so, george, you saw that axelrod came down on romney like a ton of bricks. this is the man they think the nominee? >> clearly andy war whole primary where everybody is leader for 15 minutes and cain's turn today but it's not clear that cain has staying power. not running for president, sort of strolling for president without an infrastructure. it's pretty and cute and nice but whether or not it works we can be doubtful. they clearly decided that romney is the problem. and they have a problem with romney because they're not going to run on their record because the record isn't particularly appetizing, therefore they're going to run on the fitness of the republican candidate and i think precisely because how do we say this, romney showed a certain versatility of conviction over the years it's hard to nail him down. >> versatility of conviction, nice way of saying what george was trying to say. do you think the white house is right to be focusing on romney? do you think they got the right man there? >> i think they're doing everything to not focus on their own

jim axelrod has the latest. herman cain rises to the top in iowa's latest poll, talking tough on taxes, abortion and smoking. bob schieffer and jan crawford bring us the latest. a cutting end technology that could mean a whole new source for humid an body parts. in london, mark phillips has details. and running to remember, at the marine corps march thon, elaine quijano shows us a widow and her daughter following their hero with every step. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with russ mitchell. >> mitchell: good evening. we begin tonight with the october snowstorm that socked most of the northeast this weekend. surprisingly heavy snow buried communities from maryland, clear up to maine. more than 3 million people are still without power tonight. and at least five are dead. jim axelrod has more on the prehalloween trick that was one for the record books. >> reporter: if they hadn't seen it. >> never saw this before in my life. >> reporter: they might not have believed it. but up and down d

axelrod points out that in early september a cnn poll showed that 43% supported the american jobs actnd 35% were opposed to the bill. axelrod wrote "after three weeks of advocacy by the president, support has grown by nearly 10% so that 52% support the plan with 36% opposed." axelrod points out the president was particularly persuasive with independents, independents that the president has to win in his re-election campaign. in an early september abc/"washington post" poll, independents trusted the republicans more than the president on jobs. 42% to 37%. but by early october, the president had turned those numbers around. independents now trust the president more than republicans on jobs by a wide margin. 44% to 31%. so after three weeks of campaigning for his jobs bill, the president has earned the support of a majority of voters and won the trust of independents on the jobs issue. that's after just three weeks of campaigning. why? because barack obama, after three hard years in the white house, is still the best campaigner in american politics today. a pew poll last week shows presi

but axelrod's assessment is probably right on target. it is hard to see where things look good for barack obama except if you go back three years ago, same time, and look at the polls, you see hillary clinton twice the lead of barack obama and guiliani and fred thompson were the leaders. >> evan? >> barack obama won in 2008 by turnout, getting people to vote an exciting people. he is basicly displaying old base politics. class warfare, same old stuff. republican socialist. why is that going to excite people to come out and vote? >> margaret? >> i think the titanic struggle with the effort to be the underdog and fighting for you that helped him in the last election, it just handed mitt romney a metaphor, the ship is sinking. he went to the congressional black caucus and told them to stop crying, stopped grumbmbling stop complaining. it struck me if you are doing that with your base you really are in trouble and you are scolding them rather than looking at yourself. >> quick foreign policy question. we learned that another major terrorist,

jim axelrod is with an american who lost a brother to qaddafi's terror. >> that guy is an unrepentant murderer. the unrepentant murderer deserves to be killed. >> pelley: cynthia bowers has learned the ohio man who let all those wild animals loose was in a lot of trouble before. and dean reynolds on helping the hungry of chicago-- filling their stomachs and their spirits. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. qaddafi lived a life of violence, so it was perhaps inevitable that he would die a violent death. after two months on the run, the ousted libyan dictator was finally hunted down, captured, and killed-- a bullet to the head. qaddafi, for decades, surrounded himself with riches at the expense of his own people, ruled with an iron fist and killed americans in a reign of terror. he spent his final minutes in tatters, cowering in fear of the vengeance that awaited him. we have a team of correspondents covering the fall of qaddafi. the end came today in his hometown of sirte. ( screaming ) the rebels dragged moammar qadda

jim axelrod has found a company that is hiring and offering attractive benefit to boot. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. he was the great inventor and the fruits of his genius magically transformed the world. that is what one newspaper wrote about thomas edison on the day that he died. but the same can be said to want about steve jobs who died yesterday at the age of 56. edison invented the phonograph, jobs gave us a thousand songs in our pockets with the ipod. edison invented the motion picture camera. jobs revel electrocutionized movie making. edison gave us electric lights. jobs' computer iphones and ipads lit up our lives. john blackstone begins our coverage of steve jobs and his legacy. >> reporter: scott, here at apple's headquarters in cupertino, the flags are at half-staff, people are stopping to leave tributes. this place, silicon valley, was not just steve jobs' home, this is a place he helped to create and a police that helped to create him. steve jobs grew up here, the adopted son of parent

reports from jim axelrod and anthony mason. funerals for protestors in egypt after the deadliest violence there since the arab spring. jan crawford on mitt romney as his mormon religion becomes an issue in the presidential campaign. and in what was supposed to be their golden years, many seniors depend on the government for food, but some could soon be cut off. >> i can think of things that congress can probably cut back on, this is not one of them. people have to eat. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> o'donnell: good evening, scott is off, i'm norah o'donnell and we begin tonight with wall street rallies, the one on the stock exchange and the others out on the street. the dow closed up 330 points today, or 3%, continuing a runup that began last week. at the same time, a new report says americans are seeing their incomes fall even more rapidly than during the recession. incomes are down 6.7% since the recession ended after falling just half that amount during the recession. and tha

thanks very much, david axelrod.ad-to-head race between president obama and mitt romney, it is close. who would benefit from independent voters? john avalon is a senior columnist for "the senior beast." you have taken a look at the question, how much could it matter? >> independents are decisive. they're the fastest growing segment of the electorate. mitt romney has an edge. that is a big deal. something the obama administration is very focused on. >> and there's a lot of stakes where you have done the bottom line. you have more independents. >> that's right. one of them is massachusetts. that's why mitt romney was able to be a republican governor of that state. that's the kind of credibility. independents are closer to republicans on economic issues. democrats on social issues. but very importantly, the least religious cohort. so someone with big evangelical support will have a tough time making that sale to independence. >> john avalon, thanks very much. >>> a protest continued on wall street today. the far left an

david axelrod talking about flip flopping. hello, i think you have a guy who has done a little bit of that. >> but he is not running for office. it is mitt romney not david axelrod. >> bill: all of these guys flip flop. president clinton says there should be no tax increase on the wealthy. wow. wheeler that. and then the wall street protesters behind the scenes. some of what they are doing is illegal. shocking. those reports, after these messages. >> bill: one of the leaders of the democratic party says no to hiking taxes on the rich. last night on the letterman program, bill clinton made his position clear. >> should you raise taxes on anybody right today, rich or poor or middle class? no. because there is no growth in the economy. should those of us who make more money and are in a better position to contribute to america's public needs and getting the deficit under control pay a higher tax rate? when the economy recovers, yes, that is what i think. >> bill: by the way, i will be on letterman this evening. we are talking a l

david axelrod talking about flip flopping.u have a guy who has done a little bit of that. >> but he is not running for office. it is mitt romney not david axelrod. >> bill: all of these guys flip flop. president clinton says there should be no tax increase on the wealthy. wow. wheeler that. and then the wall street protesters behind the scenes. some of what they are doing is illegal. shocking. those reports, after these messages. [ male announcer ] what if that hemorrhoid pain is non-stop to seattle? just carry new preparation h totables. discreet, little tubes packed with big relief. from the brand doctors recommend most by name. new preparation h totables. the anywhere preparation h. new preparation h totables. ♪ more and more folks are trying out snapshot from progressive. a totally different way to save on car insurance. the better you drive, the more you can save. no wonder snapshot's catching on. plug into the savings you deserve, with snapshot from progressive. >> bill: one of the leaders of the democratic party says no

next year in a member row release the by the obama campaign david axelrod wrote "the more people know about the american jobs act, the more they want congress to pass the plan." axelrod also takes aim at critics of the bill's millionaires tax quoting "while republicans claim it is class warfare, the american people are seeing right through their opposition to asking the wealthiest to do their part." some democrats have doubts and while they control the senate there is no guarantee the bill will get the 60 votes needed to clear tonight's procedural hurdle. >>> the occupy wall street protest is on the march, uptown where a lot of the rich people live. organizers plan to visit the homes of such money men as jpmorgan chase, news corp ceo rupert murdoch among others. the new york police department puts the tab at $2 million in overtime as for the protest. >> we are the united states of america. >> reporter: overnight in boston things got tense when police say demonstrators refused to leave a downtown area. 60 people who did not comply were arrested. >>> if you're a pro basketball fan now m

now today you and david axelrod taking the battle to the twitter verse. axelrod writes, a year ago, romney hit obama and no apology for being too tough on china. now mitt's a trade warrior. he says, you should rename obama's book the audacity of indifference. or how i golfed my way through a recession. some of it is tongue and cheek but is it a sign of things to come. >> i think you can expect from the white house more hocus-pocus that is meant to draw attention from the bad state of the economy. and in some ways, mr. axelrod reminds me of one of those old vaudeville magicians that uses redirection to distract the attention of the audience from the performance of the trick. and the trick in this case is trying to get barack obama re-elected despite his failures on the economy. i wish him luck but i believe the election will be a referendum on the performance of barack obama when it comes to creating jobs and getting the economy moving. >> eric, appreciate your time. >> thank you, john. >>> let's dig in to the raw politics. joining me is former new york co

you have david axelrod on the show.s managing the president's re-election campaign, and both david axelrod and the president came out swinging specifically against mitt romney this week talking about his record and talking about the fact that he wants to raise taxes on the middle class. since they're focusing on him, does that mean that they believe he will be the republican nominee? >> they won't say it as clearly and categorically as that, but, yes, obviously they believe he's going to be the most formidable candidate and formidable opponent, and that is why they're directing all their ammunition at him, and we will have david axelrod talking about that, and you'll hear him very clearly single out what they consider the ways they're going to run against mitt romney and all that they consider are his weaknesses. i have to add also that while we're talking about campaign finances, president obama has pulled in basically what amounts to double the combined funding and finances that the other republican candidates have pu

jim axelrod has our report. >> reporter: if they hadn't seen it. >> never saw this before in my life. >> reporter: they might not have believed it. but up and down the east coast, there was simply too much snow to ignore. >> i can't stand it. i hate it it. i hate it, hate it, hate it! i can't even express how much i hate it! it's awful! >> reporter: as the chain saws roared, more than 3 million households were without power. >> this is ridiculous. in october, not november not past halloween. it's crazy out here already. >> reporter: records were set in new york city where 2.9 inches of snow fell in central park. they never measured ab inch here in any october day since 1869. concord, new hampshire, 13.6 inches and broke a 59-year-old record. bristol, connecticut, got 17 inches of snow and plainfield, massachusetts, more than 30 inches. how many days do you think it could take until you get power back on? >> i think wednesday, tuesday or wednesday. >> reporter: in west milford, new jersey, the record snow at this house left them marveling which is all they could do aside from listening

jim axelrod, cbs news, shepherdsville, kentucky. i'm betty nguyen.is the "cbs morning news." in one day, kin's health with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno. >>> good morning, and welcome to 9news now. today is friday, only 7th. i'm andrea roane -- october 7. . i'm andrea roane. we made it to the weekend. >> there's monika samtani. >> that's the color of the weekend. sunshine. sunshine is a color. we've got a lot of great weather for you to make up for last weekend. this will be -- on you right now because it's the weekend to get it done and enjoy. lots of things going on today. sunshine, 67 by noon. we'll top out around 73 or so at the 3:00 temperature of 71 and by 6:00 p.m. still a decent evening with a still of 68 degrees. -- temperature of 68 degrees, just a great day as we said. right now we are not low 50s out there. -- in the low 50s. winds northeast to southeast about 5 miles per hour. satellite and radar once again quiet. but it's quiet, it's chilly too. frederick down t

jim axelrod is in downtown manhattan. jim? >> reporter: well, norah, new york's mayor michael bloomberg now says the protestors can stay here indefinitely as long as no laws are broken. that's as clear as he's been so far that the demonstrations will continue unimpeded. the occupy wall street protestors have set up a camp with a food court, newspaper, medical unit, internet cafe, even yoga practice. but uniting behind one clear cohesive message? that's a different story. do you need a unified message? >> no. we do not need a unified message. >> reporter: 28-year-old max hodes has been here at zucotti park for 23 straight days. >> i think that that tool you're talking about, the one specific message, is a way to dumb down and divide the masses. >> reporter: while long on moral outrage, this movement remains short on specifics and absent a discipline aid froch convert dozens of demonstrations nationwide into a lasting political movement. is there a specific law you'd like to see passd? >> no. no. >> reporter: you're in a struggl

we asked jim axelrod to speak with the brother of one of the victims about the significance of qaddafi's death. >> he was just 21 monday! >> reporter: for nearly 23 years, the families had been waiting for this, families like j.p. flynn's. >> you dream about a day like today. >> reporter: flynn was a 21-year-old college student who perished aboard flight 103. today his younger brother brian couldn't get enough of the news. >> all of a sudden the man behind it all, the one who started it all, moammar qaddafi, was killed. vividly. we got to see pictures of it, videos of it. and part of me wishes i didn't have the reaction i did, which is "yes!" >> reporter: flynn, the oldest of four children, the captain of his high school basketball team, has been dead now for longer than he was alive. what we've tried to do is put it together. >> reporter: over the years, his family kept the pressure on the u.s. government not to forget the victims. >> i made a commitment to him when he died and i'm hopeful that, you know, he would say "good job." what's weird is that he would be 43 years old today, this

jim axelrod, cbs news, new york. >> pelley: putting americans back to work. educator believes she can teach washington a few things. that's next. yum. that's good. you've always loved the taste of classic campbell's soups. well, guess what? we're just getting warmed up. introducing campbell's slow kettle style soups. extraordinary taste sensations, crafted from delicious combinations of premium ingredients. you'll savor every last spoonful. even if you don't use a spoon. new slow kettle soups from campbell's it's amazing what soup can do. new slow kettle soups from campbell's so to save some money, i trained mathis team of guinea pigs to brrow this tiny boat. guinea pig: row...row. they generate electricity, which lets me surf the web all day. guinea pig: row...row. took me 6 months to train each one, 8 months to get the guinea pig: row...row. little chubby one to yell row! guinea pig: row...row. that's kind of strange. guinea pig: row...row. such a simple word... row. anncr: there's an easier way to save. get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. 15 minutes

but jim axelrod has found a company on the banks of kentucky's salt river that has put out the "help sign. >> reporter: at the zappos distribution senter in shepherdsville, kentucky, you'll find some of the most relieved workers in america. had you started to give up a little bit? >> it was very hard. it's kind of depressing. >> reporter: relief is what happens when you find a job in a town where the unemployment rate is 10.3%. the online shoe retailer is bucking the national trend and hiring 3,000 workers for its busy christmas season. so far they've received 44,000 applications for jobs starting at $8.25 an hour. danita young started last week. she'd been out of work for a year and a half. what would have happened if zappos didn't hire? >> we'll still be eating ramen noodles every night. that was my meal. it was getting very bad. very bad. >> reporter: you hear that from the people on the floor here. in this economy they would have taken any job. but a job here at zappos-- even a temporary one-- for them, that's like hitting the employment lottery. number six on "fortune"'s top 100

jim axelrod, cbs news, shepherdsville, kentucky. >> i'm betty nguyen. is the "cbs morning news." news." in one day, kin's health with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno. i found a moisturizer for life. steam-cleaning enthusiasts. it's good for the customer to get to know their own carpet. and spending the day moving furniture and lugging around a hot water extraction unit can be a rush! i know. that's why i'm carpet for life. but look, if things get out of hand, and the place starts smelling like wet gym sock, there's no shame in calling a professional. i respect you for trying. ♪call 1-800-steemer. >>> steve jobs was my hero. he was a scientist, a philanthropist and a leader. >> steve has personally impacted my life through his company and what he has achieved in our lifetime. >> i just feel so grateful to what steve jobs brought into my life. >> reporter: there was no shortage of tributes posted online for steve jobs who died wednesday and it's no secret that jobs and his apple cre

you'll have axelrod on. he'll talk about it. he speaks with the administration. i don't.are. is a jobs plan important? you have to get people working. >> incredibly important. but also what is important is to make sure we stop foreclosures at the rate they are. when foreclosures -- look, the leading thing in an economy like this historically has been the housing market. when people -- one-third of the people are under water these are middle class folks showing up at our work shops, people that didn't get an exotic mortgage or no dock loan or some crazy adjustable rate mortgage. these are people just trying to hang on by the skin of their teeth. and no one is really having a meaningful discussion with them about this. if we stop the foreclosures, we give the chance, housing market a chance to come back, get its breath and that'll begin to lead us out of this from my perspective. i don't say this with false modesty. i'm just an attorney general. >> you're just a country lawyer. >> stop it. now, beau, the preforeclosure face to faces are they having an impact, the desired on

to join her on "this week" when her guests will include president obama's chief strategist david axelrod. >> let me do this -- >> go ahead. >>> for a look at the other news, andrea canning in for ron claiborne. >> does it feel good, ron? >> i'll try to do you proud in this chair. >> you scared me. >>> good morning. in the new this is morning, more american troops than expected may be returning home from iraq by the end of the year. the obama administration is reportedly scaling back a proposal to keep as many as 5,000 troops to train the iraq military. iraqi lawmakers refewing to give troops legal immunity. the white house and pentagon have not reeved a final decision. >>> bangkok spared from the worst flooding in thailand decades. water receding around the capital, shielded by an elaborate system of flood walls and tunnels. monsoon rains that began in late july have affected two-thirds of the country. >>> apple is holding a memorial service for steve jobs tonight. top silicone valley executives and others close to jobs are expected to attend the invitation-only event on the stanford uni

jim axelrod, cbs news, freehold, new jersey. >> pelley: as we were looking through today's foreclosure this jumped out at us: nationwide, it now takes close to a year for the foreclosure process to play out. the foreclosure processing average nationwide is 336 days, but look at this. in new york it's 986 days, the longest of any state. nearly three years. a house of god gets help from above when we come back. back. [ female announcer ] must be the os-cal. only os-cal ultra has the most calcium and d3, plus 7 bone health nutrients. so you can always be strong, with os-cal. plus 7 bone health nutrients. ♪ like so many great pioneers before me, guided only by a dream. i'm embarking on a journey of epic proportion. i will travel, from sea to shining sea, through amber waves of grain, and i won't stop until i've helped every driver in america save hundreds on car insurance. well i'm out of the parking lot. that's a good start. geico, fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent, or more on car insurance. how about the beat of a healthy heart? campbell's healthy request soup is delicious,

thet voters aren't looking to president obama and david axelrod and democrats to get a sense of who tomay well end up the republican nominee but it is not because he's the greatest choice but they have exhausted their options. the second point is the phenomenal point that ari fleisher had to say about presidents who don't have a good record to run on attack opponents. i actually recall, right about this time in 2003, when president bush was running for re-election they telegraphed a strategy in which they would go after the democratic nominee. i remember karen hughs and other bush surrogates going after the democratic candidates whenever they opened their mouths on things to do with iraq or the war against terrorists all over the world. so, you know, let's consider history here before we start to say that we are breaking new ground. >> you are making a point that what goes around comes around. some of it is cyclical. the polls show consistently, it's early but romney has the best head to head numbers against obama. will that help him with republicans who are thinking we want to beat th

joining me now, senior campaign strategist for the obama re-election campaign, david axelrod. david, thanks for being here. before you get just too giddy about these latest economic -- >> i don't get giddy. i don't get too low but i don't get giddy. that's one of the keys here. >> and the fact of the matter is it is a daunting task when you look at some of these economic stats that are out there. these are hard numbers for the obama campaign. 14 million americans still unemployed. we all know the number is much greater than that. 86% of americans describe the economy as poor. that's a right track/wrong track question which always is a problem for people looking for re-elect. only 38% of americans approve of president obama's handling of the economy. given those, what is your strategy? >> well, first of all, let's talk about what's going on with the american people because their life is more than just what's going on in the political game and the fact is that it's not just about jobs. it's about wages. it's about what's happened to the middle class over a long period of time. >