>> yewinning iowa? winning iowa! >> i think bachman or pawlenty wins iowa.on't see romney winning iowa. he wins new hampshire. i think there's going to be a contested nomination. i don't think bachman finishes off pawlenty in iowa. iowa is so discounted. >> pawlenty in iowa. >> really? >> more likely than anybody else. >> really? >> yes. one -- >> they got all top in one? >> yes, ma'am and then romney wins new hampshire, sure. >> but -- >> iowa controls. iowa -- . >> popular in iowa, but i expect a possible surge by the tea party folks of whom bachman is a clear favorite. if she doesn't have any competition there, her opposition could be divided enough that she could win the iowa caulk us. >>> the answer is issue three, district 26, new york. >> we had the issues on our side -- we did not have the right -- >> right -- hochul kathy hochul rand calls it premium support. after the election ryan accused the democrats of demagoguery. >> if you can scare seniors into thinking their current benefits are being affected, that will have an effect. >> on wednesday, the

iowa.m impressed with you. >> thank you. >> reporter: she's generating far more excitement than any of her republican rivals here in a statistical tie for first place with mitt romney in the latest iowa poll. bachmann's trademark is take no prisoners conservative rehetori. >> we're on to this gangster government and we are not going to let them -- >> reporter: on the eave of her official kickoff be, a side of michele bachmann few people have seen. >> get comfortable. we're family. so get comfortable, we're going to have a wonderful time this evening. >> reporter: back home in waterloo, iowa, her preannouncement speech was all about family. her husband -- >> we'll be married 33 years on september 10th. >> reporter: her five children. >> and sophia -- >> reporter: even mom was there. >> i love you. >> reporter: and her brothers. >> i had three brothers, no sisters. the best preparation for politics any girl could ever have. >> reporter: for michele bachmann, the path to the white house runs t

it's these iowa roots and my faith in god that guide me today. >> iowa roots. got it? let's be honest. it's hard to see bachmann winning the republican nomination, but it's easy to seeing her have a dramatic impact on the race if she can maintain that level of support in iowa. let's discuss the bachmann factor with victoria borger, jessica yellen and chip. when you see michele bachmann get in the race, we know what happened in 2008. a lot of people are looking at this race saying if she can hold iowa, what happens to minnesota governor tim pawlenty? what happens to the canadacy of the former speaker newt gingrich? what happens to lesser-known candidates like senator santora? >> she can be the front runner in iowa for six months. if that's all she does, it won't get very far. she is probably going to move on to south carolina and play like an iowa south carolina two-step which is what governor huckabee tried to do four years ago. the special thing about iowa, anybody can compete there. the iowa straw polls coming up in august. 10,000, 15,000 people. she is clearly expec

we're both from iowa.ost importantly, like you, we both think it is time for change in washington, d.c. [cheers and applause] i have got a confession. knowing michelle as i do, going back a number of years, i have to admit, she does have the heart of the liberal. she keeps it in a jar on her desk in washington. [laughter] 7 -- you know, every time she has been up against a tough fight, she has prevailed. she challenged her own party on a number of issues. she has fought and fought for you, the taxpayers. i know there are a lot of proud taxpayers out here, but i bet you'd be just as proud for half the money. this is about the principles of hard-working iowans and fiscal responsibility. that is where she got her values of private property and traditional values from iowa, and that is why she's so glad to be back in her hometown. this campaign is about limited government. it is about the policy were people in iowa can choose the laws under which they want to live, not in washington, d.c., where the bureaucrat

when a politician goes to iowa?s is the first in the nation voting state of caucuses. whenever a politician goes there, they are courting voters in one way or another. this was the president's spring board to the nomination. when he are upset expectations and won there, it gave him the energy to defeat then senator hillary clinton last time around. this is the first time he's been there this year, but the fifth time since his inauguration. he went and toured an alcoa factory. this is his success story. they laid off factory workers before sdsh during the recession and rehired them now. his campaign team and the white house say no, no, this was not about politics, this was about talking to workers. but, you know, you've got to assume a little bit differently. this is what the president said today. >> i know you haven't seen a lot of politics around recently. some tells me you may see a few more before february is over. but iowa, you andcy, we go a long way back. and those of you coming over from the illinois side, we

romney has a balancing act in iowa. in the last campaign, he put a lot of effort into the state, worked very hard in the straw poll and came in second and that was a big problem because it undercut his campaign. now he has to work hard enough to do well in the caucuses but not so hard that he sets expectations too high so that it damages him for other states where he's to the a chance to did much better so he's trying to work out that balance. the problem is, in 2007, he said, the straw poll in iowa is crucial, it is a sign of all that is great and good about candidates. now he's saying the opposite so, of course, his ponents are saying, this is another instance in which he changes views based on the political moment. gwen: if you're mitt romney who is leading the pack to the extent anyone is leading anything at this point and you, presumably not playing in iowa has a greater impact than newt gingrich who was not leading the pack, to put it mildly, but by both of them choosing these onorthodox paths, do they leave an op

thank you so much, joe johns from iowa. >>> sarah palin was not the only one in iowa today.re, as well. the race for the white house is on. where do the candidates and noncandidates stand thus far? chip saltsman former presidential campaign manager for mike huckabee and jennifer palmieri. what kind of message do you think sarah palin is sending to iowa voters by debuting her movie in their state? >> the first message is i'm relevant, i'm in the game. i want to be part of the conversation. you take her being in pella, iowa, today in a red carpet treatment and what she did in new hampshire with mitt romney's announcement. she is going to be part of this conversation and interject herself and the media will cover it because they can't help themselves. the biggest message is sarah palin wants to be part of the 2012 conversation and she is. >> that's different from running, right? do you think she is going to run? big part of the conversation is a different thing. >> i think that's right. i don't think she will run. most people are doing door-to-door and she has a red carpet prem

but iowa, you and i go a long way back. the illinois side, we go even longer back. we've got some history together. and together we're going to make some more history for years to come. and that's why i'm so glad to be here at alcoa. all of you are showing the future we can build here in eastern iowa and all across the country. almost every airplane in the world has some kind of alcoa product in it. think about that. every airplane in the world, you guys have something to do with it. in fact it turns out that you're responsible for the wings on air force one. so i want to thank all of you for getting me here in one piece. it was a pretty smooth ride thanks to alcoa. this company was founded by a college student named charles martin hall 125 years ago. and back then it produced about 50 pounds of alum numb a day. and it was so hard to sell, that folks kept on telling charles that it was pointless even to lock up the plant at night, because nobody wanted the stuff. but when the wright brothers -- you heard of them, right? the

following that two other events in iowa. the colorado rapids, the soccer champs hold a clinic for military families on the south lawn of the white house and at 2:00 eastern, secretary of state hillary clinton releases a worldwide report on government's efforts to combat human trafficking, slavery, sexual exploitation, forced labor or modern day slavery. >>> amanda knox back in court in italy. and she's shocked by some of the testimony at today's hearing. you'll hear it too. (rambling phone conversation) when an investment lacks discipline, it's never this obvious. introducing investment discipline etfs from russell. visit russelletfs.com r a prospectus, containing the investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information. read and consider it carefully before investing. >>> amanda nox in an italian courtroom today appealing her murder conviction. knox and two others found responsible for the death of her roommate meredith ker cher. one of the men convicted and his testimony [ inaudible ] knox. dan rivers join

it is all about iowa and jobs. the president is going to be in iowa as well, talking about jobs.ing them. >> as a matter of fact, it's alc alcoa, he's going to betancourt, his arch program, alliance of manufacturing partners. and sarah palin is in iowa, there for the premiere of her documentary, "undefeated." it's not hers, but about her, the life and times of the former alaska governor. and also on the campaign trail, the former governor of minnesota, tim pawlenty is going to be making his big pitch, speaking to the council on foreign relations on what his advisers are saying is a response to the president's flawed may 19th speech about the middle east. >> what's your sense -- talk about this for a second, the foreign policy stuff. we've got john huntsman in the race, who is somebody with a lot of foreign policy experience, obviously, he was the ambassador to china, he speaks chinese. tim pawlenty, while he's polling very low, he's being taken serious by many people on a policy front. so he's trying to beef up his idea of foreign policy and his strength in that area? >> exactly.

carter was made in iowa. he made iowa. >> george bush had a big ball in 1980 and it collapsed in new hampshire and ronald reagan -- >> turned out he was slow-mo. >> and then no mo in 1988 because he lost about all -- lost to bob dole. >> we say that polls are only a snapshot at the moment. at the moment, romney seems to have coalesced as the leader. i don't know if he can hold on to that, because god knows we in the press have beat him up well . but the fact he is leading the field and a pronounced way at this point is interesting. >> mitt romney this week acknowledged and admitted that the vast majority of americans believe, that climate change has been contributed to significantly by human activity, and he has been castigated by rush limbaugh and others. >> i don't know whether he will hang in with that position. this will be at test. will he hang or try to switch? rush limbaugh said immediately, "and there goes the nomination." >> anthony weiner draws fire from both sides of the aisle. >> as a woman, a col

and in south carolina and nationally. >> rose: in iowa she is tied with mitt romney. >> and they are at the top and who one is even close. they are both in the low 20s, herrmann cane, who i don't think many people will win iowa necessarily is ten percent, everybody is below that, the thing that i michelle bachmann has, the big three we discussed before, mitt romney .. john huntsman and ten pawlenty, none of those three guys will ever walk into a room and have people act like a celebrity or a rock star just walked in the room, it is just not their nature. last three people elected president of the united states barack obama, gege bush, bill clinton all had that in spades and in the culture in which we live now that is big deal, that is something you would rather have than not have in presidential politics, michele bachmann has that in spades and in iowa when he is in living rooms and seeing somebody they have seen for years on tv and from iowa, she announced in iowa but not spent all that much time there, but she is going to be able to make up her lost time because she is already so w

there is a movie premiere happening in iowa. you might wonder why sarah palin is here for a movie to premier, the movie about her, the film put together by a conservative filmmaker and so it's going to be interesting to watch to see how all of this develops. bachmann responds to some of this pressure that is obviously being put on her campaign by sarah palin and it's going to get interesting, guys. it is very, very early but seeing michele bachmann almost out in front in these polls, that is a huge sign that this is going to be a very eventful campaign, guys. >> come on, jim. you don't think sarah palin showing up for a movie premiere in iowa is meant to -- isn't meant to upstage michele bachmann? come on. >> i didn't say it wasn't. i didn't say it wasn't. i didn't say it was, i didn't say it wasn't. the timing is very curious. she did this to mitt romney in new hampshire a few weeks ago. she has a knack for doing this. bin go, exactly. >> jim acosta, many thanks. >> you win. >> takes so much pressure off the business of your ca

be in iowa today. we know the presidential candidates, possible presidential candidates and palin and the president himself are going to iowa because it is, obviously, an important state. it holds the first in the nation caucuses. kyra? >> so we have talked about newt gingrich's campaign losing staffers. now another candidate has a staffer jumping ship. fill us in on that. >> herman cain is hoping what happens to newt gingrich doesn't happen to him. we learned yesterday two of the republican presidential candidates staffers quit. one of them was the new hampshire state director for herman cain. he was really the only person working for herman in new hampshire and another was a regional director who left as well. both resigned. the campaign saying this is not really a big deal. people come and go and people get other opportunities and we will quickly replace those peoples. but one of the new hampshire state director matt murphy, he told a newspaper there in new hampshire, that he quit because the cain c

the first big test in iowa is the straw poll on august 13th. michele bachmann calls the presidential popularity contest a, quote, big deal. but gop front-runner mitt romney has already decided to skip the contest. betty. >> all right, joel brown in washington. thank you, joel. >>> former illinois governor rod blagojevich sat stunned when he heard the charges. on monday a jury convicted him on 17 of the 20 corruption charges against him. alexis christoforous reports. >> reporter: a jury delivered a stunning defeat to former illinois governor rod blagojevich, guilty on nearly all counts of trying to sell or trade president obama's senate seat. jurors were deadlocked on two counts. blagojevich was found not guilty of only one count. >> patti and i obviously are very disappointed in the outcome. i, frankly, am stunned. >> reporter: the guilty verdict came in a retrial. the jury in blagojevich's first trial could only reach a verdict on one of it 24 counts. convicting the former governor of lying to the fbi. for the retrial, both sides changed tacti

iowa february caucus. "i'm not competing in iowa for a reason. i don't believe in subsidies that prop up corn, soy beans. i probably won't be spending a lot of time in iowa. i understand how the politics work there." but experts say iowa is not a one-issue state. >> he could have talked about jobs and the economy. i think to talk about ethanol as a reason he can't compete in iowa, it doesn't wash. >> huntsman says he will focus on florida, new hampshire, and south carolina. iowa secretary of state matt schultz released a statement asking is john huntsman not coming to iowa because he is afraid to explain positions on other issues? iowa congressman steve king opposes ethanol subsidiaries and he continues to get re-elected with large margin of victory. >> throughout the history of caucuses, there has been a candidate or two decided they would bypass iowa. for the most part the strategy does not work. ask president rudy giuliani that. >> giuliani semily skipped iowa in 2008 saying his team would focus on florida where he later fizzled. john mccain p

another element is iowa. romney has already signaled he won't play hard in iowa so we may have a situation where iowa isn'as important as it has been in the past. it could end up being more sort of a part of t bracket of the race which is the outsider, more conservative, more tea party friendly part of the party playing out its side of the race and to see who will be battling mitt romney. host: if you look on to the "des moines register" website a new poll shows romney among republicans 23%, michelle bachmann, who announces tomorrowetomorro tomorrow, at 22%. herman kane is third. the others including former governor tim pawlenty who spent a lot of time in iowa, in single digits. guest: exactly. i was inestranged traoepbtraoe inestranged by the poll and romney has done relatively well. although 23% is not formidable and it may than that is as high as he goes in iowa. i don't know if it means he should rethink thin his strateg. he tried very hard there four years ago and didn't win. mike huckabee won and that c

tomorrow in iowa, she announces officially that she is running for the republican nomination. today she's in our studio to tell us how and why she is is doing that. it's all ahead on "face the nation." captioning sponsored by cbs "face the nation" with cbs news chief washington correspondent bob schieffer. and now from washington, bob schieffer. and good morning again and welcome to face the nation. congresswoman, your day is off to a very good start. you leave here to fly to waterloo, iowa, where you were born, where tomorrow you announce your candidacy for the republican presidential nomination. and iowans awoke to the news this morning that you and mitt romney are the big favorites among iowa caucus goers.

iowa. >> my name is michele bachmann. i stand here in the midst of many friends and many family members to announce formally my candidacy for president of the united states. ( cheers and applause ) >> woodruff: at 55, the third- term congresswoman from next door minnesota has made an outspoken name for herself. she's aggressively opposed president obama over health care reform and economic policy. as she did again today. >> in february, 2009, president obama was very confident that his economic policies would turn the country around within a year. he said-- and i quote-- a year from now, i think people are going to see that we're starting to make some progress. if i don't have this done in three years, then there's going to be a one-term proposition. well, mr. president, your policies haven't worked. spending our way out of the recession hasn't worked. and so, mr. president, we take you at your word. >> woodruff: the mother of five lost her first try for public office, a school board race 12 years ago. but she won a state

>> i often say everything i need to know i learned in iowa. >> stephen: republican, she left iowa at age 12 and has had the courage not to learn anything since. [laughter] of course, some people -- good-looking lady. some people don't know michele bachmann so she told fox news everything she wants us to know. >> what i want them to know is just like johnway was from waterlao, iowa, that's the spirit i have too. >> stephen: she has the spirit of john wayne but the critics couldn't wait to it in pick on a detail. >> johnway is from iowa but three hours away. there's a john wayne from waterloo but it's john wayne gacy. >> stephen: sexual serial killer is from waterloo but that's sem mantics. bachmann said she misspoke. that's a big mistake. no retreat, nor is rounder. -- surrender. it's day one. don't show weakness. what on earth are you apologizing for. all you said is you have the same spirit as john wayne gacy and there's something to that because like gacy people might think you are a clown but if they dig a little deeper they'll find you are deadly serious. come on, you are a repub

. >> in iowa.ing in iowa. the fact that michele bachmann can do well in an iowa caucus should have americans aware. >> let's say palin says i will run for president. you have these two women here. can each beat president obama. >> i go no. >> look, every republican knows that you got to win republicans but you got to get independents, too. and republicans and the conservative base are looking can they beat obama? that's what we're looking for. we're looking for someone who can appeal broadly in the general election. >> will she say, i will run or do the two steal each other's votes. >> they overlap considerably. it would be fascinating. winning a nomination is one thing, winning a general election is entirely another. you got to win independents and centrists. if you appeal to the base, you have alienated the very people you need. >> they don't overlap because they're women. we want more women in politics. we want to encourage women to get in politics. women are definitely underrepresented in the f

and in iowa, she has a home eld advantage. she was raised in this house in waterloo. >> we cannot afford four more years of barack obama. >> reporter: the latest iowa poll shows 65% of iowans have a favorable view of bachman. just 12% negative, making her considerably more popular here than sarah palin, still not in the race. >> she is a fiscal conservative, a social conservative and a tea party. the three, main elements that primary voters and caucus-goers are looking for. >> reporter: she's had to live down some of her fiery rhetoric from the past. >> i'm concerned he has anti-american views. >> reporter: that kind of talk prompted chris wallace to ask this -- >> are you a flake? >> i think that would be insulting. >> reporter: wallace later apologized. another sign that bachman is being taken more seriously than ever. with the campaign heating up, iowa is getting down right crowded. president obama makes a stop at an alcoa plant to talk manufacturing jobs. >> this isn't the first time that palin stepped on another candidate

>> well, iowa is a particular case, there are a lot of social conservatives in iowa and this tells usout at this moment in iowa. romney hasn't campaigned particularly hard in iowa. this shows he's run before, got some people there who still like him. the question is if this is a high water mark. if his numbers start slipping his opponents can say this could be part of a larger weaker about romney. >> he's basically written off iowa at this point. jan, how does that play with voters there? >> reporter: well, they're obviously the ones i talked to last night would put mitt romney in the camp of candidates who say what they think the voters want to hear so you're seeing already in iowa i think a real shift to someone like a michele bachmann as john said and if the presumptive front-runner, the national front-runner, he really can't afford to go way down to the bottom of that pack. he's not expecting to win iowa but doesn't want to bring up the rear either. >> john, clearly this is not the news that the pawlenty group wanted to hear out of iowa. how significant do you think this will be t

please explain. >> she's born in iowa. she knows john wayne was born in her home state of iowa. into all of it at first, let's just listen to what she had to say and i'll talk about it on the back end. >> i want them to know that john wayne was from waterloo, iowa. that's the kind of spirit i have, too. >> turns out, john wayne the movie star was born in winterset, iowa. and the thing that's embarrassing for michelle bachmann is that another john wayne, john wayne gacy who is best known as a serial killer was best knoorn in waterloo. because she's made so many embarrassing gaffes, it's the kind of thing that people remember. >> well, she's been getting a lot of high grades lately. when you do well, the scrutiny just is amped up. so there you go. >> right. people like her. >> yeah, yeah, people do. joe johns enjoy pella, iowa. >>> the intercontinental hotel has been attacked in kabul. we're now just getting our first images of the chaotic scene. we 50e8 share that after this quick break. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. introducing better car replacement, available only

> >> reporter: she and palin have aligned themselves with the tea party and iowa voters are starting to choose. >> bachmann is more credible. she has the knowledge. she has the experience. >> reporter: getting a foothold in iowa small towns can help propel less well known candidates to the front of the pack. mike huckabee got that boost in 2008, so did then candidate barack obama. and today, president obama is making his first visit to iowa since announcing his re- election campaign. he is touring the alcoa aluminum factory in davenport and talking about manufacturing and the economy. the white house insists the stop isn't about politics, but he will have a different message to iowa voters than the republicans who want his job. randall pinkston, cbs news, waterloo, iowa. >>> and today there is a huge wildfire burning across the mountains just above los alamos, new mexico. and it has now burned 93 square miles. crews are working around the clock. there are flames just across the road from the los alamos national laboratory, where scientists developed the first atomic bomb. lab officia

unlike iowa, no hometown roots. diane. >> big events in iowa. thank you, john karl. >>> still ahead on "world news" -- want to be a one-person engine creating jobs here at home? our made in america team shows you how. >>> and why some breast cancer patients are not getting all the care they should. and the lesson it teaches all of us before the next doctor's visit. >>> and can a seafood slushy save the penguin so far from home? ♪ [ male announcer ] every day, thousands of people are choosing advil. here's one story. i'm keith baraka and i'm a fire fighter. it's an honor to be a fire fighter. my job involves life or death situations and it's very physically demanding. if i'm sore, i have a headache, i'm not at my best. i've tried store brands. advil just works for me. advil is my go to. it's my number one pain reliever. [ male announcer ] make the switch. take action. take advil. that's how it is with alzheimer's disease. she needs help from me. and her medication. the exelon patch -- it releases medication continuously for twenty-four hours. she

with the iowa caucus still seven months away. randall pinkston, cbs news, waterloo, iowa. >>> let's get a check of the bay area headlines. two people are in custody, in connection with a shooting spree which wounded five people in san francisco. witnesses say two groups of people were fighting before gunfire began on saturday night. on market and 7th. police say four of the victims were innocent bystanders. everyone though is expected to recover. investigators believe that the shooting was gang-related. >>> on to san jose, it is the final week on the job for laid-off city workers. in all, 264 people are losing their jobs to reduce the city's budget deficit. some workers packed their belongings on friday. for the rest, including 100 police officers, their final day is this coming friday. and city workers will get to keep their positions, they are taking 10% pay cuts or being moved to lower paying jobs. >>> and a state senator from oakland is introducing a bill that would get rid of capital punishment in california. democrat loni h

the republican presidential nomination today and she'll do it in the city she was born, waterloo, iowa. the des moines register poll, former massachusetts governor mitt romney came in first by over one point over bachmann. businessman herman cain came in third. tara mergener is in washington. good morning to you. >> bachmann is kicking off in her campaign in familiar territory and on the heels of encouraging news. michele bachmann is hoping her hometown roots will help steer her to the white house. >> everything i needed to know i learned in iowa. >> reporter: this morning the minnesota congresswoman officially kicks off her campaign for the republican presidential nomination with a rally in waterloo, iowa, her birthplace. "the des moines register" released a poll showing her neck in neck with former massachusetts governor mitt romney among likely caucus goers. >> you may have heard there's a straw poll coming up in august. that's not a small deal. that's a big deal. >> reporter: analysts say bachmann's bid is a critical test to see how far the tea party movement can go. the congresswo

in iowa, she has a homefield advantage. she was raised in this house in waterloo. >> we cannot afford four more years of barack obama. [ applause ] >> reporter: the latest iowa poll shows 65% of iowanses have a favorable view of bachmann. just 12% negative, making her considerablely more popular here than sarah palin, still not in the race. >> a fiscal conservative, a social conservative and tea party. the three main elements that primary voters and caucus goers are living for. >> reporter: she is living down the fiery rhetoric, like this comment about barack obama. >> i'm very concerned he may have anti-american views. >> reporter: that talk prompted chris wallace at fox news to ask this. >> are you a flake? >> well, i think that would be insulting to say something like that. >> reporter: wallace later apologized, another sign that bachmann is being taken more seriously than ever. iowa is getting down right crowded. obama stops by in bettencourt to talk manufacturering jobs. john hendren, abc news, washington. >>> bay area

iowa is starting to get a little more crowded.dates and noncandidates reaching out to those important early voters. sarah palin was back in iowa, not as a candidate for president but as the star of a new documentary that's a flattering career in alaska.political >> she was a ceoeo of 25,000 employees. >> reporter: palin's visit to the key early voting state inevitably spurs talk of a presidential bid. but top iowa republicans say there are no signs she's jumping into the race. she may have already lost some of the spotlight to republican congresswoman michele bachmann. >> we have to recapture the founders' vision of a constitutionally conservative government if we are to secure the promise for the future. >> reporter: bachmann's now facing tough scrututy over questionable ctqqm made about those same founding fathers. earlier this year in iowa, she suggested they fought to end slavery. when many of them were, in fact, slave owners. bachmann didn't back down. and said incorrectly that john quincy adams was one of the nation's founde

she's going to head to iowa to waterloo, iowa.declare her candidacy, and the des moines register poll over the weekend showed that she was in a dead heat with mitt romney with a 23%. michelle back man at 22% among likely iowa voters. that's a pretty big deal for a congresswoman who only started relatively short time ago to run for president in the united states. we'll see her big announcement today, and she's a real player in iowa. sfoo we'll keep an eye on that. we'll cover that announcement live here on cnn. sam, tell me about these talks. president obama is having about the debt ceiling with senators. nobody from the house. senator harry reid. senator mitch mcconnell. separate meetings today at the white house. what do you think is likely to happen? >> well, we remember that the republicans for weeks have been saying that the president has to get involved in these budget talks. last week the house -- the house majority leader, the number two republican, eric cantor, pulled out of the budget talks. today the president finally ge

iowa is -- tim pawlenty of neighboring minnesota has to win iowa. but that's the place where michelle bachmann is going to make her play because her family's from iowa. she's a big cultural conservative, anti-abortion, et cetera. that will matter on the cultural right. that will be the playoff game in the culture right. mitt romney absolutely has to win new hampshire. it's a neighboring state, it's supposed to be libertarian, conservative state. he's going to focus on economic issues. then the big confrontation i think after those two will be in south carolina. where you'll have both economic types and the cultural types facing off against each other, but pawlenty has to win iowa and romney has to win new hampshire. and i'm not sure either will win either. >> this is the best year yet and it's just getting started. howard fineman msnbc political analyst. howard, it's always a pleasure to have you here. >> thank you, rachel. >>> we've got breaking news at of the white house. unexpected report about somebody leaving who was not expected to be leaving.

and you have a plan for ron paul to win the iowa caucus tell us about that. well we think that it was important that a lot of us like you and a number of other liberty candidates ran and ran campaigns over the list a few years and and it it actually taught us what it takes to win and one of the things we learned in my campaign was that you have to hit milestones in order to win you have to win every little step along the way and those small wins will develop into a big win hopefully so the next step for ron paul i will is the first caucus and it will send a win in the iowa caucus and show where i will send a message that resonated around the country and so we want to win as many those milestones as we can and take those smaller steps in a place like i when the next one is a really high profile stuff and it's on august thirteenth and aims i would be ames straw poll so we set up a website here that allows the grassroots support to actually do something concrete to actually go out and identify ron paul supporters in the first phase and then the second phase we'r

. >>> and, now, to the political headlines unfolding in iowa tonight. republican congresswoman michele bachmann is getting ready to kick off her presidential campaign. her announcement comes tomorrow. but this evening, the numbers are already in. among likely republican voters in iowa, that crucial state, a new poll shows bachmann in a statistical tie with front-runner mitt romney. so, what drives this lawyer, wife and foster mom to 23? abc's jonathan karl is in iowa tonight. jon, good to see you. >> reporter: good to see you, david. michele bachmann is here in waterloo, iowa, to kick off her campaign. as you mentioned, that won't happen until tomorrow. but she is already on a roll. in the political world, she's the woman of the moment. at the top of the polls in iowa even before starting her campaign. >> president obama is a one-term president. >> reporter: coming off a presidential debate earlier this month where she outshined the more experienced candidates, bachmann has just been dubbed "queen of the tea party" by the conservative "weekly standard"

but she's in iowa. she will be going to a premiere for a documentary that pays tribute to her political career. >>> 8:16. president obama's campaign staff is working hard to attract big spending owners this time for his election campaign. back in 2008, about half of the $745 million contributed to the president's campaign came from small donations. this time around the president's staff is going after more wealthy donors. but they have also launched a contest for people willing to contract $5 to the campaign. cam -- willing to contribute $5 to the cam -- the campaign. >>> the president invited these twins to have a look inside the limousine and they ended up calling their mother. mom didn't pick up, but the little boy left a message saying he what -- saying he was in the president's limousine and it was really cool. >>> california senator barbara boxer joining me near senators calling for congressional investigation into nuclear power plant safety. this is after an "association the press" investigation

cnn's jim acosta is in iowa for us. i think it is fair to say we saw a different side to a certain degree of congresswoman bachmann today in iowa. what have you seen? >> reporter: well, wolf, michele bachmann has a reputation of sometimes going off message, but as we saw today, she is certainly getting more disciplined, softening her tea party tone as her staff members are sharpening their elbows. ♪ meet the new michele bachmann. >> i want to bring a voice, your voice, to the white house. >> reporter: in her official announcement that she's running for the white house, the conservative fire brand traded her signature tough tea party rhetoric for midwestern nice. >> this is where my iowa roots were firmly planted, and it is these iowa roots and my faith in god that guide me today. >> reporter: the congresswoman from minnesota recalled how she was born in the town of waterloo, iowa, laid out her case to lower the national debt and made a surprise call for a civil campaign. >> through the rancor of a campaign, let us alway

a new iowa poll puts tea party favorite michele bachmann neck in neck with g front-runner mitt romney. >>> and making a difference for veterans who need help in a setting you might not expect. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. in minot, north dakota, the river has finally crested, but the damage has been done. and a lot of folks there are still holding their breaths. 4,000 homes and businesses under water. 11,000 people displaced. and officials say despite the fact the water level in the souris river is expected to start dropping, until the highest water passes, they are not out of the woods. and all eyes right now are on the levees, the last line of defense. these have been some anxious hours in and around the city of minot. that's where nbc's john yang starts us off tonight. good evening, john. >> reporter: good evening, lester. the city is holding its breath. the army corps of engineers are standing by in case any of these levees fail. the advance of this water may have been swift but the retreat is going to be agonizingly slow. this water isn't going

not in hollywood but in iowa. the former alaska governor expected to be there for a premier of a documentary about her political career called daiich"the undefeated." the timie ining adding to the b that she could jump into the political race. president obama talking up manufacturing in america. he will visit a factory that makes aluminum parts for the aerospace industry. the white house insists the visit is about the economy and jobs and not politics. >>> minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann jumping into the race for president, declared her candidacy in her birth place, waterloo, iowa. hammered on big government and president obama saying spending was way out -- spending our way out of a recession has not worked. in an interview, though, after the speech, she slipped up a bit with a reference to another famous person in her birth place. >> what i want them to know is, just like john wayne was from waterloo, iowa, that's the kind of spirit i have too. >> it looks like she got her john wayne confused. john wayn