cnn jeff zeleny is live in des moines with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. it was the most aggressive we've seen bernie sanders yet. he challenged hillary clinton on her principle positions. he's trying to convince the democrats in iowa, the state that kicks off the road to the white house that they still have a choice in the campaign. but hillary clinton, i can tell you, all but ignored that criticism and focussed her fire power on the republicans. ♪ fireworks in the presidential race. democratic rivals descending on iowa 100 days before the first votes of 2016 primary. hillary clinton seizing on the star power of katy perry. >> fight on 2016 is right around the corner! >> and the political power of bill clinton. in his campaign trail debut. >> i've never been -- for katy perry but i'm well aware i'm the warm up act. >> it ended in iowa where clinton had plenty of company and competition. senator bernie sanders has been held a democratic star of his own. his campaign chartered a plane to fly over the dueling rallies calling for a revolution before marching

i want to bring back jeff zeleny while we await these two minutes or so as paul ryan is escorted. to where john boehner is now, right, jeff? >> reporter: that's right. john boehner is still in his seat there, but the escort committee is a group of both sides who brings in the new speaker here. just like during the state of the union address, there's a committee of members who bring them in. so, it's just a bit of formality. i've been looking through some of the biography of paul ryan. i've covered him for a long time. shortly after he was elected here. and i think i'm pretty safe in saying that he's the first speaker of the house to ever have worked at mcdonald's as a high school -- as a young man, at 16 years old. his father actually died when he was 16. he's from janesville, wisconsin, and he got a job working at mcdonald's. i think he's safe to say he's likely the first speaker of this u.s. house to ever work at mcdonald's. he also -- he was a waiter and bartender on capitol hill while i was working up here as a young staffer. even though he goes home every weekend, he's an acti

back to you, guys. >> manu raju, jeff zeleny, a.b. stoddard, thanks. one more word about john boehner, the now gone speaker, nancy pelosi noted he was a man who served the country, served his district honorably for 25 years. nancy pelosi recognizes that had in this country it's important to honor the service of people. >> a man who served in that institution for 25 years. and a man that you can see, he often gets a -- made fun of a little bit for it, but a man with a tender, loving heart. you saw it on display today. he had one line i think really endures. real change takes time. yes, freedom makes things but patience makes things real.- a wonderful, parting message from the outgoing speaker, john boehner. >>> coming up next, there was a debate last night. wow, was there drama there. we'll talk to winners, the losers, some of the big moments, some of the small moments and where jeb bush stands this morning. >>> also ahead for us, plus there is -- there was one key target last night and it was probably the one that brought all the candidates together. t

more from senior washington correspondent jeff zeleny. >> reporter: good morning. in the end, joe biden followed his head not his heart. as he decided to back away from what surely is his last chance to win the presidency. in closing the door after weeks of self-induced speculation, he oppose the door to the rest of the democratic campaign. was he ever serious at all? several advisers and friends insist he was. i'm told the more he knew about the race, the more exploring he did in calls of iowa, new hampshire, and south carolina, the more daunting his path seemed. so over the past several days, when he was calling out hillary clinton for calling the republicans enemieenemies, he wt firing a warning shot as much as offering a lesson in bipartisanship for how he thinks washington should actually work. hillary clinton is surely relieved. bernie sanders is now the leading alternative. bide. biden made clear he would not remain silent in the race going forward. urging democrats to embrace president obama and his legacy tightly. >> christine romans said she liked jeff ze

>> jeff zeleny, thank you. let's talk about all this political action. welcoming eric bradner.see you, 5:36 in the east. you'll get a doughnut in the mail today for coming up so early for us. let's talk about what could happen today. hillary clinton, this benghazi committee hearing, this could be eight hours of q & a. what does hillary clinton need to do to end these questions about benghazi and what happened there? or is there nothing she can do to stop the questioning until the election is over? >> that's her campaign sense. there's nothing she can do to ever get these questions to go away. republicans have been billing this as the mother of all benghazi hearings. clinton has testified on this before. but the benghazi committee feels they have several questions that she hasn't answered. they want to press her on what she knew about the security situation there, leading up to the attacks, why more wasn't done. and so this is really going to be a political by charged hearing. this is clinton in the midst of a presidential campaign, trying to put this issue to rest and also tryi

let's start with jeff zeleny live in london this morning. jeff, what do you know? good morning? >> reporter: good morning, brooke. vice president joe biden has been calling top strategists in iowa, new hampshire and south carolina. the important early voting states asking if they would be on board if he decides to run. he's getting closer and closer to making his announcement, perhaps in the next week. >> have you made your decision yet? >> i can't hear you. >> reporter: as vice president joe biden continues to evade the big question, this morning it appears he's closer to answering that. >> is there still an opening for you in the race, sir? sources telling cnn that biden's family supports a presidential run. the vice president personally making calls this week to democratic strategists from iowa, new hampshire and south carolina. the conversation how not whether he'll launch a campaign. >> with the stature he would bring to the race, the minute he got into the race, the entire narrative would change. >> reporter: new this morning, a look inside biden's possible 2016 run. a clo

our correspondent jeff zeleny is live for us in charleston. it known where she stands on gun control today. >> reporter: no question. that was a central message of secretary clinton's speech in south carolina. she did attract the endorsement of south carolina mayor joe reilly. he endorsed barack obama eight years ago. today, he said he was signing on to the clinton campaign. he said that she is a fighter for the middle class. and fredricka, i was struck by her language and her talk about gun control. of course, this city endured that tragic shooting in june. nine people killed at the historic ame church. she talked about that and why we need stronger gun control laws. let's take a listen. >> was not entitled to buy a gun, but they found that right after he committed those murders. we've got to close that. i mean, why are you in such a hurry to buy not a hunting rifle, but a killing machine. >> now, that is certainly a powerful message here in south carolina and elsewhere, but secretary clinton has been talking more and more about the need to r

. >> i want to bring in jeff zeleny, cnn senior washington correspondent and steve shale, the senior t biden. jeff, to you first, tell us more about this ad. >> well ana, this ad is going to start airing next week, on tuesday in fact, in the run up to the first democratic presidential debate. joe biden is not going to be on stage in las vegas. we're told he's not taking steps to prepare. we don't even know if he'll be a candidate at that point. but what this ad is designed to do, it is by the draft biden movement, which is a group that want him to run and believe he's on the cusp of running. they want to tell his life story and get the word out there about what makes joe biden joe biden. and by doing this ad, a very interesting 90 second, this will certainly inject a lot of joe biden into the conversation next week. the question is will we have an answer to if he's not running by then or not. he's having a family conversation this weekend. it is not the first conversation. it is in fact one of the last conversations before he actually makes up his mind. we'll have to wait just a coupl

. >> yes, cnn washington correspondent jeff zeleny. ght now, where hillary will be shortly. what's she expected to say, jeff? >> reporter: hey, john and kate. that is what a victory lap looks like and sounds like and it's going to continue here today in alexandria, virginia. you can see the crowd that's gathered behind me here. several hundred people who are eager to see secretary clinton stand up and give a speech after sitting down for some 11 hours at that hearing yesterday on capitol hill. she is trying to energize democrats. she's trying to capitalize on what's been the most -- the strongest ten-day stretch of her campaign, really beginning with that debate in las vegas through the decision of the vice president not to challenge her, and then finally into that hearing yesterday, she has never had a stronger moment. so, she's trying to take that confidence out to the campaign trail. but she's also giving a hat tip to joe biden himself, perhaps trying to win over some democrats who wanted him to run. let's take a listen. >> and i wan

c-n-n's jeff zeleny has the latest. << (reporter) "have you made your decision yet?" (biden) "i can't hear you." asasice president joe biden continues to e's closer to answering that. (reporter) "is there e ill an opening for you inhe race, sir?" (biden) "i'll tell you what, good to see you all." sources telling c-n-n that biden's family supports a presidential run. the vice president personally making calls this week to democratic strategists from iowa, new hampshire and south carolina. the conversation? how -- not whether -- he'll launch a campaign. (steve schale) "with the s sture he would bring to the race, the minute he e t into the race, thehe entire narrative would change. and we start talking about the first debate in iowa in november." new this mning, a look inside biden's possible 20-16 r. a close adviser to biden, former delaware senator ted kaufman, sent an email, obtained by c-n-n, to his former staffers, asking for their help if the vice president decides to run. in it, k kfman says it will bebe campaign from the heart. a campaign consistent with his val

i have jeff zeleny standing by. what's going on, jeff?a few moments ago representative paul ryan republican of wisconsin has been elected to be the next republican speaker of the house. he still faces a full vote tomorrow by the entire house of representatives because this is a constitutional office. they are tallying the votes as we speak, but he's krotsedded thra threshold of the amount needed to become the next house speaker. this caps a month-long frenetic activity. just a month ago speaker john boehner decided to step down. kevin mccarthy we thought would be the speaker of the house. he stepped aside. so paul ryan, the reluctant speaker in many respects, did nost want the job, he is now on the verge of being elected by the entire house. he just won the vote from republicans today. brooke, he would be the youngest -- the second youngest republican house speaker ever. but the youngest republican house speaker in 170 years. he's 45 years old. his family played a big role in this consideration here. we're expecting to hear from him short

jeff zeleny to you, joe biden apparently not coming to the cnn debate in las vegas. >> he is not, john decision that he -- he does not want to be on stage with those five other democratic rivals. his aides tell me that this is not mean he has decided against rining. he does not want to feel pressure of this timeline of preparing for this debate, of making a decision before that october 13th debate. i can tell you in talking to a lot of people who surround joe biden, that as weeks go by, as these deed lines shift from the end of summer into beginning of october, now extending the window again, the conventional wisdom inside biden world is he's less likely to run. he's simply not there. he will not make that decision until the end of october, toward the end of october, we're told, but he definitely will not be on the debate stage here in just under a couple weeks' time in las vegas. >> he's left himself wiggle room every time the vice president has spoken publicly. that seems to be, if you really listen to what he's saying, jeff, that seems to be exactly what he's saying. great to see yo

. >> and jeff zeleny is saying that the vice president will meet tonight with the top advisers presumably, because he has to make the decision within the next few days. >> yes, it seems that the window is closing here, and hillary clinton had a very good debate performance and she has on thursday, the benghazi testimony hearing, and the benghazi committee hearing that she is going to do, but he is certainly going to need to decide, and he is starting to see the numbers shifting away from people saying that maybe he should not get in and he has to capture it before it slides anymore in that direction. >> and i want to look at the new poll that democratic candidates like bernie sanders and hillary clinton match up against potential republican challengers. >> this is interesting, because if you pit hillary clinton against donald trump, it is 50% for hillary clinton and 45% for donald trump, and the margin of error here is 3%, so she does have a lead. and with her and ben carson, neck and neck, and that is fascinating. but look at bernie sanders against donald trump, he is nine points ahead o

cnn's jeff zeleny reports from des moines, where the democratic race for president just got real. << ( katy perry sings) fireworks in the presidential race democratic rivals descending on iowa 100 days before the first votes of the 2016 primary. hillary clinton seizing on the star power of katy perry. (katy perry/ singer) the corner." and the political power of bill clinton - in his campaign trail debut. (bill clinton no8 font) "i've never been the warm up act for katy perry before. but i am well aware i am the warm-up act." the biggest week yet of the democratic presidential race ended in iowawhere clinton had plenty of company - and competition. (sanders) "people power! wooo!" bernie sanders has become a democratic star of his own his campaign chartered a plane to fly over their dueling rallies, calling for a revolution .before marching side-by-side with his followers. (bernie sanders/(d) presidential candidate) "this is a march you will join me at the white house." a festival of politics coming to a full boil at the jefferson jackson dinner, a marquee event for democrats. it was a

back to you. >> jeff zeleny, thank you so much. >>> all right, speaking of exciting presidential racessince the most dramatic presidential election in modern history, the recount of 2000. you can relive all the drama in a cnn special report. bush versus gore, the endless election. it airs monday night, 9:00 p.m. eastern. and we'll be right back. i found a better deal on prescriptions. we found lower co-pays... ...and a free wellness visit. new plan...same doctor. i'm happy. it's medicare open enrollment. have you compared plans yet? it's easy at medicare.gov. or you can call 1-800-medicare. medicare open enrollment. you'll never know unless you go. i did it. you can too. ♪ withof my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis... ordinary objects often seemed... intimidating. doing something simple... meant enduring a lot of pain. if ra is changing your view of everyday things orencia may help. orencia works differently by targeting a source of ra early in the inflammation process. for many, orencia provides long-term relief of ra symptoms. it's helped new ra patients and those not helped e

also joining us is cnn senior washington correspondent, jeff zeleny. before we narrow in on florida, the big picture here, big, big day for hillary clinton and donald trump campaigns. no candidate has won the white house without winning at least two of these three states, at least since 1960. so what are the campaigns seeing in these numbers today? >> kate and john, no question, those are the key states. and no candidate has won the white house with them. so a lot of similarities at least in the numbers between hillary clinton and donald trump. they both share the same fact that they are leading in the polls, but they also share a bit of challenges in bad news, that their unfavorable ratings also are high in each of those three battleground states. let's take a closer look at some of these numbers right now. you'll see hillary clinton, first of all, in florida, ohio and in pennsylvania, slightly higher than 50% unfavorable ratings in all three of those states. now, if you look at joe biden, vice president joe biden, who is thinking still about jumping

let's discuss this with jeff zeleny, and sar falso sar fin.this trend of the build up in the polls, is there any stopping hillary clinton? >> well, beginning with the debate, the cnn debate in las vegas, and going forward with the escaping possibility of running against joe biden, and of course, the strong performance at the benghazi hearing, but the numbers, and even the folks inside of the clinton campaign say they wish that she had this big of a lead in iowa. the iowa caucuses are tricky, and very difficult to survey, and very difficult to poll. they know that there are a lot of liberal progressives who turn out to the iowa caucuses who like the bernie sanders' message. i was in iowa over the weekend, talking to the iowa democrats, and there are so many people who find bernie sanders' message resonant here, and she is trying to capitalize on the strong last couple of weeks of her campaign, and trying not to squander it. but she knows that it is not an easy path necessarily, a nd thee numbers are slightly optimistic at this point. >> and sti

jeff zeleny with us on the ground. jeff, what do you make of it?the folks in iowa to hear from the former president? >> reporter: poppy, no better defender, no better cheerleader new york one better to define an argument for hillar clinton's candidacy than bill clinton. we have not seen him much on the campaign trail at all, but boy he loves this. you can see the crowd behind me here. actually came to see katy perry but didn't find listing to her. he talked about love seeing her during the debates in the benghazi hearing. more campaigning from bill clinton. her biggest defender, an incredible sur regapt of course he comes with baggage, always. pluses outweigh negatives for bill clinton. >> i think it's interesting. look, 1992, iowa caucuses, bill clinton comes in fourth. now he's got this huge popularity there in iowa and across the country. but you cannot discount bernie sanders. there's only a serve. -point gap between bernie sanders and hillary clinton in iowa right now and his message of a raevolution on income inequality is resoluting. >> repo

jeff zeleny is here with me.today, vice president biden talking about hillary clinton, obviously, it seemed. >> it did, shadowboxing or perhaps a preview of a new game of the democratic "family feud," whatever you call it, joe biden was eager to remind people today he spent the last seven years a heartbeat away from president obama for a reason and he made it clear he would run on that if he jumps into the democratic primary. >> how are you? >> reporter: joe biden seems to be enjoying himself. >> good to see you. >> reporter: he's not even a candidate yet, but today he was eager to show he's different from that other democrat running for president. first, he doesn't believe republicans are always the bad guys. >> i don't think my chief enemy is the republican party. they're -- this is a matter of, you know, making things work. >> reporter: a not so subtle jab at this moment from last week's democratic debate when hillary clinton was asked to name her enemies. >> in addition to nra, health insurance companies, the

cnn senior washington correspondent jeff zeleny is here with me along with cnn legal analyst jeffrey toobin and paul begala and amanda carpenter. jeff, let me start with you. walk us through this marathon day of testimony. >> jake, this day was 17 months in the making. and clinton's appearance in that witness chair has been the top objective of this committee. but so far after hours of questioning and testimony there's much of a re-run of di visive arguments. republicans pressed clinton trying to make their case. she failed in her duty to secure the american diplomatic mission in benghazi, libya. democrats dismiss the entire episode as a partisan taxpayer-funded witch hunt. >> you know, i would imagine i've thought more about what happened than all of you put together. i've lost more sleep than all of you put together. >> hillary clinton stood her ground today before the congressional committee investigating the benghazi attacks from her time as secretary of state. her long-awaited testimony shed more fireworks than light on the 2012 assault on the u.s. consulate in libya that took th

jeff zeleny, des moines, iowa. >> you're watching "cnn newsroom."fe-saving drug is getting competition after causing international outrage. coming up, the company says they can sell a similar pill for a single dollar. they can still make a profit. >>> plus, new stunning news from the sky over cuba. one of the world's most secretive countries. the images are ahead. >>> welcome back. now to a medical story drawing reaction. imprimis pharmaceuticals announced it's taking on a notorious $750 pill with another alternative life-saving drug and this is far cheaper. it sells for just $1. the company says that it can still make a profit. young la takes us inside the lab and the controversy. >> this is the market's answer to price gouging. >> how much is each pill here? >> each pill is 99 cents. >> just under a buck a pill. pair that to turing pharmaceuticals. >> it was $18. >> it was $18. >> you took it to $750. when he rose the price 5,000% a month ago, outrage followed. the hedge fund manager became an internet pariah headlined as the most hated man in ame

our c-n-n partnership's jeff zeleny reports from des moines, where the democratic race for president.ust got real. >> reporter: fireworks in the presidential racedemocratic rivals descending on iowa 100 days before the first votes of the 2016 primary. >> reporter: hillary clinton seizing on the >>: "fight on 2016 is right around the corner." >> reporter: and the political power of bill clinton - in his campaign trail debut. >>: "i've never been the warm up act for katy perry before. but i am well aware i am the warm-up act." >> reporter: the biggest week yet of the democratic presidential race ended in iowawhere clinton had plenty of company - and competition. >>: "people power! wooo!" >> reporter: bernie sanders has become a democratic star of his own his campaign chartered a plane to fly over their dueling rallies, calling for a revolution .before marching side-by-side with his followers. >>presidential candidate: "this is a march which will end up in a year when you will join me at the white house." >> reporter: a festival of politics coming to a full boil at the jefferson jackson

let's start with jeff zeleny live in london this morning. jeff, what do you know? good morning?ood morning, brooke. vice president joe biden has been calling top strategists in iowa, new hampshire and south carolina. the important early voting states asking if they would be on board if he decides to run. he's getting closer and closer to making his announcement, perhaps in the next week. >> have you made your decision yet? >> i can't hear you. >> reporter: as vice president joe biden continues to evade the big question, this morning it appears he's closer to answering that. >> is there still an opening for you in the race, sir? sources telling cnn that biden's family supports a presidential run. the vice president personally making calls this week

let's go to senior correspondent jeff zeleny joining us from las vegas. ild on this, jeff? >> reporter: wolf, hillary clinton is back on the campaign trail here in nevada tomorrow night. she's trying to do that build on that momentum she had last night on the debate stage. even vice president joe biden praised all the work of the democratic rivals. but his allies tell me that's not necessarily enough to keep him out of the race. the clinton campaign wasted no time trying to capitalize on the debate in a late-night rally in a boost from their biggest surrogate. wow, wow, wow, that's how bill clinton summed up the democratic debate today in a letter to donors. this not so partial observer was watching along on cnn, like at least 15 million americans as hillary clinton commanded the stage. >> i think being the first woman president would be quite a change from the presidents we've had up until this point -- >> reporter: she oozed confidence but hardly stole the show. bernie sanders had strong moments of his own even coming to her defense on her biggest contro

want to bring in jeff zeleny. agreement on this bipartisan budget deal. earlier this morning, the likely incoming house speaker paul ryan chose to differ. i want you to listen what he said and comment after. >> let me say this. i'm reserving judgment on this agreement because i, quite frankly, haven't seen it yet. i want to see what it looks like on paper. but about the process, i can say this. i think this process stinks. this is not the way to do the people's business. and under new management, we are not going to do the peemsz business this way. we are against a deadline. that's unfortunate. but going forward, we can't do the people's business. as a conference, we should have been meeting months ago to discuss these things to have a unified strategy going forward. >> okay, so, jeff, what does that all mean? >> let me translate for you, carol. this is the paul ryan protection act. this is going to make sure that paul ryan is voted in as speaker, first by republicans tomorrow and then by the full house on thursda

reporter jeff zeleny gives us a recap. " (nats katy perry sings) fireworks in the presidential race. democratic rivals descending on iowa 100 days before the first votes of the 2016 primary. hillary clinton seizing on the star power of katy perry. ( katy perry/ singer) "fight on 2016 is right around the corner." and the political power of bill clinton - in his campaign trail debut. (bill clinton no font) "i've never been the warm up act for katy perry before. but i am well aware i am the warm-up act." the biggest week yet of the democratic presidential race ended in iowa.where clinton had plenty of company - and competition. (nats sanders) "people power! wooo!" bernie sanders has become a democratic star of his own . his campaign chartered a plane to fly over their dueling rallies, calling for a revolution ..before marching side-by- side with his followers. ( bernie sanders/(d) presidential candidate) "this is a march which will end up in a year when you will join me at the white house." a festival of politics . coming to a full boil at the jefferson jackson dinner, a marquee event f

we have correspondent jeff zeleny with more. jeff. >> reporter: vice president biden is extending his window again. he is not expected to make his decision until early october. he is not expecting to go to the debate on october 13th in las vegas. we learned from people close to biden he is not pressured to reach a decision before them. he is likely to reach his decision in the second half of october. with every passing week, many democrats close to biden tell us they believe he will ultimately decide to challenge hillary clinton and the field. people close to the vice president say it is important to listen to his own words. particularly in this interview late last month. >> it is not quite there yet. i may not get there in time to make it feasible to be able to run and succeed because there are certain windows that will close. if that's it, that's it. it's not like i can rush it. >> reporter: now a campaign apparatus is waiting should he decide to do it. so far, he has not asked any advisers to swing into action. we spoke with s

so let's bring in our correspondent jeff zeleny live in alexandria, and so, jeff, did she emerge fromunscathed or is there any short or long-term impact possibly are from the hearing on the presidential campaign? >> hey, randi, good day to you, and i will lower my voice a little bit, because we are in the middle of the singing of the national anthem here. people were excited about her appearance yesterday, and they believed that she was presidential, and that few people could have with sfood the grueling 11-hour questioning. you asked if she emerged unscathed and i believe she did. she answered all of the questions and kept the cool, and none of the moments that we heard a couple of years ago when she testified when she had a little bit of an outburst, and very practiced for the hearing and well prepared and i think that without question, she emerged from this unscathed. >> what do you expect, jeff, we will hear from her today in alexandria? >> well, randi, the democrats are excited and i will raise my voice now that the national anthem is over, but the people who have been wanting hi

. >> jeff zeleny, thanks so much.ion this name as part of our coverage, donald trump, the republican front-runner holding a rally in virginia. he will be doing that without secret service protection. trump says he's getting bigger crowds than the president but they don't, quote, give a bleep about trump he says because he's a republican. this is coming in as new cnn poll numbers show trump is once again way ahead of the pack. look at the numbers for yourself there. in nevada, he gets 38% of the vote among likely republican caucusgoers compared with 22% for the man chasing him, the closest ben carson. trump also holds a double digit lead in south carolina. but let's focus in on the secret service complaint. i have our justice correspondent evan perez with that. does he have a point? when do candidates get that kind of protection? >> well, brooke, nobody is ever going to accuse donald trump of not knowing how to get attention. he certainly has gotten it with these comments. but here's the deal. it's a little more compli

thanks, jeff zeleny in davenport, iowa. with dana bash, gloria borger and our special correspondent jamie gangel. jamie, this is a critical period for the vice president right now. >> absolutely. look, we're hearing that he's going to make a decision in the next week or two. the fact of the matter is, he has to make a decision quickly. he has to file in november. and every day, if he's going to run, he's missing time raising money, he's missing time putting his ground game together. so, look, dates have been floated, and then we've blown by them before, but he's got to do it quickly. >> you saw this story, gloria, in "politico," suggesting that biden himself leaked word of his son's dying wish, beau biden died a few months ago of cancer, that beau supposedly on his death bed told his dad, i want you to run for president of the united states. the vice president is categorically denying this "politico" story, saying it's categorically false and the characterization is offensive, that he leaked this for political purposes. wha

cnn's jeff zeleny is live in iowa with more on the event. >> reporter: good morning.stival in politics here in des moines last night with a touch of hollywood as well. hillary clinton is on a confident campaign streak but bernie sanders made it clear he is not going to let her have this nomination. ♪ >> reporter: fireworks in the presidential race. democratic rivals descending on iowa 100 days before the first votes of the 2016 primary. hillary clinton seizing on the star power of katy perry. >> fight on! 2016 is right around the corner! >> reporter: and the political power of bill clinton in his campaign trail debut. >> i've never been the warm-up act for katy perry before! but i'm well aware i am the warm-up act! >> reporter: the biggest week yet of the democratic presidential race ended in iowa where clinton had plenty of company and competition. >> people power! woo! >> reporter: senator bernie sanders has become a democratic star of his own. his campaign chartered a plane to fly over their dueling rallies, calling for a revolution, before marching side-by-side wi

down what to watch ahead of tomorrow's cnn debate, cnn national political reporter maeve reston, jeff zeleny and senior cnn political analyst and editorial director of "the national journal" ron brownstein. great to have all of you with us this morning. let's start with hot off the presses poll numbers. these came out six minutes ago. let's start in nevada. jeff, al start with you. let's look at the numbers. these are democrats choices for who they would like to vote for. the numbers for clinton are impressive. she gets 50% of those democrats in nevada, sanders 34%, biden if he chooses to get in, 12%. what do you see here in these numbers? >> there's no question that hillary clinton is doing very well in nevada. we don't talk about nevada a lot but it is an important, important state. it comes directly after new hampshire. in this series of first for voting states. right now she's doing very well. if joe biden decides to stay out, she does even better, goes up to 70%. i'm sorry, up to 58% and bernie sanders is at 36%. look, she's in command of this race. the nevada electorate is interesting.

jeff zeleny is "outfront." >> reporter: tonight, hillary clinton and president obama on the same stagereasingly, there's a growing divide between the president and his former secretary of state. as she campaigns for the white house. [cheers and applause ] facing a tougher than expected liberal challenge from bernie sanders -- >> health care must be seen as a right, not a prove ledge. >> reporter: clinton is suddenly breaking with the administration on one hot button issue after another. she wants to repeal the so-called cadillac tax on high-cost health care plans. she is saying no to the administration's new trade agreement. >> as of today, i am not in favor of what i have learned about it. >> reporter: and she is speaking out forcefully against u.s. deportation. it's a campaign trail shift for clinton as she tries to win over the progressive base of her party in the democratic primary fight. there are no such shifts for vice president joe biden. he's nearing his own decision about 2016 and holding president obama tight. in a speech today in washington, biden made clear that he's a par

cnn senior washington correspondent jeff zeleny joins us now. jeff, family saying he was ready, personally ready, but the path and math didn't add up. >> jake, that's right. the math and path were always going to be a huge challenge no question about it. in the end joe biden followed his head, not his heart. it's a decision many democrats including some friends of his hoped he would ultimately reach to keep the party from ubeing torn apart. others say if it was serious they say absolutely yes. he became so engaged in the last week even they thought he would do it. joe biden walked into the rose garden to extinguish a dream. >> unfortunately i believe we're out of time, the time necessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination. >> with those words today the vice president closed the door to weeks of self-induced speculation about joining the 2016 presidential race. it turns out he wasn't firing a warning shot this week at hillary clinton over her suggestion that republicans are the enemy. >> i don't believe like some do that it's naive to

cnn's senior washington correspondent jeff zeleny is live for us in las vegas. jeff, no doubt many of the vice president's fans were hoping clinton would choke last night. she did not. the v.p. spoke today in washington. any hints as to which direction he's leaning? >> reporter: well, jake, i can tell you that the vice president watched this debate last night at home in the naval observatory in washington. he reported to work today at the white house. he had a private lunch with president obama. he talked to reporters after a speech he gave. all things seem normal on the outside. on the inside of this sort of shadow campaign in the wings i guess if you will, it is still going on. i talked with several supporters of his today who said that things are ready to go if the vice president decides to make up his mind. they do not believe the window is closed simply because of one debate performance. . i'm told the vice president thought everyone's performance was actually pretty strong. but he said this is one debate. there will be others. he expounded a little bit, he

>> my sources are telling me and our colleague jeff zeleny.e who have spoken directly with the vice president. and they say lately he sounds more like somebody who is really leaning towards a run. that he's more interested in the mechanics of a race. that he's telling people you'd be surprised at the number of people who i'm hearing from. and that, jake, he really doesn't seem to be concerned about losing, which was surprising to me. that he told one of our sources that, look, if i lose, so what. i've lost before. and i'll pick myself up and i'll just go on with the rest of my life. so they are saying no decision has been officially made, but the joe biden they're talking to now is very different from the joe biden they were talking to say a month ago. >> interesting. gloria borger, thank you so much. >>> this programming note, you can watch the first democratic presidential debate right here on cnn. it's next tuesday october 13th. that's a week from tomorrow. coverage starting at 8:30 p.m. eastern. anderson cooper will be the moderator. >>> d

let's get right to jeff zeleny joining us from davenport. first arctic drilling, keystone, deportations. clinton trying to distance herself from president obama. >> reporter: no doubt, jake, those are tough examples. add the syrian no-fly zone and the cadillac tax. hillary clinton is trying to point out she's moved to the left for the primary electorate. the biggest way to rally democrats go hard after republicans and specifically, the congressional hearing in 16 days. >> thanks to all of you. >> reporter: hillary clinton back in iowa today, and finally playing offense. >> wow. >> reporter: she's taking to the airwaves, seizing on house republican leader kevin mccarthy's suggestion the committee investigating the benghazi attacks is designed to bring down her candidacy. >> everybody thought hillary clinton was unbeatable, right? we put together a benghazi special committee what happen are her numbers today? >> republicans have spent millions attacking hillary. >> reporter: the first national television ad of her campaign, taking on republica

cup, and also angela rye, director national black caucus, and also our director of correspondents jeff zeleny. and now, based on the little comments, it would seem to me, he is increasingly inclined to challenge hillary clinton. >> no doubt about it. we have seen what this campaign is going to be looking like, and if he decides to run, the sitting vice president running against the former secretary of state. they have run against each other in 2008, but of course, everything is so different now. and the president picked him the to be the vice president. so i think that joe biden is having fun of this, and the whole town may be on pins and needles, and certainly the media folks are, but joe biden is having a good time, and he is knowing what he is exactly doing there, and he was watching the debate and wants to point out that he is a different candidate. and everyone is saying that if they are talking to biden, they are left with the impression that he is running. but there is a caveat, because he has inch ed before and not pulled the trigger so we have to be a wait-and-see for a couple more d

jeff zeleny has that part of the story. >> reporter: hillary clinton in washington as she prepares forebate. meeting with leaders at the national council of negro women secretary clinton, how was the meeting? inside, a quick view of clinton captured by participants on social media. >> thank you so much for the meeting. >> can you just say hi to everybody? >> hi. you're the social media emperor. >> reporter: she could be on the cusp of becoming even more competitive. vice president joe biden's team reached out to the democratic national committee, officials told cnn. they asked about ballot deadlines and other details only a 2016 candidate would need. time is running short to qualify for the ballot. the first deadline is october 29th in georgia. followed by november 9th and november 10th in texas. he will make his decision known as soon as next week. >> six weeks after my election, my whole world was altered forever. >> reporter: the vice president was furious at this emotional ad by the draft biden movement. the group agreed to pull it saying nobody has more respect for the vice presid

let's bring in senior washington correspondent jeff zeleny. the vice president is possibly, possibly preparing to enter the race. he's going to have a big meeting, we're told. >> he is. he is possible. but a big decision is looming for the biden family no question. as the rest of the democratic field heads to las vegas for that first debate, the vice president and his family will gather at their home in wilmington, delaware. it comes as his team is taking new steps and studying the new deadlines. as he charts his future; hillary clinton and the rest of the field have their hands full. hillary clinton in washington today preparing for tuesday's presidential debate. she also met with leaders of the black lives matter movement at the national council of negro women. these days she's taking no constituency for granted. she wouldn't discuss the closed door session with a group suddenly playing a prominent role in the democratic primary fight. secretary clinton, how was the meeting? but inside a quick view of clinton captured by participants on soci

bring in senior washington correspondent jeff zeleny. democrats calling this a turnaround.hey're certainly capable of spin one might say but are we starting to see evidence of that in the polls? >> in the polls, yes, in the short-term. but even more immediately the sudden surge of rank democrats who have been so worried about secretary clinton's e-mail controversy and summertime slump. but today she had a wide smile in her face and bounce in her step. this is the campaign she's been waiting for. hillary clinton is back on her feet. >> hello everybody! >> and confident after the strongest ten-day stretch of her campaign. >> i can't tell you how great it feels to be here on this beautiful day out in the sunshine. >> a commanding debate performance, escaping a joe biden challenge and emerging unscathed from a grilli ining benghazi hearing. today a victory lap in virginia. >> hillary! >> a summertime controversy becoming a fall triumph. >> you want to talk about a fighter, how about those 11 hours of testimony yesterday? >> virginia governor and long-time clinton confidant terr

we're live in las vegas and begin with jeff zeleny in our coverage. hillary clinton, a lot of preparation, a lot of that would be her personality, how she prepares for things. but the question is, is she nervous? >> reporter: she certainly comes into this debate having more information than anyone before. she did some 25 debates in the 2008 cycle. but tomorrow night when she stands on this stage behind me right here, it's a whole new ball game for her. she has to show that she's presidential and ready for this moment in the campaign. she was a very practiced debater in 2008. she was so much better than barack obama then. it's a different moment in this campaign so the clinton aides tell me they are going to try and present her as presidential, as the grownup in the room, somebody who can handle all of these problems. but this audience behind me, they are going to be some of her subpoena supporters and democrats about her candidacy. that's who she has to try to appeal to tomorrow night. >> jeff, bernie sanders says he's not preparing at all and obvious

jeff zeleny is "outfront." >> reporter: hillary clinton is back on her feet. >> hello, everybody!: and confident after the strongest ten-day stretch of her campaign. >> i can't tell you how great it feels to be here on this beautiful day, out in the sunshine. >> reporter: a commanding debate performance, escaping the joe biden challenge, and emerging unscathed from a grueling benghazi hearing. today, a victory lap in virginia. a summertime controversy becoming a fall triumph. >> you want to talk about a fighter, how about those 11 hours of testimony yesterday! >> reporter: virginia governor and longtime clinton confidant, terry mcauliffe, leading the cheers. >> this is why she needs to be our commander in chief! >> the benghazi hearing has hung over clinton's campaign like a dark cloud, but she stood her ground and kept her cool during a session that lasted 11 hours, knowing not everyone is on her side. >> i really don't care what y'all say about me, it doesn't bother me a bit. >> reporter: committee chairman trey gowdy conceded he learned nothing new. >> i don't know that she tes

cnn's senior washington correspondent jeff zeleny, let's start with you.ise he's agreed finally to do this. there was an awful lot of pressure on him. what do you make of his remarks? >> not a surprise he decided to come to this conclusion. i've never seen so much pressure on a relatively young lawmaker with a bright future to do something like that that he really doesn't want to do. he was serious about that. we hear a lot of political figures say i don't want to do this. he really didn't. i think that he, you know, from mitt romney to some religious figures to john boehner, a lot of people essentially begged him to do this for the good of the house conference. the speaker position we talk about in political terms. it is a constitutional office. the second in line to the presidency, so i'm told that is what weighed on paul ryan's mind here. it is far from clear that he is going to be able to unify this conference. i believe he is serious about saying he will not actually go through with this if he's not able to get a complete unanimous vote on friday or w

his aides told jeff zeleny that the debate last night will not impact his decision-making, but i don'tt can't. >> because, i mean, it really comes down to the donors and whether they felt comfortable with hillary clinton's performance last night. i think a lot of them did feel comfortable. and she met the bar that she needed to meet. so biden, you know, i mean, it's pretty late in the game at this point. >> tick, tick, tick, tick. >> yeah, and do you believe that the debate has no calculation if he gets into the race. good to see you. thank you guys so much. >>> coming up for us, donald trump says that he's taking on a new target, another one of his republican rivals. >>> plus, a republican party official will be joining us live. get his take on last night, reaction to hillary clinton stating very proudly that republicans are her enemies. >>> we also have breaking news out of jerusalem. israeli forces dealing with a tense situation on the ground there. foiling a stabbing attempt. new violence now. we'll take you there in a second. big day? ah, the usual. moved some new cars. hauled a b

jeff zeleny is standing by, and along with our white house correspondent michelle kaczynaski. and jeff, i'm surprised, because we have heard from several people including you and everyone that he is inclined to run, but he finally made the decision to presumably today or last night that he had decided not to run. >> wolf, that is right. he was telling many of the long-time friends who served with him in the senate, and many of to ally tas he was leaning towards running and planning on running, and just a couple of hours ago, the head of the international firefighters union said they thought that he was run, because he is close to biden. but i am told that the decision came not today, but over a period of time, and he told some of the advisers this late monday that he was wonder ding about this, but what what he was doing yesterday was sending a message to some parting words if you will to hillary clinton directly about how he believes that this town should work, and that is, wolf, what is so struck here. and he is not running, but look, both sides have to come together, and whe

our correspondent jeff zeleny, who has had much of our inside scoop here on a possible biden run is with, jeff, especially with the whole veiled swipe on the enemies and republicans bit, what do you think his strategy is here? >> it's clear that the vice president was sitting home that night watching that debate on cnn. it's clear he's been really reciting lines back and that enemies line is so interesting. he's trying to draw a distinction in how he would run as a president and how hillary clinton says things. he's the guy next door, the wise guy, the goi everyone likes. he's trying to make that clear that he would be a different type of candidate if he decides to run. he's also talking so much more about how he's the vice president. how he outranked the secretary of state. how he traveled around the world actually more miles than she did. he actually said he traveled more miles than she did today. he's really trying to remind democrats that it was president obama who picked him to be his running mate. he also explored the osama bin laden raid. something that was inside the situation ro

our senior washington correspondent jeff zeleny is there.didates, aides, looking at leclecterns, up on the podiu. what are you seeing? >> they are. hillary clinton is not going to do a test run on this stage tonight. one of her top and longest serving aides is waiting in the wings behind me here, taking a couple of photographs of the stage, probably going to show her boss what the stage looks like, she's getting a sense of what this evening is going to be. but right, the strategies are different for every candidate secretary clinton, first and foremost, wants to show she's ready to be president, she wants to show she's preparing for this moment her entire life. she wants to restore some of the trust and credibility that's been erode ed over the summer with the e-mails and scandals and she she's a fighter. she's going to show she's a fighter for you. bernie sanders is on the stage, the biggest stage of his political life so far. i'm told by his aides that he wants to show that he has mainstream values. of course, this is a democratic primary

our senior washington correspondent, jeff zeleny, has been working this story.out? >> wolf, it sure sounds like he is leaning in that direction. everyone we talk to say they're left with the impression that he is definitely running. but the vice president went to great lengths today that shows that he is the president's top adviser, a confidante above all other. if he runs, he knows that he would need that obama coalition of supporters. that's why he seems so eager to show that he's different from that other democrat who's still the overwhelming front-runner in the presidential race. >> hey, folks, how are you? >> reporter: joe biden spent the day reminding people he's one heartbeat away from the presidency. >> the best decision of my political career was to join the president. >> reporter: flexing his vice presidential muscles like rarely before, even invoking the killing of osama bin laden. >> everybody went around the room, and there were only two people who were definitive and were absolutely certain. leon panetta said, "go," and bob gates, who's already pub