some of the jobs we're creating are not the jobs lost. thank you for joining the conversation this weekend on "your money." you can stay connected to us 24/7 on twitter. the show is @cnn your money. and it's always @ali velshi. have a good weekend. hello, thanks for joining us. i'm fredricka whitfield. we'll look at the 2012 presidential contenders in the political hour. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com u.s. coast guard crews are searching for a yacht. several people on the yacht are hurt. they are reportedly unable to communicate or steer. the coast guard hopes to reach them sometime today. a big change for some of the country's biggest military

academies. gay pride groups are being added to campus club rosters. this comes just six months after the repeal of the so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy that blocked service members from being openly gay. the chairman of the house budget committee says he misspoke when he accused u.s. military officials about not being honest about the pentagon budget. on cnn's state of the union this morning, candy crowley told paul ryan that military leaders were a little offended. >> i really misspoke, to be candid with you, candy. i didn't mean to make that kind of impression. i was clumsy in making the point. the general and i spoke after that, and i wanted to give that point to him, which was that was not what i was attempting to say. >> ryan is the leading republican on the budget debate. the house passed his budget plan last week. all eyes are on wisconsin, maryland and d.c. this week.

they hold primaries in just two days. mitt romney looks like he'll win big in wisconsin. an nbc poll puts romney ahead of there, santorum with 33%. the former massachusetts governor is encouraged. >> i've got a ways to go before i get 1,144 delegates. i'm not counting the delegates before they hatch. but i'm going to keep working very hard. and hope i get a good strong sendoff from wisconsin. i've got a good boost from the folks in illinois. and if i can get that boost also from wisconsin, i think we'll be on a path that will get me the nomination well before the convention. sure hope so. >> our shannon travis is in milwaukee, wisconsin, so shannon, what's the mood like in wisconsin just two days away before that primary? >> reporter: yeah, fred, i would say the mood is one of anticipation and resignation.

you mentioned the polls are showing romney is doing well here. a lot of people certainly anticipate he'll have a strong showing, if not outright just take this contest. he's obviously gotten the trio of major endorsements from wisconsinites, senator ron johnson, paul ryan, as well as the endorsement of the newspaper, the milwaukee journal sentinel. he's certainly looking very strong. however, when i say resignations a lot of supporters for the other candidates are resigned that mitt romney's going to be the candidate, meaning not necessarily so happy about that. i don't know if we have a picture to she you. but i was at an event on friday, a newt gingrich event across from lambeau field, and there was a 64-year-old man who said he's torn between santorum and newt. he had this interesting sign that basically suggested mitt romney should join president obama and be his vice president. because in this man's words,

mitt romney is just too liberal to be a republican nominee. fred? >> so shannon, if romney were to win all three primaries, will it mean the road to tampa is clear for him? is that the translation for the romney team? >> reporter: i mean, fred, you'll definitely hear that from not only the romney camp, but some of his supporters, saying they're already saying forget about -- they're already saying this race is essentially over. the other candidates have esexually conceded it's going to be nearly impossible to get to 1,144. so if he runs all three on tuesday, you'll hear the same people say even more. look newt and rick, it's time for you to pack it in now. until mitt romney clinches 1,144 delegates they're going to stay in this race. and they've even suggested if it

goes to the convention and there's a floor fight, they'll fight for it. >> thank you, shannon, from milwaukee. the gop presidential contest remains for now a four-way race. mitt romney leads with 571 delegates. rick santorum has 264. and newt gingrich has 137. ron paul is at the bottom of the pack with just 71 delegates. so both santorum and gingrich, however, are vowing, as you heard shannon say, to stay in the race until the tampa convention. alex joins us now from washington. good to see you, alex. >> hello, fredricka. >> so if romney indeed were to win wisconsin, will there be a greater pressure on the others to call it quits after tuesday? >> i think the pressure's picking up with every passing day, in a way, i think the republican party believes this race is over. it just won't end. and i think the party regulars understand that this is not good. we want to get started on the general election contrasting

with president obama instead of each other. but wisconsin is going to be a, i think a momentum booster for romney. and then after that, we have pennsylvania's coming up soon. and that looks like a horse race. if rick santorum doesn't win in pennsylvania, it's going to be hard for him to continue. >> that would be incredibly devastating, because clearly he would want to put all eggs in that basket. but why would you think that santorum would not do well in his home state of pennsylvania? >> well, the latest survey numbers that i think we've been looking at when you average a bunch of surveys together shows that the race is basically tied. romney is within a point or so, i think, in pennsylvania. again, his home state. romney has done well in states where the evangelical vote is less than 50% of the republican primary electorate. southern states where the vote is high, romney has done so well. there are very few of those states left in the process. we do have a few big ones like texas. but wisconsin should be a romney

state. pennsylvania, he should do pretty well. >> so pennsylvania, that's april 24th, getting ahead of ourselves. but now, come tuesday, maryland, d.c., the republican national committee chairman who was also the former party chairman in wisconsin says whoever wins wisconsin will have some serious bragging rights. is this state -- or is that race particularly pivotal? >> you know, it is. we're at this point now where it's pretty obvious that romney is on his way to the nomination. it's a stop mid campaign. they don't seem to be able to do it. if these other candidates are depreciating assets, their value goes down every day that mitt romney gets closer to the nomination. so if they want to trade for something, if they want a better speaking slot at the convention, if they want nicer hotel rooms, they need to cash in their equity now while they still have some. if they wait until the last minute, nobody's going to buy. >> all right. you mentioned that all these candidates stay in the race,

imperpetuity, until possibly a brokered convention, that that wouldn't be good for the republican party. is there palpable irritation within the gop that there is this division right now, that they are not necessarily coul a coalescing around one candidate, even though romney has picked up some recent powerful endorsements? >> there is less irritation than you think. and i think most of that falls back on romney. i think most party regulars and voters think romney's had every opportunity to put this race away and really grasp it, and he hasn't done that. so they don't really fault the other candidates for not making their case. >> are they kind of blaming romney? >> you know, it's been sitting there for him to grab, and he hasn't done it. at some point, you know, you've got to step up to the plate and hit a home run or two. >> what are they saying he's not doing? >> well, you know, we talk about, is this party divided.

are republicans at each other's throats. actually not. frankly, the race is kind of boring. there isn't that much passion and intensity in it on the republican side. but it's not the fault of the candidates, fredricka. one of the differences is, on the republican side, the candidates all believe the same thing, especially about the big issue of the economy, cut taxes, cut spending in washington and get money back in people's pockets out of d.c. when there isn't that much difference, there isn't that much drama or passion. that will all change in the general election. because there are huge differences, as big as the grand canyon, between mitt romney and barack obama. >> we'll see you in a few minutes. thanks so much. restoring the united states to a prosperous nation with smaller government. that's the promise from mitt romney, next. this is $100,000.

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welcome back to the special hour of the "cnn newsroom," where we're taking this time out every sunday to let you hear from the 2012 presidential contenders in their own words out on the campaign trail. three big endorsements for mitt romney this week. the biggest coming from former president george h.w. bush. >> thank you all very much for coming. and barbara and i are very proud to fully and enthusiastically endorse and support our old friend, mitt romney. he's a good man. he'll make a great president. and we just wish him well. so we're delighted he's here. >> so with key republicans rallying around him, mitt romney sounds like he's done with the primary season and on to the presidential election. he's making direct attacks now on president obama, and

describing what he would do to change the system. >> america is on the cusp of having a government-run economy. president obama is transforming america into something very different than the land of the free, and the land of opportunity. and we know where that transformation leads. there are other nation that have followed that path. and it leads to chronic high unemployment, crushing debts, and stagnant wages. sound familiar? i don't want to transform america. i want to restore to america the values of economic freedom and opportunity, and small government that have made this nation the leader of the world. and i'll get that job done. [ applause ]

freedom, and opportunity have made america the most powerful economy in the world. let me say that again. what made us powerful? freedom and opportunity. they are the foundation of a nation that has full unemployment, that has rising wages. that's fiscally stable. the best thing we can do for the economic well-being of our people is not to grow government. it is to restore freedom and opportunity. it's opportunity that has always driven america. and it has defined us as americans. >> and ron paul is spending his time in wisconsin courting young voters. he spoke at the university of wisconsin, telling students the federal government has gotten them in a financial mess. >> i get asked a lot of times by the media exactly why are the young people interested in what

i've been talking about. i said, well, there's a couple reasons. one is that they're getting a bad deal. you're inheriting a mess. you have a big debt to deal with. you have perpetual wars that never seem to end. but for various reasons, the federal reserve is an issue, personal liberty is an issue, the ongoing wars. and also, this deficit. there's a lot of problems. and i think it came together about four or five years ago when it was recognized with the financial crisis, how serious this was. but also, we're winning these arguments. we're winning these arguments, certainly -- certainly on the federal reserve. it's been around for 100 years and this is the girs tifirst tie had a serious debate about whether it should even exist. [ applause ] and last year, we actually, you know, got a federal reserve audit passed in the house. we got a partial audit passed.

>> paul echoed the sentiment about reaching a new generation this morning when he was asked why he is staying in the race. check out what he said on cbs's "face the nation." >> the votes haven't been counted. there's quite a few states right now, six or seven states that we're doing quite well through the delegate process. we don't even know who's getting what so far, and who knows what will happen on the first vote at the convention. so i would say that it's very encouraging, because i am talking to a whole generation, which is expanding, you know, as far as age goes. but when i get 5,200 people out on college campuses, wildly enthusiastic to hear the message of liberty and freedom and less wars and curtailing the federal reserve, there's no way i'm going to quit speaking out on this and get the republicans back to their roots. >> president barack obama remains focused on your wallet. especially high gas prices.

>> there's 2012 election news. ron paul said it's still too early to count him out as the republican nominee. seriously? that's like newt gingrich saying it's too early to count him out as an abercrombie model. seriously? not going to happen. who do you think i am, quicken loans? [ spokesman ] when you refinance your mortgage with quicken loans, you'll find that our rates and fees are extremely competitive. because the last thing you want is to spend too much on your mortgage. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. ♪ 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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we continue to delve into

the issues on the presidential campaign. every sunday we'll spend this hour to allow you to hear from the contenders as they spell out their ideas for the future for the united states. oil companies are making record profits, most drivers say they are hurting. in a new poll, 71% say the high prices now averaging nearly $4 a gallon are causing a financial hardship. still, most americans blame oil companies, not president obama, for the hike. and the president is questioning why the federal government is giving tax breaks to the oil companies. he said the hikes might lie in alternative forms of energy. >> the oil industry is doing just fine. with record profits, and rising production, i'm not worried about the big oil companies. with high oil prices around the world, they've got more than

enough incentive to produce even more oil. that's why i think it's time they got by without more help from taxpayers who are already having a tough enough time paying the bills and filling up their gas tank. i think it's curious that some folks in congress who were the first to belittle investments in new sources of energy are the ones that are fighting the hardest to maintain these giveaways for the oil companies. instead of taxpayer giveaways to an industry that's never been more profitable, we should be using that money to double down on investments in clean energy technologies that have never been more promising. investments in wind power and solar power and biofuels, investments in fuel-efficient cars and trucks, and energy-efficient homes and buildings. that's the future. that's the only way we're going to break this cycle of high gas prices that happen year after year after year, as the economy

is growing. the only time you start seeing lower gas prices is when the economy is doing badly. that's not the kind of pattern that we want to be in. we want the economy doing well and people to be able to afford their energy costs. and keep in mind, we can't just drill our way out of this problem. as i said, oil production here in the united states is doing very well. and it's been doing well, even as gas prices are going up. well, the reason is, because we use more than 20% of the world's oil, but we only have 2% of the world's known oil reserves. that means we could drill every drop of american oil tomorrow, but we would still have to buy oil from other countries to make up the difference. we'd still have to depend on other countries to meet our energy needs. and because it's a world market, the fact that we're doing more here in the united states

doesn't necessarily help us, because even u.s. oil companies, they're selling that oil on a worldwide market. they're not keeping it just for us. and that means that if there's rising demand around the world, then the prices are going to go up. that's not the future that i want for america. i don't want folks like these back here and the folks in front of me to have to pay more at the pump every time that there's some unrest in the middle east. and oil speculators get nervous about whether or not there's going to be enough supply. i don't want our kids to be held hostage, to events on the other side of the world. i want us to control our own destiny. i want us to forge our own future. and that's why as long as i'm president, america's going to pursue an all-of-the-above energy strategy. which means we will continue developing our oil and gas resources in a robust and

responsible way. but it also means that we're going to keep developing more advanced home-grown biofuels, the kinds that are already powering trucks across america. we're going to keep investing in clean energy like the wind power and solar power that's already lighting thousands of homes and creating thousands of jobs. we're going to keep manufacturing more cars and trucks to get more miles to the gallon. so that you can fill up once every two weeks instead of every week. we're going to keep building more homes and businesses that waste less energy. so that you're in charge of your own energy bills. we're going to do all of this by harnessing our most inexhaustible resource, american ingenuity and american imagination. that's where we need to keep going. that's what's at stake right now. that's the choice that we face. and that's the choice that's facing congress today. they can either vote to spend billions of dollars more in oil

subsidies that keep us trapped in the past, or they can vote to end these taxpayer subsidies that aren't needed to boost oil proi production so that we can invest in the future. it's that simple. >> newt gingrich lays off one-third of his staff and promises to stay in the race until the republican convention meets in tampa, florida. we'll discuss it with a gingrich insider. what the world wants to know and share is here. demand media expands on the big board.

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[ female announcer ] only flood insurance covers floods. visit floodsmart.gov/risk to learn your risk. newt gingrich's campaign has had a little bit of money trouble. newt gingrich's campaign is now charging people $50 to pose for a picture with newt. and for $100 you can get one without newt. they're raking it in. >> that's conan o'brien on his late night show poking fun at newt gingrich. we're focusing on politics letting you hear from the 2012 presidential contenders. newt gingrich says he's determined to stay in the presidential race. at a rally in milwaukee,

gingrich focused his attention on president obama instead of gop front-runner mitt romney. >> this is the heart of the power struggle we're engaged in as a country. are we in fact a people where god -- where power comes from god to each one of you personally, and you are personally sof remember. sovereign. you loan power to the state. the state does not loan power to you. now, is that true or not? in barack obama's world that's not true. in his world the government is sovereign. we are subjects, not citizens. the government can tell us to do anything. if you actually read the questions going on with the supreme court and obama care, they cut right to the heart of this. and it was justice breyer who said the other day, we are really questioning the degree to which the federal government can intervene directly and change

our entire relationship between government and individuals. do you have rights, or do you only have residual benefits given to you by the government. if you have rights, the government can't interfere. so you see it working out right now in the obama administration's attack in catholicism. which is, by the way, not just an attack on catholicism. we were at louisiana college which is a baptist school which believes in right to life. and the president at the college said in introducing me, they will close the college rather than obey obama care. so any profound believer in right to life is faced with a crisis by this administration. and it's really a core question. i mean, the left would like you to say this is about contraception. this is not about contraception. this is about whether or not the government has the power to say to a religious organization, you will violate your religion.

because if they can do it on this issue, they can do it on the next issue. if they decide to order yuth nish yeah, they can order euthanasia. they insist only on recognizing marriage between a man and a woman, so they're saying, fine, you can't have an adoption service. this is a very fundamental question about the nature of america. are we a country of religious liberty or a country in which only the government decides? if it's religious liberty, then the government is limited. but if it's government decisions, then it's religion which is limited. >> newt gingrich is down as a delegate counts. but definitely not out. he has laid off one-therd of his staff as well. he's also refocusing his efforts on picking up more delegates in key states rather than campaigning. republican strategist rich gallen joining me now from

washington to break down this resigned newt. good to see you, rich. so you know newt gingrich rather well. what is really behind him staying in, even if he pares down his staff? what's going on? >> i don't think there's much else for him to do. he's been in this thing for a year. we're down to the last two, three, four months, whatever it is, before the convention. so as far as he's concerned, he may stay in as long as, a, he's got enough money for the basics like motel rooms and things like that, and b, as long as he maintains secret service protection because they provide the ground transportation, a lot of logistics go on. those two things allow him to stay in the race. >> stay in for what? i guess stay in for what when you're trying to reach that magic 1,144? he's so far away from getting that. you still wonder what is it driving him in this race? >> i don't know this, because i'm not a psychologist, and even

if i were i wouldn't want to probe too deeply into how newt is thinking. but it's sort of in the mid brain of his mind if he and santorum and ron paul can stop romney from getting to 1,144, that there may come a moment at the convention that is hopelessly deadlocked, that newt gives the stirring speech that has the delegates fall down in the aisles quaking and shouting his name. i really do think that's what he thinks his last hope is. i don't think it's going to happen. >> we're a long way from that moment then in tampa. he does have to sustain himself in some way. does this mean that he's got the kind of campaign money -- i mean, he has super pac money, but at some point that's going to dry up. is he relying on kind of the sound bites that news organizations are going to put on the air, that are going to print, and that will help sustain him equally to what ads

would do, if you had the deep -- >> no, it will -- it won't keep him up at the end. newt spends all week, i'm not sure what he did last week, but he spends all week excoriating what he calls the elite media, of whom you are a member. and sure enough on sunday morning one of the shows gets him to be on. and he was on "face the nation" this morning. they get 5 million, 6 million, whatever it is. so while on the one hand he generates support from anti-elite media republicans by saying bad things about you, then the elite media cheerfully invites him on so he can keep going. it's a pretty good strategy. it's a minimalist strategy. there's some reason to believe that in newt speak, saying that he's changed the strategy of the campaign to a big ideas convention campaign, is essentially the same thing as him suspending most of my campaigning. i suspect we can find him at the

starbucks in mclean, virginia, with some regularity. >> elite media, that's to be debated. however, he is benefiting from whatever form of media in which he can be a part of. >> sure. and walter isaacson in his book about steve jobs talked about steve jobs creating a reality distortion field around himself. and what you saw in that clip was exactly the same thing. newt is brilliant at posing the question in exactly the -- the only way that the answer is the answer that he wants to come to. and if you're sitting in the audience, and newt is brilliant at this, he weaves you into his spell, into his distortion field. reality distortion field. and while he's speaking, you go, i think that's right. >> that's interesting. but if he's not able to turn, you know, that vernacular into votes, i mean, a primary or caucus race, why does he feel he's going to be able to mesmerize people from the floor

of the convention, if as you say, you know, he's hoping people are feeling like they're in church and falling to the floor and suddenly decide he's their guy? >> because he is good at it. he is good at doing that. >> but the delegate votes -- >> it doesn't happen the same way as it happens in a convention. when you're doing this in a caucus state or a primary state, they don't go to vote until three, four days later. the end of my reality distortion field is, you get in the car, on your way home, you think, that's not right. >> does this kind of exemplify exactly what tom cole said recently, he said, there is no loyalty to the party. and is what gingrich doing exemplifying he's not loyal to the party, and trying to uphold what the party wants? but instead he's really trying to drive his own personal mission? >> i think there's some of that in everybody. the same way with barack obama

and hillary clinton. mrs. clinton stayed in well after the point that she recognized the numbers still weren't going to work four years ago, that there was no reasonable expectation that she could stop then senator obama. but she stayed in. but that's what makes people run for president in the first place. i don't think that's a negative. but newt, to his credit, has said that if it comes to it, when romney gets to 1,144, that he will support romney, or whoever the nominee is. >> do you think that was the promise made in that private meeting between ging rif and romney in louisiana that, you know, here's the reality, i will ultimately support you? do you think it was -- >> i have no idea. i don't think they like each other very much. but i think newt has worked very hard, his whole life. i met him in 1982 and he spent the next 12 years crafting a way to take control of the house of representatives. he did it. so he did that on behalf of the republican party. and he did it because he was newt gingrich and he thought he

was the only one who could do it. and i think back in those days, he was right about there. >> rich, thank you very much. appreciate that. and appreciate your attempt at getting into newt gingrich's head, to a degree. appreciate it. >> thanks, fredricka. rick santorum said he's the only true conservative running for president. he compares himself to ronald reagan.

cnn brings you politics each sunday during this hour. weaver bringing you the 2012 presidential contenders in their own words. a poll shows the majority of republicans want santorum to stay in the race. in a speech thursday, santorum compared himself to ronald reagan. >> the existential threat to western civilization is now

radical islam. and i'm not afraid to call it what it is. [ applause ] ronald reagan had the courage to stand up and counter to all of his advisers, and call the evil empire the evil empire. we need to call radical islam, and the radical bureaucracy in iran exactly what it is, evil, and that evil regime must be replaced by the iranian people with a government that reflects the values of the persian people. [ applause ] there's one candidate in this race who has just like reagan, dedicated a tremendous amount of their time and energy -- when i left the united states senate, i spent five years in a think tank traveling all over the country,

and even some places around the world, lecturing on this issue. as reagan did, giving speeches about the threat of communism. i was giving speeches even in an election where it was unpopular to do in 2006 about the threats of radical islam. their growth not just in the islamic world in the middle east, but here in this hemisphere, in central and south america. these are not popular things to say. as reagan was called, i was called a warmonger and a doom and gloom. that we can negotiate. we can work with these people and figure this all out. reagan knew that wasn't possible. you cannot negotiate with evil. you have to defeat evil. [ applause ] i'm the only person in this race that brings that legacy of

strong principaled conviction on this issue, a depth of understanding, experience. we've seen what it is when you have a president with on-the-job training on national security. we need someone who understands and is principaled about the approach he's going to take, and that every foreign leader, friend and foe alike, knows that with rick santorum as president of the united states, if you are a friend of the united states, unlike this president, we will be the best ally you have in the world. and if you are a foe of the united states, and you do not respect the united states and our security interests, you will learn to fear the united states. and your security interests. [ applause ] of all of the families of this administration, of all of the

families, perhaps the greatest is on national security. and folks, that's saying something. this president has alienated ally after ally, isolated them, particularly, of course, the state of israel. he's encouraged our foes. >> voters in wisconsin, maryland and the district of columbia go to the polls in just about 40 hours or so from now. we look ahead to tuesday's primaries and beyond when we come right back.

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we continue to delve into the issues on the presidential campaign. every sunday we're spending this hour in the "cnn newsroom" to allow you to hear from the contenders as they spell out their vision for the future of the united states. after tuesday's primaries, connecticut, delaware, new york, pennsylvania and rhode island, pennsylvania is santorum's home state. he is the former u.s. senator, joining me from washington. okay. so every primary, we talk about taking that momentum to the next race. this time it's romney who doesn't really come off a win in louisiana, but he gets big

republican endorsements. are those endorsements kind of giving romney momentum that primary wins haven't? >> i'm not sure they're giving him momentum. but they are kind of drawing a noose around the race. so when you see the establishment moving like this, it's sending a signal to voters that we need to focus on the general election, not so much the primary. and in that sense, i do think it helps romney. but usually these kind of endorsements don't really transfer votes. you can very famously john connelly ran for president once and got all the endorsements in the world, ended up with one delegate at the convention. >> then what's the point of having them, getting them, valuing them? >> in political terms, in marketing terms, you kind of call it permission to believe. it either cracks open the door -- well, maybe this fella, he thinks like i do, if he looks at that candidate, maybe i should look at it, too.

or it validates your choice. well, i feel comfortable supporting this candidate. but today, there's so much information available to voters about these candidates themselves, they're on tv all the time, you can read about them anytime, the endorsement of others isn't really determi determinenative. >> is there a message that these endorsements are coming late in the game, or is it kind of late in the game? >> it is kind of late in the game. . it's kind of everybody's onboard. you might as well get onboard, too. and so that's what's happening here, i think. it is, i think, you mentioned earlier, resignation is the feeling with some of these republicans. >> oh, my goodness. kind of like throwing in the towel? >> not throwing in the towel. but you know, mitt romney is not the passionate soul of the republican party. but in a way that's going to be

good for him in a general election. because you don't want this general election, if you're a republican, to be about how far right can the republican party go. you want it to be a remp ren dumb on barack obama's economy. and romney, it may be hard to love, he's also very hard to hate. he's going to be a very strong general election candidate. >> and he is likely to do well, romney, likely to do well in connecticut, delaware, new york. and you already mentioned that it could be kind of tight with pennsylvania. so that will kind of lock it in for him, so to speak? >> i think so. i think we're getting to the point where these candidates, santorum and gingrich, are like an appendix in your body. they're there for some reason, and you just don't know. >> you know it when something goes wrong, however. alex, thank you so much. we'll see you tuesday with the rest of the cnn political team. tune in for complete coverage of the wisconsin, maryland and d.c. primaries, 7:00 eastern time. we're covering the news of the day at the top of the hour

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during each campaign, candidates make comments targeting their opponents. but once the dust is settled, politicians shake hands and then they change their tune. candy crowley has this week's "trail mix." >> fred, sometime around the turn of the 20th century, a chicago post editorial writer penned himself into campaign immortality. politics, he wrote, ain't being

bagged. true that. >> pick any other republican in the country. he is the worst republican in the country to put up against barack obama. >> i don't think you're going to replace an economic lightweight with another economic lightweight. >> would you characterize romney earlier as a liar? >> no, i was asked if i think he's a liar, i said yes. >> hard to imagine they could talk civilly to each other, but this week we found out they already have. >> if santorum is the nominee, romney and i will support him. if romney is the nominee, we'll support him. >> which is to say, when they put down the brick bats, romney, gingrich and santorum will join in the long-time honored walk back. >> it is what i call a voodoo economic policy. >> reporter: turns out ronald reagan won in 1980 and put bush on the ticket, and there bush

finding himself as vice president defending reaganomics, aka voodoo economics. >> voodoo economics, the only memorable thing i've ever said and i've regretted saying it. >> reporter: not so long ago, the presidential campaign of barack obama distributed a memo attacking his main opponent, hillary clinton, personal financial and political ties to india. that was an insta walk back. within days obama called it, quote, a mistake. the obama and clinton camps seethed with animosity for the two years of campaigns. obama fans came close to calling her tactics racist. >> i have known hillary clinton as a friend, a colleague, a source of counsel, and a tough campaign opponent. she possesses an extraordinary intelligence, and a remarkable work ethic. i am proud that she will be our next secretary of state. >> the rest is history. some of these relationships

actually ended in real friendships, but all of them began as bottom line politics. >> we want to make sure that however this thing comes out in the end, that the republican nominee defeats barack obama. that's the essence of the conversations we've had. >> so in the end, do not bet on republican reconciliation, count on it. fred? >> all right. thanks so much, candy. be sure to watch candy crowley every sunday morning. she's the host of "state of the union" 9:00 a.m. eastern time. after years of being under house arrest, aupg san su chi wins a seat in myanmar's parliament. [ male announcer ] if you believe the mayan calendar,

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