john mccain, for example, who was highly critical of the president for making a comparison between himself and mitt romney in campaign video about osama bin laden praised the trip to afternoon because, of course, john mccain has been committed and remains committed through seeing through the conflict to a successful conclusion. >> i think it's a difficult place for the president to be too. are you not supposed to be kmaernld in chief? you've got to pay attention to the politic bus you have to ilg noor them too. >> the greatest burden of the office of president is save guarding the national security. when you have moments of success, that is the sweet spot and it's a tremendous opportunity politically. so, yes, he was performing as commander in chief in was that the american people are likely to smile upon and that's a good thing for him. we also got news, by the way, this morning that the chinese dissident has left -- in beijing has left the custody of the u.s. officials at the embassy to seek medical treatment. it looks like that situation has been diffused somewhat to clear the way for t

this issue last week with a video today criticizing romney for not being more aggressive like john mccain was in 2008 in shutting down this kind of inquiry. it's a harder form of what the president himself tried to do at last year's white house correspondents dinner with this bit of mockery. >> no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the donald. and that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter. like did we fake the moon landing? >> now, mitt romney told reporters yesterday he can't be responsible for what all his supporters say. but there's no doubt about the fact that he wants to get the conversation on the economy and, tyler, the proof of that is the new web video that mitt romney's campaign put out today answering the attacks from barack obama on bain capital by going after the stimulus plan and some of the failed enterprises like solyndra. >>> coming up, ty, we're going to give you research that pros react to. a brand-new "power lunch" segment we call analyze this. >>> also > alahead, a little pi of mark zuckerberg's honeymoo

. >> anybody, whether it's sarah palin or george bush or john mccain, who think you can drill you out of the problem is... >> you don't have a chance. there's no way. we're importing 12 million barrels of oil a day. okay, let's just say that we were gonna replace 12 million barrels by drilling in america. we would be bigger than saudi arabia. and we're stretched for everything. i mean, we are a marginal producer. >> in order for his plan to work, pickens proposes replacing the natural gas that's now used to generate 22% of the nation's electricity with a new source of power, wind power, created by thousands of wind farms that would need to be built. how do you know the utilities are gonna take wind power as a substitute for natural gas? >> that may be a mandate. >> so that's a critical point. you may have to have the government demand this happen. >> right. >> suppose it doesn't work. suppose the pickens plan doesn't happen. what happens to the country? >> oh, well, the plan then is foreign oil. you're totally at the mercy of foreign oil. >> but it's not at all simple. it would be a m

>> i do, we heard that from john mccain earlier today. he praised the president and this is john mccain who had earlier sharply criticized the president for invoking osama bin laden in that video. >> and do you think there'll be criticism for president obama going over there and making this speech? >> reporter: i do, larry, there will be criticism. we've already seen it from republicans. but the greatest burden of the office of the presidency is serving as commander in chief. it's also the greatest opportunity if you do it effectively, here's the president taking advantage of that opportunity. >> this is an indication to them that -- >> good evening, bagram air b e base. this outpost is more than 7,000 miles from home. but for over a decade, it's been close to our hearts. because here in afghanistan more than 500,000 of our sons and daughters have sacrificed to protect our country. today i signed an historic agreement between the united states and afghanistan that defines a new kind of relationship between our countries. a future in which

>> what you fail to understand apparently is you apparently forgot what happened in 2008 when john mccain tried this whole idea of having a game changing can't. >> are you comparing hillary clinton to sarah palin? are you seriously doing that? >> my point is you don't make changes and pick somebody just because they're a woman. you pick the person who is the best president. >> i hope the rnc is keeping this tape. >> hillary clinton is a great candidate, by the way and i hope she kicks the republicans' butt in 2016. >> there have been a number of president who is have switched vps. a guy by the name of franklin delano roosevelt, i believe, abraham lincoln. some were illness or other reasons. it's not like it's unprecedented. why do you think it would be such a bad move, at least from the optics? >>. >> it's completely unnecessary. it defeats into this whole oh, the campaign might be in business. mike dukakis lost the election in 18 leads. and obama end is going to win. he's at the same place in the polls. they could have joe biden hillary clinton to an historic -- the first female vice pre

i happen to love the court ruling. >> mccain took public money. he had 200 million and got outspent by 800 million. >> he did get outspent but he didn't use what they had. >> but the reason he said he didn't want it used is because he remembered hough he had gotten beat up by the bush campaign. >> then he got beat up by the other campaign and he got beat up twice. >> i don't know. i would have picked clay aiken. >> they were both great. we had a great success. it was amazing and two-hour live finale. arsenio hall was great. >> donald, is arsenio going to get a talk show out of this? >> i think he is. three groups are talking to him. as he says, i'm going home to paramount. and he was great. if you remember, he was really, really good. and then he went into hiding for ten years. he actually left and went into hiding. well, he's coming back. he's going to be great. >> even after clay aiken mimicked your hair style, you still didn't fire arsenio. i just saw that picture there. it almost looked like you sitting there, donald, did you see that? >> i do

senator john mccain is not asking for boots on the ground but there's a lot that could be done. we must commit ourselves as a country to the support the syrian rebellion. we must enlist the support and the help of the turks, of those who are more than eager to help, the saudis eager to help, libyans who offered weapons. the libyans offered syrians weapons, and the united states threw its weight against that proposition. there you have it. the facts are plain for all to see. if american diplomacy and american power doesn't commit itself to the rescue of the syrian people, we see what we've been seeing for the last 15 months. >> as you know, some people saying no, including the obama administration, to committing american power. they're worried they would be essentially saying, start a full out civil war with pretty much no expectation of how it might end. you're saying that risk is better than what we have right now? >> that's exactly right. and again, i think, john, if you listen to the washington statements and the washington discourse, there is now this new argument, if you wi

mccain got blown away on that number in 2008. if you don't believe a candidate understands where you're coming from economically, you're not going to support that candidate. >> jamal, there's some good news in the economy here though for president obama. >> absolutely. and i think ryan is right about that number. this goes back to that issue of trust. the president has been to be able to convince people, mitt romney may have done some things on business but can you count on him to understand you and who you are and what you need? if he can get people to buy that he's the one to trust, they will be okay. >> thanks to both of you. "outfront" next, texting a friend who is driving to meet you. well, you could get sued. >>> and an american bound flight diverted. fighter jets scrambled for a us airways plane. a passenger comes "outfront" ahead. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon heal

. >> reporter: romney failed the john mccain test knowing how the senator handled an unruly supporter. >> he is an arab. >> no ma'am. >> no? >> no, ma'am. he's a decent, family man, citizen that i just happen to have disagreements with. >> reporter: democrats says another gift when shortly after romney's town hall he gained credit for the survival of the auto industry. >> i punished the idea of a managed bankruptcy so i'll take credit for the fact that the industry has come back. >> reporter: just across the street from romney's event, protesters reminded the contender he opposed the auto bailout. >> i don't know how he can take credit for anything. >> reporter: now the off-script bug may be catching just as the director of hispanic outreach for the republican national committee. she held a briefing with reporters earlier today and when asked about mitt romney's position on immigration, she said, quote, to my understanding he's still deciding what his position on immigration is and in that same conference call or in that same briefing with reporters an rnc press secretary said we neve

fred davis, who runs the firm that proposed this ad, was mccain's media advisor. these are the grown ups. >> that's what i was saying earlier. to me it's unfeasible that nobody in romney's camp, somebody in his campaign knew about this. the sinister aspect is, was it part of their intention to have it leaked to the front page of "the new york times" and you get all the publicity without spending any money? >> my suspicion is not. i don't go the next layer -- >> really? nothing about the behavioral patterns about the politicians in washington made you feel cynical? >> i feel entirely cynical but i think it's too stupid. i think this doesn't do them any good. if you're mitt romney's campaign, make the people who are uncomfortable with the black president feel uncomfortable without ever mentioning black people. >> but mitt romney can stand as he did today and say i knew nothing about this. i'm appalled as you are. meanwhile, jeremiah wright is now all over the news agenda again. and you can bet your life that they will be repeating now all over cable stations in amer

john mccain did not try to capitalize on it back then. >> i've made my position very clear on this issue. and that i do not believe that senator obama shares reverend wright's extremist statements or views. >> well, at the time some republicans criticized mccain for not focusing more on the issue. four years later, it's resurrected. ricketts passed on the proposal and the super pac's president said in a statement not only was this a proposal, one of several submitted to the ending spending action fund but it reflects an approach to politics that mr. ricketts rejects and was never a plan to be accepted but only a suggestion for a direction to take. mitt romney disavowed the proposal today. >> i want to make it very clear, i repudiate that effort. i think it's the wrong course for a pac or a campaign. i hope that our campaigns can respectfully be about the future and about issues and about a vision for america. >> it's still early days in the campaign. this is already making for some raw politics. earlier i talked to an obama pollster, cornell belcher. even if this ad campaign never happen

it wasn't all that long ago mccain/bush/kennedy had a path to citizenship. or would that be flip-flop, flip-flop. >> i think romney has quite a bit of room to move to the center. i think the base of the republican party in the primaries. they are not willing to tolerate a whole lot of descend. they didn't like a lot of his positions. he moved far to the right on immigration. the conservatives are willing to look past some of the moves he will have to make to the middle. it is more after a character issue. with independent voters. he can hit the president and say, hey, you had four years, where is the immigration reform bill? you never passed it. >> he is so locked in. >> we will see if he gets help from senator rubio and others. >> barack obama is locked in to what he said four years ago. he is going to go in front of naleo, he told that audience and many other latino audiences, i will do immigration reform in my first year. he had the chance. he didn't. >> people will have to understand. >> there is disappointment. no question about that. they also jupd stu

mitt romney called on the president to arm syrian opposition forces and senator john mccain said this. >> horrible things are happening in syria. this administration has a feckless foreign policy which abandons american leadership. i know because i visit with these people, that they are ready to help these people. and they are helping them some. but it cries out for american leadership. american leadership is not there. >> republican senator richard lugars said quote, i think properly so. you also heard alex thomson. want to talk about it with fran townsend and fouad ajami. fouad, you and i were on the border just a couple weeks ago. i mean, the world cannot say they didn't know that this was happening. everybody is shocked at the death toll over the weekend, this massacre of children. but we have seen children killed now for 14 months. >> you were in the tents and you talked to people. you talked to children, one boy. i'll never forget him who said we can't live like this. we want our freedom. so these people want their freedom. but i'll tell you one thing. this is now, this massacre

romney was the conservative alternative to john mccain in 2008, but romney is unacceptably moderate for a party that has no room for here aticks from the orthodoxy. >> you can agree on this? mitt romney is too moderate? that was the argument for rick santorum. >> right. well, you know, i mean there is an enthusiasm gap for mitt romney. there's no doubt about that. but we saw that early on. still a lot of folks aren't voting for him. that's time to coalescing and try to get behind and try to draw the people in. it's startling he hadn't been able to do that to this point. he's got some endorsements out there, the remaining people in the field. the time is to flex his muscle and start to bring more people into his tent. he'll probably do that as the election process goes on, but it should be troubling for the romney campaign at this point not to be higher up and win by bigger margins. no doubt about that. they're absolutely right. >> when hogan is making that point saying it's startling, he hasn't secured the nomination when his boss just endorsed mitt romney that speaks to a real problem

he keeps using mccain as an example. however, mccain lost the election. instead the obama campaign is enjoying what he calls craziness a full year after the president released his long form birth certificate in washington. >> the state of hawaii released my official long-form birth certificate. >> reporter: asked about trump's comments, romney seemed to say that the financial support was a risk that was worth taking. >> they don't agree with everything that i believe in, but i'm appreciative to have the help of a lot of good people. >> reporter: but his campaign later released a statement that the gop contender believes that president obama was born in the u.s. the democrats can talk about trump. mitt romney will talk about jobs. a message romney carried with him to colorado where he accused the president of brushing the coal industry with regulations. >> obama is giving taxpayer money to big donors and then watching them lose it. >> reporter: the romney campaign also released a web video slamming the president's controversial energy job's program that ga

aren't you embarrassed to sound exactly like the obama spokesman talking about john mccain? this is ridiculous. >> this is a clip we played before that ran many times. it's a conversation that's been had. >> come on. let's talk jobs. let's talk jobs. >> is that because you don't want to talk about the fact that a major fund-raiser is a birther? >> it's not an issue. there is nobody in the romney campaign that believes that the president was not born in the united states. >> so then how come someone doesn't say, donald trump is wrong. we're going to tell donald trump is wrong. >> donald trump is wrong. the president is born in the united states. >> that may be the first time. >> no it isn't, ma'am. it's just because you don't read enough that you don't understand. let's go to -- >> there's no need to get into personal attacks. we can move on. >> i'm not getting into personal attacks. i'm talking about the fact that you have a fixation. >> of asking questions when someone who is clearly a birther is a representative -- >> you did it last night. >> i was sleeping last night. >>

you had a chance to speak with senator john mccain a moment ago. what did he say? >> reporter: he had been very, very critical about the political ad that the president's campaign put out boasting about getting osama bin laden and also hitting mitt romney on that issue, but on this particular trip, john mccain was anything, but critical. what do you think about the president's surprise, secretive trip to afghanistan? >> i think it's a good thing. i think it's always good when the president goes to where young men and women are in harm's way, and i think that many of us who have been involved in afghanistan are very supportive of the strategic partnership agreement which i'm sure he'll be talking about, and we think the agreement is good. we obviously would like to know the details. >> senator, you have been very outspoken, very critical of what the president did recently, politically with an ad boasting about getting osama bin laden and hitting mitt romney for it. do you think that this trip is also part of his political campaign? >> no, i can't accuse the presiden

this time around john mccain endorsed mitt romney. last time he beat mitt romney in the primaries. they do it all the time. we have a word for that. it's called politics. not the way most of us live our lives. >> our viewers should read your column if they want more. >> thank you. >>> finally the mastermind is going on trial. finally live to guantanamo bay in cuba with the details. >>> and osama bin laden's driver is interrogated. we're going to show you the videotape. it's revealing. just been released by the pentagon. ♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network. with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or

. >> senator mccain's campaign actually said, and i quote, if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose. >> another interesting note about the new ads from the romney campaign, it isn't just what they say but where they're airing. four states that president obama won last time around. the states are ohio and iowa and north carolina and virginia. one other bit of news -- that is a romney source toll me mitt and ann romney each gave $75,000, which effectively by law is the max that they can give, to the romney victory fund and they did that this week. >> giving to their own campaign. that makes sense. gloria borger is here as well. what's the purpose of this first romney ad from your perspective? >> it is a positive introduction. it's a handshake with the american public saying glad to meet you, and, by the way, this is my agenda on day one. it is also a way of saying why don't you ask president obama what his agenda would be in his first term? you're going to be hearing a lot more of that question from the romney campaign. so a general positive introduction. >> the other th

now, mitt romney's comments were echoed by senator john mccain who as you know has not hesitated to criticize president obama on various topics over the years, but he refrained from doing that yesterday. let's listen to what he had to say to our own dana bash. >> so this is not spiking the football in the end zone as he said? >> no, i don't view it as that. and i wish the president would explain more often to the american people why afghanistan and its support that afghanistan not return to a base for attacks on the united states of america. >> reporter: and so mccain's comments kind of lead us into the criticism from the "new york times" editorial page. they said the white house set it up -- set the speech up yesterday as a big moment. but the president squandered the chance to fully explain his exit strategy from a war americans are desperate to see brought to an end. now, of course, you heard nick walsh touch on the fact that in a few weeks the u.s. and allies will be meeting for the nato summit in chicago beginning to hash out some of the things going forward about troops and resources. w

i think senator mccain is a very honorable guy. i think for some of my friends from the bush administration who have a problem with this, one of their first ads, which showed a flag draped body carried out of the world trade center, if they knew that, that was really beyond the line. this is a legitimate triumph that the president led. and he has a right to claim credit for it. >> is this a legitimate triumph that the president has the right to claim credit for? >> if that was all it is, i would say absolutely. i think president obama has every right to make his case about how he's keeping us safe, and he should brag about killing osama bin ladin to a point. where he crossed the line is by taking the one-year anniversary and turning it into an attack on governor romney. you're not moving heaven and earth, you're sending in the s.e.a.l.s. think how much better it would have been by inviting president bush and thanked them in a private moment. that would have kept this about the moment. president obama missed that opportunity to do i

bush and john mccain called it immigration reform. they said it would help republicans with the latino community. a path to status and citizenship. governor romney has evolved. is he now in the wrong place when he said no. >> our beloved ronald reagan in 1986 thought the best way to solve the problem then in a compassionate way was to grand citizenship and amnesty didn't work. it magnified the problem. we have to figure out what's the right thing to do for america. >> another issue, congressman that will come up again is the so-called dream act. i want to listen to governor romney. if you have illegal immigrants that came over as young children, their parents brought them over. maybe they want to join the military or do community service, can they get on the pag way? here is governor romney. >> the question is, if i were elected and congress were to pass the dream act, would i veto it? the answer is, yes. >> he would veto the dream act. senator marco rubio says he is trying to come up with a proposal that he believes can get more bipa

. >> we hear from senator john mccain saying air strikes are the way to go. the russian foreign minister saying absolutely no foreign intervention. what's next? no one is talking. >> the regime is not looking towards these talks. it's very clear right now, you can go for more sanctions. today turkey joined a dozen other nations, pulling their diplomats out of syria. put some pressure on them. i think the regime is going to try to hold on to that. you can go for safe havens, you can talk about all of that, brooke. but you've got observers on the ground that can't do anything. they don't have the support of the assad regime. another point i want you to make is the fact that a lot of people -- and this is something that i don't know if to the american audience fullry realizes. a lot of people are still on the side of the assad regime. a lot of people would be di disenfranchis disenfranchised. >> they wouldn't like to see a democracy, but they don't want to see what this option is offering. they don't trust them. >> why not? >> they see them as part of a sweep by

when a supporter in a crowd said something false about obama to mccain, mccain set that supporter straight. donald trump isn't an ordinary supporter. he's clearly a surrogate. democrats are saying the fact that mitt romney hasn't said donald trump is wrong and asks him to produce something shows romney doesn't have backbone. that's what democrats are saying. does he have an obligation in any way to set his surrogates straight on the birther claims? >> oh, he has. >> you think he's spoken to donald trump? >> every time this issue has come up, he made it clear he disagrees with donald trump and he disagrees with the emphasis on the issue. he believes the reason we need to beat president obama in november is because he hasn't done enough to fix the american economy. every time he's had an event, he's talked about what it is that he would do to fix the economy. >> does he have an obligation to say something to donald trump? >> i think he has said it. he's said time and time again that the focus of the campaign has to be the economy. >> but, i mean, but then why -- if donald trump is the surrog

romney i think is going to do exactly what mccain did. both of them when all is said and done, they're both gentleman and serious and both substantive and i don't think they're going to get into the trash. >> the obama campaign responded to this. mitt romney's campaign has responded to this. mr. rickets is responding to this and one thing in this piece and i know you will do more on this in the sit room later on is the "new york times" suggested that publicity that certain to surround this will send the strategists back to the drawing board and it looks like that is exactly what's happening. mr. blitzer, nice to he so you. thank you. >> thank you. >> again, wolf will be doing a lot more of this on his program immediately following this program, 4 p.m. eastern time, "the situation room." more than 30 square miles of forest land and grassland has been burning. have you seen the pictures? how would you like to be waking up to that? hundreds of people have had to evacuate their homes and have no idea if they can go back. the wildfires are ima

in 2008, the john mccain campaign was outspent by the barack obama campaign 2-1. this time there was a report in politico this morning. we've confirmed it, that republican groups are going to spend $1 billion on the republican campaign and the house and senate races and the obama campaign wants to raise 750 million, but their outside super pacs are not doing as well as the republican super pacs. so he raises a couple million bucks with donald trump? he's going to raise the money anyway. >> you wonder if that's money well collected? >> exactly. or will it damage him more in the long run? >> you know, last week you wrote a good column on cnn.com suggesting that all of obama's campaign with romney and bain capital, not necessarily that productive and now we see the obama campaign beginning to focus more as governor of massachusetts. >> right. i spoke with someone in the obama campaign. oh both of these things are part and parcel of their rollout talking about romney economics. i think it's probably more productive for them to talk about his record as governor of mass

but as senator mccain said, heroes don't brag. and there's just a little bit too much bragging going on for my personal tastes here. >> let me turn to doug brinkley. presidential historian, professor of history. what is the historical significance of the president's visit to afghanistan tonight and the speech he's made outlining the future there? >> i think it's very important. it's his third visit to afghanistan. and it's his first since bin laden's been killed. remember, this was our national objective. get bin laden. we got him. but we have to -- everybody was talking about the politics of all this. remember, nato is meeting in chicago in late may. you have to have some kind of framework, a strategic partnership between afghanistan and the united states. so if it wasn't this day, it would have had to have been in the next few days. i think president obama gave a very strong speech. imagine if you've been serving in afghanistan for years, i don't think it was triumphless, we've decimated a lot of al qaeda. but there's still rock

. >> across the country in san diego mitt romney and senator john mccain attended a memorial day ceremony. as well romney called for the u.s. to maintain a strong military warning that the world is not safe. >>> still ahead a veterans charity poo fights complaints it isn't really helping despite collecting tens of millions of collars and next the test and a hounder of a group trying to help heel military families drug children that have lost loves ones to war. >> all of us can and should ask ask how we can help you shoulder a burden nobody should have to bear alone. [ male announcer ] this is genco services -- mcallen, texas. in here, heavy rental equipment in the middle of nowhere, is always headed somewhere. to give it a sense of direction, at&t created a mobile asset solution to protect and track everything. so every piece of equipment knows where it is, how it's doing or where it goes next. ♪ this is the bell on the cat. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's n

his old rival and war hero, john mccain. clearly here to bolster romne s romney's -- >> i'm especially honored to be on the same stage with a great friend, a great man, a great governor and a man who i believe is fully qualified to be commander in chief, government governor mitt romney. this administration has a fleckless foreign policy which abandoned american leadership. >> reporter: after news broke of the horrific massacre in syria, romney echoed obama's criticism. the united states should work with partners to organize and arm sere syrian opposition groups so they can defend themselves. despite the commander in chief-like imagery here, polls suggest that romney has a long way to go in that department. 52% of americans say obama can better handle the job of commander in chief, with only 36% for romney. but then again campaign 2012 is not about foreign policy, it's all about the economy, and there the two men are virtually tied. one thing candidates all have in common, protesters at their events, but only romney has someo

when he said that he was attacked by mccain, clinton, and romney. romney called those ill timed and i do not concur. they attacked obama for saying he would go into pakistan to kill bin laden. the president kept his word. this is a legitimate accomplishment and impressive accomplishment. i just think senator mccain is an honorable guy. i have no criticism for him. but for some of my friends from the bush administration, one of their first ads showed a flag draped body being carried out of the world trade center. i think that was beyond the line. this is a legitimate triumph that the president led and has a right to claim credit. >> ari is that what this is? a legitimate triumph? >> if that's all it is, i would say this is absolutely what he should do. and i think president obama has every right to make his case about how he's keeping us safe. he should brag about the killing of osama bin laden up to a point. where he crossed the line is by taking the one-year anniversary and turning it partisan by attacking romney on it. every president who gets int

. >> reporter: in 2008, president obama lost the veteran vote to senator john mccain 55% to 45%. but the demographics are shifting and democrats sense an opportunity. a recent poll shows mr. obama with a 44% to 37% lead among this group over likely opponent mitt romney. team obama is looking for voters like josh. he's a recent graduate of george washington university law school. who served with the army in iraq. he's a proud veteran and a loyal republican. >> the first presidential election i could vote in was 2004 and i voted for president bush. >> but for the first time, he's looking to both the right and the left. he likes former massachusetts governor mitt romney, yet president obama's foreign policy has gotten his attention. >> and he's impressed me with the way he led the drawdown in iraq and afghanistan, as well. >> reporter: the killing of osama bin laden has won over some former critics. that's the sales pitch democrats are making. republicans say this outreach is honorable. but they're skeptical of an election year appeal to veterans. >> they deserve, you know, support

the kpin will have to set up a narrative in the same way john mccain's story as inspirational. he was a p.o.w. george bush was an alcoholic and found god. this came out the weekend before eease lection. nothing like that. it speaks to how mitt romney has to fill out his oh narrative. >> is that a problem? people don't see the adversity he to overcome? >> a little about getting to know the candidate. i agree with john. exactly right. independent voters are not focused on this are not going to do so in a high demand until you get to those conventions when he's going to introduce same thing barack obama did, same thing any candidate does who they are, their introduction to what the solution is when everyone is paying attention. that's why i think there's a lot of stories about mitt romney's character that are going to come out. for example, when he helped find a missing teenage daughter of a partner at bain capital. a lot of exemplary narrative so to speak to put together that's going to define who he is as a candidate. >> all right. thanks very much to all three of you and ahead

again, you saw what happened the senator mccain. i have no problem if you're a are republican or democrat and you want to make the argument about getting elected, but then it's like you committed treason because you chose to work with someone on the opposite party. that spells trouble. >> you're presupposing that we're talking about something that's completely constitutional. if you're talking about nationalizing huge chunks of the private sector, that doesn't really jive nationalizing huge junks of the private sector, that doesn't gibe with what's written in the constitution. there are going to be people who are going to say maybe let's look at the enumerated powers and let's see what the government is allowed to do, and this isn't one of the things that they're allowed to do, so, yeah, they're going to stand their ground. that's to be expected. that's why they're voted in. >> i'm going to take us for a little bit of a turn. we'll have a little fun and then talk same-sex marriage in north carolina, okay? apparently president obama'

. >> what about mccain who said shame on president obama by turning it into a cheap political attack ad. the same president who criticized hillary clinton for invoking bin laden to score points. how do you feel about the speech when he used the capture of saddam hussein? he said george bush took the fight to our enemies and away from our shores destroying the regime. president obama made the difficult decision to liberate iraq. we need a leader with experience to make the tough decisions and the resolve to stick with it. what is the difference? >> there's a big difference. the big difference in there does john mccain say anything about john kerry. >> hang on. >> it's an important point here. it was stupid of the white house to do this. instead of talking about how great president barack obama was for killing osama bin laden, we're arguing whether he should have this ad. >> you're missing the big point the reason they mention mitt romney because he went on record saying it wasn't worth all the money spent to get one die. he said that on the record. that's why they went after him. >> y

and if you remember john mccain who's a wonderful man, john mccain did not want to go all the way. he did not want to get -- they left a lot of things out. i can name them, but what's the purpose of naming them? obama is attacking mitt romney very hard. and in the case of, i think and many people think, very unfairly. i think the republicans have to fight fire with fire. i've always felt that. we can't be nice like we were four years ago and expect this to happen. it's going to be a tough race. it's going to be a close race. i think mitt romney's going to be an amazing candidate. i think not only an amazing candidate but an amazing president. but to become president, i think you have to fight the fire with fire. they're being very tough on him. and i see we're already -- the republicans are pulling back. they don't want to throw all their punches. i think you have to throw all your punches. those punches are going to be thrown at you. and piers, i think you know that better than anybody. >> yeah. certainly know what you're getting at. i think the issue you're talking about which yo

. >> john mccain said when he was tortured, he was giving out the lineup for the green bay packers. he would just make stuff up. he was literally providing bad information just to get them to stop and sometimes he would give a little information but for the most part he was making stuff up. as a person who experienced a lot of that, that he sees no value in it and is against it. does his word have weight? >> let me tell you that the people who were involved in the debriefing because there's a myth here. the interrogation face of it only took a few days or a couple weeks. but the more detailed work was the actual debriefing in which the experts that we have at the agency and world experts on al qaeda were able to vet the detainee because they had so much information that they were able to ask him questions that we had answers for and vet these individuals. later when we had more prisoners, we would be able to use one against the other but the intelligence is compelling. >> it seems to me that the wrong debate is whether or not it works. if we submit to the premise that it does work a

you say senator mccain is still supportive of you, but what about the rest of the party, do you think you're in a position to bridge the chasm that separates the gop over gay issues? >> i believe i can be one of those. we need some officials in the republican party that just don't come out and say hey, i support these issues but actually live their life doing their job first and that's most important. but also this is a part of who i am and to see a prominent senator like john mccain still say hey, you're my friend, you're a damn good sheriff and none of this "f"-ing matters. that means the world to me. and to have all my local officials to stand with me, it really has been tremendous. >> i know it's tough for you, because you are -- you don't want this to be a referendum on mitt romney or the party. you're afraid in a sense if you criticize the party, there is tough love. you can criticize something that you like, especially something that needs correction. are you afraid to be critical of the party or mitt romney? it seems like you're hedging a bit, a bit more than you want to. >> y

. >> the way mccain shows palin. thought it had be a game changer. obama thinks it will change the whole face of the election. a change people talk about. he think it's going to make him win. >> that's because social issues -- >> it may be wrong but i think he thinks -- >> do you think that's because social issues are what sort of make people emotional and drive them to the polls. how young people poll on gay marriage. overwhelming support or the older white blue collar voters, again -- >> look who we're talking about. everything was the economy up until yesterday. now all i hear about is gay marriage >> that's today. >> long six months. >> it's going to be the economy again. this election is going to be won or lost over who -- who voters think will be best to lead the economy but i would say that, you know, this issue when mitt romney comes up now and says, well, you know, i'll support civil unions so long as you don't get any rights with them, he looks like, you know, grandpa in this. this is just what mitt romney was trying to avoid. you know, he

in 2008, mccain got 74%. in 2004, george w. bush gets 78%, 21% for john kerry. how does obama get to the ruffle 78% that he had. >> i think the president helped him this week. those numbers were taken last week before the president made his announcement that he is in support of redefining marriage. this is a great opportunity for mitt romney. this is the largest evangelical college. having been a graduate there. i was there 20 years ago when pat buchanan made the graduation speech. they are accustomed to politics and controversy. he has to hit on the core values, social issues. i think he will. i have talked to the campaign. i think they understand the importance of this speech. >> one of the other issues, there was a protest, a small protest but some students didn't want mitt romney to come. one of them, janet loeffler posted this on a facebook page. my objection is religious. it is not political. liberty trained us that mormonism is a cult. does mitt romney have to address that tomorrow or should he ignore this very small, small percentage of people that objec

to take it seriously, because if you look at the last couple of elections, the president beat john mccain by about 13 points with women. and in 2004, john kerry only got three points better with women than george bush and george bush won. so losing women by double digits is not the way to get to the white house. >> thanks to all three. appreciate it. >>> ahead, apple's ceo said something that took our breath away. we looked into it. he said he wants to make iphones here in the united states. but does it add up? >>> and a man's horrifying flesh-eating attack could be part of a growing problem. it's truly bizarre what we found in our investigation. we'll be back. [ male announcer ] considering all your mouth goes through, do you really think brushing is enough to keep it clean? while brushing misses germs in 75% of your mouth, listerine cleans virtually your entire mouth. so take your oral health to a whole new level. listerine... power to your mouth. so take your oral health to a whole new level. those surprising little still make you take notice. there are a million reasons why. but your

mccain is firing back at charles barkley who was talk something trash. the trash is coming about the 2012 election and tnt showed that picture of mitt romney in boston at the celtics/hawks playoff game but then listen to what sir charles said about him being there. >> mitt romney -- >> yeah, he's at the game in boston tonight. >> we're going to beat you like a drum in november. don't take it personally. you seem like a nice guy. you going down, bro. >> beat you like a drum. you going down, bro? poor mitt. i think mitt is a nice guy. that was pretty rough talk but mccain decided he was going to tweet this. ready? dear charles barkley, don't take it personally, you seem like a nice guy, but you're clueless. @mittromney wins. wanna bet? >> do you think john mccain was actually doing the tweet himself or do you think he has people? >> i want to believe he was doing it himself but it was probably his people. >> i want to believe that, too. i am at that age where i got to get on twitter. there he is on twitter. nice work. >>> so put a mortar board on the mop t

some like john mccain said it is a good thing to make this trip. others are saying because of the timing and the osama bin laden killing anniversary and because of the election they want it to be known that they have the doubts about the motivation behind this trip. >> reporter: even with the president still on the ground in afghanistan conservative critics back home were going on the attack. long-time republican senator of oklahoma went after the president calling the trip campaign related and an attempt to sure up his national security credentials. in short, political grand standing. the president has been under fire from the right for several weeks already. >> there is nothing that will stop us. >> reporter: republican national committee has asked the government accountability office to investigate his visits to several battle ground states. >> we will finish what we started in 2008. >> reporter: which conservatives complain they were campaign rallies. >> you know it and i know it. it's time for the obama campaign to pony up and reimburse the tr

the campaign has to set up a narrative the same way that john mccain's real life story was so inspirational because he was a p.o.w. george w. bush, he was a young man who triumphed over alcoholism and found god. you know, that dui story and george bush made an impact because it out the weekend before the election. but it speaks to how much mitt romney needs to fill out his own narrative. >> is that the problem though, people don't see the adversity he had to overcome? >> well, it's a little bit about getting to know the candidate. i agree with john there. independent voters are not going to focus on this and not do in high demand until you get to the conventions and same thing that barack obama did when they introduce who they are, the introduction to the solution when everyone is paying attention. i think there's a lot 06 stories about mitt romney's character that are going to come out. for example, when he helped to find a missing teenage daughter of a partner at bain capital. that's a lot that will put together and define who he is as a candidate. >> thanks to all three of you. there are

we'll have a full hour of coverage from this camp along with ivan watson, senator john mccain and professor fouad ai jam mee. now back to piers. >>> i'm back now with michael jackson's mother katherine jackson and his friend brett livingstone strong. my youngest son was eight years old. and he suddenly began playing michael's music. over and over for weeks and months. he'd never heard of mnl before. it was amazing to me a whole new generation and it was the one positive i could see coming out of his awful death was that actually a whole new generation of kids fell in love with michael jackson again and played his music and realized how phenomenal he was. amazing thing. brett, let's talk about two things i want to wrap up with. one is what are you going to do with this art? >> well, michael spent a good part of 25 years making this art. and it was like a private world for him. while a lot of the public thought he may have been doing things that they thought he shouldn't be doing, he was actually creating art. and it was like adoing, he was creating art. it was a world for him to treat into w