new york. left to her. thanks very much. that's all the time i have. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. world report is next for the international viewers. in north america, john king usa starts right now. good evening. just a dismal day on wall street as the markets processed two bleak realities. growing fear of another global recession and the embarrassing down grade of the u.s. government's once stellar credit rating. the dow dropped 635 points or 5.5% and closed below 11,000 for the first time since november. the s&p 500 down nearly 7% as was the nasdaq. add it up, the market lost $1 trillion in value in the massive selloff just today and overall stocks how down 15% in the past two weeks. a few more down beat numbers. these not from the markets, but from our new cnn orc poll. 60% of americans think the

economy is still in a down turn and getting worse. that's way up from the 36% who felt that way back in april. 75% of americans believe things in the country are going badly. and just one in three approve of how president obama is handling the economy. now it's important to note the market slide began well before the friday night decision before standard & poor's to downgrade the credit rating, but that unprecedented demotion is now a part of the fear and the funk driving the trading and the down grade center stage now as the deficit debate here in washington enter as new chapter. >> we knew from the outset that a prolonged debateas the deficit debate here in washington enter as new chapter. >> we knew from the outset that a prolonged debate over the debt ceiling could do enormous damage to our economy and the world's. that let coming after a string of economic disruptions in europe, japan, and the middle east has now roiled the markets

and dampened consumer confidence. all of this is a legitimate source of concern. but here's the good news. our problems are imminently solvable. we know what we have to do to solve them. >> a lot to digest tonight beginning with what is driving the markets down and how it tim pacts your bottom line. erin burnett here to get us started. so on the basic question, a lot of people focus on the town grade, but this started well before that.town grade, but this started well before that. >> if you look at what we've seen over the past few days, actually 13% lower, make sure i get my numbers right here, in the past five trading sessions. so it's been a pretty incredible selloff. yes, in large part due to concern that the u.s. government would not deal with the debt problem, due to the dysfunction of washington. that's a big issue. s&p actually following through on it word which had been advertised for months to go ahead with this downgrade. that certainly part of the

problem. but we've got a lot of issues. we is an economy that's weak, investors are focusing on that. you add all of it together and you get panic selling days. >> and you also have a cycle when there's know room for a time-out. the asian markets will be opening. what should we look for there? >> actually i was just looking because the asian markets will start opening. we will get key information out of china. china has become the focus. not just of what they're going to do with american debt, but obviously their economy being the second biggest in the world and the real driver right now. there's going to be a lot of data coming out of china's economy overnight and that can be really important for the market. negative surprises there could completely set the tone even more negative than it already is. and then of course tomorrow, john, you have the fed. and that is going to be the most important thing in the next 24 hours for the markets.

>> you say the most important thing. what options does ben bernanke have at his disposal? >> it would seem like no very many because interest rates are already pretty much at zero. but the fed does have options. and there's a couple of things that ben bernanke obviously chief of the fed heeds s needs about. he needs to talk about economic growth, perhaps he could weigh in on the key statement tomorrow that the fed always releases. key weigh in there about the poe f poe for a double dip recess. if he doesn't see that sort of thing happening, that could go a long way to kaumg the markets. and he could give more clarity to the fact that the fed is open to doing more. there's been a lot of extraordinary measures by the fed, so it's good for him to indicate that key do more. but what i think is interesting, going ahead with that right now may not be the best idea, it would show that the fed is also panicking after a day like today and that's not what the market

wants. >> appreciate it erin burnett. glad you're with us. now from an economist who not too long ago was part of president obama's white house team. christina romar back teaching at berkeley. >> you see what is happening in the global markets. on a scale of one to ten, one being no, ten being definitely, how likely in your view is another global recession. >> >> oh, i'm not even going to give you a number. i think what is true is the risks of a recession have clearly gone up substantially. i think one of the things i keep saying is i think people are too much obsessed with the difference between really lousy anemic growth and literally a decline in the economy. both those things are terrible and we should be just as worried about getting our economy and the world economy going with where we are now as if we were falling again. >> and the president came out

trying to reassure the markets and the american people. and he called on con not only to get about the business of that super committee, to find additional deficit reduction, but he wants to stepped the payroll tax, he wants to extend unemployment insurance, he wants to create an infrastructure bank. i won't criticize any of those proposals, i'll leave them to the debate, but is it fair to say that those are playing on the margins and that you need something bigger and grander? >> those are certainly -- those proposals are certainly good proposal, solid proposals. do i think you need something bolder and grander. i think were i advising the president now, i'd say take the next couple of weeks and make the case for something more substantial like a very large tax cut for businesses that actually hire people. or let's really do a serious amount of infrastructure investment and tie that with a

very even more serious deficit reduction, gradually over time. i think that is the kind of a bold policy measure that we need and i think that is what the president needs to articulate is we're not going to tinker around the margins, we'll do something really big, really substantial. >> the politics of washington and certainly the politics of the s&p downgrade are get better, deeper, bolder, deficit reduction. there is this super committee, it's charged with coming up with another $1.5 trillion over ten years. should that committee go is for something more grand, as well, should they go for three or four is this. >> i think absolutely. we had on the table the grand bargain of trying to get $4 trillion of deficit reduction. that makes a lot of head way. that is the kind of number that i think everybody was looking for hoping for, and came in at

$2 trillion or $2.5 trillion. so, yes, that super committee should do more. and i think right now of course the deficit plan that was passed mainly puts goals for cutting discretionary spending. any expert will tell you reforring sbigrefor i entitlements, slowing the growth rate of social security spending, that has to be on the table and i think any expert will tell that you realistically, more revenues have to be on the table. . and absolutely those things out ought headed to the super committee. >> the downgrade is unprecedented, a lot of americans say what does this mean to me. perhaps their borrowing costs might go up. you were on the bill maher program friday night and you used language that he used at first, but you can't find it in any economics textbook. i want to listen. >> excuse my language, but we used to do a segment on this show [ bleep ] are we.

♪ i didn't expect that there, but just before we went on the air, they said our rating got down graded. >> so pretty darn [ bleep ]. >> it's a comedy moment there, but not a funny thing what happened. explain what you mean by that, though, in family friendly english about how people are pretty darn what? >> well, it certainly was more colorful than i would normally be. and it was a late night comedy show. but actually what i was referring to is the much broader issues. certainly the downgrade is sort of another shock to the economy, another bad thing to be happening to the economy. but it comes on top of just months of weakening economic statistics, comes on months of a realization of just how severe our long run deficit problem

actually is, and it sort of all comes together with a political system that doesn't seem able to deal with those problems. and i think it's the combination of all those things that does make me very worried about the future of the american economy. if we don't solve our terrible, you know, anemic growth and our long run deficit problem, it is very hard to see how we provide for our people and how we remain our stature in the world economy. >> dr. romer, appreciate your time. david gergen is with us. this is a leadership moment, if you will. the president called a couple european leaders today. european markets are in turmoil. the american people wondering if and when this economy will get better. and yet washington seemed over the weekend to go into the typical blame game. who is downgrade is this? here's david axlerod. >> the fact of the matter is this is essentially a tea party down grade.

the tea part i brought us to the brink of a default.i brought us brink of a default. >> here is an e-mail from the republican national committee, it's the obama downgrade. how do we get it to the next step to get an agreement on deeper deficit reduction and god forbid maybe an adult conversation about jobs and growth if washington immediately just starts pointing fingers? >> the blame game is what's helped to get us into this fix now. everybody knows that. people are disgusted around the country with the politicians and n. washington. words don't matter very much anymore. the president came out today to reassure the country and the dow jones was down 409 when he started speaking. it wound up the day with a loss of over 630 points. so clearly what people are looking for is something strong he. they're looking for action. and i think the congressional question is the president needs

to get the congressional leaders back into washington. cut a deal about jobs and get the economy growing. not on the debt rye night now. we need some hope about jobs and give reassurances that there will be reinvestments. corporationses are sitting on a ton of money. there have to be ways to get them to invest in the future. >> david will be back with us later in the program as we discuss this, the darkest hours of the obama presidency. where the united states is losing its top credit rating and then word the deadlist attack in the ten year afghan war. but next, what the down grade does and doesn't mean for your personal finances. [ male announcer ] this...is the network -- a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want,

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there are several credit rating agencies that rate your credit. there are also several credit ratings that rate the united states. fitch and moody's kept the united states at aaa. standard & poor's dropped the united states from aaa down to aa plus. that drops right here. this has been the big controversy of the last 24 hours. so where does the united states compare on the s&p scale anyway

at aa plus? the uk, germany and can maada h aaa. belgium and new zealand now with the united states. china a aa minus, japan as well. what does this mean for you and your bottom line? ali velshi with us tonight as is joe manne lit man. for somebody who says is my mortgage going up, credit card rate going up, we didn't see the impact in the markets today. we saw a lot of turmoil in the stock market, but the bond markets were pretty favorable. >> yes. you would have expected that in fact your mortgage and other loans would be affected by this, but here's what happened. a mortgage in the united states, particularly a fixed mortgage, is tied to a ten year note. the ten year note actually costs the government less money to borrow if ten years today than it did on friday. the effect of the downgrade hasn't actually been negative. and part of that is because when

you look at all the other options, there is so much u.s. debt that people who otherwise would buy it can't really take some of those other aaa options. so the reality is that today the ten year is lower than it was on friday and your mortgage rates aren't actually going up as a result. that's not to say what's going to happen in three weeks or three months and frankly our mortgage rates are so historically low right now that the long term trend probably will be up, but for now, for all the effect that had on the market, it didn't have it on interest rates. >> joanne, obviously people watch the volatility and worry about their 401(k). is there anything anybody out there should be doing, changing their own personal behavior, should you put off a big purchase if you're about to buy a house or car or should you just go ahead with your lives as is? >> yeah, this has been so devastating for so many people. and i think even more so than the impact on interest rates, which has been nonexistent so far is the impact on people's 401(k), on their savings, on their portfolio.

it's just devastating. so if people can afford to not make any money, that's the best thing they can do. you mentioned the housing market. interest rates are still at historic lows. it's very possible interest rates won't go up. we have seen this before. there is a precedent for you in japan, australia, quarks ccanad interest rates have not gone up. so if you're thinking about purchasing a house, so many areas have been so hit hard by interest rates at historic low. if you needed to buy a house, it's maybe not such a bad idea. that is okay. >> so ali, how long does it take and what do you have to do now that you've been dumped down to aa plus, what do you have to do to get back up to aaa? >> could take several years to get back. s&p specifically when asked this question told me that a couple

things could help. there are two reasons for down grading were the fact that the deal to lower -- to get the deal done wasn't actually big enough. so if congress and the super committee were actually to either cut more or raise more revenue between now and christmas, you may see an upgrade as early as next year. and there has to be some sense that congress can agree to do something together. the climate that caused this debt ceiling to be held hostage is something that was very, very worrisome to s&p. so the climate has to change, they have to get a better deal. and i don't think those two things are likely to happen prior to 2012. >> appreciate your help. we'll call on you again. still to come here tonight, saudi arabia and other arab nations finally com dem the bloody crackdown in siyria. and anderson cooper gets a firsthand look at a devastating familiar anyone. ♪

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the pam bom white house pledging an additional $105 million to the urgent humanitarian effort under way in africa. anderson cooper is there this week for a firsthand look. anderson is with us now live from a massive refugee camp. you're getting a firsthand look at this devastating crisis. tell us what you're seeing.

>> reporter: this has become the largest refugee camp in the entire world. you can actually see it from space. it's extraordinary. there's more than about 500,000 somalis who are living here and in the surrounding areas around this camp desperate for food aid, many displaced people, more than a million of them, more than 100,000 are desperately looking for food. according to the u.n., about 3.2 million somalis are in immediate need of food assistance, immediate need of assistance. and the peer is with the drought continuing for the next couple months before the rains come and with this terrorist organization extremist group in control of the south where the famine really is, that tens of thousands more people will die in the coming months as this drought continues, the worst drought in 60 years. and the famine continues to spread from small pockets in the

south to the entire southern part of somali. so it is a desperate situation for many here. aid has been slow in coming. this was a predicted drought. this has been on the radar of a lot of folks in the aid community for many months. and yet there is still not enough in the pipeline, not enough food, not enough money being addressed to meet the immediate needs of so many people here. >> when you say the immediate needs, there's obvious frustration there that that this is taking so long for the world to react. is there one thing most in demand that anybody watching could try to help? >> reporter: aid organizations will say money is the bottom line. money that will you allows them supplies, them to fly in food and water and help people long term develop agriculture that can prevent this kind of thing in the future. it is -- it really is a

desperate situation here, but mainly inside somali and that's where we'll be reporting from for the next two nights. >> anderson cooper for us. they'll be there throughout the week to get a sense of this. and you'll want to watch beginning tonight ac 360 moving to 8:00 p.m. in the east. you won't want to miss that coverage. still ahead here after months of silence, leading arab nations are suddenly pressuring syria to stop the deadly crackdown. why the change? and will president assad listen. ♪ [ country ] [ man ] ♪ gone, like my last paycheck ♪ gone, gone away ♪ gone, like my landlord's smile ♪ ♪ gone, gone away ♪ my baby's gone away with dedicated claims specialists... and around-the-clock service,

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main new develop in syria's political crisis. leading arab nations are calling on the syrian regime to end the bloody killings of it own people. they're pulling their ambassadors from damascus and spoke of what he labeled the killing machine. let's take a closer look. after the king's announcement, these are syrians celebrating. celebrating the denouncement of the killing machine. unfortunately, the killing machine continues. i'll play this out. listen closely. [ gunfire ] >> sounds of machine gunfire there. the regime cracking down against demonstratorses. and here in the north, a funeral procession.

the regime opening gunfire on a funeral procession. tracking the crack down from beirut. >> aund you ha saudi arabia cri killing machine. any indication the shift to arab condemnation will get president assad to back off? >> reporter: well, at this stage, there's been absolutely no such skags, but this most certainly is a significant move in that arab leaders are finally breaking what was a deafening silence on their part. but really, john, as long as syria has in iran the sole hid relationship that it does have, iran being of course a regional powerhouse, it seems as if what we're going it sto see now is a shift in the battleground in syria and that it will no longer

just be demonstratorses calling for democracy versus this dictatorial regime, but one that analysts are saying is increasingly going to morph into an arena for this broader regional power struggle. you'll have saudi arabia on one hand and iran on the other. >> and what's your sense what's happening on the ground in sn is the crack down oig more ice lating or is it spread something sglit's most certainly spreading. the crackdown now not just confined to the intense military campaign that we saw taking place. it most certainly does continue. but also moving to the east up against the iraqi border. on sunday morning, tanks stormed in again firing indiscriminately, snipers station order rooftops. families being absolutely terrorized. there are also reports of a similar military campaign in the north. so it 234ki icreasingly seems t

turning it back on reforms and instead using brute force. >> and if you tune into syrian state tv, it says they're pulling out. what do your sources tell you? >> reporter: they say that it's a lie. shortly after we heard that announcement on syrian television, i spoke with a number of residents all of whom said that the crackdown was still ongoing. in fact they were telling us how syrian security forces were going house to house with a list of names of wanted activists. and if those individuals were not present, they were detaining their family members. >> arwa damon for us. thank you. so what motivated saudi arabia and other arab nation nations to finally speak out? and will it make a difference.

we've spoken about this several times. why the silence in the arab world. now you have criticism. i assume king abdallah, bahrain, don't want regime change. what do they want? >> when you ask about king abdallah, you have to remember his title is custodian of the two holly mosquely moch mosques. this is becoming a religious question. they've banned people from friday prars and i think for king abdallah, being the senior states man in the region, being the eldest, a man in his late eigh 80s, he said my conscience can no longer bear this and finally silence has been broken and other people follow the leadership of the saudi monarch. >> silence has been broken.

the monarch finally speaks out. not the most credible regime when it comes to the treatment of your own people and openness to speak publicly, but yet it is custodian of two holy masks. wi mosques. mr. will it make a difference? >> probably not short term. but this is a striking development because saudis are normally very discreet. king an kul dual la is the only son of one of the founders of saudi arabia. when there was tension with sear yarks they would use him to go in and try to mediate. so this plays out on a lot of different levels. >> and you talk about the religious implications here. but when saudi arabia and the arab nations pressure ssyria, might the result be counterproductive in that assad

would turn more to tehran? >> in fact there's big difference between assad father and the son. the old man was an ally of iran but on his terms. assad has no other ally other than iran. his relations with turkey has deteriorated. everyone the russians are beginning to talk to him about his legacy, about reform. and one thing that's interesting, the people have gone out chanting in the treats of syria, no iran, we want muslims who fear ala. so i think in fact you have a standoff in the region between this isolated syrian regime with iran backing about and the rest of the region. >> makes an interesting point, the difference between father and son. you were in the region back in the '80s. what's the difference? >> i think the father actually

had a vision. we might not have agreed with it, but he had a broader plan to make syria a great nation again. the son inherited power. his older brother was supposed to be the successor and he died in a car accident. so the younger son has not ever had the kind of ideas, the concept, the way to recreate syria as an important player in the region. he just said no, he says no to the peace process, he tries to medal in lebanon, he's been a player and spoiler much more than his father had. >> and yet schooled in london, gives speeches about reforms. you write in your book, the administration also appeared to be betting on the assad dynasty which ruled in damascus for four decades. there's a different leader now. many of the members of congress in both parties have who have gone to syria have said they believe he's a reformer. she gets pretty good reviews as secretary of state, but was she

snookered? >> and i think the administration was in general. the united states has been willing to push democracy all the way across north africa. a little bit into syria. but not do anything beyond words. there's a joke cand we all say t must be friday, another pronouncement from the administration. and there hasn't been a lot of tangible action beyond minimalist sanctions. >> so how do we get to that next step in the sense that the administration has said he's lost legitimacy? you don't have an arab league statement, but you at least have arab leaders getting involved in the doctcriticism. how do you build to the next level where you get what has happened to mubarak? >> there you have it.

i think president obama and secretary clinton may be forced to do something they haven't done before, which is to repudiate this regime, to consider it an outthat you thal. neff they've sold us on the idea that syria is important for stabt, but giving iran access all the way to the mediterranean, he has become the great destabilizer and i think our administration has been a little too slow to understand the nature of this regime. >> appreciate your insights tonight. we'll stay on top of the story. it is important and fascinating. up next, 30 americans killed in the deadliest day of the nearly decade long war in afghanistan. we'll map out just where it happened and discuss what it says about the plan to begin drawing down u.s. troop levels. [ male announcer ] this...is the network --

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tonight two military transport planes are flying the remains of 30 u.s. who died saturday when their helicopter was shot down. because of the catastrophic nature of the crash, all remains are on the way to the united states for identification. the defense department said we will not be allowed to cover the return of those remains. among the dead, 22 navy

s.e.a.l.s including aaron vaughn whose wife kimberly spoke with cnn. >> i want to tell the world that he was an amazing man, that he was a wonderful husband and fabulous father to two wonderful children. he was a warrior for christ. and he was a warrior for our country. and he wouldn't want to leave this earth any other way than how he did. >> with us now, fran townsend who advised president bush. also brad thorr, went on several research missions in afghanistan and pakistan with navy s.e.a.l.s. fran, the large -- most deadly at being a in the history of this ten year war. i want to show our viewer where is it took place. this is in some of the most treachero

treacherous. what does it say as we pay tribute to these heros that this is still where a lot of the hardest parts of this war are being fought? >> well, it tells and you number of things. first of all, this is right on the outskirts, pot venot very fm kabul. it was the sacred ground that our troops protected. mostly to give the karzai government the opportunity to extend their reign, their government. this is very close to the capital. this is an area that has been handed over to afghan troops. this was an immediate reaction force that was coming in because we had personnel on the ground in need of assistance and so you had u.s. soldiers as well as afghan commandos. and it tells you that the gains that we make there are very fragile. so as we begin this drawdown, you realize that these gains that we have made at the loss of life and treasure are easily erased if we do this too

quickly. >> i know you're familiar with these types of operations. first, it's important, i want you to listen to how the president in paying tribute to these heros today described the state of play in afghanistan. we don't have. the president said i know the troops will continue the hard work of transitioning to a stronger afghan government. brad, on that point, do we really have -- george w. bush talked about this for years. barack obama has talked about it now. i'm not blaming either president. but ten years later, do we have an afghan government that is ready for this challenge or is the answer, no, and that's why these tragedies keep happening? >> the answer is absolutely no. the afghans are in no position to defend themselves. the of a began government is completely corrupt and it's riddled with iranian spies. there's a lot about the killing, the terrible tragedy of these s.e.a.l.s being killed that is very disturbing. >> and when you look at this, should we be worried about iran tonight or because of where this

is up here, i'm not discounting the importance of any iranian relationships, but there to me based on the history is a pakistan issue, not necessarily an iran issue, right? >> well, that's right. except to brad's point, we have seen an increasing amount of iranian involvement and support in afghanistan. and, oh, by the way, they have been spoilers inserting themselves into afghanistan and undermining u.s. efforts. the iranians don't always come in the front door and on which times they work through proxies and insert themselves into a cause americans and american forces difficulty around the world. we saw it in rark, biraq, but afghanistan, as well. >> if i may, i was going to say fran's analysis is always spot on. it's why i enjoy watching her so much. i'd like to add that there's word out that what took down this helicopter might be what's known as an in-proper advised rocket assisted mortar. we first saw these in iraq with

arnian fingerprints all over them and that's why i'm so concerned. they call these things in the military flying ieds and we don't have confirmation of what brought the helicopter down, but that and the fact that the iranians have so penetrated our forward operating bases and around the country of afghanistan. it makes me wonder the taliban, they're good, but i don't think they're this good. i really think this thing is the fingerprints of iranian cooperation on it. >> an important point. as i show on the map here, the dark reddish area is where the taliban is strongest. orange they have limited support. when you look at this ten years into the war where the surge troops with still mostly there, does this tell you that we are at a point where we can actually have a security transition or is bringing troops home more of a political transition? >> let's call it what it is. it's a political transition.

the president ran on drawing down in afghanistan and he's trying to keep true to that promise before he faces re-election in 2012. now, that's not to say we have to look at this strategy and when you consider that we're ten years out and that the taliban perhaps with the support and assistance of other proxy, other terrorism supporter, are able to launch this kind of attack, deadly attack against our nation's most elite forces, we have to ask ourselves really honestly about what progress has been made or not been made. i think brad's exactly right. afghan troops are not up to this fp that's patently obvious. and the level of corruption in the afghan government is another issue that really be devils us. >> i'll get e-mails but i want to make clear a little bit of a misspeak there. he said he would bring home troops in iraq, but the president actually promised in 2008 to fight the war in afghanistan. brad, you think it's a mistake to acknowledge these navy s.e.a.l.s, they were not the same men involved in the bin laden raid, but the same unit.

you think it is a mistake to acknowledge this was a s.e.a.l. unit. >> i know bill daley. we don't always agree on politics, but i like the guy personally. bill daley ought to be enraged tonight. we went and we got osama bin laden with s.e.a.l. team 6. every enemy of this country should quake of this country should quake in their beds afraid of s.e.a.l. team 6 coming to get them. we said this was s.e.a.l. team 6 members that went down. why couldn't we say it was american personnel? why let the enemy know alaw or whomever is on their side and helped them take down this helicopter. whoever leaked this, whether it was done with permission or whatever, that head should roll. this is unforgivable to leak that to the media. >> appreciate your insights. when we come back, we'll stay on this story in a different way. president obama receiving word on this deadly raid hours after being told the united states government was having its credit rating downgraded. all systems prepare to engage.

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friday was the darkest day of the obama presidency. in the evening came word that standard & poor's was for the first time in history, downgrading our credit rating.

then devastating news from afghanistan. 30 americans dead including 22 navy s.e.a.l.s in the deadliest attack of the long afghan war. the most powerful job in the world but it is been said, it can be the loneliest. david gergen is with us. he has serbed four american presidents at times of crisis. also, mary matalin. as america launched the wars in both afghanistan and iraq. david gergen, i want to start with you as someone who has been in the white house, often brought in in times of crisis. i am a understanding the darkest day of the presidency to hear about the downgrade and then hours later, this horrible tragedy in afghanistan? >> i don't think you're overstating it. this past week i think was one of the toughest, perhaps the worst weeks the president has had. the markets fell so sharply even as he announced the debt ceiling agreement and then he had the friday, saturday, and then this weekend. and so it is tough. but i think the president discovered today that words

alone are not enough. he tried very hard to reassure investors, as you know, he came out this afternoon and when he spoke, the dow was down around 400. by the end of the day, it was down 600. he has to go beyond words. he has to take some actions now. i think to reassure americans. the real, one of the real problems with what happened today is it can spook consumers. it makes people fearful and that can hasten a double dip. >> mary, take us inside the white house. i know you're a republican but take us inside the white house when you have to go to the president of the united states and deliver the worst. the worst, i assume, is american military casualties overseas. it is the most powerful job but also pretty isolating, isn't it? >> it is isolating, but i had the great good fortune to work with men with the breadth and depth of experience. not just in the 9/11 george w. bush white house but with dick

sxhain george herbert walker bush. so this experience can put these big shifts in context. that's really important. as david knows, so you don't react. you're not in a responsive mode. you're trying to convey leadership and confidence. and particularly in this situation right now, it is, i'm echoing david. people have lost their greatest source of wealth, their home equity. they've had their savings, their investments wiped out in one fell swoop. there is no confidence that washington can function at any level and this president is not conveying, not just by the the absence of talking about deeds. there is something about he's not coming across with. and i'm not saying that as a partisan. i'm pretty spooked myself down here with two kids in high. and a retirement staring us in the face. but it is, you have to keep your head about you and you can't be

subjected to political posturing or aides that want to put you in a political situation. something david said earlier on your show tonight concerns me, too, about this. he is surrounded by more, with political people more than economic people. there is nobody really inside the white house that is on an economic team now. that has to be spooky to the investor class as well. >> and david, what is it like to walk into the oval office at a moment like this? maybe you have to tell the president horribly bad news or maybe as both you and mary are saying, you need to shake the president a little. i don't mean physically but say, the way you're doing it isn't working. we have to reconsider. >> it's important for the president to maintain an outer confidence and a smile. and that helps a lot. ronald reagan and other presidents have shown that over the years. and i think the president has done a good job of that. but it is really important inside to be taking a hard look at what is not working and what is working. and my judgment, by the way, the

republicans bear an awful lot of blame for where we are. not just the president. but in my judgment, what the president needs to do now is to bring in the congressional leadership. republicans and democrats, and see if they can't cut a deal on jobs. it would be so helpful, not about the debt but concern about the jobs. the president has some things on his agenda. the republicans have things on their agenda for what would create growth. cut a deal. show people they can actually work together without all the finger pointing and acrimony and give people confidence that people, that the politicians in washington who were disgusted folks around the country, give them confidence. we'll come together and put aside our petty politics in 2012 and try to get something done in the next few months. >> mary, you mentioned george h.w. bush, that is when i first met you. you were working for him. he ran a campaign that he tried to convince people the economy was doing better. it didn't work. how hard is that? heading into a reelection en