republican consultant and cnn political contributor alex castellanos is with us now from tampa. good to see you, alex. all right. so is a tea party backed candidate likely to fair better, feel more compelled to appeal to tea party supporters at this debate such as a michele bachmann, for instance? >> reporter: that's -- that's why they're here. this is the core of the republican party, the heart of it. these candidates are going home tonight. now, for rick perry, that's good news. he's very close to the tea party. he's -- he kind of represents their anger. for mitt romney, that's a little different. he's more of the establishment republican. for mitt romney it's an away game tonight. for rick perry it's a home game. >> perry and romney, they have not been seeing eye to eye as it pertains to social security. is that battle likely to carry out on this stage as well? >> reporter: yes. i think, you know, usually you don't start political campaigns by setting grandma's hair on fire. that's what rick perry seemed to do the other night. he said not only that social security is a ponzi

joining me republican strategist alex castellanos. former democratic governor of michigan and the author of "a governor's story: the fight for jobs and america's commission future" jennifer granholm and her book, right there side by side. white house correspondent for "the new york times" helene cooper, and senior political analyst for "time" magazine, mark halperin. welcome to all of you. so here we have an economic debate about jobs, and the deficit, in the middle of a presidential campaign. mark halperin, a president in trouble because of the economy. and here come the republicans, with big internal battles going on, but they're making their charge for the nomination. so the question that i asked former president clinton i think is most germane which is can this president be reelected? he says, yes, after a pause, if, and there's a lot of ifs there. >> there are. i think he's still the front-runner to be re-elected until a republican emerges clearly capable of taking him on. the environment is horrible. and the current fight he's i

republican strategist alex castellanos. white house correspondent for "the new york times," helene cooper. and senior political analyst for "time" magazine, mark halperin. >>> good morning. after a week spent taking his case on the road and urging congress to pass his jobs bill, tomorrow the president will lay out his plan to reduce the deficit. "the new york times" reporting this morning that president obama will call for a new minimum tax rate for millionaires and will dub the proposal the buffett rule in reference to billionaire warren buffett who has advocated that the superrich should pay their fair share of taxes. but what are the prospects now among republicans? what sort of plan is realistic in the midst of this election cycle? here with us for two live interviews, the republican leader of the senate, mitch mcconnell, and former president of the united states, bill clinton. leader mcconnell, let me start with you and ask you whether this president's plan on a millionaire's tax rate is something that you could suppor

our cnn political contributor and consultant alex castellanos is with us, and also billy tucker. billy, since this is a tea party debate, the tea party shot like a rocket on to the scene in 2010. hugely helpful, if not usually responsible for the republicans taking back the congress. when you look at these eight candidates tonight, and you're looking for a leader, for the republican party, an embrace of the tea party movement, what is your defining question? >> my defining question is, how are they going to lead? we want to know how they're going to govern and we want to know if they are going to be strong leaders. we need a courageous leader right now. >> a courageous leader right now. and you say that in the context of debating president obama or do you say that in the context of your disappointments with the last republican president, especially at the end, george w. bush? >> we say that based on the fact that we need a courageous leader. the tea party is looking for courageous leaders to do the right things. that means in the white house and congress and in the senate. so it'

jessica yellin, paul begala, alex castellanos, thank you. >>> in a preview of piers morgan tonight, rick perry taking a hit from rick santorum telling piers that governor perry is ducking scrutiny. >> we haven't seen govern area perry in a debate yet or do much in the way of interviews yet. i've done this for 12 years in the united states senate where i was under the scrutiny that a national figure is under. i've done it in a state like pennsylvania where i haven't backed away from any questions or any interviews. i don't hide myself from the public or from the press. >> you can see more on "piers morgan tonight" after "360" at 9 9:00 p.m. >>> moammar gadhafi's sons are speaking out. they're not backing out at least not verbally. the latest from tripoli tonight and new developments in aruba where the search for the missing woman goes on. why the key suspect, this man right here, gary won't be going home any time soon. ♪ [ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. it's a lifetime. gone. we'll m