newt gingrich and rick santorum tied for third and fourth and rick perry moved on to south carolina. the new battleground will start late tonight. first the wig big winner, mitt romney taking on president obama and drew the biggest applause lines from the speech. >> the president has run out of ideas and now he is running out of excuses. >> i'm going to be joined by somebody who was a candidate himself, tim pawlenty. has he sealed the deal yet? >> well, that's an understatement, piers, to say good. he won iowa and be many people's accounts and now won new hampshire convincingly, he's the first nonincumbent candidate to win iowa and new hampshire in history so it was a spectacular night for mitt romney and his vision for america, restoring america, rather than barack obama's declinist view of america. >> i notice in his victory speech again he resisted the temptation to whack his opponents and focused on president obama and on improving america. is that going to be the consistent strategy going forward? >> well, he's been consistent in focusing on barack obama when other republicans have criticized him he certainly has responded. but for the most part, mitt romney has focused on barack obama. he's the real problem here. he's the person that needs to be removed from office. and when you look at barack obama's vision of america it's trying to incite class warfare and get people to fight about shrinking pieces of the paid rather than mitt romney's vision of growing the pie. those are two very different visions and i think america's will like mitt romney's view better. >> tell me about ron paul. he had a very good night finishing with 24% of the votes. are you taking him seriously as a possible threat to win the nomination? >> well, ron paul and mitt romney don't agree on many things. but you have to tip your cap to ron paul, at least in terms of the results that he was able to garner in iowa. he had a respectable, i think, believe third-place finish if i remember correctly and coming in second in new hampshire so those are significant milestones for his candidacy. there are sharp differences. he and governor romney have different views on important issues but you have to acknowledge what he's speaking to a slice of the conservative coalition. >> i have an interview with rick perry coming up, governor, where he slams your man and says he's a vulture capitalist for his activities when he ran bain. how do you answer the charge that mitt romney is a vulture? >> well, first of all, it's inaccurate and unfair. rick perry's campaign as you know, has had its share of challenges but the argument about free enterprise and economic freedom in this country is an important one. we shouldn't be having -- we shouldn't take barack obama's side on it. the democrats are the one who is criticized private enterprise and economic freedom. i'm disappointed newt gingrich and rick perry and others are criticizing a republican and using the democrats' arguments in a republican primary. it's really unfortunate and i think is a very, shall we say, desperate or hail mary pass, if this were a football game. >> newt gingrich has played "mr. nice guy" until this week but it looks like the gloves have come off. he apparently has $3 million to spend through a super pac which is clearly going to be an assault on mitt romney. are you concerned that one of your opponents now has the kind of financial muscle to play dirty in the way that you have? >> well, you're saying we had money. not that we played dirty. the point is the super pacs are not controlled by the candidates. they are independent and supposed to be independent. this is going to be a hard-fought campaign and there's no question about it. mitt romney's not taking anything for granted but obviously he has the momentum and the tail wind and when people see his vision for america and his experience in the private sector, not just the government sector i think you'll come to the same conclusions they came to in iowa and new hampshire and they're going to vote for mitt romney and i think you'll see it in the next few states. >> governor, congratulations on a very successful evening, thank you. >> thanks, piers. >> a good night for ron paul we finished second and a strong showing that energized his supporters tonight. >> i called governor romney a short while ago before he gave his talk and congratulated him because he certainly had a clear-cut victory. but we're nibbling at his heels! but there was another victory tonight. he had a victory but we have had a victory for the cause of liberty tonight! >> by ron paul man, jesse benson. a good night for you guys. you must be feeling pretty happy? >> we're ecstatic. what a victory for us tonight. we've consolidated this down to a two-man national race and now we're the conservative constitutional alternative to mitt romney and like dr. paul said, we're coming and we're nipping at his heels. >> what is fascinating about ron paul? he's the oldest guy in the race by a significant margin. but he appears to be attracting the most vibrant youth vote. especially on social media. how have you managed to pull this off? i mean, it seems an incongrous match. >> he has the youngest ideas in the race. he's beyond the ideas of freedom and liberty and personal sponsorsability and free enterprise and commerce. he tells young people the truth. he's honest with them and tells them about the mess they're inherit but he offers a solution. our constitution, liberty, getting our freedoms back band young people respond so well. >> mitt romney is running on this sense of him being electable. and the criticism at your man is that he's dangerous. tonight he kind of embraced the danger and said -- damn right i'm dangerous. an interesting strategy. can you move from dangerous to electable, do you think? >> well, we're dangerous to the status quo. we're dangerous to the establishment but we're the best choice for the american people. the people that want their freedoms back and want to obey the constitution and want prosperity back in the country, that's what ron paul is all about. danger to the establishment and the safe choice for the americans. >> he was a strange lone voice today supporting mitt romney as all the criticism heaped on him for his apparent comments he liked firing people. why did he stick his neck out like that? >> well, there are two things that should bring all republicans together and one is, realizing that the media will pull some "gotcha" statements from time to time and take things out of context. and two, we all rally behind free enterprise capitalism and we think it's unfortunate that some demagogue the language taken out of context. we want to have an adult conversation in this campaign. now that it's a two-man race we want to talk about the issues serious to the american people. and we're going to criticize governor romney on his record of supporting an individual health care mandate, supporting t.a.r.p. big spending. but we're going to engage on the issues have and have the adult conversation the american people deserve and not demagogue these personal things and not try to tear down the free enterprise system. >> you're on a great roll so far. south carolina will be tougher. the latest polls have ron paul 12%, fourth place. it's a bit of a battle you're facing now. how are you going to change the operation moving forward? it has to get more serious, doesn't it? >> it is. dr. paul hadn't campaigned yet in south carolina so we'll be rolling down there tomorrow and we'll have a great rally. we have a wonderful program and great mail. we'll pump in some great tv grassroots and carry the momentum we're carrying from new hampshire down to the palmetto state and we'll do well. as people coaless behind ron paul as the only serious alternative to the establishment mainstream candidate mitt romney, we'll see a surge in momentum. we can guarantee that. >> finally and quickly, where does he get his energy from? >> from the people. from the supporters. when we all start to feel a little bit tired we just like to connect with the supporters and the energy of the young people, especially. it's just -- it lifts everybody up. it's amazing and it's what fuels him and keeps him going. >> congratulate him from us, jesse, thank you very much. >> thanks, piers. so fascinating night, again. although not entirely unpredictable. wolf, what did you make of -- did romney do enough to claim a really big victory? because some people say he didn't get 40% it wouldn't be a big victory. what do you think we've ended up at? >> big victory for romney. 39, 40% very impressive in a crowded field like that and from his perspective, the two candidates he probably feared the most, rick santorum and newt gingrich, they did not do welcoming in fourth and fifth. so, it was a big, huge win for mitt romney tonight. >> john king, the big question, i guess, is of all the runners and writers, have any of them got it in them to actually challenge mitt romney in south carolina and going forward? >> almost forget the candidates for a minute. south carolina republicans have a big decision to make. do they embrace mitt romney who is 2-0? or do they say "not so fast." if their mood is "no so fast" do they stay around one person. that was a fascinating interview. a two-man national race. we're one-on-one with mitt romney. the whole republican race is defined by the question of who will emerge as the candidate to challenge romney. that ron paul can claim that mantel after two races is something else. think of what all the other candidates said. mitt romney is weak. ron paul is out of the mainstream, almost a freak show in the republican party. how can you claim you're stronger if you keep losing to the candidate you call "weak" or "glooirk?" it's hard to make that argument. >> we had a spirited debate about whether it was to the party's advantage, the republicans, to have an extended battle. i remember when barack obama and hillary clinton went for months on end and they were the only story in town. obama appeared to get better as a campaigner as the months went on and that seemed to play well for him against john mccain. couldn't we see the same thing happen here? it goes on and could romney not become a more formidable opponent? >> there are those that believe that. that he'll hone his skills. he was much better in his speech tonight than we've seen him in the past. i think that was the best speech he's given this year so there is that argument but with barack obama and hillary clinton, then largely, the same things. they believe largely the same thing. it got to be personal about which one you preferred. in this case, mitt romney has a fractured party on his hands with different camps. and so it's important for him to end this earlier so he can unite people behind him and have time to heal the divisions there so they go in together so on balance he's better off to shut it down soon. >> the latest poll, mitt romney, 37% in south carolina. rick santorum, 19%. newt gingrich, 18. ron paul, 12. rick perry, 5. and huntsman at 1%. we know newt gingrich will spend $3.5 billion. this is the first big financial assault on mitt romney and i'm interviewing newt gingrich for the hour tomorrow. it will be fascinating because he's got rid of a halo. the nice-guy stuff wasn't working. >> i'm not sure he ever wore the halo. he's going to go for it through the super pac? isn't he? >> well, there is that wall between them, right? look, i think newt gingrich never really wore the hey halo. he had no choice but to be positive and he didn't have the super pac money. now he has the super pac and he's been attacked by mitt romney's super pac mercilessly. talk about it getting personal! i think it is getting personal. early on in the debates, gingrich didn't really criticize mitt romney. he always kind of said, no, no, no, mitt romney is a good man. and i was thinking, maybe he wants to be in the cabinet at some point, who knows? now, now -- now he's the man leading the charge against mitt romney and by the way, leading the charge against the entire republican establishment who is appalled that there's a class warfare fight going on within the republican party. >> erin, let me ask you specifically about this bain issue. rick perry about to come on this show, it's pretty scathing. he called mitt romney a vulture capitalist and trying to use his time at bain as a weapon against him. my gut feeling is this may backfire. mitt romney is turning it into a back fire and saying i had a great record when we created a lot of jobs when a lot of people were out of work. not a bad message. who will win this argument? >> this is going to be very difficult. in theory the whole point is you buy companies that are in bad shape and you build them up and make money in doing so and you sell them off. now, sometimes jobs are lost when you do that and "wall street journal" did a fantastic analysis of whether mitt romney created jobs or not and it's almost impossible to tell. if bain bought and sold a company and then that company created jobs, do they count? that grey-area nuance will continue through the primary and the general election if he's the nomination. it's hard to say. >> if you buy a company that's in trouble and it goes bankrupt, did you cause the loss of jobs? that's hard to say. >> it's going to be incredibly hard to answer that question. but certainly, by every measure i've heard all the people that i've interviewed over the years who have known him and worked with him he's perceived to be a very capable manage near the question -- i don't think this is necessarily going to make newt rise. but will it make romney fall? i think that's the real question. >> if you can chip away and i think $3.5 million worth of advertising in a place like south carolina, that bias you a lot of airtime. if he chip away could somebody like jon huntsman come back in? could he take some of that time and voting away from mitt romney? >> here's the difference between iowa and south carolina. in iowa, we saw mitt romney's super pac. the pro mitt romney blasting away at newt gingrich. ron paul pac blasting away. he was running high. he collapsed almost completely because he didn't respond. the difference in south carolina is mitt romney, in the face of this newt gingrich barrage, he has the money to respond. he can do what newt gingrich didn't do in iowa. he learned that lesson. he'll fight back and not turn the other cheek and simply try to take the high road. they'll fight it out in south carolina and it's going to be brutal and it's going to be ugly and it's going to be tough. >> okay. one-word answer from all of you. you have the stellar a-team here. so i'll ask. if mitt romney wins in south carolina, is he basically the nominee? >> it isn't a done deal yet. i think he'll still have to win in florida. >> erin? >> i agree but i think the momentum would be so much behind him. >> gloria? >> i think as george bush used to say he has the big mo going into florida and he has the money for florida. >> 3 of 3, a done deal? >> done deal. >> final word. >> we have more unequivocal. can rick perry revive his campaign in south carolina? i'll ask the candidate himself when we come back. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 ttd# 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about the typical financial consultation ttd# 1-800-345-2550 when companies try to sell you something off their menu ttd# 1-800-345-2550 instead of trying to understand what you really need. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 ttd# 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we provide ttd# 1-800-345-2550 a full range of financial products, ttd# 1-800-345-2550 even if they're not ours. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 and we listen before making our recommendations, ttd# 1-800-345-2550 so we can offer practical ideas that make sense for you. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 ttd# 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck, and see how we can help you, not sell you. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 rick perry threw in the towel in new hampshire to concentrate efforts on south carolina's primary on january 21st so no surprise he found himself in last place. i think that he has what it takes to keep his campaign afloat and he joins me now. governor, welcome. 1% isn't welcome, particularly at the moment. being in the 1% is the last place you want to find yourself, isn't it? >> well, we didn't compete in new hampshire so it doesn't surprise us that our score there was a bit on the low side. so that's the reason we came directly to south carolina. the message here and the people of south carolina, they'll really, excuse the pun, they cotton to the message of job creation and particularly, what this administration is doing to south carolina from the standpoint of going directly to war with them on the nrlb and telling boeing they can't come into the state. their justice department has taken on south carolina's immigration law. you're seeing an all-out war on this particular state. so having a southern governor, standing up for south carolina, job-creating governor that has an impeccable record on job creation. and talking about washington, d.c. and the corrupt insiders that we see between wall street and washington, a part-time congress that i've called for, i'm telling you all these places i stopped today and yesterday, there's a great reception to that message. >> let's get down to the reality of the political life here. you came fifth in iowa and sixth tonight in new hampshire and you're running fifth in the polls in south carolina. and you know as well as i do, you can't really afford to come fifth in south carolina on the 21st of january. what are you going to do to turn around your fortunes given the state they're in at the moment? >> well, the fact is that there's a lot going to happen in the next two weeks in south carolina. people are now just starting to focus on this and with mitt romney sitting where he is, i mean, there's a clear focus on a real conservative candidate. mitt's not going to fill that bill. i feel very comfortable that not only our message but the people of south carolina are looking for an individual who will talk about the real issues facing this country, which is the lack of focus on job creation and this administration is just abysmal record. when you look at $15 trillion worth of debt, i asked the people of south carolina, are you better off today than you were $4 trillion ago? they get it. they understand that this country is in trouble and we have a president that doesn't understand economics and that's even before we get into foreign policy and the $1 trillion he's talking about cutting out of our military budget. >> what is undeniable tonight is that mitt romney is on a roll and a roll that very, very few people in the history of caucuses and primaries have ever been on. the guy has won in iowa, and new hampshire. a win is a win. and it's going to be very tough, isn't it? for any candidate to actually seriously challenge him for the nomination, isn't it? >> well, i don't think so. one of the reasons is because south carolina is a winner take all state. winning here, i can promise you, wipes ought the caucus victory and huh hampshire. so if mitt's thinking he's got it in the bag i think he'll be in for a great surprise in south carolina when he shows up here. >> tell me, governor, i've been curious about you because this is the first time we've actually spoken on the show. and the curiosity is arisen by i've seen clips of you speaking at public events. you've been eloquent and intelligent and funny and engaging and grabbed the audience. and it's completely different to the rick perry that i see in the debate. why have you found the debates such a struggle? >> well, actually, the last three or four debates i think we performed at a rather high level. obviously, i think both from a humorous standpoint and a substantive standpoint some of the earlier debates i'll tell you and mitt up front, one that the best of my performance level but the fact is, if we're looking for a good debater, we have one in the white house but it's not translating into the leadership and not translating into an economy that the american people are looking for. if they're looking for a record of job creation, the million jobs that i helped to create in the state of texas over the last decade will resonate with americans. if they're looking for a great debater or a individual that reads a tell prompter well, they'll stick with what they've got. america clearly needs someone with a good business brain and the economy remains in the tank. you we want after mitt romney about his work at bain capital and you called him a "greedy wall street" so and so. was that the most sensible position? calling him a "vulture?" should you be on that side of the coin? is that the best way to attack him? if mitt romney now wins the nomination, haven't you just landed barack obama a perfect stick to beat him with? >> well, there's a real difference between a venture captain list and a vulture capitalist. they create jobs. bain capital, on the other hand, it appears to me were vulture capitalists all too often. and i don't get confuse for a minute that barack obama and his team wouldn't attack mitt romney on that during a general election if he makes it that way. so if nothing else, we're doing mitt a favor by exposing him early on so that he can either figure out how to defend that or, more importantly and better from my perspective, he's not the nominee to begin with. >> i find, many people will be saying, governor, tonight that you should pull out of the race but your whole background and upbringing has been about winning, particularly in politics and you decided to stay in and fight this out. at what point will you throw in the towel? what is the realistic end-game for you if you reach that point? >> i think you said the magic words. "if i meet that point" which is not in our game plan at all. the fact is, south carolina is a place where campaigns are going to be made or broken. they pick the president. south carolinians are looking for a conservative candidate to get this country back working again and i'm it. >> i know when you spend your time in england you got used to english beer, despite its warmth and if i had a night like this at the office, governor, i'd go and have a few pints i think and then dust myself down and move on to south carolina. >> i agree with you. and when i get to london sometime, i'll go by your pub and have one on you. >> you can definitely do that, governor. thank you very much for joining me. >> thanks, piers, good to talk to you. god speed. >> mark your calendar, south carolina's primary on january 21st, the next stop on the republican road show. choining me is chad conley, chairman of south carolina's republican party. a big night coming your way and everybody is talking about it as d-day. if mitt romney win 3 of 3, my expert star panel from earlier said that will be game-over. >> i'm loving the best part about seeing all you guys in the media talking about south carolina. this is the battle royial. this is where it will take place. a 30-year track record of picking the right nominee and we'll continue that tradition this time around. >> it looks like it will get ugly. newt gingrich has this super pac through a very wealthy benefactor bearing down $3.5 million worth of bile on mitt romney's head. are you happy to see it kick off like this? is it good for the party? >> this is south carolina. we're used to the backyard brawl. we understand the primaries are a big fight. there's a vetting-out process to pick the nominee and we got to replace that train wreck of a disaster in the white house. so our nominee needs to have a thick skin and be ready for anything and in our state we have seen that in the past and expect more of the same. >> we had a debate earlier about whether rick was in the gop advantage to have a long battle. so that the eventual nominee gets battle-hardened for the real battle with president obama. what do you think of that? is it a good thing? to wrap it up early or can you see the merits of a good old tussle? >> i really think, piers, that a long, drown-out battle is not necessarily bad because it engages people nationwide. it gets people involved. they see the candidates all over the nation so i'm not one to think we should wrap it up. i think there's a possibility of that happening, obviously, but our state will dictate and our voters will pick. we're fiercely independent and our folks have a high bar of expecting to meet these candidates and i've been telling people, whoever comes here and spends the time and connects with our voters will win south carolina and i believe that will be our nominee. if it's drawn out i think it will make our nominee better and we'll beat barack obama next fall. >> south carolina is fiercely famously evangelical. a frontrunner that's a mormon. do you think that will be a problem? >> we are fiercely evangelical. but we're the first state to have the blend of a republican base. social conservatives and military conservatives and the fiscal conservatives. i think the story about o'governor romney's womanism played well four years ago bup it's been drawn out by the national media and not as near a big a story as it has been in the past. >> when you look at mitt romney's campaign he's been incredibly steady, barely put a foot wrong but he can't seem to really galvanize the republican vote yet. what's he got to do, do you think, to do that? until he does that, until the party falls in love with him, he's always going to have this problem? >> with this many people in the race, it's not an unusual thing that you see it split so much. i have friends in every camp. all the six remaining candidates, i know people in all those campaigns. all of them need to do the same thing. like i said before, get here. they've got to campaign. they've got to go to the nooks nooks and crannies and meet folks in the diners and the basketball courts and gymnasiums this winter, that will create the buzz that gives them this victory. >> get your best suit on because the whole world's eyes will be on you on january 21st. best of luck. >> yes, sir, thanks for having me, piers, have a good night jooir my pleasure. up next, gop fireworks. famously strong opinions on who will win and who will loose in south carolina. i'd say third place is a ticket to ride, ladies and gentlemen! hello south carolina. >> that's john huntsman vowing to take his campaign to south carolina. michael reagan, the son of ronald reagan. welcome, gentlemen. >> thank you for having us. let me start with you. who are you endorsing right now? >> nobody. . interesting thing about what's happening right now is that a lot of the momentum that was built up in the conservative movement over the last thee years by the tea party, has been utterly destroyed. there's not a candidate out there that is the tea party's first, second, third or fourth choice. what you have here is a fait accompli. the republican establishment party has taken back control of the republican party and you have the predictability of mitt romney running just perfectly. david axelrod has helped to create with the organize left and occupy movement that is perfectly such waited to attack mitt romney's record with bain capital. the only person who can beat barack obama at this point is barack obama himself. >> you say that but, of course, mitt romney has played a very good campaign so far. he's the first person, first republican, who wasn't a serving president, to win in iowa and new hampshire. he's not doing bad by. we can dismiss him but what more can he be doing than he is doing? >> he's playing a very good game of defense when he has a lot of money working to his benefit and he's playing defense. he's not tapping into the geist of the last two and a half or three years. hadn't done a nod to the tea party whatsoever. he's almost -- he's borderline embarrassed of what has created this environment in this country where we're finally talking about fiscal sanity and a return to the constitution and all those things. it's going to be interesting because right now, there is -- i was just in new hampshire. there's a lack of enthusiasm and people are just trying to make a very pragmatic decision. can i get behind this guy the way that i got behind john mccain? >> let me switch to michael. is there a lack of enthusiasm? there appears to be. having said that, it is early days, and he has won the first go votes. i mean he's not doing bad by for somebody that everybody else says they're not very enthusiastic about? >> he is winning. and, yes, there is this lack of enthusiasm for the candidates that are out there running for the republican nom that's. you though, part of what andrew says is absolutely correct. but the other side of the coin is, look at how many conservatives you have in the race. you have, what, 2350i6 people trying to be more reagan than reagan. one moderate in the race who is splitting the vote with nobody while the vote is being split wean newt gingrich, rick perry, rick santorum and you have the part being played by ron paul and now you got huntsman. you got a man running for the president of united states who is happier than hell that all of these other people in the race are vying for the tea party while he's just sitting there vying for votes. he wins with his 25 or 30% tonight with 39%. he wins because the rest of the percentage is split by five or six other people. if the conservatives want to win, pick your champion and get behind that person and ride that person home. >> your father's name has been a vote many times in the last few months. who do you think he would have preferred of all these candidates? i know you like newt gingrich. but who do you think he would have been steering to? >> oh, my faufr never got involved in contested primaries for very good reasons and, in fact, would support the nominee of the party and you could say even if the nominee were ron paul, he'd go home at night and pray it wouldn't be ron paul. but it may very well be. you're looking at an election year where the economy is truly the issue out there. and the world falling apart, all over the world, whether it's the euro or what's going on in greece. the european union. the issues are coming to ron paul more than ron paul going to the issues. people are for getting about what he's saying about what he'd do as president internationally and what he'd do as president of the united states with the economy. everybody knows the economy is the issue and that's why they're voting. >> andrew brighton, you said earlier there's no enthusiasm for romney and that was a pretty good turn out in the end. it was up and down all night but ended up being a record turnout, albeit not very much but look at barack obama's position. i think only one president in history, franklin roosevelt, actually got elected with an unemployment rate of more than 8%. barack obama's got it all to do, hadn't he? >> well, what's happened over the last few months is had a focus on the republican party and the republican candidates with the media focusing on the republican party and what does it stand for and it's been a diversion from what does barack obama stand for? and what has he been able to do? three years ago, the progressive movement and barack obama was an unprecedented time in millennium park where everybody had their faces out there in the opened. everybody wanted to own how much they loved barack obama. it was a time of hope. it was a time of change. and now the occupy movement is set to be his number-one defender and its iconography are the guys with the masks which represent anonymity. people are hiding themselves. there's a sense of despair out there. i don't believe mitt romney is running to the fence of campaign. i'm not saying he's hoping the economy goes bad but i think he believes that barack obama has created a dire circumstance for himself where the republican will win no matter who it is. >> okay. let's hold that thought. >> piers, if i could jump in on this. >> yeah. >> back in 1980, if i can go back to 1980, the reason my father won other than being a great candidate is because the republicans made the election about jimmy carter. if the republicans make this election about barack obama, and his policies, yes, they can win. but if they get caught up in making it about personalities, then they'll split the party itself and they will not be together in of next year and they'll lose. it needs to be about barack obama. and that's where -- >> i was going to come back after the break with that thought. your father, remember he said, no republican should speak ill of another republican. and i think i can ask you about that. and, also, andrew brighton who only speaks ill of everybody. we'll be back after the break and debate that very point. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. ladies and gentlemen welcome we have an opportunity in this race. we have an opportunity to be the true conservative, the true conservative who can go out and do what's necessary, not just to win this race, and we can win this race. >> that's rick santorum claiming the mantel of the one true conservative in the gop race. that was michael reagan and -- bright only. i left it in ronald reagan's words. republicans should not speak ill about republicans. andrew, you're notoriously evil about everybody. what do you think of the new politics where everyone just whacks everybody else? >> i don't think you know me. we've spent eight seconds perhaps and perhaps you're selectively -- >> long eight seconds. >> i honestly don't know what you mean by that. i supported people -- i've supported people within the tea party who have been attacked by the mainstream media as being racist when not a scntella of evidence to return to the constitution and fiscal responsibility. these are pretty basic things and the people who stood up for that -- sarah palin was attacked mercilessly one year ago for the gabbiy and if i have a snarl on my face and i'm no happy about these circumstances in the media it's unfortunate. i don't think that mitt romney is a bad -- >> force him -- i can see you. on second thoughts, i don't want to do the snarl. michael reagan, this issue about newt gingrich going to south carolina and spending $3.5 million through a friend's super pac to what will, i'm certain, mercilessly attack mitt romney after mitt romney did that to him through another super pac. what would your father have made of this? he didn't believe republicans should do this to each other, did he? >> he didn't think they should make personal attacks against each other. they can attack themselves politically but not personally. andrew does a great job for everybody out there in the conservative movement but it's interesting how newt is depicted. $10 million spent against him in iowa. in negative ads against newt gingrich and he drops in the polls and now he decides, i better come out of my box and start swinging. he's going to spend $3.5 million against mitt romney. and newt is seen as being mean. now, why is newt mean? why is he mean when he does it but everybody else is doing it and it's okay in iowa? this is what the media does. >> let me say something, andrew, let's be serious about this. let's talk about newt gingrich's position. the fact that he's now turning mean, i guess, is the story because he tried to present himself as the new newt, the nice newt. the saintly newt and it didn't work so he's going back to the more traditional newt would have behaved which is when an opponent whacks him he's going to whack him back. >> i think it was very disengenuous. i think many reagan democrats will confront him on this based upon what happened with his relationship with bain for all those years. it's legitimate. but coming from newt gingrich, it doesn't pass the smell test. this is a guy who had a relationship with fannie mae and freddie mac. this is a guy who is a beltway establishment guy that's taken money from, you know, every which way. so they knew that he was just throwing everything he could at mitt romney. this is just a game of politics. i don't know why this late in the game a 68-year-old man would take it so personally. >> andrew, quickly, if mitt romney wins in south carolina, 3 of 3, is it game over? has he won? >> oh, yeah. i personally think it's over right now to be honest with you. i know people would like it to go to that next level. i think it is a fait accompli. i think mitts a good guy. i really do. i just think that he's been playing incredibly defensive and the republican establishment has been wishing for this. david axelrod has been wishing for this. there's just an historic lack of drama here. >> michael reagan the final word? >> piers if i could jump. >> you can. >> you can find negatives about every one of the candidates out there. it doesn't matter. you got to get behind -- ronald reagan knew that and he said support nominee of the party. had we supported the nominee of the party in 2008, john mccain would have been the president of united states and he wasn't because we didn't and we need to be supportive of whoever that nominee is this time. do they all have problems? yes. everybody has problems. the only perfect person i know died on a cross 2,000 years ago so we need to get over it and understand that everybody's got problems. let's pick the best guy. let's get behind that person and win in november. instead of this infighting going on within this party. who's the best. who's the worst? what problems they have. 17 years ago they would have given a bar mitzvah to newt gingrich. >> thank you very much both, indeed. after the break, i'll tell you we have the two smartest guys around answering the big question tonight. how will south carolina actually vote? while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. will be giving away passafree copies visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. i believe if we had a republican house, a republican senate and a gingrich presidency, it would be amazing how much we could get done and how rapidly we could get it done. >> a confident-sounding newt gingrich there but can he do the job in south carolina? we have the director for the center of politics at the university of virginia. and nate silver from "the new york times." nate, i'll start with you. it looks like there's an unstoppable momentum behind mitt romney. but newt gingrich has now got money behind him. i'm interviewing him tomorrow. we have fascinating time to talk to him. he's not giving up. has he still got a chance do you think? >> not much of a chance. i think he has more of a chance of hurting romney than helping himself. gingrich has become an unacceptable candidate to the certain segment of the republican establishment and his favorability rate with republicans overall are pretty low. about 50% unacceptable when you look at the gallop poll. for him to turn around and win the nomination is really hard. you almost need a third candidate to come in like a huntsman or rick perry to pick up the pieces, i suppose. but i see this as romney to lose. >> and you have a good track record of predicting senate and house races. where's the smart money going now? >> it's all going to romney. i agree with everything david said. i think essentially, if romney had written the script, he couldn't have written it any better than he's had it in iowa and new hampshire. and now in south carolina he continues to have a very divided, conservative field. there doesn't appear to be any way to get any of these three conservatives out of the race. jon huntsman didn't do particularly well tonight so his challenge to romney, probably, will fizzle. it's a great setup for romney although i have to add one thing and i hope nate will agree with me. there's usually a bump in the road for every nominee. reagan had a bump in the road in 1980 in losing iowa. bush, the senior, had a bump in the road in iowa's wealth and finished third. dole lost new hampshire. bush 43 lost new hampshire. mccain didn't even compete in iowa because he knew he couldn't win. so it will be extraordinary if romney wins iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, florida and there's no bump in the road. >> and nate, there's the question. is there going to be a bump in the road? paint a picture for me of where it could go wrong for mitt romney in south carolina and florida. >> well, if you're speak he's being attacked from all sides with money and coherent arguments i think the republican rivals might make the wrong attack. making an attack the general election voters might think about the obama campaign might make instead of making attack on his inconsistencies and his flip-flops and how conservative he really is. people are ganging up on mitt and make him more vulnerable could result in downward pressure on his numbers but i'm not sure that attack will. it might bring the establishment out to support romney and say, let's end this before we give david axelrod and the democrats more ammunition for november. >> larry -- >> so i can't think of a scenario really, i suppose. >> larry can be can you see a scenario? and the other question, if you're barack obama, would you rather know who the nominee is now are you happy to watch the republicans scrap it out for a few more months? >> no, no question it's the later. look at the tv ads that have been produced by newt gingrich and rick perry, among others. if mitt romney is actually the nominee, they have made the case against romney and bain capital much better than a democratic incumbent could have done so of course, obama would want this to continue. >> larry i have to leave it there. >> yes. >> are we both agree -- you both agree that mitt romney at the moment looks like a shoo-in? >> he's the favorite. >> i'd say upward of 90%? >> i agree. >> thank you both very much, gentlemen. we'll be back after the break. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you want a firm bed you can lie on one of those, if you want a soft bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. welcome to the sleep number year-end closeout event. not just ordinary beds on sale, but the bed that can change your life on sale. the sleep number bed. it calibrates precisely to your body and your comfort zone. now you can feel what happens as we raise your sleep number setting and allow the bed to contour to your individual shape. oh yeah. it's really shaping to my body. it's the final days to save up to $800 on selected 2011 bed sets. plus, free standard shipping on all beds. you can adjust it however you want so you don't have to worry about buying the wrong mattress. once they get our bed, they're like, "why didn't i do this sooner?" hurry in to the final days of the year-end closeout event and save on the bed that can change your life. the sleep number bed. only at the sleep number store, where queen bed sets now start at just $899.