[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn:] Happening now, President Obama wants a grand bargain on jobs, including a higher minimum wage. We're going to get reaction from Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who is in the middle of a family feud in the Republican Party right now. And you may be surprised at who the senator is now calling, quote, "the king of bacon." Plus, Private Bradley Manning found guilty in the WikiLeaks case, but not not guilty of the most serious charge. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. We begin with President Obama offering Republicans a new grand bargain, as he calls it, one the president says will grow good paying jobs for the middle class. Republicans already are complaining the president's ideas aren't new or grand. Let's start with our chief White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin. She's got the latest Jessica.
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] Wolf, President Obama went to Tennessee to unveil this new proposal he's calling the grand bargain. But as you know, Republicans say it's not new and it's not grand.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Well, tell me how this works.
[Yellin:] Touring this Amazon shipping and packing center in Tennessee, President Obama offered his seal of approval. The colossal online retailer is adding 7,000 new jobs nationwide, 5,000 at warehouses like this one.
[Obama:] And what have we got going here?
[Yellin:] But all that's just window dressing for the president to deliver this message.
[Obama:] If folks in Washington really want a grand bargain, how about a grand bargain for middle class jobs?
[Yellin:] I know, another grand bargain already? But wait, this one's different. There's no fast approaching deadline or late night negotiations yet.
[Obama:] And if Washington heads toward yet another budget debate, the stakes couldn't be higher.
[Yellin:] We're in the pre-game and the president is trying to box in his opponent early.
[Obama:] We should be doing everything we can, as a country, to create more good jobs that pay good wages, period. Today, I came here to offer a framework that might help break through some of the political logjam in Washington.
[Yellin:] So what's that framework?
[Obama:] A deal that simplifies the tax code for our businesses and creates good jobs with good wages.
[Yellin:] Corporate tax reform in return for investment in programs that could create high wage jobs. It sounds like two proposals he's backed before. In a statement, Speaker Boehner's spokesperson agrees, saying, "This proposal allows President Obama to support President Obama's position on taxes and President Obama's position on spending." And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says the proposal
[Sen. Mitch Mcconnell , Senate Minority Leader:] It doesn't exactly qualify as news. It's just a further left version of a widely panned plan he already proposed two years ago.
[Yellin:] Now, Wolf, the White House argues that it shouldn't matter whether these proposals are new, what should matter is whether they help Americans. And the White House argues they do. So then the question is, why unveil this at an Amazon warehouse? According to CNNMoney, Amazon pays their warehouse workers about $24,000 a year. That's just above the poverty line, hardly the high paying jobs the president is trying to create for the future, but they are creating some new jobs. You can't have everything Wolf.
[Blitzer:] All right, Jessica. Thanks very much. And we're going to get reaction to the president's address later this hour. Senator Rand Paul, he's got some strong views on that, strong views on some of the Republican comments about him, including Chris Christie. That interview coming up. Now to the afternoon's verdict in the court-martial of Army Private First Class Bradley Manning. A military judge pronounced him guilty of most of the charges in connection with the largest leak of classified information in U.S. history. But Manning was found not guilty of the most serious charge, including aiding the enemy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Let's bring in our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin Jeffrey, the charge was he gave intelligence classified information to the enemy, albeit not directly. Not guilty on that charge, the most serious charge. Were you surprised?
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Senior Legal Analyst:] Not really. You know, what Manning is not has been known for months. The only issue is, what crime was he guilty of? He's pleaded guilty to some crimes. He was charged with others, including this charge which is somewhat like treason. He was acquitted of that charge. That strikes me as a very reasonable decision by the judge. It seemed like an excessive effort by the prosecution. But he still faces over 100 years in prison, so Bradley Manning is not going anywhere any time soon.
[Blitzer:] The sentencing phase will begin tomorrow. And it will be up to the judge to decide how many years in prison he will have to serve. The whole notion, though, of the message, this not guilty verdict on this major charge, sends to others who potential whistleblowers, others who want to leak classified information to the news media, what is that message?
[Toobin:] Well, I don't think there is any message of leniency being sent here. He has been charged with an inc a wide variety of crimes, some of which he pled guilty to, some of which he was convinced of. And he is likely to go to prison, not for years, but for decades. But I do think the message, if there was a message sent, was that the government has to use the statutes for the purpose for which they're intended. The law that he was acquitted of really involves helping the enemy in war time. And that was really not did not fit the crime here. And I think the judge was right to acquit him of it.
[Blitzer:] Do you think the verdict will impact Edward Snowden, the NSA leaker?
[Toobin:] I do. I think Snowden recognizes that this is what's in store for him. True, he might not be charged with the absolute maximum penalty. Eric Holder, the attorney general, has already said they will not be seeking the death penalty against him. But he, like Manning, has admitted disclosing an enormous amount of classified information. And if he does return to the United States, he, too, is going to be looking at many, many years in prison. And as we've seen, he's doing everything he can to avoid coming back here to face that.
[Blitzer:] He certainly is. All right, Jeffrey Toobin, thanks very much. Up next, a nationwide push workers calling for a much higher minimum wage. But will that help or hurt the overall economy? A debate coming up, a major debate. And later, a family feud in the Republican Party. You're going to hear who Senator Rand Paul is calling the king of bacon.
[Sen. Rand Paul , Kentucky:] To lead a nation, you need not only