rick perry and mitt romney taking off the gloves and turning up the volume. the gop heavy weights going toe to toe in the republican debate. sparring over social security and who is better qualified to create jobs. jim a costas live in los angeles. the sparks were were flying between romney and rick perry. >> yes, they certainly were. you can say that for sure. last nitric perot o-- owe rick perry showed he can hit back. rick perry and mitt romney stood side by side last night. first on the question of which governor created more jobs. >> michael dukakis created jobs faster than you did. >> george bush and his predecessor created jobs more than you did, governor. >> a newly aggressive john huntsman. >> i hate to rain on the parade of the lonestar governor, but we were the number one job creator. >> it switched to the healthcare plan and the mandate requiring residents to have medical insurance. what some republicans call owe bottom any care. >> an individual mandate in this country. >> ron paul noted perry was once a democrat. >> the governor of texas criticized the governor of massachusetts for romney-care but he wrote a fancy letter supporting hillary care. >> speaking of letters, i was more interested in the one that you wrote to ronald reagan back and said i want to quit the party because of the things you believe in. >> newt gingrich tried to bring it to a halt. >> i for one, hope we repudiate the news media to get republicans to fight each other to -- barack obama deserves to be be defeated. whoever the nominee is, we are all for competing against barack obama. >> on the u.s. border with mexico could be used to keep americans caged in. >> every time you think of us keeping the bad people out, think about the fence being used against us, keeping us in. >> it was perry on the defense, take his anti-washington book fed up in which he refers to social security as a ponzi scheme. >> it is a monstrous lie. it is a ponzi scheme to tell our kids that are 25 or 30 years old today you paying in to a program that's going to be there. >> romney couldn't resist. >> you say by any measure social security is a failure. you can't say that to tens of millions who live on it. >> in an interview with cnn before the reagan debate, president obama's election adviser says the book will be fair game. >> are you looking forward to running against that book? >> i think each of the candidates has their share of strange views. they'll be hard to defend. one of the biggest surprises was michele bachmann. you could argue that rick perry's rise has hurt her more than anybody else in this race. but she really took a kid gloves approach to both romney and perry. she really did not go after either one of those candidates and played it pretty safe last night. carol and christine. >> in fairness, jim, brian williams didn't pose a question to michele bachmann until 14 minutes into the debate. she was sort of left out of the thing for a long time anyway. >> well, you know, that is true. and we heard from rick santorum in the spin room last night. he came into the room and talked to reporters. he was complaining that he felt that the way that the dee pate was structured was really to turn had into a fight between rick perry and mitt romney. he was complaining that was not fair. if michele bachmann has those feelings this morning, we haven't heard that from her. it wouldn't be a surprise to hear that. >> jim acosta -- excuse me. i knew i would do that, christine. many thanks to you. nothing to do with the debate. i swear. >> it wasn't me>> it wasn't you either. it was the tea. this monday -- >> carol, careful there. >> i'm going to get this out, i promise. this monday, cnn along with the tea party express and several tea party groups will co-host a debate with the republicans in tampa, florida. the site of the national convention. american morning will be live from there beginning at 6:00 eastern. you can watch it live on cnn monday night at 8:00 eastern. see i have tea right here. >> this is true. 6:04 in the east. jobs. on the front on the burner during the debate is the focus of president obama's address tonight, this morning's cnn's learning new information about some of the things that are in the plan and bottom line. brianna keilar live at the white house. good morning. >> good morning. we told you yesterday it was a working number. that's true. because the number, the size of this jobs plan according to democratic sources familiar with the president's speech, it has grown now to $400 billion. a working number i should tell you. the biggest chunk of this is that payroll tax extension that we're expecting. we've talked about it. right now employees are seeing a break on their payroll taxes. the president also wants to extend that to employers. that's the big thing. the other big chunk is about $100 billion for infrastructure spending. some of the other things you can expect the president to talk about tonight will include aid to states and also incentives for companies to hire some of those who are chronically underemployed at this point. for instance,veterans or the elderly, guys. >> how optimistic is the white house in getting the president's plan through congress? a lot of what we hear is not that the president should do something. it's about how the president needs to undo healthcare reform and what he's already done. >> no. certainly, the white house doesn't share that view. as you can imagine. clearly, the president wants to do something, wants to have impact on jobs. but the reality is tough. this has to clear anything that he has on jobs would have to clear congress and to clear congress, you have to clear house republicans and you've seen the white house and house republicans diametrically opposed. here's the strategy. it's not surprising. if you are struggling to pass something or you have roadblocks, what is the strategy? it's then to sort of point to whoever is standing in the way and in the white house's point of view, of course, it's house republicans. you can kind of see this when you listen to press secretary jay carney said yesterday. >> washington needs to act. the american people outside of the beltway are tired of excuses. they want action. and there will be no reason that congress can't act on this unless politics gets in the way. >> so put forward a plan and, if congress doesn't just runaway with it, which guys as you can imagine, that's not going to happen and you have democrats on the hill, they accept that's not going to happen. then sort of addressing and pointing the finger at house republicans. who at this point are already really taking aim at the president's plan, the reality is that when you talk to people on the hill, democrats, republicans, they expect that jobs proposals, some of the proposals will be addressed incrementally in bits rather than a big sweeping jobs package that would be pushed through congress. >> brianna keilar, thanks. wool get more insight into the speech in half an hour. i'm going to talk to jay i carney, the white house press secretary. don't forget to tune in tonight for live coverage of the live speech. it begins at 6:00 followed by the speech at 7:00. now, it's your turn to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question this morning, how should the president handle the country's divisiveness in his big speech tonight? talk about pressure much the president will not only face a bitterly divided krg but a bitterly divided nation. the political forecast, cold, ice cold. republican congressman joe walsh is skipping the president's speech because "i don't see the point in being a prop for another of the president's speeches asking for more failed stimulus spending." louisiana republican senator david viter won't be there either. he's hosting an nfl football party. after that, the vicious partisan attacks from both parties. my lips are numb. you have heard it loud and clear. >> he's the most effective food stamp president in american history. >> that's what we've witnessed since friday. obama ged on. open owe. >> let's take them out and give america back to where we belong. >> why bother with a bipartisan speech? as new york times columnist paul krugman writes, the president should go big and bold and bipartisan ship be dammed. what will they agree to? that's easy. they will oppose anything mr. obama proposes. but wait, there are republican leaders who are willing to work with the president. in a letter to mr. obama, house speaker john boehner and majority leader eric cantor write, it is critical that our differences not preclude us from taking action in areas where there is common agreement. we should not approach this as an all or nothing situation. so our talkback question this morning. how should the president handle the country's divisiveness in his speech tonight. facebook.com/american morning. i'll read your responses later this hour. >> what should his tone be? some say he should come out in his tone as much as policies. i'm not taking this anymore, i'm not going to play the law professor, i'm going to play the street fighter and get something done. >> you think he can play the street fighter? >> i don't know. would it be genuine? he is a thinker. thinks it through. don't you think? more prone to compromise than unilateral action. >> you sound disappointed. he needs to be tougher. >> he put himself in a bind because he ran on being i con sill a tore. >> he can't come out. hockey fans around the world with mourning the loss of dozens of players killed in a plane crash in russia yesterday. 43 people died, including an entire team from russia's continental hockey league. among the dead, several players with extensive experience playing in the nhl in the united states. they'll begin the process of selecting a jury for the trial of dr. conrad murray, michael jackson's personal physician. he's charged with involuntary manslaughter in jackson's death. prosecutors claim he gave him propofol. the lawyers failed in sequestering the jury. the bipartisan panel of 12 lawmakers has until november 23rd to find $1.5 trillion in deficit savings. it's then up to congress to pass that plan or risk deep cuts to programs that are important to both parties. just ahead on american morning, wildfires in texas, many people who were forced to leave their homes have no idea what, if anything, they have to go back to. we're live on the fire line. >> plus, katia gets company. the hurricane center tracking one, two, three named storms right now. find out where they're headed. 12 minutes past the hour. [ male announcer ] it's a fact: your nutritional needs can go up when you're on the road to recovery. proper nutrition can help you get back on your feet. three out of four doctors recommend the ensure brand for extra nutrition. ensure clinical strength has revigor and thirteen grams of protein to protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. and immune balance to help support your immune system. ensure clinical strength... helping you to bounce back. ensure! nutrition in charge! ensure! and, just like toddlers, puppies need food made for them. that's why there's purina puppy chow... with all the essential nutrients your growing puppy needs. purina puppy chow. while i took refuge from the pollen that made me sneeze. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®. . this is cnn breaking news. we're following that breaking news out of germany where police say they have arrested two men for planning a possible attack. according to police, a 24-year-old man of lebanese dee cent and a 28-year-old man from gaza tried to get chemicals to make a bomb. police do not believe the men had a specific target. there's a heightened sense of alert across the globe as we approach the ten-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. when we find out more, of course, we'll pass it along to to you. in the u.s., they're making progress on the fire lines in texas. the state's largest wildfire burning near austin said to be 30% contained. it's dee troid more than 500 homes. it's caused two deaths. it's too soon for many of the evacuees to return. people don't know if there's anything left of their homes in some cases. jim spellman is live in bastrop, texas. this must be agonizing for people who left and are waiting to find out if their home is still there. >> reporter: it really is, christine. you know, they all know that even after this fire is out, the battle for the people here to rebuild their lives and their communities will continue. as firefighters begin to get control of a deadly texas wildfire just a mile away, a makeshift command center becomes the new town square. >> right here. >> bill ludwig's home is inside the fire zone. but he doesn't yet know for sure if it's been destroyed. >> shock i guess mostly. not knowing what the end result is going to be. i'm pretty convinced that i, in my mind that it's not going to be good. but you know, trying to figure out where we go from here. >> for linda, a single mom raising her three children here, the news came in the form of a picture sent to her iphone. >> when you see these pictures, it must be heartbreaking. >> it is extremely heartbreaking. >> her home and her van, gone. >> the house can be replaced. but i think all the memories is what really hurts, hits the heart. i start thinking about my babies' pictures and the things they made in elementary and the things i put up to save to give to their kids. gone. it hurts. >> 125. >> manny man ford found his list on a list of destroyed homes. he decided he won't rebuild. >> no. because it would be difficult. even if you clean it all away, to sit there and look at black charred monuments to the past. >> he greets his wife, vicky. >> we lost everything. >> i know. >> grateful that even though his home is gone, they're safe and together. >> christine, 181 wildfires just in the last week here in texas. they know that even when this one is out, another one could pop up anywhere. firefighters have been taking advantage of the better wind conditions, namely, lower winds to try to get a handle on this. the severe drought conditions remain. so that risk of fire remains, too, across nearly the whole state of texas. christine? >> gym spellman in bastrop, texas. is there any relief in sight? let's head to rob marciano. no relief? >> the tropical storm in the gulf of mexico, it doesn't look that promising either. here's the five-day forecast. nothing but sunshine here. the only silver lining that temperatures -- some mornings will be down to the 50s. that will help firefighters get a handle on thing. on the flip side, if we could transport some of the flooding rains across the northeast into texas. it's unbelievable the dichotomy here. binghamton, new york, nine inches. these are two cities that are enduring flooding right now. it's only going to get worse throughout the day today. flood warnings up for a number of the rivers that were flooded during hurricane irene, including philly seeing flooding right now and d.c. kind of a nightmare rush last night. again, this morning and then parts of eastern pennsylvania, including harrisburg, hershey and binge a.m. ton, new york. this is from lee, by the way. leftovers of lee. tropical moisture, dense moisture continues to get into this flow. it's not making much progress to the east. we'll see flooding on the roads and slow traffic, obviously at the airports at the usual spots that are being impacted by this. tropical storm maria, this formed yesterday. here's the forecast track. this may take a better run at the u.s. hopefully one of the strong cold fronts will push it out to sea like katia, which is still a hurricane. it will miss us later on today. this formed last night, this is tropical storm nate. doesn't look too menacing. it will probably go into mexico itself. it's going to probably strengthen. it will sit out here for a time. we can get some of the moisture into texas, that would be ideal. right now, all indications do not point to that. >> another miss. another miss. thank you, rob. >> all right, guys. still to come on american morning, the american middle class. the backbone of this country. but is the middle class beginning to break? what can the president say to help support the american worker? plus, why your local bank of america branch might be closing. we're minding your business right after the break. 20 minutes after the hour. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®. [ male announcer ] each of these photos was taken by someone on the first morning of their retirement. it's the first of more than 6,000 sunrises the average retiree will see. ♪ as we're living longer than ever before, prudential's challenge is to help everyone have the retirement income they'll need to enjoy every one of their days. ♪ prudential. bring your challenges. welcome back to american morning. minding your business this morning. the dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 closed higher by 3% yesterday. investors getting a boost about the fight of the european debt cry sigs and optimism about the president and his jobs plan. what it could do in the u.s. economy. investors waiting for the jobless claims report from the labor department. that comes out in about two hours. right now,u.s. stock futures are trading slightly higher ahead of the opening bell. later this morning, the so-called super committee holds its first meetings. that's the -- they have until the end of november to come up with $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction. federal reserve ben bernanke will speak at the minnesota economic club today. every word counts from the fed chief. investors watching for signs, hints of an economic stimulus plan. published reports say the fed is considering something nicknamed operation twist. not qe 3, but operation twist that would push down interest rates lower than short term rates. hopefully encouraging economic activity. the u.s. dropping to number 5 on the world competitiveness list. a new survey developed countries dropping on the list and emerging markets moving higher. notably, singapore shot up to number two. switzerland is number one. bank of america expected to close up to 600 of its branches across the u.s. 600. analysts say the shakeup of the upper management this week signals the closures. also potentially huge layoffs that have been rumored for months. bank of america declined comment. american morning will be back after this quick break. ing bettr so now i can take the lead on a science adventure. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, take the lead. ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. i want healthy skin for life. 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