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Obama Reelection Odds Much Higher?; Palestinians to Push Statehood Bid; Libya's NTC Want Gadhafi's Entourage; Book on Obama's Economic Crisis; Carville Tells President to Panic; Carville to Obama: Time to Panic; Netflix Customers Speak Out; Obama's Standing with Jewish Voters; Perry Campaigns in Iowa; Nancy Grace: Dancing Machine

Aired September 16, 2011 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we begin with a wake-up call at a troubled White House this morning. CNN's James Carville says it's time to start firing people while some Jewish and black leaders back away from a president they helped elect.

Yes, just hours ago, President Obama says his chances of reelection are much higher than when he was first elected. So what's standing in his way? Well, new job numbers are grim. A solar power company goes belly up along with more than $500,000 in taxpayer loans.

Terrorists launched new attacks in Afghanistan and in special elections, Republicans win two congressional races.

Senior political editor Mark -- Preston, rather, is in Washington for us.

You know, Mark, Carville says it's time for the White House to panic. He made a lot of news yesterday and since those remarks, a lot of response from within the beltway.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes, no question about that, Kyra. In fact, I think the White House pushed the panic button probably several months ago, they just haven't telegraphed it to us yet.

You know you have to look no further than a poll that came out in Virginia in the past couple of days that showed that President Obama has a 62 percent disapproval rating with independents in that state. That is devastating to him. Remember, Virginia was one of the states that he flipped back in 2008 to win the presidency.

But it's not just Virginia, North Carolina is another state that they're concerned about. And then go out west to Colorado, another state that they flipped, as well, back in 2008.

And then there's the two big states, Kyra. There's Ohio and there is Florida, as well. These are all states that he needs to win in 2012 in order to win a second term.

You know, Kyra, a lot of people don't think the president has the fire in the belly any more. In fact I was talking to a Democratic strategist this morning and what he said to me was, very simply, instead of when you're selling the whole idea of the jobs bill, don't say pass the bill, say, yes, we can. We need more. Yes, we can -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So, Mark, if you look back in history, you know, Carter drew a primary challenger. So do you think this is looking remotely possible for this president?

PRESTON: You know, Kyra, this is something the left has talked about whenever they get angry enough at President Obama and they want him to move more their way. But you know his biggest challenger would have been somebody within his own administration and that is Hillary Clinton.

But the secretary of state told our own Alison Kosik last week that's pretty much not the case. In fact, let's listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What's the likelihood that you're going to challenge President Obama in the primary? You know you've got Dick Cheney in your court.

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes, it's below zero.

(LAUGHTER)

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: Simply put right there, it is below zero. So, you know, facing a primary challenge right now, Kyra, is not President Obama's biggest challenge. His biggest challenge is turning the economy around because turning the economy around very likely will hinge upon whether he wins reelection in 2012 -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK, Mark Preston, thanks so much.

And in just about 10 minutes we're going to hear from Democratic strategist James Carville. The CNN political contributor will tell us why he wants the White House to start firing people.

So as the president gets hammered from all sides, he will likely take another hit when he travels to New York for the U.N. General Assembly meeting.

CNN's Max Foster has that now for us from London.

Max, GOP frontrunner Rick Perry even writing an editorial in the "Jerusalem Post" this morning saying Obama has made unfortunate errors when it comes to relations with Israel. So what's at stake for the Palestinian statehood movement?

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, this is all about this bid for Palestinian statehood and I think broadly speaking when you look at world common (INAUDIBLE) today it's the United States and Israel who are alone, really, in opposing Palestinian statehood. Let's have a look at the "Jerusalem Post." These are all guest editorials we've got for you today. And the Palestinians' illegitimate U.N. gambit. That's the headline. "The United States should oppose this measure by using our veto in the Security Council as President Obama has pledged. And by doing everything we can to weaken support for the unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood in the general assembly even at this late date."

But I must say, other papers around the world agree to differ. The "Gulf News" in the UAE saying Britain must vote for Palestinian state. Britain has (INAUDIBLE) on the Security Council, of course, as well as the U.S. "If the leading European powers side with the U.S., the Palestinian initiative won't be seen as a failure if an EU majority backs recognition in some form, the Palestinians can claim symbolic victory."

And the "China Daily" going on to say, Palestinian statehood in its headline. "If the U.S. chooses to fly in the face of world opinion and block the Palestinian U.N. bid next week, not only will Israel become more isolated, but tensions in the region will be heightened even more."

This is going to be a very big story next week -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And we'll be talking about it with you, Max. Appreciate it.

Rebel fighters are targeting the last remaining strongholds of Gadhafi loyalists. These rebel fighters now said that they control the roads in and out of Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte and residents of Bani Walid, another pro-Gadhafi town. They've been fleeing in advance of another assault by the rebels.

Meanwhile, representatives of Libya's National Transitional Council are en route to Niger. They want the return of Gadhafi loyalists who fled there, including one of the deposed dictator's sons Sadi.

CNN's Nic Robertson is live at the Nigerian capital.

Nic, has Libya's NTC delegation arrived yet?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): They're not here so far and it looks like the reception they might get while hospitable might not get the result they want. The justice minister has already been on record saying he's not sending Sadi Gadhafi back to Libya to face justice because he's here as a humanitarian guest.

That he is in the country seeking shelter and there's a war going on in Libya so the government has so far said they won't send him back. The earlier indications are not looking too good for the Libyans at the moment -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: What's the expectation from Nigerian government? I mean do you think they'll give the Gadhafi loyalists up? ROBERTSON: It seems not. I mean, public opinion here would support them, as well. We were just at the Central Mosque, the grand mosque here which was donated and built by Moammar Gadhafi a couple of decades ago, and people remember him well. They say, look, he's one of the only leaders. No one in the West have come here and sent money in Africa like he has.

So they're well disposed towards him and his family right now. So they don't -- you know there's no political -- internal political pressure on the leaders here either to hand back Sadi Gadhafi and any of the other military commanders that have come here, as well.

So this government seems, apart from international pressure, it seems unrelatively sure footing they can stick would their decision and hold out of there right now -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Our Nic Robertson live and in Niger for us.

We'll follow the story, Nic. Thanks so much.

Then back here in the U.S., a new book exposing egos and infighting with President Obama's economic team. And according to "New York Times" some of the claims may make you pretty mad.

CNN's Karina Huber is in the New York Stock Exchange with a closer look.

So, Karina, the book doesn't come out for a few days, right? But you've had a chance to get a little sneak peek at it.

KARINA HUBER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You're right, Kyra. "The New York Times" actually got an early copy of the book which is hitting stores on Tuesday. Its title is "Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington and the Education of a President," and it's written by former Wall Street reporter Ron Suskin. He interviewed over 200 people, including the president for this book.

And essentially it looks like what was going on in the White House during the financial crisis of 2008. It is a very critical book. It says that the White House economic team was plagued with internal rivalries and a treasury secretary that dragged his feet on some major decisions.

One point of contention was the Citigroup bailout. The "New York Times" is saying some decisions including one to overhaul the debt ridden Citibank were carried out sluggishly or not at all by a resistant treasury secretary Tim Geithner.

Now at the time, Obama wanted Citigroup overhauled or even dissolved. Geithner at the time reportedly was against it and resisted it. Keep in mind, though, Geithner has denied this in the book.

In the end we know the story. Citi got a $50 billion bailout and wasn't overhauled. But essentially this book shows extreme dissension at the time when the economy was a mess. We had bank bailouts, car bailouts and a stock market that was tanking -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: Now what's this talk about the dissatisfaction among women on President Obama's staff?

HUBER: Well, the book is claiming that some female staff members often felt bruised so communications director Anita Dunn and economic adviser Christine Romer told the president they were talked over in meetings by male colleagues. The "Times" is saying that Romer once passed a note to Larry Summers, threatening to walk out of a dinner with Obama and outside economists.

After the president called his guests for the recommendations but failed to recognize her. Now the "Times" is saying Romer is now backtracking saying that this was all in jest, it was all a joke, and saying that she said it was lighthearted and she wouldn't have walked out on the president.

Now the book also points the finger at Larry Summers who was the chairman of the National Economic Council. It says he was heavy handed in the decision-making process.

So there's a lot of second-guessing about the new president. At that time a young president and all of that slowed the process -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Karina, a lot of people, I'm sure, will be buying that book.

Well, James Carville, the raging Cajun, wants to -- well, wants heads to roll basically at the White House. So who would he fire? Just ahead the Democratic strategist and CNN contributor joins me live.

And the man who was trapped under a burning car speaks out on his near-death experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON WRIGHT, ACCIDENT SURVIVOR: I blacked out and I came to for about five seconds while I was under the car.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Brandon Wright has plenty of people to thank for saving him from this. You'll hear from him, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stories "Cross Country" now.

In Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court halted today's scheduled execution of Duane Buck, issuing a temporary stay of the sentence while the court reviews his case. Buck was convicted of killing two people back in 1995.

And in San Diego, a police raid targeting suspected illegal immigrants is caught on tape. Custom agents swarmed the dock at (INAUDIBLE) Basin yesterday. Fifteen Mexican nationals were arrested. Six are believed to be smugglers. And in Utah, the motorcyclist who was rescued from a fiery crash earlier this week is out of the hospital and talking about the near- brush with death. But more importantly, Brandon Wright is thanking the bystanders who turned into Good Samaritans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: I just, just wanted to thank all the heroes that put their lives on the line to save mine. Forever in debt. I can't thank them enough. I just hope they know how much they mean to me.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, doctors expect Wright to fully recover from his injuries.

Well, James Carville, he loves to rattle cages and the raging Cajun is at it again. The Democratic strategist and CNN contributor said right here on CNN.com that the White House can't ignore all its recent setbacks. And he says it is, indeed, time for the administration to panic.

Here's part of his opinion piece on CNN.com. "Fire somebody. No, fire a lot of people. This may be news to you, but this is not going well."

Carville even evokes one of the worst military disasters in history saying, "For precedent, see Russian Army 64th division at Stalingrad."

James Carville joining me now from New Orleans. Just ignore that Tulane hat.

That's a whole another story, James. You always want to create controversy about college football. But let's talk about all the news. After surfing the sites this morning and the papers, I didn't see a lot of pushback on what you wrote yesterday.

JAMES CARVILLE, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, one of the reasons and what I'm really guilty of here is plagiarism because I just thought of writing what a lot of people were saying. And I think the president, you know, wants to -- send a clear signal on anything when it's not going wrong because you bring new people in.

I was a friend of mine (INAUDIBLE) scholar this morning. I think it was like he botched six generals before he got the grant. So that's what happens sometimes. I remember 1994 when Democrats -- President Clinton fired a lot of people , made changes and they did a lot of good people. I'm sure a lot of them are innocent --

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. So, let me ask you this. On this Friday, if you had the opportunity, if you were given the position to do so, if you were the general, who are the first three people you would fire?

CARVILLE: Well, I would identify what the problem is. I was on yesterday with Professor (INAUDIBLE) and he said the problem is communication. We'll have to ask what the problem he thinks is in communication. I would fire people in communications.

If the problem is economic policy, then I would fire the people in economic policy. If it's some other area that there is, then I would do that. But I would identify and see what I want to change and then make changes in that area.

Not all the people are the same. Some people less good than other people.

PHILLIPS: So, are you saying Jay Carney is the first one that should go? You think that's the main problem right now, is communications?

CARVILLE: I don't -- I'm saying professor said that about communications problem. I'm not and I'm not the president. And I don't know exactly where the problem was.

PHILLIPS: But you said fire people. You wrote in your editorial, fire people. Start firing people. I just want to know, who would you fire?

CARVILLE: Well, I'm not -- I'm not the president, I'm not in the White House. I don't know -- something's going wrong.

PHILLIPS: You've been there. You've been there. You've talked about change.

CARVILLE: I'm not -- I never worked in the White House. And I'm not in his White House.

But the point is: that's the way that you signal people. In the 64th Division at Stalingrad, they just shot every tenth guy.

PHILLIPS: All right.

CARVILLE: That is to set the impression. I am not suggesting like a Russian general going out and shooting--

PHILLIPS: You're comparing things. You're saying what they should do. I'm just curious. You're putting it out there. So, I want to get -- I'm trying to get inside your head and see what you would do.

CARVILLE: But my head is not in the White House. And I'm saying I would identify the problem and make changes. Very clearly.

PHILLIPS: All right, so -- go ahead.

CARVILLE: No, I'm sorry, go ahead.

PHILLIPS: No, no, that's OK.

CARVILLE: Identify what your problem is, change the policy and change the personnel that are working with the policy and tell the public you get it. Don't lose two races and come on TV and tell everybody everything is fine when everybody knows it's not fine.

PHILLIPS: All right. While I have you, let me get your opinion on this because you are an analyst and one that a lot of people listen to. You know, the trouble in the Obama White House getting more and more comparisons to the Carter presidency, which, as you know, drew a challenger from its own party. Could we see history repeat itself?

CARVILLE: Oh, boy. Anything's possible. You sure don't want that to happen. I think if the president sends the right thing, I think he would be in pretty good shape for re-election. As I put in my article, if you look how crazy these people are, it's enough to frighten the -- I don't know what out of you.

I think this time people still understand that this is not his fault but I think they're looking for a signal that he gets it.

I would appoint a fellow by the name of Diamond who won a Nobel Prize who is an expert on employment to the Fed. And they block that. Well, I would reappoint him. I would make them re-block him at every turn.

This is 98 percent of John Boehner's economic policy that we have in place. I would remind people like that.

You know, I think to some extent he has to make his case and show what he's trying to do and where he's trying to be blocked. Frankly, I think he does that, he'll win re-election. But, they have to have a different policy here.

PHILLIPS: James Carville, good to see you this morning. Go LSU!

CARVILLE: Go Tigers! We won last night. I'm in Tulane this morning. (INAUDIBLE).

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: You can read Carville's full column at CNN.com/Opinion.

Well, coming up, Netflix shares tumble after customers speak their minds on price hikes. We're going to tell you how the company is getting hit by subscribers who don't want to pay more for less.

Plus, from the cookbook to the record book. This chocolate bar weighs more than your car and mine put together. More entries from the new Guinness Book, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's get right to showbiz headlines.

Brad Pitt wants to clarify something. Ex-wife Jennifer Aniston is not boring. The actor is upset over the reaction to a new interview where he talks about how happy his life is with Angelina Jolie and how pathetic and uninteresting his life was before. He says that wasn't Aniston's fault and that she is giving, loving and hilarious.

Neil Patrick Harris just cemented his lengthy career with the star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For six years, he's played Barney Stinson on a sitcom "How I Met Your Mother." His big break, of course, "Doogie Howser, M.D.," back in 1989.

And a bit of a situation in New Jersey. Some locals and lawmakers angry over a big tax credit awarded to MTV's "Jersey Shore." It's worth 420,000 bucks to producers and they can put it towards any in- state expenses, alcohol and fake tanning included.

So, what do Prince William and Kate and a luxurious lengthy mustache all have in common? Well, they all made the cut in the new "Guinness Book of World Records."

Max Foster is here with some records because yesterday were so good, we had to bring you back for some more.

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We can't get enough of this one, can we?

Let's take you back to April 29th of this year. It was that big, major event of the year, of the decade possibly. But online, actually, it was a record breaker. The royal wedding watched online by 72 million viewers, making it the most live streams for a single event ever.

But, enough of that. Let's have a look at the most elastic woman in the world, shall we? This is pretty amazing.

Her name is Skye Broberg. And she is very, very flexible, basically. She is a full-time contortionist. Look at her, she gets into a box. That box. She gets into the box.

PHILLIPS: And I'm being told she quit her job, Max. She quit her job to train for this moment.

FOSTER: She has to be the only full-time contortionist in the world, doesn't she? Everyone is so wowed by her. They just want to see her.

When she gets in the box, if we run it long enough -- if we run it long enough, she is having a chat as well to the cameraman. She seems quite comfortable. Must be useful on those economy flights, crushing to the seat.

Anyway, to a very small box to a very small cat. You know, this is a cat. It's a small cat and it deserves a record, 2-year-old female munchkin cat.

But what I'm concerned about here, Kyra, the apparent lack of legs here on this cat. It seems like a cat with feet and no legs. Anyway, you can go see her in San Diego.

PHILLIPS: Fabulous. Hanging out at the beach on a surf board. Thanks, Max.

FOSTER: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: I guess we'll have to talk -- wait, we got mustache. He can jump rope with this.

FOSTER: I mean, what can I say? This is Singh Chauan from India, and he is very proud of his mustache.

I'm sure he trips over it on the way to work, as well. But there he is, in full glory in the Guinness Book of Records.

Let's just show you the chocolate bar. I mean, I don't know why they made this, but they did. Twelve thousand and two hundred ninety pounds worth of chocolate in the bar, 21 feet long, and stands nearly three feet high. I mean, it just raises so many questions as to about why do they do these things. But it's their choice, I guess. It makes you hungry, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: People like you and me talk about it. That's why. We laugh, we gag, we do everything else. Thanks, Max.

(MUSIC)

Karina Huber at the New York Stock Exchange -- where shares of Netflix took a major beating yesterday, Karina.

KARINA HUBER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This Netflix show may not have such a happy ending. You know, of course, it's one of the star performers last year as far as stock performance. But its growth is now in question. Remember over the summer when the company announced price hikes. That was substantial, 60 percent.

And so, understandably, a lot of their customers were outraged. We saw a lot of the blogosphere and Twitter and Facebook, other social networking sites lighting up with comments from angry customers. And now, it seems that a bunch of them were so mad they're canceling their subscriptions. So, Netflix has cut subscriber forecast. It sees 24 million customers in the third quarter, down from 25.6 million in the second quarter. That's a drop of about a million customers.

Essentially, customers are saying why do we need to pay more for less? And some complain that Netflix doesn't have a big enough streaming library. And that's because movie studios are demanding more money for them to access those movies.

And so, if they don't get it, they're simply going to or threatening at least to go to some of their rivals. So, the result has been a massive selloff. Yesterday, it dropped by about 19 percent. And as far as today, we expect the selloff to continue.

But what's interesting is that there's no change on its guidance despite the fact that it expects a lot fewer customers -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. Karina, thanks.

Well, is President Obama losing Jewish support? We're going to debate it right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Checking top stories now. Anti-Gadhafi fighters battling loyalists today for the regime's last remaining stronghold. The major assault centers on Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte.

And NATO forces have arrested two people in connection with this week's attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul. The two are described as fairly low-level figures in the operation.

And a teacher strike in Tacoma, Washington, is now in its fourth day. An overwhelming number of teachers voted to defy a judge's order to return to work. The teachers are striking over pay and class size.

Well, after a stunning loss in a New York special election this week, the White House is starting to worry about losing Jewish votes. It hasn't gone Republican since the 1920s -- quite a contrast to the last two presidential elections where Jews voted for the Democratic candidate by more than 75 percent.

Jane Eisner is the editor of "The Forward," a popular independent Jewish newspaper and Web site.

So, Jane, what's your take? What's happening here? And is it fair to say that Obama is losing Jewish support?

JANE EISNER, EDITOR, FORWARD: Well, I think it's pretty obvious he is, Kyra. But, of course, I think he's losing support from everyone. And it's not clear whether or not there's anything special going on in the Jewish community that makes it different from ordinary Americans who are clearly struggling with the economy and worried about the future.

PHILLIPS: Now, Jane, frontrunner Rick Perry wrote an op-ed in "The Jerusalem Post" this morning saying one reason this is happening is, quote, "It was unfortunate errors by the Obama administration that have encouraged Palestinians to take steps backwards, away from peace."

And, of course, we're talking about the stopping of the construction, of the settlement, stopped negotiations, is what he's saying.

So, what is your take?

EISNER: Well, I just respectfully disagree with him. I don't think that the fault generally lies with the Obama administration. Look, what's going to happen next week at the U.N. is still an open question, but it's very troubling. Our newspaper has said that we don't think a unilateral action by the Palestinians is a wise thing.

But it's also -- we have to acknowledge that there's a lot of frustration there because of peace talks haven't continued and, in my opinion, the blame lies in both the Palestinians and Netanyahu government. I think that the Obama administration can be faulted for not doing more to further negotiations. But, ultimately, it has to be those two partners who decide they want to talk. And, clearly, they've decided that they don't.

PHILLIPS: Jane Eisner, editor of "The Forward" -- Jane, thank you so much. Sure appreciate it. Well, African-American unemployment is at 16 percent in this country. The Congressional Black Caucus has called this a crisis and has held job fairs around the country to call attention to the problem.

Bryant Mellix is one of the folks at a job fair in Atlanta and he has today's 30-second pitch.

So, let me ask you, Bryant, did it help you? Was it worth your time?

BRYANT MELLIX, JOBSEEKER: Yes, it was. It was very worth my time. Very well organized and it also brought a lot of realization to what is going on in the world for me and what I you know, wasn't expecting. And I bought a lot of clarification on the education that is needed in the world today.

PHILLIPS: And with regard, it was the Black Caucus that put on these job fairs. And Maxine Waters has been very vocal about jobs for African-Americans and she has even come forward and say, hey, look, black voters, you -- this is a president that you have supported, but you need to let me and other politicians go. "Unleash us" is what she said -- so we can go after the president to create more jobs in a time where unemployment is at its worst for African-Americans.

Do you agree with that? Like what more do you want to see from President Obama as an African-American and someone who wants full-time work?

MELLIX: Well, I basically would like to see the president and the caucus, you know, work together to bring it to some type of closure, because if you were there to see for yourself, that was -- it was it. It was just African-Americans in line and looking for employment. So, I would like to see a lot of that come to an end and I would like to see if the Black Caucus could, you know, demonstrate, you know, a lot of other what you want to call, a lot of other job fairs to help support --

PHILLIPS: People like you.

MELLIX: That's right.

PHILLIPS: And final question before we get to your 30-second pitch. I mean, does this president, do you think he has failed you or -- yes, let me just put it. Do you think he's failed you?

MELLIX: No, I don't.

PHILLIPS: OK.

MELLIX: I don't think he's failed us at all. I think that, you know, we were failing before he was president. That's the way I feel about the presidency.

I can't put a lot of weight on his shoulders because it's not just him. You know, it wasn't about him before he became president. It was -- it happened before he took office. PHILLIPS: All right, my friend. Let's get to this 30-second pitch. You are looking for full-time employment. So, I'm just going to have you say your name and address the American public right there.

Which camera does he look at, Dennis, is it you or this one? Right there, Scotty? OK. Right there into camera one. Take it away, Bryant.

MELLIX: How are you doing? My name is Bryant Mellix. I have a 15- year experience in employment. I am approachable in manufacturing, and I am also, I am trying to -- you know, change my career. So, I do wish that or hope that whoever look at this is looking at me as an approachable person and I do have a professional background and a lot of manufacturing and industrial --

(BUZZER)

PHILLIPS: Perfect. It's not easy getting on CNN and giving a 30- second pitch.

MELLIX: No, it's not.

PHILLIPS: I give you a heck of a lot of credit, my friend. No, we've talked a lot and you've had a really great message to say and we will definitely put your resume on our Web site and you have to let us know if you get any feedback, all right.

MELLIX: Yes, ma'am. I'm so nervous.

PHILLIPS: It's OK. Hey, you know, you are an exact example of the American looking for a job right now. Not only are you thinking about your future and going forward and how am I going to support me, my family, but you're on national television giving a pitch for help. You know what? People recognize that. Give yourself a break. OK?

MELLIX: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Bryant Mellix, thanks so much for being with us. You bet.

And if you are looking for a job, this is your chance to be seen and heard. Just like Bryant, you can give us your 30-second pitch right here on air. All you have to do is tell us why you want someone to hire you and e-mail us at 30secondpitch@CNN.com. You might your chance to make your pitch right here in the CNN NEWSROOM, 10:00 Eastern.

Meanwhile, go on our Web site. Find out more about Bryant and, hey, give him a fair shake.

Well, coming up, is Nancy graceful? The HLN host is ready to rumba. And wait until you see her do it. She is training for "Dancing with the Stars." And guess what? She and her partner, Tristan, is joining us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: I want to take you live now to Newton, Iowa.

Rick Perry getting ready for a meet and greet -- GOP meet and greet, actually, in Jasper County. Let's go ahead and listen.

RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Take credit for the rain if you want, but he said, they'll blame you for the drought, if you do.

(LAUGHTER)

PERRY: And he said, it's dry here a whole lot more than it is wet. So, I'll leave that up to the Good Lord and the rain will come when the rain will come.

So -- anyway, thank you for coming out and being with us today. It's good to be back in Iowa.

As I was sharing with the group over in Jefferson last night, it reminds me a lot of where I grew up. Jefferson is a little smaller than Newton, of course. You know, 4,500 people and that was about the size of Haskell where, actually, my future wife grew up and I was 16 miles out in the country in the suburbs. So, we had, we had a little school out on a farm market road and across the street there was a Baptist Church and a Methodist Church, your choice. If you were something else, you probably went to one of those anyhow.

But it was just a great place to grow up, 110 kids, grades 1 through 12. It was -- I'm really proud. I want to come all the way up here and tell you that I graduated in the top 10 in my high school graduating class. Somebody always busts me and asks me to tell how many, there were 13.

(LAUGHTER)

PERRY: But it was a great way to grow up. And there's the values that you see here in towns like Newton and all across the middle of America and it is just a fabulous growing up. I tell people, I grew up in a house that didn't have running water until we were about 5 years old, and my mom and dad were both tenant farms. And, for sure, I was not born with four aces in my hand.

But like many of you, I knew that the American Dream was possible. I knew that it was because of the American values that still reside in this country that you work hard, you have a vision, and there's not anything that you cannot accomplish in this country. It's still true.

The problem is that America is experiencing too many pressures and too many people are not having that opportunity today because of the overburdening mountain of debt and the stimulus spending that's going on. And when you look at the -- just numbers that indicate what's happening in this country, one in six work-eligible Americans cannot find a job.

Now, that's not a recovery, Mr. President. That is an economic disaster. We cannot afford four more years of these high unemployment rates, this record debt, the failed stimulus, loss of our credit. We can't afford that.

I happen to think it's time for a change. I'm not talking about the rhetoric of change. I am talking about a record of change.

(APPLAUSE)

PERRY: And I happen to believe that we have that record in Texas. I was proud to be a part of putting that together. The state that has 40 percent of all the jobs created in America since June of 2009 were in my home state.

And I've guided the state with a few really simple, but powerful principles. Principle number one is don't spend all the money and have some fiscal restraint. Just because there are those that say you have to spend all the money and you have to raise taxes to continue to grow government. I happen to think that is a failed policy. And we didn't spend all the money in the state of Texas.

And the second principle we had a tax policy in place that allowed for our job creators to not be burdened, still delivering the services that the people desire in the state of Texas. So, have a tax policy that it is light on the job creators as we can. A regulatory environment that is fair and predictable. And a legal system that does not allow for over-suing.

PHILLIPS: Rick Perry live in Newton, Iowa. It's a GOP meet and greet there in Jasper County. We're following it for you as he continues to campaign.

Also coming up, three days left until her "Dancing with the Stars" debut. We're going to check in with our Nancy Grace just to see how things are going and, of course, get the low down from her partner. He's handsome, Nancy.

Live interview, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS Also coming up, just three days left until her "Dancing with the Stars" debut. We're going to check in with our Nancy Grace just to see how things are going and of course, get the low down from her partner. He's handsome, Nancy, the live interview, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So, is our HLN superstar Nancy graceful? Yes, she is known as a bull dog in the courtroom, but how is she in the ballroom? She debuts on "Dancing with the Stars" on Monday and Nancy and her partner Tristan McManus join us live from L.A.

Hello you two.

TRISTAN MCMANUS, "DANCING WITH THE STARS" PRO: How are you? NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: Good morning.

PHILLIPS: So Tristan, give us the dish, come on tell us, how is she?

GRACE: Don't screw this up.

MCMANUS: There's no dish.

GRACE: Don't dish.

MCMANUS: Nancy is actually -- Nancy is doing great. Nancy is doing great.

GRACE: Yes.

MCMANUS: She's picking up everything. She --

GRACE: Good.

MCMANUS: She listens. She listens to what she wants to hear.

GRACE: Go ahead, go ahead. And --

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Listen, this is the deal. Day one dance practice, I'm minding my own business, I was trying to do the cha cha cha and then, I hear, no, no, no. I'm like, what?

PHILLIPS: Oh you're getting some of your own medicine there, Nancy.

GRACE: He was talking to me. There was a little slap involved.

MCMANUS: Nancy is -- Nancy is a professional dancer now, so I'm going to treat her as such.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: And Tristan --

GRACE: -- from that video there's nothing professional going on there on my part anyway.

PHILLIPS: No, I think your cha cha looks pretty good.

Now Tristan, did you have any idea you know, like how -- big of a name you are dealing with here? I mean, you know Nancy's reputation, I mean, she will eat you alive, pal, if you go against anything she says.

MCMANUS: Yes, she's trying to. She's trying to. I didn't have any -- I didn't have any worries coming in --

GRACE: Did you feel that? Did you feel that?

MCMANUS: I think, yes, I didn't have any worries coming in because -- to be honest with you, I didn't know who I was dancing with but --

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Now that is so sad because I looked on his computer, Google, Yahoo. Who is the real Nancy Grace? Just search after search. It's so sad.

MCMANUS: You see the relationship that we have here. I don't generally get to finish anything I'm saying. But I'm --

PHILLIPS: So have you -- have you showed her the Irish way, though? It's all about Guinness and being very relaxed on the dance floor and having a good time.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: You mean putting a little liquor in your coffee. That's what I learned so far. I was like, what was that?

MCMANUS: I've been trying to.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: That's not skim milk.

So do you -- in all honesty here, Tristan, do you guys have a chance?

MCMANUS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Do you have a star here? Is the star -- another -- another star born?

MCMANUS: Definitely, definitely. Yes, definitely, yes, I mean, I think every -- I think everyone has a chance because everyone's involved. But I certainly hope that -- if we -- if we keep to the work ethic that we seemed to have the first couple of weeks and the willingness that we have and the determination that we have, I think we're going to do very, very well this time around.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Ok, here's the poop. I caught the other contestants spying on us yesterday.

PHILLIPS: Really? What exactly we're they doing?

GRACE: Spying.

They were sad because they were looking at our moves and thinking why can't we be like that? No, they were really just -- you can see down on the other contestants, and I got really upset because I physically ran into Arquette and he was, like, drenching wet with sweat, I'm like, have you been dancing?

And yes, he has been practicing the john, it got me really upset that he was trying that hard. PHILLIPS: Well Nancy, I saw somebody's outfits, my goodness, aren't they a little revealing for you? You're much more conservative than that.

GRACE: Yes, I was concerned. I was concerned. I didn't really see what it looked like until it was already on TV, I was just walking around. So I was a little concerned, yes, but anything to take the focus off my feet regardless of what it is, I'm all for that.

PHILLIPS: Well, I think a lot of focus is on your handsome young partner there. My goodness, how do you concentrate?

GRACE: Yes, he should be the one wearing the push-up bra, not me.

MCMANUS: This is the best interview, yes?

PHILLIPS: We will, why thank you. Well, I'll tell you what, let's do it again, shall we? We will watch the big debut.

MCMANUS: We shall do.

PHILLIPS: And we'll do some regular updates.

MCMANUS: Excellent.

PHILLIPS: Nancy thanks.

GRACE: Thank you. I'll see you Monday night.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good.

Tristan, good luck.

MCMANUS: Take care. Thanks very much.

PHILLIPS: Well, the Detroit Tigers 12-game win streak is over. But at least their manager can change his underwear. We've got sports in seven minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: To stories making news later today. 11:00 a.m. Eastern in Washington Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaks to the department's national P.O.W./M.I.A. recognition day ceremony.

At the same hour in Alexandria, Virginia, President Obama signs the America Invents Act into law.

And 6:00 p.m. right here in Atlanta, a protest march set on behalf of convicted murderer Troy Davis who is set to be executed early next week.

All right, we're following lots of the developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with CNN senior political editor Mark Preston -- Mark. MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: President Obama has had a tough week, is it time for the White House to hit the panic button as the respected Democratic elder and CNN contributor James Carville says in an opinion piece posted on CNN.com. We'll have more on the top of the hour.

KARINA HUBER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Karina Huber at the New York Stock Exchange where we've got our eyes on the economy. A new survey says the odds are growing that a double dip recession could happen. Kyra I'll have details in the next hour.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta. I'm about to introduce you to one of the most inspiring people you'll ever meet. At the age of 60 she decided to do something that no human being has done before, swim from Cuba to Florida. We were there. We'll explain.

PHILLIPS: Thanks guys.

Also next hour will "Mad Men" steal the show again? We'll go to live to L.A. to preview this weekend's Emmy Awards.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Jeff Fischel, superstition is pretty big in baseball, actually among a number of athletes.

JEFF FISCHEL, ANCHOR, HLN SPORTS: They are and it was about time one manager made a change. So he actually didn't really want to do it, right? The Detroit Tigers had a 12-game win streak and they lost last night and that means manager Jim Leyland can finally change his underwear.

He admits he is superstitious, so when the Tigers started their streak, he started his, quote, "I will wear these underwear until we lose and they will not be washed and I don't give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) who knows it." He kept wearing them 12 straight days, baseball guys are so superstitious.

Remember a few years ago Jason Giambi would wear a gold lame thong to break out of a heat slum and he passed it around his teammates too, when they were struggling. For his wife's sake let's hope Leyland and the Tigers don't go on another win streak. My wife wouldn't even let me in bed. I mean she feels so disgusted.

PHILLIPS: That is just frightening. Continue.

FISCHEL: All right, let's do some golf, the BMW Championship, Camillo Villegas out of the beach, par 3, 2nd hole, and he is so good.

PHILLIPS: Oh that's a tough shot.

FISCHEL: One of the great young up-and-coming stars in the hole for the birdie. The Colombian won his first PGA tour title at this event in 2008. And he tees off today five strokes back to the leader Justin Rose. And now for the Artest formerly known as Ron, today Ron Artest officially changes his name to Metta World Peace, Metta is his first name, World Peace is his last name, that's what you'll see on the back of his Lakers jersey if the NBA season ever starts, right? Remember they are locked out right now which is giving Mr. World Peace a chance to do "Dancing with the Stars" and compete with Nancy Grace who you just had on.

PHILLIPS: Yes, oh I wouldn't want to go up against Nancy Grace.

FISCHEL: Well, Mr. World Peace is tough, but Nancy is a whole other story.

PHILLIPS: Yes, she is -- she's world chaos. Thanks, Jeff.

FISCHEL: All right.

PHILLIPS: All right.