by our election team and around the country and the world. stand by to learn more about edith and carolyn, who solved the case of the missing votes. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." so long, iowa, hello, new hampshire. the republican presidential candidates are zeroing in on the next battlefield and a big primary coming up on tuesday. the front-runner, mitt romney, is following up his squeaker win in iowa with a new endorsement from senator john mccain who beat him in the new hampshire primary four years ago. several of romney's opponents also are in new hampshire right now. but rick perry says he's heading south. he sent out a tweet today saying here we come, south carolina. and a photo from his morning run confirming he's staying in the race despite his poor showing in iowa. michele bachmann made a very different decision, ending her presidential bid today after a crushing defeat in the state where she was born. rick santorum lands in new hampshire later today pumped up by his almost win in iowa, a mere eight votes. eight votes behind mitt romney. dan lothian is joining us from manchester, new hampshire. it will be tougher for santorum to do that well in new hampshire. which is almost like mitt romney's home state. >> that's right and you know, political strategists here in new hampshire say that it would be very difficult to shake him from that high double digit lead that he has held here in new hampshire for quite some time. as you pointed out, he's the former governor of the state of massachusetts, which is close. has a vacation home here. spent a lot of time in this state when campaigning in 2008. n now, he has not strong among those social conservatives. that was an issue certainly in iowa, but that is less of an issue here in new hampshire. today, as you pointed out, he did pick up a big, big boost from an endorsement from his former rival, john mccain. very popular here in the granite state. he beat george w. bush in 2000. also beat romney in 2008, but today, he said he was here to help new hampshire quote catapult romney to victory. >> our message, the president barack obama is you can run, but you can't hide from your record of making this country bankrupt from destroying our national security and to making this nation one that we have to restore with mitt romney as president of the united states of america. >> now, newt gingrich, who took a lot of hits from romney in iowa, was one of the first to land here defiant as ever, painted himself as the true conservative and referring to romney as the timid moderate from massachusetts. so, he will be certainly turning up the heat. he has stayed away from the range -- launching a negative campaign, but he said he also wants to tell the truth and we've seen that already landing here having some strong words for gingrich. for romney. now, i should point out, wolf, one other thing on a lighter note, so much has been said about the razor thing margin of victory for romney in iowa. just eight votes. today, here e he was joking about it himself, saying he would try very hard to make sure he won here by more than just eight votes. >> the supposed 40 plus percent that mitt romney has in new hampshire now i think when people see what santorum's capability is, this has the potential to turn very fast. >> and that was a rick santorum supporter. a state senator. he has been supporting him long before he officially got into race and said one of the things he has been hearing from his friends is that they always felt santorum would be their first choice, but they never thought that he could get elected. well, based on what happened last night, in iowa, he says he's more optimistic that will change. wolf? >> very, very impressive showing by rick santorum. dan lothian in new hampshire. six days to go before that primary. the republican contest could heat up even more on january 21st. there are some key differences between south carolina and its primary in the contests that come before it. david matingly is joining us from aiken, south carolina. looks like it's going to be bitter and tough where you are, david. >> that's right, wolf, and that key difference you're talking about comes down to one word. conservatives. social conservatives, evangelical voters. by some counts, these voters make up more than half of the republican primary voters here, so by conventional wisdom, it looks like rick santorum coming out of a strong showing with these voters in iowa find a very welcoming crowd here in south carolina. but i had a long conversation with the director of the republican party here in south carolina, generally. he describes republican voters here as very energized and anxious to find someone they believe can beat president obama in november. they are looking now for that kind of candidate and mitt romney has been trying to position himself as that candidate from very early on. so, his message will also be able to resognate with voters looking in that direction. we're finding out today that rick perry is indeed in this race. he's going to be coming back here to south carolina. we're in aiken today. we were expecting to see him, but he went to texas. he's going to get back on with it, hoping that the conservative voters here get his campaign back on track, so for him, south carolina could become the land of second chances. it could also be that way for newt gingrich, who just a month ago, was polling double digits ahead of mitt romney. he did have a strong base of support here and it's going to be interesting to see if he can are reclaim that support after iowa. >> south carolina's going to be very, very important. david, thanks very much. let's talk about all of this with gloria borger and john king. gloria, why is rick perry after saying he's going to reassess, why is he staying in? >> why shouldn't he? he made the point today, there are lots of independent voters who participated in the caucus for ron paul. he's going to south carolina. it's terra firma for him. why not? he's got the money. he feels that he can, he can have some kind of an impact, that gingrich is going to be attacking romney, so if you're rick perry and you say, as his wife said today, we doebt quit. we're not quitters. why not do it one more time? >> i'll -- i raise the question because only hours before he said he was going to go back to texas and reassess, i think he told you, john, he's going first thing in the morning to south carolina. instead, he went to texas. >> that's what he said a few hours before iowa, then it humbled him. he's never lost an election. he got 10% of the vote and spent a lot of money. here's their calculation and you're right. gloria's right. there was a divide. some said go to south carolina. some said come home. protect your legacy. governor perry slept on it. here's their calculation. they believe if gingrich comes in third or fourth again, he's done in new hampshire. after the embarrassing iowa showing, that they think gingrich is done if he comes in third or fourth again. they think rick santorum has one week to prove that he is a credible, lasting conservative alternative to romney. if that doesn't happen in new hampshire, so many questions about romney, they will be looking for somebody. they think a texas governor, he's got one more state. >> and these are their values voters they really believe if rick santorum can't, doesn't have the money, can't make the play, they believe their theirs. i think the calculation was i don't want to go out with my tail between my legs. i want to go out strong and make this final showing. >> there's a history in terms of moderate republicans, conservative republicans, the fact that rick perry's going to compete in south carolina makes mitt romney's folks happy. >> to a degree, it does. if santorum comes out reasonably strong. romney people would have liked bachmann to stay in. remember what happened to john mccain. he eked it out in 2008 with 33% of the vote. huckabee got 30%. huckabee swept a bible belt from greenville to across the top of the state. fred thompson got 16% of the vote. if you're team romney, you're thinking if perry, gingrich and santorum can split the vote, that they can squeak through. but the question is, will gingrich and santorum be as strong or weaker, depending on who we're talking about, by the time we get to south carolina. south carolina's voters on paper are very conservative, but the party has a history of pragmatism. >> they're not going to. i think it's going to be florida. >> very quickly, gloria first. ron paul. he did well in iowa. came in third. impressive third, i must say. he's competing aggressively in new hampshire. he'll compete aggressively in south carolina. how does that impact what's going on? >> well, look, i think there are independent voters in new hampshire who are going to be attracted because of their antiwar feelings toward a ron paul. i think he has less of a shot in south carolina, where there are more conservative, more robust foreign policy. he's not a tea partiers as our entrance polls showed last night. tea partiers are not big fans of ron paul largely because of his foreign policy. they like his economic views, so i think he hangs around and again, that's probably good for mitt romney. because they're not attracting the same voters. >> paul has a very good chance of being an impact player again in new hampshire because of the looser rules. more moderate republicans, independents, young people. there's no democratic contest. they can vote in the republican primary if they so choose. south carolina will be the true test. the ron paul a lasting player to closed primaries. >> stand by because we will continue a lot of this analysis and also stand by to hear more about the race after iowa from rick santorum. he's john king's guest on right after "the situation room." the only theme on the gop race drops out. jack cafferty has a question for you about women in the oval office. and cnn after dark. when the hour is late, we get a little loose and anything can happen. including the birth of two new stars. edith and carolyn. we'll explain. healthy skin for . 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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? >> wolf, michele bachmann's dreams of being president are history and so, too, is the possibility of the u.s. electing its first woman president for another four years. this was a second election in a row where a woman tried and failed to become president. hillary clinton made a great run in 2008, but in the end, she lost the democratic nomination to barack obama. when clinton bowed out, she acknowledged she wasn't able to quote shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling unquote, but that her supporters had put about 18 million cracks in it. at the time, polls suggested americans were more ready for a black president than woman president. fast forward four years and there were high expectations for michele bachmann in the beginning in her birth state. she entered the race as a tea party favorite. became the first woman to win the straw poll in august. unfortunately for bachmann, that was a high point of her campaign. she finished sixth yesterday. got just 5% of the vote. she didn't win a single l one of her home state's counties. michele bachmann had been sliding in the polls since the summer in iowa as evangelicals and social conservatives jumped ship. bachmann's campaign was also marked by end fighting and a series of gaffes often coming from the candidate's own mouth, however, the campaign suggested that sexism was partly to blame. what a surprise. just like supporters of hillary clinton blamed the media for its sexest coverage. it's not like these men are doing such a great job. other countries seem to get it. f two recent examples of enlightened electorates. what's it going to take for this woman to elect a woman president? go to cnn.com/kafr fity file or go to our facebook page. >> thanks very much. good question. here's a look at some of the other political headlines making news. some tea party star power is in new hampshire getting ready for mitt romney. a source tells cnn that nikki hailey will campaign with romney on friday and saturday, just days before new hampshire's primary, one week from today. she'll also be stumping with him in her home state thursday. the new hampshire primary i should say, six days from today. hailey endorsed romney for president last month. new hampshire primary next tuesday trump tweeted, congratulations to rick santorum for coming out of iowa a winner. he saluted the only woman, michele bachmann got less than 1200 more votes in the caucus than the straw poll. very sad for her. a nice woman and he slammed ron paul tweeting he should be ignored. ron paul's foreign policy is a dream come true for our enemies and he has zero chance to beat barack obama. trump made no mention of mitt romney. for complete political coverage, be sure to go to cnn.com/ticker. just hours after the iowa caucuses, ron paul calls newt gingrich a chicken hawk. that and more. that's coming up in our strategy session and president obama just back from his hawaiian vacation, he hits the campaign trail. stand by to hear what he said to supporters in a key battleground state. [ male announcer ] the more you lose, the more you lose, 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. ♪ 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®. ♪ lisa sylvester is monitoring some other top stories in "the situation room." iran is essentially saying that the united states is looking for trouble if it moves warships into the persianen gulf. what's going on? >> that's right. wolf. the u.s. has had a presence since world war ii, but things escalated after the aircraft carrier passed through. iran warns of what it calls mayhem if the the u.s. comes back to the gulf to block the strait if its oil exports were sanctioned. and police are still working on a dna profile in the murder mystery of queen elizabeth's royal estate. a body of a young white woman was found on the grounds this week. it was just a mile from the house where the royal family spends christmas. british police hope cold case files will help the investigation. and separating the haves from the have notes. a government report says income inquality is growing as top e n earners receive better payouts from stocks and dividends while the bush tax cuts allow the group to keep more of their money. after tax income for the top 1% of taxpayers soared 74% on average. the bottom 20% saw their income fall by 6% and the irs opens the 2012 filing season with a bang, now saying taxpayers have until april 17th. the 15th falls on a sunday. it also announced new improvements including navigation features and interactive video to help with tax issues. >> thank you. john mccain endorsing mitt romney. details of what he's predicting will happen in new hampshire. stand by. >> and for someone who understands -- can you enjoy vegetables with sauce and still reach your weight loss goals? 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>> no. and it was so exciting watching you guys last night. i thought your o-m-g moment was classic, wolf. >> that was when about 98% of the vote is in, was in, and one vote separated the two of them. >> it was a classic moment. i love television when it jumps stumps even a guy like you. everybody else had their 15 minutes of fame. santorum benefitting from good timing, but he add also done the work. all that shoe leather. all the miles on that truck. it was going to pay off if he got a chance. you saw his stump speech last night. it was authentic. he connects with blue collar voters and he punched his ticket. >> how worried should democrats be about rick santorum? >> well, i think democrats are going to be ready and i've said this before, wolf. democrats are going to be ready at the end of this process to run against whoever becomes the republican nominee. because one thing is for sure. there is no difference between any of them on issues pertaining to the middle class, meaning they are doing nothing to protect the middle class and workers and small businesses while this president wakes up every single morning figuring out how to fight for them. so that is a fight we are willing to have with anybody. what last night really did a elucidate for the rest of the country, the fight for the soul for the republican party. mitt romney may end up being the nominee, but they still don't like him, trust him and they don't believe he's got the conservative bone feets they want him to have. >> 75% of the republicans who went to the caucuses, terry, didn't vote for mitt romney. he got 25%. he won by eight votes. he'll do better i assume, in new hampshire, but then comes south carolina. what will happen there? >> it's too stoon to say, isn't it? but to be fair to romney, two months ago, i don't think anybody thought he was going to win the iowa caucuses and a win is a win. he did what he had to last night. now, he moves to home turf. i think in fact, the expectations for nnds are the first hurdle for mitt romney. he has to do well there. and in that case, i think he's well positioned. he got the mccain endorsement today as you saw. he has his own organization. the momentum he gets out of new hampshire will be crucial for how well he does in south carolina. >> maria, here's the endorsement, a clip of john mccain going up to new hampshire and endorsing mitt romney. listen to this. >> i am really here for one reason and one reason only and that is to make sure that we make mitt romney the next president of the united states of america and new hampshire and new hampshire is the state that will catapult him on to victory in a very short period of time. that's why i'm here. >> how important is that endorsement for mitt romney? >> well, look, no one is going to change their vote for mitt romney just because john mccain has told them to, but it is important in that mitt romney is desperately trying to convince the republican party that he can be their prom king. he's got the looks, the hair, but clearly, they don't think he's got the moral character. independents don't like him. youth doesn't like him. he didn't win the middle class last night, so anything that can help him convince gop voters that he will be their standard bearer when he is somebody who has flip-flopped so many times and now, ironically, has more conservative extreme positions than a lot of the candidates on that stage, but yet, they don't think that he has a real core? any help that they can get is one he desperately needs. >> terry, you're shaking your head. >> if you'we're using democrati anxiety as the barometer for electability, mitt romney, my friend maria yehere, is signallg they're afraid of mitt romney. they've already started attacking mitt romney and that's one of the things that he did score well last night. they think he's electable. his economic message resognates and so, even if he still has a job to do to convince conservatives to come his way, we're going to ultimately unit behind a republican candidate and i think it at least at this point, democrats fear mitt romney of all the candidates. >> bring it on. >> they do. the dnc, they've put out ads attacking mitt romney. haven't seen many attackinging many of the other republican candidates. as the remaining republican candidates turn their attention to new hampshire, president obama goes on the offensive today in ohio. you're going to hear what he said in this battleground state. ♪ [ male announcer ] talking a big game about your engine is one thing. having a proven history that can back it all up is a whole other story. unsurpassed torque. incredible towing. legendary cummins engines. which engine do you want powering your truck? 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[ male announcer ] get back on track with low prices on everything you need. backed by our ad match guarantee. walmart. we're back with the democratic strategist and cnn contributor, r maria cardona and terry holt. guys, thank you. the president of the united states was in hawaii. came back from vacation. one of the first things he does, he has this teleconference with democrats in iowa, an important battleground state in november and today, he gets up and flies to ohio. another key battleground state. listen to what he said in ohio, obviously campaigning. ohio's going to be critical. >> i know that you're hearing a lot of promises from a lot of politicians lately. today, you're only going to hear one from me. as long as i have the privilege of serving as your president, i promise to do everything i can every day, every minute, every second, to make sure this is a country where hard work and responsibility mean something and everybody can get ahead. not just those at the very top. not just those who know how to work the system. >> terry, you know, i covered bill clinton's re-election campaign back in '96 against bob dole. it seems to me that almost every lesson that was, that bill clinton learned in getting re-elected in '96, this president has learned now and a lot of the democrats who helped clinton are helping him right now. he's got a strategy, a plan to raise a ton of money. go to ohio, go to these states and get the job done. this is not going to be an easy challenge for any republican nominee, whoever that might be. >> it's always hard to beat an encouple bent president. he has the power of the president. he has the megaphone of the oval office. this president is much more comfortable as a candidate that he is as president. i don't know that he learned all the right lessons from bill clinton. bill clinton moved to the center and worked with republicans on an agenda before his re-election took place. this president has stayed in campaign mode from day one, so i don't expect him to do anything different today, tomorrow or for the rest of the year. >> terry makes a good point. they called it triangulation in '96, moving to the center, moving away from the democratic base from the republican base and that seemed to have worked for bill clinton. here's the question. do you see president obama doing anything close to triangulation this time around? >> well, what he's doing i think is what he has been doing since day one. and that is focusing his fight and focusing his ferver on helping the middle class and working class on the ones who have been so hard hit by this recession caused by the policies republicans put in place and every single candidate on the gop side, including mitt romney, wants to put in place again. call it fighting for the middle class and the working class while mitt romney and the rest of the gop are only going to be fighting for millionaires and billionaires. that is a fight that the president is ready to have. >> it sounds to me though, correct me if i'm wrong, he's not interested in finding republicans out there and coming up with some sort of compromise this year for example like welfare reform, which is what president clinton did in the '90s. >> absolutely, he is, wolf. let's not forget that it was this president, when he first came into office, that invited republicans to the white house to start talking to them about how they could work together and -- >> for a photo op. >> and he was bending over backwards trying to work with him. they were the ones who continued to say no, no, no and no. the american people understand that. so if he's not goin to get anything done with the republicans, he's going to try to continue to get things done with the american people. >> finish your thought, terry. >> i was just going to say i'll take that fight any day of the week. president obama said today he'd only make one promise to the american people. that promise is everything for everyone. i'll take the campaign any day of the week, the fight for the middle class and whose agenda is better. at this point, the president's agenda is higher taxes, more debt, more deficit and not any jobs created. let's have that fight for the middle class. >> he cut taxes for 95% of the middle class. >> speaking about fighting, the fig fighting amongst the republican presidential candidates, terry, right now, the warfare i might call it, is intense. yesterday, newt gingrich calling romney a liar. rick santorum saying ron paul is disgusting. ron paul today going after newt gingrich in an interview on cnn. listen to this. >> you know what? you know what i laughed about is that nobody can -- nobody disagrees with me that my reputation is i adhere to the constitution, to balanced budget, never move for spending we can't afford. i don't want to ever fight a war that's unconstitutional and i'm the dangerous person. when newt gingrich was called to service in the 1960s during the vietnam era, guess what he thought about danger. he chickened out on that. he got deferments, didn't even go. so right now, he sends these young kids over there to endure the danger and the kids coming back and the young people coming back, the ones in the military right now, overwhelmingly support my campaign. we get twice as much support from the active military than all the other candidates put together, so newt gingrich has no business talkinging about danger because he's putting other people in danger. some people call that kind of a program a chicken hawk and i think he falls into that category. >> chicken hawk, he told soledad o'brien, disgusting, liar. chicken hawk. terry, are have you ever seen anything like this among the republicans? forget about the democrats. >> politics abt bean bag, wolf. you know that. these guys are all fighting for a small slice of what's left after mitt romney is the clear front-runner and i think frankly, that the speeches last night, particularly newt gingrich's, was just ingracious and there's tho place for that. but let's not put kid gloves on these guys. it's a fight. it's a fight for something important. the republican nomination. the future of the country. i'm not going to go second guess people having tough talk during a campaign. that's what campaigns are about. >> and maria, will the democrats use these sound bites in ads down the road? >> well, i think what the democrats are going to use, whether it's sound bites and whether it's statements the republicans have put out, are their own words in focusing the fact that they are there only to help the top 1% of the the population and the fact that their economic plan does nothing to help middle class families and to help workers and that, i think, is the reason why you see president obama going to continue to fight every single day to focus on how to help middle class families and workers and frankly, what the republican party is going through is a fight for the soul for the party because you have extremes and then you have further extremes, who are trying to figure out how they can be the ones to beat, to represent the republican party, but guess what? who ever comes out winning because they've had to go so far to the right, very tough for them to be able to win in a general election. >> we'll see if that's true. they said that about ronald reagan in 1980 when he was challenging an incumbent democratic president. jimmy carter served one term and reagan was elected. >> president obama's not jimmy carter. >> you hope not. >> soon enough. thanks very much. they got on a bed in the middle of the night and now, edith and carolyn, they are famous. we're going to show you how they helped us and the american people clear up some major caucus confusion in iowa. plus, a side of rick santorum many people don't know. details how this compelling family story. we'll get back to the latest political news in a minute, but another important story we're working on. the situation in syria, it is dire right now. today, at least 21 more civilians were reportedly killed. arab league observers are still there on a mission to try to stop the violence, but critics say they are totally failing. arwa damon explains why. >> reporter: in a darkroom amidst wails of sorrow, hands gently caress the dead girl's face. a voice on the tape says her name is -- she was just 16 years old. according to activists, she was killed in hama by syrian government forces while shopping. just as the mission arrived to the city last week. it's the type of death many hoped the mission would help prevent. an activist who we reached on skype cursed the arab league. he was among the few who managed to talk to the observers. we were initially cheered, but then he says they didn't even stop in the hardest hit area. they just drove through like tourists. when they eventually did stop, they were surrounded by people clambering for hem. the monitors said simply nodded. this video posted to youtube is set to be from tuesday. people are heard telling the observers about snipers. the man says the tanks are being hidden from sight. a woman shouts, my 30-year-old brother was killed. killed. we collected his brains with our hands. come to the office and file a complaint, the observer responds. they will detain us, voices cry out. they say come see us in our office. file a report -- he recalls resentfully. i responded, do you want us all slaughtered? it's head sudanese lieutenant general himself is accused of human rights violations. activists say the military -- pointing to numerous youtube videos. in one, people wearing the orange vests are seen in front of an armored personal carrier. a beirut based analyst said the failure of the mission is no surprise. they report a fore gone conclusion. it will state that the syrian government has partially complied. >> so, there's no way they're going to be successful on the ground. they'll do a little bit and being an institution that reflects, they're structurally incompetent. the critical thing is what will happen in cairo when the report is submitted? >> but for these people, there is little hope the arab league will find the teeth to save them. >> lisa sylvester is monitoring some other top stories. egypt has not made good on promises to the united states to let u.s. based nongovernmental organizations get back to work. i'm not surprised. >> yeah, wolf, two of the u.s. based rights organizations say they can't lose their offices and still don't have the money seized last week. egypt's leaders initially accused o prodemocracy organizations of activities that included giving money to egyptian parties, but the u.s. groups denied it. the raids could jeopardize more than $1 billion in aid. detroits big three are on the road to a higher market share. december sales were very good, up 37%, which boosts full year sales by 26%. gm put up a 4.5% gain, a 13% increase in sales for the year and a 10% rise in december sales was the best for ford in five years. a stock plunge for kodak. shares already dropped 92% in the last year, but dipped again today after "the wall street journal" reported kodak may file chapter 11 if it can't sell several digital patents. the new york stock exchange threatened to delist the company in six months if prices do not recover. >> on the story in egypt, i've been very, very worried about what's going on. when leon panetta calls the head of the egyptian military and gets a commitment from the egyptians to allow the national democratic institute, the international republican institute freedom house to get their stuff, their computers, laptops back, and now this, there's going to be outrage in congress about the billion plus dollars a year u.s. taxpayers provide the egyptian military. i think this is a crisis that's going to be huge. thank you. a woman in the oval office, jack cafferty is is standing by with your e-mail. plus, tragedy and controversy marking rick santorum's family life. details you may not necessarily know about him. stand by. 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[ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kaopectate. jack's back with a "cafferty file." >> in light of michele bachmann's departure from the republican presidential race, we asked the following. what's it going to take for this country to elect a woman? rich writes a woman who has the presence, determination and political savvy that margaret thatcher had. right now, i don't see anyone in any party, man or woman, who has those qualities. david in virginia writes, bachmann spun is wheel and lost, but for no gender reasons. hillary clinton was -- until obama got in her way. back then, you asked what is it going to take for an african-american to become president. are you never satisfied? jim in los angeles. you must be kidding. women get kicked around my men, are expected to maintain a home, be smisive, provide fantasy sex, raise kids and behave. hillary clinton would make a fabulous president. she acts like a man. bill writes it will take everything required for obama to be elected. the previous parties president has to be hated enough -- for the voters to forget their biases. paul in texas writes when the last good old boy retires. that may not be that much longer. ken writes the only answer the first woman must be elected vice president. from that platform, she'll be halfway to being elected. mrs. clinton would have been a good choice for vp and shirley writes it will take smarter men. if you want to read more, go to my blog or through our facebook page. not in our lifetime. at least not in mine. >> you know, you're going to live many, many, many years, jack. some unlikely stars emerge from the iowa caucuses. their names, edith and carolyn and they were one of the highlights of our caucus coverage. lisa, these women, they're going viral right now. >> yeah, absolutely. certainly big time stars of youtube and twitter and the best moments of the night actually came after 2:00 a.m. eastern with a couple of late night calls from carolyn and edith and they helped call the race in the wee hours of the night. it was the closest gop caucus ever. a nail biter. >> rick santorum, look at this. he's 13 votes ahead of -- >> one minute, rick santorum up, five minutes later, it was mitt romney. >> mitt romney is 13 votes ahead of rick santorum. >> on and on throughout the night. >> o-m-g. look at this. one vote. >> it finally came down to precinct two in clinton county, iowa. carolyn tallett heads the republican women's club. >> it's late here, they were in bed an the chair was also in bed and -- >> so, what you're saying -- >> the information, so i came to edith's home and pounded on the door and woke her up. >> that would be edith pfeffer, the clinton county chairwoman. pfeffer said he r reported the numbers to the state gop officers much earlier in the night, but there was some kind of a glitch and the state office still had no received them. cnn was able to get her on the phone, where she officially called the election. >> who won? >> mitt romney won with 51 votes. rick santorum and ron paul tied with 33 votes each. >> so that's 51-33. if in the missing presinlgts, wolf. >> as john king did a little quick math, edith showed off her feisty side. >> if this is what's missing and we need the community to clear this up, the numbers we're just receiving do not match the numbers we just received from the county chairwoman. >> what do you mean, the numbers don't match? >> i'll explain it to you. you go ahead and explain it. it looks like the math we got from edith and carolyn, our ladies in clinton county, anderson, who would have thought. >> that was the best live phone call ever. >> edith pfeffer and carolyn. >> edith and carolyn starting blowing up on twitter. >> they took the twitter verse and media by storm last night around 2:30 in the morning when they came to the rescue of everyone and solved the mystery of the missing votes in iowa. >> you're trending worldwide on twitter. are you big on the twitter? >> not so good. i got an ipad for christmas, but i don't know how to work it yet. >> would you ladies like to be the coanchor of a new program, cnn after dark? >> edith and carolyn joined cnn for a second time after the results were finalized, getting an ovation from cnn's top anchors and contributors. >> guess what, joining us now on the phone, edith and carolyn. let's give them a big round of aplouz. let me start with edith. thank you so much. on behalf of all of us. on behalf of the american people. we want to thank you for clearing up this mystery. tell us how you feel right now, edith. >> i am just overwhelmed with all of this. >> i spoke to the iowa gop office. edith pfeffer says her people called in the numbers. she thought everything was okay. she headed off to bed and we know what happened next. it looked like you guys were having a fantastic time. >> two wonderful women indeed. i want to thank them once again. to you, lisa, as well. you're in "the situation room." happening now, mitt romney admits his first win was a squeaker, but a big endorsement by his party's previous nominee may give him a boost to new hampshire and beyond. rick santorum wrote his family values theme to an extraordinary finish in iowa. we're taking a closer look at his very compelling and controversial family story. we'll hear from his brother. and the republican candidates have been pounding away at president obama. this hour, the white house gets a chance to answer back. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. breaking news, 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 the stunning iowa cliff hanger is already in the candidate's rear-view mirrors. one gop hopeful has fallen by the wayside and the leaders are now in new hampshire. they are scrambling for an edge in next week's first in the nation primary. after only eight votes, mitt romney picked up a big endorsement from the 2008 republican presidential nominee, senator john mccain. let's go straight to jim acosta. he's in new hampshire getting ready for next tuesday's primary. what's the latest? >> wolf, it was one spot that a mitt romney win in iowa would make him almost impossible to beat for the gop nomination, but in eight votes, squeaker was not what mitt romney had in mind, so just might be game on here in new hampshire after all. ♪ after a shaky win in the iowa caucuses, it's right into the danger zone for mitt romney, so who better to have at his side than maverick, john mccain? it was hard to tell who was having more fun with romney's slim victory. romney -- >> my goodness, what a squeaker, but it sure is nice to have a fun a win and the question i have, can we do better here in new hampshire? >> or his old rival. >> we forgot to congratulate him on his landslide victory last night. >> governor romney has a limited appeal in a very conservative party. >> the rest of the field appears to smell blood in the water. newt gingrich aims to tear romney apart. taking out this ad in the new hampshire union leader and a pro gingrich super pack recycled this ad from '08. >> i find it amazing the news media continues to say he's the most electable republican. >> game on. >> the man who nearly won iowa, rick santorum, blew off mccain's endorsement as a moderate match made in heaven. >> i would have expected that. >> then there's jon huntsman, to skipped iowa to build up a force in new hampshire. >> i'm excited. i feel a sense of energy based on the grass roots work we have done aurnd the state. >> explains why romney brought in mccain. but only after a bitter battle with romney over gun control and immigration. >> maybe his solution will be to get out his small gun and drive those gaut mallens off his lawn. >> would you refine your earlier statement from corporations are people to corporations are abusive people? >> when a business has profit, it can do good things. >> romney needs no reminder now that every vote counts. >> i got a question. won by eight votes. are you going to call them and thank them? >> i got to find those guys, one by one. thank them for that landslide. >> polls show romney has a commanding lead in new hampshire, but that was before iowa. he may have to reassure voters he deserves more than just a squeaker in the state and it doesn't hurt to have john mccain on the stage behind him in a few moments to make that case. >> i don't think it does. thank you. rick santorum made a family values theme a key theme, i should say, as he dog edly campaigns for months in iowa. he enjoyed the rewards after the caucus votes were counted. >> six of my kids are up here. elizabeth, john, daniel, sarah maria, pete eer and patrick. they have not seen much of their dad over the past several months. yet, they've stood by me. every step of the way, encouraged me and loved me unconditionally. there's another little girl who's not here tonight. she is with a little button. she's our little angel. that's isabella maria. isabella maria, we don't take her out in crowds. she has a disability. >> brian todd has been looking into santorum's very compelling family story. what are you findinging out? >> his family story has become a huge part of the campaign narrative. the story of a family that has drawn controversy, but also a real volume of compassion, especially when they speak of their youngest member. in the glow of his dazzling performance in iowa, rick santorum speaks of the strength from his family, the six children with him and one absent, who he calls their little angel. >> she has a disability that has according to the records, the statistics, has a 1% chance of survival after one year. she is three and a half years old. >> that's bella. isabella maria santorum, born with a genetic disorder called trisomy 18. the odds have been against her from the start and sometimes, with his wife, karen, weeping alongside him, rick santorum has spoken of fighting for bella and children like her. >> she is the most able of all our children because she is pure love. she is a little girl who shouldn't be here. dan santorum, rick's younger brother, says the family often has to leave bella at home while on campaign travel. >> how challenging has it been for them to care for bella during the rigors of the campaign? >> as difficult as it is when bella's healthy, when she develops pneumonia, it's very difficult. to see your child just gasping for air is not present. it's heartbreaking. >> dan says karen santorum, a former nurse, often has to treat bella with a nebulizer. the can tomorrows have also had to defend their actions regarding another child they had in the mid '90s. a boy named gabriele, who died two hours after he was born. karen wrote in a book, they took the child home, slept with him and showed him to their other children, who were very young. a liberal pundit said voters wouldn't respond to that. >> once they get a load of some of the crazy things they've said and done, like taking his two hour old baby home and playing with it so his other children would know that the child was real -- >> he addressed why. >> it was so important to recognize for the family, to recognize the life of that child. and for all the children to know they had a brother and sister. and -- >> he later apologized. i asked dan santorum if that episode traumatized the other children. >> not at all. if you know rick's family, being as close as they are, very loving family. they needed that. and rick and karen did the right thing. >> others who know rick santorum say those episodes have given him strength on the trail and they'll help him with evangelicals and other conservatives so crucial in these gop primaries. as one friend of his told me, he walks the walk of what he calls his pro-life convictions and that will earn the voter's respect. >> what do you know about his other children? >> there are six others. the oldest, elizabeth, is 20. the next, john, they're both taking time off from college to help their father's campaign. they range from 16 to the young child, bella, who's 3. with the exception of bella, they've all been on the campaign trial. they've all been home schooled with karen doing much of the teaching. very, very close and large family unit, wolf. >> certainly is. good report. michele bachmann was supposed to go to south carolina today, but after her dismal sixth place finish in iowa, she called off the trip and her presidential bid. let's bring in our senior congressional correspondent, dana bash. >> every republican candidate has been on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs this election year so far, but no one was higher and then sunk lower than the congresswoman from minnesota. stepping on to her stage still set up from the night before, an emotional michele bachmann bowed out. >> the last night the people of iowa spoke with a very clear voice and so, i have decided to stand aside. >> bachmann's failure to catch fire in iowa is a stunner. if you flash back four and a half months when she won the straw poll. >> this was a wonderful down payment on taking the country back and it started in iowa. >> but that was her high water mark. she rapidly lost popularity as she got closer to the caucuses. >> let's all say happy birthday to elvis pressly today. >> that was actually the day elvis died. a more serious misstep, her discredited attempt to sideline fellow conservative, rick perry, by attacking him for supporting the hpv vaccine, then telling this voter story. >> she told me that her little daughter, took that vaccine, that injection and suffered from mental retardation there after. >> her supporters say her mistakes got more attention than others. recordless, conservatives she was appealing to flocked to other candidates. bachmann was an early darling of the tea party movement, cofounder of the house tea party caucus, yet polls show 6% of supporters voted for her. >> i'll fight for this country and the american people every day in the way that god allows me to. >> yet, her campaign revealed that iowa christian leaders tried to get her out of the race to coalesce around another candidate. >> requests were made a few times, but she felt it wasn't up to a faith leader or organization to decide who should be on the ticket. she felt that was the voice of the people. >> while i will not be continuing in this race for the presidency, my faith in the lord god almighty, this country and our republic is unshakable. >> with that, the bachmann campaign bus pulled off the campaign trial. now, bachmann was gracious in defeat. she said she called all the other candidates who came in ahead of her and congratulated them on doing well in the iowa caucuses. she has said she will support whomever the republican nominee will be. her aides say she is going to decompress for now, but i understand she has gotten at least two calls from some former competitors asking for her endorsement. >> thanks very much. for a while, it looked like rick perry might also drop out of the race. he said he was headed home to reassess his candidacy, but now, sours say perry will continue his campaign, saying we're back in. at least those sources are saying that. perry went one step further. he sent out a tweet. the next leg of the marathon is the palmetto state, south carolina, then he said, here we come, south carolina. a controversial move by president obama today has ainge eerred many, many republicans. one republican leader call calling it arrogant. we're talking live with one of the president's top advisers. plus, mitt romney is way ahead in most new hampshire polls. can the other candidates catch up? stand by. you're in "the situation room." jack cafferty's here with the "cafferty file." >> while some of us obsess over the latest polls, maybe there's a better way. in ireland, there's an online betting parlor which boasts stunning accuracy in predicting the outcome of elections. in trade is a website that allows users to swap contracts on events and the users are amazingly good at getting elections right. in the 2004 election, in trade betters correctly p picked the winner of every state. in 2008, they missed only two. and not to discourage the gaggle of gop want to bes this year, but according to intrade, unless your name is romney, you have no shot. they peg romney at 80% to win the nomination. the next closest is newt gingrich, 6%. that means the crop of republican hopefuls can go home now and dream of what might have been. granted. some will now that iowa's over and especially after new hampshire's over. but there will likely be a few who refuse to recognize reality and instead, stumble forward into south carolina and beyond. see rick perry. spending other people's money, banging their jaws together in a never ended quest to avoid what they know is going to happen any way. they're going to lose. and according to intrade, if your name isn't romney, it's a wrap. so wouldn't it be better if they went away? yes. we're one week in the election year and i'm tired of it. i remember the international root canal. barack obama and hillary clinton. a vicious knife fight for delegates that i thought would never end and when it did, the country had a clear case of fatigue. here's the question. how much faith do you have in an online betting site to pick the winner of the republican primary? post a comment on my blog or our facebook page. wolf? >> unlike you, as you well know, i love this kind of political thing. >> i know you do. >> i hope it keeps on going and going and going. thank you. president obama is defying republicans with the recess appointment of a consumer protection chief. the president nominated richard cordray to be the first director of the bureau last summer. senate republicans have blocked confirmation because they want changed in how the bureau is structured. mitch mcconnell calls the president's appointment an unprecedented circumvention of the american people, but president obama has no apologies. >> when congress refuses to act and as a result, hurts our economy and puts our people at risk, then i have an obligation as president to do what i can without them. i've got an obligation to act on behalf of the american people. and i'm not going to stand by while a minority in the senate puts party ideaolgy puts party ahead of the people we were lexed to serve. not with so much at stake. we're not going to let that happen. >> republican leaders are attacking the president's tactic and they're challenging the legality of cordray's appointment since the senate has technically remained in session. the director of the white house economic council is joining now to respond. mitch mcconnell says although the senate is not in recess, president obama in an unprecedented move, has arrogantly circumvented the american people by recess appointing richard cordray. breaking uncertain legal territory, threatens the confirmation process and fundamentally endangers the congress's role of the executive branch. he has a point, ochbl. since the senate technically is not in recess, doesn't he? >> no. not at all. the constitution expressleexpre authorizes the president to make appointments when in recess. everybody knows that this meaning session, actually starts with a resolution that no business shall take place. you can't use a gimmick or a technicality to override the express authority in the constitution of the president of the united states to make a recess appointment and listen, wolf. all this president was trying to do was implement a law. a law that was passed recently that created an independent consumer watchdog who could do things like ensure that the credit cards had plain language, that students taking loans from private lenders knew their fees and interest rates or that we could have what was announced today, a hot line for those gets mortgages, making that huge final decision, have someone they trust to call to make sure they're not victims of abuse. all the president claimed to do was implement this law that congress passed and he signed just recently. >> it's never happened before. even when congress is technically not in recess. they have some senator from maryland or virginia who shows up every few days, calls the senate into session for a few seconds, and then leaves. technically not. it's never been done before. this is the first time a president has done this to the senate. is that right? >> you know, i just disagree. congress as the president's lawyers and counselors found, is in recess. they are in recess. they have been and will remain in recess and it's, you can't begin use the technicality or gimmick to override express authority of the president and let's remember, this president has done plenty of recess appointments so far. at the same point in his term, president bush had done more than twice as many. 61. so this president is actually resorted to the recess appointment much less than past presidents and he's done so only in a situation where a minority of senators are using the blockage of an apoen tee not based on qualifications of the nominee, but actually as a way of nullifying a law passed by congress. they don't want the law to operate as it's been implemented. this is someone endorsed by republican and democratic attorney generals as having impeccable qualifications and credentials to be our first ever consu consumer independent watchdog. >> i think you'll agree that the 60 plus times that a republican president, president bush, had a recess appointment, that democrats, they didn't have this technical continuation in session. they were really in recess. there wasn't a senator every few days calling them to action within a few seconds. this is very different, isn't it? >> i disagree. it is the opinion of the president's counselors that the senate is in recess. again, let's understand. when they go into this, they say, no business shall be conducted. this is really a means of seeking to use a technicality to override the president's ability to implement a law that congress passed to address the abuse millions of families suffered from in this great financial recession we just went through. they're again, not objecting to this nominee's credentials. they're trying to block the nominee to block a law that congress passed with the support of the american people to protect consumers from mortgage abuse, credit card abuse, student loan abuse, veterans from being taken advantage of and targeted by lenders. no one should be afraid of this law being implemented by having an independent director highly qualified like richard cordray take the job. >> we'll see what they decide. whether the president's action is constitutional or not constitutional. given the separation of powers between the senate, between the executive branch and legislative branch. the other action the president did with the national labor relations board, he used the same procedure today to name some members in the u.s. chamber of commerce says this is horrible. let me read their statement. the nlrb's credibility has suffered greatly during this administration due to an aggressive agenda favoring the unions. the president could have chosen to work with the senate to see if a package of nominees could be affirmed that would help restore the agency's credibility. instead, today's steps will simply poison the well with regard to labor management issues pending in front of the board an on capitol hill. what do you say to the chamber of commerce? >> what i say is that they know that at this point, the nlrb did not even have a form to conduct the nation's business. they only had two appointees when they're supposed tor five. the president put two democrats and a republican so that the nlrb can do its basic business related to protective bargaining. there's always been traditional tension, but what the president did today was making sure that again, blocking appointments is not being used as a way of nullifying laws or keeping government from dealing with its core responsibleties. that's all we're doing. of course, the president would rather have republicans in the united states senate willing to work with him in a more cooperative way. he did this because there was no other way to ensure that our government was functioning as it's designed and that there was a form for the nlrb to do its basic business and he appointed republicans and democrats to make sure the nlrb can function as it should. >> clearly, a much more assertive president of the united states challenging the republicans in the senate. only just beginning between now and november. thanks very much for coming in. >> thanks, wolf. >> the only presidential candidate not to campaign in iowa, jon huntsman. he's only focused on new hampshire. so, is it his turn to surge? and who will michele bachmann supporters back now? we're discussing those two questions coming up. >> is the reasonability to -- congresswoman michele bachmann has vowed to reality and bowed out of the presidential race. joining us now, our cnn contributor, will cain and matt strong. first to you, matt. who is likely to gain? put on your analyst hat far moment. by michele bachmann's dropping out. which of the other candidates will presumably get the most support as a result of her leaving? >> well, speaking from what i saw on the fwround here in iowa in the last couple of weeks, seeing those voters who are torn between two candidates. usually, it was rick santorum and michele bachmann were the two, so i would say senator santorum would have the opportunity to benefit the most. >> i agree. what about you, will? >> absolutely. it's hard to see how they both could coexist with each other. it's a natural fit for bachmann supporters to flow to santorum. >> perry, last night, said he was going back to texas, reassess what was going on. all of us assumed that was the first step in his decision to drop out or suspend his campaign, but today, he says he's on to south carolina. and a lot of folks, matt, think that potentially could help mitt romney in south carolina. by divided up that conservative vote. what do you think? >> well, i think that mirrors what we saw on the ground here in iowa with the divided and social conservative elect rat. obviously, rick perry, michele bachmann, rick santorum were fighting over the same e welcome trat, but going into south carolina at a time when rick santorum is going to be up in new hampshire compete peting there this week, it's an interesting strategy for santorum to stay in the race. >> what do you think, will? is there a way, do you see a way, maybe he can do well in south carolina, but for rick perry to be the nominee. >> no, i don't see a way for perry to be nominee. i mean, you have to answer that question with any kind of caveat because the polls change from week to week. santorum was polling at just north of 5% a little over a week ago, so we have to say anything could happen, but i can't anticipate what that anything would be to make perry a viable candidate. no, i don't see him doing well in south carolina or moving anywhere near the nomination. >> in new hampshire right now, next tuesday, the new hampshire primary, the first primary in the nation. matt, mitt romney, who almost lives there. he's from neighboring massachusetts. there's the suffolk poll, 43%. similar to our cnn poll. paul's 16, huntsman, 10, santorum, 5. looks like he's got this lopsided lead. here's the question. i know the candidates are all going to be there over the weekend for r a couple of debates, but does it make sense for any of these republican candidates with the exception of huntsman to really aggressively campaign in new hampshire or should they simply skip new hampshire and go to south carolina? matt? >> well, one thing that's interesting when you look at who turned out last night in iowa, we had a record turnout for a republican caucus and some of that was fueled by a large group of independents who had the opportunity to caucus as republicans and given that they can participate in the new hampshire primary, i think it provides an opportunity for ron paul and jon huntsman and the more they target those independent voters, it does provide an opening for santorum to build on that hard, conservative note that also exists in new hampshire. so it makes sense for senator santorum to be in new hampshire and build on that momentum and take advantage of that earned media bounce he's getting out of his second place finish yesterday. >> i think i agree on that, too. will, jon huntsman, he's spent all of his time in new hampshire. can he do in new hampshire over these next six days to mitt romney what rick santorum did in iowa? >> that's the game plan, jon huntsman is visiting all ten counties. jon huntsman is going to bring to this debate over the next week one of the most conservative economic records in the field. will that be sold? the whole selling point thing is getting big because now it's being sold that rick santorum is the vote for a principled conservative. rick santorum, who advocates for corporate tax rate on the manufacturing rate of zero. that's picking winners and losers. my point is all of these candidates are compromised candidates and jon huntsman so far has sold his campaign very poorly. can he sell it better in new hampshire? we'll see. >> thanks very much. matt, thanks to you as well. you guys did an excellent job organizinging the caucuses with the tiny little glitch at the end thanks to those two ladies from clinton county saving the day for all of us. you want to say a word to them, matt? >> edith, a long time counting chair, her and carolyn, i hope they're enjoying their time in the spotlight. volunteers trying to make a difference. >> good point. lovely, lovely ladies. thanks for coming in. some of the days other top stories are coming up, including the l.a. arson suspect investigated in another country. also, this. get ready. i want you to join in this conversation because guess what? joining us now on the phone, edith and carolyn. let's give them a big round of applause. >> jeanne moos on two prizining stars of the iowa caucuses coverage. who cuddle up with your soreness and give out polar bear hugs. technology. 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it could be make or break for two of them. plus, some voters still say there's no perfect candidate among the republican field. south carolina residents say while iowa eliminates candidates, their state picks winners. for three deck katds, every republican has won the state's primary has gone on to win the nomination. mary snow has been looking ahead to south carolina. >> new hampshire maybe next up on the calendar, but candidates are wraramping up their candida in south carolina and scheduled stops there as well as campaigning in new hampshire. to hear the chair of south carolina's gop chair tell it, his state's primary will prove to be pivotal. iowa created a top tier of republican candidates. michele bachmann's now out and others are fighting for momentum heading into new hampshire. but the head of south carolina's republican party predicts his state will provide the next real make or break moment. >> the iowa winner hadn't always been the no, ma'minee. the new hampshire winner hadn't always been the nominee, but since 1980, we have picked the nominee. i think this is where the race starts and where it's going to be decided, too. >> case in point, the 2008 republican primary, where mike huckabee won iowa, but john mccain eventually became the party's nominee. like iowa, the christian right has a heavy influence in south carolina, but there is some key differences among voters there. in 2008, 60% of south carolina's republican primary voters were evangelicals or born again christians. of the 40% not in that category, they favored john mccain over mike huckabee, leaving mccain to win the state. political watchers say social issues are a motivating source for evangelicals in south carolina, but not a sole factor. >> simply saying i'm evangelical is not enough to win a move. you have to say i'm a moral candidate. i am concerned about is social issues, but also, the debt and is deficit. >> there's also a large number of active and retired military personnel lives in south carolina and a win here is seen as key to winning the south. >> if you can appeal to the conservatives in south carolina. if you can win in the heat and occasional dirty politicking in south carolina, then you can move on. it does often provide a fire wall. >> one other thing we'll be watching in south carolina is the issue of the economy and jobs. unlike iowa and new hampshire where the jobless rate is below the national average, south carolina's unemployment rate is 9.9%. national average, 8.6%. >> good point, mary. thank you. the republicans could put together a strong composite candidate, but right now, each republican hopeful has plenty of weaknesses. gloria borger is joining us now. republican voters seem hesitant. >> they are, wolf. this is supposed to be the year that republicans had all the enthusiasm because they really want to beat barack obama. if you look at our entrance polls from last night, the question was asked, what is your opinion of your candidate, the person you picked? 63% strongly favored. that is about the same as the it was in 2008, wolf, when there wasn't a lot of enthusiasm on the republican side, but a full third said we have some reservatio reservations. 4%, they just didn't like the others in the field, so if you look at that number, 31% had some reservations about their candidate. let's take a look over here and we'll just kind of break it down. of the the folks who have reservations, look at who won that. mitt romney. 29% of the people who had reservations were the ones voting for mitt romney and that's his problem. santorum, came in second in that category. probably, wolf, because he's new. people weren't sure whether they kind of knew him well enough. ron paul, 16%. and down. but this is a very problematic number for mitt romney because it means even the people who are voting for him might be holding their nose. >> so, what does this tell us about the republican party today? >> well, it tells us they don't have someone they love. mitt romney can't get above that kind of 25% ceiling. different voters in the republican party have different issues they care about. rick santorum, for example, is the moral values candidate. mitt romney, people have voted for him in our entrance poll said they liked his experience as a business man. ron paul, they liked his deficit issues, so wolf, this is a party who hasn't quite decided what kind of a candidate they really want and one more important thing. to think about when you think about mitt romney. he only got 14% of the voters who identified themselves as very conservative. that's where the other candidates see an opening. >> thanks very much. good analysis as usual. jack cafferty is asking a question. how much faith do you have in online betting site to pick the winner of the republican primary? your answers coming up and jeanne moos on last night's coming out party for two women in iowa, edith and carolyn. hello, how can i deliver world-class service for you today ? we gave people right off the street a script and had them read it. no, sorry, i can't help you with that. i'm not authorized to access that transaction. that's not in our policy. i will transfer you now. my supervisor is currently not available. would you like to hold ? that department is currently closed. have i helped you with everything you needed ? if your bank doesn't give you knowledgeable customer service 24/7, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. it's pro-cool technology releases armies of snowmen masseuse who cuddle up with your soreness and give out polar bear hugs. technology. [ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. the same technology used by physical therapists. go to bengay.com for a $3 coupon. let's check back with jack cafferty. >> the question this hour, how much faith do you in an online betting site to pick the winner in a republican primary. doug, you can ask an aboriginal tribesman from the deepest outback in australia who the republican nominee is going to be and he will correctly say mitt romney. the special interest groups have gotten so powerful they don't try to hide it anymore. here's your candidate, go out and vote, have a nice time, don't try to rock the vote. doesn't matter who you pick because special interest groups own them all. george writes, i have a lot of faith in it. ever watched how well pvegas ses the betting lines nfl games. jack, give me $50 on mitt. andy, please, i'm sweating out punxsutawney phil's prognosis six more weeks of winter. mark, best part of your question, one week into the election year and i'm already tired of it. for having fifth in a betting system, why not? works awell as any of the 24/7 panel of experts and never ending dissection of polls. why not skip all of the hot air, watch the odds out of ireland, let us watch news of value. douglas, an interesting concept, impressive numbers. i'll stick to the conservative opinion of wolf blitz somewhere wait for them to count the votes. cheryl writes, i believe in trade is 100% correct that romney will be the candidate, why would you want to end this circus early? if you want to read more, go to cnn.com/caffertyfile. i like they weigh they did that. slide us in and out. >> clever. jack, watch, stand by. watch this next report. after more than eight hours on the air, some of us got the giggles last night. jeanne moos with a not serious moment of the iowa caucus coverage. at liberty mutual, we know how much you count on your car and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accident forgiveness, man: good job. where your price won't increase due to your first accident. we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life or they're on us. these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both your home and car with us, it could save you time and money. at liberty mutual, we help you move on with your life. so get the insurance responsible drivers like you deserve. looks really good. call us at... or visit your local liberty mutual office, where an agent can help you find the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? will be giving away passafree copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. a look at this hour's hot shots. egypt, a veiled woman shows her ink-stained finger after voting in leaks. police officers lie on the road for jobs and better salaries. france, padlocks symbolizing couple's eternal love chained to a bridge over the senn. london, a zookeeper takes a head couldn't of squirrel monkeys at the zoo. hot shots, pictures from around the world. as the evening creeps into the early morning hours election coverage can take an interesting turn. cnn's jeanne moos has our look. >> reporter: we don't usually cover our own coverage. this extensively, but you know it was a special night when the anchors giggling. the pundits are laughing. >> be right back. >> reporter: wolf blitzer is resorting to internet shorthand. >> three letters, omg. look at this. >> we have lost control. >> reporter: that's the director chiming in. it was a night when the magic wall wasn't always magical. >> that would be the key to his success. >> wolf? >> reporter: when it did this -- >> we will do reverse flick. >> reporter: when it was supposed to be doing this -- >> yes. >> reporter: by the wee hours of the morning geography started to look like anatomy of the nether regions. >> governor romney may eke this out. >> reporter: once an anchor gets slap happy, he's liable to start slapping even his own network. >> [ bleep ]. >> have we given up? it's like 1:30 and everyone's like -- >> reporter: election night is when networks trot out their latest gizmos. >> if we had a new, high-tech thing. >> something like that? look at this, weebles. >> reporter: what's a weeble. >> imagine iowa republicans -- >> reporter: cnn used the weebles to demonstrate how a caucus works. >> if you miss it, see it on the daily show later with jon stewart when he ruthlessly mocks you. >> reporter: they reminds us of the cucumber candidates and a psychic snail stevphen colbert used to predict -- >> who the winner is. >> reporter: cnn actually scooped everyone on caucus night when a couple of iowa republican officials named carolyn and edith saved the day. >> i added them up -- i added them up a couple times. oh, man. >> reporter: they explained a glitch that cleared up the mystery of missing returns that put mitt romney over the top. >> if these -- >> the numbers don't match? >> i'll explain it. >> reporter: by 3:30 in the morning, caucus coverage was temporarily renamed cnn after dark an unusual news music replaced by barry white. anderson wasn't loving this gizmo. >> the social media screen, again with the social media screen, my lord -- >> this is a picture. >> the third hit. i don't understand what the hell this shows. >> reporter: anderson had his weebles in a knot. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >>e