a new career. i'm year yeah borrow ger and you're in "the situation room." it may not be everything, but aappearance is everything on the campaign trail. a lack luster speech, the bang promise by his campaign was more of a fizzle. the gap is down from six points on tuesday to two points today. joe, what exactly happened? >> reporter: well, gloria, mitt romney is still struggling to get his momentum back and today's speech was supposed to be a step in the right direction but for a bunch of reasons. you just would not call this mitt romney's perfect day. the front lines couldn't have been clearer at what was supposed to be the major moment so far to win the state where he grew up. in the morning, the auto workers union held a noisy opposition to the auto industry bailout. >> it's total blas fem me. >> and then in the afternoon -- >> i want to thank the ford field -- >> it was not the venue that romney would have preferred where the detroit lions play ball. the speech had been planned for a much smaller place but the event sold out, had to be moved. the sons sor sponsors, not the campaign, picked the place that swallowed up the crowd. >> taking together the plan i'm proposing represents the biggest fundamental change to the federal government in history. >> it was a little anti-climatic because he said all of this before, like abolishing death taxes and the alternative minimum tax. >> first, i'm going to make an across the board 20% reduction in marginal income tax. >> when it comes to social security, what i'll do is slowly raise the minimum retirement wage and slow the benefits for a higher income future retirees. >> on politics, it was a little awkward at times, you but he did mention the cars that he and his wife drove, all american-made which is supposed to be music here. >> ann drives a couple of cadillacs actually. >> and then perhaps the most awkward example of all, if he had the best chance to beat president obama. >> i can only think i have the best chance, maybe the only chance. maybe i'm overstating it a bit. that's my family leading the applause down here. >> but in the stadium, if anyone was clapping, you couldn't hear it in the back. romney is expected to spend the weekend here realizing how important it is for him to be able to say. >> michigan, michigan, michigan as far as mitt romney's concerned. thank you so much. romney and his fellow republican hopefuls are all hitting president obama on gas prices. the president is now saying there's no magic wand to get them down and that the gop is playing politics. surprise? by listen to what the president said when he was running for president. >> since the gas lines of the '70s, democrats and republicans have talked about energy independence but nothing has changed. except now exxon is making $40 a year and we're paying $3.40 for gas. i'm president obama. i won't let them block change anymore. we'll invest in alternative energy, free ourselves from foreign oil. it's time washington worked for you, not them. >> it's always a political issue and you hear the president now saying there's no magic wand but, of course, when he was running for president, it's a little bit of a different story, right? >> absolutely. but, listen, the truth is, nobody can do anything about these prices right now and the president said that and they would agree to that at least privately this is another one of those win-win situations because the president can say -- because we know what can happen. gas prices go up. so do oil profits. the president's time for the president to say, hey, we really ought to get those exemptions, have them get rid of them because look how much money they are making. you heard on capitol hill, listen, this is unscrupulous investors and the republicans are just protecting wall street. >> so the democrats are against the oil company trying portray the republicans? >> absolutely. it fits into the major themes of both sides. and what the republicans are doing is saying, well, the president didn't approve the keystone pipeline which could have brought us more oil and lots of jobs and he's just a slave to the radical environmentalist. they've sort of got their side of this. so it will play out for a little while. i don't think it will be definitive in november. >> as you alluded to earlier, this could really be out of everyone's hands because it's a global issue. we don't know what's going to occur in the middle east, with iran, for example. >> it's the instability in the gulf, the strait of hormuz and the growth of china and india. energy consumption for them is just skyrocketing. so there's sort of lesson the world market. >> but when you're running for president, you never want people to hear you say, you know what, i have no control about it. >> when you're president, though, it helps because that sort of deflects what is going on. you know and i know that presidents profit from things. maybe they had nothing to do with with and they also get the blame for things they can't control. >> candy crowley, who is on the show on sunday? >> robert gibbs, the adviser to the president's re-election campaign and john lindsay to talk about what is going on in 2012. >> and i'm sure syria as well. >> yes. they are both back from a trip. >> exactly. thank you so much, candy crowley. >> cnn's erin burnett is next. i'll talk to her about what it all means for you. and, then, in our next hour, romney's rival, sen are frick santorum, talks about romney's attacks on hand. you don't want to miss santorum because he is firing back today. >> star power and hollywood cash has flowed to president obama's re-election effort with a head-lining grabbing donation from comedian bill maher. cnn's lisa sylvester is looking into the celebrity support. shocking, right? >> shocking, indeed, gloria. republicans are in a horse race and the president doesn't have a primary challenger but democrats still have a build to war chest and now they are turning to hollywood for help. with comedian bill maher, it's sometimes hard to tell where comedy stops and begins even though he's making a big pledge to president obama's super pac. >> i would like to give that pac $1 million. >> the president's super pac has been lagging in its operations, raising $59 million in january. the supreme court decision opened the door to super pacs receiving big money but to stay in the game the obama campaign did a turn around this month giving the green light. >> now that they have given a blessing to contribute so they can fight fire with fire, they have said that they are at a big disadvantage of it. i think that you're going to see a lot of money pouring in. >> democrats are turning to hollywood for star power and cash. >> thanks, honey. you've been a big help. >> eva longoria and cal pin have been named by the obama campaign as two of 36 special co-chairs. and actress carrie washington has been tapped for a key role. >> for the arts and humanities. i'm working hard within the white house and also on the campaign as an official surrogate this year fundraising bum blers, including jeffrey and ari emanuel, brother to rahm emanuel. singer kelly clarkson and still he has a prediction. >> i threw my hat in the ring early with governor rick perry and that didn't turn out so well as far as a presidential run. obviously he's out of the race and that leaves the four candidates. mitt romney is the strongest of the candidates. >> democrats were slow out of the gate but hope to raise $100 million between now and election day. >> and hollywood definitely skews democratic. no surprise there. 70% of presidential campaign donations for movie, tv, and the music industry goes to democrats. 30% to republican candidates. gloria? >> right now that super pac door is wide open for hollywood, lisa. thanks a lot. and it's a story you first saw in "the situation room." florida senator and republican vice presidential hopeful marco rubio reveals his time in the mormon church. now new details about yet another religion in his past. plus, jeb bush raising concerns about the state of the republican presidential race. we'll show you exactly what he says. and arming the syrian opposition. how difficult is that? i speak with fran townsend right here in "the situation room." so uh this is my friend frank and his, uh, retirement plan. one golden crown. come on frank how long have we known each other? go to e-trade. they got killer tools man. they'll help you nail a retirement plan that's fierce. two golden crowns. you realize the odds of winning are the same as being mauled by a polar bear and a regular bear in the same day? frank! oh wow, you didn't win? i wanna show you something... it's my shocked face. 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[ female announcer ] yoplait original. 25 flavors for you to love. it is so good. new newtons fruit thins. real blueberries and blueberry brown sugar... crispy whole grain. newtons fruit thins, one unique cookie. newtons fruit thins, are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. the latest effort to free an american freed in cuba. list sa monitor is following that. lisa, what do you have? >> two u.s. senators met with recall castro in havana but failed to convince him to release the man. he says that gross is not a spy. he's serving 15 years in prison for smuggling illegal communications equipment in cuba. the senator has also spoke to castro about the cuba-u.s. relations. hugo chavez is headed to cuba for more cancer surgery. he may also need additional surgery after the operation. chavez is optimistic and the child sex abuse investigation, university says it has received a subpoena from a u.s. attorney for information about jerry sandusky and his charity. the former football coach is under investigation from the attorney general. sandusky faces more than 50 counts of child sex abuse. he has pleaded not guilty. half a billion dollars in sunken treasurer is now headed back to spain. a federal judge has ordered a deep sea salvage company to turn over the 6,000 coins to the spanish government. it was sunk during an 1804 battle. they recovered the treasurer in 2007 and the coins have been held at an undisclosed location in florida for five years. that is an amazing hall. a billion dollars in sunken treasurer. >> it sure is. it's amazing they keep it. >> that's a good point. >> thanks, lisa. and to foreign policy now. the crisis in syria is getting worse by the hour. now the united states and several other countries are weighing options to arm the opposition. could that really happen? plus, he quit his senate seat in shame. and now a former republican senator opens up about life after a sex scandal. eden prairi. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. 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[ engine revs ] the all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back. see your lexus dealer. with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaids, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. metamucil uses super hard working psyllium fiber, which gels to remove unsexy waste and reduce cholesterol. taking psyllium fiber won't make you a model but you should feel a little more super. metamucil. down with cholesterol. i'm gloria borger in for wolf blitzer. here's the story we're working on for the next hour. president obama apologizes for u.s. troops burning korans in afghanistan. but we'll show you why some say that's just not enough. plus, my one on one with rick santorum. mitt romney keeps calling him a washington insider. can he refute that after serving 16 years in congress? and a wild scene at a shopping mall. riot police had to be called out. you won't believe what the fuss is all about. stand by. you're in "the situation room." just in to "the situation room," moments ago president obama commented about the crisis in syria. during a meeting in the oval office with the danish prime minister. let's listen in. >> we had a chance to talk about a wide range of international issues, including the situation in syria, and i have to say that all of us who have been seen the terrible pictures, it's absolutely imperative for the international community to rally and send a clear message to president assad it is time for a transition, for bad regime to move on, and it is time to stop the killing of syrian citizens by their own government. and i'm encouraged by the international unity that we are developing, the meeting that took place in tunisia that secretary clinton had attended, and we are going to continue to keep the pressure up and look for every tool available to prevent the slaughter of innocence in syria. and this is where the prime minister and i deeply agree. it's important that we not be b by standers during these extraordinary events. including, the situation in iran and i thanked the prime minister and the danish government for their leadership role in applying the toughest sanctions we've ever seen coming out of the eu. difficult sanctions to apply but we both agreed that we're making progress and they are working to send a message to iran that it needs to take a different path if it wants to rejoin the national community and that there's an expectation on the part of the world that they abide by their international obligations when it comes to the their nuclear program. so the final thing we talked about was the fact that we had two daughters that are roughly the same age as we traded notes. the prime minister's daughters are slightly older that malia and sasha. he continues to assure me that they behave themselves well