>> not even close. sarah palin didn't get it done this time. she's been the runaway number one e-mail generator. but today, it was all about gate, obama and the police department at. good evening, everybody. president obama retreating from his acertification that cambridge, massachusetts, acted stupidly when they arrested a harvard professor. president obama made no apologies. also, the centers for disease control now say all children in the united states should have a flu shot as the deadly swine flu outbreak is worsening. law enforcement agencies have lost an international manhunt after a u.s. border patrol agent was murdered in cold blood on our southern border. and three of the best political analysts in the country join me to discuss the

president's sinking poll number t delay in his health care plan and his clash with police. but first, the president today trying to defuse that controversy over the arrest of black harvard professor henry louis gates. president obama acknowledged he could have calibrated his words differently when he said the cambridge massachusetts police acted stupidly. president obama said he spoke with the officer who arrested gates, sergeant james crowley, and found him to be an outstanding officer. president obama, however, did not apologize to the sergeant nor to the cambridge police as police unions now demand. president obama also talked with professor gates. dan lothian has our report from the white house. >> reporter: it wasn't quite an apology, but president obama tried to put out a wildfire that was burning out of control, placing a five-minute phone call to sergeant james crowley. >> i obviously helped to contribute ratcheting it up.

i want to make clear that in my choice of words, i think i unfortunately gave an impression that i was maligning the cambridge police department or sergeant crowley specifically. and i could have calibrated those words simpdifferently. the cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. >> reporter: in his first sitdown television interview, crowley said he never wanted to take such drastic action. >> i was continually telling him to calm down. nonetheless, that's how far professor gate pushed it and provoked and wouldn't stop. >> reporter: the president now concedes that his good friend, henry louis gates, jr., also played a role in how all this

played out. >> there was an overreaction in pulling professor gates out of his home to the station. i also continue to believe based on what i heard that professor gates probably overreacted as well. >> reporter: this came just hours after a group of police officers in massachusetts made it clear what they wanted to hear from president obama. >> i think when the time is right, they should make an apology to us. i think the president should make an apology to all law enforcement personnel throughout the country. >> reporter: the president admit that had this controversy was taking attention away from his top domestic priority, health care reform. mr. obama said he hopes this becomes a teachable moment. >> where all of us instead of pumping up the volume, spend a little more time listening to each other and try to focus on how we can generally improve

relations between police officers and minority communities. >> reporter: the white house says the president did make a phone call to professor gates, that it was a positive discussion and that he invited him here to the white house to meet with sergeant crowley at some point in the future. i should point out, lou, that earlier in the day when the president did also speak with sergeant crowley on the phone, they all discussed object how they could get together here at the white house and have a beer. >> dan, the president referring to a teachable moment. when it seems clear that it was a moment in which the president, at least as he expressed himself today, is the one who needs to learn. >> reporter: perhaps this could be a teachable moment for the president as well. those officers who came to the microphones this morning said the president did a couple of things. first of all, they thought that when he used the word stupidly that that was the wrong word to use. but they felt when he started out those comments the other night by saying he did not have all the fact, the next thing he should have said is, i have no

comment. >> dan, thank you very much. we'll see whether or not the lesson holds. the black police officer who was with sergeant crowley at the home of professor henry louis gates strongly, strongly defended his colleague. sergeant leon lashley says he fully supports sergeant crowley's actions. when he spoke with our don lemon in an exclusive interview -- >> every time we get into a situation, we are subject to being second-guessed as to why we did something, should we have done something differently? coming after the scene, you can always say, we could have done something better. we could have done it this way. but right there on the spot, that's what happened and from what i've seen and i was there, he did nothing wrong. >> sergeant lashley said he supports sergeant ycrowley 100%. don lemon will join us later

with the broadcast with a lot more on this controversy. the white house declared president obama will continue to promote his health care plan despite the decision to delay a vote until at the errol lest this fall. meanwhile, there are new indications the house of representatives is struggling to pass any kind of health care legislation. white house chief of staff, rahm emanuel, however, says he's confident the house will pass legislation before august 1st. he told national public radio that house leaders have declared they will have a vote next week. the showdown over health care, one reason the president's poll numbers are sinking. another reason is rising concern about the economy, a worsening unemployment rate. bill schneider has our report. what do you make of the president's descent to below 50% in two polls as of today? >> reporter: suddenly the president finds himself being challenged by republicans and some democrats. his approval rating has dropped.

in june, our polls show the president with a job approval rating of 62%. and now, mid month it was 56%. we also have a poll of polls on the president's handling of health care. 47% approve of the way he's handling health care. that's nearly 10 points lower than his overall rating. the president is more popular than his policy, which explains why he's spending so much time making his case. what about the president's statement when he said this on monday -- >> this isn't about me. this isn't about politics. this is about a health care system that is breaking america's families, breaking america's businesses and breaking america's economy. and we can't afford the politics of delay and defeat when it comes to health care. >> reporter: but it is about him. he's got to know the best chance he has of passing health care reform is to make it about him. the public is not sure about the policy. but they do not want to bring

the president down. and the more he's likely to win -- he claims we have to act now because the country's been waiting for health care reform for decades. here's a gallup poll just out today. a total of 71% of americans want congress to pass health care reform. but 41% demand it be done this year. after waiting for decades, a lot of americans think they can wait a little longer and get it right. the urgency is being driven by politics. the first year in office is when a president is best positioned to get things done, like health care. lou, a president's job approval number is the dow jones industrial average of washington. when it's high, he has clout. when his numbers drop, he loses power. and the decline in his ratings are a message. he better act now before it's too late. >> he is only now in these two polls, the zagby interactive

poll, the rasmussen reports poll n those two polls 48% and 49%. he's only 7 or 8 points above bill clinton in the midst of his descent in 1993. >> reporter: and that's certainly a warning because everyone knows what happened to them, his party, as well as to president clinton in the first two years because of health care reform. and democrats might say, we don't want the same thing to happen to us and this president and they want to show a record of achievement. that could lead some democrats to support the president. americans still want health care reform, but the urgency is not as great as the congress and the president are making out. they want to get it right. >> they want to get it right. the president said he's now, quote, unquote, okay with a delay. yet we are a country that he himself acknowledged -- a government that he himself acknowledges that is out of money, a $2 trillion -- think

about this -- a $2 trillion federal budget deficit this year. there is no way in the world that any further expense can be justified for any program. >> reporter: well, that's why he's making the argument so strongly that this is a way to bring the deficit down. he says he's not going to sign anything that increases the deficit. the congressional budget office says that's exactly what the congressional plan being considered will do. so the president is demanding that it be deficit neutral. >> the clash that -- and the controversy that he created with his statement that the cambridge police acted stupidly, that appears to be a negative for the president. would it be likely in your judgment and with your experience and insight to further put pressure on his poll numbers? >> reporter: most people probably believe that it was a rash thing for the president to say. i'm not sure that counts nearly as much as important issues like the economy, the health care

plan, the real substancive pressures americans feel they're under right now. and he also says he was a friend of gates. that may give some people a reason to make allowances. >> thanks, bill schneider. in other news tonight, the ousted leftist president of honduras, manuel zelzelaya, arrd at the border of honduras. zelaya is a close ally of president hugo chavez of venezuela. he was surrounded by photographers and reporters. but he didn't go any farther. he said out of the respect of the principals of the honduran military which threatened to arrest him if he did set foot in honduras. secretary of state hillary clinton called zelaya's actions reckless. still to come, much more on the president's role in the showdown over the arrest of a black harvard professor by

cambridge police. also tonight, more than 100 million americans could contract the deadly swine flu virus over the next two years. and new information into the investigation into the murder of a u.s. border patrol agent on our border with mexico. nounceit. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating. that's me! can i tell you what a difference phillips' colon health has made? it's the probiotics. the good bacteria. that gets your colon back in balance. i'm good to go! phillips' colon health. airways open... to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid.

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. joining me now for more over the controversy over the arrest of the harvard professor, tracy jan, she's been following the story. good to have you with us. >> thanks for having me. >> the president today talked about -- he refer today a conversation with sergeant james crowley. he referred to a conversation with professor gates. what do you know about either of those conversations? >> i know he invited them to the white house for beer and hashed things out. i think both men were amenable to that. sergeant crowley said that. he had a really good conversation with the president. it was nice to hear from him. it's gone a long way towards

making amends with the police as a whole. professor gates sent me a message a few minutes ago. he said he was very pleased also to hear from the president and is agreeable to meeting with crowley. he said he suggested that first earlier this week and said it's time to move on. >> it's time to move on, but yet this began with a joint statement from both professor gates and the cambridge police department. and the next thing that happened was professor gates lashing out, if you will. >> that's right. professor gates basically had said the police report that was issued was wrong. and he gave his version of the story, which previously had not been aired. so i feel like that's why he had -- he said what he said. >> the police association demanded an apology from the president. do you think that demand is still in place? >> i don't think so.

i actually -- one of the police union leaders spoke with us earlier today. and he said that the president's call, again, to sergeant crowley had gone a long way towards mending that feeling. so i think they're ready to move on as well. >> what is the general reaction in the community, particularly in cambridge, if not boston proper, to this controversy and the assertion by the president saying that the cambridge, massachusetts, police department acted stupidly? >> right. i think some residents are very defensive of the cambridge police department. we have talked to some who say they have had good interaction with them. i believe the feelings are somewhat split along racial lines. some do have problems with their interactions with police in general, not saying cambridge specifically. but they have talked to us about previously being profiled and they're happy this brought it to light on a national, worldwide

level, brought this conversation to such a high profile. >> would you consider this to be an instance of racial profiling? >> i cannot say that. i wasn't there myself. i'm not going to make -- go ahead. >> i'm just saying, based on what we know from both individuals, the fact that a neighbor called in a complaint that possibly a home was being broken into and the police responded, what is the basis for any claim that it's racial profiling? >> well, from the professor's previous statements, i think there are people that do think that there was. but other folks have called us and strongly defended sergeant crowley and saying he was doing what a policeman is supposed to be, responding to a call. and it escalated from his interaction with the professor. >> thank you very much. i'm going to have a few thoughts about the gates case and a number of other issues. so please join me on the radio monday through friday for the lou dobbs show.

also, you can follow me on lou dobbs news on twitter.com. still ahead, much more on the firestorm over the president's comments about the cambridge police department. the president now saying he wishes he had recalibrated some words. >> i unfortunately gave an impression that i was maligning the cambridge police department or sergeant crowley specifically. >> what's next and why world health organizations are underreporting swine flu cases even as the number of cases rise and rise dramatically. that special report is next. to stay on top of my game after 50, i switched to a complete multivitamin with more. only one a day men's 50+ advantage... has gingko for memory and concentration. plus support for heart health. that's a great call. one a day men's.

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a major let us grower in california has recalled 22,000 cartons of lettuce because it may be contaminated with salmonella. it was sold all across the united states, canada and puerto rico under the brand tanimura and antle. so far, no illnesses have been

reported. the company hez lsays lettuce bt after july 23rd is okay to eat. the swine flu has spread to almost every country in the world and the number of victims could reach 2 billion. that's 2 billion. but the w.h.o. has stopped asking countries to report swine flu now. they say it's nearly impossible to keep track of the statistics. among those most vulnerable to this virus, of course, are children. kitty pilgrim has our report. >> reporter: the u.s. centers for disease control estimates up to 40% of americans could contract swine flu over the next two years and several hundred thousand could die if vaccines are not successful. the cdc today said all u.s. children from age six months to 18 years should get a seasonal flu vaccine every year. but that vaccine will not prevent swine flu. >> this is definitely a challenge for us.

we are in a race against time because we are preparing for the fall and the fall is almost around the corner. >> reporter: in brevard county, florida, several summer camps have reported swine flu outbreaks. debby thompson of florida is the mother of an 11-year-old camper who's come down with swine flu. >> the coughs turned into fever of 102, and then with nausea and great fatigue. >> reporter: the brevard county health department are on the watch for more outbreaks. >> it usually hits suddenly. you have a cough, fatigue, that sort of thing. >> reporter: u.s. health officials admit they're trying to find the magic vaccine against swine flu. >> trying to find out whether the standard dose given once or twice versus a higher dose given once or twice gives you the level of a response that you know is predictive of protection. once we find that out, then we'll know what to administer to

the people when the decision is made to administer it. >> reporter: u.s. tests on swine flu vaccine are expected to start shortly. and the estimate is more than 100,000 doses will be available by mid fall. until then, the cdc advises people to get vaccinated for the seasonal flu. medical experts have told us pretty much any flu case in the summer season is swine flu. they expect the seasonal flu to begin again in the fall and in the united states sometime in september. last week, the world health organization said countries should absolutely stop counting, reporting swine flu cases. it's simply impossible to keep track of it at this point, lou. >> i have to say that sounds like nonsense. because they have been asking for reporting throughout. it sounds, frankly, bizarre to say, quit counting because we can't count. >> if you recall the world health organization back in the spring was very clowe to declare a global pandemic and came under a lot of pressure to do that. >> saying 2 billion people --

>> right. they seem to not have a handle on exactly -- >> what are the doctors saying about this business of not reporting the flu? let's say it clearly i. sounds like they're trying to avoid a public alarm, but in so doing are creating a lot of questions. >> the test kits doctors have in their offices basically will test for a flu. but it will not be able to differentiate between the two different flus. they have to send that sample out and they're not doing this at this point. >> any reason on the part of the doctors? what do they think? >> they just assume it's swine flu at this point. up next here, the president's health care plan is in trouble on capitol hill. it could be a defining moment for his agenda. and president obama tries to defuse the controversy which he, in part, xexasperated. one of the police officers at the scene strongly defending his colleague. >> i said, oh, here we go again,

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president obama today trying to defuse a controversy to which he contributed, perhaps unintentionally, over the arrest of harvard professor henry louis gates. the president telephoned

cambridge, massachusetts, sergeant police chief james crowley. he also contacted gates. one person we haven't heard from until now is the police sergeant who was also at the scene and who is black. don lemon talked exclusively with sergeant leon lashley. don joins us now from cambridge, massachusetts. don? >> reporter: hello. good evening to you, lou. i want to start with breaking news just in to cnn. i just reached out to professor henry louis gates through e-mail and i asked him, i said, are you okay with all of this, meaning the president speaking out today? and he said, yes, i was very pleased the president called me today and pleased that he propose i meet with sergeant crowley at the white house since i offered to meet with him since last monday. i'm eager for this to be used as a teaching moment to improve racial relations in america. this is certainly not about me. moments after that, i got a phone call from his attorney,

charles ogletree who responded this way when i said, are you okay with this? and what would you like to say? and he said to me, he goes, i applaud the president's intervention and i look forward to working this out with all parties amicably. i said, are you going to sue? he said, it depends on the response from everyone involved and as how he will proceed in all of this. as you mentioned, lou, i did speak with one of the guys who was there at the press conference today and one of the guys who was there when this all went down, a black sergeant who's been on the force for 26 years. he strongly stood by his colleague and he also talked about what went down that day and some of the disturbing things he claims he witnessed while this was all going down. when you were at the scene, what did you hear him say? >> i heard it coming -- this is how a black man -- very loud, very loud, this is how a black man is treated in america. a white woman calls the police

and gets arrested for breaking into his own home. >> reporter: does that disturb you to hear those words? >> it really does. >> reporter: what did you think at that moment? >> i thought, here we go okay. somebody's putting out the race card saying this is going to be an issue. >> reporter: and that was after the president spoke and the president called and spoke with sergeant james crowley. that sergeant's name is leon lashley. he was there when the president called, lou, and he said when sergeant crowley said, hey, the president is on the phone, nobody believed him. they thought he was joking. then they realized it was true and they said they were happy after that that the president spoke out and they hope some good comes to this and they hope to go to the white house and sit down and talk it out. >> it's a remarkable controversy. did you sense any bad feelings toward president obama for his remarks, because the police

association, the police unions have called for an outright apology? what is the emotional sense that you have of what is happening with the cambridge police department right now? >> reporter: lou, there were absolutely some bad feelings. when i got here yesterday, you could feel it. the tension was in the air. the police commissioner told me that morale was very low. when i spoke to these guys today before the president called, they thought it was a rush to judgment and he should have waited for all the facts. one of the black police officer, a woman police officer, her name is kelly king, she said, i supported the president. i voted for him but i don't support him and i won't vote for him now. i think they may be reconsidering this because they feel that at least now there may be some resolution in all of this. yes, there were bad feelings towards the president. and they said, not only the president they feel in those initial remarks did he single out the sergeant, the officers here but police officers all across the country, lou?

>> don, thank you very much, don lemon. appreciate it. this controversy is the subject of our face-off debate. gentlemen, great to have you with us. let me start with you, andrew, it sounds like the president who i don't think anyone would argue misspoke. let's keep it as gentle as we can, misspoke. but it sounds like he's trying to reconcile a mess to which he acknowledges today that he contributed to. that's a positive, isn't it? >> kind of shocked that a guy with such great or toir skills being a congressional law professors wouldn't claim innocent until proven guilty. there's not enough for the president to deal with that he had to step into this one? >> joe madison, your thoughts? the president today

acknowledging -- he said it interestingly. he continues to believe that professor gates did not effectively behave well. i didn't hear him say that the first time. did you? >> no. he didn't say it the first time. he clarified it, i think, in cleveland. but i think your notes will show when i talk to your produce earlier today, even before the president went into the press room, that this is a learning moment. the president clearly blew it. gates probably overreacted. i may have done the same if i had a code and had gotten off a long flight from china. i think, for example, when i looked at the law in massachusetts, the police really would not have had a case if he -- if they had not dropped the case on disorderly conduct because according to a '76

decision, no matter how verbally abusive a person might be, you cannot find them guilty of disorderly conduct. so all the way around, three people made mistakes. and the one thing i do applaud the president, is that he now has come forth and says, let's defuse it. so the question is, where do we go as a people, as a country from here. and don't let this one incident -- and i'll conclude with this, absolve the problem of racial profiling nationwide. >> yeah, joe's just gone to an issue that is difficult here because on its face, andrew, is this racial profiling and what debt do we owe the president of the united states for there being a very close national

media examination of the events that happened in cambridge, massachusetts? >> we hear the democrats saying that the stimulus money is going to keep cops on the streets during election day. they kaubd cops this and cops that. and his immediate reaction is to throw the cops under the bus. we elected the first black president. the naacp is passing climate change resolutions. for some people, they're never going to get -- as long as there is money and attention and votes invested in race baiting, the race baiting is going to continue. this seems to be the natural instinct of a community organizer that, well, it's got to be the cops, got to be the cops, they acted stupidly. i don't know what really happened but i know the cops are the bad guys here. >> well, i am one who has been profiled probably more times than you have, andrew, and so has my son. and the point i'm making is that we're not baiting anybody.

what we're asking is that we stop the profiling -- >> wait a second. you're shouting -- >> i didn't interrupt you. >> okay, yes, sir. >> and with all due respect, i'm not suggesting that this was profiling. what i am suggesting is that two grown men probably got overanxious and excited at each other and neither could find the way to step back. and i think that's really what happened here, and i applaud the president for trying to defuse it. and that's what we've got to do -- >> why did he get involved in the first place? why was the president of the united states even involved in the first place? >> because he was -- look, because he was asked a direct question. and i agree. and the president obviously went back the next day in the oval office and said, uh-oh, i didn't use the right words. but, you know, if he had been asked the question about

afghanistan or a question about something else and if he didn't answer it directly, we would have criticized him for avoiding it. so you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. >> afghanistan is not a question of innocent until proven guilty. he could have clearly said, that's for the mayor of cambridge to deal with or if police chief of cambridge to deal with. there was no reason for him to step into this. this has nothing to do with the president of the united states. for him to admit he doesn't know and then lay guilt at the feet of a police officer, to me, seems ridiculous for a constitutional law professor. >> then neither should accept an invitation to the white house. >> i don't understand how that follow, joe. >> what i'm trying to say, if andrew is saying, he shouldn't get in it, maybe the president should come back on and say, i saw andrew on lou dobbs' show, and he's right, i should stay out of it. i'm sorry i invited them to the

white house. he's trying to defuse a debate -- and quite honestly we know in part for political purpose sos we can start talking about health care. >> i'm not sure he wants us talking about health care either. >> i'll talk about health care. >> let's stick with this, if we may. he talked about a teachable experience, which to me, frankly, sounds like an arrogant piece of condesensational. it was a teachable moment for professor gates who was arrogant with a police officer and for sergeant crowley who teaching as he does racial profiling with a tremendous record and as you articulated it, joe, couldn't p find a way out of this mess. so those are the teachable moments. for the nation, it should be --

i'm sorry, go ahead. >> the only reason i'm interrupting -- >> by the way, you're interrupting me as you shamed andrew for doing. say you're sorry. >> oh, you go ahead. we don't know when i interviewed professor gates -- i'll take him for his word like you are taking the police officer for his word -- professor gates told my audience that sergeant crowley was arrogant and that's what started it. >> by the way, however you want to characterize sergeant crowley, what i didn't take one person's word over the other. what i did listen to was telling us here on cnn that sergeant crowley was a rogue officer, which on its face is not borne out by the eyewitnesses there, including a black sergeant who was there at the house, nor a hispanic officer who was there at the house at the same time. but i want to say this, andrew, i'm delighted to spend some time with you. joe, i'm delight today spend

more time with you. even if you interrupt me. thank you -- don't interrupt you. >> we share the responsibility. >> kidding. joe, andrew, thank you both for being here. up next, more gates arrest controversy. and the battle of congress over health care. is it failing health care? we'll be talking about that with three of the country's best political thinkers. and a u.s. border patrol agent has shot and killed, murdered on patrol protecting the people and the border of the united states. i don't have to worryve, about my knees hurting. only two aleve can stop pain all day. that would take three times as many tylenol arthritis pain. aleve works for me.

joining me now, three of my

favorite political analyst, errol lewis. mark halperin. and ron christie. thank you all for being here. let me start with you, ron. the president seems to be bringing a teachable moment out of what was a controversy up until about an hour ago -- or is it in fact a controversy that will continue beyond the teachable moment, so call it? >> i think this is going to be a story that's going to live on for a little while. i think in the short term, it's going to die down. but for the first time, people have looked at president obama and the teflon seems to be a little bit removed from him. i think the president was very arrogant in the way he said the police department acted stupidly. the first thing you learn in law school is never assume the fact's not in evidence. the president made an assumption. he shouldn't have done it. >> he knew better than that. he said he didn't know the facts. here's the judgment. >> the last thing i would say is for a president who can't pay to

be postracial and he wanted to move beyond race, he immediately jumped in and said, oh, i have an opinion here. i think it's going to follow him. >> errol? >> a mistake, i think, no doubt as he himself acknowledged. i would have loved to have been there in the briefing room -- >> in the room before -- >> yeah. well, apparently he realized he made a serious mistake and the distraction of it, really, was almost crippling in a way. we're not talking about the previous hour that precede that had remark where he was laying out his hopes and agenda and rationale for health care reform. >> how was this day any different from any previous day in that respect? >> if he can get himself back on track, he'll have a chance at his health care reform. he cannot be the explainer in chief on race. that's been clear all along. >> he confirmed it this week. >> indeed. >> mark?

>> it's a teachable moment and the person who's going to learn the first lesson if he's lucky is the president because he cannot do all the things ron said. he cannot wade into an issue when he admits he doesn't know the fact, whether it involves race or not. this is a huge distraction for them. it will continue into next week. this president does not like what i call the freak show. he does not like the talk show, 24-hour cable dynamic. >> tell me about it. >> he likes to say he can rise above it and he often does. this was a case, between this morning and the afternoon when the president talked about it, when the president had to realize, you can't always transcend it. sometimes you have to give. and that's what he did. i think it probably dies unless there are new facts by early next week. >> dying along with it, ron, his health care initiative, which, by the way, the national media, much of it liberal, styles his reform, which last i looked, was

a positive and supportive description rather than an objective and neutral word. >> sure. i think the president's health care initiative is on major life support right now. the president's campaigned to the american people and said, we're going to have a bill that is not going to raise the deficit by one penny. the congressional budget office has proven that's not true. the president said he was very much for reforming the system but the bill making its way through congress right now has very little in the way of systematic and structural reform, doesn't reduce the cost of the health care delivery system and doesn't ensure all american, which he said was his goal. he's in deep trouble. >> one thing about the current situation, you have a detailed critique of a nonexistent bill. >> why are they trying to pass a nonexistent bill? >> the real dynamic here is he wants something passed before the end of the year. but really what that means, not so much the calendar year, but the midterm election season when it heats up in earnest will be very difficult to get anybody to

take any chances. i've been saying, i don't know other people, i've been saying all along. what he doesn't get in the way of major reform on climate, on health care, what he doesn't get before the 2010 elections heat up, he very possibly won't get at all. 2011 signals the re-election season. >> there's two parts. the inside game, congress, and the outside game of public opinion. in the press conference, he did not make progress, as best i could tell, with either of those two audit dens. he's got to get past the point by saying, i don't like this provision or that provision. he's got to say, this is what i'm for, can we pass this? >> for the first time, two polls today, that is, zogby's interactive poll and razz mussen reports poll, shows the president's approval rating below 50%. with the incident in -- with the cambridge police department, he's facing some interesting head winds, i think is the

expression. >> i don't think those polls have him at the right place. i think he's higher. but the trend is down. he's going to have to succeed, i think, again, first in washington in the inside game to get public opinion back up. i don't think he can rally public opinion right now from a standing start. >> i think the president's numbers are going down because he's so personally involved himself in the health care debate. he's made this health care issue about him. people always like the president for his outstanding personality for what they perceive. now they're looking at the president in a policy issue. and they don't like it. >> he's put out the call to obama supporters to get a million names on a petition and putting pressure the way reagan used to do on congress. that will -- the word is he's going into anybody's district he needs to. the battle hasn't really yet been joined on this. but he's going to have to whip his own party into line. >> we'll see what happens starting, well, about monday, i guess.

thanks very much. up next, important new information about murder of a u.s. border patrol agent, murdered while protecting our border with mexico. p me breather all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announheetry d itt a std. ceit ky airwen. keeps my airways open... to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid.

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a u.s. border patrol agent was murdered last night while protecting the people and the border of the united states. border patrol agent robert rosas is the first agent to be killed in the line of duty this year. the shooting took place in a remote mountain area in san diego county which is, of course, right on the border. casey wian has the report from campo, california. >> reporter: about a mile over this hill is the united states border with mexico. it was here that border parole

agent robert rosas was shot several times and killed thursday night while pursuing a group of suspected drug smugglers or suspected illegal immigrants. >> approximately 9:00 in the east border area, campo area, border patrol agent robert rosas was murdered by assailants at the international border. >> reporter: they would not allow us closer to the scene of the shooting because federal and local law enforcement agents were still investigating. >> they were tracking a group. the group broke up. so, the agents broke up to follow them. they lost contact with them, and unfortunately by the time they found him, he had suffered from some -- from multiple gunshot wounds, and i believe he was pronounced dead on the scene. >> reporter: border patrol sources tell "lou dobbs tonight" the suspected shooter or shooters fled across the border. u.s. officials have requested

and are receiving assistance from the mexican government. a cross-border manhunt has so far yielded no suspects. the fbi said they have evidence one of the suspects was bleeding and wounded. >> we'd also like to seek the public's assistance for any information that individuals may have that would be helpful to the investigation and bringing those to justice who are responsible. >> reporter: homeland security secretary janet na poll tani issued a statement saying -- agent robert rosas was 30 years old. a three-year veteran of the border patrol. he leaves behind a wife and two infant children. he's the first border patrol agent killed this year and the 40th since 1989. the fbi is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those

responsible for the murder of agent rosas. lou? >> casey, thank you very much. casey wian reporting from campo, california. up at the top of the hour, rick sanchez sitting in for campbell brown. tell us all about it. >> always good to see you. we'll have the story about what's going on with professor gates and what the president said and probably wishes he hasn't said. have you seen this picture? it came out the other day and it shows professor gates there, but as it pans out, you see that officer right there, that african-american officer? a lot of people were wondering, i wonder what he saw. i wonder what his reaction is. i wonder what story he would tell. well, we've got a story tonight and you'll be hearing it. then there's this story, the 74-year-old minister who has really just done some things that are just beyond the pale, lou, this guy has said it's okay with him if he has -- sleeps with 8-year-olds. i mean, this is -- this is -- i had an interview with him, and unlike you, who's always so

incredibly kind to me, the conversations between you and i are always genuine, this guy yells at me. he calls me the anti-christ. i mean, he goes on and on. you've got to hear this. it's my interview with tony alamb mow and it's kind of a head turner. lou, back to you. >> rick, what do you call him? >> what do i call him? >> besides sick? >> i would -- i would call him convicted and probably spending the recht of his life in prison, because that's what a jury decided today. >> rick, thanks a lot. >> all right, my friend. our salute to our men and women in uniform is next here.

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tonight, in "heroes," we honor army special kyle dunny gan. specialist dunnagan rescued two of his fellow wounded soldiers while under enemy fire. he was awarded the bronze star. brooke baldwin has his story. ♪ >> reporter: specialist kyle dunnigan 1st brigade combat team, 82nd airborne division. >> we learn how to lead pts, instruct it, like the walk each other through the different exercises. >> reporter: he is in leadership training, the warrior leaders course, his first step in becoming a noncommissioned officer in the u.s. army. nearly one year ago, he returned from his first deployment as a combat medic. >> we were in southern iraq, going off to baghdad, running logistical convoys. so, we moved food, moved water, moved fuel, building materials.

>> reporter: in august of 2007, two months into his tour, insurgents attacked one of his convoys. >> we were -- had just delivered one of our logistical convoys up to a base called balad. >> reporter: a convoy of 50 military and contracted civilian vehicles. >> i mean, you never see it coming. sometimes you have no idea. out of nowhere, you know, an attack kicks off. the insurgents conducting a conflict attack on our convoy. >> reporter: the trucks were stopped at a highway overpass and exposed to enemy fire. >> i was riding with the lieutenant at the time. so, we -- we moved to the front of the convoy to try to figure out what was going on. >> reporter: two vehicles were hit. one by a roadside bomb. the other by an explosively formed projectile. >> there was two wounded in action, and then there was the one kia that was dead before i got there. >> reporter: under small-arms fire, dunigan treated his wounded