and we find out from people magazine because these the things that people magazine likes to ask about, he has an ipad, and he has both music and games on it. among the music he has is a music by "the killers." you're listening to mr. bright side of course, a very popular song. as it turns out the lead singer of the killers, brandon flowers, is a mormon. so, yes, new information. he also has angry birds on that ipad. >> apparently, a big fan, who knew. joe johns, thank you. now to wolf blitzer. "the situation room" starts now. >> pakistan's prime minister warns that everything about his country's critical relationship with the united states has changed. tension reaching a disturbing new level in the wake after nato airstrike that killed two dozen pakistani troops. also, the democratic national committee inserts itself in the republican presidential primary

hoping to take on the candidate who may pose the greatest challenge to president obama. we are talking about mitt romney. herman cain is live with us here in the situation room this hour. we will talk about what is behind declined in the recent polls. criticism of his 9-9-9 tax plan and much more. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in the situation room. he's the only candidate whose been consistently at the top of the polls in the volatile republican race for the white house. that has mitt romney increasingly targeted by president obama's supporters. now in an unusual move, the democratic national committee is targeting romney in an effort to sway the gop nominated contest pmt cnn's joe john says working the scene for us. joe, what is going on here. >> it raises the question, whose primary is this anyway. it was much easier to keep track of this when it was just republicans fighting among themselves.

>> the latest in the republican battle comes from the democratic national committee, the committee who want to bring you four more years of barack obama. the democrats are weighing in, those the choice is up to republicans. you can see by running a slickly produced attack ad in battle ground states pointing out contradigs in romney's record on things like healthcare, abortion and immigration. they would like to shut it down, leaving candidates with piles of baggage. leaving gingrich and cain. >> there's going to be a republican nominee, no matter who it is. >> we do know that romney has gotten the obama campaign's attention. just last week they an ad, they say, was misleading.

it raises questions on whether voters can trust him. >> during the primary, they are enormous, liabilities because at end of the day i think a lot of republicans are concerned about romney because they feel he puts ambition above principle. >> the latest position of a romney switch is on the position of immigration. in the last is cnn national security debate romney went after gingrich for proi proposig humane treatment. >> amnesty is a magnet. people respond to incentives and if you can become a permanent resident of the united states by coming here illegally, you'll do so. >> problem is, romney used to sound more inclusive. the gingrich campaign pointed out this 2007 romney appearance on meet the press. >> those people who come here illegally and are in this country, 12 million or so here illegally should be able to sign up for permanent residency or

citizenship but should not be given a special pathway, special guarantee that all of them goat stay here for the rest of their lives. >> and in 2006 interview with bloomberg, romney was quoted as saying that law abide people who pay taxes learn english and the don't get government benefits should be allowed to get in line for citizenship which sounds pretty close to what "the gary radnich show" -- what gingrich proposed. wolf? >> joe johns reporting for us. thanks joe for doing a terrific job filling in for us on friday for me. appreciate it very much. >> glad you got some time off. >> have another critically important store story breaking right now. fiery protests on the streets of pakistan with demonstrators burning both the american and fato flags, outrageous boiling over the wake after nato airstrike on saturday that killed two dozen pakistani troops. the country's prime minister is

warning this is the end of business as usual with the united states. we will hear from the prime minister in a moment. in an exclusive interview but first let's bring in our pentagon correspondent barbara starr with plor on this deadly airstrike the fall out, barbara, what is the latest information you are picking up? >> well, wolf, pakistan is saying it is another violation of their national sovereignty by the u.s., bit u.s. military, and they're tired of it. the death of two dozen pakistani soldiers in a u.s. airstrike along the pakistan afghanistan border is the most serious cross border incident since u.s. troops were sent to afghanistan a decade ago. a senior u.s. official tells cnn the situation with the pakistanis is so sensitive, public comments from the administration are limited to announcing an investigation and offering condolences. >> we mourn the grave pakistani

service members who lost their lives. >> with anti-u.s. demonstrations already under way in pakistan, the u.s. military hopes an investigation into what happened may ease pakistan's anger. but that's not likely. >> business as usual will not be dead. >> pakistan holds a vital card, access into land locked afghanistan. the pakistanis quickly shut down two border crossings, about 30% of the supplies for the war, into afghanistan, comes through the checkpoint. >> if they hold it for more than a week or two to have a notable impact on u.s. operations in both eastern and southern afghanistan. >> they have an alternate route, about 40 percent of supplies coming through rail and truck routes. pakistan also called for the u.s. to leave an air base where cia drone operations targeting al qaeda and taliban in pakistan have taken place in the past. but with billions of dollars in

aid and military sales, senior u.s. lawmakers are also warning they are out of patient with pakistan. >> they need to understand that our support for them financially is dependent upon their cooperation with us. >> now either side may miscalculate as pakistan vows to protect its sovereignty. pakistan's radars on the border are focused on any threats. >> i would suspect there is popular support now for a pakistan retaliatory strike. this is a very, very dangerous period we're add between the united states and pakistan. >> and of course there are other security implications as well. the united states is trying to get pakistan to crack down on al qaeda, taliban and other militant groups for months now. don't expect to see the pakistanis moving very fast on that any time soon. wolf? >> level of support in pakistan for the united states is dwindling rather quickly. lots at stake. thanks very much.

barbara, let's continue the story. there is warning the deadly incident changes everything between pakistan and the united states. he spoked exclusively, he was very candid with the relati relationship with the united states. update us on what he told you. >> yes. consider the situation the prime minister is in. on one hand he has to address the public outcry here. a public that doesn't like the u.s. government, u.s. foreign policy. on the other hand he has to see how he can salvage an important relationship with with a washington. these are two countries that would add a lot of low moments. today the prime minister said this is the lowest moment he has seen in his administration. he said it will never be business as usual until things change because public support is fading fast. >> is your prediction that this

relationship will continue with washington? >> that will depend on mutual respect and mutual interest. >> are you getting the respect? >> at the moment, not. >> you're not? >> if i can't protect my country how can we say meu trul respect and mutual interest. >> this was clearly a prime palestinianster angry after this incident. but it is important know he wasn't shutting the door on washington. he was very diplomatic. he delivered some very thoughtful statement. he says he doesn't want to cut ties with washington but things have to change. what changes have to be, it is not clear at this point, he said. that is up to pakistan's parliament, wolf. >> have you been covering this story for a few years now in islamabad, reza. how do you see the dire situation playing out in coming weeks and months? >> i think a lot has to do with

what u.s. centcom investigation shows. they are not exactly corroborating pakistan's version of what happened. there is still a question of whether the nato forces drew fire first from pakistan's side. but if indeed u.s. forces made a mistake, they are going to have to go into diplomacy overdrive and be let critical pour pakistan in the time being in an effort to win back goodwill and do damage control. in the past these two countries have overcome seemingly ininsurmountab ininsurmountable problems. it is unlikely they will do it again but expect a very rough patch least in the short term, wolf. >> thank you, reza. go to cnn.com/situationroom. michele bachmann said that pakistan is too nuclear it fail.

read my blog if you're interested. let's go to jack cafferty. he has the file. jack? >> newt gingrich might just have it, timing. just as former house speaker surges in the hol polls he is also getting key endorsements. for starters the new hampshire editorial leader is backing gingrich. they say he has improved washington before and in this race he has the best shot of doing it again. this conservative stamp of approval can do a long way in helping gingrich, especially at a time when many conservatives are taking aim on his stand with immigration. sarah palin, remember letter? she could throw her supported behind gingrich as well. one suggest, atds to palin, say gingrich is the most likely to score her endorsement. and it is not just conservatives who have nice things to say about newt gingrich. former president clinton praises gingrich in an interview with a

website news max. calling gingrich articulate. saying he tries to think of an idea that will solve a legitimate problem. that's a clinton quote. he suggests that it will make independent voters take a hard look at him. all of this has to be keeping mitt romney up late at night. however it is yet to see if gingrich will peak only it fade way like other candidates before him. but so far at least, it seems that he's got some momentum that other lack and it seems to be holding. as for gingrich he may have his eyes set own another opponent, one in the white house. as many nominee, gingrich says would he challenge obama to lincoln douglas style debates and says obama, can use the teleprompter. cold. here is the question, will bill clinton's praise help gingrich win the nomination? go to my blog or our post on the

situation page. >> when gingrich was speaker, that was a very, very complicated very lagsship. i would say a love/hate relationship between clinton and gingrich in the 90s. we will assess that late fler the week, jack. thanks very, very much. good question. he surged to the front of the republican pack only to fall back within recent weeks. herman cain is here to talk about the roller coaster race for the republican presidential nomination. what is behind the recent rise and fall? herman cain live in the situation room. that's coming up next. ones i've made. ones we've all made. about marriage. children. money. about tomorrow. here's to good decisions. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there.

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he virn was a front-runner. he isn't right now but herman cain remains in the top tier of presidential candidates. he is working to regain front-runner status. only five weeks away. herman cain is joining us here in the situation room. mr. cain, thanks very much for

coming in. >> mr. blitzer, i'm happy to be here. >> call me wolf. >> okay, wolf. >> one of the key national security issues facing the country right now, pakistan. michele bachmann, on our debate the other night, said pakistan is, quote, too nuclear it fail. do you agree with her? >> i do agree with her but i would state it differently. we can't make pakistan our friend but we can make them respect us. our relationship with pakistan hasn't been clear, least from my vantage point and the vantage point from a lot of other people. >> what would do you differently. >> what i would do differently is better define the relationship. what aid are they getting from the united states of mer ka. what do we get for that aid. it's been very unclear. as a result we have a very unclear relationship with pakistan right now. >> they have a huge nuclear arsenal right now.

it if pakistan were to become an extremist islamist state supported by al qaeda, that could have enormous ramifications. not just for the region but for the record. >> the only thing that helps us is that the general in charge of that, is a man of principle. he would not let that happen frivolously and he would do everything he can to make sure he did what was in the best interest of pakistan. so i have faith in him because i have actually talked with someone who went to school with him. he h is a man of principle and would he not do something just because of pressure from some extremist force. >> he could be removed too. >> he could be removed. but we can't control that either. he could be removed but right now, the general is the one that i think is going to maintain a certain amount of- >> well this is the crisis unfolding right now. nato had an airstrike, killed 24 pakistani soldiers over the weekend. >> yes. >> it is causing a major rift in

u.s./pakistani relations. if you were president right now, what would you do to contain the cries snis. >> the first thing i would do is ask the government of pakistan to, let's figure out the facts of what happened. there is one report that nato forces may have been provoked. we don't know the answer to that yet. so i would say, can we first do a full investigation before we start finger pointing and before we start saying, this is what the united states ought to do, nato ought to do, what pakistan ought to do. let's get the facts first. that's what i would do first and encourage them to do that. >> the other issue, european economy. >> yes. >> the euro zone could collapse and have dramatic ramifications on the united states. because sp american big banks could collapse given their involvement in europe's economy. under those circumstances, and if you were president, would you intervene to try to bailout europe? >> no, i would not. because i would have already made sure we had our economy

growing. wolf, the united states economy is 25% of the world economy. as we grow, we are able to help spur growth in other parts of the world the best thing we can do is have a thriving economy and bring our debt down. >> but that will take a while. the economy over there could collapse within weeks if you read the financial reports coming out of europe. a lot of americans potentially could lose their life savings if they invested in banks. >> i don't think they will lose their life savings. will they lose some? yes. the people saying this is armageddon, it fails if f america doesn't act, i simply don buy that? >> because? >> because after the last melt down at end of 2008, banks, if they were smart business people, started to take precautions in the event that something like that happened again. so i can't believe they didn't make some safe guards it make

sure they are not totally wiped out like they possibly could have been. >> would you support bailing out the american banks if they were on the verge of clapgs because of what is happening in europe? >> no with. here is why. i don't believe in too big to fail. for example if one of the big banks says we can't go do it with no government help then go through the normal bankruptcy laws and channels. when a company is forced to go through bankruptcy, there they go through restructure. that's why we have bankruptcy laws. >> but there is a limited amount of insurance to rereimburse the people who w life savings there. a lot of folks would lose a lot of money. >> that is possibly the case but i don't believe that all of the banks are going to collapse. >> those are heavily invested in europe would have troubles. >> the ones heavily invested in europe would have be the ones with the greatest trouble. you're absolutely right. >> let's clarify your position

on illegal immigration. >> okay. >> we heard what newt gingrich said, if a family's been here 20, 25 years, raised they're kids here, go church, pay their taxes, there should be a way, not necessarily make them citizens, but legal residents of the united states. are you with gingrich on that? >> no, i'm not. we have problems to secure the bored forare real, promote the path to citizenship that's already there. if you have been here 25 years, still go through the path of normal citizenship. >> you leave the country, apply for a visa to come back in. >> i don't know if would you have to leave and apply for the visa to come back in but our biggest problems is the bureaucracy surrounding the process. i have talked to people to a lot of people who have come here legally. they have gone through the ross says aeb they talk about how burdensome it was. i support a path to citizenship, an new path to establish a legal

status of something else. >> if you have illegal immigrants in the united states and i'm just three throwing out a number of 8 million established roots in this country, what would you do? what would you tell these people? >> i would empower the states. that's where i differ from other people. when i talk about the four part solution to illegal immigration. support the bored forreal. promote citizenship that's already there. support the laws that's already there. lets each state decide how they want to deal with it. >> there is a million illegal immigrants in new york state, we will let them stay and give them legal residence, if you're president, you're okay with that? >> if they don't break federal law. >> well, if they are here illegal when, that's -- >> right that's broken already. if they want to do something to different to deal with illegals here, i believe we empower the states here. one size fit all is what i'm

saying, will not work. which is why i want to send it to the united states. >> the whole notion of illegal immigration, aeb you remember rick perry got into trouble because he said children of illegal immigrants growing up under texas should be eligible for instate tuition. are you with him on that. >> i'm not for various reasons. we are a nation ever laws. we should not do anything that's going compromise our laws or as some people interpret that, put people who are-ksh childr ---ch illegals, in front of others, whose parents were born here. we have to stick to the laws. if you look at mexico, 40% of the people in mexico believe mex ski failed state. why? because of the lawlessness. i do not believe we should go down that road no matter how much it might appear to

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this is cnn breaking news. >> we are just learning from herman cain himself that a third woman is about to come out and make some serious accusations against him. we all know the first two women accusing you of sexual harassment. what can you tell us about the third woman who is about to go public and accuse you of what? >> this particular individual, which will be named in the story

as we understand it, my attorney has talked about the reporter who is going to come out with this story. this individual's going to accuse me of an affair for an extended period of time. i don't want to specify because i don't know what's in the story. secondly, it is someone that i kn know, who is an acquaintancacqu who i thought was a friend. that much i know. but when we dealt with the previous allegations and i went forward, went in front of public and said, they are false and they are baseless. we reacted to what we knew. at this point, i'm just simply saying these are going to come out. and until we know what they are, then my attorney doesn't know what to respond to. those are all of the details that i have. now kwb given that, i know that the court of public opinion is going to formulate its own opinion. i can't control people who are going to make a decision based upon accusations. when specifics are made, through

my attorney, because we are trying to run a campaign, we are trying to connect with the people on the issues, through my attorney, we will respond to every detail and every allegation. but i just want to give you a heads up and your audience a heads-up, here we go again. >> i learned that an atlanta tv station says they have explosive information that for the presidential nomination. so they have asked for your response. >> yesright. but they haven't given us all of the information they will put in the story. >> what did they say to you? >> they just said, they mentioned the name of the individual. >> you know this woman. >> i do know who they is and they mentioned what the accusation is going to be. but until the story comes out i'm not at liberty to respond to something at this point.

when the story breaks, through my attorney, lynn wood of, we will respond. as it turns out, they were baseless before. why? because they weren't able to come up with any documentation, any proof or anything that was credible. and so we will address these when they come out but at this point, i just wanted to give you a heads up, i don't have anything to hide and we will address the details as we know them. >> tell us the nature of the relationship of this woman. >> friend and trying to help a friend because not having a job, et cetera and this sort of thing. that's all there is to the relationship and here again, i don't know what is going to be claimed in the story. it is someone that was supposed to be a friend but obviously they didn't see it as a friendship. >> they are awkward questions but i will ask you the questions you will be asked. is this an fair? >> no, it is not.

>> was therefully sex? >> no. >> no? >> no. >> is this woman says there is, shell be lying. >> this is well, wolf, let's see what story will be. i don't want to be pinned down with things until we what the story will be. >> they base libasically gave y outline. >> they gave me my attorney the outline so i'm speaking secondhand to the story. when we know the story, we will respond. >> so basically what i hear you saying and what the atlanta tv station has been teasing the last hour or so, a woman will come forward and say she had an an fair with you. >> this is the understanding we have through my attorney about what is going to be said. >> without giving us her name, tell us about the nature of the friendship. >> no, not do doing that wolf. it would be premature. >> working with letter? >> no. wolf that would be premature. just like i'm concerned about

someone slandering my relationship and image, until i know what the claims are, i'm not going comment on the claims unfortunately. as you understand the two women accusing you of sexual harassment now a third woman potentially coming out and saying she had an affair with you. >> and now remember first two were baseless, false accusations. i went before the media and public and said, here is what i know. here are the facts. people have to make that judgment as to whether or not they believe me or believe them. the same is true of the one that is supposed to be reported on later today. >> because there is a woman you didn't work with, the other ones you worked with. >> no, one woman i worked with. the other one i don't ever recall working with. >> the one from chicago? >> the one from chicago i never remembered who she was, her name or working with her. the one at the national restaurant association, i do remember working with her.

>> why would this wonl woman in atlanta come out and make these charges. >> can i only conjecture. and i won't do that wolf until we know what it is i'm being accused of. >> obviously she going to say she had an fair with you. >> probably. >> we will see what if anything else she says. are you worried this could further hurt you in this republican case for the white house? >> i'm more worried this will hurt my wife and my family. because it'll be proof it was probably something else baseless. and the court of public opinion does not consider that when they want to pass that judgment. i can take the lumps. i expect this skpiethis kind off when i decided to run for the president of united states of america. but i'm worried about pli wife and family. but they should not be subject to allegations that are not true. >> have you spoke why your wife?

>> yes. >> what was her reaction? >> her reaction was very similar it mine. here we go again. we will basically show, when the details become available, i didn't do anything wrong. >> do you expect other women to come out and make similar accusations? is there any indication there are others out there? >> none i know of. think about it, wolf. you go through life and you believe that you have some people that are friends. and when someone that appears to be a friend turns around and concocts this story, you got o e question the hundreds of thousands of people i met in my life. do i know any that would come out? not off the top of my head. but you have to go through my entire life, it is probably an infinite number of people that could come forward with a story. so far, they all have been found baseless.

>> does your wife know this woman in georgia? >> no. >> nobody in your family knows this woman? >> no. >> how long did you know her as a friend? >> i won't get into that wolf, it is all premature. >> you are staying in this race. you're not dropping out. >> i'm not dropping out of this race, no. as long as my wife is behind me and as long as my wife believes that i should stay in this race, i'm staying in this race. because i am sick and tired of the hurt and harm that somebody out there is doing to my family, more so to me, with these baseless charges. see, what this says is, is that somebody's awfully afraid that i'm going too well in this republican nomination. to continue to dig up these stories to try and put a cloud in a damper on my campaign. we are going to stay focused on this campaign. >> no one else has had these fair or relationship claims in

the last few months. is there something going on targeting herman cain? >> there could be. i can't say for certain. i haven't spent a lot of time analyzing whether it is something racially motivated. i want to stay focused on this campaign wab trifecta, fixing this economy, national strategy i will roll out tomorrow at hills dale college. in a week or so we have a dynamite independent energy strategy we will be rolling out. this is why i want to continue to folk ounce that which is why any details that come out, we will handle them through my attorney. >> and throughout all of theeks weeks now that sexual harassment allegations and now this new allegation, have you ever said to yourself, it's not worth it. not worth running for the republican presidential nomination? maybe i should drop out? >> what i have said is why? and i come back to, it's for the

grand kids. >> what's what is. >> running for president? for your grand kids? >> for all the grand kids. i have said, why am i putting myself through this. the answer is for my grand kids and all of the other grand kids out there, to leave them a nation as good as or better than the one that we were able to pursue our opportunities. but then the second reason that i continue to hang in there is because if i drop out because of this kind of mess, as my grandmother would call it, then the system wins. and one of the reasons i'm running is to change the system. this is one of the aspects of it is just the way it is, but i'm not going to allow this sort of thing to cause me to drop out simply because it is tough on me. i don't want to to be tough on my family and there comes a point that if it is tough on my family, i will have to consider that at that point in time. >> and would you drop out if it was overwhelmingly tough. >> i would make that decision depending on the circumstances and how it is impacting my wife

and my family. that's my number one concern for all of these allegations. >> i have other questions to ask you but i want to take a quick break. we are bracinging with getting ready, in your words, what? >> another accusation that i had an affair with someoning with, another woman. >> stand by, well continue this conversation with herman cain, here in "the situation room," right after this. what do you got? restrained driver...

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i believe in the power of science and medicine. but i'm also human. and i believe in stacking the deck. we're back with breaking news. herman cain, mr. cain, as you know, we have been talking about this woman who is about to go forward, according to a television station, in atlanta and say she had, in the words of this setelevision station in atlanta, a 13-year affair with you. 13-year affair with you. you have been told by this television station that this is coming. you have been discussing it with your lawyer. in atlanta, you will issue a

formal statement after you hear specifically what she has it say. but did you have a 13-year affair with this woman? >> no. i did not. >> did you know her for 13 years? >> yes. but i did not have an affair. and until i see and hear exactly what's going to be, what accusations are going to be made, let's move on. but i acknowledge that i knew the woman. i acknowledge that i have known her for about that period of time, but the accusation that i had an a 13-year affair with her, no. >> do you suspect she has any evidence, e-mails, letters, gifts, anything that she will be able to bring to try to confirm this? >> wolf, no. wolf, when you've done nothing wrong -- no. just like the second woman a few weeks ago, came in with this statement and these so-called documents, which could not stand up to scrutiny, i have no idea

what it is she is going to have to show proof. we can't respond to what we don't know. we can't respond to what we don't know. >> i want to move to other issues. but you understand this explosive allegation that is about to be made with this woman, claiming a 13-ier affair with you, that will dominate the news cycle, as far as you are concerned. >> sure it is. wolf, this is why, since i was going to be on your show to talk about my campaign, i wanted to get out in front of it. because i have nothing to hide. i have done nothing wrong just like it was demonstrated for the first two times around. >> let's talk briefly about some other issues. newt gingrich says he is more conservative than mitt romney. are you more conservative than newt gingrich? >> if you define more conservative, can i respond to it. because when you talk about more

conservative, whichish sue it? are we talking about life, second amendment, constitution. so saying yes or no is a very neverless question to answer because there are so many as fekts of what a lot of people conservative. let me give you my definition. my definition of conservative is someone who strongly believes in less government, less taxes and more individual responsibility. that's my definition of conservative. >> but under that definition, how would you define yourself compared to mitt romney and newt gingrich? >> relative to those three criteria, i believe that speaker gingrich and i are probably both equal in terms of how we feel about less government, less taxes an more individual responsibility. i have heard governor romney say exactly the same thing. but when you start to get into some other specific issues in testimony of what is considered conservative or not conservative, i don't think can you consistn'tly say yes or no. on those three i happen to think

that all three are conservative. >> correct me if you're wrong, you like newt gingrich a lot plor than mitt romney. >> i respect both of those gentlemen -- i respect both of those gentlemen for what they do for different reasons. i respect newt a lot because of the vast. a experience he brings. i respect romney for the experience he brings in the business background. i have nothing but the highest level of respect for both of them. >> i watched your new five-minute video on 9-9-9. >> the movie. >> the movie as you call it. it explains what have you in mind. your challengers say you are creating this new stream of revenue for the government by having a national sales tax at 9% but say in europe it started low and went up to 20%. it could wined up being 20% here. how do you respond, once you create a stream of revenue for the federal government that will only go away and never go long. >> it is simple.

tax structures don't raise taxes, poll tilgss do. the reason europe ended up with the system it has is because of hidden taxes. it our 82,000 page tax code we are hit with sneak taxes all the time. the difference is under 9-9-9 plan, you know the tax. it is 9% visible. >> but congress could raise it. >> they could, just like they could raise them now. they've got thursdays of way ne the tax code to raise taxes and we don't know about it until we have been get biten. at least with 9-9-9, you know what it is. the lowest possible rate in order to generate the same revenue and it is visible. so the american people will hold congresss feet to the fire because they will know what it is if they try to raise it. >> i want it read to you what bill clinton read to christoph of the times. he said it would have to

quote be a political environment in the primary that means you can't be authentic unless you've got a single digit iq. he was really blasting. >> is kind of a smack, right. >> yes. in a separate interview, he said that he liked what newt gingrich had to say about illegal immigration. >> here's what the people are saying. the people are going to have the last word and the people are responding to me in particular, to the fact that i have concrete solutions that i'm putting on table that are considered bold and even though i have not held public office, they don't care. so president clinton's comments i don't want to respond to but i know that american people will have the last word. voters will have the last word. i know i have fallen in polls but i didn't fall to the bottom.

we are in third place. you know -- >> of the national polls. >> depending on which with you one you look at but if you lock at clear view politics, i'm still in third place. >> you are fighting with ron paul. >> exactly. here is my point. my point is i didn't fall all the way to the bottom. did some people believe the herman cain train simply because of the accusations. >> probably. >> sexual allegations. >> yes. but some people didn't. when i talk about how to fix the economy, 9-9-9, what my national security proposal, through strength and clarity. remember i talked about this earlier because it wasn't real clear what the relationship aught to be in the future. and thirdly energy independence. we are too independent on foreign oil. we have the resources right here in the united states of america. in a couple of weeks we will present that very bold plan for how we eye r achieve energy

independence. you want to know how many years we can do it? >> yes. >> how long? >> nine. nine years. >> you love that number nine. what else also you and you know this, is the editorial board meetinging in milwaukee. >> yes it did. >> we got the video from the sentinel and he we play it on the air and have you a long pause about libya and you seem to be confused about u.s. policy toward libya. the the professor, a middle east scholar, we asked him what he thought. this hurt you more maybe more than the allegation, but i want to ask you to qualify here. >> i think it is a disgraceful moment. i think the flight from the world, if you will, is just a problem from n our country. the idea someone is running for president and so unprepared and he trite to make a virtue out of his ignorance a while back. he said he doesn't care and

doesn't know the name of u beck stan. so he glorified ignorance. >> first of all, i did not glorify ignorance. was it embarrassing? yes. was i caught off guard? yes. that was a 40 minute interview and tle pulled out 40 second to embarrass me and they did. yes ways embarrassed by that but that doesn't mean i didn't know the answer. what i was doing is gathering my thoughts so i wouldn't state anything incorrectly. no one said i didn't say something wrong. they just question the pause and yes wib was exhausted. i was probably too fired to do that particular editorial board that particular day and it ended up biting me. i ended up having a very embarrassing moment going all over the place. but i learned from it. i think the american people want

a president who is willing to admit, yes it was embarrassing, but i learned from that. i will not put myself in that kind of position again knowing that something like that could happen. >> are you pacing yourself more doing less events? >> yes. >> trying to make sure you don't get tired? >> yes, exactly. and that was the problem. i add strenuous day. not making excuses. but on the meels of everythihee. like being on your show, and being ready for it. >> you were obviously ready for it. let me button up because we are running out of the time. >> yes. >> you are facing explosive accusatio accusations. about a woman in atlanta georgia who had a 13-year affair with you. this will cause a lot of grief, aing angest with you, and your supporters.

>> i know it is. but there is nothing i can do if someone wants to do something like that and make it public. all we can do is figure out thousand handle it. because of the previous rool al gagss we will decide how to handle it and we will hand tell debail by detail accusation by accusation through my attorney lynn wood. >> have you discussed with mr.wood potential libel lawsuit against these women? >> we have not at this point. but we are not taking anything off of the table. >> herman cain, kind of you to spend time with us. exciting night for you, i'm sure not the way you wanted but i'm sure you will get ready for the questions that will unfold. >> when i go with supporters tonight, i am going to have a nice steak dinner. when you've done nothing wrong, i'm going to continue on. >> there are a lot of great

steak places. i will give you some recommendation owns the break. herman cain, presidential candidate. very a lot to talk about. assess what we just heard from herman cain. a third woman is about to accuse him of having an fair, a 13-year affair. coming up right here in the situation room. you name it. i've tried it. but nothing's helped me beat my back pain. then i tried this. it's salonpas.

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you saw breaking news unfolding here in the situation room. herman cain, republican presidential candidate, reacting to what are about to be new and very, very explosive charges from a woman in atlanta, georgia, accusing him of havinging a 13-ier affair with her. let's assess what we just heard. gloria, first to you. this is obviously the third woman that's about to make accusations, not of sexual

harassment, but of having an affair. >> right. and he denied to you quite explicitly wolf, that this was an affair. he said it was a relationship that was a friendship, not sexual in nature. so we are going to have to hear what this woman says. the other women who have come forward said that they had worked with herman cain and claimed sexual harassment. this seems to be a very different kind of allegation. but again, wolf, the weight of these kind of allegations, coming out over and over again, he seemed to indicate that there were people who opposed hit political campaign and may be behind p but he wasn't very specific as he was a couple of weeks ago. >> you saw the interview unfold here in "the situation room." what was going through your mind as you hear his accusations and response? >> i thought it was interesting

how he said, look, i'm going on the wolf blitzer show, so i will take the opportunity to get ahead of it, not like he did before. is it possible for her to have evidence, whether it be e-mail or anything else. that's why him being so adamant stuck with me. if something like this would be true, you would think there would be proof unless the 13-year peer was in the 80s was before we had e-mail. so that really stuck with me as something that gave it more creedance. >> i think you're right. i assume this television atlanta station would not go on the air based on what one woman says without some back-up information. some corroboration. >> well, you would think so. they already have a facebook page up promoing this. i checked that out. >> what did it say. >>. >> just an intercation that we are going on the ai air with explosive new allegations relating it herman cain.

for his part, he did about all can do, which is what pr people tell you, try to get in front of it. the at enof the day, the question will be how is it playing and checking social media points. former white house aid under bush say, also a key republicaning with saying this won't work out for herman cain. >> stand by. there is a lot to digest. er with following the explosive new sexual allegations against republican presidential hopeful herman cain. there's a woman now claiming she had a 13-year affair with the republican presidential candidate, herman cain. i asked herman cain about those allegations just a short while ago. >> they just said, you know, they mentioned the name of the individual -- >> and you know this woman. >> i do know who she is. and they mention what the accusation is going to be.

but until the story comes out, i'm not at libter toy respond to something at this point. now when the story breaks, through my attorney, in atlanta, georgia, we will respond. we chased all of these other rumors for two weeks before and as it turned out, they were baseless, why? because they weren't able to come up with any documentation, any proof or anything credible. so we will address these when they come out but at there point i just wanted it give you a heads up, i don't think have anything to hide. we will agrees every one of the details as we know them. >> tell us about the the nature of your relationship of this woman. >> friend. a friend not having a job et cetera and there sort of thing. that's all there is no the relationship. here again i don't know what will be claimed in the story. someone that was supposed to to be a friend but obviously they didn't see it as a friendship.

>> these are awkward questions but i will ask you the questions you will be asked. was this an fair. >> no. >> there was no sex? >> no. >> none? >> no no. >> if this woman says there was, she is lying. >> well, wolf, let's see what the story will be. i don't want to be pinned down to things until we know what the story will be. >> they gave you the outlines, atlanta television station. >> they gave me attorney the outline and so i'm now speaking secondhand in terms of what i know about the story. when we know the story, we will respond. >> let's continue the analysis. gloria is here. joe johns, what do you think of the way he handled that in the first rule of damage control sb is if you have bad news, you should bring it forward rather than let your adversaries bridge it forward. >> and he tried to do that but with mixed success, wolf. because he didn't talk about

what the story was. you asked him explicitly whether it was an fair. he said no. he seemed to open maybe the question about this person interpreted the relationship differently. i think we need it hear from this woman and we will hear from her soon. he tried to get out in front of the story without giving a full version of what the relationship was. i don't think it was as successful as would he have really hoped. >> he seemed very confident though in making all those denials and making all those rejections of any of these allegations. it is really remarkable how cool he remained under the pressure. especially not being a politician, being a businessman. that's fascinating to watch. you have to say, he has seen a big hit in the poll he just because sexual harassment allegations. now this affair would really

undercut him with people he needs. >> he seemed to talk about rumors that were baseless. what i'm not clear about is it he talking about the other women from the rest association who received settlement or he is talking about new rumors we don't know about. is he talking about this woman we will slirn hear from soon. that was unclear to me. >> right. he said they are baseless and he said that before. he said jl gaallegations, aversions made, are baseless. but really if you dissect them, it is he said/she said. and you don't know if it is baseless or not. >> take a look at website in atlanta. this is the the station that will break in allegation. there is the picture of this woman according to wagatv in atlanta. they just posted this picture of this woman who apparently is going to accuse herman cain of having had a 13-year affair with her. so that's the latest we are

getting, this picture of this woman. he did get emotional, gloria, at one point. he did get emotional at one point when he said he discussed this lard with his wife and family wp if he ever or two drop out of this race for white house, it would be because of the toll, all of these accusations on his family and his wife. you asked him whether he had spoken with his wife about this. he said he had. and he said her response was, here we go again. i think can you see that this is weighting on him. i believe at a certain point, things reach a critical mass and he has to address these particular charges. it sounds like it was a consensual relationship, certainly although an affair from her point of view. and he is going to have to address his supporters about this because he maintains quite unequivocally there was no sexual relationship. >> let me play this other clip

from pli interview with herman cain. joe, i want to bring you in in a moment. >> are you worried this could further hurt new this republican race for the white house? >> i'm more worried that this is going to hurt my wife. and my family. because it is going to be proved that it was probably something else that was baseless. and the court of public opinion does not consider that when we want to pass that judgment pip ask take the lumps pip expected this kind of stuff when he i made the decision to run for the president of the united states of america. but the thing i'm worried about is the impact it will have on my wife and my family because they should not be subject to false accusations that cannot be proved. >> i want to read to you, joe and our view nerps is from the fox 5, waga website. they have a picture of this woman. she say her name is ginger white. she said she had an affair with

herman cain. it was pretty simple. it wasn't complicated. i was affair he was married and i was also aware i was involved in an inappropriatery lagsship. >> it is amazing how many different situationes this candidate has been batting down saying it is not true. again and again and again. we hear herman cain deny, deny, deny. it very difficult. as you said the totality of the cirques, of makes it kind of a little bit harder to walk aaway and saying with nothing happened. >> also he claims the charges by other women were baseless. we do not know know that. when what we do know is that he could call upon the restaurant association to release all of the documentation about the alleged sexual harassment with this woman when they were colleagues there. and he has not asked the restaurant sewation to do that.

when he says charges are baseless, we can't take that at face value unless we see the documents. >> the waga website has, what she calls, records to back up her allegations of this 13-year affair. len wood, a well known attorney in atlanta, gave the following statement. he let me read it to our viewers with thp sh herman cain's attorney. >> there cane has been informed to today that there will be an accusation that is female was involved under a 13-year physical relationship with mr. herman cain. these are subject matters to a political candidate. rather there appears to be an accusation of private alleged alleged consensual conduct between adults, a subject matter which is not proper of inquirely by the media or the public.

no individual which whether a citizen or public official should be questioneded about hisser her private sexual life. the public's right to know and media's right to report has boundaries and most slirn those boun kris and outside of one's bedroom door. the statement goes on from herman cain's attorney. mr. cain alerted his wife to this new accusation and discussed it with her. he has no obligation to discuss these allegations publicly with the media and he will not o do so even if his position is crewed unfavorfully by the media. joe, you're a lawyer. you went to law school maybe he maybe he didn't know that herman cain record talked can him. he was ready to discuss the allegations after physical sexual relationship for 13 years. >> yes.

he also makes the point that is a private matter and shouldn't come into the public arena. of course that could be debated simply because he is running for president now and your character will be called into question certainly by social conservatives and primaries who get to say whether they think you are qualified to be the president of the united states. that said, remember so many times, in our own reporting, when we sort of delve into the private lives of politicians it is because there is something else that goes along with it. bill clinton, it wasn't just the allegation of affair, it was whether he lied in an official judicial proceeding. what wood is saying can be debated out there in the public arena. >> i just heard it for the first time when you were reading it wolf, is there a denial this there that there wab a con sex -- >> no. herman cain flatly denied it but len wood said this is nobody's business. assault, if you will, is everyone's business. but there is a private matter

outside the bedroom and should be of no interest any weigh way. >> what his attorney wascying, it is not clear it is harassment. if it occurred, it was consensual. but herman cain said, in fact this woman is lying. at some point herman cain supporters or would be supporters have to take a look at this and decide decide, some is delling the truth here. >> lelt me play you a clip. then well discuss. listen to this. >> i'm more worried this is going to hurt my wife and my family because it'll be proved that it was probably something else that was baseless and the court of public opinion does not consider that when they want to pass that judgment. i ka take the lumps. i expected this kind of stuff when i made the decision to run for president of the united states ever america. but the thing i'm worried about is the impact on my wife and

family because they should not be subjected to false accusations that cannot be proved. >> he said he is so confident that accusations are false, he will go out to flight and have a good steak dinner here in washington, d.c. because these just frivolous accusations. >> that that is a tough position to be running for the president of united states. everybody knows your your name and this stuff comes up again and again and again. a lot of people are asking when are they get back to 9-9-9 be o or whatever, to discuss with voters. their campaign is completely off pressage and the woman hasn't even spoken on tv yet. >> ginger white and the waga television statement in atlanta shows us her picture. she has to go in noo these accusations knowing her whole life is about to be explored as well. >> absolutely.

and going back to what wood is saying with, this should be of no concern for you. but we have all cover is lot of president rnl campaigns. it is the most personal vote because you have to trust this person as commander-in-chief to send your daughter or daut nor war. it a personal vote. so character does matter. particularly in state like iowa where where you have evangelical viewers. it is a large issue with him and will continue to dog his personal life tp is t is interesting that cain's lawyer would say be, you shouldn't pay attention to this when in fact his own client is he can nieing at i fair, he didn't deny the affair and the public will have to decide whether it is rel rant. >> why do you think lynn len

wood in his former demt did not flat pli deny this allegation. >> probably leefrs it to the client. whatever i wants to say. they will take your words, as far as he is concerned, he tablgs a different tact. but did is curious. it is very curious. and the implication is obvious. he might say, my client denies it or whatever. if he wants put that in statement, he can do that easily. >> at the end of the statement, the attorney representing herman cain, he says, he has no obligation referring to mr. cain, he has no obligations to dus cuss this publicly with the media and will not so do so even if his position is viewed unfavorably by members of the media. >> but he did. >> he did. he was tole do so. but it won't be just the news media pb you pointed out,

evangelical pch iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, florida, they may view this unflavorably. >> right. we don't know anything about the woman. we don't know her motive for coming out. we have to listen to what she has to say, what documentation she has, why she came out no, et set, et cetera. there is a lot we don't know yet. but what client and attorney seem to to say is two different things. >> if you look at the polles a snapshot of where we are why newt gingrich doing very well, i mean, people know his personal life. people know what has gone on there. you have to ask yourself, maybe not today, but if republicans are giving politicianes a bit more after pass because of whatever they did in the past. >> he made it clear if the interview that we just had, he was staying in this race.

i want to play this clip. >> but you're staying in this race, you're not dropping out. >> i'm not dropping out of this race, no. as long as my wife is behind me, and as long as my wife believes that i should stay in this race, i'm say staying in this race. because i'm sick and tired of the hurt and harm that somebody out there is doing to my family more so to me with these baseless charges. what this says is, is that somebody's awfully afraid that i'm doing too well bp to dig up these stories and put a cloud and damper on my campaign. we will stay focus own this campaign. >> let's bring in donna brazile and mary matalin. mary, first to you. what do you make of this bomb sell shellment involving herman cain's campaign for the republican presidential nomination? >> well, it's not good. even if it is untrue. and we don't know if it is true

or not, but it's 5 distraction. he was having issues in the campaign prior to this. partly because of his appearances in the debate on foreign policy but the way in which he handled the previous allegations. sew seems to be trying to handle this in a more efficient way, getting a lawyer out right in front. but the one thing you can't do, voters won't forgive to s to go to under the out denial and it proves not to be true. it is a distraction in any event. >> this woman says, donna, she has records that can confirm her allegation of 13-year apair with with herman cain. i don't know what those records will show or not. but what is your immediate reaction to this development. >> well, when i first sought interviewing with wolf, i didn't know if it was another woman with allegations of sexual what

l harassment or something else. well, it is something else. the lawyer is being defined right now. mr. cia ni is denying it. but we don't know all of the evidence and i haven't heard directly from the individual involved as to what con tekt of what she said. but it a distraction. much it will hurt with conservative voters. five weeks from tonight they will caucus in their living rooms and church basements and they'll look at all of this and decide whether or not herman cain has what it takes to be commander-in-chief and these characters issues that continue to kul up will continue to depress not only his poll numbers but also the level of support that will receive. >> what this woman did tell this atlanta television station, waga fox five, in atlanta, she says be on tlir website it was proety simple. this woman ginger white whose

picture is posted on the website, it wasn't complicated. i was aware he was married and i was also apair ways involved in a very inappropriate situation relationship. here is what he said flatly to me. an hour ago. >> did you have a 13-year affair with this woman? >> no, i did not. >> did you know her for 13 years? >> yes, but i did not have an affair. until i see and hear exactly what accusations are going to be made, let's move on. but i acknowledge that i knew the woman. i acknowledge that i knew here that period of time but having an 13-year affair with you her, no. do you suspect she has evidence, e-mails, gift, anything she will able to bring to try to confirm th this? >> wolf, no. wolf, when you've done nothing wrong -- no.

just like the second woman a few weeks ago, came in with this statement and these so-called documents, which con stand up to krut knee, i have no idea what it is she will have to show proof. we can't respond to what we don't know. >> with mary, what did you think of that response from him? >> very, very powerful. if it's not trueing with you just can't be that demonstrative and definitive and it not be true. next to praying for his wife and family twhb is so awful on them. i can't imagine what kind of person or what kind of candidate would be that definitive if he wasn't telling the truth. and if he is and this is another one of the unproved asilts -- i think he has other structural problems in thinks campaign but

i think that frontal of an assault could be helpful to get him looked at again. because somebody is taking him on for reasons that he agreesed later no one your interview. why? what is her motivation? >> and i asked it flatly, donna, if there was a racial element involved. he didn't necessarily rule that out. he is an african-american pb and there are suggestions that those accusing him are accusing him because he is black. >> i don't believe that's the key. i don't think race has anything to do with this. this is candidate for the highest public office in the united states of america and everyone who runs for president, especially those leading in the poll, subject to a lost scrutiny. he told s some of his close aides that this -- the sexual allegation stories might come

forward. now he is a presidential kond tender. this comes with the territory. it is not fair perhaps to his family that these allegations surfaced once again or for the first time but i thought what he did today was acknowledge that at least he knows the woman. he acknowledged they have known each other for a long period of time. but what he was die quite defy sunt that there wag anything inappropriate. but again, i don't know much more than that. and it'll impact his campaign. >> mary, if he is not being truthful, is his republican nomination over? >> i don't like tho make those allegations but this f this proves to not be the case, tlen i think it is a character issue. i think adultery and infidelity, joe johns said this earlier,

some voters are -- tend to be on occasion more forgiving. we believe in redemption. but i think that is survivable. lying like that, if it is, that's why i think he can't possibly be lying. that would be a character flaw if you could look somebody straight in the eye and lie. >> the last time we had someone blatantly lie was anthony weiner. at left for now that's oefrp. what do you think, gloria, can he survive in it turns out to be true? the accusations of this woman? >> i think is a huge problem for him. and not only because of the lying, if he is lying, but also because his campaign is headed in the wrong direction.

to begin with. because of the issues like his position on abortion. what exactly is it? he stated a cup positions on it. would 9-9-9 raise the national sales tax which republicans don't like. his campaign is already heading in the wrong direction. now these questions come up. again, as mary points out, if you are willing to say, okay this is was a consensual relationship, it is a mistake, people will forgiver you for that. the difficulty i think is if people believe i are not telling the truth. in the end, the truth has way of coming out. >> the american people can be very, very forgiving. you remember bill clinton when he said i did not have sexual relations with that woman. he went on to become a very, very popular president in the american population is forgiving on these issues. >> with the camera right on him, point the lectern and made people want to believe him. then he had to come right back

around and say something else. >> this is just about the strangest republican nomination race i can remember. you never say never in something like this because a month or two months ago i would have never imagined that newt gingrich would be doing as well as he is. who knows what will happen with this. the next step is to find out what she says and what is the proof. >> we don't know anything about this woman. we don't know what her mote ef might be. we don't know whether she is telling the truth. there are all these questions out there. as mary point out, he was so definitive in saying there was no relationship that i think it would be very difficult for him to continue if in fact it was proven at some point that in fact there was. >> let me ask donna brazile to weigh in. what do you think? can he survive if this woman is telling the truth. >> you know the herman cain train will continue to make

stops all around the country but fewer and fewer passengers will get on board. they clearly don't want to be on a rocky train raid with someone who doesn't have a record and don't know who herman cain is. >> people will forgive but not forget. they are more fair-minded. is herman cain being treated fairly? that's why i don't believe is it is annish you've race. he eat had ample opportunity to set the record straight. you gave him a lot of time today to explain his side of the story though he didn't hear what his accuser had to say. but he had an opportunity to explain it. i think at this point we got to hear more from the woman. i have to say, as a woman, why would you come forward knowing that your reputation, your family, your entire life, will also be under scrutiny. so i have to believe there is a reason behind her coming forward and perhaps like most americans, i want to know why.

>> amen. >> everyone stand by. we will continue our coverage of the breaking news. a woman is about to come out and say she add 13-year affair with herman cain. we will continue on this story. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." >> wolf, this is why, sense i was going to be on your show, to talk about my campaign, i wanted to get out in front of it. because i have nothing to hide. i have done nothing wrong. just like it was demonstrations the first two times around.

for viewers just tuning in, there is an explosive new charge from a third woman coming forward and making an accusation that she add 13-year a fair. a 13-year extra marital affair with herman cain. there you see her picture. this is from fox 5, waga, of the local station in atlanta, georgia. this woman, ginger white,

telling the fox 5 station kwb quote, it was pretty simple. it wasn't complicated. i was aware that he was married and ways also aware ways involved in a very inappropriate relationship. herman cain was here in the situation room and he flatly denied allegations. his attorney, lynn wood in atlanta, a prominent attorney, issued a lengths think statement. he said at the end of his statement, mr. cai fl alerted his wife to this accusation and discussed it with her. he has no obligation to discuss these situations publicly with the media. even if his position is viewed unflavorably by the media. that statement from lynn wood. we are told we are about to get video of this woman making allegation to this local tv station in atlanta, waga fox 5. we will play it for you when we

get it. we will also have excerpts from my interview with herman cain. he denied this allegationes from a woman with earlier allegations of sexual harassment over the last few weeks. the reason we are paying this much attention, gloria, he is one of the top republican candidates right now. even though he is not one or two. potentially he could become the republican nominee. maybe if he wins the president of the united states. we are paying attention. >> we are. and he was number one if the polls for a while. there seems to be a lot of switchinging in the number one category. herman cain's polls are head need the wrong direction. we know that. he is now not the top candidate but he is still is in the top

tier. republican candidates. we've got the iowa caucuses coming up in five weeks and he has been doing well in iowa so this is clearly a relevant issue. >> you have to point out, a lot of his success, even in light of sexual harassment alallegations, is that people found him to be very likeable and didn't nasly believe is the stories told about him. there's also a great deal of suspicion on the news media, in the sense would he are piling on and even perhaps not telling the truth. there is a whole swirl there as to why he actually remained in the middle of the pact. despite allegation tlaes could have taken another candidate and another situation completely out. >> we have the video of ginger white. she is the woman making these explosive charges after 13-year affair with herman cain. i think it's ready. this is from waga fox 5 in atlanta.

>> it was pretty simple. it wasn't complicated. i was aware that he was married. i also alsoware i was involved in an inappropriate situation, relationship. >> we heard from her, gloria, for the first time. they put the transcript of that comment. but you see the way she said it. give me your immediate reaction. >> we need to know more. this is little soundbite where she said it was an inappropriate relationship. i think is at one point he was saying she was out after job and he tried to help her. but he maintained it was not an inappropriate relationship in any way shape or form. we need know more about her and why at this particular point we she decided to go public. as you pointed out with don why and mary, she will have her

private life opened up like a book now after this. >> and it gets run together. it is important to keep distinguishing between allegations of sexual harassment and some that sound almost like assault and this which sounds more like a consensual relationship and a question of morality and character and keeping your vows and so on. the voters can decide, nonetheless, a very different situation. >> we will continue thon story later. i will play experts with my interview with herman cain. but right now we are following a very disturbing point in the relationship between pakistan and the united states. anger at the u.s. is raging across the region this hour. the taliban now urging retaliation against the united states while pakistan's prime minister warning his country is reevaluating how it'll deal with the obama administration going

forward. let's go to chris lawrence. he is getting a closer look a b what both sides are saying. chris, what do we know about what happens between the pakistani border over the weekend. >> considering that pakistan claims the airstrike was unprovoked attack and nato says american troops were fired on first, the real question comes down to who to you believe? it all went down around 2 in the morning. a little over a mile from the afghan border. the own tire incident only took two hours but may have destroyed months of hard work to prepare the u.s.-pakistan relationship. a nato says they were working with element of special operations forces in a combined mission on the afghan side of the border. . the officials say the team came from under fire from pakistan from what they believe to be an expected pal tan base. the troops requested air support.

an initial indications are apache helicopters and a gunship fired on two pakistani border check points. officials say they fired from the afghan side and did not enter pakistani air spice. 24 pakistani soldiers were killed in the airstrike but details diversion depending who you talk to. the u.s. official believes pakistani were called to warn them of the airstrike beforehand but pack tanny commanders claim they pleaded with nato to stop firing on friendly fortses and insist they're troops did not fire first. this is a front tier area with a border that's hard to define. nato complained in the past with firing on after nan and american troops close to the checkpoints. >> i would say in the last three weeks we are probably averaging three to fours cross border firing incidents a week.

>> just last week, u.s. commanders were speaking positively about cooperation with pakistan. they say at the americans request, pakistan even adjusted some of its own position for infiltration. >> we've had very good cases in the last three weeks, so the pack mill coordinated with us that coordination occurs with every event that happens. >> yeah, that communication includes u.s. commanders talking to pakistani military counter parts. as well as talking to pakistani liaison officers inside afghanistan. the u.s. and flighto investigation into what happened here in this airstrike is focusing on where, if at all, that should be the case. >> the blog that i write every kay d.a., chris, i point out that michele bachmann said that pakistan is simply foo too

nuclear to fail. here 19 question for you. how secure are the pakistani nuclear sights potentially could get in the hands of terrorists? >> there has been extreme concern. you are talking 70 to 90 warheads. recently there were reports that pakistan was transporting some of its nuclear material on unsecured vans, very congested voeds. there is concern and in wikileaks document shows there's been a concern from is officials about the safety and security of those nuclear weapons instayed pakistan. >> huge story with enormous ramificatio ramifications. we have more in "the situation room." how term hermian ca herman cain

responding to to nallegations from a woman in atlanta claim sheg add 13-year affair with him. newt gingrich is climbing in the polls but a washington outsider and scrutiny. and i'm customizing everything. everything. from thought, to trade. i'm with scottrade. i'm with scottrade. i'm with scottrade. and seven dollar trades are just the start. ♪ [ rodger ] with innovations like our powerful mobile app and free scottrader streaming quotes, no wonder more investors are saying... i'm with scottrade! a network of possibilities... ♪ in here, pets never get lost. ♪ in here, every continent fits in one room. it was fun. we played football outside. why are you sitting in the dark? [ male announcer ] in here,

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? we will have more on the explosive news that a woman in atlanta, georgia is accusing herman cain of a 13-year affair. more on that coming up, including some of my interview with herman cain. he flatly denies her allegation. but there's other political news we're following including the former house speaker newt gingrich who is doing remarkably well right now. he is campaigning though, on an anti-washington message and

branding himself as an outsider. can this image he is crafting hold up to scrutiny. lisa sylvester is taking a closer look. lisa, one of the ways you have gained insight into newt gingrich is to follow the money. >> he is a lot of things, a farmer house speaker, presidential candidate and a businessman. he made a report erd 2.5 million last year on various businesses and at the heart of all of this is his brand. one of the things we have learned about newt gingrich is that he has had a number of different businesses. among businesses he has had is a for-profit -- essentially a think tank in which corporations would spend as much as $200,000 on's he is n eis not shon essen advice. he was actually paid by fret l

freddie mac up to $1.8 million. this was essentially money that originally saying he was giving historical advice. then he said as a consultant, he told them essentially what they were doing was wrong. these are some of the ways in which he learned that $2.5 million referred to. also, there are the boongs. the dvds, documentaries and the various ways he has earned a very hefty income over the years. but what he is trying to do is portray himself as a washington outsider. it is a key part of his message on the campaign trail. but if you look at all of the businesses, look at the ventures he's had since he left congress back in 1999, the truth is, wolf, he is very much a washington insider. he has been a washington player and in fact, wolf, his home is actually in mer r mrveg clan, washington, wolf. >> as you know, the washington

post reported what he made the decade after leaving congress, a hundred million dollars, is is it s that more? >> actually what the $100 million is, it is essentially what his companies and businesses, what they earned within the last decade tp it is a lot of money to be sure. a lot of this is going to be scrutinized as we go forward. again, he wants wants it say, hey, i'm the outsider here. but if you peel back orders, he has been a major player. >> lisa sylvester, thanks so much. let's talk with john king. he is getting toward interview newt gingrich live on his show. that starts at the top of the hour. john, first of all give us yours thoughts that newell newt gingrich may be a real insider as far as his dealinges with washington since leafing congress.

wolf, it is a major challenge. he skyrocketed in the polls. he leads in most national polls. he leads in iowa and new hampshire. he believes here in south carolina which is third. the contests here today, we have seen the bachmann campaign, tea party activists saying congresswoman bachmann did not use her insider status to pad her own pocket. you see the on the trail, speaker grifrp using his name, as brand, if you will, to make money. tens of millions after leaving washington. his question on immigration has become a flash point already. he picked up that big endorse nm new hampshire. he would rather, talk about that, if you will. he knows about this and he has said this, now that he is vied as a credible candidate and he is telling everyone he is is

strongest next to mitt romney. >> he has done amazingly elwell. a lost us thought his campaign was over. just as it was beginning. now he is a top-tier front-runner. while i have you john wrb, i know you will be all over this story as well. hefrmian cane, this woman claims to have add 13-year afear with him. how does this play out? >> as you talk to activists, can you see a cain decline. the last thing he needs is a another question about his personal life and he is and the case made that he is a the outsider. without a doubt if you talk to activist they already view mr. cain raz a very tough, difficult struggles over the past couple weeks. simple rule in politics, this will not help.

we will be watching john, thanks very much. meanwhile a surprising twist in the controversy involved in kansas high school student told to apologize to the state's governor for a dispuraging tweet. [ knock on door ] cool. you found it. wow. nice place. yeah. [ chuckles ] the family thinks i'm out shipping these. smooth move. you used priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships for a low, flat rate. paid for postage online and arranged a free pickup. and i'm gonna track them online, too. nice. between those boxes and this place, i'm totally staying sane this year. do i smell snickerdoodles? maybe. [ timer dings ] got to go. priority mail flat rate shipping at usps.com. a simpler way to ship.

major rally on wall street today. lisa sylvester is monitoring that. some of the other top stories in the situation room. >> u.s. stocks were up sharply with the dow jones industrial average soaring almost three points. analysts report to a strong lack of friday retail sales and growing opt mix the european leaders may be working toward a solution toward the continent's debt crisis. kansas governor is apologizing to what he says was an overreaction by his staff to ail how student's tweet. 18-year-old emma sullivan is refusing to apologize as her principal requested for a disparaging tweet about the governor she sent out during a field trip to the state capitol. in a statement today the governor says his staff overreacted, adding, quote,

freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms. speaking on cnn's newsroom, sullivan explained her position. >> i wouldn't apologize for the tweet itself because like i said, that was aimed toward my audience. it wasn't aimed toward him. i wasn't talking toward him. it was to my high school friends. >> and a lawyer for the family of a student who died as a result of alleged hazing says he plans to sue florida a & m university. robert champion was a drum major in the school's marching band. he died this month after reportedly complaining he couldn't breathe following a football game. new satellite imagery is shedding light on this month's satellite explosion at a uranium compound. analysis of before and after pictures by an anti-nuclear group shows extensive damage. the group and pentagon officials conclude that the blast was likely an accident resulting from an attempt to mix volatile

fuel for a ballistic missile. thank you. newt gingrich is surging in the polls right now. he is standing by to join kahn jing live in the next hour on john king usa. and a pair of former professional football players come to blows during a public event, proving that you don't have to be on the field to be flagged for unsportsman like conduct. everyone have their new blackberry from at&t? it's 4g, so you can do more faster. so, kathryn, post more youtube videos of your baby acting adorable. baby. on it.

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talk about a late hit. a pair of retired pro football players are still going after each other decades after the whistle had blown. here's cnn's jeanne moos. >> throw the flag for unnecessary roughness. two former football greats go at it over an ancient grudge. ron james called it -- >> a kupt of septogenarians duking it out. >> joe took a flower from a center piece and extended it to his rival who responded -- >> [ bleep ]! >> he used his cane to knock his

glasses off. then connection hill with a 1-2 punch. ironic that his new book is entitled, tell me to my face. even more ironic was the first word out of cap's mouth after the fight. >> sportsman ship! >> he said once he was knocked down, caps still didn't stop. ? i'm 74 years old. i don't walk very good with a cane and i have no balance. downey went. when i went down, he kicked me. >> see if you see it. not that he hasn't kicked a few guys in his days as a wrestler after retiring from football. >> angelo, king kong! >> but he was not beating his chest after this one. >> i think it's absolutely ridiculous that it ever happened. >> the grudge goes back 48 years. it was a canadian football league championship game. then quarterback cap was mad because he made what was widely

considered a dirty hit that knocked one of cap's teammates out of the game. fast forward almost five decades. >> i'm not going to sit there and have someone stuff a flower in my nose. >> later cap told a weird story quoting the player, angelo, injured 48 years ago. >> i named my dog angelo. and i kick that [ bleep ] dog every day. >> a couple of grumpy old football players. like a scene out of the movie, "grumpy old men." >> shove that pole! >> but the weapon of choice was a fish rather than a flower. >> all i can do is apologize. >> before the fight, he offered his hand and cap ignored it. then it was the other way around. a youtube poster summed it up this way, toothless but still ruthless. jeanne moose,