we begin this morning with next stop, new hampshire. the going is about to get rough in the granite state as mitt romney looks to widen the paper-thin lead he beat rick santorum by in iowa. in the meantime, michele bachmann has dropped out while texas governor rick perry says he is staying in. nbc s brian mooar has details for us from washington. brian, good morning. reporter: good morning. romney won iowa, but his competitors are pointing out the glass was three-quarters empty. mitt romney s campaigning on home turf with a win in iowa under his belt, the endorsement of john mccain in his pocket, and a runaway lead in the polls. do you think we can do a little better here in new hampshire? maybe? yeah. reporter: even though romney beat rick santorum by only eight votes in iowa, it s a win. with romney, ron paul and rick santorum in the top tier as the three serious contenders coming out of iowa is almost it s the perfect scenario for the former massachusetts governo
this is the cbs evening news with scott pelley. pelley: good evening. it is a new reality for republicans after the closest iowa caucus in history, and who would have guessed? in december, rick santorum was polling at 4%, but last night he virtually tied mitt romney for the win, losing by eight votes out of more than 122,000 cast. it was a record turnout. michele bachmann, who won the iowa straw poll this summer, dropped out today after finishing sixth. the ink was barely dry on the ballots when the candidates moved onto new hampshire, where the primary is next tuesday. a suffolk university poll out today gives romney a commanding lead in new hampshire, 43% to ron paul s 14%. newt gingrich is third, rick santorum fifth. our campaign 2012 team is in new hampshire tonight, and we ll start with jan crawford on the romney campaign. jan? reporter: well, scott, romney went into conservative iowa, and his victory there is a remarkable turn of events for a candidate who had all
for a truly iconic american company. and steven colbert warns romney that he s made one dangerous mistake, leaving newt gingrich alive, angrier than ever. the news live at 5:30 a.m., after a photo finish at the iowa caucuses, the republican presidential field is hitting the ground in new hampshire. mitt romney looking to lock up back-to-back victories with state polling suggesting he should win new hampshire going away. the latest cnn poll shows romney leading the pack in new hampshire with an overwhelming 47% support among likely republican voters. ron paul comes in a distant second, 30 points behind romney at 17%. then a cluster there of jon huntsman, he s dedicated all his campaign resources to that state, and third within the margin of error. rick santorum up to 10%, and newt gingrich who is polling in the single digits in new hampshire at 9%. when the same group is asked which republican candidate has the best chance of beating president obama, look at that number. mitt
we begin this morning with next stop, new hampshire. the going is about to get rough in the granite state as mitt romney looks to widen the paper-thin lead he beat rick santorum by in iowa. in the meantime, michele bachmann has dropped out while texas governor rick perry says he is staying in. nbc s brian mooar has details for us from washington. brian, good morning. reporter: good morning. romney won iowa, but his competitors are pointing out the glass was three-quarters empty. mitt romney s campaigning on home turf with a win in iowa under his belt, the endorsement of john mccain in his pocket, and a runaway lead in the polls. do you think we can do a little better here in new hampshire? maybe? yeah. reporter: even though romney beat rick santorum by only eight votes in iowa, it s a win. with romney, ron paul and rick santorum in the top tier as the three serious contenders coming out of iowa is almost it s the perfect scenario for the former massachusetts governo
the worst was detonated from a motorcycle near a bus stop killing eight people. there has been an increase in sectarian violence since the departure of u.s. troops last month. president obama travels to the pentagon today to unveil a new defense strategy shaped by sharp cuts in the military budget. now, it includes cutting army and marine troops by 10% to 15% and big cuts in weapons programs and the u.s. military presence in europe. pentagon officials say that will make it all but impossible for the u.s. to fight two major regional wars at the same time. republican lawmakers say they are ready to take president obama to court over an appointment he made while congress was in recess. the president nominated richard cordray as the nation s chief consumer watchdog. the nomination had been blocked by senate republicans, but the constitution allows the president to make temporary appointments while congress is in recess. more politics now and the reshaped republican race for p