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situation room" starts right now. >> thanks, very much happening right now. the gop battle for the white house. eating up here in tampa, florida. just three hours away from hearing eight presidential candidates go ahead it head. they will join me on cnn's first ever tea party republican presidential debate. can the texas governor rick perry maintain his growing lead in the polls despite a highly controversial stance on social security? or will mitt romney come from behind and once again, seize the top spot? is it too late for michele bachmann? standing by with complete coverage and analysis. meanwhile, in washington, president obama scrambling to defeat them all and save the ailing economy before time runs out. but there are new signs in congress his blueprint for recovery could be dead on arrival. i'm wolf blitzer in tampa, here in "the situation room." we're just three hours away from what's going to be a critical potentially make or break moment for some of the republican can dates hoping to be the next president of the united states. meanwhile, the current president, president barack obama, is going everything he can to keep that from happening. and it is all riding on issue number one, jobs. and the economy. >> on thursday, i told congress that i'll be sending them a bill called the american jobs act. well, here it is. this is -- [ applause ] this is a bill that will put people back to work all across the country. this is the bill that will help our economy in a moment of national crisis. this is a bill that is based on ideas from both democrats and republicans. and this is the bill that congress needs to pass. no games, no politics, no delays. i'm sending this bill to congress today. and they ought to pass it immediately. >> all right, let's bring in our white house correspondent, brianna keeler. brianna, you have a copy of the bill which has now been delivered to the house floor. give us the headlines, what's in it? >> reporter: wolf, the headline is how the president proposes to pay for his jobs plan and the answer it that is tax increases. the bulk of paying for the $450 billion plan would come from limiting itemized deductions that wealthier americans take. we are talking about individuals who make $200,000 or more, or families that make $250,000 or more. there are also tax increases that you would see effecting hedge fund managers, oil and gas companies, as well as corporate jet owners. that may sound familiar to you because the white house proposed that during the debt ceiling battle. as you will recall it is a nonstarter with republicans and also wolf, the big thing here, the itemized deductions, limiting that, that has gotten resistance from moderate democrats here recently in congress but the white house is arguing that things are different now. times of tough. and choices need to be made wolf. >> the president says he's going to go to quote, every corner of the country, bee anbrianna, to push this legislation. but what we are hearing so far is he is pressing key battle ground states, states he needs if he is going to be re-elected. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. if you look at his schedule, ways in richmond, virginia where he spoke friday. he spokes today in the rose garden. today he will be in ohio. then on wednesday, he will be in north carolina. all important swing states that he won in 2008, and of course is counting on in 2012. so today, during the briefing, white house secretary jay carney was pressed on 24 about how this wasn't just sort of campaigning. and here is what can't karnty said. >> you're absolutely right. it is a campaign. the president is campaigning. for growth and jobs. he is out there -- he is out there campaigning for growth and jobs. campaigning to have the american jobs act passed. >> so a little laughter there, wolf, you can see. but carney was asked, will he be going to nonswing states and carney said yes, he will. . of course at this point, it is still to be determined on the president's schedule. as he pushes this bill, wolf, that even democratic sources i talked to in congress admit they don't think will pass. >> we will see what happens. all right, brianna, thanks very much. i'm sure we will show up in noncontroversial states, let's say, new york, california. but a lot of times when he does that, it is designed in part at least to do political fund-raising at the same time. a lot of money in those states. meanwhile, the president's plan isn't yet getting a warm welcome. the house majority leader, eric cantor, is expressing that certain items in the bill like tax breaks, and any new federal spending call it it, quote be unskepable for the american people. john boehner is calling the white house's propose yl to pay for the jobs plan, the bill now i should say, boehner is calling it unacceptable. meanwhile, here in tampa, united republican front against president obama. but there is now a dramatic shift in who is and is not shaping up to be the candidate to beat the president of the united states. look at these latest cnn orc poll numbers. back in july, michele bachmann was considered the shining star in the race. she, at that point, was getting support behind mitt romney and rick perry. he wasn't technically in the race at that time. but now look at this. a few weeks later, her support plummeted to just 4% while perry has surged to the front of the pack with 30% support. our brian todd is standing by. he's got more on this part of the story. brian, what else are you learning? >> reporter: wolf, michele bachmann has it perform nice in tonight's debate. she has to come out aggressively with mitt romney. she has a lot to make up after a disastrous month. >> iowa, you've done it iowa, thank you. >> what a difference a m makes. in mid august, michele bachmann's energizing win in the ames straw poll created real buzz making her a top republican presidential contender. but rick perry jumped into the race the same day. >> it is time to get america working again. >> and for bachmann, it has been a steady decline since that. perry and bachmann are trailing caine, newt gingrich and slin, sarah palin who is not even in the race. a far field of right candidates led by perry absorbed bachmann's base. >> conservative populous, evangelicals, tea partiers. but rick perry has something important that michele bachmann doesn't. when you look at the president. executive experience. he has been able to come in and suck up all her oxygen. her campaign, in some degree, is in disarray. >> ed rollins stepped aside for an advisory role. politico covered michele bachmann in iowa and new hampshire. >> what happened in her campaign that you know of that led to this demise. >> i think have you seen over time that michele bachmann, as a member of congress, as some not who has gone through staff at a pretty rapid rate. on one hand it isn't that surprising to see michele bachmann changing out the faces from time to time. >> her campaign spokeswoman says when treats everyone with the utmost respect and courtesy and says there are no personality clashes. but bachmann, successful in an early debate, may have lost mojo. reporters point out she looks restrained in the last debate letting perry and romney go at it. >> at the same time she struggled to get attention on her own. >> john, john? >> just one minute. i would like to go to governor huntsman if i could. >> the fact is, bachmann wasn't called on until about 20 minutes into that debate and her aides say, you can't answer questions that you're not asked. how can she turn it all around? it may depend on the first both vote that really matters. . >> she has to stay strong in iowa, the base of her support. social conservatives in iowa. she has it really double down there. it'll be interesting to see if she tries to punch back at perry to regain credibility. >> bachmann's campaign spokeswoman tells us they are confident moving forward. they have a long-term strategy in place and they are putting together a strong ground game in iowa. but while bachmann may take on perry, don't expect her to attack them full bore. her spokesman says it is not in her nature to go out and take people out at the knees. wolf some. >> what are you hearing about letter chances, even if sarah palin, were to get into this race? >> analysts say that will hurt bachmann even more if that happens. like rick perry, sarah palin has overlapping constituencies with michele bachmann. all appeal to far right conservatives. palin who chip away at perry votes but would probably hurt bachmann even more. >> brian todd, good analysis, so this s this going to be rick perry's night here in tampa? our chief political analyst gloria borger is joining us. what do you expect candidates to, say on social security, which has emerged at such an issue. >> they will hammer away at rick perry. he called social secure ate ponzi scheme in the last debate. mitt romney has been losing altitude in the polls. here in florida, he has been circulating these flyers, wolf, which talk about rick perry. it sounds like they would be distribute bade democrat. rick perry, reckless and wrong on seshl sew curity. rick perry, how can we trust anyone who wants it kill social security? this is coming from mitt romney. i spoke with someone from the rick perry campaign who says, bring it on. we want an opportunity to explain what we want to do with social security. he wrote a piece in usa today. and under it he said, i'm quoting, for younger workers we must consider reforms to make social security financially viable. so not killing it, but saving it and reform tobacco. it is a little bit of a nuance change and can you, believe me, that no matter what you ask, they will attack him on it. >> i think more than a nuance change what he wrote in usa today and and what he wrote in his book on social security. but as far as perry is concerned, in the new poll, there are numbers in a potential match-up with the president that might be very encouraging. >> it is. the question we asked was this, wolf, just your best guess. regardless of who you support and that's important, which republican candidate do you think is most likely to win the republican nomination for president? perry, 41. romney 28. there are the also-rans. then it takes away the inevitability of the argument or those that surrounded hillary clinton not too long ago and also the eelect built argument. this says that people may be settling on a candidate and they want someone that can wring bring it to barack obama. somebody that can fight. somebody that will stand up for what he believes np if way, when you talk about the social security arguments, in rick perry, what they are seeing is somebody who will not back down. and whether or not they agree with imwho disagree with him, republican primary voters like that in a candidate. >> i assume that perry team believes that mitt romney is their major challenges right now. based on the polls. >> it's funny. when you talk to them they're like, oh, mitt romney, sure. they believe right thousand their major challenger is rick perry. right now he's got to introduce himself to the american people. romney is romney. people know what he is. he's been around. he ran for president once in 2008. so they are saying, you know what, right now these debates like the one tonight, it is up to us to look the at american people and tell them what we are about. we will fend off the charges from the rest but this is our introduction to the american public. >> we will see how feisty they want to get tonight. the eight candidates. >> we'll see. >> a little bit more than two two and half hours from the debate. here in tampa at florida state fairgrounds. 8 p.m. eastern, it all starts. i'll be moderating. please be sure to tune in. don't forget @cnn. tim pawlenty is endorsing. my interview with the former minnesota governor coming up. plus, as the president's jobs bill reaches capitol hill. they announce a slashing of thousands of jobs. and they are not alone. stay with with us, you're in the situation. ♪ ♪ ♪ when your chain of supply ♪ goes from here to shanghai, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ chips from here, boards from there ♪ ♪ track it all through the air, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ clearing customs like that ♪ hurry up no time flat that's logistics. ♪ ♪ all new technology ups brings to me, ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ 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. a network of possibilities... ♪ in here, pets never get lost. ♪ in here, every continent fits in one room. it was fun, we played football outside. why are you sitting in the dark? ♪ [ male announcer ] in here, you're never away from home. it's the at&t network. and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. ♪ this ason, you needtruck le e silvera to take on that list oyours. t'chevy season of ding. and there isn a tt time for a truck, with chk rk after mark of pe doing per. ♪ go yor chevaler today. get the truck and g that list done ♪ all right. we are getting ready for the major republican presidential debate. the cnn tea party debate. you are looking at live pictures from inside. i'll be moderating the debate, you see in 2 hours to and 42 minutes. it will all begin. meanwhile, jack cafferty is here. lots of excitement in tampa where the eight republican presidential candidates, one of whom will be the republican nominee. one of them might be the next president of the united states. you never know. >> one of whom could ultimately wined up as number two on a ticket with whoever the number one lines up being. a lot on the line from michele bachmann tonight after winning the iowa straw poll. she kind of dropped out of sight. we will talk about that in the next hour. rick perry, appointed front-runner at least at this hour would have us believe he is a country boy at heart. he can relate to the ordinary american. nah. there's another side to the texas governor. politico reports that for years, perry who makes $150,000 a year as governor, enjoyed additional lavish perks and travel mostly funded by wealthy supporters. imagine that. texas supporters paid for the governor and his family to travel around the world. sometimes on private jets. paid for them to stay at luxury hotels, resorts, vacation in colorado ski towns and attend tons of sporting events and concerts. rick perry is also accepted a wide range of very expensive gifts including 22 pairs of cowboy boots. some costing $500 a pair. somebody else pays hi cable tv bill. taxpayers pay his rent, $8,500 a month for perry's 4600 square foot mansion in austin. the governor and his family have been living in the five bedroom seven bath mansion since 2 hou 7 while the governor's mansion undergoes repair. four years? what sort of repairs are those, you imagine? all copacetic in the lone star state which has some of the loosest ethics and campaign rules in the country. nonetheless, it is tough to imagine supporters aren't buying influence when they lavish those perks on the governor. of course they are. some appoint commissions, million dollar state grants to businesses they are involved in. perries camp insistses it is on the up and up. saying he fully discloses all financials in his statement. but that don't make a cricket. does his lavish lifestyle mostly paid for by taxpayers and wealthy friends and donors match his awe shucks country boy image? post a comment on my blog on to to the situation's room's facebook page. he has a pet pretty good act going there, wolf. >> you're dwog get a lot of comments, jack. get ready for this and for the debate at 8 p.m. tonight. jack cafferty will be back, with your e-mail shortly. meanwhile, bank of america says it'll eliminate 30,000 jobs over the next few years. the cuts are part after plan to save the bank $5 billion. as companies trim their head count, competition in the job mark set getting even tougher. that can be especially challenging for older unemployed workers. cnn's athena jones explains. >> wait, wait, wait. >> rainy morning, moving truck and two friends. joy hairman never imagine it would come to this. >> this is the worst. we are home free after this one gets in the truck. >> packing up her maryland home to start a new job in philadelphia. >> i never thought in a million years i would be unemployed. because i have a lot of skill for my job and i thought i would be employed until i retired. >> 61-year-old herman used to work in commercial reals estate but was let go in november. >> my company because of the economy they weren't able do that. >> she struggled for months to find another position to pay her enough to keep her townhouse. she began casting her net wider and wider until she landed a job a two-hour train ride way. >> she was out of work for ten months but many have been unemployed longer. >> according to the trust, some 30% of the nation's unemployed were jobless for a year or more. that's 4.5 million people. >> these are rates not seen since the end of world war ii. >> while the job less rate for those 55 and older is lower than the national average a at 6.6%, older workers are likely to replane unemployed for longer than their younger counter parts. >> as matter of fact, 40% of those workers who are 55 and older who be unemployed, have been unemployed for a year or longer. >> the longer people stay out of the work force the harder it is for them to get back in. and many older workers may confront concerns their salary requirements are higher or they don't have an up-to-date skill set. >> i this that i is something for older workers to keep in mind when they go into the work force but don't use that as a way to be defensive. and or stop you from looking. >> herriman is one of the lucky ones. now she is hoping to make enough to hold on to to her townhome, rent in philadelphia and save for retirement. >> i never anticipated at the end of my career, i would be work working in a new city. >> a big announcement from tim pawlenty. former republican presidential candidate says he will endorse mitt romney for president. but would the former presidential candidate consider being romney's running mate? i'll ask him coming up. a special election in new york state could spell trouble for the president in 2012. we will tell you how after the break. stay with us. you're in the situation room. [ 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. somewhere in america, a city comes to life. it moves effortlessly, breathes easily. it flows with clean water. it makes its skyline greener and its population healthier. all to become the kind of city people want to live and work in. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions. and the over sixty thousand people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. we're just a little more than two and a half hours away from the cnn tea party or republican presidential debate. the first ever cnn tea party presidential debate. i will be moderating here in tampa florida. stakes couldn't be higher for the two top contenders in the race, at least according to the polls. texas governor rick perry and former massachusetts governor mitt romney. each of whom landed critical endorsements