used to drag around -- >> i told her to keep the leg, because when i get done with her legally in court, she's not going to have another leg to stand on. >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> 2.5 million have voted for the cnn national report card. i'll be back with coverage in one hour. let's go to the lou. good evening, everybody. president obama's pole numbers are plunging after 200 days in office. his critics say the president has lost control of his agenda. we'll have complete coverage for you. three top political analysts will be here. also, the showdown over the president's health care plan is turning nasty. the democratic national committee saying republicans have called out the mob. a leading republican senator accuseless the white house of compiling an enemy's list. and rising anger after a federal judge has ordered the state of california to free tens of thousands of prisoners, almost one-third of the state's prison

population. we'll have that special report. but first, 200 days into his presidency, barack obama faces a major test of leadership. the president's approval ratings are plunging. and his agenda is in trouble. a new cnn research corporation poll shows only 51% of americans now consider the obama administration to be a success. that compares with a figure of 56% for president george w. bush at the very same point in his presidency. president obama faces powerful opposition to his health care plan. anger about the prospect of higher taxes and rising skepticism about his economic policies. candy crowley has our report. >> reporter: the president's approval rating has been dropping since april, but the 56% he has now is a lot of political capital. but, of course, nothing to count on. at the same point in his administration, former president george bush had a 55% approval

rating. thick transit poll numbers. it's been a busy 200 days for the new president. main with a lot on his plate in the march of history in his sight. >> i know there's some who believe we can only handle one challenge at a time. they forget that lincoln helped lay down the transcontinental railroad and passioned the home stead act and created the national academy of sciences in the midst of civil war. >> reporter: still, the president seems too busy for the vast majority of americans. asked if he's tried to handle more tharn he should, kind of% said yes in the new poll. and the new president's overall approval rating were higher than those of his policies. as the u.s. effort in afghanistan builds up, support for the war has hit a new low. only 41% of americans say they favor the war, and the numbers turned politics on its head. three of every four democrats oppose the war. two-thirds of republicans support it.

also, 200 days in, three quarters of the american public remain sour on the economy, rating it somewhat to very poor. >> just a few months ago, folks thought that these factories might be closed for good. but now they're coming back to life. you're welcome. thank the american people. >> reporter: hope springs eternal out there. 55% of americans believe that the president's economic policies either have or will make the economy better. and other good news for the president, despite the sorry state of the economy, most americans don't blame him. in fact, by a margin of 2 to 1, americans blame republicans over democrats. but it looks as though the president does have some time to fix what hasn't been fixed. >> eight years of republicans, six of them in control of the congreas well as the white house versus six months. doesn't seem unreasonable. >> no, i think he's got a string

there he can play out for sure. >> that is a fascinating number, though. three fourths of all democrats oppose the war in afghanistan, while two thirdings of republicans support it. >> totally 81 inside down. if you look at historically how the roles of the parties are seen in terms of fourreign affas with republican if you buy into being more muscular, it makes sense. nonetheless, here's a president who campaigned and said, the war we ought to be fighting is in afghanistan and then finds that three quarters of the opposition to his policy -- >> his party. >> his own party. so it's not just the left or the right. it's everybody. >> thanks very much. appreciate it, candy. candy crowley. the fight over the president's health care proposal is at the center of the an increasingly bitter fight between democrats and republicans. the democratic national committee is what calls right-wing extremist republicans

are back. meanwhile, republican senator john cornyn accuses the white house of trying create an enemy's list of its critics. ed henry has a report of the escalating showdown. >> reporter: the biggest obstacle to the president getting a win on health care reform is finding a way to pay for it when christina romer was asked if there's any wiggle room on mr. obama's promise not to raise taxes on the middle class. >> can i go now? >> reporter: but it's no laughing matter after two top officials recently left the door open on taxes. so roemer tried to slam it shut. >> obviously, no one is talking about raising taxes. >> reporter: the second biggest obstacle, trying to win over a few for bipartisanship. that's why mr. obama hosted a gang of few senators for a closed party in the white house. and it signals if republicans do

not get on board, the president will ram legislation through the senate without them, by using an obscure maneuver known as reconciliation. >> with those, we want to see health care reform. >> reporter: the third big obstacle, countering allegations the white house is using the official website to crush decent. by asking reporters about the health care debate. with republicans like cornyn involved. >> all we're asking people to do, if they're confused about what health care reform is going to mean to them, we are happy to help clear that up for you. nobody's keeping anybody's names. >> now, robert gates has said the white house will not save any names or e-mail addresses from information they get about any of the president's critics and that their sole goal here is to push back and debunk what they call myths about the health

care reform, lou. >> at this point, are they thinking about withdrawing that idea which has obviously just fueled extraordinary energy on the part of the republicans? >> no they're standing behind it. i mean, that was initially something, a message, basically, they put on the white house blog, saying, look, if you see something fishy, send it into the white house. we'll try to do what they're calling a truth squad. something they did on the campaign, pushing back on allegations on candidate obama and using the same strategy inside the white house here. >> is there any sense, perhaps given the reaction of senator cornyn and others, to this idea that they may have given the republicans just exactly the kind of advantage that they need not provide? >> well, we'll see whether or not this becomes -- you know, if there's a huge backlash against it. i can tell you from the initial reaction of the white house, they're not going to let one republican senator here and john

cornyn who runs a republican senatorial committee that's trying to elect more republicans and maybe make a political issue out of this, they're not going to let him dictate what they put on a blog. nonetheless, as you point out there's a lot of accusations flying around in this whole debate. and the white house has enough road blocks to deal with even in their own party. so having a distraction like this in the long run may not be very helpful. >> thank you very much. ed henry from the white house. well, you can join the debate on how the obama administration and this congress are doing. go to cnn.com to cast your vote on how the president and congress are handling the economy, health care, a number of other important gnanational issues. then you can see it later on the cnn national report card, the second 100 days. the senate confirmed president obama's nominee to the supreme, sonia sotomayor will be now be the next justice to the

u.s. supreme court. the senators voting to confirm her 68-31. nine republicans among the senators supporting her. most republicans, however, remain concerned that she will be a judicial activist. sotomayor will be sworn in saturday by chief justice john roberts. up next, california ordered to release tens of house to of prisoners. we'll have a special report on a league and political showdown. we'll be examining the health care system of the united kingdom, as we ask the questions no one else on television is addressing in the fight over the president's health care proposals. others buy the car of their dreams. during the lexus golden opportunity sales event, you can do both. it's an opportunity today. it's a lexus forever.

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all week, we've been reporting on the health care systems in this country and some that short part of the national debate. one question, certainly, just how fast are health care costs rising and why? from 2000 to 2007, health care spending in the united states, rose almost 4% per capita. the same rate as other developed nations. another key question, just who bears the burden of health care costs in the united states? the federal government pays for 45% of all health care costs. that's far less than every developed nation in the world, except mexico, which also covers 45%. private insurance accounts for just about 35% of health care in this country, far more than any other nation. the united states, canada and france are the only country where private insurance accounts for more than 10% of spending on health care. the united kingdom offers

universal health care coverage through it's national health service. the program is publicly funded but the public some happy with that system. britain's system requires fundamental change. kitty pilgrim has our report. >> reporter: go to a doctor in britain, you won't have to pay when you leave. it's the same at the hospital. all health services are publicly funsed by the national health service, funded by taxes. for that reason, a survey revealed only 2% of people in the uk who had a medical problem did not seek treatment because of costs. peter pitts in the center for medicine in public interest, a nonpartisan research group says the upside is limited coverage. >> mediocre care for everybody. >> reporter: the british government sets the budget. it's charged with determining what will or will not be paid for.

critics you can out 0 that drug treatment for alzheimer's, cancer and other certain conditions are not included on a list of agencies will allow for reimbursement. peter pitts says it's a system that has real shortcomings. >> you can either accept the one side, which is really terrific if you're not sick or very sick. but once you have cancer or -- there's lots of diseases. and you will need cutting-edge medicine that system is not equipped to provide you. >> reporter: other comparisons to the united states, the uk has now a life expectancy of 77 years, versus the u.s. of 75. the uk spends a lot less per capita on health care, $2,299 per year, versus $7,290 in the u.s. and the 8.4% of gdp versus 6 ps in the u.s.

now, a 2007 study found that 50% in the uk said the system need a significant overhaul. some in the uk decided to opt out of the system and pay for private medical coverage. it is available. but anyone taking on private medical care has to opt out. a telling point is, in the last decade, they're offering it as a recruitment perk for their employees. >> one of the things that's become critical clear here that we've reported on denmark, canada and the uk, this is not a simple issue. and it really puts into stark contrast this idea of rushing through legislation, when all of these other programs, we're only coming to terms with a broad understanding of what universal care and national health care really entail. >> yeah, even the countries that have it are still trying to adjust it to meet the needs of the people that they're trying to cover. so it really needs a lot of

adjustment. a lot of tinkering and we should not be rushing through. >> this is fascinating. excellent reporting. thank you, kitty. >> kitty pilgrim. we're going to be looking next at france and its health care system. we'll continue our special reporting, as i said, we'll examine the quality of health care in france. and we'll continue to ask and answer the questions that are so critically important in this national discussion on health care. to hear my thoughts on the health care issues, legislation, proposals and the bitter political battle, please joint me on the radio, monday through friday for "lou dobbs show" and go to loudobbs.com for the listings in your area for "the lou dobbs show" keep up with my tweets on twitter.com as well. up next, the rising costs of medical malpractice, will it

destroy our health care system? the defensive medicine. that's on the face-off debate tonight. also ahead, why some members of congress refuse to face the public at town hall meetings on the issue of health care. and a federal court has ordered the state of california to release more than 40,000 state inmates.

well, mounting opposition tonight to a federal court order, calling for the release of 40,000 prison inmates in california. a panel of federal judges saying the state government must cut the prison population to ease overcrowding and to ensure proper medical care for inmates in california. however, critics say releasing nearly a third of the state's inmate population might put public safety at risk. kasey wian has the report. >> reporter: california's prison system was designed to hold 80,000 inmates, but there are now nearly twice that number. 150,000 prisoners in state facilities. the prisons are so overcrowded it's also impossible to prevent violence and infectious diseases spread easily.

medical care is not sufficient to prevent the unwanted pain or death. as of 2005, a california inmate was dying needlessly every six or seven days. those are the findings of a three-judge panel that directed governor schwarzenegger to release the inmates. >> the state releases 10,000 prisoners a month. that's 120,000 inmates going out the doors every year. now, the courts say add another 40,000. well, it isn't that simple because almost as fast as you let them out, they're committing crimes so they're coming back. >> reporter: state officials accused the judges of exceeding their authority, and plan to appeal to the supreme court. in the meantime, california has 45 days to come up with its own plan to reduce prison overcrowding which lawmakers failed to do during recent negotiations to cut the state budget deficit. the judges say it can be done without freeing dangerous

criminals by releasing or locking up fewer people with minor or parole violations. but advocates of victims want none of that, according to the murder of lily burke. >> early release of criminals who have proven that they cannot follow the rules of society and who are released with no place to go and no way to make a living are just powder kegs, just ready to go off. >> reporter: california's prison population exploded after several tough on crime laws were passed during the 1970s. since 1980, california's overall population has grown about 2% per year, but the number of prisoners has increased at an average annual rate of 17%. the director of the prison law office which filed the lawsuit against california on behalf of inmates says the ruling actually could be a win-win for the entire state. in his view, releasing some inmates will make prisons safer,

reduce crime, reduce crime because prison offenses are related to repeat offenses on the street and save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. lou? >> so this is a good idea? >> well, in view of the prison advocates it absolutely is. state officials and victims' rights advocates say absolutely not. you can't release prisoners without compromising public safety. they need to build more prison facilities which the state does not have right now. this is a difficult problem. >> it's extraordinary to see attorney general jerry brown, a well-known liberal taking the position that he has. that has to give pause to those judges and certainly those who would be advocating against the state government. >> well, i think that becoming the law law enforcement official in the state of california will turn even the most die-hard liberal into a law and order advocate, lou. >> all right, kasey.

thank you very much. >> kasey wian. the number of americans receiving food stamps has reached a new record high. 34.4 million people are now enrolled in the food stamp program as of may. the average payment about $140 per person. of the enrollment in the food stamp program has been rising steadily since september of last year, may, the sixth straight month of record of enrollment. up next, president obama struggling to persuade americans that he's post partisan. critics say he's the most partisan president if decades. three top analysts will discuss that and more. in the debate face-off, the health care issue that virtually no one else is talking about. the huge cost of medical malpractice and defensive medicine. a great deal gets even better. let us recycle your older vehicle and you could qualify for an additional $3500 or $4500 cash back on a new, more fuel-efficient chevy.

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the congressional budget office found that caps on medical malpractice lawsuits could save more than $4 billion over the next decade. our malpractice lawsuits destroying the health care system? that is the subject of our face-off debate tonight. joining us, dr. jeffrey segal,

he's founder and ceo of medical justice and alan ripka, a medical malpractice attorney. good to have you both with us. >> thank you. >> in numbers, these show the numbers, medical malpractice claims and insurance premiums make up about 1% of total health care costs but the ama estimates so-called defensive medicine, a direct result of the lawsuits costing us $150 billion. let me start, if i may, with you, dr. segal. what's your reaction? >> my reaction, that number $150 billion may actually be an underestimate. i can tell you that next year, 50,000 doctors will receive a letter stating, hey, look, you've been sued. once you've been sued, that will change the doctor's behavior from then on. what is the cost? the cost is anywhere from $100 billion to $200 billion of unnecessary tests just to keep

the doctor from sitting in a witness chair again. that amount of money will allow us to purchase health insurance policy for every american and pay for a policy and some change leftover. >> alan ripka, your thoughts. >> i completely disagree. when we're talking about defensive medicine, we're talking about saving lives. what it is really doing is appropriate test so that doctors and nurses and health care providers can be checking on all the possibilities that may be going wrong with the patient. and they're not going to know unless they do those tests. and the reason medical malpractice exists is because those tests aren't done and people die. and you're not talking about tests here. you're talking about money. and obviously lives are much more important. >> you couldn't quarrel with that, could you, doctor? >> well, i think patient safety is really important, most of the tests being done in defensive medicine provide absolutely zero value to the patient. they keep the doctor out of the witness chair. a small amount of testing will

improve the patient's condition and a small amount of testing pair doxically will make the patient even worse than before you started. by and large, defensive medicine is exactly that, just -- >> may i interrupt you, did you just say testing could make the patient worse off? >> exactly. imagine sticking a needle in a patient just because you're curious to make sure 100th% sure you've not missed anything. once you stick a needle in a patient anything can happen. the lung can drop. bleeding, infection, the list goes on and on. >> alan ripka? >> obviously, not sticking a needle that person's body and not drawing blood doesn't tell you whether or not that person has an infection or a disease? where are you going with that? you're allowing someone to die so you don't have to pay for the blood test? >> i would never argue let's allow someone to die, but here we can deal with facts. for examples are if a person has

a minor head injury, they lose consciousness, go to the emergency room, every doctor will order a c.t. scan. we now know we can ask five basic questions to make sure a patient does not go home with a blood clot in their head. but today, in this country, every e.r. position will scan every patient that comes through. une.r. doc said i will scan people until they glow if it keeps out out of the front of a jury. >> well, that issue theth become, the cost of defensive medicine, it sounds like there are a host of issues. i was talking with a doctor in houston recently on the air who said that doctor right now, are really getting out of the art of examination because they are force forced, forced defensive medicine, to run so many tests that they're not carry ought examinations properly. what do you think of that? alan first. >> i think first of all, it

shouldn't be called defensive medicine, it should be called appropriate medicine. and with these doctors who are being sued they've deemed it defensive medicine to put a stigma on it. doing a lot of tests to determine something is not necessarily inappropriate. deciding which ones are appropriate and which ones are not are left for the medical community. and they're the ones who make those determinations. and if they've determined that not doing a certain test is okay, they've caused the problem in not diagnosing the issue to begin with. >> doctor? >> well, right today, a legislation is being proposed, we're a member of an organization called center for health transformation. and last week, we heard of legislation being proposed today, where physicians would be held to be immune, given a safe harbor, if they followed practice guidelines. if they followed appropriate best practices. and the question question is, would plaintiffs' attorneys get behind that? if a doctor -- >> would you, alan? >> well right now, in every court of law that i practiced

in, and i've tried medical malpractice cases regularly. if a doctor does not what they call, depart, from the standard of care, and the jury determines that, he or she is not responsible. so it's not about us lawyers not getting on board with that. >> there's one lawyer that says absolutely there will be no cap of medical malpractice suits when as we've been examining here on this broadcast, every country that we have examined, particularly in europe, where there is universal health care. where there is a national health care system. there's no -- there's no role for medical malpractice lawsuits in those countries. where there is, it's minimal. what's your reaction to that, gentlemen? >> i would say that is the one thing we can emulate from other countries. we can adopt the british system. there's very little to be desired in the national health service of the british system, but one thing they do right is

something called lose or pay. it means they do have a professional liability system, to the extent that a person brings a case, if they get it wrong, the loser has to pay. >> that sounds fair. alan ripka. >> well, our system has advantages just because people do it other ways doesn't mean we have to adopt those ways. >> by the way, no one suggests anybody has to. we're in an egalitarian population here. we want people to decide that. >> we could have no cap. let's say in new york, for example. these doctors are on guard, as they should be. there are consequences to actions in every livelihood. if you don't take care of what you're supposed to do properly, there could be a penalty. you may have to pay. and you cannot value someone's pain and suffering and you cannot predetermine what the costs are going to be to keep that person alive and well and taken care of. >> well, one would argue, could they not, alan, in other

countries, they value a life so highly that they would not attempt to put a price on it? >> well, they may not, but maybe in those countries they allow doctors, paid doctors, and i'm all for this, the money to do all the tests that need to be done. and maybe medical malpractice aren't as prevalent because they're doing the examination and treating patient. >> whoa, whoa, you are you suggesting that or countries are better at patient safety than we are in the united states? >> no, i'm saying, if in fact doctors are being paid for certain testing that they may not being paid for here they can get to the diagnosis. >> i think you're both ready for opening arguments in the next case. we thank you for being here and shedding some light and insight into this. we appreciate it. >> thank you. up next, the angry showdown over the president's health care proposals. >> they need to open it up to the free markets.

you need to get the government the hell out of our way. >> these town hall protests on the health care debate are getting intense. and the president's approval ratings are plummeting in his first 200 days in office. what the numbers mean for the rest of his presidency next.

joining me now, three of the best political analysts in washington, d.c., republican strategist rich vallen.

here in new york, mark halperin, editor-at-large, senior political analyst, kell keli go huffington post. let's take a look at now how 56%, june, 61%, may, 62%, 63%. keli, do you detect a trend here? >> i'm not a mathematician but slightly. a lot of politicians would take it, considering nancy pelosi. we all knew that the honeymoon wasn't going to last. and endorsed it thought he had too many things on his plate he was trying to address. and the cnn poll says that americans won't agree. >> the country does not like a

lot what he's doing and the numbers reflect that but he still has a big base of support. what he needs to do is go to congress and say, on the economy and health care, let's get stuff done without looking at the poll. let's look at what we think is right. that's what a successful politician does, they don't obsess. the stuff he's doing, mostly he ran on. if he continues to do it and he was right, i think he'll be rewarded but not in the short term. >> do you agree, rich? >> the issue isn't for the president. i disagree with mark to this degree, this congress is within 15 months of having to run for re-election. they're very focused on the polls. npr released a poll about a week ago showing that republicans now lead plus 1 in the generic vote. and as you showed earlier, the clips, the members went home armed with a piece of paper from speaker pelosi about how to speak about health care.

and it's going really badly. everybody else sees that. so it has the effect of sort of building on itself. and i think that these members are playing very close attention. >> although it's worth mentioning that cnn's most recent poll 8 out of 10 are blaming the republicans for how the gop is going. >> the mentality that rich is talking about is the mentality that got the republican congress and the last republican president in trouble. looking at the midterm elections, having the republican party say with the elections coming up, let's find out what the political thing is to do to save our feet. we shouldn't be trying to save our feet. that's the course they're on, even though it may cost them the election. >> i have a slightly different memory of 2006, and that was one in which a president, george w. bush, pressed ahead with his agenda, irrespective of the consequences or his congress and

the results were painful for the republican party. >> on foreign policy. but on spending on the agriculture bill, on the prescription drug bill, on pork barrel spending, all the things that george bush was against spending because they were holding the majority. the majority is there to get things done, not to hold. >> here's the issue. let me get to this quickly -- >> because we need to go to break quickly. >> i'll do that. >> rich is producing. i love it. keli goff wants to, since you've surrendered your time, she'll pick up with that. a reminder, you can join the debate on how the obama administration and congress are doing. go to cnn.com to first cast your vote and then cast your vote on how the president and the economy are handling the health care. on the cnn national card. some lunch.

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>> we're back with our panel. i'd just like to bring up what senator durbin had to say today about those protests, folks breaking out in those constituent meetings and congressional town hall meetings all across the country. here is senator durbin. >> but, you know, i hope my colleagues won't fall for a sucker punch like this. these health insurance companies or people like them are trying to load these town meetings for visual impact on television. they want to show thousands of people screaming socialism, in trying to overcome public

sentiment which now favors health care reform. >> your rereaction? >> well, there's no doubt in my mind, some health insurance company planning to be at these meetings, of course they are. but that does not change the fact that the white house has a real problem on its hands as i said before, in terms of this bill. all the reports show that more than two-thirds of americans support health care reform. but 1 in 5 believe it's not going to be better for their families. my mother is a huge supporter of the president, and he has problems convincing people like her and myself that this bill, just because it's a new bill, is a better idea. i'm not sure that the entity that gave us the dmv and fema is much better equipped to give us something that is better than anything for health care. >> and -- >> sorry. >> every industrialized

democracy which has universal health care through the government wrong? >> what is your question? i don't understand. >> well, this line about the department of motor vehicles or fema is cute. and it's often used. but in every other industrial -- >> i thought it was original. >> -- this is the way people get their health care. >> let me be clear about something since you raise it. we're reporting what's happening in the united states kingdom, denmark, europe. the highest approval rating is in denmark, a nation of 5.5 million people. what we are finding in the oldest of universal care, public-funded system, that is in germany, that they have extraordinary dissatisfaction, about 55%. and they're calling for immense change. what we have found is similar in the united kingdom. and what we are coming to understand is, there is no template for health care which puts lie to the fact that there

are three bills in congress right now that represent not the obama administration's proposal. and the polls that we continue to report here favoring and opposing, plotting we don't have a shape for this. >> i'm not saying there's a template. what i'm saying, there's three things that are through, there's a democracy that does not cover a citizen. it's immoral. >> it's that immoral? >> to be a country and it's only industrialized democracy had hasn't figured out how to cover everyone. number two, every industrialized democracy has done this through a federal government program. and it faces the task because this country is is not for a single payer. >> i've got to ask this question, rich, if we're going to do a comparative government course here, what i'd like to know then, how do those nations, how do their balance sheets stack up against that of the united states?

what is their balance of payments in trade? what is their federal deficit? what is their national debt? and are there -- is there a single nation among them, facing the extraordinary circumstances, $60 trillion in unfunded liability. $7 trillion in trade debts. $12 trillion in national debt, and a $2 trillion federal deficit. is there anyone, rich, close to that? >> no. and nobody's as big as we are. and that's why thing that's where the argument falls down. one of the things we know about the programs is they don't scale up well. they don't do well. they may do well in small pockets. but when you have to handle 300 million people, it simply doesn't work. but more important tole keli's point, health care is the single most individual kernconcern, assuming you've got a job and don't have to worry. everybody is worried about a

sick kid or relative. >> you know where this fall's. >> of course, you can interrupt. >> you're just doing the directing or producing. just to point out, frank newport, they had a gallup discussed in his recent essay. one of the takeaways is there is no health care crisis in the united states. that is the bottom line here. and that's from the extensive polling being done. >> there is no crisis today. >> we heard the same nonsense -- by the way, we heard the same nonsense, if i may, about it's not today from the bush administration when he decided to spend his political capital on private accounts in social security, which turned out to be -- anyway, turned out. >> do you disagree with all of the big 500 companies who think that long term it is not sustainable? >> i don't take a position at all here. i'm just pointing out some facts that do bear consideration which

haven't been in the public arena for discussion, and this congress has been at it for how long? about five months. and this president has been at it for six months. >> i'm going to respectfully disagree with our post, respected host here. our respected and esteemed host and say i do believe almost 50 million people being uninsure sd a crisis. but i'm not sure this is the right answer. >> excuse me. i wasn't clear. that is not my position. that's a statement from the gallup poll and frank newport, whose essay is on gallup.com for your review. >> and what the president is trying to do i think most fundamentally is lead the country to understand that while they may not feel today like their personal situation is a crisis or that the country is in crisis, business, labor, many academics, this president who got elected front and center running on this issue believes that if this problem isn't addressed, the country will face a financial and moral crisis down the road. >> then they need to address it

and not lob it over congress and allow them to screw around with it for month after month after month. the danger here, as we all know, is if something is not done, whatever it is, by the end of this year, it will not get done for two more years because it has to be done in an odd number of years. as soon as we get into the even number, an election year, it's going to just stall and go back. it will be just that much more paper sitting on shelves in members' offices. >> we have to go, unless you want to say something really quick. >> i'm all for improvement. i don't know that this is it. you haven't convinced me, so -- >> rich gallon is a smart man but the president is going to ignore the calendar. >> and that's the way it is. >> if you think so. >> you get the last word. thank you, everybody. we appreciate it. wish we had more time. we've got a lot more to talk about and will in the days and weeks and months ahead. up at the top of the hour, cnn's national report card on the president's second 100 days. here with a preview, wolf blitzer and campbell-brown.

guys? >> thanks very much, lou. 2.5 million votes so far on the national report card. people are going to cnn.com and telling us -- telling us what they think on ten key questions, and we're going to get a lot more coming up at the top of the hour. >> started the second 100 day is the perfect time to reassess. this is part of the ongoing conversation we have been having with you guys at home as people have been letting us know where the president is on these issues, how they feel about health care reform, the economy, the media and congress right now. >> not necessarily very flattering numbers. we take a look at the national report card of the president of the united states. some of the questions that we're asking, for example, grade the obama administration's handling of foreign affairs. grade the performance of the secretary of state, hillary clinton. grade vice president joe biden. and we're going to assess when you think about all of these issues and a lot more with the best political team on television. and, campbell, you got them with you right there. >> and you know the real reason we're having this is just because it's been so long since i've heard you use that phrase,

wolf. they are the best political team on television. and with us tonight to talk about all of these issues and give you their analysis, we have jeff toobin, david gergen, candy crowley, bill bennett, donna brazile and paul begala. they will be joining us talking about all of these issues and grading as well, wolf. >> and tom foreman will be over at the magic wall as well. lou, there's a lot going on. people will be able to text in their votes. they will be able to phone in their votes as well starting at the top of the hour at 8:00 p.m. eastern. lou? >> wolf, looks like you and campbell might as well throw an election here our way as well. good luck to all of you. look forward to it. thanks, wolf. to hear my thoughts on the president's second 100 days in office and on the intensifying health care battle in congress and all that is required in this debate, please join me on the radio monday through fridays for "the lou dobbs show," on wwor. to get the local listings for the show in your area. and follow me on lou dobbs news

on twitter.com. up next -- the cash for clunkers program designed to boost car sales actually crippling another part of the industry. that story is next. mr. evans? this is janice from onstar. i have received an automatic signal you've been in a front-end crash. do you need help? yeah. i'll contact emergency services and stay with you. you okay? yeah. onstar. standard for one year on 14 chevy models.

the senate tonight could approve an aadditional $2 billion for that cash for clunkers program. the program has been popular. more than 184,000 deals submitted for approval. there's been a spike in car sales and manufacturers are rushing to meet demand. talk about a turnaround. but that program is hurting one sector of the car industry. brooke baldwin with our report. >> reporter: for the last 40 years, the maggio family has made a living crushing cars and reselling parts for profit. >> cutting off the brake line. >> reporter: while washington celebrates the stimulus its created for automakers and dealers, hackensack auto wreckers in new jersey says it's not seeing the cash.

under the cash for clunkers program, to get gas guzzlers off the road, the dealer must seize out the engine before the salvage yard collects the car. >> i need the five-spoke wheel. >> reporter: that leaves sammy with minimal parts on the shelves to resell. potential profit, $300. compare that with a normal car with its engine still intact, maggio may make up to $2,000. that's a big loss of income to offset the rising costs. >> i have to pay for my drivers to go and tow it in and then you're paying for your manpower to dismantle the car. you pay for the gasoline to be removed. we pay for the antifreeze, the oil. all of those things have to be paid. >> reporter: in the last two weeks, hackensack auto wreckers have received 100 cars, 30 of them from this cash for clunkers program. but take a look over here, this dumper alone represents $5,000 in lost profit. since july 24th, consumers have spent more than $775 million on nearly 200,000 fuel-efficient

cars. a win/win for americans according to the federal government. >> this program was really designed to get gas guzzlers off the road, more fuel-efficient cars and help a number of people in the automobile industry continue to have jobs. >> reporter: in other words, get these high-polluting engines out of circulation. sally understands that, but as her crew toils away in new jersey's summer heat, she wishes she was getting her share of the profit. >> keeping us busy, very busy. not the kind of busy that we would like to. >> reporter: we talked to sally's father, the patriarch of that family business. you know what he said, he's also concerned many of the people trading in the clunkers really can't afford the new car. they're simply enticed by the $3,500 or $4,500 credit and possible result of that, lou, they're worried about an auto market bubble. >> well, it is nice to be able to hear all of these numbers about higher car sales. but as you describe what they're going through and that