captioning sponsored by cbs >> dickerson: today on "face the nation," breaking news overnight. after a bomb injures 29 in new york city. and the presidential race moves back into the too close to call category. an explosion rocks a chelsea neighborhood in new york city saturday night. officials say none of the injuries are life-threatening. just hours after the attack, mayo reporters. >> there is no evidence at this point of a terror connection. >> dickerson: we'll bring you the latest on the investigation. the bombing had a sobering effect on a campaign where the candidates are nearly tied in the polls. >> a bomb went off in new york, and nobody knows exactly what's going on, but, boy, we are living in a time, we better get very tough, folks. >> i'll have more to say about it when we actually know the facts. >> dickerson: recovering from

we'll talk to hillary clinton's running mate tim kaine. plus donald trump has dropped his five-year campaign to prove the president is not an american. we'll hear from his campaign manager kellyanne conway and the head of the republican party, reince priebus. and finally, a special visit with civil rights legend john lewis at the new african american museum. it's all coming up on "face the nation." good morning and welcome to "face the na i'm john dickerson. we begin with that explosion in new york city. it happened last night at around 8:30 at 23rd street and 6th avenue in manhattan's chelsea neighborhood. cbs news correspondent anna werner is there. >> reporter: well, streets are still closed off here in chelsea, john, as authorities continue to try to determine who caused an explosion here and planted another device four blocks north. surveillance video showed the white flash of the explosion as

night sent people running. >> i heard boom. i thought it might be officials, but it was so loud and it just went through my whole body. >> reporter: units from the police and f.b.i. were quick to respond, cordoning off streets in the area and searching for evidence. about two hours later police found a device in another location four blocks north. it was described as a pressure cooker. that street too was blocked off and police brought in a bomb disposal truck to remove the device. now, a law enforcement source is terrorism has not, in fact, been ruled out, and they are also continuing to explore whether there are any potential links between the incidents that happen here and the pipe bomb explosion at a charity race event yesterday in new jersey. john? >> dickerson: anna werner in new york. thanks, anna. we go now to new york congressman peter king, who sits on both the house intelligence and homeland security committees. congressman, governor cuomo just

international terrorism. do you think that's the case? >> we don't know. in fact, in many of these cases we don't know until two, three or four days later whether or not there is a terrorist link. whether or not it's connected overseas. whether or not it's homegrown. the fact there is no evidence right now doesn't mean much. we have the times square bombing back in new york in 2011 i guess it was, and there was no... it took several days before we realized that was coming out of the boston marathon we didn't know for several days if that was terrorism. so i think we have to assume that terrorism is always a real possibility and go from there. whether it turns out to be or not, we don't know, but i certainly would in the think of ruling out terrorism at this stage. >> dickerson: what's the best way to react for the public and law enforcement officials in incidents like this? we now are so connected that the minute something happens, there's a kind of a rush to name

to these? >> to let the nypd and the f.b.i. handle it. they are the best in the world at what they do. and also to realize that as we go forward, terrorism and these type of attacks, whether they're coming from overseas or whether they're homegrown or whether they're just mall content, we are always vulnerable to these type of attacks. that's why it's so important police are able to do their job. h we have to monitor so we can tell when these are going to happen. sometimes once things are over we, we put it in the recesses of our mind. these threats are real. they're going to continue. whether or not this turns out to be overseas terrorism. whether it's domestic terrorism or any terrorism at all, it's a wake-up call, another one, as to how vulnerable we are. that's why it's so important for the police and f.b.i. to be given the tools and be allowed to do what they have to do. >> dickerson: and if new york

what more can be done? is it just these kinds of things are going to happen, they're part of the new normal? >> i don't think we should accept this as part of the new normal. go to the larger issue. that's why the n.s.a. is important. that's why surveillance of communities where these threats are coming from is important. why we can't allow overconcern about civil liberties to get in the way of law enforcement. let's not let political correctness stop the police and the f.b.i. from doing the investigations tth you're going after the mafia, you go to the italian community, irish communities, right now islamic terrorism, go to the muslim communities. you don't look for the ku klux klan in harlem. >> dickerson: congressman pete king, thanks so much for being with us. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> dickerson: turning now to campaign 2016, our cbs news battleground tracker shows this morning that in the 13 states we

42%, which is consistent with the latest national survey. so what can hillary clinton do to regain her lost momentum? we now go to richmond and to her running mate, senator tim kaine. senator, i want the start with the explosion in new york overnight. in moments like this we look to the presidential candidates for some kind of response, but what can a president do if a lone wolf is going to put an explosive device in a dumpster? there's really not a presidential question there, is there? >> well, john, look, you have to understand that law enforcement plays a critical role, first responders, too. hillary understands this. she was a senator from new york after the attack on 9/11 and worked to make sure first responders got hillary clinton benefits. but the other thing is we always have to watch about these lone wolf attacks. we're in a battle right now to defeat isis and to defeat al

their space on the battlefield is shrinking. our military is working to that their space, but sadly they are trying to strike out in other place, whether it's cities in europe or africa or the united states. the way you stop those attacks, we don't know the motive behind these attacks yet, but we're digging into it, but the way you stop lone wolf attacks is through smart sharing of intelligence. you have to have strong alliance, for example, with nato allies, and share intelligence about people, people who might be traveling from one country to the . and hillary clinton is somebody who has been our nation's chief diplomat, understands the power of these alliances and would never do something like tear up nato or get rid of the alliances in the way that donald trump to to -- proposes. obviously, this was a horrible explosion in new york. the size of it was massive, and at least, thank goodness, we're thinking of those injured, but thank goodness there are no fatalities reported. that's something as of now we

of national security and commander-in-chief, secretary robert gates wrote a pete in the "wall street journal" critical of both candidates, but about hillary clinton he said, "mrs. clinton has time before the election to address forthrightly her trust worthiness, which he put at the center of her ability to be commander-in-chief. how does she fix the trust worthiness problem? >> you know, you're right, secretary gates wrote that editorial. he said, "i need to see more from hillary clinton, but i've seen enough from donald trump. he's not qualified to be let me jump right to your question, john, about trustworthiness. i have a boy who is a marine infantry officer. he's one of the two million young men and women who serve in the united states military. he's deployed now for the second time. i would trust hillary clinton with matt's life, with my son's life. the reason i would is because she's had that searing experience of being at the world trade center as they were searching for survivor, because she's been our secretary of

national security team that revived the hunt and wiped osama bin laden off the face of the earth. i would trust her with my son's life. on the other side, with donald trump, here's a guy who praises dictators like vladimir putin. here's a gay who thinks a solution to global security is for more nations to get nuclear weapons. but most painfully to me and other military families, here is a guy who says the american military is a disaster, who makes fun of john mccain and says that means he's not a hero. and he went after the virginia family, the khan family who live in charlottesville, and went after them mercilessly after they very painfully described how it was to lose their son serving in the military who was killed trying to protect his fellow service members. donald trump as commander-in-chief scares me to death. >> dickerson: so, senator, if donald trump is democratically elected and your son serving as

life under that commander-in-chief? >> i wouldn't. >> dickerson: would you tell him to get out of the military, senator? >> my son is a very independent guy and he's going to make his own determination, and my other two children are equally independent, but donald trump has demonstrated by his trashing the military, by his belief that we need more nuke, but especially by his praise of dictators, even encouraging the russians to commit cyber espionage against the united states, he's demonstrated that he shouldn't be w zones of being commander-in-chief. >> dickerson: let me ask you on this question of trustworthiness, oftentimes presidents bring in a vice president who helps them with their weak spots. george w. bush did that with dick cheney, barack obama did that with joe biden, senator joe biden, the idea they didn't have enough experience, so they brought in an experienced hand. a lot of hillary clinton's supporters and friends say her blind spot is this question of transparency and trust. do you see your job as helping out on that? you're the new guy on the team. do you see that as a part of

>> john, i'll tell you why hillary asked me to be on the ticket. she was pretty plain about it. she said that the test of a clinton administration is not going to be a bill signing or a passage of something. it's going to be whether a worker can get more skills, an employer can hire more people, a classroom is a better learning environment for a kid or for a teacher. fundamentally she wants a governing partner for our positive agenda, and, john, we've laid out a positive agenda. i just want to show it to we've put out a book called "stronger together" that reflects our vision for this country in this race. donald trump wrote a book when he decided to run for president, and the title of his book is, "crippled america." this is the case we're making over the next 50-plus days that this is fundamentally an election about a choice of vision. if you see our country as stronger together, we're the ticket, and we've got the policies to carry that forward. but if you look at our country

america, then that's what donald trump believes. but i tell you, i don't see that in the optimistic, can-do, upbeat spirit of the american public that i meet on the trail. >> dickerson: senator kaine, we're out of time. thanks so much for being here. >> thanks, john. >> christa: turning now to the republican side, donald trump's campaign manager kellyanne conway joins us now from trump tower in new york. good morning, kellyanne. i want to start with a piece that defense secretary robert gates, former defense secretary, wrote in the "wall street journal." candidates, but particularly critical of mr. trump, and i want to play mr. trump's reaction to it last night and get your reaction. >> we had a clown today, an absolute clown, robert gates. he's supposed to be an expert. he's been there forever. so he goes out and he says negative things about me. i never met him. i never talked to him. believe me, i am so much better at what he's doing than he is. >> dickerson: all right.

republicans, one democrat. a clown? >> so mr. gates, secretary gates really should have i think in his book been a little bit more forceful about the fact that radical islam has ideological moorings. he acts like terrorism is something like the weather, it just happen, and we as americans know that's not true, and i think that's part of why mr. trump is doing very well on the issue of who would radical islamists. hillary clinton referred to terrorists as our enemy. there's a great deal of frustration by many americans than we don't have serious leaders all of the time addressing terrorism for what it is. >> dickerson: but one of the critiques that secretary gates, who has seen and worked with a few presidents made, is donald trump is thin-skinned, he doesn't have the temperament for the office. wasn't he in, in response to mr. gates proving mr. gates' point? >> no, not at all.

that. he's attacked by people who have never met him, who haven't given a thawingful look to his plan, which, of course, are out there for everyone to see. he's on the stump every single day delivering policy speeches, addressing crowds, rallies, and bernie sanders had an event yesterday in ohio for hillary clinton. there were 150 people there. that's like a second reading where i come from. mr. trump has a right to defend himself from people who i don't think are substance of his plans. they're just judging someone they've never met. >> dickerson: i'd like to move on to a position that mr. trump held for five years that barack obama was not born in the united states. he changed that position on friday. why? >> well, he made very clear three things. number one, that it was mark penn, hillary clinton's chief strategist and pollster who put president obama's citizenship in question when he wrote a famous

questioning his "american roots," saying in a time of war how could we elect someone like this. that's pretty radical stuff. of course, even patty doyle, hillary clinton's campaign manager in 2008 until she was fired by hillary clinton, admitted on friday to wolf blitzer that she said, "yeah," these are her words, "there was a volunteer in iowa who was pushing this." so this started with hillary clinton's campaign, number one. number the work it was donald when he got president obama to release his birth certificate years later. and number three, he said that president obama was born in this country, period, and let's move on to creating jobs, defeating radical islam, rebuilding our inner cities. >> dickerson: the reason i want to stick on this a little bit is he promoted this for five years. so this isn't some passing notion. this is a considerable amount of energy and time and money that he spent promoting this idea.

say anything about his citizenship. also, if you look at the clinton campaign, they fired the one staffer who sent an e-mail about this immediately. donald trump spent five years, his own money, called press conferences to promote this idea. so i go back to my original question, why did he change his mind and when did he do it? >> well, donald trump was not running for president in a bruising, vicious primary against barack obama. hillary clinton was. and you know that the former d.c. bureau chief of newspaper, a respected journalist, just on friday, john, said that he was approached, he had a meeting with sidney blumenthal, a very close confidante of both clintons and was on the payroll of the clinton foundation thereafter, he had a meeting with him where sidney blumenthal allegedly told him that president obama was not born in this country and check it out. the idea that people around hillary clinton were not responsible for this, donald trump in 2007 and 2008, while

building man. he was building things. >> dickerson: but kellyanne, he's asked us to go back and look at things he said about foreign policy back in 2003, to draw conclusions about his judgment. so things he said in the private sector, something he spent five years promoting, you said he got the birth certificate released and that put an end to it, but it didn't put an end to it for him. for years after the birth certificate was released, he continued to question it, continued to question whether barack obama was born in the united states and whether the birth certificate was a fraud. statement and says he ended in 2011, that's just not the truth isn't it? >> no, i didn't say that. what i'm saying is it was president obama who released his birth certificate in 2001. no one accuses hillary clinton with mariano rivera. she's not a good closer. associates of hillary clinton started pushing the issue because barack obama came out of nowhere. they never expected him to rise

in the democratic primary where a vast majority of voters were female and rejected her in that year, just like they didn't see bernie sanders coming and like they didn't see our comeback of the campaign coming. she's not known to be a closer. she's not known to be good at recapturing momentum. so i understand you want to talk about hillary clinton and this is an election about a choice, but it's also about whether people can trust a candidate who may become president one day and who may send people to die in a war. so just on this question of trust, donald trump advoc something for five years that was a lie. why did he do that? >> well, you're going to have to ask him, but again, i think this is a side show now. the media seem obsessed with this john, respectfully. again, he put everything out on the table on friday. those are his words. he does things on his term, on his time line, and regot to the microphone after honoring 14

after showing all these veterans that supported us our campaign, we were very proud to stand with them in washington, d.c. and he said the three things you and i just repeated. but what this campaign also did this week that nobody seems to want to talk about, we tightened the polls, we have a childcare plan, economic plan. he was standing yesterday with parents of victims of illegal alien crimes who have murdered their children. you know, there are so many things going on in our campaign, and that's his entire point. he's moved on to the things that matter to america. but he did spend five years on it, so it would be something... we would be remiss if we didn't pay some attention to something he spent so many years advocating and promoting. kellyanne conway, thank you so much for being with us.

>> dickerson: and we're back with the chairman of the rnc, reince priebus. mr. chairman, on friday donald trump said he no longer believed that barack obama was born

a lot of time on this issue, and he now says he's the one out there trying to put this rumor to rest. do you believe that's what he was doing for five years? >> i think it was something that got started in the 2008 presidential campaign, whose fault it was, you know. hillary clinton herself, her supporters, her intern, her staffers, clearly it was something that was circulating in 2008. i'm agreeing with you that he took it it into the public debate even more so than what was brought in, in 2008. however, the point is: people are asking him about it. people weren't asking him about it for a long time. and he came out and said, listen, i was involved in trying to figure this out, as well, and i've determined that the president was born in hawaii, just like i've said for years some this is not for me a mystery. >> dickerson: so there is also no evidence that hillary clinton had anything to do with this.

caught spreading rumors about barack obama, and people... >> and people get convicted every single day with circumstantial evidence that is enough to tip the scale. and by the preponderance of the evidence before us, hillary clinton or her campaign were definitely involved in this issue. so we can't keep saying it's not true. that's ridiculous. i know you didn't, but there's enough media people out there claiming that's not true as if it's sfi >> dickerson: but when you think about... it may be contributory, but donald trump spent the bulk of his time. >> he's not denying it. >> i understand that. >> but she is denying it, and that's ridiculous. >> dickerson: well, her former campaign manager... >> everyone around her is involved but not her... >> dickerson: well, everyone around her is a little more than the evidence suggesting. >> her campaign deputy manager was apologizing on cnn three days ago. >> dickerson: she said she fired the one person who brought

there's a difference between firing someone immediately. >> what about sidney blumenthal. was hi involved or not? >> so you have a person spreading rumors and you have a person holding a five-year crusade. here's my question to you, which is not to figure out the details anymore, but to ask you this question: donald trump said republicans love this idea in 2011 when he talked about it and congratulated himself for reinvigorating the investigation of it. the question is: did the nominee of the republican party use this issue as rile up republicans? is this the kind of thing that gets republicans excited, the question of whether the president was born in america? that was his assertion. >> that's not my opinion. i don't think donald trump was thinking about 2016 in 2011. it was an issue he was interested in. it was an issue that i believe and i think the preponderance of the evidence shows hillary clinton started it. and after getting this issue resolved, he proclaimed on

president was worn in america, just like i have as chairman of the republican party. i never believed that he wasn't born in the united states of america. >> dickerson: we'll have to hold it right there. we'll take a commercial break and we'll be right back. it was an idea. an inspiration. a wild "what-if." so scientists went to work. they examined 87 different protein structures. 4,423 sleepless nights, and countless trips back to the drawing board. at first they were told no, well... maybe, and finally: yes. then it was 36 clinical trials, 8,500 patient volunteers, and the hope of millions.

could be. me. ? new bikes aren't selling guys... what are we gonna do? how about we pump more into promotions? ? nah. what else? what if we hire more sales reps? ? nah. what else? what if we digitize the whole supply chain? so people can customize their bike before they buy it. that worked better than expected. i'll dial it back. yeah, dial it back. just a little. live business, powered by sap.

>> dickerson: we've got a lot more "face the nation" coming up. don't go away. oh, look... ...another anti-wrinkle cream in no hurry to make anything happen. neutrogena? rapid wrinkle repair works... ...in one week. with the... fastest retinol formula available. it's clinically proven to work on fine lines and... ...even deep wrinkles. "one week? that definitely works!" rapid wrinkle repair. and for dark spots, rapid tone repair. neutrogena?.

houston: mission allergy escape. for those who've gone to extremes to escape their unrelenting nasal allergy symptoms... houston: news alert... new from the makers of claritin, clarispray. ? ? welcome back. clarispray is a nasal allergy spray that contains the #1 prescribed, clinically proven ingredient. nothing is more effective at relieving your sneezing, runny nose and nasal congestion.

>> dickerson: some of our cbs stations are leaving us now, but for most of you we'll be right back with a lot more politics and our interview with civil rights legend john lewis.

>> dickerson: welcome back the "face the nation." i'm john dickerson. we continue with the chairman of the republican party, reince priebus. we'll leave the previous issue. you once said that the electoral... the way the electoral college works, democrats need to be good. republicans need to be nearly perfect. is donald trump running a nearly perfect campaign? >> well, something. this is a fascinating year for everybody, we all know that, but i have been, and i think people need to get outside this beltway and get on the road. if they were to see what i see, i see one of the greatest ground game movements, to be ground, meaning people coming to events, 20,000 in middle pennsylvania, 22,000 in seattle. this is probably one of the biggest movements as far as people across this country in modern history.

analyze donald trump all day long, 24/7 on cable, i think people have to look at what the facts are, and we're tied today, as we sit here, 51 days from the election. and we have a candidate that is capturing the electorate, america. it might not be capturing the pundits, but he's capturing america. >> dickerson: is he capturing reluctant republicans, some of whom are republican officials in the republican party e trump category? >> well, some of the people ran for president, but you have to look at where we are we at with the voters. and where we're at with the voters, in one of the last polls i'm at, nearly 91% of the republicans, 92%. we need to do a couple percentage points better, but people who agreed to support the nominee, that took part in our process, they've used tools from the rnc. they agreed to support the

they took part in our process. we're a private party. we're in the a public entity. those people need to get on board. and if they're thinking they're going to run again some day, i think that we're going to evaluate the process of the nomination process, and i don't think it's going to be that easy for them. >> dickerson: would the party itself penalized someone who does not make good on the pledge they made to support the nominee? >> i think these are things our party will look at in the process. and i think that people who gave us from the rnc, should be on board. sure. >> dickerson: governor john kasich, if he wants to run again, he might be out of luck as far as the rnc goes? >> people in our party are talking about what we're going to do about this. there is a ballot access issue in south carolina. in order to be on the ballot in south carolina, you have to pledge your support to the nominee, no matter who that is? what's the penalty for that? it's not a threat.

have a process in place. and if a private entity puts forward a process and has agreement with the participants in that process, then those participants don't follow through with the promises that they made in that process, what should a private party do about that if those same people come around in four or eight years? >> dickerson: sounds like a brushback pitch, but let me ask you one last question, at one point donald trump said the debates are rigged. process. has the process been fair? does it feel fair to you at this point? >> well, there are two parts to that. as far as our party is concerned, i think i've been straight up and fair the whole way through. i think people have evaluated what we've done. i think people understand that i think i played it straight down the middle from the beginning to the end. i do think that the media, especially in the cable 24/7

negative six-minute segments on donald trump no matter what it is. and i think that part of it is very unfair. >> dickerson: but the debate part so far as the nights it's happening, the moderators, all that? >> i think it's square. and i think people are ready to move forward and move on with this. i think that first debate is going to be probably one of the biggest events in the history of presidential politics. >> dickerson: all right. >> dickerson: all right. mr. chairman, thank you so much for being with us. >> you bet. >> you bet. >> dickerson: we'll be right ba ...but they couldn't miss the show. so dad went to the new safelite-dot-com. and in just a few clicks, he scheduled a replacement... ...before the girls even took the stage. safelite-dot-com is the fast, easy way to schedule service anywhere in america! so you don't have to miss a thing. y'all did wonderful! that's another safelite advantage.

>> dickerson: and we're back with our political panel. ruth marcus is a columnist at the washington post. salamle is an executive director with the national review. mark leibovich is with "the new york times". riewrkt i want the start with you. the response to this explosion in new york overnight. donald trump got off the plane immediately and said, a bought went off. turns out he was right. hillary clinton said we have to wait for the details. is that a frame from which we should look at the two candidates? >> it's pretty telling. he turned out to be right, but might not have. i think that, look, i'm a facts girl, so i think the response, i'd like to wait for the facts until i comment is always a good idea. i think both of them could have behooved them to express some concern for the victims, which seems to be something that's

about this op-ed by secretary robert gates. attacked both candidates. not attacked, sorry, criticized both candidates for their weaknesses. hillary clinton not trustworthiness. donald trump doesn't have the temperament for the job. does this matter? does he raise important questions about this, and with donald trump calling him a clown, does that matter or is that just what we're used to from donald trump? >> my sense is that donald trump's style, the brag doash owe is priced in for voters. if you look at the survey, it looks as though hillary clinton's support with the obama coalition is softening. if you look at younger voters, it's softening even drastically. even younger black men, it seems there is some weakness here. whereas if you look at donald trump, there is certainly what folks in many media outlets talk about, the birther controversy, which i'm sure we'll talk more about now.

he went on the dr. oz show, which by the way, is a show that's watched by many of the voters he's seeking to reach, and he praised medicaid. and he suggested that we ought to expand the medicaid program further. so when you think about trying to get through one channel, the people who read the "wall street journal" editorial page, and then trying the reach another channel, think about the married white women in a state like pennsylvania, the people that he hasn't been able to reach, the people who have been reluctant to join his campaign. doing an end run around certain kinds of media criticism and reaching those people. >> dickerson: and the polls have tightened a little and, mark, picking up on the point about those kinds of voters, the reintroduction of the idea that for five years donald trump was the advocate for the idea that barack obama was not born in the united states. does that matter to those kinds of voters? is that why he finally came out and said, yes, he was born here?

those kinds of voters. i think the lead that hillary clinton opened up in august was a lot of softening republicans. you mentioned softening of the obama coalition. a lot of these were squishy republicans who would listen to someone like susan collins who said she wouldn't vote for donald trump. there's like this divide between republicans who know who robert gates is and those who don't. he's obviously a very well-respected figure in the republican party or at least the establishment of the republican party. i was actually somewhat ri of hillary clinton, who he apparently was... i thought he lad been an ally of closely during the obama years when they both served together. i do think that the kind of language he used, he said it's the kind of damning language that butts the fear of pulling the will every for him into a lot of the suburban republicans in philadelphia. >> dickerson: one thing that's been interesting, ruth, in the clinton conversation, the last

there talking about solutions. that's been interrupted by her comments about half of trump supporters being the basket of deplorables or health issues. now other things are getting in the way. what does that tell you, though, that this late in the campaign they're feeling like we still have to make the case for hillary clinton? >> and she still feels like she has to make the case. that's parted of what she's thinking about in the debates. it has been impossible. it's actually impossible even for donald trump's policy now that it's coming to break she's had a hard time either talking about individual policies in this campaign, but even larger, talking about the larger vision that she has for the country and for getting people to like her/trust her. this is a big challenge in the debate in addition to simultaneously trying to fact check donald trump. >> dickerson: i want to get back to the dail minute to the question of one can fix one's liabilities in a debate.

trump's view on the president's birth, he has asked us and his campaign has asked us to look back at his business career for an idea on how he would be president, look at his germany on the foreign policy. they now want this not to be a conversation, the question of the president's birth. but you can't just say it's over. >> oh, i think it's pretty clear that donald trump talked about this, raised questions about this for many years. but again, as i suggested earlier, the thing is that this may well be very relevant and motivating for some voters. it is not cle those voters for whom this is a pressing and important issue are vote there's donald trump was ever going to be able to win regardless. now, let's look at a state like florida, and mark leibovich is with "the new york times." you have a new report on survey findings in florida. you see that back in 2008, hillary clinton was well to the right of barack obama on some immigration issues. now she's well to his left in terms of she talks about deportation relief and much else. but if you look at hispanic

voters. hillary clinton is well behind barack obama's mark among hispanic voters. now, they're not going to donald trump, but it seems like a lot of them are demote secretary of stated. and this is a pattern you see not just in florida but many other states besides. for a state like florida that many people assumed because hillary clinton's big push on immigration and amnesty and other issues would be in the bag for her, she is struggling there. so is she struggling with the kind of voters for whom talk of the birther controversy is may well make sense that by magnifying this and by talking about, this that could help motivate some of those voters, but is that going to get her over the bar, we'll see. >> i'm going to disagree on the issue of whether this is an issue that could affect vote there's would otherwise be for trump. first of all, it is astonishing that we are debating this this late in the game. it's something that donald trump didn't put away in 2011.

earlier in this cycle. you asked kellyanne conway why donald trump was whining about the president's birth for the last five years, she said, you'll have to ask him. that means case is not closed. so i think the voters affected by this are voters who might not be voters who would go for trump. but they're voters who might have thought about staying home in the polls or they're voters who might gary johnson or jill stein, and now they get enraged and scared about the notion of trump being president. >> that's pretty much my view, as well. >> dickerson: i hear on the right people saying this is the press obsessed with the question of obama's birth to not cover policy that trump is covering. on the left i hear, don't fall for donald trump talking about birther. pay attention to the foundation and other things. what's the right way the look at this? >> i would say, look, the notion

debate for however many years, when was this ever a debate? it was a debate on the fringes in certain sectors. donald trump, it's been well documented, spent five years talking about. this whether voters respond or not, it's appalling to watch this argument play out. it's edifying to no one. the facts are very, very clear. and just speaking as one human being, maybe i'm in the media, so i'm suspect, but i find it appalling. whether it plays out electoray make clear what we're talking about. >> dickerson: ruth, let's move to the debates. reince priebus said the biggest political event in the world. is that good, by the way to, have that much focus on a single thing? >> it is what it is. and i think it's, look, to the extent that, you know, donald trump is hoping to generate the biggest ratings ever, the more voters pay attention, the more voters are engaged, even if they haven't been engaged before.

it's actually why it's really important that we have three debates, not one debate, so that people are not affected by one single thing. you can go back and go to issues. >> dickerson: what should we be looking for in the debate? >> well, one thing i'll throw out there is that back in 2012, bill clinton at the democratic national convention felt like it was really important that republicans wanted to cut the medicaid program. the fact that donald trump wants to expand it is completely not an issue, andt' that tells you something about the debate. in the first debate between barack obama and mitt romney, romney was able to do an end run about the media conversation about his campaign and connect directly with voters and present a very different face. i'm not sure if donald trump is capable of doing that, but imagine if he does. imagine if he shows the many ways that he appears to be not like other republicans, for better or for worse, by the way, that's something where we'll have a direct channel to an audience that's been hearing all kinds of messages about him. so that will be interesting to

be wrong, but i don't think donald trump is crashing on the details of his medicaid policy as he prepares for this debate. i think what's exhilarateing to him is that this is a great show. he sees himself foremost as a showman. he thinks he can handle the stage and the moment. the clinton campaign has said over and over and over again, look, 100 peoples state bank will watch this. this is a moment to get very basic facts and very basic ads about donald trump's history, my own credibility out there. and i think to some degree they large diversion of their convention condensed into a couple hours. >> dickerson: we'll have the leave it there. it's a little more than a week away from our first debate. we thank you all for being here. we'll be right back in a moment. >> two candid , one oal, your vote. the first president, debate, a cbs news prime time special live

>> dickerson: saturday marks the official opening of the new smithsonian museum of african american history and culture. we visited the museum with a man who spent 15 years working on its establishment, georgia congressman john lewis. congressman, we're sitting here at a lunch counter. what does that mean to you?

means everything to me. my first non-violent protest was in 1960 in downtown nashville sitting down at a lunch counter on a stool in the local woolworth's store. this all takes me back. i grew up sitting down. am today if it hadn't been for taking a seat. >> dickerson: what does it mean to be here inside this building? >> it just means everything. to walk in here, to be here, to see this magnificent museum, it's going to continue to take me back, just walking through here, i could almost cry.

>> dickerson: you also spoke at the other end of this mall on the march on washington. would you ever have imagined that there would be this kind of a monument? >> i never thought, i never dreamed that one day there would be a monument, there would be a museum telling the story and the history of african americans for the days of slavery. >> dickerson: what is that story you want people to understand when they come here? >> this story story. it tells of our history, our having the ls, desegregation, racial discrimination, but much earlier, the whole system of slavery, the denial of basic constitutional right, the right to vote, the right to get an education, that people suffered, they struggled, people were beaten and arrested and jailed,

up. they never gave in. they never became bitter or hostile. they kept the faith. and they kent dreaming. >> dickerson: when you spoke on the steps of the lincoln memorial, you said, "wake up, america. we cannot stop, and we will not and cannot be patient." a real sense of urgency. where are things now in terms of urgency in the fight for social justice? >> well, we've come a distance. we've made a lot of progress. changed, i feel like saying, walk in my shoes. ly show you change. we're one people. and we were involved in the struggle during the '50s and '60s. white people and black people suffered together. they died together to bring about change, to bring down

women, colored men, colored women. the only places we will see those signs today will be in a book or in a museum like this one. >> dickerson: speaking of walking in john lewis' shoes, there's a picture of you on the edmund pettis bridge. what was happening in that picture. >> well, in 1965, a group of us, about 600 of us, wanted to walk from selma, alabama, to montgomery to dramatize to the nation and to the world that register to vote. we were walking in an orderly, peaceful, non-violent fashion. we came to the highest point on the bridge crossing the alabama river. down below we saw a sea of blue, alabama state troopers. and a man spoke up and said, "this is an unlawful march. you will not be allowed to

us a moment to kneel and pray." and the major said, "troopers, advance." i said, "major, may i have a word?" he said, "there will be no words." they came to us, beating us with night stick. i was hit in the head by a state trooper from a night stick. i had a concussion at the bridge. i thought i was going to die. weeks later we walked from selma johnson made one of the most moving speeches in the modern times on the whole question of voting rights and civil rights. at the end of that speech he said, "and we shall overcome." >> dickerson: you recently wrote a piece in the huffington post about that march from selma to montgomery. you said there's a way to talk about where we are today. tell me a little bit about that. >> dickerson: the march was 50

there were hundreds and thousands of people coming from all across america, priests, rabbis, nuns, ministers, lawyers, doctors, teachers, white, all coming together. it was like a holy walk. and there's still a need for people to protest. we should never the right to protest what is right. >> dickerson: you mentioned non-violence. martin luther king and the montgomery story, that comic book that inspired you when you were growing up. in that comic book it talks about loving thy neighbor, a strong part of the non-violent message, that even when people are hitting you and beating you deserve your love. where is that message now? >> the message is still embedded in many of us.

our children, and those of us not so young, that the way of love is a better way. just respect the dignity and the worth of every human being. we need to continue to get it out there. if we get it right, if we get it right in america, maybe it can serve as a model for the rest of the world? >> dickerson: is that message of loving thy neighbor being lost a little bit? >> i think there are are some forces in america trying the take us bao we must not let that happen. >> christa: do you see that in the presidential campaign this year? >> i see it very much. so there are forces that want to divide us, and we must not be divided. we've come so far. we have made so much progress working and building together. too many of my friends, too many of my colleagues, young people that i knew, '6 and '64, white

in vain. >> dickerson: thank you, sir. >> thank you, sir. >> dickerson: and we'll be right back. engineers can spot potential problems from any angle. because safety is never being satisfied. and always working to be better. at bp, we empower anyone to stop a job

>> dickerson: there will be more of our conversation with john lewis on our web site, face the nation.com. that's it for this week. for captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh

you are looking live at gillette stadium. it's opening day in the patriots are up 1-0 ditch. they are looking to make a big win over the dolphins. patriots this quarter starts right now. this is new england patriots game day presented by your new england ford dealers. ford, go further. >> good evening. for joining us. i'm steve burton live from cbs after a big win in arizona. the patriots turn their attention to the miami dolphins and once again they are