>> we begin tonight with presidential politics. new numbers that underscore just how important our big debate here is tomorrow night and a new twist in the campai campaign conversation. a new cnn times poll shows a statistical dead heat this arizona. 36% for mitt romney, 32% for the surging rick santorum. add in a small santorum lead in michigan which also votes next tuesday, and what you get is a tense, volatile gop race as the final four candidates prepare for their first debate in nearly a month. in a moment how the tightness of the race is playing out among the candidates. but first a campaign commentary is stirring controversy. listen here to franklin graham, the son of the reverend billy graham, when asked on msnbc just this morning if he can say categorically that the president is not a muslim. >> i can't say categorically, because islam has gotten a free pass under obama. >> how so? >> well, we see the arab spring. coming out of the arab spring the islamists are taking control of the middle east. barack obama is an incredible man. he's got a lot of ability. and he's got the power of the white house. he could be speaking to these countries right now demanding that they protect the christians in those countries. and he's been quiet about it. >> cnn chief white house correspondent jessica yellin joins us from washington. jess, you asked the white house press secretary, jay carney, about franklin graham's comments this morning. what did he say? >> reporter: well, john, he essentially dismissed the entire question and tried to stave up the fight. he said that he asked the president -- he talked to the president this morning. and "amazingly the president didn't address the franklin graham comments". and he said that the president is focused on the job at hand, which is focusing on the economy, the issues that are important to the american people. he was asked earlier about some of rick santorum's comments on the campaign trail as well about the president's theology. and to that he said that, you know, the president has made it clear that he's a christian, and that it's up to news reporters, producers and our editors to decide whether these are stories or not, essentially turning it back on the media whether this is something we need to be talk about, john. familiar. >> jess, they can turn it back on us. they can say it's out of bounds. but i assume both at the white house and more importantly at the obama campaign they think this tone, this shift is happening for a reason. >> reporter: absolutely. and they know that this is -- they believe this is politics at play no doubt. and the general sense, though, is that this is not helpful to the republican field. there is a larger sense that there is a negativity in the republican field that is hurting the republicans. and once it gets into a general election mode this sort of dialogue doesn't win over those key swing voters. and whether or not it comes up in the general election, it doesn't really play to the republican candidate's benefit, john. >> our chief white house correspondent jessica gel lin. >> absolutely no doubt mitt romney is feeling the heat. he previous most days to draw contrast with president obama on economic issues. but with senator santorum gaining important ground among conservatives in michigan and arizona, governor romney today took his turn in the campaign culture war. >> you expect the president of the united states to be sensitive to that freedom and to protect it. and unfortunately, perhaps because of the people the president hangs around with and their agenda, a secular agenda, they have fought against religion. >> our senior correspondent joe johnson is covering the romney campaign. joe, this is not the territory governor romney prefers to. so if he's going into culture wars, religion, secular, an indication that he's starting to feel his poll numbers falling? >> >> reporter: well, it's certainly all about rick santorum. and look, i mean, talking to people inside the campaign and outside the campaign, john, you really get the sense that what they're saying is the more this campaign talks about social issues, the better santorum does. i think it's also true that a lot of people believed mitt romney was trying to remain more moderate, simply because if he got the nomination it would be a shorter stretch to appeal to those voters in the middle, those independent voters come general election time. but now this is michigan, this is a state where the campaign understands if they don't win here it's going to be a very tough road to hoe for mitt romney, quite frankly. and the belief, i think, is that he can no longer be coy about these social issues and he's simply got to speak to them, john. >> and joe, let's listen to something else governor romney said today. >> i can assure you, as someone who has understood very personally the significance of religious tolerance and religious freedom and the right to one's own conscience, i will make sure that we never again attack religious liberty in the united states of america if i'm president. thank you. [ applause ] >> joe, he didn't use the term directly, but that was a very rare allusion from governor romney there to his mormon faith. >> reporter: right. he really doesn't talk about it much on the campaign trail at all as you know, john. he just hasn't gotten specific even though we know he's give an lot of money to the mormon church. he was also a lay official in the church. it's obvious, though, that there are some concerns out there. and among them the polls that show among evangelical voters there's something like 17%, maybe a few more, maybe a few less, who just would not vote for a mormon. so he's got that problem. and he hasn't talked about the religion much. but if you listen to that sound bite it was very carefully couched in the language of religious liberty, which is something apparently they think people will go for. >> joe johns and the important battle ground of michigan which like arizona votes a week from tuesday. thanks so much tonight. rick santorum was in michigan much of this week but he arrived in arizona today introducing himself to a phoenix odd yns as "a guy from a steel town and a fighter in the mold of ronald reagan and barry goldwater." >> someone who's been fighting across the board, not just on one or two issues but has been a conservative believing in the founding principles, the reagan doctrines, a real authentic conservative who cannot just win this election but in so doing do so based on a vision for this country that is different than the status vision of barack obama. make it about big things! >> more on the arizona campaign new polling numbers in just a moment. team obama will tell you one reason the tone of the gop race is changing in recent days is because it's getting harder and harder for republican toss talk critically about the economy. to that end today was an important if symbolic day on wall street. for the first time since may 2008, the dow industrials crossed the psychologically important 13,000 mark. christine friedland from royaltiers is here with some perspective. so up over 13,000. then the do i by the end of the day had dipped back down a bit. how big of a deal this. >> i think this is a real big deal. may 2008 the crisis was starting to bite. we had bear stearns but not leeman yet. i remember talked to really scared wall street people saying will the dow ever get above 13,000 again. so i think this is really important. and i think you're absolutely right, john, to say it really pulls the rug out from under that core republican argument that president obama has made the economy worse than it was when he took over. >> and yet there's a bit of an irony here in that the dow is at its high mark of the obama presidency at the very moment gas prices are at their high mark of the obama presidency. up every day now kristen for the past two weeks. any relief in sight? >> i think that is the big danger. the price of oil is now above $105 a barrel that. seems to be driven primarily by geopolitical issues, concerns about the standoff with iran. and if things get worse with iran, which is obviously a possibility, then i think you can see the oil price shoot up even higher and all of that healing that we're seeing in the u.s. economy seeing reflected in the stock market will be undone. >> almost a tug-of-war if you will. the potential drag of energy prices competing against the potential psychological and boosting effect of the higher dow and somewhat lower unemployment, right? >> yeah. i think that's absolutely right. and i think that it's going to pose a really difficult challenge for the white house. because of course u.s. policy and israel's policy can have a real impact on what happens with iran. and therefore a real impact on the u.s. economy. and probably on the presidential election. so this is one of those moments when domestic politics, the economy, and geopolitics are all intersecting really in tehran. >> important perspective. kristen freed land of royaltiers. senior administration officials are telling us the obama administration's new corporate tax reform plan will be unveiled tomorrow. but there's an interesting twist. we're told the plan will come from the treasury department, not from the white house. watch for that tomorrow. the supreme court's taking a case that could bring huge changes in the country. it involves a student who claims she's the victim of discrimination because she's white. details in a minute. and later, an incident that has afghans furious and top u.s. officials apologizing. tle emotional here? aren't you getting a little industrial? okay, there's enough energy right here in america. yeah, over 100 years worth. okay, so you mean you just ignore the environment. actually, it's cleaner. and, it provides jobs. and it helps our economy. okay, i'm listening. 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(falsetto chorus) getting a weave. who wants some ronald tonight!? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. in addition to the two hundred plus facilities that the university of phoenix has we have a very progressive online learning environment. we have something called phoenix connect that allows students to have a social network. you can post discussion questions. we have more than twenty thousand faculty members, chances are one of them is online when you need some assistance. i'm ron gdovic, i'm committed to providing my students with a twenty-first-century education and i am a phoenix. >> a student who says she was rejected from a university because she's white will have her case heard by the supreme court. this affirmative action case has the potential to change the way college admissions work from coast to coast that's just one case. an explosive election year supreme court docket alongside the new federal healthcare law championed by the president obama and arizona's tough immigration law. let's start with this texas affirmative action case. how significant? >> reporter: this is a huge case. this law was settled in 2003. san ra day o'connor's most famous opinion as a justice where she said yes, it is permissible for public universities to include race as one factor in admissions. clearly the conservatives who are now on the supreme court have objected to that decision and they have five votes now. it seems to me very likely that affirmative action in public education is on its way out with this case. >> you say on its way out. that would be important as we watch that one play out in election year. another big case is the president's health care law. conservatives say no matter how this one goes they think it will help turnout. what is the big issue before the justice es? >> reporter: the issue is, does the federal government have the power under the united states constitution to force americans to buy health insurance? the individual mandate. is that a permissible federal power? now, if you look at the history of the constitution in this area, it seems very likely that the federal government does have this power. the commerce clause ace very broad power. even some very influential republican judges like lawrence silverman and jeffrey sutton, have says this law is constitutional. so i'd say the betting of people who follow this is that the court will actually uphold president obama's healthcare plan. but that's a big one. and that will be decided before the election. the affirmative action case is going to be decided after. >> and as you know, jeff, the arizona immigration law, sb 1070, set off a lot of controversy in this state and across the country. copycat laws the issue before the justices is what? >> reporter: the issue there is, is immigration a principally federal responsibility? is this an area where the states have a right to regulate? or has the federal government pre-empted, that's the term, has the federal government pre-empted this area and are these laws unconstitutional for that reason? this is an area where i think it's harder to predict, although the conservatives generally give a lot of deference to state power. and i think it's likely that these laws -- it's more likely that these laws will be upheld rather than overturned. >> and jeff, because of the focus on the economy, because of the focus in recent days on socialism and contraception we haven't paid as much attention to what many the candidates are saying about the courts. today senator rick santorum talking about one democratic appointee on the supreme court. let's listen. >> when ruth bader ginsburg was asked the question, whether she would recommend to a country forming that they should adopt the united states constitution as their constitution. and she said no. but that's what the president believes. that's what the left in america believes. that's what plog progressives believe that this document has lived past its expiration date. >> political statement. more of a legal statement there. jeff, what do you make of that? >> reporter: it was actually very interesting. ruth bader ginsburg was invited to egypt by the new government there to give advice on how they should reform their legal system in the post-mubarek era. they asked her, do you think we should revise our constitution in line with yours? and she said no. well, you know, the south african constitution which is actually a newer constitution, post apartheid, she says that's probably a better model for you. i think it's a very interesting comment by her. i'm not surprised it's controversial. but it's important to remember also that ruth ginsberg is an appointee of bill clinton, not of barack obama. so i'm not sure how much he can be associated with her comments. >> we'll see. they all carry their pocket copy of the u.s. constitution, not the south african constitution around the republican campaign trail. >> reporter: they do. >> jeff toobin, appreciate your help. insight tonight into the supreme court. disgraced global financial official dominique strauss-kahn tries to new tactic to clear his name, answering questions about prostitute. u.s. officials have questions about a new way to get your jolt of caffeine. when bp made a commitment to the gulf, we were determined to see it through. here's an update on the progress. we're paying for all spill related clean-up costs. bp findings supports independent scientists studying the gulf's environment. thousands of environmental samples have been tested and all beaches and waters are open. and the tourists are back. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. one chance to hunt down the right insurance at the right price. the "name your price" tool, only from progressive. ready, aim, save! grrr! ooh, i forgot my phone! the "name your price" tool. now available on your phone. get a free quote today. in the works package, we change the oil we change the filter... tire rotation, suspension, we make suspension checks... what we have here is the multi-point inspection. every time a vehicle comes into a ford dealership you'll be presented with one of these. we check the belts, hoses... brakes. tires and the pressures... battery, all your fluids... exhaust system, transmission... we inspect your air filter... it gets done,it gets done quickly and it gets done correctly. the works. oil change, tire rotation and more: $29.95 or less after rebate - at your ford dealer. you're a doctor... you're a car doctor. maybe a car doctor... welcome back. here's kate bolduan with the latest news you need to know right now. >> reporter: other news to catch you up on real quick. iran warns it would launch a preem itch strike if it believes it is about to be attacked. the threat over increasingly tense times over iran's plans. united nations inspectors are in iran for the second time that month but not expected to be allowed near any nuclear facilities. dominique strauss-kahn is being questioned in an investigation of an alleged french prostitution ring. strauss-kahn resigned his post last year after he was arrested and later cleared of rape charges in new york. strauss-kahn urged police to question him in this latest case, saying it would help clear his name. finally, music mogul shawn p. diddy combs and basketball legend magic johnson are launching new channels on the comcast network. it's an aagreement to diversify the cable landscape as part of its purchase of nbc universal. apparently ten channels are going to roll out over the next eight years. we may have to wait a bit but could be interesting. >> new program, more part of the conversation, more part of the debate and more choice out there. that's a good thing for everybody. all right, kate, we'll see you in a little bit. here in arizona a dead heat between rick santorum and mitt romney. we're taking a closer look at our new polling numbers, dissecting in part how the tea party factors in big. plus your drinking habits may influence your your kids. but a new study says movies may have a bigger impact. don't tell the cast of "brides maids." >> could i have a glass of alcohol when you get a chance? 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some of santorum's surge is because he has a slight edge among the tea party? >> some of it slightly a surge among the tea party. certainly an edge among evangelicals. but the real problem for mitt romney is that he really hasn't caught on with any of these groups in a big way. and that's why the former chairman of the arizona republican party came out today and said there's no enthusiasm for mitt romney and he's a romney supporter, john. i think we can say we've seen that throughout the primaries and caucuses. >> you see that lack of enthusiasm for governor romney. one of the things that should work, any way could work to romney's advantage is 40%, maybe half of electorate voted early. so santorum has surged in the last week or so. might romney benefit from the fact that some of his people even if they changed their mind might be too late? >> this is where organization comes in. this is where money is important. and romney has both of those things, although he's running through his money pretty quickly. but if you're organized enough you can get people out to vote early. and that will really help him. one other thing, john, that's so important is of course how much you spend on advertising. we've done a little digging today to try and figure out what the differential is between romney and santorum. and we figure out between the campaigns and the superpacs there's about a 10 to 1 difference that romney will outspend santorum by that much money. that should help him in the end. now, this is between now and the primary on tuesday. >> the big debate here tomorrow night. obviously the last big word for these candidates before tuesday's voting, where super tuesday. it's been almost a month since they've shared a stage. how high are the stakes? how high is the bar for the candidates tomorrow night? >> it's very high. if you look at this poll, more than 30% of the people we polled said that they could yet change their mind. and so it's clear to me they'll be watching you on that stage. they're going to be watching that debate. because they probably want to see how romney and santorum do up against each other and whether in fact newt gingrich is really still in this race heading into super tuesday. and you know, santorum i presume is going to be center stage this time. and he's going to be in a different position than he's been in the past. >> first debate as an equal, if not the frontrunner in the surge right now. we'll see. gloria will be with us throughout the night and the debate. because senator santorum is now the surge candidate. a 2008 college address by santorum coming to light. some think it could be trouble for the form pennsylvania senator. in this speech santorum warned the united states was being targeted by satan. listen. >> satan has done so by attacking the great institutions of america. using those great vices of pride, vanity and sexuality as the root to attack all of these strong plants that have so deeply rooted in american tradition. cnn senior congressional reporter tracking this. dana bash let's listen to another snippet from his speech. >> reporter:. >> this is a spiritual war. the father of lies has his sites on what you would think he has his sights on, a good, decent, powerful, influential country, the united states of america. >> dana, you've been covering the former senator for years. you know the rhetoric he likes to use. are you surprised by these statements, the tone and the use of the word "satan"? >> not entirely. you know, this john, that rick santorum is a deeply religious person. he sees the world through the prism of his religion, cath thol issism. he is very up front about that. he has really been like that as long as i have known him covering him for at least a decade now. but what we did hear here, the use of the word "satan" is somebody who is clearly comfortable with the forum in which he is speaking. he was speaking to ave maria university, a very conservative, catholic university in florida. so he knew his audience. and talking about things like the father of lies. that is definitely not something you hear him talking about on the campaign trail now. and what is interesting is talking to people who are close to him, they have said, you know, maybe part of the issue, john, is that it was 2008. he had already been defeated from the senate. he didn't necessarily have the political antenna up, the political people around him that he normally had to maybe reel him back from some of that very stark rhetoric that is kind of going through his veins. but the santorum campaign, they call this all of the hoopla around this ridiculous. they say what is it? a news flash that rick santorum believes in god? they said i don't think so. >> and so dana, we can assume people go back and look for these things and they're circulated normally by people who work for another candidate or don't support senator santorum in this case. the question is does it help or hurt at a time he's surging in the polls. >> reporter: i think in the short term help. and this time long term maybe hurt. if you talk to republicans around town, if you talk to republicans who are very focused on the big picture on trying to beat barack obama, they say that they are concerned about this kind of thing. i was talking to many people up on capitol hill last week who said that they were concerned about their former colleague because he is a "culture warrior." this is exactly the kind of point they were trying to make. in short term if you're talking about the kind of republican primary voters that are out there and caucus voters, this might very well appeal to them. but in the long term there is a lot of concern among republicans that this will turn off some of the independents, some of the voters who don't like to hear their politicians talking in such stark religious language, even if they believe it internally. >> and proof as you rise in the polls you get more attention and people do a lot more digging. chief congressional correspondent dana bash. protesters in afghanistan shout death to america after nato troops burned copies of the koran. furious demonstrators lit fires, they hurled rocks outside the air field where the holy books were burned. first military officials said it was an accident. now they say some of the books had extremist subscriptions in them. barbara starr, how did this happen? >> reporter: well, john, what happened is that the military says they were gathering up these religious materials to dispose of them. and they were disposed of inch appropriately. very prongly the u.s. military says these materials including some of the holy korans were taken away for burning. why were they gathering up the material? that perhaps is even a deeper question at the moment. as you say, u.s. officials acknowledging that some of these writings, some of these books, that were in a library at the detention facility on bagram. they had extremist writings inside them and extremist inscriptions. they also found separate extremist literature in the detention library that apparently came from outside afghanistan. so one of the major questions now on top of everything else that has happened is how did this extremist material get inside one of the most secure compounds in afghanistan, john. >> and barbara, one of the worries always is not only just in afghanistan but around the muslim world, what does the military do to try to contain them? >> reporter: we have learned previous cases. moving very quickly general john allen, the top commander in afghanistan, defense secretary leon panetta, the state department and the white house all coming out very strongly today saying they apologize for the korans and the religious material being burned. it is wrong. they're going to start training u.s. troops in the proper disposal of these types of religious materials. another incident, another round of apologies to the afghan people and people of the islamic faith, john. >> barbara starr live for us on this sensitive story at the pentagon. barbara, thank you. maybe you've seen those new inhaleable caffeine shots, the ones that promise a quick energy boost with just a few huffs. but the federal government doesn't know if the shots are safe. here's cnn aviation and regulation correspondent lindsay o' leary. >> reporter: aero shot's appeal is not exactly subtle. a spritz of lime-flavored powdered caffeine. in a cannister so small it could be on your key chain. >> i'd be down to use it, to tell you the truth. i feel like a lot of the energy drink out there are just as bad for you or whatever it is. i've seen people using it. >> reporter: 100 milligrams of caffeine per cannister. that's more than a red bull, less than a frappuchino, plus a dose of vitamin b. the company calls it breathable energy. it's sold in massachusetts and new york and has no age restrictions. that and the potential to mix it with alcohol --. >> when you drink that cup of coffee, that's okay. but what about kids who go to bars and take several shots of aero shots so they can drink more? >> reporter: here's the key. like the popular five-hour energy drink, aeroshot is sold as a dietary supplement. >> we're not introducing anything that has not been really thoroughly tested as far as safety is concerned. and so we're using active ingredients that have a very long record of safety and safety testing. and nothing more than that, actually. >> reporter: but that doesn't mean the government tested it. when a new drug is created, the manufacturers must prove to the fda that it's safe in order to sell it. with dietary supplements like aeroshot, companies do their own testing. there's no government approval process. >> manufacturers are free basically to sell almost any product they want and make almost any claims they want about dietary supplements. and the law really should be tighter in order to protect consumer consumers. >> reporter: so john, essentially what happens here is if the government wants to get these products off the shelves they actually have the burden of demonstrating that they are unsafe. they have to prove it to the consumer. >> and so can we answer given the debate, can we answer the bottom line question, how dangerous or is this product dangerous? >> reporter: it basically depends on how much you take. if you took one, that would be the equivalent of about a cup of coffee. and that within most medical guidelines is completely safe. the mayo clinic says look you probably shouldn't exceed 300 milligrams so that's the question of taking three, four, five to stay up all night if you mix it with booze then it becomes dangerous as just one of these little things probably not. >> i can see in a campaign a lot of reports and campaign staff trying to figure out whether that's good or dangerous. lizzy, thanks for your help. we'll keep on top of this one. the vang ellist franklin graham calls president obama a son of islam, another question of private faith in the public raern. coming up we talk truth about the tone of those conversations. and check this out. a lunch menu from the titanic on the very day it hit the iceberg. well, it's on the auction block. we'll tell you how it survived the disaster. but before we go to break, a shout out to the mesa arts center right here in arizona. instructors there went through the delicate process of glass blowing us just for us to craft a cnn vase. fell on the ground as they were finishing it up. but as you can see, no worse for the wear. whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! whwheeee! ! whwheeee!! whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! ahah h heaeadsds u up. whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! evevererytythihingng y youou l , nonow w momobibilele.. dodownwnloloadad t thehe n nep totodaday.y. conversations about god and politics often are tricky. and people of good faith can have very different interpretations of what they hear. of late if you're listen together presidential campaign or commentary about it, well, there's a lot to consider. here's rick santorum on president obama. >> it's about some phony ideal, some phony theology, not a theology based on the bible, a different theology. >> mitt romney chooses different words but he seems to be trying to make essentially the same point. >> and unfortunately, perhaps because of the people the president hangs around with and their agenda, a secular agenda, they have fought against religion. >> now, are the republican contenders questioning the president's faith? they say no. well, there's no debate that franklin graham is trying to raise a question or two here. >> i'm just saying the muslim world, muslim world, islam, they see him as a son of islam. >> sound familiar? here's a flashback august 2010. >> he was born a muslim. his father gave him an islamic name. it's obvious the president has renounced the prophet mohammed and renounced islam and accepted jesus christ. that's what he says he has done. i cannot say that he hasn't. >> now, even taking the president at his word the reverend says he wishes the president had a different christian education. >> i wish the president over the years had had a chance to be involved in a real strong bible-teaching church. i don't think reverend jeremiah's church was a place where he got grounded in god's word. >> now, maybe it's coincidence. maybe not. that we're hearing a lot more about the president's faith or theology at a time the economy appears to be getting a filmer footing. that's certainly what team obama this. top obama strategist david axelrod put it this way. he told me "the economy is getting better and they, meaning the republicans, are getting panicky. face cat nip is the term he used describing comments questioning the president's faith. these can be tricky and our interpretations are shaped both by personal shape and personal politics. here's tonight's truth. there's nothing wrong with a conversation about how faith guides and doesn't guide our candidates for high office. but it should be a careful and a respectful conversation. and sadly, we don't have many of those in our politics today. joining us now to talk about this and other issues in mesa, arizona, ed montini, a columnist with the "arizona republic." "new york times" national correspondent and the president of the center for arizona policy. let me start with you, kathy, as a conservative here in arizona, when you hear senator santorum who you support say -- question the president's theology, you hear governor romney saying they're secular. and franklin graham today saying he's a son of islam and the president of the united states somehow is giving islam a pass in his words. is that the campaign you want to have? is that the debate you want to have about president obama? >> john, i this i what the voters are going to look at is where the candidates stand on the issues. that's what is important to people of faith. god looks upon the heart, not man. to me the question is where to the candidates stand on the issues. i think that's what matters to voters the most. >> david axelrod says this what is republicans if they can't say the unemployment rate is going up, something about the economy, they want to use this as part of a narrative that he's different, he's not like you. >> i would say that's a losing strategy if that's what you're taking. i mean, ultimately it didn't work the last time. i can't imagine that it would work again this time. i don't know that you have an adequate means test for the president on whether you're christian enough to be president of the united states. i have a sense that if we look back in our history with all the ones we've had so far we might have a little trouble with more than a few of them along those lines, some of whom were very good presidents. it just strikes me as an odd argument to start to make at this zblaj but jeff, is it an odd argument if your focus is on president obama perhaps the more understandable argument if it this isn't about president obama. this is at the moment a tug-of-war between gingrich and santorum to survive and governor romney to say the conservative base of the party seems to be moving. the rhetoric has changed dramatically in the last ten days of this race as all of a sudden santorum is a threat. he wants to wake up the day after super tuesday with gingrich gone. so he is just going right and going hard. >> and this is one of the things that explains why governor romney is having a bit of a problem here in the last two weeks or so. because the whole conversation is off his issues. really ever since the whole conversation about contraception and things has started and it was a cpac conference he said he was severely conservative. whenever he's not talking about the economy he's sort of off his message. so the campaign is desperately trying to get mitt romney back into that groove beginning with the debate on wednesday and a big economic speech on friday. he doesn't want to be talking about either. but we still haven't had a full examination of his campaign. if this race goes on with romney and santorum more i can't imagine us not talking more about the mormon faith. >> you say he alluded to it a bit today. earlier today in michigan he allude today somebody he said he knew first hand questions of religious tolerance. this also came up this morning franklin graham on morning joe he was asked about romney and faith and do you consider him a christian. let's was on fox news he talked about it. >> he said he is part of the judeo-christian faith, and do you take him at that? >> well, most mormons are not recognized as the judeo-christian faith. >> so no? >> well, they have a lot of things they don't believe in, too, that we don't accept even though they belief in jesus christ. >> how different is this conversation in arizona as opposed to south carolina in the sense that if you are here in the west and much more common to run into the mormons? >> well, it is different and people in arizona, we have people come canning around shared values and issue positions so whether somebody is lds or protestant or jewish or whatever else, it is not the issue. the debates are incredibly important and that is what the voters are looking for, where do they stand on the issues. >> i need toe quickly to erin burnett who is coming up atp the of the the hour. what should we look forward to? >> well, i want down 20 the new york stock exchange and my lucky day and crossed 13,000 for the first time since spring of 2008, but what does it mean for the president? some of the numbers are incredible, and did you know that the people in america who make $75,000 or more, 87% of them own stocks, whether it is a 401(k) or ira and we will talk about what it means politically for the president. also talk about iran and what is happening there with the former secretary of defense william cohen will be our exclusive guest. and plus, john, a little bit of dsk at the top. >> erin, looking forward it to and busy show ahead sounds like. >> and we will be back here in a moment, and a new study finds that drinking and movies has a dramatic influence on american teenagers. america's choice 2012 is sponsored by -- uh oh. should we be letting him p-l-a-y with our t-a-b-l-e-t? [ mom ] i think it's fine. it's the new element from at&t so it's w-a-t-e-r proof. cool. what else does it d-o? it's fast. it's 4g lte. 4-g-l-t-e? mhhmm. i think it's time to stop spelling? ok. a-y. [ male announcer ] introducing the waterproof pantech element. buy one for $249.99 and get a 4g burst smartphone free. only from at&t. this time tomorrow night the candidates will be getting ready for the big debate and nearly a month before the final four candidates met. let's talk to the jeff and kathy and john. and this is an interesting state when it comes to politics. you have immigration -- >> you have been here before. >> and you have a sheriff involved in a scandal and the state is enormous and tight race in michigan and here and we don't have a republican front-runner now, and what is the most important issue when you talk to the people of arizona, what are they look fin for? >> well, i'm not sure, but right now the real dilemma is how to separate, and how do we find the candidate who has the best chance to beat barack obama. that is how certainly the conservative voters in arizona are looking at it. they don't strike me as all that keen on mitt romney, but by the same token they are not sold that santorum can can beat barack obama. so it is a strange thing that it is almost pushing some of those who were here for immigration and some of the other issues and those concerns are pushing the issue-oriented concerns off of the table, because they figure they are pretty much the same on the economic stuff, and more inclined to go with them, and so which one can help us to win. >> and in the new poll, santorum 32%, and romney 36%, and ron paul and newt gingrich, 18% and 6%. so do we have a front-runner, and who is electable, and the who has changed every week. >> yes, it has. and it is extraordinary that we are talking about mitt romney as not the front-runner, because he has planned so long for this moment. and you talk to the voters and that is the situation. over the next seven days, you cannot overstate how important they are for the romney campaign. arizona is important, because it is winner-take-all, but michigan is boyhood home and if he does not turn it around, we are hearing the uprising in the party. so i think that voters are lookinglook g f looking for signals in other places, and he has to bring it, and there is a lot riding on the nominee's shoulders and not the campaigns. >> well, a strong economy is built on strong families, and that is what voters want to hear. >> we will check back in to see what you feel about this. we will check in with kate bolduan with the news you need to know about. thank you, john. venezuelan president hugo chavez says he will undergo surgery to remove a lesion that is related to the cancer he treated last year. the president could only have months to live since it has spread to the colon. and here is your chance to read a l own a little bit of history. one of the passengers put the menu in her handbag that day from the "titanic," and she and the handbag and the menu made it through the disaster. and when it is auctioned next month, it is expected to go between $150,000 and $160,000. and results show that teenagers who watch movies with scenes like this from "animal house" are more prone to drinking even more than teens who have alcohol at home. and so parents.com says parents should limit their kids exposure to marketing of alcohol like t-shirts and caps. we threw that reference in there for "animal house" just for you, john. >> well, i like it, but you should be of a certain age before you see it. >> all right. >> and finally stephen colbert interrupted to unforeseen circumstances, but he finally returned to his show. he finally revealed the reason for the hiatus. >> i want to reveal my absence for the national conversation, and the