mrs. bachmann may be able to get back in the race and mr. romney may press the argument. when i talk to people in texas, they think perry's vulnerability is not ideology or talent. >>> ari fleischer, your thoughts before we go to break. >> i think that republicans have to be a little careful here that social security is not the defining issue that divides them in this primary. they have to remember to bring it back to barack obama, to jobs, to debt and deficits. this is the core strength that made republicans so strong in this cycle. they will come back for the social security debate, the romney people love it and the perry people want to engage in it. it's a given. the bigger perspective cannot be lost as the candidates move forward in this debate. >> we'll have more from the panelists in a moment. we'll come back to them throughout the hour. let us know what you think about what happened. go to twitter at anderson cooper. i'll try to join on the conversation on-line at anderson cooper. rick perry said the $800 billion stimulus package created zero jobs. >>> you can have

mr. bachmann a great deal. >> no, we haven't seen mr. bachmann a great deal.nd i think that that, you know, may be in part a preference of the spouse. it might be also a purpose of the campaign. of course, he has been the subject of some criticism for some of the things that have happened in their business. it's possible that they don't want him to be a distraction. >> kathie, thank you. >> all right. thanks, craig. >> up next, education nation, i'll talk to a philanthropist who has made it his mission for the past 24 years to help students who need financial help. he sees them to very prestigious boarding schools. now he's looking to expand his work. we're going to talk to him. >>> there's no other way to describe our next guest, but kind of a real-life daddy warbucks. he takes kids from the poorest of conditions in newark, new jersey, and he pays for them to go to boarding school. that way they don't just have a chance in life. they have the best chance. and now, now he's trying to expand his foundation. joining us right now to talk about it is philanthropis

mrs. bachmann or mr. perry could well ride the apocalyptic anti-statism of conservative christians into the oval office." i'll tell you, it's hard to make what to say this is, but go ahead. and last night, here's a heckler. just to prove "the times" isn't off base. president obama was heckled in los angeles out on the strip at that club out there where he was speaking in los angeles. let's listen. >> i want to -- >> christian god is the one and only true living god, the creator of heaven and the universe! jesus christ is god! jesus christ is god! jesus christ is god! [ audience booing ] >> well, that's kind of a benign look, ron christie, but i don't know what a guy's supposed to say when people are screaming that kind of religious zealotry at you when you're giving a secular fund-raiser. >> well, chris, i just think that's entirely disrespectful. obviously, i have certain policy disagreements with the president of the united states, and rightfully so, but for people to heckle the president like that or p

mrs. bachmann says and everybody -- everybody that claims, proclaims that but it is what i believe.rt what i would do? well, i would be right on the hell bus, right? well, i don't -- i believe that's the way god made me and i don't believe god makes mistakes and that includes a person's sexuality. >> so, obviously, az as former "west wing" cast member, i have got to ask you your own political view. i mean, are you an obama fan? would you vote again for him? do you feel disillusioned by him? >> well, you know, first of all, i won't say whether i vote -- how voted for and who i will vote for because i don't think -- i'm not -- i wouldn't want to talk about that publicly. i think it's a private issue, however, what i will say is i would not want to be president of the united states. can you imagine that job? >> i can't think of a worse job. >> i think time's going to tell a lot with even president bush and i know there's going to be people out there like, how could she say that? i think's good man. i think he made some tough decisions. i think obama is having to make some tough decisio

mrs. bachmann. >> she came across as powerful. what she did was bring up a very good point.re is not a lot of movement. the only thing that would have made her stronger is had she either looked directly at him or directly at the camera. >> i don't like the smirk. she looks very sincere. >> i don't think he is really going to do that well. that's just my own opinion. he does grin a lot. people don't find that genuine. >> president bush had that smirk too going on. that is serious situation. now, hillary clinton was asked a question by cnn reporter. roll the tape. >> what is the likelihood that you are going to challenge president obama in primary, you know, you got dick cheney in your court. >> yeah it's below zero. >> what do you think about dick cheney said you would have made a better president than president obama. >> one of the great things about secretary of state is i am out of politics. i'm not interested in being drawn back into it by anybody. i have a big job to do and i'm honored to do it everyday. representing our country. >> basically telling the cnn reporter to

mrs. bachmann sustain the good debate she's had and over time, like mike huckabee whose campaign i cheeredt this point in time he's barely known and he went on to win the a kwa caucus. the key is, where do you win? we won the straw poll. we put together a strong organization in eight weeks and that organization is there and we won the caucuses. we get a conduct out. he has to win somewhere. either against romney in new hampshire or in south carolina. obviously, we're going to compete for those places, too, particularly, south carolina. >> ed rollins, thank you. appreciate it. i know it's been a busy day for you, john. plets bring back in ari fleischer and james carville. james, you heard from our friend there. what do you make of it? zbho >> let's give ed credit. he's so honest. usually they make light of it. he gave very honest answers and i tend to believe him. he's 68 years old. he had a stroke a year and a half ago. given the pace of a presidential campaign, my gut instinct was right. at least health issues contributed to his decision. you never know what else goes on in a campaign and

mrs. bachmann but it's incredibly irresponsible for her to repeat this as part of her argument against the hpv vaccine and then throw up her hands and say, make of it what you will p the cdc says there's no evidence that this has any link to the vaccine. bachmann is spreading all-out falsehood here. a dangerous falsehood at that. and its not the first time she's done this. i want to play you some of her other statements in the past, and keep in mind, there's no political wiggle room on these statements. no grey areas or spin. what you're about to hear is just flat-out factually incorrect statement. >> i think we know that just within a day or so, the president of the united states will be taking a trip over to india that is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day. he's taking 2,000 people with him. he'll be renting out over 870 rooms in india and these are five-star hotel rooms at the taj mahal palace hotel. that's why this week it's ironic and sad that the president released all the oil from the strategist oil reserves. is that abortion? does that mean that someone's 13-year-old

mrs. bachmann, but it's incredibly irresponsible for her to repeat this as part of her argument against the hpv vaccine and then throw up her hands and say, make of it what you will. keeping them honest, the cdc says there's no evidence that the hpv vaccine has any link whatsoever to the onset of mental disabilities. it's not new for politicians to stretch the truth. bachmann is spreading all-out she's done this by any stretch of the imagination. i want to play you some of her other statements in the past, and keep in mind, there's no political wiggle room on these statements, no gray areas, no spin. what you're about to hear is just flat-out factually incorrect statement. >> i think we know that just within a day or so, the president of the united states will be taking a trip over to india that is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day. he's taking 2,000 people with him. he'll be renting out over 870 rooms in india, and these are five-star hotel rooms at the taj mahal palace hotel. that's why this week, it's ironic and sad that the president released all of the oil from the stra

mrs. bachmann is an emotional person who has great feeling for people.hink that's what she was trying to project. obviously she would have been better if she stayed on the issue, which the issue was the governor's executive orders and whether he basically made a mistake, as he said he did. he made a mistake. she made a mistake. the quicker she admits she made a mistake and moves on the better it is. >> she hasn't done there. here's rush limbaugh's comments today. >> i'll tell you, michele bachmann, she might have blown it today, well, not blown it, but she might have jumped the shark today if she would have just left it alone on this vaccination thing from last night, but she's now out saying that -- that this gardasil, now causes mental retardation, somebody in the audience came up to her and told her. that's jumping the shark. there's no evidence that the vaccine causes mental retardation. >> that was limbaugh yesterday, do you want to further comment comment on his comment about her? >> entitled to his opinion and has had a strong opinion historically

mrs. bachmann is make sure everything is vetted. obviously, she is someone who cares deeply about people. a woman walked up to her and said my child had this vaccine. she became mentally retarded after that. you need to check that out. you don't make a broad statement like that when, obviously, science argues just the opposite. the critical point that i tried to make was that, obviously, she had scored a very good point on perry on an executive overreach by him by executive order, making this vaccine for all young people in the state. and, obviously, that's the line she should have kept on. also there was a question of cronyism where his chief of staff represented a company that made the product. those were good points. she made them in the debate and should have stuck on those points. >> here's rick perry yesterday responding to some of bachmann's criticism while with virginia governor bob mcdonald. >> i think that was a statement that was no truth and no basis in fact. and, look, i hate cancer. and that's what this has always been

newt gingrich is here, michelle bachmann, mr. herman cain and rick santorum. first, former governor sarah palin goes on the record from wasilla, alaska. good evening governor. >> hi how are you? >> greta: very well. what did you think of the tea party debate cnn tea party debate? >> i was very pleased with this debate. very excited about the validation of the tea party movement. the hook-up with a major news network, cnn and more power to cnn for allowing that validation of this grassroots tea party movement participants from all over the nation being able as a voice of we the people asking questions of these potential presidents. very, very wonderful debate in terms of the whole forum and the venue that was chosen. the winner in this really i believe was the tea party movement and validation of what it is that we've been talking about for two years now. where we've been saying obama's big centralized government, his agenda that replicates some of the socialized government policies of some european countries, doesn't work. you saw a group tonight there on stag

michele bachmann wrote, "mr. president, you don't create jobs by increasing taxes on job creators.resident's plan to raise taxes on the american people is the wrong policy to create economic growth and jobs." also wrong. rick perry went with, "president obama's plan is a bait and switch that offers more than $1 trillion in higher taxes for a promise of temporary tax relief. the president penalizes investment when it is needed most. discourages charitable giving and doubles down on a failed government stimulus strategy." okay. rick perry gets half a point on discourages charitable giving, but he's wrong on everything else. today the president argued that his proposed tax revenue increases would grow the economy. >> all i'm saying is that those who have done well, including me, should pay our fair share in taxes to contribute to the nation that made our success possible. and i think most wealthy americans would agree, if they knew this would help us grow the economy and deal with the debt that threatens our future. >> joining me now, "washington post" columnist and msnbc contributor

mr. obama. governor perry 26%. mitt romney 20%. michele bachmann 12%. ron paul 10%. everybody else in low single digits. the matchups between president obama and individual candidates are very interesting. here mitt romney ties the president at 45. mr. obama defeats governor perry at 45% to 42% and defeats michele bachmann 48% to 39%. governor perry's favorability among registered voters stands at just 22%. 23% unfavorable. haven't heard enough. this is the key. 55%. that's a big number. mitt romney 36 favorable, 27 unfavorable. 35 haven't heard enough. michele bachmann 26 favorable. 36 unfavorable. 37 haven't heard enough. the take away from the poll is. this most voters have an open mind about who the republican nominee should be. the most conservative of the first tier candidates michele bachmann has high negatives because it looks like voters are putting the economy ahead of ideology. as far as president obama is concerned, 51% of quinnipiac respondents say he does not deserve re-election. 42% say he does. so, obviously, the g.o.p., the grand old party has a very good chance to defeat the incumbent p

now that ed rollins is out as michele bachmann's campaign manager and mr. potato with an "e" is in, will we see the same disciplined candidate, the same disciplined michele bachmann of the very recent past or a version of michele bachmann 1.0, the cable news celebrity michele bachmann we all loved for so many years, or will we get something altogether new? that's question one. the second great question, second great unknown of tomorrow's debate is whether or not the new front-runner, texas governor rick perry will be there. right now governor perry is at home in texas dealing with his state's ongoing wildfire crisis. a staffer telling the news the plan is for him to attend the debate. the third great unknown for tomorrow night's republican debate is whether or not a republican candidate can still affect the race. are republican primary voters still looking for someone else, as the race is starting to look more than ever as a romney versus perry matchup, does that lead for more room in the field? one of the candidates trying to shake up that field will join u

. >> i think she would do well and take a lot of votes from miss bachmann and mr. perry.beat ea dead horse, the tea party folks are very interested in financial issues. they're core issues that america spends too much money. we wrupted ourselves and have to get out of the hole. a lot of these issues that are lie lighted today aren't going to be that important in three or four months. >> if sarah palin gets into the race, he makes the case that would affect governor perry and others. governor perry seems to think at the moment and i think most republican strategists would agree, at the moment rival number one is the former governor of massachusetts, mitt romney. so before he left south carolina today, he was here in the morning for an event. he needed to go back home and check in on the wildfires, he had governor romney in mind when he said this. >> there's going to be some that get up and say well, i created jobs. that's true. there's one in particular that's created jobs all over the world. while he was the governor of massachusetts, he didn't create very many jobs. >> i

this from congresswoman michele bachmann. mr. president, we gave you $2.4 trillion in new spending and the american people got nothing in return. let's bring in our chief political analyst gloria borger. it's not surprising what the presidential candidates are saying. they're calling president obama president zero for that matter as well. >> it's predictable, an easy political shot, but they're preaching to the choir out there with the american public. take a look at some of our new polls. we asked the question, is the economy in a recession? 8 out of 10 people, fully 82% say of course, yes, we are in a recession. we also asked the question, how are things going in this country today. 7 out of 10 said badly. so if you're a presidential candidate, you're campaigning against an incumbent, unemployment, 9.1%, what would you be saying out there in the campaign trail? it's the kind of things, by the way, that barack obama used to say about george w. bush. >> how much bres pr es sure does this put on the president as he gets ready for

mr. santorum won his home state of pennsylvania, as well as south carolina. michele bachmann won ames, iowa. if straw polls meant winning that state, if he meant electoral college votes, these would be the standings. among the republican presidential contenders right now. maybe that's the way it is. maybe that's exactly how the republican nomination contest is going to play out. ron paul and herman cain duking it out down to the wire. if you believe that, keep using up all that shoe leather and pixels and all that breath covering republican party fund-raisers. i mean, straw polls. because of their great predictive value and all the important information they give us the presidential race. or, we could all agree to treat these things as what we all know they are. cooked-up publicity stunts to get media attention and use it as leverage to force the candidates to pander to the most manipulative and cynical activists in the political system. oh, and to raise money for republican parties and activists groups. we could call them embarrassing political pandering stunts. or we could

mr. perry is getting, and what does michele bachmann have to do to get back in the game here. >> well, tim, said after the fact that perhaps he should have had sparks flying out of his butt and that might have gotten him more attention. i think for michele bachmann if she doesn't have the proverbial pyrotechnics tonight it's probably curtains for her. she's not been able to sustain that momentum. i don't think romney has to do that. i think he just has to stay looking like hi is the electable guy. the poll you put up isn't necessarily reflective of anything, because they're asking republicans who the most electable is. it's not up to them, it will be up to the independent voters who will be frightened when 24th see the sorts of things that rim perry has done. rick perry has said he couldn't get elected dogcatcher in california. that is probably also now true in florida and a lot of other places. so mitt romney needs to sit back. rick perry will try to temper this a bit, but i think he's constitutionally not ability to do that. he's just got this texas-sized mouth, and that's who he is, and

minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann came out swinging shortly after mr. obama spoke to congress. >> i stand here tonight to say to the president not only should congress not pass his plan, i say, "mr. president, stop. your last plan hasn't worked, and it's hurting the american economy." >> suarez: and in a web video released today, the mitt romney campaign called the obama economic policies a failure. the president will continue to push for public support for his program in the coming days, with rallies next week in ohio and north carolina. >> lehrer: and to the analysis of shields and brooks-- syndicated columnist mark shields, "new york times" columnist david brooks. david, how does the president's speech look to you 24 hours later? >> oh, anguished ambivalence, as usual. you know, it was a very good speech, very forceful. i was glad he actually had a plan. he contrasted to the last stimulus, where he let congress do a plan, so it was leading from the front. he also, as he says, quite accurately, took ideas from the center. the payroll tax cut, all that

mr. putin is already demonstrating the keys to victory. perhaps rick perry should ride a horse shirtless. perhaps mitt romney should learn judo. perhaps michele bachmannlose with a tiger. of course, mr. pew the u.utin d really need to run for president, he tends to just take power. i'm joined by james cargan, a former u.s. ambassador to russia. good afternoon, sir. >> good afternoon, martin. >> isn't this the clearest sign yet that for all their talk of modernization and democracy, mr. putin's desire to return to the presidency is relevant to former russian leader who is like to roar for as long as possible. >> well, certainly, he's coming back. and i suppose it's clear it's not exactly an open election. >> what is mr. putin's disposition toward the united states, then? >> well, i think we have to assume that over the last several years, when president obama has done the reset with president medvedev that mr. putin was intimately involved. so i think we can assume that there'll be a degree of continuity. he is, i think, skeptical. he wants to be shown that the americans are truly ready to work with russia, but i don't think we can assume that the more

mr. newcomb will serve as chairman of an emeritus. >> michelle bachmann is hosting a san rafael breakfast at a private home. the congresswoman is all smiles during her fought what >> a shooting in texas just north of fort worth. as we take a closer look at live pictures, the police presence is on the scene. four people shot in this town of just in. that does include one police officer. the kron 4 morning news will be right back. for >> welcome back to the kron 4 morning news as we continue to track hot spots starting with the bay bridge. the westbound ride is backed up to the macarthur maze. drive times have been pushing 25 minutes. yesterday we had a similar situation that cleared itself within about an hour. tracking some other hot spots for you, take a look at the ride on interstate 80. the drive time is 31 minutes from hercules to berkeley from high with four down to university ave. a disabled big rig cost the chp to issue a sig-alert. a complete check coming up. >> 8:11 a.m.. in world news, a fire that has been deadly aboard a norwegian cruise liner. they are still looking for those

president obama that is leading the move to the right mr obama is known to the right of the republican party the tea party people such as michele bachmann voted against the bank bailouts the republicans voted against the bank bailouts this is a democratic program and the democrats are very much like tony blair's labor party in london moving to the right of margaret thatcher that's the irony of this the labor party's and social democrats throughout the world are moving to the right of the old right wing parties and what you call the right the tea party which is backed by the billionaire koch brothers in america are actually using a populist rhetoric their job isn't really to get elected their job is to make sure that a crazy person is nominated for the president who everybody will think is so bad that they would vote obama seeming to be the voice of reason and of course he's not the voice of reason he's an ultra right wing pro wall street anti-democratic republican but how do you make them look as if he is a democrat you have somebody so bad that people will vote for him as the lesser alternative in reality people in america will vote wi