i have a programming note for you tomorrow night. singer and dancer jody watley will join me live at 6:00 eastern to talk about her memory was don cornelius. she was an original "soul train" dancer. don't miss it. i'll see you back here tomorrow night. good night. welcome back, everybody. the folks in nevada, the republicans who have voted, will have achieved their results. we're watching what's going on. it's a dramatic night, a very important night in this process. this is the first caucus state in the west. cnn projects mitt romney the

winner. the winner of the nevada caucuses. cnn projects that the former massachusetts governor has a decisive win in the caucuses in nevada. mitt romney going ahead, capitalizing only his dramatic win in florida, now capturing nevada, as well. we do not -- we do not yet know who's going to come in second or third. but there is a dramatic race under way for second and third place. but now you can see romney headquarters in las vegas. the crowd hearing the news that mitt romney has won the nevada caucuses. very, very excited. jim acosta is our man over at mitt romney headquarters in las vegas. jim, the crowd pretty excited there, as they should be. >> that's right, wolf. this is a very pumped up crowd and also a very big crowd. we talked over the last couple of weeks that mitt romney has, at times, had trouble drawing large crowds. that's not the case tonight. it's a very big crowd for the former massachusetts governor. we are expecting to see mitt

romney address this crowd within the hour. it was thought he might come on in about an hour from now, but they might move it up a little sooner. they have some ground to cover over the next couple of days. i will tell you that one interesting thing i think that you can point to, from the romney campaign, a sign of confidence perhaps is they're taking a day off tomorrow, wolf, after they wrap up this day, they're having a down day here in las vegas. they're probably going to watch a football game tomorrow. but then it's off to colorado to get ready for the tuesday caucuses in that state. but you can hear the crowd chanting behind me, "mitt, mitt, mitt." this is a very happy crowd here tonight and for good reason. mitt romney is doing something tonight that he hasn't done in this campaign so far, that's win two in a row. >> the event tonight, where in las vegas are you, at a casino, a hotel? >> we are. we're at the red rock casino on the western everyone of las vegas, out by those red rock

canyons. it's been one of those crowds -- they've been waiting outside of this ballroom to get in, and you can see people of all shapes and sizes coming in here, families. there's also a good sizable crowd of mormon supporters for mitt romney. that's not too surprising. and according to all of our polls, 26%, 27% of these republican voters who are casting their votes for mitt romney in these caucuses are from the lds church and some of them are here tonight. >> a lot of supporters in mitt romney out in las vegas tonight. a dramatic win for mitt romney coming on the heels of a dramatic win in florida. soledad, let's send it over to you. big night for mitt romney. >> yes, it was. gloria, david joining me now. the victory was not a surprise. we knew he was way ahead in the

polls. what's the big take away then? >> but it's still a very significant win, and mitt romney has won three out of five all together. he's got the last two. he's got two big battleground states in a row. and in the fall, republicans want a nominee who can compete very well in a battleground state. there are a couple more coming up. there's a good chance mitt romney will win both of those and put him in a more commanding position. the question is out there, though, is the turnout down significantly tonight? what should we read into that? >> and there's some early indication that it's down about 20%. >> he is locked in tight races with some of these battleground states with obama head to head. but there are some things that are changing. if he can win and wrap this up

quickly, it will allow him to pivot and do more than essentially beat up on obama. i think he has to present himself as a much fuller candidate and connect in ways far beyond what he's done. he has to listen and relate to people who are lower income people. >> so he has to shed santorum and gingrich before he can do that? >> the key point you were making is it has to be wrapped up. >> yes. >> from what we've heard from newt gingrich's daughters and from our own reporting is that newt gingrich is resetting his campaign, and that's probably what we're going to hear about tonight. that we've learned he's been meeting not only with campaign donors today, but also with top staff to figure out what he does going forward. does he become a more positive candidate again? remember, he started out positive, went negative, maybe positive again. and how does he talk about the reagan legacy?

>> and what you can see happening as he emerges as the all but certain nominee, you can see the obama forces and the press in general starting to gang up on him and they're going to try to define him, romney. he has to take that on. >> let's talk about the next contest. jessica yellin is at the white house for us. >> colorado was a strong state for president obama. he held the convention, the democratic convention there four years ago. it was a purple state that he won. but now it's up for grabs and it will be one of those states that both men, whoever the nominee on the republican side is, will fight to hold and it will be one of those decisive states. the obama team thinks if they can pick up nevada, colorado, north carolina, iowa, new

hampshire, those states together could make up for a loss in ohio if they have to put up with that. and still get a victory and win the white house in november. so they're looking at different alternative ways to win in november. >> jessica yellin at the white house. the inevitability thing, there's something that's been proven over the last two, three weeks -- >> it's funny, because i think when the romney campaign started, there was this air of inevitability about him. and it's connected to electability. but what the people in the campaign learned very quickly is that inevitability is not a campaign message. so it's not a message. what he has to play upon is what you just mentioned, i'm the most electable in these swing states.

but he's still going to have to pay some attention to newt gingrich and to rick santorum, who be both be out there criticizing him as just more obama. >> i agree with you, soledad. think about this, a couple weeks ago, there was a very plausible path for newt gingrich to be the nominee. that seems less plausible tonight. there is no plausible path for ron paul to get the nomination. it's increasingly impossible that rick santorum can win the nomination. so yes, i can see mitt romney winning it. but it's hard to see these other guys winning it. >> but the question is, what damage do they do to mitt romney along the way? >> i agree with that totally. very good point. >> wolf? >> a dramatic victory for mitt romney. we're getting to hear from him.

john, let's go behind this dramatic win by mitt romney in nevada tonight. >> and to david's point, part of this is psychology. a big win in florida, now a big win in nevada. republicans who describe themselves as moderate or liberals, governor romney won. who won among those who described themselves as very conservative? governor romney. that's very point, because that's a point where he's been weaker. what about the big issues? such a small percentage said abortion were an issue. if you look right here, who has the right experience? governor romney? strong character, governor romney. who is the true conservative? here's one weak spot, ron paul paul won among a small group.

this 45% of the voters said this was their number one priority. and governor romney winning among those who say defeating president obama was the top priority getting almost three out of four votes. speaker gingrich a distant second. this has been gingrich's strength in south carolina. two states in a row have said governor romney and here in nevada, a huge margin. let's look at one more. if you look here among faith, governor romney is a member of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. he also won, those who say they had no religion voted for ron paul. but others all going for governor romney. this is a sweep across the electorate tonight. some will say it was a state he won in 2008. so what, who cares? but beginning february with a big win starts the process which team romney thinks they could

run the entire month, perhaps losing in maine to ron paul. speaker gingrich says he has a delegate strategy to convince fund-raisers to keep sending me money. that's a tough argument to make. >> romney is getting ready to speak in las vegas. i want to go to the white house with jessica yellin standing by. we know, john knows, everyone in washington knows that the obama re-election campaign for a long time simply assumed that mitt romney would get the republican nomination. they've been fighting him for a long time. >> they have and this has been a good week for them on that front, because mitt romney essentially handed them a series of campaign commercials. they want a contrast campaign, as we've been talking about on the economy. where they can say that mitt romney is out of touch with

regular folks, and by giving that interview with soledad, no matter what the romney campaign wants to say about taking it out of context, it locks in this narrative that he is out of touch. and no matter what they say, they can at least replay those sound bites in a stream with, i like to fire people, and i'm not worth that much money or whatever he said in a campaign ad that will be played over and over you can bet, wolf. >> we're going to be coming back to you, jessica. we're standing by to hear from mitt romney. that's coming up fairly soon. the crowd is excited. we have projected that mitt romney is a winner of the nevada caucuses. you'll hear the questions from reporters, his answers. newt gingrich is about to unveil a new strategy to get the republican presidential nomination. i'll speak with rick santorum,

and also there's a special caucus under way in las vegas. right now there's some surprise developments happening. this is live pictures from this caucus. we're going to go there and you're going to want to see this. our coverage will continue right after this. nyquil: you know i relieve coughs, sneezing, fevers? tylenol: me, too. and nasal congestion. nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion... nyquil: i heard him. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't.

i've discovered gold. [ female announcer ] roc® retinol... the gold standard in anti-aging. clinically proven to give 10 years back to the look of skin. nothing's better than gold. [ female announcer ] roc® retinol correxion deep wrinkle night cream. gives you a 50% annual bonus! so you earn 50% more cash. according to research, everybody likes more cash. well, almost everybody... ♪ would you like 50% more cash? no! but it's more money. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet?

woah! [ giggles ] yoyou u wawalklk i intna coconvnvenentitiononalal ms ststorore,e, i it't's s ry nonot t ababouout t yoy. ththeyey s sayay, , "w"weleu wawantnt a a f firirm m bebn lilie e onon o onene o of ff yoyou u wawantnt a a s sofou cacan n lilie e onon o onene o " wewe p prorovividede t thet inindidivividudualalizizatat yoyourur b bodody y neneede. wewelclcomome e toto t thehe slsleeeep p nunumbmberer . nonot t jujustst o ordrdininaran sasalele, , bubut t ththe e bn chchanangege y youour r lilifef. ththe e slsleeeep p nunumb. ththisis i is s yoyourur b bodo. yoyou u cacan n sesee e a a lile prpresessusurere i in n ththe es anand d inin t thehe h hipi. nonow w yoyou u cacan n fet hahappppenens s asas w we e rarr slsleeeep p nunumbmberer s seted alallolow w ththe e bebed d totr toto y youour r inindidivividud. wowow!w! ththatat f feeeelsls r reae. itit's's h huguggigingng m. itit's's n notot a abobt sosoftft o or r fifirm. itit's's a aboboutut s supuppope yoyou u fifindnd i it t momost. ririghght t nonow,w, q queun mamattttreresssseses s statartr.

anand d sasaveve a an n asag 5050% % onon t thehe f fininalat ofof o ourur i innnnovovatae lilimimiteted d ededititio. yoyou u cacan n adadjujustst i r yoyou u wawantnt s so o yoyoue toto w wororryry a aboboutg ththe e wrwronong g mamat. huhurrrry y ththisis w weeee ulultitimamatete s sleleepep n. ononlyly a at t onone e ofo0 slsleeeep p nunumbmberer s. mitt romney is the winner of the nevada caucuses. cnn has made that projection. we're going to be hearing from mitt romney, who is getting ready to speak to supporters in las vegas. stand by for that. newt gingrich not the winner of the nevada caucuses. he's going to hold a news conference tonight. we'll have that live. he's taking questions from reporters and will outline a new strategy going forward. i'll be interviewing rick santorum. stand by for that, as well.

the votes, let's take a look at the votes right now as we have them with 13% of the vote in. mitt romney decisively ahead of newt gingrich, 47% to 22%. a battle under way for second place. ron paul with 13% of the vote in, coming in third at 19%. rick santorum at 12%. but a very impressive win for mitt romney in nevada right now. there's actually a special caucus that's been taking place in las vegas and it's a fascinating development. our own paul steinhauser is standing by with details. tell us what's happening at this special caucus. >> this special caucus was supposed to start at the top of the hour and no action yet. people are starting to file into the auditorium here. here's the thing, wolf. to take part in this caucus, you have to have get into -- you have to sign this affidavit to get in. and two things you have to sign,

you have to say you didn't take part earlier today in the caucuses in clark county. they started at 9:00 a.m. local time. and you have to say the reason you didn't take part and vote in the presidential preference poll earlier is because of your religious beliefs. this caucus is basically for a lot of orthodox and other very observant jews and others who could not take part during the sabbath. okay, so that's the story. still about 200 people to come, but there was a little bit of fireworks about a half hour ago. a guy called evan donahue, who says he's a delegate for ron paul, a volunteer for the paul campaign in nevada, he was not allowed in because he had already voted and he was not an observant jew or a seventh day adventist. >> this is private property. you are making me very upset, sir. i'm not going anywhere. you're not taking me anywhere.

all of you folks are committing a felony. this says, conducted openly in such a manner that it's open to any registered voter. i want to see what is going on in there. you are not making me leave. i am not leaving. i am not leaving. you will never stop me! i am here to defend democracy and i want to see what's going on. >> donahue says that the practices here by the nevada gop are discriminatory because to get in you have to sign this affidavit. the nevada gop is here, as well. and they say listen, this is a caucus, run by the party, party rules. evan donahue is here. he says he's here to observe and we'll see what happens. wolf? >> so one thing to actually vote in this special caucus, it's another thing to just go in and observe what's going on. that's what this ron paul wanted to do. he didn't vote, he was just

there to observe, is that right? >> that's what he says. but just to get into the room, you have to sign this affidavit. so according to the nevada rules, he shouldn't be in the room because he voted earlier in the day. other people have been turned away because they voted and couldn't sign this affidavit and still about 100 people waiting to get in. >> we'll stay in close touch with you. paul steinhauser, thank you very much. we're waiting to hear from mitt romney. he's getting ready to speak at a hotel in las vegas. newt gingrich is going to be answering questions from reporters and getting ready to hold a news conference. we'll take that live, as well. i'll be speaking with rick santorum, another of the four remaining republican presidential candidates. our special coverage will continue right after this.loo ng! you lost some weight. you noticed! these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain.

[ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios... five whole grains, 110 calories. but do you really? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette. can your makeup remover do that? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover.

check it out, two very different pictures over here. the romney headquarters at a hotel in las vegas. lots of supporters getting ready to hear from the winner of the nevada caucuses. that would be mitt romney. over here, newt gingrich, no crowd at all.

he's not going to give a speech, but do a news conference and answer reporter's questions, getting ready to unveil a new strategy. he -- we'll see both of those i events live and we'll speak with rick santorum later tonight. soledad, big, huge night for mitt romney. not necessarily so good for the other candidates, but there is still a fierce battle under way for second place in nevada. >> absolutely. i think those pictures kind of say it all, the cheering romney supporters. the mormons really delivered for mitt romney as we look through the entrance polls. is there anything that you can take from what we know about mormon response, mormon commitment to mitt romney that you can say and transpose to the general election? >> i think when you get into the

general election, they become your typical republican voter, but they're a funding source for the romney campaign. >> organization? >> organization will be a good thing for the mormons. that was a selling point for romney, although it didn't pan out in 2008. but that was a selling point is the way mormons organize around the country. i don't know that that's true as much as hype. >> david gergen talked about the national polls, you see him going down, down, down. when you ask the question can the candidate connect with -- understand the problems of america, president obama polls at like 55% and mitt romney polling at the end of january around 39%. how big a problem is that? >> first of all, it's no shock his numbers will be going down. as you get deeper into a primary, his negatives go up, because you have the attacks going back and forth.

you have the ads, newt gingrich slinging arrows, rick santorum in his speech tonight condemning of course the health care plan in massachusetts. so people begin to hear more about you. he is going to have an issue when it comes to connecting with voters. i go back to -- when he goes into ohio and pennsylvania and he goes into michigan, what is he going to say to those voters? how is he going to say, oh, before when i say it, look, let the market take over when it comes to foreclosures, but you're under water. what did i say? let gm go into bankruptcy. he has to deal with that. those are real blue collar workers. >> he's already having trouble connecting to the republican base. >> and this is critical for the general election. that's why i keep saying his win tonight doesn't have implications for the general elections because he's shown he

can't win the latino vote. >> me thinks he lost this primary tonight listening to you guys. >> to roland's point, when a voter goes into the voting booth to vote and many studies have been done about this, they vote on their gut. and right now president obama is winning that battle of who is going to be the candidate who is going to fight for you, who understands what you're going through, and who is going to put forth policies that is going to fight for you. and that's not just a talking point. if you look at mitt romney's plan, his economic plan, a tax cut for middle class families, $167. a tax cut for millionaires, $146,000. that's the reality that he's got to contend with. >> it does make it sound like he lost today. not only did he win, but by a lot. >> but his percentage is lower this year than in 2008. >> this word we've been batting around for months now of inevitability.

>> wolf? >> let's talk to rick santorum. he's joining us right now. senator, thank you very much for coming in. you're in colorado. didn't waste any time in nevada. i suspect you realized you weren't going to do that well in nevada and that's why you got out and looking ahead to tuesday? >> absolutely. we're playing mitt's home court in nevada there. he's been campaigning and organizing for five years. as has ron paul. these early states, there's an advantage to the folks who have run before, that have spent time and money in those states. now we're moving out to states where they had to play sort of catchup four years ago and

didn't have the organization, didn't have the strength, didn't run the campaign commercials and didn't have the strong identity. so we think this is an opportunity for us for this race to turn. >> have you called mitt romney and congratulated him yet? >> i just gave a speech here in greeley, colorado and did a couple of interviews and now i'm doing yours. so i haven't had a moment to do so. i'll try to reach him maybe after he gets off the platform. >> but you will call him? i ask the question only because newt gingrich has made a point of not calling to congratulate him after he won in florida. but you will call to congratulate him? >> look, one of the things i feel very strongly about is that politics is a rough enough game that it shouldn't be personal. when someone has an accomplishment, someone beats you fair and square, you pick up the phone and you give him a call and congratulate him for

his good work. we'll see him on the campaign trail. >> i can't tell you how many experts, analysts have said the reason that rick is staying in the race is in case newt gingrich dropped out, he could emerge as the non-mitt romney, the so-called real conservative and develop a real challenge to mitt romney. is that the way you're thinking? >> i think eventually, as i said before, this race will come toward us. we're the candidate that provides the real best perspective of beating barack obama. that's going to become more evident. it's just the opposite of what people thought at the beginning of this race. look at the latest rasmussen poll that has us beating obama by a point and romney losing by three. the more this race goes on, the more people see that we present the best chance to win this and you get a twofer. you get the best chance to win, but you get the candidate who

holds the values that republicans generally speaking in this country hold. >> tell us what's going to happen on tuesday in colorado, minnesota, and missouri? >> you know, again, demographically, colorado is not the best state for us, but i think we can do well here. i think we will do much better than we did in nevada. missouri is an interesting one, because newt is not on the ballot and that presents an opportunity for a one on one matchup in a swing state for republicans. a must-win state for republicans in this election cycle. so we're optimistic we're going to perform very well. >> your little daughter bela, how is she doing? >> she's doing just great. thank you so much for asking. she's almost back as good as new. i want to thank you and everybody again, what a relief and thank you for your prayers and helping us out.

it's certainly given a little more hop in my steps. >> thank you very much. we'll talk to you on the campaign trail. rick santorum joining us from colorado. >> gloria, david, we heard from rick santorum just now. ron paul we heard from a little earlier. we'll hear from newt gingrich soon. mitt romney, though, will also be coming out to give his acceptance speech. what do you expect to hear from him? >> i expect him to turn to barack obama. i think that he's not going to be talking about newt gingrich. he's going to be talking about what a great win this was. i think he's just going to pivot and talk about barack obama, how he can take it to barack obama, how he will be better at fixing the economy and all the things we've already heard we'll hear repeated again. >> i think gloria is basically right. that's what he did after his new hampshire and florida wins. i would suggest that's not what

he should do tonight. yes, he should take it to barack obama. but it's more important that he begin making people understand what he would do, because he's got this big economic plan. i haven't met a single person that can tell you three things and say here's what mitt romney would do if he's president. he has a 59-point plan and you don't remember that. i can tell you when reagan was running, he had five things he was going to do, and everybody knew what they were. he's got to work on connecting emotionally but also they've got a great line about being a takeover person, somebody that can turn things around. his son did that tonight and his wife ann has been doing that. but he has to say i can turn things around by doing the following. >> does an improving economy make that trickier? >> it does. republicans cannot be seen to be rooting against an economic recovery.

of course not. what mitt romney has said, and probably continues to say, is that barack obama hasn't made the recovery occur quickly enough and that it may not be sustained. and if you do these 59 things, that maybe you will sustain. we just heard from rick santorum. they're refining their message. rick santorum is saying if gingrich goes, i'm the anti-romney candidate and they believe that there's a base of support out there that's anti-romney. romney is, i can take on obama. newt gingrich is, i'm the conservative in this race. i can beat barack obama. >> rick santorum, we were talking about this, rick santorum, i don't think there's anybody in a race who has grown more than he has. >> he has. >> he's a much, much more appealing candidate today than when he started and the contradiction tonight, he's grown as a candidate and yet his chances of winning have gone down.

and it's an interesting question. i didn't know about this poll, he has moved ahead of obama by one point. >> what's interesting about rick santorum is he has attacked both gingrich and romney on health care, but he hasn't been personally negative or nasty. >> i agree with that. >> which he points out in every speech that he gives. >> and he's done very well in these debates because he's just pointed out the contrast. one other thing to say about newt gingrich is, he did not have a debate before nevada. debates have often given him a lot of oxygen. >> except for florida. >> except for florida. >> the state to watch now in terms of santorum is ohio. for both gingrich and santorum, if they can pull out a victory there, that would be huge. >> let's talk about that with our contribute fors. what happens in ohio if rick santorum wins? >> santorum has been presenting a blue collar message, and

that's the exact message that he has to present because, again, white blue collar workers have been -- they have not been breaking president barack obama's way. it was a difficult fight for him back in 2008. so santorum is playing that kind of message. >> we've got wolf, going to go back to wolf, because mitt romney is going to the microphone. >> thank you very much. ann romney, the wife of mitt romney, is going to introduce her husband. >> thank you, nevada. [ applause ] once again, i'm here to make sure that you listen to me this time and obey when i tell you, don't clap until i'm finished. nobody listened to me last time. but i do have to give special thanks to all the people that made this happen. and by the way, the most people i need to thank are all the volunteers. so a big thank you to all of you that volunteered. our nevada coach here, lieutenant governor and

congressman joe hick. and i want to thank our nevada finance chair mark hutchinson. and the many nevada elected officials throughout the state who have been so crucial to our success here. we are so appreciative. and of course, nevada state director sarah nelson, ryan irwin, nevada state finance director cory christianson. [ applause ] you know, i want to give a special shout-out to dee mcquinn. you're first lady from nevada from a you years ago and she and i served as first ladies together and she's become a good friend of mine. and we so miss her sweet husband, kenny. so a shout out to her. thank you all.

[ applause ] you know, as i have just been observing things, as i tend to do, i've noticed that mitt has started to win in states that are so important for the general election. he won in new hampshire. that is going to be a very important state in the general election. he did the same thing in florida. that's going to be a very important state for us to win in the general. we appreciate that. but also this state is going to be an important state in the general, and you guys -- [ applause ] now that we have all of you excited and energized and volunteering, we're going to need you again next november. so we appreciate that. maybe some of you are all waking up to figure out that our country is in trouble. we're heading in the wrong direction, and we're looking for a guy that can fix it and turn

this economy around and create jobs. so we're excited to introduce the next president of the united states, mitt romney. [ applause ] ♪ >> thank you. thanks, you guys. wow, what a great showing. thank you, nevada. you know, this is not the first time you gave me your vote of confidence, and this time i'm going to take it to the white

house. four years ago, candidate obama came to nevada, promising to help. but after he was elected, his help was telling people to skip coming here for conventions and meetings. today, nevada unemployment is over 12%. home values have plummeted. and nevada's foreclosure rate is the highest in the nation. i've walked in nevada neighborhoods where people wonder why barack obama failed them. well, mr. president, nevada has had enough of your kind of help. three years ago, a newly elected president obama told america that if congress approved his

plan to borrow nearly a trillion dollars, he would hold up employment below 8%. it hasn't been below 8% since. this week he's been trying to take a bow for 8.3% unemployment. not so fast, mr. president. this is the 36th straight month with unemployment above the red line our own administration drew. if you take into account all the people struggling for work or have just stopped looking, the real unemployment rate is over 15%. mr. president, america has also had enough of your kind of help. >> mitt, mitt, mitt, mitt! mitt, mitt, mitt, mitt! >> let me ask you -- let me ask you here a question, did obama

care encourage businesses to hire more businesses? no! >> did dodd frank get banks to renegotiate and make more loans? >> no! >> did the national labor relations board attack on boeing in south carolina encourage employers to expand here? >> no! >> did efforts to block the domestic production of energy and the keystone pipeline speed job creation? >> no! >> and did those billions of dollars that the president sent to his green energy buddies give anyone here a job? >> no! >> mr. president, we welcome any good news on the jobs front. but it is thanks to the innovation of the american people in the private sector and not to you, mr. president. >> romney! romney! romney!

>> this president's misguided policies made these tough times last longer. earlier in the week, he spoke with a woman from texas during an online event. she told him that her husband has been out of work for three years. president obama said that he found that "interesting." really? i've got a better word. tragic. america needs a president who can fix the economy because he understands the economy, and i do, and i will. this president began his presidency by apologizing for america. he should now be apologizing to america. we're not going to settle for a

president who telling us it could be worse. what defines us as americans is our conviction that things must be better. that conviction guides this campaign. it's rallied millions of americans to our cause, including tens of thousands in nevada, who gave many their support here today and i thank them. [ applause ] you know that our future is brighter and better than these troubled times. it's better than 15% real unemployment. it's better than $15 trillion in debt. it's better than the misguided policies and broken promises of the last three years. and the failed leadership of one man. our campaign is about more than just replacing the president, however. this is really a campaign about saving the soul of america. president obama says he wants to fundamentally transform america.

we want to restore to america the founding principles that made this country great. [ applause ] our vision for the future could not be more different than his. president obama will grow government and amass more trillion dollar deficits. i will not slow the growth of government, i will cut it. i will not just freeze -- i will not just freeze government share of the total economy, i will reduce it. and without raising taxes, i will finally balance the american budget. president obama's brand of capitalism sends your money to his friend's companies. my vision for free enterprise is to return entrepreneurship to

the genius of consumer markets and the creativity of the american people. now, like his colleagues, he demonizes and denigrates every sector of our economy. i will make america the most attractive place in the world for innovators and job creators and entrepreneurs and get america working again! and by the way, unlike the other people running for president, i know just how to do that. if i'm elected president, my priority will be worrying about your job, not saving my own. now, as you know, one of the most important and personal matters of our lives is our health care.

president obama could turn the decision making over to government bureaucrats. he forced through obama care. i will repeal obama care. the president just this week, president obama orders religious organizations to violate their conscious. i will defend religious liberty and overturn any regulation that tramples on our first freedom, our right to worship as we choose. >> mitt, mitt, mitt, mitt! mitt, mitt, mitt, mitt! >> president obama is shrinking our military and hollowing out our national defense. i will insist on a military so powerful that no one in the world would ever think of challenging us.

president obama seems to believe that america's role as leader in the world is a thing of the past. i believe the 21st century will be and must be an american century. >> romney, romney, romney! romney, romney, romney! >> our mission -- our mission is to increase the freedom and opportunity of the american people and our blueprint is the constitution of the united states. we're going to build an america where hope is a new job with a paycheck, not a faded word on an old bumper sticker. and i will not attempt to bribe the voters with promises of new programs and new subsidies ander increasing checks from government. if this election is a bidding war of who can promise the most

benefits, then i'm not your president. you have that president today. but if you want to make this about restoring american greatness, then i hope you'll join with us. if you believe the disappointments of the last few years are a detour and not our destiny, then i'm asking for your vote. i'm asking each of you to remember how special it is to be an american. i want you to remember why it was that you or your ancestors who sacrificed to come to america and to overcome the challenges of life in a new country, why they came here. it was not for free ticket, it was for freedom. [ applause ] it was not for the pursuit of government benefits, it was for the pursuit of happiness.

we still believe in that america. we still believe in the america that is a land of opportunity and a beacon of freedom. we believe in the america that challenges each of us to be bigger and better than ourselves. this election, we must fight for the america we love. we believe in america. thank you so much and god bless you. thank you! thank you! [ applause ] you're the best! thank you! [ cheers and applause ] >> a very happy mitt romney with his family, kids, grand kids, celebrating a big win in nevada. the nevada caulks, right now mitt romney a win.

an impressive win coming on the heels of an impressive win in florida. this tuesday will be in colorado and missouri and minnesota. we're waiting to hear from newt gingrich. he's going to be having a news conference. not a traditional event. but the former speaker of the house, not always a traditional presidential candidate. he's getting ready to outline, we believe, a new strategy going forward as a result of the setbacks he suffered in florida, also in nevada right now. so we're expecting to hear from newt gingrich very soon. he'll open up with a statement and take reporter's questions. we'll watch to see what newt gingrich has to say as we get ready for the next three big contests on tuesday that are coming up. but right now you heard mitt romney. didn't speak very much about newt gingrich or rick santorum or ron paul. didn't even mention their names. didn't even refer to them in any great measure. he's apparently looking ahead to a presidential contest against the president of the united states. almost all of his words were

directly addressed to try to contrast where he stands on so many of these issues as opposed to the president of the united states. you see he's shaking hands right now. one thing you'll see differently than you have in the past, you see u.s. secret service personnel, they are with mitt romney over the past few days. he has started getting secret service protection, as well. soledad, let me throw it over to you? >> wolf, let's talk to our conservative contributors this evening. what did you think of the speech? to me it sounded very confident, low on specifics. >> i thought it was good. i'll say this, he's getting better at giving speeches and getting better at debates. when he does things over and over, he gets better. do you know where the hole is? it's on interviews. he's been reluctant to give interviews. maybe he should do more interviews. the more he does things, the better he gets. debates, speeches, do more

interviews. >> i thought it was the most energetic speech he's given. these typically aren't heavy on specifics. it was very energized. he realizes where he is, about to be the nominee, unless we get an upset in february. >> as wolf mentioned, he said he didn't mention the other guys in the race and i think that's how he didn't mention them. there's some other people in the race and i'm better than them, too. so those other people in the race, though, could potentially drag him down a bit. he's been trying to off load them to focus on moving forward and we're going to hear from newt gingrich. he said he's got a new strategy and his strategy is not, i'm getting out of the raise. >> he's got a delegate number he has to reach. we talk about he won these states. he's winning delegates. unless he gets a majority, he's got to clear that threshold. i suspect he will do it, because money will dry up for the other guys. but gingrich has shaken up his campaign staff. he's rearranging his priorities. he's focussed on souper tuesday. between he and season fighting over evangelicals, that probably keeps mitt in first. >> anything can happen in a campaign. grant it, romney has been corporate, very disciplined in his approach. but anything can literally happen in a campaign. we saw it in 2008 when the issue of jeremiah wright came up. that could have easily derailed the campaign of senator barack obama. he dealt with it and got out of

it. but you never know what can happen based upon one interview, one event. it could change the game. that's why you don't get out. way too early from a delegate standpoint. >> i agree. the poor comments i don't think have trickled down and have the effect that they're going to have and gingrich and ron paul can take advantage of that. and to your point, will, he didn't win all the demographics. he lost the demographic of those who make $30,000 or less. so blue colors, he cannot win without their vote, do not see that this is a guy that will fight for them. >> nothing succeeds like success, in politics and in life. and hi won tonight and he won big and he has momentum. the other candidates have to prove to their funders that they should continue to give them money. this is where the super pac story comes in. there's little incentive for a candidate to get out of the race if he's still getting millions from a super pac. so if sheldon says to newt gingrich, i'm going to give you $2 million to get up to super tuesday -- >> david gergen is noding his head. >> what's the incentive for newt gingrich to get out? if aidleson says no, he doesn't have the money. >> we've been talking about the need for mitt romney to warm up. he has one big asset in that regard, ann romney. >> do you think she's going to jump in and run?

>> they've used her now as the warmup act, in effect, the last couple of times, and she's terrific at it. she's warm, she's humane, there's a quality about her that i think reflects well on him, and i think they've been very smart, and they're putting him on these events like these tonight. it's a much more effective -- he's had a big night. he still needs to work on his speeches but he's getting better. >> it's a contrast to newt white blue collar workers have been -- they have not been prove to their funders that they should continue to give them money. this is where the super pac story comes in. there's little incentive for a candidate to get out of the race if he's still getting millions from a super pac. so if sheldon says to newt gingrich, i'm going to give you $2 million to get up to super tuesday -- >> david gergen is noding his head. >> what's the incentive for newt gingrich to get out? if aidleson says no, he doesn't have the money.

>> we've been talking about the need for mitt romney to warm up. he has one big asset in that regard, ann romney. >> do you think she's going to jump in and run? >> they've used her now as the warmup act, in effect, the last couple of times, and she's terrific at it. she's warm, she's humane, there's a quality about her that i think reflects well on him, and i think they've been very smart, and they're putting him on these events like these tonight. it's a much more effective -- he's had a big night. he still needs to work on his speeches but he's getting better. >> it's a contrast to newt gingrich, as well, who rarely do you see his wife introduce him. >> okay. we'll talk about newt gingrich, because he's coming out. he says he's got the surprising new announcement, a new strategy about delegates that he's going to share with everybody.

a new strategy about delegates on the other side of this commercial break. [ dad ] i'm usually checking up on my kids, but last year my daughter was checking up on me. i wasn't eating well. she's a dietitian, and she suggested i try boost complete nutritional drink to help get the nutrition i was missing. now i drink it every day and i love the great taste. [ female announcer ] boost has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to help keep bones strong and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. and our great taste is guaranteed or your money back. learn more at boost.com. [ dad ] i choose great taste. i choose boost. but not your wrinkles? neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. its retinol formula visibly reduces wrinkles in just one week. why wait if you don't have to.

neutrogena®. in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check. ask me.et more whole grain than any other ingredient... [ male announcer ] even if you think you can live with your old mattress... ask me how i've never slept better. [ male announcer ] ...why not talk to one of the 6 million people who've switched to the most highly recommended bed in america? it's not a sealy, a simmons, or a serta. ask me about my tempur-pedic. ask me how i can finally sleep all night. ask me how great my back feels every morning. [ male announcer ] did you know there's a tempur-pedic for everybody? tempur-pedic beds now come in soft, firm, and everything in between. ask me how i don't wake up anymore when he comes to bed. [ male announcer ] these are real tempur-pedic owners. ask someone you know. check out twitter or your friends on facebook. you'll hear it all, unedited. ask me how i wish i'd done this sooner. ask me how it's the best investment i've ever made.

[ male announcer ] tempur-pedic brand owners are more satisfied than owners of any traditional mattress brand. ♪ to learn more or find an authorized retailer near you, visit tempurpedic.com. tempur-pedic. the most highly recommended bed in america.