romney quickly took aim at gingrich. >> gingrich worked for freddie mac and fannie mae. by wait, wasn't he going to release information about that? let's see what report he wrote for freddie mac and fannie mae, what the conclusion were and what the contract looks like. let's have him describe his relationships in washington. >> for his part, gingrich wasted no time this morning either, meeting with voters at a spartanburg restaurant three hours ago, urging republicans to get to the polls. >> with your help today, if you'll make sure all of your friends and neighbors turn out, if you'll convince them that the only practical conservative vote is for newt gingrich, i think we'll have a very big success today. >> we've got team coverage for you, msnbc's craig melvin is in columbia, nbc's ron mott standing by at a restaurant in greenville. good morning to you both. ron, i'll ginl with you, both romney and gingrich stopping at that restaurant in the past hour. give us a scene setter. what's it like? >> reporter: well, hey there, alex. they're calling this already hamgate becau

of gingrich. also in all this, obama's approval rating in the mid 40s. yet he's better whether people will vote for obama or one of the republicans. that's reflecting just this conservative trend within the republican dialog, people don't like the tone. independents have been scared away from the republican candidates. let's say romney ultimately gets the nomination, oh, he's got to pivot immediately and start appealing to independents. that's not his group right now. they've been watching his debates and saying this isn't for me. they're going with obama. that's where the race is going to be. who can ultimately control. >> is there any independent that you're seeing this goes to the gop anywhere. or just obama. >> the independent voters are moving obamas way. the tone has been towards tea party, evangelical christians. conservative voters. ultimately that's where the votes are to determine the presidential election. >> lee miringoff with that. >>> the herman cain endorsement. i'm joined by the co

gingrich, of course. he said that in almost these blunt terms he said he wants rick santorum to get out of the race. he said after tonight, it is hard to see rick santorum going forward. do you think rick santorum should drop out? >> i think rick obviously has to make that decision for himself. i do believe that rick and newt gingrich are splitting a conservative vote and if those votes were bound together, we would have a clear distinct choice between a conservative southern georgian legislator, newt gingrich, against a massachusetts, i'll use moderate, mitt romney. i think that would be a much clearer distinction. i think the mistake that was made here in florida is we allowed ourselves to get -- mitt romney to drag us into the swamp. i'm hopeful we'll head toward the high ground and once again show newt's record -- or legislative conservative record of achievement, when he was speaker, balanced budgets, $500 billion of debt paid off, 11 million jobs created, stock market up 130%, and we will pound away

and when perry would get out of the race and endorse gingrich, and also that gingrich has been really courting him over the past several days. he's been not only in touch with rick perry himself, but also his campaign manager. you'll remember rick perry did this once before, he was going to reconsider and decided not to get out of the race, but in the latest polls he only had four percentage points. but it comes at a critical time. we're seeing in a series of polls that are out, including this news nbc/maris poll is that mitt romney is dropping, newt gingrich is gaining, there are ten percentage points left before the vote this weekend and the momentum is clearly in newt gingrich's favor. let's going tos in nbc's embed carrie -- >> reporter: i am told the 11:00 a.m. conference will be for him dropping out of the race. it was -- as we were asking them tomorrow, what campaign aide told me rick perry would rather lose than quit. he wanted a chance to make go to another debate and see how that performance went. yesterday he -- an endorser, general livingston, the head of his veterans coal

does newt gingrich defy the elite on this? >> i don't think newt gingrich particularly cares. but i was struck listening to chuck todd's report earlier today about this fact. that all of these campaigns have lost control of their destiny, except for mitt romney. and it's a sign of your fundamental weakness when your strategic calculus changes from this is how we're going to win the election as to this is how we're going to try and impact the race, so that guy loses the election. and that's one step away from being out of the race. so i think we come out of tonight with mitt romney in command of the race, but i also think that howard fineman, you know, asked the most important political question of the race. what is ron paul going to do looking ahead? will he leave the republican party? will he mount a third party challenge? howard thinks he will. i think he won't, because i think it destroys the future of his republican senator son. but this is the biggest and most important question when you give consideration to the general election ahead. and who knows the answer. >> and th

newt gingrich trailing there. another florida conservative quality, tea party, the tea party movement boosted rick scott and marco rubio's wins. newt gingrich has been courting them. pundits caution a weakening tea party. one in two tea party voters embrace the tea party less taxes theme. finally, florida conservative is more northern. generally the more north, the more conservative. gingrich should do well in the north here, romney in the south. the fight, watch highway i-4 in orlando and tampa. the florida conservative, evangelical, minority, tea party, and northern. and by the way, looking at social security records, chris, he is most likely called james. >> all right. something i didn't know before for sure. thank you so much, appreciate it. richard. let me bring you in. you know this area so well. let's start with what we heard from ron. you know, ties into what richard said. newt gingrich's argument, you take me, you take santorum, we're outpolling mitt romney. his implication being if santorum would get out

of those 44% went for gingrich. if this is a group waiting to gather information an see how debate performances go and consider viability of being elected and all of that, how confident are you that this group will stay with you, those still undecideds? >> well, we saw all the candidates other than mitt go dramatically up and then dramatically down. mitt stayed at 25% basically through the whole thing. there's been a winnowing out of the contenders. i think newt is the only one left standing. if 75% of the party doesn't want mitt and the republican party is acting like nominating mitt is like getting a wildcat into a trash can, then i think the yob is simple. we simply align newt gingrich with the 75% who don't want mitt. i think here in florida all we have to do is remind people that mitt romney is charlie chris. if you voted for charlie then vote for mitt. if you didn't, you should vote for newt. >> here's a potential problems. if you look at the opinions from a national perspective, there's a poll, 56% of america

gingrich? was it the debate performances or were there other things going on in the campaign that we couldn't see so clearly from a national lens? >> well absolutely. it was the debate performances and it was a clear understanding of the most port parn of politics, how do you activate the momentum. president bush used to call it the big mo, and there's an understanding that newt gingrich has, of the political process. the history of the political process. the applicability of it that really is understated by everyone. he, he knows what this country needs. he is a leader who knows how to think out of the box. and how to put it in historical context to make his leadership work. >> john, this is ed schultz. florida has been somewhat of a fickle state. we have seen rick perry lead in september. we have seen herman cain lead in october. we've seen newt gingrich lead in december and now we see mitt romney leading with a whole heck of a lot more money spent already in florida. how does this change thi

i just love and nier the gingrichs. i feel isolated because i'm in this pac and shouldn't communicate with. >> this is romney's super pac. take a look at this one. this is the ad going after your guy gingrich. >> newt gingrich's attacks are called foolish, out of bounds and disgusting. newt attacks because he has more baggage than the airlines. newt was fined $300,000 for ethics violations, took $1.6 million from freddie mac and co-sponsored a bill with nancy pelosi that would have given $60 million a year to a u.n. program supporting china's brutal one-child policy. don't be food by newt's desperate attacks. restore our future is responsible for the content of this message. >> so, rick, newt gingrich, your candidate, has given money to help the chinese limit their families to one child. you know, that's pretty -- is that true or not? it doesn't sound true. >> not to my knowledge. doesn't sound like newt beginning rix to me. people in south carolina know newt gingrich. it shouldn't be surprising. mitt romney's campaign

big boost for gingrich. a new reaction after newt gingrich claimed a victory. finished with 40% of the vote at top. gingrich's win throws yet another wild twist into the republican race for presidential nominee. here is what the candidate said last night. >> this is the most important election of our lifetime. if barack obama can get re-elected after this disast disaster -- all right. just think how radical he would be in a second term. >> the consequences are clear. the stakes have never been higher. i said this before. and i firmly believe that this election is a battle for the soul of america. >> nbc's ron mott is in south carolina. there's new reaction from gingrich and romney today. >> reporter: absolutely. good day to you, alex. the campaigns today are assessing what went right and wrong here in south carolina. obviously for speaker gingrich a whole lot of things went right and not too many things went wrong for him this past week. the opposite is true for the mitt romney campaign. both of these candidates hit the sunday morning talk show circuit to talk

is that what's going on here, and ultimately mitt gingrich -- mitt romney going after gingrich, gingrich going after romney, does that ultimately hurt whoever becomes the nominee? >> of course not, i'd love to line up comments, it's historic, mitt's going to win 3 for 3, nobody can defeat him and here he is behind in florida after losing south carolina. i think mitt romney's not been vetted, we are vetting them and he is not standing up to the test. >> let me go back to the money, i hear your argument about the advertising, i don't think you're going out of business and i don't think newt gingrich needs to raise money. he put it out there he raised a million after south carolina and got the huge boost when shelden adelson wrote that $5 million check to winning our future. have you gotten big commitments since the win in south carolina? >> there's -- let me just say the owners are enthusiastic, i'm not going to talk about pledges or donations, that's not something i'm going to talk about, but we'll have the money to compete in florida, we will compete in florida, and i believe ultimately

gingrich is. i'll meet him in florida or in south carolina. >> it's been two days, newt, and i still haven't heard from you. maybe because you know talk like this is indefensible. >> if the naacp invites me, i'll go to their convention and talk about why the african-american community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps. >> the fact is that more people have been put on food stamps by barack obama than any president in american history. >> that's just not true, newt. these are the facts. under president bush, there were 14.7 million new food stamp recipients. that's nearly 500,000 more than under president obama, newt. and now 40 catholic leaders have sent a letter to newt demanding he recant these statements. they say, quote, labeling our nation's first african-american president with a title that evokes past myths of welfare queen and inflaming other racist caricatures is irresponsible, immoral and unworthy of political leaders. joining me now is joe madison, host of "mo

gingrich certainly is, and there's a lot of animosity and both gingrich and both huntsman have a lot to prove against mitt romney and they want to. >> thank you, andrea, appreciate it. nbc's michael isikoff more with mitt romney's plans for south carolina. mr. isikoff, what do you have for us? >> actually, just in the last couple of days, starting before tonight's returns, but continuing, the romney super pac has bought up nearly $6 million in ad buys in both south carolina and florida. that exceeds that $3.4 million that the gingrich super pac has bought up that we were talking about earlier. and what it really does underscore is the romney folks are trying to close the deal right now. below away their opponents byç the end of the month, and they've got the financial muscle to do it. we've all been talking about sheldon adeleson, who gave that donation to the gingrich super pac. the romney super pac is flush with cash. it's become quite the financial juggernaut making a major difference in this race. >> michael isikoff, thank. let's go now to chris matthews in manchester, new hamp

romney seized the opportunity to go after gingrich. let's watch. >> is he still the most anti-immigrant candidate? >> of the four of us, yes. >> i'm not anti-immigrant. my father was born in mexico. my wife's father was born in whales. i think you should apologize it and having differences of opinions on issues does not justify labeling people with highly charged epithets. >> susan page, even when he gets mad and angry, he uses terms like highly charged epithets. i guess he won that round clearly. that's a gentleman's way of saying you are lying about me, i guess. what do you make of that? he came very formally, as always, but very in control of the other guy like a bull fighter who's learned how to play the bull or the bully. >> one of the raps on mitt romney has been he doesn't reveal much of himself. he's kind of a stiff guy, but that wasn't the case in that answer. luckily for mitt romney, that was the first question out of the box last night on immigration. he was able to turn to this attack on newt gingrich that i'm sure would ha

gingrich upset the crowd was too quiet. gingrich is upset the audience was too quiet. important thing to note as they hit on the team of grandiosity. mitt romney speaking to tin cap canaveral. mitt romney said clearly to the audience there i know you want me to tell you that i'm going to give you the moon but i can't promise you those things if we are going to try to balance our budget. >> that was an interesting exchange right there. peter, we will check in with you again because things are happening. thanks so much. >>> a new poll shows mitt romney has a lead among hispanic republicans there in florida. a new poll shows 35% of them would vote for romney. 21% say gingrich is their choice. rick santorum got 7% and ron paul received 6%. voters who describe thelmselves as likely to vote in tuesday' primary. rick santorum taking the day off and returning to pennsylvania. before leaving florida he spoke friday at the latin builders association in miami taking aim at president obama. >> this is the most important election in your lifetime. if we don't repeal obama care and

both gingrich a supporters both troubled by governor romney's massachusetts health program. >> gingrich is the one that will present medicare and because of the massachusetts experience from romney, he represents a threat to medicare. >> mitt romney would never, ever do anything that would be detrimental to seniors. >> reporter: in an aarp survey of florida residents, 43% say health care costs are a big worry. 31% of seniors are concerned about the economy. warm weather lured many into retiring in florida, but for some, the tough economy is making living here increasingly difficult. >> about everything i buy that has gone up, nothing has stayed the same. >> reporter: political analyst kevin wagner. >> it's going to be pivotal to win the senior vote. the person wins the senior vote on the republican side will be in the driver's seat to winning this election. >> reporter: how powerful is that vote? two years ago the senior vote was the deciding factor in six narrow congressional races here in florida. all six of those seats went to republicans. chris? >> ah, fascinating stuff, kery. thank

endorsing newt gingrich is unbelievable. it proves to me that they don't believe in anything. >> bob? >> and short answer to your question is, yes, i think it could make a difference. south carolina, particularly the republicans, just loaded with evangelical christians. >> bob franken and bill press. thanks for your time tonight. have a great weekend. >> thank you. >>> ahead -- president obama's case for jobs and justice. it's his plan to win 2012. >>> plus -- big oil, big money and a very big problem for millions of americans. hnw people are what could be the most dangerous project in america. always lookil small ways to be more healthy. like splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweeteners. this bowl of strawberries is loaded with vitamin c. and now, b vitamins to boot. coffee doesn't have fiber. unless you want it to. splenda® essentials™ are the first and only line of sweeteners with a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. mmm. same great taste with an added "way to go, me" feeling. splend

the key to new hampshire, if gingrich finished in single digits and santorum over 20, does gingrich get behind santorum in south carolina? the two of them together right now are even with romney. >> if they throw in perry, they are ahead. >> they are ahead. >> an optimist about his chances against romney in the long run. let's listen to newt. jimmy carter ran against four liberals and won the nomination but was never the hero to the party. same thing. romney is running against a number of conservatives, yourself, perry, dichbt kiffere of conservatives. 70% of the party don't want romney but you are dividing it up. >> the great irony for romney, this is the year to have the longest representation. he's never going to get 25% to 30% of the delegates until april. by april, it's going to be gingrich versus romney. at that point, he's going to lose. >> you can deny the majorities until then? >> i don't think he'll get majorities. >> in the primaries? >> no. >> what do you think he'll get here? >> he was 41 this afternoon. i think he'll be lucky if he gets that. >> what solidifies against rom

coming up, my interview with newt gingrich. he's taken on mitt romney, and for newt, it's getting personal. and that's ahead. you're watching "hardball" from the manchester, just four days before the new hampshire primary. [ male announcer ] to the 5:00 a.m. scholar. 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. yoo-hoo. hello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you want a firm bed you can lie on one of those. we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. it's really shaping to my body. once they get our bed, they're like, "why didn't i do this sooner?" duri

gingrich stays in, loses by double digits. is the longer he stay in more helpful to president obama or is he getting mr. willard romney tough enough for the fight that will help him with obama? >> romney is not being battle tested in this. he's being wounded. the longer newt stays in, the tougher it is for romney. >> all right, bob shrum, dana milbanks. thanks to both of you for joining me this evening. >>> ahead -- newt gingrich says he wants to put poor kids to work as janitors. you won't believe what he was doing as a teen. >>> plus, under fire. the head of the republican national committee compares president obama to the cruise ship captain charged with manslaughter. >>> and then there's this one. >> get the hell out of the united states of america. >> the disrespect to this president needs to stop. my commentary ahead. and chris christie tries to walk back his explosive civil rights comment. but i'm not buying it. you're watching "politics nation" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] juice drink too watery? ♪ feel the power my

newt gingrich is better at it. newt gingrich is much smarter than mitt romney. i don't think mitt romney can draw the blood needed the fight gingrich one-on-one. >> professor dyson, your view. >> he's snarkier. newt gingrich has descendsed into muck raking and slinging. now the vicious politics of that has come back to bite him. they beat up on the morals issues with progressives and liberals and here is a guy who his own former wife talks about open relationship and he uses that to get legitimate si about people that are concerned about the value of moral life. i just don't get it. i think newt gingrich is a guy that will get anything to get where he wants to get. >> if you don't get it, no many of the rest of us do either. thanks so much for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >>> a preview of the president's state of the union address. a get real report card on the u.s. economy. stay with us. ♪ believe the more you know, the better you trade. so we have ongoing webinars and interactive learning, plus, in-branch seminars at over 500 locations, where our ded

gingrich, and mr. gingrich accused it of being affiliated with mr. romney. >> and it is affiliated with mr. romney and that's why you're saying -- >> you -- >> it's not -- come on. let's not -- >> that's what you said. >> let's not try to play gotcha word games here. anything else you want to ask about? >> ben ginsberg, chief counsel and senior adviser to the romney campaign, i feel like i'm sort of throwing you a life ring just by offering you the chance to say good-bye but i also hope this means you will never come back? >> well, it's a pleasure to be with you. say hi to steve sch myodt, too. >> steve is perfectly -- steve is more capable of anyone that i november jumping in on his own terms. i'll never invite him unless he wants to be invited. aim right, steve? >> oh, the republican damning with faint praise all night long. the role of negative advertising playing in iowa. whether or not those pacs are affiliated with the campaigns. speaking of the ads focused on newt gingrich, and we'll be speaking with one of mr. gingrich's biggest supporters. f

why is newt gingrich dying in des moines? >> well, chris -- >> and davenport, and other cities in iowa. >> i saw him early this morning at a country club with a rotary club crowd that was a pre-made crowd. it wasn't his crowd, it was the rotary club. >> they let in nonmembers? >> yeah. >> okay. >> and when newt started to speak, it sounded to me like a valedictory. it sounded to me he was beginning to say why he failed. he said in front of this rotary crowd meeting, he said, i can't do modern politics. meaning that there's something about the way that a big, national, industrialized presidential campaign works that he just never figured out. and if he ever does figure it out, it's going to be too late. that's one thing that's happening to him here. >> who was the guy, the african-american guy in mythic history, who was the pile driver -- >> john henry. >> and he would pound those piles in until he had to finally run against the machine, and the machine beat him. or he beat the machine and then died. >> that's certainly how ne

newt gingrich is coming after him. if i can't win, i'm going to make sure that mitt romney's not going to win it. and it's going to be an ugly thing and he already laid down the gauntlet and told us santorum is his man, mitt romney watch your back. >> i think that romney can make a case on some of the racial, the homophobic, the abortion issues. there is a case to be made about electability even on those issues because if you look at how people poll, even on those issues, most people poll a little bit more toward the middle than the extremes. and on a lot of those issues, santorum does not articulate a position that is -- >> hold on. i want to bring in ezra klein. i wanted to talk to ezra about the nastiness of this campaign. look, after getting crushed by an avalanche of ads, newt gingrich is vowing to fight back. he says he's going into new hampshire. he's going into florida. let me play for you a little bit of what he said this morning. >> we are not going to go out and run nasty ads. i do reserve the right to tell

gingrich starts political group american solutions. adelson likes gingrich and $7. . then two months ago. >> there was to palestine as a state. part of the empire. and i think that we've had an invented palestinian people. >> adelson praised that remark, say reports, a two-state solution, not wanted by him. and it's an issue hovering around his meetings. high-powered ones with perez. tycoon gives tens of millions to pro-israel groups and candidates. $5 million to pro-gingrich super pac early in january and $5 million from his wife this week. he says he knows he's getting a profit-israel candidate. in 2008 adelson spent $30 million. >> wow. richard, fascinating stuff. >>> "wall street journal" political reporter has been digging into the relationship between gingrich and the adelson family. good morning. >> good morning. >> it isn't a stretch to say without sheldon adelson gingrich might be sit to think sideline watching from his living room. >> he's been kept on life support by sheldon adelson. normally in the course of a presidential election you would see a candidat

the resurgence of newt gingrich may be the reason marianne gingrich wanted to come forward. she was not trying to target him or torpedo his campaign. i think she basically told me this idea -- the inevitablity that he probably is going to survive south carolina whether it be first or second, and the fact he's going to go into florida means he's going to continue to be a candidate. the idea that his second marriage is going to be out there without any discussion happening and her concern and there's some legitimacy, i think, to this that she was being tarnished by supporters of newt that somehow she was at fault for the failure of this marriage. she felt it was inevitable and unavoidable that she'd have to do an interview. she wanted to do it sooner rather than later and get it out there and be over with and then not talk about it again. >> she did say in all fairness. >>> nice thinsome nice things a. >> she was a backer of his ideas and policies. she felt she was a true partner with him when he was speaker of the house. and that's why i believe that mr. limbaugh is mistaken

gingrich or mr. santorum or whoever else they might decide to select, they represent a fundamentally different vision of america. and it's not the bold, generous, forward looking optimistic america that i think built this country. >> is the different view of america, the optimism that the president so dramatically displayed in the state of the union, is that contrast part of what's helping to drive a more favorable view of the president? >> sure. especially when combined with what bill calls the sense of well-being that people are beginning to feel. there could be some exoginous event that put the economy back in the wrong place instead of this path to recovery. i think what the president has done and he's done it well, starting in that speech in kansas, is he's identifying with mainstream america, with ordinary middle class americans, with people who have gone through some tough times in the last few years. and he's campaigning for fairness. i think that is a powerful argument, especially this year.

newt gingrich wasn't the fiery newt gingrich who had so riled up the folks in south carolina and who, frankly, i expected to try to do the same with the folks of north florida tonight. he didn't do that. he decided to play the front runner and be above it all. oh, i won't bother myself with these petty attacks from mitt romney. whereas romney, who i think is better suited for that sort of patrician front runner role, tried to be the attack dog and that's not his comfort zone. he's not great at it. at one point he gave gingrich the opportunity to take credit for medicare part b in florida, telling -- part d in florida, telling retirees, you know that lipitor you took this morning? you can thank me for it. that was kind of a flubbed opportunity. >> you know, gentlemen, we all cover the news differently, and we all have our habits of doing things. i have these msnbc cards i carry with me when i'm at a debate and write notes. the first note i wrote was "controversial when needed." that was one of the first things newt gingrich said tonight, and i thought that was somewhat a code to conser

but gingrich is gaining support and romney is slipping. and there are now some other polls that show gingrich actually in the lead by a few points. he also released his tax returns, lynn. he earned $3 million and paid almost a million in taxes. >> tracie potts there in washington. thank you. >>> the former first lady of south carolina, jenny sanford, who has been through a divorce from a politician husband who had a mistress, sanford talked with chris matthews on "hard ball" about the statements of newt gingrich's ex-wife. sanford was asked about the effect it would have on the primary. take a listen. >> you know, i think it will have an impact for some people. i don't know how much of an impa impact. for the most part, people knew that gingrich was on his third wife. i think seeing one of his wives speaking about an unflattering manner has got to have an impact in some respect. it does call into question his character certainly on the personal side. i encourage people to look at both sides. the personal side f you overcome somebody's mora

digs at newt gingrich. they are perhaps showing more confidence that he will get the nomination. >> i would say that they expect romney to get the nomination at this point. they focused on him all along. i asked this question and why you guys focused on romney and do you think he will get the nomination. he said romney will be of the pop two no matter what. they focused on him from the beginning and also say that romney has been attacking obama instead of his republican rivals and they have got to come back and counter that. they do i think believe romney is the likliest person and will be the most difficult for them to face. >> we know that the president was successful in really getting people to believe in change. this time around, what do we believe will be the moniker here and what will we hear resonate with the people and the supporters of this administration and the reelection campaign. >> the reelection campaign knows this will be a more difficult race as david axel rod put it to me. they have straig

smart by newt gingrich. if you are a undecided conservative, if you think you'll not be romney, that performance probably made you with gingrich. >> santorum zeroed in on one of the key issues that troubled a lot of republican party leaders around the country is that newt, you do not know where he is going. do you see him winning and then going to the florida and then having the organizational capacity to go the distance? >> the answer is not yet and newt was asked what one thing would he do differently in his campaign today and he said he would never have run a traditional campaign that let to the first problem when all his staff members left. a lot of people would cheer that, i would say it's a worry, the traditional campaigns tend to work, barack obama ran a traditional campaign and it worked. newt cannot just go to debates and give speeches. he has to run money and have real debates. he just doesn't have that right now. >> chris, thank you so much for our daily fix, see you later and how can romney go th

mostly moving to newt gingrich. so, of course, the question is going to be is rick perry going to express a preference today at this press conference? what you are hearing on that? >> there are a lot of connections between the perry campaign and the gingrich campaign. rob johnson later moved on to be -- as well as carney, big advisors for perry, had moved to newt gingrich under the assumption that at the beginning of the summer that perry was not going to run. they joined gingrich's campaign and went back to perry. so there are a lot of connections. the two men are personally close to perry but they're more ideologically aligned especially than a peary and mitt romney. he what personally close to jon huntsman. maybe took a couple cues from seeing that and maybe looking for something new. >> we shall see. he wasn't actually garnering a lot of support if our most recent poll. stay on the story. we'll see you at 11:00. thanks for phoning in. this breaking news. rick perry dropping out of the presidential race. by happe

newt gingrich cashed in. gingrich was paid over 1$1.6 mlg mlgds by the agent that helped create it. he resigned from congress in disgrace and cashed in. >> the campaign ads, the super pac ads all seem far more aggressive than mitt romney may be capable of presenting. if his aggressive tone does not come off as genuine, he loses again. it seems like newt gingrich enjoys nasty language, hyper rhetoric. that seems to thrill him. >> yeah. that reaction toward john king came very naturally from newt. i argued last twheek i thought it did a favor for newt because he was lying in wait ready to bring the lumber. if you question, if the same circumstance had presented itself to mitt romney, no that i know it would, he would never answer in that way. if he did, you wouldn't believe that was the real mitt romney. even if he takes it up a couple of notches, it will not be perceived as genuine. he's not capable of saying those things and being convincing. >> thank you. we'll have you on tomorrow. you can watch the nbc news republican debate, a special edition of "rock center" tonight at 9:00. >>

perry can help gingrich. gingrich knows that. he knows how he can coalesce conservatives behind him. he has already asked santorum to get out. isn't it interested in then the next couple days later here is perry dropping out. we'll see. if santorum doesn't play well in south carolina, would you think he would move forward gingrich over mitt romney. i think the south is going to stick together for money and for politics, and i think in some strange ways this may draw out jim demint to make a decision. >> nikki haley is supporting mitt romney. she had tea party support that ushered her into power there. meanwhile -- >> nikki haley is in trouble. her approval rating in south carolina is 34%, with just republicans, it's at about 50%. so she's not putting any wind at the back of mitt romney right now. in fact she may be dragging him a bit. she hasn't helped him at all on this him explain anything about his offshore accounts or anything like that. this is something that romney is going to have to deal with and he's going to have to dea

gingrich. the romney campaign forwarding to the conservative magazine the "national review" today a statement from bob dole. bob dole says, "i have not been critical of newt gingrich, but it is now time to take a stand before it is too late. hardly anyone who served with newt in congress has endorsed him, and that fact speaks for itself. in my run for the presidency in 1996, the democrats greeted me with a number of negative tv ads and in every one of them, newt was in the ad." so, at this point, it's sort of the standard, newt would be a bad nominee, newt would lose the election thing, until you get to this final crank from bob dole. and i do mean crank. he says, "newt would show up at the campaign headquarters," says bob dole, "with an empty bucket in his hand. that was a symbol of some sort for him. and i never did know what he was doing or why he was doing it and i'm not certain he knew either." why was newt gingrich carrying a bucket in the 1996 presidential campaign? whacky! newt on the m

romney was up 23 points over newt gingrich. now it will be down about ten points, so clearly things are collapsing. >> and contracting. >> this is national. national. >> got you. historically, have see seen so much movement at this time? and is there any possibility that romney might be able to reverse this sort of collapsing? >> anything is possible. we have seen more movement, more roller coaster kind of effect this year than any other republican primary in our history of tracking. down and up, we don't see on here herman cain and rim perry when they were up earlier, so yes, i think anything is possible. or it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility if romney recovers. we'll wait and see. >> the breaking news, we're going to release that information at 1:00. we'll have it right here. >>> and the most religious states in the country gallup ranks south carolina as number 7 right here, iowa 22, 50 new hampshire, but system system 7. how much will that play into the votes tomorrow? >> the south and of course utah, which you d

even if gingrich wins south carolina, it's going to be very steep hill for gingrich to climb. romney's got so much money, so much organization in florida which is a big state with a lot of media markets. you can't do that on the cheap. romney is well positioned to win florida. in that case, winning south carolina and florida, he's still then on a glide path to the nomination. if he loses here on saturday, if gingrich wins on saturday, it not only sets up a dog fight in florida where gingrich might get a lot of money that floods in and allows him to take the fight down there, but also it instills a lot of doubt in the republican establishment. they look at romney and say he's 1-2 and also in the course of the last week, he's committed so many unforced errors on the question of his money, on taxes, on the question of his net worth, the cayman islands, all that stuff. people are starting to wonder, is this really a guy we want to have as our standard bearer going forward that's going to be this damaged? can he really take the fight to barack obama in the fall? >> i wonder if that

gingrich, santorum. there are tea party members that are supportingç romney because they believe he's the most elected. i wouldn't couch it as a negative that they're having a difficult time rallying around a candidate. i think it's a positive. >> here is the deal. you're talking about all of the tea party members that you spoke with and they wanted to support a different person, that splits your vote. we know and i've spoken wp a number of members of the tea party who is not convinced that mitt romney is a true conservative. there you have a split vote. you have newt gingrich, who is say that mitt romney is not a real conservative. comparing the him to somebody that's worked for a big business that's taken jobs from americans. would it not benefit the tea party or conservatives to join forces so you don't split the vote to end up with a candidate that clearly, a great number of you are not confident? >> if you could identify who that one perfect candidate is, and i was with him this morning. unfortuna

you hear that from gingrich people about them wanting gingrich to take the president to task in a debate. i think that's one of the things driving his popularity. i think people are really excited about that possibility. in addition to, they think he's a really smart guy. so again, it depends on who you talk to as to whether mitt or newt. but it seems to be coming down to those two. >> now who is drawing the best crowds, by the way? >> gingrich. i mean, well, i haven't been to all of romneys events. thousands of people. i was at one yesterday in cocoa beach. and he just -- he is pulling tons and tons of people. but, you know, who knows if that will translate into votes. i mean, santorum had huge crowds in new hampshire and we saw how that worked out. so it -- all those people doesn't necessarily translate into votes. there's a lot of interest in newt gingrich right now. >> bob, you've seen debates come and go. but tonight is critical because it could really decide if the polls are right, as close as this is, it could decide who tips toward having the momentum into tuesday. what does will

gingrich is leaning into this. he's trying to say, do you guys really want to vote for the candidate who's the approved candidate of bob dole and john mccain? is that the kind of republican parrot that's the new republican party? that's not the party that we are anymore. his campaign is sending out a lot of press releases talking about the backing of the republican party. and the question is going to be, what is the republican party of florida -- >> just lost john. we're going to take a break here. john will be back. tom and chris will be back. stay with us. >>> coming up, more on tonight's debate with our panel and joining me later, the democratic senate candidate from massachusetts, elizabeth warren. we'll find out what she thinks about mitt romney, his taxes and how that's playing in massachusetts. that's coming up. my name is brad anderson and i'm a master roaster at starbucks coffee. brian hayes. i'm a master roaster at starbucks coffee. sitting right here we have 40 years of roast experience. how can we use t

romney accused gingrich of, quote, influence pedaling. nbc steve handelsman reports from tampa. >> reporter: newt gingrich and mitt romney each with one primary win, tried to finish one another off in florida. >> i think it's about leadership and the speaker was given an opportunity to be the leader of our party in 1994 and at the end of four years he had to resign in disgrace. >> i think the american public deserves a discussion about how to beat barack obama and what we would do about the economy. i think this is the worst kind of trivial politics. >> reporter: ron paul is not contending florida. rick santorum a weak third, warns al qaeda could be active in cuba, but in a state hard hit by the housing crisis, freddie mac is an issue. the federally backed lender blamed by some for the mortgage mess. newt gingrich worked for freddie and released his contract. >> you were making over a million dollars. at the same time, people in florida were hurt by millions of dollars. >> reporter: romney made millions in business. >> i'm proud of the fa

nut gingrich may have it tougher. he linked spanish with living in a ghetto in a 2007 speech. >> we should replace it with immersion in english so people learn the common language of the country and the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto. >> the next 40 days, the mother load of latino votes, florida almost 1 in 3 latinos, nfevada, arizona, and colorado. and they differ. florida's pruerto rican americas tend to be democratic. cuban americans tend to be republican and in south florida. it's not social issues latinos focus on necessarily. 75% say the economy, jobs, and taxes are more important. only 14% say moral or social issues are more important. in florida latino registered voters are shifting as well. in 2006 there were more latino republicans, but during the last presidential election, latino democrats took the lead, and that lead has grown. now over 560,000 in number. the candidates' choices now, not if they need the latino vote, chris, but how to get it. >> let's look deeper in this ba

on leadership and character, gingrich is no ronald reagan. >> last night, gingrich returned fire on the attack. >> governor romney was against ronald reagan. governor romney 1994 senate race he was opposed to going back to the reagan/bush policies. governor romney was giving money to democrats to suggest that governor romney is more reagan-like than i am is an act of total fantasy. >> the candidates were doing their best to play to the hometown florida crowd. some other remarks. >> could you be the first hispanic president? >> i would love to be able to convince people of that particular any a florida primary. i don't think people would think i was being honest with them if i said i was mexican-american but i appreciate it you would get that word out. >> by the end of my second term -- [ cheers and applausechai [ cheers and applause ] >> we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be a american. >> a little context there the univision event, the host asked about romney's mexican roots, his father's mexican roots. and that was on the space coast there newt gingrich maki

gingrich is a joke. romney, mr. $57,000 a day man doesn't seem grateful, seems entitled. >> you wahe wants a tax break. we will be back, more from ron and patrick in a minute. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. a shadow of your former ? c'mon, michael! get in the game! [ male announcer ] don't have the hops for hoops with your buddies? lost your appetite for romance? and your mood is on its way down. you might not just be getting older. you might have a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. millions of men, forty-five or older, may have low t. so talk to your doctor about low t. hey, michael! [ male announcer ] and step out of the shadows. hi! how are you? [ male announcer ] learn more at isitlowt.com. [ laughs ] hey! the sleep number bed. the magic of this bed is that you're sleeping on something that conforms to your individual shape. you can adjust it to whatever your needs are. so whatever you feel like, the sleep number bed's going to provide it for you. and now, the company that r

they have to push the candidates. >> the difference between gingrich and romney is that gingrich was profiting by kroen yism. the rigged game you're talking about. whether it's ethanol or prescription drugs. romney, have they dug it up on romney? gingrich hasn't yet. >> i was told some interesting things that are coming out. bain at one point put in $17 million of the italian yellow phone book and pulled out $300 million. >> but does that narrative work in the republican party? >> each one has their own way of saying i'm going to use somebody else's money. >> but it does matter for republicans. >> the broader issue is we have fundamental problems with how we make decisions in this country. i'm glad these guys tb proxies for it all today. >> we're all learning. to the president's reelection bid, tomorrow night the president will give his annual state of the union address. insiders say it's expected to sound like the state of the obama presidential campaign address. a taste of what he'll do in 2012 after taking a battering from republicans on debt and budget issues. those are issues yo

, three polls have gingrich winning. six-point lead over mitt romney. gingrich's debate performance clearly appealed to republican voters in south carolina. conservative outlets like the weekly standard are giving the tea party credit for gingrich's turn around. today one of the tea party's favorite candidates got out of the race and supported newt gingrich. >> i've always believed the mission is greater than the man. as i've contemplated the future of this campaign, i have come to the conclusion that there is no viable path forward for me in this 2012 campaign. therefore, today, i am suspending my campaign and endorsing newt gingrich for president of the united states. >> i thought he said he'd never quit. perry's endorsement is a big deal for newt gingrich. newt already has a sugar daddy. he got a $5 million donation from a billionaire. sarah palin gave perry a thumb's up on her twitter page. she called rick perry a true american patriot for what he did. well, the news didn't get any better for mitt romney. one of his