we begin with politics. the political world looks to maine tonight. we are going to learn the results of maine's republican presidential caucuses in just a little while. it's all about momentum at this point. mitt romney is trying to he a void his fourth straight loss in a republican contest. cnn political reporter shannon travis standing by for news portland right now they've been casting their votes for days. how is this announcement going to work? >> reporter: it's going to work in about 1 1/2 hours from now. the chairman of the republican party in maine will step up to the podium behind me and announce the results. all ice will be watching. maine is loving this attention. he's going to announce who won between ron paul, mitt romney, rick santorum, newt gingrich. mitt romney and ron paul are the only two actively campaigning in maine for this caucus. mitt romney and ron paul went to caucus sites today. mitt romney's first time

campaigning in maine this cycle. they've been going hard after this win to avoid another loss as both suffered on tuesday. >> this is a two-man race? romney and ron paul? >> essential. rick santorum and newt gingrich essentially. it wasn't a part of their whole delicate calculation to come up here and campaign. a few weeks ago when the other three were in florida, ron paul packed up his sweaters and headed north. i was here with him. he came up here because he has a strong young following here. strong libertarian following. he figured those 21 delegates up for state, maybe he could do well and get his first win. he is 0-8, but mitt romney came along and said not so fast. he started campaigning last night. >> thank you, shannon travis reporting. "the situation room" is straight

ahead with wolf blitzer on our political team joining us. wolf, tell us about the coverage you have of the maine caucuses coming up. >> we'll hear the results coming in live from portland. the republican party is getting ready to release around 6:20 p.m. eastern we'll get the actual results of the maine caucuses. it could be a little bit earlier. could be a little later. they had significant snow in one of the counties in maine up in washington county. that's in the northern part of the state. that could affect the results. they may have been delayed. they probably will delay the results of the caucuses in washington county, maine, until a week from today. they have to redo it. if it's close in the rest of the state, we may not know the winner of the maine caucuses tonight. if it's significant the republican party will announce a winner in the 6:00 p.m. eastern hour. we are anxious to get that.

then we are anxious to look ahead after maine. in maine, we don't know who is going to win. no entrance polls, obviously no exit polls, no real polls going in. it's a state that, as you well know, ron paul worked hard to cultivate over not in recent days and weeks, but recent years. mitt romney is from new england, presumably he will do well. i suspect rick santorum and newt gingrich will not do well. we'll see. >> wolf blitzer will have coverage at 5:30 here on cnn. in the last hours we learned the results of the straw poll offering a glimpse how cpac activists are leaning for the race. it's a big victory for mitt romney who finished on top 38%. rick santorum 31%, followed by newt gingrich 15% and ron paul

12%. dana bash, this poll is not binding, but is important for mitt romney, isn't it? >> reporter: it's incredibly important for mitt romney. no question there is a big sense of relief in boston at the romney headquarters right now because of the fact he won this straw poll. he did not have a good week last week. the whole concept of what he's been trying to do is make it clear he is one of them. meaning a conservative. he is one of the people who are, the thousands of people standing behind me right now listening to sarah palin. fact of the matter is this is very good news for mitt romney. it is certainly not binding. it is symbolic. symbolism for romney trying to get his momentum back is the name of the game. you can see sarah palin speaking. let's listen in live.

>> you left your farm, you left your industry behind to serve, to serve the common good. this washington is a place where politicians arrive as men and women of modest means and they become plutocrates. the money-making opportunities for d.c. poll tigs are endless, but they don't just enrich themselves off you for themselves, they spread the wealth around to their pals. this has a name. it's called croney capitalism. i said in a speech in america's breadbasket over the summer, i said this isn't the capitalism of free men and free markets, of risk and sacrifice, of innovation and hard work. no, it's the capitalism of connections and of government bailouts and handouts and waste

and corporate welfare and corruption. this is the capitalism of barack obama and the permanent political class. it's why i say to the occupy protestors, you're occupying the wrong place. you're protesting the wrong thing. [ applause ] this croney capitalism is a root of our economic problems. it has spurred the expansion of government, which diminishes, of course, freedom and opportunity for all to rise and to succeed. some politicians get elected just by promising more programs and new freebies and new favors, and then government grows to accommodate their promises. it never shrinks. that crowds out the liberating individual initiative and equal

opportunity america was built upon. it swallows up the work ethic we try to teach our children. it extinguishes that independent pioneering american spirit. now, often they come to d.c. denouncing the place as this cesspool of corruption, but after a year or two, they decide, it's not a cesspool. more like a hot tub. and they're hopping in, enjoying the jacuzzi. well, america, it is time we dream thethe -- we drain the jacuzzi and throw the bums out with the bath water. >> reporter: you hear a good example of the kind of things sarah palin has been saying here at the cpac conference. she's been doing most of her hitting against barack obama, as you can imagine. having a twist on some of his greatest hits, yes we can, hope

and change, winning the future. there is one red meat line after another she is throwing out to this crowd. this is a good way over these conservatives to end the conference, a lot of enthusiasm for this woman. >> we can hear the applause and the cheers. question for you, dana. is she going to endorse anyone? >> reporter: peter hanby asked her that question. she has not settled on the candidates. she has spoken warmly of newt gingrich, but has not endorsed him. she has a contract with another cable work, but she is not prohibited from endorsing. >> thank you, dana bash. from cpac, we appreciate it. joining wolf blitzer, we'll have complete results and analysis of the maine caucuses.

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the united nations general assembly condemning the violence. this won't be legally binding and would be a little more than a slap on syria's wrist. turkey plans to work with the u.n. to improve the flow of humanitarian aid into syria. turkey, lebanon and georgia registered 20,000 refugees from syria. the regime kept much of the unrest out of the public's view by keeping reporters out of syria. that hasn't stopped video from leaking out into the internet. nick peyton walsh looks at the turmoil unfolding across the country and what comes next. >> on saturday, the violence rumbled on together with the pace by the international community to fashion some message that pay slow this 11-month-old conflict and unrest. we saw again violence directed towards what should be government loyal areas after the blasts yesterday in aleppo. a hospital director shot dead

outside his damascus home. the onslaught against the strong hold of homs continued into its sent day. artillery, apparently an air assault going against that city, killing six this morning. we see from these images exactly how ill matched these two sides are. the civilian cars run over by must be tank tracks. the free syrian army operating inside of homs. you can see the cars crushed like cardboard. five killed by a tank in another area where the opposition has significant presence at the moment. the international community is trying to fashion some sort of response. saudi arabians pushing forward a move to try to condemn this violence. that would require majority vote. it's similar to a bid at the u.n. security council to try to have this violence condemned and

demand change inside syria. that was vetoed by russia and china. the saudi arabian move will be toothless to a certain extent, but may generate some sort of symbolism which may pressurize damascus. we are seeing moves by turkey. turkey's foreign ministers suggesting they may want to establish humanitarian corridor into syria and may be talking with ban ki-moon tomorrow. all this noise over the past few days not fashioning any cohesive practical response as the violence claims lives day after day in homs. nick paton walsh, cnn, beirut. thank you very much. supporters took to the streets of washington today waving syrian flags chanting, free, free syria. several holding signs that

called for the assad regime to be prosecuted by the international criminal court. >> later tonight, cnn will air a special report, "homs, city under siege." hear first hand accounts of the government crackdown from those living and suffering through it. 10:30 eastern time. in egypt, an american student was arrested today during demonstrations in cairo. officials say the american and australian journalist and their translator have been detained, suspected of paying egyptians to stage protests against the government. they say the three plotted their efforts over the internet. this comes on the same day as activists one year since theosser of president mubarak. protestors in greece staged a honeymoon demonstration near parliament ahead of a crucial vote by law makers. they must decide whether to accept another round of punishing cuts. the greek cabinet approved the cuts today.

international lenders could withhold new bailout funds. it could end with a messy default. next, friends and family mourn the loss of two young kids, charlie and braden powell, the two brothers police say were brutally murdered by their father before their home exploded in washington state. ♪ my sunglasses. [ tires screech ] ♪ oh, it was the first time i fell in love ♪

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a solemn day in takoma, washington, as family and friends remembered 7-year-old charlie and 5-year-old braden powell. ♪ 'twas grace that taught my heart to fear ♪ >> two little boys were killed sunday in a home explosion set by their father josh powell. cnn affiliate komo report the boys' grandparents thank people of all faith who prayed for their family. their daughter susan powell has been missing since december 2009 and presumed dead. josh powell has been the only suspect in her disappearance. tonight at 7:30 eastern, more on the josh powell case. what led to the murder/suicide, and could anything have been done to stop it? i'll be joined by dr. wendy walsh and criminal prosecutor holly hughes 7:30 eastern here on cnn. the video is shocking. three attackers savagely beating a gay man on the street in

atlanta. police say they arrested one suspect and they know who the other two are. sophia choi reports from a rally near the site of the beating led by civil rights leader congressman john lewis. >> when you see something doing wrong, do what you're doing today. >> reporter: they are coming together to force a community change where 20-year-old brandon white was beaten outside this store one week ago today. like others here, this woman came to the rally. >> we need to come together so it doesn't happen again. >> reporter: three men beat brandon white as he walked out of the grocery in the pittsburgh community of southwest atlanta and posted this video on the internet. investigators believe white was targeted because he's gay. today, atlanta police arrested 18-year-old christopher cain from dekalb county. >> i'm happy they were able to move quickly to get that

accomplished. >> reporter: police know who the other two men are and plan to arrest them soon. those at the rally say police can help short term with arrests and patrols, but it's up to those who call this area home to stop the violence in the long run. >> this is not a one day campaign. this is not a one week campaign. this is a lifetime campaign. >> atlanta's mayor offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to arrests in this case. ahead, it's an edge of your seat hollywood thriller starring real navy seals. >> three, two, one -- >> but some people aren't too happy about the movie or the secrets it reveals. heir every financial need. and then, in one blinding blink of an eye,

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courage. determine are -- determination. here is dr. sanjay gupta with today's "human factor." >> reporter: he can hit. field the ball. even slide into home plate.

>> good job. give me five. >> all the way around the base. >> reporter: 6-year-old reese holloway wants to play in the big league some day like his favorite player chipper jones of the atlanta braves. when reese was born, his parents were shocked to discover he didn't have a left hand. baseball was the furthest thing from their minds. >> 50,000 things rolling through my mind. how is he going to tie shoes, do everything. >> it was a hard thing. >> reporter: they weren't sure if he'd learn to crawl without a second hand. they got him a prosthesis. little reese didn't want it. >> he didn't like it at all. he cried and cried and cried. it was not a good thing. >> reporter: he did learn to crawl and walk. then something remarkable happened. reese taught himself how to hit a ball. >> he got plastic balls and would hold them under his chin, drop it and swing the bat.

>> reporter: reese is a fan of all sports, but baseball is still his favorite. >> he loves playing baseball. that's all he does. 24/7. >> reporter: on or off the field, reese doesn't get special treatment. >> we make him make his bed, pick this up or hold this. we make it a fun thing. >> we don't hold nothing back. >> reporter: as far as the holloways are concerned, reese doesn't have a disability. >> i was born like that. >> reporter: like other boys, he can do lots of things. he does flips on the family trampoline. can break dance. even those snaps are a bit of a challenge. he gets dressed by himself. >> only thing he can't do is tie his shoe. >> reporter: nothing stands in the way of baseball for reese. he is a natural talent. his parents believe children like their son should never be held back. >> let them do everything. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta,

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the brita bottle with the filter inside. a hollywood thriller about navy seals. these guys are real navy seals. here is pentagon correspondent barbara starr. >> three, two, one! >> reporter: the seals are called into action. when a deadly terrorist plot against the u.s. is uncovered. >> proceed to target. recover the package and move to extract. >> reporter: it's an edge of your seat hollywood thriller, but wait, those are real seals acting in "act of valour. ". >> initially all the guys turned us down. they weren't about making movies. >> reporter: director mike mccoy

convinced the navy only seals could play seals. >> we started to see a brotherhood of menu didn't know existed in the real world. >> reporter: together they embarked on a 2 1/2 year production schedule. denver has been on classified seal missions all over the world. this is as close as you get to what he really does. the combat is the crew filming seals on training missions. >> we're talking why is he addressing this? you see this guy move. >> drag out. >> it is extremely authentic. we were there at every turn with the production company and directors during the filming of "act of valor." >> reporter: the navy originally wanted to make a seal recruiting film. the crew shot hundreds of hours, and suddenly it became a movie that never got the pentagon's official stamp of approval. navy officials say they know some will be critical of real commandos being used in a

hollywood thriller. >> it did not the follow the typical approval process, but the navy did support the film and the seals were involved with the film every step of the way. >> reporter: to keep their secrets, some camera angles were adjusted on weapons. classified procedures left out and there was a lighter side. >> we made fun of each other constantly. you're running around trying to simulate combat. you're going to take a fall and tumble and look silly. that's now on camera where you can get away with that on the battlefield, only your buddies see that. >> these were some of the most compelling, dynamic men we ever met. they were humble, good dudes. you want to have a beer with, go surfing and hang out. >> reporter: what about a real seal becoming a real actor? >> if clint eastwood calls, i'm taking that phone call. >> reporter: barbara starr, washington. make sure you stay tuned to cnn for the latest in political coverage. i'm don lemon at cnn world

headquarters in atlanta. a special edition of cnn election coverage with wolf blitzer covering the maine caucuses begins in a few seconds. welcome to our special coverage of the maine caucuses. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. tonight, we are tracking two big events on the republican calendar and our political a-team is here. john king, gloria borger. dana bash and shannon travis is over at gop headquarters in portland, maine. our chief congressional correspondent dana bash is over at cpac. the conservative political

action conference that is under way here in washington. we will have the results of the maine caucuses as they come in. stand by for that. right now want to go to shannon travis over at republican headquarters in portland. set the scene for us. we are getting ready to see potentially a winner in maine tonight. >> reporter: that's right. let me first say i may have the toughest assignment of the night. i'm at a party sponsored by the maine republican party. i'll have my cameraman pan around here. some of the people are just filing in. we expect possibly a few 00 enjoying a little bit of food and drink. this is important business. they are going to be announcing the results right here. going to have my cameraman swing over to the podium behind there. charlie webster is the chairman of the maine republican party. he'll step up to the podium in under an hour and announce who won these caucuses, ron paul, mitt romney.

those two have been actively campaigning here. romney and ron paul campaigned in maine today. this is mitt romney's first time campaigning in maine this cycle. earlier i was at a caucus site both attended, romney and ron tall. take a look at some of the caucus goers i spoke with. >> we continue to show you democracy in action taking you inside the caucuses. this one here in sanford, maine. behind me a caucus leader is explaining the process. after that the people will separate to different tables and groups and talk person-to-person, neighbor-to-neighbor about this in particular, the presidential preference survey ballot. there are no names of candidates on here. you write in who you want, who you prefer. one person we know who his preference is is mark here.

you were telling me your history. >> i voted for george bush twice. i voted for barack obama and am now supporting ron paul. >> reporter: what would you say it's a strange voting history? >> i would say my understanding of politics is evolving and the ron paul message rings true to me. >> reporter: that was earlier. two other really quick points. the ron paul campaign thinks this could come down to less than 100 points. that could be effective. in washington county, they canceled their caucuses due to weather. >> stand by. we'll get back to you, shannon travis on the scene for us in maine. i want to go to that cpac straw poll that has just come out. on the one hand, it's only a beauty contest. on the other hand it shows who is the favorite of a critical part of the republican base. >> for you cpac attenders, the

results are a little bit different. it is the same order of finish, but governor romney does a couple of points better. >> mitt romney got 38%. rick santorum 31%. newt gingrich 15%. ron paul 12%. dana bash is over there. you've been speaking to folks at this conference. blunt question, why did they choose mitt romney? >> reporter: well, for the most part, anecdotally, the people i talked to who said they support mitt romney did it because they say their number one goal is to beat barack obama and they feel he is the best to do that. i can tell you that this is no surprise, there is a relief in

boston at romney headquarters that he won here. he's got to do everything he can to get his momentum back after such a bad week last week losing those three contests. when his win was announced here it got mixed results. there was cheering and some booing. he excites some people, but maybe not a lot of people. that is what romney people i talked to sibs this was announced say they find the business so important. it is symbolic. they are hoping there is a ripple effect out to conservatives out in the country who say maybe conservatives should take another look at him. >> the former republican vice presidential nominee sarah palin, former governor of alaska, she just spoke over at the conference where you are right now. did she give us any indication where she stands as far as the winner, the cpac straw poll is concerned, mitt romney? >> reporter: i think, yes.

it was not a very positive statement she made. it wasn't direct. she didn't say his name, but it was certainly clear she was aiming this at mitt romney. she said we need somebody who can instinctively turn right. it's too late to speech that or spin. i was talking to one of her supporters who said she stuck her stiletto in and twisted it. she made it clear she is not a fan of mitt romney. for the most part her speech was focused on barack obama. she did rip after rip on some of his most famous lines, yes, we can, hope and change. here is one example. >> the president says small americans, smalltown americans, we bitterly cling to our religion and our guns because we're just dog gone frustrated with his pace of change. you say, i say, we say, keep your change, we'll keep our god,

our guns, our constitution. >> reporter: the other thing sarah palin said here, she thinks competition is good. she sort of went against the grain for people who say that they're worried about the republican primary fight going long. she said, that's fine if there is competition, it will make the nominee, whomever it is the best. she said at the end whomever the nominee is, everybody should support them to defeat barack obama. >> her husband todd endorsed newt gingrich. she's come close, but hasn't gone that far. thanks very much for that. our chief political analyst gloria borger is here with our cnn contributors donna brazil and david frahm and david

gurgen. i thought rick santorum would have won. >> you talking to me, this david? fine. i was surprised, as well. mitt romney has won this in the past. he won beltway. 2008, 2009. i thought given the sag we've seen with romney, all the talk about conservatives rejecting him that they would go elsewhere, they would pick a, quote, true conservative. not a, quote, moderate massachusetts governor. i do think while this has very little real significance, it's a significant psychological boost for him. if romney were to win in maine tonight, as well, that will change the storyline as we go forward. >> i'm sure it will. he's got to beat ron paul. gloria, were you surprised? >> i was surprised, particularly since a lot of republicans were

scratching their heads at mitt romney's speech when he called himself a severely conservative republican governor. lots of people not sure what severely conservative means. maybe you can tell us, david frahm. i think this may reflect what we've been seeing in all the polls in every primary, every caucus, which is republicans want somebody they consider to be electable. when it comes to electability, mitt romney does well. this is a conference held in washington. these are people who want to take power. maybe they decided to go for the person they thought was the winner. >> if it was with maine tonight that, would be significant. >> i think the cpac win is more significant. this is a serious organizational challenge. cpac has a new chairman. not david keen who is a washington lobbyist connected to more of the traditional conservative movement.

campaign for liberty people weren't there. you could see the romney people didn't organize in 2010 or 2011. they got the organization done. the panels were arranged in ways ron paul themes were not there. campaign for liberty people were discouraged from taking over the whole thing. this may be a model of the way this larger race will go. >> romney reached out to conservatives, as well, in small groups, which is something he hasn't done in the past. >> were you surprised newt gingrich came in a distant third among this group? >> no. i think newt gingrich campaign is on life support. he needs a win. after south carolina, people thought he could win the conservative base. he's having a hard time. mitt romney had his surrogates out in full force. he had his activists working the

crowd. i'm not surprised he won cpac and won't be surprised if he wins the main caucuses at all. >> you see ron paul does, i suspect he will do well in maine. one presidential hopeful hoping for his first win. another trying to recapture his lost momentum. we are waiting the results from the maine event. our reporters are on the scene. and my interview with rick santorum after his stunning triple header success this week. what does he expect in maine?

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you're looking at live pictures from republican party headquarters in portland, maine. we expect in about a half hour or so to get the results from the maine caucuses. you'll hear it live here as our coverage unfolds. i want to stay in portland, maine, with mary snow. they need a win. so far they haven't had a win, but they potentially could get one tonight. is that what they are expecting? >> reporter: they are expecting to be very close, but supporters here tonight are saying they feel it is very important that there is a win for ron paul to gain momentum in what would be his first victory in a presidential contest. ron paul has campaigned here more than anyone else. he's been appealing to libertarians in the state and young voters earlier today at a caucus site, he says he believes he has a good chance of winning. >> seems like the supporters

always seem to come through. we can't compete dollar to dollar, of course, with governor romney, but our support eers ar very generous. so far they've always come through when we need them. >> reporter: i just talked to the campaign a short time ago. they are expecting this to come down to the wire, saying potentially it could come down to fewer than 100 votes, possibly even fewer than 20 votes. wolf? >> mary, stand by. shortly after the results come in i'll speak live with ron paul here, as well. stand by for that. the former alaska governor of 2008 republican vice presidential nominee sarah palin isn't worried about the real possibility this republican contest could go all the way to the gop convention in tampa at the end of august. listen to what she told peter hanby a while ago.

>> i don't think that it would be a negative for the party, a brokered convention. people who start screaming that a brokered convention is the worst thing that could happen to the gop, they have an agenda. they have their own personal or political reasons, their own candidate who they would like to see protected away from a brokered convention. so anybody who starts saying, can't allow that to happen, that's part of competition. that's part of the process and it may happen. >> let's bring in our own john king. a lot of folks are saying it may actually happen, even though it hasn't happened in a long, long time. a brokered convention. what are the prospects of that? >> reporter: it is unlikely because it hasn't happened in so long. you have to go back to 1940. is it possible? it is. maine is the ninth state to vote in this process. michigan and arizona will round out the month of february. by the end of this month, we'll have 11 states. this is about delegates. most nomination battles are not

about delegates. somebody gets momentum early on and wraps it up before this number 1144 comes to play. maybe governor romney stumbles a bit. maybe speaker gingrich recovers. let's give it up. i talked to romney people in maine. they are confident they'll get a win tonight, a close one. let's say ron paul gets his first win tonight. it changes the delegate math a little. we'll go through some states quickly here. first we show where the contest goes from here. michigan and arizona close out february. let's assume governor romney wins them. then you come in march 3rd, i'll give that to ron paul. super tuesday you see a bunch of states. ohio, virginia, tennessee, oklahoma, more to the west. split them up. santorum wins some, gingrich wins some, romney wins some. if this is what happens, if santorum can stay viable,

gingrich start winning in the south, bump all the way to the convention. if that played out all the way, unlikely to happen this time, but given the nature of this race, is it a possibility? sure. if santorum is winning in the midwest, wins his pennsylvania, ohio, west virginia, indiana, gingrich is strong in the south. romney wins in the west and new england up here. you could get to a scenario something like this. romney gets to the convention, 800 or so, 900 delegates, short of 1144. gingrich in the 450, 500 range. santorum in the 600 to 700 range. it could happen. then you get to the convention and you'd have interesting negotiations and deliberations, my friend. >> i heard some folks say if that were to happen, someone like jeb bush, the former governor of florida, could emerge over the convention in tampa and win this convention.

i guess that's theoretically possible. >> if you go back to the pretelevision days when these things were possible what would happen, if you got to a convention with these candidates, governor romney would try to win. he would try to negotiate. maybe delegates, try to negotiate, maybe offer the vice presidency. if that didn't happen you throw it open. a couple of ballots and nobody wins the rules allow new nominations to be. you the in at some point. it's anybody's bet. i stress unlikely, hasn't happened in our lifetime but given the volatility of the race and the dissatisfaction with governor romney in some circles and the see-sea between gingrich and santorum as the alternative to romney some people look at the map and say maybe this is the year. >> you heard sarah palin say maybe it is as well. thanks, john. don't go too far away. within a half hour we'll get the results of the maine caucus. we're standing by to afor that. you'll see it and hear it live on cnn.

after the republican triple header rick santorum talks about his chances in maine and the contests that lie ahead coming up. and michelle obama makes some candid comments about campaigning and balancing her roles, as wife, mom, and first lady. this new at&t 4g lte is fast. hey. did you guys hear... ...that mary got engaged? that's so 42 seconds ago. thanks for the flowers guys. [ both ] you're welcome. oooh are you guys signing up for the free massage? [ both ] so 32 seconds ago. hey guys you hear frank's cat is sick? yeah, we heard. wanna sign the card? did you know the guys from china are in the office... [ speaking chinese ] [ male announcer ] stay a step ahead with the 4g lte galaxy s ii skyrocket. only from at&t. ♪

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we're getting ready to hear the results of the maine caucuses. you're looking at live picture, expect the results within the next 20, 25 minutes or so. we're standing about i for that. who will win in maine? stay with us. rick santorum certainly is surging after this week's triple victory, in my "situation room"

interview with him yesterday i asked him about how he feels about his prospects in maine and beyond. watch this. which states looking down the road are you looking at to win in the coming weeks, senator? >> well, you know, obviously we were in oklahoma yesterday and that's a super tuesday state and we feel very good about that. we like our chances in states like tennessee and north dakota, for example, are a couple other states. we'll compete very vigorously in ohio, michigan, and frankly we're planning to compete sort of across the country. obviously we're probably not going to make any trips to massachusetts but other than that, we'll be campaigning throughout the country. >> and maine, you don't expect to do welcome row night? >> well, no. we're up there, we're working. i made a couple visits earlier in the year and you know, we're working hard up there. we've got a good team of volunteers that are helping us. obviously that's not necessarily my backyard as we saw from the results in new hampshire, but i

think we might do better than expected. >> senator, thanks very much. >> my pleasure wolf, thank you. >> let's bring back our analysts, gloria, first to you, he seemed to get himself a little bit in trouble this week when he suggested that maybe women aren't ready to serve in combat roles in the united states military. he's been walking back a little bit from that. my interview he almost doubled down. >> it's interesting and funny you used that phrase. when i was out on a campaign trail with santorum he'd get himself in trouble with gay marriage and then he'd double down. he doesn't back off the controversy. in fact he courts it and i think that's part of his appeal to conservative voters because they feel he believes these things and he's not going to back down in the way that other candidates have changed their positions, but in terms as a general

election candidate i think things like women in the military and position on gay marriage, et cetera, could hurt him with independent voters. >> what do you think, david? >> not doubling down, the theme of the week and the republicans wandered in moo i abattle over contraception and health care at first showed potential to help republicans, they had a theme that the administration is not sensitive to religious concerns but that's widened because the republican response is introduce a bill to allow catholic, non-catholic to deny contraception coverage for any the conscientious reason. i think just about everybody's in favor of it. >> hold on for a moment. while the republicans certainly are in the middle of a very rough and tumble campaign, the democrats including the president of the united states are stepping up their re-election efforts and now michelle obama, the first lady of the united states, is talking openly about whether she'll hit

the campaign trail. let's go over to the white house, our correspondent brianna keilar has more. >> reporter: wolf this is something that "the wall street journal" reported. michelle obama has been on the road for a couple of days promoting her let's move initiative on its anniversary. she said my approach to campaigning is this is the time that i have to give to the campaign, and whatever you do with that time is up to you, but when it's over, don't even look at me. don't look this direction. no calls, no anything. so very interesting, wolf. she's drawing the line there, of course. it's been reported before, michelle obama is someone who definitely guards her time with her daughters for sure, but she's also one of the president's best surrogates. she's very popular, much more popular, her approval rating is much more higher than president obama's, of course, wolf, but she's saying she's going to be drawing the line. that said on the anniversary of this initiative we've been

seeing a whole lot of her lately, she's been on "ellen" jay leno, jimmy fallon and talking to cnn.com, answering viewer questions that will appear on our website on monday. >> she could be a great asset for the president on the campaign trail, and as you say she probably will get pretty busy out there just as whoever the republican nominee will be, i assume his wife will be pretty busy as well. >> reporter: yes, she'll be very busy. one of the things she was talking to reporters about that she empathizes with a lot of people who perhaps have been frustrated with her husband, that she will actually be validating some of those concerns, but sort of as well painting her husband as someone who is calm, is sort of looking forward at the long and sort of a long road, even though there have been some frustrations along the way that she'll validate, wolf. >> i assumed some of the aides to the president, maybe even the president are getting ready to watch the results in maine. they're pretty interested in what's going on.