usa and priorities usa action, also joining us, our newest cnn political contribute, former bush secretary, ari flesher, a member of the pr republican jewish coalition. thanks very much. ari, what did you think of the president. handling of this israeli/palestinian issue at general assembly today? >> it might surprise you, i liked it today. the president did something this year he did not do last year and added a robust pro-israel paragraph, talked about the holocaust, 6 million lives lost, how israel's in a hostile neighborhood where rockets are fired at children. he did not say that last year. what he did say last year, which he omitted this year, was a call for israel to end the settlements and extend the settlement moratorium. a clear difference this year from last year. i suspect election politics have to do with it. i like it. welcome to hear. >> we didn't larry today, paul, what the president said back on may 19th, caused a huge uproar, that israel should withdraw to the pre-1967 lines with mutually agreed land swaps. today he spoke in general terms about borders, security, issues like that. was this more of a political speech as opposed to a substantive diplomatic speech, paul? >> i suppose all politics is global, if i can turn tip o'neill's phrase on its head, but, no. everybody's proud to see our president being the leader of the free world, speaking at united nations, i think ari maybes a good point. he stood very robustly by america's only democratic ally in the region, that is israel, when israel is under attack in that very chamber. i thought that was wonderful, as an american, not just democrat. i think the political peril is more on the side of governor rick perry of texas who during a time and at a place in new york, while the president's meeting with foreign leaders in defending america and israel, governor perry came here and accused our president, in his words of apiecement and called palestinian, palestine, those not from texas, it's a small town in east texas called palestine but it's confusing vienna, georgia, with the city in austria. if any democrat had done that it would have been just as mall but i don't remember any democrat that to bush. >> to answer your question, i think the president obama did not stand robustly by israel, i said he added a paragraph defending israel he did not have in last year. the reason he's doing that, he's feeling to act as if he's robustly behind israel. that's one of the reasons he lost support. and heavily jewish district, went from democrat to republican since the first time since the 1920s. so i think -- >> but ari, was it appropriate for governor perry, was it appropriate for governor perry to show up in new york on the eve of the president's major address before the general assembly and just, you know, hit him very hard on israel? >> of course he was. he's run for the man's job, that's what you're doing when running for president. that's more appropriate than what president obama spoke about israel and return to the 67 borders land swaps which led to the diplomatic blowup of last spring. on the political front, of course it's appropriate. that's what candidates do. and i think it's healthy to have a debate how far the united states should go in supporting israel. i think obama's been lacking in. the more pressure, the more he's tacking in israel's direction. i like that. >> all right. paul, don't answer, because we've got to go. i'm trying to be nice to ari, today's his first day, as our new cnn contributor. >> you're always nice. >> let me welcome ari. thrilled to have him on the team. >> all of us are. he'll be a terrific addition to our political lineup. thanks very much. >>> the other breaking news following, troy davis, georgia, supporters are watching the clock right now. he's scheduled to die in a little bit more than one hour. we're going back to georgia for a live report. is there anything that can be done to prevent that?yo that cilc borrowed technology from ferrari to develop its suspension system? or what if we told you that ferrari borrowed technology from cadillac to develop its suspension system? magnetic ride control -- pioneered by cadillac, perfected in the 556-horsepower cts-v. we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs. a network of possibilities... ♪ in here, pets never get lost. ♪ in here, every continent fits in one room. it was fun, we played football outside. why are you sitting in the dark? ♪ [ male announcer ] in here, you're never away from home. it's the at&t network. and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. it's the at&t network. so to save some money... man: looks great, hun... woman: ...and we're not real proud of this. man: no...we're not. woman: we...um... teen: have you guys seen captain stewie and lil' miss neptune? dad: did you look all over the place? under your desk? all around? teen: uh, they're fish, they live in a bowl. dad: what're gonna do? anncr: there's an easier way to save. anncr: there's an easier way to save. teen: whatever. anncr: get online. go to 15% or more on car insurance.r:u [ male ] using clean american fuel is just a pipe dream. ♪ [ female announcer ] we're rolling away misperceptions about energy independence. did you know that today about a quarter of all new transit buses use clean, american natural gas? we have more natural gas than saudi arabia has oil. so how come we're not using it even more? start a conversation about using more natural gas vehicles in your community. i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. >>> jack cafferty joining us with "the cafferty file." >> the question is, what does it say about president obama's reelections chances next year if sarah palin is within five points of him in one national poll and she's not even in the race? ron in minnesota writes, tell me america is wising up to the fact that candidates of both major political parties are equally worthless, elections have become a series of choices about which pile of political slop smells the least offensive. and most machine americans are saying they can't tell any difference on the one issue that matters this election cycle, the economy. ken writes, palin's irrelevant because she's not running. gays got rid of don't ask, don't tell, hispanics are not facing deportation, hedge fund managers continue to make billions in the swap marks and blacks will voter to obama. palin means nothing. larry in texas writes, several things if palin's that close. obama better panic like james carville suggested, he better consider calling hillary and asking her to run but mainly it says the american people are pretty dumb when it comes to future if they think sarah palin's the answer to our problems. brad in oregon says, it won't mean anything if palin doesn't run or if perry becomes the nominee. the worst enemy of the republican's chances to win the presidency is the republican base itself. if they pick someone to right wing or too crazy to be the republican nominee the independents will hold their noses and vote for obama. brenda writes on facebook, goes to show americans are fed up and any choice is better than what we currently have. doug says, palin is the only potential candidate in the field with enough name recognition and star power to beat obama, enough to safr independents will hold their noses and vote for palin despite her hard core religious leanings to make it an even race. once the queen takes the bishop, romney, she will checkmate the king, obama. go to cnn.com/caffertyfile or through the post on "the situation room" facebook page. >> excellent stuff, jack. thank you. >>> you're in "the situation room." happening now, breaking news, one after another. last-minute appeals being denied in eight controversial execution may be one hour away. many are convinced the state of georgia is about to put an innocent man to death. >>> also -- his book alleges indecision, in fighting and an old boy's club atmosphere in the white house. ru ron suskind is here. >>> the investigation into fast and furious. the u.s. government operation that put thousands of illegal guns on the streets of mexico, one lawmaker accuses the justice department of stonewalling. we want to welcome viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer at the united nations. you're in "the situation room." >> this is cnn breaking news. >> let's begin with breaking news. hope is giving way to grim resignation in jackson, georgia, where a man thousands of people believe to be innocent is scheduled to be executed in less than one hour. troy davis arrested in 1989 for the shooting death of an off-duty police officer in 1991, he was convicted based on eyewitness testimony. but by 2003, 7 of 9 witnesses had recanted, some saying police pressured them to implicate davis. execution has been postponed three times, but tonight it appears that may be no reprieve. cnn's david mattingly just outside the prison where davis is facing lethal injection in one hour. what's happening right now? >> reporter: wolf, troy davis' last-minute appeal has failed completely at the state level here in georgia. he first went to superior court, they denied his appeal, that kicked it up to the georgia supreme court, they just in the last hour denied that appeal, as well. his attorneys tell us, we haven't gotten confirmation this happened but they say they are going to the u.s. supreme court with this appeal and petition to stop or delay this execution while the court hears their appeal. there are several things that can happen now but the fact is, we are less than an hour away from the execution and no one can say for sure if it will be delayed or if it will go on as scheduled. if everything is going on as scheduled, inside the prison, troy davis is now eligible to take a mild sedative to calm his nerves before the execution. he is that close to his date with lethal injection. it's the closest he's ever been, wolf. three other times delayed, once within 2 1/2 hours. he's never been this close to execution. and, number of people who are supporting him here on the grounds of the prison are keenly aware of this. we talked to some earlier and they say clearly this case is about life and death. >> emotions in play are that we're about to execute an innocent man, seven of the nine witnesses have come forward and either recanted or said that, you know, that testimony was forced. and so there's a genuine feeling among people here and across the nation that we're about to do the unthinkable. >> there was so much wrong with this case. it was absolutely unconscionable. it was inconceivable i live in a country where i vote, i participate, and yet something like this could happen. >> reporter: and so many people here repeating that over and over, chanting just a little bit louder every quarter hour, wolf, as we get closer and closer to that scheduled execution. >> but, david, there are a lot of passionate people who believe he did in fact, kill mark allen mcphail, the police officer, including family member, prosecutors and the georgia supreme court in its decision that came out, they were unanimous in rejecting any final stay. so there are two sides to this story that's unfolding right now. you're hearing a lot from both. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. first of all, from the courts, davis lost at every single round and this has gone to dozens of judges, dozens of courts throughout the appellate process over the last 20 years. he has never scored a win. every single court has upheld his original conviction for the murder of this police officer. there are a few people here in another section away from us who are supporting the execution tonight. they are not nearly as loud. not nearly as great in number, but they here. but right now, center stage belongs to the large and vocal crowd of supporters for troy davis. >> thanks, david. we'll stay in close touch with you this hour and see what unfolds. dave is lawyers made a final appeal. supporters took their case also to the white house with about 10 people protesting any execution. let's bring in our senior legal analyst, jeffrey toobin. what are you hearing? what are prospects that within an hour the u.s. supreme court could stay the execution? >> well i think it's unlikely that they will get involved at this point. in 2009 the supreme court did something it almost never does, it ordered a hearing into the troy davis case. it said, take a look at this evidence again and a federal judge in savanna, georgia, did that in 2010, and he wrote 150-page opinion reviewing all of the evidence, and acknowledging that seven of the nine witnesses had partially recanted some of their testimony. and the judge moore said, even with those partial recantations, the evidence is strong enough to support the jury's verdict of guilty and the death sentence. it was that 150-page opinion in august of last year that was really the last word in this case. and since then, it's just been very much an uphill battle for troy davis' lawyer, having got than hearing and having lost, they haven't had much of a legal leg to stand on. and today's efforts have failed and it certainly look like they'll continue to fail in the next hour. >> you saw those protests over at the white house appealing to president obama to do something. he's here in new york, as you well know. but is it -- is that at all realistic that a president of the united states at this late stage could intervene and stop this execution? >> new york president obama has no legal right to get involved in this case, and georgia law is unusual in another respect in that the governor of georgia has no legal right to get involved. in many states the governor can issue a reprieve at the last minute. in this -- in georgia, it's only the board of pardons that can issue a stay and on monday the georgia board of pardons said they were not issuing a stay. so it really is up to the united states supreme court. that's the only option left for troy davis at this point. >> we'll see if those justices, at least one of them, makes a decision to stop this execution. we'll stay in close touch with you and david, jeffrey. >>> president obama in an awkward position of having to explain to the united nations why the united states has threatened to veto a quest for palestinian statehood, a goal which the president himself laid out in his speech to the general assembly just a year ago. he said he still believes palestinians deserve their own independent state but says the united nations is not the venue to create it. >> i know that many are frustrated by the lack of progress. i assure you, so am i. but the question isn't the goal that we seek. the question is how do we reach that goal? . and i am convinced there is no shortcut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades. peace is hard work. peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the united nations, if it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now. >> let's talk about the president's speech. it was widely watched and assessed. gloria borger is joining us. politically, and i think we can say politically begin the season of politics right now what was the president trying to achieve in the u.n. speech? >> he was trying to thread the needle, wolf. as you know better than anyone, he had on the one thoond bhand balance his support for palestinian state, with his unequivocal support for israel. and that's not easy given the fact that the venue was the united nations, just a year ago he went to the united nations and called for an independent palestinian state. but this time, this was really a speech, i think very much for domestic political consumption. as you know, wolf, his middle east policy has come under great criticism from republicans and so what we heard him do today is state over and over and over again his unequivocal support for israel. his sympathy for israel's security problems and in the end the israelis seem to like his speech, actually more than some of those republicans running for the presidency, wolf. >> that was very interesting, with the exception of ron paul, almo all republican candidates slamming president obama when it comes to israel. a fascinating development. >> well, it is. you had rick perry in new york, very close to the u.n. yesterday, calling the president's policy appeasement. as you know, that is a tough word. calling it reckless. and even today mitt romney was very critical of the president when he spoke about it in miami. take a listen. >> i think what the president did that was an error with regards to israel was begin dictating what he would do and saying here you should do this and you should do that. those discussions should be held behind closed door. the president should not be negotiating for his ally, israel. the president should stand behind israel. >> well, you can be sure, wolf that we haven't heard the end of this, that the president's middle east policy which, by the way, is controversial and has not been successful, is going to be an issue in the campaign. but you know in the old days, which i remember, you'd actually wait until the president left the united nations to start criticizing him. but we saw rick perry do it even before his speech yesterday. so times have changed. >> times certainly have changed. gloria, like all americans, jewish-americans have lost some faith in this president base on some polls that we've watched pretty closely. >> they have, because they believe that the policy has not been successful, some are critical of the policy which called for a freeze on settlements. let's take a look back at the jewish vote in 2008, when barack obama was running against john mccain. you see there completely lops e lopsided for barack obama. but now let's take a look at a gallup poll done which asked jewish voters whether they approve of all the president is handling his job. now 54%, down 14 points from may. but i would add, wolf, when you look at that approval rating among jewish rigvoters it's hig than the general approval rate offing of barack obama which is in the low 40% range. it's not great for barack obama. there's room to improve, but it's not the end of the earth yet. >> he's got a year plus to go before an election. thanks very much, gloria. jack cafferty's joining us. >> americans are afraid where our economies going and it shows. a new study on financial security shows 40% of consumers have cut their spending in the last two months. the bankrate.com survey shows supplies to americans in all income groups from the rich down to the poor. consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the u.s. economy. so if the cutback in spending continues, we could be headed into another recession. the study shows people across all educational levels say their net worth is lower today than it was last year. job security's a big worry. 23% of those under 30 say they feel more secure in their jobs now than they did a year ago. that's a little more than one in five. that number drops to 10% for people between the ages of 50 and 64. it's easy to understand why people are concerned when unemployment remains stubbornly above 9% and forecast to remain there through the end of next year. for those who are lucky enough to have a job, median incomes are declining. 46.2 million people in the united states living in poverty, the highest level in almost 20 years. and as if people didn't have enough reason to worry, the international monetary fund out with a stark warning today, saying the global economy has entered a dangerous, new phase with the recovery weakening around the world considerably. it says if the united states can't find a way to deal with ballooning national debt, the imf says the result could be a lost decade for growth. decade. ten years. americans get it. a new "usarecovery will happen soon. how are economic fears changing you're life? cnn.com/caffertyfile or go to the post on "the situation room's" facebook page. >>> the white house is pushing back hard against explosive allegations in a brand-new book by ron suskind, joining us live later this hour. >>> a congressman accuses the justice department of stonewalling his investigation into a controversial operation. >>> a top israeli official standing by live to join us as rick perry and other republicans are bashing president obama when it comes to israel. what's going on? i'll ask israel's deputy foreign minister, live here in the situation.. jerry, how are you doing? fine, i just got a little fender bender. oh, jerry, i'm so sorry. i would love to help but remember, you dropped us last month. yeah, you know it's funny. it only took 15 minutes to sign up for that new auto insurance company but it's taken a lot longer to hear back. is your car up a pole again? [ crying ] i miss you, jessica! jerry
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American Libraries
TV News
Understanding 9/11
