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00:00The do's and don'ts of a debate from a White House press secretary and CNN contributor Ari Fleischer.
00:05All right, David Gargan, let's start with you. Who has the most to gain tonight?
00:10Most to gain? I think Herman Cain. If he can take the punches tonight, if he can convince...
00:15Rick Perry needs to do tonight.
00:17Rick Perry needs to be aggressive, Rick Perry needs to be articulate, and he needs to go after Mitt Romney.
00:21Mitt Romney himself, your former guy.
00:24Well, look, I think ultimately these debates are...
00:28Better for him, David Gargan, the fact that he... I mean, he's done better. He's improved on that count, but
00:32he's still...
00:34Absolutely. It's not his thing.
00:35Absolutely. And I think Rick Perry has done him a favor.
00:38He's got to start building up his likability among American voters in general.
00:42The more he does that, the more I think that he becomes...
00:45He's come out very well on electability, which, I mean, I guess fundamentally is more important than likability,
00:51but you'd like it if the two went together.
00:53Well, it's like putting together a stew.
00:55There's going to be ideology that Republican voters vote on, likability.
00:59What about this whole issue of... I was bringing it up earlier.
01:01I thought the New York Times did a great New York Times magazine on the GOP,
01:03and the whole issue of the Tea Party.
01:04What is establishment GOP?
01:06Do you think that...
01:08How important is a Tea Party sign-on or endorsement for Mitt Romney at this point, Kevin?
01:13Well, look, I think the Tea Party is not what the puck is.
01:16I skate to where I think the puck's going to be.
01:18Well, ultimately, I think that's how you win campaigns, is that you try to build...
01:21He's the nephews with the Gretzky comment there.
01:23Keep the hockey going.
01:25Mitt Romney's also turned into a great goalie.
01:27Everybody keeps shooting.
01:28You're the front runner.
01:30Everybody's coming after you.
01:31My point is he's been able to rebut everybody, despite his vulnerabilities.
01:34That's to his credit.
01:35He needs to go after Kane.
01:36He's got to puncture the balloon of Kane.
01:39So if Kane starts going down, it's Romney and Perry.
01:42The longer it's Romney has both Perry and Kane in the race, the better off he is.
01:46So you've got to count on them to make that fight for you, and you concentrate on Romney.
01:52I wouldn't count on the other guy to make their fight.
01:54I just hope there's fights.
01:56Any fight will be for me.
01:58I like watching them.
01:58All right, thanks to all three.
01:59We really appreciate it.
02:00Three people who really know what's going on out there.
02:03Well, every year, as we said, more than 35 million people come here to Las Vegas.
02:06They bring in about $8 billion to the gaming tables.
02:09Tourism may surprise you, despite some harsh words for Republicans from the president.
02:14But with the GOP debate here in Las Vegas just a few minutes away, it's a safe bet that
02:19they'll be returning the favor.
02:20Roland Martin joins us now.
02:21CNN Politico.
02:22Well, Roland, you've just come into the conversation.
02:24So let me start with you.
02:25The president coming out swinging.
02:28Well, he should.
02:28And frankly, he hasn't taken aggressive action yet.
02:31That's the problem that he has.
02:33It's interesting, Kevin.
02:34He's still going after Congress.
02:35Congress, not yet specifically at any of the candidates who are here tonight.
02:39Still letting them fight amongst themselves.
02:41Well, the strategy is pretty obvious.
02:43I just said, hey, our popularity is at 8%.
02:44That's pretty good.
02:45I'm thinking, whoo.
02:46What's wrong with that 8%, right?
02:48Yeah.
02:48But I think the problem here is why it's a jarring mess.
02:51First of all, the first stimulus bill, you had jobs attached to that.
02:55So it's not like that.
02:56You didn't have any jobs in there.
02:57So there's a whole plan.
02:58That's a whole different issue.
02:59An unemployment benefit and a deterrence extension.
03:00I mean, I guess it's semantics in how you talk about it.
03:03I have to tell you what, I think right now he's just treading the water publicly.
03:07He said it could be big.
03:08They don't know yet.
03:09But the president's going to have to be right in the middle of that fight.
03:11And then he's going to have to work with Congress because he could potentially get a compromise.
03:15The demonstrations and that they're spreading.
03:18I think it's a legitimate set of conversations about inequality.
03:22And the trouble that he has, though, is that the economic team that he should have hired right now,
03:26when you had Volcker and when you had others who wanted to make substantive systemic changes to Wall Street
03:31to get rid of all the crap that we saw, and he chose not to go with them,
03:35but he chose to go with the team that's put him in a position.
03:38So how can he say, you know what, the first guys were right.
03:41I should have brought him.
03:42That's right.
03:42And that's his fault.
03:43I mean, he's the president of the United States.
03:44He can't blame anybody but himself.
03:45It all, you know, goes to the top.
03:47And then wound it.
03:48And that's why he's got to find something to turn around that can strengthen him again.
03:53He's not been able to find that.
03:54And they're testing various things right now.
03:55They have not simply, they have not been strong at going on the offensive with communications wise.
04:00We talk about it.
04:00As good as I am, I couldn't do it.
04:02I know what I can do.
04:03I'm not going to say that.
04:05Sorry, Kevin.
04:07All right.
04:07Thanks to all of you.
04:08Appreciate it.
04:09All right.
04:10We're just a few minutes away from the GOP debate.
04:12Wolf Blitzer and John Avalon are going to come out front next.
04:15To count us down, we're getting excited.
04:17The audio level is rising out here in Las Vegas.
04:20And we'll be back in a minute.
04:22All right.
04:23We are minutes away from tonight's debate.
04:24You can see the countdown clock that we'll put up.
04:27And you also can probably hear the protesters.
04:29They have been various people protesting these people.
04:32Obviously, Herman Cain has to prove that he's a plausible president.
04:35But I also think that Mitt Romney has to start romancing Republicans a little bit to get above that 25
04:42percent level.
04:43He's got to show them a little bit more.
04:47He has not been able to close that deal to date.
04:50I mean, that 25 percent ceiling he's got is a fascinating dynamic in this race.
04:54But I'm actually going to be looking for something different.
04:55Ideas that actually can help shape the debate.
04:57Because people here in Nevada, you've got nearly 14 percent unemployment.
05:00I think they should be sick of the kind of typical...
05:02A lot of plans that couldn't pass the Congress also.
05:05And when he became president, he kind of realized it.
05:08But I think people...
05:09I think we are at that point where it's time for specifics.
05:11It's time for ideas.
05:12It's not just the kind of play...
05:14It's hard.
05:14As someone who's moderated these Republican debate's philosophy that I did back in Tampa, you get...
05:19I thought one of the high points of all these debates was when you got them talking about what they
05:24would do if someone lost...
05:25Had no medical insurance and had a life-threatening situation and had to make that decision.
05:30Not to buy medical insurance.
05:32And then you mean, but there's an answer that's consistent with the policy.
05:35Right.
05:36And you put them in the position to have to ask to answer it.
05:38I think the audience was so interesting in that because you had somebody scream, you know, let him die.
05:44And then you had...
05:44The unequal treatment of women living in poverty isn't just a problem in Pakistan.
05:49For many in rich and poor countries, something as natural as having a baby is a death sentence.
05:54According to Amnesty International, more than 300,000 women die every year from childbirth.
05:59It's a shocking statistic and one that Christy Turlington Burns wants to change.
06:04She's the founder of the humanitarian group Every Mother Counts.
06:07And the director of the documentary No Woman, No Cry.
06:10Christy's an activist in jail that we just saw there in Karachi.
06:13That's something you've seen a lot of.
06:16Health isn't an...
06:17It's sort of optimal...
06:18You've been to a lot of places where this is true.
06:21Pakistan is just one place.
06:23You've been to Bangladesh, South America.
06:24You've been to Africa.
06:25Yes, this is a global problem.
06:27National, the same report that you just mentioned, they actually have us ranked as 50th.
06:31What are the top one or two reasons why women are dying in childbirth?
06:35Well, they bleed to death.
06:36Oftentimes, they live far away from a...
06:38She may die herself or are expelled childbirth related.
06:41Another is unsafe...
06:42A lot of people don't realize, I mean, the places like India and China where there's still
06:45such a preference to have boys over girls, there's such a demand for abortions.
06:50There are, I mean, more abortions, actually.
06:52In the U.S., because I think that when you said that we rank number 50, it will probably shock
06:56a lot of people watching.
06:57It might shock a lot of people of how few pregnant women have health care in this country.
07:02You have been talking about how pregnancy-related complications that nearly cause death, near
07:07misses in the U.S., are up 25% in the past 12 or so years.
07:11How is that possible?
07:13You're at risk as well.
07:15Diabetes.
07:16You are pushing a bill, the Maternal Health Act, which I know is in Congress, which is
07:19trying to get review of maternal care in America.
07:22You're in school, you're speaking at the U.N., you're doing all of these things.
07:25You're also a mom.
07:27How do you do all of those things?
07:29Who I am and who I've become over the years of experiencing good food.
07:33The Marathon, part of the goal there, to raise money for Every Mother Counts.
07:36What is the goal of that organization?
07:38Well, we're really an advocate for child health, but also we're trying to find new ways to
07:42issue, and I believe that everyone...