on cnn. that's going to wrapping things up but the conversation continues online. find us on facebook and twitter. please follow me. we'll see you saturday for the latest headlines. hey, have a great weekend, everybody. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com doesn't saturday morning feel good? i hope you're getting a little time to breathe. r & r this morning, don't have to go to work. let me get to my job and let you know what's happening. latino voters are considered a big key to the success of the florida primaries. what issues are they basing their decision on? and president obama had to make a big decision when he made the call to go after obama.

vice president joe biden shows the behind the scenes details on how that decision was made. this is "cnn saturday morning." i'm christi paul. so glad to have your company. let's start together here with the republican presidential race and the battle between newt gingrich and mitt romney in florida. take a look at this poll showing mitt romney with a nine-point lead. here's a significant thing with these numbers. just days earlier, the numbers were virtually reversed. newt gingrich was on top. today they're in florida trying to reach as many people as they can before tuesday's republican primary. let's go live to miami. peter, in your opinion based on what you know down there, has this turned into a two-man race down in florida? >> reporter: it actually has. partly because ron paul and rick

santorum have decided not to race down here. after they were seen on the debate, mitt romney is the prohibitive favorite to win. it's a volatile wras. things could change. but most republican insiders in florida think mitt romney's the guy. he's in northwest florida today over in the conservative panhandle skroun jing for votes and newt gingrich is down in port st. lucie. they're in a dog fight to the end. they're flying around the state ahead of tuesday, christi. >> i understand someone is coming to the back of newt gingrich. do you know who that is? >> reporter: sarah palin. just last night she put a note on her facebook page defending newt gingrich from his onslaught of conservative attacks.

magazines like "the national review" have criticized newt gingrich, talk radio. basically she's saying the establishment is attacking newt gingri gingrich. she's saying he's not perfect, but we have to let this process play out. she says stop the got cannibalism, basically, you know, sort of criticizing the gop establishment and mitt romney for going so hard at newt gingrich. again, she's not officially endorsing newt gingrich but she's coming very, very close, christi. >> people will remember that. what do these two candidates need to do in your opinion, peter, to entice people in florida to vote for them? >> well, mitt romney has to keep doing what he's doing quite frankly, project an air of electability and projectability. he's projecting an air of steadiness, competency,

leadership. remember, florida is a state of election. a poll came out showing mitt romney is the most electable. he's essentially tied with barack obama in the general election whereas obama beats kbin grich by about ten points here in florida. so romney is trying to paint gingrich as err realiraticerrat undisciplined, not a lead in the country. in smaller states you can jazz up and fire up the grassroots and really turn it around in the polls. there's going to be about two million voters in this primary. there's a silent republican majority here that mitt romney is trying to tap into, christi. >> you know, the numbers have been seesawing so much during this gop race for nominee. first you've got romney seeming to win, we think, iowa, and he keeps winning. south carolina, no, it's gingrich. you think it was iowa.

no, it was santorum. how does that kind of back-and-forth play in the game. ? at this point people might be looking at this saying we need to get a nominee so we know who we're backing. >> yeah. it's interesting. the race has moved into a new phase, like you said. the earlier smaller states, it's kind of a grab bag wild card. after florida, you know, which is an expensive state with a lot of o tv ads you need to run here and you need to have a big "get out and vote" program. the race moves on nationwide and mitt romney, quite frankly, is the onto candidate in the race that has the capacity and financial resources to compete in nevada, in colorado, missouri, arizona, michigan. you know, the gingrich campaign has been left scrambling as he surged in the polls lately. they only got on television a couple days ago. that's pretty bad. you need to be on tv heavy to be in the primaries. if gingrich loses here, i bet

he'll stay in, but it's got to be tough for him to carry on from a financial perspective. >> peter ham by, thank you so much for the latest down there. we appreciate it. here's a quick programming note we want to let you know. be sure to tune in for an encore of the cnn presidential day bait. it come rs your way at 5:00 p.m. eastern. yesterday joe biden offed this rare glimpse inside president obama's decision to kill obama bsama bin laden. >> i said, don't go. we have do two more things to see if he's there. he walked out and said i'll give you my decision. the next morning he came down to the diplomatic entrance, got in a helicopter, i believe, to go to michigan. i'm not positive with that. he turned to tom and said, go, knowing that as loyal as

everyone is around that table, when pressed anded when books were written later, what is said, i didn't tell him to do that. i hope no one would have done that. but not knowing that people around that table said, yes, mr. president, go, and he knew what was at stake, not just the lives of those brave warriors, but literally the presidency. and he pulled the trigger. >> democrats had gathered at the retreat to talk about the state of the party and the president's re-election efforts. >> well, the justice department released more details last night in the failed operation that left hundreds of untrapped weapons in the hands of potentially dangerous criminals in mexico. the documents show top officials approved of the plan. it was called "fast and furious." attorney general eric holder will testify about it and he'll do that as a congressional hearing next week. have you heard that jerry

sandusky wants a pennsylvania judge to modify his bail so he can spend more time with his grand children. former penn state assistant coach is accused of sexually abusing young boys. the judge has forbidden him from having unsupervised visits with his grandkids or having them at his house overnight. a hearing is schedule odden this issue in about two weeks. >> london police have made several arrest this morning in a phone tapping scandal. among those arrested is a police officer and now we've learned several past and present employees of "the sun" news paper. and lawsuits are being filed against the cruise company that owned the "costa concordia." you could see this coming, couldn't you? at least 16 people died when the ship hit rocks near an italian western island and then rolled over. it happened two weeks ago. the company has offered just $14,000 to each of the survivors, but a new lawsuit, as we mentioned, is seeking, we now

know more than $450 million. well, nasa says it's kepler space telescope mission has discovered 22 different planets. at least two planets, we understand, are the size of earth. so far it's identified more than 60 planets and more than 2,300 potential planets. reynolds, our meteorologist, of course, looking at the weather. i imagine pluto's pretty ticked off right about now. >> i think so. the university is a huge space. we need more, otherwise it's a tremendous amount of space, no question about it. >> what's it like outside. >> we may be grounded in some places, especially some of the airports around the nation. strong winds may keep you grounded at your airports at l.a.x. parts of the ohio valley and great lakes could have give you problems. we'll give you the full details coming up in a few moments. i want to give yu a heads-up

what we're talking about this hour. first of all, gas prices may be headed for record highs, but what are you really paying for when you pull up to the pump? also, latino voters are an important target for candidates to try to win voters. a lot of assumptions about these voters may be wrong. we're going to show you why. nearly one year after the earthquake and nuclear crisis in japan, with kboe back to the crisis center. meet the last man living in this devastated community. while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. [ male announcer ] red lobster's

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reynolds, i'm betting that folks in the west may be waking up to some wind. >> yeah, pretty much. and it looks like, christi, the worst of it is going to be by midday into the afternoon. as things begin to heat up, winds are going to intensify. we're talking 60 to 70 miles an hour by later into the afternoon and into the evening hours. yesterday, take a look at what we had. high temperatures -- high temperatures -- high wind speeds, wind gusts. 59 in warm springs. mounta mountains here also. we're going to shift gears and go from the wind to a combination of temperature and moisture. that's basically the story that we have in parts of the great lakes where things are at or below the freezing point onto much of michigan and even toward chicago. plenty of moisture, too. the water in constant state of evaporation over parts of, seay, lake michigan and lake erie. with the frontal boundary coming across, the story is very easy to tell.

snowfall. we're seeing a little break in the action between kalamazoo and detroit with dryer air. you may get a bit of a break. detroit, light dusting and more snow developing farther back toward your west. and out beyond that we may see another installment. we go from 10:00 this morning. at least that's what our model has for you. there's the low drifting through with the center of circulation, but behind it comes part number two. second installment. chicago, snow early. you're going to see more of it as we fast guard into sunday morning. we're not done with the snow as of yet. something else we're going to be e sooing. not just wind in parts of the southwest and california, but in the northern plains in the rockies it's going to be roaring. 60, 07 miles an hour. a lot of cold air sliding down into the center of the u.s. with high temperatures. going to 54 degrees. 28 at minneapolis. 35 in chicago. a string of 40s from boston, southward to new york.

70s in tampa and miami and back out west, 46. 38 in salt lake city. 65 in san francisco. take a look at this. breezy. i've got to tell you. that's kind of comfortable. 80 degrees in l.a. that will put a smile on your face. >> that's not a bad temperature, is it? thank you so much. four bucks for a gallon of gas. that's not such a great number, is it? that could soon become a reality when you stop to fill up. we're looking at why gas prices are sky rocketing.

well, get ready to shell out

evenly more at the gas pump. and please don't hurt me because i'm telling you what it says. i'm not doing it on purpose. gas prices may spike to an all-time high. i know you're cringing. i'm cringing. analysts say it could top $4 a gallon. that's the average. josh levs to talk us through. what the heck is going on? >> always the bearer of good news. we talked earlier, analysts are saying chicago and other places could potentially see $5. it's unbelievable what we're talking about. here's the basic idea. you know what's spiking gas prices? think of it as like a dartboard. it catches a lot of the stories. in 2011 we had the highest average for the year ever. let's break this down, what's happening to your money. this is what determines gas prices here. the biggest factor by far is crude oil. just how much of this dollar goes to crude ferries. next, you have refining. that's where the oil companies make a lot of their money. and then distribution and

marketing. that includes what the gas stations make. finally, taxes. those vary by state. that's where the dollar goes. what's driving prices up? you've about got a bunch of factors. some, it's increasing demand with grossing populations and middle class, or where economy has been recovering. instability in places like syria, libya, yemen. there's supply and demand playing out. there are other values playing out. the value of the dollar. those can affect the prices. the government says 2012 could be even more eventful. and one big reason is iran. many countries are embargoing their oil. iran is threatening to close the strait of hormuz. about a fif october f the oil traded worldwide goes through there. if countries keep seeing growth, more people driving on the streets, we'll need more gas

li line. i'll have more on my facebook page. we're talking about a perfect storm that could come together. >> hit us with it. i mean give us a number so we know what to expect. and i know that it's hard to do that because you're prognosticating, but what are you hearing? >> i will say some analysts are a little more hopeful that prices could actually come down, but when you look at what the national average is, we have analysts telling us to get ready for national average around $4.25. that's spring. summer, that's when it could go higher, $5 could happen in some cities. >> i think i'm staying home this summer. >> more people might do it. >> thank you, josh, so much. >> always the bearer of good news. >> josh and i will still be here this summer. from hollywood to haiti, one actor is joining forces with a cnn hero to help these kids. you're going to meet them both next.

inspiring stories that touch a nerve. he may be more proud about his work with one of our cnn heroes. take a look at this. >> i was literally sitting in my trailer at "the office," and i was looking at the cnn website and it had the cnn heroes. i think it was the first year. i saw this story on a guy aaron jackson. this is a young kid from florida who grew up on a golf course, didn't really have much direction in his life. then he went traveling in the third world and he saw poverty, and he decided to just devote his life to making world a better place. >> today we've dewormed an estimated over a hundred people. >> it's been great to be able to

help out aaron jackson by doing some fund-raisers. i've introduced him to peep, raise money and help his organization get moving. he's the amazing guy doing all the hard work. i give him the cash and let him go do what he does best. they have four or five orphanages in haiti. i also went out when they distributed the deworming medication in the rural villages and towns. >> you're distributing food, aid all around the country. so many kids, you know, can be eating their fill, but because they're so filled with worms they're unable to digest the food so it's a waste. >> you deworm the kid and the worms shoot out in 24 to 48 hours. it's amazing. you see a kid highly ee themic, not alert at all. you see them come back to life. >> since the hero segment in

2007 we've raised enough money with reines help to deworm all haiti kids. >> everyone can be a hero. it just takes a little bit of work. >> if there was one thing i could take away from my experience with cn heroes, these stories are incredibly inspiring. they inspire me to step up my game and try to do more to help the world. >> that gave me chills, didn't you, to hear what they can do and they have raised enough money to take care of this problem? remember all of our cnn heroes come from you. so if there's someone who inspires you go to c cnnheroes.com. we would love to hear their story. coming up, we'll find which of these republican candidates have the upper hand as we edge toward the critical florida primary. dinner? candles?

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more people reach retirement than anyone else. call or come in for a free portfolio review today. all right, sleepy head. if you're just getting up on this saturday, it's 26 minutes past the hour at 10:00 right now. welcome back. i'm christi paul. thank you so much for starting your day with us here. i want to get you informed of the top stories right now. london police have arrested

several people in connection with a tabloid bribery investigation. four current and former employees of britain's "sun" newspaper and one police officer were taken into custody today for corruption and bribery. an 18-year-old stay tuned in utah is free on bond. he's accused of trying to bomb his school. authorities got tipped off by a series of text messages, allegedly to a columbine plot. a 16-year-old could also face charges. and former penn state assistant coach jerry sandusky, asking a judge now to let him see his grand kids. sandusky is currently barred from doing that as part of his bail as part of charges alleged that he sexual lie assaulted young boys. a hearing on that is scheduled in about two weeks. let's talk politics, shall we? just journey into this arena together. a new poll shows mitt romney is

back on top in florida, three days, of course, now away from the republican primary. look at this poll from quinn yak university. show him with a nine-point lead over newt gingrich. big topic was illegal imgriggs as you know. romney showed off some of his skills he picked up, some assume, from his new debate coach. >> is he still the most anti-immigrant candidate? >> i think of the four of us, yes. >> mr. speaker, i'm not anti-immigrant. my father was born in mexico. my wife's father was born in wales. they came to this country. the idea that i'm anti-immigrant is repulsive. >> all i want to do is allow the grand mother to be here legally with some rights to have residency but not citizenship so he or she can finish their life with dignity under the law. >> our problem is not 11 million grandmoth grandmothers. our problem is -- all right.

>> some people are calling that the money line of the night. joining me now to talk about the battle. cnn's political contributor and democratic strategist maria sar dona and republican strategist lewis mcallister. how is romney's strong stand against illegal immigrants playing out there, maria? >> among the general hispanic population, it's not playing out very well. in fact, none of them are playing out very well. but among the republican hispanics and that's about 30% among the latino voters which is 13%, there's a split. there's actually the republican what we would call the elite, the leadership. a lot of them are supporting romney. then you have latino groups are are supporting gingrich who leaves gingrich has the more

humane policy on immigration. it's going to be interesting to see. the latino vote in florida has changed. the cuban vote is not as strong or as decisive this year as it was, let's say, even five years ago. >> all right. we're going break that down a little more with you, maria, in a few minutes when we bring you back to get more perspective on that. let's move on, lenny, to something that's affected florida so badly, the housing crisis. big deal in that state. always heard about so much is who's making money from freddie mac or who's stock holders have caused more foreclosures. but i'm wondering are we hearing any solutions from anyone that vote reverse going to be happy with? >> we're not hearing as much about solutions as we should be. one of the things mitt romney makes a debate about is -- he never brought up the fact that mitt romney back earlier in the campaign said we should let these mortgages fail, let the

forecloses go through the process and clean up afterward which would have affected a whole lot of floridians to be able to stay in their home or be on the street and lose their home. he never tied mitt romney to that. he tied mitt romney to how much stock he had. that was a tactile mistake. people are not talking about solutions, how to keep people in their homes, get back to work and move forward. particularly when it comes to the housing market, this is big. president obama has been speaking to it for serval years now. if it comes up in the swing state in the fall, this will probably lean toward president obama's advantage. >> all right. speaking of president obama, he tried to capitalize on his state of the union address by taking his campaign on the road this week, we know. is anything he says, maria, breaking through with voters? >> i think it absolutely is, especially when you compare it to -- and i completely agree with lenny, with the republicans who are now so focused on destroying each other, that that

they are not talking to the overallelectorate. housing is a great example. president obama has talked about it. it's helped over 3 million home own ores be abe to save their homes from foreclosure as well as education. education is a key ingredient in order to try to have a better life here in this country, and it's key for immigrants and for latinos. republicans are saying nothing about education, and you had president obama yesterday announce what he was going to do to make college more affordable. so i think that you are already seeing the defining issues of the general election. and right now president obama is definitely winning that battle. >> well, you know, one of the other things that i'm wondering if it's a detriment is this gop race has been such a seesaw. you go to iowa, you think it's romney. wait a minute, it wasn't romney. i was san tore rick. you go to south carolina, it's romney, no, it's not. it's gingrich.

we company hearing, you've about got to keep it interesting, it's good for the momentum for people not to know who it is yet and to keep pushing forward. at what point do you have to have a nominee so you can solidify this race for them? lenny, let me go back to you. >> you have to get a candidate that people believe in. one of the things that came out of the fighting in 2008, and maria was a veteran of this, you had two candidates who went after each other like cats and dogs but the people behind them really, really believed in them. whoever won, you had this huge strong base of folks who believed in them and it was a matter of getting other folks behind this candidate. we haven't seen this huge surge of folks that really believe in one candidate. the grassroots for the most part has been split between santorum, gingrich. ron paul has his folks and the establishment is going up behind romney. it has to get to a point in time where people get evener jazzed behind one person. that can still happen in april, if you will. that will be plenty of time for november, but it has to start happening fairly soon where they

vo u to energize the candidate and not just against the president. >> very good point. thank you both so much. good to have you here and always good to get your perspective. >> god bless you all. take care. >> thank you. you too. quick programming vote. be sure to tune in for an encore presentation of the florida's republican presidential debate. it comes your way at 5:00 p.m. eastern in case you want to check it out again. one man says he's completely contaminated by nuclear waste and he says he's still sticking in his hometown that he says is worth of saving. a glimpse of life inside japan's fukushima exclusion zone next. that was me trying to be discreet

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living in a ghost town. one man refuses to leave his toxic town, still quarantined nearly a year after japan's fukushima disaster. our reporter paid a visit to see why he won't go. >> reporter: in the shadow of the fukushima nuclear plant, one man's quiet defiance echos through these contaminated empty streets, ten miles away from disaster.

it's inside a government mandated evacuation zone, but that hasn't stopped him from refusing to heed the evacuation order in place since the nuclear meltdown. since then you've been living inside the exclusion zone. >> translator: yes, he says. i mainland. it began with a simple decision to remain to feed the animals on his farm. there was no plan to rescue pets and valuable livestock. weeks turned to months and now a year. he's captured pictures of a solitaire life, his dying cattle and untended farm. his defiance grew into fury. >> are you angry at the government, a year after the disaster? >> i'm full of rage, he says. that's why i'm still here. i refuse to leave and let go of this anger and grief. i weep when i see my hometown. the government of tokyo doesn't

really know what's happening he here. >> reporter: do you feel the people of your town are the ones paying the price? >> we're the victims. the government and tepco, they're the pep traitors, but they don't treat us as victims. the clean-up has been painfully slow. like this park where the contaminated soil is under blue tarps. he keeps tabs and continues to needle the government. >> reporter: he's actually taken on a neighbor's pet anding this little dog, trying to keep this dog alive. inside this house there ee no electricity. there's very little access to water. and the reason why he would live in this way is because he says this is home. >> are you worried about your health living there? >> translator: i'm completely contaminated he says. >> reporter: why take your personal health at risk for this? >> reporter: we have to deacon tam nate this area or else this town will die. i will stay to make sure it's

done, he says. i want to die in high hometown. his determination has turned him into a local legend. money has come in after he posted a youtube video asking for donations. he survived on canned food which he grabs outside of the exclusion zone. the local township looks the other way as he continues to break the law, but the pressure from authorities is growing. he said he would do this interview only outside the mandated ee vague yaks zone. what is it you want the community to know one year after the disaster? >> translator: you see what can happen? this is the third nuclear accident, the third time something we created ended up hurting us. we haven't learned or lesson yet. >> it will be interesting to keep up with him, won't it? meanwhile they are far away from home, but one group wants to make sure our troops, our men and women who are keeping us

safe, that they can watch next week's big game in true american style. we're going to fill you in next.

all right.

let's talk scores with hln's joe carter. he found this great organization that is taking care of our men and women who are serving overseas. we have to remind them every day we think of them, are thankful for what they do, and we celebrate the super bowl with them in style. i think that's great program it's called pizzas for patriots. they're going to ship 10,000 pizzas over to afghanistan so 30,000 troops can enjoy a slice or two if they're big eaters. they're chicago-style deep pizzas. they do not spoil because they half bake the pizzas in chicago and freeze it so when they arrive at the bases in afghanistan, they pop them in the oven and they come out fresh. >> i think it's a great opportunity. people in the united states send

them to us. it's such a nice change from the normal food. it's nice providing us with a little something extra. >> speaking of the super bowl, this is one of the hottest attractions at this year's super bowl in indianapolis. it's a zip line that runs through downtown's super bowl village. it seven stories high, 800 feet long. this one is the biggest temporary zip line ever built and so, of course, a local reporter decided to try it. >> of course, they did. >> of course. listen to how he enjoyed his ride. >> oh, baby! oh, baby! oh, baby. >> he sounds terrible. zip line, it's not at that terrifying. very fun. you feel secure. if you're in town, you can try this for ten bucks. it runs through next sat.

so let's finish with the x games in aspen, colorado. love this camera shot. >> i love this camera angle. don't you feel like you're right behind it? >> right on the track. this is canadian mark mcmorris. he lands -- >> that's hard to say as it is to do, i bess. >> he ended up winning this event, so he won x games gold. phase father who happen os fw a canadian politician must be so proud his son did so well and walks away safe. i wonder how they never crash. they do sometimes crash. >> they're brave. so are the camera people. they're talented too. that can't be easy to do with the camera. >> they have cameras in the show, high on lines and that was an actual skier holding the camera at his chest. >> that's amazing and it gives us a great perspective of what's

going on to experience it without having to do it. thank you, joe carter. you know, florida's primary is just three days away now. the state's latino vote is going to be critical for the republican presidential hopefuls. see what may weigh heavily on their decision when they go to the polls. but with advair, i'm breathing better so now i can take the lead on a science adventure. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair.

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. well, the florida primary is just three days away now, and one group could hold the key to picking the republican winner. we're talking our latino voters. >> reporter: miami's little havana. here you'll always find someone sipping an espresso and when there's an election, you'll always find republican candidates. >> thank you so much. >> newt gingrich. >> reporter: this is a fertile field of votes, and there has been for half a century, one singular issue trumping all others. as the soon on the building reads, "for cuba, freedom." no serious candidate comes here without preaching a hardline stand against the castro regime. >> they're worrying about an

arab spring. i don't think it's ever occurred to a single person in the white house to look south and propose a cuban spring. >> it is time for us to strike for freedom in cuba, and i will do so as president. >> reporter: for republican candidates, the cuban-american vote is critical. according to the pew research center, nearly 60% of the hispanic republican registered voters are in miami-dade alone. mortgage than a quarter million, and most of those are cuban-americans. for decades she has been an influential voice both on radio and in cuban-american politics. although a nearly 50-year embargo has not brought the castro government to its knees, perez says any talk of lifting sanctions is the kiss of death. >> if a candidate so much as mentions any type of lifting of sanctions or any type of

apeasement or closeness to the cuban regime, i'm telling you that election is lost. >> reporter: but times are changing. tony jiminez is co-founder of roots of hope, trying to move young cuban-americans. freedom is important to him but he doesn't see himself or other young cubans as single issue voters. >> they're more concerned with the economy and domestic policy, and the cuban issue is as important as it is to cubans, i don't think, is dictating who they're going to vote for. >> reporter: but for republican candidates, at least for now, it's the one issue that guarantees them votes. john zarrella, cnn, miami. >> for more, let's bring in cnn democratic strategist maria

cardoza. maria, thank you. always good to get your perspective obviously, especially with this. i know that john zarrella was talking about the cuban community most likely. the latino community as a whole is not a monolith. cuban-americans do not necessarily vote the same as other latinos in the state, do they? >> that is exactly right. that's the issue that the republicans are going to have the biggest challenge with in terms of the biggest election in terms of florida. john talked a little bit about this in his piece. the influence of the hardcore cuban american vote is diminishing, and, in fact, just a few short years ago it was at 60%. if you look at the breakdown of the hispanic vote in florida, the cuban-american vote is only at 38%. the puerto rican vote is at 30% and the central and south

american vote have risen to 21%. if you combine the puerto rican and south and central, they're much more leaning democratic and leaning democratic. they want to talk about jobs. they want to talk about the economy. they want to talk about education. so i agree with the piece in terms of it is very important for republican candidates to continue to court that hard corps cuban vote because they are also the most intense voters and they have a propensity to come out and vote, but they also need to be talking more broadly to the bigger latino electorate, because to your point if they don't do that, they can kiss it good-bye. >> when you talk about the voices in the latino community it was interesting to hear you call the latino moms the basically new soccer moms. how important is their voice?

how loud? >> it's very loud. one of the things that came to life with a study called mommyverse.com. it's an online hug for latina mothers. i would urge you to check it out. www.mommyverse.com. as with all mothers, what we care about is economy, jobs, education for our children. one critical issue that i think up in of the candidates are really addressing and we talked about it in our piece earlier with lenny is the housing crisis. because who is really affected by the housing crisis in terms of the leaders of the family? and that's latina mothers. we're worried about if we're not able to keep our home, what are we going to do to take care of euro family, put a roof other our children's heads? i think the latina mother holds the sway. a third of latina mothers have not made a decision on which

candidate to support. but in a poll in florida which was also conducted by mommy verse.com, it showed that over 76% of latina mothers didn't think any of the gop candidates were talking to them about their issues. so, again, the republican candidates really need to focus on latina mothers and on latinos as a whole and really talk to them about much broader issues than just cuba. >> it's interesting because president obama had strong support in the latino community back in '08. has he been able to hold onto that? >> he actually has. that's another reason why republicans really need to be concerned. you know, there's been a lot of discontent among latinos in terms of the immigration issue, but president obama has really been able to underscore fact that he's been trying to work on immigration, but the republicans have been the ones who have been opposing him every step of the way. and to your point about not being monocytic, we're also not monocytic about jobs we care about.

it's been president obama who has really been the one talking to latino voters about what he's been trying to do to get more votes. republicans need to focus on latinos or they've never going to reach the white house. >> great nvgs maria cardoza. great perspective. thanks for sharing with us. >> my pleasure. >> stick close. we have more coming up in just a little bit.