my kids are saying, you have great hair, keep it. they said, oh, no, dad, you have old man hair. it is what it is. thanks for having my back on this. thank you for being with us. we're going to continue to follow the latest on the news including the latest on president carter. last time he checked, the staff is saying he's going to spend the night in hospital for observation. looking for you tonight at 8:00 p.m. on the primetime edition of "rick's list." here now, "the situation room" with wolf blitzer. president obama trying to win over voters with a list in his pocket. the reason he's still trying to explain his christian beliefs. the health of america's kids caught in a food fight right now. will michelle obama win at the expense of fellow democrats and

advocates for the poor. and the evidence against u.s. soldiers accused of murder. it's threatening to explode worldwide and the pentagon may be scrambling down to avoid an international embarrassment. we're following up on the shocking allegations that troops in afghanistan killed for sport. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room. up first this hour, this coming in to the situation room, republicans going to extraordinary new links to try to play the ethics card against democrats with five weeks to go before the congressional election, the gop members of the house ethics committee are standing together and speaking out about the charges of charlie ran gal and maxine waters. let's go to dana bash to find out what's going on. what is going on. >> something that's going on is really, really rare, wolf.

deliberations that are normally going on in secret and tend to go on in a bipartisan way in the ethics committee have spilled to the open and specifically differences in the house ethics committee spilled to the open. republicans released this statement. all five blasting the democratic chairwoman sow lofgren for what they say is stalling for whether or not to set a trial for two democratic congress before the election. the congressman is charlie rangel and maxine waters. members of the committee have expressed a willingness to do whatever it takes, have a chile even when congress is in recess. but they say she's dragging her heels on it. she's on a plane returning from her home state of california. we won't hear from her for at least an hour. but a democratic aide i spoke to

familiar with the deliberations insisted this is a partisan move by republicans, insists that lofgren is delayed because she's been trying to work with republicans behind the scenes to try to find out the best date for a trial. rangel and waters neither said the congresswoman would have any comment. they said publicly, they want to get on with it. they want to trials to happen soon before the election. as you know, wolf, for democrats in general, the leadership, everybody on the ballot this year, the last thing they want is to have a public trial with two high profile democratic figures on ethics charges and violations before the voters go to the polls. >> bigger national issue than it is for these two members of congress, neither one of them has a problem getting re-elected to. the pentagon now. pentagon has new marching orders trying to control military

spending. you might think senators might embrace the attempt to spend the taxpayers' money more wisely. today, tough questions are being raised about whether the troops will benefit or suffer. our pentagon correspondent barbara starr is joining us with more. barbara, some members of the senate armed services committee are suggesting they need more information. >> oh, absolutely, wolf. defense secretary robert gates is one of the more popular cabinet members on capitol hill. you would think that both democrats and republicans would embrace his plan to cut defense spending. on capitol hill today, it erupted over a technical issue over closing down something called the joint forces command. that's a part of the military that helps everybody to try to work together. they have headquarters in norfolk, virginia. and democratic senator jim webb worried about job cuts, let the pentagon officials have it right between the eyes. have a listen. >> we did not have access, we didn't have an opportunity to provide input.

in fact, on august 9, secretary lind, you called me 15 minutes before this decision was publicly announced. that's not the way to conduct a review. that has enormous implications to our defense and the community interest. it's called stiff arming. >> i appreciate you feel we have not shared as much information as you would like. the core issue is a disagreement on the reck men dapgs. this was not a business case analysis as some have described it. this is a military decision. >> there are no decisions of this magnitude that are military decisions. not in the united states. >> very unusual to see this level of tension erupt between pentagon officials. that was the number two man in

the pentagon, bill lynn, and democrats especially on capitol hill. earlier today, some congressional leaders were even over here at the pentagon to discuss all of this. this is a real indication to detect what a tough time bill gates may have in his administration in the pentagon of convincing democrats and republicans that they must cut defense spending even in this time of war. >> the virginia senator is sensitive to the enormous number of jobs that are going to be lost in virginia if the recommendations go forward, is that right? >> oh, absolutely. it could number in the thousands. and this could be just one part of the job cuts that may be coming both in the pentagon bureaucracy and in defense contracting if secretary gates gets in the way. that's the members of congress want to be seen as consulting unneeded, unwanted defense

spending. they don't want to have anything else with anybody losing their jobs. >> with his own poll numbers sliding, the president is looking for new ways to prove himself to the own members of his party. let's bring in dan lothian. there's a sort of scorecard out there what the president has achieved and what he hasn't. >> campaign promises are easier to make than keep. he told reporters out on the campaign tram. and he claims he's ahead of the game. >> small businesses got a helping hand from the white house on monday as president obama sign add jobs bill and crossed another accomplishment off of his to-do list. >> going to speed relief to small businesses across this country right away. >> the president's pockets are yim. that's where he tells rolling

stone magazine he keeps, quote, a checklist of the promises i made in the campaign. and grading himself, halfway through the first term and we've probably accomplished 70% of the things that we said we were going to do. with no access to his personal list, cnn focused on some key promises to determine whether they had been kept or broken. immigration reform -- >> we have to solve it. >> candidate obama was swept in to office in part with the support of the latino groups banking on his immigration reform pledge. nothing yet. in an intimate outdoor discussion, he blamed the republicans. >> i can't get any of them to cooperate. i don't have 60 democrat grs ine senate. >> closing the guantanamo bay facility. reversing the don't ask don't tell. and allowing import of prescription drugs. but there are promises kept.

>> we're ready to play offense on universal health care. >> president obama told voters he would fight on health care reform. it lacks the option he endorsed and is strongly controversial but the bill passed. he promised to wind down the war in iraq and remove combat troops and the president said he would make a speech to the muslim world as part of the effort to polish the message abroad. he delivered the remarks in cairo, egypt. >> the president promised to repair the economy, create jobs. but his critics believe he's fallen short. the white house saying the stimulus have kept the economy from falling off of a cliff. one other point that the president on the campaign trail talked a lot about changing the way that washington works. he talked about the spirit of bipartisanship. washington remains divided. the president said the reason for that is that republicans are setting up roadblocks and obstructing, wolf.

>> it seems to be more divided right now. thanks very much. we learn add little while ago that president obama made a phone call to jimmy carter. the former president sounded like, and i'm quoting now, he sounded like he was doing great. he was take on the the hospital after complaining of an upset stomach. he flew to cleveland to sign copies of his new book at a bookstore. we're told he's resting comfortably. still under observation. plans to get back to the book tour tomorrow with a stop here in washington. we wish him only the best and a speedy recovery from whatever it feels. he made long trips including to north korea to secure the release from a u.s. citizen that was held captive there. president obama was hit with a familiar but sensitive question about his religious beliefs. is he still trying to convince americans he's a christian, not a muslim. stand by to hear his remarks. >> dozens, perhaps hundreds trap

in a landslide that struck in the dark of night. and you'll want to hear the story of why pop singer gloria estefan had to climb through a window at a football game. [ wind howling ]

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the 2012 presidential race. a new poll suggests president obama could lose -- unless he runs against sarah palin. the politico george washington university battleground poll shows a majority of americans are considering voting against president obama. 44% of those surveyed said they will vote to replace mr. obama. 13% say they will consider-elec. that ain't enough to win the voters are down on the president for a lot of reasons. but especially his policies. by double digits, they dis approve of his health care law. they trust congressional republicans to create jobs more than they trust mr. obama. this is despite the fact that a majority of voters like president obama personally. mr. obama's best hope of winning a second term may be alaska's drop out governor, sarah palin. if the election were held today, voters say they would back the president over palin by nine

points. support for palin is weak in the northwest, the northeast, and 60% of the voters say her acts quitting the job as governor made her less likely to vote for her for president. women voters are negative. 54% have an unfavable view of her. no other republicans test in this poll had such high negatives among women. not likely that the republican party would be dumb enough to nominate palin after what she did to john mccain's run for the white house. but when it comes to politics, nothing should be surprising to us anymore. if it happened, just imagine, if the woman who helped bring down john mccain's campaign would help to re-elect the democratic sitting president. go figure. here's the question -- if president obama runs against sarah palin in 2012, who are you going to vote for? go to cnn.com/cafferty file and post the comment on my blog. that would be the mother of all ironies, wouldn't it? >> a cautionary note. i was speaking recently as

someone who worked for jimmy carter back in 1980 when they were celebrating the ronald reagan, an actor from hollywood, is going to get the republican presidential nomination. they were high fiving each other. but guess who won that contest? >> if sarah palin is the next president, wolf, i will eat this building i'm talking to you from one brick at a time. >> don't say that, jack, you never know. politics -- >> the whole time warnern center. >> don't say that. that tape -- it's stuck there forever. we have that. jack cafferty. thank you. president obama today revisited questions about his faith that could haunt him in 2012 at an event in new mexico. a woman asked mr. obama this direct question -- why are you a christian? here's what he said. >> i'm a christian by choice. my family didn't -- frankly,

they weren't folks who went to church every -- every week. my mother is one of the most spiritual women i knew, but she didn't raise me in the church. so i came to my christian faith later in life. and it was because the -- the preceps of jesus christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that i would want to lead. being my brothers and sisters' keeper, treating others as they would treat me. and also understanding that jesus christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility we all have to have as human beings. we're sinful, flawed, we make

mistakes, and that we achieve salvation through the grace of god. but what we can do as flawed as we are, is still see god in other people and do our best to -- to help them find their own grace. and, so, that's -- that's what i strive to do. >> a lot of people mistakenly believe the president is a muslim. only a third of america correctly identified mr. obama as a christian. we're going to have more on this story later this hour. let's go to connecticut right now where a tightening senate battle could contribute to a major power shift in washington in november. to cnn's mary snow working the story for us. getting closer to the contest in

connecticut, is that right? >> this is -- this is a state that democrats outnumbers republicans months ago. rich blumenthal had a lead over newcomer linda mcmahon. a new poll out today suggests it's too close to call and anger at the government is one reason why. >> gained fame and fortune in the form of wrestling. now lindamacman is going to give a blow to the democrats in the blue state. mcmahon has chipped away at what once was a wide lead held by democrat richard blumenthal, a popular attorney general seen by many as a shoe-in. a new quinnipiac poll shows blumenthal leading 49% to 46%. quinnipiac's polling director says independents are making the difference. >> an anti-government feeling that connecticut voters have a strong majority are dissatisfied with the way the federal

government is working. a third say he's angry that they're winning those voters. >> mcmahon spent millions to portray herself as a washington outsider. she could wind up spending $50 million on the campaign. >> how can he fight the special interest ifs they're paying for his campaign. >> blumenthal has taken off the gloves. >> more false attacks from linda mcmahon's $50 million campaign. >> sick. >> sick. >> sick of her ad. >> it circulated an internal poll showing their candidate with a 12-point edge. but judging by the campaign schedule, they're taking nothing for granted. bill clinton has campaigned with blumenthal, and so has president obama. while democrats fight back, they highlight the wrestling past which has caused unease. the latest quinnipiac poll shows she's trailing among women, clearly her ads are aimed at softening her image. >> if someone needed help she'd be there in a minute and not

think anything of it. >> with five minutes to go, nathan gonzalez of the nonpartisan report still sees democrats favored. he says connecticut is a pivotal race, a must-win for democrats and republican ifs they want to win the majority. >> if linda mcmahon is elected to the senate, then they'll be in the majority because there are other republican candidates across the country that have less baggage that are more likely to win than she is. >> wolf, this latest poll out today suggests that 9% of voters could change their mind in what could prove crucial in determining the outcome three debates that are coming up in october. wolf? >> we'll watch closely. connecticut, thank you very much. watching all of the senate races between now and november 2. >> we're monitoring some other top stories, including the death of a top al qaeda leader in pakistan. we'll tell you who it is. plus, a new hope in the ongoing middle east struggle. new information coming in to

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some potential hope for ongoing middle east talks that many feared would be over. netanyahu will be meeting with mahmoud abass in paris next month. abbas is worried about negotiations following the decision to end the ten-month moratorium on settlement construction in the west bank. palestinian officials previously said the move would end discussions between the two sides. democrats' hopes to bring a controversial job's outsourcing bill to the senate floor had been dashed by republicans. the bill which fell seven votes short of pass ing passing would ended tax breaks for companies overseas. some admit it's an attempt to use outsourcing ahead of the november midterm elections. dramatic scene involving pop star gloria estefan. you're watching her climb out of her suite window at sunday's miami dolphins game. she got lock in the room and not

even firefighters could get it open. estefan was scheduled to introduce enrique iglesias at halftime. she took off her heels and climbed out the window in the adjoining suite to get out. good thing she's not afraid of heights there. >> dangerous too. i wouldn't do that. president obama could be days away from losing his right hand man. what they know about rahm emmanuel's plans and who the president may tap as the next white house chief of staff. and it rained mud while they slept. we're following the unfolding landslide disaster. dozens, maybe hundreds of people may be trapped right now. ah. ah! ah! whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what is that? how come my dap wasn't like that? huh? it's just an "us" thing. yeah, it's a little something we do. who else is in this so-called "us"? man, i don't know. there's a lot of us. [ chuckles ] ask your friends what it's like to be part of a group that's 40 million strong. state farm insures more drivers than geico and progressive combined.

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president obama may be losing his chief of staff sooner than a lot of people thought. rahm emmanuel was all but certain to run as mayor of chicago. an announcement is expected friday. that would leave mr. obama on the hunt for someone to run the show at the white house.

let's bring in the best political minds including chief national correspondent john king, the host of john king, usa. and gloria borger and our senior white house correspondent, ed henry. if he leaves by friday, that's soon. who replaces him? >> in the short term, you're likely to see pete rouse, a behind-the-scenes player. has the president's trust. he was the chief of staff. the big question is long term, what do you do? love him or hate him, rahm emmanuel is unique and a hard person to replace. he had the white house piece from the clinton days. he had the congressional piece. he worked the media. he knew how to get the message out. not a lot of people can do that. three big factors, the election, a lot of people around town saying the democrats do take a drumming, you need a shrewd bipartisan figure. erskine bowles did that for bill clinton. the second big issue is the president's level. get a brawler in there, take the

republicans on. the problem is this is not someone in the obama inner circle. does he have a comfort level. other shuffling going around. jim jones likely to leave his national security advisor. tom donnell is not going to be the chief of staff, even though he's talked about it. there's a lot that has to happen. in the short term, they're going to have pete rouse be the brains. >> you could have, i'm told, a many as half a dozen major retirements after this election. >> retirements from what? >> retirements from the senate, you have to take -- >> forced retirements. >> forced retirements. but someone like chris dodd, byron dorgen meeting. if chris jones leave, does tom donland go over there? >> there's a tough calculation. where the white house has made mistakes is they're too insular. the more ips lar than we were in

the clinton days. go outside, pick somebody new. yet, this is a president that's going to make a choice. the republicans are going to gain seats. we know that. how many are they going to control? we don't know. he has to deal with a more conservative congress as he gears up. the chief of staff is the gate, the bridge between both worlds, dealing with the congress, getting ready for the campaign. that's a very different skill set. you need talented, political personal. >> or you could have a combo platter. you could have somebody from the outside be the chief of staff and have a deputy chief of staff who is somebody -- who is very close to this -- >> he's more of a political strategist. >> ran the campaign very organized, focused, bring him to the white house. but, again, everybody i talked to said comfort level, comfort level. >> you remember, we were both there at the white house. the first two years of the clinton administration, the first year whenmac mcclarity was the white house chief of staff and leon panetta was brought in from the office of management

and budget to replace hip. that caused quite a shift. >> that point they said nice guy, the president's trust, doesn't know a hell of a lot about washington. get someone to go to capitol hill and negotiate. that was part of leon panetta. that worked but more so after the midterm election campaign when the president had no choice but to deal with newt gipg rich, to deal with the republican senate. they negotiated the balanced budget agreement, welfare reform. many would say president clinton, it was a better presidency for him politically left him in great standing to run for re-election. why doesn't this president view the post election dynamics. >> bring in someone like a leon panetta or a erskine -- >> they don't want to do it again. stay away. this is a back-breaking job. we talk about the hours we put in. it's nothing compared to the chief of staff. rahm emmanuel is known for getting up at 4:00, working out, getting to the white house at 5:30, 6:00 a.m., you're there 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, you work seven days a week. we talk about the political

stories. immigration reform, health care reform. they're dealing with potential terror attacks, getting calls at 2:00 a.m. about national security. people like leon panetta who've done it before do not want to come back. he might be recruited. >> no. >> someone like pete rouse is behind the scenes, he's not likely to go on "the situation room" or "john king usa" and push the message because he's not media guy. some talk why not split it up and have pete rouse stay on full time and be the chief of staff. >> with david pluff. >> and robert gibbs is likely to leave press secretary and become a senior advisor. take david axelrod's role next year. >> he could go out and do the message. >> it depends on the political environment. i don't think this is a decision that the president is going to make until he see what is the terrain is postelection. what if the white house surprised us and brought someone who is a moderate republican.

>> not going to bet on that. mark warner doesn't love the senate that much. he's a governor. he's a democrat. i talked to people close to mark warner who say, no, john podesta say absolutely, no. what do you do when it's the united states or the other end of the phone. he's calling you, what do you do then? >> it's hard to say no to the president of the united states, any president of the united states. thanks very much. good discussion. stand by for a check of our top stories, including a terrifying land slide and a search for as many as 1,000 people who may be trapped right now. before rogaine, my solution to the problem was to go ahead

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mop toring some of the other stories in the situation room right now. what's going on? wolf, rescuers have recovered seven bodies and confirm more than 100 missing in the massive mud slide in southern mexico. the hill went barreling over hundreds of homes leaving many of them buried. up to 1,000 people could be trapped. heavy rain brought on by matthew has been pounding the region for the last two weeks. more rain is expected tomorrow. >> the late senator, ted stevens, has been laid to rest

at arlington national cemetery. the 86-year-old decorated world war ii veteran was killed along with four others in an august plane crash. he was the longest serving republican in u.s. senate history. the steering failures in the pop yue yar mini cooper vehicle. some claim they lost power steering assistance or had trouble controlling the car. the problem could involve 80,0002004 and 2005 models. bmw which owns mini says it's aware of the investigation but not yet received form formal notification. the von trap family is returning to television. the cast will reunite for the fist time in 45 years on "the oprah winfrey show" next month. julie andrews, christopher plumber, and others are expected to reveal the behind the scenes dirt from the making of the film and discuss what they're doing now. in the interest of full

disclosure, i know pretty much all of the words to pretty much all of the songs. >> to one of the songs? >> not on air. >> sure? >> positive. >> we'll get that later. what prompted gop icon rush limbaugh to start calling the president, i'm quoting him now, imam obama. and putting democrats on notice. why he could stand in the way of the the agenda.

it was because the precepts

of jesus christ spoke to me. because of the life i wanted to lead. >> we couldn't hear what the president was saying. i'd like to replay the clip as we're getting it ready. the christian belief earlier today. i want to bring in the strategy session. two political contributors, donna brazile and mary matalin. i want to discuss what the president said and some of perspective of what's going on right now. listen to this. >> i came to my question of faith later in life. it was because the -- the p precepts of jesus christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life i would want to leave. >> do you have any doubts about the president's sincerity in being a christian? >> no, and he further said, which we didn't play, it's

beautiful, that we get our salvation through god's grace. and part of christianity is helping others find that grace and you talk about loving your neighbors, you love yourself. i'm paraphrasing, it was quite beautiful and quite striking, however, to what we had heard from previously during the campaign from his pulpit. so it's -- i wish he would -- many americans wish he would talk more often and as eloquently about his faith. >> i -- i raise the questions because rush limbaugh, among others, has been, i guess, saying things about the president that the -- that the president clearly doesn't like. i want to play two clips for you, donna. what rush limbaugh said on august 19 on his hugely popular radio program, and what he said today. >> if it was okay and even laudatory to call bill clinton america's first black president, why can't we call imam obama america's mfirst muslim president?

>> george soros is playing a clip today. and he's succeeding at it because he's bought the democratic party and barack hussein imam obama. >> all right, go ahead, donna. react when you hear -- when you hear rush limbaugh calling the president not just barack hussein obama, but barack hussein imam obama. >> i'm not going to react to rush limbaugh. i think the reason why rush limbaugh says those things is because he knows that the main stream media and others will salivate and want to discuss it. but i want to talk about president obama's faith. because as president of the united states, he's given six public speeches on the role of faith and public life. the first easter prayer breakfast at the white house with christian leaders to talk about his own love of jesus. he's a christian. he prays without ceasing. and i think for people to question his faith, question his religious values, it's just another personal attack on the

president of the united states of america. so i'm appalled at those comments. but you know what? in this polluted volatile political season, unfortunately, those kind of comments like mr. limbaugh and others will always attract media attention. it's a sad statement about where we are today. >> are you as appalled as donna is, mary? >> i remember being on john king's show. from the very first week of the obama administration, the democrats have been trying to demonize rush limbaugh. and they succeeded in only driving people to his show where they find out he's not hateful, he's not angry. he's a common sense conservative and he's a wickedly brilliant satirist. and when they take this -- this humor-impaired grassy knoller approach to rush limbaugh, they -- they make themselves look bad. he was calling it making those imam remarks in satire in response to obama's support for what was then the ground zero mosque. and within three days of that,

the main stream press was blaming rush limbaugh for the doubling of americans who are confused about the president's religion. that's not rush limbaugh's issue. donna, if he gave six speeches, there's the six that people didn't hear. you cannot blame one radio show for the confusion of a third of america. >> now, mary, look, the simple truth is in a pew study, they played the media, blame the media for 60% of the american people not knowing president obama's faith. i try not to demonize people. i want to know what people are saying, not what they're reacting to, what they're saying. i try not to react to everything that comes out of rush limbaugh's mouth or sarah palin's tweet, i believe it'ser relevant. we have to create jobs, create the opportunities for the american people, get our debt in order and begin to figure out what we're going to do about the future. the more we talk about the so-called, you know, satirists is less time we talk about what we can do as americans to create the kind of future our children

deserve. >> you want to respond here? >> let me agree with donna. >> yes, i do. she's right and she's almost singular in her resistance to following the demonizing tactics. so i want to exclude present company on that. and say, again, that she is right about what people are concerned about. when you're filling as much air time as much of the media have to and as much print as they have to, you get to extraneous conversations. but whether or not anybody is going to cast their vote based on anything other than what donna just said i think is remote. so, donna, i agree with you and you are among the very few of your brethren that doesn't demonize. >> i live my faith. i want to tell you something, mary, there's a verse in the bible that i live by, john 8, he or she without sin cast the first stone. i'm a sinner. that's why i stay at my church. and i hope people will not demonizing and maligning his

religion. the faith is who he is. it's a part of who he has become as a human being. without that faith, i can tell you, president obama would not be able to withstand the kind of criticism that comes after him each and every day. >> we have to leave it there. >> i agree with that. >> i love it when you two ladies agree on the issues. it makes me feel good personally. and i know you're -- >> mary is a good person. >> you're both excellent, excellent people. thanks, guys, very, very much. jack cafferty is asking if president obama runs against sarah palin in 2012, who will you vote for. jack will be back in a moment. plus, new fuel for concerns -- the president of afghanistan is unstable. i'll ask a diplomat and a psychiatrist about hamid karzai's mental state and emotional outburst. is the u.s. military unleashing one of the most effective weapons more often with deadly success? new attacks on suspected terrorists in pakistan. man cords multi-tool. the power and versatility of six tools

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jack is back with the cafferty file. jack? >> the question this hour, if president obama runs against sarah palin in 2012, whom would you vote for? evelyn in columbus, ohio, no

contest, obama. i have never been a fan of the pay per view fights, but i'd pay big money to see palin attempt to debate obama. and rose in arizona says if my only two choices were palin and obama, i would vote for palin and not because that is what i want, but a vote against obama, because palin is the lesser of the two levevils and i'd vote f mickey mouse before i gave obama a second term, and this one, jack, that is like drew brees or obama for quarterback? if palin wins the nomination, i will break the lever pull it for obama. and voting for palin would be like setting your hair on fire and trying to put it out with a hammer. and i would vote for palin if she has sebrina the teenaged witch as vp. how self-destructive do you think that americans are?

don't answer that. palin and obama in 2012, ding bats unite. and we could settle it with a spelling bee, and it will not happen, because the presidential salary is not enough to attract palin, and this one, there is a delusional airhead or eloquent statesmen, and jack, you used to ask harder questions. we got a lot of mail and we do when we ask about ms. palin and go to my blog cnn.com cafferty file. >> and smart and savvy responses you get, jack. >> yeah, and funny. people are just silly. setting your hair on fire and putting it out with a hmm mer. of course, it would not take me as long as you. >> well, you still have a little bit. see you in a few moments, jack. thank you. warnings to the u.s. army may have been ignored in the case of an alleged murder of troops in afghanistan. stand by for more shocking details of an investigation. from start to end.r

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on capitol hill, top priority of first lady michelle obama is at the center of a standoff. we go back to our senior congressional correspondent dana bash. there is an unusual twist in this dispute, dana. what is going on? >> well, it is not unusual for the white house's priorities to hit roadblocks, but it is unusual for michelle obama's signature issues healthy lunches for low-income children hitting

the twist is by liberal democrats. they signed a letter saying they won't go for a child nutrition bill as it is written, and the kind of bill it is written on the senate bill, because the first lady's initiative is paid for in part by taking over $2 billion from food stamp programs from the poor. i spoke with massachusetts democrat jim mcgovern who sun with of the members who signed the letter, and he said, he will not let programs for the poor be used as quote an atm. >> look it, i want a robust child reauthorization bill, and i want to support first lady, but i don't want to rob peter to pay paul, and take some money to feed hungry people to feed other hungry people. the only offset is food stamps for this program. you will increase nutrition

standards for children in school, but then you have to take it away from them at home. it does not make any sense to me. >> dana, how hard is the first lady pushing for this? >> well, i am told that she is working pretty hard, and an aide told me that she is calling democratic leaders and members of congress and her staff have been in meetings on this issue, but right now, wolf, it is a stand off and democrats like jim mcgovern and others say it is up to the white house to figure out another way to pay for the first lady's initiatives, and they are commendable, and they believe with the healthy food initiatives for childrening but not by paying for it with programs for the poor. so, right now, it is a standoff and really unclear whether this is going to be done in the hours left before the election when congress is left in session. >> not a lot of time left. dana bash on capitol hill, thank you. you are here in "the situation room," and happening now, a disturbing twist to a

chilling case. did the u.s. army ignore warnings from inside of an elite unit where soldiers are now accused of murdering afghan civilians. also, the question that moved a man to tears as he pleaded with president obama today, and you will see how the president was able to use it to slam his political opponents, and mr. obama's lengthy new interview in "rolling stone" magazines and scolds follow democrats, and scolds fox news, and we will talk about it this hour with arianna huffington and benstein. we want to welcome our viewer iin the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer and you are in i'm wolf blitzer and you are in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com we begin with a follow-up of a disturbing story of american soldiers killing afghan civilians for sport. cnn has obtained video of these confessions of allegedly rogue

troops, but more disturbing that and the chilling descriptions of killings is what we have learned that army may have learned from a young soldier that something was terribly wrong from inside of the elite unit. drew griffin of the special investigations unit is back with us today with more information. drew, what are you finding out about the soldier and what he said? >> wolf, his name is adam winfield, and earlier this year, he sent a warning actually back to his family, back home in the u.s. that members of his platoon were involved in the murders of civilians, and that he, too, wolf, feared for his life. according to his attorney, his family made shurure that the ar knew it. >> reporter: specialist adam winfield seen in this interrogation video obtained by cnn, he describes in the beginning a killing he did not see, but heard about, and how members of his platoon bragged hour they killed a man and made it look like self-defense.

>> they threw the grenade and said that the guy threw a grenade at thel,m. >> okay. and what was the story? how did you understand what really happened? >> as soon as it happened i bhuz the truck, but i knew about it already. but they were planning it. sergeant gibbs sort of, you know, put it into his head that they could get away with doing these things. >> reporter: sergeant gibbs is described as a ring leader of a group of rogues. cnn has reached out to staff sergeant gibbs' attorney, but yet to receive a call. gibbs, according to the statements of men accused liked to kill things and people. he encouraged his men to kill

with him and threatening them not to tell a sole. >> i take him very seriously, because he likes to kill things. he is pretty much evil incarnate, like i have never met a man who is just going from one minute just joke around, and then, mindless killing the next. he likes to kill things. >> so what do you think would have happened if you weren't on board with this stuff? >> one, he would not have kept me in the loop on thing, and they would have thought that i ratted or something, they would have come after me. and after the first killing, i called my parents and told them about it. >> reporter: according to winfield's attorney, when adam winfield's father heard about all of this in a phone call, he decided to call the army, himself, even calling an

investigative unit at the army. the army's response according to the attorney was this not interested, can't do anything. tell your son to lay low. when we called the army to ask about those calls, an army spokesman would only tell us that an investigation is now under way. adam winfield, 21 years old is now charged with premeditated murder and accused of participating in the killing of another afghan civilian last may. according to winfield's attorney eric montalvo his client is not guilty of premeditated murder as described in this tape how he and other members of the platoon including the staff sergeant, and jeremy morelock set up an afghan civilian. >> they didn't have any sort of animosity towards us. >> okay. >> we brought him out, and he was sitting in the ditch, and me

and morlock were behind the berm, and he said this is how is going to go down -- >> who said? >> sergeant gibbs. he said, this is how is it going the go down. you drop your weapons and then i'm going to throw this grenade. after it goes off, i'm going to drop the grenade. so then, that's it. we had two grenades. well, we're laying there, and morlock told me to shoot. started shooting. yelled grenade, and grenade blue up, and that was it. >> i'm sorry, who gave you the order to shoot? >> morlock. >> and we fired once he said, shoot." grenade blue up, and sergeant gibbs threw the grenade. it blue up, and then he came over and shot the man in the head two more times after that. >> reporter: after that, he say

staff sergeant gibbs told him he was part of the group. >> did he also acknowledge that morlock killed the guy as well and he used that against you as well? >> no, never used that against me, but then he told me i was a made man afterwards. >> reporter: and jeremy morlock was on strong army prescribed drugs that impaired his judgment. according to winfield's attorney, had the army just listened to the elder winfield, it never had to get this far. wolf in addition to the five soldiers facing murder charge, seven more face charges of conspiracy to cover up the killings to drug use, and the pentagon did not respond directly to cnn's request for an interview into the ongoing investigation, and instead, we were sent a statement of these tapes. they said that the army does not

release evidence in ongoing investigations, and said that disclosuring to the public at this juncture is troubling, because it could adversely affect the fair and just administration of the military justice process. that from the pentagon. wolf? >> what a story, drew. thank you very much. excellent reporting, indeed. in neighboring pakistan, meanwhile, four suspected militants were killed in what is believed to be a u.s. drone strike, according to two u.s. intelligence officials in three attacks that have killed three top militants, including a top commander. peter bergen and tom is here to talk more about this. >> let's zoom in and talk about the area in which this is happening. as always, peter, south

wasiristan, and pakistan, and back here in 2006, we had a handful of them in this area, and then in 2007 and 2008 and 2009 and now up to this level now. a whole lot more particularly in the last month. why? >> well, one factor here could have been the floods in pakistan suppressed some of the numbers of strikes in the first weeks of august. >> and the strikes by ground troops of the pakistani army? >> yes. and also might have affected, i mean, some of 2 drones are coth out of pakistan area, some of the areas they are flown may have been flooded, and that may have affected it, and another factor is that most of the attacks are directed to the atawny network, and this is the most ferocious of the taliban networks and everybody is conscious of the fact that there is a limited time window for the

american presence in afghanistan and try to get these guys and try to, if we bring them to the negotiating table, it is to one way kill their leadership or try to, and so these haqqani network is a big target of the attacks. >> and there is is a notion that this is related to the attack of of europe, and to step up the pressure to prevent that from happening? >> certainly, the reports of 100 to 150 westerners traveling to the region in the last year or so, and then of course a number of them americans like feisal shahz shahzad, the so-called times square bomber, and there are are certainly an effort to interrupt plans ongoing. >> what about the casualties that we heard about a year, a year and a half ago to cut back on those, and we don't hear that pressure now. why? >> well, the government oofficials i have talked to said that the casualty rate is 1% or 2%, which is close to zero, and

according to the open information we have from the foundation where i also work, it is 2%. but regardless, it is much, muff lower than where it was in '04 when the program began. and the bombs involved are smaller and the intelligence is better and the targeting is better, and there is little debate that the civilian casualty rate is going down. >> but is it just the drones or a more robust military activity including u.s. helicopters going into pakistan and looking for militants and terrorist targets? >> wolf, sometimes it happens and the pakistanis are resistant, and we have had a recent case of an american helicopter going in hot pursuit, but it is unusual, and the pakistanis have pushed back hard when there are american boots on the ground, and unless they are in halt pursuit of a set of militants the pakistanis will not allow that activity on that soil, and so the drones are a

default option. >> and it is true that the pakistanis are not living up to the u.s. expectations in doing what they said they would do? >> i in they the pakistanis are doing what they can, because a lot of the intelligence for the attacks comes from the pakistanis themselves. and in fact, most of the people killed are the taliban attacking the pakistani pentagon equivalent, and the pakistani military bases and police posts, so there is a much more closer alignment of the pakistani and the american sides, and there is no own ership of this, but ther is cooperation. >> if you are on the tribal grounds, peter, and the drones are overhead, do you know they are there? >> well, apparently, they are referred to as wasps in the local languagers bau th languag emit a distinct sound. but they cannot be seen if there is any cloud cover, but they do emit a sound, and people are

conscious they are around. >> so then that may have a suppressive effect even if there is not an actual attack, and you told me something interesting about the man picked up in the time square suspected attack there. >> yes. >> and how this may have related to what happened to him. >> this is feisallele shahzad who tried to blow up times square with a bomb this year, and he spent 40 days in this area in wastirazhan, and if he had limited training and nott enough to pull off a successful attack. >> thank you, tom foreman and peter bergen. this is just coming in, researchers have won the latest round in the embryonic funding. the federal government has lifted a ban to allow the

scientists to continue their work temporarily. last month, a judge halted the funding to stop research on stem cells, and now this will allow the obama administration to continue its appeal. and new concerns about the afghan president hamid karzai after he breaks down. could he will be suffering from bipolar disorder. and president obama talks about fellow democrats and fox news. we will talk about it with arianna huffington, and benstein. and a man who was moved to tears and got him a hug at a presidential town hall meeting today. add some insulation here. a little weather stripping there. maybe an energy star-rated appliance, or two. let's save money on the things that keep saving money. that way, we can turn a little energy into a lot of savings. more saving. more doing.

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and i get paid on average three weeks faster. booming is never looking for a check in the mail. because it's already in my email. jack cafferty is here with the cafferty file. jak? >> more bad news for the democrats, as if they don't have enough problems. the daily beast reports that white women are now desserting the democratic party in droves. exclusive polling data shows that all enthusiasm is down, but white women are the least enthusiastic of all of the demographic groups. 27% of white female registered voters say they are are excited about the midterms which compares to 36% of black men and women and 40% of white men. another gallup poll from earlier in the summer show that white men are most enthusiastic of the

registered voters. it is the independent women who are not too psyched up about the midterms. the daily beast article says that the pumas may be leaving the democratic party for good, you remember them, their cry was "unity party my ass" and they were so upset with the election, that they were going to vote for john mccain. but who knows what they will do now. so the democrats have a last ditch chance to attract white female voters to focus on thins that matter to women like health care for children, and of course, they adjourn friday, so that is not likely to happen. and while the pollsters say they are losing the white women, they mot go over to the republican column, but may choose to stay home on election day.

so here is the question, why would white women be deserting the democratic party? one of the clues here might be found in the way that the abortion was handled in the health care law. a lot of women were not happy about that. >> jack, thank you very much. jack is going to be back shortly. it was an unscripted moment full of emotion and president obama seized and able to make use for the political agenda, and it happened in a forum style in a private home in albuquer e albuquerque, new mexico, today. >> i have a couple of questions for you, and one really hits hard for me. i am getting a little emotional here. my father, being a veteran, you nknow know, we appreciate everything that he has done for the

country, and, you know, obviously the v.a. does a lot for my father. >> we love your dad. we appreciate what he is doing. >> i mean the reason i get emotional -- >> because he is your dad. >> well, unfortunately, the v.a. sometimes, he doesn't get the care and the service he should. >> right. >> he sack ri frificed his body over 17 surgeries and i didn't want to do this on tv. >> first of all, you don't have to be emotional about your dad who has served our country as a marine. i get emotional when i think ant the young men and women and veterans who have served this country with bravery and courage. we have a sacred trust for people who put on the uniform of the united states. you know, they serve us, and willing to put their lives on the line.

and that means that when they come back, we have to serve them. even in the midst of this very difficult budget situation that we are in, we have increased over the last two years, funding for veterans more than any time in the last 30 years. now, we have still got a ways to go, but this is, again, an example of where come november, we have got the start making some choices. because, if for example, we give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires that cost us $700 billion that we don't have, that money has to come from somewhere. and, you know, we have to be able to provide for our veterans, and i'd rather choose veterans. >> emotional moment for the president in al bu kwbuquerque .

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deborah feyerick is monitoring other top stories in "the situation room." what is going on? >> well, wolf, washington, d.c.'s police chief says that one person is dead following a driveby shooting which happened in the broad daylight in a place where people were leaving a funeral. a group of men got into a suv and fled the scene and the vehicle overturned and one person died and another person is being treated for a gunshot wound. laws against driving and texts textting may not do the trick, because they may actually increase the risk of a crash, because people may hold the phone down low to keep it out of sight, and keeps the eyes off of the road. the government calls the study misleading and shows that its own research helps to reduce

crashes while texting. and toys "r" us are are planning to hire 35,000 people nationwide which is double its usual workforce. and best buy is also putting out the help wanted sign. they will hire additional employees for the holiday seasons. good news. >> temporary jobs are better than no jobs at all. >> absolutely. >> thank you, deb. the president gets emotional and it is raising concern about the emotional stability, and we are talking about the afghan president hamid karzai, and is he suffering from manic depression. and why some people are calling him irresponsible. we will talk about the president obama's intraparty scolding. and how this hostess announced the wrong winner, and jeanne moos will talk a most unusual look. quickly and easilyome nails

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safely connecting you in ways you never thought possible. onstar. live on. president obama scolds fellow democrats, at least some of them as being irresponsible and he is slamming fox news as being quote destructive. it is in a lengthy interview in an upcoming"rolling stone" magazine. joining us are arianna huffington who is author of a brand new book "third world america how our politicians are

abandoning the middle-class" and she is author of the huffington post as well. and ben stein who is a white house official, economist, lawyer, and excellent guy all around. thank you, both, for coming in. arianna, i want to start with you and read to you this quote that the president gave to "rolling stone" magazine. he says, the idea that we have a lack of enthusiasm in the democratic base and people are sitting on their hands is just irresponsible. people need to shake off this leather ji, and people need to buck up. bringing about change is hard. that is what i said in the campaign. it has been hard and we have lumps to take for it. but if people want the take their ball and go home, then, folks weren't serious in the first place. how big of a problem is this lack of enthusiasm among the democrats? >> well, it is a big problem,

and the president is right in many ways. the anger and the frustration that, the disappointment are legitimate, but he is also right that people who simply think that the democracy and being a citizen in a democracy means voting every two years or four years and going home and complaining are getting it all wrong. democracy is not a spectator sport is the point he is making. people need to keep participa participating to bring about change. so they are right to be disappointed and angry and especially the way that congress and wall street were bailed out and not main street, but they have to do whatever they can everyday whether it is politically or involved in the community to turn it around. >> why are the republicans, ben, so much more enthusiastic if you believe the polls of the midterm elections than the democrats are? >> well, they really dislike mr. obama a great deal, great deal deal. i don't know why they dislike

him quite as much as they do. the degree of the anger against him seems a little bit tiny bit disproportionate to what he has done, and they are angry at him, and the stated reasons are that he is making government too big and deficit too big, and the legitimate reason is that he has not done much to help with the recession, and there are other reasons involved, and with all due respect, many americans, republicans and democrats are uneasy with an african-american president. i don't think that america lives in a post-racial world entirely. a lot of it does, but a lot of it doesn't, and there is still some undigested feelings about that. >> do you agree with that point, arianna? >> i don't really. thereracism in the political spectrum, but it is not the key. the keyhe anger of what has

happened to middle-class over the last 30 years. the democrats are are suffering from the anger, but if they were not in control of the house, the senate and the white house, it would be the republicans suffering. wolf, i think that we are in for a series of throw the bums out. whoever the bums in charge are. if the republicans win control of the house in november, they may find themselveses the beneficiaries of the anger the next time out. >> is the irony the paradox been that if the republicans take control of the house in november, that will strengthen the president's chances of getting re-elected? >> sure gives him a lovely juicy target. i agree with arianna, the middle-class in the country is suffering incredibly. joan ditty had a great essay where she said that there was an

artificial middle-class and it could not be sustained except to borrow to sustain an os ostentatious lifestyle. the middle-class has been destroyed by foreign competition, and it is not easy to maintain a middle-class lifestyle at this point. >> in your new book, arianna, how our politicians are betraying the middle-class do, you include the president of the united states in the subtitle? >> yes, doi inclu shgi do, wolf. because the urgency to save the financial system has never been brought to bear to save the middle class and never a weekend to save all of the political establishments and financial came together to say, we will

not lose the middle-class, and we will do what the republicans wanted a payroll tax holiday or try what the democrats want, big inf infrastructure projects, but we cannot afford long unemployment or kids who graduate from college without a job. we cannot afford to basically lose the american dream, and who stood up at the cnbc town hall who told the president, i'm exhausted and can you please promise that the american dream not dead is really epitomizing that anger and pain in the country. >> let me get your quick reaction, ben, and i will start with you to what the president told "rolling stone" magazine about fox news. he said this, i think that fox is part of the tradition that has a clear undeniable point of view and it is a point of view that i disagree with and it is a point of view that is ultimately destructive of the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle-class and

competitive in the world. go ahead to react to what the president told "rolling stone." >> i have never heard more nonsense in my life. i am privileged to be on cnn a lot, and privileged to be on fox a lot. their attitudes to me it seems are constructive and looking for the exactly same things that arianna is looking for in namely saving the middle-class and trying different fiscal and monetary policies to try to help. i am sure arianna would not be favor of the policies, but they are trying to help the country, and to say otherwise is a shame. >> do you believe, arianna, that fox news is destructive for the long-term growth of the country? >> well, what is distracting is detracting from the muslims and other groups which is what happens in times of deep

anxiety. we start in the '30s when we deport people of hispanic decent, and that needs to stop and channel the anger in constructive ways and rebuilding the communities and not separating us, and demonizing one another. >> arianna huffington has authored a book which just hit "the new york times" best seller's list. and ben stein is ben stein. thank you. and hamid karzai weeps for the future of his son, but are these signs that his mental health is unstable? [ woman ] ring ring. progresso.

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the afghan president hamid karzai has faced accusations of rampant corruption in his own government and failing to stop to taliban and other militants. but today, there is concern about his heightened emotional stability. look at this. [ speaking foreign language ] >> translator: i'm afraid my countrymen, please understand me.

i'm afraid my son, my own son, would become a refugee one day. please, i don't want my son and your son to be a foreign citizen. >> and he breaks down and starts crying. let's discuss with ambassador peter galbreath from massachusetts, and also joining us here in washington is psychiatrist lisa van sustern, and thank you both for coming in. bob writes in the book, he, hamid karzai, had been diagnosed as manic-depressive and he was on medication and had severe mood swings. sensitive intelligence on karzai claims he is erratic, and delusional and off of the meds is a common description, while

high on weed is a description with others. you have met with him and spent time in afghanistan and is any of that close to your reality of hamid karzai? >> well, wolf, clearly his behavior has been very erratic. perhaps in his defense, i should say that being president of afghanistan is probably one of the world's toughest jobs. he, himself, is under enormous pressure. he runs what is considered the world's second most corrupt country. he's widely considered illegitimate for having massively engineered through fraud his re-election, and now massively fraudulent parliamentary elections and his brother who is a u.s. citizen is under investigation for notp having perhaps paid businesses on the lucrative business activities, so he is under a lot of pressure. but his behavior has been strange. he announced at one point that

he might go join the taliban. he accused the u.s., the u.n., and i might add me, personally, of carrying out the fraud that electoral fraud that got him re-elected. you saw the emotional outburst today. there are different explanations of maybe they are right, manic depression, and there are reports from palace insiders that he h a fondness for hashish which is in woodward's book, but i know that the behavior is strange on pretty serious mismanagement of the country. >> explain what it means to be bipolar or manic-depressive as some reports are suggesting. >> well, first of all, i have no insider knowledge about the president, but what it means to be manic-depressive is roller coaster of emotions from huge highs to desperate lows. they can vary in frequency and

intensity and have a life of their own and often the setting has no resemblance of the emotion. >> but it can be controlled in medication? >> yes, sure. >> and what happens if you go off of the medication? >> nothing, or it can trigger an episode, but it does not mean that when you hear in communication that he sauf off s meds quote diagnostic of bipolar, because god knows what meds he is on or off. >> i have met with president carside maca karzai many times over the years, and met with him many times, and he has impressed me with the brief encounters as very stable, and very serious and patriotic so when i hear the reports including from u.s. officials who say he is acting erratically, it is surprising, but go ahead and talk a little bit about a specific example that might causal larm bells in your mind. >> well, he of course is

charming, and he can be very good with the media. he speaks absolutely fluent english, but let me illustrate four days in april. on april 1st, having denied that there was any fraud in his re-election, he gave an emotional speech on nationwide speech saying yes, there was fraud, but afghans didn't do it, and u.n. did it, galbrait did it, and then he called secretary of clinton and apologized. the third day, he tells parliamentarians that he might go join the taliban and the fourth day after having apologized to secretary clinton says that no, it is the u.s. government. >> so, lisa, can you respond? what does that sound like to you? >> well, it sounds like an extraordinarily stressed individual, but not necessarily bipolar. a bipolar at a high has an

enormous amount of energy, and thinks of himself as the messiah, and in total low periods, pessimistic, and a person who is highly stressed and anxious would present a tab lo leau that is described. >> we will stay on top of this for the viewers. lisa, thank you very much for, that and peter galbraith, thank you as well. and people are missing, and possibly 1,000 trapped right now with a devastating mud slide in mexico. and we will update you on the condition of jimmy carter who is hospitalized right now in ohio.

debra fay vick monitorah fe monitoring the other top stories in "the situation room." what is going on? >> at least 100 people are missing in a catastrophic landslide in southern mexico.

they say that a hillside collapsed sending mud over hundreds of homes and it is feared that the death toll could top 1,000. rescuers are trying to reach victims. former president jimmy carter got a get well telephone call from president obama today. he is spending the night in a cleveland hospital for and upset stomach and became ill after flying to cleveland to promote his new book "white house diary." he will celebrate his 86th birthday this friday. and huge drug busts at the san diego border. customs officials say they seized 1,300 pounds of marijuana this past weekend alone. it is worth $700,000, and they were seized in different smuggling attempts. they found it hidden in engines and vehicle seats and spare tires and roof compartments. i have been the border, and they are so creative that the agents

really have to search to keep ahead of them. >> yes, that i a they are creat. and why would white women be deserting the democratic party. and the mistake this hostess made on live tv that made the audience gasp. cnn's jeanne moos takes a most unusual look. [ male announcer ] some prescription drugs may lead to constipation. fortunately, there's senokot-s tablets. senokot-s for occasional constipation associated with certain medications. find the relief that's right for you and get a $10 rebate at getconstipationrelief.com. ♪ the turn will make you think. ♪ make you re-examine your approach. change your line.

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let's get right back to jack for the cafferty file. >> question this hour, wolf, why would white women be deserting the democratic party? according to exclusive polling done by gallup for the daily beast website they are. katherine in st. louis, i for one am so disenfranchised with the democratic congress and senate, the minute the democrats bent over for the republicans during the health care debate, that did it for me. any woman who supported the health care bill with the abortion issue butchered out of

it, i was disgusted. once the public option was dismissed i ex-communicated myself as a democrat. i'm a liberal but not a democrat. rebecca writes, because women are the core of their households. they figure out budget, nutrition, health. i know what i can't spend because we don't have it. the way they have been spending in washington has broken our backs. the economy has to be one of the main and most important reasons for deserting the democrats. brian in louisiana, for the same reason everyone is leaving the democratic party, people are disappointed mr. change has pandered to the republicans who won't even meet him part way and ignored his democratic base. even though he talks a good became for the most part, his policies are a continuation of bush's. rene in illinois writes, i'm a white woman who voted for obama. my biggest beef with the president is he didn't fight hard enough for a better health care bill. i.e. single payer public option. i know we won't get it from the republicans, so i'm not ready to desert obama. i wish for him to follow through

on his campaign promises. is that too much to ask? diana writes, it's the economy, stupid. we all have a husband, son, daughter, brother, sister, father or mother who is unemployed or under employed. our health insurance premiums and co-payments are skyrocketing. not to mention increased taxes at the local, county and state levels. we're drowning. where's the hope and change we voted for? you want to read more on this, go to my blog, cnn.com/caffertyfile. i will see you tomorrow, blitzer. >> see you tomorrow, jack. thank you. a model mistake on live tv. cnn's jeannie moos getting ready for a most unusual report. host: coulswinto geico really save you 15% or more on car insuranc

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australia's next top model host announced the contest winner on live tv, only she got it wrong. jeannie moos has more. >> reporter: you feel like a loser when you blow the who's the winner announcement. as we in the media -- >> we call florida. >> reporter: know all too well. >> excuse me one second. i'm sorry to interrupt you. mike, you know i wouldn't do this if it weren't big. florida goes for al gore. >> reporter: oh, no, it didn't. >> bush wins.

florida goes bush. >> reporter: announcing the winner of the presidency is big, but announcing -- >> australia's next top model -- >> reporter: not so big. until you get it wrong. >> it's you, kelsey. >> reporter: the victor, kelsey martinovich and e vanquished amanda ware hugged and on fox 8, host sarah murdoch heard a voice in her ear. uh-oh. >> oh my god. i don't know what to say right now. i'm feeling sick about this. this was a complete accident, i'm so sorry. it's amanda. i'm so sorry. it was fed to me wrong. >> reporter: the tv folks say there was a miscommunication between the broadcast truck and the stage. the loser console d the host. >> it's ridiculous. >> it's fine. don't worry. it's okay. it's an honest mistake. >> reporter: the loser did get an apology and $25,000 as a consolation surprise. the new winner seemed thrilled.

>> woo! >> reporter: contests seem especially vulnerable to gaffes like this. euro vision song contest three years ago it came down between a face-off between a group named sooch and performer named cindy. the winner is -- >> one, two, three, cindy! >> reporter: two announcers simultaneously declared different winners. for cindy, victory was fleeting. >> it's scooch! it is scooch! cindy, i'm so sorry. >> reporter: you win some, you lose some. not usually at the same time. australia's next top model has been dubbed australia's next top mistake. >> it's you, kelsey. >> reporter: there's no mistaking how big a mistake when it attracts that internet symbol of failure. >> i'm so sorry. ♪ >> reportehe