presidential campaign. iowa conservative act innist who just signed on with the newt gingrich presidential campaign is quoted just before he took that campaign job as calling gingrich rival mitt romney's religion, quote, the cult of mormon. let me read you the quote. quote, there's a national pastor very much on the anti-mitt romney bandwagon, greg said, a lot of the evangelicals who believe god would give us four more years of obama to expose the cult of mormon. there's a thousand pasts are ready to do that. that was craig berman speaking at a voter focus before he took the job. he's hired as the gingrich iowa political director. cnn's making calls to see if he'll be allowed to keep the job. as we continue our weeklong iowa visit, a condition who has tirelessly visited each of iowa's 99 counties yet is struggling in the polls. iowa could end rick santorum's campaign but he predicts otherwise. >> i feel very good that we're going to surprise a lot of people. most folks are thinking we're at the back of the pack. we're not going to be at the back of the pack. we're going to do very, very well. >> the iowa campaign is different this time around. fewer candidate visit, not not tv ads. some veteran activists here more than a little nervous. >> i think it is the nature of campaigning and this year we've seen something that we haven't seen in past years. we've seen debate performances that have captured the imagination of the american people. >> now whether iowa's unique role is endangers we'll get to that in a moment. let's begin by getting you up to speed on the other big stories. the floor of the house of representatives where members of congress getting ready to vote on extending the payroll tax cuts. let's bring in our congressional correspondent, kate bolduan. kate, this is something democrats want, republicans say they want, the president says he wants but never that simple, is it? >> reporter: up here, john, rarely, i guess we could say at this point. we are expecting this vote in the house in the next few minutes. but it always slip a little sooner or a little later. we're watching as this unfolds. this will be -- the house will be voting on the republican proposal to extend the payroll tax cut for employees one more year. this comes with a provision that would extend unemployment benefits and require overhauls to the program. and also a two-year dock fix to prevent scheduled cuts to reimbursements to doctors who treat medicare patients. three big issues need to be handled by the yeend of the yea this includes a controversial provision that house republicans, included in order to win over lukewarm conservatives who didn't think that the payroll tax cut was good policy, if you will, to have it extended another year, the controversial provision having to do with the keystone oil pipeline project, after i give you all of that, i will tell you house republican leaders are confident this measure will pass. as you know, that means the fight is far from over. john? >> and, kate, this version will pass the house. it's dead on arrival in the senate. so what next? >> reporter: what next? well, we -- what next is that if this moves over to the senate, which it would need to move over to the senate, the senate majority leader says it will not pass there. even it did for some reason pass the senate, the president in the white house today issued a veto threat. this provision is really going nowhere. what needs to happen is the top democrat in the senate, the top republican in the senate and the house speak, john bayne, they need to sit down and start negotiating. that does not seem like that has happened yet. maybe it has to do with the clock, we aren't up on the deadline yet, maybe it has to do with outstanding issues. this is getting messier and more contentious. we're up against another deadline to the mix, if you will, john. this in friday the government runs out of funding. the last short-term spending bill will run out of funding on friday. they've been negotiating a big, massive spending bill to fund the government through the fiscal year 2012 to this point, had not been related to the payroll tax issue. well now republicans are saying that democrats are holding up that approval until they give on the payroll tax negotiations. democrats say that's not necessarily true because there are serious outstanding issues with that massive funding bill but they are not denying the fact that they will not be finalizing that massive funding measure until this payroll tax cut issue is extended. so we're now talking about it's getting more heated, more contentious and we're up against another deadline to the mix, john. >> we wonder, kate, why congressional approval is in the low single digits. we'll go back to capitol hill as news warrants in this hour. let's get perspective from cnn analyst and former presidential adviser, david gergen. when you listen to that the house as a version, the senate has a version, both could be held up in the spending debate. it you're at home thinking, why are my taxes going up in 20 days you're not confident in your government tonight. >> you're not. but i do think there is good news, and it's likely that the payroll tax cut will be extended and families will not face an increase of $1,000 a year in their taxes. both sides have come to the position or many republicans came reluctantly. the bad news is, we're in for another case of brinksmanship. both parties are trying to muscle the oother one into acce their version. they're trying to, you know, put the real squeeze on the other side and make them blink. >> and so, david, this practice now, the house says its version has to have the keystone pipeline a favorite of some conservatives, it's a way that house speaker says you create jobs. they did away with earmarks. is this the wave of the future, if you want to get a big bill through a popular bill, the tax cut, since you can't do earmarks you add our pet project or showdown to big, important legislation? >> well, john, you know this so well. this is actually been done for -- since time in memorial that you introduce something else that's extraneous, irrelevant to the main bill in order to get some votes. republicans, frankly, may not have been able to pass a payroll tax extension without some sweetener of the bill and went for the pipeline that would run from canada through the united states. and, frankly, there is justice on both side of that keystone argument. you'll well remember the administration was supposed to make a decision this year on the keystone, but that they then, for what appeared to be obvious political reasons not have to decide something before the elections that would either tick off labor or tick off the environmentalists they shove that decision down the road past the elections. republicans are coming back and saying, if you want us on the payroll taxes we'll do that but you've got to make a decision within the next three months on this keystone. we're not going to let you defer this until after the election. that's not an unreasonable position on their part, but it is irrelevant. >> irrelevant to this particular bill, if only we could do one issue at a time, wouldn't that be something else? >> we make one step forward at a time. we'd all feel better. we'd all get there. >> your government at work. david, thanks. pennsylvania today, jerry sandusky waved his right to a preliminary hearing set to take place this morning. his attorney says the former penn state coach is ready to defend himself at trial, calling this the fight of jerry sandusky's life. sandusky, as you might know, faces more than 50, 50, charges of child sexual abuse. sara ganim is a reporter for "patriot news" and she's with us from bellefonte, pennsylvania. why did sandusky decide to wave his right? did he not want to be in the courtroom confronting some of his accusers? >> reporter: john, that's exactly what his attorney said afterwards. after he decided to waive. it was remarkable that in court we were only there about 30 seconds for actual court, you know, testimony. it wasn't even testimony, it was just a couple of seconds for him to say i'm going to waive. but what happened afterwards behind me, joe amendola came down on the courthouse steps and talked to the media for almost three hours, first an hour as a group, then individually for another two hours, and basically laid out his entire case and said, you know, it would have been one-sided in the courtroom because the alleges victims and witnesses would have testified and they don't really have that much of a chance to cross-examine and attack credibility and things you could do at trial. here, you know you kind of got exactly what he wanted, he got that stage to present his entire case with no prosecutor around and no victims to counter it. >> interesting strategy there. sara ganim, thanks for the reportingle. . let's get legal perspective from jeffrey toobin. what did you make of that? what did jerry sandusky and the defense gain by waiving this preliminary hearing? and did they lose anything. >> they certainly gained by losing. i mean they gained by not having detailed testimony about horrible acts broadcast around the world. i mean, this was an attempt to limit the damage to the potential jury pool. i think in that respect, it was a smart move. he lost by not being able to cross-examine, to learn about the possible chinks in the credibility of some of the witnesses but by and large, it was a smart move. it also gives him, i think, additional flex ability for flee bargaining. the community is not as outraged as it might be having heard the details of what these witnesses say hand to them. so in bal hance ance it was a s move but let's be clear, he's still in a world of trouble. >> and obviously sometimes what they say at this stage, it's not what happens at the end but do you take them at their word that they want to fight vigorously or do you think that they avoided public testimony to help them negotiate a better plea deal? >> i think they are say what ever defendant says at this stage, we're going to fight. but a plea bargain is always a possibility, given sandusky's age, given the magnitude of these charges. i think a plea bargain is still possible but it will probably take a few weeks or months to play out. the fact that he is out on bail is going to slow the process down. if he pleads guilty, he's got to go to prison. being out is better than being in. >> smart, important perspective from jeffrey toobin. in a presidential campaign yesterday, well, yesterday. that's why newt gingrich without the slightest bit of irony able to issue this decree to staff. i have refrained from watching attacks on my republican oxygens though i have reserved right to respond when my record has been distorted. i'm instructing all members of my staff and urge anyone acting as a surrogate for our campaign to avoid initiating attacks on other republican candidates. it is my hope that my republican opponents will join me in this commitment. running a positive solutions based campaign is the only way to guarantee president obama is not re-elect. hypocritical? let's listen to what the former house speaker said about mitt romney just yesterday. >> i love the way he and his consultants do these things. i would just say that if governor romney would like to give back all of the money he's earned from bankrupting companies and laying off employees over his years of being that i would be glad to listen to him. i'll bet you $10, not $10,000, that he won't take the offer. >> no response from mitt romney yet on the be nice pledge. but, if romney didn't have enough to worry about, as he tries to cast himself as a trustworthy conservative, this 2002 video unearthed by a conservative blogger going viral. >> i think people recognize i'm not a partisan republican, i'm someone who is moderate and my views are progressive. >> here in iowa the texas governor rick perry has a new ad touting his role as a washington outsider. >> washington is the capital political correctness, truth is frowned upon. you can't say that congressmen becoming lobbyistses a form of legal corruption or we give aid money to countries who oppose america. >> recent polls show governor perry is moving up a bit. one person not coming to iowa now, donald trump, who pulled out of the news max debate scheduled for december 27th, he was to moderate. the decision comes after most candidates say they weren't coming either. the current occupant of the oval office also running and running hard, something he appears to be taking quite seriously. listen. >> we're going to have to fight for it. it's not a slam dunk. we're going to have to deliver this message effectively all across the country and at a time when people have been battered by the worst financial crisis since the great depression and the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. it's understandable if people aren't feeling as chipper as they were back in 2008. >> the voters may not be feeling chipper as the president noted earlier today. but listen to this from his senior adviser, this is david axelrod. here's his take on newt gingrich's rise in the polls. remember, the higher a monkey climbs of a pole, the more you can see his butt. so you know the speaker is very high on the pole right now we'll see how people like the view. interesting choice of words from david axelrod. wow. international news. strong words against nuri al maliki and the united states from a surprising source. iraq's deputy prime minister. cnn's arwa damon sat down with him today. take note of the accusations he makes about al maliki and the obama administration. >> they don't know what's happening in iraq or because they don't want to admit the reality in iraq. he left iraq with a dictator. he left iraq with a political process which is going to leave iraq to be divided. he left the iraq in a way that chaos is going to be seen everywhere in this country. al maliki's playing a game between iran and the united states, and there will be a day where, by the american will realize in they were deceived by al maliki sometimes and they will regret that. >> arwa damon joining us live from baghdad. ar arwa, the deputy accusing the prime minister of being a dictateser, tough words. how true are they? >> reporter: well, john, it's a shared view when it comes to the vast majority of other sunni and to a certain degree kurdish politicians as well as amongst the minorities. there are great concerns that al maliki is consolidating more and more power. they point to the fact that the government announced in recent weeks that it rounded up hundreds of individuals that it accuses of being baathists, terrorists. but people say that those individuals who are now in detention are quite simply opponents to al maliki and they fear that this is going to be an even more growing trend as the u.s. continues to draw down. >> and a quick reference to iran by the deputy prime minister there. what was that about, arwa? >> reporter: well, it's about iran's growing footprint in iraq. the deputy prime minister and other opponents of the current prime minister nuri al maliki have great concerns about the impact that iran is going to have and they say that that impact is going to grow as the u.s. continues to depart. they point to a certain reality like the fact that they say the iraqi government did not extend america's presence because it made a calculation, a calculated it was in iraq's national interests to not aggravate iran and they're very worried about the potential for iran's growing influence here, not just when it comes to politics but what is more concerning when it comes to violence as well. i rhinian, shia special groups directly backed by the qods force and they continue to be active. the u.s. ambassador recently put out a kidnapping warning, warning its employees, american citizens of a heightened threat being caused by these iranian-backed shia special groups. john? >> interesting and fragile time in iraq as american troops withdraw. still to come a close look at speaker gingrich's call for a truce among the republican contenders. that's smart if you're leading but is it hhypocritical? why santorum believes iowa will deliver a surprise. >> you sign up for rick santorum, let's me show you, we've got this going on in every county in the state. you put us at the top of the list, you will shake the political establishment of this country. brad, where we going? just a second. just, just one second. ♪ what are you looking at? don't look up there. why are you looking up? ♪ get outta the car. get outta the car. ♪ are you ok? the... get in the car. get in the car! [ male announcer ] the epa estimated 42 mpg highway chevy cruze eco. from spending time together, to spending your lives together, chevy runs deep. to spending your lives together, confidence, with depend in color. now available in gray. looks and fits like underwear. same great protection. depend. good morning. great day. so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. ♪ because i love you too much baby ♪ >> not just politics here in iowa. that's nearly elvis, as he calls himself. entertaining at the republican dinner right near cedar rapids. he was, believe it or not, not the main event. that billing went to longshot republican presidential hopeful, rick santorum. >> but for iowa, barack obama would not be the president of the united states. and i can honestly say that it is your obligation now to give us the antidote to barack obama. >> senator santorum is trying to things the old fashioned way here. is visiting all 99 iowa counties and appealing to the evangelical voter whose often sway the gop caucuses. the polls suggest santorum is near the bottom of the pack. but over coffee at the blue strawberry kcafe, he insists there's a big surprise coming. >> 21 days out. if you look at the polling, you're up a bit from the first week in november. >> yeah. >> but you've goal gingrich, paul, romney, perry. >> just where i want them. >> just where you want them. >> just where i want them. >> where do you draw the line. >> dow you have you to be in the top three? you don't have the funding other guys. >> the expectations are pretty low for us and that's an advantage. and you know, if you've got six people in the race, you know if we can finish above two or three, that's a huge deal that people who are spending millions of dollars getting more press coverage nationally than we do. for us to be able to do that on a shoestring, i think, shows the strength of the message of the messenger and that's what we're trying to get out of iowa and show the strength. >> your contrasts were sharp last night. focus on speaker gingrich and romney. they're the two guy at top of the pack if you move state by state or national polls. you're making the point they can't win. why can't newt gingrich beat barack obama? >> i think the problem with newt and romney is they can't draw clear contrasts with barack obama on some of the most important issues of the day, big government. i mean, both of them supported the wall street bailout, both of them supported government mandates for health care. both supported cap and trade. those are -- talk about three big issues in this election, those are three huge issues in this election. >> let's me add a fourth. some comforts don't like the medicare prescription drug benefit. senator santorum voted for in. >> i wasn't an advocate for the provisions in the bill that conservatives didn't like,