what makes this dog so irresistible is her ability to resist. jeanne moos, cnn. >> thank you, jean knee. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. and please join us on this saturday here on cnn for complete coverage of the nevada caucuses. our coverage will begin 6:00 p.m. eastern with a special edition of the situation room. until then thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. the news continues next on cnn. good evening. i'm john king reporting tonight. when the historic college of william and mary in williamsburg, virginia. tonight donald trump endorses mitt romney in vegas of all places. also virginia talks about newt gingrich's vow to fight through the southern proom rest and what he would say if asked to join the republican ticket. and former defense secretary robert gates talks exclusively to us about how fast to pull out

of afghanistan and how much he agrees with his former boss's agrees with his former boss's gop critics. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com we begin with today's verbal fireworks on capitol hill in washington on the face of pointed attacks by republicans, the attorney general eric holder today rejected calls for his resignation and refused to take the blame for a program that sent u.s. guns to mexico's drug gangs in an effort to trace gun smuggling. attorney general holder says he shut down the program dubbed operation fast and furious shortly after it came to his attention. he says that was after one of those smuggled guns was found at the murder scene of a u.s. border patrol agent. some republicans accuse general holder of covering up what he knew. others today listen to this called him incompetent. >> i believe that the american people deserve to have an attorney general that they can trust. and for that reason i have asked for your resignation. and i believe that because you have been grossly incompetent in

the way that you have prepared before coming to congress, i think you should resign. >> looked at fairly, i think that i've done a pretty good job. have i been perfect? no. have i made mistakes? yes. do i treat the members of this committee with respect? i always hope that i do. and what you have just done is if nothing else disrespectful. >> brian, you can see the scornful response from the general holder. you can see the skeptical and attack from the republican congressman. let's listen to one more explain here. this is ann marie berkel of new york the attorney general in a similar exchange. let's listen. >> put it this way. how many more border patrol agents would have had to die as a part of operation fast and furious for you to take responsibility? >> i'm not claiming to be a perfect person or a perfect attorney general. i get up every day and try to do the best job that i can. i have great faith this time people who work in the

department. and that kind of question i think is frankly and again, i think that's beneath a member of congress. >> brian, how much of this was about debating the policy and who knew what when and how much of it was just personal? >> well, most of it, john, was about debating the policy and who knew what when but it kind of devolved into the personal. this was some of the most contention dialogues. this is the fourth time he's appeared regarding fast and furious. there was another moment between him and that republican congressman raul lab ra bore where hauleder just tore into labrador along that line of questioning because he had gone into this litany of what he believed was a pattern of personal deception on the part of holder dating back to holder's days in the clinton justice department. and holder said something like, "that's one of the worst things i've ever heard in congress."

and he said that, "i don't know how you do things back in idaho but we don't do that here." it got very personal between the two of them, john, and kind of hit along those themes for most of this hearing. >> brian todd reporting live in capitol hill. we're going to have the chairman of that committee on the program in just a bit. out on the presidential campaign trail this afternoon, mitt romney found a way to change the subject away from how he feels about caring for the country's poor. how did he do that? he was endorsed by donald trump. >> to me he's tough, he's smart, he's sharp. he's not going to allow bad things to continue to happen to this country that we all love. so governor romney, go out and get em. you can do it. [ cheers and applause ] >> there are some things that you just can't imagine happening in your life. this is one of them. >> cnn chief political correspondent candy crowley is in washington. i bet happy not to be in las vegas for that one. candy, you know, donald trump is

a big self-promoter. he's a reality tv star. he likes attention. when it comes to governor romney does this help or hurt? >> can he be mercurial? they understand that inside the romney campaign. but i spoke to a senior adviser there and asked him about the pluses and minuses of having donald trump. they say listen, obviously he has ties within the business community and that can help. he obviously has his own money. he's limited of course direct money he can give to the campaign. but they also brought up the tea party. they said, you know, when donald trump was out there and everyone thought he was going to maybe run for president, some of his biggest audiences were tea party people, particularly what this source called the hyperconservatives. remember when donald trump was talking about the birther issue and brought all that up? he really was able to stir up those kind of -- the hard core within the tea party. and they think he can be valuable there. as you point out he likes the

camera. and perhaps he'll do some grassroots work for them. so they see him as a net plus. they definitely do. >> and candy, in a powerful statement in support of romney there. but back in april he was still entertaining getting into the race and didn't seem to think as much of governor romney. >> why would republicans prefer you to mitt romney? >> mitt romney is basically a small business guy if you really think about it. he was a hedge fund. he was a fund guy. he walked away with some money from a very good company that he didn't create. he worked there. he didn't create. >> i guess the times have changed, but he didn't seem to think so much of him back then. >> reporter: he didn't. he didn't. and listen, john, you and i have covered enough campaign toss understand how many words people have to eat when they align themselves with one person or another. i mean, it's the glory of

youtube. sense the invention of the camera and tape, this kind of thing comes up. there was great rivalry between the bushes and the doles, between the clintons and the obamas. in the end they are party people and they'll come around. this is how donald trump is explaining this today, politics. >> politics politics politics. our chief political correspondent candy crowley, thanks. remember to tune in to watch candy sunday morning on "state-of-the-union." also campaigning out in nevada today, newt gingrich dismissed the significance of donald trump endorsing governor romney. he told reporters he's amazed it's getting so much attention. instead he's still dinging governor romney about yesterday's remark about poor people. he said he's concentrating on the middle class and not very concerned about the very poor who romney says have a safety net. >> both governor romney and barack obama seem to believe that a "safety net" is all the poor need. i don't believe that. what the poor need is a trampoline so they can spring up

and quit being poor. [ cheers and applause ] >> so i'm for replacing the safety net with a trampoline. >> that's newt gingrich in nevada. in washington today at a time some of president obama's critics are accusing the administration of being anti-religion, the president opened up about his christian faith. he told about 3,000 people at the annual national prayer breakfast that no matter how much responsibility we have, everyone can benefit from, in the president's words "turning to our creator, listening to him and avoiding phony religiosity." the president described the 2010 meeting when he prayed with the va vang el ift evangelist billy graham. >> i have fallen on my knees asking god for guidance not just in my personal life and my christian walk but in the life of this nation and the values that hold us together and keep us strong. i know that he will guide us. he always has.

and he always will. >> now to the firestorm created by the defense secretary leon panetta's surprise announcement the united states will end its combat mission in afghanistan by mid to late 2013. after almost a full day of republican criticism, president obama's spokesman today tried to point out this isn't really all that much of a change in policy. our cnn pentagon correspondent chris lawrence is now with us live. chris, are they backtracking here? >> reporter: john, the pentagon officials have certainly been trying to convince us that secretary panetta did not overstep his bounds telling us that of course transition takes time. but it's strange when former afghan commander now cia director david petraeus, who's gone to great lengths to sort of distance himself from his days as the general, has to come out publicly to defend panetta's troop announcement. and look, this announcement

caught not only some members of the intel and armed services committees in congress by surprise, but also some of our nato allies as well. and some of the officials seem to be having trouble getting their messaging straight. secretary panetta seemed to suggest that the only combat american troops will be involved in would be to protect themselves, for self defense. but a nato official says no, these are still going to be offensive operations not just self defense. and a source here at the pentagon is telling us we may well see combat right up to the end of 2014. john? >> and chris, one of the debates that always is sparked when you have a public conversation like this is, are you aiding the enemy. in this case the taliban. what are your sources telling you? are there concerns about that? this public discussion about timetables? >> reporter: there's some concern. some have voiced some concern saying look, if the goal was to sort of lay it out there, i guess you've done that. but they say it really sets a

timeline. and the taliban were already feeling very confident. a recent classified military report interviewing about 4,000 of them show that they think they're winning, they think they'll still be in power come 2014. some of our sources wondered what effect this could have on pakistan, would this stop them harboring taliban leaders if they know the draw down is going to accelerate next year. >> chris lawrence, live for us at the pentagon tonight on this important story. chris, thank you. you might notice there's a rather rowdy feisty group of students behind me. we're on the college of william and mary campus tonight. founded in 1693. thomas jefferson was educated many here. his previous chancellors include henry kissinger, sandra day o'connor and former defense secretary robert gates. secretary gates reflects on his

service with two presidents and about drawing down too quickly in afghanistan. ashlee! ashlee! ashlee! ashlee! what were you looking for when you bought your edge? um, i was definitely looking for fuel economy. that's the whole reason we, we wanted to look at the ecoboost. can you talk a little bit about the style of the edge? um, well, i think it's very hip. i even have several guys were like "whoa, do have twenties on those". like, don't even know what that means, but i guess it's cool. (laugh) imagine if you could always see life [music] in the best light. every time of day. outdoors, or in. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it is meant to be seen. maybe even a little better.

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live tonight on the college of william and mary, a historic campus in williamsburg, virginia. you see the student behind us here. this school has a new chancellor, robert gates. he was the defendant secretary under robert bush. he carried over into the obama administration. we'll have exclusive conversation with former defense secretary robert gates. word coming out of washington and the obama administration that combat, the combat in afghanistan could end as early as the middle of 2013. >> just yesterday, secretary panetta, your successor, started talking about when we would get out of afghanistan. some say that he accelerated the timetable by saying combat operations would end in 2013, trying to say today no the goal is to be finished in 2014. you have to start at one point. are they backtracking here? are politics getting in the way of afghanistan? >> the key i think for us is not

here in the end game to get too impatient. we've invested too much in terms of lives and -- overall the change of mission beginning in 2013 and gradual draw downs to the end of 2014 does not represent a significant change. >> do you worry about that -- governor romney and the campaign trail today saying they're naive. you have republicans in congress says this is premature. even if this is your plan you shouldn't be talking about it. it helps the taliban. >> i think we have been talking about it ever since the 2014 day was established, ever since the president announced some time ago his decisions in terms of beginning to bring out the surge. i mean, the reality is the surge will have lasted longer in afghanistan than it did in iraq. and it was intended to be a surge, not a permanent increase.

so i think this notion of a gradual draw down is consistent with the decisions that i participated in. i just hope people don't get in too big a hurry as part of that draw down and that the pacing is determined by the conditions on the ground. >> another interesting conversation in recent days has been the president talking publicly during an internet forum about drone attacks in pakistan. and there are a lot of people saying, well, of course we know they're happening. they've been happening for some time. but that a for the status of the relationship, and b just for protecting covert operations the commander in chief shouldn't be talking about those things. should he? >> well, the reality is, since the beginning the commander in chief can talk about whatever he wants to. the rules that apply to other people or should be. >> do you think he should be? >> i'm not going to second guess him. but i will say this. beginning with the raid that took out bin laden, i mean, that

sunday afternoon we sort of gave each other a blood oath that we would not reveal the details of the operation. and it all began to spill out the very next day. so that was very disappointing to me. i think we need to be very careful about how we talk about these things publicly because they are instruments that we use in a lot of different circumstances. >> the president in his state-of-the-union address spent most of it on domestic policy. but he's very mindful of some of the things being said about him by the republicans who want his job. the president said. this i want you to listen. >> america is back. anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you that america is in decline or that our influence has waned doesn't know what they're talking about. [ cheers and applause ] >> governor romney, speaker gingrich, senator santorum, all of the remaining republicans except ron paul say america is in decline, america's influence around the world is waning.

who's right? the president of the united states or those republicans? >> what are we talking about? relative role economically in the world? because that's been going down for 60 years. it was an unnatural situation to begin with. if we're talking about military power i think that's ridiculous. our military power has nothing comparable to it anywhere in the world or any combination of nations that come anywhere close to our mimilitary power. our influence i think that waxes and wanes. they see us as the indispensable nation. nothing gets done internationally without american leadership. i don't think that's changed. >> this is governor romney who says essentially when it comes to foreign policy, president obama, the president you served, is soft. >> i'm talking about people like ahmadinajab and kim jong il.

he opened a hand to awe ma din jaub. the foreign policy of pretty please is not working terribly well. >> you were in the oval office in the situation room, in tense situations. does president obama have a foreign policy of pretty please? >> well, this is the president that sent 60,000 additional troops to afghanistan. this is the president that ordered the killing of osama bin laden. a number of other al qaeda operatives over the years. sometimes things get pretty heated in campaigns. but i think the reality is that there is an acknowledgement on people's part around the world that this president is willing to use military force when our needs require it. but that the idea of reaching out to our adversaries to try and get them to do what we want them to do i don't think is

inherently dangerous in and of itself. and after all, president bush did that on a number of occasions. nixon started this with the outreach to the soviet union and china. frankly i wish we had a channel of communication to the iranians. because if something goes wrong in the gulf, we don't know who to call. we don't know how to control the escalation. and we worry that they don't know how to control it, either, because there's nobody to talk to. so it depends on the content of the outreach. if you are saying pretty please, then that would be wrong. but i don't think this president is. i don't think any president that i worked with has ever said pretty please. >> you mentioned the risk of the iranian situation and the uncertainty and unpredictablity of it. i want you to listen to speaker gingrich here. here's his approach what he talks about moving as quickly as possible to keep iran from getting a nuclear weapon. >> i think we're placing the regime before they get a nuclear weapon without a war beats

replacing the regime with a war which beats allowing this many to have a nuclear weapon. those are your three choices. >> are those the three choices? >> well, i think that you either get them to change their policy through a combination of economic, political and military pressures, non-kinetic, non-fighting, or they get a weapon and spark a nuclear arms race in the most volatile part of the world, or you attack them and you start a war, the outcome of which you have no idea. if iraq and afghanistan have taught us anything in recent history, it is the unpredictablity of war. and that these things are easier to get into than to get out of. and frankly the facile way in which too many people talk about let's just go attack them. i think that the newest round of sanctions potentially do have

the opportunity to get the iranians to change their minds. but this is a very, very difficult and dangerous set of choices, frankly, before us. because those who say we shouldn't attack i think underestimate the consequences of iran having a nuclear weapon. and those who say we should underestimate the consequences of going to war. this is, i think, one of the toughest foreign policy problems i have ever seen since entering the government 45 years ago. and i think to talk about it loosely or as though these are easy choices in some way are sort of self-proclaimed obvious alternatives, i just think it's irresponsible. >> as you watch the republican campaign play out do you have a favorite? >> not going to go there. >> not going to go there. how about november? are you going to vote for the republican nominee or is there a

chance you'll vote for president obama? >> i think that who i vote for will remain my private business. >> been a republican all your life. have you ever voted democrat for president? >> absolutely. >> open to doing it again? >> i have always voted for who i believe was the best person. >> mr. secretary, mr. chancellor, thank you for your time. >> thanks a lot, john. >> thank you. as maybe you can see, it's a relatively balmy february night in virginia. but next if you're looking for winter we found it. plus what new england quarterback tom brady said that will probably cost him some fans in buffalo.

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you see the crowd of students here at the college of william and mary in williamsburg, virginia. welcome back. we're live at williamsburg tonight. kate bolduan is here with the latest news. kate, this is what they call william and mary, jefferson's first university. >> you an screaming crowds around you. i love it. let's get you caught up everyone on some other news that we're watching right now. just now the u.s. senate overwhelmingly approved a ban on members of congress, their staffs and many executive branch employees trading on stocks and other securities based on inside information learned on the job. the stock act which president obama asked congress to approve

passed 96-3. now house needs to take up its own version. in other news, more violence and protests in syria today. meanwhile the arab league secretary general tells cnn even a watered-down unsecurity council resolution will put pressure on the syrian government. his comments came after yesterday's private discussions by u.n. security council members to draft a resolution on syria ended when those discussions ended with major differences. still yesterday's violence killed at least 70 people. and if you're wondering what's happened to winter, well, try europe. in places like romaine ukraine, belarus and russia, it's brutal. 22 countries stretching from portugal to finland and down to northern italy and greece have posted warnings for cold and snow. that is pretty amazing. and it's a safe bet that football fans in at least two cities now will be rooting

against the new england patriots in the sunday's super bowl. what are we talking about? of course we're talking about the fans of the patriots' opponents, the new york giants. but in addition now we're talking about buffalo hotel owners. they're in a huff because patriots quarterback tom brady called this city's hotels "not the nicest places in the world." he did apologize afterward, but it probably won't help. this all came about, john, apparently because brady was just trying to praise his own father for being dedicated and following him around the country to watch games. and then there was, as we like to call it, a bit of a gaffe. >> oh, well. i'll have wolf blitzer talk to tom brady about repairing relations between my new england and his buffalo. we'll work all this out. we'll see you in a few minutes, kate. coming up today's fireworks between attorney general eric holder and congressional investigators. we'll be joined by the republican chairman of the committee darrel issa.

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house republicans want heads to roll over a government program that sent u.s. guns to mexico's drug gangs in an effort to trace gun smuggling. some of the guns ended up killing innocent people including a u.s. border patrol agent. today the attorney general eric holder was on capitol hill to testify about that program dubbed fast and furious. operation fast and furious. and an operation called operation wide receiver. >> have you, to your knowledge, disciplined anyone from wide receiver? >> no, i have not. >> have you disciplined anyone from fast and furious? >> no, i have not as yet. >> you just saw there the house oversight and government reform committee chairman darrel issa joins us from capitol hill. mr. chairman, thanks for joining us on a busy day. has he fully answered your

questions now? if the answer is no, what's missing? >> >> well, certainly the attorney general was a cooperating witness today. and i'm very happy he came and he said the hearing was fair. this was the third time or the third different committee that he had participated in questions related to fast and furious. and under his leadership what has or hasn't been done. but challenge we have is that there are a number of key assistants, deputy assistant secretaries or so on, or attorney generals, including lannie brewer who clearly had culpability. he knew that the guns were walk in 2010. he advocated for them continuing walking even february 4th of 2011. and quite frankly, he is still there. he still has his job. and we are concerned that there hasn't been the kind of house cleaning necessary to make sure people with this flawed judgment aren't still there. and i for one have made it clear, my problem with eric

holder is you can't wait a year, wait for the i.g. before you do things if in fact you have people whose decision process was wrong or who failed to do their jobs. we still think there's a lot of culpability in washington in justice. >> well, mr. chairman, we're talking on a thursday evening. on tuesday you sent the justice department a letter in which you said if the attorney general failed to provide you with certain documents requested you would "have no alternative but to move forward with proceedings to hold yu in contempt of congress." is contempt still a possibility or are you satisfied now? >> it's always one of the tools. the torn general today still said he felt his policy, although not supported by the constitution, of not supplying internal deliberation, things that they said except in the rare case of this false letter was appropriate. we disagree with him. we offered to have some additional discussions on it. we have been told there will be some additional documents coming. our committee has been patient.

we've gone through the process of asking plus subpoenaing. we intend to continue working with justice. but we wanted him to know that we really did believe we had an obligation to get to the bottom of all aspects of fast and furious, and if you will i'm not going to use the word coverup but the misstatements that came through after the fact that now have been recanted. we believe we will have some success working with the attorney general. but ultimately we need to make sure that there are steps taken to make sure this can never happen again. and a letter alone saying we don't walk guns isn't sufficient for the american people. it's certainly not sufficient for the family of brian terry who lost their son, their brother, their cousin, in this border patrol agent you mentioned in the lead up. so we have to also get answer there is to make sure it doesn't happen again. >> are you troubled at all about the confrontational tone between some of the republican members with the attorney general? he was leaning on his elbow at one point. he clearly looked a bit

scornful. dan burton called his testimony baloney. he had the confrontation with raul labrador of idaho. take a look at that. >> do i treat the members of this committee with respect in i always hope that i do. and what you have just done is if nothing else disrespectful. and if you don't like me that's one thing. but you should respect the fact that i hold an office that is deserving of respect. >> do you think some of your members crossed the line, mr. chairman? >> well, clearly the attorney general was very sensitive to comments or statements -- literal statements that will go back related to the mark rich pardon under bill clinton. it was not within the if you will the primary set of questioning. mr. labrador tried to use those to say don't you have a problem of not reading things which is what the statements were in the past. there was some merit to it. it was pretty tough questioning. the attorney general didn't like it.

but overall, the attorney general said that the hearing was fair. i believe he believes he was treated overall with respect by all the members. but it was tough. it was a tough hearing. this is a tough subject in which 2000 weapons have gone walking, gone missing. they're now in the hands of drug cartels. and americans and mexicans are less safe. so i think for a tough hearing it was done generally well. one of the things i need to make you aware of is every member of congress, left and right of me on the dais, has an absolute right to use their five minutes in any way they see fit. so that's something that members who come before the congress understand. and sometimes it's tough from the other side of the aisle, too. >> chairman issa, as always appreciate your time tonight, sir. >> thank you, john. >> take care, sir. former house speaker newt gingrich says he's staying in the race for the republican nomination all the way up to the party's convention in august. the former speaker is banking on a string of southern primaries. but they don't start until march. one of those primaries in

virginia right here where i am tonight, but he did not qualify. didn't get enough signatures to get on the ballot. well, tonight we speak with the state's republican governor, bob mcdonald. >> you're a mitt romney guy. >> i am. >> speaker gingrich could have a rough february but he says he's staying in no matter what even if romney runs the board in february. because when you get to march you have a lot of southern states. super tuesday. >> yes. >> as a southern governor, again if you look at the polling date and dig deep into it, speaker gingrich says governor romney can't win in the south. he's weak in the south. >> speaker gingrich isn't even on a ballot in virginia and missouri and some other states that are south. i don't buy that at all. he just won a big southern state, florida. he lost in south carolina. i believe he's going to win in virginia. i'm going to do everything i can to make that happen. i see him doing well. he's just been endorsed by the governor of tennessee, governor halee in south carolina. i think other southern governors will probably endorse him. so i see mitt romney being able to be very competitive. i think he does speak from his heart now more on the values

issues. he's clearly a strong fiscal conservative. >> are you of the view that a long process is healthy, makes you a stronger candidate? you could make the 2008 comparison. obama was a stronger candidate after the long process. or some republicans worry because of the fissures that maybe the tea party, the evangelicals, the republicans need more healing, that the longer it goes potentially the weaker your candidate. >> i'd much rather get it over sooner. sooner we have one candidate that's going to go toe to toe with president obama. gosh, there's been what, 19 debates now? there has been plenty of airing out of the candidates' views on a number of positions. i think everybody knows where everybody stands. the debates now just reinforce some of those positions that they've already stated. so i'd like to see it done as soon as possible. the more strength that romney continues to show in each state, the sooner we get to that. but that's not to say if it is a protracted nomination process or even going to the convention, i still think we'll be in good a shape. it just shortens the playing field. then it only leaves 2 1/2 months

to go to the general elections. >> part of that was virginia, north carolina. it's hard to look at a republican map and see a republican winning unless they take those states back. which is why some people say the guy sitting across from me would be a pretty good number two on the ticket. interested? >> that's completely up to somebody else. i've just said if i got a call, i think any governor would say you get a call from the nominee that said you can help our party, you can help our country, of course you'd consider doing that. but i got the job held by patrick henry and thomas jefferson. it doesn't get much better than that, john. we've got a lot of positive things we're doing. i'm chairman of the governors association. i want to win lots of republican governor's races this year. >> if somebody called you and said i think you can help. convince me, governor, you can help me in your state and beyond. what would you say back? >> i'm not interviewing for the job. i'm not waiting by the phone. but obviously people looking at it from the outside say look

it's a swing state. you've got decent approval ratings. you balanced the budget without raising taxes. you've done a lot of things to bring people together. you got a democrat senate, republican house, you got a unanimous budget. obama can't even get a budget with the democrats in control. you're doing something a little bit different. so i'm pretty pleased with the way we've been able to play team ball here. we turned down the rhetoric, focused on getting results. that's why i like mitt romney. he's a results-oriented conservative. he's i go that can bring people together. i'll leave that up to somebody else. i'll let you experts decide if you want to talk about that. right now i got my legislature in town. i got my hands full. >> governor, appreciate your time. >> okay, john. thank you. appreciate it. still ahead, tonight's truth. the impacts of the donald trump endorsement. plus newt gingrich wants someone to play him in the movies. we're on the historic campus of william and mary in williamsburg, virginia. chchasase e scscenene,e, x cocomimingng s soooonn exextrtra a bubutttter titickcketets,s, s swon

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as scircus acts go, the donald is hard to beat. reality tv star. as aggressive a self promoter as you will ever meet. and now a mitt romney guy. >> mitt is tough. he's smart. he's sharp. he's not going to allow bad

things to continue to happen to this country that we all love. so governor romney, go out and get em. you can do it. >> well, here's tonight's truth. most endorsements don't matter much. and this one, well, it could be more trouble than help. for starter's there's the all politics is local rule. nevada votes next. just last year trump backed democrat harry reid in a race that was the republican's top priority. plus those on the right question his commitment to the conservative cause. not unnoticed to them trump recently switched from republican to unaffiliated just in case he decide to run for president as an independent. and for democrats? well, this was just too easy. >> you're fired. >> i like being able fire people who provide services to me. >> governor romney, in public

anyway, sees only an up side. >> donald trump has shown an extraordinary ability to understand how our economy works, to create jobs for the american people. he's done it here in nevada. he's done it across the country. >> truth is, though, many top romney aide, well, they wince at the likes to talk and now they know every time he says something off the wall, reporters will come running to romney for reaction. >> i got him to do something that nobody else could get him to do. >> and you -- raised this issue of his credibility. if he has it, he should release it. >> absolutely. >> but saying no to trump carried risks, too. he likes attention and without a doubt, would have tried to stir up trouble for romney if they

had spurned the offer. be certain of this truth. the romney team eets's hope tonight is what happened in vegas stays in vegas. let's talk truth now with tori clarke, cornell and alex castellanos. tori, if your candidate is running and trump calls, you say yes? >> you kind of cringe and say, absolutely, come on board. there are going to be as many who like trump that don't. i think it becomes a neutral overall. >> alex? >> well, the best sales man i ever met was sunny bono. second best is donald trump. seizing the stage, he did it today. i think this endorsement does help romney in one unique way. newt gingrich's argument is the

outsiders are waiting for me. it's the washington establishment that doesn't want me. now, there's a break in the ranks. now, the ultimate outsider has gone over the line and i think that actually does hurt gingrich and helps romney. >> i'm going to guess you're a contrary yan on this one. >> here's the problem. in our last cnn poll we did, trump's unfavorable, 64%. 30% favorable. this is not a guy who's very favored. it's not a guy who's beloved. it would have been interesting for romney to have had a sister soldier moment if you would and to have rejected trump's endorsement and shown he's an outsider. that would have shown some interest politics and strength. >> but at least so far, trump is

not the one running. it's romney and i think just to pile on to something alex said, romney may benefit from the sort of mad as hell attitude, and he may benefit from stirring some of that up. >> last i heard, romney was not in the general election. he still has a playoff game to win before he goes to the super bowl. zbr as a democrat, the only person i would have liked to have come out is maybe george bush or dick cheney when you look at those unfavorable numbers. >> all right. i want to shift to foreign policy. we're on this beautiful campus because we spoke to bob gates. he's a republican. he served in the obama administration, but goes back to the reagan administration. before that as a republican. i asked him about some of the criticism that president obama is too willing to reach out. listen to secretary gates. >> things get very heated in campaigns, but i think the reality is that there is an acknowledgment on people's part around the world that this

president is willing to use military force when our needs require, but the idea of reaching out to our adversaries to try and get them to do what we want them to do, i don't think is inherently dangerous. >> torie clarke, a voice of reason in the middle of a campaign. what are we going to do? >> it was so reassuring to hear secretary gates talking. i think one of the things he was trying to say, when you're dealing with these incredible national security issues and he's right. what we have going on with iran is very, very scary. you've got to have several things in the arsenal, reaching out directly, through third parties. at the same time, coming down hard economically, potentially militarily. >> one of his points alex, maybe the republicans should dial it back. either don't use the military option or use the military

option is bad. just let the people in charge deal with it. is that right? >> i think secretary is right. i think republicans are in a way lucky this election is not about foreign policy and international affairs because in many ways, barack obama has continued the policies of the previous administration. one of the things you learn when you become president of the united states is politics is one thing, but your choices are constrained by international realities. the world is a big place with powerful forces and presidents doebt have the power they do to change course as they do here with economic matters say in the united states, so i think republicans overplay their hand. politically, it's going to play that barack obama has made some tough, strong decisions and that will help him. >> cornell, he wouldn't tell me who he's going to vote for. said he won't get involved in the primary, but for republicans who say president obama is soft, he did say that he is the guy that killed osama bin laden.

>> no, that's right and i'm in complete agreement with alex on this one. but here's the problems, the political problem as a practicing sort of political. you know, it's hard for you to run for president without trying to undermine the president's credentials on commander in chief because it's such a big part of the job. i think some will keep trying to do that. however, it's a tough case that this guy's been soft on terrorism. >> folks, stay with us. tonight's moment you missed is going to get you in shape. wanted to visit us... so mae in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful. you can go deep sea fishing for amberjack, grouper and mackerel. our golf courses are open. our bed and breakfast have special rates.

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