has some capability. what they don't know is what would this last stand look like. they're looking at the notion it could be scud missile launches, it could be an all-out military assault on on libyan civilians. they do not know. but that is the major concern at this hour. no firm indications that gadhafi yet is ready to pack up and go, in a maybe he plans one last effort before he finally decides. >> so it thif that is the worry

there any sense that the united states would encourage its nato allies to give him a shove before he can lash out? >> you bet. the question is what's the tipping point here that would make gadhafi go once and for all. they will continue to tighten the screw, continue the bombing campaign. and it's one of those cases yet again poll the money when gadhafi finally runs out of money to pay his mercenary, to pay his own troops, the thinking is they may all turn on him, refuse to fight and then he's really got nothing left. it could be an ugly few weeks ahead before all of this is sorted out. >> you say as of now, no indications gadhafi is ready on pack it in. there are rumors from time to time, some talk people close to him have been in touch with the rebels. if word came that gadhafi wanted to leave, that somebody had offered him a safe haven somewhere, would the united states and nato get in the way or would they say please go, we'll even help you? >> that's the calculation, what do you do. there is an arrest warrant for

him with the international criminal court. technically he can't just fly out of libya. he's got to to ask nato. could he sneak on board an aircraft that has permission to fly and go somewhere? could nato fighter jets track him, could they arrange for him to be arrested on on the ground wherever he lands? or is he just going to get in that unmarked vehicle and drive across the border of one of his neighboring countries and seek refuge there? these are all the things that are being looked at right now, all the questions, no thinks as tonight. >> barbara, thank you. and as we look to see what would happen, we know of course this is the libyan battlefield, the most immediate pressure comes to the area closest to tripoli. and sara sidner has been tracking the rebel defenses. and i want to show you why it's so important. see the pipelines coming through here. say have a sidner is just in the area, we don't want to say exactly where, but she's

tracking rebel offensive. you hear barbara starr saying they're worried gadhafi may be planning a last stand. what is the status of the rebel offensive? >> reporter: well, i'll tell you what the statute tuesday is because we were right there on the front line in the eastern part of that strategically important city and there was an absolutely fierce firefight. in fact we had to flee the area. however the rebels have said and we believe that they have secured quite a bit of that city, about 80% at that point in time, so they're battling for about 20%. and they do believe that they will break through the line, that we'll break kad forces and be able to push on to tripoli in the next couple of days. those are the ranges that we're getting from them. we did see rebels who were able to control a tank, they had a few tanks that they had gotten off of gadhafi forces that they were ruling through the city and

using to their advantage and of course they have how become in control of an oil refinery, one of the last functioning refineries in the country. and also as you might imagine, they've been able to cut this supply off for now from tripoli and tripoli has a difficult time getting its hands on fuel. so the rebels are feeling quite good about some of the victories and they've been able to make them with help from nato. >> i want to reiterate that point. you see the pipelines coming through. if they can choke off the capital, why not just choke him off or why do they think that they should march on tripoli within two to five day, why not wait to snuff the regime out by choking the supplies? >> reporter: there's a general sense that people are tired of waiting. and what you'll hear from them is they'll say we've been dealing with this for 42 years. the opposition just wants to see this come to an end as soon as

possible. and they believe that they can make that happen by pushing further and further and further into trin poly where they know that gadhafi's strong hold is there, they know that's where his major support is. but in their minds, they believe this is the real key to getting him to either leave or something worse. they are pretty much saying we no longer want gadhafi in power here, we no longer want gadhafi even in the country. so they feel like they should push forward. that they should have help from nato in doing that. and that is what they're expecting to do. obviously you're going on to have a major firefight. that is what we're hearing and that's what the rebels also believe. >> sarah sid p sidner bravely o front lines for us. also important develop this is syria. will assad answer demands that he step down? by shedding more blood. thousands took to the streets across syria and eyewitnesses

and human rights activists report at least 23 deaths. let's show you some of the demonstrations. you won't hear gunfire here, but what an inspiring scene this is. people waving their shoes, the bottom of their feet, saying assad must go. in this town, a suburb of damascus, ghon stldemonstrators street, gunfire arrest with a daily arwa damon is covering it for us tonight. is that crackdown essentially president assad's answer to the united states and other enter national pressure? >> the concentration today appeared to be in the southern previo province where there are numerous towns saying they were being targeted. many people wounded, many unable

to go to hospitals. they're being treated in these secret underground clinics because they're afraid that the government will come and detain them if they try to go to a regular hospital. so on the ground this syria, it would seem that absolutely nothing has changed. >> and in the accepts that friday traditionally has been the day of larger demonstrations because of the tradition of friday prayers, any sense comparing this friday to past fridays, any with a to quantify whether the condemnation has any extra inspiration or motivation? >> reporter: we hear from the activists that at least makes them feel as if they are no longer alone. they have been highly critical and disillusioned with the west especially with the united states because it had taken so long to get to this stage. on the one hand, by shear use of for the, the syrian government to a certain degree has managed to shrink the volume of the demonstrations, but has not succeeded this in stopping them

and you can be sure that the minute the syrian government actually decides for withdrawal its security forces, massive demonstrations will it take place. >> and we've talked many times about the importance of assad's relationship with iran. how about the importance of the relationship with russia which today says not only will it not join the cause for him to step down, but exceptionally making t essentially making the case he need more time. >> reporter: and activists will tell you how much more time is a country like russia willing to givesyria, how many more have to die. russia supplies weapons to syria, continues to do so. the two countries have a fairly close relationship. and item also about t's also ab relationship with china and pd i can't india. so the international community is still divided and that does

still lieu f still allow for the government to feel at if it has a certain position of power. >> arwa, thank you. so often when we show you the videos of the disturbances, they're out here. but look the this, a glimpse of the political tensions right inside central damascus. it was shot right in the center, anti-government activists posted it online. they say their march shattered. listen. earlier today i spoke to an item witness to this scene. >> protests were going to head to another area where another protest was taking place, but as soon as we started walking

towards the area, there were nuprous accounts of gunfire, gunfire was taking place from all directions. we -- people took cover. the crowd dispersed immediately. the crowd became around 500 people who were actually standing there and standing up to the government who were firing randomly at the protesters. we could see people wearing plain clothes standing with the security forces. and they were the people who were actually taking on the assault. >> and you see some of the demonstrators throwing stones. i'm sure the government would say that the protesters instigated this by throwing stones. take us through the sequencing. >> what the government will do is they sushl hausually have so filming and they're probably going to use that clip to say that they were throwing rocks.

but they would probably be cut out the and you had i can't part to prove that there wasn't any gunfire. but this video proves there was gunfire and shelling of tear gas at the peaceful protests. >> and we're not there, so we get these videos from youtube and this one this damascus, we see them from all around the country. and you can see some things and the eye didn't lie, but some things we can't be sure of. you say they were firing bullets. was it live ammunition, rubber bullets? >> there's been no accounts of rubber bullets in syria. they haven't wasted their time. they do in the hesitate to use live bullets. they don't care about the consequences before the idea of attacking or taking the fall on the peaceful protesters is

disbursing the crowds. >> you go by a pseudonym to identify your agent, but the government says they know who you are. how would you answer that? >> these are cheap allegations just to basically make us the pro democracy activists look bad. they're worried about people being infatuated with the idea and actually taking part, as well, so they make us look bad basically. this hasn't stopped me, hasn't stopped a lot of people who have been accused on syrian state tv. >> we're having this conversation over skype, but you did not want to show your face. explain why you think that's a risk. >> anyone who is working online against the government or taking part in the protest is a target and will be detained and probably tortured and might be killed. if my face goes on tv, then i

think it would be minutes before they came and otook me away fro home. >> alexander paige speaking to us from damascus. we appreciate your help and we wish you safety. >> thank you. still ahead, a good will basketball game turns in to a brawl in china. just as vice president biden pays an important visit. and next, the west memphis three are free, yet the state still says they're guilty of brutally killing three young boys. 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. everyone has been waiting for -- the dodge durango versus the ford explorer. two titans of the s.u.v. world. which has the strength? which has the power? which has the ability to... oh, geez.

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they report to their customers. and that's just one more reason why the earnhardt family has trusted nationwide for more than 30 years. nationwide is on your side. an amazing moment in arkansas as on on lookers cleared three men who spent 18 years in prison walked free. it's partly because new dn after the evidence can't connect them to the crime scene and partly because some high level celebrities took up their cause. they've been known as the west memphis three. they were teenagers when a jury convicted them of the 1993 killings of three young boys, but over the year, the doubts gr grew. damien echols was on death row before a maneuver set him and his companions free. >> they came in with ghost story, rumors. innuendo, things that had

nothing to do with the case whatsoever. and they know now the whole world was watching, they would have to come with some sort of concrete physical evidence, and they didn't have any. >> david mattingly has long been covering this case. this hearing was a bit of a surprise. take us inside the courtroom when the west memphis free will be free. >> reporter: well, this was a small courtroom, absolutely packed. there was about 15 to 20 armed officers in that room to to maintain order. there were families abandmember both the west memphis three and for the young boys who were killed. when the judge started explaining all the twists and turns behind this complex legal agreement, everyone slowly was able to hear that the west memphis free was going free, but not until they entered guilty pleas to first degree murder charges and acknowledged that the state of arkansas does have

thaefd they could use to convict them. in the end, the west memphis three went free and the emotions that have been surroundsing this case continue. there was a short outburst from some parents of the boys inside the courtroom, one father yelling at the judge saying you've just opened a pandora's box. but there are other pare parent assume the west memphis three. and you can hear the emotions at play. >> i don't know what kind of deal they worked up. now you can get a little money behind you and walk free from killing somebody? >> they're going to have to stand up in court and say they're guilty of a crime that they didn't commit and that is total hypocrisy. it's the most crazy hinthing i'

heard in my life. >> the judge acknowledged that had this is probably not going to make any of the pain go away for anyone, not the pain that the parents expressed when they lost their children and not the pain that the west memphis three themselves have endured over the last 18 years that they've been behind bars. >> remarkable case and remarkable coverage. david, thank you so much. just a short time ago, i spoke with the attorney for another of the memphis three defendants, he represents jessie misskelley who had been serving a life term. >> well, jesse's got a lot of catching up to do. remember, 1 years ago, there weren't cell phones and obviously computers and everything were a8 years ago, t weren't cell phones and obviously computers and everything were a lot different. he has a huge amount of catching up in society to do. as came out in many of the hearings, he's got some limited intellectual resources, but i think he'll do all right. he's going to need some guidance

and readjusting back to society because he really hasn't been anywhere but the prison system since he was 17 years old. >> and it's been a source of controversy because he does have an iq of only 72. and he delivered a confession back in the day, confessed to this, but what he confessed to, his presentation was diversion from the facts of the case. the investigation is gathered wouldby police. do you believe he was trick fld into that? >> he was tricked, bamboozled, whatever verb you want to use, but he was as i say basically mentally retarded or borderline at best. and didn't understand what he was getting in to. they fed him details and told him he would be free if he recited those details.

and of course all that was litigated before. but back then, there was a less firm understanding in society and in law enforcement and psychology about false con fepgss. and there's a lot more understanding now about how people, particularly people with limited intellectual abilities, can be tricked and whatever into falsely confessing which of course was the evidence against him in this case. >> your client and the two other defendants have freedom, but we do not have clarity. a statement from the attorney general says i continue to believe that these defendants are guilty. and as you know right there at the court house, the local prosecutor made clear he agreed to the deal, but he still thinks -- listen. >> i have no reason to believe that there was anyone else involved in the homicide of these three children but the

three defendants who pled guilty today. and it's why we moved forth and so as far as the state's concerned today, and i speak for the state at the prosecutor for the second judicial district, i believe that this case is closed and there will not -- there are no other individuals involved. >> you have freedom, but you don't have clarity. any hint, any reservations in the back that you should have held out and gone through the additional proceedings to maybe get a new trial as opposed to having this complex legal maneuver that gets you freedom but still has the state saying your client's guilty? >> that's a different question and different people could argument it a different way. my client wanted to go home and he despaired of ever being able to fully clear his name in the sense that some people -- some cases, the evidence just doesn't exist that could clear. because particularly as the

result of the passage of time. and this was we thought the best result possible under the circumstances. s . >> thank you so much for your time. joe biden is in china. his trip seems to be going much better than a good will visit by a basketball team. ♪

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joe biden is on a major trip to china, but so far the big headlines are who are about a

brawl. check out these images from what is supposed to be a good will basketball game between georgetown and the rockets. amateur video clearly show as rockets player ramming a georgetown guard and then throwing a flurry of punches at bow en's chest. with that came chaos. unbelievable. the game was called and the teams met friday to make peace. or at least blet's take a look t what i mean. if you look at projections of the u.s. economy and the chinese economy. there we go. you'll see in terms of gdp, the united states economy much bigger. the chinese economy expected to surpass the united states in 2019. if you go back to 2000, the blue

line is the united states. we dominate manufacturing but china is catching up and 2015 to surpass the united states. china's vice president during this trip referred to the fundamental change in the balance of the economic cal relationship. listen to how biden characterizes china as he raises concerns about china's currency. >> only friends and equals can serve each other by being straightforward and honest with them about the perceived injustices or the perceived playing field. >> so how important is this trip and what are the biggest issues in u.s./china relations? let's get perspective from if a read zakaria. the vice president is in china. there are issues front and center including the u.s. debt and security questions. he also wants to meet the next

generation of chinese leaders. what's the most important action item? >> my sense is there is who single action item that's important. the most important thing is to build a strategic relationship with china. this is something that i think has been a cornerstone of american policy ever since henry kissinger. the united states and china need to be having a strategic conversation that talks about where they see the world going, how they understand their interests, that is american interests, chinese interests, where they intersect. because there will be so many moments of friction and so many issues of friction. because these are two such large connections that have so many things at stake that you want that world to be framed within the context of a broader strategic dialogue. and i think the point you made which is the introduction to the next generation of chinese leaders and beginning that

conversation with them is going to be very important so that the next time there is some kind of incident involving a u.s. plane or ship or trade talks or the currency issues, it doesn't overwhelm this broaderare strat >> and it does come as we're worried about the deficit here. so the vice president lands, he's greeted by his counter part who says glad to see you because i know you're so busy with national affairs back at home and the vice president answers with this. >> you are national officers. you are our national affairs. >> there are a number of ways we could read that but i can see critics jumping all over that. you are our national affairs. what does that tell you about -- many it's the economics of the relationship at the moment. >> and i think that vice president biden should be congratulated for saying that because first of all it was something that i think the

chinese would appreciate hearing that they are at the top of our priority list. and it's entirely true. look, these are the two largest economieses in the world. we're economically interdependent. cli made is the largest foreign holder of u.s. debt. we are the largest export market. we're bound together. this is why people when they casually talk about china doing something against us or us doing something against them don't realize we'd each be shooting ourselves in the foot. >> and he was greeted as the united states largest foreign creditor, china has much at stake. so washington's handling of all related issues in a responsible manner will could be trntribute steady growth of the ties. i imagine china would say stop meddling in our affairs. but do they believe they have every right to meddle in ours?

>> we need pressure to tell us that we need to run our affairs in a responsible manner. one of the problems with being the super power of the world with having the reserve occurrence scity of the world is there isn't a lot of market pressure on you. we can still borrow cheaply, our debt is denominated in our own currency, we can print dollars to repay it. that means that you don't have the kind of normal accountability and market test that other countries face when they do stupid things. so i'm all for a little bit more international pressure. it's annual going to make us handle our affairs more responsibly. who cares who says it. the question is it correct. and what the chinese are saying is correct. we need to be more responsible in the way we handle these issues. next, a new tropical storm

forms in the atlantic. and jan brewer who accuses president obama trying to arrange back door am necessary city she says through illegal aliens. [ man ] behind every business is a "what if." what if we designed an electric motorcycle? what if we turned trash into surfboards? whatever your what if is, the new sprint biz 360 has custom solutions to make it happen, including mobile payment processing, instant hot spots, and 4g devices like the motorola photon. so let's all keep asking the big what ifs.

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welcome back. here's 9 latest you need to know. the united states government thounl announced the first sale of oil

in the gulf of mexico since the bp spill. a new storm harvey is forecasted to hit belize saturday. storm systems that could turn into irene and jose fafrt out. president obama today took his daughters to the bookstore. later he headed to the golf course. when we come back, the obama administration just announced it's changing the priorities so o. who gets deported. governor jan brewer says it's back door amnesty. she accuses of president p acting like a king.

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anderson cooper 360 coming up. it's a busy night of breaking news including libya. >> moammar gadhafi could be prepare to go ma ging to make a in libya. we have reporters on the ground. we'll also hear what a campaign to take tripoli could look like from general wesley clark. we're also going to take a look at a live report from aruba with gary giordano still being held with the connection of a disappearance of robin guayn ga. he's being questioned bay police. we'll tell you where he's cooperating. those stories and of course

tonight's ridiculous. >> see you in a few minutes. thanks. conservatives are accuses the white house of providing back door amnesty to illegal immigrants. the new policy will halt 3r0eings against illegal immigrants deemed to pose no threat to national security or to public safety. included in this group are thousands of illegal immigrants who were brought to the united states when they were young children. you might remember late last year the president and democratic eyes in congress tried to protect this group by passing the so-called dream act arguing those brought here with small children should not be published for the illegal agents of their parents. now krit sak jan brewer suggest president is abusing his executive power and needs to be reminded he is not a king above the law. governor brewer with us tonight from phoenix. the administration says it needs

to priortize, that court are backlogged and that 79% of the people have done nothing wrong, no threat to public safety, so why not set them aside and deal first with the people who do pose a threat. >> well, we're a country of laws, we believe in the rule of law, john. and the bottom line is that they are illegal aliens entering our country. and we simply cannot sustain that kind of activity. bottom line is it's a back door to amnesty and i don't believe the american people support that. >> thshould it just be if you g caught you're rounded up or should there be some prioritization in the sense that some served in the military, some are prime air caretaker, some might be attending college or university and have done nothing wrong except maybe get stopped for a traffic stop or something like that? >> for him to declare by executive fiat, if you will,

that he and he alone will give amnesty to hundreds of thousands of people, something's wrong. and i don't think the american people will stand for it. >> so are you up set with the process or are you more upset with the iffact that the presidt says if you're faced with a backlog, they would rather deport -- prosecute and deport somebody who pose as public safety risk as opposed to prosecuting and die porting someone who at the age of one or two or three was carried across the border and had nothing to do with it? >> we have a problem and bottom line is that they are doing illegal things. and he as president of the united states of america was elected to act like the president. and to work with congress who is the body that not enrespects for, but writes the laws of

which we're supposed to follow representative government. the president didn't have the authority to override congress. and if i were in congress, i would be highly assaulted with his attempts of doing this in this manner. it's a back door to amnesty. and last month, i believe it was, he spoke to the national association saying, and i can't quote totally, saying that he was tempted to do it by executive order but that shouldn't be done because that wasn't the democracy of what america was founded on. so he knows the difference. he's on record. he knows exactly what he's done. and i believe that the american people agree with me that he ought not to be doing this and that we ought tone force the rule of law in america. >>s you know, a lot of latino organizations have been critical

of the president saying he promised to deal with comprehensive immigration reform and he hasn't done so. do you see this as a policy decision by the president or do you see this as 2012 is around the corner and many latino groups are saying do more or you can't country on our votes? >> i think exactly the latter. i think that of course he's playing politics. he wants that hispanic vote. and he's looking towards 2012. but i think it will boomerang on him. i believe that all legal citizens in america understand that we all play by the rules. the rule of law. >> governor jan brewer, appreciate your time tonight 37. next, michele bachmann gets her facts wrong -- again. does matter? if you're in a ford f-150 and you see this... it's the end of the road. the last hurrah. it's when ford's powertrain warranty ends. but in this ram truck, you've still got 39,999 miles to go.

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this just into cnn, reuters is saying ab dal salam jalud has defected to rebel-held territories in libya's western mountains. and this story out of pittsburgh, you're looking at aerial pictures of a flash flood which has killed at least three people tonight according to our cnn affiliate, wtae. we will keep track of both of these breaking stories tonight. the texas governor rick perry visited a florence, south carolina, hospital and he promised to make big changes in the new obama administration health care reform law.

>> on day one, when i walk into the oval office, there will be an executive order on that desk that eliminates as much of obama care as i can have done. >> also in south carolina today, michele bachmann, the minnesota congresswoman in a radio interview, bachmann says people recognize the united states in what she called, quote, an unstoppable decline. listen carefully to the list of countries she says are doing better. >> the rise of china, the rise of india, the rise of the soviet union, and our loss militarily going forward. >> the soviet union, most of you probably remember, ceased to exist in 1991. that isn't congresswoman bachmann's only misstatement this week. or in a long time. does it matter? let's ask erick erickson, and ryan lizza, washington

correspondent for "the new yorker." ryan, you wrote an article, leap of faith, and you talk about she does this a lot. then she goes on to try to correct it and fix it. some of them are slipups that, humans make slipups. but if you want to be commander in chief, the soviet union? >> this is a masmall one, right other politicians do it, the problem is once you get a reputation for being loose with the facts, for not being careful for what you say, even the small ones like this get magnified and are damaging to your campaign. this to me is probably one of two of her biggest liabilities. she's not careful with the facts. >> not careful with the facts in a time when she just had a great performance at the ames, iowa, straw poll. she's down in south carolina knowing if you can win in iowa your next best place is a conservative tea party christian conservative candidate, go to south carolina. she has traction right now. she is the surprise of the race at least up until governor perry

gets in. do grassroots conservatives, do they worry when you have a cumulative record, some of them silly things, but some of them important policy things that in a year where republicans think we can probably beat obama, do you worry about her? >> you know, there's a cumulative affect on this. i think ryan's right on this. the president himself has said there were 57 states. things like that don't catch on unless it becomes habitual. once you get past this is the liberal media playing it up, then if it keeps up, if this narrative develops that she's become a diva as one narrative is going or she's not careful with the facts, then people do start to have concerns and you do start to see a slow trickle in her support in the polls. and she's going to have to work very hard to overcome that. she really needs to run a flawless campaign for the next few weeks and be seen as not the diva a lot of people have painted her in the past few weeks to get beyond this. >> so you have some factual missteps i'll call them or

mistakes, historical slipups if you will. then the question is is she credible on policy. if you're viewed as credible on policy, people say we all have slips in the tongue. trust me, in this live television environment, i have them all the time. she says elect michele bachmann president and you'll get this. >> the day the president became president, gasoline was $1.79 a gallon. look at what it is today. under president bachmann, you will see gasoline come down below $2 a gallon again. that will happen. >> that will happen. she speaks with certainty, and that's great as a candidate. voters like to respond to that. on the website they say she'll back federal regulations on the shale gas industry, but i've covered many presidents and gas prices go up and down, and presidents always say i can help, and rarely can they. is that overpromising? >> yes, sure it is. no president is going to get gas to go back to under $2 a gallon. it's probably not a good policy

anyway. and one thing about her candidacy so far, and this may be across the board as true, because it's not that period in the campaign yet, been very light on policy specifics. she hasn't laid out what exactly what her energy policy is. she hasn't laid out exactly what her health care policy is, except for repealing obama care. so so far she's been sort of skirting by on generalities, buzz words. at some point she's going to have to flesh some of that out. >> and, erick, is that pressure exacerbated, increased, because governor perry gets into the race and he goes directly, tries to appeal to christian conservatives, tries to appeal to the tea party. what you would think of michele bachmann's piece of the republican pie right now. we talk about the pressure he puts on romney, the front-runner. does he maybe put more immediate pressure on michele bachmann? >> i do think he puts more immediate pressure on michele bachmann, but juxtaposed with what ryan just said, maybe it's not good policy to have gas below $2 a gallon. you know, there are a lot of

voters out there who would scratch their heads and say, yeah, we want gas as cheap as we can get it. but on this particular example, you've got rick perry, he's from texas. the oil state. and he's going to compete with her on this? he's going to compete with her for evangelical voters, it's going to be very hard. but what happens when sarah palin gets in on september 3rd, like a lot of people think she is, it's going to be even more. >> that's a perfect segue, the ames, iowa, straw poll, sarah palin came into the state fair, a lot of republicans didn't really like it. they thought can we please have a spotlight just once, not only did she come to iowa but today she put up on her website another very flashy video promising, not only does she like iowa, but she'll be back. have a taste. >> the secret is out, it seems. >> sarah palin was also at the fair today. >> on this day she happens to be in iowa. >> another leg of her one nation bus tour.

>> welcome to the iowa state fair. congratulations. >> oh, thank you. >> she's a normal person, just like every one of us. and i like that. i'm a farm wife. it shows she can do what we can do. >> very nice, very nice to our small kids. >> she seems very down to earth. >> she's solid. she's awesome. >> so erick, i'll let you go first. we've talked for months, oh, no she's not going to run. people are starting to think, oh, my, maybe she's going to run. >> you know, i'll believe it when i see it at this point. it certainly looks like it. she'll have something on september 3rd which is the anniversary of her speech to the republican national convention. you know, i still say i'm not sure she's going to run. if she does run, its going to be a very nontraditional campaign. i've heard a lot of people for a lot of years say they're going to run nontraditional campaigns and that typically doesn't work out so well. she's probably the person who could do something different and still make a go of it, but she's going to be hard pressed to fight rick perry, michele bachmann and mitt romney's

probably doing the snoopy dance right now. >> i'm not even going to ask what the snoopy dance would look like with mitt romney doing it. >> very stiff. >> i'm sure already i'll have e-mails and tweets saying why are you paying attention to sarah palin? >> i was tweeting while you guys were doing that. >> because if she gets in she would have such a huge impact on the race. is this a -- i have to be careful with my words because i'm in the lame stream mood ya and i'll get crucified for it, but is this flirtation or is this more and more real? >> all the moves she's made over the last few years i don't think any of us in the media could have predicted. it's not wise to predict what she's going to do. she's not always a rational actor, but she does seem to be doing what you would do to be able to make the decision. doesn't mean she's going to do it, but she wants to set up everything she needs to do to get in the race. there's room in the race. michele bachmann is not faring that well right now. rick perry, there's a lot of frus relation with rick perry among the republican establishment. iowa is -- still could be open for her if she gets in. but as