plus, olympic gold medal diver, david boudia and from man versus food, adam richman is our guest. and "starting point" begins right now. welcome, our starting point is the very busy day on the political front today. we're learning that the new jersey governor, chris christie has been tapped to deliver the key note address at the republican national convention and says he's already been working on his speech, up to his fourth draft. he says america should expect very direct and hard truths when they hear it. paul ryan heads to the suburbs of denver today for his second solo campaign event since being tapped as mitt romney's running mate then head to vegas tonight for a campaign rally and private fundraiser at the venetian hotel. day one of the trail a little bump for ryan, he was heckled at

the state fair and at one point protesters tried to climb on stage. they was dragged off by police. president obama is doing everything he can to link romney to paul ryan's controversial budget plan. he turned down the lure of face baked d cinnamon roles for pork and a beer. listen. >> i am told that governor romney's new running mate, paul ryan, might be around iowa the next few days. he is one of the leaders of congress standing in the way. if you happen to see congressman ryan, tell him how important this farm bill is to iowa and our rural communities. >> the president continues to campaign in iowa today while mitt romney's bus tour makes three stops in the state of ohio. coming up in a few minutes, we'll be talking to senior romney campaign adviser john

sununu who will weigh in on the stop stories. >> the man at the center of a deadly shootout has been identified as thomas kofle. they were serving an ee veks notice when a man inside started shooting. the police returned fire and when it was officer three dead and two others wounded. the family is devastated. in the aftermath of the penn state cover-up. penn state is warned its acreditation is in jeopardy. they were asked to submit a report by the end of this month detailing the steps it's taking to comply with standards on leadership and governance, as well as integrity. a fast burning wildfire burned two structures in central washington state. many more threatened. the taylor bridge fire has

burned 2800 acres about a 90 minute drive from set seattle. another fire is threatening several other structures. five minutes going five times the speed of sound. it's very fast. and that's what engineers are hoping to achieve today overhe pacific ocean as they test a hyper sonic, unmanned aircraft called the waverider. it could usher in the jext generation of missiles and space craft and even passenger planes. so soledad, imagine from new york to london in under an hour. beat the tape delay for the olympics. first lady michelle obama setting the record straight on the kiss cam kerfluffle. she said it was malia who came to the rescue.

>> she orchestrated that second try because after the second half, we came back, she said, i've arranged for you to get another chance on the kiss cam. and then she came and sat with us to make sure we didn't mess it up. she was like, get ready. it's coming. that's when she was like, okay, go, now. kiss, do it. >> malia will give advice to axelrod and david plouffe soon. >> photo op for mom and dad. vice presidential candidate paul ryan will meet with voters in colorado before he heads off to nevada. mitt romney is in ohio. john sununu is also the former governor of new hampshire, joins us this morning. thanks for being with us. >> good to be here, thank you. >> let's start with chris christie being chosen as the key note speaker. what do you think? >> let me start first of all

with the clip you showed of the president. you're aiding and abetting his dishonesty. paul ryan and the republicans did pass a bill to take care of the drought problem but it's the democratic senate that hasn't passed it. when you show that clip and you show the president lying through his teeth, then you are aiding and abetting a distortion. >> the original bill was not passed. since you've taken us off track from my question. >> it was passed. >> the drought bill was passed. >> they will tell you they did not want to pass a bill that was a short-term answer because what they had on the table earlier was a longer term provision, as you know, sir, good morning, let's talk about chris christie for a minute. how do you feel about that? >> well, i think he's going to do great job of pointing out the disaster the economy is in. the 8.3% unemployment, the extremely low growth rate. the fact that american families have lost about $4300 each in

the asset value over the last four years. that gasoline has doubled. and that the ryan and -- adds to the romney ticket and we have two guys that understand what has to be done to save america. and they have the back bone and the will to do it and contrast that with the complete lack of courage in the obama/biden team. other than that, it probably won't be very tough. >> he has said that he's going to focus more on a why to elect mitt romney rather than talking about president obama. i think he's on his fourth draft of that speech. let's talk about what everybody is talking about now, which is the ryan budget and the ryan medicare plan. you told wolf yesterday, i believe, listen, ryan is number two on the ticket. it's really all about the romney plan. >> it is. the nominee is mitt romney. paul ryan joins mitt romney. the budget plan, the approach on medicare and all of that is going to be the romney plan.

what he has is a man as his number two who understands the details of budgets who has demonstrated a willingness to take on tough issues and who knows how to communicate with the public -- >> isn't the ryan plan the romney plan --? >> no, it isn't. >> let me read you a quote. >> it isn't. you keep wanting to say it and i'm telling you, it's not. >> let me read you a quote from mitt romney. this is from ryan liz za's article. on march 20th chicago, i'm very supportive of the ryan budget plan. he said, i think it would be marvelous if the senate were to pick up paul ryan's budget and adopt it and pass it along to the president. that sounds like a lot of support. am i wrong? >> it's support for the concepts that are in the ryan plan but mitt romney for six months has had on the table his package, his plan and his approach for dealing with medicare. if all you want to do is keep

repeating the garbage that comes out of the white house, then you've got a problem. the american public is going to see that the plan that is being put forward is the plan mitt romney has put forward. >> let's read then what comes out of mitt romney.com, which i have right here. key elements of mitt's plan, nothing changes for current seniors, medicaid is reformed as a premium support system, repackaged as a fixed amount ben fet they can use to purchase an insurance plan. all must offer what medicare provides today. it sounds awfully like the paul ryan medicare plan. >> but it's very dferent. for example, when obama gutted medicare by taking $717 billion out of it, the romney plan does not do that. the ryan plan mimicked part of the obama package there. the romney plan does not. that's a big difference. >> but you know, and i understand that this is a

republican talking point because i've heard it repeated over and over again. these numbers have been denked as you know by congressional -- >> no, they haven't. >> i have the congressional budget office right here dated july 24th from doug elman dorve. read page 13 and 14 -- >> i can tell you what it says. it cuts a reduction in the expected rate of growth, which you know. not cutting budgets to the elderly, benefits will be improved, the focus is on hospitals and focus is on health insurance. >> cut the program by $711 million. >> the expected rate of growth is being cut. >> he reduces services to medicare beneficiaries currently on the package. what the difference is is that romney says no impact to anybody 55 or over. the -- it is clear in here that the reduction in services start

on january 1st, 2013. and obama stole that money to put it in the -- >> the hospitals agreed to that and drug providers agreed to that because their theory is they will make up by the number of people that come into the system. it doesn't reduce or cut the benefits. the older people who -- >> it does -- >> they are assuming, stop this. all you're doing is mimicking the stuff that comes out of the white house and gets repeated on the democratic blog boards out there. if you're going to mouth what comes out of the white house. >> i'm telling you what the cbo and cnn's independent analysis does. >> i have the report right here. >> and i'm telling you what it says. i've read it several times. >> put a sticker on your forehead when you do this. >> let me tell you something, there is independent analysis that details what this is about. >> no, there isn't. >> yes, there is. >> and repeateding a number -- sir, let me finish. there's independent analysis,

fact check.com, the cbo and cnn has already done its own independent analysis and name calling to me and somehow acting as if by repeating a number of $716 billion that you can make that stick when that figure is being stolen from medicare, that's not true. you can't just repeat it and make it true, sir. >> reduction in services and reduction -- >> reduction in the expected rate of growth. reduction in the expected rate of growth. >> and reduction in services and reduction in support for medicare advantage. that is taking money from the program. >> which by the way, paul ryan, right, has in his budget, which by the way -- >> mitt romney does not. >> which romney has said in the quote i just read to you, he thinks it's brilliant. >> but he likes the ryan plan for its guts but he has his own plan out there, which is carefully crafted to protect the seniors from 55 and up and does not take the $70 billion that

obama took. >> john sununu, always nice having you, pleasure. >> yep. >> doesn't sound like he means it. >> i wish he would come out of his shell a little bit. very timid in the morning. >> every time we finish our conversation, he's a lot of fun to debate because he comes ready to talk numbers. >> one of the things the ryan plan, a lot more specifics than the romney plan. >> the romney plan is 1,000 words long, the medicare part of it. that's a big challenge because no one knows the details of the romney plan. >> the ryan plan fills the void so far in mitt romney proposals and mitt romney has created some of this confusion himself by trying to distance himself from the ryan plan and other times not trying to distance himself. >> he's embraced it and distanced himself often in very -- >> left to clean that up a little bit. >> ultimately the question is,

what do voters think? what's the message being sent to the voters in florida, iowa, pennsylvania, where there's a higher number of seniors, that's what the question is. >> coming up in our next hour, we'll talk to david axelrod, a senior adviser to the obama campaign. he'll weigh in on this debate as well. covering the campaign trail, blazing her own trail, candy crowley of cnn, going to be first woman in 20 years to moderate a presidential debate. what took so long? take a look at this. a python that was found in the florida everglades. it's a record breaker. we'll tell you just how big it is and what it was carrying. that's our get real. we're back in a moment. are you serious? [siri] yes i'm not allowed to be frivolous. ah ok, move my 4 o'clock today to tomorrow. change my 11am to 2. [siri] ok marty, i scheduled it for today. is that rick? where's rick? [siri] here's rick. oh, no that's not rick. now, how's the traffic headed downtown? [siri] here's the traffic. ah, it's terrible, terrible! driver, driver! cut across, cut across,

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welcome back, minding your business this morning, bank fees are going up. a new study from money rates.com looked at a variety of fees and every single category rose this year. service fees average $12 a month now, that's up 7% from last year. overdraft fees, a.t.m. fees and minimum balance requirements rose too. stock futures are looking up right now. here's something to watch on waum street. twilight star robert pattinson will ring the opening bell. a little star power there. the lastest front end crash test, the mercedes benz and es 350 and audi a earned the worst

rating. you always want to see your car get the check mark. >> and how is the chevy suburban doing? just checking. cnn's very own candy crowley will make history this campaign season becoming the first woman in 20 years and the second woman in all history to moderate a presidential debate. she's going to presitd ovde ove second debate at hofstra university in new york. the performance of the candidates at these debates could have a strong impact on voters come november. a new poll shows 57% of americans consider the debates very important to their choice for president. the most of any factor. the primary debates were a major hurdle for mitt romney because of some comments and gaffes he made. but his performance improved

over time. debate coach brett o'donnell is the man who worked with mitt romney ahead of those debates and he joins us this morning, always nice to see you. thanks for being with us. why 20 years since we've had a woman? what's that about? >> i don't know. i think there are a lot of -- soledad, you should be moderating it. i think there are plenty of female journalists out there capable of moderating the debates. and i think it's a honor for candy to have the town hall debate. that's the toughest of all to moderate. >> we're so proud and excited for her to be moderating this debate. tell me about the town hall for mat and who does that help and hurt? >> well, you know, i don't know that it favors one or the other. i think it will get a chance -- voters will get a chance in the town hall format to see how the

candidates connect with voters in the audience. i think that's what makes the town hall format good for presidential debate because the candidates go out and do town halls but sometimes they are more pre-set, prearranged then the town hall debate will be. this is a chance to see how the candidates actually respond to voters in a live debate format. i think it's a good format for both candidates and we'll see who connects better to voters. >> presidential debates, when they polled people, 57% say it's very important in the choice for president. i wonder if that's partly because what they are really saying, they watch for gaffes. you watch for mistakes and make judgments off those mistakes. we have a tiny clip of gaffes from president obama and mitt romney as well. we'll play a little bit and we'll talk on the other side. >> i don't think i'm that -- >> you're likeable enough,

hillary. >> we went to the company and said, you can't have illegals working on the property. i'm running for office for pete's sake, can't have illegals. >> your job is to prep people for these kinds of debates. what is your number one rule to make it through a presidential debate? >> do no harm. that's the first rule. you want to make sure nothing happens in the debate that doesn't set the candidate back. and you want to then do something that moves the message forward. debates are really message opportunities and the reason that audiences play such a premium on them is because they think it's a chance to see the candidates in a head to head format, stripped of all of the campaign paraphernalia, they are not in ads, not a speech. it's a live moment that's on a neutral ground. so i think that's why audiences play such a premium on them, not just they are looking for gaps, but that's important as well to avoid them as well. >> brett o'donnell, looking forward to these debates, especially since candy will be

moderating one of them. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> still ahead, florida is accustomed to big snakes, but you will not believe this one. >> unbelievable. >> nasty thing that was discovered in the everglades. one scientist called it monstero monsterous. it's our get real this morning. plus our team walking in. bridge it sooegle and will hurst. and will cain. 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge!

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our team joining us this

morning. will durst. >> and bridgette siegel is with us, joining the panel this morning and will cain, a columnist for the blaze.com. >> good to see you. >> having a nice morning, soledad? >> i feel i need a stiff drink after my john sununu interview. our get real chat -- >> chat, good word. >> argue, whatever. this python problem in the everglades, that's an easy segue. invasive species apparently eating everything, including al gators and deer. not surprising when you look at the size of that thing. scientists caught the biggest one they have seen, weighed 164.5 pounds carrying 87 eggs inside of it. researchers are now studying to learn how they can stop the

spread of this -- >> thankfully. >> look at the eggs. just started in 1979. first time thipythons showed up florida and hundreds of thousands of pythons in southern florida. >> has no known predator, right? >> i don't know what would eat that. >> it's like a bad science fiction, out of the sci-fi channel. >> like that anaconda movie with jennifer lopez. >> or "snakes on a plane". >> that's our get real. don't go swimming in the everglades because that big thing could eat you. the f-bomb is now in the dictionary. >> makes it okay. you'll never believe what other words have made it into the mainstream dictionary. plus, mitt romney's new running

mate, talking about paul ryan heckled on his first day on the campaign trail. we're back in just a moment. ntg abigail higgins had... ...a tree that bore the most rare and magical fruit.

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welcome back to quts start being starting point. paul ryan heckled in his debut. listen. >> like i said, she must not be

from iowa. so -- >> and she's hauled off, both hauled off. he went on to continue his speech. in a few minutes we'll talk to the editor in chief of red state.com, eric erickson will talk about ryan in the spotlight and his thoughts on the pick and his thoughts -- he was one of the first to say that ryan would be a good vp pick. he was out front, surprised he didn't necessarily be his pick. >> what's interesting about the iowa state fair, that's exactly the same place where mitt romney said corporations are people too. he was being heckled. >> it's a tough crowd. >> it's a free wheeling atmosphere and he handled like all good politicians handle it will. >> you get the people out and get on with your message. >> some of the stories making headlines, 7.7 magnitude earthquake off the coast of

eastern russia is causing false positive reports of earthquakes in california. they say this have been no damage and no threat of a tsunami or significant aftershocks. it could be felt as far away as northern japan. the egyptian government plans to put two journalists on trial for defaming and assaulting president morsi. prosecutors say the other is charged with false information and rumors that threaten the stability of the country. both are prohibited from leaving egypt while they are under investigation. attorneys for accused killer george zimmerman are pulling out legal stops to get a new judge in the trayvon martin case. they've asked kenneth lester to step down but he's refused so now they filed an appeal to have him removed. zimmerman's lawyers claim judge lester cannot be impartial after revoking their client's bail back in june. he's been on medical leave for two months and we're

learning jesse jackson jr. has by polar disorder. jackson is responding well to treatment and regaining strength. they have not discuss the timetable for his positive return to office. where does your state stack up in the battle of the bulge? the robert wood johnson foundation found 26 of the 30 states are in the midwest and south. worst offendsers, mississippi, followed by louisiana and west virginia. the study found the leanest state is colorado with sunny hawaii second and massachusetts third. fascinating findings about how your brain handles depression and stress. a study found the brain shrinking under those conditions and found depression blocks the new -- in the brain. people with major depression

deal with concentration and memory loss and diminished emotional response. >> on that happy note -- >> i know, trying to measure my brain right now. >> wow, all right. let's turn and get back to politics, shall we? the newly minted candidate, paul ryan, visits a key swing state and hoping to turn the buzz around his selection into actual votes. he will campaign in colorado. didn't you say that was one of the healthiest states? >> he's a healthy guy. >> a day after visiting iowa. his message hit a little bump when some protesters heckled him at the iowa state fair, not all that unusual for that state fair. listen. >> it's funny, it's funny because iowans and wisconsinites we like to listen to each other and be respectful. they must not be from iowa or wisconsin.

>> the first to suggest that paul ryan could be romney's pick and nice to see you, eric. must be nice to look back and say i was among the first to throw that name out there. before we talk about paul ryan, chris christie will do the key note. what do you think about that? >> i think it's a good idea. they wanted to find a place for him and i think that's a good place, gives him the spotlight, deeply popular with the base. independents like him. he's actually polling ahead of barack obama in new jersey. can i say the whole shrinking brain and depression, when you're potty training, the same result. >> a lot of parents are like, yes, you do and i don't know it comes back. when it comes to polling, a usa toda today/gal up poll, 35%, excellent, pretty good, no opinion is hype at 23%. what do those numbers tell you?

>> that it's too early. i really think one of the worst trends in modern american polling where people have no clue who the guy is. the number two pick on google searches were paul ryan shirtless. come on. >> what does that tell you? >> tells you something. >> speaking of -- >> will, i'm excited about the ryan pick, in terms of leadership and devotion to principle. i'm not sure it's a great move in terms of sheer politics. we're talking this morning about the concept of trcontrolling th message, specifically regarding medicare. can republicans control the message on medicare and avoid having this to be a debate where the terms of the debate, are you or are you not throwing grandma off the cliff? are you or are you not killing medicare? >> right. you know, i talked to a lot of republican strategists over the weekend and they make three points. first is that suddenly this race

is no longer a referendum on the choice between two provisions and republican strategists don't have confidence that the romy campaign can sell their choice. suddenly you're not talking about the economy anymore, talking about medicare. republicans don't win when you talk about medicare. and suddenly maybe florida is in play, maybe stronger than it was. and that's why they'll have him campaign with his mom living on medicare down there. >> one of your colleagues wrote this. in choose s romney, the romney team is indicating they may be more desperate than they let off. this is the kind of pick y make when you think you're behind. s headline is desperation. do you think that's a fair analysis? >> i think it's a fair analysis. i don't think they would have gone with paul ryan unless they needed to shake up the race. all along they thought boring old white guy and went with

younger somewhat exciting white guy. they've got to make inroads not just with independents but solidify the race with conservatives. they made a number of miss steps with conservatives. you know it is a pick that is risky because so many behind the scenes consult aenlants went on background to the politico and new york times and elsewhere, saying, we wish he hadn't had picked this guy. >> they keep calling it bold. but you got to be careful. whiskey for breakfast is bold. forehe tattoos are bold. >> bold is the new adjective. >> nice to have you. thanks for being with us. >> coming up in roughly 20 minutes, we're going to talk with david axaxelrod. he'll weigh in on all of this.

ahead on "starting point," i don't like the word f bomb but now it's in the dictionary. i'm not going to explain. man cave is in the dictionary too. my son is 8 years old, he's in today. there are new words and phrases making it into the dictionary. we'll tell you what they are and what they mom. back from london with a gold medal around his neck, metaphorically, olympic diver, david boudia. he was afraid of heights. he does the 10 meter dive and won the gold medal. we'll talk how he was able to overcome his fear of heights and go from 18th place to winning the gold. amazing story. we're back in a moment.

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welcome back, could be a game changer for language. not really, the dictionary is out with the newest words. some of them are familiar, like

game changer, defined as newly introduced element or factor that changes an existing situation or activity significantly. man cave, a room or space designed to according to the man of the house. yeah, whatever. my favorite is aha moment, which is in the dictionary. i thought oprah made this up, a moment of sudden realization. oprah was always talking about her aha moment. i think it came from the 1930s. that was a little stunning. some of the other words in here, f-bomb, that seems a little -- >> interestingly they say that one coined by mets catcher gary carter. not oprah. >> of course. and underwater. >> i like gassed. >> what does that mean? >> it means you're dead, you're beat. but back in the '30s, it had a different meaning. it meant you were high, you were

stoned, you were drunk. >> exhausted. i'm often gassed when i walk off the stage trying to force soledad o'brien into an aha moment and drop f-bombs on the way out. >> that was well done. you should not be gassed, meaning worn out. you should be gassed, excited, meaning we had another incredible debate. you know i like talking political philosophy with you, even though you're often wrong. >> often as defined by rarely. >> you're cracking me up today. still ahead this morning on "starting point," long lost pyramids have been spotted in egypt thanks to google earth. we knew they had some uses for that. this is a man who started out being afraid of heights, but now david boudia is one of the best platform divers in the world and wearing his medals. great to have you. thanks for coming. >> thanks for having me. >> congratulations, i've never seen an olympic gold medal up close. >> they are really heavy.

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welcome back, an archeologist thinks she has discovered the locations of some of egypt's lost pyramids and she did it using google earth. she says the two sites stand 90 miles apart. scientists are looking at the images to see if they should examine further. president obama called to congratulate the nasa team, even gave a show out to mohawk guy. >> i understand there's a special mohawk guy working on the mission? i in the past thought of getting a mohawk myself. my, my my team keeps on

discouraging me. >> he tweeted out later on it was the greatest day of his life to have the president joke with him like that. touchdown in rio, the olympic flag arriving on brazilian soil, marking four years of preparations for the s 2016 summer games in rio de janeiro. it will be on public display at city hall. get ready for rio. we are talking about london this morning. the u.s. olympic athletes returning after the really exciting summer games in london. one of them is standout diver david boudia, who won a silver medal in the synchronized diving and then a gold medal in the 10 meter platform. what you might not know about david boudia, he is afraid of heights. he battled that. so why are you a diver off of very tall things, david?

>> i know. how ironic. >> yeah. >> olympic champion, scared of heights. when i first started my diving career, i was 11 years old, and i was stuck up there when i was 12. you stick a kid on a three-story building and tell him to do three or four flips and dive in, they are going to be scared out of their mind. but it went back to the support that i had, my gymnastics coaches, and drew out the dives on pieces of paper. so when i went to practice, i was able to already do the dives in my head a thousand times. >> wow. it's amazing. you were in 18th place going into the semis. is that right? and that's the last place that you can possibly be in to make it into the next level. >> how is that for drama? >> and then you went from that to gold. your story has a lot of drama this morning. how did you do it? >> that was a total crazy moment. you know, barely making it into the semifinal. and then i was walked over to my coach and i saw him when i was

at 17th place, and i was like, this is where the olympics end for me. and i was actually content, and i was totally understanding of god's sovereignty over it. >> you thought you were done? this is it? >> i did. i went back to the room and was packing up my things. and saw my name in 18th, and i was like, all right, i have another shot at. this this /* -- at this. i woke up the next morning. i was so relaxed, so content. and the next 12 hours, i found myself on the top of the podium. >> will cain is wearing your gold medal, by the way. keep an eye on that. >> that's gold right there. and they are much heavier. everyone says this. they are much heavier than you would think. and thank you for letting me wear this. >> he's got the gold, and bridgitte has the bronze. you couldn't have won three? >> i was only in two events. i'll come back after rio. how is that? >> david, that calmness, did that carry over into your final

dive? you've done this i'm sure thousands of times. but your final dive determined the gold. you were up against the chinese world champion. you go three stories up, hang your heels off the back of a three-story building and do this amazing dive. i just can't imagine doing that while calm. >> the craziest thing about the whole competition about the olympic finals is i didn't know where i was placed the entire time. going into the last dive i had no idea i was point something away from the great britain diver. i was totally relaxed. had i known, i probably would have felt a lot more pressure. but i got out of the pool, walked over to my coach, and i could tell there was -- ok, maybe i'm in medal contention. i didn't know i was in gold medal contention. >> what was the final dive? >> what was the final dive? well, i do two flips with 1/2 twists and try to dive in without a splash. >> it's completely ridiculous. >> we have synchronized diving. do you want to try that?

>> what has greg will you gainous told you? what did he tell you? >> this whole experience, since 2008, has just been dramatic change. it was a total perspective change. we were so worried about getting medals in 2008 that we walked away without medals. so we switched our focus in 2012, and now we are walking away, usa diving with four medals. >> and your focus was on -- >> you know, just taking it one step at a time. we went in and did what we did in practice, and it turned out excellent for the united states diving team. and definitely a very cool ending with the gold. >> i have to ask you before you go, there was an article about olympians losing these things. was this ever at any risk of being lost? >> just now. >> it's been in my pocket the entire time. but i am going to check twice before i leave. >> absolutely. you want to make sure you get that back from will cain. so great to have you. >> thank you for having me. >> have you to understand for

those of you who just get to watch from a distance how proud we are as americans to cheer you on. the representation in london was amazing. it was so great. if you have a kid you can sit next to and say, this is our nation competing, it's a remarkable thing. >> see so cool to be able to come home to an inspired generation. >> we love it. >> you're so calm, it makes me nervous. all right. we have to take a break. thank you for coming in. and get those medals back. watch that gold medal. ahead this morning on "starting point," is paul ryan romney's vice presidential choice helping or hurting president obama's chances? a senior adviser to the obama campaign david axelrod will join us up next. plus, a warning for penn state. the university is told that it's accreditation is in jeopardy. cnn's legal analyst jeff toobin will be with us to weigh in on that. you're starting start.

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good morning. welcome, everybody. our "starting point" this morning is defining paul ryan. a closer look at the newly minted vice presidential nominee's federal budget plan. and heat wave. triple digit temperatures baking folks from california to arizona. plus, the roar of the future. the air force is testing a plane today that could go from new york to london in less that than an hour. packed show ahead. senior adviser to the obama

campaign david axelrod. cnn's candy crowley will be joining us. the first female presidential debate moderator since journalist carole simpson 20 years ago. carole will also join us. and we're going to be talking to adam richman from "man versus food." he is bringing sandwiches. a love a man who brings food to the set. that is the way to my heart, people. it's tuesday, august 4. and "starting point" beginning right now. and welcome, welcome, welcome. our team this morning, will durst, comedian and political satirist. he didn't bring a sandwich for me. bridgitte siegel. she did not bring a sandwich either. and will cain. will cain, of all people, columnist of theblaze.com. >> of all people what? i didn't bring a sandwich? count on that same thing

happening tomorrow. >> at least you're consistent. our "starting point" this morning is efforts to define paul ryan, mitt romney's new running mate, as he makes stops in the battle ground state of colorado today trying to win over voters. romney will be swinging through ohio. president obama waking up in iowa for a second time today. during an appearance in council bluffs, the president wasted no time to take a dig at the new vice presidential pick. >> i know congressman ryan. he is a good man. he is a good family man. he is an articulate spokesman for governor romney's vision. but the problem is that vision is one that i fundamentally disagree with. >> david axelrod is a senior adviser to the obama campaign. i'm always worried when someone says i know paul ryan, he is a great guy, you know what's next. but, but, but. good to see you, sir. >> good to see you. >> we want to talk to you -- well, hang on.

we'll get to you first and then to john berman. so thanks for being with us. i want to start by talking about chris christie, who is going to be we know now the keynote speaker at the rnc. even people who don't like him say he's funny, irreverent, charming. what do you think about his pick? >> well, look, i think that he'll do a great job for governor romney. the problem for governor romney isn't his keynote speaker. it's his point of view. and that's what i think americans are going to evaluate, his history, his vision for the country. and so, you know, he'll have an entertaining keynote speaker, and no doubt that governor christie will do a good job and bring that lacerating humor of his to the task. but it's not going to make the vision any more appealing. >> many republicans are cheering that vision, especially in his pick of paul ryan. before he was named as a vp pick, he had a 23% -- this is of

paul ryan -- favorability rating. afterwards, it leaped 15 points. and anybody assessing that would say that's got to be a pretty good news for the romney now ryan campaign. are you worried about that? >> no. i think anybody who is thrust into prominence overnight like that is going to raise his approval rating. and, you know, sarah palin did it. i think it's a natural thing. he is a genial -- i think the president is right. he say genial person. the problem with paul ryan isn't him as a person. it's the point of view he represents. he is a right wing idealogue. he voted for the two unpaid wars, two tax cuts skewed towards the wealthy. >> he supported tarp. and the bailout of the auto industry. >> well, he did in the first instance when the president followed through on it and made some demands of the auto

industry to rationalize itself and make itself competitive, he opposed that part of the program. he supported president bush's first traunch of money to the auto industry. but in the main, soledad, what he is advocating now is what governor romney is advocating now, which is to double down on the policies of the last decade. huge massive trillions of dollars in tax cuts. skewed to the wealthy. $250,000 tax cut for millionaires. while the burdens are raised on the middle class. the romney plan, for example, would raise taxes on the middle class as it nets out by about $2,000. and then of course cuts, cuts in aid for college, cuts in medicare and medicaid, for nursing home care and caring for people with disabilities. and the investment -- just one more second. and the investments we need to grow the economy, research and development, energy. so, you know, it is a profound change of direction.

and one that takes us back to where we were before the disaster. >> let's talk about medicare, and we know where the democrats are going to go in their attack on medicare. i'll play you a little chunk on what we've been hearing over the last couple of days which i think very clearly spells out the strategy. >> mitt romney and paul ryan both want to end medicare as we ow it. >> those of you out there that think that medicare is a good thing, it will change and go to a voucher system if they have their way. >> i wouldn't trust the republicans on medicare as far as i could throw them. >> that's kind of a sense of the tenor. ending med cure as we know it. i've heard that a bunch of times. and republicans would argue what it is actually about is changing medicare to make it more solvent over the long-term. if you're 55 and under, you don't have to worry about it. and targeting older people, you know, is a scare tactic -- sorry, 55 and older, you don't have to worry about it. so targeting older people in states where there are a lot of old people like florida, iowa, pennsylvania, et cetera, is really a scare tactic for the election.

>> well, let's start from the fact that they want to repeal the affordable care act. the changes that the president made in the affordable care act, taking subsidies away from insurance companies within the medicare system. that helped us lengthen the life, the viability, financial viability, of medicare by almost a decade. they would repeal tha and medicare would be bankrupt by 2016. so right away, there are concerns for seniors about what they would do. but in the long-term, what they would do is turn medicare into a voucher program. they would cap that voucher so that over time, more and more of the burden would be shifted to seniors who would be left to contend on the private insurance market. or choose a very weakened medicare alternative. it is not a plan to strengthen medicare. it's a death spiral for medicare. and let's be honest. the republican party has never been supportive of medicare.

and congressman ryan fill philosophically doesn't really believe in medicare. and romney has a version of the same plan. so if medicare is a concern, certainly you wouldn't choose them as the ticket that will stand up for medicare. >> an article in the "new york times" said that mr. obama said that mr. ryan had, quote, an entirely legitimate proposal in his idea to transform medicare into a voucher system. he is quoted in ryan lizza's article from "the new yorker" the other day. he said that he has made a serious proposal. these are words from the president. he says this. i think paul, for example, head of the budget committee, has looked at the budget and made a serious proposal. that's president obama talking about paul ryan. it sounds like he is now flipping completely what he thinks. >> soledad, look, i couldn't agree more with the president. i think congressman ryan hs made serious proposals. but they are seriously wrong. as well, no one doubts that he has given this a lot of thought. but the fact of the matter is

that his proposals would as i say lavish terriblrillions of d of tax cuts mostly on the wealthy, raise burdens on the middle class, would leave gaping holes in the budget, and would lead to cuts in the very things we need to grow our economy, education, research and development, energy. we're in iowa today, congressman ryan was here yesterday, and he said we support alternative renewable energy and we support bioenergy and so on. but he opposes the very tax credits and so does mitt romney that has given rise to a whole wind energy industry here in iowa that supports 7,000 jobs. they support subsidies for oil companies but they want to kill tax credits that will help grow industries like wind and solar and biofuels. so this is not a vision for the future. this is very much taking us back. >> john sununu, who i was talking to earlier this morning,

says, listen, you know, don't focus on the ryan plan. focus on the romney plan. the romney plan is different than the ryan plan. if ryan is going to be the vp, that puts him as the number two shot and he's not going to be calling the shots. he'll be like every other vp, working for the number one guy, the president. here's what he told me earlier today. >> when obamautted medicare by taking $717 billion out of it, the romney plan does not do that. the ryan plan mimicked part of the obama package there. the romney plan does not. that's a big difference. >> that big difference, one has to imagine, is what they are going to be trying to sell in the state of florida and all those other states where they are trying to get the message to older voters. >> well, let's first deal with the absolute falsehood in governor sununu's presentation. the president as i said took away subsidies, unwarranted subsidies to insurance companies, and he used that money to help lengthen the life of medicare by nearly a decade.

so when governor romney says he doesn't support that, obviously, you know, that's problematical. and as i said, he supports the repeal of entire health care act and wants to have that debate all over again. if he did that, we would be facing a medicare bankruptcy by 2016. so in trms of whether ryan -- what role he will play, i can only tell you that governor romney said that he is the intellectual leader of the republican party. that suggests a much larger role. when you look at their proposals side-by-side, they are really quite similar. not just on economic issues, but social issues. congressman ryan supports making abortion illegal, even in cases of rape and incest, and this is a position that governor romney has supported over time. so there are a lot of similarities between the positions. and yesterday governor romney was asked to lay out some of the differences and he couldn't do it. so i think governor sununu is

not giving you straight talk on that point. >> david axelrod joining us this morning. thank you for being with us. we appreciate your time. >> great to be with you. thanks for having me. >> john berman now with a look at the top stories. we are learning a bit more about the suspect in a deadly standoff with police near the campus of texas a&m university. 35-year-old thomas kaffal was killed. his mother says he was ill, and the family is devastated. two people, including a county constable, were killed in the exchange of gunfire just blocks from the texas a&m campus. a fast-moving wildfire has burned at least one home and two dozen other buildings in central washington state 82 miles southeast of seattle. it's not clear what caused the blaze. excessive heat warnings in effect in southern california all the way to arizona. let's get a quick check on the weather now from our meteorologist rob marciano. what have we got? >> well, as you can imagine,

john, what you just mentioned about the fires, the heat only adding to that problem. there are 59 large uncontained fires across the west, and some are in california. yuma 117. palm springs 116. phoenix, 115. and this time of year, there's actually a little bit of humidity in there so it makes it feel even worse. do and we expect to see similar numbers today. excessive heat warnings up for palm springs back through phoenix. again, temperatures 115 or in some cases hotter than that. john, back to you. >> rob marciano, not a dry heat in arizona for once. imagine traveling the five times the speed of sound for five minutes. fo that's what aerospace are hoping to do today with the wave rider. it's fast enough to fly from new york to london in less than an hour. if it's successful, it will usher in the next generation of spacecraft, military craft, and even passenger planes.

barbara starr is following the developments. and i hear the word hypersonic. five times the speed of sound. how fast are we talking about? >> the military is saying they are going to try and get this thing to go about 4,500 miles an hour. something like mach six. this may actually be it. this is the x-51a wave rider. but it's serious business. what they are talking about later today over california, off the coast, they'll put up a b-52 bomber. hang this thing off the wing and fire it off and try and fly it for 300 seconds at that remarkable speed. this is a test to see if the technology is feasible to see if they can make it work. and as you say, john, the implications are fascinating. missiles. you could put a weapon on target around the world in minutes. you could transport troops to

far-off locatio within an hour. we could travel perhaps at remarkable speeds. but of course it doesn't really talk about how much time you'd spend on the airfield before you take off. that the military can't talk. >> and the military said this would have been useful to them over the past decades? >> just think about if you remember, back in 1998, before 9/11, they were trying to go after osama bin laden. they used tomahawk missiles to fire on a target that they thought he might be hiding at. in afghanistan. but by the time those missiles got there, he was long gone. if you can compress the time and do something within minutes, you can act faster than the enemy can react to you. that's a huge advantage for the future, john. >> barbara starr at the pentagon, thank you very much. still ahead this morning on "starting point," our tough call this morning. teenaged driving laws that are so strict they could end the double date. >> hmm. >> i know. shocking news there. $60 million, a four-year

bowl ban. all that could be nothing compared to what could happen next to penn state. we'll tell you what they are looking at. you're watching "starting point." we're back right after this. max. this is the plan that revolves around you.

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penn state university is on notice its accreditation is in jeopardy in the aftermath of the jerry sandusky child sexual abuse cover-up. the state's commission on higher education is what accredits schools in the mud atlantic region. they asked penn state to submit a report by the end of the month to detail all the steps they are taking to comply with the standards of leadership, governance, and integrity. penn state says they are confident they can address all of the concerns.

the first thing they have in this letter posted on the psu website says basically we want to be clear this has nothing to do with the quality of education our students receive. because usually when you're talking about accreditation, you're talking about somehow academically the school is not up to snuff. this is dwrint different. this is still just fallout from the jerry sandusky scandal. this whole effort by the accreditation department is a little excessive to me. there is no evidence that the education the students are getting is defective in any way. jerry sandusky hasn't worked at penn state since 1998. as we all know, he had access to some of the university well after that. but the idea that somehow this would require the pulling the accreditation of penn state seems excessive, but it sounds like penn state will address these concerns, and manage -- and avoids this problem. >> it seems like they are

focused on a couple of things that they call affiliationnd standards. so affiliation is compliance with applicable government policies. for example, we know now that certain people who are suspected of child abuse were never reported, right? that was a government policy that was not complied with. number nine is the governing body responsible for the quality and integrity of the institution making freely available accurate, fair, and complete information. it sounds like they feel the board was not doing its job. we now know from the freeh report there were many instances where the board did not really follow up and aggressively do oversight, which is the role of the board. and then overall they say leadership, governance, and inti integrity is a big problem. >> and sandusky, no longer a penn state employee, had access to penn state facilities largely unsupervised. that's when a lot of the abuse took place. the question of does penn state

have policies in place now to prevent other people from -- you know, nonemployees to getting access, that's a legitimate question for them to be asking. >> just a quick question. what are the practical implications of a university losing its accreditation? what happens? >> you have a college degree from an acredited university. if you don't have a college degree from an acredited university, you don't have a college degree. >> so anybody that went to penn state didn't go to the accredited university? >> you're projecting out. the issue would be going forward. but, you know, penn state is a great university, as we all know. and that's the -- and the degree has no less value now than it would with this action. >> but that threat seems to be a very interesting element, that hammer holding over not just people who were involved in the sports program but all of a sudden -- >> current students, future students. >> and it all creates pressure on penn state to make sure it has policies in place so that something like this can never happen again. and to that extent, who could

argue with that? >> it sounds like a fix it ticket. when you have a broken taillight and the cop says, you get it fixed in 90 days. and it sounds like they are saying to penn state, get your ducks in a row and come back. >> penn state has several of those. a $60 million fine. that's a good fix it ticket right there. no bowl appearances for four years. losing scholarships. i think penn state has gotten the message they need to fix this. >> so this is piling on? >> frankly, that was my reaction. i thought it was piling on. but it doesn't sound like it's going to lead to a lack of accreditation. so if everybody takes extra steps to be careful, it should be all right. >> jeffrey toobin, thank you. >> good to see you. >> likewise. still ahead, should the police replace parents when it comes to driving? a law in one state has people saying nanny state. others saying, no, it's a good thing

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time for the day's tough call. a court in the state of new jersey is upholding a law that would require drivers under the age of 21 that would have a permit or probationary license to buy and then display this red decal on their license plate. it costs $4. if you don't comply, you risk a $100 fine. critics say it could make the teenager the target of a criminal, especially a sexual predator, saying there's a young driver in the car. they also think that it is putting parenting in the hands of police. supporters say the decals make it easier for the police to identify young drivers and force conditions because of course if they have a permit or relatively new probationary license there are certain rules they have to comply with. state law says you have to be 17 to get a graduated license, and

you have to have an adult supervisor. you can't have other teens as passengers, a few exceptions to all of that. that's our tough call of the day. when you're a parent, you say, all those strict rules, i support those fully. but it does have a little ringing of -- >> big brother. >> but car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers. so with all of these things we've been talking about lately, big sodas and things, here's something that really, you know, studies show that having more than two, four teenagers in a car -- >> correlated to a higher death rate. >> it's the scarlet letter. it reeks of that kind of thing. >> they're teenagers. >> but couldn't you make the test harder? if you're worried about them driving, make the test harder. >> it's not so much about skill and ability. i think i'm a pretty laidback parent. but i'm terrified of the day my children turn 16. and it's for stats like this. when you have another teenager in the car, the risk of a crash

increases 44%. and two, it triples. teenagers can't multitask. >> wouldn't you drive differently if you knew that the person in front of you is being ridiculous and is a 16-year-old or a 17-year-old? i would slow down and let them get out of my way. >> how do you take the decal on and off when the parents drive the car? >> parents of teenagers can sometimes be frantic too, so it works. >> sometimes. >> a red decal for everyone. >> excellent suggestion, will. still ahead this morning on "starting point," the host of the travel channel's "man versus food" goes across the country in search of the best sandwich in america, and he is bringing in some for us to try out. plus, candy crowley has been picked to moderate the second presidential debate this year. the last woman to do that was carole simpson 20 years ago. both will join us live straight ahead. you're watching "starting point." we're back in just a moment. ♪

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welcome back to "starting point." in just a few moments, cnn's candy crowley will be talking to us live. she's been name a presidential debate moderator, making her the first woman in 20 years to be chosen for this prestigious role. who was the first woman? it was journalist carole simpson in 1992. carole will join us as well. and we think he is the best thing since sliced bread. man versus food host adam richman is eating his way across the nation. but first he stops by our studio bringing some treats. but first, right to john berman with a look at the day's top stories. good morning. >> let's do the sandwiches. but first, the news. the 7.2 magnitude earthquake off the eastern coast of russia. there are no injuries or damage but no threat of a tsunami or a significant aftershock. the earthquake was centered about 100 miles out to sea and could be felt as far away as northern japan. more bloodshed across syria.

at least 41 people killed today according to opposition activists. meantime, a group of islamic foreign ministers has voted to suspend syria from a regional organization ahead of a summit in saudi arabia. and a top u.n. official in damascus today trying to draw attention to the deteriorating humanitarian situation there. the government of egypt plans to put two journalists on trial for for defaming and insulting president mohamed morsi. attorneys for accused killer george zimmerman are trying to get the judge in the trayvon martin case removed. they have already asked kenneth lester to step down, but he refused so they have filed an appealed to have him booted off the case. they claim he cannot be impartial after angrily issuing

new bail in june. we know now that jesse jackson jr. is being treated for depression at the mayo clinic. doctors say he is responding well to treatment and regaining his strength. his staffers and doctors have not given a timetable for his possible return to office. so where does your state stack up in the battle of the bulge? 26 of the 30 states with the highest obesity levels are in the midwest and south. that's according to the trust for america's health and the robert wood johnson foundation. the worst offenders, mississippi, followed by louisiana, then west virginia. the study found that the leanest state is colorado, with hawaii second, and massachusetts, the bay state, third. >> how about new york? we need to look that up. the theory in new york is that you walk all the time so people are in better shape in the suburbs where everybody is driving. >> unless they are surfing in hawaii. >> well, if you have to be in a bathing suit, that's a lot of pressure. come on. >> hey, vanity is a powerful

motivator. >> absolutely. yes, it is. it's been 20 years since a woman moderated a presidential debate. back in 1992, carole simpson made history as the first african-american to moderate a presidential debate. and now our very own candy crowley will be moderating the second debate. she is the host of "state of the union" and our chief political correspondent. i can't even list all of the award, ts she has won. she is going to be moderating the town hall style debate which will be held at hofstra university on october 16. we're going to be talking with her in just a minute, but first we want to chat with carole simpson who is joining us as well. nice to see you. have you been advocating long and hard for a woman to take on one of the approximate theipres. why does it matter?

>> because we're different. men and women are different. we see things differently. we have different concerns. and particularly in this 2012 election, where there is talk among the candidates about roe v. wade and contraception and reproductive rights and personhood amendment, there are a lot of issues that concern women in a way that don't concern men. and so i thought it was particularly important that this year there be a woman that would be able to ask some of those questions that men might not find as important as we do. >> you were pushing for it. there are a bunch of yog women from new jersey who were pushing for it as well. i know at cnn we were also pushing for that as a company. what do you think was the thing that made the difference? and do you think we'll have to wait another 20 years after this one before -- or does it now change the game? >> no. no, no, no. i was shocked when i found out these three young women in new

jersey were upset that it had been 20 years since there had been a female moderator of a presidential debate. and i think america forgot that because we saw gwen ifill do two vice presidential debates. but that's not the really big show. the big show is the presidential debate. and so i think we just got diversity wasn't that important. there was the war, 9/11, and things like that. and so it took these three teenagers to make the world cognizant of the fact that it had been 20 years since a woman had done a presidential debate. but i had no doubt once the publicity got out there. and i started trumpeting it too. that they were going to name a woman. and i can't -- i'm hard-pressed to think of a better woman to fulfill that role than candy. >> we completely agree with you on that. she's amazing. she was on vacation when she got the call.

>> she really is. >> and she joins us by phone from vacation. candy, thank you very being with us on your vacation. we appreciate it. so tell me about the phone call. obviously, first woman in 20 years. is that the first thing that goes through your head, or did you just think like, who is on the phone bothering me on vacation? >> well, all three. and i just want this to go out as some reassurance to my sources. i can keep a secret. actually, the executive director called me last week. and told me. or asked me actually, if you can imagine. and it was so low key when janet brown called that i had a little trouble processing it. she said, you know, the debate, and we were wondering if you would be interested. and we'd like to offer it. and i'm thinking, wow, because i was at work. it was a thursday maybe of last week. and so i was excited, but i was -- she was so matter of fact and kind of casual.

and the first thing that went through my mind actually wasn't oh, wow, you know, i'm a female. the first thing that went through my mind was, i'm a journalist, and this is so great. this is just such an opportunity and so few people get it. and i didn't honestly click in until people started saying, what does it feel like to be the first woman since carole simpson, who as she says is a dear friend. i've known carole forever. so that's very fun. but i didn't actually think of the female part until later. >> so how do you prepare for that? gwen ifill i remember being parodied on "snl." i think queen latifah played her. and it was hilarious. so you know, candy, like that is kind of what you're facing. you know, in addition to the actual moderating for an audience, there's also that. are you ready for that? >> are you ever ready for that? no. but i -- listen, you know the

name of journalist always with twitter and the internet and all of that, people make fun of you. people, you know, say wonderful things about you. it's part of the job. but you know and i know that can't be what defines what you do and what you do has to be defined by what you've learned along the way and what the purpose of journalism is. and i've been prepared for the last however many years. it changes day-to-day. you watch it. you cover it. and i think by the time you get to october 16, in my case, you, you know, in your head you finally decide on what you want to ask and where you want to go about the time you say good evening. it's the same as any show. you know, news is news because it's just happened. so you want to be careful about asking -- i think the hugest

burden is what do people want to know, to stay out of the kind of insider processy stuff and say what's important to people's vote. and i think that's -- as long as you keep that in mind, i think you're going to be ok. i hope so anyway. >> well, we are so excited for you. congratulations. it's a tremendous honor. and it's awesome for us at cnn as well. so thanks for joining us on vacation early in the morning. we appreciate that too. carole simpson also. a huge role model i think for any woman who is a journalist. >> can i give candy any advice? >> you know what? i'm out of time so you guys -- you're friends. i'm sure you can just call her later. >> i'll call her then. >> you know, she doesn't need any advice. she said last minute, the light goes on, she'll say good evening and it will all come to her. >> yeah. call her on your dime. >> thank you. still ahead on "starting point," you know him and love

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the man behind the travel channel's successful series "man versus food" is at it again. this time he has a new quest, which is to find the best sandwich in all of america. in his new series, adam richman travels to 10 different regions tasting 30 sandwiches and has one goal in mind, to find the number one sandwich worthy of the ultimate title. adam richman's best sandwich in america. take a look. >> for months, i've been on a road trip, traveling countless miles from coast to coast. all in search of my best sandwich in the nation.

i sampled 30 amazing creations from 10 different u.s. regions, and in every region, i subjected each sandwich to my trademark bite scale, declaring one the champ. >> oh, that looks so good. the season finale of adam richman's best sandwich in america airs august 15. how did you focus on sandwich? >> every culture has a sandwich. every income bracket has a sandwich. and i've been saying it a lot, but i mean it, i really think the sandwich at its best is really just your imagination downed by two pieces of bread. >> what's the bite scale? >> well, we figured there should be one kind of judging tool. so it's bread interior taste and eating experience. so you're going to on wednesday pick the best sandwich in america. a little pressure. >> and it's completely biassed. yes. exactly. but it's my best sandwich.

because i think that every human being has their own. this is my pick. but i just wanted to showcase 30 of the great ones out there, and hope that people go on their own journeys. >> you've got 10, and then you added two wild cards. >> correct. >> so if this is your own list, do you self-select just all the interior, for example, that you like? >> you know, what i did was i select two of the sandwiches per region. one came from a celebrity pick. so that way in each gion, with the exception of one, because i didn't in fact try it, it was brand-new to me. >> stretching your bounds. >> you've got to grow a little bit every day. my shirt is stretching as well. >> happy to help you here. tell me what you brought today. >> i brought two of my favorite sandwiches in the new york area. the new york classic. we have katz's pi stramy. obviously, classic new york deli on rye bread. it's pretty magnificent. >> there really isn't enough

mustard on this for my taste. >> go for it. >> good stuff, right? >> mmm. >> i usually do the russian and slaw on the pastrami. >> amazing. >> and this one here is a sandwich that unfortunately i wasn't able to include in the show. this is a vietnamese sandwich called a bon mi from hanko's. it's on smith and bourbon street in brooklyn. it's rose pork, pickled carrot. >> that is so good. >> cilantro, a little bit of pate. and they grind their pork there. and i find it surprisingly light, even though it looks like it could be a really substantial sandwich. >> i love shows where i eat through the entire thing and you do the talking. is it going to be hard to pick in the end? >> i think so. people have such fierce hometown associations with sandwiches. and i think that's also i didn't loved it. you can't talk to someone from

pittsburgh and not mention pronanti brothers. so it was difficult. but, again, i picked the one that is my best sandwich. but, you know, it's a delicious world out there waiting for people like you to eat it. >> it is delicious. if you need an assistant for the last couple of days of the show, let me know. i'm glad to help you out. >> you bring style and class to it. >> i just want to eat. that's all. nice to have you. mind if i finish these? >> please, go ahead. don't be afraid. it's a sandwich. >> we're back in a moment. the all-new cadillac xts. available with a patented safety alert seat. when there's danger you might not see, you're warned by a pulse in the seat. it's technology you won't find in a mercedes e-class. the all-new cadillac xts has arrived, and it's bringing the future forward.

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and welcome back to "starting point." this week's human factor, dr. sanjay gupta introduces us to a little girl named samantha brownlee, who is already a published author. 8 yearsold. nothing holds this little girl back. take a look. >> the book is mostly about making the most of whatever i do in life. >> samantha brownlee is 8 years old and already an author. her book, which she wrote at the ripe old age of 6, is about how she copes with hearing loss. >> some people have different problems they have in life but they don't really want to share it. but i like to share it. >> reporter: samantha and her 11-year-old brother, sean, were born with damage to nerves in the inner ear. permanent damage in both ears. but at an age when taunting from their peers could shatter their self image, samantha and sean are undaunted. >> we never saw it as a disability. it's just a factor.

i mean, i wear glasses. i don't have a sight disability. i just need help with my vision. >> reporter: without the word "disability" weighing her down, samantha found it in her to write and illustrate this book. >> it helps me hear better because it makes the sounds louder. >> reporter: it's saulcalled "samant "samantha's fun fm book". >> i thought it was a wonderful project, and then it took on a life of its own. >> reporter: including sales of her book on amazon.com. >> 50 million people in the country have hearing loss. >> reporter: and this psa for the hearing health foundation. and though she has many years ahead of her, samantha has advice for children and adults about how to overcome. >> no matter what happened, i just try, try, try. you can help someone out with it. >> oh, my gosh. she is like the cutest kid. i just try try, try, try. you go, samantha. son wears a hearing aid too.

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we have just enough time for "end point." will cain, you start today. >> i was completely unprepared for that. i have been wearing a gold medal all morning. i've been dreaming about that

since i was 13 years old and i was a swimmer. >> you wore one today. >> every swimmer aspires to the olympics. we have no professional circuit to become millionaires so you aspire to that thing around your neck. >> and you stole david's. >> i think i just got my end point in. >> i figured that's what you were going to talk about. bridget? >> my end point is the new words. i like aha moment being a word. not so much the f bomb. but the thaha moment. >> the end point for me is the republican response to having their base energized and i wonder how long it will be before romney releases his tax records to change the conversation. >> what would be interesting, when you talk to folks, republicans rank and file, they are very excited about paul ryan. >> so are democrats. >> yeah. so we'll see what that means for the future and keep talking about it i'm sure. "cnn newsroom" with deb ferric begins right now. good morning, deb. >> morning, soledad. yes, indeed, we