core conservatives learn to love mitt? you, the economy and the election with alex riff lin, douglas holt aiken and ron brownstein. and then israel, iran and the u.s., what we know with house intelligence chairman mike rogers. i'm candy crowley, and this is "state of the union." a gallup poll shows president obama beating every republican comer except one, mitt romney. after months of pounding by republican rivals and the president's team romney is up a point over the president, a dead heat. 35% of republicans are extremely enthusiastic to vote this year, compared to 23% of democrats, 20% of independents. that's called an enthusiasm gap. also troublesome for the president's prospects, four of the 12 swing states have jobless rates over 9%, and four are in the top ten for highest foreclosure rates. joining us now, bob mcdonnell, head of the republican governors association, and his counterpart at the democratic governors association martin o'malley. gentlemen thank you both for joining us. before we get to the swing states and i'll start with you, governor o'malley, do you think, put on your analyst hat now, is the republican nomination race over in all but the gathering of delegates with mitt romney's big win last night? >> i'm not sure it is all but over. i think what people are still looking for within the republican party and certainly independents is whether any of the candidates have a credible plan for creating jobs at a faster rate than our economy is now starting to create jobs. and that's something that we have yet to see, even with all of the intrigue and the ups and downs of this race. so i think this race still has a ways to go. clearly former governor romney has momentum and people will ask, when he was governor, why did his state ranked 47th in job creation if he has such great ideas for creating jobs? so i think people are still shopping. >> you guys are pretty grateful to still have newt gingrich doing your advance work for you. let me bring in governor mcdonnell here and ask you, and with you say you are a mitt romney backer, but as you -- >> yes. >> -- look at this race, do you see a way that he could lose it or is it his to lose? >> well good morning, candy and good morning, martin. i think mitt romney has got tremendous momentum, won three out of the five, tied the other one in the northeast, the southeast, the rocky mountain states and winning across every spectrum of the republican base, moderate, very conservative, evangelical, tea party, and just you know, regular folks. so i think he's on a roll. there are 17 primaries and caucuses in the next 30 days and the map is lining up very well for mitt romney because here's the bottom line. everybody knows he's got the best chance to beat president obama. you said at the top of the show that it's neck and neck between the two. the president knows it, most people know it and we want to win so i think he'll be the nominee. the only question is when. >> and the poll was about swing states taken showed it was a dead heat in the states that decided the election. governor o'malley to you, when you look at this at the swing state picture, what turns this around for the president, because these are must wins for either candidate, but what turns it around for him. >> i think really there's one central issue, and that is the economy, and i think the best two indicators of whether or not the economy is becoming better after the bush recession or whether it's getting worse is the job creation numbers, 23 months in a row now of positive job creation. we haven't done that as a country since 2005. >> remember, four of these 12 swing states vote state by state. >> this is more acute and higher on the radar. the second is the foreclosure rates, four out of ten. we have driven because of president obama's choices and policies we've driven foreclosures down to their lowest rate in 49 months. foreclosures are lower than they were before. what is mitt romney's response to foreclosures? let it bottom out. do nothing. i don't think that's going to be an alternative that people in any states really think is a responsible one for homeowners. >> governor mcdonnell i'll give you a chance to respond to that but also address something else democrats are bringing up. they say sure, at this moment there is this what looks like a statistical dead heat in the swing states but if you look at the past two races, in particular, meaning florida and nevada, they note that the number of people participating, number of republicans participating in these contests is down, and they say that that means that republicans aren't all that enthusiastic about any of these guys, and that that does not bode well for you this fall. >> candy, i disagree. you gave at the top of the show the difference in the enthusiasm gap between republicans and democrats by about 12 points in terms of their interest in this race. this race is coming down to three things, leadership, it's jobs, and it's the national debt daechb sit, and on all of those, president obama's failed. he spends most of his time blaming republicans and the tea party and wall street for all the problems in the country and not taking responsibility. he's completely failed to get the national deficit under control. he's contributed nearly $5 trillion to the national debt with no plan to get out of it and despite governor o'malley's stats, the bottom line is we've been over 8% unemployment for virtually his entire presidency, 36 months. this is a president who said pass my big stimulus spending bill and we won't be over 8%. well we haven't been under 8% in all that time. he got no budget done when he had his own party in control so it's been a complete failure of leadership. he cannot run on his record, no plan for jobs or energy that he got passed so he's got a tough -- i'm glad the economy is starting to recover but i think it's because of what republican governors are doing in their states, not because of the president. >> that's very interesting. in fact i was going to ask governor mcdonnell, candy, if his state is creating jobs again or virginia still losing jobs as you were in the recession? that's a rhetorical question, governor. your state is now creating jobs, my state is creating jobs, throughout our country, candy, we're now creating jobs again. we could create jobs faster, governor mcdonnell, if your party were not captive of the right wing tea party folks in congress who want to keep anything from happening. but facts are stubborn things. we've gone 23 months in a row of positive job growth, driven foreclosures to their lowest rate in 49 months and unemployment driven down to its lowest rate in three years. and there's more progress we still need to make, it's all about creating jobs and bringing people together to do that. >> governor mcdonnell, i want to ask you -- go ahead, go ahead. >> let me just respond to my friend, martin. by the way we get along and do a lot together in the washington area but i flat disagree with him. 11 out of the top 15 states in america that are ronanked by cn top to do business are republican states. seven in the drop of unemployment are states run by republican governors. his plan in maryland is to increase taxes on income, on gas, on cigars and everything else but the bottom line is, i'll take our record in virginia of creating jobs, we're at a 6.2% unemployment, maryland is at 6in' 9. >> actually 6.7. >> okay, it fluctuates. >> we're creating times, four times the rate virginia is. >> let me move you on to a slightly different subject because you all are going to talk through this and i won't be able to get this in. this week what we've seen is some real outrage within the catholic community about the president's decision to require catholic entities, charities, churches and schools to provide contraception and other things within their health insurance plans. e.j. deon, who is no raving republican here had this to say "it is so remarkable that owe ba lautterly botched the admittedly difficult question of how con a contraceptive services should be treated under the new health care law. his administration mishandled this decision not once but twice. they strengthened the hand of those inside the church who originally sought to derail the health care law." i want to quickly play something newt gingrich said last night about this same issue. >> the obama administration has declared war on religious freedom in this country and people need to understand that. this is a decision so totally outrageous, and the illustration of such radical secular ideology that i believe the entire hierarchy will oppose it every inch of the way. >> so, my question to you in the final 90 seconds we have, has president obama damaged the catholic vote as far as democrats are concerned and you as i understand it are catholic. >> i am catholic and i think candy there's been a little bit too much hyperventilating over this issue. it's one of those issues that -- gsh. >> came from catholics themselves in the hierarchy. >> some, and most of those members of the hierarchy are also republicans, and if you look at 28 states, candy, this is not about abortion, it's about covering contraception as part of the health care coverage, mandatory basic coverage. 28 states already require this, and in europe -- >> but you're not thinking about the state, the federal government, telling a religion what it must cover in a health care policy. >> well there is an exemption for churches themselves. the exemption does not necessarily extend to institutions like hospitals or universities that employ people of all faiths, but these same rules apply in countries like italy which have overwhelming numbers of catholics yet we did not see the reaction in those countries to these sorts of things >> i'm going to give the last word to you, governor mcdonnell. is there an opening for republicans to seize in the catholic vote sector, which is very large as you know and some very important states, ohio, pennsylvania, et cetera. >> absolutely. as a pro-life catholic the answer is yes. besides the health care bill being unconstitutional and expansion of federal government if it does not respect people's religious views and do things contrary to their deeply held beliefs there will be a visceral reaction and i think the catholic voters will look very favorably upon mitt romney this year. >> governor mcdonnell and governor o'malley as always i have many more questions to ask you. you have to come back. thank you for joining me. >> thank you. >> thank you. up next, will the republican base ever fall in love with mitt romney? 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neutrogena® cosmetics. joining me to talk about the current gop field, freedomworks chairman and former house majority leader dick armey and tony perkins. thank you for being here. i wanted to give our listeners a look at what's gone on in some of the exit polls and with nevada, it was entrance polls but nonetheless of what happened to mitt romney among the conservative voters. in south carolina, he only got 19% of those who self-identified as very conservatives, but by the time we got to nevada, 49% of very conservatives self-identified voters said they supported mitt romney, the highest of any of those in the race. if you look at strong tea party supporters, south carolina, mitt romney got 21% of these strong tea party support, but by the time we got to nevada it was 39%. he bested everybody in the field. so my first question as mitt romney's support among tea party conservatives, among the very conservative, seems to be growing, and certainly is besting others in the race. could you, and let me start with you congressman armey, could you see your way clear to support a mitt romney nomination? >> well, first i got to point out, south carolina was an aberration because it newt gingrich was likely to be in final analysis his best moment in south carolina. now the fact of the matter is -- >> sir, do you think that -- >> -- i'm sorry. >> do you think that newt gingrich is done in terms of the nomination, getting it? >> i don't think newt will be able to replicate that magic moment he had in south carolina. he had ra confluence of circumstances that came and one masterful moment where he transformed himself from perpetrator to victim, attacked the media, which, candy, as you know, is always popular with our base, and just sort of took that momentary surge, but i think he's played that string out. in the meantime, mitt continues to work along. the governor continues to work along at a steady pace, and we are left with a dilemma that we are not going to get a reliable, small government conservative out of this nominating process. that's why we've focused our attention on the house and senate. we will get the legislative out of a conservative house and senate, build a legislative wall, either be wallying a republican president in or wallying a democrat president out, but we will -- our i am is to make the legislative initiative come from the house and the senate, not wait upon the house. >> tony i'll get to you in a second. quickly congressman armey, could you support mitt romney and work for him in whatever way could be helpful in. >> if he gets the nomination, remember this, whoever is in the white house always is going to be drawn to his base. we would rather have a republican president that's not fully the guy we adore wanting our affections than a democrat. the who despises us and covets the affections of our other policies. >> and tony, you were sort of the leader in the group of conservative evangelicals and conservative christians who met in texas and came out and said rick santorum is our guy. it looks grim for rick santorum. he's still in the race, all things can happen, as we know, all things are possible, but if he does not win, will you wholeheartedly support a mitt romney nomination? >> well, candy, first that meeting in houston i was a spokesman for the group, i have not endorsed, our organization does not endorse presidential candidates but having said that, a -- >> sorry, didn't you come out and say rick santorum, that group say we like rick santorum? >> the group did, and i was the spokesman for that group. i have not personally endorsed, but 75% of those said that they preferred rick santorum as their candidate, because of his principled stands and rasmussen poll showed him as the one candidate in their daily tracking that could beat obama, and i think that's the concern is that once we get into the primary, who can, who is going to have that baggage? we're not looking for a candidate who can walk on water. we're looking for a candidate who doesn't sink under the weight of their own baggage, past and present political positions and the concern is that there's not going to be that enthusiasm among the base to topple president obama in the presidential race. >> you think of the base, folks that think similarly to you, christian conservative base of the party might sit home if it were mitt romney? >> well, no, not necessarily. i mean there's a very strong overlap between the tea party evangelical voters and just what dick was talking about, the focus is on the house and the senate and expanding the conservative majorities in congress so whether you have a republican or democrat the policy initiatives are killed coming from the white house or the white house is boxed in to do the right thing, so that's an agreement we have there. i think, look, the policies of this administration and you talked about it earlier with the two governors, governor mcdonnell pointed this -- i disagree with him, that roment know has captured the evangelical conterveive support. they're warming to him but he has a long way to go. when it comes down to it, the social conservative voters, they know what this president has done, what he did this week, forcing this issue of contraception, a violation of the tenets of faith of catholics in particular but evangelicals as well is sending a strong message. this wasn't done in an isolated incident. we had a series of types of decisions by this administration, but you have to have strong enthusiasm and that's what's going to be required. i think mitt is warming to it. he's made statements about religious freedom. i think he can get there, but we're still a ways away from that point. i think it may be august before this is a done deal. we may go all the way to the convention before we have solid support behind a nominee. >> evangelical support behind a nominee, sorry, is that what you're talking about or in general? >> i think he's got the party established. again, i think there's a strong overlap between tea party and evangelical voters. >> i want to play both of you something that newt gingrich said last night in the news conference he held after the results were in, in nevada. >> if you can't tell the truth as a candidate for president, how can the country possibly expect to you lead as president? and i frankly was stunned, i make no bones about this, in the second florida debate, i had nothing to say because i had never before seen a person who i thought of as a serious candidate for president be that fundamentally dishonest and it was blatant and it was deliberate and he knew he was doing it. >> he being mitt romney. congressman armey, i know the party line is oh, this kind of primary, no matter how long it goes, it just strengthens us but i cannot believe that you believe that this sort of rhetoric aimed at mitt romney is at all helpful for you all in the fall. >> i don't think it's helpful even to newt. i feel bad for him. i think he's digressed into a state of taking a second rate campaign and turning it into a first rate vendetta, and i think he's putting himself out of the game because he can't get over his obsession about his own hurt feelings over the campaign in iowa. he needs to get beyond that and get to the nation's people's business, if he expects to have any chance whatsoever. i thought that last night was really sad for him, and quite frankly, again, much of newt's whole life is overstates. he overstates the case is in a hyperbolic fashion, looks vindictive. >> you and newt gingrich have a bit of a history. you're not a total fan of his. let me move the question to tony. is that sort of rhetoric helpful to you all in the fall and congress yn armey thinks it's not and not helping gingrich. >> well, look, there's a lot to talk about all the republicans are beating each other up in the primary it's going to hurt us. look the giants and the patriots are playing today. six months they probably would not have been prepared to play in this game. they've had injuries along the way, setbacks but built on their weaknesses and they've built stronger, built on their strengt