vote in either primary and they might find the republican race even more interesting. a lot of fun even with governor romney on the sidelines. that's it for "inside politics" again. state of the union starts right now. isis strikes again and mitt romney closes the door on 2016. i'm dana bash and this is "state of the union." isis says it has beheaded a second japanese hostage. a video released by the terror group appears to show the decapitated body of japanese journalist kenji goto. this comes one week after his fellow captive was beheaded. will ripley, what's the reaction in japan? >> reporter: dana people here are deeply saddened by this awful end to this crisis which has gripped the country. there was hope as kenji goto

appeared in several different isis propaganda messages. isis had purportedly offered to exchange his life for that canadian -- that iraqi woman held in jordan. sajida al-rishawi. there was hope he might get out alive as recently as days ago. when the isis deadline passed with no word there was growing fear that this video would come and this would be the end, the awful end for a father of two with two young daughters who aren't going to see their dad again. but here in tokyo there is also some growing questions certainly from opponents of shinzo abe. two days before the first isis video o featuring kenji goto and haruni yakuni. shinzo abe pledged $200 million that he was going to support the coalition against isis and he

did that knowing that there were two japanese citizens in the hands of isis. people are saying that the situation could have been handled differently, perhaps. that the announcement could have been made more discretely and that perhaps these two men may still be alive. today it's about grieving but in the coming days we expect to see that debate continue here as people wonder how this tragedy happened and what can be done to prevent it from ever happening again. dana. >> terrible terrible. thank you, will for that update. we're going to continue to monitor this story and check back with you for any updates as we go through the show. today we're going to talk about february 1st because it is exactly one year from the iowa caucuses. it is, of course, the first contest in the presidential nominating season and in 2008 mike huckabee was the triumphant winner. >> i wasn't sure that i would ever be able to love a state as much as i love my home state of arkansas but tonight i love iowa a whole lot.

>> that night, i remember it well but huckabee's white house bid fell short. the preaching did i tar playing former arkansas governor has quit his job at fox and he's not making it a secret that he's interested in making another run in 2016. governor huckabee thank you for coming on. we'll get to iowa in a second. i want to play a tv moment that everybody is talking about. fox's megan kelly had you on her show to explain that when you sparked controversy talking about trashy new york women you didn't mean your former colleagues at fox. then she said this. >> we are not only swearing we're drinking we're smoking, we're having pre-marital sex, before we go to work and sometimes on a bus with a bunch of men. >> i love that. >> i just don't want to hear that. i don't want to hear that. >> sorry. that's just reality, gov. govgovernor i want to tell you that at cnn the women are not smoking, drinking having premarital sex, not sex before

work no cursing so welcome back to cnn. >> thank you, dana. by the way, you know i think what i should have told megan was, my gosh megan, i've only been gone three weeks and the place has just gone to the dogs. >> they need you there. >> it was a funny moment. yeah no it was funny. you know i was in on the joke as was megan, yet i read stories where people said megan kelly really took it to mike huckabee. i'm thinking you guys are hilarious. we had a lot of fun with it. >> let's see if anybody takes it seriously. a brand-new poll out this morning in iowa that shows that you're doing okay but you're not at the top of the heap there. scott walker the governor from wisconsin is at the top. 16%. rand paul 15%. you are at 13% and the list goes on and on and on and on. let's just talk about scott walker first. what do you think of his mojo?

>> well he's definitely moving forward. a lot of people are interested in him. he's done a great job in wisconsin. weathered three elections so sure he's an incredibly important contender for our party but, i mean look at the stable. there are a lot of people. i just remind people that eight years ago when i was starting this i wasn't even mentioned. i was an asterisk if i even got mentioned in a poll or any conversation. it was, oh, and by the way there are some other people running including, so it's a little early to take too much into it. now quite honestly if i were at the top of the poll i'd tell you this is very significant. the fact that i'm not i'm going to tell you, well it's not as important as it seems to be. this is how the game is played and dana you know it as well as anybody in america. it's an interesting to see where iowa is moving at this point. i'm delighted to be where i am. it's a very tight bunching. it's a long way. a year from the caucuses today. >> you mentioned 2008. i just want to put on the screen

the pac back then. it was small but it was a lot smaller than today so that sort of gives you a sense of how different it is. but also back then you ran very successfully with no money, i was there, by getting out the grassroots conservatives, the evangelicals the home schoolers, but you didn't have a lot of other candidates in that part of the field doing that. this time you do a lot. how are you going to compete with that? >> well i think the most important thing is that i never really got most of my support from the evangelicals so that was the narrative. a lot of my support came from people who felt like they were in the bottom of the economic pool and one of the reasons that we attracted a lot of working class people people who had been democrats, people who weren't that politically connected and people that let's say weren't regular goers to the party meetings were because they saw in what i was talking about how we could truly change this

country and make the economy work for the people at the bottom. here's a sad fact. over the past 40 years the people in the bottom 90% of america have had stagnant wages, stagnant. largely because of the instability of the dollar. i think when we talk about these things and how to lift people up, the message gets through. i don't see myself as a one dimensional candidate just with value voters. >> sure. to that point, the person that you -- one of the people that you beat back then was mitt romney. we have to talk about his big news on friday saying that he was not going to run for a third -- run a third time. listen to what he said when he talked to some of his supporters. >> i believe that one of our next generation of leaders, one that may not be as well known as i am one that has not yet taken their message across the country, one who's just getting started may well emerge as being better able to defeat the

democrat nominee. in fact i expect and hope that to be the case. >> the next generation. he's trying to tell you to get out of the way? what do you think? >> i don't think so. you know i mean mitts' slipped aside. i looked at it as one down several more to go. i'm hoping the others drop out and leave me by myself. that will be delightful for me. if that happens the rest of the next few months i would be delighted, dana. that would be great. >> don't hold your breath. we're going to talk about your book in the next segment, but before we get there i want to talk about one specific issue about the republican party. you really took aim at outside groups and what they do to the republican party. you even compared them to the fort hood shooter. i want to read part of what you say. i really don't think nadal hassan is the role model the gop wants to emulate. we should leave that kind of sunni shiite fight to the real jihadists. the goal of conservatives should

be to build america, not blow up the republican party. you're not the first to complain about outside groups. that's a little strong. you could argue they have a right to do it. >> sure they have a right to do it but the question is is it the right thing to do in order to win in a general election against democrats? and i don't see how we help ourselves when we have fratracide within the conservative movement and more specifically within the republican party. i look at other republicans as people on the same team and we're all vying for the job of being quarterback. well if i want to be the quarterback of the team i've got to play the best game on the field. i don't become quarterback by taking a baseball bat to the kneecaps of everybody else who wants to be quarterback. >> what are you going to do about it? >> i think i'll talk very positively about what i want to do for america rather than what i want to do to one of the other candidates and what they failed to do. and i would always remind voters that the most unreliable information they will ever get about a candidate is from either the individual or the group that

hopes somebody else gets the nomination. it's just utterly unreliable information. if people kind of look at it that way, it might hopefully decimate the influence of the negative advertising. >> governor i'm going to ask you to stand by just for a minute. we're going to squeeze in a break, and when we come back i want to talk more about the book and what you say in there about bubble bill. stay tuned. the exhilaration of a new engine. painstakingly engineered without compromise. to be more powerful... and, miraculously, unleash 46 mpg highway. an extravagance reserved for the privileged few. until now. hey josh! new jetta? yeah. introducing lots of new. the new volkswagen jetta tdi clean diesel. isn't it time for german engineering? when the moment's spontaneous, why pause to take a pill?

or stop to find a bathroom? cialis for daily use is approved to treat both erectile dysfunction and the urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision or any symptoms of an allergic reaction stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30-tablet trial.

i know... this third shift is rough... it's just a few more weeks max! what are you doing up? it's late. i just wanted to have breakast wih you. we all eat foods that are acidic... most of the time people are shocked when we show them where they're getting the acid and what those acids can do to the enamel. there's only so much enamel on a tooth, and everybody needs to do something about it now if they want to preserve their teeth. i recommend pronamel because it helps strengthen the tooth and makes it more resistant

to acid breakdown. we want to be healthy and strong through the course of our life and by using pronamel every day, just simply using it as your toothpaste, you know you will have that peace of mind. don't just visit new york. visit tripadvisor new york. tripadvisor not only has millions of real traveler's reviews and opinions but checks hundreds of websites, so people can get the best hotel prices. to plan, compare & book the perfect trip. visit tripadvisor.com today.

we're back with former and likely future presidential candidate mike huckabee. his new book is god, guns, grit, gravy debuting on "the new york times" best seller list. the whole concept here is about bubbaville what you call the flyover region of the country versus bubbleville which is where i am in washington new york l.a. and the cultural contrast between the two. you talk about it in detail a whole range of issues. what i want to ask you is if you want to be president you need to reach out to people in bubbleville because you consider yourself part of bubbaville. how do you do that? >> think by being honest. the inches fluns of new york washington hollywood will say, no, that just doesn't happen. people who have some understanding about how

influential the culture of those three communities are on fashion, finance, politics, government news sick entertainment, television i think they would understand that yeah there is a difference. that doesn't mean that you don't relate it just means that you recognize the difference. of course dana this book was not so much a political treatise as it is sort of a cultural review of the country and what polarizes it. i think it's not just polarized by democrats and republicans, it's culturally. it's not safe sanitized, sterilized as you well know because you read it. you would attest it is not a typical book written by somebody who is likely to run for office. >> that is a good point. that is true. but let's talk about gay marriage because that is one of the topics in this book and you write about your opposition to same-sex marriage as a religious conviction but you also say this and i'm going to quote, i have friends who are gay. my wife and i have entertained

gay friends including gay couples in our home. i do business with gay people and have had gay people working for me. my beliefs and convictions don't change with the people i'm around. i accept people who disagree with me and genuinely accept that they accept me as a friend and associate. do you do that and put your tolerance out there because you believe being gay is not a choice? >> you know for me that's not the big question. the bigger question is how does it relate to law? how do we change law? we don't change law because neem a black robe decide they don't like the fact that 70 some cases 80% have confirmed natural law marriage. i write a lot about process and the fact that barack obama had the same position i had when he spoke about it in 2008 and for the same reason. he said it was because he was a christian and god was in the mix.

those are his words. >> i'm going to ask you about gay marriage but staying on this topic because you do write very eloquently about it being a religious conviction to oppose gay marriage but then you also talk about the biblical backings of being heterosexual. given that how do you kind of square that religious conviction with being open to having gay friends? >> people can be my friends who have lifestyles that are not necessarily my lifestyle. i don't chuck people out of my circle my life because they have a different point of view. i don't drink alcohol but, gosh a lot of my friends, maybe most of them do. you know, i don't use profanity, but believe me i've got a lot of friends who do. some people really like classical music and ballet and opera. it's not my cup of tea. i'd like to think there's room in america for people who have different points of views without screaming, shouting wanting to shut their businesses

down. what worries me in this new environment we're in it's not that someone might disagree they don't want to argue with me take a different point of view they want to close someone's business down put them really in an economic position of disenfranchisement. i find that very very disturbing. >> governor you talked about gay marriage so let's talk about that and how much your own party has changed even since you ran in 2008. according to pew, in 2008 19% of republicans supported gay marriage. now it's all the way up to 30%. that's a pretty big jump in not a lot of years. so you talk about the big ten in the republican party. shouldn't there be room for those who want same-sex marriage to be the law of the land? >> sure there's room in the tent. i hope the party doesn't change its overall view but, you know the very fact that i talk about the relationships i have with friends who are gay indicate that i'm not a person who shuts everybody out around me who

disagrees. to be honest with you, dana, i find a lot more interesting conversations that i can have with people who don't agree with me. i accept a lot of people as friends maybe whose lifestyle i don't necessarily adhere to agree with or practice. doesn't mean that i can't have a good relationship with anyone or lead them or govern them but for me as it was for president obama in 2008 this is not just a political issue, it is a biblical issue and as a biblical issue, unless you know i get a new version of the scriptures it's really not my place to say, okay i'm just going to evolve. it's like asking somebody who's jewish to start serving bacon wrapped shrimp in their deli. we don't want to do that. we're not going to do that. or asking a muslim to serve up something that is offensive to him or to have dogs in his backyard. we're so sensitive to make sure we don't offend certain religions, but then we act like

christians can't have the convictions they've had for over 2,000 years. >> governor i have to ask you who is the super bowl team from bubbaville is it the seahawks or the patriots? >> gosh once the cowboys weren't in it it kind of lost its interest for me and i didn't even hug jerry jones. i'm a cowboys fan and that kind of broke my heart. i'm probably going to go with the seahawks because i like their style and i think it'll be fun. they haven't been there as much. give them a shot. >> all right. sounds good. thank you very much for joining us governor. appreciate it. >> thank you, dana. great to be with you. >> thank you. the vietnam war veteran takes on anti-war protesters. >> you're going to have to shut up or i'm going to have you arrested. get out of here you low life scum. >> does john mccain regret calling that protester a low life scum? stay tuned. startup-ny. it's working for new york

state. already 55 companies are investing over $98 million dollars and creating over 2100 jobs. from long island to all across upstate new york, more businesses are coming to new york. they are paying no property taxes no corporate taxes no sales taxes. and with over 300 locations, and 3.7 million square feet available, there's a place that's right for your business. see if startup-ny can work for you. go to startup.ny.gov.

introducing dance-all-you want bladder leak protection. new always discreet underwear for sensitive bladders from always, the experts in feminine protection. only always discreet underwear has soft dual leakguard barriers to help stop leaks where they happen most. plus, always discreet has a discreet fit that hugs your curves. you barely feel it. new always discreet underwear. now bladder leaks can feel like no big deal. because, hey, pee happens.

joining me now is senator john mccain who's chairman of the senate armed services committee. thanks for joining me. >> thank you, dana. >> 2016 politics mitt romney deciding at the end of the week deciding he is not going to run. you know him, he was your competitor and your friend. does that surprise you? >> i thought he was going to run to tell you the truth when i had heard all of the rumors. i had talked to him on the phone about it and i think he seriously considered it and then i think he decided that it was not in his best interests. i'm a great admirer of mitt

romney. i think there's many ways he can continue to serve this country but he may have frankly, spared his family from the ordeal which we all know is a very difficult one. >> you said you thought he was going to run. what did he say to you that made you think that? >> when we talked on the phone he made it very clear to me that he was seriously considering running again, and i'm sure that he spent a lot of time with his family and friends and came to the decision that he made and, again, i have great respect and affection for mitt romney. i think he ran an honorable campaign. >> do you think he could have won the primary even? >> i don't know because -- the reason why i don't know is you know know you only have so many chances at the brass ring and then people say, well it's somebody else's turn. there's no education in the second kick of a mule. >> another person who you knew

from those days sarah palin, she was in iowa this past weekend. i'm sure you saw. she's taking some heat from some conservatives about the speech the way she spoke and the content of it. just listen to some of it. >> we need to ask who carries on reagan's legacy? who will lead our freedom movement to victory? it's going to take more than a village to beat hillary. the man can only ride ya when your back is bent so strengthen it. >> what do you make of that? >> she's very popular with a lot of people. i think if she wants to run, that's her choice. she still has a strong base of support. i love her. i am grateful to her. i will say again, i thought the treatment that she received when she was my running mate was still the worst that i've ever seen any politician receive but, you know that's over and done in my life and i'm sure in

sarah's. you move on. >> do you think sarah palin should run for president? >> i think that she ought to do whatever she feels that she'd like to do and i'm very supportive of anything she does. obviously senator lindsey graham is a person i'm supporting but i wish her every success. >> after the speech in iowa even some of her conservative supporters said what was that all about, byron york for example wrote that it was rambling and no one understood what she was doing, but also specifically the republican party needs to figure out what her place is going to be in 2016. do you think she could be an asset in 2016? >> i think so but i did not see her speech so i can't comment on that. but she still has a strong base of support around the country and, again, i think she is still a degree of popularity. if she did not give a good speech she's not the first

politician that didn't give a good speech from time to time including me. >> you had her come and campaign with you during your last election campaign for the senate. >> yes. yes. >> you're on the ballot again. will she come and campaign for you again? >> oh, sure. i'm sure of that. no question. >> the whole question of 2016 seems to be settled with you because your dear friend lindsey graham is running. are you happy he made this decision? >> i'm happy lindsey has decided he wants to explore it. he's smart. he's got a great american story of a young man whose parents died raised his sister, serves in the military. there is no one in america that knows better than lindsey graham about the threats to this country and his knowledge and depth on national security are unmatched by anyone. >> do you really think lindsey graham could win the republican nomination? >> i think lindsey graham will do very well in debates in new

hampshire. he will shine in the town hall meeting. >> i asked him about you but specifically whether he would run the maverick campaign like you did in 2000. here's what he had to say. >> john is a dear friend. one of the highlights of my time in politics is for him, and he -- i know he loves me dearly. we're truly friends. but he wouldn't say to anybody that i should be president if he didn't really mean it and believe it. >> i would point out that he has served his active duty in iraq and baghdad and kabul. he knows the men and women in the military. he knows what they're going through in these foreign places in a way that no one standing for presidency does. lindsey graham does and i'm proud of his service to the country. >> let's turn to israel and the prime minister being invited to speak before congress. the speaker did so without informing the white house, which is traditionally protocol. was that a good idea? >> i think that given the way

that relations are between the president and the speaker and majority leader senator mcconnell it's not surprising. obviously we would want everybody to work together but there's a real crisis going on and that is these negotiations with iran which many of us believe are already fatally flawed, that the speaker felt the overriding concern was to have him appear before the american people and tell them about the dangers of a very bad agreement with iran on nuclear weapons. >> i know you. you are somebody who reverse institutions and you're an institutionalist. would you have done it a different way though? i mean and informed the white house about it? it's certainly caused a diplomatic rift. >> obviously i would have talked to the white house, but i may have and i hate to put myself in these leaders' place, i might have at least informed them but i certainly agree that we don't

need their permission given the state of relations. >> what about the relationship between prime minister netanyahu and the president, which is you know widely to be known as not great. >> it's poor as we know and it's the worst that i've ever seen in my lifetime and that in itself is a tragedy because it's the only functioning democracy in the entire middle east. >> why do you think it's the worst that you've seen in your lifetime? >> i think because the president had very unrealistic expectations about the degree of cooperation he would get from israel particularly on the palestinian issue as well as the nuclear issue with iran and i'm not putting the entire blame on the president of the united states but i will see this no other president has had such difficult relationship with the state of israel since it became a country. >> bush 41 didn't have the greatest relations at times. >> he didn't but at the same time it never reached this

level. i agree with you about bush 41. i remember when jim baker testified before congress if they want to call me my number is 202 -- i remember that. relations with israel have not always been excellent, but i think any observer would argue they've never been worse. >> this past week you had a widely covered moment when you were chairing the armed services committee hearing with henry kissinger where protesters called him a war criminal and worse. >> arrest henry kissinger for war crimes. >> and you used some language that was also pretty intense. >> i have never seen anything as disgraceful and outrageous and despicable as the last demonstration that just took place about -- you know you're going to have to shut up or i'm going to have you arrested. get out of here you low life scum. >> now that we're past that past the heat of the moment do

you think that that was the way you would handle it again? >> yeah. these people were physically threatening henry kissinger. i'm used to people popping up at these hearings and yelling and they're escorted out. that's at least some version of free speech. these people rushed up. they were right next to henry kissinger waiving handcuffs at him. he's a 91-year-old man with a broken shoulder who was willing to come down and testify before congress to give us the benefit of his many years of wisdom. of course i was outraged and i am still rouge raged. it's one thing to stand up and protest, it's something else to physically threaten an individual particularly an individual who has served so much to his country, whether you agree or not. i happen to believe he's one of the great states men of my lifetime or maybe of the whole 20th century. >> you called them scum.

that name-calling do you think -- >> i think they're terrible people okay? i think they're terrible people that would do that to a 91-year-old man with a broken shoulder that -- to physically threaten him. that is -- that is beyond any normal behavior i have observed. >> from your perspective it wasn't what they said or the fact that they were protesting. >> yeah. >> it's the way they handled it and who they were talking to? >> the way they literally surrounded him and were physically in such proximity to him that he was in danger of being harmed. that's -- that's what i -- that's what i object to. i don't object to them -- i don't particularly like it when they stand up and yell. look at the video can. there was a perfect waiving handcuffs right over his head and if it hadn't of been for a couple of people including my colleagues i've never seen this before came down from the deus and to stand with henry kissinger between him and those

people who, in my view and i think the video will corroborate it were physically threatening him. no one deserves that much less henry kissinger. >> on a much lighter note super bowl is in your state, in your hometown. >> uh-huh. >> later today. who's your team? >> i have reason to dislike both teams because they've beaten the arizona cardinals, but this -- if there was ever a closer game where it's going to be a tossup and we're going to see it right to the very end, these are two very closely matched teams with two great quarterbacks. >> and we are going to have more on the big game later. in fact this is a live signal outside the stadium where shortly we'll talk with four-time super bowl winner and mvp lynn swann. next who's the big winner of mitt romney's 2016 standdown and what's up with hillary clinton? will she? won't she? why won't she? our panel sizes up the 2016 landscape when we come back.

ugh... ...heartburn. did someone say burn? try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm... amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. meet the world's newest energy superpower. surprised? in fact, america is now the world's number one natural gas producer... and we could soon become number one in oil. because hydraulic fracturing technology is safely recovering lots more oil and natural gas. supporting millions of new jobs. billions in tax revenue...

and a new century of american energy security. the new energy superpower? it's red, white and blue. log on to learn more. how much money do you have in your pocket right now? i have $40 $21. could something that small make an impact on something as big as your retirement? i don't think so. well if you start putting that towards your retirement every week and let it grow over time, for twenty to thirty years that retirement challenge might not seem so big after all. ♪ ♪

republican candidates around the country are courting mitt romney's donors as we speak, and that's just one of the ripple effects of romney deciding a

third try at the candidacy. >> washington post chief correspondent dan ball and donna brazile. the democrat who ran al gore's presidential nomination. i want to show a poll. scott walker top of the pack. dan, you broke the story this week that scott walker started higgs his pac to make the run. what do you make of the fact that he's at the top of the heap? i have a slightly counter intuitive notion. i think it's good for him but i think it's early for him to be at the top of the pack. i always thought he would creep his way up and he gave a good speech. to be at the top, he's a target. >> you're exactly right. kevin, it's nice to be at the top but you don't want to peak too early. >> right.

it's a particularly an opportunity for someone like governor walker to build a profile and then ultimately build a national profile one handshake at a time but i didn't think it would happen early. one of the big risks is that the element of surprise is gone. s we see somewhere in the summer someone go from 2% to a top percent. that's gone. he'll get another level of scrutiny. it will be interesting to see whether or not his campaign is ready for that. >> it goes to show that on the republican side the race is wide open. just a week ago when scott walker appeared he seemed nervous but you know what the crowd reacted. they liked what he had to say. he's a fresh face. he's run three times over the last four years, won in a blue state. he is somebody -- >> are you trying to talk him up because you think you can knock him down? >> i would like to knock down a few of them. >> as a democrat. >> there are so many republicans. it gives him a chance to raise money, meet the activists.

we're a long way from deciding which candidate from the establishment, group of rabble rousers, those are my favorite republicans, those who like to stir the pots the cultural wars mike huckabee being elite. >> you mentioned the establishment. one member of the establishment will not be there, mitt romney. that was the big news this week. i want to read a quote from dan, your story this weekend. when he was deciding whether or not to run, of course he did a very romneyesque thing. he gathered a lot of data tried to figure out if it was worth it. here's what you wrote. during the deliberations romney and bush jeb bush met once at romney's utah home on january 22nd. romney arrived armed with a mountain of polling data which seemed to shape his view of the race. romney shared that information as a way of explaining his motivation to thinking about running again. how do you think he went from that to days later saying oops never mind? >> it's very interesting. the information he got, which was polling data a donor of his

from the past had commissioned. it showed him in very good shape at this point in a lot of states up to 20 states as i was told but what he came to conclude and in part because of the reaction he got after he announced his interest in running again, he concluded that by the time he got through another really tough brutal republican nomination battle he might not be in the kind of shape to be able to take on presumably hillary clinton in the general election. i think that according to a couple of people close to him shaped his ultimate decision to not running. >> that's his head. what about his heart? >> kevin you knowing him, you spent so much time with him both of his presidential campaigns. you know how he makes decisions. you even talked to him so enlighten us. >> no, i think there was a genuine struggle between the head and the heart. i think in his heart he believes he would be a great president. he's uniquely set to help the country. there's the clinician, data

driven guy. i think looking at the field, looking at the prospects of a very device. >> dewayne: -- divisive primary, this is much larger than him and that he wanted to avoid -- >> that's hard for somebody -- anybody who runs for president has to have had enough of an ego to think they're the best person. >> it's ego but also that inner circle around them. those of us closest to him really also do believe he'd make a great president. >> they do. >> felt a loyalty to that desire he had. ultimately this was a decision i think, that he made because it was much bigger than him and because he didn't want that divisive primary. >> donna, i spoke to some of those people who are close to them. some of them were surprised. they were definitely bummed out and disappointed. >> i'm sure. he received 60 million votes in 2012. 202 electoral votes. of course he came up short, but the truth is is that mitt romney

represents something in the republican party that i think is missing from this current group of -- current crop of candidates although jeb bush is interesting, and that is he's run a state. he is -- he had ideas that he believed would turn the ee cop my around although president obama has scored a lot on that front. but i think at the end of the day mitt romney took a look around him and said you know what i'm out of here. >> let me just ask you about somebody else that you have been thinking about, hillary clinton. >> yes. >> there's a lot of debate over when should she get into the race. i want to read something from one of her fundraisers told the associated press. no one wants a complete coronation but it's hard to see who a credible challenger will be. what's the deal donna? where are you on this? should she get in and sort of get her sea legs or should she wait and avoid being out there too long? >> she's casting a wide net. i'm sure for vice president biden and former governor o'malley and many other people

thinking about it jim webb this is an opportunity for her to really figure out, is she ready? does she want to run? does she want to put her body through this? >> do you think she should get in sooner or later? >> what's the rush? there's no x mark she needs on the calendar. the democratic party hasn't decided on a venue for the convention. she should take her time. cast her wide ned. figure out her approach. this is not 2012. >> dan, what are you hearing about hillary clinton? >> one, she is going to take some time. you know my guess is that we are going to see her out if not as a formal candidate, we're going to see her out as a politician by you know mid spring. i don't think she's going to wait entirely until summer. she may wait until summer to make a formal declaration of candidacy, but she's a politician at this point. the idea that she can avoid the notion that she's still, you know not a politician is you know fanciful. so she's in the arena in one

form or another. she's taking her time to put together a team that she's comfortable with that she's different from last time one that's less dysfunctional than the previous one and as we all know she's trying to figure out what that message is really going to be. >> kevin, you've got a ten second addition. >> look at a certain point what does all this -- i get that you know the reason of wanting to stay back and stay above the fray. a the a certain point it looks like reluck tax. voters don't like reluctant candidates. >> she's a warrior. >> hold that thought. we will talk about it at another time. thank you. best. politicians of all stripes are not just thinking about their own futures, believe it or not. they are going to be thinking about the super bowl tonight. next former star wide receiver lynn swann on the state of the nfl and what it's like playing in football's biggest game of the year. startup-ny. it's working for new york state. already 55 companies are investing over $98 million dollars

and creating over 2100 jobs. from long island to all across upstate new york, more businesses are coming to new york. they are paying no property taxes no corporate taxes no sales taxes. and with over 300 locations, and 3.7 million square feet available, there's a place that's right for your business. see if startup-ny can work for you. go to startup.ny.gov. there's nothing more romantic than a spontaneous moment. so why pause to take a pill?

and why stop what you're doing to find a bathroom? with cialis for daily use, you don't have to plan around either. it's the only daily tablet approved to treat erectile dysfunction so you can be ready anytime the moment is right. plus cialis treats the frustrating urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision or any symptoms of an allergic reaction stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. why pause the moment? ask your doctor about cialis for daily use. for a free 30-tablet trial go to cialis.com female vo: i actually have a whole lot of unused vacation days, but where am i gonna go? i just don't have the money to travel

right now. i usually just go back home to see my parents so i can't exactly go globe-trotting. if i had friends to go with i'd go but i don't want to travel by myself. someday. male vo: there are no more excuses. find the hotel you want, and the flight you want, and we'll find the savings to get you there.

football fans long before chris christie hugged jerry jones at the cowboys game. teddy roosevelt kept the sport

for being outlawed for excessive violence another helped wolverines win two titles, ronald reagan played college ball made his mark in the movies. >> go out there and win one for the gipper. >> republican vice presidential nominee jack kemp led buffalo bills to two afl championships and before he ran for governor lynn swann was a four-time champ with pittsburgh steelers. joining me from the site of super bowl xlix is lynn swann and rachel nichols. thanks for joining us guys. lynn swann, i want to talk to you. talk about what it feels like you won four super bowls with the steelers in six years, famous catch and run. what do the players feel like in a few hours, the anticipation.

>> just that. it's the anticipation the excitement that 30 other teams are sitting at home watching them play for the championship and one team is going to walk away with a ring. it's kind of interesting because seattle will come into it having just played and won a super bowl. so they feel like okay this is where we're supposed to be. a lot of guys from the patriots who have never been in the super bowl. so guys like tom brady will be trying to get them to focus and say, look don't think you're going to get this opportunity every year. the games you played in you lose missed opportunities to get to the super bowl. take advantage of this mom. everybody, play as hard as you can and leave nothing behind. just go after it. >> rachel everybody wants to know about tom brady's cold. what do we hear about his health. he's got a cold right? >> we have evidence finally, tom

brady is mortal. he had a problem a lot of the rest of us have. he got sick because his kids got sick at school. the cold ran through his family. giselle is also human we found out this week. she gets the sniffles too. it caused him some problems early in the week. the only reason this is an issue for the super bowl he'll obviously be able to gut it out and play through it. the quarterback is the one playing on the field. it's going to be loud in there. he gets hoarse throughout the course of the game it will affect the patriots oechlt he says he's feeling okay and his voice is okay. we'll keep an eye on that as we go on. >> let's talk rachel about your moment with roger goodell. you asked nfl commissioner about investigations into deflategate, investigations into ray rice domestic abuse incident and whether they can be independent. >> even when you do everything right in one of those situations it opens you guys up to a credibility gap with some

of the public and even with some of your most high-profile players. >> i think we have done an excellent job of bringing outside consultants in. somebody has to pay them rachel. so unless you're volunteering which i don't think you are, we'll do that. >> i said to wolf blitzer, when i grow up i want to be rachel nichols. i know how hard it is to take tough questions. i know generally when somebody attacks the questioner it means you struck a nerve. >> look i thought it was a little bit of a missed opportunity for roger goodell. this is a huge issue that people have been talking about. all week from the time we got to arizona, and one of the most high-profile players in the game richard sherman of the seattle seahawks questioned whether nfl office could really do an investigation into a team where the owner pays the commissioner's salary. in fact robert kraft who owns

the patriots so close to goodell, a recent "gq" article named him the assistant commissioner. there are conflicts here. it does present a problem. even if they do things with the highest integrity, even if they do everything right, there is that credibility gap. unless you erase that in the public's mind unless you erase that in the minds of your own players, it doesn't matter how that investigation ends up. they have got to start to take steps to mitigate that. you hope they are more open to that in the future. these issues are going to keep coming up. it's not like you can make them go away by shooting down a question. >> lynn swann, what do you think about how the nfl is handling these investigations? i think most of it is just a matter of process. their process hasn't been very good. they have to learn, put better processes in place. you've got 32 owners. they have got to empower the commissioner to do things in a particular way. where he doesn't have to play favorites or do any of those kinds of things. so the commissioner has to have

power to make decisions, bring in the special investigator and have a process everybody can rely on to make sure. take deflategate. okay. you're not going to have that issue in the super bowl because they changed the process. that process in and of itself is going to change probably for every game throughout the year so it no longer is an issue. >> you mentioned deflategate, so i've got to go there. you were a wide receiver. would you rather be catching a fully inflated ball or a slightly deflated ball lynn swann? >> i'd rather be catching any football in the super bowl whether it's flat whether it's too hard whether it's too high or too low, i get paid to catch a ball. i don't care where it is. i think the ball is supposed to be coming in my hands and i hold onto it. and so tom brady, you know, played a great game. if this game was a point or two points maybe there might be some impact from a softer

football. i really don't know. in pittsburgh bradshaw threw it so hard everything hurt so it didn't really matter. >> we've got to leave it there. very diplomatic answer. lynn swann, rachel nichols, have a great day. have fun out there. we are all very jealous. we'll be right back. thoughtfully crafted and intelligently designed. with available forward collision warning and new blind spot monitor and a 2014 top safety pick plus rating. cost of entry? a fortune. until now. hey sarah, new jetta? yup. can i check it out? maybe at halftime? introducing lots of new. the new volkswagen jetta. isn't it time for german engineering?

thanks for watching state of the union. "fareed zakaria gps" starts right now. this is gps, the global public school. welcome to all of you in the united states and around the world. i'm fareed zakaria. we have an important very special show for you. an hour with the president of the united states barack obama. we met in new delhi where he was on a state visit and we had a frank, wide ranging conversation.