>> i appreciate that. great to see you. how are you? thanks, guys.

how are you. but luck. thank you very much. hi. hi, how're you? ♪

>> thank you. ♪

>> and thanks, guys. ♪ ♪

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♪ definitely.nitely bar andy ♪ >> i took one four years ago. >> all right. in thank you, good luck. >> thank you so much. good to see you.

>> good to meet you. ♪ >> mitt! >> martin, get in there. hold it, hold it. ♪

♪ >> thank you. ♪

♪

♪ ♪

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♪ >> tonight hyla holds the first in the nation presidential caucuses. on "washington journal," our guest is craig robinson, the

editor in chief of the iowa republican. he talks about his predictions for the turnout. then we will hear from jesse benton, national campaign chairman for the ron paul campaign. he discusses his support for the candidate and the iowa strategy. later michele bachmann explains her campaign strategy heading into the new hampshire primaries next week. "washington journal" take your calls, e-mails, and tweets every day starting at 7:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. one day go for the iowa caucuses, republican presidential candidate rick santorum held a meeting agreed with supporters in altoona, iowa. the latest poll has him in third place, with 15% of the blood. from the pizza ranch restaurant, this is 50 minutes.

>> do you think you can win tomorrow? >> we certainly hope we can. >> what do you think of this? >> we are feeling very good about things right now. >> the intensity of all of this? >> that is the caucus. i think we've got the momentum right now and hopefully we will have a good point. >> keep working hard. ok. there you go.

>> i was an intern on capitol hill. we are in the russell building. right across all, everybody is talking about young, strong conservative from pennsylvania. i never got to meet him while i was on capitol hill. two years ago we sat down at a restaurant and talked.

>> i think it s 380. >> we have had close to 380 town hall meetings. he has a strong conservative to someone like me. he is about the future. i am telling you, he catches fire. there is just desperation. i need your help. i need you to do something for me. i need you to join me in endorsing rick santorum. tell your friends, all your neighbors and family. take them with you tomorrow night. if you do, rick santorum will

be the next president of the united states. [applause] before you hear from the men of the hour, i want to introduce a real special person, a great american. and number one new york times best selling author. give a shout out for brad gore. >> i know you are here to listen to rick, but he asked me to get up here and introduce him. i came here from chicago, illinois. i believe this is the most important election of our lives. the future of our country depends not only on the election coming up, but it is important how iowa will vote in the caucus tomorrow night.

the future of this country. are we going to go back to a strong, prosperous america, or are we going to go the way of european socialism? people say why are you voting for rick santorum? it is not just about winning the election. it is about what happens that first day on the job. it is about having a consistent conservative in their who we know we can trust to do the nation's most important business. most important for me, the two biggest reasons or my children. i believe we need to leave the country for our kids and grandchildren that is stronger and more free than the country that was left to us. the only person who is going to do that for us is senator rick santorum. without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, i would like to introduce you to the next president of the united states, senator rick santorum. [applause] >> here we go. i don't want to hit my head.

all right. hello, everybody. how are we doing? i don't think i'll need this. how about that? no, that is not working. how was that? is that better? thank you all very much. one of my favorite authors is a great conservative who talks about the real challenge is that america has in defending freedom. i am decided to be here. i know he does a lot of commentary on radio and television. i am tickled to death that he drove his whole family from chicago to come here to campaign for us here in iowa. i want to thank brad for being here. i want to thank matt schulz. when we were sitting here at 3% in the polls, there were not a lot of people coming up and saying i want to help you because i believe in you. one person did. that was matt shultz.

i had the opportunity as he mentioned to meet him and will work with them for a couple of years. i worked with him a little bit on his campaign for secretary of state. i just found him to be one of the real, solid, salt of the earth conservatives. he is already a leader in iowa and will be of future leader of iowa. he has spent the last three days with me. traveling throughout the state. i want to give a special shot out to him. thank you very much for everything. [applause] we have been here in iowa at town hall number 380. if anyone wants to correct me, and may be losing track down the stretch. all 99 counties, that was over a month ago. we have not speed dated through iowa. we have taken our time. this has been a real court ship. we sat and talked, sat across the table more times than not,

and most of our town hall meetings have been sitting down at a table. i saw joe klein here. he was with me in corning, the home of john carson, i found out. there were five or six at a table. allow was underestimating that, a politician underestimating a pact that would be to his benefit. there was a small number in a cafe, and it was the night of a world series game. there was not a very big crowd. the weather was not very nice. that was the typical crowd. people say, why are you doing this? i said because i respect the process. i respect the fact that iowans are going to make their decision, and i want to give them every opportunity to get a chance to know not just what i believe then, but their chance to look at something that is important. look into the eyes of someone who wants to be a leader of the government.

you cannot do that very well, or as well as we would like to, without that personal interaction. we have been traveling around iowa. my family spent 3.5 weeks here in iowa prior to the straw poll. after that, the entire family was here, and after that we have had kids coming in and out. my son john and my daughter elizabeth are here, somewhere in that throng back there somewhere. the rest of the family came here. my wife, karen, is right here. you can applaud for karen. [applause] she is busy raising those seven children that we have. the rest of the family is here

at the pizza ranch. this is pizza ranch no. 35 or 36 that i have been to, and i have been in rooms like this, usually with a lot less people. the other boys and my daughter -- this has been a real family affair today. we have enjoyed the trips around. i want to say three things. number one is thank you. this has been an incredible experience. i don't know what these other candidates are doing, running their campaigns, but i cannot think of a better experience over the past several months and spending the time that i did in iowa, new hampshire, and south carolina. i have spent an enormous amount of time in all three. up until this last month, it was about an equal amount of time. i have been to new hampshire 30 times. i have done more events in new hampshire than anybody but jon huntsman.

we have done more events in south carolina than any other candidate. -- dan jon huntsman, and he has lived there for the past three months. these three states are the ones that fight to be first, that have the tradition of being first. we respected that, and we went out and try to earn the votes of these people. we started here, and we end here tonight. this is our last big town hall meeting. i just wanted to say to each and everyone of you representing a lot of iowans. the three things i heard more than any other words was "welcome to iowa." people are just very happy that you showed the respect to them, asking for their vote and being in front of them and giving them the opportunity to do something, which is, in fact, a

burden. it is a heavy responsibility. it is a huge responsibility. a lot of people make light of the iowa caucuses, but as you will see tomorrow night, it will have a huge impact on this race. the decision you make cannot and should not be taken lightly. i wanted to at least do my part to help you in this difficult decision, by making ourselves available, sacrificing my time with my wife and my children, but this is the most important election in your lifetime. i have stepped forward, probably not the best time in my life to do it, but i did because i just felt this was something that when i look back at my grandfather and my dad, who were immigrants to this country, who fought hard to give me freedom, it is the least i can do at a juncture in history to fight hard for my children's freedom. that is what i decided to do,

and we made that commitment. people said, what is the reason for your big rise in the poll these last few days? i would just say this. the reason is you. i talked about matt. i can also talk about jim gibbons, a dear friend and someone who stepped up and helped us by endorsing us early this last month. i could talk about steve, a businessman here who stepped up a couple of weeks ago to help us. sam was with us yesterday and the day before. he has a talk-show up in sioux city. i could talk about what bob did 10 days ago in stepping forward. the bottom line is yes, they provided some leadership, but the real leadership is being provided by the people of iowa. i have always believed we would get our balance, not from a

debate performance, not from a big, flashy report on how much money i have been raising or how many impressive folks i have in a super pak, but i would get it because we went out and earned the trust of the people of iowa. the people of iowa would do the two things that i have been asking them to do at the end of my speech. that is, do not defer your judgment to people who know less about who these candidates are and you do. -- and you do. -- than you do. you fight to be first, lead. do what you believe is in the best interest of this country, and secondly, be bold. this country is at a critical juncture. do not settle for something less than what this country needs. you will have a victory, but it will not make the changes necessary to preserve that freedom and security for the next generation. those of the two things i

challenge you. one reporter said it was and ask, don't tell. i am asking you to be bold and lead, and i will let you make the decision. i trust the people of iowa. the number one state for website visits the last two weeks has been iowa. i know you think you are the center of the universe -- the center of the country, sorry. i misspoke. believe it or not, you are not the biggest stake in the country. california is over 10 times bigger than you, and yet you have more searches and that of taxes or any other state. -- or taxes or any other state. -- or texas or any other state. you are doing your homework. i cannot ask for any more.

going around and asking you if the that is why i am going around and asking you to lead and be bold. to pick the candidate you believe it meets what this country needs. i know you are worried. a lot of folks have told me and a lot of the questions i get, can you win? one of the candidate said i am on delectable and cannot win. let me just say this. show me any other candidate in this race who has ever won a state that we have to win in order to win the presidency. none of them. we have three congressmen who represent heavily republican district. we have a republican governor of texas who ran as a conservative. how hard is that? [laughter] again, not a swing state. the governor of massachusetts ran as a liberal. he won, and did not run for reelection. why? look at his poll numbers. a poll numbers are not much better, but i stood and i fought. if you want someone who is always looking for the next

political opportunity, you do not want a president like rick santorum. i am going to stand up and fight for what i believe in when the political winds are for you or against you. i remember talking to shepard smith today on fox. he said winter you going to get the drift that your viewpoints are out of touch. i said the truth is the truth. just because some people or even most people do not believe the truth anymore, does not change it from being the truth. you stand for what you believe is the truth. if you are looking for that kind of leadership, then i think you should look our way. we stand up and we fight in good times and in bad. we stand up for the truth. we stand up for the values that made this country the greatest country in the history of the world. am i the perfect conservative candidate? no, i am not. you will find plenty of things that might opponent will point

out. have made my mistakes. but my convictions are clear and strong. they are consistent. i may have voted for a bad thing or two, but i never advocated for the bad things. i may have voted for bill was something in there that i did not like, but not things that were inconsistent with my values. i admit that on occasion, i have done that, but you will never find me out there violating the principles at the core of my being. if you want someone, as ronald reagan said, trust but verify. that is what iowans have been doing. every one of the republican candidates is saying how conservative they are. iowans are saying that is great, it is hard decision. most iowans have been undecided until the last couple of weeks. now they are starting to decide. it is the verify time. look at the records, get the

information, and verify that what they say they are going to do exactly what they have done in the past. a lot of critics say i talk too much about what my record is, and i should focus just on what i am going to do. that is what all the other candidates do, and they have had their moment. i said if i had their record, i would just talk about what i was going to do, too. but i have a record i am proud of. i want you to know that when i say i am going to do something, you can look back and say, he has always been there and fought for those things. this is not just here, it is here, and here, and here. get out on caucus night tomorrow night, 24 hours from now. speak to those caucuses. stand up and ask your caucus

goers for help for rick santorum. stand up and walk around that caucus and campaign for me. about one-third of the people showing up to that caucus, we have been told, will be undecided. help them decide. if you want to make a difference here in iowa, you can do what i once do best. ignore what the pundit class -- you can do what iowans do best. we need to be principals to win. [applause] send a message from the heartland. do what i would does, which is to make sure that the conservatives, one with a record of accomplishment, not just political, but also

getting things done in washington, d.c. we have journalists here from all over the country and all over the world. we will not just send a message to iowa, but the midwest, the republican party, and the country and the world. iowa, the state that will know the candidates better than any other. do you believe is the best person to lead this country. i hope you tuesday. -- i hope that you choose me. thank you very, very much. i appreciate it. [applause] i am going to go in and talk to the crowd out there. there is another big crowd out here. let me go out and take that. thank you all very much. i will take two quick questions. >> the goal is to work together

to do the people's work. >> the best thing you can do is the old biblical passage. with television, the people will -- without a vision, the people will perish. one of the things that leaders should do is try to find a common set of values that we can all agree on, from which we can go forward. it is very difficult to find solutions when the premises from which you build your answer are radically different. what this president has done is to divide this country into two groups of people who have very different views. he has done his best to divide and hope he can get enough people on his side to ram through what he wants, instead of finding consensus on how to build this country together a and stronger. this is the most divisive

president, in my opinion, from his political rhetoric, of any president in my lifetime. then he wonders why he does not get cooperation. he goes out and individually vilifies members of congress. he vilifies anyone who opposes him. he has vilified repeatedly the past president of the united states. he blames everybody for everything, other than him. i know there are people in this room who will record it and keep me to it. i will do my level best, and once i am sworn in as president, i will never say the words barack obama again, at least in the context of dealing with the problem in america that is his fault. americans know that barack obama was handed a tough task. americans know that rick santorum will be handed a tougher task. i don't need to continue to rub salt in the wounds of folks who may have lost that last election, and create that

antipathy that they president has. i need to work with folks to get things done, to shrink the size of government, to grow this economy, to make it stronger and safer. you don't do that by dividing, you do that by bringing people together. one other question. >> what do you think is the biggest hurdle between now and nomination? >> what is the biggest hurdle between now and my nomination? 10 days ago, i was at 4% in the polls, and look at what is happening here. here is what i believe. here is what i know. money is not going to win this election. if that was the case, i would be below every other candidate and would not even be close. when we report our financial picture, it is going to be embarrassing. in the last four or five days, we have raised more money than we have in the last few months. we have done very well, and we

hope to do a lot better after tomorrow night. but we are not going to run a big campaign. we are not going to hire a bunch of experts and staff. we will run the campaign that keeps continuing to interact with voters, that is accessible and accountable. we will do our best to be lean and mean and set an example that you can win the presidency that way, and you can govern the country that way. we believe that is the best approach. we're going to go to new hampshire. we're going to get on television. we will increase that as the weeks go on. we think we can compete there. obviously, governor romney has been running there for many years, but we think we can do well. we have a lot of folks from south carolina.

a bunch of them are right behind me who came up to help. we have legions of folks that are helping us in new hampshire. you go to the bedford office in new hampshire. you will find a bunch of great folks who have been working for the past week -- past weeks and months. we have a great team on the ground. we are building that team. we are getting calls from all over the country. just not this last week, but longer. we will continue to do that and build an operation that works from the bottom up. believing in you and believing in 3 people. -- in greek people. -- free people. thank you and god bless. [applause] >> [inaudible] >> i could not know that, right? ok.

>> [inaudible] >> thank you. sorry about this. thank you. >> we pick rick! >> let's hear it for rick santorum, the next president of the united states. [applause] >> thank you.

thank you very much. thank you very much for coming out. what an incredible crowd. you put me in front of pizza and that is very dangerous. i want to thank pizza ranch for their hospitality. i repeated hospitality and letting candidates, and use their facilities. it is great for them to do that. thank you for coming out. this is our last taha meeting. -- town hall meeting. this is 380. maybe that was one, and this is one and i can call this 381. we are here with the entire family. i am here with my wife. i do not know if you can see karen, but she is here. karen has been an amazing rock at home.

we have seven children. we have a special needs little girl that requires a lot of care. for karen to step forward and say, i will support you, and you have seven children and having that responsibility doing over 100 town halls in the state of new hampshire, it is a lot of time away from home. we felt this is what we were called to do. to go out and speak and lay out a vision for this country. a vision that was not just about taxes and spending and growth. yes, it is about all those things. if you have been to my town hall meetings, i talk a lot about those things. it is also about the values of this country.

it is about faith and family. you cannot have limited government. if the family is breaking down and we do not live could and moral and decent lives. right? he cannot have it. we talked about a strong national defense. we talked about having a principled leader that says what america's policy is, but then does things that will effectuate that policy. that is what this president has not done. it is important to have a leader that you can trust. [applause] we have trusted the people of iowa. karen and the kids, we came here in the summer.

we brought all seven kids. we brought six this time. little bella state come this time. -- stayed home this time. they are right in front of me. give a wave right here. [applause] elizabeth and john had spent a lot of time on the road. surry and daniel a little time. peter and patrick have been home helping mom. it has been a divided family, but a united family. a mission and a message. for the people of iowa and of this country. >> thank you. >> thank you. [applause] >> i want to say to the people of iowa, thank you. i do not know what will happen tomorrow night, but this has been an experience. you have made me a better

candidate, and a better person. thank you from the bottom of my heart for that. [applause] the three words heard everywhere i went was "welcome to iowa." we're so glad you came and respected us enough to be in our town. in all 99 counties. we came because we trusted iowans. if we stood before them and related to them what our vision was for the country, what our record was, you throw on top of that, we told them how we were going to win the election. we're the best person in this

field to take on not just barack obama comment to take on the challenges after we defeat barack obama. [applause] i was saying to the people of iowa, this is my closing comment, do what iowans do, you fought to lead. you fought to be first. do not defer your judgment to a national polls and national pundits. trust for you have seen, what you have heard. trust the interactions you have had with the candidates. trust the work you have done in researching the candidates. you have done more than any other group and this -- in this country. you are doing your homework. i know because of all of that state's on our website we did visit from, the number one state for the past two or three

weeks has been iowa. you are doing your homework, right? [applause] do not defer -- lead. if you want to be first, it is a huge burden. this is the most important election in your lifetime. this is an important decision that many of you have struggled with. you know how important it is. you want to get it right. trust your gut, trust your head. do not trust anybody else, particularly those who have not gone through a process that you have. once you've made that decision, be bold. once you have made the decision of the right person is, be bold. go out and give america a signal from iowa that we want somebody who is up to what america needs.

do not have a pyrrhic victory. did not vote for someone because they can win. that is a victory that will feel very empty. it will not be like this pizza. you will walk out of those caucuses hungry. walk out of those caucuses like you just a adipate sir ranch buffeted. -- eight and a pizza ranch but they. $9.99 -- there you go. lead, and be bold. if you do those two things, you would have done your job as iowans. you will say that you have looked at the candidates. we believe that they are the best person to lead this country. and because they are the best person to lead the country, we believe they're the best chance of winning the election. that is what iowans are charged to do.

if you do it, you'll not only shocked this country, you will shock the world. you will put this race in a completely different place than it was just a week ago. you'll do a great favor for your children and grandchildren. god bless you. god bless america. [applause] thank you. if it were not for the people of pennsylvania, i would not be here. they gave me a tremendous opportunity. i will be forever grateful matter what happens. thank you. all right. >> we pick rick! we pick rick! we pick rick! >> how do you do that without

any pizza? >> i just about to reach in there and grab one of those babies. >> [inaudible] >> thank you. we really appreciate it. >> thank you so much for coming out. >> how does it feel to be a contender in this race? >> i am very thankful for the people of iowa for putting us in this position. >> [inaudible] >> i do not know what the question was. your taking this out of context. if you look at my record, no one worked more on poverty and with the african-american community than i did in the united states senate. i did an enormous amount of work in the inner city.

major cities in my state, like chester, that are heavily african-american. i have to believe -- look at what i said, i believe every american should not be dependent on government. that they should have opportunities. we're not doing anybody any favors without. i am very proud of the work i've done. talk to anybody in pennsylvania, philadelphia, the work i did in the city and the urban areas, we did more than any republican. thank you. >> there you go. >> thank you.

how are you? all right. there you go. there you go. >> we do not have the high-tech stuff. >> ok. >> good deal. thank you. >> you are a good man. that is why we are going to vote for you. >> god bless you. ok, what job. -- watch out. >> i think we have a great record and i'm willing to go out there and compare it. thank you very much. yes, good, good to see you here. oh, thank you. how are you? yes, yes, yes.

ok, terrific. hey, bob. >> senator, how are you? >> thank you so much. my pleasure. happy to do it. oh, good. great. >> there you go. >> one, too -- hit a bakelite. one, two, three. >> thank you so much. thank you very much. hope you can help us out. thank you. >> backing up, let's go. no, ok. >> we will be an america that is very involved in the world.

looking forward to a lot of strong relationships. we have a critical role to play in the world. thank you. to renew and your family. a thank-you for braving the crowd in the heat. sure. even though your cardinals fan, i will do it. [unintelligible] >> oh, i'm sorry. >> i am following mat. matt is my bodyguard.

we just did one two days ago. >> not with herb. >> of, there you go. turnaround. there we go. >> that is great. >> all right. >> we will do a lot of meetings, a lot of interviews. >> on the way and, you said work hard, but you spend more time here than anybody else. >> we are going to keep working. that is what people want. they want someone out to earn it. thank you, thank you. turnaround, guys, turnaround.

every gun. all right. doing, rick? >> how are you doing? >> i am not moving. opt-in give me a break. -- >> give me a break. >> [unintelligible] >> if it is popular. >> never able to do what reagan did for this country, that is what she said. generally. >> if really. >> we will do our best to make sure. [unintelligible]

>> this is an undecided-voter. -- iowan butter. -- voter. [unintelligible] >> i get it. have you focused on manufacturing and health care in iowa? >> i think we have. it was someone who understands -- [unintelligible] we will continue to talk about it. >> [unintelligible] >> thanks, rick.

>> what about governor romney? >> ride around the corner. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> coming up, today's "washington journal," live with your phone calls. at 7:00 p.m., our preview of the iowa caucus. we look at the process and the state of the republican presidential race. at 8:00 p.m. eastern, live coverage of a caucus from central iowa followed by results and candidates' speeches. in 45 minutes, craig robinson editor in chief of the iowa republican discusses the final efforts in iowa and his predictions for the turnout. then we hear from jesse benton, nationalam