left behind? the hot topic in the president's speech is a hot button issue across the country. income inequality. and we'll have a debate with senator bernie sanders and congresswoman michele bachmann. they are both here live. and another cnn exclusive. our own jim sciutto is in iran where tough rhetoric is going on. ordinary people have you sanctions relief as a life or death matter. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." president obama is fine-tuning his state of the union address. he'll go before the world and the congress tomorrow, determined to put his agenda back on track. he'll make it clear that he's used 2014 as a year of action and he's prepared to act on his own, if necessary. let's go straight to our senior

white house correspondent jim acosta. jim? >> reporter: aides will say that he's frustrated with congress and will talk about using his phone and his pen, a reference to his promise that he's repeated over the last several weeks that he's going to use some executive authority power to get action in the coming year when congress won't act and it is also a risky path ahead. it was the shortest of sneak previews in a six-second video using social media. >> tomorrow night, it's time to restore opportunity for all. >> reporter: despite the optimistic tone, white house officials say president obama will announce in the state of the union that he's ready to get tough and bypass congress when necessary. >> it sounds like he's frustrated and maybe a little bit flustered. >> well, he's an american citizen and it stands to reason why he may be frustrated with congress, since most citizens are. >> reporter: the president plans to highlight new executive actions, some aimed at job

training and retirement security programs. white house officials stay he will still call for legislation when feedneeded on ilmmigration reform. >> the president should use every tool available to him to move the country forward. >> reporter: there's no mistaking the message. >> i've got a pen and i've got a phone and that's all i need. >> reporter: the president vows to use executive authority to achieve a year of action. >> and we're putting extra emphasis on it in 2014. >> reporter: and republicans on edge. >> it sounds like a threat and it has a certain amount of arrogance that one of the fundamentals in our country is the checks and balances. >> reporter: remember these bills? >> the time has come to pass comprehensive immigration reform. raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour. the families of newtown deserve a vote. >> reporter: they all stalled.

>> he likes to talk about, oh, yeah, i still have my pen and executive power. then use it. do it. one after the other. take them on. >> reporter: but presidential historian, douglas brinkley, says there's a big problem with promising a year of action. what if there isn't any? >> when you say you're going to do a year of executive action, it becomes may and the record doesn't show that, then you truly become a lame duck. >> reporter: as for the state of the union speech, officials here at the white house say it is almost ready but the president will stay busy well after tuesday night. he's going to be hitting the road to sell his message. first, he'll be in maryland before heading over to a steel mill and on to wisconsin and tennessee after that. it's going to be a tough message, though, after the state of the union speech and increasingly more so given the fact that this is an election year. the midterms will be coming up quickly, wolf. >> they certainly will. jim acosta, thanks very much.

let's dig deeper with gloria borger and the former bush white house speechwriter david frum. right now as he enters the sixth year of his presidency, obama has got a 44% approval number. that's like bush was at his sixth year. 43%. bill clinton was at 59%. ronald reagan back in '86 was at 64%. >> restoring economies. think about the economic numbers of 1990 -- >> that's what your analysis is? >> yeah. look, don't forget that bill clinton's state of the union was right around the time that the lewinsky story broke and then, of course, his numbers started plummeting but the economy was doing well both for bill clinton and ronald reagan and that's what makes you a popular president. people don't think that he's handled the economy very well and they feel that same way about george bush. >> i assume if the economy

improves, his approval numbers will go up. after all, the economy is still number one. >> they will. remember, bush's last couple of years, the numbers kept going down because of the social security plan that failed and then katrina and just -- and then the war in iraq -- >> immigration reform failed for bush as well. so the president has got a -- tomorrow night -- and you're a former speechwriter, david. the president has a lot of issues to deal with. >> we're heading into ourself event year of disappointing economic results and the president needs to give them a reason to come out to vote for him despite the fact that they have seen very little material benefit from his presidency. so he's there. eats going to hit immigration reform, come out and vote for me and i'll get you one more time the immigration reform i promise, i promise. hit the minimum wage with the

same effect. >> and you know, as unpopular as president obama is right now, congress is even less popular. saying, look, i could not change the way washington worked, which is what he intended to do, i can work around washington and he believes in the folks at the white house believe that the american public will be on their side because congress is so -- >> don't you think -- do you really think his mess able right now is for the base? >> sure. >> you don't think he's trying to squeeze a couple things out of this congress? isn't that the intention, though? he's got to figure out a way -- >> presidential state of the unions do not squeeze things out of congress. >> i think they are things they can do. >> i doubt it. i think he is going to continue to have problems with congress. it's an issue that the president is using to try to get -- >> hold on. >> he can get a little piece of

it here and there. >> a little piece is not good enough. he's got to do a significant comprehensive immigration reform. a lot of democrats won't be happy unless there's a path dwa to citizen. if you do piecemeal here, piecemeal there -- >> he's relaxed enforcement but has not delivered the big he can siting thing that persuades people that i will still vote for the president. >> but democrats can use it to run against republicans in the midterm election. >> he says he's got a pen, a phone, he can do things on his own. here's what john boehner said about that. >> instead of looking to work together, the president this week reminded people that he has, quote, a pen and a phone. i would remind the president he also has a constitution and an oath of office that he took where he swore to faithfully execute the laws of our country. >> now, he co-sign executive

orders that are totally within the well. of the constitution. there's not a problem as far as that is concerned, as far as i know. >> look, he's the president. he can sign executive orders. that is legal. boehner there is suggesting that it's somehow inappropriate for the president to use executive orders which has become something on the right. there is this sort of name on the right that the president has been going around the competition and -- >> it depends on what is in the executive order. there are executive orders and there are executive orders. if the president thinks that he's going to be able to govern effectively in a way that is going to make a difference with hard-pressed voters in terms of orders, he's wrong. where the president can make a difference are through the -- >> this is all very deceiving, this idea with the pen and the -- >> pen, phone. pen. phone. >> david is absolute ly right. if presidents could solve the problems of the country with executive order --

>> i'm not sure exactly what he can do. >> squeezing and squeezing the capacity of the federal government, we have a fiscal policy and that's going to continue regardless of what he du doodles with his pen. >> what can he do? i was talking with some people today. okay, he can do some things on climate change, for example -- >> that is purely at the realm of regulation that he can do that. >> he can do that. he's trying to work with the cabinet, which we haven't seen before. trying to figure out from them what regulations he can sign so he can get something done. but on the larger issues -- and this goes to the point of legacy -- is that immigration reform is something he wants to get done. he wants to get some agreement on nsa surveillance, i would presume, right? >> and that's what i'm going to be listening for. >> one thing republicans keep saying -- we're not going to have time to discuss it now -- go ahead, mr. president, sign

that order allowing the pipeline to go from canada to the united states. that would work wonders. >> he has a chip with the republicans and i don't think he cares about keystone xl. >> he may want something in exchange for that, something like mayraising the nation's de ceiling. all right, guys, thank you. cnn, by the way, will have extensive coverage right here in "the situation room." starting at 7:00 p.m. eastern sf. up next, are the rich getting richer? president obama ready to talk about income inequality. we're ready for a major debate. here they are. michele bachmann and bernie sanders. they are bottom here. you guys ared? have you been practicing and ready to go. ♪epic classical

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one major theme we're expecting president obama to focus heavily on in the state of the union address tomorrow night is income inequality. the poverty rate has barely budged and 47 million people are living below the poverty line. about 16 million of them children. it all comes as the country marks 50 years since the war on poverty speech. poppy harlow has some background. >> reporter: 50 years ago, this court launched a war on poverty.

has it worked? >> no. >> reporter: we first met ann valdez four years ago. she was living with her children in this apartment complex. >> poverty is very demoralizing. >> reporter: welfare and food stamps got her by, barely, as she looked for work. we came back a year later to see how ann was doing. has the situation gotten better for you? >> reporter: no, it hasn't changed much. her son said this is what he wanted to see. >> senator, congressman, even the mayor to come down here, see what is going on. see how destroyed these neighborhoods are. the spirits of these people. they are completely gone. >> reporter: a long struggle with skoelly yoes sis means she

cannot do certain jobs. >> i'm still dependent on the system even if i get a minimum wage job. >> reporter: dependent on the system. hers is one of the stories of the nearly 47 million americans living in poverty. 50 years after president johnson declared war on it. this cycle of poverty has taken its toll on ann valdez. >> i'm 47 years old, trying to raise my family, trying to set an example and i tell them how important education is, perseverance, and it's difficult because they look at me and say, well, look at you. here you are, still fighting and you can't get a job. >> reporter: her unemployment benefits ran out years ago. today ann says she gets $290 a month in public aid. $347 in food stamps and her rent is subsidized but years of

welfare hasn't helped her climb out of poverty. >> if it isn't working, what do you need? >> if you teach people how to do skills, then you're more likely to obtain a position and maintain. i'm not asking for them to raise the check. what i'm asking is for them to make more opportunities. >> reporter: an opportunity she hopes will come from education. she's still not employed but she's in school part time and will try to find administrative work once she finishes. do you think things are going to change for you? >> i know they are going to change. >> reporter: as the years go buy, it's harder to see where that change will come from. poppy harlow, cnn, new york. >> let's talk about this, then. the minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann and independent senator from vermont, bernie sanders. thank you to both of you for coming in. what would do you about this issue of income inequality?

it's a poignant story we just told, we just heard, and the president is going to be focusing in on this in the state of the union address. >> i thought the segment that just ran was excellent. i agreed with ann. she says i've been on dependency entitlement programs for years. they haven't changed my life. what i want is a job. it's not income inequality, it's income opportunity. we need growth, prosperity. a job is what she wants. that's the dignity she needs and an opportunity for a way out. >> she wants education, too, to help her get out. you don't have a problem with that? >> no. i think it's absurd that we probably have the most dysfunctional early childhood education in the world and the cost of college is soaring and i believe that we should learn from many countries that education is an investment and that every kid in this country, regardless of income, should have educational opportunity.

>> what do you want to hear the president say tomorrow night? >> what i want to hear him say is what the pope has said. is that at a time when we have the top 1% in this country at the top of the wealth, that that is obscene, unacceptable, and that is not what america is about. in terms of income in the last few years, 95% of all new income generated, wolf, went to the top 1%. so we need an economy that works for all of the people and not just the millionaires and billionaires. >> congresswoman? >> we need to grow the middle class and what the middle class needs is jobs. it's tough to blame president bush for the current economic woes. we have five years of policies and what do we have? people who are really suffering because people made more money -- if you look at the median income level, people made

more money seven years ago than they are now. what we need to do is reject these policies of growing entitlements and dependency and instead embrace policies that will grow jobs for people. where are the jobs? >> you want less government but senator you want more government? >> the congresswoman forgets to mention that when obama became president we were losing over 700,000 jobs a month because of the greed and the recklessness and illegal behavior on wall street. is the economy good today? no t. is not. is it a heck of a lot better than when obama first came? sure it is. the real issue that we need right now is in fact how do you create jobs and protect working families. cutting social security, medicare, medicaid, abolishing minimum wage, which my more conservative friends want to do is it's not going to help ann or other americans. we need a real jobs program. we need to rebuild our

infrastructure, put millions of people back to work. make states like minnesota and vermont more energy-efficient. >> where are you going to get the money? >> by asking the wealthy people -- >> more taxes on the wealthy people? >> yes, my goodness. given the fact that one out of four corporations don't pay a nickel in taxes, the wealthy are doing phenomenally well, yeah, i do think that. >> i'm a former tax attorney. when you lower the tax burden as a cost of doing business, you create more jobs. that's exactly the piece that preceded our segment said. this woman ann wants a job. we have people all across the united states who have an ability to start companies. single mothers like ann want to start a business. we're not talking about mega businesses. we're talking about people who just want to get in on an

economic ladder. >> if you raise taxes on the big corporations, there won't be enough jobs. they are going to cut back on hiring. >> it's not only that. let me say something. it's not only that. it's also the fact that government is spending too much. the share that government has been spending -- the question is, will people like ann have money in her pocket to spend or will it be government's big pocket that will be gulping our money. that's a big problem. >> the fact of the matter is that those countries around the world, which have virtually eliminated childhood poverty are those countries that have invested heavily in education. >> now, where is that? >> excuse me. >> which country has eliminated childhood poverty. >> denmark -- virtually ee li eliminated. they are at 5% and we're at 22%. let me finish, please. they spend about 50% per capita on health care than what we do.

that's not socialism. >> countries like norway, let me add, the reason why norway has so much wealth is because they tap into the natural resource called energy. we could be energy independent in this country. create millions of high-paying jobs if we only open up and legalize american energy production. >> hold on. one second. one second. it doesn't matter. >> it totally matters. we've got huge natural resources. in fact, we're the number one country in the world in energy resources and we say no to it. >> the fact of the matter is -- >> good, high paying jobs. >> go ahead, senator. >> the fact of the matter is we've had an energy boom in recent years but 95% of whole new income went to the top 1%. now, what i think ann was talking about is the desire for

education. >> she wants a job. ann wants a job. >> i heard her say -- >> she wants a job and to be able to support her family. >> i think she also said she needs education in order to get the job and if you don't have any money, it's hard to get education. >> but in america we have higher education, we've got a great educational system. she needs access to that. >> excuse me. in america you have a college education system where costs are soaring, where kids leaving school 25, $50,000 in debt and hundreds and thousands of young people have given up college. >> and it's an american policy when it comes to college education. if you look at the correlation, the federal government has increased the cost of education and now there's a trillion dollars of debt outstanding from american kids. >> you've got it a little bit backwards and i think the idea that solving the very serious problem of declining middle class and the growing gap

between the wealthy and everybody else is to do what miss bachmann and perhaps yourself -- you want to cut social security and -- >> that is absolutely a lie. it's brought up all the time and it's a lie. let's face is, senator sanders. you shouldn't be lying about what our position is. >> i'm not lying. >> ask me. do i want to cut social security? no. i'm not cutting social security. that's not what i'm doing. >> do you support a change cpi? do you support a change cpi? >> it is a joke for the democrat party to lie about what our position is. >> hold on. i asked you a question. you didn't give me an answer. >> well, calm down. >> do you support change cpi? >> calm down. the reality is, we want ann's life to be better because president obama has created an economic war on women so that women are saying, i can't even buy propane to heat my house and now my health insurance premiums

have quadrupled because of obamacare. that's an equal war on women. >> on the social security issue, even the president of the united states has indicated, correct me if i'm wrong, he's willing to take the position you strongly disagree. >> i sure do. and i believe that virtually every republican in the united states congress believes in cutting social security. >> that's absolutely a lie. >> the ryan budget called for the transformation of medicare into a voucher program. massive cuts in medicaid and many republicans -- can i finish my point? >> but when you say something that is not true, i have to correct it. it's not true. >> do you believe in raising minimum wage? >> what i'm saying is -- >> do you believe in raising -- >> let me tell you what happened in australia. the minimum wage in us a australia is $20 an hour. >> she doesn't want to talk about that. >> i want job growth.

i want opportunity and people's wages to go up. >> yeah, i know. we all do. but most republicans, by the way -- >> excuse me. >> people's wages have gone down 8% in seven years. not just stayed the same. >> wolf, may i -- >> go ahead. respond to -- >> most republicans believe in abolishing the concept of the minimum wage so that employers in america can pay workers 3 or $4 an hour. >> you know, all of this is -- >> i don't know that it's most. >> in the senate, by the way -- >> all we've heard are these broad-brushed generalized statements. what we haven't heard is how one job is going to be created for ann. ann wants a check. those poor kids sitting in the kitchen, that woman needs to be able to buy a home, own a car, move up, help her kids. >> we've had the trickle-down economic -- >> not these economic war on women that the president has been putting forth for the last five years.

it's embarrassing. it's a shame. >> you know, many of miss bachmann's ideas have taken place. george bush's economic performance in the private sector was the worst in modern day history. >> we've -- >> excuse me. we've lowered taxes for the rich and under bush we lost a whole lot of jobs. >> we need to lower taxes on the ability to be able to create jobs. >> we're losing about $100 billion -- >> us kexcuse me. i want to clarify. do you believe that the minimum wage ought to be increased? >> i think we need to create jobs and look at the example in australia. >> that's going to be a major issue in the president's speech and he's going to call on congress to raise minimum wage. >> so do you think it should be raised to $20 an hour? >> i'm just asking if you -- >> $10.10 an hour. >> no, i don't.

but what i do believe -- but do you believe that taxes should be cut for the average job creator and average american? i think they should. >> i think we need a good tax -- >> i think the federal government should restrain its spending. >> we have, once again, one out of four corporations not paying a nickel in federal taxes. >> so they should be paying. >> they are putting the money in the cayman islands and they are shutting down factories in the united states and investing in china, in mexico, in vietnam. so i think what we feed is a demand -- >> should they be -- excuse me. can i have one second? one tiny, little second. i think what we need to do is tell corporate america, time is now to invest not in china, not in mexico but in the united states of america. >> that's why we designed our tax policy and tax reform so that jobs could be started. we have the highest corporate

tax rate in the world. >> no, we do not. >> we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. you want to know why people are leaving the united states and investing elsewhere? because president obama has the highest corporate tax rate in america. that is hurting people's ability to get a job. >> what i'd like to do is continue the conversation in the days and weeks to come because you both bring good arguments to the table. senator, thanks very much for coming in. >> my pleasure. >> congresswoman, thanks very much. we know you don't want to raise the cost of living increases on social security -- >> and bernie doesn't want to cut the taxes on corporations so that we can have new jobs created. >> he wants to increase taxes. >> right. >> so they can pay for education and other infrastructure -- >> we're going to have fewer jobs. that's australia's experience. >> we'll continue the conversation. >> thank you. >> thanks to both of you for coming in. >> thank you. coming up, why every day

iranians say sanctions relief is a matter of life and death. jim sciutto is there and he'll join us live in a moment.

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one of the accomplishments president obama will cite in the state of the union address is the nuclear agreement with iran. many in congress are skeptical because the deal eases tough sanctions against iran and some say it's a matter of life and death. jim sciutto is inside tehran right now. he's joining us with more. what are you seeing? what are you hearing, jim? >> reporter: wolf, when the president speaks tomorrow, his words resonate. speaking to iranians, more than a discussion about the country's right to enrich or the country's sovereignty, what they talk about is relief from economic sanctions. the economy is shrinking here. prices are jumping. unemployment is up. the currency is down and it's relief from the effect of the

sanctions that iranians are really hoping for as there is this new push for diplomacy. one day before president obama's state of the union address, international diplomacy comes to iran. former u.n. secretary general is leading a delegation of world leaders here in tehran to discuss peace efforts, including the new nuclear agreement with the u.s. and the west. >> this is not an easy task. it will need patience and perseverance. >> reporter: but even as president obama touts the new diplomacy, the old fiery rhetoric conditions. john kerry saying that a military strike against iran is still on the table. >> the option is available and the united states is ready. >> reporter: spark this combative response from the head of iran's revolutionary guards who say, quote, islamic leaders have prepared us for many years for a massive and destiny-making

battle. iranians we have met, however, are focused on what an agreement with the west means for them. a point we saw with painful clarity as patients crowded at a cancer clinic in tehran. economic sanctions have blocked access to the best chemotherapy drugs, since most are made in europe and the u.s. >> have you lost any patients, do you think, because of this? >> yes. yeah. >> reporter: patients who died early? >> died, yes. >> reporter: yes, i can tell that's upsetting for you. >> yes. so much. >> reporter: shallow was diagnosed with ovarian cancer more than a year ago. >> this comes from america. >> reporter: she now buys expired drugs on the black market. >> i think those who sanction on

this country are participant for killing the people. >> reporter: under the interim nuclear deal, these patients' crucial medicine will be allowed back in. the deal can't move forward quickly enough. the original sanctions regime was intended to have payments sent abroad, restrictions so the new interim deal will solve those problems and that's one change that iranians here are hoping to see take effect very quickly and they hope it continues as the longer-term negotiations go forward, wolf. >> lots going on. jim will be joining us for the live coverage tomorrow night. jim sciutto in iran, thank you very much. jim, by the way, has been sharing images from his exclusive interviews on

instagram. user name is jim sciutto. is there room for compromise on immigration, for example? i'll speak with one house republican who says not so fast. representative steve king has been very controversial on immigration reform, even disagreeing with a whole bunch of republicans. he's standing by. ♪ turn around ♪ every now and then i get a little bit tired ♪ ♪ of craving something that i can't have ♪ ♪ turn around, barbara

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the president is prepared to bypass congress while he can and he'll need to work with congress on immigration reform and that's one area where there may be some room for compromise. house speaker john boehner has been working on a set of principles for immigration reform and he's determined to do it this year. our chief correspondent dana bash is up on capitol hill. dana, what do we know about the immigration principles that the speaker is, working on?

>> reporter: well, we know that he's got at least most of them down and that he's going to discuss them later this week when house republicans go on a retreat in maryland. we also know because republicans have said it so many times that this would be done in a piecemeal approach, not a comprehensive bill like the senate passed last year. what are we talking about? the key point is, of course, what to do with the 11 million or so illegal immigrants. what john boehner is going to discuss is giving many of them the ability to get legal status. not citizenship but legal status if the u.s. but only after the border is secure. and there will be various metrics to determine that, that will go into the principles. that's the key. the other issues are things like new visas for foreign workers and also stepped-up enforcement in the interior of the country, wolf. >> so, basically, legal status he's willing to give these illegal immigrants but not necessarily a pathway to citizenship. is that right? >> reporter: right.

and that's for several reasons. first, just on policy. you have too many republicans in the house who believe that a path to citizenship, getting citizenship is just not fair to have all of these illegal immigrants get that benefit. but legal status is something different. but then there's the raw politics of this and that is that if you look at the trends of how hispanics have been voting in 2012, barack obama got 70 plus percent, there's a political concern that if you give 11 million people the ability to vote with citizenship, that the trends are that they would be voting democratic, not republican, wolf. >> dana is up on the hill, thanks very much. let's get some reaction to what is going on. joining us now, a critic of immigration reform, republican congressman steve king of iowa. congressman, thank you very much for coming in. >> glad to be here. >> i'll play a clip, john boehner making a reform for immigration on a piecemeal basis. >> the american people don't

want the government shut down and they don't want obamacare. [ applause ] >> obviously that's not the right clip. basically, the right sound bite is, immigration reform dead? absolutely not, he said. i made clear going in the day after the last election 2012 that it was time for congress to deal with this issue. i believe that congress needs to deal with this issue. are you with the speaker? >> we disagree on that strategy. >> do you believe that legal status for these illegal status and not -- forget about pathway to citizenship for now but making them legal in the united states? >> we have a president who has refused to work on immigration law and the border is not clear. >> he deported a record number of people, as you know.

i he's tightened the border. >> the administration can give you what they want you to know but if you look at the numbers of deaths in the desert on those attempting to get into the united states, those numbers are up, not down. that's a tragedy. >> does the speaker, assuming he's ready to go along with this deal and let's say that the president is ready to accept the compromise, does he have his republican caucus -- how much support will he have? >> i don't know that i can give a number for that but i'll say that there is a fairly large solid core that understand this, that in a promise of enforcement that we would open up a path to leg legalization, democrats wouldn't wait until the debate is over, that would be part of the debate. >> what about path to citizenship? they've done nothing wrong. many were born here in the united states or whatever. would you be open to letting the kids, the children of the illegal immigrants have this

pathway to citizenship? >> wolf, that's the most sympathetic cause. republicans should not lead with that but instead we should say to the president, secure the border, enforce the law, then we'll talk. once you establish the rule of law -- >> but you're going to resist everything that boehner is now putting forward? >> i will. because there's no pathway that i can see that good immigration legislation can get to the president's desk without amnesty attached, without the aides bill in the senate being attached in various nefarious forms. so from that standpoint, the leadership in the house tell me how they can get a bill to the president's desk that actually does good things to restore the rule of the law and we need it to design the economic, social, and cultural well-being of america. >> steve king making career there's going to be a split among republicans. >> we shouldn't talk about it, wolf. there's no reason to have the debate. >> the debate is going to happen. the president will make a big

issue out of it. we'll see if they can make a deal, despite your opposition. >> i watched the president's state of the union address, he will and immigration. all of them, democrats are essentially unanimous on and all of them split the republican party right down the middle. that's their attempt. we'll see that coming and republicans ought to see it coming. a pretty obvious play. >> a major and pretty candid appearance. what she's now saying about the possibility of her running for presidency again. she reveals what she hasn't done since 1996. that's coming up. new signs of a major state on the east coast could be one step closer to legalizing medical marijuana. [ male announcer ] here's a question for you: is your tv powered by coal? natural gas? nuclear? or renewables like solar...

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here's a look at some of the other stories developing in "the situation room." a royal caribbean cruiseship is being forced to return to its home port after a massive outbreak of gastrointestinal illness on board. a cdc spokeswoman reports that 600 people, passengers and crew fell sick. the cause of the illness was not immediately clear although the cruiseline says symptoms are consistent with the highly contagious norovirus. florida may be one step closer to legalizing medical marijuana. a ballot issue in november allows voters to weigh in during the midterm elections. the use of marijuana for medical reasons is legal in 20 states including the district of columbia according to the national conference of state legislators. the actor and director behind pulp hits like django and

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dangerous regions amid extreme precautions. do these images tell the story? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." her biggest regret, her disagreements with president obama and the burning political question, will she run for the white house again? hillary clinton talked about all of that and more today in new orleans where she gave a closely watched speech to the national automobile dealers association. and some of her remarks were surprisingly candid. cnn's athena jones is there for us. tell our viewers what she said. >> reporter: hi, wolf, well, she was talking to auto industry folks and she talked a lot about cars including the first two she owned. an oldsmobile cutlass and a fiat. but it was during the q&a section after her speech that things got really interesting. a question that following hillary clinton everywhere, will she or won't she run for president in 2016?

following a speech today at the national automobile dealers association in new orleans, she laughed off the question. >> i have to say i don't know. it's not a very satisfactory answer, i know. i'm not thinking about it. i try to get other people not to think about it. >> reporter: just the group ready for hillary was in hiiowa busy trying to lay the groundwork for a win in the first in the nation caucus. issues dogging her is the death of ambassador chris stevens in the attack on benghazi libya consulate. she has yet to address the issue publicly. >> my biggest regret is what happened in benghazi. it was a terrible tragedy losing four americans, two diplomats

and now it's public so i can say two cia operators. >> reporter: and as for the order of the raid to kill osama bin laden, she said they didn't see eye to eye. >> i had disagreements with president bush, but yeah, i also had some disagreements with president obama. >> reporter: while she may be heading on the road back to the white house, she admits she hasn't been in the driver's seat in almost two decades. >> last time i actually drove a car myself was 199 6. >> reporter: in one of the lighter moments of the day clinton tackled one of the most personal questions she face, when will she become a grandma? >> i totally respect my wonderful daughter and our absolutely terrific son-in-law, but it is a reason why we keep adding dogs. we call them our granddogs. >> reporter: and today's speech wasn't just a chance for clinton to send a message to her

daughter about those grandchildren she wants, it was also an opportunity to collect a chunk of cash. clinton is estimated to command as much as $200,000 per speech. >> athena jones in new orleans for us, thanks very much. let's get a little bit more with our political commentators. maria cardona and anna navarre ra. what does it say to you, maria, that the former secretary of state says her biggest regret is what happened on her watch in benghazi? >> i think it says a couple things, the first one is she knows if she runs this is going to be an obsessive point for the republicans and she wants to get it all out there. this isn't the first time she talked about this. she talked about this at the new see yum at the global town hall. she was asked pretty much the same question and said about the same thing. it shows a sincere side of her, which i think is an important thing to do as well as she's possibly preparing for a run.

>> i think it was the right answer, frankly, she cannot be asked what is your biggest regret if she had not said benghazi, that would have been the story. let's remember that this happened on her watch. if she puts herself for election, part of what she's putting out is her record and the fact that she was the ceo of the state department. this happened under her responsibility, her jurisdiction, i don't think as hillary clinton, the last words that you want said on that is what difference does it make? >> that's certainly going to be an issue, if in fact she runs. do you read a lot -- a lot of people are looking when she said she had disagreements not only with president bush but with president obama as well. a lot of people are reading all sorts of things from that. she wants to distance herself from a president who's approval rates aren't high right now. >> she's clearly her own person. she ran against him, for god's sakes, so of course she's going to disagree with him at times. it underscores that she's the

consummate team player because, regardless of all she had during the campaign, she came together with him to help run the country and she did a fabulous job at it. >> by all accounts they did have a very excellent relationship. >> right now his numbers are under water and hillary clinton is a smart woman. what i thought was very interesting from this afternoon is that these remarks are usually off the record. they're usually not open for press. and it was her staff, according to reports, that pushed for the press to be allowed. so she is letting her voice be heard on some of these issues and most definitely, remember, hillary clinton has been in the washington now since 1992. part of the problem is people don't want washington establishment. so she's got to figure out a way to differentiate herself from washington today. >> let's talk a little bit about what senator rand paul said yesterday on "meet the press." because he was talking about the possibility of hillary clinton running and when his wife, senator paul's wife said in an

interview in "vogue" magazine, and then they were talking about this so-called war on women that democrats accused the republicans of engaging in. and this is what rand paul said. >> bosses shouldn't prey on young interns in their office, and i think really the media seems to be -- have given president clinton a pass on this. he took advantage of a girl that was 20 years old and an intern in his office. >> all of a sudden, the monica lewinsky affair is up there raised by rand paul. what did you make of that? >> two things. first of all, you know, what happened with monica lewinsky and bill clinton, frankly, i don't think can be blamed on hillary clinton. i think it's not her responsibility. you can't blame us when men can't control their libido. that being said, i think what it tells me and it should tell all of us is nothing is off limits when you are running for president and everything in her record, everything, whitewater, the monica lewinsky affair,

absolutely everything is going to be back and back up front. >> i think that's true, but i think it also tells me, wolf, this is an issue that, frankly, the country and the world has gotten over. bill clinton is incredibly popular. hillary clinton right now, before she jumps into the president ap campaign, if she does that, is incredibly popular. to me it says if rand paul, if this is the only thing that he's going to be able to talk about plus benghazi, then he's in a much weaker position than i think any are. >> fairness to senator paul, he didn't raise it. it was raised by the moderator david gregory. he was asking about what his wife said in "vogue" magazine. that is senator paul. >> they actually don't have a good response or he doesn't have a good response in terms of what republicans should do in the issues facing women. you have one in three women on the brink of poverty.

women making 77 cents to every dollar a man makes and the only thing they're doing is not wanting to support equal pay for equal worked a not talk about the real economic issues that face women. >> it tells me that senator rand paul has got some common sense. wolf, you're a married man backing up your wife is a smart thing to do because that's who you go back to every night. i think it's a big issue. >> if you're running for president. >> everything is on the table. >> expect all of that to come out. thanks very much for coming in. >> still ahead a military helicopter apparently shot down by militants using a surface-to-air missile. we'll show you the threat to hundreds of troops stationed nearby. plus why these images don't tell the real story. details of the extreme measures russia now taking to protect the olympic torch relay.

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there's truly some chilling new video of a deadly attack believed carried out by militants with attacks to al qaeda. disturbing images could have major implications for hundreds of american troops. brian todd is here. what's going on? >> the story behind this is the militant group which claimed responsibility for this attack likely picked up the shoulder-fired missile being used from moammar gadhafi's old stockpiles in libya. now those weapons are all over the sinai possibly in the hands of terrorists. and there's concern that u.s. military personnel could suffer the same fate as egyptian soldiers on board a helicopter shot down over the weekend.

the militant locks on his target and confidently fires. the missile streaks toward its target reportedly an egyptian military helicopter in the sinai region over the weekend. within seconds, just beyond that contrail, there's a puff of smoke. soon you see the aircraft on fire plummeting to the ground. the egyptian military says five soldiers were killed. the group which posted this video claimed responsibility. a u.s. official says the group has ties to al qaeda and, quote, is emerging as one of the most dangerous terrorist outfits in egypt. >> this person knew what he was doing. >> reporter: she says the missile used is a heat-seeking shoulder-fired missile that's a hot seller on the black market in the middle east. he believes that sa-7 and others like it came from libya. he was there during the libyan civil war and said he saw

militants looting them right before his eyes. it's a nightmare scenario. >> we're talking about the largest dissemination looting of weapons that we've ever seen. gadhafi acquired these weapons and they all disappeared. >> reporter: a major security concern. more than 600 u.s. military personnel are stationed in the sinai. they travel in helicopters. could they be targeted next? kaitlin lee says these shoulder missiles are portable, easy to hide. militants using them hit a cargo plane taking off from iraq in 2003 and tried but failed to hit an israeli passenger plane in kenya in 2002. as for those who could target u.s., egyptian and israeli forces from the sinai, how skilled was this operator? >> the battery only stays on for about 45 seconds. so the operator needs to be able to visually eye inquire the target and lock on and fire that

missile in under a minute, which does require practice and skill. >> american military helicopters are outfitted with countermeasures that could fend off those shoulder-fired missiles but commercial aircraft are not. with those having a range of 10 to 16,000 feet commercial aircraft taking off and landing are vulnerable. that's a nightmare on this side of the world an the middle east. >> those american soldiers, 600, 700, they've been there for about 30 years in the sinai, so potentially they're pretty vulnerable but they're staying put at least for now. the olympic torch is making its way to sochi for the winter games now less than two weeks away but the journey is unlike anything in olympic history with russian authorities taking extreme measures in the name of security. our senior international correspondent nick paton walsh is in dagestan. you were there as the torch passed through that troubled republic. what did you see?

>> reporter: when it passed without incident, wolf, but not short of the remarkable security laid out here. almost surreal sight. no crowds cheering it along. it arrived very much under secrecy at the airport, whisked to a stadium where the festivity happened under maximum security. in dagestan, this is the ticker tape parade for the rint winter olympic flame. these are the streets lined with cheering fans. a surreal chokehold of police where there should have been festivity monday as this is the heart of russia's islamist insurgency, the threats of sochi. no flag-waving children and no sight of the torch at all on its maximum security journey from the airport to the stadium. locals instead were herded on buss from the city by organizers who kept the whole party on lockdown on site here. the cheer from thousands, music loud enough to shake off the

cold and the deaths of hundreds each year in police raids, militant attacks and suicide bombings. and yes, that is the -- the torch here despite all of the security challenges, this shows you what much of the games is about for vladimir putin, showing their ability to hold them in the caucasus despite the threat that is here. this spectacle might be a million miles away from the volatile grind of life and corruption here but a message from the kremlin that russia is secure even if parts of it actually aren't and they won't flinch in the face of terror. next it goes to chechnya, where the fight against moscow is waged hardest. students bust in on message. >> translator: we're not worried because of the high level of security. >> reporter: then as quickly as the torch appeared, it vanished, headed west to sochi.

the kremlin desperate that none of southern russia's militants on poverty and injustice will follow the flame. it passed without incident. the huge security operation successfully stopping militants from tarnishing that parade. a similar ring of steel being put around sochi at the moment and the extent of the security just gives you an idea how concerned the russians are, how seriously they take the threat of insurgents here in dagestan. the simple question is will they be able to project the threat right across to the western side of russia where the winter games will be. >> nick paton walsh will be covering the lead-up to sochi. let's hope it stays quiet. he's osama bin laden's successor. ayman al zawahiri has been

increasing his profile. just days ago he apparently sent a message to militants inside syria urging all of them to unite against the regime of president bashar al assad. is amman al zawahiri hiding now? is ammyman al zawahiri in pakisn right now? >> i don't think so, but nobody knows where he is. >> if the u.s. found out that ayman al zawahiri is someplace in pakistan, would it be okay, from your perspective, for the u.s. to send in navy s.e.a.l.s and kill him? >> well, we would say that the intelligence they've shared with us, we'd do the same job. >> you would kill him? >> capture him alive. >> and then do what with him? >> a trial or whatever, but the fact is that our commitment to

dealing with terrorism in all the forms is very strong. >> aziz also says he believes al qaeda has been seriously weakened but efforts to wipe out the group he says must continue, we're going to post the full interview with mr. aziz, cnn.com/situationroom. just ahead, new developments in the scandal over the french president's other woman. the question now, who will he bring to the white house state dinner that's coming up in a few days? for over 18 years we've helped people take care of the things that matter most. join today. how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. i was trying to, like, pull it a little further. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing. it's hard to imagine how much we'll need for a retirement that could last 30 years or more. so maybe we need to approach things differently, if we want to be ready for a longer retirement.

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new questions about who, if anyone, french president francois hollande will bring here to washington for a state dinner next month. now that he's announced a split from his longtime partner and rumors swirling about an affair. here's cnn's eric mclaughlin. >> reporter: after more than two weeks of wondering are they on or are they off, now we know. president francois hollande has

broken off his nearly seven-year relationship with valerie trier wirl meaning her days as france's first lady are over. it made global headlines. his alleged infidelity with actress julie gayet. >> he believes that president or no president that each person has a right to a private life. >> reporter: trierweiler is now on the move, arriving in india on a humanitarian trip after a week where she went to a hospital for exhaustion. she said she's doing well, for people not to worry. this weekend she said good-bye to her staff at the elysee palace. saying all my grat feud go foss the extraordinary people. hours before announcing the breakup, hollande gave an

exclusive interview to "time" magazine. >> there we were on a saturday morning. there was no one around except for this one rather small physically president rattling around in his huge empty palace. >> reporter: as for gayet, well, she's keeping quiet, but suing the tabloid for invasion of privacy after it made public the details of her affair with hollande. the affair has clouded his trips to the netherlands and the vatican. he travels to turkey and his first visit to the white house is just days away. >> you kind of have to have your personal life sorted out or you will run the risk of getting eaten alive by the american media. >> reporter: erin mclaughlin, cnn, london. that's it for me. thanks for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." "crossfire" starts right now.