as a consultant for them, questions about his long history on capitol hill and his alliances with democrats that make some conservatives uncomfortable. the underlying issue of these ads is about newt gingrich's background and this is a question that has yet to be asked and answered really with the voters in any official way, though the polls certainly indicate that there are some concerns about his history, candy. >> you know, joe, i -- every time i hear him talk about being relentlessly positive it makes me smile because in some ways, gingrich painted himself into this corner and said, i'm going to be the positive campaign, i'm not going to tear down other candidates and in fact he went so far as to not respond to these, at least in the form of tv ads, which, let's face it, he couldn't afford to have put that many up anyway. because the fact of the matter is, newt gingrich is running a

little against time. this is not someone whose first words to describe him you would say relentlessly positive. he's a tough politician and that's why it's hard to understand why he didn't push back. >> reporter: well, you're absolutely right. candy, you and i both have been around washington, d.c. for a long time. we remember when newt gingrich made his assent to the speakership on capitol hill. he used very tough language, very tough words, and he was very willing to get into a fight, and always has been since, to my knowledge. so, right, there are people -- and i can't say how many times people have said to me that newt gingrich was one of the factors in creating this kind of polarized atmosphere of politics in the united states, the very same polarized atmosphere that he now denounces. so you know we don't like to use the word irony too much because it's perhaps overused in

television news, but there's a sense of irony in that newt gingrich is now the guy trying to stay positive and trying to convince voters here in the caucuses to stay with him because of the politics of negativity which he helped create. it's a fascinating dynamic, candy. >> it is. and it's interesting, too, there was a half hour paid for special on newt gingrich, hosted by michael reagan, as gingrich continues to try to kind of wrap the reagan mantel about him, airing here. one of the things he said when responding to some of this criticism was, i want people to judge me, i've changed, i want people to judge me by who i am now, not then. it doesn't quite work that way in politics, as you know. but it's an interesting dynamic, to me, to see a new newt out there and the question always is from people go, how much has he really changed? but it has been, i think fascinating to watch him hole his fire. he is not a man known to hold

his fire that much. joe, i want you to stick with me because on the other side of this break, there was some fascinating figures inside the des moines register poll that i want to share with our audiences, with you, and and debt your take on them. ♪ sing polly wolly doodle all the day ♪ ♪ hah

welcome back to "the contenders 2012" our chance to give you a full-on look at what's going out here in iowa, which has so much say-so as we move into the election year. it may not pick who will be the republican nominee, but it may pick who will not be the republican nominee. one of those that has had

trouble and has been struggling is rick perry, the governor of texas, came in, had immediately made a big splash. everybody thought that they was the conservative that was going to challenge mitt romney. but perry had some bad debates, people began to really wonder whether he was prepared enough for the presidency. and his poll numbers fell in that des moines register poll this morning he is running fifth, just one point behind newt gingrich, nonetheless, not a very good place to be at this point. but when perry was on fox news this morning he was still upbeat. >> ple momentum's headed in the right direct as we travelled across iowa in last 30 days and 44 cities we're hitting in a 10-day bus tour. seeing great crowds. again, people who are excited about an outsider coming into washington, d.c., as we look at all of the candidates, you're either washington insiders or wall street insiders, that's

their choices, and we tell them, you've got a choice. you've got a choice of a governoring executive who for 11 years operated the 13th largest economy in the world and created more jobs than any other state in the nation while america lost 2 million, we were creating 1 million. so they're very interested in having an experienced executive in the white house that's not only got the foreign policy background but also has the social and fiscal conservative message. >> texas governor rick perry struggling here somewhat in iowa but like others, he has signaled he's moving on come what may. toous in the iowa caucus results he'll move on and go to south carolina which has a heavy contingent of christian conservative voters. that's where rick perry's appeal has been where he believe he can

make a stand in south carolina. hofr a however all of the candidates will be in new hampshire for the weekend for a couple of debates. i want to bring joe johns back in. listening to rick perry say, listen, i have a chance, we're on the mover that's what all of the candidates are saying now. the truth is one of the figures in the poll that paul mentions earlier this hour, 41% that's correct how many caucusgoers say they can change their minds or they haven't made up their minds and there's a big uncertainty that people like newt gingrich and rick perry sort of look at and say, how do i convince those folks, either once they get into the caucuses or before they go, and that's what these final days are about. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. i mean the one thing i don't think we've seen a lot of yet is the second hard look at the same candidate. and that's a problem. i mean you look at rick perry, i think rick perry is going to be one of those guys whose early days in the campaign will be the

subject of things in campaign management textbooks, political science textbooks because there is a real issue there about preparedness before you decide to get into a campaign, especially in an age where you have twitter, facebook, social media. you know, your performances and in debates can be replayed. before you jump into a game where you have to appear in a debate, two three weeks after announcing, you need to have those issues down. you need to know what your stamina, what your endurance is, you need to know where your weak points and are and things to brush up on so when you walk into the campaign, at the early stage you can try to make a splash has opposed to fall on your face, which is sort of what happened with rick perry. people looked at him in the early debates and said, you know, this guy really he doesn't look like a prime time player, if you will.

and i think that's his problem. that said, candy, very good point, that 41% undecided, we know from four years ago, there was something like 17% of the people who went to the caucuses said, hey, i made my decision on the day of the caucuses. so, with that dynamic, it's still very fluid and we also know people are bunched up and we also know how the caucuses work. the right person at the right time with the right audience can connect with them and perhaps where you thought you were going to get a loss, maybe you get a win, maybe pick up a bunch more votes because the person speaking for the candidate is very compelling. so, you know, there are people who say, this thing isn't over yet because that des moines register poll is very authoritative, it doesn't necessarily mean that you know, anything is written in stone at this stage, candy. >> right. it's not the final word. everybody thinks iowa was the

site for a field of dreams for baseball, but i assure you, politicians have a much larger field of dreams here in iowa and part of it is that so much can happen in caucuses that you don't expect to happen. i want to bring back into this conversation our jim acosta. jim is in marshalltown, awaiting newt gingrich or perhaps you've already seen him. i'm not exactly sure. i know you're battling winds, as we are here, too. it's suddenly gotten cold in iowa. jim one of the things we were talking about earlier about gingrich was this heavy negative advertising against him and how it drove down his poll numbers and we certainly have seen that. but i think inside the des moines register fol something fascinated me, 41% describe gingrich as the most ego-driven candidate. i think this more proof that these ads didn't just -- weren't the only -- aren't the only proof that the polls went down,

somehow they were able to back up the idea that newt gingrich's pers personality, that his is not matched for the white house, there's something about his personality that isn't a good match. >> reporter: and that's right, candy. i think on wednesday morning, the headline can very well be on the front page "restore our future pac wins iowa caucuses"s because what the ads did is reinforce negatives on newt gingrich. obviously a lot of folks out there, caucusgoers who may not remember what was going on in the mid 1990s when he was the speaker of the house and was in political combat with the white house for several years and in combat with his own party right before he was removed from his post as speaker of the house. and so all of that has really done its damage on newt gingrich. and he, according to polls, has

not been able to recover. if you look at the poll numbers and how they were broken down in the des moines register poll shows day by day from tuesday, wednesday, thursday, into friday, you know, where newt gingrich stood and his numbers basically stayed consistent in those low, you know, 10 to 15 point ranges and that really shows that you know, even going into when this poll is being conducted, his negatives had been driven down by these pac ads, by the mailers that have been flooding into people's mailboxes. we went to a post office, candy, just an aside, in mason city several day ago and the trash cans, even the floor of the post office, you go outside, you know, it was almost like the town was littered with anti-gingrich mailers, and all of this has really added up and hurt him seriously in this state. and you know, you said he's the most ego driven candidate, according to that des moines

register poll. part of it is newt gingrich's fall. we heard him say on occasions comparing himself to reagen and margaret thatcher i done foe that goes over with well people in iowa the definition of iowa, nice, down to earth, midst western folks. if you look at the poll numbers as to who is identified as being kind of like regular iowans here it's rick santorum and i think he's been able to benefit from that. you know, by going to all of these towns, going to all 99 counties, doing 360 town halls. he's been able to connect with people on the ground here in iowa, throughout the course of this campaign. and i think that's paying off for him. newt gingrich, who also spent a lot of time here, packed a lot of people into town halls in recent weeks, we were in iowa a few weeks ago following from town hall to town hall, and he was packing, at the height, poll numbers were strong, he was leading in the state he was packing people into town halls. something happened to newt gingrich between three weeks ago and when this poll was starting

to be conducted here by the des moines register that just showed this dramatic downfall of when it comes to his poll numbers and his negatives shot through the roof it seems. it's just devastated this campaign. and the fact that he's not responded forcefully, you know, i mean nobody's taken a swipe at mitt romney. that's the other thing that i think is extraordinary about the days and weeks leading up to caulks, nobody's taken a serious swipe at mitt romney. newt gingrich had that opportunity being the subject of attacks he just didn't take it, candy. >> so, jim acosta, joe johns standing by in atlantic, iowa. i'm candy crowley will des moines. much more this afternoon. all of the candidates unedited, raw, the way people see them, along the campaign trail. up next, three of us are going to talk about michele bachmann and her plans after iowa. nyquil (stuffy): yeah, we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. tylenol: and i relieve nasal congestion.

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welcome back. this is "the contenders 2012" i'm candy crowley in des moines. michele bachmann came out, made a huge showing in polls. she won the august iowa straw poll, her future looked bright. and along came rick perry and stole all of the spotlight. she is now, according to the "des moines register" poll, very last among the candidates here but she has remained very optimistic, saying that she just senses momentum. she was up and out early this morning in oskaloosa, went to a church there, giving testimony. our shannon travis has been following michele bachmann for the past couple of days, as she makes those final pitches across these iowa small towns and churches, and any place that these candidates can find to talk to folks. shannon, when you were with her for the past couple of days, and again, to me, this is the

toughest thing a politician has to do, sort of fly in the face of the reality of the polls, you know? not a vote has been taken, everyone's going you're last, you're last, what are you going to do, what stood out to you yesterday when you were with her? >> reporter: well, what stood out to me, candy, was that exact thing, that michele bachmann is assisting that she will win, she will win this come from behind, even used the word "miracle" with her yesterday and the last few day in the face of the polls maybe that won't happen. she's counting on the large percentage of undecided voters here in iowa and the fact that she won the ames straw poll over the summer and feels like her supporters will come back home, her words, not mine, to the bachmann campaign. that flies in the face of not only polls but the latest campaign stops i have seen dwindle number of supports as well as the distraction that she's had from this kent

sorenson that defected to the ron paul campaign. the question about beyond iowa, her strategy beyond iowa. something i put to the candidate yesterday. take a listen to what she told me. what is the strategy after tuesday going into new hampshire? >> well we worked hard. we laid a lot of foundation in new hampshire and we'll go there and we'll make our case to the voters. we have a lot of tea party support up in new hampshire. but we see this as a full race of all 50 states. so we yesterday sent in politics to ohio ballot and kansas ballot,ing look at all 50 states. at the end of the day we will be the nominee to defeat barack obama. we need a strong woman in the pattern of a ronald reagan and margaret thatcher to take him on and defeat him. that's what happened in 1980, everyone said a conservative could never win against carter and it was the opposite. we needed the strongest conservative we could have. it's the same thing now. i've proven that i'm the strong,

consistent core conservative in this race. that's what we need. i'm fearless. i have already taken barack obama on. on obama care, dodd/frank and all of these issues. i will stand on the stage, fearlessly look him in the eye, take him on the issues hole him accountable for $15 trillion in debt and take him on to defeat him and turn the country around. >> reporter: your rivals have been campaigning hearly in new hampshire in for the past few months. is it your acknowledgement or do you think you have a lot of ground to make up in new hampshire since they've been doing more campaigning there. >> our goal is to do well near iowa because that's a game changer. people will make up their minds based upon what is happening at the time of their primary. this is a caucus state, new hampshire's a primary state. it's very different. we absolutely will be there, but we'll also go tonight 0 south carolina as well. again, this is a 50-state race and so this is where we're want to show very well. remember, there's only been one

statewide race so far in the presidential election and i'm the one person of all of the candidates that won the only statewide race. that was the august straw poll. i intend to win the second statewide race, the iowa caucuses, and going on there from new hampshire, south carolina, florida, and ultimately to defeat barack obama. >> reporter: you know, notice that the congresswoman didn't reveal her plans specifically for new hampshire but we found out today that she's going to go to south carolina right after the caucuses and then head to new hampshire, afterwards. candy? >> shannon travis, thanks so much inch much more after the break. first a question for you, gary johnson, does the name ring a bell? well, up until last week he was running for the republican nomination, now he's running for the libertarian nomination. i'll tell you why. [ woman ] ♪ what i want this season ♪ if you'd like to try and guess ♪ ♪ it is something very special

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welcome back to "the contenders 2012." we should call this segment the former contenders. gary johnson is the former governor from new mexico, a two-term, elected twice, they loved him there, and he recently decided to run for the republican nomination. he felt the republican party let him down, that networks and others who sponsored debates unfairly left him out of those debates. so last week he announced that he was now going to try for the nomination of the libertarian party, because first of all, it guarantees him a spot on the bat lol ballot in all 50 states. i talked to him last week why he jumped ship. you took a big step from a life long republican to the libertarian party. if you are looking at this and you're seeing here's a republican, you've been in the republican party, ran for governor twice, a republican, et cetera, couldn't get any traction in the presidential race so you switched to the

libertarian party, this looks like a move that is more about opportunity than about principle. can you give me some look into your thought process? >> well, candy, i would argue just the opposite, that it is about the message, that it's about the agenda, that it isn't just ron paul that's delivering this agenda, this message, that it's me, too. i was excluded from 16 out of the 18 debates, i felt that that was really unfair and the exciting notion for me here is, is that if i'm the libertarian nominee, which is no done deal, but if i am, i'm on the ballot in all 50 states and it's an opportunity to continue to be able to talk about the agenda to talk about the message, as opposed to being sent home. i happen to think the biggest growing segment of the republican party are those that are libertarian-leaning. >> but you almost said it yourself, which is you're

looking at a growing segment of the republican party. don't you, by the very notion of running as a libertarian, deny republicans votes and, therefore, conceivably handing the victory to president obama? >> no, i actually see it the other way around. new mexico's a state that's 2-1 democrat, i think -- i think more votes are going to come from democrats who will be disenfranchised over gay marriage equality, over the fact that we have so much warfare go on in this country, that we have waged a war against ourselves when it comes to drugs, legalized marijuana. no, i see this as drawing perhaps more votes from democrats than republicans. but worse case, best case, you know what? it's going to draw from both parties, the biggest growing segment of american politics declined a state and

independence. i think this is going to draw a big segment of that. by draw a big segment of it, it is about the message. it's about the agenda. and i don't see it being represented beyond the primary and ron paul's eventual event l eventually being knocked out of this. >> gary johnson, former governor of new mexico, former republican, now libertarian, running for president. we are approaching the 3:00 hour on the east coast. i want to tell you within that hour, we will have multiple, live events, newt gingrich will be in ames, iowa, mitt romney in atlantic and rick santorum in sioux city after the break. in] announcer: cook foods to the right temperature using a food thermometer. 3,000 americans will die from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov.