now let's look at florida. very, very different. 18% in the last few days just 9% on the day of the election. 27%. about half deciding late in florida as opposed to south carolina. look at this. 42% in florida decided before this month. not even this month. because you had absentee and early voting in florida. much more important dynamic. let's take a little bit closer again. you heard this from john zarrella again voters changing their mind as they went into the polling place. their number one issue can their candidate defeat barack obama in the fall. florida will be among the biggest battle ground. 45% of republican voters today say that is the most important qualityi quality, beating barack obama. 57% of republicans say they're satisfied with gop candidates. in the fourth con test. 4 in 10 republicans today, anderson, say no, we'd like some other candidates. >> alex, what does that tell you? >> the easiest thing to do in politics is to did qualify your opponent negative ads. the hardest thing to do is be mos

as you know, you can vote early here in florida, you can vote absentee in florida. scott's put a lot of money into that, same way that romney did. gingrich organizationally just could not do that so on election day today, gingrich already starts out in the hole because of the early votes. >> it's amazing, it's my understanding rick scott sent direct mails to snowbirds in cincinnati. anyway, that's how much he was trying to win that back in that september primary. jeff zeleny, jonathan martin, our now regular super tuesday duo. thank you both. >> thanks, chuck. >> we'll be more. wall street is feeling optimistic. we'll tell you why. "the market rundown" is next. plus, the democratic strike. they're not waiting for the race to shake out in florida. they're in miami today. we'll get the story on their action and their plans to hold on to the critically important hispanic vote in that state. question, who was the only governor of florida to become president? the winner will get a follow-up super tuesday for us. more is coming up on "the daily rundown." we'll be right ba

thanks again. >> thank you siege. >>> the president's campaign could come down to florida, florida, florida. i'm going to talk with the state's lieutenant governor coming up next. plus the republicans are not the only ones focusing on florida. the president's re-election campaign is as well. the challenge is that -- what they're facing trying to keep florida in the blue collar. we'll explore that after this.f . [ sniffs ] i took dayquil but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ deep breath ] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! >>> i think the real reason he hasn't done so well connecting with the people of florida, is the people actually saw him in those debates and listened to his background, his experience and learned, for instance, that he was paid $1.6 million to be a lobbyist for freddie mac and said that's not what we want in the white house. >> what a pathetic situation to be running for the president o

florida? any place in florida where that means most of the -- most of the votes are banked or something that's sort of a statewide phenomenon? >> the more banked voters should be, as far as romney supporter, all our polling and other polling, romney does better early voters, either the wealthier people, people may not be there, may travel more, they have more disposable -- you start going through, they are your snowbird, if you will. and so, they are more likely, that's why i think we have seen he does well in these other primaries, done well upper income republicans and that's majority of those early votes are going to be coming from them, so, that's why we expect him to do well. the question how well with the early vote? what's been interesting this time, rachel. as you know, a lot i have a tempts by a lot of these republican lemon slach dmurs different parts to get rid of early voting, shorten the early voting period, do some things as far as election day voting concerned and this time, the

my old buddy used to say florida, florida, florida. he was absolutely right. whoever it turns out to be, if it's romney or gingrich or santorum or paul, whoever it is, they will be spend ag lot of time and money in florida. great news for all those tv stations in florida. they'll be getting millions and millions of dollars in paid advertising, so we'll be watching that. >> mitt romney, as you know, he's not only got the money, he's got the organizational power, and i was talking to candy crowley a couple minutes ago off camera and she was talking about maybe the bruises after the loss in south carolina was a good thing in the end for mitt romney. we're seeing a more aggressive mitt romney but also more relaxed. i don't know if you saw him tossing cheetos to employers, blowing out candles and also singing. ♪ beautiful for spacious skies ♪ for amber waves of grain ♪ for purple mountains majesty ♪ above the fruited plains >> okay, so in a competition between wolf blitzer and mitt romney -- >> he crushes me. he crushes me. i'm pretty good playing keyboards

florida primary. so before the south carolina contest, they were on the groundment they were running advertising. they were organizing. they have a topnotch team here led by a former aide to governor jeb bush. and they had all the pieces in place to run a successful effort, particularly when you're tested. i think they have been by gingrich. >> we have a comment on twitter. romney's been running since 2008. anyone who doesn't know him has been living under a rock. >> let's hear from port richy, florida. andy on our democrats line. hi, how are you? >> good, thanks. >> caller: you know, my grandfather cooked for 12 presidents of the united states. he was a chef at the white house. and he took my sister there one time. she was like 6 years old. and jacqueline kennedy came down in a bathrobe. she said she didn't want him to cook for the president. she wanted to do the cooking. now these are lovely people. but what we're dealing with now in florida is people that are very dedicated, firemen, police men, an

his supporters here were shouting "florida, florida," and they do have high hopes and florida, they keep talking about this is going to be a big week. mitt romney will come out in advance of the president's state of the union speech tuesday night. tuesday morning, mitt romney will give a major speech on the economy and differentiating himself not just from the president but newt gingrich, as well. he will give a similar speech the next day after the president's state of the union address. they point out that mitt romney has lots of resources. that means money. that he has a lot of staff on the ground, and he has the wherewithal to go the long haul. you will see him playing the hardball that he started to play here tonight. you will hear them talk a lot about how they're going to be in state after state after state collecting delegates, because after all, we tend to forget as we think maybe it's going to be wrapped up in south carolina or wrapped up in florida. this is, after all, a state by state battle for delegates. >> and it seems tonight that it is going to be a very, very long haul

host: if you want to talk with us about the florida primary or what is going on in florida especially leading up to the primary -- [3 recorded progra recorded earlier] "wall street journal this morning, talking about a little bit of the geography, they highlight jacksonville, fort myers and orlando as well. do you indicate that those areas are just as strong for mitt romney this time around or will newt gingrich managed to steal away from some of those sections? guest: i think always, there's inroads to be made, and you cannot quite compare 2008. i think there is a lot of difference because the economy is so much worse in florida than it was in 2008, even though there we had seen the beginnings of the recession. the truth of the matter is florida is a state that is used to leading the country out of the recession. now, we have been lagging behind in recovery, so what you see in some of those areas is a tremendous amount of anger at washington. for some people, they like gingrich because he basically screams at washington. he is basically their megaphone. in other places, they prefer r

- need in tampa florida. -- meet in tampa, florida. there was some talk to you could still see an open seat between the candidates? do you see that happening? guest: the idea of a brokered convention, where it is not settled, and the one hand it sounds exciting, but for others it sounds kay added. -- extremely chaotic. a lot of people think it might happen. i am not of that school. if no candidate gets a really large slice of the delicates -- delegates and that magic number it could go to a brokered convention, and that is why ron paul has that strategy, amassing enough delegates, and he would have a major influence over the selection of a nominee and the platform as well. host: this is dr. susan -- this is professor susan macmanus. the university of south florida political science professor. thank you for your time today. guest: have a great weekend and thank you for having me, pedro. >> tomorrow on "washington journal" of political roundtable with carol lee aaron sharockman and. the role of super pac's and the political campaigns. da

truly we see many more people from outside of florida searching for homes in florida than people in florida looking to leave. florida's long been the retirement community for so much of the u.s., and baby boomer s will still be retiring and now that homes are more affordable in florida, some of those baby boomers who thought they'd have to look for cheaper locations in the south can now consider florida again for their retirement. >> brown: jed kolko, arian campo-flores, thank you both very much. >> my pleasure. >> ifill: and more on florida, with the analysis of shields and brooks: syndicated columnist mark shields and "new york times" columnist david brooks. mark, are you surprised that we haven't heard more about this housing question in the florida campaign? >> i am. but i think within the discussion itself. that is republicans are not comfortable talking about major national federal policy. particularly in a primary that's been a debate on the right hand side of the, even the republican divide. >> ifill: it seems like most of the discussion about housing has been pointing the finger at

florida, florida, florida. >> obama could win be present nomination without florida. i do not think the republican nominee can win without florida. voters are engaged and active. once we have a nominee, i will ask individuals who supported candidates of their choice who lost that, i understand you put your time and your money and your sweat into them, but this is serious. let's take 24 hours and do whatever we do to grieve and get over it and move forward for our nominee. seen $22 million spent on the air between them and their super pacs. isn't good for the process to see all of that money. -- is it good for the process to see all that money? is good for the tv stations, but is it good for the process? >> it is legal. just because it is legal does not mean it is right. i do not like the super pacs. with all of the media attention on the debate, it has given a chance to cut through the super pac ads. >> we do not have a nominee yet. there is a lot of buzz about marco rubio being one of the top candidates to be on the republican ticket. he gave a well-received speech o

>> florida primary. we have analysis from our team of fox news political experts including charles krauthammer, karl rove. sarah palin and make huckabee, brit hume, kris, chris wallace. it begins right here at 8:00 p.m. here in new york. drop me a tweet at brett baier. that is it for this special report. always as fair and balanced and unafraid.

coming out of florida. so every candidate wants the momentum coming out of florida to rule into super tuesday which is a month from now. >> i know newt gingrich was hoping this was going to give him momentum yesterday when herman cain came out and gave him the endorsement. do you really think cain's endorsement is going to be a spring board for him? >> i think it could have been a spring board a week ago when floridians started voting. this comes a little late in the process. about half a million floridians have already requested their early and absentee ballots and have already voted. if there were going to be influenced by herman cain it's too late for them. newt gingrich wanted this endorsement. he's glad he got this endorsement. but getting it late on a saturday night two days before the florida primary is not exactly when he wanted it. he wanted it sooner. >> i know that the latino vote is blairing, obviously, on the radar in florida. >> yes. >> i'm wondering how you think that's going to play out. her

his supporters here were shouting, florida, florida. they do have high hopes in the campaign for the outcome in florida. they keep talking about this is going to be a big week. mitt romney will come out in advance of the president's state of the union speech tuesday night. tuesday morning mitt romney will give what was billed to me as a major speech on the economy and differentiating himself not just from the president, but from newt gingrich as well. he will give a similar speech the next day after the president's state of the union address. they point out that mitt romney has lots of resources. that means money. that he has a lot of staff on the ground. and he has the wherewithal to go the long haul. so you are going to see him playing the kind of hardball that he started to play here tonight, and you will also hear them talk a lot about how they are going to be in state after state after state collecting delegates. because, after all, we tend to forget as we think, oh, maybe it's going to be wrapped up in south carolina or maybe it'l

his supporters here were shouting "florida, florida," and they do have high hopes and florida, they keep talking about this is going to be a big week. mitt romney will come out in advance of the president's state of the union speech tuesday night. tuesday morning, mitt romney will give a major speech on the economy and differentiating himself not just from the president but newt gingrich, as well. he will give a similar speech the next day after the president's state of the union address. they point out that mitt romney has lots of resources. that means money. that he has a lot of staff on the ground, and he has the wherewithal to go the long haul. you will hear them talk a lot about how they're going to be in state after state after state collecting delegates, because after all, we tend to forget as we think may believe it's going to be wrapped up in south carolina or wrapped up in florida. this is, after all, a state by state battle for delegates. >> and it seems tonight that it is going to be a very, very long haul indeed. candy crowley, appreciate it. wolf and john king, looking at e

>>> mitt romney may be leading in the latest florida polls, but how do florida republicans really feel about the current field of gop presidential candidate. a new marist poll shows that 43% say they would like to see someone else run. a slight majority, 52% are satisfied with the current crop of candidates. >>> we're hearing new details from the president's reelection team. here's what david axelrod said on today's mgs meet the press". >> the middle class has seen their income shrink not grow over the last decade. people like governor romney have done spectacularly well. to say, let's put the burden on the middle class seems to be counterintuiti counterintuitive. >> joining me jonathan alter, good morning, jonathan. >> hi, alening. >>> do you get there's a sense a confident message out of the president's campaign. >> it's confident in two ways. i think they're on track to get re-elected. not a sure thing. all systems are go. they're on their game plan. they want to convey an aura of confidence about where the country is going. because they believe in their study of history that it's t

and no place more so than here in florida. construction drives everything here and the jobless rate is at 9.9%, well above the national average of 8.5%. all of this playing out in the campaign here. romney and gingrich attacking each other for profit frg the crisis. >> while florida families lost everything in the housing crisis, newt gingrich cashed in. he was paid over $1.6 million by the agency that helped to create the crisis. >> this guy owns freddie mac and fannie mae stock. this guy owns gold man stax. this guy's surrounded by lobbyists and he's running an ad? >> stewart miller is the ceo of one of the largest homebuilders in the united states, the le nar corporation in miami. his company has a major presence here, california and nevada. those are the top three states hit hard by the crisis. and he's on our out front strike team, a group of entrepreneurs and investors we check in with regularly. thank you so much for coming here. i know you're based in miami. coming up here to jacksonville. we get the data today. the pa

>> not that goes through florida or a strong showing in florida. he might have had a path if gingrich had imploded but gingrich is holding on to that challenge to mitt romney position. what voters have said in various states -- in new hampshire i tarlted to pick this up and then in south carolina and now in florida is rick santorum does very well in these debates and says things that people feel in their hearts but they don't see him crossing that threshold to elect able. he makes a very strong case of why he is uniquely suited to do that, particularly on health care. he's not selling that argument and in florida right now, it's really a gingrich and romney race. gwen: is it a gingrich-romney race going forward as well? because we have michigan and nevada coming up. >> so much depends on every week's outcome. we've created how many two-person races in this race with romney in the one slot and somebody else? i think john is right. i think at this point it is romney and gingrich but who knows what might happen if, in fact, gingrich does implode and t

>> florida, florida, florida. and that, you would think, is tailor maid for mitt romney. florida has an awful lot of early voting, and romney has been organizing early voters in that state. >> ari fleischer, you yesterday you pointed out that 30% of votes are already in absentee? >> 30% of those have cast their ballot already. >> there were some counties voting today. you see the momentum going towards newt gingrich where those people are following the momentum and will vote newt gingrich. the other big question about florida is jeb bush. everybody kind of understands that jeb bush likes mitt romney. but he hasn't actually come out and endorsed mitt romney. and the question i have is, is mitt romney -- you guys were saying is jeb bush getting into the race? my question is, is general bush going to endorse mitt romney and how much would that help? >> yeah, the bush family bears no love for newt gingrich, going back to the father and what happened to them and how they felt that newt gingrich undermined his presidency and cost him his re-election. so there's a lot of bad blo

florida is bigger. it's 19 million people, twice the population of iowa, new hampshire and south carolina. >> they have already spent $7 million in the ten media markets. it's the first primary with large hispanic population. citizens who can still be turned off by tough talk on immigration. the latinos have the same issue as everybody else. economy, job, family, education is important. if way the candidate talks about immigration can get in the way of hearing the other things. >> the unemployment rate in florida is 9.8% and higher than the national average for four years. in one week alone, judge dickey processed 300 final judgment on home foreclosures. many homeowners had no legal representation. >> the collapse of the housing market, they are caught with very few options to save the houses. it's not part of my job i enjoy doing. campaign battle is likely to be fought along the i-4 corridor in central florida where half the state republicans live. a lot of seniors are voting early. 250,000 votes in fl

tonight florida could make one candidates the clear front-runner or mover. >> florida, as you just said is a mini america. >> mitt rodney has a clear lead. or newt gingrich could rally. i write about this on my blog today. florida will be a critical state in november november. it's the fourth largest state in the united states, and the only one of the top four that's likely to be a serious factor in november, a competitive factor. florida is a classic swing state with a diverse electoral. it's gone to the winner in the most recent presidential elections and it's often you close. just remember what happened in florida in 2000 after a south carolina victory newt gingrich sailed into florida with the wind at his back. that wind has clearly shifted, but gingrich is vowing to move forward. you jim acosta has the latest. >> reporter: florida may not go his way, but he's confidence. one thing is certain, he won't take what happens in florida laying down. newt gingrich is fighting on. mr. speaker, do you still see a path to the nomination after florida? >> of course. >> reporter: how do you see

certainly florida moved hard to the right since 2008. jon: john mccain won florida. mitt romney came in second. romney seems to have support of some of those conservatives. >> he has the support of so many of those conservatives. the goal for him, the hope, he can recreate what he was last time. remember when he was in florida against john mccain and came in second he was chasing mccain as conservative alternative. he was running to the right of mccain in florida and trying to say conservatives voters go with me, not the establishment pick. the shoe is on other foot. those voters will remember him from 2008. jon: florida is winner-take-all state. that doesn't matter who comes in second. >> that makes voters to weigh their choices carol live. when voters think about they go with their heart that would be good news for rick santorum. jon: chris stirewalt, thank you. >> you bet. jon: catch more of chris's "power play" at the bottom of the hour, foxnews.com. thank you. >> secretary of state hillary clinton is calling on the syrian government to end the violent crackdown

at least in florida. what about elsewhere in we'll talk about it in a moment. [ female announcer ] if whole grain isn't the first ingredient in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check. it could be very abrasive. if the surface gets abraded, it's just the environment that bacteria likes to nestle into and they can cause the odor. your denture needs to be cleaned gently on a daily basis. i like to recommend polident, it kills the bacteria without causing any abrasion. when my patients follow my instructions, their dentures feel clean and fresh. they look forward to putting them in their mouth and smiling. how they'll live tomorrow. for more than 116 years, ameriprise financial has worked for their clients' futures. helping millions of americans retire on their terms. when they want. where they want. doing wh

from the university of northern florida our cnn final showdown before tuesday's important florida gop presidential primary. warming up, newt gingrich calls the mitt romney campaign dishonest and hypocritical, a sure sign he knows the former massachusetts governor has opened a small lead here. plus debate advice from the former florida governor jeb bush. you won't want to miss his advice to speaker gingrich. we learned today, surprise hillary clinton is not watching the republican debates. but the secretary of state did share some thoughts on her political future. >>> you can seat energy and the excitement here on the university of north florida campus just two hours now until our republican presidential debate here. the last showdown between the four candidates before florida votes on tuesday. polls show a close race between newt gingrich and mitt romney. the house speaker's team knows this could be the final chance to swing the florida momentum. there are some differences on tax policy and immigration policy and we expect fireworks there tonight. but more than anything else, the gop

and florida, houses down about 3.7% in florida over the past year. so in any of the really important contests it is housing. in the voting booth, people have housing baggage. no question. >> tomorrow, you can join the best political team on television for live coverage of the florida primary. wolf leads the coverage. it all begins tomorrow night at 6:00 eastern, starting with john king usa. >>> well, defense secretary leon panetta is creating international buzz. he says he remains convinced that someone in pakistan's government must have known that osama bin laden was hiding in that country. just a mile from pakistan's military academy. take a listen to what he said on "60 minutes." >> don't forget this compound had 18-foot walls around it, 12-foot walls in some areas. it was the largest compound in the area. so you would have thought that somebody would have asked the question, what the hell is going on there? >> pakistan was outraged that the u.s. carried out this raid without consulting them. what do you know about the rifts between our country an

they may be close to securing florida, and if they secure florida, they're much closer to the nomination. >> i'm joined by wolf blitzer. you did an excellent job, as always. what did you make of the debate? what stood out to you? >> they all were on their game. they did a good job. ron paul, we know where he stands on so many of the issues. he was predict blgable, strong, good. the exchanges, especially at the beginning between gingrich and romney, were pretty tough, serious. there were differences between the two individuals. santorum did himself some favors today. a lot of people if you look at the polls have been writing him off, but maybe he'll get a bounce. >> he felt tonight was crucial that he get the message across. i want to bring in ari fleischer. from the republican side, how did you see it toonchlt? >> this was a great night for mitt romney. mitt romney showed an aggressive side i haven't seen in him bfl. he took it to newt gingrich on several occasions. he did it in a cool manner, showing a bit of an alpha dog manner. and newt didn't have the commanding night he had in south

in jacksonville, florida. regardless of what happens in florida, one thing's for sure. it's going to be a long drawn out campaign. you're going hear a lot of proposals, a lot of promises. and all of us here at "your bottom line" will be here to straighten it out. all of it making you smarter about your money and hopefully your vote.

florida florida, the state that makes magic when it is time to vote, turn die-hard republican candidates softer on issues like the environment, oil drilling, even immigration policy. with the race tightening, sunshine state is shaping up, a must-win for both romney and gingrich. what is at stake with two guys who know the state inside and out. >>> but first, a look ahead at the president's schedule. it starts in nevada, then goes suburban denver. maybe the most important swing county in the county, arapaho county. you are watching "the daily rundown," only on msnbc. ok! who gets occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. [ female announcer ] live the regular life. i'm always looking for new ways to help me manage my diabetes. take a look at this. freestyle lite test strips? they need just a third the blood of onetouch ultra. really? and the unique zipwik tab targets the blood and

florida his tannic network. it was wrapped up, but the advertising war goes on in this state. it became an issue with romney taking strong exception to a spanish language ad by gingrich calling romney the most anti-immigrant candidate. >> is he still the most anti-immigrant? >> i think so. >> senator rubio came to my defense. i'm not anti-imgrnlt. my father was born in mexico. my wife's father was born in wales, they came to this country. i'm glak that marco rubio caledd you out on it, i think you should apologize for it. >> romney is running a spanish ad of his own accusing gingrich of calling spanish the language of the ghetto. he didn't mention spanish by nade name. romney said he wasn't aware of the ad, his own ad. a few minutes later, wolf set the record straight. >> we did double check, that governor we talked about where i quoted you as saying gingrich called spanish the language of the ghetto. it is one of your ads. it's running here on florida and in the radio, and at the end, you say i'm mitt romney an

and florida politics very well. former governor charlie crist. we're talking about the gop divide, why he went independent, and i'll ask him who gets his vote, coming up at 10:10 eastern. >>> don't forget cnn tonight, we are all watching the florida prima primary. we're kicking off our coverage with a special edition of "john king usa." >>> president obama opening up about drone strikes on al qaeda targets in pakistan, a topic that usually has the white house and other agencies biting their tongues, but not the case during the president's google-plus hangout. >> i think there's a perception that somehow we're just sending in a bunch of strikes willy nilly. this is a targeted, focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists who are trying to go in and harm americans, hit american facilities, american bases, and so on. it is important for everybody to understand this thing is kept on a very tight leash. >> barbara starr, what do you think? >> it was remark and about the candor. this is a subject, u.s.

in the state of florida. he's softening his position on the dream act, for example, he's softening his position and saying that he would agree to "self-deportation." of some illegal immigrants. so it's clear that he's moving a little bit closer to newt gingrich because 12% of registered republicans in the state of florida are hispanic. >> gloria's going to be back with us later. we have a lot more to assess and dissect from last night's debate. standby, gloria. all campaigning here in florida today. ron paul, though, is in maine. maine holding its caucuses early next month. cnn's jim acosta covering all the battle for florida. jim? >> reporter: wolf, mitt romney is riding high after last night's cnn debate, but newt gingrich is pulling out the big guns to stop romney. mitt romney just can't stop talking about the cnn debate. >> i thought it was a delightful debate. i loved it. >> have you checked your own investments? you also have investments from mutual funds also invested in fannie mae and freddie mac. >>

now we have one here in florida. i think there is an air of conferred inside the romney campaign right now. mitt romney said at an event he's starting to feel like he may win this state. it was a pretty optimistic tone. no question, this has become a very ugh will i campaign when mitt romney was asked earlier today what do you think about newt gingrich's vow to fight all the way to the convention he said that's what losing candidates say. of course, you heard what newt gingrich had to say earlier today talking about the big lie of the romney campaign. we're getting to the two ls in politics, losers and liars you know it's gotten to an ugly tone. >> in part because of all the negative advertising. governor romney has used pretty tough ads to protect that lead about his career in congress and the ethics violation. if he gets the win tomorrow, will they stick with what's working as you go forward? >> i think stick with what's working. eric was talking to reporters to reporters, senior adviser with the romney campaign. h

here in florida, if you are part of the housing crisis, the people in florida said we're not going to get behind newt gingrich and we're going to get behind mitt romney. >> the crowds are pretty intense. the latest romney event. we tried to get an interview with governor romney before we wrapped up here. couldn't do it. judging by the crowds here, the enthusiasm for the romney campaign has sunk in across florida. right now the polls are different but it's double digits in lot of polls. averages, they liked what he had to say and newt gingrich was flailing in his address. 30 seconds speaker gingrich was flailing in this campaign. we didn't get a chance to talk to governor romney here. but we did go to a gingrich event where we caught up with speaker gingrich. >> listen, there is still a cans. polls are polls. you don't know until election day. >> no matter what happens here. you are moving on. you say you are going to go to the convention? >> the conservative movement is not going to sit by and let a massachusetts liberal who is pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase, whose ro

, but florida is the quintessential swing state. it is always close here. florida is a microcosm of the country as a hole, people say it is more like the rest of the country than any other single state. always important, but this year more important than ever, because it is growing fast and will have 29 elect federal votes in the 2012 election. that is two more than the last time. so the story of florida in this campaign is just beginning. we will be right back. .. >> schieffer: and some of our stations will be leaving us now for the rest of you stay tuned for more face the nation, where we will have more of our interview with donald trump and some predictions from the top political types in florida about what is going to happen tuesday. we will also have humorist and miami resident dave barry, a lot more to come. we will be right back.

florida, i am proud of the fact that florida went from double a credit to triple a. some of these if it applied to washington you would quickly see a reduction in the deficits. the united states is capable of growing at 4 percent per year for a decade of time. that would solve this problem more than expropriating people's money and spending more through government to try to solve policies. those policies didn't work. t time to try something different. >> a balanced budget, why shouldn't it be required? >> the states are in the process of changing that. hopefully that will be a constitutional amendment because three quarters of the states approve it. that would be fantastic. our debt now is over 100 percent of the gdp. we look more like grease than we want to admit. grease is on the bath to banksy. my hope is the next president will decide he is not going to lead in this regard figures out a way to put by the partisanship to find what is called the grand bargain. it is not a question of whether we want it or not. at the same time we still have incredible people doing

it looks like florida is gone. i'm not sure where the message has fallen down, but it clearly has not been working. >> well, the problem with this campaign in florida, if it is a problem, and i don't know. there are a couple of polls that showed us coming back in the last day or so. we'll see. it's gone up and down. romney led by 25 points two weeks ago and then gingrich came up after the south carolina primary, but the issue here has been money. it's been the mitt romney organization that has focused on florida and the effort to end it all here for whoever, it's been a long-term plan. he has outspend 4-1 with almost all negative ads. in that process, you've been in public life and you've seen this happen, the messaging of the real serious differences has been drowned out with character assassination. and oftentimes when you say things about people and they have not been able to respond with mailings and so on, you tend to prevail. but this expenditure by romney cannot continue all the way through. this has been th

this is not just florida. there are many, many more states out there. >> and final question, ladies, where is the party tonight? because i can get the last flight out of here and join you. >> that's exactly right. we're at the hilton in columbia. we've got people very excited, they worked very hard in social and we're so thankful for the people in south carolina that once again picked the right man for the nominee. >> go and have a good celebration, ladies. >> thank you. >> has tonight's big win for newt gingrich reset the republican race? welcome back to you guys. it was after new hampshire i was with you in atlanta there at the mother ship as we call it. and it seemed then like this race was over, this was mitt romney, 2 for 2, ahead in all the polls in south carolina. and we really thought this might be the beginning of a very, very quick end to the raise. now mitt romney is not even 2 for 2. he's now 1-3. we now see gingrich not just winning tonight but absolutely thumping romney. everything has changed, h