over the weekend. sliped a smidge but it's a battle for second place everybody is talking about. then we're going to talk to senator rand paul, helping him close the gap to some degree. is he setting the stage though to make it interesting power play? ask him about that. congresswoman gabrielle i giffords returns to the scene of the tucson fast massacre that happened a year ago. she led the people at the pledge of allegiance last night. we'll show you pictures of thanch. breaking news in iran. enriching uranium for the first time after iran's president ahmed ahmadinejad laned ed ied venezuela. and then it's tebow time. he takes pittsburgh sunday school, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh. this is so great to watch. in overtime. i'm just going to sit here and watch this, yes, touchdown.

it's over. all that, plus our all-star panel. and actor john ratsburger is going to call us, involves getting america working again. and, of course, you're going to want to set your dvrs for 8:00 a.m. exclusive interview with aretha franklin, the queen of soul. "starting point" starts right now. that's it. that's that i was telling you about. bring it right here. the putzen challenge shs they put this in front of you. watch out. make a little space. this is french fries, canadian cheese curd and then a spicy gravy on top. this platter they sell for $19.95 but the challenge is if you can finish the entire thing, five pounds, you get to have it for free. today i'm going to say, will, this is -- clear some stuff out

of your way to help you out. >> right. all right. >> by the end of the show, if you can -- here you go. i have a fork. here, a spoon. if you can finish that i'm going to buy it for you for $20. >> does it come with its own cardiologist? >> it does. they take you right to the e.r. >> all right. we got a countdown, of course, to new hampshire primary this morning. lots to talk about. let's talk about the suffolk university poll. it shows mitt romney with a pretty comfortable lead but it's been dropping fourth day in a row. ron paul and jon huntsman has been gaining a little. and then american research group poll showing mitt romney ahead 26%. huntsman surging in second place. the debates started turning on mitt romney. take a listen. >> if his record was so great as governor of massachusetts why didn't you run for re-election? >> i went to massachusetts to make a difference. i didn't go there to begin a political career running time and time again. i made a difference.

i put in place the things i wanted to do. >> can we drop a little bit of the bologna. you dropped out of office. been out of state preparing to run for president. you didn't have this interlude of citizenship while you thought about what to do. >> well, these debates, very interesting. weekend full of debates. let's introduce you to the folks we're talking with this morning. lloyd mcdonald, nice to you, sir. feel free to dig in and eat any of the fries you want. >> i don't think i need it. >> luke hanes is was as well. cnn senior political analyst and national journal editor, ron browns seen. and he zipped in at the last second. a little out of breath. political analyst for dmur, doing another job helping us out this morning as well. from washington, d.c. we have democratic strategist and former hillary clinton adviser in d.c. nice to have you all. let's begin. let's talk polls. so when you see this movement

wayne, i feel like i should call you mr. mcdonald because i know all these guys. have a french fry, mr. chairman. went you look at these polls that show this incremental movement, how are you feeling about this changes? ahead of a weekend to attack mitt romney, two debates. did it work? >> it's not unusual for polls to tighten as election day nears. and i'm neutral. i have to be neutral as party chairman but certainly mitt romney remains in a very solid position. the debate yesterday morning at the capital center in concorde was aggressive debate, much more so than saturday night. governor romney held his own. he hedefended his positions wel against all of them. >> basically a fight for second place now? >> yeah. possibly fight for third place. you've got a variety of polls which are different trajectory. the suffolk has him going down,

shows romney maintaining his lead. the key question coming out of new hampshire, we had coming out of iowa, will anyone merge as the single clear alternative to mitt romney? you could have a result here that further moves you away from that dynamic if -- especially if ron paul is able to come in a strong second. much less if jon huntsman come in third. then candidates elevated by iowa. rick santorum being depressed in new hampshire. and muddle that benefits mitt rom sni. >> does any of that matter? the romney is in ahead in iowa, just a squeak, and then able to win here in new hampshire which is looking like any poll shows him a good lead. in south carolina he's strong. ultimately it doesn't matter? >> brings up a good point. what are we playing here for in new hampshire and iowa? we're not playing for delegates, media buzz. he's running away with that conversation. he's the one we're talking about. i was talking to some of the people in diner here about who they liked. talk about mitt romney because

they know he's electoral. he's going to win. >> blown away when you talk about eight points in iowa. can you use words like -- sorry. sorry. sorry. >> the thing about romney is he's maintained his position throughout this. people have been up and down, bachmann, perry, santorum. but romney has consistently been the guy to beat. >> 75%, even if you look at your best polls, 60% are not supporting him. run away is not really a word i would use. >> that is the challenge we're talking about. the two things that have been true all year, last january, are that there's a substantial portion of the republican party, probably a majority, resistant to mitt romney and yet no one has been able to lastingly consolidate that majority behind one candidate. and if you come out of iowa and new hampshire, really with possibly the same story. mitt romney continuing to face resistance but yet no one being able to say, yeah, i am that single one. rick santorum, if he can somehow

come in second here, where there's no indication he is, might have been able to get in that position in south carolina. but the risk is you go to south carolina, more conservative state and see that conservative vote fragment and romney was able to win what john mccain did, a victory in south carolina that really puts him in a great position. >> what's going to help mitt romney is iowa and new hampshire don't get presidents. they whittle down the field. seven candidates to only six. if new hampshire really doesn't whittle down the field because rick santorum is where newt gingrich is, create one candidate, mitt romney, versus five others. >> survives that. >> governor romney -- if governor romney -- >> you said once. we have it on tape. i heard you. >> success continues, whoever the ultimate nominee is, the party is going to unite behind them. >> the party will unite behind

them but will the voters unite behind them? that's the $64,000 question. >> he's made a lot of inroads with independents because of his record in massachusetts and some of the other stances he's taken. and number one, issue is jobs and the economy. nobody is strong run issue than mitt romney. >> lets me ask you a question from d.c. you know, one of the narratives out of new hampshire, right, mar marie, is new hampshire loves the underdog. i know the media, we run with that story. flog it and, of course, it was hillary clinton as underdog, down five points in the polls, up three at the end, new hampshire cried in between there. tell me a little bit about that -- yeah, right. it was on the day before. what do you think is the possibilities from the experience that you had as her former, you know, on her campaign formerly? >> well, i think to your point, soledad, and new hampshire voters have said this time and again. they don't like anybody, whether it's the pundits, where it's the polls, or anybody else telling them how they should be voting.

and they, i don't think, really care what happened in iowa. i don't think they don't care what really has happened in the debates or what has been, quote, unquote, coronated. i think they are in this to make the decision that they believe is the best one for the country. they believe that is the best one who will either be electable or who they believe represents their values. and there are still a lot of undecided voters here. is it enough to be able to change the trajectory in terms of the buzz everybody keeps talking about that mitt romney has been able to produce? i don't know. but that is what is so terrific about politics. a day is a lifetime. and i have to point out one thing for the panel, because i think it's so interesting in these past debates, and people have talked about this. no one has been able to really go after romney on so much of what i believe he's vulnerable on. this past debate, i think, was the one where his rivals went at him in a way that they hadn't before. >> you know it's coming.

they've got a day and i think -- >> exactly. >> i'm sorry. yesterday. well, you know what -- >> soledad, you know, i always say this. the one thing that's predictable about new hampshire is that it is very unpredictable. our poll last night shows that 56% -- 56% of likely primary voters are still making up their minds this morning. >> first, we have to get to some of the other stories making news. christine has a look at that while will digs into our putzen french fries. >> yeah. >> that's why. >> christine, good morning. >> and if he can eat all of that, that's a news flash. thanks. new this morning, five months after he was arrested in iran, an iranian court convicted american exmarine amir hekmati

sentenced him to death. they say he's falsely accused and demanding his immediate release. this morning, a major drug recall novartis is pulling certain over the counter me medicines off store shelves because of chipped and broken pills and packaging mix-ups. it clunds bottles of excedrin, nodoz, gas-x. gabrielle giffords leading the crowd in a pledge of allegiance in a candlelight vigil in tucson. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> one year ago a shooting rampage claimed six lives and wounded 13, including giffords. all right. a woman cheats death after her

bungee cord snaps. it happened in zimbabwe. it was caught on tape. wow. the cord snapped about 30 yards over crocodile-infested waters. amazingly, she suffered no major injuries. and can you feel it? we're paying more at the pump. according to the lundberg survey, gas prices jumped 12 cents since the middle of last month to an a. national average of $3.36 a gallon. let's check in on the markets. u.s. stock futures trading mixed. dow futures up a bit. s&p is flat right now. nasdaq future is up a bit. tug of war about optimism from the u.s. after the jobs report on friday but lingering concerns over europe's debt crisis. all right. lsu and alabama set for an epic rematch in tonight's bcs championship game. lsu handed alabama the only loss of the year back in november in overtime in the first meeting the stakes are way higher tonight in the superdome. cnn's joe carter is in new orleans. good morning, joe.

>> hey, good morning. yeah, whether you like the bcs or you want to blow it up it certainly has number one versus number two going at it for all the marbles tonight. lsu had one of the most remarkable seasons in some time taking on alabama. lsu looking for the second title in four years. alabama their second tight until three years. the two went at it in november. really a defensive struggle. ended in a 9-6, lsu win in overtime. i'll tell you, lsu had incentive tonight, not only will they be trying to win their second national championship basically at home here in the superdome but if les miles beats nick sabin tonight, he will get a million dollar bonus for each of the next six years which remain in his contract. it's a lively atmosphere here in new orleans. not particularly at the moment because it's obviously so early. but we saw last night lsu and alabama, both sets of fans are here and getting rowdy. it's easy to have fun on bourbon street, soledad.

>> you know, i love nor. you know that is my favorite city in the whole world. the poll is trying to drown me out here. i was supposed to go to this game and then, of course, this show got moved so i'm not going. let me talk to you for a minute a about tim tebow. awesome game. 80 yards. >> wasn't it? >> he's just amazing. yeah. just amazing. >> you know -- >> it really -- >> tebow's become, in my opinion, the greatest story the nfl has seen this season. you know, i can get the aaron rodgers thing, packers thing, great. but tim tebow far and away literally the best story nfl has got going this season. on the internet last night. i thought tebow was going to break twitter. but, yeah, tebow, he's proving all his critics wrong. here he is in the playoffs. wasn't even supposed to be a starting quarterback and now taking on the tom brady. great story to follow all year. >> it is. but you know what i like about

it best, always saying is that football is supposed to be fun. there's other important stuff but football is supposed to be fun. thank you, joe. appreciate it. we got a new suffolk university tracking poll. we were talking a moment ago about the one from two days ago. now we have a new poll that's going to -- there it is. look how it tracks. you can see january 5th and 6th, romney at 39%. move to your right there, now at 33% in this suffolk poll. ron paul started 17%. gone up a little bit. stayed over the last couple of days. 20%. i think it's huntsman is the other story to watch there. couple of days ago at 9%. now up to 13%. it still puts romney in a big league. we'll talk about what polls like this could mean for what the front-runners are going to do. still ahead, going to talk to senator rand paul. of course, he is outcome paining for his dad. we're going to talk to him in a little bit about his plans. and then we're talking about penn state. they have named a new coach, and everybody is up in arms because

he is not a penn stater. they're mad. plus, our get real. there's a new book out that says the white house had a little secret party, however, the secret party was so secret that they actually have video of it and whose organizations around the country covered it and it was on the web as well. we'll talk about some secrets ahead on "get real." when bp made a commitment to the gulf, we knew it would take time, but we were determined to see it through. today, while our work continues, i want to update you on the progress: bp has set aside 20 billion dollars to fund economic and environmental recovery. we're paying for all spill- related clean-up costs. and we've established a 500 million dollar fund

so independent scientists can study the gulf's wildlife and environment for ten years. thousands of environmental samples from across the gulf have been analyzed by independent labs under the direction of the us coast guard. i'm glad to report all beaches and waters are open for everyone to enjoy. and the economy is showing progress with many areas on the gulf coast having their best tourism seasons in years. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. we're committed to the gulf for everyone who loves it, and everyone who calls it home.

penn state, welcome back, everybody. before we talk about pen state i want to show you a little bit of the inside. we have this giant plate of fries in front of i. will has had one bite. this is a specialty. it's called -- >> i don't remember. something challenging. >> it's something hard to pronounce, putine. it's french fries, then you have the canadian cheese curd and

then spicy gravy. i haven't tried it yet. will has. >> it's excellent. let's talk a little bit about penn state, of course, embroiled in that sex accuse scanned with jerry sandusky kind of taking a step forward, they have a new head coach from bill o'brien. he's an outsider though. he is not a former penn state player and not a coach. all the fallout from the jerry sandusky child molestation scandal people are talking about today. joining us this morning is brian scott, played for penn state and now buffalo bills. gentlemen, it's nice to see you. brian, let's start with you. reaction after the hiring of mr. o'brien, no relation to me, i should point out, was overwhelmingly negative. how do you feel about it? >> i actually -- i'm excited with the choice that they made. and you know, i understand the backlash that kind of came from some of the former players. but i'm happy with it.

i think the board of trustees -- what do you understand about it? >> el wiwell, i believe they we between a rock and a hard place. having to choose someone from outside the university as they did, i think it was the best decision for them. >> so, steve, obviously it's a challenge to try to find a coach after 47 years of jo paterno. here's what bill o'brien said in his press conference. >> i'm here now. i'm the football coach here now. it's my job as the head football coach at penn state to have the best football program both on and off the field. >> do you think that it's enough, to have a new coach who has no connection to the school or does it require, by it i guess moving forward require cleaning out all together? obviously there are a lot of folks who are involved in the program, involved with joe paterno, worked for jerry sandusky, who are still there? >> soledad, this is a long-term

process. if anyone thinks that hiring bill o'brien is going to turn this thing around, they're dilutional because whether it's fair or not, whether people think it's right or not, everyone at penn state who is remotely connected, whose name is likely to come up, one of these many, many trials involving sandusky and these horrific, disgusting charges, if you will, everyone is going to get pulled into this. my opinion is, everyone has to go. you have to clean house. it's not just on the football side. it's not just on the academic side. everyone connected to penn state on the administrative side in terms of the board, and people are going to say that's ridiculous. that's not what the court of law says. that's not due process. we're talking about brand reputation and management. i have a 19-year-old an when he was making a decision of going to school, say penn state is going to that school? you cannot tell me that does not tarnish the ability of penn state to recruit, not just for football but for academics and the best students. >> we've seen that already, steve, right, bryan, we've seen

it. the three topics have changed their minds about heading to penn state. when does that end? they need a year, two years, they just need to win and then no one will care? what is it? >> i really don't know. i don't have an answer for that. but obviously, you know, we're trying to move forward. the sooner we can do that the better. and i think, you know, to be upset with the hiring of coach o'brien and to kind of, you know, stay where we are is a disservice not just to penn state alum but also to the organization itself, to the football program, and to the young men that will continue -- that they want to attend there. i think we just, you know m to move from it to give them a fair chance at it. >> soledad, that doesn't -- >> bryan, steve, you know what, we're going to stop there. we will continue to talk about this because clearly we could talk about it all day. you know, where is the line? where do you stop? players, the receptionist? i mean, how far do you go?

thanks, guys. appreciate that conversation. still ahead, breaking news out of iran regarding country's nuclear program. plus, an american there on trial has now been sentenced to death. we'll update you on his status. and the iranian president is in venezuelan. and "get real," new book coming out claims to reveal very juicy hidden secrets of the obama administration. no juicy and hidden you can find them online. and rand paul, talking about his dad's success in the polls. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about fees.

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welcome back, everybody. it is time to get real this morning. there's a new book coming out this week, i written by "new york times" reporter joni kantor and claims to reveal all the hidden secrets of the obama administration. among them, an allison wonderland tea party themed halloween party back in 2009 that she claims the white house felt was so rift with hollywood -- rife with hollywood glamour at a time when americans were suffer that the white house wanted to keep it a secret. it was designed by tim burton at the same time his movie, very over the top movie being released at at any timed by the mad hatter his, johnny depp, and the rornlg original chewbacca f

"star wars." according to the book. quote, white house officials are so nervous about how a splashy hollywoodesque party would look to jabless americans, that the event was not discussed publicly. and burton's and depp's contributions went unacknowledged. not really. you look at -- and it's not hart, with a google search you can find that cnn covered the party. nbc covered the party. reuters covered the party. the associated press covered the party. "usa today" covered the party and chicago sun times covered the very, very top secret party. we asked the white house if they tried to keep it a secret, they said, well, not really. there's a video of our party on the official white house website. johnny depp's fan site had a post about the appearance. so for a secret keeping of this white house party, not so secret. maybe it wasn't a secret at all, ms. kantor. ahead on "starting point" this morning, ron paul moving up

in the polls. son senator rand paul is going to join us to talk about his father's success and whether he can sustain it. te natural bliss. made with only milk... cream... a touch of sugar... and pure natural flavors. coffee-mate natural bliss. from nestle. add your flavor naturally.

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morning. we're starting our morning with something very, very healthy with their specialty, french fries ♪ the french fries smothered in cheese curd and gravy dressing. senator rand paul has joined us in the breakfast table. he's going to talk to us about the new polls, where his dad is in the polls and plan to chase delegates in florida. plus, we'll talk to john rats ratsenburger. cliff claven from cheers, he has an idea about bringing americans to work and manufacturing. talk about that. new details this morning emerging in the search of a missing tadler in maine. allah reynolds vanish ied last month. her grandmother claims family members at the home that flight had nothing to do with ayl a's disappearance but tells cnn

herself was shot there. police suspect foul play but they have no suspects. new this morning, iran has reportedly started enriching uranium at a new nuclear facility. it says, it boasts, immune to any military attack. it's sets to have 3,000 sent centrifuges in place. iran claims the nuclear program is designed for medical purposes. and nearly 100 soldiers are on lockdown at a military base in seattle after reports that sensitive military equipment is missing. it includes scopes and night lasers. the soldiers unit returned from iraq in $2010. so,000 reward offered for information leading to the recovery of that equipment. u.s. stock futures trading mixed this morning at dow futures up just a bit, s&p futures are flat right now. nasdaq futures are up slightly. they've been wobbling this morning because today is the

first meeting of the new year when the french president nicholas sarkozy and merkel. after the strong jobs report on friday, overshadowed today at least over concerns of europe's debt crisis. soledad? >> all right, christine, thanks. we're sitting here chatting, christine cease talking to me, time to go back to work. i want to talk this morning about polls. new suffolk university poll was just released and shows that ron paul is gaining on mitt romney. really romney's also going downward just a little bit. he's a 33% compared to ron paul who sis at 20%. romney is at 23 points ahead of who they pick as number two in the poll, jon huntsman and ron paul is third. will cane has been joining us, digging into the breakfast. >> and the poll numbers. >> the poll numbers and

breakfast this morning. clever. james men dell is joining us, a political analyst for mur and a former hillary clinton adviser and democratic strategist. she's in d.c. kentucky senator, rand paul, is the on of ron paul. he's joining us at the table. feel free, sir, as i tell everyone so dig into the french fries, covered in cheese curd and gravy. >> there's only one way to eat, fork and in hand. >> all family here. help yourself. >> as long as you get flattering shots of me. >> that's what it's all about. >> this is what he hent when he said help is on the way. >> when you look over the last couple of days here in november, your father has gone from 17%, i'm talking about this suffolk poll, to about 20%, at the same time mitt romney has seen a little bit, you know, not a giant slide, but 39% down to now 33%. how are you feeling about these

polls? >> you know, i'm amazed by the energy i've seen since we've been here. we got off the plan and 1,000 people, mostly young people, at the airport. we were in meredith yesterday and they couldn't fit everybody in the hotel if manager in the hotel who has had every presidential candidate here in the recent years has never seen a crowd this big. 100 people in the hallway and 100 people on the roads still holding signs they wouldn't let into the meeting. i think the energy is great. i think we're surging. i think with ve a really good chance. >> what happens? let's say he's second here, you know, as well, but a second place, you know, is it something that you would think about being a vp? it's been done before. >> i don't know. we want to win. and it's always better to win than get second place. i think there's a remote chance we could pull an upset here if there is a large independent turnout. all of a sudden in the last two dayses, independents said, we want to send a message and we want to get out and vote. and that's one of the great things about new hampshire is independents can vote in this primary. same with iowa.

in iowa we doubled the independent vote from 2008 and we won it 3-1. governor romney does pretty well with independents, too, up here. but i think we can beat him with independents if we get a big turnout. >> let me ask you. your father sponsored 620 bills in his 11 terms in congress. and just one became law. the atlantic wire wrote this. they said paul's approach to law making is particularly suited to not getting things done. is that the kind of -- when someone reads that, wow, do you want that guy as president? >> i would say it's not completely fair. i've been there a year and i've had four or five things i've defeated but gotten through. the rules are different in the senate and the house. the leadership decides what bills come, what you can speak on and whether there can be amendments. for example, when nancy pelosi was cha n. charge of the house, she had varied control. republicans have done it, too. it it isn't been just democrats. but the house is much more

structured body, much more difficult to get your bills through. and i guess my dad's point is, is that it's not that his positions are not popular with the people. it's that people in washington are out of touch by not passing what he's been trying to do. >> let me ask you about a position that i think might not be popular with people as certainly as you head into south carolina. >> start with the popular ones? >> we have a limited time. >> all right. n so, no. back in 2004 your father was on the floor of the house voting against this bill that hailed this 40th anniversary of the civil rights act. and he said this. the civil rights act of 1964 did not improve race relations or enhance freedom. instead, the forced integration dictated by the civil rights act of 1964 increased racial tensions while diminishing individual liberty. this civil rights act is credited with not allows discrimination among blacks. let's give you my kind of take

on this or my perspective. my parents couldn't -- my mom is black, my dad is white. they couldn't enter restaurants to the because of discrimination. they couldn't get housing because of discrimination. >> you say that's awful and something he doesn't support but i think the thing about ron paul, this is what makes him extraordinary. he is an extraordinary person in american politics and probably unique in american politics. he voted against giving a gold medal to mother teresa but that doesn't mean he doesn't like what mother teresa did. the issues are a little more complicated. >> sometimes doesn't the federal government -- >> not civil liberties because of that. for example, there are things that people are concerned about that were unintended consequences. people who believe very fervently in people being -- having equal protection under the law and against segregation and all that still worried about the loss of property rights in the sense that -- >> he's saying -- >> let me finish. for example, i can't have a cigar bar anymore. you say, that has nothing to do

with race. the idea of whether or not you control your property it also tells you come in here, i want to know the calorie count on that and the calorie nazis come in here and tell me -- >> i don't think i do. >> i don't think you can measure the calorie count there. that's the point. >> that's the point. it's not all about that. it's not all about race relations. it is about controlling property ultimately. >> ultimately was not state-sponsored segregation. was not the state using its power to infringe minorities until the 1964 civil rights act. >> right. >> he is choosing one set of rights over another. it's got a black and white. >> i think the mistake in dwelling on something like this is you're dwelling on an obscure issue that is not part of what he's about. >> i disagree. >> let me tin anybody. no, let me finish. >> it is a issue of whether it trumps. >> let him finish. >> for example. if you want to know something about ron paul and race relations come and meet our

staff, come -- no, don't merely shake your head. >> i'm not going to sit you two next to each other. >> let me finish. the thing is, is that look at the diversity of our staff, look at the diversity of our followers. there are young men and women of every race much more diverse than any other campaign. what other candidate will stand up and say that our current laws, not what we're talking about in 1964, but that our current laws are imprisoning young black men at rate much greater than young white men because the laws are being unfairly applied. there are civil liberty problems now -- >> they've been given those opportunities because of the civil rights act. >> there are problems now that still need to be addressed. many people think this school choice is the civil rights issue of our era. that we need to get better schools for people, that our public schools are failing people who come from other ethnic walks of life and other

circumstances. so there are many things now that still need to be fixed, but so sort of paint ron paul as someone who doesn't care about race relations -- >> i'm not saying that. what i'm trying to say is trying to understand -- >> you are because you're dwelling on something like this. >> because i think it gives an insight into how someone thinks about discrimination policy. if he wants to be president of the united states, you have to say, what would he do in a similar circumstance and this is a quote from 2004. i'm not going back to 1964. >> i would say i've never heard him give a speech on saying he wants to do anything to overturn anything to do with the civil rights act. you're bringing up a red herr g herring. here's an issue that is a real issue. >> i disagree with that. >> here's an issue that is a real issue. young blam woman in her 30s in jail for 37 years for a drug-related crime. here was her crime. he was taking money from her boyfriend's house to some other drug dealer's house. it was a crime and decided to put her in jail. but for 37 years? we have people with life sentences. and these penalties are

disproportionately going to underprivileged, largely african-american communities. >> he wouldn't support the civil rights act and he would not support desegregating of schools, he would not support -- let me finish my point. >> the issue right now -- >> let me finish my point. >> the issue right now with drugs and with imprisonment is a real issue now. >> clearly. >> we need to change. >> and discrimination is a real issue. that's what it was about. >> what other candidate is talking about getting rid of mandatory minimum. >> i give you that, sir. >> that's a real issue. >> that's resonating with people. but i think at the same time, you're saying, the not discussing discrimination, well, that's trump because you're actually talking about issues that do affect african-americans and other people disproportionately but ultimately you're saying your father would say today i would not get involved in desegrega desegregating schools, i would not get involved in saying a restaurant like this -- >> 1964, that would be an issue we would be talking about. no one other than you is talking about this. you brought up something from 40 years ago. >> no, this is 2004.

this is -- >> ron paul is not interested in changing. ron paul is the only candidate on the republican stage who would actually do something that would eliminate current imbalances and things -- in south carolina, there's going to be -- >> ron paul is the only candidate on the stage that would actually do something that would get rid of discrimination in our law. that's what you need to be talking about. >> that's not right, by the way, that ron paul wouldn't want to be involved in desegregating schools. ron paul and rand paul's position on private property rights within the it is 64 school rights acts. >> also saying no to desegregating schools. >> this is a poignant one because -- >> you can't say a conversation is not -- >> it is because fairing out s racist and private property. >> in this particular venue this siv rights act over laps on both of these things, discrimination and private property. >> ron paul does have c controversial opinions that cap his support. many people out there see ron

paul as a sole champion of small government, liberty. but senator paul, i have to ask you. he sees those opinions out there, logical conclusions to positions such as legalizing drugs, abolishing the fed, taking troops out of afghanistan, not just afghanistan but south korea, japan, germany. for many people -- are these not deal killers for you and the support of your father? >> he's my dad. but what i would say is there are degrees of everything. for example, i don't want to but i'll go back to the civil rights act. i would have voted for the civil rights act of 1964. but i do still have some misgivings as to what it did to things -- >> in retrospect and you're not the only one. >> for example, we're in this restaurant now. do you want -- they actually may be allowed for everybody to be armed. let's say the owner of the restaurant wants weapons in here. they should have the ability to say i don't want weapons in here. i have a bar and i don't drink i

don't want people to have weapons in here. are you allowed to say that? you're not because we've evolved to a situation that everybody believes you don't own this restaurant, it's a public place. it isn't. this is owned by whoer owns this dine ir. if they don't want guns in here, and i'm a pro gun guy but they ought to be able to say they make the rules. that's the slipperliy slope we're worried about. >> stop, stop. dig into the french fries because we have to go to commercials is what pays the bills, people. we have to go to commercial break. i want to thank our panelists, of course, senator, thank you for coming and joining our conversation. iran's president is visiting latin america. that as iran says it's taking another step in the nuclear program. we'll talk about what's happening there in just a moment. cut. cut! [ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good because on this job,

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got several breaking news stories coming out of iran. welcome back. iran is now claiming it started enriching uranium at a new nuclear facility. tehran claims it's for medical use. the news comes as iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad is rubbing elbows with some vocal critics of the united states right next door to this country. he's there already and going to

be traveling to anythi ing ting. she's live with us at a d.c. this morning. and christine romans is live for news atlanta. christine, we'll get to you julie, let's start with you. how much of the point of this meeting is to send the message to really the u.s. that all of these countries that ahmadinejad is meeting with and -- you know, we're not just friends. we are also economic partners. >> i think the economic message is important, soledad. latin america has diversified its trade and investment portfolio across ideological spectrums in the past five years, 10 years or so. so the visit is from the latin american country's perspective that it is a sign that this part of the region is independent from the united states. and for iran also, the economic partnership is one dimension of the visit. although i wouldn't overstate the case. >> well, i was going to ask you

that. when you look at the investments that have been promised, a port in nicaragua, didn't happen. refinery in ecuador, didn't happen. how much is just sort of talk and pr and how much support does he actually have from the latin american people? >> i think that, you know, he has been there every two years or so since 2005. and there's always a big gap between the rhetoric of promise of large scale investment and what actually is delivered. i think this is for domestic consumption in his own country to show that he is not isolated, despite sanctions, and despite u.n. resolutions along those lines. in latin america generally, he doesn't really have much of a political base. >> christine, i know whenever we talk about iran, often a lot of the conversation is how much are we going to be paying for oil and how much are we going to pay for gas. >> yeah. and already you're seeing gas and oil prices moving higher. and the reason is, even though iran's sabre rattling probably

is just sabre rattling, the strait of hormuz, 40% of the world's traded oil goes right there past the coastline of iran. and when iran says it could shut it down, just even that talk starts to filter into the oil markets and you have unease. so where the world economy is, is barely growing, europe is barely growing, the u.s. barely growing, that usually means that oil prices go down when you don't have a robust concern. but concerns about iran, where 40% of the world's traded oil goes right through the strait of hormuz, that means you will be paying more at the pump. you know, the treasury secretary right now is in asia, soledad. you can be sure that that is on the agenda as well. iran's talking in our backyard to our neighbors. what will china, what will japan, what will others do, what will the u.s. do, to pressure them to isolate iran because of its nuclear program. all of that still means more jitters in the oil market, and that means you'll be paying more

at the pump. the strait of hormuz to your service station. they are connected. >> thank you both. still to come this morning on "starting point," you may remember him as cliff from cheers. but he is now an outspoken advocate for american manufacturing. he thinks veterans are the key to resurrecting that u.s. industry. we'll talk to him straight ahead. well, almost everybody... ♪ would you like 50% more cash? no! but it's more money. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? woah! [ giggles ] ♪ takes everything you've got ♪ wouldn't you like to get away? ♪

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the latest on the jobs report -- shush, panelists. working. the latest jobs report to talk about. 23,000 jobs in manufacturing. u.s. manufacturing jobs have been added in december, despite

the new numbers, the industry, though, is on a long-term decline. we have asked actor john ratzenberger to join us. he is an outspoken advocate for american manufacturing. in new york this morning. nice to see you. when you look at some of the statistics, the good news, of course, 23,000 jobs in manufacturing. the bad news, a lot of them are low wage jobs. they are not that those high wage jobs. how do you grow the high wage jobs? >> well, that's what we have with the most program. it's a mobile outreach skills training. and we come in with trailer trucks and buses that we have equipped as classrooms, and actually we can guarantee jobs for returning veterans. so what's happened over the last 30 years, soledad, we have cancelled vocational training in schools. there are thousands and tens of thousands of jobs right now today available in manufacturing. but the problem is, the kids graduate from high school without the ability to read a ruler. so that's where we come in. we step in. we actually go to the manufacturers and we say, what

do you need? do you need cnc machine operators? do you need welders? lathe operators? and then we configure our program to what the manufacturer needs. but we bring our classroom right into the parking lot of the manufacturer. so that when the students come in -- >> so you -- >> i'm sorry. say that again. >> well, i was just going to ask you, you know, conventional wisdom i think today is telling a lot of those students, listen, you need college. the days of having a middle class life and a middle class existence when you have not gone to college is no more. that's in the past. is that just not true anymore? you think it's possible that you can train people as -- >> well, it's turned right around. i gave a talk recently to a high school and asked, what is everyone doing after high school, who's going to college? everybody raised their hand except one guy, he was going into auto mechanics. and everybody laughed at him. and i think that's funny, because at the end of four years he's going to own his own home

while ythe rest of you are waiting tables paying off your college degree. it's actually the love of my country that makes me do this. because the strength of america is manufacturing. there's no way around it. we are manufacturers. we make things. we invent things. we innovate things. that's what you sell. that's why wall street exists, because of somebody getting up in the morning and putting a nut and a bolt together. and we are losing that. we're losing that because we haven't trained people, and we have made them more interested in becoming a sports manager than an engineer. >> that's john ratzenberger. our cause celeb this morning. thank you for being with us to talk about what your passion is. appreciate it. still ahead this morning on "starting point," much more on the new hampshire primary. we are just 35 hours away. now we're doing the countdown. plus, exclusive one-on-one with

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welcome back, everybody. this is where we are this morning. a canadian diner, canadian cuisine, and the food is really, really good. we are talking politics this morning. the specialty here is something poutine. have you had this yet? >> poutine. >> not in my script, it's not. how many times have you had this, mr. mayor? >> that's cardiac arrest on a plate. >> it's french fries and cheese kurd and then spicy gravy on top. it smells really, really good, though. we haven't quite finished it up. welcome back.

we're going to get our panel to dig in and eat everything this morning. a new poll out just about an hour ago shows that mitt romney still has a commanding lead, but it is shrinking for the fourth day in a row. two republican debates over the weekend. jon huntsman is moving up in the poll. he has a bit of help. three secret weapon, the huntsman girls, that will join us straight ahead this morning. and then tim tebow. wow, if overtime, broncos quarterback pulls off another mile high miracle. and then gets on his knees and thanks jesus. we'll talk about that straight ahead. al also my exclusive interview with the queen of soul, aretha franklin. she recently dropped 85 pounds. talks about finding her king at the age of 69. and memories of her dad, who was a civil rights hero, who won a

big award over the weekend. "starting point" begins right now. inside chez bachon. people know what they want for breakfast, however, people are split when it comes to on who they want to represent them heading into the presidential race. ron paul is gaining on mitt romney. paul kind of staying consistent. but romney going down a little bit. although people will consistently remind you that new hampshire is unpredictable. take a look back at 2008. suffolk university and cnn polls showed president obama had a five-point lead just two days before the primary day. 48 hours later, it was hillary clinton who was the winner by three points. and that started a primary fight that would last into the summer. joining us with our panel is

manchester mayor ted gas. he is endorsing mitt romney. and speechwriter david frum as well. and also our former hillary clinton adviser maria cardonna in d.c. and the director of the suffolk political university research center. and mayor, thank you for having us in your fine city. why are you supporting mitt romney? >> well, i believe he is the candidate that can talk about jobs, create jobs, and people today are worried about the jobs that they have, that they may lose them. >> why are you one of the few people -- i have everyday people come on the show, and i say who are you supporting, who are you endor endorsing? and more often than not, it's i don't know yet. why are you so sure? >> i think that somebody who signs the front of the check understands how to bring people back to work and can get people to the table through the big

corporations who will still hiring people. because they are just really scared right now what the future has to bring because of what's happening in government. we need to get him in there so that people will understand their jobs are secure, that they don't have to worry, and we'll start creating jobs so people can go to work. manchester is a little different. our unemployment rate is less than 5%. and i'm enjoying cutting ribbons every day, starting new companies that people can go to work in. and certainly we are doing that on a regular basis weekly. we have a new grocery store right downtown. a job center that we'll be building quickly with 300 more jobs there. a municipal complex with 350 jobs. >> so a lot of good news. david, let's talk about this new poll that came out, and what it seems to be is a chipping away of mitt romney's lead. but he has a strong lead. >> well, he's lost 10 points in the last five days, and it's significant. it speaks to the weakness of the field really.

you have other candidates in this field who aren't complete candidates. i mean, ron paul is hitting a ceiling at 22, 23. can't break above it. you have other candidates in the field who play well in the republican space, but don't poll well among independents. and vice versa. so in that light, it doesn't look like anybody's going to catch him. >> let me play a little chunk from the debate. it was the weekend of debates this weekend. this is newt gingrich talking to mitt romney and really talking about those super pacs and negative ads. >> i wish you would calmly and directly state it is your former staff running the pac. your millionaire friends giving to the pac, and you know some of the ads aren't true. just say that straightforward. >> well, of course it's former staff of mine. and of course they are people who support me. they wouldn't be putting money into a pac that supports me if they weren't people who support me. >> how much damage did he do, do you think, in that? it got a lot of applause.

and i feel like that approach and also the bain approach is what everybody is about. >> well, newt gingrich is on a suicide mission of destruction. he is not doing himself any good. mitt romney being attacked for too many rich friends. but what you see is the compression of the race. in iowa, mitt romney sawed off rick perry and another person who might have been president. here we will see the end of the santorum and gingrich phenomenon. it will reduce itself to mitt romney who is running to be president and ron paul who is running to enrich his email list. >> mitt romney has had some gaffs. he talked about, i was afraid of getting a pink slip, and people kind of rolled their eyes at that. he has spoken about, if you have a mortgage to pay, you probably don't want to run for office. and people felt like, you don't

want regular american citizens to feel they could represent this country as well? do people really care that the person who is president is really, really, really rich? >> right here in manchester, they don't really care about that because their mayor just won by 72%. i can tell you that doesn't affect people here in manchester. >> maria is in d.c. >> i think a couple of things, soledad. mitt romney loves to talk about how he has been the job creator in all of this when actually if you look at the numbers, it's jon huntsman who can really talk about job creation. his state was actually number one when mitt romney's state was number 47. so i guess it's great for the democrats that jon huntsman has not really taken off, because i actually think he would be the most electable in a general election scenario. and mitt romney, again he will run away with this if the anybody but romney vote does not consolidate behind one candidate. and on ron paul, i love the discussion that you just had,

because if he does come in second, and we all talked about how this is a race for second in new hampshire, he's going to have to talk a lot more not just about the civil rights act, which you mentioned to senator paul, but also about the newsletters which he has not -- i don't think he has explained that sufficiently. if he comes in number second -- or he comes in number two, i think that's something that is going to be highlighted much more into the next primaries. >> all right. we're going to continue these conversations with our panelists. mr. mayor, thank you very much. david of course giving us an update on the polls as well. believe it or not, there's other news than politics. i know you're shocked. but christine romans has a look at those stories for us. new, an american on trial in iran for espionage has been sentenced to death. he was found guilty of working for an enemy country and spying for the cia. the state department claims he has been falsely accused, and has demanded his release. music, prayers and tears to remember the tucson shooting rampage.

a candlelight vigil capped an emotional weekend to mark one year since six people were killed and 13 wounded, including congresswoman gabrielle giffords. she led the crowd in the pledge of allegiance. tebow time went into overdrive on sunday. his 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play in overtime led the denver broncos to a 29-23 win over the pittsburgh steelers. the broncos advance to play the new england patriots in the divisional round on saturday. and the hyundai elantra has just been named north american car of the year at the detroit auto show. the range rover evoke was named truck of the year. now let's check in on the markets. stocks all trading higher at the moment. things are a little choppy today. it's the first meeting of the new year between french president nicolas sarkozy and germany's prime minister angela merkel. the jobs report is being

overshadowed by concerns over european debt crisis and the talks going forward. thank you, christine. medical news to tell you about this morning. novartis is recalling several popular over the counter drugs including certain bufferin and excedrin products. we'll talk with elizabeth cohen in atlanta this morning. what kind of risks are we talking about here? what's happening? >> novartis says nothing bad has happened. nobody has gotten sick because of this. but here's the issue. what they are saying, there say possibility that for example excedrin might have been put in a gas x bottle or bufferin in a no doze bottle, and that's a problem. you don't want that to happen. so look out for these products. for example, excedrin and no doze, you do not want to purchase those products if they were made -- or if the

expiration date is december 20, 2014 or earlier. that's a huge chunk of product. and as for bufferin and gasx prevention, december 20, 2013 or earlier. so, again, that say lot of product. and it's not just plain old excedrin. it's excedrin p.m., it's all of these different kinds of things. so it's different variations of these products. >> all right. elizabeth cohen updating us. and folks of course can go to our website to get more information on what exactly they should be returning back to the pharmacy. still to come which morning on "starting point," a moment ago we were talking to senator ran paul. straight ahead, we'll talk about what a ron paul presidency would mean for the country, because everybody cares about the economy. jon huntsman says he can feel the momentum building. he better hope so. it's time to win big or go home

at this point. we'll talk to his three daughters. and then later, i am one-on-one with the queen of soul, aretha franklin. we'll talk about her weight loss, her marriage, her dad's award, civil rights, everything, straight ahead. aretha franklin. stay with us.

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welcome back to starting point. i'm soledad o'brien, and you're looking at where our makeshift set is this morning. they have been bringing us coffee and breakfast, and we truly appreciate it. but we're talking about the economy. a few minutes ago we had rand paul, a senator whose father is running for the republican nomination. ron paul would like the government out of your life and out of the economy. he would propose cutting spending drastically and immediately. christine romans is back to tell us how he'd do it and what the plan and what it would all mean. >> you know, when i presented him with this economic plan, i said, you know, what would cutting $1 trillion out of the economy in one year do? and he said, the economy would evaporate. it would evaporate. it's just not feasible. so there you go. that's from middle of the road economists. going to into the election it's important to understand how this would impact you. ron paul wants to cut $1

trillion out of a $15 trillion economy in one year. it would change everything. wants to cut 440,000 government jobs immediately. close 1/3 of the departments, commerce, education, the interior department. he wants to shut down the tsa, make that be a private sector. slash defense funding. he wants to end foreign aid, end the foreign wars, cut defense, bring spending back to 2006 levels. this is what it looks like. this is -- this red line is his budget. his total outlay. i mean, look at that cliff. he wants to slam the brakes on spending, compared with what the president proposes, you can see just how dramatic that is. he wants to ed the fed. he says they are distorting the value of the dollar. it will cause dangerous inflation. >> there's a lot here, christine. >> right. >> there's a lot here that's sort of no, no, no, stop, no, no, no. and it's interesting, when you

talk to rand paul, we were talking to him earlier not about the economy but the sense that both people who are democrats and people who are republicans as well are sometimes incredibly fearful of that -- what's the right word -- i don't think extreme approach to -- >> well, the senator and i got into a little bit of a disagreement about whether the civil rights act opposition was relevant. and why i thought the fact that he has a lot of minority support was not relevant to the question i was asking. and the reason i didn't think it was relevant is because the real issue with his opposition to the civil rights act is the same one that christine brings up. what is the point where ideological consistency becomes an enemy of pragmatic decision making? and people are attracted to the purity of a candidate who takes their views to the limit. but when you take them to the limit on a lot of different fronts, you end up in places that a lot of americans look around and say, huh? and i think the fact that he would go to the house floor in

2004 and say the civil rights act was a mistake, after it was the single most important piece of legislation passed in the 21st century, there's a lot of suspicion about government. >> but that's what gets people to love him, because it makes sense. cut, cut, cut. >> here in new hampshire, when you go to these rallies and talk to ron paul supporters, they say, why isn't someone saying what he is saying? they aren't saying, why isn't he the commander in chief right now? >> i think people think it's brilliant and seems very simple. >> when you compare -- here's -- i draw this and another analogy on the civil rights position and the economic position. when you say ron paul's economic plan, ron paul doesn't have an economic plan for america. he has an economic plan for himself. this is a fundraising operation. this is a direct mail scheme. that's what it always has been. >> he does believe in it. >> well, he tells us no, he tells us those things i said back in the 1990s under my byline, i don't believe that. >> we are learning a chunk of

the republican coalition believes it, and it's not clear how the party is going to be able to accommodate and react to -- >> he say direct mail artist. that's what he is. >> we'll continue this conversation in a moment. actually, no, because i have to get to the commercial break or i will be fired at the end of the show. we will bring you in just a little bit on the other side. straight ahead, as we talk about the economy, i want to talk about the folks who own this cafe. they had quite a struggle and we'll ask them how they are doing and what their success is due to. we're back right after this commercial break. if there was a pill

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welcome back, everybody. just as the economy was crashing in 2008, jessica and robert perkins decided that they would make a giant financial commitment. what they did was to buy this place, chez vachon, a busy, busy restaurant and diner, a breakfast place we have been enjoying this morning.

but people probably thought you were insane because the timing was terrible. how worried were you? >> we figured food, everybody always eats food. so we felt pretty good coming in to buy it. we figured we'd do all right. >> have you been able to not only maintain this business, which i think it's been around for about 31 years, is that right? >> yes. >> how were you able to also grow it? >> we came up with a lunch menu when we first opened up that they didn't really have a big lunch menu. it was known basically for breakfast. and it seemed like that helped us pull that different part of the segment in from the area to eat, be here both times, breakfast and lunch. >> jessica, when you look around, and i know, you know, it's a lot of locals coming in to enjoy breakfast or lurch or everything, one of the big concerns that your customers are talking about, and i know you also have two sons, and this is a time when the economy is struggling. >> obviously, education is a big concern for a lot of people. there's a lot of families in our area.

and just the economy in general. they are having, you know, they are wondering if they're going to be working next week or the ones who are out of work are wondering if they're going to find a job. it's a difficult situation sometimes. >> cafes like this are stopping points for every single politician so they can come and glad hand everybody. have they been coming through? >> we have had some of them come through. we had ron paul come lehere, mi romney. you don't see as much signage out there. you didn't see the candidates come as much to new hampshire as they do, i don't think. >> how do you read that? what do you think that means? >> i think in the today of the internet, text messaging, and all of that, i think that they are getting their message out in different ways. a lot more debates this year. so it -- >> unending almost. >> yeah. it's almost like they are not

doing the groundwork in new hampshire. almost like we're not as important as we used to be, which seems kind of weird. i was kind of distressed hearing everybody was going down south. you know, new hampshire, they should have been here for -- they should be here. >> one word. who are you supporting? >> i like romney. i do. i think he's got the best shot of getting us back working. >> as the wife shakes her head no over your shoulder. who are you supporting? >> jon huntsman. >> we'll have jon huntsman's three daughters joining us here. they are in the back. we'll talk with them about their dad straight ahead. i want to thank you very much. poutine is the specialty of the house. >> yes. >> fries, cheese, gravy. low-calory, shockingly. >> exactly. >> fat free i'm told. it's actually very, very good. we'll take a short break. when we come back, jon huntsman's daughters. now is the time for his daughters if he wants people to vote for him on primary day. we'll talk to them about their strategy, straight ahead. stay with us. people with a machine.

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good morning. and welcome to "starting point." i'm soledad o'brien. nice to have you. we are live from morning from chez vachon. ahead in this half hour, we'll meet the huntsman girls. i call you the young women. whose dad is running to be president. of course, good news this morning with new polls that shows he is on the rise. but is it enough to catch the front-runner? we'll talk about that. plus, my exclusive interview with aretha franklin, queen of soul. we'll talk about her weight loss, health scare, and her upcoming wedding. and her dad won a big award that she accepted on his behalf over the weekend. but first to cnn's christine romans with a look at the other

stories making news this morning. it is not all politics believe it or not. >> good morning. you're right. iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is in venezuela to meet with hugo chavez, his first stop on a tour of latin america. the trip will take him also to nicaragua, ecuador, and cuba. new details emerging in the search for a missing toddler in maine this morning. aila reynolds vanished from her father's home last month. his grandmother claims that family members at the home that night had nothing to do with ayla's disappearance. police suspect foul play but have no suspects. for the first time since the middle of october, we are paying more for gasoline. according to one survey, gas prices jumped 12 cents over the last three weeks to a national average now of $3.36 a gallon. now let's check in on the markets. u.s. stack futures for the dow, nasdaq, and s&p 500 all trading higher at the moment. today is the first meeting of the newt year between the french and german presidents.

optimism about the u.s. economy after the strong jobs report on friday were overshadowed today by concerns over that meeting in europe's debt crisis. let's get a quick check on the weather now. alexandria steele is in this morning for rob marciano. >> well, texas is getting all the action today. west texas is expecting about five to maybe up to seven to eight inches of snow. east texas, some beneficial rains in this la nina condition. about one to three inches. and then we have even had tornado warnings in houston county, just north of houston this morning. this is the story, the massive onslaught of rain pushing to the east today and will stay here, believe it or not, really until wednesday and thursday, when it makes its way into washington. mild air still mild air coming down in the northern plains. still well above average. minneapolis, 42. 20 degrees above average. by thursday, you'll be back down to about 30 degrees, cooler than where you are now. that's a check of the weather. soledad?

thank you very much. the former governor of utah, jon huntsman, is saying that he is starting to see momentum build for his campaign in the state where he has really staked his campaign, which is this state, the state of new hampshire. newly released polls back him up on that. there's a new poll that came out about 90 minutes ago that shows him gaining some ground. mitt romney's lead has shrunk a little bit, but he is up to 13 points. he was down two points so jon huntsman is up. good news for him. but of course, it is late in the game, and mitt romney still has a pretty commanding lead. this is all of course over the backdrop of those two debates over the weekend. an american research group poll, which has been do you wahas beey some folks, has paul in second place. >> he criticized me while he was out raising money for serving my country in china. yes, under a democrat. like my two sons are doing in

the united states navy. they are not asking who, what political affiliation the president is. >> i think we serve our country first by standing for people who believe in conservative principles. and doing everything in our power to promote an agenda that does not include president obama's agenda. >> this nation is divided, david, because of attitudes like that. >> he got a big round of applause for that. jon huntsman has really bet absolutely everything on new hampshire. he has to do well here. he has, though, three secret weapons and those are his daughters who are joining us this morning. marianne is joining us, abby huntsman, and liddy huntsman with us this morning. nice to see you ladies. the good news for your dad, he is climbing in the polls. the bad news, only 36 hours to go. how worried are you about how this is going to turn out? >> i'm not worried at all. what we're seeing right now is my dad is going in the right direction. the other candidates are going in the wrong direction. and i really think that we're going to see him as a surprise

here in new hampshire, where you have romney who has been working for easily 15 years around this state, massachusetts, and my dad has only been on the ground for a couple of months. so, you know, i think with 36 hours to go, i still think we can see a big surprise. >> and no one knew my dad six months ago in this state. he has worked the ground, and we have seen the reaction from voters here and they connect with him. and the ones who have come to see him are excited about his message, love his honesty. >> but the stakes are high. it's all the eggs in this basket. >> i think the story will be, you know, romney has been here for so long. who can actually show those numbers to compete here? and i think dad coming from nowhere six months ago now to that poll at 17, that's big. >> i want to talk to you a little bit about your strategy on youtube. let's show a little clip of the huntsman girls on youtube. >> we need you to get involved to make sure our next president is based on substance -- >> not sound bites. >> check out our dad at

jon2012.com and follow us on jon2012 girls on twitter. >> this got a lot of play when you first did it. what was the strategy on doing it? and the mustache is very natural. you wouldn't know they were you. >> you can't recognize us now, right? >> what was the strategy to approach it this way? >> with the youtube? >> very spur of the moment. i think a lot of the things we have done has all been spur of the moment. i think we woke up and kind of said -- >> it was all done in a day. >> and the media talking about it when that first came out a lot. do you guys give your dad advice when it comes to appealing to the young demographic? >> i think just raising seven kids. he is definitely in the loop of what's going on, and we are very close in our family. we help pick out his ties. keep him in the loop with facebook and twitter. you just have to in the 21st century. you have to be aware of what's

going on. >> i want to ask you about the campaign trail for the families. there was an ugly ad that ran from people who support ron paul. and even the paul campaign itself called it a disgraceful ad. and the question was, it was an ad that talked about your adopted sisters, one adopted from china, the other from india, and it said american values or chinese values? and it was, you know, ugly. and i wonder, do you ever feel like this is just a game, and it's going to get nasty. or you feel like, shouldn't we be off limits to have a little baby as a target of an ad? >> right. i think it was a very unfortunate thing. and we hope that our little sisters never come across this. obviously, getting into a campaign, you set yourself up for videos like this. i mean, you just have to move beyond it. but personally, i think the video showed my dad's capability on china, because china is such a huge relationship that we have with the united states. >> to make fun of that is a strange thing. who wouldn't want a president in

today's age that understands china and understands the relationship? that's an important thing moving forward. >> we opened the segment talking about mitt romney taking a lot at your dad that he was working if are a democratic president. i thought he had a good comeback. >> my dad said it perfectly. attitudes like that is what it is dividing our country. and i think everybody -- i think everybody agrees with that statement. and i think that's what my dad is trying to bring, trust and country first, not politics first. and that's why he is a unique candidate. >> when you look at it, we are all americans. we are all struggling. we all want a better tomorrow. we need to come together. and that's the madge thessage h providing the people. >> what's your plan for the rest of the day? an out and out sprint in, let's see, high heels? oh, no, no. >> we hide them under the table. >> it's not high heels. you guys can cover some ground today. >> yeah. >> after being in new hampshire

for so long, you can't do the high heels. >> we are doing a diner tour today. >> starting here, yes. >> i have been doing the diner tour too. and then you have to go straight to the treadmill tour later. where will you be tomorrow night? >> i don't know. >> manchester tomorrow night. i think the campaign. >> the whole family together? >> yeah, the whole family. >> and then off to south carolina. >> it does not end. thank you for being with us. check them out online as well. the youtube videos are very funny. i like them. still ahead this morning, the queen of soul. exclusive interview with aretha franklin. she talks about her dad, her music, about how she lost 85 pounds, and her upcoming wedding. ahead in the reveal, rick santorum says president obama is an elitist for suggesting that everybody should go to college. what do the numbers show? what does a college education get you? take a look at that when we come

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welcome back, everybody. over the weekend, aretha franklin picked up a prestigious trumpet award on behalf of her

late father, the reverend c.l. franklin, highly regarded for his civil rights work. but also it was in his church where the queen of soul learned to sang. i had a chance to sit down with her before she got that award on his behalf. we talked about her upcoming marriage, music, and also a little bit about the memories of her late father. >> he organized and led the great march in detroit in june of 1963 to the tune of about 1 million and a half, 2 million people, down woodward, which was the main street in detroit. >> a civil rights legend, of course. >> and that set the pace for the great march in washington that dr. king did thereafter. >> tell me a little bit about your dad's impact on your music. obviously, you performed in his church. >> yes. very early on, he taught me a number of things having to do with timing and phrasing and different things like that and coaching me in different ways. >> do you think he knew just how famous and successful you would be? >> i don't know.

he did say at one point that one day i would sing for kings and queens. he did say that. and i have subsequently. i have. >> what's your favorite song that you've ever done? >> my favorite song, oh, my god. i have had a lot of favorite songs. i don't have one favorite song. i've had many. >> "respect." a lot of people thought. >> "respect" of course is one of the favorites. >> did you look at that as a civil rights anthem? >> "respect"? >> yes. >> it was a civil rights mantra. >> did it feel like for you it was too? >> yeah. well, i perfectly thought it applied well. everybody wants respect. who doesn't want respect? from the smallest child maybe 3 years old to a 90 and 100. everybody wants respect. >> when you fast forward to 2008, and the inauguration of the nation's first black president, what was going through your mind while you're

sitting there in the hat? >> the hat. the hat was notorious, wasn't it? >> yes, it was. >> the infamous hat. i love it. the hat had a whole thing of its own. but what a great moment in history. what a wonderful moment. just to have been asked to be a part of something that great that will never, ever happen again. only one time in history. >> did the hat go to the smithsonian? >> the hat was on its way to the smithsonian, and that's when i found out i had to have surgery. >> what happened when you had your health surgery? reporters were getting emails that you had pancreatic cancer and you literally were about to die. >> well, i had a tumor. and that was taken care of. it's behind me. and thank god it's behind me. >> can you give me more details on it? >> there are no more details. that was it. >> where was it? >> that was it. there are no more details. >> tell me a little bit about the weight. because you look great. >> thank you.

>> last i heard, you had lost 85 pounds. >> i did. from where i was. but i put 15 or 20 of those pounds back on. and i'm working to get them back off now. >> what do you do to get them off? >> it's an up and down thing. >> your boyfriend -- >> my man. >> why are you man. >> i don't have a boyfriend. yeah. >> your man is somebody who's been in your life a long time. >> uh-huh. >> why get married now? >> well, why not get married now? i need someone to take care of me, help take care of me. >> you don't feel taken care of? >> well, not as good as i could be. i take fabulous care of myself. let's just put that on record. but it wouldn't hurt, you know, for someone to be there to remind you of certain things, you know. it wouldn't hurt. >> oh, it was such a fun interview with her. are you getting a phone call? david is taking calls while the rest of us are working on the panel. >> that looked like fun. >> she's amazing. one thing i asked her, does she

really understand like the cultural impact? again, she is the queen of soul, of songs like "holy holy." songs that i think a lot of artists look to as important to them. and she kind of brushed it off like, well, you know, you never know what's going to resonate. you just never know what's going to be a success and what's not. >> we spend so much time interviewing politicians and talking to elected officials and people who run companies. and in 50 years, we won't remember any of their names, and people will be singing her songs. think about it. it's culture -- >> and she knows it. that's what makes her the queen of soul. >> culture outlives politics in every society. >> she talked about detroit, struggling very hard. and made a big plea for all the companies that there are to stay. she told shme she has a secret passion. what do you think? >> well, clearly knitting. >> crocheting. we have a winner. >> did you ask her about romney? newly relevant that the son of the governor, the governor of michigan when she led -- >> i think she had a lot cooler things to ask her about.

>> we actually didn't talk a lot about politics because she is such a strong democrat. really, i think like a lot of people watching the republican race, they don't care about that. she didn't really seem to care at all. she did talk about her wedding dress. i know you three all morning have been bothering me for the details. she said donna karan is her designer. although she listed a couple of other people, vera wang. but she is really fun. she has is great. incredible. it was a lot of fun for me. still ahead this morning, back to politics with rick santorum, who says every kid doesn't have to go to college. but what we reveal, what a college degree could get you, might be very interesting. that's back right after this commercial break.

welcome back, everybody. we are still at the diner this morning. it is time now for our reveal. we are looking at republican presidential candidate rick santorum, who has been playing up his blue collar credentials. really started when we were in iowa. but over the weekend in new hampshire, santorum suggested

that president obama is a snob for suggesting that all americans go to college. here's what he said. >> i was so outraged that the president of the united states stood up and said that every child in america should go to college. well, who are you to say that every child in america -- i mean, the hubris of this president to think that he knows what's best for every child. you know, i have seven kids. maybe they'll all go to college. but if one like his wants to go and be an auto me chanible, good for him. that's a good paying job, using your hands and using your mind. >> he's outraged. it's hubris. and james is sitting right next to me. it's fine. >> you have the whole panel here. >> let's crunch those numbers. back in the day, a high school grad was almost guaranteed a pretty good job with a decent salary, benefits, vacation and retirement too. but take a look at how the economy has changed. first the unemployment rate.

according to the labor department, the unemployment rate for someone with just a high school diploma is 8.7%. this is for all americans. if you have a bachelor's degree or higher, that rate is cut in half to 4.1%. and of course the numbers change dramatically if you break it down by latinos and african-americans. now, if you look at what you can make high school diploma, $798. is that a week? >> weekly earnings. >> but a college degree, that number jumps to $1,047 a week. that's a dramatic difference. >> and it's widening. >> and according to the department of labor, when you look at the fastest-growing industries, three out of the top five require at least a college degrees. science, technology, engineering and math. but the home health care aides don't, the second fastest-growing. as for auto technicians, what santorum was referring to, they actually are predicting that industry is going to grow more slowly than the average.

so hubris, outrage. >> it is not clear -- if we took those numbers up to 100% of the population, and everybody in america had a college degree, those numbers would not remain true. they are describing a deeper reality. and the drive over the past 20 years to send more and more people to college for part of the time, we have not seen an increase in college completion. an increase in college beginning. enormous student debt, and college tuition increasing at twice the rate of inflation. this is a serious issue. education cost inflation is really an important issue. >> he is right and wrong both. not everybody should have to go to college, and president obama isn't talking about everybody going to college. he is moving up the share of people going to come college. but the question is who you are talking about, you're tracking away from college. if your parents graduated from college today, you are five times more likely to graduate yourself than someone whose parents didn't. the decline of upward mobility in the country.

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end point this morning. let's begin with maria in washington, d.c. what did you get out of today? >> well, from the last segment that santorum like every other candidate is misguided and continues to not be correct in what this president is trying to do. how dare this president want every kid to go to college? look, his programs have allowed thousands of students to go to college, as well as vocational schools. secondly, have i learned i need to go get some poutine. it looks delicious. >> it is actually very, very good. david? >> we need to lay down right now it is poutine. that is a bit of canadian culture that i am here to affirm. >> thank you. >> you're talking to the canadian. sorry. my bad.

>> my take away is the general election campaign starts after this new hampshire vote. after new hampshire votes, it will be clear that ron paul is an also ran. mitt romney on his way to the nomination. and we now start talking about the fundamental choices of the country, not the internal republican debate. >> james, 10 seconds or less. >> jon hunts man wants to be serious, he needs to eat more here. >> real quick, new hampshire, suffolk university is right, reaffirms iowa. muddle is my friend for mitt romney. but why are 2/3 of the party so skeptical about him even as he is marching towards the nomination? >> we keep hearing the candidates say, well, what i said then, we are not talking about back then, we are talking about today. but i do think it matters, when people have access to information more than ever. they have to talk about what they are doing today, because the electorate seems very ambivalent. and we'll keep watching. >> aes