>> everybody, including the wealthiest americans and the corporations have to pay their fair share. >> this week on "inside washington. " is president obama waging class warfare? another republican debate. >> he does not know what he is talking about the. >> it is not the first time he has been wrong on issues before. >> at the un, and appeal for palestinian statehood, but president obama stands with israel. >> this is a badge of honor. >> have a position of principle or politics? after 18 years, the military's don't ask, don't tell policy is history. >> i am a lesbian.

>> president obama this we got the message then there would not be any grand bargain with republicans, especially republicans in the house. so on monday, he had a plan that was guaranteed to fail. it had and the most heated words in the republican vocabulary, higher taxes. >> a teacher or a nurse who earns $50,000 should not have to pay higher tax rates than someone pulling in $50 million. >> the president's plan calls for rebuilding the nation's infrastructure. to make his point, he traveled to ohio to a bridge that connects the home state john boehner, to mitch mcconnell's home state of kentucky. >> help us rebuild this bridge. help us rebuild america. help us put construction workers back to work.

pass this bill. >> there is the president channeling his inner ronald reagan. mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. he says he would veto any deaths a plan without new resources -- new sources of revenue. republicans say that he is waging class warfare. is he right? >> he is right that the rich are getting too rich and the poor are getting poor. is, just politics and nothing else. >> class warfare, nina? >> this is a policy difference and this is an election year. this president will not get reelected unless he can define himself in a way that voters will approve the. at the moment, they did not approve of his performance. he has got to do something different, go back to the old obama, or be more harry truman.

>> class warfare, charles? >> it certainly is from the policy. he pretends he has a jobs plan and a debt plan, but you could tax warren buffett, you could confiscate everything that every billionaire owns and america, but it would not make a dent on the debt. it is the difference about liberals and conservatives on taxation, but that is not the issue at hand. he pretends that the republicans are doing politics and he is doing policy. this will have no effect on jobs. he knows it, everyone knows it. it is a campaign speech, not a plan. >> mark? >> income inequality is at the greatest that it has ever been since the great depression. the top 10% we see a 90% of the increased wealth.

that does suggest a disparity, widening, between those very few who are well off. when you have 13,000 millionaires in the country paying taxes at a rate of 4.6%, it is unjust and unacceptable, that fire fighters, nurses, teachers, gunnery sgt have to pay a higher rate than these private interest dies and hedge fund managers. his remarks, understand, were preceded by an unequivocal statement by the speaker of the house that revenue increases, tax increases would not be considered by the republican house. that left the president with no alternative but to make his case. >> but mark is doing exactly what the president is doing. he wants to have an election on the question of equity. it might get him elected, but the pretense is, obama is trying to do something about

unemployment, which is killing so many people in america. this will do nothing on unemployment. you could transfer all the above the one out of the hands of the millionaires and billionaires and put it in the hands of others. if you do not create jobs and economic growth, you will not put a dent in unemployment and you will do nothing on debt. >> i was not so bothered by tax the rich. he was right about that. but he is giving up any hope of entitlement reform. they are not serious anymore about medicare and social security. you cannot solve our basic problems in this country unless you go after those issues. instead of the exercise of leadership on those issues and getting a mandate from the public to do something about it, he is playing politics. >> politics is all timing. there was a moment, i think, when john boehner and the president looked like they had

the broad outlines of a deal. boehner backed away from it. then the president backed away as the months wore on. that time is gone for the moment, until after the next presidential election. >> we now have 50 million americans living in poverty. nearly one out of four american children. the median income in the country since bill clinton left office has gone down. this is not just the rich have it rich. this is a decline. the president is talking about saving and creating jobs. that is what the bridge is about. hiring teachers who will be laid off as well. >> look at what happened to wall street this week. how do you like your 41 k now? how about europe? -- 401k now? >> the larger issue here is not

the rich and poor, taxes, it is national decline. that is what people are afraid of. the reason our economy is in trouble over the long term is that people have a sense we are in a time of national decline. we need a leader that deals with that issue above all else. >> people are sprit -- afraid to spend money. they are putting it under the mattress or in cd's that have no interest. >> nothing ever worked precisely as a people had hoped, but we knew that the stimulus plan worked. not as well as we had hoped, but it helped. >> those are band-aids that only worked a little. everybody has a sense they're deeper issues at stake here and more government spending, while it will help, will not solve the

basic problem. they are looking at some level for leaders -- >> a lot of the issues are in europe, and we do not have much control over that, do we? >> yes, but their problems are the same as ours. we have these huge welfare states that we have to pay for. >> europe and the united states is in the same boat, and meanwhile, we have to step up to the plate. how about a government shut down now? >> after august and a terrible decision to raise the debt ceiling, members came back and were concerned. they were concerned about their own survival as well as the institution itself. now they are risking it again. the first time, you saw the vote in the house, democrats were emboldened. they were tired of having been

felt like they were rolled in each of these negotiations, whether with the president or with the party, and they decided to stand up. john baker initially lost 40 of his own members to keep the resolution going. then they went to a closed session, cut it down to 24. the open speakership of john boehner became the iron hand of nancy pelosi in getting people in mind. >> apparently common john boehner let himself lose this vote so that he could go to the caucus and say you have two options, but the democrats get a clean bill or boat with me. then he used all the muscle that he is fully capable of using, but has declined to use until now. >> is it possible for the disconnect in washington to get any water? resounding thought of the summer

was we hate this. and we are on the verge of doing it again. >> and there is money for disaster relief involved here. >> one of the interesting thing this week was lamar alexander stepping down from the leadership in the senate. he is a moderate conservative. he is not a hard line. there was a time in this country where the leadership in both parties had to include people from all wings of the party, but the republican party and democratic party to some extent, are now so solidified and so polarized, that that is no longer true. alexander, because he was not going to go anywhere in the leadership, said he wanted to be a compromiser, moved out of the leadership. >> charles? >> what a pity. the mushy middle was abandoned. obama said he wanted to sharpen

the differences, wanted people to choose. obama is running as a left liberal. he will run on equity, which party cares about you, which party wants to protect the rich. republicans will run against big government, high debt, high taxes. we are in a period where, given obama's ideological inclinations, the inclinations of the republicans, we are not going to have a settlement. i thought it may happen in the super committee. there was a reasonable attempt at tax reform, but obama is not going to do either of those. if it does not happen, it will go to the country in november next year, and they will decide. >> you see 65% of people in poll after poll say that we should tax millionaires more. .

if i could just finish before you interrupt. i think charles is describing a winning hand for barack obama in the 2012 campaign, if republicans are going to be the apologists for donald trump, fine. >> you could take all his it is well, doubled it, and it would make a dent in nothing. >> that is not entirely true. it would be true if you limited it to millionaires, but there are people that have huge wealth in this country in the bear wr-- >> pat is why you have to confiscate. >> he was barred standing up for row versus wade before he was against roe versus wade. he was for race to the top. he was for obamacare, now against it. we will wait until tomorrow to

see which mitt romney we are talking to tonight. >> i would use the same term again, nice try. >> mitt romney has had a couple of great debate for the presidential nomination. he and rick perry going at it again. the winner in this one? >> romney probably came out ahead. certainly on most score currency did. rick perry chose the problem -- shows the problem. he came into the race late. he just plunged in and was immediately the front runner of the race. ordinarily, candidates have a chance to try out their speeches, talking points at various small clubs. before you bring it to broadway. he plunged into broadway and you could see he was unprepared for

the spotlight. >> even you can see that mitt romney is so much of a better candidate this time than last. this is not for novices. the statgame is tough going. >> he ran for governor of massachusetts as a republican, which is not easy. he has been there, as you say. >> i agree, romney looked sharper and quicker than perry. perry even looked a little dumb. but what the wise guys in washington think is not necessarily what the large numbers of voters think. i am leery about these judgments that are already saying that perry is clueless and romney is -- something about romney that is unappealing. >> are you suggesting prairie voters are not listening to people like us? >> yes, that is exactly what i am saying. >> we should never admit that.

i think what has been said is correct. romney is polished. in the end, republicans are going to have to decide whether their 1 authenticity or in electability. it often is a choice. democrats have not had that in the past. you often had to come down to say which way are you going to go? and you want the guy who is going to be a ideological on everything or the guy that has a better chance? i go with the buckley rule. you go with the guy that has the best chance of winning. in 1980, ronald reagan had to meet a threshold. is he acceptable? can you live with this guy? he may have been demonized in the past as a radical ideologue, but he wins. obama will be not quite as weak as carter, but with relatively high unemployment, that will be the threshold for any republican.

does he mean a threshold that the independents and disaffected democrats would accept? thus far, i think romney is doing that. >> anyone who doubts the republican party is a former conservative institution than it was when george of the bush ran and won in 2000, 2004, the evidence last night was abundant. here is rick perry, governor of texas, has a program that if you are the town of undocumented immigrants that come to this country, you grow up in this country, you go to school for 12 years, but then you can go to the university of texas system as an in-state resident. and he is attacked, vilified. he is condemned by every other republican. there is no conservative on that stage except for rick perry. mitt romney, who was born with an entire silver service in his mouth, he is attacking him for

giving a $100,000 scholarship to a kid who has worked his way through school. if you want to see republicans at their core, that was the defining moment. >> a susquehanna university poll gives from the the lead. does not mean much at this point does it? >> polls are a snapshot. snapshots' only frees the moment. the moment can change in politics, as we all know, in a matter of days. and it has often in new hampshire. >> i will predict it will not change that much. in new hampshire. romney is known, the neighbor of a former state. he had done strong in the past. either that will be his state or he will be gone. >> and he owns six homes in new hampshire. >> let's say he wins in new hampshire. can he carry that to south carolina, florida? >> it is not even october.

there is time here. there will be more attention paid to it. it is too soon to tell. >> in south carolina, i think ron is very close to perry, statistically. >> one thing about nomenclature. an undocumented immigrant is an immigrant who lost his green card in a cab. an illegal immigrant is someone who never had documents because they came in illegally. there is a difference. >> i did not think any human being should be denigrated as the legal -- illegal. >> the highlight of the entire debate was when michele bachmann was asked, of every dollar i earn, how much should i keep? she said, you earned every dollar, you should be able to keep every dollar you make. goodbye, military, goodbye, air- traffic control, congress. thank you for that kind of

profound insight that we have come to expect. >> i think i may add a comma after last night, good by michelle. >> i would conclude from all of this that mark is not a republican. >> thank you for that. israel, palestinians and president obama at the un. >> peace will not come through resolution that the united nations. if it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now. >> standing your ground is a badge of honor. i want to thank you for wearing the badge of honor the dead the president told the united nations that the u.s. opposes palestinian efforts to win recognition statehood ads and direct negotiations with israel this is president benjamin netanyahu congratulating the president as a matter of principle. i just cannot get that special new york election out of my mind. i wonder if it was principles or

politics? i do not think any american president can fail to veto a resolution of this. that is the nature of our politics. if i were gone, would then be the way it is? probably not. i think abbas has done some very shrewd here. he has bypassed us and has managed to make himself a big player. he has ticked off us and hamas. i think in the future the u.s. will not be the player that it has been in the past because we do not have that kind of leverage to make things happen in israel any more. >> it is also true that obama and the white house are looking at numbers in florida, there is a big element of politics in this. >> there is no element of politics in this. no president, at no time of any cycle would have supported palestinian statehood. the reason is this.

for 18 years, american policy in the middle east premised on the principle of land return for peace. what the palestinians are doing is going unilaterally, to get land, sovereignty, their state, without keeping peace, is the whole object of the exercise. it undermines the entire idea, starting with sadat in 1979. unless the united states makes a statement that if you want to have a state, sovereignty, independence and dignity, you have to make peace with the israelis and except is really state and end the conflict. unless america establishes and sticks with that principle, the entire process is torn up. that is why any president would always have to exercise a veto over this. >> no politics? >> the arab spring has complete

change the calculus in the middle east. the most reliable defender, protector of israel in the entire arab world, and the mubarak regime in egypt, is gone. the status quo has been totally over. the united states sees itself reduced to a role far less relevant as a consequence of the iraqi war and our critical support of israel. israel is increasingly isolated, whether it is egypt, turkey. the two-state solution become so imperative. otherwise, you are left with a one-state solution, and it will not be a pretty place to be. the reality of unlimited settlements, unchecked settlements, encouraged by the netanyahu the administration has led to where we are today.

the first time the palestinians have been excited about their own future since the oslo accords, which i know charles did not endorse. >> if the reason for the stalemate is settlements and the netanyahu government, we could. why wasn't that three months before netanyahu came into office -- there was an article about ehud olmert that describe the conversations he had with president abbas. the offer the west bank. he offered a portion of jerusalem. the offered a palestinian state of independence. abbas walked away. how do you explain that? >> i believe he was wrong. >> explain to me why he was wrong. >> what was the prime minister's recommendation? what was the point in the peace? do you want to leave that out?

he said you have to negotiate two-state settlement, or the consequences for israel are dire. >> and he did exactly that and was rejected, as happened here in washington. explain to me why abbas walked out its settlements is the issue? >> don't ask, don't tell? not anymore. >> these are men and women who put their lives on the line in defense of this country. that is what should matter the most. >> defense secretary leon panetta on the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. gays and lesbians now have a right to serve in the military and special forces. >> it is a big moment. shows the military's ability to get with a program. they did it with civil rights. the military became the best place for civil-rights after a lot of resistance. same thing here. a lot of people do not like it,

they salute, life goes on, do you will be done. >> and it is also generational. that generation cannot even understand how old rules would have applied. that is how a change comes. it will change in the country entirely as the older generation withers away. gay marriage will become institutionalized and accepted and people will wonder in 20 years what was the issue? it is reflected in the military. >> there is a lot of literature, novels, plays, in which the expulsion of gays in the military comes up. it is always a tragic occurrence. we have young people putting their lives on the line, and it is just that they should not be purged for their private lives. >> the united states military is the best example of racial nondiscrimination in our society.

that has been, where one is promoted on the basis of one's merit, not discrimination. in that tradition, thank goodness leon panetta was there, someone who had worn the uniform himself as an army officer. >> thanks. we will see you next week. for a transcript of this broadcast, log onto -- for a transcript of this broadcast, log onto --

steves: while the coast is croatia's main draw, some of its best attractions are inland. we're delving into the croatian heartland. one of europe's top natural wonders is plitvice lakes national park. imagine niagara falls sliced and diced and sprinkled over a vast and heavily forested canyon.

it's a lush and unforgettable valley of 16 terraced lakes laced together by waterfalls and miles of pleasant plank walks. boats glide visitors into the heart of the park. countless cascades and water that's strangely clear yet full of vibrant colors make plitvice a misty natural wonderland. fish seem to know there's not a hook for miles. carefully maintained trails and boardwalks let you get intimate with the wonder of the place. observant nature lovers can choose from hundreds of flower types to assemble a photographic bouquet. the stony formations drip down like the foliage because the grass and moss both direct the flow of the water and provide a kind of scaffolding for the slow and steady calcification process.

naturalists call plitvice a perfect storm of geological, climatic, and biological features. the magic ingredient -- calcium carbonate, a mineral deposit from the limestone that gets dissolved into the water, then re-deposited, continually breaking down natural travertine dams and building up new ones. >>