she's got robert gibbs and u.s. ambassador to afghanistan ryan crocker. thanks for spending part of your morning here with us in studio 7. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> simmering anti-western sentiment in afghanistan boils no a week of violent protests and 30 deaths including 4 americans. today -- is it time for the u.s. to go? a conversation with the u.s. ambassador to afghanistan, ryan crocker in kabul. >>> then -- gas, taxes and 2012 with obama campaign adviser robert gibbs. >> and -- >> good to be back in michigan. >> good to be here in tucson. >> republican politics. plus their recent trip to afghanistan. rapid increasing gas prices. how high and how long? with former ceo of shell oil. i'm candy crowley. and this in is "state of the union." the afghan government says the man who killed two american soldiers inside a highly secured afghan government building is an afghan intelligence officer. president hamid karzai has offered condolences to the families of the four americans killed since news that u.s. personnel apparently inadvertently b

. >>> then, gas, taxes and 2012 with obama campaign adviser robert gibbs. >> it's good to be back here in michigan. >> eye on michigan and arizona. republican politics with senators john mccain and lindsey graham. plus their recent trip to afghanistan. >>> then the rapid increasing gas prices. how high and how long with the former ceo of shell oil. i'm candy crowley. and this is "state of the union." >>> the afghan government says the man who killed two american soldiers inside a highly secured government african building is an intelligence officer. hamid karzai has offered condolences of the families of the four americans killed since news that u.s. personnel apparently inadvertently burned copies of the koran at an air base in afghanistan. karzai called for calm in his country but insisted the u.s. must prosecute those responsible for burning the muslim holy book. joining me from kabul, u.s. achl bass door to afghanistan, ryan crocker. mr. ambassador, let me ask you first, the u.s., over more than ten years, has spent half a trillion dollars in afghanistan, almost 2,000 american lyes

on abc's "this week" robert gibbs shot back saying santorum went well over the line.david kerley. >> how are you? >>> reporter: increasing his lead in some polls, santorum touched a nerve, seriously ratcheting up his attacks on the president. now, questioning his values. >> it's about some phony ideal, some phony theology. oh, not a theology based on the bible, a different theology. >> reporter: the former senator says he was calling for more use of the country's resources and criticizing the president for putting the environment ahead of human needs. but he had no problem broadening his critique of the president just minutes later. >> and the president of the united states is exercising his values and trumping the values of the church. >> reporter: in a terse response, the obama campaign called this a new low complaining about santorum's "distortions, ugliness," and, this morning, called it over the line. >> it's wrong. it's destructive. it makes it virtually impossible to solve the problems that we all face together as americans. >> reporter: it isn't just environme

we'll ask top obama adviser, robert gibbs and then our powerhouse roundtable takes all of the week's politics, plus the jeremy lin and whitney houston. with george will, dee dee myers, lou dobbs, clarence page and jon karl. >>> good morning, everyone. george stephanopoulos has a well-deserved mortgage off. just one week away from the crucial michigan primary and michigan is mitt romney's home state where his dad was governor. and both the romney and santorum camps there consider that be a game-changerer in this battle. to discuss that fight and more, senator john mccain joined us just a few moments ago from afghanistan. senator, i'm going to get to foreign relations and international policy, this week has been dominated by politics. you have become part of the conversation. i want to play rick santorum in columbus, ohio, yesterday, talking about romney's leadership about the salt lake city olympics. >> salt lake city olympic games by going to congress and asking them for tens of millions of dollars to bail out. john mccain called it potentially the worst boon dogle in earmarks histor

it is wrong and destructible. >> sean: joining me night to respond to robert gibbs and said the recordaight once and for all, the candidate himself, presidential candidate rick santorum. by the way, did president obama say republicans want dirty air and water and old people and dogs to fend for themselves and now we have a lecture on civility from robert gibbs. it missed that before. >> want to throw grandma off the cliff because we want to reform medicare system. it's very clear. what i was talking about is the president's driving up of gas prices. i was in north dakota. standing at a wellhead. they told me they have to sell this light sweet crude, a premium product. this is by the most highly valued crude out there. sell it to $32 discount. why? because they don't have a way to get it to the market. because this president not approving the keystone pipeline. and we'll lose barrels a day from alaska, venezuela and mexico and we have an opportunity to build a pipeline to get oil from the oil sands in canada and shale and this president holds to higher power that we have to worry about

you'll also be talking to robert gibbs. dan?nts this morning in the case of the lacrosse player from an elite university accused of killing his girlfriend. the case is now in the hands of the jury. after closing arguments on saturday. during which the prosecutor broke down and cried in open court. >> reporter: hi, dan. good morning to you. after two long weeks, 06-plus witnesses and multiple acts for the defense, closing arguments finally happened on saturday. in this university of virginia murder trial. breaking down in tears, while delivering his closing argument, the prosecutor reminded jurors of the final moments before yeardley love died. she couldn't scream, was it his hand over her face? was it her face being smashed into the floor? she never had a chance. they insisted that he killed his ex-girlfriend in a drunken rage. this is the case of a woman who went to bed in what should have been her safest and secure places -- her home. they said, and then he began to assault her, left her for dead. in the closing arguments, he

robert gibbs took it out of context. he was not questioning the president peace character or religion. as he has clarified, he is talking about the global warmists of the country, he was referring to the president's policies in terms of the radical islamic policies that the president has specifically in terms of energy skplorgz expl e explorati explorations. keystone pipeline is case in point. it is key to helping with gas prices and job creation, he will see as the prices begin to rise, his popularity will go down with it. the keystone pipeline is a case in point that is directly attributed to that statement. and the president's policies are outlined as not working in rick santorum's op-ed. he presented the plan about jobs and economy. it's about bottom up, free markets, and it will turn around the economy. >> when rick santorum, instead of talking about the keystone pipeline and environmental policy, when he talks about theology and values, and the president's theology, it does seem that he is going after the president

obama re-election campaign spokesman robert gibbs...e president's political team now potential gop nominee... s a - called the comments part of a rrpublican race to the bottom. "" think the idea that rick santorum could be the nominee is a very real one. and obviously we're looking more at, at what rick santorum is talking about and what he's offering. he made some comments over the past few days that i think questioned people's character and questioned people's faith and i don't think that belongs in our politics."in his oww sunday talk show appearance, santooum denied he was questioning the president's faith."i wasn't suggesting the president's not a christian. i accept the fact that the president's a christian."and &phe defended his view that pealth insurance companies should not be forced to cover prenatal care...because he says it leads to mmre abortions.""es, prenatal testing, amniocentesis, does in fact, result more often than not in this ccuntry in abortion. that is a fact." santorum claims that prenatal pare is designed to find

on the other hand, you had robert gibbs who was very cautious in his approach, dealing with the publicesentment over job loss, over foreclosures. his position was we do not want any john edwards, $400 hair cut moments. the obamas have to reflect a much more sort of regular american lifestyle. >> is that why they clashed? >> it caused tension. >> tell me about it. >> over small things. one thing about the white house is how tiny things become magnified. even the question of whether they would announce a new florist that had come to the whouchl white house. could michelle obama take a makeup and hair artist on trips? these were matters of quiet contention between the east and west wing? >> how effective is michelle obama's, let's move initiative which the campaign that could have some really commercial policy implications. >> absolutely. well, we have to stipulate the comparison is unfair, right? the problems that the president has to deal with are so much more complex than the ones the first lady does, but the first lady had arguably more management experience than the president coming

we want to bring in robert gibbs, senior adviser to president obama's election campaign. he's joining us from the key state of florida where the president will attend fundraisers later today. nice to have you with us this morning. >> good morning. >>> bob pointed out there doesn't seem to be april winner. does this change at all the focus of the obama campaign or does it remain fairly squarely on mitt romney with a little bit of santorum. >> i think this is certainly going to be an interesting race in the next few days and the next few weeks. i'd pick up on what you guys have said this morning. that is, if you're watching this debate at home, there's in the a lot of positive visions being offered for how you want to take this country forward. there was a lot of negative distortions and exaggerations. i mean if mitt romney or describe himself as resolute in this debate, i think that gives you a sense of just how surreal things were. >> resolute was the word he described himself had asked to do that by the moderator. it seems clear that all the questions center around the p

>> robert gibbs obviously. what's disturbing about rick santorum, even you say he didn't back down, he recast what he had to say, similar to what he said about black people when he said they were just blah people and not black people. he can't get away from this. at the end of the day, what gibbs didn't say, there's code. santorum is speaking to a particular audience, speaking to several different audiences. one audience believes the president is really a muslim, right? he is speaking to a group who believes he might be a black liberation person, following jeremiah wright. then a third group that believe the president might be the anti-christ. while it sounds ridiculous and crazy, there are a large faction within the republican party, within that fringe base who hear this, their itching ears want to believe the stuff he is saying. i think it is dangerous, very destructive, in my opinion, very anti-american, and as a christian, i am insulted he is using this platform. >> he is, however, not only leading in polls

here's robert gibbs. >> i can't help but think that those remarks are well over the line. it's wrong. it's disruptive. it is just time to get rid of this mindset in our politics that if we disagree, we have to question character and faith. >> there's something else going on here and it is the defining of santorum in the national spotlight. a big week for santorum, as big of a week, of course, for romney. both men, their political careers and their futures in many ways on the line this week. also this weekend, requiring insurers to pay for prenatal testing somehow promotes abortion, santorum said. >> they require free prenatal testing in every insurance policy in america. why? because it saves money. why? because free prenatal testing ends up in more abortions and less care that has to be done because we cull the ranks of the disabled in our society. >> asked to explain further on sunday, he doubled down. >> the bottom line is that a lot of prenatal tests are done to identify deformities in youtero and the customary procedure is to encourage abortion. >> we will talk about

on the other hand you had robert gibbs who was very cautious in his approach, dealing with public resentmentr job loss and foreclosures and his position was we do not want any john edwards, $400 hair cut moments. the obamas have to reflect a much more sort of regular american lifestyle. >> is that why they clashed? >> it caused a lot of attention. >> over such small things. one thing about the white house is about how tiny things can be magnified. even the question of whether they would announce a new florist that had come to the white house? could michelle and obama take a hair and makeup artist on trips. this these are matter of quiet contrast. >> how do the management styles of the obamas differ. the let's move initiative, the campaign that could have some policy implications? >> well, the thing is we have to stipulate the comparison is a little unfair, right, because the problems the president has to deal with are so much more complex than the ones the first lady does. but the funny thing is the first lady had arguably more management experience coming in to the white house. her east win

. >> but robert gibbs, senior advisor to president obama's re-election campaign says don't count out rick santorum yet. >> i think he has a legitimate chance to be the republican nominee. >> recent polls shows the two men running neck and neck in the states where voters will make their choice on tuesday. >> a hot topic on the campaign trail, rising gas prices. they've been rising for 19 straight days and have never been this high in february before. analysts say the prices in our area could top $4.25 before the end of april, before the peak driving season even begins. right now, expect to pay $3.67 statewide or $3.64 in the baltimore area. this new video we got into the newsroom tonight a train derailed in burlingtonton, canada, killing at least three people, according to the town's mayor. crews have been busy working to pull passengers from the wreckage. a spokeswoman for via rail said 75 people were onboard the train from niagara falls to toronto when it went off the rails. police have not released details about the accident. the academy awards wrapped up just a few minutes ago. ho

robert gibbs. >> i cannot help but think that those remarks are well over the line it's wrong it's disruptive and it makes it virtually impossible to face problems that we all face together as americans. this is all an attempt to centralize power and to give more power to the government. >> santorum also said health insurance plans should not be required to cover prenatal testing because that testing results in more abortions. the woman who was kidnapped as a teenager in utah and held captive for months was married in hawaii this weekend. the woman's tabernacle outside honolulu, she was 14 when she was deducted from her home in sexually abused during her time in captivity kirk kidnapped there was brian david mitchell. a student at brigham young university. >> we're expecting some storms on tuesday but will it be ray norris now? jim ramsey will talk about that in the possibility and a look ahead for the rest of your work week. while some fiber ads use super models metamucil uses super hard working psyllium fiber, which gels to remove unsexy waste and reduce cholesterol. taking psyllium fiber w

meantime tomorrow on "this week" with george, john mccain and robert gibbs.st thing in the morning. >>> meantime in washington. a bail hearing is set for next week after the suspect if arrested in an terrorist sting, accuse to blow up the u.s. capitol. the native of morocco living illegally in northern virginia. allegedly thought he was working with al qaeda but instead working with the fbi. we turnover seas where kuhn fire and screams fill the capital of siria where heefavily armeded troops open up at a funeral. alex marquardt reports from the syrian border where the sounds captured today tell the story. >> reporter: as the snow fell in damascus today, huge crowds of mourners marched to within two miles of the presidential palace, their grief turning to anger. and then, gunfire from security forces. protesters scrambled for cover. in the central city of homs, residents say tank shells are raining down on them. the two weeks barrage are blamed for hundreds of deaths. and residents contacted by abc news say the siege is only getting worse. >> tanks and armored

a wrap of last night's republican presidential debate and reaction from obama campaign adviser robert gibbsangers journalists face in foreign war zones. and in "healthwatch," the weight loss ripple effect. why shedding pounds with a friend can be more effective. that's the "cbs morning news" for this thursday. thanks for watching everyone. we do appreciate it. i am betty nguyen. we do appreciate it. i am betty nguyen. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com fire. we'll have a live report from e. wrap >>> your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. >>> firefighters in sunnyvale mopping up after a two-alarm house fire. a live report from the scene coming up. >>> sad. it doesn't make may happy. it makes

there's one you describe where she is wearing normal shorts to go to the grand canyon and i guess robert gibbs in the post made fun of them saying they were not normal shorts and she wondered if she was leading the team down. how do you weigh the balance of vulnerability and fierceness that alternate in the book? >> that is part of what i think is so fascinating. a part of the reason i think, i mean let's just banish the phrase angry black woman from the culture not only from this book that part of the reason i think i caricature her is so wrong is that it misses the vulnerability and it misses the anxiety. those are the worst that her aides used. they don't call her angry. the caller anxious. the point in my of my reporting where i found her really fuming was after this the scott brown victory. scott brown a

i think robert gibbs who is the senior advisor said it was a new low, i believe, he said. >> right. once again that's because rick santorum was questioning his theology. of course theology is the study of religion so it suggests that santorum was talking and suggesting that the president is not a christian. he disavowed that today. rick santorum has won four states. mitt romney has won three states. rick santorum is arguably the frontrunner at this point. but the obama campaign is not switching their focus. there would be political malpractice in their words not to look at rick santorum and study his record but they still think at end of the day mitt romney will ooek this thing out. the obama team is not attacking rick santorum. i feel like we say this often. it's because they want rick san torp up to continue to stay strong and watch this primary last for several more months as the president holds back the official event, raises money and also focuses on the economy. we saw something change this last week in our own cbs news poll. the president hitting 50% in his approval ratings f

a quick story, john, that robert gibbs told us in the white house briefing room.resident obama, when he laid out his first economic recovery program, he called john boehner and said this is a new post partisan age. i would like to come up to the hill and speak to the republican caucus. no democratic president had ever done that, and explain my plan and maybe we can get some support. boehner said that would be great. come on up. before the president got in his limousine, john boehner went in front of his caucus and said we're going to unanimously oppose this plan. hadn't even heard it yet. that's what we've seen. lack of cooperation. >> one of the issues, and you know this has come up in briefs and administration officials saying they can deal with speaker boehner, they can deal with eric cantor. the problem is the republicans can't rein in their own caucus. that part of the problem? >> within part of the problem, they can deal with john boehner. i don't think they can deal with eric cantor. i think eric cantor more than anyone else is the problem. he represents th

i miss robert gibbs but i didn't think anybody could fall into the territory where they can't answer question. senate controlled by the democrats, they haven't passed a budget. poor. >> the white house has no opinion whether the senate should pass the budget. white house has no opinion about whether. >> i have no opinion and chairman bernanke's opinion how the senate ought to do its business. >> thousand days? >> before you go through this the long thing how the obama is bringing out a budget, i think some people would feel sorry for him. if you take a job defending a guy that is doing this, you have to know what you are in? >> i have no opinion. i have no opinion. >> it's been a thousand days. >> this is their job. >> this is what they are supposed to do. >> i have no opinion. >> seriously. i think what part of this is, i don't think there is going to be a budget. i don't think it matters. it does matter. it's their job. listen, election year, three years ago. >> this is an election year and republicans -- >> if you believe an episode of the west wing, worst part the press secretary

. >> and former white house spokesman robert gibbs weighing in on the g.o.p. race and it's not pretty. >> i think this g.o.p. primary is in many cases has been a race to the bottom. d

we'll also get republican debate analysis from bob schieffer and talk with robert gibbs of the obama campaign. >>> i'm gayle king. when i see you at 8:00 we'll talk with lara logan about the risk of reporting from the world's danger spots. they may be the most unlikely oscar nominees to ever walk the red carpet. we'll introduce you today. >>> i'm erica hill. john miller takes us inside the government's plans to stop a potential iranian terror attack against. s. interests. is weight loss contagious? >> first as we do every morning, we take a look at today's eye-opener. your look at the world in 90 seconds. >> a mid-air collision claims the lives of seven u.s. marines. >> two marine korpts helicopters crashed during a training exercise. a full investigation is underway. >> two u.s. soldiers are killed and afghanistan erupts in anti-american violence. >> over burning of the koran by soldiers. afghan police struggle to disperse hundreds of protesters trying to break into a military base. >> they're encouraging afghans to kill them, beat them, and capture them. >> while i was fighting to

. >> kimberly: i want to get to robert gibbs on the abc show.r how he handles it and we'll see if he did a good job. >> i can't help but think those remarks are over the line. it's wrong, destructive. it makes it impossible to solve the problems we all face together as americans. is it time to get rid of it. >> kimberly: greg, we start with you. >> greg: he belonged to an administration that was sewing the seeds of class division for the last year or so, telling us we have to face the problems together as americans. being a bit hypocritical. >> dana: plus an opportunity, my style could have been i'll let the republican fight this out. it's unattractive to any woman when somebody takes a slight at everything. if you are looking to be offended all the time. it's -- you don't want to be around people like that. there is an opportunity to say i'm going to let the republicans fight it out. let me tell you why president obama deserves a second term. you the free room to take the conversation in a different place. >> eric: if gibbs can go on a national

julie: white house called out santorum with campaign spokesman robert gibbs saying the following. >> it is time in our politics which we get rid of this mind set if we disagree we have to disqualify each other. that if we, not just on political positions but we question character and faith. it is wrong. >> you think he is questioning his faith? >> i can't help but think that those remarks are well over the line. julie: kirsten powers, "daily beast" columnist and rich lowery editor for "the national review" join us. both are fox news contributors. great to see you both. >> hi, there. julie: rich, and kirsten as well, do you think santorum's questioned obama's christianity saying the president of the united states is exercising his values and trumping the values of the church? kirsten, what say you? >> when somebody brings up theology and refers to the bible it is a little hard to believe they're not questioning his christianity. i saw some explanation of it that he was talking about radical environmentalists. i don't really see that. so i think that it was out of bounds, even if it wa