>> how happy is he? how happy is his family? back with us right now, our expert cnn team. john, this is a very significant night for rick santorum. just when so many of the so-called experts were saying romney had it all but done, not is fast. >> could romney lock it up or another revival for newt gingrich. he loses in the two south states. he says he's staying in. now the questions are can santorum find a path to challenge romney? it would be easier if gingrich gets out. the math, the rules, the history.

everything tells you it's still romney over the long hall into may and june. but you know what? our politics have been outside the rules. we elected our first african-american president. the tea party movement came out of nowhere. so let's watch. santorum's going to puerto rico. then we have a big primary in illinois. back to the midwest where if you look at the demographics, should be a romney state. >> puerto rico is this coming sunday. >> huge. >> and then illinois is a week from now on tuesday. >> i think i need to go to cover it. >> in fairness to mitt romney, he's still away head in the delegate count. he's got more than all of the other candidates combined so far. >> and this isn't the way they wanted it to be right now. if they do go across the finish line, they're going to crawl across the finish line. let me read you something peter hamby wrote -- political reporter peter hamby. from a senior adviser to newt gingrich floated this. get this.

newt gingrich and rick santorum would be a powerful team against barack obama. now, do i believe for a minute that's going to happen? no. but interesting. >> if senator santorum wins he's going to pick the guy who said he's not ready for primetime and nobody in congress? uh-huh. >> right. but this comes from a gingrich version because they're looking for alliances right now. they need some friends. >> what i like to do to scare my friends is refer to president gingrich and vice president palin. it scares them. >> santorum is the only one of these republican candidates that has won in virtually every major part of the country. >> he has, but he won non-binding states that didn't have delegates. about five weeks ago, no delegates up that night. it gave him the post and the good press to come out and do as well as he's done now. but rick santorum, one thing republicans have got to look to rick santorum and say can you solve this problem? is his problem with women.

if he is to stand for republicans, he's going to have to address that. that gender gap is big. >> didn't he do well with married women in alabama? >> he did well with women women. not just married. singles alike. i'm talking about the general election. this is an issue rick santorum has got to prove -- >> how does he do that with the women voters? women ushlgly vote in these national elections than men. >> i think rick santorum has a problem because of the issue of contraception even though he's kind of back tracked a bit on that. i think mitt romney would have an easier time turning around a gender gap which is now a gender gulch. he does well with married women and with suburban republican women. so i think mitt romney would have a much easier time. >> it would help governor romney is there was public polling that showed romney competitive against obama and santorum tanking against obama.

the problem for romney is the polls don't show that right now. president obama has come down a bit in all the polls. forget the republican candidates, just because of questions about the economy. he has come down some. santorum and romney equal in the national polls flight. romney has to get back to the electability. >> if you look at all the polls and john knows this well. the republicans by and large think that romney is much more electable in a general election. they also think that santorum is much more conservative. a lot of times they go with their heart instead of their electability brain. >> and i think it's one of the reasons this race keeps going on. republicans are shopping. they're not sure. they're changing their minds. so they're open to different ideas. over the months it's going to evolve. >> at some point you have to stop shopping. i never thought i would say that, but at some point. >> it does feel like republicans are not putting our best foot forward. the advantage we have is neither is the other party. the other party also has a weak

foot going forward. that may be the shape of the 2012 election. >> for the obama campaign, they focused almost exclusively only on mitt romney. they assumed from day one it was his. they're working on the assumption it's still his. is that a smart strategy on the obama campaign? should they look at the possibility it might not be mitt romney? >> there have been a day or two where they focused on gingrich when he had a surge. a little bit on senator santorum. they still believe, and there's every reason for them to believe, it will be governor romney. they believe unlike their protracted democratic primary four years ago which helped the democrats -- at least there wasn't any blood or deep wounds, this is causing fissures in the republican party. we don't know if that's true. you can look at polling and evidence. we know they're going to vote republican. no matter who the nominee is. alabama and mississippi. >> realistically now, gloria, i think we can assume what happened four years ago on the democratic side with hillary

clinton and barack obama going all the way through mid-june, they were waiting for primaries and caucuses in june. finally almost at the very end. barack obama won. hillary clinton conceded. is that likely to happen this time? >> it could. at least for a couple more months. it really seems to me that this is going to continue. it's the deja vu here. and now i'm starting to think about if you release your delegates, it doesn't mean your delegates have to go for the person you necessarily endorse. so suddenly i'm getting back in that cycle that i never thought i'd revisit. >> very important people. >> the delegate counters are important. every time i'm reminded -- when i was the junior white house correspondent. he would sing. i get knocked down, but i get up again. it was a way to lose energy at the white house. every time romney has been knocked down, he has rallied.

>> he sings too. >> he faces a huge challenge. >> right. >> he faces a huge challenge. but they have the best money, they have the best organization. the question is do they have the best candidate? we're about to find that out. >> do they? >> the calendar is going to benefit mitt romney is bit. you're shifting to northeastern states. also goes into a lull. you don't have a big multi-state night until april. you've got a couple two-state primaries. there are several one-state primaries coming up. >> the three biggest states are yet to speak out on this front. texas, california, and new york. who's better positioned in those three -- where most of the delegates are. those are the big prizes right there. new york, california, texas. who wins? >> well, new york, i believe is in april. california in may. texas in june. i'll answer that question depending on the dynamic between now and then. >> but you also have the sort of

yankee primaries on the 24th which is also pennsylvania, new york, connecticut, delaware. and so, you know, one might think rick santorum might be positioned well and mitt romney would be positioned well. and not so much newt gingrich. >> given the proportional rules, you have winner take all when you get to new jersey and california. if gingrich stays in, it's very hard. you can see him closing -- santorum closing the gap. hard to catch governor romney. speaker gingrich is a proud man. he sees santorum and romney and says why not stay in longer. i believe a lot of con sefbtives are going to be pressuring -- saying mr. speaker, nice run. you had your chance in the south. >> we'll see if the money dries up for newt gingrich right now. because that'll be a huge factor. not necessarily the super pac money but the day-to-day money which his campaign needs. thanks very much. when we come back, one of rick santorum's top men on why his candidate has earned a one-on-one race with mitt

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senator santorum is at the desperate end of his campaign and is trying in some way to boost his prospects. frankly, misrepresenting the

truth is not a good way of doing that. >> some harsh words from mitt romney. my interview with him earlier. words which proved to be less than rophetic. thanks very much for coming in. what's your response to governor romney, only a few hours ago he said that rick santorum in his words was at the desperate end of his campaign. >> evidently the voters in mississippi and in alabama somehow didn't get that memo from the governor and decided to speak their own mind. and these are pretty remarkable wins. i don't think anybody predicted it. especially with the amount of money that governor romney spent which was probably tenfold what we spent. this is a pretty remarkable american story. somebody going out there, rick santorum just speaking from their heart and people listening and it's resonating and they're vote for for him. >> what was your realistic expectation a few hours ago before the polls closed in mississippi and alabama?

>> well, we actually felt really good about alabama. we were seeing a lot of energy there. a lot of web traffic. those type of things. we had heard that governor romney had the entire establishment behind him in mississippi and that they could deliver a win for him. and frankly, this is also newt gingrich's back yard for all practical purposes. he was expected to do extremely well. we were surprised winning both states. gratified. just as surprised as we were on saturday when not only did we win kansas, we got more votes than all the other candidates combined. >> your candidate has resisted the urge to ask speaker gingrich to step aside. is it time, do you believe, for gingrich to move on? >> i would answer that a bit differently. i think it's time that conservative and tea party supporters understand they've got to rally behind one candidate. and that's how you stop a moderate like mitt romney from ever getting the nomination.

if we can get all those votes behind one candidate, we'll win in all these big states coming up that are going to be very, very important. >> so does that mean you would obviously like newt gingrich to step aside so that it would be effectively a one-on-one race between rick santorum and mitt romney. >> well, yeah, no. i think we've earned a one on one with mitt romney. we saw that tonight with the wins. last week with the wins where nobody expected us to. i think actually the american people deserve that too. where it's a consistent, clear decision of whether you want to vote for a moderate, mitt romney, or a conservative rick santorum. >> let's look ahead quickly to puerto rico which is sunday and illinois which is a week from today, next tuesday. what's your assessment? >> you know, again, i think they're a little bit hard. illinois is someplace i think will be close. there was a poll out by the

"chicago tribune" that shows governor romney about four points ahead. it's a state where he's already spending a million dollars on tv and we'll have a little bit of catch-up. but then we get to go to a lot of states that we feel very good about. wisconsin, louisiana. we haven't even gone to pennsylvania, rick santorum's home state which today there was a poll released that showed him winning by 18 points. there's a lot of big states ahead. many of them favorable to rick santorum. >> having said all that, as far as delegates, by our cnn estimate you're way behind. mitt romney as of right now has twice as many delegates on the road to 1,444, than you do. >> well, the problem that mitt romney has and everybody has is right now it doesn't look like anybody's going to easily get to the amount that you need before getting to a convention. that works very much in our favor, we believe, because there's uncommitted delegates who we believe will ultimate come with rick santorum.

plus you have some big states like texas that are winner take all states that can shift what that count is yet. we think time is on our side. we think that ultimately rick santorum can get to the magic number before the convention. we also think we have a big advantage going into the convention with all the santorum momentum we have going on. >> so you basically think that mitt romney was wrong when he told me today that santorum is at the desperate end of his campaign. you obviously disagree. >> well, yeah, no. if you look at their math figures, they're counting a lot of votes they don't have right now. second of all, there's only been roughly a third of the delegates even voted on. so i think, frankly, there's probably a lot of states that are starting to get very offended by governor romney saying that those states shouldn't even have a chance to vote. and i'm hoping people in illinois, louisiana, and wisconsin are some of those

states who say this is arrogant and we're not going to have the establishment and mitt romney tell us how to vote. >> thanks very much for coming in. >> thank you very much. i really appreciated being here. newt gingrich says he's going all the way and will compete for the nomination no matter what despite his disappointing finish in alabama and mississippi. he also took a shot at mitt romney. listen to this. >> one of the things tonight proved is that the elite media's effort to convince the nation that mitt romney is inevitable just collapsed. if you're the front runner and you keep coming in third, you're not much of a front runner. >> knocking romney on what turned out to be a bad night for newt gingrich himself. joining us now, two of newt gingrich's staunch and supporters. they happen to be his daughters. jackie gingrich kushman. thanks very much for coming in. how disappointed is your dad

that he didn't win both of these southern states? >> well, you know, he's not disappointed at all. he's very happy to be here in alabama and mississippi. it was a photo finish. it was not a very big gap at all. so i think of course he would have liked to have won. the reality is he's going to walk away from tonight with more delegates that he had before tonight. i think he's got a great point. for months we have been hearing that mitt romney is the inevitable candidate. clearly he is not inevitable because it hasn't happened yet. so we're really focusing on the race for the long haul. the delegates needed to secure the nomination. and the reality is nobody is there yet. and we're going all the way to tampa. >> so kathy, the notion of him dropping out even though he didn't win both of these states, that notion we should forget about because he came close, but it wasn't close enough? >> well, we can't listen to what

the elite media says about our father dropping out. he's good for his word. and as you've heard him say, this is going to be a dialogue with the american people. and he's the one that can actually beat barack obama. the president is actually already responding to his messaging about $2.50 a gallon gasoline. there were five different instances this week where the president or white house was responding, commenting, making press comments. there's a reason for that. our father has already taken the dialogue to president barack obama. he's going to be the best to debate him and lead the conservative republicans through this race. so we're in this for the long haul with our father. we think he's going to take it to tampa and beyond. >> kathy, you have to admit that rick santorum really has a lot of that political momentum right now, much more than your dad. >> well, if you look at senator santorum, obviously he did very

well tonight in alabama and mississippi. dad congratulated him on his good night. i'd like to do the same thing, congratulate him on his good night. part of what's going to happen during this process, people are going to get to know santorum and his report better and better. in the end, what they're going to find it is under my dad's leadership as speaker, the deficit went down $20 million. when santorum was in, they increased the deficit. that's a huge difference. i think when you look at their records and even governor romney said this week that senator santorum wasn't as fiscally conservative as he was. i'm not going to compare the two, but i think as time goes on, the voters will go out and look at their records and realize that my father who balanced the budget for four years, who reformed welfare as speaker, who cut taxes and spending, he stood up and

governed with president clinton, that's he's the only to step up and get it done. >> let me interrupt for a second. we're almost out of time. the notion he's only won two states out of what? 20 contests so far, what does that say? >> well, the reality is even as we get through this process, louisiana is where the halfway point of this football game if you want to use an analogy that the deep south does resonate with. there are a lot of delegates yet to be determined. the inevitable candidate definitely is no longer inevitable. and i think our father is going to continue the pace and the duration is going to be well for him over the duration of this race. he's going to continue to do better and better and the people will get to know his political perspectives, his solutions for america, and if you need more information go to newt.org. there is plenty of information there for all of your viewers. >> thanks so much for joining

us. i'm sure we'll continue this conversation now we know your dad is staying in the race. thanks very much. and coming up, a look at the next primary contest. sunday's vote. that's coming up in puerto rico. this is delicious okay... is this where we're at now? we just eat whatever tastes good? like these sweet honey clusters... actually there's a half a day's worth of fiber in every ... why stop at cereal? bring on the pork chops and the hot fudge. fantastic. are you done sweetie? yea [ male announcer ] fiber one.

we stood with a guy that comes from the grandson of a coal miner of western pennsylvania. but you knew, shared your values and was going to go out and work for you to make sure that this country was free and safe and prosperous based on believing in free people and free markets and free economy. and of course the integrity of the family and the faith in our lives. >> the next stop on the republican primary trail is puerto rico on sunday. that state's governor is luis fortunio. he has endorsed mitt romney. thanks for joining us. looks like it's shaping up to be a good night for rick santorum not necessarily your guy mitt romney. what's your reaction so far?

>> let me tell you. i am convinced that governor romney will continue to deliver across the country. not just in puerto rico but the following states. i'm convinced that down here we're going to do our job correctly. i will help him carry the state. >> do you think he's going to win puerto rico decisively? >> let me tell you. it's impossible to tell at this moment. i will do everything i can. there's already excitement among the voters that not just governor romney but the other candidates are coming down. and i expect a nice turnout. i will do my best so he can deliver this message in the same fashion he has done so in the rest of the country. >> i know there's some economic hardship in puerto rico right now. what are the biggest issues that republican voters are concerned about right now? >> well, number one, we're looking for a president who will

commit to a stronger national security for the caribbean border as we call it ourselves. governor romney has committed to do exactly that. it is a national security issue that affects not just residents in puerto rico but everyone in the eastern seaboard as well. and as you mentioned we have had a long recession. we're coming out of that. we're turning a corner because of the policies we've implemented. similar policies to governor romney having in his campaign. making sure we lower taxes and that actually we make sure that businesses can create jobs in better business environment. and he has committed to do that across the country including puerto rico. >> how worried are you that all republican candidates for that matter including the man you support, governor romney, have imposed immigration reform allowing children of illegal

immigrants to get benefits from the dream act so they can go to college and stay in the united states even though they may be illegal immigrants they've lived their whole lives virtually in the united states. how big of a problem is that for puerto rico voters? >> as you know, we are american citizens. so it is not going to be such a big issue. i think it's an issue we need to address as a nation. certainly i'm hopeful that in the general campaign, it will be addressed appropriately. >> there's been some speculation that you, governor, potentially -- you're very popular. you could be a vice presidential running mate for mitt romney or maybe even for rick santorum. he said nice things about you not that long ago. what do you think about that? >> let me tell you. i believe that the republican party has done a good job in reaching out to the hispanic community. however, we need to do more. but it is not about the faces that actually are going to be

seen in our ticket in november. it's about the values that will be behind those faces. and the hispanic community share many values with the republican party. we just have to stress those regardless of which faces will appear on our ticket. >> you like the idea, though, of potentially being on the republican party presidential/vice presidential ticket? >> i love my job. really, i want to stay here if i can. i enjoy what i'm doing. i'm looking forward to another four years of continuing to turn a corner here and make our economy growth. i want to work with a president that will be working hand in hand with us to guarantee that that security that we need in the region and will assist us in creating jobs. >> very diplomatic answer. good politician. governor fortuno, i love puerto rico. stay with us. we'll be talking down the road. appreciate you joining us. >> my pleasure again.

you're welcome any time. rick santorum certainly has the momentum right now as the candidates get ready for next week's showdown in illinois. pat brady is the chairman of that state's republican party. pat brady is joining us now. a good night for santorum. not such a good night for mitt romney. you're a romney supporter. what does he need to do in these next days. next tuesday is the primary in illinois. what does he need to do to make sure he wins in illinois? >> i think he'll do very well in illinois. he didn't have a terrible night. he picked up a third of the delegates. he's got more delegates than the rest of them combined. it wasn't a bad night. he'll do well in illinois. he'll run as a fiscal conservative and do like mark did. he'll win big here. >> the most recent poll i saw there, this was before tonight, had mitt romney at 35%, santorum at 31%. is that too close for comfort right now?

>> you got to remember. this is a delegate hunt right now. senator santorum's not on the ballot in four of the congressional districts. he's only eligible for 44 of the delegates on tuesday. we give out 69. 15 are considered super delegates. i think governor romney is in good shape. the air war's already started. he's got a ground game going. i think he'll have a good night. he's going to campaign hard. but he'll walk out here with delegates. >> what happened to the districts where santorum didn't get on the bill? how important is it for a candidate to get on all the congressional delegation ballots in illinois? >> i got to tell you. when you live in the state of illinois, there's a lot of weirdness. it's difficult for candidates on the ballot. i've tried to change the rules and was voted down. we're going to try to reform it. you've got to get a bunch of signatures. it's a volunteer effort.

we did it for mccain in 2008 and it took all summer. it's just the reality of politics in illinois. that huge petition signature requirements. that's why they didn't get on all the ballots. >> you want to give us a prediction? 69 delegates in illinois, that's a lot up for grabs tuesday. >> you got to understand, opposed to tonight, illinois -- 70% of the vote is in the cook and six counties around chicago. it's a lot of urban and sur bourban vote. which i think plays well for governor romney. i couldn't give you a number. but he will walk out with a clear majority of the delegates. he should have a good night. illinois shapes up well for him. i think that is a microcosm of the country as far as the economic problems we're dealing with here. i think that will translate well to the battle ground states. what's important in beating president obama. i paid $4.70 for a gallon of gas in president obama's home city today.

that's going to be a big issue for us. >> quickly because we're out of time, but do you think president obama is vulnerable in illinois, his home state? >> he's lost almost 20 points of support since he won his senate seat in 2004. he won with 70% of the vote. he's down to the low 50s now. we're certainly going to make him work here in illinois. but probably more important to us is the delegation. goes through illinois. that's not going to happen. >> pat brady, thanks very much for coming in. >> thanks for having me. coming up next, we'll have more on rick santorum's southern sweep tonight. what it means for conservatives. [ female announcer ] if whole grain isn't the first ingredient in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first.

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we compete everywhere. the time is now for conservatives to pull together. the time is now to make sure -- to make sure that we have the best chance to win this election. and the best chance to win this election is to nominate a conservative to go up against barack obama. who can take him on on every issue. >> that was rick santorum's victory speech tonight. but what will his big wins in mississippi and alabama mean? joining us now, amy homs of

glenn beck tv, politico's white house correspondent mike allen, and dana lash, editor of big journalism.com. dana, let me start with you. santorum's saying he's the real conservative candidate in this race. he's probably hoping newt gingrich will step aside, let him go one on one with mitt romney. you think that's going the happen? >> well, gingrich's campaign was signaling that was going to happen just a few days ago. they were saying alabama and mississippi were must win states for newt gingrich and that he needs to perform in these southern states in order to have a viable campaign from here on out. now it seems they're changing their story. now they're going all the way to tampa. i'm not sure what the story is there. i know the santorum folks would love to see gingrich step out. we're at the point we need to ask are we dividing the conservative vote? definitely we are.

santorum is getting the more conservative voters. but the center right voters are getting split amongst the candidates. >> amy, is this surge we're now seeing for santorum the real deal? or is it going to fade? what do you think? >> wolf, after this primary season, it's hard to say is. it's been a roller coaster. we mitt romney had his surge in michigan and ohio. you were just discussing with your guest earlier that he doesn't even have illinois -- he's not on the ballot in illinois in four districts. and so he may not necessarily even be able to capitalize in a prarkt on the ground kind of way. >> he's got a lot less money. mitt romney's already spending a ton of money. his super pac also has campaigned in illinois. the money is an issue.

we've learned so far it's not necessarily the decisive issue. >> that's right. mitt romney's going to be talking about delicate math. that's not inspiring. that's not ronald reagan. coming out of tonight, we're going to hear mitt romney talking about momentum. and you're going to have are m romney saying well, i got more delegates. the obama campaign tonight is having a little fun with mitt romney on twitter. the romney campaign had tweeted oh, just wait until you get the results later tonight from hawaii and american samoa. david axelrod said you know, mitt, you know what they say. what goes american samoa, so goes the nation. 83% of evangelicals weren't liking what they heard. >> if gingrich stays in the race

and dwid a up that so-called conservative vote opposed to letting it be a two-man race between romney and santorum? >> i certainly think so. at least in the short-term. i keep saying that i think there's a secret pact here. newt is kind of romney's wingman for right now. the bottom line is it almost doesn't matter what happens in terms of the republican race. those red states are going to republican. what the republicans have to understand is that they need somebody who has strength in the place where there are swing states, where there are independents. the red states are going red either way. sometimes you get what you want. and sometimes you get what you need. here the republicans need mitt romney. >> dana, look ahead a bit to puerto rico. i don't know if you know that much about puerto rico, but illinois you probably do. what's going to happen? >> illinois is a typically very moderate republican base.

at least in illinois. obviously it's going to go blue. there's no hope in the general election of that state going to republicans whatsoever. santorum not being on the ballot in four congressional districts, i don't know if that's going to have all that much of an impact. i expect illinois to go to mitt romney. i expect missouri to go to santorum. because of the law in missouri it's weird. we had a primary that was -- you got no delegates o ut of it. then we have a caucus with 52 delegates at stake. newt gingrich wasn't on the ballot. even though gingrich will be on the ballot for the caucus, i don't think mitt romney is going to do incredibly well. it goes back to santorum. i take that back to prop-c. people in missouri don't like mandated health care. we saw that with prop-c. >> that means, amy, that this could go on and on and on.

we still have a lot of big states. texas, california, new york. this could go as the democrats had that experience four years ago, all the way through june. >> absolutely. i remember it well. i remember the arguments there being that similar to sort of carol's arguments. if winning this state is really meaningful in the general election. winning california, is that meaningful for the republicans since it's likely california will go for the democrat? looking at what mitt romney needs to do to move forward to gain some momentum, carol and i were talking before the show and it's kind of he just needs to relax and just be himself and to embrace the person that we're trying to get to know. i think it's a problem that up to this point that evangelicals are still not sold or rallying around mitt romney. that's a problem. i'm curious to know why in all these years of politicking, he didn't lay the ground work, meet ith evangelical leaders.

and make up ground. >> hold on for now. i want to continue this conversation. we've got more to discuss. up next, mitt romney's trash talk. what he told me about rick santorum. stand by. i am loving this greek yogurt. i like yoplait. it is yoplait. but you said it was greek. mmhmm. so is it greek or is it yoplait? exactly. okay... [ female announcer ] yoplait. it is so greek. in absolute perfect physical condition and i had a heart attack right out of the clear blue... he was just... "get me an aspirin"... yeah... i knew that i was doing the right thing, when i gave him the bayer. i'm on an aspirin regimen... and i take bayer chewables. [ male announcer ] aspirin is not appropriate for everyone so be sure to talk to your doctor

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he's far behind in the delegate count. he's far behind in the popular vote count. if you look at the math and how many delegates he'd have to win to become the nominee, it's a difficult road for him. at this stage, he's looking for some way to try and gain ground. i understand that. but i would hope that you'd use truth as one of the pillars of your strategy as opposed to trying to come up with one attack after the other. >> that was mitt romney talking to me earlier today about rick santorum who has a lot of information, a lot of reason to be happy after his big wins in the deep south tonight. we're back with amy holmes, mike allen, dana loesch. he was upbeat. he was talking about being at the desperate end of his campaign. a lot of the romney establishment types in washington, you know them, i know them. they were going into the deep

south. they were pretty confident this was all but over. the voters had a different mind tonight. >> well, wolf, great interview. i think we're going to see a lot of that tape. and there he goes again. he was talking about delegate math. the campaign knows they need a tougher message. i'm told that mitt romney has been saying that he's out to replace barack obama. in coming days i would look for mitt romney to say he's going to defeat barack obama. small example of how they're tweaking their message. wolf, i think another big story in the next day or so is a lot of pressure both on the public stage and behind the scenes for newt gingrich to get out. i think the campaigns are going to be very cautious. you saw the santorum strategist not directly confronting. i think you'll hear the romney campaign silent on this question. they don't want to back gingrich into a corner.

they want him to figure this out on his own. a top leader saying santorum has earned hitds mano a mano with him. >> carol, you like romney. what piece of advice do you want to share with him and all of our viewers? what he needs to do right now. this is a very, very sensitive, delicate moment in this presidential campaign. >> first of all, i actually do agree with him on the math story. there's a hollywood story and a math story. if i had one piece, mitt romney if you are listening to me right now, you need to make people feel. people do not remember what you say, but they remember how you make them feel. so go rent a bunch of disney movies and learn how to tell a story, connect with the audience, and build that report. because they will remember if you make them feel. and there's a formula to this

and i know you can do it. >> amy, how much of a problem does santorum have with women voters out there? >> i'm glad you brought that up. i wanted to point that out as well. that back in 2008 between president, then senator obama and hillary clinton, there was a lot made of the constituencies they were winning state to state. especially white working class, et cetera. in this republican contest, it's important that the republican candidate solidly win in particular married women will children. that's where republicans have always done well. and if there is any on that number, it spells a lot of trouble for the republican nominee in the general election. i think that mitt romney has a strength there when he can point to the states that he's won where he has won the female vote. he's also won the catholic vote. that is also a swing vote that's very important for a general election candidate to win. >> and not to mention he's got a great family.

put more ann out there. this guy is a family man. he should be touting with the women. look, i am all about the family. this is a strength for him. they're taking these strengths and making them weaknesses. he has to turn them back into weaknesses again. >> she is very impressive, ann romney. dana, who's a stronger general election candidate among the republicans as far as women are concerned? >> well, frankly when you look back at -- again, i break it all down to the exit polling data going back from iowa. just examining all of the contests. gingrich did exceptionally well with women especially in south carolina. this was right after the whole ex-wife controversy that came about. and rick santorum despite everything that's been said about him, he's been doing well with women is southern states and alabama and mississippi as well. but in terms of the general

election, you know, honestly i think any one of these candidates are going to do well as long as they are able to articulate conservatism and show their policies aren't just attractive to males but women too. unfortunately every single one of these primary candidates have had difficulty in doing that to some extent. >> can ki jump in there? in conservative circles and santorum and his comments he's opposed to contraception in all cases including in marriage, a lot of conservatives say is not conservative. that someone running for president of the united states shouldn't be commenting on such personal matters. >> we need to leave it right there. amy, carol, mike, dana. thanks very much. the latest on tonight's results in alabama and mississippi. i think about the future every morning when i wake up. i care about my car because... i think it's a cool car.

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you got to give rick santorum a lot of credit. he was outspent big time by mitt romney. but look. he's the winner in mississippi and alabama. twin victories of significant boost a setback for the front runner mitt romney as well as for newt gingrich. now attention turns to the next contest in puerto rico on sunday and illinois next tuesday. we'll, of course, have complete coverage. thanks very much for joining us. i'm wolf blitzer sitting in for piers morgan. the news continues