this is decision day in iowa. just four hours from now, republicans will gather in caucuses across the state and cast the first votes in the 2012 campaign. the candidates have spent months of the trial paving the way with millions in campaign cash. much of that money has gone towards a barrage of negative advertising. now, in a final flurry of appearances, the rhetoric has reached a new peak or maybe a new low. you said mitt romney, somebody who will lie to you to get to be president will lie to you when they are president. i have to ask you, are you calling mitt romney a liar? yes. you re calling mitt romney a liar? you seem shocked by it. yes. why are you saying he s a liar? this is a man who s staff created the pack. his millionaire friends fund the pack. he pretends he has nothing to do with the pack. it s balogna. it s like his pretense that he s a conservative. wow. let s go live to our chief political correspondent, candy crowley. she s in des moines. you
on the campaign trial, his rhetoric is sort of months past iowa. it is aimed right at the white house. take a listen. the president said he wants to fundamentally transform america. i don t want to transform america. i want to restore the principles that made america. it s just very safe stuff as this point. again, mitt romney, they are so hoping to pull this out here today and tonight in the iowa caucuses. they would love a first place win, but they think anywhere in the top three gives them a push into new hampshire. they truly believe inside the campaign that they are sitting right where they need to be sitting at this point. it s why the rhetoric is aimed at the president, because you don t o fenz any other republicans you want to have come on board when this is over. yeah, we ll see what happens. if he were to win in iowa tonight, he s almost certainly going to win in new hampshire.