ground zero will always be sacred ground. but with the rise of 1 world trade center, it is also a symbol of america's resilience and strength. i'm wolf blitzer in pore piers morgan. "a.c.36." >> we begin with breaking news on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks. islamist forces are attacked and somebody in benghazi is dead. the state department says it doesn't have independent confirmation of that death. an eyewitness says that it began with an islamic radical group to protest a group they called anti muslim. the group is on consoulate grounds. in cairo, fundamentalist protesters are camped out just outside the american embassy

walls, outraged by the same video they stormed the compou s compounds, and replacing them with black flags and islamic indescription on it all embassy staffers left before the protest. a marine contingent on the grounds. and egyptian security forces nearby. cnn is on the ground in cairo and tripoli. and mona is a journalist on the phone from cairo and we have fran townsend, a cnn national security contributor and a member of the external advisory committee and she visited with libya with her employer, and i want to start with ian. you saw hundreds storming the u.s. embassy in cairo. who are these protesters? how widespread is the anger? what is the situation with the americans in the embassy? since a group of marines are there. >> well, anderson, the marines who are there are stations part of the diplomatic mission to

secure the embassy. one of the largest contingents of marines protecting a u.s. embassy in the world. but these protesters were predominantly islamist. people who were any about a film that came out which they say depicts muhammad in a bad light, it calls him a womanizer, a homosexual, someone who molests children, things that muslims would find offensive. so there was roughly 1,000 people out there. going and we saw a handful of people storm the embassy, perimeter, they tore down the american flag. security forces on the site. they did show up to separate the protesters from the embassy, but it was a bit late, later after the protesters were able to get in there, a question a lot of people are asking, why the security forces didn't come soon

enough and egyptian officials are also right now trying to figure out why they didn't have the response that they said they would have. >> i want to go to benghazi in libya to jamana, who is there. you are in tripoli, talking to a source in benghazi, the person working in the consulate was just confirmed killed. what is the latest you are hearing? >> reporter: according to the eyewitness, up to an hour ago, he described the situation there as a front line libyan security forces engaged in heavy clashes with members of an armed group. that is a radical militant group based in eastern libya and reported rocket-propelled grenades hitting the consulate building. libyan army troops deployed, and roads were blocked off b military vehicles there are convicting reports on what the situation is there right now, and the libyan government

official is telling us that the building has been secured by the libyan military, but according to this eyewitness, members of the group had stormed the consulate building and takenota over the building and were celebrating. there were condemnations issued, but there are calls on soernl media sites for more protest here. >> you were there last week and concern about the deteriorating security situation, add this to the back drop of what's going on in egypt, how big of a deal is this? >> oh, anderson, we should be very clear, one such breach of an embassy walls or consulate on any given day would be tremendous news. it's very rare. americans remember the takeover of the consulate in tehran in 1979. this is a huge event if one of these happened. the fact that two of them happened on the same day, that

is the 9/11 anniversary, where americans are remembering those that we lost, you have to ask yourself, what -- what are american officials trying to understand about this, and whether or not these are related. this notion it's about a movie, anderson, there have been calls for the protests in cairo. this has been -- the egyptian officials understood there was a protest planned. how did this day get picked? how did it wind up in two places? you know, and -- and we shouldn't underestimate the significance of this. >> fran, you're basically saying you believe these were coordinated attacks in some way. what's interesting, this video is not new to you two. apparently it was posted back in july. so you see a -- some sort of hand of organization here? >> well, i do think -- look, this group is as our colleague

reported this is an extremist group in libya. there have been increasing concerns about al qaeda presence in the east of libya, in -- just near a city called durna, to the east of benghazi, and i think, look, the american officials will be looking to see -- we've not heard any confirmation that these are in any way related. it's just that the two very significant events, in the same day, it would be natural that you will be looking now -- american officials will look to see whether or not they can find a connection between these two events. >> and, fran, you pointed out an american was killed. we can't confirm it was an american. it was somebody at the u.s. consulate. we will receive out more on the identity of the person. ian, you watched the video they are protesting. do we know who made it, where it comes from? >> what we're hearing, anderson,

is that there were a couple couldn coptic christians, christian minority in egypt, involved in the making of it, and this is why there is outrage toward the united states government. is -- or the united states, because protesters are blaming the u.s. for allowing this video to come out and they are saying the u.s. is accountable and responsible for the fact that they allowed a video like this to go out there and to be spread out there. so that's why these protesters are -- are definitely angry and directing their anger toward the united states. >> mona, being in cairo, why do you think that's happening now? who benefits? >> reporter: that's a great question. we're in a stage where the revolution that began last year for freedoms of all kinds is still very much not completed and a big concern for many in egypt today is that these

terrible events will be used by the government to justify a return to emergency law. we still don't have a constitution in egypt, we don't have a parliament. our president and prime minister missing all day. they have made no official statements. you basically have a fringe element that claims to represent us, and it doesn't, on a day and a time when egyptians are still very much trying to decide which way -- which way our revolution is going, freedom of expression must be a right, as is freedom to protest, but the question is here, why was today chosen? why was the protest taking place at the u.s. embassy? who called for this protest? as we heard earlier, this has been on youtube for several weeks now. so this -- you know, we have to think back to the time of the danish cartoons which were published in october 2005, but the protests against them didn't

start until january 2006, and much of those -- many of those protests what were i called manufactured outrage, used for political gain by both regimes and islamic groups and we don't want to happen in egypt now, for to us be stuck by an extreme right-wing element, and a president and his government, which i i consider right wing, composed of -- the president from the muslim brotherhood movement, and we don't want to be stuck between these two, because our revolution, for social justice and liberty, not to go out to the american embassy and bring down the flag. >> fran, just from a security standpoint had the egyptian government forces, military forces, wanted to stop protesters from scaling over the walls, i mean, they could have done that, just as they could have stopped people from attacking people in tahrir square. >> absolutely, anderson. the protest today was not a

surprise. we've heard from sources that there were warnings about this days ago. so if this -- if egyptian officials in the military security officials were on notice about this, we've got to ask ourselves, why weren't they there before the protests began? you know, prepositioned to ensure they could keep protesters a safe distance from the embassy and protect the embassy? this is not the first time egyptian security officials have failed to do that. it wasn't that long ago when the walls of the israeli imbaasy in cairo was also breached. so, look, there are real questions about egyptian officials' commitment to protect diplomatic responsibilities in cairo. >> we'll continue to follow this, let us know what you think. we're on facebook, on twitter. up next, a reporter who says he's seen evidence that warnings of the 9/11 attack were downplayed, because some in the bush administration believed al

qaeda was bluffing, the real threat was saddam hussein, that argument is causing an uproar, but the author joins, as does ari flesher. i have a cold, and i took nyquil,

but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth!

impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 70% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing.

welcome back. a controversy that hits a raw nerve. tonight, there are still two beams of light to remind people of what fell. there are two memorial fountains cut into the ground to remind people what once stood on the spot where nearly 2,800 people died. 16 acres in lower manhattan being rebuilt as office space, museum, and memorial. whatever is built, though, no one will never forget, not here in lower manhattan or shanksville, pennsylvania. the legacy is still being felt on memory, history and current events, the war launched to avenge attacks still being fought. the wounds include real, physical, life-changing injuries. when a story comes out that deflz into whether these entire 11 years of anguish might have been avoided some way it obviously touches a nerve. the fact that it came out on the

9/11 anniversary, in the heat of an election campaign have led some to call it a political hatchet job. not our intention to look at it through a partisan lens, only to lay out the claims and counterclaims. the story centers on what president bush and other top officials knew before the unforgettable moment when the president was informed the attacks. kurt eickenwald lays it down in a "the new york times" op-ed, entitled "the deafness before the storm." dated august 6, 2001 "bin laden determined to strike the u.s.." only such document ever to be declassified. as you remember, the bush administration maintained that title notwithstanding, this was not a clear-cut warning of a strike in the united states about to happen. >> well, august 6th is most certainly an historical document that says here is how you might think about al qaeda.

a warning is when you have something that suggests an attack is impending and we did not have on the united states, threat information that was in any way specific enough to suggest that something was coming in the united states. >> well, former secretary of state and national security adviser condoleezza rice. ek eichenwald has come to an inescapable conclusion that the administration's reactions to what mr. bush was told in the weeks before that infamous briefing reflected significantly more negligence than has been disclosed. his reports. we know that there were 40 other mentions of osama bin laden and al qaeda in presidential daily briefs prior to 9/11. but he does further than that

and says direct warnings about al qaeda attacking the u.s. began in the spring of 2001. by may 1st, the cia total of a report "a group presently in the united states" was planning a terrorist operation. the june 22nd daily brief reported that al qaeda strikes could be "imminent." and this tracks with the recollection of former anti terrorism official richard clark who served in the clinton/bush administration and has written a sharply critical book. he told nbc news about a june 21st meeting he sat in on with cia director george tenet and condoleezza advisor's office and i've used the phrase to describe the warnings as "he has his hair on fire." he was about as excited as i've ever seen him. and he said something is going to happen. the warnings were ignored by then president clinton. >> he ignored it. he ignored terrorism for months, when maybe we could have done

something to stop 9/11. maybe. we'll never known. >> that is chartly d lsharply disputed by the bush administration. kurt eickenwald joins us. i 500 days" secrets and lies of the terrorism wars. and also with us is ari fletcher. >> you use the word negligence to describe their actions. how do you reconcile the daylight between those two statements? in rereading the 9/11 commission report, there were a number of warnings and a number of advisories that went out a lot of them for overseas postings for the u.s. military, for u.s. embassies, u.s. ambassadors, some for the united states as well? >> there is a huge difference between putting the government on high alert and saying we're going to put out some warnings. the last time, prior to the summer of 2001, the last time

there had been anything on the scale of what they were seeing at that period, was in december of 1999. and at that point, the entire government went on high alert. you had -- in fact, the counterterrorism terrorist center at the cia was told blow through your budget and they spent everything they had from january through september, in about 15 days. and multiple terrorist attacks were stopped. including one in the united states. we don't remember much about this, because everything was stopped. now, was the bush administration -- did they have enough information to take the same kind of action? all of the people who were involved in the 1999 intelligence gathering and in the gathering in the summer of 2001 tell me they were virtually identical. it was the same level of severity. >> ari, i want to bring you in. you have two problems with this. a, on a factual basis with the

allegations being made and the details of it. and also the publishing of this on this day. >> yeah, anderson, thas exactly right. one, september 11th is the day we should remember the victims, you know, i do not think it's appropriate on a day like this for somebody to leave out so many facts, attack one person, when the attack is so over the top partisan and we all know mr. eickenwald's politics are very rabidly anti republican. i am surprised "the new york times" printed a piece like this today. it's just wrong. number two, if he was saying is accurate, you would have thought the 9/11 commission picked up on it. they had access to every classified, top-secret document. to every presidential daily brief. they read them all and reached no such conclusion. a great distortion is in the summer of 2001, when the head of the cia said the system was blinking red, it was all about europe or asia. that's -- >> that's simply untrue, ari.

>> let him finish. >> let me read, this is the 9/11 commission report. and this is what they said about the warnings in the summer of 2001. we cannot say for certain whether those reports as dramatic as they were, related to the 9/11 attacks. the focus was abroad. and that's where action was taken, because that's where the intelligence led. >> but, ari, there were reports about actors within the united states, about people within the united states, already present within the united states. >> that's correct. and those reports have been prevalent since the late 1990s, also reports in the late 1990s, and i suspect there are reports of people today in the united states. were there actionable intelligence? and this is frustrating go intelligence. it's imprecise. nobody but anybody ever said that we have information that there is going to be hijackings of airplanes used to fly into buildings on september of 2011 or any other time.

president clinton had a pbd saying that they would hijack aircraft in the united states. but mr. eickenwald only faults george bush, but the 9/11 commission faulted president bush, president clinton, cia, department of justice. a much more complex report than mr. eickenwald said, and never had the heart of what mr. ike enwald said, where there were other pdbs that this could have been stopped. >> in my 9/11 commission report, it said numerous actions were done overseas, far less domestically. and domestic agencies reported they didn't know what to do, according to the 9/11 commission report. >> that's true. there wasn't the same kind of -- i want to address a number of things ari just said. number one, his first approach

was attack the messenger. number two, i am quoting from presidential daily briefs. ari is not coming in here and saying, oh, i have other information. i don't know what he's saying. is he saying i'm lying and making them up? ari, this is what it says. you can hold up the 9/11 -- i allowed you to speak. i'm kind of angry at ari today. the first thing he did was send out a tweet, calling me a 9/11 truther. meaning one of those people who says that george bush orchestrated 9/11, and that's the kind of garbage, the kind of empty-headed garbage that has prevented history from taking place here. i quoted from documents that are historical documents. the 9/11 commission did not quote from those documents, in fact, the 9/11 commission fought to have the very pdbs that ari said they had, declassified, and

the bush white house would not do it. that's fine. i'm not saying they should have. but for him to pretend they had this information and it was disclosed in the 9/11 report is simply false. >> one of the things -- one of the things you say in your article which is not in the 9/11 commission report is that you're saying based on you said people you talked to, neoconservatives within the administration, within the pentagon, basically pooh-poohed the threat domestically, saying it was basically disinformation put out to distract from the real threat, which was saddam hussein. >> well, actually not just me quoting people anonymously. there is a june 27th daily brief that i refer to, which is the cia's response, saying we not being fooled. i don't know the exact quote to the story. we're not being fooled by bin

laden. it's a real threat, they start laying out all of the reasons why. you're talking about a circumstance in late june where there is an argument going on as to whether it's real or not. >> ari, what about that? and just being reminded in the 9/11 commission report there, is something about paul wolfowitz downplaying that. >> that's correct. that was in the 9/11 commission report and that was accurately cited. one person at the department of defense who said that the cia rejected that, no one at the white house accepted that. one person weighed in on that. let me employ back to the charges against me. this is a cleaned up version of truthism. the heart of his charge is that george bush knew 9/11 was coming and neglected his duties and allowed it to happen. that's the cleaned up version of trutherism. and number two, when he writes a piece that doesn't go into what the 9/11 commission reports, leaves out other fair criticisms to help improve the system about other presidents and other

branches of government, you what need to know, he wrote an op-ed that said the republican party must be defeated in a crippling way. that republicans are liars and severely unhinged. have you a rabid partisan who was able to use "the new york times" to further his anti bush, anti republican -- >> tell me one thing. if you are going to sit here and accuse me -- >> and that's why -- i think that's why he's come to a conclusion that nobody at the 9/11 commission came to. they had those pdbs, access to all of the information. maybe he's smarter and sharper than everybody on the 9/11 commission. i don't think so. >> kurt, go ahead is this politics? >> absolutely not. ari, i'll go down two paths. number one, the 9/11 commission did not get the pdbs authorized for release, which means they could not refer to them. there were also many people on

the 9/11 commission who did not have the classification authority to look at the pdbs. number two, you want to make this about politics. again, you want to attack the messenger. give me one fact. one brief i've cited. i've worked at the disadvantage of having read them, which you haven't. >> the omissions are the problems. it's your omissions -- >> i don't go into a lengthy description of what clinton did and what -- it wasn't a partisan attack. >> right. you only go into george bush. >> it was about what did the documents i obtained show. sorry, ari. if i obtained documents. >> if you reflected the information in the 9/11 commission report, what was missed when president clton in office. >> ari, that is why -- >> you were saying you were focusing basically on the summer before 9/11 to show the drum beat that was occurring in those

immediate months? is that right? >> i wasn't playing a game. it's like a child. it's like saying, well, billy did this, but bobby did that. it's not about that. it is about what did the documents i obtained show? i'm not going to runaround, gee, i have a news story, but ari fleisher might be afraid. >> to the argument that you shouldn't have published on this day, what do you say? >> i say that i have spoken to far more family members and far more victims' families of the 9/11 attacks than ari has, and i will tell you, i've heard from four families today. >> you don't know that. >> i've heard from four families today thanking me. the last thing i heard is, gee, we don't want to know what happened. >> you didn't tell them what happened. >> give me one fact. one fact that isn't right, ari.

you're not answering the question. >> exactly what i discussed before. in the summer of 2001, as the 9/11 commission makes clear, the reporting we had that the 9/11 commission cited, was about attacks were broad. that's why the system was blinking red in the summer of 2001. >> i will read -- >> i read the paragraph. >> anderson -- >> read him the may 1st -- >> ari, ari, keep talking over me. but it's a lie. >> there were reports about actions within the united states, and my reading, and, again, just read a couple chapters before the interview. >> no doubt, the 9/11 says few specifics regarding time, place, method or target incurred. you don't dispute that. >> but this is -- again, one of the things i really want to point out here, one of the most despicable things done in this is the -- the cia produced tons

of information. tons of information. typical intelligence. it doesn't say, at 8:00 in the morning on 9/11, at the world trade center this is going to happen. intelligence isn't like that. and anybody who thinks it is, doesn't read intelligence. what you do have is enough information to act on, to go on alert, to do the kinds of things that were done in 1999. >> your saying there should have been a higher level of alert given out domestically based on the information that was there and that even -- and that would have allowed lower-level people at agencies to connect dots more, based on local intelligence they have? >> let me throw in two stories, one thingreferenced in the article and book. on july 9th, members of the counter terrorist center met in the basement of the cia

discussing whether or not they should all put in for a transfer. the reason for that, not because they felt like it, because they were bored, but because they kept coming forward with the information and no action was being taken. not the action they thought should be taken. the lead person in the room said we can't get enough people in here, aren't people qualified to do this, we're the only ones qualified to ride this thing down. >> ts is my beef here. this is the biased telling of of a story. >> i'm sorry if you don't like what the intelligence agents say. >> don't interrupt. remember that. >> okay. >> late 1990s, people said they should quit their jobs in intelligence and defense, because we didn't take a shot at osama bin laden when we had a shot. >> absolutely. that's true. >> this is common second guessing that takes place. this came from the department of defense, which said one person, don't pay attention to it, that was rejected. you hear this kind of thing all the time. people aren't listening.

>> ari doesn't know -- >> it will always be the case of people having those thoughts in government. >> i got to jump in give you each a last comment. >> okay. >> ari is either willing to fraud information he has no idea what he's talking about or bottom line, one person said this thing about iraq and nobody cared. why did i read a presidential daily brief that had to deal with all of this? why did i speak to intelligence official who's said this was an enormous problem they have to overcome. every ink single time ari hears a fact he doesn't like, it's partisan. you want to say clinton messed up, clinton messed up, you got it. clinton messed up in ways you haven't even brought up, ways that aren't even public yet, read my book. but the reality is, i am writing about the documents i obtained. ari wants me to run off and say i have to talk about democrats

too. my article, just because it's based on documents i obtained, can't be about what happened. i am not a spin meister, he is, and he's not telling the truth. >> one final thought, and we got to go. >> i read the entire 9/11 commission report. >> so did i. >> i see how this is distorted. he wants to lead people to believe bush knew and didn't stop it. that's the fundamental argument is making. >> that's what the intelligence agents say. >> no one else has done it, except the truthers. if there was evidence -- >> anderson, can i add -- >> we read about it in the 9/11 commission report -- >> can i add one thing? >> way over time. you just want to say you're not a truther. >> no, beyond that. i never said george bush orchestrated this and we're here -- >> you said he allowed it to happen. >> ari has not cited a single

thing in the article that was wrong. >> we goto go. we're way over time. thank you very much, gentlemen. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] this is rudy. his morning starts with arthritis pain. and two pills. afternoon's overhaul starts with more pain. more pills. triple checking hydraulics. the evening brings more pain. so, back to more pills. almost done, when... hang on. stan's doctor recommended aleve. it can keep pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is rudy. who switched to aleve. and two pills for a day free of pain. ♪ and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels.

now we need a little bit more... a little bit more vanilla? this is great! [ male announcer ] at humana, we believe there's never been a better time to share your passions... because the results... are you having fun doing this? yeah. that's a very nice cake! [ male announcer ] well, you can't beat them. [ giggles ] ohh! you got something huh? whoa... [ male announcer ] humana understands the value of spending time together that's a lot of work getting that one in! let's go see the birdies. [ male announcer ] one on one, sharing what you know. let's do it grandpa. that's why humana agents will sit down with you, to listen and understand what's important to you. it's how we help you choose the right humana medicare plan for you. because when your medicare is taken care of, you can spend more time sharing your passions. wow. [ giggles ] [ male announcer ] with the people who matter most. i love you grandpa! i love you grandma! now you're a real fisherman. [ male announcer ] humana.

♪ 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.

breaking news. secretary of state hillary clinton has confirmed that an american consulate worker was killed in an attack at the consulate. an eyewitness says the attack began with a radical islamist group showing up to protest a web video they call anti muslim. started out piecefuly but soon escalated. one american now reported dead. foreign affairs reporter elise joins us now. >> we were waiting for confirmation nah the state department notified this gentleman's family. it was a forbes service officer.

clinton said that a lot of people have justified this attack as a response to the internet material. but the united states makes clear it really deplores any attempt to denigrate religion of others. there aren't necessarily militants at the gate, they are still very unsettled about what's going on to secure the area. the state department is working with embassies and consulates around the world, specifically in the middle east to protect american personnel, american facilities as we saw today. there was a vicious attack on the u.s. embassy in cairo. a lot of jittery people at the state department. >> i know details are just coming out. but at this stage, do we have any idea where this individual was in the consulate? in the compound? how he came to his death? any details coming out?

>> we don't. we do know that there were several armed gunmen that had breached the consulate compound, a very small area, and there are not a lot of u.s. personnel and originally the state department and the embassy had received word from the libyans that this person was killed and they didn't have independent confirmation, but now the u.s. obviously in the death of an american citizen wants to see that for lack of a word, see that body themselves. see the person before they have to give that news to the family. so once they finally got that confirmation, they were able to confirm. we don't have details as of yet as to how this gentleman met his death. >> i know are you staying on top of the story for us. thank you. we'll be right back. ♪ goodbye [ flushing ] ♪

[ both ] ♪ na, na... [ woman ] ♪ na, na-na, na [ men ] ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ good-bye [ male announcer ] with kohler's powerful, high-efficiency toilets. flush. and done. [ all ] ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ good-bye [ all ] ♪ hey, hey, hey one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now.

just 56 days until the election, registered voter says economic conditions are poor, how does that break down? how do the candidates propose to fix it. we're showcasing the top five economic concerns that keep people up at night. we polled registered voters.

tonight we'll look at number four, which is tacks. many americans who own small businesses, ed hilabi spends a lot of time thinking and working about his tax bills. he owns a restaurant in jailsville, wisconsin, in a neighborhood where vice presidential candidate paul ryan grew up. here's what he tells us. >> what keeps me up at night as a small businessman is over 50% of the population isn't paying their fair share of their taxes. and big corporate america are finding loopholes created the by lobbyists, we, the small business people, the middle class people, we are taking the brunt of this expense to maintain our country. when i first hear that small businesses is the backbone of america, i always chuckle, and i say to myself, if he knew the hardships that small businesses endure. are we theackbone of this nation? maybe in theory we are.

but we pay so much in taxes, every month. we just have these bills that we have to pay. we can't tell the state or the federal government, the city, municipal building, we won't pay for the permits. my journey to the united states is one that i think many people aspired for. it's the country of milk and honey. i came from west africa, liberia, i came to this country, worked for four years in restaurants while i was paying my way through college. if i knew then what i know now, i would probably not go down that path, and just stay in a comfort zone of where you earn your paycheck week to week. >> did you like it, young man? >> yeah. >> we have a failed system. we, the small business people, we are tired of watching legislators stay there and argue and take naps and that political

gridlock that we have going on, within our government, it's stifling. the economy in america, the reason i'm successful in this business is because i put in seven days a week, 16-hour days. do the math, that's over 110 hours a week that i put in. i don't want my kids to grow up like that. >> john king joins me now. dan lothian has been traveling with the president. we asked likely voters, which candidate would better handle taxes, what do the numbers say? >> president obama the democrat. at the moment, the president has the edge, a number of reasons why. majority, 51-46. close, but advantage to the president. one of the reasons why. you ask likely voters who attended college, 52% for

president obama. we have to match those up as those who describe themselves as moderates. 58% describe themselves as moderates. they tend to live in the suburbs. an important advantage for the president. taxes part of the economic debate. not all bad for governor romney. state of florida, more from our most recent poll. older voters, tend to be more reliable. voters 50 years of age and older. again, more reliable voting group. 54% support governor romney. 42% for president obama, obviously, jobs number one part of the economy. on taxes, at the moment, an advantage for the president. >> governor romney has been criticized by fellow republicans by not raising out enough specifics. what loopholes he would close. how has the campaign been

responding to that? >> mitt romney has suggested on a number of occasions that he would limit some of the mortgage deductions from high-income earners to pay for tax cuts. he has not specified as to how he would exactly do all of that. you're right, he has said these things, and his campaign not filled in the blanks. i can tell you over the weekend, paul ryan said something interesting. one explanation and that is they want to go to the congress in a romney administration and present a framework to lawmakers to come up with a plan that adheres to the principles that they lay out when they get to that point and try and implement the tax plan. another reason mitt romney talked about himself and published interviews in "time" magazine. if he comes out and says these are the deductions i had limit, he feels like he will set off a cottage industry of attacks coming after him. when places like the national tax policy center say, hey, wait a minute, if you don't come out with more specifics, you will assume you will blow a hole in

the deficit for raise taxes on middle income americans. the romney campaign says they don't believe what that group is taking about the tax plan. >> we know president obama wants to raise taxes on incomes over $250,000 by allowing the bush tax cuts to expire. is that the main tenet of the tax plan? >> it is, anderson, the main component of the president's plan. that's why the president talks so much about it on the campaign trail. good for middle class americans, they'll be able to go out and purchase with savings, and that he also emphasizes that wealthy americans, this is a time for them to pay their fair share. that is the maybe component, in addition, the president also wants to raise tap call tanz to 20%. most pay 15%. and the president wants to cut the corporate tax rate, 35%, he

wants to lower that to 28% on this, the president, and mitt romney do agree mitt romney wants to lower it more, anderson. >> another aspect of the debate, what effect both plans have on small business owners like the man we saw in the piece. how is the obama campaign trying to target small business owners on the campaign trail? >> that's a good question. a lot of concern from small business owners they will your honor the president's plan see taxes go up. when you hear the president say 97% of small businesses out there would fall onto that $250,000 a year threshold so they would not see their taxes go up. in other words, only 3% of small businesses out there would see their taxes go up. the president has been emphasizing that these small businesses are the engine of the economic recovery, and so he says he wants to do as much as possible to help them get their businesses going. if that happens, the entire

economy will turn around. coming up, remembering the victims of 9/11. a look at today's memorials, when we come back. and uterine cancers. i even wrote a play about that. my symptoms were a pain in my abdomen and periods that were heavier and longer than usual for me. if you have symptoms that last two weeks or longer, be brave, go to the doctor. ovarian and uterine cancers are gynecologic cancers. symptoms are not the same for everyone. i got sick...and then i got better. it's hard to see opportunity in today's challenging environment. unless you have the right perspective. bny mellon wealth management has the vision and experience to look beyond the obvious. we'll uncover opportunities, find hidden risk, and make success a reality.

bny mellon wealth management ♪ [ male announcer ] the first look...is only the beginning. ♪ ♪ introducing a stunning work of technology. ♪ introducing the entirely new lexus es. and the first ever es hybrid. this is the pursuit of perfection.

this time of the night we usually end on a light note, but tonight on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we wanted to use this time to remember the victims and their families. ♪ o, say can you see >> today, we remember a day that began like so many others. a day like this one. a clear blue sky. a sky that would soon be filled with clouds of smoke and prayers of a nation shaken to its core. this is never an easy day, but it is especially difficult for all of you. the families of nearly 3,000 innocents who lost their lives.

>> and my grandpa, raymond downey, you died doing what you loved doing, saving people's lives. i love you so much. so does nanny. >> no matter how many years pass, no matter how many times we come together on this hallowed ground, know this, you'll never be alone. your loved ones will never be forgotten. >> and my big brother, luis jiminez jr., we miss you and love you. >> they will endure in the hearts of our nation. because through their sacrifice, they helped us make the america we are today. ♪ for the land of the free ♪ and the home of the brave >> we can visit the field of

honor in pennsylvania and remember the heroes who made the sacrifice. >> here together is one family. we pause to honor and to pray and to remember 184 lives lost at the pentagon. ♪ [ "taps" ] >> you can see water cascading into the foot prints of the twin towers and gaze up as a new tower rises above the new york skyline. >> and my sister, catherine fairfax. mom, dad and i will always honor you. . >> all these people gathered here today have not forgotten the heroism of your husbands, wives, sons, daughters, mothers,

fathers, and that what they did for this country is still etched in the minds of not only you but millions of americans forever. >> and my father. daddy, i was 9 months old when you passed away and i will love you forever. >> even though we may never be able to fully lift the burden . . . carried by those left behind, we know that somewhere a son is growing up with his father's eyes, and a daughter has her mother's laugh. living reminders that those who died are with us still. great shot. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid.

the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco.