head matchup with mibarack obam. kim jong-un's first speech in public. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." it can be a politician's worst enemy as politicians from ronald reagan to barack obama have learned the hard way. now a would be president is having his own open mike moment, mitt romney speaking candidly at a public fund-raiser about eliminating tax deductions and other loopholes. jim, tell our viewers what's going on. >> this is sort of an open mike moment, even though there were no microphones, mitt romney has been reluctant to offer many details to voters. yet at a private fundrai-raiser over the weekend, romney was willing to get specific. >> reporter: for mitt romney, it was supposed to be a private fund-raiser. but two reporters overheard specifics from romney's deficit reduction plan that he has yet to share with the public. among other things, romney was considering eliminating the department of housing and human development, he talked about console -- the obama campaign was quick to pounce, accusing romney for having a penchant for secrecy. to be able to lift up the hood and kick the tires and make that determination before election day. and what's clear is that governor romney is trying to make the specifics of his policies off limits for the american people. >> reporter: even at the fund-raiser, romney didn't spell out all of his plans, saying things like house and human development may not be around leader, but i'm not going do go through these one by one. i will send a lot of what happens in washington back to the states, former governor said on a conference call that voters shouldn't read too much into the comments. >> he talks about different ideas as they come up on the stump, he wasn't announcing a policy. >> reporter: the chairman said that the remarks were meant for a private comment. >> this is my last election and after my election, i will have more fexability. . >> obama was slammed when he -- >> the idea that our president is planning on doing something with them that he's not willing to tell the american people before the election is something i find very, very alarming. >> reporter: meanwhile, the wife of the likely gop nominee, ann romney was also at that fund-raiser, wolf, she called that accusation from democratic strategist hillary rosen that she hasn't worked a day in her life. ann romney called it an earlier birthday present, she called it a defining moment in this race. >> all that is said at a fund-raiser as you point out in palm beach with very, very wealthy individuals and they were trying to raise money for the super pac and that you can give unlimited sums to that pro romney superpac? >> by and large, campaigns try and keep the press away from these fundraising events, but many times those news organizations will put a security perimeter outside of this event. it just so happened that these two reporters were positioned where they could -- comments that i will have to tell you, wolf, i have covered mitt romney for many months now, he has not talked about eliminating hud at any of these events up until this point, so these are definitely new disclosures from this candidate, wolf. >> jim acosta, thank you. and this just coming into "the situation room," a grand new poll putting him rot anymmi head to head against president obama. 52% for obama and 36% for mitt romney. >> some early strength, very early, we should say 6 1/2 months before november, an encouraging sign at least this month for the president. >> very encouraging and let me tell you where this strength is coming from, if you look at our poll, we ask about who is in touch with the problems facing the middle class, barack obama 51%, mitt romney with 33%. likable obama $56 romney 27%. and the individuality number is that this means the voters will give the president the benefit of the doubt when it comes to issues of the economy. >> there ee's vulnerability. >> that is very close within the margin of error, when you go even closer, mitt romney is beating the president in that key swing vote, and the question who can move the economy among men and among white voters and among white male voters. some of these other categories because they know they have a stealing of support when it comes to white male voters. >> but on this independent vote, you don't see that large gap that you see in the overall population because of women or white men. >> but it's close. >> and that is of course the key voters that the president or mitt romney needs to win over before the elect someone. >> take a look at the gender gap. when it comes to men, you see it's pretty even, 49% for romney, but look at this, for women, 55% for obama and 39% for romney. >> you have to keep in mind that romney has been fighting off over folks in the 3r50ir78. i think he will gain among women as he seeks to define himself going forward. >> and the president challenges the white men you were talking about because our internal polls show that mitt romney beats president obama by 17 points with white men. so that can kind of balance out the gender gap here and that's sort of the game they're both playing. >> there's a lot of white men, there's a lot of african-american men, hispanic men, they're not just white men out there. >> but they vote and they have always been a problem for president obama, and the question is what he can turn some of them around. >> i still think t. >> thanks very much. some remarkable exchanges at a house hearing at a scandal for a lavish las vegas council. republicans tore into witnesses, another lost their job and the other pled the 5th amendment and refused to answer their questions. there were some pretty dramatic moments in this hearing. >> there were and it actually just wrapped up. it lasted more than 2 1/2 hours. he said it pisses me off, he said i'm just pissed. >> when the community's top democrat rips into them, you know it's bad. >> he only invited personal friends to the conference, writing and i quote, and this is incredible, quote, we'll get you guys a room near us, we'll pick up the room tab, could be a blast. why not enjoy it while we have it and while we can. ain't going to last forever. end of quote. well, mr. deneely, it stops now >> mr. neely is the organizer of the las vegas conference costing taxpayers more than $800,000. thanks to a committee subpoena, he showed up but wouldn't answer questions. >> i respectfully decline to answer based on my constitutional privilege. >> darrell issa still asked several more rights. >> i refuse to answer based on my constitutional privilege. >> other gsa witnesses took a very different approach. fall on their swords? hardly. they dove on them. >> i am extremely aggrieved by the gal of a handful of people to misuse federal tax dollars and defile the great name of the again services administration. >> martha johnson was gsa administrator a month ago. she said she needed a final report until she could take disciplinary action. >> i personal apologize to the american people, i will mourn for is rest of my life the loss of my appointment. >> reporter: the inspector general who unearthed the excess spending said that many of neelys appointees were afraid of retaliation spending. >> were you aware there was significant excess? >> i had received a communication from the ig with nonconclusive results. >> and you give him a $9,000 bonus. it just seems almost unthinkable. and even if you didn't know for sure, you would have taken the precaution of putting him somewhere where he could never bully again. >> reporter: ms. johnson, why were you giving out bonuses when the president said there was a pay freeze? >> the senior executives were entitled to bonuses under our -- were entitled to bonuses. i don't believe the pay freeze affected those bonuses. >> reporter: what the actual white house new about this report, which again martha johnson, the former gsa administrator she was briefed on the finding back in may. and the chief of staff of the gsa told -- shortly after they were briefed, may of 2011, about 11 months ago, at least someone in the white house council's office according to this testimony knew about this scandal. >> where does this go from here? >> to the next hearing, this is the first of four hearings we'll have. these lawmakers are not giving up on this because they understand the politics of this, they are expressing the outrage of the american people and this really chris tarystallizes it. >> even though the money is minuscule by washington standards, it's caused enormous, enormous outrage for the waste. thanks have much dana. the romney campaign is playing the mom scattered with a video tribute to ann romney. will will. the young new leader of north korea, addressing his country and the world. for the first time, we actually hear him speak. plus this. i'm rob marciano, we're in oklahoma where six people lost their lives with the tornado late saturday night and early sunday morning, now hundreds are homeless. we have got their amazing survival stories and you're going to hear them next in "the situation room." [ male announcer ] the cadillac cts sport sedan was designed with near-perfect weight balance from front to back... and back to front. ♪ giving you exceptional control from left to right... and right to left. ♪ the cadillac cts. ♪ we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs. jack cafferty is here with "the cafferty file." gun sales in this country are booming and women are a big part of the reason why. daily reports on the national rifle association is getting in touch with it's family nine s-- feminine side. there's even a bra holster. here's a picture as the inventor of the flash bang women's holster tells the daily beast, quote, nothing comes between a girl and a gun. of course if you're going to carry a gun like this, you want to be doubly sure the safety is on. 37% more women are shooting today compared to ten years ago and the gallup poll last year showed that one in four american women own at least one gun. the membership in the nra has -- gun ranges hold ladies nights and one class in oklahoma reportedly up 400%. female gun enthusiasts give different reasons for the growth in ownership, some state security. they say they want everyone to be a member of the nra, overall gun sales are way up in the united states, big profits for gun makers like smith and wesson. some say it is due to fears of president obama's second term. what do you think is behind the surge in women gun owners, go to cnn.com/caffertyfile. or go to our post on "the situation room's" facebook page. >> that picture you showed us of the bra with the gun, let's put that up on the screen, jack, because if you take a look at that, maybe we can understand, sometimes when you go through these tsa security screens at the airport, they do a pat down, a woman forgets she's got a gun there, she's going to get a little extra security. >> indeed, she'll get a lot of extra attention and she won't be getting on a plane any time soon. all right, jack, thank you. one of dozens of people injured in thatlast weekend's tornado outbreak. the worst damage in all of the fatalities were in woodward, oklahoma, where more than 100 homes and businesses were simply destroyed. rob marciano is on the scene for us. tell us what you're seeing over there. >> reporter: well, wolf, the cleanup effort continues to today, it was a fevered and frantic pitch, the heavier equipment has been out, so there's plenty of that to go around, we had a lot of tree debris to remove as you can imagine, and they have made some progress, the weather obviously is pretty good. throughout the day today, we had so many people whothrough the storm had truly remarkable stories, he went to bed unknowingly that the tornado is coming, a brother who lives in another town called and said, hey, you got a tornado on its way toward you. he got up and went in the bathroom and his house was destroyed and he was spared. >> reporter: charles hogue lived 30 miles away, but he remembers it well. >> i was 10 years old and i seen it, and it wiped out this whole town. >> reporter: but now he lives in woodward, and this latest tornado tore up his home. look how the tornado actually shoved this house off its foundation, last night before the storm hit, mr. hogue and his wife got warning, they came outside of the house to the backyard, why? because there's a valuable commodity out here, a storm seller, extremely fortified. he and his wife got down there, and that's what saved them. >> that door is heavy. you're a strong man. >> paul lord's family didn't have a storm cellular or any basement and now they're lucky to have their lives. the tornado threw paul out of the house and on to the street. >> when i was laying down there on the curbs and i looked up and saw the house gone, i didn't know what to do. then neighbors started coming over and pulling bricks off. >> reporter: how many injuries did you sustain? >> i got a big gash on the side of my head and they stitched that back up. >> reporter: his grand son had develop cuts too after getting buried in appliances. >> he was underneath in the tub and they had the washer and dryer on top of him. >> he drove himself and his bleeding grandson to the hospital. the lords are getting a helping hand with the cleanup. but searching for keepsakes and sentimental item right side a low priority. >> what specifically are things that you want to find in this rubble? >> i found them, my son, my daughter, son-in-law, my grand babies. >> reporter: well said, mike as you saw in that piece, community members come together, it was a pretty narrow tornado, you either got hit and hit hard, our your house may have been saved. it's amazing how friends, neighbors and relatives are coming to help. this is a very appreciative man, he's been through for brain surgeries and the house that was destroyed was supposed to be closed and sold, that obviously is not going to happen. but he's definitely going somewhere, but not out of this town. new information coming on those secret service agents busted for hiring prostitutes. we're also hearing more about members of the u.s. military who apparently have been involved in that as well. and for the first time since taking over for his father, we're going to hear from the young and still very mysterious leader of north korea. ♪ ♪ ♪ wow... ♪ [ female announcer ] sometimes, all you need is the smooth, creamy taste of werther's original caramel to remind you that you're someone very special. ♪ werther's original caramels. what ? 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[ male announcer ] aggressive styling. a more fuel-efficient turbocharged engine. and a completely redesigned interior. ♪ the 2012 c-class with over 2,000 refinements. it's amazing...inside and out. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. let's get to our strategy session. donna brazile and eric erickson, he's the editor and chief of red state.com. eric, i'll start with you, take a look, you probably saw at the top of the hour our brand-new orc poll, registered voters across the country, obama versus romney right now, 52% for president obama, 43% for governor mitt romney. what does romney need to do in the short-term to pick up that number? >> not panic to begin with. there's a gallup poll out today showing romney ahead and a fox news poll showing the same. let's just remember four years ago at this time, john kerry was ahead of george bush. spring polling is probably the worst indicators of what's going to happen come november around labor day, things will begin to shape up. but mitt romney does have a gap in the poll whether they're ahead or behind with him. the poll shows that 80% of women don't even know what his positions are. there was a bruising primary, he does seem to some degrees out of touch and he needs to in some way figure out how to connect with women voters. >> donna, between men and women, registered voters across the country, among men, it's pretty close, obama 49%, 46% romney. but among women, president obama's doing much better, 55% to 39%. but eric makes a great point. it's still so early in this process, you know those numbers are going to change dramatically. >> and as you know, wolf, we're really concerned about the numbers in the battleground states. but there's enough for both of them to go home tonight and relook at the playbook and see if they're reaching out to the voters they want to win this fall. president obama in that poll, most of the women that you all polled say that they are comfortable with his policies and they feel that he understands their issues and that he cares about their concerns, they know he's working to address the economy. that's why we have had 25 months of job growth. tomorrow's equal payday, it takes women this long, a year plus a couple of months to make the same amount of money as men do. that's why under this president, he passed the ellie ledbetter act. let's take a look at this new video, the romney campaign put it out with ann romney's 63rd birthday today. listen to this. >> will you do me a favor? will you please sing a song for us? ♪ rudolph the red nosed reindeer ♪ >> okay, hold on. now you show me how it's supposed to be done. >> me? >> yes. >> i can't. >> that's why we want to see it. >> we got the point, eric, she's going to be a huge asset for romney going forward over these next six or seven months. take this past week and hillary rosen's comments on cnn on anderson cooper. a friend of mine pointed out, you know, it's terrific, finally all the republicans are rallying around romney, it's just the wrong romney. people really like ann romney, she's a relatable person, she humanizes mitt romney in a way he hasn't been able to humanize himself. if she gets out on the campaign trail too much, does she become a political target? if the candidates spouses, michelle obama as well, out on the campaign trail, where will the parties draw the line so they don't have any more situations like the democrats had last week? >> i think you agree, ann romney probably should be off limits, michelle obama should be