you are a straight shooter. >> if you are david axelrod, what do you say to the president?> i am leaving. i am leaving in the spring. that is what you say. >> i think they are exhausted and down and that don't know what to do. i don't think they are having have become more optimistic conversations in the oval office. >> do you have any good ideas? >> they said they would push an ideological agenda instead of addressing the american economy and that is the major complaint against them. that is why they will get slaughtered them instead of just bluffing through this which is what they seem to be doing >> they are thinking of a new apprprch. >> the terror threat at home. >> on crown terror threat is -- homegrown the tariff threat is more harder to detect. they are more operationally capable than what we had previously seen. >> that would get your attention. that is robert mueller the fbi director, maybe a inspired by the global jihadist movement. this is like the timothy mcvey syndrome in oklahoma city. >> people were saying that we don't have the same problem they had in the

david axelrod, thanks for joining us today. this afternoon -- >> good to be with you, lawrence. >> the house decided to adjourn in a shockingly close vote. that's never a close vote, but it was today. 39 democrats voted against adjournment without taking action on the current tax rates. some democrats were eager to go home, others were eager to stay in washington and fix this. so who's right, the go home now democrats or the fix taxes first democrats? >> well, the question really is, what about the hold the tax cut hostage republicans, and that's really what this debate has been about from the beginning. we all agree, republicans and democrats that we ought to extend these tax cuts up to $250,000 a year. that would take in 98% of the american people, give the middle class the tax cuts that they really need after getting battered over the course of the last decade. the republican party, mr. mcconnell, mr. bainer have said, no, that's not good enough, we want to spend $700 billion over the next ten years to give tax cuts to the w

with something that david axelrod said. it said that there is a crime of court pathology in washington, which is why he looks forward to decamping in chicago. what -- how you deal with the group pathology and change what is covered in washington and it does not reflect what is happening or what is being talked about in real america? >> i live in new york and there is no policy there at all. [laughter] -- no pathology there at all. its net not a lot easier to do in washington, but the joke that ed was making about reading the daily kos, it's important to readblogs on all sides of the spectrum. that seems so essential, watch fox news and in a speed -- in his n -- msnbc. maybe people who are not online to not have as much as a voice. but you can know what the local paper in topeka is saying about a house race, and should make things a lot easier. >> i employ the mother-in-law role. if i cannot explain it to her, then whichever side is making that argument is not winning. i found that on health care. she kept saying -- and i wi

joining me from des moines, iowa, the president's top political adviser, david axelrod. welcome back to meat meet, mr. axelrod. >> thanks, david. good to be here. >> what about this news from iran? when will she be released and will it happen this time? >> obviously we're hopeful and encouraged by these news but there have been starts and stops in this before and until that actually happens, you know, we're on a wait and see basis. >> as far as bower and fattal and their release, is there any progress there? >> you know, david, i won't comment on any of that right now because we're in a sensitive stage here. obviously we're hopeful that we can get these folks out. they should never have been in jail in the first place. they are being held under false pretenses and they should be released. we're working very hard to see that that happens. >> let me turn to politics and the domestic agenda particularly the economy. the president announced plans for some additional infrastructure spending to stimulate the economy. he also would like to give business tax breaks that the corpo

joining me now the president's top political adviser david axelrod. thank you for joining us. >> great to be here. >> i want to first though ask you about something very close to what the president has been doing and that's middle east peace. the moratorium expires tonight. >> yes. >> the president asked the israeli prime minister to keep the moratorium on. he's not going to do it. what is going to stop these talks from collapsing? >> well, look, i don't want to prejudge what's going to happen in the next -- >> but is there a compromise. >> there's still -- the pears are still working. they're still talking. secretary clinton and her team are working with them. we're very eager to keep these talks going. we think this is an unparalleled opportunity and a rare one and we have to seize the advantage of that and we'll urge and urge and push throughout this day to get some kind of resolution. >> you think you managed to urge to keep the moratorium on or is that going to expire? >> i'm not going to get into the details of what's being discussed but what is

david axelrod retires next year. then there's the obama economic team. larry summers is leaving. budget director peter orszag is gone. council of economic advisers chair christina romer is gone. >> the work that they do is difficult. they have been at it two years. >> only treasury secretary tim geithner remains and he is under fire. >> the economic team on the way out. >> five weeks before midterm elections. people are predicting big losses for democrats. the timing could not be more crucial. >>> the cia is intensifying missile attacks against militants in pakistan. they have heard of a new plan to target the multiple countries including the u.k., france, and germany. if 20 drawn strikes have been launched by the c.eia in the pat months. -- drone attacks. >>> 20 insurgents have been killed in a day of hard fighting. u.s. soldiers are now controlling is they had never been to before. commanders have taken away the homemade bombs from the taliban. >>> former alaska senator ted stevens will be laid to rest this afternoon at arlington national cemetery. the 86-year olds died last mo

david axelrod, senior adviser to president obama, is standing by. what was it like for him to make this speech tonight, david? >> well, i think it was a big moment for the country, larry, and the president felt that way. this transfer of authority to the iraqis for the principle responsibility for their security is something he's been pointing to from the moment he took office and so it's a big moment for the country. it's a big transition. we have 100,000 troops out of iraq by the end of 2011 they'll all be out and those are resources we can use elsewhere so it's -- it was a big moment and i think he sensed that he wanted to talk to the country about it. and also to pay tribute to our valiant troops. one of the things the president did today was visit ft. bliss in t texas to personally thank the troops and their families for what they've done over the last seven and a half years, the enormous sacrifices. we saw some young people there who did three or four tours of duty in iraq so the sacrifice has been enormous and this is their day, too. >> larry

this is the point i was asking david axelrod about.'s a lack of confidence now after they have seen what the president has done in things getting better. >> i think they have a lot of things done. they haven't gotten a lot of results that the american people think have been effective. what happened when the president ran as a centrist and became more liberal with house democratic definition of that, he lost the country and lost the independents and some of the working class white voters he had. people now think that after two years of almost complete power in washington, he's had more power man many presidents have had because he's had all the houses and tremendous mandate and he hasn't delivered. people feel the pain and they want a change and there's clear there will be a change. >> we'll put up on the screen. midterm history for first term presidents is bleak for a president in power as we see it revealed here. a lot of losses across the board in our recent history. 2002 the exception after 9/11. what's happening here? >> pretty wid

rumors swirl willing that david axelrod could exit and rahm emanuel may run for mayor of chicago. s? >> thank you, david bowie. >> no problem. >> i believe it was general charles dugall said the graveyard is full of indispensable men. the fact of the matter rahmemanuel and david axelrod if they were to stay beyond in rahm's case the middle of next month or in david, case early next year that would probably be bigger news. as you know news is the unexpected and they are expected to leave. rahm emanuel, even the president, david axelrod has said nobody is indispensable when talking about rahm emanuel. he known to be eyeing that mayor race and had a couple of meetings across from lafayette park and i ran into him the other day coming across the park after one of those meetings and asked him about this. he is she disstainful of the speculation in the media but not shooting it down. he said all along he would like to go back to chicago after the first two years of the first term and thought he would start to run the president's re-election campaign. there is probably a shake-up but not

people have asked in the past and will ask again in the context of bob woodward's book is why is david axelrod involved in the meetings in the first place? why does he have a relationship with david petraeus? he's a political person in charge of the president's message. it's not necessarily my position but some will say that. a couple of other examples you gave, jim jones you are exactly right there's not a lot of love loss between a lot of the people in the white house staff and general jones, not that they dislike him, but they feel as though he's been a little bit of a disappointment as national security adviser and then joe biden, calling dick holbrook egotist egotistical, andrea you know that's not a unique perception of ambassador holbrook although it usually doesn't come with the profanity attached that joe biden put on there. >> love him or not, i don't think dick holbrook, excuse me, richard holbrooke would say he's not egotistical. >> that's true he's accomplished a lot. >> thank you very much, indeed. thanks so much, john. >>> this is causing a lot of waves in washington but there a

so far whether david pluff replacing david axelrod, everything so far is turnover, not a shakeup. >> an important point. a lot of familiar faces moving around there. >> reporter: another one is when general jones, a lot of people expect him to be leaving the post of national security adviser. so everything again, more turnover. not a shakeup. >> now i want to talk to you about our "wall street journal" poll. we menged it at the beginning. one of the interesting things you highlighted was the 2012 numbers and the republicans that will probably run to face barack obama in the next presidential election. mitt romney, who is presumed the front-runner begins in a much weaker position than bob dole or john mccain began in. is that because of the tea party? >> it's because of a few things. newt gingrich and sarah palin much more active par tis papts in the tea party movement. with the conservative viewership on fox and huckabee, palin have higher numbers than romney. mitt romney starts in a weaker position than john mccain did. in a weaker position than bob dole was in '95 '96. and george h

we have david axelrod of the white house who will join us, and we have senator mitch mcconnell, and he will join us and we will talk about all of the divisions or unity between the tea party and the rest of the republican party and what it means for the midterm elections and for the democrats as they try to put their strategy fourth. we also have acknowledgment of what is happening in new york at the u.n. general assembly and a discussion of the money all development goals, all about the promises the world made to eradicate extreme poverty, to bring gender parity, bring universal education and other issues. we will be speaking with the king of jordan who is very involved in this and has an extremely articulate and passionate view on not just that but also the middle east peace process, on the way the islamic debate is happening and the u.s. that will be very compelling and interesting, too. >> awesome, thank you for the preview. >>> watch abc's "this week" sunday morning at 10:00, right here on abc 7. >>> coming up -- >> just had a wedding two weeks before. >> 7 on your side with an al

david axelrod will be heading home to chicago by spring to work on the president's reelection. axelrod expects david plough, the president's campaign manager, will likely come to washington as an adviser. press secretary robert gibbses is autopsy likely to move to adviser status. we've seen this movie before. bill clinton changed chiefs of staff four times at different crisis points in his presidency. president george w. bush dumped donald rumedz felled from the pentagon after the 2006 elections. all presidents have crisis point. president obama is in one leading up to the november elections so the new team he builds will say a lot about the direction he wants to go next year. jeff. >> glor: bill plante at the white house. bill, thank you. in the race for the california state house, the latest poll shows former ebay chief met whitman in a 41-41 tie with state attorney jerry brown. not so close is the campaign spending race between the two. ben tracy tonight has the facts and figures. >> reporter: nobody can accuse met whitman of being cheap. she's flooding the airwaves, attempt

he said the jews control obama and david axelrod controls obama. he must be gotten rid of.ported before. we also have an extraordinary scoop that bart came up with. the james cummings, who was arrested in maine bart came up . james cummings, he was murdered by his wife. he had been preparing nuclear elements for a dirty bomb. it was still preliminary. but this is something that has never been revealed before. this is compared to jose padilla, this guy has much more uranium in his possession and was further along in preparing a dirty bomb for domestic use. >> fascinating stuff. this is the cover story of "time" magazine. locked and loaded, the secret world of extreme militias. bart gelman's reporting. thank you very much. a lot to worry about. maybe you want school kids to have more exposure to the arts. maybe you want to provide meals for the needy. or maybe you want to help when the unexpected happens. whatever you want to do, members project from american express can help you take the first step. vote, volunteer, or donate for the causes you believe in at membersproject.c

>> we're going to be having david axelrod, we're going to ask him these questions. as you see and heard in the report, obviously there are troubles in what have been safe democratic seats. >> this is a difficult time to have the election because people are so worried and angry about the economy, about job spending all of those things which we have been reporting on for weeks and months. with the final push, they are, as you say, deploying the big guns. certainly, for instance, let's say wisconsin, where we understand michelle obama will go sometime in october, we understand. that is where russ feingold was considered a safe bet. he came in back in 1992 along with president clinton as sort of an outsider. yet now he's finding his position being compromised amongst voters. what they're trying to do is jazz up the voters. try to make up turnout as high as it can be, especially at this time when democrats are complaining and the analysts are saying that the enthusiasm gap in the democratic party for those likely voters in the midterm is less than in the republican party

disliked talking to david axelrod calling him a complete spin doct. >> how the president has really handlebothars in afghanistan as well as iraq and show how he has led on these two issues. i don't think it's going to distract democratic candidates. >> woodward reports karzai has been diagnosed as manic-deessive and treated with medication. >> the book isn't even out and the white house already responded making them look strategic and decisive. >> a santa cruz county won is on capitol hill testifying about the salmonella contamination from eggs that made soe 1600 people sick. sarah lewis appeared before the house energynd commerce subcommittee. she became sick last may and spent nearly a week in the hospital losing some 30 pounds since then. lewis' family runs a butcher shop in freedom. she's apolicied by the conditions of two iowa farms that produced the eggs seen in the photograph at the hearing. >> when i show pictures to people of our facility, they're amazed how clean it is and how we give tours of the whole place. we're not afraid to show people around. we don't have anything that is app

david axelrod will probably stick around until spring. what else is going on?that the mayor of ireland was jewish, he said only in america. [laughter] the manual dynasty, i like the ring of that. >> these jobs in the white house these days were always hard but now they are harder because you never stop. you always have your blackberry. if you know any of these people or other people, they are utterly and exhausted. there were exhausted during the campaign before that. >> what about the national security team. >> > i thin there will be shakeups there. there is some question about donovan taking over as national security adviser. there is usually a change that takes place. president obama has an inner circle and he does not trust outsiders. if he does not open up that circle, >> it is the same problem bush had. >>donelin talked about -- was talked about to replace rahm emanuel but he is waiting to replace robert gates. the effect will be to bring that circle ever tighter because donnelin is an insight guide. >> is there a name to replace rahm emanuel? >> no. >> a

then there's also word that david axelrod may also be thinking about departing the white house.ld this do to the president's agenda? or does this mean pressing a real restart button for him? >> it is like pressing the restart button. it shouldn't be surprising to see emanuel leave even if he wasn't interested in running for mayor of chicago. the career expectancy of a white house chief of staff is about that of a rodeo clown or nfl running back. these guys don't stick around long. >> maybe he wouldn't mind the analogy with a running back, but i don't know, rodeo clown. >> everybody's out for you. you get speared pretty quickly in that job. >> okay. >> but there should probably be other departures after the election, too, maybe cabinet secretaries to look for on the horizon. >> all right, jonathan allen, although i do love a rodeo clown when i go to the rodeo, but i don't know what david axelrod and rahm emanuel would think about that. >> it's not their first rodeos. >> okay, very good. jonathan allen, thanks so much. good to see you. >> take care. >>> several key provisions of t

general david petraeus tells aides david axelrod is a complete spin doctor. most of this infighting over the war plan for afghanistan. finally, the president blows up. november 25th, 2009, only days before announcing his decision, the military asks for 4,500 more troops. woodward writes the president erupts saying, i'm done doing this, we've all agreed to a plan and we're going to stick to that plan. i haven't agreed to anything beyond that. six days later, his big speech at west point. >> the review has allowed me to ask the hard questions and to explore all the different options. >> reporter: the next day, the president explains why he added a timetable to begin withdrawing, telling republican senator lindsey graham, i can't let this be a war without end, and i can't lose the whole democratic party. >> you really want to see this kind of conflict and disagreement. through history that usually makes the best strategy, especially in a war. >> reporter: but the book reveals the success of the war strategy rests on afghanistan's hamid karzai, who u.s. intellige

david axelrod will return to chicago to run mr. obama's reelection campaign. in health news, the f.d.a. today announced tough new restrictions on the once-popular diabetes drug avandia. studies have linked it to an increased risk of heart attack, and now doctors will have to document that patients have tried other diabetes medications before giving them avandia. doctors must also warn parties of the risks. the risk of whooping cough may sound like something from the past, but it's still very real. today, california reported more than 4200 cases so far this year, putting the state on track to break a 55-year record for infections. nine people have died, all of them infants. other states are seeing more cases as well. dr. jon lapook tells us what's behind the new outbreaks. >> reporter: today, kids in los angeles lined up for booster shot, hoping to slow down the outbreak of whooping cough that's affecting babies. >> more than 50% of the cases, they were exposed to whooping cough through their family members. >> reporter: that's what happened in mariah bianchi's

the senior adviser david axelrod will head home to chicago by spring. of staff four times at different crisis points in his presidency. president george w. bush dumped donald rumsfeld from the pentagon after 2006 elections. all presidents have crisis points. president obama is in one leading up to the november elections, so the new team he builds will say a lot about the direction he wants to go in next year. bill plante, cbs news, the white house. >>> this morning on "the early show" a preview of the hottest toys for the holiday season. it's amazing we are already talking about the holiday season. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." [ male announcer ] the new subway flatbread breakfast sandwiches! like the new double bacon & cheese omelet sandwich! they're all new. toasty, tasty, and made to your order. so come and build your better breakfast today, at subway! no pills, no pain. how can you get pain relief without taking pills around the clock? try thermacare heatwraps, for all day relief without pills. i was surprised, thermacare worked

disliked talking to david axelrod calling him a complete spin doctor. >> how the president has reallyandled both wars in afghanistan as well as iraq and show how he has led on these two issues. i don't think it's going to distract democratic candidates. >> woodward reports karzai has been diagnosed as manic-depressive and treated with medication. >> the book isn't even out and the white house already responded making them look strategic and decisive. >> a santa cruz county woman is on capitol hill testifying about the salmonella contamination from eggs that made some 1600 people sick. sarah lewis appeared before the house energy and commerce subcommittee. she became sick last may and spent nearly a week in the hospital losing some 30 pounds since then. lewis' family runs a butcher shop in freedom. she's apolicied by the conditions of two iowa farms that produced the eggs seen in the photograph at the hearing. >> when i show pictures to people of our facility, they're amazed how clean it is and how we give tours of the whole place. we're not afraid to show people around. we don't have

david axelrod departs next year though you can bet the president will occasionally call on him. >> i have never been on national television. >> reporter: then, despite the rocky economy there's the obama economic team. national council director larry summers leaving, peter orzak gone. council of economic advisors chair christina romer, gone. >> this is tough the work they've do. >> reporter: only treasury secretary tim geithner remains and he's under fire. >> president obama should ask for and accept the resignations of the remaining members of his economic team starting with secretary geithner. >> reporter: the president is reshaping his white house team with five weeks to go before mid-term elections and pollsters predicting big losses for democrats. the timing could hardly be more crucial. john hendren, abc news, washington. >>> it looks like the recession may have taken a dramatic toll on marriage in america. census bureau numbers show that the percentage of people 18 and older who decided to get married last year was at the lowest point since the government began tracking the da

in afghanistan, general david petraeus is quoted as telling an aide he doesn't like talking to david axelrod. in the book, it describes axelrod as a complete spin doctor. and it talks about a cia 3,000-man covert army. and it has intelligence in a afghan president hamid karzai suffers from manic depression. president obama also takes politics into account, as he sets that withdrawal deadline for next july. he says in the book, a deadline is needed because, quote, he can't lose the whole democratic party. this is all based on "new york times" reporting on that advanced copy of the book. all this just breaking this morning. so far, no comment from the white house. rob and vinita? >> interesting details. emily schmidt in washington this morning. thank you. >>> and more shakeup at the white house. president obama's top economic adviser is now stepping down. larry summers plans to leave the white house and return to harvard at the end of the year. summers is the third high economic adviser to leave in recent months. his departure gives the president a chance to reshape the economic team. >>> and

, look, the two of the three big guys in the campaign are in the white house, robert gibbs and david axelrod and he slumpedout for a different self the form of rahm emanuel. i think the team is tired and there is -- obama loves the tight circle. you want to tak about the grassroots, he managed the top down way on that campaign mores so than any other presidential candidate. he didn't want to talk to his pollers or advisors and there was a small group of people he relied on fov adice. he kept those people and they are tired. i think you'll se after the midterm elections you'll see the pluff coming back refreshed into the white house and new faces that will bring in an outside perspective outside the obama bubble and tell him what he needs to hear. chris: let's imagine the president is up sunday morning and watching us. what is he saying about this conversation, that's what it's about, how he reacts to this kind of thinking aboutim will and questioning him. oehe dsn't like it, does he? >> no, like bill clinton and george w. bush he doesn't like us talking about him in almost any case. still, t

quoted it as a disaster if donilon became national security adviser and david axelrod as a complete spin doctor and discloses that u.s. intelligence reports, hamid karzai was diagnosed as manic depressive. karl eikenberry talks about him saying "he's on his meds, he's off his meds." bob woodward will be a guess on "morning joe" next wednesday. "the new york times" got its hands on a copy. that's where a lot of this is coming from. more on the book and a full discussion of what it means on "morning joe" >>> a senate vote on repealing gays serving openly in the military will have to wait until after the midterm elections. after the measure failed to advance yesterday. republicans with the aid of two arkansas democrats voted unanimously against taking up the bill calling it a political ploy used to mobilize special interest voters ahead of the elections. shortly after the vote, senator john mccain had a testy exchange with reporters where he challenged assertions that the military actively seeks to identify gay and lesbian service members. >> you do not go out to seek to find out someone's

the paper reports that valerie jarrett and david axelrod made last-minute cancellations apparently becauseof a "new york times" column that orszag wrote this month. the president's official position. orszag's wedding is set tomorrow in manhattan. i think that this stuff has a lot more to do with something that isn't about that column and may have to do with how they work together in the white house. now for tonight's big number. it started with lisa murkowski up in alaska. and now delaware's mike castle's is reportedly conducting polls to see how he would do as a write-in candidate. well, they face long odds. been just one senator that's been elected as a write-in. how long ago was it, 1954. the candidate, longtime south carolina senator, strom thermond. 56 years since the last and only successful write-in senate campaign. 1954. >>> that's "hardball" for now. up next, "your business." r. r. who's your somebody? eating campbell's healthy request can help. 25 delicious soups with low cholesterol, zero grams trans fat, and a healthy level of sodium. because heart healthy is good for your life

political adviser david axelrod departs next year. national economic council director larry summers is leaving. and peter orzag gone already and christina romer is also gone. >>> equal pay for equal work. a mantra that for decades has been part of the american dream but a report released today in washington shows that closing the waging gap between men and women still has a long way to go. here's abc's tj winick. >> reporter: this was the less than enthusiastic assessment of one expert on women in the workplace. >> women are stuck. despite decades of efforts to create opportunities for advancement, deep inequities persist. >> reporter: exhibit a, the pay gap. according to a new report by the government accountability office it narrowed by two cents from 2000 to 2007, female managers now earning 81 cents for every male counter part's dollar. that is compared to 79 cents before 2000. >> more women are gaining education, we're closing the education gap but not closing the pay gap. >> reporter: while having children contributes somewhat t

david axelrod added some fuel to the fire in an appearance on a political talk show. >> i think he is drawn to it, but he still has family considerations to think p it and he is working those through. >> reporter: there was one official announcement in the mayoral race, former inspector general, david hoffman said he will not be seeking the office. >> president obama is coming back to chicago to help raise money for democratic senate nominee janulius. he will be coming october 7th. the campaign is hoping public support from president obama will give him a boost in his race against republican mark kirk. today, the candidate talked about getting extra help from the president. >> we are very excited for the president to come back to chicago. he understands this is an incredibly important election. we capital afford to have typical washington, d.c. politicians make the decisions, especially since what they have done to the economy. >> this will be the president's 6th trip back home since he became president. >> wgn's marcella raymond -- >> reporter: this may have been pierce kincaid's fir

plus, was top white house adviser david axelrod the target of a deadly attack in washington, d.c.?re are details of a new report just coming in to "the situation room." where other hammers can only dream of going, the craftsman hammerhead goes everyday. driving home nails quickly and easily in the tightest spaces. more innovation, more great values. craftsman. trust. in your hands. hey, little dude. "dinner's" my middle name. how 'bout some hamburger helper? oh, my, but your mouth is gonna love it. and your wallet's gonna be pretty happy, too. now this is the deal of the day. hamburger helper...one pound, one pan, one tasty meal. >>> monitoring some of the other top stories in "the situation room" now. fred, what's going on? >> hello, everyone. an indian court is ordering a disputed holy site be divided between competing religious groups. the court ruled that muslims, hindus, and a local sect, will each get part of the land. in 1992 hindu extremists destroyed a muslim mosque on the grounds. triggering some of the worst sectarian violence in the country's history. muslims say they w

national security advisor jim jones refers to political advisors like david axelrod as "the politburo" and "the mafia." >> i think the frustration that everybody's feeling that there's no easy winning formula in afghanistan is spreading in a negative way in the white house. people are sniping at each other, who's to blame, who's wrong? >> reporter: the strategy review that resulted in sending 30,000 more troops to afghanistan pitted a military which wanted more troops and more time against a commander-in-chief who wanted a speedy exit. general petraeus is quoted as calling it a war we're in for the rest of our lives and probably our kids' lives. while the president tells defense secretary gates and secretary of state clinton "i'm not doing ten years." frustrated with the pentagon's rad vice, the president turned to the continue country's most famous military figure, former joint chiefs chairman and secretary of state colin powell who told him "just because the generals are unanimous doesn't make them right." even after the 30,000 number was agreed upon, the pentagon came back for more

christina romer and peter orszad and the imminent decampment of chief of staff rahm emmanuel and david axelrod, a chief is under way at the white house. bill clinton is among those who believe the president still has to assert control over his biggest challenge, the economy. the former president sat down with my news however colleague judy woodruff this week. >> if this is a referendum on people's anger and apathy, our side stays home and their side, we don't do well f it's a choice between who's going to do what, we can do well. the president is out there now. and i think it's high time. and it's good, and it's good that he's taking some shots. that's what people want to see. they like to see their presidents get hit a little bit. gwen: and he would know. and does the white house subscribe, jackie, to this clinton principle that sometimes you got to take your hits? >> well, they would never admit that they subscribe to anything that's described as clinton's. but of course, the danger in that is you get hit, you look -- depending on your reaction, you could look prickly or defensive. and occas