of on the interesting side, focus groups we conducted recently in richmond and denver with obama independentsresident obama were a car, what kind of car would he be and why? really trying to get a sense of outside of job approval, we can ask if you approve or disapprove of his job on the economy and those things but to get an open ended question. someone that's a family man and reliable, minivan, a family car, a sedan. you know the answers tended to skew the other way. looks good on the outside but not sure what's under the hood. a broken down sports car and a wide range of answers in between. it really gets to this question in the election that you hear narrative of. president obama's likability, that trump is his job performance. and questions like that you get a sense of behind the curtains of what motivated voters and what do they certificatperceive whether they like him or not or could someone do better? >> gene's approach talking about least volatility. president's health care law. in year and a half leading up to passage, a majority of americans opposed it. we polled it every single we

obama. independent voters also blame bush more than obama by 67 to 51%. mr.omney added to the blame game today with a new web video that hammered mr. obama for a uniquely brutal gaffe last week. ♪ >> the private sector is doing fine. >> mr. obama proved once again a bit of self deposit prec indication is the best response. >> there will be no shortage of gaffes and contro verse ease that keeps both campaigns busy and gives writers something to write about. i made my unique contribution to that process. >> that's us he is referring to. the president got back down to business defining romney's views on the economy as little more than a rehash of george w. bush's failures. >> governor romney believes deeply in the theory we tried during the last decade, the best way to grow the economy is from the top down. we tried this. their policies did not grow the economy. they did not grow the middle class. they did not reduce our deficit. why would we think that they would work better this time? [applause.] >> for those who think they wouldn't, mr. obama offered an alter

i think it's hurting president barack obama with independent voters. those that come here legally and play by the rules are most angered about this. >> they are going to out their parents by coming forward. janet napolitano says we are not going after their parents, it's not the deal. >> the undermining, the parents need to get their paperwork in order, go back to their country of origin and help their children. they have done a horrible betrayal of their children. it's terrible. >> appreciate your time and your opinion on that. thank you very much. a lot of opinions to go around on this one. >> appreciate it. >>> make sure you stay with us. at 8:15, we'll hear a perspective from another side of the issue. we'll hear from a woman who is an undocumented immigrant. >>> a subject we hear about on the news. when a fifth grader in new york tried to give a speech about same-sex marriage, the pirincipl pulled the plug, said no way. how they compromised. [ male announcer ] citi turns 200 this year. in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult

that's who gave obama the nomination where independents could vote. they broke very substantially for barack obama. so if they would have been closed, ill ri clinton would have become the democratic nominee. by the way, likewise, john mccain becomes the republican. so by many respects, they were the ar tects of the entire set-up of the 2008 general election and then broke 8 or 9 points for obama. so obama comes to washington vmt he's got the post partisan mandate and really from the broad kros section of americans. their title is democrats, republicans shs americans. again, there's many, many people who are registered democrats and republicans who are also very fearful and upset about the partisan character of the country. but in any event, here are some things that happen. first, the congressional democrats are there. and you know them better than i do. from where i sit, i think their posture was we got this, we're in control. all the rest of you all, whoever you are who might have voted for our guy, this is our show now and we're going to tell you ho

what i have started doing is when i talk about the obama campaign, independents, 18-29 year olds, latinos, african americans, people started saying, what about the women go? -- vote? when you are talking about 52% of the electorate, you were talking about a big group. they are not all alike. this is the first four months of the president's approval rating. the first four months combined. president obama approval rating among single women was 63% and. 63%. among divorced women, 52%. among married women, 44%. what about women? which ones? [laughter] >> and hell about white women and black women? >> white married women with kids, romney went by 18. non married women without kids, obama w -- white, obama wins by one. you get it. >> we have not talked about this. the interesting thing is the catholic vote. i think obama has taken a hit among catholic voters. i am for obama. i still think he wins the election. i am not catholic. [laughter] i do not think this issue was played very well. i do not know that he could have headed off all of the opposition from the catholic church. i think this is a

president obama and the realities of what this economy has been, but for president obama to convince the all-important independent voters out there, is it going to have to remain a conversation of constantly looking into the rear view mirror of the past presidencies or casting the brighter, bigger economic future for americans concerned about the economic recovery and the struggles. >> two things, elections are always a choice about the future and in order to talk about the future you have to understand how you got to this point where you are right now. so the president is going to look back at where we were three or four years ago and talk about the economic crisis, but talk about how we got out of that crisis and we're now in a recovery and building jobs, we've got 27 consecutive months of private sector job growth but it is a choice and mitt romney's opportunity hasn't been much better. mitt romney was the governor of massachusetts and they were 47th out of 50 states in job creation so he's got to still overcome that and he inherited a economy that wasn't doing that well. when he left massachusetts was lower i

plouffe also said there's no need for an independent prosecutorrhere, evee thougg back in 2006 then senator obamaopined about the jack abramoff case and said "a special counssl will insure the public's confidence in the anddhelp to restore its faith in our government." that was six years ago and this independent senator joe lieberman echood the sentiment. lieberman says, "we do need a special counsel. because a special counsel avoids any appearance of conflict of iiterestt special counsels, indeppndent counsels before them were created for a situatton exactly for situatiin like this." arizona republican senator john kyllsaid this afternoon that thh best way for &ppresident obama to avoid the appearance of politiccsin this invvstigation. is to appoint a special prosecutor independeet of the justice department and attorney general holder. who he calls. administration. in washington, peter doocy, fox pews. 33&a teecher in texas is accuss of telllng kindergarten students to hit a fellow bullying.amy eely wwnts to make it clear hee 6-year-old -- 50 pound ssn aiien is far from a bully.but thh family sa

what i have started doing is when i talk about the obama campaign, independents, 18-29 year olds, latinos, african americans, people started saying, what about the women go? -- vote? when you are talking about 52% of the electorate, you were talking about a big group. they are not all alike. this is the first four months of the president's approval rating. the first four months combined. president obama approval rating among single women was 63% and. 63%. among divorced women, 52%. among married women, 44%. what about women? which ones? [laughter] >> and hell about white women and black women? >> white married women with kids, romney went by 18. non married women without kids, obama w -- white, obama wins by one. you get it. >> we have not talked about this. the interesting thing is the catholic vote. i think obama has taken a hit among catholic voters. i am for obama. i still think he wins the election. i am not catholic. [laughter] i do not think this issue was played very well. i do not know that he could have headed off all of the opposition from the catholic church. i think this is a

it wasn't just republicans who didn't like obama care. independentsially in swing states wanted the entire bill repealed. so although the supreme court disagrees with them on that, this does give them an alternative to president obama, saying that romney, on his first day, he said he's going to repeal this. and i don't want to be stuck with president obama in the second term who has given me a bill i don't want in the first place. and that now is a permanent thing unless we have a getting republicans 60 seats. what was the key topic in that election? it was obama care. so people -- i heard you mention it in the begin of your show. that the tea party's kind of been dormant. well, that's not true. they had a huge role in the wisconsin recall. now that they have a bigger ground game, you can expect to siem so of the same results in november. the tea party taking action on this. >> charles blow, it's clearly a good day for barack obama. a day he wasn't expecting. put it into context here. the fact the republicans are raising so much money on the back of t

independents. what michelle obama is doing is going out and splitting the base. they i tackling interest groups as they go. >> i think that politically, this is a nonstarter for the republicans. romney is in a worse position, because he is still beholden to the right wing of his party and they have him locked in. he cannot move very far without them screaming, as charles suggested -- he did not suggest it with a scream -- >> i scream quietly. >> silent scream. >> silent scream with tears cascading down the cheeks. this is illustrative of where he will be throughout the campaign, not only on this is, but other issues -- >> no, i am not sure. this is a case where the republicans had been working on something. marco rubio was working on a compromise a lot like this, which, had it been enacted in congress, would have been something that had been done the right way. the brilliance of this move by obama politically was to preempt that and take the issue for himself. rubio would've had a solution that would have been consensual. >> friday morning, you pick up the paper,

independents. >> do you think they've become disillusioned with obama? >> actually, they were all saying the economy is getting better but they do not give him credit because they measure him against the expectations he set for himself, but they know so little about romney, all they know is he's a rich guy. >> so it's the phase of been there, done that? >> look, people are ready to move away from obama but mitt romney has not closed this sale yet. >> why? >> he just has not quite done it yet. people are looking at him, but he hasn't closed the sale. >> they say he doesn't have enough personality, he's not warm enough. hey, he can run businesses. >> look, did he good in the republican primaries. he came through them fine. >> what about that wife of his? >> running against one of the most charismatic campaigners this country has ever seen. obama is who he will be running against but luckily does he have ann romney, and she has really been a great help to him on the campaign trail. she gets up, warms up the crowd. she softens the edge of romney, because he

doesn't appreciate role play. >> silly man. >> kurt, you would like to see obama bunch out an alien like will smith did in "independence day." don't you think that's why they picked obama? you have will smith in "independence day" and" men in black." >> and the numbers show 79% think government cussers up aliens aliens aliens and -- covers up aliens and 36% even believe they exist, so they are dumb. it does president make sense. >> you said the aliens may be coming for free health care. possibly not after the supreme court rules. >> don't we want to be a beacon in the universe and welcome people in? >> i say let them go to canada. >> if the supreme court overturns obama care, that might keep the alien invasion at bay. it could be the best thing ever for the species. >> the aliens were one step ahead by getting one of their own on the supreme court. i think we know who we are talking about. sandra, you would like to know what people mean by better handling an alien invasion. >> can you clarify? >> i would say the use of the word would mean welcoming them with open arms. >> alien invasion. >> the british invasion didn't.

>> theare splitting independents. michelle obama is going out and splitting the basbid they battaglia interest groups as they -- they are tackling interest groups as they go. >> i think this is a nonstarter for republicans. romney is sll beholden to the ght wing of his party, and they have him locked in. he cannot move very far without them screaming, as trolls suggested -- charles suggested.d. >> i ice-cream quietly. >> -- i scream quitely. >> silent scrm, wh the tears cacascading down the cheeks. this is illustrative of what romney will be facing throughout the campaign -- >> i'm not sure. this is a case where the publicans have been wking on something. marco rubio was working on a compromise a lot like this which, had it been enacted in congress, would have been on the right way. the brilliance of this move by obama politically was to preempt a let u us -- prept that and take the issue for himself. that fridge in your kitchen may have crossed this bridge. your new car probably rode these rails. that shipment you just received was

independent. >>> president obama is back in washington after teaming up with former president clinton at a series of new york fund-raisers. mr. clinton said he deserved a second term and he said a mitt romney presidency would be a calamitous situation for the nation. >> what's the difference here? share prosperity versus continued austerity and high unemployment. a politics of cooperation versus constant conflict and divide and conquer. >> president obama raised at least $3.6 million at the big apple fundraisers. several more clinton events are plant before november. >> they're optimistic a cia drone attack hit a target command. the fbi is offering a $1 million award for abu ya-ya al libbi who moved up the al qaeda ranks after osama bin laden was killed. the u.s. officials say it's unclear if he was killed. >>> jury selection is scheduled to begin today in the trial of former assistant penn state coach jerry sandusky. sandusky is accused of molesting ten boys, charges he denies. the prosecutors want to bring in an out-of-town jury, something he's objected until now. >>> "cbs moneywatch" time now

but mitt romney's got upside because he does better than obama among independents in terms of their answer that his policies are right toward business. so that provides another dimension, tyler, to the debate that is unfolding this afternoon about whether the president thinks private sector's fine or not. >> all right. thank you very much, john harwood. let's bring in kenny of i cap -- oh, we're going to sue now. sue has arrived. >> i finally made it. after 45 minutes on the washington bridge. beautiful view, but i'm here nonetheless. >> how are you? >> don't ask. actually, i'm doing pretty well. and the markets bounce back. >> it has. >> you called me yesterday afternoon and you were right to sell into the rally yesterday would have been the right thing to do. >> right. >> but we're now on a friday with the weekend coming up. >> right. >> so there's a lot of macro events that are hovering out there. what do you do? >> i think you've got a lot of people that are just trueing up into the weekend, right? because it could go either way. you've got the chinese news due out saturday. people are

obama. a poll shows the independent- minded voters do not think much about the president's plan for the economy. they have a negative view. political insiders say the president has to do a better job of convincing voters he will make conditions better in a second term. >> they want to be reassured of the death of the problem and he has a plan to deal with the deterioration of the middle class. >> thank you so much. great to be with you. >> the poll shows problems for romney but not as bad as the president to attack. independents are undecided and that might provide an opening for romney to win them over. >> one of the fastest-growing stations now has a new name. >> . and cutting ceremony officially renamed the new york avenue, station to noma-gallaudet u.. the name change reflects a growing change in the community. >> since the station opened in 2004 ryder ship has grown rapidly and economic growth has flourished. >> the name changes reflected in the map. new york avenue is a secondary name for one year to help writers get used to the name change. >> coming up here at noon, no release out west.

host: let's go to jim, an independent scholar -- caller. caller: president obama has been president for three years as opposed to eight years for the bushes and clinton. he went to new york, the world trade center on taxpayer money. he had multiple fund raisers for his campaign. he combined that trip with an hour or so trip to the trade center so we would be paying for the trip as opposed to the millions of dollars he collected on his campaign. also, the trips his wife took separately, which i understand it is also part of taxpayer money. trips where they could have traveled together and did not, that was a waste of our money. do you agree? guest: these are good points. you put your finger on areas where presidents are most honorable. that is when they mix personal trips with official business or political trips with official business. it does get people angry and upset. president obama went to new york on a date with mrs. obama. a lot of people like the idea that their clothes and went on a date together. a lot of people raised the question of whether the taxpaye

. >> three men from the american independent party alleged president obama is not a naturally born citizen and not allowed to serve as president. the men took the case to a supreme court after an appellate court ruled they did not find legal standing. >> hosni mubarak's help is on the decline. doctors have used a defibrillator on him twice and he is on the ivy feeding trip. the former president was sentenced to life in prison two weeks ago for corruption and is being treated at a prison hospital near cairo. >> some road work tighten things up on the beltway this week. we will tell you where to avoid. >> a critical part of the u street corridor to be torn up. >> we will talk >> a big day in virginia tomorrow. their primary elections take place. >> leading the polls george allen. talked with the leading candidate. >> four candidates vying for that gop spot. if you listen to those leading the polls, this is a two-man general election race. we have a preview of what we may see from here till november. >> marking of territory george allen hopes tomorrow is nothing but a formality. he admitted t

to help president obama by nudging him in the right direction because president obama is hurting himself with independents working class and some democratic donors. that's precisely who bill clinton is trying to help president obama with and he doesn't seem to want to listen. if he continues not listening to bill clinton, that's great for me because my guys know bill clinton is a very powerful weapon for president obama. >> i'd like to agree with ford examine say small businesses are integral to this economy. 60% of american jobs are created by small businesses. but they have to compete with these corporations that pay zero dollars in taxes in many cases. you just can't compete when there is not a level playing field. that's what the kind of business that mitt romney supports. >> ryan, we agree on fox news that we're -- >> excuse me. he made millions shutting down factories and shipping jobs oversea. >> rick: i got to let you. >> i think we can agree on this, if we can close some of the loopholes and bring search to the tax code, businesses in america will thrive again and i think mitt romney right now is

contrasted with obama economics makes the case to those independent people who like bill clinton and decided about obama. >> it's a good spin job but the facts don't hold up. bill clinton -- i agree with bill clinton's credibility. i agree with some of his wishes and references for obama economic policies that would be more like his. i think president obama has made some mistakes. but the fact that he's an honest he broker and is willing to have some independence makes him a better advocate when he condemned romney's economic policy as disastrous for america. megyn: is that what's happening here? bill clinton says when it comes to romney's qualifications they are sterling but his economic policies would be today lamb r -- would be calamatous. he got taken out behind the woodshed. he got taken out behind the woodshed. and here is rush limbaugh on that points. >> it looks like bill clinton, ladies and gentlemen, was take to the woodshed. bill clinton taken to the cory booker memorial woodshed. for endorsing romney last week. you have got to wonder what is in this woodshed that gets so m

but they look at the broader issue, the obama campaign thinks independent voters will be turned off byand think it's overreach by republicans on the hill. when they think the republicans and the democrats should be focusing on jobs and the economy. >> one thing is forgotten talking about the politics of the case and how it plays out. that is a federal agent died. today, the mother of border patrol agent brian terry who was killed and guns tied to operation "fast and furious" were found at the scene, says she wants to know what really happened. >> my son was a person who believed in justice. he believed in telling the truth. a man of honor. if nobody knew that, they knew. that i know he would be saying you know what? i died for my country. he was a true american. i think he deserves the truth. i think that everybody should know the truth. it's a bad thing they did with fast and furious. it should be esspanged so it never happens to anyone else's son. >> bret: official statement read in part our son lost his life protecting this nation. it's disappointing that we are now faced with an ad

new polls show most independent voters are sold on neither president obama or governor romney and theirfix the economy. according to abc and "the washington post," 38 percent of independents believe in president obama's vision to get the economy on track but 54 percent disapprove of his ideas. similar story for governor romney: 35 percent are in favor of his land and 47 percent say they are not in favor. that we have carl cameron with us, following governor romney's campaign, and ed henry is on the north lawn. what do we hear from the president? >>reporter: tomorrow he will give a big speech in ohio the first major economic address he will deliver of the general election at a time when you mention abc news and "washington post" post poll, and reuters has a poll showing neither candidate has the huge edge on the economy, but it showed among independents, mitt romney, 46 percent and the president 43 percent in who is stronger on jobs and the economy. if you are down around 43 percent that is not a good place to be, but, white house aids say the president is not going to announce any new p

some analysts say this race could tell us a lot how president obama will fair with independent voters in november. erin mcpike a national reporter for "real clear politics" and joins us now. jesse kelly ran against gabriel giffords last time around. came within a few thousand votes defeating her. obviously she won. how does it look this time around? >> reese poll the ron barber the democrat is beating jesse kelly by 12 points. part of that is based on goodwill for gabrielle giffords and her staff. looks like the democrat will come out a victor tonight. it will not say a ton about this fall i don't think because we wouldn't expect that democrats will outperform republicans by 12 points, let's say this fall in arizona. jon: ron barber, her aide running to replace her was wounded in the attack on her. he was there at the shopping center that day she was shot. he i am self was grazed in the cheek by a bullet. >> that's exactly right. that is to the point that good wil still remains for not only gabrielle giffords but her staff and ron barber himself. as this campaign moves forward we see

obama does. i'm not sure i agree with ken. i'm curious about the swing voters. i'm not sure that this policy is going to help with immigration policy with white working class and independentsre obama is struggling. while i think it's a fair and just policy, i just wonder about the politics to be crashly political about it, what he's doing is risking irritating a lot of those voters where he's struggling to appeal to a voting group that he's already leads by 2-to-1. >> eliot: let me jump in. you framed the equation the right way. there's no question that this policy will appeal to swing vote, the latino vote and solidify that report and persuade what had been an ambiguous latino base that president obama is doing clearly what he can do. but you're right it might alienate the white base independent vote who says those are the jobs and this is the fear and those kids are going to encroach on our turf. how do you balance out those two sides of the equation? >> it's definitely a balancing act but i just don't see how republicans, whether it's romy or outside groups acting on his behalf target that argument. each time that we've seen republicans or opponents of immigration refor

and statements by then senator obama calling for an independent counsel or special investigation so it's clear that this issue is of transcendent importance. the director of national intelligence said, this is the most egregious breach of security and national security that he has seen in his 30 years as -- in the intelligence community. >> greta: it is bipartisan in the sense that there is horror or shock on both sides of the aisle. senator dianne feinstein, democrat, very concerned about the seriousness of these leaks. i mean, let me ask you, though, two people are appointed by attorney general holder. one was the united states -- with the u.s. attorney appointed by president obama and the other is the u.s. attorney from the district of maryland, appointed by then president bush. does the bipartisan nature relieve any of your thoughts? >> they still have to report to the attorney general of the united states. they are not independent. it requires an independent look to have the credibility that's necessary. this is the most egregious breach of n

independent investigation. is there going to be an investigation into the obama white house leaks. there is not going to be an independent investigation but he is pointing prosecutors. >> that's right. the leaks are the fact -- it is really quite remarkable over the last couple months, you know, it has been on the front page of the papers, the new york times that we had a secret ageneral in al qaeda who helped penetrate and foil a bomb plot in yemen, that the president in israel, it was known the u.s. and -- it was suspected the u.s. and israel were involved in cyber warfare. these are not the things you want on the front page of the paper telling your enemies. these leaks have been damaging. some republicans are suggesting, i can't say there is hard evidence it is a political effort by the white house to make obama look tougher on national security. those republicans are saying we need an independent council. president's like to avoid them they take on a life of their own. we've seen them come back and bite democrats and republicans. two u.s. attorneys have been appointed they woul

use it fifty forty two cents romney's support so suburban women white women and white independents president obama is upside down in his approval rating is favor abilities forty eight percent unfavorable thirty eight percent forty percent to thirty six percent is negative rating is back to its all time high of thirty nine percent. all right so you want to talk about the election that's four and a half months away fine but stop it with the same old polls and pundits and their talking points let's talk about the real issues and how those real issues are being communicated to millions of voters and while we're at it let's look into who's pulling the strings that's precisely what new york attorney general eric schneiderman is trying to do in one of the most significant investigations in decades were guarding tax exempt groups funneling money into politics you probably didn't hear about a big yesterday his office sent subpoenas to several high ranking officials at the national chamber foundation a nonprofit foundation linked to the u.s. chamber of commerce schneiderman wants access to their e-mail and

. >> reporter: he said there's no need for an independent prosecutor, even though in 2006, then senator obama said, a special counsel will insure the public's confidence in the investigation and prosecution and help to restore its faith in our government. that was six years ago. and this morning, connecticut independent senator joe lieberman echoed the sentiment. >> we do need a special counsel and we need it because a special counsel avoids any appearance of conflict of interest. special counsels, independent counsels before them were created for a situation like this. >> reporter: arizona republican senator john kyle said this afternoon the best way for president obama to avoid the appearance of politics is to appoint a special prosecutor independent of the justice department and attorney general holder who kyle called a political figure in this administration. in washington, peter doocy, fox news. >>> just ahead, today is all about dad. we've got a father's day boot camp to kick new dads into shape. plus a special father's day gift for president obama from the first lady. how you n 

to the commission in 2009 becoming the first republican to be appointed to an independent agency by president barack obama. now prior to becoming an fcc commissioner, commissioner mcdowell served as senior vice president for the competitive telecommunications association. we had responsibilities involving advocacy efforts before congress, the white house, and executive agencies. now, i'm not going to -- in light of what i said, i'm not going to tell you where all these guys went to school and all of that.

independence. every state has different kind of components to put together to muster a majority. the obama team is looking at this very carefully. this is not a cake walk. a take a look at registrations. but parties have lost market share. people are going to the other parts. there is a huge dissatisfaction with the political class. people are looking are around. a long way to go. this forces the income to get the base together. i do not think they can mobilize the base like they did last time. >> that is pretty good for the democrats. >> let me play devil's advocate. in 95% chance that whoever wins the popular vote wins the electro. if it is not, if the popular vote goes one way ahead in the other goes the other, my assumption has always been a democrat might be more likely to win the popular vote and lose the electoral college than the other way around. the democrats way so many votes. >> where i pushed back on the state by state, there's a 95% it's a good the same direction. i am going to use the technical term. crap. we will not name not name the sc pollsters. this is like at best a di