want to watch cnn tonight. candy and i will be up all night. we're going to join wolf blitzer, john king. that is tonight at 7 sclk p.m. eastern time. we hope you'll watch. that's it for "starting point" with soledad o'brien. we turn it over to kyra phillips at the "cnn newsroom." >> good morning. good morning, everyone. it's a critical day for the republican candidates. voting is now underway in new hampshire. in just ten hours results will start pouring in from the first primary of the 2012 race. the very first votes were actually cast this morning just after midnight in tiny dixville notch. here's the results. mitt romney and jon huntsman scored two votes each. newt gingrich and ron paul one each. rick santorum and rick perry, goose eggs. if all the polls are correct the question isn't whether mitt romney will win new hampshire, it's a question of how wide a margin. dan lothian is outside one polling place there in manchester. dan, how is the turnout? >> reporter: well, it's been

pretty steady. we're at ward 1. you step inside where voters started showing up about 6:00 this morning. right now you see a few of the voters here. you haven't seen the long lines, but a steady stream of folks coming in here. this is a very busy ward. we take a look back to 2008, according to official als here, they had to call up the clerk's office and get the ballots. they got the ballots this time. perhaps they won't have to do that. overallstate wide according to the secretary of state's office, they're expecting 250,000 ballots to be cast in this highly contested republican primary compared to last time in 2008, roughly 9,000 more, kyra. >> romney's had a pretty rough 48 hours. what kind of impact do you think that will have? >> reporter: i think the real test will come once all the votes are counted. what i can say though is that when he made the mistake

yesterday of referring to enjoying firing people he was talking about insurance companies that aren't up to par. you saw the candidates jump on it. we were with jon huntsman and he immediately went after him saying that he was dangerous. this just shows how out of touch he is with ordinary americans. so at the very least it gave some ammunition to his opponents. right now mitt romney is way ahead in the polls and the fight really is for second place. >> dan lothian, thanks so much. joining us there live from a polling place in manchester. cnn political editor paul steinhauser is here also to break down some of the numbers within the latest polls. paul, the battle for second place here is as important as first place. >> reporter: oh, no doubt about it. there's not much drama for first place. kyra, one other thing. it's january. i'm not wearing a heavy coat. it's not that cold in new hampshire and there is no snow. just want to say that. let's get right to the numbers. enough about me.

this is suffolk university. they've been doing this tracking poll, kyra, for ten days. here is the final one. it came out two hours ago. same guy on the top. same as it always was. mitt romney. former governor of massachusetts, owns a home here. this is like home field advantage for him. as you said, look at the battle for second place, ron paul and huntsman, neck neck. rick santorum and newt gingrich in third. rick perry is in south carolina. seven% are still undecided. another poll that came out late last night. kyra, pretty much the same exact thing. romney at 37%. there's huntsman at 18%, paul at 17% again battling for the second spot. gingrich and santorum battling for the third. kyra, second and third place, that's where the real stories are going to be tonight. whoever gets those two positions can get some mojo going into south carolina. >> we like following the mojo, that's for sure. stay with us. at the bottom of the hour we're

going to talk with jon huntsman who is gambling big on new hampshire. his thoughts beginning at 9:30 eastern. cnn tonight all eyes on new hampshire as the political year heats up. join wolf, erin, anderson, candy, and john for live coverage. that's at 7:00 eastern right here on cnn. shift our focus, shall we, and travel from new hampshire to another battleground. south carolina holding its primary on january 21st, and the outcome there could be pivotal. cnn's david mattingly is in charleston. south carolina is considered a make or break primary. >> reporter: that's right, kyra little quiet right now, but when mitt romney finally rolls in here with his momentum from new hampshire, you can expect the fighting to really rachet up quickly. we've got less than two weeks to go to the primary here. already millions of dollars are being spent on ad campaigns on television. expect the air waves to be saturated here by this weekend.

again, make it or break it for all the competitors of romney trying to gain their footing here with the conservative voters of south carolina. this state always fancies itself as a king maker. everyone who has won the primary here for the republican race has gone on to win the nomination. so that's something that everyone is going to be mindful of when they come here, that there he is a great deal of image to be carried out of this state as they go on to future primaries. right now in south carolina shaping up to be the place where romney could finally say, i have won the hearts and minds of the conservatives in the republican party. it's also the place where his competitors can say this is where we're going to make our stand and turn our campaigns around. really expect a fight and it's already starting here. >> and now with the evangelical vote, powerful in south carolina, but values are issue number one this time around, right? >> reporter: that's right.

when we talk about evangelicals, we're talking about the born again christians. they make up about 60% of the republican voters here. they are a very, very strong voice in this primary. i've had conversations with many of them over the past week. so far the social issues barely come up in the conversation at all, like gay marriage and abortion. instead, everyone is talking about the economy, about jobs, about fiscal policy, and that's how they're going to be sizing up the candidates. surprisingly when you look at the recent polling, you drill down into that and you'll see that romney is leading among born again christians, but it's the born again christians who are leaning toward the tea party that aren't quite as strong with romney as the others. so, again, you see how elements about the economy are going to be playing heavily into this race. >> david mattingly, thanks so much. now the important primary set for the end of the month. according to the latest poll,

mitt romney has an early lead in the january 31st contest. 36% chose him compared to 24% for newt gingrich. santorum is 16%. rick perry and jon huntsman at the bottom of the poll. full results and all the latest political news you can go to our website 24/7, politics.com. a defiant syrian president blames the west. bashar al-assad also denied ordering syrian forces to fire on protestors. al-assad was speaking today. he says a person was shot to death by government forces in the city of homs. the parents of an ex-marine are pleading to iran to free their son. they accuse their son of spying. zain verjee has been following this story. a short time ago spoke to the family attorney. zain, what exactly was said? >> well, i spoke to the attorney

who was here in london. he has been secured by the hekmati family to get the release of their son out of iran. the son is 28 years old. his name is amir hekmati. he went to visit his two grandmas in august when he was arrested by the iranians and sentenced to death for being a cia spy among other accusations. the attorney wants to open the lines with iran. he's done this before. he says he's going to activate his previous contacts at the foreign ministry and see where they can go. listen to what else he had to say. >> reporter: have you had any contact with him at all? do you know his physical condition, his state of mind, anything? >> we've had no contact. the family in the united states has not spoken with him since his incarceration, his detention. from the videos we've seen, he looks to have lost weight. he appears to be under did your residential duress and we are

concerned. >> what is the family's message? >> please show some compassion. up' made your decision. we disagree with the decision. we are where we are. allow him to come back to the united states. >> prosper added too, kyra, that this case is entrapped in so much political tension right now between the united states and iran. he said his goal is really to get the iranians to treat this as a humanitarian case, to see amir hekmati as a human being and not as a political pawn. he was successful a couple of years ago in getting out another iranian american who was held in iran in the notorious prison for a couple of years. he had to make three trips to iran and send something like 300 e-mails dealing with iranian officials. it took two years to get him out. >> thanks so much. several voters in new hampshire were not too happy with the disappearing act that ron paul made from one of his scheduled stops. >> wait a second.

you were supposed to come here. we came here early. we held a table. you were supposed to come and talk to us and now you're taking off. >> ron paul says, don't blame him. blame the meed yeah we'll explain. also coming up, building a button and a boy's special wish. how this all comes together right after the break. when i grow up, 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.

checking stories cross-country now. in west virginia three men missing in a 13 mile cave complex are found alive and unhurt. searchers began looking for the men when they didn't return from

a weekend cave exploring trip as expected. national guards men helping dig out a city in alaska buried in snow. cordova received 18 feet of snow in three weeks. the city hasn't seen this much snow since the 1970s. it's a wish come true for an ohio boy. 7-year-old max hin ton has spent two years of his life battling cancer. the make a wish foundation asked what he wanted to do. you know what he told them? push a button and build up a building. so he did just that as part of a planned implosion of a former plant. we're told everything went off without a hitch. it may not be on top, but ron paul's star has certainly been on the rise. in the final hours before voters headed to the polls, he's making the case for new hampshire and beyond. cnn's dana bash spoke with the candidate about his approach. >> reporter: at mojo's restaurant in manchester, ron

paul's upbeat campaign goes main street. he came to press the flesh but had trouble getting through the press. >> there's a lot of congestion here. >> reporter: a krurn of cameras and reporters out to see the insurgent candidate on the rise. he scrapped plans to sit for breakfast and left. ♪ o say can you see >> reporter: up the road in hollis a less chaotic scene and a chance for voters to hear what makes him different from every other candidate. wanting to cut all foreign aid. >> every penny you spend overseas doing almost anything overseas is a drain from the economy. >> reporter: appealing to new hampshire's live free or die sensibilities. >> we know what our government's supposed to do. it's supposed to protect our liberties. >> reporter: meanwhile, paul's campaign is gaming out how to stay in the race for the long haul. he told cnn that may mean putting resources into caucus

states like nevada, maine, and louisiana and not focusing on florida which comes first. >> we don't have a big campaign plan there, but they'll know we're there. we have the caucus states that we'll be paying more attention to. >> reporter: does that say anything about your efforts to actually secure the nomination? it's sort of hard to do it without really competing in a state like florida? >> i think it tells you that we are realistic. that's the way we approached iowa. we thought we did pretty well there. right now polls are looking pretty good up here. so i think we're being realistic. we shouldn't be acting like the government and planning to spend money we don't have. >> reporter: translation, he may be able to raise more cash and compete in florida if he does really well here in new hampshire. this independent voter came undecided. now? >> i am going to vote for ron paul. >> reporter: did he just convince you? >> yes, he did. i was sitting on the fence last night. i had been considering jon huntsman as well. >> reporter: paul's early exit back at mojo's turned off karen helder who tried to follow him

outside. >> it's like, wait a second. you were supposed to come here. we came here, held a table. you were supposed to come and talk to us and now you're talking off. >> reporter: we asked paul about her beef and he blamed the media madness. >> because you, the media, did that to her. she should have been furious with you. >> dana bash, joining me live from new hampshire. boy, dana, it's all your fault. how are you dealing with that? >> reporter: you know what, i'm kind of used to it, i have to tell you. aren't you? >> oh, yeah. believe me, it's he been worse, right? >> reporter: exactly. look, obviously that was a chaotic scene, he was right. the campaign afterwards issued a pretty lengthy statement talking about what they called a mob-like mentality by the press that made it unsafe for ron paul and his wife to stay at that location which is why they decided to leave. look, i have been at many events that are chaotic here. it's kind of the way it goes. that's kind of the point that that independent voters who was a little bit underaccept was making.

she's seen that before and the candidates kind of work through it. that's the way it goes here. that's what new hampshire voters demand. >> focusing on today, what kind of voter is paul banking on coming out of tonight for him? >> reporter: he is really banking, kyra, on the fact that there is about 40% independent or undeclared voters, i should say, here. those are the kind of voters that ron paul really, really hopes comes his way. anecdotally it really does seem as though those voters are potentially going to go his way. i'll give you an anecdote that i'm sure he'll appreciate talking to two voters at our hotel having the breakfast, the waitress and host test. they are independent. they are deciding between ron paul and another candidate. that gives you a sense of how people are breaking here and a sense of how it is going to be late breaking for many of these voters. that is why even though we think we know who is going to be in first and the race is for second, you never really know until new hampshire voters

actually go to the polls, kyra. >> that is true. anything could happen. dana, thanks so much. coming up at 9:30 eastern john huntsman will join us. he's got traction going. we're going to ask him what happens if he wins and how he would carry any momentum beyond new hampshire. beat the price hike right now. we'll tell you six things that will cost you more as the year goes on. also ahead, britts advised to cut back their drinking to just five days per week. can they do it? this lion might need a stiff drink after his terrifying experience. a staring contest with a little girl.

j britain, home of the pub, the

pint, boddingtons, i could go on and on. brits will get cut off. a government panel is advising them to go alcohol free two days per week. good luck there. zain verjee is in london. zain, what are you going to do after work? >> cheers, mate. >> in other words, little water on the rocks for zain verjee. >> all right. two days. oh, my goodness. they're recommending the science and technology committee saying cut down two daze of booze a week. i don't know if the british can do it, kyra. this committee is saying the public, they just don't understand that there are down sides to drinking. really? they say, too, that one of the major health risks is liver disease. britain has the glory of being number one in liver disease in all of europe. there was something like a million people last year that did have liver disease. also this committee is saying

that something like half of the crimes committed in this country are fueled by alcohol. so what do you ask are the british saying? i looked through some noou newspapers, kyra. they're not too happy. so much for getting rid of the nanny state and being told to quit drinking. one other person writes this, mind your own business, bar bills and beer bellies. giving the advice is everything in moderation, kyra. cheers. >> you can save money. you can fit into those jeans you wore in 1982. i'll tell you who needed a stiff drink, i'm not quite sure if it's the loin in this staredown or the little girl that needed the stiff drink. >> yeah. i think it was the lion actually if you look at this piece of video, right? it's pretty cool. what happens is that this little girl, sophia, goes off to a zoo, wellington zoo, look what happens with the lion who's eating and minding his own business.

whoa, he just goes nuts. there's a thick piece of glass obviously here at the zoo. sophia is just cool as a cucumber saying, mommy, what's he telling me. listen to how she and the dad responded. >> clearly it felt threatened. he preferred to eat her. >> what did she say? >> what would you have done? yeah, she said, i was brave, wasn't i? kind of like, yeah. yeah, she was though. she didn't flinch. she just said, what is the lion asking me? why is it behaving this way? >> why is he so upset, simba in the cage. >> cheers, mate. >> cheers. get out your plastic now. you're going to want to drink when you hear this story. prices going up on all your favorite things you're going to want to buy. christine romans is breaking it down. how many items in 2012? can you even put a number? >> we've got six.

cnn moan.com does a great job. be prepared. airlines. airfares are going up. they're going up a lot in some cases because airlines are cutting routes. expect hikes in ticket prices. they went up last year. they're going to go up this year too. meat and fish. this is the center piece of your table. the cost of moving all of these things is going up. 8% they rose last year. they'll do another 4% this year. coffee up 18% whole sale prices last year. they're going up again this year. gasoline. tensions in iran, we talked about this yesterday. this is only going to make this still the story. some folks are telling me $3.50 a gallon for you this spring. i'm not going to say by the end of the year for sure. it will be a whole year of bad gas prices. mail prices going up 45 cents for a stamp. come on. clothes. cost of cotton has been sky rocketing for the past year or two. 8% to 10% higher you can expect

to pay for things like a sweater, skirt, shirt, workout clothes. all things are expected to go up. >> are folks going to make more money? >> yes, we're all going to make 8 to 10% more to cover the costs. no. sadly that's where the pinch comes. i'm expecting to see people use credit cards this year trying to cover the gap. we'll have to be frugal and be fiscally challenged shoppers i think. >> christine, thanks. just a few minutes presidential candidate jon huntsman will join me from manchester, new hampshire. all the hands he's shaking, speeches he's given, babies he's kissed. all the eggs he's put in the new hampshire basket. today's the day we find out if it all paid off. we can all disagree, but it should never lead to disrespect. that's why l.z. granderson says when a presidential candidate crosses the line, you still can't hate them. that's next. what makes scottrade your smartphone's

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checking top stories now. syria's president blames external conspiracies for bloodshed that has left thousands of people dead. during a rare speech he denied ordering government forces to open fire on protesters. assad says a referendum on a new constitution will happen in march. the supreme court begins hearing arguments over what is considered indecent material on broadcast tv.

the networks want the court to forces the fcc to ease up or specify in detail what's acceptable and what isn't. alabama fans are celebrating their second championships in three years. the crimson tide rolled over new orleans 21-0. sweet victory indeed. in new hampshire results will start pouring in less than ten hours in the nation's first primary, but voters in one tiny village have already spoken. cnn political reporter shannon travis is in dixvilxville notch >> reporter: the results are historic. two votes for mitt romney, two votes for jon huntsman, one for ron paul and one for newt gingrich. but the reason why this is historic is because the man overseeing this contest, this voting in this small town in new

hampshire says there's never been a tie before. also another bit of history about this actual voting procedure. this has been going on in this town of dixville notch, new hampshire, near the canadian border since 1960. they have been getting up and voting at the stroke of midnight. tonight's voting there were nine registered voters. four of them were independent, three of them were republicans, two of them were democrats. that actually mirrors the exact same number of nine voters that voted in 1960 when they first instituted this process. also of note, every year since 1968 the winner of this contest has gone on to become the republican nominee in the race for the white house. but, again, tonight there was no clear winner. we had a tie between mitt romney and jon huntsman. you can absolutely believe that both of those candidates will be trying to spin that result in

their favor come tomorrow when voting continues here in new hampshire. >> great. all right. coming up in just a few minutes jon huntsman joining me. he's got some traction going. we're going to ask him what happens if he wins or has a strong finish today and how he would carry any momentum beyond new hampshire. also, the bell just rang on wall street. dow industrials up 95 points. quick break. more from the "cnn newsroom" straight ahead. dow industrials up 95 points. rf,

. jon huntsman, the former utah governor is the one republican flavor that's still waiting on his months. huntsman tied front-runner mitt romney in dixville notch, new hampshire. huntsman is the candidate who scares the white house the most and he seems poised for a strong finish today. maybe january will be his month. jon huntsman joining us now live from manchester. good to see you, jon. >> kyra, great to be with you. thanks for the opportunity.

>> you bet. you're polling fairly well in new hampshire, but you're pretty much off the radar in south carolina, florida, nationally. outline for me, if you don't mind, a path for jon huntsman to become the gop presidential nominee. >> here's what has to happen. it starts in dixville notch. i like the idea that we did pretty well in dixville notch. i think that's a harbinger of things to come. tonight we have to make the market move in new hampshire. we have to exceed expectations. if you can exceed expectations in new hampshire, which is a broad-based primary turnout, then you'll light up south carolina and the states beyond. they'll see for the first time that you have that thing called electability, that you can bring folks together in a very competitive environment like you have here in the new hampshire primary and you can do well. if you don't beat market expectations, it becomes really hard to create the momentum down market. when it comes to fundraising, when it comes to broadening your organization, when it comes to

upping name recognition like we'll need to do in south carolina, if you hit the mark here in new hampshire, all of that will follow suit. >> you know on that note of electability, mitt romney criticized you on saturday for serving in the obama administration as ambassador to china. you say your first priority is to serve your country, but what do you say to republicans who say you'd be better to run as a democrat? >> well, i say when you look at my record as governor of utah, it's a pretty consistent conservative record. you combine that with an attitude that says i'm always going to put my country first. that's always been my philosophy in life. it always will be. i'll take it to my grave. there are a lot more people out there than we might imagine, a lot of people in the republican category, some in the unaffiliated category who you have to win over. we forget in order to beat barack obama at the end of the day we have to convince people who voted for him last time to

cross over and vote for me. that means you've got to have the math that works on your side, which means you've got to break out of the one party box. you have to win independents. establishing that model here in new hampshire remembering full well when you go into south carolina you have an open primary there as well. you have to be able to win over independents as well. why is that important? all of that is terribly important because in the general election electability very much will depend upon your ability to get voters by crossing traditional boundaries. i think i can do that better than anybody else on the republican side. >> talking about crossing traditional boundaries, i do have a couple of thoughts on that. let me ask you about the debate on saturday night when you slammed mitt romney in chinese. some republicans saw that as a bit of grandstanding. i'm curious, why did you do that? >> it was spontaneous. i'm sometimes a spontaneous guy. i didn't think ahead. everybody has these pre-cooked rehearsed lines for the debate

stage. this is the one thing i don't like about those debates. you rarely get a shot of a candidate's spontaneity. i don't like rehearsed lines. i typically don't use them. maybe that was evidence of it for good or bad. >> you and romney don't seem to like each other very much. >> oh, i have nothing against romney. i don't know him very well. i respect him. he's a great family manual. he has a good, strong business career, i just think i present a much different vision for america. i represent a new energetic generation that i think this country is looking to. i think i embody this thing called trust that will be a critically important part of the election cycle because the american public, let's face it, kyra, they've lost trust in their institutions of power and they've lost trust in their elected officials. i say how pathetic is this? a nation founded in trust and we're running on empty. that will be summarized in one word, something that the electorate is going to be looking for in the next president. >> we're going to go deeper into

that point that you just made so stay with me. jon huntsman, more with you after a quick break.

and we're back with jon huntsman. jon, just before the break, on sunday morning you had said it was attitudes like romneys that are what is dividing the country.

you actually received a huge applause during the debate about that comment. do you think romney is a divisive candidate and how are you the guy to bridge that divide in american politics right now, huge divide? >> well, he's certainly established in the debate that he is the person that wants to put politics first. for me it's always going to be country first, and as i've gone around to 170 public events in new hampshire, we have worked our tails off the last six, seven months, we talk about country first. i realize that, you know, in a hyper charged political environment that might not be the best sound bite in the wofrl, but i think the results from tonight, i have no idea what we'll be looking at, will be in some measure an indicator of our message which is really about pulling together as americans first and foremost, about putting our country first. the divisiveness, i think we've all had enough of that as americans. we want to move along. we're going to disagree on our pathways forward on the big issues of the day, but i think we can all agree as americans

that the legacy we're about to hand down to the next generation is totally, totally unacceptable. we premise all of that on putting country first, not politics first. we'll see what tonight has to render in terms of a verdict, but it could be a telling sign in terms of where this electorate is in terms of seeing a leader put country first. >> you come from a family that has made billions of dollars in the chemical industry. what do you think of the way that romney made money with bain capital? >> elvae to explahe'll have to . i don't want to take him on. people can dig into our record in the manufacturing sector. i think they could be critical of things here or there. the bigger issue if you want to get down to it is his record as governor elected by the people. he had custody of the state for four years just as i did, although i was twice elected. i think there you can come pair and contrast records. he didn't put forward anything bold in the area of tax reform.

he raised taxes. he was number 47 in terms of job creation in this country. we took our state to number one. we delivered a flat tax. the largest tax cut in the history of our state. we moved our state to number one in terms of the most business friendly environments in the country. we prepared it for the 21st century. i say a legitimate course of discussion and analysis really is what he did when he had an opportunity to improve his state from an economic standpoint. that's what i did during my tenure. >> i think it's legitimate to talk about wealth. it tells a lot about a person's character. you know romney is getting hammered about his wealth and for being insensitive to the employees of companies that were closed down by bain capital. your family's wealth pretty much makes romney's look like pocket change. tell me what makes huntsman the millionaire different from romney the millionaire? >> well, i can only speak to my own experience, and we've lived the american dream.

we didn't start with a family business. we all pulled together and helped build it. i had parents that were great vision nar ris. i have a brother who was ceo. we didn't start with a family business, never expected we would have one. our philosophy throughout has been if you're lucky enough to make it, you give it back. our philosophy has been to build a great cancer institute, to help leave scholarships behind, to help expand humanitarian needs for people who might need them most in life. so, yeah, you start the journey with nothing. you end the journey with nothing. all the while you've been able to build a great business. we have a very unique philosophy in terms of what we do with our profits. that may be a little different than most others, i admit. >> looking at the numbers, at what point do you, jon huntsman, get out of the race? >> well, kyra, tonight is going to tell it all. the pundant class that likes to roll into town here and tell you what the order of the universe is going to be are going to be

surprised by the vote of the people of new hampshire. why? because that's always the case. the voters always speak their peace and they tend to up end conventional wisdom here in new hampshire. i think later on tonight wherever the marketplace, which is to say the analytical pundant class, wherever they say huntsman needs to be, we need to do one better in terms of our performance. if we can exceed the expectations that are set by the pundant class, we're going to be just fine remembering full well that we were in single digits just a couple of days ago. nobody associated the word surge with our name, and i get around this morning and everybody's saying, hey, you're surging. we're hearing anecdotally that a lot of votes are coming in for you. i'm saying, hey, i'm still the underdog. i'm the margin of error candidate who was barely in single digits a few short days ago. if what i think happens tonight does in fact play out, it will be a testament to work on the ground, the old grassroots approach to politicking,

speaking from your heart and soul, speaking in ways that do address putting your country first and bringing us together as americans first and foremost. there's a genuine desire on the part of people to see a leader who will articulate that. >> mr. underdog, let's see what happens tonight. i hope we get a chance to talk tomorrow. we're going to work it out, jon. >> all the best to you. >> thanks, jon. cnn's suzanne malveaux will keep the conversation going. she'll talk with jon huntsman's wife, mary kaye, at noon eastern. cnn tonight, all eyes on new hampshire as the new political year heats up. join wolf blitzer, erin burnett, candy crowley, that's right here at 7:00 eastern. l.z. granderson says rick santorum's antigay rhetoric helps create a climate of hate. even though it makes him angry, l.z. says he wants to hate santorum but he just can't. you know when i grow up,

i'm going to own my own restaurant. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to write a novel. i want to go on a road trip. when i grow up, i'm going to go there. i want to fix up old houses. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. i want to fall in love again. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday.

l.z. granderson said that he wants to hate rick santorum. maybe but he can't. maybe he used to hearing hurtful comments. he writes in this opinion piece, because of his personal insight into why he thinks santorum is disrespectful to he's got a point to make. you write, he's more than his

homophobic rhetoric and you're more than a gay guy that opposes it. >> i think it's very easy to fall into labels. because we're in a voting year and letting one or two items in our lives define our entire human being. and trust me, i have said some things in my household about rick santorum that are not very good. and i regret saying those things. i cannot allow myself to be dragged down to hate. because once you hate, then you start to give up. you start to lose hope. i don't want to lose hope. i don't want to lose hope in this country that oppose me. lot of people are against gay rights. >> with that said, you also write that he's sow seeds of

discord for political gain. >> yeah, it's no different than any of the other politicians who turn to social issues as a way to divide this nation and finding ways to bridge those differences and santorum's case, you know, i talked about gay rights in the piece. you know, there's also issues about him flip flopping with the issue of the abortion. the discussion about president obama's intent, saying things that he's setting out to destroy this country. that sounds absolutely ludicrous. to portray he's out to destroy the country is just disgeneralous. that's the reason why conversation has gotten construed. >> i'm not going to give up on your religious value and i'm asking you to follow them. if you read the bible

thoroughly, one word repeated over and over again is love. i sat through hours and hours of debates, how often have you heard the word love said by these men and woman who claim to be these great christians. followers of the bible. they talked about gay people, immigrant and i don't hear the word of love. if you're a follower of christ, his greatest commandment is to love. if you love first, you hear the rhetoric take a much more civil turn. join the conversation, leave a comment forhim, he loves to engage with him. let's check in with our jim acosta. >> reporter: we're outside of a polling place in manchester where several of the gop candidates are expected to make one last appeal for votes on this primary day in new

hampshire. newt gingrich we understand is coming up right now. he's arriving right now in the newt bus, just over my left shoulder. a live report in just a few minutes. and i'm david mattingly in charleston, south carolina, conservative voters in this state are in the position they wanted to be, the chance to be the kingmaker in this political race. i'll talk about that in the next hour. >> reporter: i'm john zarrella in miami. they call this the sunshine state and i'll tell you which republican candidate the sun is shining. >> thanks. supreme court showdown in washington as the broadcasters take on the fcc. what's being challenged and how it could impact what you see on television.

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taking stories cross country. a high school senior in colorado defends her photo as artistic. 18-year-old sidney spies submitted two photos that school officials say are too racy for the year book. fayetteville arkansas woman said that she was forced to rob a bank with a bomb strapped to her ankle. she told that police that

suspects broke into her house and force her to rob. mary cas did is boycotting the annual fund-raiser after four state camps were closed and put up for sale. on the about 10% or 15% members use the camps. revenge is sweet for the tide. >> certainly is. >> it's college football's biggest game of the year. by and large college football fans don't like the bowl system. lot didn't want to see a rematch. there's no doubt who's number one. a battle of s.e.c. rivals. lsu quarterback jordan jefferson harassed all night. alabama has one of the best defenses. lsu won earlier this season.

last night, bama build a 15-0 lead on five field goals and finally trent richardson scored for the crimson tide. 21-0 was the final. coach saban won his third national title. the game was in new orleans. check out the front-page headline, big, easy. oh the crimson tide fans, they love it. how about this middle of the game tweet from tashard choice? this game is so boring. the social media buzz the same. defense wins championships. doesn't necessarily win you a lot of love from your fans. barry largin going into the hall of fame. with the cincinnati reds. he hit a career .295. won a mvp award. he'll be inducted into coope

cooperstown in july. tim tebow can take a new record in the field of social media, right after he who threw this touchdown-winning score, 9,420 tweets were sent per second. >> here we go. he's down. just how to make sure we got it in there. thank you. at the top of the hour, thanks so much for joining us here. it's a critical day for the republican candidates. voting now under way in new hampshire. and in just ten hours, results will start pouring in from the first primary of the 2012 race. live pictures now. election officials predicting a big turnout. so far, crowds have been pretty brisk. more from this manchester polling place in just a minute. but the results from the tiny

dixville notch. newt gingrich and ron paul one each. new poll from suffolk university, seven news shows that mitt romney has a commanding lead. rick santorum, newt gingrich and rick perry they're at the back of the pack. the question isn't whether mitt romney will win the new hampshire, the question is how wide of a margin? the front-runner has made it interesting with some pretty big stumbles in the waning hours. >> reporter: touring a metal works factory for votes, mitt romney has seen the final day manufacturing nothing but trouble. he used unhurtful words. >> the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy. if you don't like what you do,

you can fire them. >> reporter: it didn't take long for his rivals to pounce. starting with jon huntsman. >> governor romney enjoys firing people. i enjoy creating jobs. >> reporter: asked about his comments, romney complained that his words were being misconstrued. >> we like to be able to get rid of insurance companies that don't give us the service that we need. >> mitt romney, they don't care who i am. >> reporter: it comes as a pro-newt gingrich super pack are releasing an ad that focuses on romney's bain capital. >> that hurt so bad to leave my home. because of one man that's got 15 homes. >> reporter: over the weekend, romney told a crowd that he knew it was like to fear for his job despite his privileged upbringing. >> i know what it's like to

worry whether or not you're going to get fired. >> reporter: looking ahead to the next primary down in south carolina, rick perry couldn't resist. >> i have not doubt that mitt romney was worried about pink slipts whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out. romney talked about how he was working his way up from the bottom. >> you wonder when you don't do so well, whether you're going to be able to hang on to your job. >> reporter: democrats are also piling on. a woman challenged romney on the opposition to the general motors bailout. >> i believe that the market works better than a president stepping in to take care of his friends. >> reporter: when we tried to talk to that woman, the romney soundman cranked up the music. >> jim acosta joining us now.

jim, it's a lot crazier this hour than last hour. >> that's right. newt gingrich just arrived at this polling place to make a last appeal to voters. you can see the media scrum that's surrounding him right now. this gives you a sense of how chaotic it can be on primary day. i don't know whether to cover that scrum behind me or body surf on it. coming out of that piece, we're covering newt gingrich right now. it's gingrich more than any other candidate in this field really going after romney and bain capital. >> why don't you go for it? >> i'll give it a shot. >> jim acosta, live, working his way through the media scrum. we'll see if jim can work his way to get a question in to newt gingrich. >> reporter: sounds good. if i get something, i'll let you

know. >> all right. do you have a shot of working your way closer there, jim? >> i'm in the scrum right now. i got the microphone close to the speaker, but his back is turned to me. >> let him know that he's live on cnn. >> sounds good. >> a second behind romney, what do you think that message is? >> temporary. >> mr. speaker, you're live live on cnn, if you'll continue to draw these contrasts with romney on bain capital. >> he didn't say that. what he meant to say, he likes to choose which company -- >> you're live on cnn right now. >> i'm not sure if they can see it. >> you feel like -- you feel like the comeback grandfather here in new hampshire, is that

right? >> somebody said i was the comeback kid. i said, at my age, more correct to say comeback grandfather. romney raised taxes. i fought to lower taxes. he was for gun control. i'm for the second amendment right. i think you'll find there's a real contrast, we have a site called romneytaxes.com. that includes all of the taxes that he increased as governor. public policy is going to be a bigger part. >> do you think his misspeaking on the firing issue, which you're not attacking him. do you think that hurts him on the electability issue? >> it has to -- if a guy misstates himself --

>> jim acosta our political rugby player there. got himself in the media scrum. was able to fire off some questions to newt gingrich who showed up to the 308g place in manchest manchester. jim acosta, we're going to let you stay in the mix. we'll find out what those voters say after newt gingrich moves away from that polling spot. you can see the live picture there. he's trying to get those voters with the last-ditch effort to vote for him there. jims acosta, if you still hear me -- >> i still hear you. >> go ahead. >> this could be hazardous to my health if i stayed in that scrum for too long. you heard the former speaker make the case that he feels like he's the comeback grandfather in this campaign. if any republican out there wondering, will newt gingrich sort of keep his powder dry, not

go after romney so much on this issue of bain capital and that xhentd that he made yesterday about how he likes to fire people, i don't think he heard that from newt gingrich. i think what we're going to see heading into south carolina, kara, is a very spirited campaign. >> our jim acosta working for us there. cnn tonight, all eyes of course on new hampshire as the new political year heats up. make the best choice for politics. join cnn for live coverage at 7:00 eastern. all right, let's shift our focus now. travel from new hampshire to another battle ground, south carolina holding its primary on january 21st. the outcome there could be pivotal. david matsly is in south carolina. lot calmer than what we just saw

with jim acosta in new hampshire. >> reporter: kyra, no scrums here. but the stakes are still very high. you can expect to see those scrums happening very shortly after new hampshire. no one in the republican party can't win their party without winning over the base, the conservative voters. this state is where the base lives. we're talking conservatives. more than of them. evangelical christians. they're taking their role in this primary very seriously as they look at these candidates. if romney can come in here with his momentum and come out of the victory, he can walk away thinking that he's appealing to the base of the republican party and he's the true front-runner that can take that nomination. the other candidates look at south carolina as a second chance to rally their base here among conservative voters and

say that their campaign is still alive and it still has a chance. if you thought you saw a lot of fighting and a lot of damage being done by different candidates in new hampshire, just wait until you see what's happening here. millions of dollars have been spent buying time for television ads. expect the air waves in south carolina to be saturated from this weekend. a very hard-fought place, a very hard-fought primary. the people in south carolina, r possibly the kingmaker in this race. >> david mattingly in charleston. syrian president making a rare and defiant speech as more violence has erupted on the streets. assad blamed the media for spre spreading fear across the country.

our nic robertson is one of the first allowed him. nic, we had a chance to talk to you yesterday. how was his speech received there? >> it was received very well by his loyalists. not at all by the opposition. within minutes of his speech, finishing, there were opposition rallies in the north of the country. the opposition was able to stream live over the internet. there was nothing in this speech that appealed to the opposition here. the opposition wanted bashir assad to pull his tanks off the streets. that's something that he agreed with the arab league that he would do. he did talk about reform in the government, about changing corruption laws. he talked about new constitution, allowing political

parties. i talked to opposition people, he said while he says these things, they don't trust him. >> all right, nic roberton in a damasc damascus. new developments to tell you about the florida a&m hazing investigation. this just in to the cnn newsroom. we are learning that drum major robert champion's alleged sexual orientation may have played a role in his beating death. let's get live to orlando, to george, what can you tell us? >> reporter: kyra, good morning. there will be a press conference later today in less than an hour, where they'll explain their next step. this is the first time for the champion family to be here in orlando. to be here at this hotel where their son, robert, was killed back in november, here in the parking lot. i can tell you from sitting down with them today that this was very difficult for them to be

here. it was important for them to be here to announce their next step. he launched his own investigation and now plans to sue a bus company based here in florida, throughout the course of his investigation some of robert's friends told him that robert may have been gay and that may have been one of factors. pam champion said that he was never really defined by his sexuality. take a listen here, this is something that they never considered. >> was this a surprise? >> actually, i never considered that. my thing was to never considered that at all. >> so, this was a surprise? >> yes, yes, it was. >> my son was slated to be the head drum major for school.

and he made it drum major last year and that was his first year being the drum major and to be slated to be the head drum major. you know, that could have caused jealousy. >> robert's father indicating there that jealousy could have be one of several factors into what happened to their son. they're not satisfied of what's happening at famu. we'll hear from them in less than an hour when they have a live press conference. today's the day that jon huntsman's presidential campaign could take off or fizzle. >> everybody's saying, you're surging, we're hearing lot of votes are coming in for you. i'm saying, hey, i'm still the underdog the margin of error candidate. >> that was just part of my

interview with jon huntsman. lots more straight ahead. and an american faces a death sentence in iran. the iranians say he's a spy. we'll hear from the attorney trying to save his life.

today's pretty close to judgment for jon huntsman' campaign. today, we find out if it all paid off. i had a chance to talk to him last hour. here's some of that interview. look, you're polling pretty well in new hampshire. you're pretty much off the radar in south carolina, florida and nationally. so outline for me, a path for jon huntsman to be the gop presidential nomination. >> here's what has to happens. it starts in dixville notch. we did pretty well in dixville notch. tonight, we'll have to make the market move here in new hampshire, which is to say we got to exceed expectations.

if you can exceed expectations in new hampshire, then you're going to light up south carolina and the states beyond. they'll see for the first time that you have that thing called electability, you can bring folks together in a competitive environment and you can do well. if you don't beat market expectations, it becomes hard to create the momentum down market. but when it comes to fund-raisi fund-raising, broadening your organization and upping name recognition if you hit the mark here in new hampshire, all of that will follow suit. >> on that note of electability mitt romney criticized you on saturday for serving in the obama administration as ambassador to china. what do you say to republicans who say you would be better to run as a democrat? >> well, i say when you look at my record as governor of utah

it's pretty consistent conservative record. you combine that with an attitude that says i'm always going to put my country first, that's always been my philosophy in life, it always will be, i think there a lot more people out there than we might imagine, even in the republican category, some in the unaffiliated category that you need to win over. in order to beat barack obama at the end of the day, we got to convince voters who voted for him last time to cross over and vote for me. you got to break out of just one-party box. you got to win independents. establishing that model here in new hampshire, remembering full well when you go into south carolina, you have an open primary there as well. you got to be able to win over independents as well. why is that important? because in the general election, electability will depend on your

ability to get voters. >> talking about crossing traditional boundaries, i do have a couple of thoughts on that. let me ask you about the debate on saturday night, when you slammed mitt romney in chinese, some republicans saw that as a bit of grand standing. i'm curious, why did you do that. >> it was spontaneous. i'm sometimes a spontaneous guy. i didn't think ahead. everybody has these precooked reharsed lines for the debate stage. you rarely get a shot of a candidate's spon tanty in the debates. i don't like rehearsed lines. maybe that was evidence of it, good or bad. >> you and romney don't seem like each other? >> i have nothing against romney. i don't know him well. he's a good family man. i think i present a much

different vision for america. i represent a new, energetic generation. i think i embody this this thing called trust. the american public have lost trust in their institutions of power. they have lost trust in their elected officials. a nation founded on trust and we're running on empty. i think that's going to be summarized in one word something that the electorate is going to be looking in the next president. >> my last question to joempb huntsman was this, at what point do you get out of the race? >> kyra, tonight is going to tell it all. the pundit class that likes to roll in here are going to be surprised by the vote of the people of new hampshire. why? because that's always the case. the voters always speak their piece. they upend conventional wisdom

here. wherever they say huntsman needs to be, we need to do one better in terms of our performance. if we can exceed the expectations set by the pundit class, we're going to be just fine. we were in single digits a couple of days ago, nobody associated the word surge with us. i'm still the underdog. i'm the margin offer report candidate, who barely in single digits a few short days ago. it will be a testament to work on the ground, the grassroots approach to politics. speaking in ways that address putting your country first. >> we'll see what happens tonight. as tensions increase between the u.s. and iran, an american sits on iran death row.

the attorney for that man talks about how difficult it is to separate one life from a global conflict. that's next.

on parents of an ex-marine are pleaing with iran to free their son of a death sentence. iran accuses the machine of spying. >> hi, kyra. i spoke to pierre prosser representing the family and trying to secure the release of the machine who has been sentenced to death in iran. now, what mr. prosser said, the very first step that he's going to take is to use the contacts that he has at the iranian

foreign ministry, the second step is trying to get to meet some of those people to release him from iran. listen to what he said when i asked him what his biggest worry was. what worries you most about this case. >> what worries me the most, is fact that this case is trapped in a tense political environment. we want to establish a humanitarian communication, if you will, talk about him as a human being. >> did you really do? that's going to be really difficult. >> it's possible. one way to do is move the governments out of it and have it be a communication from the family to the government. >> there has been no contact, mr. prosper said between the family and their son since back in august, when their son was in iran, he said, to visit a couple of his grandmas who live there. they're really worried, he's

lost weight, he's not looking that great. the reason mr. prosper's involve nmt the past, a couple of years ago, he secured the release of another iranian american that was being held at a prison. it took him three strips, 300 e-mails with iranian officials and he managed to get the man released after a couple of years. if you want admit to romney ring tone, now's your chance. courtesy of a rival campaign. our political buzz panel dooils in. ials in. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle -- 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor.

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syrian president blames internal conspiracies for bloodshed in his nation that has left thousands of people dead. he said that a referendum over a new constitution will happen in march. chief of staff bill daly said that he's stepping down to spend more time with his family he'll be replaced by jack lew. and alabama celebrating the championship, they beat the lsu tigers, 21-0. all right, political buzz. rapid-fire look, three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. playing today democrat strategist robert zimmerman. patricia murphy and chris mets ler.

right now, it looks like the new hampshire primaries will be a race for second and third, your best guesses at tomorrow headlines. who will be tonight's top three finishers? robert? >> well, in polling, it's always important to watch not the final number you see on the screen but to see where the trends are going. the trend shows that huntsman finishes in second and ron paul finishing in third place. even though mitt romney is not going to get the bounce out of his first-place victory, the good news for romney, neither romney nor -- ron paul can really go too far. the reality is ron paul is ron paul. and jon huntsman believes in science and climate change. >> chris? >> well, i think, robert's analysis is correct. i think in the second and third place you're going to see

huntsman and you're going to see paul. the unfortunate thing of course for santorum, he got no bounce out of the iowa victory. i think what it also says for mitt romney it's not the coronation that the immediate va seems they want it to be, these two guys are trying to figure out where they're going to be, they're going to be second and third. they'll go into south carolina and lets see where it ends up. >> patricia. >> i think the headlines, all eyes on south carolina. because we do sort of know what's going to happen in new hampshire. that romney is going to run away with it. i have tobeen to huntsman' rallies. he's in the hunt. it's the moderate electorate that he's trying to split up with mitt romney and ron paul. they're all vying for that.

the big question is, who's going to be consecutive alternative and south carolina will tell us. >> mitt romney said that his comments about firing people were taken out of context. >> now, i have no doubt that mitt romney was worried about pink slips whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out because his company bain capital and all of the companies he killed that he would run out of pink slips. >> romney enjoys firing people. i enjoy creating jobs. >> the next primary is in south carolina where the unemployment rate is 9.9%. so, will romney's words haunt him there? chris? >> actually, i think romney can turn this around. probably what he should have said, and what he still can say, i'm hoping to convince the american people to fire barack obama. i mean, he can do that, you know, it was exactly not very smart to say that he likes

firing people. but i do see his point. his point is, i'm not afraid to make changes in the overbloated government bureaucaccy and that may include firing people. >> robert? >> chris, you have more credibility in your statement than governor romney showed yesterday in new hampshire. the reality is, even though you see the republicans, the right wing continue to attack free enterprise and engage in class warfare, i don't think the words are going to hurt mitt romney. people underestimate the coalition he has in south carolina. >> patricia? >> i think it's going to hurt mitt romney, for the rest of the election, because there is a big piece of poup list anger even in the republican base, people are as anger with washington as they are in wall street.

this is the sound track for the democrats attack on them. he just cut his 30-second ad against him. >> 20 seconds on each. rick perry's campaign, going a step further, releasing this ring tone of romney's voice. will bashing romney actually work for perry? >> rick perry could use a ring tone, he could have the new york phil harm nick behind him, nothing is going to salvage his candidacy. bottom line, he might have started his candidacy by reading the constitution. >> chris? >> well, i think it's kind of too late for him. you know, but i think what's happening, not so much bashing romney, i think what they're doing is very smart campaign strategy, which is take the

candidate's greatest strength and turn it into a weakness. now, unfortunately, romney's not going to be able to talk about being this guy if he moves forth in the general election who creates jobs, that's the problem. >> thanks, guys. broadcasters versus the fcc in a supreme court showdown after shelling out thousands of dollars in fines for f-bombs and nude scenes. networks want the fcc to finalize what's acceptable and not acceptable. >> i also had critics for the last 40 years saying i was on my way out for the last 40 years. so [ bleep ]. >> that cher's f-bomb from the billboard music awards in the 2002 was an fcc violation for indecency. >> in next year's show, nicole richie did it. >> it's not so [ bleep ] simple. >> same year, it was bono's turn

during an acceptance speech. >> [ bleep ]. >> for the past 24 years, when the fcc thinks a that broadcast network crosses the lines, like this deree area shot, it levies a fine. affiliates had to pay $1.4 million. janet jackson's super bowl's malfunction triggered $500,000 fine, since overturned. they want the supreme court to force fcc ease up or state what's acceptable or not acce acceptab acceptable. they issued fines for the same language used in saving private ryan in el television shows. th

he believes that the supreme court will agree. saying cable, satellite and the internet have changed the broadcasting landscape. >> the basic predicate for government regulation of the air waves doesn't exist anymore. so, it would be perfectly possible for the court to revisit that question and say, the truth is, it doesn't make any sense anymore. >> many believe that the public air waves should be protected. >> how does it serve the public interest especially when they know children are watching. >> reporter: they started regulating broadcasters in response to a george carlin's rant. >> ted rowlands joining me live from chicago now. ted, what do we expect to happen today? >> well in a half-hour, the justices will hear arguments on

both sides. they'll hear the arguments today. >> all right, ted rowlands, thank you so much. for years, doctors have warned against the dangers of nicotine. but new studies suggest that it may have health benefits.

checking stories across country. a high senior in colorado defends these photos after herself artistic.

sydney spies submitted two photos that school administrators said were too racy for the year book. fayetteville, arkansas woman said that she was forced to rob a bank with a bomb strapped to her ankle. the woman told police that a man broke into her home, tied her husband up and followed her to a bank. a troop won't be selling girl scout. she's boycotting the fund-raiser after four state camps were put up for sale. could nicotine actually have a health benefit. preliminary researched published in tit improves memory. scientists believe when the

nicotine reaches the brain, it activates receptors on nerve cells that i78 packet learning and memory. four convicted killers left off the hook. given full pardons by outgoing mississippi governor. you're going to hear from an outraged family member next. i'm always looking out for 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. splenda® essentials™. get more out of what you put in.

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mississippi governor haley barbour is leaving office today with some family outraged with him over his decision to pardon four convicted killers. all were serving life sentence and had worked at the governor's mansion. one was just denied parole. martin has been talking to families that are pretty much in disbelief. >> they are. you know, haley barbour is extremely popular and kind of a rarity in today's political environment. he's loved by many in the state of mississippi because of his conservative views. they're surprised that this conservative governor now says and pard owens these four convicted killers. one family member, a mother of a woman who was gund down, shot in

the head in 1993 by one of these men as she was holding a 2-month-old baby in the arm. this mother had this argument. >> is governor barbour going to pardon us for the aches that we have to suffer? a pardon a child that had to grow up without a mother? is he going to pardon me from never being able to feel her arms around my neck again? >> that's about the most powerful response, i think, anybody can give to the governor, when they may wonder what the governor was thinking to hear a family member like that. >> do you think that the governor developed some type of, you know, sympathy for these guys, because they were working in this trustee program at the mansion. >> that's a good question. that's what i wanted to know. unfortunately the governor hasn't said anything. i'm told unofficially, he won't

say anything like the that. they were in the trustee program, a program that dates back decades. it was a system essentially where these men would do choers around the governor's mansion. they serve meals, wash cars. one of the questions that go through people's minds, how many times do you have to wash a governor's car to get a life sentence commuted. there's an impression being familiar with the governor gets you out of a life sentence. >> these killers received full pardons. the pictures that we're looking at now, the scott sisters has their sentences commuted for a less serious crime >> i was there nor the news conference they were released. their sentence was only suspended. on the condition that one had to donate a kidney to the other. this is a problem that people have, they see four convicted

murder murderers, there's no parole. they don't have to report to anybody. versus the scott sisters, which was a lesser offense and they get a suspended sentence. because of term limits, he's leaving office. he appears quite happy to disappear without having to comment. >> controversy to follow. >> and maybe more pardon and we'll follow. mitt romney's old job in finance has become a pretty big issue in campaign. his experience in the private sector makes him qualify to put the country back to work. coming up, we'll take a closer look at romney's past at bain capital.

new hampshire voters are casting ballots as romney tries to fight off attacks from his gop rivals that he's a job killer. >> is that really -- is capitalism really about the ability of a hand full of rich people to manipulate the lives of hundreds of other people >> i thought it was going to come from the president and the democrats from the left. instead it's coming from speaker gingrich and apparently others. >> so what exactly did mitt romney did at bain capital, it's not a publicly traded company, we can't get our hands on

financial records. let's start with the basics about bain capital, it's a private equity firm. i guess not everybody understands what that means. >> what does private equity does? it's rich people polling their money to invest in companies. often zee rowing in on failing companies. anything that can make them money. private money restructures it. closes failing parts and reeps the benefits from the good parts. mitt romney said that he created 100,000 jobs, investments that bain made at staples, domino's pizza and sports authority. it's impossible to know how many jobs bain and romney created or lost in their private equity

investments. bain does not record payroll numbers. for its private equity deals. private equity is private. once a program is no longer public, books are closed. newt gingrich is quoting that story all over the campaign trail, using the word looting to describe romney's business history. and gingrich's super pac has an ad on romney calling him a corporate raider. >> romney's mission at bain capital to reap massive rewards for himself and his investors. >> he's for small business, no he isn't. he's not. >> see that picture there with the money coming out of their

pockets. that picture according to romney was taken after that raised money. now, rick perry even on this. it's resonating. something about getting rich off failure. investors in private equity got reach. ten of the deals produced huge gains for bain investors. of those, four, companies seen here, wentback rupt after the investors were paid out. private ek wickty is about making investment and making a profit. it's interesting. weather channel, for example, bain is know an investor in amc, the movie theater. bain went in for dunkin donuts. it was bain capital among

others, they went in there and saw some value. they're going in there, finding value and getting some wins out of it. they're taking profit on out of it. >> bottom line, what we need to remember to keep this level. >> bottom line, it's fascinating politically that this story is happen tong republican side. the republicans are arguing about the dna and profits. that's what's interesting. >> thank you. cnn tonight. all eyes on new hampshire as the political year is heating up. make the best choice for politics. cnn. live coverage tonight at 7:00 eastern right here on cnn. no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up! aw, come off it mate!

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