bob woodward is the guest. we'll be right back. >> larry: there's no slow news day anymore. >> leon panetta is quoted as saying this is a crazy kind of war. >> larry: it's a crazy kind of world. >> it's a crazy kind of world. exactly. >> we all know and you all know this when we were at the white house recently, obama walks into the room with a stride a very self-confident guy. what does he worry about? >> he told me that. he just kind of volunteered. he said my number one worry, the thing i'm worried about is terrorists setting off a nuclear weapon in an american city. and that would be a game changer. turns out at this time last spring they conducted a secret exercise in the white house called the continuity of operation exercise. what would they do in the government if this happened. and in the exercise scenario, terrorists set off a nuke in indianapolis, indiana, and thousands of people were killed and they deal with how the government handles it. the problem is in the exercise they never talk about what th

bob woodward is the guest. we'll be right back. >> larry: there's no slow news day anymore. >> leon panetta is quoted as saying this is a crazy kind of war. >> larry: it's a crazy kind of world. >> it's a crazy kind of world. exactly. >> we all know and you all know this when we were at the white house recently, obama walks into the room with a stride, a very self-confident guy. what does he worry about? >> he told me that. he just kind of volunteered. he said my number one worry, the thing i'm worried about is terrorists setting off a nuclear weapon in an american city. and that would be a game changer. turns out at this time last spring they conducted a secret exercise in the white house called the continuity of operation exercise. what would they do in the government if this happened. and in the exercise scenario, terrorists set off a nuke in indianapolis, indiana, and thousands of people were killed. and they deal with how the government handles it. the problem is in the exercise they never talk about what

my meineke. >> larry: we're back with bob woodward. we'll hear more from his interview with the president, the audio, of course. what -- how do you win this war? there's no mission accomplished, is there? how do you win? >> the secret orders, which are published in the back of the book here, that the president issued to everyone after he'd made his strategy decision at the end of last year, say they're four risks, four things we have to look at. one is afghan governance. president karzai. now, in one of the meetings, general petraeus says the karzai government is, quote, a criminal syndicate. now, that's your partner, a criminal syndicate. how do you make that better? this is in the news every day. then there's the second risk is the afghan security force. the police and the army. and this is our way out. we have to train them and equip them so we can get out. >> you got to do it but try not to get killed while you're doing it. >> and as one of the people says the attrition rate is so great, it's like pouring water in a bucket with the

bob woodward casts a new light on james jones but the whole afghan war debate. are his unnamed sources pushing their own agendas and why is woodward promoting the hillary for v.p. rumor? >>> lou dobbs accused of employing illegal immigrants and rick sanchez finally apologizes for the words that got him fired. >>> should a nevada reporter have published a secretly recorded tape of senate candidate sharron angle? >>> tired of hearing about the salahis? this author says the media got much of the story wrong about the white house party crashers. i'm howard kurtz and this is "reliable sources." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> the debate over afghanistan has been pretty well covered by the media, at least when it hasn't been crowded out by attack ads, witch craft and quarterbacks behaving badly. president obama's handing of the 9-year-old conflict and his decision to dispatch more troops has been making headlines again thanks to one behind the scenes account. >> a new book causing a stir today, obama's wars by bob woodward who spent almost two years talking

this is charlie rose. >> rose: bob woodward is here. he is considered one of the preeminent journalists and successful authors of our time. listen to this list: all the president's men with carl bernstein. the final days with carl bernstein. the brethren with scott armstrong. wired, the short life and fast times of john belushi. veil, the secret wars of the c.i.a. 1981-1987. the commanders. the agenda inside the clinton white house. the choice. shadow, five presidents and the legacy of watergate. maestro, greenspan's fed and the american boom. bush at war. plan of attack. the secret man with a reporter's assessment by carl bernstein. state of denial. the war win, a secret white house history 2006-2008. now there is his most recent book, it's called "obama's wars." his focus is the conflict in afghanistan. it gives new details in how president obama decided upon a troop surge and the division within his administration over that decision. for the book, woodward talked to more than 100 people and reviewed many more documents. i am very ple

that's a tough charge, bob woodward. he's saying i want to reduce the number of troops. but is he also saying, i want to do a little bit of nation building for the next couple of years. >> well, there's nation building in the strategy of win hearts in minds and protect the people and at the same time he's made it very clear, if you look at and you talk to him about this, as i have, he never uses the word, counterinsurgency, which is really the core of the strategy. and you can see that he's a doubter. he gets into the details here. and the whole theory of the case that he's presented to the generals in the national security team is, okay, you go in to an area, a platoon or a company of our soldiers, you clear out the insurgents, you hold the area, you build the schools, you kind of nation-build a little bit and then you have to transfer to the afghans and you look at this, and there are almost no areas of the country where this can be done now. so we're not -- the military is not even on the edge of implementing his theory of the case. >> does the president have somethin

obams wa, bob woodward thank you. pleasure to have you on the program. bob woodward for the hour. thank you for joining us. see you next time. >> rose: on the next charlie rose, stewart levy, the man at the treasury department responsible for making sanctions effective. >> i think the key thing to look at the economy, the isolation to the financial system is very significant and it has an effect on lots of different aspects... >> rose: you mean they can't get credit, they can't get working partners, they can't get a whole lot of stuff. >> they can't donor mall transactions and while they may be able to obtain... they may be able to do certain transactions of cash in the informal financial system, they can't run an economy like that. they're unable to attract investment, especially in their oil and gas industry. this has been... that effect has been accelerated by the sanctions over the summer both by the u.n. then by the e.u. which has forbidden new investment in iran's energy sector and by unilateral sanctions from the united states congress which has imposed the possibility of s

or is it bob woodward daydreaming? sure i'd like to diversify my workforce, i just wish that all of the important information was gathered together in one place. [ printer whirs ] done. ♪ thanks. do you work here? not yet. from tax info to debunking myths, the field guide to evolving your workforce has everything you need. download it now at thinkbeyondthelabel.com. >>> welcome back. the most politics in the morning now at 28 minutes past the hour. was the dream ticket that never came to be, but the buzz is building that secretary of state hillary clinton could become president obama's running mate in two years. >> our ed henry is live at the white house. and certainly it's a lot of fun to speculate about things like this. even with two years until the election. where is all this really coming from? >> well, it's coming from bob woodward. and he just wrote this book "obama's wars" and obviously has a strong track record in terms of his reporting. and he's got this book out that basically the obama administration has

. >> rose: bob woodward for the hour. next. captioning sponsored by rose communications from washing d.c. this is charlie rose. >> rose: bob woodward is here. he is considered one of the preeminent journalists and successful authors of our time. listen to this list: all the president's men with carl bernstein. the final days with carl bernstein. the brethren with scott armstrong. wired, the short life and fast times of john belushi. veil, the secret wars of the c.i.a. 1981-1987. the commanders. the agenda inside the clinton white house. the choice. shadow, five presidents and the legacy of watergate. maestro, greenspan's fed and the american boom. bush at war. plan of attack. the secret man with a reporter's assessment by carl bernstein. state of denial. the war win, a secret white house history 2006-2008. now there is his most recent book, it's called "obama's wars." his focus is the conflict in afghanistan. it gives new details in how president obama decided upon a troop surge and the division within his administration over t

bob woodward knows hillary clinton ambition and bob woodward's investigative skills. >>> and democratic nominee for senate in florida, kendrick meek has just finished debating two opponents. that gives him tonight's last word. >>> and i'll apologize to michael steele for something i said last night. it's tonight's rewrite many. to be a leader in this company. [ william ] after a couple of months, i was promoted to department manager. like, wow, really? me? a year later, i was promoted again. walmart even gave me a grant for my education. recently, he told me he turned down a job at one of the biggest banks in the country. this is where i want to be. i fully expect william will be my boss one day. my name is william and i work at walmart. ♪ the spotlight tonight, the 2012 presidential election. no, it's not too early. not when bob woodward tells us that joe biden might not be invited back on the ticket with barack obama. the president might ask him to switch jobs with -- you guessed it -- >> it's on the table. and some of hillary clinton's advisers see it as a real possibility in 2012.

bob woodward knows hillary clinton ambition and bob woodward's investigative skills. >>> and democratic nominee for senate in florida, kendrick meek has just finished debating two opponents. that gives him tonight's last word. >>> and i'll apologize to michael steele for something i said last night. it's tonight's rewrite.>>> in ♪ bingo. [ tires screech ] ♪ ♪ bang. [ male announcer ] that's right. we put a turbo in a sport cross. the all new nissan juke. innovation for success. innovation for all. [ male announcer ] what if clean sheet day became clean sheet week? new ultra downy april fresh has scent pearls that give you a whole week of freshness with just one wash. ♪ and from day 1 to day 7, ultra downy april fresh lets you climb in to more freshness than this other fabric softener. so why settle? get more. feel more. going great, babs. made it really easy for customers to manage their car insurance policy online. well, you know that's why we have 24/7 support, so customers can call us anytime. [ in a robotic voice ] does not compute. error. [ all ] error. error. error. malfun

bob woodward was on the program yesterday. as they shoot this down at the white house and at the state department, there are still some hillary people that say, wait, stay tuned for 2016. where are we going here? >> let me just start here. i know that bob woodward has never had to issue a correction in "the washington post," according to my "washington post" editor, so, you know, when bob woodward speaks, there's usually something there. of course they're going to deny it. i mean, secretary clinton can't actually start asking for the job that the vice president currently holds and the white house is going to deny it for the same reasons, but i think there's a lot of appeal there across the board, you know, there are a lot of people out there with buyers remorse, and apparently among democrats themselves. >> you know, i hear all this, it is inevitable there's going to be chatter. every possible permutation of tickets is going to be talked about, when president obama's numbers are sagging as they are now. but here's a prediction

the title of bob woodward's book is "obama's wars." but it raises the question, does obama have united command? that's the big question raised again this week. is he in charge? are they all together, including the vice president, on the fighting of this war? >> wl, he's definitely in charge. but within obama, i think he's of two minds. intellectually he realize the war in afghanistan, the secret war in pakistan, which is the center of all of this, is not going well. at the same time, he's the boss, he's the commaer in chief, so he decided to send more troops, so the war continues. but there is so much unsettled. secretary gates, who's the key here, is leaving. he has one foot out the door. who replaces him? that's probably one of the key decisions -- there are 10, if you want to go through a list. chris: in your book you say the secretary oftate hillary clinton joining with secretary gates to hold over the republican secretary of defense against vice president biden's position, thereby narrowinghe president's options. exain. >> well, y

the title of bob woodward's book is "obama's wars." but it raises the question, does obama have united command? that's the big question raised again this week. is he in charge? are they all together, including the vice president, on the fighting of this war? >> well, he's definitely in charge. but within obama, i think he's of two minds. intellectually he realizes the war in afghanistan, the secret war in pakistan, which is the center of all of this, is not going well. at the same time, he's the boss, he's the commander in chief, so he decided to send more troops, so the war continues. but there is so much unsettled. secretary gates, who's the key here, is leaving. he has one foot out the door. who replaces him? that's probably one of the key decisions -- there are 10, if you want to go through a list. chris: in your book you say the secretary of state hillary clinton joining with secretary gates to hold over the republican secretary of defense against vice president biden's position, thereby narrowing the president's options. explain.

a lot more to go, including a conversation with bob woodward. he's just written a new book about "obama's wars." and also his thoughts, obama/clinton 2012, really? that's in a minute. then we'll talk to eliot spitzer about the new program at 8:00 tonight. their take on the "i'm not a witch" ad in the delaware senate race. and bill maher is back with us. last night we talked about christine o'donnell and glenn beck. tonight, his take on the unhappy left wing. of the democratic party. because of one word, imagination and reality have merged. because of one word, a new generation-- a fifth generation-- of fighter aircraft has been born. because of one word, america's air dominance for the next forty years is assured. that one word... is how. >>> welcome back. let's check in with joe johns for the latest political news you need to know right now. >> at the white house this afternoon, president obama used an event focusing on community colleges to take a shot at republican tax cut plans. >> that's why i so strongly disagree with the economic plan tha

bob woodward. what does he know? we are reporting and talking about this as if it were fact, as if it were a fait accomplis and there is nothing there. the obama administration denied it. what other prove it is there other than the opinion of bob woodward and i don't think he is actually part of the process. it would be a challenge for republicans, though. host: why is that? caller: it would be a hard to get to be. hillary brings in the elements that obama does not have. and republicans right now car floundering in general. host: bob woodward will be on the program on friday at 8:30 a.m. eastern time so if you want to ask about his sources of this, go ahead. charlottesville, virginia. warren, independent line. caller: i think it would be absolutely a terrible idea. considering the fact that hillary clinton and her supporters strong arms obama to get into that position, me, myself, i am not a fan of the bushes any more than the clintons and to have three presidents and the white house is a completely bad idea. they wi

here is andrea talking to bob woodward about this yesterday. let's listen. >> if obama seeks re-election, as people expect him to, he could be in trouble, like he is now and need this support of the groups that hillary clinton did very well in the primary elections, bring her on the ticket and make biden secretary of state. they would all go out there and be delighted and happy and it might help obama politically. >> then bob woodward said this on cnn last night when asked if this topic had come up in all of his political conversations for his book. let's listen. >> it's on the table. and some of hillary clinton's advisers see it as a real possibility in 2012. >> let go to arianna huffington. have you anything hard on this, arianna, in huffington post? >> sam steiner, the white house correspondent, has been asking jay carney at joe biden's office, has been asking his sources at the white house and they all kind of guardedly deny it. his conclusion is this was actually a creation of bob woodward. there is no real reporting to back it up. in fact

here is andrea talking to bob woodward about this yesterday. let's listen. >> if obama seeks re-election, as people expect him to, he could be in trouble, like he is now and need this support of the groups that hillary clinton did very well in the primary elections, bring her on the ticket and make biden secretary of state. they would all go out there and be delighted and happy and it might help obama politically. >> then bob woodward said this on cnn last night when asked if this topic had come up in all of his political conversations for his book. let's listen. >> it's on the table. and some of hillary clinton's advisers see it as a real possibility in 2012. >> let go to arianna huffington. have you anything hard on this, arianna, in huffington post? >> sam steiner, the white house correspondent, has been asking jay carney at joe biden's office, has been asking his sources at the white house and they all kind of guardedly deny it. his conclusion is this was actually a creation of bob woodward. there is no real reporting to back it up. in fact

woodward won't have to deal with these stories. >> you'll have to be anybody who will talk to bob woodward. >> if i was going to do a dream team, i have two ideas i would think obama-obama, because i think michelle is fantastic. >> she would be president and he would be vice president? >> yes. >> mike bloomberg and a billionaire to be named later. i think we need a kind of third force in this country. once we get past november, the polarization and the sense of finger pointing and the partisan pickiness is going to -- >> the motion is the plu plutocrats -- >> in the system we have today because of the lock the two parties have on ballot access it would take somebody with a lot of money to try and get -- >> but what is a theory that somehow a third party president is going to be able to do more than any other president? i mean what makes you think that the right is going to accept bloomberg any any more than they would expect barack obama. >> there's such a debate because much of the country is the 20% on both sides. there's just a wide open terrain for somebody who's common sense person wh

>> i think bob woodward is an outstanding reporter. he ought to stick to reporting on wars and leave the inside the beltway political gossip to somebody else. hillary clinton is an outstanding secretary of state, one of the best we have ever had. joe biden is a phenomenal vice president, one of the best we have had. there is no way barack obama is going to throw joe biden overboard and make hillary vice president. it gets bob woodward some signs. >> he says it is on the table. who told you it is on the table? this is the reaction from the secretary of state? >> i think the vice president is doing a wonderful job. he is a great friend of mine. we work together closely. he is an expert on foreign policy, chaired the foreign relations committee in the senate for years and we have a great relationship and i have absolutely no interest and no reason for doing anything other than just dismissing these stories and moving on. there is no -- we have no time. we have so much to do. i think both of us are very happy doing what we are doing. >> ka

here is andrea talking to bob woodward about this yesterday. let's listen. >> obama seeks re-election, his people expect him to, he could be in trouble, like he is now and need this support of the groups that hillary clinton did very well in the primary elections, bring her on the ticket and make biden secretary of state. they would all go out there and be belighted and happy and it might help obama politically. >> then bob woodward said this on cnn last night when asked if this topic had come up in all of his political conversations for his book. let's listen. >> it's on the table. and some of hillary clinton's advisers see it as a real possibility in 2012. >> let go to arianna huffing ton. have you anything hard on this, arianna, in huffington post? >> sam steiner, the white house correspondent, has been asking jay carney at joe biden's office, has been asking his sources at the white house and they all kind of guardedly deny. his conclusion is this was actually a creation of bob woodward. there is no real reporting to back it up. in fact, if

>> reporter: upset with bob woodward as well. i'm reading his book and it looks like president obama and vice president biden have a good relationship. >> thank you for setting it up a straight for us. our own ed henry there at the white house. people who receive social security checks probably will not see an increase next year. for those of us who have lactose intolerance, let's raise a glass to cookies just out of the oven. to the morning bowl of cereal. and to lactaid® milk. easy to digest and with all the calcium and vitamin d of regular milk. [ female announcer ] lactaid®. the original lactose-free milk. sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi place around the corner. well, in that case, i better get back to these invoices... which i'll do right after making your favorite pancakes. you know what? i'm going to tidy up your side of the office. i can't hear you because i'm also making you a smoothie. [ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts

>> i think bob woodward is an outstanding reporter. he ought to stick to reporting on wars and leave the inside the beltway political gossip to somebody else. hillary clinton is an outstanding secretary of state, one of the best we have ever had. joe biden is a phenomenal vice preside president, one of the best we have had. there is no way barack obama is going to throw joe biden overboard and make hillary vice president. it gets bob woodward some signs. >> he says it is on the table. who told you it is on the table? this is the reaction from the secretary of state? >> i think the vice president is doing a wonderful job. he is a great friend of mine. we work together closely. he is an expert on foreign policy, chaired the foreign relations committee in the senate for years and we have a great relationship and i have absolutely no interest and no reason for doing anything other than just dismissing these stories and moving on. there is no -- we have no time. we have so much to do. i think both of us are very happy doing what we are doin

. >> secretary of state responding to recent comments by bob woodward that a job swap with the vice-president joe biden prior to the 2012 election is on the table at the white house. this rumor has been floating around for months, colby. >> but robert gibbs knocked it down pretty hard, the press secretary, this week. i suspect we will not find the principals talk about this, but friends of hillary, who probably have a good idea. that is where it will stay. i don't think they are close to talking seriously about this. >> what do you think, mark? >> when speculation like this, which is always speculation, starts, part since see the vice president as a liability, like with a dan quayle. but that is inside baseball, and a reflection more of the problems with presidential candidates, and that's what this reflects. i don't think it is real. i think it is washington kind of chatter. but if, in fact -- unemployment you announce today is 6%, obama is 61% approval, this is a hell of a ticket. >> this is the power of bob woodward. he repeats the idle chatter that has been going on for months, and sudden

. >> secretary of state responded to recent comments by bob woodward that a job swap with a vice president joe biden prior to the 2012 election is on the table at the white house. rumors have been floating around for months, colby. >> robert gibbs knocked down pretty hard -- press secretary -- this week. i suspect you will not find the principals talking about this, but you will have friends of hillary, who probably have a good idea. i don't think they are close to talking about this seriously. >> what do you think, mark? >> usually when this speculation, always idle speculation, starts, it is because the partisans see the vice-president as a liability -- in the case of dan quayle, for instance, in the 1992 ticket with george bush. it is a reflection more of the problems that the presidential candidate has. that is what this reflects. i don't think it is real. it is washington kind of chatter. but if, in fact, or 6% and obama was at 61 percent approval, it would be saying, "what a hell of a ticket." >> this is the tribute to the power of bob woodward. he repeats the idle chatter that has b

. >> secretary of state responding to recent comments by bob woodward that a job swap with the ce-president joe biden prior to the 2012 election is on the table at the white house. this rumor has been floating around for months, colby. >> but robert gibbs knocked it down pretty hard, the press secretary, this week. i suspect we will not find the principals talk about this, but friends of hillary, who probably have a good idea. that is where it will stay. i don't think they are close to talking seriously about this. >> what do you think, mark? >> when speculation like this, which is always speculation, starts, part since see the vice president as a liability, like with a dan quayle. but that is inside baseball, and a reflection more of the problems with presidential candidates, and that's what this reflects. i don't think it is real. i think it is washington kind of chatter. but if, in fact -- unempyment you announce today is 6%, obama is 61% approval, this is a hell of a ticket. >> this is the power of bob woodward. he repeats the idle chatter that has been going on for months, and suddenly

he repeats the idle chatter the -- has been -- a tribute to the power of the bob woodward. he repeats the idle chatter of the past month and suddenly it is serious. it could happen in two years, but at the moment, it is a reflection of obama's problems come not joe biden. >> but if you assume his problems continue and there is no rapid or strong recovery in the economy, and you go into 2012, and you are a republican, i will look at that and say, if you had that swap, that would be something to be worried about. her constituency is a constituency where obama is cratering, working-class democrats, reagan democrats who came home and are now wandering away again. i think it would be a good idea if you were a democrat. i am not talking about how it worked psychologically, but as a political issue, i think it would be good for them. >> let me go back to the 2010 elections. at the beginning of this broadcast, we showed christine o'donnell saying, i am not a witch, i am nothing you've heard. i am you. >> i am in a distinct minority, i think it is a good spot. given all the swirl ab

let's listen to bob woodward. >> it's on the table. and some of hillary clinton's advisers see it as a real possibility in 2012. president obama needs some of the women latinos, retirees, that she did so well with during the 2008 primaries. and so they switched jobs. and not out of the question. the other interesting question is -- hillary clinton could run in her own right in 2016. and be younger than ronald reagan when he was elected president. >> so there you have, bob woodward, probably the most respected reporter in the business right now, saying that some of hillary clinton's advisers, i guess you're not one of them, lynn? >> well i don't see any reason why hillary clinton would want to be, and i certainly don't think she should be number two. i think she should be number one. but i know that she is not planning and scheming for that right now. and she won't. she will do her job. she's working her tail off. she's going around the world. inspiring girls like she inspired them here. but she's out of the game here and she really is.

in bob woodward's book, he wrote that bob gates did not think don donilon would work out well. the secretary later told jones that donilon would be a disaster as obama's national security adviser. and as we see the president coming to the podium, let's listen to him make this announcement. you see he's flanked by both men. >> when i took office, i pledged to do whatever was required to protect the american people and restore american leadership in the world. over the past 20 months that's exactly what we've done. during this time i have relied every day on the advice and counsel of my national security adviser, general jim jones. when i talk to jim about taking this job shortly after the election, it was a difficult decision for him. he had just retired from the military, had a wide range of family obligations, but because of his patriotism, his dedication to keeping america safe, we were able to agree that he would serve, but he asked that he would serve for about two years. i am extraordinarily thankful that both he and his wife, diane, agreed to make that additional sacrific

bob woodward weighed in, noted the rumor yesterday. >> it's on the table. and if of hillary clinton's advisers see it as a real possibility in 2012, president obama needs some of the women, latinos, retirees that she did so well with during the 2008 primaries. hillary clinton could run in her own right in 2016 and be younger than ronald reagan when he was elected president. you talk to hillary clinton or advisers, and they say, no, no, there's never a political consideration here. and of course the answer is when you point out to them that her goes to europe, when she goes anywhere, is in part not just because she's secretary of state or because she was married to bill clinton, people see a potential future president in her. >> you won't be surprised to hear the white house flat out denies that any swap is in the works or even considered. last night david axelrod said, quote, there's absolutely nothing to it. the president is blessed to have a spectacular vice president and outstanding secretary of state. they're both doing great work and he wants to keep t

but it's not a bob woodward beat. it's not an access beat. to the extent you have interactions with the justices, it is quite often not on matters of substance and you even wonder sometimes whether even that level of access is something that might influence your coverage a little bit because you might not want to write something a little bit mean about somebody who has just had coffee with you. >> charlie: so at the end of the day, covering the court, what questions are unanswered for you? >> oh, i would love to -- they have a private conference in which they make the decisions. nobody, even their clerks, is allowed in there, and just to see how they go down the row by seniority first, and the chief justice sets out the facts of the case, and then in order of seniority going to the most junior justice they chime in, that would be -- even once, even in the most mundane case available, to be a fly on the wall there and just to get a sense of how they comport themselves would be fascinating. >> charlie: is there any evidence it's changed over th

if bob woodward says it, i guess you have to listen. but right now, not there. >> the ladies in red. they're here. >> you didn't get the memo. >> got it. >> got the tie. >> both of you look lovely. >> wow. >> thank you thanks very much. >>> he's the master mind of republican campaigning. now a group formed by karl rove is coming under fire for an irs investigation. story and details coming up. ♪ [ deb ] people don't just come to ge capital for money. they come to us for help. at ge capital, we've been financing taylor guitars for over eight years, helping them build a strong dealer network. bringing music to people... i like that. ♪ ♪ [ bob ] i didn't know you could play. i didn't either. ♪ >>> mark preston is monitoring some of the major stories move right now on the cnn political ticker. paul first. paul, what do you have? >> michelle obama, you see a lot of the president on the campaign trail helping out candidates. with four weeks to go, you'll see a lot of the first lady. put out a fundraising pitch to work for her husband

i'm going to read to you what bob woodward writes in his new book about this. this was in the book, "obama's wars." gates, referring to the secretary of defense robert gates felt that donilon did not understand the military or treat its senior leadership with sufficient respect. the secretary later told jones that he would be a disaster as obama's national security advis advisor. gates spoke about this. >> i have thoroughly enjoyed working with general jones. and i have and have had a very productive and very good working relationship with tom donilon contrary to what you may have read. and i look forward to continue working with him. >> a little awkward moment there given what bob woodward writes, gates thought donilon would be a disaster as the national security advisor. give us your perspective, david. >> well, wolf, i had the opportunity to work with tom donilon very closely back in the clinton years when he was chief of staff to the secretary of state, warren christopher. we travelled the world together, became friends. i must tell you, i came away from th

bob woodward of the "washington post" is perhaps the preeminent investigative journalist of our time, as well as a prolific best-selling author and editor. it was his reporting of the watergate scandal with carl bernstein that led to the resignation of president richard nixon in 1974, reporting that inspired a generation of american journalists. bill buzenberg is executive director of the center for public integrity, one of the most respected nonprofit investigative organizations in the nation. bill was formally at npr and american public media. so welce to you bh. >> thanks. >> let's start with the question at hand. just how serious is the crisis afflicting investigative journalism? bob? >> we're in a convulsion because the newspaper business specifically, but all media, i mean, to be candid, they aren't making money, and so the business model is dying or dead, and if we can't make money, no one's gonna pay our salary, no one is gonna have the courage to actually broadcast or report what we find out. we can write letters, or we can go on the internet, but as this kind of collective i

meanwhile, bob woodward's books are out a week. little by little, he's trying to boost sales in my mind. he's trying to get off another reason to buy the book and some intrigue in politic, why not? president obama and hillary clinton, a ticket that many thought was going to happen in 2008, could it be happening in 2012? >> it might. bob woodward promoting his book suggesting that, perhaps, bob and hillary would change spots. he said it's on the table and some of hillary clinton's advisors see it as a real possibility in 2012. could this idea possibly have come from joe biden himself when he was still out on the campaign trail? here's a little snippet, nashua before the election on hillary being vice president. >> hillary clinton is as qualified or more qualified than i am to be vice president of the united states of america. let's get that straight. she's a truly close personal friend. she is qualified to be president of the united states of america. she's easily qualified to be vice president of the united states of america and qu

woodward won't have to deal with these stories. >> you'll have to be anybody who will talk to bob woodward. >> if i was going to do a dream team, i have two ideas i would think obama-obama, because i think michelle is fantastic. >> she would be president and he would be vice president? >> yes. >> mike bloomberg and a billionaire to be named later. i think we need a kind of third force in this country. once we get past november, the polarization and the sense of finger pointing and the partisan pickiness is going to -- >> the motion is the plutocrats -- >> in the system we have today because of the lock the two parties have on ballot access it would take somebody with a lot of money to try and get -- >> but what is a theory that somehow a third party president is going to be able to do more than any other president? i mean what makes you think that the right is going to accept bloomberg any any more than they would expect barack obama. >> there's such a debate because much of the country is the 20% on both sides. there's just a wide open terrain for somebody who's common sense person who's

bob woodward is sitting down with me. he'll give us an inside look at the wars within the obama white house. and he's revealing the one thing that the president is most worried about. >>> also, he's a rising star in the republican party, with a shot at being the next president of the united states. just ahead, senator senator john thune weighs in on a potential run in 2012. >>> plus, they're the dit doctors that helped transform former president bill clinton in time for his daughter's wedding. you're going to meet him this hour. >>> we welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the "situation room." >>> in the last 20 months, rahm has exceeded all of my expectations. it's fair to say that we could not have accomplished what we've accomplished without rahm's leadership. >> president obama giving an emotional sendoff to his chief of staff rahm emanuel. mr. obama joked the east room event friday was the least suspenseful announcement of all time. emanuel is leaving to run for m