many are looking at the gop presidential candidates with a fresh eye. did rick perry do anything to damage his status as the frons runner? i'll ask newt gingrich about his performance as well. stand by. he's joining us live. plus, a brazen taliban attack on the united states embassy in afghanistan. some insurgents may still be on the loose now. we have new pictures and information coming from kabul and some top california politicians are trying to figure out what, if anything, is left of their stolen campaign war chest. a well-known democratic campaign treasurer stands accused of swindling more than a million dollars in campaign donations. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." rick perry may have walked away from his second presidential debate feeling battered and bruised. the tea party face off proved to be a very tough test for the texas governor. less than 24 hours after the republican candidate stood on stage with me in tampa, reviews still are coming in about governor perry's performance. joe johns is here. he's been looking closely at the hits and misses of what happened last night. >> at this stage in the presidential race, it's really not rocket science. the question is whether a conservative candidate like rick perry passed the test. did rick perry do what he needed to do in a debate with the rest of the field targeting him and angling to bring him down a notch? on social security, he is seen as doibl a balancing act on the third rail of american politics, reassuring seniors that social security needs to be fixed. >> slam dunk guaranteed. those individualing moving towards being on social security. that program's going to be there for them. >> at the same time, not backing down on his earlier assertions likening social security to a ponzi scheme. >> it has been called a ponzi scheme by many people long before me, but no one's had the courage to say, here is how we're going to reform it -- >> but for much of the audience perry is speaking to including social republicans and many in the tea party movement, some say the ponzi scheme language plays pretty well. >> i think he's right about social security and it being a ponzi scheme. basically, the retirees retiring now don't have the workers to pay for their retirement in the near future. >> on immigration, perry's record is seen as more moderate than some in the tea party movement would like, so once again, he stood his ground rather than backtrack. here, defending a program giving in-state college tuition to undocumented immigrants at a texas high school. >> we were clearly sending a message to young people regardless of the sound of their last name, we believe in you. >> perry took heat from others, but abandoning it would have been seen as a sign of weakness, at least right now. >> i think that tea party voters, republican primary voters are looking for a authentici authenticity. >> however, on the issue of perry's executive order of requiring schoolgirls to be immunized, perry said he made a mistake before he got asked about it in the debate. then when michele bachmann linked perry's decision to contributions perry had gotten from a pharmaceutical company, perry's denial left him open to questions. >> the company was merck and it was a $5,000 contribution that i had received for them. i raise about $30 million and if you're saying that i can be budget bought for 5,000, i'm offended. >> his response was i'm offended if you think i can be bought by $5,000. he needs to come out and say it. he needs to try to explain relationships and talk about government and fund raising and his role as governor. >> some of the republicans we talked to today said that while perry wasn't perfect, the biggest problem he's creating for himself could come in a general election taking positions that could be hard to defend in the event he gets the republican nomination. >> executions. it's a controversial issue because he's had a lot of them. it didn't come up, but that's potentially an issue. >> a huge issue because he's got a lot more executions coming up and he's already gone on the record and said, hey, i support the texas position. i support executions. we get it right in texas. a lot of liberals and people opposed to the death penalty are going to take issue with that, but this is a race for the republican nomination. and they're talking about the primaries. >> going to have a lot more on rick perry and debate coming up. thanks for that. more confusion about the republican primary calendar today. south carolina now is threatening to jump ahead of any state that tries to preempt its place as the first southern contest. the warning comes a day after the arizona governor jan brewer announced he's moving her state's primary up to february 28th. the move is in violation of party rules designed to ensure that iowa, new hampshire, nevada, north carolina keep their early spots on the primary calendars. stay tuned. this just coming in. president obama's disapproval ratie ining reaching a new high. check out our poll. more than half surveyed, 55% don't approve of the way the president is doing his job. 43% approve. the public is even more down on the president's handling of unemployment. his disapproval rating on that issue is 59%. all the more reason for the president to try to sell the american people on his latest jobs plan. he made the case to voters in columbus, ohio today. our white house correspondent, dan lothian, is traveling with the president is in columbus with the latest. dan? >> you know, over the last few days, the president's been talking about all the different aspects of the jobs plan. today, he was drilling down on education. some $60 billion in the jobs bill, not only to hire teachers, but to rehab schools. the message is twofold. first, explaining the bill and calling on them to put pressure on congress to pass the bill. a good education has always been viewed as a pathway to a good job. but president obama said investing in school buildings can also yield big rewards. >> there are millions of unemployed construction workers who are looking for a job, so my question to congress is, what on earth are we waiting for? >> ft. hayes art and academic school in ohio is wrapping up a multi-million dollar upgrade. the white house said this is an example of rehab prokts that could take place at some 35,000 schools across the country, putting hurrica putti putting hundreds of thousands back to work. >> every child deserve as great school and we can give it to them. >> it's an intense sales job by a white house that often deploys a less aggressive rollout and leaves the bill writing up to congress. not this time. >> this is the bill congress needs to pass. >> driven by a sense of urgency, aides said, the president hit the road after delivering his jobs speech last week. his early targets, key swing states. virginia, ohio and next, north carolina. >> there are no coincidences at this level of politics. there's a lot of strategy and surgical strikes. that's what the president is doing in today. >> but jay carney said this is not about the re-election campaign. >> reality is, as go the american people, so goes the members of congress in this case, so we have to keep focusing everyone's attention on this because it's vitally important. >> but republicans who have expressed an openness to aspects of the president's proposals still see a huge roadblock. how to pay for it all. >> president knows raising taxes is the last thing you want to do to spur job creation. he said so himself. yet that's basically all he's proposing here. >> now, senator mcconnell says that he believes this bill will have a tough time making it through congress, that it is just a political exercise. the white house position is now is too time to make some tough choices and they say the president will continue selling the jobs bill out on the road, even taking another bus tour. although we don't have details on that just yet. >> are huge crowds showing up for the president at these events like the one in columbus, ohio today? which used to be the case four years ago. are those crowds smaller? >> i think you're seeing a similar situation not only at some of the other events, but today as well, the number we were told in terms of attendance, 3,000 people here. it was sort of like a campaign rally. that's what it felt like because when the president talked to these folks and told them they need to put pressure on congress, they started chanting, pass the bill. so, yes, a very enthusiastic crowd here. what's really important is whether or not the president can convince members ov congress to pass the bill. >> dan lothian traveling with the president in columbus, ohio. thanks, dan, very much. one correction. the early states according to republican party rules start in iowa, then they move on to new hampshire, nevada, south carolina. south carolina instead of north carolina. south carolina. that's why arizona's decision today is causing some heartburn among the republicans. there were a lot of pointed moments and surprises during the cnn tea party debate in tampa last night. this exchange and the audience reaction caused some jaws to drop. >> he needs intensive care for six months, who pays? >> that's what freedom is all about. this whole idea that you have to compare and take care of everybody. >> hours and hours of intense fighting. stand by for that. dramatic ta ban attack on the u.s. embassy in afghanistan. ♪ [ 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. you know what,ell me, what makes peterpeter ? i can my own homemade jam, apricot. and really love my bank's ise your ratcd. i'm sorry, did you say you'd love a pay raise asap uh, tuly, i said i love my bank's raise your rate cd. you spen8 days lo at sea ? no, uh... you love watching your neighbors watch tv ? at ally, you'll love o raise your rate cd that offers a one-ti rate increase if our currentates go up. jack cafferty's here. >> rick perry went there. by wading into an ongoing debate about what to do about social security. unless you've been hiding under a rock, you know that perry referred to social security as a ponzi scheme, a monstrous lie and a failure. social security is perhaps the federal government's most popular program. millions of americans rely on it as they reach retirement age and calling it a ponzi scheme, perry is implying people are being duped by a massive fraud. those are fighting words, which is probably why he was walking back his comments. in last night's debate, perry said it was time to have a legitimate conversation about how the fix the program and in an op-ed yesterday he wrote, there was no mention of the words, ponzi scheme. here are the facts. social security's badly broken. program will continue to pay 100% of benefits promised until about 2016 -- there are only 1.75 full time private sector workers last year for each person getting social security benefits. governor perry sukts one way to fix the program is to raise retirement age. introduce means testing, which would limit payments to the rich and in the past, he has advocated for the privatization of social security. meanwhile, the other republican candidates, especially mitt romney pounced on it when perry comes talking about social security. romney referred to it as being over the top. a new cnn poll shows only 27% think social security is a lie and a failure. it's more than the fourth of the population though and overwhelming majority think changes are needed. is rick perry right to refer to social security as a ponzi scheme? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile and post a comment on my blog or post on our facebook page. wolf? >> people do that every day, jack. thank you. let's move on to another important story we're watching now. we're taking a closer look at nato forces. they're fighting back against a rather bold daylight attack in afghanistan. one of the main targets, the united states embassy in kabul, which is now on lockdown. let's turn to barbara starr. she's watching the story. a brazen daylight attack. what's the latest? >> you know, the u.s. and nato like to say that the taliban attacks aren't very effective. today, the taliban took nato and the u.s. on. straight on. under fire in a nearby building, nato forces shot back from the top of their headquarters inside one of the most secure areas of kabul. fighting raged for hours as insurgents launched small arms and rocket propelled grenades to attack not just nato, but also the power centers of the u.s.-led war effort. >> handful of individuals, five or so, wearing suicide vests were tibl move into a building under construction. >> at least four sites in kabul were attacked. three afghan police officers killed. no u.s. casualties. >> we will take all necessary steps not only to ensure the safety of our people, but to secure the area and ensure those who perpetrated this attack are dealt with. >> u.s. officials tell cnn they had intelligence that insurgents were preparing to attack kabul under the tenth anniversary of 9/11. susan malveaux said it had an impact. >> the grenades and weapons did not actually penetrate the embassy and some of these other very important buildings. the presidential palace and so forth, but they are striking at the heart of this powerful community and the security inside of this community and that has had a devastating psychological effect. >> the pentagon sought to down play the impact of the attack, but in his first public hearing, david petraeus warned very real threats remain in the region. >> even with its core leadership sustained significant losses, al-qaeda and affiliates still pose a very real threat that will recairo our energy, focus and dedication. operatives remain committed to attacks against u.s. citizens at home and overseas. >> and there are new questions once again about whether the cia is going too far in protecting americans. this all came up at the hearing. general petraeus, now director petraeus, saying the cia inspector general is reviewing the role of a cia officer now working with the new york police department to see if that program is appropriate. >> we're going to be speaking live with susan malveaux. she's in kabul. that's coming up in our next hour. does presidential candidate rick perry mirror president obama when it comes to the war in afghanistan? a key rival is about ready to weigh in. my interview with the former house speaker, newt gingrich. standing by live. plus, what's really behind the iranian president mahmoud ahminedjad's gesture to free those two hikers after more than two years in custody? there's g about werther's caramel that makes a chocolate so smooth and creamy, you don't just taste it, you feel it. ♪ magic [ male announcer ] werther's original caramel chocolate. what comfort tastes like. and i was a pack-a-day smoker for 25 years. i do remember sitting down with my boys, and i'm like, "oh, promise mommy you'll never ever pick up a cigarette." i had to quit. ♪ my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. 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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor about chantix. over 7 million people have gotten a prescription. learn how you can save money and get terms and conditions at chantix.com. here are some stories we're following for next hour. powerful california lawmaker allegedly robbed of hundreds of thousands of dollars by a woman some consider the potential bernie madoff of campaign treasurers. also, another major blow for the nation's economy. the poverty rate now soaring to its highest level in two decades. and a vicious war of words between eight republican candidates. we'll have a fact check. who's right, who's wrong. all that coming up in our next hour. you're in "the situation room." newt gingrich did something a bit unusual during the cnn tea party republican presidential debate. he chose not to attack rick perry's stand on social security, going after president obama instead. listen to some of his most attention-grabbing lines last night, including the answer to his question about whether opponents are scaring senior citizens. >> i'm not particularly worried about governor perry and romney frightening the american people when president obama scares them every day. >> how do you do that? how do you protect seniors, balance the budget so much, so much goes for social security, medicare. >> but that's just a washington mythology. and anybody who knows anything about the federal government knows that there's such an enormous volume of waste that if you simply had a serious all-out effort to modernize the federal government, you would have hundreds of billions of dollars of savings. >> if you were president, would you work with the democrats assume ling they were the majority in the house or senate? would you compromise with them on some of these gut issue sns. >> when i was a young congressman, reagan taught me a great lesson if you have democrats in charge. that is to go to the american people on principle. have the american people educate their congressman. he used to say, i try to turn up the light r for the people so they will turn up the heat on congress. when we passed welfare reform, half the democrats voted yes and on a principle basis, i'd be glad to work with democrats on any office. >> all right, let's go to tampa, florida. joining us live, the republican presidential candidate, newt gingrich. good to have you back in "the situation room." >> always great to be back with you. you did a great job last night. >> oh, thank you very much. let's talk a little bit about last night because i want to go through some of the issues and see where you stand. i had this exchange with ron paul, the congressman from texas on a sensitive subject. a healthy 30-year-old young man has a good job, makes a good living, but decides you know what, i'm not going to spend 200 or $300 a month for health insurance. something terrible happens, all of a sudden, he needs it. who is going to pay if he goes into a coma? >> in a society that you accept welfare and socialism, he expecting the government to take care of him. what he should do is whatever he wants. my advice to him would be have a major medical policy. >> he doesn't have that and needs intensetive care for six months. who pays? >> that's what freedom is all about. you take risks. but congre