its own brutal crackdown, that's it's running out of money. i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com it could get lonely being the front-runner especially if you're way out front in new hampshire as romney is now. the first in the nation primary is only five days away. that makes him the prime target of his rivals, but they're also squabbling among themselves and while romney can afford to look ahead to south carolina, some candidates can't afford to fall further behind. let's go to john king in new hampshire. john, you're on the scene for us. give us the lay of the land right now. the big picture. what's going on? >> five days out, wolf, you would have to say new hampshire is romney country. just like in iowa, you have the campaigns now gearing up for their final push. we see more lawn signs than we did in iowa, but nowhere near the level of past campaigns. the reason, people here are pretty well considered to believe that romney will win. he won by eight votes in iowa. he's up by 30 points here. 48% for romney. 28% for ron paul. the question is, can rick santorum build on his iowa momentum? he's third with 8% support. jon huntsman at 7%. go by the romney campaign headquarters here and you see a careful effort to protect that lead. volunteers not identifying themselves, calling around to republican voters saying, who are you going to vote for? trying to make sure people they've identified as romney supporters stay that way. that's to protect that lead. the most activity after romney you find at the huntsman headquarters, yet, he's still struggling in the polls. he needs to win or show here or most believe he'll be gone from the race and today, you saw what you just talk ed about. romney is drawing most of the fire. gingrich and santorum, knowing how important ss to prove they have what it takes to stay in the race. the south carolina, florida and beyond. gingrich and santorum going back and forth at each other. the speaker saying santorum was a big player in the congress. so wolf, with five days out, there's no question here. no question. governor romney is the heavy favorite and even though the iowa win was abt votes, there's no evidence the big lead here is slipping. >> the republican presidential debates have been so important over these many months. you did one of the first ones in new hampshire. i think that was way back in june if i recall, but there are going to be two republican debates this weekend. those could still even at this late moment in new hampshire, shake things up a bit. >> the candidates, especially if you're romney or santorum, bring your battle armor. there's no question that speaker gingrich, santorum, governor hunt man, are going to turn their attention on romney, trying to bring him down. they want to bring him down. get him under 40% so they could say that the man under 40% or higher in the polls for months struggled here. speaker gingrich, fourth in iowa. he knows he probably needs to win south carolina to prove his viability. if he comes in behind romney, paul, santorum again, it's hard for him to make the case that he's a strong national candidate for the republicans, so look for speaker gingrich to be aggressive, focusing on romney, number one. there's a lot of bad blood brewing there, but speaker gingrich realizes rick santorum is a threat as well. >> what's coming up at 6:00 p.m. eastern right after us? >> we're going to have governor huntsman right here. he ignored iowa. insulted iowa. he's going to be here, we're going to ask him, it looks like new hampshire first strategy might not have been such a great idea. we'll also get insights from the former state republican party chairman here. he's a big romney guy here. he's a long time conservative. we'll ask him what he thinks of the criticism and e get his assessment op the state of the play here. >> sounds like a good show. thanks very much. as his conservative rivals pound away, mitt romney just arrived in south carolina, but critics on the right haven't exactly rolled out the red carpet for him. let's go to joe johns. what's the latest? >> well, mitt romney has the endorsement of the state's tea party backed governor, nikki hailey. he's certainly got money. he's got a very good organization, but hey, this is south carolina, where the people like their politics raw and we've already gotten some examples of that. welcome to south carolina mitt romney. tea partiers here despise you. that was the message an organizer was sending to the count when he took a day off to swing by the palmetto state. martin said in a telephone interview that except for the people who have signed on for romney, almost no one she knows in the state is supporting him. >> we don't really think too much of mitt romney here in south carolina. i don't know any tea party people in the states. one i talked to this morning who is supporting him in his presidential bid. >> like many tea partiers who say they don't like romney, martin cited the public health plan in massachusetts, which is similar to obama's plan. >> the republican party didn't like him in 2008. not much has changed about him between then and now, but the electorate has changed a lot. we're more conservative. we're take iing a deeper look a the constitution. we're more focused on smaller government and fiscal responsibility and we don't think mitt romney brings those values to the table. >> of course, that's not good news for romney since 57% of south carolina respondents in the last cnn poll said they were spoert supporter of the tea party movement. by the way, romney has said that tea partiers nationwide would eventually come around when they got to know him better. >> as they get to know me better and understand how it is, i'm devoted to shrinking the size of government and encouraging the growth of the free economy. i think i get great support from the tea party. >> according to entrance polls of people on their way swoo is into the iowa caucuses, he got decent support. santorum had the best showing with 29%. and romney has a strong organization. backing from people like republican utah congressman, jason chapin. he has recruits dozens of members of congress to the republican campaign. >> this is going to come down to jobs in the economy. we need somebody from the outside who's going to turn around the economy. we have to beat barack obama and mitt romney is clearly in the best position to do that. >> meanwhile, senator john mccain, who won this state last time around and is now supporting romney, is actually traveling the state as well as reaching out to some of his own contacts in the state. not so much pitching them we're told, saying hello because this is an election year. back to you. >> that's the way it happens. thank you. newt gingrich left iowa with a chip on his shoulder, stunned by all the negative ads. he's made it clear he'll go after mitt romney. he's keeping up the pressure today. >> we have a difference of opinion, you know, about which will be the last conservative standing. but i think eventually, you'll get down to one conservative in governor romney and he'll continue to get 25%. now, by definition, at some point in that game, somebody else is going to start getting a lot more votes than governor romney. if he wins at 25%, this would be a weakest front-runner in hisry. >> let's bring in gloria borger. is newt gingrich right? how vulnerable is mitt romney? >> newt gingrich is hitting him right where he is vulnerable. that's the question joe johns was getting out earl yes, just how conservative is mitt romney? when we looked at those entrance polls that we took in iowa, only 14% of the voters in iowa who self-identified as very conservative were for mitt romney. 14%. as joe was saying before, santorum won with the tea partiers. santorum won with a very conservative voters. what gingrich is really trying to do is chip away at the notion that romney is a conservative. now, that may work in south carolina. the question is whether that will work in new hampshire or independent voters can vote in a republican primary and they might like somebody who's moderate, but those independents could also go for ron paul, so what these folks are trying to do is chip away at that 40% number. get him back down to where he normally is and then they can claim a victory even if they don't win in new hampshire. >> that's a good point. now, we know a lot of money being thrown, but it's only just beginning. this year, there's a new twist. >> right, there is a new twist, it's not just the money the campaigns are raising, but it's the money for what we call super packs. and these are outside political action committees that are funded by outside contributors who can raise unlimited amounts of money and what we've been seeing is that they've been doing the dirty work. take a look at the names of some of these political action committees. restore our future. make us great again. red, white and blue fund. winning our future. our destiny pack. who do they represent? nobody knows, so when they go on the air with negative ads, nobody will know, but restore our future. is for romney. make us great again. for perry and on and on. those two packs, let's take a look at the money here. how much these outside super packs spent. for romney, 1.2 million. that's what newt gingrich has been so upset about because those are negative ads. same thing for perry. 844,000. santorum, the red, white and blue fund, only 289,000, but now that he's in the top tier, you can be sure they'll be raisinging more money. >> but the pressure's going to be on -- >> absolutely, his super pack. there are reports that his super pack is going up with ads in south carolina. so what we see here, wolf, is that these are the attack ads. so you have a situation where the candidates have deniability. you know, mitt romney says, i'm running positive ads, but guess what? the restore our future fund is running the negative ads and romney can say, you know, i have nothing to do with that. by law, he really isn't supposed to have anything to do with it, but guess what? a lot of his friends are running his super pack. >> the names are great. i love my mother. >> they're a little generic, wouldn't you say? >> jack cafferty is up next. here's a question about the campaign. the campaign contributions are some, some being wasted and rick santorum under attack from his rivals over pork barrel spending. how much cash did he really take? we're getting back in shape. oh! try these. i sprinted here... wow! from your house?! from the car. unh! ooh. [ male announcer ] get back on track with low prices on everything you need. backed by our ad match guarantee. walmart. nyquil (stuffy): just reading ad mawhatyour label.ing? wait! you relieve nasal congestion? tylenol: sure. don't you? tylenol (another bottle): hmmm...no... nyquil (stuffy): dude! anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. jack? >> if you go to the racetrack, do you bet your money on a three legged horse? of course not. you bet your money on a four-legged horse, one that has a chance of winning the race. why is it when it comes to politics, some bet on horses that have no chance of winning? several of the presidential want to bes making lots of campaign cash despite the fact they have no chance of being the nominee. rick santorum raised more than a million dollars since the caucuses on tuesday and yes, santorum placed close second in iowa, but that was largely due to his appeal among social conservatives and evangelicals. that's not something that's going to translate. for example, he stands to lose badly in new hampshire. meanwhile, ron paul raising $13 million in the last three months. that tops the 8 million he raised in the previous corner. he, too, ran well in iowa, but once again, the chances are he's not going to be the republican nominee. newt gingrich, he raised $10 million in the last quarter, but a lot of that came when he was spiking until polls and that's a long time ago. of course, none compare to romney's expected haul of 20 million over the last three months. that's the thing. you can understand why people might want to plunk their money down on romney to win. he's looking more and more like the party's nominee every day. he's expected to win in a landslide in new hampshire and it seems unlikely at this point there's anything or anyone out there that's going to be able to stop him. here's the question. why do people give money to candidates who have no chance of winning? post a comment on my blog or go to our post on "the situation room's" facebook page. you wouldn't bet on a three legged horse, would you? >> no, but i did write on p my blog post, i'm not yet ready to crown mitt romney the winner. who knows what could still happen between now and the end of the game. that's just me though. >> well, romney's going to win, but i don't want to wreck your party. >> thanks. rick santorum is riding high after iowa, but that's made him a bigger target for his republican rivals who are now slamming santorum for spending on pet products. when he was in congress, he was in the house and senate for 16 years. dana bash has been looking into this for us. what are you finding out? >> when rick santorum was in congress, it was certainly a very good thing for lawmakers to say they're spending money on their constituents. lawmakers begged to be on the appripriations committee, but this is a different world. santorum's opponents are using earmarks that he got to paint him as a typical washington politician. >> we're in a financial crisis right now. >> stumping in new hampshire, rick santorum fwigives his prescription for reducing the deficit. >> we have to do it in the areas where the deficit has been created and that is spending. >> but the former senator's opponents say he was part of the problem. >> very liberal. >> what makes him liberal? >> he spends too much money. >> they really hit him for taking earmarks. a dirty word in tea party lexicon. >> who personally demanded more than $1 million in earmarks? >> rick santorum. >> right. >> i have had a lot of earmarks. in fact, i'm very proud of all the earmarks i put in bills. >> the reality is, it's hard to know if santorum got a billion dollars in earmarks because he was defeated in 2006, before lawmakers were required to disclose their earmarks, but steve ellis says -- >> i think it's pretty clear if you look at the an ek doe tall evidence that he got at least a billion dollars and probably much more. >> pennsylvania received $483 million in earmarks for 872 projects and during his years in congress, santorum issued press release after press release, bragging about bringing home the bacon. like an expansion project for a job training center and $50,000 for gateway fasteners. and santorum voted for the infamous bridge to nowhere in alaska cht. >> to go against the bridge to nowhere was to go against senator stevens. >> right. if he would have voted against the bridge to nowhere, bye bye money for pennsylvania. santorum still defends his pork barrel projects. >> when you go to congress, you make sure when taxes go from your state to washington, d.c., you fight to make sure you get your fair share back. >> and to be sure, he was hardly alone. until recent years, even for republicans, spending federal funds on folks back home was a path to re-election, but now in a gop primary, it's fodder for opponents. >> i believe that earmarks is a gateway drug to corruption and senator santorum supported it and engaged in it as much he could. >> there's no evidence that santorum's earmarking led to corruption and he now says he supports the senate earmarking ban, which went into effect long after he was defeated from the senate and santorum also points out, this is important, that earmarking when it existed, it was less than 1% of the budget. he says the real issue should be entitlements and other areas. >> and just be precise, this is not money in his pocket. this is money that went to various projects in pennsylvania. >> exactly. bringing home the bacon to your constituents to say i'm in washington, working for you. look, i got you this bridge. >> nothing illegal about this. >> and now, it doesn't exist. >> that's correct. thank you. important changes in the job market. details of a new report on hiring. what's inside caught a lot of experts by surprise and chilling allegations by a syrian defector. he says the government of al assad spent so much money slaughtering its citizens, it was forced to make huge budget cuts. tired eye relief with hydroblend™, only from visine®. just one drop instantly soothes and revives tired, overworked eyes. and comforts them for up to ten hours. visine® tired eye relief. try now and save $3. thrilled. wait. we can have shakes? 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[ male announcer ] get back on track with low prices on everything you need. backed by our ad match guarantee. walmart. a former president now on trial for his life. lisa sylvester is monitoring that and other top stories. >> that's right, wolf. mubarak could face death by hanging. today, the death penalty was requested along with the country's former interior minister and four aides, he is accused of ordering protesters killed during the uprising. he denies the charges. and the private sector went on a -- 325,000 were added last month. the biggest gain of its kind in a year. the government's jobs report will be out tomorrow. the news will have little impact on wall street. the dow jones was down just under three points at the closing bell just a few minutes ago and casey anthony's attorney is confirming that a video circulating on the internet is in fact the florida mother who was acquitted last july of murdering her daughter, caylee. the video diary marks the first time the world has heard from her since then and it reveals a different look. anthony doesn't say where she is, but doesn't mention her daughter. >> just a little story of how much things have changed since july and how many things haven't changed. the good thing is that things are starting to look up and starting to change in a good way. >> definitely a different look there. anthony's attorney says the video diary is part of her counseling, but she didn't authorize its release. >> thanks very much. the pentagon is ordered to tighten its belt as the u.s. prepares to make major changes in military strategy. we'll also hear from a siyrian defector who offers a chilling insider's view of the slaughter that's underway on the streets of syria. 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>> more investment in technology like unmanned submarines and fewer boots on the ground. to such an extent that the u.s. will no long ee ee eer per sue ability to wage two ground wars. the president promised to increase its military presence in asia. >> budget reductions will not come at the expense of that critical region. >> the cuts come elsewhere. sources say an entire brigade could be brought home from europe. there could be fewer, minimum, with more reductions likely. the obama administration and congress are cutting the pentagon's budget by half a trillion to potentially a full trillion. >> fiscal crisis could face the strategic shift that's taking place now. >> perhaps most controversial, the military will no longer prepare to fight two ground wars at once. critics say that could alarm u.s. allieallies. iran recently ordered us navy ships out of the region. there's been rise iing tension h pakistan, which has nuclear weapons and an increasingly radicalized population. and for now, no one knows what to make of the new leader of north korea. >> reality is, you could face a land bar in korea and at the same time, face threats in the straits of hormuz. >> or vice versa. the pentagon says it would still be able to spoil the tensions of nx while in full combat with iran. >> we could begin to shift forces toward korea and again, even though we wouldn't bring full combat power to that north korean contingency from the outset, over time, we would have that ability. >> but the pentagon provided no details on dealing with the elephant in the room. the spiralling cost of pay and benefits! if personal costs keep rising at the rate they have been, where's the military going to be in the future? >> by the year 2039, the entire defense budget would be consumed by pay and benefits. of course, we can't let that happen. >> and secretary panetta says nothing is off the table when it comes to reducing personal costs. an official told me that current troops likely will see no change to the retirement package they were promised when they got in, but wolf, troops who come in later down the road, it's very different benefits package when it comes to retirement health care, things like that. >> i just want to be precise. when they say they're going to cut a half a trillion or a trillion dollars over the next ten years, these are going to be cuts of projected increases. there's going to be an annual increase in defense spending every year. in other words, the u.s. is going to be spending more next year than it has now, but not as much as some wanted. >> that's right, wolf. if you're just talking dollar for dollar, the dollars are going up, but what was projected, that number is going to come down. it could come down even more if congress does that whole see quest thing and takes the full 5 or 6 billion on top of what's been done. >> let's keep in in perspective as the president said today. the united states spends more on defense than the next top ten countries combined. the u.s. is still outspending everybody else on earth when it comes to military expend churs. the president made that point, right? >> exactly. you talk about china. everybody makes a really big deal about the increases that china has been showing in their military expenditures, but about a year ago, there were reported spending about $90 billion where the u.s. budget that year was $690 billion, so still a wide, wide gap. >> good to see the president in the pentagon briefing room. i spent a lot of time there during our first gulf war. now that u.s. troops are out of iraq, the lid is off and a ferocious wave of sectarian violence is exploding. attackers killed at least 60 people today. the worst came in a suicide bombing targeting shiite pilgrims. arwa, you just go there from iraq a few days ago. looks like the situation is going from bad to worse. this country is teetering on a civil war. that's going on? >> reporter: and wolf, what's going on is very much most iraqis worst nightmare. the targets of today's attacks were the shia population, civilians and pilgrims. this is from fears that a civil war, let remember that al-qaeda is still active and you have extremists on both sides of the spectrum, sunni and shia, who believe that the way of power is through violence. when this happens against this backdrop, it creates an utterly desperate situation for the population. the bottom line, wolf, is that when it comes to iraq, violence is not going to be revolved unless the politics are. the politics, the government are in utter shambles. >> arwa, from iraq to syria, you filed just a little while ago, an amazing report about a high level syrian defector. i want to play your report. listen to this. >> reporter: in the syrian capital, the defense minister is the nerve center to stamp out unrest. >> translator: my office is on the 12th floor of the ministry of defense. >> reporter: he worked at the ministry for years. his i.d. describes him as a financial inspector. not part of the are regime's inner circle, but in a position to see the wheels of repression at work. >> translator: armed gangs filled the government buses and dispatched from our offices flanked by four wheel drive vehicles filled with weapons. >> reporter: and those they didn't kill, they brought back. >> translator: on a daily basis, i used to see them bringing in blindfolded and handcuffed detainees on buses. they were kept in underground prisons. some built under streets. >> reporter: and he makes this chilling allegation. >> translator: what is more horrific are the fans carrying the red crescent i gue. drive through the ambulances and fire through the protesters. >> reporter: he tells cnn that the regime hired hit men, paying them $100 a day. it spent so much on the security crackdown that the budgets of other ministries had to be cut by a third. he says for a while, he hoped there would be compromise. >> translator: we were hoping the killing would stop and the regime would understand that the revolution will win and maybe find a way to appease the people. there was no hope. >> reporter: as the climate of fear took hold, he decided to get out. >> translator: so i traveled to egypt through the airport normally with the excuse of registering my son in college in egypt. when the rest of my family followed me, i i announced my defection. >> reporter: much of the carnage he blamed on the intelligence services and armed gangs. not regular troops. >> translator: al assad is no longer able to control these human monsters. >> reporter: two weeks after he fled syria, he has this message for the outside world. >> translator: we have reached a phase of genocide and this can't be tolerated under any circumstances. >> genocide. arwa still with us. arwa, he uses that word, it's a powerful word. genocide. we know of at least 5,000 or 5,500 civilians have been killed. tens of thousand have been arrested or disappeared. genocide. is that what's going on right now? >> reporter: well, that's at least what he's describing it at and that's what activists are warning, but if nothing is done, it most certainly is going to be by the time the regime is done because the activists say the regime is not going to stop until every one of them has been killed and they are just as determined to keep going to the streets. the situation, wolf, is so dire. it's incredibly difficult to put into words, but when you speak to these activists, when you hear the desperation in their voices as they're crying out from help and their determination in taking to the streets, every day, their bravery has to be commended, but there has been to be some action taken to end the violence. >> these arab league observers, is this a total joke or is there anything serious there? >> reporter: well, the commander of the free syrian army, that is the army opposition army that is largely made up of defectors called the arab league mission a mockery. said we could be anticipating large scale attacks by the free syrian army. activists have been so disappointed to a certain degree, disgusted with a arab league, they had hoped that they would somehow be able to bring about an end to the killings or reduce them, but the numbers have not really gone down and many of them who have come across the arab league observers say at best, they'll nod their heads. taking notes, brushing them off. one activist said he felt as though the observers were tourists and they were forced to run after them like beggars, wolf. >> terrible situation. arwa damon watching it all unfold. thanks very much. and we're going to get a lot more on syria and iraq and iran and north korea. phillip hamid is here in washington and will join us. and what is rick perry doing back in texas? today and tomorrow, critical days, instead of out there on the campaign trail? donna brazile and mary matalin are stand iing by live. what makes the sleep number store different? 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. joining us now, cnn political contributors, donna brazile and mary matalin. i want you to listen to this ad. it really blisters mitt romney for flip-flopping. listen to this. ♪ >> i believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. i will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and a devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard. in flavavor of that legislation. multiple choice, thank you very much. >> you can go back to you tube and look at what i said in 1994. i never said i was pro-choice. but my position was effectively pro-choice. we have tough gun laws in massachusetts. i support them. i support the second amendment. i purchased a gun when i was a young man. small, small environments, if you will. look, i was an independent during the time of reagan-bush. it's time for republicans to start acting like republicans. i'm not trying to return to reagan-bush. >> masterpiece theatre. mary, do you know who's behind that ad? >> no, i do not. i was going to ask you, wolf. you do all the best reporting. >> it doesn't really matter because they're all going to make the same arguments. >> donna, do you have any idea? >> no, i don't, wolf, but we've known for a long time that governor romney's words would come back to bite him. the question now is can he explain where he stands today on these issues? >> let me play the end of that ad for both of you. listen to this. ♪ >> i'm john mccain and i approve this message. >> mary, you got a smile coming up. that was from the 2008 campaign. the newt gingrich folks are circulating that ad right now. but that was a john mccain attack on mitt romney. the same man he endorsed yesterday in new hampshire. how do you explain that? >> explain that the 75% abm, anybody but mitts, still think the way to knock him out is by his previous infidelities to come conservative lit news test in explaining away his previous positions, but at the end of the day, whatever his hypothesis are going backwards going forward, leches are about the future, he still has a big case to go forward and he's got plenty of practice explaining away backwards and this is not going to be a soesh issues campaign. that's not the say the activism goes away, but it's an economic issues campaign. we're in the primary and that's what's going to be unfolding in front of us, but i don't think that changes the dynamic of the race. >> here's how john mccain explained himself today. listen to this. >> we had a very tough primary in 2008 and it's politics, but as soon as that campaign was over, nobody worked harder or supported me more than rmitt romney did. i have watched him grow and accomplishment as a campaigner and i agree with him on issues. i think he is best suited to run this country and frankly, the best chance we have against president obama in the general election. >> you agree with john mccain? he's the best chance the republicans have to beat president obama? >> well, look, john mccain was a gracious loser in 2008 and right now, he's trying to work hard to help mitt romney. the problem with mitt romney is that it will come back to haunt him and even his own economic record is suspect with 47 out of 50 states when he was governor. he still can't explain the jobs he created while serving at bane capital. i think mitt romney will have a lot of challenges next week. one is that he cannot eke out a small victory. he has to win big in new hampshire. >> speaking of south carolina, those are live pictures of mitt romney with john mccain. they're campaigning together in south carolina. goes show you how a tough campaign all of a sudden, they're working together to help mitt romney right now, but let me ask you this about rick perry right now. he says he's still in this race, yet he's hanging around texas today and tomorrow he's not going until new hampshire until the weekend, then he's going to go to south carolina. he's really serious. why is he in texas instead of campaigning? >> because rick perry has, there's still a path for him, but he has a very reduced minimal margin of error. he has to do well in the detats. he's not going to do anything in new hampshire. there's infrastructure on the ground for him in south carolina. there is support. it's not a romney state. he did not get nikki hailey, which he was expecting to, so that was a blow to him. there's still a very, very stout resistant to letting this, letting romney waltz into this and perry has, and bachmann got out, which advantages perry as well. if he were in new hampshire fooling around to no good or he wasn't preparing for the debates or he was in south carolina just going to events, where he has an infrastructure, he can let that do the work. he's on the air. when he goes out again, he has to go out and be a def con 1. >> we'll be checking in with both of you from there if not sooner. guys, thanks very much. jack cafferty is asking why do people give money to candidates who have no chance of winning? your e-mail coming up next. and a 14-year-old girl who doesn't even speak spanish is deporting to colombia, but there's a truly stunning story behind the story. diet and exerc, alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. let's fight fat with alli. ♪ and more. if you replace 3 tablespoons of sugar a day with splenda®, you'll save 100 calories a day. that could help you lose up to 10 pounds in a year. and now get even more with splenda® essentials, the only line of sweeteners with a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. just another reason why you get more... when you sweeten with splenda®. ♪ ♪ [ boy ] looks like our work is done here. i'm heading home. vaaa vrooom! need some help, ma'am? grrrrrrr! 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[ male announcer ] get back on track with low prices on everything you need. backed by our ad match guarantee. walmart. jack cafferty's back with the "cafferty file." >> why do people give money to candidates who have virtually no chance of winning the election? annie in atlanta writes stupidity and ignorance and there are certainly people out there who know how to take advantage of a good thing when they see it. how much is sarah palin worth now? what a racket. richard in texas writes they are wishful thinkers and they believe that if enough people think like they do, then their candidate might have a shot. they surely wouldn't go far without donations. poor people don't run for president and usually, the one with the most money wins. not the best candidate. t in oklahoma says because they can. i donate to anyone whose views match mine regardless of the state they live in. it's so they can be given a platform. janet in oregon writes i would guess it's the same reason people sit in front of their tvs writing checks to tell van. with just a little use of their available thought process, they'd realize they're merely helping the rich get richer and in no way are helping themselves. brian says i'm not entirely sure, but if we look at what's happening with santorum, people are doing it with a hope he gains on a front-runner. additionally, it's a way to feel empowered to fortify your beliefs and support those of like mind and jeffrey in ohio says i've done this myself a few times. usually because none of the above. wasn't a ballot option. you want to read more about this subject, you can find it on my blog or go to our posts on "the situation room's" facebook page. >> thank you. he's riding high after iowa, now, rick santorum the taking on mitt romney in his on stronghold. can santorum pull off another strong showing in new hampshire? and up next, a 14-year-old american girl deported to a country where she doesn't even speak the language. how could this happen? we'll explain. uh-oh. 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[ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kaopectate. lisa sylvester is monitoring other top stories in "the situation room." what else is going on? >> cuban state media is blaming a spanish twitter user for starting a rumor that fidel castro had died. the user is denyinging it and his twitter activity showed that he merry retweeted the tweet. it led state media to claim the enemies are trying to asasz nate him in the world. and after finding success with an experimental success in monkeys. two studies details the success against an hiv-like virus. the vaccines dramatically reduce the chance of infection, but also the amount of virus the monkeys had in their blood. and prince william's wife is stepping up her role. she has chosen three charts. they include the national portrait gallery, a group that supports fighting addiction and the children's art therapy program. she'll make public appearances on their behalf. and when was the last time you had a roll of film devel lopped? in october, the company warned it could run out of cash if it couldn't sell a number of digital patents. a spokesman says the company doesn't comment on rumors. >> it's amazing what's going on. kodak. what would have thought? not that long ago, a company like kodak, you've covered the business world for so long and the text message simply changed. >> there are so many of these key brands, but you look and see everybody takes digital pictures, so the actually process of using film, those days are long gone and that's the problem kodak has. a number of companies are in that same boat where they're going to have to evolve or change. netflix is another company under pressure now as there are lots of changes. >> polaroid. who would have thought. let's look at this hour's hot shots. in bangladesh, people look over the scene of a ferry that capsized due to overloading. in the netherlands, a man peers out his window as waters rise. in tokyo, contestants compete in a calligraphy contest. and kung-fu as part of a cultural exchange program. pictures from around the world. happening now, mitt romney gets out of his comfort zone, visiting a state that could take the wind of his campaign, potentially at least, but there's new evidence that he has on his home turf in new hampshire, the situation being well covered for him. some of romney's rivals are seeing big jumps in donations, but do they have enough to stop him? how much does money in an election really matter? and an interview with the new consumer watchdog leader. i'll ask richard cordray this hour if his appointment is legal. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. breaking new, political headlines and jeanne moos all straight ahead. i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com just five days to go before the first presidential primary of the year. a new poll shows no one is coming close to mitt romney in new hampshire. the former governor of neighboring massachusetts has a 23-point lead in a new poll of likely republican primary voters. his closest competitor in the new hampshire race right now, ron paul. the texas congressman. the rest of the pack trailing in single digits. that helps explain why romney now is turning his attention to south carolina where the january 21st primary is expected to be more competitive. in charleston this afternoon, he's there now, while most of his rivals stayed back in new hampshire. newt gingrich is turning the heat up on romney, doing four events in new hampshire today. jon huntsman has four events in the state where he's invested virtually all of his campaign time, money and energy. santorum is making five stops in new hampshire, riding momentum from his very near victory in iowa. jim acosta is covering santorum's spike for votes. what's the latest? >> wolf, this might be mitt romney country, but don't tell that to rick santorum, who has roughly 20 events over the next few days, it's the kind of graund campaign that paid off for him in iowa. >> he literally worked in the coal mines since he was 72 years of age. could we please silence all pagers and cell phones? i'd appreciate that. just kidding. you can let them ring. >> that could be because opportunity could be calling for rick santorum, who's running for a mad dash for votes in new hampshire, dialing up conservative talking points. >> unless we repeal obamacare and do it immediately, i wouldn't be in this race if it wasn't for obamacare. i believe that is a game changer for america. >> santorum's rise after america is also a game changer. that explains the punches from newt gingrich, who's deminnishing the senator's influence in congress. the former speaker reminded voters it was he who brought about the contract in the '90s, not santorum. >> i would say if you think of us as partners, he would have been a junior partner. >> santorum was so taken aback by gingrich's comments, it took him a moment to gather his thoughts. he then pointed to his role in rooting out corruption in congress before gingrich was speaker. >> newt was not involved in that revolution when it came to the corruption in the scandal. he sat on the sidelines. >> i don't know that he has any track record of being able to organize a large scale campaign that i'm describing. >> you don't have a whole lot of money. you're just starting to raise money. >> we raised over a million dollars yesterday. >> that's not going to be enough, is it? >> that's one day. that's a pretty good start. >> who's seen by some as too moderate, too massachusetts. >> i don't trust him. >> on that issue or overall? >> well, he jumped around on everything else to me. on a lot of other issues, he's flip-flopped. >> to do well in new hampshire, this surging contender will have to tangle with ron paul, whose supporters don't like santorum's vow to use air tracks to block iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. >> i think it will be worse than iraq. it will be drawn out, cost a lot of money and blood. not a road i want to go down. >> rick santorum still knows how to stir up controversy. at an event here a few moments ago, he clashed with college students on the issue of gay marriage. santorum compared it to polygamy. he was booed as he left the podium. >> jim, it seems to me that in new hampshire, you're there and certainly as opposed to iowa, these candidates are getting a lot more critical questions at these town hall meetings than they seem to have received in iowa. but give me your impression. >> that's exactly right. i mean, i think that the new england town hall is one of the best traditions of american politics and rick santorum is going through that process right now. he was able to do those town halls up in iowa with little press attention, little scrutiny, but he is definitely getting that. the flat terrain is over with in iowa. he's on a more bumpy ride in new hampshire and you can tell that not just by the comments from newt gingrich, but by the reaction he had in this room earlier today. this was not a pro santorum crowd today. they were booing him as he was leaving that podium after some very controversial comments on gay marriage. >> independents can vote in new hampshire. thanks very much. ron paul and rick perry are taking a break from the campaign trail today. congressman paul will return tomorrow. perry will be there for weekend debates, then he'll head off to south carolina to campaign. perry's in texas today and tomorrow. just moments ago, mitt romney wrapped up his event in charleston, south carolina with governor nikki hailey and his new supporter, john mccain. his target, president obama. >> i had the fun of reviewing some of the campaign tapes. from barack obama's speeches when he was a campaigner. and back then, he made a lot of promises. he was going to repair the nation, remember, and repair the world. there's a big gap between what he promised and what he delivered and what we've seen over the past three years is a failed presidency. i don't think he's a bad guy. i just think he's way over his head. >> what a difference a month has made for romney. "time" had romney on the cover asking why don't they like me. a different side of the photo, a new caption, so you like me now? let's bring in rick stengle. explain why then has changed to now as far as your cover stories are concerned. >> back then, which wasn't so long ago, just a few weeks ago, romney was in the second tier, third tier of candidates in iowa. people thought he might not get one of those coveted three tickets out of iowa, but he took a chance. he saw he was doing better with evangelicals than he thought and he decided to put his money on iowa. not so much as he had done the last time, then he triumphed. the fact he won in iowa actually makes him better suited to win everywhere else. if he had lost in iowa, he would have gone down a rank. to me and us, it was a big deal, his win, even though it was a razor thing one. >> it was the same photo on both covers. what was the thinking behind that? >> in a sense, they're bookends. it's a little bit of a game that we're playing with our readers and the public. it's a little bit of one chapter and now a new chapter. we thought we'd have some fun with it. governor romney had fun with it. when people give him the cover, he annotates it and says for the old one, why don't they like me. he crosses out the t. why do they like me? >> realistically, is there anyone out there that can really stop him? what do you and your reporters at "time" magazine concluding at least right now? >> yeah, i don't want to put an end to the primary process, not that i could, but we look at it as it's going to be very, very hard to stop him. i was listening to your last story, wolf. you point out for example in new hampshire, independents can vote. it's such a different terrain than iowa. new hampshire is the northeast. it's contrary yan. there are more liberals. independents can vote. there's no democrat primary, so those independents might vote in the republican primary. it helps him in new hampshire and down to south carolina, which is the killing field of candidates. he has money. he has organization. and those are the kinds of things that rick santorum, as much we're talking about him and as interesting a figure as he is, he doesn't have the money and he doesn't have the organization. >> and your columnist does an excellent article in the issue as well. thanks very much. recommend the cover story in the new issue of "time" magazine. jack? >> wolf, when i read these numbers, i was stunned and it takes a little to stun me. i had no idea that americans make up fully one-half of the world's richest 1%. when you look at the world's population as a whole, it only takes $34,000 a year per person after taxes to be part of the world's richest 1%. a family of four with after tax income of $136,000 would be be among the richest 1%. 60 million people make up the world's richest 1% and according to an economist, half of them are 29 million people lived in the united states as of 2005. another 4 million live in germany and the rest are scattered throughout europe, r latin america and parts of asia. none of the world's richest 1% live in africa, china or india, statistically speaking, although places like china and india are seeing economic growth and people there are getting richer, they're starting from a very low base. it also means the emerging middle class in those countries isn't the same as the middle class in developed nations. no cars, no retirement plans. they don't own their own homes. he says people in the world's true middle live on about $1200 a year. that means even the poorest 5% of americans are richer than two-thirds of the entire world. something for all of us to think about while the occupy wall street movement targeting the so-called 1% with protests in new york, l.a., denver and washington, these numbers give 1% a whole new meaning. here's the question. what does it mean when americans make up half of the world's richest 1%? go 1200 bucks a year, wolf. for the average -- the middle income earner worldwide. >> i was stunned when i saw that report just as you have been. anxious to hear what our viewers think about that. thanks. good report. a big, big change for the united states military. president obama outlines a long list of cuts and a strategy change not seen in years. we'll break it down for you. also ahead, republicans say this man's appointment is unconstitutional. i'll ask the president's new consumer watchdog director about that when he sits down with me in his first national tv interview. we knew it would take, we knew it would take, but we were determined to see it through. today, while our work continues, i want to update you on the progress: bp has set aside 20 billion dollars to fund economic and environmental recovery. we're paying for all spill- related clean-up costs. and we've established a 500 million dollar fund so independent scientists can study the gulf's wildlife and environment for ten years. thousands of environmental samples from across the gulf have been analyzed by independent labs under the direction of the us coast guard. i'm glad to report all beaches and waters are open for everyone to enjoy. and the economy is showing progress with many areas on the gulf coast having their best tourism seasons in years. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. we're committed to the gulf for everyone who loves it, and everyone who calls it home. president obama's promising america's armed forces will stay strong despite his strategy for a leaner military. he made a rare appearance at the pentagon today to unveil the strategy personally. >> i think it's important for all americans to remember over the past ten years since 9/11, our defense budget grew at an extraordinary pace. over the next ten years, the gout in the defense budget will slow, but it will still grow. because we have global responsibleties that demand our leadership. in fact, the defense budget will still be larger than it was toward the end of the bush administration. our military will be leaner, but the world must know the united states is going to maintain our military's superiority with armed forces that are agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats. we're also going to keep faith with those who serve by making sure our troops have the equipment and capabilities they need to succeed and by prioritizing efforts that focus on wounded warriors, mental health and the well being of our military families and as our newest veterans rejoin civilian life, we'll keep working to give our veterans the care, the benefits and job opportunities they deserve and have earned. >> the guy behind the president, the army chief of staff, the former u.s. commander in iraq. the administration is in the final stages of deciding on specific cuts in the size of the military and the 2013 budget. the new strategy moves the united states further away from the past bill of being able to fight two major wars at once and it puts greater emphasis on security threats in asia. deadly new attacks meanwhile in iraq today and growing fears of a civil war. at least 60 people were killed in strikes that targeted shiites. more than half died in a suicide bomb attack outside the southern city of nasaria and joining us now, philip hammond. starting with iraq, where it looks to me like we are on the potential of a civil war erupting between shia. >> what really matter ss that the iraqi people can look to the future and put the wars behind them and develop the economic prosperity which they deserve. >> do you have confidence in al maliki? what he's doing is going after many sunni leaders, refusing to name a defense minister, it looks like he's trying to consolidate support. >> i think there are a number of pressures going on inside iraq, but it is clearly in our interest, the international community's interest and the iraqi people's interest to have a reconciliation there. to try to dampen down these tensions so they can now rebuild their nation after what has been a pretty traumatic ten years. >> because a lot of officials here in washington, privately, they're losing confidence in al maliki, so the question to you, are you losing confidence in him? >> i haven't lost confidence in anybody. i believe that the iraqi government has the ability to control the situation, but i have to agree as of this morning, things are not looking good in baghdad. >> is iran active player in fomenting this potential civil war in iraq? >> we know that iran's tentacles stretch to its neighbors around the gulf. this is a continuing cause of concern, so while i don't have specifics, i would not be surprised to find iranian involvement. >> was it a mistake for nato, u.s., british forces to all leave iraq? >>. >> we have to move on. we've ensured that country cannot be the launch pad for further attacks on our nations. we've ensured our own national security objectives. we have to move on. we have to allow the iraqi people to resolve their problems and to rebuild their nation themselves. >> the iranian are saying no more warships in the persian gulf. are you going to heed to that warning? >> no, we're not. we are part of a multinational task force working with the u.s. fifth fleet in the persianen gulf. we will continue to do that work. we will continue to have naval assets in international waters and in the home waters of our allies in the gulf. >> are you going to try to shut down iranian oil exports? >> we will continue to squeeze through economic sanctions the iranian regime so long as they go on defying the international community with an illegal nuclear program and they need to understand that pressure will continue. >> which would affect them from doing business in the outside world, especially oil. >> by sanctioning the central bank, also by imposing direct sanctions on oil imports from iran into europe, which is a subject which has been advanced today in europe. >> because europe gets a lot of oil from iran, but that's going to stop if you had their way. >> that's right. we're going to shut down the purchasing of oil from iran in europe, hopefully bringing them back to the table. >> when you say squeezing them a little bit more, emphasis on the word little or significantly more? >> the emphasis is on continuely tightening the pressure on iran while also extending the hand of engagement. at any time, the iranian can engage with the international community, but they have to renounce nuclear power. >> are we seeing another potential libya unfolding in syria? >> the situation is very different, but the regime clearly has lost legitimacy. assad is butchering his own people. he should heed the call of the international community to stand aside and allow syria to transition to a more open -- >> what if he doesn't? what will you do? france, a no fly zone? >> we will continue to apply pressure and seek to build an international consensus for pressure on syria, but we can only act whether it's legal capacity to do so and at the moment as you know, it is not been possible to build a consensus across -- >> you'd like a u.n. security council resolution to authorize potential military action. >> i would like to see a u.n. security council resolution calling on the regime to end the violence against syrian nationals. we need to work with other security council members to look at how we can tighten the pressure on the syrian regime. >> i'm very worried about the korean peninsula with a death of kim jong-il, kim jong-un taking over. the fear i have, i know many national security officials have in washington, inside and outside the government, is that kim jong-un is going to do some provocative act, going to do something to create a crisis to consolidate his own authority of power in that country. shell an island, sink a south korean ship, launch some missiles. is that something you're worried about? >> of course any change in a country about which we collectively know so little is a matter of concern. there is of course the opportunity that a change of leadership could lead to an opening, could lead to a reengagement with the international community. that's a fervent hope and aspiration, but on balance. i think experience tells us that it's probably unlikely and the instability that change of regime creates a of course dangerous and leads to, increases instability in the region. >> i was there in north korea a year ago. if there's an incident in the next few weeks or months. i'm sure you wouldn't be surprised either. >> i wouldn't be surprised, but we have to hope that the transition of power turns out to be an opportunity rather than a threat. >> mr. secretary, good to have you here in "the situation room." thanks for coming in. good luck. >> thank you. he's at the center of a constitutional controversy. richard cordray. he's joining me here in "the situation room" in his first national television interview. a good agent always looks to their artists for inspiration. it's such a vision really that we tend to really sort of work out what opportunities really work with his vision. he has an amazinging on with disney. something in the works with google, of which i can say little, otherwise i'll have to kill you. he has all of this brand equity already. he has the huge fan base. at the heart of it all, he wants to please people and to bring a lot of joy. >> all i ever wanted to do is make art, so every day is exciting if i'm only doing that. it's a lucky thing. this is an rc robotic claw. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ even if you think you can live with your old mattress... ask me how i've never slept better... why not talk to one of the 6 million people who've switched to the most highly recommended bed in america. it's not a sealy, a simmons, or a serta... ask me about my tempur-pedic. ask me how i can finally sleep all night. ask me how great my back feels every morning. did you know there's a tempur-pedic for every body? tempur-pedic beds now come insoft...firm...and everything in-between... ask me how i don't wake up anymore when he comes to bed... these are real tempur-pedic owners...ask someone you know...check out twitter, or your friends on facebook... you'll hear it all...unedited! ask me how i wish i had done this sooner. ask me how this is the best investment i've ever made. tempur-pedic brand owners are more satisfied. than owners of any traditional mattress brand... to learn more, or find an authorized retailer near you visit tempur-pedic.com. tempur-pedic the most highly recommended bed in america. we can't wait. that's how the white house is defending president obama's decision to appoint the new director of a consumer protection agency without the senate's approval. richard cordray will join me in his first national television interview. that's coming up. his first national interview since the appointment just in a few moments, but first, let's go to jessica yellin. jessi jessica, is white house isn't backing down despite legal questions. >> remember when democrats were complaining that the president was giving away the store to republicans? that he had no backbone? that was so six months ago, before we were in an election year. now, meet call it your bluff, mr. president obama 2.0. a defiant move by president obama. >> today, i'm appointing richard as america's consumer watchdog. >> a controversial step that has progressives cheering and conservatives crying foul. >> it's wrong. and someone needs to stand up and say, enough, mr. president. you are not -- >> senate minority leader mitch mcconnell calls it a sharp departure from a long standing precedent. it's all about the new consumer financial protection bureau. in july, the president nominated richard cordray to run it. in december, senate republicans blocked cordray's nomination. then, senators went out of town, but made sure the president could not make a recess appointment. instead, they kept the senate in what's called pro forma session. every three days, a senator shows up, hits the gavel, stands around, then hits the gavel again, then leaves. it's like a virtual congress. president obama decided to challenge the practice. >> i think all of you should run up to capitol hill, check out the house and senate and see if you can find a single member of congress and then tell me on this working day for most americans whether or not congress is in session. >> white house counsel tells cnn -- and the administration believes for all practical purposes, the senate is in recess. but is the president flip-flopping? when he was a senator, he opposed president bush's recess appointment of john bolton to be ambassador to the u.n. >> there were a great many questions about his qualifications for the job. >> still, the official record shows bolton likely had the votes he needed to get. wolf, the case of ambassador bolton, president obama, then senator obama, importantly, did not challenge the right of president bush to make a recess appointment. in fact, at the time, then senator obama was quoted saying quote, the president is entitled to take that action. wolf. >> thanks very much. and joininging us now, the new director of the consumer production bureau. mr. cordray, thanks very much for coming in. >> my pleasure. >> and congratulations. you know your job is coming under very, very controversial circumstances. presumably, you're going to be levelled a t the way the president did this, during this pro forma session, not necessarily a legal recess session. what do you think? >> well, wolf, i'm going to leave those distractions to others. i'm now the director of the consumer bureau. it's a big job. an important job. our mission is to make financial markets work better for the american people. that's every family. all the folks we know in our community who need some help and someone standing on their side to make these markets work. that's going to be 100% of my focus, time and attention. >> we're going to get to some of the substance, some of what you plan on doing. let me read a statement mitt romney put out. he says president obama's bureau is perhaps the most powerful and unaccountable in the history of o our nation headed by an unaccountable bureaucrat with unprecedented authority over the economy. i want you to respond and explain why he's wrong if you believe in fact as i assume you do. >> well, i think there's a lot of accountability in the law for this bureau, but the other thing is there wasn't a lot of accountability in the financial marketplace before we had the meltdown in 2008. that was a real tragedy for this country and it hurt millions of people and part of it was because we had banks and nonbanks competing in financial markets. they led a race to the bottom. they destroyed standards and they hurt a lot of people. >> who's going to be overseeing your bure wroe? >> i think we're subject to the leadership in both houses of congress. i have spoken personally to those folks over the course of this process and pledged that i would give them the kind of input and information that would help them understand how we're doing our job and how to do it better. what i know, wolf, is that the congressional leaders, they hear from and serve the same people we're now serving. they hear the stories about people losing their homes, buried in debt, that theyen didn't understand. frauds and scams that occur out there. our job is to try to make the marketplace work better for consumers and i think as we continue to do that, we will win our way forward. >> there was a criticism that the lead editorial levelled against the new agency and to a certain degree, you. if mr. obama agrees to retomorrows of the bureau that would make it more accountable to elected officials. as it stands, the bureau is part of the federal reserve, but mr. cordray sets his own budget and doesn't report to the fed chairman. is that accurate? >> the reality is that we as a bureau are subject to plenty of oversight. we have to do audits and reports to other agencies of congress. we are subject to a potential veto on rule making that no other agency is subject to. we have a job to do to protect do you me consumers. the american people know this is an important job. they know the struggles that they, their family members, their friends, people in their community are having over mortgage problems, credit card problems, over payday loan problems and they want to know someone is going to stand on their side and make these markets work for consumers. >> are you subject to congressional appropriations the way all other government agencies are? >> all banking agencies are not subject. we have a cap on our budget and if we need additional funds, we would go to congress and go through the appropriation process to get additional funds, so there's a lot of oversight over this agency, but the key thing here is my background at the state and local level know it, people in ohio know it, is i always had very good relations with people on both sides of the aisle. we always had that good relationship. i'm committed to build thag relationship with the leaders in both houses of congress. i plan to deliver on that. >> so, which house and senate committees will oversee your agencies? >> it will be the house banking committee and the senate banking committee and house financial services committee. people from our bureau have been there to testify in front of both committees a number of times already. they've heard in particular, i know from the head of our offices service members affairs, and what we're doing to help protect service members against some of the scams and frauds that have perpetrated on them over the years. how we can improve their lives. people who are serving our country and shouldn't have to worry about being preyed upon my financial scammers back home. so we will continue to go and testify in front of congress. make sure with they have the information they need and want to have about what they are doing. we're serving the very same people they are serving and as they see how we're approving, they'll approve of what we're doing. >> what's the first thing you're doing on this day taz new director? >> as the new director, the big change is that we have authority over the non banks. we can level the playing field. today, we have launched our supervisory program. we will be able to go in, ask tough questions, see what they're doing and have them fix problems if they're not complying with the law. that's a big change for consumers. it will be good for consumers. >> mr. cordray, good luck over there. i know a lot of people are going to be hoping you do the right thing. >> thank you. we'll do our best. >> thank you. a 14-year-old american girl deported to a country where she doesn't even speak the language and did that woman really climb the rock in this popular tv ad? jeanne moos gets to the bottom of it. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. and more. if you replace 3 tablespoons of sugar a day with splenda®, you'll save 100 calories a day. that could help you lose up to 10 pounds in a year. and now get even more with splenda® essentials, the only line of sweeteners with a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. just another reason why you get more... when you sweeten with splenda®. ♪ an american teenager who doesn't even speak spanish is deported to colombia. a stunning story that has her family demanding answers. they spoke to ed lavandera. >> no one seems to understand how she could have fooled so many people in getting herself deported to colombia, but her mother and grandmother, who live in dallas, have been desperately t tryinging to find her for more than a year and they fear the young girl is trapped in a dangerous web. it seems like part of you thinks this isn't your daughter's doing. >> i feel like she's been coerced. i feel like someone has told her, maybe promised her something or something. i know. but it's not her, it's not her. it's not her personality. there has to be adults involved. no 14-year-old can change their name and get to colombia. on their own. >> last april, she was arrested for shoplifting in a houston mall, but instead of giving police her real name, she claimed to be 21-year-old tika cortez from colombia. after pleading guilty to the theft charge, she was turned over to federal immigration agents. somehow, turner managed to keep the false identity alive. she convinced the immigration system she was cortez and then convinced the colombian government and got the necessary papers to be deported. there were bulletins spread around. the dallas run away is even featured on missing and exploited children. >> from where i sit, someone completely screwed up or she has completely fooled a long line of people to get herself to colombia. do any of these seem like viable explanations? >> no. you have to have i.d.s. to get, you know, to another country. and i just don't understand how it could happen. someone made a goof and i think it's what -- i.c.e. or someone. they goofed up. >> lorrean turner spent months scouring the internet looking for any signs. she discovered facebook postings from her granddaughter's friends and was terrified. her home facebook postings seem to suggest she hates her life in colombia, but then appears to grow about how happy she is. she is now pregnant. she's been in the custody of juvenile authorities for more than a month. cnn has told the colombian government it's working on returning her to the united states, but it's not clear what is taking so long. >> this must be incredibly hard for you to bear. >> basically stopped working. just kind of shut myself off from everybody. because you really don't realize how big a city is until someone you love is missing. >> wolf, i.c.e. officials just learned about this case a couple of days ago. they say they're taking this very seriously and are are still trying to gather all the facts, but this has been simply baffling for many, many different people on many different levels. >> 14-year-old girl deported to colombia. unbelievable. if you get some answers, let us know. it debuted here in "the situation room" on tuesday. erin burnett's flick wall. up next, steven colbert has some fun at our expension. l: we are? nyquil (stuffy): yeah, we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. tylenol: and i relieve nasal congestion. nyquil (stuffy): overachiever. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. because for every two pounds you lose through diet and exercise, alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. let's fight fat with alli. ♪ if you saw our iowa caucus coverage the other night, you got the first look at our new way of showing polling data with the nick of a wrist. we had some fun with that cht so did the colbert report on comedy central. >> cnn debuted their new flick technology, which allowed them to throw charts at each other across the studio when it was a confounding erin burnett. >> before i send it back to you and anderson, we will do a little reverse flick. ready, wolf? ready? yes, very good. >> third time is a charm. excellent flicking. >> erin, you clearly need a lesson in advanced flickology, so join me now at the flicktron flicktronictron 5600. welcome. where the news will not stay in one place. okay, now, let's bring up erin burnett's lovely photo and flick. where did she go? where did she go? where is erin now, you ask. i'm sensing a presence, somewhere, it's in this area. young lady, hold still. are you -- what's -- what's this? cnn, is this your graphic? pow. >> very funny stuff. very funny stuff. going to discuss that later with erin burnett, see how she feels about this. by a way, on a very serious subject, check out my blog today. cnn.com/situationroom. does mitt romney have it all wrapped up? see what i think. and jack cafferty is asking what does it mean when americans make up half of the world's richest 1%? your answers coming up. çtooool . let's check back with jack for the cafferty file. >> the question is, what does it mean when americans make up half of the world's richest 1%? johnny in los angeles says it proves first and foremost that an economy based on free enterprise will make a nation rich. ml writes, all well and good, but what does that have to do with the discrepancy here in america between the rich and the poor middle class? robert in florida, it means that until recently america was the land of opportunity. it means until recently, the government didn't try to control every aspect of the american business community. it means that government regulations didn't always stifle growth and punish success. b in missouri writes the united states has the richest poor people in the world. most have a home, many have transportation, and most don't have to beg for food on the streets, even though sometimes they don't get enough to eat. michelle on facebook, it means that's the reason everybody wants to come to america. it's the land of the free, where anything is possible. ron writes it means people don't know how good they have it living in the united states. do any of those occupy wall street people want to trade places with the average person in africa, asia, or india? and larry in texas writes, count my blessings on a daily basis and give more to others in need. we are the most fortunate people on earth at this time. but at our current rate, we'll be joining the people in china, india, and africa. if you want to read more on the subject, go to my blog, cnn.com/caffertyfile or through our post on the situation room's facebook page. i think we lose sight sometimes, wolf, of how well off we are. >> how lucky we are. and think about 1% of the world. what did you say? 50% of america? >> 50% of the top -- the richest 1% of the world, about 29 million of the 60 million people that qualify as the richest 1% live right here. >> it's a good number to have if you're in america, bad number for the rest of the world. but good for all of us. jack, see you tomorrow. thank you. >> okay, wolf. it's a commercial many of you have seen, but is it real or is it fake? jeannie moos goes directly to the source. for a limited time, passages malibu will be giving away free copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. you probably seen the ad. a woman climbing a terrifyingly high rock formation. is it real or fake? cnn's jeannie moos finds out. >> we talked about getting a diamond -- >> reporter: these days when seeing is no longer believing. maybe you've seen this commercial and wonder if you can believe what you see. >> my citi thank you card to pick up accessories. a new belt, some nylons, and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? >> reporter: the reaction online has been this can't be real. >> yeah, it's real. >> the citi thank you card -- >> reporter: thank you for making viewers physically dizzy and sick. i can't help getting wiggy when she gets to the top and the camera angle is pointed at her feet and all you can see is imminent death. >> it's actually not very technically difficult. >> it's a rock formation called ancient tower in utah, but who is that hot ad girl? >> i had a camera on the helmet. so, it's me like looking at my feet as i walk. >> the feet belong to katie brown. she became one of the top female climbers after she began competing at the age of 15. citi bank hired her and alex honald to do the commercial. you might recognize alex from the jaw-dropping piece "60 minutes" did on him. he's known for climbing incredible rock walls without ropes. >> there's no adrenaline rush. >> reporter: in the citibank commercial, the two climbers were using ropes and no one fell, though katie says she has had a few scary falls, like this one shot by carlos mason. viewers of the commercial are almost as curious about the lyrics to the song -- ♪ somebody left the gate open >> reporter: a band called l.p. is singing. >> somebody left the gate open. >> reporter: got to give katie credit for being honest about how it felt up there at the tippy top. >> it's a little intimidating. >> reporter: the spots even in parody with someone using footage from a swedish diaper commercial.