prospects in 2016. how could she best position herself now for a possible presidential bid then? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." s. a turning point in the race for the white house. the obama campaign is now going directly on the attack against the republican presidential candidates. they are naming names, and fighting back after months of largely turning the other cheek. but it's not the president taking on his gov challengers. that task is now falling to the vice president joe biden. our chief white house correspondent jessica yellin is joining us now. jessica, this is clearly a new phase in the obama reelection campaign. >> it is, wolf. after months of saying they're just watching the republicans duke it out on the trail, now team obama is officially in campaign mode. remember president obama said this? >> all of them determine who their standard bearer is going to be. until the republicans have a nominee, we don't have a campaign. >> reporter: when he hits the stump, he never names the gop candidates. >> a lot of folks who are, you know, running for a certain offi office, who shall go unnamed -- >> reporter: but starting now, the president's top surrogate is. >> mitt romney, rick santorum and newt gingrich, these guys have a fundamentally different economic philosophy than we do. >> reporter: in a key battleground state of ohio, he talked auto industry bailout and was on the attack. >> senator santorum said it was, and i quote, a payoff to special interests. governor romney was more direct. let detroit go bankrupt. he said that. he said what we propose, and i quote, is even worse than bankruptcy. you know, it's kind of amazing. gingrich and romney and santorum, they don't let the facts get in their way. >> suimply stated we're about protecting the private sector. they're about protecting the privileged sector. we are for a fair shot and a fair shake. they're about no rules, no risk, no accountable. >> how do we understand this president and his time in office? do we look at the day's headlines, or do we remember what we as a country have been through? >> reporter: in other words, the campaign roll-out is officially on. isms this is the first of four speeches i'll be making on behalf of the president and me in the coming weeks. >> reporter: dating back to 2008, the vice president has the campaign's unofficial ambassador to blue collar catholic and jewish voters. cnn is told next week the campaign top will be in florida speaking to seniors. initial to ohio and florida, he'll targets likely parts of virginia, plus pennsylvania. now, two democratic officials tell me the campaign will planned this roll-out for today for this time, because they actually expected the republicans would have a nominee by now, and they say they couldn't wait until, say may or june for basically responding to, and in the words of one, drawing some contrasts. >> and you know the president and the first lady hosted a huge state dinner last night for the british prime minister david cameron. these dinners are usually held in the east room about 120, 130 gless. last night, what, 400 guests invited to the white house for this state dinner? it's raising in political eyebrows explain to our viewers why. >> reporter: there were 47 bundlers invited to the state dinner by our account last night, bundlers meaning donors who fund raise huge amounts for the campaign. this is noteworthy, because the obama team has raised hackles among fund-raisers and supporters in the past because they historically do not invite major donors, and they're criticized for it. the fact that they did this time is a sign they're in campaign mode. it's not unusual for a white house to do this, but it is a sign for game on for them. >> thank you, jessica yellin. 20 delegates at stage in this sunday aprimary, but the campaign has been suddenly sidetracked by a language controversy who san tore says english must be a condition for possible statehood. jim acosta is in san juan. you had a chance to speak to senator santorum about this. what's going on? >> reporter: that's right, wolf. rick santorum may have been a language barrier in his hopes to win the puerto rico primary, but as he told us today, he's not backing down. >> it's a hot button issue. for rick santorum is standing by his comments that puerto rico must adopt english as a official language as a condition for statehood. the gop contender seems willing to take the heat. >> reporter: should it be a requirement? >> i think english and spanish -- obviously spanish is going to be spoken here in the island, but this needs to be a bilingual country, not just a spanish-speaking country. >> reporter: he noted the territory has already designated english and spanish as official languages, but he went a step further. the island votes on whether to become a state later this year. >> it's a requirement put on other states as a condition for entering the union. >> reporter: but santorum got that wrong. the u.s. has no official language. however, 31 states do, which is why just this week a pro-english language group called on both santorum and mitt romney to take a position on this issue before the primary. the group's chairman said, should the puerto rican peel choose to become a state, they must consent to becoming a primarily english-speaking state, but that would require converting road signs. >> i think there are more serious issues han road signs. >> the island's democratic representative in congress said santorum's position goes too far. >> to impose a condition that no other state has is unr0e7b8. >> reporter: but it could be costly in other ways. after hearing his comments, one of his designated delegates in puerto rico said he's withdrawing his support. with an tomorrow trailing romney, every state and territory now matters. puerto rico's 20 delegates at state are crucial enough for santorum's wife karin to be at his side on the island. the couple visited a school for children with down's syndrome. >> we're still -- all of us -- i'm sorry. >> where mrs. santorum choked up as she talked about their daughter bela, who has a rare genetic disorder. >> when she was born she was described as a meaningful diagnosis, said that it was incompatible with life. i have to tell you, we are approaching her 4th birthday. and rick santorum's main rival, mitt romney is scheduled to campaign here, and this campaign put out a statement taking a different side on this language issue. he is not going to insist on puerto ricans adopting english as one of the primary languages, a condition for statehood, but wolf, this issue could cut two different ways. while it may not play well here, it could work in states like wisconsin and missouri, where conservatives would like to see 9 united states have an official language as english. >> and i suspect hi 'more worried about how it plays here, though he would like that support. 20 delegates, as you point out, at stage on sunday. jim acosta on the scene for us, as he always is. let's dig deeper right now with our chief political analyst. are you seeing any evident that mitt romney after two setbacks is now changing a bit of the strategy? i want there is some evidence, clearly evidence his campaign wants him to. take a listen to this interview, and you'll see a change. >> my message of jobs and the economy is what's winning for me. i've got a million more votes from citizens than anyone else in this race. the reason for that is i'm talking about my expertise in the economy and how i'm going to get the economy growing, put people back to work, help people trying to pay for gasoline be able to afford it again. >> so, wolf, while he couldn't resist talking about the math a bit, you see a lot less process in that, you know, he's not saying vote for me, i'm ahead. he's talking about people, and what his campaign is saying to him, stop with the math, start talking about why you got in this race to be president, how you can fix the economy. don't talk about yourself as much. stop talking about the cars your wife drives or the nascar owners you know, but talk about the people who were turning to you to fix the economy. one thing i'm sure you remember, wolf, is that barack obama, candidate obama, had a math issue he could talk about. he always kept it on a high level. he was talking about what he could do for the american people. that's what they want mitt romney to stick to now. we'll see if he sticks to it. >> a bit of the old joe biden coming back? >> we are. forcefully as jessica yellin pointed out. 24th believe that joe biden is the perfect person to take on mitt romney. they believe that joe biden's appeal is to the blue-collar voters. he can help barack obama with the blue collar voters as well. so they're going to keep him in the industrial midwest, also in florida, also in new hampshire, and i've been told, wolf, that also he's going to be sort of a chief surrogate on about half a dozen senate races. he's already started doing talk radio in senate races, of course keeping control of the senate is very keep to them as well. they believe he hayes a powerful tool for them to use. >> and a lot of democrats think that 25 votes in the house could change the balance of power in the house, too. they're not giving up on that, either. glor gloria, thanks very much. she's very popular and powerful, but will hillary clinton run for the white house once again in 2016? what should she be doing now? if she is planning to do so? details of a controversial proposed law on contraception. critics say women could be fired for use birth control. plus our chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta is now a novelist as well as a brain surgeon. you might be surprised by the subject of his newest book. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪ you'd use carbon fiber and machined aluminum, to make it more beautiful, and more durable. you'd use edge-to-edge gorilla glass for a stunning display in a more compact form. and you'd choose an intel® core i7™ processor for maximum processing power. everything that you could ever want in a laptop. introducing the dell xps 13 ultrabook™ everything. and more. ♪ i want to fix up old houses. ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight. i want to run a marathon. i'm going to own my own restaurant. when i grow up, i'm going to start a band. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. thanks, mom. i just want to get my car back. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. are you guys okay? yeah. ♪ [ man ] i had a great time. thank you, it was really fun. ♪ [ crash ] i'm going to write down my number, but don't use it. [ laughing ] ♪ [ engine turns over ] [ male announcer ] the all-new subaru impreza®. experience love that lasts. ♪ aflac! ha! isn't major medical enough? huh! no! who's gonna help cover the holes in their plans? aflac! quack! like medical bills they don't pay for? aflac! or help pay the mortgage? quack! or child care? quack! aflaaac! and everyday expenses? huh?! blurlbrlblrlbr!!! [ thlurp! ] aflac! [ male announcer ] help your family stay afloat at aflac.com. plegh! jack cafferty is here with "the cafferty file." >> president obama invited almost four dozen of his top campaign fund-raisers to last night's state dinner in honor of the british prime minister. some of the guests including hollywood producer harvey weinstein, editor ana wintore, along with executives from blackstone. pharmaceutical giant fizers, microsoft, just to name a few, more than 47 of the 360 campaign were bundlers or volunteer fund-raisers for the president's reelection efforts. according to abc news, it's estimated this group on hand last night has raised $11 million of the $250 million president obama and the democrats have raised so far for the 2012 campaign. everybody understands that campaigns require money, but is this really the right use of the white house? seriously? they folks are known as bundlers, and they're a big deal in campaign finance. federal campaign rules limit individual contributions to $2500. that's where the bundlers kick in. they go and raise big dollars from their friends and associates, bund bundle it all together and give it to the candidate. president obama also invited several donors to the state dinner of the president of south korea, sort of the what way clinton used the lincoln bedroom. it's not unusual to former president bill clinton and george w. bush also did it, but -- and this is a big but -- but mr. obama ran on the most sweeping ethics reform intoic in 2008 and quick to criticize the role money plays in politics, except i guess when it's time to raise money for his reelection. the more things change in washington, the more they don't change at all. here's the question should campaign fund-raisers be invited to for foreign dignitaries. post a comment on my blog or go to our post on "the situation room's" facebook page. here's a hint -- no. >> you think there will be a whole bunch more state dinners between now and november? >> hard to tell, you know, but this is a nice what to pay these folks back. the white house belongs to us. we just let the president live there, but in fairness, as you pointed out -- >> i just say they all do it. that doesn't mean it's right. >> they all have done it. >> if we all go down to the corner and rob the liquor store, the last guy in is just as guilty as the first guy. >> thanks, jack. jack will be back with your e-mail. religious liberty versus the right to privacy, at the heart of a controversy over insurance coverage for contraception. cnn's lisa sylvester is digging deeper for us. tell us what you're finding out. >> hi there, wolf. representative debby lesko feels that employer should not be forced to is the legislation is so controversial. it applies across the board. under the bill, in order for a woman to have her birs control paid by employer, she needs to prove it's for medical reasons, not to prevent pregnancy. that's why some groups are furious. >> under our law so far, women have kept that information private, but the bill we see as representing an invasion of privacy. now the woman is going to have to tell her employer private details. >> reporter: the big has passed the arizona statehouse, and allows an employer to refuse to cover the cost of it if they're opposed to it on moral grounds. >> what my bill does is basically says that arizona employers can act out of the contraceptive mandate if they have a religious objection. that's all my bill does. it's really about religious liberty and our protection of our first amendment rights. >> reporter: the bill mirrors an effort on the federal level to lift a federal government mandate requiring contraception coverage in insurance plans. though the arizona legislation also lifts existing conditionsing that will make -- easier to be fired. paul callyn says if the arizona bill becomes law, it would likely be fought over in the courts. >> proponents will say we're not prohibiting contraception, just restricting the ability of an employer to have to pay for it. so the argument, though, is set up for a very, very serious court challenge, i think, on privacy rights of women in the united states. >> now, the legislation has passed in the statehouse and also passed in the state senate judiciary committee. both arizona's house and senate are republican controlled so this bill has a very good chance of passing. >> lisa, thank you. meanwhile, the violence in syria carries on with no end in sight. today the country reached a milestone, and it's not one for celebration. also hillary clinton's political aspirations are back in the spotlight. does she have her sights set on 2016? ♪ [ male announcer ] offering four distinct driving modes and lexus' dynamic handling, the next generation of lexus will not be contained. the all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back. ♪ only hertz gives you a carfirmation. hey, this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. lemon burst, blackberry harvest, pina colada... i can't imagine where she is... orange creme... [ grocery store pa ] clean up in aisle eight. found her! [ female announcer ] yoplait original. 25 flavors for you to love. a dubious benchmark in syria today. lisa sylvester is monitoring that as well as other top stories in "the situation room." >> hi, wolf, it presses on as the conflict in syria enters the second year. this video purportedly shows the opposition striking a tank. at least 24 people were found dead today. activists say the death toll is fast approaching 10,000. a top iranian officials says iran wants more clarity from the united nations nuclear watchdog group before allowing inspectors into a complex south of tehran. iran denies it conducted any nuclear experiments at the site. the adviser to the ayatollah said today that iran should expect more cooperation from the west if the west wants more transparency. and rod blagojevich is in prison. the former illinois governor arrived at a federal prison southwest of denver today, to begin serving a 14-year sentence for corruption. blagojevich was convicted last june of 17 counts, including trying to sell barack obama's open senate seat. and the drama series "luck" hasn't had a lot of it. the cable network abruptly canceled the series yesterday after a horse was injured and subsequently euthanized during production, triggers widespread criticism. activists were already investigating the storm, starring dustin hoffman in connection with the deaths of two other horses. that series has come to an en. hbo our sister network here at cnn. she has said -- name is once again being floated in political circles. we're going to explain how. and what went wrong in the o.r.? i'll talk about that with our chief medical correspondent sanjay gupta. he has a brand-new novel that's just coming up. the real world. it has under-seat storage to bring everything, available seating for up to seven people to take everyone, and the grip of available all-wheel drive to go everywhere. think of it as a search engine helping you browse the real world. this march, get no extra charge third-row seating plus 0% financing on dodge journey. 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. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ the two trains and a bus rider. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you want to be. ♪ because your moment is now. let nothing stand in your way. learn more at keller.edu. let's get to our strategy session. here is paul begala and the senior counselor -- former senior counselor to kay bailey hutchison are you still? >> no, i'm not a counselor to anyone right now. >> camp counselor. >> the c.i. tissuess are awful. the super pacs are gearing up, next tuesday illinois, and they're really hammering, the pro-santorum super pac. here's a little flavor of the ads. you're not in the illinois -- i'll play it for you. >> who has the right experience? mitt romney helped create thousands of jobs.