presidentialness of romney, you would have the perfect candidate. >> if only it worked that way, huh? much more on the iowa stakes and the states in play. first the news you need to know. we'll shift to new hampshire. newt gingrich just wrapped up a debate with jon huntsman. it seem the real sparring was between speaker gingrich and mitt romney. romney threw the first punch saying gingrich should return the nearly $2 million in fees paid to him by freddie mac. >> one of the things that i think people recognize in washington is that people go there to serve the people and then they stay there to serve themselves. >> do you believe he should give that money back? >> i sure do. >> from the form he speaker, this counter punch. >> if governor romney would like to give back all the money he's earned from bankrupting company and laying off employees, over his years, i would be glad to then listen to him and i'll bet you $10, not $10,000, that he won't take the offer. >> and responding to characterizations by the gingrich camp that going negative is a siphon desperation, governor romney added this. >> we are not running any negative ads but we may. this is after all, politics. there is no whining in politics. >> get that? no whining in politics. let's bring in jim acosta. jill, take us to that moment first. the old lincoln douglas style debate. governor huntsman is struggling. what was the highlight? >> reporter: well, john, i think you put it right a few moments ago. this is a side show between the fight going on between mitt romney and newt gingrich earlier today. it did get interesting at times. newt gingrich at one point advocated regime change for iran during this debate. governor huntsman would not go that far saying only that all options should be on the table. this was less lincoln douglas and more of a love fest. it got so mind numbing at one point that jon huntsman quipped on stage one of his own daughters was nodding off in the audience. and then newt gingrich says she was nodding off when i was speaking. so this was really more of a gentleman's, i guess, discussion than a debarkt i would say. >> so take us inside the gingrich-romney feuding. governor romney for months has led in the state. he has a vacation there. he was governor of the neighboring state in massachusetts. gingrich has closed the lead dramatically. do they think they can catch romney in new hampshire as much as everywhere else? >> reporter: they do. in fact, they're going to pull out the heavy artillery here in the next couple weeks. i confirmed with the gingrich spokesman that they will borrow a page from the john mccain play book. you'll recall, it went pretty well here in new hampshire. they'll launch a straight talk express like bus tour in the early voting states themselves didn't offer a lot of details or say whether or not it would come to new hampshire. but suffice to say that r.c. hammond was saying earlier that they're starting to look at which way the seats should face inside the bus. and how much time speaker gingrich would get talking to reportes. this is very much like what john mccain did four years ago. he spend a lot of time in that bus, crisscrossing the state talking to reporters. a contrast the gingrich campaign likes to put out there. he is talking to reporters. >> governor romney is starting to see us more because of that. 29 days until new hampshire votes. 22 days until iowa kicks it off where i am tonight. thanks. we'll see you soon. should states have the individual authority to enforce immigration matters? the supreme court said today, it intends to take on that controversial topic. at question in this case whether arizona can enforce its immigration laws. federal courts have already blocked key parts of the law but arizona argues illegal immigration creates a financial hardship and safety concerns for its residents. the obama administration says they are under the exclusive authority of the federal government. that arizona's interference as the administration calls it, only makes things worse. here to sort it out, jeff, the arizona case has generated a lot of controversy. what is the key question now before the justices? >> reporter: this is really one of the oldest issues in front of the supreme court. what powers belong to the states and what powers belong to the federal government? the supreme court has been dealing with that issue in various forms since the 18th century. in this issue, in this case, you have the issue of immigration at the heart of it which is both politically and legally fraud. and as you pointed out,le states have used the arizona law as a model and if states get the green light in this case, we can look forward to a lot more laws restricting what immigrants can do in a state and allowing law enforcement more powers to stop, detain and perhaps even expel illegal immigrants. >> is just the fact that the high court took the case, is that a setback to the administration? or does the administration as much as arizona need these questions answered? >> reporter: i think this is one reason we have a supreme court. there are so many questions like this now. the court has to sort out the lawful i think the politics are really fascinating. i think with swing voters, most of those voters are generally supportive of these sorts of laws. but hispanic voters are overwhelmingly against these laws. and as you've reported many time, the obama administration is making a real push in states like arizona, colorado, to embrace and support hispanic voters. and they are going to have a very high profile support from the obama administration in this case. so i think the politics are not entirely clear in terms of who is helped in these cases. >> we'll watch this case before the court. a decision likely in the middle of next year's peres presidential election. a somber mole at one of the most sacred sites. president obama and nuri al maliki raised a wreath at the cemetery. earlier, the two leaders held a joint news conference to declare the war formally over. now that all u.s. troops are scheduled to come home, that all done by this month. but there was an uncomfortable moment for the president. for more, let's go to white house correspond, dan lothian. that uncomfortable moment, the president reminded of something he said much earlier. take us inside. >> reporter: he was then state senator obama of the state of illinois. he was back in 2002. and he was some remarks at an anti-war rally. he was criticizing the planned invasion of iraq by saying, quote, what i do oppose is a dumb war. a reporter today asked the president if on this occasion, as the administration was marking the end of the war in iraq, if the president still felt that it was a dumb war. the president saying that he would leave it up to history to decide whether or not it was, whether the original decision was right. he did add because of the sacrifice of the military, but also civilians, that a lot of progress had been made in iraq and that country has enormous potential. >> and one of the big questions now is how does this relationship continue? ? what fashion does it continue once the u.s. troops are out? i understand the subject of continuing some military to military relationship, including weapons sales. what happened there? >> reporter: that's right. what we won't see are boots on the ground once the remaining few thousand troops pull out at the end of the year. what we did hear at the news conference today is discussion of a sale of additional f-16 fighter jets to iraq and later, the national security spokesman told us that the administration today had notified congress of interests to sell an additional 18 f-16s to iraq. as you know, a lot of iraq's air power was destroyed during the war that lasted almost nine years. they're pointing out that this shows, this decision, of asking this congress for the sale of these f-16s show iraq is in a good position to carry out its own security. as you know, there are a lot of questions still about whether or not iraq indeed can handle its own security once u.s. troops do leave that country for good today. prime minister al maliki they're saying ready. more specifically, the downed drone on the president's mind. president obama has asked iran to return the drone which they claim is seen in these pictures. in addition to the propaganda victory, iran is claiming it is already gathering intelligence from that craft. iran says it has no plans to give it back. a figure from the united nations tonight about years. i can't it says more than 5,000 peel have now been killed in the months long uprising against the president and in the city of alms, it appears a clock is ticking. they say the forces that are loyal to assad and rivers of blood will run on the streets. they say electricity and water have been cut off. food and medicine are scarce. the latest now from cnn's jim clancy. >> reporter: in the embattled city in syria, people are on edge and they have good reason to be. the city is surrounded and they are facing a deadline to lay down their arms and hand over defectors or members of the so-called free syria army. they have no intention of doing that. and it looks like a showdown is looming. we talked to someone a short time ago. listen to one of the leaders of the opposition has to say. >> from the early morning, a lot of tanks inside the city. but security forces and the army is still surrounding homs. we don't know when -- [ inaudible ] so people expect the possible attack at any moment. but we don't know when. >> reporter: john also told me that they couldn't leave the city even if they wanted. to militia men have set up checkpoints and he said the freedom of movement has been limited. they are hoping that they can stand up against all of this. they say they're still optimistic but they are predicting a very bloody showdown. >> jim clancy monitoring the latest in syria from beirut. we promise we'll keep a close eye on that as it plays out. still ahead, pulling ads from a show documenting muslims in the united states. we'll talk to the organization who pushed for the move. next, inside the iowa campaign including a look at how the debate was scored in the twitter verse. confidence, with depend in color. now available in gray. looks and fits like underwear. same great protection. depend. good morning. great day. woman: day care can be so to save some money, i found one that uses robots instead of real people. 'cuz robots work for free. robot 1:good morning... robot 1:...female child. sfx: modem dial-up noise woman: are there flaws? yeah, um, maybe. anncr: there's an easier way to save. anncr: get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. the newest droid armed with motocast. granting you wireless access to files on your home computer from almost anywhere. 4g lte equipped to pull pictures, music, and movies. all at mind-melting speeds. powered by verizon, this droid is too powerful to fall into the wrong hands. live pictures. we're in davenport, iowa. this is the southeastern corner of iowa. we're here all week long. we'll cross this state. 22 nights from tonight iowa kicks off officially the 2012 presidential campaign. this is scott county where davenport is. let's get a sense of republican campaign and how democrats are feeling about this state. this has been a swing state in presidential politics. president obama carried it easily in 2008 buttal republicans here think it will be very much in play come next fall. let's talk with the former scott county democratic cheryl. steve grubbs, a republican, activist and the former cain campaign. i want to focus on where we are today. a big debate over the week. one more, three week away from the vote. arg come out with a new poll tonight and it confirms gingrich is leading. 22% for gingrich, 17% for ron paul. 17% for mitt romney. 13% for governor rick perry. this is your county. is there one candidate that you feel has upward momentum? those perry numbers are up. is there a bit of a surge? >> no. i think the voters are still deciding. they take this responsibility very seriously. they will not base their decisions based on poll numbers but on the accomplishments of even candidate. i was talk to have several people over the weekend. i think there will be a good percentage that show up on caucus night that will still be undecided. >> you lost your candidate, herman cain. i want your sense of the race but i want to show your company did an analysis of the tweets after the debate saturday night. if you show the entire pie chart, you can see that in terms of the share of the conversation and the twitter verse, gingrich and romney were discussed the most. then if you look at the positive and negatives, a lot of negatives for they will. is that their critic taking after them? is that when you have a debate, thing get loud out there? >> it confirms these are the candidates who are getting the lion's share of the twitter verse. they're now going to get fire from those supporting the other candidates and this includes anybody tweeting. democrats or others. when we looked at the actual verbatim statements, clearly people are taking sides with their candidates and i think we know that these two are the front-runners at this point. >> this is the state that put barack obama, then senator obama, on the map to prove he could compete with hillary clinton. he won this state. a the love republicans when you talk them to say aha! in 2006 and 2008, you democrats had the intensity gap. we have it back now. is your sense today that iowa will be tight -- >> it will be president obama. having that that, i don't believe the republicans will mount a sufficient effort to take iowa to the republican camp in november. >> why not? >> the democrats are very strong. we just won a special election in cedar rapids that was very highly contested in a district that was majority republican the independent registration. the democrats are very united behind president obama. and i think he is going to emerge as the president in 2009. >> i want to show a map of the state. mitt romney carried this county back in 2008. it was governor huckabee carried most of the middle. you can see the monitor there. what is your sense this year about the differences in the party? since we were here last time, loiks, as carl noted, the democrats did well in 2006. the democrats did well in 2008. your party had a good year in 2010. what is different about the republican party, the tea party, if you look at polling, the evangelical voters seem to be split. >> the republicans and independents and a lot of tea party people are at a point where they are fearful of their country. they're much more motivated. much more energized to do whatever it takes to defeat president obama in the fall. our republican registrations, when we analyzed it in october compared to october 2007, we are up 7%. and in 2010, we carried a republican governor. just a few years by 52% with just two years earlier we carried president obama by 57%. so you can see that the cycle has turned. that people are actually becoming more motivated in terms of the republican party. >> one of the reasons we wanted to come out here and spend a week is to talk to voters individually. just being here a day, we were here a couple weeks ago. you get a sense that the caring of the iowa campaign has changed some because of the technology. if you look at the number of days spent in the state. rick santorum has been here 85 days. bachmann, 65 days. gingrich, 51, mitt romney, only ten days so far. you have speaker gingrich in the middle of the pack. and governor romney way down near the bottom. leading here. used to be you have to say i've been to all 99 counties and you have the voters who say i've only met him three time. now some of that is cliche. has technology changed? is it taking away some of the caring of a traditional iowa campaign? >> maybe it's taking away a little of the caring. for the most part, having candidates that many days, most states would love to see candidates that much. having said that, there is no doubt that social networking, the way people can connect through facebook and twitter. it is changing the nature of it. if you think about it, this is the first campaign in the history of the world where voters are fully manifested into facebook and other social net sites. so what we're watching today, completely changes the way that all of us professionals engage in campaigning and how we work candidates and voters. >> which republican do you want to be the nominee? you're laughing but it's -- >> bring any one of them. i think a ron paul campaign is probably the most interesting. and i think he could be a very surprising candidate on republican caucus night. there is the top two candidates, gingrich and romney, seem to be running back advertising in media driven campaigns. he mentioned a social media. but the poll people are actually on the ground organizing volunteers. that's how win a caucus. you have to deliver bodies to a meeting at 7:00 on a cold january night. and much as huckabee did four years ago. >> you're more likely but not if someone approaches you to be a paul supporter. do you see a surprise. >> i don't think the surprise is who finishes first or second unless the media that come out of romney super pack drops gingrich's numbers. but otherwise, if he can survive this week, he should be in, finish first in the caucuses. >> do you see a surprise? somebody we haven't -- >> no. i don't see a surprise. >> do you think gingrich or romney will win the state? >> i think that's a good possibility. did. >> diplomatic. thanks. so for your time tonight. just ahead, why would a reality called all american muslim spark controversy. especially when feelings like this are expressed. >> being in dearborn has allowed us to practice our faith without losing our sense of american patriotism. >> the debate is so heated, there are now calls for a boycott against the national retailer. my doctor told me calcium is best absorbed in small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal. at bank of america, we're lending and investing in communities across the country, from helping to revitalize a neighborhood in brooklyn to financing industries that are creating jobs in boston or providing funding for the expansion of a local business serving a diverse seattle community and supporting training programs for tomorrow's workforce in los angeles. because the more we can do in local neighborhoods and communities, the more we can help make opportunity possible. the media mogul talking about hate. it's all part of the angry consumer back lash against lowe's after the retailer pulled ads from the reality show all american muslim. a series about muslim families living in dearborn, michigan. >> today is the day i'm going to d.c. i hop they don't annoy me and have to do a random screening. >> i was on a flight to d.c. i had a woman sitting behind me say, see that veiled woman? i'm very uncomfortable. i told her, you get your ass off the plane. i have a meeting to get to to educate people like you. >> lowe's pulled the advertising including groups like the florida family association complained, calling it propaganda. david joins me now. i want to read a bit from the organization you wrote. clearly this program is attempting to manipulate americans into ignoring the threat of jihad and to influence them to believe that being concerned about the jihad threat would somehow victimize these nice people in this show. what you have had do you have that this particular show is trying to manipulate people or trying to somehow get us all to turn away from jihad. >> the evidence is the lack of inclusion, the fullness of the term muslim. the dictionary defines muslim as people who worship islam who are followers of islam. and i beg you to find an imams in this country anywhere, the mosque, the leadership that would come back and say that they are, they do not believe in shari'a. they do not believe in application of the islamic code on american or american muslims. and that's our concern. this show is totally absent, the true essence of islam which is the focus of the muslim believer. so these five people that are on this show, god bless them. they're great people. i love them. but they do not represent the hierarchy, the imams and the mosques of america. >> well, the show is about them. i'm sure a lot of imams would disagree with what you've you had just said. we had an imam on the show who said the last thing he is telling anyone to practice shari'a law to the point it goes against american democracy. but if you have nothing against these people, why can't you take your other concern somewhere else instead of pressuring companies to boycott this, to pull their ads from this program. >> well, it is our first amendment right to believe what we believe and to see what we see. and we believe that this show is propaganda. and we've called on advertisers across the country to pull it. and ironically home depot was the first company to say they had no plan of advertising on this program in the future. a general middle of the road acknowledgement letting us know, we won't be on the show anymore. nobody complained about home depot. we got a similar response from sweet and low and from an alcoholic beverage distributor. 65 other companies did not appear on the show after receiving e-mails from our supporters. so i see this attack on lowe's and i see this senator's desire to violate the u.s. constitution first amendment by writing something that violates the establishment clause, we shall not, congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion and the exercise there of to be partial to this particular situation and to go beyond that. as a public official, a call on one company that when there were 65 companies that quietly and silently went somewhere else. this whole thing is blown up. it is a distortion. and people are unfairly targeting lowe's in this particular situation. >> i appreciate your time. i believe the distinction is that lowe's had a longstanding package of ads in the program. other than those other companies had purchased ads in the past and they're not renewing them. lowe's pulled an existing passage but we'll look deem entire that distinction. thank you for your time. let's get another perspective from keith ellison. the co-chair of the congressional progressive calling us and one of two slil americans serving in the caucus. he's been listening to the conversation. does he have a point? >> no, he doesn't have a point. as a matter of fact, he has displayed a starting lack of information about islam. i am a muslim and i can tell him that the people who are on that show are typical. muslims do have babies. they coach football. they have interfamily disputes. i think as it pretty typical show. some people are more devout. some people are more secular. it is life in america. but the thing is, i'm not here to attack lowe's. i'm here to ask lowe's to do the right thing. this is a great american company that i think by this decision has demonstrate a degree of fear that they don't have to possess. they don't have to be afraid of a fringe group such as the one that is trying to intimidate them. and we're just calling on them to say, look. we're going to stand up and be a company that is open to all americans and doesn't exclude people. >> over the week lowe's put this statement up on its facebook page. it appears we managed to step into a hotly contested debate with strong views from every angle and perspective. we've managed to make some people very unhappy. we are sincerely sorry. is that enough? an apology? or do you still think unless they restore their ads or buy new ads on this program, that people should not shop there. >> well, it informs my buying decision about lowe's. i personally as an individual citizen probably won't go in there if they are going to succumb to that kind of pressure from a fringe group that is literally promoting hatred and bigotry. if you look on the website of that group, they don't only hate muslims. they're against gays and different group of americans. somewhat surprising. and i'll say this. my office called the discovery channel and tlc and asked them for a list of all the companies that have withdrawn ads. and they told us they don't disclose that information. therefore, i'm a little bit curious to know where the individual who you just talked to got this information. i actually called one company, a minnesota company and asked them, that was on the list and asked them to verify whether they had pulled and they said they had not pulled. so i think there is a lot of doubt. and i think that this shing needs to be looked into to a greater degree. i think there may be some misrepresentation. >> we'll try to sort that out. sometime it is hard to get that information but we're trying to give each side to make its case. i appreciate your time tonight on this important subject. and up next, occupy protesters attempt to shut down ports along the west coast. were they successful? we'll take a look. confidence. available in color. depend for women is now peach. looks and fits like underwear. same great protection. depend. good morning. great day. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people came to louisiana... they came to see us in florida... make that alabama... make that mississippi. the best part of the gulf is wherever you choose... and now is a great time to discover it. this year millions of people did. we set all kinds of records. next year we're out to do even better. so come on down to louisiana... florida... alabama... mississippi. we can't wait to see you. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. welcome back. if you're just joining us, here's the latest news you need to know right now. occupy protesters trying to disrupt commerce at ports on the west coast today. thel then they're calling attention to corporate greed. a preliminary court hearing for jerry sandusky. he is the form he penn state coach charged with dozens of counts of child sex abuse. some of his kuyt accusers expected in the courtroom. investors expressed concern. and how is this? cambridge university now posting online thousands of pages of the pioneering scientific work of sir isaac newton. he conducted the studies in the 1,600s. a reminder from grammar school, isaac newton was the father of gravity. tonight's number represents our location tonight. davenport, eye wax despite the nickname there are actually five cities, not four. they include davenport and bettendorf, moline, east moline and rock island. we'll be travel from des moines to ames to cedar rapids. stay with us as we continue to cover the campaign. when we come back, the most mocked moment of the debate and why it might cost governor mitt romney some support in iowa. t dd for you too? they're high in vitamins and potassium. and idaho potatoes are now certified to carry the heart checkmark from the american heart association for foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol. so they're good for my family, and for yours. heart smart idaho potatoes. always look for the grown in idaho seal. forty years ago, he wasn't worried about retirement. he'd yet to hear of mutual funds, iras, or annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurance... to health care options. learn more with our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa. erib burnett is coming up at the top of the hour. erin? >> we have an exclusive conversation with former vice president dick cheney. perfect time for it when you've got al maliki in washington about u.s. troops pulling out of iraq. dick cheney, one of the people who put those troops into iraq. we talk about this moment. what he thinks the u.s. should be doing in syria. we also talked about hillary clinton and the drones. something great on that. here is what he had to say about the republican field and newt gingrich. >> i have not endorsed anybody on either side. the thing i remember about newt. we came to congress together tame, '78. when newt showed up, he said we can become the majority. we can take back the house of representatives. we hadn't had the house since the 1940s. and initially, none of us believed it. but he was persistent and tenacious. he kept it up, and kept it up and kept it up. finally by '94, he is the newly elected speaker of the house of representatives with a republican majority. so i wouldn't underestimate him. >> that's the headline. don't underestimate newt gingrich and we'll of his full comments there. plus what he said to say about hillary clinton. all that coming up at the top of the hour. back to you. >> always great to talk in with the former vice president. he was a little playfulness about the campaign. >> yes, he was. >> we'll see new few minutes. one more gop debate in iowa before the caucuses. this thursday night in sioux city. six of the republican contenders squared off in des moines and this exchange between romney and perry was the most memorable. and now the most mocked moment. >> you were for individual mandates, my friend. >> you've raised that before, rick. and -- >> it was true then. it's true now. >> i'll tell you what. $10,000? $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business. >> now that line reverberated a bit on the campaign trail today. first governor romney call on speaker gingrich to return the $1.6 million or so. gingrich made as a consultant to the mortgage giant, freddie mac. speaker gingrich returned the salvo. >> i love the way he and his consultants do these things. i would just say that if governor romney would like to give back all the money he's earned from bankrupting company and laying off employees, over his years, that i would be glad to listen to him and i'll bet you $10, not $10,000, that he won't take the offer. >> well, here's governor romney's comeback. >> there is a big difference between in the private economy and working t street. and working as a lobbyist or a legislator or to connect businesses with government. if he was working as a spokesman for freddie mac, if he was there because of his political connections, and then if freddie mac fails, i think a fair question is asked. why did he profit as freddie mac failed? >> do you think things are getting a little testy? maybe all the guys will need the hard hats. jason is with us. he supports governor romney. eric erickson and james carville as well. if you can hit the rewind button, should he say i bet you $50 but not $10,000? >> maybe bet a big mac or something. a bit of the silly season. seriously. if that's what they're talking about, i guess when you're followed on every word and every movement. i just happen to think mitt romney is the best guy for the economy. the best guy for jobs and the best guy to beat barack obama come the fall. >> eric, what is the fallout after this debate? anybody out there in the conservative grassroots think he can move the numbers? or one of our republicans was saying, this is a little like reality tv. >> i don't know that it moved the numbers other than maybe for michele bachmann and rick perry. newt gingrich held his own. mitt romney did himself no favors. i would say that lindsay lohan had her purse stolen day with $10,000 and she should call governor romney. he might be able to help her. >> it's the silly season. and now leading in several states, you have to be careful that you're talk b your number one priority and not caught up in any distractions, right? >> i think he has to talk about newt gingrich. i think he is getting ready to lose. and i think you'll see a lot more of what you saw today. you can tell that the tension is starting to wear. the thing is, january 3rd, the holidays, probably not a lot of people will be paying attention. plus or might know ever minus two days around the christmas holiday and then new years coming. so i think it will step up. i think we'll see more of what i love so much. this tit for tat. >> he has a real problem connectioning with people. he grew one privilege, you can't fault him for that. and in his business career, you can't fault him for that. he's trying to be a bit more personal and how he connects with people. listen to this exchange from earlier in the campaign today. >> when people say, you care about business. you don't care about people. nothing could be further from the truthful i worry about the very poor and i want to make sure that our safety net there for the very poor. i don't worry about the very wealthy. they're doing fine. this economy hasn't hurt them. the people i worry about are those in the middle class. >> why, congressman, is mitt romney, who if we went back three or four months ago, we would say he is inevitable. now a lot of people think he is teetering. >> i do hope he is our nominee. i think when people look at his family, the strength of his family. they go back and look at the olympics. the way he was able to rally as a state in the nation after 9/11 and bring this communicate together, and the success of the olympics, the turn-around. it was a financial disaster. things were falling apart at the seams. there was more than 85% democratic. he had over 800 vetoes and fighting against that democrat-controlled legislature that he was dealing with. the fact that we in the house have been fighting in part against newt gingrich along the way. i hope people expose and look at that story and talk about the fact that here you have, he was doing, newt gingrich was doing that. he was talking with nancy pelosi. he was out there fighting with paul ryan. i'm on the budget committee. we needed help rallying around our budget and we were fighting about newt gingrich. i think the strength of mitt romney will be his family, the steadiness and i think that as he very successful leader. >> erick, does the buzz on red state.com, many people believe and iowa might surprise it's a two-man race. you heard the congressman talking about the video with nancy pelosi. other things in newt gingrich's past that might not sit well with conservatives. >> i'm not sure this race is completely fleshed out. and it wouldn't surprise me if conservatives rallied to gingrich. it wouldn't surprise he if they go back and look at some of the other guys in the field that are still standing. i've got the sneaking suspicion that conservatives aren't ready really to gel yet. the polls are suggesting otherwise. but i think the biggest story here is that mitt romney's had this since 2008 and still can't close the deal. and that debate performance i think helps -- or hurts him in the ability to close the deal. but i don't know that newt gingrich at the end of the day is ultimately going to be able to close the deal either when people really start getting into his record. the next at least weeks, james is right action, we're going to have christmas, we're going to have new year's, i think this could roll into south carolina with brutal attacks going on. >> listen to this from president obama. go ahead, james. >> i say, i just think they need a lot more attacks. the good congressman from utah, an attack newt gingrich, we need more on that and we need newt gingrich to respond. that's what this campaign needs is more attacks, savageness out there. >> a boxing manager. he may be a democrat but he's a boxing manager. >> i'm a man. a fan. >> congressman, i want you to listen to this. president obama did an interview with "60 minutes." he talked about why he hasn't been able to keep his promise to have washington be a more friendly bipartisan place. >> i think the republicans made a different calculation which was, you know what, we really screwed up the economy, obama seems popular, our best bet is to stand on the sidelines because we think the economy's going to get worse, and at some point just blame him. and so we haven't gotten the kind of engagement from them that i would have like the. >> all right. i disagree with the president. he really doesn't reach out. i think from an objective viewpoint, talk to democrats, talk to republicans, the president does not reach out and work with us. it just doesn't happen. >> congressman shave gets, appreciate your time. one of the reasons we're so happy to be in iowa is we get to talk to the voters. 22 nights from tonight, they kick off the campaign. tonight's truth focuses on what they want. we've saved people a lot of money on car insurance. feels nice going into the holidays. ohhhh.... will you marry me? oooh, helzberg diamonds. yeah, well he must have saved some money with geico. reminds me of the gecko mating call. really? how does that go? shoo be doo be doo. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. like $100 off the 4g lte samsung galaxy tab. or buy one 4g lte samsung stratosphere for $99.99 and get another one free. hurry in, these deals end december 12th. the smartphones are ready. the tablets are wrapped. get the technology they love. on the network they deserve. verizon. so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. we're in davenport, iowa, tonight and are off in a few minutes to attend evening republican events in cedar rapids to the north of here. by friday we'll have chris crossed 400 miles west company sioux city, back to ames at one point, and end the week at the capital in des moines. barack obama carried this state easily in november 2008. the democratic intensity advantage here in iowa was both obvious and overwhelming. remember, george w. bush was the general election winner here in 2004 and republicans had a very good year in iowa in 2010. which brings us to tonight's "truth." the caucuses will not only help shape the gop nominating contest but test republican intensity and whether iowa will once again be a presidential general election swing state next fall. our first taste of the gop mood came earlier today at the machine shed restaurant right here in davenport. >> i am leaning towards michele bachmann. and it's because i think that she's the most concerned about controlling the out of control budget deficit. i think that's one of her main issues. i've got a 4-year-old son. and i don't want to pass on all this debt on to him. and any future grandchildren and throughout the generations. >> you are a herman cain guy? with the restaurant association. >> yes, yes. >> how's your search going? >> well, i mean, obviously if you could have a cloning machine and you could put the passion of herman cain with the policies of newt gingrich and the steadfastness and the presidential thing of romney you'd have the perfect candidate -- >> doesn't work that way. >> doesn't work that way, they're all human beings. they all have to rise to the occasion. i'd probably like either -- will be either for newt gingrich or mitt romney. >> how about you? >> i'm leaning towards newt gingrich right now. just because my interest is in education. and things need to change with our education system right now with no child left behind. it seems like it's just a mess. >> what has he said to say that's the guy? >> i just -- putting more responsibility on the states. newt -- i've read quotes from him where he wants to put responsibility back in the states' hands and take it away from the federal government. with my experience dealing with teachers, my friends who have already gone into the teaching position, they express frustratifrom u frustrations to no child left behind to me and the issues of the federal government being involved. >> it's the buckley rule, pick the most conservative candidate that can win. yeah, electability is probably at the top of my list because i don't think we can take another four years of this current administration. but policy, newt gingrich is right on down the line. he gets health care, consumer-driven health care. he gets tax policy. he gets the fact that entitlements have to be reformed. he gets all that. >> president obama sort of launched himself here. when he beat clinton -- he did. >> then he carried the state. iowa is one of those swing states that can go back and forth. you think obama will win in november? >> if it was today are i think he would win it. the sense i get talking with hi friends -- >> you think obama will carry iowa? >> 11 months out, infinity. right now i'd say no. i think he'd lose the state by three or four points.

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