applauding the rule change that would keep them from being fined over spilt milk. now, environmentalists are really concerned about the bigger picture here. the obama administration possibly rolling back other regulations. but in the case of the spilled milk, the dairy industry says it will save the industry about $133 million a year in compliance costs, wolf. >> lisa sylvester, thanks very much for that. i'll be back in two hours to moderate the republican presidential debate here in jacksonville, florida. until then, thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. the news continues next on cnn. good evening, everyone. from the university of northern florida our cnn final showdown before tuesday's important florida gop presidential primary. warming up, newt gingrich calls the mitt romney campaign dishonest and hypocritical, a sure sign he knows the former massachusetts governor has opened a small lead here.

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

characte character. >> i am angry. but i think i'm angry and i think every american should be angry. how can somebody run a campaign this dishonest and think he's going to have any credibility running for president? >> cnn's jim acosta is tracking the predebate rhetoric. jim, on that tone from speaker gingrich aimed at governor romney a lot tougher than the more passive approach he took in monday's debate. explain why. >> reporter: that's right, john. it has gotten personal. you only have to look at what mitt romney's campaign has been saying about newt gingrich all day long. they've been putting out e-mails calling newt gingrich dr. newt and mr. hyde with the hashtag unhinged, using the word unhinged in talking about newt gingrich. there's an ad out from the romney campaign that sounds a lot like those superpac ads that the pro romney superpac put out weeks ago that. ad includes your interview with nancy pelosi talking about how she might have something on newt gingrich should he become the republican nominee. and i asked r.c. hammond, a spokesman for the newt gingrich

campaign earlier today, what's with this very personal tone? why are you going after mitt romney and calling him dishonest? basically it goes back to this issue of the freddie mac contracts. and the fact that newt gingrich has really been on his heels all this week from the romney campaign, mitt romney has essentially called newt gingrich a lobbyist for freddie mac. and i got this from r.c. hammond. he said "how does a guy who owns goldman stock, a company directly responsible for foreclosures in florida, has freddie mac lobbyists as top advisers in his campaign, think he can fool the american people?" john, the gloves are off. and you know, the only thing that might be missing at tonight's debate might be that steel cage. that's the only thing that's keeping these guys from tearing each other apart. >> a steel cage. jim acosta tracking the predebate rhetoric. sometimes the candidates carry it over, sometimes they don't. we'll watch, jim. thanks so much. for his part governor romney was more gentle today but clearly had speaker gingrich in mind here. >> if you think that you really need someone who's been part of

the culture of washington for the last 35 years to go there again and continue in washington, why, there are other people you can choose. >> our chief political correspondent the anchor of state-of-the-union with candy crowley is here with us. let's star with governor romney. your first point about what he need to do, tighter, sharper answers. >> he just has not been on his game the last couple of debates. and unfortunately, newt gingrich unfortunately for mitt romney, newt gingrich has been on his game. especially he's uncomfortable with his wealth. a lot of people have pointed this out. when someone brings up your tax returns and how much you paid in taxes, you need to have an answer as to, you know, that you can use the next day that shows up on tv the next day. he hasn't been able to do that despite the fact he couldn't have been surprised those kinds of questions came up. he needs to have those answers. >> point two you say romney needs to disqualify newt. what do you mean? >> well, somehow -- and we've

seen it start. we saw it with bob dole, a romney supporter, seen it start in some conservative outlets and some conservative columnists all says, whoa, he's crazy. he can't be trusted. we don't know. he's per mercurial. somehow mitt romney has to find a way to take that message and have it come from him without alienating newt gingrich's supporters. it's a really tricky business. but he's got to -- he's got himself to carry that disqualifying message. >> also tricky your final romney point, don't let the speaker get under your skin. >> part of the problem here for mitt romney is, he's not an angry guy. he just is not. and when you fake anger, it's worse than if you have actual anger. so he need to not let newt get to him. and at the same time, push back passionately. >> push back passionately for mitt romney.

now to speaker gingrich, number one point you say don't take the bait. what bait? >> here we all know that newt gingrich can debate. we all know that he is very good with the comeback. he can be slicing, he can be dicing. what he need to do now, i think what he was trying to do in that earlier debate with nbc, he was trying to be presidential. people need to be able to look at the candidate and think, oh, yeah, i can imagine that. so he can't take the bait when they're trying to get to him. >> you say he needs to be populist and stress his conditioned anti-elitist. why? >> because that's where his strength is. we see it on the campaign trail. we see it in the response of the crowds. that's his strength and he needs to continue. notice that the bite that you played earlier he doesn't say i, he said we. they think we're dumb. he's just so inclusive to that particular audience. >> and don't overheat? >> stay newt without going

nuclear. >> four candidates. for ron paul tonight, the most important thing is? >> show up. this is just -- look. this is a man who is going to have his crowd no matter what. these people will take him all the way through june. so he shows up, he talks the issue. he's fine. he's still got his -- >> you say keep on keeping on which means be consistent and stick to the issues that his base. >> which he absolutely has in every debate as you can testify. all 17 of them. he has had the same issues. he's kept the same base. his fundraising is fine. he can go the distance if he wants to. >> senator santorum sometimes is the odd man out. paul has his own little niche in the party. you say he needs a break through. >> he totally needs to break through. at some point people have to look at rick santorum the way he looks at himself, which is the newt without the baggage. so he needs a breakthrough moment somehow. >> you say your last point at him is to get into the debate. get into the debate in a big way, right? so he seems to be part of the big conversation. >> he can't be to use an old term the potted plant. he's got to somehow get in that

debate between newt and mitt. it's difficult but he's got to be in there. >> candy crowley, thanks for your help. less than two hours away from our big debate here at the university of north florida. big debate, last debate before the florida republican primary. it will be hosted by cnn and national hispanic network. it will be moderated by our own wolf blitzer live on the campus of north florida campus right here at 8:00 p.m. eastern on cnn. rick santorum is trashes newt gingrich's idea of building a big u.s. space station on the moon base by 2020. the former speaker detail add number of am ambitious goals. while santorum's description today, not so kind. >> the idea that anybody is going out and talking about brand-new, very expensive schemes to spend more money at a time when we do not have our fiscal house in order in my

opinion is playing crass politics and not being realistic with the people of this country as to the nature and depth of the problem. >> now, the former florida republican governor jeb bush publicly neutral in this presidential race. we spoke a bit earlier about the close race here, and governor bush's debate expectations. >> let's start with the two candidates at the top. for yourself and for the conservatives you talk to across the state, what is the number one challengeless say for speaker gingrich tonight? >> i think it's to not go over the top in his attacks, to maintain the great connectivity he has with voters, talking about the future. i think there's a point past which republicans and independent voters get turned off by this fierce primary spilling over into personal attacks. i just would hope that both governor romney and speaker gingrich would stay away from that. >> is there a different challenge for governor almost any or is it the same?

>> well, i think his challenge is also to show his heart. here's a guy who's been incredibly successful. everything he's touched in his life has turned out pretty darn good. and he seems uncomfortable showing who he is. he's got a great record, and he should be proud of it. and he's been a successful man in every way. and i think people can relate to that if he expresses it in the right way. it's tough to do in a debate where there's a lot of fur flying. but that's i think his challenge going forward is to connect with people directly in a human way. >> still ahead, the arizona governor jan brewer joins us live to discuss her tarmac confrontation with president obama. did governor brewer cross the line? plus more from jeb bush including a stern warning to republicans about alienating latino voters. >> i don't think a party can aspire to be the majority party if it's the old white guy party.

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we're live at the university of north florida in jacksonville. look at the enthusiastic crowd

of students behind me. about 1 hour 46 minutes away from our big republican debate right here on this campus. one man who will be watching this showdown is the former republican jeb bush. you heard a bit of his expectations moments ago. governor bush speaks fluent spanish. he warns his party it must solve its problem with latino voters or risk national isolation for years to come. more of my conversation with the governor. >> you wrote a very important essay in the "washington post." i want to read a bit from it. you sound a warning alarm for your party. you write this "for the republican party the stakes could not be greater. just eight years after the party's successful effort to woo hispanic voters in 2004, this community, the fastest-growing group in the united states according to census data has drifted away. although democrats hold the edge, republicans have an opportunity." as you listen to the rhetoric from whether it's speaker gingrich, governor romney or the other candidates in this campaign, is it the right outreach, is it the right touch?

or as many people would say is it again off putting to latinos? >> i think there needs to be more done, both in the primary and the general election. i mean, look, in 2000 and 2008, jn mccain and george w. bush both got the same percentage of white voters. one won in a landslide in 2000, the other lost by seven. that's the changing democrat graphic nature of our state and of our country. so if you want to win in the swing states you need to attract swing voters. and if you want to win in the country you have to do that. so i think there needs to be a concerted 24/7 effort, not just to do it when you come down to miami, there ought to be an effort in north carolina, efforts in new mexico, nevada, the swing -- the growing populations in all of the swing states are hispanic voters. and the tone of the campaign talking about border security, which is a significant issue. if you just focus on that alone and not talk about economic opportunity, overregulation of small businesses, education

reform to give people opportunities, a tip of the hat of the patriotic and aspirational nature of all the hispanic communities to connect personally, if you don't do any of that you're not saying welcome to our club, welcome to our team. and we do that at our peril, i think. >> you say you do that at your peril. what's the future as a national party for republicans? your brother got 41% of the latino vote in 2004. john mccain slipped to 31%. if that trend continues, sir, 5, 10, 15 years from now will the republicans even be able to compete nationally if they don't repair this breach? >> well, i mean, this is an oversimplification. but i don't think a party could aspire tonight majority party if it's the old white guy party. so clearly, there are new constituencies emerging in our country. they're making a difference in our communities, a positive difference. the tone of the message, the message itself needs to be focused on where the changing demographics of our country are.

and so absolutely, if we do nothing to try to reach out to voters that believe in our values but feel turned off by the rhetoric, that is the dumbest thing in the world to do. and my guess is that there's a growing awareness of this. i sense the candidates as they've campaigned in florida have begun to understand that a little better. >> governor, saturday night as the results were coming in in south carolina and it was clear that governor romney was getting a thumping from speaker gingrich, i was reaching out to a number of sources asking what would happen when they came to florida. some sources in the romney campaign and some other sources not in the romney campaign but who are involved in the republican party and know you, they were suggesting that you were perhaps ready to endorse. and then came word directly from you, no, that was not going to happen. i'm told since that there were active conversations back and forth between you and the campaign. but what i was told earlier today was you pulled back because because you were concerned that some of governor romney's language on the immigration issue was too off putting to those latino voters we were just talking about. is that fair?

>> no. i sent governor romney an e-mail. i talked to him on thursday and send sent him an e-mail on friday saying my decision was to stay out of the race. i think we have well-qualified candidates. we haven't talked and rick santorum or ron paul. but certainly we have well-qualified candidates. i just think that they can earn this and it will make them better contenders in the fall. after all, the at end of the day this is not about winning a republican primary. >> all right. have you decided who you're going vote for? >> i've already voted. i voted absentee on one of the third or 40% of voters who have already made up their mind. thank god it's a secret ballot, john. >> you don't care to share that with us today i'm guessing. >> you've got that right. >> all right. governor, in this campaign you've heard all the candidates saying i'm the heir to ronald reagan. speaker gingrich says it, governor romney says it's not.

senator santorum says it's me. is there anybody saying i want to be a president like george w. bush or george h.w. bush? >> they both carried florida. they carried it in the primaries and general election. they have a pretty good connection with the state of florida. and i think they were damn good presidents as well. but no, it doesn't bother me a bit. i think what the challenge we face is to take reagan principles and apply them to the 21st century. if we are going to be the party that wins we have to be forward leaning that's focused on the future not reminiscing about the past. ronald reagan if he was a candidate today wouldn't be talking about the good old days. he'd be talking about timeless principles and how they apply to the world we're in today and going forward. and i think it's great to pay tribute to ronald reagan. he was one of the greatest presidents ever.

ahead, a scary moment for australia's leader. plus what happened on that tarmac in arizona? governor jan brewer on her exchange with the president.