to congress with voters knowing he's gay. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com a very weak jobs report is having a very chilling effect on wall street and the economy right now. the dow jones industrials closing down about 270 points only moments ago. the other major indices also taking a hit. we learned today that only 69,000 jobs were added to america's workforce last month. that's the weakest growth in a year and the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.2%. president obama on the campaign trail today. he's struggling to convince voters he's part of the solution and not part of the problem. our white house correspondent brianna keilar is traveling with the president right now. brianna, what's the latest reaction? >> reporter: wolf, it was a similar refrain we heard from president obama. he urged americans to look at the broader trends for jobs and unemployment, and he did give congress a little credit specifically for passing the payroll tax cut extension this winter, but he said congress needs to do much more. >> reporter: after a disappointing may with unemployment increasing slightly and the economy adding fewer jobs than expected, president obama addressed a crowd in the politically friendly state of minnesota. >> our businesses have created almost 4.3 million new jobs over the last 27 month, but as we learned in today's jobs report, we're not creating them as fast as we want. >> reporter: at this honeywell factory that employs 65 veterans, so the military experience can help land them a job in the private sector. he also tried to explain the bad jobs numbers, proving to headwinds and the high gas prices amid concerns over iran's nuclear ambitions. it was a defense that has become repetitive. this was october. >> the biggest headwind the economy is facing right now is uncertainty about july. >> reporter: last july. >> the economy has experienced tough head wends. >> over a year ago. >> the economy has experienced headwinds. >> reporter: obama was prodded to take action on the so-called congressional to-do list. >> my message to congress is not the time to play politics or sit on your hands. >> reporter: governor romney called the economic numbers devastating and accused obama of passing the buck. >> first it was george bush and then it was congress, atm machines, europe. he's always got someone, but the truth is the job of the president is to get america back to work. >> reporter: as romney attacks president obama on the economy, the obama campaign is continuing its new scrutiny of romney's economic record while he was governor of massachusetts and recent polls as a nation show that voters are a very much divided sploit whether it was obama or the romney who would do a better job on the economy. >> thank you very much, brianna on the scene for us traveling with the president. >> i'm quoting now, shockingly low. investors were clearly thrown for a loop as well. let's go to cnn's alison kosik. she's over at the new york stock exchange. a pretty poor day today, alison. what happened? >> reporter: they told me they were stunned over the lousy jobs number. people are trading on fear and you see that playing out today. it is getting ever so closely to the 12,000 level and it's no surprise that the dow's selling off at this point. the number was a big disappointment, but look where the dow is now, it's erased all of its gains for the year and the s&p 500 and the nasdaq are in a correction. the dow is flirting with correction territory. here is a big worry for wall street, wolf, this anemic job growth it's stnt just a blip. it's a trend. you are seeing month after month. march and april was revised lower, at this point the u.s. isn't slowing down. it's pulling the emergency brake. >> it wasn't that long ago, alison, that the dow was over 13,000, and now it's getting close to 12,000 and you're saying all of the gains of this year are already lost. what are people on wall street expecting in the weeks and months to come? what are they saying? >> reporter: they don't know what to expect. what they're hoping for maybe the fed steps in and takes a stimulative measure. when you see how quickly the markets lost all of what they gained, talking about the dow especially in just one month's time, the dow has erased all of its gains for the year. this is actually the worst loss of the year. i'm talking about today's performance. it's amazing how quickly are singled out. they are trading on fear especially on the bond markets the ten-year yield hitting below 1.5%. wolf? >> that's what happens, i guess. thanks very much, alison. appreciate it. we'll have more on the economic story, the jobs story. that's coming up. now to a scary storm and the threat of tornadoes and a very heavily populated area just outside of the nation's capital. let's go to our severe weather expert chad my meyers. >> the humid air wants to rise. we have two tornado watch boxes. that means storm are possible and they could rotate. warnings mean they are rotating. so the watch boxes mean storms could happen anywhere from central philadelphia back over to state college all of the way down even to north carolina. we do have one, i would say the most significant storm close to d.c., just moved over quantico and it is now close to the potomac river and that's potomac heights and it may clip maryland and we don't have enough rotation on doppler to put that tornado warning on. probably rotating a loft. it's still raining in some spots here and our affiliate here, wjla is flying around and looking at flash flooding and zooming around a little bit, but there are creeks and streams going through that cattle gate and over roadways, turn around. don't drown. do not drive through rushing water especially after dark. you don't upon how deep that water might be. >> a little while ago, even bethesda, maryland, which is one of the subures right outside washington, d.c., they were facing potential problems. what do they know about that? >> that's right. zoom in on this zoom right here. i had just moved away from college park and delphi. this is the storm a little bit farther to the north. just outside of d.c. and right up e-95 and the bw parkway. the storm is putting down some wind. maybe 40 to 50 miles per hour. leesburg and lawton county is the only place with damage right now. this is maryland, the storm there to the northwest of touson and hempstead. that's where most of this weather has been today, but up until 8:00, 9:00, wolf, any area could see a storm that could rotate and put down a tornado and turn your noaa radio on, if you see a storm coming inside, get the pits and kids can last now, it could bring down power lines and branches can cut you anyway, all through the philadelphia and even into raleigh and the north carolina area. >> good advice. don't go too far away. we'll stay on top of this story as well. we have storm chasers in the maryland area outside of washington, as well. >> we're about to release brand new polling numbers on the presidential race. is there anything in these brand new numbers for president obama to be happy about? stand by for the new poll information. that's coming up. and find out why mitt romney may want to thank the former president of the united states bill clinton. some democrats aren't very happy with what the former president is saying right now. and a congressional candidate is breaking the mold in romnehome ste. >> being gay in massachusetts is no problem. being a republican is a little more difficult. great shot. 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. and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accide forgiveness... urncre duto your first accident. we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life or they're on us. these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both your home and car with us, it could save you time and money. at liberty mutual, we help you move on with your life. so get the insurance responsible drivers like you deserve. looks really good. call... or visit your local liberty mutual office, where an agent can help you find the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? all right. this just coming into "the situation room" some brand new polling on the presidential race, and it shows the obama-romney contest very, very close right now nationwide. the president has 49% support. romney has 46%, and in the brand new cnn/orc poll of registered voters nationwide and that's the margin of error. the number one issue by far for voters out there which is the state of the economy. let's bring in ron bronstein. the polling information was done before today's unemployment numbers came out, but let's just show our viewers some comparison as far as the president's handling of job as of right now. 52% approve of the job he's doing. 47% disapprove, but if you take a look they've basically been the same. in march, 49% approve and 52%. what does that mean that he's got a 52% approval number. >> that's good news if it hold, wolf. the single best indicator in his battle for the election is his approval rating. if it's at 50, if it's under, he has a close race. he's a 49 in his vote which is also significant because it's only been, by my count, seven polls by anybody that have had him at 49 or above, but the backdrop for both of that, the tailwind for both of those numbers has been a sense among americans that the economy will improve over the next year. that has been a wind in his wings that has moved over to the stronger position. if the kind of job numbers we saw today and last month continue, there's an enormous risk to the president, but that optimism begins to crumble on both his ballot and his job approval. >> we asked registered voters, take a look at these numbers, whether or not their financial situation was better, worse or the same as a year ago. 37% said it was better. 43% said worse. about 20% it was roughly the same. give us your analysis as to what the numbers suggest. >> obama is leff stating above attitudes about the economy. you look at the underlying conditions at unemployment at 8%. the difficulty we've had creating jobs and the assessments that we've had with the economic situation and it's a stronger position than you'd expect given those underlying conditions. the reason for that is that many of the people who are hardest hit on minority voters are overwhelmingly with them. if you look at the white electorate though, he is right at the tipping point and is it 39% overall in your poll, you probably need 40 or above and the numbers right before they came on, only 34% of non-college whites say they're voting for president obama. that's significantly down from l odjickly for collegean noncollege voters. >> econby f is the single most important issue among registered voters. 52% say the economy is the most important thing facing the country today. low single digits, terrorism, 5%. illegal immigration, 4%. afghanistan, 3%. policies toward gays, 2%. it is the economy. >> i thought you were going to say it's the economy, stupid and that's why romney is trying to undermine the economic credentials of the other. if it's the referendum on the four years and most americans are dissatisfied for what the economy has produced for the country and for them individually and their families. he wants to be a prospective verdict and a prospective choice and in that he wants to disqualify romney by undermining what it is and your polls continuing to show a strong for him. most american, the first instinct is that his business background does, in fact, equip him to deal with the economy and the obama campaign is waging this ferocious effort to undermine the core strength of mitt romney. >> ron bronstein, thanks very, very much. >> i want to emphasize that today's poll was done before today's jobless unemployment numbers came out. do you want to know what life is really like on the campaign trail? this coming tuesday join us for the cnn election roundtable. you can submit your questions and get answers in realtime in this live, virtual chat. it all happens at tuesday at noon eastern. logon to cnn.com/roundtable and you'll get new information and you'll be joining me at noon eastern. bill clinton is getting grief from fellow democrats for this remark about mitt romney. listen. >> a man who has been governor and had a sterling business career passes the qualification threshold. >> we're going to take a closer look at bill clinton's gift to mitt romney, and the possible damage to the obama campaign. stand by. >> plus a syrian diplomat is booted from the united states. we'll have the exclusive video and the back story. also, he used to be out there fighting against the force. now darth vader is fighting a parking ticket. there are a lot of warning lights and sounds vying for your attention. so we invented a warning.. you can feel. introducing the all new cadillac xts, available with the patented safety alert seat. when there is danger you might not see, you're warned by a pulse in the seat. it's technology you won't find in a mercedes e-class. the all new cadillac xts has arrived. and it's bringing the future forward. by what's getting done. measure commitment the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through. u.s. congress. one candidate out there in mitt romney's home state of massachusetts is running a different kind of campaign in part because he's openly gay. let's bring in our senior congressional correspondent dana bash who is work the story for us. an interesting story in massachusetts. what's going on? >> richard tese is his name and he's okay with raising some taxes to pay down the debt and he served in the massachusetts statehouse and he thinks same-sex marriage should be legal. he's got to be a democrat, right? wrong. he sure doesn't sound like most house republicans. he talks about compromise above confrontation. >> bring some common sense and willingness to work across the aisle. he refuses to sign a pledge not to raise taxes. >> there are loopholes that need to be closed and take that money and pay down the national debt and i don't have a problem with that and i'm not going to lose sleep over it. >> reporter: what really makes this challenger unique, he is openly gay and he's the first republican to say that while running for congress. >> think they should get off your back and out of your bedroom. >> he fought to make it legal while serving in the massachusetts senate. his joke, where he's from, his party affiliation is more shocking than his sexual orientation. >> being gay in massachusetts is no problem. being a republican is more difficult. >> reporter: being a gay republican is quite different. most republicans oppose same-sex marriage and other gay rights. >> people watching this would scratch their heads and say, really? >> everybody a met down here has been terrific. i guess in a way i'm well-prepared for this because having come from massachusetts i have seen the way people have shifted over time, and i do think that being down here, yes, we might not agree on that particular issue. >> reporter: republican leaders in washington may want to signal a shift, too. at least an image. they helped arrange our interview with tisei in washington and other so-called young guns, candidates republican leaders are helping. >> the country is counting on this crop of candidates to continue the way to change america and change washington. >> reporter: other gop candidates here, a black woman from utah and an indian-american from california. the house speaker insists it's just pragmatic politics. >> they just happen to be good candidates in districts that are winnable for us. >> reporter: to say they're trying to unseat eight-term massachusetts democrat john tierney he wants to say may sound moderate, but may end up voting republican all of the way. >> he'll fall right in light with them. >> reporter: tisei insists he won't change. >> washington has to change. >> reporter: including your own party? >> i think everybody here has to. >> reporter: tisei says he does not want to be known as the gay republican, but rather a republican who happens to be gay. like every other republican running for congress, wolf, he has a singular focus when it comes to issues and that's the economy. >> not just the republicans and the democrats say it's their focus, as well. it's the economy, economy, economy. thanks very much for that, dana. it looks like bill clinton isn't quite the attack dog he used to be. why the former president says mitt romney had a, quote, sterling career at bain capital. it looks like he's undermining president obama's campaign message. stand by. s ke a magnet. pulling us together for different reasons. music. games. photos. shows. we share stories, laugh... and truly engage. it brings us closer and that is my happy place. ♪ [ male announcer ] the best family moments happen in an instant. capture them with internet explorer and a powerful dell pc. there are a lot of warning lights and sounds vying for your attention. so we invented a warning.. you can feel. introducing the all new cadillac xts, available with the patented safety alert seat. when there is danger you might not see, you're warned by a pulse in the seat. it's technology you won't find in a mercedes e-class. the all new cadillac xts has arrived. and it's bringing the future forward. oh, yeah? [ chris ] you can call us 24-7, get quotes online, start a claim with our smartphone app. you name it, we're here, anytime, anywhere, any way you want it. that's the way i need it. any way you want it. [ man ] all night? all night. every night? any way you want it. that's the way i need it. we just had ourselves a little journey moment there. yep. [ man ] saw 'em in '83 in fresno. place was crawling with chicks. i got to go. ♪ any way you want it ♪ that's the way you need it ♪ any way you want it ♪ bill clinton's reputation is one of the democratic party's best weapons and taking a bit of a hit right now and it all began right here on cnn when the former president said some nice things about mitt romney, sort of undercut the obama campaign's message. mary snow's taking a close look at what bill clinton had to say and the fallout. mary, what happened? >> reporter: wolf, republicans see this as a gift. those nice things that president clinton had to say deal with mitt romney's business record which is a major target of the obama campaign and republicans are eager to tout it. republican presidential hopeful mitt romney wasted no time seizing on positive comments on his business record coming from a top dog from the rival camp bill clinton. >> i was happy to see president clinton made a similar statement and called my record superb. jo that follows what president clinton said on the piers morgan program thursday. >> it crosses the qualification threshold, but they have dramatically different proposals and it's my opinion, in a way that the obama proposals and the obama record are far better for the american economy for most amer