53 in memphis. 47 in new york, 49 in washington, d.c., 70 degrees here in atlanta. again, expect those scattered showers in parts of texas to kind of trickle on through a good part of the day, eventually moves off by the afternoon and the eastern seaboard activity everything moving out, you see some residual snow showers. >> thank you, got to run, got to toss to candy crowley. let's go, wrap it! nevada delivers for romney while early signs of a recovering economy suggests republicans may have to tune up their fall pitch to unseat the president. today, 2012 politics from the state side with two leading governors, virginia republican bob mcdonnell and maryland democrat martin o'malley. and then if they had to, could poor conservative s

core conservatives learn to love mitt? you, the economy and the election with alex riff lin, douglas holt aiken and ron brownstein. and then israel, iran and the u.s., what we know with house intelligence chairman mike rogers. i'm candy crowley, and this is "state of the union." a gallup poll shows president obama beating every republican comer except one, mitt romney. after months of pounding by republican rivals and the president's team romney is up a point over the president, a dead heat. 35% of republicans are extremely enthusiastic to vote this year, compared to 23% of democrats, 20% of independents. that's called an enthusiasm gap. also troublesome for the president's prospects, four of the 12 swing states have jobless rates over 9%, and four are in the top ten for highest

foreclosure rates. joining us now, bob mcdonnell, head of the republican governors association, and his counterpart at the democratic governors association martin o'malley. gentlemen thank you both for joining us. before we get to the swing states and i'll start with you, governor o'malley, do you think, put on your analyst hat now, is the republican nomination race over in all but the gathering of delegates with mitt romney's big win last night? >> i'm not sure it is all but over. i think what people are still looking for within the republican party and certainly independents is whether any of the candidates have a credible plan for creating jobs at a faster rate than our economy is now starting to create jobs. and that's something that we have yet to see, even with all of the intrigue and the ups and downs of this race. so i think this race still has a ways to go. clearly former governor romney has momentum and people will ask, when he was governor, why did his state ranked 47th in job creation if he has such great ideas for creating jobs?

so i think people are still shopping. >> you guys are pretty grateful to still have newt gingrich doing your advance work for you. let me bring in governor mcdonnell here and ask you, and with you say you are a mitt romney backer, but as you -- >> yes. >> -- look at this race, do you see a way that he could lose it or is it his to lose? >> well good morning, candy and good morning, martin. i think mitt romney has got tremendous momentum, won three out of the five, tied the other one in the northeast, the southeast, the rocky mountain states and winning across every spectrum of the republican base, moderate, very conservative, evangelical, tea party, and just you know, regular folks. so i think he's on a roll. there are 17 primaries and caucuses in the next 30 days and the map is lining up very well for mitt romney because here's the bottom line. everybody knows he's got the best chance to beat president obama. you said at the top of the show that it's neck and neck between

the two. the president knows it, most people know it and we want to win so i think he'll be the nominee. the only question is when. >> and the poll was about swing states taken showed it was a dead heat in the states that decided the election. governor o'malley to you, when you look at this at the swing state picture, what turns this around for the president, because these are must wins for either candidate, but what turns it around for him. >> i think really there's one central issue, and that is the economy, and i think the best two indicators of whether or not the economy is becoming better after the bush recession or whether it's getting worse is the job creation numbers, 23 months in a row now of positive job creation. we haven't done that as a country since 2005. >> remember, four of these 12 swing states vote state by state. >> this is more acute and higher

on the radar. the second is the foreclosure rates, four out of ten. we have driven because of president obama's choices and policies we've driven foreclosures down to their lowest rate in 49 months. foreclosures are lower than they were before. what is mitt romney's response to foreclosures? let it bottom out. do nothing. i don't think that's going to be an alternative that people in any states really think is a responsible one for homeowners. >> governor mcdonnell i'll give you a chance to respond to that but also address something else democrats are bringing up. they say sure, at this moment there is this what looks like a statistical dead heat in the swing states but if you look at the past two races, in particular, meaning florida and nevada, they note that the number of people participating, number of republicans participating in these contests is down, and they say that that means that republicans aren't all that enthusiastic about any of these guys, and that that

does not bode well for you this fall. >> candy, i disagree. you gave at the top of the show the difference in the enthusiasm gap between republicans and democrats by about 12 points in terms of their interest in this race. this race is coming down to three things, leadership, it's jobs, and it's the national debt daechb sit, and on all of those, president obama's failed. he spends most of his time blaming republicans and the tea party and wall street for all the problems in the country and not taking responsibility. he's completely failed to get the national deficit under control. he's contributed nearly $5 trillion to the national debt with no plan to get out of it and despite governor o'malley's stats, the bottom line is we've been over 8% unemployment for virtually his entire presidency, 36 months. this is a president who said pass my big stimulus spending bill and we won't be over 8%. well we haven't been under 8% in all that time. he got no budget done when he had his own party in control so

it's been a complete failure of leadership. he cannot run on his record, no plan for jobs or energy that he got passed so he's got a tough -- i'm glad the economy is starting to recover but i think it's because of what republican governors are doing in their states, not because of the president. >> that's very interesting. in fact i was going to ask governor mcdonnell, candy, if his state is creating jobs again or virginia still losing jobs as you were in the recession? that's a rhetorical question, governor. your state is now creating jobs, my state is creating jobs, throughout our country, candy, we're now creating jobs again. we could create jobs faster, governor mcdonnell, if your party were not captive of the right wing tea party folks in congress who want to keep anything from happening. but facts are stubborn things. we've gone 23 months in a row of positive job growth, driven foreclosures to their lowest rate in 49 months and unemployment driven down to its lowest rate in three years. and there's more progress we still need to make, it's all about creating jobs and bringing people together to do that.

>> governor mcdonnell, i want to ask you -- go ahead, go ahead. >> let me just respond to my friend, martin. by the way we get along and do a lot together in the washington area but i flat disagree with him. 11 out of the top 15 states in america that are ronanked by cn top to do business are republican states. seven in the drop of unemployment are states run by republican governors. his plan in maryland is to increase taxes on income, on gas, on cigars and everything else but the bottom line is, i'll take our record in virginia of creating jobs, we're at a 6.2% unemployment, maryland is at 6in' 9. >> actually 6.7. >> okay, it fluctuates. >> we're creating times, four times the rate virginia is. >> let me move you on to a slightly different subject because you all are going to talk through this and i won't be able to get this in.

this week what we've seen is some real outrage within the catholic community about the president's decision to require catholic entities, charities, churches and schools to provide contraception and other things within their health insurance plans. e.j. deon, who is no raving republican here had this to say "it is so remarkable that owe ba lautterly botched the admittedly difficult question of how con a contraceptive services should be treated under the new health care law. his administration mishandled this decision not once but twice. they strengthened the hand of those inside the church who originally sought to derail the health care law." i want to quickly play something newt gingrich said last night about this same issue. >> the obama administration has declared war on religious freedom in this country and people need to understand that.

this is a decision so totally outrageous, and the illustration of such radical secular ideology that i believe the entire hierarchy will oppose it every inch of the way. >> so, my question to you in the final 90 seconds we have, has president obama damaged the catholic vote as far as democrats are concerned and you as i understand it are catholic. >> i am catholic and i think candy there's been a little bit too much hyperventilating over this issue. it's one of those issues that -- gsh. >> came from catholics themselves in the hierarchy. >> some, and most of those members of the hierarchy are also republicans, and if you look at 28 states, candy, this is not about abortion, it's about covering contraception as part of the health care coverage, mandatory basic coverage. 28 states already require this, and in europe -- >> but you're not thinking about the state, the federal government, telling a religion what it must cover in a health care policy. >> well there is an exemption

for churches themselves. the exemption does not necessarily extend to institutions like hospitals or universities that employ people of all faiths, but these same rules apply in countries like italy which have overwhelming numbers of catholics yet we did not see the reaction in those countries to these sorts of things >> i'm going to give the last word to you, governor mcdonnell. is there an opening for republicans to seize in the catholic vote sector, which is very large as you know and some very important states, ohio, pennsylvania, et cetera. >> absolutely. as a pro-life catholic the answer is yes. besides the health care bill being unconstitutional and expansion of federal government if it does not respect people's religious views and do things contrary to their deeply held beliefs there will be a visceral reaction and i think the catholic voters will look very favorably upon mitt romney this

year. >> governor mcdonnell and governor o'malley as always i have many more questions to ask you. you have to come back. thank you for joining me. >> thank you. >> thank you. up next, will the republican base ever fall in love with mitt romney? we'll get insoed with two conservati conservative leaders. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, 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.

♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network.

have 46 grams of whole grains... mmmm. ...and a touch of sweetness. you'll be delighted to discover how good they taste. get your free sample of quaker oatmeal squares on facebook. but one is so clever that your skin looks better even after you take it off. neutrogena® healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% saw improved skin. does your makeup do that? neutrogena® cosmetics.

joining me to talk about the current gop field, freedomworks chairman and former house majority leader dick armey and tony perkins. thank you for being here. i wanted to give our listeners a look at what's gone on in some of the exit polls and with nevada, it was entrance polls but nonetheless of what happened to mitt romney among the conservative voters. in south carolina, he only got 19% of those who self-identified as very conservatives, but by the time we got to nevada, 49% of very conservatives self-identified voters said they supported mitt romney, the highest of any of those in the race. if you look at strong tea party supporters, south carolina, mitt romney got 21% of these strong

tea party support, but by the time we got to nevada it was 39%. he bested everybody in the field. so my first question as mitt romney's support among tea party conservatives, among the very conservative, seems to be growing, and certainly is besting others in the race. could you, and let me start with you congressman armey, could you see your way clear to support a mitt romney nomination? >> well, first i got to point out, south carolina was an aberration because it newt gingrich was likely to be in final analysis his best moment in south carolina. now the fact of the matter is -- >> sir, do you think that -- >> -- i'm sorry. >> do you think that newt gingrich is done in terms of the nomination, getting it? >> i don't think newt will be able to replicate that magic moment he had in south carolina. he had ra confluence of

circumstances that came and one masterful moment where he transformed himself from perpetrator to victim, attacked the media, which, candy, as you know, is always popular with our base, and just sort of took that momentary surge, but i think he's played that string out. in the meantime, mitt continues to work along. the governor continues to work along at a steady pace, and we are left with a dilemma that we are not going to get a reliable, small government conservative out of this nominating process. that's why we've focused our attention on the house and senate. we will get the legislative out of a conservative house and senate, build a legislative wall, either be wallying a republican president in or wallying a democrat president out, but we will -- our i am is to make the legislative initiative come from the house and the senate, not wait upon

the house. >> tony i'll get to you in a second. quickly congressman armey, could you support mitt romney and work for him in whatever way could be helpful in. >> if he gets the nomination, remember this, whoever is in the white house always is going to be drawn to his base. we would rather have a republican president that's not fully the guy we adore wanting our affections than a democrat. the who despises us and covets the affections of our other policies. >> and tony, you were sort of the leader in the group of conservative evangelicals and conservative christians who met in texas and came out and said rick santorum is our guy.

it looks grim for rick santorum. he's still in the race, all things can happen, as we know, all things are possible, but if he does not win, will you wholeheartedly support a mitt romney nomination? >> well, candy, first that meeting in houston i was a spokesman for the group, i have not endorsed, our organization does not endorse presidential candidates but having said that, a -- >> sorry, didn't you come out and say rick santorum, that group say we like rick santorum? >> the group did, and i was the spokesman for that group. i have not personally endorsed, but 75% of those said that they preferred rick santorum as their candidate, because of his principled stands and rasmussen poll showed him as the one candidate in their daily tracking that could beat obama, and i think that's the concern is that once we get into the primary, who can, who is going to have that baggage? we're not looking for a

candidate who can walk on water. we're looking for a candidate who doesn't sink under the weight of their own baggage, past and present political positions and the concern is that there's not going to be that enthusiasm among the base to topple president obama in the presidential race. >> you think of the base, folks that think similarly to you, christian conservative base of the party might sit home if it were mitt romney? >> well, no, not necessarily. i mean there's a very strong overlap between the tea party evangelical voters and just what dick was talking about, the focus is on the house and the senate and expanding the conservative majorities in congress so whether you have a republican or democrat the policy initiatives are killed coming from the white house or the white house is boxed in to do the right thing, so that's an agreement we have there. i think, look, the policies of this administration and you talked about it earlier with the two governors, governor mcdonnell pointed this -- i disagree with him, that roment

know has captured the evangelical conterveive support. they're warming to him but he has a long way to go. when it comes down to it, the social conservative voters, they know what this president has done, what he did this week, forcing this issue of contraception, a violation of the tenets of faith of catholics in particular but evangelicals as well is sending a strong message. this wasn't done in an isolated incident. we had a series of types of decisions by this administration, but you have to have strong enthusiasm and that's what's going to be required. i think mitt is warming to it. he's made statements about religious freedom. i think he can get there, but we're still a ways away from that point. i think it may be august before this is a done deal. we may go all the way to the convention before we have solid support behind a nominee. >> evangelical support behind a nominee, sorry, is that what you're talking about or in

general? >> i think he's got the party established. again, i think there's a strong overlap between tea party and evangelical voters. >> i want to play both of you something that newt gingrich said last night in the news conference he held after the results were in, in nevada. >> if you can't tell the truth as a candidate for president, how can the country possibly expect to you lead as president? and i frankly was stunned, i make no bones about this, in the second florida debate, i had nothing to say because i had never before seen a person who i thought of as a serious candidate for president be that fundamentally dishonest and it was blatant and it was deliberate and he knew he was doing it. >> he being mitt romney. congressman armey, i know the party line is oh, this kind of primary, no matter how long it goes, it just strengthens us but i cannot believe that you believe that this sort of rhetoric aimed at mitt romney is at all helpful for you all in the fall. >> i don't think it's helpful

even to newt. i feel bad for him. i think he's digressed into a state of taking a second rate campaign and turning it into a first rate vendetta, and i think he's putting himself out of the game because he can't get over his obsession about his own hurt feelings over the campaign in iowa. he needs to get beyond that and get to the nation's people's business, if he expects to have any chance whatsoever. i thought that last night was really sad for him, and quite frankly, again, much of newt's whole life is overstates. he overstates the case is in a hyperbolic fashion, looks vindictive. >> you and newt gingrich have a bit of a history. you're not a total fan of his. let me move the question to tony. is that sort of rhetoric helpful to you all in the fall and congress yn armey thinks it's not and not helping gingrich. >> well, look, there's a lot to

talk about all the republicans are beating each other up in the primary it's going to hurt us. look the giants and the patriots are playing today. six months they probably would not have been prepared to play in this game. they've had injuries along the way, setbacks but built on their weaknesses and they've built stronger, built on their strengths. i think that's what's happening here. i think these things are going exposed or the candidates are going to be exposed in the general election so they might as well come out now and figure out how to deal with them and build on them. it is not very helpful when it digresses into personal attacks, which we have seen some of, but that's the nature of politics. it's been that way. it will continue to be that way. >> and congressman armey i am totally out of time but i wanted to make sure i gave you a chance, was i correct in the way i described your relationship with newt gingrich because i sort of said it and left you. i wanted to make sure, you're not close friends, let's. you the it that way.

>> well we worked well together during the time we worked together but i'm sure we had disappointments in one another but i think right now the question is, is newt going to have an effective campaign that presents the best of his ideas for america, or is he just going to have a constant patter of attacking romney. >> thank you so much, dick armey we appreciate it, tony perkins thank you for joining us this morning. coming up, we make sense of some of the week's big economic numbers and later in honor of super bowl sunday we found a common thread between the gridiron and the campaign trail. [ multiple snds ng melodic tune ] ♪ [ malennounc ] at northrop grumman, makthworld a feplace. th's value performance. northr gruan.

o0 8% every 10 years.age 40, we can start losing muscle -- wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge!

but one is so clever that your skin looks better even after you take it off. neutrogena® healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% saw improved skin. does your makeup do that? neutrogena® cosmetics. the unemployment rate last month was the lowest it's been since february 2009, and friday the dow jones industrials hit their highest levels since may 2008. as the economy goes, so goes the president's re-election chances so high fives all around? not so much. >> these numbers will go up and down in the coming months, and

there are still far too many americans who need a job or need a job that pays better than the one they have now. >> the president did pronounce the economy stronger, but despite the best monthly news in years on wall street and main street, nobody seems to trust its staying power, in part because of things like this, the non-partisan congressional budget office projected in a report released this week that the unemployment rate will go back up to 8.9% in the final months of this year, and hit 9.2% by the end of next year. and the fed chairman ben bernanke reminded congress thursday the u.s. economy does not operate in a vacuum. >> risk remain that developments in europe or else where may unfold favorably and could worsen economic prospects here at home. up next, politics and the economy.

[ding] announcer: clean kitchen surfaces, utensils, and hands with soapy water. one in 6 americans will get sick from food poisoning this year. keep your family safer. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. [ male announcer ] engine light on? come to meineke now for a free code scan read and you'll say...my money. my choice. my meineke. alice rivlin, douglas hoelts-aiken, and ron brownstein. i'm completely confused by this week, because friday it's like the best unemployment figures we've seen in three years and

the dow industrials go crazy and the cbo earlier in the week said the debt outlook is horrible, the deficit's horrible and by the way unemployment's going back up. are we happy or are we worried? >> i think it was basically a good news week. the unemployment figures and the new jobs in the friday report were good news. they aren't definitive. that was one month, but it was a good, strong month, an indication that the economy is taking hold. if it lasts we'll have the best thing that anybody is able to predict is a good, slow recovery with gradual reduction in the unemployment rate from what is admittedly a very high level. >> the cbo said 9.3 or something next year which is like craziness. >> remember the cbo its job is to find the dark cloud for every

silver lining so it did that. the reason it did that, all kidding aside is the cbo has to assume an enormous tax increase next year and it has to assume we have bad economic growth and that gets you high unemployment. strip that out i think we got one month's good news in the labor market, that's great and the truth is the debt is bad and the recovery is not very strong and we have a long way to go. >> i suspect politically the reason why we heard the president go well the numbers are going to go up and these numbers are going to go down issis to inoculate himself from the next month or the month after. >> there's been overall private sector job growth in 2011 was 2.1 million, the best since i a '05 so there's a general trajectory that is more positive. trajectory is the key politically. almost all political strategists agree direction matters more than elf will. if it continues to improve that's good news for the

president. if the cbo is right and we see a turnaround to the end of the year with it going back up that would be more problematic. we are in the key period now that the second quarter of the election year is when voters really take that snapshot and it is positive for the. the that he is seeing improvement at this moment. >> i would never disagree with the political expert but a couple of things, unemployment will go up before it comes down in a permanent way. there are 3 million, 4 million discouraged workers coming back and that will be confusing to people. good news will be bad news, and on the ground it's not going to feel that great. right now the numbers look better, that's fine but until we see steady job growth, even this rapid or more and employment increases that are matched by wage increases you're not going to see the incomes to are people to feel good. if we could happy talk in washington when it's not that great on the ground that's a tough story. >> nobody's doing happy talk on the ground but we have to recognize that the economy is stronger, that's what he said,

and it has shown that it's stronger for the last several months and the cbo was actually not making a new forecast. it was telling us what we already know. if you raise taxes drastically at the end of the year, letting the bush tax cuts all expire, and if you cut spending drastically next year with the sequester, then it's not good news for the economy. but nobody wants that to happen. >> right. >> that is not really on the table. the debate will be about at the end of the year whether to extent the bush tax cuts for the top 2%. they have to assume they sunset for the entire population, which is really neither side is talking about, is an unlikely outcome, conceivable in stalemate. >> the cbo said it will reduce economic stability and increase unemployment if you let those tax cuts expire. >> it's an extraordinarily bad idea and the thinking is for everybody but it's across the board. >> for rich and poor.

post election regardless of who wins, a lame duck, never very organized, look like a rugby scrum at best, suddenly the sequester and the bush tax cuts on the table, that's a big risky moment for the economy. >> let me ask to you hold fire. we'll come back. up next more with our economic roundtable and later the chairman of the house intelligence committee joins us for a frank discussion of israel, iran, syria and more. tht to offer online quoting. you can do better. first to show comparison rates. ding! the "name your price" tool. oh! gosh, don't mind if i do. who was the first to offer pet injury coverage? we were. and when did you know you wanted to sell insurance? i said i wouldn't cry. um... whee! it's flo time. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

8% every 10 years.age 40, we can start losing muscle -- wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health.

i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber.

we are back with alice rivlin, douglas holtz-eiken and our ron brownstein. where is the point or what could you see that would make you think the recovery's for free? jump ball. >> i would like to see strong employment growth continue, gdp growth continue but most of all i would like to see the republicans and the democrats in the congress get together with the president and solve the long run debt problem. gridlock is the greatest threat, much greater than anything else that could happen to our economy. >> because it undermines consumer confidence basically. >> more than that, if we do nothing, as we said in the last segment, the default position is

that we have a big tax increase and a big, mindless spending cut and that would be bad for the economy. we have to avoid that. >> i look at the housing market and if there's one thing that says success it says builders build houses and we get up to something 900,000 housing starts. they don't do that unless they have customers. we don't get that customer base unless incomes are growing and employment is growing and consumer confidence. >> there are a lot of empty houses out there. >> yes. >> building on that both economically and politically for me it's the same measure. consumer confidence and the share of americans who believe the economy is better a year from now than it is today. politically we know projects about the future are more important to how people vote than their assessment of the immediate present and the willing to invest is tied to the belief there are better times ahead. part of obama's problem for 2012 is the groups at the core of his coalition who needs to turn out the most in 2012 have been among the hardest hit,

african-americans and hispanic and young people. 1.6 more hispanics working than a year ago, unemployment rate down, still high but elevated but beginning to see some improvement in the sectors that he really needs to see at the ballot box in 2012. >> just to sort of p.s. on that, i talked to somebody high up in the administration who said we need to convince the guy who doesn't have a job that he's going to get one soon. that's their plan. >> that's hard if, you know he's the sitting president so it's ultimately a referendum, a backward looking event. they have to get the too emto look forward. that's tough. >> i have to ask you to flip the coin here and tell me what would happen that you would think, oy. >> there are lots of risks to this economy, europe could blow up, although it looks better at the moment. we could have some other catastrophe like the japanese tsunami, but i think the biggest threat to this economy is not economic. it's political. it's gridlock.

it is the government not working, and at the moment the government is not working. the two parties are unable to agree on anything, and that's not necessarily going to change after the election. we have to have a change of heart that says we have to come together to solve some of these problems. >> i agree with alice on the list of risks, europe, gasoline, iran, political risks but you'll know we're in trouble when you see new claims for unemployment insurance rise instead of going down. we've seen steady improvement. if people start coming out of their jobs again we're in trouble. >> europe and iran the big threat. one thing the white house worries about, job growth is faster than predicted by the level of gdp growth and that will equalize and slow it down in 2012. >> thank you all so much. up next, president obama says all options are on the table when it comes to iran. a look at the future of unsteady relations with iran with house

intelligence chair khan mike rogers. ...and a touch of sweetness. you'll be delighted to discover how good they taste. get your free sample of quaker oatmeal squares on facebook. [ male announcer ] you never know when a moment might turn into something more. and when it does men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven

low-dose tablet you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment's right. ♪ [ man ] tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. [ man ] do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, stop taking cialis and call your doctor right away. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if cialis for daily use is right for you. for a 30-tablet free trial offer, go to cialis.com. i'm going to own my own restaurant. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to write a novel. i want to go on a road trip. when i grow up, i'm going to go there. i want to fix up old houses.

[ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. i want to fall in love again. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday.

joining me now, house intelligence committee chairman

mike rogers. >> thank you for having me. >> leon panetta the defense secretary believes israel is going to bomb iran because of its continuing development of we believe of a nuclear weapon, within the next three months or so. wasn't a direct quote. leon pa net ta won't comment on it directly but you know how this town works. things are leaked for a reason. what reason was this leaked to are? >> well, i'm not so sure it was leaked for a reason. there is an interesting series of events happening. israel has been a little bit distrustful of the united states and i think that's been caused a little bit of friction is we normally work so well together about maybe this is not the right time for you to launch an attack, but they have a red line. israel has a red line. and they have been signaling to the united states for some time that they will not allow iran to cross that red line, and that's in that pursuit of nuclear weapons and i think what you see now is more of a reflection of a little bit of frustration on both sides of this equation,

israel's holding back a little bit, the united states, they're not sure exactly what they're going to do. we've got to fix that and we need to fix it now. >> they're feeling each other out publicly? >> unfortunately, i think yes but you have to remember all of the series of events that's happened has put a little bit of uncertainty of our relationship between israel and the united states. when you're talking about seriously taking military action against iran's nuclear weapon program that's a whole new ball game. i think they think we're getting boxed in a corner. we have egypt is on our southern border, we used to not have to worry about it, now we have to worry about it. iran is developing nuclear weapons, we have problems and they're not getting great signals from the united states right now. we need to put that back together i think in a hurry. >> how close is israel to that red line do you think? >> i think it's close. you have to remember that iranians moving their enrichment

facility to guam know that's a difficult military target to strike and all of the signals iran are getting are unfortunately think that's why israel is frustrated. the pull out of iraq. the announced timeline for increased pull-out by a year in afghanistan. i think it's rattled the cage a little bit. some of this is out of frustration, and, again, my argument is this is too important for us not to get this right. if israel does a unilateral strike, this could be a real problem for the national security interests of the united states. >> it lights the middle east on fire basically. >> absolutely. >> let me play something that came from the campaign trail and the question to newt gingrich was if israel came to you and they said we're going to go bomb iran, what would you do? >> i would say if you believe the survival of your country is at stake, what is it we can do

to help you? >> right? wrong? >> well, one thing that's important to understand, we have a defense pact with israel so fer attacked, the united states is obligated to help defend them. >> sort of depends on away your definition is attacked of, isn't it? >> if iran at any time launches missiles or hezbollah strooiz tries to come over the border as a part of any military action that's coordinated, well, we're diagnose. >> wrin we're talking about something going on in iran wherein not an overt attack on israel, in which case if israel comes to this administration and says we're going to do this, if, in fact, they would give us a heads up, what is the appropriate u.s. response? don't do it? you need to think about this? or, okay, we're behind you? >> can i back up for one second? >> sure. >> clearly, they are feeling pressure. israel is feeling pressure brsh they do have the right to defend themselves, clear. we have a center of use, we the united states saying over time, is this the right time? there are other things we can do together to slow down, to delay,

to get them to come to the negotiating table on their nuclear weapon program. congress over the last two years, passed two very significant pieces of legislation that instructed the president, you will go in to tougher sanctions with iran. they seem to be working. the pressure on iran is devastating. >>. >> it's working in the sense that it is affecting every sector of their economy. remember, in 2009 you had what they called the green revolution where they were tired of their regime. well, this puts pressure on those same people, who are pro-democracy, pro -- anti their own iranian regime. this puts pressure on all of that to turn this thing around. the fact that they're having a hard time is starting to be a real problem, and our argument

is can we work with the israelis on this and other programs to try to stop this program by bringing iran to the stable. that's a better outcome, but when you have lost that leverage, it makes israel have to make their own decision on their own defense. >> let me move to you the other hotspot right now real quickly, and that is syria. the president in august said this. we have consistently said that president agos assad must lead a democratic transition or get out of the way. he has not led for the sake of the syrian people. the time has come for president assad to step down. he is still in place. he is still as far as we know killing his people. the u.s. basically can't affect this in any way, can they, because even at the u.n. we were blocked by russia and china. >> i think the arab leaders are probably our best option in this particular case. they understand what's happening in syria. they started to increase their pressure.

i think that has to be our option, and i think it's the best option for the united states right now. u.n. resolution is nott going to get there with russia and china standing in the way. >> it is not. thank you so much for joining us. mike rogers, chairman of the house intelligence committee. >> thanks for having me. >> appreciate it. up next, top stories and football and politics have more in common than you might think. . over twenty delicious varieties have sixty . calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce. for you today ? we gave people right off the street a script and had them read it. no, sorry, i can't help you with that. i'm not authorized to access that transaction. that's not in our policy. i will transfer you now. my supervisor is currently not available. would you like to hold ? that department is currently closed. have i helped you with everything you needed ? if your bank doesn't give you knowledgeable customer service 24/7, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

you know, typical alarm clock. i am so glad to get rid of it. just to be able to wake up in the morning on your own. that's a big accomplishment to me. i don't know how much money i need. but i know that whatever i have that's what i'm going to live within. ♪ ♪

this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful. you can go deep sea fishing for amberjack, grouper and mackerel. our golf courses are open. our bed and breakfast have special rates. and migrating waterfowl from all over make this a bird watcher's paradise. so if you missed it earlier this year, come on down. if you've already been here come on back... to mississippi...

florida... louisiana... alabama. the gulf's america's get-a-way spot no matter where you go. so come on down and help make 2012 an even better year for tourism on the gulf. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. time for a check of today's top stories. seven people were killed. at least nine wounded in a suicide car bombing in the southern afghanistan city of kandahar. the country's interior ministry did not provide details about the possible target, though witnesses said the explosion occurred near a police building. the lib dwran interior ministry tells cnn that saif

gadhafi, son of muammar gadhafi, could go on trial within a few weeks. heavy snow has forced london's heathrow airport to cancel about half its flights today. no word on how many passengers were affected. london is the latest european capital to be hit by winter storms across the continent. it is super bowl sunday, and from that we drew our inspiration for this week's edition of "the campaign trail." >> are you ready to go out there and take what's yours? >> yeah! >> what you worked hard for? >> yeah. >> that's duane "the rock" johnson in "the gridiron gang." one of the inspirational locker room scenes that hollywood routinely pumps out, and if you have covered enough presidential campaigns, you begin to know that candidates sound a lot like football coaches at halftime. >> i'm convinced i can beat barack obama. >> we will win the nomination, and we will then win the

election. >> it's not about winning. it's about you and your relationship to yourself and your family and your friends. >> i do talk about family a lot because family is the key. >> we've been married 55 years. >> i see so many children in this audience. how wonderful is that? >> when you take that field today, you've got to lay your heart on the line, man. >> i need your help across the board. >> this really is a battle about the soul of america. >> get out there and caucus. >> now as your team or we will die. >> president reagan. >> ronald reagan. >> ronald reagan used to say -- >> ask them to go in there with all they've got and win just one for the gipper. >> in case you did you not didn't recognize in th