altered? food, science, and safety. bewitched, christine o'donnell comments about her past remark that she dabbled in witchcraft when she was young. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." behind the scenes, white house aides and reporters closely watched president obama's performance at a town hall meeting in the economy today. they know that every word out of the president's mouth could influence anxious voters only 43 days before the election. the president was asked about big issues that may decide whether his party keeps control of congress from jobs and tax cuts to the anti-government mood in america. listen to the president's response at the cnbc forum when he was asked what his administration will do if tea party activists get elected. >> the problem that i've seen in the debate that's been taking place and in some of these tea party events is i think they're misidentifying sort of who the culprits are here. as i said before, we had to take some emergency steps last year. but the majority of the economists will tell you that the emergency steps we take are not the problem long term. the problem long term are the -- are the problems that i talked about earlier. we've got -- we had two tax cuts that weren't paid for, two wars that weren't paid for. we've got population that's getting older. it's -- we're all demanding services. but our taxes have actually substantially gone down. and so the challenge for the tea party movement is deny what will you do? it's not enough to just say get control of spending. i think it's important for you to say, you know, i'm willing to cut veterans' benefits. or i'm willing to cut medicare or social security benefits. or i'm willing to see these taxes go up. >> president clearly zeroing in on the topic of tax cuts. he once again extended his push to extend the bush-era breaks only for the middle class. he accuses them of holding the tax cuts hostage by insisting that wealthy americans get that extension too. how that strategy is playing with voters. dan lothian is joining us. dan? wolf, white house aides say the strategy of going after republicans singling some of them out by name, especially on the issue of tax cuts for the wealthy, is working. but as we found out, some americans have turned off by all of the finger pointing. >> from a latin bistro to a tea exchange to a hair salon, small business owners across the country are more focused on paying the bills than pondering politics. >> we're paying taxes, we're paying all of these insurance that everything they're adding on to us daily. >> they're struggling in a tough economy as washington debates tax cuts. and to make matters worse, some say, the president is picking a fight with a republican most americans say they barely know. >> mr.r. >> let me be clear to mr. boehner. >> reporter: do americans really care about this finger pointing? a public tit for tat played out on inn the briefing room, on morning news shows, and on twitter. >> people just don't care about all of the in-fighting. >> reporter: to flesh that out sentiment, we sent producers to three cities, orlando, philadelphia, and los angeles, and met people like margarita fernandez who owns it orlando latin bistro. >> it's somewhat of a disappointment. it's not doing nothing for our country. >> reporter: she's turned off by the bipartisan rhetoric and says it's a waste of time that could be better spent talking about solutions. jeffrey schrader who owns a spice and tea shop agrees. >> it seems childish, it's exhausting. people who are making decisions or who are there to make decisions are fighting amongst themselves and you wonder how anything is getting done. >> reporter: across the country, george carroll is a bit more forgiving. he understands how drawing sharp contrast in politics can be effective. but as the line of customers coming in to his business thins and more people he knows lose their jobs, the bipartisan debate, he says, has become a distraction. >> it's jobs, stupid! it's the economy, stupid. what can washington do to create -- to put people back to work? >> reporter: in philadelphia, shana who runs a dance academy has tuned everything out. she's cynical about the blame game but struggles to come up with the alternative. >> if i knew the answer to that question, i would be making a lot more money than i'm making now. >> reporter: a washington official says the president will continue to make the case that the republicans are putting up roadblocks, a charge they denied. and that democrats are offering real solutions. wolf? dan lothian, thank you. let's get to the republican campaign strategy right now. gop leaders are set to unveil a blueprint for reclaiming control of the house on thursday. our senior congressional correspondent dana bash and deirdre walsh, they broke the news first here on cnn. dana is joining us right now. dana, a lot of comparisons between what the republicans are planning to do this week and what they did back in 1994. >> right, you remember the images from 1994, right? it was the big, dramatic ceremony on the steps of the capital. you can see newt gingrich back then. that was their -- of course, their attempt after being in the minority for 40 years in the house to unveil their ten-point contract with america, legislation they promised to pass. but what house republicans plan to do this coming thursday is the same concept laying out an agenda for how they would govern if they're in charge, but it will look and feel very different. you will see the faces of the house republican leadership. i think they have them. that's who you're going to see this coming thursday. they're going to be not on the steps of the capitol but in a hardware store in northern virginia. it's by design emphasizing the issue, jobs and the economy. >> what do we know about what's going to be in their agenda? >> five major themes. the five major themes are going to be jobs, spending, health care, national security, and reform of congress itself. specifics on these things are not holding them close to the vest so far. but the economy is definitely going to be the top issue. there's no kquestion about that. and it's interesting that there's a not, we're told, from gop sources to tea party issues. no it just a promise to repeal the health care bill, but a legislation and scrutinize legislation to make sure it's constitutional. another nod to the dominance of the economy. we're told not to expect much by the way of social issues in this republican ape general da, abortion and gay rights and things like that. >> they're going to avoid that. why is it so important to the republicans right now to be unveiling this new agenda. >> republican strategists, we talked to them for months and months. they understood that the missing ingredient in their push to get elected and take control of congress has been that they haven't offered voters a look at what they're for. and they're not just doing enough to say but against the democrats. but, still, some republicans told us today that they're actually wary of veering from what gop sources called their 80/20 rule. they believe that this election in the words of one strategist is 80% about democrats, the president, the house speaker, and 20% about us, meaning republicans. and what they're going to do on thursday is try to fill in that 20%. but, the fact that they're going to do it in this relatively low-key way is very interesting and really telling that they still think that the dominant issue, the issue, is anger towards the democrats. >> talk about this tomorrow with the former president bill clinton who knows about what the republicans did in 1994 when they lost control of the house and senate. get his perspective, a special interview with him tomorrow. the controversy surrounding republican senate candidate christine o'donnell has only grown since an old clip surfaced of her talking about dabbling in witchcraft when she was young. brian todd is in delaware right now. he's investigating. also, lady gag a's main event. she's putting pressure on two u.s. senators in her campaign to get rid of don't ask don't tell. wait until you hear how a big wild fire in utah got started. you want some fiber one honey clusters? 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[ tires screech ] [ engine revving ] [ drums playing ] [ male announcer ] 306 horsepower. race-inspired paddle shifters and f sport-tuned suspension. all available on the new 2011 lexus is. it isn't real performance, unless it's wielded with precision. see your lexus dealer. jeff cafferty here with the cafferty file, jeff? wolf, for candidates who are up for election in november are spending three times more money advertising against president obama's health care law than they are for it. the president told us during the heated health care debate that reform would mean lower health care costs. well, so far, it's not happening. start in california. regulators there have now cleared all four of the state's major insurers for rate hikes. these four companies controlled 90% of california's individual health insurance policies. "the los angeles times" reports that aetna was the last company to be approved with rate hikes averaging 19%. the company is defending the rate hikes saying they're necessary to keep one the rising health care costs like hospital care, prescription drugs, doctor visits, etc. they said the maximum increase for some of the members will be 30%. 30%! some policy holders are rightfully concerned that they soon will not be able to afford health insurance at all. meanwhile in connecticut just up the road a piece here, regulators have approved rate hikes of 20% of the state's largest health insurer, that would be anthem blue cross/blue shield. the increases will vary depending on the plan. the costs will go up due to rising medical costs and the benefits from health care reform. this includes things like covering young adults until they turn 26, and covering full costs of preventive care, like mammograms or colonosocopies. the question is this, do you think your health care costs will rise under president obama's new health care law? go to cnn..com/caffertyfile to post on my blog. >> people do think they're going up already. >> that was a gift to the insurance companies, wasn't it? >> okay. yeah, jack, thank you. republicans are tentatively calling it their commitment to america. we heard earlier about their upcoming plan for winning back and governing the house of representatives. let's talk with gloria borger. this this is like the 1994 contract with america, we heard dana bash. how important is it to the republicans? >> i met with some senior republican house strategists today. it's important because you have to tell people what you're going to do. it's different from 1994, wolf. in 1994, the republicans had health control for 40 years in the house. they had to remind people, this is what we stand for. right now, they feel that they have a terrific issue set already out there. the stills will package, they can talk about that. the health care policies, they can talk about that. so they consider this to be more of a governing document, if you will, than a campaign document. they believe, look, it's fine for us to do it, but we don't all need to tie ourselves to the establishment in washington, our candidates are just fine on their own. happy to have it. don't need it. >> what other republicans target of opportunity in the house? >> i spoke to them today. they divided it to three groups. freshmen and sophomores. the election of 2006 and 2008, the democrats in swing districts, more than 50 of them. secondly, long-time democrats. establishment democrats they have been trying to knock off for years, lots of them, they have a shot at them. democrats in the northeast. republicans have had a difficult time in the northeast. they say they're about seven to eight seats each in new york state and ohio, for example, that they consider to be targets of opportunity. and don't forget, there are 48 democrats right now in districts that john mccain won. that's a real target of opportunity. >> they need 39 to become the majority in the house of representatives. now, if the democrats supposedly nationalized this election, how do the republicans respond to that? >> as george bush once said, bring it on. they're very happy to nationalize the election. you know, they say it may work in some senate seats for democrats, run against the tea party, etc. but in house races, they say what this is going to do is bring out the republican base. they're not going to be happy to see anyone demonizing anybody in the republican party. they say it will only help them locally in their elections. so if they want to make it about barack obama, that's what the republicans want. so fine with them. >> gloria, thanks very much. >> sure. the worst economic downturn since the great depression has now officially been declared over. so how does president obama plan to raise consumer confidence? i'll ask mark zandi. that's coming up. and a heightened concern in the thaus the cout the country a threat -- we're talking about iran. mahmud ahmadinejad is in new york. he's got a message for barack obama. and the former president of the united states, bill clinton, sitting down with me in "the situation room" in the clinton global initiative tomorrow. that interview coming up in "the situation room" tomorrow. check it out. i can like, see everything that's going on with the car. here's the gas level. i can check on the oil. i can unlock it from anywhere. i've received a signal there was a crash. some guy just cut me off. i'll get an ambulance to you right away. safely connecting you in ways you never thought possible. onstar. live on. can be unsettling. but what if there were a different story? of one financial company that grew stronger through the crisis. when some lost their way, this company led the way. by protecting clients and turning uncertainty into confidence. what if that story were true? it is. ♪ it is. this site has a should i try priceline instead? >> no it's a sale. nothing beats a sale! wrong move! you. you can save up to half off that sale when you name your own price on priceline. but this one's a deal...trust me. it's only pretending to be a deal. here, bid $79. got it. wow! you win this time good twin! there's no disguising the real deal. jake bald wynn is monitoring some of the other top stories in the situation room right now. kate, what's going on? the utah governor said the raging wild fire started by national guard and munition could soon be out. authorities are optimistic that winds have shifted and temperatures have dropped. the fire has burned about 10,000 acres and evacuation orders remain in place for some 5,000 people, although residents with specific needs are being allowed in briefly. four homes were destroyed. and a weakening hurricane igor is now moving away from bermuda after hammering the island. the storm took down a number of trees and left 2/3 of the area without power. there were no serious injuries or deaths. thankfully high surf advisories have been issued for most of the seaboard as igor heads north and a tropical storm watch is in effect for parts of newfoundland. former defense secretary donald rumsfeld is speaking out. he isn't holding back. his long anticipated memoir is set to be released in january. the book entitled, known and unknown is a play on his infamous 2002 quote referring to the war on iraq. rumsfeld is expected to reveal new details about the bush administration, 9/11, and the wars in iraq and afghanistan. and music star lady gaga is making headlines again today. she's making a last-ditch attempt at rallying support for a key senate vote on the military's controversial don't ask don't tell policy. the entertainer appeared in maine today to pressure the state's two gop senators to vote to begin debate on a defense spending bill that includes a repeal of the provision. so far, it hasn't worked. democrats are falling short of the 60 votes needed to open the debate. and the vote is set for tomorrow. and right now, woman, our capitol hill unit says the vote is too close to call. >> susan collins and olympia snowe, the moderate republican senators from maine are not going to listen to lady gaga. is that what you're saying? >> so far indicating that they're sticking with their party. lady gaga is making an attempt. the capitol hill unit says it's too close to call. critics say president obama is pitting the risks facing the middle class. the danger of turning off wealthy voters. and an exclusive interview with the french first lady, carla bruni. she's setting the record straight about what michelle obama told her about life in the white house. be sure to join us tomorrow for the one-on-one interview with the former president bill clinton. we'll talking p talk about his global initiative politics and a whole lot more. st seemed like a great day to save. oh, it's not just today. with our free loyalty program, you earn great stuff like accident forgiveness and bigger discounts just by staying with us. oh! ooh! so, what you're saying is, it gets even better with age. oh! tell me we're still talking about insurance. rewarding loyalty. now, that's progressive. call or click today. personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. you're in the situation room. happening now, the french first lady speaking out exclusively to cnn. she's trying to set the record straight on what michelle obama told her about life in the white house. stand by. you can't find it in the water but some day may be on your dinner table. just ahead, the growing debate over genetically engineered salmon. i'm wo blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we received an official end date today for the worst economic downturn since the great depressi depression. the national bureau of economic research says the recession that began back in december of 2007 lasted 18 months and ended in june of last year. that's cold comfort, though, for millions of americans who are out of work or suffering financially in some way. let's talk about some of the big questions about the economy and jobs as election day approaches with mark zandi. he's the chief economist for moody's. thanks very much for coming in. >> thanks, wolf. >> this horrible 18-month recession, it seems so much longer because of the joblessness that's out there. is it fair to say that this is a jobless recovery? >> i think that's fair. i think this proclamation that the recession ended just over a year ago, something only an economist can appreciate.