it needs to be about freedom from overtaxation, freedom from overlitigation, freedom from regulation. >> first beck now perry. civil rights leader martin luther king for their own cynical political gain. the gay that king memorial opened to the public, rick perry compared the civil rights movement to the fight for lowering corporate taxes. i don't think that was what martin luther king jr. was fighting for. and in psycho talk tonight -- >> i'll be the first person to sign up, absolutely. >> just when i thought he was the normal one in the bunch, john huntsman's backtracking has landed him in the zone tonight. great to have with you us tonight, folks. welcome to "the ed show." lead story tonight. you know, i just don't think it's the earthquake. i don't think it's the hurricane coming. and it's not the regime change in libya. what's the most important story in america? i think it's michelle bachmann. she still thinks she can make gas prices drop below $2 a gallon. think about that. the economy is the biggest story. gas prices really hit middle class families more than anything else. it

. >> he says america is overtaxed and overlitigated and he promises to change that if he is elected.>> just three days after he entered the race a new poll shows rick perry polling double the numbers of his nearest challengers. in a poll, 29% say they support perry. 18% say for mitt romney and 13% would put that support behind michele bachmann. 16% are undecided. democrats say until perry would come along they never thought there would be a candidate that would make the other candidates look responsible. >> he is fashioning as some sort of jobs cowboy. rescuing the american people. governor rick perry has been criticizing president obama. at one point the bus tours were within seven miles of each other. >> you apparently he thinks to create a new jobs agency. >> does the president love america? >> you need ask him. >> his thoughts on ben bernanke first appointed by george w. bush? >> we would treat him pretty ugly down in texas. printing more money to play politics at this particular time in american history is almost treason. >> in a than interview this afternoon. the president was

we still believe if america kk loose from overregulation and overtaxation and overlitigation that west powerful, the most influential and the country that the world needs to be strong. i want to say god bless you, god bless iowa and god bless the united states of america. thank you. >> and there you have it. governor rick perry of texas, jumping head first into the presidential race. later this week, the governor is expected to return to south carolina. the dow looking good, up 207 points here, as we're about to close. a positive day of trading on the new york stock exchange. and now top of the hour, watch this. cell phone service blacked out, train stops shut down. is a major american city stepping on your right to a quiet protest. gunmen break into the home of an american, snatch him then disappear. the mystery is unraveling in pakistan. one moment they were waiting for a concerto begin. the next, tragedy from a gust of wind. plus, president obama on the attack. >> some in congress would rather see their opponent lose than america win. >> the president hits the road. >> and we're t

be free from this country from overregulation and free in this country from overtaxation, from overlitigation. >> the best thing that we can do is shut down and close the federal department of education. >> in texas we teach both creationism and evolution. >> i guarantee you the e.p.a. will have doors locked and the lights turned off. >> i'll work every day to try to make washington, d.c. as inconsequential in your life as i can. >> now in an interview on abc's "this week," huntsman warned republicans extremism could cost them the election and made a point of specifically criticizing bachmann and perry. >> i think when you find yourself at an extreme end of the republican party, you make yourself unelectable. the minute we become the anti-science party, we have a huge problem. we'll lose a whole lot of people. i'm not sure the average voter 1 going to hear that treasonous remark and say that sounds like a presidential candidate. gas prices just around going to rebound like that, it just simply is not founded in reality. >> would you trust a president bachmann to do the right thing with the ec

it needs to be about freedom from overtaxation, freedom from overlitigation, freedom from overregulationt from his own party for calling fed chair ben bernanke treasonous and then there's this -- >> if you read my book "fed up", get a copy of it and read it. it is because i talk about the entitlement programs in there. >> nothing like pushing a presidential campaign and a book at the same time. but perry's been telling voters to go get his book "fed up" released in november. in this book perry had some harsh things to say about social security. he calls the program embraced by millions a ponzi scheme. the campaign is trying to back away from that. they say the book doesn't reflect the governor's current thinking. the book was just released last november. all of this might lead you to believe that perry's campaign is less than disciplined. this book says something different. he's also the washington correspondent for monokl magazine. >> thanks for having me. >> tell me about your research in the way perry and his people are conducting this campaign? >> well, the 2006 campaign is the thing

many people that can't take care of their family because government's overtaxed, overregulated, overlitigated. >> reporter: even some mainstream christians are concerned about the event, which is being paid for by the american family association, which has been called anti-gay, a cultural warrior. it's who he is associated with the event that you're troubled by. >> that is what i think is the most disturbing thing. these are the people who have called the catholic church the great whore. >> reporter: from a political standpoint, perry's prayer vigil could be a double-edged sword. appealing to his base. but possibly diminishing his appeal. >> a lot of people who never heard of him could find it appealing. but could hurt him down the road when questions get raised about his appeal to a broader segment of the electorate. >> reporter: there was some question whether perry would be speaking and praying at his own rally. we hear that he will. the stadium holds 70,000. so far, they have reservations for about 8,000. back to you. >> all right. david, thank you. >>> now, let's check the morning's othe

it needs to be about freedom from over taxation, freedom from overlitigation, freedom from over regulation nerns, rega american regardless of social and economic back gound, can you come to america and havetrue, b economic climate will be improved. >> so does perry believer african-americans' struggle for civil rights is comparable to the gop's fight for lower taxes? joining me is alex wagner. okay. is this ignorance? he was asked about the friendship nine sit-in, so maybe he didn't know what it was, so is it ignorance of the civil rights? complete insensitivity? >> i think it demonstrates a certain if not pronoun insensitivity to the struggle of the black experience in america, especially at this time. if you look at what's happened to michb norse, the disparity between rich and poor, the census shows white americans make more than 20 times more than black families, for him to type corporate tax rates to the civil rights movement i think demonstrates a pronounce insensitivity. >> this is just the latest. when you look at this series of quotes from the book, you have to sit back as a polit

we're being overtaxed, overregulated and overlitigated. >> reporter: preside obama, also in iowa, hass in small town america. >> i'm announcing that we're ramping up our efforts to get capital to small businesses in rural areas. >> reporter: but the president has been dodging one cow patty after another from perry. >> the only job he cares about is the one he's got. >> reporter: what does he think about federal reserve chairman ben bernanke, first appointed by president george w. bush? >> printing more money to play politics at this particular time in american history is aost treasonous in my opinion. >> reporter: perry a newcomer to the campaign, joining mitt romney and michele bachmann, the tea party darling who took her conservative message to south carolina. >> we believe in life from conception until natural death. >> reporter: she walked out to the king of rock 'n' roll's "the promised land," even if she did get his birthday wrong. >> let's all say happy birthday to elvis presley today! >> reporter: actually, it was the day the king and his music died. the president ends his thr