paul steinhauser, nice to see you here. this weekend, the focus is on the inauguration, as we've been talking about, but it is the next four years that concern president obama, of course. the problems and the potential pitfalls. oh! progress-oh! [ female announcer ] with 40 delicious progresso soups at 100 calories or less, there are plenty of reasons people are saying "progress-oh!" share your progress-oh! story on facebook. it's healthier, and the only one clinically proven. with aloe, vitamins, and no ammonia. my hair looks healthier than before i colored. i switched. you can too, to natural instincts. ♪ >>> a live look at the washington monument this morning, where the sun is just coming up. 7:37 in d.c., ahead of the second inaugural for president obama. hundreds of thousands of people are starting to descend on washington for the inauguration. and this morning, we're looking past the oath of office to the next four years. the issues and the plans and the projects. but as our joe johns reports, some of the most notorio

let me take you to washington and talk to cnn political editor paul steinhauser. paul, just what is the task force hoping to get out of approaching the nra? >> i think what they want to do here is get voices and get voices of all sides in the gun argument here. that's why the nra was given an invitation. take a listen to jay carney, white house press secretary, asked about the nra attending these immediatings this wee i m. >> the vice president's group invited a number of organizations and individuals to participate in meetings. they include gun owners, and groups that represent gun owners, groups that represent sports men and sports women. the nra has been one of the groups -- one of the many groups invited. i will leave it to those groups themselves to decide whether to say whether -- to make any comment on their attendance in those meetings. >> and the nra did make a comment. here is what a spokesman from the nra said a little while ago. the group did receive an invitation late friday and that we are sending a rep to hear what they have to say. now, they're not

paul steinhauser in washington. a quick note for those of you heading out the door, you can continue watching cnn from your mobile device. if you're heading to the local coffee shop, you can also watch cnn live from your laptop. you don't have to leave us behind. just go to cnn.com. >>> health on the venezuelan president hugo chavez. we'll have a live report. >>> with popularity of washington lawmakers so, so low, does the 113th congress have a prayer of winning back the american confidence? our political panel weighs in. but she has some dental issues she's not happy about. so i introduced jill to crest pro-health for life. selected for people over 50. pro-health for life is a toothpaste that defends against tender, inflamed gums, sensitivity and weak enamel. conditions people over 50 experience. crest pro-health for life. so jill can keep living the good life. crest. life opens up when you do. >>> time to talk politics and the new congress at 15 past the hour. there is hope with nearly 100 new congressmen coming t

paul steinhauser, thank you very much. >>> 43 minutes past the hour.work and your boss decides to cut your salary in half. it's happening to one man. but you might not feel so bad for him when you find out who he is. that's coming up. >>> and folks, if you're leaving the house now, watch us any time on your desktop or mobile phone at cnn.com/tv. when you have diabetes... your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. >>> a lot going on this morning. christine romans here with the top stories. >>> americans and other foreign nationals being held hostage in algeria. islamic militants attacked a gas field near the country's border with libya, tar ggeting foreign employees who worked there two people were killed, several hostages including americans were seized, and now we know 30 algerians taken hostage have escaped. >>> a nort

cnn political editor, paul steinhauser is here with some answers. >> i think the crowd behind us wouldabout 100% approval rating. >> i think so. >> we want to look at how he stacks up with his predecessors who also were inaugurated a second time. the president has 55%. it's a little bit better than george w. bush four years ago at the start of his second term and better than richard nixon. but you can see the president's approval rating is a lot lower than some other predecessors like bill clinton, ronald reagan, lyndon johnson, eisenhower and truman. another way to see how he stacks up against his predecessors. look at this number. how things going in the country. 49% say things are going well in the country right now. how does that stack up against president bush four years ago? 58%. a higher number for clinton in his second tem and reagan in his second term. >> when you look at how the country is divided, one has to imagine and we've been told, that he's going to talk about a hopeful speech. a unifying speech. but not many more details than that. what kind of statistics do you see w

our favorite go-to guy on polls and politics -- political editor paul steinhauser, has a look at what are thinking as we get ready for the week ahead. >> reporter: hey, miguel. the last week of january will find some top issues and a big name in the spotlight. >> our journey is not complete until we find a way to welcome the striving immigrants who still see america as a land of opportunity. >> reporter: president obama on immigration day, speaking about something high on his to-do list, immigration reform. tuesday the president goes to las vegas to give a preview of what he wants to do. what do you think about the conversion to issue is? a majority in our latest poll says allowing them to become legal residents is the top proor outer. democrats and republicans don't see eye to eye on the issue or gun control.priority. democrats and republicans don't see eye to eye on the issue or gun control. wayne lapier lapierre testifies new assault weapons ban. according to most recent poll, a majority support such a ban but there's a big partisan divide, with democrats in favor and republicans a

i want to bring in our political editor paul steinhauser in washington. what we can expect to hear from governor christie. what we also know is his way of doing things seems to resonate with new jersey residents. >> it sure does, ali. the state of the state addresses, they're basically a state of the union address on the state level where governors talk about their accomplishments from the past year, what they're going to do in this new year. as for christie, his office put out a press release earlier today touting the governor's efforts on the budget deficit, on taxes, on education. let's be honest, as you just mentioned, the big part of this speech today is going to be on sandy, on how the storm devastated new jersey in 2012. chris christie did in 2012 after the storm hit. and what he plans to do this year as he helps to continue to get new jersey back on its -- on its right setting. as you just mentioned, polls indicate new jersey voters are giving chris christie two thumbs up. his poll ratings skyrocketed after sandy. he's still in the 70s, a new poll

. >> now, cnn political editor paul steinhauser is with me. clinton was clearly prepared for the hearings and she has a pretty well regarded secretary of state. what do her approval numbers look like right now. >> take a look at this as we come up on what is probably going to be her last week as secretary of state. here's her favorable numbers from abc/"washington post" conducted just before the hearings that sound you just plays. two-thirds of americans have a favorable opinion of her. other polling from other organizations including cnn's pretty much the same numbers. those are nice numbers that anybody who may want to run for office down the road would like to have. that is the big question. what does she do next? she says she's going to become a private citizen again and see has said over and over she has no interest in running for office again. office meaning the white house. but listen, there's a lot of pressure from a lot of democrats on hillary clinton. stay tuned. i've been talking to some advisors to her and they say it's way too ear