let's bring in david gergen now. let's bring in david gergen now, cnn senior political analyst, john avalon, the daily beast along with j.c. watts, former republican congressman from oklahoma. let me ask you all this question of iraq. did we win? this has now spanned two administrations. >> i think the secretary was right. we don't know yet. what do i think is that president obama, we have to remember, this -- the promise to get out of iraq is what ignited this campaign and what led him to the nomination and led him to the presidency, and, in effect, he's right that he has ended it as he pledged and for many americans this will be a walk-on moment for for those who study and think about this, for the way we go out will be a great disappointment. you heard secretary cohen say not 3,000 to 5,000, but 30,000. that shows how much military types really thought we needed to keep a significant presence there and the fact we couldn't negotiate some type of deal to keep them there with immunity says a lot about the fact that

let's bring in david gergen now. let's bring in david gergen now, cnn senior political analyst, john avalon, the daily beast along with j.c. watts, former republican congressman from oklahoma. let me ask you all this question of iraq. did we win? this has now spanned two administrations. >> i think the secretary was right. we don't know yet. what do i think is that president obama, we have to remember, this -- the promise to get out of iraq is what ignited this campaign and what led him to the nomination and led him to the presidency, and, in effect, he's right that he has ended it as he pledged and for many americans this will be a walk-on moment for for those who study and think about this, for the way we go out will be a great disappointment. you heard secretary cohen say not 3,000 to 5,000, but 30,000. that shows how much military types really thought we needed to keep a significant presence there and the fact we couldn't negotiate some type of deal to keep them there with immunity says a lot about the fact that

david gergen and john adline and j.c. watts. david gergen, what do you make of this tough thing. can go down on the details anywhere here and cause all sorts of problems for the plan, but are they giving too many details or too few in. >> no. this is the centerpiece of mr. cain's campaign. this is the most important pledge he's making. he's now rhisen to the top of te polls in many states and it's imperative that people try to analyze his group, we need other studies of this plan to determine what the real effects are otherwise you're buying a pig in the poet. as a political matter we've been arguing for three years whether we ought to raise taxes on affluent americans. this plan lowers taxes on affluent americans and raises taxes on working people. >> to that point he'd say no, that's not true because they'll pay a $500,000 car and you're paying $9,000 of tax and the lower income you buy used cars and this is where the detail comes in. >> one part of analysis said 84% of people will pay more taxes and they clarified it since then, but i think they've got a real problem with this

joining us now, ed rollins, david gergen, and democratic strategist paul begala. you first because of your experience in republican politics. does this hurt governor romney to have this stirred up again? and does this help or hurt governor perry to have a minister endorse governor perry and then walk into the room and say his was answering a question but call mormonism a cult and say a vote for romney is to give a cult credibility. >> i find the comments disturbing and i think it's not reverend jeffress is not the only one that shares these views having work for two evangelical christians in the last two campaigns, there's certain anti-mormonism that you find, not by mike huckabee, not by michele bachmann. i think the bottom line is it bother me ace catholic who saw great bias against john kennedy, as a man who was married to a jew on this holiest of day and the father of a chinese child any one of these things, catholicism, judaism or chinese could be issues of prejudice and i find prejudice to be something that people need to push away and the political process

. >> you make a very good point our next guest has written about david gergen, senior political analyst. david, i'm paraphrasing your words but you have actually said that this isn't like a hurricane, this is a public policy matter. these are things that can be undone. trust in government -- chrystia is mad at everybody. trusting government. to do the right thing has hit an all-time lowp. take a look at these numbers. when are the politicians in washington realize the same old way of doing business is not what americans want, they want a change of course specifically to the point you've written about, david. the power is in the hands of americans to change course. >> it certainly is, ali. if you go to a variety of communities in this country you see things happening that are encouraging. i was just in new orleans a few days ago, and that city has turned itself around since katrina, had a near death experience, politics are better, business community investing, and the schools, there's a huge turn around going on in the schools. that can happen in some communities. the mystery is why it'

david gergen, let's start with you. who has the most gain tonight?> i think herman cain, if he can take the punches tonight, and if he can convince people that he's a serious candidate and not just sort of the flavor of the month, he could -- he could become the anti-romney candidate and that's been the name of the game. who can be the alternative to romney? nobody's been able to hold that second position yet. >> what do you think rick perry needs to do tonight? >> rick perry needs to be aggressive. rick perry needs to be articulate and he needs to go after mitt romney. now he has to retake that ground and he's got the ability to do it. he's gout the vulnerabilities of mitt romney that he can expose and he's articulate and on point and i can't understand why he has not done that yet in the debates. >> all right. what about mitt romney himself? your former guy. >> ultimately, these debates are -- they're a contest of who can be the most presidential. one of the reasons governor romney has performed so well, when he gets up on stage the contrast emerge

david here gets to go to lake como and dip his gergen and not me? i get it, george, you're a middle-age pundit chaser. well i'm 47. challenge my masculinity. i will drop trou and scramble over any fence. there doesn't even have to be any water. there i could be at the airport in half an hour. i won't even wear a belt. just call me. right now the only invitation i'm getting is for another loofah at o'reilly's and i'm the only person who ever shows up. nation, regular viewers know that last night i defended texas governor rick perry for last weekend's tongue-tied debate performance. but in reviewing the footage, folks, i have to admit, he did make one major gaffe. one talks about college tuition subsidies for children of illegal immigrants. >> if you say that we should not educate children who come into our state for no other reason than they've been brought there by no fault of their own, i don't think you have a heart. >> stephen: boo. boo to you, sir. that's not... that does not play well with the base. jim? >> rick perry made a big mistake on the

joining me now senior political analyst david gergen and chief white house correspondent jessica yellin being quite open about what they're doing here. they say we'll make republicans vote on all these pieces of the president's jobs proposal. if they vote them down, we'll remind voters of that on the campaign trail. that is kind of political game playing, is it not? >> it is political gamesmanship. and most democrats will tell you that privately. right from the beginning, this jobs bill, while democrats especially in the white house believe it would help was designed to be more of a political document than a governing document because the president asked that it all be paid for through higher taxes knowing full well that republicans would refuse. and ordinarily, anderson, if you want to have a serious governing document, you put forward your proposal and you invite the other side to put forward theirs and you sit down and compromise and see if you can reach an agreement as they did with the very messy process around the debt ceiling. they've chosen this other path. they want to make poi

we can work together on those things. >> being on the record with statements like that, david gergen? at least some pressure on the republicans to support part of it, much of it? some of it? or are they going to say never mind, we're in campaign mode? >> no, john. i think there's a political game going on both sides the president wants to accuse the republicans of obstructing progress on jobs. they would bear responsibility for 9% plus unemployment but the republicans are wisely saying let's try to work together on this. take away the sense of obstructing or opposing everything the president wants to do. just yesterday, it was the republicans that really helped the president get his three trade bills through. that was a positive step forward and there will be a couple more things. the republicans are trying to take some of the sting out so they don't have the albatross of 9% unemployment hanging around their necks. that's where obama wants to put it. >> we will see where the debate heads next. thank you. >> thank you. >> the poll politics continue on cnn tomorrow morning. governor per

joining us, david gergen, who has advised four presidents.s trying to get to congress and he has problems, let's be honest, with democrats and republicans. is his political stand doing weak to rally the public to his side? >> a good question. the president has scored political points about taxing millionaires. we have not seen the public response we have seen earlier and the debt ceiling fight when he asked americans to call congress, phone lines were jammed and messages came pouring in. this time, there's very little response. i've been around the country this week, in new orleans and columbus, ohio and now in greensburg, north carolina, not one person has asked me about the jobs bill. not one person says, do you think we can get that passed? that quinnipiac poll, 10 point lead for romney, that was really eye opening. >> you have on the left, people discouraged in the president and they see lately the fight many have been looking for. a lot can change, a lot can change, four in 10 americans approve of his job of the president and the number

i want to bring in our senior political analyst david gergen joining us from harvard university. ans, many administrations and people have to deal with allegations and tough times all the time. cain's a guy who sells himself that he tells it like it is. we've seen some sidestepping. how will this play out and what does he need to do? >> it depends on how he handles it. we've seen this movie before, many times. >> absolutely. >> what we know is when these allegations arise you can evade, but you can't hide. you eventually have to come forward and the sooner to better to put the facts on the table. the central question right now is this -- were there women at the national restaurant association who took paid settlements to leave and drop any accusations against herman cain? he was head of that association. he has to know because when that kind of issue arises for a man, of course, it's a dagger aimed at his heart. so he would know whether, in fact, there was a settlement with any of these women. and politico has reported from a source that at least one of these settlements was in fi

david gergen, for you, there was a moment that really stood out?, the personal insults, the one moment that i think come back to something that was just said was when rick perry turned on mitt romney and accused him of hiring illegal immigrants, said he was a total hypocrite on that mitt romney turned right back to him and said, rick, you just had a couple of bad debates. that was very personal. that kind of animosity you see up there i think is a -- can be a real problem down the road trying to run a united republican campaign. i think it also diminishes the candidates to a de

david gergen, for you, there was a moment that really stood out?onal the exchanges became, the insults, the personal insults, the one moment that i think come back to something that was just said was when rick perry turned on mitt romney and accused him of hiring illegal immigrants, said he was a total hypocrite on that mitt romney turned right back to him and said, rick, you just had a couple of bad debates. that was very personal. that kind of animosity you see up there i think is a -- can be a real problem down the road trying to run a united republican campaign. i think it also diminishes the candidates to a degree to the american people watching this. i continue to believe that cain did not have such a good night to i thought rick perry was better. mitt romney stood his ground when he was attacked. time and time again, toad stand his ground, i thought did he that well. >> donna, for some of these candidates this maybe the last debate, the next debate is not until november. some may drop out by then. >> as you know, anderson is, several of the

our senior political analyst david gergen has an opinion. he's next. >>> also ahead, herman cain.the republican party, but will his candidacy make a bit of a difference in the black community? >> he might very well get my vote. >> up next, we visit cain's >> up next, we visit cain's hometown. and we switched to fedex cause a lot of their packaging contains recycled materials. tell them what else fedex does. well we're now using more electric trucks and lower emission planes. we even offer a reusable envelope. now, can't we at least print on the back sides of used paper? what's the executive compensation list...? [ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. >>> he's quite a character, doesn't hold back and says a lot of things that get a lot of attention. not always good. but he is a gop rising star. so, cnn's george howell visits his hometown to find out more. >> if you didn't know herman cain before his run for president, you probably know him now. the former ceo of godfather's pizza, now gop frontrunner. >> my point is this. >> reporter: known for bein

spoke to jessica young who had that exchange today with the president and senior political analyst david gergenjessica, democrats now talking about breaking up his jobs bill in to smaller parts. that's something the white house originally did not want to do but inevitable the administration had to change its tune? >> given the status of congress right now, inevitable, yes. and it works plit plil politically. the white house now will get behind this effort from congress to have the republicans vote, will have all congress vote on each component part. you will see everybody forced to vote on the measure to re-employ unemployed teachers. whether people want to put construction workers back to work, rebuild schools and the idea here politically is for the white house to be able to say the president, to go on the road and effectively say house republicans, or congressional republicans have voted against each one of these measures that is so popular with american people and polls show they are popular and try to try tie them like an albatross around the neck of house republicans and make them unpopul

i spoke with jessica yellen who had an exchange with the president and david gergen.essica, democrats talking to the president about breaking up the jobs bill. that's something the white house did not want to do but inevitable, they had to change their tune? >> well, given the status of congress, yes. it works politically. the white house will get behind this effort by congress to have the republicans vote -- have all congress vote on each component. everybody is forced to vote on the measure to reemploy unemployed teachers, rebuild schools. the idea here, politically, john, is for the white house to go out on the road and effectively say house republicans or commission republicans have voted against each one of the measures that is so popular with the american people. try to tie them around the neck of house republicans and make house republicans unpopular and in the future, tie them to whoever the 2012 republican candidate is. it's a political gamble but it's the president's move this winter. john. >> it's a political conversation, david. 25 million americans unempl

panel is here to weigh in erin burnett, ago other of "erren burnett out front," ari fleisher, david gergengloria borger, john king, host of "john king, usa," contributor dana lash, co-organizer of the st. louis tea party coalition join us via satellite. john what did you make of it? had you talked to governor romney, governor perry right afterwards, was it as personal as it seemed on the stage? >> yes but they both say no. they talked to each briefly, asked what was that about? i got very general answers but governor perry said, thought it went very well tonight, add lot of fun. said what about the bad blood with romney, pull his wife over and have you met my wife? he introduce node anita perry. did he not want to talk about t. >> romney said this is a good one, this is really -- well -- >> and then i asked governor romney about it as he was walking off exstayed comes with the ter attorney general i get it i'm fine with t i had a lot of fun tonight. i said you two had the death glare. ann romney, his wife interjected, you mean the animosity. she brought that word up. i said do you think th

and it's interesting, because earlier david gergen was saying, you know, sometimes delving into people's personal lives seems to go way too far in the modern media era, but given in this case there were settlements with these two women, this does seem to be a fair thing to be pushing harder and harder on. you've met herman cain, you know herman cain. do you think the more people push, the more they may find, or not? >> well, i'm very surprised to hear this. i've never seen any indication of anything like this. i've known him 15 -- well, more than 15 years. i knew him when he was a very successful businessman. as he has been in all of his career, from what i can tell. so i was very surprised by this. that being the case, i would be surprised if there's anymore to it. >> so two weeks ago, i remember this -- i know we called your office to ask you about it. when -- when said if the election were today, your wife said she would vote for herman cain. and you had said, i believe, that if it were herman cain versus barack obama, cain would, quote, sweep the south. you still think so? >> i guess

as you were talking with david gergen, what is the public's right to know.ve things to say about herman cain. we will hear what haley barber has to say about herman cain. he hasn't endorsed anyone yet. as you know, when he was head of the republican gov floor's association, he doubled their funding. it is important what he has it say, and we are looking forward that t.o. that. >> 7 p.m. eastern here on cnn. >> thanks, wolf. >> thank you. see you tomorrow, and tonight as well. >>> let's go to kabul, in what is called the worst loss of life for nato in a decade of war. 17 people killed in a suicide blast targeting a nato convoy. among them, nine americans. let's bring in nick with the latest. nick, you want to the site of this bombing, this explosion. it was massive. tell our viewers what you saw. >> it was quite remarkable. not just the size of the kraser but the fact that this bomb bought with a huge amount of explosive blue tones of armored bus, huge vehicle used to transport nato personnel around the capital, blew it right across the road to the other side