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Prince William, Kate Dance On Tour; Romney States His Job Is Not To Worry About Those People; Who Pays No Federal Income Tax?; Chicago Schools Out For Seventh Day; Obama Visiting Beyonce at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club; Parents Fed Up Over School Strike; Afghan Suicide Bomber Kills 12; Romney Did Not Back Down from Comments; Latest on Occupy Wall Street Movement; Americans Are Getting Fatter

Aired September 18, 2012 - 13:00   ET

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

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Got a little video for you now before we go of Prince William and Kate dancing. They were in Tuvalu, an island chain in the South Pacific not too far from Australia. That's -- we've got some pictures of Kate dancing in a traditional grass skirt, joining in all the fun. William, he works the arms a little bit there. Yes. Not too bad. The couple are on their last leg of their nine-day tour of the region. They made the trip to honor Queen Elizabeth's 60 years on the throne.

The next hour of "CNN NEWSROOM" starts right now with the lovely Poppy Harlow.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good to be with you. Thanks, Michael. Well -- thanks, Michael. I'm Poppy Harlow filling in for Suzanne Malveaux. This hour in the "CNN NEWSROOM" we're focusing on Mitt Romney's comment that almost half of Americans are dependent on the government and believe they are, quote, "victims." Plus, I'll talk to the head of the Chicago teachers union on this seventh day of that strike. Let's get right to it.

Well, the Romney campaign does damage control in response to some secretly recorded comments. Romney is attending a fund-raising luncheon in Salt Lake City this hour, but it's what he said during a private fund raiser back in May that's causing big problems, big headaches, for his campaign. Romney's heard telling wealthy donors 47 percent of Americans will support the president, President Obama, no matter what. This video posted on the liberal leaning website "Mother Jones."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are depend upon government who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. But that's an entitlement and the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what. And the president starts off with 48, 49 -- 48, 49 -- he starts off with a huge number. These are people who pay no income tax, 47 percent of Americans pay no income tax.

So, our message of low taxes doesn't connect. And he'll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. I'm that's what they sell every four years. And so, my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. What I have to do is convince the five to 10 percent in the center that are independents, that are thoughtful that look at voting one way or the other depending upon, in some cases, emotion, whether they like the guy or not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right. We're going to be playing more of that tape for you throughout the hour. But let's bring in CNN Political Director Mark Preston, he's joining us Washington. Mark, Romney held a late night news conference last night where he tried to explain some of these comments. Let's take a listen to part of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: You know, it's not elegantly stated, let me put it that way, I'm speaking off the cuff in response to a question, and I'm sure I could state it more clearly and in a more effective way than I did in a setting like that. And so, I'll -- I'm sure I'll point that out, as time goes on. But we don't even have the question given the snippet there, nor the full response, and I hope the person who has the video would put out the full -- the full material.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So, we'll see if the full material comes out. But I have to say, he does still stand by the message, he say his could have been more clear, more eloquent, but he stands by the message. And doesn't this really hurt the campaign in terms of furthering this feeling among some that he disconnected? If you're president of the United States, you're president of all Americans. How badly does this affect the campaign or does it not?

MARK PRESTON, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, let's just talk about it on a couple of different levels. Let's talk it on the base Republican level. In some ways, this might help -- in a very small amount, might help Mitt Romney, Poppy, with some of the base voters, with Republicans who actually believe this. And if you listen to what he says, in fact, he is talking about the politics of it and the fact that the country is split but it is also very, very, very incendiary language that he uses, though, to make that explanation.

In the short term, though, when you look at the macro picture, this is devastating. The 24-hour news cycle is now going to become a 48-hour news cycle as Mitt Romney is going to still have to answer questions about this. The really big question which we don't have the answer to is that -- is this going to have a long-term effect? We have 49 days until the election day. Is this something that can be a fatal blow to his campaign? We really don't know the answer to that yet. But right now, the Romney campaign, Poppy, does not want to be talking about this. HARLOW: Well, and it's not just that issue of the 47 percent of Americans that don't pay federal income taxes, on the surface, that is the correct number, we're going to dig deeper, though, because you have to get far past the number to really understand why that is and we'll do that this hour. But there's also the Latino issue that comes up. On that tape, part -- that was released, talks about Romney saying -- and he's joking here, but saying, look, I'd have a better chance of getting elected if I was Latino. I was born to American parents in Mexico. But had they not been Americans, maybe I'd having a better chance of getting elected. How does that play out long term for him?

PRESTON: You know, interestingly enough, there's been a bit of a debate over whether Latinos would see this and be angry about it. It was a joke, he said it in a joking manner. You know, I have friends who have said that they actually are not upset about that. But, of course, if you look on social media, a lot of folks are upset. In fact, we have the sound, if we can listen to it, --

HARLOW: Yes.

PRESTON: -- and let our viewers hear what he has to say.

HARLOW: I think we should, guys. Let's pull that up and play that for our viewers, if we can.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: My dad, you probably know, was the governor of Michigan and was the head of a car company, but he was born in Mexico. And had he been born of Mexican parents, I'd have a better shot at winning this. But he was unfortunately born to Americans living in Mexico, they had been there for a number of years -- and, I mean, I say that jokingly but it would be helpful to be Latino.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So, Mark --

PRESTON: And there you have -- well, Poppy, there you have him talk there. You know, what's interesting about that is that it's not what he said, it's how uncomfortable he was in saying it. And I think we heard the uncomfortable laughter in the background.

HARLOW: Yes.

PRESTON: The fact of the matter is he's not going to win the Latino vote, we absolutely know that. For him to win, though, in November, he has to chip away at some core constituencies from President Obama. One of the core constituencies is the Latino vote.

HARLOW: And what about big picture here? This, right now, was supposed to be a time where the campaign resets after the comments last week on Libya, where this campaign resets, refocuses, drives ahead in the 49 days ahead of the election. Doesn't this throw the campaign completely off strategy? PRESTON: It's one of the latest things that we've seen that has put the campaign, you know, spiraling backwards a little bit. They came out of the convention, they did not get a very strong bounce. We saw a story in Politico yesterday, a very well-sourced story that talks about turmoil inside the campaign. We see these videotapes that have surfaced in the last 24 hours. This is not a good time for the Romney campaign. There are still 49 days left, though, and as we all know in politics, everything can change on a dime, Poppy.

HARLOW: Absolutely. I mean, this is all of the talk today and tomorrow, but that could change in an instant. Thanks so much, Mark, appreciate it.

Well, Mitt Romney's remarks about half of this country depending on the government and believing they are entitled might sound harsh, but the core fact, and I mentioned this earlier, is that it is true that almost 47 percent of Americans pay no federal income taxes. Still, the numbers do not tell the whole story whatsoever. Our Christine Romans from the "MONEY TEAM" takes a closer look at who isn't paying and more importantly, why?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, how could it be that nearly half the country pays no taxes, as governor Mitt Romney claim? If you're talking about federal income tax, he's right. According to the Tax Policy Center, 46.4 percent of households pay no federal income tax. Who are these non-payers? It's mostly the elderly, the working poor, lower middle-class families with children. There are also a few thousand millionaire families who pay no tax as well. And for those not paying federal income tax, nearly two-thirds do pay a payroll tax. That's used to fund social security and Medicare.

Now, how many people are paying no federal income tax and no payroll tax? It's a much smaller 18 percent of households. Why? Well, America's tax code written by Congress is 16 volumes of loopholes and tax breaks, for having kids, buying a home, credits for low income earners, and Bush era tax cuts for everyone. That's why many households end up with no tax bill at the end of the year or in some cases, a payment from the government.

Those who Romney said, quote, "believe they are entitled to health care, to food and to housing," here are the numbers. Since the great recession record numbers of Americans have fallen into this safety net. Twenty-six percent are on Medicaid, 15 percent on food stamps, eight percent use WIC, that's food aid for women, infants and children, four percent get housing assistance, and two percent have temporary aid for needy families. That's not counting unemployment benefits up to 99 weeks for the long term unemployed, 61 million Americans receive Social Security checks, 49 million are enrolled in Medicare, that's the government-run health insurance program. In all, census data show nearly half of American families receive some --

HARLOW: There's more to those numbers than just that 47 percent. Keep that in mind. Well, both Mitt Romney and President Obama say they're concerned about the middle class and there's reason to be concerned. There's a new study out that we want to tell you about, it was just released today by the Consumer Federation of America, and what it shows is what a lot of you are feeling that the middle class is losing ground. In 2010, the typical middle class family had assets of $27,300 a year compared to $37,800 annually in 2007. That's a decline of 28 percent. Two-thirds of middle class families admit making at least one, quote, "really bad financial decision." And the average cost of that bad decision was $23,000. Still, most say they do have the ability to make good or excellent financial decisions.

President Obama will make a swing through New York City tonight for a celebrity fund-raiser. Singer Beyonce Knowles plays host to the president at her husband and rapper Jay-Z's club, the 40/40 Club. Like Mr. Obama's previous celebrity fund-raisers, the one tonight will have more than just high rollers. The campaign also invited people who made small donations, those who were lucky enough to win a ticket in a raffle.

Here's what we're working on this hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, hey.

HARLOW (voice-over): No school for a seventh day in Chicago as striking teachers consider a tentative proposal. Even parents supporting them are getting upset. All talk about what's holding up the deal with the head of the Chicago Teachers Union.

A female suicide bomber drives a car packed with explosives into a van, killing 12 people in Afghanistan. What the Taliban say is the reason for the attack.

And a new report on obesity in America shows how many Americans are going to be obese in 20 years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: In Chicago, it is the seventh day with kids not in the classroom. The school teachers strike continues, 29,000 members of the teachers union still on strike in days after a tentative agreement struck between the union and the city we're still seeing this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chicago is a union --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Union delegates are expected to vote on the agreement in the next couple of hours, actually at 2:00 Eastern time. The city says it will go back to court tomorrow to force an end, or try to force an end, to that strike if the dispute is not resolved today. Now, we are hearing from other voices who also want kids back in school. Kyung Lah has been on the ground in Chicago covering this for us throughout the weekend. And you know what I think is so interesting Chung, you've been talking to parents over the past few days, and their sentiment has really changed, hasn't it? KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you can't blame them, because the longer this goes on, the harder it is to come up with those alternatives, the harder it is for parents who decided to take just a few days off of work and perhaps --

HARLOW: Yes.

LAH: -- have to stretch it a little longer. So, of course, parents are starting to re-evaluate how they feel about this. We have spoken to parents who do stay behind the teachers, they support the teachers but we are seeing a sentiment shift. Last night we sat down with some parents, a small group of parents, who say they're definitely starting to shift in their opinion of this strike. Here's what one parent told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICIA O'KEEFE, PARENT: Parents need to get out there and have their voices heard. We need to get the children back in school. Bottom line, it's as simple as that. And if parents sit on the sidelines, the pressure's off and there's no sense of urgency anymore. We're going to just keep delaying this. We have got to turn up the heat and parents have got to speak up and we have to end this strike and get the students back in school.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: And last week she said she was much more behind the teachers union. Today, it's a bit of a different story.

Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Kyung, can you give us a sense of the timeline here. I mean if this vote turns out today that the delegate, it's 800 teachers that will come together and vote, not the entire union, but if they come back and they vote to end this strike, how quickly could that mean kids back in the classroom?

LAH: Potentially kids could be back in school tomorrow. And that's really what parents are hoping, that this strike will be over and they can get back into the classroom. But let's look at the flip side of it. Let's say this 800-member union delegate group decides we want to go back to the bargaining table. What that does is it forces the negotiators on the part of the union back to the negotiating table with the school district to go over those points that the teachers are concerned with. So we're not back to square one if that happens, but they may be back at square 1.5.

HARLOW: All right. We'll obviously monitor that through the afternoon. That meeting starting in less than an hour. Kyung, thank you.

Well just a short while ago I spoke with Karen Lewis. She's at the center of all of this, folks. She's the head of the Chicago Teachers Union. I asked her if she believes today's vote would be able to get teachers back to work and kids back to school as early as tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN LEWIS, PRES., CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION: I certainly hope so. But again, that -- we have a democratic process here and that is unusual for most unions. It is not my job to tell people what to do. It is my job to listen and to represent their voices. And that's what we've been doing all along.

HARLOW: The issue comes that if the teachers do not vote to go back to school tomorrow to end the strike, then it could be in a judge's hand. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has taken this to cook County, taken it to the courts and asked them to hear it. The judge did not hear it yesterday, but will take the issue up tomorrow, if necessary, and will vote on whether or not it's illegal and whether or not these teachers need to go back to school. What's your view on it at that point in terms of putting it in a judge's hands?

LEWIS: Well, clearly it's not an illegal strike. If it were an illegal strike, that -- the judge -- CPS would have gone to see a judge over a week ago. So clearly it's not an illegal strike. I think this is just the frustration on the part of the mayor, who was expecting students to go back to school on Monday. And that did not happen.

HARLOW: So you're willing, you're fine if it does have to go into a judge's hands? You're willing to see it go that far?

LEWIS: Well, I -- again, it depends on what the membership makes a decision about. I think, again, if that's what our membership speaks to, then that's what will happen. But we are certainly not afraid of the mayor and we're not afraid of judges. We know that what we have done up to this point is to focus the energy of the city towards looking at what really makes schools better. We are very concerned about that and we want to be a part of the process.

HARLOW: The tension between you and Mayor Rahm Emanuel is something that has been highly publicized throughout this debate. If you were in a room with the mayor right now, now that you do have language on the table, what would you say to him?

LEWIS: You know, I haven't even thought about that.

HARLOW: Really?

LEWIS: I think, you know, people personalize this because it's easier to do. It's easier to say this is something between the mayor and me. And I don't feel that way at all. The mayor and I have way more in common than we have not in common. So, you know, I would hope the mayor cares about good schools. We care about good schools. We have some ideological differences and I think that, you know, hopefully somebody will be able to bridge those differences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Well, suicide bombings killed more than a dozen people in Afghanistan just today. The Taliban pointing to the anti-Islam movie clip on YouTube in explaining why a female suicide car bomber drove a car packed with explosives into a van. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Well, new fallout from that now notorious film that insults the Prophet Muhammad. Al Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa is urging Muslims in the region to ramp up their protests and to, quote, "kill their American ambassadors and representatives." The group is also calling the killing of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens a, quote, "gift," and to his, quote, "arrogant and unjust administration." Stevens and three other Americans were killed last week in the Libyan city of Benghazi during protests over that film.

And just today, 12 more people were killed in association with that film apparently. This latest attack happened in Afghanistan. A suicide bomber slammed a car packed with explosives into a van on the road that leads to Kabul Airport. A group with ties to the Taliban is claiming responsibility. Our Anna Coren is in Kabul and joins us live.

Anna, first off, the fact that this suicide bomber was a female driving a car is rare because often women aren't even allowed to drive in Afghanistan. So that's rare. I wonder if that shows us a change, a shift in tactics. And then also give us the details of the attack today. I know that eight of the victims were South Africans.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right, Poppy. I think you're spot on. There is a change of tactics that is going on here in Afghanistan. We're certainly seeing much more violence. You mentioned that suicide bomber. The 22-year-old woman. She is, in fact, Kabul's first female suicide bomber. There have been other female suicide bombers around the country, but never here in the capital.

Now, she was driving a car packed with 300 kilograms of explosives. It rammed into that mini bus which was carrying eight South Africans. And, you know, when we arrived on the scene, Poppy, there were bodies strewn everywhere. Just to give you an idea of the power of this explosion, the engine block from that car was some 100 meters down the road. There were buildings within a kilometer away which had its -- the windows were smashed. So the power of this explosion was absolutely huge. But as you say, the group responsible has (INAUDIBLE), which is an Islam militant group with ties to the Taliban. They are saying this is a direct response to that anti- Islamic film.

HARLOW: I do want to tell our viewers, the State Department just came out and said that there were no apparent U.S. victims in this attack. That just coming to us from the State Department.

Another big story is the changing tactics of NATO in the region because of the escalating tensions. It seems, though, it's now caused NATO to adjust its operations with Afghan security forces in terms of how many and whom they train to prepare for when U.S. and other troops leave Afghanistan. What can you tell us?

COREN: Yes, Poppy, I mean this is the cornerstone of this entire mission. You know the coalition U.S. forces handing over control to the Afghans so they can stand on their own two feet when these national forces leave here in 2014. But we've seen that uptick in these green on blue attacks, that being coalition forces -- I should say Afghan forces, I beg your pardon, turning on the coalition troops that are training them. Fifty-one coalition deaths to date this year.

So there's great concern about that. There's great concern about this film. So as a result, they've decided to scale back these joint operations. They've said they'll do it on the higher level, battalion and higher, but anything below that the Afghans have to control. But certainly that is the cornerstone to this mission. At the end of the day, Poppy, you know, U.S. and Afghan -- and, I should say, U.S. and coalition forces, they are out of here in 2014. And the Afghan troops, they have to stand on their own two feet.

HARLOW: Anna Coren reporting for us. Great reporting on the ground there. Thank you, Anna.

Well, family members of the filmmaker linked to that anti-Islam film are now in hiding. The sheriff's department escorted them from their home near Los Angeles before dawn yesterday. This video shows the filmmaker going in for questioning. Voluntarily going in for questioning with federal authorities over the weekend. But as you can see, his face is completely covered up. He apparently never went back to that house. Sheriff's deputies took the family to meet him at an undisclosed location.

Well, Mitt Romney says if he were born to Mexican parents, he would have a better shot at winning the presidency. But many Latinos take exception to that. We're going to talk to two Latina political players about Romney's comments, one Republican and one Democrat. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Mitt Romney is standing by his comment that almost half of Americans will vote for President Obama because they see themselves as dependent on the government. His remarks were secretly recorded during a private fundraiser back in May. And the liberal web site "Mother Jones" posted this video. Now, Romney says his comments were, quote, "off the cuff," but he did not back down from the main message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a message which I'm going to carry and continue to carry, which is, look, the president's approach is attractive to people who are not paying taxes because, frankly, my discussion about lowering taxes is not as attractive to them and, therefore, I'm not likely to draw them into my campaign as effectively as those who are in the middle. This is really a discussion about the political process of winning the election. And, of course, I want to help all Americans. All Americans have a bright and prosperous future. And I'm convinced that the president's approach has not done that and will not do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Turning to talk about Romney's remarks, those and some others, Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona; and Republican strategist, Ana Navarro. Both are CNN contributors.

Let's listen to one of the comments at center of all of this. Here's part of what Mitt Romney said at the fundraiser held back in May.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: OK. Ana, I want to go to you first.

When you talk about the position of president, that job is to be the leader of the free world, to be the leader of all American people. When I'm out in the field talking to folks that -- many support Mitt Romney, many don't. But the ones that don't, the most common thread that I hear is they feel like he's disconnected from them. In those comments, we're hearing, look, no matter what I do, 47 percent of Americans aren't going to vote for me. What's your take in terms of a position that is meant to unite the American people? Does this hurt him there?

ANA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST & CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It hurts him in that sense. It also hurts him in the sense that we're talking about this instead of talking about Barack Obama's record or talking about Mitt Romney's proposals or really litigating some of the issues that should be deciding this campaign.

I think it's not a good narrative for Mitt Romney. But at the same time, is it a death blow to his campaign? No. Poppy, let's remember four years ago, Barack Obama got caught in similar circumstances talking about -- disdainfully people who cling to guns and religion. Today, he's trying to cling to the votes of the people who cling to the votes and religion in Pennsylvania. So, too, shall pass. Romney has no choice but to ride it out. Did he say it artfully? No. Do I agree with what he said? No. Do I wish he said it differently? Yes. But this happens in campaigns. Sometimes candidates get caught in public and in private saying things they wish they said differently.

HARLOW: Maria?

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST & CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Here's the biggest problem with what Romney said, Poppy. He said those 47 percent, it is not my job to worry about those people. That is not something that you want voters to be hearing 49 days before an election that you want to win to be president of all of this country where voters are looking for that president to unite them.

And let me just say one other thing. Republicans have been comparing Romney's statement with the statement that Obama made four years ago about guns and religion. I went back to read those comments and they could not be further from each other. Yes, Barack Obama's comments were arrogant and they were misguided, and I said it at the time, but if you look at what he was talking about as a whole, he was talking about wanting to help those people that he was saying clung to religion and their guns to bring them in, to persuade them to work with America. I completely different message than what Mitt Romney was saying, where he wants to dismiss half of the country.

HARLOW: The Obama campaign reacting to this quickly, already out with a web ad, focusing on some of the comments made at that fundraiser. I want to play you part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: When you're president of the United States you are president of all of the people, not just the people who voted for you. You've heard the president say so many times, because he deeply believes it, that we're in this together, all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Those were comments from White House press secretary, Jay Carney. Now we'll play you the ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: And they will vote for this president no matter what. And so my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I actually felt sick to my stomach.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't like it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It shows that he's out of touch, if he thinks half of the country is feeling like victims.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Victims? I wouldn't think so. I don't think that's part of the American fabric.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not looking for --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: So, Ana, you know, for people just seeing that ad and not seeing the full video -- we haven't seen the full video yet -- what is the impact like here? Does this play out in a 24, 48-news cycle or is this long lasting 49 days before the election?

NAVARRO: Well, we'll see how much money, if any, the Democrats put behind that ad. Poppy, that's what political advertising is like today -- comments taken out of context. We've seen Barack Obama's context on "you didn't build that" being used against him. We've seen Barack Obama's comment when he got caught with an open mike telling the president of Russia, I'll have more flexibility in a second term, also used against him. These things happen. Comments are taken out of context.

I think the lesson for both candidates and all candidates is we live in 2012, anything and everything you say will, at some point, be public so be very careful how you say it, where you say it, to whom you say it because it will come back.

CARDONA: But, Poppy, if I could add, the reason why this is damaging for Mitt Romney, other than just a simple comment taken out of context, is because it reinforces everything that voters already feel about Mitt Romney.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: I do want to play you some sound that comes from Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who talked about this on "The Situation Room" with Joe Johns yesterday, and he made an important point about the big picture here. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Listen, Joe, I don't have numbers in front of me but, clearly, what we do have, very clearly, is a government and a society here in this country that is becoming dependent. This is something advertised by Barack Obama himself on his own web site when they came out with this "Life of Julia" push over the summer. It is a choice election between what type of country you want to have. And I can guarantee you that the American dream was not built upon the "Life of Julia"-society advertised by Barack Obama.

HARLOW: Ana, this is a bigger-picture question of what kind of government and where you think the role of government is in society, how much a role government services should play in people's lives. He addressed the big picture there.

NAVARRO: You know, I think we could go back to the Biblical parable, if you want. This is not about giving folks fish. It's about teaching them to fish. I think most of us would like folks to be able to have the opportunity to make it on themselves. I think most people would like to be able to make it on themselves. It's a small minority who would like to be dependent on the government. I don't like that narrative. I don't agree with the narrative.

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: And when you say 47 percent, a lot of those people are people that are not dependent on the government, don't want to be dependent on the government. But we have an administration that's had a very high unemployment number. We've had an administration that's had economic distress for four years. A lot of those people are victims of this situation, of this economic distress. HARLOW: Ana, thank you so much.

Maria, we're out of time.

Thank you both for joining us.

NAVARRO: Thank you.

CARDONA: Thank you, Poppy.

HARLOW: I appreciate it.

Occupy Wall Street protesters marked the first anniversary of the movement that was yesterday with more protests in New York. Dozens were arrested. But what's happening with the movement today? That is the big question. What did it achieve? I'll talk to an activist at the center of the movement, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: The Occupy movement turned 1 year old and police arrested more than 180 people on the streets of New York Monday. Take a look at some of the video. I was there. Looks familiar, right? Similar to what we've seen play out the last year. We've got used to seeing scenes like this last fall when the Occupy movement at its pinnacle. But is the movement relevant one year later?

I want to bring in Justin Wedes, an Occupy activist in New York. He's been involved since the beginning.

I was with you last week in Brooklyn, one of the spaces where you guys are currently working. But I want you to address some of the criticism that Joe Nocera, from "The New York Times," brought up in op-ed this week. And this is what he said. I'll read it. "Occupy Wall Street simply would not engage with the larger world. Believing that both politicians and corporations were corrupt, it declined to dirty its hand by talking to anyone in power."

Justin, the point, he said why has the Tea Party arguably in his mind been more successful than Occupy? He says it's because the Tea Party was willing to engage with those people. What is your response to that?

JUSTIN WEDES, OCCUPY WALL STREET ACTIVIST: Well, Joe is absolutely right that we have targeted both Wall Street and Washington as really the cause of our economic downturn. But where he's wrong is in saying we haven't engaged with that larger audience. In fact, it's actually the politicians in Washington who've really sidestepped and distracted from the major issues affecting low income and hard working people today. And Occupy Wall Street that's been open to continuing and growing that dialogue and really turning, escalating a campaign of direct action in order to engage the 99 percent and really the 100 percent of people who want to see a different future, a more promising future.

HARLOW: Give me a sense of how you guys have engaged with those in positions of power. Have you sat down? I've been covering you closely over the past year. Have you had one-on-one meetings with some leaders of the top banks or top leaders in Washington?

WEDES: Well, listen, this is a young movement. We're only 1 year old. We haven't been able to have all of the changes in just that one year. But what we are doing is beginning smarter. We're getting more strategic. And so in our second year, as we strategize and move in a new direction, we're going to begin to look at short and long term change, both within the system and outside the system. As we've seen in histories effective in creating change.

HARLOW: Justin, the Occupy movement has formed what you're calling affinity group, smaller groups focusing on specific issues like student debt, the environment. Andrew Ross Sorkin also wrote in a "New York Times" op-ed today. He called the movement a fad. And one of his biggest point of criticism is you guys get hurt by others being involved in the movement that aren't focused on issues, that are just there to frankly make a lot of noise. Does that detract from the movement and the message and what you work every day for?

WEDES: Listen, what -- where we stand now, four years since the economic crisis, everybody in this country has been affected some way by this downturn. Now we're opening up to seeing that the real cost of this so-called economic recovery has been more crony capitalism, more corruption in government, more attacks on working people. So people are taking to the streets. They're waking up. They're getting over the cynicism, I think, and they're rising up.

Occupy Wall Street as a movement exists in order to bring that -- that concentration, that focus, on the real root problem, which is the corruption, corporate greed on Wall Street, into the mainstream. And it's done that incredibly effectively in this past year. In our second year, we'll only get smarter.

HARLOW: I'll tell you, Justin, It's brought the 99 percent, 1 percent in the lexicon. We're talking about it. I think the question now is action. We'll be following closely as we have been.

Thank you, Justin.

WEDES: Thank you.

HARLOW: Well, Mexican prisoners escaped near the Texas border. We'll tell you about a woman who may have unknowingly helped out some prisoners.

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HARLOW: It's time for the "Help Desk." We're focusing today on mutual funds. Joining me this hour to talk about it, Donna Rosato and Ryan Mack.

Ryan, take a listen to this.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What kind of mutual fund should I invest in?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: It's a broad question. But she's got a good point. There are so many out there.

RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT; There are a lot of different mutual funds. First thing, make sure you have a no-load mutual fund, meaning no-commission mutual fund.

HARLOW: Fees.

MACK: For every commission-driven mutual fund, I can find five that give you a good return. Make sure the performance measurement standards, that portfolio manager has been there for at least five years. Make sure he has a good standard rate of return that you can judge --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: But they have a Morning Star rating or something, right?

MACK: Yes. Morning Star. Make sure it has four, five stars.

HARLOW: OK.

MACK: And the last, expense ratio, 1.5 percent or less.

DONNA ROSATO, WRITER, MONEY: I can't emphasize that enough. Expense is more important than anything else. Studies by Vanguard are that, if you -- if you look over time, the biggest impact how you save and earn, it's reducing the expenses of the fund versus the overall return performance of the fund.

HARLOW: What about switching out of funds into others, every few months or few years? Is that something you recommend or stick with it?

MACK: Yes. Every time, you might not have to pay a commission but you have to pay a brokerage fee, depending where you're investing in.

HARLOW: Right.

MACK: All of that turning causes money, what you're doing is not allow allowing yourself the dollar cost average to stay in the funds for the longer period of time.

HARLOW: Sure.

ROSATO: I think having an index fund, which tends to be much lower cost, and will cover a lot, is probably the best bet.

(CROSSTALK)

MACK: You can buy the entire market with one investment, diamonds and what not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: All right, folks, if you have a question you want our experts to tackle -- we bring them on every week -- upload your question as a video on ireport.com.

Almost half of Americans may be obese within 20 years. That's the assessment of a new report. We're going to take a look at steps the government has taken to solve that problem. That's next.

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HARLOW: Well, Americans are getting fatter. That's according to a new report out that says almost half of all Americans will be obese by the year 2030. That's every state in the nation with at least a 44 percent obesity rate. That will mean millions of new cases of diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

Senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here to talk about it. Looking at the study, it also said the adult obesity rate could go over 60 percent in 13 states by 2030. And, not to mention, we can't afford it as a nation in terms of health care.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. This is extremely expensive. It is a preventable thing. We could be preventing this.

So let's look at where it is the worst. It is in the south. Mississippi is projected to have the worst increase. I should say these are projections and forecasts, which are always a little tricky, just to acknowledge that. So in Mississippi, in 2011, the obesity rate was 35 percent. In Colorado, the lowest obesity rate as a comparison, it was 21 percent. Fast-forward to 2030, that Mississippi 35-percent- rate becomes 67 percent. That Colorado 21-percent-rate becomes 45 percent. So those are huge jumps on both ends of the spectrum.

HARLOW: It is interesting when you talk about how this gets political, because everything gets political less than 50 days out from the election. We saw New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg getting that ban on the big, big sodas passed. That was politically controversial. Now what about on the national stage? What are the candidates proposing to do to solve this epidemic of obesity?

COHEN: Obama, in 2010, passed a law that mandated that schools do better lunches, more nutritional, less fat, less sodium, all of that. His wife has the Lets Move campaign.

Romney doesn't have anything on his web site about what he would do for obesity, which is a huge public health threat. We reached out to his campaign to ask what he would do to fight this epidemic and they did not reply to our e-mails.

We did find, in 2007, he said something interesting. He said he's all for healthier school lunches. He believes that's the right thing to do, but he said, very clearly, I think our states should do that, I don't want the federal government to be mandating what's done in school. So he takes issue with Obama passing a federal law.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: No surprise there.

COHEN: Right.

HARLOW: He wants the states to handle it.

Something has to be done. That's for sure. Those are incredible disturbing numbers.

COHEN: They are.

HARLOW: Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

HARLOW: Appreciate it.

Well, Mexican prisoners escape near the Texas border. We'll tell you about a woman who may have unknowingly helped out a prisoner.

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HARLOW: Listen to this. More than 130 Mexican inmates escaped from a prison near the U.S. border, right near Texas, and they're on the run right now. The escape happened in Piedras Negras, which is across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas. Police have blocked roads leading into the U.S. -- leading into the U.S. Authorities say the inmates escaped through a seven-foot-long tunnel that started inside of a prison workshop. Just like the movie. Then they cut through a chain-link fence and they took off. Pretty wild story.