did you see what he did? so petty. take a look. >> loving that. "american morning" continues right now. all right. i'm ali velshi live in tampa for tonight's cnn tea party debate. brand new poll numbers are just out right now. it is rick perry and everyone else. i'm christine romans. today president obama presents his jobs plan to congress, but, first, find out what he has planned to help rally more support for that $447 billion plan. and i'm carol costello. bank of america reportedly planning to slash tens of thousands of jobs. the cutbacks create a leaner, more competitive bank, and who's jobs exactly are on the line? details on this "american morning." good morning, everyone. it's monday. monday, september 12th. welcome to "american morning." >> yes. happy monday to you. ali velshi is live in tampa, florida, this morning, so get us rolling, ali. >> it's beautiful weather out here in tampa. politics is on the brain this morning. we're live at the florida state fairgrounds, carol and christine. the site of tonight's big tea party debate. this could be an early turning point in the race for the republican nominations. eight republican candidates will be onstage tonight, but many analysts are already calling this a two-person race, and last week the battle lines were drawn between texas governor rick perry and mitt romney over social security. something perry once called a ponzi scheme. now, a new cnn orc poll released just moments ago shows that rick perry is building an even bigger lead against his competitors. jim acosta is here with me now. he's following it very closely. jim, doesn't matter how you have the number, rick perry is coming out not only on top but on top by a lot. >> by a big margin, right, ali. this tea party comes as not every candidate son the tea party bandwagon. one candidate is in the driver's seat. texas governor rick perry ditched his cowboys boots, far ahead of the pack. the latest poll finds perry way out in front with 30%. nearest rival mitt romney at 18%. with the rest of the field looking to play catch-up, the cnn tea party debate in florida could be a social security smackdown in a state where the program is crucial to seniors. >> it is a ponzi scheme to tell our kids that are 25 or 30 years old today, you paying into a program that's going to be there. >> reporter: after perry doubled down on this call for an overall of social security at the last debate, romney pounced. >> the governor says, look, states ought to be able to opt out of social security. our nominee has to be someone who isn't committed to abolishing social security. >> reporter: and on "john king usa," michele bachmann. ied on. >> america needs to keep its promises to senior citizens. i talk to them all the tile. i love senior citizens. >> you usually don't start a campaign setting grandma's hair on fire, but that's what rick perry did saying social security is a ponzi scheme but implied we ho undo it if he could go back 70 years. >> reporter: where the gop is headed, more conservative tea party candidates like perry or more moderate, lime rke romney. romney stepped up only after his numbers started sagging. >> are you a member of the tea party? >> i don't think you carry cards in the tea party. >> reporter: doubts about climate change by perry might appeal to tea party voters. >> just because you have a group of scientists saying this is the fact, galileo got outvoted for a spell. >> reporter: centrists like huntsman say it could alienate voters. >> in order for the republican party to win, we can't run from science. >> reporter: one of the interesting things about this debate, one of the fascinating things to watch tonight at the tea party debate, ali, is the fact some of the questions will be coming from tea party activists and that could throw up all kinds of trouble for rick perry and mitt romney, although michele bachmann may find the tea tastes just fine. >> members can send in questions, follow it on facebook. jon huntsman making the point how the republican party can't be the party that runs from science. we'll be talking to jon huntsman on this show later own today and also to herman cain and people of the tea party. you'll be with me trying to make sense for those of us out there, those viewers out there, who haven't followed it as closely as you have. >> reporter: these other candidates have to find a way to get involved in the debate. last debate it was really a mitt romney, rick perry affair and a lot of folks are talking about michele bachmann having trouble. >> she's the one we'll watch closely to see whether she breaks through or whether it becomes clear this is a perry/romney competition from here on. >> we'll settle that question tonight. >> very good. don't miss the cnn tea party debate tonight live from tampa, florida, the site of the 2012 republican national convention. wolf blitzer will moderate the debate and it starts at 8:00 eastern. back to christine and carol in new york. >> should be something. i can't wait, actually. also this morning, president obama will announce he's sending lis $447 billion jobs plan to congress today. he'll make the announcement in the rose garden surrounded by teachers, veterans and small business owners to help cover the plan's cost the president will push for more spending cuts. republican promised to consider the president's plan. growing speculation bank of america could slash up to 40,000 jobs as part of its restructuring plan. according to the "wall street journal," the numbers aren't final, but most of those layoff, expected to come from the bank's consumer banking division. bank of america's ceo has been trying to get the bank back on track after running of yup bill in mortgage related loans. and on saturday the eve of the tenth anniversary of the september 11th attacks at least two afghan civilians were killed in an attack. none of the injuries to american troops are life threatening and those wounded are expected to return to duty soon. the 9/11 memorial services went off without a hitch, but investigators are continuing their search for terrorists who may be planning attacks. sources telling cnn they are still following up on credible but unconfirmed leads involving about as many as three potential attackers who may be trying to use vehicle bombs to strike new york or washington. no evidence an actual terrorist attack is under way. and ten years since the worst terrorist attack on u.s. soil. president obama and the first lady attending four memorial services yesterday. the final one at the kennedy center in washington. the president focusing on the bravery and resolve of those who died ten years ago and those who have been forced to carry on without them. >> this past ten years have shown that america does not give in to fear. rescue workers who rushed to the scene, the firefighters who charged up the stairs, the passengers who stormed the cockpit, these patriots define the very nature of courage. >> the washington national cathedral was supposed to be the venue for the memorial. the event moved to the kennedy center because the cathedral was damaged by last month's earthquake. >> hard to imagine still ten years have past since america's darkest hour. the pain rushing back so vividly for millions of americans. >> at sporting events at the pentagon, shanksville, pennsylvania, and ground zero, emotions were raw as americans put aside their differences and united in their grief. gerard a. barbara. >> and my father, sean edward bowman jr. >> firefighter gary richard cox. >> christopher joseph blackwell. >> and my dad michael beck. >> we will always love you, and as you always said, daddy, we got your back. god bless new york city and god bless america. ♪ amazing grace how sweet the sound ♪ ♪ that saved a wretch like me >> while words cannot ease the pain of these losses paying tribute, recalling not just the horror of that day but the heroism as well, will hopefully give you some comfort and stiffen the resolve of this nation. we are still the freest most blessed nation in this treasured world, and we will long honor that role with the memory and guidance of 40 good shepherds. ♪ [ playing "amazing grace" ] 11 minutes after the hour. puppy food brand? with dha and essential nutrients also found in mother's milk. purina puppy chow. look at all this stuff for coffee. oh there's tons. french presses, espresso tampers, filters. it can get really complicated. not nearly as complicated as shipping it, though. i mean shipping is a hassle. not with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that is easy. best news i've heard all day! i'm soooo amped! i mean not amped. excited. well, sort of amped. really kind of in between. have you ever thought about decaf? do you think that would help? yeah. priority mail flat rate shipping starts at just $4.95, only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. welcome back to a special edition of "american morning." we are live in tampa ahead of tonight's cnn tea party debate. eight candidates are trying to convince the grass roots here around cross the country that they've got the solutions that this country needs, and one thing you are hearing from everyone is that the canned responses are simply not going to cut it. joining me now is the chair of the tea party express, amy kramer. amy, good morning. good to see you here. this is a big deal. this is a -- a big -- it's not a coming out. you've been on the road a long time, but to some degree it's a coming out of the tea party to the larger republican fold and a turning point in this campaign. >> it's a testament to the power of the movement. we know the -- we are going to choose the next republican nominee. we are not going to accept what the republican party hands us, and what people need to understand is we are not here to send a republican to washington. we want to send a conservative to washington. >> all right. you've you're going to choose the next republican nominee. that's quite likely to be true. does that mean you're going to choose the next president of the united states? >> i think so. we cannot continue this out of jobs and spending. >> we've seen a number of things play out here. we've seen michele bachmann talking about getting rid of the epa. we've seen rick perry talk about ben bernanke. we've heard from ron paul about getting rid of the federal reserve and the gold standard. we've talked around a lot of things that don't have anything to do with jobs. how do you refocus everybody's energy into jobs? >> well, i think that, you know, these candidates go out and talk about social issues, foreign policy and other things we do not focus on. we are focused on the fiscal issues. when people go to the poll, that's what they're voting on. it is about getting americans back to work, paying down our debt and deficit. having a balanced budget. washington should live with their means just like small families and business shos live with their means. that's what we'll be focused on and if the candidates are smart they'll come here and tell us their ideas and solutions to create an environment where businesses will create jobs instead of cisco systems sitting on a $2 billion surplus and cutting 50% of their workforce. >> we saw jon huntsman come out with a jobs plan. mitt romney come out with a remarkedly detailed one, 69 pages long. when you had a chance to evaluate, is that the detection you would like to see the candidates go? >> we would like to hear from all of them. we're looking forward to the field narrowing down to be laser focused on the issues to determine who is the candidate that's going to do this. you're not ready to make that call right now? >> no, we're not ready to make that call. the field needs to narrow and it's still early. i'm not sure all the players are on the field yet. >> talk about the ones who are in plus a couple others. a brand new poll that came out moments ago. amongst republicans, amongst tea party supporters, rick perry -- we've got the tea party on left and all republicans on the right. rick perry leading everyone. amongst all republicans, a narrower gap. romney and perry not in the race, neck and neck and then ron paul and michele bachmann so key and central to this tea party movement isn't in the top five. >> what i say, perry's come in just recently, and i think a lot of these candidates when they get in, they automatically have this bump. but michele bachmann has gone through a few bumps in the road over the past couple weeks, but that's not to say she's out of it. look back at 2008, john mccain was out of it and had no money. anything can happen. these candidates need to be on their a game. that's what we're looking for. >> who has the most to gain or lose tonight? i. think they all have a lot to gain or lose. especially lose. we're 14 months away, essentially. we need to start narrowing this down. we want to see who has the ideas and solutions to turn the economy around, get us back on the track of prosperity. >> we're foleying this very clo -- following this very closely, are you. if those that are not, how do you explain this? >> we're the tea party express, we've done the bus tour, the only group that has put our money where our mouth is and got behind candidates to support them, because we believe that we're truly going to effect change. we're going to do it at the ballot box. you have to change your players. that's what we're about and focused on. >> thanks so much for being with us. amy kremer, the chair of the tea party express. carol? >> thanks, ali. now it's your turn to "talk back." the question today, will rick perry stand on social security for his campaign? the issue of social security any a president's campaign? i'd like to rephrase that. how important are elderly voters say, in, florida to winning a president. election. you'll hear about this in tonight's cnn's tea party debate now that rick perry has called social security a ponzi scheme. >> it is a monstrous lie, it is a ponzi scheme to tell our kids that are 25 or 30 years today, you paying into a program that's going to be there. anybody that's for the status quo with social security today is involved with a monstrous lie to our kids, and it's not right. >> but, although saying social security needs fixing it has enough to pay full retirement benefits for the next 25 years and 77% for 60 years after that. republican rick perry's remarks are out of line. >> toxic in a republican line and in a republican primary. if you say social securitisy a failure and ought to be replaced by a state-level program people will say, what do you mean by that and make a judgment based on your answer to it. >> but other conservatives like cnn contributor eric erickson are applauding perry's straight talk. social security is sick, he says, and besides, in 2010, running in wisconsin, then candidate ron johnson campaigned aggressively on social security being a ponzi scheme, and he beat incumbent russ feingold. so the "talk back" question today -- will rick perry's stance on social security hurt his campaign? facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your comments later this hour. coming up, serena williams loses her cool just before she suffered a huge upset at the u.s. open. she called an official a hater. that's not all. we're going to play it for you, ahead. 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"minding your business" this morning, fears in europe put u.s. markets down friday. the dow, nasdaq and s&p all lost more than 2%. those fears ar greece and europe persisted over the weekend. right now u.s. stock futures are again trading sharply lower ahead of the opening bell. world markets are down sharply in asia and europe overnight. fears about greece defaulting on its debt, the fears group over the weekend despite saying they would stay in the european union. more protests and strikes are expected across greece today after a new property tax was introduced on saturday. here in a few hours bank of america ceo brian moynihan will speak at an investor conference in new york city, expected to detail future restructuring plans for the bank, and that restructuring is expected to mean big job losses. some reports say the bank could cut up to 40,000 jobs and close maybe as many as 600 branch locations as part of those plans. bank of america has not commented officially on any of those reports. we'll know at 9:00 a.m. gas prices edging higher. the national average for a gallon of gas is up six cents in the past two weeks. up about $1 from a year ago. "american morning" will be right back after this quick break. [ female ] we will always be dependent on foreign oil. [ 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. exclusive to the military. and commitment is not limited to one's military oath. the same set of values that drive our nation's military are the ones we used to build usaa bank. from free checking to credit cards to loans, our commitment to the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. ♪ visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. usaa. we know what it means to serve. just about half past the hour. good morning to you. it's time for this morning's top stories -- a brand new cnn orc poll shows texas governor rick perry is way ahead of the gop field now. perry pulling at 30% nationwide easily beating mitt romney at 18%. the candidates get to chip away at his comments on social security at the cnn tea party debate in tampa. today president obama sends his $447 billion jobs package to congress. before lawmakers get their hands on the bill, he will press them to pass the jobs act when he speaks at the rose garden this morning. and troops injured in a taliban truck bombing on saturday, the eve of the 9/11 anniversary. at least two afghan civilians were killed in that attack. carol, that cnn orc poll that just cake out, we'll be talking about that over the course of the next couple of hour. interesting the lead that perry has over the rest of the candidates amongst tea party identified republicans. amongst the entire republican crowd, mitt romney's much closer to him in that debate. that's going to be interesting and make tonight's debate particularly interesting for the eight candidates presenting themselves. could be a defining moment for these two men who most people consider the front-runners. texas governor rick perry and mitt romney tangled last week when perry referred to social security as a ponzi scheme. cnn's john king asked vice president biden if rick perry has a point. >> one of their debates, governor perry says if you look at statistics, come 2036, social security's paying out more than its paying in, there