sex? what does that make her? >> you know, well, rush limbaugh has sort of apolized for that, kind of sort of, not really exactly. did you buy his apology? some of his advertisers did not. our starting points for monday, march 5th, 201. ♪ >> oh, aa/dc "back in black." welcome, everybody. let's sbintroduce you to panelis this morning. democrat from california is joining us. good morning. also, a "wall street journal" political reporter. nice to have you. and abby livingston. she's been on the show a couple of times before but with her sisters. she's the doubt of presidential candidate jon huntsman, with us but without her sisters. let's get right to our "starting

point" this morning. mitt romney a clear front-runner once again. he's leading rick santorum by 16 points in the latest national poll. very big endorsements as well. ahead of super tuesday, tomorrow. the highest ranking republican member of congress eric cantor, getting his support. >> i look to super tuesday, i look to mitt romney winning all of virginia's delegates. in fact, i cast my vote already in virginia for mitt romney. and i'm here today to tell you that i'm endorsing mitt romney in his candidacy for the presidency of the united states. >> majority leader congressman eric cantor of virginia joins us. nice to see you. we appreciate it. >> good morning, soledad. >> let's talk about that endorsement. >> give me the reasons why you decided to support mitt romney? >> mitt romney is really the only man in the race who has a plan, a bold pro-growth plan to create jobs and get this economy back on track.

and this is an essential issue for this election. it is about how we're going to make the economy better, how we're going to get small businesses back in gear. mitt romney unveiled a plan last week that is pro-growth, it brings down tax rates for everybody paying income taxes. it fills the lool loopholes in the tax code. makes it a more fair kind of tax code. and, frankly, we'll lend itself to the competitiveness to our country so we can start to lead again in is what i believe the country really, really needs after they look at the failed policies that have been in place over the three years from the white house. >> sounds like you're saying the economy, the economy, the economy. i'm curious to know if you're also saying that by you're support it's really mitt romney who is the true conservative here. >> mitt romney, again, soledad, not to be repetitious, but he's got a plan. there is no plan like his. there's certainly no plan like his coming out of the white house.

we need a pro-growth bold plan to help create jobs. >> i hear you on that. i'm just -- let me just -- forgive me -- but interrupt you for a minute. as you know last week a lot of conversation was, you know, who is the true conservative. does this mean that you've answered this question and the true conservative in your mind is mitt romney? >> soledad, what i believe is this election is about how we're going to make our country have a much brighter economic future so we can continue to lead and let america be america. i mean, this is the issue here. i think what the american people are looking for are more certainty as far as your economic future is concerned and right now we know that there's just not enough job creations going on. we've got red tape holding back small businessmen and women. you look at the rate of number of business start-ups in america over the last three years, that rate has declined by 23% we've got to do something to get us back on track.

mitt romney is the only person in the race who has ever created a job. he is the one who understands how to run a business, how to get fiscal affairs of the country straight so we can start growing the economy again. >> i'm just going to note that you are not going to answer that question for me but i'm happy to move on. i get you. economy, economy. but when it comes to being a true conservative you're not going to answer that for me. move on. there are a couple of schools of thought of how the fight is going to move on for the nomination. there are some people, like priebus. >> i feel good about this and i know that people argue over whether, you know, having a tough primary is a good thing or a bad thing. i just happen to believe that it's good for a party as you and i have talked about many times. >> as you well know, there are many others who would say actually it's been damaging, a protracted fight has been a very bad thing for the party. and if you look at numbers of neg f. negativity, if you look at numbers of independents who

look at unfavorability, all of those numbers are high, which is a bad thing. what side are you on in that? >> soledad, what i believe has happened is we have had a very robust, hard fought debate in our primary. what we're beginning to see is a crystallizing of the party's position for the election against barack obama. that is, we are pro-growth, bold, individual liberty and economic freedom party. so what we're doing is we're coal lessing around mitt romney's plan to actually address the economic challenges we have so we can see a growth sorry ended fi chur. and it's very -- soledad, it's very similar -- >> i get. you want to talk economy. i hear you. i get it. i'm just trying to get my questions answered. >> it's very similar to what we're doing in congress right now. we're trying to find ways to work together and to bring

people together and to set aside the differences. we've had a solid year plus of areas that we deliver. >> was that bad or good, i guess is my question? bad or good? >> whether it's bad or good, we're at the point now that i think people are tired of the differences and let's see if we can produce results. that's what mitt romney's candidacy is about, coalescing about the things we can agree on, it's not just for republicans, it's for dependents, like-minded democrats to come together to see how we can fix this economy and get people back to work. >> okay. we have the cleveland claim dealer also given an endorsement to mitt romney. throw it on the screen. as ohio republicans prepare to vote in tuesday's primary, they need to remember the ultimate prize, winning in november. doing so requires more than energizing the base, the conservative base. the gop needs a nominee who can appeal to swing voters and

disaffected democrats. the whole entire endorsement, i thought, was very similar to the detroit endorsement, which was kind of like a, you know, if he can do this and this and this, we will sort of not very enthusiastically give our supports. is this a problem, do you think? i mean, something that has to be overcome for mitt romney? >> i don't. because i'm very excited about his plan to fix the economy. that's the issue, soledad. i know you don't want to do that. >> i do. i love talking economy. i guess i just want you to specifically answer my question. i feel like that's a luke warm, half-hearted endorsement. do you feel the same way? >> no. i mean, again, i disagree with anybody who said, you know, that there is not energy surrounding mitt romney's cacampaign. when people take time to look at his economic plan, i think they'll get excited about it. you already see him gaining

momentum. double digit lead n. and win in washington, the state of washington the other night. we had several wins in a row last week. and will have super tuesday, tomorrow. i know that he's going to do really well. my prediction is he will take all virginia's delegates and i'll he will have a good night overall on tuesday. >> double digit lead when it comes to the national polls. let's talk about the apec meeting because you will speak today. i think it ends tomorrow. the prime minister benjamin netanyahu, prime minister of israel, and president obama is going to sit down and have a conversation as well. the president has said this about options on the table. >> when it comes to preventing iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, i will take no options off the table. and i mean what i say. >> when you look at the republican candidates talking about israel and iran, they've said this. >> when it comes to preventing

iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, i will take no options off the table. and i mean what i say. >> it's pretty straightforward in my view. if barack obama gets re-elected iran will have a nuclear weapon and the world will change if that's the case. >> no israeli prime minister could responsibliy allow the iranians to get nuclear weapons because israel is a small country, so compact, two or three weapons will be the same thing as a holocaust. >> it doesn't make any sense to bomb a country that is no dlet to anybody just because they might get a weapon and try to point out that containment worked pretty well with the soviets and they had 30,000. >> you got to hear from president obama twice there. who do you think is right? >> soledad, what is going on and why we're having this discussion and debate is there's a real question of resolve on the part of the american people towards the white house. and i think also in my

conversations with foreign leaders, there's equally a question of whether america is really going to maintain its leadership and influence in the region. that's what's going on here. i was at the president's speech yesterday when he delivered it. and he did say that he doesn't accept the policy of containment, that he wants to make sure that iran doesn't get a nuclear bomb. and so that is a positive step. but what i'm concerned about is the commitment to follow through. and what we've seen and what the other governments and allies in the region are seeing is that white house whose commitment has not been consistent. if you look at iran's other actions in the middle east, whether it has to do with syria, whether it has to do with egypt, or its support of the proxies in hamas and hezbollah, the question is where is the american injection of influence to try and address these

situations? there's been a lot of rhetoric coming out of white house. but yet, the follow-through is questionable. that's why i think we're having this discussion. there is doubt cast on where the president is going to go on this. and i know that we have got to make a decision here and there has to be some clarity coming out of white house in terms of this direction. >> final question for you. mitt romney seems to say that if barack obama is reelected, iran will get a nuclear weapon. do you agree with that? >> i think the issue here is the fact that president has said he doesn't want iran to become a nuclear power. >> that is a yes or no question, sir. do you agree with mitt romney? he says that if obama is re-elected -- go ahead. >> and i think -- i think it's a question, are you going to accept iran's nuclear capability or are you going to wait until it has the weapon? and we can't wait until it has the weapon. s that that's a threat to u.s.

interests, not just to our interests in the ally region. that's the construction of the debate going on right now. and it's seems to me that we've not had a clear statement by the white house that it is willing to make sure that iran does not develop the capabilities because if we don't stop that, it will be too late. >> that is the longest answer i think i've ever heard. eric cantor, thank you for joining us. appreciate it. 8:30 this morning, newt gingrich is going to join us live right here on "starting point." lots of other headlines to get to. let's get to christine for those. >> thanks, good morning to you. indiana toddler who was the only member of her family to survive a tornado, she has died. 14-month-old angel babcock was discovered in a field about 100 yards from her home. she suffered head injuries and she was taken off life support p her grandparents and her pastor

at her side. the death toll from friday's tornadoes now stand at 39. indiana state police say the tornado destruction is so extensive they have no idea how many people are left homeless. 21 tornadoes struck kentucky alone. some 400 national guard troops have been deployed. the governor he's requested a federal disaster declaration. trying to answer for the targeted killing for a u.s. citizen. the target by u.s. drone attacks in yemen last year. he and other american citizens were killed. sources say attorney general eric holder will layout legal arguments to support the administration's use of lethal force. vad min putin is headed for a historic third term as russ russia's president, but was it fair? tearing up at a celebration last night. he crushed his rivals with nearly 65% of the vote which most districts reporting. but rivals are claiming election

fraud and international monitors say they observed ballot stuffing and other irregularities, anti-putin protests are set to happen today. call it a comeback, lindsay lohan returning to saturday night live over the weekend and the fourth time host didn't shy away from her bad girl reputation, spoofing her trouble with the law in her opening monologue. >> you know, this studio feels like home to me. [ sirens ] wait, until the alarm goes off i leave the stage? i thought it was only if i left the studio. i thought you guys trusted me. >> hey, how is it going? >> hey. >> hey. so good to see you ban. i forgot how beautiful your eyes are. >> thanks, keenan. >> can i see them? >> okay. >> yeah, can i see your eyes, please? >> you know -- >> she's good. >> so we'll return to the small screen starring in elizabeth taylor biopic for lifetime in

may. she looks really different. >> is she 24, 25? she's quite young, but, yeah. >> okay. moving on. thank you, christine. still ahead this morning on "starting point," rick santorum has an attack on barack obama care. he likened president obama to a drug dealer. some people say that's a little bit too far. we're going to talk about that this morning. plus, bp's multibillion dollar deal. the oil giant is agreeing to settle with thousands of victims from the 2010 gulf oil spill. not everybody is happy about it though. and stop thief! i love this story. this might be my favorite of the day. we'll tell you what happens when someone tried to rip off some girl scouts selling cookity i cans. we're back in just a moment.

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welcome back to "starting point." bp is saying it will pay an estimated $7.8 billion to settal lawsuit with some of the victims of the 2010 gulf of mexico oil spill. money will resolve the economic loss claims and medical claims as well. the company's deep water horizon drilling rig killed 11 people. joining us this morning is the louisiana shrimper, also president of dean blanchard seafo seafood. he's in d.c. this morning because he's going to meet with ken fineburg who led the bp compensation fund. thanks for talking with us. >> good morning. how are you doing? >> i'm well. thank you. how are you doing? >> what do you think of this deal that's now being announces? >> well, we don't know all the specifics of it yet. we are still waiting to find out. i guess it just another step in the process. >> why are you meeting with ken

fineburg? >> he called me a week ago and said he would like to meet with me. i respect the job he done. i think ken's a nice guy. he did about as good a job he could, i believe. >> so your company at one point was supplying 11% of all the shrimp in the united states. is that correct? >> that's pretty much, pretty close. >> what are you down to now? >> oh, we probably down to about 2% or 3%. it basically our area, we was in what they call ground zero. basically our area is a dead zone down there. >> so there's no shrimping for you anymore? >> there's no local shrimp. the only shrimp we get is coming from 70 to 100 miles away from our facility. basically where the oil went, there's nothing else living. >> i read at one point you had 80 employees and now you're down to 8. has that number gone back up at

all? >> no, ma'am. >> if you had to estimate how much money you've lost, what would you guess? >> i'll figure i've lost 8, $10 million. it's more than just money. it's peace of mind. where's the end of this thing? you know, we don't see an end in sight. you know, everything got a beginning and an end, but for some reason nobody can tell me where the end's at. and you know, what the future is going to bring. >> dean, i'm with the "wall street journal." i just wanted to ask, do you feel like you've been treated fairly? do you feel like bp has had the right attitude toward the people of your region and has done what it could or do you feel like they have not been responsive? >> i feel like they want to make it a one size fits all. and it's not. you know, they got certain people in our industry that's profited from the oil spill and certain people who have been hurt by the oil spill. i don't believe bp is taking the time to come and investigate our

industry and determine who is injured and who is not. they just want to make it a one size fits all. and i don't think it's fair. >> how much money have you been offered? >> the last correspondence i had with fineburg, they offered me $25,000 which i just through that in the garbage with an insult, more or less. >> wow. dean blanchard, we're going to check in with you again and see how your meeting with ken feinberg goes. obviously it's not a done deal. the government could still and is expected to continue to its own lawsuits as well. dean, thank you. we appreciate. . dean blanchard, shrimper from louisiana. still ahead this morning on "starting point," the nfl is investigating this bounty program. cash incentives for players, for example, new orleans saints players, to take out opposing players p and they're thinking it might be even more wide spread. also, talk about a really bad dude. girl scouts get robbed in texas.

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that's, what, flo rida? >> what was it called? scroll back down, i missed it. "good feeling." i don't have that but now i'm going to get that. "get real" this morning is a new low for a robber. here's what happened in -- right outside of houston, texas, i believe. girl scouts selling cookies outside of a walmart. man pretending to be interested in buying the cookies, instead walks up and runs off with their cash box which had about $200 in it. he took off in a waiting car with another person inside. the two girl scouts, instead of just hanging back boo-hooing, chased him and jumped on the car. >> i started hitting the boy that was in the passenger seat. so i think he got, you know, learned his lesson a little bit. and then they dragged my friend rachel across the street, you know, driving off real fast. >> i hope you're face hurts from where she punched you, jerk. i'm serious. no, one of our girls ran up, bam. yeah. so i hope your face hurts.

i hope it leaves a scar. >> wow, yeah, they're mad. you don't want to mess with those girl scouts. unfortunately the two guys did get away with the cash. under girl scout rules they're responsible for the lost money. we're going to buy $200 worth of girl scout cookies this morning. where are they from? >> tin mints. >> we are committing -- >> thin mints? >> all of them. what's not to love? it's like what we love for breakfast. >> 100th birthday this year of the girl scouts? >> i know. i know. >> it's exciting. >> it is very nice. when you ask people how many -- leadership positions how many have been girl scouts. >> i was a girl scout. ahead this morning on "starting point," rush limbaugh is apologizing for calling a georgetown law student a slut. his advertisers are saying, see ya. we'll talk about that. newt gingrich says georgia or bust. is there a southern strategy where you can really just win one state in the south? plus, a daring rescue.

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this is sean paul "got 2 love u." let's get right to the headlines. christine, good morning again. >> good morning. the violent storms that struck the south and midwest are now blamed for 39 deaths. the latest victim is 14-month f 14-month-old angel babcock. the storm killed her parents and two siblings in indiana. she was found in an open filled after being thrown from her mobile home. she was alive. she suffered serious head injuries and was taken off life

support yesterday. her grandfather talked about that agonizing decision. >> pastor was going to go in with me, we're going to pray this there and i'm going to tell that little girl -- i'm going to tell her that it's time for her to meet her mommy and daddy. >> meantime, a small town of west liberty, kentucky s-1 of the areas hardest hit. this morning they're dealing with snow now. rob marciano is live there in kentucky. >> good morning. unbelievable. if it wasn't b difficult enough to clear out debris that was left by this ef-3 tornado with 140-mile-an-hour winds and now they're saying it's showing it was a mile wide. that's reason that virtually no building in this town was left standing. now the snow comes. this is such an odd scene. looking at main street which is still shut off to the residents.

completely destroyed. demolished rooftops of the buildings there. beyond that, across the valley you see snow-covered trees that have been snapped like toothpicks. it's something like i've never seen. it's an illustration of just how intense the contrast was in the air passes and why it's such a terrible outbreak. was wro mentioned, 39 people dead. 21 of those are in the state of kentucky. they came out to survey the damage. assured people. fema is coming out today to get the ball on that rolling as far as damage assessments is concerned. this is making everything cold, wet, nasty, and flatout dangerous. these poor people have to overcome is snowing now in eastern kentucky. christine?

>> all right, thanks. let's go to syria where violence is raging. opposition leaders and military forces are now tar getting cities across the country in an effort to crush the popular uprising. the assad regime has been pum l pummeling the city of homs. british journalist speak intoing to cnn. conroy escaped that city after being wounded in the shell that killed veteran american war correspondent marie colburn. he remembers being trapped by baba sm rramr. >> one of them started saying get out, get out. we took another directive which increased the pressure on the situation. we were trying to get out of this building. remi and maria got what they needed and started to make their way out of the apartment, out the front door. the fourth shell that landed is the one that called marie and

remi instantly. >> he says he's speaking out against what he calls syria's murder rouse regime. speaking out as a tribute to those killed in the uprising. rick santorum storing up voters in oklahoma by saying the obama administration is trying to get americans addicted to bite entitlements. here's what he told voters yesterday in broken arrow. >> that's all they see, is people to get hooked like a drug dealer, someone to become dependent upon them. and once that happens, they got you. >> santorum went on to say he believes the gop nomination may not be settled until the republican convention in orlando, because mitt romney has failed to close the deal. new details emerging in the bounty program used by the new orleans saints. investigators say the players themselves paid into a pool that the provided cash inacceptives for injuries other player,

making interceptions and causing fumbl fumbles. the fund reached as high as $50,000. players received $1500 for knocking players out of the game and $1,000 for a cart-off. the nfl also looking into other teams that may have taken part in a bounty program. police officer in massachusetts is being called a hero for risking her own life after an out of control car plunged into a freezing river. police officer saw a man struggling to get out through a smashed windshield. he had blood coming from his face and arms. >> a little hesitation, the water was cold. but i did what i had to do. and got right in there. >> firefighters arrived, tossed a rope to the cop and both of them back to shore. the officer says she is just doing her job. i'm afraid i probably didn't say her name right. and she deserves it. >> she's a hero. >> she deserves it. >> awesome.

what a great story. >> i know. >> although, she's like, it was kind of cold. thought about it twice for a minute. good for her. that's great news. well, while mitt romney and rick santorum were battling it out in arizona and michigan, newt gingrich went south to his old stomping ground, georgia. it's a state he's represented for 20 years and a state that gingrich says is critical to his campaign. republican congressman joins our panel this morning. nice to see you, sir. thanks for talking to us. >> good morning, soledad. >> senator colburn endorsing mitt romney. eric cantor is endorsing mitt romney. how critical do you think those endorsements are for your campaign? >> i wouldn't say devastating but not really surprising. so many of the leadership of the republican party, senator colburn i have great respect for. obviously majority leader kantor is my majority leader and great friend. but so many want this to be over with, want to get on to the safe

candidate. i, quite honestly, soledad, thank you that's a mistake. i think that someone like a newt gingrich, someone like a rick santorum who has strong conservative credentials and will stand very clearly and state those. in particular, in the case of former speaker newt gingrich. he doesn't just talk the talk. he has walked the walk. i mean, he was two heartbeats away from the president from four years, balanced the budget, had welfare reform, worked with president clinton. he's my man. >> i believe that when you say some want to get it over with or that he's a safe candidate, is safe candidate really mean el t electabelec electable candidate and that's what they want to coalesce behind? >> speaker gingrich has said many times on the campaign trail, do you want someone to just be there and manage the decay or do you want someone who is really going to make the changes necessary to get this country back as that shining city on the hill that ronald reagan so adequately described

years ago? that's the way i feel about it. i think that's the way a lot of georgia ans feel about it. i think that's the way a lot of american people, not just republicans but independents, as well, hopefully some conservative democrats feel that way. it's time for change. we don't want to just continuing managing the decay. >> isn't there some virtue in getting it over with in a sense that right now it seems like you guys are expending all of your firepower at each other instead of at the president? so when you say some people just want to get it over, isn't there a good reason for that? >> well, i'm not sure what the reason for that is except, as you say, get rid of end the personal attack which always occur in any primary. certainly hillary and barack obama when they were running the first time in that long drawnout democratic primary that didn't end until june, they had some pretty ugly things to say about each other and then dame together. the rny designed this. it wasn't certainly my input, but i think they had some rhyme or reason to wanting this thing to be competitive for a longer

period of time. and indeed they have gotten what they designed. >> congressman, this is abby liviing ston. some would say why not get out on a high. take your home state. why do you see as strategy to become the nominee? where do you move from there? >> i think newt has said very clearly that he feels that he has to win georgia. i agree. i think he does have to win georgia just as romney had to win michigan and santorum will have to win pennsylvania. and beyond that, and i clearly believe that newt, if you believe the latest polls, will win fairly handedly in georgia, although romney will certainly get some delegates and santorum, as well. but then we go out on the 10th of march, i believe, alabama and mississippi are holding their primaries. newt will do well in tennessee. he will do well in oklahoma. he will pick up -- >> he's not leading in the polls there. if this is a southern strategy and let's say he's leading by, what, 38 to romney's 24 points

in georgia, so let's -- let me give you that one. but in tennessee he's not winning the polls. santorum is ahead. in oklahoma it's santorum who is ahead in the polls. let's play a what if. what if he only wins georgia? as abby says, is that it? and you consider getting out? >> no, i don't think you should consider getting out if he wins only georgia because i say with alabama and mississippi coming up four days later he will win both of those states. and he will do well, as i say, oklahoma, j.c. watts is supporting the speaker. i realize the senator colburn is well respected. he's a good friend of mine. fellow physician. but you know, all of these endorsements across the board, and i think it's really the republican and independent voter who is going to make this decision. and so i don't think it means that much. inside baseball, we all understand it and all the pundits and everything. and you count these different high-profile republicans that re are endorsing one or the other.

i don't think john q. public, real conservative, who wants to see a distinct change from this failed presidency, they're not worried about who sent doorsing, they know in their heart who they want. >> they won't say i want the endorsement by a guy who is loved by the tea party house majority leader eric can'ter? >> a lot of people are loved by the tea party including eric cantor. i hope they love me. i'm not running, of course, but, you know, when you go across my district, cherokee county will be in my new district, the 11th, and cherokee is really ground zero for the movement. jenny beth martin is the director and someone that is a real good spokesperson for the organization. and what they care about, that's where newt has spent his time in the last week in the outpouring of support in cherokee and, indeed, in cobb county at cobb chamber speech the other day was

unbelievable. >> congressman phil gingrey of georgia. thank you for coming. appreciate it. it doesn't matter unless it matters. >> i just think that newt has real character flaws. i think that when you're talking about joe public, that that's what they see. >> it's a challenge. >> that's why -- >> i've got to toss it to a commercial break. going to continue to discuss this during our next hour and a half argo ahead on "starting point," rush limbaugh is apologizing for calling a woman a slut. eight sponsors he's lost. the couple who lost her brand new business in the tornado, inside a restaurant when the twister hit. they saved themselves and nine of their customers but lost absolutely everything else. they're going to join us and tell us their story. straight ahead, you're watching "starting point." back in a moment. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began.

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welcome back to "starting point." pressure building against conservative talk show host rush limbaugh. last week he said this about a georgetown law student who testified before congress about health insurance for female contraception. listen. >> what does it say about the college coed susan fluke who goes before congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex?

what does that make her? it makes her a slut, right? makes her a prostitute. she wants to be paid to have sex. >> i think what she said is she would like her contraception underwritten. but whatever. he kind of apologized this weekend saying this. in this instance, i chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. i did not mean a personal attack on ms. fluke. of course part of the reason he's saying that because here's the short list of advertisers who have ditched him. quicken loan, sleep number, the sleep train, legal zoom, citrix systems, go to meeting, carbonite, pro flowers. mr. limbaugh with his personal attacks on ms. fluke over stepped any reasonable bounds of decency. we hope that our action along with the advertisers who have already withdrawn their ads will ultimately contribute to a more civilized public discourse. think that happens? >> well, i mean, i would hope that limb ba would just get off

the air, quite frankly. i mean, this is not the first time that he's personally attacked people. it's really sad to see him use the kind of words, but if you go back and look at his -- hear his shows, he has attacked a lot of people. public people, okay, we'res used to it. but somebody who has come before a committee and said, listen, this is important to college students, here's my story, you know, contraceptives are really important. if you think about it it's an investment for americans because contraceptives are very expensive. and whether we like it or not, young people in college and everything are having those types of experiences. they need -- >> you don't want to say sex on tv? >> no. >> just like my mother. you know that kind of thing that we don't mean, that thing that goes by a name that we don't name and talk about in public discourse. you're not shocked. obviously rush limbaugh is a person constantly pushes the line. >> he's an entertainer

he gets paid $50 million a year. >> but it crosses a line. >> it does. but i think this is why so many people are disenfranchised today. these are personal attacks, and it goes way overboard. when you have a platform and so many people -- i think he is the top rated radio show in the country right now. you know, you have a platform. there's a certain amount of respect that you have to have. >> do you think if you're getting rid of advertisers that will make a difference? my sense was that the apology only followed when the advertisers said we're going to yank our support. >> no doubt that's a big factor. that's what these guys rely on for their livelihood. but there's another aspect, which is this is not where the republicans wanted this conversation to go. this started as an attack on president obama's policy regarding contraceptives. >> freedom of religion spin. >> ands that what they wanted it to be about, when it's about contraception, access to birth control, women's rights, and statements like rush limbaugh's is not where they want it to be. >> the phones have been ringing

off the hook, especially to women, democratic women, members of congress, by women who say had is such a personal attack. where do i send money to campaigns? how do i get more women candidates in who understand this issue of contraceptives? >> you have seen your campaign coffers grow? >> i've seen it. we are here in new york today to have a woman's forum on policy issues. it completely sold out. you know, we are turning away people. and the big reason is this has really energized women. and women across the board. i mean, republicans, independents, people who have never contributed to my campaign in orange county, it's a very conservative area, who -- >> and you say it moves the conversation, as we were talking to the house majority leader who only wanted to talk about the economy. >> democrats are seizing on this. president obama has now said he's going to speak at barnard's commencement.

still ahead on "starting point," they were right in the middle of that terrifying tornado, lived to talk about it, though. we'll have a couple's story of survival. look at that bus. it went right through the window of -- that's their restaurant they used to own. that's straight ahead. stay with us. s made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪

welcome back, everybody. fema officials are set to begin surveying tornado damage today. it's from that second wave of deadly tornadoes that struck across the midwest. take a look at some of the footage submitted by one of our viewers. this is an ef4 tornado striking henryville. look at that. this thing is just blowing right through this small town. it has a population of about 1900 people. it just shreds the entire town. the owners of a small restaurant survived because they were able to take shelter in the basement of their restaurant. a bus blew right through the window from a nearby high school and plowed in. you can see the damage there. the owners of the restaurant, sherman psycsykes and maureen

williams are joining us. i can't believe you guys survived. tell us a little bit about how much warning you got before you headed down to the basement. >> 14 minutes. >> that was it? >> the radio came on and said everybody in henryville have 14 minutes to take cover. and we started telling the people that was in there to get in the basement. >> so it was just after 3:00, right? >> right. >> so you gathered everybody up? >> and one man we just had to -- we got everybody up, got everybody in the basement. and that was it. >> i just cut you off there for a second. you were telling me one man you had to do what to? >> one man we had to take by the shoulders and just put him down in the basement. he just froze. he wouldn't move. he didn't know what to do. he just stood there. >> wow. he must be looking at the damage to your restaurant today. >> he was paralyzed like.

>> he must be saying thank you so much for saving my life. does he realize how close he came? >> yes. and the next day, he thanked us. his wife did too. but, you know, i just want to add one thing to this. this was a business. people here in town lost their homes. where they sleep and eat. we have a business. but they lost everything. >> that's very true. >> their home and the whole nine yards. that's bad. >> and some people lost their lives too. let me ask maureen a question. behind you, i see this big giant bus going through the window of your brand-new restaurant, which my understanding is you put $100,000 in to build it and you are not insured. what's the plan now? >> i don't know. i know we have to go forward. and wherever that road takes, we'll soon find out. but like he said, it's these people that have lost their

homes, you know. they have nothing. >> when you look at the damage to your town, henryville, which is, what, only about three square miles big and fewer than 2,000 people live there, the town is really -- how much would you estimate, you know, percentagewise has been lost >> well, i've only seen this area right here. but pictures i've seen on the television -- uh-oh. go ahead. >> lost it. i hear you still. can you hear me? it sounds like we just lost them. >> can you hear her, ma? >> sounds like they lost the feed. >> i'm here. >> ok. you're back? you know what? i think we're having a hard time with your audio, so we'll just wrap up the interview. i want to say thanks. i see the devastation behind you and how much you guys have lost, even though you're right, other people have lost their lives and others have lost everything they owned.

you guys are facing a big road ahead of you as well as the other folks in henryville, thank you for your time. and good luck to you. we'll keep in touch and see how the cleanup and the rebuilding goes. that's sherman sykes and maureen williams joining us there from henryville. >> soledad, may i say something here? this points to why we are a united states. we're going to have a fight now about how we try to rebuild what we're seeing going on here. >> that's true. >> we had a fight when there were the floods and the rains in the northeast. and some of the new tea party members of congress and stuff said, you know, no, we're not going to bail people out. well, there's a reason why we are a united states. to help each other. and this is going to be another issue that comes up. >> i love that couple are willing to see other people are suffering more than they are. >> so sad. coming up, we'll talk about president obama and benjamin netanyahu who are meeting to discuss iran. plus, 10 states up for grabs

on super tuesday. newt gingrich will join us. and "snl" gearing up, showcasing the romney boys. we're going to talk about what it's like to have your dad run for president. that's coming up. stay with us. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ the other office devices? they don't get me. they're all like, "hey, brother, doesn't it bother you that no one notices you?" and i'm like, "doesn't it bother you you're not reliable?" and they say, "shut up!" and i'm like, "you shut up." in business, it's all about reliability. 'cause these guys aren't just hitting "print."

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candidate. what's next if he doesn't win? and "snl" spoofing the romneys. >> well, we feel great. michigan was just another case of votering taking a look at mitt romney and saying, i guess. >> wait until you see how the romney sons were portrayed. we'll get abby to weigh in on that for us, how it feels to have your family on tv mocked. our "starting point" for monday, march 5, 2012. ♪ never, ever end ♪ how i'd love, love, love ♪ to dance with my father again ♪ >> oh, that's my love, luther vandross, dance with my father. everybody should buy it if they don't already own it. welcome back. we have congresswoman loretta sanchez. nice to have you. >> thank you. >> neftali ben david will talk politics with us. and abby livingston, the daughter of a former presidential candidate, jon huntsman. that's why we're going to talk

about the romney boys. first, though, president obama will be meeting with the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, a man who said he fears a second holocaust should iran get a nuclear weapon. today's sitdown comes one day after the president made a strongly worded speech before a pro israel group, and the president warned he would launch his own military strike if tehran tries to obtain a nuclear weapon. >> i have a policy to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. and as i have made clear time and again during the course of my presidency, i will not hesitate. >> arizona republican senator john mccain is joining us this morning. nice to see you. thank you for being with us. we should mention that you are a mitt romney supporter. let's talk about what we were just hearing from president obama talking about israel and iran. this will be the ninth meeting today when he sits down with the israeli prime minister. you have said that he has not been -- and some people have criticized the president as not being tough enough on iran, not protective enough of israel. do you think now he's taking a strong enough position for you? >> well, i think he gave a good

speech as he always does. but the fact is a couple of weeks ago he sent his national security adviser and the chairman of the joint chiefs of that of to israel to tell the israelis and then to the public not to do anything to prevent iran from their continued development of nuclear weapons, thereby weakening israel dramatically. the fact is that if we had a -- he's asking israel to rely on the united states for protection against a country that is dedicated to israel's extinction. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff called them a rational nation. the national security adviser says they haven't decided on whether to use a nuclear weapon or not, to develop one or not, when they are taking all the steps, including digging into mountains to protect those facilities. so his words are excellent. his deeds have been -- have served to weaken the position of

israel in the middle east. and the israelis -- now the president wants the israelis to be dependent on a decision made by the united states. >> what would you like to see? >> i would like the president of the united states to say, here are the following red lines. if the iranians cross those lines, then proper action will be taken. there's no separation between -- >> what would proper action be? >> tougher sanctions we need to examine in order to prevent israel from acquiring the nuclear weapon which they have dedicated to the stingz extinction of the state of israel. if there's a country in our hemisphere that was developing weapons that we couldn't counter over time and were dedicated to our destruction, i think that we would not rely on another country for our security. >> so are you saying that if those red lines were crossed, that would mean bombing iran? >> no. i'm saying that appropriate action needs to be taken to prevent as the president has said, but lays out no specific

blueprint for. meanwhile, sending messages of distance and weakness on the part of the israel is. >> there's indications now that iran is supporting the syrian forces in these brutal attacks that have happened. i think it's something like 62 people were just killed on monday alone. what do you think the course of action should be? we've talked in the past, you and i, about arming the opposition. no one really seems to be moving forward in that direction with any speed. what should happen right now? >> well, actually, the united states as usual is not moving forward. the saudis have said they want to provide weapons. they have said that other nations are considering those options including the arab league. as usual, the united states is leading from behind. we should have sanctuaries. we should have no fly and no travel zones. we went into bosnia and kosovo because massacres were taking place and ethnic cleansing. not because of threats to american national security. we need to do the same thing with syria. and yes, the iranians are there.

and they are there in some strength and providing arms and training and equipment, as are the russians. it's an unfair fight. >> let's talk about russia then. vladimir putin as you well know has been re-elected, something like 65% of the vote with 70% of the results in. opponents, american analysts, say the whole thing has been rigged and rife with fraud. what is your reaction to his re-election? >> my reaction is that what most of us have said, it was a fraud. putin's days are numbered much the arab spring has already come to russia and will continue. >> where do you see that? where do you see that? those protests didn't seem -- >> thousands and thousands of protesters. the blogs. the tweets. the new middle class in russia that won't stand for this any longer. >> you have a tweet that i assume is from you, that went like this. vlad, the arab spring is coming

to a neighborhood near you. so i guess i would say, first, do you tweet yourself? did you tweet that? >> sure. >> and vlad is vladimir putin, right? >> sure. and i tweeted this morning, dear vlad, surprise, surprise. you won. the russian people are crying too. >> does he tweet you back? >> he reacts. >> has he answered you back on it? >> he said that i was a bloodthirsty person who enjoyed people being killed like gadhafi and i had been kept in a pit for two years. that's his latest. >> there are some people who say it does not look like the arab spring is coming to russia in the same way we have seen it in other countries. what is your evidence that it is? >> in case you missed it, soledad, thousands and thousands and thousands of people demonstrating in subzero weather. there's no doubt that the arab spring is coming there. and by the way, it's going to come to china too. it's a new world we're living in now in the 21st century.

and there's no doubt in my mind that the people of russia are not going to stand forever for a corrupt government such as that of vladimir putin. and the reset obviously has not worked. look at their continued support of syria. unacceptable. let's talk about politics if we can. mitt romney pulling ahead in the polls. he's been endorsed by several. the fight seems like maybe it's coming to a bit of an end. someone said to me he thought it was all of this infighting in order to get to the nomination was a good thing. here's what he said. >> i feel good about this. and i know that people argue over whether, you know, having a tough primary is a good or bad thing. i just happen to believe it's good for our party, as you and i have talked about many times. >> and he and i have talked about it many times, but you and i have talked about it and you said it's not good for the party. what do you think the cost has been so far? >> all you have to do is look at

the latest polls, the unfavorables of all of our republican candidates, including mitt romney, who i'm a strong supporter of. the unfavorables are very high. the president has opened a gap between himself and the republicans, as he has watched by. it's been the tenor of this campaign, not the length of it. the personal attacks. all the kinds of things that superpacs are pouring money into negative ads have made the general election much more difficult than it otherwise would have been. >> do you think rush limbaugh adds to that? or do you think people say he's an entertainer, it's not a straight political forum? >> well, i'm sure he's an entertain entertainer, but his remarks are totally unacceptable, totally and completely unacceptable, and there's no place for it. >> before i let you go, i want to ask you about "game change" the movie that will air on saturday, and julianne moore plays sarah palin and ed harris

plays you. >> i'm not sure how much she knows about foreign policy. >> you can actually see russia from land here in alaska. >> oh, my god. what have we done? >> was it my fault i wasn't properly prepped? >> all right. well, i know that's not the first time you have seen the clips. what do you think of the movie? are you going to watch it? >> of course not. it's based on a book that was innuendo, unsu unsubstantiated remarks. it was a great piece for the re-election of president obama by authors who were obviously committed to it. and of course i wouldn't watch such a thing. i have better use for my time. >> tweeting, for example. senator mccain, always nice to chat with you. appreciate it. coming up, newt gingrich will join us. he says he has to win georgia tomorrow. but what happens if he wins only georgia? we'll talk about that. and then "parenthood" star

monica potter will join us and tell us why she wants to share our breakfast and how she juggles three kids. plus, gym class heroes, stereo hearts. i've never heard this. ♪ so listen close ♪ my thoughts in every note ♪ oh, oh ♪ come on ♪ oh! [ baby crying ] ♪ what started as a whisper ♪ every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing.

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welcome back to "starting point," everybody. let's get right to christine for the headlines. good morning. good morning. a developing story in wisconsin right now. where the search for a missing college student is about to resume. students from the university of wisconsin at stevens point joined police in the hunt for eric duffey. he was last seen celebrating his 21st birthday with friends at a local bar early saturday. in his last text message to a friend, duffey said he was going home. hasn't been seen since. gas prices rising for 27 days straight. the new national average for a gallon of gas stands at $3.77,

up a fraxz ction of the a cent the past 24 hours. aaa just posted we're getting uncomfortably close to the $4 mark. new developments on the korean peninsula where north korea's new leader is still talking tough. kim jong un visited the zone for the first time since he took control of the country last december. the communist nation is threatening a sacred war with south korea over its joint military drills with the united states. former first lady barbara bush doing a little campaigning for mitt romney in ohio. take a listen. >> hi, this is barbara bush calling for romney for president on behalf of our friend, mitt romney. we have known the romneys for years, and believe mitt is the best man to lead the country for the next four years, and ann will make a great first lady. >> the former first lady also recorded a robo call for romney

in vermont. did you catch "saturday night live's" of mitt and ann romney? it also featured bill hader doing a creepy imitation of shepherd smith. >> how did you feel about the michigan win? >> well, we feel great. michigan was just another case of voters taking a look at mitt romney and saying, uh, i guess. >> you keep making gaffs who paint you as a wealthy man who is out of touch with the working man. >> i'm not focusing on that. i'm focusing on the good stuff. and i'm happier than a poor man eating a can of beans from a dumpster. >> his sons also got spoofed, "snl" makes them seem like a big group of robots. >> and i'm tick tack. i'm the rebel because i eat sugar. >> i love sugar

i'm dying to hear what abby thinks about that. >> we are all wearing red today. i don't know what happened there. what was it like when your dad was running to be president? because that kind of spoofs and mocking and -- >> that was a great skit. you can't help but laugh. they had so much material to use this time around. but you can't take it too seriously when you put yourself in the public life like that. i think at the same time, children can really help. i'm surprised that the romney boys haven't been out there more, because i think they could help humanize their dad. i think he has had a tough time connecting. and they were out four years ago a lot more. i know they had their bus. so i'm just surprised they are not out more. >> when you were out there for your dad, would people coach you? were they worried you and your sisters might -- >> i'm sure they were. one of my sisters is very honest and blunt. but at the end of the day, i think you can learn a lot about someone by how their kids are and how they represent their day and how they were raised. you have to trust that. and i think governor romney

should trust that his sons would represent him well, and they should have them out more. because it's a family affair. >> were you guys spoofed a lot? was it weird to see your family out there? >> did it hurt ever? >> i think you have to get to the point where you laugh at it. unless it's a real personal attack. you know, there was an ad that came out on my little sister that was tough. but beyond that, you kind of rise above it and you know you're in that situation and you just have to have fun with it. >> i think it's also the age. for example, in the first clinton election, we didn't see chelsea out on the road. then the second one, we really didn't see her. but when her mom was running, we saw her out. i think if you're of the age -- >> well, your sisters are much littler. >> i think they would have a tougher time. they are 8 and 9. but i think as you get older, you have fun with it. >> that was very funny. i hope they don't hate that, but we're laughing. still ahead on "starting point," newt gingrich will join us. is he going to remain in the race beyond super tuesday if he

wins georgia but nothing else but georgia? we'll talk about that. plus, "parenthood" star monica potter will join us. she is taking on childhood hunger. you're watching "starting point." we're back in just a moment. i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. ashlee! ashlee! ashlee! ashlee! what were you looking for when you bought your edge? um, i was definitely looking for fuel economy. that's the whole reason we, we wanted to look at the ecoboost. can you talk a little bit about the style of the edge? um, well, i think it's very hip. i even have several guys were like "whoa, do have twenties on those". like, don't even know what that means, but i guess it's cool. (laugh)

♪ >> i was going to say, we have no love for you today. we get to do a musical play list. that was congressman sanchez's play list, jason derulo, "it girl." welcome. we're going to introduce you this morning to monica potter, who plays the mom on "parenthood." she juggles a lot of stuff both in real life but also on the show. listen. >> ok. special day. guess what? we're all going to eat together. you, me, haddy and max. my three special kids on this special, special day. ok? >> i'm sorry. that's jen. i have to go to a student council meeting. don't cry. please don't cry. >> bye, honey. >> dad's gone. can i just go eat in front of the tv? >> sure. go ahead. >> i'm just going to eat in front of the tv. >> ok.

we're going to have some pancakes. i'm just going to get fatter and fatter. monica potter is now teaming up with kelloggs to combat childhood hunger. it's our cause celeb segment where we tell you about issues and how you can help as well. >> nice to meet you. >> that show is so realistic. >> especially that scene. i haven't seen that episode yet. i'm a little behind. but that is really true to life, as to what i do in the mornings as well. everybody sit down and eat together. or else. and they are just like, we have to go. >> they have stuff to do. >> yeah. but that was kind of funny. >> why is breakfast your focus now? some of the statistics about kids in poverty, 16.2 million kids who struggle with hunger. >> which is crazy in our country. i actually had no idea when i signed on to do this that one in five kids go to school every day hungry. and i just -- i don't know how that's possible. >> the implications obviously

are huge. if you're hungry, you can't focus. >> yeah, academicalrally at rea hard, and they can't have fun. i feel like kids need to focus on other things, and that should be a given that they eat. >> i was surprised at the number of kids who are eligible for breakfast at school because they are embarrassed. and i know a couple of kids like this, they are embarrassed so they won't take it. >> and they make you embarrassed about it. they call out two lines. this is the food line. this is the whatever line. and kids get -- i mean, really, it hampers them. >> which is why kelloggs wants to make it to where everyone can have breakfast. it's not just about the kids that are maybe impoverished that don't have the opportunity to eat in the morning. so they are giving breakfast to everyone. >> and breakfast is important because if i feed my kid but you don't, because you don't have the means and they are in the classroom together, my kid is going to make sure your kid is

not learning because he's going to be agitated, unfocused. so we really need to have kids concentrating on the work going on. >> especially at that age. your mind is growing. and i feel like you need to have the proper nutrition in the morning. >> if i skip breakfast, i'm cranky, irritable. you know, all three of my kids i try to make sure that they have a breakfast, even my oldest who is in college. so i'm like, did you eat this morning? >> yes, mother, i ate. >> so what kelloggs is doing is match breakfast. >> it's called share your breakfast. it's national breakfast week this week. and it's called share your breakfast. if you go on facebook.com/ing n ones kell -- facebook.com/kelloggs, you share whatever your having, they'll match a breakfast for a

breakfast. so no matter what. i think it's up to 1 million breakfasts, which is fantastic. >> but is it a long-term solution? is this something they are doing on a temporary basis or is there more than we need to do on an ongoing basis? >> i think we all need to step up and make sure there is anon going thing. >> it's terrible in this country. we struggle with obesity on one hand and have millions of children that also -- >> but obesity, kids are malnourished. which is a whole other -- >> we are lucky at home. we have a guy who is feeding kids. he has a restaurant and has been feeds kids for like 15 years now, a meal every night to the motel kids we have in anaheim and stuff. >> really? >> yeah. he's just amazing. and it's really brought the community together to donate. >> i think it's a really community focus thing. thank you for coming and talking to us. >> i get to go down to orlando where this has been done and

tested and it worked really well. thanks for having me. >> love your show. >> thank you. >> and thanks for wearing blue. >> you didn't get the red memo? >> no. >> that's monica potter. still ahead on "starting point," we'll talk to newt gingrich. what's he going to do to stay in the race beyond just tomorrow? and then this story. girl scouts robbed. yes, robbed, monica, robbed. >> i have a girl scout, oh, no. >> but they don't back down. instead, they fight the guys. we're back in a moment on "starting point."

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♪ where were they going without ever knowing the way ♪ >> that's "the wave" by fastball. neftali's pick. finally, i was worried about you for a minute. 10 states are up for grabs tomorrow on super tuesday. newt gingrich is looking to jump-start his campaign with a win in georgia, a state he represented for more than 20 years. there are 419 total delegates up for grabs tomorrow, and 76 of them are in georgia. more than any other super tuesday state. while the polls show that gingrich is leading his old stomping grounds, he has also failed to secure some high

profile endorsements. in the last hour, i talked to one high profile endorser, house majority leader eric cantor, republican from virginia, and he said he is backing mitt romney instead of newt gingrich. >> mitt romney is really the only man in the race who has a plan, a bold pro growth plan, to create jobs and get this economy back on track. and this is a central issue for this election. >> former speaker of the house newt gingrich is joining our panel this morning. nice to see you, sir. thank you for talking with us. you just heard eric cantor saying he's going to support mitt romney. how much does it hurt your campaign on to have a guy who is a tea party favorite, a southerner, support the other guy? >> well, we would all like to have endorsements. but the fact is romney is the washington establishment candidate. it's true. if you look at where does his money come from, where are most of the lobbyists lined up. so i think he goes around the country and he's legitimately collected most of the insiders. i like eric cantor.

but he is sort of quint essenti quint part of the same group. the "wall street journal" said i had the bold plan for economic growth and romney's plan was so weak or timid was the word they used that it could have been barack obama's. >> i think that was for his first plan, not his second -- you're right for the first 59-point plan. the second plan, i don't think they said that. >> not for plan two, which was after plan one. and plan three will come out pretty soon. >> just trying to be clear. >> ok. no, you're doing fine. i'm just suggesting to you that -- i guess the second plan was the baseball stadium plan. where he had 62,000 or 63,000 empty seats. i think that i have run a populist campaign. we have about 173,000 donors. 95% of them less than $250. i have run a campaign that is

focused on things like getting gasoline prices down to $2.50 or less a gallon, creating an american energy plan so that no future president would ever bow to a saudi king, and i think that i represent very, very dramatic change for washington. so i think it's just a little bit difficult -- go ahead. >> forgive me. i was going to ask you a little bit more about your southern strategy. because you have said, and i believe it was on cnn, that you have to win georgia to be credible. let's say hypothetically -- >> yes, absolutely. >> if you don't win georgia, you drop out. let's say. you're ahead by a lot. so that's fair to say? >> yeah. it's pretty safe this morning to say that i'm willing to gamble on georgia. >> ok. >> the last poll last night -- >> i'm starting slowly. i like to build on my conversation. >> you're doing good. >> thank you. i appreciate that. let's say you do win georgia, which all the polls are saying you will, but you don't win other southern states super tuesday. you don't win tennessee or oklahoma.

what happens there, if your super tuesday southern strategy begins and ends with georgia? >> well, i think it puts me in a more difficult position. but on the other hand, next week we have mississippi and alabama and kansas, and i think i'll win at least two out of three. the latest poll in tennessee shows a 17-point jump. shows me very competitive -- excuse me -- in tennessee. and the fact is we'll be today in the tricities and then down in knoxville and in chattanooga. jc watts and herman cain and my daughter jackie are all three campaigning in oklahoma today. and i think we'll be very competitive in both of those states. and our hope is to also pick up some delegates in ohio and possibly some in idaho. so i think this will -- today is going to be a mixed bag, and i think the race will go on -- there won't be any decisive winner today. >> mr. speaker, this is neftali ben david with the "wall street

journal." even if you win georgia, mississippi, alabama, you know, you won south carolina, isn't it a southern strategy an inherently limited one? >> well, but it's the beginning of a base. and i think that that's the first thing. twice in this race i have been the front-runner. one time by as much as 21 points according to rasmussen. and i think that happened because i talked about big solutions and big ideas, and i'm going to continue to do that. i think we need to recognize we are in serious trouble as a country. we don't just need somebody who can raise a lot of money off wall street and run negative ads. we need somebody who actually has a very large proposal that will fundamentally get us back moving in the right direction. and i think that's a direction that will make the washington establishment inherently uncomfortable. i think it's very difficult to get the scale of change we need in a way that the washington establishment and either party feels comfortable with. >> rick santorum has said, you know, doing the math, if you would go ahead and get out of the race, he could beat mitt

romney. you would add your votes and his votes. here's what he said, and we'll talk about it on the other side. >> clearly, if you continue to combine the votes that congressman gingrich and i get, you know, we are doing pretty well. in michigan, we would have won easily, had those two votes been combined. but, you know, that's a process. i think newt's got to figure out, you know, where he goes after georgia. >> sounds like he is sort of saying, you know, maybe take one for the team, mr. speaker. >> i know. and i suggested that about a month ago, and rick said he didn't think so. he surged after that. so i'm taking his advice. i think a month ago he had that opportunity and decided to keep campaigning. i think that there are real differences between the two of us. he voted against national right to work. he voted for the unions on davis bacon. he voted for the unions to organize fedex. and in what was a very difficult fight in tennessee. so i think we'll continue to

campaign. and i have great respect for senator santorum. but i think that i represent much larger change, a much greater willingness to take on the system. as he pointed out in our last debate, he did a lot of things that he actually doesn't agree with because he was a team player. i haven't done that. i have actually had a tradition of being very clear about where i stand, even if it means on occasion fighting with the republican president. but i didn't go -- >> or fighting with your fellow republicans sometimes. abby has a question for you. >> speaker gingrich, i'm abby livingston, jon huntsman's daughter. i know you're hoping it goes to a brokered convention. do you really think this is a healthy thing for the party? what do you see as a positive in a brokered convention? >> i don't know if that it goes to a brokered convention. i think somebody could break loose sometime in april or may, and you can see a delegate migration to one person. i think the challenge is that governor romney has had a huge amount of money, most from wall street and a great deal from companies that were bailed out

by the taxpayer. but he has used that money very effectively first against me and then against santorum. but he can't close the deal. and he can't close the deal in part because people inherently don't trust what he's saying and think that he isn't always very candid with them. and sometimes frankly isn't straight. so you have this challenge that you have really right now a three-way race with ron paul representing a base of protest that's very real, but he's the least likely. i think you have a three-way race that isn't clear how it's going to work out. i suspect in april or may, you'll begin to see some clarity. and each of us has our own reason for thinking it will be us. but it's not at all clear to me right now that romney can get above a certain ceiling. and the question is whether or not ultimately his money starts to run out. it's very clear in any kind of relatively evenly financed campaign romney would not win. >> newt gingrich is a former house speaker and we'll see how it goes on super tuesday.

nice to see you, sir. we appreciate your time this morning. >> thank you. other stories making news this morning, christine has a look at those. >> good morning, soledad. fema this morning beginning to assess the damage in the tornado zone. the death toll stands at 39 after 14-month-old angel babcock was taken off life support. the indiana toddler briefly survived a tornado that wiped out her entire family. state police in indiana say the destruction is so extensive it's anyone's guess how many homes have been lost. in kentucky, 21 tornadoes hit. the town of west liberty was one of the state's hardest-hit areas by a storm that was a mile wide. this morning, mother nature is adding insult to injury with several inches of snow on the ground. advertisers leaving rush limbaugh's radio show. the conservative host losing eight sponsors after calling georgetown law student sandra fluke a slut and a prostitute for her views on insurance contraception coverage.

rush issued an apology saying in part, my choice of words were not the best and in an attempt to be humorous i created a national stir. i sin hereleerer i sincerely ap. girl scouts were selling cookies when a man grabbed their cash box and hopped into a get away car. two scouts caught up with the car. one of them punched the thief in the face. the other tried to stop the driver. but the bandits got away. now the girls are out$200. and as part of the girl scout rules they are financially responsible for any of those losses. and speaking of financially responsible, soledad, i have been investigating what girl scouts really stand for in today's "smart is the new rich." turns out girl scouts aren't anything that you've been hearing lately about them. they are really capitalists. the girl scouts turn 100 this year. they are redesigning their badges. they have 13 badges for money smarts. amelia, ava, and emily are

learning about saving, and they are not saving for toys. >> college. >> it costs a lot of money. >> they are saving for college. they are like 7. these girls have on average 2 $22 9 00 in debt when they graduate. also learning about compound interest, taxes, mortgages. 12-year-old gabby is about to find out, soledad, whether she can afford her dream home. >> if you take your $2.5 million house that you want, and you put 20% down, that means you're going for a $2 million loan. >> i really couldn't afford it. it was a bit too much money. >> soledad, i love that this girl picked a $2.5 million house. >> my kids do the same thing. they are like i like this from "the new york times" magazine. it's $26 million. can i afford that? >> well, we spent some time with the girl scouts and learned nothing about communism, lesbianism, or any of the other things that -- >> compound interest. >> we learned only about finance. there you go.

>> christine, thank you. got to take a short break. we're back right after this. stay with us. americans are always ready to work hard for a better future. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪

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welcome back, everybody. breaking news to get to. it looks like there has been an earthquake, a small earthquake, in san francisco area. the epicenter apparently of about one mile outside of el

cerito. it happened around 5:33 a.m. so roughly 15 minutes ago. we'll update you as we get more information. but we're told it's roughly a 4.0 earthquake based just outside of el cerito in california's north bay. a lot of notice on twitter that it happened before we were hearing it now to theresa costello, today is the day she kicks off her new show. what's coming up? >> thanks, soledad. i appreciate it. my first day on my new show, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. thank you for joining me ahead of time. just ahead, 10 states are struggling to recover from the tornadoes. one governor is turning down outside help. and then to the tiny town of curbing, oklahoma, where america's pipeline intersect. ali velshi will join us live

from there. and we'll have the latest on the earthquake in just about 12 minutes. >> thank you, carol, and congratulations again. more with "starting point" coming up in just a moment. stay with us.

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♪ when i sing along with you ♪ everything forever >> you have to start with the foo fighters. i like that. that's "everlong." let's talk politics if we can before we run out of time this morning. it's been interesting to hear all of the candidates and their representatives weigh in this morning. mitt romney pulling ahead of the pack for first time since november in the national polls. i think the conversation about the brokered convention is beginning to disappear. >> i think people are really looking to super tuesday because it's the states that it seems like romney will probably win. virginia, not that many people on the ballot, massachusetts where he was the governor. but there's ohio, tennessee, oklahoma. if somebody, whether it's santorum or gingrich, can make a real push there, that's sort of

the last chance to derail this romney train. >> right now in the polling, it looks like santorum is leading in tennessee and oklahoma and a tight battle in ohio, right? >> yeah. >> they keep talking about it, but i do think ohio is the one state to watch because it shows it's a purple state. it shows who can really carry it in the general election. if santorum can take that, it gives him leg to keep going. >> to go into what, though? if you take ohio, what else does that -- >> that's a good question. but it weakens romney more than it strengthens santorum. here you have a front-runner who can't close the deal on all these major states. and ohio is a very central, but on the other hand, the polls are closing there much as they did in michigan. and i do think romney has a fairly decent shot if he does win ohio then in a pretty good place. >> think you'll see him taking ohio. ohio is an incredibly interesting place. i was there last monday when the shootings were going on in cleveland. and i was around campaigning. you've got some really interesting races going on, both for republicans and democrats in the primaries.

and, you know, it's a very depressed, very, very depressed area. working class people. they are really a bellwether for what's going on. >> do you think the infighting has hurt? >> i think it has. >> absolutely. >> there's a lot of comparison with hillary and obama but i think it's different. i think there was real enthusiasm for both candidates there. >> and their negative numbers never went below 70, right? and i think if you look at mitt romney, his unfavorables are down to 60. >> and i think everybody was tired of bush. everybody was tired of bush. you can't say the same thing about obama. >> says the democratic congresswoman. >> no, really. >> no, it's true. you can't say the same thing about obama. not everybody is tired of obama. obama's got his base. he is coming back. he is flourishing. with bush, it was a dead thing. it was over. >> i will capitulated this to you, the lines are starting to

go the right way. >> i think people are really sick of the negative. that's also why the party needs to come together and form a positive message where people can be attracted to it. and they need to start that now. the longer this goes on, the more it hurts the party. >> it's not just about what states they win. romney needs to prove he can win among lower income, less educated voters. santorum needs to prove he can win among better educated, wealthier voters. >> by the way, all the exit polls don't show that. >> exactly. and i think that's the problem. the end point is up next, which is when you give us your "news final" thougfina final final thoughts. that's straight ahead. stay with us. fancy feast. the best ingredient is love. ♪ what started as a whisper

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>> i believe obama and our nation is going to be very strong in supporting israel as we move forward against what is really a danger, iran. i believe that the elections -- tuesday is going to be interesting. ohio is going to be interesting. i'm more interested in what's going on in the senate, the congressional races. people aren't watching that. and i'd like to say that, again, when you see what's happened with these tornadoes, there's going to be some fights in the house about, you know, how united we are in helping our fellow neighbor. >> what's your point this morning? >> well, we saw eric cantor try to unify the party. we saw newt gingrich talk about why the party isn't unified. and i think tomorrow on super tuesday we're going to see which one of those narratives prevails. that's going to be very important going forward. >> abby, final word. >> i think we have seen so much negativity, and people are not happy about that. what inspired me today is the true american heroes with these tornadoes. they are the ones that are -- really the heroes of america and people that inspie