devastating storm. what happened? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." all right. look at this. this was then pf president obama us bus last august making its way through the midwest. look a this. this is now president obama's bus with a seemingly new accessory front and center. we're talking about a presidential seal. it's a bold reminder as he kicks his campaign into full gear in ohio, a major battleground state to be sure, that he has rivalled mitt romney. they are both trying to win in order to become president. at least in his part to remain president of the united states, romney's part to become president of the united states. the romney campaign though is trying to steal a bit of the thunder in the area. the president certainly didn't shy away from mixing policy with politics taking key action just hours before his speech to help bolster the economy. our white house correspondent, dan lothian, is traveling with the president in ohio right now. dan is joining us with the very latest. what is the very latest, dan? >> reporter: well, we're here in sandusky. this is the president's second official stop. but the reason this event has not gotten underway yet is because the president made two unscheduled stops, one at a farmers market and another at a diner on the way here. this is a state that the president is leading his opponent, mitt romney, in by nine points. but it remains a very competitive race. so the president getting out there, meeting voters face-to-face hoping he can hang onto this state come november. it's a more retail-style approach. but unlike the president's other official bus trips last year, this one has campaign written all over it. there's a big presidential seal on the door. and the venue in the small city in ohio has been carefully staged. white picket fences, a large american flag and a soft story about his daughter. >> and then it was malia's birthday yesterday. when she was small i could say all these fireworks i had arranged for her birthday. [ laughter ] but she doesn't believe me anymore. >> reporter: but his speech turned tough when the president took on his opponent's business experience. >> governor romney's experience has been owning companies that were called pioneers of outsourcing. that's not my phrase. pioneers of outsourcing. >> reporter: it's a message that resonates with this crowd. unemployment in ohio is below the national average of 8.2%, but the people in this city have experienced the highs and lows of the manufacturing industry. from gm and chrysler on life support to a recovery and new investments in the region that the president said were possible because of his administration's auto bailout. >> governor romney said we should just let detroit go bankrupt. i refuse to turn my back on communities like this one. >> reporter: and as if on cue, although the campaign eyes political motivation, the administration is filing a complaint against china for alleged unfair tariffs on some american-made autos. >> we're going to make sure competition is fair. >> reporter: while the president was making that case and defending his economic policies, not far away romney surrogates were knocking down what mr. obama was playing up. former presidential candidate, tim pawlenty, and louisiana governor, bobby jindal, are on their own bus tour shadowing the president. >> his presidency has been a losing hand for ohio and for america. >> we know that we are not better off than we were four years ago. >> reporter: the president says the republicans don't have real solutions and that a full recovery will take time. the president will make a total of six scheduled stops in two key battleground states following a final event in parma, near cleveland, he'll visit pennsylvania on friday. now, in addition to those romney surrogates, we noticed something else this morning at that first stop before the president arrived, there was a small plane towing a large banner around the venue there. and on that banner it said "romney 2012." wolf, one other matter, the china filing by the administration, this complaint, at the briefing or at the gaggle on air force one this morning, reporters peppered jay carney, white house spokesman, questions about the timing saying that this has to be more than just a coincidence. but he pushed back hard saying that this was something that was in the works for months. >> i'm sure he did. all right. thanks very much, dan lothian, on the scene for us in ohio. this just coming in to "the situation room" right now. record fund raising for the romney campaign. we're learning the campaign and the republican national committee raised at least, get this, at least $100 million in the month of june alone. our political editor, is joining us with more on what's going on. big numbers for the romney campaign. what's the latest, paul? >> very big numbers. remember in june he had some big fund raising through other states. go back to may, remember, mitt romney and the rnc raised $77 million and they outraised the democratic national committee. i was at a briefing with obama campaign officials about two weeks ago with our chief white house correspondent, jessica yellin. at that briefing obama campaign officials said, guess what, we will get outraised again in june. and they predicted that romney would raise $100 million. remember, wolf, the campaign money is only part of the story because the independent groups, the so-called super pacs. on the republican side they're outraising the democrats, they're outraising them and outspending them. that's a big story here. wolf, remember, campaign cash pays for commercials, get out the vote efforts among other things. >> super pacs are outraising the democratic by five or ten or more to one. looks like money factor will be a huge advantage potentially for romney as of right now. you're also taking a closer look at some potential romney vice presidential picks, paul. what are you seeing? >> it's interesting. while mitt romney is pretty much laying low this week on vacation, some of the people he may be considering his running mates are up front and center picking up the slack. >> he is dubbing his tour the betting on america tour. well, of course we should all bet on america. but we shouldn't doubledown on barack obama. >> reporter: former minnesota governor, tim pawlenty, and louisiana governor, bobby jindal, teaming up on the romney campaign bus tour to shadow president barack obama's swing through ohio and pennsylvania. >> this president can't run on his record. so he's going to do everything he can to distract our attention to try to attack mitt romney. >> reporter: it's another example of the campaigns trying to follow each other out on the campaign trail. but what's eye-opening about the jindal/pawlenty tour is that romney may seriously be considering both men as possible running mates. along with senator rob portman, of ohio. what about a woman as the vice presidential nominee? ann romney tells cbs news she's been speaking to her husband about that possibility. >> we've been looking at that. and i'd love that option as well. >> reporter: her comments came as her husband marched in a july 4th parade in new hampshire with the state's junior senator whose name also mentioned as a possible running mate. is romney giving any hints. >> i have an idea in mind, but that's something i'm keeping close to my team. >> one thing we know for sure, wolf, mitt romney has to reveal his cards by the time of the republican national convention in tampa. that starts just seven and a half weeks from now. one more thing, it's no surprise but these possible running mates aren't well-known nationally. our brand new poll released this hour indicates nearly two-thirds of americans say they're unfamiliar with portman. and more than four in ten saying the same thing about jindal and pawlenty who briefly ran for president last year. and even republican voters, our poll indicates the unfamiliar factor remains pretty high. our polling director tells me this is no surprise because presidential nominees rarely want to get overshadowed by their running mates. >> i suspect they're not going to get overshadowed by these individuals if one of them becomes the actual running mate. paul, thanks very much. let's dig deeper into politics right now. our political director, mark preston, is here in "the situation room." you just heard ann romney saying they're looking at maybe a woman as a vice presidential running mate. how close is ann romney in this whole process in making this really important decision? >> we talk about mitt romney's inner circle who has been criticized over the past couple of days by the likes of rupert murdoch and jack walsh. really this closer advisor is ann romney, a person he's been chasing since his high school years. and in fact when he was supposed to go on his mormon mission over to france, he almost didn't go. part of the reason was because he did not want to leave ann romney. what was telling in that cbs interview yesterday is that she said we're looking at women at this point. so she is very much a part of the process. it will be a small group of people right now who will help him decide to choose for who's going to be his running mate. she'll be part of that. >> not surprised. she's his life partner and she's very important in his life. i'm sure she'll be very much involved in this decision. it's a gut decision every candidate in the end has to make. a very important decision, obviously. now, they're going through ohio, pennsylvania, these are all important states right now. buses are important, but what's also important is the air waves. the commercials, the advertising. that's pretty important as well. >> that's pretty important because while president obama right now will be in ohio for two days, he won't be there come sunday. he will not be there on saturday. what does he do? he turns to the air waves as does mitt romney. look at our new numbers from our consultant on television advertising spending. since january 1st, wolf, right there barack obama has spent $9.2 million on television commercials while mitt romney has spent $3.1 million. now, what we're not showing here is all the super pac money, which adds up even more. so while we talk a lot about ohio, president obama has been there 22 times since he was elected president back in 2008. he's going to have to rely on tv as will mitt romney to be there when he's not. >> usually pennsylvania goes for the democratic presidential candidate, but this campaign the obama campaign, they're spending a lot of time there in pennsylvania. are they really worried about potentially losing pennsylvania? >> they are. if they lose pennsylvania, they lose the race. i think we can say that confidently. republicans have not won pennsylvania since 1988 when george h.w. bush carried it that year. look, we see the likes of joe biden now spending a lot of time in pennsylvania. let's not forget, go back to 2008, wolf, when president obama back in 2008 said that very ill-fated phrase. he said people are clinging to their guns and their religion. that is something that will not play very well in pennsylvania. but also in pennsylvania it also shows that in fact when you look at these numbers right here as far as television advertising right now, we've seen barack obama is spending money right now. more than $3 million right now, wolf, he is spending on tv advertising so far to carry his message. >> yeah. he doesn't want to take any chances. by the way, he said those less than artful words out in san francisco. >> he did. but it carried back. >> everybody heard it immediately all over the place. thanks very much. take a look at this. we have some live pictures of the president of the united states in sandusky, ohio. there he is at the top of your screen in the middle there. he's shaking hands, meeting with folks. the president working the crowd in sandusky, ohio. one of the most influential conservative newspapers in the country, the editorial page to be sure, publishing a blistering editorial accusing mitt romney of letting republicans down. ahead, i'll speak with the key advisor, former governor of new hampshire, he will respond to this editorial in "the wall street journal." and a major london terror scare only weeks before the summer olympics. the latest on a string of arrests and just how concerned authorities are. and george zimmerman, yes, george zimmerman, he could soon be a free man out on bail. it will only take $1 million in bail to get him out of jail. ♪ [ male announcer ] we believe small things can make a big difference. like how a little oil from here can be such a big thing in an old friend's life. purina one discovered that by blending enhanced botanical oils into our food, we can help brighten an old dog's mind so he's up to his old tricks. with this kind of thinking going into our food, imagine all the goodness that can come out of it. just one way we're making the world a better place... one pet at a time. vibrant maturity. from purina one smartblend. one pet at a time. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. introducing gold choice. the freedom you can only get from hertz to keep the car you reserved or simply choose another. and it's free. ya know, for whoever you are that day. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. hey america, even though slisa rinna is wearing the new depend silhouette briefs for charity to prove how great the fit is even under a fantastic dress. the best protection now looks, fits and feels just like underwear. we invite you to get a free sample and try one on too. new proof today there's a very, very real fear of terror attacks connected with the upcoming london olympics. british police shut down an important highway after a bus passenger reported suspicious activity. it turned out to be a false alarm. but in a second incident, london police arrested six people on terrorism charges then searched several homes and businesses around the city. nick robertson is joining us from london. what do you hear about all the counterterror preparations in advance of the olympic games? >> well, we know these latest arrests, for example, were treated by an ongoing intelligence investigation and that the police decided this was the right time to activate it. but the broader picture is the police appear to be taking no chances with any terror groups they're coming across right now. although the threat level is substantial, that's third below the top level, it hasn't changed and hasn't gone up, there's a very real acceptance that al qaeda or another organization will want to target the olympics. and inside britain they have perhaps some of the operatives who could make that possible. so the concern and threat is very real. and that's what we're seeing happening on the ground, wolf. >> and i take it, nic, they're more concerned about what they call these home-grown sort of lone-wolf kind of terrorists as opposed to terrorists coming in from afghanistan or pakistan or some place else? >> there's a very big concern about that. what you have in britain are about 8,000 muslims in jail here. the probation service, the prison service believe that one in ten at least of those being radicalized in jail. when they come out, they are there for potentially attractive to what they call clean skins, the lone wolf type operative who will be attracted to some radical who's been in jail, served time for the cause, if you will. we've also seen in britain add to that that over the past 18 months between 50 and 80 terror convicts, people convicted of terrorist offenses have been released for time served. some of them are out on license still considered dangerous. these are the people who may not take part in a terrorist act themselves but would certainly gather around them or attract at least people who would, these clean skins, lone wolfs, who would be inspired to attack. early indications are the arrests in the uk that have taken place in the last 24 hours may involve some people who have been drawn to radical extremists, themselves not terrorists, but they've been drawn in by those angry voices, wolf. >> i suspect we're going to be doing a lot more discussion on this subject in the days to come. nic, thanks very much. closer to home right here in the united states the man who shot and killed trayvon martin has been granted a $1 million bond. george zimmerman's bail was revoked last month over allegations he misled the court about his finances. cnn's david matingly is in florida. the judge set bail at $1 million but still has strong words for him. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, the cost to zimmerman may go far beyond the $100,000 cash in collateral he has to put up to make that bond. there is a tremendous loss to his credibility throughout this entire process. the judge having some very strong words for him in the ruling. and they run like this saying that george zimmerman flaunted the system, tried to manipulate the system and had no justification for his deception when he tried to tell the court that he didn't have any money and didn't have any means to live when in fact he had $100,000 in donated cash and a passport on him. the judge also went on -- and this was a real surprise, that george zimmerman he believed was preparing to flee to avoid prosecution but plans were thwarted. the judge doesn't go into detail about how those plans were or how they came undone, but they believe george zimmerman was a flight risk. now we see him with a $1 million bond. that's the price now for his freedom, wolf. >> now, to be able to get out on that $1 million bond, you don't necessarily have to put up a whole -- that whole number, $1 million. you put up a percentage of that million dollars. do we know how much he needs to put up in order to get out of jail? >> well, $100,000 cash. we know he's got that. his attorney said there was about $200,000 in donations raised for his account, but he's going to have to come up with some kind of collateral to cover the rest just to make sure he doesn't jump bail. but on top of that, they're looking at the possibility that he might be a flight risk. so there were some other conditions placed on this. he's not allowed to go to an airport. he's not allowed to have a bank account. and he's not allowed to leave the county. now before george zimmerman was free to leave the state of florida if he wanted to because they felt that his safety was in danger. now he can't do that. he has to stay right there in seminole county. if he wants to go outside the county, he's going to have to get the court's permission. >> what's the reaction from the trayvon martin family? >> well, we've asked for reaction from both sides. so far we have not heard from zimmerman side. but the reaction from the attorney representing the parents of trayvon martin, he said that trayvon's parents would rather that the killer of their unarmed child remain in jail until the trial, however they respect the ruling of the judge and the strong message that the judge sent, and the strong message that judge sending today was that george zimmerman's credibility is in danger throughout this process. >> david mattingly on the scene for us. thank you very much for that update. one of mitt romney's senior advisors is in "the situation room" today. i'll ask the former governor of new hampshire, john sununu, about today's rather stinging editorial in "the wall street journal" which says romney's letting republicans down. and another look at the fourth of july's most intense fireworks show, but i