have a good afternoon. right now we're waiting to hear from the new jersey governor, chris christie. just hours after his landslide row re-election victory. right now, kathleen sebelius just finished facing some very tough questions over the problems plaguing the obama care website. the health and human services secretary testifying by the senate finance committee. and right now, a record day on wall street, the dow hitting an all-time intraday high this morning. right now it's up, up 98 points right now. hello, i'm wolf blitzer reporting today from washington. you can stick a fork in election 2013 -- it's done. now the pundits and the politicians are busy reading the tea leaves to see what the results mean going forward. was this a referendum on obama care? and if so, how worried should

democrats be? what do the results say about the tea party and the fight within the gop? we're going to get into all of that. but first, chris christie's landslide win in the new jersey governor's race, is seen by many as a warm-up to the 2016 presidential race. in his victory speech, christie pointed to new jersey as a model for the way washington should work. >> i know if we can do this in trend trenton, new jersey, maybe the folks in washington, d.c. should tune in their tvs right now. >> in purple state, virginia, the democrat, terry mcauliffe, defeated the republican, ken cuccinelli. during the campaign, mcauliffe tied cuccinelli to the tea party activists behind the government shutdown and last night he spoke about washington gridlock and appealed for bipartisanship. >> it was a choice about whether virginia would continue the main stream bipartisan tradition that has served us so well over the

last decade. and a time when washington was often broken, just think about what virginia has been able to accomplish when we work together. >> by all accounts, obama care did play a role in the election results, what that role was depends on whom you speak to in our cnn exit poll. 47% of virginia voters said they favor the health care plan. 52% said they opposed it. in new jersey, 48% in favor of obama care. 50% opposed. jim acosta has reaction from the white house. joe johns is following an important hearing that's just concluded up on capitol hill. the health and human services secretary, kathleen sebelius testifying. jim, let me start with you over at the white house. how concerned is the obama administration right now that the affordable care act launch potentially could hurt democrats at polls going forward? >> well i think it's a very interesting question, wolf. you said by all accounts.

everybody agrees that this hurt terry mcauliffe in the final stretch. but i would say there's one quarter of washington where they don't agree with that assessment. and that is here at the white house, a top official here at the white house who is basically in charge of the obama care effort or one of the folks in charge of the obama care effort, david simms, he tweeted out sort of a defense of the white house and of obama care. pushing back against the notion that it hurt terry mcauliffe in the final stretch of the campaign. wath to put the tweet onscreen. this one of the few folks pushing back. fact, candidate who ran against the aca, the affordable care act, in the midst of the national media attack. lost the quintessential swing state. so they're pushing back on the notion that hurt terry mcauliffe. but if you look at ha happened in the final days of the race. ken cuccinelli was behind terry mcauliffe. anywhere four to eight points in the last couple of weeks,

according to a variety of polls and as you saw last night, ken cuccinelli, the republican candidate, almost won that race. and so the conventional wisdom obviously here in washington, is that it was basically because a lot of the misgivings over the government shutdown had faded away and that concerns were starting to be raised over obama care. and at the same time, we should mention that the president is going to be traveling to dallas, he is going to be talking at an event down there with some navigators in that city. those are the folks hired by the administration to sort of walk through people who are applying for insurance through obama care. and the navigators are critical to the process. and the website issues and people having to use the phone and paper applications to sign up for obama care. what is going to be interesting to see, wolf, is whether or not the president goes back to trying to defend the phrase that he used time and again -- if you like that plan, you can keep it up on capitol hill, you mentioned kathleen sebelius, who is testifying right now or has

been testifying today. she was hit by a number of republicans accusing her and the administration and the president of dishonesty. john thune, a republican from south dakota accused kathleen sebelius of quote misleading the american people. so it will be interesting to see if the president goes back to try to talk about that pledge that he made, if you like your plan, you can keep it he tried to do it the other night. got in some more hot water for it because people thought it was a misleading attempt to back and clean that up. >> live coverage of the president in dallas on obama care during the 5:00 p.m. hour of the "situation room." now to the hearing up on capitol hill, where the health and human services secretary, kathleen sebelius testified. they dug in, they were seeking answers to the obama care website among other issues. list ton what senator john cornyn of texas asked her point-blank about the president's one-time pledge that americans could keep their existing insurance plan.

>> we know that lying to congress is a crime. but unfortunately, lying to the american people is not. i would just like to ask you a simple true or false question. is that statement on the white house website true? or is it false? >> sir, i think the statement is -- >> is it true or is it falts, madam secretary. >> the statement that you could keep your plan. the vast majority of americans who are insured, are in the employer market, are in public plans or in veterans plans. and the those plans have stayed in place. and continue to offer benefits. the 11 million people who are in the individual market, a majority of those individuals will keep plans that now will have stronger coverage. and others will have to choose if they have a brand-new plan

and not a grandfather, will to choose of a plan when they no longer get medically -- >> my time is short, i would ask that the record note that you have refused to answer my question whether it's true or false. >> let's bring in joe johns. he was monitoring, watching this entire hearing several hours of testimony. the second time she's appeared now in the house last week now before the senate this time. any comparisons? >> well, she's in a very tough spot. you know, this business of appearing before multiple committees in washington as a ritual. it's hard to match the first time in terms of intensity. but it came pretty close. plus, sebelius has been through this before. had a chance to review, reconsider some of they are answers, still she's getting tough questions from both sides, a question about whether it would be better to shut down the website to repair it actually came from a democrat. and plenty of acrimony on the other side, too. of course kansas republican senator pat roberts comes from the same home state as the secretary. their families are said to have been friends for a long time. but roberts repeated his call

for sebelius to step down today. and the chairman of the committee, max baucus, on the other hand saying it's more important for the secretary to stick around and get the website fixed. by the way, wolf, orrin hatch, the senator from utah suggested that sebelius come back every month and give regular reports, so the ritual could consider. >> there was one interesting exchange, where she was asked if the navigators out there, the individuals who are hired by the administration to take information down, they then go through the paperwork, put it through the computer and all of that. if they're checked for criminal back grounds. because sensitive information, social security numbers, date of birth, income levels is all provided and she basically said that there is no criminal background check. >> no criminal background check. which could be pretty shocking to people out there if they're giving their personal information to individuals. in order for them to try to shepherd them through the system. she also said that if congress were to say, they need to have

background checks, 'sheed be happy to take a look at it. >> that doesn't instill a lot of kfrds in the system if you're giving sensitive information, you want to make sure you're not giving it as a republican congressman said, to a convicted felon. >> there have been questions about at least one navigator. questions that came up yesterday in the documents released by congressman issa on the house reform and oversight committee. >> all right. joe, thanks very much. joe johns monitoring that story. let's get back to last night's election and take a closer look at two of the biggest races, ha does the new jersey race say about chris christie's prospects in 2016? and why was the virginia contest so close? john king breaks it down at the magic wall. one unmistakable take-away, chris christie has the premiere brand in republican politics, new jersey known as a elinably blue state in sweeping to a landslide re-election, chris christie turned the entire map

red. electability will be his contention for the 2016 presidential race. chris christie can argue, i won the women's voight and the men's vote and will argue that not only did he carry the white vote big, but among african-americans, even though his democratic challenger won the african-american vote, chris christ christie, 20% of the african-american vote. compare it to mitt romney and compare it to john mccain. chris christie will say he can broaden the republican base. even more importantly in making that argument, the electability argument. chris christie carrying the latino vote with a slight majority. think about nevada, new mexico, florida, other presidential battleground states, latino a critical constituency. chris christie will make the case, i'm the po more electable republican. if there's a dent in the argument, it's this, in his home state, voters were asked, what if you had hillary clinton versus chris christie.

in 2016. hillary clinton carrying a narrow victory over chris christie. bit of the dent in the electability argument. chris christie will be able to put it to the chest. he's about to become the chairman of the governors association. look at all the 2014 governors races, they will take him to iowa and ohio. they'll take him to new hampshire and south carolina, they'll take him to florida. and nevada and new mexico. those among the key presidential battlegrounds, chris christie by way of his duties at the republican governors association, about to get a premiere chance to test his national appeal. we'll watch that one as 2013 turns into 2014 and we begin to think of 2016. now let's take a closer look at virginia. a much closer race here, a tug of war. literally a tug of war between the republicans and the democrats. and what has become a very competitive swing state. why did terry mcauliffe, the democrat, win? simply right here. the northern virginia suburbs, just outside of washington, d.c. the margin of victory came there. look at all of this red.

ken cuccinelli winning where republicans need to win, especially in the rural areas, but the suburbs, delivering the victory for terry mcauliffe. let's take a closer look at how he did it. a tug of war on the big issues as well. if we move to virginia here, look at this, virginia once known as a reliably conservative state, the biggest slice of the electorate, describing themselves as moderates, in the middle of the ideological spectrum. and terry mcauliffe winning convincingly among moderates, 56%. the northern virginia suburbs, more moderate voters, the key to the victory there. a tug of war in the end over the big issues we see nationally right now. the president's health care plan, a majority of virginia voters opposed it. this is what kept this race close. opposition to obama care, those voters broke overwhelmingly for the republican ken cuccinelli, keeping the race closer than many of the late polls suggested. however, it wasn't enough for ken cuccinelli. if you look at this terry mcauliffe using to his advantage, anger at the government shutdown. more virginians blamed

republicans than the president for the shutdown. look at the number here, overwhelmingly, almost nine in ten voters who blamed republicans for the shutdown. breaking for terry mcauliffe. if there was one one overriding theme of the mcauliffe campaign, it was to say that ken cuccinelli was too extreme, too far to the right. half of virginia voters agreed. they thought ken cuccinelli was too conservative. that was the margin of victory for terry mcauliffe. those voters breaking for him in a very close race that will be studied. because virginia looms so large in the 2016 presidential race. john, john king, reporting. thank you. what about 2016? should conservative republican candidates be nervous? one republican who could possibly run for president responding. senator marco rubio gives us his take on what last night's results could mean for the gop. just to our own dana bash. and dana is here. stand by.

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nthat's why they deserve... aer anbrake dance. get 50% off new brake pads and shoes. leading voice in the gop and now senator marco rubio of florida is speaking out about last night's election results, specifically what they could mean for next year, the 2014 mid-term elections and the next presidential race in 2016. today the florida republican sat down with our own chief congressional correspondent, dana bash who is joining us, ha is he saying about last night's elections, the significance? >> very interesting. he was one of the few republicans who went into virginia and campaigned for the republican candidate, ken cuccinelli, unsuccessfully of course and his big argument there was about obama care, it didn't work. i asked him about that race.

specifically whether or not the ken cuccinelli's defeat and what it means for rubio and the tea party, the republican party. do you think that the results show that his brand of republican politics, your brand of tea party-backed republican politics is now in trouble? in big swing states like virginia? >> i think people try to ascribe all kinds of conclusions to these races. one of the things that happened in this race is he was severely outspent. in most races i've ever seen. if a candidate is outspent by that much, they'll struggle to win. secondly, he didn't have the resources to answer some of the negative attacks that were levied against him. that created a caricature of him that he was unable to undo. tests did pyatt that, he came within a handful of points of winning a race that up to last week people said would be a blowout. i certainly think a lot of people now need to look back at the race and wonder, would we not have won, had he had just a few more resources to set the record straight about his own record. and also to talk about what he

stood for and what he really would have done for the people of virginia. >> so there's a lot of second-guessing today because the race was a little bit closer than the polls had suggested going in. second-guessing about republicans nationally shouldn't have given up on ken cuccinelli. the reason why we are in front of the supreme court is because senator rubio went to arguments this morning for case that the supreme court heard, dealing with religious freedom in legislatures. he was a lead senator on a brief in favor of giving religious freedom to legislatures all across the country. and including of course the one that he serves in the united states congress, the senate, the chaplain made a lot of news during the shutdown with his, with his sermons. that's why he was there. >> with his outspoken remarks, think he could say, he got a lot of publicity. marco rubio, himself a lawyer with a legal background. he understands these issues. marco rubio, a tea party favorite. ken cuccinelli a tea party

favorite there are others, ted crust, mike lee. that are emerging. did they give you a sense of how this could play out in 2016? >> very interesting. very clearly wanting to make the point that he doesn't think that the results from last night's election -- >> virginia? >> virginia or new jersey, have much of an implication for 2016. and we're going to talk a lot more about that. "the situation room" later, especially ha he said about chris christie. very interesting. >> a little tease. >> a little teaser. new jersey is a different state from the rest of the country, wolf. very different. a blue state. maybe it won't translate into states like iowa. >> new jersey is a little different than iowa. >> what you might not know, marco rubio is somebody who he won't admit it, but is very seriously considering a presidential run himself in 2016. >> and chris christie as well. i'm looking forward to it. dana will be back with more. your typical first family, maybe not so much.

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the new first family is taking a new york city by storm. the mayor-elect, bill de blasio's wife and biracial kids played huge roles in his run for office, featured prominently in tv ads and campaign events. list ton what his wife had to

say about him last night. >> it's wonderful to see new yorkers getting to know the bill de blasio that yara and daunte and i love so much. bill is strong, strong enough to fight for what's right. but smart enough to listen and understand the point of view of others. he will lead this city with courage and empathy and vision. i know this, because i know him. >> debra ferrick is joining us from union city, new jersey, where governor chris christie has an event coming up, we'll have live coverage. but first back to the de blasios. tell us more about the first family of new york city. >> well we can tell you they really swayed the election. his wife and his two children. the turning point a lot of poll insiders will tell you is an ad that his then 15-year-old son daunte did and his retro hairdo

captured a lot of the imagination in terms of underscoring that de blasio has an african-american wife and his son also is biracial and he was able to get into issues like stop and frisk, giving him instant credibility. talking about how he worries in a his own son perhaps one day may be stopped and questioned simply because of how he looks. >> so that resonated in a lot of communities, specifically latino and african-american. they all focused on that. and that really gave him a bump up. his wife is a poet. she once identified as lesbian. and he says she's his close confidante and he fully expects she'll be engaged in the administration in giving him advice and doing whatever can help the city of new york. >> chris christie going to speak in the next few minutes what do we anticipate on the day after his easy re-election? >> well it's very interesting. his spokesperson said there's no

overall message in terms of what he wants to say, what he wants to tell the press. but he was giving a tour in one of the classrooms here where at the jose m ampb rmpbmartee fres academy. a lot of students waiting for him. when weighs in the classroom, he said he's not running for president. that's what he told the kids, that's what he tells members of the media. he said the people of new jersey elected him to be governor and that is fully what he plans on doing. if you look at the acceptance speech he gave last night, a number of political insiders said that was effectively an announcement. it showed that he could win a number of categories, the republicans, conservatives, tea parties, even women, he made huge gains among women and he barely, he almost squeaked out the 18-29-year-old vote so it really makes him a viable candidate. but he understands he's got to accept what he has right now and lead as governor.

>> we do hope to ask him what he hopes to achieve in the next four years and how he is going to do it if his sights are on the presidency as well. wolf? >> stand by, we'll have live coverage. i'm anxious to hear what the governor has to say. we'll let viewers listen in as well. deb, thanks very much. other news we're following, including pot smokers in several states are celebrating today. after voters made it easier for them to light up. we have the story and more news right after this. stick with power. stick with technology. get the flexcare platinum. new from philips sonicare. store and essentially they just get sold something. we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. before you invest in a mattress, discover the bed clinically proven to improve sleep quality. the sleep number bed.

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there. who are helping consumers navigate the health care market place. later he'll attend fundraisers for senate democrats before heading back to d.c. right now, a record day on wall street. the dow hitting an all-time high earlier today. investors responding well to solid corporate earnings, right now look at this the dow up what, 113 points. other news, smoking marijuana legally and making money off the sales. voters have now weighed in on those issues and their decisions may suggest a significant shift had in the way the country views pot. rene marsh is joining us with more on what is going on. there were key marijuana questions on ballots in a few states what did we learn? >> well it really when you look at what happened at the polls, it begs the question -- is marijuana becoming mainstream? now portland, maine, became the first east coast city to make small amounts of marijuana legal for recreational use.

even though recreational marijuana is illegal in the state. three michigan cities, including the state capital voted to remove local penalties for adults with small amounts, but again, recreational use is legal there. too. and in colorado, where recreational marijuana is legal, nearly 70% voted to tax it. now that means this measure will impose a 25% tax to fund schooling construction and law enforcement. one analyst thinks by taxing it that could raise $70 million in extra revenue next year. >> what's the take-away we should get from the effort to legalize marijuana in other states and other municipalities. >> the big picture or the big take-away here is simply that the public opinion on marijuana, it has changed. and it has changed drastically. take a look at the gallup pull from just last month. the majority of americans favor

legalizing marijuana. 10% surge in the past year. it's worth noting, when they first took the polling, in 1969, only 12 favored legalization. and of course, as we continue to see legalized marijuana catch on, the states, they're cashing in. a recent study says the u.s. leelg marijuana market is growing faster than smartphone sales. the same report says that this year the u.s. market netted more than $1 billion. and that next year, it could net more than $2 billion. >> some states are legalizing marijuana for recreational use, some municipalities are doing the same thing. the federal government does not believe in legalized marijuana so there's a fight going on right now. haas going on? >> it is. and you know what, the federal government has really taken a very ambiguous stance on this. marijuana is still illegal under federal law, it is still listed as one of the most dangerous substances in the controlled substances act.

yet the federal government says they will not challenge states who have legalized marijuana. and in an exclusive interview with our evan perez, he pushed attorney general eric holder on that point. and holder simply said it's up to congress to act he it comes to removing marijuana from that list of the most dangerous substances. so kind of putting it on congress's hands. until then we have this patchwork of laws here throughout the country and we watch this issue evolve essentially from, is it legal, is it not legal and now regulating it. >> as far as the federal government is concerned, if you're busted for marijuana, that's a federal crime. you go to jail. and in some states, it's totally recreational and legal. so there's a challenge there that the country is going to have to deal with. >> yeah. >> rene, thanks very much. the results of several other ballot measures are catching people's attention across the country. in colorado, voters in 11 counties have weighed in on a proposal to secede and form the country's 51st state.

votes being counted, but right now the yes vote is leading in five counties. the no vote in six. even if that measure were to win, by the way, it wouldn't become law, because the state legislature and then congress would have to approve it guess what, that's not happening. results are being tabulated on a measure in washington state, that would require labelling on all foods containing genetically modified ingredients. so far, 54% of the voters are rejecting the measure, 45% supporting it. and a vote in texas appears to have sealed the fate of the first domed stadium in the united states. 53% of the voters have opposed a plan to turn the landmark houston astro dome no a convention center. a group of local officials will now decide what to do with the empty stadium. but they're expected to vote for a demolition, which won't be cheap. we know who won, we know who lost on election day, but ha does it all mean for the political road ahead? we'll break it down. the results from virginia.

from new jersey. two members of the crossfire team are here, live, newt gingrich and van jones are ready to debate, when we come back. when our little girl was born, we got a subaru. it's where she said her first word. (little girl) no! saw her first day of school. (little girl) bye bye! made a best friend forever. the back seat of my subaru is where she grew up. what? (announcer) the subaru forester. (girl) what? (announcer) motor trend's two thousand fourteen sport utility of the year. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. at afraud could meanuld blower credit scores. and higher car loan rates. it's a problem waiting to happen. check your credit score, check your credit report at experian.com.

let's listen in, new jersey's rolely newly row elected governor, chris christie, speaking to a friendly crowd in union city, new jersey. >> so a great night last night, i am thrilled to have campaigned behind me and to get back to governing, which is what we're going to do starting today the

and get back to work. and that's what this is all about at the end of it. is the opportunity to govern, the opportunity to make a difference. in our state. and with partners like brian and others in the state legislature, i am confident that we'll be able to do that. i had a conversation this morning with the senate president and congratulated him on his victory yesterday in district 3. and the victory of his candidates. as you all know, steve and i have had a good relationship over the last four years, i don't see any reason that that's going to change over the next four. we committed once again yesterday, today, rather, with each other to work together over the next number of years. and in fact we'll meet tomorrow in trenton to begin to lay out the agenda for the lame duck session and for the new session that will begin in january after the inauguration. so we're going to continue to work together. do the same things we've done before. it's produced a good result, that the people of new jersey

seem pretty happy with. if that's the case, there's no reason to fix it if it's not broken. think the public came to that conclusion. and so it's my job now to make it happen. and that's exactly what i intend to do over the course of the next four years. so, even though i've been extraordinarily available on the trail to answer all the people's questions, to allow them to talk to me during the times when we had no availabilities, i know there's been a little carping about the fact that you haven't had me behind the podium to answer your questions, so here you go. and for those of you, and -- >> obviously the students behind me have seen me before doing this so for the uninitiated, we we answer good questions. i hope you have some good ones this morning, we'll go to an out of towner, first, kelly, you've been following me around for a week, have what have you got?

>> said you wanted people around the country to watch what you've accomplished here. are you prepared to make any adjustments to your personal style, to tone down your rashness to appeal to people beyond new jersey. >> no, listen, no, this is who i am. you're asking me a 51 years old now to become a different person. >> just to adjust. >> listen, i adjust all the time. which i think folks who watch me all the time notice. i am not a one-trick pony. and i have the ability to be able to read a situation and to conduct myself in the way that i think is the most effective. but that's what governs what i do. i'm not here to put on a show. i'm here to win and i define winning in everything that i do. it's not just about last night. it's about on a particular issue, on a particular vote in the legislature. what i attempt to do is to express myself in a way that i think will be most effective to be able to govern.

that's what the executive's job is. so but fundamentally, i'm not going to be changing who i am. you know, i think the verdict from last night is that at least in new jersey, people like who i am. and like the way i govern and so, i'm just going to continue to be that way. i have no responsibilities other than the responsibilities that i have in the state. and to the extent that anybody as i implied last night, can draw lessons from that, they're welcome to and i'm happy to talk about it with anybody who wants to talk about it. but as for the fundamental part of your question, no, kelly, i don't see myself changing any time soon. that's why i used the line to end the speech last night about what my mother used to tell me as a kid. you know, be yourself. and you don't have to worry tomorrow, try to remember who you pretended to be yesterday. that's what my mom used to tell me and my mom and younger brother and sister she drilled it into us for years. this is me. some people's cup of tea, maybe not. but that will be for other people to decide.

right now the only people i have to worry about pleasing are the people who live within the confines of this state. from last night, i think i'm doing okay. >> dana? >> debra feyer from cnn. you told the kids in the class a moment ago that you're not running for president. but everybody is talking about you running for president. the question is how do you keep that from becoming a major distraction over the next couple of years as you govern the state of new jersey? >> yeah. i don't get distracted very easily. it takes a lot to distract me and i think the way it won't be distraction is that i simply won't let it. >> one of the things you saw in 2010 and 2011, was that there was enormous speculation about me running for president then and i would get asked about it almost at every press conference, even though the entire time i would say no, i'm not running. until finally i had a press conference that once again said i wasn't running. so i've gone through this

before. and we achieved a lot during that time. so it's not new to me. so i've had the speculation about it before. if it comes again, it comes again. think that's nothing but good for the people of new jersey. because they wouldn't be speculating about somebody who wasn't doing their job well. and so, speculating about me, that means i'm continuing to do my job well. if i'm doing my job, that's good for the people here. i've never seen it as a distraction and like i've said before, i don't see it as a burden, either. you got to have such a huge ego, to say please, it's such a burden for you to be speculating me about being the next leader of the free world. it's complementary, and it's flattering and i have no problem with it. but i've got a job to do, i got re-elected to do a job last night and that's the job i'm going to do. if the time comes where i change my mind and i that and i decide i want to do something else, i'll tell the people of new jersey i want to do something

else, but this is what i want to do. this is why i ran for re-election. >>. [ inaudible ] [ inaudible ] >> does that in any way complicate -- [ inaudible ] >> they tried to elect barbara bono, i'm not mad at them, either. it's their job. you know, they held fundraisers for her, they campaigned with her. she lost. i won. they have to deal with me. they won. i have to deal with them. that's the way it goes. this is practicality. you know, elections have consequences. and those consequences cannot be, i didn't get my way, therefore, i'm taking my ball and going and holding my breath. >> people made a decision, in new jersey they have decided they want divided government.

we could sit around and debate why that is but that doesn't change the circumstance. so my job today is to do that. the good news is i got four years experience dealing with it. so it's not like i'm coming in cold to it like i did four years ago. i know how to do this and by the way, so does steve. so i'm not concerned about it at all. we'll do the best we can. steven and i talked about this this morning. elections are elections. we do what we have to do. he campaigned hard for his folks and i campaigned hard for mine. and then people decide. and they've made their decision and they've made their voices clear and now it's time for us to go to work. and we'll do it. i have no concerns about it at all. [ inaudible ] [ inaudible ] you get the gist, newly

reeelectriced governor, chris christie, making it clear he's got a job to do in new jersey but leaving open the possibility that he might run for president of the united states. we have a lot to assess right now, van johns and newt gingrich. they're both here, we'll discuss chris christie. when we come back. mine was earned orbiting the moon in 1971. afghanistan in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

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christie. always outspoken, always candid. let's discuss what we heard. van jones is here, newt gingrich is here, cohosts of "crossfire." he made it clear to me last night, the days leading up to this, he's seriously thinking of trying to do what you tried to do, get the republican presidential nomination. >> he ought to be. if you look at his results last night, he's got a lot going for him. i think he's doing it the right way. the tone today, workmanlike, practical, reaching out to the democrats. a wonderful antic dote to how sick people are of the city right now. >> he got so much support from non-republican segments, women, young people, minorities. >> you're falling for it. you're falling for it.

>> you don't believe it? you don't believe the exit polls? he won by 60%. >> he was running unopposed. i could run those numbers. >> barbara buono was the democrat. why do the democrats cave and not even try to help her? >> first of all, this guy is an enormously appealing, he has a great personality, a master showman, but the myth of chris christie cannot survive close scrutiny. you would think based on what everybody is saying about him he's creating jobs. he's got the wursz job record of any state in that neighborhood. you would think he's a big tax fighter. property taxes are up there. >> why do they like him? >> he was there for that storm. this is a simple story. we could overanalyze this. we had a governor there in the biggest disaster and there for them in the storm, and they rewarded him. >> but 49 other governors would have been there as well. >> plenty of examples of disasters, whether in katrina, wherever, i the governors did not do a good job. >> i give him that, but let's be

clear. this guy who is supposed to be a fiscal conservative, waisted $12 million of money, to make sure cory booker ran ahead of him so he could get the margins. he ran unopposed and wasted $12 million. he was afraid of cory booker's coaltails. >> the tensity of van's reaction tells you how serious democrats are going to take this. >> he would be a formidable republican presidential, but can he get the -- can he win in iowa, sorth carolina, florida. you understand this. you were there. we did a lot of the debates together. is he a rudy giuliani or is he a mitt romney? >> he's neither. he is more conservative than romney. which makes him much more conservative than giuliani. he's pro life. despite what van just said, the government last year in new jersey spent less than it's spent in 2008. he's been a fiscal conservative.

he's been a lot like scott walker in taking on the government employee unions. he's got a good story to tell. people overstate the relative conservatism. iowa has a moderate conservative governor who has been re-elected over and over. >> you think christie could win? >> if he goes out there and is willing to relax, do what he did last night. listen to the people of iowa, of south carolina, he could be surprisingly well. >> first, what he did remarkably well was run not as a republican. let's be very clear. this is a non-good outicate for tea party style republicans. let's be clear about that. he threw in the towel on gay marriage weeks before this election. he's done a lot of things to try to get away from what's going on in the main firehouses of his own party. first of all, now he's going to have to tack back and pretend he's some fire-breathing republican conservative. i think he begins to tarnish that authenticity brand.

>> look, this is a guy who defunded planned parenthood, which every right to life activist in the country will be thrilled by. he's somebody who has been very firm. no one is going to be pert in this game, but if he does run, he's going to run on being effective, and he's going to run on bringing people together. >> i want to play a clip. van, listen to this clip. listen to this clip. this is what he said last night. i want you to listen to the words he said because some folks have heard this clip we're about to play and think he's already looking ahead, potentially, to a run against hillary clinton in a general election. listen to this. >> for those veterans out there tonight, you know, you know how sacred a mission is. sacredness of the mission of a soldier is that no one ever is left behind. nown is ever left behind on the battlefield. and on the battlefield that

sandy turned this state into, new jerseyans will never leave any new jurisian behind. >> did you get a nuance there? or am i overreading it? because the implication potentially, i don't know if this is what he was thinking. benghazi, leaving soldiers behind on the battlefield. hillary clinton was the secretary of state. >> first of all, certainly mr. authenticity, who has told you over and over again, he's not running for president. you believe this schtick, that he's mr. authentic and he's not running for president. ymg sure nothing in that speech was designed -- >> listen -- >> you think that was sort of a suggestion ability benghazi? >> if it was, it was a cheap shot and keeping in the character where he has, where he's a guy at the party who as long as you like him, he's laughing, but he's also yelling and making fun of school teachers. you get that bully. >> why is it a cheap shot to suggest we shouldn't leave

soldiers behind? most americans are going to resonate and say, yeah, is wan' that a standard we ought to have? >> exactly right, yet we have dead americans and one political party in the country that from my point of view has been demagoguing that and doing so in a way i think is unfair to those families and unfair to our country. if he wants to join the parade, it puts him in the kind of politics, the cheap-shot, divisive politics he says he's against. >> all i can say is there are a lot of u.s. senators right now who have indicated very firmly led by lindsay graham and john mccain and others that they don't believe the state department has been honest. they don't believe the secretary clinton has been honest. i don't think they were doing that on behalf of chris christie. they're really concerned. >> we'll have much more later tonight, 6:30 p.m. eastern, right after "the situation room." a new "crossfire," which we look forward to every day. thanks to both of you for joining us. by the way, senators david vitter and bernie sanders will

be in "crossfire" with van and newt 6:30 p.m. eastern. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in "the situation room." "newsroom" continues right now with brooke baldwin. just in to cnn, new research shows autism can be detected in the first few months of life. we will tell you what this means. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. the homesick hijacker back in america. decades after this man hijacked a flight to cuba, he returns because he wants to. as her new murder trial gets under way, new tests show a trace of amanda knox's dna on a knife. plus, patriotic or poor taste? a football team's new uniforms showing blood splatter to honor those who fight. and -- >>