> tonight on "ni tonight on "nightline," firestarter. we sit down with the christian pastor vowing to burn korans on the anniversary of 9/11 amid a frenzy of protesting words and protests overseas. the top general in afghanistan weighs in, and the preacher tells us why he's not backing down. calorie countdown. it may soon be possible to track every calorie you consume, from food courts to airplanes, even movie theaters. you won't believe how many calories are in your favorite bucket of popcorn. but will doing the math actually matter to your waistline? and poll-tastrophe. the latest survey shows a majority now disapproves of barack obama's job performance. so what will happen in november?

we have the election by the numbers. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," september 7th, 2010. >> good evening, everyone. we begin tonight with the small-time pastor who has stirred up a big-time controversy. his congregation is only a few dozen strong, but his plan to mark 9/11 by burning the koran has sparked protests as far away as kabul while drawing condemnation from the vatican. and commanding general in afghanistan. my co-anchor terry moran traveled to florida today to talk faith, hate and free speech with pastor terry jones. >> reporter: it a tiny but fervent congregation. the dove world outreach center has 30 congregants this sunday, and their prayer group is like many pentecostal meetings.

there is speaking in tongues here. look closely, though. the pastors are armed. and militant. >> with do believe the book is evil. it's bad. it's against the bible. it's against god. >> reporter: the book, of course, is the koran. the holy book of the world's 1.3 billion muslims, believed by the faithful to be the word of god revealed through his prophet. >> we are sending a clear message -- >> reporter: and pastor terry jones says he will burn it on september 11th. >> we feel that their radical message is necessary. we also want to send a message to the moderate muslim to stay peaceful and moderate. we expect the muslims that are here in america to respect, honor, obey, submit to our constitution. >> reporter: and with that theologic theological bridge rans, pastor jones has led his little flock to the brink of a global

confrontation and he's drawn harsh criticism from secretary of state hillary clinton tonight. >> i am heartened by the clear condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act. >> reporter: to religious leaders, from the vatican, to southern baptists, to his fellow evangelical preachers, and now in a sign of just how serious this has all become, from general david petraeus in afghanistan, who warned what pastor jones plans to do puts american lives at risk. >> we're very concerned about the implications of a possible koran burning in the united states. it puts our soldiers in jeopardy, very likely. we've already seen demonstration here in kabul just at the rumor that this event could take place. >> reporter: in kabul, pastor jones was burned in effigy. just the kind of thing general with trey us is concerned can get out of hand, but jones says he must go forward. >> we understand his concerns and we share those concerns. we understand that those concerns are valid.

we just have, the question is, the question that we have is, if we don't do it, when do we stop backing down? >> reporter: pastor, don't you even have a twinge of conscience about doing something like this? >> of course. of course. we have thought very much about it. we have prayed a lot about it. yes, it's one of the things that we think about all of the time. >> reporter: terry jones has kicked around the fringes of the gainesville christian community since the early 1990s. he led a church in germany before moving here, and last year, he found a way to raise his profile. hate. he made signs and printed t-shirts declaring islam is of the devil. and he's never looked back. and here's your sign advertising the event. >> right. that's true. >> reporter: 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., three hours of koran burning. in the big field in front of his church, preparations are under

way for saturday night's koran burning. you have the wood over here that you're going to use. >> right. >> reporter: make your bonfire. >> yes. >> reporter: and burn the koran. >> yes. right now, right out there, we have right now around 200. >> reporter: 200 -- >> korans. >> reporter: that you're going to burn? >> yeah. that have been sent to us, yeah. right. >> reporter: that will be quite a fire. >> yeah. supposed to be. >> reporter: you looking forward to that? >> i don't really think that's the right word. we actually are not looking forward to it. in that sense. as i said before, it's something that we feel we need to do. it's a message that we feel we need to send. but i wouldn't really use the words that we're looking forward to it, not at all. >> reporter: jones' neighbors are certainly not looking forward to it. dan johnson is the pastor of the trinity united methodist church right next to jones' church. from a christian standpoint,

what's wrong with burning a koran? >> great question. i think what's wrong is from a christian perspective, we are taught in our scriptures to honor, love and respect other people and treat them as we would want to be treated. none of us in the christian faith, i think, would want our holy book, our holy elements, our sacraments, anything about us, treated with this kind of disrespect. so, out of obedience to our lord and our sense of love of neighbor, it's wrong to act this way. >> reporter: here, at trinity united, they are planning a kind of counter-demonstration this weekend, a gathering of peace, understanding and hope, they call it. >> those of us who follow the scriptures believe god can bring good out of bad. and i think that's my prayer, already, some, a lot of good is coming out of it. >> reporter: but dan johnson's

understanding of the christian mission in the world is light years away from what pastor jones believes. christians sometimes ask "what would jesus do?" do you really think jesus christ, if he were here today, would say, pastor, go burn that holy book? >> absolutely. >> reporter: jesus christ would say that? >> absolutely. if you look at jesus' life, most of the time, he was as people imagine him. he was very nice and very patient and very loving. but there was also times that jesus did radical things. so, i think jesus would not run around burning books, but i think he would burn this one. >> reporter: what do you say to people who say you're crazy? you are on the lunatic fringe of christianity? >> well, i agree that the burning of the koran is pretty radical. >> reporter: it's an act of holy war. a sign of the times.

and some, like terry jones, are ready for the fight. you're prepared to do this, and prepared and ready to incite violence? >> we're definitely prepared to do this. we're definitely prepared to give our lives for this particular message and cause, yes. >> reporter: will you be armed? >> yes, we will. yes. >> reporter: so we could see a gun battle out here. >> we could. we have been threatened. >> reporter: jones says he's been asked directly by the fbi, the department of justice and local gainesville law enforcement not to go through with the koran burning. but he won't listen. to them, at least. if you listen to him closely, though, you get the sense that he may be looking, praying, for a way out of a terrible corner he's painted himself into. >> reporter: you're going to go through with this? >> as of right now, we have every intention. in going through, yes. >> reporter: what would change your mind? >> yeah, i guess the same thing that caused us to do it.

just a deep conviction from god that something has to happen. >> reporter: so, he is praying. as are so many other people around the world. for "nightline," i'm terry moran in gainesville, florida. >> our thanks to terry moran there. when we come back, we will shift gears to check out proposed federal guidelines for posting calorie counts in unexpected places. maybe even the movie theater. me neither. it's beneful incredibites. uh-huh! it's just the way you like it-- made with wholesome grains, real beef, even carrots and peas. you love the smaller-size, easy-to-chew kibbles, and i love the carbohydrates for energy and protein for muscles. whoa! wait for me! ha-ha. you only think you're getting spoiled.

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as federally mandated calorie count information pops up on more an more menus, certain corners of american life have managed to hold out. food courts, cross-country flights, and above all, the movie theater. but now, the government is trying to determine who besides fast food chains should fall under this calorie count mandate. question is, do you really want to have to translate popcorn butter into gym hours? john berman has our report. >> reporter: "titanic" is a movie about a boat. >> i'm the king of the world! >> reporter: "big," about growing up. "giant," a western. but whatever "titanic," "big," "giant" stuff there is going on, it pales in comparison to the titanic portions being eaten in front of it. >> when you get a tub of popcorn like this, often you're looking

at 1,500 calories. >> reporter: which is why some people are wondering if movie theaters should be included in the new fda rules that require posting calorie counts. all part of the health care law that president obama signed last spring. >> this is a big [ bleep ] deal. >> reporter: a big deal, indeed, for chain restaurants, required to begin posting calorie counts for their menu items. big, because we can now see these big numbers. that this weighs in at 1,360 calories. and just one sandwich, two-thirds of the recommended daily intake for a woman. half the daily calories for a man. sonic's supersonic cheeseburger, a huge, 900. taco bell's salad, also 900. and the breast-leg biscuit meal at popeye's, 700 fatty calories. right now, the fda is trying to determine who, besirds fast food chains, should be subject to the

new laws. they've opened the matter up for public comment, inviting the public to weigh in. up for debate, should there be call reams posted at grocery stores with foot courts? airlines? how about movie theaters? would you want to calorie count for date night at the movies? dave is the editor in chief of "men's health" magazine. and the author of the wildly popular "eat this, not that" series of books. >> total game changer. it's not about regulation. it's about education. it is a terrific tool for people to use if they want to in order to figure out what they're eating, because most of the time, we go to the movies, for example, and we're absolutely shocked to discover that there are foods out there that have a day's worth of calories, fat, sugar and salt. >> reporter: take that tub of popcorn. >> up to 1,500 calories. combine that with a snack and a soda, you might be up to 2,800

calories, john, just being going to the movies. >> how many should i be eating a day? >> 2,000. >> like, a day's worth. >> more than that. here's what happened. the movie thee teaters act like are going off on a hike for four days, not like you are about to watch a 90-minute movie. >> reporter: if they posted the calorie counts, consumers can make some surprising choices. take the great debate between nachos and hot dogs. this is just bad news, right? >> you can polish these off during previews and you've just polished off 1,100 calories. now, you make a smarter choice, you grab a hot dog with some ketchup, it's 315. built-in portion control. you get some protein. by no means is it a health food, but it will satisfy you during the movie. >> reporter: like a diet hot dog. compared to --

>> compared to this. and you save 800 calories. again, you do that every saturday night over the course of a year, boom, ten pounds. >> reporter: i just eat the cheese. what if you don't eat the chips? >> that's going to be about 600 calories. >> reporter: and people look at you funny, too. >> it gets all over your shirt. >> reporter: the fda items us, despite the arguments, as of not, they do not expect extending the rules to movie theaters. and for some people, the federal label makers have gone way too far already. >> we actually have -- we don't want to do politics. we want to cook for our customer who do not have time to read for six page menu. >> reporter: chef didier duran cooks classic french fare in chicago. >> so, what i want to do, massage my chicken with a lot of butter. and i can tell you, it's very yummy. >> reporter: with just a couple of restaurants, he would be

xament from the new rules, but still, he feels they go too far. >> the police on the street. >> reporter: not in his kitchen. plus, he says, it creates decidedly undelicious red tape. >> it is a nightmare, you know, impossible to keep track of it. in my kitchen, put a pinch of that, a little of this. it's not the same. so, i think we will never be really accurate. things change. >> reporter: then, there's the question of, what kind of difference does it make anyway? since starbucks started posting calories in new york, a stanford university study found 6% fewer calories per transaction. the average calories purchased fell from 247 to 232. hardly an extreme makeover, starbucks edition. >> thank you for coming. have a great day. >> reporter: because, no matter what, fast food chains, movie theaters or airplanes may post on their walls, there is another component to it. the consumer has to play along.

they have to decide they're going to pay attention, right? >> yeah, and you can choose to ignore it. when the government puts up a traffic signal, you can still walk out into the middle of the street. you might get hit by a car, but you can do it. it's the same thing here. you can choose to totally ignore it and just, you know, be oblivious and eat whatever you want. this is just a tool that's going to help you to make smarter choices and let's say you're going out every saturday night, it's movie night and you can shave 1,000 calories, that's 12 to 15 pounds over the course of a year, without dieting. >> reporter: which, for some people, might qualify as titanic, big or giant news in its own way. i'm john berman for "nightline" in new york. >> 1,400 calories for popcorn? unbelievable. thanks to john berman for that, i think. up next, bad news for president obama, whose disapproval ratings hit an all-time high in a most recent poll. and with elections looming, the

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toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. and these arthe ones you'll love on a tuesday. pillsbury crescent dogs, with just a few ingredients, you have an easy to make dinner. they're crescents r the other 364. try them tonight. "nightline" continues from new york city with bill weir. >> well, about eight weeks to go before the mid-term election, and the latest abc news poll numbers are out, and they do not bode well for the party in power. as far as president obama is concerned, the poll chalked up all the wrong records, including the biggest republican advantage in all the years we've been asking these questions. so, how did the democrats go to endangered species? it begins with one big, troubling number.

14,900,000. that is roughly how many americans are out of a job tonight. they are why the price of a house is still down nearly 30% from pre-recession levels. they are why 92% of the people we polled said the economy is in bad shape. and they should be a source of many restless nights for the 472 members of congress running for re-election. democrats, in particular. the party in power always gets the most powerful blame, so no surprise that likely voters favor republicans in their congressional races, but the margin, 53 to 40? that is the biggest republicaned a van damage in the 29-year history of this poll. but dig in a bit and you'll see the disdain crosses the aisle. 56% say most democrats don't deserve re-election, but 58% say the same thing about republicans. 42% trust the democrats to handle the economy, but only 40% trust republicans. it is the status quo people hate

most. only 33% say they're inclined to re-e elect their representative. as for president obama's numbers, well, 42% blame him for the economic mess, while 60% still blame george w. bush. but fewer people are giving him the benefit of the doubt as time goes by. and a majority, 52%, now disapprove of the way he's handling his job overall. from his inauguration until now, the obama approval rating has dropped 22%, a slide that almost precisely mirrors another president in another recession. >> we can do it, my fellow americans. by staying the course. >> reporter: ronald reagan lost 26 seats in the house as his approval numbers dropped to 42%. and they only improved when the unemployed went back to work. so, president obama, these numbers say it all. if you want to be pop grew lar

again, either fix the economy or get out of politics. because, right now, 78% are unhappy with the entire federal government -- the most in a generation. about 25% of those people describe themselves as angry. these are tense days, indeed, reflected in the numbers. and when we come back, we want you to weigh in on the koran-burning idea. but first, here's what's coming up next on "jimmy kimmel live." >> tonight, we're back from vacation with andre agassi, donal logue and music have scissor sisters. it's like the first day of school, and i'm wearing new pants. "jimmy kimmel live" is next. winning is my favorite thing. but we lost today. ♪ no, we didn't. ♪ we're the kids in america ♪ oh, oh, oh ♪ we're the kids in america ♪ oh, oh, oh layers of brownie and caramel, dipped in chocolate

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