he of course produces the reality show on e, keeping up the kardashians. while she didn't reveal a lot of details, she says her dress will blow everyone away. >> there are a few things you can count on on live television. one is if there is a kid involved, he will always steal the show. that's it for us. "outfront" tonight, mitt strikes back. 24 hours after a hidden camera showed him at a private fund-raiser saying that nearly half the nation will not vote for him because those people rely on government handouts. just hours ago, he doubled down.

provision of -- that mitt keeps talking about,owering income taxes, that's not going to be really attractive to them. and those dependent upon government and those that think government's job is to redistribute, i'm not going to get them. >> in the interview with neil cavuto, he also talked about the 47% of people who pay no income tax, saying that many of them wish they did. >> there are a number of retirees, members of the military and so forth who aren't paying taxes, and that's as it should be. but i do believe that we should have enough jobs and enough take-home y such that people have the privilege of higher incomes that allow them to be paying taxes. i think people would like to be paying taxes.

>> the criticism of romney has been withering. and it has been a rough two weeks in terms of headlines for the romney campaign. he didn't get a convention poll bounce, but the president did. and then politico reported this week romney's senior advisers are fighting and not on the same page. and then there were the two incidents, as i'll call them. first, criticizing the president for the attacks on the embassy in cairo. romney was criticized by the left and the right by people like john mccain. and now this sound bite from the fund-raiser. this was from the left, of course. but some republicans also disavowed it. two are important, because they're in tight races for the senate. and their dismissal of romney could be a bad sign for his standing with independent voters. lindmcmann in connecticut told "the daily caller," and i'm quoting her, i couldn't disagree with governor romney more. i don't think people choose often to be in the position they're in. i think by the fact that our

economy is where it is and we're not able to have jobs, i think government has failed them in that aspect. and in massachusetts, senator scott brown e-mailed "the hill" saying, quote, that's not the way i view the world. as someone who grew up in tough circumstances, i know that being on public assistance is not a spot that anyone wants to be in. so does this add up to romney being done? over, a goner? people were kind of talking about that today. you may have heard it out there in the ether. but the short answer to the question is no. bear with me. first some of the bad news for the romney campaign. a brand new cnn poll of polls has him three points behind president obama nationwide. now, in swing states like virginia and it really does come down to the swing states, a new "washington post" poll has him falling much farther behind. but history does show there is a path for mitt romney, although it may be a hard to find one. look at this. you need to look at the highlighted years here. the year 2000 and 1980.

at this point in 2000, al gore was leading george w. bush by three points. the same as president obama's current lead. we all know how that ended up. and way back in 1980, jimmy carter was leading long old reagan by one point in early september and lost the election by two. and then there's this. the fact that after the egypt embassy statement, which romney was so widely criticized for, a gallup poll today showed him gaining back all of what he lost after the obama convention bounce. now, this includes the reaction to romney's egypt handling. how he handled that situation. so they're now just one point apart, according to this gallup poll. an nbc "wall street journal" poll released tonight shows the president's approval rating on foreign policy fell 12 points among independents after the egypt and libya attacks. if romney keeps pander to go his base, will it be his undoing or salvation? we're joined by contributor

david frum, gloria borger who did the definitive documentary on mitt romney, republican strategist alex castellanos, and presidential historian, douglas brinkley. and i appreciate all of you taking the time. gloria, you are on our independent political strike team. is this a fatal move for romney, or when you look at some of these polls, do you say this could actually help him with his base, a base, by the way, that seemed to be picked on and very unmotivated. >> it's not a fatal move for romney. i think what this does on the down side for them, and really on the down side, is that it plays into the whole white house narrative about mitt romney. that he's somebody who is out of touch, he doesn't understand people like me, he doesn't care about the middle class. you know, when you call 47% of voters people who consider themselves victims, that's not a good thing to do. it also plays into the narrative that he doesn't believe anything. will he say the same thing privately, or allegedly privately to a group of fund raisers that he would out in public? but, you know, nothing is a

fatal blow these days in politics. hardly anything. as you point out, these polls can gyrate. the president has come down from his post convention bounce, and so you know, we have got a bunch of time left to go. >> we do. i mean, when you look at it that way. and doug, how can mitt romney recover from whatever blow he has taken? and certainly, among those in the middle, as you can see by scott brown and linda mcmann, those people fighting for independents seem to be the ones distancing themselves from him. so how can he recover with that group, if at all? >> well, you know, mitt romney has got the debates coming up. and the expectations are low, and maybe even lower out of these last few weeks with these mistakes he's making. but if he can hold his own with the president or win in the debates, a lot of this will be forgotten. but there is -- he's made a fatal blunder here. first off, not recognizing that everything is taped. the idea that there are things held in secret. and i think it's that cloak of secrecy. this is being called by the media a secret tape. and his taxes are secret.

and it leads to the point that we're getting near election day, and people really aren't sure who mitt romney is, and he's spending his time not courting independents, but trying to court his base. so he's a man in trouble right now. >> and alex, let me ask you about this question. what doug saying, a man trying to court his base. so obviously, he didn't expect this 47% comment at the fund-raiser to come out. but now that it has, and we don't have any polls to show how this is going to affect him. will it help him with his base and does he need that help? >> no. i think i kind of disagree with douglas on this. the base is hugely motivated, and it's motivated by barack obama, who has scared the pants off of republican voters and frankly independent voters. look, even barack obama is not running on barack obama's agenda. he's running on bill clinton's agenda. barack obama is not running on what he's going to do the next four years. he's running on what bill clinton would dot next four years. so this could -- right now, mitt romney doesn't need to motivate

his base. they are motivated to change it. but what mitt romney has not done is say how he would lead. that's what's next. that's what has to happen in these debates. >> okay. but when you say that, about the base, let me just put this poll up, david frum, have you jump in on this, so you can look at the national gallup poll if you're mitt romney and say look, obama has lost his bounce. then i give you virginia, "washington post" 52% for barack obama, 44% for mitt romney. and that's not the only swing state where we see the president pull ahead. that's got to be terrifying. >> the tragedy of the situation, here is a man who is a competent, capable manager, who has been good at everything, a successful governor. the author of the first universal health care coverage provision in the nation. a person who has demonstrated through his charity and personal life he has a good and generous heart. and he has been pushed and pushed by an angry base into

sounding not like the person he is, but into sounding like some class warrior in reverse. and that statement he made to that fund-raiser, that was something that expressed not just his personal idiosyncratic view. what he's saying there, that's the daily talk of talk radio and the washington think tanks and "wall street journal" editorial page. all of the people who hated him, tried to stop him from being the nominee. and at this -- he's got the job. he's got the nomination. and he needs to talk to america, he meets to talk for america. >> all right. >> david -- >> okay, go ahead. >> no, i was just going to say, you know, here's the shocking, breaking news that mitt romney actually said there. he's going after swing voters. that was what he was saying. he wasn't going after his base. he was saying, look, i'm going to concentrate on swing voters. now, did he say it wrong? yes, he absolutely did. he shouldn't have said it that way. he shouldn't have said i'm not going to -- 47% of the people are never going to vote for me if i talk to them about

conservative principles and self-reliance. he would have to be president of 100% of the people. he should have said what most republicans say, which is, my job is to lift everybody up and make more people successful and taxpayers, especially those in need. you're right, david, that's what he has done in real life. i've seen him there. >> this dopey idea that the people who are -- who earn too little to pay income taxes are moochers. you know, 60% of the 47% pay payroll taxes. 15.3%. >> and they all pay sales taxes. >> that wasn't what this was about, guys. >> that -- >> you're misinterpreting the whole thing. >> that's a higher rate than mitt romney pays. 60% of the 47% pay more in tax than mitt romney pays. >> so you're supporting higher capital gains taxes. that has nothing to do with this. >> if not paying income tax means you don't ke responsibility for your life, mitt romney doesn't pay income tax. why did he feel the need to say that? >> because, i'll tell you why. i'll tell you why, david.

because above all else, mitt romney looks at politics like a businessman looks at business. he says what do i need to do to close the deal? so i'm before a bunch of fund raisers, and i'm saying this because they're going to take out their checkbooks and they're going to write their checks. when you're running for the governor of massachusetts, you have to be a little bit more moderate. when you're running for the presidency, you're going to go be more conservative. and what do i need to do to close the deal? because the deal he wants to close is to win. so he sounded like a businessman, and by the way, a political analyst, saying, okay, i need these independent voters. these are the people i'm going to go after. they may -- my tax message may have more resonance with them. the bottom line here is, though, people then don't know who you are. or what you believe. >> right. the whole issue of principles. >> at some point, maybe in the debates, he's going to -- or before the debates, he's going to have to lay out his vision. >> and let me just -- because all of you have raised this point about you have to be

president for everyone. and see, this is where the president came back with a real punch. if you're going to say mitt romney went on fox, here's the president. he chose letterman. but this is not a funny line. here's what he had to say about mitt romney, doug. >> i don't know what -- he w referring to. but i can tell you this. when i won in 2008, 47% of the american people voted for john mccain. they didn't vet for me. and what i said on election night was, even though you didn't vote for me, i hear your voices, and i'm going to work as hard as i can to be your president. and one of the things i've learned, as president, you represent the entire country. >> doug, as a presidential historian, i'll give you the final word. can mitt romney still win this? >> i think barack obama is correct, and i think mitt romney's problem is, the clip you played, erin, at the beginning, he was very

defensive. on a monday, beginning a new cycle of the week, you don't want to be in a defensive crouch he was in last week. and you're starting to see him have zero offense and constantly trying to defend mitt romneyisms. and the romney campaign is starting to get in disarray over it. they can't control the candidate. when david brooks and the "new york times" slams mitt romney, begging for the guy he knows that's so good at business and politics to step forward, people aren't seeing that person. and barack obama is a lot more popular than mitt romney. so it's not a good day, and it doesn't look like it's a good week for mitt roey. >> we shall see. and everyone, please head to twitter -- take to twitter, and let us know what you think, whether mitt romney can close the deal or not. ahead, congress is trying to delay more than $1 trillion in cuts set to take effect. this is happening on the back burner. but does this plan add up. plus an "outfront" investigation. tonight we're following the record amount of money being spent to get your vote. and it has been one week since the american ambassador was

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stop pretending. only flood insurance covers floods. ♪ visit floodsmart.gov/pretend to learn your risk. our second story "outfront," pay and punt. really a bad combination of things, isn't it? well, the bipartisan group of senators known as the "gang of eight" are trying to hammer out a deal to avoid the $1.2 trillion in sequester money and extend the bush tax cuts for as many as possible. but it's really a stall, and they admit it.

i think they do. you'll hear in a second if they're going to take issue. but they're trying to delay the tax increases and sequester for six months to buy time to make a grand bargain. if you're confused because you thought the whole idea of the sequester was to give congress 17 months to make a brand bargain and now that they failed another six months ain't worth a hill of beans, you're not alone. kent conrad, chairman of the senate committee is "outfront." good to see you, sir. >> good to see you. >> am i being fair here? is you guys are trying to stall this six months because you don't think you can get it done this year. >> no. you know, i think this all flows from a story that really mixed two different initiatives. one that senator mccain and senator levin are working on to delay the sequester. another effort, separate and apart from that, that is the group of eight, four democrats, four republicans, that were asked about a year-and-a-half ago by 30 of our colleagues to see if we couldn't come up with a plan that would be the grand

bargain, that would follow pretty closely with the bowles/simpson commission came up with. so i think there's some confusion here about what the group of eight is trying to do and what mccain/levin are trying to accomplish. >> if you succeed, are we going to get a grand bargain that prevents the sequester, and we're going to get the grand bargain now, not six months from now. >> look, i can't say what the group will conclude, because we're still negotiating. i would be happy to tell you what i am pushing for, which is to in the lame duck session, after the election, reach the grand bargain, and that that would be a framework that the committees of jurisdiction would then have six months to meet. in other words, they would be given instructions, how much to cut, from what programs, how to reform the entitlements, how to reform the tax system, how much money to raise, all of that would be agreed upon right after the election.

the committees of jurisdiction would fill in the details, how those goals were to be met and there would also be a down payment that is hundreds of billions of dollars of cuts and revenue agreed to in the lame duck that would take immediate effect. and on top of the framework, there would be penalties if the committees of jurisdiction did not meet their assignments. so that's what we're working on. >> okay. now, i think that makes sense, although here's the thing. these penalties, right, we're supposed to be facing these penalties with the sequester now. if you get what you want, the sequester gets put off for six months in case they fail and we still don't have anything happen. it's just a frustration. i'm sure you share it, that we cent get something signed and happen. >> that wouldn't be my intention. i'm not interested in anymore kicking the can down the road.

look, i started on this effort five years ago with judd gregg, the ranks republican on the committee, first to have a commission that would be totally enforceable in law and we got 53 votes in the senate for that proposition. seven of our original republican co sponsors, original co sponsors, voted no against their own proposal. so then we had no choice but to go to a presidentially ordered commission that did not have the force and effect of law. that put us in a weaker negotiating position with less leverage. but, look, we still have an opportunity here to do what needs to be done for the country. which is to agree on a plan that will save at least $4 trillion off deficits and debt over the next ten years. i'm actually pushing for $5 trillion, because i'd like to actually balance the budget. >> all right. senator, thank you very much. we are rooting for you to get this done and get it done right. he ended with a key number. he wants to cut $4 trillion. that's the same as simpson/bowles. simpson/bowles came around last

time, didn't pass, debt ceiling crisis. it feels like a kick in the can. i know he doesn't want it to be. >> god bless, he's at least trying to do the hard work and he's someone who has been fighting this fight for a long time. and sure, there are going to be people who say, look, this will buy us a little bit of time, we can move the fiscal cliff just a little bit. but kent conrad really has been a leader, but he is leaving. so that adds to part of the problem here. he can do all the good work, but at least he's focused on the lame duck. there are too many members totally in denial about the fiscal cliff. >> who are in total denial. my thing, if you get this passed and i hope you do, i know it takes time to imement it, but in six months, we don't like the cuts you made, we want to do it again. frustrating. at least he's fighting the good fight. that brings me to our third story "outfront." big money, a little transparency. a federal appeals court today overturned a ruling that would have tightened disclosure rules for donations and the campaign commercials.

so the decisions could make it harder to follow the money trail. in an election year when we've been telling you it's a record in terms of the amount of money going into campaigns, through groups, including super pacs. john avalon continuing his series on the super pac economy. >> yeah. >> it's not a game, the super pac economy, this is real life. and you're focusing tonight on dark money. >> dark money. so these are the 501(c)(4)s, a tax name but social welfare organization. and so very different from super pacs. it's able -- donors are able to give money without disclosure. and we have seen a dramatic increase in the political spending they're making. take a look at this. before citizens united, just around $3 million was spent by these 501(c)(4) organizations. at this cycle, $67 million. that is over 200% increase in the amount of money the political ads that these 501 c 4s are putting forward. direct evidence of dark money making an impact on our election and the tip of the iceberg. >> and nobody has to disclose. so when you give money to a super pac, we all see it.

i can see, john avalon gave $2 million to whomever. but 501(c)(4) i can give money to at no disclosure. and can't the 501(c)(4) give money to the super pac? >> they can move money around. the 501(c)(4) is the biggest untold story for that very reason. the whole deal behind citizens united, justice kennedy said, look, we'll have unprecedented amounts of money, but unprecedented disclosure. that was the grand bargain, in effect, that citizens united was supposed to put forward. 501(c)(3)s pop up and subvert. take a look, for example, at the super pacs that have had -- eight of the top 20 super pacs, these are three. priorities usa action. american crossroads, and club for growth action, three of the eight super pacs that have 501(c)(3)s put forward and it's a mockery. folks can say if you don't want to give money publicly, do it

through the 501(c)(4) and then the money moves around. >> and there's a way to hide it. can they spend the money any way they want? is it sounds like what you're saying, it's not a charitable organization, that's a 501 c 3 but an organization designed for social causes. >> that's right, elderly. but this is the dark money shuffle. we've an able to find out these folks move money around between different organizations. crossroads gps gave people $4 million to grover norquist. they need to keep spending below 50%, but they can give it to another group who spends it on political spending, so this whole thing becomes a giant sham and when the curtain gets pulled back, corporation aetna, $7.8 million they gave to american action network in chamber of commerce. and no one was suppod to see that. that's an indication of the dark money going through this cycle. >> when the curtain gets pulled back sometimes you see a very unattractive naked person. still "outfront" tonight, it's been weeks since an american ambassador was killed. who are officials focusing on? was has there been no arrest?

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welcome back. we have breaking news. yes, the chicago teachers strike

has ended, and right now we are joined by the head of the chicago's teachers union, karen lewis, joining me on the phone on this breaking news. ms. lewis, we appreciate you taking the time. are you satisfied with the deal you got? are you happy? >> well, i mean, it's the deal we have. it's an austerity contract. the key is that we beat back the ugliest part of the so-called reform agenda and that's important for us and our members. >> when you say an austerity contract, what exactly do you mean? i just want to throw something up here for our viewers to see. the average teacher's salary in chicago, $74,839, more than new york, los angeles or private sector workers in chicago. sorry, go ahead. >> right. you know what the problem with that number is? they also include anybody that has a teaching certificate, which are administrators. so you push that number up, that's when you t that kind of number. so they've been using that number disingenuously. but the key is, the average teacher salary in chicago is not

$74,000. regardless -- >> what is it? >> the issue is, austerity for us, means we have been used to getting 4% raises so now we're not. the issue is, it's not about the money. it's about what school looks like for all of our members and for our students. and the key is, this whole agenda is out of control, and not only is it out of control, we need to move in a different direction, and we need to move into a much more holistic agenda. because if our children don't have music, art, p.e., world languages, we're going to have a -- just a factory. and the only people that win out of that are the companies that make testing materials. so we would like to see the cultural be broad and rich and deep for our kids. and we would also like to see things be more just. >> so one thing that you said, ms. lewis, early on in this, when you were talking about mayor rahm emanuel, you referred

to him as a bully and liar. >> yes. >> do you stand by that? >> yes, absolutely. i mean, the key is, he has said certain things, and he took away a 4% raise. that en raged members. especially because the money was there, it had been budgeted for by the previous administration. but the mayor had an education agenda he wanted to ram down our throats, and he thought he had done it with a senate bill that, you know, senate bill 7, that passed almost unanimously in illinois. and, you know, the fact is that we were still able to enjoin our members to move as one. and i think that powerful message of when you work together, you accomplish magnificent things. we still want to work with the board of education so we can accomplish what's really best for our kids. >> so one thing that i think a lot people, when i've heard

people frustrated with your side of things, ms. lewis, they said, look, mayor emmanuel wanted to have a longer school day, chicago had a shorter one, one of the worst high school graduation rates in the country. you have -- they would go through this list of things. and they will say that teachers there make more than teachers elsewhere and say, look, we need to have more accountability. we need there to be longer days, we need teachers to be paid who are good teachers and teach who are bad to be laid off and not be given priority in rehiring and all of that makes sense to a lot of people. does it make sense to you? >> first of all, that's not the issue, and the way you've described it is common sense, but it's not what really is. the problem is, they've had flexibility. and they've also been short-lived. so we have a problem with a four-year flexibility -- i'm sorry, a four-year tenure by and large. we cannot have instability every time a new principal comes in the building they want to tear

it up because they want their own people. and one of the problems is, it is principals' responsibility to evaluate teachers so the whole so-called bad teacher piece, if you look a little further, it's not people that are incompetent, it's not people that don't know their subject matter. it's predominantly people that have been protected by the principal. not the union. and this is the problem that we have been fighting for years, because the analysis has been that unions protect bad teachers. we do not. we protect due process. that's a difference. in addition, the whole concept of a longer school day is that our test scores have been trending upwards. our graduation rates have trended upwards. and yet we did that all without a longer day. and yet there is no fanfare made about it. if you look at the edelman video, he said he made up all of that stuff about the longer school day, and rahm emanuel used it as a campaign tool.

so the key is, let's be honest, and let's have honest conversations, and that's the beauty of this issue that we brought up, was that we started having honest conversations about what school reform really is. so we want a better day for our kids. we could have planned this together. but when somebody stands on top of you and tries to ram something down your throat, nobody likes that, erin. nobody. >> well, i think everybody can agree with you on that. all right, thank you very much, karen lewis, we appreciate your taking the time. as we said, the chicago's teachers union strike has ended. and our understanding is that those teachers say they're going to make up those days that the kids have lost later on in the school year. now our fourth story "outfront." who killed chris stevens? it is one week after the horrific attack in which ambassador chris stevens and three other americans were killed at the u.s. consulate in benghazi. u.s. officials have not arrested anyone directly linked to the attack. they have focused on members of the militia sympathetic to al qaeda.

but the arrests they have made are of people outside that night but not having to do with the attack. arwa damon has been fighting for answers. it's been hard. she is in benghazi, and a few moments ago, i asked her how the investigation is going. >> reporter: it's been incredibly frustrating to try to get a straight answer from the government, because even within the government itself, we're still continuing to hear these conflicting accounts. how many people have actually been arrested? how many of them were associated with the attack? what sort of leads has the government come across? at this point in time, you still have the head of libya's general national congress effectively the country's president, saying that amongst those detained, there were some foreigners that are believed to have links to al qaeda. that this was a preplanned attack carried out by these extremist entities. and yet you have other senior officials saying there really is no concrete evidence pointing to any of that. and it's been a week since that horrifick took place.

>> and arwa, as you say, it's been a week. and people would think we would have answers on something as horrific as this. but there haven't been arrests of anyone directly linked to the attack. why is that? do you think that it's ever going to happen, if it hasn't happened yet? >> reporter: well, a lot of this ties into the very complex situation that is libya today. those extremists militias, so many fingers being pointed to, know fully well the libyan government cannot go after them. these groups know fully well that right now they are the most powerful entity inside libya. and the government knows that, as well, and it does admit that it cannot take them on right now. >> and arwa, it's amazing when you say that. even in benghazi, i know that from some of your reporting, that the -- the safety and security of the city, perhaps of the consulate itself, have been in the hands of the very people who may have killed ambassador stevens. >> well, it's quite an interesting dynamic that does exist here, because on the one hand, one of these extremist

militias has a base, its emblem is right on it, they do drive their cars around. they also have their extremist militia emblem alongside it. and on the other hand, other militias much less of a threat to the u.s. yes they might be slightly conservative. they were tasked with security at the embassy. one of these militias, the 17th of february brigade, they were actually the only unit that responded to the firefight that took place at the embassy. what you have is this incredibly complex tapestry of various different militias made up of these former revolutionary briges that all come together at times with conflicting interests to create this effective security vacuum that we have here right now. >> all right, arwa damon, thank you very much for her fearless reporting from libya tonight. well, today, qim, which is part of al qaeda, called for the death of american ambassadors in

morocco, tunesia. we have reported on the rise of militant groups in these countries and others in northern africa. and now they're calling for attacks on other american embassies. this map, we like to put it up, because it just shows you the spread here -- will these calls for violence lead to more violence in the united states. rudy, it is always good to talk to you. and, you know, this comes at a moment when we have heard that al qaeda is on the run. and what we see now is groups sympathetic to al qaeda, linked to al qaeda or not on the run but frankly more powerful than the government in places like libya. are these -- should we take this threat of attack seriously? >> absolutely, i think we should take these attacks seriously, because although we're making headway in the afpak region, we have not made any headway in the north africa region.

we have new governments in libya and tunisia and egypt. and frankly, some governments are sympathetic more into the cause or the lane of the extremist elements. so when they pose this threat, you also have a collapsed lip libya that has been a conduit for arms pushing across the region. now you have weapons and people who are sympathetic, and causes a big concern for me, at least. >> and what are the risks that there could be attacks outside that region? when people in america try to say, well, is this going to be something that spreads, there are attacks on europe, attacks on the united states. are these groups getting stronger? >> these groups are getting stronger, and they do have a fairly large presence outside of north africa. a perfect example, approximately 10% of the citizens in france are north african. there are some people there that have sympathetic to the cause that carry dual citizenship. not saying that a french-north

african is going to attack, but the possibility lies there. these guys are very creative. they find ways to attack. 9/11 was a surprise to all of us. they came up with ways to attack us. and so we always have to be on our guard. >> rudy, thank you very much. and next, a man who knows about secret tapes and presidents, bob woodward talks romney, he talks obama in his new book. "outfront," next.

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our fifth story "outfront." a referendum on mitt romney. mitt romney's strategy was to make this election a referendum on president obama, and his record. but because of his own actions, the conversation keeps coming back to romney and his missteps. for instance, comments made at the private florida fund-raiser a few months ago. >> there are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. all right? there are 47 people who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they're entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. >> well, just hours ago, mitt romney appeared on fox news to explain those comments, but it took eight minutes, okay? it took the entire interview until the end of the last question for mitt romney to get to talk about the one thing he

actually wants to talk about. >> if people think they're better off, i would say well take a look at the -- at the numbers when it comes to median household income which is down every year for the last four years. look at unemployment stuck above 8% now for the last 43 months. look at what's happened to the number of people on food stamps, going up, up to 47 million now. there are a lot of people hurting in this country, and the presidents policies aren't working. >> "outfront" tonight, bob woodward out with a new book, "the price of politics." great to see you, sir. you've been covering politics since nixon. you know the good, the bad, the ugly. there isn't much good anymore. do these missteps for mitt romney, are they going to cause voters to walk away? how -- long will this last? >> well, we can't tell. it's september, and there's

always october surprises. things may occur. but what he said is, a president, one of the things you learn is that a president has to be interested in the next stage of good for a majority of all people in the country. and for somebody, even a candidate to say, well, i'm writing off almost half of the people, they will never vote for me, i think he's just -- he's not clear about what he's talking about. because a lot of those people who are on social security and medicare, the health insurance program for the elderly, are republicans. and so to a certain extent, he is dising some of his own base. >> and how does this stack up to past campaign mistakes? a lot of people have brought up president obama's comment back in 2008 when he talked about people clinging to their guns

and religion. he obviously got past that easily. will this be more significant for mitt romney than a speed bump like that? >> you know, we obviously don't know. and we try to predict, and i think that's -- there's a lot of folly in that. it may have legs and it may not. but as you earlier on your show talking about the fiscal cliff and the economic problems this country faces, i mean, the simple reality that applies to everyone and has immense impact is that we have a federal government whose fiscal financial house is not in order. in fact, it's in total disorder. and in four or five months, we're going to be dealing with what's called the fiscal cliff. but in english, that means the congress is going to have to go back and approve in some way borrowing perhaps trillions of dollars more. and whether that can be worked

out politically is really in many ways what the campaign should be about. not to dismiss what romney has said here. he should be held accountable, and he is. >> and it's interesting, because you know as we said, it took the whole interview for him to get to try to say, you know, his point of view on hey, look at the economy, the way i see it, it's worse than all these ways, so vote for me. your book, "the price of politics" is about -- and is painful in so many ways, about the failure on so many levels of so many people to actually get a deal done to avert a fiscal crisis by the biggest economy and greatest nation in the world. it's a tragedy. do you think we are going to be able to get a deal, no matter who wins? if barack obama wins re-election, he's not going to have both the house and the senate. we're going to be in much the situation we are now, even if -- even if he wins. >> we quite likely are. in the three-and-a-half years i describe in minute detail, the

negotiations, the discussions, the emotions,ing there big themes all right but they are also big lessons, and obama in my discussion with him for if this book a couple of months ago, he clearly understand we have to get some control of the spending binge we're on and we need to do something to reform the entitlement programs. he doesn't want to say that or come up with the plan before the election, because he's made the political calculation it wouldn't be popular. >> we appreciate you taking the time. we're passionate about this issue of the fiscal cliff, who did what, when, and it's worth checking out. next, the true power of america, apple.

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the iphone 5 because last week's unveiling got everybody really excited, and the company tallied a record two million preorders in the first 24 hours. now, to give you some context, that is double the first eight orders recorded last year for the iphone 4s. and the company is setting records in both the business and tech worlds which brings us to tonight's number. 16,611. it's a really important number. according to paul hickey, if the apple was added to the dow jones industrial average you see every night, supposed to be a benchmark of where our country and economy is, if apple was put in there in june 2009, that is where the dow would currently be trading. you say how significant is that? i will tell you. the dow jones currently sits at about 13,500. a 16,000 dow would be 2,000 points higher than the all-time record of 14,100 struck back in october 2007. so apple could save our whole market and make us set records

and apple's $655 billion market cap is also something to be proud of. it is larger than the entire s&p 600, that's a smaller company. you put them all together and you still don't get one apple and it is nearly equal to the combined market cap, this stuns me, of exxonmobil and microsoft, the second and third biggest companies in the u.s. about two years ago, exxon was bigger than apple so apple's surge has been incredibly fast. maybe you think it will keep going or maybe you think it's a bubble but apple is a world power right now. its market cap is larger than the gdp of all but 18 countries. take that, switzerland, saudi arabia. apple is a monster. it is only getting bigger. on that note, here is piers morgan tonight. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day

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