fascinating all at once. on that note, that does it for me. i'm brooke baldwin at the cnn headquarters in atlanta. let's go to washington now. your "the situation room" with wolf blitzer begins right now. brooke, thanks very much. happening now, a battle over who has the best plan to make america energy-independent. we're standing by to hear live from both mitt romney and president obama. also the vice president, joe biden, he does it again. you're going to hear what he said today that has conservatives complaining of a racial hit. and the obama campaign's trying to clarify. and milk pir ra nas. what's behind the very unneighborly feelings. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room."

energy is front and center in the presidentiarace today. we've been watching as mitt romney and president obama trade long distance jabs that accuse their opponent of keeping the country from developing all of its potential energy resources. romney drove home his point during a stop in ohio's coal country today. our national political correspondent, jim acosta, is following romney's bus tour. he's joining us now live. what happened today, jim? >> reporter: wolf, move over medicare, there are other wars of words breaking out right and left over energy. and something joe biden said earlier today. >> i see how he's been waging war on coal. >> reporter: mining for votes in eastern ohio, mitt romney accused president obama of leaving coal in the dust in favor of green energy. when romney took his hammer to vice president biden, he had the coal miners standing behind him fuming. >> h vice president said coal is more dangerous than

terrorists. can you imagine that? [ audience booing ] >> reporter: romney was referring to biden's comments in a 2007 interview when he was asked whether air pollution and corn sweeteners had killed more people than terrorists. >>ir that has too much coal in it, corn syrup next, then a terrorist attack. >> reporter: the obama campaign quickly fired back tweeting out this video of romney blasting a coal-fired power plant when he was governor. >> i will not create jobs or hold jobs that kill people. and that plant, that plant kills people. >> reporter: over in iowa the president defended his support for greener alternatives by mocking comments romney once made about wind energy. >> governor romney even explained his energy policy this way. i'm quoting here, you can't drive a car with a windmill on it. i don't know if he's actually tried that. i know he's had other things on his car. >> reporter: the jab was a not so veiled reference to dog

romney once strapped to the roof of the family car when he was a young father. back in ohio coal miner richard bee says it's romney right on the issue. do you really think there's a war on coal? >> i absolutely believe there's a war on coal. if we don't stop them right now, we'll never keep our coal industry alive. >> reporter: the new war of words quickly overshadowed the debate over medicare prompted by romney's selection of paul ryan as his running mate. a well-placed republican source told cnn a growing number of republicans are beginning to view romney's choice as a risky move. >> are you disappointed you weren't selected as his running mate? >> he made the right choice. paul ryan is incredible. >> reporter: in an interview with cnn, one of romney's runners up, marco rubio, said the pick won't damage the vote in florida where the senior vehicle code will be crucial. can the romney/ryan ticket win florida? >> absolutely. >> reporter: you're predicting? >> i am. >> reporter: more concerned with the president's number two man after what he said in virginia.

>> he's going to let the big banks once again write their own rules. unchain wall street. going to put you all back in chains. >> wow. jim, standby for a moment. that biden comment is causing quite an uproar out there on the campaign trail. i want to bring in our white house correspondent dan lothian. dan, what did the vice president say he really meant by that comment that romney was going to "keep them in chains?" >> reporter: well, what the vice president was trying to make here was that he was trying to show that mitt romney's plans on wall street reform would be bad for americans. mitt romney in the past has expressed opposition to the so-called dodd frank bill. he has since clarified that. but that's the point that the vice president was trying to make. that in and of itself would not have been bad, but critics are jumping on the words he used, those racially-charged words as some republicans are saying

making that connection between this -- the comments, the chains, and slavery. and on the internet and otherwise the republicans are really asking the obama campaign to really back away from these comments again saying it was simply over the line. >> so far as you know, dan, the white house is not backing away from that comment. they released a statement. >> reporter: that's right. it was from deputy campaign manager who said in a statement "for months republicans have called for the unshackling of the private sector from regulations that protect americans from risky financial deals." she says the vice president has in the past used this unshackling term, this was another derivative, a metaphor the vice president was using to make a point, wolf. >> let me bring jim into the conversation. what's the romney campaign now saying about this clarification, this explanation from the obama campaign? >> reporter: well, wolf, i had a

chance to talk to a senior strategist for the campaign, eric fehrnstrom, who said this was an outrageous attack coming from vice president biden and in his view the obama campaign is getting desperate. he pointed out to a new gallup poll out today. and eric fehrnstrom, wolf, said this could be a sign of a paul ryan bounce. but the official word from the romney campaign, they put out a statement earlier today, they are describing what joe biden had to say earlier today as "a new low for the campaign." wolf. >> all right. standby. we're going to have a lot more on the war of words in the campaigns. later this hour, former white house press secretary, deputy communications director going to be joining us. she's now the press secretary for the obama campaign. president obama's riding his campaign bus through iowa once again today. we'll be hearing from him live

later this hour. the president's top political strategist, david axelrod also in iowa right now. he stopped to talk to our chief national correspondent john king joining us live right now. how did that conversation go, john? >> reporter: interesting conversation, wolf because this is such an interesting state. president obama won iowa by ten points last year. but both campaigns say it's very close now. it's definitely a battleground state. the president as you noted here not for one, not for two but a three-day bus tour. when i sat down with david axelrod about why is iowa a battleground and how does he think paul ryan will factor here. >> i think paul ryan further clarifies the choice. there's absolutely no doubt that there are two distinct views about how we should move forward. as a country i would argue his takes us back. so i don't think it's a good vision for the country. but it is a distinct vision. and it's more distinct today than it was a few days ago. >> in wisconsin, in ohio, here in iowa, the republican party's

base is increasingly white, blue collar voters. does he help there? >> i don't think so because while congressman ryan is a genial person, i like him as a person and he does come from this region, his views don't reflect the interests of this region. this is a region of working class people. and they don't see the merit of trillions of dollars of new tax cuts skewed to the wealthy that would raise their burdens when they're trying to get along and get ahead in this economy. he may hail from wisconsin, but he is very much a product of the right wing washington think tanks. and that vision is not a good vision for this country. >> this state was defining to then senator now president obama's stepping on to the national political stage. why is it so close this time? >> this is always been a competitive state. and i actually think it's moving in the right direction for us. i like where we are.

but obviously we're contesting for every vote here, which is why we're here for three days. but i must say that a ticket that -- i mean, paul ryan is part of the group in congress that is blocking a long-term farm bill that is so important to iowa. he's part of the group in congress and along with governor romney who oppose, you know, tax credits for the wind industry, which is one of the burgeoning industries here in iowa. count for a few thousands jobs in the last few years. and of course this is an older state. so their plans relative to medicare and medicaid are not ones that older americans would embrace. >> have you been out hustled here? governor branstdad -- >> i think we have organizational edge in the state and we've done a good job of registering new voters. i think we're building that back

up. but i don't think we're going to be outhustled on election day. and i don't think we're going to be out hustled in the next 85 days. >> reporter: and, wolf, part of that organizing going on right here at the iowa state fair. a million people will pass through here this year. both campaigns are working hard to sign up new voters and volunteers. a few feet behind me there's a cast your kernel poll. you take a corn kernel, drop it in a jar. one for romney, one for obama. not exactly scientific, wolf, at the moment governor romney's winning. >> i noticed paul ryan was at that state fair where you are. i take it the president is not going to be there? or has he changed his mind? >> reporter: the president did come through last night. he was here for about an hour. his bus pulled in after an event up in boone. he was seen drinking a beer in what's the bud tent. it's a famous institution here. little flyover overhead. the president was here for about an hour. met with democratic supporters, had something to eat and we saw him enjoying a cold beer. part of the fair tradition. i might have one myself a little

later. >> i'm sure you will. all right. enjoy. we'll have you back here a little bit later as well. hold off on the beer for the time being. >> reporter: yeah. medicare, energy and now vice president biden's warning about wall street putting people "back in chains." we're going to have lots to talk about. the former white house deputies communication director now press secretary for the obama campaign, jen psaki, she'll join us live. and how big brother will be watching city dwellers like never before. and why people in washington state in one town they're talking about telling their canadian neighbors to simply stay home. [ male announcer ] the perfect photo... [ man ] nice! [ male announcer ] isn't always the one you plan to take. whoa, check it out. hey baby goat... no that's not yours... [ hikers whispering ] ...that's not yours.

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jack cafferty's here with the cafferty file. jack. >> 64% of americans say they have given quite a lot of thought to the upcoming presidential election. how can you not think about it? you can't get away from it. according to a usa today gallup poll is down but higher than american's engagement in the 2000 election. the numbers suggest that voter turnout could be lower this year than in 2008 or 2004. republicans are more revved up than the democrats. 74% of republicans say they think about the election quite a lot compared to just 61% of democrats. this 13-point gop advantage is the highest this poll has measured in recent presidential

elections. now, it's possible the democrats just haven't tuned in yet and that the republicans are more engaged because of the primaries. typically americans start thinking more about the election the closer it gets once the conventions, debates, et cetera start happening. and tradition really starts to rev up after labor day. if the higher gop interest keeps up, it could mean higher turnout for the republicans come november. it's clear mitt romney selects paul ryan over the weekend has jump started the party's base. the crowds at romney's events have grown larger. perhaps as high as 15,000 at one north carolina rally. and they've grown more energetic as well. reminds you a little of president obama's crowds in 2008. but the president is not drawing those kinds of crowds this time around. here's the question, how often do you think about the presidential election? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile. post a comment on my blog. or go to our post on the "the

situation room" facebook page. it seems embedded in the public consciousness and it's only going to get worse. >> i think about it at least three or four times an hour. >> you're supposed to. that's your job. >> maybe more. maybe i don't think about anything else just the presidential election. >> wake up in the middle of the night screaming thinking about it. >> sometimes in the middle night do wake up and start worrying about something in the election. all right, jack, thanks very much. other subjects we're following right now. you may not have ever heard of computer software called trapware, but wikileaks sparking global concern about the spyware. susan is working the story for us. susan, how valid are these concerns? >> wolf, according to the wikileaks e-mails track wire is a program that was originally designed to provide law

enforcement with detailed images in u.s. cities and sharing that information with authorities as those activities were occurring. turns out while this system may not be all that widely used, the notion of being watched around the clock is not such a stretch. surveillance cameras are everywhere. just who's watching and what they're watching has flamed new concerns after wikileaks published stolen e-mails regarding a government surveillance program called trap wire. it's a program meant to identify potential terrorist activity using cameras now omnipresent. the idea is a new watch in a post-9/11 world. some worry that those measures come at a high price. >> the whole approach stopping terrorism is based on mass surveillance is not an effective way to stop terrorism. and it's very dangerous for our liberties. we don't want to live in a society where the government is watching all of us all the time just in case we might be a terrorist. >> reporter: but trap wire doesn't appear to have gotten very far off the ground with government supporters.

the department of homeland security helped fund the initial development of the project. an official telling us that dhs funded an operational pilot in washington, d.c. and seattle in 2010 to determine if the system could be applicable in infrastructure protection applications. that pilot aimed at keeping buildings safe included cameras being placed in some 15 locations. but dhs says it discontinued funding the program in january 2011. that doesn't mean, however, that similar programs haven't taken off. >> we're announcing the full launch of the do main awareness system. >> reporter: last week the city of new york announced that it had partnered with microsoft in the development of a realtime surveillance network blanketing parts of the city with cameras and offering realtime pictures of what's happening then feeding those images back to law enforcement personnel. >> this new system capitalizes a new powerful policing software that allows police officers and other personnel to more quickly access relevant information gathered from existing

technology and help them respond even more effectively. >> now, the idea that we move around anymore without being watched is just not realistic. the idea though that this concept is new is also not realistic. wolf, the government continues to fund projects like this as it looks for new ways to detect and disrupt terror plots. >> interesting stuff. it's amazing, you know, i think in european cities they're watching everything already. that's slowly but surely beginning to happen here. >> it is a little creepy. >> thanks very much. >> pleasure. the republican presidential candidate just got to his location in zanesville, ohio, he's getting ready to speak to a crowd there. there you see his bus. we'll have live coverage coming up. we're also standing by to hear from the president of the united states. he's also out there on the campaign trail. he's getting ready to speak. we'll have live coverage of that as well. and much more coming up right here in "the situation room." brave knights!

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we have some live pictures coming in from zanesville, ohio. romney has already spoken. he spoke briefly for about eight minutes in zanesville. we're going to take a closer look at the tape, see what he had to say. we'll give you some highlights. he's getting ready to move out on the bus from zanesville to his next stop. we'll continue monitoring what's going on there. there you see the romney bus. we are standing by to hear from president obama. he's getting ready to speak in iowa this hour or early next hour. we'll have live coverage of that as well. standby. much more political news coming up right here in "the situation room." meanwhile, an encouraging sign the u.s. economy gained some strength last month. kate bolduan is monitoring that and some of the other top stories in "the situation room" right now. what do you have, kate? >> hey, wolf. u.s. retail sales rose in july for the first time in four months. the commerce department reports overall retail sales went

up .8%, which was well above economist expectations. but experts warn the numbers can be volatile before july. retail sales dropped for three straight months. and a tough new crash test by the insurance institute for highway safety is sending a number of luxury cars to the bottom of the class. mercedes, lexus and audi all have cars in the worst "poor" rating. the test has the vehicle striking another car or object with just a quarter of the driver side bumper, the institute says these so-called small overlap crashes cause about a quarter of the serious fatal and automobile injuries each year. for more check out iihs.org. finally this hour, high school students in detroit will get a free pair of nikes if they show up for the all-important count day. that's the day attendance is used to determine the school's funding through state and federal funding for the year to come. bob's classic kicks is donating up to 17,000 pairs of sneakers.

the store is seeking sponsorship to help offset the cost. according to detroit news, the owners both attended detroit schools and wanted a way to give back and this is how they're doing it. >> very nice. very nice gesture indeed. the detroit schools could use all the help. >> of course. yep. >> kate, thank you. medicare takes a bit of a backseat today as what energy and what some republicans see as vice president biden's racially charged words come from and center in the presidential campaign. we're going to hear from a top obama campaign official. we're also standing by to hear from president obama at his next stop in iowa. you're looking at live pictures. that's where the president will speak. we'll hear what he has to say right here in "the situation room." ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves.

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well, i did not book with travelocity, okay?!? [ female announcer ] get the travelocity guarantee any way you book, including our new app. you'll never roam alone. all right. let's get right to our strategy session. joining us our two strategists, cnn contributors both on the democratic side. donna brazile, for the republicans, mary matlin. mary is joining us on the phone. let me go through an important issue coming up involving taxes. very serious differences between these candidates when it comes to taxes. for example, and i'll put it up on the screen. we'll go through some of them. highest income tax rate, the presidt would increase it from 35% to 39.6%. romney has 28% at his highest. ryan supported 25%.

you know, this is seen, mary, potentially as a bonanza for rich people if the republicans are elected. what do you say about that? >> i say that that's a false description in that what obama is saying why he would tax the so-called upper brackets is to reduce the deficit or to pay for programs. we don't need to expand government anymore. that's part of the problem. all that would raise what obama's tax plan is $30 billion over 11 years, which is $3 billion a year. we spend $10 billion a day. so romney and ryan have a real plan. it will really reduce the deficit, restructure the debt. it's tax and regulatory reform. and it will get the economy going. >> but it's true, rich people at the highest brackets, mary -- then i'm going to bring donna in, they would go from what is now 35%, the president wants to raise it to 39.6%.

but under romney's plan, let's forget about ryan for a moment, it goes down to 28%, meaning as far as income tax rates, there's going to be a bonanza for rich people. >> and as a percentage of the gdp, they pay twice what the other income brackets pay. they earn half of what they pay. they pay the highest percentage of their income of any group. and that's been increasingly so. they pay twice what they did in earlier decades. every time there's tax reform, the wealthier brackets end up having to pay a greater percentage of their income. when it's in raw dollars, it's different. but that's what grows the economy. that's the money used for saving and investment. >> we'll let donna respond to that. it is true that the top 2% or 3% of income earners, they pay a huge chunk of all income tax, not all the other taxes necessarily but income tax in the united states. >> they also have a huge chunk of exemptions and loopholes they use to lower their taxes, wolf.

look, i know i think i've experienced at least two or three of those income tax brackets over the course of my work life starting at the age of 12. but it is true that according to the tax policy center, chairman ryan's budget gives those making over $1 million an average of $394,000 in tax cuts. the joint economic committee says the ryan plan gives the largest tax cuts to of course the wealthiest and will pay for those tax cuts by raising taxes on the middle class. president obama has offered a very balanced approach, as you know, allowing the bush tax cuts for the wealthiest americans to go back to the pre-bush rates, the clinton rates. and he believes that that money will be useful to pay off some of the government debt as well as to pay for our expenses. mitt romney has of course a tax plan that will also increase the deficit.

if you take a look at his plan, at least the details we know because as you know like his own tax returns, we don't know that many details. but, ain, he doubles down on the bush tax cuts and says it won't even cause us to raise the deficit. i think we should take a serious look at all of these tax plans. >> let's move on and talk about the republican convention coming up at the end of this month in tampa. mary, i'll bring you into this conversation right now. we know that chris christie is going to be the keynote speaker. marco rubio, the senator from florida, is going to introduce mitt romney. both very dynamic speakers, very popular with the republicans and conservatives. how far will this go in energizing that base which presumably even though that paul ryan was named to the ticket, there are still elements of that base, mary, as you well know aren't really in love with mitt romney. >> well, what the base is concerned about, what america's concerned about, what independents who don't identify with either party is concerned about is the level of debt and the growth of government that

we've experienced under this president. and what marco rubio and chris christie and others, scott walker, the 17 republican governors that were in the last mid-terms and the romney/ryan ticket represent is structural reform. and reigning in this growing burgeoning government. so chris christie and marco rubio are powerful voices for that and a good magnifying voice for the romney message. >> donna, react. >> i hope the background music is better than the song. if you're going to go to the republican convention as i plan to do, wolf, you will really need some extraordinary music to keep you from falling asleep at night. there's no question that we have to deal with our long-term structural deficits, but taxes at their lowest in 60 years, discretionary spending the lowest since president eisenhower, we face this huge deficit because we're still paying for a war in afghanistan.

and we still have less revenues coming in as a result of the recession. so i think we need to have an honest discussion about what it will take to fix our economy. but i don't think you'll get that honesty from listening to those speakers during the republican convention. >> it will be a lively convention. one final question, mary, to you. sarah palin a no-show. she's either not invited or not coming. is that a big loss for the republicans? >> sarah is and remains a positive and pivotal voice for constitutional conservatives. i think rubio and a number of the primetime speakers wouldn't be in a primetime speaking situation were it not for sarah palin's intervention and their primary from their election. so the spirit of sarah palin lives. i'm pret si sure she did not want to be a giant distraction that the press would make if she appe appeared. >> i'm going to miss her, wolf. i'm going to miss her. >> yeah. >> i want her there. >> all right. guys, thanks very, very much. day two of president obama's swing through iowa.

we're going to talk live with his traveling press secretary about what's topping the agenda. and bargain hunt rs from across the border aren't necessarily getting all that warm welcome from fellow shoppers. we're going to explain what's happening at one washington state costco. lights and sounds vying for your attention. so we invented a warning you can feel. introducing 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. [ male announcer ] you work hard. stretch every penny. but chances are you pay a higher tax rate than him... mitt romney made twenty million dollars in two thousand ten but paid only fourteen percent in taxes... probably less than you now he has a plan that would give millionaires another tax break...

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mitt romney was talking energy, he was talking coal earlier today. his latest campaign stop in ohio. he brought up the issue of small business. listen to this. >> it's also because small businesses create about 65%, about two-thirds, of all the jobs in america. i want small business to do well so people do well across this country. that means i want to keep taxes down on small business.

i want regulators to see their job as encouraging business not just crushing it. i want to make sure that that big cloud hanging over small business is taken away. i want to replace and repeal obama care. [ cheers and applause ] now and then the president says something even i can't believe. i mean, there's some things he's done too i can't believe. going out saying he's going to take the work requirement out of welfare. how in the world can he not understand the power of work? the dignity of work? and taking work out of welfare is something i'll change. i'll tell you that, day one. he made a commitment when he was running for office. he said he was going to protect medicare. you know that every time you get a paycheck out of that money comes money ging into the welfare trust fund to pay for your health care when you're older. and this president has decided,

i can't believe it, he's taken $716 billion out of the medicare trust fund to pay for obama care. i'll put it back. [ cheers and applause ] and then just the other day in virginia he said, you know, if you have a business, you didn't build that. someone else said that. [ audience booing ] and then he says, then he says he was taken out of context, you know. so take a look at the context. it's worse than the quote because he says, look, if you think you're successful because you worked hard, a lot of people worked hard. if you think you're successful because you're smart, a lot of people are smart. i couldn't figure out where he was going with this. my own view is we celebrate people who work hard and try and do their best in school and get promotions. >> all right, guys. just saw mitt romney is going hard against the president in ohio. now you're looking at live pictures coming in from

marshaltown, iowa, where the president of the united states will respond. he's getting ready to speak to that group over there. we'll have live coverage of that as well once the president goes up to the stage. we'll hear from him. lots of back and forth going on. jack cafferty's back right now with the cafferty file, jack. >> obama seems to have a little spring in his step. excuse me, romney. i think he's been more energi energized. >> he's been energized by paul ryan's inclusion on the ticket. i think that's fair. >> it's more energy than we've seen out of him recently. the question this hour is how often do you think about the presidential election? like we give you any chance to think about anything else. e than in north carolina, i give the president election constant thought because this election's either going to make or break america. if you can break it anymore. rilely, very little. after the election not much will change. most of the same representatives and senators will be back doing nothing. so why think about it? ed in harrisburg, this year america's at a cross roads of deciding what sort of country

we're going to be down the road. and the choices are now very clear. i'm thinking about this constantly, continually. we've kicked the can down the road long enough. we now can no longer pay the piper. we need bold, radical changes, shared sacrifice and revised expectations. lots to think about this election year. hard choices to make. ben in boston, whenever i read the paper or listen to the news my mind focuses on the election. i'm tired of the nitpicking, bickering and negativity though. i wish hilary was running. mark in washington, every moment i'm out looking for a job. pat in michigan, everyday when i wake up and realize that either way i vote, i'm going to lose. and martha writes, personally, i would like to forget about it. but you guys won't let me. if you want to read more on the subject, go to the blog cnn.com/caffertyfile or the post on the "the situation room" facebook page. wolf. >> thanks, jack. up next we're going to ask the

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the president of the united states getting ready to speak to his supporters in iowa. but in advance let's bring in jen psaki, she's the traveling press secretary for the obama 2012 campaign, former white house official for the president as well. jen, thanks very much for coming in. >> hey, wolf. >> thank you. >> my pleasure.

>> i want to get your immediate reaction, explanation of what vice president joe biden really meant when he said this that's causing a big uproar out there. the republicans are really going after him. listen to the vice president earlier today. >> look at what they value and look at their budget and what they're proposing. romney said in the first hundred days he's going to let the big banks once again write their own rules. unchain wall street. going to put ya'll back in chains. >> those are pretty strong words. he's going to put ya'll back in chains. what did he mean? >> well, wolf, it's very clear what the vice president was saying. republicans often use the phrase unshackle. they want to be unshackled from the wall street reforms the president and his team put in place that have really helped address the challenges that we've been having to deal with over the last couple of years.

the vice president was using a metaphor in saying, listen, we can't go back to the stage where we didn't have reforms in place on wall street, we didn't have new rules of the road that would protect middle class families. that's exactly what he's talking about. and i think, you know, we need to be spared a little bit of this feigned outrage by republicans because they're out there putting out false ads on the air, about welfare and the president's record. they're out there questioning the president and whether he understands freedom and understands america. it's clear what the vice president was saying. and we agree, we can't go back to the stage where we had old rules of the road in place for wall street reform and middle class families weren't protected. >> andrea sal from the romney campaign, she issued a statement, a tough one. i'll put it up on the screen. she said after weeks of slanderous and unbased, the obama campaign has reach add new low. the comments made by the vice present of the united states are not acceptable in our political discourse and

demonstrate yet again that the obama campaign will say and do anything to win this election. you want to respond to andrea saul? >> well, wolf, we know that they want to defund wall street reform. we know they want to go back to an era where we didn't have those rules of the road in place. that's an area where we disagree. i do have to say it's a little absurd coming from a campaign that has not run one but two ads distorting and mischaracterizing the president's record on welfare. this is clear. this is their one issue or one of their only issues they're running on. and it's a false boldface lie. maybe they need to go back to the drawing board, take a look at what they're actually running on, what their differences are so they can lay out an honest choice for the american people. >> you understand, jen, the words and the vice president uttered these words, he says he's going to put you all back in chains. in chains. those are very, very powerful strong words. i don't know if he's ever said

anything along those lines before. do you think he wishes he had a do-over? >> well, the republicans in congress and mitt romney himself often use the phrase unshackling. unshackling from wall street reforms because they think it's not the right approach. we think it's the right approach. the vice president often talks about unshackling the middle class. and everything we need to do for the middle class. so, again, this is a metaphor. people know what he's talking about. let's talk about the real issues like their opposition to the wind tax credit we've been talking about in iowa today. their opposition to extending tax cuts for middle class families. that's a conversation people want to be having right now. not this silly side show. >> yeah. strong words though. put ya'll back in chains. as i said, i never heard the vice president say that before. i'm sure the president would never use those words. but let's move onto paul ryan, the new vice presidential running mate of mitt romney. he was out there earlier today. i'll play a little clip of what

he said and i'll get your reaction. listen to this. >> president obama cannot run on his record. just think about it. this is the worst economic recovery, if you call it that, in 70 years. he promised he'd keep unemployment from going up above 8%. it's always been above 8% under his tenure. he promised to create jobs, 23 million americans are struggling to fd work. families are hurting. he promised to cut the deficit in half in four years. i rest my case on that one. >> all right. so did the president overpromise? >> look, the president came in at an extremely difficult time in the economy. as we know, we were losing almost 700,000 jobs a month. the economy was shrinking at a rate of 9%. we've had 28 straight months of

private sector job growth. he's out talking about fighting for middle class tax cuts, he's put in place access to affordable health care. we're happy to put our record up against the romney/ryan record. we're fighting for the middle class. we're fighting for families in iowa trying to get their lives back together, trying to get jobs -- wind turbines around the state. and we know that the romney and ryan record is totally different. not the right ones for iowans. not the right for americans across the country. >> jen psaki the traveling secretary for the president of the united states. he's right behind her. we'll have live coverage coming in from iowa. jen, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. >> we'll go back to iowa once the president starts speaking. i want to hear what he has to say. he's presumably going to be responding to those very tough words from mitt romney today, paul ryan today. lots coming up in "the situation room." also, the search for low prices

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responsibility. what's your policy? i tell mike what i can spend. i do my best to make that work. we're driving safely. and sue saved money on brakes. now that's personal pricing. there's a cross border conflict playing up north. and the battleground is a costco in washington state. chris brown reports the hunts for bargains has shoppers drawing lines in the warehouse sand. >> reporter: in bellingham, washington, they're equating to shoppers. milk piranhas appetite can devour a palette of costco milk

jugs in seconds. >> it's completely insane. i dread going. especially on the weekends when there's more canadians. i'm like look, canadian, canadian, canadian plates. costco is a nightmare. even on like a tuesday afternoon. don't these people work? >> reporter: in this u.s. border town there's suddenly a fierce debate about whether canadian shopping is out of control. >> just the lines are halfway down the length of the store. >> reporter: this facebook page suggests maybe there should be american-only shopping at certain times of the day to give locals a break. points out bad parking jobs and some of the anti-canadian comments are brutal. canadians are obnoxious. i've never dealt with people who are so rude. and there's absolutely nothing that we can say or do that will make you stop coming. i'm just going to move. with vancouver suburbs just 25 minutes away, it's a quick, easy way for some to save a lot of money. >> it's almost two for the price of one.

>> reporter: the anti-canadian campaign has a few thousand likes on it, but aside from blowing off a bit of steam, it's not expected to go very far. >> the last two years our sales tax generation has doubled or tripled the pace of the rest of the state and it's almost entirely because of the canadians coming south. >> reporter: indeed. costco's response is time to build a bigger store. just to prove we're not all that bad, we even helped one woman return an unwanted wedding gift. >> here we go. thank you. >> reporter: see, canadians are nice. >> it is. very nice to shop with you. >> reporter: a small victory for parking lot diplomacy. chris brown, cbc news, bellingham, washington. >> canadian border services tell us by the way visitors are only allowed to bring $20 worth of milk back over the border unless they stay in the united states for more than 24 hours. you're in "the situation room." happening now president obama taking some not so subtle swipes at mitt romney. he's about to speak any minute now. when it happens, we're going to

bring it to you live. and dodging bullets and ducking for cover. we're taking you inside our own ben wedeman's death defying drive into syria's largest city under siege. and imagine flying from new york to london in under an hour. just ahead, the hypersonic flight vehicle the u.s. air force is hoping will do just that. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." we're standing by for the president of the united states. he's getting ready to speak in iowa. right now he's just started thanking some of the folks there. he's in the middle of a three-day swing through iowa. just one of the battleground states being blanketed by the candidates on both tickets.

the war of words is getting vicious with each side taking swipes at the other. some of them not so subtle. let's bring in our white house correspondent dan lothian. he's traveling with the president in iowa right now. dan, give us the latest. >> well, wolf, as you pointed out there have been sharp jabs on both sides. yes, the president has been delivering the usual stump speech talking about the economy, what his administration has done to turn things around. but the president did go after mitt romney alluding to a very sensitive story leaving the romney campaign saying that the obama campaign will do anything go away from the president's record. >> reporter: president obama stopped by a small coffee shop in knoxville, iowa, to grab a light breakfast. >> i'll have one of each muffin and a scinnamon roll. >> reporter: and highlight the role small business is doing to help rebound.

>> this is what small business america is all about. >> reporter: on the second day of the president's iowa bus tour where he shifted his message from drought relief to renewable energy, mr. obama found a way to connect wind power to his gop rival's dog, sha mus. >>overnor romney even explained his energy policy this way. i'm quoting here, you can't drive a car with a windmill on it. i don't know if he's actually tried that. i know he's had other things on his car. >> reporter: that was a not-so-subtle reference to the incident where the romney family strapped its dog to the roof of the car. those comments drew a sharp rebuke from romney campaign spokesman ryan williams. "president obama continues to embarrass himself and diminish his office with his unpresidential behavior. in a state that gets 20% of its electricity in wind power, the president also criticized governor romney for opposing tax credits for renewable energy companies. >> he said that new sources of

energy like wind are imaginary. his running mate calls them a f fad. >> reporter: now the romney campaign countered saying that the president is to blame for the loss of thousands of jobs in the wind industry and saying that it is mitt romney who has the plan to set that industry on the right course. >> dan lothian, where the president is right now, in fact let's go to the president. he's starting to get to the substance of his remarks. >> -- you can find a job that pays the bills. you can have a home that you can call your own. you can be assured that you won't go bankrupt if you get sick. you can retire with some dignity and some respect. and most importantly, you can make sure that your kids get the kind of education and opportunity so they can dream even bigger and do even better than you did. that is what the american promise is all about.

[ cheers and applause ] that's what we've been fighting for. that's what we've been fighting for. and we knew it wasn't going to happen overnight. we knew it was going to take more than one term, maybe even one president to get this country back to the place where everybody's got a fair shot. but we started it. and three and a half years ago we saved ourselves from going into a great depression. and 4.5 million jobs have been created and half a million manufacturing jobs. the auto industry got saved. and we are now -- [ cheers and applause ] -- we're now at a point where a lot of folks are still struggling and so we've got to move forward and not backwards. we've got to move forward. now, the good news is we've got everything we need to succeed.

we've still got the best workers in the world. we've still got the best universities and colleges in the world. we've got the best researchers and scientists in the world. we've got the best entrepreneurs, small businessmen and women and large businesses that are the best in the world making some of the best products. we've got everything that we need. [ cheers and applause ] you know, and we're a young nation. we're a young nation in part because we've got this incredible diversity. people are willing to come here from all corners of the globe because they understand there's something special about this place. and so for all the nay sayers out there and the folks who try to paint things as dark as they can, especially during election time, the fact of the matter is

there's no nation on earth that wouldn't trade places with us. so we've got the tools to make sure that we are living up to this country's promise. a country where you can make it if you try. no matter what you look like. no matter where you come from. no matter what faith you are. no matter what race you are. no matter what your last name is. here in america you can make it. that's what we have the opportunity to make sure continues for the next generation. that's what we're fighting for. that's the choice in this election. that's why i'm running for a second term as president of the united states. [ cheers and applause ] now, there is one thing holding us back though. and that is the politics in

washington. we've got the other side has decided that compromise is a dirty word. and they spend a lot of time trying to beat me instead of moving the country forward. but part of it is just an honest disagreement about how we move the country forward. you know, governor romney chose a running mate this weekend. and i know congressman ryan. he's a good man. he's a good family man. but he's got a fundamentally different view about how we move this country forward. he's an articulate spokesperson for governor romney's views. he's the ied logical leader of the republicans in congress. but that vision is wrong. look, let me tell you, you can sum up governor romney's plans

pretty simply. he wants to eliminate regulation. he wants to eliminate regulations on big banks and corporations some of which we've put in place in the wake of the disaster on wall street. and he wants to institute even more tax cuts for the wealthiest americans. the centerpiece of his plan is a new $5 trillion tax cut, a lot of which would go to folks like me who don't need it. and here's the kicker. he expects all of you to pick up the tab. no, don't take my word for it. independent analysis shows that if his plan was instituted, the only way you could pay for it would be to have the average middle class family with children pay an extra $2,000 in taxes. how many people think that's a

good idea? how many people think that would actually grow the economy? but that's his theory. the theory is is that if folks up here are doing really well, then all the benefits are going to trickle down. the extra $2,000 you'd be paying wouldn't be used to pay down the deficit or the debt that we've already got. it wouldn't be to invest in more teachers or a better school system or making college more affordable or rebuilding our roads and bridges or finding new ways to create cheap energy. no, this $2,000 would be to help finance an average $250,000 tax break for folks making $3 million a year or more. i got to tell you, we have heard this sales pitch from these folks before. we've heard this trickle down fairy dust before. it didn't work then. it will not work now. we do not --

[ cheers and applause ] we don't think it's a plan to reduce the deficit. it's certainly not a plan to create jobs and to help families right now. see, i believe in a different theory. when it comes to taxes, i said in 2008 i was going to lower middle class taxes. guess what? i did. so the average family -- the typical family's paying $3,600 less in taxes than they were when i came into office. >> all right. so there's the president. he's beginning to get into his campaign speech, his stump speech. he's going through the points. he makes these points on almost all of his campaign stops. he's going after the republicans spelling out his vision of what he would do if he were re-elected. we'll continue to monitor what the president is saying. but he's making it clear he disagrees strongly with mitt

romney and paul ryan. much more on this coming up. mitt romney's new vice presidential pick, paul ryan, is also making his mark on voters across the country. just ahead, we're going live to colorado where thousands of supporters were on hand to welcome him. there's paul ryan. and powerful islamic countries in the middle east hold an emergency summit as syria sinks deeper and deeper into civil war. but could the country's biggest ally, the iranians, derail the talks? standby. we're going to saudi arabia. and a firefighter humiliated on a flight. just ahead, why the airline asked him to switch seats with a female passenger. and win fifty thousand dollars. congratulations you are our one millionth customer. people don't like to miss out on money that should have been theirs. that's why at ally we have the raise your rate 2-year cd. you can get a one-time rate increase if our two-year rate goes up.

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jack cafferty's here with the cafferty file. jack. >> wolf, they look like two peas in a pod. when mitt romney announced paul ryan as hi running mate on that aircraft carrier saturday morning, some people thought they were seeing double. writing for the daily beast, robin ga von suggests ryan could easily be confused with one of mitt romney's five sons. she says the republican running mates and their matching white shirts and black pants lacked dazzle or texture. describing them as "two white guys defined by political expedience, professional uniforms and perfectly paw mated hair." politico suggests ryan could be mitt squared. it's easy to see why romney, the 65-year-old numbers nerd wanted ryan, the 45-year-old budget wonk on the ticket with him. it's possible romney was looking for more a youthful double of

himself than someone to balance the ticket. speaking of doubles, look at th these two back in high school. ryan was voted biggest brownnoser by his senior year classmates. he was also the prom king and junior class president. not to mention an athlete and member of the latin club. pretty well-rounded kid. as for romney, he attended a boy's prep school in michigan, the state where his father was the governor. according to one classmate, romney was in the glee club, the pep club. by the way, have you heard him sing? the glee club, the pep club, and chairman of the homecoming committee. what he didn't do was play middle linebacker on the football team. here's the question, who ranks higher on the charisma scale? mitt romney or paul ryan? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile, post a comment on my blog. or go to our post on the "the situation room" facebook page. i don't know why that tickles me, but it does. >> should i ask, jack, what you

were voted in when you were a senior in high school? >> no. [ laughter ] >> okay. i won't ask then. i asked if i should ask, but i'm not going to ask. >> i appreciate that. thank you very much. >> thank you. of mitt romney's new presidential pick, paul ryan, is wasting no time connecting with voters across the country. the republican vice presidential candidate held his second solo campaign event in colorado today. the crowd embraced his message with cheers and applause. >> let's use it. let's make our energy independence. let's create jobs. let's stop sending jobs overseas by buying oil overseas. [ cheers and applause ] >> our political reporter, peter hamby, is traveling with paul

ryan right now. he's joining us from the scene. pretty enthusiastic crowd out there. you've covered a lot of these campaigns, peter. how is he doing? >> reporter: yeah, wolf. we also knew that mitt romney had some trust issues with the republican base. we also knew that "the wall street journal" crowd, weekly standard folks, those conservatives would be fired up for paul ryan. but we're seeing on these ryan events on the road that he's also firing up the base, the grass roots conservatives that romney really needs to show up in november. yesterday in iowa at the iowa state fair he drew thousands to see him speak at his first solo event. and then as he mentioned his second solo event here in colorado. the high school gym behind me was at capacity. there was at least 2,000 people, probably more. one of the more ruk kus campa n campaig campaigns. something to note just because we haven't seen much polling about what republicans think of paul ryan, in the 72 hours since ryan was announced on saturday, the romney campaign has raised

$7.4 million online. that's just in three days. that's a big haul, but to put that in perspective, sarah palin pulled in $10 million over a three-day period after john mccain picked her in august of 2008, wolf. >> and money talks in politics. as it does in so many other ways of life. you've got some pictures of paul ryan from college. and i want to share with our viewers, tell us what these pictures are. what's going on there? >> reporter: yeah. this is one of the fun parts about sort of looking into a candidate when they become a national figure is looking back on who they were when they were younger. paul ryan went to miami university in ohio, in oxford, ohio, it's a really pretty campus. and we actually, cnn obtained yearbook pictures of him with his fraternity. he graduated in 1992. he was a delta delta. i think we have pictures we're going to show on screen. paul ryan. he's not the only delt to go into politics. some of the most famous

politicos to come out are kentucky governor steve baa sheer, former new mexico governor bill richardson. and ryan would not be the first vice presidential candidate to come out of that. harry truman, alben barkley and will ferrell. >> what were you, peter? >> reporter: i went to georgetown, wolf. we did not have fraternities, although they probably would have embraced it if we did have fraternities. that's for sure. >> peter hamby, covering paul ryan. thanks very, very much. imagine flying from new york to london in under an hour. ahead, the hypersonic flight vehicle the air force is hoping will do just that. plus, one popular brand admits its vitamins aren't as healthy as advertised. would you take it? well, there is.

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commander in afghanistan is calling on the leader of the taliban to "reign in his murders." kate bolduan is monitoring that and other top stories in "the situation room" right now. it's the bloodiest day the country's seen all year. >> absolutely, wolf. at least 41 people are dead and more than 100 are wounded after three separate incidents. the majority of the victims came after a series of attacks in southwest afghanistan. north a blast at a market in the kunduz province killed ten civilians. and an am busch just east of that killed a government official and three police officers. the maker of a popular children's vitamin is refunding

more than $2 million after admitting the pills are not as healthy as advertised. the packaging for disney and marvel included they gave all the dha they need. but in some cases the vitamins had a minuscule about they had advertised. .005 of what the company claimed. finally, when you think of price is right, you might think of bob barker, the showcase showdown and the wonderful women showing off the prizes. now the game show is launching its first-ever search for a male model. the contest will air on the web and you can vote to decide who wins the job. if this tv news thing doesn't work out, wolf, we know exactly what you can go to next. >> maybe, you know what, you never know. life is strange indeed. thanks, kate. >> i bet you're doing okay. >> all right. thank you. life for people in syria is getting more dangerous. what is it like on the front lines? we're taking you there. our own ben wedeman's

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reportedly been killed just today. and the united nations which has sent a top official once again into damascus now says the deteriorating humanitarian crisis affects an estimated 2 million people. the raging violence is topping the agenda at an emergency summit of key islamic countries in the region. we'll go there in just a few moments. but first, cnn's senior international correspondent, ben wedeman's death defying drive into syria's largest city under siege. >> reporter: we made it. we left our safehouse at 11:00 in the morning. it's ten minutes past 10:00 at night. i finally made it to aleppo. all right. we're now going in the direction where all the fighting is taking place. what we're going to do is go to

the mushhud neighborhood, which is adjacent. there we'll get out and make our way slowly and cautiously toward salahadin, which the rebels say they've largely retaken. but, you know, if you have to take everything they say -- everyone says, with a great big sack of salt. [ speaking in a foreign language ] he's saying at the intersection go faster. okay. we're going through an intersection where he says to drive fast. so kind of get on the gear.

[ speaking in a foreign language ] >> just put your foot down, mate. >> just going through this intersection. okay. now we're good. it was just that road here. [ speaking in a foreign language ] okay. he's saying here there's a sniper that's shooting. [ speaking in a foreign language ] okay. he's saying you want to go back and drive fast through the intersection becausehere's a sniper. he said get down. get down. get down.

that's all right. you're fine. come down. just get down. even if it's uncomfortable, just get down. okay. we made it past that one. okay. maybe now is a good time to get out. get our bearings. what are you doing? okay. he's going to take us between the buildings. probably we'll park the car

there. >> you heard ben wedeman say right at the end there. ben wedeman risking his life to bring all of us the news from inside syria. there are also new concerns about iran's growing influence in the region. u.s. defense secretary leon panetta addressed those concerns over at the pentagon today. >> it is obvious to both general dempsey and i that iran is playing a larger role in syria in many ways. not only in terms of the ires you see, but in terms of the assistance, training. there's now indication that they're trying to develop or trying to train a militia within syria to be able to fight on behalf of the regime. >> iran is certainly one of a number of powerful islamic countries meeting in saudi

arabia for a two-day summit where the crisis in syria is certainly front and center. our senior international correspondent nic robertson is in saudi arabia covering this story for us. so what happened? what's going on over there because a lot of these islamic countries totally disagree when it comes to syria? >> reporter: yeah. iran is already creating waves here, wolf. the majority of the 57 states that make up the organization of islamic corporation say they want syria suspended from that organization -- from this organization. iran has said that this is not the time. quoted as saying this is not the time. there should be muslim unity, hold hands together, build bridges to solve this, president ahmadinejad has laid his views out. around that table there are powerful sunni states. saudi arabia to name the largest. you have qatar, kuwait, many

gulf states. many of the other states here that want a strong message sent to president bashar al assad and that is over the heads of the iranians. so there is not the unity everyone here at the conference has talked about that they want. and it's the iranians causing a problem, wolf. >> the other issue involving the iranians is this nuclear problem. we know saudi arabia, for example, the gulf states are deeply, deeply concerned about what's going on with iran's nuclear program. has that been an issue at this islamic conference? >> reporter: you know, wolf, that might be a side issue that comes up. i mean, there's sort of a bigger picture here the talk about wanting unity among these states. and it's clear that iran perhaps may get a behind-the-scenes closed door session. president aum dhmadinejadahmadi abdullah. the meetings didn't start until late this evening. all these heads of state were in

country for a whole day. so there was a potential for that. but saudi arabia's been concerned about the way iran has growing influence across the northern border from saudi arabia. in iran that's a huge concern. the saudi former head of intelligence here just within the past year or so saying if iran gets the weapon, then maybe saudi arabia should be building one as well. it's a very, very real concern. and you have the other gulf states present here spending hugely along with saudi arabia on weapons systems, defensive measures to defend against or prepare for a potential showdown in this region. it is the perhaps bigger push button issue here, those tensions, wolf. >> because the whole saudi-iranian relationship is unique. i think it's fair to say on the surface they try to project a relevance of a normal relationship.

but it wasn't that long ago, you remember this, there was an accusation that iran try today assassinate the saudi ambassador to the united states at a restaurant here in washington. i wonder if that's at all creating any awkward nature in the reception of the iranian official who is have come to saudi arabia for this conference. >> reporter: undoubtedly that will create tensions. i was told by an official who was present at other similar meetings where both iran and saudi arabia have been present where literally the seating had to be re-arranged so they weren't sitting so close around the table. that was the level of animosity. for saudi arabia, they see iran behind many of their problems on the border with yemen they see that the iranians, they believe, funding some of the tribesmen creating problems along that border. seeing iranians behind the problems in bahrain where saudi

arabia has pretty much stepped in and taken control of to get around those issues. in the east of saudi arabia, the disturbances there in the past six months. again, the saudi see iran's hands in that. whether it's there as much as the saudis believe, that's an open question. but when they talk about their own diplomats being killed by iranians -- i mean, look, the big issue here is the sort of iranian expansion of their influence in the region. that's what has the saudis so worried. sheer expansion in the region. they already see iran as very much in control and in power in iraq. and for the saudis, that was worrying enough. syria as well. they cannot stomach that, wolf. >> nic robertson on the scene for us covering this important meeting in saudi arabia. nic, thanks. we'll check back with you. here in the united states the air force took a new vehicle to the skies today for a key test of stealth technology. we'll have that and more. are you okay, babe? i'm fine. ♪

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imagine traveling across the atlantic at mock 6 speed. you'd get to london from new york in less than an hour. the aircraft the air force hopes to do it had a big test today. our pentagon correspondent chris lawrence is tracking the flight. >> reporter: imagine the trip from tokyo to paris taking less than a couple hours. it could happen, way in the future, if this hypersonic aircraft being tested on tuesday takes flight. the air force waverider has no pilot or cargo. but as this classic scene from "star wars" shows, looks aren't everything. >> looks like a piece of junk. >> she may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. >> reporter: the air force has been trying to push the waverider to mock 6 or 4,500 mis per hour. that's about five times as fast

as a commercial jet can get from jfk to hee throw. the only thing in the pentagon's arsenal that moves that fast now has hydrogen bombs on the front end. >> they don't want to frighten the chinese or russians into thinking that we've launched a thermal nuclear attack. >> reporter: one mission today kill osama bin laden three years before 9/11. it took well over an hour for the cruise missiles to hit the al qaeda training camps, by which time bin laden was gone. the report suggests hypersonic could have cut the job to under 15 minutes. the problem is you can't simulate hypersonic flight conditions in a wind tunnel. so engineers can't test on the ground before they take to the air, or go slow before they go fast. >> this is basically like trying to learn to drive a car that

only goes 100 miles an hour. >> reporter: and the problem with trying to make it into a big passenger flight is the bigger you make this kind of technology, the worse it performs. if the air force got to about five minutes in the air today, it would be thrilled. so we're talking about baby steps, wolf, until the day when maybe, hey, business class won't even mean anything. >> it's amazing when you think about what potentially is down the road for all of us or our children or grandchildren. >> our grandchildren. our great-grandchildren. >> whatever. thank you. so you're recognized when you walk into a store not by a friend but by a camera. a new marketing tactic that's raising some questions. that's coming up in our next hour. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas.

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if there's any question that paul ryan has re-energized mitt romney's presidential campaign, look no further than facebook. cnn's political director, mark preston, is monitoring the elec talk meter as we're calling it. he is joining us with details. mark, what are you seeing there? >> wolf, congressman paul ryan has been relatively unknown until mitt romney introduced him this weekend as his vice presidential running mate. now he is becoming a household name and people on fabook taking notice. more than half the population is on facebook. cnn is teaming up to present election talk meter. measures buzz and tension. if he was looking to create chatter with his vice presidential pick, he certainly did it. wolf, look at these numbers here. comes up, shows right now paul ryan is the most buzzed about politician being discussed right now on facebook.

beating out the likes of president obama and his running mate, romney. why is ryan on top? facebook looks at the increasing chatter and number of people that like their fan pages. to give you some perspective, ryan is one point below what michael phelps reached on the same scale when he became the most decorated olympian of all time. and ryan's fan page has grown from zero to 600,000 people in the last few days. remember, mitt romney named him as his running mate saturday. that's when the page was created. he is up to 623,000 and keeps growing by the minute. >> mark, what else can we learn from all this data? >> when we dug deeper, we came across interesting data points when it comes to demographics and age. first look at age. average age of the person that liked president obama's fan

page, 28 years old. look at mitt romney. 46 years old. paul ryan, 43 years old. joe biden, 35. as for gender, it is split down the middle for obama and biden in romney. take a look at this right here, wolf. when you look at these numbers right here, it shows that paul ryan overwhelmingly supported by men, 63% while only 37%, wolf, are women. to see more of this raw data, figure out who has the most facebook fans, all you have to do is go to cnnpolitics.com, wolf. >> we'll certainly do that. a lot of people will be fascinated. all of the political news junkies. jack cafferty is back with the cafferty file. little correction, i misidentified uss wisconsin, calling it air an craft carrier, it is a battleship and i apologize for the error. question, who ranks higher on the charisma scale, mitt romney

or paul ryan. lauren in chicago. when everyone is talking what a milk post romney has been on the campaign, anyone but a door knob would have a higher charisma rating, as ryan is not a door knob, he wins hands down. mel said i didn't know the charisma scale went that low. dave in florida. let me rephrase. who has a more charismatic personality, the ax man or tax man. dan in phoenix. neither, both remind me of used car salesmen. mitt tells you a different car is the best every day. paul ryan wants you and me to drive a scooter while they ride around in limb owes. both come off as a bit smarmy and awkward. obama has them both beat, seems comfortable in his own skin. eric on facebook. i'll take c, summer squash. romney and ryan have as much charisma as a piece of river stone. carl in michigan.

you're comparing shades of black. since mitt romney has absolutely none, it has to be paul ryan. and connie in indiana writes if romney has charisma, it has to be in one of those offshore charisma accounts. if you want to read more, go to the blog, cnn.com/caffertyfile. or through our post on "the situation room's" facebook page. that's where i keep my charisma, in an offshore account. >> thanks, jack. a fireman was shocked and angry after a flight attendant asked him to change seats. he was told to move because he was a man and it was company policy. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] you've been years in the making. and there are many years ahead. join the millions of members who've chosen an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company.

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a flight just because they're sitting next to young children. it is a policy for many airlines. sandra endo takes a closer look. >> reporter: on board a virgin australia flight, sydney firefighter johnny mcgur says he was profiled simply because he is a man. >> as soon as i boarded i was a potential pedophile. >> reporter: he was next to two boys unaccompanied by adults, he was asked to switch seats with a female passenger. virgin's policy to make sure there are no male passengers or empty seats next to children. he explained how he felt. >> it was interesting, ashamed, like i had done something wrong and embarrassed. >> reporter: in a statement, virgin says it has been a long-standing policy based on customer feedback, and in light of recent feedback, we are now reviewing the policy. our intention is certainly not to discriminate in any way. it's a controversial policy. in 2010, a man sued british

airways for sex discrimination and won after being forced to move away from unaccompanied minors sitting next to him. right now there's no major u.s. carrier that specifically prohibits men from sitting next to unaccompanied children. and since there's no nationwide department of transportation policy for airlines, carriers are left to figure out what's best. children safety advocates support what airlines are doing. >> trying to prevent child victimization. we know that the overwhelming majority of sex offenders are male. by removing that situation, you're lowering the risk. >> reporter: travelers we spoke with have mixed views about the policy. >> i would be fine as long as the airline has a watch on what he is doing and he's monitored. i think that is discriminatory. >> my kids, i feel unless i am not there with them or another parent, i would feel more

comfortable if the policy was in effect. >> reporter: most domestic avelers we spoke with also didn't even know such a policy existed with some air carriers. we also reached out to the american civil liberties union but they didn't want to comment on this story. wolf? >> sandra endo, thank you. happening now. paul ryan's brother and friends talk about the personal side of the vice presidential candidate. congressman jesse jackson junior diagnosed with bipolar depression. dr. sanjay gupta explain what it means. a camera that knows your face and tracks your shopping habits. is it a deal or danger? i am wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." up first this hour, republicans accuse joe biden and the obama campaign of reaching a new low. today biden told voters that mitt romney's vision of wall street reform would put

americans back in chains. listen to how he said it. >> look at what they value and look at their budget and what they're proposing. romney wants to let the -- he said in the first 100 days, going to let the big banks once again write their own rules. unchain wall street. they're going to put y'all back in chains. >> some critics say biden's remark about chains was a racially charged reference to slavery in front of an audience that included many african americans. let's bring in our chief national correspondent john king in iowa. what's the latest out there, john? >> reporter: publicly, obama aides defend the vice president. privately, they're not so happy. the romney campaign as you noted say it is an outrage. governor romney's campaign issued a statement, called it a new low. said the vice president was out of bounds, this is racially tinged, has no place in the campaign.

demanded the romney campaign did a public statement from the president about whether he agrees, disagrees, avows or disavows. the obama spokespeople say it was fine. the president understands these remarks, he stands by the remarks. they say in the past the republicans used terms like unshacklin unshackling. privately, i had an e-mail exchange when a senior obama adviser that said it wasn't helpful. he wants to stay on message because he is ying to win this and other key battle ground states. they believe he knocked him off track. he continues a three day bus tour in what is battle ground iowa. >> we go through probably 3,000 an hour. >> choices, choices, choices. the iowa state fair a test of diet discipline.

and all in the spirit of farm state fun, proof this time around iowa is a competitive presidential battleground. president obama stopped by during his swing. it is a different feel from four years ago when the president won iowa by ten points. >> we have a real battle going on here, for the heart and soul of the people of this stat >> reporter: terry bran stet says the gop basis fired up, predicts the president will lose a good chunk of the iowa coalition. >> people feel betrayed. he ran that he would reach across the aisle, he hasn't done that. >> reporter: four years ago, they had a significant voter registration advantage. republicans have erased that edge. visit a campaign office like this one in davenport, see the competition up close. >> reporter: have you been outhustled? >> i think we have organizational edge in the

state. have done a gd job registering new voters. i think we're building that back up. but i don't think we're going to be outhustled on election day or in the next 85 days. >> mitt romney's middle class tax increase, he pays less, you pay more. >> reporter: the ad war is bruising. obama campaign outspent romney almost two to one. add in party and super pac spending, romney had the edge. >> almost 4 million fewer jobs than president obama predicted. >> reporter: iowa is a great test of the ryan factor. the president's team says his policy views will trump his midwest roots. >> he may hail from wisconsin but he is very much a product of right wing washington think tanks and that vision is not a good vision for this country. >> reporter: the governor says ryan helps with catholic voters and is in tune with iowans'

biggest worry. both campaigns are working hard. signing up new voters, new volunteers, and leaving the fun to others. another point from the governor, he says one reason they will win iowa, republicans are competitive in every congressional district across the state. democrats already say maybe that's the case today. they plan on making medicare and paul ryan an issue in the congressional campaigns. four years ago, no question who was going to win iowa. it is a big question this year. >> turnout was enormous every place he showed up in iowa and elsewhere. i suspect he is not seeing the huge crowds this time around. >> reporter: he is having pretty good turnout in iowa. it doesn't match up to 2008 when history was being made. he started his campaign here. this was the first place he beat senator clinton in the caucuses.

he is an incumbent. the key test is independence. you have parity. a third of iowans are affiliated. both campaigns on the ground, both spending a lot on television, and it is amazing. you come here, get on the treadmill awhile, watch the local news, you cannot escape it. the ad war is boom, bruising. >> good for the iowa economy to be sure. thanks for that, john king reporting for us. fresh scrutiny of mitt romney's running mate to get a better handle on paul ryan. talking to people that have known him most or all of his life in his hometown of janesville, wisconsin. family and friends are opening up about the vice presidential candidate. ted rowlands is there. you had a chance to speak to paul ryan's brother. how did that go? >> reporter: wolf, family and friends of paul ryan are absolutely thrilled for his opportunity. some say they're absolutely

surprised by it. others say not so much. tobin ryan says it is hard to believe his little brother who he shared a bedroom with could be the next vice president of the united states. >> we're still coming off of a cloud. we learned about the acceptance friday night like most everybody did. >> reporter: it really hit home at sunday's rally in wisconsin when paul, his wife janna, and his mother teared up with emotion. >> to see paul and janna with the tears on their face, it dawned on us it was a special moment in time. >> reporter: he is the youngest of four children. father, paul senior, an attorney died of a heart attack when paul was 16. >> he was the one found his father, was home alone at that time. i think he grew up faster than he otherwise would have. >> reporter: he runs an online television company in janesville, wisconsin.

he has known paul ryan since elementary school. his friend he says often comes across as mr. serious has a great sense of humor. >> he has a witty side of him not a lot of people get to see. >> reporter: some of that comes across in this interview hum he will did two weeks ago with him. >> you have a beautiful family, janna, kids. >> you do, too, tony. >> which one's your favorite? >> oh, that's pretty good. >> one of my most vivid memories, 27 years old, we sit down, he goes thinking around -- you kidding me, what? >> his run for congress didn't surprise his high school government affairs teacher. >> one of those kids you could pretty much predict he would go places. >> reporter: sam kept in close contact with ryan every year before retiring. he took his class to washington to visit ryan and was ryan's

guest for the 2001 george w. bush inaugural. even though they're such good friends, he says ryan knows he will never get the vote of his former teacher. >> there's no doubt about it he is a great guy, great family guy, cares a lot about the community, but we don't see eye to eye on politics. >> reporter: and sam says he is not voting for romney/ryan, but he with most people in janesville, wisconsin, say they're absolutely proud that he is a vice presidential candidate. >> i am sure he is the pride of janesville, wisconsin. see if he can help romney carry wisconsin on november 6th. ted, thanks very, very much. kate is here, kate bolduan has some of the top stories. >> a lot going on now, including some wildfires to tell you about. 62 wildfires are burning in the western united states, including this one in washington state. look at the flames. dozens of homes destroyed across the region, many more are

threatened. let's bring in our severe weather expert chad myers for more on this. chad, we keep talking about wildfires. what are you seeing now? >> you just aren't seeing rainfall in these areas. every one of these original orange dots where a fire is now, over 60 like you said, some spots getting more every day. there's not much you can do, there's no rainfall and hasn't been any rainfall for a long time. big ridge of high pressure, big dome there. very hot temperatures. reno, 97 redding, california, 105. and that's the area seeing the fires. some of the flames in northern california, central washington, oregon. these are areas the timber and into utah, timber is dead. a lot of the trees are dead from pine beetles. it hasn't rained for months, a couple months, and it is burning out of control. this is a big fire season in the west. this is not even close to being

over, it is the beginning of fire season. winds in parts of california, even into washington, oregon, 20 miles per hour. firefighters can't fight much at 20 miles per hour. sparks fly. sometimes miles away from the original flame. >> lack of rainfall impacting the west and food prices and crops. it is quite a mess. chad myers watching it for us in atlanta. thanks so much. >> you're welcome. and new violence and stability in yemen, key battle ground against al qaeda. hundreds of republican guards loyal to the president attacked the defense ministry building. a defense ministry official says four were killed, nine others injured. the long time president agreed to step down last year after months of arab spring clashes. his son is head of republican guard, fighting a move by the new president to limit his power. also evangelist billy graham went back to his home after two days in the hospital getting treatment for bronchitis. doctors say he had a quick recovery because the infection was caught early and because he

is in remarkably good health for a 93-year-old man. >> good for him. hope he is going to be just fine. billy graham, a remarkable man. there's a new spotlight on bipolar disorder, now that we know that jesse jackson junior is suffering from it, has been for some time. dr. sanjay gupta is standing by to explain what congressman jackson is dealing with now and in the future. and president obama goes after mitt romney on energy, drags his opponent's dog into the debate. [ annie ] this is the story of a girl named annie who dreamed she could fly. like others who braved the sky before her, it took a mighty machine, and plain old ingenuity to go where no fifth grader had gone before. ♪ and she flew and she flew, into the sky and beyond. my name is annie and i'm the girl who dreamed she could fly. powered by intel core processors. ♪

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we now know congressman jesse jackson junior's mood disorder is what's called bipolar depression. mayo clinic revealed that diagnosis saying congressman jackson is responding well to treatment. the illinois democrat hasn't been on capitol hill since may. let's bring in dr. sanjay gupta.

we heard it called bipolar ii, depression, what are these and are they different from regular bipolar disorder? >> yes, they are. terms do matter here to some extent. the way people typically categorize, bipolar i, bipolar ii, and bipolar depression. bipolar i is swings between mania and depression. they become manic and have depression. bipolar i, it is manic episodes that are concerning, they can be debilitating, outrageous behavior. bipolar ii can be the same thing, but the mania is not typically as bad. the depression, though, can be worse. and with bipolar depression, that often refers to the time when someone is depressed as part of this disease. they toggle back and forth often between mania and depression. bipolar depression is that specific time when they're feeling depressed. >> congressman jackson as you

know has been in treatment at mayo clinic since july 25th, although his office said early june he was receiving medical care as well. what is the treatment for this disorder and is there a typical recovery period? >> you know, that's an interesting question, wolf, and i looked into this a little bit. if you look throughout time, there are times patients would be hospitalized, sometimes for months at a time with significant bipolar. nowadays typical sort of hospitalization is more in the terms of weeks or just a weeks. so when you start talking about a month or two months that the congressman has been undergoing treatment, there's obviously more concern there and the doctors are trying to administer treatment now in the hospital. the type of treatment is important here, wolf. you think of depression and people think antidepressants. but when you have this going back and forth between mania and depression, what's typically needed is more of a mood stabilizing drug, so you want to

stabilize the mood as opposed to just treating the depression. sometimes just treating the depression can make the mania worse. lithium is a mood stabilizing drug, a drug you may have heard of, and often used for this condition. >> he had gastric bypass surgery in 2004. a lot of people are asking is there any chance that that procedure could have triggered his bipolar disorder? >> when people are sick, when they undergo operations, there is some evidence that that can trigger someone who already has underlying bipolar disease, it can trigger an attack or event. but also there's something known as the gut-brain connection, wolf. not a well known thing, but the intestines, the gut is one of the other few places in the body that has serotonin receptors. we think of them in the brain, if you can actually flood those

receptors, you can treat the depressi depression. there could be relation to intestinal surgery and the depression. and looking at these images here, there is an experimental treatment, just did a story on this, stimulating the brain, deep brain stimulation, what you're seeing there to try to treat depression that simply is otherwise untreatable, people that get no response from medications or counseling or anything else. this is part of what the future might look like. >> are there any medical concerns about him eventually returning to work on capitol hill? >> you know, with bipolar ii which is what we've heard from the hospital that he has, they typically don't have the dangerous manic episodes. that seems to be the most concerning part of this disease. but the flip side of this, and you know this better than anything, wolf, stress can be a trigger, significant trigger, not just a vague thing, but it can be a significant trigger for this disease. obviously working on capitol hill, working in this capacity as a congressman can be a

stressful thing. i think the doctors will balance it. i don't know if they would call it a danger but that it could exacerbate or worsen the condition. >> excellent analysis as a neurosurgeon as well. thank you. >> thank you, wolf. >> kate, you covered congressman jackson on capitol hill. recent years he has been under enormous stress. >> enormous amount of stress, controversy in his background, dealing with back in his district. when all is said and done, you never wish someone falls ill like this. his family says they expect or hope he will be getting back to capitol hill. but they have not said exactly when. it depends on his treatment. wish him well, of course. let's look now at what's trending in "the situation room" on cnn.com. number four on the trending list, a change coming to america's most popular game time show "the price is right." for the first time, they're searching for male models in an online contest. lucky winner will get one week modeling on the show. good luck to everyone taking

part. number three, expensive, not so safe. new crash test results give some mercedes lexus and audi models lower ratings. i will have the top two trending items next. the perfect photo... [ man ] nice! [ male announcer ] isn't always the one you plan to take. whoa, check it out. hey baby goat... no that's not yours... [ hikers whispering ] ...that's not yours. [ goat bleats ] na, na, na -- no! [ male announcer ] now you can take a photo right from video, so you'll never miss the perfect shot. [ hikers laughing, commenting ] at&t introduces the htc one x. now $99.99. rethink possible.

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running down the most popular stories on cnn.com. "the price is right" looking for male models. and luxury vehicles not doing well in crash tests.

and this star from "welcome bak kck c coter has died." and an arrest in the burglary in steve jobs' home. more than $60,00 of computers and personal items were stolen last month. now a 35-year-old is behind bars. just now learning of the details. what's interesting, the prosecutor says this guy -- they don't think he knew what home he was burglarizing. >> thanks very much. a political headline just into "the situation room," romney campaign says it raised $7,400,000 since he announced paul ryan. it is less than john mccain's campaign took in after he picked sarah palin in 2008. coming up in a half hour, our political panel takes a closer look where there are big differences between mitt romney and paul ryan, including how

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the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. [ male announcer ] you work hard. stretch every penny. but chances are you pay a higher tax rate than him... mitt romney made twenty million dollars in two thousand ten but paid only fourteen percent in taxes... probably less than you now he has a plan that would give millionaires another tax break... and raises taxes on middle class families by up to two thousand dollars a year.

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happening now, mitt romney mines for votes. are presidential candidates wasting energy talking about energy? they may be able to track you with the blink of a camera's

eye. and the online race for pictures like this. i am wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." if you think our major differences between president obama on mitt romney and taxes, and there are, wait to learn more about what paul ryan proposed. he goes further in mitt romney cutting taxes, though romney will prevail. the highest income tax rate for the wealthiest americans is 35%. president obama wants to increase that to 39.6%. romney wants it reduced to 28%. romney further proposing 25% top rate. let's take a closer look at taxes on investment earnings for capital gains. current rate is 15%. president obama wants to increase it to 20%. romney wants to eliminate capital gains tax for those earning less than $200,000 a

year, while keeping the 15% rate for everyone else. ryan simply wants to eliminate all capital gains taxes for everyone. period. there is one tax romney and ryan agree, the estate tax. they want to eliminate it for everyone. president obama has a very different vision. he wants to increase the estate tax rate to 45% from the current 35%. bottom line. clearly are major differences on taxes in this campaign. let's talk about the differences, similarities between romney and ryan and some of the other hot issues in this presidential race. we are joined by our correspondents covering the romney and obama campaigns, national political correspondent jim acosta joins us from sainsville, ohio and brianna keilar is in washington in "the situation room" with us. guys, thanks very much to you both. jim, let me start with you. how much of a problem is this? how much of a problem if it is

for the romney campaign that there are differences between romney and ryan on taxes? >> reporter: taxes is one issue. there's also the issue of medicare and the romney campaign had trouble talking about the differences. you saw mitt romney having that news in miami, he was second down by reporters, what are differences between your plan and ryan plan when it comes to medicare. he couldn't name any. wolf, keep in mind, what the romney campaign is trying to do on this, they're trying to get on offense, do anything but be on defense when it comes to this issue. romney campaign put out a new tv ad today, accusing president obama of taking money out of medicare to pay for obama care as they call it. and mitt romney is going to be giving remarks in southern ohio in about an hour from now. getting those remarks, and he is going to say in the remarks later if the president is reelected, he will succeed in raiding $716 billion from

medicare. wolf, when we were down in florida, the harshest headlines for the paul ryan pick were down in florida and they were primarily because of the medicare issue. i talked to a well placed republican source that said behind the scenes a lot of republicans are fretting over this pick. they think it might be risky. >> mark mckinney, a top strategist for george w. bush, including re-election in 2004, he said this. i wi put it on the screen. he said i think it is a very bold choice and exciting and interesting pick. it is going to elevate the campaign into a debate over big ideas. it means romney ryan can run on principles and provide direction and vision for the republican party, and probably lose, maybe big. wow, that's pretty strong words. >> those are strong words, but what the romney campaign is going to try to do, not play defense on this medicare issue. in florida there were comparisons to the 1994

gubernatorial race when chiles beat bush because of social security. it helped him win an election down there. i think the romney campaign is aware of all of this. i had a chance t talk to a romney adviser, and they're planning to keep on the medicare attack as long as they can, because the point they're trying to make, wolf, is that president obama is doing something to the medicare program right now. he is taking money they say out of the medicare program now so he can do obama care in their words. what they're saying is that what we're trying to do on the romney side is reform medicare for future seniors, for future generations. they're not touching seniors now. that's the message they're trying to hammer home. >> bring in brianna. democrats after ryan announcement, some were gleeful. when you get behind it, how worried is the campaign and white house with the romney-ryan ticket. one thing has happened, it

shifted the conversation away from constant hammering on releasing tax returns and romney's time on bain. >> they will keep hitting him on bain and tax returns. talking about medicare is something that democrats in the obama campaign, they're very comfortable in this area because they feel like they're seen as normally the protectors of medicare and social security. the way they see it, they will pin romney and ryan into a box of dismantling medicare, effectively scaring seniors, even though the ryan plan is something that would effect younger people, not older people, and they feel like that is a big win for them. >> we both covered congress. one thing we also know for certain, congress is the least liken at this time in town. new gallup poll had an all time worst disapproval rating. since romney picked paul ryan to be his partner, do they see an opening they wouldn't have had

before or otherwise? >> i think that might be a bonus, but i think the medicare thing is what they're completely salivating over. this ad you heard jim talking about today which accuses, you know, we covered health care reform, accuses president obama of basically raiding guaranteed medicare benefits. it is not actually true because the cuts or savings, however you put it from medicare that helps pay for obama care is actually on the provider side. payments made to hospitals or insurance companies. the thing that i think you see the romney campaign very much on the offensive there, but you're hearing that, and that is something that can be refuted. you're hearing talk about it is romney at the top of the ticket, not ryan at the top of the ticket. and you're hearing a little of the it's romney and ryan, they're kind of the grownups in the room trying to preserve medicare for future generations. but i sort of thing if you don't hear a lot of that last point,

democrats may continue to salivate over this. >> let me play a couple of clips, want to go back to jim from the campaign trail today because they were talking about energy. listen to this. >> governor romney said let's end tax credits for wind energy production. let's get rid of them. he said that new sources of energy like wind are imaginary. >> the president says he is for all of the above. i wondered what he meant. i see how he has been waging war on coal. >> we have our own oil and gas. we have nuclear, we have all of the above, wind, solar, coal. let's use it. let's make our energy independence. >> i specifically notice the staging of romney with all of the coal workers behind him. what was going on there? what was their thinking, jim? >> reporter: wolf, i heard from a few of the co-workers on site

romney had been there early in the campaign in primaries, this is a backdrop romney likes to come back to. this is one of the wealthiest candidates to run for the presidency, and almost all h his events are factories or small businesses. today was a coal mine. he has been trying to go to a lot of small businesses these days. standing outside an ice cream shop now in ohio, every day it is a backdrop to go after president obama for the comments you didn't build that. and i think as long as they can keep that going and feel like they're gaining traction, and by the way, he got huge boos from the audience, favorable views to mitt romney, not favorable for the president when he talked about energy today. he gets boos when he talks about you didn't build that, favorable to romney, not the president. they figure as long as those lines work, they will keep coming back. >> only getting started now. jim acosta for us. brianna keilar, covering the president in "the situation

room." guys, thanks very much. in less than 20 minutes, a political term that's officially part of the english language. and president obama opens his own wallet, spends some of his cash during a campaign stop. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." [ kimi ] atti and i had always called oregon home.

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a quick check of some of the stories making news in the beltway. defense secretary leon panetta spoke to reporters about what he calls the dangerous and disturbing string of attacks on u and nato forces by afghan troops and is urging everyone to

keep things in perspective. >> i think the reality is the taliban has not been able to regain any territory lost. and so they're resorting to these kinds of attacks to create havoc, and there's no question, it's of concern. it's dangerous. and we've got to do everything we can do to try to prevent it. >> panetta says 31 afghans have been involved in the attacks, and it doesn't reflect pride and dedication of 350,000 members of afghanistan's police and national security forces. also over at the treasury department, officials announced they're lifting sanctions imposed on the syrian prime minister because he defected. his assets will be unfrozen. a treasury department press release says it is not too late for other syrian officials to abandon the regime and do the same. from the campaign trail, president obama bought a round of beers for folks at the iowa state fair monday. he walked up to mike's tavern beer tent. instead of making a speech, bought ten beers for the people

that happened to be standing around. they responded by chanting what? not four more years, four more beers. >> four more beers. >> you want four more beers? >> why not. >> after the show. let's check in with john to see what's outfront, filling in for erin burnett. what's coming up? >> wolf, we have paul ryan in las vegas at a private fund-raiser with sheldon adelson. he is famous for bank rolling super pacs. 10% of the money for the super pacs comes from this man. we look at the super pac economy and money and mayhem created in the elections. >> see you at the top of the hour. john, thanks very much. up next, a camera that knows your face, tracks your shopping habits on facebook. is it a deal, a danger? we investigate. and jeanne moos searches for a side of paul ryan, no one seemingly can find.

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another new kind of computer technology is raising questions about privacy. it is a camera that recognizes your face and then can track your shopping habits through facebook. brian todd has been taking a closer look what's behind it. what are you finding out? >> reporter: technology is impressive. privacy advocates are issuing strong warnings. it has chilling similarities to scenes from a ten-year-old movie many thought was far fetched at the time. >> john anderson. you could use a guinness about now. >> reporter: you thought ads directly targeting you were pure fantasy. shoppers, meet "minority

report." a new service called face deals, set up in restaurants and bars. it matches your image with profile and pictures on facebook. can send you a customized offer from the store, only if you give permission. they use facebook's open platform but is not otherwise connected to facebook. the service developed by the marketing firm red pepper which uses this promotional video to take you through it. log into facebook, grant them permission to verify your likeness. >> when a face is recognized, the deal is set into action. >> reporter: the deal is then as the company says dynamically optimiz optimized. your face is read and matched up with your facebook history. it delivers your coupon, customized discount to your mobile device. it has laser like efficiency and concerns the heck out of privacy

advocates. mark roten berg is with them. >> what's wrong with doing a little marketing? >> the problem, brian, people find their personal information will be information will be quickly available to the stores they're visiting. >> what's wrong with that if they sign up for it? >> people would need to know how much of their personal information is being made available. on facebook, it would be their network of friends, it would be their likes and interests. that information would become available and i don't think people would agree to that. >> i ran that by red pepper's ceo. >> we're not going to be pulling all of the data. not to mention applications that we do for retail companies around the country, people allow applications all the time. it's allow this app. that is essentially saying that we can have access to your network. i think that's sort of a comfort line that people are moving

towards as long as the information is not misused. >> what does facebook think of all this? facebook is a big part of the process, as you saw, the facebook deals logo looks like facebook. a facebook spokesman told us the company is not commented on facebook deals, it just wants to make sure people make informed decisions about the apps they use. red pepper's ceo has been in contact with facebook and when this camera is set up in stores, that name and logo will be different. >> amazing story. there's a real concern that no matter how secure the system is, outsiders could get access to it? >> they say it won't be that difficult for strangers to hack the technology and get information about where people shop or eat or do other things. >> amazing technology. brian todd, thanks so much. i'm told also, the technology, they have my picture and i shaved off my beard, they would

still know it would be me. >> i don't think anyone on the face of this planet would know you without your beard. you cannot shave your beard. >> these computers would know because they would be able to look at my eyes and look at the distance between my nose and my eyes, my eyebrows or whatever. they would know it's me. >> fascinating, but gives me the privacy concerns. but i think it's a comfort line. >> ten years ago. >> who knew. it's coming our way. coming up, everyone's learning a lot about paul ryan's life. this weekend especially, but one thing still remains a mystery. you won't find it anywhere on the internet. genie moz explains coming up next.

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>> go ahead and grab your energy drink. do you have yours? >> i don't have one. >> we're about to knock an item off your bucket list. the new phrasesic maing it into the dictionary. >> i'm still thinking about four more beers. four more beers.

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we're driving safely. and sue saved money on brakes. now that's personal pricing. >> so here's a match-up of new additions to the mer yam webster dictionary, including mash-up, a ah moment, bucket list, sexting, f bomb and game-changer. the folks at mer yam webster provide a new reflection of american culture. if you don't know what they mean, soon you'll be able to look them up. if that's a reflection of american culture, i feel bad for american culture. >> i know what all those mean. >> buzz you're hip on the pop culture. >> paul ryan hits the campaign trail and people are getting to know his political positions. on the internet there's an interest in something completely different.

our jeanne moos explains. >> reporter: we don't have to look hard to find an olympic swimmer soaking in a tub in a speedo to sell designer bags or to find tim tebow wearing only the skin-tight bottom half of his uniform in september's gq, but when it comes to vp hoty paul ryan -- it was the second most popular terms folks were searching under his name. though it's since dropped to fourth. >> a man is nominated to lead our country, one of our first thoughts is, i wonder what his nipples look like. >> reporter: yeah, yeah, of course we should be concentrating on weightier matters, but everybody's heard by now that congressman ryan is a devoted follower of an exercise program that sounds like a secret weapon. >> order p 90 x now. the sooner you go extreme, the

sooner you'll look extraordinary. >> reporter: but it's hard to tell how extraordinary paul ryan looks in that bulky jacket. >> i keep my body fat between 6 and 8%. >> but your chance of seeing that lack of body fat is about zero percent. this sleeveless photo of ryan with his exercise guru is about as shirtless as he gets. even though tmz built its photo gallery as abs clusive. one website didn't just scour the internet. it begged readers for help finding shirtless photos. if you have your own, send those in. so far, nada. better not to end up like former congressman anthony weiner, having your chest analyzed. >> and it's a shaved chest. >> or een banished by barbara walters. forget putin or senator scott brown, paul ryan is the pin-up

no one can pin down. so some are resorting to fake facebook pages and photo-shopped images, but in reality, instead of shirtless, it's all shirts. >> wearing plaid shirts together, wearing white shirts, wearing blue shirts, and here they are wearing lycra. >> what's ieverybody looking at? >> reporter: these things the last thing you want is a chest so overexposed it's recognizable even without your head. >> the wiener gate man. >> that was a lot of shirtless. >> especially if he becomes vice president. he'll go on vacation to hawaii or someplace. >> there will be that long telephoto lens. somebody will get that shot and it will be a good shot. >> i'm sure. i have no need to see it. >> but he's done this exercise thing, i'm sure that's off the charts right now. >> i'm sure that's getting some great advertisement with him.