quote, we have been waiting eight years and the offer still stands, fehrnstrom said. after the senate race? that was the only condition under which mitt romney will release his tax returns. his opponent releasing her tax returns wasn't enough. all of the democrats releasing their tax returns wasn't enough. getting caught lying about his tax returns wasn't enough, but eight years after he ran against ted kennedy for senate when he was running in a totally different race in which ted kennedy was irrelevant, a release of ted kennedy's tax returns would be the trigger for romney to release his returns? why? and if that offer still stood eight years after that election, when ted kennedy was totally irrelevant to the race he was in, does that mean the offer still stands now? we asked the romney campaign today if the offer still stands. so far, we have had no on the record response, but i really hope we will. sic plays, record ] hi, i'm new ensure clear. clear, huh? my nutritional standards are high. i'm not juice or fancy water, i'm different. i've got nine grams of protein

eric fehrnstrom did the same thing. he spoke the truth whether you call it a penalty or the tax, you have to pay something if you refuse to get health insurance. that's a republican principle. they don't like free loaders and free riders. they should be proud of that. that became the national law. but they don't like it anymore because a democrat did it. they have a problem. >> fortunately we have tape to prove what you said. that romney for a long time was happy with what he'd done out there. before he ran away with achievements -- before he stopped talking about it, he was proud of it. he said it should be the model for the nation. take a listen. >> how do you ensure the 45 or 50 million americans who are not on the books? >> well, that's what we did in massachusetts. we put together an exchange and the president's copying that idea. i'm glad to hear that. >> we have a model that worked. one state in america, my state, was able to put in place a plan that got everybody health insurance. therefore the right way to proc

the obama campaign's stephanie cutter will square off against the romney campaign's eric fehrnstrom, and we'll hear from one-time republican candidate newt gingrich, who was not all that keen during the primaries about paul ryan's medicare plan. >> i don't think right wing social engineering is any more desirable than left wing social engineer. >> plus we'll have analysis from all sides. "newsweek" daily beast contribute ort david frum. "washington post" columnists michael gerson and ruth marcus. david frum from "the week," and our own john dickerson. it's about our vision of where we go from here and it's all on "face the nation." captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news in washington, "face the nation" with bob schieffer. >> substituting for bob schieffer, nancy cordes. >> good morning, again, and welcome to "face the nation." bob schieffer is on his way to high point, north carolina, where he'll be sitting down with mitt romney and paul ryan later today in their first joint interview which will air on tonight's "60 minutes." so you'll want to tune into that. for now, with the lat

i think the fehrnstrom thing harry reid was a complete overreaction.ook, harry reid is going to say what harry reid says. dismiss it. we don't have to get crazy about it and give it more legs. >> jennifer: we actually have a sound byte from -- that sound bite you're referring to for our viewers to take a listen to what eric fehrnstrom said about harry reid. >> harry reid's charges are baseless and they're untrue. and i would ask him one simple question, have you no sense of decency, sir? is there nothing that you won't do to base yourself and the office you hold in the name of dirty politics? >> jennifer: now you are unique in saying that you think eric fehrnstrom's reaction is an overreaction. that's unique. >> it sounds like thou protests too much. harry reid said a lot of dumb things. this is another dumb thing harry reid said. >> jennifer: we can agree or disagree about that. >> we can certainly. our side listens to harry reid. we think it is insequential and nonsensical. his campaign treats it that way i don't think it would have gotten the reacti

eric fehrnstrom, thank you for your time this morning. we appreciate it. >>> up next, president obama's deputy campaign manager makes the case for four more years. le. [ bridesmaid ] blacked out... but i'm a bridesmaid. oh! "x" marks the spot she'll never sit. but i bought a dress! a toast... ...to the capital one venture card. fly any airline, any flight, anytime. double miles you can actually use. what a coincidence? what's in your wallet? [ all screaming ] watch the elbows ladies. there's so many choices. the guests come in and they're like yeah i want to try this shrimp and i want to try this kind. they wait for this all year long. [ male announcer ] red lobster's endless shrimp is back, but only for a limited time, for just $14.99. try as much as you like any way you like, like new teriyaki grilled shrimp or new parmesan crusted shrimp, for just $14.99. [ angela ] creating an experience instead of just a meal that's endless shrimp. my name is angela trapp. i'm a server at red lobster and i sea food differently. i'm a server at red lo

i think that's reflected in both fehrnstrom's long history with the media. hate journalists more than an ex-journalist and he is certainly an ex-journalist. i think that his sort of antagonistic attitude is reflective in the way the romney people handle press. >> you know, what's been sort of pronounced as there have been these gaffes and foot-in-mouth disease, is it reluctance on the part of the romney campaign to chastise or criticize any members of its coven, if you will, which is similar to the white house. the obama campaign is notoriously insular. i want to read a quote from the piece. as fehrnstrom's influence rose, stafferers above and below him were concerned he was being given too long a leash by the candidate. he can be dismissive or hostile towards colleagues. once according to a high level staffer, a female job candidate complained about him and a xleeg's inappropriate behavior during an interview. the senior aide started keeping a record of potential legal liabilities related to fehrnstrom which is pretty serious. we think about that in the vei

eric fehrnstrom called the independent analysis a joke.ion jobs. but couldn't explain how the campaign arrived at that number. it's important to understand what they're saying here. after an independent analysis says romney's plan would raise

ed fehrnstrom, senior advisor to governor romney, thank you for coming by. >> thank you, gwen. >> woodruff: very interesting listening to him talking about what kind of a game changer is and what kind of things we may hear from paul ryan and governor romney when they speak. so on the floor they're in a recess, they're taking a break. there has been by acclimation the delegates have decide to accept mitt romney and paul ryan as their nominees for president and vice president of the united states. our own jeff brown is down there on the floor. jeff, tell where you say you are and what's going on. >> brown: hi, judy, we're in recess now so things have calmed down so it ease easier to talk to you right now. i'm here in the florida delegation with carol jean jordan of vie roe beach. she's the past head of the florida republican party. welcome to you. >> that's correct, jeff, thank you, thanks for having me. >> brown: this, of course, is your party in a sense, florida party. but it was almost derailed by the storm >> well, silt florida's party and we're excited this is the first night for everyb

(laughter) >> maybe between the lines where eric fehrnstrom says that chris christie is going for only punches. sounds like he's been brought in to bring it >> listen, he is not... he's not cob confused with a softball pitcher. he's a tough guy. i think the question is can he make america welcome and job responsibility is to welcome people to the party. he's the gatekeeper and that has to be the message. >> ifill: you are the gatekeepers as well. thank you both, we'll be talking to you later. as we have said earlier, tonight's speakers planned to take president obama to task for his handling of the nation's struggling economy so what do voters in key battleground states have to say about that? harvey sreenivasan has that. >> sreenivasan: we're looking at bish shoes through data in our vote 2012 map center. i'm joined by anna sale of wnyc to look at a handful of swing states she viz set for a reporting trip. thanks for being here. regardless of where you went around the country you heard jobs, unemployment. that was the number one issue for everyone. >> first question was the most impor

fehrnstrom said quote, her hands aren't clean.he can't claim to be disclosing anything until she discloses the returns of her husband, the enron lobbyist. what is she hiding? but while romney's campaign was screaming and yelling for opponent spouse's tax returns, guess who was refuses to release their own? >> i believe very deeply in my personal privacy what limit amount is left. senator kennedy when he was against me i said you've got to release those income tax returns of yours. he said i value my privacy. i think he was right and i was wrong. as a result i do share his view on this. i'm not going to release my income tax returns. >> he insisted his opponents release their returns, but he was above doing it himself? his democratic challenger shannon o'brien called him out on this at a 2002 debate. >> i think this is another case where mitt romney says one thing and does another. his spokesperson said my husband was a bad person for not releasing his taxes but mitt romney was doing it out of princip principle. this is an issue of

eric fehrnstrom called the independent analysis a joke.dviser said the romney plan would create 5 to 10 million jobs. but couldn't explain. it's important to understand what they're saying here. after an independent analysis says romney's plan would raise tacks on 95% of americans, romney's advisers call that report a joke. yet won't provide details to dispute the report. then those same advisers claim the romney tax plan will

i did ask senior romney adviser eric fehrnstrom about this issue a few moments ago.e do less than nothing? >> and then paul ryan brought forward his own deficit reduction plan. that's not something that this president did. instead, he kicked the can down the road. and this is why so many people have lost faith in this president. >> but he stood in the way. he stood in the way of the simpson-bowles debt commission and criticized the president for not taking action on it. >> there can be disagreements on how to reduce the deficit and reach fiscal balance. the important thing is, what is your plan? and paul ryan had a plan. >> roland, you do not seem impressed with eric fehrnstrom's argument there. >> no, i'm not. that's the mr. etch a sketch guy. but the bottom line is, you can dance around it, but it's a thing called facts. and so i know his job is to spin. and the bottom line is, you can't say one thing and do another. we just talked to congressman chris van hollen. and he said, look, you criticize the president for something you voted against. seriously, stop. >> bu

. >> erik fehrnstrom, thanks for your time. we appreciate it. >>> president obama's deputy campaign manager makes the case for four more years. to safely and responsibly providing generations of cleaner-burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self-contained well systems. and, using state-of-the-art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment. we're america's natural gas. mom: ready t♪ go to work? ♪ ♪ ♪ every mom needs a little helper. that's why i got a subaru. announcer: love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. ntgomery and abigail higgins had... ...a tree that bore the most rare and magical fruit. which provided for their every financial need. and then, in one blinding blink of an eye, their tree had given its last. but with their raymond james financial advisor, they had prepared for even the unthinkable. and they danced. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you. gives you a 50% an

this morning on a press call, a preview of the economic plan, campaign aide fern fehrnstrom dismissed the tax policy center report. let's listen to him flack for romney. >> that report you referenced is a joke. there are serious flaws with both the authorship of that study and the methodology. it was co-authored by a member of the obama white house, someone who was part of the white house economic team. >> well, flack will tell you half the truth. the other half he didn't tell you was it was also co-authored by a bush veteran. today in orlando, florida, president obama called out the romney campaign criticism. let's listen to the president here. >> first they said, well it's a liberal organization, despite the fact it's headed by an economist who worked for george bush. then they said that the study failed to fully take into account the massive economic boom that would come from cutting taxes on the wealthiest americans and the biggest corporations. because we all know how well that worked out the last time we tried it. >> there it is again. cut and raise so you get more revenue. the

romney told reid to "put up or shut up" while his campaign adviser eric fehrnstrom hammered reid on fox news. >> harry reid's charges are baseless and they're untrue. and i would ask him one simple question. have you no sense of decency sir? is there nothing that you won't do to base yourself and the office you hold in the name of dirty politics? >> eliot: wow fehrnstrom's attack was an adaptation of attorney joe welch's legendary charge which helped take down republican senator joe mccarthy in 1954. with president obama campaigning in florida the romney campaign tried to take him down a notch or two with an ad exploiting the state's miserable economy. >> under president obama 8.6% unemployment. record foreclosures. 600,000 more floridians in poverty. he focused on obama care instead of jobs. barack obama, what a disappointment. >> eliot: but the obama campaign has a new attack ad of its own focused on the new study showing romney's plan would raise taxes for 95% of the country while giving a tax break to the upper 5%. >> mitt romney makes $20 million in 2010. but paid only 14% in taxes

fehrnstrom as communications director i would have thunk he would be asked a question like this.his is what he said. >> it's almost like an etch-a-sketch, we can shake it up and start all over again. >> john: i couldn't believe he said that. we have grown very used to governor romney lying a lot. we can say this, right? >> yeah. >> john: apologizing for america, lying about the affordable act lying about it being a tax not a penalty, lying about the medicare savings of $700 billion that obamacare has that mitt romney has factored into the paul ryan budget lie, lie, lie and this is a guy who believes joseph smith's story, so i don't think anything would come of it. so an hour later i get in the car to go downtown and i look on my lie phone and i see the number 1 topic was etch-a-sketch. i thought my god, finally they are holding his feet to the fire because one of his staff told the truth. and that's also what we saw with todd akin he said what he felt and now this story will never go away. that means to me it is time for the "full court press." >> good morning and happy friday --

. >> eric fehrnstrom. >> stephanie: does he not have the worst advisors in the world. >> oh, they make. >> stephanie: right. [♪ "world news tonight" theme ♪] >> stephanie: they are saying -- radio silence from romney camp. >> right. >> stephanie: we don't even know whether this is deliberate or a crew up. so you have rush limbaugh and ann culter -- they are calling for blood. but now they're thinking this might be another flip from our favorite flip flop. because she did it twice? [♪ "world news tonight" theme ♪] >> twice? >> stephanie: she turned heads by glowingly siting the massachusetts health care blah blah, blah. they don't know if this is part of a new strategy. because a lot of people said that was a mistake. but she did it twice. didn't you notice that? >> uh-huh. >> stephanie: so it wasn't an offhand comment. >> she did it even after people started criticizing her for it. >> and she told the truth. that's it. all of these romney gaffes are when people on his staff tell the truth. >> stephanie: the difference is the romney press conference he started mentioning his health care

(laughter) >> maybe between the lines where eric fehrnstrom says that chris christie is going for only punches. sounds like he's been brought in to bring it >> listen, he is not... he's not cob confused with a softball pitcher. he's a tough guy. i think the question is can he make america welcome and job responsibility is to welcome people to the party. he's the gatekeeper and that has to be the message. >> ifill: you are the gatekeepers as well. thank you both, we'll be talking to you later. as we have said earlier, tonight's speakers planned to take president obama to task for his handling of the nation's struggling economy so what do voters in key battleground states have to say about that? harvey sreenivasan has that. >> sreenivasan: we're looking at bish shoes through data in our vote 2012 map center. i'm joined by anna sale of wnyc to look at a handful of swing states she viz set for a reporting trip. thanks for being here. regardless of where you went around the country you heard jobs, unemployment. that was the number one issue for everyone. >> first question was the most impor

plus, stephanie cutter from the obama campaign and eric fehrnstrom from the romney campaign.cott pelley, i'm bob schieffer. see you right here next week. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >>> we begin with a storm alert once again on a friday. what's up with friday night? >> we're picking up where we left off now in august. we don't have in severe thunderstorm watches just yet and thankfully no warnings. the problem is the trigger mechanism, the front is still to the west of us. we have a long way to go before we're in the clear. let's start with live doppler 9000. around town you want to walk the dog, you have time. maybe have time to get a quick bite outside the next few hours. we'll zoom to the north and to the west. these storms are pretty heavy earlier. they've now dissipated somewhat as they moved up into southern pennsylvania into caroll county. there's still one mo

plus, stephanie cutter from the obama campaign and eric fehrnstrom from the romney campaign.cott pelley, i'm bob schieffer. see you right here next week. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> teenagers accused of swiping a celebrities lamborghini and now his friends may have tried to pull off a juvenile hall jailbreak. the reason today was the day he wanted to make a break for >> this goes along with his legend >> i don't want to refer to him as a legend, he is in a lot of trouble >> wait until you see one man solution to the heat wave. he built his own home grew air- conditioner. >> mobile 5 is live at candlestick park just two hours from a special cbs five 49ers kickoff. good evening. it is one of the most daring, most sensational heists the bay area has ever seen. in celebrities lamborghini of ripped off allegedly by an aspiring teenage mobster and now another hollywood twist, the birthday jailbreak. >> is it possible that the tories teenager max weighed tried to pull off yet another during caper by trying to get a jail brea

eric fehrnstrom said -- at this point romney was running for governor. his opponent was shannon o'brien. and he said her hands aren't claim, she can't claim to disclose anything until she releases the returns of her husband. then he says what is she hiding? so david, do you think that the romney campaign is basically unaware that some statements cannot be hidden at least when they are posted on the internet? >> i'm not sure they are aware of all of these contradictions, but it is their tape of the consolidate making a contradiction. is there audio of it? how blatant of contradiction. dick cheney argued that george w. bush and his administration had found weapons of mass destruction. so it's not unusual for campaigns to argue a line contradicted by facts or history, and for that reason romney campaign will continue to do this and i don't think -- unless it is the candidate contradicting themselves, which sometimes is the case with mitt romney. it doesn't do that much damage. >> david i was in boston when mitt romney got the nomination when he was running

68 million in virginia , 50 million in north carolina, and 95 million dollars in florida.sot - fehrnstroms: ".... even though his team is pouring tons of resources into these states, the bad economy continues to hang over obama like a dark cloud." 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 vice presidential prospect paul ryan attended a memorial to victims of the sikh temple shooting in his native wisconsin... speculations focused on the house budget chairman since romney described what he wants his pick to signal to voters. sot romney (nbc)"... aavision for the country, that, that adds something to the political discourse about the direction of the country," the 41-year-old ryan went to congress at 28-years-old and has almost no private sector experience, which is at odds with romney's long held assertion that a would be president needs private sector experience. sot romney says: "... i spent my career in the private sector, in businesses small and large. and i understand through that experience what it takes to get a business to decide to grrw." another top contender former minnesota governor tim pawlenty has a

and we're going to get it done. >> let's talk about that and more with eric fehrnstrom, senior advisoryou're all out there pushing this middle class tax plan. you've heard the president say, listen, the tax plan's going to hit the middle class, not help them. i want to get beyond dueling studies. i know you don't believe in that study. i want to ask you about some poll numbers here. this is an nbc "the wall street journal" poll, who would be better at looking out for the middle class? barack obama 49%, mitt romney 33%. what is it that is new that you are pushing today and going forward that you think is going to attract folks to believe that you actually are for the middle class? >> sure. first, candy, you've seen all the economic reporting lately. monthly job losses are weakening. gdp is shrinking. retail sales are weaker than expected. >> right. >> and just yesterday we learned that manufacturing has declined for the second month in a row. this economy is not just down shifting, we are moving into reverse. >> but what is your big plan for the middle class? >> well, mitt romney laid i

eric fehrnstrom called the independent analysis a joke. another adviser said the romney plan would create 5 to 10 million jobs. but couldn't explain how the campaign arrived at that number. it's important to understand what they're saying here. after an independent analysis says romney's plan would raise taxes on 95% of americans, romney's advisers call that report a joke. yet won't provide details to dispute the report. then those same advisers claim the romney tax plan will explode job growth. today governor romney tried a similar strategy saying he'd put out a tax plan that can't even be analyzed not by any group ever. so the romney campaign made a tax plan that can't be analyzed yet the tax policy center scored it. they bent over backwards to analyze the romney plan in a very favorable fashion to mitt romney and it still didn't add up. president obama's new line of attack on romney's tax plan continued today on the campaign trail in orlando, florida. >> he's asking you to pay more so that people like him can pay less. so that people li

we will be talking about this in in a few moments on state of the union and we will have eric fehrnstromd stephanie cutter from the obama campaign and also talking to rick santorum and as you wiremember was on the receiving end of some of the tough romney politics, and politics ain't beanbag, so it is getting tougher, and it will get nastier and uglier than what we have seen. i think that the paul ryan pick more than anything so far in the campaign has made this election a choice between a two contrast s. you could not have a clearer contrast between the two campaigns right now especially on the issue of medicare and the budget. >> so, in terms of what they all want to talk about, romney certainly would like to switch the conversation back to jobs, wouldn't he? >> he would. and as the president's team knows, there are more jobs reports coming out, and it seems that we have reached the critical mass every time one of the jobs reports comies out, an then we all of the sudden have a new analysis of how the president is doing on the economy, but really it is surprising to see medicare just j

eric fehrnstrom ramped up the fight when he compared harry reid to joe mccarthy? let's listen to this one. >> this reminds me of the mccarthy hearings back in the 1950s. it was another son from massachusetts then joseph welch who finally asked the question that should be asked of harry reid which is have you no sense of decency, sir? >> that is the lamest flackery i have ever -- there's no comparison. have you now or ever been a tax avoider? >> how dare you ask me that. >> it goes against the message of boston saying this is a trif frivolous action. if you're comparing it to the mccarthy hearings, it's a serious issue. >> why did george romney give 12 years of taxes? >> harry reid bringing up george romney was a low blow. it gives romney -- >> here's the issue. what's rom northeast' big proposal on the economy? the corporate tax level. [ overlapping speakers ] >> it's a relentless effort to give a cut at the top. and we find he's already hardly paying taxes. he wants further tax cuts. meanwhile, they want to cut all the entitlements and programs. >> it is inconcei

eric fehrnstrom, spokesperson for mitt romney thinks yes! so he goes out and says look at this!. literally, watch. >> four years ago, barack obama went to washington promising a new kind of politics and instead, his campaign is like a bottomless pit. every day they seem to reach a new low. harry reid's charges are baseless and they're untrue. and i would ask him one simple question. have you no sense of decency sir? >> cenk: oh! have you? i can't believe you would question the money we hid in switzerland, the cayman islands and bermuda. have you no sense of decency. what will you attack next, rafalca? look, harry reid isn't a member of the press. he doesn't have to have two sources. they don't have to be double blocked. they don't have to be on the record. he's a politician. so why you saying a policy fission was political? of course! of course he was political. that's what he's supposed to do. it is smart politics because it gets everybody repeating that romney did not release his tax returns. even if they're attacking harry reid, they have to repeat that line. and that's how y

listen to the president here, it's clear who is going to win this argument politically between fehrnstrom and romney. >> let me put on the scale here. there's one thing i see that shatters the argument. if it's true that the undecided voters, why do all those 19 or so democrats call for complete continuation of all the bush tax ut cans? i think they come from rule and conservative areas. they're afraid. but they have jumped ship there, bob. >> but the independent voters in the polling are in favor of the wealthy paying a higher share -- fairer share of the taxes. >> why'd they jump ship? >> because they're cowards. they're scared. the president is going go out and offer a fundamental choice. who stands up for the few and who stands up for the many in this country. who's fighting for the middle class or people at the top? >> steve, go for it. >> you nailed it, chris. 19 vulnerable -- >> i know. i'm just wondering why they're chicken. >> you said it better than i could. 19 democrats on battle ground districts and they're not wealthy areas. these are middle class, working class rural areas v

eric fehrnstrom ramped up the fight when he compared harry reid to joe mccarthy? let's listen to this one. >> this reminds me of the mccarthy hearings back in the 1950s. it was another son from massachusetts then joseph welch who finally asked the question that should be asked of harry reid which is have you no sense of decency, sir? >> that is the lamest flackery -- there's no comparison. have you now or ever been a tax avoider? >> how dare you ask me that. >> it goes against the message of this is frivolous. if you're comparing it to the mccarthy hearings, it's a serious issue. >> why did george romney give 12 years of taxes? >> harry reid bringing up george romney was a low blow. >> what's romney's big proposal on the economy? [ overlapping speakers ] it's a relentless toefrt give a cut at the top. and we find he's already hardly paying taxes. he wants further tax cuts. >> it is inconceivable that you can have a guy worth anywhere from a quarter of billion dollars to a billion dollars who won't give a somewhat full explanation of where that money came from and