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Stocks Up; Rick Perry to Run for President; Riots Subside in Great Britain; Bachmann, Pawlenty Spar in Debate; Palin to Visit Iowa State Fair; Wall Street Surges at the Open; U.S. Policy on Syria Uprising; San Francisco Cops Block Cell Service; "I Deserved to Get Shot!"; Snowcone Cash Helps Fight Hunger; Bachmann Explains "Submissive Wives"; Nickelodeon Star Hurt in Crash; Farrah Fawcett Becomes A Barbie; Viral Video Star Leaves School; Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

Aired August 12, 2011 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, there, folks. It is 10:00 on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. out West. Wherever you may be, we are certainly glad you're right here. I'm T.J. Holmes in today for Kyra Phillips.

We are watching Wall Street. It's been open about a half hour now and looky, looky, in positive territory. We'll take it, even though it's early. We have been watching a historical week of volatility. Will it end up that way?

Also the Republican candidates don't even bother to put on gloves so they it don't have to take them off at the debate last night. They came out swinging, but there is a new challenger about to enter the ring. We'll look at the Republican race that is heating up and how Rick Perry is about to change things.

Also, across Great Britain, police are in control and now on the hunt. They're arresting nearly 2,000 people in connection with the riots and looting there.

We are talking about Iowa being the battleground this weekend, but Minnesota seem to be the heart of a turf war right now. Tensions really boiled over last night between two officials from that state, the former Governor Tim Pawlenty and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

Pawlenty accusing her of being a failure in Congress. You didn't think that was going to let that slide, did you?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM PAWLENTY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Her record of accomplishment and results is nonexistent.

MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You said the era of small government was over. That sounds a lot more like Barack Obama if you ask me.

PAWLENTY: It's not her spine we're worried about. It's her record of results. Please stop because you're killing us. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The clock ticking now toward tomorrow's all-important straw poll in Iowa. Presidential campaigns are going to be facing a really first big test of public opinion. So maybe it's not surprising that they kind of went at each other last night.

One person, though, who stole the spotlight wasn't even on stage. Let me bring in my friend, Candy Crowley. She is in Iowa for us right now. Who is this person that everybody is talking about and they were talking about last night even though he was not there?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Texas Governor Rick Perry who is going to get into the race tomorrow, we are told, sources tell CNN. Look, he's been on the outskirts of this race and looking like he was ready to get in for several weeks now, if not months.

So it's not so much a surprise as it is kind of that long, slow tease, which gets you lots of headlines without a lot of criticism simply because you're not in the fray yet. So he's been in the cat bird seat, which generally is being outside where they're all arguing, and he's getting sort of ready to step in.

You know, is it going to make any difference in the race? It either will or it won't, which is actually the most honest answer here because we've seen candidates get in late and make a difference, but we've also seen candidates get in late and it's too late.

It's too late because donors have signed up, because people have already sworn allegiance to certain campaigns or feel a connection with them. So Rick Perry likely will have a lot of money. He certainly has a record that he can run on and people will run against.

So he is likely to be at least initially a force that has the potential to shake up the race, particularly to shake up that non- Romney spot, which right now Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty as you saw are kind of jockeying for.

That slot is open and that's really where at this point there is a place for Rick Perry to come in and change things.

HOLMES: Candy, you know the day after people always try to pick winners and losers in these debates. But did we learn anything about these candidates that we didn't already know?

CROWLEY: I wouldn't say we learned anything policy wise we didn't already know. I think what all of them -- even when it wasn't Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty going at each other, the others were certainly interested in showing they can throw a punch.

People want their president to be able to stand up and stare down his critics because, as we all know, they have to stare down Congress sometimes and others. So you will see the kind of ratcheting up of the rhetoric and that will be I think the story more than policy changes.

These policies are pretty well out there. I mean, the fact of the matter is that the rhetoric follows the same line as the calendar and the closer we get to those Iowa caucuses and start of the primary season, the higher the interparty rhetoric will go simply because something's got to give at some point.

Not all of these folks are going to survive for very much longer and you want to still be standing on that stage for debate four, five and six. So the way to do it is to shove somebody else off of it. That's why you see this sort of heated rhetoric.

HOLMES: All right, Candy Crowley, we appreciate you as always. We'll check in again. We're at 5 minutes past the hour now.

For the presidential candidates, you've got to be in Iowa. You've got to be at the state fair right now. At least seven Republican candidates will be there. Guess who else will be there?

Sarah Palin, she is rolling in on her bus tour. Let me bring in our Paul Steinhauser who is there at the fair. Certainly a lot of excitement around her arrival, but do you imagine that the candidates appreciate her now stealing some of the spotlight after Rick Perry stole so much of the spotlight yesterday as well?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I guess the answer to that will be too bad. They really don't have a choice. You know, all the action last night was up in Ames, Iowa, 30 miles from here.

As you said, T.J., it's right here at the state fair. This is retail politics at its best I guess where the candidates come. They shake hands. They meet and greet. Seven of the presidential candidates are here.

In fact, Ron Paul was just walking around. I saw Don Lemon just a few moments ago trying to talk to Congressman Paul. But as you said, stealing the spotlight, I guess, crashing the party if you may, Sarah Palin.

We remember that "One Nation" bus tour from earlier this summer, a lot of headlines, started in D.C. It went all the way up to New Hampshire, another crucial early voting state. We learned earlier this week that Sarah Palin would be here in Iowa.

We think it's today. We think it's right here at the state fair. Will she or won't she? We don't know. Maybe she doesn't even know. She says she will decide on whether she'll run for the Republican presidential nomination or not by September.

You look at any national poll though on the Republican side, T.J. and she's still doing OK, kind of right there in the middle of the pack.

HOLMES: The Tea Party, would they like to see her get into this race? Are they happy with the candidate already in the game right now?

STEINHAUSER: Well, you know, there is one no Tea Party, there's Tea Party activists, groups across the country. I think Michele Bachmann who's already in the race, of course, is a favorite of any Tea Party activist.

Rick Perry who's about to jump in, the Texas governor, yes, also a favorite of some, Ron Paul, they say he was a Tea Party before the Tea Party. Of course, there's Palin. So I don't think there's one Tea Party candidate right now.

And if Palin jumped in, she wouldn't be that one candidate either. There are a lot of them that do curry favor with the Tea Party activists, T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Paul Steinhauser, thank you as always. We're 7 minutes past the hour. Let's turn to Wall Street. The markets have been open close to 40 minutes now. How are things looking?

We'll check in with our Christine Romans now. Christine, I'll take it, 34 points up. I know you all are trying to tell me, T.J., just calm down. It's a long day, but anything in positive territory this week I appreciate.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I know, but it's so early, T.J. It's only been open for 37 minutes and it's off its highs.

HOLMES: I know.

ROMANS: I mean, a lot of people trying to figure out how they can make sense of what's happening day to day in this market. I mean, I can tell you one thing. Interest rates this week, mortgage rates are very, very low.

I mean, below 5 percent for a 30-year fixed mortgage. That's something you do have control over if you have a mortgage. You are not under water on your loan and you're thinking about refinancing, that's something you can do today.

I mean, you can look at your portfolio to make sure that your 401(k), your retirement, your IRA, that you're balanced the right way. I mean, that's an important thing to do, but you can't control these inter day swings. It's been historic.

We've never had four days in a row of 400 points up our down at the close. We're down 1500 points, T.J., since July 21st, three brutal weeks of selling, 1500 points in the Dow. It's been a swift and ferocious move.

Now everyone is trying to figure out where it goes from here. Now one thing they're doing in Europe that I wanted to mention to you is the banking regulators in four different countries in Europe have actually instituted a very short-term ban on short sales of financial insurance and banking stocks.

And the point of that is that they're so concerned about the debt problems in Europe and what that will mean for the financial sector in Europe that they want to make sure that speculators aren't just selling stock that they don't own or borrowing bank stocks, which you can do.

You borrow the bank stocks and then sell them because you think they're going to go down. A lot of people think that can exacerbate a move and they're trying to sort of calm the markets there. We tried something like that in the U.S. in 2008.

I'll tell you the results -- the feedback is pretty mixed on whether it helped or not. But that's what they're doing in Europe, trying to catch some stability in the meantime here I don't know how you find stability in such a crazy market.

But I would just tell people, try to make sure your own personal finances are AAA rated and try to see if you can control what you can, which is basically your mortgage. T.J. --

HOLMES: All right, Christine Romans, thank you as always. But again, like she said, just 40 minutes into the trading day in positive territory, but just only ever so slightly.

We'll turn to Syria now where the deadly crackdown against antigovernment protest intensifies by the day as the U.S. mulls possible sanctions against the Al Assad regime.

Let's bring back in CNN International's Jonathan Mann, what other options does the U.S. have right now?

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It has all kinds of options. Remember it called on Hosni Mubarak to leave the presidency of Egypt. He did. It backed a NATO war against Moammar Gadhafi in Libya. Neither one of those policies has worked out quite the way the U.S. government wants especially on Libya.

So this is very different. There have been sanctions in place against the Al Assad regime going back years. In fact, since before the current president was in power, when his father was in power.

Now more sanctions, sanctions against the state-owned commercial bank of Syria. It's Lebanon subsidiary and the largest mobile phone network in the country, Syriatel.

Once more upping the ante a little more pressure but really gentle pressure, more of a signal that the United States is really serious about what's going on there.

HOLMES: And has been stopping short of saying he needs to go. There was some criticism about that for the U.S. as well.

MANN: Really stopping short. In part because the United States doesn't really know what it wants in Syria, but also in part, if the United States calls for Assad to step down, what then? What if he doesn't go?

Washington looks weak and people will be saying, what are you going to do now? So not wanting to face that question, the U.S. is proceeding very slowly, asking other nations that matter more.

Syria's trading partners like Russia, India, China to come up with sanctions of their own. So far they're not getting much love from them.

HOLMES: All right, Jonathan Mann, CNN International. Good to see you as always. Thank you so much.

We're 11 minutes past the hour now. Still ahead, Michele Bachmann, presidential candidate, member of Congress, and submissive wife. Her self-description raised eyebrows and more than a few questions. Can a submissive wife also be a good president? We are taking a look at that.

Also, you don't hear this every day from a criminal suspect. "I deserved to get shot." Did you see that picture of the person smiling? That's the one who was shot. We'll tell you how much she has to be smiling about right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: About 14 minutes past the hour. Give you a look at stories making news cross country.

In San Francisco, police shut down cell phone service. They did this for a reason, though. They were trying to stop a protest. They got word there would be a repeat of demonstrations at a public transit station just like last month.

Those protests kind of shut down the public transit system there for a while, but with all the cell service shut down in that area, police say the commute went off without a hitch.

Also, the sister in the so-called Dougherty gang, you see her smiling there, she's it telling the FBI that she deserved to get shot. She was shot in the leg during a shootout with police in Colorado. That was on Wednesday.

Lee Dougherty, she was smiling in that picture. These are new pictures. She and her brothers are warranted for armed bank robbery in Georgia and attempted murder in Florida. They're set to be in court again Monday.

Also, this is a great story. Let's you know you can help out as well. Kids in Oregon, two Springville, Oregon kids, they are helping to raise money to fight hunger in Somalia. You know what they're doing? What they can.

They're selling snow cones and they're selling them for 50 cents apiece. Amia and Jonathan, they're 9 and 6-years-olds after seeing the news reports they just wanted to do something to pitch in.

You can, too. Sell snow cones if you want to, but you've got other options as well. You can head over to cnn.com/impact to find out how you can pitch in as well.

It's 16 minutes past the hour now. There was a question last night that really kind of disturbed the audience at the presidential debate. It was a question that went to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

She was asked whether or not she would be a submissive wife to her husband if she was elected president. Listen to her answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 2006 when you were running for Congress, you described a moment in your life when your husband said you should study for a degree in tax law.

You said you hated the idea and then you explained, quote, "but the Lord said be submissive. Wives, you are to be submissive to your husbands." As president, would you be submissive to your husband?

BACHMANN: What submission means to us, if that's what your question is, it means respect. I respect my husband. He's a wonderful, Godly man and a great father and he respects me as his wife. That's how we operate our marriage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right, let me bring in Dr. Alduan Tartt, he's a relationship expert. He's joining me now from Houston. To hear that question, what is your reaction to hear a presidential candidate on stage getting that question?

ALDUAN TARTT, PSYCHOLOGIST: I mean, it it's a question that all women have to answer. They have the balance between being a career woman and also being a wife. If we talk about from at biblical standpoint they kind of have to wear two hats, which makes it extremely difficult because they're two different skill sets.

HOLMES: Well, Doctor Tartt, help me understand then, help us all understand, what is meant -- I guess, it may mean different things to different people. But in your estimation, what does it mean to submit to your husband?

TARTT: See, that's the thing. We're talking about one side of submission, but in Ephesians in the bible it talks about two sides of submission. That means husbands submit to your wives and wives submit to your husbands.

How the question was posed, it sounded like oppression and they started talking about control versus allowing your partner to influence you. That's why it's such a hot button issue.

Because when we start talking about marriages, we forget some marriages involve control and domestic violence. So it seems like it's a mixed message in telling women to submit to husbands that don't love their wives. But in reality it's supposed to be a mutual influence.

HOLMES: Now, I'm reading here, I actually have it pulled up, it says, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ and it also says, wives submit yourselves to your own husbands. It says husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church. Now, is there another place, or is that just interpreted to mean the same thing as submit to your wife?

TARTT: Well, you know, it talks about there being conditions under which women should submit to men. A man that does not love you the way Christ loved the church, you should not submit to him. That's where a lot of people get confused.

Sometimes people will be taught or they'll be coerced and say, stay with your husband even though he's beating on you or even though he's being controlling. No, that's nowhere in the bible or nowhere within healthy relationships.

What we have to do is just make sure that we love one another and we allow each partner to influence the other. You have to yield to win sometimes.

HOLMES: Well, maybe that's the word because my next question was, you say people kind of misconstrue this and maybe confuse this. So besides submission, what would you say is a better word that people could get their heads around a little better? What would you replace "submit" with?

TARTT: I think we have to have compassion for one another or something called binocular vision where we're able to see it the way we do and the way our partner sees it at the same time. Marriage is about a couple.

When Bachmann was talking about going back to school, I think what she was referencing was allowing her husband to influence her decision making. At the end of the day, she decided to do that for herself, and I think it came off wrong because of the question.

But it's something that women have to balance and it's an amazing thing to be a woman and that they have to go to work but then they come home and have a completely different skill set. And people don't like the word "submit" because it makes us think about oppression, abuse and slavery.

HOLMES: Well, Dr. Tartt --

TARTT: Think compassion.

HOLMES: Think compassion. I am so glad we were able to get you on today because this is certainly a hot topic and it can be an offensive one as you know to a lot of people as well. But thank you for taking the time out. You enjoy the rest of your weekend.

TARTT: Thank you. A happy wife is a happy life.

HOLMES: Don't I know it.

All right, 20 minutes past the hour. Coming up, is it Farrah Fawcett as Barbie or Barbie as Farrah? Either way, we've got a hit to show you.

Also, we've got a meteor shower expected to hit its peak tonight. Reynolds Wolf, my weekend buddy, joining me in just a minute to tell you exactly the time you need to be looking it at the skies to check it out. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's 23 minutes past the hour now. I'll give you some showbiz headlines.

Teen star Miranda Cosgrove taking it easy a day after her tour bus crashed in Illinois. The singer and actress broke her ankle in that wreck. Her concert tour has been postponed until further notice.

And a new Farrah Fawcett Barbie is a hit with fans and collectors. Mattel's doll inspired by the actress' famous poster selling out all over the place. Fawcett, as you know, died in 2009 after a long battle with cancer. Part of the proceeds from the Farrah Barbie will go towards cancer research.

And viral video star Rebecca Black, you remember her? She dropped out of school now because she says she's been bullied constantly. The 14-year-old says other students mocked her song "Friday" and lashed out at her instant fame. She's now being home- schooled by her mom.

All right. Let me say good morning to our Reynolds Wolf, my weekend buddy here now. You've got to get me straight. There's a meteor shower. I got them mixed up. This is not the one I was thinking of. There are two, right? No.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hold on. Whoa, whoa. What exactly were you thinking of?

HOLMES: The other one that starts with --

WOLF: I have no idea what you're talking about. See how this happens? You're talking about the meteor shower. This is the other one.

HOLMES: What's the difference?

WOLF: Well, one is called (inaudible) one is called (inaudible), different names. We'll work on that later on. Dude, check it out. Here's what we have, the earth passes through the dust of the comet Swift Tuttle.

I know, T.J., you're very concerned about the name of the comet, the Swift-Tuttle for you. What's interesting about it is you're going to have this great event that takes place every year. If you miss it, you can see it next year, it happens every July and August.

The thing is truly amazing about is the comet orbits the sun every 133 years. We're talking about a century and a third or so. The question is, you know it's coming. Where are the best places to see it?

Well, it really depends on where you happened to be around the country. I'll tell you your odds are going to be much better toward the west into the Rockies, but then when you get into the Midwest, back in the Great Lakes and certainly in the southeast it really is going to be hit or miss.

There are times you'll see a little bit of sporadic shower here and there. The shot of them, if you happen to miss to that and you have been in the cloudy area, here is a look at some of the video of how these things look.

This is actually an I-Report sent in by Steve Gifford who was lucky enough to get these incredible shots. Amazing to see. They go by quickly. They are, after all, again, meteors, meteorites, meteor shower. Good times.

All right, T.J., you're up to speed. More answers than you ever wanted to know about this incredible meteor shower. Let's pitch it right back to you.

HOLMES: Am I really up to speed? Or am I just as confused as ever?

WOLF: I don't know. If it's up to me to get you up to speed, me doing the job, it's impossible.

HOLMES: Reynolds, thank you.

That big GOP debate last night in Iowa, couple of people were not there but still made some headlines. We're talking about Governor Rick Perry as well as Sarah Palin. Now, was it a good move to not be there? The "Political Buzz" coming up. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Getting close to the bottom of the hour. Here are the stories that are making headlines. The stock market has been making headlines all week for some of the wrong reasons. But you see it right now, about an hour into the trading day, the Dow up 100 points. We'll keep a close eye.

Also, eight GOP presidential candidates took to the stage for the debate in Iowa last night. Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann likely did not go have a beer together after the debate. They exchanged jabs a number of times yesterday over White House qualifications. Also, the Obama administration may be closer to calling for Syrian president Bashar Al Assad to step down due to his government's crackdown. We are monitoring secretary of state Hillary Clinton's news conference this hour.

To the "Political Buzz," your rapid-fire look at the hottest topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock.

And who do we have playing today? once again, Democratic National Committee member Robert Zimmerman. Good to see you, sir. Also Comcast Network D.C. bureau chief Robert Trayham. He is out in Iowa. And also CNN contributor Will Cain.

Gentlemen, good to see you all. All first question: last night the GOP contenders really went at it. Let's take a listen and the question comes next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People are looking for a champion. They want someone who's been fighting.

TIM PAWLENTY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She led the effort against Obamacare. We got Obamacare. She says she's got a titanium spine. It's not her spine we're worried about. It's her records of results. If that's your view of effective leadership with results, please stop because you're killing us.

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I wish you would put aside the gotcha questions. I'd love to see the rest of tonight's debate asking us about what we would do to lead an America whose president has failed to lead instead of playing Mickey Mouse games.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not going to eat Barack Obama's dog food. All right, what he served up is not what I would have done as president of the United States. What I would have cut federal spending.

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He sees it exactly the way that Barack Obama sees it, that we have to go around and apologize for the fact that we have gone out and exerted our influence to create freedom around the world.

REP. RON PAUL (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In Iraq? They had nuclear weapons and we had to go in. I'm sure you supported that war well. It's time we quit this. It's time -- it's trillions of dollars we are spending on these wars!

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

HOLMES: All right. So Obama's dog food. Mickey Mouse questions. Gotcha questions. Titanium spines.

Mr. Zimmerman, let me start with you. Who won and why?

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, MEMBER, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: T.J., the only winners last night were Grover Norquist and Rush Limbaugh if you cut right to it. Here you have a panel of fairly -- in fairness, people who have had accomplished personal lives in many respects. They're all fairly literate people. Yet they still stood with the extreme fringe and were captivated by them, supporting a position only 10 percent to 15 percent of the electorate support.

For example, the 10-to-1 ratio. Not even supporting raising revenues by 10 - not even supporting cuts 10-1 over raising revenues -

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

ZIMMERMAN: -- a position that's out of the mainstream.

HOLMES: Will, let me bring you in. I'm sure you probably caught it when he said fairly literate there. But still, who do you think won and why?

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Always good to have Robert's fair analysis on the Republican field.

(LAUGHTER)

CAIN: Mitt Romney, hands down. And I'll tell you why, T.J. Because nobody touched him. Of all the fights we saw -- Bachmann versus Pawlenty, Santorum versus Paul, Newt Gingrich versus the Fox News panel. The point is, no one went after Romney. And some of those debates were substantive, but here was a little hint for them. Romney is the frontrunner and he's the architect of Romneycare. There was plenty of stuff to go after Romney for, and nobody did. So he wins.

HOLMES: Let me bring in Robert Traynham now. Would you agree with that? As long as he comes away unscathed, he's doing all right? He doesn't have to score points, just doesn't need to lose them. So, Traynham, who won and why?

ROBERT TRAYNHAM, D.C. BUREAU CHIEF, COMCAST NETWORK: I agree a thousand percent. It was Mitt Romney's night last night, no question about it. Not only did he look presidential but he also sounded presidential.

And interesting enough, I criticize the Republican folks during the last debate. No one laid a glove on Mitt Romney. It was all about a Mitt Romney lovefest during the last debate a couple of weeks - or a couple of months ago.

It appeared that happened last night again. Mitt Romney walked away looking even more presidential. He walked away with no bruises on his chin, which I thought was very interesting because going into this, I thought everyone was either going to go after Romney and also Bachmann because they're the perceived frontrunners in the race.

So, again, it's very, very interesting. Walking out of this -

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

TRAYNHAM: Mitt Romney the winner.

HOLMES: All right. Robert Traynham, I will stay with you there in Iowa. And Rick Perry, Texas governor, who's expected to get into the race officially tomorrow and Sarah Palin, who will be rolling into Iowa on her bus tour, they were not in the debate last night.

So, Robert Traynham, is that a good move? Does it hurt them at all not being there?

TRAYNHAM: I don't think it hurts them. Look, I mean, excuse the metaphor, but they're the two elephants in the room. I mean, Sarah Palin will come rolling in on her bus, she will steal all the thunder as she typically does. She he has a very big footprint. And Rick Perry, he didn't have to be at the debate because he's obviously going to announce sometime tomorrow. So, he'll steal a bit of the thunder already.

So, again, going into this, it seems like they're being almost crazy like a fox by not coming to Iowa, to the state fair, except obviously for Sarah Palin coming in in a couple of hours.

My point is, they still have a lot, a lot of time ahead of them -

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

TRAYNHAM: and they very well will be the frontsrunners when they come.

HOLMES: I'll turn to the other Robert. Same question now. Good, bad move to skip the debate?

ZIMMERMAN: Actually, it was probably a wise move for both of them because ultimately they have to look pragmatically about the fact that Iowa is not a defining contest for the Republican nominee in the same way Iowa has been a defining competition for Democrats.

I would have one caveat here. Iowa caucuses are all about organization. Both of them are profoundly behind the curve in that regard in terms of building a team and building an organization.

And note to Will and Robert: winning -- take it from me and my party, winning the primary is not tantamount to swerving -

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

ZIMMERMAN: -- to the middle and then winning the general.

HOLMES; Will, let me bring you in on this question as well. It seemed like even though Governor Perry was not there, he still played a role in the debate. So, did it really make a difference for him or Sarah Palin to not participate?

CAIN: Yes, I wouldn't group them together, actually. I think Perry's strategy is playing out to be very smart. Most polls suggest that this race is going to come down to Mitt Romney versus Rick Perry. I think after last night, that's the way it still stands. Sarah Palin, I can't quantify what's going on there. I don't know if she'll be in the race. I don't know if she knows that. So, I don't know if it deserves a conversation about whether she has a strategy and it's working out.

Rick Perry for now, I think his strategy is working.

HOLMES: All right. Well, last question. This is the "Buzzer Beater" round. Will, we're starting with you on this one. But we need to start by listening to what was one of the most interesting questions of the night that got crowd reaction. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 2006 when you were running for Congress, you described a moment in your life when your husband said you should study for a degree in tax law. You said you hated the idea, and then you explained, quote, "But the Lord said be submissive. Wives who are to be submissive to your husbands."

As president, would you be submissive to your husband?

(CROWD BOOS)

BACHMANN: What submission means to us, if that's what your question is, it means respect. I respect my husband. He's a wonderful, godly man and a great father. And he respects me as his wife. That's how we operate our marriage --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right, to the three men on this panel, tread lightly. Will, when I ask you, can you submit to your husband and still be a good and effective president of the United States?

CAIN: I'm going to dodge that question away there, T.J.

(LAUGHTER)

CAIN: Let me say this. I was live-blogging the debate last night for a conservative Web site TheBlaze.com. And nine out of ten commenters when that question came up were highly offended and felt it was out of bounds. I've also spoken to some women, which you just alluded to, who were offended as well.

But one out of ten found it very interesting.

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

CAIN: I'm in that group. I find this a very interesting question. Whether or not we're electing Marcus Bachmann ought to be asked.

HOLMES: All right. Robert Traynham, I will see if you will give a bolder answer than Will was willing to. So, can you do both, be a submissive wife and be president of the United States? CAIN: Go for it, Robert.

TRAYNHAM: I take issue with the question. I mean, I think it's ridiculous. The question you should ask, since Franklin Roosevelt was paralyzed from the waist down, would he be a weak president? Because John F. Kennedy had Addison's disease, would he be an ineffective as president?

I mean, this is ridiculous. We're talking about millions of people that are unemployed. We're talking about people that are living paycheck to paycheck. We need to focus -

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

TRAYNHAM: -- on the issues at hand and regardless of whether or not somebody is submissive to their mate or not, that's their business. It's not the American people's business.

HOLMES: To my other Robert, you wrap it up for us.

ZIMMERMAN: OK. Look, T.J., I don't believe issues about spousal relationships should be a focus of a presidential campaign. Michele Bachmann does, however because she's made a big issue about spousal relationships and same-sex marriages. I think she should take a tip from several of my friends in the gay community who recently were married through Andrew Cuomo's leadership. Maybe they could give her some good advice on spousal relationships.

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

HOLMES: All right. Robert, Robert, and Will. Gentlemen, good to talk to you all. Enjoy your weekend.

TRAYNHAM: Thank you. I'll bring some fried butter back for you.

HOLMES: No, keep it to yourself there, Robert. Keep it to youself.

All right, 39 minutes past the hour now. And this is really some unchartered territory for Tiger Woods. When you thought things couldn't really get much worse, well, it did. He is now facing the possibility of not making the cut after his worst opening round ever. We are live at the PGA Championship. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Let's go out to our Patrick Snell, he's covering the PGA championship. Patrick, hello. Are people keeping an eye on the people at the top of the leader board or one guy who's way at the bottom?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think a little bit of both, T.J., to be fair. Stevie Stricker leading the way right now at seven under par for the championship after a sizzling 63 on Thursday. You know, he's the highest American in the world rankings right now at No. 5. But you're quite right. Many of the thousands of eyes already on the course waiting expectantly for Tiger Woods, the former world No. 1. He tees off in about three hours or so from now.

He had a really bad first round. There's no other way to put it, T.J. He shot 77, and this after starting so memorably. He had three birdies within the first five holes. Then he just suffered a big meltdown of gargantuan proportions. He's at seven over par for the championship and in real danger of missing the cut. No doubt about it.

Just to give you an idea of how he ended the front nine, it was a double bogey, a bogey, a par, and then another double as well. Really poor showing from Tiger Woods.

A quick word on Rory McIlroy, the reigning U.S. Open champion. He injured his forearm during Thursday's first round trying to play a tricky shot on hole number 3. Went off for an MRI scan. It was revealed he had a strained tendon in the right forearm. He's out on the course and he is soldiering on. And Rory McIlroy is not a quitter, that's for sure. T.J.?

HOLMES: All right. Patrick Snell for us at the PGA outside of Atlanta. Thank you so much.

We're about a quarter to the top of the hour now. Save jobs or save the environment? You've got to choose sometimes. We'll tell you about the battle for Blair Mountain. Soledad O'Brien joining me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. About half of the power this country uses still comes from burning coal. And one of the ways we get it is by mountain top removal mining. It's effective, and it's pretty destructive as well. That's pitting jobs, folks, against environment folks across the state of West Virginia.

Here now, a sneak preview of Soledad O'Brien's SPECIAL REPORT: "The Battle for Blair Mountain."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATION CORRESPONDENT: Most mountaintop removal sites are hidden from roads. To get a clear view of the aftermath, you need to go up. This is a mountaintop removal process.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They will be taking that all.

O'BRIEN: Another concern for those opposed to mountaintop removal projects, the blasting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It shook the houses real bad. It cracked their porches, ceilings in our houses. But you couldn't prove it was done by blasting. This was just a bad place to live.

O'BRIEN: Charles Bela (ph) lives in Blair. When blasting began near his home in 1997, he was working in the mines.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every time I would complain about the blasting, the superintendent said to me one day, he said -- he said do you realize that you're biting the hand that feeds you? And I said, yes, but I also realize it's the hand that's killing me.

O'BRIEN: Do you worry that the streams are damaged, that the dust is in the air, that it's not healthy? You can't tell dust by sniffing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another neighbor is Diane Kish (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let me tell you, this fed our families.

O'BRIEN: You don't think it's unsafe?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

I would take a drink out of that water.

O'BRIEN: You would take a drink out of this water? No, you would not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:

O'BRIEN: Yes, I would. Look at the color. I wouldn't let

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's better than black.

O'BRIEN: When you look at this mountain, the trees are stripped away, is that progress to you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a job in the making.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: OK, Soledad, what are you supposed to do here? The hand that feeds you is the same one that's killing you.

O'BRIEN: Yes. This is really the conundrum of this region, and I think for many people, the question is why does it have to be sort of positioned as jobs versus the environment? Is there any position where both can win? The EPA, as you know a while back, pulled the Spruce One mine permit, which is going to be this massive project. And when that happened, many people in the community felt hundreds, potentially, jobs were lost.

And so this is really teed up this Battle for Blair Mountain where you have coal miners and people who support coal mining really going against the environmentals who then come into town to do a march to Blair Mountain, recreating a historic march from 1921. But also really bringing up some pretty angry feelings as they march right through the center of town.

HOLMES: And some of those people and the woman you talked to there would some suggest they're in denial or they're on their own pr campaign as well? Because they know that hand that feeds them and for her to suggest, yes it's perfectly safe, I'll dive right in and drink that water -- is that really reasonable?

O'BRIEN: You know, we've heard that a lot. People would say, listen, if a deer is drinking out of the stream, I don't care what - CNN -- we asked someone to test the water in a stream. Said, well you know, if a deer is drinking out of it, unless that deer keels over and dies, I feel good about drinking from the stream, even if there is particulate matter in there and it could be dangerous.

So, yes, I think some of that is denial. I think some of it is really the issue under all of this, which is jobs. Coal miners make $65,000 a year -- the family we follow. You know, that job is going to replace that soon -- not in 10, 15 years. What job tomorrow replaces that? There is not a job there that replace that's at $65,000 a year. So, people understand that's really at issue here. How do you replace those good jobs? And do you have to given up your safety, your health, in order to keep those kind of jobs?

HOLMES: All right. Soledad, good to see you. Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Always.

HOLMES: And it's "Working In America: The Battle for Blair Mountain." It airs Sunday night 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Here are some of the stories making news a little later today.

President Obama welcoming the Super Bowl champions Green Bay packers to the White House, happens a little after 2:30 Eastern time.

Then at 5:00 Eastern time, GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann speaks at the Iowa State Fair soapbox.

Also, Texas governor Rick Perry, he's the keynote speaker at the Alabama Republican party's summer dinner a little later this evening.

You don't have to wait long, though, for Suzanne Malveaux. She'll be with you here in just a second, continuing in the CNN NEWSROOM and this wild ride for stocks this week. It means a wild ride for traders at the New York Stock Exchange.

We'll take you to the floor for a behind-the-scenes look as one trader tries to make some last-minute deals. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Just a few minutes to the top of the hour now. We want to head back out to Iowa. Our Don Lemon is there with the Election Express Bus. We know a lot of candidates will be running around there today, and it sounds like you have just chased one down. Is that right?

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ron Paul, the first one who's going to be speaking at the soapbox, which is right behind the bus here. And you know, the whole reason we're here is for the straw poll that's going to happen tomorrow, which is going to talk about -- really is going to decide how much of a ground swell, these campaigns, how organized they are, how many people they can get from Iowa to come out and vote for them in the straw poll.

So, I caught up with Ron Paul just a couple of minutes ago. Number one, I asked him how he thought he did last night. He said, eh, I think I did okay. He was a little frustrated he said with the time. He didn't get enough time to talk about what he wanted to do.

And I also asked him about the straw poll. Interestingly enough, T.J. I said, "Who do you think is going to win the straw poll?" Usually candidates say, I do. He goes, "I don't know." And then I said, "Well, listen, what about this whole debate in the downgrade in our credit and about the debt ceiling and all of that? Who's responsible for that? Is it Democrats, Republicans, the Tea Party, the president?"

He had a very interesting answer. He put the onus on the American people. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: People are asking, who is responsible for the downgrade: the Tea Party, Republicans, Democrats, the president, who do you think?

PAUL: The people and the Congress because the people have demanded big government and they have supported all these wars and they need to quit doing it. So, it's an appetite for big government that is at fault. And the Congress goes along with that because they appease them and they get reelected.

LEMON: The people, you mean the voters, America?

PAUL: Sure, the people -- I mean, did they complain about all the spending up until the time we hit the crisis? But now the Tea Party people, the ones who are rebelling and saying enough is enough. We have to quit the spending.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So there you go. The downgrade, who's responsible? According to Ron Paul, direct question there, he said the American people and also the Congress.

And just a little bit earlier T.J. I was telling you about, you asked me what were people saying. I said, you know what? They're interested, but it's 15 months out. And in the front of the paper, "The Des Moines Register" says it all. It says, "Despite world's troubles, the fair lets us celebrate all things Iowa." And you see there two young gentlemen enjoying themselves with food here from the state fair.

So, that's where we are at this juncture. Again, the big straw poll tomorrow we're looking forward to. The first person up to speak here is going to be Ron Paul. Then we're looking for Sarah Palin as well, Michele Bachmann and all the other candidates will come out today. We'll bring it to you right here on CNN.

HOLMES: All right. Good stuff, Don! And good perspective as well as so much attention is focused on these candidates right now on a race a good year-plus away. The folks in Iowa just want to enjoy the fair and forget about some of the problems.

So, good perspective there, Don. We appreciate you, buddy. Thanks so much.

Leave it to Don to wrap it up for us. He's been telling us about fried this and fried that. And that's what they want to talk about, it sounds like, there in Iowa. Politics? We'll deal with it later.

SUZANNE MALVEUAX, CNN ANCHOR: Fried Twinkies, fried Snickers bars. Everything, T.J. I'm telling you, you've got to get up there and try that.

HOLMES: At the Arkansas State Fair, we fry some other things.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: I know. It doesn't sound appealing but - you've got to try it, at least.

HOLMES: It's all yours there. I'll get some fried food.