i'm mitt romney. i believe in america. and i'm running for president. >> romney made his big announcement on a sunny farm but his speech was heavy on the gloom and doom, a long series of attacks on president obama whom romney repeatedly accused of thinking like a european. we're joined now by long time new hampshire conservative activist lafontaine and romney media adviser russ reefer. i'm going to start with you. you are one of his top campaign strategists. i was interested in the tone of his message. let's listen and we can talk about it. >> when barack obama came to office we wished him well and hoped for the best. now in the third year of his four-year term we have more than slogans and promises to judge him by. barack obama has failed america. >> he went on to rip the president's foreign and domestic policies, fairly negative. can you explain why your candidate is launching his campaign with an attack on the president rather than focusing on a positive vision of what he would do for the country? >> well, i think that the positive vision is, governor romney's positive vision is bringing jobs back to america. and this is a president who promised that unemployment wasn't going to go below 8% -- go above 8%. it clearly is above 8%. it's a president who has failed in most of his foreign policy endeavors. we don't know what his foreign policy is most of the time. and you have to draw the contrast. and this is a campaign we believe of a very clear choice. that governor romney will present over the next 16 months to show the american people that the record that barack obama has has been -- has failed as governor romney said. >> 16 months. sounds like you guys are already looking ahead to the general election assuming that the primary is over. we'll ask you about that in a minute. candy crowley is joining us now from new hampshire. you are there, candy for the event. would you give us a little sense of the mood and the message? >> reporter: i think the message was actually both of the things you're talking about. it was very fiercely anti-obama administration. i mean the one thing positive about -- not that you expect a potential rival to say something positive -- but he did give him -- give the president credit for the killing of osama bin laden but beyond that relationships with israel, too apologetic to europe, spent too much money, didn't get any jobs. it was very, very anti-obama administration. and then it was very, you know, pro jobs. this is a campaign that will campaign romney as businessman, romney as a person who has been in the real world. one of his lines was, you know, in order to create jobs you actually maybe should have had one and i've had ones of course, so those are very pro jobs component to the speech but there was also a very anti-obama component to the speech. and the crowd was, you know, obviously very receptive and they come because they like him and they think this is the guy that can focus in on the economy, which at the moment it still shows in the polls that's what people want their politicians to be talking about. >> you know the republican field and their chances in new hampshire about as well as anyone. you've had many if not most of the candidates to your house. you've said that new hampshire is romney's to lose but he still has a huge obstacle he is going to win there and that is health care reform. as massachusetts governor he signed a bill that had many similarities to president obama's national plan which is not so popular with republicans. so since he is clearly not going to apologize for his massachusetts plan, what in your view does he need to do to get past it? >> well, i think he needs to convert that obstacle into an opportunity. and there is an opportunity for it and he has some standing to talk about health care reform from a national perspective as well as a state perspective. let's face it. he showed leadership whether we like the policy or not by taking on this challenge while he was governor. now what he needs to do is convince us that his plan for the national role in health care is fundamentally different than president obama's not only repealing obama care but actually charting a plan for restoring local control over health care, breaking out the federal monopoly over it through medicare and so forth. he can chart -- take this obstacle and make it an opportunity. >> russ, what he's talking about is a vision for the future that's different but it means talking more about health care. so tactically how do you handle this? does this mean more speeches on health care are essential or silence, no more talk about health care is the best way to go? >> listen, i think we're more than happy to talk about health care. we're more than happy to talk about what governor romney has said that on -- if he is so fortunate to be elected president, the first day that he's sworn in as president he'll give a waiver so states can opt out of obama care. >> i think it was just one line in the speech today, just one mention in the speech. >> sure. he mentioned that what dewith health care reform in massachusetts and that he took on a state problem. it was a tough problem to take on. he stepped up to the plate and took it on. you know, as was said, not going to be apologizing for that. the question really is what do we do with obama care? what do we do moving forward? governor romney is very clear. on day one, waivers for states so they can get out of obama care. and in the long term, full repeal and replacement of obama care. >> candy, apparently mitt romney thinks president obama is just a little bit euro. listen to this. >> now here at home the president seems to take his inspiration not from the small towns and villages of new hampshire but from the capitals of europe. with the economy in crisis his answer was to borrow more money and throw it at washington bureaucrats and politicians just like europe. >> at least he is not accusing him of being born in kenya. isn't it possible to disagree with a president without challenging one's allegiance to america? >> reporter: well, you know, to be perfectly literal about it, he didn't challenge it but this was a very americana setting here today. they served hot dogs and hamburgers and the candidate and his wife served up chile for people and american flags and sat on hay bales. it did strike me how often romney linked president obama to europe. talked about how his european solutions aren't working. i think there is, you know, obviously i think what he is going for is this sort of socialist idea, you know, europe has these big government answers and we're small government but i think you're right. but the totality of what you came away with is how many times he suggested president obama was european, it was a little bit like suggesting john kerry was french, which didn't help him at all. so it's better to be americana than to be european. of american race. >> let me put this one to all of you. in national polls at least, of all the contendors, romney is at or near the top of the polls. he's got the biggest organization, the most fund raising muscle, and even with sarah palin in the state he is the man to beat. it seems to many people. but my question is, please be brief, is this romney's nomination to lose? starting with you, candy. yes or no? >> i think that goes a little far. i mean, i think the best description i've seen is he is a weak front runner. there's a lot of time left in this race. i think he will be challenged mightily and i think to say it's his to lose goes just a tad too far in stating his position right now. >> your view? >> it's a wide open race. new hampshire voters were polled recently. 90% of them who were going to vote in the republican primary have not committed to a candidate. it's a wide open race and it is very exciting that it is finally taking hold and the governor is in now so let's see how he does. >> okay. noncommittal. russ, i know this is a hard question. you work for the guy and you want him to win. is it his to lose? >> listen, i think that i would agree with both candy and ovid. this is a very tough process, the nomination. it is a long process and candidates, all the candidates are going to be tested day after day, time after time. and we do believe that, you know, governor romney, because of a very unique set of circumstances, his experience, having private sector experience, a governor of a state that took on tough problems, cut taxes, that worked on jobs and the economy, makes him a good choice for the republican party and the best choice to defeat barack obama. >> tough spot for you. we know from hillary clinton and john mccain's experience presumed front runner is a tough position for any candidate. so thanks to you and to all of you for being with us. >> sure. thank you. up next, more calls for syrian president assad to step down. will it have any impact on the violence in the region? plus, is the violence in yemen a threat to the united states? why do the residents there have even more to fear? that's next. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you want to be. ♪ because your moment is now. let nothing stand in your way. learn more at keller.edu. 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[ speaking chinese ] [ gasps, speaks chinese ] do you guys like dumplings? i love dumplings. working with a partner you can trust is always a good decision. massmutual -- let our financial professionals help you reach your goals. troubling news of increasing chaos in parts of the middle east. in syria the united nations now is demanding an investigation so there can be some sort of justice for a 13-year-old boy named hamza. many syrians believe he was tortured to death by the government as a warning to demonstrators. the government denies it but that isn't the story cnn's arwa damon is hearing. >> reporter: cnn managed to get in touch with one of hamza's relatives. we are not identifying beyond that for the family's protection. this relative providing even more chilling insight into what young hamza may have suffered. according to him another relative saefd a treceived a ti was held in one of the prisons. he went and saw hamza was alive and well and was told by authorities to return in two days which he did. he was told the family should go to the hospital. when they arrived at the hospital they were handed over a corpse. those chilling images with authenticity we cannot verify appeared on youtube showing hamza's mutilated and horribly disfigured young body. according to the relative his mother became hysterical. she had a nervous breakdown alternating between sobbing intensely and then shrieking for joy her child had become a martyr this relative firmly believing hamza was brutally tortured for two days because authorities were enraged that the family had managed to track him down. the relative also providing us with insight as to the type of a child hamza was, saying that he was the youngest of six, just 13 years old, but with a maturity of a 30-year-old. he was always taking part in the demonstrations to break the siege of the city. remember his family was from outside the city and that some occasions he was refusing to eat because he would tell his parents it was unfair for him to be able to have access to food when so many children were suffering inside the city because of the siege. he also had dreams to be a policeman one day but according to the relative he changed his mind when he saw the police brutality against the demonstrators. he didn't know what he wanted to be when he was going to grow up. now we do know that he is at the very least emerging as a symbol of the syrian uprising. arwa damon, cnn, beirut. >> on syrian state tv a person identified as the medical examiner in the case said the boy died from three gunshot wounds. he said the condition of the body was the result of deterioration after death and there was no evidence that the boy had been subjected to torture. syria's interior minister has promised an investigation. there is also trouble at the tip of the arabian peninsula in yemen. violence today forced a halt to all flights in and out of the airport in the country's capital city. here is cnn's mohammed jamjoon. >> reporter: on thursday even more clashes erupted in yemen's capital as fighting between armed tribesmen and government forces intensified. one extremely worrying development for the residents, reports from eyewitnesses that a group of about a thousand armed tribesmen entered the capital of yemen during the early morning hours saying they're supporting a leader of a tribe that has been involved in street battles with government forces for more than a week. as fierce fighting continued, it has spread to even more neighborhoods and there is a palatable sense of fear i'm hearing from residents there. many are afraid to leave their houses and concerned their country is perilously close to all out civil war. one yemeni government official says the reason the street fighting has gotten so much more intense since wednesday night is because special forces are now involved. that the elite units of the country's republican guard are being utilized in order to minimize collateral damage. elsewhere in the country there were reports that violence in the city continues. eyewitnesses say that yesterday there were even more clashes that broke out between security forces and anti-government demonstrators. we're also told the tribesmen whom eyewitnesses say were there to protect those anti-government demonstrators were involved in that fighting as well. jessica? thank you, mohammed jamjoon reporting. president obama called congressional democrats to the white house for a strategy session today. next we'll ask one of his top defenders what happened. president obama is getting an earful from members of congress this week. republicans got some face time at the white house yesterday. today democrats had their turn. and beyond the fights here in washington the president is taking plenty of flack from the growing field of republicans who want his job. joining us now the woman whose job it is to defend the president and his party, democratic party chairwoman and florida congresswoman debbie wassermann schultz. thank you for being with us. as you know well the president is once again waking up to tough economic news. unemployment numbers are coming out and economists predict they will fall less than expected. the projection is they'll be down to only slightly to 8.9%. now, no president post war has won re-election with numbers, unemployment numbers that high. is unemployment the story of his first term now? >> well, i think it's good news it would continue to fall at all. and i think it's important to look at the fact that we're dealing with the month of may in which we had exceptionally high gas prices and, you know, given that, it's possible that that had an impact. you can't take one month, a one-month snap shot and make a prediction about trends. we have to take a wait-and-see attitude. focusing on jobs and the economy and continuing that is absolutely critical. the republicans haven't been anywhere near close to doing that. that's why we need to push in that direction. >> you heard mitt romney today. the message they're going to hit is improvement isn't happening fast enough to argue we're on an economic recovery yet. as you point out the gas prices are rough and with the president in charge he gets blamed. the stimulus has come to an end. housing prices are down. a stimulus has run out. even the stock market is jittery up and down. so is it now the president's record? i mean, you can't blame george bush anymore. >> the president's record is strong and one that he plans to run on. if you look at where we've been, where we were bleeding 750,000 jobs a month in the month leading up to his inauguration and now two and a half years later we are creating private sector jobs 14 straight months of job growth, 2.1 million jobs created in the last 14 months. i mean, we are continuing to pick up the pace of recovery. >> will you tell democrats to run on that or take some distance from the president if they need to house and senate members? >> democrats will proudly run on the fact that we turned the economy around. it was our policies under president obama's leadership through the recovery act, investing in the automobile industry. the republicans would have left the automobile industry go bankrupt and we made sure we could keep it alive and now they're thriving. the record that we have is strong and clear. the record the republicans have is that we should continue to give tax breaks to the wealthy. that we should focus on repealing the affordable care act leaving americans twisting in the wind at the mercy of the health insurance companies and ending medicare as we know it. that's a pretty good comparison. >> even democrats privately will say they're frustrated. it's hard to sell what's happening right now to people and say how about more of the same? what did the president say to his members today when he met with them? >> first of all i don't think it's hard to sell at all. i go home to my district every weekend and talk about where we've been and where we are now two and a half years later and acknowledge, look. we obviously want to continue to pick up the pace of recovery but that we are recovering and that we're moving in the right direction. but what the president talked about at the white house today to the democratic caucus is that we need to make sure that we continue to press for shared sacrifice. that we're going to need to absorb some pain. the republicans want to pile all the pain on people who can least afford it and the middle class and democrats under his leadership want to make sure that we can address deficit reduction and continue to make investments and shared sacrifice is going to be imperative to be able to do that. >> one of the big debates here is bringing down the long-term deficit, debt and deficit, and paul ryan has put out a medicare plan, reform plan that you have used some very strong language to attack. >> only because he deserves it. >> well, the question is how does telling voters that he is, quote, throwing seniors to the wolves, help get us to a a bipartisan compromise which is really what is needed in the end? >> what is not needed to get to bipartisan compromise is proposing to end medicare as we know it. we do not need to end medicare. we don't need to throw people who are younger than 55 years old to the wolves which is what we do. somehow i keep hearing paul ryan say it's okay because it's people who are younger than 55 are the ones that are going to be affected. you know how many people i represent under 55 who are saying i paid into medicare for years and i expect that safety net to