cnn's jim acosta was there.lso with us now cnn chief political analyst gloria borger and host of the national radio talk show morning in america, bill bennett. thanks to all of you for coming in. jim acosta, let's start with you. you were there for the announcement and maybe we'll listen to a bit of his message. >> okay. >> for the first time in history, we are passing down to the next generation a country that is less powerful, less compassionate, less competitive and less confident than the one we got. this, ladies and gentlemen, is totally unacceptable and it is totally un-american. >> okay. so jim acosta, how did this speech go over with the crowd? >> well, you know, jon huntsman is not a red meat kind of guy, joe. so this was sort of a no red meat response from the crowd out there. it was only about 100 people. and i don't think the huntsman campaign at this point is driving for big obama-like crowds. they're running a very unconventional campaign, trying to stand in the shadow of ronald reagan here in fron

jim acosta is there. jim? >> hi, kyra. that's right. hear the music behind me but the candidate is starting to had leave this announcement event that took place in the last hour. for a conservative fire brand who has gone after this president over the last several years what we saw from michele bachmann at this announcement was sort of the softer side of the congresswoman from minnesota. she has certainly turned down her tea party rhetoric, saying at one point

jim acosta is there using it as well and he is in liberty park, new jersey. ntsman has little name recognition but his candidacy is already catching the attention of the white house. >> reporter: it certainly is. i mean, you mentioned the fact that he is going to be standing in the shadow of not only the statue of liberty, but ronald reagan today, when he makes his presidential announcement and what better way to sort of wash away the memory for some conservatives that he was the u.s. bread for china for president obama and some republicans don't like about jon huntsman to be frank with you. he is trying to overcome that and do that in his speech, he hopes in just about 30 minutes from now. he will talk about the economy and the mounting national debt and say if we don't solve both of these problems in future generations, they are not going to have the kind of future that americans enjoy now. and, you know, some of that comes as what of a surprise to the white house. david axelrod, one of the president's top political advisers, was talking to candy crowley on

as cnn's jim acosta reports, the men have yet to convince some they're up for the job. >> reporter: aumper sticker is just the first sign. tammy's diner in virginia serves conservative politics right along with the country ham. it's a good thing the current list of likely gop candidates isn't on the menu. some of these republicans just might stick with coffee. >> i like a candidate who's a staunch conservative. stauj republican. >> obama is going to get elected again. none of these guys can beat him. huh-uh. not right now. >> reporter: there may be another reason why voters in round hill are looking for other options in 2012. a few big name politicians are acting like presidential teases. >> are you going to think about it? running for president. >> i'm going to think about it. but i think about a lot of things. >> reporter: texas governor rick perry is stoking speculation with plans to stage a national prayer event later this summer. former new york city mayor rudy giuliani keeps popping up in new hampshire. >> hi there! how are you? >> reporter: sarah palin not only has a campaign s

jim acosta joins us from washington. this planned, you think? >> reporter: i think it was -- it is hard to tell, carol, with this palin bus tour, what is planned, what is imprompty. th some of this is being orchestrated behind the scenes between palin and her team. she went up to new york city yesterday with a pretty big stop on her itinerary meeting with donald trump. the new york press was out in force trying to pen both of them down as to exactly what they are up to. donald trump has said, he may now run for president again as an independent. he is already stirring the pot with respect to his future plans. sarah palin was obviously asked why are you meeting with donald trump. she said very candidly to reporters yesterday afternoon, carol, that she ndand the donal were handicapping the current presidential field looking at whether or not the current field is a good fit for her and donald trump. they both had a lot to say about each other. there is a little bit of sound to play. here is what they had to say about each ot

jim acosta, thank you. >> it could get interesting.u. >>> the next political update from the best political team on from the best political team on television is one hour away. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> well, it is 2:00 p.m. in the east, and if you live east of the mississippi, you are baking, and records are melting in weather suitable to august and arizona is still burning at the mercy of the unstoppable fire. yesterday i told you about the wallow forest fire is bigger than the city of chicago, and in another 24 hours it has burned another 142,000 square miles so it is larger than the city of los angeles. the biggest wildfire in the history of arizona. another 3,000 people have packed up and cleared out. our affiliate is reporting that the senator joon kyle and his wife are among them. jim spelman is on the phone with me. more than 2,000 firefighters have been out there for days, and still the fire is zero percent contained, and is it that fast and powerful, or are the crews focused on defending specific areas? >> wel

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

jim acosta joins us live from waterloo, iowa. i'm sure mitt romney is asking, how did that happen?ah. a lot of republicans are going to be asking that question this morning, carol, and ali, and company there in new york. that is because michele bachmann this morning is a force to be reckoned with in republican politics for the gop nomination. nobody expected this, obviously. perhaps except michele bachmann who has been laying the groundwork very quietly for the last several months for where she is right now. just take a look at this poll that was put out by the des moines register over the weekend, mitt romney, obviously the front runrunner at this point in the lead with 23%, but right behind him is the minnesota congresswoman, michele bachmann, with 22%. then you go down the list. even more surprises, guys like tim pawlenty, the governor, ex-governor of minnesota who has put a lot of -- a lot of money and time in iowa, showing up at only 6%. so this is a very surprising poll. it's really going to shake up this race this week. michele bachmann was asked about how well she's doing s

jim acosta is already there this morning and joins us live. jim. >> good morning, carol, good morning kiran. jon huntsman has been a little cautious about jumping into the presidential waters. he has avoided some big public appearances like that cnn debate about a week ago. he also did not go to a republican leadership conference down in new orleans over the weekend, but he is planning to make a big splash in just a few hours from now when he makes his announcement that he's running for president in front of the statute of liberty behind me. as you mentioned, carol, this is evoking a lot of history here because this is the spot where ronald reagan announced his presidential bid in 1980 and aides to the former governor of utah say that jon huntsman will touch on a few themes during this speech, one being the economy which is, obviously, the top of everybody's minds these days, the national debt and he'll issue a warning that if the national debt isn't taken care of, future generations will not do as well as current generations are doing now. he

jim acosta in washington with more on that, jim. >> good morning.mid romney the former massachusetts governor the front-runner in this race for a gop nomination this morning. there are fresh poll numbers in a new washington post/abc poll. that i thil will get attention of the white house. take a look at these numbers in a head-to-head matchup with president obama. mitt romney pulling basically even with the president among all american, 47% to 47%. among registered voters romney holds a slight lead. 49% to 46%. why? because of the economy. romney has been hitting on the economic issue for weeks now, president obama, according to this new poll does not get high marks when it comes to the economy. nearly 6 out of 10 of the people who were surveyed in this poll do not approve of the way he's hamming the economy. austan goolsbee is leaving as chairman of council of economic advisers and going back to the university of chicago where he was a professor. and this is interesting, because goolsbee has been on the job for less than a year. he had replaced chr

cnn's jim acosta is in washington. before we get to the daughter's book, you've actually got news about mom, correct? >> reporter: that's right. there has been a lot of speculation over the last 24 hours, kyra, that sarah palin's one nation bus tour has run out of gas. not so says the former alaska governor. she has taken to her facebook page to announce that she has been called in for jury duty up in alaska. and that this is going to sideline the bus tour for a little while and says on her facebook page the next leg of the tour will come when the time comes. but as you mentioned, kyra, also the matter of her daughter's book. bristol palin has come out with autobiography. aren't you a little young but interesting couple of years for her. she talks about her relationship with levi johnston, the father of her son and sarah palin has stayed active on her twitter page saying on her account, talking about bristol palin's book that the book is shocking, refreshing, honest and inspiring and perfect. so some support there from

jim acosta in washington with this story. hey, jam. >> reporter: good morning, kyra. it will be a development if he actually decides to jump into the race. this is really a little more than speculation at this point. bill crystal, the noted conservative columnist put out a story last night saying that he has information from two reliable sources as he puts it thats former new york city mayor, rudy giuliani, is going to get into the race for 2012. we do know that he is contemplating this, has talked about it publicly. he has said he may jump into this thing. that's a big difference between running for president and just thinking about running for president. the crystal article is very interesting. it goes through some of the thinking behind this. people will say, rudy, you ran in 2008. it didn't work out so well. it is interesting, bill crystal points out, that giuliani ran for mayor of new york city back in 1989. he loss the and ran again in 1993 and won. so it is interesting to see that parallel there. giuliani did not make 2008 very competitive in states like new ha

cnn's jim acosta is following that story from washington. jim, i guess no surprise, since 2009, he had racked up a lot of miles. >> reporter: he is really banking this long-shot bid on winning iowa, and it's not a bad route to take, for rick santorum. he is very much tied in with social conservative community. i was out in iowa a few weeks ago and i was talking to some evangelical conservatives, and they were saying they were taking a hard look at rick santorum. he is expected to make his announcement in a couple of hours from now. in summerset, pennsylvania, as you mentioned, this is going to be a tough shot for rick santorum. he's a former senator from pennsylvania. he lost his seat to bob casey, who is now the sitting senator in that seat from pennsylvania. and santorum lost big in that race. it was by double digit margins. so he's got to convince republicans that he can win nationally. and, you know, the fact that he is going after social conservatives is going to be a problem, mainly because of another person that we're still waiting to

jim acosta, cnn, washington. >>> join us for the new hampshire republican presidential debate. night, 8:00 eastern, only here on cnn. >>> well, a loud and rowdy crowd rushes to line up for a chance to see the casey anthony trial. lots of pushing and shoving this morning outside the florida courtroom. you can see this. and the crowd started chanting "get out of line" after some accuses others of trying to cut in. so then security was called. paramedics were called. firefighters were called. several people were asked to leave. casey anthony became emotional yesterday as well as today as jurors were shown graphic photos of her daughter caylee's remains. they were found six months after the 2-year-old was last seen by her family. the judge ended the session early when anthony appeared to become ill. anthony reappeared this morning. the jury has been shown more of these crime scene photos and several items that were found with the girl's remains. anthony looked away when the photos were presented as evidence. >>> there have been several dramatic and emotional developments this week.

heading to south carolina today and he may have some explaining to do to conservatives, right, jim acostag some conservative tire-kicking down in south carolina today. that's where jon huntsman will be. and he does have some explaining to do on a number of positions he's taken as governor of utah. one is health care. you'll remember, kyra, health care has been a problem for mitt romney, who had an individual mandate in his health care plan in massachusetts. well, jon huntsman, when governor of utah, also passed health care reform. at one point supported an individual mandate. he talked about this on a public tv station out in salt lake city. i asked him about it yesterday. >> i'm comfortable with a requirement, you can call it whatever you want, but at some point we're going to have to get serious about how we deal with this issue. >> isn't it true you once supported a mandate? >> oh, no. you take a look at what we passed, it's based on free market principles. of course we looked at every conceivable option. take a look at what we signed. >> yeah, the big sticking point in all of this is

jim acosta, cnn, waterloo, iowa. >> as promised, there she is, jessica yellin joining me from washingtonical correspondent. jess, let's cut to the chase. i want to play some sound. this is ed roland speaking last january before bachmann even hired him. >> michele bachmann is a representative of congress and of the tea party. but we have to get our serious players out front and talk about the things that matter. >> we will assume that ed rollins has since changed his tune since he's now on bachmann's payroll. are other republicans coming around, too? she earned a reputation for being way out there or maybe not as serious as ed rollins implied quite clearly there. >> first of all, i should say i ran this by ed rollins. he used to be a consultant here at cnn. and he points out that when he said it, he was working for mike huckabee. he was waiting to see if mitch daniels and haley barbour would get in the race. he said, quote, i'm a convert and no one is more passionate than converts. that's ed's take. it's true, it's no secret republicans in general are looking around for some less obvious

. >> yes, you know, as jim acosta's voters were saying in their piece, they really don't know the field yet. they know mitt romney because he's run before. but somebody like a tim pawlenty who really doesn't have the much national visibility who probably will try to distinguish himself i would think in this debate because all of them are going to be looking for a way to kind of make that connection with those voters who just see it as a great big field out there with one guy who ran and sarah palin who's not yet in it. >> here's what i don't understand, john. jon hunts man the former u.s. governor who became the u.s. ambassador to china, he's clearly running. he hasn't announced officially. since he's skipping iowa for all practical purposes, i would have thought he would want to be in a republican debate in new hampshire, which is a state perhaps better at tuned to for his credentials. >> i spoke to him here a couple weeks ago. he's back in new hampshire just before the debate to be the campaign to raise his profile. he decided to skip this debate. his advisers say in due time he will

cnn's jim acosta was there. jim, the fact of the matter is president obama strongly -- was very strong and effusive in his praise for the former utah governor when he nominated him to be his ambassador to china. >> that's right, wolf. that's not all good news for john huntsman. the fact of the matter is john huntsman's speech today was a warning to american voters that future generations are at stake in the 2012 campaign. the trick for huntsman is to convince those voters to forget about his past. john huntsman was out to show off his conservative side, stepping into the race with his family and standing in the shadow of the statue of liberty where ronald reagan launched his successful run for the white house. >> we are passing down to the next generation a country that is less powerful, less compassionate, less competitive and less confident than the one we got. this, ladies and gentlemen, is totally unacceptable and it is totally un-american. >> but it's not the future, it's the past that could trouble some con

jim acosta is following this story for us. >> reporter: for sarah palin's critics and defenders, she'ske her comments on paul revere which are traveling faster than the shot heard around the world. it was during her bus tour paying tribute to american history when sarah palin appeared to misfire on one of this country's most revered patriots. >> he who warned the british that they weren't going to be taking away our arms by ringing those bells. >> reporter: palin seemed to miss the significance of paul revere's midnight ride to warn them that the british were coming. >> she should not be on vacation. she should be in summer school. >> you know what? i didn't mess up about paul revere. >> over the weekend, palin doubled down on her comments saying that revere did warn america about the militias after he was captured, then she blamed the whole misunderstanding on the media. >> in a shout out gotcha type of question that was asked of me, i answered immediately. >> and what was that gotcha question? still palin's loyal supporters from rallied to her side with the conservatives for palin we

jim acosta is following the mystery tour. what is the latest?her sarah palin is playing a game of cat and mouse, the question is, who is the cat and who is the mouse? is media chasing palin or is palin chasing the limelight? sarah palin is going rogue again. her latest maverick move, a pizza summit with on and off again contender donald trump. >> potential candidates and what our perception was of each of these folks. >> reporter: it's been a game of cat and mouse. >> the cat and mouse game? >> reporter: palin insists she isn't playing any games but her staff has kept most of the media in the dark. including peter hamby has tried to tail her from one end to the next. >> there are some reporters chasing the bus down the highway to see where she would play over. >> literally chasing down the highway? >> literally. >> reporter: she said expect the unexpected if she runs for the white house. >> it would definitely be unconventional and knowing. >> reporter: she tried conventional back in 2008 and it didn't work. she not only clashed with the press,

. >> jim acosta, thanks. that does it for us. back here tomorrow morning 9:00 a.m. eastern time. we take it over to suzanne malveaux. >> did you have a good weekend? >> fantastic. happy monday. >> happy monday. here we go. thanks. >> you bet. >> live interest studio 7, i'm suzanne malveaux. up to speed for monday, june 27th. the supreme court says california cannot ban selling video games to kids simply because the games are grotesquely violent. justices struck down the law just minutes ago. they say the commercial free speech rights of video game manufacturers trumps concerns over violent content. >>> we know why the judge halted the casey anthony murder trial in orlando this weekend. three psychologists examined anthony at the defense team's request to determine her competency to proceed. she is charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter caylee in 2008. >> the court ordered that the defendant to be examined by three psychologists to determine her competency to proceed. based upon the reports that the court has reviewed, the court will find that the defendant is competent to c

that's what jim acosta is talking about from washington. >> this goes to show you there are paifrls ines. the president went to a factory in december of 2009 to talk about the economy and to talk about his stimulus plan and what it might do for the economy. well, earlier this year that factory is closed and, lo and behold, mitt romney, the gop front-runner right now, is holding an event in allentown, pennsylvania, to highlight the fact that this factory has closed down. here is just a brief clip from a web video romney put out. >> good to be back in pennsylvania. i just came from allentown metal works where i had a chance to visit with workers there. >> the allentown metal works is set to close its doors on friday. this was hailed as a symbol of hope by president barack obama last year when he promoted his jobs plan. >> so an interesting tactic for romney. he's not going after the other gop kand datzs right now, he's going directly at the president. and on the lighter side of politics, a kicker for our ticker, kyra, you could call it. over at the fec, the federal election commission, t

they are looking to the sidelines, jim acosta explains. >> ronald reagan bumper sticker is just the sameong with the country ham. it's a good thing the list of gop candidates is not on the menu. some of these republicans might just stick with coffee. >> i like somebody who is a staunch conservative. staunch republican. there's no model. no perfect guy sitting right there right now. >> obama is going to get elected again. none of these guys can beat him. >> you don't think so? >> no. not right now. >> there may be reasons voters are looking for other options, a few big name politicians acting like presidential tests. >> what about they twhe is over, you going to think about it? >> yes, sir. >> i think about a lot of things. >> texas governor, rick percent is is talking about it. rudy giuliani keeps popping up in new hampshire and sarah palin not only has a campaign style bus, there's a pro-palin movie coming soon. >> i don't know, i honestly don't know. it's still a matter of looking at the bill and consider much. >> new jersey governor cristy is headed to iowa but insists he's not runnin

>> jim acosta reporting. i never start marveling at the weirdness. and the same can now be said of some republicans, a smart politician and lost his bid for re-election by 18 points. and a successful business executive has never held any elected public office. he lost his bid to run the nomination in georgia back in 2005 and now he's running for president. sarah palin, who is thinking of running, quitting midway through first term. she's made millions of dollars since then. john huntsman quit as utah governor during his second term to being u.s. ambassador to china. i believe if people elect someone to a position, that person has a responsibility to finish the job. there are many republicans not satisfied with the current field. they are urging many others, like chris christie, jeb bush, rudy giuliani to jump in. why isn't anyone urging the two most experienced leaders in the country to run? presidential politics always a bit weird and that's why i love covering politics. read my blog at cnn.com/situationroom. go there. i think you will enjoy. >>> at

he does have strong support among many socially conservative voters, cnn's jim acosta is joining us with santorum's run from the white house. tell us about the setting, why it's significant and the new candidate? >> rick santorum is going back to his roots by holding this event in pennsylvania. he's going to try to remind voters that he's a part of the republican wave of very con sv tiv lawmakers that came into power in the mid '90s. he held on to that senate seat for 12 years, since 2006 where he lost rather badly, 18 points to bob casey. that was a tidal wave year for democrats. it has a lot of republicans nervous that they can get behind rick santorum that he has a national appeal. you're right, he has a appeal with evangelical voters, that really want to hear about issues like gay right, civil unions, abortion, those sorts of issue, those are the issue that are the bread and butter issues for rick santorum. i was in iowa a few weeks ago. talk to voter, taking a hard look at rick son tar santorum. if you look at the ratings he is 8%. he's got a huge uphill climb if he is going to make

jim acosta live for nous washington, hey jim. >> she billed this bus trip last week as a tribute to american history, so it wasn't out of the question that some intrepid reporter out there was going to ask her a question about american history and that's what happened up in boston late last week. she was asked about paul revere and the significance of that midnight ride a couple centuries ago -- more than a couple centuries ago and here's what she had to say about the significance of that ride, something she says she didn't get wrong. >> so this came across as a bit of a gaffe. the historical significance of paul revere's ride to warn the british were coming, the american patriots the british were coming. she was asked about this on one of the sunday talk shows on fox news sunday working for fox she's a paid contributor and she claims that she did not get this wrong. here's what she had to say. >> you know what, i didn't mess up about paul revere here's what paul revere did. he warned the americans the british were coming and going to try to take our arms. it wasn't just ride. he was a couri

. >> jim acosta, always telling us things. huntsman people tried to take back the press passes and correct them. it was too late. perhaps it will become a collector's item. the utah governor joins us live on "american morning" it will come your way at 8:30 eastern. >>> a man in pittsburgh really hit the jackpot last month. playing a slot machine, won what should have been $12 but the machine forked over $25,000. so the man was allowed to keep that big win in the casino was hit with a fine because the machine was not properly tested or certified. that's pretty amazing, right? everyone here is -- >> nodding their heads. >>> an unexpected turn in the casey anthony murder trial. what else is new? prosecutors telling the judge they're investigating a woman who spent time in jail with the defendant and they're very interested in finding out whether the two inmates ever talked to each other. it's 13 minutes past the hour. as a manager, my team counts on me to stay focused. so i take one a day men's 50+ advantage. it's the only comple