alan west doesn't have to worry. he'll never have the opportunity to vote for a tax increase in order to balance the budget. we can do it by reducing spending. he's actually already cast that vote. >> grover, it's margaret hoover. good to see you again. one of the things we talked about a lot is the democrats strategy to demonize you and make you the villain of the tax debate rather than the pledge to the american people. i wonder if you can hone in on during this debate as we look back at bowles-simpson that we might have got something done, the debate goes to you. grover norquist would say that's bad because it will close loopholes. >> the taxpayer protection pledge was designed in 1996. president reagan set up americans for tax reform, the group i run, and asked me to run

it to be the outside group to push tax reform. that was 1986. reduce tax rates. broaden case. it eliminated many deductions and credit that cluttered the tax code. it gave us good economic growth. very helpful. the americans for tax reform and american people are all in favor of getting rid of deductions and credits but not if it's a trojan horse for higher taxes. so let's reduce deductions and credits and reduce marginal tax rates. congressman from kansas has a great bill that eliminates tax credits targeted toward energy, natural gas, oil, tealgae and everything. lower taxes and no special deductions. >> you'll have to get into it with grover on your own time

because we're out of time. still ahead on "starting point," harsh punishment for a high school senior who was graduating and he tebowed. we'll tell you what happened to him. here's grover's playlist. >> i like it. >> me too. dude you don't understand, this is my dad's car. look at the car! my dad's gonna kill me dude... [ male announcer ] the security of a 2012 iihs top safety pick. the volkswagen passat. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 passat for $209 a month.

with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. no annual fee. that's 1% back on... wow! 2% on my homemade lasagna. 3% back on [ friends ] road trip!!!!!!!!!!!! [ male announcer ] get 1-2-3 percent cash back.

apply online or at a bank of america near you. ♪

>> margaret just said she loved this song. it's from dr. sanjay gupta's

playlist. he introduces us to one who has never given up even under the most difficult circumstances. >> in 2004, they couldn't have been more proud. he was coming to america to purdue university to complete his degree in computer engineering. just a month from graduation, however, his life changed forever. his neighbor two floors below intentionally set a fire with his wife and child still inside. >> by the time my roommate and i woke up, the whole apartment was on fire. >> he and his roommate tried to escape but they couldn't. >> my roommate collapsed in front of me and i started running down the stairs. >> he only made it down a few steps before he collapsed. a fireman found him still alive but on the way to the hospital, he could hear paramedics talking about how badly he had been burned. >> at that moment i was thinking about my family and what hi come here for to get a good education

and now this guy is saying that i don't have a chance to survive and i passed out and then i woke up in university of chicago burn unit after four months of induced coma. >> he had burns over 90% of his body. so far he's had 54 operations. but he didn't give up. he credits three people for his survival. >> my father, my mother and my occupational therapist. >> his biggest accomplishment so far, getting his mba. he recently graduated with the highest honors. >> i'm happy that i can live an independent life and now i have gotten my mba and hopefully i'll get a job soon and have a good life. >> dr. sanjay gupta, cnn reporting. >> still ahead this morning on "starting point," a graduating teenager is denied his diploma

for this. he's tebowing at his high school graduation ceremony. we'll tell you why he was flagged for excessive celebration on the field. that's ahead on "starting point." ♪ if loving you is wrong ♪ i don't wanna be right [ record scratch ] what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal -- heart-healthy, whole grain oats. you can't go wrong loving it. [ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering.

to your kids' wet skin. neutrogena® wet skin kids. ordinary sunblock drips and whitens. neutrogena® wet skin cuts through water. forms a broad spectrum barrier for full strength sun protection. wet skin. neutrogena®.

margaret's playlist. "i've been to memphis." when it came to walk across the stage, a young man, 17 years old, did this. take a look. yeah. he's tebowing. he's kneeling. and doing the tebow. chris shriner goes to a private catholic school and they said before graduation, absolutely, positively no antics on the stage at graduation, graduating seniors. we don't want to see it. they were furious and told him he won't get his diploma. his mom who is a math teacher at the school who was angry with

the stunt said he had to clean up the gym where graduation was held and had his diploma on her. >> did you see how big that gym was? >> the school did the right thing. the kid was warned. they have a standard. they don't want beach balls and antics on stage. >> kumbaya, will cain. we agree. >> and now he's on cnn. >> it's a catholic school. instead of saying i wanted to pray and celebrate my graduation which would have gotten him sympathy. he says i thought it was fun. i was doing it to make graduation memorable. now he's memorable. >> what's his name? >> i have no idea. >> here's your memory. >> here's your 15 minutes. >> he may have been mocking tebow there. >> what i interviewed tim tebow the other day and i said does it bother you that people are mocking you. some people are tebowing and

others are mocking you. at the end of the day he said it's all praying. that's why i love him. "end point" up next with the panel. [ male announcer ] even with technology -- it's all you. that's why you've got us. get up to $200 dollars off select computers. staples that was easy. off select computers. if you made a list of countries from around the world... ...with the best math scores. ...the united states would be on that list. in 25th place. let's raise academic standards across the nation. let's get back to the head of the class. let's solve this.

♪... ♪... ♪... choose the perfect hotel ♪ i can do anything ♪ i can do anything today ♪ i can go anywhere ♪ i can go anywhere today ♪ la la la la la la la [ male announcer ] dow solutions help millions of people by helping to make gluten free bread that doesn't taste gluten free. together, the elements of science

and the human element can solve anything. solutionism. the new optimism. and the human element on my journey across america, i found new ways to tell people about saving money. this is bobby. say hello bobby. hello bobby. do you know you could save hundreds on car insurance over the phone, online or at your local geico office? tell us bobby, what would you do with all those savings? hire a better ventriloquist. your lips are moving.

geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. ♪ i just can't seem to drink you off my mind ♪ >> all right. ending strong this morning. rolling stones. was that you? >> that's right. >> will cain. it's working. it's working. write it down. it might never happen again likely. who wants to start with their end point? >> go get it, ryan. >> come on, ryan. jump in. >> we were talking about bain off camera. arguing about this. >> it was before 8:51. >> our nine minutes of kumbaya. >> romney's problem with bain in a word is he changed the metrics

about what bain does. >> let me act out margaret for you. >> he argued at some point he decided to argue that rather than i ran a great company that was a huge success which is true. he said i created jobs and he put a number on it and that's been dogging him ever since. it's not bain's job. >> when the argument started, this wasn't nitpicking about how many jobs bain corrected. this was against capitalism. and that has changed. now you have democrats saying private equity is a positive influence on the economy and now they're going back -- >> but -- i just think that the but in there is vampire capitalism is about jobs, right? the vampire part. >> it was private equity. it was about using private equity not negative on the economy. >> by saying vampire capitalism

is where you go in and you suck everything out of a company and you kill jobs, right? the vampire thing was about jobs. i'll agree with ryan on this. we were disagree about this, will. >> i disagree with you and this bain issue that will not dog romney. if he ties himself to it, it will sink obama. i'll tell you this, this issue about bain -- >> why not answer the question then? >> what question? >> everyone is talking about it. what does he have to say about it? >> they don't answer the question. >> it's like asking someone have you seen your opponent opening that time bomb, punch him, i don't need to. the time bomb will explode. obama is playing with this issue. people like capitalism and people like profits and people understand that profits leads to jobs and bane is a winner. >> some people and others will say they understand that when a company goes in and buys a

company and has to lay people off and jobs are lost, that's a story that could resonate in an election year. >> if that is what bain did was to destroy companies in pursuit of profit and lay people off -- >> don't frame it as if i said that. i did not. >> does that happen in private equity? on occasion. is that something mitt romney specialized in. you must answer why bain has been in business since 1987. >> all points well put. i didn't say any of those things. >> you are making a complicated argument about what bain does. romney said my success at bain was creating job. that's not the metric that bain used. >> it's a positive byproduct. does bain and private equity create jobs? big stamp yes. >> you are in the weeds. when americans go to vote in november they're going to look at who is the guy who can turn the economy