"out front," matt welch, and ari fleischer.'ve been in the middle of this controversy before, obviously. as we all know. 48% of people, according to "the washington post" after the boston bombings worry the government is going to too far. and 41% are afraid our government will not go far enough. if they had more ability to watch over people, they could have stopped these guys from killing and injuring these people to begin with. >> erin, there's a forever strain between liberty and security in our country. and that particularly gets tested at a time when something like boston or after september 11th. i'm reminded of one of the most beautiful sayings i ever heard at cambridge university in massachusetts. laws are the restraints that make us free, which is an amazing paradox, if you think a restraint can make us free. that's what civil society is. when times are tense and there's a security risk to our country i err on the side of law enforcement. a libertari a. n side we should all listen to. but at the end of the day we aye com

ari fleischer. let's not make that comparison. >> dana: you know won't be there thursday. was by far the best press secretary ever at the podium just one of the world's greatest guys. and hopefully jill will be there. it's going to be a great reunion. all the presidents are going to be there the weather looks like it's going to be good. everything. >> will president thompson be there? >> dana: no, greg. he will be back at the university. >> i assume somebody -- i'm sure somebody is going to say something about tony during this ceremony. but i mean as soon as you said that it just brought back a lot of memories about tony. anyway. good still laughing about greg thinking you were the hottest. scott mcclelland, dana. >> dana: robert gibbs and i have a contest. >> bob: how about obama's press secretary what was his name? >> dana: robert gibbs. >> dana: is he a nice guy. >> greg: who was reagan's? >> dana: marlin fits waterer. dee dee myers. there is a whole list of them. ahead on the 5:00. bob beckel making friends and enemies after saying this. >> i think we really have to co

and "outfront," cnn contractor ari fleischer, the white house press secretary under president george w. bush and gordan chang, author of "nuclear showdown: north korea takes on the world." how concerned are you about the new threats? >> i'm concerned. leaders in the region can't back down. yes, we've heard this playbook before of north korea making threats. you have to know that north korean regime sun stable. the leader has not been in power very long. he's purging the officials who were loyal to his dad, his predecessor. koreans are sick o taking blow after blow and china is going through a leadership transition of their own. the military is becoming more powerful and chinese military supports the north korean military. >> so what happens here if we're in a situation where it's impossible if not incredibly difficult for anyone to back down? whether that be north korea, south korea or the u.s.? >> well, the history actually is in north korea does this for a design purpose. the purpose is usually to get something at the negotiate table, to force the west and united states and north k

. >> ari fleischer, thank you very much. backing how the president responded to this event so far.those of you just joining us, i want to go through the latest on what we know about the attack in boston today. two people are dead and according to our affiliate, one of the victims is an 8-year-old child. at least 110 have been injured right now. we have just learned that the navy has provided a three person explosive ordinance disposal team based out of new port, rhode island, to assist local authorities as needed. the two deadly explosions went off shortly before 3:00 eastern standard time right around 2:50. they're about ten seconds apart right now the finish line of the boston marathon. the "boston globe" captured the scene on boylston street and i want to play that for those that haven't had a chance to see it. it does capture the -- thousands of spectators were running for safety. police say they have no suspects in custody. federal law enforcement say this is a level one mobilization. we'll bring you the latest throughout the hour as soon as we have it. there are still so many

former bush white house spokesperson ari fleischer saying, "boy what jay-z rapped, i'm glad not to ben on the streets. >> brian: that is a.k., the next guest was commander of the uss cole when he was attacked but today he says the military is weak and the commanderrer in chief is to blame. >> gretchen: that is rand paul. the video you will be talking about all day. guide in the midof a tour hops in the water to wrestle a 10-foot python. >> brian: i would do the same thing, gretchen. >> steve: then jay-z would rap about it. ♪ ♪ l have this cough. [ male announcer ] a lot of sinus products don't treat cough. they don't? [ male announcer ] nope, but alka seltzer plus severe sinus does it treats your worst sinus symptoms, plus that annoying cough. [ breathes deeply ] ♪ oh, what a relief it is [ angry gibberish ] [ breathes deeply ] ♪ oh, what a relief it is if youthen this willbrids arbe a nice surprise. meet the 5-passenger ford c-max hybrid. c-max come. c-max go. c-max give a ride to everyone it knows. c max has more passenger volume than competitor prius v and we haven't even mentioned

ari fleischer tweeted the president is getting more credit than he's giving for doing something aboutng cpi to social security. he's wrong on taxes, ari says, but good for him on social security. what do you think? >> people need to understand about 2037 social security payments are going to be reduced by over 25% because of the declining trust fund. if we don't fix the calculation for the formulas in the colas in terms of social suitity and medicare, those benefits are not going to be there, not just for our children and grandchildren but for some of us. it's important that he address that difficult subject. and it's also important to understand we can afford to do it now and solve the problem in the out years but the longer we wait, the more difficult it's going to be on contemporary beneficiaries. >> so many issues in front of the congress, perhaps none bigger than the issue of gun control. manchin and toomey came out with their plan on background checks. what's your general sense of their proposal? >> candidly, i spent most of my time yesterday preparing for the den we're head las

ari fleischer is joining us the former bush press secretary. zile the democratic strategist. both cnn contributors. what do you make of this whole issue of expanding background checks? ari, first to you. >> well, it all depends on the whens and the wheres and the hows. if you are talking about a grandfather's right to give a rifle or gun to his grandson waunt to do a background check on the family. i don't think anybody is going to go for that. if you're talking about gun show loopholes that would allow for a broader check i think people are trying to figure out a way to be for that and it looks pretty good to do that. what he said is very subject to interpretation without knowing exactly what he was referring to. by what it was he would personally support as an expansion. it's very hard to judge what he had on his mind. >> he certainly did make it clear that these were his personal views not speaking for the nra. it looks like the proponents of major gun control, donna, are going to be in for a disappointment because some of the major proposals

. >> ari fleischer, paul, guys, thanks for coming in. >>> coming up could a hacker on the ground withe app manage to gain control of an airliner? we have a fact check for you. >>> does president obama personally order drone hits on terror targets? new revelations about the shadow war coming up. ♪ [ female announcer ] from more efficient payments. ♪ to more efficient pick-ups. ♪ wireless is limitless. ♪ from tracking the bus. ♪ to tracking field conditions. ♪ wireless is limitless. how old is the oldest person you've known? we gave people a sticker and had them show us. we learned a lot of us have known someone who's lived well into their 90s. and that's a great thing. but even though we're living longer, one thing that hasn't changed: the official retirement age. ♪ the question is how do you make sure you have the money you need to enjoy all of these years. ♪ arrival. with hertz gold plus rewards, you skip the counters, the lines, and the paperwork. zap. it's our fastest and easiest way to get you into your car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. >>> stun