cast in the 2012 presidential election. iowa caucuses. tuesday night, 7:00 p.m. eastern. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." the news continues next on cnn. thanks for joining us. i'm candy crowley, in for john king. in iowa, it's getting rough out there. mitt romney's comparing president obama to marie antoinette. ron paul's facing new questions over what he's written about aids, mine north rights and sexual harassment. anderson cooper and kathy griffin join us to preview live coverage of new year's eve in times square and you never know what will happen when those two get together. three days from the iowa caucuses and mitt romney seems to be feeling good enough about his chances that he's spending tonight and tomorrow morning elsewhere. in new hampshire. he's also back to attacking president obama. this time, comparing him to

marie antoinette. cnn's jim acosta at romney's early stops in iowa today. jim? >> reporter: candy, there are several reasons for mitt romney's growing confidence, one is the fact that we've been talking about this for several days, newt gingrich has been staying positive, not going after mitt romney. ron paul, romney's chief rival in the state is leaving the state and going back to texas to spend new year's eve with his wife and family. michele bachmann, a former campaign manager, ed rollins, tell me via e-mail today, that michele bachmann has basically been laying off of mitt romney in the hopes of being his vice presidential running mate. no surprise romney on the campaign earlier with chris christie going after president obama, comparing him, as you said, to french royalty. >> the other day president obama said that you know it could be worse. that was his line it could be

worse. can you imagine hearing that from a pessimistic president? it could be worse. that goes down with marie antoinette, let them eat cake. he's in hawaii. we're in the cold and the rain and the wind because we care about america. he finished his 90th round of golf. >> now, romney will be back in the states this weekend. he'll be continuing to campaign, heading into the iowa caucuses tuesday. but candy, another sign of mitt romney's confidence. he has an op-ed featured in the state newspaper. that's in south carolina, a couple of contests from now. it goes to show you he's feeling pretty good about his chances tuesday. we'll get one more sense as to how mitt romney is doing when the des moines register poll comes out saturday night. that's a good gauge as to how all of this could breakdown when the caucuses get going, candy. >> jim acroostaacosta, thanks.

chalk it up to the pressure of the campaign or rush of holiday memories but newt gingrich was fighting back tears today. the unusually emotional moment came while talking about his late mother's health problems. >> my whole emphasis on brain science comes in directly from dealing -- see how emotional -- dealing with, you know, the real problems of real people in my family. so it's not a theory, it's in fact, you know, my mother. >> joe johns is following the former speaker. that is a -- quite a moment. this is a man, public life for a long time. unusual moment for him, joe. >> reporter: that's for sure. you don't see newt gingrich cry all the time although to be totally honest i saw background thanksgiving, he did break down

in tears in public completely different situation, though. still, want to tell you about where i am, candy. this is creston, iowa, a coffee shopping we're waiting for newt gingrich to appear within the hour. that event that you saw i was in the room that actually happened at a coffee shop inside des moines proper. so the question, of course, is, you know, here's a guy down in the polls, he's been attacked in multiple ads and he needs a spark. so, you know, politically, how is this crying incident, if you will, going to play among the voters here in iowa, the people going to the caucuses? i have a captive room here of republicans waiting to see newt gingrich. so i just happened to walk around and talk to a few people. most, the vast majority of the people i asked about this had not heard about it, seen anything on tv.

two people i spoke with who did hear something about it thought it was irrelevant to selecting the republican nominee for the president of the united states. so, we'll see how to plays, candy. >> thanks so much. joe johns covering the newt gingrich campaign tonight. remember that old advertising slogan, can you hear me now? well, tonight the folks at verizon wireless got your message. one day after announcing it, verizon is dropping what they called a convenience fee for some customers. cnn's alison kosik is here from the new york stock exchange with the decision to reverse the charges. allison? >> reporter: you know what, it's interesting how this didn't take long. it took less than 24 hours, as you said, after announcing this new fee that verizon wireless said, never mind, we're not going to impose this fee. put another check mark in the win column for angry consumers who spoke out about this. this battle began thursday afternoon. yesterday afternoon when verizon

announced it would impose a $2 fee for every one-time payment that you make either with a credit card or a debit card, whether you did it online or over the phone and immediately it set customers off. just the idea that you may have to pay a fee for the privilege of paying a bill caused a huge outrage on twitter, on facebook, on blogs, and clearly the outrage worked. because this afternoon, verizon wireless succumbed to the pressure from consumers and a warning from the federal communications commission it was interested in looking into this matter and verizon wireless went ahead scrapping the fee listening to feedback from consumers. >> allison, what makes a difference here for some of these companies? there have been a lot of outrageous fees it seems to be out there for banks and other things in some sort of turn on a dime and others don't. it took netflix a little while

to response to all of the folks dropping out of their program. this was so quick. was it the sheer volume of complaints? >> it was the -- you know what? it was a little bit of the sheer volume but sort of the outconlie that took hold. i think of bank of america. remember the $5 debit card feed that bank of america was going to impose and you got the backlash from consumers. in this time in this day and age, when everybody is sort of scraping two nickels together we're all struggling and you know, you've got 13 million people out of work. and then you hear about these big companies with a lot of money looking to impose these fees like a $5 deb it card fee r a $2 fee here. you get this outrage. what happens it becomes a huge pr nightmare. what you saw here was verizon wireless saw that and

immediately took action, less than 24 hours after making this announcement, candy. >> so complain loud enough and long enough to become a pr nightmare. >> yes. >> that's the lesson we take from this. thanks so much, alison kosik. next up, joins by a top lib in congress in danger of losing his seat and not at all happy about the reason. later, what will they say this year? before anderson cooper and kathy griffin join us for new year's coverage look back at past shenanigans. >> i fall asleep sometimes. ever caught david gergen nodding off? a little bit? at lunch? it driing wa ter. water will work for a few seconds but if you're not drinking it, it's going to get dry again. i recommend biotene. all the biotene products like the oral rinse...the sprays have enzymes in them. the whole formulation just works very well. it leaves the mouth feeling fresh.

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nighttime downtown des moines. coming to you live from the beautiful cap nal des moines. one of the leading liberals in congress, dennis kucinich, in danger of losing his seat, not to a republican but another democrat. here's why, ohio is losing congressional district because of the declining population. people who draw the maps looked at current districts anchored in toledo and cleveland and decided to combine them. the new district looks like

this. the old districts were prepped by prominent democrats and now there's only room for one of them. that set up a clash of the titans. dana bash is here to tell us all about it. >> by most accounts this is a tough decision for dennis kucinich, now to stay in congress, given the fact that his seat disappeared. the ohio democrat flirted with the idea of moving to washington state to run but ultimately decided to stay local and hope the fact that he is the former mayor of cleveland and a longtime representative of the area hopes that that pays off. i'm told he should have an advantage because of fund-raising. he has good lists, i'm told, because of the knack he has run for president in the past. his problem, of course, is that he's running against the dean of the ohio delegation, marcy captor. she happens to be the longest serve woman in the house of representatives. we know marcy well, covering her in congress but she does not have anything close to the national profile that kucinich

does. she is very much the inside play, tight with local leaders, fixated on pro-labor and has the rust belt ethos that plays well in ohio. this is a tough primary to watch. seems to be either for the taking. >> yeah. it's always tough. they're allies obviously. not only in the same caucus but the same state caucus. this will in no way put democrats in jeopardy of losing that seat to a republican. >> that's right. whoever wins dennis or marcy is expected to win in november. so the primary is where it's at. at this point it should not affect the balance of power in the house. >> dana bash, joining me to discuss his cam taken to stay in congress is veteran democratic congressman dennis ckucinich. thank you for joining us tonight. i know this is a tough thing for you, not to mention

congresswoman kaptur. let me ask you, what went through your mind, she's the most senior female in the house. she's brought home to ohio more federal dollars than any other state lawmaker. what did you bring to the table that she doesn't have there? >> first of all the seat doesn't belong to me, it belongs to the people. and my approach is always to stand up and speak out on behalf of the economic rights of people and the cleveland area, i've been instrumental in helping to save or create thousands of jobs. people know me as a person that gets involved, everyone else that stands on the sideline that says it can't be done, i get involved in big picture items, helping save a steel milk but people need help, social security, medicare, my office helps people, in some cases, save their lives. so my -- i'm a ka-do person. i'm used to being in tough

situations. and it's been the story of my life. landing on my feet. so i'm -- i know that this is a competitive race. >> you know, tonally how is this going to work? he was asked what's the difference between you and congressman kucinich be and she says she's operational effective, implication you don't get things done, you have a point of view but she gets things done. how do you get through the campaign without going negative? is that a pledge you're willing to take? how will it work? >> first of all this campaign is not about, you know, my -- criticism of another candidate. i'm not going to do that. marcy katpur's my friend. >> no negative ads? >> i don't even think in those terms. one of the problems in politics with america and i've seen the coverage of iowa primaries people are tearing each other up. it's important for conditions to

say what they're going to do for people. retirement security for all and peace. that's the message i'm going to take to people in ohio and if they hear it, i think i should have a chance to succeed. one cannot succeed by disparaging another. that's what's wrong about our politics and it's something that i can demonstrate in this campaign, a way of changing the direction of our politics. >> so from you, no negative words, no negative ads about marcy kaptur? >> why should i? it's about -- first after all, she's a friend of mine. beyond that we need to change our approach to politics. people are fed up with the politics where candidates rip each other apart and the voter lose in the enbecause no one knows what anybody stands for. i'm going to continue to get my message out from cleveland to loraine to toledo, save and create jobs, stand up and speak out for a spokesperson for

peace, and you know, take a look at what's happening with iran right now. you'll see why it's important to have a voice like that. but i -- it doesn't have to be done at the expense of another candidate. >> let me ask you, just you brought up 2012. i want to ask you a couple of 2012 questions. do you think -- would you welcome any kind of inner party challenge to president obama? there's been lots of complaints on the left about what he's done. do you think there will be a challenge to him? >> no. i think that for president obama, sure of the nomination. this is a choice between president obama and whoever the republicans nominate. >> and i want to play you something that rick santorum had to say yesterday about one of his colleagues on the presidential campaign trail, ron paul. >> ladies and gentlemen, this is

a very important vote you're casting here in iowa. on national security there's no more important. iowa needs to send a message. you want a candidate that is no in the dennis kucinich wing of the democratic party under our ticket. >> i wonder if you consider ron paul to be in the dennis kucinich wing of the democratic party. >> ron paul is a force -- >> you both agree on -- >> he's a force in and of himself. i'm not going to inject myself into republican politics. lie say this, when you have candidates trying to take us into war against iran, remember we went to war against iraq. based on lies. i led the effort in the united states congress in challenging the bush administration's march towards war. i said october 2008 there is no proof that iraq had weapons of mass destruction or intention or capability of attacking the united states. almost 4700 troops died, tens of thousands injured, over 1 million iraqis dead it will cost $5 trillion in the enfor the

war. what did it prove? the people who supported the war were wrong and people beating a drum for war against iran is just as wrong. time to take a new direction. don't we have problems at home? don't we have a need to create jobs and save homes and give people have a chance to give their keds to go to better schools and social security? still talking about war? come on! >> on that, there's bipartisan agreement, i think, between you and ron paul across the party line. thank you so much. congressman dennis kucinich. an interesting year ahead. >> happy new year. >> same to you. next, some proof that things tend to balance out just as one prominent couple calls it quits. another big name's ready to say i do, again. we also have much more from iowa. two-time caucus winner bob dole tells us who he thinks should win this year. wanted to visit us...ausso manye in louisiana. they came to see us in florida...

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welcome back. here's lisa sylvester with the latest news you need to know right now. >> candy, tone, two doctors are in jail and face murder charges in maryland more performing abortions on late-term fetuses that may have been able to survive outside the womb. the doctors have been under investigation since last year, when maryland authorities raided a clinic and reported finding several fetuses in a freezer chest. the doctors' attorney say no laws were broken, and the charges are without merit. in other news, a high

profile show business marriage is on the rocks. russell brand says he and singer katy perry and ending their year-long marriage though, quote, i'll always adore her and i know we'll remain friends. that's what he is saying. on the other hand, michael jordan is trying again. no, he isn't heading back on to the basketball court. he's going to head down the aisle for the second time. jordan and his longtime girlfriend got engaged on christmas day. we wish them all the best. candy. >> goodness. . out with the old, in with the new or something like that. thanks so much, lisa sylvester. see you in a bit. next, a voice from the past. two-time iowa caucus winner bob dole tells us who he's supporting and why it isn't ron paul. another blast from the past. before anderson cooper and kathy griffin join us, here's how things got going in 2009. >> welcome to times square.

a warm night compared to last year. >> start over. take it from the top. i'm here with not ryan seacrest. >> yes. a pale comparison to ryan seacrest.

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in this half hour of "john king usa" he won the iowa caucuses. bob dole's ready to tell us who he thinks should win this year. ron paul may have disavowed some

of his controversial newsletters but now will he explain what he wrote about aids, minorities and sexual harassment in a 25--year-old book? anderson cooper and kathy griffin join us to preview condition's special coverage of new year's eve. if anyone knows how to win the eyee caucuses it is bob dole. as we noted the former senator did it twice in '88 and '96. this week dole's calling prominent iowa republicans and urging them to support mitt romney. when we heard about it, we asked him to give us a call as well. we spoke a little bit ago. you knew personally a lot of people in the field. you those back mitt romney over, for instance, newt gingrich. do you think some of the wrap on the former speaker has been he's not tempermentlely suited to be president? do you agree with that? >> well, i tried to work with newt -- worked with newt for ten years. we had our good times and our bad times.

i think some of newt's statements he's forgotten that congress is composed of a house and a senate, and the senators had a lot to do with welfare reform and nafta and and cutting taxes, reagan tax cuts. it wasn't just a one-man show in the house of representatives. but you know, newt is newt. and it's sometimes his way or the highway. >> so, the other person that i know you know at least somewhat in this field is congressman paul. what do you make of his popularity inside the republican party? >> i am not certain i ever met ron paul. he's a fascinating person to watch. i don't believe he'll be the republican nominee. his foreign policy is way out of

mainstream of the republican party. and i just don't believe he'll -- he may do well in iowa. he's been surging along with rick santorum. i don't believe after iowa he'll, you know, he'll be winning states. but he's -- he's a hard worker and out there a lot in the past year. he has a good organization. you've got to give him credit for that. he could pull off a win in iowa, and so could rick santorum. he's been living there almost. pretty much one-issue campaign on abortion. but again, rick's a hard worker and it's starting to pay off now. >> you know, senator, when i hear you talk about reaching across the aisle and president reagan and the 70%, and i look back at the days when i covered you in the senate and later in

your presidential campaign, you know i imagine that, as you look at your republican party now, that has been quite swayed, if not controlled, by the tea party, you see an entirely different group because this has not been a party that has been prone to want to compromise or reach across the aisle. a lot of people think that's why mitt romney has had trouble consolidating support in the primary, is that he's too moderate. >> i don't -- reaching across the aisle is moderate and compromise is moderate, then i've had the wrong definition the last 25 or 30 years. you know, you need to get thing done. there's been a stalemate in congress really for the past two or three years and that's because some in both parties refuse to bend. i mean there are no flexibility.

i don't mean surrender principles but there are certain things that you can compromise on for the good of the people of the united states. and that's romney's goal, is to represent the people, provide leadership for the people, just as he provided leadership as governor and he's got, i don't know, i couldn't tell you all of the plans, 59-some action plans he has, 10 of which he's going to announce on the first day of his presidency. i think -- i think he's ready for the job. he looks like a president. he acts look a president. he talks like a president. just seems to me this is romney's time. >> senator dole, i thank you so very much for your time. i hope we can get together in the new year and have another conversation about what's happening. also tonight, there are new questions and scathing criticism from congressman -- for

congressman ron paul. editorial by the new hampshire union leaders' influential publisher calls the congressman an extremely dangerous man and labels his supporters the lunatic fringe. also a book the congressman published in 1987 is attracting new attention because of what paul wrote about aids patients, minority writes and sexual harassment victims "the u.s. under siege" written ahead of paul's 1988 bid as presidential candidate. peter hamby is in des moines and has been following the growing controversial. employee rights are said to be valid when employers pressure employees into sexual activity. why don't they quit once the so-called harassment starts? peter, any kind of reaction to this from ron paul?

>> reporter: yeah, the paul campaign, up like controversial newsletters that surfaced in both of his presidential campaigns, he kind of dismissed those and said, a ghost writer did those, i wasn't aware because his name wasn't on it. his name is on this book and the paul campaign told me he wrote it he's been an unapologetic defend or of personal liberties but this presents a two-fold problem for ron paul. he can't say someone else wrote these things. they are not perhaps inflammatory as what was in the newspaper -- newsletters, rather, they're certainly controversial. and ron paul's competing aggressively for independent voters here in iowa. also in new hampshire and south carolina where independents can vote in the republican primary. you know as much as ron paul's tried to say his views on debt and spending are in the republican mainstream, this is another reminder his libertarian views might be too far out there for many republican voters and not palatable for most.

6% of republicans according to the cnn poll last week say that he can beat barack obama, candy. >> and then, one more passage here, congressman paul wrote this on the rights of minorities. quote, every year new groups organize to demand their rights. white people who organize and expect the same attention as other groups are quickly and viciously condemned as dangerous bigots. hispanic, black and jewish caucuses exist in the congress but not a white caucus, demonstrating the absurd did of the approach for achieving rights for everyone. any sign that this is in any way hurting ron paul among what has been a very fervent following? >> not here in iowa. and i don't think it will because his -- you know as we've talked about, his supporters are so devoted and people are coming in from out of state as you've been talking about to canvass for the guy. as you head into other states

where independents might be open to voting for ron paul based on his fiscal message, when they hear sort of suspicious racial language like that, it might turn them off. and that's going to be a problem because mainstream republican voters aren't necessarily for ron paul, it's those independents and democrats that he's pulling well among along with tea party folks here in iowa. candy? >> peter hamby, thank you so much, from des moines into with us, "the washington post" national political reporter phillip rutger and columnist frank bruney. let me switch gears from ron paul and ask you about mitt romney, who this morning you both went to an event, he was with new jersey governor chris christie. and then he took off for new hampshire. they announced that he was adding folks to his staff in south carolina. so, is he hedging his bets or flecking his muscle? >> it seems like he's flecking

his mussel. new hampshire's here he's had this commanding lead for the year and he's touching back to rebuild that fire wall and make sure support is still strong. he'll be back in iowa 30 hours later. he's due in lamars in the northwest corner of the state tomorrow and planned a blitz of rallies monday. >> i took it as flexing his muscle, by the way, look where i am in new hampshire. a campaign where you get the sense, they don't want to say it, they think they've got it. >> he's polling well in iowa. michele bachmann, newt gingrich, herman cain surge and fall. his support has stayed steady. right now mitt romney's feeling terrific. >> and they don't -- the problem, of course, is you don't want to feel terrific and come in third. that would hurt him. >> you don't flow what's going to happen. it's not about the polls it's about people going out at 7:00

p.m. at night. >> speeches. >> it's about the fervor of a small number of people's support rather than how you poll across a broad spectrum of people. >> the interesting thing this week, his crowds have become large somewhere not just larger but more enthusiastic. it's unusual to see people applauding during his speeches and staying for 20, 30 minutes to shake his hand and we're seeing that in iowa. there's some momentum billing. >> remains me of a little bit of howard dean and john kerry, came roaring into iowa and howard dean was the guy and of course he ends up losing to john kerry. and it was what came out of that was, well, voters dated howard dean and married john kerry. i feel that same sense going on now. >> you think they might not marry mitt? >> no, i think they might marry mitt. >> but not ron paul? >> but not ron paul. >> there's another dynamic here which is if you talk to voters, the desire to defeat obama, the

dislike of obama is so intense that you may see an iowa right now voters not do something contrarian but kind of go with the candidate that everyone is telling them has the best chance of beating obama. that may happen this year. >> let me ask you about newt gingrich who was with a group of moms today, he was asked a question about his mom and it was difficult for him to get through it. he kind of broke down. remember very well hillary clinton breaking down -- she didn't break down she had to pause and collect herself in new hampshire and that helped her. my sense is, that kind of does newt, too, as well except i wonder about the timing. are we frozen? going into a new year's weekend. does anything matter right this second? >> i think a lot is about trajectory and his trajectory is downward from a high point. i don't know that a few tears is going to turn that around for him. you and i have been on campaigns together. it's funny how candidates get emotional in days before the big zig. i remember george bush in 2000 getting teary.

this isn't them hugh showing human sides it's them being exhausted with everything they've been through. >> they've been through the mill. when you look at the totality of what we're seeing in the polls and we've had a couple of polls showing mitt romney ahead, not by much, then ron paul then rick santorum and the downtoward spiral of newt gingrich, you expect that to hold? >> perhaps. we expect to hole, ron paul or mitt romney doing well which if you talk to the romney campaign that's a win either way. they feel like if ron paul's the one who e-americans out of iowa as the main conservative al ten tev to mitt romney they can dispatch of him easelly in the big states down the roading like florida. >> thank you so much for joining us. appreciate it. >> thanks for having us. up next, we'll be joined by anderson cooper and kathy griffin. they've given us memorable and embarrassing new year's eve. suppose they can top this?

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putting iowa politics aside it's time for another wild traditional event where anything can happen and you can never predict what someone will say. again this year, cnn's anderson cooper teams up with kathy

griffin to ring in the new year with a lot of their closest friends. new york city's times square right now, they're in a nice warm studio to give us a preview. >> hey. >> i want to start out with you guys the question, every time, and that is, what will it take to get kathy banned from the air at cnn? >> thank you. >> what can you say? that will be it. >> the question i keep asking every year, why on god's green earth have they hired her again? that's the question i don't -- >> i came in today and i went to the security desk downstairs and i said nancy grace plus one and i swear i have a tag here that says nancy grace plus one. crack security team thinks i'm nancy grace by the way which is my dream. that's a real recorder, nancy grace. >> candy, you may not realize this, but kathy's. >> did you forget my name? you went kathy. >> an obsessive watcher of cnn. >> i have not missed a moment of

carol costello. >> nancy grace and jane velez mitchel. >> sorry. >> candy, how's iowa? what's the capital? >> can you see this? these are the questions i have to ask you. see in you can take over the show. >> i really don't know the capital of iowa. i don't. >> well, it's beautiful, actually. you should come sometime. it's very pretty. >> i was shown cedar falls. >> really? >> yes. >> you can come to des moines? why are we having this -- wait a second. off the rails here. let's get back on the rails. >> cracker barrel, they have a tiny candy shop. >> i like cracker barrel. no matter where you go, it's the same. >> and get a theme rocker. >> i know. >> we're not paid spokes people. we're talking about the meet loaf. sorry, back to you. >> okay. candy. but it's all right. listen, we want to show something that got tweeted here to give our viewers the sight

that you're going to see, in other words, when you look into the camera new year's eve there's a sign that's going to be held up that says -- don't know if you can see it -- no nudity. who has to be reminded of that? which one. >> anderson cooper has a problem. he's like exhibitionist, i guess, the word. >> last year a sign held up please don't swear. and i guess what, now no nudity? that's what it's come to. >> first of all, he's not wearing pants right now. >> not true. >> stand up. stand up. >> i'm not going to stand up. >> show that you are pantsless. he's wearing a protective cup, that's it. he has a football game later. i don't know athletics. this is a news show here. >> capital is des moines. >> okay. i'm trying to get that picture out of my head here. somebody asked me to ask you how much time and alcohol it takes to prep for this show. >> my mother goes through a box of wine, but that's her home.

>> you don't drink. >> i don't drink, believe it or not. >> we don't drink. she's like this all the time. >> dr. drew gave me sedatives for who know who. >> not true. >> anderson -- >> dr. drew doing the show? he helps people. >> sorry. >> candy, ignore her. >> let me know. >> yes, sorry. someone also suggested, anderson, that all of this whole evening in times square is just a way for you to search for people with alcohol problems that you can bring on your daytime show to get cured. >> you know there's no alcohol allowed into times square. >> but you're right, that's true. he told me on commercial break, don't expose the fact the only reason to do it is fine people with addiction problems to have on my daytime show. >> i started doing this ten years ago and -- >> that was a bad freudian slip it wasn't a freudian slip. >> i don't like going out on new

year's eve i've never had a fun time. >> but we have fun. >> now i have fun every year. being in times square is fun and cool. it's not cool. >> what about when i threw your glasses off a compliment. >> i know. i'm taking it in and i'm so excited to be here with john king in person because i love the way he covers the congress people and the way they vote on bills. you know, bills. bills are for laws. >> they're written to pass laws, et cetera, i'm like a white house correspondent at this point, candy. >> i know, and we see you, in fact, at the white house correspondents association, but again, we digress. if you both could swap out your co-hosts for someone else. >> right. >> who would you pick, anderson, for new year's eve. >> wow! i'd go solo. because at this point in my career i don't need a co-host. >> i'll go solo. that's such a guy thing to say.

>> i would do three hours straight with david gergen is one of your political pundits who is -- or for -- >> i would pay money for that. >> or i would get a pelvic exam from sanjay. >> is that not part of the news? >> seriously, do you all, kind of script out this show or do you just sort of -- >> oh, yeah, totally scripted. >> or go with the organics of it. >> anderson writes the copy, i just read it. >> this is tv gold. you have to script this stuff out. we memorize it like a monologue. >> we prep for it a lot. kathy actually does preparation. >> i have no idea what's going to happen. >> do you really? >> i get scared every year and i talk to cnn management every year. >> then, maybe you should wear pants. he's not wearing pants issue candy. >> i don't know what quite to expect and it usually is a

headline on the drudge report. like, this is cnn? >> perez hilton, that's a real website. sorry. i'm in the news business, candy. >> i'm sorry to interrupt your show, but, if i can just ask you, do either one of you have new year's resolutions? >> uh, yes. mine is to -- mine is to be a little meaner. a little meaner. i feel i've been too kind to the kardashians and that's going to change. >> wow! really? because there are two young kardashians. >> kendall and francine are coming down the pike. >> kendall and francine. >> it's got to be a k. >> being, they're very big into illiteration. kardashians. >> i do have a new year's resolution, but they're so boring kathy will make fun of me. >> isn't that the whole point? >> oh, yeah, come on. >> honestly. i want to eat better. >> less designerwear. >> no, i want to eat better and -- get more out of each day. i don't know.

>> wake me up when you're done with this hilarious bit. honestly, candy, i don't know how you can -- >> can farria make it? >> i already missed him. i've been trying to stretch this to keep up with gary tuchman and his daughter in the park. >> okay. i'm going to call time now. your show starts 11:00 -- you know, what can i tell you? >> we're saving the good stuff. >> okay. 11:00 tomorrow night earn on ti time, you all in times square. >> one more thing. he is officially endorsing rick santorum for president of the united states. put it on the ticker. >> i know that not to be true, and are about everyone starts tweeting anderson will not endorse anyone publicly. thank you very much. see you tomorrow night. >> bye! >> next up, the brand new list of wds and phrases that ought to be banned. you heard them and you'll hate

them. also, today's moment you missed. new jersey governors reinforcing a stereotype just for fun.

welcome back. we have returned to saturday and here is lisa sylvester with the latest news you need to know right now. >> hi there, candy. well, china has just inveiled big plans for their space program. they're promising to launch a space lab and collect soil samples from the moon during the next five years and eventually build their own space station

and land astronauts on the moon. and for the 37th year lake superior state university of michigan has put out its annual list of words and phrases that should be banned from the english language, and the winners are -- amazing, baby bump, shared sacrifice, occupy, blowback and mancave, and we didn't have room to put in gynormous and they want to get rid of those words, too. gynormous. california is banning the production or sale of beer with added caffeine, both oregon and california will proibt had the sale of shark fins and while louisiana, tennessee and south carolina will allow businesses to enroll on the e-verify system, a new california law specifically prohibits state and local government from requiring employers to use e-verify. candy, i don't know what other

words i would add to your list. i'm kind of tired of omg. i'm surprised omg didn't make the list. >> i would like to ban doubledown. i'm so over that phrase. yeah. maybe next year we can get rid of it. happy new year, lisa. thanks so much. >> the whole grown-ups line. acting like grown-ups. >> right. exactly. we can go on, but we shouldn't. thanks so much, lisa sylvester. happy new year to you and yours. now the moment you may have missed, new jersey governor chris christie was in iowa stumping for mitt romney and listen to this warning he had for the people that live in the hawk eye state. >> so, listen, i want to tell you something. i want to tell you something very clearly. i'm in a good mood this morning. i'm feeling happy and upbeat. let me tell you, you people disappoint me on tuesday, you don't know what you're supposed to do on