>> reporter: somebody should have called a foul. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> that's an amazing shot. thanks, jean knee. thanks very much. to our viewers thanks very much for joining us. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." the news continues next on cnn. good evening. i'm john king. tonight afghanistan's president says relations are damaged, that it's time, he says, for u.s. troops to leave afghan villages. we'll ask the senate's top man on military matters whether that undermines the mission. also vice-president biden names names. directly attacking republican candidates as team obama shifts to a much more aggressive re-election strategy. and president obama's gas price politics amnesia as he mock republicans for their gas pump photo ops. we'll take you back to a time when he looked more kindly on when he looked more kindly on such stunts. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

an important story just into cnn. the still unidentified u.s. soldier blamed for this week's deadly massacre in afghanistan now has a high powered lawyer. the prominent seattle attorney john henry brown who once representeded serial killer ted bundy. he spoke to tracy wyann. >> it's a tragedy all the way around. no question about that. i think it's of interest that we have a soldier who has an exemplariry record, decorated soldier, who was injured in iraq to his brain and to his body, and then despite that was sent back. i think that's an issue. i think it's a concern. i think the message for the public in general is that he's one of our boys. we need to treat him fairly. >> casey wian from pierce county, washington. casey, listening to the attorney there he didn't say my client didn't do it. he seemed to say his defense would be this soldier never,

because of his injuries in iraq in 2010, should have been sent back to the battlefield. >> reporter: well, he did not say that definitively but he certainly indicated that was one avenue that they would be going to be -- they were going to be exploring. of course there have been many concerns, many reports in recent days about the base out here near tacoma, joint base, luis, mcchord, and allegations that perhaps troops were sent back into the battlefield earlier than they should be. perhaps concerns about ptsd were not being fully addressed. so clearly this attorney is planning to address those issues and see if that is one avenue for a possible defense. other information that we were able to gather from him, he spoke with the soldier this morning. very early this morning. he said the soldier who he would not identify by name for us was very quiet and asked his attorney to send his love to his family, his wife and children. that brought up another interesting issue, john. because there has been speculation and there have been reports that there were marital

issues and that that was maybe one possibility of why this soldier may have done what he did. and john henry browne, his attorney, said that is absolute hogwash in his words. there were no marital issues here and that he continues have a very close relationship with his family. also says it's one of the reasons that the soldier has not been named and a concern he shares is for the safety of the family. they have been moved onto the base here near tacoma for their own protection, john. >> very important reporting from casey wian. thanks so much. we'll stay in touch as this story develops. the afghan president hamid karzai calls for a drastic pullback of u.s. troops. still angry about sunday's massacre, 16 civilians killed in that shooting spree, karzai told the defense secretary leon panetta u.s. forces should leave their outposts in afghan villages and return to their main bases. he wants afghan forces to take over the country's security in 2013, a year earlier than planned right now. after the meeting panetta

emphasized there's no change in u.s. strategy. >> i think everyone also agreed that we need to stick to the strategy that we've laid out for the future. the campaign as i've pointed out before i think has made significant progress. all of the leaders agree. >> another important related development to this story tonight, new worries tonight, anger over the massacre in afghanistan could spark a terror attack here in the united states. a new security bulletin says the fbi and department of homeland security are concerned that this event could contribute to the radicalization or mobilization or homegrown violent extremists in the homeland, particularly against u.s.-based military targets. important developments in politics today as well. both senator rick santorum and the former massachusetts governor mitt romney are focusing on puerto rico. upcoming primary this week in puerto rico. today the romney campaign picked

a fight with senator santorum by coming out against the former senator's contention that puerto ricos will have to make english their official language in orlando to be standed statehood. senator santorum defended that position. >> english has to be learned as a language. this has to be a country where english is widely spoken and use zbld should it be a requirement for puerto rico to become a state? >> obviously spanish is going to be spoken here on the island. but this needs to be a bilingual country. >> in a national political correspondent jim acosta has more from san juan. >> reporter: john, rick santorum created this controversy all on his own when he told a puerto rico newspaper that he this it should be a requirement for puerto rico to adopt english as a main language as a condition for statehood. this is a big issue on the island because puerto ricos may be going to the polls this fall to decide whether or not they would like to become a u.s. states. the reaction of santorum's comments were almost instant. one of his delegates announced

he was withdrawing his support for the form pennsylvania senator in light of these comments. when we had a chance to camp up with rick santorum earlier today he did not back down from these comments, although he did say he would like to see english and spanish be the main languages for this island. the romney campaign is already drawing a distinction on this. mitt romney released a statement saying he would not insist on puerto rico adopting english as a condition for statehood. he's going to be here on the island over the next couple of days campaigning for the 20 delegates that are up for grabs on sunday. just goes to show you, once again, that not only does every state matter in this race for the gop nomination, but every territory does as well. john? >> jim acosta in san juan. more politics back here on the mainland. a sharper higher profile campaign mode for both president obama and vice-president joe biden. tonight the obama re-election campaign premieres a new 17-minute video pointing to what his people, the obama team, as the biggest accomplishments of the president's first term. today in ohio vice-president

biden went after the top republican contenders by name. >> economic theories of gingrich, santorum and romney. they are bankrupt. if you give any one of these guys the keys to the white house, they will bankrupt the middle class again. >> let's check in with our chief white house correspondent jessica yellin. jess, why name names now? >> reporter: i've talked to multiple senior democratic sources on this one, john. the answer's pretty simple. they thought that there would be a republican nominee by now. the folks i've talked to say that in addition to that they planned this a few weeks ago. not only did they think there would be a nominee but they ultimately decide the they can't wait until may or june to start responding to republican attacks. so they decided to start quote drawing contrasts. >> so jess, ohio today for the vice-president. what's next? then i guess the more important question may be when we look at an electoral map, where next? how are they decided where to go as they escalate the attacks? >> reporter: so vice president biden i'm told by a senior

democratic official will go to florida next week to a senior center where he'll focus on medicare and attack the so-called ryan budget, that's what they term the house republican budget. that will be the message he hits there. the vice-president will also focus on these are key states for the president in his campaign effort. new hampshire, iowa and parts of virginia possibly as well. he's also going to have a little bit of focus on pennsylvania. but the campaign is feeling a little bit more cheery that their chances are looking better there. so ohio and florida and then those other states are the vice-president's focus, john. finally as of you note campaign feels that vice-president biden is among their best ambassadors to these states because he has the best rapport with basically blue-collar voters as well as jewish and catholic voters, john. >> you're going to be speaking the words ohio and florida quite a bit in the eight months amed. chief white house correspondent jessica yellin. ahead the return of the

gender gap. some issues appear to be hurting republicans in their appeal to women voters. the chairman of the armed services weighs in on letting afghan forces take responsibility for their country's security. >> we have given them the training. they are much larger in terms of numbers. they are better equipped. they are respected by the afghan people. and they should take responsibility for their own country. [ male announcer ] this is lawn ranger -- eden prairie, minnesota. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ have 46 grams of whole grains... mmmm. ...and a touch of sweetness. you'll be delighted to discover how good they taste.

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in the wake of the massacre in afghanistan, the obama administration is insisting despite some damages in relationships and despite some outcry back home to bring the troops back home it will stick to its strategy to bring the troops home and end the combat role in 2014. a new poll shows that could be a tough sell. 50% of the american people want the u.s. troops out quicker than the president's timetable. will public pressure change the policy? a bit earlier i spoke to the chairman of the senate armed services committee. president karzai says he wants the u.s. troops to go back to the bigger bases. should they do that? >> what i understand president karzai as saying is that not that all combat troops woulden

out by 2013, but that they'd only be out of certain areas by the end of 2013. so i don't think this is necessarily a major difference. and we'll decide that the president will decide what the pace of the reductions are of our forces after summer of this year when we're down to about 70,000. whether we're going to continue to reduce troops from the end of this summer to 2014 or whether there's going to be a delay in any further reductions. that's to meet real big issue which is facing the president. not necessarily what president karzai said today. >> but to what president karzai said today, the point of a counterinsurgency strategy is to try to rebuild the communities where the taliban once held them, try to rebuild trust first with thes troops and the afghan forces who would presumably take over. if you can't be out in the most troubled communities what's the point of the mission? >> the mission should be, as far as i'm concerned, number one mission is not that we protect

the afghan people but that we help train, equip and strengthen the afghan forces so that they can protect their own people. and that is consistent with what president karzai said in my judgment. >> the point of this mission for ten years now has been to get afghanistan to a point that when the troops ultimately leave, al qaeda does not come back, the taliban dud not come back and allow terrorist camps or allow heinous reign in some of these communities. bin laden is dead, the president says al qaeda is dead. its top deputies are dead. do we need to be there at those levels, sir, especially when it's clear a lot of the locals don't want us there to accomplish that mission? >> i don't think we should be there at those levels if you're refer together 108,000 levels. that's why i very strongly supported the reduction of troops which we are doing right now. that reduction is under way. 30,000 troops will be removed by the end of this summer, the so-called surge forces.

then the key issue which the president will have to resolve is whether after the 30,000 surge force is removed by the end of the summer whether we will continue to reduce our troops through 2014 when we will be down to no combat troops being there. i hope the president sticks with what he said some months ago that the reductions will continue at a steady pace after this summer and that he will not feel that he should stop the reductions as some of our key uniformed military would have him do at the end of this summer. >> well, you get to a point of contention in the debate. you seem in sync with the president although you have that question for what happens down the road a little bit. i want you to listen to your friend and colleague senator john mccain on this program the other night. >> he doesn't have much credibility anymore in the region. because initially for a surge they asked for 40,000. he agreed to only 30,000. they needed the end of another fighting season in order to

finish the job in eastern afghanistan. the president announced an early withdrawal. >> so the senator is saying, senator mccain is saying give the commanders what they want. you're saying the commanders are out of time. don't give them any more troops? >> some of the military leadership here want to stop reductions at the end of this summer. that's what some of our military leaders want. the president has said we're not going to stop reductions at the end of this surge. we're going to continue at a steady pace. i hope the president sticks to that position and that we continue to reduce our troops at a steady pace because that is the way to force the afghan army and the afghan security forces to take responsibility for their own security. we have given them the training. they are much larger in terms of numbers. they are better equipped. they are respected by the afghan people. and they should take responsibility for their own country. >> mr. chairman, appreciate your time tonight. >> sure. again today, president obama mocked his republican rivals for

promising and photo ops in the process lower gas prices. apparently for getting a bit of his own political history. more on that in a little bit. next the former governor of illinois, rob blagojevich, he makes the most of his last chance to share the spotlight. and she agrees. with fancy feast gravy lovers, your cat can enjoy the delicious, satisfying taste of gourmet gravy every day. fancy feast. the best ingredient is love. i want to fix up old houses.

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welcome back. here's kate bolduan with the latest news you need to know right now. >> welcome back. i feel like you're a holl gram. you're here for about two days.

welcome back. good evening, everyone. headlines to catch you up on. we begin with a bit of embarrassment for republican senator richard luger's re-election campaign. today indiana's election board ruled luger isn't eligible to vote in his home precinct because he lives in virginia and sold his indianapolis home in 1977. the senator's campaign says it's just dirty politics, though, since the election board's democrats voted against him. much more on that, i'm sure. and federal health officials unveiled a set of new and as you can see very graphic anti--smoking commercials. they feature people who have had amputations, paralysis and disfiguring surgeries because they smoked. officials say the $154 million campaign will save $170 million over three years. memphis, tennessee is finally about to join at least 900 other u.s. cities and towns in naming a street in honor of martin luther king. it will happen on april 4th, the 44th anniversary of king's assassination in memphis.

the new dr. mlk jr. avenue will be a mile-long stretch of what is now lynden avenue. several blocks from the motel where king was shot and killed. not everyone's first day in prison is a media event or a media circus. but the guy in the dark coat? do you see him? dark coat and shirt carrying the backpack is former illinois governor rob blagojevich. cameras covered his every move as he reported to a federal penitentiary outside denver this afternoon. he'll be serving 14 years for corruption. and i bet he enjoyed every moment of this. >> here's the question. you know, he likes the attention. he's very boisterous. he's shall we say self-confident and self-assured. will he be quiet going along getting along well in prison or will we be talking about incidents and troubles? >> that's a good question. he's probably writing a book in prison. wouldn't that be a good thing to get? >> i think maybe he should stick to the writing and less talking and things might go all right there. >> we'll definitely cover it. don't we always?

>> well, sometimes we shouldn't but yes, we will. >> blago? always. >> kate, thanks. the president of syria and his wife were shopping online while their country descended into chaos. thousands of alleged e-mails have been uncovered. we'll have that story next. @ you were there the day

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in this half hour new evidence the gender gap is back.

republicans are making it wider democrats say by pushing issues like birth control. president obama has a case of political amnesia when it comes to complaining about photo ops and high gas prices. and while the country burns and thousands die, the wife of syria's leader apparently e-mails her friends about among other things harry potter. we'll read some of these e-mails in just a bit. this is the latest round in the battle of what the democrats call the republican war on women. it's the violence against women act now up for reauthorization in the congress. last time it passed with plenty of support from both democrats and republicans. but here's why there's trouble this time around. >> the bill includes lesbian and gay men. the bill includes undocumented immigrants who are victims of domestic abuse. the bill gives native american tribes authority to prosecute

crimes. in my view, these are improvements. domestic violence is domestic violence. >> our senior congressional correspondent dana bash is here. how big of a fight are we looking at? is this fight about expanding the bill or would this be a vehicle for another argument? >> reporter: both. yes. look, you just heard diane feinstein lay out pretty well what democrats are trying to do. expand the violence against women act to include gays and lesbians and illegal immigrant. what republicans say the democrats are trying to do with their version is to expand the scope beyond what the violence against women act was meant to go. fork chuck grassley says what the democrat's version would do would give visas to immigrants without really having things in there to ferret out fraud. so that's what the republicans say. the answer to your important question about politics is absolutely yes. because as you mentioned, democrats feel that they really were doing well politically by saying that republicans are waging a war on women. that is the main reason why you saw all of these democratic

women go to the senate floor today, because i mean, what could be worse, more offensive potentially to women out there than saying the republicans are against the violence against women act? that is why on the republican side john kyle the number two republican told our ted barrett it is quote reprehensible what democrats are doing. republicans are for it but want a different version. >> that's jon kyl, male republican. lisa murkowsky, let's hitsen here. >> our statistics as they relate to domestic violence and sexual assault are horrific. they're as ugly as they come. overall, nearly 6 in 10 alaskan women have been victims of sexual assault or domestic violence. >> now, is she trying to send a message to her own party there? is she in a tough spot herself? >> reporter: again all the above. she is -- i think at the end of the day it is going to be very difficult for republicans to be in a position where it looks

like they're against violence against women, but it also is going to be difficult for democrats to keep beating this druchlt there's a sub plot going on with lisa murkowsky. the last issue dealing with women was contraception. she voted with her fellow republicans against allowing free contraception for women. and then she later said she regretted that. in fact she told me in an interview on something else yesterday that she believes that her party is in the wrong place when it comes to women. so she was aligning herself there with women because she actually heard about it from women back home. >> the conversation on the senate floor today is going to be a conversation in our politics for the next eight month for the election. let's bring in gloria borger and see how contraception and other issues are playing into the 2012 election. if you look at the free birth control issue women favor getting free access to birth control. but if you look at the government mandating birth control, 40-40 split among women. depending on what the actual question front and center is a

different debate? >> democrats think going to get a free ride on this issue. i think it's much more complicated than that. it really does depend on how you ask the question. if it's a health issue, a women's health issue and birth control is seen as a women's health issue, then the democrats have the advantage. but if it's seen as a religious liberty issue or just a liberty issue, huh-uh. then the republicans have the advantage. the problems the republicans have is that they turned a good issue into a bad issue because they turned it from religious liberty into an issue of contraception. and that's where you lose women. >> if you look at the race for the white house right now, we're going to watch this play out across the country. you show the numbers up here. president obama has a considerable lead if you do the gender gap question. over both mitt romney and senator rick santorum among women. at the moment the republicans there need to worry. >> oh, my gosh, yeah. they really need to worry. that's why you see president obama out there talking about women's health issues, meeting

with nurses. i mean, this has become a huge issue for them. there's usually a gender gap in favor of the democrats. what we see now is a gender gulch. in order to win the election women vote, women are independent voters. the republicans really need to figure out a way to narrow this to get women on board. they managed to do it in the 2010 mid-term elections. they did very well with women. they have to do it on the economy, i think, and healthcare. if they can convince women that healthcare reform does not work for their family, that will be very useful to them. so far they haven't done that. >> is there a concern gloria said the republicans had this one on the issue of religious liberty then overplayed their hand and ended up in a conversation about contraceptives. do democrats worry when they see this they're almost too happy to get into these issues and could overplay their hand? >> reporter: yes for example the violence against women act doesn't necessarily have to be reauthorizesed until the end of the fiscal year. but politically the time is right for them to strike.

that's why they did it. a lot of democrats privately say they're a little worried they're going to do too much. >> i've never heard of a politician overplaying his hand. >> never happens. never. especially not in an election year. dana, gloria thanks for coming in. shifting to important national news, on march 15th, 2011 the people of the syria took to the streets in mostly peaceful protest pushing for the right to speak in political reforms. it's a country deep in crisis possibly on the brink of a civil war a year later. watch as it appears here an army tank targeted for attack. an activist inside syria says the death toll is fast approaching 10,000. the united nations put that number at closer to 8,000. and as the people of syria has been fighting and dying for their freedom, their president, bashar al assad, apparently has been ordering pop music off itunes. his play list includes "sexy and i know it" by lmfao.

"look at me now" by chris brown. our senior international correspondent john boss has been leaving through e-mails. john, what else are you finding? >> >> we've had a lot of people going through the e-mails, from dubai, beirut, some in arabic, some in english. no breathtaking revelation in all of this. what we do see is that a president, his wife and their aides who appear to be oblivious to the turmoil around them. we also get to see the influence that iran has on the regime. last january before a major speech, an aide says that she was in touch with iran's embassy and they advised president assad to use strong and powerful language. in that speech, assad said he would crush the opposition with an iron fist. there's another collection of e-mails coming from the damascus bureau chief for iran's press tv. this was sent when arab league observers were on the ground. he advises the president "we need to take control of public

squares. at the same time, groups affiliated with us will fill the squares." and then there is the first lady. back in november, just as the violence in homs was really starting to tick up, asam al assad was e-mails a friend. she said "are you coming around the 2nd or above before? if so can you bring the harry potter deathly hall lows part 2." it seems the lady spent a lot of time online shopping for expensive jewelry, art and furniture. she was e-mails boutiques in london and paris. she even sent away for a special fondue set at harrod's in london. one thing we get from the e-mails, repeatedly we see assad's inner circle, his aides, just fawning all over him. there's a typical message that reads like this. "i never met an amazing person like you. i get so proud when people meet you and go tell the world how amazing you are. miss you." now, there's no 800-pound gorilla in all this.

but it is an insight nonetheless, john. >> an insight into the disconnect, oblivious or maybe dedeliberate ignoring on what's happening in their country. how do we know these e-mails are real? >> reporter: we got about 3,000 of them. we got them from a source in the region. for the last couple of days we've been going through all the e-mail addresses, cross checking them with e-mail addresses we know. we've also been looking at events. family vacation that was referenced in one of the e-mails. the speech which assad gave to make sure that they were legit. what we also know is that this all began about a year ago. a government worker, we're told, smuggled out what appears to be the e-mail addresses and the passwords for assad and his wife, their e-mails. these e-mails have now stopped because that small group of activists who have been watching the regime in real time for the last 12 months, they were hacked by a bigger group. and then last month all traffic to assad's e-mail account stopped. >> important reporting our senior international

correspondent john voss. thanks so much. coming up tonight's truth. why is vice-president biden naming names in the campaign. president obama says he's seen this movie before. they go to the pump, see lower gas price. he has seen this movie. you'll see. he starred in it. a second gen intel® core™ i5 or i7 processor. everything. and more. ♪

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something important happened on the campaign trail today and it didn't involve the republican race. team obama decided it was time to get personal.

>> the economic theories of gingrich, santorum and romney. they are bankrupt. if you give any one of these guys the keys to the white house, they will bankrupt the middle class again. >> it was the first time the vice-president has named names. and speaking at an auto factory there in toledo, ohio he gave the frontrunner mitt romney a bit more attention than the others. >> governor romney was more direct. "let detroit go bankrupt." [ audience boos ] >> here's tonight's truth. the vice president and the obama campaign aren't just getting personal for kicks. they're getting personal and more aggressive because they know how vulnerable they are, just how tough the state by state electoral college map is. need more proof? the president is dialling it up a notch, too, though he prefers not to use the names just yet. >> every time prices start to go up, especially in an election

year, politicians dust off their three point plans for $2 gas. they head down to the gas station. they make sure a few cameras are following them. and then they start acting like we've got a magic wand and we will give you cheap gas forever. >> now, in criticizing republicans for their gas price attacks, the president says you heard it there. it gets worse. in a mocking tone that he's seen this movie before. maybe he for gets. he hasn't just seen it. he starred in it. look here. here's then senator obama back in the 2008 election year. yes, down at the pump with a few cameras following him. i hope we can get those pictures up for you there. blaming oil companies in the bush administration and even his democratic opponents for high gas prices. >> so what have we got for all that experience? gas that's approaching $4 a gal. >> so sorry, mr. president. what goes around comes around.

but that's beside the point. truth is, vice-president biden is naming names. and the president himself responding more often and more forecefully because they see what we see. polling data suggesting that voters in much of the country just aren't feeling much better about the economy. higher gas prices only add to that anxiety. and economic anxiety is an incumbent politicians' dreaded enemy. where they're attacking is also telling. the vice-president was in ohio just two days after the president was in ohio for some march madness. the next stop for the biden naming names store? florida. you see a lot of national polls, but in election years the presidential contests are settled state by state. and while most of our attention is on the roller coaster republican race, team obama knows the map this year is much, much, much tougher than 2008. so today, 236 days, i know you're counting, until the big election, the incumbents decided it was time to turn it up a notch and get personal. >> mitt romney, rick santorum and newt gingrich, these guys have a fundamentally different

economic philosophy than we do. >> let's talk truth tonight with former congressman and ngzing in supporter j.c. watts and democratic strategy and time bureau washington bureau chief. let's start first maria to you as a democrat. naming names, going to the key states, counting the days now to the election. seems pretty obvious they understand. they thought they'd have a nominee by now. they can't wait because the map's pretty tough. >> absolutely. there's no question about thars john. regardless of whether they thought there was going to be a nominee now or not, i think it's smart politics. because as a democrat, democrats love hearing this president all fired up and the administration all fired up, making sure that not just democrats but independents understand what the challenges were coming in, what he has done to actually fix the economy. now the numbers are going in the right direction. and also because he knows his biggest opponents or his most challenging opponents are not anyone on the republican side. it's those gas prices you talked about and it's the economy you talked about. and the more that they can frame this election right now about

the contrast and the differences in the vision, the better it its going to be come november. >> how hard is it, michael? reminded this year about 1992 where a lot of the statistics were getting better as they are now. they were in 1992. but president george h.w. bush could not convince much of the country because they didn't feel it. they still felt tired in their legs, still having a trouble getting a job or health insurance. how delicate is the balance? you have to attack the republicans. but how optimistic can team obama be about the economy where in many of the swing states people are still hurting? >> >> that's the dilemma. there's been a popping by a democratic polling firm democrats want to hear the message. they don't think we're back yet. i think there's some danger that he's overstating it, overshooting the good news. you want to say we're headed in the right direction. there's good news. things are getting better. without making it seem like you're taking too much credit or like you're out of touch. i will say it was interesting, i think biden was speaking to the uaw there in ohio. that bailout issue he talked

about today for detroit is key. we think about detroit, michigan. but ohio very dependent on the auto industry there. you're going to see them hammering that theme because romney and santorum opposed the bailout. >> you watch the democrats. i know you're a republican, a gingrich guy. smart to come out now? how do you calibrate a message at this point where you don't have an opponent and the republicans one of the reasons the president's numbers are down is he's getting hammered by three candidates. >> i do think it's good politics on the part of the president to come out and defend himself. if i was the president i would do the same thing. but president -- the american people are being reminded at least twice a week that gas prices are continuing to go up. they've doubled since the president took office. today we saw the foreclosure numbers going up. people continuing to lose their homes. so they're saying, is this really getting better? is this -- are we better off three years down the road, four years down the road than we were in 2009 when the president was sworn in? i don't think so. so the president still has some

serious challenges. and i think, you know, there's an opening for the republicans to gain some ground just based on some of the numbers that we see every week in the economy. >> does the president for give my language think we're stupid? and all politicians do this. i'm not beating up on president obama. they all do it. but look at them going down to the gas pump. they say there's a magic wand. i just asked this morning, can we go back and look? lo and behold there he is? >> you know what the difference is, john? i don't think you'll find fool theage of president obama promising $2 a gal. >> he didn't have a specific number. but at that event he blamed president bush, the oil companies, even hillary clinton and john edwards part of the problem in washington. if you get these people out of the way and change washington prices would go down. >> you're right. what goes around comes around. but i think the difference is that you had michele bachmann back in the day and newt gingrich now promising $2, 2.50 a gallon. i think americans are a little bit smarter than that,

understanding that they know that the president doesn't get all the blame and he can't fix it all. >> write that down. if you don't use a number it's not hypocrisy. >> it's a big difference, john. >> but answer isn't to say, well, it will take us ten years to get there. we've been using that lame excuse. republicans and democrats. for the last 30 years. when do we start to clock on the ten-year cycle to say, let's become less dependent on foreign oil? we've got enough resources. >> that's what this president is talking about. he focuses on that. >> he said it would take us ten years to get there. we would be four years further down that road had he gotten on the team of exploration. >> anybody out there trust the politicians when they get into this debate? >> i think not, john. i think one thing to remember is this election unfolds is that there's still just a pervasive hostility towards washington and the political establishment in general. that energy that started the tea party and that energy that swept oklahoma in that beat hillary clinton, people are sick of washington.

they don't like politicians. and i don't see any of the candidates right now really harnessing that sort of outsider energy. and i think that could really be the key to the election as we get ahead into the coming months. >> john, one thing on oil. if it's worth fighting for in the middle east, why isn't it worth exploring for here at home? >> and we're doing a lot more exploring now than we did during the bush administration. >> not due to this president. >> yes they have given out more permissions -- >> i've got a buddy in oklahoma that would say, give me a physical break. >> can i just say one thing to michael's point? he's right that the president, and he has actually been more careful in saying we're not where we need to be. we need to did a lot more. because i think they understand that danger and that it's a balancing act. >> everybody stay put. stay with us. we'll go to a quick break. apple stocks hit the 600 mark today. that means one share would cost you more than one of those brand-new ipads. later see how a vacuum cleaner sold the spotlight during david cameron's white house visit.

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back to politics, newt gingrich supporter, our cnn contributor, maria cardona and michael crawley, let's move to the republican race and puerto rico primary, who would have thunk it, right? senator santorum caused a bit of a stir, he says you have to make english the official language. let's listen to senator santorum defending this idea. >> engine >> english has to be the language spoken. it is already the language on

the island. i think it's important. >> romney campaigning in puerto rico. he says this. governor romney believes that english is the language of opportunity and supports efforts to expand english proficiency, however, he would not require that the people of puerto rico cease using spanish. senator santorum did not say cease using spanish, but he did say it should be the official language. good or bad? >> i think terrible for politics for santorum and romney. there are 4.7 million puerto ricans on the mainland who actually vote in florida and pennsylvania and all these key states. you don't mess with the spanish. i grew up in puerto rico and i know just how intense the status issue is and the language issue is and the culture issue is. romney's going to be interesting. what he says tomorrow because he's going to get cornered by

the puerto rican press. that statement said nothing. it's going to be interesting if he does back off of the official english as the language, he backed english only here on the mainland, plus, romney's attacks on voting for sonia sotomayor. >> so, speaker gingrich you would think might have an opportunity, but one of his daughters is going to campaign in puerto rico. where's the kcomeback plan? tell me on the map where we're going to have a day where we say oh, there it is. >> john, i don't know quite honestly how any of the candidates get to 1144 before the convention and i think newt can make a plausible argument to stay in the race in the resources are there. >> can you stay in picking up delegates, especially for now,

propor proportional states, can you stay in picking up delegates in second and third or do you have to win? you have to win five, six, eight to be possible? >> i personally think there has to be some wins and not just places in shows. the speaker probably feels the same thing. these delegates, i think, i don't think newt gingrich is the issue. i think mitt romney is the issue. probably 150, $200 million and haven't closed the deal. that's been the narrative all along. nobody wants to believe that. i think newt's still in the middle. >> this week, to beat and somebody has -- right? >> that's right. it's really hard for newt. he has to have the resources to stay in. he does have the super pac and ben factor in las vegas and you're seeing santorum ads in

illinois. i think in this long slog, money will continue to be the factor. what's happening in puerto rico, right now, primary process. they're sniping each other, alienating a segment of the the p -- >> god help us when newt gingrich gets out because with the latino vote, black vote, something i fought for 25 years, we haven't a chance. >> i agree with that. >> now they're living -- thanks for comeing in. kate bolduan's back with the latest news you need to know. >> we're just getting word of a tornado in the detroit area. the national weather service confirms a tornado touched down near dexter, michigan. just look at some of the images

we're bringing in. tornado watches and warnings are posted for several counties in michigan. a new analysis predicts the health care reform may not force many employers to drop insurance coverage after all admitting that it is a bait of a surprise. congressional budget office reported there are a number of different scenarios, ranging from 3 million more having coverage to 20 million losing it. a lot more to talk about there and rahm emanuel says mitt romney doesn't have the fortitude, strength or character to be president. as proof, he says romney should have blasted rush limbaugh's calling a female college student a slut. he says quote, i thought what rush limbaugh said was not only wrong, it was repulsive. if you can't stand up to rush, how are you going to stand up to russia? it now costs about $600 to

own a slice of apple. it hit the milestone this morning, one day before its new ipad goes on sale. the price of a share has more than doubled over the past year and a half. and a new jersey construction worker who hit the lotto with pooled money but lied about it, will have to divy up the jackpot. aamerico lopes cheated his co-workers out of the -- and he tried to collect the money for himself. john, you would never do that, would you? >> actually, no. if it's in the a pool, it's in a pool. period. >> we will hold you to this. tonight's moment you miss. the red carpet rolled out at the white house. the woman in charge of keeping it ready had a cameo on british television.