>> i donon't know how many of you w the last debat. i didn't realize at that will fly on my back washat big -- that bullseye on my back was that date. >> this week on "inside washington," the herman cain phenomenon. how long can he ha in there? mitt romney stumbles into another flip-fl. >> that willave an impact on our abity to crea jobs in the ited states. >> the european debt crisis -- is there a light at the end of the tunnel? it is >> usually financial aid and things like that. >> crushing burden of student loans. and as the occupy wl street

move nt getets rougher a a government report confirms that yes, theich are definitely getting richer. >> the firstuestion that comemes to mind is are we in the same boat together? captptioned d by the tional captioning institute --w.ncicap.o-- >> rick. 's start seems to be fading, and mi romney -- rick perry's starr seems toe fading, a tt romney is still the favorite to win the nomination. but despspite herman cain's almostonexistent c campaign structure, republicans keep telling us how much they like hihim. here he is taking a tshot at mittomney and the massachusetts health care plan. >> it seems so many of my years have bn fiting some kind of care -- hillarycare obamacacare and now romneycare to get the

nomination. >> get the nomatio -- easier said than done. this week, peter hart had a focus group that includ republicans, democrats, an independents. when he asked which candidate interested than the most, the answer by a wide margigin was herman cain. you were t there mark. what i is it about herman cai that appeal to republicans? >> he is not a politician, they like the stotory -- up fromom the bootstraps the father a chauffeur, the motr a cleaning lady graduated from morehouse college, the most distinguiuished all-male aditionally black colleges in the country -- and his directness and optimism. >> colby, the cain phenomenon.

>> they southbound herman cain as a people person.. his likability facto -- they saw her herman cain as a peoplele p person. his likabili factor someone thatat peoe would like to have as a next-door neighbor. the rest of the candidates do not come through that way. the focus group also talked about rick perry. what word cos to mind when they think about fifth grade kids? bully. >> n nina? >> herman cain is a fabulous salesman and has been all his liffe. go online and watch him at singing what sounds like a prayer son, expt it is pizza. heas a beautiful voi, by the way. there is a cerin level of satire humor, but he is selling, and ththat iwhat he's dog now. the question is, what is he selling? >> evan?

>> he is not going to be president. he has an appealing, attractive guy, but people are not going to vote him president. romney is lucky to ve him out there because he is not really a threat. the only person who can beat romney at this sge is romney. >> didn't peter hart asked about herman cain as presisident? >> yes, acknowledgg that the focus is not a scientific sampling, the great value is that you get people to express their feelingsgs. ere was great resistance to -- picking on evan's. -- -- evan'soint --- to herman cain. but before they to vote for you, they have to like you. he haa long way f from making the e sale. >> whadid ththey say about barack obama? >> understand this about ohi -- no decrat other than that

john kennedy has ever been elected president without carrying ohio barack obama carried ohio in 2008. they are disisappointed in barack obama, and that question that colby mentioned, how you feel out a fifth grade kid -- there was no particular perception of obama. some saw him as the smartestid in the room others saw h as the owner, the teacher's pet, the all-amican kid. ere was ndefined sense of who he is and that is a problem i believe abortion should be safe and legal. >> mitt romney today. >> im firmly pro-life.e. >> here he is on a ballot initiative supported by ohio

go john k 6asic -- kasich. >> i am not speakaking on particularallot issues. i am 110% behind v. kasich. >> romney has been running a savvy campaign, but he stumbled on this ballot question. is that going to come back to haunt him? he can get ay with this one, but flip-floping is his -- he has two big problems. one is the flip-flop thing, the other is that he is not applicicable.. -- not likable. i would not say he has unlikable in the debates, but he has been strong, and that counts. >> fifth grade? romney. >> they said he was like the rich andrivileged kid. two words -- on is "chameleon,"

the other is "pompous." he has a record of changing his position based on who he is trying to appeal to. >> george will is writing this weekend -- "romney is not only less electable, he might damage gop chances of capapturing the senate. reblicans may have found their michael dukis." >> georgrge will has a particularly passionate feelings about abortioion and his opposition to abortion. i think romney's flip-floon that issue cuts very deep. it is simple to understandoo that he has flip flop that. that is why this thing in ohio is damaging. i don't know why he was there. this was a calling center about that initiative. if he did not want toake that

position, don't go there, fined a dodge, stay out of it. he looked foolish. >> ifot rney, w who? >> there is nobody ee. newt gingrich, ion't think so. rick santorum, i don't think so. perry is turning out to be blow hard bully. >> perry doesn't want to debate? hodoes that with republicans? >> he wants to fight when there is nobody there for a far fight. >> i congressman said that if he doeses not debate, he will come across as a coward. >> he is a great retail campaigner. he hason 10 elections in texas. we are not seeing that. >> you cannot be entirely a retail campaigner.

he is no going to win new hampshire. in a predential campaign, retail is a miniscule pat. >> don't wrwrite off cain. freight rail delivered caterpillar to peoria more than 100 years ago. and they're still delivering cat machines today. you can find us on every continent. and e journey starts here on freight rail america's freight rail companies. helping deliver jobs across this country and goods around the world. reinvesting billions of their own money every year to build a rail network that powers our economy. nobody moves more dirt than caterpillllar. and we rely on freight rail to move us.

>> most people i know it ended up at the same at minimum-wage jobs they at before college. they are stuck there now. they wasted a bunch of money and got a bunch of it get to go nowhere -- debt go nowhere. >> under graduate borrowing is up 57%. 2/3 of collegee students " on average $28,000 for the college education. deeply in debt, cannot find work. the president says he is gong to give sdents a break with

exececutive action. critics say is a drop in e bucket. we are coming up on an election year too. >> compared to what they need to do, it underscores how holessly powerless government is that this is the best th can do with these little nickel- and-dimed things. >> it is not the best they can do but it strikes me that obama this week -- y could seehe very clear outlines ofis campaign in dealing with the ideaea that people, after three years, really are not sure cookie is. he came in with hope and change d compromise. comprome didn't work. now he is going to be the guy -- it took him awhile to realize that he is going to campaign as essentially the unconongress, "we can' wait." these mabe small solutions but they are not bad in terms of

the way they will appear. >> back to the cincinnati focus group. are peop l looki for in a leader? >> -- what are people lolooking for iin a leader? >> strong leader a tough negotiator.. >> if he says, "i will do this by exexecutive action," that plays into that? >> i tnk that helps. this is not a fabricated problem brout what you are talking about, , the man in the clip, representing millionons of young people who come out with ththe equivalent of housing mortgage, an immediate word and they have to deal withth. they don't have jobs or the means to deal with it. they are notble to pay back any will put them in an economic position where they will be able to compete andin the system.

the country last act. >> -- e country has to act. >> you had newt gingrich responng to the president's initiative by saying it is nothing more thahan a ponzi scheme. that ishe state of our politics now. something had tbe done because kids are facing ththis crucial issue. but it is not a matter of solving the problem. eveverybody can't or shouldn't get a college degree in this country. we have to rethink what educatiomeans in this country what skills we need, andaybe change the path we have been on that the way to success is baccalaureate degree -- >> colby is onto somethihing. this four-year education where students take on its hu debt to sta bertrand'beeer cans -- the germans have to figure this out. they have a better vocaonal

training and you learn something worthwhile instead of just going to the frat house. >> to be an electricia >> digital age. >> a lot of our colleges don't do that. >> across the western world among people who have gone to college, unemployment rate is 4.4%. among those who have not completed college 11.5%. you can understand that if you are interested in your child having a job, you want to encourage him or her going to coege and getting a dege, even though your argument is a plausible one. >> colby, what about the market's ecutive action and veterans jobs? is that going to have any impact? >> yes, but it is not going to move the needle a great deal. there is only so much asas you can do from the executive stanoint. unless congress makes substantive legislative changes

you are not going to see a large change. what is important, getting back tohe point that was made in cincinnati leadership and determination to do something. the question always is will he sustained the tion? will he continue this kind of apoach between now and next year? >> that is importatant about the mortgage thing. the banks bought into e mortgage thing. they gave a great many people a chance to renegotiate the mortgage and have more money to put into the economy but it has to be executed wellnd if it is not, it will not make a difference. >> w what did it mney a say in nevada? just let the market hit bottom let the market work this out, and not talking about relief

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>> europe w will do what it takes

to safeguard finanancial stability. >> it will lay the predicate for long-term economic growth around of the world. >> european leaders this week cut a deal to produce greece' overwhelming debt after german chancellor angela merkel called their bluff, banks agreeing to write off half of what the greek government owes. our stock-market love to that news. >> there are larger questions he. i think back to my days representing the u.s. the world bank. we do elect -- we lectured the third world, at taking austerity measures, we beatt asia for their failure to step up with adjustments that were necessary.

and in this country we cannot address our own serious deficit prlems brought. europe may not pull this thing off. political will is lacking in industrial countries well. >> i don't think there is any disagreement about the need for long-term cutbacks on at we spent in government. but in a peri of time when we are coming off a deep recession, the greatest since the great ression -- since the great depression, it too much austerity can shop us back into rececession. >> we h 2.5% growth in the last qrter. that is not enough. it is better than nothing. we are still early on th -- rereally on t cusp. you see the kinds of layoffs that have gone oa in state and local government,nd you see exactly what happens.

it is a chain r reaction. >> can congress, with itits% approval rating, do something like they have done in eure? >> no. apparently at the super committee inot going to be able to get a solution, which means that the automatic cuts are scheduled to go into e effect. but they wi not go into effect, because they have a year to go into effect and that means that congressss can i do than a. the only thing congress will do is undo the automatic cuts. the government will basically do nothing through the 2012 elections. the first time anything positive could happen would be sometime in 2013. >> that is what congress will do with a 9% approval rating, nothing? >> i am not as sure as evanis that they won't. there is an imperative in both paies, staring at the abyss of

the 9%, that they could see themselves being swe out in a tidal wave. all the hopes of ththe western world rest on the not-broad shoulders of a woman from germany -- [laughter] merkel the go-to guy out on this entire thing the united states, because of our ownroblems, candoes not have theesources to do anything about it. as far as the congress is concerned, the end of the war in iraq will give t them an opportunity to start counting defense cuts may be creatively and imaginatively in meeting that obligion. >> but that is bogus! >> i am talking about coming to an agreement. >> where is the agreement? you have democrats still saying that we can solve this with a combination of cuts and tax

increases. you have republicans saying we will do it only for cuts -- through cuts. >> absolutely nothing is going to happenn -- >> there will be a reaction if we fail to act. you talk about downgrading thehe credit rating. they have reasons to lose confidence in our ability [ mr. connally

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for just $89.99 a month with the option of no annual contract, and no pricencncrease for two years. i didn't realize how good fios was until i got it. when i got it it's just "wow." [ male announcer ] get our best price online. visin.verizon.com/greatprice. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 1-8 -974-6006 tty/v. [ mrs. connally ] you can't take my fios away. [ male announcer ] fios. a eatwork ahead. >> they c can do this until the cows come home. we will come back strongervery ti. not only that, it is a didirect violation of our firirst amendment rights tossemble. >> an occupy los angeles protests are responding to words that they will be asked to move along. in oaknd, it got pretty bloody. the congressional budget office report reveals that yes, there is a gap between the richest americans and everybody else.

thprotesters to have somomething to gripe about. >> and if john boehner and the republicans persist in saying that they are not goingo consider taxncreases on ople who are very ririch, even though th may not be able to balce the budget, still taking that position is s really a slap in the fa to st pple. 3/4 of the people -you look at these polls -- 3 3/1/4 thingngs at the e veryich shshould pay me in taxes. -- 3/4 think that the very rich should pay more in taxes. it is reflected in the tolerance of a movement that is pretty anarchtic in some ways in it goals. >> you think it has legs? >> the cbo report draws sharp

attention to the proposals of republican candidates. all of which are skewed towards the one gro of citizens who need it the least. >> absolutely nothing is going toappen meaningful on last -- this is a real possibility -- europe has a real meltdown. yes, ty got a bullet, but they haveuge problems to get -- yes, they dodged a bullet, but they still at huge problblems to face. itight produce people getting together and doing something. >> cheerful scenario. [laughteter] >> doomsdayy scenarios -- >> 30 seconds. >> between 2005 and 200 the

after-tax income of the t 1/5 isis greater than the other 80% a rising tide lifts all yacachts. the stribution of income, equality is in the final ananalysis 8 national security issue. >> last